I'm no Superman !

Adios

2006-07-17T01:17:00.000-05:00

I have been wanting to do this for sometime now. And I don't want to put it off any longer. So, as Truman would put it, Good Morning, and in case I don't see ya (again), Good Afternoon and Good Evening and Good Night. And if you ever make it in one peice, see you on the other side!

CRTI and The Drive Against Bribe

2006-07-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, the Chennai RTI group along with a number of other organizations and individuals joined together to come up with what has been christened the Tamilnadu Right to Information Campaign. Based on discussions during the initial meeting, it was decided that a concentrated effort to raise RTI awareness in the state shall be launched on the 10^th of July which would go on for at least two weeks and end on the 25^th. As part of the exercise, it was decided to organize RTI camps in several districts (including Chennai) of Tamilnadu simultaneously during the said period.

To prepare for the campaign, a training workshop for volunteers was held on June 24^th. Over 100 volunteers attended the camp which was held to train these volunteers on issues and procedures relating to RTI. These volunteers will be part of the TN RTI campaign that will begin on July 10^th and will encompass 15 districts in TN. The TNRTI campaign itself is a part of the national campaign titled "Drive against Bribe". NGOs, unions and citizens' movements in 25 cities in India are taking part in this campaign.

During this campaign, we will target issues that we face in our daily interaction with the government. We might be expected to handle problems that include ration card applications, electricity and water related complaints, license and road transport applications, public distribution system, pension and revenue related problems. As the title of the national campaign suggests, we will use RTI as a powerful and effective alternative to bribes. In addition to this Drive against Bribe related issues, we might also take up citizen vigilante instances where we will use RTI for issues related to public works, state and central government policies and schemes, election commission. The objective of the campaign will be to exercise our right to information, increase awareness about the Act, provide impetus to citizen vigilante initiatives and solve everyday problems using the RTI tool.

Chennairti is playing an active role in the coordination of this campaign in Chennai. It has been decided that the campaign will be run by volunteers from the different partner organizations and individuals not affiliated to any of these organizations. A central camp and several small satellite camps will be set up in Chennai where the volunteers will be available to help citizens draft RTI applications. The central camp will be open all day and the satellite camps will be open for a few hours every evening and during the weekends. The camps will be open for 2 weeks and will be operated by volunteers on a time sharing basis. 4-5 hours of volunteering in total from each volunteer is expected to help us run these camps during the 2 weeks of this campaign.

A training session on the 24^th of June (Saturday) trained volunteers to assist citizens in the filing of RTI applications. Each volunteer was trained and provided with the support material (sample applications, case studies, addresses to which RTI applications have to be sent, etc.) to be able to file strong RTI applications that will help get the required information.

The actual campaign will be supported by national media (NDTV, Hindu etc) in the form of daily coverage. We will also partner with local media including Tamil newspapers, TV and Radio channels and neighborhood newspapers.

This is an excellent opportunity to add strength to the largest ever national RTI awareness campaign. Even if you have not been a part of the training session, we would love to have more volunteers during this campaign. 5 hours of your time during those two weeks will help us reach out to more people with this campaign. If you are interested in volunteering, call Guru @ 98407 65030. Please spread the word about this campaign and ask individuals/organizations interested in volunteering to write to chennairti@gmail.com or contact us by phone at the number provided above.

(Posted on behalf of the Chennai Right to Information Initiative)

Racing is life...

2006-06-18T10:08:00.000-05:00

***Warning - Stay away from this post if you are NOT a motor-sports fan***

I am liveblogging the 24 Hours of Le Mans as two factory Audi R10 TDIs finish 1 and 3 overall. If you are an auto racing fan like me, you will know that this is a monumental event. The 24 Heures du Mans is probably the most historic of auto races in the current racing calendar. This is the 74th edition and so this is possibly the oldest race in motor sports that still races in its original format.

If you are fan of the Mercedes Benz racing teams, like I am, its interesting to note that the a horrific accident at Le Mans in 1955 that killed 77 spectators caused Benz to withdraw from all racing till they came back in 1987. And Le Mans is also the scene of the famous trio of back flips that the Mercedes CLRs (one of the most beautiful cars ever, if you ask me) performed in on their Le Mans debut in 1999 along the Mulsanne straight, one of them during practice by current F1 driver Mark Webber (he had another during the actual race at virtually the same point on the track!) which has caused Mercedes Benz to stay away from from Le Mans since then (click here to see a Google video, which btw, has a funny description of what happened).

Now Audi powered cars have been winning first overall in this race for the last 7 years (six by the R8 cars and one win by a Audi powered Bentley in 2003) in a row. This year has been even more special. After being virtually unchallenged since the turn of the millenium, Audi decided to make things challenging by getting a completely new 5.5 litre diesel engine this year and the car became officially known as the Audi R10 TDI. And a few minutes ago, just as I started typing, the R10 became the first diesel powered car to win the 24 hours race.

It has been a weekend of racing coincidences. Last Sunday, I came back to find that my latest Netflix DVD had arrived. It was the one Steve McQueen movie that I had been hunting for a long time - Le Mans. With the last 10 days being as tiring as they did (will post on that sometime), I never got a chance to open the DVD. Yesterday I did and having some problems in my DVD player setup I put it off and turned on Speed Channel to find catch the start of this year's 24 hours race at Le Sarthe.

Since Speed cut off coverage after a hour to switch to a Nascar show, I decided to go and watch a movie. And the only movie that was beginning when I got there was Cars. And the lead character voiced by Owen Wilson was called - Lightning McQueen ( a nod to Steve McQueen)!
While I knew last week about the Cars connection, I did not realize that this was the Le Man's weekend because for some reason I was thought that the 24 Hours was always during the first weekend of July.

Once I came back late at night after the movie, I caught another hour of the race as Speed was switching back and forth. And this morning, I again caught snatches as the cars raced closer and closer to the finish. In the end, the C06 Corvettes, always strong performers in the American Le Mans series (of which the 24 hours is the flagship race), ran a very good race too and one of the them finished 4th overall. The C06 won the GT1 class along the way after one of the Aston Martin DBR9s that was leading for most of the way with a one lap advantage fried a clutch prompting a pitstop with less than 4 hours left. The Aston Martins finally finished 2nd (sixth overall) and fifth in their class. The GT2 class was won by one of the Panoz Esperantes, a fitting acheivement since this year marks a decade of their participation in ALMS.

For all the trivia enthusiasts out there, Steve McQueen was a budding American Le Mans series racer himself (Paul Newman is another, I think) who drove a Porsche 908 at the 12 hours of Sebring race in 1970 while preparing for the Le Mans movie, finishing second overall (and first in class) behind the winning Ferrari of Mario Andretti. Another interesting peice of trivia is that McQueen holds¹ US patent #D219584 (click picture to enlarge) for something that millions of people use everyday while driving - the bucket seat! Talking about multi-dimensional movie stars, for Steve Mcqueen, racing WAS life.

Another Le Mans trivia nugget - every car manufacturer makes left hand drive cars with the ignition key on the right hand side of the steering wheel. Well, every manufacturer except Porsche! This is a direct nod to their Le Mans winning heritage².

In the old days (till 1970, a year after seat belts were made mandatory), the start of Le Mans, like Formula One, used to be stationary (now it's a race with a rolling start, like NASCAR). The drivers had to run to their cars from the opposite side of the track from the pitwall and start their cars and drive off. Having the ignition on the left helped since the drivers could save a few seconds by starting the engine with left hand while engaging the 1st gear with the right hand, depressing the clutch with left foot and stepping on the gas with right foot simultaneously thus allowing the Porsche to get off the starting line more quickly than other race cars. And so it is perhaps no surprise that Porsche have been perennial winners (16 top overall finishes) at Le Mans.

[1] Source: The First Steve McQueen Site

[2] Source: Wikipedia

Truthiness and the linguistic rule book

2006-06-16T11:21:00.000-05:00

Glancing through Rediff earlier today, one came across this piece of news about the Sukhoi deal that the Indian government inked with Russia some years ago. Here is an excerpt from the said article.

According to Irkut Corporation President Oleg Demchenko, his company is ready to execute the fighter swap deal with India and is likely to pre-pone the execution of deal for the licensed production of 140 fighters by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited from 2014 to 2012.

Looking at the word, one finally understands the etymology of the word in question. The word prepone seems to have originated from the mistaken belief that the "post" part of the word "postpone" is a prefix, while it definitely is not. So the original users, surely non native speakers of English (in all probability of East Indian descent) of the word "prepone" just took the antonym, if I may say so, of the word "post" and used it to get a new word which supposedly means just the opposite of the word "postpone". And voila, there you have it - Prepone. But given the poor knowledge of etymology that this blogger possesses, the origin of the word might have been invisible, if not for the inadvertent error made by the editor/correspondent.

Lest you, the kindly reader, think that this is a tirade against the use of the prefix "pre" with the non-existent word "pone", take a step back. One is aware that the word "prepone" has been on dictionary.com for sometime now. Rather it is a tirade against the improper use of the hyphen where it shouldn't be in the first place.

And BTW, a vibrant cell phone culture is no excuse to invent new words for mundane activities like "paying the bill". I don't think "post-pay" has any place in our vocabulary as well. Paying dues to a company after using their services is a process that has been in vogue in business for eons. But paying before you use a service - now that is something new, well sort of. So one thinks that you are allowed to develop words like "pre-pay".

In fact there should be an official limit on people cooking up new words. At least no one except Stephen Colbert should be allowed to invent new words. Now that is a thought that is overflowing with truthiness!

Tamilot

2006-05-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago, Google Current featured a profile on "Tamil". Yes, the word "tamil". One important fact that I learned from this profile was that according to the last US census, Jersey has the largest number of Tamil speakers in the US. Another fact - 30 percent of all searches for the word "tamil" originate from the US.

Assorted other tidbits:

* After approximately half a decade, it could still be possible now for one to download a wall paper of Prabhudeva and Gayathri Jayaram doing the "Walk like a Egyptian" dance while moving to "Manja kaatu maina".

* Vadivelu seems to be having fun in Imsai Arasan - 23 "A.M" Pulikesi! But for the non Tamil readers, "Whoa" is an acceptable reaction as well.

* Ashok (M.S E.E /Santa Clara/Brahmin/Brahmacharanam/Uthradam/Sankrithi), take a bow. You are famous. Or will be, if another 10 or 15 bloggers pick up this and one of them does a funny post. Or if this post is Dp'ed. Or if Nilu does a post that pukes on your profile.

To end, a quick thought that came to my mind when I saw the tag-line for this video. If Tamil Nadu is "Tamilot", then who is King Arthur? The Gaptain, that's who!

(P.S: BG, thanks for the link kiddo!)

Pioneers, Kenwoods, filter kaapi and The Hindu

2006-05-24T13:25:00.000-05:00

Two comments from an article on CNN-IBN discussing the decision by the AIIMS students to
cancel parallel Out Patient Departments to counter the Govt's decision to reservations in '07:

A 10 yr formula failing even after 60 yrs comes to show that the assumptions are misconceived. The government’s move is draconian, regressive & development retarding. Merit is compromised for creating privileges for an influential section within the asking hands of the backward castes.
While many of my brotherhood cry & moan to deaf, autocratic ears, it is expected of the government to rethink on its approach. The current policy is divisive & does not achieve the primary purposes.
One is underprivileged not by the caste in which he/she is born but by what he is deprived of. The primer of the policy needs a revisit. The government will do good to:
1. enforce reservations at School levels (fundamental right to education)
2. Scholarship schemes & funds within Higher bodies of education to support underprivileged (Based on economic criteria)
3. Distribution of unutilized land for industry/cultivation
4. Micro finance institutions, NGOs to develop vocational skills, self employment
The meritorious people already pay their share due to progressive taxation.
The brains seek challenge and not decay in mediocrity. Let no one have discussions on talent pool drains in future.
* ( Posted: Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 14:26 )

Hey * ...a quick question...are you from Chennai ?
( Posted by ****_******* on Wednesday, May 24, 2006 at 16:19 )

(P.S: The title is pure wordplay. Poineer, Kenwood, types of stereos, stereotypes.. get it? *sigh* I always knew I couldn't do an Art Buchwald. Jokes apart, this is pretty much the only reference to reservations that you might find here. I consider myself uneducated when it comes to matters like this and though I really have strong opinions, my reasoning seems to be very flimsy and I refuse to be drawn into any argument where I'd be forced to concede solely because I am ill-informed! Or mebbe not. Let's see!)

Basketball diaries

2006-05-15T11:10:00.000-05:00

One yearns to be playing cricket like this. But regardless of disappointments at not being a part of similar groups, one's day brightens even upon reading about things like this.

If you ask me who I'd identify myself with the most among all the Saturday Game ballers, it would have to be the Commish. I am obsessed with playing right whether it is practice or the game or when I am in the sidelines cheering (happened a lot during my undergrad and grad years). I am not a very good player, but I hate to play with people who act goofy or don't give 100 percent when the rest are playing seriously.

So now, I am hunting for the right group to play with. The group is more than important for me to sustain interest, to help me get out of bed in the morning like I used to during the summer holidays in the 80's and the first half of the 90's and run at 6:30 in the morning to the Hensman Road ground. But I know now that playing cricket like that here is almost impossible. And it is in times like this when I wish I was really in and around South Florida where the beautiful weather permits one group that I know who play regularly.

Maybe tennis is the answer, but the combination of factors like the lack of equally (non) talented hitting partners and ankle-biters hogging the pair of tennis courts in the apartment complex every evening has been the dampener these past few weeks.

A loathsome, offensive brute

2006-05-11T21:50:00.000-05:00

(Originally uploaded by superstarksa)

.....yet I can't look away....

An Avuncular Epiphany

2006-05-06T16:52:00.001-05:00

Some of my friends (old and new) have conspired to bring me to a point where I have had to transcend to an avuncular state, leading to much introspection about life and the various mysteries it still holds. During one particular self analysis phase a couple of months ago, I realized that this phase, which is going to be forever btw, has the potential to rise at least a few embarrassing moments, unless I do something about it.

This phase came to its head sometime last week when the shiny silver motorola started buzzing with the advent of a text message that read "It's a boy!!! Name (***insert random in-vogue sanskrit name***). 7.5 lbs". Then I had an epiphany¹, or to internalize what Frank Maiers once said (via Answers.com), a spiritual flash that would change the way I viewed myself.

So, in a change that should rank right there with Intel's logo change², I am letting go of the nick aNTi. Unlike other changes of this kind, this is not about the subject, i.e. me. It is about you all (Gabby, you, Mr.G and the Maharaja are included too). Because I don't want any kid to go Ok, so, here is uncle. Where is aunty? after being introduced to me and later being scarred for life after hearing the reply - Yes dear, this is aNTi. He is the uncle too.³

Now to choose an alternate nickname. That was a tough task. I was tempted to become Superman, but then that would entail a much bigger change, i.e. my tagline, something that my already overdrawn creative juices cannot withstand right now. Then I remembered that mystery Namibian fast bowler !Kabbo.

If you have seen Gods Must Be Crazy, you must remember the weird clucking noises that Xixo (played by this guy called N!xau) and the other Sho "tribespeople" made while conversing with each other in the native tongue. While the prospect of people making clucking noises (to pronounce the "!" in words and names like N!xau) while referring to me made taking a Sho nick an attractive proposition. I was actually going to post pics showing how to move your shoulders like a chicken's wing while mouthing the nick aloud.

But then the amnesia suddenly disappeared and I remembered the embarrassment in 2003 when someone gently reminded me⁴ that the Cricinfo piece from one year earlier was actually was a joke made on All Fools day. And since the Sho reference is way too obscure, I had to drop the nick with the clucking sound.

Finally I decided to take a cue from that master of name changes, Prince and decided that I could just choose myself a symbol and tell people that the symbol was called TBloFKAa or The Blogger Formerly Known As aNTi. But the presence of the letters F and K one after the other, made be do a rethink and so the symbol and the acronym was dropped in favor of the phraseology.

So there you have it. This blogger as you have known him in the past has ceased to exist.

[1] Yes!!!. Finally got to use the word on a post!

[2] I know..I know. No one noticed the change.

[3] A dig that the likes of Gabby would surely love to indulge in, bah.

[4] Haloscan comments are not available any more, so thankfully, no one can embarrass me about that again!

Of ritualistic eyeballing and the scent of wealth

2006-04-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

About a week ago one noticed a Desipundit listing for a post that commented on the almost ritualistic eyeballing between two specimens of the brown kind. And a couple of days later this same post was picked up by that academic cum excellent blogger from Banglore, TA Abhinandan. Invoking that God of good natured self deprecatory humor and the supreme creator of the peerless Ajay Palvayanteeswaran, Abhi opined that things have changed since his time in the US, as a grad student. While one can't agree or disagree with that last line, it is certainly possible to add our own spin into the mix, which BTW, seems to be shared by at least a couple of commenters on Shake's post.

In the past few months that I have spent in desh away from desh, I have certainly experienced enough to identify with everything Shakes mentions. But at the same time, I have also seen things go farther, past the piercing stare stage. It goes like this. Back in the desh, if Pammi mongrel strays into the area ruled by Bunty mongrel, Bunty proceeds to size up Pammi from nose to tail. And then ritualistic sniffing occurs as Bunty seeks to identify what Pammi must have had for dinner the previous night. Some folks have claimed that Bunty is disgusting enough to risk a taste, but I am not being judgmental. For you gotta do what you gotta do. Anyways, if Bunty is satisfied that Pammi stinks just right, then friendship happens. Again whether Bunty gets some, later is beyond the scope of this discussion, but one can safely concur that the two wouldn't curl up with a DVD of Brokeback Mountain.

Okay, too much digression. What we are trying to say is that in most cases this staring ritual is not allowed to proceed. But if the ritual goes forward, the next stage in a large percentage of cases would be a ***drumrolls*** business proposal. Yes, the often lamented I-toiled-for-years-to-make-money-from-my- day-job-and-now-I-have-my-fortune-through-a-unique-business-opportunity-that-I-would -gladly-share-with -the-person-standing-in-front-of-me -at-the-grocery-store-billing-counter. Or the parking lot of the local strip mall. Or the rest room at the strip club. Wait, maybe not the last mentioned, since one has never seen the interior of a strip club. Ever.

This theory has been developed not by conjecture, but through experience - experience that has left us all wary of eye contact and has contributed toward the other common theory - desis will neither make eye contact nor small talk with strangers of the same kind in a constrained environment. This theory is as widespread as the whole A guy and a girl can never be "just" friends theory.

For example, some months, I parked my car in front of the local subzi mandi and seconds before I was to walk past this desi gentleman, I noticed him stopping and staring at me. I hesitated for a second and this was enough for him to start to say something. He started with a 'I have seen you somewhere'? line making me hesitate even more. His next question 'Where are you from'? Too shocked to be silent, I replied. The moment he found I was from Chennai, he switched to Tamil and soon he had shared with me that one of his cousins had graduated from the same college in Tamil Nadu 5 years before I got in. I was startled enough to reply truthfully to all his questions and soon came the standard line about a business opportunity that would let me make some extra money without much effort. He said that his company had a number of patents in biotech and this business opportunity was in cancer testing or something. By then I had started taking evasive measures. It made no difference to me that his idea seemed to be nothing like the ones I had heard so far.

Here is where I get to dispense with some advice. If you ever have to change your cell phone number, remember to never forget the old number. There are situations when such knowledge can help, like this one. My old phone number flew off my tongue without hesitation. It certainly helped that I had changed the number just a week before this incident, but I have resolved carry the memory of my 740 number to my grave, lest one of the pall-bearers hired to lay me down to rest is one such businessman.

If you think this was an isolated incident, here is one more anecdote. A few days ago, considerable part of a weekend day was spent walking around the Jacob K. Javits Convention 11ther, on 11th Avenue between 34th and 39th streets in NYC. Past 9 pm, tummy and soles complaining, we headed down Newark Avenue in Jersey City looking for a desi eatery to gorge on dosas and such. The food was ordered, and soon tummies were in the process of being placated when a tiny hand moved in our line of sight and dipped three thin fingers into a full plastic cup of water. Before we could react the child had run away.

Looking around to see who the kid's parents were, I found my eyes locking on a face that had a questioning look. It was the father (as we found out barely seconds later when the kid plonked itself on his lap). I averted my eyes, but not before feeling a twinge of disgust since the guy apparently did not care much about the fingers in our water. A couple of seconds later, I looked up to find the guy's eyes still locked on me. This time he croaked out a 'You went to the auto show'? I nodded and before long the guy was in the midst of a monologue, peppering us with questions and my talkative friend was soon opining about how there were no new car introductions this year.

Meanwhile sensors of a different sort had been kick-started and I was waiting to hear the line that I dreaded most. But I was made to wait. At different points, the monologue was interrupted by breaks when the guy got up to make small talk with the restaurant's owner and then with another family and so on. But he was always back after a couple of minutes, for another round. He managed to give us a two minute version of his life story and made sympathetic tut-tutt-ing sounds when my ever-talkative friend reciprocated with his. In between, I managed to evade some direct questions about my place of residence, but as is the norm, he managed to go one up and brought out the right answers out of my mouth, against my will and he proclaimed that one of his cousins had lived in the same apartment complex as me years ago when the sight of a desi in Pinebrook was as rare as the Caucasan complexion is on Newark Avenue in Jersey City. This exercise in chummy-ness continued till we were the only customers left,when he realized that it was time for him to leave (we were still gorging on dosas).

As a parting shot, he asked me for my card. I gave him my standard answer about being in the last in the food chain in my company and that I was years away from a business card of my own (actually not so long now, I think). The friends were quizzed for theirs and standard answers of denial were given. He gave us his card, which bore his name and the image of a pair of hands meeting for a shake, with a vague name for a company. My companions and I exchanged knowing looks after a glance at the card. He then asked for my phone number. My talkative friend gave him an office number while my cousin latched on to me and told him that my number was his contact as well. The guy then walked out of the restaurant, leaving us amused, with three cards to show for the 'yada yada yada' droning that we had to endure.

I am sure that if Shake's had witnessed this exchange, he'd tell us that his staring theory had been validated. But what is more important is that, my theory has been validated as well.

Can you crack this?

2006-04-21T10:32:00.000-05:00

Commenting visitors on the beach

2006-04-18T00:00:00.000-05:00

One just spent part of a sunny (and mostly warm) weekend in the beaches around Dover (DE). A couple of bumper to bumper drives along NJTP book-ended the trip leading to considerable fatigue. But wholesome fun was had nevertheless, with a group of friends and acquaintances, some of whom were met for the first time and yet gelled with each other like Brylcream on Denis Compton's hair. Legs were shaken and pulled. Tummies were filled to the brim with desi food and in some cases spirit as well. Photos were shot, which one will never post on here since posted pictures seem to take lives of their own, even a year after they were posted. But we cannot just resist this one since it seems to encapsulate the whole weekend.

Sometime during last week this blogger heard that news of this blog had been propagated to one and all in the family circles by the inspiration for what has come to be known as RCDM. So if you are one of those assorted family types who have landed here to see what Ravi is up to, please leave a comment. If such comments are seen, he will understand that stories of you having daily bed time accidents as a 5 year old (mostly imaginary and yet funny) or you falling into a compost/dung pit while trying to retrieve a cricket ball from that pile of "dirt" (true story) are to be avoided.

Can you crack it?

2006-04-17T12:47:00.000-05:00

Can you do it? Not one, not two, but 12358 puzzles in all (nice numerical connection, no?). The very first one seems simple and I got it (could you please cut out the drum rolls?) at the first attempt. I am definitely waiting to see the rest.

Click on the picture to go directly to the page and as with all of Google's toys these days, you can add it to your personalized Google homepage (if you have a Gmail account and ergo a Google id) and keep track of your progress.

Chennai RTI updates

2006-04-15T00:58:00.000-05:00

*****Sticky Post. Regular programming continues below.*****

A couple of weeks ago, I had posted here an announcement regarding the Chennai Right To Information (CRTI) initiative. On behalf of CRTI, I had requested a few other bloggers to plug this effort on their blogs and help us spread the word around. Thanks to all of you, CRTI is pleased to inform that we received a good response to the first meeting.

At the meeting, some organizational ground work to get the initiative off the ground was done. CRTI now has a very basic website that is slowly being updated with more and more information. We are in the process of setting up a blog as well. There has been some on the ground developments as well. Please visit the Latest News section on the CRTI webpage know more about what is going on.

As of now, the CRTI has several member/volunteers. We are looking for more people to help us get it going. Specifically we are looking forward to hearing from people in the media and the law to spread the word and also to advise on due process. Also, we would love to interact with a graphics designer to help us with some web/banner design. If you think you can make a difference in any way possible, please email us at chennairti@gmail.com.

The adventures of Asok

2006-04-06T11:16:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago, this happened.

And yesterday, this was the scene at a routine meeting.

And today we find where Asok is...

Scott, you rock dude.. you rock!

Pattiyal - The soundtrack

2006-04-03T23:52:00.000-05:00

Pattiyal forms one half of a CD (self) titled Gangs of Chennai (the other album on that CD being Pudhupettai, which I am tripping on too) that’s looping on my car’s CD player these days. It is a mostly upbeat album, boasting of six numbers, packaged with the usual zest by the youngest scion of the Raja family.

However, invoking his father's name is probably a disservice to Yuvan who has become his own man in TFM. Though he does avail the service of his father as the voice for one number in this peppy soundtrack, the gulf between father and son is never more apparent than in this soundtrack. Again, I don’t mean this negatively. It is just that Yuvan seems to have touched genres that his father would probably never touch with a barge pole. Or may be not.

Dei namma
A regular voice in the Yuvan camp, Vijay Yesudas opens the album with a number whose mood reminds one of the title track from Gilli. While this is unfamiliar territory for Vijay Yesudas who in the past has been more known for soulful numbers, he passes the test with flying colors.

Kannai Vittu
Pattiyal is a movie with two leading pairs. So this number seems to be the customary romantic number used to develop the romance pairings. And since any soundtrack from Yuvan seems incomplete without hearing his voice (more on that later), Yuvan does the honors with this track with Swetha’s lilting voice humming on a parallel track (the melancholic effect being yet another Yuvan trademark). Despite Yuvan's voice, this is the pick of the album.

Kannai Vittu (Remix)
Going by recent trends, any soundtrack from Yuvan is never complete without a remixed hip hop version of one other song. Yuvan groupie Premji provides the additional hip-hop vocals in this remixed track that starts rather unimaginatively with the words Hey Yo, You heard the original. Now hear the remix... In the past, his remixes have tended to be faster in pace than the originals, but in this one, the changes in tempo are subtler.

Namma Kattula
This seems to be the most talked about track in this album, with Yuvan playing around with the old MSV/Kannadasan/MGR bhangra fest Aadaludan padal (from Kudiyirundha Kovil) and using it to drive the tempo of the number. Ilayaraja’s throaty rendition instantly took me on a flashback to Nila adhu vaanathu mele from Naayagan. Pa Vijay’s lyrics which contain lines like vilayaadu vilayaadu, vidiyum varai vilayaadu; kondaadu kondaadu kudichi kudichi kondaadu add to the mood.

But what almost everyone has missed is the first line, which loops trance-like through the whole song. A Google search of the first line (and a subsequent listen) confirms that Yuvan has sampled/remixed the first line from a Chitra Singh ghazal from the soundtrack of Saath Saath (music by Kuldeep Singh), which had a better known number in Tumko Dekha To Ye Khayaal Aaya, sung by the ghazal duo of Chitra and her husband Jagjit Singh. Has this loop/sample been credited to Kuldeep Singh / Chitra Singh in the original CD? Since I heard these tracks on Raaga which is notorious for screwing up credits, I have no way of knowing. But I think I am asking for too much.

Poga Poga
This is the second hip hop and R&B influenced number in this soundtrack. The track starts out like a typical R&B number till YSR’s instrumental arrangement takes over. He has proved in the past that he is no amatuer when it comes to interludes and this track is no exception. This time it is a nadaswaram / shehnai (or its electronic equivalent) that stands out. The four voices, Haricharan, Vijay Yesudas, Harini Sudhakar and Saindhavi are more than adequate for this number which seems to be the gung-ho song of this album.

Yedhedo
This track seems to be the perfunctory melancholic number and as has been the norm, YSR chooses to sing it himself. This song ends up being the least impressive of the lot, with YSR’s voice contributing to this standing.

So, in total Sun TV istyle, should we conclude by saying: Pattiyal – Pattaiy-ya Kalappal? Well, sort of. Yuvan Shankar Raja is certainly no slouch as a music director, but as a singer he has a long way to go. Wait, he has nowhere to go. He has to accept that and let better singers sing. His high pitch whining is frankly getting to be ear-bleed inducing and would be the only factors that would pull this album down. In fact by singing two songs himself and featuring his father in another song, he has managed to lay a “speed-bump” on this album whose positive musical impact far outstrips that of his voice.

Yo Yuvan... you are the love doctor remember? Remember, you do it better than the all of us?

Gulty gal, Guilty Girl

2006-03-28T00:17:00.000-06:00

Disclaimer: Now that one knows how people react to a single guy's pronouncements about women, in fact the barest mention of the word "gal", one feels compelled to issue a disclaimer. Here it is - No Telugu speaking living being was harmed during the making of this blog post. Neither does this blogger have a hidden agenda nor it is the flavor of the season to poke fun on such people. However, being a single guy, one felt a need to drive away all the misconceptions that have been propogated and hence this post. We do hope that this post has some rhyme and if so, all kudos go to Art and Paul. So there. Stop seeing any hidden meanings behind the post. Oh wait, there was at least one and that was DEFINITELY not what you thought it was.

Once there was a Gulty gaal,
She used words like “whee” and all.
Ask, she did, about other gult chamiyas,
Answer, we did, without any guilt and bias.

Then it started, the pulling of limbs,
Scared away the occasional crumbs.
Our admirers came from near and far,
Thought “Oh dear, so near and yet so far”.

Our likeness was hunted for,
A single one was accounted for.
When pointed, it was, to every boy and gal,
Laughed at, it was, from here to hell.

Our celluloid taste tossed and sullied,
Like ellipsoidal shreds and then buried.
Our acknowledged industriousness,
was then mistaken for bull & nonsense.

Our music, our dance and fine language,
(Windy one time, windy two time)
was treated just like some smelly garbage.
(Windy one time, windy two time).

Soon start we did, to talk in rhyme,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme.
Set out we did, walking erect and tall
Try we did, to explain to one and all

Hear Hear, all ye hear,
Chamiya log from far and near.
Punjy, Bong, Tam, Mal and Gult,
But no single gal is yet exempt.

Call me up sometime,
Let’s meet up all the time,
Let’s look at the moon, and at the sun
Till that you’ve done, you’ll miss all the fun.

Lest you assume, we are not mad
Lest you decide, the chamiya’s not bad.
In the cloud, she surely sounds silly,
But ask the crowd, she really is funny.

The Chennai Right to Information Initiative

2006-03-22T23:56:00.000-06:00

(This post is on behalf of a couple of pals who are behind the initiative described below. As we read the text below, we wish we could do more than just passing this message along. Way to go guys!)
==============================================================
Do you get tired of people complaining about how inefficient, unaccountable and corrupt our public authorities are, but do nothing about it?

Do you want to play your part in effecting a transparent and accountable government without having it disturb your daily life?

Can you spend two hours a week volunteering from home / work / beach / coffee-shop?

Yes? The initiative proposed here might interest you.

• What is this?
This is a citizens’ initiative whose objective is to spread awareness among fellow citizens about effecting a transparent and accountable government.

• Can you tell me more about this?
This initiative will
• Aim to encourage participatory democracy.
• Use legal and constitutional methods to achieve its objective.
• Not be an NGO or a political organization.
• Strive to be a people’s movement.
• Be built on the effort of volunteers who will spend less than three hours a week on projects pertaining to this initiative.
• Not require solicitation of funds/donations from volunteers.

Interested? Read on…

The cornerstone of the initiative is the Right to Information Act, 2005.

• What is the right to information?
The right to information has been recognized around the world as an important instrument for checking corruption and misuse of power.
The Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) came into effect on Oct. 12, 2005. It is a significant milestone in the history of the right to information movement in India.

(a) Information means any material in any form. This includes records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advice, press releases, circulars, orders, logbooks, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material in any electronic form and information relating to any private body that can be accessed by a public authority under any other existing legislation.

(b) The bill defines public authority as any authority or body established or constituted
i. By or under the constitution.
ii. By any law made by central/state legislature.
iii. Including any other body owned, controlled or substantially financed by funds provided directly or indirectly by the government.

(c) Freedom of information means the right to obtain information from any public authority by means of
i. Extracts and notes.
ii. Certified copies of any records of such public authority.
iii. Diskettes, floppies or any other electronic mode or through print-outs when such information is stored in a computer or any other device.
iv. Certified samples of materials.

A powerful legislation like the RTI Act has to be implemented with conviction to achieve transparency and accountability. By themselves, laws can only create a climate for transparency and provide help to determine responsibility. Progressive laws such as these, however, must be backed by a citizens’ movement.

• Why do we need a citizens’ movement?
Right to Information laws have earlier been passed by nine state governments in the country, namely Goa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam and Jammu & Kashmir. (The RTI-Act supersedes these laws.)

The principal objective of these enactments is to facilitate an accountable and transparent government. Information available on the Internet indicates that implementation of these laws have been far from effective. In Delhi, authorities in the administration have been found to be unaware of the existence of the Delhi Government’s Act.

Clearly, mere legislation does not help in the achievement of the objective. Experience has taught us that the effort of individuals and organizations, under the aegis of these laws (the aforementioned state laws), have achieved samples of success in making an accountable and transparent government possible. In Delhi, absent road cleaners turned up for duty when their attendance registers were sought. Incomplete work was completed and quality of work improved when copies of work contracts were sought by the public.

An MLA was forced to release money for a task demanded by the people, when they obtained details of expenditure from her MLA Development Fund. People could get their work done in many other departments without paying bribes. Ration cards were issued, faulty water bills were corrected, pensions were restored as soon as the people demanded to know the status of their applications and the names of the officials who were responsible.

Almost 200 people got their grievances resolved within a matter of days of filing applications under the RTI Act, claims Parivartan (http://www.parivartan.com/home.asp), a Delhi based people’s movement that worked using the Delhi Government’s Right to Information Law. Organizations like the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangthan (MKSS) of Rajasthan, Mahadhikar in Maharashtra and PROOF in Bangalore have also been successful in their efforts to use the RTI-Act.

Thus, the right to information law can be made effective through active involvement of citizens. The movement proposed here will aim at getting the citizens of Chennai involved in enabling transparency and accountability of the government that they interact with in their daily lives. The RTI-Act, as mentioned earlier, will be the cornerstone of this initiative.

• How will this citizen’s movement achieve its objective?
Citizens’ movements are typically built around a strong volunteer base. This initiative will strive to create awareness among educated citizens. At this early stage, college students and young working professionals are expected to be the target audience for this awareness campaign. We expect to build a core volunteer base from this section. The volunteers will be requested to spend about three hours a week on projects related to this initiative. The volunteers will not be expected to donate money/solicit donations. They will form groups of 2-4 members and work on small projects. This initiative will strive to build a network of citizens with administrative, legal, political, educational, media and social development backgrounds. This ensemble of like-minded people is expected to provide support to the movement.

The plan:
• The core volunteer base will have a basic understanding of the RTI-Act, the provisions and implementation, the State and the Central Information Commissions, appellate authorities and the procedure for requesting information.
• Legal, media, campaign and awareness and documentation cells will be formed within the volunteer base and will interact with the citizen network described above.
• Public grievances will be received through individual contacts, emails, mail and telephone.
• A group of 2-4 volunteers will be formed to interface with individuals/groups with the grievance.
• The group will understand the nature of the problem and determine what information can be obtained from the relevant public authority to help address the grievance within the scope of the RTI-Act.
• The group will recommend the course of action to the individual/group with the grievance to obtain the information.
• The group will not pursue the grievance with the public authority. The individual/group with the grievance is expected to do this.
• The group will coordinate with the cells mentioned above, to bring the grievance to the attention of the network of citizens with media, administration, education and political background. This network will help bring the grievance to the attention of the public, the media and the administration. Legal action if required can be initiated through the legal representatives in the network.
• The group will support the appeal of the aggrieved party by being available for consultation when required.
• The group will support the appeal by striving in all possible legal and constitutional ways to make resources available to address the grievance.
• The group will continuously learn and add to their basic understanding of the RTI-Act and its provisions.
• The group will document the grievance and the course of action employed to help build a knowledge base for future efforts.

• Where can I find more information about this?

A one-hour meeting has been organized at 5 PM on Sunday, March 26 at

Altius IAS Study Circle
27, Eldams Road, Alwarpet
Chennai 600018

The meeting will be to bring together people interested in this initiative. The idea outlined above will be explained and discussed. Please drop in to the meeting to know more and contribute your opinion. If you know anyone who might be interested in this initiative, please forward this email. At this early stage, we are depending on word of mouth for spreading information about this initiative. If you are interested and would like to attend the meeting, send in an email to chennairti@gmail.com (or) guru.subbaraman@gmail.com before Sunday so that we can be prepared for your participation.

For more information, contact
Email: chennairti@gmail.com
Groups: chennairti-subscribe@yahoogroups.com,
http://groups.google.com/group/chennairti

Thanks,
Guruprasad

==============================================================

(Downloadable PDF version here)

V for Virtuoso

2006-03-20T10:05:00.000-06:00

Combine the dystopian elements from futuristic works such as 1984, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 and throw in a masked vigilante in the guise of a seemingly misunderstood 16th century anarchist and what do you get? Not a movie, but a graphic novel in several parts. Now take this icon in the fringes of British pop culture and place it in the hands of a pair of brilliant recluses cum filmmakers and then what do you get? A sci-fi fantasy that is as relevant in the current day as a multi-purpose remote is to the new age wired household.

The writing credits for this movie which seems to be a loose adaptation of a 80s comic series is shared by the Wachowski brothers. Though Larry and Andy are said to have started working on this screenplay even before the Matrix trilogy, it seems to have been a work in progress, constantly updated as times went by. So while the plot line shares several key elements with the graphic novel and ergo the various pieces of futuristic literature referenced therein, other plot elements are suitably tweaked in such a manner one comes out feeling like one has just watched a newsreel.

This line of thought that governments know more than they are willing to divulge is not new. It has been propagated with great effect by personalities such as Michael Moore. But the Wachowskis screenplay is far subtler. However, what I loved most about this movie was the fact that it has not been "dumbed down" to suit the lowest common denominator.

Just like the Matrix trilogy, much of the movie is about the deep lines vocalized with great relish by the lead characters, especially Hugo Weaving. Poet laureates, bards and venerated novelists are quoted at will. Word list virtuosos would particularly enjoy the vivacious verbosity that accompanies the sudden appearance of the vigilante. But on the other hand, the subsequent verbalization of verbiage that is uncharacteristic of any vernacular could vex you into vacating that seat.

Hugo Weaving could have easily been substituted with a blue screen, his character staying masked through out, for reasons that become apparent as the movie progresses. But his fluid movements behind that masked demeanor, oozing confidence and moving with panache in the action sequences which remind one of a certain Agent Smith, could never have been done by anyone else. Just when one expected that Keanu Reeves would be the Wachowskis muse forever, Weaving pokes holes in this theory, playing the perfect "uppity" vigilante, wry humor sparkling throughout. Knives glint as they trace ellipsoidal paths in mid air, V's skills with a peice of metal more reminiscent of Zarate than Zorro.

As for the female lead, she is a babe. Natalie Portman seems to go through great pain, submitting herself to having her head shorn on camera, another chapter in the unfortunate series of atrocious hair-dos that started with Padme's Amidala's cheese danish. She is perhaps the Jodie Foster of our times, on her way from being a child actor towards the status of leading lady specializing in off beat roles - all this while in the process of getting a Harvard degree. And did I mention that she is a babe?

A list of talented, but largely unknown British actors completes the cast. Watch out for John Hurt who fits the part of High Chancellor and if you are old enough (or a trivia junkie), his portrayal would easily bring back memories of the Big Brother Apple ad from Super Bowl XVIII in 1984. But lest you make a mistake, the reference here is not to the ad, but to George Orwell’s book that spawned the ad.

Just like the Matrix, this movie is bound to spawn discussion at the water cooler. Maybe that is was the intention. While the Wachowskis were constrained by a need to stay true to the original comic book, they have penned a hard hitting critique on the current political and social climate in the US and UK. The movie does seem to incorporate a lot of deep metaphorical references (or maybe that is just me thinking). Some holes are apparent too. Ebert’s comment on the impossibility of V’s peripheral vision under that mask is probably the most trivial and fittingly, when careful attention is paid thorough out the movie, a suitable explanation can be derived.

While some reviewers have tended to characterize the idea behind such movies as leftist and symptomatic of bloggers in general, I don't agree. To me, this movie mirrors currently prevailing political and social climate. The various references to the totalitarian regime and ideology of Adolph Hitler and the Nazi party along with the idea of an all-seeing and all-hearing Big Brother are probably a characteristic of the comic book as well, but the references such as the one to a bible-quoting, finger-waving, pill-chomping conservative talk show host, a take off on a number of current day TV and radio personalities including a certain former co-host of ESPN's Sunday NFL countdown are very current.

Lines such as Fear has became the ultimate tool of this government and the reference to home made explosives devices crafted out of common fertilizers may be recent and very relevant in the post 9/11 world. But even with the first week’s reign at the top of the charts, it might not just be long term box office material, especially in a society as hypocritical as in the current day USA.

(This review has been cross posted on Desicritics.org. Do visit me there too....)

FUCK YOU.. T-MOBILE!

2006-03-15T00:05:00.000-06:00

Warning: Extra long post ahead, even by my standards...

My travails with T-mobile started probably the day I got my phone. The phone arrived and a quick call to T-Mobile ensued to take care of activation etc. Deluded I was to think that I could get a custom number, that I requested and surprisingly was given one. But the area code allocated to me did not match that of Athens (Ohio) where I was then and the T-Mobile customer service person tried to convince me that the code was the right one. I hung up and then called back, to get a different agent who accepted my argument and finally gave me a "740" number. Little did I know that my troubles were just at their infancy.

My troubles with cell phone coverage are legendary among my friends. Unless I stood right next to the window in our hall or walked out of the basement apartment to the parking lot, I was never going to complete a call without dropping it at least once. When I graduated that summer, I moved from Ohio to Illinois to hunt for a job, but my scene was no better. To add to it, the Illinois weather in late fall and winter forced my staying indoors for 99% percent of the time. With no alternative, I included V's (my roomy in Illinois) home phone number with my resume and promised myself that I would break the contract and go for a new cell phone when I got my first job. Sadly that was not to happen, till much later.

That was around the time when I heard that friends who tried to call me sometimes got "all circuits are currently busy. Please try your call later" messages. It seemed to happen rather randomly and was limited to just incoming calls. And later, things got ugly when I moved to Delaware. Once the training period ended and I started applying actively for open positions, I started talking to customer service about it along with another friend from Ohio was also facing the same issue. During one particular billing cycle, I spent almost 140 day time minutes (over a period of two weeks) enquiring with T-Mobile about the status of our complaints

The funny part is that they don’t seem to have a logical system. Logically one would assume that, your case history would be available on file. But no, every time you talk, in each level, you will have to explain what is wrong. If you are lucky and the lower levels think that you are eligible to talk to the advanced tech support, you will go forward. There were times when the first person would take my case history, tell me there are no updates with a promise to get back in touch in case something comes up, and hang up. At every level, one would be asked the same dumb questions about turning the phone off and on back again and so on, in spite of one having explained just a minute earlier that it does not work. At different points of time, we got our cases into tickets that we were asked to quote. A few days after I received the first ticket, I called and found out that the ticket had been mysteriously "closed" without us being informed. We managed to get the case re-opened, but all we heard was that they were looking into the issue and would get back to us once they knew what was wrong. Nothing came out of these claims. Then, a friend who used to work on wireless communication explained what was going on with the vague messages that plagued my phone. I won't go into technical details, but it was obvious that T-Mobile's circuits in Athens were the cause.

By then I had lost all hope of getting the issue resolved. And when, in November, I moved to New Jersey, I found that my new apartment was no better. According to T-Mobile’s coverage map, I was in a “fair” area (one above the bottom-most “None” class). The-whole-keeping-my-cell-on-the-window-sill continued, but even that did not help sometimes with calls going directly to voice mail. After I got a couple of pay-checks I decided to chuck T-Mobile and went on Amazon.com to hunt for a new service provider and phone.

I waited till I got the new phone in my hand and called T-Mobile to cancel my account at the end of the cycle. More stories and fantastic offers from T-Mobile followed. The lady in customer service promised to improve my service by putting up a new tower! I almost fell down on the floor laughing. She offered 1000 minutes for the 40 dollars that I was paying. I laughed and asked her if she thought I was a fool. I told her I knew how much a tower cost. I told her not to feed me stories and arranged to have my service cut on the 18th of February, when my billing cycle ended. Incidentally I was going to be in Chicago then for a long weekend.

Within a few days of my return from Chicago, on a Friday, I found a letter from T-Mobile informing me that my account had been referred to collections. It appeared that I had missed paying my bill (due to various reasons) and 30 days had gone past. I was surprised that my account had gone to collections even before I had received a final bill. Again due to various reasons, I decided to call them and pay them first thing on Monday morning from work. On Saturday, I finally found my final bill on the mail.

When I called them, I wanted to ask them why my account had been sent to collection even without a reminder. I know I was technically at fault and felt really bad and worried about the whole thing, but on the light of what transpired later, my worries now seem to be without reason. Anyways, when I called T-Mobile, they asked me to pay my bill and insisted that they had no record of my account being referred to collections. I paid the $90 odd that was due (my final bill) and resolved to take this matter up with the “collection agency” in question.

I looked up their number and called them. And that’s when I realized T-Mobile’s game plan. The “collection agency” acknowledged that they had been asked by T-Mobile to contact me about my over due bill. But the guy I spoke to told me that they were just a “letter” agency, i.e. they just send letters and do not actually “collect”. He said that if I had called them first (instead of T-Mobile), all he would have done, would be to instruct me to call T-Mobile immediately. He told me that T-Mobile does this to all overdue accounts just to offend the customer to pay their overdue bills. And the customers usually do so immediately on the notion that because their account has been “marked” for collection, their credit history has already been maligned and any more procrastination would only damage things more.

I do have with me, both letters that inform me that my account has been referred for collections. And when I call, T-mobile has no record of this, while the “collection agency” claims that this is the norm with T-mobile. I understand I was at fault in the first place for being late with my payment, but was $90 big enough for T-Mobile to play around with the truth by threatening me with (two) collection notices? My co-workers tell me that I should lodge a complaint with the FCC on the basis of “unfair” and fraudulent business practices. Having heard all the bullshit over the last 20 months or so, I am quite inclined to do so. And though I dont want to bring the "R" word or "D" word here, but hey, after all the talk of desi dudes in customer service, I am wondering what would an American do in this scenario, given that not much news/information of this kind comes out in public. Hmmm...

The mayhem spreads...

2006-03-01T09:47:00.000-06:00

Kaps had posted about the happenings at SRM yesterday. The issue seems to have spread to other colleges as well. Just a few minutes ago, I received an email from my sister who is in another college notorious for its segregatory practices between the sexes. Here is what she had to say.

.... learnt how a strike would look like....! Jokes apart, day was bad....really bad. Went to coll as usual at 7.30 had brkfast n all. We were asked to go to the library. There is a seminar hall in there where we were asked to wait. So after we got in we really dint know what was happening outside. Till 8.00 everything was ok.

At 8.30 a staff came in and asked us to leave the library. We dint know why. We came out. The next thing we knew was a huge group of student... must be about 100 odd, were screaming in front of the administrative block...that big long block na that one. Some staff came n asked the girls to go to the hostel. So we went. We dint have a clue as to what the probe was. We went to the hostel. That’s where we came to know it was some problem with aicte n crap.next thing we knew the hostel was locked from outside!!!! Safety apparently!!! It was 9.00...all the girls were in the hostel by then. I mean the entire coll girls crowd. So we were in there till about 11.30...then around that time we had to walk backside to the bus stand where there was a single bus to st.josephs. Felt like some refugee escaping from terrorists or something. They dropped us in st.josephs. From st.josephs back side we had to walk to jeppiar engg coll!!! There is no road connecting st.josephs n jeppiar engg coll. so we have to walk. Imagine... easily 1 or 2 kms in the open land! Buses were there in jeppiar engg coll...We left the place around 12.15 or so. Didn’t pass thru our entrance coz of road block n stuff. Went thru Hindustan. kelambakkam....vandalur n all!!!! N reached home only at 2.45 or so!!!!! It seems comp n stuff n all were broken inside...don’t know if it’s true n all. Coll is closed indefinitely....don’t know what's going to happen n whether if courses are recognized or not. Training cancelled too I guess. On the whole one horrible day!!!!!!!

Incidentally, my sister will be working for an IT major when she graduates in June and today was her first day of training (in-house in her college). I can imagine the hardship she had to endure on a day like this. When I told her that the incident she mentioned about "comp n stuff n all were broken inside" was actually at SRM, she said that similar things happened at her college too, but the press has not been allowed inside so far. Some students were anonymously interviewed on Sun TV outside the college gate. The students were saying things like "they are cheating us by running courses without approval" and "They will give us a B.S degree. What is the difference between an arts college student and us now?"

Is this a case of the mob mentality taking over and I am not talking only about the students here. Was the destruction of property at SRM's campus the handiwork of the management as the students claim? And did the management in my sister's college do the same thing?

In any case the students have to be informed (though I might have felt the same way when I was in college) that it is only some countries that follow the British system, that have separate degrees awarded for sciences and engineering. In most countries, like the US, the degree is a B.S (the equivalent of the B.Sc) regardless of whether the major is biology or bio-medical engineering. In fact most students take the some common courses (with the same syllabus that is) in the same classroom, regardless of their stream of study is. So you will see a biology student and an electrical engineering student in the same math class, if the biology student's academic advisor feels that the class will help him/her. So, IMHO, the nomenclature does not matter. However, if you had asked me the same question six years ago, I'd have felt the same level of indignation.

Another thing is that I was also under the impression that the problem is stream specific, i.e. certain new courses in these colleges are the only ones under scrutiny. But my sister's version (and the reaction of the striking students) indicates that whole institutions are under the microscope. Could someone clarify this?

In fact the best place to clarify this SHOULD be the AICTE's website. But does the AICTE have a website at all? My sister sent me a link to the AICTE web site that seems to link to a list of accredited institutions. But the list is on a word document which contains links to other lists (state-wise). And get this, the links all point to documents on someone's desktop! So these students, in spite of all the claims of all information being available freely, don't exactly have the info they need, i.e., whether their colleges have the necessary authorizations. So, now that we know the AICTE has a half-functioning website, does they have a webmaster?

Three years and two days later....

2006-02-12T14:17:00.000-06:00

.... the basic premise of this blog i.e., that I am no Superman, has not changed at all and as I mentioned then, you can still call me Superman-ian if you want to. What's happened gradually these past few years is that this blog has become a part of my daily life, so much that my much lamented trait of forgetting birthdays has expanded to include this blog as well. Hence let me go ahead as usual and issue a note of belated (third) birthday greetings to this blog.

One more happening of note also went past unnoticed by me. This post is my 301st post. It was perhaps fitting that my 300th post was also the first one to be featured on Desipundit. This past year was eventful in a lot of respects, but I don't think I am anywhere close to leaving my little cubbyhole in cyberspace.

Now, we turned three a couple of days ago. Apparently the time between the second and third birthday is called the terrible twos. I did not know that last year, but along those same lines, this coming year could be called the trashy threes. Now with 300 published posts, Blogger seems to hit some growing pangs. But that's for another post for which some knowledgable minds would have to be consulted. So, at least till then, one shall continue churning out the trash that one so cleverly disguises as regular programming. All those of you who come here to get your fix of trash, do come back for more. And yah, for those of you who are wondering, that is *my* trash can.

Moin - Do you listen to yourself?

2006-02-08T18:06:00.000-06:00

I believe it was very unsporting of the Indian cricket team to successfully appeal for obstructing the field against Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq and that too at a very crucial stage of the first one-day international at Peshawar. To me, it appears that the Indian team was desperate to win the game by hook or by crook, no matter even it came at the expense of the norms of this sport known as the gentleman's game.

Those are sane words - heard normally from one of the game's mostly misinformed greats. Which is why it is surprising when one reads the byline accompanying these words. Even though I believe that the circumstances leading to this quote could have been avoided (from both sides), let me take you back in time to the year 1999 to demonstrate why this particular comment riles me up.

Exactly 7 years and one week ago in Chennai, on January 31, 1999, India lost the first Test of their two Test series against Pakistan. This particular Test match shall forever be known to every Indian cricket fan as a story whose positive end was so near and yet turned out to be so far. For some people in Chennai, that Test match shall be the one that sealed the reputation of the crowds at Chepauk for being the most sporting of live audiences ever. But to me, the Test, particularly the last day, will be a milestone dripping in infamy - the day when Sachin's back began asserting itself and when Mongia's wild hoick against Akram with so few remaining to be scored changed derailed India's fight-back. While these incidents are all that most people will remember about the Test, personally I will never forget one particular ball.

Now, most people talk only about Mongia and the subsequent failure of Sachin and the tail to score those precious 17 runs. But if you ask me, I think the deed was done much earlier. For, I am of the firm opinion that the vital balls/wickets that change the complexion of a game are always the ones that come at the start of a innings. So if you lost a game by one run, don't blame the late order batsmen, but blame the top half of the order for not scoring that vital run.
Similarly don't blame the misfield at the fag end of the innings, but the reprieve earlier. Don't blame that run out that claimed the 9th wicket, but blame the umpiring error that caused the premature demise of number 3.

So, it all happened on the 4th (and what turned out to be the final) day. I did not see the match live. But I remember lying flat on my belly in my hostel room and listening to the radio commentary on AIR. Twenty three overs into the final day, India were with their backs against the wall. Earlier that morning, Dravid had lost his off bail to Akram and Azhar had fallen cheaply too, lbw shouldering arms to Saqlain, while Ramesh and Laxman, the openers had already been cleaned up by Waqar the previous evening.

With Tendulkar looking rock solid at the other end, in walks Ganguly as India are down to the 5th wicket (and last remaining) pair of specialist batsmen, still requiring 191 runs to save the game. But Sachin is soon frustrated, with only 9 runs coming in the next 10 successive overs bowled in tandem by the Saqlain - Afridi pair. And then comes the shocker, the memory of which exposes Moin Khan as a man possessed by double standards like the worst of us. I will let Cricinfo's Travis (Basevi?) describe what transpired in his own words (as part of the ball by ball commentary).

41.1 Saqlain Mushtaq to Tendulkar, no run, a step forward, aggressive shot, played to midwicket fielder

41.2 Saqlain Mushtaq to Tendulkar, one run, bounces and spins a lot, turned to backward short leg, quick run

41.3 Saqlain Mushtaq to Ganguly, no run, short ball, cracked very hard at silly point fielder. both silly point and short cover turned their backs. the ball bounced off silly point's back but short cover was not ready either turning his back too

41.4 Saqlain Mushtaq to Ganguly, no run, pushed to offside

oh no....

41.5 Saqlain Mushtaq to Ganguly, OUT:

India 82/5, Partnership of 9
SC Ganguly c **** b Saqlain Mushtaq 2 (25b 0x4 0x6)

Saqlain Mushtaq 14.5-5-19-2

Ganguly cracked this ball to ohard at silly point. the ball off his body fell down and diving **** caught it off the ground very clearly and Dunne gives him out! this is clearly not out according to TV replays

Now, I saw the replays during the evening news and what I saw clearly corroborates Travis's version of what happened. Ganguly's defensive stroke off the front foot hit silly-point and one could see the ball bouncing on the ground before being pouched by ****.

Guess who "****" is? It is the same man who has been quoted in the first para of this post. Lets see what more he has to say.

A captain needs to stand tall and handle situations, specially when they come in critical stages of the game and I think, Dravid has not only let himself down but also his team. I am dead sure that if Sourav Ganguly would have been the captain, the matter would have been defused tactfully and sportingly.

Ummm.. Moin, if I remember right, you were also the vice captain, that day in Chennai! So now, 7 years thence, you are qualified to comment on Dravid's integrity as a sportsman?

I understand that according to the laws of the game, Inzamam was out and if he does not know the laws, then it is not the fault of the law but Inzamam himself. But my point is that there are several cricketing laws that we don'?t follow because they are not considered within the spirit of the game.

You need to watch yourself, Moin. For, upon reading what you have to say, if they did not know even as much of cricket as I do, someone might start to wonder if you are a Nobel Laureate.

Batsmen don't run for singles or twos when the ball is deflected off their bodies or bats from throws, batsmen pick the ball and throw it to the close-in fielder or the bowler when it falls close to them. So much so, when Greg Chappell told his brother Trevor to bowl the last ball under-arm, it was also within the laws of the game.

So, now it is Chappell's integrity you are questioning? Hmm, wonder what qualifies you. Let us see. What were you doing in Calcutta, barely 20 days later, when Shoaib (while glancing over his shoulder to see Sachin sprinting toward him at the non striker's end) took a step backward calmly plonking himself firmly on Sachin's path, forcing Sachin to run wide (a few extra steps) to avoid him and getting him run-out in the bargain. Did you say something about your own team's insistence to win, hook or by crook. Even if we just assume it was a honest mistake from Shoaib, why did you, the magnanimous clean character you are, not rescind your appeals (in both Sachin's and Saurav's case). I saw that on TV, Moin.

I fear history might not forgive Dravid for his poor captaincy and unsporting attitude. After all, we have still not forgotten the acts of the Chappells, have we?

Yes, Moin, history might not forgive Dravid, if his captaincy was judged to be poor at the end of his career. His tenure is just a few tests old, but every other "expert" has praised his captaincy these past few months. But hey, I forgot. You are the "all-knowing guru", aren't you?

Anyways we have certainly not forgotten about the Chappells, but neither have we forgotten you. And lest YOU forget, a lot of Indians (in fact, let me add the Englishmen to this list too) have forgotten neither your un-sporting attitude nor your chaffing demeanor on the cricket field. Were you not the captain who resorted to moving your fielders after every single ball, and that too making these from mid pitch, seemingly in deep discussion with your bowlers, under fading light at Karachi in 2001 against England when they were fighting to win the test on the fifth day. I saw that too, Moin.

And in case you want to know, this was the verdict from one of your own countrymen (writing for the Dawn) after that Karachi Test match

...Moin Khan's captaincy and wicketkeeping (was) far from satisfactory.

Without taking any credit from England in this Test, Pakistan's batting proved disgusting, their bowling pathetic, fielding horrendous and Moin Khan's captaincy and wicketkeeping far from satisfactory. Saqlain Mushtaq picked up three wickets but conceded 64 runs from 17 overs.

Moin Khan showed that he needed a lot of experience before he can command his men in the field when he made senseless bowling changes. ...

Moin, let me stop now. I think I have made my point. I hope you read this and I also hope to get a chance to remind you of your on field shenanigans every time you conjure up something similar.

(P.S: What the hell was the New Indian Express thinking when they were giving Moin a chance to comment? When will the Indian MSM learn? If this is how they are going to function, looks like I will be making more such posts here!)

Tera naam kya hai... basanti?

2006-01-29T21:22:00.000-06:00

Rang De Basanti seems to have captured the attention of the desi blogosphere and the Indian media like nothing else before it. Oh wait, a small correction. Before RDB, there was IIPM. But as Jerry would quip, not that there is anything wrong with it. At last notice, a simple search on Blogger Search for "Rang De Basanti" turns up 2,234 posts while a similar search on Technorati returns 1,257 results. In fact, Rang De Basanti has been in the top 15 list of searches on Technorati for the last couple of days and is in the top 10 currently.

What is in this movie that has captured our attention? From what I saw on Saturday, it is certainly not difficult to understand why. First reason - the whole movie has a young tone to it, even the parts that are in sepia. Second reason - the wonderful soundtrack, which some people say is out of place, but the majority has taken to. Personally I found the music refreshing with the director making, what has to be the most novel use, of the ubiquitous songs, in recent times. Having mentioned these reasons, I do have to add that there is one more, something that I find hard to justify and that is the whole business of patriotism.

Most people see Rang De Basanti as the Swadesh of 2006. While the latter deals with the pangs of remorse that first generation NRIs seem to harbor at the bottom of their heart - an almost guilty sense of helplessness at not being able to do their bit for the progress of their homeland, Rang De Basanti looks at a similar, but more cynical mindset through the eyes of the college educated 20 somethings.

It can be safely said that the kind of characters represented in RDB do exist in real life. The first half of the movie is as realistic as it gets in India's universities. Each one of us has known a DJ, Sukhi, Karan, Aslam and Sonia at one point in some form or the other. But as the second half progresses, it becomes increasingly difficult to envision a scenario where individuals would react the same way as these five (and Laxman) do. And that is where RDB moves from a potential Swadesh emulator to being just another celluloid fantasy. However any half baked student of cinema would tell you that celluloid fantasy is good too, for fantasies were the building blocks of cinema as we know it. So, Rakeysh Mehra should not be offended if one labels RDB thus. But one senses that there is an intention to convey a message here. What is this message? And so the confusion begins.

As mentioned earlier, the first half of the movie hints at a clean entertainer in the Dil Chatha Hai mold, a growing up movie of sorts. Make no mistake, RDB is a growing up movie. But what those youngsters grow up to be leaves a lot to be desired. One wonders if the ends aimed at by these young 20 somethings is a direct contradiction of the means adopted. The message sounds like one that a hardened pick pocket uses to justify his acts - as a deterrent for others seeking the same path. I don't want to say anything more lest it be viewed as a plot spoiler and one wouldn't want that. Sadly this "message" is viewed as a USP for this movie and that is a shame. For there are a lot of positives in this movie and the "message" is certainly not one of them.

But why should a movie proselytize at all? Why can't a movie be just for entertainment, as one half of this movie seems to be. Maybe it is the resident cynic in me talking, but I think that the longevity of any movie's message is going to be slightly longer than the time spent on the journey back home from the theatre. And one can safely bet that while crimes seem to be inspired by movie plots, there has never been an incident where a movie's plotline has inspired something positive. Wait, that is just what my mom told me 5 years ago when she found I had played hookey from class to watch Anaconda.

So next time I read some review of RDB (you'd think I'd stay away, but at the rate at which people seem to be churning reviews, I don't think I can escape without reading another one) that tells me how the movie brought a lump to the author's throat, I'd say "Ok. me too" (ya it did raise goosebumps too, but that was for the nod to Georgie boy's jaunt in a fighter plane). But if someone writes that this movie will make people raise up and do something, I'd ask the authors for a blood sample to check what they are high on. All those who you see on TV carping on patriotism are not going to give a crap about the same if and when you ask them an hour later. Ofcourse there are exceptions, as usual. But the exceptions are certainly in the miniscule minority.

As for me, I got home last evening and as I got thinking, I decided that I liked the other Basanti movie much better. It had a two leading men, one a brooding man who was "straight face" funny, and another who was a lovable goof. A motor mouth of a heroine and a charismatic villian contributed as well. And it was way funnier and it was not certainly not preachy. Personally, the whole "susaad", angrez ke zamaane" and "Kitne aadmi the" thing was funnier than the Westerner feigning ignorance of the local language and the chemistry of the lead characters certainly seemed to be much better and ergo much more entertaining.

And before you lynch me, you have to understand that I watch movies for entertainment. Don't get me wrong, RDB is certainly miles ahead of the borderline porno flicks churned out by the Bhatt camp and what not. And unlike others, I am not stupid enough to let the story within a story confuse me. Which is why I will gladly watch RDB again.

Waiting for the Mahatma - The Ramblings of the Confused and the Nervous

2006-01-26T08:38:00.000-06:00

It is almost 1: 30 PM when I start putting fingertips to keyboard. Soon the doorbell sounds. I jump up in warm anticipation of correspondence from the Promised Land. But I am mostly disappointed, with the Mahatma in Burgundy (MiB) carrying in his hands, only a few letters from financial institutions. He nonchalantly wipes his nose and his sweaty forehead with the back of his palm and hands the letters to me. I take them with barely disguised disgust and gently slam the door on his face. Walking back dejectedly to my room, I continue replying to the day's e-mails.

There is not much to reply to, though. Most of the introductory emails sent to prospective graduate advisors have been ignored. But there is still hope. One gentleman from Ohio who tells me that, I have to apply for financial aid with the application that accompanies the application, the same one that I have already enclosed with the packet. That means two things, one positive and the other negative - the positive being that at least, I don't have to genuflect anymore to the professors at Ohio. The negative is that the uncertainty of aid at Ohio will last until I set foot on Athens, if I choose to do so.

The wait continues as I continue typing. Waiting for the Mahatma has never been more tedious. He is scheduled to visit my abode once again at 5:00 PM or thereabouts. But will I see some positive outcomes after this wait? The answer to that question, only the 200 odd minutes between now and then, shall tell. Like all Indians in recent times, I have only hope in my side. But then hope is the only thing that I can afford right now to keep the fire in my stomach burning.

I stop day-dreaming and go back to typing. I have to send a couple of mails (with my resume attached) to the companies in response to their ads in the "Opportunities" section of the day's "The Hindu". This is quite a change from the heady days in the months of October and November, when that particular section of the good old "Hindu paper" served as time-pass between 2:30 and 3:00 PM. But of late, uncertainty, Dubya and self doubt have combined to crash-land my soaring plane back to the runway from where it took off last June. And the people, whom I have asked to clarify this niggling "drop box" phenomenon have not been much forthcoming. Though I know its only two days since I asked them, it seems like an eternity. At this point, I take a break from regular programming to issue an appeal to all those people who are sailing in my own boat. If you are ever in distress or in doubt regarding anything and everything, please do not play "pass the parcel". As Edgar Hoover once said - "The buck stops here", so shall you say - "All my worries stop with me". Rather than flood mailing lists with the same plaintive emails, take the initiative and try to find answers yourself.

I know you are asking me - "So, why are you telling us this?" Well, I suggest you take a closer look at the title. Do you get it now? You should not have moved past that ominous title. But now that you have started and proceeded, I suggest you read on. So where were we? Yes, my self doubt! Don't worry. I think I might have overstayed my welcome here.

Wait, there rings that bell again. It's not the familiar MiB, but a Mahatma in "mufti". He brings warm or rather lukewarm tidings. Another I-20 and this time it is from a university in Michigan. So the situation gets rosier. But then the issue now is the visa, isn't it? Will I or will I not make it to the Promised Land? Did "Bungling Buffalo" Bill take time off from his dalliances and do something about the student visa just before he cleaned up his office prior to his departure? Or has Dubya removed student visas from the counter list just like he has done with H1Bs?

Well, the answer to all those questions is a tentative "I don't know!" So the next 100 days are definitely going to be crucial. In the meantime, every night I dream of spending New Year's Eve 2001 in the sun soaked beaches of Florida or in the midst of the teeming boisterous masses at Times Square.

Wow, it is almost 5 PM. As it happens every day, the Mahatma has disappointed me once more. I resign myself to watching a humorous take on life in The Promised Land as it unfolds on the "Friends" re-runs in Star World - just about the only bright spot in my otherwise dull existence on the 3rd rock from the Sun.

P.S: This is an edited/polished account of the afternoons, typically spent in biting my nails, waiting for the postman (the aforementioned MiB) deliver our mail for the day. This piece was born as an email to a list that I am part of and this is the first time that I am posting it on a blog or community. On hindsight, it is interesting to note that the MiB finally did bear good news one day and I actually ended up in Ohio for a Masters on a full scholarship.

(Cross-posted as an opinion peice in the Culture section on Desicritics.org)

Desicritics is live

2006-01-23T19:37:00.000-06:00

Desicritics.org is now live. When asked for an introductory post, I scrambled to find something suitable to write about, but realized I was not going to make it at all. But then I chanced upon what is probably one of the earliest "bloggable" materials that I had written. It is probably even my first effort, but I seem to remember a round-up of the VB series (all that i can remember is that one BC Lara won the man of the series) that I wrote. Can't find that particular one anywhere.

So anyways, I put it up on the site, though it does not exactly go with the composition of the community and the its aims. The editors were kind enough to ignore this aspect and post it as it is. Anyways, this first post is up here now. And I am cross-posting here (at least a small excerpt) too.

Coming soon... Desicritics.org, a new community aspiring to be a leading source of online news and opinion with a South Asian focus. I was invited to contribute and I ardently hope that I can meet expectations with a post every now and then. I am still deciding upon the nature of my contribution, but it does promise to be a challenge that I hope to be match up to, adequately .

What the FUCK!

2006-01-23T09:23:00.000-06:00

Yes, I used that four letter word - Fuck... Fuck, I used it again. Fuck..AGAIN! I hope you are sane enough to exclaim FUCK and hopefully much more when you read the headline that I have underlined (in red) in the screenshot above.

And then as you click that headline and go here to read what promises to be an overhelming verdict, you find that the headline is nowhere on the page. Instead all you find is reader responses to this peice. I hope you cause a few ears to bleed and point this out to all those poor souls whose ear drums you punched out with your language.

Cricket's biggest rivalry

2006-01-17T14:52:00.000-06:00

Screenshot courtesy: ESPN

Wow! And to think that I always thought that the Ashes was cricket's best known rivalry ;)

(P.S: Guess the significance of the post was not very clear. My bad. I posted it not because of the headline, but because of the location of the headline. This was on ESPN's US homepage and finding cricket mentioned there was a pleasant surprise. In the time I have been here, only once before have I seen this first hand. That was a couple of years ago, when Sportscenter's Top 10 Plays of the Day featured Chaminda Vass plucking a catch out of nowhere on the ropes, a shot that would have gone for six otherwise. However, I have to mention here that with the amount of TV access that I have had in the past few years, it is possible that I have missed some other references, though I never fail to watch Sportscenter when possible.)

Opening for India

2006-01-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

Jaime Alter's piece on India's sorry trend of making the most unlikely of batsmen open, kinda set me off. A couple of weeks ago, when the Indian team to Pakistan was to be announced, I wondered whether the possible exclusion of Gambhir from the squad was going to be another notch in the "drop them like a hot brick" attitude that seems to have plagued the Indian selectors. And using Cricinfo's Statsguru as a reference, I came up with this analysis.

I considered the career averages of the seven regular openers (including Sehwag) and the number of tests they played before being dropped for good (Wasim Jaffer has not technically made a comeback). The inference I hoped to make was that any struggling batsman was bound to succeed given a long run, something that openers in India haven't been having for a long time now. I certainly could make that reference, as you can see, with Sehwag having the best record. And then Multan '04 came to mind and then I realised that Sehwag's 55 plus average is also the result of a few huge scores, something that he has not had in sometime now (well I certainly hope that this 96 at Lahore is built up to something more substantial, since India needs it). Which is when I decided to take Sehwag out of the equation and look at the career progression of the rest of the six regular openers that India has had in the recent past. And what I came up with, was this.

So we see that every single opener had been the middle of a lean run when they were dropped like hot coal, as the drop in their averages shows. So is their dropping justified? Well, I still don't think so. And that is because I believe in the inference that I made when I started this analysis.

And if my inference was true, then what else would justify this trend? I suspect that that dreaded word - technique, might be used. Ramesh for one was said to possess a less than perfect technique. And recently Gambhir has been talked about in similar breath. But then Sehwag is the best proof to debunk the technique theories. So is it hand to eye co-ordination that's the clinching factor? That Sehwag has and IMHO Ramesh had more than a fair bit of that as well. So, is it that other quality that has been thrown about, i.e., attitude? Chopra seems to be a level headed guy (his writing demonstrates that) , so that may not be the only reason.

So, I am unable to pinpoint a reason for this trend. But wait, let us see. I can probably see one more reason. We have a long history of accommodating people just because we have to. Most of our cricketers do not have proper exit strategies chalked out. So we end up accommodating them on the team way past their expiry date, sometimes to enable them reach personal milestones and in others, just because we think we should let them take that decision when they feel like. And in some other cases, the reasons are more political.

Speaking of politics, I think Ganguly missed an important play in what seems to be his endgame, a play that could have earned him a few brownie points from everyone concerned. I feel that Ganguly could have backed himself on this pitch and put his name forward for the opening slot. Or maybe he did and Dravid did the unthinkable, i.e., refuse Ganguly's request. But regardless of what happened. I hope we DON'T lean about what transpired, at least not until the kingpins of the Indian top order call it a day. For, regardless of our posturing, intrigue and deceit are never an Indian's strong point. The truth (or something like that) always leaks out.

(Cross-posted on Different Strokes, Cricinfo's group blog that I contribute to. Please do visit me there too and read posts by more people and I think this post pales in comparison to any other post on Different Strokes.)

Indian cricket's Mexican stand-off

2006-01-12T22:12:00.000-06:00

This is an old story, a story that started almost five years ago and will make some people see red, for it seems to paint a picture of colonialism perhaps. But I see more to it, a sorry story soaked in media callousness and irresponsibility. Half way through reading what I am about to say, I anticipate that you will ask me the standard "Why now?" question. Well, I guess I have more unsuspecting victims who can silently suffer my ranting, more than the one or two that used to read earlier. Also I believe strongly in what I have to say.

Anyways, fresh out of engineering college, I was then waiting everyday with sweaty palms, waiting for the Mahatma in maroon to bring in warm tidings about the various applications that I had put in. With nothing to do and having won at both the Knock-out and the Tournament modes in Need For Speed II (Special Edition), I found myself reading more about cricket than I had in the past. And that was when Australia landed in India for what is now considered a turning point in Indian cricket.

Soon, I started reading more and more about the Australian team's preparation. So much that I started expecting to see babes in bikinis and surfer dudes off the surf at Beasant Nagar. At one point of time, the sidebar in the cricket section of a major Indian website sported links to columns by at least three (then current) Aussie cricketers not to mention regular interviews and columns from former Aussie cricketers who, as expected turned on the heat against the Indians. Of course, that was to be expected, given that the Australians were then in the midst of a record run of victories (before flying out of Kolkata with their tails between their legs). In contrast, the Indian repartees (if you want to call them that) came from the likes of the current manager of the team who sought to raise the Aussie captain on a high pedestal that others had not put him on. But then Laxman (and Dravid) happened. Soon after that, Harbhajan decided to join in the fun. And the world turned on its head, in spite of the negativity thrown at the Indian team by its own media outlets (by the opposition in proxy).

Well, that was in 2001. So this is where you get to ask the one question that I have allowed you to ask. The answer is perhaps Indian media’s worst kept secret. Since the Indian media talks very little sports other than cricket, it is definitely fair to pin the blame on the whole media than just the cricket specific outlets only. You see, I don’t think any media outlet in India cares about the game. Otherwise why would they go and talk to a Pakistani about India’s chances. And why would they highlight a Aussie cricketer’s visit to a slum while simultaneously claim (quite illogically, I should add) that Indian cricketers don’t do something similar (or raise money for the Tsunami victims!)? So finally I come to the point of this rant.

From the time Australia landed in 2001, till this day, a couple of hours before Dravid and Inzy go out to toss at the Qaddafi Stadium, Indian media seems to get the most explosive of statements from every Sarfaraz, Javed and Khan. That’s not to say that the Singhs, the Lele’s and the More’s have been spared from an opportunity to insert a footwear less appendage into their mouths, though in his defense, I should say that Mr. Lele became a star performer in this category much earlier.

So, why am I riled what a lot of people (outside the media) term minor? Because I think it is not minor. If it was minor, then you would see the likes of Sidhu write columns in papers such as the Dawn and we would hear Kapil Dev speak about how strange it is that Shoaib Akhtar has had only one series when he has bowled more than 100 overs (a stat that I read somewhere). I think the Indian media is being disloyal and irresponsible by repeating comments by washed out ex-cricketers who are not Indian. And they seem to do more disservice by pushing the mics in front of our own men and forcing them to react to words that they rather ignore.

If I were to play Devil’s Advocate, I’d argue that one of the key qualities that international cricketers should possess would be the ability to get into a zone and push distractions like the media out of their mind once they step onto the turf. But my defense would go along these lines - Is it too much to ask of the media to get behind their own team and support them? Why should the media take perverse interest out of making a cricketer’s job any more difficult than it is? Why would a Mid Day or a Hindustan Times go to a Sarfaraz Nawaz for quotes every time India lands in Pakistan? Do we expect cricketers and officials from other countries to turn against their own just like we do?

Oh, I get it. It’s the money. Bold text sells newsprint, just like breasts sell Bollywood movies these days. All through these past few years, I see this same vicious cycle unfolding – the media opens up a Pandora Box by breaking news about something and carping about it like nobody’s business. Then the Indian public jumps on the cricketer concerned. The cricketer loses whatever sanity he must have had and goes on the defensive. Then the public slowly start losing interest. The next thing you know, the media turns all preachy and starts hoping that in the best interests of Indian cricket, the events of the preceding days could be avoided in the future. But wait! Didn’t the media fuel the flames with the inflammatory commentary? All that is conveniently forgotten. So at the end of it all, the poor cricketer (who, by then has started feeling that the worst indiscretion that he ever committed was to start playing cricket in the first place) is in the dumps. The public, by now has lost interest and the media has earned its few cents.

So has Indian cricket gained anything from all this? From where I am looking, it doesn’t seem so. It just seems like every time Indian cricket is on the verge of something big, we find that the media, cricketers and the public participating in their own version of the Mexican standoff. And in few of these occasions, one of the nervous parties pulls the trigger and then we have mayhem. So who is to blame? All three, I would say. But the party who has the best chance of defusing the situation and guarding against history repeating itself would be the media. But does the media realize this? More importantly, does the media want to do something to change this status quo? Sadly its seems that this will continue forever and that, my friends is a shame. Because for all that we Indians talk about patriotism, we seem to forget that while cheering for the opposition is defined as sportsmanship, dissing the home team is not exactly in sync with the concept of patriotism in a country that wants you to respect your national colors so much that till recently, you were forbidden by law to fly your own flag without “official permission”.

Yum Yum - a Murder by Music (A four act celluloid experiment)

2006-01-04T23:34:00.000-06:00

Act I

Time: The afternoon of 18th of December, 2005
Location: An apartment in Jersey City
Key Protagonist: The hero
Background prop: Abhishek Bachchan grooving in that wannabe "Right here, Right now" video in some random desi cable channel playing on the 30" Sony Vega
Scene: The hero watches the video with interest, and suddenly notices the gorgeous Pri'nka Chops and the funky rhythm from those hip hop fakers, Vishal and Shekhar.

*Cut*

Act II

Time: The next two weeks
(*1st note to cameraman: Do rapid cuts to show passage of time. This unit cannot afford an editor*)
Location: Everywhere - in a car, in the office, in the living room, in the kitchen, in the bedroom and in the shower
(* 2nd note to cameraman: Please focus on ~~upper torso~~ face only. This is a family picture and will not be available in MMS video format*)

Scene: The hero is listening to both versions of the "Right here Right now" number everyday on car stereo, lap top and on his desktop. One particular instance the song is played 6 times in a row before the hero figures out that that in the groovy hip hop version, Abi Jr. throws "heys" at "playah" Ritesh D, Big Pop (Big B???) Pri'nka Chops and Chuckmaster Sippy too. The hero is afflicted with a bad attack of ear worms in the process.

(*1st note to sound guy: Add jarring background noise at this point*)
(*2nd note to cameraman: Alternate the camera between focus and out of focus modes*)

*Cut*

Act III

Time: Late morning on the 3rd of January 2006
Location: The comments section of a well known blog
Scene: Still affected by the earworm, the hero leaves a Season's Greeting in response to the aforementioned blogger's New Year post.

Seasons Greetings....
*windy windy one time*
Have a wonderful year ahead!!
*windy windy two times*

*Cut*

Act IV
Time: Late night on the 4th of January 2006
Location: The comments section of the same blog

Scene 1: The blogger replies to the comment from our hero enquiring if his was a PJ and if so, could he please explain.

*Cut*

Scene 2: Hero replies thus:
[*Insert random blogger here, preferably played by someone capable of being the high priestess of templates and the kookiest character in the known blogosphere and beyond*]:

Right here right now,
hai kushi ka sama;
(Windy windy one time)
Right here right now,
ho gayi swarg jahaan,
(Windy windy two times)

*Cut*

Scene 3: Above mentioned blogger while "holding tummy and laughing away to glory" corrects our hero thus,

Right here right now
Hai khushi ka samaa
(Wind your body one time ..)
Right here right now
Hum hai is pal jahaan
(Wind your body two time ..)
Bhool jaao, muskuraao
Reh na jaaye baat baaki

*Cut*

Scene 4: Flashback to three years previously..... Hero sitting in front of a desktop (in his erstwhile role as a researcher in the intense field of production planning) doing his best imitation of Alka Yagnik (??) in a crowded research lab.

Mujhse mohabat ka ikrar karta,
kash koi ladka mujhe pyaar karta...
kash koi ladka mujhe pyaar karta;

(*Insert canned laughter as screen fades*)

(*Insert handwritten note that reads "The beginning....")

*Shoot Wrap*

[Disclaimer: Names, characters, places, and incidents featured in/on this post are either the product of the blogger's imagination (well somewhat) or used fictitiously (somewhat again). Any resemblence to actual persons (living or dead), events, institutions, or locales, without satiric intent, is coincidental (God promise!).]

Google's tribute to Mr.Braille!

2006-01-04T08:16:00.000-06:00

Click here to see more of Google's tributes and commemorations.

Speechless in Singleville

2005-12-26T01:30:00.000-06:00

Jane Austen once wrote (and I have recycled this number of times) that It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife (or something to this effect). I don't know if any of her descendents married into desi families, but one of them just might have, because most middle aged women with sons of marriageable age seem to share this sentiment to the last "T". Particularly those Random Conservative Desi Moms (henceforth referred to, as RCDMs) who seem to inhabit the by lanes of Tam land down in the south of India.

The moment their offspring come in possession of a paycheck or two (the aforementioned fortune), their maternal instincts kick in and they plug their antennae into the neighborhood grapevine to look for a Ms. Right for the poor guy. Of course this being the digital age, the Sanskrit phrase Vasudaiva Kutumbakam seems particularly relevant and so this so-called neighborhood extends over the whole of the known world and beyond. By the time the poor guy gets first hand knowledge about the whole thing, there have already been a couple of enquiries in his name in his firm's HR department. [1]

All this while, the guy who is in the dark regarding concerted efforts to get his "legs tied" (Tam translation being Kaal-kattu which is the colloquial Tam term for marriage), finds it strange that the whole of his city has been in involved in activities that involve the term "holy matrimony" in one way or the other. And he finds it strange that his mom seems to have met every friend of his who he hasn't seen or talked to in a long time. What's more, each of these friends seem to be on personal endeavors to rid themselves of their single status, or which is what they seem to talk to the mom about.

It is a well known fact that most RCDMs would be automatic shoo-ins for Republican party membership, with a large percentage of them being "anti pro-choice" advocates. Before you get me wrong, I mean they'd like their sons leave the choice of life partners to them, the moms and the dads. So it is not un-common to see them give their sons the standard talk on the virtues of arranged marriage. I got one myself the other day too and I was totally amused. It's also funny that none of them would participate in any discussion about the "birds and bees" with their sons. The daughters seem to be well educated in these aspects, which is natural, I guess, but the boys get their education from the darkened movie halls in the bylanes where the movies played don't match the posters pasted on the gates of the halls. Personally, an amusing incident was when, on the brink of my departure to the US, a grand-uncle of mine sent me off with the words - Thaniya pora. Thaniya thirumbi va (You are leaving alone. So you come back alone). Sadly, it looks like his words might be prophetic. Anyways I am digressing.

Then there are the soothsayers. To any Random Son of a Random Conservative Desi Mom (henceforth referred as RSRCDM), the talk of the stars and the signs coming from the mouth of his mom are as unclear as the Linda Goodman's words that he had once memorized to impress (rather unsuccessfully, I should add) a few gals. And the really close amatuer star gazers (they do this for fun, it seems, which totally leaves them devoid of any accountability and so you can't catch their collars for predicting that the future wife of the RSRCDM in question would be the heiress of the Hilton fortune), pitch in with a few bits of free advice and a few warnings too, resulting in awkward conversations like the one that I'll detail now.

*RSRCDM is in the middle of a game of 8 ball with a few buddies. Sean Paul and Beyonce are crooning in the background as a few glasses of chilled coke (your mental image is brought you by Pixar and has been touched up by Industrial Light and Magic to remove the ubiquitous smoke and the 500ml bottle of Kingfisher from the frame) sit on a side table. As RSRCDM mentally exclaims "Quarter Ball, matter solved" and contemplates rolling the cue ball off the side wall to angle the 3 ball into the side pocket, his cell phone rings. RSRCDM abandons the shot and picks up the cell phone to find that it is RCDM.

RSRCDM: hello ma.
RCDM: Hey da. What are you doing?
RSRCDM: Playing pool with my friends, ma.
RCDM: Pool? What is that?
RSRCDM: oh, it is like billiards.
RCDM: Oh, so. Why are you playing, this late at night?

*RSRCDM decides that he has a long night ahead of him and hurriedly changes the conversation as he finds 3 other pairs of eyes boring into his face while his friends wait for him to play his shot.

RSRCDM: What are you doing ma?
RCDM: Nothing da. I just thought I will call you.
RSRCDM: Oh, ok.
RCDM: How are you? How was work this week?
RSRCDM: Work was fine ma. I am thankful that it is the long weekend.
RCDM: Oh ok. So what are you doing this weekend?
RSRCDM: I am going to look around for a car ma. I am spending a lot on rental cars. I am buying a used car.
RCDM: Good. What are you going to buy?

*RSRCDM gives RCDM a quick low down on the used car buying methodology. Seeing daggers in eyes of his buddies, he keeps the descriptions really short and tells her that he will be online in half hour once he gets back home. As soon as the game ends, RSRCDM heads back home and as expected his phone rings almost immediately after he walks in. And it is RCDM.

RCDM: Hello. Are you coming online?
RSRCDM: I don't know ma. ItÂ?s already too late. I think I want to go and sleep.
RCDM: oh ok. I wonÂ?t keep you long. I just spoke to this astrologer last month and he had some advice for you.

*Instantly RSRCDM's senses are all heightened and a light goes on inside his head.

RSRCDM: What did he say?
RCDM: Nothing da. I went to him because things seemed to be difficult for you career wise.
RSRCDM: Ohhhhh kkkk?
RCDM: He told me some things that have come true in the past two weeks or so. Now your career prospects are better right?
RSRCDM: Yeah?
RCDM: So then, he told me to pass on some advice to you.
RSRCDM: ok?
RCDM: You are a hardworking boy. And you are earning well.
RSRCDM: So?
RCDM: No. That means you are an eligible bachelor.

*RSRCDM now knows where this is going

RSRCDM: Ma, itÂ?s barely weeks since I started working, so stop!
RCDM: No. No. Just listen. He told me that boys like you are an attractive choice for Indian families in the US looking for a match for a daughter or two.

*RSRCDM decides that this is a conversation that is moving into unknown territory.

RSRCDM: WHAT?
RCDM: No, No.. The man told me that these families might want you to be their son-in-law and try to TRAP you into marrying their daughters.

*When RSRCDM's friends wake up the next morning, they find him on the couch, sitting still, open jawed in shock. Last known, RSRCDM is still trying to recover from the shock of this new angle that seems to have stumped him, mute and defenseless.

So, it turns out that these days, every single desi guy needs to be wary about Entrapment. While the mention of the word conjures up images of Catherine Zeta Jones, a single look in the mirror reminds every RSRCDM that he is no Sean Connery and hence he resigns himself to the inevitable with a sigh and gets back to his life.

*Sigh*

All characters and incidents featured in/on this post are the product of this blogger's imagination, well almost. Any resemblence to actual persons (living or dead) or events, is purely coincidental (well almost, again).

1. In fact there have been so many similar enquiries in IT firms that a few firms seem to have norms in place, governing responses to such enquiries.

Stop Press: Breaking new ground

2005-12-20T11:36:00.000-06:00

Well, it is what it is. Stephen Rodger Waugh and Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, move over. The final frontier has been conquered. With one small step for himself, the Gawker has finally gone where no man has ever gone before. And in doing so, he has taken a great leap for all us men-folk.

Wait a minute, he did not actually *GO* in there. You see, we men seem to have our own, non-special place to *GO* that's devoid on any mystery (thanks to the historically accurate descriptions/representations in every form of media). But in the truest fashion of a born explorer, he did go there to find answers to a question which must be on the minds of every man since long long ago (nobody knows how long ago) - What exactly is behind that door?. And from his description, it seems to be a well equipped joint.

So when the history of the human race is written eons from now, will this event shall be given equal footage with Marco Polo's voyage to the Far East, Mahatma Gandhi's walk to Dandi, Livingstone's first sight of the mighty Victoria falls or would it be just a footnote like Saurav Ganguly's childish tantrums in Zimbabwe, Bennifer, Ron Jeremy's hirsute torso and Angelina Jolie's "alleged" bisexuality? Time only shall tell.

But one thing is certain. I should update my blog-roll and find a place in history myself by acknowledging the tenacity of the individual who dared to question what everybody else accepted without reason and enlightened us all with a description that will not be out of place in a wiki. Oh Gawker, I bow to thee....

(brought to you via Saket's edition of the BBM)

(P.S: It dawns on me that I know one other person who is rumored to have been on one such expedition. But sadly he is not a blogger and so the world will probably never know what his eyes saw.)

Thalaivar, the Boss...

2005-12-13T23:12:00.000-06:00

Ek hi chaand hai, raat ke liye...

Ore oru chandiran dhaan, iravukku ellam..

Ek hi suraj hai, din ke liye...

Ore oru kadhiravan dhaan, pagalukku ellam..

Ek hi thalaivar hai, is jugh ke liye...

Ore oru thalaivar dhaan.... oorukku ellam....

Ore oru thalaivar dhaan.... oorukku ellam....

I must be the only thalaivar fan who did not post anything yesterday. But then, I am humble enough to admit that I cannot be as big a fan as someone who created this and this and this and this and this.

Update to five and six too!

2005-12-12T13:11:00.000-06:00

In response to a threatening email (lol...) from a fellow quizzer, the Three Hi-Fives to IMDb.com quiz that I posted on October 18, has been updated with answers. I have no excuse for being late.

Oh well, that takes care of the "update to five" part in the title. Now for the six.

In Thamizh, Aaru refers to the number 6. Saw it last night and found several interesting references in the movie. For one, I found that whenever the camera panned over sections of the slum with the rail tracks in the background of the frame, a train seemed to be going past the slum. This seemed to be in every single scene. I don't know if that was intentional, but if it was, I can give them a 9/10 for effort. Before you ask me, how did I notice such details and whether I do this for all movies, I have to add that, overall Aaru = Bore-u!

Which means that about 15 to 20 minutes into the movie, I was watching for such things such as the badges on the Ford SUVs used in the movie. And for trains in the frame.

But I noticed one reference, which deserves a post by itself, however unintentional it might have been. Probably tonight.

Blurred boundaries

2005-12-06T22:34:00.000-06:00

When does a blog become a part of MSM? Or how do you differentiate between a blog and news portal? My definition of a blog is this - A blog is a webpage maintained by a individual or a group solely to disperse information related to the interests of the blogger(s) without any supervision of any sort. The blogger is both the financier, contributor and the editor of the information propagated through the blog.

But today, I read of a "blog portal that will be funded by investor's money"(via Kaps), my thoughts raced to this same definition from above. The entrepreneur has been throwing around terms like "revenue model" and sources close to the venture say that companies like Pepsi and Motorola are going to be sponsors. So what makes this "blog portal" different from, say, a portal like the online edition of TOI? TOI has a revenue model as well and a number of different companies advertise on there as well. If charging anywhere between 50 paise and a rupee for every click on their ads would make this new venture a "blog portal", then what is the USP over any other blog that subscribes to Google's Adsense?

But what is even more glaring is the byline for the blog: .... is the foremost blog representing the thoughts, aspirations, feeling and experiences of Indian youth. Most of the content is written by those in the 16-25 age group, with professional editors mentoring them to ensure professional quality material.

While the emphasis in the above text is mine, I am starting to wonder where the concept of blogs ends and MSM begins? When a similar case (i.e., blurring of boundaries) happens with any other subject, that would be taken as a positive, i.e. an attempt to bridge a gap, but when blogs seem to be the perfect antithesis to MSM, this seems to be a "I too" (grammatical error totally intentional) attempt by whoever is behind this attempt. And this thought comes to mind solely because of the presence of "professional editors" in this exercise. If the focus is to mentor future journos, then a un-monitored blog would be a perfect way to set them on that path! But this attempt seems to be something else. Is this the attempt of a tech-illiterate businessman to earn some money without ever knowing what he is dealing with?

All-rounder – adept cricketer or anachronism?

2005-12-02T14:30:00.000-06:00

Time and again, history shows that man has embarked on futile searches for elusive mythical riches. The search for an Indian all-rounder seems have fared no better. And I don’t think that this search is ever going to end, well, not until certain issues are resolved. But far easier would be a simple scope change.

If you ask me, the definition of an all-rounder is all skewed. Ask one the selectors who were in the panel last year to name his favorite all-rounder and I bet I can guess what his answer would be. Oh wait, I was not supposed to write that. But to my defense, I think this mindset is typical of any average Indian, who would define an all-rounder as a batsman who can bowl at least 5 overs a day and keep the batsmen quiet and take wickets from time to time. So, the focus in the sub-continent seems on finding players who would contribute both with the ball and the bat. And there lies the flaw.

Read more here...

This was originally cross posted on the Cricinfo Blog - Different Strokes. I took the original post off here to drive traffic to the Cricinfo Blog which is not majorly promoted at the moment. There are more posters there who are coming out with awesome posts and who deserve your comments much more than just me. So go there and read all of our posts...

Different Strokes

2005-11-29T00:52:00.000-06:00

It's finally official! Starting soon, I will be posting from time to time on here too. Thanks to Amit for the invite.

Thalaivar punch-ey punch...

2005-11-23T18:58:00.000-06:00

Singathe konja mudiyathu...
Sivajiya minja mudiyathu..

Kanna....
Aalu rounda iruntha podhathu..
Aatathula all roundera irukkanum...

Amaidhikku Babaji..
Adidhadikku Sivaji!!

Thanneerai Killa Mudiyuma ?
Sivajiya vella mudiyuma?

Paambey patha padaye nadungum....
Indha Sivajiya paathu... pambe nadungum!

Phone adicha ringu...
Indha Sivaji adicha sangu.

==================================

Don't know if this is the real thing, but thalaivar punch-ey punch!

Amit, you understood just one word, since the rest were all in Tamil! Hmmm...

Since this post seems to have mysteriously cropped up on this week's blog mela (I wonder who nominated it, so will just thank Amit), I have to add, for the benefit of all you non Tam readers, that the above is a set of lines, supposedly from Thalaivar's forthcoming movie, Sivaji.

Again FYI, Rajinikanth (or Thalaivar, as he is fondly called) usually has a number of such punch-lines in his movies. Usually one of them gets repeated throughout the movie like this one from Baasha - Indha Baasha oru dharava sonna, nooru dharava sonna maadhiri (A single word from Baasha is as powerful as a hundred words). Or this one from Padaiyappa - En vazhi thani vazhi (My way is unique). Simple and yet, powerful. And their hundred different hidden meanings are totally lost in translation from Tamil to English.

The Superstar (who gives this blog part of it's URL), along with Mithun da in Hindi and Megastar Chiranjeevi in Telugu, forms the Holy Trinity of Indian cinema. Watch their movies, even if you cannot understand a word of that particular language. I guarantee that you will come out feeling contented that it was money well spent on entertainment.

Kodambakkam on demand...

2005-11-19T19:15:00.000-06:00

Sepia Mutiny has this post on the release of 79 desi DVD titles on Netflix. But what really caught my eye in that post are these words -

This comes in the same week that GV Films announced their intent to create a legal Bollywood (and Tamilwood [is that even a word? - ed]) film downloading system

According to a news release that I found on GV Film's website, this translates to almost 6000 movie titles that will delivered to paying customers (who possess a credit card) via two portals - "gvtamilfilms.com" and "telugupictures.com"!

While this is awesome news, I am at a loss trying to figure out how this peice of news passed under the radar for over 2 months (the press release on the GV films site is dated 17th Aug.).

Hmmmmm....

2005-11-15T21:53:00.000-06:00

neengadha reengaram naan dhaane,
nenjodu nenjaaga nindrene;
raagangal thaalangal nooru,
raaja un per sollum paaru;
sindhamal nindradum sendhenae,
sangeetham undagum nee paesum pechil dhaan.....

ABSOLUTELY URGENT: Accommodation wanted

2005-11-10T12:13:00.000-06:00

Two posts are long overdue on this blog. I do have to apoloize to Thennavan and also to all those who are waiting for those answers for the IMDB quiz from a few weeks ago. The last few weeks have been very hectic and when I finally found the time to blog a couple of days ago, something made be really mad and I had to post my thoughts on that.

Anyways, it is time for another post. I still don't know if its safe to say this, but I am really in a time crunch and so I thought I will post this "Accommodation wanted" ad right here on my blog.

I am going to be moving to the Parsippany / Roxbury / Rockaway area (I am going to be working in Rockaway) in New Jersey, on a long term assignment and am looking for accommodation. I am looking either for a single bedroom or a studio apartment in that area. Alternatively, I could share an apartment but would love to have a bedroom for myself. So in case you are looking for a housie to live with you, I am the ONE!

If you have a place in mind or if I fit the profile of a prospective housie for you or someone you know, please call me @ 740 274 0340. If I don't pick up, please leave me a message and a number to call you back. Alternatively, leave a message in the comments as well. I need to move in on or after November 14 (Monday).

And ya, I do have a "accommodation wanted" ad posted on both Sulekha and craigslist. Tips and suggestions are awaited and appreciated from the bottom of my heart.

A tragicomedy in 993 words

2005-11-06T22:49:00.000-06:00

What can you say about a 993 word tragicomedy? Particularly if it was created using a type face which is probably frowned upon in every educational and business institution including the ones that it intends to hold sway over? I don't know, but certainly it seems like an exercise in anachronistic stupidity. Let my arguments not sway you, but you can find the comedy here and come to your own conclusions.

The document starts by lamenting about the "indifferent attitudes and practices against girl child including their health and well being". But the salient features of this new regulation introduced by the CBSE are these:

100 percent waiver of tuition and other fees (except for meals and transport) in current affiliated schools from standard 6 onwards for every girl student "who is also the single child of a parent"
"Appreciation" if these schools would consider a 50 percent fee waiver for "every girl student who is one of two daughters who are also the only two children in a family"
In addition to 1. and 2. above, any other fees (i.e. for transport and meals) to be waived at the discretion of the school management.

Before I go on to actually say why I don't like what the CBSE is trying to do, look closely at the language (the highlighted parts specifically) in the second point. Is it just me, or does that line remind you of the old "I have two daughters and both of them are girls" joke that has been attributed to the Physical Education teacher of every school in India (and to the head of a certain educational institution in the outskirts of Chennai)? And if you are one of those who clicked on the link above and downloaded a MS Word doc, did you notice the font in the document?

Jokes apart, this encompasses every single (eligible) girl student regardless of economic conditions. But, if this was to be limited to underprivileged gals alone, then the CBSE board is the wrong place to apply it, since most CBSE schools (a overwhelming majority, I should think) are outside the reach of the average underprivileged kid in India.

I'd have agreed to such a system only under these conditions:

If it was applied, on the basis of economics, i.e. for all those gal kids whose parents fall under a certain income bar.
If it was applied by the government for non-CBSE government schools, where a large percentage of the middle class and a overwhelming majority the lower middle class send their kids to study.
If this scheme's intended results (whatever they may be) were validated by the application of this scheme at the Central government run Kendriya Vidyalayas for a year or two.

But I know the first is next to impossible in India, where tax evasion is rampant and there is no better way to judge someone's economic capacity. Moreover, the rules are to be implemented on the basis of a simple affidavit sworn by the parents who are to "intimate" the school on any changes in the "single status of the girl child/children in the family" (single status???). Will this self regulation help?And the last mentioned won't serve much purpose since the 871 Kendriya Vidyalayas are already subsidized and AFAIK, the are the only government run CBSE schools in the country.

And as Mrs.YGP (for all you readers from outside Chennai, she heads a group of well known schools affiliated to the CBSE in Chennai) says, this will cause just the opposite effect than it is intended, i.e. it will increase discrimination. She raises a valid point that even if there is just one eligible girl student per class in her school(s), her organization can afford to waive the fees for the estimated total of 140 girl students.

Or maybe a school like Padma Seshadri can, but forcing private schools to do something like this which goes against their business model is not the hallmark of a free market economy that our country claims to be. The government is essentially trying to be a welfare state without the money infusion from its side.

But who the CBSE trying to help? The middle and upper middle classes? Are these the target demographic for all the anti-female foeticide propaganda? Is this community group that accounts for majority of female school drop-outs? The answers for the last two questions are definitely "No" which is why the second point that I raised above, i.e about the non-CBSE schools, particularly the ones run by the government itself, is extremely pertinent.

I am sure everybody would love to get something for free, but was this something that was asked for? Is the CBSE trying desperately to prove that there *IS* something called a free lunch, after all?

Earthquake Relief Day

2005-10-26T09:08:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, on the 8th of October, people in areas comprising parts of Pakistan and the disputed area called Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, were the unfortunate and unwilling receiptant of an act of God (for the non-believer, an earthquake caused by tectonic plate movement).

And this was around the same time when the Indian blogosphere (as the world seems to call us) was standing united behind Rashmi and Gaurav. Caught as we were in the whole maelstorm, it seems that we were unware of the enormity of the ordeals faced by the unfortunates in our own backyard. But soon we realized that we had been unwittingly brought together in time to be used for much bigger causes as well.

There is a line of thought that the world has been hit by so many such disasters in the span of a year (the Tsunami, the hurricanes in the US, the rains in different parts of India and now this earthquake) that people have started feeling what has been termed "disaster fatigue" and that is one more reason why any additional help to pass the message along would be appreciated.

We have been inspired by international blogs like Instapundit that raised a lot of money for Katrina relief efforts. The spark was lit by Anna at Sepia Mutiny who highlighted the contribution to the earthquake victims made by the Tsunami survivors in the Andamans. Ash and Desipundit have taken it forward and have called for today to be observed as Blog Quake Day - a coming together again, this time to raise money for the people affected by the earthquake on the 8th of October. Desipundit has a list of aid organizations that you can donate to. As Ash says, every single dollar contributed, will go a long way in helping these people rebuild their lives.

So today is Blog Quake Day. If you are a blogger, please post a similar message on your blog. If you don't have one, pass the message along over your company bulletin boards or mailing lists. And more importantly, please do contribute to the cause.

Subs with a stranger

2005-10-22T00:18:00.000-05:00

Another of those 55 word shorties..

Sitting two seats away in the departure lounge, he felt threatened as she told him, a complete stranger, all about her trip.

Then she mentioned her “husband and two kids”.

At ease, he soon warmed up to her over foot-longs and soda.

He had concluded that a married desi woman would never hit on strangers.

Three Hi-Fives to IMDb.com

2005-10-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite websites, IMDb turned 15 yesterday (thanx to BB for the pointer). And I can't think of commemorating the 15th birthday of a trivia quizzer's delight with anything other a small trivia quiz. Feel free to use IMDb.com (and NOT Google) to find the answers. That is what it is there for. And since I have disabled comments on this post, do email me the answers if you want to. I shall post the answers anyways in a few days along with your scores too.

Updates: Answers added under each question and comments enabled!

The (Three) Hi-Fives to IMDb.com Trivia Quiz

1. On the 12th of January, 1992, Bret "the Hitman" Hart & The Legion Of Doom defeated The Mountie & The Natural Disasters in a 6-Man Tag-Team Match. Later the same day, Bret "the Hitman" Hart defeated The Mountie to retain the WWF Intercontinental Championship. But's thats all WWF trivia and though I hate the WWF/WWE, the trivia was solely included to catch the attention of a certain Tired Mind! This has nothing to do with the actual question, which is - What came to life at a plant in Urbana, Illinois on this very same day, i.e. the 12th of January, 1992?
Ans: HAL, the computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey

2. This actress won her only Oscar so far in the ~~Best Actress~~ Best Supporting Actress category beating the likes of Judy Davis and Vanessa Redgrave, leading to the spread of an urban legend that she was given the award in error after the presenter misread the winner's name on the card. Name this actress who won the Oscar for the ~~Best Actress~~ Best Supporting Actress, playing a car crazy expert witness for the defence in a first degree murder case. (Thanks for the correction George. Dunno how I muffed that one up!)
Ans: Marissa Tomei. My Cousin Vinny, the movie that she won the Oscar was a RIOT!

3. In 1993, the law firm of Masry & Vititoe filed a class-action lawsuit against Pacific Gas & Electric Company, resulting in a $333 million dollar settlement and after some years, an acclaimed movie. Name the movie.
Ans: Erin Brockovich

4. In 1966, a mongrel named Pickles found the Jules Rimet Trophy that had been stolen earlier. I don't know if Pickles got a lifetime's supply of doggie treats, but Willie Fulgear did get rewards for a similar deed. The 61 year old salvage worker received $50,000, two event tickets and a invitation to a post-event party. So, 34 years after Pickle's discovery, what did Willie Fulgear find?
Ans: He "found" all but 3 of the 55 Oscar statuettes that were stolen from the loading dock of the shipping firm contracted to ship them from Chicago to LA. He later claimed that most the reward was stolen from his apartment!

(Source: Matt Slocum/AP, via msnbc.com)

5. In 1977, the man in the picture above had been working as an orderly at London’s King’s College Hospital when he was featured in a newspaper article about men with large feet, which caught the eye of the producer of the movie “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger” who cast him for the role of the Minotaur. But just about a year later, he became more famous after playing a 8 foot tall, 200 year-old interplanetary traveller (who later finds refuge in a planet inhabited by 2 foot tall natives). You don't need to name the guy. Just name the character, whose name seems to have been inspired by the Russian word for dog.
Ans: Chewbacca from Star Wars! The guy in the picture is Peter Mayhew. The picture was taken in October when he finally became an American citizen, a few days before this quiz was originally posted.

LMB Watch

2005-10-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

Dev is a good friend of mine from undergrad. He's been on my blogroll for a long time now, but its only today that this link on his side bar caught my eye. Unbeknownst to me, he has been maintaining this blog since March and the subject is hilarious.

Ads such as this and this would look familiar to most of us and are the subjects of Dev's Lower My Bills Ad Watch (LMB Ad Watch!). His motivation? Go to the blog. It's definitely worth a few laughs. Is it a coincidence that the only commenters on this blog seem to be the spammers?

Dev, And you thought you were poking fun at them? They get you in the end, man.

Free speech and Lies in Advertising - The IIPM story

2005-10-11T17:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, one of the inspirations behind this blog, Gaurav Sabnis resigned his position with a blue chip employer after facing pressure from a client of his employer to remove posts from his personal blog.

The employer - Currently irrelevant to the issue

The client - IIPM!

The posts - The fraud that is IIPM, More about IIPM

The inspiration behind the posts - The Truth About IIPM's Tall Claims

Gaurav was originally served legal summons over email from IIPM. The email claimed that it had been "judicially notarized and has been tagged to validate receipt and response". Later, IIPM seemed to indulge in some bit of arm twisting by threatening Gaurav's employers with a public burning of the laptops "provided at IIPM's cost" to its students, if the employer (who manufactures the laptops mentioned) did not convince Gaurav to back down. Gaurav took a very honorable way out and resigned rather than compromise on his beliefs and also to make sure his employer did not have to be a part of this ugliness.

And today, Varna, another blogger who had posted earlier on the free speech angle of this issue was issued with the same identically worded summons.

This matter has been taken up by the desi blogosphere with Desipundit being in the forefront. With all this buzz, Amit Varma's post on the issue was Instapundit-ed yesterday and has been taken international with a opinion piece on Global Voices and on group blogs like Sepia Mutiny.

It has been learnt that at least one overseas office of IIPM (mentioned on their website) could be a sham. And it is also well known that IIPM was taken off at least one B-School ranking study due to probable fudging of data that it made available to the agency that was doing the ranking. As a result, upon a much closer look, the fine print on their ads makes for an interesting read.

Sadly, the MSM seems to have turned a blind eye to this. Are they afraid of taking on the single largest advertiser (at least in academic sector) in the country? An acquaintance who works for a major MSM organization in India tells me that the MSM won't step in unless one of the parties involved approaches them. Essentially they would wanna protect their interests againt a possible "all is well between us and its the media that blew this up" kinda turn around from the parties involved, which would definitely not show the MSM in good light. But if at all the print media does not wanna alienate IIPM, what are the TV channels doing. Already one of them has been dragged into the scene (almost unnoticed, but anyhow). So would we see any action from them?

The least we can do is to goad the MSM into reacting. If you are a blogger and you have little or no knowledge of this issue, please go on to Desipundit and read all about the story that has brought the desi blogosphere together. And post at least a small note about the issue on your own blog. Already "IIPM" has steadily risen to the top of the Technorati search, thanks to the mentions from tens of bloggers, both in India and worldwide. It won't hurt if these numbers swell.

And even if you don't have a blog, pass on the message to everyone around you. This is ultimately an issue of free speech. And as I commented elsewhere, the dance has begun and though the first punch was thrown by IIPM, it remains to be seen if it has the legs to last the distance.

As a blogger, I have to salute Gaurav for standing up to his beliefs. Kudos dude. And kudos are due to the team at Desipundit for taking on the fight and bringing the desi blogosphere together. And Varna, we are with you too. You go gal!

And thanks are due to Rashmi and JAM Mag for throwing some light into otherwise murky waters at IIPM!

The search

2005-10-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

My second 55 word shorty. And this one hits pretty close.

"Overqualified"!!

"Experienced candidates only"!!

"No H1s! Citizens & Green Cards only"!!

Such lines soon seemed passe.

Since he was sometimes faking, not even "Lacks communication skills" shocked him.

But "Eager & enthusiastic" ??

This time, he was speechless. Now, he had heard it all!

And at 27, the search for the elusive first paycheck continued....

Weekend post

2005-10-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

Just back after a weekend trip to the New England area - a 6 hour plus drive back to the First State. My buddy from undergrad, G, wanted to move his stuff from here in Delaware to his home base in Quincy, Massachusetts (wow, actually spelt it right in the first try.. well almost, not counting the two extra vowels!). On Wednesday, when he asked me if I could drive down, I agreed almost immediately, but later was in some doubt with some other issues threatening to throw cold water.

But was praying I could go, since a visit to the immediate environs of Boston, threw up some interesting possibilities, including possibly meeting a couple of bloggers (Raapi, I knew you, KSP and Badri in Shanmugha, so meeting you in Chicago did not count as a blogger meet).

And before you start asking, well, the last mentioned did not happen. An ever present worry that the fracas at the George Washington Bridge that extended our Friday night drive by atleast 4 hours would cause similar delays during our return was one major reason. Another reason was the fact that I did not do my usual "I am taking charge now and you do what I say" control freak routine that I do sometimes, particularly when it comes to organizing a trip, moving houses or packing bags! It would not have worked with G ;)

But I got to speak to two of my favorite bloggers - Megha and Gabby! And that definitely amounts to something, if not everything that I wanted to do this weekend.

So, otherwise, G and me actually did nothing. We looked at a couple of apartments for him and walked alongside the shoreline at Quincy in the evening on Saturday. And I got to look at the Boston skyline from afar. Other than that we did nothing, but laze around. Oh, I finally got to watch Cliffhanger, a flick that I have wanted to watch (for no major reason) for years now.

Anyways, we got so worried about the drive back that we decided to get out a couple of hours earlier than planned and that depending on how the drive was going to be during the first hour or so, stop at Providence for lunch and a stroll. And we managed to do just that (the George Washington bridge took just 5 minutes to cross on the return leg) and am now back in Delaware.

And this link is to atone for posting something about nothing this week!

Judgements

2005-09-30T10:55:00.000-05:00

The glass – exquisite.
The drink – virgin.

The flashes blind,
clouding your vision.
Welcome to the new page 3,
but hey, that's on page 1.

The glass – sculpted.
The drink – dark.

The murmuring’s senseless,
and their tone’s judgemental.
Their looks are scornful,
but do they even care?

The glass – clear
The drink – cola.

You are the “every person”,
the girl next door.
To them you are nothing,
but an alcoholic par none.

Desi Oscar fever again!

2005-09-26T10:19:00.000-05:00

The Oscars are exactly 4 months away and its already Oscar fever in India. This year it's Paheli!. I haven't seen the movie, though loved the soundtrack, at least most of it. MM Kreem's (aka Keeravani aka Maragadhamani) package was a mix of soothing melodies (Dheere Jalna, Khaali Hai) and peppy numbers (Phir Raat Kati), but some told me that at least a couple of numbers were rehashed from his own Telugu soundtracks. But that is not surprising considering that he has been known to do that a lot in the past.

Anyways, coming back to Paheli, it is interesting to see the competition that Paheli beat out to get the nod. Rediff mentions this -

The other films considered for the nomination were Mangal Pandey, Veer-Zaara, Iqbal, Swades, Parineeta, Page 3, Black, Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Sachein (Tamil), Anniyan (Telugu), Uttarayan (Marathi), Achuvante Anna (Malayalam), Graham (Telugu), and Kadal (Tamil).

I have a couple of issues. Notice the names in bold. And I saw at least parts of those three movies and it suffices if I say that I pressed "stop" even before 15 minutes were up. And this is not a question of personal preference and Sachein won't figure even in the list of top 10 Tam movies of the year, if you were to ask any random Tam movie watcher. Similarly for Anniyan and Veer Zaara, again no comments. The rest, I have no issues with, since I haven't seen any of those movies, apart from Kadhal. Speaking of Kadhal, it made me cringe and squirm. But I have to agree that it was one of the better movies (in terms of quality and originality) made in Chennai this past year.

And if you want to know who was responsible for Paheli being chosen, read on here... (Hat tip: Amit Varma). My only grouse is that Paheli takes its premise from a novel that Mani Kaul had already adapted for an on-screen version, close to 35 years ago! Not that Amol Palekar does not deserve this, but I'd have preferred that the nomination went to a movie with a fresh screen play.

I will end with a recommendation - The sound track of Achuvinte Amma (Rediff screwed up the name badly) by Ilayaraja. Check it out! Found it last week, when i was looking to listen to some older numbers from Chithram, thanks to the discussion on Lazy's post about Selvaraghavan.

Art Appreciation for Adults

2005-09-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

Sauntering into Tim’s room, 14-year-old Ron saw the words “- An art form” on the partially hidden TV-screen. Soon, he was throwing up the sandwich that he had gobbled earlier.
Years and 2000 films later, looking at his hirsute pot-belly, the blond writhing under him with the camera whirring, he realized that pornography WAS art!

Written as part of the 55-word story tag from Dhammo. Megha "considered it sweet revenge" when she passed it on to Dhammo. But I am not someone prone to vengeance and so I am leaving it up to anyone who wants to attempt it. But I do hope that people like Dumbs, Shwe and Hathirpithi will try. Mebbe the likes of Vindy and Praveen might even do a humorous tale. But I am tagging no one!

Currently Testing - Yahoo Mail Beta

2005-09-22T23:03:00.000-05:00

Currently Testing - Yahoo Mail - Beta

A new Phoenix?

2005-09-16T22:13:00.000-05:00

Another Ashes series has ended. Last time around, the picture that lingered was of Steve Waugh stroking the last ball of the second day at Sydney to the boundary to equal Bradman’s century tally. But two years later, it is the sight of Flintoff slurring and tottering at Trafalgar Square and Vaughan commenting about some of his mate's lack of sleep to Tony Blair, that will stay with me for sometime. The English, by all accounts, are still having a party, four days after their victory. And quite rightly so, for it has been a series of nail biters. Warne’s stunning wicket tally, Hoggard’s cover drive, Simon Jones's reverse swing, Geraint Jones tumbling catch off Kasprowicz, KP’s butter fingers, his towering sixes and last, but the most important of all, Flintoff! What a series!

So did Australia deserve to lose? Yes they did. England was the better team. But, on hindsight, I think all of us had placed Australia in a higher plane than they deserved. Sambit Bal sums it up perfectly when he writes -

The Australians have been hustled by Shoaib Akhtar and Shane Bond before, but they have had easy runs to pick at the other end. With England, there was no getting away. Harmison pinged them; Hoggard kept them tentative; Flintoff challenged them incessantly; and Simon Jones kept them pinned to the crease.

Consider this English bowling attack that showed its mastery of a previously reviled Oriental art, four bowlers all of whom prised out batsmen almost at will and another whose efforts with the ball were overshadowed by his batting! That is something that Australia has not faced in the recent past. Then Bal follows this argument with a comparison that has stayed with Australia through their run of successes these past few years, but this time with a difference.

The big unanswered question during the West Indian reign in the late-'70s and mid-'80s was how great the West Indian batsmen really were. After all they never had to test their skills against their own bowlers. After they have been put through the wringer, we are now able to venture a guess about this Australian batting line-up.

Ok, I think the caliber of at least ONE all time great is being questioned, but nevertheless the question seems to be valid.

But Australia have been barracked unfairly from some quarters too. Another Cricinfo column, this time by Anil Nair talks about the air of invincibility that the Aussies bought with them when they landed in England, but seemed to have left it behind in their hotel rooms when they made it on to the field. However, sample this -

To have had only nine debutants in five years and 68 Tests - contrast it with England's 26 in 75 Tests for roughly the same period - speaks of a set-it-in-stone syndrome at work, at once formulaic complacency and an attempt at myth-making.

As far as I know, this fact, in the past has been thrown around as one of the reasons for Australia’s awesome run. And suddenly the next day it is slammed as shortsightedness? And the same actions that were billed as “motivational” are now being slammed as the necessary rituals of a cricket team bent on creating an aura around itself in the manner of the Chicago Bulls. That is something I don’t understand.

There are usually two ways to categorize the positive result from a contest involving two equally matched participants (this series apparently was, if you consider the margin of the results)

A win resulting out of a team raising its game utterly dominating the otherwise equal team
A win resulting out of one good team playing below potential and imploding in the face of good opposition

We all know which team's results typically gels with the second description. And when it comes to the 2005 Ashes, I think it was the first case all the way, the poor form of some of the Aussies notwithstanding. Hence this is not the end of the road for the Aussies. And I am of the firm opinion that no team can be labeled No.1 unless they play well all the time, or at least most of the time, home or way. Australia has done that consistently these past years and they are still the best team in the world. As for who is the second best, of course it is England.

Last year, just after the Aussie tour of India, I got into an argument with a friend who said that India was the second best team in the world, but I quietly pointed out to him England’s record over the past few years starting from 2001 when they went to Pakistan. Still he did not see eye to eye with me and pointed out that India had drawn the series in Australia. I think we were at a stalemate then with neither of us willing to let go. But now, he will have to change his opinion.

So, IMHO, all that England has to do to become the best team in the world is to play consistently during their sub-continental trips in the next few months and get to Australia and at least draw the series next year. As far as India is concerned, their first priority is to win more than one test match every away series and at least one series outside the subcontinent. Now if that is not stating the obvious, then what is?

Book blogging

2005-09-13T16:08:00.000-05:00

First I did not know if I was the only one. So I refrained from mentioning it publicly. Now that I know I AM , DEFINITELY , NOT , THE , ONLY , ONE who was approached (boy, ain't I full of it?), I decided to share this with you all. (Note to myself: DO NOT talk about this blog to that hot gal in the adjoining office for the next few months!!)

Last week, one of the marketing managers from Scribner & Touchstone (part of the Simon & Schuster publishing house) left a comment on this post. In case you do not wanna read the comment, the gist is this. She offered me "review copies" of these two books and asked me to get in touch with her if I was interested. I replied to the comment with a short email and she just asked for my address to send these books, which I did immediately. Couple of days later, there it was, sitting in the lobby, a package with my name on it. Opening the package, I found this letter addressed to "Readers and Bloggers" and contained among others, this line -

Blogs and online magazines have become such a wonderful vehicle for the sharing of ideas and the spreading of culture, and we hold your opinions in very high regard.

It is a fact (and fittingly, a nice bit of trivia too) that the revered English journo E.W. Swanton was denied a chance to cover the 1932 Ashes series because his rival reporters got ahead of him in the line for the only telephone to report that Messrs. Holmes and Sutcliffe had scored 555 runs between them and had broken the world record for an opening stand at Leyton. His story reached late. While chastizing him for this, his newspaper decided that he was probably not the man for it and sent their tennis writer to cover what has since then been known as the Bodyline tour. And it has been said, in hindsight that if Swanton had been in Australia, his reports would have been forceful enough to convince the MCC (or the British government) to act tough with Jardine.

But I think that if Michael Vaughan was to do a Jardine today, Swanton would not be missed (no offense to the likes of Roebuck, Haigh and rest). The likes of Rick Eyre, Jagadish & Ganesh, Scott Wickstein and Will Luke (maybe even me) would do just fine. Wth MSM being what it has become, we bloggers are the new-age freelance journos and the writers. So, in this age of MediaNet and paid news coverage, it is no surprise that a publishing house such as Simon and Schuster (itself a part of the ViaCom media conglomerate, just like MTV, CBS, UPN etc.) has taken bloggers into confidence to pass on the impartial word.

Coming back to the books, I had read about Vikas Swarup's Q&A in The Hindu almost six months ago and being a quizzer myself, I was intrigued by the plot line. I have also had some personal experiences, that enabled me to relate to the subject in a convoluted manner (as you would probably see later). And Untouchables by Narendra Jadhav is coming as an incentive which I gladly accepted. And as Patrix mentions, none of us who has received these books are under any obligation to actually review the two books. Our brief is to just pass the message along, which I'm gladly doing. My thoughts about the books will follow, provided circumstances allow. But that's probably only after I finish my second reading of HP-6!

(P.S. Click on the book covers to see more info about the books!)

The folly of comparison

2005-09-10T09:57:00.000-05:00

I found (via this week's Bharateeya Blog Mela post at Harini Calamur's POV) that a number of Indian bloggers have taken offense at the tone of this Boing Boing post titled Katrina: whew, here comes India to save us, at last! and have come out with strongly worded rejoinders. The Boing Boing post essentially mirrors a post titled Thank Goodness, Here Come the Brave and Generous Indians to Rescue Louisiana (check out the "mood" and the "now playing" sections on this post!) which seems to project the classic (anachronistic) stereotype of the brown man and even manages to refer to imagery such as Gunga Din! While Uma and the others who have been driven to rage by the sarcasm of these posts, maybe we should stop to think whether some of us (i.e. Indians) are guilty of the same crime.

The most forwarded email among Indians this past week, seems to be the one that compares the aftermath of the cloudburst in Mumbai last month with that of Hurricane Katrina. It starts by giving you all kinds of numbers about the two disasters and ends with (what seemed to me) a sarcastic take on the customary labels that the media and the people have for long, affixed to the US and India, i.e superpower and third world country! Now, I got the forward twice and instantly relegated it to my Trash folder. But later, someone else at my workplace mentioned the forward and made some statements that mirrored that last sarcastic footnote that I have mentioned. I am not someone who gets my head hot over such things as forwards, but I got into an argument because the insinuations in this one just seemed plain offensive. Or is it just me?

A google search for the exact phrase "New Orleans vs. Mumbai" turns up 95 results, including a few blogs. Is it possible that these American bloggers who have ridiculed India's offer of help were motivated to post this way by these comparisons that we Indians have been making through such forwards? How many of us Indians, particularly the ones who have not seen the imagery from New Orleans 24 hours a day on CNN and MSNBC over these past 10 days, know about the scale of the disaster and the reasons behind those numbers that have been compared? For a description of the effects of Katrina, check out New Orleans resident Maitri V-R's VatulBlog which right now offers Daily updates from and for residents and friends of the Crescent City!

Sure, mistakes were made in Louisiana. The levees in New Orleans were (apparently) designed only hurricanes much less severe than Katrina. And how many of us know that most (if not all) of New Orleans is below sea level, as opposed to certain areas in Mumbai? And that the hurricane caused breaches in the levees and flood the neighborhoods with as much as 12 feet of water?

I am sure people like Amit and Dilip who saw the effects of the tsunami in India would say the same thing about mistakes made by the administration in that situation. But after December 26, the disaster response in India is probably much better now, because the shortcomings have all been pointed out! When disasters happen for the first time, be it the tsunami or the cloudburst or Hurricane Katrina, they HAVE TO BE attributed to that cause that is often termed as an "Act of God", which is NOT a religious stance, but just a term that refers to unknown and unforeseen reasons.

What's key is that we learn from mistakes that we make. Do we gain by pointing fingers and drawing parallels, and that too, seemingly with glee? It is a point to ponder! Accepted that the people in the Western Hemisphere need to get their facts straight about the "mystical" East, but do we have to add fuel to the fire with such comparisons, particularly in these testing times?
So, please stop forwarding such emails and please stop the trash talk about the difference in casualty figures. For some people I know, that seems to be a thing to be proud of. But at this age when borders are disappearing, that mentality is itself inhuman!

(Disclaimer: Some of the numbers quoted with reference to Katrina might be erroneous, but the motivation of this post is to stop comparisons at this time of need!)

The life of a fringe professional cricketer and related news

2005-09-08T21:06:00.000-05:00

If you talked cricket with me during the early days of India's 2004 tour of Australia, just before the Test matches, you would have heard/seen me argue tooth and nail for Sadagopan Ramesh's inclusion as India's opener. But by the end of the tour, I had to grudgingly agree that the man who took Ramesh's (then) rightful place at the top of the order was the calm eye to the hurricane that was Virendra Sehwag.

As an opener, I still think he did nothing wrong in Australia, though so many people seemed to criticize him. I maintain that as a classical test opener, he did what was required. If you'd look carefully at the series stats and do some minor math, you would find that, on an average per inning, he played just 6 balls lesser than his partner. And the 20 minute difference in duration in their innings can be explained by the fact that the number three batsman was Dravid who'd have probably hogged some of the strike settling in. So essentially what I am trying to say is just this - he managed to hold one end up while Sehwag went bonkers on the other end, while scoring 40 percent of what Sehwag did and staying for the most part of Sehwag's innings. And in no point of time did you hear that Sehwag got bogged down due to his partner's stonewalling (though I'm not sure we will ever hear that statement about Sehwag, ever!).

I usually back a player (or a team), through thick and thin, but in this case what has happened is that I have had to put Ramesh behind me and that has not happened often. And now when this guy is outside the limelight, I want to do something to highlight what he has been doing.

Akash Chopra is currently in England playing for a minor team in Stoke-on-Trent and has been blogging too, if you'd call his columns (hat tip to Prem Panicker) that! By all accounts these are not ghost written and present a rare insight into a cricketer's mind. As the footnote to one of his early posts reads, he writes about life in England for Indian professionals (cricketers, that is), who have for years made the trips to the Old Blighty make some much needed money, something that they'd find hard to come by when not playing in India. And coming as it does from someone on the fringes of selection, the columns make for interesting reads. I have added his column to my browser favorites and though the summer is fast coming to an end, even in England, I think I will still go back and look at the archives to read about what he has been doing these past few months.

On a slightly related note (adding to my twin posts on May 15th and May 21st of this year), it turns out that Rahul Mehra and Shantanu Sharma have filed yesterday (September 7th) with the Delhi High Court, a set of suggestions for the BCCI to implement for improving cricket in India. Originally, this was scheduled to happen on the 25th of May and though it seems to have been delayed, it is certainly welcome progress in the proceedings that were set rolling more than 5 years ago on April 20, 2000! What will now ideally happen that the Delhi High Court will formally instruct the BCCI to react to this statement and inform the court what it intends to do to act on these suggestions. I am watching this situation with interest. If you are interested, you can read the complete text of Rahul Mehra's email to Prem Panicker here.

310g Day?

2005-08-31T19:55:00.000-05:00

I first thought that this was another of those tags. And then, just now I came across this page! So knowing that I technically have 3 2 hours left, I am just gonna go ahead and tell you about 5 bloggers who I read or atleast check everyday to see if they have posted something. As per the norm, I have tried to choose 5 bloggers on my blogroll who haven't had the spotlight shine on them so far today (I think they do deserve much more than just a mention on my blog today). So, without much ado, here goes.

Alpha : The jaunty Queen of the desi blogosphere courtesy her win at the 2003 Indibloggies (Best Humorous Indiblog) . She has been described in the past, as Lalithaji (of the old Surf fame). But she seems to take it in her stride and she actually once called me Ravi beta (but I think made a wisecrack about Surf first). She never fails to bring the house down with her posts and her comments section is always a laugh-riot in the making. Goes on a hiatus atleast once a year (I think she has had two long breaks so far in the 2 years she has blogged) and when this happens, she has every single one of her readers clamoring for her re-appearance. She is currently on an encore and I hope she atleast does a Sholay, if not a Mouse Trap with this one.

Guru Subramanian a.k.a LazyGeek: Twice in a row winner (2003 and 2004) at the Indibloggies (Best Humanities IndiBlog a.ka. Best Media Indiblog) . We seem to share a lot of interests (Thalaivar padams, Maniratnam movies etc.) and his blog seems to be a meeting point and battleground for Tamil movie fans who seem to belong to one camp or the other. Often his readers battle using his comments section, on their own planks, be it Mani Ratnam vs Bala and Rajini vs Kamal and he graciously stands aside, never playing the school master. Curiously ( he denies that it is intentional) almost every single post about Rajini on his blog always follows one about Kamal (and vice versa). And judging by the rate and variety of his posts, he is not the lazy geek he claims to be.

George Thomas: I have mentioned him at least once previously and will do so again. Probably the most under-rated blogger ever and that is because, IMHO, most of his posts would go over people's heads. In short, he is a fellow quizzer, movie buff and die hard RDB groupie who never ceases to amaze me. His blog is one of the reasons this blog exists at all. Probably the most erudite, non-professional (won't insult him by using the term armchair) movie critic that I know. Seems to watch the most unknown (to most of us) movies and his movie reccomendations could be cast in stone. Watch (and listen) on George!

Vinod G a.k.a Vindy: I have met him in Chennai at the QFI and never did I realise that he could express things the way he does on his blog. Funny guy. Again a fellow quizzer and Thalaivar fan (even our Yahoo addy's are similar) who actually had a countdown to the 100th day of Chandramukhi on his blog. His comic takes on the serious-est of things are legendary, and he does ruffle a few feathers along the way. But he does not mind and few wisecracks later, manages to soothe the frayed tempers and he is rolling again. Vinod machi, weight-a kaami!.

Bharath: In a short span of 15 months (much more if you were to count the guest peices on The Hindu, Rediff and other places), this dude has managed to write so much about things that each of us go through in day to day life that I can't express cogently, ever!. Academics, work, movies, name it, he has a stand. He is opinionated, but the reasoning behind the opinion is always in plainview. He's made me THINK lately and that is why I am shouting out to him too. Way to go, Bharath.

I might have chosen to mention only 5 of you bloggers, but the truth is that each entry on my blogroll sees action from the right button of my mouse (*I use Firefox and use the right button to open each link in a new tab*) multiple times every day, be it to read new posts or to exchange comments. So this shout actually goes to each and every one of you on my blogroll and then to some more who don't find places there yet, solely because I am a lazy ass!

So all of you celebrate today. You make my day everyday by telling me something interesting about the world around me and sometimes I wonder about what I used to do before I ever knew that there was something called a Weblog. Spread the love, guys and BLOG ON!

When's Yuvan spinning that shit up for real?

2005-08-29T16:23:00.000-05:00

I am currently listening to this (thanks to Nithya's recco for the whole album, which I strongly second). Personally speaking, YSR seems to be good at this genre. Another of his earlier numbers, this one from Raam, was impressive too. For some reason, I listened to Boom Boom only when I watched the movie and it did not stick. But I saw the movie twice on successive days and soon I was humming it all day. Ok, parts of the song did make me cringe - especially the references to Britney Spears, Norah Jones and George Michael, but it helped that the song was picturized very well and that made me react positively.

Nithya says she does not exactly care for Yuvan's voice usually and yeah, I agree to this too. His screeching is definitely cringe worthy (case at point 18 Vayathil in Kadhal Konden, Idhu Kadhala from Thulluvatho Ilamai and the yodelling in Nizhanil Nijamum from Raam). But his voice is unusual and suits these two numbers, possessing Shaggy-esque tonal traits, if you ask (the "inexperienced in hip hop or any other kind of non-Indian music") me.

I remember reading sometime ago (on one of The Hindu's Take Two series of articles?) that he was working on a Tamil hip hop album. Going by these two singles, that album could set trends.

Hey yo, Yuvan, you there? Yeah? Spin that shit up... soon!

China and India - What you need to know now

2005-08-22T15:17:00.000-05:00

I was (in some ways, I still am) in the midst of a small blogging hiatus forced by a lot of issues when this caught my eye. Saturday being sort of auspicious, I and a couple of friends decided to drive down to the Siva Vishnu Temple in Maryland. And later in the day, we decided to take a small detour on the way back and explore the sights of the Baltimore Inner Harbor along Pratt Street. Stepping out of ESPNZone, we decided to peek into the adjacent Barnes and Noble and get a cappuchino at the Starbucks inside.

Standing in the queue I came upon a copy of the BusinessWeek and instantly picked it up to read while waiting for my cuppa. The special double issue dated August 22nd, but going by the quality of the copy that I got, seems to have already been well thumbed through and in addition to the copy that i chanced upon at the Starbuck counter, the store had just one more copy. But this issue seems to have gone under the radar as far the desi blogosphere is concerned.

As the cover indicates, the issue is all about the rise of India and China with the tagline - What you need to know now. The issue covers a wide range of subjects that are actually quite well known to anyone in tune with the recent business trends. The coverage seems to be from three different levels – a neutral academic’s outlook, a close look from ground zero (in India and China) and at last from the US’s point of view as the “affected party”.

From the desi standpoint, among the major pieces written from China and India, is a success story from Wipro – a feature on how Wipro’s medical claims BPO has adopted the Toyota Production System (complete with flashing lights to warn managers / supervisors of a potential bottleneck) to great success. The description of this system (which has been so successful in manufacturing) adapted to back office operations might sound straight from an Orwellian scenario of indentured labor, but the system is effective and has proven to increase employee morale and esteem significantly. I had heard of such a system in an insurance company’s operation here in the US, but this was an eye opener. Accompanying this story is a slide-show, a look into a particular Wipro BPO’s employee’s daily life.

Rounding out the issue are a pair of articles, one looking at the whole outsourcing issue from the viewpoint of a laid off Maytag factory worker and another outlining what the US needs to do to cope up with the changing landscape.

Overall this double issue is loaded with feel-good stories with a few cautionary tales (like the one about basic education in India). Compelling to say the least, but the horror stories like those of spiking stress levels among the workers in these new age enterprises, seem to have been brushed under the carpet.

I am still not done with all the articles, so I shall end here. You can check out the rest, here.

Fiddler on the second floor!

2005-08-01T21:00:00.000-05:00

I touched a violin again after almost 8 years on yesterday! Last time I remember, we were at CIT for Harmony-97 when I borrowed a friend's violin (who was there to compete in the classical music events) and made a fool of myself by offering to play for the other guys. This time, I had no audience and I let my hair down, well sorta. I should have realised that I was not exactly playing well, when about a minute into the exercise, M excused herself from the hall to get some work done. But my senses were clouded by the exhilaration of playing after a long time.

First, in order to get the tuning right (N, who owned the violin had not played for a couple of years at least), I tried to play Jana Gana Mana and it was not too much trouble. I seemed to have got it right as soon as I was able fix the tuning. Thus emboldened, I tried to play the simple Vara Veena and nailed it (without too much improv) in the 5th try. Next I tried Ra Ra Venu and gave up halfway when my fingers refused to move as fast as my mind willed them too. I thought mebbe the dryness on my finger tips were the cause, but since N was not at home, I did not want to do anything, especially since I was playing without her permission (she did not mind when I told her later). So I tried to play something slower, another geetham - Mandhara Dhara Re and I found that I actually sucked. And try as much as I did, I couldn't get my fingers to move to the tune of Tulasi Dhala! So on the whole, it was a downhill journey.

But the future is not completely dark. I could come to some conclusions pretty easily, once I put the violin down after 15 minutes.

I haven't exactly lost the feel of it, but I am not completely there either..
I should probably start playing again, now that I don't have to choose between the violin and the cricket bat.
My fingers are longer now.

Suddenly I feel the urge to get back and play the violin again. I realise, now that cricket and music are not competing for my time, I might just be able to play without worrying that my friends are having fun without me. This was mainly the case when I learnt it while at school. Usually my classes were scheduled by my mom who wanted to use it as a tool to keep me from getting into trouble (apparently cricket was "trouble") and soon it became a case of me being mentally absent while being physically present! I actually have had the whole story of my violin lessons as a (unfinished) draft for quite sometime now. Maybe one of these days, I will post it.

And I should probably ask my people to take my violin out of storage at home in Chennai and get it serviced or something. My mom would certainly be happy.

Pride and Prejudice!

2005-07-28T10:07:00.000-05:00

Racial disharmony seems to have been the flavor of the times during these past few months. Sunil Laxman wrote about his personal experiences sometime ago. I wanted to post on it first, saying that in my four years here in the US, I haven't personally experienced anything like this (even at the height of the post 9/11 xenophobia), but for some reason the post did not materialize. However I did forget that I had been living in idyllic Athens for most of these four years.

My views started changing when a couple of weeks ago, Meghna and her roomies were yelled at by a passerby because they were "Indian". She also adds that a few days earlier, someone that she was talking about their used car, hung up the phone on her after she replied in the affirmative to the question - "Are you Indian?"! Apparently he mentioned that he wouldn't sell his car to an Indian. But like Sunil, she feels no anger. She says she just pities such people, perhaps on their misguided thoughts, I think.

And then, last week I joined the club too. Twice, I was subjected to a few choice slurs from people driving by as I was waiting to cross the road! I observed that in both incidents last week the parties dishing out the abuse seemed to be teenagers. Were they drunk? I don't think so, since they occured in the middle of the afternoon. Perhaps, the classic case of the devil inside an idle mind, with schools being still closed for the summer? I don't know..

But it would suffice to say that these has been one of those few moments of my life that I'd would rather forget and hope that in the broader sense, the world's much better than these few people.

The Essential ARR collection a.k.a ARR for Dummies

2005-07-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

For a long time, I have wondered what I'd do if I met someone (an Indian that is) who did not know who ARR was. Every single time I played pool at the Students Center at univ, I decided that the next time I was there, I'd get a ARR compilation for them to play on the sound system to substitute for the usual hip hop/R&B fare. But that "next time" never came. And then a few months ago, I started making this list, a sort of "ARR for Dummies". It is quite different from what I had in mind earlier. This one is solely for the non ARR camp from a hardcore ARR fan!

For someone like me, a top ten ARR list would never do justice. So I have made this a two disc collection! The list has a lot of usual suspects (if you are Tam) from 1991 to 2004, but mostly the list comprises of all those gems that, according to me, slipped under the radar. To hear these songs, just go on to ARR's page @ Raaga.com (except for the one's from Andhimandharai) and click on the particular movie. So here goes.

The Essential ARR Collection - Disc 1

Parkathe Parkathe - Minmini (Gentleman, 1993) [Check out the catchy whistling / flute / organ]
July Madham Vanthal - SPB, Chitra (Pudhiya Mugam, 1993)
Thee Thee - Carolene (Thiruda Thiruda, 1993) [The picturization of this track rocked, with rapid shots with a moving camera in tune with the song's rhythm!]
Putham Puthu Bhoomi - Mano, Chitra (Thiruda Thiruda, 1993) [Mano's booming voice singing 'Sondha Aagayam Vendum' still raises goose bumps!]
Yedhukku Pondatti - Shahul Hameed, TK. Kala, Sunandha (Kizhakku Cheemayilae, 1993) [I know this is a strange choice, but its a personal favorite, slightly risque lyrics not withstanding!]
Uyirum Neeye - Unni Krishnan (Pavithra, 1994) [Personally, even if someone says Unni Krishnan did not deserve the National Award for Ennavale, he certainly deserves it for this song? The guitar riffs (?) that open this song remind me always of Thamizha Thamizha, but its Unni Krishnan all the way afterward!]
Sevvanam - Mano, Pallavi (Pavithra, 1994)
Markazhi Poove - Shobha (May Madham, 1994) [Always thought it was Anupama? Kavitha Krishnamurthi rocked in the Hindi version of this song from Love you Hamesha.]
Vidu Kathaiya - Hariharan (Muthu, 1995)
Kaiyil Midhakkum Kanava Nee - Srinivas (Ratchagan, 1996) [Srinivas's debut?]
Unnai kanavilai netrodu - SP. Balasubramaniam, OS. Arun, Rafee (Kadhal Desam, 1996) [OS ARUN? The classical singer? But I distinctly remember the inlay card crediting SPB and Aslam Mustafa!]
O Vennila - Unni Krishnan (Kadhal Desam, 1996) [My ragging song! For the most part of my first year at Shanmugha, part of my ragging was to lean on a wall with a outstretched hand and sing this song repeatedly without laughing or smiling while the seniors used to do all kinds of stupid tomfoolery around me. All because one guy explained the lyrics to me (along with an accompanying sob story) that brought tears into my eyes when I heard it first!]
No Problem - Apache Indian, ARR (Love Birds, 1996) [The movie seems to be the inspiration behind Kaho Na Pyar Hai, with the equivalent song being Ek Pal Ka Jeena]
Kappal yeri poyachu - SP. Balasubramaniam, Susheela (Indian, 1996)
Sakhiye Nee Dhan - Unni Krishnan (Andhimandharai, 1996)
Oru Naal - Swarnalatha (Andhimandharai, 1996) [Is it by Swarnalatha? I don't know, but can't find this song on Raaga or Musicindiaonline, which is shame!]

The Essential ARR Collection - Disc 2

Ayirathil Naan Oruvan - Mano (Iruvar, 1996)
Narumugaye - UnniKrishnan, Bombay Jayashree (Iruvar, 1996) [Everytime I hear this song, Satish's the face that I reminded of. Dude, in case you read this, you rock. Jagadish, do pass this on to him, if you read this!]
Oru Poiyavadhu - Srinivas / Hariharan (Jodi, 1999) [Two different versions of this priceless gem that went unnoticed in lieu of the other songs that were repeated from Doli Saja Ke Rakhna]
Theendai Mei Theendai - SPB, Chitra (En Swasa Kaatre, 1999)
Swasame - SP. Balasubramaniam, Sadhana Sargam (Thenali, 2000)
Nenthukitten - Karthik, Chitra Sivaram (Star, 2001)
Azhage Sugama - Srinivas, Sadhana Sargam (Parthale Paravasam, 2001)
Nee Dhan En Desiya Geetham - Balaram (Parthale Paravasam, 2001) [Balaram's Debut! Where is he now? He had another awesome number with Vidyasagar and one with ARR, but seems to have gone missing now]
Vellai Pookal - ARR (Kannathil Muthamittal, 2002)
Vidai Kodu Engal Naadae - Balram, MSV (Kannathil Muthamittal, 2002)
Vaanila - Srinivas, Karthik (Kadhal Virus, 2002)
Pookum Malare - Hariharan (Udaya, 2003) [A beautiful song that went widely unnoticed]
Udaya Udaya - Hariharan, Sadhna Sargam (Udaya, 2003)
Yedho Yedho - Karthik, Gopika Poornima (Enakku 20 Unakku 18, 2003)
Azhagiya Cinderella - Hariharan (Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, 2003)
Thotal Poo Malarum - Hariharan, Harini (New, 2004) [All you non-Tams should hear the original first and then this remix to see what ARR's done. Too bad SJS's attempt to recreate similar magic with Mayilirahe and its Maramkothiye remix did not work!]

(P.S Before all you IR hardliners sharpen your knives, I have to say that such a two disc compilation would be totally impossible for IR, just as a top 10 list cannot do justice to ARR. Mottai rocks, but ARR impresses me in his own way! Peace!)

TGIF!

2005-07-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

Have been in a bad funk whole week and I need this weekend to recharge with a really key week coming up next (don't really know, but just feeling it). Am not doing anything specific, but sometimes just a change of surroundings can help. So here's hoping for that. Ciao all...

The Crush

2005-07-15T15:59:00.000-05:00

She flitted across my line of vision like a butterfly high on nectar and my eyes followed her. Her movements, though urgent, were graceful and she soon had me transfixed with her dance.

The devil riding on me won and I willed my straining heart to join her dance. As I looked on and followed on her wake, she almost bumped into some bodies and caused a few voices to rise in anger. But she passed by them uncaring, as fast as she had come by. Another day, I would have commented at the lack of basic courtesies in such a fine young lady. But not today. As I said, I was transfixed.

Soon she found herself caught in the midst of a slow pack and I found myself alongside her. I did not know if she had noticed me earlier when she passed me, but this time she seemed to. She flashed the silent smile that the “I know I am being ogled at and I love it” types seem to possess, at me and I knew immediately that she was reading my thoughts.

And even before I realized that I had a voice – well, the one that you humans can’t hear, she was off again, screaming in delight in a manner that reminded me of Thelma and Louise. She left me staring ruefully at her tail lights flashing against the backdrop of the rising moon, as she sneaked through gaps that a old minivan like me would not even dream about getting into. So much for romance.

x-x-x-x-x

I was riding shotgun on the front passenger side of a Honda Accord (yesssss, I know it's not a minivan) sometime last Sunday when I observed a Acura RSX weaving its way across lanes trying to beat us all on the ultra busy I-95 South. Watching it move while almost asleep after a heavy lunch and with U talking to his cousin on the phone, I had a creative rush of blood, the likes of which I have never experienced before. I wrote most of this post right then. I don't know how good it is, but I think I did ok for a first time writer of such things as minivans having crushes on sports coupes. Needless to say, some of this story is autobiographical and the Acura RSX does find a place on my list of must own cars. But I will leave that list for another day!

Celluloid dreamers and dreamy numbers

2005-07-09T12:08:00.000-05:00

The future of Bollywood seems to be in good hands. This one year old link (thanks George) lists all those usual suspects who have made their mark (sometimes silently and unseen by many) these past two years. Hope to see more from the Kashyaps, the Dhulias, the Amins and the Akhtars in the future. And going by the initial efforts of these guys, if this is going to be the Bollywood of the future, then I will have no qualms, five years from now, in accepting Bollywood as the representative of Indian cinema!

A side benefit from spending time with the likes of M and N every weekend is the chance to hear Bollywood numbers that otherwise would pass under my radar. Case at point - Aao na from Kyun Ho Gaya Naa. Sadhana Sargam's melliflous voice elevates this song to levels that I haven't seen in a S-E-L effort before. The classical touch to the song is very evident and probably adds to its allure. Heard it for the first time (with concentration) over the last weekend and have been hooked. It's just beautiful!

Another song/video came to my notice through one of my co-workers here is Blood Brothers by desi hip hop group Karmacy. Karmacy's singles have been featured in different hip hop compilations along with the likes of JayZ. Their single Passage of India was on the American Desi soundtrack too. Now they are out with their debut album "The Movement". And Blood Brothers is a poignant look at the American dream and the issues otherwise unseen by the family back home. Another single that's been on continuous play this past week!

Maru dhil, my heart, maru loi, my blood from the start
Mari nath, my family two worlds apart,
How do I move on bhai,
Kevirithe jais, cuz no matter where I go,
My soul is in the same place......

Speaking of heart and soul, have been listening to Ilayaraja's Thiruvasagam in Symphony this past two hours. I have always wondered what it is that makes IR's voice so calming (some people hate his voice, but he is par excellence when it comes to soul). Somehow his voice and esspecially his orchestration makes me close my eyes and TiS certainly acheives that.

Btw, TiS instantly took me on a flashback. In 1997, one of my friends, unfortunately not with us anymore, introduced me to this Malayalam soundtrack called Guru (incidentally, India's entry to the Oscars in the best foriegn movie category that year) that he had picked up in Chennai while on a visit. Repeated listening for the next couple of months made me realise that if there was a zenith that IR could reach, Guru was IT! Bought my own tape on my next Chennai visit and then one of my friends borrowed the tape from me a couple of months before I left India in 2001 and I haven't seen it ever since! Listening to Tis reminds me of Guru. The sounds are so similar and I wonder if Guru was recorded with the same musicians. The feel is the same, if I remember right. My next music purchase will be Guru for sure. So now I have a new item on top of my list for my paycheck!

Blog Mela @ The Maanga

2005-07-04T09:49:00.000-05:00

The Mango guy is hosting the next blog mela on the 9th of July. Interested parties head there to nominate the best posts from the Indian Blogosphere that have been (or will be) posted between the 2nd and 8th of July (both days incl.) Most of the common Blog Mela rules and instructions hold true.

However, you can trust Nilu to do something different (or stupid as your opinion might be!). He wants you to describe the post (that you nominate or self nominate) in a short paragraph not exceeding two or three lines. And he has an example (mentioning Freud) for the same too. Go here and check it out and to participate by nominating posts.

(P.S Nilu, done da...)

All MY Circuits are fried

2005-07-01T10:47:00.000-05:00

My cell phone plan is from a company endorsed by Catherine Zeta Jones (and more recently the choice of LG) and I have had this plan for just over a year now (currently out of contract). For quite sometime now, my friends have told me that a lot of times when they try to reach me, they get a a message that starts with "All circuits are busy........" or something to that effect.

But now that my cell phone is more or less my primary phone (the landline at work not withstanding) and now that my contract is out, I have finally become proactive about this problem. So much that, since the 22nd of June (my current billing cycle began on the 19th), I have spent a total of 140 minutes of talk time (toll free) talking to my provider about this. In comparison, I have used 131 regular daytime minutes and a total of 367 night and weekend minutes since then.

I know the first question that you would probably ask is, why am I still sticking to the provider. First thing is, they have an awesome deal thats very easy on my pocket and I am still going to be in the "need more minutes, but will pay less" mode for atleast a few more months. Second thing, I know a number of people in Delaware who have the same service provider and apart from the two of us who have the same 740 area code (which originates in Athens, Ohio), no one else seems to face this problem with receiving calls. So I am pushing this case strongly for the past week to get them to resolve it. At least I was hoping to.

I spent one hour yesterday searching for "all circuits are busy" on Google. I was surprised to find that this problem is common to almost every other one as well. So, I have lost hope that this issue will be resolved any time now. A chat with G, someone who's techie enough to explain in detail to me how cell phones work, reaffirms this conclusion. He advises me that the best solution would be to change numbers, while my other friends advise me to change providers. But should I really change providers, when mine has topped the JD Power quality survey last year in 4 categories, including the Overall Satisfaction Among Wireless Telephone Users"?

Actually the bigger issue is my number which might have to be changed, unless this issue is resolved. I might have to change my number since the next best provider (going by rep) does not seem to have the "number porting" facility in Delaware. Ughhhhhhhh!

Introducing my sitcom alter ego - Raymond Barone

2005-06-27T20:18:00.000-05:00

This evening, I was watching an old episode of everybody Loves Raymond, a re-run from season 2, where Ray reminiscences about the day he proposed to Debra.

Ray, in a totally un-RC manner, writes the proposal into his debut column in Newsday. She accepts (in the accidental presence of Ray's parents), but Ray is consumed later by worries. He thinks Debra was under pressure to accept - just like those gals, while being serenaded by their boy friends in full view of millions of people watching on TV and on the jumbotron, worry about having beer emptied on them in case they refuse and accept.

And I realized right then that in some ways, Ray Romano's character defines me. This is why:

He is supremely RC!
He hates PDA (Public Displays of Affection), verbal or physical.
He is the essential cynic who worries about everything life has in store for him, good or bad and is sometimes right on those counts.
He uses humor like a defense mechanism, quite unsuccessfully, sometimes.
He is totally into sports and writes about it, but does not seem to play anything other than golf.

And I have a faint idea that, just like Ray, I might do something similar, off the beaten path (but certainly not as stupid) and end up worrying if I got the message across just right. That scenario is certainly in my ballpark!

Oh, BTW, just after lunch today, I was reading some of Rajesh Advani's older posts. Ladies and non-RC guys who come here often, should check out his work (chances are that you might have read his work surely as email fwds or otherwise on Sulekha). They are of the kind that will make you go "awwwww". Hell, a couple of them made even me go "awwww"! Now, if that's not a compliment, what is?

And I have a related question that came up in my mind from reading Rajesh's short stories. In ficticious works of art, like the ELR episode mentioned above, I notice that a lot of protagonists getting the message across in full view of a lot other people. Does this happen in real life too? Do you guys know of any incidents where such acts have backfired, and the gal goes - "Hmmmm...., I am not so sure"? I know such a situation might be sad, but looking at it objectively, it is a possible scenario and single guys have to prepare for such a twist in the tale. People, please enlighten me!

Ok, if you are my mom, hold on! Amma, I am not thinking about popping the question to anyone, certainly not in the immediate future. And if you are not my mom, you can hold on to the "awwwws" for later.

(P.S: This post was not meant for self introspection. It was just to highlight some similarities between this blogger and the fictional character mentioned above. It has to be said that the similarities end with those few attributes and some more, which unfortunately are beyond the scope of this blog.)

(P.S II: If you came here from the BBM hosted by Amit Varma (thanx for linking to this post, Amit), or want to know what R.C stands for, it is Romantically Challenged. To give you a simple explanation, you are R.C if you believe that candles are of use only when there is a power outtage. You don't run to a door to open it for a lady who is walking 5 feet in front of you, but will keep it open for someone walking in just behind you regardless of whether it is a guy or a gal. In short, you are a cool straight forward customer who walks his talk placing all his cards on the table when it comes to women. Hidden messages and symbology don't matter and what is out in the open, which is everything, counts! And ya, R.C's usually don't put Mills & Boon's on their reading lists, but will surely make a serious attempt to appreciate them if they believe that the gal who recommends them is the ONE. And yes, there is usually only ONE! For an R.C, love is over-rated. It is the compatibility that counts!)

(P.S III: This is The End of this post! Ignore that link that says "Wanna continue reading?" and go straight to the comments section to leave some thoughts!)

PTC, MTC and me!

2005-06-22T17:46:00.000-05:00

Meenakshi Medicals used to be at the junction of Royapettah High Road and Lloyds Road in Royapettah, Chennai. In fact it could be still there, but it has been years since I looked. But, anyways, I am prone to digressions and before this instance proceeds along that road, let me continue.

So, yeah, right at the front of Meenakshi Medicals was a simple waist high wall of metal railing with concrete pillars a few feet apart where one, particularly a pre-schooler like me could plonk their posterior and watch the rest of the world fly past in their multiple wheeled modes of road transport. My favorite part of the day (from when i can remember, till I was around 5 or 6 years old) was when my uncle (was part of a joint family then) used to take me out to this spot in front of Meenakshi Medicals and sit down with me and point out the different cars as they went past. While I was in for the cars, he was in for the short walk and the exercise that eluded him ever since he had retired. Sometimes he even went to Meenakshi Medicals and bought the medical supplies that is so common in homes in India. Maybe he even spent some time talking to the elderly owner and his sons, who were well known to us as neighbors. But I don't remember much about that painless and innocent times.

From the time I spent there everyday, I also picked up the art of identifying models from the sounds their engines made. I also developed this quirk of comparing people's facial characteristics with front of automobiles. For example, this particular bus / truck that Telco made (the Tata 4410 D?) had a front grill which reminded me of an acquaintance who had very striking dental structure. To this day, I can't erase the mental image of the man's face when I see a Telco truck or vice versa. And that's how my love of automobiles began. But it all started with buses and specifically the (then) Pallavan Transport Corporation buses (nowadays called Metropolitan Transport Corporation) a.k.a the PTC buses!

When I was 7 yrs old, my mother moved for a couple of months to my grandmom's place in Egmore to deliver my sister. I spent those months with her at Egmore. Since a change of school is logically not possible for those few months, I traveled to my school in Royapettah in a school bus. My stop in Egmore, next to the police station was the last pickup point and the last drop off point too. And this school bus route covered North Madras (Washermanpet, Tondiarpet, Royapuram etc.) in addition to Triplicane (which is practically next door to Royapettah). I don't remember any of those names, but if u were studying first second or third standard in Adarsh Vidyalaya Branch School, opposite Swagath Hotel during 1983-85, get in touch with me!

Anyways, during this bus journey, me and some other kids on the bus developed this new game. The PTC had just then purchased a batch of chassis from Ford, yup, Ford! So, everytime we passed one of these buses, we used to add one to the existing count. Ofcourse, we were too young to comprehend that there possibly could not be 1000 Ford buses running in the roads of Madras, but we counted anyways.

I also had this private game of looking at the route boards on buses and memorising the start and end points. This game continued way beyond the birth of my sister, which coincided with our relocating to Mandaveli. Since it was middle of a school year, I just changed school buses. But my luck did not change. This bus route covered South Madras (Kodambakkam, T.Nagar, Saidapet, Kotturpuram, Adayar etc.) and my stop was the last pickup and drop off point again.

So the memorising of bus routes continued and soon I was (I think I still am) so conversant with bus routes in Madras that at the age of 8 or 9, I was playing tour guide to my relatives and cousins from out of town, when they visited (my paternal grand mother lived with us) during the summer holidays. My job was to take them to the bus stop, get them on the right bus and get off at the right stop and get them to wherever they needed to go. And their job was to take care of me on the bus. LMAO!

After a year in Mandaveli, we moved to our present home in T.Nagar. For even my father was relatively new to T.Nagar, with most of our shopping trips being confined to Mylapore and Luz corner, areas chock a bloc with stores much older than the Nallis and the Kumarans. I think I was more familiar with the area figuring in my school bus route! A couple of months before we moved, I changed schools in anticipation of our move to T.Nagar.

My love affair with the PTC continued. The next game that I played was to figure out how the PTC kept track of its buses with an alpha numeric code (it seems to have changed slightly now) to indicate the originating depot, the time/batch of induction of their buses. For example, LE 567 (which was a Telco bus that ran on route No.10 between T.Nagar and Parrys Corner in the first half of the 90s) was a bus that was attached to depot L (T.Nagar) and was inducted in batch E (in the early 90s perhaps?) and was No. 567 in that batch. This particular bus was driven by this very friendly driver when I used to take route no. 10 to my school. Till 2001, if you would tell me a letter, I could tell you the depot with very little error, all by corelating the start and end points with common sense that the depot has to be the one closest to either of the two locations, ofcourse with some exceptions. I quickly figured out that there is no depot denoted by the letters "Q" and "O", (at least till 2001). And I THINK there are no depots with the letter N, G and J too, though I am not so sure.

Then close to the end of my school days, one fine day, one of my friends found this "old paper store" where he could buy magazines by the weight. I did not even know that he was a auto freak till he bought a stack of auto magazines (Auto India) specifically to school. I was soon hooked on the automobile reviews and news, not to mention the coverage of the international auto shows at Tokyo, New York, Geneva etc. Of course we did not care that the magazines were at least a year old. Once we had read the magazines, the better pictures were cut out and pasted on the doors to our respective cupboards. I still did not lose my fascination with the PTC and if my mom hasn't noticed it yet, there is still a small picture of a PTC bus on a Ashok Leyland produced Cheetah model chassis stuck on my cupboard in Chennai!

When I got into engineering, my fascination towards cars made me readily join mechanical engineering at a time when computer science was slowly becoming the stream of choice. My fascination remained just that since slowly I got sidetracked into manufacturing as a primary interest, with automobile engineering being just a elective course in our final year. But every month or whenever I had a chance to get to Trichy or Thanjavur, I never got back without a copy of the latest Auto India. I got a wealth of information, not neccasarily technical, from the magazine.

And my love affair with buses continued. With our college and the hostel being right next to the Trichy-Thanjavur highway, a lot of times our days were planned on the basis of buses passing the college. There were a couple of private bus operators who were the preferred service providers for our college students - Chidambara Vilas, Mahalakshmi etc. And there was one particular operator called Deenadayalan who was a speed demon. This particular bus reputedly held the record for making the journey from our college to Trichy a full 10 minutes faster the "next fastest". Needless to say, Deenadayalan usually topped everyone's list, if we were lucky enough to get the bus to stop at our stop when it passed by!

Coming back to Chennai for good after graduating, I did not feel a need for a vehicle and felt right at home travelling by the local buses. A lot of people claim that the Chennai buses are crowded and do not deserve the encomiums thrown at them from different quarters. My view however differs.

If you know your routes, then it is still possible to get to point B from point A comfortably. You might have to spend double the money or go to point C first which is slightly off the route, but it sure is cheaper than spending money on a auto rickshaw. You might not even spend any more time (in some cases) than you would have if you had taken a direct bus, but you will certainly travel comfortably.

For example, if you wanted to go from T.Nagar to Perambur, there are no buses that started from T.Nagar. You had to get on 29B which would mostly be full by the time it reaches T.Nagar from its start point at Saidapet. So, alternatively, you could just take a bus to Saidapet and board 29B there. You also had the alternative of taking 29N which ran between Velachery and Perambur. So if you knew your routes, then Chennai has the best public transport system in India outside Mumbai. You have my word for that!

F1 woes at Indy!

2005-06-20T10:45:00.000-05:00

The reasons for Sunday being branded F1's blackest day have been well documented. Michelin should ~~probably~~ take some, if not most of the blame for the debacle. The blame also should be shared by the FIA and Ferrari, the only team, going by most accounts, that did not agree to any of the options given forth by the other 9 teams and the FIA/F1/IMS. Again, depending on which side you are on, you would put one of these ~~two~~ three parties as sole contributor. I am however stopping short of that deed. Make your own choice.

Anyways, the FIA and Max Mosely have come out with a statement which essentially blames Michelin and the seven teams that it supplies, for the events that unfolded yesterday. It also makes this last incredulous argument to support its stand.

Rather than boycott the race the Michelin teams should have agreed to run at reduced speed in turn 13. The rules would have been kept, they would have earned Championship points and the fans would have had a race. As it is, by refusing to run unless the FIA broke the rules and handicapped the Bridgestone runners, they have damaged themselves and the sport.

My take on this suggestion - The FIA is stupid! Here's why! Consider this scenario. At lap 36, Kimi Raikonnen approaches Turn 13 and slows down, as the FIA suggested. One of the Minardi cars that he has just lapped on Turn 11, gains on his car. Now does Raikonnen move aside and allow this car that he has just lapped to pass him again? Or does he hold his position and force the Minardi to brake hard too? Depending on whose side you are arguing, it seems disadvantageous to either driver. So did the FIA have anything to counter this argument, which I am sure would have come up.

Let me make it clear that I do not say that I have a solution that F1 should have implemented yesterday. But I do hate the fact that the FIA seems to be floating this solution among the press as the best possible one that the seven Michelin teams rejected. Blaming Michelin completely is also a convinient of transfering attention from the fact that Turn 13 is an unique corner that is not seen elsewhere in any other F1 circuit worldwide. Reason - The Brickyard's banking that is typical of a NASCAR oval! I could go on and on, but the truth is, this is one of those scenarios where each party has to share blame in some capacity. On the other, as I have said so many times on this post - depending on which side you are on, you are going to blame someone or the other completely.

Ultimately, the solution is to either change the layout of the Indy circuit to slow down the pace around Turn 13 or review the new tyre rules that have compounded the problem caused by the banking. Of these two, the latter seems much more attractive considering that any change to Turn 13 would change the fundamental character of the circuit from ultra-high speed (because of turn 13) to very slow and twisting, as the FIA press release indcates.

Updates: A Q&A with Max Moseley throws up more "options", each of which made me laugh more and more.

Q: Did the Michelin teams have any other way of running the race if the circuit itself was unchanged?
MM: Yes, they could have used the pit lane on each lap. The pit lane is part of the circuit. This would have avoided Turn 13 altogether. It is difficult to understand why none of them did this, because 7th and 8th places were certainly available, plus others if any of the six Bridgestone runners did not finish. There were points available which might change the outcome of the World Championship.

Ummmm, pit lane? Even if he meant that the pit lane speed limits would have been enforced, was he talking about the crowded semi-market place full of walking people, regardless of whether there is a race on or not? Was he talking about the same place where, in the last 10 years, there has been more than one fire accident and at least one incident that would have been classified as a hit and run incident on the street around Spielberg, Austria? My belly hurts from all the laughing. I think Max Moseley and JY Lele were separated at birth.

Anyways, Minardi Team principal Paul Stoddart has made public his own account of the fracas!

What was requested of the Bridgestone teams was to allow a chicane to be constructed at Turn 13, which would then allow Michelin to advise their teams that, in their opinion, the tyres would be able to complete the race distance. It was made very clear that this was the only viable option available, as previous suggestions from the FIA, such as speed-limiting the Michelin cars through Turn 13, could, and probably would, give rise to a monumental accident.

I am gloating now! Someone with far more experience than me, agrees with my thoughts of the FIA's "best option". Stoddart goes on to say that Max Moseley actually threatened to cancel the Grand Prix if there was to be any changes in the circuit (i.e if the chicane was added). If you would recall, Moseley had made a similar threat the day before the Australian Grand Prix this year if Minardi did not withdraw legal proceedings against the FIA.

Profile of a Delusional Sociopath

2005-06-17T11:41:00.000-05:00

Just when I resigned myself to a weekend filled with stupid "friendly conversations" at home, came N's call a few minutes ago! It's easy to say that I am cool with all plans, but in reality i am greatly relieved.

R's Rochester visit, G's project transition and some other serious issues coupled with my resolve to spend weekend away from the sight of a computer and several people (for no fault of theirs, I should add) had filled me with great dread. This might make me sound like I am this delusional sociopath. But, you know what? In reality, I am one.

Sociopath (soh-see-uh-path, soh-shee-uh-path)

Someone whose social behavior is extremely abnormal. Sociopaths are interested only in their personal needs and desires, without concern for the effects of their behavior on others.


I abhor solitude with the same revolt that most vegetarians (including me) reserve for red meat. My thinking goes on overdrive when I am left to myself and those thoughts certainly are not positive all the time. So much that, when I was in Athens, even if I was sleepy, had nothing else to do and its way past midnight, I used to wait (sometimes more than an hour) for some company for the 20 minute walk back home from the lab. More often than not, it was M who was that company. I think I am totally in debt to her for keeping me sane and for talking to me about the things that we have in common and for silently letting me "put" my fundaes indiscriminately! I am sure she cursed me under her breath and I know she went through a lot of shit silently too.

Anyways, company calms me. The restless person I am, I tend to think better in chaos. When it is not chaotic, I think the "inner me" tries to mix things up with those ear worms and the humming. It also makes me look for company, a search just to have someone close by, not always to talk to, but to just give me the idea that I am not alone. And in this search, sometimes I have been misunderstood and riled at.

I am trying to change. I might have to get used to solitude, now that a career spent living out of a suitcase beckons (at least for another couple of years). It is going to be a tough job, since spending 4 fun filled years in a hostel (and three more here at Athens/Peoria/Chicago) and after being around groups of people right from childhood, I am more in my elements among people than without them.

So, those of you who have my phone number, do call me when you remember me. For I might just be sitting in Starbucks alone, revelling in my delusions that I have company all around me that I'd offend by taking out my cell phone and calling you myself!

The TFM tag

2005-06-13T17:01:00.000-05:00

With great power comes great responsibility. I am no Spiderman and I certainly don’t have an uncle who I fondly call Uncle Ben. But that line ought to fit anybody and it certainly does in my case.

Last week Shwe seemed to be in the midst of a voyage of discovery in the world of Tamil Film Music. She had some questions for me and by answering those questions, it seems that somehow I gave her the impression that when it comes to TFM, I am second to none. It certainly did not help that (as I am prone to do) I did “put” some fundaes regarding TFM and a few trivia junkets too. Now, it turns out that Shwe was bored enough to do another of those now common memes, this time a South Indian Music tag. She tagged me and here is my version!

I am certainly not an “expert in South Indian music” as Shwe has kindly described me on her post. I can however be described as a “not so knowledgable” diehard fan of TFM who is sometimes considered a pain in the posterior, especially if you had to work in the same room as me (like her) and more so if your workstation was right next to mine (like her again). It does not really help that I also get a bad case of the earworms from time to time that sometimes last for the most part of a whole day. In fact, last summer, Ally, a co-worker was flustered after she heard me whistling this song for the entire duration of a work day.


This might be an exaggeration, but I suspect that it is much closer to the truth than you would expect. After sighing and coughing loudly to stop me (she was successful a number of times, before I involuntarily started again after a small hiatus), she interrupted me to ask me what the song was. Considering she was getting disturbed, she thought she might as well learn the words so that she can sing along. Unfortunately that is easier said than done, particularly when the song is in Thamizh. But I think hearing a exasperated voice saying "Anti......." more than a dozen times a day these past few years has slowly started curing me.

Anyways, this is perhaps the toughest meme that I’d have to face, ever. It was a challenge to list all my likes without missing out on anything. All the lists given are in no particular order. I would be doing grave injustice if I were to choose one among them to be the best. They are all equals in my eye. And if you would notice, most  are songs by ARR and Ilayaraja. These are two MDs that I have grown up with and though some of you might consider it sacrilege for me to ignore the works of MSV or his predecessors, I simply have not heard enough of them for me to be influenced by them. And regardless how big a fan of Deva's that I might be, I still consider IR and ARR to be the ultimate gods when it comes to TFM. So, here goes. 

No. of albums I own:
   Does mp3 count? If it does, I possess an insanely huge collection, thanks to several friends.
 
 First Album that I bought:
   Recorded combo tape of Roja (A.R. Rahman) and Annamalai (Deva) in 1991
 
 Last Album that I bought:
   Kannathil Muthamittal (A.R. Rahman)
 
 Currently Listening to:
   Iyengaru Veetu Azhagu – Anniyan / Hariharan, Harini / Harris Jayaraj
 
 Clever lyrics in this song. For example – Unpol evarum idhuvarai illai, inimel pirandhaal adhu nam pillai!

Albums that I'd want to take with me if marooned on a deserted island:
   Minsara Kanavu – AR Rahman (ARR)
   Alaypayuthey – AR Rahman
   Iruvar – AR Rahman
   Agni Nakshatram – Illayaraja (IR)
   Kannukkul Nilavu – Illayaraja
   Alaigal Oivathilai – Illayaraja
 
 Songs that you are most likely to hear me sing or hum (Song – Movie / Singer(s) / MD):
   Raja Raja Chozan – Rettai Vaal Kuruvi / Yesudas / IR
   Vellai Pookal – Kannathil Muthamittal / ARR / ARR
   En Kanmani – Chittukuruvi / SPB, Susheela / IR
   Uyirum Neeye – Pavithra / Unni Krishnan/ ARR 
   Kadhalin Deepam – Thambikku Endha Ooru / SPB / IR
   Ilaya Nila – Payanangal Mudivadhillai / SPB / IR
   Marghazhi Poove – May Madham / Shobha Shankar / ARR
   Anbe – Kadhal Desam / SPB, OS. Arun, Rafee / ARR
   Andhi Mazhai – Raja Paarvai / SPB, Janaki / IR 
   Kannamoochchi – Kandukonden Kandukonden / Chitra / ARR
   Ondra Renda Asaigal – Kakha Kakha / Bombay Jaishree/ Harris Jeyaraj
   Minnal Oru Kodi – VIP / Hariharan, Chitra / Ranjit Barot
 
 Favorite Singer(s):
   SPB – For the songs he has sung for IR
   Hariharan – For his wide repetoire!
   Yesudas – The man oozes melancholy when he wants to!
   ARR – The man tugs at my heart strings sometimes!
 
 To listen to these songs, all you have to do is to go to raaga.com and search for the particular movie's name under the Tamil section and listen to the particular track mentioned. And its appropriate that I ask someone to continue this tag. And I also know that this game of tag is sort of become stale to a lot of people. So, let me pass this on to just two four people, Arun, Nithya, Curses and Ferrari Prabhu - all hardcore fans of TFM.

MMKR revisited (a repost)

2005-06-11T09:21:00.000-05:00

Note: Extra long post! And thanks to Nithya, I figured out this system of expandable post summaries. Just in time for today.

These last few days, I have noticed that a lot of ppl have been coming here from Zero's post on his Mumbai Express expectations (posted before the movie released in April). The post now finds a place on Teakada's sidebar, which explains why that post is getting lot more readers. It so happens that Zero chanced upon my MMKR post and he had a few kinds words to say about it in his post.

I posted my "exercise in appreciation" for MMKR in July 2003, just after I saw it for the zillionth time in Ohio and found to my surprise that I could reel off lines from the movie a couple of seconds before they were on the screen. That was when I realised that the movie was something I'd never fail to enjoy, regardless of how many times I watch it.

I wanted to take advantage of the sudden spurt in comments here on my blog these past months and also share with more people what I really enjoy. So enjoy (hopefully).....


Bheem boy Bheem boy!
Bheem boy Bheem boy, andha locker lendhu aaru latchathai eduthu indha Avinashi naayin moonjiyil vitteri…”! “I mean what I mean, but they can’t be so mean” - Words that will leave me in clutching my stomach in splits for a long time to come. Credit goes to a dialogue writer whose dialogues (not to mention his stage plays and TV series) are as “Crazy” as his name (or I should I say, title). Crazy Mohan has long been a source of clean entertainers in the stage scene in Chennai and the rest of the Tamil speaking world and his efforts in the big stage have not been off the mark. His dialogues right away strike the mark in Michael Madana Kamarajan where the opening lines of this post play quite a role in the proceedings. An ensemble cast of seasoned actors, all of which have excelled in comic roles both before and after this movie, play stellar roles in this comic classic, which released in 1991.

Kamal Hasan plays a set of identical quadruplets who are separated right after their birth and find their way into completely different strata of society. Fortunately Singeetham Srinivasa Rao is not from the "Manmohan Desai school of filmmaking" and hence the whole “different religion” bit is not a part of this rib tickling offering which seems to ooze comic sense in every frame. But if you had seen his immediately preceding offering – Apoorva Sagodharargal (a.k.a Appu Raja, for the Bollywood audience), you would have had a sense of deja vu in the opening frames of the movie. Like most other movies starring Kamal Hasan, this movie packs quite a bit of the story into the credit sequences. The quadruplets separate during the credit sequence during which the director makes a guest appearance as a street performer with a “bioscope” (which a small movie camera like apparatus through which you can view small pictures which are on slides). In fact the whole of this movie is seen through the eyes of a small kid who comes to see through the bioscope. The boys.. Wait. Did I mention all of them are boys? In fact with Kamal around and with his other movies both before and after this one, this fact needs to be mentioned. Well, the boys each grow up to be a counterfeiter, a fireman (who grows up in a orphanage which is only hinted), a rich kid and a cook.

The last mentioned character, named Kameshwaran, would be remembered by Tamil movie fans for eons to come. He grows up at the home of a Tamil Iyer from Palakkad (which, for your information, is a district in Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu) who ekes out a living as the head cook at weddings and other events. “Delhi” Ganesh who has been a staple in almost every Kamal movie plays the foster father’s role to perfection. The exchanges between foster father, Mani Iyer and son, Kameshwaran, at a Brahmin wedding where a fish finds its way into the saambhar (from Kamal’s shirt pocket) is classic comedy, which sets alight the audience. Both Kamal and “Delhi” Ganesh use the nuances of the Tamil language as it is spoken by “Palakkad Iyers” to make the audience laugh at exactly the right places. Kameshwaran’s character is similar to a multitude of others played by Mehmood in Hindi movies like Padosan and more recently Mithun Chakroborty in Agneepath. I use the word “similar” here, because of the possibility of the character dissolving into a caricature of a Tamil Brahmin (who oozes out stupidity) as seen in the previously mentioned Bollywood movies. But Kamal adroitly goes around this fault and gives the audience something to identify with. There is nothing “out of the world” in this character and still he brings out the simpleton in Kameshwaran. The dialect spoken by Kameshwaran is the best part. I think that being an Iyer from Palakkad myself, probably made the lines hit the bulls eye with me, because I could identify with the language as it is spoken by my own family (and me, of course, when I am around relatives). But judging by the reactions of others sitting around me whenever I watch this movie, the lines hit bull’s eye with them too. There is nothing derogatory about this character and that is what makes the director and Kamal's treatment stand out.

One of the aspects of this movie which has me still shaking my head in surprise, is the apparent link in every scene of the movie, even between different threads. Imagine, 4 brothers who don’t really meet each other at all till half way through the movie. Even in a movie like Amar Akbar Anthony (read a review here), which incidentally was aired on TCM in June, the brothers lead separate lives and each one’s actions do not really play a role in the other’s life. But not in this movie. In fact barring just a couple of breaks, the whole movie can be really considered one long sequence of events each of which affect the next one in line. For example, at the start of the movie, Michael (one of the brothers who is a counterfeiter) and his foster father (who seems to be drunk, throughout the movie, la Keshto Mukerjee) run from the police who land up at their door. At the end of this chase, Michael who is driving the car, inexplicably rams against electricity supply main which short circuits causing a fire, which threatens to destroy Shalini’s (played by Khusbhu) paintings.

Raju (again Kamal), a fireman arrives with a team and saves Shalini. A dream song sequence follows this incident and ends with Raju and a Pathani money lender locked in embrace. Raju owes the Pathan money and as a result wants to get out of this sticky situation. A plate with fish gets knocked off Raju’s hands (in the door of his room) and one of the fish finds its way into Kameshwaran’s shirt pocket when he’s shopping in the market right outside Raju’s room (which is on the first floor of the house). He does not realize this and after a hurried threat to the Pathani who’s still standing shell-shocked looking at him (because he looks just like Raju, minus a moustache), leaves for the wedding where he and his father are cooking. This fish finally falls into the saambhar and causes some really funny exchanges between Kameshwaran and Mani Iyer, Kameshwaran’s apparent ignorance of the English language also adding to the humor.

This is where the film starts showing some faults. Once the baton is passed from one thread to another (like the end of the Michael’s chase to Raju’s fire), nothing is mentioned of the previous thread until much later. For example after the accident that causes the short circuit, nothing ever is mentioned of Michael or whether he successfully escaped from the police who were in his heels, well sorry, his tires. It is that abrupt. But Kamal’s genius and Crazy Mohan’s dialogues actually make us forget what transpired earlier and keep us occupied with the present. The fact that Kamal plays all the major roles in each of the threads plays no small part in this successful effort. But its disconcerting none the less, if u are realist who can’t stomach illogical movies, to see the truant fish in the saambhar, which could cause a huge loss of revenue for a Brahmin cook, ignored for the rest of the movie. But I am not that realist and so I was not complaining.

The fourth brother, Madan, grows up in the household of his biological father (who in true Indian movie fashion, does not know this fact) and comes back to India from London (with a MBA degree) after his father’s supposed death to reclaim the family business from his cousin and uncle who are on the verge of usurping it. He throws them out and they are out soon plotting his downfall with the help of the secretary, Avinashi (played by another veteran, Nagesh), who himself has misappropriated Rs.25 lakh from his father. Praveen Kumar (a.k.a Bheema from B.R.Chopra’s Mahabharath) plays Madan’s bodyguard, Bheem, a kid in every sense else other than his huge physique. The guy watches cartoons all the time and jumps out of windows whenever Madan tells him to (??) and even climbs up to the same room through a pipe when Madan asks him to come up after he had jumped down.

Urvashi, who’s another comic genius in her own right plays Tirupurasundari (fondly called Tiruppu) who, when not drawing Rangoli at weddings for a living, spends her time trying to replace the stuff that her grandmother (played by veteran actress S.N.Lakshmi), a compulsive kleptomaniac, steals from people attending the same weddings. After the above mentioned “fish sequence”, she meets Kameshwaran and after some comical (unintended) courting due to the kleptomanical S.N. Lakshmi, gets married to him.

Madan and Raju meet and Madan pays Raju to impersonate him. The villains recruit Michael through a middleman to kill Madan and when Michael sees Raju and Madan talking, he decides to impersonate Madan too, to get some easy money. Meanwhile Avinashi chances upon Kameshwaran and recruits him through Urvashi’s crooked grandmother (played by veteran Tamil actress, S.N. Lakshmi) to impersonate Madan. All that Kameshwaran has to do is mouth the line – “Bheem boy, Bheem boy, andha locker lendhu aaru latchatha eduthu Avinashi naayin moonjila vittu eri” (Bheem boy, take six lakhs out of that locker and throw it on the face of this dog, Avinashi). Kameshwaran’s heavily accented English is the highlight of this movie and he keeps repeating his "line" to everyone in sight much to Avinashi’s consternation, as is Raju’s attempts to ape Madan’s mannerisms and language, particularly the Madan’s use of the phrase “Catch my point?”.

Hence 3 brothers set out to impersonate the fourth leading to hilarious sequences that end at a hill top bungalow which seems be nothing more than a rickety single room apartment waiting to fall down anytime from the top of the hill. The movie finally ends with the “alls well that ends well” formula, after some hilarious sequences like a madisaar clad S.N.Lakshmi showing some karate moves and finally getting her haunches on fire.. It is a highly illogical affair, but we have seen so many like these from the likes of Charles Chaplin and others, where the only intention is to generate some laughs and nothing else.

This movie probably was the second successive attempt by Kamal (the first being Apoorva Saghdharargal) to play multiple roles. A string of serious attempts at parallel roles followed, like Guna etc., which has continued till the present day to Hey Ram and Abhay, barring a handful of ordinary attempts in between. Still his losses from his attempts to kick-start his dream venture (Marudhanayagam) have to be recouped and hence he has started to play to the front benchers again after a long time. Well, these attempts have not been successful. Will someone tell him that he just needs to look at what he did in movies like Michael Madana Kamarajan to strike the right chord? Clean humor always works, and his recent attempts have not really been clean.

I have always preferred Thalaivar Rajinikant to Kamal. But Michael Madana Kamarajan shall remain one of my favorite movies, more so for the humor in the movie than for the actor in Kamal.

Aniruddha, I apologize!

2005-06-09T09:30:00.000-05:00

Kitchen trivia is one of my pet peeves and if you have been coming here regularly, you will remember a couple of instances where I have taken the effort to clear some of these "facts". My last post (part of it) was just another such effort. I have encountered words/terms such as anti maccasar in quizzes and have wondered about them. I have also heard questions about terms that apparently refered to acts as mundane as throwing things out of the window (Defenestration) and shaking wrapped gifts while holding them close to the ear to guess what they contain (Histoblogination??). They were odd words that I did not see used anywhere, but I could find etymological references. So when I saw a word like Blogsnob, I set out on a similar hunt. But I did not find any references. Or maybe I did not look hard enough.

Then, this morning, I found the comment from the man indirectly referred to in the previous post. Aniruddha Dutta, the QM for the Quiznet quiz left a comment with an exhaustive set of links that he used to set that quiz. And the first page, I went on, was the wiki page for "Blog". There I found the exact "definition" for Blogsnob. But the Wiki, sadly was created anonymously and this particular word has not been cross referenced. Moreover, the discussion page for this wiki contains comments from a number of people calling for the deletion of this wiki, since the whole concept of Blogs is still fairly new and evolving.

So even after see all those sources from Aniruddha, I am still not so sure about the validity of the question as my reply to Aniruddha's comment indicates. IMHO, It might just be too early to use the term "blogsnob" or in fact any other blogging term as subject for a proper trivia question.

However, I think I have to apologize to Aniruddha for seemingly hinting that he might have cooked the question up.

I am sorry, Anirrudha. I am sorry if it seemed I was faulting you. In some ways, I was, but not now.....

(Update: Thanx da Dev, for refreshing my memory about defenestration and histoblogination! I did shoot an email to MVL this morning about it.)

Blogsnobs, dreams, love and being RC

2005-06-06T17:43:00.000-05:00

I read this question on a Quiznet quiz today- In the blogging world, what is a Blogsnob?
The QM mentions the answer too - "A person who refuses to respond to comments on their blog from people outside their circle of friends". Hmmmm, haven't heard this expression bandied across cyberspace before this. In fact a google search turns up results for the other better known "Blogsnob", the text ad based service developed by Arnab Nandi and his friends that was acquired last year by the Kalsey Consulting group. If you guys have seen this term spoken about somewhere else do leave your comments, because this seems to have every chance of becoming another of those kitchen trivia questions like the one about the Swami Vivekananda "Pfeiffer" and the 555 cigarrette - Holmes/Sutcliffe partnership connection.

I have a penchant for dreaming. Last night, in the midst of disturbed sleep caused by a non functional A/C (ya i know Chennai is hotter, but then here, I don't have a fan either) I had a dream last night that I met SPB at a concert. We have this nice conversation and he wants to know if I have a song that I would like to hear him sing. And you know what song I request? Sach Mere Yaar Hai (UPDATE: Click link to hear the song) from Saagar. Yeah, that happens to be my fav Hindi song by SPB. But then, in the face of a zillion SPB-IR combo songs, I choose an otherwise obscure Hindi number that a lot of people dont know about? Funny, really funny.

A lot of people I know have been blogging about love. Mushy stories about first crushes and thoughts yearning for that elusive love interest seem to be the order of the day. I smile when I read them, but having seen so many "love" stories go sour, I am wondering if people know what they want when they use the four letter word. Ya, thats what i call it, another four letter word. I still can't figure out why some people claim that a rose and silent conversation while looking into each others eyes is better than a nice analytical conversation about Sachin's tennis elbow. Ok, I know that there is the small matter of both the people being compatible, in such a way that Sachin's tennis elbow seems important to both of them. They are spending time together after all right? And spending time in a way that both parties enjoy. So is compatibility synonymous with love? Or is love synonymous with compatibility. I hope to find out one day! Yeah, I am still RC.

Bees and the birds again...

2005-06-03T09:45:00.000-05:00

It is that time of the year again. And this year, Anurag Kashyap, an Indian American won it for the fifth time in seven years (and not for the first time, as my otherwise favorite newspaper quotes from UNI sources). And ESPN goes ga-ga over the exploits of Indian Americans! The article is itself written by an Indian American, but nevertheless it is ESPN, for gods sake!

This year, ESPN came out swinging. Their coverage of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee this year included, among other things - the First Annual Spelling Bee Fantasy Draft and a guide to picking the Spelling Bee winner. And do check out their Sportoon! It is both fitting and hilararious, particularly Larry Brown spelling "DISTRACTION"!!

Btw, what's ESPN doing treating this Spelling Bee like its the NBA! It's a group of kids spelling words for heavens sake. But it is tough, esspecially if u are a pre-teen. A lot of the words seem alien even for someone who has gone through the grind of the GRE and the TOEFL, not to mention the CAT.

Btw, CNN had a interactive spelling test comprising of words that decided the winner in the last ten years (look in the Related section in this page for the interactive test). I am proud that I got 9 out of 10 the first time i took it yesterday. And 2 of those words, I remembered cos I had watched the finals of the competition this past two years. But I missed one that I should have remembered, considering that it's on the word list for letter A and I knew the meaning! Thalaila adichinden.

Niagara or Mini India?

2005-06-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

Somewhere along I-190, just past the city of Buffalo, there seems to be a portal, a kink in the time-space continuum, a gateway into an alternate universe where the denizens of the Indian subcontinent seem to have taken over at least a swath of land bordering what is now, Canada. In that alternate universe, this area seems to be attracting a large number of visitors from India, particularly the southern parts and these entrepreneurs from the sub continent seem to be making a huge deal of money from catering to the culinary interests of these visitors. This area seems to be devoid of most locals, who seem to have been banished to some hinterland beyond, with just a few being employed as minions. And the sign boards leading to this place all bear the name – Niagara Falls.

And that is just where I was this past weekend, out to spend the weekend on a road trip that started on Saturday and ended early on Monday, including a brief couple of hours spent strolling on Times Square in the full glare of the billboards.

We reached Niagara close to 8 pm on Saturday after an 8 hour drive and after a brief break in our hotel, started walking around and saw the light show ( see pics here and here, taken with my trusted V300). Then we got in to this balloon ride office and bought tickets from a hot Asian looking chick who seemed to understand what a stir she was causing with all those undone buttons on her shirt. Not that I looked (and I swear that my eyes were looking into hers and they were mesmerising!), but she certainly carried it off with the knowing looks of one who knows she’s being ogled at.

Anyways, a few years back, a single level 5 roller coaster spoiled my whole visit to Kings Island and that incident was still fresh on my mind. So I took the mind numbing decision to excuse myself, in spite of the two ladies with us who were all enthu about seeing Niagara from the sky. Hell, I am RC enough to think objectively about anything and I decided not to risk any chance of hurling which was bound to happen with all that movement up there. Thankfully, the guys understood, with M, having been with me on that aforementioned Kings Island trip. So they went on up and once they came back, it was back to the office and the hot chick (for the refund), where I attempted a few smooth jokes to gloss over the fact that I was the one who had chickened out.

After a take out dinner from one of those roadside desi run dhabas, we hit the sack in our hotel room by midnight. Got outta bed early and got to the Maid of the Mist just in time for the first ride of the day. After a few pics against the backdrop of the falls from the viewing platform, we were then browsing through the Maid of the Mist Souvenir store, when N got this brainstorm of buying identical t-shirt and cap sets and wearing them for the rest of the trip. We changed in the nearby rest rooms and wore the outfit for the rest of the trip.

We made a complete fool of ourselves in front of the handy-cam that U and N had brought. I think I did my worst ever imitation of Thalaivar in Baasha. I also got into a heated discussion with M about whether some of Thalaivar’s mannerisms where actually inspired by Michael Jackson. That was as close to sacrilege as M has ever gotten. U also got into the act, playing the air veena, doing what Chiru does in one of his songs in Indra.

In doing all this, we made our way to the Cave of the Wind area when we experienced the second incident of what we were warned/informed about - the fact that we'd meet someone we know (the first being the fact that Niagara would be like mini-India). Ya, we met F and her hubby. F had been a fellow student at OU and we were totally amused.

At the Cave of the Wind walk through, I promptly got wet, having left my poncho untied. We were jumping up and down like kids in the water as it cascaded. And the view was exhilirating! We then did a brief walk-through close to the Horseshoe Falls and decided to hit the Top of the fall restaurant to blow a hole in M’s pocket. And that was when the rain started. We had beautiful warm sunshine till then, but we did not bother too much, since we were ready to hit the road back again, with the Canadian side being out of bounds for us just graduated, to be graduating students and the sole "non-immigrant worker" visa holder. So we hit the road to NYC at around 2 pm, encountering brief thunderstorms from time to time.

We reached Times Square at 10 and walked around till 12:30 when we shared a pizza at Sbarros. On the way back, I caught this nice ad in front of Toys or Us featuring Geoffery, the Toys R Us mascot. The sight of Geoffrey the Girafee peeking out from the billboard was hilarious. U also caught a nice snap of S (his bro) against the backdrop of the billboards on Time Square, just as one of the boards was flashing an ad that read “Hit me baby one more time”. Purely a coincidence, but hilarious indeed, considering that he had us all in splits through the weekend with his impression of Britney Spears singing "kottu kottu, inka oka saari" (or something like that in Telugu)! We then hit the road back again and dropped back to Newark at around 2:30. In short, it was a weekend of all round fun.

Curveball....

2005-05-26T11:48:00.000-05:00

I am like the minor leaguer who has just broken into the big league. And Life is this Hall of Fame pitcher with a dangerous curveball, the likes of which I have never faced. But sometimes, one of these curveballs happens to be in the right place at the right time and you just close your eyes and swing at it and hope it connects.

I just did that today and connected it with no effort from my side. Now I am joogging towards first base, looking at the ball flying high over left field, hoping it clears the wall and lands in the hands of that young kid who's reaching out to it! I have no chance of getting out, thats for sure. The ball is high enough to elude the outfielder, but will it be a homerun?

That's just what I am hoping for as I reach first base. It is a sweet feeling with a tinge of bitterness brought about by the essential cynic in me, wondering if I have finally made it?

Vagaries of time

2005-05-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

You know that its time you grew up, when someone much younger to you decides that they need your approval for a life changing decision that they have either taken recently or are close to taking.

But is it abnormal that you just don't want to grow up?

BCCI, quo vadis? (continued)

2005-05-21T18:00:00.000-05:00

On my last post, I detailed the sorry state of events that led to the PIL, filed by Shantanu Sharma and Rahul Mehra in 2000. The case seems to have progressed slowly to the current state that, now after five years, a New Delhi high court has instructed Sharma and Mehra, to file (on or before May 25th) a wish list. The BCCI has also been instructed to file appropriate response to each item on the wish list. Rediff set out to ask its readers to send in suggestions. Most of these suggestions seem very clear cut. But some seem to be knee jerk with no explanation as to how such a suggestion could be logically implemented by the BCCI in the near future.

I have attempted to dissect some of the major suggestions that have been thrown up by these readers. I have also added as and when required, my own suggestions to suggest a framework by which the BCCI’s day to day activities could be coordinated towards the single goal of ensuring a better experience, both for the players and paying public. I think I might sound stupid, but I am ignorant sometimes. So please bear with me and do leave your comments if you think there are some points that I need to learn about before talking about them.

Go and ask any cricket fan in India for his/her views about how BCCI could improve, the first thing that would probably come out of their mouth would be that the BCCI should be run with people who have played some cricket in a professional capacity for a State or the country. But how are we going to attract these former players?

Let’s ask a question to ourselves. Let us assume X earns a monthly salary of Rs. 20000 through an IT services company. Such employment offers X a fixed framework to work, by way of a fixed job description, fixed working hours (mostly) and not to mention, job security. Let us say that X is a very good singer. X loves to sing and has been singing at live concerts for a sum. Suddenly a music company comes to X and offers singing gigs, but at a lesser salary that X has been earning so far. X is also told that the payment will be on an hourly basis and only when X sings. Would X want to leave the IT services company just to sing on an hourly basis? Wouldn’t X think that it would be better if the two jobs could be juggled in such a way that the working hours wouldn’t conflict? And in any case, professionally there would not be any conflict of interest, unless X has to sing for a campaign to promote a rival of his employer. And I am sure that X would come to such a conclusion.

Do you see where I am coming at? Most former cricketers who I think have the capability to administer cricket, say a Gavaskar or a Ravi Shastri (for e.g.) are contracted with one TV channel or the other to offer expert commentary during televised games. While X’s dual gigs would not be in conflict, Gavaskar’s presence in both the TV studio and the Board’s selection committee meeting would probably be in conflict. Rameez Raaja found just that last year when he, even though he was in the team selection panel, was sitting in the commentary box, sometimes dishing the same players he helped select. So the way out, to sign on capable cricketers exclusively by offering them remuneration comparable to what they would receive from the TV channels. Also this employment contract would be of no fixed duration giving them the oppurtunity to leave if they choose to. But for this to happen, a corporate structure has to exist within the BCCI. This is currently not the case.

The ICC’s member profile page for India informs us that India has been a Full Member since 31 May 1926. But what really surprised me is the fact that the BCCI’s office seems to be headquartered at Trivandrum (address: Board of Control for Cricket in India, "Kairali", G.H.S. Lane, Manacaud, Trivandrum 695 009, Kerala, India) with an email address hosted by Sathyam Infoway for contact! Funny, because I always thought that the BCCI is based out of Mumbai. While this might just be a oversight or a error on the ICC part, it is really surprising (and saddening) that the India seems to be the only full member of the ICC that does not have an official email address, let alone an official website. Even Zimbabwe seems to have at least an official looking email address. I have sent an email to the address mentioned in the ICC website and will update this post as and when I get a response (or the email error message that I expect to get). I am highlighting this trivial issue because since even the perfunctory corporate structure does not exist, how are we going to treat it like a corporate body?

So, do we force the BCCI to incorporate a business framework into its working? I think that’s the way out. Now this does not mean that I want the government to take over the BCCI. Well, certainly not forever. But again, a government take over has its own pitfalls as a lot of Rediff’s respondents seem to have realized. So I have an alternate suggestion here.

Change is inevitable. And when the situation has not met change for eons, then the change would need to be radical. My suggestion has echoed by a lot others. But I think I have added a unique side to it, which will be apparent when you read on.

For starters, I DO want judicial and/or executive intervention into the BCCI’s affairs. The courts seem to have laid out some initiatives from their side, but it seems easily possible that the BCCI can get some another judge to either overturn the original order or at least obtain a stay in this regard. So would Executive intervention be a solution? I am not a constitutional expert, but would it be possible for the government, not necessarily the PMO, but Raisina Hill, to reach out to the BCCI and see what is going on? Now that would be a start.

This is how it should play out. The government appoints a steering committee, initially comprising of a few cricketers. However, I would definitely not want the one’s who keep putting their foot in their mouth everyday in the media, like Ashok Malhotra (who seems to have been in a coma for the past 5 years) and Mohinder Amarnath (who seems to be proud that he has a lap but no laptop). It would be better if this committee included people like Venkatraghavan, Vishwanath, Gavaskar and Pataudi, four people who seem to be intelligent enough to handle the attention and still do what is asked of them capably. Again the remuneration conditions that I have mentioned above should be followed clearly.

My next suggestion is probably the most controversial. Someone like Dalmiya or Bindra should be included in the committee. These two seem to have built up Indian cricket into this money making machine, starting with the 96 World Cup that their expertise in the business side should not be ignored. Bindra in addition seems to be doing pretty well in administering the PCA and seems to have developed Mohali into probably the best facilities in India. But Dalmiya or Bindra, either way, will not head the committee nor have any veto powers.

The government also deputizes a senior civil services officer from the IAS or the judicial system to liaise with the committee and make sure everything goes on track. This is a key position and the person chosen should be knowledgeable and also senior enough to not be in awe of the cricketers. This last part is trivial, but it seems possible that with cricket being as big as it is in India, anybody could be swayed from their duties.

Now what is this steering committee for? This steering committee would first figure out a business framework for Indian cricket under the financial and business laws laid down by the Constitution of India. Once the framework is set, the committee and government of India would advertise in the media channels calling for qualified candidates for a CEO to head “Cricket India”.

My take is that, the CEO of “Cricket India” just needs to be a good manager with pre-requisite experience of leading a reasonably large company successfully. Now once the CEO is chosen, the CEO sits with the steering committee to pick a candidate for a CFO and a CTO. The qualifications for the CFO would be just like any other company. But the CTO should have been involved with cricket or played cricket, not necessarily in India. For starters, the steering committee (along with the CEO, CTO and the CFO) shall pick a selection panel comprising of former international cricketers as salaried employees. These employees shall have no fixed term, but would be free to leave their positions as and when they deem fit. Subsequently, other cricketers shall be interviewed for these vacant positions if there are any.

And once the business framework is set, the company shall take over the running of the BCCI at the national level with the state level organizations following suit in time. The new organization shall be registered as company in the stock exchanges and shall be answerable to all its shareholders. Such an organization would enter into agreements with service providers like the TV production companies just like any other company would do with its vendors and customers. The financial details would also be made public every year or quarter. And I am sure that Indian cricket would be comparable to any current blue chip stocks once it is listed.

Now, this cannot be done within a day or two. So it is logical that we let the BCCI stay as it is, till the steering committee shall do what it needs to do. Once Cricket India becomes a reality, the BCCI should be asked to hand in the reigns with all assets of the BCCI transferred to the new organization.

But all this will not be possible without executive intervention. And the PMO intervening would be too much to ask, with the current political scenario in India being non conducive for radical steps. So where do we go? Would Raisina Hill oblige with an executive order? Is it even possible?

BCCI, quo vadis?

2005-05-15T18:15:00.000-05:00

The turn of the last century was a tumultuous period in Indian cricket. A cursory glance of the headlines on Cricinfo seems to corroborate this view. In February 2000, The Indian team returned from a drubbing at the hands of Australia in Australia, a tour that was as controversial off the field as it was one sided on it. The tussle between the selectors and the team management in Australia began with a widely reported statement from Board Secretary J.Y.Lele that the team was going be whitewashed. Then Nayan Mongia was recalled and sent to Australia to cover for Saba Karim and was publicly ignored by Kapil Dev and Tendulkar who stated on record that they had not wanted Mongia in Australia. These off the field issues certainly did not help the team, which was beaten badly.

Almost immediately after the team?s return home, in Feb-Mar 2000, a South African team led by (the late) Hansie Cronje landed in India to play 2 Tests and 5 ODI's. The selectors seemed to take another step backward by including Azhar in the test squad, a move that surprised everyone. As a result, even before the series started, Sachin, who apparently did not think too much of Azhar and who had been captain in Australia announced he was relinquishing the captaincy after the 2 Test series. But the series that started in such a sour note ended with India being whitewashed in a home Test series at home for the first time.

It was in such strained circumstances that Shantanu Sharma, a lawyer and Rahul Mehra, a businessman decided to file a PIL on April 20, 2000 against the BCCI in a New Delhi high court. The PIL charged the BCCI with abandonment of any efforts for the growth and betterment of cricket in India. An Outlook article from last October mentions that the two petitioners spent close to 3 months studying accounting records from the BCCI (how did they manage to get access to those records?) with the help of a ?leading economist?, not to mention Prem Panicker , to figure out what was going on in the BCCI. And Outlook did a cover story on what they discovered. It makes for quite an interesting reading!

The BCCI hired a hot shot legal team comprising of a virtual who?s who of Indian legal eagles ? Kapil Sibal among them. They argued that the PIL was not ?maintainable? since the BCCI was registered under an obscure act (Tamil Nadu's Society Registration Act of 1860) as a private society, making it answerable only to the 31 state associations and not to the public! So then first, the court had to rule whether the incredulous claim was valid or not, according to the laws of the land.

The BCCI, then, in an apparent display of excellent (but anachronistic) foresightedness announced that it had drafted a 27 page Vision Statement for Indian Cricket that it submitted to the (then) Sports Minister, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa in New Delhi in August 2000. A closer look however revealed that the vision statement was actually a PowerPoint presentation containing 27 slides containing 5 or 6 bullets each, totally comprising of somewhere close to 1700 words (which I found by using the word count tool in MS Word). It is interesting to note that, in comparison, my recent post titled Weekend Chronicles had exactly 1000 words (the post title and my sign off included)! Either I am very thorough or the drafter of the vision statement was gifted with extreme conciseness. Sadly the former seems to be more plausible, once you actually go through the whole vision statement.

Soon Rediff did their own version of the vision statement that it (i.e Rediff, in BCCI garb) said would be reviewed by "a broad-based panel of experts, comprising of cricketers of standing and repute, management and financial experts, for comments, criticism and suggestions, which will then be incorporated into the final draft. Which, in turn, will then become the cornerstone of a new cricketing future for India".

However, after that the activities get murky. After practically hearing nothing for a couple of years, the next thing I heard was that, in the midst of the telecast rights imbroglio last year (before the Australia series), Zee TV had gone to court, contending that BCCI, being a public body cannot act arbitrarily. This time, the BCCI while giving the same argument as the previous case, also added that the Saurav Ganguly led team was actually representing the BCCI and not India as a country. This theory was pooh poohed by the court which ultimately said that the team was actually representing India, since the Indian colors and the Tricolor were prominently displayed in uniforms and gear. This judgment was in October 2004 (as reported on Outlook).

The original PIL was in the back of my mind for a long time, but of late my thought has been that, with the slow pace of the Indian judicial system, it has almost been abandoned or silently dismissed! So it comes as a pleasant surprise that while the case has actually been proceeding slowly, it has certainly not been dismissed. Rediff reported a couple of days ago (as my previous post says) that Rahul Mehra and Shantanu Sharma, the original petitioners have been asked to submit by May 25, "a wish list of what, in their opinion, the BCCI should do to clean up its functioning". The court has also ruled that the BCCI has to respond constructively to every suggestions from the petitioners.

But before we jump up and down, it has to be understood that this is but a small victory ? a minor battle won in a great war that still hinges on the balance. It remains to be seen how Mehra and Sharma respond. Given their tenacity, I think they would already have something ready. So, let's watch everything carefully and hope for the best.

The media seems to be watching the events closely. As Amit Varma told me, Rediff has been doing an awesome job (most of the links here are from there) of publicizing this issue, though I feel that there have been lot of gaps chronologically. But ultimately, we, as fans can also put forth suggestions. Last October, during the height of the telecast rights controversy, Amit raised a number of valid questions in this regard and pointed out some possible solutions, on his 23 Yards blog on Cricinfo. Now, Rediff has asked for suggestions from its readers.

Since I already have a platform to voice mine on, I am going to go ahead and give my take on this issue right here. But I don't think it will be anything new. So in that case, if the possible solutions are right in front of our eyes, why are these solutions being ignored?

I think I have rambled enough on this post. I will stop now and continue later after collecting my thoughts.

(To be continued...)

Amukki Podu!

2005-05-13T23:58:00.000-05:00

Amukki podu!

The Place: A running train (Pallavan Express)

The Date: February 20, 1999 (the day India lost to Pakistan at Calcutta :( )

The Event: Return journey from Chennai to Trichy, en route from Delhi after a visit to some industrial trade fair or the other!

The Activity: Dancing with Venkat, to Kasu Mele Kasu Vandhu, played over a stereo smuggled into the train !

*sigh* Those were the best days of my life! Missing all friends and missing all those days!

Will the BCCI clean up its act?

2005-05-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

Wow, this is making me re-think my abstinence from cricket related posts ! This issue is something I have felt strongly for a long time and I remember a couple of long discussions over the phone with a friend (a fellow cricket fanatic who still plays down south in Florida) . Mebbe this weekend!

Meanwhile Rediff has posted the Full text of the Delhi High Court judgment! Read it!

The first post from my Motorola V300!

2005-05-09T17:04:00.000-05:00

Hello world!

I logged into Blogger this morning to see a posting on Blogger Buzz regarding Blogger Mobile - a new Blogger feature that allows you to create and update a blog with photos and text from your mobile device. And later found a post on the same topic by LazyGeek too. I decided to try the system and part of this post resulted.

That pic and the "Hello World!" text was posted from my cell phone a couple of mins ago! The pic is actually of me and my friends from my school days, taken a few days (if I remember right, our last group arattai session) before I came here to the US for the first time in 2001. During a nostalgic phase a couple of months ago, I decided to keep the pic as my cell phone wall paper. And today, posted it as my first mobile post!

I am officially a "Blogger on the Go"! And you, to become one, send to "go@blogger.com", whatever you want to post and follow the instructions that are given here! Thangamaaaannni Ennjjaaaaay!

(P.S The quality of the posted pic is rather poor given the poor maintenance that my V300 endures because of the "not too mobile savvy" me! And I am there in the pic! If you need any help, I am the guy sitting on the far left.)

Ash, Are you stupid?

2005-05-06T09:14:00.000-05:00

Aishwarya Rai on Jerry Springer! (link: courtesy George)

Someone tell her what the show is all about. Someone tell her about the episode where a horrendously obese man was given a scrubbing in a bathtub on stage because his dirtiness made his girlfriend break up with him. Someone tell her about the fistfights that happen on stage. Someone tell her about all the nasty name calling. Someone tell her that no one respectable, apart from desi grad students fresh off the plane from India (1) watch it! Someone tell her that, if she is stupid enough to go on the show, let her not be stupid enough to let her mom know when it is on TV. Someone tell her that in the aftermath of the show, she should also steer her mom away from the computer and the TV for the rest of their lives, because this is something that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

But I guess she is NOT. I think this is another joke ON the Slimes of India who attribute this news to (The) Spoof.com! Gotcha! So Someone DID play a joke on the Slimes of India. Look at the disclaimer on the bottom the article on thespoof.com! But, Aishwarya should sue the Slimes guys for putting this up without the disclaimer.

[1] I have never seen the inside of a strip club! I am pretty much ambivalent to it and I think the absence of any in a 50 35 mile radius of Athens (Ohio) is responsible for the status quo. But ya, most male desi grad students have watched Springer regularly as part of their initiation rites, much like the obligatory strip club visits. I watched Springer regularly during my second year here. Not the first year because I had no access to TV during my first year. And that episode with the frighteningly obese guy getting a scrubbing on stage with his estranged (and waiting to get back together with him) girlfriend looking on, is what that made me turn off the TV. Till then the show was funny, but even the thought of that scene makes me want to puke now!

The soft core of a violent volcano

2005-05-04T19:55:00.000-05:00

My softer side...

Weekend Chronicles

2005-05-01T17:36:00.000-05:00

This was a fun weekend, involving everything that I would like to do/experience (at least on the weekends) for the rest of my life - Sooper company, good conversations, interesting movies, music, some travel and awesome food. Probably the only thing that was missing was cricket!

It was a Dinner and a Movie night on Friday. M reccommended that we hit this Mexican joint close to the U Del campus, after which we caught the first show of the big screen adaption of the Douglas Adam's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I cannot say much about the movie. I wanna see the movie again, mainly because a lot of Alan Rickman's lines went unheard, in lieu of the poor quality of the sound system! However I think the movie remains true to the book, inspite of Adam's death midway through the screenplay writing.

M and I then spent almost the rest of the night talking about a lot of things over coffee, ice cream and cookies till the juggernaut otherwise known as sleep ran us over in the wee hours of the morning when the birds were just taking their first chirps. Nice start to the weekend. Coincidentally, every single Friday night (4 so far) here, I have never managed to sleep before 3 am, in spite of promising myself a early retirement to bed. However, its mostly been fun, if you discount that India Pakistan ODI last month.

Woke up Saturday morning and made a quick trip back home to re-brush my teeth, get a change of clothes. After a heavy lunch at an Indian restaurant, we decided to do a bit of sightseeing, in spite of the steady drizzle. During a brief lull in the rain, we hit the Longwood Gardens (the erstwhile residence of the heirs to the DuPont empire) about a hour before the scheduled closure at 6 pm and learnt a bit about fragrant flora and their scientific names. We also seemed to discover that "digitalis" refers to "digit like" or "finger like", though that was a surmise from one of the guys in the group. Took a couple of nice pics that I thought brought my softer side out into the open. Haven't seen them yet. On the road again in pouring rain, we decided to make a detour to the local Indian store to pick up some chaat supplies. One of the gals picked up a couple of DVDs with Assorted Bollywood hits (one specificially mentioning RDB), which seems to be the terminology used to refer to any DVD that contains all the songs from 4 or 5 different movies. Over Bhelpuri and Panipuri, we shot our way through these two DVDs till we came to an interesting song - Mere Sapnon Ki Raani (Aradhana).

Through my time at college and at several different points since then, I have been involved in arguments surrounding the title of the book that Sharmila Tagore (OMG, she really pouts her way through scenes!) seems to be reading on the train while she furitively glances at Rajesh Khanna serenading her from his jeep. While the author of this book has been universally narrowed down to Alistair Mclean, the book's title has always been in conjecture, with several being touted as the one. Ladies and Gentleman, I can safely settle this argument once in for all and will probably post a DVD screen shot sometime in the near future! The title of the book is When Eight Bells Toll! Thank you! (* takes a bow as he prepares for entry into the Quizzing Hall of Fame for valuable contributions such as these to the quizzing fraternity !)

A craving for ice cream made us venture back out into the drizzle to the nearest Dunkin Donuts / Baskin Robbins outlest where I gorged on a twin scoop of fruity sherbet and pista ice-cream with roasted almonds topped by a cherry. A longer drive followed (don't ask me why, but I guess the answer would be, because we could!) and we came back close to midnight and plonked ourselves down on the carpet to watch the digitally recreated version Mughal-E-Azam (in color). I thought the movie was actually hilarious with the romantic looks and the lines getting laughs out of the RC me! I was not too impressed with the "remastering", but again I don't know how the result compares with other efforts such as the old Three Stooges movie that I read about somewhere a couple of months ago.

Soon the sight of the majority catching a few winks on the side provoked the host into ordering us into our respective beds. We did retire to bed soon after, but sleep we did not. All of us ended up talking for close to another hour and I finally hit dreamland around 3 am.

But it has been a quiet Sunday so far, after I got back home close to noon. I caught up with the dirty laundry (literally) and got some reading done in advance for the coming week.

I know this is turning out to be a diary that I never intended to have, but I think I haven't had this much fun in the last months. The week is actually very hectic with the amount of reading and training that I have been doing on the professional front and thankfully the weekends have been just the medicine to rest the otherwise tired mind. I think it helps to have a few like minded friends around! Thanks guys!

Thanks to all those who left comments on my previous post. I think it was just a morose 24 hours that prompted that outburst. And as for all of you who have been leaving comments on my twin Gaana posts, thank you too. I think these two posts have been the ones with the maximum comments so far on this blog. I appreciate your interest and your comments and hope you will be back!

Life's a vampire

2005-04-27T19:58:00.000-05:00

Life's a vampire and it completely sucks!

Footloose Blues - II

2005-04-26T16:03:00.000-05:00

(Continued from previous post...)

A couple of my gal pals, who were with us on Saturday, used the word dandanakka (seemingly condescendingly) a couple of times to refer to the Tamil and Telugu songs that I mentioned earlier. I don't blame them. That's just their opinion. But then again, what is it that prevents us from putting quality music from the urban spreads of South India alongside what a fat 40 something (read Daler Mehendi) or a sure shot winner of the "Stevie Wonder" look alike contest in Vegas (Sukhbir, for all you young kids who are unsure about who Stevie Wonder is) dishes out from a studio in rural Rohtak or the ghettos in Southall?

Personal preferences do matter !
For me, the images (and the ease of the steps used) from a particular video are the catalysts to my liking the track. And some artistes seem to inspire me repeatedly. Deva (in particular his gaana songs) is one of my favorites. And being a Thalaivar fan, I put his intro songs in the same plane as Deva's gaana. I am known to do a mean impression of Thalaivar in his intro songs in Arunachalam and Baasha. Sequences choreographed by Raju Sundaram (and Prabhudeva to a certain extent) are also close to my heart (and my feet).

Does sex play a role ?
Most "footloose" guys that I know have no qualms in dancing to these songs. So is it just possible that the repulsive mental images (1) that Tamil and Telugu songs sometimes leave with ladies are preventing the adoption of these tracks when it comes to the dance floor?

Do lyrics / video choreography matter ?
A lot of us seem to relate such songs with outrageous lyrics. I am not sure, but I think the lyrics part is over rated. There are songs that fit this profile, for example, the outrageously worded Thunda Kanum, Thuniya Kanum, Thooki Paatha.. (all you Tamil speaking junta should thank god that I haven't gone ahead and given the whole line), but in actuality, most of these songs have very simple lyrics with colloquial language that everybody can understand. No more hunting for a Tamil dictionary to decipher what "attraith thingal annilavil netriththarala neervadiya kotrappoigai aadiyaval neeyaa" means. On the contrary, even someone like me, with just the rudimentary knowledge of pure Tamil can understand "Kandhan irukkum idam kandha thottam, enga annan irukkum idam Poes Thottam" and also can dance to it! And it seems to me that it is only those people who swear by Marshall Mathers, who raise their eyebrows at the likes of Thunda Kanum.

Go figure! As for choreography, again, it is very simple and sometimes such songs can involve intricate choreography to tell you things that you don't expect to see. For example, you can check out the video for Kathadikidhu Kathadikidhu (from Ninaivirrukum Varai). Just when you think you are seeing a dozen guys gyrating under the influence of IMFL (and water), you see a carefully choreographed depiction of the abduction of Seetha by Ravana, straight from the Ramayana! Now, if that's not poeticism, what is?

There could be one more possible reason for the bias. But it is perhaps the most touchy. Some people that I know claim that there is a distinct bias against everything South Indian. People claim that Hindi speaking Indians look down upon South Indians (as evidence they point to the typical "stupid South Indian" character made popular by the likes of Mehmood in Bollywood) and this has led to same bias against "Madrasi" tracks. While I think that some of this might be true, but it certainly does not seem to be the case completely. And that is because I know some people (as does CM) from Chennai and elsewhere in South India who that think anybody who professes a liking for Deva's gaana, are pariahs. So, the condescending attitude is not limited only to people from North India.

In the real world, can anything be attributed to one single reason? There is always more than one reason. Suderman has been talking about looking at this issue from the journalist's point of view and I am looking forward to seeing if he comes up with any angles.

But one thing is sure. There is a niche in the market for South Indian music that is virtually untouched - Remixes. I know the remix industry thrives on Bhangra and Hindi tracks (from the 60s, 70s and the 80s). Would remixing some South Indian tracks would help to give them a more international flavor, like the infusion of reggae and rap interludes in Punjabi tracks has done?But it needs two things - A DJ who loves "dandanaka" music (and thinks he can do something positive with it) and an adventurous music company with money to burn. Mebbe the time's not far away when both these things happen. I certainly am waiting for the day that I shall listen to Deva crooning Whitu Lagaan Kozhi with techno beats accompanying it.

My advice to everyone is - forget the language, forget the lyrics, channel your concentration on to the accompanying beats and I am sure you will wanna start moving your legs. Though my father might not approve of such songs, he would not approve of Snoop "Doggy" Dee Ohh Double G either. So if you wanna say that Deva churns out offensive songs, think twice when you sing along with Eminem. And if you think you'd like to dance to Usher's Yeah (Hell yeah, Usher rocks!), try dancing to Thottu Thottu Pesum Sultana. I am sure you will have the same fun. And ya, before you start, you might wanna take some lessons on moving to such songs. But, don't worry. It's not too much trouble. I'd enjoy teaching you (particularly if you are a lady). So do you think you are upto it? Tell me when you are.

And when you are ready, I hope to start hearing more and more of these songs played by DJs.
Till such time, I will be content watching Simran grind and roll her hips in tune to Aal Thotta Bhoopathi. I am not complaining at all. And neither will you, once you get to watch the video. And that is partly why I go to temples once in a while, to thank Him for his divine deeds.

(Concluded)

[1] For example, the midriff barring costume of Simran in Aatakavala and the gyrations from Chaaya Singh / Dhanush in Manmadha Raasa

Footloose Blues - I

2005-04-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

I am still sore in a lot of places from all the hip rolling, leg lifting, foot stomping, no to mention the pelvic thrusts and thumb licking from Saturday night. Ya, I did say thumb licking and I should have added "self tilak lagao-fying" immediately after. Aaah, stop rolling your eyes. As if you'd care if I transplanted a few moves from Oh..Podu! on to the latest offering from Panjabi MC!

Aaah, Oh.. Podu! Why don't we ever get to dance to the song? I don't know! The djs just don't play this song. Nor do they play Kasu Mele Kasu Vandhu, Manmadha Raasa, Aal Thotta Bhoopathi and Appadi Podu. These, for all you people who think Bhangra is the only kinda party music ever invented by people from the Indian subcontinent, are utterly dance-able Tamil tracks of recent years. And if you think that is all. Listen to Kodithe Kottali and Aatakavala, both Telugu tracks of equally recent vintage. These tracks literally beg me to get up and dance it's a darn new chance and if they don't do it to you, you either have two left feet (which is a shame) or are completely cluless as to what I am talking about (which is worser!).

CM ranted sometime ago (1) that some of her friends argued that that "ppl with class do not like this song" (2) and that "it is understandable that (CM) likes only dandanakka songs" since she comes from a smaller city (and not from a metro). Coming as I do from Chennai (like some of CM's friends), I think that her friends could not be any more wrong. I love such songs and while I am not averse to hitting the dance floors to the music of Panjabi MC or Daler Mehendi, I think that DJs both in India and here in the US have this aversion for Tamil and Telugu (not to mention the occasional Mallu) tracks more or less for a similar reason.

Yeah, it seems a malaise that is prevelant even in India. In fact, you would be surprised if I told you that DJs in Chennai and Bangalore are guilty in this regard too. Girish, one of The Suderman's readers, says that he is not a "Tamil patriot", but is definitely incensed at what his cousins experienced in a disco (which I shall not name here because it is all hear say) in Chennai. They apparently requested for a tamil song. Imagine their surprise and anger when they were snubbed and informed it was "against rules to play a Tamil song"! He emailed me to say that he was once in a, ahem.., club here in the US where Tamil songs were played on occasion.

Before all you guys who visit this blog from your homes and workplaces here in the US, head to the local "Gentlemen's Club" and request Naan Salt Cotaurs, Nee Saidapettai as background music for your whole-some entertainment, you should understand that ~~I definitely can't vouch for the authencity of Girish's last line. In fact, I think he was joking~~ it might just have been an isolated case. But don't you see his point?

[1] CM, I did go back and read your older posts, just as I told you I would !

[2] The song referred to, is Lajjavathiye (sung by Jassie Gift) whose Malayalam and Tamil versions hit the top of their respective charts early last year !

(To be concluded....)

Iodex anyone?

2005-04-24T22:56:00.000-05:00

Ooooh... Aaah... Ouch…. The Iodex mantra is the single line that has been coming out my mouth throughout the day, today. Before my mom starts worrying, I have to say that it has been a nice weekend so far, a nice mix of sobriety mixed with wild behavior. I should add that it was a clean weekend, lest she gets the mental picture of me cavorting around with, well never mind. It is better that she stays off that mental image. Let me keep the good boy image for some more time in my life. But then, who am I kidding?

Anyways, the highlight of the weekend was a charity dinner / DJ nite organized by the local Indo-American group here. I don’t know much about the dinner, but the music was foot-tapping, and tap we did for a couple of hours into the night. It was a night full of fun, solely because of a few friends who are as footloose as me. The songs were sort of fresh with the dj playing none of the usual suspects.

When I was in Ohio, any dance night organized by the local ISA (which was whenever we had a Indian festival in the calendar, like Holi and Diwali, not to mention Aug 15) featured some songs that have been around for almost 5 years or more now. Among there are/were Chaiyya Chaiyya, Koi Kahe (from DCH), some bhangra numbers (Gori Nalon etc.) and a couple of classic Amitabh numbers like Mere Angne mein.

Last night there were none of these numbers and it was like a breath of fresh air. The ten of us had the most fun, being probably the youngest set of dancers on the floor, if you discount the ankle biters that we had to step over carefully from time to time. The dj played some nice numbers from recent movies like Dhoom, some remixed Bhangra numbers that I haven’t heard at all and some other bhangra numbers that seemed vaguely familiar. During a break for all those people (read US and a few more) who had taken the floor without dinner, the dj decided to try some karaoke. He walked around singing and thrust the mic at anyone he deemed fit. He mistook me for my friend who had caught his attention earlier and thrust the mic at me during the final antra of Jadoo Teri Nazar and yours truly managed to impress one and all around him. Thank you very much!

Back on the dance floor after dinner, I was invited to try a minute or two of salsa, which I did, trying to match my partner’s foot steps. She sort of gave up on me within 30 seconds, but I think I’d have caught on soon enough. Then we had the whale of a time doing a mock qawwali for the pseudo Qawwali from Main Hoon Na - Tumse Milke Dil Ka Jo Haal. Now, that was a first, even for me. I felt every eye on the dance floor on us, what, with the ten of us on our knees, gyrating like we were high on something or the other.

Got out close to midnight and went over to a friends place. The whole group sat and settled down to watch a movie, halfway through which I started getting SOS signals from places in my body that I never knew the existence of. The movie ended close to 4, after which I came back home and hit the bed groaning like nobody’s business.

I managed to get up at 10 am, rather early considering my late departure to dream land. I hit the books for some time before embarking on a drive down I95 to a temple in Maryland. Two different temples in a single weekend (had made the short drive to the local temple here in Newark) would have been a first even if I was in India. But, isn’t it true that people mellow with age?

But the dance night certainly did add to my irritation that DJs at Indian events here in the USA don’t look southward (with respect to Indian geography) when it comes to playing songs for people to dance. More on that in the next post.

30 yard circle of life

2005-04-20T13:11:00.000-05:00

Nants umlolongi bagithi umama [Here comes a coach, Mother]
Sithi uhm umlolongi [Oh yes, it's a coach]
Nants umlolongi bagithi baba
Sithi uhhmm umlolongi
Umlolongi
Siyo Nqoba [We're going to conquer]

From the day we arrive on the Team
And blinking, step into the spotlight
There's more to experience than can ever be experienced
More to achieve than can ever be achieved
There's far too much to take in face
More to face than can ever be faced
But the ball rolling along
Through the green grass
Keeps fit and tough on the endless round

It's the Circle of Cricket
And it moves us all
Through form and touch
Through thick and thin
Till we find our position
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Cricket

- Ripped off from The Circle of Life (The Lion King), with due apologies to Elton John (music), Tim Rice (Lyrics) and Carmen Twillie (the voice).

Team India has come a full circle - that's what I distinctly felt, when I saw this. I double checked to see if Wadekar's statement was circa 1999, but he has been interviewed just a couple of hours ago. So, even at the risk of sounding humorous, I have to ask where has Ajit Wadekar been in the last few years? Was he in a coma? Or was he "Taken"?

Regardless of the condition of Wadekar's mental stabilities, the comment looks stupid and Rediff certainly has done what it does best, raise up shit just for the heck of it. Wadekar's opinions on this issue are skewed. Sandeep Patil might be the right person, but the fact that Kenya made it to the semis in WC 2003 is not reason enough for me. Let us not forget that the security issues pertaining to Zimbabwe and Kenya, were also reasons for their semi final appearance. My take on this issue is, let the seniors in the team decide who they want with them. That's the way sports work these days, even team sports. Ultimately the players are the resources that the Board and ergo the country's hope thrives on and it definitely pays to keep them happy. So, Mr. Wadekar, if the players decide that Sandeep Patil is the right person, he will be chosen.

Anyways, Adios JW! In my book, you are the best there ever will be! Even considering that India is right now languishing at the same stage (as a team) that it was in when you took over, my opinion will not change. Team India's state today is a re-affirmation that life comes full circle once in a while. The positives from your tenure are not apparent in the results. Well, they actually are, but the positives are more glaring when the general state of the team, with respect to composition, fitness and the attitudes, is considered.

Thanks, John, for everything....