For someone who has just got into books and reading a book every ten days,it was too much to swallow.As I began to study the last hundred pages of the novel 'The Sicillian' by the famous Mario Puzo again ,at midnight,I knew I was falling into an ocean of unbelievable storytelling.Finishing the book at 2.00 a.m,i could not sleep for the next hour or so.Turi Guilliano, undoubtedly the greatest character that i have ever read about is just too unthinkable and great to forget with time.Puzo with his indimidating style and vocabulary takes you in to a different world where living by your heart is more important than living by the law.
The book starts as if it is a sequel to the' Godfather',but never really wants to be the sequel.While Godfather lighted the underworld,this book shows you love,unimaginable bravery,gratitude,friendship,courage,cunning cleverness,a mixture of kindness and cruelty all present in one man Turi Guilliano who with his friend Aspanu becomes a bandit to help the poor.Though I have never read anything about Robinhood and his heroics,I can be dead sure that Turi will be beter than him in every attribute.The book ,unlike the Godfather ,has fewer characters,with each of them beautifully sculptured by Puzo's brilliance.
It is quiet amazing how I got the same aura after completing the book,that once got after reading the Godfather.I wonder why this book isn't famous as the Godfather.It made sense afterwards that it was the true reflection of mood of the two novels.The pace of the novel that remains the same throughout the plot,the typical phrases that makes you read it over and over again,the pride of those fearless men in killing and running for life,the glory with they accept death and more than anything else, when you are about to think the book has already been worth read ing before the climax,the climax happens to be the actual thing why you should read the book
May be because Godfather was one of the first few books I read ,I like the 'Sicillian' more than I do the former.But I am happy for that.The book is a piece of art ,an epitome of characterisation and storytelling.It is more than a novel about the life of Guilliano,it is a recording of how a story of a man becomes a myth,a legend for the generations to come.The greatness of Puzo lies not in telling you such a wonderful story but in making us think this is the life we would have wanted to live in the wildest of our dreams.Whatever it might be,I honestly beleive 'The Sicillian' is far more heart-breaking than 'The Godfather'( both the books and the men wrapped in their names).
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Out of My Comfort Zone:The Steve Waugh Story
If you are a cricket fan,go and grab this book now or else you are not exposed completely to what cricket is all about.The book that reveals the heart of a man who was one of the architechts of the Australian success in Cricket.Stephen Rodger Waugh is one of those very few cricketers whose life is a lesson itself...
He is a genius,not by birth ,but acuqired it through sheer grit,perseverence and hardwork.The book is foreworded by our very own Rahul Dravid who sums up everything in his last few words
"When I hit the winning runs in Adelaide,Steve found the ball and handed it to me.I still have it and it is signed by him."
His entire career can be divided into three periods, his early days where his place was insecure and as he fought against his mind and talent to fit into the Australian eleven,the days he shone with the bat and ball and went on to become the Australian captain,the days when he became the helm of Australian cricket,which reveals the true person in him.
Honesty is one thing that any true fan of him expects from him and he does not disappoint his fans.The match fixing incident,the controversial catch in WestIndies,the indifferences with ACB and every other things that an ordinary cricket fan wants to know about the life on the field, is beautifully presented.The facts like one of his 'backyard pitches' near his home produced enormous turn that actually made mark waugh to make that mid-wicket shot his very own,Steve Waugh's description of his character of wanting to be the best but not wanting to get the attension,how Shane Warne predicted the Gibbs dropped catch at the 1999 world cup are just amazing.
It is sure for sure that the book elevates our stand as a true cricket fan one step higher and help us understand how onw has to out of his comfort zone to acheive greatness...
He is a genius,not by birth ,but acuqired it through sheer grit,perseverence and hardwork.The book is foreworded by our very own Rahul Dravid who sums up everything in his last few words
"When I hit the winning runs in Adelaide,Steve found the ball and handed it to me.I still have it and it is signed by him."
His entire career can be divided into three periods, his early days where his place was insecure and as he fought against his mind and talent to fit into the Australian eleven,the days he shone with the bat and ball and went on to become the Australian captain,the days when he became the helm of Australian cricket,which reveals the true person in him.
Honesty is one thing that any true fan of him expects from him and he does not disappoint his fans.The match fixing incident,the controversial catch in WestIndies,the indifferences with ACB and every other things that an ordinary cricket fan wants to know about the life on the field, is beautifully presented.The facts like one of his 'backyard pitches' near his home produced enormous turn that actually made mark waugh to make that mid-wicket shot his very own,Steve Waugh's description of his character of wanting to be the best but not wanting to get the attension,how Shane Warne predicted the Gibbs dropped catch at the 1999 world cup are just amazing.
It is sure for sure that the book elevates our stand as a true cricket fan one step higher and help us understand how onw has to out of his comfort zone to acheive greatness...
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A part of me would go with the Fab-Five...
This is the most agonising period for those of us in their early twenties and whose journey with cricket started with the arrival of Sourav to the cricket scene.The everlasting debate of Lara Vs Sachin began to occupy our Lunch hours at school.The two potential youngsters Sourav and Dravid had just begun to change Indian cricket from what it was as a one man show.The purity of Dravid and the unconventionality of Sourav stole our hearts.We were taken to a different world by the wrist work of Azhar and moved to tears seeing the painful exit of India at Eden Gardens in 1996 world cup.
It was even more painful when the one we had trusted betrayed us by involving in the match fixing scandal.We were comforted only by the centuries with which our genius named Sachin conquered the world.The two knocks at Sharjah with Tony grieg at the background...We would remember those straight sixes even in our death bed.Then came our saviour in the name of Sourav with the job of the cleaning the soul of the game and taking Indian cricket forward after our batting genius failed to be a better captain.
Then came a term called 'professionalism' in to Indian cricket.Dravid started to keep wickets.Balls were chased till they reach the boundary.We saw the entry of Yuvraj,Kaif,Harbhajan,Sodhi,Zaheer.we started beating Australia in one -off matches.Yuvraj's maiden fifty against Australia and Zaheer cracking the stumps of Steve Waugh at that Nairobi match made us hope that Indian cricket was in safe hands.We saw Kaif struggle for runs and going out of the team in agony.Over all those years one man did his job in silence and extraordinay precision and accuracy as we would often fail to give credit to one of the remarkable sportsmen of all time ,Anil Kumble.
The VVS Laxman story of the innings that changed the history of Indian Cricket and 'The wall' that made us comquer every country we tour.We were treated by the greatness and class of those amazing batsmen.Yet we would never give away that special place in our heart to anyone other than our master.Alas we had one for everyone of them!The epic innings of Sourav at Brisbane that started the remarkable Steve Waugh Farewell tour.the 271 that Dravid made at the Adelaide Oval,Laxman producing shots against australian leg spinners that English batsmen would never play in their dreams,SCG being renamed 'Sachin Cricket Ground',Sourav removing his shirt at Lords....Oh it goes and goes on and on.....
No other team would have had these glorious batsmen coming in at No2,3,4 and 5.Then we witnessed a masterstroke from the prince ,of sending a batsman to open who had never opened in any of his first class games,the move that changed Indian Cricket in the ages to come.Then there was that 'so near yet so far story' of 2003 world cup final.Chappell and co converted our team into a youth brigade.We saw Dhoni marshalling his boys and give us that elusive victory in a final after we had witnessed each and every final given away with ease.But we knew we would have been more happier if our four extraordinaty gentleman had been part of that triumph.
Sachin was a genius,Dravid was an epitome of batsmanship,Laxman was a Magician,Kumble was a veteran,Sourav was an artist.More than everything they were gentlemen whom every children can have as his idol.They demonstrated every quality that someone have to suceed.We learnt to enjoy our game and let the better team win a match.We were never really angry at them as they made us realise that it was all part of the game.
The days wont come back.The days when I used to sit back and lose myself into the grace of Sourav and elegance of Sachin at either end.The ruthless opening partnerships between them just refuse to go out of my memory.The happiness when I see a full match and predict the next day's headliness in 'The Hindu' .The desperate prayers that I made in my childhood to see an Indian win.The fake illness that I often came in the day of a cricket match and the punishment I used to get after my guilt exposed.I was happy to give anything to see a match.After all these years of being obsessed with cricket and with the feeling that some time when India is going to be at 5-1 and 15-2,there wont be a Dravid or Sachin walking in,I knew I would quit watching cricket.As for me,with Sourav and Kumble quitting and when Sachin,Laxman and Dravid would bid goodbye,a part of my life, with it, a part of me would be gone forever...
It was even more painful when the one we had trusted betrayed us by involving in the match fixing scandal.We were comforted only by the centuries with which our genius named Sachin conquered the world.The two knocks at Sharjah with Tony grieg at the background...We would remember those straight sixes even in our death bed.Then came our saviour in the name of Sourav with the job of the cleaning the soul of the game and taking Indian cricket forward after our batting genius failed to be a better captain.
Then came a term called 'professionalism' in to Indian cricket.Dravid started to keep wickets.Balls were chased till they reach the boundary.We saw the entry of Yuvraj,Kaif,Harbhajan,Sodhi,Zaheer.we started beating Australia in one -off matches.Yuvraj's maiden fifty against Australia and Zaheer cracking the stumps of Steve Waugh at that Nairobi match made us hope that Indian cricket was in safe hands.We saw Kaif struggle for runs and going out of the team in agony.Over all those years one man did his job in silence and extraordinay precision and accuracy as we would often fail to give credit to one of the remarkable sportsmen of all time ,Anil Kumble.
The VVS Laxman story of the innings that changed the history of Indian Cricket and 'The wall' that made us comquer every country we tour.We were treated by the greatness and class of those amazing batsmen.Yet we would never give away that special place in our heart to anyone other than our master.Alas we had one for everyone of them!The epic innings of Sourav at Brisbane that started the remarkable Steve Waugh Farewell tour.the 271 that Dravid made at the Adelaide Oval,Laxman producing shots against australian leg spinners that English batsmen would never play in their dreams,SCG being renamed 'Sachin Cricket Ground',Sourav removing his shirt at Lords....Oh it goes and goes on and on.....
No other team would have had these glorious batsmen coming in at No2,3,4 and 5.Then we witnessed a masterstroke from the prince ,of sending a batsman to open who had never opened in any of his first class games,the move that changed Indian Cricket in the ages to come.Then there was that 'so near yet so far story' of 2003 world cup final.Chappell and co converted our team into a youth brigade.We saw Dhoni marshalling his boys and give us that elusive victory in a final after we had witnessed each and every final given away with ease.But we knew we would have been more happier if our four extraordinaty gentleman had been part of that triumph.
Sachin was a genius,Dravid was an epitome of batsmanship,Laxman was a Magician,Kumble was a veteran,Sourav was an artist.More than everything they were gentlemen whom every children can have as his idol.They demonstrated every quality that someone have to suceed.We learnt to enjoy our game and let the better team win a match.We were never really angry at them as they made us realise that it was all part of the game.
The days wont come back.The days when I used to sit back and lose myself into the grace of Sourav and elegance of Sachin at either end.The ruthless opening partnerships between them just refuse to go out of my memory.The happiness when I see a full match and predict the next day's headliness in 'The Hindu' .The desperate prayers that I made in my childhood to see an Indian win.The fake illness that I often came in the day of a cricket match and the punishment I used to get after my guilt exposed.I was happy to give anything to see a match.After all these years of being obsessed with cricket and with the feeling that some time when India is going to be at 5-1 and 15-2,there wont be a Dravid or Sachin walking in,I knew I would quit watching cricket.As for me,with Sourav and Kumble quitting and when Sachin,Laxman and Dravid would bid goodbye,a part of my life, with it, a part of me would be gone forever...
Life is not that beautiful...Sometimes
Exactly Five months and 23 days have passed since i started working as a Software Engineer.It started off well with a very good training and a lot of intensity , interest levels etc(Even I managed to be perform as the best)But now looking again what i am into and what sort of life i would have to lead if i continue to work in this celebrated profession,it is like i am given a Einstein's puzzle and trying to solve it forever though i know the solution.
The tragic part has been an absolute wall that has been built between me and the outside world.My interest seems to go away from any news other than cricket.No newspapers for the last three months,no awareness of what is going on.Sometimes it makes me think "Do I really need this ?"But the facts that most of my friends are still waiting for their call to the job and I am lucky or good enough to get one keeps me going.Only time has to say if this is what really what i want to do with my life...
Five months and 14 days ago,I was still at the college just coming out of my last university exam and a trip to Ooty as a boy wondering the intricacies of life ahead.It is awfully wonderful and interesting to be into the corporate world and thinking about the careless hours spent in college.It was a great journey those four years and i am sure that those days would be best days that i would have in my life again...
So after spending my first Diwali away from my family,I am not angry but disappointed seeing the people celeberating it greatly,I am slowly realising what it takes to be sucessful in professional life,a pure dedication to your profession and to nothing else.....
P.S:Needless to say that this post is a result of reading the college slam book at 11.45 p.m in solitude....
The tragic part has been an absolute wall that has been built between me and the outside world.My interest seems to go away from any news other than cricket.No newspapers for the last three months,no awareness of what is going on.Sometimes it makes me think "Do I really need this ?"But the facts that most of my friends are still waiting for their call to the job and I am lucky or good enough to get one keeps me going.Only time has to say if this is what really what i want to do with my life...
Five months and 14 days ago,I was still at the college just coming out of my last university exam and a trip to Ooty as a boy wondering the intricacies of life ahead.It is awfully wonderful and interesting to be into the corporate world and thinking about the careless hours spent in college.It was a great journey those four years and i am sure that those days would be best days that i would have in my life again...
So after spending my first Diwali away from my family,I am not angry but disappointed seeing the people celeberating it greatly,I am slowly realising what it takes to be sucessful in professional life,a pure dedication to your profession and to nothing else.....
P.S:Needless to say that this post is a result of reading the college slam book at 11.45 p.m in solitude....
Thursday, October 16, 2008
A thrilling batlle on the cards in Mohali...
Test cricket is revived. We have not had a classic test match but a hardly fought test match between two tough competitors. A true champion can be determined by the span he remains in that exclusive zone. Legends need five days to happen. Patience and Perseverance are harder to acquire than power and skill. That is why they call this game played over five days as Test cricket.
The match is special for me as I was in the chinnasamy stadium watching the fourth day’s play in close quarters and I tell you what, it was a privilege to see the game which had the greatest players of our time from sachin to pointing, from Kumble to Brett Lee. The match was played with a higher level of intensity which was what professional sport was all about. The contests unveiled and the match proved to be the best prologue to the series ahead.
From the Aussies perspective:
They came into the game with nothing to lose, with a shaky middle order that did not contain Gilchrist and Symonds in a long time and with a bowling attack that had bowled 000 balls in tests in India. They had shown the world how tough they are when it really mattered. Pointing responded to his critics and did what Sourav did 4 years ago in that first test at Brisbane when India was the underdogs. Mr.Cricket showed the reason behind his name. The only worrying thing for them would be the form of Hayden and lack of a quality spinner to exploit the fifth day surface.
From the Indian Perspective
To be honest, it is a disappointment not to go for the kill against a depleted Australian side right from the first day. Probably for the first time, Kumble’s tactics were questioned and his lack of aggression and pro activeness were clearly visible. May be his lack of form with the ball is reflecting on his captaincy Harbhajan was still not at his best. All the members of the fab four had a decent match and spent time in the middle which was a good sign.
So it is going to be one hell of a contest in Mohali with the wicket supporting the faster bowlers we can expect a thrilling battle of bat and ball on the cards and what else can a true cricket fan expect…
The match is special for me as I was in the chinnasamy stadium watching the fourth day’s play in close quarters and I tell you what, it was a privilege to see the game which had the greatest players of our time from sachin to pointing, from Kumble to Brett Lee. The match was played with a higher level of intensity which was what professional sport was all about. The contests unveiled and the match proved to be the best prologue to the series ahead.
From the Aussies perspective:
They came into the game with nothing to lose, with a shaky middle order that did not contain Gilchrist and Symonds in a long time and with a bowling attack that had bowled 000 balls in tests in India. They had shown the world how tough they are when it really mattered. Pointing responded to his critics and did what Sourav did 4 years ago in that first test at Brisbane when India was the underdogs. Mr.Cricket showed the reason behind his name. The only worrying thing for them would be the form of Hayden and lack of a quality spinner to exploit the fifth day surface.
From the Indian Perspective
To be honest, it is a disappointment not to go for the kill against a depleted Australian side right from the first day. Probably for the first time, Kumble’s tactics were questioned and his lack of aggression and pro activeness were clearly visible. May be his lack of form with the ball is reflecting on his captaincy Harbhajan was still not at his best. All the members of the fab four had a decent match and spent time in the middle which was a good sign.
So it is going to be one hell of a contest in Mohali with the wicket supporting the faster bowlers we can expect a thrilling battle of bat and ball on the cards and what else can a true cricket fan expect…
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Prince departs as 'The Emperor'...
It is such a remarkable day in the History of Indian Cricket as India's sucessful captain bids Goodbye to his career.Whatever may be the circumstances that are behind his decision,it is not wise to analyse those things but rather sit back and celebrate a glorious career and savour the memories that he is going to leave,
He has been such a great character as I would say he is the one responsible for where India ncricket is now.He persisted with Yuvraj Singh,Kaif,Harbhajan Singh,Zaheer Khan and backed them whatever happened.And the youngsters just proved they are worth their place.Who else would be more happy if Yuvraj,the man he groomed ,can fit into his place of No:5 once he retires...Some Little known facts that I have read about him over the last decade and here is why rate along with the callber of Sachin,Sunny,Kapil,Vengsarkar.
Harbhajan Singh was about to quit his career in cricket and go to Dubai to earn his living as a truck driver when he was questioned for his legality of his bowling.It was Sourav who backed him and persistede with him in those tough phase of his life and made him to bowl again.
Yuvraj who was consistantly backed by Sourav irrespective of his scores that made Yuvraj once say"I will die for my captain".
He was the one who asked Shewag to open,who then had never opened even in a first class match..What a masterstroke that changed the face of Indian Cricket....
Now the big one...Some years ago when he was the captain,he was watching a ranji trophy match and suddenly somrthing striked him in the match.He called a media friend and said "See the batsman playing in DD sports now,He is going to be the future of Indian Cricket".Guess who it is ..He is none othen than the new wonder kid M.S.Dhoni....
He trusted his instincts and and my previous post on him justifies his greatness...
So..It is a great feeling to bid you goodbye,may God be with you for the rest of your life and bring sucess and happiness
as you had in you cricketing career.I dream to see you with Harsha in the espnstar commentary box.....
He has been such a great character as I would say he is the one responsible for where India ncricket is now.He persisted with Yuvraj Singh,Kaif,Harbhajan Singh,Zaheer Khan and backed them whatever happened.And the youngsters just proved they are worth their place.Who else would be more happy if Yuvraj,the man he groomed ,can fit into his place of No:5 once he retires...Some Little known facts that I have read about him over the last decade and here is why rate along with the callber of Sachin,Sunny,Kapil,Vengsarkar.
Harbhajan Singh was about to quit his career in cricket and go to Dubai to earn his living as a truck driver when he was questioned for his legality of his bowling.It was Sourav who backed him and persistede with him in those tough phase of his life and made him to bowl again.
Yuvraj who was consistantly backed by Sourav irrespective of his scores that made Yuvraj once say"I will die for my captain".
He was the one who asked Shewag to open,who then had never opened even in a first class match..What a masterstroke that changed the face of Indian Cricket....
Now the big one...Some years ago when he was the captain,he was watching a ranji trophy match and suddenly somrthing striked him in the match.He called a media friend and said "See the batsman playing in DD sports now,He is going to be the future of Indian Cricket".Guess who it is ..He is none othen than the new wonder kid M.S.Dhoni....
He trusted his instincts and and my previous post on him justifies his greatness...
So..It is a great feeling to bid you goodbye,may God be with you for the rest of your life and bring sucess and happiness
as you had in you cricketing career.I dream to see you with Harsha in the espnstar commentary box.....
Border -Gavaskar Trophy Comprehensive Preview - Part -II
The middle Order
Sachin,Sourav,Laxman,Dhoni -It is very suprising and ridiculous that the media has been consistently criticizing Laxman because he has bee n our sucessful test batsman in the last year.He averages 52 in his last 12 test matches.With Sourav announcing his retirement we can expect him to go as a hero fighting.And now it comes to our master,how many times I have to say this ,he was the difference between the two sides when they met last time.Hope he shows his champion stuffs once again.Much attension will be on Dhoni as he has not produced any significant innings with the bat in test matches for the past one year.How can we expect him to take the test team forward.His performance is crucial for India's future in test cricket....
Clarke,Hussey,Watson,Haddin -Clarke has proved that he can take the Australian side forward in the years to come and his refusal to play in the IPL send strong signals and shows the passion he shows to play in his national colours.He is a great player of spin and the visitors depend on him to deleiver.Mr.Cricket has always been at his best and his commitment levels are unbeleivable.Now the interesting part ..Can Haddin and Watson do or excell the roles of Gilchrist and Symonds respectively.I beleive the latter is going to be the deciding factor of the test series.If he can play well and provide that crucial 60+ runs needed in the middle order and bowl his heart out as he always does,he is going to win the match for Australia.Well for Haddin,only time can answer the question
The Pace Attack
Zaheer khan is the spearhead of the host and his craft in bringing the ball in against the right handers is crucial.Then the man who made a mockery of Ricky pointing seven months ago,if he can do it this time again,the series is in the host's pocket.
Brett Lee is in the tranistion phase of superb and great.It is fitting that his evolution from an Akthar to Mcgrath has come good and is influending their side's sucess.Clarke has his lethal inswingers that can break into the defence of Dravid and Sachin.He comes in and bowls that '2 inches outside off stump' balls time and time and again.Johnson has been the trump cars for the Aussies breaking into the side at a young age and showing a lot of temperamant
The Spin attack
It is a pity that the mighty Aussies cannot produce a replacement for Warne and it describes the class of the champion bowler.It will be entralling to see how Harbhajan bowls to pointing and Hayden.Kumble as humble and hardworking as ever will like to add to his tally of wickets and would like to surpass warne when he retires.Cameroon white has to lead the spin attack for the visitors and never underestimate him,alas he is another australian.
Wars within the battle
Brett Lee Vs Sachin
Pointing Vs Harbhajan
Poinitng Vs Ishant
S.Clarke Vs Dravid
Sachin,Sourav,Laxman,Dhoni -It is very suprising and ridiculous that the media has been consistently criticizing Laxman because he has bee n our sucessful test batsman in the last year.He averages 52 in his last 12 test matches.With Sourav announcing his retirement we can expect him to go as a hero fighting.And now it comes to our master,how many times I have to say this ,he was the difference between the two sides when they met last time.Hope he shows his champion stuffs once again.Much attension will be on Dhoni as he has not produced any significant innings with the bat in test matches for the past one year.How can we expect him to take the test team forward.His performance is crucial for India's future in test cricket....
Clarke,Hussey,Watson,Haddin -Clarke has proved that he can take the Australian side forward in the years to come and his refusal to play in the IPL send strong signals and shows the passion he shows to play in his national colours.He is a great player of spin and the visitors depend on him to deleiver.Mr.Cricket has always been at his best and his commitment levels are unbeleivable.Now the interesting part ..Can Haddin and Watson do or excell the roles of Gilchrist and Symonds respectively.I beleive the latter is going to be the deciding factor of the test series.If he can play well and provide that crucial 60+ runs needed in the middle order and bowl his heart out as he always does,he is going to win the match for Australia.Well for Haddin,only time can answer the question
The Pace Attack
Zaheer khan is the spearhead of the host and his craft in bringing the ball in against the right handers is crucial.Then the man who made a mockery of Ricky pointing seven months ago,if he can do it this time again,the series is in the host's pocket.
Brett Lee is in the tranistion phase of superb and great.It is fitting that his evolution from an Akthar to Mcgrath has come good and is influending their side's sucess.Clarke has his lethal inswingers that can break into the defence of Dravid and Sachin.He comes in and bowls that '2 inches outside off stump' balls time and time and again.Johnson has been the trump cars for the Aussies breaking into the side at a young age and showing a lot of temperamant
The Spin attack
It is a pity that the mighty Aussies cannot produce a replacement for Warne and it describes the class of the champion bowler.It will be entralling to see how Harbhajan bowls to pointing and Hayden.Kumble as humble and hardworking as ever will like to add to his tally of wickets and would like to surpass warne when he retires.Cameroon white has to lead the spin attack for the visitors and never underestimate him,alas he is another australian.
Wars within the battle
Brett Lee Vs Sachin
Pointing Vs Harbhajan
Poinitng Vs Ishant
S.Clarke Vs Dravid
Border -Gavaskar Trophy Comprehensive Preview - Part -I
Border -Gavaskar Trophy Comprehensive Preview - Part -I As the start of the first test comes nearer,the intensity and the excitement to see the contest is ramping up.Let us get a complete picture of the competition and the rivalry that every cricket fan is thrilled to witness.As the start of play is just two more days ahead,let us put together a head to head comparison of the two teams and see what we can expect... The Opening Pair Shewag,Gambhir Vs Hayden,Jaques Never before in an India-Australia series has been these reliable opening partnerships in both the teams.How can anyone forget the runs scored by the sweep shots of Hayden 7 years ago broadcasting his arrival to the big scene.It continuously makes us wonder how one Australian player coming straight away into the team can fill in the shoes of a Veteran.Gilchrist did it for Healy,Hussey did it for Martin or S.Waugh for that matter,Clarke for M.Waugh(including his bowling contribution) and now Jacques is doing it for Langer.That is the strength and character of the Australian team.The Australiam team's batting success depends hugely on the contribution of Hayden same as the host depends on the performance of Shewag.Gambhir has evolved into such a wonderful ODI and T20 player and it is a huge challenge for him to prove his worth in the test matches.The opening partnerships in both the teams are going to be a vital factor in the course of the series. The Crucial No:3 - The Wall Vs The Punter Test Matches are won and lost by your No:3.It is such a crucial position that after Dravid became our No:3 we started wining matches outside India.Pointing has also played a huge role in Australia's dominance in the past decade.It is a huge coincidence that both of them is having their ability questioned at this moment.Pointing being doubted his ability to face spin in subcontinent wickets and Dravid being doubted for a chink in his armour of Defence.But the fact remains that the series is highy dependent on the way that these two men are going to reply to their critics. |
Monday, October 6, 2008
Can we taste the Kangaroo curry this time atleast...
Here we go...The clash what they call the 'Fight of their lives',the clash that have seen many enthralling episodes in its earlier versions.Here is why I call this the 'series to watch ..'
Apart from the one-off ashes series in 2005,no other team other than india has been consistent in competing against the Aussies in the last decade.Taking the Sydney match away from the last series,it was virtually drawn.And the last time tthey were here,that final day's rain at Chennai ruined our chances of squaring the series.So,in terms of competition and results ,it is very difficult to pick the better of the two teams.
The breath taking duels that this clash has witnessed like the warne-sachin,bhajji-pointing and dont forget the Ishant-Pointing spell in Perth,the best I have ever seen,no wonder the world is waiting to see another such duel .The Indian bowlers made a mockery of Pointing in their last series andit will be interesting to see how he combat spin this time.If India goes for the kill to get Pointing out cheaply and suceeds in it ,the trophy is on our bag at no time.
Time has come to check the new Australian era whether Clarke can become the next Steve waugh or Pointing,Haddin the next gilly.Threy are going to miss Warne and Mcgrath dearly,but dont underestimate the likes of Stuart Clark and Johnson because these are the guys who once rattled the Indian middle order some time back.Dont underestimate this Australian team,as they play hard and winning is every thing for them.
Can the fab five deliver again?Well this is the million dollar question at present.I honestly beleive they can and thinking the contribution they have done to Indian cricket in the last fifteen years it is fitting that they add this Aussie series victory under their belt before they retire and hence can say they made their team the best in the world.
P.S: As I am in bangalore now,I am going to witness the match live at the Chinnasamy stadium.Thrilled to see my heros live ,hope they deliver this time...Somewhere inside my heart it strikes hardly that i am not going to see Gilly collecting the balls anymore...
Apart from the one-off ashes series in 2005,no other team other than india has been consistent in competing against the Aussies in the last decade.Taking the Sydney match away from the last series,it was virtually drawn.And the last time tthey were here,that final day's rain at Chennai ruined our chances of squaring the series.So,in terms of competition and results ,it is very difficult to pick the better of the two teams.
The breath taking duels that this clash has witnessed like the warne-sachin,bhajji-pointing and dont forget the Ishant-Pointing spell in Perth,the best I have ever seen,no wonder the world is waiting to see another such duel .The Indian bowlers made a mockery of Pointing in their last series andit will be interesting to see how he combat spin this time.If India goes for the kill to get Pointing out cheaply and suceeds in it ,the trophy is on our bag at no time.
Time has come to check the new Australian era whether Clarke can become the next Steve waugh or Pointing,Haddin the next gilly.Threy are going to miss Warne and Mcgrath dearly,but dont underestimate the likes of Stuart Clark and Johnson because these are the guys who once rattled the Indian middle order some time back.Dont underestimate this Australian team,as they play hard and winning is every thing for them.
Can the fab five deliver again?Well this is the million dollar question at present.I honestly beleive they can and thinking the contribution they have done to Indian cricket in the last fifteen years it is fitting that they add this Aussie series victory under their belt before they retire and hence can say they made their team the best in the world.
P.S: As I am in bangalore now,I am going to witness the match live at the Chinnasamy stadium.Thrilled to see my heros live ,hope they deliver this time...Somewhere inside my heart it strikes hardly that i am not going to see Gilly collecting the balls anymore...
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Sourav,Go like a champion,the way you played..
It was yet another day when i woke up and started doing my routine works and heard the news of Sourav Ganguly being dropped from the squad of Irani Trophy and the news was not a suprise as it had been only a question of when rather than why.Looking back the memory lane it had been a tremendous journey with him taking Indian cricket along numerous famous victories and incidents.Some of the most remarkable deeds of him that comes to my mind ......
*The aura he brought into the team and the courage with which he took the captaincy when the future of the indian team was at stake after azharudhin's match fixing episode and from that point becoming the most suceesful test captain of the country.
*The famous chase in Dhaka against Pakistan which came to be known as the Kanetkar match after his four that sealed victory for india in tha last over...that was the begiinning of the Sourav era
*That remarkable 183 against Srilanka in the 99 world cup in a do-or-die match producing the first ever 300 run partnership in ODI history..Oh the roars on that afternoon still echoes somewhere
*The Lords episode where he removed his shirt and waived it in style paying back what Flintoff did to us in the Natwest final victory thanks to the gem of a partnership between Yuvraj-Kaif.
*The comeback after him being dropped from the squad after the chappel controversy proving thousands of critics wrong(not me,of course)..
Every innings he played were marked by his trademark shots of the cut,the big hit over mid on,the lofted cover drive which he hits coming down the track..He was a treat to watch at the top of his game.Now the time has come to bed good bye to one of the greatest cricketers the game has ever seen.Sourav,believe me the bottom of your heart what is good for Indian cricket,who other than you knows better..may be it is the time for you move gracefully like the way you played....
Some records that speaks for Sourav's greatness Courtesy:Wikipedia
Tests
Captained India in a record 49 Test matches[58]
Led India to a record 21 Test wins[59]
His test average has never been less than 40.[60]
ODIs
Hold the record of most 200+ ODI partnerships (6 times) along with Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
Holds the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for most 1st wicket ODI partnerships of 175+ runs (7 times).
Holds the record, shared with Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the second highest score by an Indian cricketer in an ODI — 183, against Sri Lanka in 1999.
Held the record, shared with Sachin Tendulkar, for the highest first wicket partnership for India in an ODI match, 258, against Kenya in 2001. This record was bettered by Sri Lankan opening pair of Jayasuriya and Tharanga in 2006 at Headingley.
Was involved in the first 300 run ODI partnership with Rahul Dravid.
Sixth on the all time list with 31 man of the match awards.
He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive man of the match awards in ODIs.
India's most successful ODI captain.
First Indian to score an ODI century against Australia in Australia.
Highest ODI runs scorer in the world (in a calendar year) in 1997,1999,2000.
Third in the list of hitting maximum number of sixes in ODIs.
Second in the list of highest number of centuries in a single calendar year ever. 7 centuries in 2000.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Vintage Federer becomes Alien Again
It was as if Roger Federer sprinting and Andy Murray crawling in a 100 meter race.For that brief period in the first set ,he looked the man we knew about,the Federer we had heard of as a man from another planet.The impecccable forehand ,the ground coverage,the surgical precision in the mixing of defence and offence,the unplayable return of second serve,the dunk that reminded of elusive pete....Oh it looked as if Ernest Hemingway writing his old man and the sea,an artist finishing his masterpiece.This US open is special in every sense for the champion as he competed not only with other players but also his self doubts,the criticisms,the questions on the end of his supremacy......
Nadal on the other night looked far lesser than his greatness against a resurgent Andy Murray,who by his armour of ruthless defence and baseline play made the best player of the year look pretty ordinary.It is quite unbeleivable how Federer managed to do the same to Murray himself.Federer came with a purpose to demonstrate the world he is still in that untouchable zone...
And here he is...Just four months away from attaining that greatest of all records ,that magical number fourteen at Melbourne...
Nadal on the other night looked far lesser than his greatness against a resurgent Andy Murray,who by his armour of ruthless defence and baseline play made the best player of the year look pretty ordinary.It is quite unbeleivable how Federer managed to do the same to Murray himself.Federer came with a purpose to demonstrate the world he is still in that untouchable zone...
And here he is...Just four months away from attaining that greatest of all records ,that magical number fourteen at Melbourne...
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Is Dhoni ready to be at the helm
One bad series for the super stars and there are talks of giving the test captaincy for the wonder kid.How cruel are we to forget the entertainment and memories that these giants have given us for the last decade or so.Whenever we win,the media yells 'The Fab Four','The Holy Trinity',' Captain Jumbo' and the fantacy goes on... And when they start losing a match or two ,we suddenly feel the lack of youth in the team and ask for the axe of these great legends..It is true that these people have past their prime and and it is also true that a Tendulkar at 50% is far better than a yuvraj at 110% in test matches..The temperament of a Dravid or a Laxman can bat the overs the entire ODI team can face...
Statiscally speaking ,it is not Sachin,Dravid,laxman ,not even Sourav who should be dropped but our very own Dhoni who averages 24 in his last 10 innigns ,which includes four innings at home and he has not even faced the Mendis jinx..Taking nothing away from his leadership qualities and his peseverene and skill to become the best batsman in the world (I show the greatest respect and salute Dhoni,the ODI batsman and skipper).It is a very bitter truth that Dhoni has not yet established himself as a test batsman and he should concentrate on cementing his place in the side and then think about taking the team farward(To his credit,he has not told anytime he is interested in it)...See for yourself the scores of the last ten innings of our fab four
sachin 14, 6, 5, 31, 27, 12, 0, 153, 13, 71 Ave: 33.2
sourav 35, 18, 16, 0, 23, 4, 13*, 87, 0, 87 Ave: 31.4
Rahul 10, 68, 44, 2, 14, 10, 18*, 29, 3, 17 Ave:23.8
laxman 25, 61*, 13, 39, 21, 56, 50, 35, 3, 39 Ave:34.2
dhoni 32, 52, 14, 16, 20, 16, 19, 38, 2, 35 Ave:24.4
Stop the non-sense of dropping the seniors as a whole,it is now time to move farward as Indian cricket is in the process of a generation change.Groom the youngsters ,break the fab four and give an extended run to one of the promising ODI players and results will come under the guidance of the seniors.These five pillars that have carried the Indian cricket for the last fifteen years have to be replaced but not to be demolished as they deserve a gracious exit.It is pay back time for us.Let us give them a farewell that can better the one ,SCG gave to Steve Waugh 4 years ago...
Statiscally speaking ,it is not Sachin,Dravid,laxman ,not even Sourav who should be dropped but our very own Dhoni who averages 24 in his last 10 innigns ,which includes four innings at home and he has not even faced the Mendis jinx..Taking nothing away from his leadership qualities and his peseverene and skill to become the best batsman in the world (I show the greatest respect and salute Dhoni,the ODI batsman and skipper).It is a very bitter truth that Dhoni has not yet established himself as a test batsman and he should concentrate on cementing his place in the side and then think about taking the team farward(To his credit,he has not told anytime he is interested in it)...See for yourself the scores of the last ten innings of our fab four
sachin 14, 6, 5, 31, 27, 12, 0, 153, 13, 71 Ave: 33.2
sourav 35, 18, 16, 0, 23, 4, 13*, 87, 0, 87 Ave: 31.4
Rahul 10, 68, 44, 2, 14, 10, 18*, 29, 3, 17 Ave:23.8
laxman 25, 61*, 13, 39, 21, 56, 50, 35, 3, 39 Ave:34.2
dhoni 32, 52, 14, 16, 20, 16, 19, 38, 2, 35 Ave:24.4
Stop the non-sense of dropping the seniors as a whole,it is now time to move farward as Indian cricket is in the process of a generation change.Groom the youngsters ,break the fab four and give an extended run to one of the promising ODI players and results will come under the guidance of the seniors.These five pillars that have carried the Indian cricket for the last fifteen years have to be replaced but not to be demolished as they deserve a gracious exit.It is pay back time for us.Let us give them a farewell that can better the one ,SCG gave to Steve Waugh 4 years ago...
Thursday, August 14, 2008
August 15-Just Another Day
This post comes amidst the dawn of the 61st independence day of India,a nation that survives corrupt politicians,baseless violences,ruthless indifferences between the rich and poor,hypocritical citizens and whatever possible problems that any nation can have, on theory.This week would ve seen many articles featuring our glorious past and our acheivements on various fields and many 'proud to be an indian' stuff.All these bluffs can hit high TRPs and generate that peculiar feeling of being an Indian ,but nothing can be of any tangble nature that can do anything good for the nation.
Though pessimistic i may sound,I am not a patriot who is ready to die for the country and I have a huge and enormous amount of respect and good will for those who risk their lives for saving our country and for those who are selflessly in the work of rebuilding various lives that ve fallen into rotten paths.I love the way i lead my life because this is the way i was told to live in my childhood and i am happy about it.I have not done anything to this country that i can be proud of,but i am not ashamed of it,after all it doesnt need anything from me.The country goes on amidst its political,financial and environmental crisis...
A boy from a lower middle class family studies hard ,puts everything into his studies but just could not clear the cut off of his community for that elite university to see the seat which he deserves go to the son of a rich politician who would ve hardly put one-hundreth of a work that our boy had put.I also see a rich athlete with full of passion and commitment for the game backed by his rigorous and world class trainig ,which was made possible by his financial background, getting the gold medal for the country followed by a very large Euphoria for making his country proud and a poor old girl from one of the villages getting nothing for becoming the world carrom champion...Aren't we hypocrites ?...wanting to live in the moment that is best suited for us to live easily...
Today,the 15th of August is going to witness yet another optimistic speech by yet another prime minister,which is going to change nothing and that patriotic feeling will rush through our heart for atleast a second or two, towards some part of the day and believe me it is not going to make much of a difference and if you want to fight with me against this ,listen to your heart before you proceed...
Though pessimistic i may sound,I am not a patriot who is ready to die for the country and I have a huge and enormous amount of respect and good will for those who risk their lives for saving our country and for those who are selflessly in the work of rebuilding various lives that ve fallen into rotten paths.I love the way i lead my life because this is the way i was told to live in my childhood and i am happy about it.I have not done anything to this country that i can be proud of,but i am not ashamed of it,after all it doesnt need anything from me.The country goes on amidst its political,financial and environmental crisis...
A boy from a lower middle class family studies hard ,puts everything into his studies but just could not clear the cut off of his community for that elite university to see the seat which he deserves go to the son of a rich politician who would ve hardly put one-hundreth of a work that our boy had put.I also see a rich athlete with full of passion and commitment for the game backed by his rigorous and world class trainig ,which was made possible by his financial background, getting the gold medal for the country followed by a very large Euphoria for making his country proud and a poor old girl from one of the villages getting nothing for becoming the world carrom champion...Aren't we hypocrites ?...wanting to live in the moment that is best suited for us to live easily...
Today,the 15th of August is going to witness yet another optimistic speech by yet another prime minister,which is going to change nothing and that patriotic feeling will rush through our heart for atleast a second or two, towards some part of the day and believe me it is not going to make much of a difference and if you want to fight with me against this ,listen to your heart before you proceed...
Thursday, August 7, 2008
The Aftermath of IPL
It seems ridiculous to even think of it,but the painful truth is that a cricketer is restrained from representing his country because he played cricket with players who were once world class and in a place where he thought there is greater recogonition for his talent and skill.If the intension to earn money at the expense of playing for the country is a sin ,then go and stop the srilankans who wanted to play ipl rather than the england tour ,from playing cricket for their country.The biggest comedy lies in not allowing the county teams with the players in ICL to participate in the champions league and not allowing laxman,karthick to play for those teams.Even Sunny Gavaskar played with Barry Richards in the World series when SA was banned for apartheid .It is a shame that the game has to face that some of the all time greats to ve played for India like Kapil Dev,Sandeep Patil were neglected.It is fine to that India has now become the power house of the cricketing fraternity and is embarrassing that it has nothing to do with India 's performance in international matches but completely with a fanatic cricket lover who is ready to sacrifice everything to see an Indian win..
The people running the BCCI are happy to increase their bank balances,satisfied with making themselves the bosses of the cricketing world but are not ready to improve the standard of domestic matches played in India or the development of ground facilities.It is disgraceful that being the richest board in the world we have some of the poorest pitches (if not dust bowls) and poorest toilet facilities in cricket stadium around the world.But one has to accept the fact that these sports administrators are absolutely necessary for the success of a sport and the worrying thing is the game itself is in an endangered state in their hands.Though the IPL may be considered as a huge success,we should sit back and analyze what we ve got from it ....
1)A huge amount of money being added to the bank balances of the cricketers ,administrators and the franchise owners .
2)Cricket is about to lose one of its child as no one seems to like it after seeing the virtual charm and drama of its younger child .
3)Cricket 's original format(test match cricket ) is under threat (Purists like me believe that it is the true and highest level of competency for a cricketer)
4)Declining standard of telecasting of matches as more and more money comes to broadcasting as sony achieved new heights in telecasting as it broke its own record from showing 5 ball overs to 4 ball overs...
What the hell is happening to my very own great,old lovely cricket ...Decide for yourself,what do u want to see....
Players who take immense pride to play at the highest level representing his country or the ones who chose cricket as a easier way to earn money at quick time...
You can decide the future how our beloved game goes...
Case 1:A Dale steyn bowling his heart out at the final session of the fifth day of a decider match against Australia at 250/6 needing 295 to win with mike hussey at the crease ,to get that elusive test series vistory for South Africa.....
Case 2:A Dimitry Mascharanes playing for Chennai Super Kings amidst Sivamani and actor Vijay( Dont forget the Cheer girls!) hitting a six against Ashish nehra of Mumbai Indians with the crowd going mad courtesy the giant speakers in M.A.Chidambaram stadium to win the highest winning prize on the planet ,for his franchsie owners with Arun Lal yelling "DLF Maximum" and the sony max team showing us the ads before the replay of the shot...
Only one of the above two cases can be possibe...As a cricket fan who was brought up admiring the passion and pride shown at the highest level playing the game,it strikes at the heart with a very strong blow when the game is shown as the way for money....
Let someone do something to bring it back to life
The people running the BCCI are happy to increase their bank balances,satisfied with making themselves the bosses of the cricketing world but are not ready to improve the standard of domestic matches played in India or the development of ground facilities.It is disgraceful that being the richest board in the world we have some of the poorest pitches (if not dust bowls) and poorest toilet facilities in cricket stadium around the world.But one has to accept the fact that these sports administrators are absolutely necessary for the success of a sport and the worrying thing is the game itself is in an endangered state in their hands.Though the IPL may be considered as a huge success,we should sit back and analyze what we ve got from it ....
1)A huge amount of money being added to the bank balances of the cricketers ,administrators and the franchise owners .
2)Cricket is about to lose one of its child as no one seems to like it after seeing the virtual charm and drama of its younger child .
3)Cricket 's original format(test match cricket ) is under threat (Purists like me believe that it is the true and highest level of competency for a cricketer)
4)Declining standard of telecasting of matches as more and more money comes to broadcasting as sony achieved new heights in telecasting as it broke its own record from showing 5 ball overs to 4 ball overs...
What the hell is happening to my very own great,old lovely cricket ...Decide for yourself,what do u want to see....
Players who take immense pride to play at the highest level representing his country or the ones who chose cricket as a easier way to earn money at quick time...
You can decide the future how our beloved game goes...
Case 1:A Dale steyn bowling his heart out at the final session of the fifth day of a decider match against Australia at 250/6 needing 295 to win with mike hussey at the crease ,to get that elusive test series vistory for South Africa.....
Case 2:A Dimitry Mascharanes playing for Chennai Super Kings amidst Sivamani and actor Vijay( Dont forget the Cheer girls!) hitting a six against Ashish nehra of Mumbai Indians with the crowd going mad courtesy the giant speakers in M.A.Chidambaram stadium to win the highest winning prize on the planet ,for his franchsie owners with Arun Lal yelling "DLF Maximum" and the sony max team showing us the ads before the replay of the shot...
Only one of the above two cases can be possibe...As a cricket fan who was brought up admiring the passion and pride shown at the highest level playing the game,it strikes at the heart with a very strong blow when the game is shown as the way for money....
Let someone do something to bring it back to life
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Subramaniyapuram -Review
For the fraternity which feels that there are not enough quality films made in Tamilnadu this season has been a relief with two good films releasing in two months.Subramaniyapuram and Dasavatharam are great in their own genre.One proves the skill of a masterly actor and the other touches the heart and make us appreciate the work of a director who drives us into disbelief that it is his debut film.
The idea that the film happens in 1980 lightens up our attension and eagerness and one has to accept that the director has suceeded in satisfying us.The idea that the story is given importance and the characterisation of every actor present has to be given credit.Though the climax is not new to someone who had read books like Godfather ,it is new to tamil films and the fact that the girl in the movie betrays her love for the sake of family gives the depth of the director's analysis into human relations...
Well done Sasi Kumar...You have made a movie like which very few have been made before in the industry you are...Go on ,this is just the beginning...
The idea that the film happens in 1980 lightens up our attension and eagerness and one has to accept that the director has suceeded in satisfying us.The idea that the story is given importance and the characterisation of every actor present has to be given credit.Though the climax is not new to someone who had read books like Godfather ,it is new to tamil films and the fact that the girl in the movie betrays her love for the sake of family gives the depth of the director's analysis into human relations...
Well done Sasi Kumar...You have made a movie like which very few have been made before in the industry you are...Go on ,this is just the beginning...
Friday, June 6, 2008
Bangalored....
Three Weeks in to the silicon valley of India,Buses that move at 10Km/hr during peak hours,a city that wakes up at 5.00 a.m and goes to sleep at 10.00 pm,the polluted air that makes us cough everytime we step out,a place where we never hear human voices that yell and shout with joy,instead sights of people rushing to office not minding who is there and who is not,Men who always seem 5 years older than they actually are,Tired eyes,expressionless faces,workaholic scheule,meaningless parties and fun,Earphones and mobiles replacing friends and relatives,No cricket matches,No newspapers,....And some old experienced voice inside the IT world rhetorically says"Welcome to the corporate World...."
So,here goes an inside battle from stopping the software worls from consuming me...
So,here goes an inside battle from stopping the software worls from consuming me...
Saturday, May 17, 2008
The Day has come Finally...
After just two weeks from the last examination of the college,surprisingly,My date of Joining has come and it is this Monday(19-05-2008) in Bangalore.It is nearly no time to change mentally from the state at college to a working environment.Hopefully the days ahead will be better and teach me more about life in a candid manner.Puzzled and exited about entering the software world and wondering how my life is changing direction,this post begins my journey as a software professional in a reputed firm...
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Match Review: The Lions Vs the Old Warhorse
The Lions were shown the bravery,skill,tenacity and passion to fight in a war by an old warhorse that many believed has lost its agility,Yet the cut,the flick,the lofted cover drive had the same venom as it was used to have.The Chennai super kings had no answer to the maul by the bat of Sanath.It was one of those nights that the batsman can tear any attack in the world over and the only thing any opposing captain could do is watch and applaud.Sanath Jayasuriya demonstrated his style of batting and proved why is acclaimed as one of the predecessors of the big hitting game.It was as if seeing him murdering the bowlers in the 96 world cup.
Another important player that is responsible for the win is another veteran and one of my heroes as well ,Shaun Pollock,often he doesnt get the same praise as Mcgrath and he is no less a cricketer than him to me.Add his batting skills,he is a complete 20-20 package.Well,it was a complete disappointment for Sachin fans ,he looked completely out of touch and was looking to give the strike to sanath everytime.Hope we can see him unleash sooner or later.
For the Mumbai Indians
They have still a long way to go before reaching the semifinals
Positives
* Have started well under a new captain hopefully can carry the momentum forward.
* Pollock and Sanath are in their best form as both are the one the team is depending the most in the respective departments.
Negatives
*Apart from Pollock ,the bowling department lacks experience (after loosing Harbhajan) and looks less likely to hold their nerve in crunch situations.
*Sachin looked far from his usual stature as he would always be during his comebacks.
For the Chennai Super Kings
Positives
*Badrinath and Dhoni made a terrific comeback,had there been a better start,the match would ve been a high scoring thriller.
*They can console themselves that no other team could ve done anything better against such a terrific display of sheer skill.
Nagatives
*The unsettled opening pair cannot replace Hayden and Hussey.
*No international class bowlers as they bowled a lot of wides under pressure.
Another important player that is responsible for the win is another veteran and one of my heroes as well ,Shaun Pollock,often he doesnt get the same praise as Mcgrath and he is no less a cricketer than him to me.Add his batting skills,he is a complete 20-20 package.Well,it was a complete disappointment for Sachin fans ,he looked completely out of touch and was looking to give the strike to sanath everytime.Hope we can see him unleash sooner or later.
For the Mumbai Indians
They have still a long way to go before reaching the semifinals
Positives
* Have started well under a new captain hopefully can carry the momentum forward.
* Pollock and Sanath are in their best form as both are the one the team is depending the most in the respective departments.
Negatives
*Apart from Pollock ,the bowling department lacks experience (after loosing Harbhajan) and looks less likely to hold their nerve in crunch situations.
*Sachin looked far from his usual stature as he would always be during his comebacks.
For the Chennai Super Kings
Positives
*Badrinath and Dhoni made a terrific comeback,had there been a better start,the match would ve been a high scoring thriller.
*They can console themselves that no other team could ve done anything better against such a terrific display of sheer skill.
Nagatives
*The unsettled opening pair cannot replace Hayden and Hussey.
*No international class bowlers as they bowled a lot of wides under pressure.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Nano gets its first rival-the ULC
It was the Tata's nano some days ago and now it is the Ultra Low Cost (ULC),a $2500 wholesale starting price car manufactured by a Joint venture between Bajaj,Nissan and Renault.This is will Bajaj's first passenger vehicle and interestingly attempting to build a rivalry against the Nano.
Targeting the growing Indian new vehicle market, the ULC will be made at an all-new plant to be constructed in Chakan (Maharashtra state) in India. Initial planned capacity will be 400,000 units per year. Sales will start in early 2011 in India, as a primary market, with growth potential in other emerging markets around the world.
The Joint venture will aim to produce and market small cars - but priced higher than Tata Nano.So we can get ready to see all new small cars specially made for intra city rides in to our cities in the future...
Saturday, May 10, 2008
The Nano and the poor old India
As we praise the acheivements of Mr.Ratan Tata & Co in accomplishing one of the greatest manufacturing miracles of our times,only few people care about the impact that it is going to create on the environment and traffic congestion.We dont actually look at a broader perspective on the advent of this cheapest car.We look into the price of the car and say it is affordable even to the family. which can afford a two-wheeler but we forget the fact that it is going to need the same maintainance cost as a 20-lakh Benz.
Nano and India
I happened to read the interview of Sunita Narain,the famous environmentalist and she emphasises the need to improve our public transport system and reduce the number of cars immediately before the situation gets out of our control...Read full interview here.
Some key issues...
As already metioned in one of my previous posts, a large number of people depend on public transport and the fact that less than 10 percent of the pople use cars but the reality that it consumes 70 percent of the road space really haunts us.Add to it, that a car is two times more polluting than the bus and a person who goes in a bus has to pay more tax than the one going in his car!
Another loophole is the exploitation of the government money in the form of diesel cars.Look how a person who can afford a 22 lakh Mercedes Benz is happy to use the diesel that the government provides subsidy, for the benefit of poor . Diesel is the most polluting fuel and everyone is eagerly expecting the Diesel Nano and the worst part is that the quality of the fuel we are using in India is seven times worse than the standards.
The solution to the problems of congestion and pollution lies in encouraging the usage of public transport and improve it drastically investing a huge amount of money and planning into it and make the rich people to use public transport.The question remains that why should we marvel at something that has nothing to do with the common man,create more health problems and bring higher altitude between the rich and the poor....Mr.Tata,our country would ve been prouder and more greatful if u would ve created a one-lakh bus rather than the nano...
Nano and India
I happened to read the interview of Sunita Narain,the famous environmentalist and she emphasises the need to improve our public transport system and reduce the number of cars immediately before the situation gets out of our control...Read full interview here.
Some key issues...
As already metioned in one of my previous posts, a large number of people depend on public transport and the fact that less than 10 percent of the pople use cars but the reality that it consumes 70 percent of the road space really haunts us.Add to it, that a car is two times more polluting than the bus and a person who goes in a bus has to pay more tax than the one going in his car!
Another loophole is the exploitation of the government money in the form of diesel cars.Look how a person who can afford a 22 lakh Mercedes Benz is happy to use the diesel that the government provides subsidy, for the benefit of poor . Diesel is the most polluting fuel and everyone is eagerly expecting the Diesel Nano and the worst part is that the quality of the fuel we are using in India is seven times worse than the standards.
The solution to the problems of congestion and pollution lies in encouraging the usage of public transport and improve it drastically investing a huge amount of money and planning into it and make the rich people to use public transport.The question remains that why should we marvel at something that has nothing to do with the common man,create more health problems and bring higher altitude between the rich and the poor....Mr.Tata,our country would ve been prouder and more greatful if u would ve created a one-lakh bus rather than the nano...
The Dawn of the Second Innings of this Blog
It is now 15 months since I started blogging.The blog which started as something highly amusing to me has shown me how the web has transformed the real world.It had contained posts about things that appeared important to me as a student waiting to enter the free world and sometimes they would have been childish.I take this oppurtuity to thank everyone who have visited this page and I owe a lot to you people.The blog was also used as a tool to express my passion for cricket and sports.This blog has been like a stream running in its own direction without any restrictions on its flow...
With the exams and the farewell stuffs keeping me busy for the last month,the blog was not updated regularly.Here I am,on a vacation of nearly two months till I get my date of joning,hopefully this blog can keep me engaged throughout this period.I beleive this blog had made a decent first innings score and enters into the second innings beleiving it can outperdorm its previous innings...
The blog is going to be around India its best and worst efforts towards devolopment,the diversified people both in its culture and economic status and its journey filled with obstacles towards poverty elimination.Then comes cricket,which has now become a completely business material(if not already in 1985),no wonder the purists hate IPL(even me sometimes...).But this is how it is going to be ,you cant resist the change ,one has to learn to live with it before it consumes oneself.
So,Here we go,I am making my debut in to the blogging world as a man!
With the exams and the farewell stuffs keeping me busy for the last month,the blog was not updated regularly.Here I am,on a vacation of nearly two months till I get my date of joning,hopefully this blog can keep me engaged throughout this period.I beleive this blog had made a decent first innings score and enters into the second innings beleiving it can outperdorm its previous innings...
The blog is going to be around India its best and worst efforts towards devolopment,the diversified people both in its culture and economic status and its journey filled with obstacles towards poverty elimination.Then comes cricket,which has now become a completely business material(if not already in 1985),no wonder the purists hate IPL(even me sometimes...).But this is how it is going to be ,you cant resist the change ,one has to learn to live with it before it consumes oneself.
So,Here we go,I am making my debut in to the blogging world as a man!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Exam time..Once again..but probably for the last time
It is that part of my life where I had nothing to do but could not do anything useful .Three more exams are there to taken care of .With the last enjoyments making sure that the internals are poor than i had envisaged it is going to be a tough ten days ahead.
So,this can very well be the last post of me as a college student!
So,this can very well be the last post of me as a college student!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Goodbye College Life...I am nowhere now
One of the most romantic and emotional moments of my life has just passed me in the blink of an eye.My last day in the classroom became such a special day.Friends bidding goodbye and as we started realizing that this would be the final moments we could be together in the college and the fact that we are going to miss one another dearly ,we knew we are speechless.
These four years have been dramatic,rich in content and had that inexplicable charm attached to it.The studious and fearsome first year,the birthday celebrations,the nightshows,the trips,the talks which continued the entire night,the never ending arguments,the fights and reunion,the mess food,the cricket matches played in the hostel and the ground,the nicknames,the fake girlfriends,the desperation to see the cricket world cup,the walk we had for about 5km at 3.00 am after every match of the T20 world cup,the cricket analysis(we beleive we were better than those at SET MAX!),the placement preparation,the ecstacy after getting the first placement,the food stolen and replaced by empty covers from the friend's bags,the last semester enjoyments,the novels read in the class ,the rockets that flew in the class,hundreds of movies and discussions,the sports quiz....Oh I am going to miss all these stuffs.I cant imagine a life without all these things.
Still,I am going to spend some 25 days in the college attending the final project review and the university exams.But the days meant for enjoyment are over and it is going to be really difficult to get over it.The days that changed my perspective on life and taught me what life is all about in the most beautiful way...It is very hard to bid u Goodbye....But somewhere inside my heart,a voice tells me,"Common,It's time to move on....."
These four years have been dramatic,rich in content and had that inexplicable charm attached to it.The studious and fearsome first year,the birthday celebrations,the nightshows,the trips,the talks which continued the entire night,the never ending arguments,the fights and reunion,the mess food,the cricket matches played in the hostel and the ground,the nicknames,the fake girlfriends,the desperation to see the cricket world cup,the walk we had for about 5km at 3.00 am after every match of the T20 world cup,the cricket analysis(we beleive we were better than those at SET MAX!),the placement preparation,the ecstacy after getting the first placement,the food stolen and replaced by empty covers from the friend's bags,the last semester enjoyments,the novels read in the class ,the rockets that flew in the class,hundreds of movies and discussions,the sports quiz....Oh I am going to miss all these stuffs.I cant imagine a life without all these things.
Still,I am going to spend some 25 days in the college attending the final project review and the university exams.But the days meant for enjoyment are over and it is going to be really difficult to get over it.The days that changed my perspective on life and taught me what life is all about in the most beautiful way...It is very hard to bid u Goodbye....But somewhere inside my heart,a voice tells me,"Common,It's time to move on....."
Thursday, March 27, 2008
No One questions this Great Old Saint of TN
A computer engineer who was about to marry in a few days and had plans of going abroad with his new wife was burnt to death along with his two colleages.This did not happen in any of the interior parts of the country,but in the office of Dinakaran,witnessed by hundreds of people including policemen.A large sequence of incidents happened diverting the public from fighting for justice and misdirecting them to other issues.The events described below forms an Oscar winning script for a political drama..
May 9,2007:Three persons were killed when supporters of M.K. Azhagiri, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, set ablaze the offices of Tamil daily Dinakaran and Sun TV Network.Mr.Karananidhi said "This is an attack on democracy and press freedom.There is no place for dynastic succession in the DMK."
May 10,2007:He added "CBI, instead of the Tamil Nadu police, would investigate the case in a situation where my family is also sought to be implicated."The Dinakaran news editor said "Had the police deployed for security at the Dinakaran office acted on time, the lives of three innocent persons would have been saved".The police registered a case of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy among others against the accused. However, the name of Mr. Azhagiri finds no mention in the FIR.
May 11,2007:A grand function was celebrated marking the veteran's 50 years in the assembly which was also attended by Mammohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Yadav, Prakash Karat, and the son M.K.Azhagiri
May 13,2007:Dhayanithi Maran resigns following a internal party decision.
May 15,2007:The main accused in the Dinakaran newspaper office attack case 'Attack Pandi' surrendered before the police in Madurai
Nov 17,2007:Five persons accused in the ‘Dinakaran’ newspaper attack case, including ‘Attack’ Pandi, were granted conditional bail by the Principal District and Sessions court
And nothing has happened ever since regarding the case and people within the party had requested the two brothers Mr.Stalin and Mr.Azhagiri to remain united for the welfare of the party.But the unanswered question is "Has Justice been done to that innocent lives taken for the cause of personal gains?"
No one is dare enough to question our great old saint of Tamil Nadu...
May 9,2007:Three persons were killed when supporters of M.K. Azhagiri, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, set ablaze the offices of Tamil daily Dinakaran and Sun TV Network.Mr.Karananidhi said "This is an attack on democracy and press freedom.There is no place for dynastic succession in the DMK."
May 10,2007:He added "CBI, instead of the Tamil Nadu police, would investigate the case in a situation where my family is also sought to be implicated."The Dinakaran news editor said "Had the police deployed for security at the Dinakaran office acted on time, the lives of three innocent persons would have been saved".The police registered a case of murder, attempt to murder and criminal conspiracy among others against the accused. However, the name of Mr. Azhagiri finds no mention in the FIR.
May 11,2007:A grand function was celebrated marking the veteran's 50 years in the assembly which was also attended by Mammohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, Lalu Yadav, Prakash Karat, and the son M.K.Azhagiri
May 13,2007:Dhayanithi Maran resigns following a internal party decision.
May 15,2007:The main accused in the Dinakaran newspaper office attack case 'Attack Pandi' surrendered before the police in Madurai
Nov 17,2007:Five persons accused in the ‘Dinakaran’ newspaper attack case, including ‘Attack’ Pandi, were granted conditional bail by the Principal District and Sessions court
And nothing has happened ever since regarding the case and people within the party had requested the two brothers Mr.Stalin and Mr.Azhagiri to remain united for the welfare of the party.But the unanswered question is "Has Justice been done to that innocent lives taken for the cause of personal gains?"
No one is dare enough to question our great old saint of Tamil Nadu...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
May be Taslima Nasreen is not the Angel we perceive
After being tired of hearing the injustice shown to Taslima Nasreen by making hermove out of India,a digging of the backround of her being sent out of the country is necessary.Some hard facts about her has to be dicussed...
1)She was not the Medha Patkar of Bangaldesh, she had consistenly attacked the sentiments of the muslims by making derogatory comments againsts Prophet Muhammed and the Kuran.(Even Mr.Karunanithi was criticised severely for his comments against Ram).She was issued an arrest warrent and even a death sentence.
2)Why would a woman who wants to fight for freedom against women has to do it by revealing personal sexual history in an intimate narrative.
3)She had made several versions of her autobiography describing her contacts with various poets and their relationship with other women.Is this the way of fighting injustice and being a feminist.
4)She continued to hurt the sentiments of Islamic people even in India through her ruthless portrayal of Islamic laws and rules creating a lot of trouble for the government which has given her asylm.
They are various ways to fight against religious fundamentalist ,writing is one way,but there has to be some moral code which every writer may follow,not disturbing the normal life of hundreds of people.She,proclaiming herself as a writer for the betterment of the society ,has not lived to it.Instead she has led a life seeking fame through her autobiographical Kamasutras...
Monday, March 24, 2008
Illavazhagi gets some reward- finally
Finally ,Our world carrom women's champion gets some recogonition after some silent protests against the government for not showing interests in sports other than cricket.Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi announced a cash award of Rs 10 lakh to Chennai-based Ilavazhagi whose father is a cart puller.
It is also fitting that a private engineering college in the city, encouraging sports, had given a job to Ilavazhagi as sports officer.
And it's a pity that such news dont get the necessary attension that it deserves and hopefully she stays in her sport with our support and bring more glory to the nation even though it shows a large indifference to her sport...
It is also fitting that a private engineering college in the city, encouraging sports, had given a job to Ilavazhagi as sports officer.
And it's a pity that such news dont get the necessary attension that it deserves and hopefully she stays in her sport with our support and bring more glory to the nation even though it shows a large indifference to her sport...
Monday, March 10, 2008
Indian Hockey-Dead and Buried
The inevitable has happened ,today is the gloomiest day in Indian sporting history.After all,this was on the cards for a long time now.It is only a matter of time that our national sport becomes an endangered game.India is now out of the Beijing Olympics for the first time in 80 years ever since it first played in Olympic.We have only ourselves to blame to let our national sport down...
Let us take this blow right into our chests and accept defeat with grace and responsibility that we failed to preserve one of our long standing traditions and did not do our duty of honouring the greats of the game.We allowed cricket to take the centre stage giving in to marketing giants who saw business in cricket and promoted it.We wanted our sons to become a Suni Gavaskar rather than a Baskaran.We began to see hockey as a sport of the past and crcket as our country's pride.The 1983 cricket world cup triump changed cricket into an industry and Hockey into a game played by strangers.
We started giving more importance to cricket in schools,colleges and each of the Indian cricket team's triumph was rewarded more than it deserved andeach victory was hyped as if we had won a world war each time.The Hockey governing body also failed to promote hockey during its vital stages nor did it take steps to find raw talent in the interior parts of the country.A Dhanraj pillai was diminished for no reason,a famous Asia cup win was not shown the attension it deserved.A chak de India was a hit,but it never made a new Indian Hockey fan,a PHL was born -the best attempt was made to make it famous but only in vain-Alas everything is in our heart,our reluctance to accept Hockey as our primary sport and show the respect it truely deserves...
The Path Ahead...?
* This has happened for the good,atleast we now know where our Hockey really stands among the other nations
*The Indian Hockey Federation should accept its inability to improve the standards of our Hockey and the Top officials should be shown the door.
*Good,Effective sports administrators around the world should be invited to revive the game and do what has to be done
*We ,the people must learn to respect players of other sports and allow ourselves to think that Cricket is not a greater game than any other sport in the world.
*We must realize Cricketers are not heros(Only the men who fight for us in the borders really are),and understand it is all business going out there to win our attension....
Let us hope for the best and beleive that our Hockey team, backed by our resolve in promoting the game, can do well in the future....
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Take this - Women's Day Freaks
They celebrate Women's day as if they are paying tribute to the glorious feminine.They bring in stars and famous personalities and make them talk about women who changed their lives.They sensationalise trivial incidents and neglect some great women who have struggled to glory.Here is such a typical story
Ever heard of the name "Illavazhagi"....
She won her maiden women's title in the World Carom Championship in France last month.She is the sachin Tendulkar of her sport,the world carrom champion.And when she returned to India ,she did not expect crowds to welcome her at the airport.All she wanted was to live a better life than she had done before.
She said
'If the government promotes and encourages carom players, they would even bag gold in the Olympics and bring laurels to the country,''
She has won two SAARC championship title,a world cup,and also bagged the national crown.But the pity is very few people in Tamil Nadu know her name even today.No TV channel is brave enough to broadcast an interview of her even in an Women's day.
The only good news is she was given an meagre amount of Rs.1 lakh some days ago while her equivalent male counterparts in cricket are dealing with crores.
The politicians who seek publicity by addressing the reservations for Women in the elections can atleast mention the names these kind of sportswomen who live a life that very few people are aware of ....
Shah rukh Khan who revived his stardom through his Chak de girls can give atleast a 1% of his earnings from his investment in IPL to these poor female athlethes .But the truth is they are Good Men just at Screen...
Ever heard of the name "Illavazhagi"....
She won her maiden women's title in the World Carom Championship in France last month.She is the sachin Tendulkar of her sport,the world carrom champion.And when she returned to India ,she did not expect crowds to welcome her at the airport.All she wanted was to live a better life than she had done before.
She said'If the government promotes and encourages carom players, they would even bag gold in the Olympics and bring laurels to the country,''
She has won two SAARC championship title,a world cup,and also bagged the national crown.But the pity is very few people in Tamil Nadu know her name even today.No TV channel is brave enough to broadcast an interview of her even in an Women's day.
The only good news is she was given an meagre amount of Rs.1 lakh some days ago while her equivalent male counterparts in cricket are dealing with crores.
The politicians who seek publicity by addressing the reservations for Women in the elections can atleast mention the names these kind of sportswomen who live a life that very few people are aware of ....
Shah rukh Khan who revived his stardom through his Chak de girls can give atleast a 1% of his earnings from his investment in IPL to these poor female athlethes .But the truth is they are Good Men just at Screen...
Monday, March 3, 2008
Thanks for the Memories -Master
It is a decade now since we started to admire the beauty and excitement that sachin gives us when he bats.Whenever pedestrians shout at him that he no longer belongs there,he comes out stronger with that exclusive authority of his.He is unparalled and too good a champion to write off.He knows about the game more than anybody else in the planet and of course sometimes make us wonder "Is he human or what?".He is definitely human but what differenciated him is his enormous passion to be the best and his incredible intensity to remain at the top.
The joy, entertainment,pleasure,ecstacy he gives us during his stay in the field is priceless.It was not like ,when he was born,the nurse came and gave him."Here it is ,your 80 odd centuries", he earned every bit of it.He did not take the giant step,instead he starved,worked hard,put his life into cricket at the age when we would have been obsessed with cartoons .At 14,his usual day included getting up,going for practice,have lunch at the ground,go back to practice and return for dinner and sleep in the dining table.As my favourite sports writer Nirmal Shekar beautifully points out
"Long before India nF1 teams,Vishwanathan Anand,Indian Stock market boom,Lakshmi Mittal,Sachin was the one who we were proud of...."
I still remember the his first century that i saw on TV as a kid and i got the same feeling this sunday.I have had my transformation from a kid to a man(like millions of his fans)and ironically we expect him to be the same forever for all these years.Still he manages to provide us the same excitement and joy that he gave us a decade ago.Chidren who were born ,when we started appreciating his genius are old enough to get their driving licenses today.
And his greatness lies in the fact that when my grandmother who can't differenciate Cricket and Tennis asked me after seeing Tendulkar's speech "Is he still Playing?"
Being a cricket lover for all these years when I analyse the glorious Indian victory and not as a sachin fan, ,the difference between the teams is the presence of the master.Let us have it here
Of the 5 times we met Australia this series ,we won 3
1)In the 160 run chase ,Schin gave a crucial opening stand making 40,negotiating the initial burst of Brett Lee and Co
2)In the first final,we all know we won because of Sachin alone as he batted all the 50 overs
3)In the second final,he held the innings together for a major part and once he was out,the usual thing happened as if it was 10 years ago...
So,watch it out guys,India have not won a triseries final since Natwest Series just because Sachin has not scored in any of those finals and now we have beaten the world champions just because the master have come to the party this time around....
Wake up Cricket lovers,we still depend on Sachin to deliver at critical times....
And I can say it is a real previlage to remember the sweet memories that he has given me over all these years for nearly one third of my life...Thanks for the memories ,Master
Thursday, February 21, 2008
The Indian Premier League-The boon or Curse for the sport
Do you know the biggest joke of 2008 till now...It is Shah Rukh khan saying
"Let me make it clear. None of the franchise owners think of the business aspect. We want to instill a sports culture in the country and nothing better than involving in cricket. I have a passion for sports from my childhood. I don't know whether I will be successful in doing this but I wanted to try out new things,"
IPL is not about devoloping sport or cricket,it is about money,about exploiting a cricket crazy nation to the maximum extent and deriving money out of it.Incidentally the ICL has been a blessing in disguise for the BCCI.As Harsha famously says
"The BCCI wants to be the leader in Finance and Australian Board in their cricket.You get what u want to get. "
If the BCCI has been loyal to the former cricketers and showed greater importance towards talent and quality rather than money and fame,the ICL wouldnot have started.
Sandip Patil ,who took Kenya to the 2003 World cup semis was treated very badly.
What do these guys who in their AC rooms chat about business all the time know about the passion and spirit needed to play a sport.
If the dollars involved are mere numbers to us,here are some
"Overall prize money is US$5million, with the winners getting $2m. The remaining money will be given in the form of awards like ‘man-of-the-match’ etc.\
The BCCI has earned $723.59m from the ‘sale’ of the eight teams. On top of that, the Board will get around $1billion from the sale of TV rights."
It's a ugly feeling for any cricket lover when a player of lesser talent is compared with a legend.A Shane Warne being considered lesser than Yousuf Pathan,A Glenn Mcgrath being neglected,A shivnarine chanderpaul being considered a underdog,A Mike Hussey getting the same money as a Parthiv patel.
When the venture started ,i had that ecstacy of the chance to enjoy the epic duels of Sachin-Warne,Sachin-Mcgrath once again in my life.
And to that expectations and the fuzz that i thought this IPL would bring to cricket is begginning to fade...Alas the old warhorses are still in it to redeem me...!
And coming to the team i support...
I started watching because of two persons
one is Sachin Tendulkar
and the other is Harsha Bhogle(responsible for the second stage of becoming an ardent fan)
So,i can't imagine myself supporting a team that does not contain sachin or the one that plays against a team that contains him.So Sachin has always been my hero ..So it should be obvious that i ve become a Mumbai fan already...
"Let me make it clear. None of the franchise owners think of the business aspect. We want to instill a sports culture in the country and nothing better than involving in cricket. I have a passion for sports from my childhood. I don't know whether I will be successful in doing this but I wanted to try out new things,"
IPL is not about devoloping sport or cricket,it is about money,about exploiting a cricket crazy nation to the maximum extent and deriving money out of it.Incidentally the ICL has been a blessing in disguise for the BCCI.As Harsha famously says
"The BCCI wants to be the leader in Finance and Australian Board in their cricket.You get what u want to get. "
If the BCCI has been loyal to the former cricketers and showed greater importance towards talent and quality rather than money and fame,the ICL wouldnot have started.
Sandip Patil ,who took Kenya to the 2003 World cup semis was treated very badly.
What do these guys who in their AC rooms chat about business all the time know about the passion and spirit needed to play a sport.
If the dollars involved are mere numbers to us,here are some
"Overall prize money is US$5million, with the winners getting $2m. The remaining money will be given in the form of awards like ‘man-of-the-match’ etc.\
The BCCI has earned $723.59m from the ‘sale’ of the eight teams. On top of that, the Board will get around $1billion from the sale of TV rights."
It's a ugly feeling for any cricket lover when a player of lesser talent is compared with a legend.A Shane Warne being considered lesser than Yousuf Pathan,A Glenn Mcgrath being neglected,A shivnarine chanderpaul being considered a underdog,A Mike Hussey getting the same money as a Parthiv patel.
When the venture started ,i had that ecstacy of the chance to enjoy the epic duels of Sachin-Warne,Sachin-Mcgrath once again in my life.
And to that expectations and the fuzz that i thought this IPL would bring to cricket is begginning to fade...Alas the old warhorses are still in it to redeem me...!
And coming to the team i support...
I started watching because of two persons
one is Sachin Tendulkar
and the other is Harsha Bhogle(responsible for the second stage of becoming an ardent fan)
So,i can't imagine myself supporting a team that does not contain sachin or the one that plays against a team that contains him.So Sachin has always been my hero ..So it should be obvious that i ve become a Mumbai fan already...
Monday, February 18, 2008
Shame on us
Can anyone answer
who scored the highest number of runs in the 2003 cricket world cup?
Sounds rubbish,doesnt it.
Try to answer this..
Who was the last person to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy?
Tough one ,isnt it ...
It is Captain Vikram Batra ,who was awarded posthumus.
It is a shame we remember the names of famed sportsmen and give attension to celebrities who do us nothing ,And care little and hardly remember about people, who die for us leaving their families behind and neglecting all human comforts.We talk about injustice happening to the cricket team and have neglected one of the most shameful events that has happened to us ...
Naib Subedar Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry medal in India in 1988, for conspicuous bravery and leadership under most adverse conditions. The peak which he captured was renamed Bana Top in his honour. At the time of the Kargil War, he was the only PVC awardee who was still serving in the Army.
The following is a news about him two months ago from the tribuneindia.com website....
some excerpts
"The Tribune had carried a report on October 8 mentioning the plight of Bana Singh who was being paid a petty allowance of Rs 166 per month by the state government in recognition of his bravery, while his fellow soldiers in Punjab were getting Rs 12,500 per month."
"Bana Singh told The Tribune that for the past 20 years he had only got assurances and nothing else. About six months ago he met Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to present his case. The J&K Ex-Servicemen League also took up his case with the government. A four-member committee was also constituted for the purpose. But what happened to the committee report nobody knows, laments the PVC winner.
who scored the highest number of runs in the 2003 cricket world cup?
Sounds rubbish,doesnt it.
Try to answer this..
Who was the last person to be awarded the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), India's highest military decoration awarded for the highest degree of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy?
Tough one ,isnt it ...
It is Captain Vikram Batra ,who was awarded posthumus.
It is a shame we remember the names of famed sportsmen and give attension to celebrities who do us nothing ,And care little and hardly remember about people, who die for us leaving their families behind and neglecting all human comforts.We talk about injustice happening to the cricket team and have neglected one of the most shameful events that has happened to us ...
Naib Subedar Bana Singh was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, the highest wartime gallantry medal in India in 1988, for conspicuous bravery and leadership under most adverse conditions. The peak which he captured was renamed Bana Top in his honour. At the time of the Kargil War, he was the only PVC awardee who was still serving in the Army.
The following is a news about him two months ago from the tribuneindia.com website....
some excerpts
"The Tribune had carried a report on October 8 mentioning the plight of Bana Singh who was being paid a petty allowance of Rs 166 per month by the state government in recognition of his bravery, while his fellow soldiers in Punjab were getting Rs 12,500 per month."
"Bana Singh told The Tribune that for the past 20 years he had only got assurances and nothing else. About six months ago he met Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad to present his case. The J&K Ex-Servicemen League also took up his case with the government. A four-member committee was also constituted for the purpose. But what happened to the committee report nobody knows, laments the PVC winner.
Jammu and Kashmir has been embarrassingly indifferent to gallantry award-winners like Bana Singh.
He said it was Capt Amarinder Singh who had announced Rs 10 lakh cash award for him in October,2006. The cheque of this amount was presented to him by his (Amarinder's) successor, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in March this year."You can make out as how our government treats servicemen who have risked their life for the unity and integrity of the country", he regretted.
Here are the full details..(copy and paste the links)
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20061029/j&k.htm#4
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20071202/j&k.htm
Is this how we treat the "Bravest of the Brave",who risked his life for the sake of his motherland
We can imagine how much money our cricketers and politicians are earning and we fail to recogonise if not praise the greatest deed a man can do for the country...Shame on us ...I am not proud to be an Indian now
Friday, February 8, 2008
Livewire-08
A typical college Symposium,a once in a lifetime experience of organising a grand function with a budget of more than 3,00,000 in a college where academics are considered secondary and costlier decorations,lunch are looked to be the real victory,a class of 66 students working together to make the function a grand success,yeah,it is coming shortly ,LIVEWIRE-08,a National(at least ,we got a paper from Bangalore!)Level Technical Symposium.....just keeping me from blogging useful stuffs for almost 20 days now..
Many questions will arise regarding the very existence of these functions spending this large sum almost for nothing ,but i am slowly realising the completeness a college student gets in understanding the complexities of the real world problems after organising such a function ,this is really an awesome experience.
My second part of this post is about the one hourspeech made by Harsha Bhogle in IIM-A about excellence,What a speech!An amazing insight into what a man can learn from sports.I bet this would be the best ever speech u would ve heard in ur life...Here is the link..
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=harsha+bhogle+iim+a+speech&sitesearch=
Before that..read this brief profile of this hugely respected and talented gentleman's profile
http://espnstar.com/cricket/harshaup/hu_bio.jsp
Many questions will arise regarding the very existence of these functions spending this large sum almost for nothing ,but i am slowly realising the completeness a college student gets in understanding the complexities of the real world problems after organising such a function ,this is really an awesome experience.
My second part of this post is about the one hourspeech made by Harsha Bhogle in IIM-A about excellence,What a speech!An amazing insight into what a man can learn from sports.I bet this would be the best ever speech u would ve heard in ur life...Here is the link..
http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=harsha+bhogle+iim+a+speech&sitesearch=
Before that..read this brief profile of this hugely respected and talented gentleman's profile
http://espnstar.com/cricket/harshaup/hu_bio.jsp
Monday, January 21, 2008
A Tribute to a legend-Mangai Sir
This is the time in my life, when my school time memories are beginning to fade and a new corporate life is beckoning, I felt like I owe something to my teachers , who, made me into what I am or had an influence in shaping my life to a great extent. So, this post is for a teacher who is still at his best shaping better people than me and is doing this world the greatest service anyone could do…This is a tribute to the world’s greatest profession…
Mr.Mangaimanalan:
The word that makes every student in tirunelveli to admire and to derive inspiration from it. We can call him Mr.Teaching, if not Teaching can be called Mangaimanalaning. So great are his teaching methods that you can ask any student of him, I bet anyone giving him a mark less than 9.9999 out of 10 for his teaching. He is the face of chemistry for almost all Engineers and Doctors coming out of Tirunelveli. I have heard even the great Rajinikanth has invited him to work in his institute, but he had refused. After all, we don’t love him just for his teaching, but for the person he is, the clear Idol that anyone in the world can follow. The Indian railways can check the IST with him and the clock within his brain can defeat the most accurate clock in the planet.
Some of his traits that this post is fortunate enough to record...
Even the Orkut that revolutionized Indian Social Networking has a fan club for him.
He never accepts fees from students whom he knew had a slightly poor financial background
His encouragement for students is priceless and the inspirations he gives to the student who does well in his classes are sure to make his life a brilliant one.
He values his job more than anything else; I have heard him say he won’t sleep properly if he is not completing portions as per schedule. I have seen him coming to take classes in his worst health conditions just for the sake of not disappointing his students.
He holds so much of moral responsibilities to himself and he never touches the fees we provide him (get it directly) nor does he ask for it..!
He does this profession for the sake of building individuals and not for anything else as he has a lot more career options other than teaching that can give him many times of the money he is earning now…
And there are so many things that we continue to admire and wonder at the greatness of a man like him the world has never seen before and his journey continues in brightening up or shaping up the lives of so many people. Just words are not enough to describe his professionalism, dedication, kindness, talent, teaching methods etc…
I have been (at least trying to) blogging for almost a year now and no other post have given me more satisfaction than this recording of a legend…
P.S: As I hear now, his health is not that good as it is used to be, May the Lord give him the strength to continue his glorious works (in fact his works are as glorious as His works) forever...
Mr.Mangaimanalan:
The word that makes every student in tirunelveli to admire and to derive inspiration from it. We can call him Mr.Teaching, if not Teaching can be called Mangaimanalaning. So great are his teaching methods that you can ask any student of him, I bet anyone giving him a mark less than 9.9999 out of 10 for his teaching. He is the face of chemistry for almost all Engineers and Doctors coming out of Tirunelveli. I have heard even the great Rajinikanth has invited him to work in his institute, but he had refused. After all, we don’t love him just for his teaching, but for the person he is, the clear Idol that anyone in the world can follow. The Indian railways can check the IST with him and the clock within his brain can defeat the most accurate clock in the planet.
Some of his traits that this post is fortunate enough to record...
Even the Orkut that revolutionized Indian Social Networking has a fan club for him.
He never accepts fees from students whom he knew had a slightly poor financial background
His encouragement for students is priceless and the inspirations he gives to the student who does well in his classes are sure to make his life a brilliant one.
He values his job more than anything else; I have heard him say he won’t sleep properly if he is not completing portions as per schedule. I have seen him coming to take classes in his worst health conditions just for the sake of not disappointing his students.
He holds so much of moral responsibilities to himself and he never touches the fees we provide him (get it directly) nor does he ask for it..!
He does this profession for the sake of building individuals and not for anything else as he has a lot more career options other than teaching that can give him many times of the money he is earning now…
And there are so many things that we continue to admire and wonder at the greatness of a man like him the world has never seen before and his journey continues in brightening up or shaping up the lives of so many people. Just words are not enough to describe his professionalism, dedication, kindness, talent, teaching methods etc…
I have been (at least trying to) blogging for almost a year now and no other post have given me more satisfaction than this recording of a legend…
P.S: As I hear now, his health is not that good as it is used to be, May the Lord give him the strength to continue his glorious works (in fact his works are as glorious as His works) forever...
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Hats-off India--U have battered the Lion in its own Den
Will all due respect to the australian team,the Indian have thrashed the Aussies in this Perth Test.They have showed the cricketing fraternity that they have, what it takes to be a champion side.It happens to be a team effort and everyone chipped in with their contribution.They were on top on all the four days and full credit to the boys.They have come with their mind full of temperament and toughness to beat the best in the business.
Full marks to Anil Kumble,who at the helm, has been the role model and lead by example how a test match player should be,full of perseverence and intensity.What a comback for two of our very own players Pathan and Shewag,they have made the world realize how much hard work can bring the difference to the performance in a player.
And there is a young man,who was 2 years old,when Kumble played his first test match.Now he threatens the best batsman in the world with his hostile inswingers and got his wicket in both the innings of the testmatch..Ishant ,you made Sunil Gavaskar a bad critic..!
Then our very own duo who have held Indian cricket for almost a decade and a half now.Sachin and Rahul ,once again proved why they are considered to be the best middle order batting pair of our time.
I have never believed history repeats itself..But I was wrong ,It was number 17 again ,proven elusive ,the same man again looking invincible..a truly incredible gentleman standing as the difference between the two sides once again for almost 8 years..the great Laxman..He was unconqueranle once again...
Overall,its a team effort and that is more important in a team game..Let us this live this moment a little longer and cherish this one of the most famous victories of our lives...Hats off India-You have battred the lion in its own Den
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A Real Problem awaits Attension
As we praise the efforts of Tata's nano and believe that
It is a great boon for the middle class and almost all of us can have a car now and
it will not remain a dream anymore. But the Indian scenario is far more complicated and the advent of one car cannot change it. The nano's success lies not only in its technology and the methods used, but also in making people like me to analyze how common people travel from one place to another in India..From the analysis
India has 12 million cars,
50 million two-wheelers and
6 million trucks and buses
We have a population of 1000 million..!
India has a whooping 55% of its population in the working age (didn’t get the stats for actual working population), Assuming these are the people who has to travel much and often, so a total of at least 400 to 500 million people comes in these catagory...
If the calculations are done sensibly
100 million people travel by their self owned vehicles and the remaining 400 million people has to use public transport daily, no wonder the town buses and trains in the metros are filled with people and not having space to get air for breathing ..
This violent surge in the use of public transport, huge crowds in buses has been a real problem threatening for a number years now..Having used public transport till now, I myself know how difficult it is to travel in peak hours to our destination amidst all the tensions and Crowd…
So, We Indians can be proud of the nano,but taking nothing away from its technical brilliance and the efforts of Mr.Ratan Tata and his team ,the bitter truth is, it cannot be and was never created for being a part of the solution..It is high time that the government put this public transportation system into a serious thinking process and come with a solution so that it satisfies the people who cant afford to own even a bike…(How can they think of Nano?)
A fact:
A 6 million people use the trains in Mumbai alone daily (largest number in the world)..
It is a great boon for the middle class and almost all of us can have a car now and
it will not remain a dream anymore. But the Indian scenario is far more complicated and the advent of one car cannot change it. The nano's success lies not only in its technology and the methods used, but also in making people like me to analyze how common people travel from one place to another in India..From the analysis
India has 12 million cars,
50 million two-wheelers and
6 million trucks and buses
We have a population of 1000 million..!
India has a whooping 55% of its population in the working age (didn’t get the stats for actual working population), Assuming these are the people who has to travel much and often, so a total of at least 400 to 500 million people comes in these catagory...
If the calculations are done sensibly
100 million people travel by their self owned vehicles and the remaining 400 million people has to use public transport daily, no wonder the town buses and trains in the metros are filled with people and not having space to get air for breathing ..
This violent surge in the use of public transport, huge crowds in buses has been a real problem threatening for a number years now..Having used public transport till now, I myself know how difficult it is to travel in peak hours to our destination amidst all the tensions and Crowd…
So, We Indians can be proud of the nano,but taking nothing away from its technical brilliance and the efforts of Mr.Ratan Tata and his team ,the bitter truth is, it cannot be and was never created for being a part of the solution..It is high time that the government put this public transportation system into a serious thinking process and come with a solution so that it satisfies the people who cant afford to own even a bike…(How can they think of Nano?)
A fact:
A 6 million people use the trains in Mumbai alone daily (largest number in the world)..
Saturday, January 12, 2008
The Nano-Taking India to the World
Amidst the hype of 'nano,the 1-lakh car or as they say the car of the common man,"how big an achievement this is ?" is the biggest question before us
No wonder that this is a giant step forward and one of the greatest,if not 'the greatest' in Indian automobile industry...
It was like looking every step of the process making a car and finding out,"How can we do it cheaper?". Mr.Ratan Tata and Tata has made the cheapest car on the planet and has given hopes to millions of people who had dreamed of owning a car, that their dream would come true..
Some features of the car that highlights how big is the achievement ...
* It is 8 per cent shorter than the smallest car in the market.
*It is two and a half per cent lower than that car.
*Cheapest car in China is the double the price of our nano
And for the environmentalists and TV pundits who argue that the advent of these cars would increase CO2 levels,the reply is
"Who are you, you work in glass-fronted offices & drive four-wheelers and say that others cannot/should not upgrade because its bad for the environment. Clearly, there have to be other ways of solving the looming green crisis."-cnnibn
Let us admire the great work of the 500 engineers behind this car and hope that such inventions can move our country forward making the life of every indian HAPPIER...
Sunday, January 6, 2008
The cricketing Debacle
As I was typing the previous post thinking India would draw the test match,as three wickets were in hand with two overs remaining,cricket once again proved me somthing that it has been doing ever since I started watching it "Dont under estimate me..."
Let me not put the blame on the senior batsmen as others do because all are human and everyone can fail anytime.I am questioning the duties that are left with BCCI in lifting up the cricket (generically sports )talent in the country,in which children grow thinking cricketers as their national heros.There shouldnt be a problem in making them interested towards cricket but the problem is with the facilities they are provided to know about the game.
Watch the difference between the domestic games played in Australia and that of India,Even the team in the bottom of the league in Australia can defeat our top team.See the coaches they have ,the manner they adopt young talented children and give them facilities so that making their life secure and make them concentrate on their game.
Can the officials answer the flowing questions
1)What the hell is BCCI doing with the money it is getting?
2)Why is the expenditure of the BCCI not transparent?
3)What the hell are the politicians doing inside the AC rooms thinking they know cricket better than those
who have played 100 test matches for India?
4)Why did they chose to come to BCCI?to serve the country because of their patriotism..try helping the poor or other games
5)Why do the test match pitches still remain to be poorer than the poorest pitches in Australia?
If u dont know how rich is our BCCI,here are somthing u need to know
*BCCI's annual income for 2006/07 :Rs.650crores
To add to this huge sum in the next 4 years
*Global media rights for international cricket to be held in India between
March 2006 and March 2010 :US$612 Million.
*Official kit sponsorship rights for
5 years from 2006 to 2010 :US$43 Million.
*official Indian cricket team sponsor
for a period of 4 years :US$70 Million.
*The media rights for 25 neutral venue one-day
matches to be played over the next 5 years :US$19.15 Million
*For ground rights,travel sponseers :Rs 2000 crore
Amazed?Now u understand why politicians and businessmen want to serve the BCCI with their skills...GOD save Indian Cricket
Let me not put the blame on the senior batsmen as others do because all are human and everyone can fail anytime.I am questioning the duties that are left with BCCI in lifting up the cricket (generically sports )talent in the country,in which children grow thinking cricketers as their national heros.There shouldnt be a problem in making them interested towards cricket but the problem is with the facilities they are provided to know about the game.
Watch the difference between the domestic games played in Australia and that of India,Even the team in the bottom of the league in Australia can defeat our top team.See the coaches they have ,the manner they adopt young talented children and give them facilities so that making their life secure and make them concentrate on their game.
Can the officials answer the flowing questions
1)What the hell is BCCI doing with the money it is getting?
2)Why is the expenditure of the BCCI not transparent?
3)What the hell are the politicians doing inside the AC rooms thinking they know cricket better than those
who have played 100 test matches for India?
4)Why did they chose to come to BCCI?to serve the country because of their patriotism..try helping the poor or other games
5)Why do the test match pitches still remain to be poorer than the poorest pitches in Australia?
If u dont know how rich is our BCCI,here are somthing u need to know
*BCCI's annual income for 2006/07 :Rs.650crores
To add to this huge sum in the next 4 years
*Global media rights for international cricket to be held in India between
March 2006 and March 2010 :US$612 Million.
*Official kit sponsorship rights for
5 years from 2006 to 2010 :US$43 Million.
*official Indian cricket team sponsor
for a period of 4 years :US$70 Million.
*The media rights for 25 neutral venue one-day
matches to be played over the next 5 years :US$19.15 Million
*For ground rights,travel sponseers :Rs 2000 crore
Amazed?Now u understand why politicians and businessmen want to serve the BCCI with their skills...GOD save Indian Cricket
Tare Zameen Par-Once in a lifetime movie
One of the most beautiful movies you will ever see in your lifetime.The life of a eight year old boy who is used to be the one we had thought strange and 'poor boy with little sense' in our school days ,emphasises the idea "Everyone is ignorant-but in different fields".The story that moves as if we are looking from the eyes of the boy and the first hour is awesome.It underlines the concept,just like everyone having different faces ,they have different abilities,different thoughts,different ideas,different skills,different interests and each one of them is precious and none of them is less important.
Our childhood is being spent around the pressures and the onus of becoming a doctor,engineer,lawyer,manager and no one really cares for the true interest of the heart of the child and the interests subsequently yields to the demands of the society.
Back to the film...As we proceed into the climax wondering the impact it has made into our hearts ,the film responds with even more emossions with actors giving their best performance in the last half an hour or so.The music is just wonderful and touches our inner mind as we are left in a state of oblivion.Suddenly at the end of the movie we realize that it is the directorial debut of Mr.Aamir Khan..Hats off to u Mr.Aamir Khan,,U have given those little children who are not 'The genius' a hope of becoming a 'Einstein'...
Thursday, January 3, 2008
An Emphatic surge of 'The Rich' over 'The Poorest'
Tired of Global Warming Facts and wondering what actually the reality is .Here is a clear picture regarding India.
The per capita emission of an Indian citizen is lower than that of other countries and dont be suprised it is the rich people who contribute less than 1% of the total population ,are emitting CO2 that can be comparable with the emissionsof the world.
We can neglect the middle class for sometime ,now.
So ,the remaining 800 million people and considerable percentage of whom would have never heard of anything regarding global warming,have become victims to the ruthless activities of the rich.The rich live in those airconditioned rooms with their houses built on favourable ares.It is the poor who live in slums and have houses built out of weaker things,are left homeless and lose their loved ones ,of course not because of their faults.
With the floods coming almost every year,and the government unable to do anything to say these poor people,the onus is on the rich people to cut their emissions at least,if not volunteer in helping the poor to come out of this trouble caused by them..
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