Ramblin' Man's Pages

"Independent" politics

2009-03-29T21:59:00.004+05:30

Watching the discussion on "We the people" on NDTV today has made me finally break the silence on this blog. The main discussion was on the relevance of two independent candidates contesting the general elections in 2009 - Captain Gopinath from South Bangalore and Meera Sanyal from South Mumbai. The crowd participating in the discussion was of course largely the urban middle-class crowd, which is of course the target for these specific candidates. However, I do not wish to get into a discussion on the suitability of their candidature as independents. Even though I am not really hopeful that they will win, I think it is a good sign that they are contesting and want to do something about a cause they believe in.

The discussion itself revolved around corrupt politicians and the need for "change" (isn't that the buzzword everywhere nowadays!) from the current system. However, two points particularly struck me - One was a comment saying that the Indian middle class considers itself as far more important than what they eventually are in the context of elections. And the other interesting point was from an IIT professor who said that in twenty years of his experience, whenever he has gone with a good idea to either bureaucrats or politicians, it is the politicians who always supported him! Incredible uh? I was wondering at the end of the debate whether these debates will really result in something constructive coming out of them. For our country's sake, let's hope they do!

Speaking of elections, I am one of the lakhs of people who will not be voting this year (I am not registered in Mumbai to vote and I am not planning to travel to Bhilai on election date where my name features in the voters' list). I will end up in the category of people who will voice their opinion on the elections, criticize candidates/parties/stars and what not and eventually, do nothing about it! For a sense of self-satisfaction to tell myself that I have done something atleast, let me point the handful of people who may read this post to my friend's blog on shaking people. Alternately, you can also log onto www.jaagore.com to find out more.

Money Talks..

2008-05-31T10:57:00.006+05:30

Should temples in our country get all the comforts such as Air-Conditioners, Refrigerators, etc? This piece tells us what some people think about the newly installed AC in the Golden Temple at Amritsar. A disclaimer here is necessary that I have neither seen the Golden Temple nor do I know anything about what Sikhism says about such "man-made" comforts within their holy places.

In general, I do not see the installation of modern comforts in temples and other holy places as a big problem. Why not utilize some of the funds that junta pumps into these places than let them go into the pockets of a few? And it is after-all meant to make the darshan more bearable than last it out in the heat. Given that so many old people visit these places of worship, I don't find anything wrong with the idea.

This newspiece reminded me of a debate I had with some of my friends a couple of months back. We were having a discussion on the "VIP queues" and other such monetary schemes you have to manage crowds in temples - atleast the famous ones like Tirupathi, Srirangam, etc. The question really was whether such discrimination should be allowed in a place of worship. Shouldn't temples be above these money matters? Does "God" really see people who are richer and can pay to jump the queue as special cases? Why should anyone be allowed to have a quicker and more convenient darshan just because they can pay more? If one doesn't have the time to
visit the temple and stand in queue, don't bother visiting! When we stress that everyone who comes to pray should be viewed as the same irrespective of caste, gender, community, etc then why should economic status be given preference? The other side to the story was that if I can pay to get a more convenient and quicker darshan, why not! Isn't it just like visiting any other tourist spot where more money should give you better comforts? As it happens with debates, we did not really reach a consensus and simply agreed to disagree on our views.

Incidentally, all this talk was right after we enjoyed VIP status in the Kamakhya temple at Guwahati thanks to one of our friend's fathers! We jumped the queue, did a quicker darshan, and were pestered by each of the pandits inside for a "bhent" to the deities (Can't really blame the pandits, they supposedly make a living out of our donations!). I still wonder how or why people feel they've had a great darshan at such places when they are pushed around and shouted at by every single person including the pujaris. Isn't it a lot better to visit temples which are more peaceful, do not have so much crowd and where the pujari atleast has time to give you some attention! I suppose one has to really be a believer in God and the piety of such holy places to really experience the satisfaction and contentment of having visited them. For lesser mortals like yours truly, it really seems like too much effort for a pointless exercise.

Incredible India Indeed!

2008-05-16T12:26:00.005+05:30

In the beginning of March this year, after our alma mater was through with the placement season, six people set off on a journey which will stay in their memory for a long time to come. No, this was not a life-changing journey or anything. If you had walked into IIM Indore and picked six arbit people from my batch, you would be hard pressed to find a similar group of such six seemingly unrelated characters. But what the heck! How does it matter who travels with you so long as you have a good time. With this philosophy, all of us set out to perhaps some of the most unexplored areas in our country – the North East.

The Characters:
1. Vignesh – Better known as Viggy, the accountant in the group who realized the true value of the double entry book keeping during the trip. Also the constant worrier and the biggest question bank imaginable
2. Arun – AKB, doing a lot of free-riding when it came to maintaining accounts, conveniently giving the excuse of alcohol. All he has to say about this is - "Its ok da!"
3. Manas – Mona. It takes him exactly 20 seconds to fall asleep in any moving vehicle no matter how bad the roads are or how uncomfortable the position. Used to wake up once every four hours for status updates!

4. Vijay – Puttasura, easily the most relaxed guy in the group. He makes sure everyone else gets affected with his LOUD snoring. Yes, everyone except the sleeping Mona vouches for that!
5. Vikas – Vicca aka King of Dogs aka Junglorean – as big a coward as any one can imagine and a staunch Bombay-worshipping (err....i should say Mumbai worshipping!) wannabe shiv-sainik. He got the most nicknames during the course of the trip, the best one being “Non-Stop Nonsense” coined by Puttasura
6. Vivek – Iyerru, the planner in the group along with Viggy who left his mark on every single toilet seat in all the places visited during the trip!

For my convenience, I have broken the trip into broadly four different phases mentioned below, the details of which you can read by clicking on the associated links.

Part 1: The journey to the abode of clouds (Meghalaya) - We could have done with some rain in one of the wettest places on planet earth. You can read about the places to visit and click here to get a glimpse of what we saw.
Part 2: Brahmaputra Calling – Every conceivable thing in Assam is associated with Brahmaputra. Every city seems to be within touching distance of the river as well. For more on our experience in Assam, click here.
Part 3: Ola Sho Sho – This local song in Arunachal Pradesh seemed like a perfect blend with the beautiful landscape. Our trip to the north east can even be described in 2 parts – i) Before Bomdila and ii) Bomdila and Afterwards. Click here to read more.
Part 4: The Land of Teesta – Only three among the six characters made their way to the home of Baichung Bhutia. Mr. Iyerru sadly missed out on all the fun we had in the snow capped Himalayas near the Indo-China border in Sikkim. Our snowy experience has been described here in detail.

Fairer the better..

2008-05-15T00:31:00.002+05:30

Right from the time the Harbhajan-Symonds issue crept up, I have been wanting to write on the topic of racism in our country but somehow never got down to penning it down. Much has been said about the controversy itself and I have no intention of broaching that issue again. It is done and dusted now, and Harbhajan as we all know has already come a long from there.

Soumya Bhattacharya has a nice piece on the inherently racist nature of Indians. Our society's general "preference" for fair skin is fairly obvious to anyone who has come across any matrimonial pages in newspapers. Apart from this, the implicit assumptions about certain communities like people from the north-east is quite revolting as is obvious from this article.

I had a chat with my dad on this topic and outside the numerous examples we could think of within our family, he recounted a story from his bachelor days. Those were the days when Bhilai had a constant inflow of people from Russia who came for short stints at the Steel Plant. There was a separate colony called Russian Complex (the name and the colony still exist) especially for the Russian people. Of course, there were Indians as well as other foreigners who stayed in the colony as well. During one of the summers, a group of Nigerians had also come for a training stint along with the Russians. My dad does not recall any untoward incident as such during their stay. However, on the day of their farewell, one of the Nigerians went on stage to give a farewell speech. After thanking all the people for being nice to them, he mentioned that while there were a lot of managers who invited the Russians to their homes for lunch or dinner, none of the Nigerians received a single invitation to any of the homes. I wonder how many people in the audience really would have got pinched when he said that. Would they have even cared about what the Nigerians think? While there may be no answers to these questions now amd the incident may have happened decades ago, but has the scenario really changed?

See, I told you...

2008-05-10T19:13:00.003+05:30

I was wondering when one of the Aussies was going to start off about Harbhajan, with the 'Turbanator' presenting such a wonderful opportunity for them to look at everyone and say - "Look, we told you so!" Here's what their skipper Ricky Ponting has to say about Bhajji.

Thanks Ricky for leaving the judgment bit to us. I do not wish to imagine a day when people like us start depending on you to form opinions about anyone. And it would definitely suit your cause to focus on your batting. Speaking of which, Australia may be touring the best possible place for any of their batters to strike form again. With Zimbabwe not competing in test cricket, there aren't too many better options than West Indies for any batting side to find some form.

With nearly half the IPL season over, it is fair to say that it has been a welcome timepass for people like me, who have nothing better to do than analyze the matches so far. I hope BCCI has better sense from now on than selling broadcasting rights to Sony Max. Their coverage has been pathetic to say the very least. The cameramen always seem to cover every part of the ground except where the ball has been hit. We are now used to missing one ball per over, thanks to the pup licking stamps and running with a tie. And can someone ask Arun Lal and Ranjith Fernando to retire from the commentary box. I can still tolerate Ravi Shastri's cliched statements but the completely redundant statements from the other two mentioned makes me want to throw the remote. One hopes that the commentators seriously do better home-work and earn their money than just spouting general gyaan which anyone who has followed even two matches of T20 would know.

The Great Italian Wall!

2007-12-17T00:58:00.000+05:30

And so it's confirmed now. Paolo Maldini is finally retiring at the end of this year to wind up an illustrious career with Milan spanning no less than 23 years (to date) starting from the junior days.

Just thought I'd pay a small tribute to my favourite football player. Have loved watching him play all these years. There's a small video I have with me showing some of his classic tackles and moves. A true champion and an AC Milan legend. One of my happiest moments supporting him and Milan was to see him lift the Champions League last year after Milan beat Liverpool.

Rather than repeating a lot of what has been well documented here, I'll just sum it up with the fact that Milan are going to retire the No. 3 jersey which he has proudly donned for the best part of 23 years now!

Obsession with Centuries!

2007-11-15T22:26:00.000+05:30

Mr. X scored his 26th century in 112 balls in his 218th match and it was the 11th time he scored it in the second innings of a match. With this he also completed 7000 runs in international matches with an average of 37.83 per innings.

You might wonder what the heck am I writing about! Well, this is how a lot of our cricket analysts end up trying to prove a point about the quality of a cricketer. We Indians especially have a fascination for numbers over a career instead of bothering about the performance on the field on a particular day. Rather than focusing on whether the team won or lost the match and why, we tend to get carried away by these stats and figures. While these stats may give some idea about how good a player is, it really doesn't matter so long as the team wins. I don't think any of us should care for how many runs any of our batsmen scored in the entire World Cup as long their contributions helped the team win matches. Does anyone really need to bother about how many runs any of the Aussie batsmen have scored in recent years! What the heck, they have been winning next to everything.

This obsession with statistics is not just limited to cricket or sports. No matter what it is in life, numbers always play a big role. Don't we view somebody who scored 97/100 in an exam in 9th standard as better than someone who scores 91/100. Isn't a 9 lakhs per annum salary better than an 8 lakhs package? Isn't a 17% growth in earnings better than a 14% growth managed by some other firm? Why is there always a need to differentiate on the basis of numbers? I daresay it is a sort of security we have that we can't be wrong in our judgment because we have quantified stuff. While I agree that there is some logic in having numbers as a measure to keep things in perspective, we definitely have a tendency to go overboard with numbers.

Coming back to cricket, does any of us really care how many runs were scored or wickets taken any of the Indians during the recently concluded T20 world cup? What really matters is that India won the world cup, playing better cricket than most if not all the other teams. What got me started on this topic was the disappointment I sensed in all my friends here about Sachin Tendulkar on a century yet again. While he played a scintillating knock and helped India win a match, what people were more worried about was his habit of getting out in the 90s. As far as I am concerned, I would rather have him play the way he did today and score 90s or 80s or whatever so long as India wins matches rather than Sachin scoring centuries and India losing matches. It is a simple enough point but somehow always seems to enrage all the Sachin devotees!

Having said all this, I would also like to place on record the successful completion of my century today after two years and nine months of blogging! Yes people, this is my 100th post... You see, I am not so different from those analysts after all!! :P

Of Democracy and Capitalism..

2007-11-02T21:36:00.000+05:30

Sensex hits 20K. Mukesh Ambani becomes the richest person in thw world. At the ET awards ceremony, all the top honchos in the industry meet and decide that they feel proud to be Indian in the midst of such a crowd. If you were reading only the headlines in business newspapers, one could forgive you for assuming that India today is on the verge of becoming a developed nation.

One interesting observation was made by one of my professors who has returned from the US for a brief period. According to him, in 16 years that he has spent abroad, he has seen nothing change in India. And these are the 16 years India is said to have moved from a socialist economy to a more capitalistic model. Have things really improved? Yes, software engineers passing straight out of engineering college get paid 5 times the salary a normal engineer used to get in those days. Business graduates earn high packages and one looks down upon any post-grad student earning less than a certain salary figure. More number of High Net Worth Individuals seem to be surfacing everyday. The financial markets attract a lot of attention, perhaps even more than the government policies nowadays.

Amidst all this euphoria, I found this article by Arun Maira very insightful of how we may be losing sight of how things should actually be. While firms are all aiming at beating shareholder expectations and attracting new customers, the term "inclusive growth" seems to be a word best left for politicans to handle. It is very useful to note how the growth patterns have been different in various stages of economic development in the US. From an economic standpoint, even in the Indian perspective, has the change in government really made a huge difference? The BJP and the NDA tried to harp on the India Shining mantra and was voted out of power. As things stand today, will the UPA fare any better in any poll? I doubt it even though the economy is still growing quite aggressively. While I have heard many views of how democracy doesn't work in the Indian context and it is a hindrance rather than a positive influence, I sincerely believe that our democratic credentials are a constant reminder to the people in power that they need to either deliver or perish. And we as a country definitely need to work out a way to make the India Growth story more effective than simply blame the politicians for the inequalities.

"Awe"-struck..!

2007-10-05T02:01:00.000+05:30

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam made a visit to my institute as the chief guest presiding over the 11th Foundation Day celebrations. His presence was of course eagerly anticiapted by one and all in the institute and I daresay he attracted more attention than any other guest speaker has for quite some time here. Personally, this is not the first time I am hearing him talk and I did not find the lecture as inspiring or even interesting as the media reports it.

This post is not about my views on APJ and the substance of his lecture but about a conversation which sprouted as a result of this. When I was talking to one of my friends in the evening, I was told that I may generally seem to be "cocky" and egoistic because I do not really appreciate or applaud things that are commonly treasured by people. There is a tendency to downplay the achievements of others saying - "Ya, Big deal. What's so great about that?". Even if I may be exaggerating that observation a bit, I have had similar hints from others earlier as well.

There are two fairly obvious things involved here. Firstly, this observation has mostly come from people who adore/respect someone who I criticize or argue against at that time. While this may seem a touch defensive, the point I am trying to make is that it is mostly when the difference of opinion comes in that I suddenly get to hear this. Secondly, the criticism itself is true to an extent. I do have a habit of rationalizing and perhaps playing down people I am not majorly fond of in the name of being "reasonable".

The conversation made me think about personalities that I am in awe of. Now, "awe" may be too strong a term in my book but I could pretty easily think of a set of people (in no particular order) for whom I can use this term without a second thought:

1. Sir Garfield Sobers - The best cricketer ever. When it comes to cricket, he is GOD! We talk of fearsome batsmen, great bowlers and brilliant fielders and he's someone who was all that rolled in one and much more. :)

2. Bertrand Russell - I have not yet managed to read a lot of his books but whatever little I have read has made me respect him a lot for his thoughts and philosophy which was way ahead of his time.

3. KR Narayanan - A true statesman and a glowing example of how wrong our notions are about people coming from the "discriminated" sections of the society.

4. Kalpana Sharma - Yes, finally a woman on the list. Love reading her articles in The Hindu and now on www.indiatogether.com

5. Monica Seles - I was never an ardent fan of Seles even after her comeback in the tennis circuit. Perhaps I was too young then to appreciate her ability, resilience and determination.

6. P. Sainath - His articles are an eye-opener for anyone who talks about development and equality in our country. One of my favourite journalists.

7. Paolo Maldini - Personal Favourite, an AC Milan superstar and one of the best defenders in the modern era. There isn't much rationale in this paticular choice except that he has been my idol when it comes to football.

8. Medha Patkar - Iron-willed lady. Even though I may not entirely agree with all her views, she is simply amazing for the effort she puts in for any cause that she truly believes in.

9. Amartya Sen - Yes there had to be an academician there after all. This Nobel Laurate's book 'Identity and Violence' has made determined to read the rest of his works as well.

10. Noam Chomsky - Whenever I have read anything about Chomsky or any of his own works, it has always made me aspire to be like him one day. He is after all one of the best thinkers in todays' world.

I could perhaps go on and on but shall limit the list to these ten names for now. If I think of any more, I'll perhaps mention them in a new post. :) And I have purposely left out names like Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa since I am nobody to really comment on such people. Not that the names mentioned above aren't great, but they are definitely discussed lesser in the world. These are indeed people who inspire. They are people who can be cited as examples and role models. And each one of them is great in their own way.

This brings me back to where I started this post from. I do not think I would put in so much effort to listen to Dr. APJ as I would to hear most of the names mentioned in the list above (I'd definitely prefer watching the sporting legends!). So is it simply my ego that refuses to give any importance to the former president's address or is there some sense in what I am writing about! Either way, it doesn't matter because I don't see my views on this topic changing for now.

Marginalization..... or regionalization..

2007-08-03T14:18:00.001+05:30

Studying in one of the IIMs ensures one thing.. You get to meet lots of people from different backgrounds.. One might have a neighbour from Kashmir, North-East, Gujarat, Kerala or any other corner of the country for that matter.. For most parts, the different "regionalities" do not really cause any sort of tensions.. In fact one gets to know a lot about other cultures and communities as it should be..

Why am I bringing up this topic? Primarily because there have been some unnecessary questions raised lately on this topic in campus.. Now, there is a tradition we have in our insti where the "Tam" junta of second year introduces a local mess where you get proper home-made tam food to the incoming first year batch.. Naturally the invitees are tams as well.. This is one occasion for the tam junta to get to know each other and freak out together.. And the good part according to me is that the invitation list is never actually limited to only tams.. Since the second years foot the bill, it is normally only a limited set of people whose dinner can be afforded by them.. However, nobody has ever stopped non-tams from joining the group..

It has so happened this time that once the remaining people got to know about this "event", a big hue and cry has been raised about regionalism.. People, for no apparent logic, feel that the tams are trying to introduce regionalism in the insti.. They find the idea of a separate tam treat too hard to digest or accept.. I have had some of my friends argue on these lines as well..

Now, this is what I call blowing things out of proportion.. What is wrong in a set of people going out to eat some place where they get the kind of food that they are used to eating at home.. Its not as if they've ever stopped anyone else from joining them.. In fact, knowing most of the tams here, they'll be the first to invite anyone who may show the least bit of interest.. Moreover, I don't see anything wrong with the tams bonding once in a while.. u get to speak own language even if its for only one day..

I heard that some of the girls were raising questions about this tam dinner thing.. I only have this to ask them - Have we ever questioned the treat that the girls give only to the girls in the senior or junior batch? Have we ever called it a case of sexual discrimination? I wonder what the girls would say if the 160 odd guys had a party on their own not calling any of the girls..! It would be a wonderful example for sexual discrimination and marginalization of women I am sure.. Anyway, I rest my case here..

And the debate goes on..

2007-07-25T18:13:00.001+05:30

"Three people have been sentenced to death in the trial of those accused of involvement in the 1993 serial bombings in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay). The court ordered that Pervez Sheikh, Abdul Turq and Mohammed Mushtaq Tarani be hanged for planting bombs in India's financial capital." This is the latest piece of news (taken from the BBC site) involving capital punishment in India.

It reminded me of a discussion I had recently with one of my friends about the logic of having death sentence as a punishment. The basis for that discussion was a book called The Chamber by John Grisham which I had just finished reading. After reading the book, I was pretty averse to the idea of capital punishment as I did not feel it really served any purpose. The people involved in the execution never feel good about it, in fact many of them have been known to get affected from the entire process. One of the questions I had was whether we (society, government, judiciary, etc) had the right to take a life based on our judgment of a person's crime. What gives us the right to kill any person? Isn't a life imprisonment a better and more humane way of punishing a criminal?

Of course, there are enough and more counter-arguments. One of the primary ones is the fact that once a person has committed a heinous crime such as rape and murder or serial killing etc, that person no longer has any right to live. His/her fundamental/human rights shall be forfeit in the larger interest of the society. After all, the victims also had a right to live which was taken forcibly from them by the criminal. The issue of terror is also involved. If we keep terrorists imprisoned rather than executing them, their release can be bargained by fellow terrorists as was seen in the case of Kandahar. Thinking from the position of the victim's family, the one thing they would want is the criminal who has caused them grief to be removed. The society would be a much better place without the criminal. And it is simply not worth it to spend so much of the tax-payer's money to keep that person alive. This site for pro-death penalty provides quite an in-depth analysis of why capital punishment is justified.

Having said all this, I managed to dig up a very interesting section on the subject of death penalty specific to India. The Indian law advocates the use of capital punishment in the "rarest of rare" cases. The argument brought forth in the article is that "Paradoxically, it has arguably been the development of the "rarest of rare" doctrine that has helped the death penalty survive as a form of punishment over the years".

The article also points out that most of the people who are executed are from poor and uneducated backgrounds with inadequate procedural safeguards. It is very difficult for such people to get good legal representation. It goes on to state that "The Constitution of India protects the right to life (Article 21), the right not to be arbitrarily deprived of one's life (Article 21), and the right to equal protection by law (Article 14). Capital punishment violates all of these."

The time I spent reading on this topic led me to discover two more interesting articles. Both deal with a specific example - the case of Mohammed Afzal. One which presents simplistic arguments about why he should not be hanged. And the other which is an in-depth analysis of the entire case. The first one is a blog post about why Mohammed Afzal should not be hanged. The main points brought forward are that executing a terrorist would make him a martyr in the eyes of other terrorists and hence not solve the purpose of detracting them. Capital punishment in a way ends up legitimizing the use of violence as a means to the end. Moreover, speedy justice is a more effective tool than capital punishment. (I only question the "justice" part because capital punishment is considered a form of justice).

Specific to the case itself, I found it interesting that Arundhati Roy has actually published a book on this topic. I managed to dig the intro of that book here. It requires free registration with the outlook website. For those who can't be bothered to register there, I have just copied a small piece from that article for reference.

"Even the Supreme Court judgement, with all its flaws of logic and leaps of faith, does not accuse Mohammed Afzal of being the mastermind of the attack. So who was the mastermind? If Mohammed Afzal is hanged, we may never know. But L.K. Advani, Leader of the Opposition, wants him hanged at once. Even a day's delay, he says, is against the national interest. Why? What's the hurry? The man is locked up in a high-security cell on death row.

He's not allowed out of his cell for even five minutes a day. What harm can he do? Talk? Write, perhaps? Surely, (even in L.K. Advani's own narrow interpretation of the term) it's in the national interest not to hang Afzal? At least not until there is an inquiry that reveals what the real story is, and who actually attacked Parliament?"

As you can see, she actually questions the appropriateness of the entire trial to the extent of suggesting a conspiracy theory. However, that is a debate which diverts the attention from the main subject of the post. So having read all that I did, do I believe capital punishment should be abolished? Yes, for the most part. This was the position with which I had started my argument with my friend. And we had signed off on a note where we decided that we need to do more reading on the topic before arriving at any concrete answers.

However I still feel that capital punishment is not necessarily a deterring factor when the actual crime(s) is/are being committed. If perhaps it can be proved that it is a deterrent, it may be considered as an effective tool. Reasons such as economic ones do not seem as relevant to me because we are talking about someone's life here which really cannot be trivialized by talk of economic issues. A lot of money is anyway spent on trials and legal procedures as a part of the capital punishment process. Moreover, even the accused has a family. No matter how heinous the crime, I don't think the criminal's family should be made to go through a period of torture and anxiety awaiting the execution. Speaking of the victim's family, there are two fairly recent cases where the family members have requested for the criminal's clemency. One involving the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi and the other was the brutal murder of Graham Staines and his sons. In both cases, the wife of the victim has requested for clemency. Finally, are we really making the world a better place to live in by executing a few criminals? Does the execution of a Dhananjoy Chatterjee really affect anyone outside the families of the victim and the accused himself? I admit I still do not have any concrete answers yet to these questions as well as the many more running in my mind.

It is worth noting that worldwide 120 countries have abolished the death sentence in law or practice. In a briefing pointing out the recent cases of execution from India, Amnesty International further presses the case for the removal of death penalty. While some of the arguments brought forward seem to me to be tilting in favour of the accused, there is good merit in the arguments overall. They are further substantiated in this article bringing out the legal as well as practical aspects from the Indian angle, and presses for the removal of death penalty as a form of punishment.

With all these thoughts put together in a random and arbitrary way, I would just like to sign off this post with my view that as a part of civilized society, I believe we should progressively work towards the abolishment of death penalty.

The First Citizen(s)

2007-07-22T03:06:00.000+05:30

After an eternity, returning to the blogging world with a slightly changed look for my blog. I suppose I should give my brother due credit for reviving the interest, not that I had lost it but had sort of turned from that direction!

This post is mainly about the biggest news of the day - India has finally elected its first woman president. Ms. Pratibha Patil takes over from Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as the 13th President of India.

It is sad that a historic moment like this has been mired by petty politics which is quite unbecoming for the post of the first citizen of our country. Even though there have been some proclamations in the media about the first woman president, this has largely been overshadowed by the real "motives" behind Ms. Patil's nomination for the post. However, I do not wish to debate on her qualifications and election. What provoked me to write this piece was my brother's post on Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the outgoing president of India.

Even though I am nowhere near as critical of Dr. APJ as my brother, I would say that some of what he has written has substance. No doubt that Dr. Kalam was a favourite with the general people of India but even his election in 2002 was hardly free from issues. Dr. Kalam's simplicity and his "non-political" background have been cited as refreshing changes in the "corrupt political system". The media has as usual gone overboard with their representation of Dr. Kalam as a middle-class superhero. The numerous forwards asking people to sign petitions for Dr. Kalam's re-election are further reflection to the uninformed nature of public opinion.

Personally, I admit I have always had a soft spot for Dr. APJ, mainly because he was a professor in Anna University for a brief period when I was studying there. But that does not really mean that he is the best president that our country can have or has had. In many ways, it is similar to the brief speculation about Mr. NRN of Infosys for the post of president. Mr. NRN may have his own achievements and credentials, especially in building the software giant Infosys, but the proposition of his candidature for the post of president seemed a little naive to me. Similar to Dr. Kalam, the fact that NRN (as he's called in Infosys) does not have a political history appeals to people who are increasingly disillusioned by the current nature of politics in India. However, I feel that the larger picture of having a suitable person with the right credentials and experience for the post was being ignored in these debates and speculations.

One of the things which I found a little unpleasant as I was reading on this topic was the way the late Mr. KR Narayanan had been depicted by some constituents of what was the NDA when he stepped down from his office. I managed to dig up a piece written by P. Sainath on the late former president. One of the finest presidents of our country, reading about some of his achievements was quite a revelation to me. A simple search on wikipedia helped me find this info about him. I was simply amazed at the length and details of his achievements and contributions to society whether as a parliamentarian, academician, diplomat or president. Even though internet was not as prevalent back then in India as it is now, I could not help wondering whether we would have sent such forwards and requests for his re-election. It also makes me think whether people would ever rise above politics and appreciate such people's achievements rather than have a narrow-minded view of them because of their political background.

Having said all this, I would like to wind up this post by appreciating the significance of the election of India's first woman president and hope that her tenure is remembered for all the right reasons.

Its Showtime....

2006-11-09T14:22:00.000+05:30

And so the day has arrived.. Just got back from the inaugration of IRIS 2006 - which promises to be larger than life.. the start was pretty much perfect with a pretty thoughtful lecture By Ms. Naina Lal Kidwai, the CEO of HSBC India.. it is always good to listen to people like her address young audiences who have so much to learn from corporate leaders like her..

Now, after the inaugration, we are gearing up for the kick off of some of the events today.. we have Papyrus, Marksman, Cerebrate (Strategy) and Factorise lined up today.. and of course all the really big games - Ashwamedha and Kalpavriksha - start tomorrow.. for more information on all the events and details about IRIS itself, visit http://www.iimi-iris.com/iris-2006/index.asp
Do watch the intro with the speakers on and enjoy the IRIS theme.. as we have kept saying over the past few momnths, Welcome to the Show, Welcome to IRIS!!

The Six Sigma Men!

2006-08-17T19:25:00.000+05:30

TQM.. Six Sigma.. ISO 9001.. all these terms can hardly be imagined in the sub-urban, crowded trains of Mumbai, can they? But there is a set of people who make it possible.. They are the people now famously known as the "Mumbai Dabbawaalas".. I just learned today that their association is termed "Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers' Association".. As a B-school student, let me go with the acronym tradition and call them NMTBSA..

Going by the latest trend in all IIMs, our institute also arranged for a lecture by the famed dabbawaalas from Mumbai.. I must admit that I was quite skeptical about what significance such a lecture would have.. And whether its been unnecessarily hyped by everyone.. But after attending the session and especially seeing the documentary at the end, I would say that all Indians should atleast see how the system works.. It almost reflects a utopian world as far as I am concerned.. Which makes it even more special because such a thing has been in existence for almost 116 years now..

The kind of service these dabbawaalas provide is quite hard to imagine, given the circumstances they do it in.. Anyone who has been in a Mumbai local train knows what it takes to wrestle one's way to get any space on those trains.. For them to cover the entire length of Mumbai in those trains carrying those heavy loads, both on the western and central lines, and provide service with a zero error rate (well officially it is 1 error in 6 million) is simply mindboggling.. Again I would like to stress on the kind of environment they do it in.. Not a single dabbawaala is educated more than 8th standard.. Their average age is 52 years.. And many of them have to carry loads upto 75-80 kgs on their heads.. Their only dependence is on the Mumbai local train service which is very reliable as long as the weather gods don't intervene drastically.. The way they sort out and separate the 2,00,000 dabbas they handle every single day is quite amazing.. Not a single dabba gets misplaced or sent to the wrong destination.. The system is entirely manual and surprisingly, there is NO mistake ever made.. The confidence of the President and the Secretary of the association in their system was quite a revelation.. Why shouldn't they be, after all they are Six Sigma certified!! The secretary actually made fun of terms such as Logistics and Supply Chain Management saying that they are told they are good at it but he doesn't even know what they mean.. Being a so-called OR enthusiast myself, I was really amused by a lot of his comments..

All in all, I would say it was a very humbling experience for every one of us listening to the two gentlemen talk about an organization where every single employee is also a partner.. Everyone earns the same amount of money.. All the revenue generated is distributed equally among all the partners.. It reminded me of the word syndicalism used by Bertrand Russell in his writings.. When I say syndicalism, I am not referring to the Trade Union aspect of the philosophy; I am talking about the fact that every single person has an equal stake in the organization.. Such a system is very difficult to find and the Dabbawaalas are unique not only in that respect, but also the fact they have the most efficient system in the world.. Finally, I must thank our Operations professors for arranging such an interaction which gives people like me a different perspective to life altogether.. Life never ceases to throw its set of surprises, does it?

Back on the road again!

2006-08-16T19:33:00.000+05:30

So I am finally back after what seems like forever.. Have been missing blogging lately.. Was just waiting for some appropriate moment to resume.. And so today happens to be the auspicious occasion..

Well, the last few months have shown me how things can change very quickly in one's life.. Just 3 months back, I was sitting in Bangalore, in an air-conditioned office, working for a common goal in a project which seemed to be going on forever.. In fact, if I rewind back by 3 more months, I could well have been on a flight to Silicon Valley in the US of A.. But then as it happens, I had to take a crucial decision at that juncture and ended up refusing that offer for "greener" pastures in life.. So, after rounds of GDs and Interviews and nervously waiting for results, I found myself selected for the course on Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) in the Indian Institute of Management, Indore (IIM-I as it is more commonly known!)..

Its been a month and a half since I got here and I already have many experiences which will remain with me for a long time to come.. I had always heard so much about experiencing life in a B-school, but being here and actually being a part of everything is really exhilarating.. Sure, its a competitive world and everyone wishes to finish top one day.. But the different kind of people I have met here and most of what I have learnt so far is really intangible.. Whether it is the initial intro sessions, the late night parties, the theatre club performances, the World Cup matches in the audi, the birthday celebrations, the student body elections, the freshers' and talent night performances, the quizzes, the games, or the latest matki-phod competition, and so much more which I can keep writing about, it has been so much fun and at the same time, such a unique experience that it seems tough to believe that I have been here for not even 2 months.. Ohh, we do have classes too!! :P In fact, we are already more than half-way through this term.. But who wishes to write about acads on a blog when one's happy!!

I have been reading quite a bit about people writing their experiences in Infosys and I have made up my mind that I need to dedicate some space to Infy in my blog too.. But that needs to be a separate post.. For now, I'd just like to sign off saying that I am back blogging again.. with the determintaion to be more regular from now on..

Just Let 'em be...

2006-03-08T10:28:00.000+05:30

Being a man, I feel it is naturally hypocritical for me to write on a subject like sexual harassment. I have done my share of ogling at women, passing comments, etc. Although I would like to think I have not "offended" any woman, there is no way I can say whether it is true.

Amit Verma sums is it up quite well in his post here. Especially this part of his post makes a lot of sense to me:
"I suppose women are used to the male gaze, and I can't imagine how. But everytime a man talks disparagingly about letches, he's being hypocritical, to some extent or the other. After all, we all 'check out' women fairly often. If we're male, we have the gaze. Maybe we've just learnt to make it less obvious. One man's checking out is another man's letching. Where do you cross the line?"

I have discussed this with my female friends and it was quite a revelation for me when they told me that they face such things almost every time they go out, whether they are alone or in a group. I can't help squirming when I hear about the kind of things they go through almost on a daily basis. I know I can't truly relate to the sort of harassment they go through. I do not even know whether raising a voice in public will even change anything. I am slightly pessimistic about what raising one's voice in public will do. What if the girl actually does not want me to raise my voice and give undue importance to such an episode? As one of my friends put it quite succinctly, "just let women be". Wish men paid heed to these words.

Many of my male friends think that harassment has a lot to do with the dress that girls wear. They argue that "revealing" dresses naturally "provoke" guys more into passing lewd remarks, etc. I do not really agree with them. The kind of instances I have heard and seen about do not really indicate any such tendencies. Inspite of all the "modernization" in our culture, I still don't think all girls still have the freedom to wear anything they want to. Most of them are very conscious of what the society will say if they wear "bold" dresses. With people like the shiv sainiks and similar "ethnic" groups playing police and custodians of the "great indian tradition and culture", I don't know whether we will actually see a day when women are given complete freedom in our country.

Don't mingle with singles..

2006-03-07T11:44:00.000+05:30

A day before the International Women's day, it is but natural that there are many articles on women and their status in the society is widely discussed. The sad truth is that even though there may be women who are able to make their own decisions and enjoy freedom, their number is still quite low when compared with the ones whose lives are controlled by either their families. How many girls in our country, whether in urban or rural areas, get the freedom to choose when to marry and with whom? Things may be a lot better than what they were 20 years ago, but a lot of change still needs to come into the mindset of the people.

I find it really disconcerting that we have women requesting men to put on their thinking caps when it comes to respecting and appreciating the new "empowered" woman in a newspaper like this. Isn't it a basic level of freedom which any man should automatically think about giving to any woman? Does it really require such articles to point out these things which seem fairly obvious?

Changing times...

2006-03-06T17:23:00.000+05:30

I remember reading Ram Guha's article in the Hindu recently about him supporting any team but England in international cricket matches. Well, I share the same views. And this article sums up the mindset of the Englishmen, or atleast what it used to be. Things are not too different this time either, even though the "second-string" English team actually performed quite admirably in the first test (probably better than what their "main" team would do.)!

I am glad we are in an age where the pommies are not given undue importance by the rest of the cricketing world. Perhaps the one sore point nowadays is the sad decline of cricket in the West Indies. It is really sad to see them getting beaten by every other team nowadays. It is not so much the fact that they are losing, it has more to do with the manner in which they are doing so. And there doesn't really seem to be any solution in sight. Hopefully the world cup next year may bring about a change in fortunes. For the sake of cricket, I hope the revival of the Carribean kings happens sooner than later.

Love for the game!

2006-03-06T14:27:00.000+05:30

There are some things in life which really move you.. This article shows the other side of cricket.. Away from all the glamour, media attention and adulation from the crowds, there are players who simply play because of the love for the game..

I admit that Narendra Hirwani is one of the players I have ridiculed in the past.. I still remember one of his fielding errors which made me laugh when I saw it live.. I felt very guilty as I read this article and realized that a lot of injustice was done to a player like him.. I somehow feel equally responsible for his not being selected in the team when he deserved it.. I wonder how we'd have looked at this man had he played for India in that crucial Kolkata test against Australia and won that match for us..

Somehow, all of us tend to get clouded by stardom and what the media chooses to inform us.. With all this talk of Saurav Ganguly and his exclusion from the team, I wonder how many of us even bothered to think why people like Hirwani, Kanwaljit Singh never really got their due. How many of us are even aware of such players? It just amazes and inspires me to read stories of such men who keep fighting on and on inspite of being ignored repeatedly and perhaps unjustifiably so. It makes me think that there is so much more to cricket than just winning a test match and being counted as one of the best in the world..
I think this piece sums it up really well
"Watching cricketers like Hirwani, who possess the ability to go on forever and a day, defying age, pushing themselves further and excelling against opponents a whole generation younger, provides a unique kind of thrill. Not all journeys need a final destination; often the joy of the ride is fulfilling in itself. "

MBA - not enough to be a good manager!

2006-01-28T16:35:00.000+05:30

For someone who has spent a long time in the field of management (first as a student and now as a top level manager) to say that management education lacks this is something. There seems to be a growing sense of dissatisfaction and incompleteness about the experiences gained as management students.

More and more people seem to be writing about the things lacking in B schools worldwide. Or maybe its just me who's reading too much into a few articles written by certain disgruntled people!

Poet, Writer, Sportsman or Smoker?

2005-11-14T19:29:00.000+05:30

Isn't it slightly ironical that in those days, Smoking was not considered to be politically incorrect!! We are supposed to be a much more modern and forward-thinking nation now!

This is an article which gives an insight into Pandit Nehru's not so well known side.

For Netizens

2005-11-14T19:16:00.000+05:30

An interesting article on the latest "social" innovations in the field of Information Technology. True to my current profession, I should be and am fascinated by the new features people are coming out with on the internet.

Crime Time

2005-10-19T13:14:00.000+05:30

Is it just me who is reading too many crime incidents or has it really increased recently? Either way, none of these series of incidents are acceptable. Are there any solutions to these problems?

What does one do if the police itself is responsible for such heinous acts?

The entire country needs to own responsibility for this.

There are people who do not spare the ones they "love".

Militancy is not new to Jammu & Kashmir. But can anything be done about this perennial problem? Why do we remain unaffected even after numerous incidents every month? Will we react the same way if a place like Bombay or Bangalore faced similar incidents for a month?

These are just a few incidents I read today. Everyday the papers seem to be full of such incidents. I can think of atleast 5-6 criminal incidents in the recent past straight off the hat. Maybe all this is a result of the media sensationalizing incidents and making a big hash out them. But why, oh.. why are such incidents happening at this rate in the first place?

5 and 5 is 55!

2005-10-19T12:44:00.000+05:30

Tagged onto this by elf. Well, this thing's being going around for a while now I guess. Anyway, all of you reading this can give it a shot. Here's a lame attempt from me:

He was driving down a lonely road late night. There was noone in sight until he saw this lady standing by the road requesting for a lift.
He drove on past his home as her destination was much further on though common sense told him to stop.
She smiled as she knew he'd never return.

Why don't you respect me?

2005-10-19T12:38:00.000+05:30

Did you ever feel that someone isn't showing the respect due to you? Has it ever happened that you made a stupid attempt at pleasing someone? Have you gone back on any recently made promise? Ever waited for really long to get a membership in a club?

Well, you are not the only one. As can be seen here.

The Best Ever!

2005-10-07T18:10:00.000+05:30

As the series between Australia and the Rest of the World is going on and Australia re-asserts their strength(thanks largely to Gilchrist's form), there has been lots of talk and debate over the selection of the players for the Rest of the World team and whether they actually are the best in the world right now. I daresay there are many names which could and should have been there. However, it is impossible to please everyone and most of the players chosen will undoubtedly feature in everyone's team. I found this which tells one about all the ROW teams in the history of the game.

The whole world is currently going gaga over Freddie Flintoff who was the chief architect in England's victory in the Ashes after 18 years. With due to respect to Flintoff's talents as a cricketer, I think this article summarizes just why this man was and still is the best ever!

Is this love?

2005-09-14T20:06:00.000+05:30

Nowadays, I've got a very convenient explanation for anything that's happening in life. Let me make it clear that this explanation is not to satisfy anyone else. Its just that I feel that everything that's happened so far was all written in DESTINY. Not that I am worried about what's lined up ahead. It is a convenient way of explaining a lot of pleasant and not-so-pleasant memories.

I've been told that most people think about destiny only when something untoward happens. However, I feel quite the opposite. I tend to think about it when I am quite happy, like if I've had an unexpectedly pleasant day in office. In fact, last Monday was a perfect example where I was feeling really good about myself and everything seemed to work out just perfect. Just one of those days when you feel everything will fall in place right from the time you wake up.

A few days back I got a rude reminder about how life can change within a second. I was driving back home at night from the railway station. It was raining quite heavily and as I turned from the "Outer Ring Road" in towards my street, I got hit by some bird right next to my eye. Not that I fell down from the bike and got hurt. Nothing serious happened. The unexpected blow just knocked the wind out of me for a few minutes. I was lucky that my reflexes were sharp enough and I managed to close my eyes before I got hit. And everything was back to normal within some time. However, it made me realize how one's life can be completely affected by such an innocuous incident. I still don't know what bird it was. Poor thing may not have survived the accident.

I don't know what I'd be thinking had it been a very serious accident. Maybe I might have again cursed "destiny". See, doesn't she provide a convenient explanation for everything that happens. I think I am in love with destiny right now.

"Time of my Life"

2005-09-13T19:18:00.000+05:30

I read some astrological prediction online which tells me that september is a speculative month for me. I shall be re-thinking my career path, etc, etc..

Now, I am not one who believes in any of these astrological predictions. Sure, some of them turn out to be true. In this case, it ain't entirely false. I have been wondering what I wish to achieve in life for a while now. It started WELL before this month started.

I was reminded of my musings when I saw this post. Well, its just that "time of my life".

Here's the lyrics of an awesome song by Green Day. Its called "Time of your Life".

Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test, and don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs, and still frames in your mind
Hang it on a shelf in good health and good time
Tattoos of memories and dead skin on trial
For what it's worth it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

Sports Icons

2005-09-06T18:24:00.000+05:30

The papers nowadays seem to be more enthusiastic about reporting the "rise" of a teenage sensation Sania Mirza more than cribbing about the sorry state of Indian cricket.. Yeah I know they do it because Sania would obviously sell more.. But that's not what I wish to talk about right now..

As I write this, India's heading for yet another defeat in the finals of a tournament.. I can't remember any final apart from the Natwest Trophy final which we have won in the past 5-6 years.. This is, sorry I should say "was", supposed to be one of the best Indian teams right.. Then why such a pathetic record.. Losing 8 out of 9 finals (i think it may be more).. And with all of 1300 Crore Rupees, the BCCI has FINALLY got one national level academy going.. Applause.. What a noble thought and initiative taken up by the unsurpassable members of the BCCI.. We must be grateful to them for taking such giant steps in selecting the best team.. The Board of selectors have a meeting in Bangkok to select the team.. while all our aspirants slog it out in the Ranji matches happening all over the country.. Is anybody even bothering to see HOW a particular player performs? What is the criteria for selection in the Indian team? Have we given a proper chance to all the hopefuls? Well, whats the point in being the richest board in the world if the money isnt invested in the right channels.. Ok, I rest my case here..

Coming to the team itself, I think our captain needs to be true to himself.. It is about time he realized that he may not be one of the top 11 cricketers in our country any more.. He's done a lot for our country's cricket, there's no doubt about it.. But I think his time has come.. I'd be glad if he can prove me wrong (like England did), but he's been given a chance too many one feels.. His batting has become a household joke now.. It is sad to see him such a state.. The once admired "Dada" has now become the object of ridicule everywhere..

Speaking of England, they have FINALLY made sure they won't lose this Ashes series.. To be honest, I am not fond of Australia.. I think they deserve to be beaten.. There couldn't have been too many people happier than me the day they lost to Bangladesh in a ODI.. However, the only thing that irks me is the fact that it is England who's doing it.. The English media doesnt need much to go overboard about their players.. But, for them to have beaten this Aussie team, I do not even wish to imagine what would happen if this comes true.. The Aussies are still hopeful that they'd square the series.. And I do not want either of the things to happen.. I mean I want neither England to win the series nor Australia to win the last test.. Wish there was some way out of this situation...

Finally, coming back to Sania Mirza, it is indeed pleasing to see that she is making rapid progress in her career.. Even if she is not able to sustain it for too long (which I sincerely hope she can), the amount she's achieved is simply incredible considering the standards of women's tennis in our country.. She is very rightly a huge icon already.. Of course, her good looks aid her cause in a BIG way.. And in the midst of all this Sania-adulation, I remember reading somewhere that certain sections of our society are asking her to "dress properly"!! My response to such people is simply this: GET A LIFE!!

Peace..

2005-09-02T18:10:00.000+05:30

Well... its a loooooooooooooooooong time since i wrote anything on my blog.. i feel totally lost right now... it seems as if i am starting all over again..

For people who still visit this blog page, thanks for your patience.. Don't think I deserve it.. However, I shall make a sincere effort to make some time for my blog frm now on..

There's been a lotta talk about war/peace/disarmament, etc in the media recently.. Apparently our ex-Army Chief thinks that the button for nuke weapons should be with our "trusted" politicians.. Interesting, I must say.. I'd hav thought he'd be the last person to say that..

As for the recent nuke-deals, this is an interesting interview.. I still wonder when the world will come to a stage when everyone stops trying to please the United States.. Why, oh why should we care what the US thinks about our policies? Why do they get away with everything that they think, do, etc.. What a pity..

Another interesting piece I read was about Vietnam in The Hindu. The Vietnam war has always fascinated me and I have always wondered what life in such a place would be..

Innocent Guilt!

2005-07-26T19:09:00.000+05:30

I suppose that will qualify as an Oxymoron, or will it? Either way, the Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, has been brutally killed by the London police who "mistook" him for a terrorist. This article in The Hindu sums up the situation nicely.

Am I wrong in assuming that under the law, any "accused" is considered innocent until his/her guilt is proved. Wonder whether the same logic is applied when dealing with "terror suspects". I shouldn't think so..

Something to believe in..

2005-07-26T17:53:00.000+05:30

Was listening to a song called "Something to Believe In" by Poison.

A deeply touching song which once again emphasizes the futility of war. I wonder how many such lives were wrecked due to the Vietnam war. And still you see the Iraq war happening. Can somebody tell these people that nobody ever "wins" a war. Guess its too late to talk about it now . Sigh!

What about the contest!

2005-07-25T19:03:00.000+05:30

As much as the Englishmen might hope that they can upstage a not-so-invincible Austrailan side in the current Ashes series, one would have to say the chances of that happening are pretty bleak if the first test was any sign of things to come. The inept batting display especially in the second innings is a real cause for concern. All the top order batsmen, with the exception of Kevin Pietersen, were clueless when confronted by Shane Warne's guile. And that is of course after most of the damage was inflicted by the peerless Glenn McGrath.

As much as I hate to admit it, the combination of Warne and McGrath is probably one of the best that will ever be and Australia will definitely struggle to fill in their shoes once these two hang up the boots. Even the other real superstar in their team, Adam Gilchrist, is not going to be around for too long. Ideally for England, the first two names mentioned above should not be participating in the next Ashes series for them to have a realistic chance of victory.

However, stranger things have happened before. England can definitely boast of a very lively pace attack with Harmisson, Jones and Flintoff. All of them will have to be at their best right through the series for England to do well. England has dominated in the last two years against most of the other test playing nations and one hopes they have the ability and the spirit to bounce back from defeat against an opposition which is in a different league altogether compared to all the other teams England has beaten. From a neutral perspective, an English victory in the second test will really liven up the series and might produce a memorable Ashes contest for a change.

Hope....

2005-07-19T19:04:00.000+05:30

Every time I sit down to blog nowadays, there are hundreds of things running on my mind and I am really not sure what I should write about.

Dedicating this post to one of my colleagues who's struggling with Blood Cancer right now. Just a couple of months back, we all(I and my friends at work) enjoyed a memorable treat from him at The Legends of Rock. This was after we got to know that he was engaged. Everything seemed to be perfect for him and suddenly one day, he showed symptoms of jaundice and after a month's treatment his condition grew steadily worse. When a blood test was done, it was finally diagnosed that he was suffering from ALL (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) and AML (Acute Myelocytic Leukemia), which I believe translates to Blood Cancer for a layman like me. The latest I heard is that he is in CMC Vellore receiving treatment.

I still don't know how to react and cannot even begin to imagine how his family would be feeling. Life is so unpredictable and this is another instance to show why one can't take anything for granted.

Whenever I think of this unfortunate situation, I am reminded of the movie Anand. It is arguably the best movie I have ever seen (I do not as a rule like to classify movies/books, etc..).
The two songs "Kahin Door Jab din dhal Jaaye" and "Zindagi kaisi hai paheli" in this movie are probably two of my all time favourites.

Although I am sure I would not be spending another evening with my friend Rajesh in The Legends of Rock, there is always this word called hope. As we say in Hindi "Ummeed ke sahaare hi zindagi hai". Unfortunately, it seems to be coming true literally as well as figuratively in my friend's case.

Living as One..

2005-07-06T16:27:00.000+05:30

The big news and talking point since yesterday has obviously been the terrorist attack on the Ayodhya temple. Amit Varma has covered most of it in this blog-post.

As our politicians prepare to debate on the whole incident and blame each other as well as Pakistan and god knows what not for the attack, I was reminded of one of the most beautiful songs ever written - Imagine by the one and only John Lennon.

At this moment, these lines from this song seem so relevant:

"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one "

As I write this post, I should also mention the fact that I was very surprised to get two comments on my previous post within 24 hours of my posting it. Not that I am complaining at all. It feels good to know that there are people who actually like reading stuff that I write (I can't imagine why they would visit my blog otherwise!). Ok, thats enough self-admiration!! However, its my duty to thank all my blog-readers and request them to keep visiting this blog..
Meanwhile, I shall keep rambling on.....

Many Ramblings..

2005-07-05T15:04:00.000+05:30

It seems such a long time since I wrote anything on my blog that it almost feels as if I am starting afresh.. So many things have happened in the past two weeks or so..

I managed to meet two of my best friends - P & T- in the last two weeks after 2-3 years.. Needless to say, I had a blast and it was absolutely wonderful to meet both of them.. Both these occasions also resulted in me meeting all my other school and college friends in Bangalore.. Btw, P is my best friend from school and T is one of my best friends from college.

I wonder why I feel completely void after such meetings with my friends.. There seems nothing to look forward to after such moments.. Although this is a feeling which I get over within a few hours or sometimes days, the feeling always comes back to me some time or the other.. The time I spent with T and B(T's classmate and my friend frm college) at JukeBox(a pub in Koramangla) was probably the highlight of that weekend. We were remembering the good old days we spent in ACTech.. This meeting also sparked off a discussion among my friends as to why college friends seem so special to most people.. I think I can safely say that for most guys who stay in the hostel, your friends staying with you become your family and in most cases, the bond exists throughout your life, even if you aren't in constant touch with them later on..

Moving on to the other major happenings, a lot has happened in the world of sports over past month or so. Perhaps the biggest news would be B'desh's victory against Australia.. I don't think even the most outrageously optimistic B'deshi could have dreamt of them beating the Kangaroos that too in English conditions. Hats off to them for pulling off an incredible victory.. The way the Natwest Tri-series has unfolded has really set the stage for The Ashes.. For a change, England will go into the series believing they can beat Australia.. It indeed is a series to look forward to, though I still feel that Aussies will nip it again this time.

On to tennis - Roger Federer showed us once again who the best player in the world is.. The ease with which he beat the No. 2 and 3 players in the world, i.e, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Roddick, during Wimbledon is almost scary for the rest of the players in the circuit.

Brazil outclassed Argentina in the FIFA Confederations Cup Final and proved that they are the team to beat in next year's world cup.. Their strike force is so awe-inspiring right now that Ronaldo himself is unable to guarantee a place for himself.. Mexico was the team which made the others sit up and take notice by beating Brazil.. They seem to have a very good side and are capable of pulling a few upsets on the big stage..

This post is already a lot longer than what I intended when I started off. And unless I stop here, I'd pick up some other topic and start writing. I shall save that for next time.

Spin Doctors!!

2005-06-15T19:31:00.000+05:30

If you are a BJP supporter, my advice is not to read this post(or should I say the link in this post!!). It is bound to be in stark contrast from the way you have been looking at this party. Although I do not like to take sides from the political point of view, I can't see myself supporting BJP in its present form. Mind you, I am not saying I am a Congress or a Left supporter. Anyway, that's not the issue at hand.

This is a column in The Hindu written by P. Sainath. Anyone who has read this blog regularly would know that I am a great fan of this guy. I have already linked one of his earlier columns here. I am sure any BJP fan will come up with arguments finding faults with the other parties, but my request would be to first look at their own party and then comment on the rest.

Talking of spin doctors, I am wondering why so many writers like to draw parallels with Cricket! Many of my friends also have this habit of using cricketing terms while explaining situations in life.. I guess cricket is so much a part of our(read me and my friends) lives that it'd naturally keep surfacing in our conversations..

Competitive exams, education and the Larger picture

2005-06-13T17:51:00.000+05:30

There has been an ongoing debate about entrance exams for UG students ever since the TN government came out with the decision to abolish the common entrance test. These exams tend to make education more urbanised with dedication coaching centres in all the major cities. The students in the rural areas really do lose out a lot because of this. Having seen many classmates of mine in college who have gone through a lot more difficulty and pains to get to the same stage as I did, I must say the system in Tamil Nadu was fairly even when it came to selecting undergraduate students, atleast in the Govt-aided colleges.

Now with the abolishing of the entrance test, the onus is on the students to do well in the XII standard exams. I have a feeling it was better when it was spaced out with the skill of students in both forms of test coming out in the earlier scenario. Now, if a student has a bad day at one of his exams, he doen't get a chance to make up for it. Competitive exams also test the analytical abilities of a student which I think is a very important skill. The IIT-JEE is probably the best example among all the entrance tests in our country.

However, the down-side of this is the additional pressure on the students to perform well in both the XII standard school exams and all the competitive exams. Having been through this myself, I know it is not easy for students to handle such pressure. In fact, the pressure is not so much just because of the amount to be studied. The worst part is the inevitable comparisons made with the peers and all the people who have been "successful" at such tests. This brings the larger question to the picture Is our education too result-oriented? Are we just looking at the short cuts to achieve a nice job, comfortable life? How many students enter their actual fields of interest? Today, most students tend to become either engineers or medical students by default. Isn't there something wrong in pushing the students this hard at such an age?

I have a feeling our country is losing out on a lot of other talents because of this craze for engineering/technology. Even if anyone was genuinely interested in arts or sports, the chances of him/her making it a career is seriously hampered by the constant comparison with all the peers. Unfortunately in our country, the "mob mentality" is a major issue. Just because hundred people I know got into IIT doesn't mean I have to follow them. However, this attitude is prevalent in our society. Cities like Bombay, Delhi and to a lesser extent Chennai, Bangalore and other major cities may offer other alternatives. However in general, in most of the smaller towns, the options tend to be more limited and the pressure is so much greater.

I don't know whether doing away with competitive exams is a step in the right direction. Whether this results in lesser pressure and a fairer assessment of all the students remains to be seen. However, at the ground level, I don't think it's going to change anything much. Students will still be expected to put in the same effort as they have been all these years. Its only the selection criteria which is changing, not the competition level or the options available.

Company, evaluation and google!!

2005-06-11T16:07:00.000+05:30

When I was coming back from home this time, I had very interesting company. The gentleman travelling in my compartment was an IMA instructor. His wife's a Maths teacher having done a PhD in the subject. Well, I, my friend Prashant who was travelling with me, this gentleman and his wife and 1-2 more people were involved in a lively discussion on the political situation in the different states in our country, how different the issues are everywhere and where has all this has come from. How divisions in society have come about because of caste, religion, community, etc.. The IMA instructor raised a very interesting point about the people in West Bengal having faith in their government for 27 years now. His point being that any government which at the end of the day works for the benefit of ALL the people , especially the common man, is the one which will prevail. I can't possibly recount the entire discussion and shall not attempt to do so. However, it was very thought-provoking and I enjoyed it very much.

Read this column in the Hindu written by one of my favourite columnists - P.Sainath. It is a wonderful eye-opener for anyone who has forgotten about the previous general elections and the major issues to be addressed in our country. There's a book by P.Sainath called "Everybody loves a good drought". That's next on my "books-to-buy" list..

On a totally different note, if you google for the "hazaaron khwaish", guess what - Ramblin' Man's Pages shows up as the first search result!! Pretty cool, ain't it!!

Movies and Book Tags!

2005-06-10T12:07:00.000+05:30

So I finally respond to the tag-game.. Have been book-tagged by Suksy and Soultanofswing..

Hmm.. Although I am not reading anywhere near as much as I'd like to, I have started about 3-4 books and am not anywhere near finishing any of them..

The last book I bought: Gorky Park - by Martin Cruz Smith. This is a book I have read 3, no maybe 4 times. One of my all time favourites.

The last book I read: The Mahabharatha - C. Rajagopalachari. Had heard a lot about Rajaji's version of the epic. Read it when I was home. I find The Mahabharatha amazing when it comes to the sheer complexity of the whole story and the beautifully woven characters.

Total number of books I own: No idea. I really don't know how many I actually "own". Have read hundreds of books though. Many of which I have bought myself.

Five books which mean a lot to me: I don't know whether they mean a lot me, but these are some of my favourites.

1. Gorky Park: The murder investigation as well as the love story of Arkady Renko is simply brilliant. The best part about the book is the sheer vulnerability of the "hero". Makes him all the more "likeable"..

2. To Kill a Mocking Bird: A true classic.

3. India's Struggle for Independence - by Bipin Chandra: This is a very different account of Indian history starting with "The Revolt of 1857" from what we read in the text books. Although it may not be completely impartial, the author(s) provides a good insight into the ideologies of the different sections invloved in our freedom struggle - starting from the Moderates, the Extremists, the Communists, the Hindu Mahasabha and the Muslim League - and of course, Gandhiji and his followers.

4. The Chamber - John Grisham: Although this book of Grisham's is not as popular as some of his other fast-paced novels, I found this book really thought-provoking and it brings out lots of issues like racism, justice, death sentence, family relationships, and even politics to an extent.

5. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien: Brilliant imagination.. The very idea of "The Evil One" and "Mordor" was amazing.

6. The Day of the Jackal - Frederick Forsyth: Brilliant pace. A gripping story with an amazing ending.

7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Agatha Christie: Have read lots of Christie's books. This one is by far the best.

8. The Hound of the Baskervilles: Sherlock Holmes' best. (err.. I should say Conan Doyle's best!)

I know I was supposed to mention only 5 but couldn't help mentioning Nos. 6,7 and 8.

That takes care of the books. Now on to movies. Was tagged to this by Elf.

1. Total number of films I own on DVD/video: 0. I haven't bothered to buy a single movie yet.

2. Last film(movie) I bought: Plz refer to Answer no. 1.

3. Last film I watched: CD - Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi, Theatre - Kaal, TV - Pirates of the Carribean(for the 4th time).

4. Five films that I watch a lot or that mean a lot to me:

i) Anand: Brilliant movie. Beautiful message. Extremely moving. My all time favorite.

ii) Jaane bhi Do yaaron: The "Naatak" scene with the dead body as Draupadi is probably the best comedy scene made in the Hindi movie industry.

iii) Spy Game: The movie rocks.. Robert Redford and Brad Pitt are simply brilliant.. I have seen this movie about 5-6 times.

iv) Forrest Gump: The movie is all about Tom Hanks. I have lost count of the number of times I've seen it.

v) Sholay: The "complete" Hindi movie.

There are so many other movies running at the back of my mind right now that I think I should stop before any of them pop up!!

As for continuing the game, I think I have joined it a little too late to carry it forward. Most of my blog readers have already participated in the game. So that's all about my favorites..

The "boy" is back in town!!

2005-06-09T17:42:00.000+05:30

For all the regular readers of this blog(there aren't many I know), my apologies for the long absence from the blog-scene. I should have had atleast bothered to post about that. Anyway, I am back now and hopefully, my blogging frequency will keep increasing.

Liverpool beat Milan in one of the most dramatic UEFA Champions' League finals of all time. Although I would have liked to see Maldini lift the cup rather than Gerrard, full credit to Liverpool for coming back from 3 goals down at half-time.

Rafael Nadal stormed his way through the French Open beating the most talented player in the world and completed a very successful year on clay becoming the first player after Mats Vilander to win it on debut. I watched most of the matches at home this time and the quality of tennis was simply amazing.

The chaos caused by Advani's "interesting" remarks on Jinnah and Babri Masjid demolition was quite amusing. The VHP has wasted no time in making their unhappiness clear and this has sparked off some life in an otherwise dull political scene. The by-elections that took place also threw up some interesting results, with neither the Congress nor the BJP faring as well as they'd have hoped. Wonder what that means for the political situation in our country a few years down the line.

One other thing I can't help wondering about is the heat wave. I don't know whether it is just my imagination, but I felt that the temperatures this year seemed to have risen quite a bit. One also gets the real effect of the heat when travelling by train through the heart of our country. With global warming becoming an increasing danger, god only knows what's in store for us in the future!! However, having said that, I really have to appreciate the weather in Bangalore at this time of the year. One has to experience the North Indian summer or the Chennai summer to realise the true worth of Bangalore weather.

I need to catch up on a lot of things at office as well. It is really tough getting back into the groove after a two week lay-off from work. Still struggling to come to terms with the latest happenings here.

Can't help wondering how one's thinking changes with time: When I was in college, I used to think how good it'd be when I'd finish college and start working. Wouldn't have to bother about exams and all. Now, although these wishes have come true, I miss college life, the night-outs before the exams, the long holidays and of course all my college friends!! Life is strange and so are we....

Hopeless and Helpless..

2005-05-17T18:12:00.000+05:30

Ever since I can remember, I have always been fond of train journeys. And when I say train journey, I mean travelling sleeper class, not in AC compartments. The variety of people one gets to see is quite interesting. I have had some really memorable experiences and journeys, both long distance as well short ones.. Some of those journeys seemed like nightmares at that time. However, given a chance, I don't think I'd mind going thro' them again..

Most people would say the worst part of the journey would probably be the unlimited number of beggars who keep bugging you throughout the journey.. One also gets harassed by Hijras at times.. I remember what my dad told me once about giving alms to beggars.. He said something to the extent that if he paid a rupee to all the beggars in our country, he'll probably go bankrupt..

Every day when I go home, I find this father-son duo on the way.. The father's handicapped and the son would probably be 5-6 yrs old.. Without fail, every day the son walks up to me and begs for alms and every day, I pretend to ignore him and walk past him.. (Reminds me of the song "Another Day In Paradise") .. I am not sure how much money they make everyday.. I dunno whether they actually eat everyday.. However, I am not really sure it'd help matters in any way if I paid 1 buck to them everyday.. What is the solution to this problem then? Here's a post in the Dog Journals which has inspired this post of mine. I admit I haven't been as kind and generous as the author of Dog Journals..

I wonder what to think when people talk about Billion dollar companies, Richest Men in the world, Exotic locations, Best Hotels, Luxurious Cars and Flights and a whole lot of other accessories which that kid and his father would be least bothered about. This is the earlier post I had written on similar lines.

As I thought about this, I realized that I am just about as selfish as anyone else.. And I am right now not really feeling too good about myself.. I think I might just give a rupee to the little boy today.. I am not sure how much of a difference that would make, but I think I'd be slightly more at peace with myself tonight.. As for what to do to improve the situation, I am as clueless as anyone regarding this..

At this point, although I don't really believe in god, I can only think of the song "Krishna Ni Bhe Gha-ni" by the Colonial Cousins.

It happens NOT only in India..

2005-05-17T17:37:00.000+05:30

If you thought it was only in our country that all this "culture" consciousness was present especially at the political level, you might like to read this.

I don't see how it matters to anyone as to who a politician(or his wife) should go and meet.. But then, such is politics..

2005-05-12T17:33:00.000+05:30

Underwriting 60 years of war-making - this is an article in The Hindu written by Richard Drayton.

It only makes one wonder how much of what you read in history books is true and what sort of facts have been distorted in order to cover up atrocities committed by the victors themselves.This reminds me of a conversation I had with one of my friends on Da Vinci Code, about the part where it says "History is always written by the winners".

Would the facts be the same if the outcome of the world wars had been any different? Isn't it very convenient to imagine that only the Nazis and their supporters were capable of atrocities? The Allies were all fighting for a holy cause and everything they did was pardonable. Indeed, this is what all of us want to believe.. Just like the war on Iraq which will be hailed 50 years from now as a great vistory over one of the "worst dictators" seen in the world after the II world war! And the US along with its loyal ally, Britain will be seen as the "rescuer" of democracy.. Sigh!!

I believe..

2005-05-11T13:35:00.000+05:30

Came across one of my favourite topics - astrology in India Uncut yesterday. No, not because I believe in astrology.. Its more because i am fascinated by how people claim that they can predict the future based on some planetary positions.. And the majority of the people give credibility to them by believing in such predictions.. A lot of my own relatives are included in this majority that I am talking about..

Here's another link from Amit Varma's other blog - The Middle Stage. The best part of this post is the link to the Douglas Adams interview. I like the part where he says "I do not believe-that-there-is-no-god. I am, however, convinced that there is no god, which is a totally different stance". I would have to say I am an Agnostic right now, and definitely need to make the intellectual transition to Atheism.

Here's a link to one of Bertrand Russell's writings on "What is an Agnostic?" .. A writer way ahead of his times.. Many of his essays have a lot of significance even today.. I am currently reading a lot of his thought-provoking essays.. Will probably write more him and his writings once I am through reading his selected papers..

The evils in society.

2005-05-09T16:55:00.000+05:30

The Sunday Times contained this special report called "Conspiracy of Silence".. Although I know that this is a problem which is present in our country, this article was an eye-opener in terms of the extent to which the problem has percolated into our society..

Two of the headlines are really chilling:
1. Every hour there are two women getting raped in our country.
2. One out of every five victims is a child.

Is this just a problem with security in our country? What can one say when another stat is thrown at you - in 2002, 132 policemen were found guilty of rape!! I am not sure how one can go about controlling this problem.. I don't think any measures taken so far(if any) have worked..

Some facts pointed out in the report is:

"What is seldom recognised is that rape often is not about lust. Assertion of dominance and the concept of teaching them a lesson is often the reason."
"Women are taken to symbolise the izzat of the community and raping them is seen as the ultimate humiliation that can be heaped on one community by another."

The worst part about the whole situation is that the majority of the accused walk away scot free and it is the woman in turn who has to suffer further humiliation not only from the society but from her own family!

I really cannot think of any way in which any of these victims can be compensated.. And I can't believe that the victims are most of the times "married off" to their offenders.. What sort of justice is that? But then, is there any way in which justice can be meted out? In my opinion, even hanging the accused is a lighter punishment compared to his sin.. I am still wondering how justice can be achieved..

The power of youth..

2005-05-07T15:06:00.000+05:30

After reading two very good reviews, I decided that I have to watch the movie "Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi".. Here are the reviews - one in Rediff and the other in Amit Varma's blog..

Yesterday night I finally sat down and watched "Hazaaron Khwaish...." .. Personally I found the movie very interesting.. It is more about the three central characters in the movie and how they react in that period of Indian history than the actual history of the naxal movement..

Perhaps Vikram's character (played by Shiny Ahuja) is the most intriguing one in the movie (or so i think).. Siddharth (played by Kaykay Menon) is also a very strong character who joins the naxal movement and drags Geetha along with him mid-way through the movie.. Geetha(Chitrangada Singh) is extremely beautiful and her character really evolves with the movie (or is it vice versa!!).. All three actors came up with really good performances and they make the movie very realistic.. And I don't think there could too many(if any) better endings to this movie.. Sudhir Mishra has come up with a very different movie and I think it is a 'must-watch' for all Indians, especially for people like me who were not even born during the period shown in the movie..

I don't know why, but in an odd sort of way, I can relate to the characters of both Vikram and Siddharth.. I am still trying to decide whether this is the romantic or leftist in me saying this!! I guess it is a combination of both..

A woman and a communist..

2005-05-05T19:56:00.000+05:30

Although I have seen a lot of Brinda Karat on TV, especially whenever there is anything in the news about feminism or women's rights, I never really understood why she would wish to join the CPI(M)..

She explains here about how she was brought up and what influenced her to join the Marxists.. It is interesting to note that she left a job in London to join the communists in India.. I wonder how many of us would do so even if we were influenced by any new ideology.. Kudos to the lady.. There is more about Brinda Karat in the next part of the rediff interview.. And I am eagerly waiting to hear the full story!!

What a night!

2005-05-05T18:19:00.000+05:30

After totally messing up my sleep cycle over the past two days, I hope I am able to get a nice 8 hours of sleep tonight.. I am not really complaining though after watching the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League...

Although the first semi-final between Chelsea and Liverpool turned out to be a disappointment in terms of quality of football, there was no shortage of that in yesterday's encounter between PSV Eindhoven and AC Milan.. I am a big fan of AC Milan (largely because of one man, Paolo Maldini) and I would have to admit that PSV were desperately unlucky to concede the late goal to lose out on the away goals rule..

Personally, I was very pleased that it was two asian players who made a huge impact in this game, Ji-Sung Park, who scored the first goal and Young-Pyo Lee. I guess Guus Hiddink is carrying on the good work he did for Asian football during the last world cup.

Coming back to the match, PSV dominated play right from the word go. I am sure Milan would have started wondering whether last year was going to repeat itself. Van Bommel, Lucius, Johann Vogel, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Jefferson Farfan - all these players played out of their skins.. I was not aware of too many of the PSV players as I had not watched a single match of theirs in the whole tournament. But from what I saw yesterday, it is really surprising that they had not scored more than one goal at home against any team in the Champions league this season. My man of the match would have to be Philip Cocu who came up with the all important header which got the aggregate score level. Even after Ambosini scored and secured the tie for Milan, Cocu came up with a stunning volley to score PSV's third goal and ensured that there were some frantic moments right at the end for Milan..

This match reminded me of two other matches involving France - one last year against England in Euro 2004 and the other against Italy in the final of Euro 2000. I am sure most football enthusiasts will remember Zidane's 2 late goals against England last year. The other match was when Italy seemed to be home with a 1-0 lead and France not really threatening their goal at all, when all of a sudden, Wiltord came up with an equalizer from nowhere.. The match extended to extra time and France got the Golden goal with Trezeguet scoring the winner. Up to the point when Wiltord scored, France never looked like scoring and Italy could have easily made it 2 if not 3-0.. However, what mattered was the fact that France was able to find the net at the right time.. Just like Ambrosini did yesterday 1 minute into injury time after the second half..

All in all, I am definitely happy that Milan have got through. At the end of the day, no-one is going to bother about how they got there. All that matters is that they'll be facing Liverpool in Istanbul..

I won't be able to watch the final though (sob sob).. I shall be on a stupid train heading home at that time.. What a tragedy.. So its not only PSV, even I am missing the final..

New comment feature..

2005-05-04T15:51:00.000+05:30

This is a post especially for all the people who have commented on my blog so far..

I have installed HaloScan commenting feature in my blog.. This has unfortunately resulted in me losing all the earlier comments (all thanks to my ignorance and carelessness!)..

Many thanks to each and every person who has taken the trouble of commenting on my ramlings so far.. (I still have most of the comments in my mail Inbox)..
These are some people who have bothered to comment so far:

Soultan of Swing
Elf (Sylvanlands)
Jugular bean
Couch Potato
Franatic
Bridal Beer

My apologies to them as well as anyone else whose name I have missed out.. Hope every person finds it easier to leave his/her comments (and leaves a lot of 'em too!!)..

Random Ramblings..

2005-05-03T20:19:00.000+05:30

Top 10 things on my mind right now:

1. How to stay awake till 2.30 A.M. tonight to watch the Champions League semi-finals..
2. I am going home on 24th night after almost a year.. hurray..
3. Need to wash piles and piles of clothes.. :-( ..
4. When do I meet the long list of people I haven't met in Bangalore for a loooong time..
5. Dire Straits is my favourite band..(this is subject to mood..I am writing this after listening to "Tunnel of Love")..
6. When will I start studying again..
7. What do I want in life..(this is a question which is at the back of my mind always.. and I've never quite managed to answer it)..
8. Will I ever meet "all" my friends from college again..
9. Why would anyone be interested in reading my blog? (Don't think I can answer that one..)
10. When I was a child I caught a fleeting glimpse, Out of the Corner of my eye,
I turned to look but it was gone, I cannot put my finger on it now.
The child is grown, The dream is gone.
And I have become Comfortably Numb......

soccer crazy..

2005-05-03T19:14:00.000+05:30

Finally a football post after a loong time.. About time, one might say.. tonight the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals this year gets underway..

Liverpool hosts Chelsea at the Anfield after an impressive performance at the Stamford Bridge last week in the first leg.. The game is evenly balanced with neither side having scored at Stamford Bridge.. What this means is that a 1-1 draw is good enough for Chelsea.. It remains to be seen whether Liverpool will continue their impressive run in the Champions League at home.. Chelsea's defence would be difficult to break with the in-form Jon Terry and Ricardo Carvalho holding fort..

The other semi-final is definitely tilted towards the six-time european champions AC Milan.. However, they cannot afford to be complacent and should be wary of a resilient PSV side.. They wouldn't have to think further than last year's tie against Deportivo La Coruna where Milan lost 4-0 in the 2nd leg after winning 4-1 at home.. As for PSV, it's a tough ask against the Rossoneri.. Especially with Nesta and Stam in central defence, with Cafu and Maldini completing the bask four..

It is tough to call the two finalists.. But I would like to watch a Liverpool-Milan final at Istanbul..
Its about time Mourinho started losing!

Promises and loyalty..

2005-05-03T17:36:00.000+05:30

Was listening to this song on Radio City yesterday night.. I get moved whenever I listen to this song..

kasame vaade pyaar vafaa sab,
baatein hain baaton kaa kyaa
koI kisii kaa nahii.n ye jhuuThe,
naate hain naaton kaa kyaa

kasame vaade pyaar vafaa sab, baatein hain baaton kaa kyaa

hogaa masiihaa ...
hogaa masiihaa saamane tere
phir bhii na tuu bach paayegaa
teraa apanaa...
tera apana khuun hii aakhir tujhko aag lagaayegaa
aasamaan mein ...
aasamaan me udane vaale mittii mein mil jaayegaa
kasame vaade pyaar vafaa sab, baatein hain baaton kaa kyaa

sukh mein tere ...
sukh mein tere saath chalenge
dukh mein sab mukh modenge
duniyaa vaale ...
duniyaa vaale tere banakar teraa hii dil todenge
dete hain ...
dete hain bhagavaan ko dhokhaa, inasaan ko kyaa chhodenge
kasame vaade pyaar vafaa sab, baatein hain baaton kaa kyaa..

I really don't have anything to add to this.. Manna Dey at his brilliant best.. As the channel V tag-line goes "Listen, Learn and Enjoy!"..

The Real Offender

2005-04-28T18:37:00.000+05:30

There's been a lot of hue and cry lately about Mumbai cops and their "worthiness". Now that I have broached the subject, these are two interesting posts from Amit Varma's blog - Supporting taliban and Fondling of memory.

It is indeed a worry that there are so many people who support Shiv Sena's views on women wearing "revealing clothes". And it is very surprising how they actually end up blaming the victim for "provocating" the offender. I do not give a damn to any such lecture or speech by all these so-called "protagonists" of Indian Culture.

The second piece is quite an entertaining read (more for the way it's written than the actual incident).. Amit Varma says:
"The bit that interests me here is how the memory of that event will shape itself in Mrs Sharma's mind. "
True, it is interesting.. But I guess it ain't in my place to dwell on such thoughts..

Right to Freedom of Speech..

2005-04-27T19:57:00.000+05:30

There has been a lot of talk about media and yellow journalism, etc in our country. There are so many news channels in our country right now. However, I am not sure how popular all these news channels are. My source of news is mostly the print media and the Internet. I am not too fond of Television.

Lets hope we don't reach this state. At least competition would keep all these channels honest. And most importantly, they will ensure that the media isn't a puppet in the hands of the government.

Is it really surprising to know that US news channels resorted to biased reporting on Iraq under pressure from the government? So much for the talk about "Free Press".

Perfect date..

2005-04-27T14:37:00.000+05:30

Ever wondered about your perfect date!! Well, here's an online date personality quiz. I would say it is reasonably accurate, though I am not much of a "dater" personally. Got the link from Subtle blues, which in turn was accessed from Bala's blog. Here are my results:

Your dating personality profile:

Liberal - Politics matters to you, and you aren't afraid to share your left-leaning views. You would never be caught voting for a conservative candidate.
Practical - You are a down-to-earth individual who is not impressed with material excess. You care about the stuff of like that really matters.
Athletic - Physical fitness is one of your priorities. You find the time to work athletic pursuits into your schedule. You enjoy being active.

Your date match profile:

Intellectual - You seek out intelligence. Idle chit-chat is not what you are after. You prefer your date who can stimulate your mind.
Adventurous - You are looking for someone who is willing to try new things and experience life to its fullest. You need a companion who encourages you to take risks and do exciting things.
Athletic - You aren't looking for a couch potato. You seek someone who is active and who keeps her body in top shape.

Your Top Ten Traits

1. Liberal
2. Practical
3. Athletic
4. Adventurous
5. Outgoing
6. Intellectual
7. Wealthy/Ambitious
8. Big-Hearted
9. Romantic
10. Traditional

Your Top Ten Match Traits

1. Intellectual
2. Adventurous
3. Athletic
4. Practical
5. Conservative
6. Traditional
7. Shy
8. Funny
9. Wealthy/Ambitious
10. Big-Hearted

Take the Online Dating Profile Quiz at Dating Diversions

Anyone interested?? :-)

Entrepreneurship v/s Management

2005-04-26T19:40:00.000+05:30

Two traits considered to be very important in any management graduate.. In fact, most people would join a B-school expecting to "learn" these two traits.. Here's an eye-opener for all such aspirants.. It's a pretty good account of what you should not expect from a B-School(at least in India)..

Interesting reading about the fact that HR and Sales areas are not given enough attention.. I thought Sales would be an extremely important area that one would be interested in.. Same with HR.. I guess it may not be easy to simulate a real-time scenario for these issues though.. Its always easier to handle such situations in theory than in practical life.. And it ain't surprising that most management graduates come out wanting to save their arses more than helping the company in the long run.. One of my colleagues who's a management grad himself has been saying this thing for quite a while now..

Personally, I think I am more of a manager than an entrepreneur, but hey, let me get into a B-School first.. Maybe I shall be able to talk about this more if and when I get there..

Romeo and Juliet.

2005-04-25T18:44:00.000+05:30

A very different post this time... One may need a lot of patience to go through this one..

A LOVE STORY.. The names* are made up.. The story is not..

Alok* happens to be a normal guy from a middle class background. After a normal schooling life with all its fun-filled moments, he ends up in an engineering college without really planning for it. Now, Alok is not the sort of person who makes friends very easily being slightly shy and reserved. It so happens that he ends up spending some time with one of his classmates Nidhi* more by chance than wish.

Predictably enough, they start liking each other's company. They end up being best friends during their college stay. He helps her out with her studies whenever possible. She helps him by being there whenever he felt alone and depressed staying so far away from home. Now, as you would guess, Mr. Alok is by now hopelessly in love with his best friend. But he's also afraid of telling her about his "feelings" as the last thing he wants is for her to walk out of his life..

However, his heart prevailed and during one of those weak moments, he blurts out his feelings to her. Nidhi happens to be from a family strongly against the idea of love marriages. Her father is one of those "disciplinarian" types who doesn't want any of his daughters going "astray".One of her sisters has already received a lot of flak for "daring" to love someone. And apparently, her sister's story was tragic as she finally married some buffoon that her parents chose for her. Having seen all this, Nidhi is not very enthusiastic about the idea of falling in love and all. She tells Alok that there is no point in keeping false hopes as it can never materialize into anything concrete. She wants them to remain "just good friends". Alok is mature enough to face this fact and accepts it as he is not losing out on her friendship.

Just when things looked to be sorted out, Nidhi realizes that she is actually in love with Alok and he has become an extremely important figure in her life. And she confesses the truth to Alok. One can imagine how happy Alok would have been when he heard this. This was what he had been hoping and praying for all this while. So far so good.

However, life ain't so easy, is it? They still have Nidhi's family(especially her father, the Bull-dog) to consider. Before we come to that, college life draws to an end. Alok gets a decent job in a nearby city with which he can sustain himself for the time being. Nidhi stays at the same place and is undecided about what to do. Basically looking out for a job. Now, Alok decides that he can't handle "Bull-Dog" on his own, he definitely needs his parents' support. So he tells them about his future plans and how he intends Nidhi to be an integral part in any such plan. This is where the trouble starts.

Now, who says that all educated people are tolerant and open-minded! Well, maybe many are, but as it happens, Alok's parents don't fall in that category. Their first question to Alok - "Is she from the same caste?" Well - She isn't! Then there is a marathon argument about this issue and try as he might, Alok realizes that his parents ain't budging from their stand. Their principal concern - whatever status they have left in the society goes for a toss if their son goes ahead and marries a girl from some other caste. Hmm.. How do you counter that? Alok tries - but all in vain.. He doesn't stand a chance. So much so that his parents insist on meeting the girl and when they get the opportunity, they tell her bluntly that they don't want her to divide their family. And our hero Alok faces the ultimate dilemma - His parents tell him "U decide - Its either US or HER! Don't tell us later that we didn't warn you...."

You'd think that Alok is in a bad enough situation, when he starts facing problems at work and isn't very sure about continuing there. Another complication in life! He really is thinking about sustaining himself right now, which means there is no way he can give Nidhi a guarantee regarding a safe future. However, to her credit, she stands by him and assures him that she'd leave her family for him if need arises.

So, with renewed vigour and hope, he starts looking out for a new job and gets a few decent offers. Before he is able to convert any of those offers into a job, the bomb finally explodes. Nidhi's parents have been looking for a suitable for quite a while now and finally it comes to a stage where everyone is happy with the arrangement, except our Romeo and Juliet of course. Now, it is Nidhi's turn to face the dilemma - should she accede to her parents' wish or run away with our dear friend, Alok? But run away to what? Where could they go? He doesn't have stable job and she is not even earning.. On the other hand, her "would-be" has a steady income and is reasonably well settled in life.

After tussling with her heart, she finally decides to take the "safer" option and gives in to her parents' pressure. Poor guy Alok is left with next to nothing. What can he do? He sees all his dreams crashing in front of him.. What'd he want to do now? He tries his best to ask Nidhi to reconsider her decision. However, she stands firm in her resolve to put this behind her and "move on" in life.. And so our friend is back where it all began.. Left with only memories and a broken heart..

It is tough to know what to tell a guy like Alok at this stage.. Easy for people like us to ask him to forget about it and move on.. But all he's thinking about is -
"This is the End, Dutiful friend!
This is the End, my only friend, the end!!"

I don't think Alok is the only person to be caught in a situation like this.. He says he's ready to take on the world and he would for his "gal", but he can't fight her.. She took the decision and that's that..

This made me think about whether things have changed nowadays and whether all our parents would have a problem with us marrying people from other caste/community/religion or even nationality.. I think I can say I won't face this issue at home.. But yeah, don't think I can take that for granted.. No point in discussing hypothetical situations..

Many Thanks to those who read this patiently.. I know it may sound like a SRK movie story-line, but believe it or not, its true.. And for all the curious cats, I have no intention of elaborating on that.. All I can say is that this wasn't an autobiography!!

Left, Right and Neutral..

2005-04-24T17:57:00.000+05:30

If anybody asks me about my political view, I usually wonder what I should answer. The main reason for this is the fact that although I am working for an organization which is the epitome of capitalism in our country, I do not think I believe that capitalism is the answer to all the problems in our country.

In fact, I would probably say it is not helping our country any bit at the ground level. Sure, the markets are doing great. Most of the companies register huge profits every quarter. All's well for the business class. And with globalization, things couldn't be better. You have a government, though backed by the left, is pressing for reforms.. What more can we ask for?

However, with all this, what is the change at the ground level in our country? Are we trying to drive out everyone who still survives on agriculture? What happens to all the people still below the poverty line? How much are things changing for them with all the new reforms and god knows what not? What does it mean to them whether the stock markets touch the 6500 mark or 7000 mark?

And it seems there are people in the US who aren't happy with their government and its policies either. These are some of the prominent "leftist" blogs from the US:

Turning the Tide

Words from the Wise

The Killing Train

Thought Dreams

Goodbye Maggie

Empire and Inequality

Rocinante

All these are blogs in ZNet. I would recommend these to people who are/were especially interested in the build up to the previous US election. I am not sure why none of these blogs have been updated since July 2004. Nevertheless, they make very interesting reading.

By the way, after reading a post like this, you wouldn't still ask me about my political views, would you?

Queen of my dreamz..

2005-04-22T19:28:00.000+05:30

This is a question I am sure every guy would have faced in life - what kind of girl do u like? A very harmless and genuine question I suppose.. And it makes me think why people would want to know my dream girl and all. Ok, I admit I have thought about it.. I wouldn't mention it in my blog otherwise, would I..

To be honest, when I was in high school, I had this image of that one perfect girl.. The one who would complete me and all that sort of crap.. Maybe it was just the effect of all the movies/songs I used to watch at that point of time.. One more factor may have been my limited(almost nil) interactions with members of the opposite sex outside home.. Coming to think of it, I'd say the number of times I would have spoken to a girl in my class from IX to XII standards would be less than ten..
Now, I must say that definitely changed in college.. In fact, when I mention this fact to my college friends, all of them "pooh-paah" it and say it is impossible.. :) .. I guess one changes with time..

Coming back to where I started this post, I am not sure I believe in this phenomenon of "soulmate" and all any longer.. Maybe I haven't met the right person (even if I have, I haven't realized it!!)..

Now, how do people decide whether they are in "love" with someone.. This is a question I feel is almost impossible to answer.. When I ask someone how do you know you love this gal/guy, the most common answer I get is that you just "feel" it, it can't be explained.. I have seen many of my friends who are happily "courting" their girl-friends and seen many more with broken hearts.. I really don't know how they'd have decided that "This IS the person I love!".. Can't help wondering why it is so important in most people's lives? Yeah, I know I shouldn't be analyzing this.. What's my bloody problem if two people actually think they are "made for each other"!! I guess I am just rambling on to find the "queen of my dreamz"..

I just thought of these lines while writing this post:

Love to some is like a cloud
To some as strong as steel
For some a way of living
For some a way to feel

And some say love is holding on
And some say letting go
And some say love is everything
And some say they don`t know

Personally, I think I believe in "letting go"!! And any John Denver fan would know I didn't write those lines myself!!

Stars and eccentricities..

2005-04-21T21:38:00.000+05:30

Marat Safin is one of the most unpredictable players in the world of tennis today.. On his day, he is simply unbeatable.. Who can forget the marathon duel between him and Federer in the Australian open semi-final earlier this year..

One would have expected him to carry on after his victory in the first grand slam this year.. However, as he himself admits, he is in the middle of a crisis.. A player like him provides a change from the normal champion one sees.. Given the talent he has, only he can be so unpredictable.. But I'd rather watch him than someone like Hewitt(with all due respects to Hewitt and his abilities).. In fact, I personally think Federer v Safin is perhaps the most exciting match-up in men's tennis right now..

One hopes for tennis' sake that Safin re-discovers his form and we can watch their duels at least in the grand slams..

"Alcohol"ogy!!!

2005-04-21T21:15:00.000+05:30

This one is for all those people who like to enjoy a chilled mug of beer/a glass of wine after a hectic week.. Yeah, the frequency and amount do matter - inspite of all the "startling" facts in this particular piece..

CHEERS to one and all!!

The "W"right thing..

2005-04-21T19:02:00.000+05:30

With the end of John Wright's tenure as the Coach of the Indian Cricket team, it is but natural that there is a lot of speculation about his successor. With four months to go for the next series, the BCCI has more than enough time to haggle and bargain with all the candidates for the job..

Ashish Magotra writes in Rediff about the "Coach Selection" policy that BCCI believes in.. One thing you have to grant all the BCCI "honorary" members, they have always been following this policy.. Atleast they are consistent with it.. And of course, isn't this what the press wants!! Guaranteed headlines on top of the sports page as long as the coach is not officially appointed. The only people who stand to lose in the process is unfortunately the players!!

Lets hope whoever is appointed as Wright's successor is able to gel with our players well.. If he (don't think we'd have a lady coach for our men's cricket team!!) can emulate the kiwi's achievements, if not do better, I think all of us should be really happy..
But he's got a real task in his hand, judging by the current performances of the national team.. Only time will tell what happens.. Till then, all of us can keep enjoying the circus show..

I love my India..

2005-04-20T20:56:00.000+05:30

Came across this topic in Dog Journals. It is a topic very close to my heart. Makes me wonder whether there is any solution to this problem. Is there anything people like me can do to change the situation in our country(don't think we can start talking about the rest of the 3rd world countries without looking at ourselves first)?

When all my friends, colleagues (in general, people I interact with on a daily basis) keep talking about jobs, opportunities, relationships, career, goals, etc, I can't help but think what a man who can't afford two square meals a day would want in his life. What would all those poor farmers in Andhra commiting suicide really want with their lives? How would the road-side beggar look at his future?

Which brings another question to my mind - Will people be satisfied with all that they get? Most of my colleagues are discontent with the salary they get here. I admit even I might have agreed with them at times. I think people will find issues and problems no matter what happens or who they are.. I wonder what I'd have to say if I had a family and I wasn't able to feed them two times a day..

I don't really pretend to have answers to many of these questions and hundreds of others running on my mind right now.. Does my thinking really change anything at the ground level?
Maybe I should just go home and sleep..

The Indian Spirit..

2005-04-20T20:34:00.000+05:30

It seems Sir Don Bradman really appreciated the number of fans he had from India during his time.. Here's his friend telling us about this fact.

It just made me wonder whether the same would happen today.. If there were another Don, would the Indians appreciate him that much? One would have to say no I guess..

And anyway, I do not think Sachin Tendulkar has that sort of following in Australia. Now he's someone who the great Don liked to compare himself with. I guess the likes and appreciations of people nowadays are governed a lot more by patriotic fervor than pure appreciation of cricketing talent, which is absolutely fine I think as long as it doesn't show its ugly face as it did during the last ODI in Delhi against Pakistan.

And crowd mis-behaviour is becoming an alarming frequent problem in our country.. The BCCI has to come up with up a solution to this problem to ensure that play doesn't get affected because of such interruptions..

Ramble On..

2005-04-14T20:25:00.000+05:30

A fitting post title for this blog, ain't it!

Well, thought of it as I was listening to the song named "Ramble On" by good ol' Led Zeppelin..
Here's a small piece from the song:

Ramble On,
And now's the time, the time is now
To sing my song.
I'm goin' 'round the world,
I got to find my girl, on my way.
I've been this way ten years to the day,
Ramble On,Gotta find the queen of all my dreams.

You can get the entire lyrics of this song here.

The final four..

2005-04-14T20:16:00.000+05:30

So its down to the semis in the Champions League.. And I am certainly not thrilled about the fact that atleast one English club is going through to the finals.. On current form, one would have to say Chelsea are favourites to beat Liverpool in the semis. However, stranger things have happened..

Milan v/s PSV in the second semi is a tricky one.. Although one would expect Milan to go through, PSV are a very resilient side.. It remains to be seen whether they can handle the pressure.. Makes for interesting semis though, and don't think anyone would have thought Liverpool or PSV will come this far..

We don't need no education ..

2005-04-10T16:46:00.000+05:30

A very interesting column I came across in rediff. I wouldn't like to say much about the education system and all that again.. You can read what I have to say about that in my prev. post.. However, I think this article gets one thinking all over again about what is the purpose behind all that you are doing and what do you want to do with life..

It's a question I have avoided for ages now. Maybe right from childhood. I never really made too many decisions till 12th std, after which I had to decide "where" to go for further study, not what to do.. After that again, never gave too much thought to this in college. Final Year came, managed to get placed in Infosys, and here I am in Bangalore still asking myself what to do next...

However, must say I am very content with life right now. Things couldn't really be better as far as I am concerned. Maybe I'll decide to move on to "better" things, but I believe in enjoying life to the fullest all along the way. "Live for the present"! This is what I have been telling my friends all along..
After all, as the song goes "Zindagi ek safar hai suhana, yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana"...

Wisden and Cricket!

2005-04-08T15:58:00.000+05:30

I was reading about the five "best" cricketers of the year chosen by the cricket magazine Wisden. In a year when Australia further established themselves as the No. 1 team in Test Cricket, isn't it surprising that 5 of England's cricketers are supposed to be better than anyone in the Australian team. But then, why I am I surprised! This ain't the first time Wisden has come up with names of English cricketers ahead of much more worthy performers.

One has to admit this year they have a better case with England doing so well in most of their matches. However, Robert Key being named ahead of any other non-English cricketer, well, that's hard to digest. And the Englishmen are actually hoping they'll win the Ashes this year! Only time will tell whether they are capable of running the Aussies close or not.

On the football front, two of the quarter-final matches are very nicely poised - Juve/Liverpool and Lyon/PSV. Chelsea and AC Milan seem to be clearly heading towards the semis unless something dramatic happens in the 2nd leg.

Been quite busy lately at work. I seem to be slightly out of sync with the rest of the world right now. Got to get back to blogging mode...

Fighters in real life..

2005-03-31T13:00:00.000+05:30

This is a very inspiring story about a young guy called Siddharth in Chennai.

Makes me think of how easy things are for people like me atleast.. And also makes you realize that maybe you aren't actually working to your potential.. Well, I am sure most of us know that's true in our cases..

I am reminded of the song "Another day in Paradise" by Phil Collins after reading this article.

"Just think about it, It's just another day for you and me in Paradise!!"

Economics of ecstasy!

2005-03-30T20:02:00.000+05:30

This one is in stark contrast from my previous post..

Warning: Not for people who believe only in politically "correct" subjects!!

Found the link to this interesting study on "economics of ecstasy" in a blog called tattonement.. I must say the guys have used a very "interesting" subject to prove their signaling theory..

To be honest, even I don't care about the signaling crap!!

For those who talk about LOVE..

2005-03-30T12:47:00.000+05:30

This one is for people who consider themselves romantics and/or are moved by all the sweet romantic movies(no I don't mean movies of SRK/Yash Chopra/Karan Johar and their likes!!)..

It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

On exam it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation I asked him if he had a doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer Disease. As we talked, and I finished dressing his wound, I asked if she would be worried if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him. "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?" He smiled as he patted my hand and said."She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

This is taken from a forward I received recently. There was some concluding note too which I have removed here.

PS: Nothing's wrong with me in case you are wondering why so many senti posts suddenly!!

Heart of Gold..

2005-03-30T12:21:00.000+05:30

I want to live,
I want to give
I've been a miner for a heart of gold.
It's these expressions I never give
That keeps me searching for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.
Keeps me searching for a heart of gold
And I'm getting old.

Yes, I didn't write those lines myself.. :)
Wish I did though.. I have just jotted down part of Neil Young's song called Heart of gold.. Don't ask me why I have added it now.. Just like the lyrics..

And yeah, I know I am too young to talk about getting old.. :)

About Friendship..

2005-03-30T09:32:00.000+05:30

This is a really nice post on friendship I picked up from the blog 'Youth Curry'.. I am sure all of us can relate to it!!

The Anna Gang..

2005-03-29T19:46:00.000+05:30

This is a pic taken when I was in second year during the new year's party at Pizza Corner.

(From r to l) Bala, Naval, Tanay and Yours Truly.

A signature photograph as far as my college life is concerned!
The funny expression on my face is explained by the Pizza in my hand. :)

Dada and the Indian Team..

2005-03-29T16:34:00.000+05:30

This is an article which describes the situation facing the Indian team, especially our captain very well. Lets see how this story goes in the future...

A game of glorious uncertainties!

2005-03-29T12:29:00.000+05:30

At the end of the 2nd test in Kolkata, I don't think anyone would have believed that India could lose the third test. However, as it happens so often in cricket, Pakistan outplayed India in every department of the game in the third test. They batted extremely well and the last two sessions were amazing with their bowlers attacking with 5 fielders around the bat at most times..

Although I am disappointed that India lost this match and ended up squaring the series, I feel that we deserved to lose the match simply because of our attitude.. It was really hard to comprehend the overly defensive batting by Dravid, Sachin and the batsmen who followed them. Kumble was the lone exception and his approach paid dividends with him remaining Not Out till the end.. This was the same mistake Pakistan made in the 2nd test when they start defending completely after lunch which allowed Kumble to control the situation then. Similarly, we allowed the Pakistani bowlers to take complete control by blocking even half-volleys.

I also feel that over-confidence was a factor. I think our batsmen were a little too sure that they'd atleast save the test match. It should serve as a really good wake-up call to everyone who feels our batting is very strong because if you take out Sehwag's contributions with the bat in this series, I think we would have been in bad shape in two out of the three tests. We seem to depend a lot nowadays on Sehwag or Dravid scoring at the top of the order. The middle order is looking increasingly fragile. Our team definitely needs to do some soul searching as getting out within two sessions against a depleted Pakistani attack does not augur well for us.

The other big debate after this defeat is regarding the future of our captain, Sourav Ganguly. Many journalists are already predicting the end of Dada's career with the Indian team. However, I believe he definitely deserves atleast one more chance. I admit he looked out of sorts in the whole series but he definitely deserves another chance to redeem himself. Unfortunately public memory is short and all the good work that he's done for the Indian team is being thrown on the back-burner. It is sad to see him look so clueless at the crease. He hasn't helped his own cause by some poor shot selection in this series. For his own sake, he'll have to perform in the ODI series coming up. Otherwise, it won't be too surprising to see the likes of Yuvraj/Kaif replace him in the next test series.

But credit where its due! The way the Pakis fought in this test series is really praiseworthy. They managed to save the first test by the skin of their teeth and bounced back really strongly after the loss in the second test. Younis Khan, who may not be the most attractive batsman to watch, definitely changed the course of the series along with Inzy. I don't think India ever recovered in the third test after that mammoth partnership.

Looking objectively, it was an amazing series which was fought until the last minute and brought out the best talents(Sehwag, Dravid, Kumble for India and Younis Khan, Kaneria, Akmal and Kamal for Pakis) in both the sides. It was truly fitting that the series should end with no side emerging as the clear winner!!

Is it really worth it?

2005-03-25T17:28:00.000+05:30

This is an article in the week about the preparation for IIT JEE and other entrance exams and the coaching institutes for these exams.. I must say it reminds me of the days when I was in 11th and 12th.. Running between tuitions, bunking school at will, trying to keep up with the pace of all the tuition teachers as well as your friends.. It was one hell of a time.. Honestly, the best part in those two years were the times I would spend playing cricket in the evenings!! Had I not even done that(like some of my classmates) I would have completely gone mad!! Looking back, maybe it might have helped me clear IIT, but somehow I don't think so.. Anyway, it doesn't matter any more..

There is a mention of Dr. G.N.Chandwani in the article. This gentleman was our Maths teacher and is extremely famous not only in Bhilai, but in most of Chattisgarh for his IIT coaching. He is a legend in his own right and though every year there are easily 30-40 students under him who clear JEE, it doesn't tell the story of how many fail to make it. There are many students who are forced to go to him(and other tuitions) because everyone expects them to do that.

The problem of staying in a place like Bhilai is that the options for any student are limited. Anyone who is not very sure of what to do in the future ends up peparing for IIT. How many of these people make it to the IITs is a different story altogether.. When this system is going to change I don't know.. But it should.. However it is very tough to make people understand all the problems at that stage of their lives.. I guess people would start calling me a hypocrite now having been through the system myself.. At the end of it all, I think most of us come to the conclusion that it wasn't really worth the effort.. And all these poor students who are slogging it out now shall probably say the same thing when they end up joining any engineering college..
And invariably the realization comes too late for one to do anything about it!!

Southern Man vs Sweet Home Alabama ..

2005-03-23T20:00:00.000+05:30

The inspiration behind this topic is today's quiz conducted by the IQCircle in Infy.. The quiz was a pretty cool one with the usual set of thought-provoking questions.. The audio and visual questions were actually quite good.. Although we(I, Pinaki and Ashwin) didn't fare too well in the quiz(not surprisingly!) all of us enjoyed the questions and we had a good time wrestling with them..

One of the audio questions was to connect the 2 songs mentioned in the topic of this post.. I did a little bit of research on the relation between the two songs after the quiz.. Neil Young's song "Southern Man" is a song which questions the racist practices by white-skinned people in the Southern states of US during the '60s.. Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote the song "Sweet Home Alabama" in response to this..
The lines below from this song make this clear
"Well, I heard Mister Young sing about her
Well, I heard ole Neil put her down.
Well, I hope Neil Young will remember
a southern man don't need him around anyhow. "

Although Lynyrd Skynyd's song was supposed to point out(or so I think) that not all Southerners are Red-necks and that Neil Young's generalization was not accurate, the song created lots of controversy and the band was tagged as a racist band. In fact to this day, people interpret the song as they wish.. To follow the story of this debate, this is the link where I found a detailed account of the whole issue.

One can of course keep debating on such sensitive issues, but the fact remains that Neil Young himself has performed the song "Sweet Home Alabama" in some of his concerts and whatever differences existed between him and Lynyrd Skynyrd, they have been cleared a long time back..
Well, as far as I am concerned, both the songs are really great and I'd rather listen than go about demeaning them.. Personally I prefer listening to Sweet Home Alabama though..

I shall probably collect all the questions asked in the quiz and post them sometime.. Maybe tomorrow, its time to go home today..

RTI

2005-03-22T17:02:00.000+05:30

I came across an interesting article in the Hindu about the Right to Information(RTI).. The writer, Amit Bhaduri, has raised some good points on the lack of transparency in our country.. I agree with him when he says that despite all the hues and cries about development and GDP growth of 6% or 7% or whatever, the fact remains that a large population in our country is still extremely poor, lots of children remain malnourished, illiteracy is still a large problem.. There is no simple solution to these problems.. Capitalism and globalization aren't really changing the situation at ground level.. He stresses on accountability of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary to the people..
Is accountability alone sufficient? Isn't this much more deep-rooted than that? Can it just be solved by a few hundred people sitting in offices and making policies? We've faced all this for more than fifty(in fact almost sixty) years now and have come nowhere near arriving at a solution for the poor standards of living of almost half the population in our country..

Is there any chance that we'll be able to solve this problem in the future? If so, HOW? I do not pretend to have the answer to this question.. My concern is - does ANYONE have an answer to this question?

The Draw for the quarters..

2005-03-18T19:31:00.000+05:30

Just got the news from UEFA's website that the fixtures for the champions league quarters are:

1) AC Milan v/s Internazionale
2) Liverpool v/s Juventus
3) Chelsea v/s Bayern Munich
4) Lyon v/s PSV Eindhoven

The Chelsea-Bayern encounter seems to me to be the most interesting tie.. I shall post in detail about these teams some other time..

The MODI controversy..

2005-03-18T17:26:00.000+05:30

The denial of a visa to Narendra Modi, the Gujarat Chief Minister has raised a huge debate on whether US is right in taking such a step.. In my honest opinion, I don't think its any business of theirs.. India can deal with erratic leaders and we certainly don't want the United States of all countries to preach us on how to cope with people like Narendra Modi..

At the same time, the BJP has come out with statements that this decision by US is an insult to the whole nation.. I don't think this decision is anywhere near as big an insult as the Gujarat Riots were to our country.. Who cares what the US thinks anyway? But the fact that the riots were condoned in our country is what is the actual concern.. In a way this controversy is a blessing in disguise as people will be forced to think about what happened in Gujarat again..

Mr. Modi himself has said that the denial is an insult to the constitution.. Tell you what Mr. Modi, what happened in Gujarat was the gravest insult to our constitution.. He's countered this saying "If the riots is the reason why I have been denied a visa, on what basis has this decision been taken. America must not forget that my government was elected after the riots in a free and fair election." Excuse me, but why should America be bothered whether he got elected after that? Is he trying to tell us that all the Muslims in Gujarat voted him to power again? Does he think they are all very comfortable with the idea of him being in power? They don't have much of a choice if the majority in the state happen to be Hindus who think on the same lines as their "honourable" Chief Minister, do they? Tell me why would the riots would have happened if the Hindus were more tolerant?

I guess I am now digressing from the main topic of discussion. But the point I wish to make is that The Gujarat Riots Happened.. We all witnessed it.. We still haven't nailed all those behind the riots.. And until we do that, it will keep coming back to us.. Yes it will Mr. Modi, whether you like it or not.. This had to happen some day, and you can expect this issue to be raised again and again!!

Isn't it ironical that it is the US who is pointing it out to us? And all of us sit back and try to please all the people sitting there in the US just because they call the shots.. Do we have the guts to deny a visa to George W. Bush or Donald Rumsfeld, if and when any of them decides to come to India because of what happened in Iraq? I don't think so.. And considering the impact such a decision would have, it'd be wise not to do so as well.. And so we shall do exactly what is politicaly best for our country which is what our government is attempting. Raise the issue with the US embassy.. And hope that they shall relent after some diplomatic dealings.. Yeah, it doesn't help our nation's image, I know.. However, as I said, its they who call the shots, whether we like it or not..

The need for leaders..

2005-03-17T18:19:00.000+05:30

This is an article by Harish Khare in The Hindu about the aftermath of the Jharkhand fiasco.. Call me partisan if you want, but I more or less agree with his opinions.. Haven't got much to add to that..

Q-final line-up complete

2005-03-16T18:39:00.000+05:30

So it is Inter Milan who make it to the last eight in Europe's most prestigious club competition with a relatively easy victory over Porto, making it 3 teams from Italy in the quarters. No teams from Spain this time, 2 from england, 1 each from Germany, France and Netherlands.
Can't wait for the q-final fixtures.. The draw will be decided in a couple of days..

Really sad to see Dravid get out in the last over of the day. India has allowed Pakis to get back into the game from a postion of strength at 297/3 to 344/6.. Lets wait and watch whether they'll have to pay for this..

Those were the days..

2005-03-15T18:47:00.000+05:30

Was thinking about good ol' days back in college today.. It all started off after a chat with Bala regarding his post on the situation in college nowadays.. Apparently there's a lot happening behind the scenes now and a lot of dirt has come up recently. Anyway, I'd rather talk about some of the "better" times in college..
Can't help thinking of my 2nd year in college when I have to look back(not that the other times weren't good!).. It was probably the time when I studied the least(what's new!).. The one year spent in good ol' JH Block is probably what I remember most about the hostel atleast. And easily the most eventful year as well.

Who can forget the midnight ride on Yogi's bike to ECR!! Or the bicycle ride to Adyar at 3 a.m.!! Taking a bath at the Hand Pump near the Health Centre in the morning and realize that our VC and Warden are watching us!! Standing in queues to take a bath in the morning.. All the midnight conversations sitting on the JH block terrace.. All the post-dinner conversations sitting in room no. 205 with Pavan's 2-in-1 blaring in the background.. All the birthday celebrations that year(yeah the bumps as well).. Ohh the wonderful food served in good ol' ACTech Mess(MESS is correct!).. All the hours wasted in the canteen.. Mechanical Engg. lab with Berk(Lab in-charge) chasing one of my classmates out of the lab.. Polymer chemistry classes - isn't it self-explanatory?.. Getting major lecture from a watchman for sitting on the terrace of my friend's house and chatting(can u believe that!).. Cricket on the terrace of the RBI building near Secretariat.. Reading Lord of the Rings bang in the middle of end-sems..The Euphoria concert at IIT Saarang.. The Coimbatore trip immediately following that.. Biotechcellence... Kalakrithi.. Texplosion...!! The new year's party at Besant Nagar Beach/ Pizza Corner.. Hostel Day Cricket Matches - belting all the unfortunate First Year teams and in turn getting belted by the Final Year Team(we still managed to win the tournament that year!!)..

I guess I could keep going on forever.. yeah, Those were the days.....

Remembering the Mahatma..

2005-03-15T11:55:00.000+05:30

With the 75th anniversary of the Dandi March this year, it is quite overwhelming to see so many people paying tribute to the Father of our Nation.. Although I am someone who does not necessarily agree with all of Mahatma Gandhi's philosophies, I still think he is the greatest Leader that India has produced. I don't think any other leader could have claimed to be able to mobilize the masses in the manner that he did.. He managed to convert the National Movement into a movement of the masses.. In fact, as I write this, I am wondering what right people like me have to comment on a man of his stature. It is very easy for us to sit and criticize whatever happened without even beginning to understand all that happened during our national struggle..
I would strongly recommend India's Struggle For Independence by Bipan Chandra to anyone who is remotely interested in reading about our freedom struggle.

Of all the things that the great man spoke about, I strongly believe in and advocate the principle of non-violence. I don't think war solves any purpose, neither do I agree that war can't be avoided.
As the song from Dire Straits goes:
"But its written in the starlight,
And every line in your palm,
We're fools to make war on our Brothers in Arms!"

Swades and Patriotism!

2005-03-14T17:06:00.000+05:30

Watching the on-going circus in Indian (read Jharkand, Goa and Bihar) politics, one can't help but wonder when this is going to stop.. Whatever anyone says or does seems to have a political angle to it.. Even if there isn't any, people come up with amazing conspiracy theories. It's come to a stage where I find it hard to trust anyone.. Not that my thinking is going to change the political situation anyway! However, a man is entitled to his own opinion after all..

Was reading a very interesting article on Swades, the movie and what inspired it .. I haven't yet seen the movie, though I have heard from many people that it is a 'must-watch'.. I guess the movie would be worth watching just for the idea it tries to portray rather than the fine points involved.. Being a Hindi movie, one can expect the normal drama. However as long as it conveys a message , it should be worth a watch..

One of my friends in the US was telling me that he could connect with SRK's character in the movie.. He really found it thought-provoking.. Here's another guy who echoes that sentiment.. However, it does seem to me that it is more a case of NRIs appreciating this movie than 'desis' like me.. I should be able to talk more about it after watching the movie..

The controversy surrounding Lawrence Summers..

2005-03-12T19:28:00.000+05:30

Was reading an article in Frontline about the huge fiasco caused by certain "sexist" comments made by the President of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers. I wonder what prompts men of such stature to pass comments on subjects like these, which in my honest opinion should not bother him at all. Even if there is a genetic difference which results in men being more capable in certain areas in life and vice versa, I am not sure whether that can be generalized in the first place. More importantly, I think there are better things that the President of Harvard should be engaging himself with rather than some vague study involving differences between the sexes.

There is another article in the same edition where there is report on the situation in India for women when it comes to education. It is really sad to see the sad plight of so many women in our country. I would like to believe that this situation is improving, however I think we can't escape from reality. Most of the women, even in educated families have to bow to the wishes of their parents/husbands/in-laws. Wonder when our society will come to the stage where ALL the women would be allowed to choose their own career/path in life.. Until that day comes, all we can do is hope to see that day!

Minorities and the Sangh..

2005-03-11T18:59:00.000+05:30

Was reading a report on the Akhil Bharat Pratinidhi Sabha, where I believe it was said that Muslims and Christians are actually not minorities because they are from this country only and that their forefathers were actually Hindus. And so the concept of "minoritysim" should end. Well, makes sense to me.. However, as long as the large Hindu population of this country claims to be a majority and demands a "Hindu Rashtra", I don't blame the "minority communities" to think that they ARE a minority!

As far as I am concerned, I really don't care how many Hindus/Muslims/Christians etc live in this country.. I am not really concerned about which religion my friends follow, whether they think they are a"minority". I really don't see what purpose a statement like this addressed to entire Sangh Parivar solves and how it helps anyone(be it a Hindu or Muslim or Christian). But then, I guess being a majority, one can get away with statements like these. After all, it is easy to say all this when you actually aren't part of any "minority" community!!

Sportsman's spirit in today's sports..

2005-03-11T18:02:00.000+05:30

An interesting day lies ahead in Mohali.. Can Pakistan hold on for a long time with their tail? Will the Indians cruise home and go to Calcutta with a 1-0 advantage? Well, we'll find out tomorrow.. As they say, cricket is a funny game.. And anything's possible!

From cricket to chess, Garry Kasparov has apparently announced his retirement after the recently concluded Linares Super Grandmasters chess tournament. This probably marks the end of another era in World chess. Now it is upto our very own Vishwanathan Anand to claim the top spot in the world of chess. He's probably the most successful Indian in any sport today.

Moving on to soccer, it was a very satisfying pre-quarterfinal round for me in the Champions league. In practically every match, it was the underdogs who made it through. Who would have imagined a quarterfinal line-up without Real Madrid, Man U, Arsenal and Barcelona at the beginning of the season! The latter stages of the championship might see more defensive qualities coming to the fore with teams like Milan, Juve, Bayern coming through. Chelsea is probably one of the favourites now while Lyon would be the team to watch out for.

There's been a lot written and discussed about Sachin not walking yesterday when he was clearly out bat and pad to Kaneria. The fact is that not many(in fact hardly any) batsmen walk nowadays. A lot has been written about sportsmanship and media rarely misses out on an opportunity to praise any sportsman showing the "True Sporting Spirit". Here's a very interesting article on this by Rohit Brijnath. He brings out a very pertinent point about a lot of discourtesy shown openly nowadays. It is very commonly found in the soccer field as well, a very good example would be the last match between Real and Juve where Ronaldo and Tacchinardi were sent off for an unnecessary tussle. Things are seeming to go from bad to worse with every passing day. And there seems to be no escaping it with individuals/teams resorting to anything in the name of competition.

Oops! Here I go again...

2005-03-09T19:32:00.000+05:30

A quick round-up of the champions league matches yesterday:

AC Milan 1-0 Manchester Utd.

Milan managed to carry on with the good work they started at Old Trafford and ended up as comfortable winners in one of the most anticipated ties this season. Man U is still to beat Milan in the champions league and judging by the way they played, they'll really have to improve to make any mark. Milan dominated in the midfield again and their defending was exemplary. Boosted by Stam's return, with Maldini switching to his favourite left-back position, the Milan defence ensured that Rooney was never in the game. Van Nistelroy was also disappointing on a day where Man U created only a handful of chance. Milan could have actually won 2-0 had Gattuso managed to roll the ball in after Crespo scored from a well executed header in the 61st minute. Goodbye Man U! We'll see you next year!

Other matches: Chelsea beat Barca 4-2 on the night of tense and exciting football mixed with some sheer brilliance by the magician, Ronaldinho. They go through 5-4 on aggregate. However, the second goal Ronaldinho scored for Barca was one of the best I have seen for quite sometime now.
Lyon destroyed Werder Bremen 7-2 at home cruising thru' to the quarters.. Watch out for this team! They can surprise a few people this season.

As for today looking fwd to Real-Juve encounter.. Should be a sparkling match..

On to cricket, after a frustrating morning, Sehwag more than made up for the lost play by providing lots of entertainment to the crowd. Shall try to catch the highlights of his innings tonight. India is in a strong position right now and unless they do something daft(assuming the weather holds good ofcourse!), they should win this match..

Been a busy day with many meetings and sessions.. Tomorrow there's a project party planned in the evening.. So that should be good fun..

I seem to have lost in touch with all the latest happenings.. I think it's been 4 days since I touched a newspaper!! That's about it from my desk for the day..

Swinging with the Sultan ...

2005-03-08T17:24:00.000+05:30

Still trying to convince myself that I was actually there watching Mark Knopfler perform LIVE! (that's the link to the Mumbai concert, the songs he played in Bangalore were almost the same!)What an evening.. We reached Palace Grounds around 5.45 in the evening, almost 2 hrs before the concert. And a good thing we made it early. We managed to get a place in the front row of the second section, with a good view of the stage and the display screen. Although it was frustrating waiting for the show to start, well, it was really worth it!!

Around 7.30 p.m., before we even realized it, the Sultan was on stage! He started off with "Why Aye Man" and the crowd went berserk.. Over the next two hours, the whole crowd(pretty huge one, i must add) was completely spellbound as we watched the Sultan("His Guitarness" as Bala calls him!) and company take the breath out of everyone with some phenomenal music. Although one can say he could have played more Dire Straits numbers, I for one really liked his own numbers. For Dire Straits fans, there was Walk of Life, Romeo and Juliet, Telegraph Road, Brothers in Arms, Money for Nothing, So Far Away and of course, Sultans of Swing! He played Sailing to Philadelphia, Boom like that, Donovan's gone among others as well..
Of all the songs, I must say I was absolutely blown listening to Telegraph Road live with the amazing lighting effects. I could keep going on and on about the Sultan i guess, so suffice to say that this was a day I don't think I'd ever forget...

Moving on to the other big story for the day, the Indo-Pak Test Series. I came to know that Pakistan scored 312 in their first innings.. I very conveniently forgot that the match was starting today!! Honours even at the end of the first day.. Let's see how this match proceeds..

It feels good to blog again after 3-4 days.. Been a hectic time lately without really doing anything worth writing about.. The only thing I can think of is meeting Vijee and Bhaskar last weekend.. Vijee is of course my senior from Dept. of Textile Technology at ACTech.. He was the gold medallist in his batch!! Bhaskar is working in NCBS now.. Although he is technically in the same city, the distance we have to cover to actually meet is almost 30 kms.. Anyway, it was nice catching up with them..

Thats all I can think of after a busy day.. Hopefully will cover a wider range of topics in my next post..

Elections, Governors, Democracy ....

2005-03-04T17:45:00.000+05:30

Although I am not a huge fan of politics, there are times when it really amuses me to see all our "leaders" carrying a fight over morals through the media. With the conclusion of the latest state assembly elections, there's been complete chaos in two of our country's 'not so popular' states, namely Jharkhand and of course, Bihar! The manner in which the governor of Jharkhand has responded to the election results is outrageous to say the least. The situation in Bihar is no better with another hung assembly.. And then we had the circus in Goa with the governor taking the matter into his own hands again. As I am writing this, I believe that Congress has proved its majority there(atleast for now).

These latest developments have triggered off many debates about our country's democratic setup and structure.. Well, I am someone who will definitely defend our system of electing representatives for the people. In my opinion, people will always find a workaround in any system to get into power. But I guess there are lunatics like me who still have faith in our country's resilience. I know there may be a thousand shortcomings in our country, however showing the spirit of a true Indian, all I have to say is that given the option of living in any country at any point of time, I'd definitely say "Gimme India anyday!!" As the SRK Movie title/song goes "Phir bhi dil hai hindustani!"

Jai Hind!!

Rambling on!

2005-03-03T17:20:00.000+05:30

With every post, the urge to keep blogging seems to increase within me! I definitely know what people mean when they claim to be blog-addicts! Bala's blog has been a very useful source for me to pick up info about lot of other bloggers. I think I must have gone through as many as 10 blogs just today!

Bala's post today about philosophy/views on modern day "kids" was pretty interesting.. His observation about kids today not reading books is true to an extent. However, I would like to point out that kids today are a lot smarter than what I was atleast as a kid. I don't think even I cared too much for books when I was in school though I used to read all the popular novels.

What I think a lot of kids miss out on (especially in big cities) is outdoor games. The amount of pressure kids face nowadays academically here in India is pretty scary. I remember the times when I was in 10th standard when I never even bothered to go to tuitions. Nowadays, kids seem to attend tuitions right from 5th standard! I can't imagine attending tuitions every day after school right from 5th standard! I and my friends(some of them,not all!!) used to play cricket during our annual exams in school!! As a kid, I never missed a single oppurtunity to play Cricket or Football. Living in a place like Bhilai as a kid also helps I guess where you have loads of open spaces.

As for philosophy, I bought myself a book on Vedanta philosophy very recently and I should be in a better position to comment on this issue after reading the book. I must admit I have developed an interest in philosophy lately and I am making a sincere effort to collect info from different sources.

I was reading an interesting story (Thanks to Amit Varma's blog) about how poor women in our country are unknowingly getting affected by our traditional sources of fuel. It is an alarming thought that so many women have been/are getting affected. It is very difficult to see how we could actually tackle a situation like this.

Last but by no means the least, I read a nice review of this year's budget. I think it is the most unbiased account of this year's budget that I have read.

With that, I shall sign off for today!!

The New Indian Star!

2005-03-02T17:22:00.000+05:30

It seems as if I am blogging more about sports than anything! It is tennis' turn this time ..

After an unexpected run to the third round of the Australian Open, Sania Mirza definitely captured the minds of the Indian media. We had to wait for a long time to get a youth icon like her in sports other than cricket. To be honest, I was still pretty skeptical about terming her as the next big thing for Indian tennis, etc. The Indian media has a tendency to go overboard anyway. But seeing her win the Hyderabad Open(I hope that's what it was called!) and now come up with an incredible victory against the reigning US Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova has definitely quelled any doubts I had regarding her talent. I sincerely hope that she is able to build upon this extremely impressive start to her career. There is always the danger of athletes like her succumbing to injuries which affect their career.

On the positive front, she has age on her side. She's four years younger than me, can you imagine! I've started feeling old nowadays with so many sports personalities younger than me making the news, not just in Tennis, but Cricket, Soccer and so on...

Well, at this point of time, one can only wish that Sania will live up to all the expectations that will inevitably follow her from now. Go Sania!

Another conspiracy theory!

2005-03-02T17:13:00.000+05:30

Could the United States have orchestrated the Tsunami? Well, sounds incredible, doesn't it? Check out this link.

I am not sure whether there is even an element of truth in the whole story. However, I found it pretty thought-provoking and thought it may interest a few people. Well, who doesn't like controversy!!

More food for thought!

2005-02-28T16:40:00.000+05:30

"There is a romantic in me who believes that many of us watch sport for reasons other than the vulgar desire to win, that we enjoy the intrinsic charm of the game itself, removed from who its participants represent, and what they mean to us."
This is taken out of Amit Varma's cricket blog, 23 yards - "Cricket and Country".

He goes on to discuss how one's opinion on various aspects of the game gets clouded by one's love for the country. He brings out the point about how no Sri Lankan would say that Murali's action is illegal and no Australian would agree that it is legal!

This is one paragraph which really sumarizes the point very well:

"For those who feel deeply about contemporary politics, certain topics have become so infected by considerations of prestige that a genuinely rational approach to them is almost impossible. Out of the hundreds of examples that one might choose, take this question: Which of the three great allies, the U.S.S.R., Britain and the USA, has contributed most to the defeat of Germany? In theory, it should be possible to give a reasoned and perhaps even a conclusive answer to this question. In practice, however, the necessary calculations cannot be made, because anyone likely to bother his head about such a question would inevitably see it in terms of competitive prestige. He would therefore start by deciding in favour of Russia, Britain or America as the case might be, and only after this would begin searching for arguments that seemed to support his case. "
- Taken from an essay by George Orwell in 1945.

I would say this holds true not only for politics, but any issue which affects us emotionally.
As for Cricket, it is definitely an emotive issue with the vast majority and it must be attributed to patriotism/nationality!

Patriotism v/s Love for the game

2005-02-28T15:26:00.000+05:30

This is a topic which keeps popping up time and again. I admit I have had many an argument on this subject with many of my friends. Let's face it, most of us definitely want India to win whenever they play. If a player doesn't play well in a match or two, he gets the stick from everyone starting from the press to the common man on the street. It doesn't matter whether the other team was better or that it was a close match. If India loses, everyone is ready with the axe! There is the flip side to the coin of course. If a player hits a century, he is praised and can ride on that performance for quite a while. It doesn't matter what the conditions were, who the opponents were.

Well, this brings the larger question into the picture - Should the interest in the game be largely decided by one's interest in one's own country? Isn't there more to a sport than just winning all the matches? I was reading Ramachandra Guha's Article on "Changes in the game" featuring a couple of weeks back in The Magazine Section of The Hindu. Among the various issues, he makes a very valid point about the unruly behaviour of the crowds in stadiums all over India(with the notable exception of Chepauk) and the 1996 World Cup being a marker for this. We had to face the ignominy of a semi-final defeat to Sri Lanka as a result of crowd misbehaviour.
Since then there have many incidents of matches getting disrupted because of inexplicable crowd behaviour. Are we all getting to a stage where we want India to win at all costs? Is there anything wrong in appreciating an outstanding performance against India by an opposition player? Do we always need to blame our players for all the lost matches?

I am not trying to say that I am very objective when it comes to watching cricket. Ofcourse I love watching India play well and win. But to be honest I'd rather watch a close match like the one we lost against Pakistan in Chennai rather than a dull match with India winning by an innings or so.

Coming back to the point made about crowd misbehaviour, there is a case especially in India of people going to stadiums and letting the game proceed without unnecessary obstacles. This assumes even more importance with the upcoming Pakistan tour, given the rivalry between the teams and the huge stakes when we play Pakistan. I am just hoping that there is no repeat of the unfortunate incident which marred the third test at Calcutta when the match was finally played in front of empty galleries. It would be so much nicer to watch scenes similar to the one at Chennai last time around when the 'Pakis' were a given a 'lap of honour' after winning a very close encounter. Oh, I definitely hope it would be India who'd be winning such tests this time around. Yeah I know, there's the patriot in me talking again! So much for me writing about 'my love for the game'!!

Better Late Than Never !

2005-02-25T16:03:00.000+05:30

It is almost two days since the conclusion of the 1st leg of the pre-quarterfinals matches of the UEFA champions league. The four matches played on the second day definitely deserve a mention considering the fact that both the high-profile English clubs lost!! Having seen the game at Old Trafford, I find it impossible not to talk about that tie! So onto the reviews:

Manchester United 0 - 1 AC Milan

This was one match where people were least expecting Milan to call the shots and dictate play which they managed to do for most of the time. Everyone expected Milan to sit back and soak up the pressure but in the intial stages, it was Man U sitting back and trying to do something on the counter-attack. There were some good chances for both sides in the opening half hour. Seedorf was desperately unlucky not to score for Milan from a superbly executed free kick which hit the crossbar. Scholes missed a golden oppurtunity for Man U inside the penalty area by firing a shot wide. The best chance for Man U was when Ronaldo managed to find Quinton Fortune on the break and his attempt went wide missing the post by hardly an inch or two. What surprised everyone was that Milan completely dominated possession in the mid-field. The exchange of passes from Pirlo, Seedorf, Rui Costa and Kaka was amazing to watch. Although they did not convert that to too many scoring oppurtunities, Milan definitely looked the more composed and confident side. Half time score 0-0.

The second half was even more open as Man U tried to step up the pressure and take the attack to Milan. However they were not able to translate that into anything noteworthy. Rooney had just one attempt from 35 yards out. The defensive abilities of Milan are pretty well known and they stuck to their task. Nesta was brilliant as ever and both Maldini and Kaladze were solid as well. The inclusion of Cafu in the right wing added a new dimension to Milan in this match and he was causing many problems on the right side for Man U. In fact a large number of Milan attacks originated from that end of the pitch. In an effort to attack more, Man U introduced Van Nistelroy in place of Ronaldo. However, this move did not pay too many dividends as they were still not able to create any real scoring oppurtunities. As the match wore on, the frustration was evident on the faces of the Man U players. Then suddenly out of nowhere, the Milan mid-field managed to conjure up a string of immaculate passes and Seedorf ripped a shot towards the Man U goal which Roy Carroll fumbled and presented Crespo with an easy tap. 1-0 to Milan. From then on, it was just a case of Milan sitting back and soaking up the pressure. There was one close miss from a corner as Saha headed wide as soon as he was introduced. However, it was a near perfect outing for Milan and they have a distinct advantage as they return home for the 2nd leg in two weeks' time. My Man of the match - Cafu.

Just a word of caution though(being a Milan fan), Man U are well known for hitting back strongly in the second leg. They have won important matches in Italy before. Most recently, they beat Juventus in the knock-out stages with a victory in Turin. Milan would be well advised to keep a close watch on the Man U strategy for that match.

Barcelona 2 - 1 Chelsea.

Chelsea were very lucky finally to get away with a narrow defeat margin. Barcelona could have easily scored atleast 2 goals more. Well, all the goals were scored by Barca players. Unfortunately for Barca, one of them landed in their own net! Petr Cech and John Terry deserve special mention for keeping Chelsea's hope alive. Drogba's sending off was unfortunate and reduced the match to a completely one-sided affair. Barcelona would be relieved at the end to have won the match but they would have to convert their chances if they are to win at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea at home would be a different side altogether. The substitution of Giuly by Maxi Lopez was a bold one and it made all the difference in this match. Can't wait for the second leg of this encounter!

Werder Bremen 0 - 3 Lyon

Lyon is the team which has scored the maximum goals in this tournament and they added three more to their tally against the Bundesliga champions. The scoreline does not depict the fact that Bremen played fairly well without really converting it into a goal. The goal scored by Diarra in the 78th minute was a real beauty. Even the free kick by Juninho was awesome. I can't see how Bremen is going to come back in this tie but stranger things have happened.

FC Porto 1 - 1 Inter Milan

Well, I called this one right! I was expecting a draw. Inter has carved out a name for itself when it comes to drawn matches. They haven't lost their last 40 matches! They have drawn most of those matches. Porto have managed to survive in this tournament so far but their return leg at the San Siro isn't going to be easy. We'll wait and watch what happens.

Shall be celebrating my room-mate's birthday over the weekend. Looking forward to that party!

Thats it for this week!
Will be back on Monday blogging in full swing again!

Another big day at the UEFA Champions League!

2005-02-23T16:08:00.000+05:30

One half of the pre-quarterfinal matches are over and there are some huge ones left tonight.. I'd like to discuss the concluded matches first..

Real Madrid 1 - 0 Juventus
This scoreline ensures that the second leg is very interesting provided Juventus are able to come up with a more sparkling performance.. The loss of Nedved early in the first half and the absence of Trezeguet certainly affected their performance but I shouldn't take anything away from Real's performance.. They were unlucky not to win with a greater margin which would have given them a nice cushion going to Turin in two weeks' time. Zidane showed everyone his class once again with a masterly performance in the midfield..

Bayern Munich 3 -1 Arsenal
The most satisfying scoreline for me among the matches already played! Arsenal showed once again that they are capable of faltering in the Champions League.. Defensively, they seem all at sea without Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole.. The last minute goal scored by Kolo Toure atleast has given them a lifeline and some hope of turning their fortunes around at home.. As for Bayern, they have done enough to ensure another quarter-final place if they can keep their wits about them when they play at Highbury..

Liverpool 3 - 1 Bayer Leverkussen
Before the start of the game, Liverpool would have happily taken this scoreline. However, they shouldn't have allowed Leverkussen to score the late goal which still keeps them in the hunt for a pass to the nest round. Leverkussen would still give themselves a chance having scored a vital away goal in the dying moments of the game. But Liverpool's comfortable victory overshadows the fact the Leverkussen 'looked' the better side.. However, what matters is the fact that Liverpool has a really good chance of finally making a point this season by qualifying for the quarters in Europe's most prestigious club competition.

PSV Eindhoven 1 - 0 AS Monaco
Just one goal in this match, that too very early in the game. PSV's victory did come as a surpise to me as I was expecting Monaco to win this tie. However, a 1-0 margin is hardly enough to guarantee a place in the next phase. If they are able to repeat their performance in this match, they'd be well on course in achieving that feat. I suspect if Monaco score early in the second leg, then it might become tough for PSV.

Now coming to tonight's HUGE encounters. The one I am looking forward to the most is undoubtedly Manchester United v/s AC Milan.. Needless to say, I am hoping and praying that Milan is able to atleast hold Man U though that would take some doing. As for them scoring goals, it'd be tough without both Shevchenko and Inzaghi. However they have the depth in their squad to bounce back and they have got into some form lately in Serie A. But there are more few things more unnerving than playing against Man U at Old Trafford in such a huge match.. Keeping my fingers crossed in this one..

Next, Barcelona v Chelsea.. League leaders of Spain and England respectively.. Both in-form teams, tremendous talent bank and inspiring coaches. Chelsea has been affected by injuries to Duff and Robben and this might result in a slight advantage to the spanish side. Chelsea have one of the best away records this season and it should be interesting to see how they fare at Nou Camp.. The prospect of watching the Barca stars trying to pick at the Chelsea defence is very exciting! Let's see who prevails on the night..

The third match is between the defending champions FC Porto and Inter Milan.. Porto are a shadow of the side that won last year with half of their players moving out to other clubs.
Inter has not been beaten yet this season in the champions league.. They are tough opponents considering the fact that their strikers Vieri and Martins are available and fit for selection.. I have a feeling this encounter might end up in a draw though..

Last but by no means least is the match between Lyon and Werder Bremen.. Although not very well known cubs, they are the league leaders in France and Germany respectively.. I think whichever club wins this tie might go on to big things this year.. Just a gut feeling!
Lyon have already proved their mettle by finishing on top of their group ahead of Man U.. Bremen need to ensure that they win today as winning the return leg at Lyon is definitely a daunting task.

And guess what, I am going to my friend Anant Saraf's place to watch the matches today.. No chance I am going to miss the Milan-Man U encounter!! Go Milan!!
Talking of Milan, I recently bought myself a Paolo Maldini T-Shirt in full support of my favourite soccer star! As long as he's playing for Milan(which may not be very long), there's no way I can support any other team..