The Sunburns Forever

The Random Man

2009-04-24T22:02:00.001+05:30

Scene from a few Thursdays ago - Thursdays being everyone's favourite lunch day because we get cheese pastries in the canteen food. These are known to the outside world as quesadillas. This scene is comprehensive - no dialogues have been missed, nor has the gist of any dialogue been altered or omitted, although the exact words used may have differed.

Part I of Scene

---------------------

Random Man in Quesadilla Line: (After having closely and annoyingly observed my mannerisms and my chat with a colleague) Are you from India?

Me: (Recalling the Mother's "don't talk to strangers" speech (even if they're Indian?)) Ermmm....yes

Me: Sweet corn, peppers and aubergines please.

RMIQL: Where in India?

Me: (with the are-you-still-here eyes) Errmmm...Bombay.

Me: (Noting RMIQL's expectant expression hoping for the obvious counter-question, but also noting the uninviting chicken on offer. The ever-sharp brain comes to my rescue) Can I have the quorn/tofu please?

RMIQL: (Now pointing to things intermittently as he speaks) What are these called?

Me: (Still thoroughly polite - not yet saccharine) Baingan - they call it aubergines.

RMIQL: What are these called?

Me: (Still somewhat polite) Peppers

Me: Yes, cheese please. And some jalapenos.

RMIQL: What is this?

Me: (*Abbey salle - chup reh na do minute. Mujhe apna Q ka preparation ko monitor karne de*) Sour cream.

RMIQL: Ah, yes - I've had that. What is this?

Me: (*Aaaarggggh*) Guacamole.

RMIQL: (Justifiably bewildered expression - not that I care anymore)

Me: It's made from avocado.

RMIQL: (Satisfyingly, an even more bewildered expression)

Me: It's interesting. Go for it if you've never had it.

Me: (Vigorous Italian shake of the hand) NO! No guacamole please - just sour cream. No corn on the cob.

RMIQL: Really?

Me: (*Will you shut up about the guacamole?*) It's good, you should try it. (knowing fully well that the guacamole we get is downright awful)

RMIQL: (Annoying unbelieving expression)

Me: (*silent grunt*)

Me: (Mood improving on seeing the Q coming off the toast) Yes, eat in please.

Part II of Scene (2.5 seconds after end of Part I)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

RMIQL: So, what visa are you on?

Me: (*WHAT THE BLEEDING $&£#??*) Ermmm...ermmm...(genuinely scratching my head to recover from neural shock and jog my memory) I have an entry clearance.

RMIQL: (condescendingly, with increasing levels of aggressiveness) NO! NO! That cannot be a type of visa - what type is it? Are you on HSMP - which is now Tier I? Are you on a student visa? Tourist VISA? WORKING HOLIDAY? WHAT?

Me: (*WHO THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU??*) Errmm....I have a work permit (feeling somewhat clumsy and a deep regret that its the best answer I can offer, rather than what I actually said in my head)

RMIQL: (disinterested now) Ah ok...

Me: (Taking my plate) Thanks.

Me: (to RMIQL) Rrrright....see you (wishing soon after that I knew RMIQL's real name so as to ensure adequate retaliation for the fact that in my desperation to run away, I had failed to notice that the chap at the counter had just served me a double guacamole dollop and no sour cream at all to go with my cheese pastry)

Of Tom, Dick and Harry

2009-04-23T23:55:00.000+05:30

A post I wrote during the summer in Delhi - but for some reason failed to post...

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My efforts in Bombay directed towards wasp deconservation are now, of course, legendary on this blog. (For the late starters - see here and here). Wasps, like humans, are ready to take over every possible part of the world. And so, my tryst with wasps continues in Delhi.

In our bid to make the veranda more hospitable for our own kind, nests of wasps (who decided that our chimes made for a very nice home) were removed. Also, we sealed off with cement the hole in the wall above the fan where a few pioneering wasps had decided to bring into effect the concept of a nuclear family.

The joint family wasps were, for all practical purposes exterminated. However, city life (or its wasp equivalent) and its associated dangers invariably toughens individuals. Enter: Tom, Dick and Harry - the three nuclear-family-loving wasps who had survived the cement onslaught, possibly because at the time of the cementing they were in one of the neighbouring watering holes getting silly on ... (whatever wasps get drunk on)

Another important piece of information re: wasps before I proceed - wasps deprived of their families (albeit nuclear) and their erstwhile homes (albeit a little cubby hole above our veranda fan) do not make for good company. This is especially brought to the fore when a lethargic, slightly overweight, afternoon-coffee-drinking, career wasp-deconserver wants to enjoy the pleasures of the fresh air in the veranda under the fan.

Tom was the first to go. Hit by a blade of the fan in his attempt to reach his castle, he lethargically fell towards the ground, dangerously close to my frowning face. Having learnt my lesson in previous battles, I reached for the ET and with one good whack slashed the erstwhile wasp population of our house by one third.

Harry was the next to go. Nonetheless, before going, Harry provided a significant breakthrough in my quest to prove certain basic facts of life. In this case, he proved my fundamental hypothesis about all creatures on this planet - that they cannot be both beautiful and smart. Despite being a fairly large creature compared to, say, an ant or a baby earthworm or a non-firang mosquito, Harry's good looks and shiny yellow tan had deprived him of adequate grey matter. Tom's demise apparently failed to light any sort of spark in Harry's brain and he gallantly (but without adequate thought) took up the challenge of fulfilling Tom's lasting legacy of fighting to access the cubby hole.

A single smack from a blade and Harry was ready to limp away from the battlefield himself. However, I am a worthy and battle-hardened adversary and I have learnt that a wounded wasp is often the most dangerous. But since he was well on his way to join Tom, I needed but one swipe from the TOI to ensure that Harry received a soldier's farewell.

That left only Dick and following my observation on the lack of wasps' brain power is, I made my first mistake of the battle and assumed he wasn't going to let the departure of his comrades discourage him from picking up the baton. However, I had tragically failed to notice that he was not as beautiful as Tom and almost certainly ugly when compared to Harry. This error cost me dearly when on a fantastic and stunningly quick manoeuvre, Dick opted for a swooping descent aided by the tail wind from the fan, and managed to leave his mark on my back with a piercing sting of his...ermm...sting.

I naturally retaliated with boiling blood and ET in hand and left Dick severely wounded before asking the Mother to tend to what was quickly turning into a rather large injury spot.

I was, however, not prepared to make my second mistake of the battle and I returned to the field with my beloved ET - and brought to an undeniable and brutal end the erstwhile wasp population of the house.

Thus passed Tom-the homemaking imbecile, Dick-the gallant General and Harry-the beautiful one...

Of boredom and more confusion

2009-02-06T03:55:00.002+05:30

My country is going mad...see here and here to share my confusion.

Of Exhaustion and Bewilderness

2009-01-15T04:48:00.002+05:30

I figured that events across the space of the week leading up to and the one after the new year deserve mention.

That having been done, I also thought my new found (and not necessarily momentary) spare time and the absolute lack of ideas of what to do with it deserve mention. Even so, certain additions to my collection of 'things to make noise with' have definitely livened up the evenings. It also emerges that a clean and orderly house is highly overrated and is not nearly as interesting or as people make it out to be. Truth be told, the old house was infinitely better...there is always a positive side to a mess.

In other news (precious little that there is), I have discovered that drain unblockers are a bit of a sham, that my iron works fine when the Elder One does not use it and that my body is, in general, breaking down and that I need to get myself fit.

P.S. the new F1 cars look rubbish...and are probably going to be very similar to the A1 nonsense.

Here endeth the rant...

Of Situation

2008-12-20T14:50:00.003+05:30

After what appeared to be a gentle reminder of the fact that I am no longer in NYC, this morning I logged onto everyone's favourite networking site and told the random part of the world that I am now in London.

As much as I'd like to analyse and read into how and what made me do so a mere 4 months after shifting to London, I suspect I may have better things to do with my Saturday. (Gasp if you must at its implausibility)

Instead, a little reminder from Chris Cornell for those of us going through not so happy times:

Even when you've paid enough, been put upon or been held up
With every single memory of the good or bad, faces of luck
Don't lose any sleep tonight, I'm sure everything will end up alright
You may win or lose

But to be yourself is all that you can do

Get out of my city...

2008-11-29T06:57:00.003+05:30

Last year, we academically explored how distance (physical or otherwise) tends to magnify the perception and/or impact of human rights violations. Ironic...

Bless you, Bombay - don't give in...

Music Education - Class 3

2008-07-24T04:47:00.001+05:30

I know I have been somewhat inconsistent with the timing of my classes. I do hope that 'madness, gallivanting and laziness' offer my students adequate chronological explanation for my failings!

Today's choice of song is Orion by Metallica off their 3rd album - Master of Puppets. The obvious choice of track from any one of Metallica's first 3 albums is usually the title track off Master, but in light of the fact that I'm hoping to educate those unused to blatant screaming, I use Orion.

Orion is one of the best metal instrumentals that I know of - up there with Transylvania (Iron Maiden), Call of Ktulu (Metallica) and the endless list of Steve Vai's guitar solos or even some of Dream Theater's stuff (although I know a lot less about the last). One of the great shames of the commercialisation / mainstream-isation of metal is that you no longer hear 8 and a half minute epics like Orion. Iron Maiden is one of the few bands which continues to write longer songs. I always feel that its a huge challenge to write a 7, 8, 9 minute song which keeps the listener interested. That becomes all the more difficult when you don't say anything through lyrics and its why good metal instrumentals are so rare.

Listen to Orion. When you're done, I'd advise listening to Call of Ktulu. Even my most soft-hearted (and soft-eared) readers will appreciate these.

By way of a history lesson, Metallica blew open the metal stage in the early 80's. They were basically nothing more than a bunch of kids jamming in a garage. No costumes (no spandex on stage!), no big pyrotechnics (not until later, anyhow) and lots of alcohol. There'a a great deal of debate on this, but I've always felt that their first 3 albums (Kill 'Em All, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets) showcase their best as a band - true metal. If you have decent speakers / earphones - pay attention to the bass in Orion and how Cliff Burton, the bassist (who died after the first 3 albums) dictates the movements in the song to a large extent. That is conspicously missing in their later work. It also gives you a feel of how critical bass is to metal / hard rock.

As an exercise in scientific research - try and find a poor recording of an Iron Maiden concert where the bass is overpowering (or in the case of all you lucky ones, turn your mind back to their gigs). Compare that version to the studio version and you will see how much work Steve Harris actually does and how he dictates the melody patterns. If you don't know which song to look at - Run to the Hills is a good place to start. I'll try and do the needful if I can myself and post the links.

Until the next class...

Shocking...

2008-07-16T23:11:00.004+05:30

The past couple of days have been odd. First, in view my stagnating skills, I had my first real session trying to learn to actually play the guitar again without much luck. As it turns out, the electrician in charge of wiring our beloved house, amongst various other eccentricities, also had an aversion to earthing lines. As a result, my guitar provided me with periodic surges of current whenever my hands brushed the bridge. Thankfully, news of Kiddo's latest foray into the musical world made up for that, even if she hasn't been regular with her blogging.

Second, I visited one of those overpriced movie theatres (again) to watch a Hindi movie for the second time this year. For fear of public ridicule, I shall not openly name either of the movies. Suffice it to say that whereas I survived one courtesy of consistent sarcastic comments between us, I survived the other thanks to amusing cameo roles, the odd well-portrayed minor character and above all, Bombay nostalgia.

Third, not for the first time in the life of the Sridhar boys, I have decided to try and catalogue our books. God bless my soon-to-be-asthmatic lung.

Of age and relative youth

2008-07-08T19:50:00.002+05:30

You know you're getting old when:

1. Kids you call...well, 'kids', are worrying about employment rather than petty politics
2. Your idea of a good time is an hour on Marine Drive with good, bad or even no company
3. A drinking session with someone you call 'Sir' isn't that alarming
4. You've lost touch with that idealistic streak and have taken to a daily tallying of your finances and predicting your financials over the next year instead
5. A large proportion of conversations with people your age revolve around the date of, planning of or lack of a future marriage
6. You dive for cover everytime you see someone you need to make PC with, no matter how important the person can be to you
7. A relationship is just the same as one of those ridiculous figures like 1000 degrees centigrade or 1 million light years. You'd much rather curl up with a book and music rather than see what it really means
8. People ask you what you're up to now, rather than what your career plans are
9. You think about giving real money to College
10. As long as you have something useful to do during the day, 4 hours of sleep is enough

Au revoir Bombay...may I never feel the need to change my location on this blog.

Update...just an update

2008-06-27T23:55:00.003+05:30

I dare say this post's a tad overdue. And while stories of my various adventures gallivanting across India might fill up a few pages, I'm not terribly keen on getting that down into type. So I find myself with writer's block - wondering when I might actually get some productive work(?) done this month.

On my summer to-do list were three simple things:
1. Exercise
2. Learn how to play the damn guitar
3. Write something

I'm a clear zero on all fronts this far. Unsurprisingly. What's truly worrying though, is the abject lack of counter-intertia. I like inertia. Usually moving inertia., but any will do. Right now I feel like a lump of clay. And quite honestly I'm beginning to look like one too. (well - if a cartoonist had to sketch me, anyhow).

Project for tomorrow is interesting and will hopefully take place. V1 has agreed to try and put together an easy chair made from corrugated cardboard. If it works, it may look very similar to my first easy chair in London.

Perhaps I will restart Music Education 101 tomorrow as well.

Get done Get done Get done

2008-05-14T00:35:00.002+05:30

It's absolutely amazing how I can punch out a well drafted 3200 word answer to an exam in 5-6 hours and how an 8000 word paper has been stuck at its nascent stages for over 5-6 weeks. I've had it...I really have. I carry myself through these final 45 hours with the comforting knowledge that I will never again have to submit an academic paper on a deadline. Further comfort is found in the Elder One's similar writing block and yearning for practical work!

I promise

2008-05-02T08:05:00.001+05:30

I promise I will never take another classroom course again...ever.
In return for this deed of immense generosity, o' kind world, grant me the B minus' I long for this term...just don't make me study anymore.

Give me a drink...a large, potent one

2008-04-30T02:13:00.000+05:30

Barcelona 0 - 1 Man Utd
res ipsa...

Rant...literally

2008-04-21T07:27:00.002+05:30

Another sporty post. What are the odds that I'm going to really worry about missing the Champions League Final on 21st May because its graduation day? The odds are not on whether I'm going to miss watching it (I am going to miss it), but whether it will mean anything. Lets take a look:

Barca have now won 1 of their last 7 league games. We beat Schalke unconvincingly in 2 legs of a CL quarter-final. We've lost to Athletico (badly), lost to Villareal (who are now favourites to take away 2nd place in the League), drawn with Almeria, lost to Betis (after going into half-time 2-0 up), drawn with Getafe and Recreativo (relegation team) and drawn the derby match with Espanyol.

ManU are in impeccable form. On their way to another Premiership crown. Destroyed Roma in the quarters. Injury free'ish.

I liked it better when we were struggling for a place in the UEFA Cup a few years back. This is promising the world and giving you that little island which is the 2nd furthest from the Intl Date-Line on the Eastern side and which no one really wants to visit... C'mon...C'MON....C'MOOOOOON - for god's sake this is a ridiculous turnaround in the season. Its just annoying....

Here endeth the rant...

Pull the Plug, will you?

2008-04-13T21:08:00.001+05:30

I wish I had the inherent ability to BS. I'm in the middle of a dreadful drafting slump after the diarrhoea that ensured I got my previous paper out in time...

I'm hoping for at least 2000 words today.... please???

Tips are welcome...

Informed Worries

2008-04-11T02:35:00.001+05:30

People who know me best will know that I have a severe institutional bias, particularly when I form a part of that institution. I came across two things that got me thinking about transparency in the system and the random janta's right to accessing information.

First, I logged onto Wikileaks for the first time. I had, of course, heard about the project previously but for some reason, had never really got on to take a look myself. After a quick browse, I got to the India page and found this, which it turns out is an MoU between Kingfisher Airlines and Airbus for the purchase of 60 aircrafts. Unfortunately, there is nothing on the document which indicates who the lawyers were, but I'd be sure that there are a few ulcers going around after seeing this document out in the public domain. (Unless it was deliberately released - unlikely, no?)

The second was this - which is a letter from the Editors' Guild to the IPL. Those with strong views on the BCCI's activities and other sundry concerns will now be pleased to know that they can bomb Lalit Modi and Sharad Pawar's personal inboxes.

When the Right to Information issue blew up in India, I was more fearful than excited. I have no sympathy for bureaucratic sloth and the RTI is a good way to keep a check on that, but at the same time it often becomes impossible to efficiently run an organisation (leave alone a country) where almost everything you do is open to the scrutiny of 'busybodies, wayside interlopers....' (can't remember the quote - awful). I know...I've been there. Even the best of motives always rub some people off the wrong way and that little curtain separating what you need to tell people and what you don't is often the critical difference between being able to achieve something or not.

For the record - I was excessively opaque...

Phew!!

2008-04-10T02:18:00.002+05:30

The title of this post is uninspiring, but there is no other way to describe this afternoon's football.

After the rubbish against Betis and Getafe, one would have thought today's game would be a good way to get back into some sort of flow. Instead Barca ended up finding a new low. Horrible, atrocious, disastrous, unispiring, terrible, DIRTY(!!) football - both up front and at the back. ManU is going to be a pretty stern test if this nonsense keeps up.

Puyol misses the ManU game at the Camp after a stupid yellow and Milito and Marquez will have to step up, because Thuram was absolutely terrible as well - he looked lethargic and just coudn't keep up with the Schalke forwards. Zambrotta is going have to pick his game up if he's going to try and contain Ronaldo. And Marquez is going to have to do very well to get back to full fitness to keep Rooney out.

Henry and Eto'o were absolutely pathetic up front. I don't think Henry has quite adjusted to the huge pitch at the Nou Camp and the 3-man frontline. I think Rijkaard might do well to give him a run out as sole centre with Gio and Bojan flanking or even Eto'o on the left with Bojan on the right.

Despite all the support that Rijkaard is getting from Juan Laporta, I think the only way he's going to keep his job is by winning the C.League. The League is lost after squandering one chance after another to overtake Real and one bad game put us out of the Cup as well. I'd hate to see him go - I think he's done a super job building this team- but something's gotta give...

For the Animal Lovers

2008-04-07T21:42:00.002+05:30

AT took Kiddo's concerns about hitting penguins to heart. He scoured the cyberspace high and low before he found this game and asked me at least 5 times over the course of 12 hours to post it here. I find that it tends to be less addictive than the penguin game because of the luck factor involving those springs everywhere.

Maiden Photos

2008-04-05T09:00:00.005+05:30

I've been meaning to do this for a while - but I've just been tied up. After due pressure in the cyberspace from SM and a throughly unproductive day, here are some of the better shots from the Maiden gig. I'll blog about the whole thing when I get some time. The photos are in 'small' because it takes forever in any size larger (the problems with 6-7 megapixel cameras), but click on them and they'll blow up on your screen for a better look.

Iron Maiden - just before or after Eddie walked on

The Trooper with Mr. Dickinson playing jackrabbit and running all over the place dressed as an English soldier.

Iron Maiden - Eddie

2 shots during Rime of the Ancient Mariner - my favourite song for the evening.

An excessively excited me before the gig while we waited for the fateful bus (long story).

Footnote for this photo - remarks on the hair are best left unpublished...

Democracy - Is it time for Zim?

2008-03-29T07:37:00.002+05:30

The little faith that I possess in a democratic system's ability to influence actual change was given a huge boost when Pakistan told Musharraf how it felt a couple of months ago. Zimbabwe now has a chance to do the same, with far more to gain in the process. Can it's people do it for their TPLAC (Yes Minister joke!).

Also, how likely is Mugabe to allow a fair election?

Tibet

2008-03-19T07:43:00.002+05:30

There's a petition on avaaz.org up to be signed. Click here to sign it.
In other news, motherly presence coupled with pending papers has restrained a detailed blog about the Maiden gig (there is quite a story). Photos and a post shall follow as and when possible.

MAAAAAIDEEEEEEEEN

2008-03-14T23:35:00.002+05:30

The countdown has been removed. There are 5 hours and some 20 minutes to the start of the gig. Probably another hour and a half after that to 'Aces High'...

Happy birthday to the kidoo!!

Ericsson ad

2008-03-13T04:56:00.001+05:30

I found this classic ad which I don't think anyone has forgotten even after all these years.

Its amazing to think that in 1996 the phone she's using was 'tiny'!

Music Education Class 2 (Part 2)

2008-03-13T03:36:00.003+05:30

This is one of the 3 songs Iron Maiden first recorded back in 1979'ish and was also on their first album (titled Iron Maiden).

For those of you with some experience in Maiden songs, you may notice the voice doesn't sound quite the same. That's because this is Paul Di'anno, the vocalist who preceded Bruce Dickinson. This song - Prowler - is best with him singing.

I would ordinarily put up live videos of Maiden. But unfortunately, the only video with Di'anno singing (Live at the Ruskin Arms in 1980) is very poor quality and therefore, this studio version must suffice.

Music Education - Class 2 (Part 1)

2008-03-13T03:36:00.001+05:30

After the initial introduction of possible things to come last week, I revert to my promise of gradual progress. Today's featured song is a classic. Written in the late 1960s / early 70s, Paranoid was one of the songs that propelled Black Sabbath to metal legends status. Even the more ignorant of my readers will have heard of Ozzy Osbourne - he was (still is) Sabbath's frontman.

To truly appreciate this song, picture yourself as a teenager, about a year after you first heard 'I'd like to be, under the sea, in an Octupus' Garden with you'. Along comes Sabbath with frighteningly noir lyrics, and using distortion pedals to actually sound 'heavy'.

For the reader with problems watching the video - you don't have to. This is pretty much the first time I've watched these videos as well. I include a couple of links (these are optional for the course, but highly recommended) below:
1. Megadeth's version of Paranoid - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0ISjWmkUnI
2. Ironman by Black Sabbath (another classic - lyrics on the info part of the video) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S524O_XNoLM

For Paranoid and Ironman - notice the wonderful riffs - how they're so catchy...especially when they're sped up (and made even heavier), ala the Megadeth version.

Before I give you the lyrics to Paranoid - the more perceptive of you will notice that this is only Part 1 of today's class. The reason for this is that thanks to upcoming events, I feel compelled to include an Iron Maiden song on today's class. That forms Part 2 of today's class.

Paranoid lyrics:

Finished with my woman cause she couldn't help me with my mind.
people think i'm insane because I am frowning all the time!

All day long I think of things
but nothing seems to satisfy
Think I'll lose my mind
if I don't find something to pacify

Can you help me, occupy my brain?
Oh yeah!

I need someone to show me
the things in life that I can't find
I can't see the things that make true
happiness, I must be blind

Make a joke and I will sigh
and you will laugh and I will cry
Happiness I cannot feel
and love to me is so unreal

And so as you hear these words
telling you now of my state
I tell you to enjoy life
I wish I could but it's too late

Escort me, wont you?

2008-03-11T06:41:00.002+05:30

I found this some time back. I think I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago to AT , who is also a regular user of the TOI e-paper.

I don't know what to make of it... any thoughts?

Music Education Announcement

2008-03-09T02:57:00.002+05:30

Due to You Tube's inefficiency, I have managed to lose to the depths of cyberspace Class 2 of the Course. Such losses cannot be tolerated. From now on, therefore, I shall only provide links to the You Tube page where the video can be viewed and post from my friendly dashboard.

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, this cannot be done this weekend and I shall post the next installment (again!) sometime early next week, but before the countdown clock to the right of your screen turns to 0.

Bad News

2008-03-06T02:37:00.002+05:30

Messi is out for 6 weeks with a thigh / hamstring tear. There is obviously something wrong with his physical training / amount of rest. This is what - the 3rd? 4th? time that it's happened to him in the past year and a bit. I hope they keep him on the bench for the better part of the remaining 3 odd months of the season, which will give him a good 4 and a half month rest going into the next season.

I don't deny that there is an obvious spark about Barca when he's playing, but its not very useful if he keeps limping off every other month. I think Henry, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Eidur and Gio as the front-line options are formidable enough to get Barca the treble this year...

Forca Barca

2008-03-05T04:44:00.003+05:30

Barca are through, convincingly beating Celtic at the Camp. Keeps the high spirits up after this morning's cricket. The only downside was Arsenal beating Milan. If there's one team I like watching in the Champions League, its Milan and thanks really to Maldini. This is the end of his C.League career. I suppose most knew that last year would probably be the last time we see him lift that trophy. All in all, it would have still been wonderful to see him play Barca in the final and pick up a runners-up medal!

Looks like he will have to be content with his incredible tally of 5 cups and 3 runners-up medals.

Well done India!

2008-03-04T23:43:00.002+05:30

I'm sorry - but this is a deserved cricket post. It's been a while since I've watched an Indian team which has kept me so interested in the game. The last I can remember is the 2003-04 test series Down Under. I suppose the fact that its Australia made this tour all the more watch-able.

So we've just won the 2nd final a few hours back, which has resulted in my sleep patterns being completely destroyed for the 2nd time in 3 days. And I know there's enough talk about this, but here are some of the kids who delivered:
1. Rohit Sharma - who?
2. Praveen Kumar - who?
3. Piyush Chawla - who?
4. Ishant Sharma - who?

It's astonishing how these guys have come out of nowhere and exploded on to Australia. I'm incredibly excited about India's pace attack when it gets back to full strength - Zaheer, RP, Ishant, Sreesanth, Pathan, Praveen, Munaf(will he get a spot?), VRV (?). That's just amazing for an Indian team. Kudos to Venky for his work.

I was especially impressed with Piyush's bowling in the first final (and he wasn't bad in the 2nd). He bowled 60 balls. No wides. No short balls. 33 runs. That is incredible control for a leggie. I still thinks he needs a few more tricks to get wickets in Tests. And hopefully he'll be there by the time Kumble decides it's time.

I think Praveen might have a look-in for the Test side if there's a seaming pitch. I'm not so sure he'll be very good on a flattish track. I think the ideal Test bowling make up would be Zaheer, Ishant, Kumble, Bhajji and/or RP / Pathan. We need a good opening bat to step up, though. Jaffer has glitches in his technique and was found out and Sehwag will never be the anchor. Dravid is too good a No. 3 to open with. Rohit Sharma looks good enough to get a test call up - not to open though. Gambhir has arguably the worst technique for a No.3 in world cricket. I suppose what we really need is a Test all-rounder. Pathan isn't quite there, not to mention the nightmare he had with the ball in the finals (barring the final over).

In other random bits of observations on the finals:

it was great to see Praveen acting like a kid and running away from the rest of the team to avoid saying anything after he won the MoM. He doesn't speak English - and that'll do nicely if he keeps it up against the Proteas.

It was nice to see Mark Taylor having to shut up the Indian section of the crowd during the presentation. When he realised his mic wasn't going to drown out a 1000 inebriated Indian fans - he asked for a loud cheer for both teams! That section then went on to chant 'Boring boring' when Ponting was speaking (which was nice to see, especially in Australia). But equally they shut up when Gilchrist spoke and he deserves that. I think he's pushed this a series too far - you could see his relexes and batting skills are nowhere close to what they used to be. Maybe its just the mental weight of knowing this was his last series...

I'm surprised Hogg has retired. He's fitter than our 25 year olds and is getting so good with the ball. No one except Sachin is picking him out of the hand, which is worrying from India's perspective. Also considering Aus isn't playing India for a bit after this, he might have gone on a tad longer. For some reason, Sachin thinks he doesn't deserve anything less than 10 runs from Hogg's bowling. It was weird to see him charging Hogg in the first final with the required rate at 3.5! He kept up his word and didn't get out to him after the last time in Baroda(?).

Australia has a lot of problems. They have an under-par side, batting wise and are a quality spinner short. I suppose they'll be happy their next assignment is the Windies, who should be very useful to help blood some youngsters and get everyone back into form.

For India - good times ahead. Loads of kids coming through. Despite my overwhelming adoration for him, I still think there's a place in the ODI side for Ganguly. He brings a lot to the table and India are struggling a bit in the middle order. He'll be useful when we play 4 bowlers.

This can go on forever. But class beckons....

Hope

2008-03-04T03:55:00.000+05:30

Russia's new President-elect is 5'4", a lawyer (almost an academic) and has risen from basically being a political nothing to President in a little over 8 years. I find it absolutely incredible (particularly the part about him being a lawyer - these are all random facts gleaned from Wikipedia during a horribly boring weekly class).

It does give me some hope, though. But then India might have to move towards a psuedo-dictatorship pretty soon...and one of the A's (or someone equally well known to me) might have to be the first President.
Hope is a wonderful thing...

The Penguin Game

2008-03-03T03:29:00.001+05:30

One of those simple, annoying and horrribly addictive online games. I was kindly introduced to it by AT and am now cursing him for that. See here.

Stats Question

2008-03-02T16:35:00.000+05:30

India needs 11 more to win. I'm just wondering - does anyone recall how many times / the last time Tendulkar hit the winning runs in an ODI or was NO at the end?

Music Education - Class 1

2008-03-01T01:26:00.001+05:30

I have decided (in the interests of keeping the blog going during lean patches) to begin educating my many many readers in the music I listen to. I will post a song once every week (usually on Friday afternoons).

Course Requirements:
You WILL listen to the song. While most songs are short I do not rule out exposure to 13 minute epics such as the Rime of the Ancient Mariner etc.

We will progress gradually, but you may, from time to time, be required to make a leap for a week. You will not be graded on these difficult songs.

For my introductory class, I have chosen Machine Head by Bush. The lyrics are below. The part of the song to especially note is the riff (the intro sequence of notes) and in particular how it's used midway during the first verse in the background to build up to the chorus. The lyrics aren't bad either. Enjoy!

Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in

Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in

Tied to a wheel fingers got to feel
Bleedin' through a turniquet smile
I spin on a whim I slide to the right
I felt you like electric light
For our love
For our fear
For our rise against the years and years and years

Got a machinehead better than the rest
Green to red machinehead
Got a machinehead better than the rest
Green to red
And I walk from my machine
I walk from my machine

Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in

Deaf, dumb, and thirty
Starting to deserve this
Leaning on my conscience wall
Blood is like wine
Unconscious all the time
If I had it all again
I'd change it all

Got a machinehead better than the rest
Green to red machinehead
Got a machinehead better than the rest
Green to red
And I walk from my machine
I walk from my machine

Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in
Breathe in
Breathe in

Got a machinehead better than the rest
Green to red machinehead
Got a machinehead better than the rest
Green to red
Better than the rest
Better than the rest
Machinehead

And I walk from my machine
I walk from my machine

Another TOI bashing

2008-02-28T18:15:00.002+05:30

I have for sometime now been using the TOI e-paper (see here) to keep me abreast of events in Bombay. Unfortunately (or perhaps, fortunately), I do not utilise it to do the same as regards sporting news. Yesterday, I did. The result is the discovery of a new section (it must be new - I can't recollect ever noticing it previously) amongst the sports pages titled 'Graffiti'.

Here is an excerpt from yesterday's edition of Graffiti that no doubt every discerning parent will want their precocious 5-yr olds to begin the day with. After all, the sports pages (now web-pages) are the place we all did (I still do) most of my news reading.

ANDERSON SCORES IN THE TOILET!
Manchester United ace Anderson scored with a model in a Travelodge toilet after chatting her up with those three little words: "F***, f***, f***." The Manchester United midfielder, who is Brazilian and cannot speak English, demonstrated his low-league seduction techniques on a night out with team-mate Patrice Evra. Firstly he tried to bed Leah Houghton, 20, in front of her pals and Evra in a hotel bedroom. Then, he led her to the bathroom while their friends waited outside. A pal of Leah said: "Anderson couldn't talk to her because he is from Brazil and only speaks Portuguese.

"So he took his top off, stripped to his boxers and socks and pushed Leah on to the bed in front of everyone. "She asked, What are you doing?' Evra translated for Anderson, who told Leah, F**k, f**k, f**k.' Then he dragged her to the bathroom. "He ripped off her grey pencil skirt and knickers, and they had sex on the toilet while we and Evra sat in the bedroom watching the TV.

PS to Hayden Post

2008-02-28T03:43:00.002+05:30

Hindustan Times has managed to find the audio of the now infamous Hayden interview. See here. (Firefox users may need to use IE to get it to run) It is, to say the least, shocking.

I cannot believe the ICC is going to let this pass with a simple reprimand from Cricket Australia.

Note especially Hayden's response to 'why are they (the Indians) so sensitive'? This from the Team which has complained to the umpires every time an Indian has said something to an Aussie player.

'You obnoxious little weed'

2008-02-27T20:59:00.002+05:30

But Matt Hayden's 'intentions were never to denigrate cricket or anyone.'
Which led me to try and figure out what denigrate means. Here it is (courtesy dictionary.com):

Denigrate: 'to speak damagingly of; criticize in a derogatory manner; sully; defame'

The Aussies are not known to be the most academically oriented bunch (AT tends to refer to them as radiya's), but its a little hard to see how calling Harbhajan an 'obnoxious weed' does anything but 'denigrate'.

My next pet peeve about Hayden's delightfully obnoxious buccal weed (my intentions are not to denigrate). Here referring to Ishant: "He is just young. I have said to him many times, 'You are 19, take it easy'. ... He is 19, why doesn't he just worry about his bowling for a while? I like the idea of actually getting into the ring (with him). I like that, bring it on."

2 things: first, Ishant seems to be concentrating more than enough on his bowling. Certainly enough to regularly get Ponting ('the world's best batsman') out through the summer. Second, are you seriously asking for a match-up in a boxing ring? WHO DOES THAT? The only people I recall are slightly obnoxious boxers (my intentions are not to denigrate) and for them, its sort of their job.

So to you Mr. Hayden - keep that tongue inside the mouth and score some runs if you can. If you can't, I'd recommend you concentrate on your own batting rather than telling 19 year-old's to worry about their bowling.

And women's cricket should be encouraged, eh?

2008-02-19T05:18:00.001+05:30

From the BBC:

South Africa women took just four balls to sweep to a 10-wicket win after bowling out Bermuda for just 13.

South African bowler Sunette Loubser finished with 6-3, with 10 of Bermuda's 13 runs coming from extras.

South Africa's score of 15 for 0 was also made up of ten extras - nine wides and a no-ball.

Bermuda's embarrassing defeat will not be recorded in official statistics because they are ranked outside the world's top ten countries.

Sporty post...read on

2008-02-15T23:57:00.003+05:30

After 6 months in this wretched country with no cricket, a few of us decided that enough was enough. We (Roomie, AT and I) took out my squash racquet and a foam ball and started playing in the hallways of my dorm. Before long, one of the staff seemed to think we were upto some mischief, because at least one of us was jumping up and down appealing for a caught behind when he emerged through the elevator. Luckily the other two delinquents had become adept at hiding the racquet and ball as soon as the elevator opens.

In the urge to find a larger arena as well as to avoid any sort of disciplinary action (which we were quite happy to invite, mind you), we moved to the vacant indoor tennis courts in our Sports Centre. There we began what would become a 45-minute game(s) of rounders with the foam ball swinging like a TT Ball and where the task of hurtling the ball in a legal manner towards the batsman proved rather tiring. So much so that Roomie even ended up using the bhatta route in one instance before the remaining players vehemently protested this blasphemous use of the elbow.

Americans, I have noticed, tend be fascinated with things they don't understand. (this is incidentally my explanation for why bizarre theories in academic papers make super-geniuses out of academicians here) So too with cricket. While a couple, to their tremendous credit, recognised the game (although they may have been european), the others stood watching in awe until their respective games of racquetball and squash beckoned.

Plans are now afoot to bring together a large pack of Indians to appropriately utilise the wide open spaces that NYU has provided within the confines of the warm indoor complex.

In other sporty news, we came 2nd in our division in TT this semester, famously upsetting Columbia. Unfortunately (as is so often the case in these things), my worst form coincided with this happy occurence and so while I won all but one match (the one I lost being non-crucial since we had already lost the tie), I found myself in terrible form and playing a series of under-quality matches. But then...the overall result is good enough for me! Hopefully these kids will pull it off again next year and make it to the Nationals...

Great...or is just good?

2008-01-20T00:44:00.000+05:30

Unfortunately, the Readers are to be subject to another cricket-related post, despite my usual reluctance to blog about anything cricket related. India has just pulled off a deserved victory at the WACA. Meanwhile, at the other end of the Australian mainland, Federer has been pushed all the way, missing a bunch (about 15?) of break points on his way to beating Tipsarevic 10-8 in the 5th.

But this is, as I said, a cricket-post. It does not have to do with the controversies of Sydney 10 days ago, nor does it have to do with the victory at Perth. Rather, it has to do with this absurd notion of how great this (and indeed, Steve Waugh's) Australian team is. Lets take an objective look at the two 16-test runs, shall we?

Waugh:
1-0 v. Zim in Zim
3-0 v. Pak in Aus
3-0 v. Ind in Aus
3-0 v. NZ in NZ
5-0 v. WI in Aus
1-0 v. Ind in Ind

Ponting:
2-0 v. SA in Aus
3-0 v. SA in SA
2-0 v. Ban in Ban
5-0 v. Eng in Aus
2-0 v. SL in Aus
2-0 v. Ind in Aus

Notice a common thread? The abject lack of any wins in alien conditions. Discard NZ and SA - the conditions there are pretty much Aussie-esque conditions. Do I see any wins on the sub-continent? 1 for Waugh at Bombay in the first test of the 2001 series. We all know how that turned out, right? Ponting? 2 wins in Bangladesh. One of them courtesy a double century from Jason Gillespie. Go figure. Do I even see any wins in seaming English conditions?

Don't get me wrong. This is a good team which forces results and wins. Plain stats tell you that teams don't go around winning all their tests over a 3 year period. But besides Ponting's 2 wins in Bangladesh and Waugh's Bombay win - the Aussies haven't had to adapt to different and difficult conditions. Throw in the series in SA if you must - although the SA team of present leave a lot to be desired in the Test arena. India had a pretty good series there in Dec 2006.

They're a good team, but I'll only be convinced once they go play Pak in Pak, Eng in Eng, Ind in Ind, SL in SL and even the WI in WI, and come out trumps. Until then, one can only hope that India wins the Adelaide test, considering we should have been 2-1 up at this stage after the rubbish at Sydney.

Additions

2007-12-30T00:04:00.000+05:30

Another addition to my friendly blog. See the sidebar for the radio station link. It's from a site called last.fm, to which I was very kindly introduced by the Larger A.

This radio station plays classical music and is pretty good, even if I do know nothing about classical music...pretty good to work with, though.

The Weekend

2007-12-24T10:29:00.000+05:30

Had a great weekend with the Larger A. Much eating and even a little bit of bad wining. This afternoon was terrible. We lost 1-0 to Real. Worse than that, we played poorly. The mood was greatly lifted by some wonderful news on the personal front.

X'mas trip starts early tomorrow morning. NYC-Boston-NYC-Toronto-NYC.
Blogging may be irregular.

Bis dann...season's greetings.

To the quicks

2007-12-17T01:17:00.001+05:30

I don't usually like a cricket post, but I watched a little bit of the SA-WI Twenty20 game. It looks a one-sided affair - but Dale Steyn has just bowled an incredible spell and it deserves a mention.

The last time I remember being completely awestruck about this kind of fast bowling was Shoaib's spell (must have been 98-99) in an ODI against the Kiwis when Wasim was still captain. Shoaib, if I recall correctly, took 4 wickets in a 3 or 4 over spell in the middle of the innings - all of them bowled. Steyn has just taken 4 wickets in a 3 over spell - all of them bowled...

Hopefully he can stay away from injuries and give us some serious entertainment over the next few years. It's one of the things that excessive cricket over the past 10 years has deprived us of - Shoaib, Bond and a super-fast Lee.

Launder...it well

2007-12-16T21:35:00.000+05:30

See here for a frightening piece in today's HT on the investment of funds by the Al-Qaeda and Taliban in our stock markets.

Galle Cricket Ground

2007-12-16T01:27:00.000+05:30

This is a wonderful piece on Galle's curator, Jayanand Warnaweera and his struggle after the Tsunami of 2004.

Here's to Meditation

2007-12-15T18:53:00.000+05:30

A wonderful piece sent to me by JG. Read on about the importance of meditation....in the judicial arena.

She's had to scan it...but trust me - a bit of neck craning and patience is worth it. It will put to rest any doubts you had about whether arbitration and meditation were the same thing!

When in doubt, sue?

2007-12-15T18:46:00.000+05:30

Finally and perhaps inevitably, the fight goes to Court. See here and here for a couple of reports on the suo motu PIL to save the alma mater from ruination.

Is it the right move at this stage? Or ought the strategy have been to wait and fight it out without judicial intervention? I don't know and I don't have the time to analyse it today - this will have to wait a couple of days.

The General Returns

2007-12-14T11:30:00.001+05:30

As BBC goes bonkers with its analysis of Capello taking over - here's my 2 paise worth. The best part of why I think the 'General' (or is it dictator? certain countries seem to confuse the situation!) will do well is that he's one of the few managers in the world who can deal with a 'superstar' team.

I still remember calling RK from Delhi in August this year feeling absolutely ecstatic and somewhat confused when Real sacked him. He's the only reason Barca lost the La Liga last season. Real were in disarray at the start of the season and Capello got that team together with all their ego issues.

He's got almost a year before England's schedule lifts off, so knowing - him he'll probably even learn English by then. I just have a gut feeling that the 3rd most under-performing national team (1st two being Spain and the Dutch, in that order) will do well.

And oh yeah - I think Beckham may get a look in now...

Settle for Nothing

2007-12-12T20:00:00.000+05:30

Sometimes, nothing is better than a bad something. My morning cup of coffee sets the pace for the day. And despite my usual non-fussiness and general ability to cope with all kinds of food and drink of varying quality - the coffee is a basic standard which cannot be breached.

True to the generalisation at the top of this post, days without a cup of morning coffee tend to be better than days with a crap cup - pheeka.

This is a vent rant...I don't like the cup I'm drinking.

If we don't take action now
We settle for nothing later
Settle for nothing now
And we'll settle for nothing later

Settle for Nothing by RATM

God, you're served...

2007-12-09T22:46:00.000+05:30

This piece of news turns out to be something that the Larger A has threatened to blackmail me with. Initially, it was merely because I seem to represent the legal community. But that's still a rebuttable presumption and provided me with a healthy escape hatch.

But read the piece and you will discover that the 'Believer' Court in question lies but an hour away from where the world had the privilege of first making my acquaintance. True to the average street-smartness of a lawyer, I managed to give the Larger A a little extra firepower by blurting out that little piece of information.

I think I may be in for a torrid time...

Do the Walk

2007-12-09T14:20:00.000+05:30

There are certain things that are universal in this world, regardless of country, race, ethnicity etc etc. One of them, as those of you who have been following my GTalk status messages may know, is the slow torture that is examination time.

The second I have observed, and perhaps not as profound as the first yet undeniably critical to our lives, is the tendency of pedestrians the world over to ignore signals and walk when possible.

Flashback: I recall the Bombay Police trying very hard to get pedestrians (the huge swarms of them) to use the Churchgate subway during peak hours. It was horribly annoying because the subway is terribly under-ventilated, full of aromas (no sarcasm) and usually overcrowded. In fact, I would have absolutely nothing to do with the subway if it wasn't for the photo studio who got me a passport photo briskly in a time of need...and the Jumbo Vada Pav guy...and the sandwich and bhel guys all supplying sustenance...and the...uhmm - never mind the last one (congratulations to KSR on his job). The key was that people don't like being directed and told where to walk (or walk under). The moment the Police stopped wasting their manpower on stopping pedestrians from wandering across the road and disrupting traffic - back they came!! And that included me.

You can then understand my trepidation as I crossed the proverbial seas and moved from the land of the truly free (ala Bombay or even Delhi - mostly Bombay) to NY, having to contemplate waiting endlessly on one side of a zebra crossing in the hope that the traffic authorities have been considerate enough to plan a 30 second duration over a 3 minute one for the vehicular signals.

Then we switch. I come to the land of the allegedly free and as it turns out, the jaywalking clampdown curse goes the other way (or nearly - to Delhi, not Bombay. See here). I was happy to be corrected in my premise that the roads of NY would merely be for the allegedly free. It turns out that the average New Yorker is truly free and happy to cross a road as and when circumstances permit or the need arises, as the case may be.

This is not, however, true of the average Cambridge'ite (of MA fame - not the University) or Berkeley'ite (of the University fame) seeing as Anna, AD and I we hung around a signal on the banks of Charles for an eternity as we waited for the signals to switch. I am rarely seen waiting for the signals to change in NY as are few New Yorkers. One does tend to get bullied into these moments of inactivity, particularly by those of an advanced age.

To be perfectly honest, I must now transfer the title of the allegedly free city to London where, as I recall from my 'brief' visits there, one had to wait for the noisy pedestrian signals (visually challenged friendly - also the reason for the talking lifts. See this post for that reference) to commence their noise-making activities before accessing the opposite side of a zebra crossing.

Cant you see Im easily bothered by persistence
One step from lashing out at you
You want in to get under my skin
And call yourself a friend
I've got more friends like you
What do I do?

Is there no standard anymore?
What it takes, who I am, where I've been
Belong
You cant be something you're not
Be yourself, by yourself, stay away from me
A lesson learned in life
Known from the dawn of time

Respect, walk

-Walk by Pantera

Ignorance is like an exotic fruit....

2007-12-03T08:55:00.001+05:30

An 18 year-old genius defending her amazing performance when answering why she thinks Americans can't locate the USA on a map.

Note her new answer where she vouches for the intelligence of her friends, acquaintances and just about anyone she's ever met.

Flake Lawyer

2007-12-02T21:06:00.000+05:30

It's snowing like a _____. First real snow for NY.

Am contemplating going out for a walk. But then, a nice big mug of coffee alongwith some grub and my Corporations book seems so much more inviting.

Something's horribly wrong - despite waking up to 'Alive' this morning.

Earning his Keep

2007-12-01T13:40:00.000+05:30

One of the best comments I've heard recently - Aamir Sohail on Ganguly's dismissal while trying to whack a Salman Butt (yes!) delivery over the top: Ganguly sacrificed his wicket. He holed out trying to satisfy the urges of his beloved home crowd.

If that's the way Sohail thinks players play, I just wonder...

Word Economy

2007-11-30T23:24:00.000+05:30

See here for the paper titled, 'A Novel Multi-Antigen Virally Vectored Vaccine against Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis'.

At the risk of being called names, I couldn't have put 'TB Vaccine' any more frugally...

The Gracious Way?

2007-11-30T03:15:00.000+05:30

This is a serious issue, but I'm in an inessential class with no chance of participation - so it's going to be a rant.... A couple of issues that have found me somewhat confused on my position, particularly seeing as I claim to know a little (very little) about international law.

First see this, and the Comfort Women coming back to haunt Japan for the upmteenth time. Then take a look at this ,which is a draft of the resolution in the US Congress to label the Turkish massacre of Armenians as 'genocide'.

Fundamental issue: what does it matter what country 'A' says about country 'B' 50, 60, 70 years on? Apologise and make some people happy - give them the closure they need. Unfortunately, international law (and indeed, diplomatic practice) says it matters - it will go down in history as a genocide or as a country responsible for the Comfort Women with the country in question having acceded to this.

Do we need a change?

"To courage find and gracious will
Deliver good from ill
Clean the water clean our guilt
With us do what you will

Then will my judge appear
Bear no false angel that I hear
For only then I will confess
To my eternal hell

Now give us our holy sign
Changing the water into wine
So to you we bid farewell
Kingdom of heaven to hell"

- The Pilgrim by Iron Maiden

For the Greater Good...

2007-11-22T23:07:00.000+05:30

"Are you a man of peace
Or a man of holy war
Too many sides to you
Don’t know which anymore
So many full of life
But also filled with pain
Don’t know just how many
Will live to breathe again

A life that’s made to breathe
Destruction or defense
A mind that’s vain corruption
Bad or good intent
A wolf in sheep’s clothing
Or saintly or sinner
Or some that would believe
A holy war winner

They fire off many shots
And many parting blows
Their actions beyond a reasoning
Only God would know
And as he lies in heaven
Or it could be in hell
I feel he’s somewhere here
Or looking from below
But I don’t know, I don’t know"

Foo Fighters - Home

2007-11-20T08:36:00.001+05:30

Spend 5 mins - this song's worth it...

Foo for thought

2007-11-20T08:24:00.000+05:30

To one of my favourite musicians, just for sheer talent, and a song off his latest album courtesy YouTube above... Dave Grohl was Nirvana's drummer, then founded the Foo Fighters and writes the songs, plays lead guitar and does the vocals. The YouTube video of 'Home' above has him playing the piano. He's also done a bunch of songs in the past (OSTs and the like) where he's done everything - all the instruments and vocals... ridiculous....

Lyrics to 'Home' while you're watching:

Wish I were with you
I couldn't stay
Every direction
Leads me away
Pray for tomorrow
But for today

All I want is to be home

Stand in the mirror
You look the same
Just lookin' for shelter
From cold and the pain
Someone to cover
Safe from the rain

All I want is to be home

Echoes and silence
Patience and grace
All of these moments
I'll never replace
No fear of my heart
Absence of faith

All I want is to be home

All I want is to be home

People I've loved
I have no regrets
Some I remember
Some I forget
Some of them living
Some of them dead

All I want is to be home

Dodgeball

2007-11-17T23:37:00.000+05:30

If you have been, in general (no pun intended), following the Pakistan situation, you must watch this interview of Musharraf with the BBC.

Ever since the Agra summit, we've all known how well he handles the media. This is, of course, true about his interviewing skills as well. I've only ever seen him slip up once - that was a minor one in an interview with Prannoy Roy.

In this interview, he certainly struggles everytime a specific question is put to him and he goes into these broad discussions. But watch how he smartly he avoids the question of why the 'War on Terror/Extremism' is doing worse now than it was 3-4 years ago. (around the 6:30 mark).

An abject lack of humour

2007-11-17T01:36:00.001+05:30

What is it with us Indians? Why is everything so hierarchical? After umpteen un-funny funny movies - I'm told that Om Shanti Om attempts a number of potshots, falling short of funny at times - but attempts are made, nonetheless... Here is a fall-out...

Why can't we learn to laugh at ourselves?

Maiden...once again

2007-11-14T21:16:00.000+05:30

Tickets have been bought courtesy the Larger A and we will be at the IZOD arena in NJ on March 14 wearing the Maiden passion on our sleeves and screaming from the upper tier.

SM is hereby directed to send me the song set after their Bombay gig.

Nostalgia - good...or bad

2007-11-07T19:26:00.000+05:30

This is the original article in the Economist reporting the death of Che. Kindly forwarded to me by APR (who, to put it mildly, is quite the Marxist at heart), I think it quite rightly shows the power that one man can wield, simply by symbolism if nothing else.

Fast-forward to this, and a rather smart, yet despicable method of making some post-retirement money by selling parts of Che...

To the rebellion....

Fighting a losing battle

2007-11-06T09:39:00.000+05:30

This is worth a read... Tarun Tejpal and his fellow crusaders deserve better... I think he unwittingly spots the true reason behind Tehelka's futility in the last para of that piece; when you want to take down a system, the only way to do it is to simultaneously present a realistic alternative for those involved. Is that possible 60 years in?

The Competitive Streak

2007-11-06T01:49:00.000+05:30

Yesterday I played one of the best matches I've ever played in any sport. Maybe the reason I probably enjoyed it this much is that I actually won at the end. But closer inspection would indicate otherwise.

It's been years since I've seen myself so passionately engaged in a match that I'm able to do the Connors-esque pump of the fist and scream 'C'mon' loud enough for the 2 basketball court indoor gym to stop their games momentarily and wonder what's going on. I miss that...and I'm glad I'm back to playing some sort of competitive sport - I just love it. It's now that I realise how much I miss it as well...

The match in itself was very good, in terms of quality and otherwise - I played a German with very good table manners (I'm not sure my screaming would put me in the same category). There are some opponents (particularly in TT, because of the physical proximity) who annoy the hell out of you. And there are others against whom you play hard, but enjoy playing against just because of the courtesy across the table...yesterday was the latter.

In any case, for the record - I won 17-15 or 16-14 in the 5th. During the last game, when we went back to yet another deuce, we sort of looked at each other for a moment, trying to recall the score and just shrugged with a smile!

Great match....

Eddie cometh

2007-11-01T10:31:00.000+05:30

In NJ on March 14...let the tickets sell for cheap and be available - pls. I already missed the US Open. The travesty is that they are in Bombay this year - no more trips to B'lore!!

Speed quest

2007-10-28T22:05:00.000+05:30

There are exciting goings-on in the WRC world. After 3 seasons of tremendous predicitability with Sebastian Loeb dominating, this season has been close and is going to come down to another last race fight. Gronholm takes a 4 point lead over Loeb into the last 2 rounds of the WRC.

Incidentally, Loeb had a chance to put a big one over Gronholm in Japan this weekend. But as luck would have it - they both ended up in the ditch. First Gronholm went off on Friday, badly damaging his front suspension, I think. And then a pace note error by Loeb's co-driver (he read out plus-plus rather than minus-minus for a turn) meant that Loeb went into a corner too fast and dumped his car into a ditch as well. He was in 2nd place, 10 seconds behind the leader at that point.

Unfortunately, the nature of a WRC rally is that we can only ever get to watch the highlights a week later, although I think someone puts up daily highlights - not that I'm going to be able to access it in this part of the world...

Incidentally, the third official FIA championship will also see a change this year. Andy Priaulx's run of 4 (?) championships in a row in the World Touring Car Championship looks set to come to end - he's currently in 4th place and unlikely to go all the way...

What a great year for motorsports, although the MotoGP wasn't exactly a close call. Rossi desperately needs a better machine next year - c'mon Yamaha...

Retribution

2007-10-26T22:10:00.000+05:30

I've been looking through some of Tehelka's stuff on the post-Godhra riots. See The video of Babu Bajrangi is particularly chilling - and rightly put up as their feature. See here for it. Watching him calmly say - "kissi ko nahin chhode. Aadmi, aurat, bacche. Kaato, maaro, jala do" - is extremely disturbing, even for me, with my fascination for most things morbid.

There's a bit of shouting from the cynics about the timing of all this - implementation of the Srikrishna report, the 1984 riots stuff being dredged up and now Godhra. Most seem to say its a politically motivated thing - appearing bang on time for the elections. Well...maybe.... but who cares? If it's a system that has to be broken, what better way than from the inside? (Cf: Sir
Humphrey on the Brits joining the EEC: We joined it to break it up....make a pig's breakfast out of it - the Foreign Office are extremely pleased...)

The good part about politically motivated retribution for the ordinary man is the wonderful concept of the political cycle - and come 2009, maybe Khairlanji will get the attention it deserves as well...

I like politically motivated moves - they weaken the system internally and leave it open for external attack...

The Danger of theology in the Judicial arena

2007-10-17T09:54:00.000+05:30

I'm very glad that I was never witness to something like this. The only thing that comes close to it was a number judges undoubtedly very tempted to do something similar on several occasions. Of course, many years of sitting in a seat compulsorily listening to any number of boring and horrible arguments tends to increase one's self-restraint!

I was also concerned of the effect this might have had on one's Ex-Boss. Suffice it to say that his self-restraint, which (I'm told) has greatly increased over the years, did not always endure the strains of the dumbest of arguments and the closest that one could get to perjury in open court...

Grapevine - if you can hear me, kindly provide us with further details of the incident.

My turn - a new face

2007-10-17T01:31:00.000+05:30

After anna's dabblings with the spamming world, I have now received a fresh perspective on the African heartbreak story. Perhaps they aren't getting the kind of response they're looking for... this is the fresh version...note the bit on utmost confidentiality!

Your Attention;

My name is Mr. KB. I trained and work as an external auditor for
a Suisse Bank, working as part of a bigger team that covers the entire
sub-euro region. I had taken pains to find your contact through personal
endeavors.

On routine audit check last month, I discovered some investment accounts
that had been dormant for the least twelve years. All the accounts belong
to a single holder (deceased) with monies totaling 21 Million United
States Dollars plus interest. Banking regulation/legislation in
Switzerland demand that I notify the fiscal authorities after a statutory
time period of twelve years when dormant accounts of this type are called
in by the monetary regulatory bodies. The above set of facts underscores
my reason of writing and making the following proposing.

My investigation of the said account reveals that the death occured in
1994—the exact time the account was last operated. I can confirm with
certainty that the said investor died interstate and no next–of–kin to his
estate has been found or has come forward all these years.
I am of the settled conviction that using my insider leverage, with I
working with you can secure the funds in the account for us instead of
allowing it pass as unclaimed funds into the coffers of the Government of
Switzerland. This is especially possible as you share same details as the
said investor. This exactly is why I crave your participation and
co-operation.

I have seized all relevant documents (legal and Banking) that will
facilitate our putting you forward as the claimant and beneficiary of the
funds and ultimately transfer the money to any account nominated by you.
Of course you shall be handsomely rewarded for your part in this
transaction as the people I am working with are prepared to allocate a 25%
slice of the total funds for your efforts, less any expenses.
I shall however leave out the finer details of this transaction till I
receive an affirmation of your desire to participate.
Be assured that my colleagues and I are on top of the situation all the
time and there will be no risk whatsoever if you agree to come on board.

Needless to say, UTMOST CONFIDENTIALITY is of vital importance if we are
to successfully reap the immense benefits of this transaction. To maintain
the level of security required to see this transaction come to a
successful conclusion, I have intentionally left out the details.
To affirm your willingness and cooperation to my proposal please reply to
this email,stating your Full Names, Date of Birth, Telephone Number, Fax
Number, Company/position held, Email address, Contact address and Postal
address.

I await your response.

Thank you,

WC predictions - final time

2007-10-16T05:25:00.001+05:30

And it's the one match I didn't want to see as the final - a front row punch-out between the Boks and the English. I see the Boks as having the advantage, particularly with the back-row in pretty good form. But this is the final of the WC and don't forget that Jonny and some of the boys have been there and performed, whereas its a first time for almost the whole of the Boks side (the only exception being Os Du Randt, the loosehead, who was part of the 1995 squad).

I don't think its going to be a particularly attractive game and it'll probably come down to a combination of a front-row battle and one between Jonny and Monty with their boots.

Watch out, however, for Francois Steyn. He attempted a 60-odd metre shot on goal from the right corner in the Arg game and almost made it despite slipping. The commentator (can't remember the name) said that in practice during the week, as Monty was employing Jonny's drill of aiming for the upright to improve aim, Steyn was kicking it from his 10m line through the uprights!! That should make for some really interesting viewing, although I suspect he wont get a chance unless its the stroke of half-time or SA are well in front (in which case, it wont matter much, will it?)

The drubbing in the group stages really doesn't mean anything, seeing as how well England have performed since then. This will also be Jason Robinson's last match in the White jersey - and if he does lift the cup, I see (just as we saw 4 years ago), a hardback autobiography selling at 24 quid a pop in (miraculously!) a couple of weeks time...

May he who plays the more entertaining rugby win....

PS for the sake of it - I think the French will be runaway winners in the 3rd place playoff on Friday.

WC Predictions - updated

2007-10-09T06:46:00.000+05:30

Ok - so I went 2/4 in my QF picks and of the 2 that missed - one really felt lousy. Such a bad match - they ought to hang their head in shame. I could only pick out 2 All Blacks who had a decent game - Richie McCaw and Alli Williams - the rest were simply pathetic. But due credit to the French - to push back two 15 plus phases in their own 22 in the last 10 mins without a penalty was simply amazing (one was lost by a needless knock-on; the other at phase 27 by a turnover).

So now it falls upon me to pick the next round. So here goes:

I suspect that England are going to turn it around on the French at th Stade de France. After the 2 pre-WC poundings, I just have this gut feeling that they're going to make it good with their front row. The only thing that might turn it is the crowd, Chabal and Michelak - the latter two basically did it for the French against the ABs.

The other SF is going to be an unfortunate blow-out. The Springboks all the way. The Argentine backs and Hernandez aren't going to be kicking their way to victory with Monty playing at 15.

Fra-NZ : 20-18

2007-10-07T02:30:00.001+05:30

WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED??

Eng-Aus: 12-10

2007-10-06T20:38:00.000+05:30

What a great match. England came out storming and there was little gentlemanly spirit in the game from either side (for the cynics; Yes - there can be civility in a rugby match). Too many missed kicks for my liking - but it was pretty much equal share on that.

So as far as my predictions go - I'm 0/1. I am desperately (DESPERATELY) hoping that it gets to 1/2 by this afternoon. I swear I will go and kill the next Kiwi I see if the All Blacks lose (and considering the fact that the lucky person may well be my RA Prof. - I'd rather not!)

Explicit ragging or smart ragging? You choose

2007-10-06T00:20:00.001+05:30

The kids of today are going insane. First I read this about an engineering college in Agra where seniors decided to push a junior off the third floor of a building!

NB: It's worth noting here that the 3rd floor in India would be the 4th in the US. The US have this bizarre concept of there being no ground floor - they start counting at one. This is often very annoying, because sometime when you visit someplace on the 2nd floor, habit tells you to take the lift if its accessible. But then you suddenly realise it's time to get off before you've hit the button. In my dorms, it was even more confusing, for there is no 1st floor either. The lift starts at the basement - then mezzanine (where we catch it) and then the 2nd. All very confusing and intially annoying.

But to get back to the issue - there's a piece today about kids in Stephens who sprayed deo on a kid and then lit him up....gosh...need I say more?

These were always just sadistic fantasies that we had as seniors(!!) ...no real intention of doing all this...my juniors will testify to this. My modes of ragging (and indeed, torture) were far more legit and subtle - not to mention that they were always given the cloak of legality through the command structure.

The kids of today are going insane.

Free Burma / Myanmar

2007-10-05T03:50:00.001+05:30

It's not much, but its something we can do - join in...its blogspot's free Burma day today...

Out of respect for this - I open my cellar again...

"It isn't bigger than us - its just wrapped around our necks
There's no good way to chip it away - the rebellion must stay
I tried and I can't - maybe its your turn now
But the world doesn't let us - there's not enough 'you' to fight for

Break it down - end it all with a bang
I can see the black sun turning grey
There's no good way to do this - just the way you can
If the sun isn't what I need - I'll take the stars, anything for that little light I see through the haze

Lost myself in the race I needed to lose
There's options - but not for the survivors
Maybe its best to leave this to the system
But isn't that what I started without?"

Massa and Kubica on the Final Lap

2007-10-03T06:17:00.001+05:30

So, I've finally managed to get YouTube to link to my blog...this is the final lap battle that I talked about in my previous post...

World Records

2007-10-02T04:35:00.000+05:30

One of the more interesting World Records I've come across recently. See the video here. For the record, my top was 11 or 13 bounces, but I never had such a large lake to use - we did ours on rivers and with flowing water everywhere.

The one time we could have actually pushed the limit was at Dodital - where, unfortunately, one is not allowed to disturb the water as per local tradition.

Speaking of world records, the men's marathon time has been smashed by Haile Gebreselassie, which is just an incredible feat, especially at his age. There's a real runner for you. As a way to judge how quick he is - I did the half in 2:11 or so. He did the full in 2:04:55 - thats the same as doing 336 metres every minute for 2 hours. Or put differently - thats doing every 100 metres of the 42 kilometres in 17.8 seconds on average. Ridiculous.

WC Update

2007-10-01T00:20:00.000+05:30

Really good Arg-Ire match. The Argentinians have shown that they are good enough to be included (at least) in the 6 nations. I expect them to run through Scotland if they continue to play as well as they have. It will really be wonderful to see them in the Semis. They really do play such attractive rugby.

On the other side - the All Blacks have a dangerous QF against France. That will be a match to watch (actually all matches from hereon are...).

The US has just scored a magnificent interception try against the Springboks. From all the way inside their own 22 in one clean phase. Brilliant stuff. The Springboks are looking untidy today, but I expect them to still ease past Fiji into the Semis.

My prediction for the tournament now:
Semis
NZ-Aus
Arg-SA

Final
NZ-SA

Winner
NZ (please??)

Japanese GP - what the *%&# happened to Suzuka?

2007-09-30T19:37:00.000+05:30

Yesterday's race was, quite honestly, the most bizarre I've ever seen. I have never seen such immense stupidity exhibited by the FIA in it's desperate compulsion to get a race in. Cars were acquaplaning (go look that up if you don't know what it is), drivers couldn't see the red light of the car ahead of them and, to be perfectly honest, pushing the first 19 laps of the race (that's a lot) behind the Safety Car ought to have given them an idea of the mayhem out on the track?

In terms of results, Heikki drove a great race, especially the scrap with Kimi at the end. So too the last half lap of racing between Massa and Kubica for 6th. Since there was no 'dirty' OR 'dry' line - they actually managed to pull off a whole half lap of racing side by side and pushing each other off the track before Kubica succeeded in doing so on the last corner - only to see Massa race past him after exiting the grass!

Hamilton drove a great race, hardly any mistake that I can recall. Kubica fishtailed him in the middle of the race and he was lucky not to have been completely shunted there. Alonso reserved his only retirement of the season for the worst possible moment in the season. Hamilton just needs to cruise in the remaining two races to get himself the championship.

The moment of the race goes to Sebastien Vettel, who driving the Toro Rosso (the Red Bull 'B' team) decided to absolutely cream the back of Webber's Red Bull (the 'A' team) while the safety car was still out!! He's a talented 19-year old, but that's not going to help him very much, especially considering that Webber was driving for a podium finish and had vomited inside his helmet within a few laps of the start. That must have been a hard drive...

Law Making

2007-09-27T14:24:00.000+05:30

Is this a far better way of getting the law you want? Well, yes and no. On the one hand, it would reflect precisely what the janta (not junta and therefore steering clear of recent controversy) may actually want. I think that the average citizen would actually be pretty non-frivolous and fair when it comes to submitting his own draft Police Code.

On the other hand, legislation drafting is a serious matter requiring some skill and perhaps best left to the bureaucrats. No doubt, India's staunch civil service would never allow it. All that we get to do is write critical papers reviewing proposed legislation and even those are barely publicised. (On the other hand, considering the quality of some of the legislation I've studied - see esp. Land Laws, Sem VIII - I dare say a bunch of drunks hooligans trying to get themselves a loophole in the law may actually be more subtle than the blatant doors that are left in many of the laws)

RIP Colin McRae

2007-09-16T19:53:00.000+05:30

See his official website here , BBCs run down of his career here and the tributes here.

Pitter Patter

2007-09-11T16:14:00.000+05:30

I have now been up for over 3 hours and the rain has been coming down in NYC for just as long. I would have been quite happy to see Bombay-esque rain (at least you get that wonderful smell from the earth), but this is very London-esque rain...quite depressing.

I was hoping to go down to Ground Zero for the memorial function this evening - if this keeps up, I think we may be in for a little more reading tonight...

Distractee's distractions

2007-09-08T23:41:00.000+05:30

In what it is usually the only time I blog, I have tried very hard and unsuccessfully to get some serious reading done all morning. The inability to concentrate has led me to do the reading for Intl Law which is pretty much the easiest and arguably the most enjoyable class I have, primarily thanks to the presence of an Aussie at the helm...

There are a number of reasons that reading has been rather ineffective this morning:

Following the triple Rugby mauling by NZ, Aus and Eng on BBC Sport (although one can argue that Eng's win was far from a mauling)
Following the 2nd innings of the Lord's match on radio - it was wonderful to hear Henry Blofeld's voice again. Not quite the same reaction about India's performance though.
Watching Monza qualifying online
Lack of food in the stomach and excess of other things from last evening - details are best left undisclosed
Lovely riff
Trying to find a site where I can watch the WC.

Amex has sponsored a large screen in Madison Square Park where the tennis is being shown and I am now considering packing a few books and heading there for the 2nd Semi-Final. Somehow I have absolutely no inclination to catch the women's final this evening.

In other news - I bumped into IS at one of the numerous receptions I have been attending over the past 2 weeks in our eternal quest for free food and daru. IS turns out to be someone I knew from Delhi nearly 10 years ago. Having said that - it did take us a fair bit of PC to establish the link - god bless the Brits and all that they have taught me.

NYC continues to be bathed with wonderful weather, which is an absolute pity since I seem to be stuck indoors battling with reading backlog.

"We were always free to choose
Never free enough to find"

- Overcome by Live

Heartbreak

2007-09-02T21:05:00.000+05:30

Of all things, something as stupid as not carrying KRs mobile no. and not waiting at my comp for an extra 2 mins have deprived me of the chance to watch the US Open...

My only consolation is this:

which is not much if you consider my last experience with him at a Slam - see here.

I think DM may have to wait for her postcard...

6 days - no coffee

2007-08-25T02:04:00.000+05:30

I have now gone nearly 6 consecutive days without tea or coffee. Although I am suffering extreme withdrawal symptoms such as praising 'The Wonder Years' in my sleep with KR trying to carry on a coherent conversation with me until he realised I was sleep-talking.

In other stories of withdrawal - for some reason, I cannot log on to BBC News when I'm on the NYU wireless network. I think it some evil plot to deprive me of my commonwealth sports (more coffee withdrawal symptoms evident).

I hope for the sake of my sanity that I can at least access it from D'Ag...pls pls pls

I have located a place which serves cheap(ish) Guiness, but not necessarily showing the rugby. I have been referred to other pubs which may. I have also located Irish classmates. Updates will follow.

NYC - First Impressions

2007-08-23T21:49:00.000+05:30

I might want to just stop typing at some stage, so I'm going to put some random observations down in bullet form:

2 days of Air India sponsored jet lag does not help the cause
Someone to show you around does
Went for the Mets v. Padres game courtesy KR's luck in a raffle. Baseball is actually quite fun to watch, although, probably more so because there's always something happening rather than the actual game itself. We had fairly expensive outfield'ish tickets, but thanks to us getting thrown out of what we thought were our seats, KR decided to try and sit up closer to home plate. That it was a cold and wet evening, meant a number of the regular box seats were empty. We ended up watching the last 2.5 innings about 30 feet from the batter. An exciting game (Mets coming from one run behind to win in the bottom of the 9th) seemed to try and press home the fact that baseball can be fun. But as I said in an email to one of my English friends - 'give me the Wankhede crowd anyday!' Am kicking myself for not carrying the camera.
After the game, we decided to explore Flushing Meadows, which is across the road. Although all relevant areas (USTA Tennis Centre) were shut (it was nearly 11), we got to the 'globe'...it is HUGE!! All those shots on the sports channels must be either on fish-eye lenses or from 1.5 km away.
There is a Dosa thela outside the NYU Law School building. I have consciously refrained from consuming his wares, lest I end up with cravings every evening when I shift into the next street.
I am struggling to come to terms with the idea of ultra-fast internet access 24X7 (minus downloading though). I fear it will be even more difficult for me when I move in to my place.
As my academic career progressed, the distance between my place of habitation to my place of study progressively decreased. It is now going to be frighteningly short. The entrance to my 'hostel' is about 30 feet away from the rear wall of the Law School building.
A (the larger one) comes in today. It's been a while and I think we shall make all attempts to make inexpensive nuisances of ourselves
I have quickly given up, admittedly with minimal efforts to the contrary,all efforts (at least until I move on Sunday) to retain my shakhahari status. The worst bit is that the food here is ghastly
Am trying to get US Open tickets for cheap, although that seems an oxymoron in this city
Air-conditioned subway trains make for far more pleasurable travel than the Motherland's nauseous equivalents
I still haven't got the 'feeling' that I'm an 8 hour flight away from anything I can call home. 16 hours for the puritans...
I fear I shall have to put on an American accent at times to allow many of the local yokels to understand the precious words that exit my mouth...

That's it...time to do some reading for tomorrow's exam. I very much fear that blogging activity over the next 9 months is going to either be excessive or nearly non-existent. I hope for the sake of my grades - the latter. I hope for the sake of my sanity - the former....

Traversing

2007-08-19T20:43:00.000+05:30

17 August 2007

So I’m sitting in Heathrow’s Terminal 3 and waiting at Gate 32 to board (once again) the aircraft. In what was, from my perspective, a completely futile action, we were made to de-plane, go through Heathrow’s de-shoe, de-laptop, de-everything security check before being made to walk all the way around the terminal and wait for the aircraft to be ready. A surprisingly heavy backpack coupled with the awful seats on Air India (notice the new name sans hyphen!) has ensured that my lower back has been announcing its existence. Somehow the non-stop flights may have some utility, but then again - 16 hours can be very trying…

Am kicking myself for not carrying the smaller A’s number. It would have finally put to use the pound coin that is permanently in my wallet.

Thanks to the use of several individuals’ good offices carrying the acoustic girlfriend has not thrown up any problems…phew…

It still hasn’t sunk in that I’ve left. As I told Footnote Unaware, that’ll most probably happen when I take off from the Motherland, which if all goes well, should be a matter of 60 minutes.

I feel tired enough to sleep a little more on the flight now, so I’m not too worried about jet lag, especially since I was already on BST after staying up 2 nights in a row…

The landing into Heathrow was beautiful. It’s a great day out there (17 degrees, clear sky) and we flew right across London in what was pretty much as close to a chopper tour that one will get in a 747. The only regret is that I wont get a whiff of fresh air.

They’ve started boarding and the lines have begun forming. Time to start packing and reading Law 101 in-flight…that’s the bit I’m not looking forward to.

Epi: After recurring bouts of sleep, I think I've finally got over my jet lag over 36 hours after hitting NYC. Reading status: nil. Hitting Manhattan today...

The Day

2007-07-29T11:31:00.000+05:30

Today feels like a different day...

"Starvation and the hunger, the suffering and the pain
The agonies of all-out war, when will it ever end?
The struggle for the power, a tyrant tries again
Just what the hell is going on? When will it ever end?

No hope, no life, just pain and fear
No food, no love, just greed is here "

Childhood's End by Iron Maiden

Of Sport

2007-07-08T08:13:00.000+05:30

As with most weekends over the past month or so - this one was also meant to be a sporty one. Unfortunately, I missed two key events - the Wallabies-Springboks test and the Federer-Gasquet match. I am extremely upset about the former in particular, particularly considering the dismal levels of rugby available on TV. I did catch the Wallabies-All Blacks test last week and it was a great match. Unfortunately, the Wallabies won it thanks to a sin-binning. If they had to win it, I would have preferred to watch them do it against 15, than 14. Gregan and Larkham have played their last tests at home, which means I've also missed the last opportunity this season to listen to 100,000 people singing 'Waltzing Matilda'. I'm hoping I get to catch the return leg of the Bledisloe next Saturday - the Haka must suffice.

Venus has completed her demolition job of women's tennis. Henin might have made it a good match, but...

Federer-Nadal: You can't not admire Nadal. A born clay-courter getting through the draw twice on the cow's grass (Lendl said that, not me). Unfortunately, it also tells you a great deal about how slow the grass has become. The Rafter-Ivanesevic match, I think basically marked the end of serve-volleyers. We don't see 45 aces a match anymore, and it's far more entertaining to watch players slug it out in long rallies, (call me a stickler for tradition if you must) but then we may as well play Wimbledon on Rebound Ace. What's the point of putting green grass on Centre Court? Mario Ancic, Jonas Bjorkman and Max Mirnyi (plus Henman of course) are probably the only true serve-volleyers in the top 100. Its a real shame - it's such a beautiful game...

This is from Iron Maiden's latest offering, and while they played it in B'lore, it was a while before I read the lyrics in detail: this stanza is incredible...

"More pain and misery in the history of mankind
Sometime it seems more like
The blind leading the blind
It brings upon us more famine, death and war
You know religion has a lot to answer for"

For the Greater Good of God by Iron Maiden

They're almost here

2007-06-17T19:11:00.000+05:30

After a week or so that I rather wish hadn't ever existed, the monsoons have begun rolling into Bombay. It's remarkable that after all these years, it's the little things that nature provides that fascinate me the most.

A few days ago, I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen - anywhere. There was this incredible lilac colour to the sky and the Malabar Hill to Bombay Central or so skyline in a perfect silhouette.

Today the sea decided to tell Bombay it shouldn't be ignored in our obsession with the clouds. It was pretty much the roughest I've ever seen it in a long while. As I rode back after a sumptuous lunch courtesy D Aunty, the tide appeared to have come in so quickly that people were stranded at Haji Ali. Even with all the wave breakers that have put in place, this was the first time I can recall some serious waves hitting the Haji Ali sea face walls.

It got even better on Worli sea face. Actually it was incredible - I'm sure there will be photos in tomorrow's papers. The waves were like the waves of old - not going as far as the other side, but rather going at least 30-40 feet straight up. There was a huge gathering as people came in for a Sunday afternoon picnic(?). Can't describe it...but wonderful to see...

"The dust has finally settled on the field of human clay
Just enough light has shown through
To tell the night from the day
We are incomplete and hollow
For our maker has gone away
Who is to blame?
We'll surely melt in the rain"

Say I by Creed

Lost - then found...and how

2007-06-05T06:52:00.000+05:30

On my ride into town yesterday morning, I managed to somehow jump the phone out of my pocket on to the road. After realising it some way down, I head back as far as the start of the Mahim causeway - looking down at the road and asking every BMC sweeper on the way whether he/she had found a phone. No luck...

I then proceed to report late on my first day and do the customary lockdown of the sim. Calling didn't seem to help... I reckoned a car had probably gone over it.

At around 2:30, appa calls saying that somebody found the phone, somehow got in touch (some details still unclear) and had left it at a dry cleaners which is pretty much where I went back trying to retrace. (start of the causeway, if you're heading north). I rush back and retrieve the phone...but the good samaritan isn't there anymore...

I was right about one thing - a car did go over it, from the looks of things. No more dabba criticism now please - its working fine this morning.

A word of appreciation also for the call centres who I continually bash around.

That's the great part about this city - not so much the actual fact that one can get his phone back in this manner, but that it never stops throwing surprises at you.

I think I'm going to miss this place...

Water Ahoy

2007-06-01T00:16:00.000+05:30

The rains have come...not the monsoons from the looks of things. Just a pre-monsoon thundershower - a long and pretty heavy pre-monsoon thundershower - resulting in some awkward flights from Del to Bom.

The 1st rain smell was unfortunately not all there in the present place of inhabitation...need to call SB and make sure we do the 1st rain walk one last time. Can't remember the last time we did it - must have been 2003, I think. It's one of my favourite memories that I'll take away from Wallace and Bom...

One last time...

Anger Vent

2007-05-26T23:37:00.000+05:30

The absurdity continues... The omni-present, ever-ready to protest, infinitely wise and self-proclaimed sole representative of the Marathas - that Indian SS, continues to exhibit its abject insecurity. See here.

Perhaps at some stage, someone ought to explain to these half-wit bumpkins that when you pick a trade name - and it involves the name of a place - it needn't necessarily be the latest/correct name of the place.

And while we're at it - considering the fact that they exhibit little knowledge of company balance sheets - here's a link to explain what goodwill means and why I can't (and shouldn't) just randomly change the name of my establishment of Bombay _____ to Mumbai _______.

Me tube

2007-05-25T00:11:00.000+05:30

In celebration of the fact that this post is my 100th, I have decided to follow illustrious footsteps and blog a YouTube video. The much improved connection speeds in Delhi have got me hooked to the latest internet phenomenon...

Unfortunately, I seem to be facing some recurring problem with linking my blog to YouTube and so, you shall just have to follow the link and watch...

I have also chosen a 'classic' bit of footage - but not exactly in the same sense as the one posted by the footstep maker...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=b8z5JON-fOc

I didn't know this - but the music in the 'Cat Concerto' Tom&Jerry is Listz's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2....enjoy!

The Grief Unveiled

2007-05-23T19:51:00.000+05:30

Can you believe that a person can go from this and this:

to this:

in a matter of 90 minutes?

Arrrghhhh....
If you look closely at the 'after' picture - you can actually spot the tear in my eye...

"The north is to south what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine"

I am Mine by Pearl Jam

Of Grief

2007-05-21T22:51:00.000+05:30

The locks are gone...

As I walked into the barber's, he takes a look at me, desperately hoping that I'm there for a shave and nervously asks, "Haircut?".

Me: Haan
Barber: Setting karna hai
Me: Nahin, chota chahiye

At this stage I can hear him cursing Fate under his breath, as also the other barbers at the place.

What ensues is unarguably the longest haircut I have ever had, both in terms of time and hair. It takes a little over 35 minutes. During the course of this 'process' ('event' seems too momentary a word to use), I learn a great deal about hair. For instance:

The position of your parting depends on how the hair is cut. It seems to explain why I was unable to get a middle parting going at the peak of my hair presence. It also seems to explain how NY managed that new hairstyle of hers sometime back. (my brag about me having more hair than her no longer stands...)

Even N, the friendly vaahan chaalak was most disappointed when I returned with my present ishstyle. He, alongwith one half of the grand-parents and the scores(?) of my ardent followers all endorsed how good the hair was looking.

And so I return to my grief...

The camera battery gave up as I was transferring the before and after pics and so the scores(?) of loyal readers of this blog will have to wait another day for them...

"If I cancel tomorrow the undead will thank me today
Fly in the space of your prophets I mock your morality plays.
The moon is red and bleeding, The sun is burned and black
The book of life is silent, No turning back.

Only the good die young
All the evil seems to live forever"

Only The Good Die Young by Iron Maiden

RIP shoulder length dreams...

2007-05-19T23:31:00.000+05:30

This is one of those posts I would advise myself not to write - because it is evidence of great grief that surrounds the 350 odd cubic centimetres of space that I occupy.

This evening signals that last day that the flowing locks remain a part of my 'get-up'. Whilst the goatee is the product of a mere 2 weeks of sacrifice and care, the locks have been a 5-6 month project.

This must be what its like to spend months building a model of the White House only for the director of Independence Day to decide that it looks best when blown up and filmed with high-speed cameras. Apparently blowing the model from the inside is exactly what happens when a death ray from the aliens' spaceship comes down on it...

Before and after photos will assuredly be taken and posted...

RIP: May you find your reincarnation on the cold glistening scalp of a needy, rich, bald Indian...

"The killers breed or the demons seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedoms stain,
But dont you pray for my soul anymore."

2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden

Rise and Talk, my Metallic Beauty

2007-05-07T16:38:00.000+05:30

The English, particularly those who would ostensibly qualify to be in the higher echelons of their white-collars, love to pamper themselves and rest their over-worked grey cells for approximately 3-4 minutes every weekday.
Despite being, in the very least, of average intelligence, these select individuals (most disturbingly) seem unable or unwilling to read the floor number appearing on the display inside a lift. It seems to be some sort of annoying national obsession, although I suspect it may actually be to cater to guidelines for the visually challenged.
Today, for the first time, I was met by an Indian talking lift. I am now terribly frightened that India is going the UK way. I'm glad I have to bear neither for a while soon. Amongst various other trite information such as the floor, the weather, the news and what I suspect was a 60's jazz song, the lady (thankfully Indian) also gives you the exact time - to the second!
In other news I have watched Eragon, Spiderman 3, The Importance of Being Earnest, 8 episodes of Season 18 of the Simpsons and 1 episode of Two and a Half Men in the past 2.5 days. Of these - Eragon and the single episode were alright. The Simpsons is as good as ever and Oscar Wilde is, of course, wonderful regardless of whether you're sober or not (I was when I watched it).
Spiderman on the other hand is (and I'm putting it very mildly) absolute crap. May I be struck with a lightning bolt if I pay to watch the 4th installment.

Smoke near the Water

2007-05-01T21:48:00.000+05:30

This evening, I was enjoying a walk on Marine Drive, happy in the knowledge that thanks to the breeze blowing, the only thing posing any sort of abnormal danger to my health was Pantera screaming out 'I'm Broken' into my already under-sensitive eardrums.

Somewhere in the middle of the third chorus, I get a waft of diesel smoke (as I have a hundred time before). I know what it is, but for some reason - it really bugs me today, which is why it features on this post.

It's a generator at the bus stop powering the lights in the hoarding above the bus stop. I suppose that when people pay good money to advertise on prime location bus stops like those on Marine Drive, they expect it to be of some use 24X7. But surely when we (a) already have a severe power situation and (b) really can't afford any more pollution; you would think the authorities might wake up and do something about it.

Pull a power line to the bus stop if we must have hoardings with lights or at least insist on solar power. But, all that's far too difficult to implement and so we continue giving walkers on Marine Drive what they really came to find - clean air.

In other news - I will get through No. 35 too. Just one more now...

"I wonder if we'll smile in our coffins while loved ones
Mourn the day, the absence of our faces, living, laughing,
Eyes awake. Is this too much for them to take?
Too young for ones conclusion, the lifestyle won.
Such values you taught your son. Thats how!
Look at me now. I'm broken.
Inherit my life. I'm broken"

I'm Broken by Pantera