AR Rahman : My top 5 !!!

Ever since that March night in LA when AR proudly held aloft the Oscar (for admittedly a below-average number) have I been wanting to write this. Today, when he has been nominated for the Grammy for Jai Ho, I have finally decided to take the plunge and list my all-time top 5 AR Rahman favourites. So after spending a few hours listening to a shortlist of 20+ songs (And yes, Jai Ho was not amongst those :-), here are my top 5. Feel free to shoot your agreements and disagreements :)

1. Dil Hai Chhotasa (Roja - 1991)

The gem that started it all. The first AR composition that I listened to. I clearly remember the day. I came back from school (must be in 8th grade then) and my elder cousin had bought an audio-tape (remember it ? :)) of Roja and told me it contained music of a kind that was completely unheard of and refreshing (those were the days of Nadeem-Shravan and Aashiqui). So I played it, the first voice was Chitra starting this wonderful number and the rest, as they say, was history.

2. Bombay Theme (Bombay - 1994)

By a distance, the best theme score for a movie. Right from the first few seconds (when the flute begins) this haunts you. Then suddenly in the middle, the flute gives way to a more disturbing kind of sound (indicative of the riots) and then a fantastic violin crescendo. This theme touches you straight at the heart.

3. Ishq Bina / Kahin Aag Lage Lag Jaye (Taal - 1999)

AR and the showman of Bollywood combined for the first time and came up with a classic. All songs in Taal were hits and I have taken two of my favourites. The first one, because of the soothing effect it had on me when I heard it the first time (and it came when I was in college, when you identify better with these things). On the other hand, 'Kahin Aag Lage Jaye' was A-A-A magic (AR, Asha Bhosle and - even though I am not her greatest fan - Ash). Also, it still holds a place in my heart.

4. Chale Chalo (Lagaan - 2001)

If 'Chale Chalo' cannot charge you up for battle, very few other things can. While his other compositions in Lagaan were also good, this made it to my list because of its attitude ('dharti hila denge, sabko dikha denge, raja kya praja kya ho.'.) and, of course, AR Rahman the crooner.

5. Title Song - (Rang De Basanti - 2006)

The song that proved AR could do bhangra-style as good as anyone else. A fantastically infectious number, gets your feetitapping almost by themselves :).


Note that this is AR Rahman's top 5, hence I have omitted gems like 'Tu Hi Re' (Bombay) and 'Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera' (Swades), wherein I felt that Hariharan / Kavita K (in the former) and Javed Akhtar (in the latter) were the men-of-the-match. Some others that were worthy of mention were 'Humdum Suniyo Re (Saathiya)', 'Piya Haji Ali (Fizaa)' and 'Kehna Hi Kya (Bombay)'.

Cheers
Amit

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Play a sport, reveal your character ...

For a long time, the sports page of the Times of India had a line on the top 'Sport does not build character, it reveals it' (I do not subscribe to the Times, so do not know if the line is still there !!!). But it still remains one of my favourite lines. And I was reminded of it on reading about the infamous Thierry Henry goal that propelled France to the 2010 World Cup on the back of a hugely controversial win and knocked Ireland out of the sport's quadrennial extravaganza.

'Sport does not build character,it reveals it'. How very true !!. Sporting history is full of instances where controversial incidents have played important roles in deciding the outcome of matches, careers and tournaments. Whether it be Maradona's 'Hand of God' in the 1986 World Cup, or the controversial catches claimed by the Aussies on the last day in Sydney in 2004 or yesterday's night most shameful incident, we always have occasions when individuals (or even teams) have behaved in the most un-distinguished manner. And frequently, the mis-deeds by the sportsmen have got to do with their character. This, of course, is not to say that Henry or others of his ilk have a fundamentally bad character. But the question now being asked is, how will be look in the mirror henceforth ? In a few seconds, he has lost much of his reputation to his millions of fans and has also bought disrepute to his national team. To me, that is the beauty (or tragedy depending on how you look at it) of sports. They frequently test your character and reveal it. And most often than not, you have absolutely little control over your actions that come back to haunt you later. To give Henry the benefit of doubt, he would have thrust his hand forward almost instinctively, since the pace of the game gave him absolutely no time to think. So the bitterness against him, as against other sportsmen who have been accussed of similar acts, is not that he handled the ball. The uproar is over him not admitting his guilt then and there, especially since it was so blatantly obvious and seen by millions on live television. He can apologize a thousand times now, but that is not going to take the Irish to South Africa next year. So while committing the misdeed is not an indication of your character, since even the best of people can fall prey to temptation,especially when carrying their nation's hopes on their shoulders. But realizing their misdeed and then trying to correct it whatever way possible tells much about the true character of the sportsperson. And while that character is largely a function of the values and upbringing that each one of us have, in no other facet of life is this character so much tested as in the sports arena.

Which is why the line is my favourite. Of course, I missed the chance of playing any sport with any distinction when I was young. But one thing is for sure, my kids will definitely be encouraged to play one sport at a competitive level. Hopefully, it will help them mould their character.

Cheers
Amit

PS: I read one article which said that apparently Henry told the referree that he had handled (not sure when) to which the ref told them 'I am the ref, not you'. If that is true, then I take back some of what I said above.

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Stop making mountains from molehills !!

As my recent status messages on Facebook indicate, I am quite disappointed at the recent controversy involving Sachin Tendulkar and the Thackerays. The disappointment stems not just from the statements given by the two 'opponents' in this controversy, but more so from the needless manner in which the media has not just ignited the fire, but also fanned the flames.

So how did it all began ? It began with the press conference held to commemorate the Master Blaster completing two glorious decades in international cricket. It was meant to be a QnA session related to Sachin's glittering career, his achievements, his favourite moments etc etc. So ideally it was meant to be cricket and life related to cricket. But the media could not hold themselves asking Sachin the question of how he felt about the Marathi-Mumbai-Indian debate. And for one who has always been at more than an arm's length from any political statements and controversies, Sachin un-characteristically edged the wide swinging half-volley bowled by the media. That is where I am, frankly, disappointing with Sachin. I buy the point that he, like all of us, is entitled to a point of view and the freedom to express it. But then, is Sachin like all of us ?? A celebrity as revered as him should know that each statement of his is like gospel to his millions of fans. Hence, someone like him has to use his words carefully, especially on issues as topical and sensitive as these. Two words, "No comment" would have helped.

In any event, he just mentioned his point of view, which happened to be different from that of Raj Thackeray. The media got what they wanted. Now the headline that appeared in the media was to the effect that 'Sachin snubs Raj'. Now tell me, if you have a different view point from me, does that mean that you are snubbing me or vice-versa ? Or that one of us is more right than the other ? But the media portrayed it as if Sachin had virtually shown the finger to Raj, much to the delight of Raj's blood-bayers. If this is not fanning the fire, then what is ?

Then, just as everyone was waiting for Raj's reaction, there appeared a riposte from a different, though not entirely unexpected source, the Shiv Sena. Not wanting to be left out of this opportunity to get some political limelight, the Sena supremo replied through the Samna editorial. Now I have not read the editorial, but the statement that was highlighted on NDTV last evening was that Bal Thackeray had advised Sachin to 'stick to the cricket field and not play on the political field'. Leaving emotions aside, is that so wrong a thing to say ? I suspect that Sachin's coach might have said something similar. And not suprisingly, all sorts of political leaders jumped on the 'anti-Bal Thackeray' bandwagon, including the Maharashtra CM who appeared on NDTV yesterday for his reactions, as if he had nothing better to do.

All in all, a needless controversy !!. One only hopes the next time the media goes to Sachin for his reaction, he leaves the ball outside the off stump in the finest traditions of his batting.

Regards
Amit

PS: I read in the DNA today that Marathi bloggers were divided on blogosphere in their support of Sachin and Thackeray. Wonder if that was the media's intention ??????

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No longer a 'crack'ing Diwali !!!

The year's biggest festival is around the corner, and the festive spirit can be seen and felt everywhere. Most shops on the street are all lighted up, displaying a range of dry fruit boxes and lanterns outside. Shopping malls are choc-a-bloc with people making their Diwali purchases and I am currently getting a SMS every couple of hours or so informing me about the latest deals and discounts on my credit card purchases. Closer home, we spent the Sunday on the traditional Diwali-eve cleaning of the house and Mom has started making the Diwali menu ('pharaal'). All in all, Diwali has well and truly arrived.

But amidst all this, there is one notable difference that can be observed. And that is, the relative in-conspicuousness of fire crackers. And it is not just this year, but has been there for some years now. The DNA newspaper yesterday carried a news story about how the younger generation has turned 'green' and is keeping away from fire-crackers altogether. In fact, it mentioned about how a kid actually did not allow its parents to buy crackers for themselves (the parents !!), much to the latter's annoyance. Not surprisingly, such behavior has badly affected the fire-cracker industry, with a wholesaler estimating sales to go down by as much as 50% this year. In a few years, we might no longer have a fire-cracker industry the way we know it today.

I, for one, welcome this change in attitude in today's generation (quite a change from my generation that pestered their parents to buy the latest atom bombs and flower pots and which started off as early as 5 am on the first day !!). For me, the most beautiful sight in Diwali is to see a home lit by dozens of earthen lamps ('diyaas') and having an even more beautiful 'rangoli' drawn at its entrance. Add to that the wholesome 'pharaal' and other Diwali sweets, and my festival is made. The one Diwali in recent times I remember was during our first year at IIM Bangalore. Then, we had an inter-hostel block decoration competition and about twenty of us spent all afternoon adorning the hostel block building (all three floors of it) with literally hundreds of small 'diyas' and some big ones. The more artistically inclined ones made a lovely rangoli at the block entrance. And then, as the day gave way to the twilight hour, we lighted all the diyas and the hostel was a memorable sight. (unfortunately, I have misplaced the snaps :(. This was followed by a sumptuous dinner at the mess to round off a wonderful day (What is your favourite Diwali moment ??).

So, Diwali has never been about crackers for me. Whenever I have burst crackers, I have always felt that they were, quite literally, like burning hard-earned money in thin air. Their light and noise is fleeting, not to mention the disturbance they cause to elders , babies and animals around us. Contrast this with the glowing light emitted by even the smallest diyaa, that spreads happiness in the heart of whoever sees it. Bring many such diyaas together, arranged in a variety of shapes and positions, and you get a sight to behold. What better way to light up your Diwali ??

So before I sign off, here's wishing a Happy Diwali and Prosperous New Year to all my readers and their families and friends. May you all have a safe and fun-filled Diwali and a fantastic new year ahead !! And yes, try and stay away from the crackers ;-)

Cheers
Amit

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The race to Mantralaya !!

Under 72 hrs to go before the first vote is cast in the Maharashtra assembly elections, and things are hotting up. All major parties are having their last election rallies in Mumbai this weekend (Shivaji Park has suddenly become the epicentre of all Maharashtra politics) and we are hearing the familiar noises (having said that, as compared to the slogan-shouting of yesteryears, this hardly seems like an election campaign). The tiger continues to roar, albeit not as forcefully as he used to do a decade back, and the hand is back asking for votes in the quest for a third successive term (a rarity in modern-day politics). But the one gathering the most steam, and therefore chugging along to forefront of the political stage, is the railway engine.

Whether you like him or hate him, you cannot ignore him. And whether anyone living in the state (Maharashtrian or otherwise) likes it or not, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the keys to the next Vidhan Sabha are firmly in the hands of Raj Thackerary. Even though he has fielded only 145 candidates (half of the assembly strength), he is virtually certain to get the third lagest number of seats. And the quantum of seats he gets (opinion polls predict anywhere between 10 to 35) will probably decide the composition of the assembly and more importantly, who will form the next state government. And the man is certainly basking in the limelight. Yesterday's speech at the Shivaji Park was vintage Raj Thackeray and his uncle's stamp could be seen all over (especially when he spoofed Sonia Gandhi). In fact one smart thing that Raj is doing is sticking to Marathi in all his interviews, even if it is with NDTV 24*7. It was quite amusing to see Rajdeep Sardesai interview Raj, both of them knew each others language fully well and yet both were speaking different languages without an interpreter !!. Seeing Raj speak in Marathi (and thus reinforcing his Marathi agenda) would have surely made a small portion of the Marathi electorate see him in a new light (I confess I was impressed !!). As the 13th of October draws close, he is likely to steadily pull many more Marathi votes.

And what about the two main alliances ? The Cong-NCP combine should count themselves extremely lucky (did someone say third-time lucky ??) if they somehow manage to squeeze their way to the 145 mark. A decade of largely unimaginative and ineffective state governance (no major industries coming, farmer sucides, power problems, the vexed migrants issue in Mumbai) has led to a significant anti-incumbency wave. Now, in most cases, this would have meant that the opposition gallop towards the seat of power in Mantralaya. But is the Sena-BJP combine ready to get power ? More importantly, will it get somewhere close to a majority ? Its biggest challenge, of course, would be to reclaim Mumbai, Thane and Pune, on which it has been steadily loosing its grip. If it can achieve that, it can justifiably harbour hopes of forming the next government. But for those hopes to get translated into reality, they would need that man again. And so too would the Congress. And Raj Thackeray has kept his cards close to his chest, only revealing that he will support any one who forwards his agenda. If he is true to his word, and if it does transpire that the next government would be dependent on him, he is very likely to demand more than his pound of flesh for himself and the 'Marathi speaking public of the state' (note carefully that he does not say Maharashtrians, thus presenting a more inclusive agenda). Of course, what all this translates to for the Marathi speaking public on the ground after the next government is formed remains to be seen.

With the counting votes to happen on 22nd October, it is going to be a nervous Diwali for politicians and their supporters all over the state. But maybe one man will sleep more peacefully than the others !!.

Cheers

Amit

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A week straight from heaven !!!

Am thankful to the Almighty for this week, which seems to have come straight from heaven !!. I am attending a training program the whole of this week, which itself is reason to rejoice. But to top that, I can leave home after 8 am (instead of around 7.30 am normally), reach Hotel VITS (earlier Lotus Suites) in Andheri before 8.45 am (thankfully, the traffic on Andheri-Kurla road is not that bad. Then I find time to got through my mails before the training starts at around 9.30 am. The training itself (on Enterprise Process Management) is also quite good. Of course, the best part of the day is the lunch at VITS. It is, by a distance, one of the best buffet lunches I have had. Lots of variety (Indian, Oriental, Continental) followed by plenty of desserts (ice cream, cakes, brownies n all that). In fact on Tuesday, I had just too much which kept me drowsy almost till dinner time !!. The afternoon sessions of the training typically involve some practical excerise instead of a long monologue and this helps to keep the juices flowing. And surprise surprise, the day is wrapped up at 5.30 pm. This allows me the opportunity to beat the notoroius Andheri E traffic on my way home and be back by around 6 pm. Then finally, I hit the gym at around 6.30 for an hour and a half to round off an almost-perfect day !!. After posting this, I will be off to the gym for a fourth straight day, a near-achievement for me.

Next week might turn out to be bad, but what the heck !! Live in the present and savour the good times !!!
Cheers
Amit

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Come September !!!..

It has not been the greatest of months, and thankfully its going to be over in a few hours !!.. What a relief !!.. Its been a month of travelling and more travelling. I have been away most of the month, visiting our manufacturing facility in Ankleshwar, Gujarat on a process improvement project. And while I have managed to come home during weekends, thus becoming a regular on the Mumbai - Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express (the new rakes are quite sophisticated by Indian Railways standards), the thought of being away from home and family was depressing. And not to forget the fact that daily routines are completely disrupted. I have to now re-start my workouts and my preparation for the marathon (less than five months away) has taken a couple of steps back. In addition, reading has taken a hit. With a pile of books now on my reading agenda, hopefully I will get more time to pursue one of my favourite hobbies.

There is, of course, another reason why I look forward to September. The start of the month is marked by a family dinner to celebrate Mom's birthday !!! For most of us, unfortunately, it is the only the day where we really honour the lady who has shaped our lives like no-one else. So here's wishing Many Happy Returns of the day to the most sweetest lady on the planet !!. And here's raising a toast to the month of September, in anticipation of more visits to the gym, more of catching up with friends, more of gorging on books and more of generally having good and productive days. Cheers !!!!

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Swine Flu and the failing monsoons...

So there are two immediate crises facing the country today, which therefore find a lot of mention in the media and daily newspapers as well as in random conversations. While one crisis is more direct and has people worried, the other is slowly looming in the background. Of course, I am talking about the Swine Flu crisis as well the monsoons, which now seem to be well and truly deficient.

Till a few weeks back, many people, including me, used to think that swine flu was a epidemic mostly confined to those travelling to the West (Mexico) and hence common people need not worry much unless they came into contact with such persons. But the last week has shaken that belief completely. Ten deaths and counting is India's toll today. Suddenly, it seems that no one is immune. And the government seems to have been caught napping. Our honourable Health minister, fresh from his insights on how to control population growth via television, now has a growing problem on his hand. Especially with huge congregations of people expected in Mumbai and Pune in the coming Ganesh festival, one can only hope that things do not get much worse from here. Pune especially, is in danger of turning into a ghost city if all public places start to close down. As individuals of course, all we can do is to take adequate precautions.

The other crises is the monsoons, or rather the lack of it. This could have significant medium-term ramifications. In the twenty odd years that I remember of, I have never seen such a dry August in Mumbai. And currently I am in a town called Ankleshwar in Gujarat. This time last year, the place was full of muck on the (so-called) roads. This time around, the roads are completely clean and dry and the sun beats down like any other summer day. While the lack of rains is already affecting parts of Mumbai (30% or more in water cuts), the more significant implications would be reduced agricultural output, resulting in higher prices and smaller rural incomes, with potential downside for many industries. Already the stock market is nervous thinking of this possibility. If that comes anywher close to a reality, we are sure to have a wider crises staring at us.

Regards
Amit

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A tale of two movies... !!

In the past month or so, I have got the opportunity of watching re-runs of two of my favorite Hindi movies. Of course, I have seen and loved them in the past. But then, there was no blog to pen down your thoughts about them. But now, one just needs to start putting (digital) pen on (artificial) paper. And the fact that the two movies are as different as chalk and cheese made it all the more imperative that I write about them. So here goes...

The first one is Yash Chopra's poetic 'Kabhi Kabhi' (1975). Actually this movie is actually a series of different stories that merge together at the end. At the start of the movie is the unforgettable sight of Raakhee reciting 'Kabhi Kabhi Mere Dil Main' on her wedding night. A poem that is symbolic of her past and of the man she loved, the poet Amit (one of the Big B's most understated performances). Then who can forget her husband ??. One of Indian cinema's most endearing characters is Vijay Khanna (Shashi Kapoor). A man that lives life kingsize and has a heart of gold. One who is unapologetically flirts with his to-be samdhan (Simi Garewal) and tries his hand at poetry ('Aap ki aankhen itni haseen hai jaise.... garib ke ghar main lantern jalta ho !!'). Then there are the love-birds in Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh, whose romance provided Yash Chopra the opportunity to capture the stunning beauty of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh like never before. And to add further spice to the surroundings was the immortal music score by Khayyam. Whether its 'Kabhie Kabhie mere dil main khayal aata hai' or 'Main pal do pal/har ek pal ka shayaar hoon' or 'Tere chehre se nazar nahi hatati', Sahir Ludhianvi and Khayyam(along with Mukesh, Lata and Kishore's vocals) simply create magic. In my books, one of the best music scores in Hindi film history. And a must-watch movie as well !!!

If Kabhie Kabhie had sublime poetry and romantic moments in plenty, the other movie that I am talking about is almost diametrically opposite in content (though it also has decent music). Violent and hard-hitting, N Chandra told the story of the transformation of a bright and idealistic young man to a gangster, who then, by the end of the movie, expels all the acid inside of him and returns to his rightful place in society. And quite fittingly, the movie was called 'Tezaab'. The reason I liked that movie was because it somehow exuded a raw and no-holds-barred energy, that was evident in the fantastic dialogues written by Kamlesh Pandey (even Madhuri had lines that were too rough for the leading ladies of that time). Each of the characters in the movie were well etched out, whether it be Chunky Pandey (the scene of the marwari at the restaurent is still remembered), or Lotia Pathan (Kiran Kumar) or Anupam Kher or Suresh Oberoi playing the good cop. To add to that was Madhuri looking a million dollars and 'Ek Do Teen'.But the film, of course, belonged to Anil Kapoor. Right from his entry ('Tumhari zindagi aur maut ke beech ka faasla Munna ki chaaku ki dhaar se zyaada nahi hai'), Munna dominates the movie. And Tezaab still remains one of Anil Kapoor's best performances. In fact, Tezaab was one of three very good movies of the same genre but dealing with different topics within it, that released around the same time (1988-89). I have already written about Parinda in a previous post, and the third movie was JP Dutta's little-known gem 'Hathyar' (Dharmendra, Sanjay Dutt and Rishi Kapoor). Though I remember little about the movie (except Sanjay's death at the end in the toy shop surrounded by all the guns and pistols that, during his childhood, prodded him onto the road of violence), it somehow has stayed with me and I will watch it in full someday.

So that was about two very different yet very good movies in their own right !!

Cheers
Amit

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Four Years on ....

Tomorrow, it will be four years to the day. But it does not seem to far back in the past. The day that brought my city to its knees. While the other tragedies that Mumbai has witnessed in the recent past have been far more heinous and barbaric (they were man-made after all), in terms of the casualties and the breadth of people that it affected, there is quite nothing to rival what happened on 26 July 2005. After all, Mumbai received the highest recorded 24-hour rainfall for a metropolitan area in human history. And I vividly recall the day....

In fact, I recall the day before that as well. I had gone out with friends to a dinner party and came back late and crashed. Following morning, I was ready to face a fresh day at work. Outside, there was the typical July shower. One which the city had faced thousands of times before. Outwardly, there was nothing to suggest that the day was going to be any different. People rushed out, caught their daily lifelines (the local trains) and went to work like any other Tuesday. The drizzle continued, slowly increasing in intensity but never ceasing. By early afternoon, as we finished our lunch and got back to work, there were the first indications that this was not the usual monsoon day. The showers refused to subside and suddenly multiplied in intensity. This went out for about a couple of hours. By around 4 pm, offices had started shutting down. We were asked to leave at 4 pm. Even then, people did not anticipate what was in store, since there are always a couple of days like that every monsoon. But as we were leaving, news of a massive traffic jam on the Western Express Highway trickled in (our office is in Santacruz East). With no foreseeable alternative, me and a colleague set out of office on foot. And before we knew it, we were in waist deep water in Vakola (to put things in perspective, when our office closed early a couple of weeks back, the water at the same spot barely covered my toes !!). The highway was a sight to behold. Cars stuck bumper-bumper, abandoned by their owners and pedestrians wading along the divider in waist deep water. As the sun went down, power went out in most areas, giving the surroundings an eerie look. The rain, of course, was relentless. In fact, about three hours later, as we reached Andheri, it was raining so hard that the rain drops started hurting. With all shops closed, it was tough to even get a pack of biscuits. Finally, after nearly five hours of walking through mostly knee-waist high water, I reached home at Goregoan (about 12 km in all). There too, it was a dark reception.

For a city that prides itself on getting back to work the day after any tragedy, Mumbai was completely shut down for two more days. In fact the power in our office was not restored even on Friday, hence we got the rest of the week off. And the tragedy affected everyone, from the rich and famous stuck in their cars (some even lost their lives) and going without power and essential foodstuffs for three days right down to the less-fortunate slum dwellers who watched helplessly as their houses, belongings and their very lives were washed away by Nature's fury. Nearly 1000 people were killed in Mumbai and other areas in Maharashtra on that fateful day. The Mithi River, till then regarded as nothing more than one of the many nallahs that wind their way through the suburbs, suddenly was the center of all attraction. Mumbai's century old drainage system, rather the inability of the authorities to suitably augment it, came in for much flak. Four years down the line, while some things have changed for the better, there is still that lurking fear, exploited to the hilt by the media, in the heart of every Mumbaikar each day the monsoon showers appear heavier than usual: what if today turns out to be another 26/7 ??. All I can answer to that is, if there is ever another 26-7 in the city, then the phrase 'lightning does not strike twice' would have proven false !!.

So what is your 26/7 story ?

~
Amit

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Face the truth !!.. Indian television enters taboo territory !!

In a couple of hours from now, Star Plus airs the debut episode of its much-hyped reality show 'Sach Ka Samnaa' and with it, Indian television enters into completely virgin territory. Readers in India who regularly watch the idiot box need no introduction to the show. But for the benefit for people abroad, here's the deal in this reality show (it is the Indian version of 'Moment of Truth') :

Contestants will be asked, off-line, a set of questions. Now the questions are not GK or primary school arithmetic. These are real questions of the 'ouch' variety ("Have you ever thought of cheating on your spouse ?", "Did you ever feel jealous of your brother's/sister's success?" etc etc). The contestants will be wired to a lie detector while answering , so that their 'real' answers are recorded. Some of these contestants will then be asked the same questions on live television. And, the person who can completely bare his/her soul on live Indian TV (with their near/dear ones in the audience) and give the same answers as what is there in his/her heart wins. So the ones most likely to win are the ones either with the blandest lives or the ones with not a tinge of remorse or hesitation !!. And is there any one of us who belongs to either of this category ?? That is what the shows seems to ask us.

Already, the show has raked in controversy even before the first episode. Vinod Kambli apparently has revealed his not too friendly side with Tendulkar, causing a media storm. Of course, much of the show itself might be staged, but the thought of other people facing their inner demons on live television is an enticing one, sure to get eyeballs. It would seem that Star Plus has a winner, provided of course, it is sustained after the initial hype.

Regards
Amit

PS: I do not intend to follow the show, in case anyone was wondering :-)

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Sa Re Ga Ma Pa.. !! Another season, another grand climax !!

Another season of the hugely popular Marathi musical show 'Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' is coming to an end with the grand finale scheduled for next Sunday (12th July). I had written about the same show in its last season (read here), in which the hunt was on for the voice of the future. This time around, the focus is on the present. For those who, for various reasons, are not able to follow this season, this season has seen ten of the brightest professional singers take center stage with two stalwarts namely Pandit Hridayanath Mangeshkar and Suresh Wadkar judging them. And with ten talents to start off with, we are now down to the last three, who will fight it out (doesn't it seem to harsh a word to use for a singing competition ?) for the right to be called 'Maharashtra cha aaj cha awaaz' (Today's voice of Maharashtra). And the final three are Madhura Datar, Amruta Natu and Hrishikesh Ranade. My previous favourite, Vibhavaari Apte, was the last to get eliminated last week. But all three of the finalists do pack a serious punch. Check out some of their performances on You Tube (search for 'srgmp aa') . Especially do check out Madhura Dataar (who seems to hold a slight edge) in 'Mi Radhika Mi Premika'. While the last season was made memorable by the young prodigies, this time it is nothing but raw talent that has viewers glued to their televisions every Monday and Tuesday evening. And as the show approaches its finale, one can again hope that the best person finally emerges as the voice of Maharashtra. All the best to all the three !!!..

Cheers
Amit

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Raigad: In the Chhatrapati's Kingdom - Part Two

After a good afternoon's rest followed by refreshing cup of tea (machine tea I might add, since there is no kitchen at the top - everything is bought from the foothills), we set out to further explore the fort. After about an hour of revisiting the 'Balle Killa' and the market place, we rested for a while to catch the sunset. And it was one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. The pictures,of course, speak for themselves. By this time, the clouds in the sky had cleared, but the clouds below had not, giving rise to a fabulous sunset in which the sun setting over the hills was actually above the clouds in the valleys below. Not many places where you would see such a sight. Totally transfixed, we simply kept clicking, not wanting to let go the opportunity of preserving the moment for posterity. Once the sun went down, it was time to beat a hasty retreat back to the rooms since there are no lights inside the fort. So once it gets dark, it can be quite scary even with a torchlight (not to add the frequent steps where one can easily trip). We, of course, were back in our rooms in time. A typical 'thali' dinner followed (served quite early at around eight). After that was a 'gup-shup' and a card session that went way past midnight. After that, we resolved to go back to the fort in the pitch of darkness with nothing but a small torch. After going up about a dozen steps, we looked back to take a picture of the resort amidst the darkness, with the clouds still giving us company. We sat their for a few minutes. Unfortunately, the clouds deprived us of a chance to do some star-gazing, so we returned to the rooms to hit the sack.

The morning was clear as we woke up just before and set out for the Shivaji samadhi and the temple adjoining it. As if to show us the way, the sun rose almost exactly behind the samadhi itself. Reaching the samadhi made one's heart swell with pride and emotion. To offer homage at the place honouring the great warrior was a moving experience. Besides the Chhatrapati's samadhi was the memorial of his favourite dog. The last major point to visit was the Takmak Tok. Set apart from the other attractions on the fort, the Takmak Tok was used to throw off serial offenders during Shivaji's reign. Once I reached the place, I understood why. The steel fencing on both sides offered some comfort. But take them out of the equation and it is a scary affair. At the furthest point, the 'tok' (edge) is barely a couple of feet wide with deep ravines on both sides. Reaching there without the comfort of fences would have taken some courage three centuries ago.

After a breakfast of 'Pohe', it was time to leave the fort with fond memories. The return trip had a detour to the village of Pachad near the foothills, where the samadhi of Shivaji's mother, Jijabai stands. The trip to Raigad, apart from offering a much-needed respite from the daily routine, was also a throwback to the great history and legacy of my state. !!

Cheers
Amit

PS: Dear Reader.... This marks the 100th post on my blog !!!.. With your continued patronage, hope to score several centuries more !!.. Thanks a lot ;-)

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Raigad: In the Chhatrapati's Kingdom - Part One

There are some places that you visit just to get away from your daily drudgery. Such places may not have the best sights in the world, but that is never the point. With nothing really particular to visit, all you plan to do is relax, take a stroll and generally take whatever comes your way. On the other hand, there are some places that you visit with a pre-determined purpose. Such places have a particular magnetic attraction and an aura that invites thousands from near and far. For me, and most people in Maharashtra, the fort of Raigad is one such place. The capital of our state’s favourite son, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, has long held a fascination for me and last weekend, I finally managed, along with my B-school group, to reach the fort, which is literally the heart of Maratha pride.


Saturday early morning saw us (Anjali and me) jumping in the hired car and, picking others along the way, off we went on NH-17 towards Raigad. With the monsoons especially playing truant this year, we all were sceptical of the weather we would get there. Nothing we saw on our way there really gave us any relief. It continued to alternate between sunny and partly cloudy, with not a drop of rain in sight. And we could see many fields, all ploughed and sowed, ready for the showers. We were praying for the rains to give us relief, they were praying for their livelihood !!. We reached the foothills of Raigad by around noon, after a five hour drive. There we went to the base station of the famous Raigad Ropeway for a quick ride to the top. One tribute to Raigad’s prowess as a fort (it is sometimes called ‘Gibraltar of the East’) is that there is still no motorable road to the top. And before the ropeway started, the only way to reach the top was to walk the 1500 odd steps, as in olden days. Two of our group members did take that route, whereas the rest of us took the easy way out and were at the top within five minutes. Contrary to what I had read beforehand, the ropeway ride was a smooth one (though thankfully there was no wind at that time). And by around 12.30, we had reached the back door entrance of the fort.

The operators of the Raigad ropeway have accommodation facilities (strictly functional, I might add) besides the ropeway station. Hence, we checked in, freshened up and went off to explore the fort. And it is a big fort to explore!! It was certainly one of the biggest forts that I had visited (a walk from one end to the other is a good couple of km). And literally, each square foot of the fort smelt of history. The ‘Balle Killa’ (Main Fort) had the main ‘darbar’ with the Chhatrapati’s throne at the head (with his statue still proudly holding court). One could easily visualize a court session in progress, with the ministers deliberating over matters of strategic and social importance along with Maharaj himself. Behind the darbar were Shivaji’s main chambers and behind that, the chambers for the queens. Walking further ahead from the darbar, we saw the main market place of the fort. The market place consisted of a wide walkway in the middle flanked by shops on both sides. Again, the scene of a typical market day with traders (who all used to endure the three hour climb of the staircase everyday)* selling their stuff to the fort occupants arose vividly in my mind. At around this time, the weather started changing for the better !! Grey clouds started building up, the wind picked up and the approaching rain could be smelt. We stopped by at one of the few huts on the fort for a quick meal of traditional ‘zunka-bhakar’ prepared by the locals. This again was different experience for us. Sitting in that dark hut (no electricity at the top except for the two ‘resorts’), with eyes watering because of the smoke of the ‘chulha’, we had a satisfying lunch. And as we left their hut to return to our rooms, the rains hit us, with the clouds in tow. And within a few minutes, the entire scenery was transformed. The market place suddenly seemed a different place with visibility reduced to not more than 15-20m (see pic). The rains had finally come to our rescue !!!. Enjoying ourselves in the drizzle and feeling on top of the world, we returned for a good late afternoon rest.

- More to follow….

Cheers
Amit

* Regarding the traders, the most famous story is that of Hirkani, a lady living at the foothills of the fort who used to come to the top everyday to sell milk. One day, she was late in finishing off in the evening and consequently, when she reached the gates of the fort in order to go back to her place, she found that the gates had closed for the day. With her infant waiting in her village at the foothills, she scaled the fort walls and then literally descended a steep cliff and got back to her village. Shivaji Maharaj named the cliff ‘Hirkani Buruj’ in her honour and looking at that, the mind boggles as to how she could have even attempted it.

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Random thoughts on today's headlines !!

With my blog being dormant for nearly three weeks now, and with nothing really particular to write about, I figured out the best way to keep the writing habit alive is to comment on some of the day's headlines. Not only is this a good way to ensure that newspapers are read (I subscribe to four different ones - including two business dailies - and hardly read anything), but it also a good way to develop your writing skills, especially for first-time bloggers. So on a lazy Sunday morning, I finally got down to reading today's DNA and found some really interesting articles, some of which I thought of commenting on (after all, dont we all have an opinion on everything ?).

Mirch Masala in Australia: This, of course, was the front page headlines and talked about how Indians down under are arming themselves with chilli powder and pepper spray to fight off potential attackers (taking a cue from Ketan Mehta's movie in the 80s). I really think this is getting uglier and scarier by the day. A few days more of this senseless violence and we would have a full fledged diplomatic row between the two nations, spilling over to all fields. Already, some bars in Mumbai have stopped selling Fosters beer and more are expected to follow suit !!! And while the Australian cricket team's tour to India is some months away (October), if this continues, their team can expect more than a hostile reception here. The other thing, of course, is that an eye-for-an-eye policy rarely brings with it any positive results. So here's hoping that all this hostility on both sides quickly becomes a thing of the past, else we might have to see full-blown clashes on the streets of Melbourne and Sydney.

Black Leopard spotted after 67 years: This was the headline that really cheered me up. To think that a species of leopard, hitherto thought of to be nearly extinct, can be seen after so many years in the Sahyadris is quite heartening. Just goes to show that there are still tracts of forest here in India that can still harbour big animals like this without the outside world seeing them for so long. This, in itself, is fantastic.

Call of the Sahyadris: With the monsoons round the corner (and hope they finally arrive this week), the Sahyadris is the place to go. With a myriad of forts dotting the landscape, the onset of monsoons signals the start of the trekking season. Especially during the first few rains, when the ground is still not soft enough to be dangerous for trekking, there are plenty of opportunities for avid trekkers to enjoy nature at its best. This year, I hope to have a few weekend outings there, starting with a visit to Raigad coming weekend.

Want your area cleaned ? You can make it happen !!. This is another novel idea to improve our local governance. Once this act is passed, each polling booth will have an Area Sabha with the councillor as the chairman. All registered voters would be members of this Sabha. This Sabha would have the right to suggest priority of schemes and development programmes to be implemented in the area. The only question is, who is going to listen and take appropriate action ??. Also, as with most good intentions, the success of this idea lies in its execution. For example, in any case only half (or even less) of the registered voters actually vote. So how many of them will voluntarily turn up to be members of this Sabha and, more importantly, participate in it regularly. I do not mean to sound pessimistic, but I do sincerely wish this idea a lot of success, since it is neccessary to give more teeth to the lowest level of the government that most directly interacts with the general public.

So these were some random comments of today's headlines !! Hope to make this a regular feature henceforth...

Cheers
Amit

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Even the mightiest fall !!!!!!!!!

Today, I heard those lines again. And as always, they bought a lump to my throat. Forget even hearing, even when I hum those lines in my mind, they touch somewhere deep down. But today, I also read a complete translation of those lines. And in the midst of reading it, the view of the screen got blurred… So here is my tribute to probably my favourite poem of all time.

The opening lines go like this:

“hue naam warr benishan kaise kaise
zameen kha gayi naujawan kaise kaise

aaj jawani par itaranae wale kal pacthtayega - 2
chadhta suraj dheere dheere dhalta hain dhal jayega - 2
dhal jayega dhal jayega”

“(See) how the famous have now lost their signatures
The earth has eaten up quite a few heroes..
So (you) who today prides himself on his youth, will regret it tomorrow..
The rising sun will eventually set”

At this point, readers who have listened to this qawaali need not read further. Since having once listened carefully to this masterpiece in shayaari that is so depressing yet so very true, no one will ever forget it. But for those who have never heard of it, I will just sample a few verses, though listening to the entire eleven-minute narration will drive home (very badly, I might add) the point. Of course, a slight understanding of Urdu would definitely aid.

So here are some other gems from ‘Chadta Suraj Dheere Dheere Dhalta Hai, Dhal Jaayega’ (pardon my inaccurate translation in some cases)

“maut ne zamane ko yeh sama dikh dala
kaise kaise us gum ko khak main mila dala
khak main mila dala khak main mila dala
yaad rakh sikander ke hausle to aali they
jab gaya tha duniya se dono haath khali they
dono haath khali they dono haath khali they
apna woh halaku hain aur na uske saathi hain
jung ko chu woh porus hain aur na uske haathi hain
aur na uske haathi hain aur na uske haathi hain
kal jo tanke chalte they apni shano shaukat par
shamma tak nahi jalti aaj unki purbat par”

“(See) what seasons has death shown the world
(See) how it has reduced the once mighty to dust
Remember that Alexander was the greatest
But he was empty-handed when he left the world
Neither was his strong army around nor were his comrades
And neither did he leave with his enemy (Porus) or his elephants
(The person) who till yesterday was proud of his fame and power
Today not even a candle burns on his grave’

And sample another one…

“maut sabko aani hain kaun isse chuta hain
tu fana nahi hoga yeh khayal jhutha hain
yeh khayal jhutha hain yeh khayal jhutha hain
saans tutate hi sab rishtey tut jaayenge
baap, maa, behan, biwi, Bachhe choot jayenge
bachhe choot jayenge Bachhe choot jayenge
tere jitne hain bhai waqt ka chalan denge
chin kar teri daulat do hi gaj kafan denge
do hi gaj kafan denge do hi gaj kafan denge”

“Death has come to all, no one has escaped
That you will not be destroyed
Is but a delusionary thought
The moment you take your last breath, all relationships would snap
Father, Mother, Sister, Wife and Children, you would leave all behind
Your so called ‘brothers’ will quietly bid their time
And then (after your death) steal your wealth
And leave only two yards of grave for you”

Of course there are several other such profound lines in this qawaali, so go ahead and listen. If you cannot find it, you can always mail me at amitg13@gmail.com, will send the MP3 version.


Cheers
Amit

PS: Thanks for Amitabh Iyer's blog for a good attempt at translating this..

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Dear Dr. Manmohan Singh !!!...

Dear Hon. Prime Minister

 

I write to you on a day that is perhaps the most significant days in recent Indian history. Over the past month, the people of India have, after nearly two decades, voted almost decisively for a pre-poll alliance. (In fact, I read on one television channel that this is the most decisive result since your party was thrown out in 1977!!). As a result, today you find yourself having an almost obstacle-free path to the PM’s seat. And I for one am pleasantly surprised. Yesterday, I wrote on my blog, fearing for the kind of games our politicians would be playing in order to get to that 272 mark. Thankfully, the nation would not be seeing those now and your party along with its allies (plus some minor support here and there) should be able to comfortably occupy the treasury benches in the Lok Sabha. Here I also admit that you are not one of my favourite leaders (though I have the highest respect for you from amongst your breed). But anyways, what I feel matters the least today.

But I am not writing just to congratulate you, your party and allies for winning the election. I am sure that you realize the enormity of the task ahead of you. By decisively giving you a mandate, the billion strong population of this country has placed the highest expectations from you. And I am no different. Your future government is already being called the first real Congress government since 1989. Meaning that you have now virtually a free hand in running the government, at least the finances. To add to that, the presence of a former finance minister at the helm will further raise hopes. One hopes that without the interference of the Left and other allies, your government would be able to carry out its financial agenda and tackle the real issues head-on. Of course, I am hardly qualified to inform you on the real issues that face us, but I cannot resist !!. Security of course has become numero uno for some time now and I hope your government is able to provide reassurance to its citizens that visits to shopping malls and travelling in local trains need not be accompanied by doubts on whether one would return home safely. On the finances front, its now time to reverse all those populist policies that have caused a nearly 10% fiscal deficit last year. With the Left and the others becoming less relevant, I sincerely hope that subsidies are reduced to the extent that people pay a fair price for the petrol they use and the power they consume. Then there is the question of bills in crucial areas like insurance, retail, women representation etc. that were stuck up because of political opposition within the former government. One last area that I would like to mention is agriculture. It is about time that Indian agriculture is made into an investment-worthy sector, so that one day people from the cities would look to the villages to invest, directly or indirectly, in agriculture. And while I do not expect your government to deliver overnight, you now have five solid years to deliver good, decisive and growth-oriented governance. The budget due next month would definitely be your first chance to make your intentions clear. The country would await that.

To sum up, today’s verdict has given birth to a new wave of optimism throughout the country, atleast amongst the urban sector. (CNBC is already predicting a circuit breaking rally on Monday !!). How much of that optimism is misplaced will only be clear in the following weeks. But it is now time to assert yourself (and I was pleasantly surprised to see you during the campaign, where you were unusually blunt, especially while reacting to LK Advani’s remarks). Now is the time to carry that decisiveness to the PM’s chair. Freed of the shackles of coalition governance, the years 2009 to 2014 have the potential to go down in history as the period in which India started its march from a developing nation encumbered by populist policies and underperforming governments to being one of the economic powerhouses of the world. And my generation, nearing or crossed thirty, eagerly look forward to these five years.

I sincerely hope that your government meets the expectations that the common people right from Mumbai to Manipur and from Srinagar to Sivakasi now have from you. All the very best !!!!!

 

Yours truly,

A common Indian citizen

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Let the games begin !!!!!

Tomorrow dawns the big day finally !! When the bigger IPL (Indian Political League) is played out, captured live by the many news channels catering to the millions who would be practically glued to their television screens (I know I would be) since morning. And by all indications, this IPL is certain to match yesterday's IPL (the bat-ball variety) match for sheer drama and intrigue. With neither of the main alliances coming anywhere close to the magic 272 mark, it looks pretty certain that the formation of the next government could take a few days more. And in that interim, one has no doubt that all sorts of games (the good, the bad and the downright ugly) would be played. Suddenly, ideologies would take a backseat (if they haven't already), political pariahs would be sought after and each elected independent would be worth his or her weight in gold (and I daresay, might also be paid so !!). In all this maneuvering, the thoughts that would be the furthest in the minds of the netas and mantris would be on how to best serve their constituencies, whether in power or in the opposition !! So people like you and me who have cast their votes to bring these men and women to power would ultimately be at the receiving end of another five years of ordinary governance. 

So all eyes focussed on tomorrow morning when the grand finale of the world's largest democratic exercise takes place !! As for people like us, we can only pray that whoever stumbles across the finish line tomorrow would have a stable government to start with, since that atleast would enable it to take some strong decisions without having to worry about someone pulling the rug from under their feet. As they say, 'sar salaamat to pagdi hazaar' !!

And finally, hats off to those lakhs of returning officers and polling officials who have made such a mammoth exercise possible !!

Cheers

Amit

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'2 minute' karte karte 25 saal !!!!!

Urban India's favourite snack is turning 25 !!!! And Nestle, rightly so, is celebrating it by inviting people from all over to write in their memorable Maggi moments.. see here. Looking back now, a childhood with Maggi seems almost unimaginable. Right from the time I used to come back from school and get treated to a bowl of piping hot Maggi Chicken by Mom to today, when my wife still serves up Maggi Masala in a jiffy for breakfast, Maggi has always been part of my, and indeed, all our lives. And all of us have our memorable Maggi moments. For me, the one I remember most was during my B-school stint, where Maggi was the hot favourite at the night canteen. Well past midnight, when the world was asleep, the hostels were buzzing with activity, and very few were as active as the guy at the night canteen. With an almost un-ending demand from the hungry night owls to contend with (till about 2 am), he used to simply process a batch of a dozen packs a time in a big vessel and around it would gather the students, eagerly waiting to lay their hands on those beloved strands of yellow flour. Just went to show how universally liked Maggi was, and still is. 

So whats your favourite Maggi Moment ???

Cheers

Amit

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Post script to my previous post..

In my previous post, I had made the point that as a community, we Maharashtrians need to be more inwardly looking in order to address the shortcomings within us. Especially in the area of enterpreunership and running business, there is a lot that we need to learn. Two incidents regarding this which I myself have observed:

a. On more than one Saturday morning, I have got out of home trying to find a good Maharasthrian breakfast (Misal Pao, Pohe, Khichdi etc). Now there are three decent eateries serving the above-mentioned items (and more) within walking distance from my place. However, much to my dissapointment, I have discovered that these eateries do not open before 9 am, whereas the idli-wallahs and vada-pao stalls are out in force before 8 am !!!!. Surely, 8 am is not too early a time to expect people to have their breakfast at !!

b. Last Saturday, I encountered a unique incident. I had gone to a famous Maharashtrian restaurent in Girguam along with my wife. The restaurent had recently opened an AC section (presumably to attract more non-Marathi customers, since most of us would think twice before going to an AC restaurent, but that is a different point !!!). So attached to that AC section was the rest room, with tastefully designed wash basins and three toilets. However when I went to use the rest-room, I found out that the toilets were locked !!. On inquiring with the waiter, I could not believe my ears when he said that there was a common key to those toilets that had been misplaced !!!!. I simply could not comprehend why anyone would like to : a) Keep a loo under lock and key and b) have a single key for all. And if this story was indeed true, then god alone knows for how many days the toilets were lying unused while customers had to look to someplace to lessen their misery. And if this was a made up story, it is even sadder for it showed that the management was not keen on customers using those places. So why were they built anyways ???. Needless to mention, I left the place not wanting to return (even though the food itself was great) simply because of the complete lack of customer sensitivity on view. And I could not help myself wondering that such a thing could have been made possible only at a Maharashtrian owned business !!!. I hope so much that I am wrong !!!..

Regards

Amit

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Marathi pride awakened ??? Not quite..

The plot could hardly have been better.

- A community that has long felt marginalized and has been reduced to a minority in the capital of its own state.
- A community that has seen the winds of progress blow past it, while it has been busy leading a typical life: working in a bank as a clerk, earning enough to enable the family to survive, bringing up their children with all the right values, investing whatever little savings they have in good old fixed deposits and pension funds and then finally retiring peacefully.
- A community that harbours more than a grudge against the so-called ‘outsiders’ perceived to have taken over their city and livelihood but fails to realize that somewhere most of the blame lies inside
- A community that prides itself on its simplicity and loyalty but has somehow not really translated that into success and prosperity

So who better to awaken this community from its deep slumber than the person whom they regard as closest to God? A warrior, who by his exploits more than three centuries ago, still holds complete sway over the heart and mind of every member of that community ? In trying to bring this plot to life, ‘Mi Shivaji Raje Boltoy’ had everything going for it. However, to put it in a nutshell, while the movie does raise some valid questions, it does not go the full distance. And I, as a proud member of the above-mentioned community, confess to being more than disappointed.

Dinkar Bhosale epitomizes the middle-class Maharashtra community in modern Mumbai. He is a common man with not so uncommon problems in life. His ancestral bungalow in the heart of Mumbai has caught the eye of a builder who, of course, is willing to go to any lengths to get it. His nagging wife never ceases to remind him of their dull existence. His son resents him for neither having the will nor the resources to pay the donation required to get him into an engineering college. And his daughter is willing to get her ‘down-market’ surname changed so that she can be ‘accepted’ into Bollywood and fulfil her acting ambitions. And for Mr. Bhosale, his daily life is confined to dutifully going to his bank each day, longingly staring at the shirt in an upmarket store which he likes but cannot afford, bringing the same ordinary fish for dinner rather than the prized ‘paaplet’ and finally listening to his family members ranting about how insignificant their lives are. After one particularly rough night at the bar, Dinkar comes home bruised and beaten and longs for inspiration to rescue him from this non-consequential existence. And inspiration finally comes in the form of his namesake and Maharashtra’s demi-god, Chhatrapati Shivaji Raje Bhosale.

At this juncture comes the movie’s high-point. Dinkar is transported into the Chhatrapati’s darbar atop Pratapgad fort. And the Chhatrapati gives him an earful about how he himself is to blame for his ordinary life. There the king (and through it, the director) makes the right noises. One particularly hard truth is the fact that most Maharashtrian restaurants and sweet-shops take pride in announcing ‘Aamchi kuthe hi shakha nahi’ (‘We have no other branch’) where in fact, they should be looking at expanding their business and generating income. Having made these, and other, painful truths clear to the audience, one was hoping that the remainder of the movie could been utilized for sending a powerful and hard-hitting message to the Maharashtrians as to how their own lack of ambition is partly responsible for the state they find themselves in, and further forcing them to introspect and possibly revive the ‘Marathi asmita (pride}’ within them (albeit in a constructive way !!).

Sadly, the remainder of the movie does not have anything specific to Marathi or the Maharashtrian community. It details how Dinkar (taking inspiration from the deeds of the Chhatrapati) transforms himself to a social crusader, fighting the powerful builder-politician-goon lobby and of course, his own internal demons. The common-man-fighting-the-system plot has already been revisited again and again by Bollywood. Hence, to that extent, the post-interval movie does not have anything significant to offer. Both the Bhosales are reduced to just any other names. And that, to me, is the movie’s biggest letdown. The first half of the movie has a strong Marathi connection which is simply let go of in the crucial second half. I have a sneaking suspicion that the makers might have been unnerved by the strong political and social reactions that an out-out ‘Marathi awakening’ movie would have generated and hence opted for a typical common man v/s system saga with only the principal characters being Maharashtrians. Whatever be the reason, it finally diluted the impact of what could have been a great path-breaking movie into just another good movie. As for the performances, Sachin Khedekar is excellent as the protagonist, conveying both the pathos of the middle-class weakling as well as the steel of the born-again Dinkar in the second half, with equal ease. However, Mahesh Manjrekar does not quite look the part of the Chhatrapati. For one, the get up makes him look too old. A younger Chhatrapati might probably have looked better (remember that he was only 53 when he died). And it also reinforces the notion that known actors do not make good historical characters since the audience ends up looking at the actor rather than the character.

To sum up, ‘Mi Shivaji Raje Boltoy’ is worth a watch if you enter the movie hall with lesser expectations. And if you can leave the hall with a desire to awaken the Marathi manoos in you, it will be worth the experience.

Regards
Amit

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Wall Street in the 80s: unplugged and unravelled !!!

Wall Street in the 1980s was, by all accounts, on hell of a place to be in, provided you were at the right place at the right time !!.. Commonly reffered to as the 'decade of greed' , this was the heyday of new and esoteric financial wizardry (or 'conning' depending on where you stood) that seemed to engulf the American financial system. The "glory times" of the 80s have been portrayed in several forms of media, notably amongst them the 1987 movie 'Wall Street' starring Micheal Douglas and Charlie Sheen ("Greed, for want of a better word, is good") and in several books including 'The Bonfires of the Vanities' and Micheal Lewis's brilliant semi-autobiographical story ("Liars Poker") of his days as a bond salesman in Saloman Brothers ("Never before in the history of humanity have so many people become so rich with so little"). One amongst the several phenomenon that came into prominence was that of the leveraged buy-outs (LBO), wherein a group of investors take over a company using large amounts of borrowed money (hence leveraged buy outs). The second half of the decade saw numerous such deals, none of which was bigger or attracted more attention than the late 1988 takeover of RJR Nabisco. And the fascinating battle for control of RJR Nabisco has been chronicled in the all-time classic book 'Barbarians at the Gate', which I have just finished reading the second time (the first one was during my B-school days).

Written by then Wall Street reporters John Helyar and Bryan Burroughs, 'Barbarians at the Gate' has been widely regarded as one of the best business books ever. And few real-life events in the business world have been depicted so throughouly and thrillingly. However, along with the drame involved in the takeover battle, the authors also give us a glimpse into the mind of Wall Street in those days, where a number of so-called 'investment bankers', brokerages and lawyers made millions of dollars as fees advising Corporate America on everything including take-overs and LBOs. Also, it focusses on the king-size egos that the leading players in the drama had, none more evident that when the warring factions (the management team, Shearson Lehmann Hutton and Saloman Brothers on one side and Kohlberg Kravis and Drexel Burnham on the other) were close to joining forces, an otherwise minor detail on who should run the junk bond offering required to finance the deal resulted in a collapse of talks and resuming of hostilities. And as the hostilities increased, the bid value zoomed from $ 75 a share to almost $ 110, making it the costliest takeover of a company in American history (at $ 25 billion). All this and much more has been put to paper in a most engaging yet simple way, so that one need not be a finance graudate to understand the technicalities of the goings-on.

'Barbarians at the Gate' is one book that no one should miss !!..

Regards

Amit

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Jaane Bhi do, a movie like this will never come again !!!!...

Very occasionally does it happen that some of the finest talents in any particular field (let alone film-making) come together to pitch in their collective expertise and create a product. Usually, such a collaboration leads to an outcome that falls way short of the sky-high expectations from it. However, in the rarest of rare cases, the outcome is nothing short of spectacular and becomes close to immortal. In 1983, a fresh batch of out-going students from the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) got together, persuaded their alma mater to fund a movie on a less than shoe-string budget and came out with a movie that is universally regarded to be one of the finest ever to grace Indian cinema.

Surely, the names that came together to create that cult classic called 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron' is staggering. A bunch of remarkable actors (Naseer, Ravi Baswani, Bhakti Barve, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapoor, Satish Shah et al ) and equally adept technicians (Kundan Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Binod Pradhan, Sudhir Mishra and Renu Saluja to name a few) blended beautifully to carve out a masterpiece of a movie (am sure it will appear on any movie buffs top 10 movies of all times). And if ever can one movie define a whole genre, then surely JBDY epitomizes the black comedy genre. In fact, making subtle comedies (as opposed to the usual slapstick fare) is such a risky business than there have less than a handful of such movies that Bollywood has made !! . Which makes you marvel even more at the subtle references throughout the film to social life and the corruption therein. For me, the greatest beauty of JBDY is that while you are bursting at the seams with laughter one moment, the next scene immediately drives home the pathos associated with living life as a common man amidst a web of deceit and corruption. For example, sample this: the climax of the movie, as everyone knows, is that classic 'Draupadi-Vastraharan' scene from the Mahabharat (kudos to Kundan Shah and Sudhir Mishra for this gem of an idea and for its execution that led to a scene that is unparalleled in movie annals). Now this scene of course, gets you ROTFL (to use the SMS lingo ;-). But after that climax is the final scene when the two protagonists are shown walking on the streets of Mumbai dressed as prisoners with 'Hum Honge Kaamyaab' in the background !! . That scene causes a lump-in-the-throat moment, reminding the viewer that finally it is the common man who always ends up on the losing side while everyone else goes scot-free (in fact, kudos again to Kundan and Sudhir for ending the movie this way instead of the run-of-the-mill ending in which the conspirators go to jail and the protagonists become heroes).

The other endearing aspect of JBDY is the liberal references to real-life characters (Bhakti Barve's character named and modelled on Shobhaa De) and incidents (the flyover collapse in the movie mirrored the collapse of the Byculla flyover in the 80s). These make it easier for everyone to identify with the movie. Also the subtleties in the movie are impossible to ignore, for e.g. the corrupt builder bribing the BMC commissioner while high up on the pickup crane and looking down on the slums of the city, the dog peeing on the street in the opening scene illustrating the plight of the common man etc etc. The power of the screenplay along with the performances make Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron a must-see for generations to come !!.


Cheers
Amit

** ROTFL: Rolling on the floor in laughter

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India Shining Again ?????

Recieved an SMS some time back from none other than the BJP !!! Yes, this is the new-age communication channel wherein political parties (though only the BJP so far has latched on it) reach out to their voters through the cellphone. Anyways, the SMS informed the voter that LK Advani had unveiled 'BJP's grand IT vision for transforming India !!'. And what does it entail ?

- Rs 10K laptop to over 1 crore students
- Internet-enabled education in every school
- E-Banking for every Indian
- 1.2 crore new IT-enabled jobs in rural areas alone

Now these are some numbers !!! And using IT, the BJP is all set to transform India (if it comes to power that is). Forget even how they are going to set about achieving this grandiose vision, one can legitimately ask where this is indeed the solution to the problems that plague the country ??

- Does giving Rs 10K laptop to over 1 crore students really help when a sizable proportion of them have to drop out of school because either their fathers have committed suicide or they are sucked into the family occupation to support a growing family ?

- Of what use is Internet-enabled education in every school when we cannot even find enough teachers to teach at those schools (not because we lack quality teachers but because teaching itself has been made into a singularly unattractive career option)

- How can a person who has not even completed basic schooling ever get on the Internet banking website and enter his account number and password ??

But it seems nobody in our political class has thought of this. Of course, you will turn around and say that this is all pre-election mumbo-jumbo and come June, everything will be forgotten. But then if this is so, I cannot comprehend whom the BJP is trying to win over by these announcements. Surely not the educated urban elite, who do not get to benefit by this and who, of course, can see through them anyways !!. Or is it India's 60 odd crore rural population, whom this vision promises to transform ? But then, I can hazard a guess that a school-going child in any of the thousands of villages across India will be more relieved to find a good teacher waiting for him/her in school rather than a laptop and broadband connection !! And a farmer would also be happier to get credit with reasonable terms from his neighbourhood bank rather than an Internet banking kit.

Hope the BJP realizes this or this might end up as another 'India Shining' campaign that cost them so much last time around.

Cheers
Amit

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Jai Ho, India !!!!!!!!!!!!!

It has been a remarkable week. Possibly each day of the week has bought, atleast for me, an event or a piece of news that in itself is significant enough for this country. And to use the flavour of the season, and the so-called 'anthem of the world' (as per NDTV yesterday), one can only say 'Jai Ho, India !!!!!'. Or you can call it the 'Jai Ho Bulletin' !!!...:)

Monday, Feb 23: Thousands of Indians awoke, switched on their TV sets (atleast the lucky ones like me who had a holiday on account of Mahashivratri) , tuned into Star Movies (which otherwise hardly 5% of u ever watch) and watched with bated breath the 'coming-of-age' of Indian cinema on the world stage. And when our very own Mozart from Madras won not one but two golden statuttes (and very deservingly so), the Indian media and the country celebrated in their own inimitable style. And the success of Slumdog Millionare was also celebrated in no less measure. In fact, I am surprised that no one in the government has thought of conferring the Bharat Ratna on Danny Boyle for 'successfully bringing the real India on to the world stage' !!. But atleast for AR Rahman, this was truly a 'Jai Ho India !!!' moment.

Tuesday, Feb 24: In another stimulus package, the UPA govt reduced the excise duty and service tax by 2% each. The media made it appear as if most things in the world were going to be cheaper (as if a 2% reduction in my mobile bill seems much). While this in itself is not objectionable, what went unnoticed is that the total fiscal deficit (centre+state) has now touched a disastrous 10% of the GDP. No wonder that the country was downgraded (in a credit rating sense) to a level just above junk !! Which now means that Indian companies will have to bear even higher interest costs for overseas loans. And while I am no financial expert, I can only say 'Jai Ho, India !!!' to the profligate spending policies of the government that has bought us this far.

Wednesday, Feb 25: Watched an NDTV report saying that the preparation for the Commonwealth Games 2010 in New Delhi are way behind schedule and at this rate, there is a very serious possibility that we would not be capable of holding the games at all. Now imagine if that happens. I shudder to even think of the thought. A country that bid and won the right to host the games, had more than 4 years to get the facilities in order but still could not deliver. That will some national embarrasement which, ironically, a completely new establishment would have to face !!!!. I can imagine the Royal Queen (head of the Commonwealth) saying 'Jaeee Hoo.. India !!'.

Thursday, Feb 26: Exactly three months since the day the country witnessed its most audacious and deadly terrorist strikes, the chargesheet for the same was finally filed. Now all eyes would be on the trial itself and how swiftly our famous judicial machine can get around to announcing a verdict and, more importantly, how quickly the verdict would be executed. Preliminary estimates say the whole process can take about 6-8 months (if this seems long, consider that the 93 Mumbai blasts case took more than 12 years to reach a conclusion). So if we can see everything done and dusted by the end of this year, it will be some kind of improvement and maybe some of us can say 'Jai Ho, India !!!'.

Friday, Feb 27: This is a personal incident and possibly the most important in my eyes. As I was going to work in the morning, the train stopped for its regular halt at Vile Parle station. In about half a minute, I saw five people spitting across the tracks. While I was walking from Santacruz station to my office (about a 15 minute walk), I saw another six people spitting on the road as if it was their own big bathroom (oh sorry, they must be keeping their bathrooms spotlessly clean !!). And atleast one of those was dressed in a crisp shirt and matching trousers, probably having a white-collar job. So if anyone is under the impression that lack of civic sense is synonymous with poverty and illiteracy, think again !!. I was so disgusted at the time, and when I saw a billboard announcing Rahman's achievement, the thought of writing this post occured to me. To the lack of civic sense in my fellow countrymen, I can only sadly say.. 'Jai Ho, India !!'....

- Amit

PS: Talking of 'Jai Ho'.. I have just finishing downloading the movie that first made those two words famous. Remember that immortal final sequence of the Mahabharat ???... 'Jai Ho, Jai Ho, aisi sati ki Jai Ho !!!'.. yes, it was that unforgettable cult movie 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron !'.. more about that movie, in my next post !!..

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PARINDA: Reliving a classic !!!!

In every genre of movies, there are some that stand the test of time. In fact, there are some that are ahead of their times, thus growing on their audience as the years roll by. The underworld has always been one of Bollywood's favourite themes. In keeping with the truism that movies are a mirror of social life, the 'gangster-n-underworld' movie genre rose into prominence in the 1980s, about the same time when the word 'underworld' itself became part of Mumbai life (movies like 'Mujhe Jeene Do', 'Zanjeer', 'Dharmaatma' etc before that were either 'daaku'-movies or Godfather wannabes). Once the genre started growing in popularity, there followed a flood of movies depicting the goings-on in the underworld. But one of the first such movies made remains an all-time classic. In late 1989 came Vidhu Vinod Chopra and his brilliant take on life in the underworld.

About two decades on, Parinda remains a classic not just of its genre, but in the annals of the Hindi movie industry itself. And for people of my age, who first saw it while at school (never mind the A certificate then ;-), seeing it again invokes more than a standing applause for Chopra and his team. At our age now, we are able to better appreciate the finer nuances in the movie which would have escaped us before. Of course, I hardly need reiterate the storyline !!. But what stands out about the movie is its technical brilliance (even when compared to today's movies) and the performances. Some of the scenes remain imprinted on your mind forever. Everyone remembers the final scenes of the couple's horrible end on their wedding night (when I watched that a couple of days back, I could feel the lump in my throat**) and Kishen's subsequent revenge on Anna. But some other gems are the killing of Inspector Prakash at the famous Kabutar Khana and the subsequent killing of one his assailants Abdul (Suresh Oberoi) at that very spot. The other scene that I absolutely adored is the Jackie-Anil confrontation scene when Anil asks his elder brother about his activities. The reply given by Jackie ('Bas us din jo bhaaga to aaj tak bhaag raha hoon'.. and some other wonderful lines) touches you deep down somewhere. Also, bear in mind that throughout the movie there are no scenes of groups of people weilding AK-47s and killing each other by the dozen. Apart from the pivotal killings that are integral to the storyline, there is hardly any graphic violence in the film. But still, the power of the movie hits you hard. In fact, forget the violence, the movie has one of the finest music scores ever for a gangster movie. RD Burman gives us wonderful gems like 'Tumse Milke', 'Pyaar Ke Mod Pe' and 'Kitni Hai Pyaari Pyaari Dosti Hamari'. Truly remarkable music tracks for what is neither a love story or a musical !!!

Of course, what elevate Parinda to its height are the masterful performances. It would still rank as Jackie's finest performance (he received his only Filmfare award for this movie) and you have to see him in the scene mentioned above. Anil Kapoor was also amazing, conveying not just the vulnerability of a young man coming face-face with the turbulence his life undergoes in an instant, but also the ruthlessness of a man taking revenge of his friend's killing. While Madhuri was relegated to the backseat, she still managed to leave an impression, while of course looking a million bucks !!!. The movie also boasts of splending cameos, right from Anupam Kher and Suresh Oberoi all the way to Sameer Khakkar (more famous as the 'bevda' from Nukkad) as the one-legged Iqbal. And how I can forget Anna !!!.. It still beats me why Anna is not spoken of in the same breath as Gabbar and Mogambo when one considers the best of the anti-heroes of Indian cinema. In his first major role in Hindi cinema, Nana Patekar announced himself in no uncertain terms as a talent to reckon with. Inspite of his subsequent achievements, Nana and Anna are linked together not just as anagrams but as a gifted actor and his finest portryal.

Are you still reading this post ??? If so, drop it and get the DVD of this awesome movie on torrent right now (I got it from there..) !!! Download it and enjoy reliving the experience !!..

Cheers
Amit

** One of the nuance I missed earlier was that the last line spoken by Anil before the couple is massacred is: 'Siddarth.. (refering to his would-be kid's name)... woh is duniya main shaanti laayega'.. Dreams of a peaceful life in one instant, the elimination of life itself in the very next !!!!!...

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More on the missed delivery by Fedex !!!!

Over the past week, have been browsing through blogosphere and have been heartened by some of the blogs put up by friends, acquantiances and others about the Australian Open final. More than the match itself, the presentation and Federer's tears seem to have struck a raw nerve somewhere. Felt good to know that apart from great writing talent that many of us have, Fedex has not lost one bit of his fan base. Some of the posts are:

1. Ketan Kulkarni has written a nice short piece (in Marathi too !!) about the tears, Read it here.

2. Kaumudi has written a moving letter to the champion herself !!. Get that here.

3. Read another piece here.

Would love to read more about a most extraordinary tennis match and its aftermath !!

Cheers
Amit

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A match and rivalry to cherish........

This is my first post on tennis. This is a sport that I used to follow regularly as a kid. While in school, I used to regularly watch the Grand Slam finals on Doordarshan (no cable TV back then). I even used to stay up to watch the US Open finals at 1.30 am !!. Those were the days of guys like Lendl, Becker, Wilander, Agassi, Courier , Graf, Sabatini, and of course, my all-time favourite, the cool Swede Stefan Edberg. Then the Pete Sampras era began in the mid-90s, and as Edberg and his peers bid adieu, I lost interest in tennis. This was also about the age when the power players like Safin, Hewitt began to prosper, services started getting faster and the good ol' serve and volley game became an endangered species even at its native Wimbledon.

Then in 2003, Roger Federer came on the scene by winning Wimbledon, a title that he would not relinquish for five more years. With him, touch play was back in demand. As FedEx went about dominating world tennis, it seemed that the sport was once again going back to being a one-man show. Then from Spain came along Rafa and set about creating one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history.

Today's epic 4hr-23min, 5 setter between the two greats surely marks the zenith of the rivalry. Just about six months back, they gave us what many still call 'the greatest final in history' (another epic 5 setter at Wimbledon). I was unfortunate enough to miss that match, but if that was better than what I watched today, then I missed something really special then. But, coming back to today, the standard of tennis in the 3rd and 4th set was out of the world !!!!! (and it was really sad to see Federer falling apart in the decider). Incredible angles were constructed, lost points were won, balls that could hardly be reached by lesser mortals were converted to winners !!. And speaking of winners, we finally had the most deserving winner. Though I was rooting for Federer, I doff my hat off to the way Nadal plays. Those who dismiss him as a power player completely miss the point (of course, you do not win 6 Slams by just being a powerhouse). Nadal's greatest strength is his coverage and his ability to 'boldy go where no one has gone before' (in terms of court coverage). Its this ability that makes him so tough to beat. And Federer, even after playing as well as he could, finally succumbed to Nadal's resilience in the final set. To point out on observation (though I am no expert in tennis), Federer's best phase in the match came when he started coming to the net more often. He could probably have continued this in the last set, since you cannot sit on the baseline and beat Nadal in a slugfest from the back. And the tears at the post-match ceremony probably told a tale. It was as if Federer was acknowleding that as long as he keeps bumping into the same man of the other side, his dream of equalling and beating Sampras's record will remain just that. So someone else needs to do the job for Federer !!. As for Nadal, he is now well on his way in the journey from being just a clay-court specialist to an all-round performer. Another couple of years of this and he will be mentioned in the same breath as the former greats of the games !!!

Till then, let us remember this special match today and savour a classic tennis rivalry. Can these two gladiators treat us to something even more special ????? It would be worth miles to travel and worth a fortune to spend watching !!!

Cheers
Amit

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The Li'l Champs finale is here !!!

After about four months of high-quality competition, the Marathi singing contest show Idea Sa Re Ga Ma approaches its grand finale. I have been an avid follower of this show (as an earlier post would indicate) and have been captivated by the level of performance on display. And now there are five contestants remaining, each one of whom has gone through many rounds and has consistently given his/her best. This week's episodes were especially wonderful, given that Republic Day was celebrated by invoking the best of patriotic numbers in Marathi. I, for one, cannot wait for the finale (and am irritated by Zee Marathi's delay in holding the mega finale !!).

Anyways, coming back to the finalists, in my opinion, the slight front-runners are Prathamesh Laghate from Sangameshwar near Ratnagiri and Pune's very own Aarya Ambekar. Both have been simply outstanding throughout most of the shows. Prathamesh has made classical and semi-devotional numbers his own, effortlessly crooning them in his own style. On the other hand, Aarya's cute smile and personality perfectly compliments her sweet voice, thus giving her that extra edge when it comes to soft romantic numbers. In fact, one of the highlights of the show has been that each of the finalists seems to have made a particular genre his/her own. Apart from these two, there is Rohit Raut who, with almost a rock-star personality, makes fast numbers even more rocking !! . And then there are the two little ladies, Mugdha Vaishampayan and Kartiki Gaikwad who seem to have left everyone else behind in the popularity charts. They will have the public support behind them (since SMSes sent by the public would have half the say in deciding the final winner).

Inspite of however wins the finals, I would forever remember this season of the show as one that bought me closer to the rich musical traditions of my mother tounge (which I admit I had never appreciated before). And once having got a taste of that, I hope to enrich it further. May the best participant win !!!

Cheers
Amit

PS: For those abroad who cannot watch the show, all the songs are avaliable for download on the Zee Marathi website: here . Recommended especially are 'Dayaghana' and 'Tya Phulaanchya Gandhkoshi' by Prathamesh, 'Malmali Tarunya Majhe' by Aarya. For non-Marathis, listen to 'Paan Khaye Saiya Hamaro' by Aarya (that I bet would have made Asha Bhosle proud) and 'Laga Chunari Main Daag' by Rohit !!! Although I admit, that the actual versions sound better the downloaded versions.

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Things that I learnt yesterday...

Initially, I had planned to write my account of the Mumbai Marathon 2009 with the usual stuff : how did I get there, how did it start, the enthusiasm of the people, the color and sound that accompanied the event etc etc. But then I realised that not only would that description be similar to what you would normally read in the newspapers the next day, it would also be a virtual copy-paste of my earlier posts on the Marathon. So this time, I decided to focus on something else and share what I learnt about the marathon yesterday. For the record, though, I managed to complete the 21km Half marathon course in 3 hrs 09 min, three minutes more than last year. Given that my target this time was a sub-3 hour finish, the final time was a bit dissapointing. But then again, I was happy enough just to complete it given the unfavourable conditions (it was a more than a couple of degrees hotter this time, though that is not an excuse). And I would like to thank my old engg friend Srivatsa for responding to my request on Orkut and giving me the requisite documents so that I could participate in his name (given that I had missed the registration deadline this year).

Anyways, here is some quick gyaan that I got yesterday.

a. Marathons are all about competing against yourself: Hence, it is not a question of how many of your friends are participating, how ahead are they, what is going to be their time etc. In endurance tests such as these, you only compete against your own body and resistance. What should only matter is your own targets.

b. Having a running companion helps: Now this might sound contradictory to the point above, but having a partner (of roughly the same ability as yours) helps a lot, especially in the middle stages of the course. The two of you can alternatively go past each other and set the pace for the one following. In fact, there are professional pacemakers in such races whose job is to set the pace for the race leaders. For example, between kms 8-14 yesterday, I had my IIMB friend Ketan for company, which helped a lot. Being alone in the race is quite bad. And if you have nobody, you can always befriend a handsome/attractive co-participant ;-)

c. Performance on the treadmill is not the final indicator: If your treadmill is telling you that you are not upto the mark, do not take it too seriously (of course, do not completely ignore it either). My observation is that your performance on the actual track and day is much better than the best you can manage in the gym (provided of course, the weather is not unfavourable !!). Some possible reasons are of course: the mass of people around you that provides the adrenaline rush, the fact that on the road you can set yourself tangible targets e.g. 'I will run from Chowpatty to Wilson College', 'I will walk the next km briskly' etc etc. Running on the treadmill is monotonous and hence boring.

d. The heart carries the body in the last few kilometers: By the time you come to the final stages , your body has almost completely given up. Thereafter, its only the spirit that keeps you going. The sight of the finishing line pushes the body past its limit against all odds.

And finally, a reinforcement:

d. There is no city like my city !!!: The sheer number of people who lined the streets yesterday was overwhelming. Not only were there more people, their support and enthusiasm was exemplary. The so-called elite of Peddar Road and Marine Drive came down in their thousands on a Sunday morning, armed with water, trays of glucose biscuits and more than a word of encouragement. But for them, I guess many would not have crossed the finishing line. A friend of mine who ran a 10km race in Bangalore was saying that there was hardly anyone on the road there. Similar was the case in the recent Delhi half marathon. My city has once again made me proud !!!!..

So as I give myself a day's rest today to allow my feet to recover, here's looking forward to 2010 !!!!...

Cheers
Amit

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My previous posts on the Marathon...

As D-day approaches tomorrow, here is a flashback to some of my previous posts on THE event of Mumbai...


Marathon - 2008
Marathon - 2007 (Part 1)
Marathon - 2007 (Part 2)

The next post in this series would be out soon !!!!...

Cheers
Amit

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SATYA(m)NAASH !!!!!

India Inc.'s worst fears have come true and what a start it has been to 2009, that too on the back of a depressing 2008 !!. January 7, 2009 would be forever remembered in the annals of Indian corporate history as the day of shame not just for one man and his company, but indeed for corporate India in general. And this is not any fly-by-night company that has its image in tatters. Till about a few weeks back, Satyam was one of the poster boys of the Indian IT industry : Over $ 2 billion in revenues, NYSE listed, over 50000 employees and, ironically, a recent winner of the Golden Peacock award for, amongst all things, corporate governance !!! All that now virtually lies in ruins.

The Satyam employees now face a bleak future in an already bad job market. With most clients virtually certain to pull out of their contracts (and these include diverse names like the World Bank and FIFA) and new business obviously impossible, these employees face a difficult task to finding new jobs. They are amongst the first to pay a direct price for all the misdemeanours of the Satyam top brass. I for one find it impossible to believe that Mr. Raju was the only one doing all this, as he stated in his letter. No doubt the auditors and the board of directors have a lot of difficult questions to answer.

For the market, this could not have come at a worse time. The last few days had seen the market holding on important support levels (3000 on Nifty and 10K on Sensex) and in fact, was trying hard to move up. All that hard work is now undone in a couple of hours of mayhem. As the market trades today (Friday) the carnage continues. And while the Satyam investors obviously have been shattered, a lot of other investors are seeing their portfolios shrink more rapidly than the polar ice caps. Even government owned and well performing stocks are getting a beating (BHEL down more than 3%, SBI down 2% etc). Of course, the market is slaughtering those companies that are seen as not having a particularly high reputation on corporate governance. Clearly, the market expects some more skeletons to come out of the closet. Now that the tide is running out, the world will see who is swimming naked !!. On the other hand, well-reputed stocks like TCS and Infosys have actually gained since Wednesday (of course, partly because the market expects them to perform well now that one big player has fallen) . This hopefully is not just a knee-jerk reaction but a sign of things to come, wherein companies would need to have good standards of internal controls in place in order to provide a fair return to their shareholders.

And what of India Inc. ? Hopefully, there will be the proverbial silver lining in this dark cloud. New and tough measures of auditing and internal controls would be in place. Corporate Governance would not be restricted to just making grandiose statements in the annual reports. Appointment of independent directors and the role that they play would be subject to even greater scrutiny. And hopefully, the corporate world would be able to come out of this mess stronger and better and prove to the investors, public and the world at large that there will be no more instances of satya(m)naash !!!

Cheers
Amit

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A Sunday well spent..

My recent Sundays have been as different as two McVeggies from your neighbourhood McD's. Unless I am attending a marriage or some such function, I usually have spent my Sundays doing the same things over and over again: wake up at leisure, skip the gym, take a shower at about noon, gorge myself on the sumptous lunch prepared by Anjali and mom. have my favourite afternoon siesta, then spend half the evening thinking where to go out to in the remaining half, come back for a relatively light dinner and then, of course, end the day cribbing about how the weekend has just sped past !!!. This, I guess, is the way most of us spend our Sundays. But for me, 2009 has started on a different note and I have spent its first Sunday in a different and highly satisfying way.

Yesterday, Anjali and me went to her mama's farmhouse near Karjat alongwith her mama and mami. I have never been to many farmhouses before so it was a new experience for me. We had to wake up at 5 am in order to go to Dadar and get the connecting local to Karjat. I had planned to counter this lack of sleep but catching up with it in the train to Karjat. But any such hope was quickly dashed as the train got packed at Dadar and we were thankful to get a good place to stand, let alone sit. And the train was full of groups of teenagers going to the various picnic spots near Karjat and of course, good ol Matheran. We reached Karjat at around 9 am and after a quick breakfast of vada-pao (possibly Karjat's only snack ;-) and tea, we took an auto to go the village nearest to the farmhouse which is around 10km from Karjat. The last half a mile or so was a good old fashioned walk through the village, the nearby fields and a stream with knee-high water.

After we settled ourselves in the farmhouse, her mama took us around for a tour of his farmhouse. And what followed was a hugely enlightening session in Botany. Now, Botany has never been my cup of tea. I am more interested in fauna (in fact, I was trying to spot any snake, lizard etc in the farm). Come to think of it. why does Discovery or National Geographic have hardly any plant-focussed shows ? Anyways, the bottom-line was that my knowledge, and hence appreciation, of various trees and their flowers n fruits increased by leaps and bounds (to the extent that I imagined myself doing full-time gardening/farming and quite liked the idea !!!). One of the discoveries that I made yesterday was that in some plants, there is also the concept of gender !!. After the tour and lesson was over, we took a quick tea break followed by a hands-on session in gardening. Right from gathering the fallen leaves on the ground, collecting and disposing them in the pit, cutting of old branches et al, we spent almost an hour literally getting our hands dirty. It reminded me of the social service camps that I used to go in school. After the clean up activity, it was time to water the different trees. Lunch happened thereafter, with a nearby village household serving us the most amazing home-like meal you can ever expect to have !!. And for once, my Sunday afternoon siesta was more because of exhaustion from the shram-daan rather than overeating.

As the afternoon sun began to move towards the horizon, we went on a quick tour of the adjacent surroundings before finally getting back to Karjat in time for the 6.24 pm train. Another three hours later and we were back home, having spent a Sunday unlike any other and one to remember for a long time !!!..

Cheers
Amit

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A new beginning !!

As they say : 'Start as you mean to go !!'. Therefore, with the objective of having a more active blog this year, I begin by writing on the first morning of 2009 !!. And, as is mostly the case, I don't have anything particular to write about :-(. Therefore, I will just wish everyone a Very Happy and Prosperous New Year !!! As we leave behind what has definitely been a very difficult year, we look forward to this year with new hope and anticipation !!. May all your dreams and wishes be granted but more importantly, I pray to God to give everyone the strength and discipline needed to pursue their dreams to the fullest !!!!.

Now coming back to my blog, I have had a relatively quiet year. 26 posts in 2008 as compared to 34 in 2007. So this year, I hope to be more prolific in my writing, both in terms of quantity and (hopefully) quality as well. And hopefully write on a greater variety of topics, especially on lighter topics because I acknowledge that this is what my blog has been lacking so far. It has been mostly serious and contemporary stuff that I talk about. I wish 2009 would be different in that sense and, as I mentioned above, I pray to the Almighty for the ability (in terms of writing skill) and discipline (in terms of finding time regularly to blog) to fulfill both these wishes.

So once again wishing all readers and their near and dear ones a happy and prosperous new year !!!

Cheers
Amit

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The media gets it back .. !!

Last night, the media got a taste of some of its own medicine !!.. The setting was the debate between Arun Jaitley and Kapil Sibal on CNN-IBN on the proposed anti-terror law tabled in Parliament. The debate was conducted by our man Rajdeep (who seems to be getting louder with every passing day !!). Before that, I had heard Arun Jaitley speaking on two seperate occassions (one of which was a couple of minutes on that same debate) and confirming that the BJP would support the new bill even though they felt that the bill was incomplete in some aspects (most notably, the clause that confession before the police would not be admissible as evidence). That clause apart, he had clearly mentioned that this party would go ahead and support the bill. But it seems our man Rajdeep is either hard of hearing or was conducting a debate without even listening to what the speakers were saying. So a couple of minutes later, he asks Arun something on the lines of : 'So because of this clause, you are not going to support this bill ??'. I mean, did he not hear him firmly saying that they will support the bill ?. To which Arun replied: 'Sorry to dissapoint you Rajdeep, I have already stated a couple of minutes back that the BJP is going to support this bill even in its incomplete format'. Now I am no great fan of Arun or any of the politicians, but I would have loved to see him add a few more lines of admonishment.

Sometimes, the media needs to be taken to task....

Amit

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Media bashing, anyone ???

A friend of mine has put it very well in his Google Talk tagline : 'The media is busy indulging in politician bashing, but who will indulge in media bashing ??'. And today, in the DNA, people have spoken up against the media for their coverage of the 60 hours last week. Finally, people are waking to the quality of the coverage. For the Indian media, it was the first time that they were covering a semi-battle in almost their own backyard, so to speak. And they did manage to make a horibble mess out of it !!!!

Firstly, I would like to point out the fine distinction between 'news' and 'information'. As per me, news is something that people want to hear, while information is something that helps people in making decisions. Therefore, all information becomes news, but all news is not necessarily information. And in times of crises, what we expect from the media is information. But, throughout those 60 hours, what we got was an endless torrent of 'news' with hardly a fraction of it being really informative. In fact, some of it was counter-informative. First at the Nariman House on Friday and then at the Taj on Saturday, the media informed us that the operation was over (based on a few commandoes coming out of the buildings with a V-sign), only to be later told by the NSG that the operation was far from being complete. And in all those 60 hours, not even once did I see or hear any channel asking people not to come near the battleground. As if there was some filmy shooting going on !!!.

Then there are the usual sought-after sound bytes from relatives of the dead/injured. And on this, the relatively better-off NDTV took the cake (and that too because I did not bother seeing the others , especially the Hindi channels). On Friday evening, it 'interviewed' one of the relatives of the dead/hostages. After answering a couple of questions, the relative suddenly went quite and was on the verge of breaking down. At this, the news anchor nonchalantly said: "I'm sorry, we seemed to have disturbed you". How disgusting ??? I absolutely do not see any point in having the grieving relatives and family appear on national television, only to be asked: "aap ko kaisa lag raha hai ??" How I wish that one of the relatives actually bars the media from entering his/her house, just the same way that Major Unnikrishan's father barred the Kerala CM. And most of the media journalists covering the event need urgent lessons in voice modulation. For example, on Sunday (a full day after the saga was over), a Star News reporter went to the police HQ to interview the cops who had slain the terrorists who killed Karkare, Salaskar et al. While the cops were answering in a quiet and restrained manner, our good reporter friend was screaming at the top of his voice. almost as if he was seeing another encounter in front of his eyes.

And then post the attacks, there is the favourite media occupation of making mountains of molehills. I mean, does it really matter who accompanies the CM to the Taj ??? Is Mr. Ram Gopal Varma persona non-grata ??? Then, why the big deal about the whole thing ??. The media needs to grow up and hopefully after this incident, even they will introspect and be better off for it.

Cheers
Amit

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A nightmare that lasts three days !!

Quite appropriately, Mumbai awoke to a dark and overcast Saturday morning. It was an apt reflection of the general mood in the city, and elsewhere, since for the third consecutive morning, we switched on our televisions to find that the nightmare that began on Wednesday evening was showing little signs of ending. Finally, at around 8.30am came the news that the last of the terrorists had been downed and thus, the encounter part of the operation was over. The final act of cleanup of each and every room in the Taj is still going on, as I write this. And, quite appropriately again, the sun has broken through the clouds to give us a sunny morning !!!!

Unfortunately, I cannot get myself to share the jubiliation that I saw yesterday at the Nariman House. The celebrations out there were as if we had won a decisive battle. We might have won this battle but we are nowhere near winning the war. Before I come to that, I want to comment on a couple of things about this whole episode:

a. I found it quite odd that the whole nightmare was reffered to as 'Mumbai's tragedy !!'. Mumbai and the Taj were just symbols. I bet that any Indian waking up today anywhere in the country feels equally unsafe. Make no mistake, this was much more than an attack on Mumbai. It was an attack on India itself. Today it was the Taj, tommorow it might be any other place in any other city. And therefore, I cringed when I saw senseless comments on 'where Raj Thackeray was at this time when his Mumbai was attacked'. Apart from showing the immaturity of the people making the comments (and these were not just some idiots writing on Rediff, even NDTV and a fellow-IIMBian have raised this question), it also reflects their complete lack of understanding the whole issue and its gravity. I would have hoped that atleast this time, we would refrained from these comments. But it seems that sometimes, people are ahead of the curve as compared to our politicians.

b. In many ways, this episode is quite different from any terrorist attack before. It is being called India's 9/11, but it bears not much resemblence to the twin towers tragedy. For the first time, terrorists have siezed (not bombed) iconic places in an urban megapolis for almost three days. While earlier, they used to plant bombs at key places with an express desire to cause as much loss of human life as possible, this time they have attempted something more daring and audacious. Almost as if to say to us : 'this is what we can do, can anyone stop us ??'. And sadly, as of now, we have no answers to that one.

So now, as the operations wind down at the Taj, Mumbai (and India) tries to come back to normalcy (whatever state that might be) and the heroes of the operation are given they send off they so richly deserve, the focus now shifts to New Delhi. And the governments (both central and states) will now have to fight a different battle, which is as significant as the one which is just concluding on the ground. The world will be watching them now.

~ Amit

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A must read for History buffs !!!

If you have a passion for history as I do, then reading cannot but be a natural hobby. A love for history and reading go hand in hand. This is because much of the love for history is realized by reading (and of course watching movies and documentaries to an extent). History, as a hobby, is obviously not something that can you can practise like, say, music or cricket. So therefore, the more of the great historical works you read, the more your love for history is intensified. The book that I am currently reading is definitely one of those works.

William Shirer's 'The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich' gives a detailed account of the German Third Riech under Adolf Hitler. At a colossal 1040 pages, this book (in PDF format) is certainly a magnum opus in terms of size. It essentially follows the life of the German dictator, right from his birth and early life, then his rise in German politics and the formation of the Nazi party which further leads to his becoming the Chancellor in 1933. Then it talks about the change from Chancellor to Fuehrer (a word that I quite liked ;-) and of how he prepares his nation for a confrontation with Britian and France. Then in 1939 of course, WW II breaks out. And the book chronicles this great war in great detail, right upto the fall of the Third Reich in 1945 that signalled its end. The author uses a virtual mountain of captured German and Allied documents and his personal experiences (he lived in Germany at the time) to breathtakingly reconstruct not just the events leading to the war but the actual war as well. The great detail in which the events are laid down makes the reader feel like a fly on the wall of every meeting related to the war whether it be in Berlin, London, Paris or Moscow. One can almost visualize Hitler arousing German passions in one of his long speeches in his immitable oratorial style. Or one can imagine personally listening to Winston Churchill addressing the House of Commons during the war. Also, the books has been beautifully arranged as well so that the reader does not have to flip back and forth between the pages. He can read the entire book in sequence much like a crime thriller. And this book is much better than any crime thriller !!. I have come to about 700 pages now, and each time I feel like finishing off the remainder of the book at one go. However, other duties come in the way ;-).

So for all history buffs, this is something not to be missed. Go ahead and grab a copy !!!!...

Cheers
Amit

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Double standards, anyone ????

As a society in general, we like to instantly voice our dissaproval, anger et al at any perceived wrongdoing. Take racism for example. Everyone remembers what happened during the Indian team's tour to Australia last winter. The Indian media made it sound as if the whole country (not just Harbhajan Singh) was wronged against and therefore, it was made an issue of national pride (never mind that nobody till date knows whether Bhajji said 'monkey' or something else back at Symonds). But anyways this post is not about cricket or that stormy incident. The point I am trying to make is that while we made such a hue and cry about that incident (in which we were the apparent 'victims'), we have so shockingly overlooked a scene in a recent movie that shows racism and its stark reality.

I am talking about Madhur Bhandarkar's latest 'Fashion'. Everyone who has seen it will recollect the scene in which the movie's protagonist finally hits rock bottom in her fall from grace. And when does she realize this ? When she finds herself in bed with......... ??? Yes, a black man. Now the director could have chosen any stranger (Indian, white etc) in this case. But he simply played on the racisim that we, as a society, practise as well. So he chose a brawny but black man (and for good contrast, the sheets on the bed were white if I remember !!). As if trying to say that there is nothing more demeaning and disgusting in life than sleeping with a black man. And, answer me honestly, how many of you in the audience cringed when you saw that person besides Ms. Meghna Mathur ????.

Now, not for a moment that I am posing as a 'holier-than-thou' person. I admit that I myself was made aware of this when I read about the scene a couple of days back. So I am not at all distancing myself from the rest of the audience or society. But having read that piece, it has stayed with me since, And the more I thought about it, the more surprising it appeared to me that no one ever thought of that scene as objectionable. Neither our self-proclaimed guardians of morality, the media, and nor even the censors who otherwise were happily chopping away shots of cigarrette-smoking, drug use etc. Now substitute Fashion with a Hollywood movie, Priyanka Chopra with a top Hollywood actress (white, of course) and the man with an Indian-American actor. I am sure the media here would have bought the house down with their protests. But when our media does the same thing, no one even notices.

Quite strange, isnt it ??

Cheers
Amit

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The Li'l champs shift a gear !!!!

The fight of the Li'l champs is on in full swing and it has been a treat to watch !!!! Well, for the unintiated, I am referring to 'Idea Sa Re Ga Ma Little Champs', the Marathi singing competition show telecast on Zee Marathi at 9.30 pm on Mondays and Tuesdays. The current season of this hugely popular (across all sections of Marathi households) show features young prodigies treating the audience to a feast of popular and classical Marathi songs. And as the show approaches its climax (with only 7 Li'l champs left), it seems to show no signs of viewer fatigue or waning popularity. An indication of its popularity can be seen from the fact that in Vile Parle, there is actually a board put at a busy street intersection exhorting the public to send as many SMS'es (the new-age way of judging talent ;-) as possible in favour of the local favourite. And Ms. Mughda Vaishampayan from Alibaug, one of the youngest contestants and certainly the cutest ;-), has already won over everyone's hearts. And all of this does not take away from their singing prowess. Some of the numbers rendered by them can put some so-called 'proffesional' singers to shame. And having got such a wonderful platform so early in life, they can only scale greater heights. One only hopes that inspite of the instant fame that this show has so deservedly bought to them, their feet remainly firmly planted on the ground.

Till them, we, as viewers, can just sit back, relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of these young little crooners performing to the best of their ability !!! May the Best Li'l Champ win !!!!

Cheers
Amit

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It just gets worse by the day..

Just to mention that the numbers in my previous post seem so insignificant now... It seems now that there is no end in sight to this fall.. would be really interesting to see the mood on Dalal street during the 'muhurat' trading during Diwali the coming week.. hopefully we will atleast see some buying then !!!

Amit

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Confidence shaken !!!!

As the markets were on their downward slide over the past few weeks (the minor upsurges in between proved to be nothing more than false starts), I continued to hope, in fact I believed, that terra firma would be found sooner than later and once it had, the markets would bounce back, slowly but surely. In order to profit during the recovery, I kept on investing at every little milestone that the Nifty broke on its way down.

But today, after another horrible day on D-street, the confidence seems no longer there. A 135 point fall today, close on the heels of an equally bad day on Friday, has sent shivers down the spines of ordinary investors. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, figures of 3400 and 3200 are being tossed about as next 'support' levels (mind you, 3800 was supposed to offer good support, but the market broke that effortlessly today). But now, I doubt if anyone knows what is going to happen next. As I write this on Monday 2100 hrs IST, the US markets are not looking good either. So expect another dissapointing day tommorow !!!

I, for one, can't wait to open the good ol Fixed Deposit offered by my friendly neighbourhood bank !!!!

NO Cheers
Amit

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Change is inevitable !!!

A poignant article in the Mint Lounge yesterday (read here) on how the telegram is slowly becoming a thing of the past. The part in the article that particularly moved me was the one where the clerk at the telegraphic office, on realizing that he has sent only 37 telegrams during the day, says "We will send more today. We are open 24 hours for your service you know. Maybe some more people will come.....".

A reminder of the fact that change, however bitter and however evaded, finally catches up with everyone !!!

So, before the good ol 'taar' (that has delivered many a good and bad news to its recipients) breathes its last, I offer my tribute in acknowledgment of its great services.

Cheers
Amit

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An Oasis of peace in the concrete jungle !!!

One of the big questions that confronts me every weekend is the issue of how and where to spend quality time outdoors. Till some time, the only apparent place to go was your neighbourhood mall with its usual consituents: a Shoppers Stop or a Pantaloons, the four-six screen multiplex and a food court with its hotch-potch of cuisines. But then, if you want to go a mall on a weekend, you must brace yourself for traffic snarls, non-avaliability of auto's to take you back and of course, dealing with the vast multitude of mankind there. This hardly is the way to spend quality time. The other option is to go to a nearby park which can allow you the freedom and privacy needed. But in Mumbai, most of the open parks were again, either too crowded and dirty or hardly had the kind of amenities that you would want in order to spend a couple of meaningful hours there. But, over the past couple of Sundays, I have been pleasantly surprised to see a couple of good and well-maintained parks, so essential to the well-being of a megapolis and its few million inhabitants.

The previous Sunday, I had been to the privately-maintained garden near Mithibai College at Vile Parle. With a nominal entry fee of Rs 5, one can enjoy good and clean surroundings, a jogging track for the fitness freaks (though on a sunday evening, doing one round of the park without bumping into anyone would qualify as an achievement !!). Add to that ample playing area for children, a seperate section only for senior citizens and sufficient benches for people to relax and chat, and you have a park that has something on offer for everyone. But if that experience was good, then the park that I visited yesterday was even better. This was the Mindspace Garden behind Inorbit Mall at Malad (West). The first thing that impresses you about that park is its size. It is bigger than most parks in Mumbai that I have seen. Then its close proximity to the sea assures a cool breeze at most times as well as a good sunset view. It is also well-maintained and you would be hard-pressed to find garbage around (thankfully, eatables are neither allowed nor sold inside !!). It also has more than ample benches and enclosures for people to sit and relax. And this is not a privately-maintained garden. I gathered that this maintained by the BMC itself and they too, charge only a nominal entry fee of Rs 5. It offers you just about the perfect spot to spent a couple of good hours with your spouse/family/friends. And not to mention, a refreshing alternative to the scores of malls and multiplexes that seem to be every other family's idea of a weekend evening.

Infact, the BMC would do a great service to the citizens of Mumbai if they could have parks like these come up in every suburb. That would really work wonders for the city's health.

Cheers
Amit

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Yeh soundtrack kisise kam nahi.. !!!!

On a lazy Sunday morning, as is usually the norm, I switched on the PC and searched for songs to play. While doing so, I remembered Sunday mornings at IIM Bangalore, wherein from 12pm onwards, one of the radio stations played 4 hrs of Hindi film music based on a common theme (with a female RJ that some of my floor mates almost fell for !!!). Anyways, taking a cue from that, I decided to play my own theme-based playlist. And the theme I chose was songs from the same movie. Now this is a quite difficult choice. In my estimation, there would be only a handful of movies which have more than three songs that are remembered. And to find a movie in which ALL (or atleast five) numbers are popular is a thankless job. But finally, I managed to find one and now I find myself listening to one of the all-time great soundtracks in Hindi movies. Each song of the movie is not only remembered more than 30 years old, and particular song has also made it as the title of a recent Bollywood movie. Yes, I am talking about the 1977 classic Hum Kisise Kam Nahi.

(As an aside, while on the subject of all-time great movie soundtracks, I hope to shortly name FIVE such soundtracks whose ALL-ROUND qualities set them above the rest. Apart from the above-mentioned, I know Kabhie Kabhie will find a place in my list. I invite readers to help me out with possible candidates).

Coming back to Hum Kisise Kam Nahi, while I confess to not having seeing the movie itself, the richness of the soundtrack is mind-boggling. Composed by that genius RD Burman at the height of his powers and assisted by the vocal chords of Asha, Kishore and Rafi, the soundtrack has the requisite variety to offer and more: a qawwali, fast-paced tracks, the mandatory tear-jerker etc. Just for the record, let me put down the jewels in the crown, in no particular order:

a. Kya Hua Tera Vaada
b. Chaand Mera Dil Chandni Ho Tum
c. Hum Ko To Yaari Teri Yaari
d. Tum Kya Jano Mohabbat Kya Hai
e. Aa Dil Kya, Mehfil Ye Tere
f. Yeh Ladka Hai Allah Kaisa Hai Dewaana
g. Bachna Ae Haseeno Lo Main Aa Gaya
h. Mil Gaya.. Humko Saathi Mil Gaya
i. Hum Kisise Kam Nahi (qawwali)

Now, frankly, need I say anything more ?? Anyone with even an average knowledge of Hindi film music would remember ALL of the above nine songs (can I call them the navratna ?? ;)). And as I said before, they offer more than the required variety. Some of my personal favourites are’ Kya Hua Tera Vaada’ (beautifully written by Majrooh : sample ‘nasha daulat ka aisa bhi kya, ke tujhe kuch bhi yaad nahi’, and equally well rendered by Rafi saab), ‘Bachna Ae Haseeno’ (and it has been my favourite even before Ranbir Kapoor and his three deviyaan made it known to the new millinenium generation), and ‘Yeh Ladka Hai Allah’ (another peppy duet from the Asha-Rafi-RD team), not to mention that ‘Chaand Mera Dil’ would rank amongst the finest in soft romantic numbers.

Listening to the above soundtrack has definitely made my Sunday morning. And anyone who doesn’t have the CD with him/her , waste no more time. Go to the nearest Music World/Planet M and grab the CD !!!!

Happy Listening !!!

Cheers
Amit

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Some food for thought !!!...

Though the reference for this post is to cricket, the takeaway from this is more than cricket, which is why I have put it in this blog..
This refers to an article by former England captain Micheal Atherton (who is turning out to be one of the better cricket writers around) in the Times regarding Micheal Vaughan's resignation (read the article here). One line in the article made very good sense, and I could instantly identify with it. It goes:

"If you take the job seriously, as Vaughan has unquestionably done, then there comes a time when you simply don't want to do it any more"

I simply loved the line, and how very true !!!!... And it applies to any job, not just cricket captaincy. Anyone who takes his or her job seriously will always find a time where you want to quit it all. So all readers who are feeling frustrated with their job, maybe they are taking it too seriously !!! Think about it..

Cheers
Amit

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Strange ways of Indian politics !!!

So the d-day in Indian politics has finally dawned !!!! By the time the sun sets over Delhi today, we would possibly come to know whether the present government has survived or not. And by all accounts, as the cricketing cliche goes, it is going to come down to the final over, maybe the final ball. While all the drama that has happened over the past week has kept everyone enthralled (much like the IPL), it is still a sad commentary on Indian politics (not that it had a good reputation anyways) and on Indian public life in general.

While I have no great sympathy for the Congress and their handling of the N-deal, it is still disappointing to see a government being pushed to the brink over a particular issue. And it also sets a dangerous precedent. This era of coalition politics means that the main party in power (the Congress in this case) has to constantly watch its back and keep its allies happy. Tommorow, any one coalition partner can withdraw support over a particular issue (it can even be a major regional party pulling out over some petty regional issue). One such instance and the government is reduced to a minority and has to fight for survival. The present situation might not be that serious in that the elections are anyways scheduled next year. So a negative outcome for the Congress today might, at best, only advance the elections by a few months. But imagine any government in its first or second year of power risking its survival on pushing through some deal or reform process. Hard to imagine, right ?

This brings me to my central question: Why does support for a particular deal/bill/reform process have to be synonmyous with support to the government ? After all, when the UPA combine came to power in 2004, the N-deal was not even on the horizon. Hence, the CMP (common minimum programme) that formed the basis of the UPA coaliation did not contain anything pertaining to the N-deal. Given this, why cannot any member of the ruling coalition (the Left in this case) say "Sorry, we will not support you on this particular issue, but support to your government will continue". In my view, they can disagree on a particular issue which is not part of their common minimum programme and, at the same time, remain a part of the government. Put in another way, why does every bill or act tabled in Parliament need to be a vote on the government's survival. Had the Left not withdrawn support, then we might have seen just a bill being tabled for approval by Parliament rather than a trust vote. And irrespective of the result, the government would have continued. Going ahead, we cannot afford to have a trust vote, followed by mid-term elections, each time an important bill is to be tabled in Parliament.

Quite a few things about Indian politics defy logic for me !!!

Cheeers
Amit

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Jaane Tu....Ya Jaane Na !!!

Yesterday, I finally got to see the movie !! Over the past couple of weeks, several friends had recommended the movie. To add to that, the box office collections were simply going through the roof, with Indiafm.com officially declaring it as a blockbuster. With a background, expectations were heightened as I entered the movie hall (my first visit to the PVR here in Goregoan). By the time I left the show, the feelings were mixed.

Clearly, for me, the movie was not upto the mark. Sure, it was something that all teenagers could identify with and hence, were bound to love. (Maybe I saw the movie 10 years too late :-). So anyone who viewed it as a peek into the lives of college-going teenagers would have liked it. But anyone who went to see good cinema (though I am getting subjective here, good cinema for me merely means a decent story line alongwith good entertainment) would, I guess, have been disappointed. No doubt the movie has a plot, but I thought it was too thin to be stretched over 2.5 hrs. Finally, it was all about two best friends who first deny they are in love but then finally come around to accept the fact !!! Not enough, I say, for a full-length movie (and neither was the plot new). The first half was terribly slow and I expected the movie to pick up steam in the second half. However, that did not quite happen. And very frankly, I would like to commend the director for even attempting another climax at the airport !!!! I could not bear to watch that.

Not all is bad though. The young star-cast most definitely worked. I thought Imran Khan had an impressive acting debut, even though his baby-face might restrict his choice of roles. But still, he looks good to go places in Bollywood. Genelia D'Souza, after a couple of false starts, finally has come into the limelight and the movie hopefully would give her fledgling career a big boost. The others in the group also did their object fairly well. And of course, champs like Naseer, Paresh and Ratna Pathak Shah did an excellent job. Another big plus was A.R.Rehman's peppy music score.

So as I said, quite mixed feelings from my end !!!

Cheers
Amit

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Hard times ahead !!!

So finally, double-digit inflation is here to stay. And while it was expected to some extent because of the fuel price hike, but no-one expected it to touch 11%, as was announced on Friday. Certainly not the markets, which had factored a 10% figure. And when lightning struck, the indices took a big beating and ended well below the crucial 15000/4400 levels. And this time, not many analysts are taking a call on the next 'support' levels. What that means is that how long and deep the market falls is anyone's guess. Now with Ms. Behenji withdrawing support to the UPA, the stage might be set for another tumble at the markets this week.

But for the common man who is more concerned about how much one kg of onions cost rather than how much the Reliance share fell, things are becoming increasingly difficult. With the fuel price already hiked (and once oil crosses $150 by July, as is widely expected, one can expect further pressure on the government), most essential commodities are likely to go up sooner or later. And rest assured, you can expect public transport to be dearer as well. This will lead to decreased consumer spending and hence falling demand for a variety of goods, thereby hurting many a company's bottomlines and, in turn, their investors, many of whom are the same consumers that are not spending !!! So it ends up at a double whammy, the common man/retail investor has not only to deal with higher spending on what is essential for him, but on the other hand he also is witness to falling returns from his various investments !!

And the sad part is, no-one is sure how long will this last. Till then, one can only wait and watch...

Cheers
Amit

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Clinging on for dear life !!

A sad story in today's DNA (read here) about a woman who fell off a running suburban train in Mumbai and died subsequently. While many people would think it is possibly the freakiest way to lose your life, in Mumbai it is reality of everyday life and commuting. It is estimated that nearly 8-10 people slip off running trains every day and some of them never rise again. Just that Swati's case got highlighted (as was the case of Naseeruddin Shah's son a few months, though thankfully he was saved). And having travelled in Mumbai local trains for quite a few years now (and in the so-called 'peak flow direction' from the suburbs to the city every morning) I can testify as to how risky it is. I remember one day about a year back when I was in almost the same condition as Swati. With only my fingers and the front part of the feet touching the train and the remaining part about a foot outside the door with no-one behind for support, I was in an awkward ")" position. And boy, did I cling on to dear life !! From the time I 'boarded' the train at Goregoan till Andheri (where a few people got off from the opposite door and I was able to get more of a foothold), I was actually praying for my life. One push or shove from the people inside and I would not be typing this today. It was definitely one of the most terrifiying experiences that I ever had. From that day, I swore never to board any train unless there was somebody behind me for support, and definitely no hanging business. But to think that there are people who take these risks on a regular basis really shudders me. I can only pray to God to guard their lives !!!!

Amit

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The Sea Link is finally coming !!!

Looks Impressive enough !!!!!!!!!

But is it going to be worth the wait, effort and money ?????

Wait until January 2009 to find out !!!!

Till then, you can get the background of the project and track its project at:

http://www.bandraworlisealink.com/


Cheers
Amit

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A long hiatus !!

It has been 51 days since my last post on this blog !!!. For the couple of ppl who have inquired as to why this is so, and I am so glad that someone asked, it is just a combination of many things: lack of time (as usual - given that I have spent a large part of the past couple of months shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi), lack of opportunity (have been away from my laptop for a major part of the time) and most pertinently, lack of things to write about !!!! With nothing much happening in life or around me, am not too sure what to write about.

So would like to ask my fellow bloggers, how do you guys decide what to write about ?? Is it just instinctive, you write whatever you feel like (even if it is a 2-line post) or does every post involve some kind of ground work ?.. Would love to know :-).. BTW my cricket blog (http://mycricketview.blogspot.com) is barely alive, with the latest post coming today (27th May). As far as this blog is concerned, till the time I find something good to write about (or if someone suggests something good), take care and have fun !!!

Cheers
Amit

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The Cola War hots up... but advertising standards go down !!!

With the weather turning on the heat, the cola wars are too gathering some steam. And as is typical of the advertising in that industry, the latest commercials churned out are mostly lousy and in-your-face.

So starting the slide was the latest Pepsi commercial featuring SRK, Ranbir and Deepika. Watch the video here. Released in December (a month after Sawaariya and OSO thrust the Ranbir-Deepika pair into the limelight). This ad is probably the latest example of the generally mediocre commercials that Pepsi dishes out (Remember the largely forgettable SRK and John commercial anyone ?). They have certainly slid a long way from the first Pepsi ad in the late 1980s (remember Juhi and Remo ? or even Mahima, Aamir and Ash ? Compared to those standards, the 'Youngistan' ad certainly does not register.

Not to miss a chance, Sprite seems to have taken full advantage via its latest commercial (watch it here). A delightful spoof on the Pepsi ad, it drives home the point that for a large section of the viewers, simply having hot stars but little else does not work, be it a 3 hr movie or a 50 second commercial.

Amidst all this, the two other big brands have identified their brand identity and have accordingly maintained a consistent theme through the commercials. Coke's latest ad (with Hrithik as the sole star) has a sweet little jingle running through it and conveys the feeling of celebration quite well, something which Coke has been associated with it (recall the Diwali ads with Hrithik and Aishwariya). On the other hand, ThumsUp continues its projection as the young man's drink and accordingly has Akshay Kumar as its ambassador (though Akki not really the young Khiladi :).

Hopefully the next offering from Pepsi would be something to look forward to !!!

Cheers
Amit

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Our life-time companion !!!!!

No, I am not talking about your respective better halves (and not-so-better halves for all the ladies reading it). It is the humble cellphone. And just like invaluable things, we miss them when they are not around. So it happened to me today when, for possibly the first time in almost 4 years since I have started using one, I left home without my faithful companion. And since I was not in office today but on the road, I almost fell lost and cut off from the world. Isn't it incredible to think what a difference the mobile phone has made to our lives ?. Any time we are not with it, its as if we have nothing to do to while away our time. No more sending of SMS's, no more playing games while in a bus or train and no more random phone calls to friends. On the brighter side though, it helped that I could not get any phone call from office and hence could pass my holiday in peace. And of course, I did not need to respond to 'Ms ABC from XYZ Bank informing me about the Rs 265,000 pre-approved loan'. A day without the cell phone makes you feel like a fish out of water, does it ? Would love to hear from you.

cheers
Amit

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Jodha Akbar: Much ado about what ????

Finally on Thursday, I got a chance to see Jodha Akbar. And given all the controversy (inevitably) surrounding the movie, the fact that there was a proven director at the helm, not to mention my keen interest in historical and period movies, I went with somewhat high expectations. And that was possibly the reason that I had to return a dissapointed movie buff. Frankly put, and I still remain a Gowarikar fan, the movie is not a patch on the rivetting Lagaan and neither it is in the same league as a Swades, which atleast forced us to introspect about our country. Incidentally, true Gowarikar fans might remember the first movie that he directed, a murder mystery called Pehla Nasha (starring Dipak Tijori, Raveena Tandon and Pooja Bhatt). I would even venture out to say that Jodha Akbaar would probably rank somewhere alongwith Pehla Nasha in Gowarikar's oeuvre.

Now, you might ask, am I so dissapointed ? The reasons are quite a few. Fine, granted the visuals are stunning, sets are lavish and bring to life the Mughal and Rajput era of the 16th century, Hrithik looks the part as the Emperor, Aishwariya looks charming and does a fair job of acting and AR Rehman is pretty much in form with his music (Khwaja Mere Khwaja and Azeem-O-Shah-Shahenshah pull up the otherwise average score). However, glittering sets and handsome leading pairs cannot keep the viewers engrossed, certainly not for a period of 3.5 hours (I lost track of the no. of times I looked at my watch, especially during the first half). To sustain viewer interest, a movie requires that essential backbone: a story and a screenplay to accompany it. And I thought that the movie faltered in those crucial departments. Firstly, it is not a historical in the sense we understand it, which means it is neither a biography of a historical figure nor does it narrate any historical event. It is not much than a love story set in a historical context, not very different from the Titanic. And its not even that historians celebrate the love between the Rajput princess and the Mughal Emperor. In fact, they are not even certain that the eldest daughter of the king of Amer, Raja Barmal, was even called Jodhaa. We have never heard Jodha Akbar mentioned in the same breath as Mumtaj-ShahJehan or NoorJehan-Jahangir. Given this, one wonders whether there really was any historical substance to the Jodha-Akbar love story. At the end, the narrator (Amitabh's baritone now part of every other movie) says that the Jodha-Akbar love story is largely forgotten in history. To which, one might ask, why should it be remembered ? Now, having taken upon the task of potraying a love story made largely out of scattered historical information, Ashutosh needed to fill the movie with a lot of tender moments between Hrithik and Ash. But apart from a few (the sword fight between the two is excellent), the chemistry is not much on display. And some cinematic liberties seem far-fetched, most notably the anomaly that although Jodha is supposed to be Akbar's third wife, neither of his first two wives are even mentioned in the movie (Can someone fill in me here ?).

All in all, I am in no way suggesting that Jodha Akbar is even an average movie. It is, by all standards, a good effort and definitely worth watching once (in the theater of course !!!, the sets and visuals deserve nothing less than that). But given the Gowariker name, I think he should have done better.

Cheers
Amit

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Cold Wave's here, the Metro is coming !!!

Just a couple of days after the mercury slid to a single-digit figure (as in my last post), it has reached a new low. The weather bureau has actually raised a cold wave flag in the city. This after the minimum temperature recorded in the city was 8.5 deg, a good 7 deg below normal. With such weather expected to continue over the next few days, the lowest ever mark (of 7.4 C) is well and truly under threat.
So, in Mumbai, two things are officially dipping: the BSE sensex and the minimum temperatures !!!!

But one event that might have warmed the hearts of many Mumbaikars is the construction work starting on the Mumbai Metro Rail project (Read Here). While it may take atleast till 2010 for the first train to run on the 1st corridor (Andheri-Ghatkopar), the work starting atleast is a start. However, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip. We have seen enough high profile projects starting, only to get embroiled in court cases, litigations, builder-government disputes etc with working grinding to a complete halt. For the sake of my city, I sincerely hope and pray that work continues unninterrupted on this prestigous project.

Cheers
Amit

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Blow Cold, Blow Hot !!!!!!

Yesterday, the almost unthinkable happened in Mumbai. The signs were ominous and for once, people had been warned. Still, not many (me included), thought it would come down to that. As I left office today, saw the DNA headline: ‘Its 9.4 degrees in Aamchi Mumbai’. So after a long time, the mercury has finally dipped into single digits. It is still well clear above the lowest mark: a truly bone-chilling 7.4 deg set in January 1962. Outdoors, the repercussions of this ‘abnormal’ climatic behaviour are hard to miss. As I leave for office at 7.30 am, I have never seen so many people clad in sweaters, mufflers, monkey caps etc. If you are a woolens retailer, it is like finding El Dorado. And for once in the Mumbai local trains, people are actually avoiding those prized standing spaces at the doors. Climatic changes are happening at a rate far faster than any seen before and the effects are there for all to see: not just in Mumbai. Delhi had come close to seeing its first snowfall, China is in the grip of severe snowfall and many other places are seeing unprecedented winters. We are moving towards a climate of extremes. I would not be surprised if, exactly three months from now (May 7^th), the newspaper headline were to read: ‘Hottest May Day in 40 years !!!’. We seem to be getting what we deserve.

But amidst all this chill, the self-proclaimed ‘powers-that-be’ have found innovative ways of beating the cold and seeing some action. So the old ‘Marathi v/s North Indian’ saga has been reopened again. That there has always been an undercurrent of tension is undeniable. It just needed a spark to ignite the flame. In this whole controversy, I have just two points to make:

1. The role of the media: The day after this whole thing flared up, I happened to watch a few channels on TV. And if you were sitting somewhere in Delhi or Kanpur, one look at the visuals being shown and you would have thought that there is rioting all across Mumbai. No wonder few of my office colleagues whose familes are up North received immediate calls inquiring about their well-being. The justification apparently was that these were staged attacks especially for the camera. So now does the media take orders from some small-time mischief-mongers on what to broadcast ? Or was it solely for the extra eyeballs that such visuals (shown repeatedly over) catch ? When will we a bit more responsible in bringing news, especially on such sensitive topics ?
2. Stopping migration: While it is true that Mumbai is for everyone, the parties that are now acting as aggrieved and victimized should do well to realize the cause of the migration that is at the heart of this controversy. Almost non-existing infrastructure, large-scale corruption and breakdown of law and justice are largely responsible for the sorry state that some of India’s states find themselves in. Instead of shouting hoarse on how Mumbai is no-one’s private property, the leaders there need only look at their backyard and try and improve the state of affairs there.

Finally, in all this, I was reminded of a wonderful line about this great city:

“ The great beauty of Mumbai is that it welcomes anyone with open arms”……..

And the great tragedy of Mumbai is………………………..

.

.

.

.

“it welcomes everyone with open arms !!!!!”

Cheers

Amit

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Civic Sense: Whats that ???

While coming back from a trip last week to Goa, I saw a most heartening, and at the same time, a depressing sight. I was coming back from Goa to Mumbai by train (AC chair car in the Shatabdi Exp). On the other side of the aisle were seated two young women, foriegn tourists (mostly European) who were probably coming back from a holiday in Goa. One of them took a plate of Idli-Chutney and after finishing it, kept the paper plate on the train floor. A sudden gust of wind caused the plate to turn upside down, with the result that the left-over chutney spread over the floor. Now the spilled chutney was quite far from her seat and hence could not have any discomfort to her or other passengers. But to my amazement, the lady took a couple of paper napkins and began cleaning the chutney on the train floor (and we all know how dirty our trains are anyways, although it was an AC compartment). It took her a good couple of minutes to clean the mess caused, following which she dutifully took the plate and went in search of the nearest waste bin and promptly put the plate in its rightful place.

The fact that someone would actually clean the plate on the floor was something that amazed me. What depressed me was the realization that not many of my own countrymen would have bothered to do it. We would have just shrugged it off saying 'the railways will clean the mess'. Which is why our trains are so pathetic in their appearance today. Getting to a bigger question that bugged me, and always does: Why dont most people in India have even basic civic sense ? The sense to keep their surroundings clean. What could be the possible reason ?? Initially I used think poverty was it, but then you find well-to-do people happily throwing their litter in our public parks and gardens. Similarly, civic sense does not automatically come from good education, though there might be a strong co-relation there. Then what causes us to not have even an iota of civil sense ??

Would love to know the answer.

Cheers
Amit

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Another Year, Another Marathon !!!!!

It was that time of the year again. If its the third Sunday of January in Mumbai, then it must be the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon. It is the day when the city changes itself. It literally comes to a halt (what with no traffic plying on Marine Drive, Peddar Road and outside CST) and it celebrates the spirit of human endurance which overcomes all physical and mental odds to reach that coveted finishing line. Having debuted in the 2007 edition (and managed to do decently for a first-timer), I was looking forward to the 2008 edition last Sunday (20th Jan). And with some amount of training in the gym (although the maximum I managed to run at a stretch was a paltry 2 km), I secretly hoped to improve on my last year's time.

Getting to Azad Maidan was also not without its fun. Took the train from Goregoan at the unearthly time of 5.12 am and immediately saw groups of people in the train going to the same destination as me, all with their running nos. proudly displayed on their shirts. At Jogeshwari, a big contingent (about 15 in all) of Gujratis strode in, all men and women in their 40s, and full on enthusiasm. They were participating in the half-marathon (same as me), and if they did manage to complete it, then hats off to them !!!! And, of course, like others from that part of the world, they could not resist opening a bag and helping themselves to fruits on the way !!!

I reached Azad Maidan in time for the race start at 6.45 am. About 8000 runners took part in the half marathon, which was the earliest race to start (and thank god for that, since it meant that we were more than halfway through by the time the heat begin to play its part). The race started at CST amidst great roars, cheer-leaders and blaring music, all fit for a great occassion such as this. For the first 2 kms or so (till Air India bldg via Churchgate) most people were either on a light jog or were just ambling along (the contenders, of course, had gone way ahead). After taking the U-turn at Oberoi, the field began to split up. The ones more serious started to run at a brisk pace while the ones more intent on just finishing the race, or atleast have a good morning's workout, continued their gentle trot. Marine Drive, as usual, was a splendid sight. With no traffic on the road, a nip in the air (it was slightly cooler than last year) coupled with a gentle mist, it was the perfect setting for a morning walk or jog. By the time I neared Chowpatty (about 6 kms in 50 min), the leaders passed me on their way back (must have completed about 15km !!). The leaders were well appluaded by the hundreds of people lining up the course,

I continued on through Babulnath temple, Kemps Corner flyover and touched the 10km mark on the Haji Ali stretch in about 1 hrs 20 min. At that time, the roads were partly cleared for the arrival of the full marathoners (who had covered the same distance as me in about 45 minutes less, a fantastic achievement !). But I was pretty well satisfied with my effort so far, given that last year those guys crossed me just after the 8km mark. Nevertheless, the body was beginning to grumble. The run-walk-run-walk routine also did not help. Turning near the Mela Restaurent at Worli (to start the return journey) was a great high, since it meant now that I was running towards the finish line rather than away from it. By that time, the sun had appeared over the Mumbai sky-scrapers in the East and the heat was beginning to show. Thankfully though, good arrangements had been made to provide water and energy drinks throughout the course. To add to that, good samaritans from the neighbouring buildings (esp along Peddar Rd) also provided water and biscuits to the participants. By the end of 2 hours, I had done about 14.5 kms and was in good shape, except for the legs. Evidently, the preperation in the gym was paying off. In fact, I kept on running in bursts even between the 19th and 20th km (unlike last year, where I only walked after the 8 km mark). And it was that energy and adrenaline that kept me going all the way to the finish line, which I crossed in 3 hrs 6 minutes, a significant improvement over the 3 hrs 45 min last year. And there have been no big injuries afterwards, apart from a bad right heel which has sinced healed. It was one of the most satisfiying days of my life !!!

Mumbai Marathon 2009, here I come !!!

Cheers
Amit

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Nano Aaya Re !!!!

So the people's car has finally arrived !!!! Unveiled last week by Ratan Tata last week at the Delhi Auto Expo (with a cleverly used dash of sentiment : "a promise is a promise"), the Tata Nano seems to have got everyone talking and admiring. And by all accounts (since I am no auto expert), Tata Motors seem to have got a winner on its hands. It sure does look good. It initially reminded me of the Daweoo Matiz (one of my earlier favourites). Compactly built, but it still supposedly has about 20% more inner space than the Maruti 800. And the mileage of 20kmpl sure is a cracker, since this will mean that it will not be too much of a burden on its owner even with petrol. What is still open to debate though, is the safety aspect. With such a compact body and no front bumper, the occupants have to be extra cautious. And what might also go against it is the perception that it is suitable only for short intra-city distances. But all said it done, one can already see the queue forming. And the people lining up might not be your usual suspects. The day after the launch, a friend told me about his conversation with a auto rickshaw driver, in which the latter cursed the high maintainence cost of his Bajaj Auto model and was fascinated by the Nano (mostly by its price tag, I imagine). And yesterday, there was an article stating the Taximen Association in Mumbai is actually going to hold talks with the Tatas with a view to modifiying the Nano to be a taxi (CNG version etc). Maybe the Tata's have stumbled on a different kind of market, and couple of years down the line, we might see black-and-yellow Nano's all over Mumbai's streets. And oh, not to forget the thousands of college kids, not-so-affluent bread-winners who might take to the Nano just because of the sheer satisfaction of owning a car (note I am not talking status symbols since I dont think the Nano can be the benchmark for one).

Amidst all this, does anyone spare a thought for the roads and infrastructure still, as I had done a few months back ?? Only time will tell.
Cheers
Amit

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31st December and all that !!!!!!

'So where are you partying on 31st nite ??' is a question that has been thrown at me repeatedly over the last few days. And after answering (always with a straight face) that I am going to be home, like almost all other evenings, I get back a look of surprise that seems to say 'Here you are, all of 28, recently married and doing decently well in life: You should be in Goa atleast !!'. But frankly, sitting at home is what I have been doing for the past 3 year-ends and I see no reason for that to change. Infact, I firmly believe that the '31st December' concept is highly over-hyped, created by smart marketing gurus just to have people spending more and more (I read of a couple's package worth Rs 25K and more just to go to a New Years Eve party and see some Bollywood stars performing and have a few drinks). It all has become quite obscene, if you ask me.

So in answer to the above question, this is the counter-question that I would put: 'What is so special about 31st December and 1st January ???'. And the possible answers that I might get:

1. "Its the start of a New Year, silly !!!!" : Oh yes, of course, how could I forget ???. A new year is dawning on us !!! Ring out the old, ring in the new !! Probably the sun will look different when it rises tommorow morning. Seriously, what in your daily life changes on the morning on 1st January ??? I will still take the same train to work, get the same salary credited to my account as on 1st December and get back in the evening to the same wife and family ;-). And what about the rest of the world ??? Poverty and global warming will continue to be as important issues as they were on 31st December, and the Aussies will continue to bully every opposition in cricket !!. Nature does not make a big deal about changing of years, so why should be ??? Just as it would be wrong for Anil Kumble to think that things would change just because it is 2008 and not 2007, we would be deluding ourselves to think that the morning of 1st January will bring new wonders to our lives.

2. "Its time for new beginnings and resolutions !!". Ah, the New Years resolutions !!! Haven't we heard those before ?? "I will lose 10kgs", "I want to get a new job with 25% hike", "I will leave office at 6 pm everyday". And we also know how devoted we are to these resolutions. Trust me, it is no different making resolutions on 1st January than it is on 24th March or 2nd July or 12th October !!! Waiting for the New Year to start afresh is simply comforting yourself and postponing something which you know is very difficult to achieve, You assume that things will change on New Year's day and, as I have mentioned before, they do not.

3. "Forget the New Year man, I just want to forget all worries and party !!!!". Then why spend double the money partying alongwith the whole world ?? And honestly, your worries are your own creations. Lead a good life and you will find time everyday to party !!!!

So, for everyone getting ready for their big bashes tonight, I would simply say that use this day not for wild celebrations but for deep introspection. Take stock of where you are today and where you want to be next year-end, and the years after that. And I bet you will find ways to reach there.
To sign off, for the record, Wish you all a Happy and Prosperous New Year !!!!

Cheers
Amit Gokhale

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Post Card from Germany - Snow Ahoy !!!

Wednesday evening (14^th Nov) would be marked by a small footnote if ever I get down to write my memories in about half a century from now. This is because that was the day when I actually saw and felt real snowfall. Upto then the only snowfall I had seen was only in movies and the Nat Geo/Discovery documentaries. It may sound quite suprising, but the fact that I have lived in Mumbai throughout my life, where the word ‘chill’ reminds people more of chillies rather than the feeling of low temperature, and have not traveled anywhere close to the North (forget abroad) puts things in perspectives. It also serves to explain why I am making such a fuss about it (enough for it to deserve a separate blog post).

So on Wednesday evening here in Nuremberg, after having lunch at an Indian restaurant here with our German hosts (the food was excellent when compared to the crossiants and French fries I had been having the past ten days), we stepped out, only to find to our utter astonishment that our car was covered in a layer of white. I looked at the skies to see, for the first time, flakes of snow raining down. It may sound extremely childlish, but the feeling I had was quite similar to that when you get the first monsoon rains in India. Just as the earth smells different then, the air had a different feeling to it. The locals too were surprised. Germany is having an unusually cold November this year and they say it is not quite common to see snowfall so early in the winter. Anyways, like a group of excited school kids, me and my three colleagues immediately got to work: out came the cameras, the posing started and we happily played the old game of (snow)ball throwing, all near the middle of the road. It was all as if a sudden rush of juvenile adrenaline had been injected into all of us. It also felt good in the snow. Armed with three layers of clothing, the snow outside was not causing any problems at least to the upper body. But after about 15 minutes of playful activity, the realization that our palms were still bare dawned on us rather rudely. The palm and fingers went absolutely cold, as if the entire circulatory system running through them had been switched off. We had no recourse but to rush to the nearest heated shelter and nurse our frosty fingers back to health. The merriment ended with a cup of hot chocolate brownie with (would you believe it !!) ice-cream.

So this trip to Nuremberg will be remembered, if not for anything else, for that hour on Wednesday evening !!!

Cheers

Amit

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Post cards from Germany - 1

Its been almost a week here in Nuremberg, Germany but life has already become a routine, just as if I have come down to settle here. And its far more one-dimensional here than back home in Mumbai. Each of the last 5 days have been almost a carbon copy of the other. Wake up at 6.30 am, have the same breakfast everyday (bread, cornflakes, juices etc), catch the same train to our training venue (no car pickups and drops J), eat the same kind of lunch as well (corn, vegetable rice and salads gulped down with 500ml of Coke), come back to the hotel by around 6.30 pm, spend the rest of the evening in some mall (since its too cold outdoors) and then have something to pass of as dinner at a nearby McDonalds or Burger King.
Hopefully the weekend should be more interesting !!

One thing which is really new to me is the cold here. I have lived in Mumbai for all but two years of my life and hence, anything less than 20 C was cold in my books (even when I was studying in Bangalore, the minimum I can remember was 12 C). Here in Nuremberg, the maximum is about 9 C !!!. Last evening, while traveling to the underground railway station from my training venue, I experienced my first hail. All of a sudden, small bits of ice started raining down from nowhere. Thankfully, they were not that big and I had to cover a short distance to the underground (have heard the hail can hurt you). Even with all the protection that I had come equipped with, it has been a novel experience.

However, all said and done, Nuremberg is a beautiful city. Not too large (only half a million people, I imagine about the same as Borivali and Andheri !!) but at the same time quite modern. It has a historical past (think Nuremberg and you think middle ages, Nazi times and the famous Nuremberg trials) and the history can be seen in almost every street of the city. One of the most lovely places is the Burg, or the Imperial Castle, which we had visited the day we landed. A castle dating to about 1200 AD, it has survived through a lot over the centuries (Nuremberg suffered a lot in the WW II) and still retains the charm of a castle. The towers there give a panoramic view of the city. Hope to cover a few more places over the next week.

Also, another new experience for me was to get a taste of English soccer madness, On Thursday, Everton clashed with the local club FC Nuremberg. Near our hotel was some English pub presumably showing the action. But that pub was way too small for the hundreds of English fans who had crossed over from England to see the match. The fans were all over the street in front of our hotel. Banners were waved proudly, beer was flowing at will and people were high even two hours before the match. The German police were, of course, on standby to ensure things did not ugly, which can happen fast as historical evidence suggests. But to walk down that street (and avoid bumping into a group of rowdy fans or tripping over a crate of beer lying on the road) that day was some experience. And yes, Everton won that game, so I can imagine even wilder partying that night. Thankfully, by next morning, the street (alongwith the thrash on it) was clear.

The saddest part of the trip is, of course, missing Diwali !! Anyways, here’s wishing all the readers of this blog, and their friends and families, a fantastic Diwali !!! May the lights of Diwali illuminate your road to happiness and prosperity !!!

Cheers
Amit

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The Perils of credit...

‘Recovery Agent claims another life’ said one of the headlines today. This was not an isolated case. I remember having read at least three such headlines over the past month. The thread is common: someone takes credit for varying reasons, cannot pay up the bank and is hassled by recovery agents (sometimes to the extreme). When this crosses the limit, the ‘poor’ soul has no way but to take his life. The recovery agents are then taken to task, the banks are warned against indulging in such practices and life goes on, until the next such incident.

Having read these different cases, I most definitely condemn, as the media has done too, the methodology of hiring recovery agents and the acts committed by these agents. But somewhere, what has gone unnoticed is the root cause of all this: why to take credit in the first place ? At least today’s case seemed genuine in the sense that the guy had probably taken credit to start his own shop and business. But I am sure that are also cases of people taking credit to buy the next big thing, the next gadget, the next status symbol; and then landing themselves into trouble. This is no doubt abetted by the ease with which credit is available in these days. Today, hardly anyone ‘applies’ for a loan. The banks do the needful. Given that, it comes as no surprise that a small proportion of the borrowers turn defaulters.

In fact, these recent cases are also connected with the recent book that I finished: “Rich Dad Poor Dad” by Robert Kiyoaski. For those who have not read this so far, this is an extremely thought-provoking book in which the author tries to bring out the difference in the basic thought philosophy (when it comes to money) between the rich and the rest. He brings out a number of key points during the course of the book, one of them being that the rich use their money to buy real assets (not those assets as defined by accountants) whereas the middle class uses their money to buy ‘book’ assets (which actually are liabilities because they suck money in the form of maintenance instead of generating money for their owner). I believe this is truer in today’s world where I find a lot of the people I know rushing to buy the latest fad or gadget (especially at my age where one can afford to be more adventurous in investing their well-earned money). As Robert Kiyoaski rightly diagnoses, it is the dearth of ‘financial literacy’ that is responsible for this state of affairs. Most people, he says, are simply not aware of how to make their money work for them. This results in a never-ending rat race where people continue to work hard, get their increments and promotions only to invest them poorly and find themselves short of money after some time, followed by some more hard work.

I strongly recommend that every reader of this piece gets a copy of ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’ as soon as possible and experiences the power of financial literacy, thus enabling him to harness the power of money and make it his slave rather than his master.

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When Television Rocked !!!!

A few days back, doing the usual channel-surfing on TV, I came across three serials playing at almost the same time on different channels. And the three serials were remarkably similar in their content and the characters. In fact, it was a typical case of ‘seen one, seen all’ variety. And not to mention that the drama levels in the serial were so high that one could not bear it after a while. Going through that ordeal, I was suddenly reminded of the golden age of television in India (atleast according to me). The latter half of the 1980s. An age when serials were limited to 13, 26 or maximum 52 episodes, as compared to today where production houses think in terms of years. An age where there was only one channel and hence no channel surfing. And for a change, the monopoly was actually not a bad thing to have. It ensured that the same kind of serials, talk shows, talent competitions were not replicated across channels. It was also the time when some of the finest serials graced the small screen. While most of them were top class, five of my favourites were.

1. ‘Honee Anhonee’ : It may seem an odd choice to many. For those who remember, this serial dealt with the paranormal (ghosts, re-incarnation and other eerie stuff). Though it aired at 10pm on Thursdays (late night in that age), I still managed to catch a few episodes. And for a boy in primary school, some of the stuff was quite scary. More than once, I remember not having a good night’s sleep after watching that.

2. ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ : (Sundays 11 am) Being a history buff, this serial remains close to my heart. Shyam Benegal was brilliant in the way he adapted Nehru’s book to the small screen. Anchored by Roshan Seth playing Nehru himself, the serial traced India’s history right from the Mauryas to Independence. A galaxy of small-screen superstars played various historical characters in this mega-series. And yes, there was the wonderful title track (‘Shrishti se pehle kuch nahi tha’ – have the mp3 version, contact me if you want).

3. Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi: Arguably the most famous of the laugh-riots. Friday evenings at 9pm were a time to look forward to. An arraw of wonderful comic talent (Shafi Inamdar, Satish Shah, Rakesh Bedi etc) made this serial an absolute joy to watch.

4. Malgudi Days: Possibly the serial that appealed the most to people of my age then (and I suspect that adults were no lesser fans). What I remember most about the serial was the way Malgudi was created and depicted. A village was bought to life in full splendour and one actually imagined oneself living there. And Master Manjunath was absolutely adorable as the protagonist.

And last, but definitely not the least:

5. Mahabharata (Sundays, 10 am): For me, it is quite simply the greatest story ever told. Even after a few millennia, the epic remains as relevant today as it was then. And BR Chopra did an almost flawless job in bringing it alive on the tube (no wonder the streets were empty on Sunday mornings). And he was backed by brilliant performances all the way through. Stars like Pankaj Dheer (Karna), Mukesh Khanna (Bheeshma), Nitish Bharadwaj (Krishna), Roopa Ganguly (Draupadi) became super-stars of the small screen. A definite one for your collection (and I am going to buy the DVD collection soon).
   

In addition, there were plenty of other quality shows on TV during those times (Mr. Yogi, Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne, Khandaan etc etc etc). And not just Hindi, even the regional channels did amazingly well. Two Marathi serials that immediately come to mind are Dwidhaata (Vikram Gokhale was superb in the central role) and Swami (based on the Peshwai Sawai Madhavrao).

How I wish all these serials were re-run again by Doordarshan !! It would beat all the Zee’s and Sony’s of the world hands-down in TRP ratings.

Cheers
Amit

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Lets be a sport....

Yesterday, NDTV aired a story on how sportspersons who have represented India internationally in various sports (and who are employed by the Indian Railways) have been reduced to managing car parking outside New Delhi station. While it was absolutely shocking to hear that, it was another story in an ongoing controversy i.e. cricket v/s all other sports. While this rivalry, and the feeling of step-motherly treatment nurtured by other sportsmen has always been around, ever since that nearly vulgar display of celebrations post the T20 win, the battle between cricketers and the rest has come sharply into focus. It began with the state governments and associations awarding cash prizes as if there was no tomorrow. Then some of the hockey players threatened a hunger strike against the double standards shown by the administrators when it came to appreciating success in cricket as compared to others. In between, Viswanathan Anand added his own cheque-mate move, quipping about the reception he expected to get on landing home after the World Championship win. All in all, the events of the past month would not have bought to the genuine Indian sports-lover.

But if you really ask yourself, how many genuine Indian sports-lovers are there ? And who is to blame for the sad state of neglect that all Indian sports still find themselves in ? (including hockey, even after Chak de !?) We might point the fingers at the governments, corporate sponsors and the media for glorifiying cricket at the expense of other sports, but it is equally true that we ourselves are party to this preferential treatment. Some time back, an opinion poll on NDTV showed that 86% of people felt that the media was not fair in its coverage of cricket vis-à-vis other sports. But is it just the media, or is its audience also to blame ? How many of us watched the Asia Cup Hockey final that we won just a few days before the T20 win ? Or atleast read the newspapers the next day to know who scored the winning goals ? Indeed, how many of us know who is India’s current hockey captain is ? To expect the corporates to sponsor a hockey match that nobody watches is, in my opinion, a bit too much. And I am not preaching here. I take the blame for the neglect that other sports find themselves in. Today, about 40000 people in my city have packed themselves at the Wankhede to see a match which has little relevance to the series. Till the time we start to care about football and volleyball and badminton, things will never change.

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My car's dream home !!!!

The following article in Monday’s DNA serves to reinforce a belief that I have been holding for quite some time now. Namely, that in the years to come, traffic management is going to be single biggest issue facing mega-cities like Mumbai. Nariman Point can now proudly claim to have the most expensive office and parking space in the world. Spending a few lakhs a year on parking space is obscene enough. To add to that, every time you actually take the car away from its expensive resting abode, you have to contend with ever-increasing traffic as well. That is why I firmly believe that addressing this issue should be the topmost priority for the governments, municipalities and urban planners. We are, of course, at making plans and announcing them with much fanfare. Almost every alternate day, Mumbai wakes up to read of the next grand plan which claims will cure the city of its traffic asphyxiation. Be it several dozen new flyovers, or the recent announcement of 20 skywalks to avoid pedestrian congestion outside the suburban stations (which, if done well, is actually quite a decent idea); the plans always look very seductive. But when it comes to execution and management, it is completely a different story. The much-hyped Bandra-Worli sea-link still has to see the light of day. Earlier it was end 2007, then 2008 and now 2009 is finally supposed to be the year when this is supposed to be opened. We will continue to see more of it in the movies than in real-life. Such delays are common with most big projects. The work on the Metro Rail was supposed to have started already, now it will not be sooner than January next year. More than conceptualizing and announcing new plans, what is required is an iron hand supervising the execution of such grand projects, freeing them of government red-tape and legal hassles. The authorities owe this much to the people of Mumbai.

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The quiet little getaway !!!

A couple of weeks back, I finally got the chance to say goodbye to work and its associated drudgery and headed to a weekend away from everything. Actually, I had planned the weekend in June itself but heavy rains in Mumbai on the last weekend in June washed away my plans. Thankfully, I could reschedule my resort bookings and hence got the holiday during the monsoon season itself. The choice of place was not easy. I had already decided to avoid Lonavala and its crowd (see one of my previous posts) and therefore, was searching for options. Then I read on the web about a place where you could go if you wanted to do nothing. That was exactly the sort of place I was looking forward to. A place where you could simply unwind and relax, a place that neither had a dozen tourist spots that you spent your time visiting nor a market that resembled any street in Mumbai during the weekend. The choice was made and I headed towards Bhandardara.

Bhandardara is a quiet little hill-station tucked away in the district of Ahmednagar in Maharashtra, about 185 kms away from Mumbai. It is actually not a hill-station in the sense that we understand it, neither does it have an array of spectacular view points nor is it a mini-town with a flourishing tourist industry. It is actually a small village whose main attraction is an artifical lake formed by the Wilson dam built by the British in the early 20^th century. Having said that, the dam is quite a sight. Unfortunately, during our weekend there, the gates of the dam remain closed, thus depriving us of the apparently breath-taking sight of the water gushing through the open gates of the dam. There is a small garden very close to the dam from where you can actually feel the force of the water as it drops down the face of the dam. Apart from that one main attraction, there are a few trekking spots near Bhandardara, most famous amongst them being Mount Kalsubai (at 1646 m above sea-level, the highest peak in Maharashtra) and the Vishalgad fort (one of Shivaji’s favourite forts). But if you ask me, the real beauty of Bhandardara is actually that it does not have many distractions in the form of tourist spots. It is actually a place where one can just sit and forget about the world (the fact that cell phones do not work there makes this all the more easy ;-)). The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has built a decent, functional resort right next to the lake with each room facing the lake. There is also a good lake-side restaurant serving food that, given the lack of choices, is pretty delicious. There is also the opportunity to go on long walks besides the lake and the hills.

So if you are looking to run away from the world and have just the hills and the water for company (besides your loved one of course !!), then this is the place to go. A weekend in Bhandardara serves as an ideal dose to get people back in their best spirits and in the mood to face the world again.

Cheers

Amit

How to get there: Mumbai-Bhandardara is a 185km drive, first along the Mumbai-Nasik highway and then taking a right after Igatpuri. Or you can take the train and get down at Kasara/Igatpuri and catch a bus/jeep (45 kms from Igatpuri).

To stay: MTDC is the most conveniently located resort. In addition, there is also a private resort (Anandvan resort) that is some distance from the lake.

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Anything under 'Freedom of Speech' !!!

Came across this article in Rediff, Please retire, Mr Bachchan !!!. It is written by a gentleman (I assume) called Mr. K S Shekawat. Now, I regularly read movie reviews from Rediff (not that they are very great or unbiased) and I do not recollect having seen a review by this gentleman. So I cannot comment on his ability to judge good cinema or performances. But one look at the article and you can assume only one of two things: either the writer has a personal vendetta against Mr Bachchan or he was just plain drunk while writing this piece.

Now, I am no big fan of Amitabh Bachchan. I used to be at one point of time, but I agree that he has over-exposed himself, acting in all sorts of run-of-the-mill movies, that too, in special appearances here and there. And apart from Black, there have not been many recent performances to shout about. And not to mention his innumerable ads that keep popping up in every break on television. And I can hazard a guess that he has lost quite a few fans because of this. But to say that 'the cast in Nishabd had no clue how to act' and 'dance with those enunch-like steps' (I have not seen enunchs dance quite like that) is plain degrading. What is however, more appalling to see is that this article has not appeared on some personal blog (where it is perfectly entitled to be) but on a national website that is watched by millions every day. Either the Rediff editorial board (if it exists) was blissfully sleeping during this or it conveniently turned a blind eye to all this. If the latter is true, it serves to merely cement my belief that such websites have become nothing more than cronies of certain powerful celebrities. Either way, I would love to see Mr Shekawat answer all the questions posed by the irate Big B fans (see comments below the articles) and write a follow-up article. One cannot simply write anything under the garb of freedom of speech and get away with it.

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A New Cricket Blog...

Raghuveer Yadav says in that ad for Star Cricket, "Cricket hamari ragon main daudta hai, aur hume haq hai ek aise channel ki jo sirf is junoon ko dikhaye !!" (Cricket runs in our blood, and we are entitled to have a channel which shows only this obsession !!). Not that cricket is anywhere near my obsession, but the fact is that I, like most of the billion Indians, have an arm-chair critic view on every shot Sachin plays and every decision Dravid makes. Therefore, the thought of having a seperate blog for airing these views. Immodest as ever, I hope to express those views more coherently and logically and enhance my writing skills !!..

So, dear readers, go ahead and have a look:

http://mycricketview.blogspot.com/

Cheers
Amit

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Aaaagg... bujh gayi ????

So the ignition has been done. Ram Gopal Verma has finally unleashed his fire on the audience. Originally thought of as his tribute to Ramesh Sippy's Sholay, it might have finally ended up as just another vendetta flick with an uncanny resemblence to the original masterpiece. And if the reviews are anything to go by, this aag would burn as fiercely as a candle in a storm. Four unbiased and independent reviewers have given the movie a star each. ( read Indiafm, Rediff). Even given the fact that all of the reviewers supposedly were unabashed fans of the original Sholay (who isnt ?) and therefore, were not as biased as they should have been, these are still quite damning reviews. In fact, the reviews make it seem it is RGV's worst work till date. Quite dissapointing for admirers of good cinema. RGV seems to be steadily slipping from a glorious past to a mediocre future. His early works (Shiva, Raat and Rangeela) were cases of good cinema. Infact, I still watch the initial reels from Shiva each time I catch the movie in its numerous re-runs. From those high days, it has been downhill mostly (even his last hit, Sarkar had mostly the AB Sr-Jr combination as its novelty).

But coming back to Aaaaaggg..... It still begs the question: Why go on this path in the first place ? As I see it, remaking any movie, much less 'the' definitive landmark movie in Indian Cinema (even though there are surely better movies than Sholay), is only fraught with danger. It is simply a lose-lose situation. Make a good movie which sells, and the credit goes to the supreme quality of the original. Make a bad movie, and you are crucified not just for making a bad movie but for trying to tarnish the legacy. So either ways, RGV, despite his sincere desire to pay homage to Sholay and his best efforts, would have ended up gaining nothing. Sadly for him, the latter seems to have happened. And just a few days back, Pritish Nandy jumps in the bandwagon and has purchases the rights from the Sippys to make yet another remake !!!!.. 5 years from now, the original Gabbar Singh might be asking from up there...'' Arre O Samba, Kitne Sholay the ???"

Cheers
Amit

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A dramatic turn of events !!!

Things have taken quite a dramatic turn since my previous post, as far as the Indo-English series is concerned. From being freed from jail by the English weather at Lords, the Indians have stormed back in style and are now looking at back-back wins at Trent Bridge and The Oval. And most hearteningly, the comeback is not due to a couple of individuals, but due to a whole-hearted team effort, with every member chipping in. Proof of this is the fact that there has been only one century from an Indian blade this whole series. And what a romantic century it was !!!!. After 17 long years as an international cricketer, Anil Kumble finally added a very significant feather in his illustrious cap (does he have space to put in any more feathers there :-)). I daresay that this century might have given him more satisfaction than most of his bowling feats. For one who was quite a capable batsman till about 5-6 years back, and then suddenly lost that touch, it has been quite an achievement. And not to forget Zaheer Khan !! After Sourav's exploits last year, another fine example of a player being left out in the cold more because of attitude than inability, and then bouncing back again in style (maybe Sehwag, Bhajji and Pathan can take a leaf out of his book). Whats most striking about Zaheer's bowling in the last two games is his accuracy and perseverance, two adjectives not formerly associated with him. Thanks to these two, and ofcourse, Tendulkar, Dhoni, Jaffer, Karthik and everyone else, India stare at a prospect of a 2-0 win against an English side, which by no means can be labelled weak. The series is ample proof of the team shedding the 'poor travellers' tag. Hopefully, things will only improve from here.

Cheers
Amit

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Another series.... same story !!!

So finally the rain gods came to the rescue of the Men in Blue at Lords, and we managed to leave London with the series level. For Indian fans though, the fragility of the Indian batting lineup is nothing new. The first test of any series outside the subcontinent has always been our Achilles Hill. Examples are plenty: Edgbaston 1996, Lords 2002, Bloemofontien 2001, Port of Spain 2002. (have not counted Brisbane 1999 and the series against New Zealand in 2002 since we lost everything there). The only abberations have been Johannesburg 2006 and Brisbane 2003 (thanks to Dada's ton and partly the weather there as well). We invariably surrender the intiative in the first test itself, from where it is very difficult, if not impossible, to bounce back (especially in today's 2-test and 3-test series). In light of this, it is truly staggering to have the BCCI reject Dravid's request for extra practice matches before the 1st test of the Australian tour later this year. One can only imagine the plight of India's famed willow-welders having been told to bat first on a quick MCG pitch in front of the Boxing Day crowd. While the BCCI's inclination towards commerce are long known (one famous Marathi scribe always referred to the former BCCI/ICC president as 'Dollarmiya'), denying your team the chance of getting good match practice tantamounts to absolute insensitivity towards the players as well as the fans who invest their time and money in watching good and competitive cricket. Hopefully, Santa will give the Indian batsmen the gift of quick adjustment come this Christmas !!!

Its also quite ironic that the 3 fifties from the Indians in the Lords test came from the supposed weak-links. The 'famed quartet' had a highest score of 40 in the 8 combined innings that they had. So much for the myth of the best line-up in the world !!!

***

One great joy of watching the India-England series on Star Cricket (apart from the great picture quality) is to listen to Ian Chappell. Easily one of the best commentators in the business, it is a pleasure to listen to him air his views candidly and unbiasedly (well mostly). In a good article here, he describes how the increasing referrals of decisions to the third umpire are a) robbing the credibility of the two gents on the field and b) again being in batsman's favour (since the bowler cannot request for an lbw appeal turned down by an umpire to be referred). Quite good stuff.

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Monsoon Trip !!

Finally managed to get a break last weekend. Took Friday off from work and went with Anjali on a 3-day extended weekend trip to Lonavala. The start was more dramatic than the trip itself. Was a bit lazy in leaving home on Friday morning and then got stuck in Mumbai traffic (always an emotional topic for me - refer previous post) while going to Dadar station. When finally the cab stopped outside Dadar station, the train had arrived on the platform and the announcement asking passengers to board and take their seats was already blaring. As we started descending the railway bridge taking us to the required platform, the train started moving. And just as u miss the local train, I missed an outstation train for the first time in my life (thankfully, decided not to do anything filmy by trying to catch a moving train as it happens in the Bollywood movie climax - in any case, the lady to run after was besides me and not in the train :)))

Thankfully, we were going to Lonavala and had the option of buses readily avaliable. So that was not a problem and we reached Lonavala by bus at almost the same time as the train would have taken us. Lonavala on Friday morning was comparitively quiet. But come Saturday morning, and it changes completely. Suddenly, thousands of people descend over the town like a swarm of locusts, especially in the monsoon. Restaurents are full and the roads are jammed just like in Mumbai (we took an hour to cover a 4km stretch between the Valvan Dam to Lonavala station). While Lonavala is certainly beautiful (check out the pics), the abuse it bears every weekend certainly does not do it any good. It must be acknowledged though, that its economy is very much dependent on Mumbaikars and Puneites and the money they bring in. That said, it is still quite distressing to see garbage (prime amongst them were the left-over corn cobs) thrown nonchalantly on the road. Which is why I believe that the Taj being amongst the seven wonders will do us no good until we have an attitude that respects nature and our heritage.

So the next time you plan to go to Lonavala, do Lonavala and yourself a favour. Avoid the weekends !!

Cheers
Amit

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Dream Car in Nightmare Traffic ??

The dream 1-lakh car of the Tata's is once again in the news. And no, this is not because of any farmer unrest. The MMRDA chief, Mr T Chandrasekhar has proclaimed that he will be the first to file a PIL against the launch of the car in Mumbai. The theory behind it being that the sudden spurt in car traffic would completely throw the city's (already stretched) transport infrastructure out of control. The reactions to this have been quite predictable. Tata's have retorted that the public should be given the right to choose whats good for them, while the state government has distanced itself (evidently to avoid any controversies) from the statements, saying that the government cannot come in the way of aspirations of the citizens.

At first glance, it appears as though the MMRDA is trying to solve the wrong problems. Instead of providing better roads and transport infrastructure, it is throttling people's ambitions and dreams of owing a car. But, on giving the issue a deeper thought, there is indeed some merit in the argument that a slew of small cars (not just Tata's, but there are atleast three other players aiming to launch such cars) will spell doom for our cities. Consider this:

Assume that the price of the car which the Tata's will finally launch would be Rs 1.3 lakh (as the press is reporting - though the company is feverishly working towards the Rs 1 lakh target)

Now, the second assumption is that people generally buy a car whose price is about 30-50% of their annual income.

Third, the minimum price point in the Indian car market is around Rs 2.5 lakh (Maruti 800 not withstanding).

Fourth, assume that the 1.3 lakh car is fully functional and has all that any self-respecting basic car should have.

Now, because the entry price point is being brought down by almost half (from Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 1.3 lakh), consider the income segment that will come under its spell. Individuals with a minimum income of Rs 2.5 lakh will also consider buying the car (and will no doubt be helped by attractive loan schemes). Now, tell me, who has an annual income of Rs 2.5 lakh ??? My estimate is any engineering grad joining a software company has (atleast in a year's time, if not starting). Every morning, there are several dozens of buses leaving Andheri station to SEEPZ full of such recently joined software engineers. Now lets suppose that each bus is replaced by 25 odd such '1.3 lakh cars' (assume only half of the bus and imagine what it will do to the already chaotic traffic conditions there. And forget Mumbai, consider some of the other places. Anyone who has been to Bengaluru bears testimony to the poor traffic infrastructure there. And many more grads move to Bengaluru every year than to Mumbai. Imagine the state there. And this is only about one section of the potential takers of the new 'dream' car. I am sure there will thousands of relatively more affluent shopkeepers, small-time businessmen etc who would also want to be a part of the car-owners club. Now one might argue that such a car boom and the subsequent traffic chaos might actually spark off infrastructure improvements at a much faster rate. But we do not seem to have learnt the lessons from 26 July 2005 and 11 July 2006. So what guarantee that this will lead to infrastructure reforms ? And the Tata's seem to have overestimated the maturity of the average Indian consumer in saying the people should be given the right to choose. Also note that I have not even talked of parking space here. Where is the parking space for thousands of such cars ? I remember when I was in school, almost the entire open space between our building and the society's compound wall was ours to play (many a great game of cricket has been played there ;). By the time I went to college, cars had gobbled up the space. Then, they started spilling out on the street outside. I am not too sure that today's children have any such place to call their own. No wonder they are forever glued to the television set and their regular doses of cartoons.

In summary, while any legislative effort at curbing people's freedom to choose might be improbable, the only hope atleast a small fraction of the potential car-owners might stop to think about how their decisions will affect the quality of life in our cities.

Cheers

Amit

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Tommorrow is the day !!!!

Tommorow, the day will finally dawn. The fate of the nation's pride would be decided. In far-off Portugal, UNESCO (with our very own Bipasha Basu in tow) will at last lift the curtains and unveil the new 7 wonders of the world !!! And will put an end to the seemingly endless propaganda by all and sundry in India, exhorting us to display our collective lung power (or is it 'sms power of our near-200 million mobile users' ??) and catapult Shah Jehan's monument of love to its 'rightful' place amongst the seven marvels of the modern world.

If we win, it is bound to raise a celebration like few witnessed before. I am sure you will be inundated with countless mails, SMS's, and scraps (the new way of conversing) congratulating all Indians. Media channels will work themselves into a frenzy proclaiming that our country has finally arrived. The tourism ministry and the industry will relish the prospect of increased tourist inflows and the benefits it would bring the country at large (are there any tourism-based stocks ??? go and add them to your kitty !!) . But, dare I even say that, just consider, what if ???? Insult !!! Sacrilege !!! Apocalypse !!!.. The nation will go into mourning. Our collective Indianness would have taken a huge beating. And post the mourning, like the old story of the fox, we might just shrug and say 'it really doesn't matter' !!

But frankly, before you cast in your vote either online or through sms, please ask yourself, Does it really matter even now ??? Does an online poll, even with the backing of UNESCO, with an audience of essentially the small fraction of the world's population with access to the Net or mobiles, really have the credibility to decide the world's 7 wonders ? And what about a small country, with hardly one-tenth of the mobile population as ,say,India's, with a monument to rival any in the world ?? Does it really have a chance ? Even after that, will the crowning of the Taj as the seven wonders of the world really change things on the ground ??? Sure, you might see a few more tourists checking in Agra, but the Taj has always been known across the world. It hardly needs the certificate from an online poll to reinforce its charm and status. So, apart from a few ministry officials and over-zealous media men, it will hardly matter to anyone whether 'we' (and not the Taj, because that is what it is all about, isnt it ? ) make it or not. I doubt if the fishermen who sail across the Taj on the Yamuna or the rickshaw-wallahs in Agra who drive the tourists down to the monument would even notice the difference post 7th July. And it sure as hell would not even slightly alter our opinion about the Taj. For me, it will always remain the enduring monument of love and devotion, 7 wonders or not. All this propaganda is nothing but a media created campaign (like many others) just to mobilize public opinion and action. Sadly, it is on a cause that is as relevant to society and social life as the mayor's office is to the standard of life of Mumbaikars.

Cheers
Amit

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Queen's language or Rashtra Bhasha ???

Whenever I see any interviews given by Bollywood stars and other celebrities, one thing always amuses me. And that is the inevitability with which the language of communication becomes English. Even if the channel is Hindi, it is quite strange to see the anchor asking questions in Hindi and the celebrity answering in English. Even if someone tries, the most he or she can manage is two sentences. After that, its back to the queen's language. The reason I specifically mentioned Bollywood stars is because they are supposed to work in the Hindi film industries and mouth dialogues in Hindi for a living. And yet, when it comes to facing the camera without a dialogue sheet, they are back to the language that they are most comfortable with. This is not to say that other celebrities are whizzes in Hindi. But atleast sports stars and politicians converse much better in Hindi as compared to them.

Now one might think that I am being too touchy on a small issue, but I really feel about our national language and the way we have neglected it, especially someone like me whos mother tongue is not Hindi. I used to like, and still like, pure Hindi, the way Premchand, Harivanshrai Bachchan and others used to write (and which were an integral part of our school textbooks). But somehow, have we virtually stopped the use of Hindi in our daily life, to the point where we are no longer comfortable speaking in front of others ? Or is it that it is no longer considered 'cool' to converse in Hindi ? Either case, it is a sad state of affairs. Now two questions that might occur to you: Does Amit consider himself a stud in Hindi ? and if so, why is this post not in Hindi ?? The answer to the first question is an emphatic 'No' and as regards the second one, I need to master the art of typing in the Devnagari script and someday, I hope to blog in Hindi and Marathi. Infact, I am so un-used to writing in the Devanagari script that I can barely write a line in a decent handwriting.

Talking to conversing freely in Hindi, last week's episode of 'Koffee with Karan' was extremely interesting. The guest on this show, which I consider bastion of the Chopra-Khan-Johar coterie, was none other than Rakhi Sawant. It was indeed refreshing to see her talk in Hindi (not withstanding its corruption by the Mumbai lingo) just as we do in our normal conversations. She was also candid in admiting that she was from a vernacular medium school and hence not comfortable in English. Bravo Rakhi !!! If only some others can take a cue from her and promote the use of our beloved national language.

Till the next post,
Cheers
Amit

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Of Monsoon Showers and Dying Dosas !!!!

So the monsoon has finally announced its arrival in Mumbai with a bang. People awoke on Sunday morning to the sound of thunder, gloomy skies and heavy showers. For people who were anyways planning to chill out at home, it couldnt have been better news !! For the unfortunate souls who had to keep meetings and appointments, it sure would have been a curse. (Have called couple of my friends over for lunch and they are actually turning up, all credit to them !!!!)..

With nothing to do this morning, spent more than the usual time browsing through the Sunday newspaper. One particular article sure caught my attention (do not have a link for it here, sorry abt that). It talks about how traditional Udipi eateries in Mumbai (particularly in that South Indian haven of Matunga) are finding it tough to survive amidst obnoxious tax rates, shortage of cooks from down south and a clientele slowly but surely moving the pav bhaji and pizza way. Infact, they talk of such speciality eating joints shutting down in the next decade or so unless they reinvent themselves into a all-under-a-roof style, thereby compromising on their core strenghts. For someone like me who has spent two years gorging himself on the masala dosa and coffee at Mani's Lunch Home or on that wholesome lunch at the Rama Nayak's, it is nothing short of sheer catastrophe. One hopes that better sense prevails on everyone concerned (frm the government as regards taxes and the common junta rediscovers the joy of idlis and utthapas) and these bastions of Udipi culture and cuisines continue to survive and flourish. As regards me, its time to increase the frequency of visits to Matunga !!!..

Also, todays newspaper carries a short interview of my favourite RJ Mallishka. Also, the first time I have seen her snap. She surely rocks in her show, Morning No 1 !!!

Signing off on this post, hope to be more frequent than once every week on this forum !!..

Cheers
Amit

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The Big Boss ???

A large part of the newsprint and airtime in the media the past week has been dominated by that phenomenon from Chennai and the release of his forthcoming blockbuster. I call it blockbuster, because, if the media reports are anything to go by, its no longer a question of whether 'Sivaji' would be a hit or flop. The only question is, how big a hit ?? The debate in the media (and not just the sensation-loving Zee News and Aaj Tak, but also NDTV and their breed) was whether Rajnikant had been treated unfairly by the rest of the country and has been unfairly denied his rightful place amongst India's superstar clan. And, oh yes, the inevitable comparisions between Rajni and the Bollywood Badshahs were all over the channels. As far as the people in question were concerned, both played politically correct: Rajni calling himself a King and Big B the Emperor, while Mr. Bachchan lauded the heights reached by the former bus conductor.

In this context, today's article in the DNA provides interesting insights into the debate over 'Who's the Boss ???'. For me, the key line in that article is : "Earlier, you used to rush to the loo only during the commercial break in an Amitabh flick. Now, you rush to the loo during any commercial break, and be sure that an Amitabh commercial is on air". Surely, there can be no comparison between the two. Someone who does 7 movies a year + endorses around 25 brands simply cannot be the The Boss. The larger than life aura simply wanes off. You simply do not look forward to the release of his next movie. Now consider a person who appears in a movie roughly every two years. Who dares to appear on TV not in designer clothes and shades but in a simple lungi and white shirt with hair almost unkempt. Who does not appear in all-over-the-place commercial. This is the way Rajnikant maintains that halo around himself. And his almost hypnotic smell transcends all barriers of class and caste. An office colleague of mine, an MBA at that, had nicely built the hype about Sivaji much in advance by forwarding every article about the movie. And this weekend, he is in Hyderabad to (or so he claims) catch the first weekend shows, tickets obviously booked much in advance by his folks there. Such is the sway you hold over the masses because you are choosy and careful and you know better than to over-expose yourself by appearing in every second movie and commercial. Thus, as I said, there can simply be no comparison.

Rajnikant rules !!!! Period.

Cheers
Amit

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The 'Joy' of Flying ???

I am currently in the departure lounge at Hyderabad airport, awaiting for the boarding call for my flight to Mumbai. Its been a long day and I cant wait to fly back home. But as I arrived at the airport, I was greeted by an announcement of a 20 minute delay of my flight. I only hope this is the first and last announcement regarding my flight. But as I write this now, there are constant announcements, all saying the same thing : "XXX Airlines regrets to announce a xx minute delay in its flight....". And besides me, the lounge is absolutely packed with hardly a seat to spare. And many are already getting upset with the endless delay announcements. This led me to think: is flying really a 'joy' in todays world ????


The Joy of Flying.. is the tag line of a leading private airline in India. But is it really so ?? In reality, air travel has become a pain for most. In my childhood, air travel had great aspirational value for middle-class households like ours. I guess that still might be the case, which is why airlines like Air Deccan are surviving today. But the actual experience can be quite forgettable.


As I mentioned below, the 'experience' usually starts on arriving at the airport. I guess delays have become the norm now-a-days. A flight leaving on time is actually in a minority, especially in the evenings. If one aircraft is doing many multiple trips during the day, the delay gets added up and by the time the last trip comes, the schedule has gone horribly wrong. (Take the case of an airline which promises us good times, however their last flight from Bangalore to Mumbai is late by almost an hour always, I have experienced this twice). Then comes the infrastructure at the airports, especially at the departure lounges. The seats are woefully inadequate in most airports, the announcements are at best non value-adding and at worst, irritating, the beverages quite expensive and the rest rooms just about hygenic. This ensures that not only are you cursing the airline for the delay, but you cannot wait in comfort as well.


Once you finally board the aircraft, the next hassle comes during landing. Ask anyone flying into Mumbai during late evenings and they would not have missed the standard announcement '...delay due to aircraft congestion..', '.. we are currently 7th in the landing queue....'. Most aircrafts would circle Mumbai about twice before actually getting a chance to land. Not only does it provide for bad sight-seeing, it also is downright irritating. And traffic on the ground is as bad. The tarmac at Mumbai airport resembles something quite similar to one of the traffic junctions in the city. Infact, during my last flight, the bus carrying us from the aircraft to the terminal building actually had to brake twice on the way to avoid colliding with other buses, fuel tankers etc. Infact, one smart alec wondered if BEST drivers had been appointed as drivers for these buses.


In summary, while the proliferation of airlines and the efforts to make flying affordable to everyone is all very well, it has come at the cost of the joy and convenience of the flying experience. One only hopes that the authorities realize this before its too late.

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My favourite Hindi movie lyrics !!!!

Hindi movies have always been remembered for their music, if not anything else. Down the years, the glorious tradition of Hindi film music has always been a part of our way of life, whether it be bands playing at marriages or wannabe Kishore Kumars and Asha Bhosle's trying their luck at the dime-a-dozen talent searchs. Lyrics, to me however, are at the heart of Hindi music. Through lyrics, one can convey the whole gamut of emotions: be it love, tragedy, happiness. You name it and Hindi movies have always had a song for each occassion, that too with the most appropriate words. Great poets like Sahir Ludhianvi (the badshaah of tragedy), Majrooh Sultanpuri, Pradeep (with the immortal 'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon') and down to Anand Bakshi, Gulzar etc. have embellished silverscreen with the most heart-touching lyrics.

Recently, however, this trend seems to be dying out. As with fast-food, today seems the day of fast-lyrics. Lyrics are churned out instead of being written (samples like 'Tu mere sapnon ki rani hui, tu meri prem diwaani hui' etc abound in today's movies). No wonder then, we remember the words of the old melodies of the 60s and 70s rather than the fleeting words put together today. But as with any dark cloud, there is always a silver lining. Hence, presenting below, are five of my favorite poems of movies released this decade. These are enough to prove that good Hindi poetry is still a part of Bollywood today.

These are, in no particular order:

1. Ladki Kyon Na Jaane Kyon Ladkon Si Nahi Hoti (Hum Tum): The fact that Men and Women simply belong to different planets has been illustrated with vivid and real-life examples. You listen to the song and realize that how true it is. Lines like "jeene ka tumko dhang sikhlati hai, tumhe janwaar se insaan banati hai " or " woh sharmati hai, kabhi chupaati hai, ladki jo haan keh de, use nibhati hai " describe the arguments and feelings between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend. Notice the superb one-liners in between in the voice of the lead actors. Simply written.

2. Kuch to Hua Hai, Kuch Ho Gaya (Kal Ho Na Ho): Another simple but truly oustanding poem. Describes the feelings of your first time in love to the T. Sample this: 'cheeze main rakh ke bhool jaati hoon, bekhalayi main gungunaati hoon, ab akele main muskuraati hoon' or 'dhyaan ab apna jyaada rakhta hoon, sochta hoon main kaisa lagta hoon, aaina ho to dekh leta hoon'. How very true na ? I have actually had friends on campus sitting in front of the mirror and ensuring they are tip-top before going on a date. A song that anyone in love can relate to.

3. Yeh Jo Des Hai Tera (Swades): Simply put, this poem raises goose pimples. It may not be quite in the league of that stunner 'Chitti Aayi Hai' (Naam, 1985) but its still quite superlative. Now I have never gone out of my country for work but even then, whenever i listen to this song, deep down in my heart, my country calls me. Now I cannot imagine my friends/relatives working in all corners of the world not being touched by this. Friends in US, Singapore, UK and elsewhere: answer me truly. Doesnt this song pull a string somewhere deep down ??? One line that stands out: " tujhse zindagi - hai yeh keh rahi - sab to paa liya - ab hai kya kami - yunh to sare sukh hai barse - par dur tu hai apne ghar se - aa laut chal tu ab dewaane - jahan koi to tujhe apna maane - awaaz de tujhe bulaye - wohi des'.

4. Chale Chalo (Lagaan): The poem of the underdog. One that urges you to keep fighting all odds. Very well composed. 'Baar baar haan, bolo yaar haan, apni jeet ho, unki haar haan' or 'koi na ab roke tujhe, toke tujhe, tod de bandhan saare, mila kya hoke tujhe nirbal tu hi bata' . The kind of words that you want to hear when you are feeling really down.

5. Mitwa (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna) : The feeling of denial and the pain it causes have seldom been captured so beautifully. Dont we all remember the time when we loved someone but were either ignorant or scared to admit it. 'Yeh ho jai unkahi, yeh jo hai ansuni, wo baat kya hai bata !!!' or 'teri nigahen paa gai raahen, par tu yeh soche jaao na jaaon, yeh zindagi jo hai naachti to, kyon bediyon main hai tere pao' urge to let go of our inhibitions and express ourselves. Amazing song !!!

Couple of other close contenders: 'Yeh Taara Woh Taara' (Swades), Kal Ho Na Ho (Title song). Also had my Punjabi been better, 'Yaar Mangiyasi' (Kaante) might have figured in the above list.

Its not coincidence that ALL of the above songs are written by the same person. Javed Akhtar personifies good and simple poetry in Hindi movies today. Alongwith Gulzar (who comes second only because of his excessive use of Urdu - a language i hope to understand someday and hence appreciate his poetry), he has kept the flame and legacy of Sahir Ludhianvi, Pradeep etc alive.

Would love to hear your feedback and opinion regarding this !!!

Cheers

Amit

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Cricket at the cross-roads !!!

As mentioned in my last post (which was some time ago :)), this post is about the two main issues facing our favourite game post the World Cup.

These are:
- The thorough dominance of one team
- The balance between bat and ball

Coming to point no. 1, it is rightly pointed out that Australia's victory was the most comprehensive ever seen in any team sport, forget cricket. And that, to be frank, is quite unnerving. To see a team simply terrorize their opponents time and over again is not good advertisement for the game. I am sure even a die-hard Aussie fan (and there are quite a few in India as well) would have wished their team a more hard-fought and competitive title defence. The other way to look at this is to say that the Aussies raised the game at key moments, especially in the final. But then that is the hallmark of a champion and it does not hide the poor challenge offered by the other teams. McGrath or no McGrath, the Aussie juggernaut seems set to roll on without any consistent challenger in sight. South Africa are too one-dimensional and lack the flair, England are not upto the standard, West Indies are sadly in decline while India and Pakistan are too inconsistent to pose a sustained challenge. It is left only to New Zealand or Sri Lanka to look the Kangaroos in the eye. What would cricket give to have a Nadal-Federer rivalry ?

Now coming to point no. 2. One memory that I have of the final is this: Vaas came back for his second spell and was bowling to Hayden. He bowled full and Hayden hit him back over his head. He did not quite get to the pitch of the ball in fact, his bottom hand slipped from the bat in the process of striking the ball and he ended up playing one-handed lofted stroke which looked quite ugly. He deserved to be caught in the deep, however, the ball simply went off and landed in the crowds. Some of the credit does go to Hayden's strength, but still, to have a one-handed heave go for six is indicative of the dominance batsmen have in the modern variety of the game. From test cricket (where you need good bowlers to take 20 wickets and win you the game) to one-day cricket and now, the age of Twenty-20, batsmen simply hold all the aces. Again to draw a similarity between cricket and tennis, the latter also have suffered from such a change once wooden racquets were replaced with graphite racquets in the 80s. The grace of a McEnroe or Borg were replaced with the speed and power of Becker and Ivanisevic (who themselves look pedestrian as compared to today's guys when it comes to power play). Again, how I long to see the days of Gower and Azhar using light bats and carressing the ball through the covers or square leg !!!

So, as the dust settles on the World Cup and normal service begins (the English summer has already begun) these two issues need to be keenly addressed. The ICC can surely look into the latter while their member nations will have to devise an out-of-box solution to the Aussie menace. The game is at an interesting stage.

Cheers
Amit

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Finally.. its over !!!!

So the World Cup has finally ended, albeit in circumstances that any sports-lover would not have wished to see. Not only was the final mostly a one-sided affair, the final overs of that 'contest' were a sad sight. Dont think any other global sporting event has climaxed in near darkness with the spirit of competition relegated to the background. And to think that the farce was going on in front of a world audience, not to mention that the governing body of the sport was majorly responsible for it, is hardly the right advertisement for the game. As expected by almost everyone (though not neccessarily hoped by most !!!), the Aussies pocketed their third straight crown.

The World Cup has been severly, and mostly correctly, criticized by all and sundry on several counts: too many teams, lots of matches, exhorbitant ticket prices, lot of ICC red-tape at the venues, marketing considerations presiding over the game and so on. Clearly, most of the charges are quite right and the ICC would need to take a long, hard look at the way the game is run. However, I still feel the competition format was not way off the mark. Initial group stage of 3 matches per team followed by a gruelling 6 games in the Super-Eights was, and still is, a very good format. However, unfortunately for the ICC, Ireland and Bangladesh spoilt the party. By eliminating the two big commercial powerhouses from the tournament, they ensured that half the television audience stayed away from the Super Eights (I guess 9 out of 10 people in India who feel that the tournament was long and boring feel so because their team were knocked out). Sadly, in the process, Ireland and Bangladesh became easy meat in the Super Eights (the win against South Africa did not do much damage as far as the tournament was concerned). I have no doubt that had India and Pakistan been in the Super Eights, it would have been a battle royale between atleast the 7 other teams and, who knows, the winning streak of the Aussies might have been snapped by some, simply because of the high level of competition. The Super Eights would truly have been 24 exciting games on offer. So lets not blame the ICC on that count atleast. The tournament became long and boring not because of the no. of matches staged, but because there was a high proportion of mis-matches. And this is something the ICC had nothing to do with. I am not too sure what other format can the ICC follow. Hopefully by 2011, we will have a brand new format.

Regarding the organization itself, there is not much you can fault with the local organizing committees. Most of the venues looked suitably upgraded (especially the Kensington Oval which could have rivalled any other ground in the world), although it was sad that almost all matches were watched by some empty seats. It finally took the retirement of the local God to ensure the first full house in the Cup. The pitches actually were quite good. Infact places like Port-of-Spain, Guyana and Bridgetown helped the bowlers, something which is uncommon in one-dayers in other parts of the world, including Austalia. All the world-class bowlers performed excellently throughout the World Cup. On the other hand, no pitch was a bowler's dream either. Good batsman found the conditions to their liking as well, which is the way it should be. And apart from the final, there was hardly any rain disruptions throughout the seven weeks. So the local orgainzing committees did their job pretty well.

But for me, there are two bigger issues that came out from this World Cup (and generally, from the way the game is headed):

1. The fact that one nation can dominate a sport so comprehensively so as not to even lose a World Cup game for eight years (it will be 12 years by the time the next edition comes)

2. The balance between bat and ball in the modern-day game

I will touch upon these issues in my next post, which will also be the last on cricket for a while. Its about time I switched my attention to other more important matters.

Cheers

Amit

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Adieu the Prince !!!!!

Yesterday, the curtain was finally drawn on one of the most glittering career in modern-day cricket !!! For 16 years now, Brian Charles Lara from the Carribean island of Trinidad and Tobago has entertained millions all over the world with his unique dish of batsmanship, a mesmerising blend of stunning hand-eye co-ordination and supreme timing and added to it, a dash of genius. Indeed, while he might have been just one of the best batsman in the world, he is, without doubt, the greatest entertainer the cricket world has known in the past 2 decades (Sachin, Ponting et al included) , a mantle he inherited from his fellow carribean great Sir Viv Richards.

The first notice he gave to the cricketing world was way back in 1989, when, as a 19-year old, he cracked 150 in a tour game against the visting Indian team. He just about missed getting into the Windies squad then (too bad, for it would have meant seeing Sir Viv and Lara in tandem, just imagine what both in full-flow would have done too the bowlers). But it did not take him too long for him to break through into the international squad, which he did in 1990. While he had a fairly successful World Cup in 1992, it was not until Sydney in Jan 1993, that he finally arrived on the world stage. The Aussies had seen a rare talent the summer before (exactly a year before, Sachin Tendulkar hit a majestic 148 at the SCG) and this time around, the SCG crowd was privileged to see another talent bloom. His first test hundred was a monstrous 277, ended only when he was run out. Sobers's record was under threat right from those days, and soon it would fall. Lara always reserved his best against the Aussies, a hallmark of great players, who flower against the best opposition. Apart from his 277, there was that trio of genuis-filled centuries in 1999, each one of them as good as the other. The 153 he scored then took the Windies to a 1-wicket victory and was adjudged the 2nd best innings of all time. The South Africans also felt the heat, centuries in the 1996 and 2003 WC by Lara knocked them out the first time, and started their slide in 2003.

Lara played and prospered against the best of them. Except for McGrath, no-one can claim to have got Lara's number. His mastery over Muralitharan in 2001 was another highlight of his career, where he scored 678 runs in 3 tests, but sadly, could not save his team losing all of them. Other bowlers, whether it be Warne, Vaas, Shoaib, Lee or Harbhajan have also suffered at his hands. Add to that, his appetite for scoring monsterous hundreds. To reclaim the record for highest individual score after it was taken away from him was the hallmark of one of the best, if not the best.

Lara in full flow was a real sight. It all started with that lovely back lift. As the bowler ran in to bowl, the base of the bat was almost touching his left shoulder. As the ball was released, it came down in a beautiful arc, ready to meet the ball at the sweet spot at the exact time. The next thing you knew, the ball was almost at the fence. When in song, the other delightful aspect of watching him was seeing him get on his toes, indeed jump sometimes, and hit the ball airborne through point or covers. And he could just as well dance down the track and, with the same beautiful arc of his bat, send the ball sailing over the fence for yet another six. All in all, someone whom you could pay and watch anytime, anywhere !! Incidentally, I remember a game that I had gone to the Brabourne Stadium in 1993. It was the Hero Cup, South Africa vs West Indies. The North Stand, where I was, was rooting for Lara while the East stand was backing Jonty Rhodes. Finally, after a few trademark boundaries, Lara skied a ball and was caught spectacularly by, who else, Jonty. It was the only time I saw him in the flesh and then, as on television umpteen no. of times, it was a great sight.

But, putting his career into complete perspective would also require one to take into account his role as a leader. There, as is the case with Sachin, he could not really be called a good captain. But all said and done, we should all remember the Prince of Trinidad for the sheer joy he brought to a cricket ground. Watching him bat was like savouring the great joys of life !!!!!

So long, Brian !!! The cricket world will be a poorer place now...

Cheers
Amit

PS: The World Cup finally reaches the final week, and one only hopes that somehow, 11 Aussies can show up on the field drunk. Who knows, even that might not be enough !!!

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Mahabharata.. re-looked and re-told !!

Have finally finished reading a magnum opus of a book. Magnum opus not because of any great literary achievements the book has had and not because the author is any stalwart. Magnum opus because of its sheer size (865 pages full of text only, and that too of small font) and because of the fact that it is in my mother tongue Marathi (the written word of which, I hate to admit, takes effort out of me to read). Anyways, after 4 months of chipping away, I finally managed to finish it, surviving my wife’s disapproving looks and comments J.

So what is this book about, you might ask? The book is titled ‘Duryodhan’ by Kaka Vidhate. As the name suggests, it is the story of the eldest Kaurava prince. It starts with his father Dritrashtra lamenting about being a blind prince just before his wedding with Gandhari and ends with Duryodhan dying near the river-bank on the last day of the Mahabharata war. Now the Mahabharata has always fascinated me since childhood. For me, it is quite simply, the greatest story ever sold (and even the ultimate soap opera J). BR Chopra did an outstanding job transferring the epic on the small screen (someday, I will buy the entire collection of DVDs) and hopefully, some director some day will craft an all-start-cast on the big screen. But this book was different from all other books that I have read on the Mahabharata. For once, this was more of a biography rather than being about the actual war (the war only takes about the last 200 pages or so). But more importantly, this was a view from the ‘other’ side, as it were. Though I have read and enjoyed ‘Mrityunjay’ (another outstanding book on my Mahabharata hero Karna, which, strangely enough, I read while doing my MBA at Bangalore), this book tells the epic in a different light, from the eyes of someone who, as history tells us, is the villain of the piece.

But the book raises several questions forcing us to re-look our generally accepted beliefs about the Mahabharata. For example, history tells us that the Pandavas were bound to win the war because they were on the side of truth, of dharma. But take a closer look at what actually happened in the war. Each one of the Kaurava commanders were killed rather than defeated (‘hatya’ as the book calls it as opposed to ‘vadh’ which is the Kshatriya way of overcoming your enemy in battle). Bhishma was killed when he refused to fight Shikhandi, Drona was mercilessly beheaded after he laid down his arms on hearing the false news of his son’s death. And Karna was defeated in the only way Arjuna could have, when he was without his weapons trying to get his stuck wheel out. And all this is generally accepted, not some new theory the book is trying to put forth. Against this, the only legitimate and accepted ‘adharm’ from the Kaurava side was in killing Arjuna’s son Abhimanyu (which the book incidentally denies but lets go with widely held and accepted ‘facts’.) So, atleast as far as the actual war is concerned, there is not much doubt on who acted according to ‘dharma’ and who did not.

The other important point that the book brings out is that Duryodhana lost the war not because he was in the wrong, but because of all his trusted aids betrayed him. Bhishma and Drona could not kill the Pandavas because they were so dear to them. But most importantly, Karna also did him in. He was the rock on which Duryodhana had pinned his hopes on, knowing fully well that in a legitimate battle, even Arjuna could not stop him. But just a few days before the war, out came Krishna (who, not surprisingly, is painted in more black than white by the book) and told Karna the story of his birth, shattering Karna from within. This led to Karma promising Kunti that he would not kill any other Pandava except Arjuna. In the actual war, Karna had each one of the 4 remaining Pandavas at his mercy, had he killed any one of them, the war would have stopped then and Yudhistir would have accepted defeat. So that left Duryodhana with absolutely no friends in battle. He was a marked man from the time the battle started and fate caught up with him eighteen days later (that too, courtesy of a cowardly act from Bheem who hit Duryodhana below the belt after realizing that he was not going to win otherwise).

All in all, the book tells an interesting and often, heart-touching tale of a prince and prospective (and maybe, even rightful) emperor wronged by fate, his father, his friends and his dear ones, leaving him to wage a lonely battle to get what he regarded as rightfully his in life. And, on top of all this, history regards him as a villain and the instigator of the war.

After all, what is history but not a story told by the victorious???

Cheers
Amit

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The show goes on....

A lot has happened in the World Cup since I published my post around 2 weeks back. Some things have changed, some things have remained the same. Two of the biggest crowd-pulling sides have been knocked out of the competition, virtually cutting the estimated global audience for this event by about half. The embarrassing exit of the Men in Blue was immediately followed by the entire country going overboard. As I said, some things remained the same. Effigies were set on fire, restaurants owned by some of the players were damaged and elaborate security was required for the players homes and families. The media, aided by former cricketers (most of whom now get free airtime as 'experts' on the dime-a-dozen news channels), was quick in blaming everyone from the coach, captain and senior players. Calls to revamp Indian cricket flew thick and past. Thankfully, after a few days, the storm has subsided. People now sleep on time and report to work on time. The tournament itself has lost quite a lot of its sheen. The Super Eights, which at one point of time, appeared to be packed with mouth-watering clashes (remember the ICCs scheduled advertising the India-Pakistan clash on April 15th) , now has to see South Africa and Ireland 'battling' it out. Australia, as before, is kicking ass and appears on course for a hat-trick of titles. For people who were calling it the 'most balanced' tournament, things have gone wrong.
But spare a thought for our neighbors. Not only did they suffer an even more embarrassing defeat, but a day later, one man actually lost his life. Till we know the exact cause of Bob Woolmer's death, we can only assume that he paid the price for 'being the man who knew too much'. That it was not a natural death was very much apparent from the start. Also, it could not have been the work of some idiot who lost his mental balance after seeing his team being thrown out of the World Cup. Quite clearly, this was a manifestation of something much more serious and elaborate going on behind closed doors. One only hopes that in the times to come, Bob would be remembered not just for his exemplary coaching skills but also as the man whose death led to a complete clean up of world cricket. After his death and Inzamam's quitting, Pakistan cricket is really in the abyss. Hopefully, it will rise like the Pheonix.

Cheers
Amit

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The aftermath..

I have resisted the temptation to title this post 'I told you so !!!' because, quite frankly, it needed no genius or great cricketing mind to foresee that the match against Bangladesh would not be easy for the Indians. In the entire run-up to the World Cup, the talk was only about whether India would reach the semis or not. One news channel also analyzed thread-bare all of India's matches in the Super 8s. It was only on the day (17th March) that people finally woke up to the challenge that Bangladesh represented, with one newspaper talking of the banana skins that lay in India's way.

I guess the primary cause for the shock on Saturday is this, we simply underestimated the opposition. By we, not just the team management, but also the media and fans. Then there was the decision after the toss. If Dravid n co felt that we needed to give our batsmen practice on a seaming track (there is also one thought that he wanted to have his batters bat out 50 overs rather than bowling Bangladesh out for a poor score and then chasing the target in 25-30 overs), then again, he underestimated their bowling attack.

Most of our batters gave their wickets away. People trying to cut balls close to the stumps, chasing wide ones straight to point, trying to score against the turn etc. Old failings all of these. The skipper got a marginal lbw decision, but that is part of the game. The lower order simply collapsed and only the last-wicket stand saved face. To add to this, some of the deficiencies crept up again. I talked in my last post about how we needed someone to shepherd the middle overs. But we dont have someone who can do that consistently. On Saturday, India scored only 30 runs between overs 20 and 30, which is quite poor. The fastish left arm spin of the Bangladeshis simply suffocated us. In the afternoon, the wicket had become quite good for batting barring the odd ball swinging and we our bowlers always were going to struggle defending 191. Having said all this, hats off to the Bangladeshis. A young squad played out of their skins to defeat the so-called 'favourites'. For the sake of world cricket, one hopes that this will be dawn of their renaissance and such victories become more frequent.

As far as the Men in Blue is concerned, its an uphill struggle for them to progress now. Because their fate is no longer in their hands. Beating Bermuda by a margin even wider than what the Lankans achieved is going to be tough. And in the Sri Lankans, India is going to meet an opposition similar to the Bangladesh but much more skilful and experienced. And the sad part is, beating Sri Lanka also wont assure them of a ticket to the Super 8s. Anyways, still the wishes go out to the team in Blue.

cheers
Amit

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Mommy's favourite ???

The other day was my parents wedding anniversary. My wife and I were planning to have a good dinner served at home (with she doing the cooking of course ;-).. Inevitability, the question was 'What should be the menu ?. Quite naturally, we decided to cook some dishes which Mom n Dad liked. As far as Dad is concerned, we immediately zeroed in on a few favourites. But then, the question asked was 'What dishes does Mom like ?'.. And quite frankly, I didnt have an answer. For years, she has been cooking all sorts of delicacies for the entire family. And here I was, not knowing what she liked. Come to think of it, do many of us have an answer to that one ?. More importantly, have we ever asked her that ?,, if at all someone asks her, the answer is 'anything/everything'.. Now if at all, there was a dish by that name ;-)..

So, heres a tribute to that wonderful lady who has been feeding the family for so long and silently eating everything that everyone else likes with a smile :))..

cheers
Amit
PS: World Cup posts will come soon. As I finish this post, India is struggling against Bangladesh. I am reminded of my previous post :)

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The Group of Death ??

Continuing my series of randomly arbit thoughts on the Cricket carnival called the World Cup !!!

Yesterday's win by Bangladesh over New Zealand in the warmups only waters the seed of doubt that I have in my mind about my team's chances at the first stage. A lot has been said and written about how the first 15 days of the World Cup (when the 1st round takes place) are absolute bores. In fact, Rediff has published an article saying that the ICC, on its website, has already published the Super 8s schedule alongwith the teams !!!! (According to that, India play Pakistan on April 15th, and India's games against Australia, South Africa and Pakistan are all on weekends :))..

But before that, lets not write off the other 8 teams, Least of all, not Bangladesh. They are by far the best of the other 8 sides. They have beaten almost every one of the big boys in the past. Also, the wickets in the West Indies might suit their kind of bowling (no express pace, gentle medium pace backed up by decent spinning options). Their batting, although their weak link, has a couple of names (Bashar and Ashraful) who, on their day, can win match (ask the Aussies !!).. Therefore, if there is any group which resembles the popular 'Group of Death' (a term made famous by the Football WC), it is group B that contains Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and of course, India.

Both India and the Lankans would have to be very careful about their matches against Bangladesh. A shock defeat to the Bangladesh would derail their entire campaign and one of them might be returning home by the month-end. Given that both India and Sri Lanka are being counted as potential semi-finalists, this would change the nature of the cup going into the Super 8s. India's first match is against Bangladesh on March 17th. This is both good and bad. Bad because India have been slow starters (last time, they struggled against Holland in their 1st match, were thrashed by the Aussies in their 2nd before bouncing back strongly) and hence, they would have to be on their toes and at the top of their games right from the 1st ball they bowl (or face) in this Cup. Good because, god forbid, a reverse there would mean that they have a game against the Lankans to follow as a do-die game.

So, March 17th is as important a date in India's WC campaign as any other !! All the best to the team in Blue !!! And hope my thoughts are too random and arbit not to be true !!

Cheers
Amit

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Let the carnival begin...

So we are just 10 days from the cricket carnival in the Carribean. The teams have landed (alongwith the commandoes guarding them) , the controversies (quite inevitably) have started and finally, one is beginning to hear the buzz associated with the World Cup. Never mind the fact that one channel here in India went overboard saying something to the effect that 'the whole world is waiting with bated breath for the 13th of March' :)).. as if Germany, Japan and Brazil cared..

Ironically, the Indian team selection was bit of a foregone conclusion as compared to in the past where reams of newsprint would be spent discussing each individual's chances. With most players picking themselves, and the series victories against the Windies and Lankans adding that much-added spark to the pre-world cup build up, the selectors really didnt have much to think about. While the assembled squad is probably the best they could have picked, a glance down the names reveals glaring deficiencies in two vital aspects of one-day cricket: fielding, of course (as most have pointed out) but also in middle-overs maneuvering..

India's likely starting XI would read: Ganguly, Sehwag, Tendulkar, Dravid, Yuvraj, Karthik/Uttappa, Dhoni, Agarkar, Zaheer, Harbhajan, Munaf. Of these, only Yuvraj and Karthik can claim to be world-class in the inner ring while Sachin and Agarkar are quick in the outfield.. None of the others has ever been accussed of greatness in the field, in fact, a couple actually need a place where the ball doesnt bother coming.... which is a worrying thought, because this means that we would be conceeding atleast 15-20 runs in every innings just on account of untidy fielding.. This puts much more pressure on the top seven (including Dhoni) to deliver whatever is asked of them. With due respect to Zaheer's and Agarkar's recent good form as well as the fact that Kumble n Bhajji would be useful on those tracks , it is the batsman who carry our hopes. And, to be fair, that is a very good lineup. If only Sehwag can consistently fire, then we would get that confidence of 16 successive run-chases back. But a word of concern here: we still do not have the player who deftly puts away each ball in the middle-overs for a single, and runs hard to convert those ones to twos. Sachin, of course, is capable of both those but incase he goes to open, we would have Sehwag, Dravid, Yuvraj in the middle order. All these magnificent batsman are not of the Azhar/Jadeja class when it comes to making those middle overs count. Which is partly why we struggle after a good start quite often (and against dibbly-dobblers bowling at 110-120kmph or against spinners like Gayle n Samuels who simply fire the ball in the batsman's legs, again, at around 110kmph !!!.. We certainly need to get that act straight or we might lose the plot somewhere between overs 20 and 35..

All said and done, while this is not the Class of 1983 and 1985 (or even the Class of 2003) , this is the best team they could have picked (though Raina and Powar might consider themselves unlucky). So all the Very Best to the Men in Blue !!!!!!

Cheers
Amit

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Cricket Madness...

With the quadrennial cricket madness about to start, hope to post some thoughts regarding that as well..
Of course, all thoughts are randomly arbit !!!! :))

Cheers
Amit

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Me and the Marathon... part 2

Ok.. let me begin with a slight apology if anyone got the impression from the ending of part 1 that this part was going to have all the thrills n spills of a Bollywood blockbuster... Nothing of the sort :).. Just that last time around, I was too bored to write the entire days proceedings at one go (not to mention the boredom incurred while reading a lonnng post).. Hence decide to break in between... Neways..

I was part of the half-marathon (21km). Tall order if you ask me, but still, I had decided to try it out and just walk off if it got too tough. The race started before 7 am from CST. Thankfully, early mornings in January in Mumbai are quite pleasant, so it was comfortable at the start. I started a light jog but after about 2kms (at the Pizzeria junction in Churchgate), I gave up jogging and settled into a nice n comfortable walk (which is what I had planned to do anyways). Along with me was a motley crowd about 6000+ participants, young n old, thin n not-so-thin, gents n ladies (and pretty girls as well :))... All of them having a great time. Marine Drive in the morning was awesome, with the sun just rising over the skyscrapers on the East and the Arabian Sea taking on a nice light shade of blue. The weather continued to stay nice and comfortable.

After about an hour, the effects of not practicing started telling on the legs. By this time, we were past Marine Drive and on Peddar Road. There, the best thing was many people coming down from their apartments and giving us water, biscuits etc and generally cheering us on. At about this time, there was a van from behind asking us to move to the left side of the road. What was that all about ?. The full marathon (42km) had started, and there was this group of 15-20 race leaders (needless to say, almost all East African) who had actually covered the distance of about 7kms till then in less than half the time as I had and had passed us on !!!!. Really admire those nations in which cross-country running is a way of life. How they can sustain stamina over 42km is simply beyond me. But nevertheless, that kind of egged me on and I continued, not withstanding the increasing pain in the soles.

From Peddar Road, we continued up to Haji Ali and then turned just before Worli Naka (on the road that goes to Worli Seaface), By this time, it was almost 8.30 am and about 11kms down, so it was a huge high to know that you had finished more than half the race. On the way back, things were getting slowly bad. Anyways, my companions were all scattered in different places and I was on my own (it helps to walk/run with a group, which is what most proffessional marathoners do). Again back to Peddar Road and I finally had to stop on the Kemps Corner flyover (abt 15kms done). After a short break, I continued. After the some time, again there was a van asking us to stay to the left. Those full-marathon race leaders had gone all the way to Bandra Reclamation, turned back and then caught up again on the return path (they must have done abt 34kms against my 16kms :).. As I walked back to Marine Drive, I could see the end in sight. Thereafter, it was only that thought which egged me on. With each step, I could see the ending point at the CST.

Finally, at around 10.45 am (almost 4 hrs since the start), I nearly limped my way across the finish line at the CST, delighted at the thought of completing (so what if it was walking) my first marathon. The marathon left me with aching legs for almost a week, but also with sweet memories and a feeling of actually achieving something worthwhile (and believe me, not many things give so much pleasure). Already, preparations for January 2008 are in order, with a new target.. Hopefully !!!!..

Cheers
Amit

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Me and the Marathon... part 1

According to me, the most enduring and (I daresay) the greatest physical feat that mankind does is the Marathon !!.. Having read Lance Armstrong’s autobiography, I acknowledge that cycling (in the Alps in cold, windy and rainy conditions) does come close. But still, I have always admired the gritty Marathoners and have wondered as to how anyone can actually run 42km (that is more than the distance between Churchgate and Borivali, between which most of the local trains ply). The maximum I have ever managed to run at a stretch is about 2km !! J. So it has always been my dream to actually experience the marathon and see what drives these athletes to the limits of human endurance !!

For the past 5 years, the Mumbai Marathon has provided the citizens of Mumbai with a platform to take part and experience the Marathon. Since 2005, I have always wanted to be a part of the Mumbai Marathon but something or the other always prevented it. So when the Mumbai Marathon 2007 came along, I decided not to miss it at any cost, even though I was just back from a 3 week post-marriage vacation and it was more than a month since I saw the gym!! Nevertheless, with all this (and without the whole-hearted approval of my wife J), I finally landed at Azad Maidan at 6 am in the morning of 21 January 2007, proud of the fact that I atleast managed to show up for the big event (as an official participant with a bib no. on my back)…

Keeping watching this space for what actually happened….

Cheers

Amit

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Update on 'New on the Tube'...

Just to continue from my previous post...

The Marathi Singing Competition 'Idea Sa Re Ga Ma Pa' is now in its final stages.. 3 contestants remain.. while overall it has been a good show, the last few weeks seem as if the show is being stretched unneccessarily.. they actually had 8-9 rounds of the final !!!.. a round a week .. with one person being eliminated each week.. now we are down to 3 ppl (2 guys and a gal).. Must appreciate the fact that even though ppl have been listening to them for over 3 months now, the contestants manage to impress each time in a different genre of songs !!!... The sad part is that the general allegations of vote favouring/rigging have surfaced.. the story being that one of the participants was actually voted out by the public (through the now-omnipresent SMS route) but the judges (who now have a minimal say in the selection) insisted on that participant being retained.. would be a pity if such controversies mar what would be a good finale to a good show !!

May the best person win !!!
Cheers
Amit

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New on the tube !!!!

So after a long break from blogging, I am back !!!!

Now normally, I am not your regular TV watcher. The only times I switch on the TV is a). when there is a match on b) catching up on some news and c) going through the latest movie trailers. For anything else, there is neither the time nor the inclination (more of the former ;-). Also I cant watch a movie on TV with the endless breaks in between... But lately, there are a couple of shows that have caught my fancy and have actually made me sit in front of the idiot box for a length of time. Not entirely surprisingly, both of them are on a song n dance... essential ingredients of life ;-)

The first one is the popular celebrity dance show 'Jhalak Dikhala Jaa' on Sony. (for ppl who are not aware, this is a show in which celebrities, not neccessarily from the entertainment sector, team up with a choreographer and present a series of various dance forms to the tune of popular Hindi numbers. At the end, one of them is judged the winner). So you have ppl like Ajay Jadeja, Sanjeev Kapoor (yes, the chef !!), Mahesh Manjrekar etc all trying their hand at shaking a leg ;).. and boy, some of them do perform. For me, the best part of the show is the high levels of performance put in by the celebrities. Take Ajay for example. Though he was always fleet-footed at the crease, he appears very much at home here. The best part of it is the wide smile on his face while dancing. IMO, it is very important that you
smile your way through what is perceived to be a physically demanding activity. And Ajay does it really well. Ditto for Mahesh. Now its down to the semi-finals with Mahesh, Mona Singh a.k.a. Jassi and Shveta Salve (dont ask me where does she come from :-) left to do battle. May the best (and the happiest) win !!!

The other show is a new singing talent search. But for once, this is in Marathi. Talent hunt shows in Hindi are dime a dozen, so its really heartening to see Zee Marathi come up with a talent show in Marathi (Idea Sa Re Ga Ma Pa !!). Hosted by the ever lovely Pallavi Joshi, this provides a great platform for upcoming talent in regional languages (I guess they have similar shows in other states). For once, it sensitizes me to the great treasure that is Marathi music. I, as with most of my generation, have been guilty of neglecting it at the cost of Bollywood and Western music. And some of the performances are excellent. There was one show in the past where the judges had to select one of two contestants. And both of them were so damn good, they had to hold 3 additional rounds just to find the ever-so-slight difference between the two (and were left tearing their hair). All in all, it makes for great hearing.

So, these two shows, not to mention the Champions Trophy, ensure that more of my time is spent on the couch with the TV in front. Till the next, Ciao !!!!..

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I am alive...

Just to keep myself alive on the blogging scene.. :) and to ensure that I dont forget my login n password :-))).. anyways, will be back soon with .. what else... some Randomly Arbit Thoughts !!!!
Cheers till then
Amit

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Fanaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.....

Last Sunday, finally the 10 day wait was over. I entered Movietime theater in Goregoan to witness the most anticipated biggie in Bollywood... of course, the all start cast behind the movie needs no introduction.. yash raj films, kunal kohli at the helm, performers like aamir, kajol (not to mention rishi kapoor, tabu and kiron kher).. all coming together to present what was supposed to a product par excellence..
But of course, just as the world XI were thrashed by the aussies, this assortment of stalwarts fails to deliver. And why, you may ask ???? Because the biggest star of them all was missing...yes, it lacked a strong and gripping narrative. While the basic storyline of a terrorist falling in love with a blind girl is interesting enough, this could not simply be stretched to 2.45 hrs. So you had a movie, which, apart from 10 minutes on either side of the interval and 15 minutes at the end, is just like hundreds of love stories you have seen.

And quite a few cinematic liberties are taken. Both the leading pair's characters are unreal. I cannot imagine how a blind girl, coming from a small town in Kashmir to a big bad metro, can fall so badly love with a tourist guide (who incidentally, quotes shayaari's with such elan that even javed akhtar would struggle) that she can actually sleep with him in 7 days flat !!!!!.. I mean, are not people (especially those who cannot see) supposed to be more cautious in dealing with the outside world ??

And the leading man is supposed to be this ruthless hitman out to execute a diabolical plan to terrorize the world. so how can he fall in love with a simple, though beautiful (kajol does look divine) girl not once, but TWICE ?????? And in any case, how many real life stories do you hear of hardened criminals giving up crime for love ????? Simply beats me... anyway this fall-in-love-again love story takes up more than 2 hours of screentime.. no wonder I was yawning with my mouth so wide open that it hurt :)..

To cut a long story short, Fanaaahhh was a disappointment... two good things abt it ??? One is Kajol of course. she looks beautiful and acts as only she can.. And the other is a delightful little cameo from, no noo not lara dutta or shiney ahuja or tabu, one of my all-time favourite hindi hits.. 'Lag Jaa Gale ke phir ye hasi raat ho na ho, shaayad phir is janam main mulaqat ho na ho'.. Quite superb, the song, not the movie.. :)

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A One-Off Classic !!!

So where were you on Sunday evening ? Match dekha ki nahi ? These were the queries doing the rounds in my office on Monday morning as a cricket-crazy country woke up after an extra-ordinary day. It was most definitely, cricket's 'I-was-there' moment. If you are a bowler, you must probably have wished that the earth would have swallowed you up that day. In any case, I caught only the last 12 overs of the match and settled down to watch the highlights on Monday night. And what I saw disturbed me so much that I actually switched off. Even after discounting that highlights show only the 4s/6s and the wickets (there was not much of those), it was really disheartening to see bowlers being slaughtered the way they were. Good length balls, perfectly acceptable on any other day, were being routinely sent over the fence and not just in one direction. Sixes were hit to all parts of a ground (and this is not some village ground with 50 yard boundaries, it was a significantly big arena we are talking about).

Ayaz Memon has pointed out in today's DNA that after Sunday's match, one-day cricket will never be the same again. I tend to agree with him. I remember during the break, when the TV channels flashed their standard 'breaking news' lines that the Aussies had scored 434, I remember telling my Dad "These guys have broken the previous record of highest team score (395) not by 3-4 runs, but by 39 runs !!!! That is awesome !!". If that was awesome, then the South Africans bettered the record for the highest successful run chase** by a mind-boggling 103 runs !!!!!!! It is when such records occur that the game is changed forever. There is always a sense of achievement about successful run chases. India's two most-recalled wins are the Natwest trophy truimph in 2002 and before that, the Independence Cup win against Pakistan at Dhaka. Both 310+ run chases. Commentators and experts are usually asked at the start of the match 'What you do think is a safe score on this wicket ??'. After March 13, 2006 I am afraid there is no longer a thing as a 'safe' score. Ten years ago, 300 was thought as a safe score on any wicket, about 3-4 yrs back, 300 was replaced by 350. But what now ? What this might do is dissuade teams from batting first especially on a flat track (as most pitches are now). Teams might routinely opt to bat second. And if they have to bat second, they must play to their strengths. So what do they do ? Well, your guess is good as mine. They will pack their side with batsman to give themselves the best chance of chasing and winning. After all, 435 was chased, so surely scores of 350, 370 should be gettable now. So we might have an Indian line up with a decently good bat like Agarkar at No 11 !!!! Have some part-timers who can send down 50 overs somehow and then back yourself to chase any target !!!!. And what if they lose the toss ? then they bat first and try and bat the other side out of the game !!. This would result in a vicious circle where the bowling is weakened which gives rise to even bigger scores, which 3 times out of 10 are chased successfully, thereby inducing teams to further strengthen their batting and so on.... Sounds far fetched ????? Well, I sincerely hope so. But chasing 435 sounded more than far-fetched as well on Sunday !!

To round off, I do hope that Sunday's match be best remembered as a classic, but a one-off classic nevertheless !!! and that South Africa's successful run-chase record is not broken atleast in my lifetime. Or else you might see the death of the bowler in one-day cricket... :(

Cheers
Amit

** Incidentally, the previous best chase was, I think, 332 by New Zealand just a few months ago against the same Aussie side. This tells you that the second rung of the Aussie bowling attack cannot even hold a candle to McGrath and Warne and also, you know what to do while playing the Aussies.

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A trip at last....

The last weekend holiday that I had been to was in October 2005 to Ganpatipule. Ever since then, several plans have been thought of, discussed and finalized, only to fall flat at the last moment.
But finally last week, all things finally fell into place and we were finally off to Mahabaleshwar...

Like last time, we started off early on Saturday morning.. this allows for two things, a. you get out of Mumbai very fast (in fact, so fast that we missed the right turn that hits the Goa highway and found ourselves on the Pune Expressway..) and b. you get to see the rising sun and savour the early morning freshness in the atmosphere.. we fairly zipped through the expressway and hit Pune by 8 am for a quick breakfast before proceeding towards Satara.. Being a part of the Golden Quadrilateral, that road is quite good and we moved steadily and got to the MTDC resort in Mahabaleshwar at around 10.30 am.. taking just over 5 hrs for the 320 km journey..

A quick comment on the resort.. MTDC resorts are recommended wherever you go for a holiday.. the best part about them is that they get the best locations in town.. so invariably, you will find an MTDC resort spread over a huge area with individual bungalows, cottages separated by gardens and greenery.. It makes a great relaxing experience..and they are always reasonably priced and offer all the facilities required..

Anyways, coming back to our trip, after a quick breakfast, we were off to Pratapgarh fort (around 20 km). This historic fort is best known as the place where Shivaji killed the Mughal general Afzal Khan. It has a temple on the top alongwith a very good exhibition-sale of handicrafts.. after a quick tour of the place we were back for a long overdue lunch at the resort by around 3 pm.... the lunch was also too good.. or maybe it was because we were so famished.. in any case, after a hearty lunch we hit the sack.. initially we had planned to visit a few points before going to the Bombay (Sunset) Point.. but we got up late and just about managed to reach Sunset Point in time to see the sun dissapear over the western horizon..

BTW it is also called Bombay Point because, apparently, on a clear dark night, you can see the lights of Mumbai about 260 kms to the northwest... seemed difficult to me looking at the haze all around the point.. but nevertheless we managed to get a few good snaps there..


After the sunset, we were off to the main market (with Rang De Basanti and Bluffmaster numbers blaring in our car).. the main market street in Mahabaleshwar is a nice little street.. although it was not nearly full season it was full that Saturday evening.. and the most omnipresent item was, of course, strawberry. It was present in all forms, the fruit itself being sold on the road, or as strawberry shakes or ice-cream with strawberry etc sold at the various ice-cream parlours.. all in all, it was mostly red around.. from the market we went to Vienna Lake at around 9.30 pm.. at that time, of course, the lake was closed and there was hardly anyone around.. but we did manage to find a 'buttawala' around and had one of the sweetest corn that I have eaten.. the lake at that time was looking surreal.. darkness around, stars all over you, alongwith the mist and silence for company... that was followed by dinner alongwith a quick beer and then back to the resort by midnight..

The next morning after breakfast we checked out of the resort and visited whatever points we could cover.. prominent amongst them was Arthur's seat and Elphinstone point.. the former is a good one with a viewing platform from which one can observe the valley both on the west and east... from there we went off to the Mafco's farms and store.. this is the the main firm producing and dealing in strawberry products... and guess what, between the five of us, we picked up an astounding 15 kg of strawberry's, not to mention bottles of strawberry crush etc.. all of this were dumped at the back of the car..

From there it was back to Mumbai via Panchgani with another late lunch at Pune.. while coming back the expressway looked beautiful with the sun setting and our car blazing ahead at 130 kmph in that direction.. it gave the perfect ending to a good and relaxing trip.. here's hoping that the next one is very soon... cheers..

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