slipping under the wall

Unnoticed in all the hullabaloo surrounding Dravid's form, spin bowling in India is headed towards a crisis. With the King now resting his weary legs at home, his successor is finding the glare a bit too harsh. Bhajji is bowling with as much imagination as a bull in a red mist. Straight through seems to be his mantra with predictable lack of success.

What happened to all the guile and variations spinners are supposed to have in their armoury? Firangi spinners seem to be able to out bowl Bhajji with ease. It sure is galling to think that the likes of Swann, Krezja and Harris are bowling better than our very own Sardar who probably has more test wickets than all of them put together. Not a statement you would want to hear if you are the lead spinner of the Indian cricket team. Supposedly the land of spinners.

Test match cricket at it's best!

What a match. The best part of the match was the result. For too long, India has conspired to lose from positions of strength. This was one glorious exception. And Viru has to be given the lion's share of the credit.
He forced the others to go for the target and not nudge their way to defeat. Amazing stuff which I missed as it turns out. I think we are watching a transformation of the mindset in the team from the Dada years to the Dhoni way of doing things. I was amazed when at the end of day 2, Dhoni still thought his team could win it. I have never heard an Indian captain say he was confident of a win with his team so far behind.
The result has proved him right and how.

Here is to many more such victories and to silencing all those who wanted Sachin to hang up his boots. Where would we be without his talismanic presence? I am sure a team can do with more than one talisman. Sehwag is as much a talisman as Sachin. Indian cricket is in the pink of health.

She is back....

In the current furore over the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, one voice missing in action was Arundhati Roy.

Well, she is back and how. Here is the link to a long winded rant session from the lady making no point, certainly nothing new.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/dec/12/mumbai-arundhati-roy

It would be nice to offer some solutions once in a while methinks....

Interesting video

A friend from Dubai forwarded me this link of an Arab-American Psychologist talking about the most debated topic in current times, 'Islamic terrorism' which was pretty brave coming from a lady from that part of the world. Even braver was the channel for allowing it to run on air.

The lady made some pretty strong and forceful points. The cleric had no answers to most of her points leading him to sullen silence by the end of the clip.

I am wondering how safe she is now? Is she even alive as another friend of mine asked me after seeing the clip?

Sad commentary on the image of that religion when everyone who has seen the clip wonder's about the lady's safety first....

However, do we like this because it seems balanced or do we like it because it echoes what all of us have been thinking in our hearts?


Here is the link.

http://switch3.castup.net/cunet/gm.asp?ai=214&ar=1050wmv&ak=nul

House cleaning time

I think it's time India did some good old fashioned house keeping and wiped out the various terror modules allowed to grow and mushroom in this country by self serving vote bank politicians and their networks.

No one can advice restraint in this, since it will be an internal matter. The whole world can watch and do nothing. I am sure the cops and the intelligence agencies would love to be given a carte-blanche.

I wish this government has the balls to tell them, "Do whatever it takes to clean them out".

If however, we choose to do what 'W' did, we will also pay the same price or an even heavier price.

The choice is ours to take. I don't know if we will however...

what next?

Do we go back to doing nothing? Is something going to happen this time around? What can we as citizens do to help change the status quo?

I wonder if Sec 49 of the constitution will help? How many of us know about this section? If anyone reads this blog, ideas are welcome.

Anything to help answer these questions will help, I guess....

How fragile we are.....

This morning driving back after dropping my daughter to school I happened to hear Sting singing this song on the radio. It hit home pretty hard. We really are fragile and helpless and many similar sounding adjectives put together.
When will the government wake and smell the coffee or whatever it is that they need to jerk out of their collective slumber?
When will we get a single party winning the elections instead of a motley crew of sundry regional and religious parties trying to run this country on consensus, resulting in serial lack of action and damages to the common man?
Until such time, we might just be reduced to singing this sting ditty.....

Bangalore vs Hyderabad

This is one battle Hyderabad is winning hands down if one were to go by the new airports these two cities have put up recently. While the one at Bangalore has gone from being a glorified bus stand to a half decent domestic airport. The Hyderabad airport is truly international.

One wonders what Bangalore gained by going for a multi-national consortium to build the airport. The domestic team led by the GMR group has done an amazing job at Hyderabad and I am sure the Delhi airport will also be world class when they finish there. The supposed international expertise is amazingly invisible and is really galling for a Bangalore boy to take. I am sure, these feelings are echoed by most Bangalorean's who visit Hyderabad.

I wonder if the power't that be are going to do something about this?

Someone needs to ask some tough questions.....

Jammy is in a jam

The end looks very much in sight for Dravid. It's sad to see him struggle so much. Wonder if he has it in him to stick this one out and get back to making some runs? The more likely scenario is that the selectors will now tend to overlook Dravid a bit more easily than possible when he was in form and the backbone of the team.

It's never easy to see a stalwart struggle for a fan of the game. I just hope this series is not the last memories of Dravid as an India player.

Jumbo No More

Kumble bows out at the Kotla. Poetic to say the least. It was a surprise but not unexpected. What warmed the heart was the farewell he got. By far the best farewell for India's greatest match-winner so far. I don't know if we will see the likes of Anil Kumble anytime soon. Thank you for the memories Jumbo.

For those who thought Amit Mishra was the replacement ready to take over from Kumble, think again. A look at the just concluded test will tell you all you need to know. He has a long way to go. Hope he atleast tries and does not get bogged down by the mountain he has to climb in trying to replace Anil Kumble!

One last hurrah

I just wish Kumble is fit and raring to go for the 3rd test. I am sure Jumbo has one last match winning effort left in the tank before he signs off. I am pretty sure, he will be the next to go from the Fab 5.
The fan in me wants him to go out on a high and not when everyone and their neighbors are asking why is he hanging around when he is not needed anymore. I am not so sure. All these guys seem to have forgotten the number of matches this man has won for India single-handedly. Its all nice to forget what he has done, when winning seems so easy without him.
I hope the Kotla can give him back his mojo and remind all the disbelievers what Kumble in his pomp can still do.
Remind us all one last time Jumbo!

Aussie on the run

It must be a new feeling for the all conquering Aussies, chasing leather. They better find some better bowlers or they had better get used to a lot more running behind the ball. This Indian team has really ground their collective noses in it in the second test.

This test looks like its headed only one way unless something drastic happens tomorrow. Here is hoping India finishes the job off without too much of a fuss on the morrow.

Defiant no more

A few posts earlier, I had said that he should be the first one to leave and he has done precisely that. Bravo.
He has a chance to go out in a decent manner. And I don't think anyone can grudge him that. Dada did a lot for Indian cricket. And it owes him the farewell ride. I just hope he doesn't lose his intensity now that he has decided to leave.
I for one will be at the Chinnaswamy to root for him on the first day.

Thank you for the memories Dada..

Bracing for tomorrow!

These are testing times for Indian cricket. A hugely successful generation must move on and the next generation has to step into the breach. If I were the one following the Fab 5 into the Indian team, I would be daunted. The legacy they will leave behind is formidable. I for one think, Indian cricket will suffer from it for a while to come.
While the Fab 5 have another chance to add to their legacy in the series coming up, the replacements are running out of time to stake a claim. Two young men did take a step forward yesterday, while a much favoured veteran just reinforced his lack of application. Talent he has aplenty. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be the bulwark of Indian batting in the future if they can keep their eyes on the ball hereon in. In such a higly rewarding arena, its strange that I talk about keeping their eyes on the ball. Many a youngster has fallen by the wayside, because he could not keep his eye on the ball. The distractions proved too tempting, ultimately costing him his chance at cricketing immortality. Him here could be any number of cricketers we are all familiar with. Kambli, Siva, Sadanand Vishwanath, Yuvraj......

Moto GP & F1

Last Sunday saw two races worth watching. One on two wheels and one on four. While in Moto GP, it was fun watching the doctor turning it on, it was very painful watching the reds blow their title chances to smithereens.

If the FIA doesn't do something about overtaking in F1 races, more and more people will switch to watching Moto GP. Thanks to Piquet crashing, the Singapore GP turned into a lottery and one in which Ferrari lost very badly. Even though it was of their own making. If the lollipop man had not twitched when he did, Massa might still have won the race.

Meanwhile a true champion stamped his authority all over the 08 Moto GP season. Watching Rossi win the race at Motegi was an experience. The moment he turned up in the top three, you knew he was going to win. And win he did in vintage style. Casey Stoner might well be the rising star, but he still has a thing or two to learn in terms of leading a race and not wilting under the pressure of a confident second place runner.

God knows which Ferrari team will turn up for the rest of the races in F1. For a while in the recent races, Massa was almost proving my prediction wrong. I don't think he has what it takes to win this championship, and I am yet to be proven otherwise. The next three races will tell if I am any good at this game ...

Of old friends and never ending conversations..

I don't know what's with old friends and conversations. They just never seem to end nor dry up. Which makes one look forward to these episodes in life. I had one last night and it was amazing while it was on. The morning after is a liquor induced haze, but that's also part of the charm. You tend to look back and think,"Man, that was some night".

After a long night filled with rum and coke, mixed with single malt on the rocks, its easy to forget what happened. But the beauty of these episodes are the memories that are revived and created making these special and things that you look forward to.

I am already waiting for the next one....;)

The Visa Business

Visa's are so hard to get, for ordinary citizens, yet the ones it should be hard for, manage to get through. How do they manage that, I wonder.
Can't blame the system for making it so tough, but at the same time it makes me wonder, whether the system actually helps to weed out the unwanted elements.
Hmmm

Questions

Roads are laid just before the rains so that they can get washed promptly away. Why?

Roads are dug up even before the freshly laid tar dries up by the telephone or the water guys. Why?

The citizens pay betterment tax and road tax for what joy no one knows.

The traffic cops claim to be doing all they can to ease traffic congestion in the city with no visible signs of the congestion easing. All they probably need to do is for starters, to change the bus stops at most major junctions a fair bit away from the junction instead of stops being almost instantly after the junction. But they haven't thought of that yet. Don't ask me why.

One whole village in Kodagu is starving coz no vehicles can reach that village with the bare necessities. The roads to that village are in such a state that drivers have refused to drive there. This has been true for over 2 years now and yet successive governments have failed to do anything about it. God knows why.

Terrorists strike at will and no one has a clue about how to stop them or at the very least deter them form such misadventures. Strong measures are eschewed for fear of alieanating the minority votebanks. People still go out and vote. God knows why.

One down, four to go

So, it had to end like this. I just hope he doesn't protest too much. Frankly speaking, in the last series, it looked like he was going through the motions. The others at least looked like they were making an effort. Dada looked like he had had enough.
It is a very sad end to an amazing career. Indian cricket owed a better farewell to this great player. I might be a bit hasty in saying this, for Dada has proven many people wrong in his time and one last hurrah might well be in the offing, but going by what I saw in the Test series in Lanka, I don't think so. He seems to have had enough of trying to prove people wrong.
Nothing much left for him to achieve.

Thank you for all the memories....

Hope to see you in the BCCI at some point in time. Will be good to see some butt kicked.

A team of 11, but One can make or break it

How crucial are some players in a team than the other members?

Quite crucial as some recent events proved all over again.

While Argentina had a galaxy of stars in their Olympic team, the one name everyone kept mentioning all the time was of Messi. He had a largely subdued gold medal match but for that one pass that set up the winner.

Vaughan is touted as the best English skipper of the recent past, but his exit from the team has suddenly rejuvenated that same team. What sort of role did he play in the dismal run for the English team while he was running things and how things have changed with KP in charge. Was he the millstone weighing down the England team? I have a feeling that Vaughan will not be too welcome in the dressing room now. He might as well retire.

And finally for a team that was not given much of chance of doing anything noteworthy while in Sri Lanka, did what no other Indian team could do there, win the series. One man changed things around for Team India and it was that man MSD again. What a difference, a safe pair of hands behind the wicket and a strong mind, makes to a team's fortunes.

But at the end of the day, if that one player can't get the others to play out of their skins, the results will not add up to much. Kobe and the Laker's come to mind.

Is it time to bite the bullet?

Watching India win an ODI series in Lanka for the first time straight after the Test team were humiliated by the Lankans was bittersweet.
While its easy to say that Test cricket and ODI cricket are two different things, results speak a different and universal language. Losses tend to put pressure and wins tend to ease the pressure. Suffice to say that with this win, the much vaunted Indian middle order will be under tremendous strain, while Dhoni and his merry band will be cock a hoop.
In the wake of a series win, its easy to paper over the lack of experience and plump for youth, but it has its downsides. Indian cricket in the recent past has been littered with stories of young guns making sensational debuts and failing to keep it going and fading away from memory. This recent crop needs to be handled carefully. The seniors are not going to be around for ever nor will they be tolerated for long.
How do the selectors manage the transition? The new bunch of paid selectors are bound to have an unenviable job on hand. Do they bite the bullet and banish players who have been the face of Indian cricket for ages and go for youth or do they play a balance game?

Methinks its time to bite the bullet and start the process immediately. There is bound to be pain for a while, but the gains are many to miss out on.

An interesting email forward

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. You lovers of the English language might also enjoy this: There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word.

That is 'UP.' It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report? We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special. And this UP is confusing: A drain must be Opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed-UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4thof the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many Ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP .When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP .One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP ,so... time to shut-UP!

Boys will be boys

They keep saying boys will be boys. I used to wonder why they said that. It came home to me last week in a blaze of childish mails exchanged between two buddies of mine on our yahoo group.
One guy started it, the other responded and soon it snowballed into an immature game of one up-manship. The mails got so juvenile, I had trouble imagining the two of them to be 36 year old fathers. The mail exchange was a blast from the past in every sense of the term. Brought back memories of us in school uniforms, playing childish pranks on teachers and one another, unmindful of the severity of some of those pranks.
I thought we were past all that, until this happened and I had to step in and separate the two. Maybe I shouldn't have. I seem to have lost a friend in the bargain.

But then, boys will be boys....

The value of experience

It was heartening to see an Indian batsman handle Ajantha Mendis with confidence and sure footwork. I don't think Badri was in trouble against Mendis at all yesterday, which augurs very well for Badri and Indian cricket in general. The middle order needs some new blood and Badri should be in it soon.
The likes of Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina would do well to go play some domestic cricket. Badri showed the value of having experienced the domestic grind for years before getting his chance. It has come too easily to the others mentioned and they don't seem to value it enough. This has more to do with Sharma actually. He had the worst possible Ranji season and he is still touted as the next Tendulkar. He has the talent, but he would do well to not let early success go to his head and focus on cementing his place in Indian cricket's future. A look at his fat rotund face tells me, he is not too worried about his fitness and suspect fitness usually leads to loss of form pretty quickly.

I just hope Badrinath becomes India's answer to Hussey. We sure could do with some solidity in that middle order.

Insecurity

Why is it so common?
Why do so many people who have no reason to be insecure, turn out to be the most insecure people?
Is it a lack of self belief or is it just plain cussedness?
Seemingly confident and successful people turn out to be the most insecure.
I wonder if the shrinks of the world have an answer to this question?
I would love to hear it.

The next step

Why is it so difficult for so many of our talented sports stars to step up to the next level? Sports star after sports star makes a dent in their chosen sport and when the world notices them, they suddenly begin to stagnate.
The exceptions are so few and far between, its depressing. What will it take to get a Saina Nehwal to step up to the next level? I hope Gopichand has some ideas, because Saina looks like someone who can step up.
While less said about the great Indian Tennis hope the better. Sania has been underachieving forever now and she continues to act as if she is the best thing that happened to Indian Tennis. What infuriates me even more is the way the country fawns over her.

Lets face it, she ain't gonna win Wimbledon in this lifetime.

Seeing history in the making

Abhinav Bindra won India's first ever individual gold medal at the olympics. I saw it happen live on Doordarshan. Poetic to say the least.
But what a feeling. The adrenalin rush was pure thrill. I was shouting and screaming after the last shot. Never did anything like that for any sport other than cricket in all my life.
Congratulations to Abhinav for having got the monkey off India's back forever. Now I hope others are inspired by this and move forward.
Hope is a good thing. :)

Yet another Olympics

Underachieving nation

India (29). The second-most populous nation in the world has won just 17 medals in its history -- that's one medal for every 64,705,882 citizens. Worse yet, India has never won a gold medal that wasn't in field hockey. And this year, for the first time in eight decades, India failed to qualify for the Olympics in that sport. If rival Pakistan brings home a field hockey medal, it will only deepen the shame.

The above piece copied from the lead story on espn.com says it all, really. A land of over a billion people and just 17 measly medals.

Maybe our athletes don't do enough dope. The anti-doping squad will be the most overworked team this Olympics if reports are to be believed. Or they are not smart enough. Our lifters get caught even before the damn thing has made it into their kidneys.

Maybe our parents are to blame for not encouraging us to play more or play at all. "Don't waste your time" being a much heard refrain. Wonder if it still continues? I have heard of parents pushing their wards to becoming the next Sachin or Sania. That's the trick though.

If a sport promises riches, parents are quick to spot that and push their kids to becoming the next superstar in that sport. Caring little for the interests of the kids involved.

Nothing of the sort can be expected to happen where Olympic sports are concerned. Those poor souls are running around with begging bowls half the time to be able to compete. All the boards controlling the various games are controlled by extinct relics from the past who have money making as their sole goal. Recently one was kicked out after much trying and suddenly the results improved. Not enough to make it to the Olympics though.

I hope India will one day become a nation that can compete at the Olympics and not just make up the numbers. Like they say in hindi - 'Ummeed pe duniya kaayam hai'.

What next for the Fab Five?

I was really looking forward to the Fab Four taking on Mendis in the current series after his heroics against the newbies in Pakistan. So far, they have failed miserably by their lofty standards anyway.
India lost the first test in a jiffy and with barely a fight. India won the second one convincingly, like only this team can.
But the more important thing is, both these events happened without any meaningful contribution from the Fab Five. While they were invisible in the first test, they were equally put to shade in the second test victory by the next generation. Is it an indication to the future of Indian cricket? Can the team move forward without them?
It has reached a stage when the team really needs to start thinking of moving forward without the Fab Five. They have done their bit. Their bit in Indian cricket will take some beating and successors will forever be compared to them.
They still have a role in mentoring the next generation which I hope someone in the circles that matter is planning on doing. When they go, as they surely must, they will leave a hole so massive, the next generation will need all the help they can get from Fab Five to help fill that hole.

Cops and Bangalore

They want it to be like Singapore and Shanghai. Hah! They are not even close.

They ban disco's in town but allow citizens to go 50KM out of the city to shake a leg. How that helps law and order only they know.

They ban live bands because bands lead to dancing and people having fun. In their warped minds, having fun leads to unbridled lawlessness. No one knows how they came up with that.

They close pubs and eatery's at 11:30 because after 11:30, all of Bangalore's criminals are out on the prowl to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting citizenry. I can't even begin to explain that.

They want the citizens to follow traffic rules but will break the rules themselves impudently in full public view. And they expect the citizens to respect them.

They do all this to curb anti-social acts and yet are powerless to stop terrorists from wreaking havoc on the citizens. The implication is even more disturbing when you think about it.

They think, we the citizens are more in need of curbing than the dudes out their wreaking their brand of justice on poor unsuspecting people like you and me.....

Scary thought.

Test Cricket and evenly matched teams

Two different test matches and two results. Test match cricket is alive and kicking. But, test matches need two evenly matched teams to make it so. With the Aussie domination of cricket in the recent past, competitive test series were at a premium. But results were not. The results came thick and fast whenever the Aussies were involved.
But one tends to remember series that are hard fought between teams which don't have too much of a difference between them in terms of personnel, talent and desire. The two current series being played half across the globe from each other have had just that ingredient in spades. Evenly matched teams going at each other, full throttle. The only difference being an individual performance of such luminance so as to pull the teams apart and force a result. Andrew Flintoff managed to bring England back into the second test but could not inspire the others enough to win it. Graeme Smith on the other hand played a career defining innings to script history for his country.
Sehwag's innings inspired his other teammates to up their game and propel India to a series leveling win. Just his first innings score was the difference between the two teams in that test. While Sehwag has set it up for a barnstorming finale to this series, Smith has probably ended his opposite numbers time at the helm. Lots to look forward to in test cricket.

OD'ing on Sports

If you are an out and out sports fan, now is as good a time as any to be alive and enjoying it. Euro '08 was sensational to say the least and more so in comparison to the last edition. Greece winning it did nothing for the popularity of the beautiful game for sure. The latest edition sure was a great relief to die-hard football fans. The game between Russia and Holland was as breathtaking a game as any I have witnessed.
Between yesterday and today, I was privileged enough to watch individual sporting brilliance rich enough to have me spell bound late into the night and again transfixed to the TV early in the morning.
When you watch Sehwag batting, you have to suspend all your knowledge about the game and enjoy it. He makes it worth your while in spades. The rest of India's famed batting order made it seem as if they were playing on a minefield and Sehwag on a featherbed. Such is his dominance when in full flow. I hope to see many more innings like this one from him, having seen pretty much all his specials from the time he made his debut. People like Sehwag make it interesting for us sports fans.
Meanwhile far away in England, Freddie was doing what he does best, once again. Pulling England out of the pits singlehandedly. He bowled a spell so intense and hostile, he had Kallis gasping for breath. They say test match cricket is under threat. Not by a long stretch if yesterday was anything to go by. But its more and more dependent on players like Sehwag and Freddie to keep the interest alive. With a legion of the big boys in the twilight of their careers, the sooner cricket unearths players like Sehwag and Flintoff the better it is for the game.

Then in the morning today, I watched a display of insanity and inspiration all at once at the 14th X games. Three guys on skateboards showed the world, what sports at its purest is truly about. They drove each other to such heights of performance that they traded the top spots between each other after every attempt. They fell, but got up again and tried again. They applauded each insane stunt the other one pulled and in the end, the bravest of them won. Take a bow Bob Burnquist and Danny Way!

Religion and Politics

These two things should never be mixed in an ideal world. But who said we live in an ideal world. The two have become so badly intertwined, its difficult to tell the two apart. Why has it come to this? Who is to blame? Do the people who matter in these two camps even care? I don't think so.

Religion always existed, but Politics is equally old. Religion is a fertile ground for Politics to pick issues from and fan it to flames. The earliest wars were fought for religion. And the new one being fought in various corners of the globe is being fought to save one from extermination or save oneself from the fanaticism inherent in it, depending on the camp you belong to. The question is, who started it?

I for one feel politicians of various hues and kind started this. Now that it has careened out of control, they have no idea how to stop it or for that matter control it. But innocents are paying the price for it everyday and in various parts of the globe. When will the politicians realize their folly and when will we as a people stop depending on the politicians to save us from this Frankenstein created by them?

Equally, when will the Religion in question realize that they are being played to their detriment and do something to stop this?

Rossi is back.

Watching the Moto GP race at Laguna Seca was an amazing feeling for me. One of my heroes was doing what he does best, winning races. For a seven time world Champion scrapping for wins doesn't come easy I guess. But a mark of a true champion is his ability to scrap and win if thats what it takes to win. Last season must have been a humbling experience for Rossi. Used to leading from the front, playing catch up would have been a different experience.

Only a handful of champions make the cut in those stakes. Kimi in F1 being a prime example of the rest of them. He won his maiden title last year because Lewis and Alonso were fighting their own private battle and Lewis was a rookie. This year Kimi seems to have lost his hunger. Which makes me think he just wanted to win that one title so that he can say he was a world champion once. Just doesn't seem right in a sport which has people like Coulthard and Barrichello racing even in old age, risking their lives for the highs of racing on the absolute edge of reason and sanity week in and week out.

Which brings me back to Rossi. He still wants to win and prove it to the doubters that he still hass what it takes. Reaffirms my faith in my hero!

serial bomb blasts and mendis

bangalore is reeling from the after effects of serial bomb blasts. phone lines are jammed and in a small country neighboring ours a bangalore boy is looking shell shocked. dravid was clean bowled by the latest mystery bowler that lanka has sprung on the cricketing world. he looked totally flummoxed and forlorn. it reminded me of federer for some strange reason. the great fedex had that look after losing the epic wimbledon final. how the hell did that happen? it wasn't supposed to end like this.

is it the end?

while dravid is pondering the mystery ball, two other stalwarts are out there doing battle with the new freak in cricket. should make for interesting viewing. test cricket at its best some old timers would have us believe. it makes for some intense cricket. precisely the kind lacking since australia vs india earlier in the year. lets hope the rain doesn't have the final say in this one. india in keeping with their away record in opening tests look like losing this, weather permitting, by an innings.

ps: ganguly escaped becoming the first batsman to be dismissed on appeal by a whisker as i was publishing this post.

traffic sense or the lack of it

they say, Bangalore is a very laid back and slow town. a pensioners paradise if you please. Mumbaiwalla's rail against the slow nature of this town and its denizen's. all that might well be true, but if you were to drive in this city's chaotic traffic , that impression will vanish pretty fast.
everyone is in such a hurry. no one has the slightest patience it would seem. everyone is in a hurry to reach his or her destination. i wonder what drives them to such haste?

traffic hassles and possible explanations.

1. lane discipline - whats that? can't blame them really. no one tells them what the lanes are for.
2. have horn - will use frequently(what else is it there for?).
3. signals are for fools(why wait for it to turn green when you can jump the signal).
4. traffic cops - sighted when the month end is approaching or if there is VIP movement or if you are stuck in a jam and don't know what caused it.
5. footpaths are for two wheelers to jump to the head of the line at signals, the poor pedestrians be damned.
6. bus stops right after a signal or roundabout to hold up traffic behind the buses.
7. traffic cops manning busy traffic junctions and clogging up traffic on three sides to let one side through(they never heard of circulation).
8. people planning their destinations in the middle of the road while driving and talking on the phone, all at once.

trust vote

the whole country is watching in bemusement. no one knows what the final outcome will be. these last few weeks have been one of high intrigue and drama. i am sure, bollywood wants this to end quickly. nothing they come up with in this week is going to come even close to the drama in Delhi. the parties involved don't give a shit about us. they are more worried about which party/mp is getting how much. inflation be damned, governance be damned, oil prices be damned. there is a fortune to be made here. this is the mantra of all the politicians, marginal or mainline.
the end result will be a poll or mayawati as prime minister of India. i don't know which is worse? something tells me, behenji as pm is not going to do a whole lot of good for us junta. anyone who can shower her own statue with flowers for the benefit of her sycophants is almost unimaginably conceited or thick-skinned or both.
yuck.....

Being Nostradamus

my first attempt at being Nostradamus. having caught snippets of the German GP earlier in the evening today made me want to try and predict the outcome of this season's F1 championship winner. watching lewis drive the wheels off his mclaren reminded me of a certain 7 time champion in his pomp. it must have been bitter sweet for schumi to be watching his mirror image doing the business on a GP weekend and beating his understudy massa from the pit wall. there was a certain inevitability to hamilton's command performance. massa on the other hand has flattered to deceive this whole season.
something tells me, his F1 career is in serious jeopardy. the reds are not used to seeing their minions being out driven and out muscled on track. kimi seems like he has been satiated with just one championship ring and massa has been shown up to be the pretender that he was trying so hard to hide from the world. at the first hint of a fight, he panics and shrivels up into his shell. his excuses after today will be an interesting read.
so here goes my prediction for this years title - Lewis Hamilton it will be. he turned a corner with his home win two weeks ago and is just beginning to stamp his authority on the field like schumi. all those of you out there who thought Schumi made it boring for fans better be prepared for an encore.
i just hope he drives for the reds sometime soon.....;)

Freddie the saviour!!

the talisman is back and what a mess he finds his team in? feel sorry for the guy. walking slap bang into the middle of a crisis in his comeback test in real long time. in a strange way, it must comfort him and disappoint him at the same time. familiarity does that to people methinks. at the time of writing this, freddie finds himself in with the tail and next to nothing on the board. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
if he digs them out of this hole, he will be hailed as the saviour all over again and if he fails, he will have failed himself. tough luck if you ask me.
the weight of the united kingdom's sporting aspirations can't be an easy burden to carry. especially after becks defected to the land of 'soccer' and dollars. all those ankle surgeries now begin to make sense.
for the sake of struggling heroes, i hope he makes a 100. and the english papers will have fodder for the rest of the summer!

all the best freddie....

Happy (17th)Anniversary!

this one is for you pum pum and reshu. for as long as i can remember, you 2 have been together. i hope that continues for many more years. 17 years unofficially and 15 officially. wow!!! i sometimes wonder, what our parents would have done to us if they only knew what schemes we were cooking up in our fertile brains back then. sadly for them, none of the imagination went into focusing on studies. being involved in the plot to get you 2 married on the sly when you turned 18 will be a high point of my memories from bhilai forever. here's wishing you both many more..

obsessive compulsive honking!

people in bangalore have this mythical belief in the power of the horn. they think, honking away will somehow dissipate the traffic immediately in front of them and they will get a free passage to wherever it is they are headed. i think its true for India as a whole. no one gives a whit about the effect loud honking has on other people's eardrums and stress levels. as it is our cities are choking on smog, dust, heat, adding large doses of noise is the last thing we need.

my bp goes for a toss when i am stuck in one of these unholy traffic snarls with horns blaring away in my ears and my brain overflowing with obscenities and invectives. but then, in a saner moment it dawns on me that reacting is what drives this behavior. don't react people, just don't and you will be amazed at the dampening effect that has on these jokers.

common sense

why is it so scarce? beats me. why would someone as talented and as gifted as Mohammed Asif blow it all away or in this case inject it all away or whatever else it is he did?????

he had the cricket world drooling over his undoubted talent. pundits looking forward to a long and fruitful time of following his exploits on field and salivating at the prospect of getting to watch it happen. all gone now surely. even his board has given up on him now. their backroom negotiations in getting him released from the dubai prison cell, all in vain now.

how many asif's do we have in our country?? I hope someone makes his a case study on how not to blow a career and a lucrative one at that. but then, he made his money in the IPL in those 2 and a half games he played for delhi. i just hope he hasn't passed on his 'skills' to the other youngsters in the delhi team. they are better served just watching videos of him on song reminding us all of what a young McGrath was like.