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.