Passion rediscovered

I have grown up playing cricket. Everywhere. Gully cricket. Street cricket. School cricket. College cricket. District leagues. It is definitely a passion. A religion. And whatever you want to call. Cricket has always been a priority for me.

I remember the days of my 12th standard. It used to be board exam times and there were these cricket matches and India /Pakistan matches. We dint have a TV at home. I used to go to my neighbors house to watch the match. Irrespective of the exam. Even if it was college exams. I use to watch TV and as usual scolded by parents for not studying even during exam time and watching cricket.

The movie Chennai 600028 had several scenes which I have experienced. Games played in Australia / Newzealand used to start at 4 AM. Irrespective of what season it is I used to get up and go watch the game along with friends at the community club. Shout. Scream. Cheer the team. My voice would be gone for a couple of days shouting and screaming for team India. Shrikanth and Kapil were my all time favorites.

Even if it was a district divisional league match, get up at 4, get ready, take a bus and go to the National College and Bishop Heber College grounds in Trichy. But when my mom wants me to pay electricity bill, I wont have the time. I was questioned how come I have time for cricket but not for works at home. So in that sense, Chennai 600028 had reflected several scenes at home.

I am sure most of us have grown up that way. Cricket being a part of us. We have cricket in our breaths.

But then, atleast for me , I have been losing interest in the game in the last few years. The first time I started disliking the game was the days of match fixing. This was the first impact. Hansie Conje. Azaruddin. Jadeja.Many teams losing matches. I don’t say that these people were involved in match fixing as I leave it to the experts. But then the news of match fixing was coming big time and slowly it was taking away the passion in me.I thought the games were being fabricated and what we see is not what actually what we are supposed to get(It is WWSINWAWASTG and not WYSIWYG

The next was the politics in the team. Leaked email messages. Ganguly talking of John Wright after 3 days of the match and after scoring a century against a small team. The way BCCI was handling the selection and playing politics. Dalmiya playing politics. Case against him for laundering money. Again I am really not to comment on the correctness of these but everything of this had an impact on me. Atleast slowly taking the interest away from me from the game.

It was politics and politicking. The news of seniors vs juniors. Greg Chappell saga. No doubt he is a great guy but it was politics which prevented him (both BCCI and players) from doing anything concrete.This was the biggest thing which actually made me to an extent averse to the game. I was slowly getting away from watching the matches but then used to keep a tab now and then.

It was definitely not the winning or losing of the game. I had definitely admonished the team during the recent world cup loss( the 50 over version.. . Infact I dint even bother to watch many of the matches. It was all due to the politics in the team and politicking and BCCI. The way BCCI handled the issue after the game. The way so called senior players reacted to Chappell in and out of media. All this made the game to an abysmal low. Atleast for me. I had almost written off the game as something that India can never win again at big games. Not because of talent. But because of politics.

But then the T20 has helped me rediscover the passion on the game. Ofcourse winning is a great thing. Fabulous. And lifting a world cup is even greater. But whats more important is the team itself. For whatever reasons the big 3 or the so called “seniors” are not in the team. Big thank you BCCI (moreso selectors). I dont know if you guys did this by design or chance, but you have done a great thing to Indian cricket.
Every member of the current T20 team is someone who is returning to the team after having been dropped for long or is some one who is just beginning their career. So there was absolutely no senior / junior issue. It was just a member of the team. Dhoni has been a pretty cool guy. He believed every member of the team. And even gave the last overs to a rookie like Joginder. Ofcourse Yuvi was fantastic. Good (actually great and fantastic) come back by Viru, Irfan and Bhajji. They definitely don’t behave like seniors of the team. Their body language and attitude was definitely different this time. Others like Rohit Sharma, Joginder, Uthappa, Gambhir are relatively new guys and are giving their life out.

There is no politics in the team. Atleast not visible. Agreed , things will come out if we lose and everything will go under the carpet if we win. But cracks will be seen anyways. It is not visible. There is no coach / player issue. Everything suddenly seems like settled. Its great time again for Cricket. Atleast for me as I am feeling good about the game again.

I have not missed one ball in the first India / Pakistan match. I have not missed one ball in the games against England, South Africa, Australia and ofcourse today against Pakistan.

Our apartment association had been fantastic by arranging for a projection equipment and a large screen at our auditorium. I was there right at 5 25 PM. And slowly the crowd started coming. Students. Other colleagues. Elders. Everyone. We had over 500 people sitting there and watching the match. I was again shouting , screaming for every moment of the game.

Its already 1 AM and I am unable to sleep. Purely because of the excitement. My voice has become soar again by the shouting. I dont care. I loved it. Every moment of the game today. I am not writing the great moments and the details of the game itself. Just my experience. Pure experience. Sheer experience.

I have rediscovered my passion for the game.

And I really want this to stay.

Yuvi

Heeeeeeyyyyy.. what a game ..what a game..

Yuvraj Singh.. the man of steel… I just couldnt hold my excitement and here goes the post..

16 balls… 58 runs… 6 sixes in a row……

Ravi Shastri said.. he came in like a lightning and went like a thunder.. absolutely..

what a game..irrespective of the result.. Yuvi’s game was absolutely fantastic.

hats off Yuvi ………

Update: The pics of the 6 sixes..

The video

Vinayaka Chathurthi at home

Deluxe,Super Deluxe…..

I was driving and the name board on a road side hotel caught my attention. It read “___ Durbar Hotel – with a tag line below ” Deluxe Punjabi Restaurant”.(actual name of the hotel not published). I was really surprised to see “Deluxe” as a part of the tag line. The hotel might be just a shade above a kaiyenthi bhavan (road side mobile eatery). It was definitely not looking good. For sure it is one of the low end and road side hotels. But then they decided to use “Deluxe” as a part of their tag line.These adjectives and superlatives have almost lost meaning. Every establishment are using these so casually, almost taking away the meaning of an “adjective”.

Talking of “Deluxe”, I cannot miss the “Super Deluxe” buses that ply all over. I have used several of these “Super Deluxe” bus at various points of time. Be it from Chennai – Trichy route or Chennai -Bangalore route. I would only use this species of “Super Deluxe” when I dont get a ticket with “KPN” or a “Sharma Travels”. I land up at Chennai (either at the airport or at the railway station) and head towards Guindy or Koyambedu to catch a bus to Trichy. There you will find several of those “Super Deluxe” bus waiting. They are either a “Semi Sleeper” or a “Sleeper” coach.!!!!!!!!!! I have never been able to sleep even a little and I really wonder how they are “Semi Sleeper” or “Sleeper”??? With no other choice you will have to take these, especially if it is festival time. They all claim they are “super deluxe”. But I have never understood how they are “super” or “deluxe”. The only reason they call themselves “Super Deluxe” is probably to charge the same as that KPN does (or even more). (BTW, I am not a promoter of KPN but just that I like them bcos they are good)..

This “super” or “deluxe” does not stop with bus..!!! They extend to hospitals as well!!!! Like wine shops, every 200 meters you can find a “Dental Hospital” in Hyderabad. However small or low end the hospital would be, every one of them have a board to read ” Super Specialty Dental Hospital”. How come they can be “Super Specialty”. Probably teeth cleaning along with tooth pulling could be Super Specialty in their terms. Who knows…!!!!!

I only wish the people who use these terms really know what those terms mean..!!!!!!

Kudos GHMC

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has been on a fantastic drive. Just shutting down shops and establishments with no / or not enough parking space. This would reduce (probably) the parking and traffic issues faced by the common man.

What I really like in the sealing drive by the GHMC for the past 5 days is, it has not spared big names. Some of the sealing include Coffee Day at Jubilee Hills, Food World in Begumpet, Spencer’s in Somajiguda and the popular Shanbag Restaurant next to Hyderabad Central. This is definitely a bold move. The list includes several establishments across the city.

The Coffee day in Jubilee hills was one of the worst when it comes to parking. This was right on the main road with zero parking and hence all cars and two wheelers would be parked on the road thereby reducing the width available for the flowing traffic. I don’t think they could have done anything here because of the influential area and that many of the Tollywood stars and politicians live in this posh area. If GHMC has had the guts to close this and sustain it, Hats off GHMC…!!!!

But then these give raise to some questions in my mind. First of all why were permissions given to open these if they had no parking spaces..!!!!!! Well, if the argument is that it was in the days of less vehicles, density and traffic, even today we have several huge malls coming up right in the centre of a road or street or colony….with almost as less or no parking space. On one side this drive seems like the left had giving permission to open and the right hand going ahead with a sealing!!! Is this right? Why in first place the government, whichever department it was, gave a permission???

I sincerely hope this is not an eye wash and these establishments start coming up again in a few days…!!!

PS: Attended a very interesting session on “New face of Media” with the stalwarts from media on a conclave last evening at ISB. While I am also one who keeps criticising the media, it was very interesting to note some of the points made by the panel. Rajdeep Sardesai was his usual. Also had the pleasure of listening to Bhaskar Das, Pramath Sinha and Sameer Nair. Learnt some interesting points about the media and what’s happening. Warrants a post !!!

Oooh..la..la..la.. Episode # 7

I just have to say one thing. This is the mother of all musical shows that are on or that have been aired till now. Such an awesome program. If so, why is this just for half hour only? As I mentioned earlier, half hour is just not enough for this program. Either Sun TV has not understood the potential of this program or they are not taking serious efforts to promote the program. Well I guess this question should be more directed to Sa Re Ga Ma rather than Sun TV as they are just airing this program. Atleast some sense has prevailed with Sun TV that they have shifted the program to a prime time – to 8 30 PM from 10 PM on
Sunday’s.

The program is at its peak I should say. Such a power packed performance by all the three teams this week. E flat ( nice logic why they came with the name), Shristi and Tarangam were the teams that were competing.

Eflat is one awesome team. With no separate lead vocalists they gave a power packed performance. Their original composition was such a melody. They rendered it very well. The teams composition itself was just two guitarists, one keyboard, one drummer and one tabla. The lead guitarist as well as the keyboard players were the singers too. The guitar- vocalist looked like singer Karthik and did sing similar to him.. He really sang well in their own composition and was very well backed up by the keyboard -vocalist. The song was like a mix of rock + melody and the ending was nice and close to carnatic.When they were singing the lines “manathil pattampoochigal” , I really felt like that. Was soulful.The composition did not have a great percussion backing but with just the rhythm sections they did a neat job.The remix round also they rendered a fantastic piece. Though the guitar vocalist was a bit flat (not Eflat. . The keyboard vocalist was extremely good in the remix. He really did a fantastic job and their voice harmony was pretty good. This team had a good mix of members . They did not have individual excellence but they were good as a team. The best part was the two guitarists were dancing while playing and it just matched with
their music. It was pleasant to watch. Vasundara was enjoying their performance and was all smiles. The performance showed..even showed on Vasundras’s face.Without a separate lead singer this team was awe inspiring.This was a fantastic team.

Shristi…man..what a band.. what a band.. even in their description they say they are a Tamil rock band.. and they are definitely one. It did appear that this was the best team till date in the competition. Talking about Shristi the most notable I would think is their female lead singer. oh my god.. she just was too good . She should definitely be a pro. If she is not, then hats off to her. She had a great body language..energy…there was not a bit of over doing.. just perfect singing. She was outstanding. Her voice may not have been the best but
was definitely fantastic. She needs special mention in this band. Actually it is turning out that every member of this band needs special mention. The male lead voice also very good. He sang very well and was also performing. He was jumping back and forth and for a moment looked like flubber but then was pretty good singing.They had a compact and just about perfect combination of a band. A drummer, a keyboard player, tow guitarists + one male + one female lead voice. No other accompaniments..With this compact team they did an impressive performance. Really really impressive. The drummer was also excellent. He had a nice style of holding the stick in his left hand. Was a stylish performance too by this guy. The tow guitarists were good. They were playing as though they were competing with each other. Such was their energy levels and performance of one trying to beat the other. The whole team showed so much energy and was very visible. They had a lot of performance on stage in addition to the excellent composition. Their remix was a shade lower than their own composition though I should say even that was excellent. Towards the end of performance of this band I thought if they were tending to overdo the performance a bit.but then they were only tending to and did not overdo. They may have to show a bit of caution here. The female lead showed as much energy without hyped stage performance.. they can take some clues from her..

Tarangam was also a great band but then probably shade lower than the other two bands. They had a little more of percussion base. Infact this team had 3 singers – two female voice + one mail voice. I thought they could have done a better job on the voice section with 3 singers. Its not that they were bad. They were pretty good. But for the composition of 3 voices, they could have done better. For me it was a wowwwwwwwwwwwww for their remix. They did a fantastic job. They also had a good harmony of voice at various notes. The guitarists of the band were excellent. I think they stood out of the rest of the members of the band . They had a good mixture of percussion with guitar and rendered a great performance.

The results did seem obvious with Tarangam being eliminated first and then Eflat leaving Shristi the winner but then Eflat did give a good fight to the finish.

I only hope some one (may be Sun TV or other channels or Sa Re Ga Ma) picks up clues of this program and start to have more shows and performance of each of these bands. It is just not enough for us as well as the bands. I am praying and hoping that at the end of this program they announce that this is something like a curtain raiser and we get to see more and more of all of these bands.

These day I keep humming maanguyile poonguyile or Sangara Sangara Sangara pandi or manathil pattam poochigal like any other song. That has been the impact. I am looking at ways and means to cut a CD of the performance of all these bands as well as looking at adding them to my playlists

 

Thats blogging

This was indeed something great to read. A 95 year old woman blogging!!!!!!!!!!!!. Maria Amelia Lopez,Spain, is known to be the worlds oldest blogger. Wow… thats amazing. I couldn’t hold my enthusiasm writing about this old lady on reading this news today.

She lives with her grandson who types for her as she dictates. She is very upset that the old age homes are not providing internet so that the other old people could also blog She even got a letter from the Prime Minister of Spain and he wants her to continue this blogging for long.

What a lady she is. Such an enthusiasm at this age. Wow.

Check out the news here.

Check out her blog here.

Ekattuthangal

Was on a flash trip to Chennai on Thursday. I was on the way to AshokNagar from the Airport.The traffic congestion was very high especially at the Kathiparai junction because of the flyover construction. Saw some huge and new IT parks near CIPET( I know I haven’t been to this part of Chennai even during my trips).

Quite long ago, I used to stay at Ekattuthangal . That was when I had migrated to Chennai maangaram from the Rock City. It was a very small house that I had rented and used to stay with my friend. There used to be a small bridge at Ekattuthangal. Whenever there was heavy rain(heavy rain and chennai used to be oxymoron’s then.. , this bridge used to overflow and sometimes it takes over a day to subside. There was nothing great close to this place except for Kasi Theatre and the Saravana Bhavan.

While I was crossing Ekattuthangal now,I was pleasantly surprised. There is a huge construction going on and when I looked at the hoarding it says “Hilton”. I cant believe a Hilton is being constructed right at Ekattuthangal. The board says it is scheduled to open in the second quarter of 2008. I felt so good when I saw something like a Hilton coming up in this place. A place where the city of Chennai welcomed me first.

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