Forget Sidhuism

If Ravi Shastri was an Engg. student then after every exam he'll say, "That paper went past me like a tracer bullet."

Ravi Shastri on Mech CDCs : "It's not over till the fat laddie sings."

In the end, the real winner is always cricket.

Ravi Shastri on BITSians studying for compre: "This one, I feel, will go down to the wire."

Ravi Shastri on BITSians, "He doesn't study much, but attempts the paper with a lot of heart!"

Ravi Shastri to BITSGians for Matka: "Play your natural game."

BIGG BOSS chahte hain ki Ravi Shastri, "In the end, the real winner was cricket!" bol ke chale jayen.

But best one ever from the ICC World T20, 2007 in South Africa - 

India!

World.... "TT" Champions!

Kolaveri-veri

The Process of "Why this Kolaveri Kolaveri Kolaveri Di" Addiction:

1. You hear this tune for the first time from your neighbour's room.
2. You D/L the video yourself and listen to it.
3. You Google Shruti Haasan (If you are on BITSNet, while it googles, see the vid again)
4. Now that you know everything Wiki knows about her, see it again a few more times.
5. Now you can even hum a few words of the song and you think you know a Tamil song even though it's almost completely in English.
6. Now you check if she is on twitter. (Again, if BITSNet, then Video->Play).

7. You Temporarily change your Windows 7 desktop wallpaper theme to a bunch of recently d/l Shruti Haasan pics.
8. Now you scan the net (StumbleUpon, FunnyJunk, Blogs etc.) for any article, write-up, comic, funny pics etc. on the song. This is about when you actually bother to ask what exactly is a Soup Boy. You learn the stuff while playing the vid on loop.
9. You realize you've identified enough stages to make a blog post. You play the vid a few more times.

WARNING: This picture induces an irresistible need to use Google.

The Final Showdown

The last three slots for the Barclays ATP World Tour Final were finally decided after Tomas Berdych's victory over Janko Tipsarevic at Bercy. And now, with the field completely set, the tournament is building a great buzz amongst all tennis fans.

And why not! The amount of talent on display is unbelievable. Almost all styles of tennis that can exist are on show at the magnificent O2 Arena in London, a spectacular venue for the season ending showdown. You have the phenomenal Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the hard hitting duo, debutante Mardy Fish and second time-qualifier Tomas Berdych, local favourite Andy Murray, the Spanish armada of David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal, the Swiss finesse of Roger Federer and the first man to qualify for the tournament, the tennis player of the year, Novak Djokovic.

The eight contenders are drawn into two groups. Group A will feature US, Wimbledon and Australian Open champ Djokovic. His main rival in the group will be Andy Murray. The last time the two played (in the finals of the Cincinnati Masters) Murray was up a set and a break before the World No. 1 was forced to retire with a troublesome shoulder. English fans will be certainly not be wrong to hope for a good win given the Scot's current form and the Serb's recent spate of illnesses. However, Murray should be cautious about Tomas Berdych who only last week, defeated him in the QF at Bercy. And if there is a man who can spoil a party, it is David Ferrer. The 2007 runner-up will most certainly be looking to make inroads into the top 4 and will look to go deep in conditions that may just suit him. A tricky group indeed, but the higher seeds will probably make it through.

The last time these two played in London, it was a historic first in the career on one of them. Roger Federer's five set loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga marked the first occasion when the 16-Slam champ had lost a match in a Grand Slam after going two sets to love up. Tsonga followed that with a remarkable demolition in the run-up to the US Open. Not surprisingly, Federer restored the balance by winning in straight sets the next two times they played. The second of those was only two days ago in Bercy, where Federer ran away with a 5-0 lead before Tsonga could even disturb the score board. To make things tougher for both these players, they are drawn with Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych. Berdych will be looking for a good end to the season and to carry some momentum into the next one.
Federer and Nadal will surely add one more match to their storied rivalry, albeit in the unfamiliar territory of the group stage. Unlike most of their matches, it probably would not be a winner takes all situation and therefore, we may see some different styles of tennis from what we know these two can play. This group will be the toughest to predict and certainly more exciting as well.

Looks like 2011 will end with a bang!
The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, 20th to 27th November, 2011. Dont miss it!

I don't know what title to give to this...this thing...

First there is the weird. [Paul Adams]
Then there is the extraordinary. [South Africa's chase of 434]
Over all this is the bizarre. [Symonds dismissal of Clarke's pad, see here]
And even then, there is the Newlands Test match.

It had all the bearings of a typical test match to begin with. A struggling Australian batting line-up against the highly rated pace bowling duo of Steyn and Morkel. There were the usual start-stops, the "wickets in a bunch" and the sparkling counter-attack from the skipper (Michael Clarke, 151 out of a team total of 280). Clarke's innings was of high merit. It was aggressive and furious, yet it was sensible. When the guarantee of your partner staying put at the other end was pretty much minimal, every run would be vital and getting them quickly was what you need to do, and that was precisely what that knock did. So you end your first innings with a decent total of 280 and gloriously press-box away about how you are still in the match.

When Shane Watson was given the cherry by Clarke to resume proceedings after lunch on day two, not even the wildest of minds or the most eccentric of the fellows could have anticipated what was to come. In the next 30 overs, one of the most bizarre days of test cricket unfolded.

It was at this point that I had decided to go for dinner. By the time I came back, South Africa was batting all right, but in the fourth innings.

Hang on. What? The day started with Australia finishing their first innings and now its the fourth innings all ready?

That's right. The fourth innings came via two fantastic collapses. In the first, the smaller of the two, the hosts went from 40/1 to 96 All Out. Shane Watson, the demolisher-in-chief, grabbed 5-15 in five overs. Ryan Harris grabbed three Proteas too. And it looked like it was going to be a Aussie party. Then came the second collapse.

The unfortunate distinction of posting the lowest ever total in an innings belongs to New Zealand when they managed a paltry 26 against England, back in 1955. Their friends from across the Tasman Sea came very close to snatching the record away from them. Australia went to tea at 13/3. On resumption, five overs later, they were 21/9 (or as you would see in Australia, 9\21). A combination of great bowling by Philander (that's the family name) and poor shot-making (even gully cricket teams will shake their heads) saw Australia perilously close to giving the Kiwis, an early Christmas gift. The last wicket partnership of 26 between No. 9, Peter Siddle and No. 11, Nathan Lyon saw Australia ultimately post 47, their lowest total in 105 years.

So in a space of dinner, almost every thing that can happen on a cricket pitch happened. At the end of the day though, calmness prevailed in Cape Town and the South African dressing room after some nervous prodding and nudging, as they eventually reached 81/1, well on their way to achieving a most extraordinary test victory.

Australia still had one more thing to say though.
Michael Hussey dropped Hashim Amla of the last ball of the day.

[PS- I started writing this with SA requiring some 70 odd runs to win. At this moment they need another 14. Ok Amla, let Smith get his century too.]

The Bare Necessities of Life

There is actually a movie on this.
It stars (well, for the want of a better word) the son of Anupam and Kirron Kher, Sikander Kher (remember him?), Gul Panag, Yuvika Chaudhary and some other B-Town newbies as the leads. It even features the highly talented Ashutosh Rana and Divya Dutta is some supporting roles.

In 2008, the Union Health Ministry, under the very energetic Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss (this isn't his only claim to fame, he was quite media savvy, Google him), came up with a rule requiring every MBBS graduate in this country to put in a whole year of rural service before they can apply for a post-graduate program in India. In that stint it would be mandatory for them to spend four months each in primary health care, community health centres and district hospitals. During this period, they will receive a monthly stipend of Rs. 10,000 (approximately $205).

Now, there are several points over which this issue can be debated. And I'm not saying if this rule is fair or not. But to make a point in favor of those who protested against this rule, rural India is hardly a place to live in. Despite nearly two-thirds of the country's population living in rural areas, India's villages are poorly developed and lack access to the basics. They are poorly connected to power starved electricity grids, have insufficient access to clean water, lack communication channels like telephony and internet and are barely accessible through those badly built roads. Even essential systems like sanitation and health care (one arguments for the Union Health Ministry then) are inadequately set up. Clearly, it comes as no surprise that a large amount of our rural population is excluded from our nations economic growth.

So the movie in question is titled "Summer 2007". The movie deals with a bunch of carefree and urban (presumably, I haven't seen this movie, but only then does the rest of the story make sense) med school graduates who are sent to rural Maharashtra to do an internship. It follows their lives as they undergo an awakening of sorts when they are exposed to life in rural India. Interestingly, this movie released before the Health Ministry's ruling came out and is set in a period two whole years before the rule came into force.

Visionary, maybe not. Worth a see, perhaps.

Now med school graduates are still under the Health Ministry diktat but engineering graduates are not. So you would think Indian engineers are mostly groomed in an urban atmosphere with sophisticated infrastructure so as to inculcate a world class thinking ability in them, right? But there is this college which is subjecting those enrolled (you (mostly), me, and everybody) to a rural environment. Even though technically Zuarinagar is classified Industrial and physical access is above the national par and the sanitation infrastructure is decently in place, it would seem, based on the "current" situation, that almost two thousand students are living in a rural environment.

Perhaps it is an experiment. Or maybe a set up, in a hope that one (or some) student(s) will rise above the prevailing despair and establish a system that would lead their fellow students towards a better standard of living.

Clearly, I chose to be the one who commentates on it.

The "You Need to See Someone" List

I love disasters.
Something about them is very exciting.
The loss they cause is definitely saddening yet, they make me love nature even more.

Here are my top favorite disasters:


1. Tornadoes, they're lean, mean, dangerous and sexy.
The winds can reach up to 400kmph
and they can suck things just as good as gravity.
I wanna go to Tornado Alley, USA!













2. Cyclones/Hurricanes/Typhoons, the biggest, meanest and craziest thunderstorm around.

Katrina, Wilma, Irene, Wilma, Phyan, etc.

Given that they are usually named after women, it isn't surprising that they pack some real appeal.









3. Earthquakes, Shake things up and bring em' down.

Everyone likes a good shake!

Tectonic plates are the biggest, dynamic jigsaw puzzles around. Oh boy!














4. Avalanches, They're fast and cold. Flash freeze.

The only other (and worse) colder way to die is a Liquid Nitrogen bath.

5. Tsunamis, No one is surfing on this baby.

These are caused by #3 on the list.

Talk about a clean wash.







6. Fire, Because, burning stuff is cool.

















7. Volcanos

There is something really cool about the earth spewing
molten rock and metal onto the surface, while shooting toxic
pollutants into the atmosphere, which could stay there for years
and cause weather changes globally.










I dislike floods though. They're dirty and gooey and take an awful lot of time.

[PS- Now is when you suggest, "Dude, You should see someone!"]

That's the Way It is...

It's 4:00 AM now. I have a tut in four hours and most probably will have a test in it.
I decide to play one last game of FIFA and actually study and go without sleeping for that tut.
And then I sleep.

It's 2:00 PM now and I finally wake up. I'm hungry.
The mess is three floors and a whole hostel away.
My last meal, a Cheese Schezwan Masala Dosa was 12 hours back.
And I fall asleep again.

It's 5:00 PM. I'm hungry enough to get up.
I see the laundry bag full and I think, should I go eat first or should I go to the ShopCo first?
I'm running out of clothes.
I skip the ShopCo.
I have a Cheeze Wada Pav.

It's 9:00 PM. I've been on DC for a while now.
I think about having dinner.
The mess is three floors and a whole hostel away.
I continue spamming on mainchat.

It's 1:00 AM. I make it to the night canteen.
Its Cheese Schezwan Masala Dosa time.
Drowned with a few Lime juices.
And I get back for an energetic game of football.
I play FIFA on my laptop.

It's 4:00 AM now. I have a tut in four hours...
And I take lite...

While we were away...

It took a whole week to recuperate from the exams but now that its happened, it's time to look at what occurred worldwide meanwhile.

Novak Djokovic (a.k.a Tennis):

To begin with, having a post titled as XYZ - Part 1 means there should be a part two. But I'm not dedicating a whole other post now. Novak Djokovic won the US Open. And he did it by addressing some of the points in Part 1. The positive to take from that match is that Federer had match points against Djokovic again. Infact, Federer is the only person to have had match points against Nole this year (Nole having retired injured against Murray at Cincinnati... Poor Andy never get's the credit for anything). The conversion rate is only 20% but I guess it suggests that he does stand a chance of upsetting the Serbian of the year. If it can be stretched, then it can be said that Djokovic is under pressure against Federer.

Speaking of pressure, Rafael Nadal is under plenty. He said after the Wimbledon final that he thought this Nole level was not permanent. Now it sounds more like he was hoping. And despite him doing his best, he is falling short. He is not only losing bucket loads of ATP ranking points, but also quickly acquiring a steadily evening head-to-head against the Serb. Dominate a guy for three years and it gets undone in 10 months (6-0 this year, all in finals). That must hurt. Imagine then the spirit in him to bounce back in three days to win Davis Cup matches for his beloved Espana.

Now the Davis Cup tie between Australia and Switzerland showcased a lot of drama and excitement. Firstly, as expected, Federer won his singles. Secondly, as not expected, Wawrinka lost to Tomic and the Chris "who's-he?" Guccione - Hewitt pairing defeated the Beijing gold medalists. So when the deciding rubber between Hewitt and Wawrinka took place, it had plenty of eyeballs. The best of five setter went the distance and in the wee hours of Sunday, play stopped at 5-3 in the fifth set in favour of the Swiss. And when it resumed the next day, it ended in surprisingly swift six short points. The argument here is that when it was evident that both players were not letting up, shouldn't play have been suspended when both players were at par. The win puts Switzerland back into the World Group and will be joined by Japan (vs. India) and Canada. The final this year will feature Spain and Argentina.

Maybe, it is possible, that if Argentina win this time, then one of their players Juan Martin Del Potro goes on a similar rampaging run as one of the winners of last years Davis Cup.

The Men in black-and-blue:

The multicolored banner competes directly  with the now defunct Kochi franchise.

Indian players concluded a hapless, winless, injury-ridden and inspiration deprived tour of England as they prepared for the Champions League T20. The likes of Harbhajan Singh even opted out of the ODI series in England to mentally and physically recollect themselves for the World Cup of T20 leagues. However, debutantes Kolkata and veterans Mumbai will have to do without their batting mainstays, Gambir and Sachin respectively. On the other hand, Rahul Dravid, who performed so brilliantly in England, finds himself free again due to his team not having qualified for this event. This event promises heavy viewership as every player from each team was made to sign a contract stating they will not run away from the grounds. Ravi Shastri is even being paid to shoot "tracer-bullets" every over, irrespective of there being a boundary or not. The Indian public has even started a game where they try to guess which team is from which country.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi,
One of the finest.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, one of the finest batsman and captains of his era and highly respected figure in Indian cricket passed away recently. MAK was not only a great cricketer and a gentleman, but also one of the mentors of Indian cricket. They say he taught the team to play to win, and not just play to draw. May his soul rest in peace.

Greetings from Papplay:

Papplay is the eight-legged, bubblegum pink mascot of Waves, the cultural festival of BITS-Pilani, Goa Campus. Well, technically its Papple. But Papplay is more in sync with the tagline and so...

Check out the Website here: http://www.bits-waves.org/

[PS- Do go to: Events(the surfboard) -> Quiz and check it out]

Papplay, the Wada-Pav eating, dhoti-suit wearing, Satchmo listening mollusc

The Prime Time Show of Tennis - 1

You see, I'm not in the best of spirits when Roger Federer loses a match in a Grand Slam. It's no good if the slam is Wimbledon and it only gets worse that he lost from a two sets to love lead. And so naturally, I wouldn't be seen talking about it. But I still want to write on this blog so I tactfully skirt around the issue like this. But given recent events, my spirits seem to have lifted enough to bring that episode out and compare it what just happened.

Of the many records he has set in his career, the 178-0 stat after winning the first two sets is not the most monumental one of them. For instance, it doesn't compare with the 23 straight semi-final or better performance he accomplished starting Wimbledon 2004, or the 285 weeks he spent at the No. 1 spot. But its tells everyone that Federer is certainly one of the best home stretch performers. So when Tsonga snapped that streak, it must've raised doubts. When Federer goes two sets to love up, it doesn't necessarily mean he is going to win. Even more so when you consider that Federer did not stop playing well, just that the opponent started playing much better. Another thing which people started pointing out was that most of Federer's recent grand slam losses have come against players who hit the ball hard. And when I say hard, I mean rip the fluff out type hard. Berdych, Soderling and Tsonga all do that. The same guys who he would've beaten two years back in surprisingly short straights, were bombing him with unplayables and getting results. Perhaps the time had come when he was getting passed by younger, bulkier models.

The excitement in the build up to the US Open quarter-final had several contributors. No one must have failed to notice that both were drawn in the same quarter. And no one expected either to fall anywhere less. And Tsonga's recent demolition of Roger in Montreal was still fresh in everyone's minds. (People generally do not forget important Wimbledon matches) Both players lived up to their seeding and set up the clash too. And then even nature contributed by washing out a couple of days of play, just to give enough time for all the press and tongues to set the anticipation to impossible heights.
The match wasn't of the same level as Wimbledon. But one thing was pretty much in plain sight. Federer was out hitting Tsonga and except for a few more errors, things were 2007 Roger-esque. Funnily enough, by winning this match, Federer has setup an even more talked about and highly wanted semi-final with Novak Djokovic.

The top four have made it to semi-finals yet again in a major and the peak of men's tennis certainly looks good. I'd recommend you keep your schedule free at 2130hrs IST on this Saturday.

His Middle Name is Sharad

I haven’t spoken about this incident much, with good reason too.

Firstly, no one would believe me.

Secondly…no there is only one reason.

I have had a phone conversation with Rahul Dravid.

Back when he was the brand ambassador of Bank of Baroda (thats for the "how" and "when") and I was a geeky student with braces (now with spectacles…sigh). Even though I wasn’t making much of a conversation, I was struck by the genuine friendliness of the man. Nothing pleases a cricket loving (all right, absolutely adoring) school kid more than being asked by the captain of the Indian Cricket team, “How are you and your friends doing?” and “Do you watch a lot of cricket?”. Quite appreciative when you consider that the best the other end could come up with was, “So, How’s the party?”

I was absolutely ecstatic that day. And absolutely devastated the day we crashed out of the World Cup. The matches were coming in late at night and I had a Board Exam on the morning after. I was supposed to be in bed, but I’d sneaked past my parents room to check on the scores. It was painful. And the faces of the balcony at Port-of-Spain, even more so. And the back lash that followed, absolutely horrific. The man who had led the same unit to a win in England in both tests and ODI formats just a few months back resigned. And was subsequently dropped. And surprisingly, apart from test cricket, almost forgotten.

So today, after almost four years of virtually no One Day cricket [sadly, Dravid will have never won a World Cup] after doing all the odd jobs in the recently concluded test matches, after being the only batsman to make any sort of runs, it surprised no one when he was called back to the One Day squad. What with Yuvraj and Zaheer injured and Sachin not in form and Gambhir (oh I dunno) also not at his best, the selectors looked about for someone with anything to give and to their least surprise they found him.

Dravid is set to officially withdraw from One-Day cricket after this series, but not after agreeing to lend a hand in a crisis situation, yet again. It seems that the Wall is finally done.

[PS- After several "Why don't you try Wordpress"s, I finally did try it. Check out my blog on wordpress HERE ]

Howler List

1. Ian Bell was frigging out.

2. Who the frigging cares about the spirit of cricket!

3. Outside of the SCG, Rahul Dravid is the best Indian batsman overseas.

4. Harbhajan Singh has not made anything large in his life. A vast majority of his 400 wickets have come on square turners in the subcontinent.

5. Can we bring back Anil Kumble? He took 500+ wickets without turning the ball anywhere!

6. What the hell is wrong with Mahendra Singh Dhoni? Stuart Broad has scored more runs, taken more wickets and held on to more catches than him.

7. Arul Suppiah scored more runs in that Practice match for Somerset than Sachin, Mukund, and Raina in the series. And he is Malaysian!

8. It feels strange to say this but Sreesanth is actually the best fast bowler India has. Unfortunately, he is also our best dancer and antics man...sigh.

9. Someone please take Sourav Ganguly out of the commentary box.

Djoker: Why So Serious Rafa?

People who watch cricket and tennis, cannot fail to notice the similarity between South Africa and Andy Murray. Both enter the big tournaments in red hot form. Both have copious amount of talent and carry a large amount of hype with them. Both perform nervelessly at the preliminary stages. And both choke.

They said sometime back that as long as Roger Federer is around, Murray cannot win a major. Federer is past his prime now and his loss to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at the QF, while still a shock, was by no means an unthinkable. So Murray found himself a raging Rafael Nadal to choke against. The turning point of that match was a Rafa service game in the second set. At 15-30 and a set down, Murray set himself up for an easy forehand at the net only to push it long. That was enough to bring out the Rafa juggernaut.

But this tournament wasn't about Rafa, Roger or Tsonga (clearly it wasn't about Murray). The man of this tournament travels on a diplomatic passport. His countrymen revere him and ever since he won them the Davis Cup, he seems to have decided to play only in matches where he will win. His box is always full of people-two brothers, mum and dad, coach, fitness trainers and a girlfriend, a boisterous lot; he bounces the ball a hundred times before he serves at break point, and he is the current Wimbledon and Australian Open Champion. And he has won 48 of 49 matches this year. When Novak Djokovic lifted his maiden Wimbledon title, he sort of capped his lifetime ambition. Having assured himself the number 1 rank by making it to the finals, all he needed to do was secure one more win to fulfil, what he says, he started playing tennis for.

The match itself was one of excellent quality. As expected, both players displayed exceptional court coverage, made very few errors and struck clean winners. Both players displayed remarkable defensive skills and the difference came down to who held his nerve when the other forced yet another ball back into play. In short, Djokovic did to Rafa what Rafa did so well against Federer. Even Rafa admitted that he had no answers that day.

Djokovic is 5-0 against Rafa this year, all their meetings in finals. He sure doesn't find this Djoke amusing.

Notable mentions:

1. Nicolas Mahut vs John Isner - Part 1 lasted more than 11 hours which probably led to part 2 being held on the summer solstice. Isner amused everyone by wrapping in in just over two.

2. Juan Martin Del Potro is a brilliant tennis player. He was destined for greatness when he was brutally constrained by a wrist injury. But he did show why he is considered good in his 4 set loss to Rafa.

3. It's winter in Australia but their Barnard Tomic shined like the northern sun on the lawns of SW19. He became the youngest quarter-finalist since Boris Becker and the No.1 ranked Aussie.

4. I don't follow women's tennis much but this tournament will make me keep an eye and an ear open for it. Credits go to Kvitova, Lisicki, Pironkova and Sharapova.

Of Records and Streaks...

Another Grand Slam has passed and this French Open turned out to be quite exciting.

The men's draw further elongated the gap between the top four and the rest of the pack. And a lot was at stake for the No.1 and No.2 seeds as they entered Roland Garros with the most important one being the No.1 rank. Novak Djokovic's sizzling start to 2011 meant that the claim to the top spot was almost entirely on his racquet going into the tournament. His back to back victories over clay master Rafael Nadal put the Serb into an unprecedented top dog position despite the second seeding. And Rafael Nadal was coming in shaken, to say the least, losing in Madrid and Rome, his fortresses.

Meanwhile, Swiss maestro Roger Federer was after a very long time entering a Grand Slam as an outside favourite, an underdog. Not that he had had a poor season, but by his Himalayan standards, it was surely below average. And it doesn't help to run into someone as inspired as Djokovic, thrice, in the semis. Any other player would be glad to be at No. 3. But for Federer, surely it was unfamiliar territory?

The rest of the male tennis players also had a lot to prove. While the likes of Berdych, Soderling, Ferrer and the others were doing well to go deep into the other tournaments, they had to prove they are Grand Slam material.

Eventually, as the tournament reached its business end, it was Nadal, Djokovic, Federer and Murray who lived up to the billing, giving their stakes a true shot. Nadal had overcome his shaky start well enough to hold his nerve in three tight sets over Murray in their semi-finals, thereby ensuring atleast half of what he had to do to hold the No.1 rank. But all eyes were on the match of the season. Unbeaten this year Djokovic and had a lot to prove Federer. If Djokovic won, he would claim the top rank. If Federer won, he would answer the critics and find himself in a Grand Slam final.

And what a match it turned out to be. The seventy-minute first set just showed what the match meant to both players. Long rallies, hard hitting, extremely good defence and a lot of controlled aggression. Absolutely electric tennis. 7-6 it read, 12 games and a tie brake worth a match in itself. And with the crowd behind him, Federer ran away with the second. Djokovic seemed to have woken up a bit in the third and rallied to take it with a break. The fourth started of with both players giving their all. Djokovic drew first blood but Federer cut back in immediately. Djokovic even had a chance to serve his way into the fifth set but Roger found the right time to up the ante and in the following tie break, served nervelessly to end Novak Djokovic's scintillating start to 2011. He fell one match short of McEnroe's record and of claiming the No.1 ranking.

And perhaps it drained Federer a bit too much before the final against a man who was aiming to equal Borg's Open Era record of 6 Roland Garros titles and to preserve his berth at the top. To Federer's credit, he put up a tough fight with three tight sets, but lost his way in the fourth to hand Rafa a record equalling sixth French title, his tenth Grand Slam in all.

King of Clay? But of course!

A rather fitting end to the clay court season and promises an exciting month on grass ahead.

Arrival

I love arrival halls at international airports.

It is one of the few places where you can see extremely honest emotions.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
When the American relatives arrive and the entire family is there to receive them and the adults all exchange greetings and the little kids grab the bags full of chocolates while taking in their jeans and t-shirt clad relatives;

When someone in the family performs Hajj and the entire family proudly comes to receive that person, asking for a share of the blessings, while the respect for the person becomes so palpable;

When the husband returns from a foreign business trip and his face lights up when he meets his wife and they end their pangs of separation;

The anxious and judging look in the eyes of foreigners as they take in the sights around them. Anything and everything they heard about the place, they try to find it or look for a thing to disprove it;

The searching eyes of each and every individual as he/she tries to find a familiar face amongst the several faces beyond the fence, hoping with everything that someone wants them;

The fact that in that small area are people of so many different cultures and beliefs, ideas and thoughts;
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It is quite fascinating.
Perhaps just as fascinating as travelling itself is.

Vincent Van Gogh

Albeit with all ears intact....

To Put it this way...

Most of my friends are not Tamil speakers. So it isn't entirely their fault that they find this song very catchy and love dancing to it.

Not exactly dancing but more of exaggerated pelvic thrusts and non-coordinated hand movements. The feet seem frozen and if they do move, by all means they will remain within a square meter of where they originally were(Credits: Sohag Sen).

But they love dancing to this song.

It is a strange song. Its lyrics are weird and hilariously suggestive. But even I have got to admit that there is an element of likeability in it.

For the benefit of the non-Tamil speaking populace, here is a opening section of the song roughly translated for you.

Appidi Podu Podu Podu, Asathi Podu Kannale

Put like that, put, put, Put with you eyes

Ippdi Podu Podu Podu, Izhiti Podu Kaiyale

Put like this, Put, Put, Stretch and put with your hands

So guys and girls, next time you dance with all those pelvic thrusts, please pause to remember this article.

The Prince and the General

Two men, one a little more than the other perhaps, deserve a mention for the historic events that unfolded yesterday. And there are observations to be made about them.

Firstly, this team we see today is the finished product of what was started by Sourav Ganguly. Dada lover or Dada hater, you've got to accept that several key members of this squad were Dada's findings.

Harbhajan Singh(who scalped Dilshan, and Akmal in the Semis) was just a mediocre off-spinner till the Australia series under Dada.
Gautam Gambhir began his career in the Indian squad under Dada, who like him was a south-paw off side
player.

Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra too were Dada's findings. Zak and Ashish were two of the reasons in the run to the Finals in 2003.

If there is one man who owes a lot more to Dada than those above, it is Yuvraj Singh. Fresh from winning the under-19 World Cup, Yuvi most certainly grew into the player he is today, due to the start he got under Dada. Surely, one of Dada's greatest finds.

The other man worth a mention is also a Dada find. Apparently he had been on the cards for a while and in his very first ODI, ran himself out of his very first ball. Quite a long way has come Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

There is something about cool heads and sports. The best around always seem to be the ones who are calm and composed. Never betray to the opposition, their emotions. These are the toughest nuts around. Such is the nature of Dhoni. Add to this the real Midas touch and you have a great leader in the making.
Everything this man has touched has turned into pure success. It began with the T20 world cup in South Africa. The Jharkhandi carried his success into Chennai and for three back to back seasons, the CSK finished amongst the top, winning the last season. He topped it with a win in the Champions League as well. He led the ODI squad to the tri-series win in Australia and as Test captain, he is on an unbeaten series run for a while now. And under him, two talents of modern Indian cricket have blossomed. Suresh Raina and Ravichandran Ashwin, CSK teammates and surely future India regulars. His success probably lies in keeping his team in their comfort zone. And in having a very accurate set of intestines which provide him with such a good feel.

Dhoni has always risen to the occasion in each of those tournaments. His knock against Punjab in Dharamshala was one of anger, anger at leaving qualification till the last match. His knock yesterday was to answer himself.

Six of the current squad were under Ganguly in the 2003 world cup. I hope all fifteen of them are under Dhoni in the next world cup, down under.

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PS- I know it is too optimistic for Sachin to play!
And Sreesanth, don't really care.

Dedicated to...

The American dollar bills carry a statement. It says, quite simply, IN GOD WE TRUST.

Sometimes, when a lot of people trust and expect so much from you, it is very easy to wilt and wither and become lost. No salute is large enough for a man who has carried the weight of expectations of a billion people for over two decades and yet managed to not just survive, but etch his name into the books as the greatest individual to have embraced the sport.

There are kilometers of newspaper columns dedicated to the Little Master, tonnes of books about him and several hundred hours of footage on his brilliance...Yet he remains the same aggressive and ridiculously prodigious master batsman who even after two decades in the Indian team, remains the most prized wicket for the opposition. In fact, he was the most treasured wicket for the Indians too.

For almost twenty years now, the entire Indian team has been built around Tendulkar. Generations of cricketers have played and barely even suggested the survival instincts of Sachin. The game changed and Sachin adapted to change with it. His best efforts were always there to be seen. But he never had the team to aide his efforts. For twenty years in Indian cricket, it was always Sachin and the rest of the team.

Twenty years...

2nd April, 2011, Sachin was there, and the team he had always wanted was there too.

This cup is for you Sachin.

All that matters...

This one will be short.
For i am too drained to write
for any ode, however long
will not suffice
for there exist words none,
which can describe
the feeling in your heart,
the feeling in your limbs,
the feeling in the atmosphere,
the feeling that permeates
every single human being,
it is joy,
joy for your country...
the cup that counts,
is finally in the country that matters...

Nau Ghante...

Nau Ghante, Yeh Nau Ghante tumhare zindagi ke sabse ahem nau ghante hain
Aaj main nahi bataoonga ki mujhe tumse kya chahiye..
aaj tum, apne aap se poochoge ki tumhe kya chahiye.
Aaj main nahi boloonga, kabhi nahi, ki tumhe cricket kaise khelna chahiye..
aaj cricket khelna, tum poore desh ko sikhaoge...
Kyunki yeh nau ghante, tumhare zindagi ki sabse ahem nau ghante hain...
chahe tum haaro ya jeeto, lekin yeh nau ghante tumse koi nahi cheen sakta...
tumhare marte dum tak, yeh nau ghante tumhare saat rahenge..
jao aur khelo, aur aisa khelo ki khuda bhi tumse yeh pal cheen nahi sakta...

Bend in the Rhine

I am not much of a liar     

I usually am never stressed out..

No parts of wood I have,

'cept Pinocchios nose no doubt...

It makes me concious, yes...

It is rounded, hence pointless...

Yes, I've had it for a while...

No, I didn't smash my face on a tile....

Then what is it, ask some..

'tis a deviated nasal septum..

Hey, Dumbledore had a crooked nose too... :)

Pont to be noted

Ricky Ponting perhaps had a premonition that this was going to be his last match ever. That is why he tried almost every one of his gimmicks in the match.
Claiming a bump catch, arguing with the umpire, looking pissed of in general and batting beautifully.

While most will remember the match for crucial partnership between Yuvraj and Raina and the 18000th milestone in the so well canvassed career of Sachin Tendulkar, not many will remember it for the gritty knock  played by a man under pressure, not only from his own form(he hadn't scored an ODI hundred in close to a year), but also from critics and officials in his own country. Given that he had to deal with questions of captaincy and consistency and that he was facing a team considered hot favourites for the title, his knock of 104 is one of true courage.

He was always a big match player and he lived up to that. He began nervously, but he soon found grip and dispatched eight balls to the fence including one that took the aerial route. On a track that had assistance to spin(Tendulkar bowled a delivery which Shane Warne would have been proud of) and stopped occasionally, Pontings knock helped prop Australia to a respectable total. For a man always known to be aggressive, Ponting was never the one to try anything silly. His brand of attacking was to take the ball early, switch feet quickly, pull with great skill and negate the spinner by using quick footwork. Pity that his last World Cup knock probably, ended with a misdirected reverse sweep.

The man had his flaws. His aggression sometimes got better of his judgement. And his character was several times questionable. Yet, Ricky Ponting, the Batsman was a treat to watch. Prodigious skill and indeed a great cricketer.

His last World Cup match(mostly) was in many ways, an aggregate display of what was his career.

I never asked...

In your glorious peak,
I never asked why do you give me so much joy...
I never asked why is it that you bring on me a smile every time I see you perform,
I never asked why is it that every decision of yours miraculously comes true,
I never asked why do others wilt away and never stand a chance against you,
I never asked why it was you of all the people...

And today in your not best of times,
I still wont ask why...

Dear Roger

Much like Santa Claus is the ultimate source of joy for kids, you have provided me endless joy since 2005 when I first started watching tennis. The sheer elegance of you small stepping across the ball to hit an inside out forehand winner in the hallowed Centre Court is almost as if out of a ballet. The precision of the ace you hit to win the Wimbledon 04 final was almost unreal. And if tennis is difficult to play, then it is because you make it look so easy.


You represent so many qualities. Perfection, perseverance, hard-work, level headedness, politeness, humility and importantly, good sportsmanship. And over time, I have tried to imbibe these qualities in me as well. It wouldn't be too much to say that anyone would have come a long way if they became half as much as a person you are.


I stood beside you with several others when you awe inspiringly won so many matches. I witnessed you raise in your arms so many trophies and clapped hard on each one of your "Come On!" moments. I also spent hours agonising over those few moments that sprawl the what if questions and silently suffered when you did.


Therefore, this is to say that(at least for me)


Roger Federer Forever...


Cheers

Aisa Kaisa Paisa?

Vijay Mallya

Net worth: $1.4 Billion [source: Forbes.com]

The undisputed king of good times.

Popular for lavish parties, swimsuit calenders, beer, RCB, Force India and via his son, Deepika Padukone[If you don't know her then I suggest you review your sexuality, and then click here]

Mukesh Ambani

Net Worth: $27 Billion

Mere Baap ka Sapna, Sabka maal apna

Gave his wife a corporate jet for her birthday, an IPL team for playing auction-auction and an ugly power sucking building in South Mumbai.

Lakshmi Mittal

Net Worth: $26.1 Billion

Sab maa chahein ki unka damaad Lakshmi ho.

His daughters sangeet had SRKs performance and he own three on UKs most expensive properties.

And they say money can't buy you happiness.

Agreed, it cannot buy you true love, mom-made food anywhere in the world or a wholesome family.

But it can buy you the most comfortable bed in the word, it can buy you the chance to witness any spectacle natural/manmade, it can buy you the most desirable ride and in emergencies, the best medical care available. It can even buy you good will if you donate for a worthy cause though I'd rather one donates out of genuine concern rather than a personal CSR initiative.

Money isn't everything, yet everything these days come with a price.

Women want guys with a good sense of humour, but what good is the sense of humour if you cant feed her at least twice a day? You cannot say to her at dinner time that you've made her a joke, can you?

I want money, and tons and tons of it. I don't want it so that I can swim in it[Scrooge McDuck, Net Worth: One multiplujillion, nine obsquatumatillion, three hundered and twenty three dollars and sixty-two cents], but I wouldn't say no to a private yacht. I will not obtain it by crook, but if necessary, I'll yank all the hooks to get some.

Oh AdSense...Now there is a hook!

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This is a response...not just a mere thought...

Aarakshan Soochna

One of the greatest obstacle that we face in our country today is the prevalence of the caste system.


The archaic and (in every context since the ~19th century) meaningless system is a crippling disease which no government wishes to acknowledge.


What started as a social classification on the basis on occupation(Caste System in India)has turned into a ridiculous basis for discrimination. Long gone was the time when we realised its worthlessness and regrouped ourselves once again along the lines of our work, irrespective of colour, religion or genetic make up.


Reservations should be only in modes of travel and theatres. If the deprived classes need higher education, isn't the way forward to provide quality early education and prepare for the higher courses? Or is it to provide a direct ticket to the centres of upper learning and hope that the ticket holder will catch up once there?


Mr. Arjun Singh was central to this debate.


He is dead now(God bless his near ones)...but not many will forget his last years.
If I were his family, I wouldn't donate his body to anyone in the AIIMS. Doctors are vicious avengers.



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St. Peter(SP): Why should i let you through the pearly gates?
Arjun Singh(AS): Cos I am Arjun Singh...
SP- Sorry then, you are not meritorious enough to enter...
AS-What? There is not quota?

and a few days later, seen on NDTV 24-Heaven,
Arjun Singh announces new reservation policy for entering heaven.
Recently deceased members of Gujjar communtiy, meanwhile have blocked the clouds leading upto heaven demanding their classification into such a class.

Dear Uncle Pai

Some years ago, when we every once in a while, we used travel by train to some place, the first thing I would on reaching the railway station(and I think I'm not alone on this one) was to go to the A.H.Wheeler bookstore on Platform 1 and buy as many Tinkles(Digests/Double Digests/Summer Specials etc.) and Amar Chitra Kathas as my parents would permit.

It was a tradition. One that I was very happy to practice.

For an entire generation(or perhaps even two) of kids, from the late 80s to the early 2000s, these comics were the ultimate source of entertainment and education. The antics of Suppandi and Tantri the Mantri failed to tickle none, everyone knew that the wily Chamataka and his clumsy side-kick Doob Doob could be up to no good and everyone loved it when Kalia the Crow rescued Keechu-Meechu from their booby traps.

"Tinkle Tells You Why" was perhaps more successful in encouraging and clearing queries about day to day life than most teachers and schools ever were. The Science lessons of Uncle Anu and the sleuth-work of Mopes, Purr and Ajay were fascinating. Everyone was friends with Kapish, Bundila, Baboocha, Shikhari Shambu, Naseerudin Hodja, Ramu and Shamu.

The Jataka Tales and the Panchatantra were given a new lease of life and helped inculcate morals into millions of children across the country.

All these, were due to the vision and creativity of Anant Pai, or as ACK/TInkle readers will fondly refer to his as, Uncle Pai. His legacy has to this date sold over a 100million copies worldwide and each year continues to sell over 3 million copies. His creations are perhaps the sole reason why kids know about Birbal, the Pandavas, the avatars of Vishnu, Chanakya, Bhagat Singh, the Mughal emperors, Prithviraj Chauhan, Napoleon, Pasteur and JRD Tata.

Uncle Pai,

I am forever indebted to you.

May your soul rest in peace.

Answers to Quiz-2

1. These countries do not have an airport. As I hinted, it would be almost impossible for Vatican to have one.
All of them have a heliport atleast. Andorra is the largest of these, both by area and population, to not have an Airport.

2. The US Government and its agencies

3. He is the only person to defeat Bjorn Borg in the French open.

Etymology

It is not a commonly known fact that my first name is not Ramani (rum-uh-nee). I was blessed and cursed with the royally distinct, very Indian name of Aditya (aa-dit-ya). If you are surprised, I don't blame you.

I have had this thing going on for a while now. Back in 4th Standard when it first happened, I was rather pissed of about it. You must sympathize with me as I was young and was the only one being referred by not my first name. It was so annoying to me that I had once even severed ties with a kid for his failure to correct what he called me. Things changed however, as I grew older. It was still a bit weird, but I started seeing the funny side of it too.

Over here, we must pause to understand the nomenclature system of Tamilians.

Folks, we don't have a surname. Big surprise, but it is true. Our system is to simply give the kid a name(often 8-12 syllables long, but that is not the point) and provide the dad's name as an initial. The Iyers and the Iyengars are what Tamil immigrants seeking jobs elsewhere conjured as there was a surname column and it couldn't be left blank.

So "Ramani" is my dad's name. Over a period of time, it's usage for me has become almost surname like. It feels good sometimes to be referred to by this name, a name which I respect a great deal. Occasionally however, things get a bit funny.

The following are true incidents.

Scene 1: PTA, Report Card Collection


Teacher (to my Dad)- He has done well sir, but can improve so much more. But don't worry, Ramani is a very good student!

Ramani (Dad)- Okaaaaaaay!

Ramani (me)- Yeah...Dad...Good Student!


Scene 2: Sunday afternoon, Dad and I at home watching TV when the phone rings and Dad answers it.

Caller- Hello, is Ramani there?

Ramani (Dad)- Yes, speaking. Who is this?

Caller- Dude! Whats wrong with your voice? And you don't recognize my voice you idiot!

Ramani (Dad, to me)-It's for you!

Then there is the Sindhi aspect to it. A small change in pronunciation and it becomes Rum-aah-nee, straight out of USA(Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association, for the uninitiated). So to the president of USA, I'd like to say, My name is Ramani, and I am not a Sindhi!

So people, call me what you will. Just remember NOT to call my home asking for Ramani!

Quiz-2

Answers to quiz-1:
1. These are the researches for which Indians have one Nobel prizes...Khorana, CV Raman, Ramakrishnan, Ross, Chandrasekhar
2. Karunanidhi...
3. Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine..
4. India Gate Square...these are the largest public squares

Quiz-2

1. Liechtenstein, Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco and Andorra are the only countries in the world without what?

2. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Honeywell Corporation, Chevron Corporation and GE are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th largest toxic waste generators in the world. Who is the largest?

3. Adriano Panatta is an Italian tennis player, who won the French Open in 1976. His claim to fame however is something different. He is the only person in his era to achieve this feat. Whatzit?

Game, Set and Match

Mr. Bhupati is a great tennis player, a businessman and a socialite. In some time, he is going to marry Ms. Dutta, a former beauty queen and an actress. This is just one more of those highly gossiped about nuptials between sports-persons and models/actresses. In fact, if the rumour engines are to be trusted, the wedding(in Goa :D) invitation list even includes Mr. Bhupati's dear friend, Mr. Federer!

Now this news has got me thinking about the state of Indian tennis.

In the 50s and 60s, there was a highly gifted Chennai lad who was making good name for India in the tennis circles. In an era dominated, almost overwhelmingly by Laver, Newcombe, Emerson and Pancho Gonzales, it is quite an achievement to make yourself even visible, and Ramanathan Krishnan was more than just visible. Known for his extreme finesse on court, he reached two Wimbledon semi-finals, losing both times to the eventual champions. His greatest achievement was perhaps the remarkable comeback from 5-2 down in the fourth set against Brazilian Tomas Koch to take India to its first Davis Cup final. His victory over Laver in Davis Cup(1959) and the Wimbledon junior title in 1954 were some of career highlights.

His son Ramesh Krishnan too made the tricolour a force to reckon with. Thrice a grand-slam quarter-finalist, he led India to their second Davis Cup(1987) final by defeating Australians Masur and Fitzgerald in the semi-finals.

India's best chance by far to win the tennis doubles gold were in the 2000 summer Olympics at Sydney and Athens respectively. In 1999, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati reached all four Grand Slam doubles finals, winning the French+Wimbledon double. It was a a new peak in Indian tennis. In 2004, they had quarter and semi-final runs in several events leading up to Athens. The only tennis medal yet was the Bronze medal run by Paes in Atlanta(1996), where he lost to Agassi in the semifinals.

Several controversies aside, Sania Mirza was once World No. 27.

Currently, there is only one ATP level tournament in India and barring one, all male players rank well below 200.

This sport needs some attention, and the "Bhutta" wedding is not the kind of attention it needs. Hopefully we'll have a grand-slam champion in the next 10 years.

Mind Fodder

TEDxBITSGoa had a rather interesting video, where this guy talked about how revealing to others your goals and strategies reduces your chances of actually accomplishing or sticking to them. The psychology being that when you reveal your goals, you trick yourself into believing that you are actually on the way to achieving it. So, instead of working at full steam, you mellow down(and take li8).

What you should be doing instead, is to identify your goal and a strategy you are going to adopt and keep it to yourself. That way, you make an impression on yourself that you are yet to achieve it and need to work diligently in order to get there.

This makes for rather interesting mind fodder right now, as the exams are right on top. Obviously everyone has a target in their minds when it comes to exams; a certain par score which they want to go above. Consider the case when I revealed to my friends the plan to canvas three courses over nine hours of non-stop, intensive mugging, with pauses only for water and leaks.

Surely, making a blog entry after a few hours of sitcom viewing makes the TED talk a fact to be noted...

This Lub-Dubbing thing is beyond any applied science!

The odds are 1:6.

No, these aren't the odds of the Netherlands winning against Australia in the Cricket world cup(no offence to the Dutch). These are the odds of sighting a girl in an engineering college in India. Now, if you decide to apply certain filters to this, then the chances of sighting anything plunges to an astonishingly small value.

Engineers are angels, in a manner of speaking. Let's face it, engineers have alone created more than three quarters of the jobs(conservative estimate) in the world since the industrial revolution. They've mastered construction(bridges are one of the most important economic assets of a nation), shrunk distances(anyone wants to share a cab to the airport on the 25th?), changed the way we eat(cheese isn't microwave friendly), the way we communicate(hey, gg man, ftw!) and have even made family entertainment ever so easy(all you need is a 5.1 Channel Surround sound home theatre system, a full HD 1080p screen, in a wood panelled room, the latest Blu-Ray version of your favourite movie, a Blu-Ray compatible reader and a family sized couch, not to mention, very deep pockets). Rising pollution levels and industrial accidents are only two small ways in which engineers contribute to the steady supply of the ill and the injured to the doctors. Engineers are the ultimate problem solvers and so it can be said with confidence that there are no fields in which the engineers have not made their presence felt.

Or is there?

A closer look may reveal that, these awesome problem solvers are yet to crack a very essential riddle, which students of liberal arts, humanities and commerce usually have it figured out in varying levels(the failure to figure this riddle out may be the reason that they are forced to indulge in self-help). Could it be that the selfless solving of the problems of the world for a living, may have left them too exhausted to give this particular problem, concerning themselves, a sincere try? And even if you venture an attempt, what algorithm is it supposed to be based on? And if Darwinism is to be believed, then aren't the fittest(read: geeks) supposed to be the alpha male?

As every engineer ponders over these issues today, here's wishing everyone out there, a Happy Valentines Day!

(PS- I think Bajrang Dal comprises of engineers who have given up on ever solving this riddle :) )