Thursday, June 30, 2005

Team India: Goal for 2005-06…

Having yet to understand how the new rules will work in the ODI, the Indian team now faces this.

It isn’t good news for the team that is deemed to usurp the throne from the Aussies. One more aim for this year, and a pretty important one if ICC sticks to the rules strictly.

Come on guys get going, one year of poor ODI cricket from bunch of talented blokes like you all has been a huge dampener on our spirits. Get those feet moving and fight!

Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Awaiting Sarkar

Sarkar hits the screens this Friday. The promos look intense! The whole film has the typical RGV look. The promos reflect that the film will keep you on the edge of your seat all the time, with the audience in for some mind-blowing performances by the father-son duo.

Amitabh’s whole persona & look sends a shiver down your spine. Terrorizing is his whole presence. Abhishek looks the confused son to perfection.

And the comments about the film prior to the release are also note-worthy:
The Director: Abhishek is a better actor than his father!
The Projectionist at the laboratory where the prints were being checked, after viewing the film said,

'Aisee picture to maine pehle kabhi dekhi nahin. Amitabh Bachchan aur Abhishek Bachchan ka acting dekhne ke baad, yeh maloom nahin ki kaun kiska baap hai!!'

What a fantastic way to put the acting performances of the duo in perspective. That’s what they mean when they tell you to KISS (Keep it Short and Simple!) !!

Amitabh quotes the projectionist in his interview to Mumbai Mirror. He’ll never forget this projectionist ever in his life. What a compliment, no one could’ve put it better!

Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Weirdos from our planet...

Browsing through many newspaper sites, one comes across some real weird news. For today's dose:

P.S.: Nothing to do with the title of this blog. But wished you were here in the early hours of today’s morning?

Monday, June 27, 2005

AB’s Baby Rocks the IIFA Awards…

Caught the IIFA awards on Star Plus yesterday. Now what was I doing home on a nice Sunday evening?
Couple of reasons:

  • It’s been pouring cats and dogs in Mumbai for last few days, and these are the times when home seems the best place on earth.
  • I wanted to catch Abhishek Bacchan’s first stage performance, the promos looked very catchy. Before I get into raving about him (I’ve been a ‘loyal’ fan since his debut!) a few things about the awards nite!

Why is it the International Indian Film Academy Awards? Only Bollywood comprises ‘Indian’? Do we not have films in Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, and Marathi? Do they not produce films as good as the ‘Hindi’ ones? Apparently for the last 6 years no one has questioned this and none has bothered to address this issue.

It was indeed appalling to see movies like Mujshe Shaadi Karoge to be nominated for best film. Priyanka Chopra for best actress for Mujshe Shaadi Karoge! Do we need to have 5 nominees? Can we not cut it down to 4 if there aren’t movies worth to be nominated! The movie might have been a hit but it need not classify as one of the best films that year!

The award ceremonies (I’ve lost count of them) have become increasingly monotonous, with all winners stating this means a lot to me! For a change, tell us which one does not or which one means the most!! And I was bored, irritated of that ‘I love you Amsterdam, I’ve never had such a rocking time in my life (We should note that, every award ceremony or show everyone says nothing like this!!), I Amsterdam!’ bit.
Enough of sucking up to people ya! Enough!

These ‘n’ number of award ceremonies have simply reduced the worth of getting an award. If Rani gets Filmfare, Preity will bag the Zee Cine, and someone else the Screen. Cool everyone is happy! And the viewers are made fools!

I think people tune in to the award ceremonies more for the performances rather than the excitement of who will win. Most performances are also becoming similar, add a dash of Shiamak’s troupe, or troupes of famous dance directors, plug in a few recent hits, oldies to get nostalgic and there you have the show set!

And in these boring, monotonous award ceremonies Abhishek’s performance came as breeze of fresh air. The last year has been great for him: Yuva, Dhoom, Phir Milenge. He is going great guns as an actor. Sarkar to watch out this year and if it means anything, Ram Gopal Verma has gone on record to say that he is a better actor than his father. Wow. The Best compliment ever!!! All actors would die to have anyone say that to them.

This confidence reflected in his performance; having overcome being in the shadow of his illustrious parents, he stood his own ground and carved a place for himself. He is not the best of dancers like Hrithik, does not have a fan-following like Salman (whose every awful steps were hugely applauded!) or the aura of Shahrukh Khan but there is an amazing like-ability factor to this man!

He danced with ease in his own unassuming manner, and showing a hint of his dad in his expressions and dance steps.

The ‘Kajra Re’ number at the end with the father-son duo on stage enthralled the audience. The number could have done without Ash. Her whole Miss Sweet as a Saccharine image gets to me and her plastic expressions and dance steps are even worse! Let me not get to her accent at all! What did she say on Oprah ‘My living with my parents is such a Taahpic!’ Not Topic..but ‘Taahpic’. It did not sound American, or Brit, or Indian! It sounded ‘Hinglish’!!!

Amitabh Bachchan continues to amaze me. When his contemporaries are living quietly in their retirement, when people his age cannot think of climbing more than two floors, he matches dance steps to his 29 year old son, we are left wondering who is the younger of the two! His enthusiasm is priceless, and the aura he still has on the people is unmatched and will remain so forever!
No wonder he is and will always be “The Superstar” !

This blog chapter was to be more about Abhishek Bachchan and his Super Star Dad’s performance, also turned out be a IIFA bashing blog, but what the heck I don’t mind;-) I think they’ve asked for it.

P.S: The advertisement breaks were the limit, every break they would have the promo of the Kajra Re number saying ‘Coming Up’. Yes it sure did come up quickly after 3 ½ hrs of the show, right at the end!!!

Black Week for Indian Cricket

First Mushtaq Ali then Eknath Solkar. Two stalwarts of India Cricket passed away within a week. The latter took fielding (The most neglected aspect in cricket) to new heights even before the likes of Azharuddin & Rhodes came onto the scene.

The quartet of our spin bowlers that played the most important role in our victories against WI and England in 1971 always gave Solkar his due credit; for were it not for his awesome fielding abilities they would’ve never bagged the wickets they did. In an era where there was no protection and helmets around, Eknath Solkar stood close to the batsman in the dreaded forward leg position and took some of the most stunning catches.

Sadly, India did not produce his class of fielders consistently cause there is no ‘glamour’ attached to the job. Most find it a thankless job. The fielding was brought live again by Azhar and Rhodes and its importance realized only after the emergence of Aussies and SA as the teams to beat in ODIs, who easily saved 20-30 runs due their fielding alone. Just as crowds flocked to see Jonty Rhodes for his fielding alone, same was the case with Solkar in those days.

An incident I recollect which I had read in one of the sports magazines a long time ago. So much was Solkar known for his fielding abilities especially at the forward short-leg that it has sent alarm bells to a great batsman like Vijay Manjrekar. In a local match where they were pitched up against each other he said to Solkar in Marathi
'Eknatha tu tikde khadda khanun ubha rahilas na tari tula me majhi wicket denar nahi'
which in English meant
'Eknath, even if you dig a hole there and sit all day, I will not give you my wicket'

It was not a gibe at Eknath but it reflected the respect Vijay Manjrekar had towards his fielding!
May he inspire more to pick up his art. May his soul rest in peace.

For more on the man read here and Harsha Bhogle's tribute here.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Sania Shines...

The change in climate and the heavy downpour took its toll on me and kept me at home all day yesterday due to fever!

Had to write about Sania’s match against Kuznetsova! ( I hope I got that name right!!)

Ideally would’ve liked to get it up asap but could not fight the fever,
But as per the age old adage I thought, better late than never;-)

Hey did I get a rhyming or two there?;-)

I dunno how far this lass will go. How many titles she’ll win, how many Grand slams she’ll pocket, but with her amazing fighting display the other day against Kuznetsova she is right up there in my books.

All of 18, but confidence of a player who has been around the circuit for 18 years. Not once was she overawed by her opponent’s seeding (maybe the fact that she had beaten her in Dubai open, helped Sani’s confidence), or the fact that she was playing on Centre Court. I think it must’ve meant the world to her to be playing on the Wimbledon Centre Court. (Here is what she had to say)

For any tennis player it is a dream to be there on that Wimbledon Centre Court. It’s is to tennis what Lord’s is to cricket.

She’ll come back and play many more matches there and go on to win as well. She came back strong in that match, what a fight she gave. Maybe the Indian cricket & hockey teams could learn a thing or two from her.

Most people will say, ‘What is the big deal about her reaching the second round at Wimbledon or third round at Australian open?’

It is a big deal!!! Despite its huge population, India does not enjoy a great sporting culture nor a history of talented sportsman, women are too less and can be counted on the fingers of one’s hand!

And if we will not applaud and take notice of small achievements like these, how will these youngsters get encouraged? How will they know that whatever little they have managed to accomplish, fighting all odds, is being appreciated by their countrymen? How can we not applaud this young lady’s feat?

She has to be noticed, she deserves to be noticed. Her achievements are no small feat. She has managed to get us thinking beyond the Tendulkars, Dravids and Gangulys. Little girls believe that they have a future in world sports, and they can aspire to be the Sanias of the future.

Even the WTA has stood up and taken notice of her! And why are we being snooty in acknowledging that here is a young lady on the threshold of what could be a phenomenal career and make great history for India in the tennis world.

Hey Sania, I seriously don’t care if you never manage to win a grand slam( I’m praying hard you do) but you have taught one damn good lesson which all Indians seem to have forgotten. Fight, fight, and fight hard! There is absolutely no shame in the loss if you know you have given more than 100% in your effort!

Brilliant match lady, a couple of serves and volleys your way and you would be in that third round, but never mind, you are young and you’ll be back...

You’ll be back more mature, smarter, fitter and finer in your game. We are there watching you and applauding you on your every point, Go get them;-)

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Vata Pournima and Mumbai Voices on Go 92.5 FM

Vata Pournima is the day when married ladies fast the entire day to pray for their husband's long life and have him as their husband for the next 7 lives. I wonder why there is no such fast for men;-)

Anyway this blog chapter is not about debating on it or explaining the occasion. As a part of my daily routine I listen to Jaggu and Tarana on the Good Morning Mumbai Show on Go 92.5FM, daily from 7.00-11.00 a.m.

The duo is a complete riot on radio and brings you tons of laughter with their witty conversations and takes on current events. I think it's a show everyone must listen too.

They do a section called 'Mumbai Voices' where they ask the junta to sms/call in expressing their views about a topic raised that day. Today they asked
'If all married ladies would want their husband for 7 lives'.

The answers poured in. Most said No; after all variety is the spice of life, some said Yes, cause there is no man like him and we are very happy.

A few had innovative answers, but the one that caught the attention was this:

"This is my Seventh Life!"

Somebody has been counting for a long time now!!!

Monday, June 20, 2005

The Wait is Over...

I'm not talking about the much awaited split of the Reliance Empire, or the Aussie defeat at the hands of England.

It's the much awaited rains. They were late by 10 odd days than the usual and how they have tasted the patience of the Mumbaikar. The heat, the sweat, the sultry atmosphere was getting unbearable!

It poured yesterday and quite a bit today morning. On my way to office, I saw the muck around, the train-timetable all set to go haywire in few days, traffic on roads, people making their way through with umbrellas and windcheaters, pot-holes on roads, certain roads all set to get flooded...

Aha, the monsoon has arrived and Mumbai's normalcy is on its way to get restored;-)

Enjoy these 4 months...

Will He Be Aus's Nemesis?

He has been much talked about before the series began. He has a record to back the reputation he is earning as Destroyer-in-Chief.

He proved it again yesterday.

What would be interesting to see is will he be able to do to the Aussies what Sachin did to them in the 1998 season??

Interesting battle ahead!

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Saturday Shocker...

Saturday for me is the day to relax after a hectic working week. I usually keep myself away from the computer and today I spent the day with my mother out shopping and later caught up with my school friends for a wonderful dinner.

Got home pretty late, was tired but decided to login to check up mail and
this news was nothing less of a shock to me.

Of all the matches being played these days I avoid watching Bangladesh in action. Today, I'll really rue the fact that I did not believe in the age old adage 'cricket is game of glorious uncertainties'

I'm a huge Aussies fan, but I'd give anything to catch them being defeated by minnows.
Would want to catch the match, what was it?? Real shoddy display by Aussies or great batting by Bangladesh.

Friday, June 17, 2005

The Story of a Genius and His Team...

Nice debate this article would make up for!

If I had a choice I'd prefer to be in Allan Border's or Steve Waugh's shoes despite given a choice to be a genius as Lara is...

Tragic for a Genius isn't it?

Kali Prataap's Ghost at Work ???

I don't see what the debate is about?

Isn't this a pure case of Kali Pratap at work in "Orbit" Park. Go search for that " Ghost Guide". Don't waste time on looking for man-eater tigers!!

Our movies are so realistic, what say Mr. Karan johar and Mr. Soham ?
Amazing foresight...no wonder Kaal is a Big Hit (???)


P.S: Don't get me started on Kaal, I tink my next blog will have the review I sent my friends! How can anyone make such a mindless, illogical film!

Thursday, June 16, 2005

Will UP, Bihar, Rajasthan ever change?

Why am I not that shocked after reading this.

How is the woman a partner in a crime called rape?? Any answers, no we don't have any!

June Fool???

The headline 'Aussies lose to Somerset' almost shocked me! Aussies going down twice in a row to the Poms!!!

I read the report further and saw that they were beaten by a man from SL who has been a nemesis for many teams and another from SA who has been in prime form this season.

But what is surprising, that they failed to defend a score of 342, anything to worry yet?
Ponting sure does not look too worried!

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Rekha's Trauma...

Can you imagine Rekha's trauma on seeing this poll being conducted by rediff.
She must be wondering what has she done to deserve this...the 'Diva' who can be sensuous at 50!

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

The Earth Does Not Look Too Pleased...

Felt mild tremors half hour back. Tremors had rocked Mumbai, and some parts of Maharashtra couple of months back.
Hope these ones are not too serious.
Man is just so helpless when natural disaster strikes...when are we gonna learn to preserve the wild-life and nature. Stop turning the world into one concrete jungle!

Confidence Personified...

England drew first blood against Aus when they thrashed them by 100 runs in Twenty20 match.

Hmmmm...These days an Aussie defeat in any version fo the game makes " Big" news; just the way our victories in any version of the game would;-)

Well if England thought they could rest on cloud nine, Ponting brought them down right away with his take on the match:
"I think it's that sort of game, Twenty20. So much happens that wouldn't normally happen in a 50-over game so I don't think the result of today's game will do them any good and probably won't do us any harm,"

Mental Disintegration? And Aussies are proven champs at it:-)
I'm looking forward more than ever to the Ashes this time...

Another Earth?

Yet another discovery. Yet another quest might begin; to search if life exists on other planets.

Maybe it exists and they too are trying to search for possibilites of life on other planets, but then again I remember what Calvin said:

'Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.'

Could that be true? Think about it...

P.S: One more reason I like Bill Watterson's 'C&H', the questions posed, and the thoughts of Calvin are very often the queries that we wished we could've asked and half those thoughts did come to most of us...

Monday, June 13, 2005

A Labour of Love...

After a long time (Thanks to our hectic schedules!!!), my hubby and I, finally caught a movie before its reviews were out. The music and trailers were impressive and I insisted we see Parineeta before the whole world does.

It’s a beautiful movie made from the heart. I’m not gonna delve into the storyline cause you must’ve read it by now umpteen times. The setting is Kolkatta of 60s, the sets, the costumes, the mannerisms of people, are excellent. Observe the small showpieces kept on Saif’s piano, that just about explains how much detailing has gone into the making of the movie and its backdrop!

The only hitch is the script and editing, the film drags a bit, and the last reel melodrama just about takes away the effect created by the movie. I think that could’ve been avoided. But, I think we can forgive Pradeep Sarkar and Vinod Chopra for that small error.

As for the performances Saif Rocks. He is the real hero of the film. He portrays Shekhar to perfection, his jealousy, his anger, his anguish, his love. Two scenes prove that he has grown and blossomed immensely as an actor. The first song of the movie ‘Suna yeh man mera, tune bandhan kyon yeh toda’ and the piano scene when he thinks of Lolita married with Girish. He is exceptional. Sonu Nigam sings wonderfully to express the pain, the sorrow, the hurt….The song is mind blowing.

Sanjay Dutt is a pleasure to watch. His presence in the film is soothing. Rekha sizzles in the ‘item song’. Oh she’ll give all these current girls a run for their money. Honestly, they are no match for the oomph she oozes. She is beyond 50?? Hard to believe!!!!

Vidya Balan manages to attract attention despite Saif’s rocking performance. She is beautiful. Lovely Indian looks and she acts well too. She has had a promising debut and I hope she picks up roles that do justice to her talent.

Rest of the cast puts in a good effort and you won’t be disappointed. The songs are exceptional as I had mentioned earlier and picturisation is even more impressive!

I think you should catch the movie atleast once.

P.S: Before the film started, there was a teaser from the movie 'Munnabhai –II'. It involved only Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi. It was hilarious, can’t wait for the movie to hit the screen in Summer of 2006! It's gonna be a long wait:-(

Friday, June 10, 2005

Goodbye to Good Old " Nelson"...

Nelson had become synonymous with David Shepherd. Everytime the score reached 111 (which is called "Nelson"), he would hop once, if it was a 'Double Nelson' i.e. 222; he would hop twice, and so on...

David Shepherd officiated in his last match, the second test between Pakistan and WI. He needed 8 more to complete a century but he chose not to.

He was always my favourite umpire and will be sorely missed on the field. I remember when he was the umpire in the Aus Vs Ind test in 2001 at Mumbai, all that I prayed for, in the innings of both teams, was to see a score of 111. I wanted to catch Shepherd 'live' in action:-) And my prayers were answered:-)

The superstition became so famous that every match in which he officiated, the cameraman shifted focus on him whenever the score hit 111,222 etc.

For more about the man read this.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

The Return of the 'Invincibles'

Cricket followers might know whom I'm referring to!
Go here to have a look.
Sometimes you wish time stayed put, that one could travel back in time...Sigh!
Given a chance I'd like to witness a few things in Cricket History:
  • Sir Don's Majestic Batting
  • The "Invincibles' in full action
  • The Series that changed the face of Cricket: ' Bodyline'
Many more to the list, this is just the beginning.
That gives me an idea. Every week I'll list the moments I would like to witness live, given the opportunity to travel back in time.
Hmmm...not a bad idea for a weekly topic on my blog;-)
You can join in with your list too..

Memory Loss...

In a country driven by liberalization, MNC proliferation, tech gizmos, televisions, movies, cricket, dirty politics and victims to the money-madness and corruption in every walk of life, we the young generation are slowly losing our sense of history and becoming ingrate as days pass by.

The passion for patriotic songs arises only on two days in a year. Caught on a music channel a program where 80% of the current crop of youngsters did not know when the republic day was celebrated, who the father of nation was! Shameful isn’t it?

So why are we surprised that great sacrifices like this are not even remotely recollected by people living in the town itself where it happened, forget the rest of the country remembering them.

And that’s why the newspapers are the most powerful tool and will always be, bringing in stories and making us aware of a glorious past and news like the one above. It makes me proud, proud to be an Indian, someday hoping I’ll be able to give back something, however small, to my land India.

It also gives me hope that someday a generation will take inspiration from these sacrifices, of freedom fighters and our defense personnel and fight to make this country a better place to live in!!

To end a quote from John F. Kennedy:
Let us think of education as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit for everyone and greater strength for our nation.

Now only if we understood the power of our education! JFK’s quote puts it in the best perspective.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Braille on Board

The West Central Railways is putting up a good example. Now only if all other public services & facilities take a leaf out of the Railways book and make themselves more friendly towards the handicapped people!

Birthday Bash Bang in the Middle of a Working Week…

It’s a special occasion. A birthday, not just for the person whose birthday it is but for all the loved near and dear ones.

Yesterday night, yup right in the middle of the week, one of our friends decided to keep the bash for his girlfriend. He and his sister had contemplated the weekend program, but then they thought, it’s that day, that moment that counts. I must give them hats off for convincing everyone to make it! To top that, we all had a whale of a time with no worries that everyone would have to be up in few hours and get into the daily rut!

We were around 20 of us yesterday and all landed on time to give our dear friend a huge surprise. Poor lady was not aware and had heard all kinds of stories by everyone! She was stunned and took sometime to sink in what was happening.

She got some pretty gifts, from dresses, to flowers, to chocolates, to music cassettes and Cds. However, I think the most exclusive gift of the evening came from Madhu (our friend’s sister), she got cans of chilled coffee in different flavours by Nescafe. Most of us did not know that it existed!

It was a complete hit, even got a vote above the chilled beer and whisky! I intend to buy this, thanks Madhu:-)

The B-day gal has a penchant for wrapping papers. She is justified in her stand that if someone lovingly wraps a gift for you, how can you tear it apart and just see the gift, you got to preserve the paper. I can’t do it, I don’t have the patience, but I liked her thought:-) I don’t know if I’ll take inspiration and implement it though! Our friend surely won’t, cause he kept ragging her about it all night long!

The preparations were excellent, and it showed how much the b-day girl is loved by all. Forget the presents, the preps & the food; the mere fact that everyone made it inspite of the hectic schedules just about proves how special it was for everyone there. Glad we were a part of it:-)

As I always maintain, little things in life matter a lot…they simply make life a lot more special!!!

Happy B-day once again! Hoping that the years to come are even more special:-)

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Unbroken Record...

On this day in 1975, began the first official tournament that brought all cricketing nations together.

You got it right, The World Cup.

While all records are being broken, one man will always have the highest chance to retain his record till the end. Yes, I'm talking of Sunil Gavaskar's 36 in 174 balls. If anyone today attempts to break that one, he'll be shown the way out!

And I bet, Gavaskar would love to have it broken, having that record taken away from him would bring in more smiles than anything else;-)

The Ashes Kicks off with Mental Disintegration...

Most cricketing fans await the Ashes with great passion and interest. The Ashes, at one time was the biggest rivalry in test cricket till England slumped, Australia rose and rose, and other rivalries like India- Aus, India-Pak, SA-Aus began to overshadow the charm of the Ashes.

However this time, England seems in a better state to challenge the Aussies. Mind you I’m betting on only the Challenge part not the result. For England to win; Aussies need to have ‘Bad Days’ in the field and that is a once in blue moon occasion! And we do not see the blue moon often do we?

Sledging was redefined by the Aussies especially Steve Waugh as ‘Mental Disintegration’. The Aussies are well-known to start off their ‘Speech Therapy’ before the actual matches begin. The only man who gave them a dose of their own medicine was our dear captain! Whatever his current (lack of) form and other cricket woes, that’s a good enough reason to stand by him in his time of distress:-)

Anyways our captain crisis later, here is what The Aussie Captain had to say when he set foot on the shores of England: 'You’ve had your fun against Bangladesh, guys; now get ready for the real competition'.
And to this he further added, with a reference to the fact that Australia have not lost a Test series against England since Allan Border’s 1986-87 team, said, “England have always had very good teams coming at us over the last 20 years, but they probably haven’t played the way they would have liked.”

Joining the captain are the fans too! This piece was interesting:
Reacting to a dyed-in-the-wool supporter’s forecast that the Ashes will “change hands” in the forthcoming series, an Aussie fan responded, “Yes, they will. They (the Ashes) will travel to Australia from the MCC, where you are holding on to them under one pretext or another.”

I agree with the Aussie fan, it’s time the Aussies were sent to Australia.
If they want them to remain at MCC, the Poms better win it back!!!

Who am I supporting? Except when they play India, it is Australia always, what a bunch of players!!! Only this team can afford to bring in Gilchrist at no. 7 and yet have him score a century!

Monday, June 06, 2005

Hey Sachin, Lara is Catching Up...

Hoping that Sachin recovers as soon as possible and comes back in rocking style. He may not be the same smashing Sachin who was once called the ‘Kamikaze Kid’ after his blitzkrieg in th Australian tour of '92 and then in New Zealand '94 when he opened for India in ODIs for the very first time, blasting 82 of 49 balls, but one hopes he gets to Sunny’s Record faster than anyone else.

Lara is in sublime form and looks good to get there before Sachin does too. He just turned 30(in terms of centuries!!) in the recent test against Pak. Sachin is stuck on 34; one away from getting the record of most number of test centuries!

The heat is on, the competition is back in form and that’s a great incentive for Sachin to come back strong. After all he has never denied the fact that he thrives on competition!

Here is to Lara and Sachin, we’ll sit back and enjoy the battle; that was at its helm in the mid- 90s!!!

The Melody is Back...

Remember 1942-A Love Story, its songs had melody written all over them and it took us back to the times when our parents were teenagers. The songs had a few instruments to accompany the vocalists. A piano, a guitar, a sitar, tabla.... that's it.

No hard music hitting your ears, where you are struggling to actually listen to the vocalists.
I'm not trying to demean those kind of songs; they make for good dance numbers when you hit the floor. So ya every genre has its use.

But in this era you really die for that melodious tune, where the singer shines, and music is soothing to your ears. If you are searching for that kind of music, turn to Parineeta. The latest offering from Vidhu Vinod Chopra. Shantanu Moitra has given some wonderful numbers.

Shreya Ghosal's voice is a bliss and Sonu Nigam proves again why he is the most wanted singer in the industry. Their duets are so beautiful which touch your heart, especially the "Piyu Bole" number.

Sunidhi Chauhan proves her versatility with the "Zindagani" number. Rekha rocks in the trailer on TV. I can't believe she is past 50!

The CD is worth a buy.

The promos look very classic, the decor, the costumes, I want to catch the movie when it hits the theatres next week, and I hope it meets the expectations it has raised.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Kids Shine!!!

Proud of them. Any honour to an Indian is a moment to be proud of!!!
There is indeed something special and intellectual in the Indian genes:-)

Shortage of Marriage Halls??

A few months back, a Maharashtrian couple, both avid trekkers got married in the skies. Literally!!! They had a ropes drawn from mountain to another, with a valley in between and got married in the middle, with deep valley staring at them from below and skies showering blessings over them.
I've been trying hard to get that news link but have been unsuccessful so far!

And ,today I read
this. So much for adventure!
Nice ideas though to save the exorbitant costs and the dents a wedding makes in one's pocket;-) No marriage hall cost , no catering cost, no decoration cost, guest list minimal....neat;-)
Kidding:-)
Honestly, I liked these ideas of the couples:-)
I feel you should have the wedding in the manner that you think is perfect for you, it's a memory you carry for a lifetime and for most of us it happens only once.
Why not have it our way then?

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Kaal Spoof

Whenever possible I catch 'The Great Indian Comedy Show'. It’s nothing compared to its counterparts in the West but I think it’s quite a hit on the Indian Television. The ensemble of the cast is quite good. Some jokes are really silly and stupid but some are neat too.

If you appreciate PJs, you would like this show compared to those awfully boring and over-the-top saans-bahu sagas and soap operas with no logical storyline, marital affairs and multiple kids from multiple marriages! Wow what a shining example of the Indian joint family! Ok this will make for another blog so back to The Great Indian Comedy Show.

A couple of spoofs on Karan Johar’s Kaal that I caught and quite liked.

Save the Tiger: Vinay Pathak is a forest officer who accompanies a tourist in the Park. A tiger strikes the tourist and he screams for help. Vinay Pathak calls up his boss and then fires the gun. Then calls him back and reports, "Sir I shot the tourist" and to the audience he says, "When in doubt always SAVE THE TIGER".
Neat:-)

The Sajid Murder Incident: In the movie, the group discovers Sajid’s headless dead body. They enacted the same scene here and Manini De is a total hit with her take on Lara Dutta. She has got the accent and acting bang on target. Gaurav Kapoor playing John Abraham on seeing the body asks, “Did your friend Sajid have a head?” The actor playing Vivek Oberoi says with a serious look, "I think he did; but now he has lost it!!! Cut the crap!!:-))"

Oh! How I kept wishing the Karan Johar camp was watching this, what a tribute to their so-called “hit”!!!

Agreed for once

I actually think it's a good suggestion by Miandad. I was thinking of writing an article on why Bangladesh needs to go back to being a non-test playing nation and start from scratch. Ever since their debut in 2000 against India at home. They have shown no sparks or talent to be up with the test-playing nations. Their record till date is dismal.

Why has the ICC been lenient towards them really puzzles me? Zimbabwe has had its own share of troubles with politics and player's boycott. ICC put them on warning that their test-status could be taken away, and then why spare Bangladesh?

You have to earn your test-status, you have to keep it through your performances. Too many unimportant records get broken or new records are made against Bangladesh. Even the opposition knows that they are insignificant and would rather have them against the other nations to merit some attention.

Have a look at this record (more details go here) and you all will agree with Miandad too....
Played: 37
Won: 1
Lost: 32
Tie: 0
Draw:4
Win/Loss Ratio : 0.03

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Work...

Nothing much to write today. Worklife can get really routine and when it piles up, I can't but help think of a Calvin quote

' Why should I have to WORK for everything?! It's like saying I don't deserve it! '

While on Calvin, another quote I remember:

'You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help.'

I experienced one of those really bad days yesterday, it was really rough! Murphy's law was on full swing, 'If it has to go wrong it will' Sigh......