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2011-12-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Been on a self enforced sabattical from blogging.Life had gone through major transformations ever since my last post .Blogging was something that probably appealed the least during the past year or so.Got married to my sweetheart girlfriend of 7 years..Secured a better job ,purchased a flat,drove a car legally by securing a drivers license.Well life has definitely did a 360.

Married life has completed its first 365 .Well for my dearest friends ,here is a piece of advice.Marry as soon as possible.It indeed is a big relief.Ya it does come with its share of cons as well.And one to suffer the most would be the above said friends.To strike that perfect balance between your friends and wife is indeed the most challenging aspect of marriage.You give your wife more time,friend would crib"hen -pecked,changed after wedding, don't value friends anymore".You go out with your friends on a weekend movie like old,then it is dooms day "Friends are more important than wife,I'll also go out with my friends".and what not...So the best solution i could think of,was to convince all my friends to marry..Not sure the trick is working,since most of them seem pretty disinterested in tying the knot.

Another crucial thing in a marriage is,that whole transformation from a bachelor to a married man,which is a giant leap indeed. And the first argument most likely to happen would definitely be on cleanliness.:)."Why don't u change your clothes after you are back from work.Please put the used clothes in the laundry basket"...All good things if followed ,but a tough act to follow.,Especially after being used to those dirty bachelor ways of life,where you probably clean ur clothes once a month.Stole your friend's sock once you ran out of stock,Shed your clothes wherever you are,as convenient,and pick it up when you do your laundry..Probably not true with all the bachelors,but with quite a few i know..Well then my dear friends ,get set for a whole set of gyaan.Cleanliness comes kinda first on the list of almost 95 percent of females,as could be made out from similar grievances heard from other husbands..

But got to admit,the whole institution of marriage that has withstood many a test is indeed an enjoyable one.The fact that you return home after work,and you have someone waiting for you,or maybe you hit home and look forward to the someone returning from work is an awesome feeling.The fact that there is a person with whom you can share your insecurities,grievances ,joy,does your mental state a big favor.Well the whole purpose of this blog was to get rid of the writers block that had hit my head..Wife is calling......

MR.A

2009-08-03T09:23:00.000-07:00

Blog spot has its existence primarily due to bloggers of the fairer sex. Have Been going through many blogs that are primarily feminist, indulges in guy-bashin,a few specifically mallu bashing . Been able to see the lighter side of this, thinking deep down that I am neither a minority nor a majority amongst Mallu Kind (cos I dun want to sound holy by saying I would never pass a comment about a girl, neither would I want to believe that I would be one to pass a below the belt comments on the same).

A few of the blogs are justified to say the least, a but a few wherein the so –called NRK’s take pride in generalizing mallu’s and disassociating themselves, seems so pathetic. But being one amongst the “most ridiculed tribe n blogosphere” I would like to put in my thoughts of the so-called rotten apples who really bring a bad name to our kind.

I am not one, who would take offense, or feel it is wrong , when you see a pretty sexy face, and you ask me to take a look at her, cos I myself might indulge in something similar. But then I really feel sorry for u my friend, when you brag in vain about the number of girl’s u have bedded. When u boast that “Girls are only god for one thing”(Post Kambakth Ishq I must add),sorry to say this but it only reflects your upbringing. That definitely is not what manliness is all about my friend.. If by any chance you stumble upon this blog, do realize that this is about you. Guess it is your attempt at getting noticed, a way of overcoming your inferiority complexes. I really feel this has more to do with your small town complex, where all those homely girls might have spurned your advances, and you might have consoled yourselves saying that “In other countries girls are different”. My heart really goes out to those dumb wits that trusted you with their lives, without knowing what an a** you are. I’m sure with all these matrimonial sites and broker systems in place, you too would eventually get a mallu girl, who again like many other before, would trust u with their lives. My heart goes out to that poor girl. And to add to that your pseudo-traditional thoughts, of ” how to marry a divorcee” or “what if my wife is not a virgin”, makes you sound so small and disgusting. So before it is too late, grow up my dear friend. On top of all this you have it in you to look down upon others as uneducated illiterate good-for-nothings.. If this is what education and literacy did to you, I am ashamed to know that I was once a part of the system.”. If only your parent’s had instilled some of those thought’s in you.

Get a Life Mr. A. (“Girls are not just good for one thing. Pray you didn’t think the same about your sister, and mother.”).Mr A lives on.

Jai Ho...

2009-02-02T13:04:00.000-08:00

Well could not resist voicing my opinion on this Master Singer Jagjit Singh and his recent verbal attack on Ar Rahman If any one of u are yet to see this ,just check this link out..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/4045257.cms

The link above show one envious,jealous old man venting his fury at A.R Rahman for not composing Ghazals in "Rang De basanti" ,Jaane Tu ya Jaane Na" and like,and put the audience into sleep very much like this man would have done given the chance and a dumb producer.There is a complex very much malayalee namely "Perunthachan complex",but then this was cos Peruntachan was a master sculptor himself and couldn't stand his son achieving more fame and recognition.In this case it would be wrong to use that as Jagjit Singh for his part has nothing in mainstream Bollywood,nor the magic of say Ar rahman.ARR for his part has numerous works that has transcended all the linguistic divisions of the country and above all a "MAA TUJHE SALAM" that virtually is a modern day "Jana Gana Mana".

At a time when most of the nation is/should be extremely proud of the Three Oscar Nominations ,in come this old man who has sung a lot of successful ghazals ,and challenges ARR,refusing to admit the real genius that he is .I admit AR is no GOD and not beyond Criticism.But then there is a fine line between Criticism and Abuse.When Mahesh Bhatt says tht "Jai Ho" is not ARR's best ,that is criticism.What this guy does in this video is blatantly abuse and challenge AR..Anyway hope ARR doesn't heed any attention to all these jealous minds and continue giving us great music as he has been doing all the while.(And yeah it wld be an offense not to mention the Soundtrack of Dilli6 ,which is a "RDB" in the making.Masakali and the title track is just awesome.)
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Yet another classic comedy from priyadarsan.Guess they denied him the right to remake it to hindi or malayalam(Guess a "Dharavi Kutta ban gaya Crorepati" OR CHERI-PATTI KODEESWARAN (with Mohanlal as Jamal ) was already on his mind :)

Note:My music knowledge might not be extensive nor am i an expert on Ragaas.But to like ARR and his music i doubt u need to be one.

A medal for a country of 1 Billion.

2008-08-12T12:27:00.000-07:00

Abhinav Bindra...You did us proud. A country of 1billion now has 1 gold medalist, a new poster boy who for a change doesn’t play cricket. A gold medal that was long deserving for a country. During childhood, a naive me always used to look through the medal standings and used to be disappointed seeing that my country was never in the list. Just like your dreams and your parent’s dreams, you have fulfilled a generation's dream for sure.

A dissection for the victory would clearly show the lack of support from the local authorities .if it wasn’t for a rich father and a talented coach it is highly unlikely that we would all have seen an Indian Flag be raised high above the others at Beijing. The victory of one Mr. Abhinav Bhindra must prove as an eye opener to the various authorities to promote and recognize genuine talent. Up here in a foreign land, you find no words to argue when any of your colleagues chide on why Winning an Olympic medal took India so Long. Blaming cricket for the gloom and doom of all other sports in India serves no purpose, baseball is popular in the States, Basketball is, American Football is, yet still they excel in the Olympics. The infrastructure in India is something that needs to be worked on. In Trivandrum they used to have a Sports School namely GV RAJA SPORTS school, which was expected to nurture the finest sports talents around Kerala.But whenever it came to school level tourneys most often than not i used to find some other school team bagging the cup.Kerala has produced some fine Asian and national level atheletes,but most often than not they have found the International gap a big too wide to bridge. Indian authorities must take this as a wake-up call rather than run around to take credit for this Olympic gold. As Abhinav Bindra quite bluntly put across, This is a victory for his Family, and then his country”. His dad had the money as well as the faith to support his son. Not to mention that the son was dedicated talented and hardworking ,else if money would have been the easy route to success we would have had Mukesh Ambani Lifting 176Kg in men 62Kg weightlifting and Anil Ambani pippin phelps in 100m..What if ABhinav was born in a poor man's hut, would he have received an iota of support. So a lot of these things need to be taken into consideration. Cricket’s popularity is on a slide. Soon 50 over cricket and test cricket would lose its charm amongst the masses, IF not Now then When. India used to be a powerhouse in hockey, but the current plight of Indian hockey is heartbreaking to say the least. The authorities have to shoulder a lot of blame for the downfall of Indian Hockey. The Jimmy George Era in Indian Volleyball when India was third in the Asian games, Jimmy George was playing for Italian Volleyball Clubs sounds like a fairy story .The less said about Indian Football the better.

While we take in the gold euphoria let us not forget PT USHA, MILKA SINGH and the likes who had missed out on Olympic medals fighting against well trained, professional athletes. My heart goes out to them who didn't have an Apjit Bindra backing their abilities. Hope no more PT USHa's and Milka Singhs would miss out on medals due to being ill equipped and pray that 2012 turns out to be an even better Olympics for India

Chaar Patte....

2008-08-12T12:09:00.001-07:00

Cards are something that makes your memories colorful,But there are some that brings you memories of a special kind like

1. Report Card-The dreaded yellow piece of paper that had followed me through 12 years of school life. I believe that the fear of the card has molded my likings to the whole world of cards. barring the first 4 years or something of my academic life I believe there hasn’t been much tht i could cheer about when ever I got this card (C’mon Jose uncle never used to have his report card to who used to stay for every second trip & who was first in the line for collecting the much loved BABA batJ), Rather the first though tht would pass through my mind was of finding a proper location to hide this until the teacher demands it back. Getting the thing signed by my dear parents wasn’t that tough an ask, cos every time the progress card was presented 10 minutes before I had to leave to school.Tht was the safest way to negotiate and persuade your parents to sing the damn wretched thing, and that evening would be one when u prayed the electricity staff to go on a power strike.

2. WWF Trump cards-This was really something that had caught the teens of TVM by the scruff of their neck. There used to be a huge demand for WWF trump cards,WWF sticker’s ,T shirts featuring Luke and Butch!!!(if they ever featured in WWF is an enigma)and all those weird wrestling things. Schools had to impose strict bans on bringing trump cards or for that matter even WWF sticker's to school. But my memories of this breed was the great one sided Trump card games we used to have during intervals.Rahul Albert -the daring, rebellious friend of mine would always bring his pack .This automatically gave him the right to be the one to shuffle the cards and divide it, and every time the cards were divided it was never surprising that Hulk Hogan and yokozuna would never find a place in our hand. Well for those of you who wouldn’t know what hulk and Yokzuna meant, the cricketing equivalent would be having Murali and mendis in your team while playing against the current Indian cricket team. I have still no idea what brought about this craze for WWF superstars whereby Bret hart and Shawn Michaels became the hot topics of the discussion. And yeah as it was always the "elders" in the class used to have a script of their own .I still remember one close buddy of mine telling me that Andre the giant had died by bursting his biceps:).The height of this craze was well highlighted when during one of our serious class quiz sessions conducted during our L.A period an innocent and naive anoop p walked right to the front and asked"Class,What is the Biceps of Scott Steiner’. That really stumped Geetha Maam and the whole class burst into laughter.

3. Centerfresh Cricket Cards-This was another set of cards that replaced the craze for WWF trump cards. I dun remember us really playing something with these card but it was more of a collection thingy. If my memory doesn't fail me, Richard Haldee was the rarest. But like all crazes this too died a slow death. yet another waste of parent’s hard earned money.

4. Pepsi Stuff cards-. I almost forgot this thing. This was probably the first coolest”yo” collection in every youths’ wallet. This gave you some privileges is shops in Andheri and Connaught Place. !!!!!!Why make i. Well the pepsi stuff card was one of its kinds during our teenage. But still the Ad campaign had caught the frenzy of the youth and soon Pepsi crowns, something the local “aaakri” would also not collect was in hot demand. Well to get a stuff card u needed to get 50 pepsi crowns and 25 rs cash...And for those 50 crowns i still remember searching the waste baskets Chinnu’s Restaurant. :(

Credit Cards and Identity cards do not come under this category as they seldom give you good dreams and sweet nostalgia.Oh yeah and By the way please refrain yourself from self inflicted torture by giving Sing is King a miss…Worthless horrible Movie.

TAG HERE

2008-07-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well finally I did it.This is for one great human being who had tagged me some 3 months ago. Managed to shake off all the demons and made it to complete the Tag. The first and hopefully the last of its kind :)

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE:
Jaane Tu Ya jaane NA..A cute love story,Genelia was just mind blowing,and the songs have been playing non stop on my i pod since seeing them on big screen.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
Just Finished Reading AKBARNAMA by Abu Fazl.Now moving on to "American history"by George Washington.(For those lucky souls who know me well,i hope u get the true picture)

3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME?
I guess carom is considered a board game, if not then has to be Monopoly.

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE?
Men’s health, Sportstar, Tinkle, Balarama, Poombatta.

5. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Paala Poovinte manam..I have this thing for malayali Ghosts.

6. FAVORITE SOUND?
Shreya Ghosal when she croons Jaadu hai nasha hai,also the sound of raindrops ,

7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Parting with your friends and family after spending a good part of 16 years together(too personal i guess,but still that is one of the worst that comes to mind)

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE?
Why not brush tmrw and sleep for another five minutes…

9. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
All those Thattukada’s and Kalavara in Trivandrum.Go India in Singapore.

10. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME?
My girl would definitely be Dia.

11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D...?
Remake Jab We Met in Malayalam with me in the Lead, Kareena as the female lead. Given away free tickets, planted big hoardings featuring me all over kerala
Buy an IPL team and be the Captain, Own a horse stable. (If only.)

12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST?
It is hard to drive slowly on Auto-gear vehicles(I have a Lie-Sense u see).

13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
No…. Never…

14. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY?
Never came across one. I pray it would be cool.

15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
A Maruti 800 luxury car.

16. FAVORITE DRINK?
Bonji Vellam,Milo(chilled and hot).And if by chance in a spore pub ,the safest choice of vodka lime(cos the guys save on vodka by giving us lime juice OTR)

17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD
have done some research and invented some onion peeling and slicing machine(the most horrendous task while cooking,and with my lacrimal glands having this affinity to onions,they work overtime)

18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI?
Never…. Not even Broccoli…and by the way I had to Google to find out what exactly this thing was.

19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Well I just highlighted my hair with light Brown.

20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN.
Trivandrum, Singapore.

21. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Cricket, Soccer, Tennis,Horse Racing I just love watching sports

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU.
Adorable Cute Sis.(that makes it two)

23. WHAT'S UNDER YOUR BED?
Some Betting slips and a few magazines. The local Cockroach does drop by to say "hello".

24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN?
Well diplomatically Yes…But I wouldn’t complain if I was to take a rebirth as Emraan hashmi or for that matter any of those Hollywood heroes.

25. MORNING PERSON, OR NIGHT OWL?
A Night Owl. I can’t wake up early in the morning unless it is for watching Cricket or soccer.

26. OVER EASY, OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
Over Easy (given that the other choice is sunny side up).

27. FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX
On my Mum’s Lap.

28. FAVORITE PIE?
I hate Pie’s

29. FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR?
Chocolate flavor any day any time.

Nostalgia

2008-03-16T14:49:00.000-07:00

A quick Google surprisingly didn't spring me the desired meaning for the title word. After some advanced searching i found something that struck me, somebody defined nostalgia as 'Nostalgia' is a regret at no longer having something that was in the past, which you were very fond of.
I guess this is one feeling that grips a person even more when he is away in a foreign land, from his dear one’s (personal definition). So I did some further search to find this particular song that has defined the nostalgic concept of many a malayalee. A gem from ONV kurupp, which gives me an unrivaled high each and every time I read it. One masterpiece that takes me back to my childhood, my school days and all those things, which I treasure the most.

Oru vattam koodi ennormmakal meyunna
Thirumuttathethuvan moham
Thirumuttathoru konil nilkkunnora nelli
Maram onnuluthuvan moham
Adarunna kaymanikal pozhiyumbol
Chenneduth athilonnu thinnuvan moham
Sughamezhum kaippum pulippum madhuravum
Nukaruvan eppozhum moham

Thodiyile kinar vellam kori kudich
Enthu madhuram ennothuvan moham
Veruthe irunnoru kuyilinte pattu kettu
Ethir pattu paduvan moham
Athu kelkke uchathil kookum kuyilinte
Shruthi pinthudaruvan moham
Oduvil pinangi parannupom pakshiyodu
Aruthe ennothuvan moham

Veruthe ee mohangal ennariyumbozhum
Veruthe mohikkuvan moham

Love Actually.

2008-03-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

Before i embark on writing something that might sound crazy I swear upon Mogambo gabbar Singh and Harbhajan singh that neither am i a racist nor a Sadist. So yeah this Blog had been coming for quite long, but i just didn’t know from where it could start. But a recent development spurred me into writing something on this whole stuff called love. I am no Shakespeare nor yash chopra to be waxing eloquently about love but just some plain thoughts..Aah..So first thing first, the special development that spurred me on to write this. Yet another of my closest friends has just broke-up with his special one (not the first nad hopefully the last)..Haha...Funny enough. As all love stories would have it the villain was the Hero's family. All of us had expected a happy ending to that love story but unexpected family pressures of a Muslim-Muslim(not a typo) marriage acted as Amrish Puri in that love story. As one who had his fair share of break ups and been close to those who have undergone break ups of the highest magnitude i am acutely aware of the hell my best buddy would be going through.
But why is that despite being aware of all this that most of my aged guys and girls "fall in love”. Whoever be it, was indeed a clever guy who expected a fall, in love.
Love stories have a very familiar story line beginning with the pehla nasha feeling when you find someone that is physically attractive or probably captures your mind with some trait of theirs. Those traits could range from a laugh to the way a girl ties her hair. I for one believes that those haven’t fallen in love when they were in their teens having really missed out on something special. Then it would gradually develop into all those weird telephonic conversations where you talk about everything under the sun, from Dilwale to Chemmen, from Ksrtc to Volvo, you wouldn’t have to Google to find topics during those early days for sure. If Graham bell had an orkut account I would bet that he would be the one with most testimonials. Anyways after all these ordeals finally when u hear those three most raped words in English literature” I love you” you fell a sense of accomplishment without realizing the pit falls that awaits you.Lol.
The love story of my close friend which just saw “The End” had started some 7 years ago in high school, stood the test of Professional college (primarily due to the fact that both were in the same college), withstood the pressure’s of campus placements but succumbed to the ultimate pressure machine (Family). The risk involved in maintaining an affair 7-8 years before were much higher than it is today. I would not want to think about 20 years ago when telephone wouldn’t have been this popular and writing love letters would have been the only option. Looking back, those years when I used to lock up inside my car and put "Sach keh reha hai deewana" in full volume now seems so funny. Anyways the girl in the mentioned marriage will be getting married soon and I do believe my friend would be invited.
My colleagues (predominantly Chinese) cant believe that an arranged marriage system still exists, whereby your parents and a broker find you the girl with which you have to spent your entire life. They do have similar thoughts about the dowry system too. For the Malay race it works the other way wherein the guys have to pay the girl’s family money in order to wed the girl.

“Proud to Be an Indian”
J

Uniquely God's OWN

2008-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

Oh definitely i wouldn't be writing something on the various cultures that we have in kerala,which unlike majority of the bloggers i feel makes kerala unique. Well this has been something that has been playing in mind for some years. To put into words that seems to be the "in" thing in Kerala these days, Especially the Christian Household's in Central Travancore(read kottayam,Idukki,Ekm ).one are the days of Male Supremacy and male dependence in God' own country. I add the term Christian cos i have never come across one Muslim Nurse in my whole Life. But the truth that Women in their culture are never allowed to make money is a different thing. . The in-thing at the moment if a girl passes her +2 is to Stitch her a few white frocks and send her to some BSC nursing Schools. Teach her the basics to get a good score in IELTS or some similar English test and pack her off and wait for pounds, dollars and dhirams..One positive of this phenomenon would be the decreasing rates of female infanticide in Kerala. But one deep look into the so-called "in" profession and things wouldn’t be as nice as the dollars they earn. First of all i have never come across one nurse in my whole life who has the freedom to spent for herself. It is a sorry thing to write but then, is this really what is meant by women upliftment and stuff. They are probably forced to work odd shift hours, to earn quick bucks. but yeah at the end of the day what matters in Kerala is the Foreign Exchange that comes in. I have never looked upon any profession but definitely i have my reservations about this one. Women up-liftment shouldn't be making women earn for the family and earn for their marriage, it should be giving her the freedom to live the life she wants. And above all nursing is a divine profession. It takes a lot to be helping the sick, but it shouldn’t be something forced upon kids. I personally know a few nurse's in Singapore who were brilliant in their studies, Scored high in the science streams but were forced to take up nursing as a profession due to family pressure. I firmly believe that this thinking is not there to stay seeing that very fact that most of these nurse's never allow their kids to become one. I for one could proudly testify that none of the girls in my class took up this stream, and yet they are successful in their own lives. It looks so sexy to see the girls wear their Kurti's and jeans and pack off early to a TCS or a Satyam or a Wipro Rather than a "Holy saint's" hospital.J

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Yesterday was UDF's harthal back in Kerala against god knows what.(Do they really need a reason for hartals.UPA govt hikes the petrol prices and in God's own country congress party calls one for hike in Milma rates) .And yeah it is just the start of what looks like an ekta kappor series of hartal's. IBN Live reported about some sms campaign running through kerala asking these politicians to withdraw the harthals. But campaign or not there was reportedly no auto rickshaws plying, very few vehicles going around and yeah a considerable amount of common property destroyed. What exactly these dumb politicians and political parties gain from blocking common people live their life is beyond my ordinary and poor brain. Pelting stones at govt owned propertied shouting slogans against some price hike, all these sounds so old fashioned. High time political parties think of some unique way of protesting price hike. Get the money these people spent on election campaigns and give it to the poor would sound one socialistic (Utopian) and advisable form. At least then the number of politicians who call for hartals would dwindle. But i do have to add that these political bandhs and hartals were eagerly awaited during my school days, for the extra hours we could play cricket.

JODHAA AKBAR---A Classic...

2008-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

It was expected to be a good movie. Coming from the director who had made two Classics Lagaan and Swades(this one had SRK"s best work till date) this had to be a god movie...But the movie has really exceeded the expectations one had from a Historical . This one is a love story to stay...Miles ahead of Veer- Zara and all those rahul-simran lovestories, this movie is a must watch for movie buffs. It has got everything, Glamour, Great songs...Stunning Visuals and what not..Hrithik and Aishwariya really live their part as Jallaudin later coined Akbar and Jodha the princess...I was totally amazed at how aishwairya (for a change) enacted the role of jodha with such grace (stunning looks included, those eyes are something that could keep you awake for a weekJ) and. As for the music, whenever Ar rahman works on biggie he rarely lets u down, and jashn-e -bahara and Khwaja mere khwaja will be at you, in you and with you for the coming years.
The last Friday wasn’t exactly the greatest one with a disappointing Horse race for which my friends and me turned quite hopefully ,of making Quick Bucks and ended up with Deep Burns in our pockets as well as bank accounts. if only we had Akbar's Horses racing for us that day...Luckily Ashutosh Gowarikar and his team saved the day by turning our ten dollars well spent. But even still this month moves on a tight budget from now until Pay day.
And yeah special mention about priyadarsan the genius, maverick who is making the big moolah by making the North Indian belt laugh to his remade, rehashed comedies. These people just don’t have any control over the emotion (if it can be called one) called laughter. It was such a nuisance having half the theater filled with giggles for even the drop of a hat. If only Raj Thackeray and his team of Marathi manoos could come down to Singapore and at least taught them some manner’s. There is nothing wrong in clapping and hooting but then laughing out loud when a war is happening doesn’t make sense, does it? Hope RACE doesn’t disappoint.

Something That should be read over and over again

2008-01-29T08:20:00.000-08:00

Posted below is an excellent write up i came across on Cricinfo on the master blaster Himself.I have to admit that i wasn't the greatest fan of Sachin tendulkar until the last 2 years.I beleive he is playing the best cricket of his life time just for the enormous pressure he was in ,a couple of years ago and the way he has responded to it.The shuffle across the crease is back,the pull,the hook,the paddle sweep,the straight drive which is as straight as it could get....the signs are enormous,and India can begin to Dream again.

"Australian idol"

Just what is it that endears Sachin Tendulkar to crowds and cognoscenti alike Down Under? We asked a selection of Australia's great and good for their opinion

Nagraj Gollapudi
January 29, 2008

Loved to bits: the SCG gives Tendulkar a standing ovation after his 154 © Getty Images

Back in Melbourne, "Aussie Ana" was adding to her ratings. Twenty-year-old Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, the 2008 Australian Open finalist, endeared herself to sports fans Down Under thanks as much to her knockout good looks as for her tennis skills. A nation that feeds off the deeds of its sports persons, Australia has always welcomed the talented with open arms. It was the same 16 years ago, when another youngster, the 18-year-old Sachin Tendulkar, arrived on his maiden voyage and returned with two spectacular centuries, leaving behind impressions that still endure in the minds of the natives.

Now, nearly two decades on, it is almost as if they have adopted him as one of their own. There have been other visiting champions during this age, such as Brian Lara of the West Indies, but none has attracted quite the sort of rapturous applause that has greeted Tendulkar every time he has walked out onto a cricket ground in Australia during this series. Yes, much of it has to do with this tour probably being his last, but it was much the same in the 2003-04 series, and in 1999-2000.

Just what it is about Tendulkar that the Australians so love? The reasons have as much to do with Australia as with the man himself.

Bill Lawry, the former Australian captain, points out that Australians have always had time for champions. "We've always enjoyed champions and they could be in any sport." Peter Roebuck, who captained Viv Richards and Ian Botham at Somerset, and enjoys something approaching Tendulkar-like status in cricket writing himself, reckons it has to do with the sentimentality of Australians. "It's a new country, and its people get excited when they see great innings like Tendulkar's." He goes on to stress that the likes of Lara and Shane Warne were "mixed blessings", while Tendulkar is not.

Gideon Haigh, historian and cricket writer, agrees that his countrymen admire anyone who does well against them, but presents a unique point. "It is partly a mark of respect, partly a symptom of national narcissism. I think Australians are also fascinated by Tendulkar's status in India. Australian cricketers are hugely popular in their own country, but they do not need protection from their fans in the fashion Tendulkar does. His fame, to us, makes him an emblem of Indian extremity and exoticism."

There is also the matter of two ringing endorsements, delivered by Australian greats.

When Tendulkar was at his peak in the mid-to-late-1990s, one day Sir Don Bradman called his wife Jessie to the television set and said how he could see himself in the young man he was watching play on the screen. Then Warne, talking about his contests with the Indian, said Tendulkar gave him "nightmares".

Mark Taylor, another Australian captain who played against Tendulkar and has been an admirer from the day he first watched him play, thinks the Bradman compliment was a major head-turner. "Suddenly people thought, 'Hold on, you don't have the greatest batsman saying things just like that.'"

Taylor also points out that part of the admiration has to do with the sheer amount of runs Tendulkar has made in Australia. Six of Tendulkar's 39 Test centuries have come in Australia, each worth its own photo album. Haigh's personal favourite was the MCG Test of 1999. "The Indian batsmen struggled awfully. [Rahul] Dravid was lifeless, inert," he remembers. "But Tendulkar was so immediately at home that it was almost like the Aussies just gave up trying to get him out and decided to work around him." Haigh calls Tendulkar not just a great batsman but a fascinating batsman: "so correct, so compact, as intricate and exquisitely functioning as a Fabergé egg."

Tendulkar came to Australia for the 1991-92 series as a impressionable youngster. His legend was already on the way to being established, thanks to the world record he had set with Vinod Kambli in school cricket. When he arrived in Australia, people wanted to see the young phenomenon. "People loved him then because he seemed to be still a boy but played brilliantly," recollects Mark Ray, a senior Australian journalist.

Ray, the author of Cricket Masala, a brilliant photographic travelogue of his various cricketing tours, touches on another aspect of Tendulkar's appeal. "His modesty is a bit old-fashioned these days and appeals to many Australians. We have an image of being tough, very self-confident sportsmen, but most of the public here still prefer the modest champion. He stands out in that regard." Jim Maxwell of ABC Radio believes it's Tendulkar's flawless character that has defined him. "Australians like the humble, the laconic, no-complaining types, which Tendulkar is."

Mike Coward, the eminent cricket writer, says: "Humility and civility have followed him all his life." For Coward it is Tendulkar "who has raised awareness about Indo-Australian cricket, given it a profile more than anyone else. He is someone people can relate to."

'Australians like the humble, the laconic, no-complaining types, which Tendulkar is' © Getty Images

Tendulkar for his part has valued the importance of gaining the respect of the most feared opponents around. Ravi Shastri, a team-mate at the time, recalls how Tendulkar, even on his first Australian tour, wanted to take the fight to the Aussies. "We were at the SCG and the contest was getting heated. Both of us were batting well and the Aussies were shooting sledges from all directions. I told him that I would take care of them while he focused on his batting. He was mentally charged. I still remember him saying, 'Let me get past my 100, then I will give it back', in Marathi. Let me point out again that he said he wanted to get to the century and only then would he distract himself."

When asked recently if Australia ever felt like a second home to him, Tendulkar said, laughing: "I only have one home. But it's truly a special feeling to walk in to such a reception, when I don't know if I am batting on zero or on 100."

In private conversations with friends Tendulkar has talked about his appreciation for the respect he has been accorded in Australia. He told a senior Indian journalist friend how satisfying it was to score his 39th Test hundred at the Adelaide Oval, the home of Bradman, who would have been close to a hundred years old if he were still alive. Tendulkar wouldn't admit that in the public lest it was mistaken for false modesty, but thereby he adds another layer to his greatness.

General Peter Cosgrove, a former head of the Australian Defence Force, delivering the 2008 Sir Donald Bradman oration at the University of Western Australia two weeks ago, said, "Australians are among the most overtly competitive people on the planet. Cricket defines our approach to competition: it has rules and teams, it demands focus and self-confidence. It entails an intense desire and will to win; it needs an abundance of skill, stamina, courage and perseverance." Indeed, these are the qualities Sachin Tendulkar has come to define for Australians among others. And in so doing, he has come to represent an unreachable ideal.

Greg Baum, columnist at Melbourne's Age, wrote in Wisden Asia Cricket magazine a few years ago: "Here is a man not susceptible to human failing in any endeavour, a man not so much invincible as invulnerable." He ended his appreciation by calling Tendulkar "the game's secular saint".

Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at Cricinfo.

Blogging from work.......

2007-11-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

Oh well..This is ultimate..Till yesterday Blogspot.com was banned by websense.And today lo....The ban has been removed.Guess the IT department in my company has come to terms with the ground realities.......Well back to the point...So here i am blogging for the first time from My work place...A good cure to a deadly disease named boredom....Work has never been broign just because of the wonderful colleagues i have here.....Beautiful Girls are not a rarity down here ,though a deep knowledge of Chinese is needed to find your way through to them.....As for me the only words that come out are 'Tabole tahan"(which translates as a kind of expression used when people are sick of something) and few choice abuses that i guess everbody in singapore wld be well versed with .They have a good balance here of various races which is indeed amazing,given that it is not the same at other companies.And the people here dun forget to switch from Channel 8 to Channel 5 when you are involved in some convo.That is something that truly amazes me.I cant imagine back in kerala, me or for that matter any 2 malayalis having casual conversations in English .Oh well i guess there might be some Trademark or IP rights violation if go on and blog about the work that s done at my company...So i wld raather cut short this blogpost.Hope the Diwali goes well with some much needed heavy dose of partying and makkanand not to forget Om shanti Om and sawariya...

T-20 and All the Hype

2007-10-18T02:55:00.000-07:00

Sad to see one great player by the name of Andrew symonds being subjected to racist taunts and monkey chants by the hooligan Mumbai Crowd. For all the top brass of the BCCI being Mumbaikars I would bet more my last penny on the fact that there will be much more of the same happening at Wankhede again and no action will be taken.We,indians including me are poor losers. And we have to admit it. We were trashed big time by the aussie juggernaut in the one-day series. The worst thing to have happened for Indian Cricket was its T-20 victory .Overnight Indian team was regarded as world beaters. The seniors were regarded as unwanted, and the young team was touted to be one that would take India to gloried heights. With all due respect to the T-20 victory, a 20 over game ball is as different from a 50 over game like baseball is from football. The differences were all to clear to be seen. None of the T20 heroes managed to score something more than a 40-50, barring yuvraj and dhoni.Indian bowling was always good in breaks. Barring a few good spells of 4-6 overs Indian bowling lost its way big time. Take this into a t-20 game and you have a winning combo there. A good spell of four overs,a quickfire40 and you are home.Yuvraj ,was is and will remain yuvraj Singh. The Agarkar of Indian Batting.he was always touted to be a great batsman. But with the kind of inconsistency showed by him at a position where his aussie counterpart Symonds scores runs for fun.He has always spoken abt the frustrations of not breaking into the test mould,and with the kind of batting he shows it will remain a distant dream.He is nowhere near replacing Laxman or Sourav in the Indian Middle order.
And for rahul dravid,it seems the curtains are falling slowly. Hopefully he is given a good chance to go on a high.The best world beating batsman India had seen since Mohinder amaranth and Sunil Gavaskar retired from international cricket.The above made statement might sound exaggerated but then records and statistics speak the truth na.Take all the major Test Victories of the past decade or so.When I say test victories ,I wld like to mention test victories abroad,There hasn’t been one without any significant contribution from the master Player.

And for all the racist taunts by the Mumbai crowd, I would like to add ,that as an indian i am ashamed and digusted.But for once are we surprised that this has happened in Mumbai.Cmon Mumbai is the same land from where movies ridiculing fellow Indians are made.Punjabis despite all the sacrifices made for the country will still be shown as Loud and stupid. South Indians, people with more literacy and education and the Infosys’s and Satyam’s,will still be shown pronouncing the SIR’s as Saar.A Malayali Captain Harshan Gunned down in Kashmir and winning an Ashok Chakra will never be major headline news in a Cnn-Ibn or a Ndtv.The least said about the north-east people who will never be more than goorkha’s, for the ChannelV and Mtv Vj’sWe are used to this ..aint we..Poor Symonds got taunted for his skin colour.Welcome to India Symonds...Hope this doesn’t lead to any repercussions to the Indian diasporas in aussie land....

A few moments that just passed by......

2006-04-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Cricket has been my favourite sport ever since childhood when i used to see Mark GreatBatch and Allan Border (a few of my childhood heroes) smash the red cherry round the park. Well the basics of cricket was instilled in me by god i guess..Cos seriously i don’t remember who taught how to hold a bat....During my nursery days the best cricket i used to play u was with my brother inside the house using those fancy plastic cricket bats...Ever since I joined Loyola school cricket just became such a big passion for me. I dun remember if I ever played cricket during my 1'st 2'nd and third classes...But yes i do remember when i was in the fourth standard me Manu Shankar and Arnab Mukhergee playing the now-famous tree cricket during our games period .and yes there was quite a funny incident when i walked to Elaine job madam to complaint about Manu Pattar not sharing the cricket bat....Also we used to have the card board cricket which was quite prominent during exam days when a bunch of used to gather and play cricket using the card boards we use to bring for the exams and paper balls. During those times Jojo Job a.k.a Vasu was quite a hero amongst us cos he could hit sixes when playing with paper ball when the boundary was some 10 metres away from the batting spot...Well fifth standard saw qutie a high rise in the number of cricket enthusiast...with the addition of names like Thasseem,anoop roy,Hari G,Ravisankar.. and quite a few more people joining us....Also we used to get the middle wicket (the middle portion of the football ground) to play during our games periods...And i believe it was in sixth when we were allowed to play cricket even during the After noon breaks.....Well the cricket during the afternoon breaks was quite an expensive affair as most of us would lose our lunch boxes,as they were used to be kept as wickets at the runner's end. Time passed by...And the occasional A vs. B matches were played with much vigour..Then came the split of our group into the ICSE batch and SSLC batch..Ya while we were in seventh we had this new boy SOju who was also quite a cricket enthusiast...Even after the split we used to play togethre during the afternoon breaks...Between the Icse batch and SSLc batch .But that was quite short lived as spate of poor umpriing decisions forcing me to lead a walkout wiht our team...Hehe...Well all this things sounds quite funny now...There was one traitor in our team who was MANU.R.C who stuck with playing with ICSE batch till end(All those guys were our good mates and are even now).While all these was going on there was a group of cricket enthusiast playing under the able leadership of Subin and GOPI at a different venue. To be fair initially we had the option of playing with them but we thought it would be more competetitive to play against our B batch mates....The SUBIN's cricket as it was famously known was quite a tense rivalry between two teams lead my GOPI and SUBIN George. We used to hear of Neil Stephen being a prolific batsman and Kiran Prince the leading Wicket takers but we just couldn’t cut down our ego to play with them..Well if u are wondering about the WE. The self proclaimed senior team of A division lead by the able leadership of your's truly .Well if u are wondering why i wa smade the Captain of the team. Very frankly even i am not sure. But still maybe it was due to the fact that whenever i used to write the team sheet i made it a point to include the heavy weights (both literally and physically)like KIRAN MENON,SABARi,RAHUL ALBERT,SANJU in the team...and also my best mates like rakesh,jatti, ravi,jojo ,Ajay.s(a good wicky and had a great reverse sweep shot which he nevre succefuly played )and a couple more...The division of the class was such that during one time there a 8 A "B" team led by neil .The strangest thing was that the strength of our class was just nice to have three cricket teams.....Well if i am not wrong it was in the ninth when the self proclaimed egoistic players returned to play SUBIN's county cricket. To be fair to them they didn’t even show a bit of reluctance to accept us...And to be fair we did enjoy a bit of high profile status there cos we were always like the first names on the team sheets. But the status didn’t really transform into performances as most of us were big flops while playing there.....The biggest scandal which i have ben involved took place that year. The INTER CLASS INTER HOUSE TOURNEY..Well it involved cricket matches between the houses involving teams conisting of players from both the divisions .It did have a grand launch by the organising comitte that had me also..But the biggest fraud was the treasurer who collected money from players of both the teams citing the reason of buying trophies fir the winning team...Well he did manage to collect a good sum but the trophies...Maybe the presentation ceremony will come in a few years.....that tournament had it its fair share of controversies but eventually AP house led by Sharath(obviously i was also there as the Vice) won the tourney. Well AP house did have it's share of good player like the author. the captian..vinod ,Gopi(he was the top scorer in a few matches),soju to name a few...Well for the three years since the 8 A and 8B teams had been formed we the A team idd enjoy a stranglehold over the B team which continues even till now...The culmination of all the cricket i played in Loyol aSchool was the inter house cricket final played in front of the whole school when i manged to pick up five crucial wickets to help our House life the trophy.....And in the end picking up the Best Bowler of the tournament recognition. Well I have heard great people relish great stages......Well shifting to BVB the only possible chance to play cricket was the INTER HOUSE matched played in the very little place that was available ther.The reputation of the "BEST BOWLER" was there but to be true i failed big time to live upto it. Even though i did manage to end up on the winning side once and reach the Final the other time a high amount of wides in the first final i played did harm my reputation and confidence big time....Even though i made it to the school team i had to sit out of the solitary match the school cricket team played in the whole 2 years i spend there......Coming to Singapore i had a fear that i would have to forget my cricketing dreams..But to my surprise i found out that our poly had a cricket team also that there were a few cricket clubs here playing league cricket...well getting into the team wasn't a tough ask as there just one left armer around....So getting and playing for the team wasn't a tough ask. So even now i continue to play my cricket for one club playin in the Division three league here......Cricket has been quite a big part of my life and still remain to me as the my number one sport...Hope it remains so.....

An Indian Supporter Speaks

2006-03-23T19:09:00.000-08:00

Well hadnt taken to blogging for quite some long as my work and tight scheduleds didnt just give that bit amount of free time to type down a few words.But now after the edn of the India_england series i guess it is the perfect time to vent my frustrations...
At the end of of a one all series i just cant take it all the praises goes to Flintoff and co.. I admit that the england side was deplted But come on the matters in the indian team wasnt worse..We didnt have the Bets Batsman in Form(Sachin Tnedulkar as i am forced to say)..VVS Laxman was warming the benches for most part of the 3 match series...Harbhajan Singh was nowhere near his best ..And to spearhed the bowling we had two debutants..Give prasie where and when it is due..I have been an ardent Saurav fan to the extent that i would argue him to be the best batsman in the world..BUt now Dada has to retire graciously as just like evrey other indian can guess he is very much past his colours...As for VVS Laxman...Indian public and the indian Cricket team has everything other than grattitude..This Guy was the sole reason that India was counted to be the FINAL FRONTIER by Stephen Waugh..This Guy stood up on hiw own agianst the Aussies....Well his last few innings might have been a bit off colour but a few deliveries for which he got out were indeed real gems which given any time no other batsman in the world would have been sfae with....All this hype and hoolah about Flintoff is really getting onto my nerves..I admit he is a very good cricketer...But is he worth all the praises he is been showered upon..He led a team of relative new comers to a well dreserved draw but how many cenutries did he score how many five wicket hauls did he get....The english are no where near to be world beaters..Remember that the last series in Englad also had ended up in a draw and the Indians werent credited as much as the English has been now....Well about the crowd behaviour and the so called cricket experts being unhappy at that...Big time hypocrites is never a light word to describe these senior players.They go all the way to australlia get abused by the crowd ,cow down l,ose the games and come back doing nothing..The crowd behaviour around other places are not exemplary either...Well autrallia is getting abused by the South African crowd like anything as a return of the kind welcome the proteas were given by the Aussie crowd....We indians have always been light on the filed ..Refusing to sledge refusing to abuse the umpires...And what do we gain...Nothing to be precise.This has to change the home crowd besides getting behind the home team has to be hard to the Away team as this is just what all other crowds around the world do..
As for my feeling about this indian team...A young outfit got a draw agaisn the Ashes champions are no pushovers.Admit Dhoni shoudln have played that rash shot but come on we are the same people who have cheered him when he has hit his way out of pressure situations...If Sachin cant score,Dravid cant hold the team together..Shewag cant get a single run ...Please give me a break..Dhoni is no super human.Indian team is on a chnage.Give this team the time and it will surely impress.And from a personal view i would replace Jaffer with Aakash Chopra who for me was the most cruicial player of the team Down under when Indai tamed the world Champs at their den..GO INDIA GO.......

2005-MOVIES

2006-01-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

Well one year has flown past in a whisker and 2006 is here....Well in this blog i would like to comment on a few movies based on a couple of catagories.
A.Less expectations but high satisfaction

1.BLUFF MASTER- Evnt thought the promos gave an impression as to the film would be slick con movie somehow i had my own reservations about an ABHISHEK BACHAN solo starrer.Boy how fool was i made to look.At the end of the movie i had a feeling that i had really watched somethign that i had be looking for so ong in hindi movies.Rap Hip-Hop songs....Perfomances of the highest order.....Mind Blowing camera work....And last but not the least the Climax of the movie...This was the true crossover movie as opposed to other hinglish movies that are being churned out.

2.Ghajini- Yet another Tamil potboiler..But again i was proved wrong.Even though the story was inspired from a hollywood flick this movie was the only tamil movie worth spending a few dollars to watch.The onscreen chemistry between the lead pair ASIN- SURYA was something that wasnt witnessed in indian movies since SRK-KAJOL.The music was quite ok and the picturisation of the songs were quite brilliant.Altogether 3 hours of entertainment.

3.D- Well a relatively fresh face as the hero.But this movie certainly did have the RGV imprint on it.A well made movie on the mumbai underworld .Even though a lot of movies had been made on this genre time and time agian this one was very differen from the lot mainly due to the casting.Radeep Hooda was amazing in the potrayal of the underworld gangster.

4.Salaam Namaste- To be frank i am not a big fan of the aditya chopra school of movie maving.For me VEER-ZARA was crap.So when i read the preview of this movie i really thought that this would be just like any other chopra movie heavily laced with sentiments.But i was proven wrong ..Evn though the climax was abig let-down.The rest of the movie was worth watchin again and again.This movie really proved that indian cinema has changed big time....Kudos to siddhart anand and team.

5.Chocolate-Many might not have liked this movie.But as far i was concerned this movie was one of the better made movies of 2005.The suspense in the movies had you at the edge of your seats all the time.And the perfomance of IRFAN KHAN playing the suspect does indeed desrve a few awards.The climax of the movie was the highest point of this movie even though it was a copy of the hollywood flick USUAL SUSPECTS.

High expectations and complete disatisfaction.
1.MANGAL PANDEY - This had to be the biggest dissapoinment of 2005 for most of the movie buffs.An aamir khan movie after 4 years ..All the hype just evaporated once the curatins were raised .This movie was a complete bore barring the perfomance of TOBY STEPHENS.Amisha patel and Rani mukherjee wer mere props while the music from AR.RAHMAN(my favoutite personality) was pathetic.Aamir Khan was completed wasted in the role of MANGAL PANDEY who has a you blink you miss place in the history books of tenth standard.Hopes are high for RANG DE BASNATI.Touch wood this might be a comebcak for aamir.
2.ANNIYAN-Stupid movie making from one the most highly rated directors of indian cinema.An insipid audio track.Less said is better about this movie.But the perfomance of VIKRAM and Prakash Raj was a highlight of an otherwise drab affair.

3.ELAAN- What a bore.Touted to bethe modern SHOLAY.....there was just no fire.An illogical script coupled with some of the worst perfomances evre to be seen on indian screen(amisha patel leads the pack)made this movie a torchure of anyone who
dared to venture to watch this movie.

4.CHANDROLSAVAM-I had to include this .Didn I.Why not...A mega star movie with a maverick director of mallu world.But no movie could have been more boring than this
(Kochi rajavu will give a tight competition) .Oh god SAVE MOHAN LAL.

5.JAMES- A movie from the RGV factory can be so badly made...???yes it can be..this movie proved it.The perfect repentance for any major sin you would have done last year would be watchin this moving without moving from your seat.Mohit Alawat is sheer waste of reel space.Hope Rgv comes up with something better.

There has been more good movies and more worse movies.But these were a few that i felt i had to write about.

The Best Of 2005

2005-12-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

Well yet another year goes by...My Second New year away from Trivandrum...Well now that shoul be the Norm for the next few years.This year was a very cruicila year as far as my future goes as it saw me get a job ...and that too one which i am enjoying very much.The biggest pain of the year was without any doubt the trip back from yercaud to trivandrum with my best mates.....well the realisation that it was never going to be the same again really put me into tears.It is not that we will nevr meet or that we wont be there like never before....But the magic of those moments was something that even a david blaine could never perform.We lived through all those precious moments like never before.The topping tothose was when we joined in a huddle ..as neil would put it"That would surely put team india to shame" and started hummming "Ek doosre se karte hain pyaar hum"...I could x change all the pleasures of my life for moments like those.The highest point was quickly followed by the realisation that we are going to split for one year..But time has flown past very Quickly....2006 is on the way..So are we..June .that is the month ..The vikings will be back.
The other high point of 2006 was indeed me getting selected for my job from more tha a hundred of applicants..Well i am really grateful for my formative years in LOYOLA school for my perfomance at the interview where i was interviewed by the Manager of our department ..and by god's grace i was able to impress him...
Well other than that Neil going Down Under to represent his uni for moot court..Sajjad and unmesh getting placements at CTS and INFOYS respectively..RC flunking nine of his subjects..Ravi scoring a half century against my team in the inter poly tournament(Even though he should have been out firts ball from me(not boasting but the "best bowler in my secondary school")..But lucky him. he somehow dugout a yorker to guess where..THIRD MAN!!!!!)Afzal leaving for London from the gullies of ullor.Circuit working hard to pass his B.COM.And the biggest surprise that 2005 could give .....SABARI passing all his first year BDS papers..
That was 2005 in a flash.It had more but nothing better than the above mentioned incidents.
The expectations for 2006 are high...I need to further my studies.Get a degree as fast as possible which will see me getting a higher salary by god's grace.Chotte and Rc to secure a Job .Sajjad marrying Shayana..NEil falling in love.Sabari to continue his winning run...LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST "JUNE TO ROCK"

The Plight of Cricket

2005-12-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well it is not that cricket had lost its place in my heart ....But somehow the turmoil indian cricket was going through didnt inspire me to blog about cricket.I hope that gives a good explanation to the question raised by my cricket mates as to why i didnt blog in support of my favourite cricket player.Cricket is game of uncertainites and indedd it lives up to show its real colour every now and then.The "Maharaja "of indian cricket whose bowling nevr won him a place in any form of cricket is included in the indian test team on virtue of being a batting all rounder...Ridiculous outrageous are too light words that could perfectly describe this.Ajit agarkar winning a test place ahead of Zaheer khan indeed puzzles just due to the basic fact that until now ajit agarkar is the only bowler in the whole cricketing world who can't bowl six good perfect balls in an over.Every two or three good balls he bowls ...u bet a couple of half volleys will be followed by one down the legside.Zahher for all his bad time he had is one bowler who has showed his ability to bowl well to the tail as well move the new ball around considerably.Now to the Bcci elections ...A new board president form Maharashtra ...Haha ..Nothing is goona change in indian cricket.And whta more you will see talented keepres like Dinesh Karthik left to warm the bench while kepper like Sameer dighe (a guy from maharashtra)don the indian colours.Well the goosd aspect of Sharad Pawar being the Board president is maybe guys from Maharashtra wil;l get more consideration.And if in case this happens to be the scenario i would love to see Amol Muzumdar don the indian colours before it is too late.He is one high scoring batsman who due to certain unknown reasons has never been given a proper run in the indian team.While Muzumdar can hope the call.a few others like Devang Gandhi.Laxmi Ratan shulka,Deep Das gupta and last but not the least Dada it is going to be a tough time .BArring dada the rest others can leave behind their dream of playing for the country once again.As for DADA ...SOuravyou was ,you are ,and you will be .....THE BEST CAPTIAN TO LEAD INDIA.The way they have treated you should let you down as you have nothing to prove to any of those f****** selectors.TEAM INDIA.....Go ahead...

AFZAL LONDONWALEY

2005-11-22T04:56:00.000-08:00

Well the silent assasin of the VIKINGS underworld gang...Naveed.A.Sajid aka Afzal is another Viking legend.Well a lot can be written and said about this handsome guy from ullor and any words ill never be superlatives.Initially afzal was the most silent member of our gang but whjta completely changed him was his foray into the world net and chatting.Well his flirtatious insticts were something that he couldnt hide form us as we came to see that the afzal on the net was a maverick_navi and totally different guy to the one who was out in public.Well the chatting bug had bit him so hard that he trusted the YAHOO MESSENGER to find his first love(Even tough it was a small time affair it was to be a benchmark to the rest of Aashiqs)
Well his first try at love was to a heartbreaking affair as the break up had caused him to change from the Dashing debonair(a superlative) to a drunkard DEVDAS(not a superlative).But when all of thought that we had a tvm version of the DEVDAS this guy rose out of the ashes with a new affair.But this time no internet ..no msn..no yahoo.Only AIRTEL.Well now that airtel is not a service provider in U.K it is all vodafone.Now the dude is in LONDON ...and belive it he is on to doing part time ...Well for those who dont know afzal they will know he is one guy who just cant even walk 100 metres (laziness is the sole reason). The most funniest episode relating to him can be many ....e the age old joke of Dating the most sensous lady ofBhartiya vidya bhavan(who was manu rc's lady love)to the most recent incident when he went and ordered one fish curry meals at a Mcdonalds outlet in Kent.Isn't he Great......??????

RAVI ROMEO

2005-10-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

Well the series on VIKING LEGENDS continues.This one is about the smallest yet big mouthed member of the vikings."Good things come in Small Packets"!!!!!.Amazingly true in this case.Well Ravisankar.N alias CHOTTE is one such good thing to have happened to us.A total romeo in each and every sense ,A unique philandering mind,well words are few to describe this small wonder.Well any story about chotte would be incomplete without his queen of hearts since childhood whose name i wouldnt put on the net as it is known to all those who read this.RAVI ROMEO sad to say has always had hard luck in love.The hero has been in love with this heroine for most part of 6 years(ps:hero is also carrying an affair on another route),but more often than not lady luck has deserted our sweet hero.Be it five years ago when he used to run to the heroine an ask her whether she needed "dil se's" cassete till date when he rings her up daily to say that he doesn't love her anymore,there can't be anyone so bad in love than chotte.His "down to earth " image even though it goes well wit guys was as and is a strict no-no for the heroine.And the egoistic bollywood hero he is,he is not willing to shed his egos for love still dreaming big.One of the worst experience's he had should be the one incident in which he and chris(one of our best friend's)commented about an aunty's(apun ke slang me "ek dam akkan") physical features without knowing that the heroine was behind him and also the fact that "akkan" sorry aunty was the heroine's aunt.The hero also had a lifetime achievment of presenting the heroine a ring and a third class love letter(the routine mallu stuff) on her engagment day.And one thing ,those who come to read about this legend,please keep in mind that the heroine is presently married(????).Well there is more about Chotte but then certain things are too personal to blog about.But whatever bad luck he has we are really fortunate and luckier than everyone that we got him.As chotte would proudly say"Maut se dar nahin hain mujko,Sirf tujhse juda hone ka Dar hain" (i wouldn't fear death,but i fear beiong seprated from you).Well that line sums of his care and sincirety to friends.I know anything about ravi is inccomplete without his Trademark "THALLU".But maybe next time.
UP NEXT "AFZAL LONDONWALEY"

Neil"N" Naughty

2005-09-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well with such a catchy title well the hero of this blog could be none other than the VIKINGS star NEIL STEPHEN PADAYATTY.The author of a much read blog,,Neil aka neeli is a great part time fottballer as well as a singer.As for his soccer abilities there is a famous story about him which s a best seller amongst us friends...A much more younger neil was a pretty avreage soccer player.But the advantage of long legs compared to the other Ronaldo's and Beckham's made this pretty ordinary talent an above ordinary or to be kind a special talent.As good friend most of us used to treat him flattering words and just like any other human being neil took those words to his head.Well the inter house soccer tournament was just round the corner and as we were the senior m,ost batch in the school,most of the pretty ordinary talents were representing their house on the school scene.And neeli like any other guy felt he had a pretty good chance of playing in front of the whole school representing his house team.Moreover the captain of his house team who was to select the team was his childhood buddy and a soul mate,so our hero felt he was a certainity in the team.His confidence was such that the hero forgotto confrim with his captain whether he was in the team.The day just before the match ourn hero was busy shopping thru the sports sotres in statue junction getting himself a new pair of boots and shorts.That night our hero just coudnt get a good sleep,the truth that his long awaited ream of playing in front of the school was turning into a reality tommorow.The night really felt long.The next day our hero woke up early in the morning ,went for a jog at central stadium and also attended a mass.Just before leaving to school neeli stood in front of the mirror waering the loyolite's "white and black".Well today was going to be a proud moment in his life.Playing a match in front of the whole school.adjusting his hair style he rushed out and and reached the school earleir than normal.Well time went fast and the time had come.Neil put on his boots,the S.S house t-shirt ,and his shorts,and ran out to the soccer ground,The atmospehre was frenzy with s.s house supporters cheerin their house like as it would be for any other house event.The soccer star neil waolked to his buddy and captain and asked "where am i supposed to play.As a centre back or a holding midfeilder".The shock reply was just not pleasing for his ears.The answer was"Sorry neeli,you are not there in the team,i had to include the I.S.C good for nothings in the team".Well the crticism of the I.S.C seniors was of little significance for the hero's hurt pride.The walk out of the field looked a long one .As it would have it,his friends...most of us were waiting for our star to touch the ball .But this wasnt the day.We could see drops of water coming out of our good friend's Eyes.We ran to him and consoled him and cheered him up.Well this might not sound funny to others,but each and ever time we get togethre this event creates the highest decibels of laughter......Well the next naughty neil will be online only after some intresting stories of VIKINGS legends.Coming up next......"RAVI ROMEO"

Woh Lamhein Kuch Baatein

2005-09-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

Well i wont be writing down the words of the latest bollywoood hit,but quite a few incidents that i ponder upon again and again.Incidents with a lace of humour have been a part and parcel of my life starting from nursery.But those which i remember the most are surely the ones which have happened during the last ten years or so .A memorabilia of my past.
1.An unsavoury romantic meeting.
The venue for this incident was my tuiton class.A well dressed me walking up the stairs had a lot of thoughts going through my mind coz this was an evening batch class which included my first crush .So just as any other teenager would have in his mind i was making plans to impress the lady of dreams.But some bloddy miscalculation of steps resulted in me missing one step and there i went just like entering a snake's mouth at 99 down i went, all the way down.To add insult to injury my lady of dreams was right there at the entrance .All those stupid girls including her started laughin as if there was no tommorow and the hero in me was facing a number of unexpected villians at one go.Unfotunately the hero had to admit defeat and walk away with the remainig self esteem if there was any.......
Coming next "NEIL 'N NAUGHTY"

WHO R FRIENDS

2005-08-23T00:34:00.000-07:00

Well let me put it straight the views in here are completely personal and has nothin to do with the amul world.The main problem among youths nowadays is choosing friends.I have been lucky in that aspect as god handpicked my friends and gave me them.True friends doesnt have to be together each and every moment.Distance not withstanding as long as your friendship is true you have this surety there are a few hearts who think of you at least more than a single time daily.Well talking about my inner circle of friends ,we have devloped a unique bond amongst us that even though we are miles apart we still dont find a dent in our bonding.But a problem amongst we guys is priorities,and i am being a bit brave to admit that me and my friends had our primary priority as freindship when others had studies.Even family was a seond priority for most us.What else could explain we freinds bunking functions at home to just be together.Well i am absolutely sure that none of us will have any regrets of doing that.Maybe due to various circumstances we have been forced to live apart,new friends have come into our life...But what is to be seen is whether any day the inner circle broadens.I fear so.None of those in our vikings will be able to be a part of such a group where all hearts beat as one.TVM VIKINGS ....Dont we Rock

GREGIIE AS COACH

2005-06-09T01:25:00.000-07:00

Well 2'nd most populous country in the world,1983 world cup champions,yet just one indian in reckonng for the post of an indian coach.That speaks volumes on how much blinded the indian board and the players are by the success of foreign coaches.So in the end greg chappel's appointment as the coach didnt come as a surprise.Sven goran erikson leading engalnd,otto rehagel greece,big phil for portugal are the few succesful foreign coaches that come to mind but then these are soccer coaches.So i looked at the last two world cups to see whether the succesful teams had a foreign coach.The answer i got was not only in cricket soccer as well as rugby did the world cup champs have a foriegn coach.I read some where that what the aussie cricket coaches do is not coach the players but tell the players to back their natural instincts and that is the backbone of such an all-conquering team.Greg chappel was a fighter in his heydays.And above all he has the confidence of his captain ,so whether this man could lead to us to world cup glory,the coming days will tell.Any ways the fact that he is a good fan of the game was evident when he said in a different manner that sachin is a spent force,which i belive many coaches dare not.Any way let us keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best to happen.Jai hind.....Jai australlia

WAKE UP ICC

2005-04-18T19:44:00.000-07:00

ITALIAN SOCCER GAINTS A.S.ROMA are asked to play three of their champion's league matches in a closed stadium.Month's later another of the ITALIAN GIANTS "NERAZZURRI"INTER MILAN was punished by the UEFA to play the next four european cup matches in an empty stadium as punishment for the crowd trouble that forced the Champions League quarterfinal against AC Milan to be abandoned.Remember that INTER MILAN and A.S .ROMA are indeed big names in the fottballing world as is INDIA in the cricketing world.then why on earth is crowd violence being given a blind eye by the cricketing world.The champion's of crowd violence"THE EDEN GARDEN" crowd still get to see the best teams in the world battle it out.Their credentials....DISRUPTING THE INDIA-SRI LANKA world cup semi final resulting in SRI LANKA being awarded the match,DISRUPTING the INDIA -PAKISTAN asian test championship match etc etc.The latest incidence was witnessed at the KOTLA ground where the crowd started to show its real colour when india had lost six wickets for peanuts chasing 300+.Why is the governing body afraid to take action against these kind of unsporting behaviour .Unless and until the officials garner the guts these kind of hooliganism will continue in its way.

HAIL THE SAVIOURS OF INDIAN CRICKET

2005-04-15T01:46:00.000-07:00

Well by the time this blog is posted pakistan might have won the third odi against the indian team(hailed as the best one because there is no saurav).Let me start with the saviours first.
1.HAIL "THE WALL" DRAVID-perfect bowling changes,at least he learns from his mistakes.See this -kumble brought into bowl in the fourth over goes for 23 runs,he takes him off and few overs later brings in Dinesh mongia who goes for only 22 runs.That is captaincy friends.Making the right bowling changes ,bringing the right bowler at the right time isnt it.
2.HAIL "THE BEST BATSMAN"MIDGET KING SACHIN-scoring a quickfire single andproving his worth
Now the bad players
1.BOO MOHAMMED KAIF-why yaar ,why did you play such a fast innings,you are regarded to be ganguly's pet no....,not good to be in the indian team,irresponsible batsman,criticised just for being loyal to your captain,
2.BOO HARBHAJAN SINGH-why on earth did you pick up AFRIDI"S Wicket,THE WALL rates kumble better than you ,so obviously you are not godd enough yaar,be careful else you will lose your place if you keep on pickin up wickets.

C"mon guys please come out and support THE WALL(the best captain ),who picks up kumble rather than kartik,and ok if he picks up kumble,to add to that only two seamer's on a rare pitch which looked similiar to an aussie wicket.Why on earth did he expect dhoni to play another innnigs of 148 when the pitch was behaving badly and the ball moving around big time.

BELATED CONGRATS

2005-04-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well this is one blog i should have posted much earlier.My heartfelt congrats to MITHALI RAJ and TEAM for doing india proud by reaching the finals and losing to the mighty aussies(seems like cricket greatness is their household property).Now even though women's cricket might become 10%more pouplar than it was before,from a normal cricket lover's point of view i feel that INZAMAM UL HAQ has got to run round the world thrice to come anywhere near the poularity of the male version of the game.Well maybe my creativity suggests a few method's to poularize the female version of the game(is my creativity ruled by the Chauvinist who says "Women have but two faults: everything they say and everything they do").To start with just like Benson and hedges sponsor's the TWENTY TWENTY VERSION,we should get fair and lovely to sponsor a tourney.So the tournament goes like "TWENTY FAIR AND TWENTY LOVELY,20-20"or"FAIR AND LOVELY??....20-20".Well then the change must be in the dress code .Trousers should move and make way for mini skirts and tops for t-shirts.MANDIRA BEDI helping with her vast........(no sleaze)knowledge of the game by doing the commentatory.FOR the time being let the rules be the same .As the famous NAVJOT SINGH SIDDHU once said when when a female was shown on tv screen
"Women are worse than wine - They intoxicate both the holder and the beholder "

LUCKY ME

2005-04-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

LUCKY -NO TIME FOE LOVE,a catchy title indeed and above all starring my favourite salman khan ,these were the factors that brought me to the ticket counter.Well i ha dbought my tickets for 10 dollars and 'm happy to say it was PAISA VASOOL.I admit the script defies logic to a extent but this movie is indeed a refreshing sight admist all those stupid crappy movies released on the previous fridays.SNEHA ULLAL is mind -blowing ,(you have to see the movie to believe),playing her character to perfection.Apna sallu can never go wrong,he delivers one of his best perfomance till date ,making you laugh and cry without any failure.The music by ADNAN SAMI is one of the best in recent times (much better than veer-zara).So anyone who happens to read this blog please rusht to you nearest theatres and watch this cute innocent movie(not great by any standards).

TEAM ?????

2005-04-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

Pakistan had to win.They played as a team,played with guts and showed a lot of fighting spirit which unfortunately our team india lacked.Whatever sachin fan says about him ,i am sorrry sir but please remember you are not above the team,who are you to command the captain each and every time.We gave you two chances to be a captain and you failed miserably on both occassions and now when some-one else has sweated it out to build up a new team please for god's sake try and be part of it rather than being above it.I am sure sachin is willing to try out captaincy for a third time.As for my favourite sourav ,there are many out there who hate you but there is still a few who love you and you will always remain our best captain.We know these people are cruel,but then team india has to progress and you shouldnt be a block for that.Please take a break from international cricket,get your touch back and prove all the good for nothing crictics of yours wrong.Hail "TEAM INDIA????"

ROMEO AND JULIET

2005-04-11T02:38:00.000-07:00

It happens yet again.Sourav goes for a wide ball outside off stump and ends up giving a simple catch to first slip.Well from a sarcastic point of view i doubt whether we are watching the drama "ROMEO AND JULIET " unfold in front of our eyes.Yes a bit strange but the lead characters here are SOURAV GANGULY as ROMEO and JOHN WRIGHT as JULIET.Well you could call it co-incidence but ever since our "JULIET" John wright has confirmed of leaving indian cricket ,our hero"ROMEO SOURAV" has been readily commiting suicide at every point possible.And if this continues it looks verey likely that the ROMANTIC ERA OF INDIAN CRICKET will come to a "THE END" at teh end of this ongoing serious.

SHAH-RUKH JA

2005-04-06T02:02:00.000-07:00

QUOTE “I was in Dubai for a show and had half a day off. I had heard a lot about the Palm Resorts, and so went to see it. This company Nakheel took me around and I fell in love with the place. Hey know what, apparently the Palm Resorts can be seen from the moon.Well, it's intensely private. Well, it's just that I felt that I don't get to spend enough time with my kids. Here in India, I need a lot of security if I were to do even a minor outing.I want to be able it do any and everything with Aryan and Suhana. Go to a beach, build sand castles, go fishing, do all of that with kids.I know it's going to be a little expensive but I'll have David Beckham and Bill Clinton as neighours! I guess that should console the holes in my pocket” UNQUOTE.These are the words of india's biggest star SHAHRUKH KHAN ,read it and now read this."SHARUKH KHAN ,PREITY ZINTA ,KARAN JOHAR AND RANI MUKHERJEE visit the indian president and make a collective donation of 1.5 crores".
C'mon shahrukh does beckham pay and watch your movies,how amny kids would love to build castles and play on the beaches but were deprived of their luxuries.I admit that i have no right to say you should odnate more,but at least when you dream of living with such high profile neighbours,try and match them in genorosity also.I have never been a big fan of you,but all your recent movies were a hit not because of its script but because the so called masses .If ot for them you would still remain the same N.S.D Graduate acting in some supid serials.
No offence meant to SHAHRUKH fans,"This guy sucks".

CROWD AT KOCHI

2005-04-06T02:00:00.000-07:00

Let me start with congragulating sourav and his boys for such a splendid win over our arch-rivals.First of all let me single out certain individual perfomances,1.SEHWAG-seems like he can do nothing wrong .2.RAHUL DRAVID-not the best one-day batsman to come out of indai but still ,one of the best .3.ZAHEER KHAN-many so -called guru's failed to take notice of this quickie's perfomance,but form my point of view it was his stunning return catch to see of youhana(often dangerous against india),that turned the match on its heels.4MOHAMMED HAFEEZ- a talent to watch out,looked technically correct till the moment he played that rash shot,a decent partime offie and a decent fielder to say the least.Now let me get to the point.With the sun shining right above their heads for major part of 10 hours without any roof,the cricket fans of kerala"god's own country got a treat indeed,And in return for the treat they got their conduct at the post match cermony was in all sense praise worthy.SCENE THIS,Sourav ganguly name being called out by ravi shastri(india's sensible cricketing voice),Sourav at the recieving end of booos and jeers form the bangalore crowd (who i cant understand why they do this ,coz these guys who come to watch cricket at chinnaswamy stadium such an unlucky lot ,that india has failed to win a test there since 1995,and yet are lucky enough to get test matches played tehre,and in the end boos the captain of one of the most succesful indain test captain,) get a big round of applause that the captain who was looking lost and worried about his form till dat moment appeared to be charged up and motivated,.And dont be surprised if sourav comes up with a couple of big ones in this series.AS the people at kochi showed "OH CAPTAIN ,MY CAPTAIN,WE ARE WITH YOU.
PROUD TO BE A KERALITE.

WHAT A MEAL

2005-04-06T01:08:00.000-07:00

Well the time i am doing this blog,Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be the most happiest as his bank account will be richer by a amount that is no less than 5 lakhs(given to him by the government of the state).It is really intresting to see the amount of hype and hoolah surrounding india's new wicketkeeping dashing batsman.But let us spare a thought for the Pakistan team.In hot and humid indian conditions they indeed manage to put up a fight chasing such a huge total,and hadnt it for the runout of the "AALOO"(INZI) it would have been a much more closer finish.Well the match had everything in it,sixes, boundaries, runouts,sledging,great catches,great bloppers,in all a PAISA-VASOOL match.With Bob Woolmer commenting that one day cricket in the subcontinent to be a lottery(the TOSS being crucial),the last man in the current indian team to stand a chance to win a lottery,our own dada SOURAV wonthe otss and happily agreed to bat on a flat dead pitch.The team line-up was intresting and surprising indeed to see Danish Kaneria warming the benches.Well no changes in the indain lineup and no changes in sehwag's fortune,an edge racing to the fence set the tone.But even though sehwag seem to have stuck a purple patch,the other two senior batsmen of the team seem to have stuck the other side of the patch,else what other reason can you say for Sachin getting run out to a magnificent bit of fielding by youhana,and Sourav(when it seemed he was getting back to his normal self) gettiing an absolute beauty of a ball from Sami(keep aside his bowling skill,he just fails to intimidate batsmen with his stares).Inzamam looks like he is fed up of playing cricket and i believe he should be replaced by someone who can motivate rather than present a sorry figure throughout the match.A few blemishes in the field were punished big time by the indians.Dhoni's innings was no master piece ,but indeed a courageous one.You dont score 140 odd one day runs without the guts to fight it out,and my sympathies for shahid afridi who had an easy stumping missed off his bowling only to see the next few balls sail outside the field.Rana naved looked at ease sending back kaif for"taking a rest" ,while Razzaq kept it neat and straight.Pakistan had the worst start they would have loved to have,and despite some decnet efforts from youhana,razzaq and akmal,the pakistanis fell short of the required taget by quite a margin.
Now about dhoni,i could see in him a drive to succeed,a fighter who could be india's answer for adam gilichrist(This might seem far-fetched ,but fingers crossed).For me dhoni's innings was just an appetizer ,before the main course dished out in the evening which was liverpool defeating juventus at anfield.Juventus a team with the best defensive record in europe,conceding two early goals against a liverpool team devoid of cisse and moreintes was one of the best main course i could have.Now dont know what suprises awiat us This month(hopefully india win 6-0,and mourinho quit chelsea).For the time being let us keep pur finger's crossed.

FILTH OF FEBRUARY

2005-04-05T01:09:00.000-07:00

FEB 5-Well maybe this date might not be very significant in the life of majority,but indeed an important date for the cricketing world.This is the day that ICC announced its new rules regarding chucking.Bowlers will be allowed to straighten their arms by up to 15 degrees and the process for analysing suspect actions will be standardised and streamlined,And the joke a few days later CHRIS BROAD FINDS THAT HIS NAKED EYE CAN MEASURE 15 degrees when BHAJJI bowls the dossra.Well to start off "what is the meaning of the word chucking".Reffering to the dictionary you get to see that chucking means "to throw or toss".In the cricketing world this term has come to be associated with subcontinent bowlers ,be it quick or spin .Well if you look at the various cricket playing nations you could get to see that it is just that the subcontinent team bowlers that come under the scrutiny of the "INTERNATIONAL CHUCKING COMMITTEE(ICC)".Well nasser hussain one of the best captains england has seen(that speaks of the quality of the other captains),once labbelled murali a chucker.Come on nasser just because you and your team cant play spin bowling you come out and label him a chucker?.Then why didnt you dare to brand BRETT LEE a chucker,or in that sense even MCGRATH a chucker.Well the answer is clear ,genuine dislike for the subcontinent teams(and that too from a captain with indian roots).Let me see it this way ,the only way these english players are gonna hog headlines is by beating poor west indian and mediocre south african teams.Apart from that no one with some cricketing logic can imagine this so called second best test team,coming to india sri lanka or pakistan and winning a test series in the near future.Well another thing that bemuses me is the different stand of match refrees.Indian players were fined and given bans for excessive appealing ,and the face of indian cricket SACHIN TENDULKAR was banned for tampering the ball by ,one match ref namely mike denness(captain of England team when his colleague John Lever left handed fast bowler started brill cream or any liquid cream to get shine of the ball and was caught and no action was taken by Mr.Mike Denness as a Captain against him ).Well a few weeks after that Mcgrath and Ramnaresh sarwan argue like street fighters ,and all ICC or the match refree does is fine them.It is high time that this sort of attitude changes.All should be fair and fine .All countries should be given equal respect.MURALI will be the highest test wicket taker only for the so called experts to speak about warne's ball of the century(i have seen indian offie rajesh chauhan bowling a better ball than that) and talk of warne as a better spinner rather than murali,while sachin will be the highets run getter in both form's of cricket only for experts to say that steve waugh was better than him.