Sunday Night Football - Random Musings

Monday morning & Tuesday Morning in my life has become quite an event. With 2 games of american football shown in India, i make sure that all work on these mornings can be postponed beyond 10 AM starts in office.

Yesterday was a game between Cowboys and Saints and i added comments to FO Webpage during the first hald and since i had to switch off the laptop and get going to office, did not put this on the FO website.

• Reggie Bush has improved his prospects of a long career in the NFL. Why? I am not going to go ga-ga, that is being done by the football analysts. What captured my attention during the 62 yd screen pass TD is how he used his blockers effectively. He did not try and accelarate through the hole to show-off his speed and get knocked down by the defenders. Instead, he followed his blockers and made a killer move to leave the last 2 defenders gaping at the 10 yd line. Welcome to NFL, you are late by about 12 weeks while others like Maroney, Noriwood and Maurice Jones-Drew figured that out earlier.
  
• After getting rid of the browns curse (to LBC), jeff faine has been pretty good this season. pro-bowl center? nope. Back-up pro-bowl guy? sure, why not.
• While discounting Peyton Manning (who, i grudgingly admit is good! - there i said it), there is none in the NFL who can dictate terms to the opposition as much as Drew Brees is doing now. I wish LT & DB both share the NFL MVP
• Terell Owens is showing commitment on the field, just like Keyshawn Johnson last year - however he has avoided the middle of the field completely. Is there something wrong with him?
• After the cowboys score, there are butterflies in my stomach. Even with a 11 point lead, i think there might be an upset in the air - gosh! look at that pass. Now it is a 18 point lead and the clouds have cleared (literally!, out here). [Post note: after 5 minutes, Drew Brees hooked with Henderson for a 50 yd TD pass and the match was sealed!]
  
• Wow! how many 4th downs with penalties traded all-round? Is this a record?
• I wish John Madden & Al Michaels avoid giggling. They are not bumbling teenegers on their first date, for all that is holy on earth.
• Whoa, whoa! onside kick when up by 25 points. completely unexpected and great
• Bill Parcells is trying to ape Art Shell's sideline poses but doing as bad a job with it as the team's performance today
• Sean Payton for Coach of the Year; Drew Brees, the joint MVP and Colston is the Rookie of the year
• Letting T.O score a touchdown was not the biggest of the issue with Fred Thomas. It is 4th down and even an interception would leave with a worse-off field position than you would have by simply knocking the ball. Coupled with the fact that you have a thumb injuiry, it is a disaster to try and come down with a INT and his little selfishness costed the TD. But i think he is sufficiently mad at himself that others can back-off.
• Maybe Peter King got it right. Bill Parcells will make it to the superbowl sideline. Only in spirit - through his former OC - Sean Payton. That said, i am still worried about the saints. They are very raw on defense and unless they inprove there, it is going to be short of SB41!!

Chatrapathi - Great title song!

Don't look right now, but I think this is a return of good music to telugu movies. This is very conviniently coincided with a few things:

• Better overall movie production (better than recent tamil movies! - so much so, every hit telugu movie is being planned to be re-made into tamil soon)
• Movement of telugu cine industry from chennai to hyderabad (is it just coincidence?)
• Bigger hits with every movie for chiranjeevi (very little relevance overall, but thought i would add this as well!)

There is going to be a blog later in the week again on telugu movies, but this is the time to rejoice the resurgence. Movies are infintely better - Anand, Aa Laluguru, Godavri, Aathadu, Pokiri, Bommarilu, Aithe are some of the better ones i have seen in a long time. All movies that break the stereotype of telugu movies have done well in the box-office (i have given it away!).

There is one song in the recent times that has captured my amazement. I have heard it close to 25 times and everytime, it was amazing. The actual song is 3 mins and i shall search youtube to find the full version.

There is a high possibility that the tune has been "inspired" by some score elsewhere, but this one is real impressive.

NFL Sunday 1 PM Games - Week 14 First Half Musings

My First half NFL - Season 14 musings. Right now, they are playing skating on ESPN India and it is as interesting as waiting in a airport!

• NE-Mia Game: After the NE fumble there was Roughing the passer, 2 yd run, offensive holding and defensive pass interference. Yikees! We are all professionals here.
• Slumberfest games: OAK at CIN
• Like Good Rex and Bad Rex, we have the short brady and the 'original' brady. The short brady refuses to pass for anything above 10 yards. just check his current
  stats for today.
• How Auspicious? NE starts second quarter with a false start.
• Yee Gods., that is some cover-your eyes football in MiamiCan MIN please trade the run defense for Joseph Addai. That is required for the post-season
• NE is coming up with some bad starting field positions. Last time it was from the 4 yd and this time i think it is the 5 yd line.
• J.Garcia scrambles up the middle to WAS 6 for 10 yards (C.Griffin). When i read this on gamecenter, only one thing came to mind - BACK TO THE PAST. Remember Jeff Garcia turned 62!
• JAX gained 74 yards on 4 runs against the IND defense. Boy., this looks like a Madden game to me. IND pass TDs and JAX run TDs.
• Wonder if Asomugha will make it to the Pro-bowl this year. There seems to be a huge rush right behind Champ Bailey. R Mathais & A Samuels are equally good.This is as close to madness as we know (real madness is watching the CLE offense or IND rush defense 24/7!).
• Why take a Time-out at 2:06 when the 2-min warning is coming up. And follow it with a incomplete pass. This is gonna be a long day for the patriots

Cracked.com - Funny Feature

While i have had my fun with reading articles on parody sites like Onion, Sportspickle and Brushback - the latter two are exclusively focused on sports, they measure between good and downright gross.

Of late, i was refered to Cracked website and while i followed the NFL weekly breakdown, the feature i enjoy the most is the "letters from Bush - US President" series. This features series is all about letter that the US president writes on various issues and are corrected by his proof-reader. The articles are downright funny and very believable - if you picture Bush writing these.

1. Letter to Iraqi Prime Mister., nope Prime Minister
2. Thanking Donald Rumsfield for his service as Pentagon Secy, which is not a woman-thing
3. Please vote ... a note before the elections to the voters
4. Illegal Aliens., Darth Vader is my least favorite and hence the fence to protect US from him or something like that
5. Is it a crime to have these? Nope, it is a crime if you don't have these (ask., Iraq!). Letter to N Korea premier
6. This is how i won (but the real story is how i made the democrats look bad!) - A primer to Rep candidates for mid-term election

Believe me that you are gonna have fun rolling around with the slapstick humour on Bush in these articles.

And in fast developing news ganguly ...

Breaking news of Sourav Ganguly, ex-Indian captain having a mild coughing session. With increasing interest, the press in south africa awaited his every single move -his arrival in SA, his first practice and patiently waited for more meanigful substance and they were not disappointed - literally.

After his one hour practice, Sourav Ganguly stood aside for a whole one minute and thought of his next action. Being out of the Indian side, he might have lost his touch with the small details of practice - a few real time SG critics/experts across the field agreed amongst themselves. Just when the debate was drawing to a close, Ganguly moved towards the refreshments section and took a bottle of ice-cold aquafina mineral water and drank the contents for well over 15 seconds (as measured by cameraman vikram gautam).

The breaking development happened when he bent down to put down the bottle when he choked on the final few drops and the media was there to capture, in real time, the mild cough session. It started with his face turing slightly red and then he coughed for a minute - starting with a mild bengal tiger purr and finishing with an eccentric high pitch wheeze-like noise.

How this affects India's chances in the first test against South Africa, let us turn to our expert panel - Harsha Bhogle, Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Wasim Akram. Question to you all experts - Is Ganguly justified in coughing and harming India's chances in the upcoming test match or is it his tendencies to draw attention to himself .......

And thus died the sanity of the indian news media in south africa on a sunny summer morning. Dada, welcome back but you would know that i said it first here, that the media is going to make a tamasha of your every single move.

isn't it strange?

We live in a strange world, where pigs and friendship goes in the same sentence. You heard that right and read that right ... ours is a very strange world.

Disclaimer: To each man (or woman), his indulgences and right to indulgence and i neither condone or encourage it.

Prediction: Bandh Tomorrow followed by PIL

I can see & forecast future events. I am brilliant. Maybe i should start charging people .....
...
...

Nope., i am but anyone who can predict what is gonna happen, but when you do things like this in India, i know what follows. The "this" incident is the launch of Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar on the lines of SI Swimsuit calendar.

Why no links to the 2 calendars? Please note that this is a highly respected blog with respectable opinions and respectable people visiting it and more importantly a very respectable person authoring the blog. You get that?

But i do know what is going to happen:

1. VHP & the right-wing protestants will take offense to this demeanization of Indian culture
2. Some Mumbai / New Delhi advocate will file a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in either the high court or supreme court and get his moment of fame with newspapers and news report channels
3. Fundamentalists will call for a bandh and go on a rampage destroying public property
4. Womens right group will critize the calendar as an insult to nari-mani.
5. Men & yes, men would gather to .... never mind ....

Aren't things here very predictable.

Movie Review: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire - Yuck!

Ok., you did not read it wrong. I saw the Harry Potter movie - Goblet of Fire at last. I did not hear great reviews and hence did not bother taking time to watch it and boy, was i right. Since there are way too many cribs, i shall try and summarize into 2 sections:

I think I like:

1. Casting of Daniel Radcliffe & Emma Watson. They are tucking themselves nicely into their roles. Lord Voldemort was terrific. Robert Pattinson as Cedric Diggory was perfect.

2. Nice Scene: Harry & Ron discuss their desperation about finding a partner for the ball dance and George fixes up with Angelina Johnson. Throughout the scene, there is Snape supervising their homework and everytime their voices raise - he strikes them in the head but otherwise does not cuss. The whole scene was just too funny.

3. Graphics: OK., some of them were really ludicrous but a few stood out. Eg: The taps scene was great, the first shot of the Quidditch WC stadium was good. The revival of Lord Voldemort & the priori incantatem spell scenes are good.

Hey., i am really stretching myself to find something positive in this movie

I did not like:
1. Deep breath, one two, three., once more: OK., i know that books to movies means that the story is compromised, but ye gods! the basic essence of the whole book is being butchered. Like, the theme in the book was to teach Harry a lesson that you cannot discount anyone when looking for help - even Neville Longbottom. The movie made a mis-mash of it all.

2. Spirit of the roles: Take off from the last point, you could change a few minor details for the movie - but how can you compromise on the basic tenants of the characters of the movie. Prof. Dumbledore through Book 6 is the most calming influence in Hogwarts; No issue seemed to rattle him. But if you were to look at the movie - you would come to an opinion that he was a sad old fart. Same with Prof. McGonnagall. She is authoritarian and never displays silly girly behavior as shown in the movie

An allied point: In Friends there is this episode where Joey is taught that good elocution in acting requires spitting on your colleague. What is the connection? Have you not noticed that anything other than a murmur, the actors usually shout in each other's face in the movie.

3. Cast: Apart from a few like Harry, Hermoinie, Snape and McGonnagall, the rest of the crew seems way out of place. Michael Gambon is completely unimpressive as Dumbledore, Rupert Grint is way too old & arkward looking for Ronald Weasley, Matthew Lewis as Neville is awkward, Stanislav Ianevski as Viktor Krum is not too inspiring. But the worst of all is that of Cho Chang - Katie Leung does not have the IT factor that creates butterflies in Harry's stomach. On the contrary, she looks too bland and ordinary that you are wondering why Harry is even remotely interested in her - when a great looking Hermione is right besides him.

BONUS: What is with the graphics? Can they not leave it subtle. The dragon scene is over-the-top, the insides of the WC stadium (right after the top shot!) is bad, the Dark Lord mark is more funny than bone-chilling, the underwater scene plain and the maze is bland. What happened to all the creatures in the maze? Why did you cut it out?

Overall, if you are a Harry Potter fan - you could well avoid the movie as a purist. From a 2 hour mindless entertainment perspective, i do recommend this movie.

American Football: Week 13 1 PM games - 2nd half

Second half thoughts as posted in Football Outsiders' game day discussion forum:

• Larry Johnson ... may be Herm Edwards does not love you. Why? He has already given you 297 carries and you are on record for 410+ carries for the season. Have you thought about life after football yet?
• Packers. You are down by 31 points on your home field in the 3rd quater. Why, in the name of god are you attempting a FG from Jets 15 yd line. This is the moment when TMQ would have written "Game Over" if he already didn't
• Wow! What a 1st round draft pick bust. Mike Williams (USC) has ZERO receptions while Josh McCown, the back QB has one.
• Goat of the Week: R. Grossman ... 3/10 for 22 yds and 3 INTs ... how gross!
• SF 49ers attempt an onside kick and recover. What a sweet play!
• Can you believe it: The two 2-9 teams are ahead at this point
• Can you believe it (Part 2): Colts are behind at this point. After being behind by 14 points, Atlanta offense has scored 24 points.
• Who is this derek anderson? if he is any decent, why is he with the browns?
• Does NE have a lousy 3rd passing defense to compensate for its great 3rd down rushing defense?
• How can you let two 1-30 situations to be converted? How bad is the NE secondary that you are being stood up by one of the worst team in NFL?
• should the pats go for 1 or for 2 if there is a TD now?
• Stop the press! E James has atlast got his first 100 yd game and the YPC is also pretty decent
• I think it is a great thing from NFL to list major milestones reached during the game. Earlier it was about Hanson and now it is Dillion's 11000 yds
• 3-11-NO 8 (13:24) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short right to R.Bush ran ob at SF 18 for 74 yards. 1-10-NO 18; (12:53) D.McAllister left end to SF 14 for 68 yards (B.Moore). I am confused. I am listing this down from NFL's gamecenter. can someone explain
• With 4 TDs, Reggie Bush has ensured that Peter King is gonna smooch all over him in tomorrow's MMQB (wait it is 0230 here and so technically, it is today's MMQB)
• Wow., INT, fumble and sack-fumble in NE-DET game. And sigh., we are all professionals here.
• Was that a 60 yd field goal by the Browns? 60 YARDS (scream! and everyone at home are awake)
• Manning is 350 yds on 28 attempts with 1 TD and 2 FGs and still LOSES. Aye god! This one is a mulligan and does not count against him
• Browns should just attempt a FG right away!
• Can someone explain why the BROWNS ARE RUNNING. Why are they not trying for a FG right away?
• The Pats win. Boy, was it ugly?

American Football 1PM matches - First Half Thoughts

I usually stay up every sunday night to follow the New England Patriots games. I usually log onto to Football Outsiders' game day discussion forum and record my minute-to-minute musings. Summarizing them below:

• 3 & 1: Peyton ., why are you throwing? Hasn't Addai been good to get the yard.
• And now V Young is intercepted. Ye gods., we are all professional here
• Did anyone had R. Cadwell in their loser league team. He is gonna ruin your day. 3 long passes from T Brady. What a day
• Is it only me who sees that L Maroney has not lived up to the hype generated by the experts. As of now, he has 14 yds on 4 carries and seem to me Addai might be the better RB of the first round draft (oh., do i need to tell Reggie Bush is still missing)
• Gore: 3 Carries for -1 yds; Drew Brees 3/7 for 30 yds. Some fantasy owners are having a bad start
• Pats: 17 plays for 81 yds and a Field Goal. I read somewhere that the Pats offense needs to have it picture perfect to get a TD this season and rank in the bottom half for TDs from outside the red zone - both explainable because of lack of a big time playmaker WR. I have suddenly started believing in that.
• LT 51 yds run for Touchdown. And then there are other RBs
• Why would you have Chad Scott to cover Williams - one of the top 5 WRs in NFC?
• Kewl., the lions are mounting a fight at the Pats. I want to see how NE responds with its offensive tools when we are down by 10.
• Whew! Thanks Vrabel. Can the offense please show-up without penalties and sputtering?
• I somehow like Wilson (Cardinals) as a probowler than roy williams (5 INTs) for the NFC safety. I think he might be the only probowler from the team
• Confession time: Vince Young is good. Vince Young is good. Vince Young is good. Now., i got to write that down 97 more times to ... never mind
• Asante Samuels for probowl. On the other hand, what is the chances that the Pats are going to sign him back. That is gonna test their fundamental philosophy on player evaluation
• Brady., i am sorry - your offense is not bad., i know ... i erred again ... and also can you please let me know who in the staff handed my earlier comment to you so that i can ....
• I want Martybowl back for the second half. Just don't know where LT is gonna finish this year. Trillion yds, billion rushing TDs, million reception yds, thousand receiving TDs and hundred passing TDs. Will not be surprised if he does acheive that.
• Reggie Bush - 2TDs. Was he finally picked up from his house in San Diego?

Prices through the cardboard Sheet (yeah., the roof is expensive!)

I recently received a common mail circulated within HCL - a mass forward that talked about the too-hot-to-handle real estate prices in Chennai. Like any good mass forward mail, it had a ton of spelling mistakes and in a couple of places - was factually incorrect.

However, the mail made me think; Where does this madness end? Today, a 1000 sq. ft flat in my locality would set you back by a whopping 4 million rupees (approx. $85,000) and apartments in the range of 15 million to 25 million ($325K to $550K) are pretty commonly heard in Chennai. Hey, at that rates, you can as well choose between nungambakkam (Chennai) or newton (boston suburb)!I made some calculation - if you take up a loan of 2 million, you would end up paying 20K per month for the next 20 years to just get an medium-small apartment tucked in some corner of the city! While a lot is associated with NRI investment as well as expat returns, there is also a factor of the real estate agents taking advantage of the situation.

I recently read this report on BBC and the future looks bleak for anyone saving to buy a place in India. Reminds me of a dialogue from the movie - Mudalvan "Save throughout your career, after retirement, buy a 1200 sqft land, build a small house with a lawn and sit there and read paper".

Looks to me, like that is a highly unlikely scenario. And while i wrote this blog, i am sure that some realestate agent just hiked the price of the apartments in chennai a notch again.

Dada, remember this: TO

Dada., now that you have packed the rooshagullas and are catching a flight for South Africa, please hear just 2 words from me: Terrell Owens aka TO

You don't know him - here is a quick primer:

• Terrell Owens is an obscenely gifted wide receiver in american football whose self-indulging tendencies has overshadowed his achievements on the field. Sounds very familiar?
• Not once but twice has been driven out of town because of his lack of respect for his teammates. Sounds very familiar?
• He called his employers & their football organization as 'class-less'. Sounds very familiar?
• He suffers from wears-my heart on the sleeve-but-cant-keep-mouth-shut syndrome. Sounds very familiar?
• Criticizes the coach as being against him. Sounds very familiar?
• In San Francisco, TO cost his coach the job (read John Wright). Sounds very familiar?

Now that you are back in the side, i hope you would only think of aiding India when we have not been having a great tour of SA. I respect your contributions to indian cricket as it's most sucessful captain and would hope you would do nothing to sully your reputation, your coach, your captain, your organization, your country and most importantly YOURSELF.

Rioting - forced or protest!

What kind of explanation with the political ecosystem provide for destruction of state infrastructure?

if you did not know, miscreants defiled an Ambedkar statue in Uttar Pradesh and the far-off Maharastra saw heavy rioting in protests.


I am appalled that someone even thought of defiling Ambedkar's statue - he definitely ranks up there amongst Gandhi, Nehru and Patel as diverse contributors to the great foundation of the nation.

However, none can justify the destruction of buses, cars and trains because a few ill-minded fellows damaged a stone statue. On last count, there were 3 human casualities - and in my books, three too many. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism and i am sure Buddhism has no place for violence in its religion. True Ambedkar loyalists would not have gone on a rampage and instead would have bought the miscreants to shame with their non-violence. It is sad to see that political and militant organization can stoop to the lowest of levels to attract attention and gain mileage from any small incident.

Makes me wonder, is there any difference between the miscreants and the political organizations - both were vandalizing the state dignity for their myopic pleasures - and that's what would have saddened Ambedkar if he was alive today. As a nation, we failed him today.

PS: I added a link to IE article that explicitly calls out RPI as being involved in the rioting - a charge the party denies.

Anna's Wedding Snaps: Day (-1) Snaps

Continued from previous post ...

With the sisters



That's amma (left & Fourth) and her sisters - Lakshmi Narasamma (First), Ranganayaki (Second), Tripura Sundari (Third) and Saraswati (Standing - Fifth & Youngest). The kid is Srikar - Sundari aamma's grandson

Mela atmosphere ..



Ok., thats a lot of different people that i could squeeze in one snap - Right in the middle is Savitri Vodhina and her daughter - Sravanti. On my left and towards the right is Sailaja Vodhina, eldest daughter-in-law of ranga aamma and her sons - Rahul (extreme right) and Girish (second from right). Also between Savitri vodhina and anna, is Manasa

Gandhi Pedananna ...



Thats Gandhi Pedananna (Nanna's elder brother) & his wife Aruna Aamma seated with Dad. Pratyuman - their grandson is also seen along with me & anna.

Banu Babai



The snap is with Banu Babai - Dad's younger brother and his wife Nagalakshmi Pinni ...

Santha Atha ...



With Santha Atha - dad's younger sister, santosh mavaiya - her husband and their youngest daughter - Hasita

and finally.,


During the Edurukola function., a snap of anna and vodhina.

Anna's Wedding Snaps - Day -1 Snaps

We reached Vijayawada for the wedding from Chennai on Saturday morning (18th) with the train getting delayed (as usual!). This snap is right after we reached the venue.

(L to R): Anna, Chalapathi Uncle (Anna's Father-In-Law) and Dad.

Later in the afternoon and through the evening ....

We had a function - Edhurukollam and these snaps were taken by Raventh & Manasa leading to the function.

with dad...


with mom....


with sundari aamma (Amma's 3rd Elder Sister) and Chachu (Amma's younger sister)...


with sisters: Manasa (Pink) and Madhuri (Orange)...


more snaps to follow ...

Anna's Wedding - Post 1 (Pre-marraige Chennai Cermony!)

Here we go., snaps from anna's wedding ... let me try and cover as many people that participated in the wedding as possible. If someone feels that his snap has been missed, send me a holler and i shall add the same.

Date: 16-Feb-2006
Venue: Home

Groom & his aide:

Before the wedding, there is a ceremony where the "groom" is ordained to be one. An interesting fact, that i learnt is that the groom needs to have parayani from this day onwards till the wedding day.

What is parayani? Why do you think, anna and myself are holding our trousers high. Parayani is turmeric paste applied to the feet with some designs in vermillion paste.

Spot the Difference:

That's Kiran Vodhia with Tanushree and Vijaya Vodhina with Teja - with each other's kids swapped for the snap.

"Blind Side" - Nice read, nothing less - nothing more!

Michael Lewis shot to fame in the late 80s with his book on the stock market - Liars Poker. He also revolutionized baseball with his book - Moneyball in early 2000s.

If you think "The Blind Side" will revolutionize american football, the same way - he is atleast 15 years late and the book is not going to add any new insights to the way the game was transformed by free agency. The closest that american football has in conjuction to transformation is the growth of statistical analysis in the game and the growth of websites like Football Outsiders.

However the book is worth reading once for the simple reason that it summarizes the growing importance of the left tackle position - the most unglamorous but highly paid role in football as well as making the biography of Michael Oher interesting.

While the books on succesful athletes can be found plenty a dime, it is purely superb move to publish a book on a player who is making child-steps in college football and is not likely to hit the NFL draft till 2008.

Bye Bye Cricket (?)

As of 11:29, i have decided to liquidate my interests in cricket and move away (Thatz how a stock-broker would have said it!). As a life-long Indian cricket fan, walking away is the only option out for me. Following various sporting traditions like Thorpe (Aussie Swimming) and Tres (English Cricket), i have decided not to invest any more passion, effort, faith in the game of cricket.

Nope, i am not giving up on Indian Cricketers or my passion for the test match cricket. I am just walking (sulking!) away from the repeated negative coverage from the Indian media. The overbearing media has just gone two steps too many in trying to beat the cricketers and with the politicians joining the band wagon, i guess it was too cramped in there and i have respectfully given way, so that one more overbearing i-know-more-than-everyone-else guy can get on board to trash everyone linked to Indian Cricket.

Just a few examples, we have had the media critics having a field day against Greg Chappell and the humble parliamentarians have joined in critizing Greg. If they had so much pride in India, maybe they will pass the Women's reservation bill and the Whistleblower's protection bill in the winter Session. This is the same Greg who not too long ago was admired for pushing India's most succesful captian - Sourav Ganguly out of the side.

And now, the posterboy for media in the GC-SG spat, Rahul Dravid is coming under fire as well. Various critics are having a field day indirectly questioning Rahul dravid on his captaincy and there is another whole set of people, who have said that Ganguly had the desire to win and Rahul Dravid lacks the same.

Poor Md. Kaif - his home was vandalized during India's poor show in initial part of WC 2003 and the same repeats now.

And the least i say about the so-called fans, the better. I think there needs to be a display of Class - something the fans have missed when the team falls short. As from a quotation, the right to support a winner rests with only those who can accept defeat, most of India's fans only want to utilize Cricket as a distraction from real life & with the economy doing great, there is nothing much worse than that.

And with all this, i have come to a conclusion: The media always likes the Vice-Captain and have decided to always smack the captain for all india's mistakes. I am in no-way happy with the team's performance, but it is not the end of the world to me. (Remember Lance Klusener who is quoted after the nail-biting elimination from WC 1999: Nobody died today & hence why all this fuss).

I am no arm-chair captain/coach or a monday morning quarterback.

MY team will recover from their shortcomings and will do well in the future and while i don't know when and where, that is the least of my worries. They have entertained in the past and they will entertain in the future and i am happy knowing & accepting them as what they are.

Satyendra Dubey

Satyendra Dubey epitomizes the true value that every Indian should religiously adhere to. He had Mahatmas dream-come-true personality - a villager who fought his way to India's best education (IIT Kanpur), chose a public service job and wanted to aid India in its dream for becoming a super-power by working at its grassroots.

It is appaling that the government has shown little dedication to the cause of Satyendra Dubey - be it in bringing his killers to justice or showing sincerity in getting a whistleblowers regulation in place, though there are plans to introduce one in the winter session of parliament (3 years after his death)

Please do visit the SK Dubey Foundation, by clicking here

For those who have little idea of SK Dubey - here is a summary: SK Dubey hails from Bihar Village, gets selected to one of India's best Engg colleges (IIT Kanpur), passes out with academic honors, takes up job in india's public service instead of pursuing options in US (like a lot of Indian Enggs) and was posted with the National Highways dept as project manager. When he bought corruption to the notice of his higher officials, his identity was leaked inspite of requests and was murdered a little later in 2003.

A detailed brief of his profile can be found here.

NDTV aired a profile of Satyendra Dubey last night and it was quite moving. I realised that while we are jostling with day-to-day issues, here is a role model for Indian youth and he hardly gets the attention he deserves.

Even yesterday, he had to compete with MPs taking offense to Cricket Coaches remark, Sanjay Dutt's visit to temple before verdict & Abhishek - Aish tryst in Varanasi. It is sad that India has lost perspective of a fallen hero in pursuit of trivial news about Cricket & Cinema!

Some Random Sports Thoughts

One more siesta and any confidence that i had in my discipline is completely dead. I am back in the blog, after i joined Orkut and a few people had a few nice things to tell me of my blog. I am hoping to blog twice a week and lets see how much i can keep up my word.

Out at home, my Brother - Sailesh and his wife (Radha Vodhina) are back in Chennai after their 5 month stay in Minneapolis, MN. Been a lot of fun, since they arrived on saturday.

On to the random 'sports' thoughts:

1. It is a sad day when we have 24 year swimming champions retire. When Ian Thorpe pulled out of the swimming circuit - the whole sport is lesser without him. That he dominated the sport, is an understatement. He destroyed his opposition and the lack of any competitors destroyed his competitive spirit. What next - Australian Cricket pulling out of test cricket and the dominant Roger Federer leaving tennis for lack of competition.

2. First it was Roger and now the NE Pats. The New England Patriots demolished the Green Bay Packers 35 - 0 and boy, it was tough for meek opponents this week. Maybe it is time that Brett Favre retires and allows the Packers to move on.

3. Nature helped India avoid the above fate by sending torrential showers in the rained-out Ind-SA ODI match.

4. Been following a lot of NFL action that i find it hard to spend time on some of my traditional sport. Damn the NFL season, it is just too hectic!

PS: I started making a pic blog of anna's wedding. Will post it soon!

Anna's Engagement Snaps (2 of 2)

Some more snaps of the Engagement Cermony:

An important part of most Hindu functions is exchange of clothes. In the cermony, we presented Vodhina with a saree and they presented anna with a formal wear.

The two snaps capture the same event.





After the exchange of clothes, presentation of sweets, gifts, it was time to exchange rings and garlands. These 2 snaps represent the exchange of garlands.



For the above snap, Anna was ultimate as he was responding to someone's comments. The picture has come well as the expression on anna's face is priceless.
The engaged couples exchange garlands



PS: I did not possess any great snap when the rings were exchanged. Once i get them, i shall add them to the blog.

Dad's Ancestral House

Taking a break from the larger blog, snaps from the ancestral house in Vijayawada.

The house is located off the major arterial roads in downtown Vijayawada. Bundar Road and Eluru Road are a street away and the Besant Road is 2 mins walk from our house.

Without much ado, the first snap:



The house was built in the late 1940s and Grand father was a tenant in the house initially. With his hard earned money, he bought the house in the mid-1950s and stayed there till the end.

The house is split in 2 half and joined across each room and the kitchen at the very back spreads across the entire width of the house. The house has 4 large rooms, 2 on each side with a store room sandwidched between.

The house is simple and very functional and represents the values of grand father.

Snap 2: Taken when Anna and Vodhina came for the 'gruhapravesham' function after their wedding.

Anna (Sailesh) Engagement (Post 1 of 2)

Posting the snaps taken in the Engagement Cermony of my anna (Sailesh) that happened on November 20, 2005.

The snap below has the groom, bride and parents with the pundit for the rituals. There was a 15 min puja followed by the formal annoucement of the wedding date by the pundit. The 'reading' of the wedding date is a formal statement that includes the family history information of the bride and groom's parents and the annoucement of the 'star of the muhurtam time'


After exchanges of clothes by the parents for the groom & the bride, the exchange of the garlands and the rings....


and the throne ...


and the exchange of sweets .... (i can say, a reluctant anna - shy to give vodhina the sweet & even more shy to accept one !)


Some side snaps:

Look for the matchmaker on the 3 row exteme left side (Pandu Anna) and his wife - Savithri Vodhina (Exterme right, second row). Sailu Anna is seen standing, right behind amma. In the centre of the front row - Pedaamma (Pandu Anna's amma) and on the extreme right side, Vodhina's mother.


This is a special snap of Dad's family:
Front row (From L to R): Durga Atha (First of 6 children of my grand father., a.k.a - 1/6), Sushila Bama (My Grand Mother's younger sister), Prabavathi Athaiya (a.k.a Papai Atha - last of the siblings, 6/6), Amma (no intro required - the jewel), Aruna aamma (the eldest of the family's daughter-in-law), nagalakmi pinni (the third & last of the DILs).
Back Row: Santha Atha (4/6), Santosh Mavaya (Santha Atha's husband), Nanna (3/6 - cannot be better said), Gandhi Pedananna (2/6 - Eldest Son of the family), Banu Babai (5/6 - youngest son)
Thus you would notice all the siblings of my father in the picture. The only notable absentees - Gopal Mavayya (Durga Athaiya's husband), Chukkarao Mavayya (Papai Athaiya's husband)


Another Special Snap:

Durga Athaiya's family: The snap includes two of her three sons, their wives and children as well as the children of her first son (Mavaya, Prasad Anna - her first son, his wife are the only absentees in the snap). Note the 2 kids of the family at the back - Banu Babai's son: Satish (the last of the 'sons' of the Chatrathi Family) and Raghava (The youngest of my cousins)

There and back again (!) ... once more

Quite a few people complained about the lack of posts in the blog that just surprised me no end. Thus the blog will be active for sometime, till the laziness creeps in again.

Hey, the legions of cousins and friends need to promise me that they will start leaving comments for this blog to survive for a long time.

Controversy is the best topic to kickstart the blogs again and so here goes article 1,05,764 of 1,08,199 criticizing Darrell Hair - the headstrong umpire from Australia. If anything, he is apt to be titled "The J---" of contemporary cricket. Be it the Murali no-ball, Inzy's run-out ruling (for once Inzy was not at fault) and yesterday, the ball tampering incident.

I remember a lesson in my english lesson of school days, where a bus conductor implements a rule on not allowing dogs on buses, but breaks the spirit of the rule. The same is the case with Darrell Hair. I am not going to contest, his decision on ball-tampering, nor awarding runs to England. The main fault of Darrell Hair is that he acted no mature than the young lads (ok, Inzy at 36, is no young blood!) of Pakistan. Pakistan was unhappy of the ruling and decided to stay indoors and they got the right treatment from the crowd when they emerged (boo-ed strongly). Had Darrell Hair walked onto the ground, the crowd would have cheered for him, appreciated that he held the post of umpire with dignity. Instead, by refusing to have Pakistan back, he showed that he is strong-headed, old-school person with the maturity of a 10 year old. Forever, the blame of the forfeited test will be put on the shoulder of Darrell Hair, a truth that he will carry on his soul forever - as it would seem wise for ICC to lay guidelines to its members to avoid such drastic action in future.

What happened yesterday, was not part of a gentleman's game (far from it!)

For Summers, memory so fresh!

Faces lit with expectation, destiny call know but to a few
As the exams finished, books stashed away
One meeting held, celebration galore for the batch
Six summers ago, a memory so fresh!

Looks of celebration, masking the anxiety
The path ahead unclear, the preparations incomplete
Future so diverse, calls renewed where planning lacked
Five summers ago, a memory so fresh!

As we departed, renewal of vows to stay close
Like the promises made to ourselves, some kept most forgotten
Time raced, work and studies paced, life sped
Four Summers ago, a memory so fresh!

Leader he was called, leader he was one
Saidreams was the vehicle, staying close the mission
Chatters & spams, emails and teases abound
Three Summers ago, a memory so fresh

Life's Commitments started, engagement here, a quiet marraige there, babies birth
our batches' eternal couples joy shared, for others love came from ashore
soon the tickle became a flood, leaving very few untouched, the ultimate bachelor, its latest prize scalpe
Two summers ago, a memory so fresh!

For some, the grind is still a way, daily homework for scholars not put away
research was the buzz word, Ph.D - the summit to attain
work called a few, twelve hour routine none the few
One summer ago, a memory so fresh!

Look back ever so ever, memories are all that's left
for after four years of fun, a lifetime of memories is but a steal
a smile on the face, when a batchmates thought arises, the greatest reward
This summer, a memory so fresh!

Rewind .... notes from my Kodai trip (couple of years ago!)

Disclaimer: This is a long blog!

In the past, people have written about their adventure trips, those long treks, those amazingly brilliant moments, nature scape overwhelming you ., amn't I right?

this trip of mine is less of that & more of emotions & memories
this trip was me ... diving back into memory
this trip was me ... third generation of friends visiting kodai (School - 12th Std, College - 3rd Year, now ... with work & other friends)
this trip was me ... rediscovering the joy & purity of simplicity all over again
this trip was me ... ENJOYING THE PRESENT, RELISHING THE PAST & LOOKING FORWARD FOR THE FUTURE
at some point, I did think .... will I come here again? what will I be then, will I be married, will I have a child ? how different / easy is it to have all these wonderful memories coming back ... can I regain the same old enjoyment & happiness in small things ever (this in itself is a long topic, a diversion if I start !)

sticking to nothing but facts ... this journey was different .. not only because I went with a new group of friends, but also since we decided to travel the whole way by CAR ... a new fiat palio of a friend of mine ... it had clocked just 650 kms before the trip ., the same vehicle we used for the mahabalipuram trip

we started as usual .. behind schedule .. 2 hours away from plan & reached Tiruchy at 3:00 AM ... our "overnight" halt ... which had just then become "dawn" halt ... we were treated to some OLD ECONOMY guest house pleasures .... good a/c rooms, nice breakfast, great hospitality et al ...

Tiruchy to kodai was 170 kms - plain land & 70 kms in the hills ... totally covered in 2.5 hrs for the plains & another 2 hrs for the hills ... some good views ., tempered by the fact that the waterfall that existed last time had gone dry (this is where we had landed up for our morning break during the college & school trips) .... also I didn't puke this time ... something I could not avoid the last 2 times

after reaching kodai ... & after getting used to the place (if you go round the town center .. 2 times before realizing that you have made a wrong turn .. u would get a hang of the town), some lunch ., some amazing ice cream (WHAT !!! in kodai of all places ? that too when it was overcast & was threatening to rain anytime ???) ... we hit the guest house

the guest house looked exactly like the dream house of mine ... long hall, nice, cozy tucked away dinning place ... an elevated sitting & chatting place before the bedrooms ... the only thing that was missing was the fireplace !!!

our next step was the most conservative ... we went to the lake & enjoying paddling away for 30 mins .... I was having fun watching some other group of guys going behind the boat contain 6 ladies (yours faithfully knows where his loyalties are & had a bemused look watching these people trying to capture the attention of the ladies) ., the best thing being that the last 10 mins of the ride was that it was accompanied by a slight drizzle ... just enough for the rain drops to kiss your clothes before vanishing into thin air ... leaving behind a glossy look to your clothes !!!

the cycle ride was much more fun ... why ?? watching the youngsters race each other .... watching middle age people trying to go back in time by proving to their kids as to how well they can drive .... watching the old people trying to get away from the firing line of the cycles ... & I for some time was just overcome by something called the CYCLE OF LIFE ... I did a leisurely photoops filled first lap (5 kms around the lake for those who forgot !!) ., & a real fast (according to me !) second lap .... 5 kms in 18 mins is not too bad for someone who hasn't ridden a bike for sometime (I suppose !)

the closure of day was in sight (7 PM) when we went off to the town center ... & bought loads of 'home made chocoloates' ... (very costly stuff ., something I couldn't resist buying !!) ... we even went to a cottage industry shop ... & I mentally figured out the huge bill round the corner though my shopping didn't happen till the next afternoon

a good dinner followed by some amazing time with my friend discussing pros & cons of various issues .... so fierce was the way we struck to our stands that fevicol could use the fact that by the time it was 3:30 AM (we started at 10:30 PM) .... we hadn't moved an inch from our stance ... exhausted .. only physically .. I went to sleep ... dreaming about the places I would see the next day

we overslept ... & by the time we hit Upper Lake View .. it was 11:30 ... but not before a great breakfast at Woody's (nice place ... should have meals from there next time around) .... apart from relishing the view, I lightened my pocked to buy loads of flowers .. not forgetting a single family friend of mine ... else I am as good as doomed ....

instead of the normal route .. we took a circuitous route .... the road circling the hill once .... great natural scenes ... the one that would be etched in my memory is driving thru a road, with dense forest of both sides, & the cloud (misty) sailing across .. some 20 feet from the car !! some more snaps (in deep forest, on a rock & near the car), walk into dense pine forest later, we reached Pillar Rock

3rd time unlucky ... I have never seen the view from pillar rock & green valley view (suicide point) .... I was hoping better this time ... but nature had its "third laugh" ... may be I will be fourth time lucky ??

while coming to pillar rock we had passed a place that I visited earlier in the college days !!! my friends insisted that we go there ... I had to reluctantly go .. this was the place called DEVIL's KITCHEN .... & at the entrance has a tomb of a person who fell into the gorge in 1955 .... the route was fenced off ... something that wasn't so 3 years back .... as I stood there ... they all came back ... one after another ... all the memories of the trip to the cave below when we last went there .... the HoD falling & breaking her watch, the girls afraid to come initially but later relenting, thivi & bulli standing at the edge of the rocks (after that it was just emptiness as the hill drops a 1000 feet into a valley), the snaps that we had .... all of them above the sound of the ever increasing volume of the crickets !!!!

skipped lunch to do some shopping ... my pace of spending money (something that parents would notice was the lightness of my purse) ... was matched only mother nature in the form of a huge lightning & thunder ... a thunder that literally could be heard some 100 miles away (according to a scientific study, a thunder is normally heard over an area of 40 Sq kms)
the return journey was uneventful !!! .... reached Tiruchy guest house at 9:30 after starting at 5:00 PM ... 20 mins in the swimming pool & a good dinner later ... tucked into bed .... only to be force fully woken up at 3:45 PM ... reluctantly got ready to go back into the battle zone called Chennai ... slept most of the time during the ride back to Chennai (or till about 8 AM !!!)

what does it all leave at the end !! some more snaps, some more memories, a blog 2 years down the line and the inevitable question - can we do it again?

Back & Back Again

It has been a lifetime (according to Internet Standards) since my last blog (August 2005 to be precise). There has been quite a lot of action since then and i shall bring the blog to speed on all of that in the next few weeks.

First things first, our family welcomed a new entrant taking the size from four to five in February 2006. Sailesh (my elder brother) got married to Komaravolu Nagamallika Radha Manohar. The wedding happened on February 19, 2006 and i shall post some snaps on the same very soon.

More 'random thoughts' to follow!

Bowled over by Taj

1. Before entering the Taj, we made a trip by Humayun's tomb & Akbar's tomb. Both these would have been beautiful & splendid in their own rights.
2. Humayun's tomb, smaller of the lot is also the neglected of the lot.
3. Akbar's tomb is well encased in one of the best kept lawns that i have seen. The greenery was so pleasing to the eyes.
4. The light was off, when we entered Akbar's tomb; making it more impressive that earlier. Also, the sheer simplicity in the tomb chamber impresses.
5. The moulvi showcased the resonance of the chamber and it made me wonder; How impressive would it be, to sit there and get an opportunity to hear the recital of the holy books.

Taj Mahal:

1. The most impressive thing of Taj, is that it needs to be seen to believe. The marble structure is not what impresses, but there is something in the air that just does not allow the eyes to be removed off it.
2. For something designed to be as symmetrical by the great emperor, he himself is the only exception as well. With the Taj being built for Mumtaz, she was placed in the center. When Shah Jahan passed away, he had plans for a BLACK TAJ, an idea that was abandonded & Shah Jahan laid to rest on the side of Mumtaz, thus shattering the symmetry of Taj.
3. It is said that Taj of today is but the marble skeleton devoid of the gold & diamond that was encrusted in the structure. Made me wonder - if this structure was so beautiful; eyes would dazzle when we were to come in contact with the previous structure.
4. It is hard to miss the fact that the marbles in Taj are multi-hued. If the Taj was made a pure white marbles, the beauty would have been completely lost.
5. When the sun was coming down, Taj was just warming-up. The marbles seem to glow in the beauty of dusk & i have decided that i need to go back; to see the beauty of Taj in dawn & in Full moon night.
6. I have been to some natural & man made wonders in US. The way, these are packaged and marketed always aims to enhance customer satisfaction. On the other hand, in India - selling of Taj was so low that i was just stunned. The road from Delhi to Agra is passable

• The road from Agra into the city & the Taj was filled with cows, potholes and crazy traffic. Just missed the main ingredient called ROAD.
• Fleecing of guests is something that i touchbased sometime back. Agra was not as bad as Mamallapuram & that is only because the guests afraid of the man handling, decide to cough up a few hundred rupees to save their skin
• Lack of good infrastructure - restaurants, parks, family spots, boat rides, entertainment centers built around the theme of Taj. All it takes for the GoI is to invite some good multiplex owners from Delhi & Mumbai for good ideas.

My complaints with GoI remains, but with Taj - none will ever exist.

The Beauty of Taj!

I went to Taj for the first time that i can remember of. I shall let the beauty of Taj to be seen & leave my random thoughts for the next blog!

Onto the stunning beauty of Taj Mahal -

The 2 Hs - Harry & HAHK

First things first, the sports of the weekend - Ind lose to SL & wins against WI. Nothing surprisingly, except that the batsmen sans Dravid & bowlers are having a great time. I like it that way (bowlers in full flow at season start), a formula that always ends up with India having a great season - remember 1985-86, 2002-03, 2003-04. Kimi won over MS & i like that as well. ESPY awards was telecast (at last!) & it was the kind of ceremony that India needs to kickstart to promote sports.

Also, I watched a debate on CRICKET being of NATIONAL IMPORTANCE & hence private broadcasters should share the feed with DOORDARSHAN. Just the statement written down sounds silly, that a Group of Ministers (GoMs) has been constituted, making me believe that this government is seriously believe that they have misplaced priorities.

On to Harry Potter VI - though being a HP fan, i was not one of those who rushed to the stores: Reason is this - From the first one to the HP V, i have always read it from a borrowed book & that has somehow become a practice with HP. Not that i don't own one, it just happens that i own the entire set & i shall get VI now. As i went through the book, i reminded me of the famous Indian Movie of the 90s - Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (What am I to you). I avoided the movie for a long time because i couldn't stand to see Madhuri Dixit's elder sister Renuka Sawhaney being killed. The same reason why i, after I read a few reviews and knew of the impeding death in HP VI, i wanted to avoid it.

During the heydays of HAHK, i was finally forced to relent & remember making it to a nearby movie theater with my classmates from school & boy, did I enjoy the movie! Throughout the first 30 mins, i was kind of reflecting on the character whose fatality is but sealed & a good reels into the movie, i finally realised that enjoyment lies in davouring the present than to brood of the future. Same was the case with HP; while the first 50 pages of the book was read with regret of the climax, i soon realised that the feeling needed to be shed for me to enjoy the book.

In HP VI, i think i was glad that the humour of JKR is back; something that Order of Phoenix missed. Also, the way the plot thickens, makes me believe that the path she is on, was set way back and she is not trying to improvise to suit the current needs. Terribly funny Chapter I, well thought out plot of You-Know-How , neatly plotted Snape's negativity, maturity of Harry & the increasing wall of seperation between HP & his friends (was surprised that there was little of Neville in this story!).

But the highlight of the book was the vulnerability shown by Albus Dumbuldore. In life, over the last few years - i can associate this character to a few, i know in my professional & personal life & as time passed, the aura of invincability surrounding these people has plainly vanished shown some interesting personalities, a truth that would have been unimaginable earlier. That's a singular good enough reason why i will still go with the brilliance of JKR & HP.

Random Thought: Music maketh Movie!

4 Movies, 2 langauges - 2 classics, 2 contemporary, 3 telugu, 1 English (with a few telugu dialogues a la Hyderabad Blues). While Sankarabharanam & Morning Raga had a running music theme, Anand & Gitanjali relies heavily on music to complement the storyline.

Sankarabharanam has stood the test of time & delivered a resounding board to the movement of promoting telugu classic music, not only in the Disco era (late 70's/early 80's) but also across times of rap, remixes and pop music. A scene in the movie illustrates its stand on telugu & western music. Somayajulla (The telugu singer) is disturbed during sleep by the cacophony called music by the yuppie crowd next door. The yuppies challenge him to repeat their tune & while the classical singer easily surmountes their challenge, they can't repeat a raga he challenges them to. Instead of taking the moral high ground, he educates them that no music is inferior to another; there is beauty in each of them & that's what makes the differnce.

A wane set in the mid-70s & early 80s taking the crowds from classical music towards disco culture & the way the southern region movies attacked it, produced some of the best movies compared to intellectual duds from Bollywood during the time. Swati Mutyam (Pearl produced from 'Swati Karthe' rain), Sagara Sangamam (Oceans Meet), Srutilayalu amongst others from the stable of K Viswanath stroked the interest in Telugu Movies. The wheels of time now turn the other way around & it looks more inwards, towards Indian culture for inspiration than outwards. Morning Raga is a documentation of the same Gen X trend towards classical music (more so, as a disgust from remix that anything else!); It also shows that fusion music is very much possible & will go well with music lovers.

Anand is that fresh whiff of air that Telugu moviemakers have got from the stale megastar, adrenalin pumping, macho action & pseudo regionalist patriotism. The dialogues are very realistic & the accent reflects the trend of the time rather than following 'filmi style'. It is apt to say that not only the dialogues but also the whole movie (except the climax) had a good narration on how an independent girl comes to accept the proposal of a rich guy. Gitananjali is the only Telugu movie made by Mani Ratnam (all others are dubbed from Tamil) and despite the weak plot, stands amongst the best narrated romance stories (2 terminally ill patients - one with cancer & another with heart disorder fall in love & rest, as they say is history!). The only thing that differentiate Anand from a Gen X movie to greatness is that the songs don't gel well with the story & therein lies the difference between a 'Anand' and 'Gitanjali'.

As much as i enjoyed these movies, i felt that musicals in movies are something of an ancient past & unless you have an innovative music director & a great director/narrator, the movies will be hard to digest for the audience.

Weddings!

I have the good fortune of a wide range of friends & having made a promise to myself that attending the weddings of the close ones, i have had such a great experience in these weddings. There have been multiple posts on friend's wedding snaps on my blog & the experience in each of the weddings is a thing to rejoice.

• Muslim wedding are quite short & apart from the weight of yellow, on the bride's neck - it could pass off as a gathering of family & friends. In fact, there was this gentleman in our friend's wedding who lamented the loss of the good old days - when he got married in the morning, took his wife home in the afternoon & she started cooking that night.
• Malayalam weddings, follow the same timelines as that of a muslim wedding. Be late, of say 10 mins & you would have missed the entire cermony. Ask me, i did miss a
  colleague's wedding like that.
• Tamil (Non Brahmin) weddings are one of my favourite for their show of togetherness & family bondings. There are endless circles of middle aged women, chatting & gesticulating loudly & the raw emotion on display, is what is quite interesting. Of late, this has been supplanted by loud & garrulous music bands playing endless amount of latest film songs.
• Tamil Brahmin weddings are the longest & is marked by a pomp & class - that mortals like us, are more likely overwhelmed by the sophistication that anything else. Moreso, these weddings start a little before, the Sun wakes up & by mid morning - all traditions are done with & all mamas & mamis retired before noon.
• Telugu Non Brahmin weddings, typically Khamma weddings are the other of my
  favourites. All topics of the wedding are typically commercial in nature. What did the bride wear & how much does it cost? What was the dowry? How many cars did the groom get? Is that a diamond necklace or it is an imitation? Uff., the list is about endless.
• Telugu Brahmin - Do I have any option? Make your own judgement. They are as complex as the Tamil Brah community & you get 2 options - morning (in comparison to early morning!) or late night! Apart from it - all ceremonies are dedicated to mostly the elders and the bride & groom are more likely a sideshow that anything else.
• Aryan Samaj Wedding - Mridumesh's wedding was of this type & the wedding ceremony will be remembered for 2 things. The simple nature of the ceremony & the way the Panditji engaged all of us with wit & humor to teach the various ceremonies and their importance. It was short, cute & educative.
• Marwadi Wedding - Aditya's wedding was anything but simple. From the pre-wedding
  rituals to the wedding itself, it was all about making the right statements. The wedding itself is clearly divided distinctly into 3 or 4 parts intersperced with a lot of gap to recuperate. The highlight i would say, is the Baraat - a 1.5 hour statement of intent of enjoyment with everyone either showing off their dancing skills or making a naked attempt to look good when dancing (like me!, who can't dance for his live's worth)

Weddings are beautiful in terms that it brings 2 people & their families in their best manners to learn about each other & that is why, each one is special! The more i think about it, the more clearer it is to me - wedding celebrations typify the culture and the amount of enjoyment that people seek from these events.

Aditya's Wedding

The Wedding day was unusually slow till mid afternoon/early evening. Sarin did not show
up but Shalabh did, with 2 of his batchmates from IIM-B & boy, did we have a good time
together. Now, my belief in the theory, that all MBAs hit together and exchange war
stories, is complete.

Even today was as sultry as yesterday. If Aditya's wedding extended over 15 days & in this weather - i would have lost atleast a few good inches off my waist. I strongly believe that the sweat glands are going to demand a extended vacation from all the efforts of the last 2 days.

The Bridegroom's dress deserves a special mention. It was designed by his sister - Megha, who recently completed her NIFT bachelor's degree. Mark my word, if the bridegroom's dress is any indication, she has the potential to go quite a distance in her profession. The embroidery was complex & stood out of the grey sharwani material. With the embedded stones responding to light in the most positive fashion, the Sherwani made a great statement.

The baraat started at about 1930 about a good kilometer away from the wedding location & there was much hesitation from the party to move fast. They wanted to make the most of the baraat, as this was the first wedding in 15 years in the family (a snippet from the horse-ridden bridegroom).

As we progressed, i could not help notice the amount of road space that we took & there were very few vehichle owners who were upset with this fact. Maybe, they were enjoying the baraat, or being polite to the ritual - there was very little honking from the traffic.

As the party winded into the hotel, i noticed that there was 2 'Aditya' weddings in the hotel. A good amount of navigation was requried to get the party into the right slot. Soon, there was the second baraat - but believe me, their's was no comparsion to ours. There was less music, lesser dance, no stunning fireworks and they moved too quickly.

After the groom happily relinquished his horse & made way to the mandap, quite a few of them - hit the refreshment stalls & returned in time when the bride arrived at the mandap. A few minutes later & half a dozen attempts to garland Aditya (held high by his cousin as well pushing himself to the limit for some time!), the groom was conquered. A frank remark here Adi, the bride is as tall as you are - i guess she could have garlanded you without much effort, but she was being nice to you.
When Shalabh & i compared our snaps - we found that his coverage was wider but his snaps took a little toll from the videographer's light source. Now, rejuvinated from their attack on the refreshment stalls, the elders came up to congratulate the new couples & take snaps with them - recording their presence in the wedding, while the younger lot hit the dance floors.

An hour later, all of us (save the bride, groom & a few others) hit the dinner room downstairs.At about 0100, Sunday morning - Adi, Reshmi & their close ones retired to the dinner room, a small stop before the completion of the wedding vows. While i wanted to join them for the cermony - the train back to Chennai would not wait. This was quite an eventful wedding & my enjoyment in this lasted the whole time.

A special note here of Aditya's parents - Uncleji when he came to greet me on Friday Morning told me that i was now a family member and being a good friend of Aditya, gave me this special status. Till the end, i - Kalyan, was called 'Aditya Bhiayya ke dost' and the treatment was on par with what was accorded to Aditya. I guess, i am hunbled by this gesture and can but thank them for this honor. It was a pleasure knowing all those cousins and his relatives.

Evening Show

I have never been to a Marwadi/ North Indian wedding and it was quite nervous in the beginning - moreso to avoid mistakes than to enjoy the show. But as things settled, the show (Engagement & the Dance Night!) was quite enjoyable. A few action worth note -

1. The biggest 'enthu' with most numbers is the immediate relatives of the groom. Hey, they control the program and it shows! There was however this girl from the bride's side who was just magnificient when she danced for about 5 of the latest tunes.

2. The sweetest thing on display is the elder grandmom, filled with pride as well as leaded legs, grimace any pain & walk upto the stage to 'nakar uthar' the good performance. It shows that age & seniority does not come in the way of enjoyment.

3. The second best thing of the evening was the 'Welcome Dance' by Auntyji to her Bahu. It was such a delight to see the mother-in-law take the stage & efforts to show the Bahu, the love & affection that she has on display.

4. The best thing of the evening is usually reserved for the father of the bride. His dance is always much watched & enjoyed by all sides. Remember, the song "Doli Sajake Rakna" in DDLJ & everyone has a smile when Amrish Puri breaks into a dance-song jig towards the end. Something of the same scale happened yesterday when the bride's father took to the stage to do a complete number as a show of his happiness towards daughter & Son-in-law.

5. A few notes here; When a dance is performed by the bride & groom - it turns into a Must Watch & 'Nakun Uthar' for almost all elders; When the tiny tots - 3 feet in length; take to entertaining Bhaiyya & Bhabhi - it alwats is cute; the final section of 'free for all' is for non-shakers like me. Just get lost in the crowd & fling your hands & legs & you can pretend to be a good dance.

6. I recently had a email on why the Balajis, Venkatarams & the Ponnuswamys of the
world are unglamorous compared to the Kumars, Saxenas & the Agarwals. There is a geniune reason - there is no occasion in the family to shake the legs down south compared to the North & that steals the thunder when trying to make an impression. That seem to be my last word on the Balaji/Saxena mail that quite a few of my North Indian friends seem to have the pleasure in forward-ing to me these days.

Aditya's Engagement (Party)

Reethi (Traditions) & Reewaj (Rituals) are the buzzwords that keeps blowing out to me in the last 2 days. I am here at Aditya's wedding & today's culminated the end of activities of Day 1 - Engagement & 'Sangeeth'.

When i arrived here, in Gwalior - i was escaping the heat of Chennai & landed right in between 2 spells of monsoon in here. The good news is that it is not raining, the other (not so good!) news (more felt than the previous one!) is that it is so sultry that 4287 nanosecond away from a fan/cooler/AC and the sweat glands are on overdrive. So sultry that, a bath is followed by another - with perspiration.

The hotel of stay as well as Aditya's house has a great view of the Gwalior fort & it is pretty majestic. With a few gurudwaras and temples, the fort looked to have a self sustaining look. While i don't have time & more importantly energy to visit it - from this far, the sight of the fort seems to provide a soothing feeling to me. I wonder how it felt 200-300 years back. Invincible, is the closest that i can describe.


While doing rounds & checking on relatives with Aditya, i was a little puzzled to hear topics of discussion with Aditya on empty slots, dance practices, chances of sneaking into a dance etc. I was quite foxed by it - when 50% of time spent on discussion was on this topic. Innumerable explanations from Aditya & they were of no satisfaction. Come evening & when i saw the passion with which people tried overcoming any dance shortcomings to entertain all - it finally went to this small brain. Weddings at our end revolve around rituals & prayers with participation from one & all (only married folks, unmarried people are totally un-welcome). The Sangeeth show yesterday showed me that this is their way of introducing the bride & groom to the family members - it is very entertaining, full of energy & everyone is welcome (to dance).

Made me realise a few other things: I understood why rich folks up north spent a fortune trying to bring anyone from superstars to starlets into the wedding and make them perform on Sangeeth. The rationale still belies me.

'Sport' Weekend

What a weekend of Sports, it turned out to be? If i was into betting, i would have lost everything including the $138 billion of the GoI forex reserves. It didn't seem too bad to start with, I went up to the British Council Library and forked some good greenbacks for a membership and spent the next 1 hour, a little disappointed with the book collection. As I checked the library, i noticed that most of the good books were out for a long stroll.

Saturday evening & i tuned in to watch the Ban Vs Aus match. I joined late & watched the Bangla reply begin & was quite surprised to see Aussies score only 249. I was stunned & thought it was a good batting pitch & when i tuned in, a batsman lost temper and Bangla were reduced to 49/2. I thought, there go the minnows and when i returned after a 'healthy' after dinner snack (subject of another blog), there was a match on hand (70+ required of 60+). I enjoyed the chase & it was incredible to see the Aussies lose. The same was the way, they lost 3 quickies in the England Australia match. One minute, it was a good song & Aussie were 57/0 and when the song ended (Shaun's Tanha Dil), it was 58/3 and it was soon followed by a blinder from Collingwood. That sealed the fate of the Aussies and did not tune in for the rest of the match

I was focused on the US F1 GrandPrix and it numbed me that there were only 6 cars that came on the track. Shame on the F1 management! My notes on the US Grand Prix Fiasco-

• Culprit 1: Michelin Tyres - Your business, as contracted is to build tyres, not reengg circuits. I mean, how can you not bring in reliable tyres for the GrandPrix & you certainly have no right to speak on what others contributed to the confusion
• Culprit 2: F1 Owners - How can you suggest that a chichane be added in the 11th hour. Anyways, what is the logic on veto voting. I guess, a 7/10 is sufficient to implement any decision taken
• Culprit 3: Bernie & Max - Please come down from the ivory towers & mingle with the fee paying crowd. If you knew about the tyres earlier in the weekend, it was your responsibility to fix the issue and not blame everyone but you.
• Culprit 4: Jordan - Proved that a few points in the bag are more important than agreement with others. Suits fine with me. But consider this, if you did not take to the race, Minardi would not have & that would have left Ferrari all alone on the track. Wouldn't that force Ferrari's hands?
• Culprit 5: Ferrari - While i do understand Ferrari's stance. It is like everyone in class asking the one student who is prepared, to agree to alter the format of the exam because they were not well prepared. However, Ferrari have won no friends and lost any, with their attitude. Please remember, there is something called following the spirit of the rule

If i was there, i would have given the choice of changing the tyres during the race (suspend the rule of the year) as well as impose a 4 places/ change drop in the qualifying of next race. That would mean that Bridgestone tyres can go around without change in tyres while Michelin fellows would change tyres (lose time in the current race as well as lose place in next race)

Another thing, while the crowd were justified in feeling bad, it still gives them no excuse to throw objects on the field. What if the tyre burst on impact and caused harm to the driver. Remember the Concorde accident was caused by debris on the runway puncturing a tyre. A punctured tyre has a potential to lead to catastrophic results on a race circuit.

A few thoughts on the race & such:

• What was MS doing, putting RB on the grass. It was downright bad & could have led to a retirement if RB did not yield. Some good luck used MS & you don't pull tricks like these on teammates
• As per my last blog, F1 Gods are out to see a 8th title from Schumi. Why else the Michelin fiasco happened?
• Ferrari are the only winners of the US grand prix and it would be such a disaster for other teams, if Ferrari go on to win the constructor's championship. If Ferrari can do in such a bad year, nightmare of 2004 domination will resurface again in forthcoming seasons.
• Any titles to MS, Ferrari in this season & the focus would be on the points gained in US GP. That will not add to the glamour of the game
• The big losers are Alonso & Kimi. MS has caught up with you folks & he looms larger than where he was 2 races ago
• This championship is turning out to be the best since i started following the game in 1997.

With F1 turning to farce, Cricket pummeled by Aussie bad performance, i was looking to football for some action & lo, behold - Mexico defeated Brazil

What a sporting weekend!

Buttoned Up

Michael Schumacher had the Canadian F1 'Buttoned Up' for him - literally and figuraratively. The F1 gods (not all the gods; A nice article on why Gods don't influence Games - It is a long article and you need to go deep to find the above mentioned topic) wanted to reward Michael - for what? My guess, for being a nice kid who did not crib when his luck was down.

From the beginning of the race; Fischicella & Alonso jumped MS & Button and Montayo & Kimi saw this opportunity and slung past these cars. For 30 laps, status quo and the F1 gods grimaced and thought that some action needs to taken. Nope, the thunder and lightning bolt would have been used if MS was 20th and last. For this occasion, this was what happened:

• There was the retirement of Fischicella with a failed what, I don't know and at the momemt, apart from my apologies - it could be the engine fell down!
• Alonso is Alonso, not Karthikeyan. How could you hit the wall of all things? That's reserved for a rookie, not the future F1 champ
• Button. Same dialogue for you, but you could be excused for coming under the pressure of MS as well as helping MS come 2nd & Barrichelo 3rd. They should send a crate of champagne to your camp!
• Why are you such a hothead, Montayo. It is a Level 1 F1 trivia that you cannot overtake under a safety car. Yeah, Yeah - I know that you were black flag-ed for using the pit lane on the red light, but you would anyway had been a non-factor for MS as there was a drive thru if not for the black flag

And lo & behold - MS was moved from 6th to 2nd in no time! A place, he was forced to keep by Kimi.While I know that MS did not win (the race ended about 3 mins ago!), but when he was 6th and was about 35 secs, any MS fan would have settled for 2nd to him & 3rd to Reuben. I would not have rejoiced a MS victory had he overtaken Kimi; He was so off the pace, he really did not deserve such a high bump!I am more interested in what he says in the post race conference - for the F1 gods will also listen in interest as they need to judge if he deserves more than what they did to him

While i devoted all time to MS, what about Reuben - He brimmed the tank at the beginning of the race and was lucky that the Button incident happened when he was on a pit stop! That can either be called fate, providence or for the harshest critic - some plain vanilla good-ol' luck!
As an after thought, the race win of Kimi was also decided up there by the F1 gods, for he was not sulking after the last race.

I do know that there are no such things like F1 gods (or are there any?), but for a change, it seemed that the world was rooting for the bad luck guys of the season - MS, Reuben, Kimi. It is the chance of Fischella, Montaya in the next few races.

PS: Wanted to note - the near disaster of the last race. Nope, i am not refering to the tyre & front end loss of Kimi, but the inches miss that Button had from the out of control Kimi hitting him. I wonder, what Button was doing at that particular momemt. If he was watching his mirrors - that would have been a heart stopping sight! The race leader, losing a car and aiming to hit you around the mid-rib. Button, some good luck used!

Bees & Counts

I am sure that there are quite a few people that have heard of the US National Spelling Bee & there are quite a few Indians in that competition. It even has seen its share of American Indian winners in the last few years.
The one that i heard for the first time today was the Mathcount 2005 competition that was conducted in Detroit, WA. I was looking for the F1 Canadian Grand Prix to start when i saw the telecast in ESPN. I logged in late, saw only from the quaterfinals. There was not one American Indian but there was 3 Asian semifinalist and the finals was an all-Asian lineage. This is one competition that the American Indians need to now focus on & provide a higher level of competition.
Also, the format was a written test followed by only 4 one on one competitions to win the championship. I like the format of the Spelling Bee with a time limit that keeps decreasing after every 5 rounds. That would look good on television - a trait that is very important in the United States.
PS: This is one of the questions: A ball bounces 75% of the original height at every bounce. When dropped from 160 ft, what is the height at the end of 3rd bounce. I got this one in 1.2secs about a 0.5 secs after the contestant hit the bell. He was a seventh grader, & boy - was he good!
PPS: Just as i completed the blog, there was a winner - Neal Wu.

Of Mani, Anjali & Amruta!

First things first, I am gonna stop the backdating of blogs as the laziness in me is better & thus it is not that there is a rule to have a blog a day. The last blog day was not a week back, however with the backdating it longs longer than that.

Enough of the rumbling & on to something back to a thought that struck me when i was watching the movie Amruta (a dubbing of the Tamizh movie: Kannathil Muthamithal - She Kissed me on the Cheek). Directed by my favorite director, Mani Ratnam - it's been a long time and a long way from his previous movie with a kid being the center of attention. Anjali (1990) was a phenomenal movie about a disabled kid and how the siblings & the society around has reservations initially, before accepting her and giving her a few warm last days. KM (2003) is about Amrutha adopted by her parents from a Srilankan Tamil militant & the three of them search for the real parents taking them to the battlezone Srilankan Land.

While there is no doubt, of the current generation - Nandita Das (Natural Mother) is the most awesome actress on the subcontinent, Simran (Adopted Mother) matched the intensity of Nandita. Simran hailing from Punjab made hereself a name as a leading glamour actress in the southern land and to see that she could match Nandita speaks a volume about her abiliities and the shortcomings of the regional directors who are pleased as long as simran makes a few dances, a few tears and be a faithful sidekick to the super hero. Surprising that the directions of these 2 ladies are at the opposite end of the career spectrum right now, with Nandita on the high after being on the Cannes 2005 jury and Simran out to have a baby. I can't wait to see Simran come back to do some meanigful roles but not the 'run of the mill' & 'running around trees' roles.

Remember the blog on Helen and how she for a few moments bought the old charm of her 60's dance. When i was watching Amrutha, it occured, in my eyes Mani isn't the same as old. Gone was the equality that he showed to all the kids in 'Anjali' and replacing it was the spotlight on just the kid starin 'KM'. While in all the songs and the sequence in Anjali, the star kids were one of the neighbourhood and the focus was on the overall activities of the group, Amrutha was the ceaseless effort to provide focus to just one kid and all others were to only add more attention to the central character. Something that doesn't happen in real life.

Inspite of this drawback, KM was one of the good movies of the year & Mani Ratnam's position as the premier director of the Tamizh filmdom remains as strong as before.

PS: While i was unable to recall the song in Mohabattein a couple of weeks back, i saw the movie on Sony and promptly recalled the song - the climax of which has us travel in time to see Helen dance. It goes like Aankhen Khuli Ho Ya HoBand (The eyes may be open or shut ...)