Nearing THAT hill!

***** SPOILER ALERT: - YOU PROBABLY WON'T LIKE THIS, IF YOU ARE JUST ABOUT TO TURN 30. COME BACK AFTER A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO READ IT *****

Wow. Just how can closing in on 30 can change you! I am not 30 today, but getting there a day at a time.

As we  near 30, we start to think and do a lot of things. I can think of a few that I do think and/or do myself.

1. We REALLY start thinking about our career and money.

And if you have seen one of those sans-Gandhi Rs. 100 note - you really do belong to a generation that has or will be turning 30 soon.

We start thinking about investments - proper investments - a house, maybe even a second. We start thinking about a promotion or even a start-up sometime. We start saving up for all of that and some even for a rainy day.

Just as a good career advice - network a lot. In India, it would be much easier to do it and you may very well get to meet high power corporate people (not extremely high power like Ratan Tata) much more easily than you would in any other part of the world.

2. We start eating a lot more at home.

A few years earlier you and I were probably thinking where can we go for my next lunch/dinner with my wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend as the case may be, but once we approach 30 - that's really when we start thinking that I should eat more at home.

This is not because you and I have become lazy that we don't want to drive down to that dhaba at Mount Road, but more so since we think that we spend a lot of our savings on eating out. (Refer Point 1).

3. You Plus (at least) One.

As any Indian guy turns 25 and 22 if you're a girl - people start asking you - "When are you getting married?" and if you are married, people start asking you about kids! OMG.

Yes, and as you turn 30 and if you are still single - some thoughts about getting married or having a kid starts creeping into your mind.

4. You really start caring about social issues.

My city's youth impressed everyone all over the world with their efforts during the floods in Chennai in December. I can't but quote what an Indian Army Officer said about the rescue efforts in Chennai - "In all other places we see more victims than volunteers, only in Chennai did we see so many more volunteers than victims."

I guess that pretty much sums up our mentality.

Once you start nearing 30 - your Facebook and twitter feed is no longer about Big Boss or about Virat Kohli's breakup. It's more about the why things happened at so and so. It's about assessing what has been done for India. You start thinking more logically about who you want to vote for (Ahem -  readers from T.N. and Kerala).

5. We lose some friends and gain some.

As we grow older, we do lose some of your friends. It's a sad thing - but that's how life is. That's what turning 30 means. A lot of us must have now lost contact with some of the guys/girls we used to hang out with everyday when we were 27.

And suddenly, your boss and your senior at work seem to become your best friends and advisers for your life and career.


6. We become much more happier with what we have

As you approach 30 - some of the things mentioned above may have happened to you and you start to realize that you feel much more happier with what you have.

You decide that you don't need the new iPhone and you can save more money by using that old Samsung phone and a basic post-paid connection. I decide that I don't want some fancy number plate for my new car and I can just go with what I get.

7. We look back at your life so far and laugh at some and cry at some.

Life always has its ups and downs and when you turn 30 - you definitely look at your journey so far. The road ahead will no doubt be long and tortuous, but by 30 a lot of us would have seen a lot of things and that would give us the strength and confidence to face a lot more in life.

Bonus point - if you have that special someone with you, who will stand by you - no matter what.

8. You start valuing relationships.

Valuing relationships as a jeweller would. You value people who have been good to you, who have helped you/helped your family. You value people who have been bad to you and your family.

You will choose who you want to keep close to you and who you want to cut out.

9. You WILL travel.

Even if not internationally, at least to some place where you find your solace. This will definitely happen to most people a lot before 30.

This will give some experience or another. A story to tell your crush/girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband/kids/random stranger in the seat next to you.

10. You will understand courtesy.

A lot of us Indians do not know basic courtesy and I am ashamed to accept that. I know I will draw a lot of flak for saying this.

We definitely do not know to hold the door for the person behind us. We do not know how to stand in a line (cutting across and creating multiple queues for a counter). Despite so many of us being well educated, we don't even think twice about littering the streets.

We definitely do not care about being polite with people - saying please or sorry. Say please to the salesperson at the store if you need something - it will make their day. Thank your subordinate for the good job he/she did today at work - it will motivate them to do more for you. Ask "How is your day so far?" to that person on the other end of the phone at a call center resolving your issue - they hardly ever get asked that question and it will be very helpful (Trust me).

This is probably the one thing that anyone - 30 or even 3 will need to learn.

Singara Chennai

One week of extremely bad flooding and rains have shown India and the rest of the world what exactly the words - humanity, resilience and self-help mean.

Humanity - India has of late been tagged to be "intolerant" by a lot of people. For them this word might mean isolated incidences of hate crime committed against another religion. For people in TN (not just Chennai) - we do know what humanity is, tolerance is.

We tolerate extreme stupidity such as this one: 

And we are extremely humane:

Resilience and Self-help: Nothing can ever prove our resilience than this one week.  In one week, we have proved that the power of the simple common man CANNOT be under-estimated. In one week, TN has provided more volunteers than you can ever imagine. Ignored by "National Media." Ignored and even abused by the people who think of us only every 5 years - the people of TN have stood up. They have given the FINGER to all of these people and taken care of themselves. 

The hundreds of volunteers, who have stepped out of their houses caring less for their own self and families, the hundreds of fishermen from North Chennai, who plied their boats and trade to help so many souls stuck in Central and South Chennai. 

I am one of those people who had requested help from some of the volunteers to check and rescue some people and I cannot say how happy I am to see so many of them rescued!

Hats off to you guys! 

And a special word of appreciation for some of our stars in the Film and Media industries - specially RJ Balaji, Siddharth, Ashoka Varshini, Chinmayi and Dr. Sumanth Raman! We are deeply amazed and have a lot of gratitude to you. 

And not to be taken for granted - the help and service from our INDIAN ARMY AND NAVY and the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), who have helped rescue thousands of people across Chennai and TN. Thank you and we have no words to even begin appreciating your service. 

Please do not treat this blog post as something that was done to damage someone's image or to boost someone else's image. This post is solely an emotional outburst at my city's condition and how my city has risen to take this challenge head on and come out on top.

WE ARE FUCKING TN AND WE ARE THE BEST FUCKING STATE IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!!!

வந்தாரை வாழ வைக்கும் தமிழகம். வாழ்ந்தும் காட்டுவோம்.

- We will let live and we will live on.  

5 Reasons why CHENNAI is way better than any other place on the planet.

I am a very proud INDIAN. Yes, even though I am currently living in the US, I am still Indian and more often than not I calculate weights in kilograms and not in pounds, I calculate speed in kmph and not mph, distances in km and not miles. I am miles away from home and yet, I still do that.

I am also a very proud Chennaite. Yes, that city on the east coast of India, which is home to over 6 Million people. I have seen things happen in Chennai, I have heard of a lot of things as well, but for me to convince anyone about why Chennai is way better than any other place on the planet - I only need 5 reasons.

1. You will always be welcome in Chennai. Whoever you may be - Chennai welcomes everyone with open arms. People from the North east fear Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore for some of the hostile reactions that they get there. Look around you in Ranganathan Street and you will find at least 60% of India's languages spoken.

2. Conservative, yet modern. Chennai is a more tradition oriented city, where people exist across various spectrums. Chennai is home to a lot of madisar mamis and also to a lot of mini-skirt girls. Well, I guess that sums it all up in a nutshell.

3. Marina Beach. The world's second longest beach. Nope, you cannot wear those skimpy bikinis on this beach either, but I can assure you, Marina and Elliots beaches are a lot more cleaner and safer than the beaches in Mumbai and Goa. And yes, you cannot drink on the beach - horseback cops will arrest you - That's why you find the beaches safer.

4. Safety for Women. Well, what can we say - Chennai is one of the safer cities for women in India. There are crimes against women, yes, but you will never come across ineptitude when it comes to preventing crimes against women. People are friendly and will help almost anyone in distress. That does not mean Chennaites are naiive, it means Chennaites care about those around us.

Read this, if you don't believe me: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2015/03/16/what-delhi-can-learn-from-chennai-on-womens-safety/

5.Intelligent people. Helping nature is one thing, intelligence is another. Chennaites are very knowledgeable about a wide variety of things. Thanks to some amount of street smartness that our ancestors gave us. Every international cricketer who visits Chennai says that Chennai's cricket loving public are extremely knowledgeable and highly sportsmanly about the game. Apart from that, we are also the kind of people who wouldn't encourage cheating in sports or in exams (Hint: BIHAR).

Oh well, I guess, if those reasons don't convince you, I'm not sure anything else will.

- A proud Chennaiite. :D

Why this Kolaveri?

Within the past few weeks, some of the safest jobs in the world have turned into ones that people might fear to take up. A bank was robbed in broad daylight, a bus driver goes crazy and kills people by running the bus over them, a teacher was murdered by her own student.

Is 2012 really going to happen? Chaos all around already. But really, that kid murdering his own teacher? What were you thinking? Killing your teacher is revenge?

Well, to be honest, inherently we (read - Indians) have always been blaming someone else for even the tiniest of our faults. Would that kid have gone to the extent of killing his teacher had his parents raised him properly? The thing with us as Indians is that we always beat the floor up if our kids stumble and fall. That's to make the child feel that "my parents are protective of me."

What could have happened with that kid so badly that he went to the extent of killing his teacher? Most of us have faced failure in academics (to varying degrees of course) at some stage or the other. But really, killing your teacher? and the reason is you were influenced by a movie? Where did you leave your brain, boy?

When most (generations of the 70's-80's) of us were growing up, we didn't have so much of violent movies, and even those which had scenes of a knife dripping blood were given an "A" rating, so that only mature audiences could watch the movie. In fact, movies which didn't have too much of violence or sexual content used to get an "A" certificate. The movies that come out today... well.. and kids these days too "mature" quickly.

Parents of today don't really have the time to sit with kids and talk to them, neither do kids for that matter. Nuclear families, no influence from the grandparents, working parents who return late from work, kids who run from school to tuition classes to extra curricular classes, etc -  all that hardly leaves any time for interaction between the parents and their kids. Fast paced, hectic life has taken out what matters the most to growing kids.

Adolescent kids, specially boys tend to do all sorts of nonsense growing up. It's at that time when a parent's or a grandparent's guidance is most important. And when that's not there for the kids, you never know what may happen. In joint families (seems like way back into stone age huh?) there was always an elder person in the house who used to take care of the kids. My parents never had to worry that their 10 year old son was all alone at home. My grandparents, my aunt, my uncle and even my great-grandmother were all there to take care of me. Stories, tales of people with good virtue used to be told to the kids to make sure they had the right kind of influence growing up.

When us kids from the 70s and 80s grew up in India, we didn't have too much of technology or western influence on us, which made us go bonkers at every opportunity. And also money. Money makes the world go round. Apparently, this particular kid came from a very affluent family and was given enough pocket money. And that money went to buying a weapon for himself to take his teacher's life. Indirectly, the parents themselves had sponsored a woman's death.

Well, life will go on.. life will find a way.. May that soul rest in peace...

The end of the month....

Yeah... the month is ending... not news to most of us I know...

As a month draws to a close, how many times have us (read - male Indian bikers living in India) faced the situation of being caught by a traffic cop, just for the sake of filling up his "quota" or to fill up hi pockets for expenses the coming month?

That is the most common and CHEAPEST and UGLIEST form of DEMANDING BRIBES that you can every see on the roads. I have hated and still hated traffic cops just for their cheap behaviour. I have immense respect for the guys in Khakhi, but to be honest, and many Indians will agree with me on this - No respect at all for those cheap buggers.

I live in probably the busiest part of my city in India and I have never ever seen a traffic cop on the road till say the 25th date of each month and suddenly they are omnipresent as they date ticks past 25.

Every single person earns his money through hardwork and here are some assholes which sit at some roadside tea shop drinking tea and eating samosas for free, pocketing a few thousand rupees for not working and earning as much as 5000 Rs. in a couple of days. Taxpayers money goes down the bloody drain like this.


And if you ask why this happens, the answer would be "People give, so we take." People wouldn't want to part with a paisa of their hard earned money unless and until they are forced to do so and in this case -  unscrupulous traffic cops. People would rather part with 100 Rs. easily than go to court and argue their case after losing nearly 5 times the money due to loss of pay leave, transport and hours of waiting at the court for the judge.

Sheer disregard for the people in the largest democracy in the world and we have a republic day too. Shame.

How many times do you notice a traffic cop who is on duty every single day, in proper uniform, performing his duties properly and not expecting the month end bonus?

And the reasons that the give to extract money from you -  atrocious. Speeding when you don't even have a chance to go over 25 kmph. You might be just at the stop line when they decide to pull you aside and take a chance.

As a traffic cop, you are expected to clear the way for an ambulance. How many cops do that? Who knows what happens in the lesser cities and villages....

If you ask a cop to justify his actions - it is a long sad story too. Almost every cop who has donned the khakhi or the white shirt would say this. I had to "pay an amount" to get this job. And I am still paying the interest on that amount. This might even be true.

The root cause of all this leads back to corruption. Bribery.

Well.. who knows for how much longer. Earth's countdown might have well begun???

Something to think about... 2 sides to that coin...

Alaipayuthey....

One LOVE story that I truly Love. Of course, I hate stupid love stories like "I hate luv storys". But, Alaipayuthey.. NEVER. Right from the moment I stepped out of the theater, I was thinking "what a love story.. so, is this what love is?" And I was just in 9th standard at that time.

11 years have rolled by since that Mani Ratnam masterpiece, so many movies have come and gone, so many love stories, told, forgotten and buried, but Alaipayuthey - has only managed to make me fall in love with it, all over again, every single time that I see the movie.



And it is only when I look back I suddenly realized -  11 years have gone by!!! Wow.. and it just seemed like yesterday night that I walked out of Devi theater after watching this.

I don't think I need to tell this movie's story now, as everyone would have watched it quite a few times - thanks to Sun Tv, Vijay Tv, etc. However, I must say, it is such a timeless classic, which has only been so enjoyable, that I have never been able to quit watching this movie.

Well, coming to the question - "What is love?" That's a very tough question to answer. Different people have different meanings. However, it will all come down to just that special someone, who can turn each of our lives up side down.

I guess I have run out of words to write about this movie and about love. I think I was better off just watching it for the billionth time and I am going back to continue it. I hope, I have performed an Inception on you to go watch the movie now. :)

When money and power talk...

That title is an indication of what politics is all about. Summarized and characterized by just 2 very simple but very important words. When money and power talk, anyone, absolutely anyone will have to shut up. That s the pity of it all.

A very well educated person. Probably he/she might have topped the I.A.S (Indian Administrative Services) exam, but that person can do nothing but just advice the stupid minister on what should be done. Of course, even if the person is very well educated, there are always 2 ways to get work done. 1- Money (read as bribe). 2- Power (read as threats).

It was a few days back that I was reading these couple of articles in a newspaper. Something that really proves that one can do absolutely anything with these 2 weapons- Money and Power.

As people who might be reading this blog from my hometown, Chennai, would undoubtedly know that Tamil movies which have their title as a proper Tamil name would be granted a tax exemption by the state of Tamilnadu. 1st of all. What's this rule going to bring? A renaissance of sorts for the Tamil movie industry? or is it going to increase the vocabulary? or is it going make our newsreaders and actors say words such as "pazham, vazhkai" properly? or is it going to bring down the pricing of movie tickets at multiplexes? or is it going to reduce the price of petrol? All that it's going to do is just give the movies a good for nothing tax exemption, even when the movie made is hardly of even the lowest possible standard. There are certain big shots in the movie industry who get the tax exemption despite the movie not having a proper Tamil title. The reason- money and powerful positions and people. Now that's politics.

One other article is one which shows how poor the law and order situation is in Chennai at the moment, is one on eve-teasing. Rowdy elements have always been a part of Chennai, but wreaking havoc on ladies travelling in trains is the height of it. Spitting, commenting on the ladies and making sure that other passengers who try to oppose these rowdies are given a hard time and a piece of their minds makes passengers want to desert the trains forever. The railway police are very efficient in sanitizing the trains of vendors and beggars, but are not so very inclined to ensure the safety of the passengers by any means. How come these rowdy elements have a field day? Political backing and support. Politicians need these rowdies and criminals to do their dirty work and in return they get immunity from arrests. Wonder if politicians and policemen would allow these rowdy elements to even exist if they dared to touch their daughters/sisters/friends.

There have been so many girls who have died due to this menace of eve teasing. This will not end until and unless there are good cops who dare to stand up against such anti social elements, good politicians who do not need rowdies and anti social elements to help them win elections and make money for themselves. In fact, it all begins with us- the people- by voting for the right person. Lets make our city, our state and our country a better place for all of us.

P.S: With all due respect to the Chief Minister of TamilNadu (I know you will not be reading this article sir, but it would be nice if action is taken against such anti social activities).

The state of TN

Tamil Nadu. One India's four southern states. The state which boasts of a classical language spoken with many different dialects and accents- ranging from the ones spoken by Thiruvalluvar to the ones spoken by auto drivers and news readers and actresses imported from god knows where.

This state also boasts of one of the "greatest" political dynasties of modern India- The Karunanidhis. M.Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister of the state and his big family, who dominate the political scenario in Tamilnadu, at present are known for their "service" to the Tamil people. Yes- you read it right- service to the Tamil people.

Let us take a look at this TN government till now- Achievements over the past few years- Building grade separators (Once they used to build flyovers). Building a new assembly complex. Burning down the Dinakaran office- work done by M.K.Azhagiri (The C.M.'s son). Settling up a feud between the CM and Mr. Dayanidhi Maran (the C.M.'s nephew). Kalaignar TV. Free Tv's to people.

Now, did I forget something? Ah. Yes- Ulaga Thamizh Semmozhi Maanadu. Supposed to be the ultimate tribute to thamizh and thamizh culture turned out to be yet another function where the CM was praised rather than our semmozhi itself.

Ok. Now lets stop blaming our C.M. What did you and I do? Yes, you and me. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Shame.

 When the entire nation decided to protest against the petrol price rise, we decided that we will not have anything to do with it. So what if a bandh is not state sponsored? Don't we have the guts to stand up and say that "we don't want a fucking price rice in any commodity and you can fucking fuck off."? Yes. We DON'T have that guts and we don't give a damn.

At this point of time, I remember a few lines spoken by Padmashree Dr. Kamal Haasan in his movie- Unnaipol Oruvan. "If there is a bomb bast in northern India, we are not bothered, because it's not here. Not in Thamizhnadu. We are a peaceful state, that does not care about any other part of the country." This is also a bomb blast. A rice in prices every other day in India, when our neighbours sell petrol for less than what we pay- atrocity.

Things need to change. I know my writings cannot effect a change, atleast if one person reads this- next time there s something an entire nation does- that Thamizhan would probably do what he is supposed to do.

P.S: I am not pro-opposition nor am I pro-ruling. I am a person with neutral views on politics. I support what is right. I hope you too would support what is right.

If cricket's my religion...

That title says it all. If cricket's my religion, the man in the pic is my god. That s the motto of every Indian, every cricket fanatic all over the world. 

There are so many many sayings about Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. The most famous of them include quotes by other stars such as Matthew Hayden- “I've seen God. He bats at No.4 for India.”

Shane Warne- “I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player.”

Brian Lara “Sachin Tendulkar is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.”

Don Bradman once said to his wife "Come and take a look at this guy. He bats almost the way I did."

There are endless odes and tributes paid to the greatest batsman of all times. There used to be a point of time in Indian Cricket, when Sachin's wicket meant that India could be defeated. 

Imagine that man, performing at the highest level of cricket for such a long time. A journey that began way back in 1987, in Pakistan, facing Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram, on debut. That journey has continued ever since. Sachin's career has spanned 20 years, 17000 ODI runs, over 12000 test runs and over 42 test hundreds and 45 ODI hundreds. Imagine. Those are mind boggling figures. There is no way that he'll retire without 50 hundreds in each format of the game, except for T20 of course.

What hasn't Sachin done for India. He's not been a 'keeper. That's it. He s won matches single handedly for the team. He s done that with the bat and the ball. He's even captained the side, but not with much success though. There haven't been too many cricketers who have endured heartbreaks as much as him. There have been so many situations when he had played so many wonderful knocks and India did not make it over the line. The most memorable and the freshest memory would be that of his stunning 175 against Australia. However, India fell short by 4 runs.

A few knocks that anyone would remember would be his back to back centuries against Australia at Sharjah. His brilliant 98 off 75 balls against Pakistan at Centurion, South Africa. That  blinding 155 vs Australia at Chennai in 1997. And that 136 against Pakistan at Chennai in 1999, though that was in a losing cause. That man has contributed a lot more to cricket than anyone else.

Injuries and lack of form have always been a part and parcel of any cricketer's career. And Sachin too has had his share of injuries- tennis elbow, ankle injuries, back problems, finger injuries. The game has taken its toll even on his body. But despite all that, he shrugs them all off and continues to play, continues to dazzle, continues to amaze.

He has had so many batting partners. One can even remember him batting with even a number eleven batsman, trying to save a test match. But at the mention of his batting partners, his best opening partner was Sourav Ganguly, with whom he had scripted a huge number of stunning partnerships. 

Every man has his own weakness, and apparently captaincy was not Sachin's forte. India did not do well under his captaincy, but his batting was as dazzling as always. India has not seen any cricketer perform time and again like Sachin Tendulkar. 

He has terrorised bowlers all over the world with his batting skills. There is no batsman in the world who has made bowling to him to seem as the most terrifying job on earth. Bowlers fear bowling to an in-form Sachin. A cricketer has to be born again to replace Sachin. 

If cricket's my religion, Sachin's my god.

 
P.S: Down below are some thoughts that my friends have shared about the Master Blaster. 


Sankari says- "I like Cricket only because of Sachin. The day he stops playing will be the day I stop watching cricket. "

Rohit says- " My fav sachinism moments : 1. The India Pakistan match at Chepauk.. I am blessed to have seen it live at the MAC stadium. Consider it to be the highpoint of my dumb -life.


2. The Century against England at Chennai which he dedicated to the ppl of Mumbai post 26/11. goes to show , the man still plays for the ppl of India , and not to get the eyeballs of Adidas and Pepsi , unlike a few blokes in the team.

3. The Sharjah sandstorm. I still remember watching it when I was a kid.. I was in my native town Nellore for the holidays , and the roof literally came down , watching it with a dozen equally passionate relatives.

4. The ball tampering scandal.. there waws so much outburst against the umpire who accused Sachin . "You mess with Sachin , you mess with India .

5. The World cup. India was doing poorly and back home cricketers houses were being stoned and effigies being burnt etc. many players appealed for the public to stop this. but went in vain. Sachin comes, holds a small press conference abt it. It all stops. Many ppl demand respect , he commands it."

Jayaram says- "That six off Andy Caddick's ball out of the stadium during the world cup in 2003."

Bhargava- "That dazzling 98 off 75 balls against Pakistan. Amazing. No one can ever forget that."

Venkatraman- "Sharjah- 143. Need I say more?" 

Ashok- 155 not out vs Australia at Chennai. cant forget it. I am very fortunate to see that innings live at chepauk. and more fortunate to have thrown back the ball back to the field after one of his sixes landed into our stand.

Sathyanarayanan- Sharjah, 104 against Zim at Benoni(must win match to go to Final - Ganguly, Azhar and Rahul Dravid went cheaply. We required 240 of 40 overs to qualify for finals. Sachin scored 104. Jadeja and Robin would complete the match). He was totally out of form coming into the match. He played some extra ordinary shots for a player who was out of form. 
155 vs Aus at Chennai(Test Match)
116 vs Pak at Chennai(Test match)
85 vs WI at Mumbai(Test Match)
116 vs Aus at Melbourne(Test match)
169 vs SA at Cape town(India were 67/5)
114 vs Eng at Edgbaston(India 66/5 with Manjrekar not able to bat)

Srinivas- 1.Sharjah "Desert Storm" twin Classics.
2.The 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup game at Centurion (That back foot cover drive off a bemused Akram is etched on my memory).

Krishnan- Sachins won't happen to the game everyday. He is a prisoner of his own (dare I say, Indian) Mind and had his ups and downs but his abilities were exceptional. In that short 22 yards strip, he carved out 100s of 1000s of runs, won millions of hearts (and of course made tons of money). At the same time, despite all his achievements, I won't exclude him from being questioned. But he's unlike anyone we've seen in world cricket and will leave a big stamp on the game- not just for being able to play cricket but also for being disciplined outside of it.

Siva- 1.  241* - Sydney'04 vs Aus - the one in which he stifled his natural instincts to play shots in the cover region because he was getting out in that region! 

2. 49 - Bangalore'08 vs Aus - considering how acrimonious the last series between the two teams had been & how we ended up getting "Bucknor-ed" first & then "Clarke-d" to lose that all important Sydney test match, we had to ensure that we didn't lose this first test, considering how the Aussies would never lose their grip once they wrest the momentum.i think we had to make about 290+ to win on the 5th day.the pitch was absolutely two-paced and going for a win was out of the equation.the great man showed such a remarkable sense of purpose in each and every defensive shot he played for close to two sessions he was at crease and ensured that drew that test.we went on to win that series! 

Venkatraman- His 5/32 at Kochi against Aus and his 3 wickets in the Kolkata test match known for Laxman's heroics are tributes to his crafty bowling and his thinking. People often don't praise him about his bowling. He is very crafty as a leggie and the ball with which he got warne in Kolkata was a stunner! The googly spun in so sharply that it hit Warne's pad before he could get his bat down! Warne must have surely commented in his mind, Oh you beauty!

Friend, Dost, Nanban..

There are so many proverbs about friendship. "A friend in need is a friend in deed", "Tell me who your friends are, I will tell who you are." All that. Really. There are so many great examples of great friendships.

Some of the ones that people who watch movies (any language) regularly will know are- in Thalapathy- Superstar Rajinikanth and Malayalam Idol Mamooty. In Rang De Basanti- the group of friends who avenge the inglorification of Madhavan (Air Force officer Ajay Rathod who gets killed in flight crash). In Chennai 600028. There are so many examples.

All of us do have our own close friends, best friends, etc. Some of us may not talk regularly with some of our closest friends, but we do have that understanding. An understanding that, ok he's busy, but when he does call- i'm gonna ask what took you so long. Some of us may have friends who have been with us for a very long time, but still they may not be as close as people who have been with us just for a few months.

My best friends are 2 guys. 2 guys' whose opinions matter a lot to me. One of these 2 guys has been my classmate since my 4th standard till 12th standard. The other guy I knew him from my 8th standard, but we studied together only for 11th and 12th. And all 3 of us were together in the same class, same school in 11th and 12th. Inseparable really. All 3 of us would roam together, and at times, even study together. lol. It was pretty hard to digest at first that all three of us would be going to different colleges, but still, since we were really close with each other, we did not lose contacts.

Now, all three of us are in different parts of the world. Sad. I don't even know if either of them would read this post. Even sadder. But one thing I know is that I'll be in their memory forever. Happiest thing in life- someone remembers you.

There are some lines about friendship which I like a lot. Particularly this one from Chennai 600028, "Unnum sorru nooragum, ondruku ondru veragum, uppu illamal enna aagum, uppai poley natpai ezhthuvom." Then there is ultimate scene in Thalapathi, where Mamooty asks Thalaivar Rajini's as to why he didn't join up with his family, even after knowing that he has a family. To which Thalaivar replies "Enna nee en nanban." That- according to me is the best scene ever in Tamil cine history, which defines the true meaning of friendship.

Even Hindu mythology has its example of friendship. Mahabharata, in which Karna knows Duryodhana is a bad guy, but still sticks around with him for the only reason that Duryodhana is Karna's friend. The movie Thalapathi is loosely based on this great Hindu epic.

I have a lot of friends, who are now successful in different spheres and in different parts of the world. But to be honest and frank with everyone of my friends who might think they are not remembered- I'd just like to tell, I remember each and everyone of you guys. It's just that 2 guys who made a lot of difference to my life pipped the others to take the post. Sorry to all my other friends whom I couldn't mention here, but a huge thank you to each and everyone of you, because all of you have made some difference to my life and have given it some meaning.

Real life inspirations

When someone asks me whom do you look to for an inspiration- that man's name comes out of my mouth so spontaneously. The greatest test captain India has ever had- Saurav Chandidas Ganguly. Imagine the guts that man had. He went to the brink of his career ending in a manner that would hardly befit his glorious career. He made a comeback from that point, went on to prove his critics wrong. Played a belligerent innings against South Africa on his comeback, when the entire Indian team including Rahul Dravid was reeling under the bowling attack from South Africa. This man stood up and said- I will not go down so easily and he proved his critics wrong- time and again during the last few months that he played for India. That man is an inspiration for anyone, anyone who knows cricket would know him for all his efforts. Especially that of irritating Steve Waugh on his quest to conquer the "final frontier" and his efforts of building the present Indian Cricket team, his efforts as a player in the team were innumerable, his partnerships with the god of Indian cricket- Sachin Tendulkar, all that.Of course- his fighting 144 against Australia in Brisbane will remind everyone what sort of a cricketer he was. Winning was all that mattered for the former captain, losing was not an option. India played to win under his captaincy. The team never looked for anything less than a win in any situation. Saurav Ganguly did not go down without a fight. He fought till the very last ball he faced and the very last ball he bowled and fielded. His acts of sterling leadership and all his majestic innings will never be forgotten by anyone who has watched cricket and loved the sport.

Another man who inspired me in just one single act of heroism was Anil Kumble, another former captain but a legend in his own right. The moment of inspiration was when he came out to bowl against the West Indies, after his jaw was broken. He had his head bandaged and proceeded to bowl and even managed to pick a few wickets. How can anyone who mention Anil Kumble's name, fail to mention his greatest achievement ever- 10 wickets in an innings against arch rivals Pakistan. That's what every INDIAN fan will be proud of when they say Kumble's name.

Sachin Tendulkar has always been an inspiration. But one moment that will remain etched in every Indian's memory was when he had back spasms while playing against Pakistan in Chennai and he went on to take India close to victory, but could not achieve that. That particular innings will stand out, more so, because, even though India lost that match- the Chennai crowd payed due respects to the winning team by giving them a standing ovation. However, that stellar- 98 off 75 balls against Pakistan at Centurion, where Sachin and Sehwag tore Pakistan apart to give India a fantastic win over their arch rivals will take the crown.

When it comes to the Indian cricket team as a whole- the Natwest Trophy final of 2002 against England is the one that will remain on top. Purely due to the reason that it was a complete team effort, with youngsters, putting their hand up to be counted. However, the sweetest memory of a team being inspired is South Africa- inspired by Gibbs and Smith beat Australia, who had earlier posted the world's highest total in a one day match by scoring 434 in 50 overs. Australia celebrated too soon and ended up having to lose to South Africa who ravaged the Australian bowling attack.

One other team that has inspired me- Liverpool F.C. (even though- I'm not a Liverpool fan). Led by Steven Gerrard, Liverpool took on A.C.Milan in the Champions League final in 2005. By half time- Milan had got 3 goals on board. Scoreline- Milan 3 - 0 Liverpool. At 90 minutes, Milan 3-3 Liverpool. Those 3 goals scored by Liverpool was within a space of 5 min, ladies and gentlemen. The game dragged on to penalties, where Liverpool beat Milan to win the Champions League. Being 3-0 down at half time and coming back to win it is no mean feat by all means.

Apart from all these examples, one man- Mr. Narayanamurthy, Infosys chief. His brains- well, honestly- I dont have them, but someday, with experience- I might get some maybe 0.00000001% of his brains. Well, his success story, he started with a vision and not much of capital. Apart from that, Mr. Narayanamurthy didn't have a business background to begin with.

Look where Infosys is now. One thing which he and his core team, which included Mr.Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India, which built the company must have had was- HARDWORK, which doesn't come easily. Now that s something to draw inspiration from.

However, one guy whom I look to as a personal inspiration is one of my best friends (who never reads my blogs). He hardly used to be the academic sort of a person. He was more of the hanging out type, who just made the cut in our 12th standard. He went on to do extremely well at college, way beyond all our expectations. When he joined college, his college's director (or whatever they call him) told "how you make your entry in this college is not important, how you make your exit is important." And my friend went on to prove it to us. Today he is one of the most respectable guys that graduated from his college.

Remember these people, they are really the ones from whom anyone and everyone can draw inspiration from. Each one of us would certainly have our own people to draw inspiration from and will certainly differ from one another.

Back where I come from

I don't know if any of my American friends read this blog, but if you are reading.. just carry on..

Well, back where I come from, I find my streets crowded with people, cars and my roads are always buzzing with activity, whatever be the time of the day. Here in Buffalo- its a surprise to see ten people walking on the road at any point of time. I always find it very odd not to find too many people on the roads, because my eyes are used to it and also used to looking for known faces where ever I go.

To buy a chocolate, I needn't walk a kilometer down a so called main road. All I need to do is pop down the stairs, buy it and get back home. Cars don't stop by for pedestrians and people keep bumping into each other. Signals do change and people don't forget to break rules.

At the fag end of each month, cops stand at almost every road, waiting for unsuspecting prey to cross their path and at the end of the day, they are the rajas. Back home, I didn't think twice about spending on anything, now things are such that, the thought of spending doesn't occur that often. Back home- I agree- I didn't walk much, but here, the number eleven bus's my main mode of transport.

I hardly used to see a cop having a gun on his person, but here, there's not a single cop who doesn't have a gun. Back home, proper queues are rarely ever seen, while there's a queue for everything here.

Back home- I could watch TV, here I don't have a TV. I used to watch a movie at Satyam, almost every weekend or atleast twice a month- here, I watch a movie that I ve watched a thousand times over.

Pani puri and Bhel puri used to be an item, which I could eat at will, now- merely seeing those items at the India store, brings back memories of having those stuff at chat stalls all over the city. I used to ask dad to change the old zen for a new car, now merely seeing my old zen, would certainly make me feel happy.

I used to sympathise with many of my friends who used to stay away from home, as they miss their mother's cooking. Now I have some of my friends who sympathise with me for that. Back home, staying awake till 1 am in the night would mean that I would still mean that I wake up by 8 am in the morning, but here, I wake up only by around 12 pm.

I had everything at my disposal at home, here I have nothing at my disposal. It s a cycle of life mates, whenever you have something, you don't realise its value and when you are away from it, you realise it's value many fold. When I asked one of my friends if he had ever been tipped by a customer at the food court where he works, he sorely recollects, never having tipped any waiter at any hotel that he went to, and now he hardly gets any tips.

But really, whenever I see something written in Tamil or Hindi, really- I get so excited, because, it's not everyday that I get to see something like that here. However, living in a maximum Indian area of Buffalo, I'm happy that I atleast get to speak in Tamil and Hindi rather than ending having to learn chinese and learning to catch the American accent, which does take sometime to understand.

Its been 2 months since I landed up here, but I'm still to actually realise that I'm away from my dear old Chennai.

But one thing that I have carried from home till here is Faith and Hope, which will certainly take me through tough times.

P.S: Mum, I know you'll read this, don't worry. I'm all fine here, jus wanted to let ppl know how things are here.

Buffalo....

Finally, landed up in this dumb place called buffalo (aka ERUMAI). Its a very small town, literally the size of Nungambakkam, T.Nagar and West Mambalam put together. That's d size of it.

Anyways, down to business- its been a over a month since I landed up here. It s nt really my kind of a place. Very small, very quiet. Not much ofactivity round here- except the univ though.

The univ- SUNY buffalo, fondlyknown as UB- well- its a nice cool place.

A huge campus- known as the north campus (That s where all my classes are). Lots of activity only in this part of buffalo, really. and one thing I noticed here was that I got to see a lot of Indian and Chinese faces rather than a lot of American faces. Anyways.

After getting all that used to just going downstairs to buy anything I need, walking more than half a kilometer to get even a chocolate seems.. ugh.. really. And after having lived on 2 of possibly the most busiest roads in Chennai, staying in a very quiet street in a very sleepy town doesnt appeal a lot to me. I do miss Chennai really, despite all the negatives that it may have, Chennai is home.

Hmmm.. food- yes- mum, if you are reading this, I miss that vathakozhambu a lot, though we made an attempt to make it, it doesn't come out that well. Im just yearning for some proper Indian food(at a very cheap rate). Anyways, we do have good food(by our standards of cooking though- which is by no means- abysmal)- Thank god. Ofcourse- Pizza's good and cheap by all means, so we do have pizza on a regular basis.

Transport- Guys- I'm sure whoever knows me only reads this blog, so Im sure you still remember how I look. I'm still the same size.lol. We have quite a distance to walk everyday, and that gives us enough to burn whatever we eat. We walk from home to the south campus, which is near home, catch the shuttle to north campus. For every place other than north campus- there s the bus (namma ooru ptc- athey than) and trains (to go to the main city- never been there yet). The buses are never crowded- cos everyone has atleast 1 car here. I guess the trains should look similiar to the ones shown in the movies here.

Entertainment- best entertainment- sleep. Well there s the downtown buffalo that one can go to for timepass, lots of shopping can be done at walmart, boulevard mall, etc. and there s a mokka theater called amherst here, that hardly anyone goes to. Most people at Buffalo tend to stay at home and relax rather than roam around. Damn- I miss Satyam, Pondy Bazar, etc.

Cimate- This place is really freaky with the climate. It was warm and sunny this morning( uncharectaristically) and its started raining when I started for classes. There's this line about Buffalo-"Don't like the weather? Come back in 5 minutes."

Biggest attraction- Obviously- Need I say anything at all. Common Knowledge. Niagara. Well, Buffalo's economy thrives on 2 things- UB and Niagara.

My opinion about Buffalo- Sucks, that too after coming from a big city like Chennai. But UB rocks absolutely.

A tour to the heartland of terror - Day 7 &8- The journey to Katra and Vaishno Devi.

One thing that I was happy about is that, it won't be long before we would reach Delhi. It was just a couple more days away. A couple more days, until I can use my phone again. :(

So. We started at around 8 30 am from the hotel in Srinagar. There weren't many stops in between. Just one stop at around 2 pm for lunch. Mum and my eldest aunt fell sick. Mum due to lack of sleep and my aunt due to some nausea. And that lunch stop was heavily debated by my uncles, as to when we should stop. I was very thankful for that lunch stop, as I was hungry myself.

We had lunch at a dhaba, where we were served with rajma-chawal and rotis. After about 20 minutes, we were on our way again. I do remember trailing a lot of army vehicles, after which I guess I dozed off.

It was around 5 30 pm when I woke up to find our qualis crossing through a major army district, Chandanwadi. An hour later, we end up in front of a hotel in Katra. It was still bright even at that part of the day and was very warm, unlike what we had experienced till then in Kashmir.

Through some contacts, a darshan for Vaishno Devi had been arranged for the next morning and we had even obtained helicopter tickets.

Now- certain things about Vaishno Devi temple.

1. Popularised by the owner of the T-Series cassettes company, Late. Mr. Gulshan Kumar, this temple has grown to become a very popular Hindu pilgrimage destination.

2. This temple has access only by 3 means of transport-
(a) By helicopter, which takes you to a helipad located at about 4 km from the temple. After which you either have to walk or take a pony, which costs a reasonable amount.

(b) By pony

(c) By walk.

Taking either of b or c, you will have a pathway which is about 14km long and it is very steep. It takes about 8 hours for you to climb, provided you dont stop for too long. My cousins and their parents decided to walk and just only managed it.

3. And it is believed that when you pray at this temple, your prayers are always answered and no one returns disappointed.

Alright, we had dinner at a hotel near to where we stayed and went off to doze for the night. Nice room really and for the first time in all of the last 4 days, I got a mattress of my own. Nice sleep for the first time in the last 4 days too. And yes, I really did miss someone. The someone was always on my thoughts though.

Yawn. Wake up at around 8 am. We were supposed to start by 9, which later became 9 30 and then finally 10 30. I was pissed by that time. Finally, we proceeded to the heli-pad. One more hour's wait. It was 11 35 am when we got into the helicopter and 11 39 when we got off at the other end. Just 4 minutes.

It took us a good part of over 3 hours to have the darshan and return to the heli-pad again. We were at the helipad by around 2 30 and by 3, back at the hotel, while my cousins and uncle and aunt were climbing up, to stay for the night.

Then, shopping after 6 pm. As usual, the ladies... And I was so very tempted by the sight of a nice kashmir willow. That was for my cousin, not me. I had this nice opportunity to interact with a Katra based bat maker. My god. All those pieces of willow, come from Kashmir. They cost about 3k here in Chennai, while it's less than half of it there.

Hit the sack, a little while after 10 pm. The last few hours in Kashmir. :)

A tour to the heartland of terror- Day4- Pahalgam

Bleary eyed and not in quite the right frame of mind, I struggled to come to terms with daybreak and finally did so. Post breakfast, we embarked on an hour's drive to a path that led to the famous Amarnath temple. That point was supposed to be the start to the holy Amarnath yatra.

Another icy place. God knows I became sick of ice then and there. My cousins took to the ice, a little reluctantly, due to their dad's insistence. Off they went trekking, I even thought, at this rate, they'll probably touch some peak and won't get back. After about a half hour or so, they came down, happy to land their feet on solid ground.

A few minutes after they came down, we were herded back to the Sumos and off we went to a place called Aru valley (apparently called the Switzerland of India. ) Wonder if Switzerland is really that cold. Brrr.. frozen hands when we reached the end of the pony ride. I was really happy to find a tea stall. And it would be a crime, not to mention a Kashmiri speciality called kawah. It s basically a decoction of tea, in which you add things like broken pieces of badam and cashew and some fine grounded ginger and masala. A very nice drink for the really cold weather, keeps you really warm.

Dinner- once again the same menu, no big change, except for the soup and the sweet dish. Gulab Jamun. As usual, you could here my grandmother and her cousin groaning for south Indian food. I finished my dinner quickly, to catch the IPL match in the lobby. I am very thankful to BSNL, for that was the only provider whose signal was picked in all of Kashmir. And I am very thankful to my dear dad for letting me use his phone. God knows what the bill'll come up to.

One nice comedy that I noticed during this trip was that my grandmother (who's a little hard of hearing- like Prof. Cuthbert Calculus, of Tintin comics.) She and her cousin would give different interpretations for anything that they talk about. I even thought of it like, 2 schoolkids, who when they see a cloud say- hey that s an elephant. no, stupid, that's a cow. That way.

One more night- half asleep. Thankfully, there was a room heater this time. It was really cold on that night. Before sleeping, I had the luxury of stretching out in front of the heater in my parent's room. My thoughts before falling asleep, quite late into the night- Wonder when the hell 'll I return to Chennai? Now I knew how Steve Harmison must feel on every tour that he goes on.

A tour to the heartland of terror

It all started on that fine day, May 21st. We boarded the flight from Chennai to New Delhi. A few hours later, bang- no, no.. no gunshots, don't worry. We landed in Delhi and then in the next 1 hour, we had to rush to catch the connecting flight to Srinagar. Pitiful, the flight duration from Delhi to Srinagar wasn't even as long as the transit time.

Finally, we landed in Srinagar. Before landing, I must say, it truly was a breathtaking view of the valley. No wonder, both countries are vying for that piece of land. Once I landed, all that I could see was army fatigues all over the place. Till that point of time, I didn't know that there were so many army personnel in Kashmir.

A short while later, I found out something that shocked me. The army had blocked out all prepaid signals. Ugh.. Oh no, I cant communicate things to people back home. However, there was some respite, since dad's phone would work as it is post-paid. Then finally we reached our boat house, Chinar. A very beautiful boat house. There was Hussain bhai, the caretaker, who took good care of us for the next 2 days of our stay in the boathouse.

I asked the caretaker "Are there any terrorist attacks happening here?". "No. nothing of that sort really. Srinagar's a very peaceful place." "Is the army presence always this much?"
"Yes. " "Despite of such heavy army presence, how do terrorists manage to attack?" I asked. He couldn't answer that. I'm sure no Kashmiri can answer that question.

Then came the romantic shikara ride. Pitiful, 3 couples (read- my mum and dad, 2 aunts and their husbands) over 50+ enjoying themselves amidst 3 guys who are 20+ years old. Oh, how we wished we had the company of our someone special.

The dal lake is a shopping complex in itself. Boats carrying merchandise everywhere. And there was this boat house where all the ladies settled down to buy sarees. We went in at around 6 pm and it was still light at 8 pm. 2 hours by all means is very very quick work by the ladies. Hats off.

Finally, we came back to the Chinar, to have dinner and doze. That was day 1 in Kashmir.

(pic- a shot of the dal lake from the Chinar)

Think...

There are several things that we, Indians need to learn from this attack.

1- This attack was not an ad-hoc attack. This was extremely well planned, with the targets being hand picked in such a manner that there would be damage inflicted on a scale so far unknown to us.

2- Apparently, these terrorists, whose total number is not yet known, have made several recons of these hotels and the city. They must have had several dry runs to check out all these places. Apart from these dry runs, it is reported that these terrorists must have had some accomplices staying inside these hotels. Video footages showed these terrorists carry a shoulder bag, which could ve been big enough only to hold a few magazines in it. These terrorists were having a sackful of grenades with them which must have been kept inside the hotel even before the attack started. Of course yes, these terrorists were extremely well trained, which has enabled them to keep India's most elite battle ready commandos at bay for over 48 hours.

3- Despite several attacks on Mumbai and N number of intelligence reports suggesting that Mumbai is very much vulnerable, neither state nor central governments seem to have put any anti terror mechanism in place.

4-Apart from all this, we do have GREAT POLITICIANS, EMINENT people like SHITRAJ Patil who appear on TV to comment on a situation where so many lives are lost. Btw.. what the hell was Narendra Modi doing there? and where the hell is the great maratha- Mr. Raj Thackeray?

5- It was the courage, grit and determination of the NSG, Marine Commados and the army and last but not the least, the Maharashtra police that has helped the people. There was nothing from the side of our great politicians, to help, if anything at all.

6- The media has done a great job by covering the entire series of events, and the Indian media has matured considerably. This can be proved by the fact that the media used discretion in their coverage rather than trying to outwit rivals by disclosing classified info that the media may have got. Hats off to you. But there were some noobs who cut Mumbai off from the news channels for a few hours, which kept Mumbaikars in the dark for quite sometime.

7- CNN has focussed on India in the last 48 hrs so much that they would nt ve covered India so much even in the last 5 years. And this is because of FBI agents landing in Mumbai to try and offer help. It is also reported that an American intelligence agent was shot dead in the Taj.

8- Nariman house is home to a few Israeli citizens, which has prompted Israel to offer help in the counter terrorist operation, which India refused.

9- Maharashtra has decided to setup a NSG like organisation to counter terrorism. All this only after attacks targetting the upper class of the society and international tourists. No action what so ever after several bombings which killed innocent commen people like you and me who are reading this article.

10- The touring England team will not play its test match in Mumbai. There has been a change of venue from Mumbai to Chennai. Chennai is reeling under a different attack. This is an attack by the rain gods who promptly bless Chennai, whenever a cricket match is announced, however focus back on Mumbai.

11- 3 top cops were killed during the initial encounter on wednesday night. All 3 of them will be forgotten soon. Let's hope Maharashtra's finest would learn their lessons atleast from their deaths.

12- What is the PM going to do by calling the ISI chief over to help in investigations? Pakistani links to this attack has all but proven to the world.

13- Al-qaeda shas been suspected to have been the mastermind behind these attacks. If that is true, then it will be the first time ever that India has been attacked by Al-qaeda. Of course, Al-qaeda have operated previously in Kashmir, but never past the borders of Jammu and Kashmir.

14-The main motive of these terrorists was not to hold Mumbai for ransom or to get some of their associates released. Clearly, this attack was aimed at destabilizing the Indian economy and also to drive home a point to international tourists and business people as well, that India is not a safe place anymore. The sole motive of these terrorists was wreak havoc, create panic and terrorise Mumbai and India in a manner that people would fear to step out again. We have to gear up to fight a new breed of terrorists, who are not fanatics with a gun, but trained fighters, who know the tactics and strategies of urban warfare.

If we do not learn our lessons soon, it won't be long before India becomes a terror torn country like Afghanistan. Security laxes, lack of co-op between intelligence and law enforcement agencies have been highlighted by these attacks. Incompetence of our politicians to do anything about it has been another point to note.

These terrorists seem to keep asking us this question over and over again- we can hit you anyway, anytime we want. What can you do?

- A stupid common man