In My City (SV CVT) :-)

In My City – Piggy Chops I know you got your own town I know you got your own ways I know you got your own life I'm just sayin' come on down to my place Come on make some new friends And tell me what you drinkin' I know there's no place like home But I know you gonna like it in my city [Chorus:] Everybody's welcome here Everybody welcome to my city We ain't got no worries here I know you're gonna like it in my city You know you got a friend in me You ain't gonna wanna leave Co-co-co-come on, co-co-co-come on You ain't never had a party Till you come to a party in my city [Will.I.Am:] Driving down to boulevard Coming out inside my car No sitin' in my backyard Let's go for a ride Come on and ride with me We got some sights to see Baby just come with me to my community Come on let's go, oh, let's hit the road Oh, turn up the radio Blast the radio We do it all night long We got everything you and me Music plays all night long I know you're gonna like it in my city [Chorus:] Everybody's welcome here Everybody welcome to my city We ain't got no worries here I know you're gonna like it in my city You know you got a friend in me (you got a friend) You ain't gonna wanna leave Co-co-co-come on, co-co-co-come on You ain't never had a party Till you come to a party in my city

In My City – Addy Dhings I know you got your own wheels I know you got your on keys I know you got your own drives I’m just sayin’ come on in to my City Come on make some seat adjustments And set the climate control to your like I know there’s no place like home But my City’s second most comfy you will find Everybody’s welcome here Everybody’s welcome in to my City We aint got no manual gears I know you’re gonna like it in my City You know you got a comfy ride in it You aint gonna wanna leave Vr-vr-vrooom, vr-vr-vrooom You ain’t never ridden a car Till you take a ride in my City Driving down on a highway With cruise control set and rolling No cramped legs in the backseat It is a comfy like a living room So come and ride in my City We got calls to take Just connect to the Bluetooth music system Come on let’s ride, oh, let’s hit the road Oh shift into Sports mode and feel it go va va voom Vr-vr-vrooom, vr-vr-vrooom You ain’t never ridden a car Till you take a ride in my City We can take a long drive We got all the features The mileage will take us far I tell you it is the best car Everybody’s welcome here Everybody’s welcome in to my City We ain’t got no manual gears The ride is soothing to the ears I know you’re gonna like it in my City Vr-vr-vrooom, vr-vr-vrooom You ain’t never ridden a car Till you take a ride in my City

Sell By Date

I was never really in the Arsene Knows Best bandwagon nor was I in the Wenger Out brigade. To be honest, I don’t think anyone ever really starts in one of these camps. Now though, I am tilting towards the Wenger Out school of thought.

Wenger has given us some great years and was the perfect manager for us from the time he took over in 1996 till about 2010 which included the great trophy winning years followed by the stadium move which tied our hands down. He truly pushed us to the next level. We needed Wenger’s conservative spending and management which kept us in European football kicking about with the big boys. Post 2010 though it has been a different story - rather the same story ironically! All clubs around us had strengthened, started using technology, better scouting networks etc. We now had the stadium debt well in control and were ready to splash the cash on marquee signings. This was the time to strengthen in the areas where we longed for world class talent. We were assured by the manager and the board there was cash to be spent and we would where needed. We were given hopes, sold the dreams of challenging for the league but as it turned out it was just that. The seasons started, same old failings began to surface, same old squad shortages reared their ugly heads, same old injuries began to haunt us and we fizzled out of the race around Jan-Feb period.

Not to say we did not sign any great players – we did secure services of Ozil and Sanchez in two consecutive summer transfer windows (even Arshavin after he had left Europe gasping with his sublime performances) but we still left gaping holes in our squad at the same time. We failed to add a top striker to our rolls for so many years. So much so that recently we Arsenal fans were longing for Giroud’s return from injury as if he would propel us to top of the league. Don’t get me wrong he is a decent striker but that’s all he is - decent. We never really added a solid DM to our folds. We always were ‘those 2-3 players’ short of putting up a realistic challenge for the league. We now rarely rotate unless forced by injury. We run the same players to the ground week-in week-out resulting in injuries, tiredness and also rustiness for those who aren't given game time. 

All these makes one wonder if Wenger has now crossed the thin line between genius and plain stubborn. A stubborn person out to prove the world wrong.

I think I have had enough of Mr. Wenger’s stubbornness to address the obvious. We are where we were the year after the stadium move - 2006. There has been no flexing of our financial muscle (ours isn’t the bulky kind like that of a Sunil Shetty ..cough – Man City or of a Salman Khan..cough – Chelsea; ours is a fit, strong and sustainable kind like that of an Akshay Kumar, and it can be flexed!!).

Wenger has done great things for the club and will always be one of the best managers we have had. He rightly has his bust installed at the club and we will always be thankful to him for the great years, for the beautiful football, for the term ‘footballistically’, for the Invincibles... but I think he cannot take us forward anymore. We need someone with new ideas to do that. It is now time for Mr. Wenger to move on before he ruins his legacy. Au revoir, Monsieur! 

Boldness at the Cleaners

So I hear a director called Anubhav Sinha finds the song ‘Bhaag DK Bose’ vulgar and was personally disappointed in Aamir Khan for created a song like that. He was apparently worried about the influence the song would have on his young son and many other young kids. Well, it’s a popular song whether he likes it or not and technically what’s wrong with the name D K Bose??? What a friggin hypocrite… He directed Cash which is nothing short of a skin fest. Yet, he has the audacity beyond hypocrisy to think it’s perfectly fine for his son and other young kids to watch skimpily clad women shaking their biscuits (:-P) but not to listen to a name which when spoken continuously sounds like a swear word which, if I may add, those young kids would be hearing everyday in any case. I mean unless they are growing up at religious aashrams/schools with no contact whatsoever with the outside world.

The fact of the matter is some directors jsut don't have the (Delhi) Belly. And worse still, become hypocritical in judging others’ work. They’d be better off in acknowledging the bold creativity that is simmering under and will soon enter the main stream cinema.

Fact is, people will always criticize bold creativity..especially those in that particular field as they did not (could not) come up with it due to lack of creativity or cojones or both thereof. I am tired of those who keep doing the tried and tested (e.g. Violence and Sex in Bollywood) and are scared to do the different. Hope Delhi Belly will inspire the kinds.

Way to go Ram Sampath…your next number should be ‘utha dhoti dikha moti’ or something like that.. till then Bhaag..

ITIL Certified Professional

I had my ITIL V3.0 Foundation certification exam today and I came out with flying colours (82%..passing was 65%) :-). These maybe just 262K colours for some but for me these are definitely 16.7 million colours.

Besides the fact that it reminded me of the time I took my GMAT and came out in black and white (640 :-( ) there was something else that was peculiarly noteworthy. I reached well in time and was waiting for V, the colleague of mine who was taking the same exam and was the actually the one who forced me into registering for the exam, I thought what better than to utilize this time to finish my unfinished morning business. So I proceeded to partake in the not-so-fine facilities of the testing centre and to my amazement found that there was no water provision in the Loo. There was just the good old toilet roll.

I mean I know that most of those visiting that centre were all West bound (GRE/TOEFL aspirants) and this could be a way to prepare them for the life ahead but STILL..they are very much in India and what happened to staying in touch with your ‘roots’ ;-)

Mob (in)justice in India

Juts stumbled upon a collection of MMSes that sent chills down spines of (the regular law abiding) Indians in the year gone by. One video is of a little boy not more than 12-13 yrs old stripped and tied to a palm tree and being tortured. The good for nothing eunuchs inflicting this trauma on the little boy show how dick-less they are by further stamping him on the chest. Now, I don’t know what the little boy’s crime was but he definitely didn’t deserve this. Even if he killed someone, the law should have taken its course not the lawlessness more often referred as ‘Mob Justice’. If God exists, I hope the little boy bears the grudge in his mind until he grows up, develops enough muscles to kill those bastards who did this to him. And the poetry about this justice would be if our authorities are unable to pin the crime on him. I would love it…

Then there’s this MMS where a teenage girl accused of witchcraft is stripped naked and paraded around the village. This when village men of every age group walk all around her teasing her, pulling her hair and doing all sorts of things that go against the very culture we Indians harp about all day long. I hope that girl turns into another Phoolan Devi and kills each one of those bastards who made her go through this harrowing incident.

These are mere few of the 100s (1000s I think) of incidents that happen across the country on the diktat of either the local panchayats or hoodlums. I cannot imagine the plight of the victims of such atrocities who more often than not can really not pick up their lives together after something as horrid. Where’s their justice? Whatever their crime, did they deserve the punishment they got? Who decides their punishment? These and many more questions will remain unanswered till the law doesn’t start protecting the helpless. In this country the authorities are only on the sides of the more powerful ones. Simple.

You know I often wonder what these kind of people live for because they are bloody no good to no one and can only cause menace to society. When their menace becomes so traumatic for certain individuals I hope the same individuals are the ones who put an end to their useless good for nothing lives. Yes, yes only God has the right to take away lives but then if God was exercising his rights so well we wouldn’t have had such MMSes rather such incidents in the first place.

P.S: video link is on ndtv.com

Criminals ki Dilli

It may have wider and better roads, cleaner surroundings, better infrastructure and even Mr. Sreedharan’s Delhi Metro but it still is a shameful blot on the country. The crime rate in Delhi is mind-boggling especially considering the number of police personnel in the city. It is our National capital with VIPs, VVIPS, VVVIPs thronging the city yet the anti social elements muster enough guts to do the wrong day in and day out.

The city tops in ‘Crime against women’ as per the 2008 report by National Crime Records Bureau and this should be no surprise if you know women who live in the NCR. They will tell you how it is not safe to travel in public transports at almost any time of the day let alone late night. Delhi Metro maybe a whiff of welcome change to that notion. The recent rape incidents have shocked the nation if not those in the corridors of power in the capital. I had only seen in movies that a woman would get raped in a moving car by a gang of hoodlums until I realized that this happens in Delhi too. Not sure who inspired whom. I think it’s not the people it’s the absence of fear of law in their minds. The same will not dare think of doing anything like that in a middle eastern country.

Mumbai on the other hand is a very safe place for anyone anytime of the day. Of course random incidents take place here and there but by far Mumbai can be classified as a safe place (for women) where as the National Capital cannot be. In fact, I read an interview of an internationally proclaimed DJ who was performing in Mumbai and what I remember till date was his remark on how safe Mumbai was even at ungodly hours.

I hope for the sake of people (especially the women) in Delhi the authorities start instilling enough fear in the anti socials so that they think twice even before whistling at a women. Unless that happens we might have to change the name from NCR to NCR (National Crime Region).

Tough times to be a gunner

I am left high and dry by Arsenal’s recent performances in the Champions League and the Premier League. It is not the defeat (after all no bloody team has the right to win each and every game they play) it’s the manner of it. Let me put it for the record that I disagree with the Boss and believe that we got exactly what we deserved. At Shakhtar, we played as if the one goal we scored was enough and we paid dearly for it. At the Emirates, we played without any leader on the pitch the result of which was that nobody forced the issue onto Newcastle. We gave away the ball so so many times, Fab-4 was in particular guilty of giving away the ball on numerous occasions. If he wasn’t fit or out of sorts he should have been subbed and so should have been Walcott for his lack of ideas when with the ball at his feet. I am not singling out any player but just mentioning what comes to mind. Reputations should not govern who stays on the pitch rather their form should.

It is so frustrating to see a team of highly talented players go down so easily AT home AND against recently promoted teams. One blogger put it very aptly by saying that Arsenal were like an Orchestra where if one part was dysfunctional or not upto its mark then they struggle to make any impact while when each part was functioning well it would be the most enjoyable experience. If you ask me what I would like- I say let’s stay the Orchestra that we are but also have a switchover button (plan B) that could turn us into a one or two man band where the lead guitarist and the percussionist together or even alone could make for a winning combination. A start in that direction would be to start shooting at the very sight of goal and not trying to pass it in.

I will always be a gunner- there’s no doubting that but, I want to see my team put in the effort the passion that gets us supporters going, that brought us to the club in the first place. I don’t know if it is Wenger’s off pitch shenanigans the effect of which could be seen in the last two games or just plain complacency. Whatever it is, Wenger needs to sort this out soon and get back on track. I say bring on the Wolves and we’ll hunt that pack down with our cannon.

For the sake of childhood

Do children still..
-wear gum boots during the rainy season?

-exchange trump cards/free stickers with friends?

-wear PT shoes to school on Fridays?

-request their teachers to give them a ‘games’ period?

-wait like crazy for the annual school fete?

-take Milton water bottles to school?

-finish their lunches during the periods so that they have maximum time to play in the break?

-like other children’s lunches more than their own?

-exchange Tintin and Asterix comic books with friends?

-read Femina Home Truths and laugh about it?

-hide their report cards from their Dads and get them signed by their moms while the school bus is honking the next morning?

-discuss with friends the movie due to be played on the coming Friday night on DD/Zee TV?

-prefer outdoor games to dull computer games?

-wear civil clothes to school on birthdays?

-force their parents to rent the latest video cassettes for the coming weekend?

-are crazy about hot wheels cars?

-love going to their grandparents’ during their vacations?

-enjoy going to school for the Republic Day parade?

-have house wars with the other house students (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue or Shivaji, Tagore, Ashoka, Raman)?

-save pocket money to buy their favourite comic books?

-feel overjoyed when the mom lets them keep the change from a shopping trip?

-save up the loudest fire crackers for late night on Diwali?

-squabble with their friends over being the cricket/football team captain?

-feel proud to be one of those towards the end of the class line in the morning assembly?

-never sleep in the afternoons rather play around in the kitchen garden?

-crave for the Sunday brunch that mom would cook at home?

-maintain a homework copy and a classwork copy of each subject notebook?

Ah! those were the days.

What's their fault?

Catching up with my fiancee, her brother and her cousin at Woodside Inn in Colaba. We had some drinks, some snacks. We discussed about the shopping we had done (yours truly is tying the knot in Nov, thus) and joked about the dance preparation (or lack of it) for the Sangeet night. All this and some more and we decided to head to Falafal for dinner which is next door to Woodside Inn. On the way (5 steps between Woodside Inn and Falafal) I saw an old lady with a little boy (probably her grandson) having their food out of a crumpled silver foil. They were having rice with some watery gravy and the little boy had the most wonderful smile on his face. Maybe, he was happy to be having dinner with his grandmother, maybe he was happy to be having a full meal after a long time or, maybe just happy. I questioned (like many times before) the existence of a God (or whatever it is that decides which family and in what conditions will a child be born to) and if there really is one then why does he/she do it. What’s the child’s fault? The same child could have been born to some rich industrialist or even to a normal middle class family where his needs would be provided for, where he would be given the opportunity to become what he wanted to or where he would get at least an education.

Every time I see poor kids sitting on roadsides, or traffic signals or anywhere I feel ashamed for not being able to do anything for them. Giving a beggar some money is not going to solve any problem but that’s all I can do at that moment. Maybe even that's useless because that money might make its way to the ring leader or equals of those beggars. Irrespective, I have always wanted to donate to CRY, SavetheChildren or any such NGO working towards providing the basics of life to the underprivileged children.

The other day outside the regional Passport office while waiting for my agent (he was running late..damn these agents) and having a Veg Grill sandwich I saw a little boy and a girl (probably siblings) begging at the signal. After the lights turned green they came near the stall and sat down. The little girl looked up towards me and a sense of guilt struck me. There I was eating (just to kill time actually) away ignorant of the problems so many of those children face every minute of every day. I just asked the two kids if they would like to eat something..the little boy jumped up, turned around and looked at the shop and shyly said "Lassi". I got them a Lassi each and it was a such a satisfactory feeling I just can’t explain. I walked back towards the office looking back in between to see the kids sitting on the footpath drinking the Lassi and smiling at me. I can proudly say that I remember the happiness I felt that day much more than the loathing I felt towards the officer who rejected my Tatkal application. Damn these sarkari babus- they don’t even know their own rules or maybe I shouldn’t be so hard on him cos he just wanted some bribe.

How we live our daily lives- eat out of international food chains, buy branded clothes ignoring the problems millions of children face day in and day out is so appalling. For all our indifference, we could have been in their place. After all, we didn’t do anything to be born to the families we were to. There is no qualification for that..it’s just destiny. There’s nothing we do for them while at the same time cribbing about the petty things in life. I think all (well, most) of us should hang our heads in shame. I know i will.

India has gone to the Dogs!!!

A soldier dies and there’s absolutely no coverage in visual media (maybe a times new roman 8 with 20 words in print) but an anti-national (stone pelter, maoist, militant etc.) dies and the media goes into a frenzy. They go to the extent of showing their families wailing and air it prime time. It’s not that the soldiers (Army, BSF, ITBP, CRPF etc.) don’t have families or that their families don’t shed tears.

Barkha Dutt (who I respect and thus warrants space here) wants to give prime time to the anti nationals while happily painting the Indian soldier with one common brush..rapist, killer of innocent people, misuser of AFSPA. Barkha Dutt’s claim to fame is her brave and unprecedented (in India) coverage of the Kargil war but do give it a second thought while we are at it. She wasn’t there serving the nation or doing her normal duty. That was her chance to claim lime light and reach newer heights in her profession and she took it well. The ones she was covering fighting for the country were doing their duty. It wasn’t a shot at fame for those soldiers like it was for Barkha Dutt. The soldiers (women included) were not there because they got 'an opportunity of a lifetime' rather just because the bugle called. Barkha Dutt, through her exploits, earned the highest order of respect (deservedly so) and ears everytime she spoke or interviewed. The stature that she has earned should not be wasted on prejudiced TV shows or news reports and it would be in the best interest of India and journalism itself if she didn’t take sides and showed both sides of the story. Instead of empathizing with loss of life of an anti-national she should do journalism favour and take a more balanced and objective view. A life is a life..whether that of an anti-national or that of a soldier but think about it - the anti-national died working against the sovereignty of the country while the soldier died defending it. So you decide.

I don’t deny some (very very few actually) soldiers have wronged the society (for which they have been duly punished or are being tried) but to paint all of them with the same negative brush is treason of the highest order. And when the ‘responsible journalists’ do that they also show the plight of the ‘affected’ people thereby creating victims out of the culprits (if u go shooting or stone throwing at a soldier you cannot expect flowers in return). As a result the soldiers become the culprits.

On another day, I would recognize the important work that some journalists are doing but today I want to highlight what the majority of the TRP hungry journos are doing. I wish they would get out of their air-conditioned lives and see what a soldier goes through on just a normal day at his/her work. Instead of realizing AND recognizing what heroes our soldiers are they leave no stone unturned in making them the villains and creating heroes out of the anti-nationals.

This country has gone to the Dogs and the politicians and journalists are mainly to blame. Can’t expect better from politicians as most just care about votes, but again, most journos just care about TRPs. Cheap bloody journos!!!

Tarun Vijay has wonderfully put in words the feelings I have regarding this matter..read the poem at the end, brings tears to my eyes.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/whose-man-is-that-soldier-fighting-in-kashmir

Miss Chennai? Sure do..

‘How will you manage in Chennai?’, ‘What will you do in Chennai?’ are the kind of exclamations I got to hear every time I told people in the Noida office of my company that my location was Chennai and I was (happily) very much Chennai bound. To add some would offer ‘advice’…’See, you can ask for a transfer or a swap and you better do it while you are in induction’.

I was amused to say the least by people’s reactions. I had heard that Chennai was not very north Indian friendly and that you cannot survive if you don’t know the local language but coming from defense background and (by virtue of which) having travelled (AND stayed) a lot within India I was looking forward to moving to Chennai and exploring the place, seeing it with my own eyes and forming my own opinions.

After having spent around 14 months in Chennai- the land of movie fanatics, Sarvana Bhavan and of course the I.T. Highway I can confidently say it is as good and as bad as any other city in India (exclude South Mumbai because that’s a different world altogether). Liking Chennai or not is just down to what one wants from the city. It certainly isn’t how most ignorant people like to brand it; many of whom advised me to not move to Chennai.

It is a city which will welcome you with open arms (clichéd - I know) if you are open to its culture and the people…and why should you not be? After all, they say world over ‘When in Rome do as Romans do’. The people of Chennai are very gentle, pleasant and respectful. Most of them may not be very outspoken and frank (in the beginning) but are certainly very nice to talk to. The lowest denominator of the society are just like they are in any other place. Here though, I felt quite some hostility from them because I was a ‘Naarth Indian’. The city has some awesome restaurants and most of them are so much within budgetary range compared to their counterparts in say a Mumbai or a Delhi. I absolutely loved Bella Ciao and Sarvana Bhavan (I haven’t had better South Indian food). The city has a good small town feel to it, the traffic is way less (though very reckless especially on the OMR). Infact, only recently did the city’s second mall come up and now there are almost half a dozen ready to be opened. I hope the mall culture doesn’t spoil the small town feel of the city.

However, people there do have the very bad habit of starting on in the native language when accompanied by those who do not understand the language (and this is commonly observed even amongst the well educated people). But I guess this is the case with our Bengali brothers too..or maybe even with north Indians- only that I may not have observed it myself. Maybe then, it’s just an Indian thing.

The society does seem to be a little hypocrite though and Ar, a hard core Tamilian, backs me on that. Middle class people can’t be seen buying booze at TASMACs (the government controlled booze shops and there are only these in TN) - apparently boozing is only for the lower strata of the society and the high class. I remember once when Ar didn’t take off his helmet while purchasing booze at a TASMAC by the fear of being recognized by some Uncle/Aunty passing by :-D. It is perfectly fine for them to see and cheer on their favourite filmstars boozing and scantily clad women on screen but it’s not acceptable for your neighbour’s son to booze OR neighbour’s daughter to even wear a sleeveless top. In this respect, I think Chennai comes across as hypocrite. I guess that’s because people there are still too strongly hung onto their culture and ‘values’ while at the same time the world (even other parts of India) has moved on thus they feel caught in between. In time that should all be taken care of. Since I mentioned TASMAC I would like to apologise to Dr. Mallya here…I was guilty of buying ‘kalyani gold’ and what nots at the SAME PRICE(!!!) when my nearby TASMACs wouldn’t stock the usual booze brands. I have also had to have ‘Knight and Day’ brandy and again at the same price of your regular good quality brands. I think TASMACs are a big big rip off and one who has stayed ( and boozed :o) )outside TN can only understand what I mean. So, for the sake of the boozers in Chennai (especially the middle class boozers :0)) I hope TASMACS start stocking the regular brands more.

After having shifted to Mumbai now, for personal reasons, I actually realise what a nice place Chennai is (speaking of which I've actually recommended the place to R who has a good offer but is in dilemma since he will have to move from Dilwaalon ki Dilli to Namba Chennai). Needless to say, I would love to visit again. So, all my Chennai friends reading this...get married soon!!

On a whole Chennai is definitely a very good city but it lacks the enthusiasm and the energy that you can feel in a Mumbai or a Bangalore or in Delhi..maybe when I am a little older and want a more peaceful life then I would head Chennai wards..so long Chennai!

Now that it's over

The FIFA World Cup 2010 finals in South Africa was a grand event. It delivered less than what it promised but the Football on display was exceptional nonetheless. There were teams that played well, those that didn't and many that gave an expected account of themselves. Here are some of my thoughts.

Some of the expected
England- I am not one bit surprised by their round-of-16 exit. They were lucky to be in the round of 16 and progressing any further would have been a shocker in all senses. I mean the whole team couldn’t string together 3 passes in the whole tournament (err..whatever of it they were a part of) for crying out loud. The only people who expected more from this bunch was few English people who bought what the media said about the ‘Golden’ generation of English football. Each and every team in their group (Algeria, USA, Slovakia) let alone the WC finals was technically far superior than the English. It seems the so called 'stars of Premiership' shine only in the presence of the other hard working, technically gifted club players.

Argentia- Under Maradona they were overhyped as a team. Yes, they have some good attacking players AND Messi but to go further than they did they needed a tight backline which they lacked. Some individuals stood out.

Germany- If there is a team to watch in the future this is the one. BUT that is only if they believe in themselves unlike in the match against the Spanish where they sat back and wanted to catch the Spanish on counter. It’s best to play to ones own strengths rather than to nullify the opponent’s strengths.

Dutch- Have always underachieved. Guess that is the reason why they wanted to do anything to achieve this time around. Even if that meant displaying Kung-Fu on the pitch. They were one of the most physical teams in this tournament but that should not take away from them the quality they showed throughout the tournament. I think they are being given a hard deal by the media. If kicking the opponent is cheating then so is diving.

Some unexpected
Italy – I thought Zizou gifted them the 2006 WC in the form of that (in)famous head-butt. Or maybe I am being too harsh..Either way, at hind sight, i think they went as far as they deserved to.

France – I thought all I would say is Raymond Domenech but in all honesty all I will say is Patrice Evra!! That should sum up France’s dismal trip to SA. Lead by example has a new meaning now.

Uruguay – Led by their talismanic striker Diego Forlan had a run to remember in the WC. They were WC winners the earlier days of the tournament 1930 and 1950 when not many European teams took part in the competition. This run, though not a winning one, will be up there with the earlier glory moments.

Ghana- If any African nation (or any underdog for that matter) deserved to reach the quarters it was Ghana. They were a team that played attacking Football with the flair like any South American country. They surely have a bright future.

Refereeing- Couldn’t have been more controversial (and poorer) given the tournament of this magnitude. It was inconsistent, unpunishing-to-diving-and-play-acting, unbelievably rubbish at times...so much so that it stirred up controversies around what could have been had the ones with the whistles been better at their jobs - England, Mexico might have more to add to this.

Media- They are a joke and will always be. They started drooling all over for Spain even before a ball was kicked and it showed throughout the tournament. Now, I am not for a minute saying that Spain didn’t deserve to win. They played, by far, the best Football but they also dived the most, play-acted the most, tried-to-influence the referee the most which the inept media chose to ignore. The Spanish are as much cheats as the Portuguese or the Italians. The same media which lauds the physical side of the game of most English clubs (Bolton, Stoke, Blackburn et. al.) labeled the Dutch as Thugs after the final. Huh!

FIFA- If there is a job in the world which has no performance evaluation system in place then here is where it is. I really do not understand what they do and get paid for. In this day and age for some reasons they refuse to use technology. I understand that technology will take away some of the human element from refereeing and will also bring in halts into the games but SOME technology at least…Goal Line Technology for crying out loud!!?!!

Newer heights of Mediocrity

Four of us (me, Ar, Ad, Gunman) started from our humble abode aboard Ad’s swift (my a-star just wouldn’t seat us comfortably) picking up S on the way. We had managed to get our tickets through A’s friend and what an achievement it itself was. As, one ad rightly says ‘the biggest ticket in town’- IPL T20. Chennai Super Kings were entertaining Deccan Chargers at home – MA Chidambaram stadium at Chepauk. We knew parking would be a pain around the stadium so Ar advised that we better leave our wheels at Marina beach and take onto the three-wheeler(auto if you would) from there on. It was a task in itself to find a parking spot on Marina beach on that Sunday evening and after one full length we realized we weren’t the only smart ones. So, we turned back to find 4X2 m (or less) for Ad’s car. Finally, after being good Samaritans - we helped one person with his parking and also got our space in the process.

We took an auto and the driver happily agreed to fit all 5 of us in it on our short ride to the stadium. Surprisingly, the cops at the signal where we waited for a good 6-7 mins didn’t blink an eye at the sight of 5 (mix of healthy and bulky) of us struggling to stay within the frame of the three-wheeler. I thought they would wave us to a side for this transgression but they simply waved us on as the light turned green. Maybe they have bigger things (but like what??) to worry about than stopping an auto for plying at overcapacity.

We were supposed to meet V outside the stadium near the entry gate but that never happened. Had we envisaged the management (or lack of it) we would have not planned it like that. But that was hardly a disappointment (probably cos we weren’t there with our families) compared to the excitement the frenzy outside the stadium brought about. It was crazy…people draped in yellow blowing their lungs into those paper bugles. I was particularly impressed with a group of Deccan Chargers supporters who were face painting for free. Gunman thought of getting his face done (being a proud APite that he is) but our line had started moving and we didn’t wanna get late. Next time Gunman! Me being too critical of the mismanagement of the crowd could because I am a biased Mumbaikar who is fine with the idea of being pushed around on his way to office but not on his way to the cricket match :o). On second thought, local trains do have separate gents and ladies compartments.

My previous IPL outing was at Wankhede (IPL-I) and though the management was too good the crowd was nowhere close to the Chennai crowd. The Tamil masses were charged up to no end…awesome atmosphere. Little did they know that the Chargers will spoil the party. The row ahead of us was full of DC supporters so Gunman had good company, he even borrowed their placard charts for those Kodak moments. V joined us in as we couldn’t find him outside the stadium. I am not going to write about the match as it is not supposed to be a match report- we all know it was a non-contest with CSK unable to chase the total put up by DC. However, an incident on the ground during the DC innings is worth mentioning (actually is the reason for the title :P). There was a stray dog running around on the ground during the play. Initially, the play stopped and there was a less-than-half-hearted attempt to chase him out of the playing area but to no avail. And then, we Indians showcased our adjusting nature by letting the dog stay on the ground for good 12-13 overs of the first innings. Maybe it was a ploy by CSK to have another fielder on the pitch which nobody objected to ;-). The dog was having a gala time- running around the inner circle, occasionally being shoo-shooed by the players… all this while the match was going on. Guess the dog caught the best possible cricketing action- talk about VIP passes. Huh! Someone mentioned jokingly that that was actually a display of high security provided by the police- the dog was a sniffer dog. :-D

Now, I can totally understand if a dog had wanders into any ground, building, and place in India. I mean after all it is India and we have too many of those stray dogs and I truly believe they can actually get in anywhere. But atleast and I mean ATLEAST try to get it out of the pitch (that it had come in) – it’s a $4.13 billion brand after all this IPL. For Mr. Lalit Modi’s sake? The bloody game is being telecast to the whole world and this is what impression we cast on the world. The 1st world countries don’t think highly of us anyway and incidents like these don’t help one bit.

Anyway, I had a great time watching as a neutral and witnessing bantering between the majority home crowd and the dozen or so DC supporters in our stand. At break we went out looking for some thirst quenching liquid and some would-have-been-heavenly snack but only found empty stalls (we were too late), however, we finally spotted a fruit stall and savoured some life-giving fruits.

Getting out of the stadium was much easier, probably because most dejected home fans had left by then. V and Gunman had to bid farewell to the DC cheerleaders who were really awesome. More so because one of the CSK cheerleaders was a guy (that’s not the problem) who was... EXERCISING!!! Even I could put up a better show than him that too without being drunk. Honest.

Ar pointed out yesterday that he read about the (THE) dogs on the ground the other day in an article which said they had grown up in the ground and that they didn’t bite! What a piece of information to mention in an article. Ways to hide our mediocrity anyone???

he isn't that kind of a guy..

well, then who the f**k in Football is??? I mean which Football player goes out to with the intention to break fellow professionals' legs. It isn't a football game played at the central jail (if you would) that there would be that kind of players. It is just that these players are dangerous and while the world has moved on from the early years of 20th century the game itself hasn't moved...well, not much in England.

On the contrary, the subject in question is exactly that kind of a guy...Ryan Shawcross has broken 2 legs and caused serious injury to others keeping them out for months (season in case of the former) all at just 22yrs of age. It may not be intentional but is clearly a sign of dangerous play so a 3 match ban for career threatening leg break, in all my wisdom, is not just.

That said, what amazes me is the British media..there have been more articles feeling sorry for Shawcross than for AR-16 (whose leg got broke into two). The apathy shown towards AR-16 just screams of bias and hypocrisy. It is utterly unbelievable hearing people coming out in support of the 'good lad' that is Shawcross, hoping that he comes out of the trauma that he has had to go through. Damn that 19 yr old super talented AR-16 for breaking his leg on Shawcross' boots!! Who cares whether AR-16 will be able to play again we just want Shawcross to come over this...huh!!!

It is so funny how blatantly biased most ex-players and football pundits are when they forget Shawcross' past record and try to pass it off as an unfortunate accident. Well, it is unfortunate but accident it is not- when a coach tells their players to compensate for their lack of obvious talent by kicking the opponents hard this is what is bound to happen. For me Shawcross is the product of coaches who think roughing up the opponents is fine, media who showcase this as grit, commitment and physicality, ex-players and pundits who just say anything that is in favour of the British style of play or players themselves. Somebody ask them if Italians, Spaniards and Brazilians are any less committed. However, there are sane and objective people (media and ex-players included)who can call a spade a spade and have rightly criticised the rash tackles that still prevail in the game and have asked for more action to be taken against offenders. Don't for a second think that i don't like the physical aspect of the game...it is a contact sport and we all love it for this but dangerous and reckless play has no place in any sport.

Wenger is rightly cross and agitated after seeing 3rd of his players being stretchered off the pitch with broken (and i mean snapped into two or more) and hanging legs (ankles) as results of reckless and dangerous tackles all within 4 years. As Wenger rightly said 'I don't believe in coincidences'..Sir, you don't have to because this is no coincidence. This is a result of the conventional wisdom spread around by the media about Arsenal 'not liking it rough'. After the incident the team gelled together like never before (in this season) and came out flying. AR-16 has Edu-9 and AD-2 to look up to in getting on and coming out of this injury.

All these media persons, these pundits, coaches etc. jumping to Shawcross' defence seem to miss the point here. Would all people still defend Shawcross if his tackle had left Rooney's leg hanging in mid air??? I think not.

Lost Friends

By virtue of being from a Defense family I have travelled a lot and made a lot of friend but what hurts is that i have also lost a lot of those friends along the way. Going through old albums or school chronicles reminds me of the great times and friendships I had with some of those and how they are now lost in time.

Sometimes when I do happen to get in touch with them again (thanks to the orkuts of the world) it always isn’t the feeling that I had expected would take over me. Don’t get me wrong but we grow up into different individuals in different surroundings and circumstances; even though i enjoy remembering the old times i really am unable to relate with some of them now. In fact, it would be easier talking to complete strangers than some old friends because you know you have to start fresh. Whereas with old friends, it isn't that easy.

It is like this, most of us have had some teenage crush or love (for the serious ones..he he) and do remember how much we used to like them but when face to face with them again we hardly feel the same. Let alone feeling the same we find it unbelievable that we liked them at some point in our lives. It is just that we tend to grow into completely different individuals but had we stayed together our growing up would have affected each others’ and we may have been different than what we are today. In which case, we would still like them and be their friends (more importantly be able to relate to them)..hmmm!

This brings me back to the old lost and found friends- I have met a few of them till date. While the idea of catching up with some evoked great enthusiasm and excitement it didn’t quite excite me as much when it came to others. Infact, I don’t even know at times what to talk to some of them. I guess, in some cases its best to not find your lost friends as their last memories are the wonderful ones which you always will cherish.

Is this what I want?

Many a times when I sit thinking (mostly while smoking or before going to sleep or while taking a dump) , I, inevitably end up asking myself- ‘Is this what I want?’. The answer is always a crisp and clear 'NO'.

Now, I am, by nature, a content person of sorts and have my priorities set quite clearly for me. I would be happy if I don’t do great in my career albeit have a wonderful personal life. I don’t want to become a hi-flying corporate honcho who is respected for his work and is in big demand but has no time to do things he wants. Not that I am a corporate honcho but I definitely don’t see myself headed in the direction i would want to. Well, then what do I want?

Let’s say-
Professionally: a career in sports; before you go all ROTFL let me make it clear- I can’t be a sportsperson (now) :o). so wishfully-realistically, associated with some sport (footy anyday)..say branding of a club, consultant in a sports management firm.
Personally: living in a small and green town where everyone has time for themselves (Goa or sleepy towns of Kerala come to mind), where I can spend hours sitting in my veranda enjoying tea or whiskey, where everybody minds their own businesses- basically life is laid back. Go on a trip to a new place every year.

Is it possible-
Now, my profession shouldn’t be a bone for my family unless of course I get paid big bucks (without being on the wrong side of the law) because, otherwise, I might just be able to meet their needs but not their wants.
My wishful personal life would mean for them to be OK with the sleepy(‘dead’ for them) and ‘green’(village or jungle for them) town. I doubt they will.

So there it is… what may be the best for me may not be the best for my loved ones and I definitely don’t want to be a recluse to the ones that really matter. So, I am destined to be in this rat race forever OR maybe (just MAYBE) I can find a way out and a balance to keep myself and my family really happy. There definitely are people who manage to be professionally and personally satisfied- doing work that makes them happy from within and returning home to lives that have everything to love about. Such, for me, are successful people.

As for the rest…Guess we can’t live our lives just for ourselves; we got to live it for our loved ones too.

Songs that remind me of the good times -CD 1

I don’t know about others but I associate a lot of songs to certain times in my life and whenever I hear those songs, they take me back to the times and a sense of nostalgia takes over me.

To mention some (chronologically):
1. Lambada (Kaoma) - Hmmmm..Jabalpur is it? DSOI and the varous monthly functions there...those early days of teenage.

2. Dilbar dilbar (movie Sirf Tum)- Reminds me of the SSB, Apr ’99 in Bangalore (erstwhile). What a time it was.. bunch of youngsters, fresh out of school getting together to clear one of the toughest interview/selection process that can be. A good 20 odd days spent bonding over politics, Indian Army and girls (of course).

3. MLTR songs (MLTR, Colours, Played on Pepper) – and I feel I am back in my Engineering college, the 1st – 2nd yr period. Sitting in the blocks during the long preparatory leaves or in the (proper) hostel enjoying the monsoons from my window whilst listening to some magical compositions on my roomy’s 800 watt ‘local’ music system.

4. Koi nahi aisa (Dillagi) – Engineering really brought out the happy go lucky in me and some of my buds

5. Jaadu hai nasha hai (movie Jism) – takes me back to T-ILP at Trivandrum, Dec ’03-Mar ‘04. It was, in the truest sense, what is called a ‘Paid Vacation’. Lasted more than 2 months..went around, visited places, made friends, had a blast.

6. Girlfriend, Ale Ale (movie Boys - Tamil) – back to Trivandrum again. Thanks to my Tamil speaking friends they got me addicted to these songs. They (didn’t really teach me any Tamil other than some nice words but) told me the meaning of these songs…and there was always A.R Rahman to behold.

7. Aao Na (movie Kyun Ho Gaya Na) – aah, those night shifts in T way back in 2004. Used to doze off listening to this song on the system and get paid for that (Life!)

8. Somewhere only we know (Keane) – What a time it was on the Isles. Good quality work, a good life and good money. How I miss killing a bottle or two of various scotches over a weekend (along with my friends). Tried so so many different whiskeys and turns out my favourite beer(Stella Artois) and whisk(e)y (Jameson) were introduced to me then only.

9. Show me how to live (Audioslave) – Bangalore (Bengaluru I mean)..summer internship. Aha! Strictly 9 to 6 and good stipend. Was put up with my engineering friends A, G and V and boy what drinkers these guys are. V is only short of an alcoholic- I mean the guy has 3 -4 pegs every freaking day!!! G and A are a bit sober in comparison to V but they are all heavy drinkers…Sangliites! So, how could I not be party to that atmosphere? If my memory serves me right, in the 60-65 days that I spent there, I think I didn’t have my tipple only on 7 or 8 of them.

10. Khuda Jaane (movie Bachna Ae Haseeno) - Well well well, this was S's caller tune for quite some time (and i just don't like her current caller tune) and this reminds me of her. Not to say that i forget about her otherwise but just that it takes me to the sep-oct of 2008 (MBA) when i was getting to know her. You know, those early stages...

Somehow (and gladly) the times I am taken back to (by these songs) are only the good ones. Not like I haven’t had any bad times at all... maybe I just don’t associate them with music.

Who likes gloss anyway?

I never fail to notice, while travelling by air, the obnoxious amounts of make up most air hostesses wear. I mean what’s with that?? Why do they try to look like some Japanese dolls with red/pink cheeks? I travel a lot (not a lot by air though) so I am guessing, like me, most travelers would want it to be simple (except for those who are paying for luxuries), clean and decent. Nobody likes to travel with too loud people, music, decor OR MAKE UP!! All the more not, when it is worn by those who are supposed to be your hosts for the journey. It’s just ghostly, cheap, irritating…glossy! Most of them look like people with no fashion sense (let alone fashion..not even basic sense).

I mean most of them are smart things, they really don’t have to put those kilos of make up on them to look ‘better’, you ask me.. it only makes them look funny. I don’ think they like to do it themselves, I mean there can’t be that many ill-fashioned air hostesses flying people around. Although, there can be that many airlines that want their hostesses to look good..err white (white and pink). First, why such fixation with the white skin. Second, if you wanna do it then can you not be a bit subtle and normal to look at. The way these hostesses make up, it seems they dip their faces in a plate full of foundation, then in another plate full of some other white thingy and then paint sunsets on their cheek bones. Yukk!!!

Or...maybe, just maybe..these air hostesses are actually part of a smuggling syndicate and smuggle cosmetics across borders by applying it on them. later scraping it off their faces and stuffing into those bottles/packs. who knows!

So, a sniper shot down a footballer

Big Deal??? I mean it's now a common practice whereby a sniper hidden somewhere in the crowds or on the roof of the stadium or the VIP boxes (if you will) shoots down an attacking player making a marauding run inside the penalty area of the opposition. Sometimes the snipers even shoot down players not making any dangerous runs. These snipers are present all over the world, more so in Europe and do shoot down players (mostly attackers) from time to time in matches at various grounds. They are believed to be a real terror in Italy, so much that they even shoot down Italian players practicing at their football practice sessions. The one shot down by a mystery sniper this time was Edu-9 and it hurts me because he is a gunner and UEFA have, this time around, taken it upon them to do something about it (by charging him of diving). Why? Rather… why now?

Edu-9 dived and won a penalty against Celtic... to go down like that is just cheating! But maybe the authorities are to be blamed for letting these things happen week-in week-out, what are other honest (till then) players to make of this? Maybe Edu-9 is then a victim of authorities' indifference towards this type of cheating which has infested this game so long.

OK, now i am not condoning diving in any form, sort or shape. All i am on about is the lack of consistency shown by the Football authorities, in this case Monsieur Platini's UEFA. This was also not to set a precedent (in which case the claim can be that henceforth all such incidents will be dealt with severity) as the same had already been set in 2007 when the Scottish FA reported a dive from a Lithuanian striker and UEFA imposed a 2 match retrospective ban on the player. Good move if you ask me but then the same should have continued thereon. I mean they were using video evidence they couldn't have gone wrong. The ronlados, drogbas, gerrards, rooneys, RB-7 of the world have all time and time practiced (their art of) diving and even won penalties (crucial ones that have changed seasons and tournaments for their clubs, countries) long after that incident involving Lithuanian player. So where was UEFA in the last two years, what's with this waking up all of a sudden? I think i know, UEFA is still the good-for-nothing body that it is, it is just that this time around the media blew the incident way (and i mean WAY) out of proportion. Why? Simple...it was a foreigner and one from Arsenal!! When Owen does this, he's 'clever' and won a penalty. When Rooney does that, he's ‘passionate’ and will do anything to win. When Ronaldo does (did..since now he is in Real Madrid and not Man utd- the darling club of the English media and the refs) it they would just laugh it off. The only player who has got stick, any close to what Edu-9 got for his act, has been Drogba. So, lest UEFA becomes consistent with their treatment (or even cognizance) of such incidents it (action against Edu-9) will remain a joke. plonkers!!

Talking about the punishment itself, it is a yellow card if the ref spots the dive. It is a 2 match ban if the ref doesn't spot the dive (or maybe the fact whether the resulting penalty is scored also plays in, or even the result of the match).

My beloved Gunners went to Old Trafford this weekend and we saw within a gap of a few mins two genuine (one stonewall) penalty claims turned down by the cowardly referee (playing his whistle to the home crowd or simply to man utd)- RVP-11 was clipped inside the box (obviously there were no replays...we all know about the bias of English media) and then Fletcher clattered into AA-23 (a two footed challenge inside the box getting nothing but the player) and referee waved 'play on'. Some refs would give a red card+penalty for that challenge and all would give a penalty. And as if this was not enough, the Professor kicked a waterbottle (did not talk or complain to anyone) out of disappointment when in the injury time min RVP-11's goal was disallowed for a WG-10 offside and the ref to everyone's amusement sent the Professor to the stands. Shame! a total shame. Although (and rightly), Keith Hackett, the chief of the referees' association (or some sh!t like that) is due to apologise to the Professor for his sending off. Wenger later described the events (in terms of refereeing) as "It was Old Trafford-ish. We know how things work,". And he is right, history (even recent) of English football will tell you what he means. And one arsenal supporter (alwaysafc) rightly welcomes the new term from Wenger's dictionary, he says on 606
"TRAFFORDISH! Thanks Arsene.. We all know what it is... but we needed a word to describe it."
Coming back to the referee, It could be just two big mistakes by the referee and nothing more but then why doesn’t the FA do something about it (poor performance from refs)... i mean any paid professional is bound to be reviewed for their performance (or lack of it). I agree it is a thankless job but then it is also a powerful job and it is a shame when the talking point of a match is poor officiating; spoils the football. Some refs try to be the talking point after the game by misusing their power and there are others who try to keep a low profile by being consistent at both the ends of the pitch and not be the centre of attraction- the latter for me are examples of good referees. So while the authorities want to check players' retrospectively using video evidence and punish those who cheat why can't the same technology be used to evaluate referees' performance and appraise them (maybe relegate the regularly faulting refs to lower league, pay cut... just thoughts) because we all know how much impact bad refereeing can have on teams and their campaigns. After all, not long ago an English referee dished out 3 (THREE) yellow cards to the same player in the world cup. Ring any bells?

the story so far

yeah, i started all pumped up 'warning' you to be careful about what you may end up reading out here...basically trying to create an atmosphere. and for what, a bloody lull...i kept procrastinating and procrastinating (that's almost three years !!!). now that i have finally put fingers to the keyboard i think the best way to start would be to see where i have come from that day to today.
let me remember...December 2006...i was working in Mumbai. having just appeared for CAT after i had realised that my coming back from Leeds to 'prepare' for CAT was futile. i should have stayed there longer (and earned a few more quids) and just appeared for CAT without any 'preparation'. come to think of it, i actually might have scored more :P

Professionally... i was working in an IT company, wanted to do an MBA at any cost to change my sector (or so i told to my bosses who tried to convince me to stay on in the organisation). and guess what, i am back in IT. Once in IT always in IT or was it just the simple fact that the placement season for us was in the middle of the economic turmoil. Damn the western economies, the ripples of what they caused were felt in our college, in the quality of companies that visited my mediocre college. I don't know whether it was this or the (relative) comfort of work in this sector...that i got attracted (once again, the first time was while opting for my engineering branch) to IT. So, basically I have an MBA (err...PGDM actually) degree (err...diploma actually), working in IT industry as a manager. Let's see what's in store for me and how much i like the ride.

Personally... I have grown a lot (not in stature)... around my waist. Have thinned around my head. I have mellowed down a lot from what i used to be..confronting, short tempered. Not to mean that i am not any of those now but it's gone down. Probably, this is called ageing. I have moved from Mumbai to Chennai, parents have moved from Mumbai to Lucknow and so technically i am not a Mumbaikar anymore. This part hurts more than any other, even more than the waist which is fighting a constant battle with my trouser. Oh and yes, i have met the one i would like to spend my life with and it's a wonderful feeling even though her parents have their concerns regarding my age, my hair line and my waist line (what's left). I would be lying if i said i didn't miss being a member of the Horny Bachelors' Club :-). V, the president of the club, would smirk on reading this. He has just one other member (A) to preside over; over the years 2 other significant members (V and K) have had to surrender their memberships for reasons similar to mine.

Footballistically... after having won FA cup in 2005, Arsenal reached the finals of the champions league in May 2006 and failed to deliver a trophy that has long eluded us gunners. I would not call it a successful season by any means as we barely qualified for European action in 2006-07, the season still was one which gave hope. We moved into our new home 'The Emirates' and as expected we took time to settle down and as we were we got a jolt with the news of the departure of TH-4 Va Va Voom in the summer of 2007. Somebody had to step up in 2007-08 to fill the void, and guess what, the WHOLE TEAM DID... and it gave us a memorable 3/4th of a season at the top of the league till the horrific incident at Birmingham City where Eduardo almost lost his foot. We lost the title on the fateful day- first the horrific leg break and then the breaking down of the WG-10 at the end of the match at the other end of the field (whilst the penalty was being converted). 2008-09 was a very average season, notwithstanding the champions league exit which was nothing short of a thrashing then was the FA cup exit at the hands of our London rivals and to this day i can not fathom why the PRofessor decided not to play our best player then- the little Russian, AA-23. So even though the season ended with us in the top 4 it was still very much of an underachieving season (or a team building season if you would). So, it has been 4 long years, after summer of 2005, without any silverware to show for in the trophy cabinet. Let's hope by the summer of 2010 we do have to loosen the hinges of that cabinet to allow some movement. As for 2009-10, which i will be watching on my Sun DTH, the season is just 2 match old (plus another 2 for us to qualify for champions league) and it's premature to comment on our chances just yet. Whatever the chances, yours truely will still back his beloved Gunners till the end. Go gunners!