Movie Review: 300

300 is the story of a King Leonidis and his 300 warriors from Sparta against the million strong Persian army of Xerces. Brilliantly choreographed, with some excellent fight sequences, 300 is a good movie if you are ready to tolerate some gory violence, and the inexplicable need to have grotesque creatures a la Pirates of the Carribean.

Some great dialogues in the movie... when Xerces threatens Leonidis's captain with "our arrows that will block out the sun", the captain retorts, "then we will have to fight in the shade!". The Spartan's sense of unity and team spirit, and camaraderie, is also very refreshing and definitely an inspiration.

Interestingly, all the Spartans are white, the Persians, of course are brown. The Spartans are fighting for hope and democracy, the Persian king thinks he is God. No wonder the Iranians have condemned the movie!

2 Days in Dubai can do this to you!

Before:

After:

Dubai

I just returned from a 30 hour trip to Dubai on official business - no, I did not go for shopping, though I did pick up some souvenirs!

Dubai is an interesting city. It's wierd, really. It has the look of a typical American city - glass and steel buildings, lots of cars, few people, good roads. But it's like all the Americans on the road and in the offices were banished and replaced by desis! Hindi is universally spoken, and you rarely meet anyone who is not from Kerela or Goa.


It's also spooky - women in black robes, and men in white, glide around softly speaking in wierd Arabic language where numbers are written left to right, but words are written right to left. Lots of pretty women, really - but all you can see are their eyes, and yes, an occasional face.

Lots of shopping - great, big malls everywhere and tourists shopping to their hearts delight. Lots of entertainment parks too, including a huge indoor ski slope, including the cable cars to take you to the top. And lots of new ones coming up. There is just so much construction happening - entire cities being built in the desert, and in the sea. Dubai Marina could probably hold a couple of small cities inside it! The bridges are interesting - the texture is almost like ceramic/marble - very beautiful structures, with lovely curves. Some exciting buildings too, including the 100+ storey Burj Dubai and the beautiful, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab Hotel. Jumeirah Beach is lovely, with sparkling white sand and clear blue-green sea.


At the end of the day, though - Dubai is sad. It's almost like every effort is made to make you comfortable and rich, but not happy. You do not see too many smiles. You see a lot of fear. A lot of "discipline". A lot of hard work. Pursuit of money, not the pursuit of happiness.

Movie Review: Nishabd

He is 60, she is 18. He is Amitabh Bacchan, she is Jiah Khan. One has his personality, the other has her looks and her body. The movie, borrowing heavily from Lolita, American Beauty and Poison Ivy, is however a disappointment, and leaves you wanting for much more.

Jiah captures the screen, and your imagination, with her sultry looks, her innocent and seductive look, her white see through dresses and shorts, and her carefree and childlike pranks. But the story never really convinces you. The camera work is fantastic, the locales seductively romantic, but the chemistry between Jiah and Amitabh never really fires up. Amitabh's love for her comes across as very paternal - and when he tells his wife he loves Jiah, you are tempted to ask, then why don't you adopt her??? Her "one way" boy friend turns up and totally disappoints. The ending is pathetic.

Interestingly, Jiah's friend, played by a young new comer, does a good job in the few scenes she has.

Should you watch Nishabd? Only if you wish for a visual treat! Jiah is worth every minute of the two hour flm!

Quote of the Day

I swear to drunk I am not God!

My Icecream Sundaes

Here are two of my recommended desserts... very simple, but add hugely to that satisfying dinner of Chichen Chettinaad and Crispy Fried Mushrooms!

Lovely Lady in a Polka Dot Skirt: Simple really.. Black Currant Ice cream and a dash of Apple Juice, topped with black grapes, cut into two.

Brown Girl in the Ring: Capuccino Ice cream with Pepsi, add a dash of Lime Juice and sprinkle some ground chocolate for that extra something.

In general, ice creams go extremely well when combined with juice or Pepsi... so instead of that boring cup of ice cream, try out some of your own cool combinations!

Happy Sundaeing!

Resignation

I am hereby officially tendering my resignation as an adult. I have decided I would like to accept the responsibilities of an 8 year-old again.

I want to go to McDonald's and think that it's a four star restaurant.

I want to sail sticks across a fresh mud puddle and make a sidewalk with rocks.

I want to think M&Ms are better than money because you can eat them.

I want to lie under a big oak tree and run a lemonade stand with my friends on a hot summer's day.

I want to return to a time when life was simple; When all you knew were colors, multiplication tables, and nursery rhymes, but that didn't bother you, because you didn't know what you didn't know and you didn't care.

All you knew was to be happy because you were blissfully unaware of all the things that should make you worried or upset.

I want to think the world is fair. That everyone is honest and good.

I want to believe that anything is possible. I want to be oblivious to the complexities of life and be overly excited by the little things again.

I want to live simple again. I don't want my day to consist of computer crashes, mountains of paperwork, depressing news, how to survive more days in the month than there is money in the bank, doctor bills, gossip, illness, and loss of loved ones.

I want to believe in the power of smiles, hugs, a kind word, truth, justice, peace, dreams, the imagination, mankind, and making angels in the snow.

So . . . here's my checkbook and my car-keys, my credit card bills and my 401K statements. I am officially resigning from adulthood.

(Recycled from a 7 year old mail...)

Dada - The King of Comebacks

First the test matches, then the one dayers - Dada has stamped his authority on both versions of the game and silenced his critics and everyone who wrote him off, letting his batting, his fielding and his bowling do the talking! The Man of the Series in the home series against Sri Lanka, the Prince of Calcutta has truly proved himself the King of Comebacks!

Way to go, Dada, let's go get the World Cup!

Crossing Paths...

Millions of people cross our paths every day... touching our lives... bumping into us... sharing a conversation... Most go their own way, never to come by again. And yet, there are those few, who come by and stay.. their lives intertwined with yours, for the rest of your life! Inexplicably, breaking the rules that the other millions live by!

Why?

Movie Review: Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia is an interesting mix of the normal and the fantasy - Jesse and Leslie are two school kids, who create their own fantasy world across the creek behind their homes. As Leslie says, close your eyes and keep your mind open, and you can see and feel anything you want!

Life's beautiful, till disaster strikes. Leslie dies in an accident in the creek, and Jesse blames himself for her death. That's where the movie suddenly turns from a beautiful movie for the kids to an inexplicably serious one and loses it's charm on the way...

Annasophia Robb, as Leslie, is a Lindsay Lohan in the making - smart and beautiful, a la Kiera Knightley, this girl will be someone to watch out for!

Crispy Mushrooms in Olive Sauce

Here's another of my simple and absolutely tasty recipes... and takes hardly 5 mins!

First, heat some olive oil in a kadhai. While the oil heats up, grind some garlic with red chillis. Add the paste to the oil, and stir a little bit. Now, add some fresh oyster mushrooms (if you do not get them, button mushrooms are OK - but they do not crisp as much!). Stir a bit, then leave the dish to simmer on a low flame for 3-4 mins. Add a little salt or vinegar to taste. Add some oil to give that extra crispiness to the mushrooms. Finally, grind some fresh black pepper into the dish, and you are ready to go!

Tip: You can use butter instead of the olive oil. Also, try adding baby corn, sweet corn, jalepinos with olives, and other such ingredients for that extra zing!

Chicken Chettinaad

I love cooking - it's a guaranteed way of beating stress and getting back into the groove. I made some hot Chicken Chettinaad today - don't ask me why that name - I don't know, I just like it! Anyway, so you go and get some fresh chicken, clean it, and chop it into medium size pieces. (Siddhesh's Secret - dump the large chunks of meat, they add nothing to the dish except tasteless mass.) They add lots of curd, a spoon of vinegar, mirchi, haldi, a little salt, and some chicken masala, and let it marinate for a few minutes. While the chicken marinates, chop some onion and grind some lasoon. Now, heat some oil is a kadhai, add cummins seeds, a few large red dry chillis, and then fry the onions till a deep brown. Then add the chicken, and let it simmer for 10-15 mins. Adjust the masala and salt to your taste, add some more vinegar or tamarind water, as needed.

And there you have it - my secret Chicken Chettinaad recipe!

Tip: If you happen to add too much mirchi, serve curd with the chicken, and call it Chicken Chettinaad with Curd! :)

Movie Review: In Good Company

An old movie, caught it on TV for the nth time. A beautiful movie about the life of a "dinosaur" and his values as his company is transformed into today's aggressive, digital, flat-world company, his relationship with his young boss, and with his beautiful daughter played by my favourite Scarlett Johansson.

Check it out when you get the chance - one of my favorite movies.

Movie Review: Deja Vu

Have you ever got that feeling that you have been there before? That strange feeling when you feel like it's a part of your life coming back to you, and yet you cannot really remember? What if it was not just a feeling, what if it was for real?

Deja Vu promises a lot, but disappoints in the end. Denzel Washington is a cop out to solve the mystery of a ferry bombing and a connected murder, and goes back in time through a breakthrough technology that allows folding of time, allowing you to create a bridge to the past (sigh yes, bear with me for now, please) and actually transports himself back in time, changing the course of destiny and succeeding in rolling back events that have already happened, such that they no longer have happened?

Get it? Don't worry if you do not - life's still as simple as you and I know it!

Movie Review: The Holiday

A nice, no-tensions, goody goody movie about Cameron Diaz, a stressed out movie editor from LA and a lost-in-love reporter, Kate Winslet, who decide to exchange their homes for two weeks to run away from their problems and their guys (isn't it the same thing, anyway?). During the holiday, both realise the truth about their lives, find true love, and at the end, everything is fine and happy and rosy. Mushy, but makes you feel good at the end of a long, stressful week!

Watch out for Kate - she's absolutely fantastic as the girl who knows she can't have her guy, and yet, cannot say no to him, cannot stop loving him, cannot help but let her eyes tell him how much she loves him. And Cameron, as always, is beautiful! Ah, that smile...

Movie Review: Black Friday

It was worth the long wait. Black Friday is an absolute gem. Anurag Kashyap brings you the story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts in a way that leaves you touched, angry, ashamed, hopeful, proud, scared and happy all at the same time. The movie, in a serious documentary style, covers the reasons - the Babri demolition and the riots, the planning of the blasts, the blasts themselves, the arrests, the interrogations, the break throughs and the plight of the pawns and their families in the conspiracy. From the gallis and dance bars of Mumbai, to the gleaming skyscrapers of Dubai and the training camps of Pakistan, from the filth of Mumbai's slums to the dungeons of the interrogation rooms, Black Friday brings you an unforgettable cinematic experience.

Kaykay as Rakesh Maria, the officer who almost single-handedly cracked the case, is very inspirational in his role. The score by Indian Ocean is fantastic, and adds tremendously to the experience. The cinematography and screenplay is brilliant, and inspite of the complexity and depth of the conspiracy, keeps you in its grip.

Bear in mind, though... the movie is not for the weak hearted or the super-sensitive and can leave you feeling really shaken.

Quote for the Day

Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out!

MTV Roadies 4 - Bani loses to Anthony

I am not a big fan of reality TV shows, but I used to watch MTV Roadies.

Primarily because of Bani (Gurbani Judge, from Chandigarh) - who survived a lot of competition and games from her co-contestants until she lost in the final round to Calcutta's Anthony. Bani wasn't exactly good looking, but she had a lot of spunk, a lot of attitude, the I-care-a-damn confidence that made her a refreshing change from the other contestants who were only playing games behind the sscenes, trying to manipulate relationships to their advantage. Bani was direct. On the face. Explicit. I like such people. I wish she had won. I guess she did :)

Sachin versus Sourav :)

Two of India's most accomplished cricketers - Sachin and Sourav - played against each other for the first time in their lives today. The occasion was the final of the Ranji match between Mumbai and Bengal at the Wankhede today! Sachin faced 14 deliveries from Dada and scored 4 runs (including his century mark).

Will be interesting to see how Sachin fares when he bowls to Dada in the next 1-2 days!

Securing your Credit Cards

OK, you have all got those email chains, and you have passed some of them on... this is my chance at creating a chain myself, and you better help me in this :P)

More seriously, I wanted to share a real experience with you, and hope that this might save you from a lot of trouble later on - with your credit card.

A few days back, my card was illegally used to purchase airline tickets worth Rs 53000 on an Internet travel site. Thankfully, I got one of those confirmation SMSes, and immediately called the bank to cancel the transaction. Later it came to light that this was an organised gang, purchasing tickets online using other people's credit cards and then selling them at a huge discount - the gang has now been busted and the perpetrators caught after a raid in a cybercafe in Mumbai.

Whenever you swipe a card, your card number and other details are available on the charge slip. All that is needed to use this information on an Internet site is the authorization code - this is a 3 digit number found on the back of your card, usually on the signature strip (after your card number).

Hence, please take the following additional precautions when using your credit cards:

1) Do not give your card away as far as possible. Get it swiped in your presence.
2) Even if you do the above, it is very easy to glance and memorize the 3 digit number - hence scratch out the number from the back of the card. If you want to use the card for Internet transactions, keep the auth code in a separate secure place.
3) Use credit cards sparingly on the Internet - if you have to use it, try using one of the one-time-use-only Netsafe cards that are available online from banks like HDFC.

And yes, please share this information with as many people as you can! Contribute towards making the Internet a safer place :)

News for Today...

1) Tatas buy Anglo-Dutch Corus to become the fifth largest steel maker in the world. The deal comes close on the heels of Mittal Steel's successful acquisition of Arcelor. Do you know how much Tata Steel paid? Around 50,000 Crore Rupees in an all-cash deal!
2) Sidney Sheldon dies.
3) India win Pepsi Cup beating WI 3-1. Dada scores 68, Dravid 78 and Tendulkar gets a quickfire unbeaten 100.
4) Rocky returns with Rocky Balboa. Did you know Sylvestor Stallone is 64 years old?

The Saga of the Credit Card - 3

Finally, some exciting news. The credit card frauds have been busted! Times of India reported a couple of days back that the gang had been apprehended by the Economic Offences Wing of the police, which took charge of the case after a complaint by Kingfisher Airlines. The EOW tracked the IP address used for making the online purchases to a cybercafe in Antop Hill, and apprehended most of the members of the gang.

According to the report, mostly (only?) ICICI credit cards were used, which makes me wonder if the information was supplied to these frauds from inside!

All I need now is for the charge on my card to be revised, and I can be a happy credit card user once again!

Movie Review: Salaam-e-Ishq

Watch it only if you:
1) Have 4 hours, and nothing better to do (in which case you must be having a really boring life!)
2) Are a die hard fan of Priyanka and can tolerate her no matter what she does - to be fair to her, she does have a couple of watchable scenes!
3) Like to see Salman without his shirt, and all the hair from his shirt stuck on his head - Quiz: In which movie did Salman not take off his shirt?
4) Like to see Anjanaa in her white hot pants (now THAT's a VERY VALID REASON!!!)
5) Like to see Juhi play the auntie in smart clothes
6) Love Ayesha Takia - and yes, though she gets only about 10 mins of screen time, she is very adorable yet again
7) Don't mind seeing Akshaye Khanna and John Abraham mis-lip-synching to voices that DO NOT match them
8) Cannot afford to miss a Vidya Balan movie - even if she is crying and looking miserable most of the time and making out the rest of the time
9) Want to see Govinda live his dream and shout "Maydam, I Love You" to a firang (talk about racism!)
10) You still need more reasons???

Monkey, Two Clothed Cats and the Mouse-on-the-Laptop

That's what greeted us when we arrived in Nerul yesterday.


First the cats! They had an operation a week back to get rid of their reproductive capabilities, and had to be dressed up to prevent infection while the wounds healed. Sorry, but we had to do it after they both got raped in their cat-teens in quick succession giving birth to 3 kittens each leading to a population explosion of the feline kind leading to fears of them taking over Bhobe Estate and turning us into their pets for on-demand-purring-in-return-for-patting!



And the mouse! Check it out in the pic! Looks real? Well it should - it is!

And finally the monkey. On the roof, jumping and breaking tiles, this ancestor seems to have taken a sudden interest in having a closer look at some of his more innocent, feet-firmly-on-the-ground relatives!

Happy Republic Day!

Here's wishing all my readers a very Happy Republic Day! :)

Did you watch the parade today? The precision in which the parade is held is awesome - the dignitaries arrive in such a regal procession, and the flag hoisting starts on the dot at 10.00 am. Russian President Vladimir Putin was the guest of honour this year. It was such an awesome spectacle - The tanks, the Brahmos missiles, the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher, the cool stuff from DRDO, and the marching contigents and military bands, followed by the cultural tableaus. The contingents included the oldest Indian regiment (the 61st Cavalry, formed in 1773, and now the President's Body Guards, and the only remaining horsed regiment in the world today) as well as the world's only camel-mounted military band. Also impressive were the commandos of the parachute regiment double-marching, literally jumping in place instead of walking - with those heavy guns, it was amazing how much energy they must be putting into the entire parade! Also a first this year - one of the contingents was led by a foreigner, Captain Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, grandson of the Sultan of Johar, a state in Malaysia. He was commissioned in the army after passing out from the IMA, Dehradun two years ago.

The Saga of the Credit Card - 2

After the initial shock had worn off, a couple of interesting things happened in the last two days.

Firstly, I was surprised to find a comment on my earlier blog assuring me on behalf of MMT that the issue would be resolved and I would not have to pay the charges! Later in the evening, I was pleasantly surprised to find that makemytrip.com's finance manager, Abhishek, had made that comment - when asked how he came to my blog, he replied that they subscribed to the appropriate Google alerts to make sure they were in touch with what people were saying about MMT! I like that attitude - very positive! :)

Anyway, so Abhishek assured me that they were trying to nail down the culprits - apparently, they have come across some other cards that have been used, and all of them happen to be from around the Pune area. We discussed possible places where the cards could have been copied... however, later I realised, it's not that difficult at all. Any place you swap, already has information about your name and card number, and expiry date. All they need is to note down the 3 digit authorization number on the back! So one lesson from this - scratch out the auth number from the back of the card, and you can prevent a lot more frauds on your card.

Next morning, I happened to read the TOI, and there was an article on the fraud - the exact same situation, where someone has apparently been using multiple credit cards, to do the same thing as they did with me - book airline tickets! Wierd - I would assume that booking airline tickets would easily expose you (through the passengers who could be easily tracked at the airport). But then, I guess there's not much you can buy online in India right now anyway!

Now I need to fax across a Customer Dispute Form to ICICI, and wait for the "maximum 60 days" for the dispute to be resolved. And wait and see how MMT and ICICI go about "resolving" this issue - does it only cancel the tickets and give me back my money, or does it have the wherewittal to go after the culprits and bring them to book!

The Saga of the Credit Card

Well, we have all heard those warnings about identity theft, electronic fraud, and people using your bank account information to rob you.

Well, it (almost?) happened to me today!

At 743 pm, I got an SMS from ICICI Bank (that's one good thing they do - they inform you whenever you make any significant purchase on the card) saying that I had made a purchase of 53,360 on my credit card at MakeMyTrip.com. I immediately called the bank helpline, and the person said that I should wait a couple of days for the purchase to be billed to me before raising a dispute request. Apparently, he could see the charge, but it had not been "billed" to me yet, and hence he could not raise the request. I got pissed, and asked them to cancel my card immediately.

Next, I called MakeMyTrip.com. They were a lot more concerned, and found that apparently someone by the name Rahul Singh had booked 4 passengers (Fakruddin, Azharuddin and 2 others) on some Air India flight using a total of 3 different cards to make a total purchase of around 98,000!

So the current state of affairs is that I have got my cards cancelled, I will raise the dispute request tomorrow, and MakeMyTrip.com will apparently initiate some action on their side.

Keep watching this space for updates, and keep your credit cards off the net!!!

Met Frank and Joe Hardy :)

Any teenager worth his age would know who I am talking about!

Frank and Joe Hardy, from the Hardy Boys - college kids freelancing as amateur detectives, were my heroes when I was 16. My cousin and I read Hardy Boys by the dozens. At last count, I had crossed 100. We kept track of their lives, we knew each and every family member and friend they had, we were almost in love with their girl friends Callie and Iola!

I met them today.

Well, not exactly! Instead, I met John Frazzini and Bryan Palma, two ex US Secret Service Special Agents, who have been part of the US President's Security Team, and are now potential clients. Both in their late thirties, they would be exactly what age Frank and Joe would be by now :) And yes, one of them has dark hair and the other is blonde! I spent 3 hours driving them around Pune today.

And yes, they are all I would expect Frank and Joe to be :)

Movie Review: Risk

Some movies are predictable, some are boring. Risk is both.

Self Appraisal

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits.The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation.

The boy asked, "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?" The woman replied, "I already have someone to cut my lawn." "Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now." replied boy. The woman responded that she was very satisfied with the person who was presently cutting her lawn.

The little boy found more perseverance and offered, "Lady, I'll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of North Palm Beach, Florida."Again the woman answered in the negative.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver.

The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy and said, "Son... I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job."

The little boy replied, "No thanks, I was just checking my performance and the job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady, I was talking to !"

Movie Review: Guru

Guru is the story of Gurukanth Desai, a village boy from Gujarat who seeks glory and fame as a businessman, starting as a salesman in Turkey selling petroleum cans, and then coming back to India to ultimately create and lead India's biggest company. It's the story of his struggles against the prejudices of a newly liberated India against the "middle class", his fights against the license raj, his rapid ascent through means not always completely legal, his war against a "ethically minded" reporter who vows to bring him down, his showdown with a inquiry commission and loss of faith with investors, till he finally rises as a Phoenix from the ashes as the "Bapu who fought for the freedom of the middle class and the country against the government that tried to hold it back". And yes, you guessed it, it's supposed to be based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani!

The movie delivers in bits and pieces, but was generally a disappointment. The story lacks punch, that extra zing. Abhishek is good in the later parts of the movie, as the paralysis-striken 40-something Guru, but fails to bring across his vision and zeal in the first half in a role that would have perhaps been best played by the King Khan! Check out the way he laughs during the final scene in the stadium - the manic joy on his face comes across beautifully, and thrills with it's devilishness. Aishwarya - well, she is surprisingly restrained in the movie, and after Dhoom 2, is actually tolerable, when she doesn't dance or cry or start with her histrionics. Madhavan and Vidya Balan look lost and are completely wasted. Mithunda is a surprise - never thought he could act this well!

The best part of the movie is the cinematography and the period feel of the movie. Whether it is the kapada market in Mumbai with the quaint cars, or the Gujarat countryside, the smell and the dampness actually chills you to the bone! (Or maybe it was just the AC!) The Humdum theme song is beautifully done - and adds a lot of atmosphere to the movie.

Overall, a can-watch, but don't expect too much!

Book Review: Neither Here, Nor There

Bill Bryson's Neither Here Nor There is a sweet, funny account of his travels through Europe - from the endless nights of Hammerfest to the dusty streets of Italy, from the boring people of Switzerland and Sweden, to the fun loving population of Copenhagen, the good, the bad and the ugly, Bill captures the sights and smells of Europe in a very unique way.

So happy was I on reading NHNT that I went ahead and bought four more of his travelogues based on his trips through the US, UK and Austraaaliaaa. Keep a watch here for more on Bill Bryson, but for now, grab a copy of NHNT and soak in the European experience!

Movie Review: Bhaagam Bhaag

Bhaagam Bhaag is an interesting movie - lots of slap stick comedy of the college festivals genre, a sudden, shocking twist in the story just before intermission and a deepening suspense in the second half, before ending on a laugh-till-the-guts-spill-out note.

Govinda and Akshaye Kumar work in a drama troupe, on a one month tour of London. Assigned the task of finding a heroine, they team up with Gullu the taxi driver(Rajpal yadav) before stumbling upon a silly gang supplying heroin "pudiyas", get mixed up in a murder, take panga with the London Metropolitan Police led by Jackie Shroff, rescue a damsel in distress (Lara Dutta), and get chased around town by a local goonda and his hencemen led by Shakti Kapoor. Every situation is hilarious until and after a suicidal Lara is "burnt to death", and her "husband" is murdered, before Lara starts to "reappear" all over London. Of course, all pieces fall into place before a hilarious end scene, a rip off from the famous fire engine scene from "It's a Mad Mad Mad World".

I enjoyed the "Pyaar ka Signaaal" rendition by Remo in the opening credits, with a scantily (and I must say, unfortunately, not very tastefully) dressed "chocolate" Tanushree Dutta as eye candy. "Ab toh akele mein, jiya jaaye na..." is another beautiful song, and Lara looks absolutely stunning while giving us a mini tour of London. And the icing on the cake - the centerpiece of attraction - a silver Ford Fiesta that absolutely hugged my attention whenever it burst onto the screen :)

Keep your thinking at home, and go enjoy the movie - you will come out happy and humming, and looking forward to some more bhaagam bhaag in your life!

Dada has Arrived!

Like a new baby, Sourav Ganguly came back into the Indian team exactly after nine months. But his arrival wasn’t marked by joy or euphoria; rather, it was greeted with skepticism and cynical laughs. Nobody really knew how Ganguly would blend with the others; nobody dared to think how the old differences would be tackled. Worse, nobody really believed he would last long on the hard and bouncy pitches here against express speed and raw aggression.

In the practice game at Potchefstroom, just three days after reaching here, the worst fears came true: Ganguly blinked into a rasping bouncer. He looked dazed, completely shaken and not up to it. This is it, even his own admirers whispered. But Ganguly steadied himself and was more than ready for the next bouncer. He went on to make a most extraordinary 83; he may have missed out on the first century of the tour but his knock became the rallying point for India. Since then, of course, Ganguly has got hit in virtually every other match; he has taken blows on his body, on his shoulder and on his elbow too. He flinched almost every time but he didn’t look harried or uncomfortable like he used to earlier; if anything he looked much more determined and eager to keep going. Indeed, he batted much better after each hit.

That, according to people close to him, is his new philosophy: ‘‘It’s better to get hit than to get out.’’ It has worked perfectly for him. More importantly, for the statistically-minded, he is the highest run-getter for India in this series. This second coming, of course, wasn’t easy; it has come after months of immense pain, tribulations and a million doubts. In fact, every single former cricketer and expert was absolutely sure that he was finished as a player; he alone believed that he still had a few days left in him.

So while the Indian team floundered, and the world laughed, he worked hard on his fitness, corrected his thought process and waited for his turn. Three tests later, not only has he proved everybody wrong, he has also scored more runs than anybody else. Now, there is no doubt that he will be back in the One-day side too.

Dada has arrived. He was discarded by his own team, his own friends, and indeed, his country. People laughed at him, and joked about him. But he fought his lonely battle, and he won. That's why, he is my hero.

(Adapted from the Times of India)

Movie Review: Museum Ke Andar Fas Gaya Sikandar

Yes, silly title.. whoever thought of it??? Oh, it's a Ben Stiller movie dubbed in Hindi.. gawd, not one more!!! Well, that was my reaction too when I realised that "Night at the Museum" was only being released in Hindi in India.. but hey, watch it, and chances are, you will love it :)

A simple, kiddish story about a museum that comes alive at night, with Ben Stiller the desperate dad with a night watchman's job - but extremely well presented. Very sweet, actually. And the icing on the cake - the Hindi dubbing! Not only is it done extremely well, but the adapted dialogues actually add tremendously to the entertainment value of the movie.

Go see it.

Celebrating the New Year?

Yet another Dec 31st, yet another slew of SMSes and mails wishing a happy new year...

Why do people always look forward to the new year? Why do we always look ahead, try and get rid of our present, and live for the future, promising (and many times deceiving) ourselves into feeling happy that the new year will bring in the success and happiness promised in those myriad messages?

What about those for whom a new year simply signifies the end of an era, the closure of a chapter of hope, and the dawn of a new day that will bring nothing but misery and the ultimate recognition that your hope is dead, that every new day from now on will only be one filled with loneliness, sadness, and failure?

When you wish them a Happy New Year, are you perhaps not rubbing it in?

My Favourite Books...

Love Story by Eric Segal - mushy, but very nicely written. My initial appreciation for Segal steadily grew into a love affair with Doctors and The Class. Segal's works remain in my list of favourites for the sheer depth in which he traces ordinary lives.

Rich Dad Poor Dad - the book that really opened my eyes to personal finance, and got me seriously thinking about taking control of my life and doing something about the below limit bank balances! A must read for all ye self-made young men and women and your DINK lives :)

One Minute Manager - definitely the book that inspires me most! The rest of the OMM series is great too, but nothing to beat the one that started it all!

FISH! - Comes a very close second in the list of books that inspire me and affect me most in my day to day job!

Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman - the book that started it all. I was always an avid reader of fiction, but EI got me hooked to the category of books that are sometimes sadly grouped under the self-help category!

Life of Pi by Yann Martel - one of the most interesting pieces of fiction. Has three parts - part one sets the stage, part two gets interesting, but it's the part three - just the last 5% of the book - that really blows you away. Read the book - it's really worth "enduring" it if only for the thrill of the last few pages!

The Complete Works of Robert Ludlum - well, most of them anyway (except the Osterman Weekend, and the Road to Omaha). Most people would find it ridiculous that I have actually gone ahead and bought each and every book he's ever written - but something about his spy tales, many of them set in Europe, really turn me on!

The Animal Farm - not a big favourite, but definitely a book that left me thinking hard!

Paulo Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die - wierdly, one of the characters I identify with the most, and a character that has played a huge role in shaping my life!

Quote for the Day

There comes a time in a man's life when the dual tragedies of decreasing hair and increasing weight can be offset by the pleasure of driving his car. Siddhesh Bhobe, inspired.

Comeback Icon

Excerpts from another nice article in the Hindustan Times:

Do dead people ever come alive? Certainly not the ones who leave this world, but those whose obituaries are written when alive, do sometimes stage a comeback. Fortunately for Indian cricket, former captain Saurav Ganguly comes across as a classical case.

After a string of casual and poor performances the southpaw was dropped from the Indian Team amidst consternation and jubilation alike. Consternation for those who believed in the eternal worth of Dada and jubilation for those who thought that the Prince of Calcutta had lost his talisman to score runs.

What followed was a media binge to bury Ganguly for good. Obituaries were written with the choicest words. Experts, selectors et al, wanted his scalp. So, Wasim Akram advised Ganguly to retire- "This is a problem in our part of the world, sportsmen don't realise when is the right time to say goodbye to the game."

During his days in wilderness, Ganguly was being consistently advised by a cross-section of the Nation to retire from the game. It's distinctly surprising that people, who can't decide for themselves, make decisions about others. For a moment, people had Ganguly believe that he was no longer good enough.

Against all odds Dada persisted and made an acclaimed comeback into Team India. But people had an explanation for this as well- "He is back not because he is good, but because others are not performing well." Strange - the more people are proved wrong in their prejudices, the more prejudiced they become.

Now what? Ganguly performs well against all odds in South Africa. His stoic 83 in the warm-up match against a Rest of South Africa side was reflective of his determination to do well. This was a well played innings under tremendous pressure as wickets were falling en bloc around him.

In the ongoing first Test match against the Proteas, Ganguly was the top scorer for India with 51 not out in the first innings, holding the innings together. Ganguly fought in the middle for 180 minutes and returned unconquered. The high point of his innings was when he pulled Ntini for a six.It was a relief to see an Indian batsman offer resistance after what seemed to be an eternity. He followed the good work of first innings with a brisk 25 in the second innings.

Dada braved the tension in the middle with utmost composure, knowing well that each ball could be his very last.

For the moment, this Bengal Tiger has been rehabilitated from an endangered status. He is definitely not destined to extinction in the near future.

As adulation start to pour in from various quarters, the most successful captain of Team India has become the unambiguous 'Comeback Icon' in the country.

Day of Ironic Turnarounds for Indian Cricket

One was a discard coming back as the knight in shining armour, the other a hero who was sent packing and discarded forever. Saurav Ganguly and Jagmohan Dalmiya. Two of the most talked about people in Indian cricket in the last couple of years - once friends, till Dalmiya turned his back on his one-time-mentee, "leaked" the email that led to his expulsion from the team. Today, as Saurav Ganguly proved he was worth his weight in gold, Jalgmohan Dalmiya was expelled from the BCCI for life.

What a turnaround in the lives of two men, what an ironic coincidence!

It's Saurav Ganguly's Test already

From the Times of India, Dec 16: One is on a comeback trail; another has barely embarked on his Test career. One is currently restrained and highly determined; the other is vivacious, often given to overt theatrics on the field. Together, on a blessed Saturday, they gifted India one of the most beautiful days here on this tour to South Africa.


In the morning, Sourav Ganguly carried the lower order around his willow to lift India to a fighting first innings total of 249 on a dubious Wanderers pitch; in the afternoon, S Sreesanth bowled with amazing fire and zeal to stun South Africa to their lowest total since 1957: 84 all out. Ganguly scored a patient and unbeaten 51, the highest contribution from an Indian in the first Test; Sreesanth picked up 5/40, one of the best figures for a pacer raised in the dustbowls of the subcontinent. Together, they have set India on course for what looks like a potentially amazing victory.

The man of the Test so far, however, has been Ganguly. For the last few weeks, as India staggered from one defeat to another collapse, coach Greg Chappell has believed in just one line: we need one innings, one good knock to turn this around. He was right. It's just so ironical that it had to come from Ganguly's blade. The same player who had been left out as a finished product.

In a way, everything has changed since his arrival here last week. Within 72 hours, as India collapsed again, he dug deep into his experience and grit to score a defining half-century. His calming presence and fighting spirit helped Irfan Pathan and India score their first century on this tour; it also boosted them to victory. That confidence simply rubbed on to the team as virtually everybody batted with fire and determination. Apart from all the courage and attitude that Ganguly has exhibited so far, one has to appreciate his distinguished behaviour off the field too: he has been calm and dignity-personified, showing remarkable grace under, both, pressure and success. He could easily have bared his shirt again or sent damning signals towards the dressing room. He didn't.


He has been equally poised and assured in the middle too. He took blows on his body, didn't flinch under the bouncer-onslaught and played his shots with the old-world charm and panache. He leaned into his drives and cut with control and precision. Ganguly's 51 will be worth its weight in diamonds. When he came in to bat on Saturday morning, half the side was back in the dressing room. He was left with just the tail and India were certainly not out of danger. He didn't panic; instead he showed enough faith in his mates, allowing them to play their own game. Dhoni fell to a spectacular catch, a one-handed, diving effort by Pollock at mid-off, while Kumble, Zaheer and Sreesanth couldn't handle the wicket. India were down to nine wickets but Ganguly didn't lose heart. He encouraged VRV Singh to play his strokes.

It had all the signs of a leader, a changed man and player. Chappell will surely have no complaints. That crucial, turning-around innings has probably come.

Dada lets his Bat do the Talking!

51* in 101, with 4 fours and 1 six
25 in 38, with 4 fours

On a day when 20 wickets fell, when India bowled out the SA side for 84 in 25 overs, these figures from Saurav Ganguly say it all. Dada is back, and back with bang!

And you could see the difference in the team today - the energy, the team spirit, the huddle - the hunger to win, as one.

Welcome back, Dada! India looks up to you to show the way!!!

Amazing Facts

I was reading my latest Ludlum when I came across a couple of "facts", which I would have normally read and forgotten as some of his fiction. Today, I decided to check it out instead, and was surprised to find he wasn't kidding at all!

The Lancet Liver Fluke: These flukes get themselves excreted by snails and is then eaten by ants, which likes the snail's excreta, and once inside the ant, it "programs" the ant to go and climb blades of grass and just stay there all day attached to the blade or leaf by it's mandibles, so that it then gets eaten by a sheep, inside which the fluke reproduces heavily, and when the sheep takes a dump, you get millions of them out in the world! Inside each host, the fluke goes through one of the phases of it's complex life cycle!
For more, check out this link

Kopi Luwak: Kopi (the Indonesian word for coffee) Luwak comes from the islands of Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi which form part of Indonesia. It's the most expensive coffee in the world, and sells for almost 300 USD per pound. It's not the exotic location that makes it so expensive - it's the way it is processed. On these Indonesian islands, there's a small marsupial called the paradoxurus, a tree-dwelling animal. They climb among the coffee trees eating only the ripest, reddest coffee cherries. The beans come through the digestion process fairly intact, still wrapped in layers of the cherries' mucilage. The enzymes in the animals' stomachs, though, add something unique to the coffee's flavor through fermentation.
For more, check out this interesting article.

A couple of years earlier, I had read one of his spy-cum-science fiction novels, the Covert One series. One of these had this fictional account of a "genetic computer", built using DNA, and much much more powerful than any of the US government's computers - and you can guess the rest of the story. Checked out DNA computers on Google, and this is what I found, reported by National Geographic almost 4 years back!

Israeli scientists have devised a computer that can perform 330 trillion operations per second, more than 100,000 times the speed of the fastest PC. The secret: It runs on DNA.
A year ago, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, unveiled a programmable molecular computing machine composed of enzymes and DNA molecules instead of silicon microchips. Now the team has gone one step further. In the new device, the single DNA molecule that provides the computer with the input data also provides all the necessary fuel.
For more, check out this link.

Truth is stranger than fiction? You bet!

Quote for the Day

Never let your morals get in the way of doing what's right. Issac Asimov.

Arm Yourself...

Part of the lyrics from Chris Cornell's You Know My Name - the title track of James Bond's Casino Royale...

Arm yourself because no-one else here will save you

The odds will betray you

And I will replace you

You can't deny the prize it may never fulfill you

It longs to kill you

Are you willing to die?

The coldest blood runs through my veins

Try to hide your hand

Forget how to feel

Forget how to feel

Life is gone with just a spin of the wheel

Spin of the wheel

My 100th Blog Entry!!!

:) This is my 100th Blog Entry

Hip Hip Hurray!
Hip Hip Hurray!
Hip Hip Hurray!!

Another Robert Ludlum!

I am a big Robert Ludlum fan - I have in my library every book he's ever written - so when he died a few years back, you can understand how disappointed I was! But I was pleasantly surprised a few months back when I found a new Robert Ludlum novel - and bought it excitedly, before I realised it was not his book after all - it was based on a character by Robert Ludlum in his earlier book! Sigh...

So now imagine how excited I was today when I actually found another new one - and this time, the book is by Ludlum himself!

Great writers do not die - they live in their works, and some like Ludlum, probably write even after they are gone! Call me a non-believer, but that is something I find hard to digest.

Anyway, for now, I am going to curl up in bed with my Robert... and can you please stop thinking on those lines, perverts?

The Viaduct

December seems to be the "Month of Infrastructure" on my blog - he he - so while I am at it, here is another awesome work of engineering that never fails to take my breath away... or is it a work of art? I will let you decide that for yourself!


Presenting to you, the Pune Viaduct!

Flying over the chasm, and into the tunnel across the Katraj ghat, this road will not only reduce congestion in south of the city, but will reduce travel time between Mumbai and Satara by atleast half an hour.

This picture was taken in late July... and the bridge looked so beautiful in the midst of the rolling mists and the rain! The work of man need not always be in disharmony with nature!

My First BRTS Ride!

I took my first BRTS ride today - from Sahakarnagar to Katraj, and then back. It was an awesome experience!


Very beautiful buses, polite crew, smart tickets (from a punch-on-the-spot machine - like a credit card verification machine), air-conditioned, music, tinted windows, split level flooring (the rear half is raised to make space for the engine and the AC - the front half is very low for easy entry), comfortable seats, high frequency (every 3-4 mins) and most importantly, extremely cheap - the 4 km ride cost just 5 rupees! And remember, for most part, these run on dedicated, high-speed lanes reserved from them - you get this childish pleasure in waving out to other poor, hapless souls stuck in the slow moving lanes :)


It will be so cool to have these running over the city - even if they do not get dedicated lanes all the way! And add the skybuses - and commuting in Pune will be a truly a different experience altogether!


Yes, we have our problems, but our system, our economy, our democratic institutions, our judiciary, our press - it works, and I must say, for a country of our diversity and our size, it works extremely well. How many of us are actually proud of what we have?

Quote for the Day

There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking. Alfred Korzybsky.

Reaching Out...

SRK's opening scene with Rani in Kabhi Alvida Na Kehena rates as one of my absolute favourites - I love the way he connects with her, listens to her, gives advice, the naughtiness, the openness, the way he advices but doesnt rub it in, the way he gives off that amazing warmth and energy, the hope.

That's how I would love to be - someone capable of feeling, understanding, and being able to pass through someone's life fleetingly, and yet leave an impression for life. A positive impression.

SRK has sometimes been criticized for being larger than life - but I would so love to be like the characters he plays - like the angel that brings so much happiness and cheer to everyone in KHNH.

The E-Square Flyover

Here's a collage of pictures of one of the most beautiful flyovers I have seen in India - the flyover at E-Square. This was thrown open to the public just a few days back, as soon as it was ready, without waiting for the customary opening ceremony.

A beautiful structure, this bridge is composed of segments designed and manufactured offsite, from where they are transported to the site, needled together using steel wires, and then literally glued into place! The entire structure is literally hung by the wires, thus requiring very thin support pillars, giving a very clean and open look to the bridge. Also, the lovely curves add to the overall beauty of the structure. Check the wine glass pillars, the broad U-shaped curve underneath, and the gentle slopes on the bridge.

While the E-Square flyover is a simple, one-way bridge, the one coming up at Agricultural University Chowk has 4 lanes, will be 2-way, and has a vertical as well as a horizontal curve (looking from the top, it's not a straight line, but looks like a gentle C). The flyover at University on the other hand, will be much more complex, dispersing it's traffic onto three different exits.

Twenty20 - The Future of Cricket?

India played it's first Twenty20 international yesterday against SA - and won. And the fan in me says it's probably the positive vibes in the team because of Dada's return to the team, even though he joins the team only for the Tests about a week later!

Anyway, so what's Twenty20?

For one, the innings are reduced to 20 overs (that's obvious, isn't it?). Each bowler, hence, gets max of 4 overs. No-balls are followed by a "free hit ball", where you cannot get out unless you are run-out, and so on. Players do not sit in the dressing room, they are on the field, a la soccer! Once a batsman is ruled out, the replacement needs to be on the field within a minute. The focus, thus is on continuous action - no more walking over to the boundary to fetch the ball, you got to run and get it! And what I thought was the coolest piece of the action - live chat with the captains on the field! We just got to "talk" to Sehwag and Smith for barely 2-3 mins during the match, but it added a whole new dimension to the experience!

Is this the future of cricket? I think so - I think it will definitely catch the fancy of cricket lovers all over the world. It's fast, it's continuous action, and it's short! Like a movie - 3 hours.

Purists were shocked when Kerry Packer (isn't that the name?) started one day cricket. How could he do it, they asked! Colored clothes? Under lights? White ball? He was vandalising the game. Pyjama cricket, they called it. But it caught on, and in fact, led to a fresh new approach to Test cricket itself, leading to a renewed interest in that format. Twenty20 will probably do the same, but to be frank, for now, I wasn't too thrilled - something was missing, something was incomplete. But (as I said in my earlier post) it was probably the change that bothered me.

So, is the verdict out? No, not yet :) Let's wait and watch!

Managing Change

Managing change is one of the most difficult jobs - whether as a manager, a parent or a friend.

Implementing change is simple - all it takes is rule, a management decree, a system, a law. However, the challenge lies in getting the change effected in spirit, in mindset. And that requires selling the change to your team, to your friends, to your children. Making them want to embrace the change.

Resistance to change is one of the most fundamental traits of humans. We resist change not because we do not like what's proposed, but because we hate letting go of what we have. We like consistency, we like the comfort of the familiar, we hate the unknown. We will oppose the BRTS, we will oppose reservation, we will oppose new roads, we will oppose new timesheets, we will oppose everything that's different.

But change is not always bad! After all, you may be giving up something you loved so much, but you have a whole new experience to look forward to, to live! And after all, isn't that what life's all about? Growing, changing, every single day?

I Greg to Differ

Here's the latest English Phrase to make it to the Oxford Dictionary Thesaurus - To Greg to Differ.

Meaning: To refuse to accept blame for your faults, and instead blame it on someone else :)

Professor: You have missed submitting your assignment sheet once again!
Student: I greg to differ! My sister cut it up for her craft project!

Russell Peters

Just saw this one hour performance by comedian Russell Peters on DVD. Thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. Russels is a US-born Indian with a quick wit and awesome ability to connect with audiences of every race and religion through mimickry and humour. His jokes are a condemnation of racism and inequality through a beautiful full frontal no-holds-barred exploitation of those themes in his program. Watch it when you get the chance!

For more on him, check out http://www.russellpeters.com/

Warning: You need to take his jokes in the right spirit and an open mind - stay away if you are the over-sensitive kind! Not recommended for children and purists!

Quote for the Day

She likes the same music, she goes to the same restaurants, she watches the same TV shows, she is just like me! I have been waiting for myself to come along, and now I have swept myself off my feet! Everybody Loves Raymond. :)

Pune from the Sky...

An awesome aeriel shot of Pune I found on the Internet: The Mula-Mutha flowing from under the Bund Garden Bridge.

More Changing Times...

The new flyover at E-Square was opened to traffic a couple of days back, as soon as it was completed, without the customary "opening ceremony".

Isn't it cool? Can you imagine such a possibility in the "old" India - A bridge opened for use even before a minister inaugurates it with the customary "janata" speech? There were times when even public toilets were inaugurated by ministers (how they "performed" the opening ceremony is out of scope of this blog :))

I love the way the flyover looks - extremely sexy, beautiful curves, very very petite and very cute! I hope they name her something sweet... will upload a pic or her one of these days.

(Another) Quote for the Day

Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they are. Bertolt Brecht.

Quote for the Day

The only way to make a man trustworthy is to trust him. Henry Stimson.

The Prince of Calcutta is back!

My predictions came true! :) The Prince of Calcutta is back, and I hope, along with it, the fortunes of the Indian team!

Hip Hip Hurray!!!!
Hip Hip Hurray!!!!
Hip Hip Hurray!!!!

The Art of Forgiving

Got this lovely piece from another blog...

To FORGIVE. It's difficult,
especially when the other person doesn't deserve
your forgiveness or doesn't even seek it. It's
difficult when the other person is clearly in the
wrong.

Forgiveness doesn't mean that the other person's
behavior is okay. He's still
responsible for his misbehavior.

Forgiveness is about letting yourself off the
emotional hook. It's about releasing your negative
emotions, attitudes, and behaviors. It's about
letting go of the past so you can go forward to the
future.

Everyone in your life,
everyone on and off the job
is going to disappoint you. If you know how to
respond to those situations, you'll be way ahead of
most people.

Why do we Blog?

A few days ago, I asked one of my friends who is a rare visitor to my blog, why she usually does not leave any comments on the blog itself, rather than telling me in person - and her answer was, why do you need the world to know what I had to comment? Which led me to think - why do we blog anyway?

So here's why I blog:
1) I love talking and giving my opinion on every damn thing in the world - whether it is movies, the state of the country, religion, or the BRTS!
2) Writing it down makes me think a lot more, analyze a lot more, get a lot more out of my system than I can do otherwise
3) It feels awesome to find random people taking up the thread, discussing with you on topics you could have never opened up in any conversation with that person otherwise

I have visited some absolutely random blogs of people I know nothing about - but an article about someone's cooking here, a small travelogue there, a discussion on the college picnic - something just connects, and you feel part of that life, thousands of miles away!

And yes, it has made me much more aware - I am now always on the lookout for things to talk about, and I enjoy and appreciate things so much more!

The SkyBus

Here's a picture of the demo SkyBus at the Konkan Railway test site in Goa.

Notice how little space it actually occupies on the ground - a twin track can easily be laid over the middle of every main road in Pune without wasting any of the available carriage width! Elevated stations springing up from the side of the road makes it extremely safe for travellers to get in and out without getting run over by other road traffic (another of the major inconveniences of the BRTS!). And the parallel tracks above ground with the SkyBus suspended underneath make accidents almost a zero-possibility! (Yeah, yeah, I thought about Puneites throwing garbage onto the heads of poor, unsuspecting road-inhabitants below, but these will be air-conditioned coaches...)

Except for the exhorbitant cost of laying the tracks, the solution to India's traffic woes seems almost too good to be true.

And finally - we have seen lots of buses all over the world. Can you imagine how sexy it will be for the city if you have hundreds of these SkyBuses zipping over the Pune landscape? :)

Movie Review: Dhoom 2

Aishwarya Rai's hamming and the irritating "funny guy" drill
Abhishek Bacchan's "adayein" and cool dude drill
Mindless, senseless songs inserted every 10 mins
A story line that doesn't exist, and action that seriously questions your basic intelligence
A hideously presented Rimi Sen
Uday Chopra taking his mummy act too far
Hrithik Roshan performing his gravity-defying "stunts" - shooting out of gutters after jumping into them, and activating his "magnetic hands" - looks like he forgot to keep his Krish mask at home!

OK, I have a long list of things I hated in the movie.

So what did I like? Hmm, awwww, mmmmm, scratch scratch, awwww, come on... hmmm...

You get the point! Stay away from the movie, and stay away from the Times of India movie reviews! I officially take back my earlier posting on Dhoom 2!

The Chappel Saga...

Found this on Indiatimes blogs.. I like this guy!

We need to look for the (W)right coach again !

I have been really amused at some comments made by the Indian team Coach after the 3rd ODI between India and South Africa in Capetown on Sunday. I was really disappointed with the Coach, the Captain and the team and these comments only worked like the finest Desi Ghee in fire ! I read about this comments on the CricInfo website and are being put straight from there. Please let me know, if I am alone feeling it or majority of you guys feel the same too !

He says "I am not sure whether there is a solution other than working hard."
If our Coach (remember, he is paid handsomely to be a Coach) is unaware of a solution, where do we go to find one?

He says "We have to try and turn things around. It has got to come from the players. They've got to dig deep and find a way to do it."
If our players are supposed to dig deep and find a solution to their own problems then why spend money for a Coach?

He says ""We are struggling and we need to try something different"
Weren't we doing different and experimenting all this time? Are't we struggling because all this time we tried to do something different and not stick to thebasics?

He says ""Indian batting teams with more better credentials have struggled under these conditions before"
No Indian team had lost by more than 80 runs before ! Doesn't his laptop have the statistics? Is the current Indian team to SA is the worst team ever to have toured SA?

He Says "The ball bouncing between waist and chest is not something that happens regularly in India"
That's why we have a FOREIGN coach ! Any indian cricket follower would have been able to tell him that before the tour started ! Can we please come up with new excuses or stop touring countries like SA and Australia till we can cope up with the bounce?

He says about the Captain "There's a lot of responsibility on him. He's a key player and he's expected to do well. But he needs support"
Didn't you realize this when Ganguly was the captain? Didn't he need your support? But what did you do with him? or is it something you learnt today?

He says about the MPs of Indian Parliament ""They are entitled to make any comment they like. That's what they are paid to do in parliament."
Well at least somebody knows what they are paid for and are doing their job well !

Pune's BRTS

Had my first glimpse of the Pune BRTS (Bus Rapid Transport System) corridor on Satara Road today. The BRTS consists of a dedicated 2-way corridor for high speed buses in the middle of the road. Very cute, very stylish bus stops adorn the corridor. The buses will not be the red boxes we have known in the past - the first set of stylish, low-floored, AC Volvo buses have been delivered to PMT recently, and will adorn the BRTS routes.

Will it work? I hope so! I would love to keep my car away for some time and let someone else drive me. Do we have any option? Well, we could have a Metro and a Light Rail System, but public transport is a must now, in Pune, and in other Indian cities.



Will the public treat the buses with respect? Why not? Will the rest of the traffic respect the BRTS corridor rules? Should be possible - the corridor seems pretty well demarcated, and should be workable in most situations! But if you ask me, I think a Skybus would have been a much better idea (though a hundred times more expensive!).

Go have a look - and if nothing else, appreciate the government's move and the vision that has gone into dreaming of the BRTS, and the speed at which the work is being done!

Yes, India is definitely dreaming big! No stopping now...

My First Post from Google Docs

This post came out of my first attempt at using Google Docs.

My experiences:

1. Pretty fast (I was on standard broadband connection)
2. Checking spellings is an explicit step - the incorrect spellings are marked out, and you get a drop down list of suggestions (Ajax-enabled of course!)
3. You can compare and go back to various versions of the document - but it was a little buggy. Expect it to be fine soon.
4. Collaborate is a cool feature - you can actually share and do online editing with other people. Couldn't test it out - but seems a great idea!
5. Allows you to download the document in various formats including Word, PDF and HTML - very neat!
6. Did not see support for templates and other stuff which one is so used to with Word
7. You can post directly to your blog

So how does it compare with Office? Well, the new Office 12 is way, way ahead of the earlier Office as we knew it. For example, with the kind of customization possible, Word is now not just an editor, but a complete application development framework! Would I use Google Docs? I would if I was stuck in a cyber cafe without Office installed. But for the serious stuff, come on - are you serious?

ps: The doc did get posted, but not after giving me some anxious moments - and as you can see, I posted it in the wrong blog :)

A Typical Good Weekend...

Here's what a good weekend means to me...

Catching a movie on Saturday
Catching up on pending work on Saturday evening
Some reading at night
A couple of hours washing and polishing my cars on Sunday
Shopping at Shoppers and Crossword on Sunday evening
A bit of gardening
Putting papers and Sanam's toys away

... and lots and lots of sleeping!

Don Banega Karodpati?

SRK fans, rejoice! The King Khan is tipped to be the new host of KBC. Can't wait to see how he turns it around with his energy and charisma...

And yes, did you know SRK is also tipped to be the bad man in Dhoom 3?

Jack Welch - Handwriting Analysis

Just finished reading Jack Welch's Straight from the Gut - and saw some of his hand written notes. I love doing hand writing analysis, and although it's most effective and exciting when you analyze someone you know nothing about, here's a quick analysis of someone I have grown to admire and look up to as I read through his book...

1) Very aggressive-minded, but can be a great friend
2) Takes very little risks - does not do anything impulsively (remember, he took more than half a decade to appoint his successor!)
3) Very strong ego, very individualistic, a bit of a show-off when it comes to himself (can understand why!)
4) Very closed friend circle
5) Very optimistic
6) Very analytical, thinks a lot before doing anything (relates to 2)
7) Doesn't set very high goals for himself (OK, history proves otherwise - but remember, this is not about what he did, this is about what he plans/thinks of doing)
8) Does not like personal space too much - kinda needs to be surrounded by people all the time (probably explains all those thousands of meetings he loved to have)
9) Very extroverted - loved to talk about himself, his life, his problems, to everyone possible
10) Was not very good at art and crafts with his hands, not very dextrous
11) Did not like thinking too much about the future, loved to be linked to the past

For more on the book itself, read the earlier post on my other blog.

Dhoom 2 - Setting the Bar Higher

After Don 2, Dhoom 2 has apparently raised the stakes even higher - better stunts, more technology, and more excitement. As the Times put it, take a backseat Mr Bond, Bollywood's Dhoom is bigger, better and goes beyond.

Hang on for the official review from K3G, coming up soon to the Internet near you :)

Added later, an official recall of this posting: Dhoom 2 sucks, the ToI review sucks, and yes, Mr Bond sucks too!

Dada on a Comeback Trail?

Sourav led Bengal to a win in the Ranji match against Punjab yesterday... his classy knock of 43 in the second innings holding Bengal together on the bouncy, pacy wicket of Mohali, before the team went ahead and demolised Punjab for 133 to win the tie. As the Times put it, Sourav can take all the credit for the win because it was his captaincy that motivated the team to perform at levels they probably never imagined possible...

I have nothing against Dravid, and he can continue giving his batting performances - but please give us a captain that can hold the team together, encourage and groom the youngsters, and drive everyone to perform aggressively as one team. Chappel's experiments have only resulted in ensuring that today no one in the Indian team (except Dravid, maybe!) has any clarity on their role, their position, their future - it's every man to himself, and hello - teams are not built that way!

With a new team of selectors, with Zaheer and Kumble being brought back to add some spine to the Indian team's dismal performance in SA, and with rising calls for Chappel to be removed, can we finally hope to have Dada back? Can we have the glorious days of Indian Cricket back please?

Home Tips

1) Try Pest Control - we got a fellow to come and put these miniscule blobs of some herbal stuff all over the house. A couple of days later, there were no more cockroaches in the house. Trust me, I have never imagined it would be so clean and painless, and I never ever thought it would actually work!

2) Install an Inverter - aah, the pleasure of having electricity when everyone else is struggling with the candles - totally worth it!

3) Install a Security Camera and Motion Sensors - don't know if it works, but it sure feels good :)

Customer Service

India is waking up to customer service.

Take today for instance. First I get a call from Esselworld, as a follow up to the feedback I had given during my last visit there. The person asked for details of the issue I had, said sorry for the inconvenience, and promised to look into the matter. May not make a difference to me right now, but then he did not really have to call me back either! Yesterday I got a call from Ford India (though I could not answer it at that time), and today my mailbox contained a greeting card from Ford wishing me a happy first anniversary with Reona. At 7:15 pm on a Saturday, my bank was open. I logged a request, and 10 mins later, the request had been processed, and I had an ack on my cellphone, along with the request number for future reference.

Yes, things can still get better. One of the things we really need to do better in India is "be present" and "welcome" the customer. One of the biggest mistakes you can do is to not acknowledge the customer as soon as he comes in. No matter how busy you are, you need to look up, smile, and engage him - even if you just tell him you will be with him presently. And once you are talking to him, you really need to be present and in the moment. Trying to do two things at one time is a dead giveaway of your lack of interest in the customer. Even if you are talking to your customer on the phone, be present and in the moment, and the customer will feel the difference.

Most of the big malls in India, including my favourite Shoppers Stop, fails in both the key tests. The worst is definitely the Nokia Service Center in Pune. Planet Ford comes pretty close to being bad! The best service I have got is at my local grocery store and the laundry!

Quote for the Day

Thomas Friedman in New York Times....

"When we were young kids growing up in America, we were told to eat our vegetables at dinner and not leave them. Mothers said, think of the starving children in India and finish the dinner.' And now I tell my children: 'Finish your homework. Think of the children in India who would make you starve, if you don't.'"

Movie Review: Casino Royale

The best thing about the movie was the salad I ate.

Fast cars, beautiful girls, breathtaking action, cool gadgets. If that's what you want, go watch Don. For an endless, senseless game of poker, watch Casino Royale.

The movie starts off well with a nice action sequence with the bad guy running off like a monkey in the house of flying daggers, with Bond in hot pursuit. Then suddenly, it stops being a Bond movie - the girl, Eva Green, was much better off in Dreamers, the Aston Martin is only used for a crash scene, Bond actually falls in love, and there are no gadgets except a stupid defibrillator to get him back from the dead! How about a house in Venice going down into the water for some spine chilling action? Add a couple of songs and some running around bushes, and this could have actually been a James Deol movie!

Come on, we actually paid 100 bucks to watch this?

ps: OK, on second thoughts, it not such a bad movie - except that I really had huge expectations from it. And yes, the title song is fabulous!

Shopping...

What do you get when you take two shopping-obsessed girls, two guys with multiple credit cards, one kid with a penchant for pestering, and a HyperCity and InOrbit next to each other?

This...

Guess the value of this lot (assuming there is no expensive jewellery in here!)... SMS your reply to 8888 and you could win exciting prizes!

Tulsi Lagn

Last time I was in Goa for a day, I got the chance to attend our Tulsi Lagn... the wedding of the princess Tulsi with Krishna. This is a fallout of the slaying of Narkasura during Diwali, when Krishna decided to marry the princess he saved from Narkasure. To ensure she got respect from everyone, he also made sure (how?) that every house would have a Tulsi tree in the courtyard.. I have not tied all the loose ends, but this is as accurate as I could get in the excitement of the marriage!


Every Goan Hindu house celebrates Tulsi Lagn, also called Vhodli (bigger) Diwali! Here you see my uncle performing the marriage rites... the Krishna is represented by a small idol placed on top of the Tulas, barely seen in the pic.

Honda City VTEC versus the Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXi

I spent the last 3 weeks driving a Honda City VTEC (the car in the picture is the lower version, the ZX), through expressways, city roads and village tracks, with and without passengers, with or without good music, in the night and in the day, through lonely streets and crowded places. And with over 10 months in my Ford Fiesta 1.6 SXi in similar conditions, here's my verdict...

Steering & Road Handling: The City has slightly lighter steering, even while the thin grip makes it a little more difficult to handle. The Fiesta though has absolutely perfect road grip and is absolutely stable on high speed curves. I did manage to extract a few squeals and drifts with the City, but the car skids and loses grip if the road is slightly rough and unstable, and I almost managed to crash the car once while trying a S curve on a loose-gravelled road at around 100 kmph. Braking with the City is suspect too, and the car seems to lock brakes and skid on, while even without ABS, the Fiesta is always ready to stop at the drop of a dime. All in all, if you want to take those high speed thrill rides, the Fiesta is the car for you. Don't even try it with the City, which is best left to the city!

Acceleration and Power: Again, the Fiesta wins hands down. The City is almost sluggish, and trying those high speeds manouevers in and out of multi lane traffic and those quick bursts of speed on the highway to edge in front of slow moving trucks are best avoided with the City. Bear in mind that the VTEC is the high power version of the City - my experience with the lower end versions have been worse!

Drive Quality and Suspension: This is one point where the City scores better. Both cars are better suited to take the rough roads at higher speeds, and drive quality deteriorates sharply if you try to take the rough at slow speeds. The City though is much more comfortable on bad roads.


External Looks: This one is completely personal, and I love the rounded, muscular look of the Fiesta compared to the flattened, straight lines look of the City, which looks more like a vehicle from one of those futuristic movies.

Interiors: The SXi has a very good 6-speaker audio system with 6 CD in dash changer, whereas the City's sound system has 4 speakers, and much less audio quality. The City though comes with support for MP3, which is a big minus for the Fiesta. The Fiesta's leather seats and trimmings are also much more refined, and it also has more reading lights in front as well as in the back, while the City has only the single central light panel. Many of the City's controls are found in non-intuitive locations, like the reverse foglight which is situated near the handbrake! The City seems to provide little more interior space and is very comfortable to get in and out of. The double glove compartment of the City is nice!

Fuel Efficiency: This is a big let down for the City, and a car which was expected to give well over 15 kmpl, barely seems to manage 11-12 kmpl, unlike the Fiesta (which turns out an impressive 13-14 kmpl). Maybe it's the VTEC engine that sucks up fuel, but compared to the much more powerful Fiesta, this is definitely a big negative.

Value for Money: This is the biggest killer for the VTEC. At almost 1.25 lakh more than the Fiesta, with it's low fuel efficiency and bad ride quality, and not-too-impressive interiors, the VTEC is definitely not value for money!

Overall: No doubt about it.. whether it is swanky interiors, the external look or the fuel efficiency, the Fiesta more than matches up to it's much more expensive rival. And of course, if you drive with your heart, and if you love those squealing tires and drifts, if you love to see your competition fade in the rear view mirror, buckle up in the new Josh, and Go Fida!


Disclaimer: This is not necessarily an unbiased view, coming as it is from a die-hard Ford loyalist, so City-lovers, if you are reading this, please understand! :)

Some Pics from Goa

Beautiful Sunset at Campal

And This One at Miramar



Mr Chameleon

The Saptakoteshwar temple at Opa - this goes under water in the rains


Pandava Caves (huts really) - rock cut, now a heritage structure (read neglected)

When Gollywood descended on Nerul...

Couple of never-seen-before exclusive pics of Adv Govind Bhobe being interviewed at his hidden hideout in Nerul by the crew of the Goa Dordarshan :)

Lives of Nine Cats

We have a total of 9 cats at Nerul right now... two moms, and two litters of three and four.


Here's the elder batch of 3 cuties...




... and this is the newer one :)




Here you have the deadly trio planning an attack on their mom...



...before they decide the family dog is a more exciting challenge!



Sigh.. end of one day. What do we do tomorrow?

Quote for the Day

Only dead fish swim along with the stream

Quote for the Day

Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Where have I gone wrong?"
Then a voice says to me, "This is going to take more than one night."

Hailstorm...

Yes, we had a hailstorm in Pune today! Small crystals of ice fell down with the heavy rain and wind - unfortunately, too small to hold, too clear to capture on camera, you have to take my word for it :)

A Day in Mumbai - Changing Times

Yesterday I was in Mumbai with Madhavi, Shweta, Siddha and Sanam.. while Madhavi was recruiting for Persistent at the Tunga Paradise, the four of us had a fantastic day out in the land of dreams and dream merchants!


We started out with a visit to the Bandra-Worli Sea Link - if you ever needed proof of how big India is thinking, this is it. A massive segmental-cum-suspension bridge, taking off into the sea at Bandra, and curving around Bandra-Mahim to enter downtown Mumbai at Worli. And unlike most road projects which leave huge ugly scars on the land, the approach roads and flyovers simply add to the amazing splendour of this bridge.

Check out the link http://www.bandraworlisealink.com/ for some cool details.

From the bridge, to Mannat, the den of the don, the castle of the king, Shah Rukh Khan's palatial white bungalow at Land's End, near Bandstand, Bandra. Huge gates and fences keep the prying eyes away, but we couldn't help just parking opposite the gate, the car stereo blasting out the theme song from Don, hoping against hope to catch a glimpse of this person who has given so much entertaining moments, happiness, cheer and hope to millions and millions of Indians all over the world.. the showman of them all, SRK! I do not care how big an actor he is, I know I would love to be someone who could make a stadium full of fans scream and jump in glee just to get a glimpse of me!

Next stop, Atria Mall in Worli. Right beside the Worli flyover, Atria welcomes you with a huge glass facade, dozens of large glass sections held in place, almost magically, by the spider hooks. Huge rays in the floor created by toughened transluscent glass tiles radiating out welcome you into it's fold. The mall itself is very upscale, with leading international brands jostling for the attention of Mumbai's well-heeled, who gingerly step out onto the patio from their air-conditioned limousines. But worry not, no matter who you are, like the rest of this beautiful city, Atria will welcome you with open arms! And as you can come to expect, they have a pretty nice website at http://www.atriamumbai.com/index.htm.
ps: Atria is situated right opposite Poonam Chambers which saw one of the biggest bomb blasts during the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts

We checked out some of the cool stuff available there - the beautiful chess set in China clay for 1.5 lakhs was just a little too expensive for me to pick up. We visited "Illusions of Art", where beautiful portraits rendered on the inside of concave surfaces team up with light to give you a surreal experience - the eyes of the painting follow you as you walk around. Almost scary!

Then to fun and games in the games area. The creme de la creme is the Orama 4D theatre - crystal clear 3D movies (you got to wear the special 3D specs), the moving seats in tandem with the movie, and, hold your breath - water jets and sprays, gusts of air, smells, water bubbles - the experience is COMPLETE. I have never clapped so much in appreciation before!


By this time, it was time for a good lunch, and then we picked up Madhavi, before going to InOrbit at Malad for more shopping. The previous evening, actually, we had been to HyperCity (http://www.hypercityindia.com/home.asp), a HUGE (how about if I say it's the size of a couple of football fields?) mall catering to almost each and every item you might ever need - the only ones we could pin point after a LOT of thinking that were not available, were medicines and jewellery. From fruits, to fish and meat, from electrical appliances to TVs, Refrigerators, from hammers to fire extinguishers, from soaps and deos to books, from laptops to VCDs and XBoxes, name it, and chances are, you will find it at HyperCity.

At InOrbit (http://www.inorbitmalls.com/b2c/index_malad.html), we shopped at LifeStyle, and then at Shoppers Stop. We had just walked into Shoppers, and realised they have a new section for the Home, called The HomeStop. We went up the short elevator, and then just stood in shock and awe at the scale of the "extension". Almost as big as HyperCity, stuff stacked up as far away as your eyes can see, if you ever needed an example of the power of the booming Indian middle class, this was it. Hundreds of people gleefully walking the aisles, excited and enthusiastic at the choices they now have. We spotted one of India's movie/TV stars in our midst, but out there, we were all one with one common goal - shopping to our heart's content.

Finally, tired and exhausted after a long day, we left for Pune by 12, and thanks to another of modern India's engineering marvels, were home and in bed, 160 kms away, in less than 2 hours.