This, cos a few people have been asking me how did this whole thing came about.
Dreams do come true if you want them so badly to come true.
a.) Always wanted to watch a match in Australia.
b.) Always dreamt for the winning side to be India.
c.) One hope was Star Cricket's Dream Job.That's now a footnote.Crashed out of the final 18.
d.) In the Aussie summer of 2008, only 2 matches were to go before the best-of-3 finals.
e.) Received a call from History Channel, asking would I like to go to Brisbane for the second final cos I'd won their online quiz.
Yep, it's true. If you do want things so so badly in your life, I guess they do come to you, sooner or later...Visa prayers got answered and the rest is history!
Thank God!We often say that but this time I do mean it more than any other time I've said it. And for the record, that match did turn out to be the last match of the Ozzie summer of 2008 and the last tri-series final in Australia.
Amen!
Next stop: South Africa! ;-)
Sunday, March 30, 2008
The Proclamation
A potpourri of emotions, an expression, a movement and then... "Oye!"
The admonishment and then back to normalcy.
Looking for a script to expand the above.
The admonishment and then back to normalcy.
Looking for a script to expand the above.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Enough of...
I'm done with what women want.
Now I want to dwell on what men want.
I think in one phrase, a "pick-me-up" kind of friend.
If I'm down, pick-me-up.
If I'm high, take me higher
OTIS Elevators? The finest in business???
Now I want to dwell on what men want.
I think in one phrase, a "pick-me-up" kind of friend.
If I'm down, pick-me-up.
If I'm high, take me higher
OTIS Elevators? The finest in business???
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Phenomenal, what else?
Excepting the World Cup final in 1983, was this our greatest ODI win ever?
Brisbane, 4th March, 2008
I was there!
The last match of the Australian summer of '08... :-)
Brisbane, 4th March, 2008
I was there!
The last match of the Australian summer of '08... :-)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Passion
It's a dangerous thing. Passion for work, hobbies, women...
And if you're onto wines, it's a different ballgame altogether! :-)
And if you're onto wines, it's a different ballgame altogether! :-)
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Calvin Hobbes Ke Taare Zameen Perth...
a. ) Am a sucker for useless movie trivia so here's one :
The sequence of the maths quiz question of 3 X 9 and the subsequent clash of the planets in Ishaan's mind is taken from the Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snowgoons in which Calvin comes with an answer of 6 to the question of "6+5 = " . For the record, the sequence is on pages 38 & 39 and Ishaan's answer was 3.
b.) The look on Ponting's face in the Perth post match press conference.Priceless doesn't quite sum it up!
The sequence of the maths quiz question of 3 X 9 and the subsequent clash of the planets in Ishaan's mind is taken from the Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snowgoons in which Calvin comes with an answer of 6 to the question of "6+5 = " . For the record, the sequence is on pages 38 & 39 and Ishaan's answer was 3.
b.) The look on Ponting's face in the Perth post match press conference.Priceless doesn't quite sum it up!
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Shameful , Ponting, Shameful!
i) It could well be true that Bhajji said what he said.
But how and why can one's man word be considered more pious than the other's in a judicial hearing? And if the umpires, who were the neutral parties, didn't hear anything, shouldn't it have gone in Bhajji's favor? After all, our case was that nothing objectionable was uttered and the umpires said they hadn't heard anything objectionable.
ii) Sameer, a dear friend, had a neat theory and I quote him. " Maybe he said, Behen Ki, Maa Ki... and it came across as Monkey..."
iii) The most shocking umpiring I've seen in a while. And while Australia have received many many decisions in their favor at home against a number of touring teams, this test match alone has to take the cake.
iv) Kumble: Like Sunny said, you're a fantastic ambassador for Indian Cricket. We're proud to have you on our side.
v) Ponting: Your batting is the only good thing about your existence on earth.I would wish even my worst enemy to wear some more character than what you displayed on Day 5 of the Sydney test!
vi.) Life moves on.I now own the entire set of C&H including the Sunday Pages and Tenth Anniversary Book. :-)
But how and why can one's man word be considered more pious than the other's in a judicial hearing? And if the umpires, who were the neutral parties, didn't hear anything, shouldn't it have gone in Bhajji's favor? After all, our case was that nothing objectionable was uttered and the umpires said they hadn't heard anything objectionable.
ii) Sameer, a dear friend, had a neat theory and I quote him. " Maybe he said, Behen Ki, Maa Ki... and it came across as Monkey..."
iii) The most shocking umpiring I've seen in a while. And while Australia have received many many decisions in their favor at home against a number of touring teams, this test match alone has to take the cake.
iv) Kumble: Like Sunny said, you're a fantastic ambassador for Indian Cricket. We're proud to have you on our side.
v) Ponting: Your batting is the only good thing about your existence on earth.I would wish even my worst enemy to wear some more character than what you displayed on Day 5 of the Sydney test!
vi.) Life moves on.I now own the entire set of C&H including the Sunday Pages and Tenth Anniversary Book. :-)
Monday, December 10, 2007
To '007!
January : Musical.
February : Eventful.
March : Slipping.
April : Recovering.
May : Smiling.
June : Fretting.
July : Cribbing.
August : Hoping.
September: Thinking.
October : Reeling.
November : Crashing!
December : Halting.
2008...
February : Eventful.
March : Slipping.
April : Recovering.
May : Smiling.
June : Fretting.
July : Cribbing.
August : Hoping.
September: Thinking.
October : Reeling.
November : Crashing!
December : Halting.
2008...
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
U C ICL ?
I will.Lara,Inzy,Zulu,Cairns! I love them all. Okie, I dont like anyone in particular from Jets or Superstars but that's only 2 teams out of 6 which means I've teams not only to cheer for but also teams that I wish would get buried in this competition. So effectively, its like any major cricket tourney where I've my favorites to win, underdogs to cheer for and not-so-faves that I wish would would get humiliated.
I'll tell you another reason why you should watch ICL. 20:20 is fast becoming the most dynamic format of cricket and it's a pity that the Laras and Zulus of the world couldn't play this form of the game. As a result I'm not gonna let the BCCI-ICL tussle coming in the way of seeing some of the best in the game ever, pick up the bat and ball for an honest contest. Infact I'll also get over the fact that we might've some crappy commentators but hey we might've Dean Jones, the original Piper or should I say Pfeiffer!
A lot of us fans were left wondering how a Keith Miller or Vinoo Mankad might've approached ODIs. Thanks to Zee, we won't be left wondering how a Lance Klusener or Chris Cairns might've approached 20:20!
Long and short of it being, if they turned up even for the Ugandan Cricket League, I would still watch them...:-)
I'll tell you another reason why you should watch ICL. 20:20 is fast becoming the most dynamic format of cricket and it's a pity that the Laras and Zulus of the world couldn't play this form of the game. As a result I'm not gonna let the BCCI-ICL tussle coming in the way of seeing some of the best in the game ever, pick up the bat and ball for an honest contest. Infact I'll also get over the fact that we might've some crappy commentators but hey we might've Dean Jones, the original Piper or should I say Pfeiffer!
A lot of us fans were left wondering how a Keith Miller or Vinoo Mankad might've approached ODIs. Thanks to Zee, we won't be left wondering how a Lance Klusener or Chris Cairns might've approached 20:20!
Long and short of it being, if they turned up even for the Ugandan Cricket League, I would still watch them...:-)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Finally, a post!
I think I owe it to anyone’s who’s come here even by mistake. I know it. I promised blogging and I’ve been procrastinating. I made an attempt in my last post on one topic that actually comes really easy to me- good lines (or corny?) and I came a cropper. Its time I made amends. The guilt is over powering.
So I start again with something that comes easy to me. Good lines. But these lines are really good because they’re not mine. Here’s a selection of some of the best lines I’ve come across in some of my favorite movies. I’m trying to make this list a selection of some under rated lines because I think history has bestowed enough glory on “ Of all the gin joints…” but not enough on “ I hope they don’t hang you, precious, by that sweet neck....” (Bogart, Maltese Falcon, 1941).
The make-you-fall-in-love line: I had to, had to begin with the best line any man has ever spoken to any woman, in any language in motion picture:
“You make me wanna be a better man”, Jack Nicholson at his charmingly flirty evil best over a dinner table to Helen Hunt. (As Good as It Gets, 1997)
The devilish-like-hell line: “Detective, Detective… Dee…ttecc…tiivvee.” the drawl of Kevin Spacey with blood on his hands in the lobby of a police station to Brad Pitt. (Se7en,1995)
The cool-as-a-cucumber line: “ When you ought to shoot, shoot, don’t talk”, Eli Wallach in a foamy bathtub with his right index finger on the trigger that has just laid the one armed man to rest. (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, 1966)
The hurtful-husband’s-death-knell line: The line stuns you because of the dialogue preceding it. Here’s how it goes:
Larry: Do you enjoy sucking him off?
Anna: Yes!
Larry: You like his cock?
Anna: I love it!
Larry: You like him coming in your face?
Anna: Yes!
Larry: What does it taste like?
Anna: It tastes like you but sweeter!
Larry: That's the spirit. Thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now fuck off and die, you fucked up slag.
Clive Owen and Julia Roberts take off on one another in one of the most hurting onscreen moments .The build up and the intensity of this last line has to be seen to be believed. (Closer, 2004)
The you-couldn’t-wait-to-listen line: “Andy crawled to freedom through five-hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want too..." . Morgan Freeman. Seriously, who else? ( Shawshank Redemption, 1994).
The I-wanna-say-this-someday line:
“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a gangster…”, Ray Liotta in his performance of a lifetime as a rags to guns Henry Hill. ( Goodfellas, 1995)
The least-cheesy-Bond-movie line : I’m not too much of a Bond fan but I gotta say Daniel Craig was superb. Some of his lines with his ladylove were as flirtatious as any in the history of Hollywood. My favorite of the lot:
Vesper Lynd: If the only thing left of you was your smile and your little finger, you'd still be more of a man than anyone I've ever known.
James Bond: That's because you know what I can do with my little finger... (Casino Royale, 2007)
The stand-up-and-applaud line : There are a few movies when you watching them, you end up rooting for the actor, the ones you feel like jumping on your bed and cheering for the guy who’s fighting a lot of odds. Al Pacino was fighting a lot of odds and I was jumping like crazy when he said:
“Attica! Attica! Remember Attica?” (Dog Day Afternoon, 1975)
The Godfather line: So at this time into this post I’m thinking how can I not mention Godfather. I don’t want those heard-over-again-and-again-lines which is also practically impossible when it comes to Godfather so I’ll go for a line that is probably an underdog in the trilogy. To my mind, it’s one of the best I-love-you-but-I’ll-kill you lines on cinema.
Michael: I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart. (Godfather II, 1975)
And finally a dialogue between Natalie Portman and Jude Law from Closer, the mother of all or any movie with relationships as a theme:
Dan: At six, we stand round the computer and read the next day's page, make final changes, put in a few euphemisms to amuse ourselves...
Alice: Such as?
Dan: "He was a convivial fellow" - meaning he was an alcoholic. "He valued his privacy" - Gay. "He enjoyed his privacy" - Raging queen.
Alice: What would my euphemism be?
Dan: She was... disarming.
Alice: That's not a euphemism.
Dan: Yes, it is.
Now, I haven’t ever complimented a lady with the word “disarming.” I wish I did…
Or maybe I must!
So I start again with something that comes easy to me. Good lines. But these lines are really good because they’re not mine. Here’s a selection of some of the best lines I’ve come across in some of my favorite movies. I’m trying to make this list a selection of some under rated lines because I think history has bestowed enough glory on “ Of all the gin joints…” but not enough on “ I hope they don’t hang you, precious, by that sweet neck....” (Bogart, Maltese Falcon, 1941).
The make-you-fall-in-love line: I had to, had to begin with the best line any man has ever spoken to any woman, in any language in motion picture:
“You make me wanna be a better man”, Jack Nicholson at his charmingly flirty evil best over a dinner table to Helen Hunt. (As Good as It Gets, 1997)
The devilish-like-hell line: “Detective, Detective… Dee…ttecc…tiivvee.” the drawl of Kevin Spacey with blood on his hands in the lobby of a police station to Brad Pitt. (Se7en,1995)
The cool-as-a-cucumber line: “ When you ought to shoot, shoot, don’t talk”, Eli Wallach in a foamy bathtub with his right index finger on the trigger that has just laid the one armed man to rest. (The Good, The Bad and the Ugly, 1966)
The hurtful-husband’s-death-knell line: The line stuns you because of the dialogue preceding it. Here’s how it goes:
Larry: Do you enjoy sucking him off?
Anna: Yes!
Larry: You like his cock?
Anna: I love it!
Larry: You like him coming in your face?
Anna: Yes!
Larry: What does it taste like?
Anna: It tastes like you but sweeter!
Larry: That's the spirit. Thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now fuck off and die, you fucked up slag.
Clive Owen and Julia Roberts take off on one another in one of the most hurting onscreen moments .The build up and the intensity of this last line has to be seen to be believed. (Closer, 2004)
The you-couldn’t-wait-to-listen line: “Andy crawled to freedom through five-hundred yards of shit smelling foulness I can't even imagine, or maybe I just don't want too..." . Morgan Freeman. Seriously, who else? ( Shawshank Redemption, 1994).
The I-wanna-say-this-someday line:
“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a gangster…”, Ray Liotta in his performance of a lifetime as a rags to guns Henry Hill. ( Goodfellas, 1995)
The least-cheesy-Bond-movie line : I’m not too much of a Bond fan but I gotta say Daniel Craig was superb. Some of his lines with his ladylove were as flirtatious as any in the history of Hollywood. My favorite of the lot:
Vesper Lynd: If the only thing left of you was your smile and your little finger, you'd still be more of a man than anyone I've ever known.
James Bond: That's because you know what I can do with my little finger... (Casino Royale, 2007)
The stand-up-and-applaud line : There are a few movies when you watching them, you end up rooting for the actor, the ones you feel like jumping on your bed and cheering for the guy who’s fighting a lot of odds. Al Pacino was fighting a lot of odds and I was jumping like crazy when he said:
“Attica! Attica! Remember Attica?” (Dog Day Afternoon, 1975)
The Godfather line: So at this time into this post I’m thinking how can I not mention Godfather. I don’t want those heard-over-again-and-again-lines which is also practically impossible when it comes to Godfather so I’ll go for a line that is probably an underdog in the trilogy. To my mind, it’s one of the best I-love-you-but-I’ll-kill you lines on cinema.
Michael: I know it was you Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart. (Godfather II, 1975)
And finally a dialogue between Natalie Portman and Jude Law from Closer, the mother of all or any movie with relationships as a theme:
Dan: At six, we stand round the computer and read the next day's page, make final changes, put in a few euphemisms to amuse ourselves...
Alice: Such as?
Dan: "He was a convivial fellow" - meaning he was an alcoholic. "He valued his privacy" - Gay. "He enjoyed his privacy" - Raging queen.
Alice: What would my euphemism be?
Dan: She was... disarming.
Alice: That's not a euphemism.
Dan: Yes, it is.
Now, I haven’t ever complimented a lady with the word “disarming.” I wish I did…
Or maybe I must!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Fahrenheit 102!
I've begun my bit all over again at blogging.This also comes at the momentous occasion of a 100 posts on this blog. No speeches on how I never thought this day would come blah blah blah but yes I want to thank my Airtel Broadband for keeping it going.
And since I've no defined direction on what to write on this one, I think I'll make this into one of my random posts with no head or tail or body.(Basically if you're one of the 2 people who I think visit my blog, you'll be treated to the same level of perfection in this post as the previous 101...)
I actually had stashed a collection of my own cheesy one-liners at college and I think its time these pearls were unleashed on the blogosphere so here goes...
1.) I dont remember a single one and my computer crashed a few months back taking along with it a fair bit of data , so it'll will take some time for me to recollect.Please move on to point number 2 while I recollect.
2.) Damn,I still cant remember a single line...
3.) Amnesia: Can people actually pinpoint the exact moment when it strikes?
And since I've no defined direction on what to write on this one, I think I'll make this into one of my random posts with no head or tail or body.(Basically if you're one of the 2 people who I think visit my blog, you'll be treated to the same level of perfection in this post as the previous 101...)
I actually had stashed a collection of my own cheesy one-liners at college and I think its time these pearls were unleashed on the blogosphere so here goes...
1.) I dont remember a single one and my computer crashed a few months back taking along with it a fair bit of data , so it'll will take some time for me to recollect.Please move on to point number 2 while I recollect.
2.) Damn,I still cant remember a single line...
3.) Amnesia: Can people actually pinpoint the exact moment when it strikes?
Monday, October 15, 2007
Winters!
And how I'm scared of them.
Winter pushes you to be protective of yourself.It pushes you into your bed, scares you to come out to drive on the road and makes you feel lonely. And I get the feeling that this winter is going to be particularly bad. Probably the worst in sometime. More so, because events in the last week have shook me up a bit.
Maybe blogging will pick up... :-)
Winter pushes you to be protective of yourself.It pushes you into your bed, scares you to come out to drive on the road and makes you feel lonely. And I get the feeling that this winter is going to be particularly bad. Probably the worst in sometime. More so, because events in the last week have shook me up a bit.
Maybe blogging will pick up... :-)
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Fixing it when it aint broke!
I must confess something’s disturbing me a lot at 12:45 a.m. on a Sunday morning. India has just got to the final of an extreme humdinger of a tournament called the ICC Twenty20 World Cup. I’m bleary eyed but a colleague’s messages over the course of the tournament have kept me immensely engrossed. For starters, he’s predicted correctly, every result of every major match in the tournament even before the matches had got underway. He’s suggesting big money, sponsors, Asian influence and the inevitable dirty word - “Match-Fixing.”
Today, when when Symonds & Hayden were cruising towards 188 in the semi-final , I got a message from him saying. “Too much Naatak, India is winning this… ”.
Another message from another colleague, “Is this fixed?”
The verdict on the final is that Pakistan is winning it.
I don’t know. And I don’t want to know!
Today, when when Symonds & Hayden were cruising towards 188 in the semi-final , I got a message from him saying. “Too much Naatak, India is winning this… ”.
Another message from another colleague, “Is this fixed?”
The verdict on the final is that Pakistan is winning it.
I don’t know. And I don’t want to know!
Monday, September 03, 2007
I shall overcome or The Conspiracy!
It always seems to me that the modern marvels of cell phones, computers, credit cards, online bookings, DTH or music system are always conspiring against me. It’s almost like each of them have been selected as snipers to be used in the second edition of Reservoir Dogs to harass me to the extent of beating the shit out of my mental faculties.
Wiser people before me have suggested that examples prove theories better so here are a few:
1. I’m currently expecting to get an amount of Rs. 1832 to be refunded to my Credit Card account. The transaction took place in February.
2. I recently reversed a purchase of Rs. 13649 on my Debit Card because of some shoddy customer service at an Essar-Virgin Mobile Store. It’s supposed to take effect in the next 48 hours.
3. My mobile charger conked off 2 weeks back and I’d to spoil 3 hours running from store to store on a Sunday morning hunting for the innocuous looking instrument
4. At any point of time, my broadband modem might just hang. It has some stupid problem that 2 different service executives have failed to rectify.
5. I’m yet to fill the form the cable operator wants me to fill to get Star Cricket permanently on my TV.
Screw the 21st century comfort of ATMs and Credit Cards and Internet. I, for sure, led a more hassle free life in the last century!
The funny thing is once you actually get all or any of this sorted , there is this definite sense of accomplishment but the whole process might just leave you too exhausted for you to even realize that it’s over…
Wiser people before me have suggested that examples prove theories better so here are a few:
1. I’m currently expecting to get an amount of Rs. 1832 to be refunded to my Credit Card account. The transaction took place in February.
2. I recently reversed a purchase of Rs. 13649 on my Debit Card because of some shoddy customer service at an Essar-Virgin Mobile Store. It’s supposed to take effect in the next 48 hours.
3. My mobile charger conked off 2 weeks back and I’d to spoil 3 hours running from store to store on a Sunday morning hunting for the innocuous looking instrument
4. At any point of time, my broadband modem might just hang. It has some stupid problem that 2 different service executives have failed to rectify.
5. I’m yet to fill the form the cable operator wants me to fill to get Star Cricket permanently on my TV.
Screw the 21st century comfort of ATMs and Credit Cards and Internet. I, for sure, led a more hassle free life in the last century!
The funny thing is once you actually get all or any of this sorted , there is this definite sense of accomplishment but the whole process might just leave you too exhausted for you to even realize that it’s over…
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Passerby
I generally refrain from posting about my childhood days. I have a feeling that it might make me feel bad that they’ll never return and I’ll be left brooding over how great life used to be in those days. Yet, I guess I should do this exercise sometime lest all those memories themselves sweep by with the waves of time and age. So here’s a list of some of those things from childhood that I could’ve spent a lifetime on…
My pet: My dog, Hero. We named him after Hero, the horse in the Phantom series. He was nothing short of a roaring cub when I first saw him. He stayed with us for over 10 years and was simply the best looking living being that ever walked on this planet. Ferocious like a wolf at times and as gentle as a rabbit at times, he made coming back home from school that much more special. If I made a list of all the things of my childhood that I’d want back in my life today, Hero would top the list by a mile. You had to be blind to not admire Hero!
Cricket: Galli cricket, to be precise. I used to play a lot of matches in tenth standard in flannels in lush outfields. I was reasonably good and made it to the trials of the under-16 U.P. state selection as well but my best memories of winning are from the matches we used to play in the lanes in front of our house.
Television: TaleSpin and the underdog of a pilot called Baloo, always fighting bad engines, a demanding boss and some wicked people in every episode. I used to identify with Baloo simply because Baloo’s favorite pastime when not flying would be to aimlessly laze around in his room.
Video Games: Contra, Road Fighter and the incomparable Mario, especially the latter. I might’ve become India’s answer to Albert Einstein if I’d spend those countless hours on science and research but what the heck!Getting to the princess was worth every second.
Hunger: There was something about Parle-G when I was growing up. It was a part of a daily snack routine. Once at 11 in the morning and the other pack at 5 in the evening. The other accompaniment to Parle-G used to be this particular brand of rusk biscuits called Madhurima Rusk.
Thirst: Those days, a bottle of Limca or Fanta would be consumed only on special occasions, like someone’s birthday or maybe once a week after the Sunday matches. The common favorite to beat the heat used to be something called a Chuski or the lip-smacking Kulfi.
Movies: Our acceptability of Hindi movies used to be far higher in school days. Believe it or not, watching movies like Waqt Hamara Hain, Aaj Ja Shehanshah, Fateh , Tirangaa and Tadipaar used to give us a kick.
Cycling: Racing on our cycles used to be another cracker of a pastime. The other variants of this would be slow cycling, letting go off your hands off the handles or trying to skid the back tyre of the cycle by braking suddenly and leaving a mark in the ground. The last of the lot used to be most fun!
Women: Let’s face it; impressing women had a different meaning those days. It used to mean a lot special. You also thought your chances with a particular girl were better if you got a few 3-pointers in a basketball game or scored above 30 and hit a couple of boundaries in a cricket match.
Computers: It used to be so hard to get hold of one when I was growing up. I don’t remember a single occasion when I was in a computer lab in school and I didn’t have to share a system.
Physics and Literature: An unlikely set but my favorite subjects in those days. Whitman, Tennyson, Shelley, O’ Henry, Shakespeare, Maugham, Greene used to be names that would mesmerize us. Our group was so impressed with O’Henry’s “After Twenty Years” , that we actually have a pact to meet at a particular restaurant in Ghaziabad in 2017! Newton, on the other hand seemed to have a role in every conceivable principle of Physics. It’d be rather safe, in case you were in doubt, in an exam as to why a particular force acted in a particular way to respectfully leave your answer as: “This occurs because of Newton’s law of motion.”
Sometimes when I look back at my childhood, it’s amazing how much life’s changed. Those days, one of our common grudges used to be “When’re we going to grow up?” and these days, our oft repeated grudge is “Why did we’ve to grow up?”
It’s a funny life...
My pet: My dog, Hero. We named him after Hero, the horse in the Phantom series. He was nothing short of a roaring cub when I first saw him. He stayed with us for over 10 years and was simply the best looking living being that ever walked on this planet. Ferocious like a wolf at times and as gentle as a rabbit at times, he made coming back home from school that much more special. If I made a list of all the things of my childhood that I’d want back in my life today, Hero would top the list by a mile. You had to be blind to not admire Hero!
Cricket: Galli cricket, to be precise. I used to play a lot of matches in tenth standard in flannels in lush outfields. I was reasonably good and made it to the trials of the under-16 U.P. state selection as well but my best memories of winning are from the matches we used to play in the lanes in front of our house.
Television: TaleSpin and the underdog of a pilot called Baloo, always fighting bad engines, a demanding boss and some wicked people in every episode. I used to identify with Baloo simply because Baloo’s favorite pastime when not flying would be to aimlessly laze around in his room.
Video Games: Contra, Road Fighter and the incomparable Mario, especially the latter. I might’ve become India’s answer to Albert Einstein if I’d spend those countless hours on science and research but what the heck!Getting to the princess was worth every second.
Hunger: There was something about Parle-G when I was growing up. It was a part of a daily snack routine. Once at 11 in the morning and the other pack at 5 in the evening. The other accompaniment to Parle-G used to be this particular brand of rusk biscuits called Madhurima Rusk.
Thirst: Those days, a bottle of Limca or Fanta would be consumed only on special occasions, like someone’s birthday or maybe once a week after the Sunday matches. The common favorite to beat the heat used to be something called a Chuski or the lip-smacking Kulfi.
Movies: Our acceptability of Hindi movies used to be far higher in school days. Believe it or not, watching movies like Waqt Hamara Hain, Aaj Ja Shehanshah, Fateh , Tirangaa and Tadipaar used to give us a kick.
Cycling: Racing on our cycles used to be another cracker of a pastime. The other variants of this would be slow cycling, letting go off your hands off the handles or trying to skid the back tyre of the cycle by braking suddenly and leaving a mark in the ground. The last of the lot used to be most fun!
Women: Let’s face it; impressing women had a different meaning those days. It used to mean a lot special. You also thought your chances with a particular girl were better if you got a few 3-pointers in a basketball game or scored above 30 and hit a couple of boundaries in a cricket match.
Computers: It used to be so hard to get hold of one when I was growing up. I don’t remember a single occasion when I was in a computer lab in school and I didn’t have to share a system.
Physics and Literature: An unlikely set but my favorite subjects in those days. Whitman, Tennyson, Shelley, O’ Henry, Shakespeare, Maugham, Greene used to be names that would mesmerize us. Our group was so impressed with O’Henry’s “After Twenty Years” , that we actually have a pact to meet at a particular restaurant in Ghaziabad in 2017! Newton, on the other hand seemed to have a role in every conceivable principle of Physics. It’d be rather safe, in case you were in doubt, in an exam as to why a particular force acted in a particular way to respectfully leave your answer as: “This occurs because of Newton’s law of motion.”
Sometimes when I look back at my childhood, it’s amazing how much life’s changed. Those days, one of our common grudges used to be “When’re we going to grow up?” and these days, our oft repeated grudge is “Why did we’ve to grow up?”
It’s a funny life...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Here's to Cricket, kid!
Can’t say more.
Posting a compilation of some of my favorite cricketing trivia from around the world.
Jack MacBryan is an interesting name in the annals of cricket. Wikipedia describes MacBryan as " an amateur and right-hand batsman" who also was the Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1925 . He played a test for England at Old Trafford against SA in 1924 , that got washed out after 66.5 overs were bowled. He never played a test again making him the only cricketer to have never bowled a single delivery, caught anything or scored a run in his test career! Wikipedia also describes his test appearance as "imperceptible".
I think a lot of people know about who had the best streak of successive half centuries in Tests. The record belongs to Everton Weekes. However, a lesser known fact is that the best streak in ODIs is that of Javed Miandad’s who had 9 successive scores above 50 in ODIs.
Chris Tremlett of England was on a hat-trick against Bangladesh in a 2005 ODI. Mohammed Ashraful , the batsman strode in and defended with a straight bat, only to see the ball hit the ground and then proceed to hit the stumps. Tremlett didn't get his hat-trick though. The bails refused to budge!
If all the names of cricketers were written in alphabetical order Zulqarnain would be the last name on that list. (His name is also a synonym for “nothing noteworthy” in all languages.)
Of the 12 team captains in the 1999 World Cup, Hansie Cronje was the only one who didn’t wear a jersey numbered 1. He wore the number 5 and since his death no South African has ever worn that number.
Eknath Solkar at 1.96 has the highest catches per test match record. Bob Simpson is next best with a fairly distant rate of 1.77.
When Craig Wishart was caught in 2001 test at Chittagong by Mohhamad Sharif, then 16, off Mohammad Ashraful’s (then 17) legspin, he became a victim to the youngest combination to take a test wicket. ( If you’re thinking that this is quite a bizarre fact to know, you know how I felt writing this! )
Merv Hughes has the most complicated test hat-trick in tests spread over 2 innings and 3 different overs. It was accomplished at Perth against WI in 1988. When I read about it, I thought it was so complicated that the person who pointed out that it was hat-trick must’ve been knighted. Or at least taken out for a beer by Merv.
Apparently, Brian Lara was dropped on 18 once in a first class innings. He added 483 more in the same innings. (Ha… ha… I like the way I've framed this one.) The culprit was Chris Scott, the wicketkeeper.
Two-thirds of the world drives on the right but not one team among the test playing nations drives on the right.
Surprisingly, unlike the best actor Oscar, no one can be a Wisden Cricketer of the year more than once.
One for the Monty! The first instance of a Sikh bowling to a Sikh in test cricket was when Harbhajan bowled to Panesar in a Nagpur test match.
And one for my most favorite cricketer: Brian Lara has scored the maximum number of runs in tests in a 12 month period. It amounts to an astounding 1949 runs between April 2003 and April 2004.
Mike Hussey’s highest score in both forms of the game is 156. His is the highest among players who have highest identical scores in both ODI’s and Tests. The next best is K. Srikkanth with 123.
And lastly, a gem of a freak dismissal.
Over to a Wisden Cricketer archive article : Playing for Warwickshire, in 1948 against Middlesex, Donnelly had reached 55 when a delivery from the left-arm spinner Jack Young hit his foot and bounced over his head, landing about a foot behind the stumps. Strangely the ball then returned to bowl him - from the wrong side of the stumps. The ball may have picked up some backspin, though a bowler's footmark was thought the most likely explanation.
Ah… The game!
Source : The veritable guru, Steven Lynch
Posting a compilation of some of my favorite cricketing trivia from around the world.
Jack MacBryan is an interesting name in the annals of cricket. Wikipedia describes MacBryan as " an amateur and right-hand batsman" who also was the Wisden Cricketer of the year in 1925 . He played a test for England at Old Trafford against SA in 1924 , that got washed out after 66.5 overs were bowled. He never played a test again making him the only cricketer to have never bowled a single delivery, caught anything or scored a run in his test career! Wikipedia also describes his test appearance as "imperceptible".
I think a lot of people know about who had the best streak of successive half centuries in Tests. The record belongs to Everton Weekes. However, a lesser known fact is that the best streak in ODIs is that of Javed Miandad’s who had 9 successive scores above 50 in ODIs.
Chris Tremlett of England was on a hat-trick against Bangladesh in a 2005 ODI. Mohammed Ashraful , the batsman strode in and defended with a straight bat, only to see the ball hit the ground and then proceed to hit the stumps. Tremlett didn't get his hat-trick though. The bails refused to budge!
If all the names of cricketers were written in alphabetical order Zulqarnain would be the last name on that list. (His name is also a synonym for “nothing noteworthy” in all languages.)
Of the 12 team captains in the 1999 World Cup, Hansie Cronje was the only one who didn’t wear a jersey numbered 1. He wore the number 5 and since his death no South African has ever worn that number.
Eknath Solkar at 1.96 has the highest catches per test match record. Bob Simpson is next best with a fairly distant rate of 1.77.
When Craig Wishart was caught in 2001 test at Chittagong by Mohhamad Sharif, then 16, off Mohammad Ashraful’s (then 17) legspin, he became a victim to the youngest combination to take a test wicket. ( If you’re thinking that this is quite a bizarre fact to know, you know how I felt writing this! )
Merv Hughes has the most complicated test hat-trick in tests spread over 2 innings and 3 different overs. It was accomplished at Perth against WI in 1988. When I read about it, I thought it was so complicated that the person who pointed out that it was hat-trick must’ve been knighted. Or at least taken out for a beer by Merv.
Apparently, Brian Lara was dropped on 18 once in a first class innings. He added 483 more in the same innings. (Ha… ha… I like the way I've framed this one.) The culprit was Chris Scott, the wicketkeeper.
Two-thirds of the world drives on the right but not one team among the test playing nations drives on the right.
Surprisingly, unlike the best actor Oscar, no one can be a Wisden Cricketer of the year more than once.
One for the Monty! The first instance of a Sikh bowling to a Sikh in test cricket was when Harbhajan bowled to Panesar in a Nagpur test match.
And one for my most favorite cricketer: Brian Lara has scored the maximum number of runs in tests in a 12 month period. It amounts to an astounding 1949 runs between April 2003 and April 2004.
Mike Hussey’s highest score in both forms of the game is 156. His is the highest among players who have highest identical scores in both ODI’s and Tests. The next best is K. Srikkanth with 123.
And lastly, a gem of a freak dismissal.
Over to a Wisden Cricketer archive article : Playing for Warwickshire, in 1948 against Middlesex, Donnelly had reached 55 when a delivery from the left-arm spinner Jack Young hit his foot and bounced over his head, landing about a foot behind the stumps. Strangely the ball then returned to bowl him - from the wrong side of the stumps. The ball may have picked up some backspin, though a bowler's footmark was thought the most likely explanation.
Ah… The game!
Source : The veritable guru, Steven Lynch
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Broken Panes
P.S. ( The Pre-Script) : Nothing eventful has taken place in the last 2 weeks to voice an opinion over and hence a garbled mess of a train of thought follows. Proceed at your own risk and do not forget to recommend the following post to your enemies.
Dial M for Murder is an excellent movie. Of the 10 movies directed by Hitchcock that I've seen thus far, I think it's his best. But since IMDB credits him with 66 movies that he's directed, I do humbly acknowledge that the excitement could very well be premature.
I bought "Something Under the Bed is Drooling" today. This leaves me with only 2 more C&H books to complete.
While on comics, I think it's pertinent to mention that as a tribute to Georges Remi's birth centenary, I'm also on track to finish off the remaining 5 Tintin comics that I haven't read. My favorite thus far have been the Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure.
I got hooked really bad to Woody Allen movies last month and the craze hasn't subsided yet. I've run through every Music World, Planet M and Crossword store in Delhi to get some of his movies but to no avail. If you know any place that you could direct me to, please do leave a comment. ( I've ransacked Palika and depleted Seventymm's collection too...)
Me and Bro are huge Sanju Baba fans so when the world said Shootout at Lokhandwala was mediocre while I loved it for Sanju Baba's daredevil fling of the bulletproof jacket, I was a little worried if Bro would think it was over the top too but a short conversation with him alleviated all those fears. ( And now I cant wait for Alibaug...)
Paul Collingwood is easily the guy who's pulled out the best catches of our generation. Youtube can smash any of your disagreements to the above. Your best defence could be Adam Bacher but I said "catches" not " a single catch".
I love the Zen Estilo jingle. I think it really has as much potential as the Hutch song or the Airtel tune. It's just the sort of thing that people would talk about and pass the ringtones around of and I get the feeling that Maruti is clearly underselling it.
If I get to make one movie in my lifetime, I'll flip a coin to decide whether it should be a murder mystery or a story on relationships. And then , the winner of this round would compete against a gangster theme on another flip of the same coin.
My favorite TV programme thus far has been this series called "Exploring the Unknown" that used to come on AXN. Nobody I've spoken this about to, has ever seen this programme. If you know what I'm talking about and you're a woman aged between 24- 32 , you are my soulmate and I'm supposed to be dating you. I know you're itching to call me. My mobile number begins with 9 and just to see if you're of my calibre I want you to find out the remaining 9 digits!
This is an end to your torture. Thanks for being nice. You've inched my blog closer to 7000 hits.
P.S. : Hoping underdog Cavs get past the Spurs...
Dial M for Murder is an excellent movie. Of the 10 movies directed by Hitchcock that I've seen thus far, I think it's his best. But since IMDB credits him with 66 movies that he's directed, I do humbly acknowledge that the excitement could very well be premature.
I bought "Something Under the Bed is Drooling" today. This leaves me with only 2 more C&H books to complete.
While on comics, I think it's pertinent to mention that as a tribute to Georges Remi's birth centenary, I'm also on track to finish off the remaining 5 Tintin comics that I haven't read. My favorite thus far have been the Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure.
I got hooked really bad to Woody Allen movies last month and the craze hasn't subsided yet. I've run through every Music World, Planet M and Crossword store in Delhi to get some of his movies but to no avail. If you know any place that you could direct me to, please do leave a comment. ( I've ransacked Palika and depleted Seventymm's collection too...)
Me and Bro are huge Sanju Baba fans so when the world said Shootout at Lokhandwala was mediocre while I loved it for Sanju Baba's daredevil fling of the bulletproof jacket, I was a little worried if Bro would think it was over the top too but a short conversation with him alleviated all those fears. ( And now I cant wait for Alibaug...)
Paul Collingwood is easily the guy who's pulled out the best catches of our generation. Youtube can smash any of your disagreements to the above. Your best defence could be Adam Bacher but I said "catches" not " a single catch".
I love the Zen Estilo jingle. I think it really has as much potential as the Hutch song or the Airtel tune. It's just the sort of thing that people would talk about and pass the ringtones around of and I get the feeling that Maruti is clearly underselling it.
If I get to make one movie in my lifetime, I'll flip a coin to decide whether it should be a murder mystery or a story on relationships. And then , the winner of this round would compete against a gangster theme on another flip of the same coin.
My favorite TV programme thus far has been this series called "Exploring the Unknown" that used to come on AXN. Nobody I've spoken this about to, has ever seen this programme. If you know what I'm talking about and you're a woman aged between 24- 32 , you are my soulmate and I'm supposed to be dating you. I know you're itching to call me. My mobile number begins with 9 and just to see if you're of my calibre I want you to find out the remaining 9 digits!
This is an end to your torture. Thanks for being nice. You've inched my blog closer to 7000 hits.
P.S. : Hoping underdog Cavs get past the Spurs...
Thursday, May 24, 2007
The List- II ( Of a different kind...)
Call it breathtaking inspiration or cheap imitation, one can’t deny that Hollywood has always served enough for an Indian film maker to directly lift scripts from any English movie. Some acknowledge it, some don’t , some deny and some fret but at the end of the day one can always find that one little scene, that twist towards the end or that line that acts as a complete giveaway.
A couple of weeks back I happened to see Tara Rum Pum regarding which, Khalid Mohammed wrote in the Hindustan Times “…the screenplay of this movie is as original as the output from a Xerox machine”. A number of times while watching a Hindi movie, I’ve jumped from my seat saying, “Hey! That’s a copy…” and while I wish I’d made a note of every single jump thus far , I guess it’s never too late for anything. So here goes a list of my top copied scenes that I recollect sitting in my room in an attempted chronological order.
1. Tara Rum Pum: The most recent copied scene I’ve seen. Saif Ali Khan begging for money in a New York pub. Co-incidentally even Russell Crowe was also supposed to be in a New York pub in Cinderella Man. I picked this particular scene because of how Ron Howard used a different shade of light to show the interiors of the pub. And Siddharth Anand was inspired in his sleep to give the same effect in his movie.
2. Guru: Abhishek Bachchan’s trial scene towards the end of the movie seemed a little too similar to Howard Hughes deposing before Senator Brewster in the Aviator. Though many differences can be noted in this case, I think it’s the treatment and how Alan Alda and Roshan Seth act as impeccable judges that make the scenes similar. Al Pacino’s deposition in Godfather-II could also possibly be an inspiration.
3. Dhoom II: Surprised? Well, the scene between Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan over a table in a restaurant and the ensuing conversation was a lift from the Al Pacino-De Niro classic Heat. In my books, I’d refer to this scene by a very special name: Fall from Grace.
4. Sarkar: Another re-make but this time I think RGV did all he possibly could to minimize the damage to the gripping monologue of a man in distress appealing to the Godfather for justice. Of the scenes I’ve mentioned this far, I think this one made me feel least disparate.
5. Aitraaz: The first attempted rape of a guy in Hindi cinema ? A la Disclosure? Would you rather be in Michael Douglas’ shoes than Akshay Kumar’s?
6. Deewane Huye Pagal : While the movie itself was heavily borrowed, the dog-shock scene was a direct lift from There’s Something About Mary. I don’t think however that they got the Border Terrier breed of dog used in the English version. (Yup, the kind of trivia Google can throw up is amazing. :-D)
7. Musafir: What a blatant copy this one is! Both Sameera Reddy and Jennifer Lopez wear red skirts while Anil Kapoor and Sean Penn lend a helping hand to their backs. The difference: Sameera was trying to get inside her house and J’Lo was already in her house trying to fix some drapes in U-Turn.
8.Murder : Diane Lane, you beauty. And to be fair to Mallika Sherawat, you tried ! Funnily, after all the making out, the director made even Mallika Sherawat travel by a train on her way back home replaying what she’d just gotten herself into. If you looking for a subtle difference, you wont be disappointed. Diane Lane had her knee bruised in Unfaithful while Mallika didn’t .
9. Kasoor: “I lied to you. I didn’t want to. But I had to…”. Glenn Close listening to Jeff Bridges’ confessions in a picturesque setting, in Jagged Edge was directly transliterated to make way for Aftab’s disclosure to Lisa Ray. When I told a friend I was planning to write something like this, she hit the nail on the head when she said, “… your list will comprise all Vikram Bhatt’s movies…” . I had to include at least one.
There are a few more scenes in my mind but I’m getting a little bored of this now so just to add a little bit of variety, I want to point this out. I think a few of our film makers are simply too indifferent (or lazy) to the thought of adding even a dime’s worth of originality to anything that they copy. So much so, that even when someone from Yash Raj Films decided to re-make My Best Friends Wedding , he just couldn’t come up with any name other than “ Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hain”!!!
P.S.: For the record, Casablanca is reportedly being re-made in Hindi too…
Sigh! It’s time to sleep.
A couple of weeks back I happened to see Tara Rum Pum regarding which, Khalid Mohammed wrote in the Hindustan Times “…the screenplay of this movie is as original as the output from a Xerox machine”. A number of times while watching a Hindi movie, I’ve jumped from my seat saying, “Hey! That’s a copy…” and while I wish I’d made a note of every single jump thus far , I guess it’s never too late for anything. So here goes a list of my top copied scenes that I recollect sitting in my room in an attempted chronological order.
1. Tara Rum Pum: The most recent copied scene I’ve seen. Saif Ali Khan begging for money in a New York pub. Co-incidentally even Russell Crowe was also supposed to be in a New York pub in Cinderella Man. I picked this particular scene because of how Ron Howard used a different shade of light to show the interiors of the pub. And Siddharth Anand was inspired in his sleep to give the same effect in his movie.
2. Guru: Abhishek Bachchan’s trial scene towards the end of the movie seemed a little too similar to Howard Hughes deposing before Senator Brewster in the Aviator. Though many differences can be noted in this case, I think it’s the treatment and how Alan Alda and Roshan Seth act as impeccable judges that make the scenes similar. Al Pacino’s deposition in Godfather-II could also possibly be an inspiration.
3. Dhoom II: Surprised? Well, the scene between Abhishek Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan over a table in a restaurant and the ensuing conversation was a lift from the Al Pacino-De Niro classic Heat. In my books, I’d refer to this scene by a very special name: Fall from Grace.
4. Sarkar: Another re-make but this time I think RGV did all he possibly could to minimize the damage to the gripping monologue of a man in distress appealing to the Godfather for justice. Of the scenes I’ve mentioned this far, I think this one made me feel least disparate.
5. Aitraaz: The first attempted rape of a guy in Hindi cinema ? A la Disclosure? Would you rather be in Michael Douglas’ shoes than Akshay Kumar’s?
6. Deewane Huye Pagal : While the movie itself was heavily borrowed, the dog-shock scene was a direct lift from There’s Something About Mary. I don’t think however that they got the Border Terrier breed of dog used in the English version. (Yup, the kind of trivia Google can throw up is amazing. :-D)
7. Musafir: What a blatant copy this one is! Both Sameera Reddy and Jennifer Lopez wear red skirts while Anil Kapoor and Sean Penn lend a helping hand to their backs. The difference: Sameera was trying to get inside her house and J’Lo was already in her house trying to fix some drapes in U-Turn.
8.Murder : Diane Lane, you beauty. And to be fair to Mallika Sherawat, you tried ! Funnily, after all the making out, the director made even Mallika Sherawat travel by a train on her way back home replaying what she’d just gotten herself into. If you looking for a subtle difference, you wont be disappointed. Diane Lane had her knee bruised in Unfaithful while Mallika didn’t .
9. Kasoor: “I lied to you. I didn’t want to. But I had to…”. Glenn Close listening to Jeff Bridges’ confessions in a picturesque setting, in Jagged Edge was directly transliterated to make way for Aftab’s disclosure to Lisa Ray. When I told a friend I was planning to write something like this, she hit the nail on the head when she said, “… your list will comprise all Vikram Bhatt’s movies…” . I had to include at least one.
There are a few more scenes in my mind but I’m getting a little bored of this now so just to add a little bit of variety, I want to point this out. I think a few of our film makers are simply too indifferent (or lazy) to the thought of adding even a dime’s worth of originality to anything that they copy. So much so, that even when someone from Yash Raj Films decided to re-make My Best Friends Wedding , he just couldn’t come up with any name other than “ Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hain”!!!
P.S.: For the record, Casablanca is reportedly being re-made in Hindi too…
Sigh! It’s time to sleep.
Sunday, May 06, 2007
I so so hate people!
I hate people. I hate organized groups. I hate communities. I hate religion and I hate anything that has a say on my life and the way I want to live my life!
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