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change

2008-12-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Hello all...I will be moving to viswajithandharry.wordpress.com from today as I got bored with blogger...do continue reading my posts and comment over thr too...

Rebuilding something that was never built!

2008-12-04T19:59:00.000-08:00

Now where do I begin? I was reminded of the movie ANNIYAN when I was going through some of the forums on Orkut and other blogs. Instead of being all vague and high fundaeish I shall try being clear. We people in India blame politicians for what they are. In the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attack, there was this politician who was planning to call a nation wide bandh! Agreed that he was downright cheap. And yeah some of the big shots in Mumbai pointed out to it. Even some of us came to know about it. So what about it? The next time before pointing out some flaw or fault in these politicians, MLAs, MPs etc etc let us have a look at ourselves. How many of us are prepared to stand in a security line at an Airport or railway station even if it takes an hour to complete the security check? Last week I was reading an article somewhere in which it was mentioned that the Taj Mahal hotel had a huge blanket of security even a week before the attack. So what happened in the lead up to the D day? This huge blanket of security, the metal detectors etc etc were removed because there was no parking space. These basic security check up stuff where occupying the space in the parking lot. It seems a silly reason to me. Now whom do we blame for the terror attack in the first place? The terrorists for being the perpetrators and killing the innocent? The politicians for being lackadaisical? The commandos and police forces for initiating the operation without a plan? Or ourselves for not following some basic steps to ensure a secure environment? I am not justifying what the terrorists did. Neither am I supporting the politicians. If we the people want to be in a terror free environment, is it not our duty that all of us go through metal detectors at railway stations? Is it not our duty that we wear our identity cards always when we are at work places instead of telling the security guards at the gate: "Arre thu tho mujhe jaantha hai! Tho fir kyon ye ID card? "? I agree that it would be a logistical night mare to ensure security checks at a station like the CST! But I definitely do not think that it is impossible.

Now the above thoughts on one side, I was also reading another forum where in it was asked, how do we make India a terror free country with better politicians who are not corrupt. I understand that such a forum could have even been started to vent out some frustrations at the terror attacks and the manner in which it was approached. What got to my nerves was the fact that each time some politician gets entangled into a web of scandals or controversies (like the R.R.Patil issue, the Ram Gopal Verma and Vilas Rao Deshmukh scandal) the people blame them for being so insensitive, for being corrupt, for not doing anything for the benefit of the country etc etc. This is utterly laughable. Because it is the same people who would have voted for such politicians. And in some cases some of the complaining people would not even vote or go near a polling booth during elections. We complain that some of the officials in India can be bribed. I disagree. The root cause of bribes is the common man. He does bribe and also accept bribes. For example during the last elections in Tamil nadu, the then opposition party in its campaign stated that it would give a free T.V to everyone if they where voted to power. In fact it was voted to power. During the election campaigns lots of free T.V's where given to the working class. This is one basic example when the common man himself is bribed. Let us consider a different example. As most of you readers of my blog would know, it is rarely a case of following the speed limits in India. And in case the traffic constable does catch someone for over speeding, the people being caught, instead of following the normal procedure bribe the official. The norm would have been to pay a fine of around 1000 bucks at the R.T.O office. Now to avoid that we end up bribing the traffic constable and give him around 300-400 bucks. On the talk show in NDTV "We the people" last Sunday, some of the celebrities where of the opinion that the people should not pay taxes to the government as the government was not doing anything. Is this the way a celebrity should speak? Especially in a country where the celebrities are worshipped like gods? Shame on the person. Yes the politicians might be corrupt. Yes the infrastructure might be inept. But what is the point in just blaming them if we ourselves are corrupt? Every nation does have its share of corrupt officials. But that does not stop many such nations from being ultra-developed. Every basket will have its share of rotten eggs. Does that stop us from eating those eggs? Food for thought may be. Without sounding all preachy, I am just taking a pragmatic view at the way we react to things. Some basic mistakes are contributing to the huge mountains of calamities. Instead of cribbing and getting emotional I believe we should set about correcting those basic mistakes so that in future mole hills do not become mountains.

A Wednesday

2008-11-27T23:54:00.000-08:00

I am not a political analyst. Neither am I a media honcho who knows the fundae about journalism. But I am a common man who is proud of being an Indian. A common man who is waiting for the day we can walk peacefully on the streets of our cities without being scared of a bomb going off nearby. I want to eat at a restaurant and enjoy my meal rather than being scared thinking if someone will attack and hold me as a hostage. The scenes near the Taj hotel in Mumbai and near the Trident where gut wrenching to be honest. More than sadness at the sequence of events and it is the anger that threatens to overwhelm me. How dare some 20-30 humans (I do not know if I can call them humans from here on!) attack the innocent in the name of religion or war? What right do they have to even take a life? Can't the perpetrators of the violence see that it is their community/nation that is being affected because of this? I do not often blog about terrorism but this time it is just too much to take. Every month some new city in India is attacked. Some of the scenes being dished out on the news channels where gut wrenching. Now if such is the state of people like me whose relatives or nearest have not been affected directly by the series of events in Mumbai, imagine the state of those who have been directly affected by it! I feel sorry for them and offer my heart felt condolences to them. It feels sickening to see a young kid(who should be ideally going to school on a weekday) answering questions from the media big shots on how he is feeling as his parents are being held as hostages in the hotels? A old gentleman (who should be sipping juice relaxing on some beach) instead has to anwer to the bull shit that Barkha Dutt has to ask him. She might be a great journalist. But for me she does not seem a great human. The old gentleman was close to tears. And hear she is asking about how he feels. That to me was not the right thing to do then. The old gentleman and kid deserved to be given moral support but not like this. I hope the politicians do not use this for political mileage. All said and done about how good the rescue effort or how good the police and army have been through out this ordeal, the leaders must answer to the people. After all they where also responsible partly for this. How could there have been such a serious intelligence failure? What was the coast guard up to? 30 odd and god knows how many more entered the city through boats. These are the sort of things we see in movies. What in the bloody hell were the intelligence services up to? The prime minister's address was hardly inspiring to top it all. These are people who take the common man for granted. I suppose all they care about is their seat, the vote bank, and money. I have a lot more to say but this being a public forum I do not want to. Such organization and planning on part of the terrorists could not have been accomplished without any inside help. :( And if there was no inside help, I am sorry to say as an individual I will be scared shit less and pissing in my pants right now if I where walking in any one of the big cities in India. A personal request to end though, to all the politicians: I do not expect anything great of you. I do not expect outstanding deeds. But at the same time if you are not capable of protecting the people from whom you beg for votes, at least let the people who are doing a good job work properly. In short do not act as fucking impediments.

P.S Sorry for asking but I could not help myself now. Where is Mr. Raj Thackeray and his bunch of goons? In fact it is good that they have not acted as hindrances. But not even a single comment from him? Surprising!

Firsts

2008-09-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is my first post for quite a while and the first time I have been tagged...

The rules for the tag are:
RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.
RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

So here is how it goes...

1.If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?
May be sit and cry for ages just like what happens in those good old Hindi Movies...:D WTF? Are you kidding me? Havent even had the chance of falling in love....only then does the question of betrayal comes up...

2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?
Right now the priority would be to get a job?? Kicking the ass of ppl who destroy world peace comes a close second.

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?
TWO answers this question.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?
Give my parents and brother all the comforts with it. Remaining I shall may be do something in the SIVAJI ishtyle back home...

5. Will you fall in love with your best friend?
If my best friend does happen to be a girl and if I am given the chance to fall in love with her?? hell yeah..

6. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?
Loving someone.

7. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?
Ages? Naa...am someone who is practical and tries to get on with life...so I dont think i ll wait long!

8. If the person you secretly like is attached, what will you do?
My love or liking would not reduce for the person...

9. If you could root for one social cause, what would it be?
Illiteracy.

10. What takes you down the fastest?
Close friends ignoring me!

11. On a scale of 1 to 10 how happy are you?
7

12. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
A man who is happy with what he has acheived and who looks forward to the next challenge in life...

13. What’s your fear?
Of not being able to do what I like the most for a living.

14. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?
An independent yet sensitive lady!

15. Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?
How about the married and rich option?

16. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?
Naa...the chances of that happening are one in a zillion...

17. Would you give all in a relationship?
Yeeeaaaaassssssssssss Absolutely!

18. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?
I have a decent memory. So forgetting is impossible...Forgiving is something I can try..

19. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?
I usually do have a policy. If I am single I have the entire world to look forward to. But if I am in a relationship that person would become my entire world. So I prefer being single...

As I say in Tamil "Irrukaravanuku Orutheee...ilaadhavanuku palar!"

20. List of 6 people to tag:

a.Hype Hari

b.Prashanth

c.Macademia the nut

d.Filarial - Prashanth

e.Raghav

f.Rahul

Land of dreams

2008-08-16T20:11:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: It is totally fictitious. This is an attempt to write something different. The story will be continued in the next few posts.

Some of us land in US with umpteen number of dreams. Umpteen number of visions! Most of us do succeed in achieving what we set out for. But there are a few who just struggle. No matter what, bad luck is something that would have caught them at the wrong moment. People who are nothing short of whiz kids in India face the music here! This is not a post about how good USA is and what can be achieved in this land of dreams. Instead this is a post of how ****** up life can get here if one goes astray. A la five point someone! What I-Hari Prasad aka HARRY- did not envisage when I landed in USA, was that things can go from great to weird to bad to worse in just a period of 2 months. I still remember my ride from the airport to Press Avenue on August 1, 2005. Though this was what I had wanted all along right from my early teens, there was this strange empty feeling within me. A feeling that would build upon on its own and later go on to be called as Home Sickness. Immediately as soon as I reach Rakesh's place, I realize that to make a single call to my parents I would have to shell out a dollar or two! Yet the first night that I was here, I had a sumptuous dinner-courtesy Rakesh and slept peacefully. The next morning (it being a Saturday) I woke up to the sound of some music and chitter chatter. I come out and I am introduced to Prashanth by Rakesh. Of course after freshening up I join in their idle conversation and I am introduced to the daily routine followed by these guys (something that even I will be following from now on I guess!). The first priority I realize is to find a good house for myself and the three others-Sai, Suniel, and Narayan. I met the three of them back in Chennai and we had decided to stay together. I realize with envy that Suniel and Narayan would still be in the cozy comforts of their parents in Chennai. Sai had flown down along with me and he was put up at Prashanth's apartment. I was brought down to earth from my day dream when Rakesh said that Saturday being a holiday would be a good time to start searching for an apartment! I retort stating, "Dude, after all I have landed here just last evening.". To this Rakesh stated with a shrug, "During the weekdays you will be busy contacting professors or looking for assistantships. You will have very little time to search for apartments. You might as well start today, and try to get settled in soon." With just a feeble nod in response I got ready to go out. I realized that it might as well be a blessing in disguise as I have my friend to guide me through this initial phase.
So after a couple of days of tiring search and having contacted each land-lord in person, me and Sai were finally able to find an apartment which was close enough in its proximity to the College and also to our senior's apartments! By Sunday evening we had moved our belongings to this new place and after some hurried shopping (for our day to day needs) at the nearest Walmart, we dragged our tired bodies back home. Of course Rakesh was there to remind me that I would have to wake up early next day as I would have to open a bank account...I just nodded and fell asleep...So much for life in USA!

To be contd...

Sachin Tendulkar!

2008-08-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

So many have written so much about this particular topic. It has been discussed to death! Yet each game the maestro plays the same question is asked of him. Even worse, he has to prove a point each time he goes to bat. It might be a cliche topic after all to write about but being an ardent fan of his, I thought I should. Lets get on with it. Statistics apart lets look at the genuine match winners India have produced! Other than Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Anil Kumble and to an extent Virender Sehwag, I do not think India has produced genuine match winners who can win us matches single handedly! I do not know much about the era before the 83 world cup and refrain from commenting about then! And amongst these, it has been Sachin who has played the longest, stayed the fittest and is the holder of god knows what record. C B series comes to the memory recently, before that last year's win in England, and so on...Remember the 2003 world cup folks and the India vs Pakistan game? Remember the Chennai test match against Pakistan when he nearly took India to a victory single handedly? How about the 1996 world cup and Sharjah? These are to name a few. In fact a couple of years back I remember a classic 90 odd by Sachin Tendulkar against a Pakistan bowling line up led by Akhtar and Asif at Lahore. And he led the Indians to a successful chase of a target of 282. Even this year in the test matches against Australia down under, Sachin scored centuries in Sydney and Adelaide along with a 70 and 20 at Perth. What more can a fan expect? The problem is that most of us fans expect him to score a 100 each time he bats irrespective of the fact that he might be struggling with injury or something else. Of course there is this media which plays the role of a magnifying glass. A Sachin duck would spark of comments about retirements and a Sachin century would spark off a discussion about his contributions over the last few years. It is high time that instead of examining and debating how good Sachin is, some of us should have our heads checked.

Joker!

2008-07-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have seen quite a few Hollywood movies. Most of them have been the usual action flicks or sugary romantic comedies. But there have been exceptions to this too, for a couple of movies like the LOTR (all the three movies), The Prestige, The Godfather I and II, made me feel as if I would like to catch them again sometime! In the modern day media frenzied world, I thought that the hype leading up to the latest installment of Batman on the big screen might have been a bit of a hyperbole. To top it all, I never read any of the batman comics nor had I seen previous versions of the batman movies. When I(just like any other individual in USA) reserved the tickets for The Dark Knight, apprehension was the foremost emotion I felt, wondering if the 8 dollars that I pay for the ticket might go a waste! But now after watching the movie, it is more of the Batman excitement that has caught up with me. What a movie it was! Not many action sequences, but the movie moved at relentless pace. Only once did I ever check my watch during those 2 and a half hours to have a look at the time. Without providing any spoilers (though I believe most of the folks reading this post would have already watched the movie!) I would just say that Heath Ledger's performance was haunting. Best comic book movie villain? Yes. Best comic book adaptation? Better than most (because I have not read Batman comics). My personal favorite scene would be when the "Joker" appears at the mob round table conference and provides the viewers with some magic using just a pencil! There are bound to be critics who would say that the movie was sadistic or the hype preceding the release was indeed an exaggeration. On a personal level though, I am going to watch the preceding Batman Begins too, for now I have become a fan of Christopher Nolan and his movies. Move along spidey...move along Hulk...It is time for Batman and his wildcard nemesis-JOKER!

Roger that!

2008-07-07T08:06:00.001-07:00

I am writing this with the backdrop of what many sports and tennis fans state to be the greatest matches they ever watched in the history of this sport! It is with a pang of regret I realize that I missed it. :( I stopped watching tennis (did not stop following it on the web though!) when the Great Sampras retired in 2003. Not because I hated tennis. But I missed the drama that I usually associated with a grand slam championship. This in turn I associated to the fact that the Fedex started winning games at a canter. For all his domination I believed that tennis was becoming to boring to watch. Every other day I would read on the web that Federer won a new tournament. Losing just four matches in an entire year? I just could not patiently watch a human do that! More so the same individual who had dethroned Sampras from his perch? No way. When Sampras was at his peak, he also had few others like Agassi, Rafter, to an extent Becker, and of course the always eccentric Ivanesevic to give him company. But when Federer was at his peak, there was no competition at all. Or whatever competition that Fedex had was brushed aside by his pure might. But only over the past year or so, with the emergence of Nadal and Djokovic as serious contenders to Federer's throne on any surface for that matter, have I considered watching Tennis again. Yesterday's loss at Wimbledon, only goes to show that even Roger Federer is just a human. And now that he has finally lost a match at Wimbledon, his achievements at SW19 might finally sink in on laymen like me! 12 Grand Slam Titles? Just two short of a record equalling 14? This is where one has to appreciate Rafael Nadal too. For it is because of him, one realizes the scale of Federer's achievements. This is where one has to recognize people like Rafter, Agassi and Ivanisevic too. For it was because of them that we were witness to many a rivalry during the 90's. I still remember the epic quarter final between Sampras and Agassi at US Open when all the four sets went to tie-breakers. I still remember when Sampras decimated Agassi at a wimbledon final. I still remember the record breaking 13th for Sampras in the gloom of Center court. It was always interesting to see how Sampras would return after a loss or after critics ruled him out! The same applies now to. It would be interesting to see how Roger Federer would end the year? Would it be another year where he ends as world no. 1 or would Nadal finally overtake him? Would it be the first time in 4-5 years when Federer ends up without a grand slam title in a year or will the Fedex blast back onto the courts at Flushing Meadows and prove to anyone that the first 6 months of 2008 where just a blip (according to his own mighty standards atleast) ? Yes, now tennis would be interesting! Mighty Interesting!

Another Dasavatharam Review

2008-06-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

Well so I join the infinite people who have already watched the movie and posted their reviews on their blogs and stuff. So without further ado, I shall start about how I feel about this movie. Let us bypass the story for even a 2 year old kid would by now be knowing it with all the hype about this movie. Is the movie good? Yes. Is it great? Umm...hmm...well...This is where I think I am not sure about it. It feels good to see a simple crime and chase thriller after quite a while. I believe if people where able to sit through movies like Gilli and Sivaji, then this would be no big deal. The make ups for the 10 roles played by Kamal are extraordinary. I guess it requires a super humane effort both on the part of the actor and the make up folks for the movie. The visuals have been taken on an extravagant scale. The scenes leading up to the tsunami with the Japanese and CIA villain fighting each other are good. If there was a particular scene that I would like to watch again it is the climax. It requires an individual with some guts to make a movie with something like Chaos theory I believe. And for most of the movie going junta back in India this would be something new and might be confusing. After all we are people whose staple diet with regards to a movie comprises of a Vadivelu comedy, a Namitha number, a duet in the Swiss mountains or the Tulip Gardens, some tear jerking mother son sentiment and a climax scene with one guy taking on all the baddies (the essential part here is that the chief baddie should have a huge potbelly). Something new like this might take time to be appreciated. Now does the movie have flaws? Yes indeed. The CBI officer checking out the microbes on Fletcher's body through a binocular kind of thing from a chopper seems to be ridiculously funny. And yeah is crap.
Other than that if you go into the movie not expecting t0 watch 10 kamals I guess one might find out in the movie that there is one Kamal too many. On the other hand if you just go in watch the movie without having an idea on what all the fuss is about, I guess one might not even realize that there are 10 Kamals indeed in the movie. Watching this movie was a definite new experience for me and I would put it definitely on top of some of my favorite movies in Tamil. After all one cannot complain about a lack of script in this movie when there are movies like ATM, TR's evergreen comedies etc etc running to packed houses.

Instinctive Diplomat

2008-06-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine about which is better? Being instinctive or being diplomatic? At times during conversations, words just flow out of my mouth. I mean, If I feel that what I speak is correct, I blurt it out, even if others think that it is crap. And that is how I take most of my decisions. I think about them for a couple of minutes. Think if what I am doing is correct or not? If it appears correct to me, I hardly spare a second thought. Coming back to the issue whether being instinctive serves you right or being a diplomat serves you right? Now let me provide my definition of being diplomatic! Diplomatic to me is, choosing one's word carefully and being cautious. I would agree to the point of being cautious if its some big decision. But for petty conversations amongst friends too, if one chooses to being diplomatic, it kind of does not serve the very purpose of having friends right? Even if you crap out something to friends because of your tendency to react instinctively, your friends should be able to understand you right? In that way being instinctive does help! And how about taking decisions? One should not regret making any decision at any point of time if it is taken on an instinctive manner! My personal belief though is that being a diplomat is what all those UN officials, IAS officers are for...A normal human being can live based on his gut feeling and intuition!

ITEM film?????????? ;)

2008-06-05T10:00:00.001-07:00

Most of us would be aware of item numbers in movies where some seductress (of course then essence is to be skimpily clad) dances around in some pub or some lavish bedroom set. But how many of us have heard of an ITEM MOVIE itself?? OM SHANTI OM was one such movie. And now I hear that SRK is nominated for the BEST ACTOR award for this movie. Oh my god? what is going on? I guess the awards must also be something similar to the spoofs in that particular movie!

Add a ravishing model who is only a film old!
Add a superstar!
Add a six pack to the superstar!
Add 10 blockbuster songs!
Add lavish sets...
Add good spoofs!
And finally just have a wafer thin story!

the recipe is perfect for an ITEM MOVIE!

Heights of vettiness!

2008-04-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

Some time back, I had been on a trip to Chennai. A trip for a whole 35 days. I was absolutely excited. Punch Drunk to be honest! After a relatively uneventful flight journey, the moment my sight landed on my Dad and my Bro when they were waiting for me outside the airport, was one of the best ever moments of my life. I felt as if I was on whole new lease of life! Next was when my mom hugged me and I entered the new house that my family had moved into. And now starts the most frustrating part for any guy returning from the land of dreams to his native! Immediately the next morning, I was forced to make a series of calls to relatives, answer calls from relatives, and family friends. Call it courtesy, call it respect or whatever. The cliche here is everyone asks the same question!

"Padichi mudichitu angaye settle aaga poriyaa??"

"Padichitu inge vandhu velai pannu!"

"Ange edhaavadhu ponae paathu marry panityaa?"

Initially it kinda felt good being the center of attraction and all that! After a point, it became irritating. And towards the end it became unbearable, to the point that, as a reply to a similar question popped by my grand mother, I said, "Paati kavale padaadhingo. Ange oru ponnu paathu vechirkaen. Neengo thaan vandhu enga kalyaanatha nadathi vaekanam!" My mom who was over hearing this entire conversation, though did not find it all that amusing, that I was playing with a 93 year old lady! :P This is the crux of the problem. In spite of all this, I found the holiday to be exhilarating. So many people being concerned about my well being. So many people questioning my decisions. Each day just hog the most amazing food, watch tv, sleep umpteen number of hours and leave the decision making to my parents. But here, though I am not pestered by silly questions, at times I regret that there is no one to question the whats and the whys of my activities. And the worst part of it is, even if I need to talk my parents, I need to pay a bill of 60 dollars a month just for some 5 minutes conversation each day! Call it the musings of a grad student!

Political or Hogenakkal?

2008-04-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

The TamilNadu government is constructing a drinking water project at Hogenakkal, with an aid from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, near the border with its neighbouring state, Karnataka. The Hogenakkal Water Supply and Fluorosis Mitigation Project is expected to benefit about 3 million people. Tensions arose when the politicians from Karnataka, claimed that a 400-acre island at the point where the river Cauvery enters Tamil Nadu to form the picturesque Hogenakkal waterfall is part of their state. It is a pity that even after 60 years after independence, people dispute over state borders. It is also hilarious to note that the state units of the same political party on either states, claim the land to be part of the respective states and blame one another. This clearly shows that the politicians are trying to create and politicize an issue which never existed, in the first place. Then the film industry on either side organized protests and counter protests...Now all of a sudden Chief Minister K, says that the solution should be found in a peaceful manner and wants to hold talks with the new Chief Minister of Karnataka after the elections in May. Pardon me for the satire, what if there is a hung assembly in Karnataka? Who will the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister go and talk to? Caught in the middle of this insanity is the common man. The parties play politics based on issues like water. I say it is trivial. That is because, getting his/her share of water is a right for every human being. We cannot keep on fighting for issues like these. The government always finds prompt solutions for the filmy problems where one state refuses to screen the movies of the other state's language. Yet they have not tried to solve this cauvery issue for the past umpteen number of years. Is it a deliberate ploy on the part of the politicians that when an election is looming, they play vote bank politics and when they form the government, the same ppl forget about the various promises made to the common man? No wonder, even as the literacy rate increases the voter turn out is reducing each and every election. Who said that this was because of the elections being held in Summer or any other reason? I am beginning to believe that the common man is tired of reading much into these fake promises made by the so called protectors of the people. When the politicians are not able to solve the problems of Kashmir, I do kind of agree that these are international issues, involving international bureaucrats and might take time. But when there is so much wrangling going on, between people(politicians) of our own country forget solving Kashmir, the politicians should be ashamed of themselves, should be ashamed that they are a black mark to humanity in itself.

The fated four letter word

2008-03-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

There is this four letter word that is synonymous with tough times. It goes hand in hand during those tough days. It is not love. It is not hate. It is HOPE.

Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope sets you free.

As a Cricket maniac or addict or whatever, I have been hoping that India wins a world cup. But that’s what makes me see the game all the more. As a human being, I hope that I have a better tomorrow than today. That’s what makes me look forward to the morrow eagerly. But when does a person fail? When he is scared! When he is afraid of the consequences his actions result in. Hope is the very essence of life. I saw Shawshank Redemption. Never in my life have I been affected by a movie as much as now. It is tough. It is difficult to maintain your hope and patience during tough times. But that I believe would be the driving force and make the individual look forward to the next day. Even I get scared some time. And then I delve into things that are not even under my control. I get frustrated. Basically I let my fear of failure dictate terms to me, when I should not let that happen. This movie has shaken the very foundations of my thought process. And I do not realize how I came to miss it all these days. A person who is afraid most of the times, who is scared, is nothing but a prisoner. A prisoner who is being held captive by fear! It engulfs the poor person and literally destroys him. It drives him insane just like a prison is bound to do. But even within a prison, you can choose to stay positive and be hopeful that some day the individual will be set free. This would help in keeping him sane enough. But the choice is with us. To remain captive or to be an independent individual! For no bird can be held captive in a cage for long. If the bird chooses to fly away, it can!

Off Respect and of National Symbols

2008-02-07T09:59:00.001-08:00

At long last I am back posting something on my blog. Has been a long three four months without blogging. Last month I was in India and yeah, half the time I was wondering and surprised at the sea change that Chennai has undergone. Other than that when I was watching the television too, one particular thing that came to notice was the attitude of the current generation - the GEN Y as they want to be called :). Coming to the point, I was watching WE THE PEOPLE on NDTV and the subject for discussion on that particular episode was regarding our country's National symbols and the respect we show for these symbols. There was this young female speaking her mind stating that when she had been to a movie at a theater recently, she did not stand up when the National Anthem was being played at the end of the movie. Well I thought WTF! Out of curiosity I continued watching her ramblings and this is what she said to the exact word. "The respect that we show, if it is true to our heart and if it is honest enough, they why should we demonstrate it by standing up for the anthem?" I was like, hold on dear lady, and just thinking, whatever is happening to developed India. My argument is, in case an elder comes into a room, and if an individual is studying, as a mark of respect we do stand up. Another particular case is consider a funeral ceremony. In a funeral ceremony once the coffin is buried, as a symbol of respect to the deceased, we stay silent and mourn. How would it look like if we say that "I DO RESPECT THE DECEASED, BUT I AM NOT GOING TO STAY SILENT. INSTEAD I WILL BE LAUGHING AND MAKING MERRY IN FRONT OF THE COFFIN AFTER BURIAL." As stupid as it sounds, this is how the female speaking on that particular show sounded to me. I am sorry however lazy an individual is, if there is this national symbol, I believe that the individual should respect the symbol whenever he/she encounters it. So much for the development back home!

Aaaaaaaaaccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnnt?

2007-11-18T12:53:00.000-08:00

This morning as I was chatting with a real close friend of mine, I was asked a question! What happened to your blogs? It was then that I wondered that, it really has been a while since I last posted on my blog. And I accidentally stumbled upon one of the shows of KOFFEE WITH KARAN, where in the host was interviewing Madhuri Dixit. It has been a long time since I last saw her on screen or any kind of media, so I decided to watch the entire episode. Her first answer really caught me by surprise. Not because of the content, but the accent. May be the time in U.S.A has really changes the accent and people start speaking English with a distinct AMAIRICAAAAAAAAAAN AAAAAAACCCENNNNNTTTTTTTTT. Now why is this weird? The problem is when we Indians speak our English in U.S.A, especially in the malls or a restaurant, most of the times the people do not understand what we speak. Blame it or praise it on our accent! I have seen people with really good English finding it tough to get their thoughts conveyed during those tough first few days. So some of us, as a solution to it even try to mimic the American accent and start speaking with what can definitely be deemed as a fake accent. How do we justify this? Is it just a question of using that fake accent to communicate properly or a kinda fashion sense that if an individual stays in U.S.A for sometime his accent needs to change? Now to the next question! Why do we have to speak in that fake accent even when we return back to India? J That seems to be weirder! I do agree with the fact that we may have to speak in a fake, false accent when we are in U.S of A, but when we do return to our homeland, there does not seem to be a valid reason for the same! I seriously detest the later!

DO I NEED TO GIVE A TITLE TO THIS! ;)

2007-10-26T12:26:00.000-07:00

The following is purely fictitious and is not meant to hurt or ridicule someone! But it is intended to reach quite a few…hope you lot understand what I mean and whom I mean! LOLzzzz!

SCENE-I

Rohan: “Hey, how you doing?”

Sanjana: “Hi yaar, been a long time…am good…how r u?”

Rohan: “btw are you going for the movie this weekend?”

Sanjana: “As a matter of fact, main tho tumhe abhi dekhne aa rahi thi…just to ask if you are interested in coming along for the movie!”

Rohan: “Well, the thing that I have to consider is how I am gonna travel a 100 miles to watch a movie?”

Sanjana: “Oh yeah, that is a valid point! Lemme see what I can do!”

Rohan: “Thanks a lot gal…”

SCENE-II

Sanjana: “Hey Ram, Rohan says he is also interested in joining us for the movie, but he does not have a ride to the cinema hall…do we have space in our car to accommodate him to?”

Ram: “Hey sweeto, anything for you babe…I guess Shriraam has space in his car. Lemme call him and ask!”

Sanjana: “Ram, that’s so nice of you, but are you not driving your car? I thought you were!”

Ram: “Yes of course I am driving. Guess only the two of us would be going in my car.”

Sanjana: “Then why can’t he join us and come in our car?”

Ram sighs and now he has no other choice!

So after an hour’s drive the three along with their friends reach the Cinema Hall. Ram was looking grumpy already and the real show was yet to begin!

SCENE-III (When the movie starts)

Shreeram: “Hey Ram, I thought you were gonna sit with Sanjana!

Ram: “Arey yaar, kyon puch rahaa hai…She either seems to be too busy on phone or she is talking with Rohan…Feels so weird

Shreeram: “Abey yaar…voh their girlfriend hai…”

Ram: “Please shreeram…”

An hour and a half later!

Sanjana seems to be busy on the phone. So Ram gives her some private space and goes off to buy something! What he does not realize is that Sanjana is speaking to our hero Rohan over the phone!

SCENE-IV (INTERMISSION)

Sanjana: “Rohan, can you just get me some popcorn? I am kind of hungry!”

Rohan: “Sure Sanju…”

Rohan buys the popcorn and on his way back to his seat, bumps into Ram…

Rohan: “Ram, enjoyed the movie eh?”

Ram (grumbles): “yeah I did…big time”

And then murmurs silently, thanks to you I don’t even get to sit with Sanjana! ;)

Ram takes some popcorn from the bag that Rohan was holding, only for Rohan to frown and then scowl…

Rohan: “That was for Sanju…she had asked it…says she did not even have lunch! Nyways, thanks a tonne for getting me this movie ticket..am having a gala time!” Having said this Rohan just walked away.

Ram could not believe his luck. Meanwhile Shreeram was looking at Ram and was laughing out loud. Poor guy RAM!

DOLLAR BUG!

2007-10-21T16:20:00.000-07:00

I must say, that I was bitten with this DOLLAR BUG! Do not ask me why, but initially last year it did not seem to make a huge difference. But everything changed over the summer. This DOLLAR bug just overtook me. There was this insane urge in me to make huge amounts of money. What was I trying to prove? I was not doing anything novel. Hoards of individuals around me are doing the same. I could feel the arrogance in me growing each and every day. I do not have a reason for this to. Life was satisfactory enough. Or was it? Slowly seeds of doubt started sprouting in my thought process. Where was this mad, insane, stupid drive from? And then one day a friend of mine did ask me a question that sent my thought process into an overdrive! “Yaen daa, nambaloda appa, amma, elaarum car, mobile, A.C oda daan vaazhndaangalaa?” Here’s the translation. My friend pointed to me that our ancestors-parents, grandparents-did not have a mobile phone or an air conditioned car for their convenience. After all, a dollar bill is still a simple paper for which we end up cutting a tree. Yes I admit that these cars, mobiles etc do make our life all the more comfortable (and who does not want to be more comfortable?). That being the case, does it mean that our ancestors did not lead a comfortable life? A guy who was more than comfortable driving his dad’s scooter (note the point, even the scooter was not his!) now craves for a life with a laptop, a mobile, an air conditioned apartment and so on. I was deeply ashamed at my attitude. Nothing changes in life. We come into this world with nothing. But we leave this world rich not with dollar bills, but with values, leaving a trail of our acts. And these acts would determine if we deserve to be remembered or if we do not. Money, and materialistic comforts are commodities of life which do smoothen the process of living, but it does not mean that an individual cannot live without them.

The unexplored series-I

2007-10-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

At long lost a blog. I have not had any interesting or cheesy topics to write about till now. Life evens out. Or that is what most of us think about it. But does it happen really? Consider this case: A few months back I sort of did not get an offer that I was expecting. An offer that would have taken me across from the east coast of U.S of A to the west coast! I was sort of depressed for a couple of days, thinking that my stay in this country was all but doomed. The Monday following that weekend brought in even more surprises. As I set out from my home sort of brooding about my failures and without adequate preparation for a meeting with my boss, I began wondering whether the hard work I was putting in would ever repay. Or…The rest as most of us know is history. I got a chance and somehow hard-work paid off. All to sum up that we do lose, but we do win too. Again the dreams which we fail to achieve now we do tend to achieve them sometime later. Why am I reiterating this point again and again? It’s not some kind of a sermon on keep trying you will succeed. There have been enough by many including me along those lines. This is the case invariably most of the time.

But there does exist a very minute probability that we may not achieve what we set out to. What I am asking is suppose just in case, we do not achieve whatever we dream about, what happens? Let me put the same thing in a different manner. Suppose an individual dies without achieving his dream? Does he achieve it in his next life? Or does something called an “another life” exist in reality? Is reincarnation just a myth or a fact or a publicity stunt? Individuals say they do remember what they were, where they were, etc in their previous lives. I would give anything to remember what I was in my previous life (if I did have one). People take extreme stands on this topic. Some people recount their previous lives, the name of their parents, what they used to do for a living and so on. So now if I do not achieve something in this life, will I reincarnate and achieve it next time around?

I am also a voracious reader. But one of my greatest disappointments is that I have not read anything in this regard. As an individual it would be fascinating to see a novel or fiction about reincarnation. Or the science associated with it would also be a good read. This reincarnation bug sort of affected me ever since I have listened to the songs of OSO. Yes, you guys guessed it right!

Kehthe hain, agar kisi cheez ko tum dil se chaho,

to poori kaayanat use tumse milane ki koshish me lag jaathi hain

Hamaari filmon ki tarah, Hamari Zindagi main bhi,

End thak, sab kuch theek hi ho jaata hai,

HAPPY’s ENDING

Aur Agar Theek Naa ho, Tho Vo the end naheen,

Picture Abhi baaki hain mere dosth.

Feeling sorry for oneself!

2007-09-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

There are often times in life when individuals might feel sorry for themselves. Feel sorry for the way they lead their life, feel sorry for the way they act in a group, or feel sorry for not living up to the expectations of the junta! Though I have learnt a lot over the last one year leading a life in a country miles away from my homeland, the one very strong lesson that I have imbibed is that one should shed this tag of “Feeling sorry for himself/herself!” and get on with life. Yeah all said and done it is tough to come out off it…But then, if we end up drowning in it, life becomes tougher. An individual is what he is. He should feel proud of what he is. There have been plenty of times over the last one year when I have asked myself the all important question, “Why am I like this? What’s wrong with me?” But it takes some time before I get to realize that, “If I were not like this, I would not have my own individuality.” This was most prevalent over the summer that has just passed by. Most of the days, I would return home dejected and absolutely wondering on why I chose my current line of research in something where I was not at all strong. Then everything changed over a period of a month and a half and my world had turned upside down. Reason being? My boss passed a comment about the way I work! I felt like I was slapped on the face. He then set me a deadline which he thought was fair enough (and which I thought I was sure I will not meet). I did take responsibility for what had happened till then. Slowly things started to fall in place. Ideas started popping up. I started doing things in my research which I never believed I was capable of. Slowly my confidence started soaring and believe it or not, I not only met the deadline he had set for me, but I had achieved my goal three days before the stipulated date. Again, this positive surge in my research was mainly because I decided that I had enough of the “feeling sorry for myself” thing. No longer did I cry and wonder about why I chose the current research line. Instead I chose to face the challenge head on. May be this is what pundits call “Rising to the occasion”. These few months have taught me to be a leader for myself. I need not lead a whole country or a state or a small township. I needed to lead myself in order to be successful. Sometimes some of us may feel horrible when we have a bad day at work etc…That does not mean the end of world. The only companion during these kinds of times will be our own inner self. Friends will be there to listen to our problems. But they cannot solve our problems. The individual, who suffers, is the one who has to solve them. And once that is done, he can hold his head high and move on…Being brave and facing the problems head on is something that develops in an individual over a period of time. Instead if the person acts as a coward and remains scared and indecisive during the tough times, the world is bound to gobble him. He will just be another one among the many!

Funny Comments!

2007-08-09T13:13:00.000-07:00

"England have to be very careful, because Matt Prior could wither and die."
Ian Chappell forgets that England's wicketkeeper is a human being, not a daffodil, after dropping Sachin Tendulkar on the first day at The Oval

"It doesn't get better than having a beer named after you."
Matthew Hoggard, after having a bitter named The Night Watchman named in his honour. Has he forgotten the Ashes already?

"My dad runs a takeaway in Paisley and I have to help out this weekend because my mum and brother are both away in Pakistan, one of our chefs is unavailable and our delivery driver has gone to jail for three weeks."
Well, that's one reason (or two) to make yourself unavailable for Scotland. With a few players withdrawing from the Ireland match, Majid Haq's excuse was the most bizarre

"Murali will complete 1000 Test wickets but they would count as mere run-outs in my eyes."
Bishan Bedi doesn't seem to tire of baiting Muttiah Muralitharan

"I think I played as long as I could mentally. Physically the body feels great, but the mental side of it is another thing."
Glenn McGrath on why he decided to quit

"What we are striving to do in the 50-over game is have more consistency. We can beat the best on our day but we can also put in some pretty substandard performances and that is what we are looking to do."
England's chairman of selectors, David Graveney, doesn't quite say what he means while announcing the squad for the NatWest Series against India

"I can't afford to take a step back in income because we are looking for a bigger house at the moment."
Scotland's Glenn Rogers highlights the differences between the big boys and the Associates after a course arranged by his employers caused him to miss a Scotland match

"They should be forced to play their next game in short trousers."
Veteran cricket writer John Woodcock on England's childish behaviour at Trent Bridge

"I'm driving a Porsche Carrera; what's your car?"
Sledging by an England player picked up on a stump microphone at Trent Bridge

"People say that sport is not a matter of life and death, but for a few seconds there I thought my number was up."
Kevin Pietersen is not too proud to reveal that Sreesanth's beamer was the first time he was shaken up on a cricket pitch

"There is no phantom sweetie-thrower in the England side. Boys will be boys and during a drinks break we started chucking the beans at each other. We were just messing about and there was nothing sinister in it."
This time, Pietersen shows his sweet tooth

"The ICC has taken the initiative and appointed a two-member committee, and the issue is expected to figure at an ICC meeting at Dubai on August 6."
What issue? Yes, the jelly bean issue. At least, that according to Sharad Pawar, the president of the BCCI. The ICC, on the other hand, deny his claim

"They definitely came from a fielder and I just felt it was insulting."
Zaheer Khan explains why he was unhappy with an England 'prank' of lobbing jelly beans in his batting crease

"I think he prefers the blue ones to the pink ones."
Paul Collingwood pours petrol on the fire. Zaheer had the last laugh with five second-innings wickets

"For f***'s sake."
Non striker Michael Vaughan after Sreesanth bowled a head-high beamer at Kevin Pietersen. Sreesanth was later fined 50% of his match fee after earlier barging into Vaughan deliberately

"The problem is when you behave like he behaves, then people will start to ask questions."
Michael Holding's views on Sreesanth after a head-high beamer to Kevin Pietersen

"He's a batsman with a pair of gloves, maybe for no apparent reason."
David Lloyd doesn't give Mahendra Singh Dhoni's keeping a huge vote of confidence as he fumbles the ball

"I know it's not me because I prefer Wine Gums."
Matt Prior absolves himself of any responsibility following reports that a Jelly Bean was spotted on a length during the Test

"When I was 17, I started watching it on the telly as it was a great way of occupying five days before the next dole cheque came in."
Rock band Razorlight's Johnny Borrell explains his interest in cricket

"My kids don't keep their room very clean but I don't kick them out of home."
Darren Lehmann hopes Australia's Centre of Excellence has not overreacted by sending three players home for having a messy room

"It's worth noting that Mark is a fine young man, albeit an untidy one."
Rod Marsh, the SACA's high performance manager, on Cosgrove.

"We've now got an outdoor swimming pool - fifty metres or so? It's probably the biggest swimming pool in England."
Worcestershire batsman Phil Jaques isn't too downhearted about the lack of indoor training facilities at the flooded New Road

"As far as I'm concerned cricket is like a biscuit, and anyone can make a biscuit."
Dean Jones' witty response when asked about the stringent opposition to ICL by the BCCI and the ICC

"I don't know all the rules, but I don't know all the rules of Quidditch either."
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe on his conversion to cricket - he attended the Lord's Test on his 18th birthday this week.

"If he plays like this every time he takes a week's holiday, perhaps the selectors should let him have a week off more often. Maybe he should take the rest of the batsmen with him."
Geoff Boycott after Kevin Pietersen followed up his earlier criticism of the packed international calendar with a century against India at Lord's

"I never showed my unwillingness to attend the press because as a captain I have to face it and I am not at all a coward. What I learnt is that you people demanded our coach."
Mohammad Ashraful reacts strongly to speculation that he was afraid of facing the media after losing the one-day series to Sri Lanka

"It was a waste of time. The boot camp was a different way to reinforce the same things. My way would have been to lock us all up in a pub."
Shane Warne gives his alternative to Australia's controversial boot camp last year

"I'm not a big fan of John Buchanan. I didn't think he was a very good coach. What was his role? How could he teach someone to play a cover drive? How could he teach me to bowl? Some people thought he was fantastic and didn't get enough credit - I found that hard to believe."
Warne speaks bluntly about Australia's erstwhile coach

"The patches are not sponsorship - I wish they were!"
So, Mueller representatives, if you're reading give Shiv Chanderpaul a sponsorship deal

"The npower logo ... when viewed upside down ... becomes a new and exciting logo for a company entitled Jamodu. I have therefore set up a company with this name, and appointed directors. We simply need something for Jamodu to do or make."
Sir Tim Rice invites ideas for his brand new company

"There are many closet cricket fans among the nationalist community."
Martin McGuinness, a former senior member of the provisional IRA, admits he - and others - are unlikely enthusiasts

"Remember to say 'Good areas', 'Work hard', 'Keep it simple'."
What cliches? A mischievous journalist passes Monty Panesar a note ahead of a press conference. Panesar said it just once in 15 minutes.

"It felt quite weird when we buried it, but it was exciting. I am glad that part of me will be at Sophia Gardens for ever. That is my legacy to the club and it feels right."
Glamorgan's Mike Powell who had complications in surgery and had a rib removed... and then buried at Sophia Gardens ...

... "I didn't realise how small the rib would be, so I dug a massive hole. At least there is no chance of seeing it again, it's more than two foot under. The grass should grow back no problem."
The head groundsman Len Smith's reaction

"I can remember someone asking me 'Why is she called Michelle, is it because she looks like Michelle Pfeiffer?'."
Close but no... England's Jenny Gunn on Holly Colvin's new nickname Michelle Pfeiffer, for the five-fors she keeps getting

"I've been a bit of a grump at times so they're probably looking forward to me playing for England again more than me."
A slightly alarming sentiment from Andrew Flintoff whose family can't wait for him to recover from injury

"I only played one game in front of three people and I was more nervous than when I go out to bat for England."
Alastair Cook couldn't take the heat when playing darts - his surprising passion - against a female world champion, Trina Gulliver

"My janitor has a better sweep than you."
A very thirsty member of the Dublin crowd offers advice, or something like it, to Niall O'Brien

"England's level of performance in limited-overs cricket is so bad the Eskimos would beat us."
The recently-knighted Ian Botham on England's ODI defeat in The Mirror

"I had to ask if he was a batter or a bowler - I didn't really know who he was."
Liberty X singer Jessica Taylor on fiance Kevin Pietersen

"They sometimes call me by my name. But most of the time they call me 'champion' or 'legend'."
Danish Kaneria on life with his Essex team

"My mum and grandma are always on my back saying, 'Don't you cut your hair. And you've got to listen to your mum, haven't you?'"
Ryan Sidebottom explains why he's had the same hairstyle for years and years

"The curfew is off tonight."
Chris Gayle prepares to let his hair down after West Indies won the one-day series against England

"You have cricket in confusion, no organised approach, we mention financial statements, all you scattering like cockroach."
But some other West Indians aren't laughing: Dave Martins, of the Tradewinds band, has written a song slamming the board

"If I acted like them I'd expect to have my backside kicked, but nobody seems to take responsibility.''
The Professional Cricketers' Association chief executive Richard Bevan on the ICC

"It was raining men. I thought I was dreaming. I was almost tempted to ask for a date."
Sussex dweller Lisa Morrison who was walking past the county ground when a team of RAF parachutists, who had been doing a display at the cricket, were blown off course and landed in local residents' gardens

"People pay their money but some feel it gives them the right to shout abuse to different players. Perhaps that is a bit of football mentality coming in and as a player that is not particularly nice."
Surrey's Mark Ramprakash joins in the debate on crowd behaviour at Twenty20 matches

"In Harare a few years back, Robert Mugabe told me that he thought cricket civilised people and he wanted Zimbabwe to be a nation of cricket-lovers. I tried explaining the game to George Bush Senior, but when I told him that it could last for five days and there might not be a positive result, I could see his eyes glaze over. I saw Bill Clinton in Moscow a few weeks ago and he asked for a copy of the book."
Britain's former prime minister John Major on educating politicians on the game

"You can only write an obituary on this scorecard but not a report."
A veteran journalist reacts after Bangladesh were bundled out for 62 on Tuesday

"I don't know what prompted it - although I've been watching huge amounts of cricket - but for some reason Andrew Strauss was being paid to stalk me."
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe reveals an alarming nightmare

"They were on the rampage for hours and even charged around the outfield from time to time before their owner managed to tempt them back home."
A player at Barnack CC explains the unusual difficulties in hosting an Over-50s match between Huntingdonshire and Northamptonshire - cows stopped play

"Anybody who can help is asked to bring a bucket, hard-bristle broom (if possible), cloths and sponges and their marigolds."
Desperate times at New Road as Worcestershire CCC appeal to their members to help clean up after the floods, but something may put them off...

..."The odour is pretty bad."
Worcestershire's chief executive Mark Newton reveals another unfortunate consequence of the flood damage

"Jeez, that's going to be bad"
Shane Warne on England's smoking ban that came into effect on July 1.

"Now that they actually have to try to do something they haven't got a clue what to do."
Michael Holding lays into the West Indies board

"There might be some clubs who will be reluctant to employ security guards, but how expensive is a life?"
Umpire Peter Willey bemoans the lack of security at some Twenty20 matches

"The board have to take the lead, their job is to lay a platform for potential success. Quite frankly, they have failed to do that. They have mismanaged and bungled too many simple issues."
Ian Bishop backs Chris Gayle's outburst against the West Indies Cricket Board

"Perhaps they may ban the yorker and the outswinger also."
Dennis Lillee when asked about the proposed free-hit rule in ODIs that the ICC may implement in near future

"It's just a joke. But I'm not surprised - that's the Irish Cricket Union for you."
Ireland's Jeremy Bray isn't laughing about their push for professionalism

"I wonder over the wisdom of PCB inviting Lawson and Done for the job. Both were basically bowlers and Pakistan's weakness has been batting failure as the bowlers have done far better. What these men will do to improve our batting?"
Hanif Mohammad questions the wisdom of the board

"Hopefully this role will bring out the best in Paul Collingwood."
He's not even been England captain for 24 hours, but already it seems that Paul Collingwood has caught third-personitis

"It was hugely frustrating to see Duncan pick loads of young bowlers, throw them in at the top level and then decide they needed to work on their run up or action."
Mark Ramprakash kicks off the 'perhaps Fletcher wasn't all that great' backlash

"Essex will be looking into it very seriously. If it is considered that our particular eagle has any Nazi connotations then we will remove it henceforth."
As Barclays Bank consider removing their eagle - after 317 years - for fear of Nazi associations, an Essex spokesman, possibly with tongue-in-cheek, assures the public that the Essex Eagles' logo will also be weighed up

"It was nasty ... nasty ... complete nastiness. We're watching something that is just totally ludicrous. Anybody who thinks that is a cricket shot, come and see me after."
Darren Powell might do well to keep out the way of Sir Viv Richards after his hoick to get out at Chester-le-Street ... in both innings

"I can't forget the time he once told a team meeting - 'The day I stop thinking of money, I will stagnate'.".
Bishan Bedi on Sunil Gavaskar, his former Indian team-mate

"It was a disgrace to be caught playing foreign games. We did it under assumed names and hid behind the bushes to change into our whites."
Tony Francis quotes an Irish player about the problem of playing cricket a few decades ago. Some players even wore masks to avoid identification

"Don't go what's safe, do something different... for crying out loud ... the people of England don't care what colour his hair is or does he have some danglers in his ears or round his neck ... "
Geoffrey Boycott argues that Kevin Pietersen should captain England's one-day side

"Fidel Castro is bowling with real aggression here."
We're not quite sure Sir Vivian Richards is right, but we think we know who he means

"If my mum was alive she could captain England to play West Indies ... hopeless, aren't they?"
Geoffrey Boycott shoots from the hip

"If computer know-how is all that matters, then [Microsoft chairman] Bill Gates should have been the best cricket coach in the world."
Javed Miandad continues swinging at whatever comes his way

"When I was growing up, James Bond was my biggest hero and I've never really worked out why I've never got the part."
Shurely some...Sir Ian Botham accepts his knighthood, but wishes he could have been a film star, too

"All these future tours that just get chucked in here and there, they don't make me happy."
Kevin Pietersen has a dig at those who cram in as many international fixtures as they can

"Every Tom, Dick and Harry will go there [Bhurban] and enjoy. It is not that easy to earn money these days. This is sheer wastage of precious funds. Since there is no accountability, no constitution and no planning, those at the helm are destroying everything."
Javed Miandad criticises the Pakistan Cricket Board for holding meetings in a holiday resort at Bhurban, a hill station

"The television has always been on in the background, whether it's at the gym when I'm training or at home when I'm having a meal or changing a nappy."
Matthew Hoggard on time spent recovering from injury

"I don't know what that's all about, mate. The only person I can remember doing it was a wrestler called the Rock."
Jason Gillespie can't remember anyone else referring to themselves in the third person, as England players such as Michael Vaughan are getting into the habit of doing

"Start the car, launch the pedalo."
David Lloyd gets very excited as Steve Harmison takes two quick wickets on the final day at Old Trafford. Andrew Flintoff was watching from the England balcony

"I hope he would knock Smith's teeth out. He should shut his mouth and captain his country."
The former Warwickshire player Paul Smith reckons Kevin Pietersen would beat Graeme Smith in a fight

"It doesn't matter about John Emburey because he's not our coach anymore ... he's got other things on his mind."
Owais Shah when asked what John Emburey "his county coach" might think of his training

"I might apply for that ... it's a good job that ... I like India."
Tongue firmly in cheek, Darren Gough on the coaching vacancy in India

"He was sacrificed in the first Test ... he was set up to fail because they knew someone had to be dropped for Michael Vaughan. It was political."
Colin Croft on the decision to bat Owais Shah at No. 3 against West Indies at Lord's

"He said if we finished if off tonight then he'd put his visa card behind the bar."
Andy Caddick on Marcus Trescothick's incentive to his Somerset team-mates to complete a two-day win over Leicestershire. They failed, only getting six second-innings wickets before the close

"Did you see that finish, right in the top corner? I think he's just ordered two extra helmets."
Alastair Cook on Steve Harmison's rap on the helmet by Fidel Edwards

"I think it's completely out of order, I think it's despicable, I think it stinks."
Lancashire chairman Jim Cumbes on Michael Vaughan's criticism of Andrew Flintoff's behaviour during the World Cup

"It had its controversies and detractors, but ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 will go down in history as one of the most memorable World Cups ever. "
The World Cup organising committee's spin machine continues to try to rewrite history in its final World Cup newsletter. Memorable for too many dull matches, poor treatment of spectators, and appalling and money-grabbing administration?

"It is not viable because there is very little public interest in the absence of big names."
Nimbus chief Harish Thawani explains his company's decision not to broadcast the Afro-Asia Cup, underlining what almost every cricket fan has thought for a long time

"The organisation of [the 2007 World Cup] was the best I have seen."
No April Fool's Day joke from former ICC president Ehsan Mani. Is this where the rewriting of history begins? And we all thought the tournament was an utter shambles ... seems it wasn't when looking out from the comfort of a corporate box

"Does Ryan Sidebottom have the longest hair of anyone who has played for England? Let's go."
Michael Vaughan has had enough of the stats after hearing he has equalled Peter May's record for Test wins as England captain and that it was England's coldest day in Test history

"I wouldn't be surprised to see Pedro Collins playing in the next game."
"Er ... they didn't bring him."
Ian Botham shows that his research is not what it should be before being corrected by Michael Holding

"Feed him to the Alsatians ... then he won't come back."
Geoffrey Boycott with a to-the-point opinion when asked how to deal with an interruption by a drunken spectator during the Leeds Test

"I suffered one or two defects ... I wasn't good enough."
Former prime minister John Major on his time in politics ...er, sorry, on his abilities as a cricketer

"It's a good German name and sounds like someone who lives high up in the mountains so he doesn't have enough oxygen and that makes him crazy."
Andre Nel explains his on-pitch alter ego, named Gunther

"On the upside, I've always got a decent stockpile of miniature toiletries."
Ronnie Irani isn't a fan of the amount of travelling involved in cricket, but doesn't mind the odd perk

"Even I'm getting bored with the vast number of games."
John Major, the former prime minister, speaks out

"He would rather go down to the bookies and lose his money on the horses."
Ryan Sidebottom says his dad Arnie would be too nervous to watch him play his second Test at Headingley

"I've been rushed off my feet."
A gate steward at Grace Road, who was sitting sunning himself and reading a book as a mere trickle of spectators came to watch Ireland boss Canada

"It's a way of keeping me tuned in and relaxing. I can't just concentrate, concentrate, concentrate. I'm no Einstein."
Kevin Pietersen on his ongoing 'conversation' with Chris Gayle during his hundred for England at Lord's

"A great advert for cricket."
BBC football correspondent Mark Lawrenson is frustrated with a boring first half of the FA Cup final, played just up the road from England's tussle with West Indies

"I was fed up with cricket by the end of the Ashes."
Steve Harmison reveals all ... as opposed to England supporters who were fed up with him by the end of the Ashes

"How does ICC call theirs a cricket governing body when it allows racist politicians to threaten [Zimbabwe] ... just because it is a small country [it is] falling victim to the racist bullies."
The comically-biased government-run Herald newspaper in Zimbabwe lays into the ICC

"This would be a first for Shoaib, who is widely regarded as a more committed playboy than cricketer."
Journalist Malcolm Conn reacts to a quote from Shoaib Akhtar that he had been keeping himself in shape during his lay-off

"Having to stare at naked women? They didn't have to twist my arm too much!"
Alastair Cook on the hardships of doing his bit for charity

"If there is a chance to play in an older guys' Twenty20 then I'd be up for it."
Darren Gough has finally accepted his England days are over

"The rising generation who are Africa's future feel utterly betrayed and disgusted by the short-sighted self-serving stupidity of these sports bureaucrats."
Former UK sports minister Kate Hoey savages the ICC for its inaction regarding Zimbabwe cricket

"We have no intention of picking him in the foreseeable future. We have to take it slowly. We tend to talk about Bristol City and Bristol Rovers rather than cricket."
England's chairman of selectors David Graveney when asked whether he had spoken to Marcus Trescothick about him returning to the England side

"Steve Harmison was seriously good for Durham against us. Brad Hodge came off and said '****, he was quick!' That's a good sign coming from someone like him."
Stuart Law recalls Brad Hodge's breathless comment after facing Steve Harmison

"I don't know why this question is coming up again and again. They have other good players also."
Mohammad Ashraful, when somebody asked him, for the umpteenth time, about the absence of Shourobh and Shochin in the Indian side to tour Bangladesh

"The war is on now."
Mohammad Ilyas, former Test opener, to Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector after Imran Farhat (Ilyas's son-in-law) was not picked for the Abu Dhabi ODIs

"What a pity those ludicrous multi-national matches of 2005 were not staged in Harare. The scores would have been lost forever."
As some Zimbabwe scores are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain Bill Frindall believes that the ICC Afro-Asia Cup and Super Series would be better buried

"He would rather go to bed early and read a book on sports psychology."
Dave Houghton says that the ECB has no need to worry that their new assistant coach Andy Flower will go out drinking with the England team

"This is a horrific regime in Zimbabwe and we should take a stand against it, and included amongst those who should take a stand are our cricketers .... [but] we can't, I suppose, formally ban them."
Australia's foreign minister Alexander Downer airs his views on the prospect of the country touring Zimbabwe

"It is not sufficient for a government to express a preference that its team not undertake a tour, or to express criticism of or condemn the activities of the government of a member (nation). A positive act of restriction or prohibition is required."
An ICC spokesman makes clear where cricket's governing body stands

"Maybe the TV umpires will gradually loosen their Masonic-like handshakes with their on-field colleagues."
Steve James isn't impressed with the new referral system

"This week she's due and she's hung on."
Matthew Hayden is very appreciative that his wife didn't give birth until he got home from the World Cup

"I had to look at the calendar, I thought it was April 1."
Jason Gillespie was surprised to be offered a new contract

"I can only say it's similar to the situation where you are sitting at home and the answer to a quiz question on TV looks very simple, but you just lose your train of thought when you are in that heated, pressure situation."
David Richardson, the ICC's general manager, is at a loss to explain the farce at the World Cup final

"Rudi is a South African, so he has a louder voice."
Jeff Crowe, the match referee, clears things up

"I thought Aleem was having a bit of a joke with us when he said it looks like we'd have to come back tomorrow and play three overs. I said: 'Mate, we've played the 20 overs, we've actually finished the game.'"
Ricky Ponting on that farcical finish

"Australia are the winners but cricket has been the loser. It's not a money-making exercise, it's about people."
Nasser Hussain fires one last salvo

"He told me that, as I effectively replaced him in the Test side in 1994, he was looking forward to getting square by sticking the knife in and ending my Test career. Merv, of course, was only joking."
Of course he was ... Glenn McGrath shows that Merv Hughes remains as warm and cuddly as ever even though he is one of Australia's selectors

"I'd do the same thing, but hit it next time."
So not the same thing, then. England's Ravi Bopara discusses that ball against Sri Lanka

"Replace Peter Moores with, say, Jeff Everest or Rick Center-Parcs and we might be getting somewhere."
Barney Ronay, writing for The Guardian, feels the name 'Peter Moores' [England's new coach] doesn't sound fashionable enough

"I've been joking around the rooms saying that I'm thinking about coming out of retirement."
Glenn McGrath is up to his tricks in his last few days as an international cricketer ... or so we believe

"Malcolm has been living in Dubai for too long. As I've said before, they've got a hotel under the sea there and a ski resort in the desert. It's too far away from reality."
Ian Chappell lashes out at Malcolm Speed for turning a blind eye on some obvious issues about hosting the World Cup in the West Indies

"There has been far too much negative comment which is ill-informed. I don't mind criticism but you want people to get the facts right."
ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed has a pop at the media over coverage of the World Cup. Ever wondered why there has been so much negativity, Malcolm?

"I definitely don't think we choked. We just weren't good enough."
So that's that, then, Graeme Smith's South Africa are not chokers

"I know people say losing the semi-final is like kissing your sister, but we can take huge positives out of the World Cup."
Mickey Arthur, South Africa's coach, on what people apparently say...

"The team that had bored and bungled their way around the Caribbean, baldy letting down their thousands of travelling fans, slipped in unheralded and largely unnoticed."
The Mirror newspaper welcomes back England's side under the headline "Prats of the Caribbean"

"The interminable World Cup continues and the words 'police' and 'investigation' seem to be poles apart. meanwhile, the game's governing body have all become Trappist monks. Don't mention the war and we might get away with it."
Broadcaster John Inverdale on the low-key nature of progress in the investigation into the death of Bob Woolmer

"There may not be any attacks tonight because we are also watching the match."
A Tamil Tigers spokesman on halting fighting for the Sri Lanka's semi against New Zealand

"They will definitely win if they depart at an astrologically right time."
A Sri Lanka astrologer claims the outcome of their semi depends on planetary positions

"The way we are going our first look at the ground will be on match morning - from about 6000 feet."
An unnamed Sri Lanka player relates how it was better to be a piece of luggage as the players' flights for the semi-finals were disrupted

"Trusting county committeemen to do what is best for the national game is like putting Brer Fox in charge of chickens."
Wisden editor Scyld Berry on the way English cricket is run

"It's disgusting. I have to pay US$100 dollars for a photograph with Sobers who I have had adored since my childhood."
A supporter reacts angrily at being asked to pay for a snap with his hero. The newly-formed Cricket Legends of Barbados are trying to raise cash to build a centre of excellence

"At the very end, a man who throughout his career had done so much to mask the deficiencies of his team had been undone by the foible of a team-mate. It was sad, but it was apt."
The Observer's Will Buckley on Brian Lara's final innings in Barbados

"He is not really talking to me at the moment, he has given up."
Scott Styris on his friendly battle with Stephen Fleming, on who's topping the run charts in the year. If Fleming appears grumpy, we all know why

"It is almost as if he is saying 'go to hell the English public, I will write a book one day and make a load of money'.
Geoff Boycott fumes over Duncan Fletcher's attitude after he was seen playing golf with Michael Vaughan soon after England's World Cup exit

"I've not read the book."
Cricketers are busy people so they can't read all books that come their way, but surely Steve Harmison should have read the book he's put his name to?

"Paul Collingwood is quite attractive for a ginger."
Overheard on the Underground, courtesy of Time Out's Overheard column

"I was at matches early in the event where there was a lot of noise. I can't help it if people want to take a critical approach to all issues."
Malcolm Speed comes out fighting against critics who have said games have lacked atmosphere. Clearly Mr Speed has been watching a different World Cup to the rest of us

"England have been humiliated and that's not good enough. Duncan Fletcher has done some great things, but everyone has a shelf life, and his has expired. The camp looks split. They're all over the place, in disarray, and I hope the ECB are looking for the right person. He has to be a strong character, with a proven track record."
Ian Botham fires from the hip following England's World Cup exit

"Get out the birth certificates ... anyone who's 32 or over, they're out of it."
Rampaging ageism from Bob Willis after England's World Cup exit

"The chicken dance came out of when I am out on the dancefloor, the guys say I look like a chicken so that's just a celebratory dance I've given to the guys."
Ireland captain Trent Johnston explains the origins of his post-wicket celebrations

"The bulk of responsibility for the almost pulseless fiasco is quite properly being laid at the door of the International Cricket Council, a body as notorious for organisational ineptitude as it is for scuttling away from anything resembling an ethical principle. There isn't a shovel big enough to pile on the opprobrium deserved by such a crew."
Award-winning Sunday Times journalist Hugh McIlvanney warms to the way the ICC has run the World Cup

"There must be two Justin Langers in the world, I think."
Ricky Ponting can't believe that Justin Langer, never shy of a word or two himself, wants sledging stopped in county cricket

"It's not Kevin Pietersen v Graeme Smith. We won't be having a beer together afterwards."
Kevin Pietersen reminds all of us that it's two teams playing out there at the Kensington Oval and wants all distractions out of the way

"Somehow no one is talking him (Andre Nel) up as one to watch this tournament. Maybe it's just because he's a bit of a twit. Or rather less polite words to that effect."
The Times's Patrick Kidd is less than impressed with South Africa's finest

"You're not getting in there without a shower cap".
A steward at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua warns a long-haired female England fan about breaching health and safety regulations

"Calf strains are a very unusual thing in cricket. It might have something to do with this ground, the sandy, heavier ground, that guys are hurting their calves."
Ricky Ponting wonders why Shane Watson got injured

"Did he get his run-up wrong? Was the little man in his head talking about something he didn't want him to? Only he'll know that."
Paul Nixon tries to figure out what led to Dilhara Fernando's aborted run-up before the final ball of the thriller at Antigua

"If I have to spend all my waking hours denying all that is appearing in the media, I will have no time to attend the meetings."
Amidst all the chaos during the BCCI meeting in Mumbai, Niranjan Shah shows his sense of humour

"I always read in the international press where they say I am under pressure ... but my contract doesn't say that I have to win matches, it says as long as I am competitive, then my employers are happy."
No wonder Zimbabwe coach Kevin Curran always looks so relaxed. Of their last 19 ODIs, his side have won once and tied once

"There has been a lot of talk about the so-called minnows devaluing the tournament. It is a charge that could now be justifiably made against the West Indies, once the kings of the game and champions of the first two tournaments."
Tony Cozier reflects on the crisis engulfing West Indies, both on and off the pitch

"This has been a World Cup for the organisers, the visitors and the players but certainly not for the people. That's why the stadiums are empty and that in itself is a con job. It's the biggest con job ever passed off in this region."
Jack Warner, the head of the Caribbean's footballing fraternity, takes a swipe at the World Cup

"The International Cricket Council is ... about making money, having rules, and siding with narrow commercial interests even at the expense of basic human decency, let alone local colour. The game's bosses have wrecked their own party with their greed."
Cricinfo columnist and former Wisden Cricketers' Almanack editor Tim de Lisle with some home truths for the tournament hosts

"It is like watching cricket at Lord's. It's no bloody different."
An English tourist expresses dismay after sitting through a match in Guyana

"We had to rely on the advice of the local organising committee to establish the prices of the tickets. It is, in retrospect, a little too rich for the local palate."
Malcolm Speed washes the ICC's hands of responsibility for empty stands throughout the World Cup

"At the moment we are doing this using a lot of spreadsheets and they just cannot cope with the sheer volume of the money and the projects that are coming in from it."
Faisal Hasnain, the ICC's chief financial officer, admits that there's just too much money flooding in for it to cope. Not much solace to those in the Caribbean unhappy as inflated prices at World Cup venues ...

"If Mr Gough's parents are alive, then one hopes that they acknowledge that he is an embarrassment to the human race ... the serpents and gorillas that live in Mr Gough's mind compelled him to descend to a level of pitiful, sickening and Hitleristic journalism about Guyana."
An editorial in Guyana's Kaieteur News appears to take exception to the BBC's Martin Gough who was less than complimentary about the country

"The nets are wet and the run-ups are wet ... some of the batsmen have had throw-downs and after a major fight the bowlers have been allowed to practice on the outfield."
South Africa's coach Micky Arthur discovers first hand the state of the new Providence Stadium's facilities. An ICC spokesman said they were "98% there"

"Please, organisers, please, give a thought to the people that really matter - the spectators - and get the grounds filled up."
Mark Nicholas appeals for action as West Indies played their match with New Zealand against the empty backdrop of the Sir Vivian Ground in Antigua

"He's a class player in both forms of the game, but the tempo of his innings probably wasn't what they needed."
Ricky Ponting tries to sound sincere after Jacques Kallis's stodgy 48 off 63 balls as South Africa tried to chase 378 against Australia

"Malcolm Speed is not a man who elicits a great deal of sympathy from the cricket community. He is a cold fish, lawyerly in every respect."
Michael Atherton on the ICC's No. 1 mackerel ... er, man

"Fifty overs is a long time for some of these minnows."
Nasser Hussain in full patronising mode

"Nixon's an extrovert, at least outwardly."
Mark Richardson with just a hint of tautology

"If you were writing a fairytale, you wouldn't write it this way."
Rahul Dravid gives advice to would-be authors after India's early exit went against the script

"Next time they will probably stick to the hotel bar."
Darren Gough thinks the England players' only mistake was getting caught drinking

"Cricket cannot be seen to succumb to a dastardly act such as this any more than society does to terrorism."
Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive, on why the show must go on

"It is all rubbish. I must say it is sensationalism at its worst."
Pervez Mir, the Pakistan media manager, reacts to speculative reports that the players and officials were cross-questioned regarding Bob Woolmer's death

"It was sort of four hours of hell. I spent four hours in the foetal position, basically. It was a nightmare."
Shaun Tait becomes the latest World Cup player to have trouble on the water after going out a boat ride on his day off

"The boys are not stopping jumping in the dressing-room."
Habibul Bashar sums up the mood in the Bangladesh camp

"Zimbabwe shouldn't be playing international cricket on moral grounds, and the ICC overlooks that to its eternal shame."
The BBC's Jonathan Agnew has a go at a familiar target

"There is a history to this story. It's not the first time. In Australia he had three or four warnings over his behaviour."
Nasser Hussain points out that Andrew Flintoff is not a first-time offender

"I'm ashamed. I feel I've let people down, the team, the management, family, friends and the public back home. It has been a horrible few days to be honest."
Andrew Flintoff isn't impressed with himself

"I am shocked and badly hurt. We have lost a good coach and a good person."
Pakistan's captain Inzamam-ul-Haq on the loss of Bob Woolmer

"Some people go to bed at 10.30pm tired, other people like to go for a drink."
Ian Botham excuses Andrew Flintoff's behaviour, while the rest of the Sky commentators were less than impressed

"At least it shows that England's cricketers are as crazy as their footballers."
Former England football manager Graham Taylor on Andrew Flintoff's Caribbean high jinx

"Before the game we said 'Let's make history today.' Well, we made history."
Dutch captain Luuk van Troost on Herschelle Gibbs's six sixes against them.

"The rum's too strong for me here. But I'll have a couple of beers."
Herschelle Gibbs on his muted celebrations following his six sixes against Netherlands

"Anchor David Gower crowbarring in tedious references to calypso music, island paradises and Bob Marley. I've yet to hear him mention rum, rice and peas, or cannabis, but we're only a couple of days in; give him time."
Sky Sports' coverage of the World Cup comes under fire in The Guardian

"What can you say? I told Daan after the third ball, 'try to bowl a quicker one' and he said, 'I just did'. There were a few good balls in it and a few shit ones."
Luuk van Troost is at a loss for words after Herschelle Gibbs's onslaught against Daan van Bunge

"One of the things I realised pretty early is that I'm 40 and if I try to pretend I'm 25 I'll fall flat."
Canada's Anderson Cummins is acting his age

''It wouldn't be rash to suggest Sunil might find a fist flying into his face if he wandered into a pub in Sydney or Melbourne and repeated that line."
Newspaper reaction in Australia after Sunil Gavaskar made comments about the behaviour of the late David Hookes

"I lost kilograms and joked with teammates that if my cricket career was over, I'd be able to get a job as a jockey."
Scotland's Glenn Rogers feared he may miss the World Cup when he contracted typhoid in Kenya six weeks ago - happily, he has recovered

"Doing a few raids on gang houses wasn't particularly nice and mortuary stuff wasn't great. There were a few dead bodies along the line. It puts everthing into perspective. If you get hit for four, you get hit for four."
Shane Bond recounts his career as a cop

"He loves India. He has named his child India. His biggest player is actually Tendulkar. Right now I'm hoping Tendulkar does not hit a catch to him because he will probably drop it to watch him bat."
Irvine Romaine on team-mate Lionel Cann who is just a bit overawed by being at the World Cup

"The only thing he has to worry about is finding criminals every day and play cricket on Sundays."
Bermuda captain Irving Romaine on why left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock, a prison van driver, can't devote too much time to slimming down

"She tells me the same thing she always does, to back my ability, and it's the same thing Troy Cooley says to us every day."
Nathan Bracken's mother-in-law sounds like a good replacement should Australia ever need a new bowling coach

"Eat, sleep, gym."
Does the slogan on Inzamam-ul-Haq's t-shirt signal a new fitness outlook for Pakistan's captain?

"And Ryan ten Doeschate all-of-a-sudden becomes Ryan fifteen Doeschate".
Tony Cozier does some maths after Doeschate takes five wickets in the Netherlands' warm-up game against India

"There's no way I could make any money out of a book after how I performed."
England's errant spearhead, Steve Harmison, explains why he is giving the proceeds of his Ashes tour diary to a children's charity, Bubble Foundation UK

"Let the players not follow us"
Somnath Chatterjee the Lok Sabha speaker in the Indian parliament, advices the Indian team to play with discipline and not emulate parliamentarians

"The Darren Goughs, Simon O'Donnells, Steve Waughs and myself had to have changes of pace because we weren't super express."
Bruce Reid talks about having to adapt to death bowling, but Gough won't be happy and being clubbed in the same pace category as O'Donnell and Waugh

"If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the worse case scenario, if that's the last resort, I'll do that, there's no way I'm missing this."
Jacob Oram, who is nursing a broken finger, is willing to go to scary lengths to play the World Cup

"Vision has been lost about what's important and what is not."
Tim May expresses his fears about the increase in Australia-India matches

"For us to beat Australia would be like the Faroes beating Brazil at football. In fact it might even be bigger than that - more like us beating Brazil when Berti Vogts was in charge."
Scotland batsman Majid Haq on his country's prospects in their World Cup opener next month

"I got some pretty funny text messages from him after every one of the games - 'how are you ... are you on the next flight over?' and 'you can have your job back, I don't want it any more'."
Ricky Ponting jokes about the text messages he had been receiving from his stand-in captain, Mike Hussey, during the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy

"My theory is that every time a batsman plays and misses he should be asked to take off one piece of protective clothing of the bowler's choice."
Michael Kasprowicz takes a novel approach in the plan to contain batsmen

"Message to Aussie cricket coach John Buchanan: please take your team home as the Black Caps are missing out on valuable practice for the World Cup."
A pithy letter to the editor in Christchurch's The Press

"I'm probably the best Brazilian cricketer in the world because no-one has actually heard anything in Brazil about cricket."
Adelaide United footballer Fernando Rech

"I hate to think 'typical Johannesburg airport' but there is a bit of history."
Pakistan's coach, Bob Woolmer, bemoans the loss of his team's equipment ahead of the fifth ODI. As a former South African coach, he's familiar with the workings of the country's airports

"Chris Read's treatment has been scandalous. I've started calling him Lord Lucan because he has disappeared off the radar inexplicably."
Ian Botham with some typically forthright opinions on England's permanent one-day reserve

"We are aiming for Pluto, but we may end up on Saturn or in the worst case we may end up in Mars, which still is where no man has gone before."
Chris Dehring, the ICC World Cup managing director, when asked about the ticket sales

"Had it been in India or other parts of the subcontinent, where betting and match-fixing is rife, a number of Zimbabwe's cricketers would have been locked up for questioning last night and probably appearing in court as early as Monday."
Remarkable analysis in Zimbabwe's government-controlled Herald newspaper after the side's amazing collapse when poised to beat Bangladesh

"A poor decision from Darrell Harper who is, in my opinion, a poor umpire. He's made too many shockers and yet the ICC don't change their umpires ... they see the footage and yet we see the same umpires, year in and year out"
Former England captain turned commentator Nasser Hussain can never be accused of sitting on the fence

"This is gross human rights abuse but I need to look after my family. Cricket is my job and I cannot risk my job for dreadlocks."
An unnamed Zimbabwe cricketerafter he was ordered to shave his dreadlocks or be be dropped

"England have the opportunity to expose the limitations of the triangular format, by playing abysmally for most of the series before completing the ultimate heist: a couple of Duckworth/Lewis victories over Australia in the finals."
Wishful thinking from Vic Marksafter England's first win of the summer over Australia

"A few months ago Duncan Fletcher said he knew 10 or the 11 for England's World Cup side ... now they can't even agree on who the best 30 are."
Michael Atherton reflects on the news England want to pick their final World Cup side from outside the original 30-man squad

"Whatever talent the team management has seen in Raina, the youngster has done well to conceal it on the international stage."
Krish Srikkanth questions Suresh Raina's presence in the team

"The contract had run out: do your best, contrive spurious excuses and run home to check your bank account."
Columnist Ian Wooldridge sums up England's misery in Australia

"I feel cricket and football are for the rough guys."
Zulfiqar Ali, who represented East Africa in the 1975 World Cup, on why he encouraged his son to take up golf

"Flintoff underneath it ... he's a good, safe pair of hands ...er ... a good, safe pair of hands when he gets to it."
Michael Atherton puts the kiss of death on England's captain who spilled a steepler

"I can't see any problems with it except the ICC ...which is an obvious problem."
Nasser Hussain explains the obstacles to introducing changes to rules regarding third-umpire referrals

"I'm not a betting man... but if I was it's anyone's game at the moment."
Mark Ramprakash hedges his (non-)bets on Pakistan's chances of hunting down 191 against South Africa

"I was a bit concerned my name wasn't going to fit on the shirt."
We're not quite sure what England's latest call-up Ebony-Jewel Cora-Lee Camellia Rosamond Rainford-Brent means

"Go back to the zoo!"
What Herschelle Gibbs said, among other expletive-laden remarks, to Pakistan's fans at Centurion. His outburst earned him a two-Test ban from the ICC

"I was thinking about the reverse Mexican wave where you get everybody to stand up and sit down in unison instead of standing up. I don't know if it will be successful or not."
Self-styled Captain Australia Brendan Lichtendonk, an Australia fan, has an idea to make Billy Birmingham proud

"Some people tell me I am a Ferrari without control. If they tell me I am a Ferrari, that is a top car. If I am a Ferrari without control, all I need is a steering wheel."
Tino Best isn't bothered by his detractors. He played his first game for Barbados this season after a long lay-off

"Bracks [Nathan Bracken] was bowling off about two or three steps and he was squealing when he was copping it in the thigh-pad."
New South Wales's Ed Cowan reveals that the marketing men got it all wrong when they decided including rugby league star Andrew Johns in the state Twenty20 would be a great idea

"Five minutes of a lovers' tiff, but we've sorted it all out."
Kevin Pietersen says he's kissed and made up with Shane Warne, who he originally thought was "a dickhead" for chucking the ball at him at Brisbane

"'Ask the coach?' Steve, how long have you been around, mate? Do it yourself."
Former England captain Nasser Hussain reacts with disgust to Steve Harmison's assertion he will ask Duncan Fletcher what to do after the one-dayers when it comes to training before the World Cup

"Warne should retire and be a pantomime dame ... made up in a great big dress with bouffant hair."
Jonathan Agnew talking about Shane Warne's on-field antics

"I feel so bad about mine I'm going to tie it round my cat. It doesn't mean anything anymore. It's a joke."
Geoff Boycott on the decision to award MBEs to the England XII after 2005's Ashes win. Shane Warne had earlier sledged Paul Collingwood, asking why he had got a medal for making 7 at The Oval

"Despite my reputation as a bit of a cricket anorak, I'm not a huge one for history."
Ricky Ponting when asked about the possibility of the first Ashes whitewash since 1921

"No, I'm looking forward to getting away from it."
Steve Harmison asked whether he will miss being part of the England tour when the Test ends and he returns home

"Everyone keeps saying 'you'll know when it's time'. Well, at one o'clock two days ago I knew it was time - it just came to me."
Justin Langer talks about finally knowing that it was time to end his Test career

THE WAIT ENDS

2007-07-11T12:35:00.000-07:00

The interminable wait is almost over! A wait that lasted for over two years! But then there is also a grieving feeling within me that this will be the last time I wait. Yes! You guessed it right. This post is all about HARRY POTTER. I do not know whether to feel sad or to feel happy. For I know that most of the questions will be answered in the last book (which if you do not know is due in 10 days). But after this, I will not have to wait for another book. I will not have the enthusiasm and curiosity on what exactly will be happening in the next book. May be I will wait for the movies, and believe me, even though the movies are great, they do not take you into that magical world as the books do. And in fact most of those who are reading this post will probably belittle me as being a Potter fanatic or a “freak”. Who cares? Preordering the book months ago on amazon, trying to write my own fic, and talking over phone and wasting money basically discussing on what will happen in the last book, reviewing the movie etc…might be heights of joblessness. Stuff which I think I will miss after a couple of weeks. Hope the book betters the previous one which was the darkest till then! Never before in my life have I waited with such curiosity and expectation. It will be fun when people who have not even read the books try criticizing the author and the millions of fans. Of all, it will be really fun when my friends who do not follow the series try to pull my leg! From being a guy who thought Harry Potter was crap to a guy who adores the books, the transition has been remarkable. All over a course of 3 months! Now it has come to a point where I would have read each book a minimum of 4 times. Again, I changed two of my best friends. Two people who laughed at me for reading these books, have now themselves gone to pre-order them. People who ridicule me will always be there! That is what makes this wait all the more fun. Potter has cast a spell on me too. And I am happy to be under the influence of potteromania.

Sivaji right thaan...

2007-06-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: Might be more than biased at times!

Hmm...after what seemed to be an eternity, I finally was able to watch Sivaji...Even though it was around a week after the actual release date, I was sort of excited. Reason being our very own thalaivar. Of course I am a big fan of Shankar's movies.

So after a drive of around one hour we reach the theatre and the excitement amongst those waiting to get in was palpable. For some of us it was the first time that we were watching SIVAJI. For some it was the second time! I had gone for this movie trying to be as neutral as possible and yet could not help but be biased for the fact that the three people whose work in movies gets me going were involved in this case..Shankar, Rehman and finally our dear thalaivar...So what is Sivaji all about? The story and funda involved in this movie is no big deal. Rooting out corruption which in this case turns out to be Black Money and try to do good for the society. A story of good wins evil! Now then,do not raise your eyebrows and look at me like that. We have seen so many such stories which are un-real life like. Yet what really sets this movie apart from others is our thalaivars style and acting. And I do not need to mention the awesome sets and good music. These people have gone out of their way with the sets for the songs. The creativity that brings these kinds of sets has to be appreciated. Another point worth mentioning is the fact that Rajni seems to have put a conscious effort in his dancing. Man do I need to talk about Shriya? She is a siren! A bomb! Some said that the action stunts where overboard...Some say that they were so larger than real life like! I say that, if I can watch 2 and a half hours of Mr. Jack Sparrow fighting on a ship in a storm, or 2 hours of Mr. Peter Parker fighting the evil goons, then I can also manage to get through thalaivar's style and his action! Just trying to be fair here...:) Some said that these action scenes were copied from Matrix etc etc...I say, if they do provide me with 3 hours of rocking entertainment, I do not mind the copied action scenes. And yeah Vivek's comic timing and dialogue delivery has to be appreciated. Suman, playing a sexy, suave and sophisticated baddie does very well. A decent background score to support everything. So overall total paisa vasool. As I was coming out of the theatre I just could not stop smiling. Now about the hype and hoopla concerning this movie, it is the duty of the producers and the distributors to hype it up. They need the movie to run strong and run long. It is not the mistake of the media that they hype the movie so much. They need something to feed upon. They are kind of parasites. But why is it that the viewers of these channels fall for the hype, and expect magic from movie makers? And in all fairness to the movie makers, they have done an awesome job in trying to live upto the expectations. As I said, 3 and a half hours of breathtaking entertainment. I do not mind that considering the fact that most of the recent movies that I have seen, requires a human beings concentration. Thats not what I wanted when I went to see thalaivar in action. I would rather prefer this kind of entertainment every now and then, even if the story at times does have its loopholes. Just as we need to try all kinds of food, one has to watch all kinds of movies. Overall do not miss the movie for two factors:

1. Awesome entertainment

2. Thalaivar's style.

Once again thalaivar has done it and the cash registers all over the world are ringing, and everyone involved with the movie is laughing right to the last cent, paisa...that it is going to make...

SIVAJI RIGHTO RIGHT

Spirituality and byond!

2007-06-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

Walk I did along the path

Walk I did along the path in front of the temple

Scores of people praying to the almighty

Some asked for wealth

Some asked for health

And here I was confused…wealth or health?

For I could not take my eyes off

Of a young girl in tattered clothes

Motherless, foodless, yet I talk of spirituality

People talk of recitations, people talk of piligrimages.

What they do not talk of is of helping the poor

People talk of cars, people talk of dollars

What they do not talk of are the needy

Perhaps they themselves are needy

Of the cars and the dollars!

Walk I did along the path.

Wonder did I on whether my 1 rupee

Will make the difference

For a young kid whose asset was

A rupee till that day!

But what I did see behind me

Brought tears to the kids eyes

For there were people

Beyond my eyesight could penetrate

Standing behind me

Waiting for me to move on!

Satisfied I walked back..

Knowing that the kid had a penny worth a meal!

Force I cannot to others to do what I did

But suggest I can to help the poor

For that is the true path to spirituality

Not uttering recitations or visiting temples

Help the needy…

God will help you when you need…

The true path towards spirituality

Is by helping humanity

Moments

2007-06-04T13:27:00.001-07:00

When the lightning streaks across the grey sky

Brightening the gloomy skies