Finally Federer!!

Finally the shout came. The shout I have been waiting for since what seems like eons. A shout ran like a tremor through my building as I gave into the moment. The Mighty Federer defeated "The Clay King" Rafael Nadal on his own turf.

Roger Federer was going through a so-called slump in this point of his career. Ever since he grabbed the top spot in the ATP rankings in February 2004, this was the first time when he entered four consecutive tournaments without actually winning them. As if that was not disheartening enough, he lost only one of them to Nadal. This was surprising because just before this so-called slump he was riding high on his win from Australian Open and Dubai Open. Fans got a semi-shock when he split with coach Tony Roche and declared that he would enter the French Open and Wimbledon without a coach.

Fans of the lesser gods had a reason to rejoice and discussions like 'is this end of Federer?' were abuzz, while fans continued to crumble when he lost again to Nadal in the battle of surfaces, an exhibition match played on half-clay, half-grass court.

So when he entered the Hamburg Masters 2007, few expected him to keep his streak unbeaten on the German clay court. Initial signs weren't looking good either. Federer survived a scare when he beat a qualifier in a tense three-setter. Except for the match against Ferrero, where he showed the sign of a true champion, he kept struggling. The quarterfinal match against David Ferrer and the Semifinal match against Carlos Moya couldn't be won without a decider set. The number of unforced errors were rising. Coming onto the net wasn't as successful as had been expected. Something was certainly wrong. On the other hand, Rafael was almost flawless and triumphant, except against Lleyton Hewitt in semifinals where he was forced to drop a set.

The stage was set. May 21, 2007. The date was bound to go into history books as one of the glorious moments of Roger Federer's illustrious career. When it's Roger vs Rafael, you are supposed to be glued at your TV set, but fans in India/Pakistan were not lucky enough. The live telecast of the match was scheduled to start at 1830 IST, when the match actually started at 1730 IST, so there was no option but to stick to live scoreboard from Official ATP website. In the very first game, Roger had to save two breakpoints, but the pressure kept on mounting and finally he surrendered the set at 2-6 with two breaks of serve. That's when the live telecast began in India/Pakistan. The pressure was still mounting. Roger again saved a break point in the very first game of second set. Then what happened in the 4th game, no one expected. Before anyone could realize, Federer was leading the game 0-40 and had triple breakpoints and he finally managed a long sought break and lead the set 3-1 and after that there was no looking back for the emperor. He held on to his serve elegantly and won the set 6-2.

Then came the decider. You can't expect a fighter like Rafael,who was riding high on his unbeaten streak of 81 matches on clay surface, just to witness Federer rolling. You have to expect a backlash, but there was no stopping this juggernaut. Nadal couldn't hold on to a single serve and the game,set, match went to Roger Federer. 2-6 6-2 6-0. He won 8 consecutive games and won the last 11 out of 12 games.

Although Federer has won the Golden Bagel Award,a light-hearted award given to the player who has served the most bagels (sets won by 6-0) in a year, twice in three years, I bet no Bagel tasted sweeter than this one. Beating one of the greatest players on the clay court by a bagel?!! That has to mean something. I bet Federer won't forget that for a long time to come. It was a much needed mental and psychological win for Federer against Nadal and that too when Nadal was chasing an ever elusive streak of triple figures, which no one in the history of tennis has achieved.

He has tasted the blood now. It will definitely provide a necessary boost for Federer to add the missing trophy of French Open to his collection. Nobody summarized it better than the philosophical Nadal himself, "I was winning for consecutive 81 matches, I know it had to end sometime, then who better than this man to do so." Bravo!!

The history of tennis has rarely seen such an extremely competitive yet healthy rivalry. Don't expect him to lose his heart. This wounded tiger will be passionate and furious like never before to defend his Roland Garros title. Could the French Open '07 have had a better curtain raiser? I don't think so.

(cross-posted to DesiCritics)

Table d’hôte

In order to document my experiments at culinary I have given shape to my long standing desire. Started yet another blog. Table d’hôte. Cross-posting my first post here. Hope to see you there.

Hi. Without being sophisticated, I admit that I am a big foodie (which shows on my size too) and same enthusiasm has continued into my culinary experiments too. It had been and has been my long-standing desire to cook good food, not just for the sake of necessity. Experiments have not been too fast-paced but they have been surely encouraging. So in the process I would like to document my efforts and hence the result is the blog you have just stumbled upon. Table d’hôte.

A word of caution. Don't read the title of the blog literally. it's not table dhote, it's Table d’hôte. Monsieur and Mademoiselle, it's FRENCH, which literally means host's table, but according to dictionary, it means A full-course meal offering a limited number of choices (as opposed to à la carte) , both of which suits my blog considering I am very enthusiast about hosting breakfasts, lunches, dinners, mainly for experiment and feedback purpose :) and with me you don't get many choices. Limited enough choices to be counted on tip of your fingers and for future purposes, if this blog doesn't turn out to be successful I will indeed be found table dhote. So in short, this title aptly describes past, present and future of my blog.

Disclaimer :- All recipes posted in this blog are tried and tasted[sic] and all of them are made by a bachelor, so easy enough to be tried on your own, so you can give it a shot but at your own risk. Hoping for you to be regular visitor at my new experiment and would be even more glad if you can actually become one of my subject. Welcome aboard and hope you enjoy your stay.

Sheer Frustration

... as Federer yet again loses to a nobody Filippo Volandri in Straight Sets 6-2 6-4. Good for Tennis may be, but definitely not good for fans :(

First Rain

Pitch dark night. Only interrupted by thundering lightning. Trees, flowers, plants bathed in fresh shower. Refreshing smell of water-soaked land. Music more pleasing to ears than Beethoven's 9th symphony.

What do you do? You don't do anything, you just sitback with a chair in balcony and enjoy the show.

The man who makes Federer sweat

Rarely in the world of tennis, fans witness a scene which they witnessed on March 11, 2007. A rookie was consoling the mighty federer on his straight set defeat and halted his career-best winning streak of 41 matches. When Indian fans woke up the next morning, couldn't believe what their eyes were seeing. The man had finally fallen, the frontier had been conquered and tennis suddenly seemed competitive all again. Another man to challenge the king's crown has arrived. It's Guillermo Canas.

When Roger Federer entered Indian Wells Masters, aka Pacific Life Open, he was riding high on confidence. He was three-times defending champion. Was riding high on his win at year-opening Australian open and later on Dubai open, where he regained his crown. He was undefeated in 2007, in fact he was undefeated since August 2006 and was on verge of breaking all-time best streak of 46 wins. All he needed was to win the title, which owing to aforementioned reasons didn't look unexpected. What was unexpected was what actually happened on the court. When Roger Federer launched his campaign he was face-to-face with Guillermo Canas and like the case generally is, he was a bit rusty when he started and before he could get the hold back, all was lost . Canas had handed him first round, straight set defeat of 7-5 6-2. Owing to non-transmission of initial rounds in India, I couldn't watch the match, but probably Mirka didn't either. It was supposed to be cake-walk, but my viewer friends say it definitely wasn't quite Federer-esque performance, but no excuses there.

Fast-forward two weeks. March 28, 2007. Federer is on his course to defend his title at Miami Masters, aka Sony Ericsson Open. 4th round. Roger Federer v/s Guillermo Canas. Life hasn't been hard for Federer till now cruising into fourth round. Guilldermo Canas, after commanding performance in qualifying rounds have defeated likes of Tim Henman, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Richard Gasquet to setup the clash with the king. Federer is visibly nervous, commits abundant unforced errors, although managing to break back the lost serve, loses the tie-breaker handing over the first set to Canas 7-6. Second set. Federer is all-charged up and summons up all his talent and athletics to win the set 6-2. Game moves on to third set. Federer manages early break 2-0 and has chance of another break and achieving almost invincible double break of the set, but that's when Canas holds his nerve and serve too. Come next game and Canas earns his break back. Finally, in the nerve-wrenching tie-breaker it was Canas who prevailed and won the clash 7-6(2) 6-2 7-6(5).

When I say this man is danger to the crown, it may be the case of fools-rush-in, but you will agree with me when you see the game of this man. He has the nerve, power and gamut of shots to beat Federer. He is as athletic in court as much as Federer and Nadal are.Today's match is live proof of that. He beat Federer when Federer came charging down to the net. In the win of Canas, contribution of Federer's unforced errors (51 as opposed to 21 of Canas) can't be ignored, but if I am allowed to put in my $0.02, I advise all the opponents of Federer to watch the video-tape of this match. That's the attitude, power and nerve you need to beat Federer. I couldn't have waited more for the clay season. It's going to be three-way battle between ever-reigning king of clay, Rafael Nadal, mighty king Roger Federer and a new force to be reckoned with Guillermo Canas. Clay season begins with Monte Carlo Masters on April 16, where Nadal is defending champion and Federer was finalist.

PS:- For Trivia fans, Argentian Guillermo Vilas holds record the longest streak in tennis open era with 46 consecutive wins, it was his namesake and compatriot who made that record still standing.

(cross-posted to DesiCritics)

Give me a Federer match, any day

This is my first post to Desicritics, where from now on, I'll be a regular contributor.

Few days ago Emma complained that Federer is getting too dominant for the sport to be interesting. I disagree, rather I strongly disagree.

Tennis, or for that matter any sport, is not just about feeling the drama or watching on edge of your seat. It's about appreciating the geniuses of the game. It's about watching something you thought to be impossible. It's as much about dominance as much it's about last minute thriller.

If you have played even a little bit of tennis, you would appreciate what Federer has pulled off in front of your eyes. You will literally drop your jaw if you saw a winner by Federer which was supposed to be other way around. Andy Roddick hits a powerful forehand and left corner of Federer's court and rushes to the net, just in case a loose reply comes. And what does he get? Federer moves to his ad (=left) side and forces a backhand half-volley, Roddick turns into a silent spectator and can't do anything but just watch the ball pass by him and lo! there is a cross-court backhand winner. Sheer frustration for Roddick and murmurs something about Roger having answer to every shot. That's pretty much same for Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon and James Blake at the Masters cup. They don't set a foot wrong and try to resist with the best they have and before they even understand what's going on they are holding runners up trophy.

Roger Federer has peculiar kinesthesia about his game, probably that has got something to do with his amazing skills, as a kid, in soccer, which he gave up in teenage for tennis. Even when he is rushing to the ball, he knows where he is going to set his next foot and when and where his racquet will hit the ball. That's the quality which gives him an extra edge to conjure those "supernatural" shots. If you have seen his cross-court forehands, backhand passing winners, baseline half-volley moonshots or boomerang net half-volley, you precisely know what I am talking about. Roger Federer has brought strategic game playing once again into focus in the age where game was lead by power gamers like Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt. He revived the extreme topspin, the art lost since time of Ivan Lendl, where in extreme topspin gives server the opportunity to serve "shallow", dipping in after passing the net. Yet another opposing characteristics to the power servers, who being tall try to serve as much deep as they can.

Tennis, as cliché goes, is the game of inches and Roger Federer precisely knows that. When anticipating a return, his opponent is not quite sure if the ball will lend up inside the baseline. Federer, on the other hand, is quite sure of his actions. That's even more evident and jaw-dropping with recent inclusion of challenge system. When Roger Federer challenges a call, it has to be IN. Even if it's an ace which is served at more than 200 kmph and has been called out, if Federer challenges it, rest assured, it would have definitely kissed the 'T'. You are dumbstruck when hawk-eye proves it IN.

As for the drama, although rare in nature, are dramatic enough to be in your memory for long time. Take the final of Rome Masters 2006. Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6. That, in my opinion, is the best game Federer has played against Nadal on clay. Yes, the best, and much better than hyped French Open 2006 final. You start nearing edge of your seat, when Federer starts getting little jittery in the middle or towards the end and that's where the opponent's hope lies. That's what makes spectators believe that Federer is still a human.

If you still believe that Federer is too boring, here is good news. Let the March cometh. Let the clay season begin. Let Rome Masters, Hamburg Masters, and French Open cometh. Rafael ‘clayking’ Nadal will once again rise to the top and will look to continue his unbeaten record on clay since, what looks like, forever. He will make the mighty Federer sweat for every single point. Federer will not just get it; he will have to work hard to earn it. Federer will look forward to achieve “The Final Frontier”, the French Open and there you will get the clash of the titans. Hold your breath from March to May and you will see the best tennis you would have ever seen in your lifetime.

Sachin Ton-dulkar

Sachin Tendulkar once again rose to the occassion and proved his mettle. Sachin whenever criticised nationally/internationally has hit back. He remained silent and rather let his bat do the talking. In what can be considered as reply to the critics, when asked by Arunlal regarding gaining his form, Tendulkar replied, "I have always played the way I wanted to play according to the situation. I have been playing for a long while now,( read... I know what I am doing) so people should appreciate that." Well, this post is not about that though.

Some people have always criticised Tendulkar for being mean. Once in somewhat controversial statement Ganguly said that "I am not interested in making centuries which doesn't help team win." largely hinted at Tendulkar, probably. So here is the point. In 41 centuries Sachin has made India has lost 11 times, which means little more than 75% which by no standard is bad when you have played for 18 years!! Here is a nice piece on Tendulkar's century that went in vain. Courtesy : Comment section of one of the post on Rediff.

When many people say how many of Sachin's hundreds have come for a winning cause, I decided to check the Cricinfo stats and here are the results.

Out of the 41 hundreds, 11 hundreds have gone in vain.

I will try to analyse each of them.

1. 137 off 137 balls Vs SriLanka at Delhi in 1996 World Cup.
India scored 271/3 in 50 overs. The only other 50 score was from Azhar. SL made 272 in 48.4 overs. Manoj Prabhakar had 4-0-47-0. He also opened in the innings with Sachin and scored 7 of 36 balls.

2. 100 of 111 Balls Vs Pak in Singapore- Apr 96.
India 226 all out in 47.1 overs, When Sachin was out score was 186/4. Pak had a reduced target of 187 from 33 overs.

3. 110 of 138 Balls vs Sri Lanka In Colombo - Aug 96.
Again India 226 for 5 in 50 overs, Only other 50 score from Azhar (58 of 99 balls).Sachin has also bowled 6-0-29-1, the second most economical bowler and the only wicket taker (SL were 230/1 in 44.2) of the match next to Srinath. 7 bowlers were used by Azhar.

4. 143 of 131 Balls Vs Aus at Sharjah, Apr 1998.
This was chasing under lights. The qualifying match before the final. The whole world knows about this match. Still one interesting point, when Sachin was out India were 242 at 5 at 43 overs. Target was 276 in 46. Still India finished at 250/5 scoring just 8 of the next 3 overs. Great performance by Laxman and Kanithkar indeed.

5. 101 of 140 Balls against SL at Sharjah in Oct 2000.
Indian score was 224/8 in 50 overs. (No other 50 score). SL got 225/5 in 43.5, Sachin also bowled 5-0-22-0, better economy rate than everyone except Srinath.

6. 146 of 153 Balls against Zimbabwe at Jodhpur - December 2000
India made 283 / 8 in 50 overs. Sachin was the last man to be dismissed, score was 235/8 at 46.3 overs when he was out. Agarkar and Zaheer Khan propelled India to 283 in the last 3.3 overs. When Sachin has scored 146 of 235 in 46.3 overs, you can guess what the other 8 great batsmen were doing against the World class Zimbabwe attack. Second Highest scorer was Zaheer Khan with 32.
Zim got 284/9 in 49.5 overs. Agarkar bowled the last over. Sachin also got 6-0-35-1

7. 101 of 129 Balls Vs SA at Johannesburg - Oct 2001
India got 279/5 in 50, Ganguly made 127 of 126 balls. When Ganguly got out, the score was 193-1 in 35.2 overs. Sachin was the last man to get out at 263. SA got 280 in 48.4 overs. Sachin bowled 9-0-51-0, second best in economy rate next only to Agarkar (10-0-45-1)

8. 141 of 135 balls Vs Pak at Rawalpindi, March 2004.
India were chasing 329 and were 317 all out in 48.4 overs, 8 balls to spare. No other batsman made even a 50 (when chasing 300 ) and when Sachin was out, India were 245-4 in 38.4 overs. They needed 85 from 68 balls with 6 wickets in hand.

9. 123 of 130 Balls vs Pak at Ahmedabad, April 2005.
India made 315/6 in 48 overs (48 over match), again no other 50 score. Second highest was Dhoni 47 of 64 balls, (third highest was extras - 39). Pak made 319 in 48 overs. The three quicks (Balaji, Nehra and Khan went for 188 runs from 26 overs between them taking only 2 wickets). Sachin bowled 6-0-36-1. No Harbhajan and no Kumble.

10. 100 of 113 Balls Vs Pak at Peshawar, Feb-2006.
India were 328 all out in 49.4 overs. Pathan and Dhoni got 60 each. When Sachin was out when India were 305-5 in 45 overs. Managed only 23 in the last 5 overs.

Pak scored 311/7 in 47 overs and won by D/L method. Could have been anybody's game. Sachin did not bowl.

11. 141* of 148 balls vs WI at Malaysia.
India made 309 /5 in 50 overs. Sachin was not out. Pathan was the only other 50 scorer. WI made 141/2 in 20 overs and won by D/L method. Again could have been anybody's game.

In the other 31 instances India has won 30 times and once there was no result.

Now, please think again when you say sachin's 100s were in the losing cause and that he is not a team player. It is a fact that for the entire 90's India played International cricket with 1 player and 10 jokers.

PS:- Please pardon the pun in the title.

One Federer in lifetime is enough

Today's morning was made cheerful with this excellent piece on Roger Federer in The Hindu.

It is a pleasant coincidence, for spectators, that the three greatest players of the modern era, Borg, Sampras, Federer have followed each other, each a finer model than the next. But so evolved is the Swiss that perhaps a longer wait is now due. Like a few generations.

Then, perhaps when we have gone to the Gods, a player will come, at a time when tennis is bereft (as it was in many ways when Federer came), with a serve a few pounds heavier, a volley a fraction more sure, a backhand a trifle more versatile. And our children, maybe grandchildren, will shake their heads in disbelief.

We will not envy them. One Federer in a lifetime is enough.

Blog is getting too sporty. Well, let the Australian Open feeling sink and it might not rise until World cup or French Open.

Quiet please, genius at work!!!

It's too cliche now to start a post with Federer's praises, so to the point. In the final showdown, TMF (The Mighty Federer) defeats Fernando Gonzlez in straight sets 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4 and claims his 10th grandslam title without dropping a single set through out the tournament.

Gonzalez proved a far better opponent than Andy Roddick, but couldn't match up the might of the king. He showed some sign of defeating the king with his extremely powerful forehand and breaking Federer in the first set, until Federer broke back and ultimately won the set in tiebraker. By the time second set came, Federer had shifted to top gear and Gonzalez had no chance and Federer successfully defended his title without losing a set. It was way back in 1980 when Bjorn Borg won the championship at Wimbledon without dropping a set. But then again, Federer has broken records which were written way back in 1934.

Gonzalez can only cheer up from this match. After defeating likes of Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt and James Blake, he is sure the man to watch. With the game he has shown today he has mettle to match Nadal to challenge Federer's throne. So all you second-liners, watch out for this man. He provided toughest challenge to Federer in this australian open 2007.

There is no stopping for this man. No one seems good enough to dethrone him at any place other than clay. After winning 10th title, Roger will yet again claim for the only grand slam that has eluded him, the French Open. If you leave out the French Open, it wasy way back in January 2005 when anyone else than Roger Federer (Marat Safin) won the grand slam. Can he do it this time? or just like Sampras the title will elude him forever? Well, time is not ripe yet for this discussion. As of now it's just celebration time. Enjoy Federer!!! You rock!!

See you all at Roland Garros...

Never mind MaSh

Never mind, MASH, but Serena deserved to win today. It's just a start for you. There is always next time. Go girl!!!!

Munnabhai chale amrika

Third movie in the fabulous Munna-Circuit series has been announced. It's called Munnabhai chale amrika. Script isn't finalized yet but it's evident from the titel that Munna and Circuit will embark on their journey to America and movie is expected to release in 2008. This one will be definitely worth waiting for.

Absolute Roger

How dare I? How dare I miss such a game, which BBC's John Lloyd describes as, "It's mind-boggling. We're lucky to be in the presence of pure and utter genius." and Chris Bailey as "Has Federer played better than this in a Grand Slam match? I don't think so."? How dare I miss the set where Andy Roddick angrily muttering to himself - something about Federer having an answer to everything ? but so I did.

This was supposed to be THE game of AO 2007, with Roddick rising to his old form on shoulder of legend Jimmy Connors and defeating Fedex just a fortnight ago, but here we are. Roger Federer sent Andy Roddick packing in just 1 hour 23 minutes in straight sets. 6-4 6-0 6-2. Watching highlights, it makes me feel... don't know. I am too dumbfounded even to say that I am running out of words. Absolute genius. Roddick can't believe his eyes either. Every shot he plays, leaves Roddick even more stunned. Is Roger a super human? Every single freakin' shot in the book he played. Baseline half-volley, passing backhand, passing moonshot backhand, crosscourt forehand. EVERYTHING. Just like Jonas Bjorkman, Roddick might be forced to say "I had the best seat in the stadium."

While first set was usual affair for Federer. It was second set where Federer showed why he is where he is. Federer made just one unforced error and Roddick in total gathered only six points in the set. Cheered at every point in third set, Roddick was able to hold two serves, but couldn't stop the roller rolling and massacre was done. If I have to rate the games of Federer I have seen, this would surely land in top 3. A performance which even Roger couldn't believe, putting him in tie for yet another record of reaching 7 consecutive finals of Grandslam. The record that was written way back in 1933! Phew!! and that puts Federer just one match away from his 10th grandslam title. Way to go Roger. All the best!

PS:- All those like me who are watching matches online, shouldn't miss live commentary on BBC. Really precious for their comments and one-liners. Like one here for today's match. Some gems:

Federer 6-4 6-0 3-1 Roddick
Fed is untouchable. He challenges after a serve down the 'T' is called wide and is proved right. Don't think he's got one wrong all night. Roddick goes to high-five the linesman, appreciating the attempt to help him out.

Federer 6-4 6-0 2-1 Roddick
Someone in the crowd has just told Roddick to "remember the Alamo". Interesting. Perhaps he does, because he finally gets on the board after 11 games against him. The roar from the crowd is deafening.

"If this match were being played on water, Roddick would be drowning while Federer would be walking on it."
BBC Sport's Chris Bailey

Federer 6-4 3-0 Roddick
A miraculous backhand pass off a ferocious Roddick forehand gets Federer off to the perfect start and this is turning into another masterclass from the defending champion. If this was Wimbledon, you'd be hoping for rain to save Roddick.

Super Maria

MASH storms to finals!!!

Watch out Roger...

In what could be turning point of the grand slam, Andy Roddick crushed his high-school friend Mardy Fish in quarter finals, 6-2 6-2 6-2. Federer, on the other hand, made his way to the semifinal defeating Tomy Robredo 6-3 7-6 7-5.

It wasn't exactly a comprehensive win. Although Federer managed breaks on Robredo's serve. Robredo keep hitting back and broke back. Federer was quite vulnurable on his own serve, otherwise known for excellent service game. It was the ability of Federer to stretch himself at crucial points that made him winner.

In semis, in my opinion, Roddick can present a challenge to Federer which only Nadal could in recent past. Andy is a big server and with this vulnurable serve of Federer, he can dig a hole to make a grave. On other hand, after some glitches in initial matches, Roddick is cruising along so convincingly that people have started noticing him and identify him as a man who along with Nadal can present a threat to Fedex's throne. Jimmy Connors effect has definitely been showing on him and he showed his intensions by defeating the king in Kooyong Classic final to defend his title. So just keep your fingers crossed, you are going to witness biggest match of Australian Open 2007 on Thursday.

Rang De Basanti out of oscar contention

Could I be more happy? Garnered with all the accolades at home, inspite of being above average movie, didn't deserve Academy awards nomination. As Amit Varma says, Much joy comes :).

Abhishek-Aishwarya get engaged

Rediff says, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, also known as Abhiwarya(%$#@!&%$@) got engaged on January 14th.

Well, do I care? No, but I will make sure not to switch on any news channels for atleast 4-5 days now.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

It's OFFICIAL. That's what seventh is going to be called. Rediff says, JKR teased fans a lot before actually revealing the name on her website. Exciting as it may sound this to those who have been involved with JKR's wonderful journey of Harry Potter's seven years at Hogwarts, for muggles, it's just a title. While I start wondering in blogosphere and web. Here are some pointers, for further information.

Links : Official JKR website,MuggleNet,Leaky Cauldron,Rediff. If some of these don't make sense to you, you better not waste your time, visiting those :)

Sreesanth versus Nel

India's moment of glory finally came when they won their First EVER test on South African soil, but for any Indian fan best moment of the match came on Sunday afternoon. India's second innings was going on. Indians were already 9 down with handy lead of around 390. Sreesanth and VRV Singh on strike. Sreesanth was totally pumped up after her first innings triumph. Andre Nel managed to beat Sreesanth in a delivery. Andre Nel, as always, couldn't keep his mouth shut and gestured to Sreesanth saying "Show me your heart". Not a good moment to tease Sreesanth I say. And then came Sreesanth's reply. He hit Nel for the MAXIMUM. A huge SIX and what followed will be remembered for Indian fans for a long time to come. Sreesanth literally danced on the pitch. Don't miss the video attached.

beats me...

Just when I thought I came up with really good PJ, Gaurav comes up with this one. BEATS ME!!!

Creativity

An old forward came to me yet again, and once again couldn't help but appreciate but the creative mind behind the advertisement. Here it is, Big Bazaar's women's day Sale ad.

Another Blog

I love blogspot, I truly do, which is case with many of bloggers and that's what seems to be the problem. Blogger.com is synonym for blogging around the world, atleast for most of the companies and campuses, who want to prevent their employees from prying eyes of Blogosphere and that could be the reason I am getting so less hits or that's what my dear friend and fellow blogger Neha believes. Thank you friend, thank you for believing in me and my blog :)

So after all the lazyness, I have finally decided to move, rather copy other blog at Wordpress (http://nishitdesai.wordpress.com). Wordpress allows me to import my posts from blogger to wordpress, so I will be maintaining both the blogs and the benefits will be twofold. My loyal readers of blogspot (Not that there are many) won't have to change their RSS feeds or Blogroll (but I kindly request all of you to put my new blog on your blogroll :) ) and second of all, The larger world who is being deprived of witty thoughts (Ahem... yet another dear friend and fellow blogger Uday believes it to be double curse on the blogosphere). So in a nutshell, start visiting my new blog. See you there...

Dhoom 2 : disappoint kiya re!!

Hindi movies suffer from this problem. They try so hard to be, what's the word, yes cool. Pretty ironical, but that's the fact. Dhoom 2 is one of them too! Everyone tries to be Oh! Look at me, I am so cool !!!.

Ok, so there is a thief, popularly known as Mr. A (Hrithik Roshan), Notorious for stealing precious antiques. While his predecessor (John Abraham), had knack for creating a pattern on Bombay Express Highway, Mr. A has mathematical ambition of stamping his name on the world (literally). After demonstrating his sandsurfing, disguising and but ofcourse dancing skills, it seems all is going well for Mr. A. On the other hand, Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) is still accomplishing missions with all Suzukis, Ducatis, Waterscooters and his punter-cum-sub-inspector Ali (Uday Chopra) for Mumbai police. Enter his ex-classmate, who had (has) crush on him, sharp-shooter, ACP Shonali Bose. Ah! Shonali does make a wonderful dancing partner than Rimi Sen. Anyway, so now that Mr. A has completed his mission of imprinting his name on the world, is looking for more trouble and enters like desi Angelina Jolie, Sunehari (Aishwarya Rai), who is vying to become accomplice of her long time idol Mr. A. With that begins the tale of betrayal, revenge and theft in new destination of bollywood, Brazil. And in the end lo! Hrithik Roshan is not actually Hrithik Roshan, but John Abraham wearing a mask. Now that is one thing that, thankfully, doesn't happen.

As far back as I can remember, Greatbong always claimed that Sanjay Gupta had biggest collection of hollywood DVDS, but as it turns out, his namesis [sic] , Sanjay Gadhavi isn't far behind either. With bikes and babes, he manages to pay tribute to many hollywood bike-chick flicks. As for the cast, Hrithik Roshan is definitely cooler of the lot, but every now-and-then you have feeling that he still has big time hangover from Krrish, except designer clothes have replaced village attire now. However hard he might try, doesn't pull-off coolness of Rusty Ryan. Abhishek Bachchan manages to stay not to go overboard and is still no-nonsense cop at best. It's becoming harder these days for me to defend my choices. After SRK, it's time for Aishwarya Rai. All-is-well when she removes her disguise and gives Lara Croft-esque pose, but my question is this. WHY DOES SHE UTTER A WORD AT ALL ? I am feeling so hot in here, aren't you? ... Are you like checking me out??. Ms. Rai, as for look and feel, you look charming despite of your age, but you are not Angelina Jolie. Take that. No offence Ms-Rai-soon-to-be-Mrs-Bachchan, but you have definitely given enough reasons for AB fans to crib about you. Bipasha Basu is adequate until Shonali Bose turns to Monali Bose. As for Uday Chopra, lesser said the better. Now that his screen presence is reduced as compared to Dhoom, you don't mind him too much. Biggest villian of the movie is soundtrack. You don't remember a single song (may be except Krazy kiya re...) when you walk out of a theatre and it annoyingly keeps reminding you that you are watching sequel with constant Dhoom again... in background.

It has enough moments for fans and masses to cheer about no doubt. You can't help but to smile when, AB says, Let's do the way my dad used to, just before tossing the coin. You have seen Manhattan buildings and European locales, but you never saw Brazilian beaches, did you? Here is your chance then.

Not that I had many expectations with Dhoom 2 in first place, but people and reviewers going ga-ga about it had raised the bar atleast a little. My Verdict : Go watch it if you liked Dhoom. You might be disappointed, but you won't be bored for sure. Now that movie has released, what I will be eagerly waiting for is Ghoom 2.

If only...

...Terry, Lampard, Rooney had performed half of what they are for doing English Premier League, England would have ended way up then they have in World Cup '06. General wondering at half time of scintillating ManU vs Chelsea match.

Why SRK, why?

He did Polio campaign. Good. Always good when superstars come to spread social awareness. Then he did Navratna tel. Then he did ICICI Bank. Then he did DON. No problems till now, but just a question. And now to top it all he does this, replacing Amitabh Bachchan for STAR Plus' biggest show ever, Kaun Banega Crorepati. Why does he always have to follow Big B all the time?

I am not arguing on the point that Big B is irreplacable and no one can match him blah blah talk (which albeit is the fact). The point is Big B is altogether a different persona. With Big B comes grandiose, towering personality and respect. Shahrukh Khan, on the other hand, brings a charming personality and energy, who with his smile can be and is a big crowd puller. He might not be the greatest of the actor, but he surely rules boxoffice and above all he knows that. He knows his strengths and weaknesses. He is a clever man, who doesn't believe in hiding weaknesses and showing the world exactly what's needed to be shown to make sure he doesn't get all pretentious and hypocrite. (Don't believe me? Read this and you'll know exactly what I am talking about. Karan Thapar, who otherwise manages to frustrate the guest on Devil's Advocate, sees himself on the other side.)

Anyway, so why this? Why is he trying to prove that he can succeed, if not replace, Big B? He simply can't and doesn't need to either. People like and love him for what he is. He has fan base of his own. He has proved himself. He doesn't need this. He can make big by doing his own than trying to fit in someone else's shoes. God bless you!

Sanedo (સનેડો)

Sanedo is taking Gujarat by storm. Everywhere from every Navaratri to marriage function, Sanedo rules. It's time to visit some history, Geography of Sanedo.

Original pronunciation and word is Snehdo(Gujarati: સ્નેહડો), derived from the word Sneh(Gujarati: સ્નેહ), meaning love or affection. Sanedo contains couplets of four lines and has striking resemblance to Bhavai, a folk drama from Gujarat. Topic of lines can be anything under the sun satire, love, youth, anything that you want.

Sanedo originated from the villages of Patan district in Gujarat and it has become a very popular dance all over Gujarat and also among the Gujarati speaking population in North America and Britain. It is frequenty played during the festival of Navratri, during wedding celebrations and during parties. Sanedo originally said to have been made famous by Arvind Barot, around 20 years ago, but it wasn't until recently that Maniraj Barot made it rage in all over Gujarat. I was skeptical about it, but ever since my dear bro has "illustrated" Sanedo to me, I am a big fan of Sanedo. I still think Sanedo deserves much more recognition than it has. Jay Vasavada has wonderful article on Gujarat Samachar about Sanedo (here) . If you are a Gujarati reader, it's a must read.

I have also created a wikipedia page about Sanedo. If you have more information about it, please contribute to page.

PS:- If you want to listen to Sanedo, you can listen it here(free registeration required), here and here.

PS/2:- Few more customized Sanedo, listen to NRI no sanedo and CM (Narendra Modi) no sanedo.

Roger Federer as a religious experience

Roger Federer rules? dominates? crashes? thrashes? Damn! I have ran out of adjectives, so have commentators. Yesterday when Roger made Blake eat that Bagel, IMHO, he played one of the best games we have ever seen from the king. Roger Federer lifted his third masters cup in straight sets 6-0 6-3 6-4. I pity Blake, seriously. He didn't set a foot wrong, it was just that he didn't have answer to master's Impeccable, landing just online, powerful baseliner shots nor he could believe that how could anyone hit powerful cross-court forehands and unfathomable passing backhands. poor soul himself later on said, If Federer is an artist, his performance in Sunday's final would have to count as one of his masterpieces. I guess that came from defeating his nemesis, Rafael 'Rafa' Nadal, especially beating him in straight sets for the first time in 9 encounters. Fedex has proved himself a cut above others. He has been setting record of maximum INDESIT ranking points since three years. He is the first man to breach barrier of 8000 entry points. He has been sitting on #1 ranking since 150 weeks (i.e. almost 3 years), just shy of world record of 160, which he theoretically has already broken. If he takes break at this point of time and takes a long 4 months break, he will still return as #1. More than 10 titles per year since last three years. Consecutive 10 grandslam semifinal appearances. Consecutive 5 grandslam final appearances (4 out of which he won), and the list is endless. I would rather recommend his Wikipedia page.

On this occassion, I would like you to read an excellent article by David Wallace on NYTimes : Roger Federer as a religious experience.

There are three kinds of valid explanation for Federer’s ascendancy. One kind involves mystery and metaphysics and is, I think, closest to the real truth. The others are more technical and make for better journalism.

Don't miss this and I really say this literally. DON'T MISS IT.

Of Banning and Blocking

Not many are complaining the growth of Internet and arrival of Web 2.0, except a few. Hardware and Bandwidth going cheaper, on one hand has been beneficial to web companies, it is growing headache for sysadmins. They have strict orders from respective companies to control the bandwidth cost. Authorities have troubles keeping their employees productive with arrival of blogs, social networking and what not. Result? Banning of youtube,orkut,blogger is in rage. Can't do much about banning of orkut and youtube, but there are some workarounds for blogging.

One, Use PKBlogs. This was created when Pakistani government imposed ban on blog and in totally unrelated event later on by Indian government. Simple and easy to use, but it has issues with images and people have raised some privacy concerns.

Two, Get an RSS Reader. RSS phenomenon is fast catching attention everywhere. Concept is simple, instead of roaming all around the internet, just gather the places you are interested in and use it, which Google calls Inbox for your web. There are both online and offline RSS readers available. I strongly recommend Google Reader above all. IE7 and Flock have built-in RSS reader.

Well that's pretty much it. Necessity is mother of invention, they say, but no donuts for me as orkut remains banned at my workplace.

a PJ

Q. What is movie Janeman all about?

A. Tarzan.

As Gaurav once put it, sometimes I am happy I am not you. Johnny has all the copyrights for this PJ. For any kind of republishing, in full or parts, contact him.

You haven't had...

You haven't had perfect Vada Paav until you haven't had them at Andheri station.

You haven't had perfect Pani Puri/Chat until you haven't had them at Agarkar Chowk (Andheri, no sir , not Juhu-Chowpati)

You haven't had perfect Veg Sandwich until you haven't eaten at Narayana Sandwich.

Wondering I had gone to Mumbai for Diwali or for some food festival? That makes two of us. This was one of the best part of my Diwali vacation. More coming up :)

I officially...

...hate Indian cricket team. Stupid Dwayne Bravo has only one weapon, SLOW DELIVERY and Indian batsmen fall into the trap all the time. Today Smith trapped Yuvraj by same easy but slow delivery. Dravid is too confident about fielding of his own side and opponents that he is sure that when you are aiming with only one stump, you can NEVER hit it. Never mind. Pay the price and put your team into grave trouble, when it seemed that you are cruising along fine. No wonder Guru Greg (term developed by Indian Media) hit on them about their body language. How I really wish I could quit cricket someday like Formula-1

Retiring from Formula-1

...and Michael Schumacher is not alone. Herewith I am declaring my retirement from Formula-1 too. Not that it matters too much, but it's essential to declare it to the world :)

World is stage and players come and go and blah blah. Good for words, but I don't believe in it, atleast for Formula-1. Ever since I have been following F-1, I have seen Michael Schumacher growing, dominating, crushing opponents. Michael Schumacher, for me, has been greater than the sport itself and I know that's the case for many Indian F-1 followers. I can't imagine watching F-1 again without MS on circuit. Can't believe there won't be high jumps on podium in red dress. Can't believe German National Anthem won't be played at Paddock regularly. Adios Master!!! Luck didn't favour him in last two race or we would all have seen him dancing and jumping on podium with eighth world championship under his belt. Just when he looked all set to take the win, something happened, which hadn't happened to him in last six years. His engine betrayed him :(

Last race showed what MS is truly made of. There was only theoretical possibility that he could win, but he ran marvellous race. After dominating first two fabulous qualifying sessions, when he came on to the circuit, some problem with engine and had to return to pits. Even after such a disappointing qualifying, he ran his supreme and already pushed Fisi for fifth position, but worst was yet to come. He had tyre failure and after a long pitstop rejoined at last position, but as Damon Hill says, he never gives up. He had shifted to one-pit strategy now and was with heavy fuel, but started showing his mattle after second round of pit stop started. After zapping through tailenders with ease, now came the big names. Barichello et al was relatively easy. Now comes turn of Fisichella to feel the heat. Schumi took his best work at Turn 1 and did most overtakes there itself. He took inside track at turn 1 and others couldn't do anything but watch. Poor chap, Fisichella tried hard to outbreak the champ at turn 1 and ran wide outside grip. You don't do that with Schumi, boy!! suck on that, Fisi. Probably Kimi understood and managed to stay on inside track, but can't hold the man for long and ultimately saw Michael zooming past him. If it wasn't for the big gap that had already occured we would have easily seen him on the podium. What a race!!! What a man!!!

Although I won't be watching F-1 now, but I will support whoever is challenging Alonso. Don't take me wrong, he is good driver, but passion comes with a price. And I have developed sort of dislike Alonso just like that. Kimi is a good driver and now in good car and hope he continues legacy set by MS. Massa is shaping up good too. and I seriously hope McLaren continues their poor reliability and we see Alonso in pits well before the end of the race. Amen!!

As promised by MS, I hope we see him back with Ferrari soon in important role. Long live master!!

Ram Gopal Varma Ke Sholay

After years of speculation, RGV's Sholay is finally hitting the floors. It's offically called Rom Gopal Varma Ke Sholay , sucks. It has been making news ever since RGV announced it. Starting from the whole hearted acceptance from Amitabh Bachchan to denial from Ramesh Sippy, Dharmendra et al. In a chain of events, RGV , almost everyfortnight declared an actor for the particular character in Sholay, creating buzz all around. He sure knows how to stay in headlines. In the recent move, he unveiled new look of Gabbar, which has brought mixed reactions. Anyway, it has been topic of lunch table discussion and here I am to summarize some of the points/suggestions/comments straight out of discussion, Ram Gopal Varma might think helpful.

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif plays role of Jaya Bachchan. Well sort of suits given that Jaya Bachchan didn't have many lines to speak, but we are seriously worried as to how she will do the scenes of Holi where Jaya did running and speaking at the same time. We wish Katrina luck in her most adventorous and toughest job of her filmi career. This one being new age version we have our own suspicion that she might originally belong to London, so that Hindi can be pardoned.

Mohit Ahlawat

Mohit Ahlawat. strain your brains and dude on the left side might seem familiar . Yes he is the RGV's latest find, protagonist in the latest movie "Shiva", which was remake of movie "James" (duhh), which in turn was remake of the movie which brought RGV into limelight "Shiva" (huh??). And what role he plays? oh yes. Jai. All Amitabh Bachchan fans, start digging your graves. We wonder considering his chemistry with Nisha Kothari in above mentioned movies, why Ramu didn't opt for Nisha in role of Radha?

Urmila Matondkar

Urmila Matondkar plays seductress Helen. Considering her early reputation of hit item girl with Rajkumar Santoshi camp, she might be able to live upto expectations.


Trivia :- In one of the biggest ironies of World Cinema, Anu Maliik's (no typos there) Chhamma Chhamma was copied to Hollywood hit double oscar-winning musical Moulin Rouge!, albeit with permission. Oh did I say irony? I take my
words back after coming across this piece of interview.

Q : The music industry is facing its worst-ever recession now...



A : Let me tell you why! It is not downloading, nor technology like MP3, nor piracy. It's just bad music! Why are we still seduced by The Backstreet Boys and Whitney Houston? Why can't we be original? Why should people pay money to listen to poor music? The pop element and the obsession with sound and technology is a passing phase.

Thoughtful indeed(Source)

Suniel Shetty

Suniel Shetty (No sir, no typos there either) has gone too far this time. He is playing Sambha. I wonder how much he paid for this role. His boutique business must have earned him enough to pay for this role.

Here are the two choice, IMHO, which might surpass or atleast match the original cast. Mohanlal as Thakur and Rajpal Yadav as Surma Bhopali, but we have serious issues to handle i.e. unconfirmed cast.

RGV approached Shreyas Talpade (Iqbal) for role of Ahmed (originally played by Sachin) and when he asked for narration, RGV got temperamental saying what does he think? won't I do justice to him? Doesn't he trust me? Man's gotta do, what he's gotta do ... anyway... so we were talking about unconfirmed cast. For Basanti we have scanned everyone from Rani Mukherjee to Esha Doel but none of them seems to fit in the scheme of things, but we'll soon find it out.

On the other line of thought, we were thinking who from Original Sholay can still part of this one, without losing his/her original charm. Considering fact that Mac Mohan hasn't changed a bit in last 'n' years, he could still play Sambha, but as mentioned above Suniel Shetty has already paid hefty sum, we couldn't back out on that, but then we finalized the man to top them all, A K Hangal, I don't think anybody would have problem with that. Do ya? do ya ? do ya?

BUT, Here comes the biggest of all, which made me right this whole crap in first place. Who is going to sing Mehbooba Mehbooba opposite Urmila? Just try to sing this in Jalal Aaga's voice



Mehbooba O Mehbooba.. uuuuuuuuuuuu



and tell me the name comes first into your mind. Bingo! You got it
right. Devil's own singer, Himesh Reshammiya, is going to get featured opposite Urmila in this song and is also composer of the movie. What else could you ask for? Guys go watch this one in theatres near you. SUMMER ... 2007...? 2008?..2015? Let's just keep it SUMMER as of now.

---

PS:- Reasons for putting so many outgoing links and pictures, are simply pedagogical, on the special request by SlimShady, who says he doesn't know half of the name mentioned in this article. Uff yeh nayi generation!!!

Arrgghhh....

Michael Schumacher's engine betrays him only 17 laps away from chequered flag and when he looked all set to take the championship lead. Can't stand it any more..!!! :(

Bloglines out, Google Reader in

I have been ardent Google fan ever since it launched and using it since wayback in 1999. I have always preferred Google products over competitors as long as Google offers it. Google Search,GMail,Google Earth,Google Notebook, Google Talk to name a few... I rank Google for coolness of its products. Google offered 1 GB with GMail when other competitors were offering atmost 10 MB and shocked the Mail world.

I was disappointed when Google launched Google Reader, it didn't offer lots of features my then feeds reader Bloglines offered. It didn't offer reading feeds neither individually nor tags/folders wise and bloglines remained the only non-Google product that I used over Google, but I was more than thrilled to read latest post on Official Google Blog. Google Reader seems to have taken lesson from popularity of Bloglines and back in the webworld with its usual uber coolness. I admit, although as good as bloglines but not better, just for sake of my emotional attachment to Google, I am officially shifting to Google Reader.

Image Courtesy : Official Google Blog

Sachin Tendulkar : Return of the King

THE Master Blaster is back and with a big bang. Batted through 50 overs and marvellous comeback Century.



SR Tendulkar(rhb) 142(148) 13x4, 5x6 (SR - 95.94)



Form is temporary, class is permanent.

Michael Schumacher bids adieu to Formula 1

The rumours I was talking about have turned out to be true. Michael Schumacher declared emotional retirement after winning Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Personally speaking, it has been a huge blow. Not that I wasn't expecting it but it being official does matter. I started watching Formula 1 almost 7 years back. I supported Michael Schumacher for the simple reason that I knew only a single man from the sport. That time around Mika Hakkinen ruled the circuit and Michael Schumacher came 5th at end of the season. Since then it has been a long emotional journey till 2006. Since 2000, Schumacher started rulling the circuit. Unfortunately after 2001, worth competitor of Michael Schumacher, The Flying Finn Mika Hakkinen announced retirement, but Schumi continued his triumph there after. 2004 was season any fan had never seen before. Michael Schumacher winning 13 out of 17 races and ended up with 148 season-end points. 2005 saw rise of Renault and Fernando Alonso and his unreliable Ferrari gave him really tough time through out the series. Starting of 2006 season saw yet another slow start from Michael Schumacher, but as the season is ending Ferrari and Schumi are tightening screws on Alonso. After Italian Grand Prix Schumacher stands just 2 points behind Alonso and hopefully will end his last season as the champion, securing 7th Championship.

Michael Schumacher's career has always been full of controversies, but you can't deny that he has champion's attitude. His statistics speak for themselves. Just look at this.

• Most race wins: 90 (previous record beaten in 2001)
  
• Most race wins with one team: 71
  
• Most podium finishes: 153
  
• Most second place finishes: 43
  
• Most points finishes: 188
  
• Most pole positions: 68
  
• Most fastest laps: 75
  
• Most race wins from pole position: 40
  
• Most "clean-sweeps" (pole position, race win, and fastest lap): 22
  
• Most championship points: 1,354
  

Now what do you say to this? Records he has established aren't going to be broken for a long time I bet. Very few people have ruled the sport for more than 10 years like Michael Schumacher has. He will be remembered as long as the sport exists, that is for sure, whatever Jacques Villenueve or anyone says. When I picture Schumi, it's always standing on podium, wearing red dress raising his hands to the cheering fans and leaping on the top of the podium every time as if it's his first one and I think that's what keeps him going all the time. He is never satisfied. When he broke Alan Prost's record of 55 career wins, how I had really wish that he would retire with a century. Had it not been for the slump of 2004-2005, we would have easily seen him there. Love him or hate him, but you can't deny that he is undoubtedly one of the best of all time in Formula-1. As for me, After 2006, Formula-1 won't be ever same again.

Hail Schumi!!!!

એક ગુજરાતી પોસ્ટ

આજે વિચાર આવ્યો કે ગુજરાતી મારી માતૃભાષા હોવા છતા ગુજરાતીમાં મેં એક પણ પોસ્ટ કરી નથી. આ રહી મારી પહેલી પોસ્ટ. નિશિત દેસાઇ બ્લોગ પર આપનું સ્વાગત કરે છે.

Not just yet... :(

Everything that has beginning has an end. But not so soon. No please no. Please don't go so early. You have a lot to offer to the game and fans like us.

Official verdict is going to be out on the race day itself, but there are strong reports that Michael Schumacher is announcing his retirement on this Sunday at Ferrari home, Monza. I am already feeling too sad. Just one more season Schumi and I bet you'll show Alonso what a champion is!!

Lage Raho Munnabhai

Munnabhai meets Mahatma Gandhi. This was the title orignally chosen for the movie. Too paradoxical yet too befitting. Just try to picture it. On one hand there is Munnabhai, a local bhai who with his right hand Circuit knows only one way to justice. Khopche mein le jaa ke kharcha paani. On the other hand, you have Father of the nation, who had only one weapon, non-violence. Can these two go together? Yes they do and do it well.

Munnabhai is in love with RJ Jahnavi (Vidya Balan) (who BTW is jockey on Worldspace Radio and still you can hear her on most of the radio set for free.. yuppie..!!!) and ends up making her think that he knows a hell lot about Gandhiji and finds himself in trouble and that's when father of the nation himself comes to his resuce. Jahnavi has her own set of troubles which she needs to deal with aid of Munnabhai, the history Professor. Can Father of the nation help him? Can Munna get out of grave trouble he is in? Watch it to see it.

Lage Raho Munnabhai works and how? Writers for this movie had huge task at their hands. First movie was a blockbuster and one of the biggest hit of the year and they had to deal with huge pressure that naturally comes with a sequel of big-time movie, which most of the sequels fail to handle. Lage Raho Munnabhai comes out with shining colors. It gets even bigger and better than the original, I daresay. It's always tough to combine a comedy with a message and making sure that you don't get preachy and didactic at it. Making sure that your script is emotional but at the same time not sentimental. Munnabhai simply just does that. There is a Gandhi in all of us. We just don't know it or may be we don't care to know about it. It's not that big a deal if you just come face-to-face with it. Job well done Hirani. As Sarika, puts it aptly in the words.

People miss honesty
They miss
it by miles
People miss honesty
And they don't even realize.

Munna-Circuit chemistry is as good as the first one. They make you laugh with their jokes and one liners all the time. When you watch Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi on the screen, you feel like they must have been born as Munna and Circuit and not the other way around. They have immortalized this pair. Vidya Balan continues to impress me. She was like a seasoned actress in her debut Parineeta as a typical Bengali girl and this time around she enthralls you as a youthful urban girl. IMHO, she is one of the biggest difference between first two films. She brings out the charm on the screen which Gracy Singh failed to. Boman Irani continues to impress as an evil builder. It is unfortunate for Hindi film industry that such a talented actor remained hidden until Munnabhai MBBS brought him in the limelight.

Lage Raho Munnabhai. We want more..!!!

(Cross-posted to InFiCA)

Bakul Tripathi no more

It seems God is lacking fun up above there these days. After sad demise of Hrishikesh Mukherjee few days back, noted Gujarati humourist Bakul Tripathi died yesterday evening. Well-known for his daily column “Kakko ne Barakhadi” in popular Gujarati daily Gujarat Samachar was undoubtedly one of the cherished writer of Gujarati literature. May his soul rest in peace!!!

Hrishikesh Mukherjee no more..!!!!

A huge shock if you ask me. Makers of some excellent movies like Chupke-Chupke, Golmaal, Anand, Bawarchi, Guddi, Anupama, Khubsoorat, Namak Haram, Anari. Undisputedly best comedy film maker of India. I don't remember tears rolling down my cheeks when some film personality died. Salute to you Hrishi-da.

Anand mara nahi, Anand marte nahi...

Mixed Bag

In a state where I have been after a really looooong time. Atleast 4 years I say . And frankly don't know what it's about. It ain't frustration, boredom, emotional hell, fatigue or may be all of them. May be some complex combination of following things.

Current Album : Saathiya, Parineeta
Current Work : Automatic Error Detection
Current Platform : MATLAB
Current Thoughts : 11-dimensional (Personal, Professional, Academic and 8 other similar dimensions)
Current Ambience : Pleasant

Now you do the math and I will try to rest in peace.

Omkara

Omkara - A beautiful poem from Vishal Bhardwaj.

After struggling I finally saw the movie and that too by bunking office on that day. Yeah!!!! It feels so good and it was all worth it. Much has been already said about
the movie. I don't want to add much to it, but I strongly recommend movie to everyone. Vishal Bhardwaj has done fabulous job of bringing Othello on Indian Cinema and in Indian context. I haven't read Shakespeare or even Othello, but movie is a sincere and honest effort to present a story of a tragic hero.

Story is pretty much known, so won't write about it much here, but I will definitely put a word for performances. Saif Ali Khan is a revealation. I bet noone ever expected him to give such a fine performance as Langda Tyagi (Iago). I am betting for Saif for this year's National Award... again. Konkona Sensharma is a boon to Bollywood. This girl handles every role with finesse. Second surprise for me was Kareena Kapoor. I officially detest Kareena, but I must admit after Chameli for the first time, I actually liked Kareena (Kareina if you prefer). Without any makeup, she is perfectly cast as Dolly Mishra (Desdemona). Ajay Devgan succeeds as the tragic hero, but I somehow felt Manoj Bajpai would have done fabulous job as Omkara, but never mind that.

Bottomline : Omkara, without a doubt, is the best movie of 2006 with Being Cyrus being second. If you raised your eyebrows... yes I have seen Rang De Basanti, Fanaa, Krrrrish, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna or any other crap you have in your mind.

Some excellent reviews : Bardwaj Rangan,Falstaff (Not too impressed with the movie, but excellenet review), Raja Sen, Jai Arjun

SRK fascination and 'Don'

Let me accept this first. I used to be a fanatic SRK fan. I used to publicize and recommend anything and everything that attached Shahrukh Khan name with it. If I say ever since Deewaana and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman came, I was SRK fan I would be lying. As a kid, I used like Shahrukh as Abhimanyu Rai in "Fauji" a lot. Baazigar and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge just strengthened his status. I still remember when DDLJ re-released after almost two years, I took my friends willingly/unwillingly for the movie on my 18th birthday. Now I was out in full swing. I was ready to take on fan of any other hero. Then I went to see Baadshah first day first show, I came out with all praise (although with a little guilty). Unfortunately, after that I started listening to my conscience more than my fanaticism. Meantime, I also saw Guddu, English Babu Desi Mem, Ram Jaane, Zamaana Deewana (bet you haven't heard this one), Ram Jaane, Duplicate. Duh... what more do I say? Although Hey Ram, Dil se and Swades(an apt review) made me proud.

I am not a fan now, but in some corner of my heart I still hope his every coming film beats any other Aamir (although he is a better actor), Hritik flick. Whatever I or you say about Shahrukh, we must admit he has an aura about him. Whenever he is onscreen doing a typical mushy, candyfloos Yashraj-Karan Johar scene he makes his presence felt. There is energy about every step he takes in his dance. His dance for 5 minutes can make crap like Kaal a hit. I bet there are millions like me out there who would want to watch an SRK movie, although it might be clearly evident from promos that it's just another Rahul/Raj movie, you never know he might surprise you with Aman Varma or Amjad Ali Khan or Mohan Bhargav.

How was I remembered of Shahrukh suddenly? Because I watched First promo of a first official Hindi remake, Don. Disappointing I say. I hope he is not pulling off yet another Mannu (a la Duplicate). Amen!!

Related Posts : Gaurav Sabnis on defending Khan. My feelings aptly put.

Promo Source : IndiaFM

Freedom to be...

First breath in free air

India got its freedom back again on July 21st, 2006 where bloggers can now view their blogs again. Got a little carried away there eh?

Read full story here.

Sometimes...

Sometimes you remember someone so much that you can't get her out of your mind ? She may not be love of your life or your bestest friend, but feels so special for some moments that her memories can't be overcome by thoughts of *anyone*. You don't exactly miss her, but for those special moments she is very close to you. I enjoy those moments.

How you really wish that you could call her up and say I remembered you sooo much, but that isn't always appropriate, now is it? Has that happened to you? For me, it indeed has. I would rather keep it to me only and cherish it for a long time to come. So here it is to the beautiful person I've known, befriended and loved...

Champion v/s Champion

It was indeed clash of the titans.

Roger 'cannibal' Federer ate up Bjorkman in Wimbledon Seminfinals..Scoreline read. 6-2 6-0 6-2. and that's not a first round score, it was semifinal. Commentators comment "Nadal and Baghdatis (other semifinalists) better not watch this match, it might scare them" . Very true..!!! Seed 3 Andy Roddick has declared "Federer is almost unbeatable on grass court". Nobody has answer for Federer's baseline shots and backhand pass shots. He was broken only twice this year at wimbledon and has not dropped a single set and is on route to his fourth consecutive wimbledon crown.

Rafael 'clayking' Nadal beat Marcos Baghdatis and beat him hard. defeated in straight sets. 6-1, 7-5,6-3. Nadal sets up dream final with Federer and I tell you what, it's not going to be easy. The way Nadal was playing Federer must be wishing that he would face Baghdatis in Final but it's his nemesis face to face again..Nadal sprint across first set. In second and third set Baghdatis gave fight with some wonderful drop shots but ultimate had to lose to Nadal's power game and well-executed volleys.

Now it's show down. On one side, Roger Federer, Grass court's undisputed king. On the other side, Rafael Nadal, who is invincible or clay court, but considered very vulnurable on Grass Court. To everyone's surprise, he reached final of Wimbledon and it was only his fifth encounter on grass court. Only fifth encounter and Wimbledon final??!! Great feat. Ever Since Federer era began in 2004, Nadal is his only nemesis. Nadal had defeated Federer in their last 5 encounters, including 4 this year and overall record stands 6-1. Battle was all set.

First set looked like yet another triumph of Federer. Federer won 6-0!! Nadal is the man who doesn't give in so easily. He fought back and broke Roger Federer's first serve in first game of second set. Federer broke back and ultimately won the set in tiebreaker, but it was never so easy. Third set, it got even harder and Nadal forced Federer to drop his first set in Wimbledon 2006. but Federer, the man that he is, Broke Nadal twice and ultimately won his fourth consecutive Wimbledon Crown with 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3 and proved that he is still best in the business. But emergence of Nadal has proved that if Federer wants a place in All-time great, it won't be an easy journey with this hurdle always on his way and who knows like Pete Sampras Roland Garros might always allude Federer the emperor. See you at US OPEN :)

Don't ask a blogger about....

Don't ask a man's salary and a woman's age they say. What not to ask while talking to a blogger?






Source :- Pears Before Swine

How Brazil Lost

Need I say anything more? You decide if they deserved to win this one?

Wikimapia

Q. What happens when you take cross-product of Wikipedia and Google Maps?
A. Wikimapia

Wikiesque effort for tagging cities, helpful for Indian cities where Google Maps are not available (and high-resolution images for few major cities). You can search and tag your places here and even put it on your page (Shown below is my office, Read-Ink technologies).



Few other Bangalore landmarks :

• Read-Ink Technologies :)
  
• Bangalore Airport
  
• ChinnaSwamy Stadium

Riya Photo Search uses similar tagging technology for location-wise photo search.

(Link via Rupesh)

Update: It does work in Firefox :)

Bus Uncle

Haven't you seen Bus Uncle yet?



This video is now HUGE in Hong Kong and has led to many debate over work pressure and all. Bus Uncle's quote I face pressure, you face pressure has become a catch phrase in Hong Kong Junta. Post stories and related stories on India Uncut here.

Devil's Singer

Describe 2006 for music channels in two words :Yes you got it. Himesh Reshammiya. Reshammiya is not only sensation but also a secret, a mystery which remains unfolded. No one could quite understood. Despite far from being melodious, he was rocking all the music charts, not only as composer but also as a singer. Few people had their own doubts/suspicions/theories/hypothesis, but no one could quite prove it.

Some thought that his all-round abilities (singing and crying at same time that is) that earned him his popularity, but Anu Malik too had multi-facet personality i.e. composing (stealing that is), singing (crying that is), but he never got what he "deserved" and had to satisfy himself with face on TV singing Dekho Baarish ho rahi hai.. it's raining.. it's raining.. it's raining.. Mera Dil ro raha hai.. my heart is paining.. it's paining.. it's paining...

A huge set of conspiracy theorists thought that it was his uninque nasal singing that earned him respect, but then again wasn't Anu Malik unique too (i.e. the only singer in bollywood, who actually didn't sing). So after all, what is it??

Our team had our own hypothesis, but we being perfectionists and insisting on Bringing out truth out, no matter what. decided to dig further into this and we finally had a clue. We came to know about this and suddenly all jigsaw pieces seem to fall in the right place. With these interviews and further research we have found out the truth.

People say it was Sonu Nigam who insisted that Reshammiya should sing title song Aashiq Banaya Aapne instead of Sonu, which was followed by record and ear-breaking sales of Reshammiya music numbers. Seeds of success had been sown long before that. Evidences of Ghost-capturing incidences from Gujarat and Reshammiya being Gujarati is not a mere coincidence. It was a lonely night when Reshammiya was trying his hand at singing and while no one on the earth could bear it, his voice crossed three-dimensional frequency barriers and went far ahead and deeper than that until followers of the dark side compalined their lord. The Dark Lord contacted Reshammiya and urged/requested/petrified/stupified , but none of them worked. It wasn't until dark lord promised him success in our world (a la Keanu Reeves of Devil's Advocate ) that Reshammiya agreed to confine his voice to our world. Rest is history, but don't just write it off yet. There is more to it. Dark lord is happy with success of having found an apprentice to torture mere mortals, is signing permanent contract with Himesh Reshammiya on auspicious day of 6/6/6 and Reshammiya will be popular till eternity. It's your right to fight against the dark side, so please sign the petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/please_dont_let_us_rot_in_hell_for_rest_of_our_lives . Once having enough signature, we will forward it to the dark lord for reconsideration of his agreement. Remember your and future generations' future depends on you. Let's awake our generation. Together we can and we will make a difference.

PS:- This was really a poor attempt at Satire when half-asleep. Now that I am reading it again, I realise it and now I'll roll back and go back to Reshammiya following with my room mates.

Silver lining in the cloud

However cliche this may sound but that's what first came to my mind when I heard Advani's this quote.

Somebody has finally spoken up against current implementation of reservation. This doesn't indicate that he is against reservation, but atleast he is unhappy about the way it is implemented right now. Government's absurd, frustrating (for people ofcourse) way of forcing quota on us, was something much lesser than what we deserve as people of a democractic country.

I am not saying, Advani is a visionary or understanding politician, but his this step is much better than defeaning silence of not only congress but also opposition parties. There was hope when Left was talking about excluding creamy layer and all, but suddenly all was well for Congress after UPA meeting and Pranab Mukherjee blatantly declared proposal of the bill the monsoon session. Talk with Doctors, blah blah was suddenly vaporized and all hopes were shattered. Does this mean BJP will oppose reservation bill? May be not, but atleast this is better than what has been happening till now. Hope this boosts spirit of people seeking justice and transperancy.

This is really is funny...

Poor Inzy... He was already facing some competition from Younis Khan on captaincy front, now he has competition off the field too. When you watch India-Pakistan match, above anything else, you don't want to miss Inzybhai's speech at presentation ceremony. Typical speech goes like this.

Bismillah-e-rehman-e-rahim. First of all many thanks to Allah. We is played good cricket is today. But Indians is played more good than us...

and thus it goes. Now why I said he was facing competition? Oh right... He is now face to face with Indian media giant Hindustan Times, when it comes to stand-up comedy.

Read this article : Wild, wetty dreams

Inzybhai start innovating, else you're out of the business.

Some more links : India Uncut, Greatbong,Goose Egg

PS:- HT seemed to wake up after the article made news all around blogosphere, they did minor modifications and changed the title to "Wild, Witty dreams" !!!! That didn't seem enough and finally they have removed it from the website. You can find original unedited version here.

It's getting wild....

...here at Bangalore. It's first time after coming to Bangalore that I have seen so turbulent weather. Raining hard and high-speed wind. uuhhh.. I am loving it... :)

The One With Disappointment

It happens most of the time and it has happened again. Very few have managed to make sequel bigger and better than prequel, like T-2. (History proved itself with T-3 though). And History is repeating itself with Joey, a spin-off from mega-hit sitcom Friends.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S was hugely popular through out ten years it lasted. Contrary to its popularity, its Pilot received absymal ratings and people who watched pilot rated it as hackeneyed, but it started gaining popularity because of its humourous dialogues, sharp one-liners and well-knit subplots. Chandler, Matthew Perry, quoted in one of the interviews that other comedy shows like Seinfeld were great too, but what was different about Friends was that writers were not afraid to make some emotional subplots. Very true!!! But Friends never ceased to be a good comedy show, they never overdid emotions on the show and it remained huge hit.

On the other hand, JOEY had huge audience even before pilot was aired, because fans of FRIENDS wanted to see more of friends and it did open with huge audience, but it didn't live upto reputation of FRIENDS and it's no fault of audience. People would have definitely expected it to be as humourous as FRIENDS, but leave that alone it wasn't even "good" comedy. First of all, Characters aren't defined very well. We all know that Joey is stupid, food-lover and promiscuous and that's what we like about him, but when you overdo it, it's not that funny. His sister, Gina Tribbiani, is weird and his character is very confused. His nephew, Michael Tribbiani, is a genuis rocket-scientist, exactly opposite to his uncle. Acting-wise both Gina and Michael are mediocre. His Neighbour, Alex Garrett (Andrea Anders), on the other hand is rather cute and sweet. Her fear for Gina and her love for Joey sometimes touches you in otherwise loose plot. Obviously, Joey makers have failed miserably to recreate the magic created by David Crane and Marta Cauffman. Ratings have keep falling down and NBC have decided not to continue after second season and last episode of second season will be series finale. :-(

Despite all these, being an ardent FRIENDS fan, I keep watching Joey with hope of resurrection. I want to see silver lining in the black cloud. Hope that comes soon.

Scooping the Loop Snooper

Warning : Techie poem ahead. Read at your own risk.

An elementary proof of the undecidability of the halting problem

No program can say what another will do.
Now, I won't just assert that, I'll prove it to you:
I will prove that although you might work til you drop,
you can't predict whether a program will stop.

Imagine we have a procedure called P
that will snoop in the source code of programs to see
there aren't infinite loops that go round and around;
and P prints the word "Fine!" if no looping is found.

You feed in your code, and the input it needs,
and then P takes them both and it studies and reads
and computes whether things will all end as the should
(as opposed to going loopy the way that they could).

Well, the truth is that P cannot possibly be,
because if you wrote it and gave it to me,
I could use it to set up a logical bind
that would shatter your reason and scramble your mind.

Here's the trick I would use - and it's simple to do.
I'd define a procedure - we'll name the thing Q -
that would take and program and call P (of course!)
to tell if it looped, by reading the source;

And if so, Q would simply print "Loop!" and then stop;
but if no, Q would go right back to the top,
and start off again, looping endlessly back,
til the universe dies and is frozen and black.

And this program called Q wouldn't stay on the shelf;
I would run it, and (fiendishly) feed it itself.
What behaviour results when I do this with Q?
When it reads its own source, just what will it do?

If P warns of loops, Q will print "Loop!" and quit;
yet P is supposed to speak truly of it.
So if Q's going to quit, then P should say, "Fine!" -
which will make Q go back to its very first line!

No matter what P would have done, Q will scoop it:
Q uses P's output to make P look stupid.
If P gets things right then it lies in its tooth;
and if it speaks falsely, it's telling the truth!

I've created a paradox, neat as can be -
and simply by using your putative P.
When you assumed P you stepped into a snare;
Your assumptions have led you right into my lair.

So, how to escape from this logical mess?
I don't have to tell you; I'm sure you can guess.
By reductio, there cannot possibly be
a procedure that acts like the mythical P.

You can never discover mechanical means
for predicting the acts of computing machines.
It's something that cannot be done. So we users
must find our own bugs; our computers are losers!

by Geoffrey K. Pullum
Stevenson College
University of California
Santa Cruz, CA 95064

From Mathematics magazine VOL73. No. 4, Oct 2000 319-320

Online petitions

Best web business idea today is to create an Online petition website. No matter what happens, create an online petition, circulate round of emails all around the world and get satisfaction that you have started a "revolution" now it's "world's" responsibility to carry it on. No matter what topic is just start a petition. Whether William Hung goes out of American Idol or some Rahul chap goes out of Indian Idol, just create a petition and show your outrage. How many petitions have you signed till date? and how many of them had positive outcome? or for that matter any outcome?

I am reminded of a story here. Churchill used to instruct his subordinates to keep woods and axe ready for him when he returns after acidic public lectures to subside his anger. Petitiononline seems to be doing same thing for us. Just to subside our anger. We feel we have done our part and get back to our lives!!!

One such mail came to me asking to sign petition to protest against quota in IITs and IIMs. Although I support the cause, I strictly believe this is not the way out.
Slimshady aptly puts it in words...

1. We signed this petition when Akshardham was attacked and they went to varanasi
2. We signed this petition when an IITian got slaughtered and they moved to IIM
3. We signed this petition when a Girl got Desecrated and they moved to another
4. We are signing this petition now so that they can divide and rule


Needs to do something solid rather than merely signing petitions. Various students from different IITs have gone on hunger strike. I don't know if it's effective move but atleast stronger move than signing petition. They might end up like Rajeev Goswami in case of Mandal Comission but they are putting out their anger and not feeling satisfaction by putting their names on online forums.

Quote of the day : The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous....
--V for Vendetta

PS :- Although it may seem that it's contradicting to my stance on Blank Noise Project, but it isn't. Why you ask? Blank Noise Project had different purpose, different presentation and different audience. Read the need of Blank Noise Project here.

Being Cyrus

Once the game is over, The king and the pawn go into the same box.

With arrival of movies like Raincoat, Black, Iqbal, Page 3, Hazaaron Khwahishein aisi... Bollywood has proved that it's certainly moving forward and going to routes which has remained virgin to it. Being Cyrus is one such attempt. While others have attempted to go subtle. Being Cyrus is not only subtle, but also highly professional, stylish and well executed.

We see the movie through eyes of a young parsi, Cyrus Mistry. He joins family of Dinshaw Sethna, well-known pot-maker in the past and his wife Katy. What follows is a twisted story of Sethna family of Fardounjee Sethna and his sons, Dinshaw Sethna (Naseeruddin Shah) and Farokh Sethna (Boman Irani).

First half deals superbly with development of characters of both of the brothers, their father and their spouses. Homi Adjania, being a Parsi himself, gives superb look into the Parsi culture and mannerisms. Scenes like Boman Irani's encounter with his neigbour, Boman Irani's dealing with his father give a fair outlook. Second half starts a mystery where actual plot starts. Who is good? Who is bad? Who is killer? Who is victim? You never know!!!

Saif Ali Khan vowed to do film with a solo hero after Kal ho naa ho. At that point of time, he seemed overconfident, but in recent times he has definitely grown up into a decent actor. Boman Irani and Naseeruddin Shah are at their usual best. Simone Singh scores. Dimple Kapadia is adequate. Manoj Pahwa does more than what director might have hoped for him as Inspector Lovely.

At no point in movie you have dragging feeling. Editing is superb. Why not? Editing is taken care of by Jon Harris, who edited Guy Ritchie's Snatch. Camera work, Cinematography gives you an international feel. While other offbeats (Page 3, Iqbal) were different yet Indian, but this one is truly international class. Homi Adjania's work as a debutant is fabulous. Watch out for him, he's going to make big in new-age Hindi Cinema. Movie is a punch with its 90 minutes storyline. Highly recommended!!!

Other Reviews : Gaurav Sabnis, Rediff

PS:- This review has been cross-posted to InFiCa, where I am ahem...a movie critic now.