ROAARRRR....

When Ganguly announced his retirement from international cricket, the news dint affect me much as I missed Ganguly the ODI player more, but when he signed the camera on the last day of Border Gavaskar trophy, the feeling that Dada will not wear a cap adorned by the Indian crest left me shaken and stirred, as millions like me grew up watching Sachin and Sourav open the innings.

Rarely does a glittering cricket career in India end on a high. But Dada's career of controversies and centuries did. India's favourite southpaw retired from INternational cricket, provoked by the BCCIs( Vengsarkar,you bloody swine) baffling decision to drop him from Challenger series.

After announcing his arrival at the international arena in England with a bang, he has spent most of his career in the shadow of Sachin, popping out sporadically by match winning knocks and controversies! In the sport stricken city of Kolkatta, the young Ganguly had a brief fling at soccer but found his destiny in cricket,pursued it with all his heart, rose above all the odds and reached it in stlye.

During his debut century at Lords on a swinging wicket,during his fearless slaying of Pakistani attack in the INdependane cup final at Dhaka, during his five wicket haul at Toronto, during his topless jersey waving act at Lords signalling India's resurgence, during his career best ODI knock which came against Srilanka and during his classy century at Sydney, we have always unflinchingly supported and cheered the Prince of Kolkatta. And the vociferous roaring of the crowd in Eden Gardens when the Bengal Tiger walks down to bat, hunts down and rips apart the opposition bowling attack, is one of the most brilliant sights in any country and in any sport.

Innumerous times we've seen the Dada taking on spinners,treating them like high school fellas and whacking them out of) the park by dancing down the pitch fearlessly and arrogantly ; the way he pierces a packed offside field during the first 15 overs with ease, the way he pierces a packed offside field during non-powerplay overs with elegance and natural flair, the way he creates room and slams thunderously a boundary... All these beautiful moments which ascertain Sunny's statement. "On the offside, first there is God and then Ganguly".
And for atheists like me, he is the God of offside. Yeah, the He of offside.

An unrelenting warrior in heart,a journalist-friendly controversialist, a successful captain, a mentor for youngsters, a loving dad and husband, one of the world's greatest to wield the willow... Sourav C. Ganguly. Thanks for all the hours when you left millions rooted to the couch before the TV,whistling and hooting in sheer joy.

This is just a tribute to our Dada. Mind you, I havent yet started to exaggerate about Him :)



RECORDS THAT YOU MAY NOT BE AWARE OF
-First Indian to score an ODI century against Australia in Australia.
-Highest ODI runs scorer in the world (in a calendar year) in 1997,1999,2000.
-Second in the list of highest number of centuries in a single calendar year ever. 7 centuries in 2000
-He is also the only player to win 4 consecutive man of the match awards in ODIs
-His Test average has never been less than 40.
-Hold the record of most 200+ ODI partnerships (6 times) along with Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting
-Sourav, along with Sachin Tendulkar, formed by far the most successful opening pair in One Day Cricket, having amassed the highest number of century partnerships (26) for the first wicket. Together, they have scored more than 7000 runs at an average of 48.98, now with Sachin he is a world record holder for creating most no. of 50 run partnership in the first wicket(44 fifties)
-Third player to cross 10,000 ODI runs and so far the fastest in ODI history, after Sachin Tendulkar. He also reached 6000, 7000, 8000 and 9000 ODI runs milestones in the fewest number of matches.

PADMA 'SIRI'

Cinema can either embrace pure entertainment or send across a social welfare message to the masses. No other industry in the world (as far as I know) has a breed of comedians who form an essential (not adjunct) part of at least 9 out of every 10 movies that hit the screens. And Kollywood has been embellished by full-fledged comedians for the past 6 decades.
Myriad reporters have taken innumerous potshots at Kollywood for producing baseless masala movies. But its not any star’s presence that makes such movies bearable. The only silver lining is the comedy track!

Madhuri Dixit and AIshwarya Rai are few of the undeserving winners of the fourth highest civilian honor, Padma Shri. Both the heroines have done only 1/10th of the number of movies that veteran actor Nagesh has acted in. Both just act out the script written by the director, unlike Nagesh!
Take Madhuri Dixit’s case. She was awarded the Padma SHri for presumably popularizing Indian dance while there are women who have dedicated their lives for dance, like Shobana! And moreover she was living in USA when the award was announced. Someone feed some sense into the Padma Shri awards nominating committee!
Aishwarya Rai , former Miss World has not won even a single national award for acting in her life! So the Padma Shri is arguably for her looks!

The government has always ignored and failed to acknowledge the unparalleled entertainment provided by the comedians of our nation. Nagesh and the rest truly deserve a Padma Shri. For Ash can stun people with her pretty looks and MAdhuri can mesmerize people with her dance, but it’s the rare breed of full-fledged comedians who can bring a smile to your face and have you in splitsJ !
This post is a tribute to a man who has enthralled the masses with his humorous acting on screen and later with subtle cameos in a number of movies.
You’ve made your fans do something that you’ve never done before… you made them shed tears for the first time (on your demise)… Fuck Padma Shri… May you rest in peace, Padma ‘Siri’ Nagesh…

My Journo Avatar!

Saarang 09 - the Fourth Estate event.
Prelims - Of the four topics given below, an original article should be mailed to the Fourth Estate organising team.

1. Catastrophes in 2008 so far.
2. Nuclear Trust Vote.
3. Prevailing Economic crisis around the world.
4. Legendary rivalries in sports.

Naturally, I chose the last topic, penned down an article about Real Madrid-Barca rivalry and sent the unedited version erroneously on Sunday, the last day for submission! And during electronics lab today, while I casually browsed through saarang's fourth estate page in my mobile, I found my name in the shortlist for the finals !! The first phase of the finals requires the finalists to choose any event in Saarang, prepare a report and present it on stage. In the second phase, the participants will be shown a video and given a few minutes off the record to prepare. The participants are expected to report "live" on the video shown to them. In short, I have to act, think and be a reporter for the next two days, presenting news and maybe even creating them!



THE EIGHTY YEARS WAR…

A civil war bisecting the nation, a battle not manifested by artillery army tanks and bloodshed, a cold contest that is not fought for imperialistic or monetary reasons… This is Real Madrid v Barcelona FC – a politically charged rivalry dividing Spain, militated by 22 ‘soccerors’ for salvaging the pride of their club, the ideologies of their respective culture and moreover living the dreams of the soccer crazy Spanish supporters.
SPAIN – During El Clasico !

The rivalry can be traced back to the troubled times of Spanish Civil War, when Real Madrid was the face of the despotic dictatorship and Barca echoed every Catalan’s cry for a democratic nation. Barca was a symbol of defiance against Fransesco Franco’s dictatorship and the regime was behind Real Madrid. The clubs were seen as representatives of two rival regions in Spain, Catalonia and Castile. While the Catalans voiced their demand for a separate nation, Real Madrid (Castilians) tried to reassert its authority over the nation.

The Spanish giants locked horns for the first time in 1929. The match, which rewrote the grammar of a sporting rivalry, was eyed as a clash of two nationalisms, as the clubs played not only for the 3 points but also for honor and pride. Immediately after the Spanish Civil war, the friction and intensity of the enmity reached astronomical heights and the Catalans gave vent to their feelings through the El Clasico.

NOU CAMP (BARCA)

SANTIAGO BERNABEU(REAL MADRID)

HEAD TO HEAD: (WINS) BARCA -59 REALMADRID - 68

.
"For Catalans, who see themselves as a nation that has lost so much politically, economically, and socially, a win against Real Madrid is especially pleasurable” remarked Jordi Josep Salvador, a Spanish sports affairs specialist. For the Catalans, Barcelona FC is more than a club( mes que un club). The El Clasico has seen footballic poetry from the finest pairs of legs in soccer history… Johan Cruyff, Maradona, Alfred Di Stefano, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Figo.

In war, there is no prize for runner-up. Barca and Real Madrid know it and this classic rivalry has produced some captivating matches, a few controversies that has hogged headlines and also legendary footballers, thus placing it in a stratosphere far ahead of any other sporting rivalry. Both the clubs have always had several local players from Youth Academies, who grew up with El Clasico’s intense history imbued in their blood. They make sure the rest of the team doesn’t forget that a lot more is at stake than mere points. The crowd chants and inspires their home team vociferously (if there was a roof in the stadium, it would be blown off by the thunderous sound!) while remaining hostile and intimidating to the visiting team with loud booing and shrill whistling.

Alfred di Stefano (the Argentinean legend) was up for grabs in the mid 40s and both the clubs were involved in an intense race to sign him up. He eventually joined Real Madrid; a decision alleged to be influenced by political pressures which led the club to unprecedented glory in the following years. The real fireworks though fly when a player leaves one of the two Spanish giants and joins the other. Luis Figo of Portugal moved from Barca to Real Madrid and he was welcomed frostily at Nou Camp, Barca’s stadium, with suckling fried pig heads and the like. Every time he came close to the touchline, a flurry of missiles and libelous words rained from the stimulated crowd in the stands. The match was ferociously fought and Barca eventually triumphed 2-0.

Eighty years have passed, nearly 200 matches have been played, Fransesco Franco is six feet under pushing up daisies, Spanish Civil War is only a part of history books, but this fierce battle will continue, as it is more than a game to the Spaniards… Més Que Un Game!

THE WHITE TIGERS

“India may not have electricity or drinking water or proper roads or sewage system, but it certainly does have thousands of entrepreneurs, most in the field of technology where they have set up outsourcing companies that virtually run America. “ – Says Aravind Adiga in his book, The White Tiger.

India was on the verge of becoming the global H.Q of IT industry. B.E graduates kept changing their jobs – as often as nasty fights in the parliament – with higher paychecks and a plushier lifestyle. Night life was at its best and pubs were overflowing with working class youngsters. Indians working in outsourcing companies and call centers – a place where Ramasamys, Navins and Vimalas pretend to be Romarios, Nevilles and Victorias to their lazy American callers and make them understand that the monitor has to be plugged to the CPU for watching a movie! – were being paid well and most made it their permanent job.

But a series of unexpected financial disasters, with many banks and insurance companies claiming bankruptcy, led to an economic meltdown. This financial crisis is the worst ever recorded since the Great Depression. Economic Meltdown, Global recession, Pink Slips… Words and phrases of the business jargon have become household terms.

Delaying any salary hike and also reducing the salary caps; large-scale layoffs are the methods that companies have resorted to for battling the ongoing financial crisis. The pubs are nearly deserted, party-animals have reverted to their normal self and window-shoppers have outnumbered actual shoppers by a whopping margin in super-malls. And students have been hit hard by this economic recession. People who kept changing jobs at will are clinging on to their jobs desperately with fear pangs clouding over their job security (comparable to the insecure post of Pakistan Cricket coach!).

An even imminent danger that pundits envision is unemployment, a word that has lost its fame ever since the IT industry invaded our country. Images of Kollywood movies that thrived on the subject of unemployment juxtaposes in my mind as I try to visualize the ominous impending situation. The heroes of the 90s used to wear intensely sparking shiny shirts and baggy jeans. And they went around the city wooing a girl and finally winning her… A seemingly happy ending but the guy did not have any job to make a living! These scenes, which seemed obscure to me during the IT boom, are now gaining more relevance !

In these troubled times when such images, buried under the garbage heaped behind video shops in the form of video cassettes, come alive and haunt us, one word stands out as a solution… ENTREPRENEUR.An entrepreneur is someone who organizes a business venture and assumes the risk for it. Reading between the lines, the word risk is to be noted. 1/3rd of the entrepreneurs are lucky silver spooned morons*, who own companies that have been bequeathed by their fathers. While the rest – the rare breed – have had to grind hard and sweat it out to smell success. These self-made entrepreneurs are unperturbed by recessions and undisturbed by any financial crisis…shaken but not stirred. Man usually performs well in a nothing-else-to-lose situation and most of the self-made entrepreneurs, who have defied the Murphy’s Law and risen against the odds, are stellar examples of it.

Millions of college goers in our nation, after under-graduation, head for higher studies or take up a subservient job at an MNC. But very few students have treaded the road less travelled and become self-made entrepreneurs, scaling heights that other people can only dream of. And classifying them according to the states, there are effectively very few in each region which makes them a special one-in-a-million phenomenon… Like the few white tigers in a large tiger population!

The world is hot, flat and crowded. Thinking out of the box, however whacky it is, can turn out to be fruitful. If everyone in the world had taken up an ordinary nine-to-five**, i.e, without any new self-made entrepreneurs… you wouldn’t be using the PC or the iPod, had Steve Jobs and Bill Gates chosen to take up normal jobs; had Evan Williams not launched Pyra Labs, you wouldn’t even be reading this blog !

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*An expletive for those lucky morons coz my dad doesn’t own a company** With call centers and BPOs, the phrase ‘nine-to-five’ is no longer very relevant!

Twilight

G.I.Joes...Maggi...Tazoos...Center fresh cricket player cards...DD...Shakalaka Boom Boom...Frontyard rubber ball cricket...Shattered windowpanes...Pepsi tin stumps ...Velvet pencils...Magic Pop...Business...Monopoly...Book Cricket...Rides in the classic Fiat car...Hindi Tuitions...Mean big bro...Paper-Rubberband weapons...Chakra Skating...Hanaplast...Cousins...64 in 1 video games...Tom n Jerry...T-Bone ~~ Twilight street cricket...Duplicate audio casettes...Remuki puffs...Re.1 pepsi ...Paper boats in the rain...Crocin...Re.1 picture charts for projects...Playing football in the hall...Irking Granny...Backyard trees...Ripe berries... Powercuts ...Enid Blyton...Bright evenings...The Hindu (big enough for me to hide behind) and Milo...Half polished shoes...Carrom n Chess...HW diary sign forgery...Sideyard garden...Chitchat with Thatha... Evenings in the 90s...Smiling eyes.


Nokia King King game...Pizzas...Just Lays chips...Cric Info...Cable TV...ESPN...EPL ...EA Sports Cricket 08...Windows XP system hang...Overpriced tins...Parkers and Sheaffers...Death by Chocolate...Board games getting predated by insects...Driving TATA Indigo...Tutions for everything except Hindi...Bro in Indore...Rubberbands only in the office room...Forgotten rollers...Videogame set tucked away in the loft ...EPL...Lollu Sabha...Empty streets in the twilight...Bazaar Audio DVDs...Barren piece of land at Remuki...Appy Fizz...Water puddles longing for boats... Wikipedia+CtrlC +Ctrl V +Ctrl P for projects...Granny irked by my absence... Backyard trees...Rotten 'unplucked' berries...UPS...Sidney and Jeffrey...Bright evenings...Yahoo! messenger...Slippers...Max Payne...Cell phone to-do list...Sideyard garden...Lonely thatha... Memories of evenings in the 90s...Wet eyes.