Have been watching the news for last few days and news channels have been doing follow ups on the anniversary of one of the worst disasters in my living memory. It has been a year since tsunami devastated the Asian shores. I can still remember how it was a Sunday brunch where people who didn't know the gravity of it all, including me, were discussing as to how there were some tremors and reported earthquakes in bangalore and some similar news from chennai. After learning the depth of tragedy, we realized how mind numbing news it was we all scrapped the plans of new year celebration then.
this year too there doesn't seem to be any respite from the tragedies. Hurricanes, cyclones and earthquakes seem to be just following up in line after tsunami. Its Xmas day today and air hangs heavy all around me. Here in Dhaka every celebration of new year will happen under heavy apprehensions of mishaps that are lurking around the corner all the time and these are not just nature's wrath but man's own devices.
Buzzwords of the year have been freedom and I guess it has been made just all the more elusive this year and for years to come...Hope shall be the word for the years to come. Hoping and living....
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Foggy days ... Foggy ways
I think foggy days in north India have coincided just in time with foggy ways in which Indian cricket team gets selected. Every Indian cricket team selection invites plenty of opinions. This time it was specially so given the fact that so much drama had been created before selection over Ganguly's career. Drama and episodes were so interesting that it looked straight out of Ekta Kapoor 's production house. The bandhs, the effigies, Rajsingh Dungarpur's comments and late night parlays between the BCCI president and Ganguly generated so much media heat that it became bigger than return of Mihir in Tulsi or who got crowned for which idol title.
It is really sad that Ganguly had been picked up in the Indian team under these circumstances and his meetings with Sharad Pawar and results thereafter don't leave a good taste in mouth. The way meeting was being described by BCCI spokesperson and the timing of it just didn't gel. Just imagine at 10 in the night or so, ex Indian captain and BCCI president would sit together to discuss health of Indian Cricket or dire straits of individual's cricketing career.
There can never be a perfect selection criteria in cricket unless there are right selection parameters. In athletics normally best top performances at a selection trial decide as to who makes the cut. But team sports sometimes don't have the luxury of such clear yardsticks.
Cricket being game of uncertainties, doesn't lend itself so well to be measured by pure statistics but I think normally current form of the players has always been a good yardstick. And I think BCCI should really evolve a good system of individual player's performance points and ranking system to aid the selection committee. This will help make things transparent enough and make players hit the grounds more often than the BCCI officials' doorsteps to get selected. Hope that will stop Mr. Sidhu from raving and ranting about puppet shows.
It is really sad that Ganguly had been picked up in the Indian team under these circumstances and his meetings with Sharad Pawar and results thereafter don't leave a good taste in mouth. The way meeting was being described by BCCI spokesperson and the timing of it just didn't gel. Just imagine at 10 in the night or so, ex Indian captain and BCCI president would sit together to discuss health of Indian Cricket or dire straits of individual's cricketing career.
There can never be a perfect selection criteria in cricket unless there are right selection parameters. In athletics normally best top performances at a selection trial decide as to who makes the cut. But team sports sometimes don't have the luxury of such clear yardsticks.
Cricket being game of uncertainties, doesn't lend itself so well to be measured by pure statistics but I think normally current form of the players has always been a good yardstick. And I think BCCI should really evolve a good system of individual player's performance points and ranking system to aid the selection committee. This will help make things transparent enough and make players hit the grounds more often than the BCCI officials' doorsteps to get selected. Hope that will stop Mr. Sidhu from raving and ranting about puppet shows.
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Stray thoughts
Was watching last ODI between SA and India. After Gambhir's grave miscue what followed was the Sehwags hits and misses. While he missed some good and bad balls...he played one extraordinary over of action against Pollock. The shots were so ruthlessly executed that Pollock seemed resigned to fate knowing little how fate would smile on him again. Alas luck didn't help SA all the way neither did the valiant efforts of their bowlers who relied heavily on fire from the hand and mouth both ( specially Nel....) as Dravid the wall staked claim to the pitch and stayed till the end to make the series 2 all.
I don't know if I have a dirty mind or what ... but watching Sehwag and Dravid's contrasting styles in batting my mind wavered and wondered as to what approach these two might be having in bed :).... One in for long haul... and one bang bang till the lady luck lasts.... but sure lady must be over the top as long as Sehwag lasts. Did extend the thoughts to various styles of bowling, batting and fielding.. :) but I guess that some other day
I don't know if I have a dirty mind or what ... but watching Sehwag and Dravid's contrasting styles in batting my mind wavered and wondered as to what approach these two might be having in bed :).... One in for long haul... and one bang bang till the lady luck lasts.... but sure lady must be over the top as long as Sehwag lasts. Did extend the thoughts to various styles of bowling, batting and fielding.. :) but I guess that some other day
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Why cant a woman be more like a man ?
professor higgins uttered those lines in frustration i guess. but really why ?
i was wondering as to what makes people have different perceptions as men and women?
is this our physiological make up and functions that herd the men to think in one way and women in the other?
i guess that was largely the case in last century when roles were so deeply divided but today when men and women actually share the same ambitions much of this puzzle should fall into place. but still there remains the elusive issue what women want ?
is this just one power quest of subspecies....?
i was wondering as to what makes people have different perceptions as men and women?
is this our physiological make up and functions that herd the men to think in one way and women in the other?
i guess that was largely the case in last century when roles were so deeply divided but today when men and women actually share the same ambitions much of this puzzle should fall into place. but still there remains the elusive issue what women want ?
is this just one power quest of subspecies....?
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Snapshots Dhaka
over the period of time i have come across some interesting scenes in dhaka..
.
P1010022
Originally uploaded by krautela.
More shall follow in future ..............or u can see them all on my flickr
.
P1010022
Originally uploaded by krautela.
More shall follow in future ..............or u can see them all on my flickr
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Hearts are not shaken maybe
Last night caught NDTV's program on Kashmir earthquake ( I think it is not appropriate to divide the pain into occupied territories). Barkha Dutt was speaking to people in the valley and maybe trying to get their voices heard. She made observation that the corporate India hasn't reacted as fast and as much as it did in case of the Tsunami.
Though I have the disadvantage of being far away from the scene but I get a feeling that whole of India has not reacted enough to this disaster.
hope I am wrong.
As an aside some section are now commenting that GOD has punished USA and its allies by sending down its wrath on them, katrina/ rita/ earthquake/floods/ bird flu!!! Just cant believe why someone's misfortune should be allowed to become another's propaganda plank!!
Though I have the disadvantage of being far away from the scene but I get a feeling that whole of India has not reacted enough to this disaster.
hope I am wrong.
As an aside some section are now commenting that GOD has punished USA and its allies by sending down its wrath on them, katrina/ rita/ earthquake/floods/ bird flu!!! Just cant believe why someone's misfortune should be allowed to become another's propaganda plank!!
Monday, October 17, 2005
A Team that never was
Ist Innings Total (all out, 65.3 overs, 303 mins) 199
IInd Innings Total (all out, 50 overs, 204 mins) 144
These two score cards read without context would lead you to believe that a team like Bangladesh or Zimbawe
got caught into some unfair fight with stronger teams. But these are the scores of the ICC world XI, handpicked
by the expert committee, the best players in the world!! a team that doesnt lack quality by any standards, a team
that has performers who have been in best form even 1 month prior to the whole tamasha!!
I think England's performance and this current result puts the whole issue of team game into right perspective.
It is not the quantity of quality players alone but the spirit and passion of the team that plays a big role and a team
doesnt get built in one day...!!
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Rich Man's Fence
Offlate BBC has been showing news about a border fence in Spanish Moroccan border. When you see the CCTV footage it almost looks like one of those war movie scenes that were made about brave soldiers escaping German prisions during world war II. Only difference here is that these are not prisioners of war but prisioners of poverty. Only that this time they have guards outside the fence and not inside the fence.
What would be America or Africa like if those people could build their fences and guard them with same ferocity as the Spanish Police. Guess rich man's fence does a better job. But for how long? is the question..!!
What would be America or Africa like if those people could build their fences and guard them with same ferocity as the Spanish Police. Guess rich man's fence does a better job. But for how long? is the question..!!
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Gandhi Ji Specials
I was watching SUN tv at home recently ( occupational hazard :) ) and they were showing their weekend movie promos during the breaks. The movie was our normal formula india movie with song and dance sequences, logic defying stunts and violence and also ample style a la rajni ( every tamil hero seems to be content to ape him in the name of acting.... gone are the days when people used to follow shivaji ganesan as an acting school).
you would say this is nothing new .... what made it special was the tag line in promos... "Gandhi Jayanthi Special Movie " ... I guess Gandhi Ji must be squirming on his rose petal bed in heaven seeing what is being dished out in his name ...
you would say this is nothing new .... what made it special was the tag line in promos... "Gandhi Jayanthi Special Movie " ... I guess Gandhi Ji must be squirming on his rose petal bed in heaven seeing what is being dished out in his name ...
Gandhi Jayanthi Special Movie (16:00 Hrs IST) - 02/10/2005
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Sunday, September 25, 2005
Roof of the world
Yesterday I got a mail from my cousin. I guess that's as mundane as getting your morning newspaper ( though that's not mundane in some parts of the world these days). My cousin had been gone on the trip to her village which in Nepal ( Our community is spread across the Indo Nepal border) and I wasn't expecting to hear from her for atleast 1 month till she made it down to the plains of Uttaranchal where we have the last outposts of decent internet speeds.
as one goes up in uttaranchal hills one slowly sheds away the modern civilization's taken for granted gadgets one after the other. As you go past Almora and Pithoragarh on my side of the Uttaranchal you should say good bye to your cell phones and email. As you would cross the last point like Tawaghat you should say goodbye to modern day version of Mr. Ford's gift to mankind ( though on a good day you can go some 30-40 kilometers further on wheels). Then as you make your way further up you would start sorely missingly Thomas Alva Edison's ubiquitous invention called light bulb and you will have make do with gas lanterns ( thank god for Indane ). You may see them occasionally but even those poor things have forgotten why they are there. In the Nepal side you maynot be so lucky and would have to go back a few decades further back in time.
She had gone to Kailash Mansarovar ( it is easier to go there if you are Nepalese citizen) and was now in the small trading post called Taklakot in Tibet. So this e-mail coming not more than 100 kilometers away on the other side of the border from this little Tibetan hamlet( we call it Kidang) , pleasantly surprised me and made me green with envy ( This area of Tibet was entirely dependent on supplies from Indian and Nepalese traders for things as basic as Salt till 1980's). to rub it in they have cellphones too!!! In a so called occupied territory China is able to get internet and mobile servies working and here we are the IT giants of the world leaving rest of the nation dependent on good old postal system at best ( occasionally helped by age old Wireless systems from ITBP). And believe you me ITBP camp is able to watch Satellite channels there with the help of a genset and dish antennas.
as one goes up in uttaranchal hills one slowly sheds away the modern civilization's taken for granted gadgets one after the other. As you go past Almora and Pithoragarh on my side of the Uttaranchal you should say good bye to your cell phones and email. As you would cross the last point like Tawaghat you should say goodbye to modern day version of Mr. Ford's gift to mankind ( though on a good day you can go some 30-40 kilometers further on wheels). Then as you make your way further up you would start sorely missingly Thomas Alva Edison's ubiquitous invention called light bulb and you will have make do with gas lanterns ( thank god for Indane ). You may see them occasionally but even those poor things have forgotten why they are there. In the Nepal side you maynot be so lucky and would have to go back a few decades further back in time.
She had gone to Kailash Mansarovar ( it is easier to go there if you are Nepalese citizen) and was now in the small trading post called Taklakot in Tibet. So this e-mail coming not more than 100 kilometers away on the other side of the border from this little Tibetan hamlet( we call it Kidang) , pleasantly surprised me and made me green with envy ( This area of Tibet was entirely dependent on supplies from Indian and Nepalese traders for things as basic as Salt till 1980's). to rub it in they have cellphones too!!! In a so called occupied territory China is able to get internet and mobile servies working and here we are the IT giants of the world leaving rest of the nation dependent on good old postal system at best ( occasionally helped by age old Wireless systems from ITBP). And believe you me ITBP camp is able to watch Satellite channels there with the help of a genset and dish antennas.
Mom and Motorcycle Diaries
Last night Dhaka was laced with the series of some serious thunder and shower experience. Just when AB was steering KBC2 through into the lakhs zone with one of the very few south indian contestant ( hopefuls is better word I guess) our cable TV feed was struck down by wrath of the gods.
With nothing better to do I put on the Motorcycle Diaries ( which was somehow not getting its turn in my hectic tele schedule ). It is a lovely thought provoking film. The 10000 + kilometers journey of 2 young men (Ernesto Che Guevara & Alberto Granado )through the south american countries in 1952. The journey, their experiences and their gradual transformation really leave deep impressions. One could see as to how a shy medical student would have turned into revolutionary and later in life ( even more in death) become a legend.
As they pass thru land of Incas and see the magnificence of the ruins of ancient civilization and see the plight of their generation of that race. The ruins and the current generations reflect the same fate, neglected and exploited by the conquerors from outside.
Though there is no apparent connection but first thought that came to my mind was, wish my uneducated mother could see this film. I sat and wondered what if my mother had the opportunity to read the same books and movies that I get to read and see? What would she be like?... What would I have been like ?
Now that mothers and fathers of next generation are able to do this .... what would be tomorrow's world like...? Wish I was my own son or daughter :)
With nothing better to do I put on the Motorcycle Diaries ( which was somehow not getting its turn in my hectic tele schedule ). It is a lovely thought provoking film. The 10000 + kilometers journey of 2 young men (Ernesto Che Guevara & Alberto Granado )through the south american countries in 1952. The journey, their experiences and their gradual transformation really leave deep impressions. One could see as to how a shy medical student would have turned into revolutionary and later in life ( even more in death) become a legend.
As they pass thru land of Incas and see the magnificence of the ruins of ancient civilization and see the plight of their generation of that race. The ruins and the current generations reflect the same fate, neglected and exploited by the conquerors from outside.
Though there is no apparent connection but first thought that came to my mind was, wish my uneducated mother could see this film. I sat and wondered what if my mother had the opportunity to read the same books and movies that I get to read and see? What would she be like?... What would I have been like ?
Now that mothers and fathers of next generation are able to do this .... what would be tomorrow's world like...? Wish I was my own son or daughter :)
Friday, September 23, 2005
wild flower
I was reading in rajesh jain's emergic.org about how the entrepreneurship in India is not taking off and the reason suspected was the cushy jobs and high salaries offered to potential ones by the big (rich) companies ( multinationals).
as is the way of the world to pluck the beautiful flowers from the wild and then to put them in the vase on a beautiful pedestal next to some beautiful painting. Flower is so happy that he is well fed and doesn't have to grapple with vagaries of weather in the hostile outdoors...and is in hallowed company instead of some two bit grass and irritating and ugly thorns. But then soon comes the day when flower withers, loses its sheen and novelty; it gets flushed out and in comes the new young and beautiful replacement.....
out there in the wild flower might have weathered many storms and some day would have laid the path for next generation of beautiful flowers .... flowers that would have been unique with the nature's mysterious gifts....
I hope u get my drift ....
as is the way of the world to pluck the beautiful flowers from the wild and then to put them in the vase on a beautiful pedestal next to some beautiful painting. Flower is so happy that he is well fed and doesn't have to grapple with vagaries of weather in the hostile outdoors...and is in hallowed company instead of some two bit grass and irritating and ugly thorns. But then soon comes the day when flower withers, loses its sheen and novelty; it gets flushed out and in comes the new young and beautiful replacement.....
out there in the wild flower might have weathered many storms and some day would have laid the path for next generation of beautiful flowers .... flowers that would have been unique with the nature's mysterious gifts....
I hope u get my drift ....
Friday, September 16, 2005
SECULARISM
Being a Hindu is such a convenient thing....you don't have to know the whole drill in your daily life..
when one is in India the services of priests etc is always available to perform the religious rites and I guess Hindu religion is one of the few that require holi blessings for all things in life.
So this morning I had to get a small pooja done for the new office. Normally we have one of our female colleagues who is expert on this kind of thing. It so happened that "nalla neram" ( proverbial good time) and her time of the month collided and left us male colleagues grappling with the situation. Being in Bangladesh we don't have any local Hindu colleague. Our expat junta is mix of Hindu, Muslim and Christian.
so in the end four of us... one muslim, one christian and two hindus performed pooja...( and muslim and christian were the ones who had more contribution then 2 of us)
how about that for a story on SECULARISM...:)
when one is in India the services of priests etc is always available to perform the religious rites and I guess Hindu religion is one of the few that require holi blessings for all things in life.
So this morning I had to get a small pooja done for the new office. Normally we have one of our female colleagues who is expert on this kind of thing. It so happened that "nalla neram" ( proverbial good time) and her time of the month collided and left us male colleagues grappling with the situation. Being in Bangladesh we don't have any local Hindu colleague. Our expat junta is mix of Hindu, Muslim and Christian.
so in the end four of us... one muslim, one christian and two hindus performed pooja...( and muslim and christian were the ones who had more contribution then 2 of us)
how about that for a story on SECULARISM...:)
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Dhaka Bombs
In one day Bangladesh has been , reportedly, hit by 48 separate small bomb explosion incidents.
One has been reported within a kilometer radius from where I work, close to US embassy!! The whole city has been gripped by fear, phones were buzzing all around. Everyone asking everyoneelse, rumour mills in full swing. Some 40+ injured are reported and no deaths, but the minds have been stung. It is understood now that some fundamentalist faction wants country to be ruled by Islamic laws and this is the warning bell. This is the day when Baghdad gets hit as well with 40 deaths.. and bangladeshis dont who to sympathize with.
I think we the humans have hit some self destruct code in evolution....the slow death is on!!!
DAILY STAR DHAKA REPORTED O 18/05/2005
459 blasts in 63 districts in 30 minutes
2 killed; 100 hurt; all explosives were time bombs; Jama'atul Mujahideen leaflets found
MORE PICTURES AT DAILYSTAR
One has been reported within a kilometer radius from where I work, close to US embassy!! The whole city has been gripped by fear, phones were buzzing all around. Everyone asking everyoneelse, rumour mills in full swing. Some 40+ injured are reported and no deaths, but the minds have been stung. It is understood now that some fundamentalist faction wants country to be ruled by Islamic laws and this is the warning bell. This is the day when Baghdad gets hit as well with 40 deaths.. and bangladeshis dont who to sympathize with.
I think we the humans have hit some self destruct code in evolution....the slow death is on!!!
DAILY STAR DHAKA REPORTED O 18/05/2005
459 blasts in 63 districts in 30 minutes
2 killed; 100 hurt; all explosives were time bombs; Jama'atul Mujahideen leaflets found
MORE PICTURES AT DAILYSTAR
Monday, August 15, 2005
ID15
It has been more than 15 years since I had attended any independence day functions. Yesterday I received the mailer from Indian high commission informing that a fucntion will be held by high commission with flag hoisting and all that goes with it. I was just toying with the idea to go and see what it would be like as the old school memories had been rekindled. Then in the night another expat friend called up asking if I want to be up at 7 and go for the function( a real big deal these days). Independence for India is a day of mourning for Bangladesh ( at least for one political section these days) in the memory of brutal killing of Sheikh Mujib (fondly known as Bangbandhu). Interestingly his political party had called for half day strike this morning thus making 3 minutes drive to the Indian High Commission ground a 10 minute rickshaw ride ( Dhaka becomes rickshaw paradise on the days of strike as they are the only vehicle with license to ply ).
It was interesting to see national flag hoisting and singing of national anthem, we had just barely made to it after our long winding search for the Indian High Commission grounds ( yes we are not as prominent embassy as some might imagine given our common history). Indian high commissioner then told us that she would read President of India's address to the nation, being a first timer I thought why she cant make her own speech but then it is maybe required for a by the book ceremony. I dont know if people in India still tune to, address to nation by president anymore in this day and age of saas bahu dramas, myself hasnt done that in ages ( boy aged I have ). After listening to the speech I must say that in the history of all the democracies in the world, I dare say first time, we have a president who is so tuned to the modern times and has the right thought arsenal to suggest some reasonable blueprnit for future of the nation. But alas he can only make suggestions and has no power to see them implemented ( maybe I underestimate power of suggestion, I havent had success with it as yet). To say the least his speech was informative and practical and most of all one could say for sure that it was written by himself as well( unlike so many other presidents before).
Amidst all this the thing I remembered most was "Boondi Ke Laddoo"!! ( alas it was missing from the "Alpahaar" offered by Indian Embassy). This was mainstay of almost all my schools' independence day functions. When I was living in school hostel, we were so unsatisfied with the limited quantities on offer that some would take it upon themselves to make the stuff in the room. This was I guess our first steps in learning of entrepreneurship and partnerships. More often than not these endeavours ended up in sour experiences ( not literally). We discovered that after going thru the process of making the stuff one didnt feel the craving as we had imagined or experienced before. Then the sharing of the produce would lead to unhappy endings of partnerships, resulting into tools of the enterprise being literally broken into pieces. Still... those were the best days of my life... ( thanks for to Bryan Adams to make those words so popular).
It was interesting to see national flag hoisting and singing of national anthem, we had just barely made to it after our long winding search for the Indian High Commission grounds ( yes we are not as prominent embassy as some might imagine given our common history). Indian high commissioner then told us that she would read President of India's address to the nation, being a first timer I thought why she cant make her own speech but then it is maybe required for a by the book ceremony. I dont know if people in India still tune to, address to nation by president anymore in this day and age of saas bahu dramas, myself hasnt done that in ages ( boy aged I have ). After listening to the speech I must say that in the history of all the democracies in the world, I dare say first time, we have a president who is so tuned to the modern times and has the right thought arsenal to suggest some reasonable blueprnit for future of the nation. But alas he can only make suggestions and has no power to see them implemented ( maybe I underestimate power of suggestion, I havent had success with it as yet). To say the least his speech was informative and practical and most of all one could say for sure that it was written by himself as well( unlike so many other presidents before).
Amidst all this the thing I remembered most was "Boondi Ke Laddoo"!! ( alas it was missing from the "Alpahaar" offered by Indian Embassy). This was mainstay of almost all my schools' independence day functions. When I was living in school hostel, we were so unsatisfied with the limited quantities on offer that some would take it upon themselves to make the stuff in the room. This was I guess our first steps in learning of entrepreneurship and partnerships. More often than not these endeavours ended up in sour experiences ( not literally). We discovered that after going thru the process of making the stuff one didnt feel the craving as we had imagined or experienced before. Then the sharing of the produce would lead to unhappy endings of partnerships, resulting into tools of the enterprise being literally broken into pieces. Still... those were the best days of my life... ( thanks for to Bryan Adams to make those words so popular).
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Rehash
There was this nice post on Rambling Monolgues which inspired me to recount my similar experience ( years back )... since monolguist did bestow the comment with a smile i thought it would be worthy of rehashing and sharing with a few of you who by some cosmic coinicidence land on my blog every once in a while...
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this reminded me of my funny experiences in second year engg. as usual me and my friend did a night out for the midterm..we mugged the whole stuff and were pretty cocky to crack this one..
we were standing outside the class at 9.50 in the morning and were surprised to see everyone seated and bent over on their answer papers with serious looking madam hovering over the proceedings. my friend and me were kinda frozen in shock with sudden realization like rip van winkle. my friend didnt have the courgae to walk in and check if the exam had started early or we were late... so i took it upon me to walk in and dare the embarassment. i walked in and asked madam if can have answer sheet. madam looked at me and said "additional answer sheet ??"
(actually test had started at 9 whereas we two had given ourselves 1 hour extra time thinking it was at 10) i just smiled and beat the retreat and sat in canteen with friend, drowning sorrows in tea and samosa, waiting for the rest of the class to emerge from test and complete our day's misery :)
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this reminded me of my funny experiences in second year engg. as usual me and my friend did a night out for the midterm..we mugged the whole stuff and were pretty cocky to crack this one..
we were standing outside the class at 9.50 in the morning and were surprised to see everyone seated and bent over on their answer papers with serious looking madam hovering over the proceedings. my friend and me were kinda frozen in shock with sudden realization like rip van winkle. my friend didnt have the courgae to walk in and check if the exam had started early or we were late... so i took it upon me to walk in and dare the embarassment. i walked in and asked madam if can have answer sheet. madam looked at me and said "additional answer sheet ??"
(actually test had started at 9 whereas we two had given ourselves 1 hour extra time thinking it was at 10) i just smiled and beat the retreat and sat in canteen with friend, drowning sorrows in tea and samosa, waiting for the rest of the class to emerge from test and complete our day's misery :)
Saturday, July 23, 2005
struggle
for last 30 minutes this struggle has gone on...
I am trying to add a few things to my template...
all gets done and then when i go back to blog..
voila, this refuses to go to my latest post and keeps going back to earlier one ...
now i am wondering as to if prayers to gods upabove will work or i have to find a new devious ploy to fool this binary hulk of technology!!
I am trying to add a few things to my template...
all gets done and then when i go back to blog..
voila, this refuses to go to my latest post and keeps going back to earlier one ...
now i am wondering as to if prayers to gods upabove will work or i have to find a new devious ploy to fool this binary hulk of technology!!
Home made food
As we are weaned away from the natural source of human nourishment, we go through the years of naturalization process of learning to eat manmade ( woman made in true sense) cuisine which gets imprinted in our minds as home made food for rest of our lives.
Whatever be the background, religion, caste, nationality most people do tend to rave about this home made food until their dying day. Men go thrpugh phases of crossing over from their mother's cooking to numerous chefs in restaurants, their own man friday and sometimes their own adventures in kitchen before finally settling down to their own wife's cooking ( in between they tend to take advantage of culinary skills of their friends' wives by showing up at the opportune moments before meals of the day) and at each stage the term home made food keeps going one notch up in its legendary status. In all this 2 phases of home made food stand out in their minds whenever they are far away from home too long ( while at home there is good old saying "ghar ki murgi daal baraabar" loosely translated to " chicken at home gets treated like lentil curry ( a daily affair)" ). First phase is of mother's cooking and second is wife's. Lucky are the ones who have good memories ( equal and more than equal proportions of) of both phases. Though sometimes second phase tends to get unfair treatment as the impressionable mind of child somehow retains fonder than actual experiences of first phase.
Women tend to get a raw deal in this whole saga of mind over the matter game. They end up fighting two ghosts at the same time, one is ostensibly in her husband's mind and other in hers as well. Memories and comparisons of both mothers' culinary milestones drive her to strive to do twice better her life long, in the process I guess children do get best of both worlds.
somehow, there are very few households which rave about father's culinary delights, leaving women to carry this human civilization's ultimate achievement forward through millenniums( what do u think homosapiens did first thing after discovering fire.... !!!)
But while analyzing why the legend lives on ..... I guess it all comes from knowing taste to the T of your target audience. Every mother and wife perfects this knowledge about her family over the years and that is what makes food an ultimate custom made experience.
there is a thought for new marketeers.... know your customers as well their mothers do...( atleast in case of the eating habits)
Whatever be the background, religion, caste, nationality most people do tend to rave about this home made food until their dying day. Men go thrpugh phases of crossing over from their mother's cooking to numerous chefs in restaurants, their own man friday and sometimes their own adventures in kitchen before finally settling down to their own wife's cooking ( in between they tend to take advantage of culinary skills of their friends' wives by showing up at the opportune moments before meals of the day) and at each stage the term home made food keeps going one notch up in its legendary status. In all this 2 phases of home made food stand out in their minds whenever they are far away from home too long ( while at home there is good old saying "ghar ki murgi daal baraabar" loosely translated to " chicken at home gets treated like lentil curry ( a daily affair)" ). First phase is of mother's cooking and second is wife's. Lucky are the ones who have good memories ( equal and more than equal proportions of) of both phases. Though sometimes second phase tends to get unfair treatment as the impressionable mind of child somehow retains fonder than actual experiences of first phase.
Women tend to get a raw deal in this whole saga of mind over the matter game. They end up fighting two ghosts at the same time, one is ostensibly in her husband's mind and other in hers as well. Memories and comparisons of both mothers' culinary milestones drive her to strive to do twice better her life long, in the process I guess children do get best of both worlds.
somehow, there are very few households which rave about father's culinary delights, leaving women to carry this human civilization's ultimate achievement forward through millenniums( what do u think homosapiens did first thing after discovering fire.... !!!)
But while analyzing why the legend lives on ..... I guess it all comes from knowing taste to the T of your target audience. Every mother and wife perfects this knowledge about her family over the years and that is what makes food an ultimate custom made experience.
there is a thought for new marketeers.... know your customers as well their mothers do...( atleast in case of the eating habits)
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
what's it about?
is life about experiencing the cornucopia of the emotions ?( like doing all the drugs there are and as much as possible ?)
is it about attaining some kinda of permanence ...?
is the quest for nirvana, a quest for nothingness that will open mystery of all that there is ?
is it about the even keel.... ?
a sad news... and I resonate in the wave of sympathy...
and then as I step into another set...
there goes the wave.. dying and drowned by another stronger one
now I feel guilty as to why I couldnt keep feeling sad for a little longer...
did I betray the news...?
is it about attaining some kinda of permanence ...?
is the quest for nirvana, a quest for nothingness that will open mystery of all that there is ?
is it about the even keel.... ?
a sad news... and I resonate in the wave of sympathy...
and then as I step into another set...
there goes the wave.. dying and drowned by another stronger one
now I feel guilty as to why I couldnt keep feeling sad for a little longer...
did I betray the news...?
Saturday, July 09, 2005
What is it about London news that still bothers me?
I have been hearing differing point of views…
My cousin : there are thousands dying on the planet specially in Iraq/ Africa/ middle east.. only when it happens to London and Newyork world seems to take note.
News : Blair and Queen keep saying that London will go on.. British way of life will go on…. Terrorists will not be able to deter our way of life…..
Me : I say to my friend … thank god you are alive, thank god nothing happened to you..
In all this … what about the people who died or got injured on that day…. Or the ones who are paying the price everyday, all over the world, for our degeneration into civilized savages? What was their fault? What was their life worth? Just a statistics? ….just a headline in the news … for a few days?…just a score in the long list of vengeance seeking madmen?
In their show of courage maybe Blair, Queen and many Londoners are robbing off the victims of their due mourning. Isn’t there a lesson to be learnt in all of this? Not a lesson in how to beef up your national security ….. but a lesson on how not to make enemies for your nation and its people. Nations send their people to war…. never imagining that war comes back to people eventually …sometimes in bodybags and sometimes as vengeance of the vanquished. It is not a defence for this terrible and despicable action of some deranged people but a general lesson in life… live and let live.
From my cousin’s point of view there should be some perspective balance on death of people everywhere…are the deaths comparable …. Is the grief a thing to compare?
For those who didn’t make it back home from the London trains and bus…. Who can explain that they lost their lives as sacrifice on the high altar of British way of life or more precisely British foreign policy and some deranged philosophy of vengeance in the name of God?
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Whose war is it
Last night I slept with overdose of London's joy .....
this morning also the news kept going on about it ....
for me the day was full of my problems as usual...
whole day kept going around with my colleagues trying to find the silver linings thru this murky cloud of my problems...
came home all weary and down....looking for solace on TV screen..
flipping channels... came across breaking on CNN news.... London bomb blasts...
our system is so immune these days.. that it didn't register the shock at first...
I flipped the channel... was on MTV... where Shahrukh Khan was being interviewed by equally boisterous Cyrus....
then I again flipped channel to BBC casually to see what actually happened...
and then the horror of the news unfolded.... it was series of blasts ...
looked like 9/11 all over again ... just that it was carried out on the ground...
and 33 people had paid the price of being at the wrong place at the wrong time..
33 people were made part of a statement of one side on the other in this insane war
I just cant understand this war and its warriors....
why ??? why ??
who is fighting who ? in this proxy war ... casualties are like just another score by one side on the other .....
this has got to stop.....before walls go up again ...and we start caging ourself against each other....
........................
.......................
my silent prayers go to all those who lost their lives...and hope that god (theirs or ours...) would guide his flock to its senses....
this morning also the news kept going on about it ....
for me the day was full of my problems as usual...
whole day kept going around with my colleagues trying to find the silver linings thru this murky cloud of my problems...
came home all weary and down....looking for solace on TV screen..
flipping channels... came across breaking on CNN news.... London bomb blasts...
our system is so immune these days.. that it didn't register the shock at first...
I flipped the channel... was on MTV... where Shahrukh Khan was being interviewed by equally boisterous Cyrus....
then I again flipped channel to BBC casually to see what actually happened...
and then the horror of the news unfolded.... it was series of blasts ...
looked like 9/11 all over again ... just that it was carried out on the ground...
and 33 people had paid the price of being at the wrong place at the wrong time..
33 people were made part of a statement of one side on the other in this insane war
I just cant understand this war and its warriors....
why ??? why ??
who is fighting who ? in this proxy war ... casualties are like just another score by one side on the other .....
this has got to stop.....before walls go up again ...and we start caging ourself against each other....
........................
.......................
my silent prayers go to all those who lost their lives...and hope that god (theirs or ours...) would guide his flock to its senses....
Monday, July 04, 2005
One man show
Normally sporting arena is one of the competitions and rivalaries...
There have been only a few teams and players that have dominated their sports for a long period of time....
A few examples from the past have been West Indian team under Clive Loyd in cricket, Sergei Bubka in pole vault, or a Bull run in NBA, or Ferrari-Schumacher's brief domination (I maybe a bit less informed about the other sports though).
But apart from this most of the sports have been blessed with healthy rivalaries at any point of time to make sports worth watching.
My dilemma offlate has been in tennis where however much I want to watch Federer play his magical shots but most of the time forgone conclusion of the match or the helplessness of the player on the other side makes the whole spectacle similar to watching 100th rerun of Friends episode.
So I had decided to give Federrer Vs. Roddick a miss.... and as per the script Federer despatched Roddick in straight sets.... reducing Roddick from title hungry competitor to down and out beer thirsty bloke.
I am not actually praying that Federer loses next time by playing below par game but praying for someone to come along and play at his level to beat him ( wouldn't that be a slugfest worth plonking yourself in front of telly for )... there aren't many who seem to be capable of this at the moment, maybe and just maybe Marat Safin.....
talking of domination ... another spectacle had gotten off the blocks .... Tour de France... which commentrators have started dubbing already as "Tour de Lance"....
actually cycling worldover ( in my marignalized world maybe ) is known for its drug scandals and Lance Armstrong's post cancer heroic efforts.
by the way Tour de France is quite confusing to follow for me .... just too many jerseys I guess...
as of now champion seems to be in 16th position....as of stage 2...
There have been only a few teams and players that have dominated their sports for a long period of time....
A few examples from the past have been West Indian team under Clive Loyd in cricket, Sergei Bubka in pole vault, or a Bull run in NBA, or Ferrari-Schumacher's brief domination (I maybe a bit less informed about the other sports though).
But apart from this most of the sports have been blessed with healthy rivalaries at any point of time to make sports worth watching.
My dilemma offlate has been in tennis where however much I want to watch Federer play his magical shots but most of the time forgone conclusion of the match or the helplessness of the player on the other side makes the whole spectacle similar to watching 100th rerun of Friends episode.
So I had decided to give Federrer Vs. Roddick a miss.... and as per the script Federer despatched Roddick in straight sets.... reducing Roddick from title hungry competitor to down and out beer thirsty bloke.
I am not actually praying that Federer loses next time by playing below par game but praying for someone to come along and play at his level to beat him ( wouldn't that be a slugfest worth plonking yourself in front of telly for )... there aren't many who seem to be capable of this at the moment, maybe and just maybe Marat Safin.....
talking of domination ... another spectacle had gotten off the blocks .... Tour de France... which commentrators have started dubbing already as "Tour de Lance"....
actually cycling worldover ( in my marignalized world maybe ) is known for its drug scandals and Lance Armstrong's post cancer heroic efforts.
by the way Tour de France is quite confusing to follow for me .... just too many jerseys I guess...
as of now champion seems to be in 16th position....as of stage 2...
Saturday, July 02, 2005
the championship worth watching
I caught the ladies singles final just as when Venus was hanging tooth and nail out there..
I rushed home from office .. and oh boy was it worth it...
the sheer tenacity with which Venus was hanging in there...
fighting her own unforced errors.. breakpoints.... matchpoints...
( as I am writing this England and Australia have managed to make the final a nailbiter..)
and thru all this Davenport was hurtling thru her service games with not much of a problem..
then came that one point which started the tide in Venus's favour...
there is always one point or one moment in every game, where one really starts owning the opponent...
and that point came in final set with 29 stroke rally....
at the end of which davenport was left hanging her head and grasping for breath...
this was the longest ladies singles finals... 2 hrs 45 minutes....
and I guess this longest wait before winning her 3rd... and I think most cherished wimbledon was well worth for Venus Williams...
I think at the end of it.. Venus deserved it more for hanging in out there and fighting with each stroke...
I haven't been Williams fan before but I think now she looks like a born again player these days..
but her post match antics are somehow hard to contend with.. its like a kid let loose out there....
uncontrollable joy is so much in contrast to the focus and concentration during the match....
kinda jekyll and hyde in a good way....
so one dark horse has won.... ( no pun intended)...
tomorrow is another day when Roddick will have to come out with not only the kitchen sink but the whole household to try and make it 2 dark horses for the course this year...
(England needs 3 to win in 1 ball and they lose 1 runout wicket..... :) )
I rushed home from office .. and oh boy was it worth it...
the sheer tenacity with which Venus was hanging in there...
fighting her own unforced errors.. breakpoints.... matchpoints...
( as I am writing this England and Australia have managed to make the final a nailbiter..)
and thru all this Davenport was hurtling thru her service games with not much of a problem..
then came that one point which started the tide in Venus's favour...
there is always one point or one moment in every game, where one really starts owning the opponent...
and that point came in final set with 29 stroke rally....
at the end of which davenport was left hanging her head and grasping for breath...
this was the longest ladies singles finals... 2 hrs 45 minutes....
and I guess this longest wait before winning her 3rd... and I think most cherished wimbledon was well worth for Venus Williams...
I think at the end of it.. Venus deserved it more for hanging in out there and fighting with each stroke...
I haven't been Williams fan before but I think now she looks like a born again player these days..
but her post match antics are somehow hard to contend with.. its like a kid let loose out there....
uncontrollable joy is so much in contrast to the focus and concentration during the match....
kinda jekyll and hyde in a good way....
so one dark horse has won.... ( no pun intended)...
tomorrow is another day when Roddick will have to come out with not only the kitchen sink but the whole household to try and make it 2 dark horses for the course this year...
(England needs 3 to win in 1 ball and they lose 1 runout wicket..... :) )
Friday, July 01, 2005
Tennis & samba
I guess this week was blessed one....
haven't seen Brazilians play with such flair and abundance in a long time...
Argentines looked like a second grade team for some time there....
I think Ronaldinho has been a quiet, unassuming and above all noncontroversial influence on world football in last few years...and this tournament establishes him as leader of his troops as well
then there was women's tennis in wimbledon...where after many years...Tennis took centrestage instead of glamour...
the grunts for the first time were a bearable accessory to tennis as they really accompanied some awesome accurate hitting as well... then there was our Asian tennis (sensation) player Sania doing her thing... I guess her passing first round qualifies as achievement in Indian women's tennis these days...
for the first time Venus Williams didn't look like a tall helpless bird trying to find right trajectory.... against Sharapova she looked like monk in meditation, unleashing those ruthlessly accurate winners.... from the second game onwards it looked like Sharapova was up against something that was beyond tennis....
and in all these big names.. I happened to see some games ( before the power cuts and star sports combined to give this match a miss halfway down) of the match between Serena Williams and Angela Haynes...this young girl looks like someone from those hip hop dance videos.. with no fear at all of ranking and power of the opponent's shots.... she was not only trading punch for punch with Serena but at times looked like really going one up on her...
Men's Tennis, I guess in all this women's tennis thing I have hardly any recollection of men's version, as Federrer express seems to be heading to his final destination and with usual suspects of Hewitt and Roddick lined up to derail it....
haven't seen Brazilians play with such flair and abundance in a long time...
Argentines looked like a second grade team for some time there....
I think Ronaldinho has been a quiet, unassuming and above all noncontroversial influence on world football in last few years...and this tournament establishes him as leader of his troops as well
then there was women's tennis in wimbledon...where after many years...Tennis took centrestage instead of glamour...
the grunts for the first time were a bearable accessory to tennis as they really accompanied some awesome accurate hitting as well... then there was our Asian tennis (sensation) player Sania doing her thing... I guess her passing first round qualifies as achievement in Indian women's tennis these days...
for the first time Venus Williams didn't look like a tall helpless bird trying to find right trajectory.... against Sharapova she looked like monk in meditation, unleashing those ruthlessly accurate winners.... from the second game onwards it looked like Sharapova was up against something that was beyond tennis....
and in all these big names.. I happened to see some games ( before the power cuts and star sports combined to give this match a miss halfway down) of the match between Serena Williams and Angela Haynes...this young girl looks like someone from those hip hop dance videos.. with no fear at all of ranking and power of the opponent's shots.... she was not only trading punch for punch with Serena but at times looked like really going one up on her...
Men's Tennis, I guess in all this women's tennis thing I have hardly any recollection of men's version, as Federrer express seems to be heading to his final destination and with usual suspects of Hewitt and Roddick lined up to derail it....
Friday, June 03, 2005
blog for who?
i was wondering if bloggers are the only ones to read blogs...
if rest of the world just goes on with or without....
so far all my instincts suggest that except for a few articles here and there..
a few converts here and there... majority of blog readers maybe from the blogging community
other day flipping through channels i caught one line from "finding forester"
it goes... "writers write so that readers can read...."
it sounded so opposite in my case ....it should go like...
some writers read so hard and so much so that they can write something worth reading....
if rest of the world just goes on with or without....
so far all my instincts suggest that except for a few articles here and there..
a few converts here and there... majority of blog readers maybe from the blogging community
other day flipping through channels i caught one line from "finding forester"
it goes... "writers write so that readers can read...."
it sounded so opposite in my case ....it should go like...
some writers read so hard and so much so that they can write something worth reading....
Thursday, May 26, 2005
Second chance
Like all of us who are forever trying to undo the mistakes of the past...
I guess the cricketers also should get second chance in one day internationals
(though given the form of some ... even second chance would do no good )
what i think is that one day internationals in cricket should be split into 25 overs & four innings..
that way each team gets a chance to strategize... and improve /fight back in second innings
Sourav Dada .. that will give you some chance to bat back into form...
I guess the cricketers also should get second chance in one day internationals
(though given the form of some ... even second chance would do no good )
what i think is that one day internationals in cricket should be split into 25 overs & four innings..
that way each team gets a chance to strategize... and improve /fight back in second innings
Sourav Dada .. that will give you some chance to bat back into form...
Monday, May 09, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
wish i could
how i wish if i could blog the thoughts as they came to me..
they come far and few and then they are gone ..poooooop!!
lost till the time a tiny cosmic convulsion propels them again to the fore..
for that tiny little while... I chuckle....
wish I could blog all of them..
memory sometimes I feel is a huge misnomer!!
they come far and few and then they are gone ..poooooop!!
lost till the time a tiny cosmic convulsion propels them again to the fore..
for that tiny little while... I chuckle....
wish I could blog all of them..
memory sometimes I feel is a huge misnomer!!
Friday, May 06, 2005
General Arora
I have always felt as an Indian that Bangladesh( current generation) has no virtue of gratitude in their ethos.
Be it for their own freedom fighters or for those who helped them get it. As for their own freedom fighters or Father of the Nation, I think they all got caught in this political mire and thus got tarnished in the heat of rivalry. This I see every year when the victory day is celeberated the government channel shows only Zia as the lone leader who fought and brought freedom to millions in this country ( he happens to be late leader of the ruling party). I guess the case will be just the other way when the other party comes into power.
I guess forgetting has become part of political activism in subcontinent.
While I am writing this I am suddenly perturbed by the thought that 2 of our 3 nations had their Father of the nations slain by his own countrymen. Fortunately for Pakistan, it didn't have to go thru this ignominy.
So news that Lt General J. S. Arora passed away a few days back was one more occasion when I was waiting to be proven wrong. Sadly I wasn't very wrong, the only comments that came were from the Army Chief of Bangladesh. Not one comment from ruling party or the opposition!! I spoke to 2 people who had seen the action of 1971 in their childhood and they also took the news quite casually....
Maybe we are the only ones disturbed by the news and lack of reaction to it...
---------------------------------
Thank god this appeared in news next morning :
more : http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/05/06/d50506060575.htm
Be it for their own freedom fighters or for those who helped them get it. As for their own freedom fighters or Father of the Nation, I think they all got caught in this political mire and thus got tarnished in the heat of rivalry. This I see every year when the victory day is celeberated the government channel shows only Zia as the lone leader who fought and brought freedom to millions in this country ( he happens to be late leader of the ruling party). I guess the case will be just the other way when the other party comes into power.
I guess forgetting has become part of political activism in subcontinent.
While I am writing this I am suddenly perturbed by the thought that 2 of our 3 nations had their Father of the nations slain by his own countrymen. Fortunately for Pakistan, it didn't have to go thru this ignominy.
So news that Lt General J. S. Arora passed away a few days back was one more occasion when I was waiting to be proven wrong. Sadly I wasn't very wrong, the only comments that came were from the Army Chief of Bangladesh. Not one comment from ruling party or the opposition!! I spoke to 2 people who had seen the action of 1971 in their childhood and they also took the news quite casually....
Maybe we are the only ones disturbed by the news and lack of reaction to it...
---------------------------------
Thank god this appeared in news next morning :
| Metropolitan | |
|
more : http://www.thedailystar.net/2005/05/06/d50506060575.htm
Sunday, May 01, 2005
Weird thoughts
weird Thought 1 :
If there were Fat sucking mosquitoes!!
How they would be so much in demand!!
but then how would they fly? With such heavy payloads!
weird thought 2 :
when nano technology brings about change in the way we work with computers,
when computers would be so tiny and will be connected with us that they will be thought operated almost...!!
would anyone ever talk thereafter?
fidelity in relationship would have to redefine itself ?
If there were Fat sucking mosquitoes!!
How they would be so much in demand!!
but then how would they fly? With such heavy payloads!
weird thought 2 :
when nano technology brings about change in the way we work with computers,
when computers would be so tiny and will be connected with us that they will be thought operated almost...!!
would anyone ever talk thereafter?
fidelity in relationship would have to redefine itself ?
Friday, April 29, 2005
Hmm!! Lost in transition!
Difficult to choose as to what you should write about...
even when it is mostly and only yourself who is looking forward to it ..
the only thing that comes to mind is jot down what has been hitting me for past few weeks..
-came across an article in The Economist which informs that a team of researchers are working on DNA research to help identify genealogy chains. The key to this are two DNA, mitocondrial DNA that are passed only from mothers to daughters ( passed to sons also but they cant pass on further) and Y chromosome DNA that are passed on from fathers to sons only. These two DNA are supposed to be least subjected to mutation thus key to the original DNA owners. With this researchers are hoping to find genealogy keys to unlock the questions of roots.
-reading a book on palmistry, now that reminds me of one old friend from school who ones told me that such inclination to astrology etc is sure sign of influence of Saturn ( Shani ki Dasha !!). Now wonder if the quest of learning palmistry will lead me where...!!?? He sure was in doldrums with his life in the period when he was practicing it!!
- train accident news are common for us in India, and unfortunately they come and go and still we go on as nothing ever happened. Now it happened in Japan also, maybe Laloo will point out that his department has no faults as accidents can happen in Japan also!!
but what I have noticed is that there is a tendency for these accidents to take place in a spate... within the period of one accidents there will be a few more around the same time... for example this time we have had within this period 4 train accidents around the world!! Don't know if there is bigger cosmic design !!
-came back to Dhaka last week and learnt of real man made catastrophe that had happened a few days prior to my arrival. A nine story factory building fell down in a heap!! Fortunately the accident happened in the night thus not resulting into really disastrous human tragedy (would have killed approx 3000 workers instead of loss of 100s that happened otherwise). I had always looked at these high rise factories and apartments that Dhaka has been plagued with in the name of development and had wondered if some disaster like this is lurking inside. It is sad to see your fears come true.
even when it is mostly and only yourself who is looking forward to it ..
the only thing that comes to mind is jot down what has been hitting me for past few weeks..
-came across an article in The Economist which informs that a team of researchers are working on DNA research to help identify genealogy chains. The key to this are two DNA, mitocondrial DNA that are passed only from mothers to daughters ( passed to sons also but they cant pass on further) and Y chromosome DNA that are passed on from fathers to sons only. These two DNA are supposed to be least subjected to mutation thus key to the original DNA owners. With this researchers are hoping to find genealogy keys to unlock the questions of roots.
-reading a book on palmistry, now that reminds me of one old friend from school who ones told me that such inclination to astrology etc is sure sign of influence of Saturn ( Shani ki Dasha !!). Now wonder if the quest of learning palmistry will lead me where...!!?? He sure was in doldrums with his life in the period when he was practicing it!!
- train accident news are common for us in India, and unfortunately they come and go and still we go on as nothing ever happened. Now it happened in Japan also, maybe Laloo will point out that his department has no faults as accidents can happen in Japan also!!
but what I have noticed is that there is a tendency for these accidents to take place in a spate... within the period of one accidents there will be a few more around the same time... for example this time we have had within this period 4 train accidents around the world!! Don't know if there is bigger cosmic design !!
-came back to Dhaka last week and learnt of real man made catastrophe that had happened a few days prior to my arrival. A nine story factory building fell down in a heap!! Fortunately the accident happened in the night thus not resulting into really disastrous human tragedy (would have killed approx 3000 workers instead of loss of 100s that happened otherwise). I had always looked at these high rise factories and apartments that Dhaka has been plagued with in the name of development and had wondered if some disaster like this is lurking inside. It is sad to see your fears come true.
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Dhaka international airport…..
Travails of travel thru Dhaka "international airport"
With the mention of international airports the pictures of swanky corridors, restaurants, beautiful airhostess shay-shaying their trollies and those big and beautiful duty free shops fill up your mind. But then there are few international airports which serve the purpose of just spewing out people and sucking in people as just some charly checkpoints.
There are two such airports that come to mind immediately which I have misfortune of visiting very frequently.
One is Kolkata International Airport, though it has had recent facelifts in its floor marbles but rest remains in its old form and spirit. Lethargy and beaurocracy are the backbone of this behemoth. Normally international airports are like the face of the nation in a way, a foreigner forms opinion about the nation with this first impression at its airports. The most inefficient and highly unpresentable lot of immigration officers definitely don’t help our cause in anyway and to top it up kolkata international airports lacks even basic amenities like functioning clean toilets. I once had to make do with stinking toilets and no toilet paper rolls in departure lounge toilet.
The frustration of it is multifold, first you can not shake even a hair on the skins of people who run or actually run down this place and second is embarrassment that at this very moment in some foreigner’s mind, image of India is turning pale.
The second one is Dhaka international airport. This airport has atleast better face in terms of presentation but then it cant help being our cousin in the subcontinent. We have differently clad but same species of people in immigration.
Here the biggest problem lies in the home air lines of this country, oddly named Biman which means Aircraft ( a commodity which it actually lacks in good measure it seems). I have to take this airlines, by sheer virtue of its existence, for my connection to and from India.
Normally we have problems of delays or smart alec dealings with this airlines. For example your flight is at 4 pm and when you land at airport and check in they will not be there till 1 hour before ( you have to land up atleast 2 hours before) the departure to take your check in ( this maybe special for Kolkata flights, as it is poor cousin of other international flights). As you look around for people and check in counters, your enquiries will fall on deaf ears as the staff has other important matters to discuss than to listen to you or take any action.
So when you check in you would ask by habit, “is the flight on time?” and you would get prompt reply, yes!!! So you would go thru rigours and reach the waiting lounge and go thru the not so exhiliariting durty free merchandise and one small counter doubling as café cum sweet shop .
As the time for your departure draws nearer you are anxiously looking at one small ancient TV screen to look for the flight information or gate announcement. Sadly it will show status as check in only!! As it is few minutes away from your scheduled departure you are agitated and waiting to hear atleast some announcement on the PA system ( trying to de-cipher each and every Bangla word with your limited bangla vocabulary)…. But then they have other pressing matters than to announce your non-existent flight by then.
You are now trying locate in the crowd some white shirted people who wear those useless ribbons on the shoulder (your guess is that they must have something to do with your flight as a similar creature at the check in counter beatifically had pronounced your on time departure). These creatures can be found in 2 situations of uncertain existence, one would be highly mobile state, with a walky on hand and flitting around the lounge, the other is lounging around with no purpose on the waiting lounge chairs, or their designated seats and one area called transit lounge enclosure.
Since you cant bear your uncertain state with no silver line in the horizon or for that matter your aircraft either, you would be desperate enough to intercept the fleeting creatures with their walkies first. He would first pretend you don’t exist and if you are persistent enough to register on his radar he would brush you with some answers like “Thaken ( wait)” ( as if you hadn’t done enough of that already) or tell you to look at screen for information. You draw his attention to the fact that you are beyond these stages and now instant need of nirvana or boarding your flight, whichever comes first!! He would now be lost and leave you with the wait state and vanish.
By now you would see some other fellow sufferers pacing around the television screen and pray for it to turn up miraculous healing letters in the form of gate number or some ETD info.
Normally after some uncertain hour or so miracle would happen and your imminent departure would be announced. Being An Indian you are used to this 1-2 hours fluctuation in the time space continuum and you would board your flight thanking your stars.
But this particular evening in Dhaka raised the bar to a new height completely.
We had chosen the last flight of Biman to Kolkata, to finish all the work and head back to India for a few days. My colleageue was to take early morning flight to Bangalore next day as he was heading to make most important decision of his life , to get married. I had relatively easier schedule.
As usual we arrived at the airport and made it to waiting lounge. To our pleasant surprise we came across another Indian acquintance who was also heading back to Kolkata. But it was depressing to learn that his flight was scheduled at 4 pm ( he had come at 2 pm for that there) and at 6 pm there was no news on his flight. The last information given was his flight and ours was supposed to be combined and we would fly at 7 pm . So we sat together and waited for the clock to strike seven. It struck seven and true their form Biman airlines had no information on the little tele of theirs. Now people were doing the pacing around routine but the number was double as it was two flights combined passengers in the lounge.
At 7.30 I had enough of it so I walked upto tele and to my horror I see that now there are two different ETDs on both flights one was 2030 and the other was 2330. I couldn’t believe my eyes and in that dazed state I decided to break the peaceful slumber of Biman personnel at transit lounge to reconfirm if their was a mistake on tele. The biman personnel told me that if tele god sayeth so .. so it is…. I was now feeling doubly persecuted, first on account of not being clubbed with the earlier flight and second as to 2330 seemed like beyond redemption time slot to me.
In the meantime we see that a crowd had formed around the Biman desk and there were lot of angry voices. So after watching from a distance we finally made it to the epicenter of this commotion and we see one Biman employee animatedly informing people that we all shall be rescued from our current state soon and now the first flight would leave at 2115 and second one at 2330 and we all have been given dinner facility at the lounge.
It came to light that they were running short of aircrafts and were trying to manage something to make our announced schedules happen. We all headed to dinner lounge and dinner arrived in 45 minutes or so( as if there was instruction to kill time or better kill us), better less said about this fare they laid out for us.
Finally the first flight people were given a gate number ( pearly gates of heaven finally opened to receive them I guess) and we were left to our fate. Killing time wasn’t easy as my colleague was getting edgy about his imminent decision on marriage combined with potential disaster of missing connecting flight if Biman didn’t put on us Indian soil before morning.
First flight finally left around 2200 or so… by then lounge was getting empty as all other flights had departed. My friend decided to take a nap. As it drew close to 2300 I now had this black thought creeping in that finally they will cancel our flight and send us back. So I made to the area where Moses of Biman had announced our earlier commandments. To my horror I find that our Moses has been replaced by another white shirted creature and there were again some more infidels around shouting for their salvation.
I heard one man say that take me to your minister and I will speak to him. Another one saying what are you doing here if you cant do anything. The barrage of polite insults would make a normal man bolt from the seat and spring with rage or some kind of action. But the two gentleman sitting their were given training in Gandhi’s monkey school maybe as they said nothing relevant to help anyone there.
-They said they don’t know anything.
-So question.. if you don’t then who does?
-Some flight planning people do that..
-And where are they ?
-They are in different building.
-Take us there !!
-We cant.. you cant go back past immigration!!
-Can you do anything ? if you cant then connect us to someone who can….!!
He goes thru motions of dialing phones and asking for someone who isn’t there.
He says the person is not there.
-People ask what are you doing here.. call that man here.
-Person says it is not his fault and biman has left him to here to face the music.
We are now drowning and frustration and uncertainty and this man has no idea as to what to do to help him or us.
Then he informs us in desperation that last night also same thing had happened and this is regular situation with the last flight to Kolkata.
To our horror last night flight had left at 0040 in the morning!!
And he says(as if it was supposed to ease our sorrow) that they have two options, they are expecting a flight from Sylhet to arrive and if the crew of this flight wont mind to do another flight they would take us to Kolkata or The flight which had gone to Kolkata same flight would come back to take us!!!
By now we are so frustrated that we needed someone to vent it out on, someone said take us to minister (as if that man would do something, probably he is responsible for this state of affairs) and then someone said lets talk to daily star ( a local news paper). The second one was more plausible idea. So I ask do you have the number ? no!! I needed to somehow get this done. I went around to look for this news paper ( any news paper would have done). I think it should be murphy’s law of some kind, when you need to shit, paper goes missing. I tried to get it bought from outside and lo behold there was no way buy it either !! so I called my colleague at his house ( at 2330) and asked him to get the numbers of the new paper. I even called a local friend who probably was sleeping by then ( as he didn’t pick up the phone).
I came back to check if other brave souls had by then found their way thru to minister or the newspaper. Sadly the barking voices were louder than their bite.
Maybe it was the talk of this newspaper report or some divine intervention; they announced our gate number for the boarding lounge. In the light of the things it looked like a ploy to drive us away from their sight and coup us into some secluded area while they tried to catch up on some sleep. As we were leaving the waiting lounge we could see the immigration officer on night duty sprawling themselves to retire for the night ( the first such sight since my childhood days when I saw drivers and conductors sleep in bus and we had to wake them up for our early morning bus out of town).
As we were making our way into the boarding gate and getting security frisking done ( that was the most welcome frisking of my life) I got thru to the number of this newspaper. Maybe the tide of bad times was finally turning as I found a reporter on duty and for the first time I found someone during the entire evening with some patient ear and intelligent mind. The best thing about him was he first appologised for this harrowing experience we had to face and said that he will call Biman and enquire into the matter. I asked then one of the barking voices also to talk the reporter online, our man explained the whole thing in Bangla with liberal sprinkling of the names of high and mighty hew knew etc.
Inside the boarding lounge as we waited and heard this barking voice go about explaining his connections et al, my mind was still filled with doubt if we will fly or not. And then they beckoned us to board the bus to take us to aircraft, was I happy to see this aircraft!! When we entered the aircraft I checked with airhostess which flight it was and she told it had come from Sylhet. I couldn’t stop myself from thanking her for agreeing to fly this section at such a late hour. I think this is the first time I had some respect and appreciation for the Biman crew ( less said the better about my earlier brushes with them). As we finally took off at 0045 my mind was still doubtful if the flight would reach Kolkata or they would dramatically turn us around back to Dhaka.
Monday, March 21, 2005
BLOCK!!!!! What to write !!!
It has been a week since the last post...
and I am really clueless as to where the next one is coming from ...
week has gone by ...
another year has passed me by ...
I think it is the first time in my life that I have started to feel the age...
till now it was just another year gone by .. now it makes me look as to how many years do I have left...
one of the Indian friends left for India .... apparently has pressures to get married...
we gave him going away party...
he looked happy, don't know if it was for leaving dhaka or impending marriage...
in my book it would be leaving dhaka... impending marriage I have no experience of...
India finally managed to win the test match in Calcutta( kolkata)...
a match which was full of performances from both teams....
but somehow things that come to mind first are ... Tendulkar decision by Steve Bucknor in second innings...
though he may or may not have made the elusive 35th century... but just the context in which it happened and person to whom it happened changed the dimensions..
otherwise umpires keep making mistakes and all gets washed by "human error" ganga jal ...
the other memory is 2 wickets of Harbhajan Singh in second innings ...
I haven't seen offlate in test arena any batsmen playing totally wrong line to a spinner and getting clean bold ...
( he has got his action reported again in the bargain !!)
I did catch this mindlessly titled program on star news called " match ka mujrim" on eve of fifth day
( god knows there should be someway to stop these mindless inventions on NEWS TV
worse are crime shows.... it must be called criminalisation of TV......)
they were lambasting sourav ganguli for his failure to bat these days...
panel was Bishen Bedi/ Jaheer Abbas/ Syed Kirmani...and in audience they had Pakistan's travelling good luck charm " Chacha"
I think his opinions were most sought after than the august panel on the dias...
and the Anchor was running the show like a PT instructor... poor panel....they were there to give some interesting sound bites only...
but really I think Sourav Ganguli sometimes defies the longstanding cricket wisdom and still lands well on his two feet..
i was once told by a Bangladeshi friend that one of his palmist friend had predicted ( after seeing Ganguli's palm) that he will play 100 test matches...
as per the stats it means there are 19 more matches to go till critics get him out of Indian team...
but as a captain he has been really successful not only in terms of results but also to keep this team together...
this is remarkable in our country where people make you a star for one performance alone...
and this team is star studded to say the least...
now the next destination is bangalore ... where memories are not too good against Pakistan...
the worst one is Sunil Gavaskar's best ever innings, which sadly didn't result in a test victory...
( interesting aside to this match, in 4th innings, Pakistan bowled 93.5 overs and used only 3 bowlers!!! Wasim Akram/ Iqbal Kasim/Tauseef Ahmed!!! how is that for focused approach and faith in your bowlers!)
hope India can this time put that solidly back into history vault and replace with some happy memories to go by ... like the world cup Q/F match many years ago..
and I am really clueless as to where the next one is coming from ...
week has gone by ...
another year has passed me by ...
I think it is the first time in my life that I have started to feel the age...
till now it was just another year gone by .. now it makes me look as to how many years do I have left...
one of the Indian friends left for India .... apparently has pressures to get married...
we gave him going away party...
he looked happy, don't know if it was for leaving dhaka or impending marriage...
in my book it would be leaving dhaka... impending marriage I have no experience of...
India finally managed to win the test match in Calcutta( kolkata)...
a match which was full of performances from both teams....
but somehow things that come to mind first are ... Tendulkar decision by Steve Bucknor in second innings...
though he may or may not have made the elusive 35th century... but just the context in which it happened and person to whom it happened changed the dimensions..
otherwise umpires keep making mistakes and all gets washed by "human error" ganga jal ...
the other memory is 2 wickets of Harbhajan Singh in second innings ...
I haven't seen offlate in test arena any batsmen playing totally wrong line to a spinner and getting clean bold ...
( he has got his action reported again in the bargain !!)
I did catch this mindlessly titled program on star news called " match ka mujrim" on eve of fifth day
( god knows there should be someway to stop these mindless inventions on NEWS TV
worse are crime shows.... it must be called criminalisation of TV......)
they were lambasting sourav ganguli for his failure to bat these days...
panel was Bishen Bedi/ Jaheer Abbas/ Syed Kirmani...and in audience they had Pakistan's travelling good luck charm " Chacha"
I think his opinions were most sought after than the august panel on the dias...
and the Anchor was running the show like a PT instructor... poor panel....they were there to give some interesting sound bites only...
but really I think Sourav Ganguli sometimes defies the longstanding cricket wisdom and still lands well on his two feet..
i was once told by a Bangladeshi friend that one of his palmist friend had predicted ( after seeing Ganguli's palm) that he will play 100 test matches...
as per the stats it means there are 19 more matches to go till critics get him out of Indian team...
but as a captain he has been really successful not only in terms of results but also to keep this team together...
this is remarkable in our country where people make you a star for one performance alone...
and this team is star studded to say the least...
now the next destination is bangalore ... where memories are not too good against Pakistan...
the worst one is Sunil Gavaskar's best ever innings, which sadly didn't result in a test victory...
( interesting aside to this match, in 4th innings, Pakistan bowled 93.5 overs and used only 3 bowlers!!! Wasim Akram/ Iqbal Kasim/Tauseef Ahmed!!! how is that for focused approach and faith in your bowlers!)
hope India can this time put that solidly back into history vault and replace with some happy memories to go by ... like the world cup Q/F match many years ago..
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Lighten up
friend of mine commented that my writing has become a bit too broody!!
so what better to lighten things up than cricket....
as oscars have already become a passe
and the hindi movie scene is bleak.. as nothing brighter than "black" has shown up...
so what about cricket...
how about smiling assassin losing his killer instincts .. right when he was supposed to deliver the last nails in the coffin....
how about another houdini discovered by pakistan..
over the years they have had delivered many of these pain in the ... characters to us ...
remember... Miandad in sharjah, Salim Malik...just to quote 2
and what about slip between cup and the lip...
fits sachin and indian team both...
for one it was closer than the other...
off late Sachin seems to be on some kinda autopilot .. which gives up in crisis....
hope he comes into his own and we and him get what we duly deserve...
on Sehwag... he seems to be riding some kinda lucky horse...
now they will say luck favours the brave...
but between some of those scintillating shots lies the chink which is wide open all the time...
if he just learns to make sure that he wont keep edging those balls to close in fielders every once in a while...
he will, i think, send lots of the bowlers to their therapists....
so what better to lighten things up than cricket....
as oscars have already become a passe
and the hindi movie scene is bleak.. as nothing brighter than "black" has shown up...
so what about cricket...
how about smiling assassin losing his killer instincts .. right when he was supposed to deliver the last nails in the coffin....
how about another houdini discovered by pakistan..
over the years they have had delivered many of these pain in the ... characters to us ...
remember... Miandad in sharjah, Salim Malik...just to quote 2
and what about slip between cup and the lip...
fits sachin and indian team both...
for one it was closer than the other...
off late Sachin seems to be on some kinda autopilot .. which gives up in crisis....
hope he comes into his own and we and him get what we duly deserve...
on Sehwag... he seems to be riding some kinda lucky horse...
now they will say luck favours the brave...
but between some of those scintillating shots lies the chink which is wide open all the time...
if he just learns to make sure that he wont keep edging those balls to close in fielders every once in a while...
he will, i think, send lots of the bowlers to their therapists....
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Democracy/ Human Rights
I was watching BBC program, Question Time Shanghai.
There was discussion centered around human rights issues and what struck me was, what is the essential thing about human rights
I think it is always the question of issues of minority against majority..
Question of ruled ones against rulers….
We human beings have been thru many experiments in governance throughout the history of civilization and pre-civilization.
And experiments still continue….
There is so much hue and cry about democracy….
But the essence of all systems has been the utopian pictures they paint in ideal situations..
And reality has always been a soured dream..
Each time the equation is between power and ideals… and power seems to tilt the scale…
So in each system there is assumed set of human rights, if adhered to in ideal terms which should provide the satisfactory results.
What sours the issue is power in the hands of few or some majority, which forgets all about these things in their frenzy of controlling the power…
But just think of it from a different point of view….
Who rules this universe?…
Do we have something like Human rights … in this context?
If the concept of One God is correct then we are not ruled by any democracy..
We are ruled by a power that is seemingly fair in its act and swift in its judgement..
Isn’t that a suitable form of governance?
Just a thought….!!
That is what millions do every few years…
Choose their gods to lord over them … and discover how lords never come close to gods..
Friday, March 11, 2005
3 Nations
An Indian Dream that was ....
One nation demanding its freedom from the other
and it got that at the cost of its body and soul being carved out ..
A 2 nation theory....
that has resulted in 3 nations so far..
I think English stayed true till the end to their leitmotif ruling policy .. divide and rule
they couldn’t rule anymore but divide they did....
now living in the third nation of this soured dream...
and watching 2 nations play out their games of friendship backhome..
heart is somehow filled with the pain of the stories from past....
pain which we(my people) were spared by virtue of geography... and demographics ...
call it divine timing ...I am reading a book called Husband Of A Fanatic
which is delving deep into these wounds
today when 2 nations owe their existence to the final British atrocity
and other nation convulses with the recurrent spasms of history every now and then...
one wonders ... if Mr. Jinnah is pleased and maybe those Englishmen too,
did they really get what they wanted ?
or did the millions pay with their lives for a horrible, political miscalculation
Amitava Kumar makes a very important point in this book...
he highlights as to how people belong to their homes, their villages...
and not super structure of nations as such...
and specially something that uproots them like nursery plants and replants them somewhere else
Was it more important to be a Pakistani?
Was it more important than being a Muslim as they were?
More so was it more important than being a human being?
We have played the enemies for so long... for political gains of a few ..
now we are playing friends all over again... again for political gains of a few
we are all acting out parts...believing our roles will last long in this act..
we dont know when curtain will come down....
we may never know the next act....
Saturday, March 05, 2005
so far away from me
sitting in dhaka these days is like setting yourself in exile...
all we do is think about production of garments, figting with suppliers to meet delivery dates
all the excitement seems to be happening at indian shores...
be it farcical elections and government forming....
or our ingenious FM producing his canny budgets... ( in danger of being nicknamed 10Rs FM)
or Sania shining ...
Karthikeyan cruising into F1
Elections and Government :
i think our democracy is slowly on decline now
this is pathetic low specially Goa and Jharkhand....
i think we shd do away with this system of governors being appointed by Ruling party
there has to be some public accountability of Governors and speaker of the house etc
they are sitting like stooges and carrying out their master's wishes
Budget
the only thing everyone is harping about is 10Rs issue ... i think rest has been forgotten
in the end our man will roll back this with some different provision amount
Sania
there was a nice buzz on sania beating world no. 6
and in some minds it was forgone conclusion in simple mathematics that she will beat world no. 28 too!!
but that didnt happen ....
i saw her speak yesterday on some sports channel....
she rattles out her lines at the same speed as her forehands ( some say it is as good as Steffi's)
i reserve my judgement on it...
but nice to see someone go the distance and fulfill the promise she had shown at younger age ( relative term for tennis players)
Karthikeyan
last night i heard that our man broke speed limits in the pit lane..
hope he breaks speed barriers on the race track too
this morning i saw that our man has managed 9th postion in 1st qualifying, a rain marred one though
lets hope and wait
all we do is think about production of garments, figting with suppliers to meet delivery dates
all the excitement seems to be happening at indian shores...
be it farcical elections and government forming....
or our ingenious FM producing his canny budgets... ( in danger of being nicknamed 10Rs FM)
or Sania shining ...
Karthikeyan cruising into F1
Elections and Government :
i think our democracy is slowly on decline now
this is pathetic low specially Goa and Jharkhand....
i think we shd do away with this system of governors being appointed by Ruling party
there has to be some public accountability of Governors and speaker of the house etc
they are sitting like stooges and carrying out their master's wishes
Budget
the only thing everyone is harping about is 10Rs issue ... i think rest has been forgotten
in the end our man will roll back this with some different provision amount
Sania
there was a nice buzz on sania beating world no. 6
and in some minds it was forgone conclusion in simple mathematics that she will beat world no. 28 too!!
but that didnt happen ....
i saw her speak yesterday on some sports channel....
she rattles out her lines at the same speed as her forehands ( some say it is as good as Steffi's)
i reserve my judgement on it...
but nice to see someone go the distance and fulfill the promise she had shown at younger age ( relative term for tennis players)
Karthikeyan
last night i heard that our man broke speed limits in the pit lane..
hope he breaks speed barriers on the race track too
this morning i saw that our man has managed 9th postion in 1st qualifying, a rain marred one though
lets hope and wait
Monday, February 21, 2005
games and players
last night .. it was really late .... and i happened to catch a match between federer and ancic on TV
it was re-run of the seminfinal of Rotterdam open
i had seem whole of last year federer play like a man possessed...i dont know if anyone shares my opinion ...
the way he was able to manufacture shots from nowhere ... in the hitherto mechanical world of men's tennis...
i went from admiration to furstration of seeing this brilliance too often..
and whole of australian open i was waiting for someone to beat fedrer and thank god someone did...
this match last night was again reminiscent of same federer form but was good to see ancic play his game in between federer's sparks of brilliance.
there were only superlatives galore from commentrators for both players....
what remains somehow imprinted in mind are federer backhand passing shots....
on one shot federer was forced wide on the backhand and he nailed the return shot deep in the tiny corner of ancic forehand....
that made me think that player of this class dont play only on the physical court..
but in their mind courts..... every shot's every variation is imprinted like code in programming
and they are out there just executing it...
the hours of coding... debugging .... testing... ..on practice courts..
for long i had the theory that federer sold his soul to devil for this amazing game in return..
now new twist.... maybe he is perfect tennis machine ..!!!!
only flaw in the theory is that he can cry at grand slams after winning...
it was re-run of the seminfinal of Rotterdam open
i had seem whole of last year federer play like a man possessed...i dont know if anyone shares my opinion ...
the way he was able to manufacture shots from nowhere ... in the hitherto mechanical world of men's tennis...
i went from admiration to furstration of seeing this brilliance too often..
and whole of australian open i was waiting for someone to beat fedrer and thank god someone did...
this match last night was again reminiscent of same federer form but was good to see ancic play his game in between federer's sparks of brilliance.
there were only superlatives galore from commentrators for both players....
what remains somehow imprinted in mind are federer backhand passing shots....
on one shot federer was forced wide on the backhand and he nailed the return shot deep in the tiny corner of ancic forehand....
that made me think that player of this class dont play only on the physical court..
but in their mind courts..... every shot's every variation is imprinted like code in programming
and they are out there just executing it...
the hours of coding... debugging .... testing... ..on practice courts..
for long i had the theory that federer sold his soul to devil for this amazing game in return..
now new twist.... maybe he is perfect tennis machine ..!!!!
only flaw in the theory is that he can cry at grand slams after winning...
Sunday, February 20, 2005
begining
this is my second time around with blogging experiment..
though i titled it words are all i have got...
but as it turned out ... even words deserted me for sometime....
last few days, reading blogs all around....and then devouring creative works of other people..
it seems words have deigned to pay me a visit...
as i write the most powerful memory is the movie i saw last night
it was JULES ET JIM by Francois Truffaut
i had only heard of this great french director ... and never seen his works..
dhaka, as it happens to be heaven of pirated DVDs, is now growing its fangs from kitsch to classics
thats a boon for person like me...
i had picked the movie not knowing much about it....
and it turned out to be an inspiration beyond words...
the characters are so driven by destiny ... ..
laid back yet driven by their passions with languid landscapes in the background
one thing that strikes me as oddity in the world of literature...
is that women characters get away with liberties they take in their passion..
be it madame bovary or be it catherine in this movie...
their tresspassings in the fields of morality is their due...
as the jules says..... she has to be treated like a queen...
i am yet to come across a male character who has got similar stature in the same field
( maybe i am ignorant fool too ...)
Truffaut found this book in the second hand book store and felt compelled to make a movie...
i had the same feeling when i was reading NAMESAKE
( which i paid the premium price for in a premium bookstore)...
but i guess Meera Nair pipped me to the post there... ( as if i had a chance)
i think credit is due to Jhumpa Lahiri for inspiring a vivid pictures of her story in the minds of readers.
now i have become bit of a Truffaut fan and will be hunting for more of his works...
and he seems to be a prolific filmmaker... with virtually a movie a year and sometimes 2-3 releases in the same year.
links to some of his works :
http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/truffaut.html
now i have got some more directors like fellini and ingmar bergman lined up ...
though i titled it words are all i have got...
but as it turned out ... even words deserted me for sometime....
last few days, reading blogs all around....and then devouring creative works of other people..
it seems words have deigned to pay me a visit...
as i write the most powerful memory is the movie i saw last night
it was JULES ET JIM by Francois Truffaut
i had only heard of this great french director ... and never seen his works..
dhaka, as it happens to be heaven of pirated DVDs, is now growing its fangs from kitsch to classics
thats a boon for person like me...
i had picked the movie not knowing much about it....
and it turned out to be an inspiration beyond words...
the characters are so driven by destiny ... ..
laid back yet driven by their passions with languid landscapes in the background
one thing that strikes me as oddity in the world of literature...
is that women characters get away with liberties they take in their passion..
be it madame bovary or be it catherine in this movie...
their tresspassings in the fields of morality is their due...
as the jules says..... she has to be treated like a queen...
i am yet to come across a male character who has got similar stature in the same field
( maybe i am ignorant fool too ...)
Truffaut found this book in the second hand book store and felt compelled to make a movie...
i had the same feeling when i was reading NAMESAKE
( which i paid the premium price for in a premium bookstore)...
but i guess Meera Nair pipped me to the post there... ( as if i had a chance)
i think credit is due to Jhumpa Lahiri for inspiring a vivid pictures of her story in the minds of readers.
now i have become bit of a Truffaut fan and will be hunting for more of his works...
and he seems to be a prolific filmmaker... with virtually a movie a year and sometimes 2-3 releases in the same year.
links to some of his works :
http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/truffaut.html
now i have got some more directors like fellini and ingmar bergman lined up ...
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