G...S..M....

Great songs

2009-12-06T23:24:00.000-08:00

2009-10-25T03:36:00.000-07:00

Great beats

2009-09-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

2009-06-02T19:05:00.002-07:00

I will probably never admit it, but these are songs I like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XENujsU3Wg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8qj2MzIlJw

Green

2009-05-05T21:42:00.000-07:00

An interesting interview with Vinod Khosla on "green" technologies.

He seems to have bet big time on these; assuming that certain tax breaks and incentives will come his way.

He may be wrong about global warming, given his stance in the face of recent scientific evidence.

But I suppose what matters for his investments is whether he is right about people's perception of the issue and the political and economic implications of the same..

http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/ 2009/04/vinod_khosla_at.html

2009-04-10T03:27:00.000-07:00

Two more great songs -

Annie:

Home (or the concept of home):

2009-04-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

Two great songs:

one about an over-the-hill wrestler - an aging father who yearns to be closer to his daughter. The second is the song of a soldier who is in battle.

Nostalgia

2009-02-25T20:23:00.000-08:00

Kudos to A R Rahman for winning at the Oscars.

He is truly a genius, and it is good to see him win some international acclaim.

His songs remind me of things past, and bring in a nostalgic feeling -

I do miss being in India, and being surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of the streets back home.

Suttum Vizhi...

2009-02-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

A truly great poem by Subramanya Bharathi.

Tamil:

suttum vizhichchudardhaan kaNNammaa sooriya chandhiraroa
vattak kariyavizhi kaNNammaa vaanak karumai kolloa
pattuk karuneelap pudavai padhiththa nal vayiram
nattanadu nisiyil theriyum natchaththirangaLadi

soalai malaroLiyoa unadhu sundharap punnagaidhaan
neelak kadalalaiyae unadhu nenjin alaigaLadi
koalak kuyiloasai unadhu kuralin inimaiyadi
vaalaik kumariyadi kaNNammaa maruvak kaadhal koNdaen

saaththiram paesugiRaay kaNNamaa saaththiram aedhukkadi
aaththiram kondavarkkae kaNNamaa saaththiram uNdoadi
mooththavar sammadhiyil vadhuvai muRaigaL pinbu seyvoam
kaaththiruppaenoadi idhu paar kannaththu muththam onRu

English:

Is that sparkle of the eyes the dual light?
Is that black sphere the dark night?
Your indigo saree with diamonds sown
Are they the stars that night has shown?
The halo from the wild flower
Is that thy smile my lover?
The waves that the sea does hold
Are they thy bosom's sweet fold?

The cuckoo's sound of soulful note
In thy voice sweet does it float?
A maiden like a budding grove
Kannamma I have fallen in thy love.

Of rules do thee to me speak
Do rules stand for passion's peak?
Later I shall do the laws elders seek.
How shall I wait? Here, a kiss on thy cheek.

Slumdog....

2009-02-08T15:03:00.000-08:00

Looks like there has been some controversy in the media about AR Rahman, Jagjit Singh, etc.

Frankly I don't know what the fuss is all about.

Basically there is no comparison -
each one is great in his own right - Jagjit Singh for his soulful Ghazals and Rahman for being able to come up with the trendiest tunes.

Just like Rahman cannot compete with Jagjit Singh in Ghazals,
Iam sure Jagjit Singh cannot come up with a "Chaiyya Chaiyya" either, if you know what I mean.

It is like comparing apples to oranges.

I do agree that Rahman's compositions have been not hugely impressive in the last few years - ever since he came up with Bombay Dreams. Like many others, I also feel he has been focusing on western tunes a lot, trying to reap some international success, perhaps.

I can understand if some people are peeved that he is seemingly on the verge of getting some international accolades for his Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. I felt it was definitely NOT one of his best, in fact far from it. He has benefited from the world becoming increasingly connected.

But the fact remains that he is the only Indian musician in a long time to get any kind of international attention, and that is part of his talent.

I dont know if Jagjit Singh was misquoted by news media or not - now that it looks like he has come up with a clarifying statement.

Personally, I think both of them are hugely talented musicians. It looks like there may be some collaboration in the works here between the two -
that might make for some interesting music.

Inauguration...

2009-01-19T19:55:00.001-08:00

It is time for the Obama administration to take over.

It is a huge event in American history, and it very much looks like that going by the media.

I was watching a documentary about the Pres Elect the other day. His is an inspiring tale, and many people vouch for his greatness. However only time will tell if he can live up to the promises - he is going in with some huge expectations.

Having said that, some people say things can only look up from here, so that is in his favor.

One thing that is striking about the Pres Elect is his cool and calm demeanor, and his unbridled optimism.

I wish there was a leader like this in India, who could inspire the masses. Educated people in India have long lost their belief in the political system, and have become terribly cynical about it. Only a revolutionary leader can bring about a positive and lasting change. But then, for that to happen, the system has to allow it - and Iam no expert, but given the present Indian political scene, I doubt if that is possible.

On that topic, I wonder what our PM Manmohan Singh and HM Chidambaram are upto. Two astute leaders, no doubt - but their policy regarding the Mumbai blasts is quite baffling. They are trying to build up a leaktight legal case against people who have absolutely no regard for law or reason.

One wonders if they are biding their time till Obama comes to the helm, and perhaps brings in some change in international policy.

W, Leno, Colbert, Stewart..

2009-01-13T23:21:00.000-08:00

Today was W's last press conference as Pres.

As usual, Leno et al. went after him. Looks like today, he compared himself to Ab Lincoln. Stewart's reaction to that was hilarious. Some people wonder what will happen to these mock news/talk shows now that W's term is over. After all, he has been the staple of these shows for years. These days they spend some of the air time comparing the Pres-elect's press conferences to W's. Colbert was at his sarcastic best today.

Cold

2008-12-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

It has been terribly cold here in PDX the last few days.

I was joking about the weather to people and saying it cannot get as bad as BOS.. that Iam used to far worse than what PDX has to offer.

But I was in for a shock on Monday - it was shit cold.
Plus, it is not exactly fun driving in the ice.

Anyway it is snowing quite a bit today.

I was planning to go home early today, but I decided to stick around at work in the afternoon. For once, Iam glad I live nearby.

Seattle

2008-11-28T21:37:00.000-08:00

Iam deeply saddened by the Mumbai blasts - these people need to be brought to justice and avenged whoever they are.

Like others, Iam also of the belief that in addition to choking the sources of these attacks (which our Indian PM alluded to in his speech), a key aspect of solving this problem is to emphasize the positives - like one reporter on CNN did - by talking about how there are many Muslims who have rejected extremist ideology and want to be people of peace. These stories need to get more prominence. It is a terrible situation the world finds itself in, and one where there are no easy answers.

My day began at the gym, where I ran a mile on the treadmill and worked out a bit.
I then felt like going on a drive.

So I went on a roadtrip to Seattle-
I stopped at some of the landmarks like the Space Needle and Fisherman's Wharf.

It is funny the way the fishermen there toss the fish out to customers and shout out every time someone purchases fish. Iam told it is some kind of a tradition.

In a bookstore there, I saw this book titled "What Men know about Women" - it was funny because all it's pages were kept intentionally blank.

I stopped by a bar in Portland on my way back. Sometimes you just feel like sitting at the bar, with some beer/wine and simply listening to the music in the bar. Today was one of those days.

I feel like going to NYC now.
I don't know why, but there is something uplifting about NYC. Just looking at the bustling life around and the city lights.

House, Scrubs

2008-11-27T16:30:00.000-08:00

There is an all-day "House" marathon on TV today.

I like this series. Along with Scrubs and my perennial favorite - Home Improvement, they are the only TV shows on my recordings list on the DVR - the others being the regular dose of stand up routines and mock news shows.

The striking similarity between Scrubs and House is obvious - but House is more serious than Scrubs which tends to be a bit over the top. However, the janitor and Dr. Kelso, which are two of the most popular characters from Scrubs, have no equivalents in House. But then, may be House is more of a medical drama than Scrubs is, which is more of a spoof than anything else.

A book review: Winning Ugly

2008-11-23T17:04:00.000-08:00

Time for a book review.

Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert.

This is a must read for tennis lovers.

Brad Gilbert was this fairly unknown American tennis player from the 80's and early 90's. He is most known for coaching Andre Agassi. He mentions in the book that he spotted Agassi when he was young and knew that this guy is going to make it big, and that he was surprised that he took so long to realize his potential.

His book is quite hilarious, and has valuable tips for amateur tennis players. It is called Winning Ugly, but he is not talking about devious tactics. The book is more about maximizing one's strengths as a player, minimizing exposure to their weaknesses, and exploiting the opponent's weaknesses. Fairly common sense, one would think, but I think what set him apart as a coach was his methodical approach and keen observation skills. He seems to have dissected every player's game quite well.

Like Becker's tendency to overhit on his forehand, particularly against players who do not hit hard. Or Edberg's simply horrible forehand. Guess that one is obvious for all to see. Or Lendl's tendency to hit passing shots right AT the player at the net.

Its funny the way he talks about different kinds of players - the Hares (players like Agassi who rush points), the tortoises (he hates Lendl, and I guess Djokovic is a good present-day example of that), and the ones he devotes the most pages to in his book - the players he calls the "Masters of Rage".

The Masters of Rage are none other than McEnroe and Connors.

McEnroe has said that one of the reasons he decided to retire early, when he was just 27, was because he lost to Brad Gilbert in a tournament. There is an interesting passage in the book where Gilbert describes one of his matches with McEnroe. Mac had psyched him up the previous day (looks like the Australian cricket team had taken some cues from him) by saying some demeaning things about him. Gilbert lost his cool, and went for winners throughout the match. Needless to say he lost badly.

On another occasion, McEnroe is very close to losing a match against him, when he throws one of his famous tantrums at a close line call. He holds up the match for fifteen minutes protesting the call. Even though McEnroe did not get the overrule, Gilbert loses his concentration and the match.

He calls Connors another great con artist. He hates him. During one of their matches, on MATCHPOINT for Gilbert, Connors starts disputing a line call and like McEnroe, he holds up the match for 5-10 minutes. This time the umpire overrules and then after that Gilbert loses several points in a row and the match itself.

This book is a must read, especially for people who followed tennis in the 90's/80's.

Red, blue

2008-11-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

I liked McCain's concession speech.

Somehow he comes across as being a really honorable man. But as some journalists have said, one wonders why people did not get to see this aspect of his personality more during the campaign. Instead his campaign manager decided to go for an extremely aggressive and negative campaign.

Granted it was negative on both sides, but I think given the huge anti-incumbency factor, it was probably not a good strategy for the GOP. Surely, it also did not create any good vibes with voters.

Did not follow the campaign that closely but from what I saw - Obama has incredible oratorical skills. Kudos to him and his speech writers!

Rhetoric is always any politician's forte, and the same goes for both candidates in this election. Especially the victor. McCain acknowledged this at some points during the debates. On one occasion, I remember it was because he did not have a good rebuttal. But it was more because of his opponent's way with words rather than fundamental debating skills.

Some journalists blame Palin for the result. I feel bad for her. She might not be the one most suited to the role of VP but she seems generally like a nice person with a tough personal situation.

Back to the bloody ...

2008-10-29T20:52:00.000-07:00

I will wait for that day -

The day I win again.

The day when thoughts of her fill me with excitement, happiness and warmth.

The day when I have someone to care for me again.

The day when there will be absolutely no boundaries or secrets.

The day when she belongs completely to me, and I belong to her completely.

The day when coming back home will be something I can look forward to.

The day when I can trust her completely, even more than I can trust myself, and the day I aspire to make myself worthy of her trust.

I look forward to that day when I am completely at peace in someone's arms, as she would be in mine, and the rest of the world does not matter.

I will wait for the day when life becomes bearable again.

I will wait for the day I find her again.

But is it becoming time to get back to this bloody world, and the jungle that is life?

News

2008-10-24T20:02:00.001-07:00

Metallica is coming to Portland. News on their new album is on the radio these days.
I am tempted to attend their concert - some of their songs are undoubtedly among the greatest rock/metal songs ever. But sitting through an entire concert of heavy metal might be a different story.

Sourav Ganguly is retiring at the end of the series against Australia. Iam glad he scored a century in the second Test. It has ensured that he ends his career on a high note. I think he is handling his retirement in a classy manner:
Just one last thing, lads

Although one cannot quite say the same about what he supposedly told a Bengal daily.

Boston Red Sox lost in the World Series. But Iam no baseball expert.

Work's busy.

I started reading two books. The first one is "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It is about the Carnegie professor as he narrates the story of his life in the months preceding his death.

The second book I am reading is called "Winning Ugly". It is written by Brad Gilbert, Agassi's coach for many years. He helped Agassi make his way back from a low point in his career, when he had slipped in the rankings to the challenger circuit.

Two very different books for sure.

Song on the radio

2008-10-24T00:29:00.001-07:00

I have no idea what the rapper is trying to say, but I like the beats:

2008-10-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

The machine

A short story

2008-09-30T00:56:00.001-07:00

That day she was looking at the mirror trying to wear some kaajal (maii).
I told her that it makes her look very pretty. She liked that.

I didn't say it just to get her attention. It really does add to her beauty. I like the way she uses it only for one part of her eye. When she wears her yellow or black salwar and straightens her hair out instead of tieing it up, she looks like a little princess.

One evening, we spent some time at the seaside during sunset. The moon and the sun were both in the sky, making it truly a twilight. The moon was reddish in color (some scattering effect, she would tell me later) but that just added to the occasion.

I remember the day when we said goodbye, she was crying like a baby. She told me she looks prettier when she cries. There was a moment that day when I thought to myself - may be this is the last time we will get to meet each other.

We met again, and I don't think I have had a better feeling my entire life.

Sometimes I wish I could just forget everything, come to her and embrace her.

But it is not easy anymore, when we are so far apart and the distance is unsettling.

Here is a song for the memories...

I hate this

2008-09-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

I am tired of calling up companies and going through the automated menu, and going through customer service. It is so boring to go through these menu options and say your name and phone number and billing address and everything else they ask you for.

Over and over again. Thank God they have case numbers so that you dont have to go through the torture again. And thankfully my last name is not as long as some of my other friends.

This routine is incredibly boring. This is one thing I hate doing (other than washing dishes).

Something needs to be done about this.

I guess cellphones need to have some feature like the autotype in Internet Explorer (or is there something like that already, and I do not know about it?). Just that it needs to be for spoken words - which is not trivial, and probably why its not there in phones yet.

Anyway, the reason for this post is that I had to go through this long telecon to configure my wireless router.

I suppose it is a way for these router companies to make money by making the setup unwieldy and making buyers rely on their tech support, and by making it look fancy. Today I talked to someone from Linksys. The guy at the call center set up the wireless for me (at a fee) but atleast now it is set up (finally). It is quite cool though, how someone sitting in the Phillipines could set up my router by remote control of my computer, of course with some help from me.

Drive....

2008-09-07T21:23:00.000-07:00

At times I like to go on a fairly aimless drive with some music just to shut myself off everything.

This is one of the songs I like listening to during those drives:

More quotes from the Open

2008-09-06T11:07:00.000-07:00

Part of the fun in following tennis is in watching players beat the crap out of each other, and also in listening to them bitch about each other.

In case you missed, here are some quotes from the US Open:

"I don't give myself the opportunity that much, you know, because I always win easily. I was just really pleased with my fighting spirit."

- No prizes for guessing who said that. Roger Federer of course. This was at the end of a five set match. By the end of his career, he might just earn a bigger name for himself with his quotes than with his tennis game itself.

The following are some great quotes by Roddick when asked about Djokovic's ankle injury and his chances before their QF match:

“Either he’s quick to call the trainer or one of the most courageous guys of all time.”

“I’ve got to feel good. He’s got about 16 injuries right now.”

"Isn't it both of them? And a back? and a hip? And a cramp... bird flu... anthrax. SARS, common cough and a cold.

Too bad Roddick lost though. I like this guy's attitude(though his game is not comparable to Federer or Nadal).

12B

2008-09-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

I saw the tamil movie 12B recently.

It is an interesting movie, and one that I had heard a lot about but never got to watch.

It is a story about possibilities. It is about chance/luck and how life can head in two very different directions due to even very small differences in the way things happen or when things happen.

As somebody pointed out to me once, it is a demonstration of chaos theory - which describes how a small perturbation can lead to drastically different results, due to the highly non-linear nature of the system. Anyway, that is getting too technical about it.

Dasavatharam also explores a similar theme, but there is a marked difference between the two movies. One is larger than life, and caters to the whims of the lead actor. The other one (12B) has a more down to earth storyline and is something that one can relate to better.

Very watchable. 8/10.

Quote of the week

2008-09-03T23:26:00.000-07:00

"I just broke it a couple times - just to be thorough."

- Andy Roddick, after breaking his racquet during one of the matches at the US Open.

Hmm

2008-08-29T20:40:00.001-07:00

Beauty Queen as running "mate"

2008-08-29T19:19:00.000-07:00

Funny the way this guy is desperately trying to pretend like he is playing the guitar. He ain't gonna win any awards for his acting here.

Walkin' away..

2008-08-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

Choices..

2008-08-21T22:10:00.000-07:00

Life is about choices. Not all of these choices are purely rational. We make some of them based on our emotional reactions.

We make choices every minute on what to eat, when to leave home, whether to watch that program on TV, whether to microwave stuff or eat out instead, or how long to delay that much needed laundry cycle, ....

That brings us to the interesting point. What place does emotion play? And should it be accorded so much importance in the scheme of things? And how does one deal with heart-versus-mind stuff, if you know what I mean?

Objectivists have an interesting viewpoint. In case you are not familiar with that term, it is the philosophy that is detailed in the books by Ayn Rand like the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Although I do not quite agree with some of their assertions, for example the claims about religion, I stumbled upon this article on it, and I found some of the writings about the role of emotions to be interesting reading, so I include some of that here:

"Objectivism holds that emotions are lightning-quick summaries of past thought. This makes them extremely valuable in day-to-day use, allowing an individual to make decisions based "on experience" or "gut instinct" without having to trace logical connections back to first principles every time. Emotions are also useful in life-and-death situations, where one must act quickly to get out of the way of a speeding car, or say no to a suspicious-feeling but otherwise friendly person offering a ride late at night.

Contrary to the popular notion that emotions are some detached calling from a higher power, some animal instinct, or some uncontrollable burden, Objectivism rejects the heart-vs-mind dichotomy and holds that emotional responses are useful derivatives of reason. This has enormous significance for those who cannot reconcile their emotional responses with reason; when the two are in conflict, one is obligated to oneself to think, to identify the cause of the conflict, and to reconcile the two."

That is an interesting viewpoint. I guess the book "Blink" also has some arguments along these lines.

But is it one of those things that look great in a book but not very intuitive in practice?

Something to think about.

Misc..

2008-08-21T21:49:00.001-07:00

Looks like somebody in the high court needed a vacation...
Court to Ambanis: Let your mother intervene

Am I missing some key concept here?
New York Times equals Mukesh Ambani to Gandhi

Hmm..
Microsoft's new ad weapon: Seinfeld

City

2008-08-19T00:12:00.000-07:00

I went to the city to look around over the weekend. I happened to be by the downtown area in the evening. Portland as a city in general has a nice feel to it.

I caught a bit of the independence day celebrations there. It had been a while since I went to an event like this so it was like going back in time a bit. However it wasn't a great feeling being alone.

Sometimes, though spending some time traveling alone can be good. I looked around at the crowd - there was a huge crowd, but then I thought - well this is probably 80-90% of the Indian population in the city, so maybe it was not that huge a crowd when considering that. There were a lot of Indian food stalls (with huge queues). I ended up having masala dosa at the stall with the shortest line - unfortunately that happened to be a restaurant that is just half a mile away from where I stay - but anyway looking at the queues, it seemed like that was the only way I would get any food.

I got a glimpse of some of the performances. There was a mix of classical and film songs and dances. Some of them were good. There were a few good Carnatic songs, and a few folk songs as well. Usually I am not too much of a folksy/classical music kind of person, but the selections were good.

There was representation from different states. And it occured to me that this is possibly one of the very few places and times that one gets to see this India - other than in the National Integration programs on TV, or the Mile Sur song on DD.

Anyway speaking of songs, they were playing some songs from the 90's and here is one of them, a song I like:

Some songs from years gone by...

2008-08-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

Pics

2008-08-02T00:54:00.000-07:00

MIT pics

Another review..

2008-08-01T23:40:00.001-07:00

DCH:

It has some good character sketches, portraying the lives of three friends. It is a story of three friends (Aamir, Saif and Akshay) as they go through various ups and downs in their lives.

Aamir and Saif's characters are well-written. I like Preity and Sonali Kulkarni's characters. Preity looks pretty as always.

I guess the best thing about this movie is that parts of it hit you as being realistic. Also it does not sugar coat things. Although at times I felt the director could have cut down on the scenes between the three friends (seemed a bit excessive and unnecessarily sentimental to me).

The music is great (Jaane Kyon and Koi kahe have been my favorites for a long time. Tanhai is a rather dark song, but another great one).

Its funny too. There are some great lines - like the ultimate line from Aamir...... "Aaj Pooja, to kal koi Dooja". That was definitely the most hilarious line in the movie.

I suppose each one us can find a bit of ourselves in some of these characters - for example, the lonely and flighty nature of Aamir's character, or the foolish idealism and romanticism of Saif's character. Iam sure each of us have gone through phases in life where we have behaved like these two characters.

I know its a bit late for a review, but I would give it: 7.5/10.

Review..

2008-07-27T16:11:00.001-07:00

I watched the X Files movie over the weekend.
Warning: Potential spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution.

Iam not a big fan of the series, but because my cousin sis and bro-in-law wanted to watch it, I went along.

It was like an extended version of the TV serial.
Which is...

Agents Mulder and Scully go around with one of their paranormal investigations..
The clues they get usually prove that it is actually anything BUT a paranormal investigation.

But they throw in enough unexplained stuff to get viewers to watch it the next time.

Coz otherwise they would not get any repeat viewers.

The only problem with having a similar formula for the movie, is the following: There is no next time.

Or is there?

Overall rating: 5/10

PS Yes, I did sleep through part of the movie.
The more discerning reader would notice that the ending of this post has been made to deliberately sound like that of an X files episode.

An old tune

2008-07-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

Madras...

2008-07-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

A poem...

2008-07-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

There stood a girl.
of sparkling eyes
and radiant tresses.
Who, at times seemed too good to be true
yet she was there right before my eyes.

There stood a girl
of sharp wit
and ineffable grace.
whose sweet love and refreshing manner
made me feel alive again.

As I stood watching the girl
the one with a magical charm
who walked up slowly to me
Bittersweet life may not keep us together,
But I truly thank God for crossing our paths.

Some more tunes...

2008-07-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

Kabhi Kabhi Aditi..

A Bad Day

Some tunes ...

2008-05-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Kannodu Kaanpathellaam

Jaane Kyon

Nothing Else Matters

Steffi Graf

Kya Khoob Lagti Ho

Yamunai Aatrile

Mudhal Mazhai

Konjam Nilavu

Kaatrin Mozhi

Another review..

2008-05-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Amazing..

2007-08-25T22:28:00.000-07:00

I have an impeccable 10-0 record this year on the ladder..

The only unfortunate part about this (and it is quite unfortunate) is that it is a losing record, not a winning one.

I know this is not something that one should be proud about. To be frank, initially I was very embarassed about it. But now, oddly, Iam at peace with it. As the season has progressed, my embarassment changed into curiosity - how long can an incredible run like this last? And apparently, it can last for quite a long time.

At first, I blamed the grip on my racket. So I changed the grip. That helped a bit, I started winning a few sets. But my form dipped again. Then I thought it could be my aging racket (I still haven't tested that theory completely, actually). My current theory is that Iam out of shape.. there was this match where I could not move even a little bit in the whole of the first set, for some vague reason - maybe I was just stiff.

But all said and done, one cannot get such a clean streak so easily, it requires some talent. Whatever it is.. simply put, my game is not working right now. And it doesn't seem like its going to turn around anytime soon either. Its not something that Iam going to lose sleep over though - coz after all, I play the game for fun, but it would surely be nice to win a few matches before it all ends.

Fedex delivers five in a row

2007-07-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

There are days when we feel really fortunate to be alive. Today is one of those days.

Iam talking about the Wimbledon final of course.

It was simply brilliant.
I haven't been totally convinced in the past about Rafa's promise to challenge Fedex especially at Wimbledon. But today changed that completely. He not only matched him point-for-point, he showed a steely resolve and confidence that I have not seen in a player since Agassi, who, in my opinion, had an unflappable temperament, atleast in the second half of his career (the first half's a totally different story of course).

When you match that kind of a temperament and the kind of superhuman strength and speed that Rafa has, with Fedex's genius, you have the perfect recipe for a great match.

And this was a truly great match. It is definitely one of the best matches that I have seen, and I have seen a LOT of matches.

It was a bit sad (and a little funny too) to see the great Borg sitting in the player's box - either way he was going to see one of his long-time records being tied - must have been a little embarassing for him perhaps? And at the end, all he got from Fedex was a casual "Thanks for coming".

The first three sets were closely fought, but the fourth set was weird. Rafa played brilliantly to go up 4-0. Federer got pissed with the Hawkeye, and it was funny to see McEnroe getting excited about someone else getting atleast 1% as angry as he used to get in his playing days.

The genius of Federer was visible nowhere better than at 2-3 in the fifth set on Rafa's serve. I had briefly gone to the kitchen but I come back and find Rafa down 0-40.

And at 15-40, he comes up with this amazing backhand crosscourt slice and follows it up with this forehand down-the-line winner like only he can do, at such a key juncture on such a big stage. And then he follows it up with a superquick service game. I think that just broke more than Nadal's serve. It might have also broken his self-confidence.

I just put on my commentator's hat by the way.

Anyway I felt Rafa was the better player today overall, although Fedex just used his Wimbledon edge to deliver the goods. It would have been one of the greatest matches ever if the fifth set had been closer than it was. But it was a great match to watch nonetheless.

I still think the US Open 2001 QF between Sampras and Agassi is the highest-quality match that I have watched. The Becker-Sampras 96(?) Masters Cup final would probably come second in my book, along with the Federer-Agassi US Open final in 2005. And this match would be fourth on my list.

Its amazing how these two have created such a huge gap between themselves and the rest of the field. The gap was evident in this tournament. While Roddick struggled against Gasquet's incredible backhand, Fedex simply played to Gasquet's weaknesses and won quite easily, although Gasquet wasn't helped by the scheduling.

Iam going to venture a couple of guesses now - I think Nadal is going to win Wimbledon next year. He's definitely a champion player. I also feel he is going to overtake Federer at the No.1 spot within the next 1 or 2 years.

Ok, I think I might have just written too much, I have this habit of going overboard when it comes to tennis.

PS. Too bad Bartoli lost, was kind-of rooting for her, she has a very interesting game. And by the way, why does Fedex have this really strange habit of wearing a Ramarajan costume at Wimbledon?

Not bad..

2007-05-06T14:38:00.000-07:00

So it's time to check on how my World Cup predictions turned out..
Not bad actually, three of the teams I picked for the semifinals - Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, reached that stage.

The other team I picked was India.

hmmm.. I agree Team India did not quite set the World Cup stage on fire. I guess they decided to leave all the "fire-setting" to their supporters back home. And it almost seemed like "Dada" went to the Little Master for a pre-World Cup (slow) coaching session. While on that topic, here's an interesting news item on the plight of cricketer-lookalikes after the World Cup.

Anyway coming back to the teams that mattered in this World Cup, the best teams were undoubtedly Australia and Sri Lanka. Australia - for their continued ruthless domination, and Sri Lanka for mounting a valiant challenge.

For me, the defining moment of the final was the dismissal of Jayasuriya. He is an awesome player, and he played superbly, but he tried to take a calculated risk with that shot to keep up with D-L, since there was a possibility of the match being halted due to rain. But unfortunately for him, that ball kept too low, and he was bowled. And that was the end of not just a fantastic innings, but a string of fantastic World Cup appearances (do I sound like a commentator yet?)
Surely, a win would have been icing on the cake, but he definitely did not disgrace himself with that gutsy performance.

The final was definitely worth watching, thanks to Gilchrist's audacious strokeplay, Jayasuriya and Sangakkara's fightback and of course the comedy at the end.

As far as Lara and Sachin go - well, not exactly the farewells they would have liked. But that's how it goes I guess - as they say, you win some, you lose some.

World Cup Picks

2007-03-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

The ongoing cricket World Cup is going to be an exciting one - for several reasons.

Firstly..
It could well be the last world cup for two of the greatest cricketers ever -
Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara. Although Lara has stated his intentions for carrying on for several more years, it is hard to see Tendulkar participating in the next World Cup.
It would be interesting to see how these remarkable characters would finish (that's if it indeed turns out to be their last World Cup).

Will it be in a blaze of glory?
or will it be not with a bang but a whimper?

Sachin has the knack of going into overdrive in World Cups. Brian Lara's genius has never been questioned, but now he looks more determined and motivated than ever.

Secondly, this is the first time since 1996 when the Aussies are NOT outright favorites to win. Their air of invincibility has been brought down in the last few weeks, first by England, and then by New Zealand.

A year back, in one of my posts, I had wondered if Sourav Ganguly can indeed make a comeback to the Indian team for one last hurrah,
And looks like he's doing exactly that.

It is quite an inspiring tale. One, that would be complete with a good performance in the World Cup. Interesting to see if that happens.

Also from an Indian point of view, it would be interesting to see how Rahul Dravid handles the captaincy. This is the first World Cup he is playing as captain, and it would be interesting to see how that makes a difference to the performance of the Indian team, which appears pretty strong .. on paper that is.

My picks:

Super Eights:

Group A: Australia (A1) and South Africa (A2)
Group B: India (B1) and Sri Lanka (B2)
Group C: New Zealand (C1) and England (C2)
Group D: West Indies (D1) and Pakistan (D2)

Semis:

India (1) vs. Sri Lanka (4)
Australia (2) vs New Zealand (3)

I am not willing to risk even an informal bet beyond this - coz it's anyone's game!

Players to watch out for: Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Adam Gilchrist, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting, Kevin Pietersen, Shane Bond, Chris Gayle

Back ..

2007-02-16T16:05:00.000-08:00

I just came back from a trip to India.. it was a hectic trip.
I visited all the metros,with the exception of Calcutta -
and you can add Bangalore and Hyderabad to that list.

As you can imagine, I spent a fair amount of time travelling on planes, trains, buses, autos (and rickshaws)!

It was good to spend time at home.. And it was great fun meeting up
with my bro and sis-in-law. I hadn't spent any time with them since
their marriage last year.

Also this time, I spent a fair amount of time with
my grandparents in Chennai. And I am very glad I did.

I think grandparents are gifts to be treasured, and I am lucky to be
blessed with a wonderful set of them. My father's parents are no
longer around, but over the years, my mother's parents have been
witnesses to many things in my life, like my college years -
graduation, and some tough times.

And they have been wonderful company.

I would say that my grandfather is my biggest role model.

He is broad-minded, funny, pragmatic and someone who has played his many roles adeptly. Basically a cool dude.

Sometimes, I have wished that I could spend more time getting life's fundaes from him, but then .. most of our conversations have seldom gone beyond the frivolous.

He spent much of his career at the lignite township of Neyveli in Tamil Nadu. He was a gifted sportsman in his time, and played
competitive soccer, tennis and cricket! In fact once he nearly toured
Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) as part of a combined districts team. I think
that's one of his regrets, not having gone on that tour, due to some
administrative hitch I believe. He remains a cricket-crazy individual
even to this day (he's nearly 83) and stays updated on the latest
cricket news. I think I get my love for the game of tennis from him. I
got introduced to the game during one of my annual visits to his
place, and have accompanied him a few times to the tennis club in
Madurai which he used to frequent. In fact, he played tennis till he
was about 65! In his heyday, he had a flair for dramatics as well!

It's always entertaining to spend time with him - narrating stories
and anecdotes of past, and discussing cricket - replete with analogies
and absurd nicknames for the characters within. He has a unique sense
of humor, which often can be characterized as being "absurd" - and
can border on the offensive sometimes ... but ALWAYS funny.

On this visit, I noticed that he was a bit philosophical - which is
quite uncharacteristic of him, actually. I have always admired his
disciplined approach to many things in life, and his
health-consciousness (if that is indeed a word!). But obviously, with
age, things have sort of taken a toll - but the most amazing part of
all this is his attitude and the way he takes it all - without too
many complaints or regrets - and still maintaining his zest for life -
even the seemingly mundane aspects.

He is truly inspiring to me.

My grandmom is like a typical Indian grandmom, happy to spend her time
helping out her husband and her kids and grandchildren, and yet
tremendously contented, humble and down-to-earth inspite of her
troubles.

She has tremendous inner beauty. As I once told someone,
while my grandfather has been the subject of a few poems,
thanks to his sporting skills, I feel my grandmom's
life itself can be a poem. For me, knowing people like her
makes me feel wealthy in a metaphorical sense.

It's always refreshing to spend time with both of them.

Now back to the rigors of MIT.

Quote, Unquote

2007-01-12T22:03:00.000-08:00

Here is a list of some of my favorite quotes - some of them are insightful, the rest are just funny:

Source Unknown:

“We fall in love with a personality, but we live with a character.”

“Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you'll be a mile away and you'll have their shoes!”

“A bird in hand is safer than one overhead.”

“A clean desk is a sign of a cluttered desk drawer.”

“There are 3 kinds of people: those who can count and those who can't.”

“Me, Ambivalent? Well, yes and no.”

“Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.”

“Why do you need a driver's license to buy liquor when you can't drink and drive?”

“Life's too short for chess.”

“Which is worse: Ignorance or Apathy? Who knows? Who cares?”

“Don’t use a big word when a diminutive one would suffice.”

“Three things in life are certain - death, taxes and a hundred at the Adelaide Oval.”
-Martin Crowe

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing.... If you can fake that, you have got it made."
- Groucho Marx

“If this bloke's a Test match bowler then my backside is a fire engine.”
-David Lloyd on Nathan Astle

“I do not want my house to be walled on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any.”
-Mahatma Gandhi

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
-Albert Einstein

“The secret of creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.”
-Albert Einstein

“Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value.”
-Mark Twain

“A classic—something that everybody wants to have read and nobody wants to read.”
-Socrates

Collection of quotes:
Cricinfo's Best Quotes of 2006
Cricinfo's Best Quotes of 2005
Cricinfo's Best Quotes of 2004
Cricinfo's Best Quotes of 2003

The "Happyness" Quotient

2006-12-24T14:14:00.000-08:00

I recently watched the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness”. (No.. that’s not a typo!) Nice, inspiring movie. Great acting by Will Smith.

The end (sorry for the spoiler) shows Will Smith walking away with his dream job, and truly happy and contented probably for the first time.

I felt it was a good ending, but my friend raised a valid point. The movie, especially the ending, implied that money=happiness.

On that subject, sometime back, I came across this interesting article on Vedanta and thought I should share it with you here.

It puts down the following equation:

HAPPINESS =
NO. OF DESIRES FULFILLED / NO. OF DESIRES ENTERTAINED

I quote here:
“ The quantum of happiness is increased either by
1. Increasing the numerator, i.e. maximizing the desires fulfilled. Or
2. Decreasing the denominator, i.e. minimizing the desires entertained.”

I think it’s quite profound. And rather mathematical!

You can find the complete article at:
http://education.vsnl.com/vedanta/HAPPINESS.html

Avoid Cliches Like The Plague

2006-11-30T19:22:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I need to blog today to keep up my track record
of blogging exactly once a month, as a friend recently pointed out.

Hence this post.

Recently I got this email invite where the hosts had used the term
"significant other".

Isn't this a weird term? I mean, how the heck can a phrase have two
back-to-back adjectives, isn't that just plain wrong English?

Anyway, talking of weird English terms, I got shocked out of my wits
when someone used the term "hibby-jibbies" in a political discussion sometime back.

I got reminded of "sojji-bajjies", my favorite South Indian snacks.

But apparently, its not a snack. It actually means fear or worry.
And the correct spelling is "heebie-jeebies".

That brings me to the topic of cricket commentators. That's because they are world-leaders when it comes to cliches and weird English.
Things like "form is temporary, class is permanent" and ""milking the bowling" can be common parlance only during cricket commentary.

I came across a blog where the writer discusses these and other educative cricket slang.

Do check out their idea of "replacing Ravi Shastri with a voice bot that generates cliches according to context"

This makes me very nostalgic.

I miss watching cricket matches, the post-match ceremonies,and getting my weekly dosage of cliches.

In particular, I miss Arun Lal's and Manjrekar's stating of the obvious, Rameez Raja's unique brand of commentary where "a"s become "e"s and vice-versa; Srikanth's hyperbole, and Tony Greig's dramatization.

Spirit of a sportsman, heart of a champion

2006-10-26T23:56:00.000-07:00

Recently, two people who have inspired me greatly (and millions more, I am sure) retired from their respective professions.

Michael Schumacher and Andre Agassi.

Both of them are totally inspiring in their ways. Both of them had a set of common attributes, the fierce competititive spirit, a champion's heart, grit and poise.. and not to mention their distinctive styles and panache.

Michael Schumacher's genius is obvious to anyone who has followed F1, and his competitive spirit is legendary. It was only fitting that he went down fighting in his last race, rising from the bottom of the field in the Brazilian Grand Prix to finish fourth. He even managed to clock the fastest lap at the end of the race, on what turned out to be his penultimate lap on a Formula One track.

He summarized his feelings at the press conference after the match,
and said that the song "My way" described his feelings perfectly. I remember having heard this song sometime. I searched for the lyrics on the net - and just thought should put it down here .. I think it's simply awesome:

And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and ev'ry highway;
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.
I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
"No, oh no not me,
I did it my way".
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!

That kind of summarizes Schumacher in a way, I feel - brazen and fearless (at least on the track). He was also a very good team player.

Andre Agassi has been an enigma. But I have been amazed by the way he matured into a true champion as the years went by. And his professionalism, focus and discipline.

He had a great rivalry with Sampras, and for years, it was never a true rivalry because Sampras always had the upper hand, coz he was a better player overall and had too much of an overpowering game.

But in the analysis at the end of the day, I think Agassi is equal in stature to Sampras, if not more. His record of winning all the four Grand Slams is just one of the tangible pieces of evidence for that.

He has been such a strong and interesting personality, much more multidimensional than Sampras - and his life off court kind of mirrored what he achieved on court I guess.

He also managed to find a nice balance in his life too, with his marriage to (the innately supercool!) Steffi. (I know I talk as though I have known her for years :-))

I feel that his charity work just accentuates his true greatness.

Both had their failings too, I suppose - in Schumacher's case, I guess he was a little too competitive at times. And Agassi in his early years was a bit rash and irresponsible.

But then .. even Achilles had a bit of a weak heel.

More than an ear for music? Part Two

2006-09-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

I attended this Hindustani vocal concert last night. For a connoisseur like me, it was a surreal experience.

First, the maestro started with an appetizer . It had a unique quality in that it tricked people into believing that it didn't start a few minutes after the artistes settled themselves on stage, poised to perform. However, in reality, it had started as soon as they had sat down. I noticed that it was also intended to help people take a small nap just to refresh them for the rest of the concert, in case they had become tired from the exhaustions of the day. This is what I noticed as I turned casually to the right, only to notice the person in the row across the aisle fast asleep! Or was he actually deep in contemplation?

Barely had I got over the shock of seeing someone actually sleep off so early into the concert that I had started taking notice of the maestro's hand gestures. I noticed that he had three distinct hand movements. I call them :

1) The swing bowler's practice routine - where it appears as though he is practising his outswing or inswing action in cricket.
2) The scissor maneouvre - is he trying to cut an imaginary piece of paper?
3) The "I have no idea what to call it" move - This is an interesting step: here it almost seems like he is playing some sort of a game with the audience - he brings out his arm slowly like a drawer being opened, only to retract it back in a swift and decisive way.

After I finished this analysis, I tried to concentrate and gain some knowledge - so I listened closely. At one point, the maestro's voice became extremely hoarse, and I became really concerned - "He really needs a glass of water, and quick!" But to my horror, in the next instant, the audience roared with thunderous applause.

Clearly I was missing something.

I had the biggest shock of all when, at some point in the concert, he brought out his arm dangerously close to the mouth of this man who was sitting next to him and singing some parts of the concert, almost as if he wanted to close his mouth. I was thinking "Whoa, that would be rude". But it turned out that he was simply trying to adjust the microphone.

By now I needed a break from all the exertion, so I went out to get something to eat. I sat through the rest of the concert fidgeting - though I have to admit I liked the last two pieces he sang, which were devotional pieces to Goddess Durga and Lord Krishna respectively.

I wish I had a little more understanding of the classical stuff. Till then, perhaps, I should stay away from Hindustani concerts for a while. Definitely from the vocal variety.

Won the battle, lost the war.

2006-08-14T12:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, I lost - as expected.

For a while in the first set, it appeared as though he would blank me out .. and totally embarass me in the process.

but then ..
I put my head down and focussed ..
and..........

I won a game. I felt a bit like how Ajit Agarkar would probably have felt when he scored his first run after his run of seven consecutive ducks in Australia. :-)

So the first set was gone 6-1 in something like 20 mins.

But the second set was far more interesting - after losing serve in the very first game and falling behind 2-0, I broke serve and took a 3-2 lead. I maintained that one-game advantage throughout .. there were some exciting rallies .. it went to a tiebreak .. I even had a setpoint .. but I lost eventually 9-7 on the tiebreak. The second set was atleast an hour long.

So it turned out to be much closer than I had anticipated .. 1-6, 6-7 (7-9).

In the first set, I played from the baseline, and it didn't work very well, to say the least. In the second set, I came to the net more, mixed up my shots and used drop shots to good effect .. but my opponent clearly did not like that. In fact, after I played a winning drop shot on one of the points, he served underarm on the next one (taking a leaf out of Martina Hingis' book, perhaps) .. almost as if he wanted to express his displeasure. I managed to hit a return winner on that - small consolation for me, since I ended up losing the match.

But I am at peace with the result .. would have been nice to win a set, but a tiebreak against #1 isn't a bad result.

Time to climb (up?) the ladder!

2006-07-26T21:39:00.000-07:00

After a fair delay, the Euro tennis ladder is underway this year. It's a semi-formal tennis tournament that's conducted by the European club every summer here at MIT, and includes players from outside of MIT as well - some of whom are students/postdocs in universities in Boston and others are employed in companies around the area.

I have totally enjoyed playing in this ladder in the past - I just LOVE playing tennis!

This year, thanks to my good showing last summer, I got a start-up ranking in the top ten. Ok, I am not being entirely truthful there. There are fewer players (around 30) signed up as of now, and that has artificially inflated my ranking a little. But more people are going to join in for sure.

The ladder works through a challenge system. You can challenge players that are upto 8 spots above you. You have nothing to lose in such a challenge. If you challenge and win, you swap spots with the higher-ranked player. If you win upon being challenged by someone below you, then you go up one ranking (at the expense of a player above you, who gets penalized for not playing a match in the meanwhile).

The rankings are updated every week, and this goes on for nearly 4 months. There is a way to "freeze" your ranking if you are not going to be in town for a particular period of time.

I have realized that the best strategy is to use this rule to good effect. So, you keep going up the ladder until you challenge the best player that you can possibly match and defeat ..
and then..

simply go out of town and freeze your ranking.

Just kidding of course.

I played my first match on the ladder last weekend, and lost a very close match. :-(
The good part is, I am still on the top ten, and I can challenge even the #1 guy.

And guess what -
that's exactly what I'm doing next.

I'm hoping not to get thrashed.

What did you just say?

2006-05-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

People say and do the weirdest things when they wake up.

I have said some really cryptic things myself. Once when I was in school, (class 10 or 11 I think it was), I found myself being woken up by a phone ring. It was my father's colleague, who wanted to speak to him. My father wasn't around, and my mother was busy talking to the housemaid. I still cannot believe what I said in reply - "Sir, just now only he left the campus." Note that my father did not leave the house, but the CAMPUS. I guess I was in the midst of a vague dream where my father had gone to a college campus for something, God knows for what though. My father is neither a professor nor is he in a similar line of work. Far from it. He is a professional in the automobile industry.

On another occasion, I was fast asleep at night, and my brother was studying in an adjacent room. For some strange reason, I woke up, walked to the door that separated the two rooms, and announced loudly to my brother in Tamil (I translate it here): "My vest size is 85 cm - Iam telling you it's 85 why don't you believe me - I WANT 85!". As if that wasn't bad enough, I was religiously pointing to my vest, or so my brother claims even today. I don't quite believe him - I just cannot believe that I could have done that.

But what happened to a friend of mine definitely takes the cake. Soon after waking up one morning, he went to the convenience store that's close to my dormitory. After buying all the stuff that he needed, he walked to the checkout counter as usual. But what happened next is quite something. Instead of giving the cashier money in exchange for his stuff, he gives her his hand. Just romantically extended it out for her. The lady at the counter, I am told, was speechless. She took his hand in hers, not quite knowing what to do. So when I went to the store later in the day with another friend who was witness to this drama, the lady at the counter looks at us and says, "Look, no way am I going to hold this guy's hand now!".

I wonder why such things happen - is it because we are woken up during a dream and continue to play out the same dream subconsciously when we wake up, until something acts as a trigger to bring it out into the open?

On soapboxes and walkie talkies

2006-04-23T20:53:00.000-07:00

I have had a run of bad luck when it comes to cellphones.

My old cellphone was a thing of beauty - it not only gave me lost calls, but also delayed voice messages, "answered" missed calls, delayed missed calls - you name it, it gave it. To make matters worse, the wireless network wasn't exactly what you'd call the best in the world.

Oh did I mention that the phone also looked a little weird? One of my friends used to call it a soapbox, because he claimed that it looked like one. One day the situation got so bad that it actually started behaving more like a soapbox than a cellphone. That's when I decided to get rid of it.

Of course it also didn't help that I had dropped the phone approximately 500 times.

But one truly beautiful thing about the phone was that everytime I dropped it, the frame, the keyboard, and the circuit board underneath - everything would come off. Ok - that's not the beautiful thing that I set out to describe but what follows is. If anyone looked at the phone in this dissembled state, they would think - "No way can that thing work again!"

But it always did. I could always put the parts back in place, and the phone would turn on without any fuss. Almost another kind of self-assembly process.

My current cellphone isn't a technological marvel either. I had asked for a speaker phone, but I didn't quite expect what I got in the bargain. They had said in the phone description that the phone has a "powerful" speaker, but then that does not mean they hand me a walkie-talkie!

Coz that's what my phone looks like. A walkie talkie with a speaker so huge and powerful that it could probably pass off as a surround-sound speaker for a reasonably sized room.

Anyway Iam stuck with this one for a while. Until I get the next thing of beauty.

Can the Prince rise like a Phoenix?

2006-03-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

There is something tragic in the way things have turned out for Sourav Ganguly. I know it is a beaten topic, but I cannot help but give my two cents on the matter.

It is not much of a stretch at all to say that Ganguly has done great things for Indian cricket. The aggression and pride that he brought into the Indian team was definitely lacking before him, and is a major reason for the successes and confidence of the Indian team in the recent past. It is rather sad to see his name being dragged into controversies now. Of course, there must be some truth to Chappell's allegations, but I think he deserves better treatment than what is being meted out to him. For all his frailties, he has been a heroic figure and I just hope things change for the better for him.

He has been quite an interesting character. When he made a comeback into the Indian team, he gave the impression of being a talented but rather laidback character, which was most evident in the way he (mis)fielded. But slowly he rose through the ranks to become the captain of the team after Azhar and Tendulkar, and this brought out a side seldom seen in him. Pure and unalloyed aggression, especially in the one-dayers, was refreshing to see. It was also very impressive that he could turn around the fortunes of the Indian team after the match fixing controversies.

It would be just great if he can somehow find inspiration to come back into the Indian team and perform a fitting swan song. The World Cup in the Caribbean maybe a perfect stage for him to bid goodbye. But this is all probably too unrealistic and the stuff of dreams. Then again, maybe not.

Game.Set.Match

2006-01-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Iam a big tennis fan. Playing the game gives me a lot of joy. I love the feeling of the racquet meeting the ball, and the intense concentration involved in playing proper tennis shots. As all good coaches would tell you, to hit a good shot, you should keep your eyes on the ball until the last moment. Sometimes, this has almost a meditative effect. Kind of similar to table tennis (ping pong) that way.

When you are playing a shot, you just focus on playing that shot well, and forget everything else. It is a little hard to describe, but if you have heard players talking about being in the "zone", thats what Iam talking about.

The other thing I like about tennis is that it is one of the few sports that involve all-round exercise. It requires some athletic ability to play the sport well.

My favorite shots in tennis are, by far, the volleys. Good volleying involves not only good reflexes but also good racquet control. It is hard to find good volleyers in modern professional tennis, mainly due to the overwhelming power generated by today's baseline players, which reduces the efficacy of the serve-and-volley game.

Its no wonder then that my all-time favorite tennis player is Stefan Edberg. I have yet to see a game as graceful as Edberg's. Federer comes close to it. Pretty close.

Mostly, I play singles, but occasionally I get to play doubles, and its a lot of fun. The fast and thrilling exchanges at the net are my favourite ones.

In the last two years, I have participated in an amateur summer tennis tournament here in Boston, organized by the Euroclub here. It has been one of the highlights of my stay here. Its a lot of fun to play others at similar or higher skill levels. Some of the players on this ladder were REALLY good, they had played in the European junior tennis circuit!

I look forward to playing in it this summer too - but its doubtful if it would be organized - coz the person who's been organizing it has moved and is not going to do so anymore.

BTW, Happy new year! Ok, I cannot resist writing this joke that I have been entertaining my friends with ("torturing" is probably the word that they might use to describe it) ..

You know, this year, I haven't made any new year resolutions. You know why?
Coz one of my resolutions last year was not to make one this year. :-)

- V.

American Slanguage

2005-09-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

American slang is funny, indeed.

Have you ever stopped and wondered what the phrase “Have a good one” means?

This is one of the lesser-known American slang usages. It pops up once in a while, when you least expect it. So what exactly does “one” represent here? And why should I have just a good one – why can’t I have two or three of whatever it is?

Another slang that hits you wherever you go is “Whats up, dude?” We all know what it means – which is, well, nothing. You maybe tempted to say “tubelight” or “ceiling” or “sky” in reply depending upon where you are at that instant, but please refrain from doing so.

By the way, there are many accepted usages for “Whats up”. Like “Wassup”, “Tsup”, “Sup”. These days, it’s probably enough if you raise your eyebrows and exhale.

Another variant of “Whats up?” is “What up”. As if the existing term wasn’t grammatically incorrect enough.

The one phrase that I had a tough time with when I got here is “You’re all set”.

When someone says “You’re all set”, it roughly translates to – don’t hang around, take a walk, goodbye, hope I don’t see you again!

The first time I heard this phrase from a lady at the card office, I was in half a mind to say: “Lady, watch your grammar”. But somehow better sense prevailed. And I realized what she meant was that she has finished serving me, now she’s ready to help the next person in line – but not before I said “I beg your pardon” around twenty times.

Something funny happened when someone asked me “How are you doing?” .

This question, as you would probably know by now, is largely rhetorical – which means you don’t actually have to answer it, and responding with a simple “hi” usually suffices.

It definitely doesn’t warrant a detailed description of your rather fun-filled weekend as a reply, especially if it was your professor that asked you the question- all she wanted probably was a brief comment about research.

If someone yells out “Dude” (or to be more accurate, “Dooooooooooood”), usually it means one of two things:
1. You are looked upon as being a cool sort.
2. You have said something terribly absurd.

If someone keeps telling you "Take it easy, dude!", please DO take it easy - even though you may want to take out all your anger on this person, because you really don't have any intention of not taking "it" easy.

If you encounter “yada, yada, yada” in the midst of some text, it doesn’t mean that the author has frozen trying to recollect a verse from the Bhagavad Gita. It simply means that he doesn’t want to expand on something. (P.S. equivalents are: “blah, blah, blah”, “and so on”).

If you get the term “holy fill-anything-here”, you know you’ve just put the person who said it in a state of shock by something you said or did. Being from India, we already know that cows are holy, but little did we know that a lot of other seemingly unholy things are as well. You can have holy crap, holy shit, holy smoke, holy cat, holy mackerel, holy moly, holy Schmoly.

In classes, you will learn more slang. You will do “back-of-the-envelope” calculations (on the blackboard) and you will also learn the key technique of “hand-waving” - which, by the way, won’t land you any favors with the TA if used in exams.

If something is “humongous”, its so huge that saying its huge doesn’t do it justice .. it has to be called humongous – only that would accord it the respect it deserves.

Ok, that’s about it for now.

You have a good one!

More than an ear for music

2005-08-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

I regard music as one of the most marvellous creations of man.

It has great power - greater than other forms of art. And that is the power of reaching out to and touching one's soul.

Listening to Bach's "Air on a G String", Faure's "Pavane" or Pachelbel's "Canon in D" can awaken the angst residing in the deepest corners of your heart.

So sad - and so beautiful.

If you're wondering how I came up with such a weird combo, its because these are some of the pieces I have on a classical CD that I got recently - I was listening to it as I was typing this :-).

Its the cello whose sounds are primarily responsible for the wondrous melancholy - and the way the instruments combine is simply divine.

One can so easily get lost in the devotion of M.S.Subbulakshmi as she sings "Bhaja Govindam" or "Kurai Ondrum Illai". Iam sure that her music wouldn't be nearly as great if it weren't for the incredible devotion and faith in God that people say she had.

Music also has the ability to change your mood in an instant - and Iam sure all of you have countless examples of songs from your favourites that have brightened many a moment.

Like books, music can also be an eternal companion - a better one, in a way, because you can actually choose the kind of music you want to listen to at a particular time, unlike a book, where you are limited by what the author throws at you. Though of course, you can learn a whole lot more from books - from the ideas, thoughts, experiences and perspective of the author.

It is said of science and the pursuit of knowledge that they can capture your intellect and imagination - true. But I think its the prerogative of art to capture your heart and soul.