"Finding out - not knowledge is the spring that makes life fascinating."
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Group 'Wah'...
Group 'Wah'. What's that? When was the last time that you traveled in a bus and the driver applied a sudden screeching break and all the passengers dashed forward from their regular positions. All at once, at one time, simultaneously.
Group 'Wah' is all about unison, applying the principles of wave propagation that we learnt when in school, it's a mantra to send multitudes into a kind of frenzy, something like a mass psychosis, it's the automatic clock that makes millions of others who are in different time zones and not within their native land, to sleep and wake up, perfectly in sync with the match timings.
Do you feel that it happens only in India or with desis. No, it's a global phenomenon. Now, to explain the behavior that you see in the video, you need to understand the phenomenon known as Brainwave Entertainment.
Don't miss the complete article here. Also, at the end of the video it was mentioned that the IPL kicks off on 10th Apr'09. But so far nothing is clear and the final dates are not yet sorted out. Most likely this event would get delayed keeping in view the nation wide election which is slotted to be conducted in phases.
If in Honk Kong the sounds of horse racing announcers can stimulate the brains of people from a delta state to a beta state, it's a game of cricket, that does wonders in our desi land. Sahi boola na..
[Hat tip: Larry Feign for the Theory of Group 'Wah'.]
Scratch your head a bit and if you can recollect, just before the last cricket World Cup, there was lot of hoopla before the tournament commenced. Sad that the men in blue had an early exit, wrecking all the big dreams and investments many business and advertisement houses had vested in this event.
It was like 'saab paani maain dhool gaya' and I guess even Satya Paul had the same fate. Satya Paul, a leading brand name in India and also worldwide in association with e-Bay had plans for auctioning five exclusive sarees that were sported by Mandira Bedi. Each of these saree was special in the sense that, the theme of cricket underlined each of the design or the pattern.
Satya Paul, was born in Leigha, Muzaffargarh (now in Pakistan) and came to India at the time of partition. For many years, he worked hard with the weavers and wanted to create a global image for this usually 6 yards piece of cloth, known to us as 'saree'. In 1985 he launched the brand, Satya Paul. Later on the business baton was taken effectively by his son Puneet Nanda. Puneet, together with his friends, Jyoti Narula and Sanjay Kapoor later expanded the business.
Satya Paul is a brand that blends contemporary taste, social changes, fashion trends and art perfectly in most of its creations. Like this one which it showcased in a recent fashion show. A sooper cool saree, with Google printed on it. If you see the picture carefully, even the address bar near the shoulder part of the saree, mentions the shopping site of his designer house. Even the algorithms from the search behemoth, Google cannot escape from the charming magic of the saree. Don't you think it would be fantabulous to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful on a saree?
Possible or impossible, you decide?
The fluttering drapes that adorn the body, the mystical smile that accompanies every fold, the dreams and beauty of an Indian lady are better personified in the saree. Isn't it ? Don't get me wrong, that I against those who wear jeans, t-shirts, western formals, salwar kameez, etc. Nah nah, to each its own and I also know for a fact that different circumstances and situations commands one's dressing style/option. Wear what you are most comfortable with, no fcukingworries. Vokay.
I had to go round and round in a merry-go-round to tell you, one point. Its that the saree has its own aristocratic flavor, methinks. Deepa Krishnan, a fellow Desicritic'ian had made a wonderful post on saree sometime back.
To tell the truth, I find the draping of the saree a sensuous pleasure. That final flinging of the pallu over the shoulder, the twisting to look at your back in the mirror, the feel of crepe silk as it goes round the bare midriff - everything contributes to a subtle sensual delight even as you dress for work. The saree allows me to be feminine, to experiment with colours and jewellery, confident that no matter what kind of figure I have, this garment will help me look my best.
Keep reading and remain connected.
(Note: The Google saree pic is taken from Flickr, and the other one from the web.)
The cheerleaders need to be applauded for only in Hyderabad would they have had to hear stuff like, "Arrey dhang se hilao ji, kya pukkat mein aye kya".
I will post my views on the cheerleaders and the kind of ballyhoo (both +ve and -ve) their presence generated in the recently concluded IPL series. Few points are just squirming in my mind, so let those rest and make way for well-knit sentences.
If MTV gives viewers 'One Tight Slap', someone else gives that in a cricket field. By now a lot of hysteria has been generated over a match between Mumbai Indians vs. Kings XI Punjab in the on-going IPL season. The latest I read yesterday was that the inflammation is sorted now and things are back to normal and entertainment continues. Back to sixes, fours, and not to forget the cheerleaders dancing.
After the angry slap incident, a panel investigated on this foolhardy behavior of Harbhajan on the field which amounts to level 4.2 offence under the ICC Code of Conduct. Level 4.2 relates to physically assaulting a fellow player, match official or spectators. The final verdict related to this issue was rendered by the IPL match referee and former Test stumper, Farokh Engineer. Bhajji was slapped a 11 match ban and he can't play in the remaining IPL matches.
But these brought to my mind few points.
1. This one is purely related to the economics part of it. This slap will go down in history as one of the costliest slap ever. In this case, both Harbhajan and Sreesanth would be immortalized with the former as the conferrer and the later as the recipient of the most high-priced slap. Harbhajan was auctioned for a whopping $8,50,000 (approximately Rs 3.4 crore), the buyer being Reliance Industries.
Just simple mathematics shows close to what Harbhajan earns and what he losses in this opera. Assuming that there are 14 matches he is going to play for IPL.
Gain = (3/14)*3.4 = .73 crores INR. Loss = (11/14)*3.4 = 2.67 crores INR.
2. This is kind of a googly for me. Is Harbhajan that unfledged, a school kid, or is he a professinal who has played for India for close to 10 years in the test and one day format of the game ? Does he not know that his heroics and skirmishes will have ripple effect later. He knew what happened in Australia a couple of months back, was that sequence not enough to ring alarm bells ? Is caution the key for him or his short temper attitude? I guess Bhajji knows what's the best answer is for him.
3. I feel like laughing to see poor Sreesanth, crying like a kid after the slapping incident. I personally feel that Sreesanth's weeping was more of drama and role-playing than reality. The entire crowd and TV viewers know how he makes faces, good, bad, ugly on the field. I can equate his act to that of Italy's Marco Materazzi, who re-acted as if a missile had pierced his heart, when he was head butted by Zidane. Man, c'mon in the practice sessions in football, they are trained for more severe physical onslaughts. Anyways, after lot of brassy news over the cheerleaders, this incident added a new twist to IPL and made for some interesting news.
4. Everyone knows, at least I consider this, if I put it the right way, Mumbai is the Mecca of cricket in India. Bhajji donned the captaincy hat because Sachin was injured. So didn't he not realize that, he had a whole lot of more responsibilities and obligations as he was replacement for someone, who is one of the biggest legends of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar. The way Bhajji behaved, displayed it was a smacking not only on Indian cricket, but also on the city that breathes cricket and is passionate about it to the core. Think of Sachin Tendulkar, how many times in his career he has been haunted and tormented by the media and others during his rough patches, when marked by under-performance. How many times, has he raised his voice even while replying in the press, forget being aggressive with the reporters. He uses his bat and keeps cricket lovers stunning with the passing years, his bat does the speechmaking and not his histrionics.
Also, everyone knows that IPL is all about cricket with oodles of entertainment, glamour, money, etc involved in it. Come to think of it's sheer business, barons and tycoons have pumped in tremendous amounts of money, so each of the teams would try to outshine the others. But that doesn't mean that with a loss, someone is going to behave irrationally. Fine, agreed that Mumbai team had lost all its initial matches, but that doesn't mean the team lacks talent. It's just that this is a different fast-food format of cricket, and there is whole lot of new experimentations (ex: player X from Y region is not playing for Y region but for Z region.). Also many people forget that Mumbai has the maximum number of Ranji Trophy Titles (a pure and original format of cricket sans the showbiz), i.e. 37 which as far as I know is the highest number won by any team. So what if they are little behind in this new phaata phaat generation cricket.
I think it was in the early 2006 series, that Ranchi Rambo, Mahendra Singh Dhoni led the Indian squad to victory against Pakistan in the third One-Dayer. More than the win, what was significant was that this dude, found an admirer in none other than President Pervez Musharraf. Yeh he liked not only his aggressive batting flair but also his unique hairstyle.
"A lot of placards in the crowd have suggested that you should get a haircut, but if you take my advice, you look good in this hairstyle," Musharraf told the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman during the presentation ceremony.
After that many hair product endorsements just came bucketing along his way. Brylcreem, was one of such products for which Dhoni endorsed. Incase you are not aware, this was not the first time that any cricketer was promoting for the product, several years ago, former test cricketers Farokh Engineer and Dennis Compton were brand ambassadors for this hair care product.
Just then a point reached, after the embarrassing debacle of the 'Men in Blue' in early rounds of the last World Cup, that the name calling game started. It so happened that, Dhoni's hairdo which was something different that much aligned with his flamboyant and free flow style of playing, now started giving this dashing cricketer an image that he would not have been most comfortable with.
Then came the 20-20 World Cup in 2007 and the young Indian team won this trophy under the captaincy of Dhoni. He again rose from the ashes and shone like a beacon. Now something new is on platter when the local chookra heads to his hometown, Ranchi with the complete disappearance of the famous locks. A new hairdo, 'point cut', the short trimmed hair managed without combing.
He got some flattering comments on his new make over.
"Bahut smart dikh raha hai, bal kata liya hai, jhakas look hai, (he is looking very smart after a new hair-cut. His looks are irresistible)," said the companion claiming that now he would change his hairstyle.
Now there are many theories centered around this choppy coiffure. One surmise goes by the word that the Team India ODI skipper is trying to imitate the latest trend as is followed by Bollywood stars. Is Dhoni trying to have his hair cut short like that of John Abraham ? The new look is the outcome of the handiwork of hair stylist Sapna Bhavnani and her precisioned fingers on the scissors.
Now the second theory stands a bit strong. Some link it to a solemn request from Bollywood sensation model-turned actor Deepika Pradukone as there are rumours about his affair with this beatific lass. Now this theory maain thoda sa daaam hai, kyon ?
Deepika Padukone, inspite of having a busy schedule, travelled from Bangalore to Mumbai to be a part of the cheering crowd for the recently concluded Twenty-20 match against Australia held at Brabourne stadium. There is some furphy in the media and the newspapers that, Deepika even invited the cricketer for the premier show of her film 'Om Shanti Om' to be released shortly.
But when Dhoni was questioned by the media, woh thoda shaaarma gaya and replied.
'Please do not change my girl friend's name at least for the time being' was the request made by India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the media.
I don’t know how much of this is true and how much is false, but I have a major doubt. Now the movie 'Om Shanti Om' is going to be released shortly, in which Deepika is sported with SRK with his new swaggering and swashbuckling hairdo in the Dard-e-Disco song. If she liked the flowing hair in the movie, tau abhi Dhoni se short sporty cut kyon ?
For those interested in cricket with this lack luster World Cup going on, in the Caribbean Isles, Australia continues to kick ass all the teams but lets hope all is not over yet. This World Cup produced some unexpected surprises in the very starting. Or those surprises were expected?
But there is this brilliant chap, Brett Lee who missed the World Cup as he was suffering from an ankle injury. After missing World Cup, Brett Lee didn’t leave his attitude of keeping the 'batsmen-ass-on-fire' even when he was off the field and planted his ass on a safe turf for a successful post-retirement career.
Lee, who penned, sang and appeared in the romantic duet 'You're The One For Me' along with Bollywood singer Asha Bhonsle, has plans to cut his album in India by the end of this year.
But Lee's journey from cricket will not take him into the television commentary box, but instead the sprawling studio lots of the world's biggest and most lucrative movie industry.The 29-year-old self-confessed Indophile was offered a lead role in a lavish Bollywood production when he visited Mumbai on his way home from Australia's tour of Bangladesh this year.
The notion was floated by none other than Amitabh Bachchan, or the Big B as he is more widely known, one of the biggest and most recognisable stars in India's huge film and television industries.
Lee knows he can rake in the maximum moolah in India, so he left no stone unturned in his preparation. Lee is busy doing lot of AD's for many luxury products and business houses also. Fundu and timely action, with all the advertisement houses no more running after the 'Men-In-Blue' after their jhaakas performance in the World Cup. So Lee is bang on target, definitely more bang than he can take.
Cricket in the Caribbean is more than just a game, it is calypso, conch shells, conga, catches, collapso and clichés that gets fans over the boundary. The West Indies started the Calypso party by registering an emphatic win over Pakistan. The Indian calypso fuelled by a multitude of television channels and media houses turned into a collapso for the Boys in Blue in the match against Bangladesh.
But I won’t do a minute-by-minute tracking of the collapso collapse action first and then the huge win against Bermuda, which was tailor made to regain the lost confidence. Rather take you to an oasis of culinary diversity from the Caribbean islands right here in Bangalore. If you are visiting or living in Bangalore, you must try this place: Sue's Food Place, incase you have not done that. It's a simple Caribbean restaurant located in Indiranagar much like a bistro in Paris that run the gamut from unpretentious neighborhood joints to the smart ones managed by super chefs. The atmosphere is relaxed and friendly, a bit homely to put it straight. The walls are decorated with Caribbean memorabilia and Caribbean music genre, reggae history, t-shirts and colorful headgears from the islands. The owner, Susan John called Sue is from West Indies and has set up this little cozy nook that you must experience sometime. Quite a popular joint, it was packed when we went for lunch and even saw a good crowd from the Caribbean right here in Bangalore for a weekend lunch. Apparently, it's a must visit for the West Indian cricketers, diplomats and business people from the island when they are visiting India. Apart from the regular Banglorites, the small community of Trinidadians who have settled in this city frequent this place.
Though the buffet lunch was priced at a reasonable rate of Rs 225 per head, we were treated to a delicious spread of about six to seven salads. To name a few there was egg mayonnaise mixed with capsicum, chicken salad, pan fried broccoli, beans and carrot, picnic potato salad, etc. There was soup, which was mouth watering, but I learned about it when I was halfway through the main course and felt kind of upset ;) For the main course for the curries, there was crab curry, mushroom and corn curry, delicious fish cutlets, roasted chicken, Trinidad chicken curry and a yummy vegetable baked dish, among other stuff. In the post-slavery era, Indian cooking culture was introduced in Caribbean food recipes and still remains an active part of the Caribbean cuisine. You can realize this, once you have tasted the food as most of the curry powder recipes tastes are directly derived from original Indian cuisine. Like for Indians, rice is a staple item in the Caribbean menu. But since, flavors from all over the world have found a home in Caribbean food through countless generations and the flow of history, I even found two other allotropic versions of rice items. There were lots more, for sure but I didn’t have the appetite for more after two servings of crab curry. There was light music in the background ranging from native West Indian music to reggae hits but Bob Marley remained staple. Everything on the island is like a fiesta and there is confusion and fun and it is clearly reflected in the warm environment of the restaurant where one won't be surprised to see small kids just run around here and there and be picked up suddenly by Sue and then cuddled and pampered while the parents ate their food. Sue either cooks or co-ordinates the preparation for all the food and has a vivacious personality. She is more than willing to explain the ingredients and how the food is prepared as I saw many guests asking her about the preparation methodology for few of the items.
No liquor is served, but they have some exotic sounding drinks, which I didn't try. I was happy with my normal water, though people at the neighboring tables were trying out some interesting custom made drinks. The cooking was just fine but it was the savoring that the crowd was enjoying the most.
Treat yourself with the rum cake, pudding and the fruit salad to complete the final lap. Some call it minimalist food art, others see it as tweaked nouvelle cuisine. Whatever, Sue’s passion for fine cuisine, peppered with some peppy music makes it worth another visit anytime.
Those who want to try this place, the address is Sue’s Food Place, #4, Subadar Garden, Sri Krishna Temple Road, Indiranagar, Bangalore – 560038
What has the bellwether of IT and Services industry, Infosys share with Shivaji Park, the mecca of Indian cricket, with its innumerable cricket academies that has produced stalwarts like Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Sanjay Manjarekar to name a few.
The software giant Infosys was christened at Shivaji Park, as disclosed by Sudha Murthy, wife of Infosys founder Narayan Murthy.
"We decided to name our new company as Infosys while sitting at a corner of Shivaji Park," she told the audience at a function after the couple were presented the Yashwantrao Chavan Award for 2006.
More here and I have read few books written by Sudha Murthy, namely Wise and Otherwise, Dollar Bahu and Mahaswetha. These are some simple books and are purely Indian socio-economic and culture centric, written straight from heart.
Was the Infosys and Shivaji Park connection a bit incongruent, if that is so guess for this with it’s "all about cricket" mania in the air,
How does the World Cup Cricket link with China and Taiwan, is it a bit whacky to think that?
Living in temporary plastic huts and taking a single day off each month, about 1,000 employees of state-owned Chinese companies have sweated away the past year on the Caribbean islands of Jamaica, Antigua and Grenada as the West Indies prepare to host the Cricket World Cup, the game's premier international event.
The Cricket World Cup is just round the corner and cricketers along with their fans across the globe are waiting eagerly as the biggest event of the game takes center stage on March 9, 2007 in the West Indies.
The game of Cricket is not just a game but a "religion" which drives 1.2 billion people into a state of frenzy once the men in blue are on the field. Introduced in India as a rich man's game, today there is hardly any place in India or any heart in the Indian diaspora that is not infected by its tentacles. "Lagaan", a period film’s script was written with the intention of appealing to the contemporary viewer, particularly the cricket buff about this shift from a phirang aadmi’s game to aam bharatiya game. The country comes to an abrupt stop when a cricket match is being played, the roads are deserted, parties and weddings are postponed, operations in hospitals are rescheduled, parliament goes in for early closing, work schedules at offices are re-planned,etc.
The World Cup is like a festival for us. The craze, the frenzy, the excitement and a feeling of patriotism reaches its pinnacle during this time. Every Indian is soaked in the tricolor whether in his/her attire or spirit. All cricket fans bond with each other ignoring all differences of caste, creed, color or religion. Just about everyone becomes an expert discussing each and every aspect of the game. Like, I myself follow the game but am not an ardent follower or die hard cricket fanatic. But what charges me is the spirit and the liveliness of the fans. Someone holding a transistor in a busy local bus or the busy Mumbai local trains or near a chai shop to know the latest score. They shout for their team and pray for one single cause – An Indian win with a wide spectrum of human emotions on display. Isn’t it amazing! So much so that the drama of the game continues off the pitch, and in recent weeks, the marketing and the branding fraternity has not left any stone unturned in cheering for the men in blue. This is exactly what "Nike", the official apparel sponsor for Team India did in its latest AD.
"Nike has signed a 43-million-dollar deal to kit out the Indian cricket team after outbidding rivals Reebok and Adidas, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said.
The five-year contract, which starts on January 1, 2006, also gives the US sports goods giant the rights to sell the BCCI's official merchandise at its retail outlets across the country.
Nike's bid for 1.97 billion rupees (43 million dollars) topped Reebok's 1.19 billion rupees and Adidas's bid of 1.28 billion rupees, BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi said on Friday."
The AD is a little to long and can be bracketed as a short movie snippet. It starts with a typical Indian scene, a traffic jam something very common in all Indian cities and the city that is highlighted is Mumbai, home to some of the best cricketers the world has ever produced. It’s like "I think cricket, I drink cricket, I breathe cricket". One go-getting boy jumps on to the roof of a bus while another gets on to an adjacent bus and thus the virtual cricket pitch is formed instantly. The game starts amidst the crowd trapped in the traffic blockade. The batsman hits the ball hard and like a projectile it hits a hoarding and then a balcony and after passing through ‘N’ number of hands, the ball suddenly gets under a moving car and one of the fielders risks his life to collect the ball. Note the elephant there in the video, I feel it symbolises the Rising Elephant economy growing at a rate of more than 8% a year. Watch more here, aaram se.
North-south, east-west, rich-poor, men-women, rural-urban, Hindu-Muslim, a craze bordering on madness unite the nation when it comes to cricket. I have one of my cousins, studying in standard seven in the US who asks me for the blue T-shirt of Indian cricket team incase he doesn’t travel to India once a year. It’s a must-buy in his list when he is in Bangalore, else I have to send it somehow may it be by post or through some person. The reason, my cousin wears this blue T-shirt whenever India plays any important cricket match. Few call this craziness but even though he is born and brought up in the US, he is still soaked with cricket-mania.
The matches, the highlights, the strike-rates, the pre-match predictions, the post-match analysis, the schedule, the records, the cricketing histories, and other nitty gritties of the game would be feeders for all forms of media such as newspapers, blogs and television in the coming few days. So let me leave that part here and get into some interesting stuff.
India's latest pace sensation Sreesanth is all set to rock cricket fans. It is not his bowling that I am talking about here [though I want that too], but his song, the lyrics of which he wrote himself. His 6-year old niece lends a seraphic tone to the song. Watch more here.
"It is a motivational song that gives a feeling that the whole nation is there for the team to support them in their ups and downs. It gives a dream that we are going to win the World Cup." "The song has to be there on the lips of all Indians at the Caribbean grounds to motivate the players," Sreesanth adds.
How can you think of the World Cup and forget noodle strap, Mandira Bedi who will once again anchor Extra Innings on SET. This time she will drape herself in saris, specially designed by fashion house Satya Paul. So from noodle strap to no strap, rest all hoooo la la lee le ho hoooo la la lee le ho. The saris will be auctioned by online website eBay after the mega event and will include flags of the participating nations, signatures of players, a red cricket ball, newspaper mastheads and cricket figurines.
Mandira Bedi has also acted in a movie "Meerabai Not Out" made by her husband Raj Kaushal. Meera, a 30-year-old lady is a teacher in a school, hails from a middle class family, which lives in Mumbai's Shivaji Park, the mecca for budding cricketers. Since she is 30, she is in a kind of a set-up where she seems to have missed the boat as far as marriage is concerned. Of course, her family is still on her case to get her married soon but she is not interested; her first love being cricket.
The World Cup has always been garnished with spicy anecdotes, which make it even more interesting. From the dressing room gossips to the food to the late nightouts if one is across the other side of the Caribbean, everything becomes the flavor of the season. The fans just go crazy and the media, the sponsors even the restaurants all over, try to score on it. Like it happened to me yesterday. I along with two of my friends, started for a late night dinner in some restaurant near my residence. We heard some loud music before entering the food hall, only to realize that something special was happening in a pub, "The Legends of Rock" adjacent to the dinning hall. To satisfy our curiosity we barged into the pub only to find that a live coverage of cheering hangama for the Indian Team being shot by Headlines Today, one of the leading news channel of India today. This was part of the cheering campaign before Team India left for the West Indies on Feb 28th’07.
The time has arrived yet again and it would be no different. The game of cricket would be at its glorious best along with its favorite sons aiming for the trophy. This tournament has always been a test of team spirit and the ability to perform under pressure. At the end of the day, the team, which displays power, performance and passion for the game, would be the ultimate winner. So let’s get set, all equipped with our lucky charms, anthems and prayers to be with our teams as the battle begins.
By the way, do you know what is the official song for World Cup 2007? It’s 'The Game of Love and Unity', sung by Jamaican-born reggae star Shaggy, Barbadian entertainer Rupee and Trinidadian Faye-Ann Lyons. Yes it’s the same old Grammy Award winner, Shaggy, best known for his hit singles Oh Carolina, It wasn't me, Angel and many others.
Khel ke maaidan pe kuch rishte baneiynge, kuch rishte tutaiynge, kuch kwaab sajeegee, kuch umedaiyain bhi, paar TEAM INDIA, kuch kar guzroo ish baar, dekhado 1983 ke woh jalwaee....
It is difficult to describe yourself, so I decided to tell what I think about life.Enjoy life as it comes and make sure you work hard to reach where you want to be in life..Cribbing sucks !!
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