Cricketing what ifs...

Courtesy Amit, I was linked to a brilliant article by my favorite cricket writer, Dr. Ramachandra Guha in the Telegraph. Three out of the six scenarios he put forward struck a chord.

1. What if Duleepsinghji and the Nawab of Pataudi, Sr. played for India in the inaugural test in 1932 vs. England?
I dont know if Dr. Guha was too imaginative in conjecturing that with Duleep and the Nwab on the Indian side, we might have won that Test! But we sure had a fairly decent team, bolstered (to use a much cliched term) by the frontline attack of Amar Singh and Mohd. Nissar.
Both Duleep and Pat (as Dr. G referred to them) served Indian 'interests' in their own ways later in life, with Pat captaining the Indian team to England in 1946 (rather unsuccessfully) while Duleep served as the Indian High Commissioner in Aus and NZ.

My what if: If Amar Singh continued playing for India into his 30s (he died at a very young 29!). The Englishmen had nothing but praises to sing, when it came to Amar Singh. Len Hutton said "There is no better bowler in the world today than Amar Singh" in 1970, a couple of decades after he had faced Amar Singh first! The unforgettable quote comes from Wally Hammond, who memorably said:"he came off the pitch like the crack of doom''. Coming to conjecture time, I guess India would have been less of a punching bag for the other teams, and it would have been interesting to see a team containing Merchant, Hazare, Mushtaq Ali, Vinoo Mankad, Amar Singh, Lala Amarnath playing against Bradman's invincible Aussies.

2. What if Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchant had played against the Aussies in 1947-48?

I guess I went off on a tangent to this in the point above! The entire situation due to which Mushtaq Ali was unable to make the tour was sort of poignant, and reflected the times prevalent then. Though Dr. Guha's article seemed to suggest that Vijay Merchant cried off, I am sure his reasons were good and he would never have let the Indian team down.

On a personal note, Mushtaq Ali is the only cricketer from the pre-Independence era whom I have met. It was in 1993 at the Brabourne Stadium just after the Windies-SA Hero Cup game. Most of the folks hanging around the clubhouse after the game saw Sunil Gavaskar talking to this tall ramrod straight elderly gentleman (at that time I admit, I did not know who he was), and naturally went towards them hoping to get Sunny's autograph. Sunny was quite surprised, and said "Arrey, Mushtaq-saab ka autograph bhi lena!!!!". Only then did some of us realize that we were standing next to one of the greats of Indian cricket.


3. What if Ravi Shastri had become captain instead of Azhar!?
Dr. G is quite correct in saying that Raj Singh Dungarpur and his "bunch of jokers" went for the quieter man, though I suspect Azhar would still have fallen prey to the lure of mammon which would ultimately lead to his downfall. Azhar, like Cronje had everything going for him, and needlessly went and ruined his life. I always was a fan of both of them, especially Cronje, and to see them fall from the pedestal I put them on was disgusting to say the least! Cronje paid a very heavy (and unfair IMHO) price, and it remains to see what Azhar has to say. His silence says it all, despite the muted protests (there's surely more to this than what meets the eye). Selling your country's pride and honor is plain pathetic. What scares me is the possibility that other folks might be involved!

I think Shastri captained India in just one test against the Windies at Chepauk in 1987-88. Cricketing cliches aside, I'd say he has one of the most astute cricketing brains, and would have made an excellent captain, probably much better than Azhar. It was also unfortunate that he had to cut his career short at just 30!

My collection of what ifs:

What if Sidhu had not walked out on the Indian team on the England tour in 1996?
I suspect we might not have seen either Dravid/Saurav or both making their debuts....

What if Raman Lamba had played the second (??) Test of the Pakistan tour in 1988-89?
Azhar was going through a nasty patch out of form, and Raman Lamba was supposed to replace him for the Test at Faisalabad(??). For some reason (I think due to illness), Raman Lamba had to pull out and Azhar played the game and cemented his place (another cricketing cliche) with a century. (While searching for the tour index, I was thinking of the folks who made their debut on that tour, and could only think of Vivek Razdan! I had conveniently forgotten that Mr. Tendlya also made his debut on that tour!).

What if Dhruv Pandove hadnt met his end in that unfortunate accident in 1992?
Dhruv was spoken of in the same breath as Sachin Tendulkar, and met with a fatal accident in 1992 while returning from a Deodhar Trophy game. He had even broken Sachin's record for being the youngest Indian to make a first-class century. I would like to believe that he would have been a cornerstone of the Indian batting lineup today, but that probably would have meant that we might not have seen the best of Laxman/Ganguly/Dravid!

Jeez these "what ifs"....they sure have their flip sides too!

So that's that!

The longest road trip

Did something I have dreamt of for a long time, the other day - driving up the 1-N, all along the coast to the Bay Area. It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime (if not more!) things one should do!

We set out a little after the rush-hour had passed, but got caught in a huge pile-up near LAX (thanks to two SUVs which banged each other and decided to settle matters on the freeway lanes itself, instead of moving onto the shoulder), which set us back by almost an hour. But it was fun, just watching the flights literally swoop right over our heads before they touched down on the runways. As always the Boeing 747s set my heart racing.

The first pit-stop was at Santa Barbara, where we took a drive through State Street (the main avenue, with all the "happening" joints), hoping to find some parking and maybe grab a bite. Unfortunately we couldnt find a decent spot, and decided to drive on and maybe grab a bite somewhere further on up the road. VR was sure impressed with State Street (Pics: Courtesy Monsieur Gabor Cselle, who has a great set of snaps on CA!)!

The stretch of the 101-N between SB and San Luis Obispo is easily one of the most boring stretches of highway (ofcourse, nothing beats the I-5!). We stopped for 'lunch' at a town called Nipomo, just beyond Santa Maria (town where the 'Man with the Fedora' or THE FREAK is standing trial). It was here that the great VR flicked a Red Bull from the gas-station! I think the folks who might have been watching on CC-tv probably were too scared to pursue the thug VR is! Ok jokes aside, he was holding the Red Bull for me while I used the can (the restroom fool!), and decided to walk out to the car for a smoke with the Red Bull in his hand.

The 101-N hits the coast at Pismo Beach, before moving in again towards San Luis Obispo. It's absolutely amazing as you approach the coast from inland. From SLO, you drive west again and hit the coast at Morro Bay, after which the drive's all along the coast.

We stopped off at a few vista points along the coast, including one beach which was full of seals sunbathing happily. There's a fair bit of excitement just pulling off the highway on a whim, right across the oncoming lane, after ensuring (ofcourse) that there wasnt any traffic around! The sheer thrill of hitting the gas, as you pull back onto the highway to continue the drive is sheer exhilaration!

Sometime in the early evening, we reached our scheduled stop-over at San Simeon, the town where we have the Hearst Castle. Built by one of the most famous millionaires in the US, William Randolph Hearst (on whom the movie Citizen Kane was based), it is one of the most imposing 'historical' structures I have seen in CA - the rest are all natural, or lack history! It's on a hill and overlooks the Pacific Ocean, which must have been a pretty awesome sight from up there (we could not go up, as the tours for the day were all over). We did however, visit the museums at the foot of the hill, which had some amazing pieces of art. How I wish I could have seen the famed Neptune Pool at the Castle!

Our next scheduled stop was Big Sur, to catch the sunset! The highway now went into the hills, and the road was pretty twisty and winding! No wonder most of the car commercials are shot here! I could imagine Raikkonen/Montoya take those curves (Note: I'm not a Tifosi!!!)! We just about made it in time, and caught some amazing snaps! It's easily one of the most mind-blowing sunsets I have seen. Standing on the cliffs, above the ocean, waves crashing against the rocks below, mist in the air, a slight nip in the air, a near-full moon rising, the orangish glow slowly turning to red, and then te afterglow once the sun had gone down below the horizon!

After that the drive up to Monterey was pretty scenic in the twilight, with hardly any traffic. We passed the exit for 17-Mile Drive, which has a few fond memories for me! Once we passed Monterey, we took the 156 to get back onto the 101. The dinner-stop was at Gilroy, where we stopped for gas. That Shell gas station must be one of the most popular ones, coz it was packed!

From there it was a straight drive to Fremont, where I dropped off VR and spent the night chatting with AN on guitaring a little more till 4am. Surprisingly the Red Bull did the trick, 'coz after driving 12h I still had a little energy left to ramble on till that unearthly hour!

It was the first time for VR, so he was pretty excited about the whole drive, and he still cant stop raving about it! I am eternally grateful to him for the entertainment and encouragement, and for the extra Red Bull! Looking forward to more trips in the near future!

V's post (with snaps) can be found here! Email me and I'll send you links to the snaps!

Unforgettable dismissals

Was reading Prem Panicker's blog about Irfan Pathan and his stock delivery. Was reminded of the delivery he got Youhana with in the final ODI during the Indian tour of Pakistan in 2004. That was one unforgettable one, coz the television channel we were watching it on had replayed the previous time Irfan had got Youhana in one of the ODIs, and sure enough, within a matter of seconds Youhana was out lbw the same way! I havent seen much of Irfan's bowling, but he sure looked a lot more impressive compared to Zack!

Thought I'd put down a few dismissals which I consider unforgettable...(not necessarily in chronological order)..

Maninder Singh - lbw b. Vikram Raju/Greg Matthews..the Tied Test at Chennai..

The five catches Jonty took vs. Windies, at the Brabourne in 1993.

Roland Holder - b. Kumble (Hero Cup final, 1993)....the decision went to the 3rd umpire (Ian Robinson) referred it I think...

Border - c. Jadeja b. ??? (India vs Aus, 1992 WC. Jadeja at long-on runs a mile and dives forwards to take the catch of the WC 1992)

Basit Ali - b. Warney (the one which spun a mile from outside leg and bowled him thru his legs!)

The Klusener-Donald mix-up - vs. Aus. (WC 1999)

Aamer Sohail - b. V.Prasad (Bangalore, WC 1996)....LOL!

Chris Lewis/Allan Lamb - b. Wasim Akram (WC 1992 final)...what swingers!

Sanath Jayasuriya - c. at thirdman b. Srinath (WC 1996 SF, Eden Gardens)...The dangerman was gone, but India couldnt capitalize..as usual!

Wasim Akram - c. Dravid b. Kumble (vs. Pak, Kotla, 1999)...Ten for the man!

Hashan Tillekaratne - c. Manjrekar b. Kapil....finally....a huge relief!

GR Vishwanath - b. Imran Khan (1982-83). Amazing delivery...Vishy beaten (to use a cliched expression) 'all ends up' shouldering his arms only to see the ball crashing into the offstump!

Harbhajan's hattrick (vs. Aus, Eden Gardens, 2001)...

So that's that....

Cricket journalism - about as good as it gets

Linked to Prem Panicker's cricket blog via Rahul's this morning! Must go through it sometime later this evening when I have a little more time on my hands post-dinner!

Much like Rahul wrote, I too have been a huge fan of Prem over the last few years. Both he and Faisal Sharif are/were the cornerstones of Rediff Cricket.

The other brilliant article I just read can be found here. You could almost see the match run in fast forward from the perspectives of the various players Nagraj interviewed. Absolutely fabulous writing!

PS: Have a lot to blog about, but kinda short on time!

The Lennon FBI files...

Happened to glance through the latest issue of the weekly college newspaper and found that there was a seminar this evening by Dr. Jon Wiener. Dr. Wiener is a professor of history here at UCI, and I had read about him recently, and his efforts at getting the FBI files on John Lennon released to the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
It was an interesting evening, filled with a lot of amusement (and Beatles music). Some of the things the FBI considered classified (and Dr. Wiener had to go thru court to get them released to the public) was quite amusing. The classic case being:

"John Lennon is a British citizen and ____ of the Beatles singing group"

It was interesting to learn so much more about Lennon. I didnt know that he split with Yoko for a year in the mid-70s and came down to LA and lived the life of an "over-the-hill singer" (in Dr. Wiener's own words). Thankfully he got back with Yoko within a year and released some of his best music. But then the music died on December 8th 1980!

Which brings me to the my love-hate relationship with Lennon. The Beatles are among my favorite bands (the others being Dire Straits, U2, Floyd, Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles). I just feel sorry that they split up in the early 70s, with so much of music still unwritten. I would probably lay the blame squarely on Ms. Ono, but then I guess everyone was equally responsible, as I guess each one needed a little space. Maybe it's just that I thought McCartney was a better, and happier dude compared to Lennon. Musicwise I'd say Lennon was aeons ahead of McCartney, but have realized this only in the last few years having Lennon's solo stuff a good spin in my CD player! Overall, the sheer class of every Beatle shines through in their solo stuff - Ringo Starr included! I saw the "Concert for George" a year ago on DVD, and it was one of the most amazing concerts I have seen - the way they started out "While my guitar gently weeps" still echoes in my head and I can envision Clapton and George's son Dhani playing the leads.

(Pink) Floyd was basically Waters and Gilmour. As always, I always supported Gilmour, coz Waters was the dude who broke the band....but then having listened to Waters' solo stuff, I would tend to say he was/is light years ahead of Gilmour talent-wise and otherwise. But then, "Division Bell" was one of the best (Pink) Floyd CDs I have heard.

I guess the debate will never really end...probably even after they move on to elysian fields!

So that's that!

Unforgettable....

The stage goes all dark....
The man in black crouches on the ground....
A small beam of light focused on him....
Slow and steady......
As the first familiar notes play, the crowd break out into a cheer....
They're flying in a blue dream.....

A tribute to Chandra....and the famed spin quartet

Rediff has a nice tribute to the great Indian legspinner Bhagwat Chandrasekhar.

All of us "children of the 80's" never saw the famed spin quartet play. The best spinners we have seen in our times (with the exception of the glorious Mr. Kumble and the unpredictable Harbhajan Singh) were Venkatapathy Raju and maybe Rajesh Chauhan, neither of whom come anywhere close to Bedi/Chandra/Pras/Venkat.

With all due respect to Bedi, I think he's been a loose cannon ever since he left the scene. One of the first instances when I heard of him (and his antics) was when he suggested that the Indian team be thrown in the sea off New Zealand, after India lost a test match to New Zealand in the 1989-90 series there. Since then, from time to time, he has piped up with his wisecracks off and on, more often than not to gain some attention! But he was sheer magic as a spinner! Having seen clips of him bowling (largely thanks to "Sunil Gavaskar presents" back in the 80's, and ESPN-Star in the 90s), I just feel his bowling was (to use a cliched expression) like a hot knife thru butter! All said and done, quite a maverick.

Chandra has the most heroic story among the 4. Overcoming polio, he went on to become one of the world's best spinners of his era. He was one of the heros behind India's triumph in the 1971 series in England under Wadekar. I suspect Kumble modeled himself on Chandra, and hence the long run up and medium-pace style bowling! He also played an important role in India's first win in a Test in Oz-land, when he won the Melbourne Test for us in 1978.

Pras was again a classical right-arm off-breaker. He flighted the ball a lot more than Bedi, enticing the batsman into a false shot. Again, from whatever little I have seen of his playing days, his bowling was (to use a cliched expression, AGAIN) like "poetry in action"!

Venkat ofcourse has been more than visible on our TV screens, as an umpire of international repute. In his heydays, he could hold his own against the other three members of the quartet, although he was the least successful among the four of them. More often than not, he was in close competition with the other 3 for a slot in the team - the 4 of them played in the same Test just ONCE; which is unbelievable. He was the only one who played well into the 80's, retiring from the international game in 1983.

The Rajus, Hirwanis and Chauhans arent a patch on these four legends. I think Raju was just not effective enough, while success went to Hirwani's head after all the adulation surrounding his 16-wkt hall against the Windies had died down. Chauhan ofcourse could pack a fairly good punch with his bat (I cannot forget the sixes he hit vs. England at the Wankhede in the 1992-93 series, as well as the one over square leg vs. Saqlain Mushtaq at Karachi)

Sometimes I wonder if this country will ever have a spinner on the lines of Bedi/Chandra/Pras and Venkat.

So that's that....

Hindsight.....

Like Billy Wilder said...
"Hindsight is always 20-20"!

Sometimes the very thing you're looking for....
Is the one thing you can't see.....

The daily dekko

Putting up a daily dekko after a while....

An inspiring piece by Sunil Laxman here on Dr. Subbaramaiah, a doctor fighting for the rights of the oppressed.

A license to drive...and maybe to kill...

Finally got my CA drivers license on Thursday, after one unsuccessful attempt (and not to forget a twisted knee) notwithstanding. It was good that K and I had our tests on the same day, and we could guide each other. K's parents were also around (much like the Indian scenario) for moral support!

We booked our tests at the San Clemente DMV (or RTO as Achan says), which is just off the Pacific Coast Highway, around 20 miles south of Irvine. Jezz's wife Maria had said it was the easiest DMV in OC and we jumped at the idea.

The system here is a far cry from the Indian scenario, where a few notes to the "examiner"/maama can settle the matter. Out here you actually have a proper exam wherein the examiner keeps marking your errors on a standard sheet (while you drive on a predetermined course). K's examiner was this stud who refused to smile, while I had this smiley Mexican lady (who was built like a tough cop). I was reminded of the circus I went through at the KK Nagar RTO in the summer of 2004! Indian RTOs are the lousiest places on earth, manned by weirdos (ok, on second thoughts there's something called BIHAR also in India/earth).

After the two of us cleared our driving test, we decided to head to San Diego (about an hour's drive from San Clemente) on a whim, to show K's folks Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines is one of the most amazing beaches IMHO (Do check out the link - it's got some amazing snaps). K's folks were sure impressed by Torrey Pines! We had a tough time dragging them to downtown San Diego, our next stop.

Downtown San Diego is one place where I could spend hours just walking around (the same applies to Market St. in SFO). The star attraction for me is the Gaslamp Quarter (4th and Broadway) with its quaint British-style gaslamps for streetlights. The shops on either side of the road are worth exploring, and I shall do that soon with Ed and RajivE when they're here. It's also on the agenda for Ammama and Ammayi when they're here for my graduation.

Returning to Irvine from San Diego was an adventure for sure. There's a checkpoint somewhere near San Juan Capistrano, where the Immigration officials check cars for illegal immigrants and drugs (Note: San Diego is 12 miles from the international border with Mexico). There's this point about 400m from the checkpoint where the lane branches off with something called a PAL lane on the extreme left, the shoulder in between and then the ordinary lanes on the right. We unfortunately mistook the leftmost lane for a carpool lane and entered it, only to find one of those red barriers straight ahead. Rather than hit the cones, we decided to swerve (mind u at 70mph) to avoid the barriers. That sent the car into a slight spin - left, right and then two 360-degree ones.

It sure was weird. Seeing traffic all around us, wondering when we were going to hit the concrete barriers on the left! Needless to say K's folks were a little shaken. Fortunately we didnt hit the concrete barriers and by sheer luck there werent any cars coming into our lane. To use a much cracked joke..."O*** oru inch miss aachu!"

The cops at the immigration checkpost saw us spin and immediately called us aside when we passed through the checkpoint and asked us for papers and checked the car for drugs. Needless to say everything was ok, though they were not amused about the spin!

It sure was scary! The fact that it shook K up for a good 15mins was proof enough! V was totally kicked when he heard about the incident - another incident added to the 215 road trip files! One spin on the 5N, one incident which found a Dodge Neon on the sidewalk of the Strip in Vegas, and one dude who was pulled over for showing the bird to an undercover cop on the 5S.

So that's that.......


What's buzzin...
Roger Waters - In the Flesh
Neil Diamond - Greatest Hits...

Fatehpur Sikri memories...

We set out for Agra and Fatehpur Sikri early one April morning on the Shatabdi Express from Nizamuddin. I was finally going to see the Taj Mahal! At 15, back then I was craning my neck to catch a glimpse of the Taj.
We started out at the Agra fort, which is a carbon copy of the Red Fort (after all, it was built by Shah Jahan). Everything seemed pretty much similar to whatever we'd seen at the Red Fort a few days earlier, except on a grander scale. The Diwan-i-Khas was simply mindblowing. It was really amazing to look across from the fort across the Yamuna and see the Taj Mahal. It was also pretty poignant to glance at the Taj from the room(s) where Shah Jahan was imprisoned by Aurangzeb, and imagining how much pain he went through looking out from the windows at his fruits of his labor and love.
I literally had to be held back at the red entrance to the Taj. And when I finally saw it once I was inside the entrance, it was a beautiful sight - the white marble, majestic as ever. I thought it seemed smaller than what I expected, but once we got up there, I realized how huge it actually was. All said and done, the Taj is an impressive structure, and I do believe that Shah Jahan (and Akbar) were two of the greatest architects among the Mughals.
Once we were done with the Taj, we set out for Fatehpur Sikri. It was revision time for 8th standard History, and finally see the capital Akbar built. I would probably put Akbar ahead of Shah Jahan for his architectural marvels (Fatehpur Sikri, Humayun's tomb), but then most people go by Shah Jahan's masterpiece and consider him to be the ultimate architect. Fatehpur Sikri had so much history associated with it - Salim Chisti, the birth of Jahangir, Tansen and the Anup Talaab, the Panch Mahal, the whole concept of a Diwan-i-Am and Diwan-i-Khas. The Buland Darwaza is one of the most imposing structures I have seen - the Statue of Liberty or anything else doesnt come halfway close!
To round things off, we went to Sikandra and paid our respects to Akbar the Great. It was an awesome way to end the day. He was the best emperor among the Mughals by light years. Sikandra at sunset was a beautiful sight. Compared to Humayun's tomb, the folks at Sikandra were pretty relaxed and actually seemed happy with life!
All in all it was an awesome day! I was so deadbeat, that I slept like a log on the train back to Delhi. I will always remember the trip for all the fun we had and the sights we saw.

What's buzzin....
Nothing in particular...an eclectic mix of Led Zep, Pink Floyd and some Hindi stuff..

Dilli door ast....

For some strange reason, memories of the Delhi trip I made in 1996 with A hit me suddenly this afternoon.
It started out on a sunny Saturday evening at Bombay Central. A & I (esp. A) are generally never late for a train (my best Bollywood imitation was to follow a month later, when I just about managed to get my feet onto the Dadar-Chennai Express as it pulled out of VT), but we just made it to the compartment in time.
I wish all trains in India were like the Rajdhani/Shatabdi, but then again, traveling 2nd sleeper has its own charm (which I shall blog about, unless someone beats me to it!). As usual A attacked the eatables with a vengeance, while I was content to listen to "Achtung Baby" blast on my Walkman and watch the sunset. [One of the most amazing sunsets I had witnessed was over the Dahisar/Vasai Creek while on the August Kranti Rajdhani a year before enroute to Baroda to spend an awesome weekend with K-Mama and gang. Only a few weekends can match up to that awesome weekend in Baroda]. The song "Ultraviolet (light my way)" for me, is always associated with the sunsets over the Vasai/Dahisar creek. Back then (and even now), the route the Rajdhani takes enroute to Delhi evokes something inexplicable - maybe it's just that Sawai Madhopur brings back memories of History lessons!
Delhi was fun, especially since we were staying with BM and SV. SV is one indefatigable person when it comes to shopping. She dragged A (and me, coz I had nothing better to do) all over the place, and at the end of the day still had the energy for more! Palika Bazaar, Connaught Place, and a few other places were turned upside down by the 2 ladies! It's a different question that they turn shops upside down wherever they go.
One morning A and I decided to take a day-trip around Delhi, for a grand sum of Rs. 100/-. So BM dropped us off somewhere near Connaught Place and we got into this nice AC bus filled with the usual tourists - the proverbial American, Australian, Britisher and a few Japs! We had a bozo of a tour-guide who looked like he came straight out of "Treasure Island". All the same, he sure showed us a lot of Delhi in addition to some god-forsaken weird places. He said Talkatora was an amazing restaurant, and it turned out be an indoor stadium/swimming pool with a lousy attached restaurant (according to the firangs who went in, while A & I sat on the lawn and ate some awesome sandwiches SV had packed for us). Needless to say the guy probably got a cut for bringing people there. A and I still laugh when the name "Talkatora" comes up!
A keeps kidding me about the fact that I saw the White House before I saw Rashtrapati Bhawan, and how I ought to be ashamed of it. One of the more bizzare things we saw that day were what remained of Rajiv Gandhi's clothes after the assassination - it's displayed at 1 Sadarjung Road, along with the infamous Lotto shoes. It still seems really eerie - the (now) brownish blood on white clothes.
Delhi's full of museums/memorials for dead PMs, starting with Mr. Nehru. Teenmurti Bhawan came back into public consciousness in 1991, when the remains of Rajiv Gandhi lay in state there before the cremation. Both 1 Safdarjung Road and Teenmurti Bhawan have been done up really well, although it's the latter which stuck in my memory - maybe because Nehru was/is/always will be a mini-hero in my books. [Ok agreed, he majorly messed up with all his Non-aligned rubbish and let the country go to the "bloody dawgs" (as the inimitable Nash Karanjia would say)].
Visited R-mama and V-Ammayi at their farmhouse, half of which was underground - and that amused me no end. Both RK-Ammaman and I-Valliamma were favorites with us (especially since they are linked to us on both sides), and it was sad to see her bedridden (she passed away a month later). Both A & I feel really happy we could see her at R-Mama's place. I still have the books she sent me thru Appammaman a long long time ago, and the inscription she wrote for me. For better/worse both R and I have belted her grandchildren too much, but then thats what happens when some cousins try showing stud-baazi. So now, any gal with a relatively unconventional old-fashioned name's called OLIVIA by R and me!
I had this urge that I had to see Humayun's tomb, having heard so much about it, especially since historians say that it was the model for the Taj Mahal. We saw it in the early evening, brownish glow in the yellow glow of the setting sun - an unforgettable sight.
The other exciting thing we did was the Agra-Fatehpur Sikri-Sikandra trip. Will blog on that tomorrow I guess!

So that's that...

What's buzzing...
Havent been in the lab the last 2 days..been out gallivanting with K and his folks. Rented a Chevy Aveo, which in my humble opinion is the probably one of the worst cars around, but probably one of the easier ones to maneuver (more on that over the weekend...after the Fatehpur Sikri post..).

Pundits from Pakistan...and innings etched in memory

A-A told me about an article in the latest Sunday magazine of The Hindu.
It sure must feel awesome to have an eminent Indian writer and English professor Amitava Kumar review your book. Way to go Zatta. Never imagined I'd say this after all those in-your-face times on the basketball court and back-garden. I have written earlier about how I was seriously shit scared of Zatta when we were in school. But then I guess, at the end of the day, all was fair and square. I guess events in 1995-96 got me a little mo' rezpect, as some folks say!
The article sure had some amazing praise, and that too in some awesome phrases -

His pen, like V.V.S. Laxman's bat, "describes curves where others make straight lines."

I could well imagine VVS and that innings at Calcutta in 2001. That's one innings I will never forget. I suspect a lot of us wont either. I would say it stands tall among some cricketing moments that will always be etched in my memory:

1. Tendulkar, Sharjah 1998 vs Aus. The knock which took India to the finals...
2. Tendulkar, Sharjah 1998 vs Aus...The finals...
3. Jadeja, Bangalore 1996 vs Pak....The assault on Waqar...
4. Aamer Sohail vs. Prasad...:)
4. Tendulkar taking Warney to the cleaners at the Brabourne Stadium in the tour game against Mumbai in 1998.
5. Ganguly (anyone?!!?!!) and his innings against SL at Taunton, WC-1999.
6. Tendulkar hooking Caddick for a six at Durban - WC 2003.
7. Wasim Akram bowls Lewis and Lamb - WC 2002...
8. A scoreboard which read : "South Africa needs 22 runs of one ball" - robbery in broad daylight.
9. Klusener and Donald - SA vs. Aus, WC-1999.
10. Lara hooking Lewis to get past 365...
11. Jayasuriya launching a mindblowing assault on the Indians at the Wankhede in 1997.
12. Hearing about David Hookes...Hansie Cronje...
13. Kapil Dev crying on Thapar's show....
14. Kambli belting Emburey at the Wankhede...
15. Kumbles takes 10....
16. Ejaz belting the Indians when India went to Pak in 1998...
17. Kanitkar sneaking India past 315 at Dhaka.....
18. Javagal smashing Hooper out of the Wankhede...1994...
19. Jonty taking 5 catches against SA at the Brabourne...
20. Tendulkar failing against Pakistan at Chennai...
21. India losing to Aus in the WC-2003 prelims...and the backlash...
22. WC Final 1996 at Lahore...what a damn squib...
23. Dravid's f-all gesture after scoring his century at the Eden Gardens in 2001.
24. India's win at the Natwest Cup in 2002...I had given up!
25. Viv Richards.....gum chewing cool dude...
26. Walsh playing the game sportively and warning Salim Jaffer - WC 1987...
27. Peter Kirsten being "Mankaded" by Kapil...
And so many more which I cant remember right now :)!

So that's that...


What's buzzin' :
Heart - What about love.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Coz it didn't know that jaywalking was illegal!

Link here!

Catching up....

It's been an awesome weekend. Went driving on the Ortega Highway, high above Lake Elsinore. It's a mind-blowing experience, just looking down at the lake from 3000 feet! Also hit Laguna, Corona del Mar and Balboa, all on Friday afternoon; and Laguna again this afternoon...

NB is headed back to India. We (AP, KB, NB and I) were reminescing about the good times we had over lunch today. The assignments we worked on, the storm-water studies, the Santa Barbara trip, his Vegas trips, Australians, Koreans, Hallelujahs, a lot of stuff. NB's one of those blokes; always be a bundle of energy wherever he goes.

Caught up with Mankuji and VM after ages. Felt good talking to them after ages. I guess both wr long overdue calls, but postponed a little coz we keep getting news via common friends/family! Also caught up on class gossip!

The past few days have been catch-up time. Bangalore, Washington DC, Singapore, San Diego, and a few other places - some family (present and future maybe, coz as someone said, "Anything can happen"), some friends, some acquaintances.

Was amazing to compare notes with VB after ages. Seems like time has sure flown since the Sunday evenings spent at Vidyasagars! Bitched like crazy about the "white peon" or "pager" as the batch called him. Fond memories indeed!

Spoke to Tonez on Friday - the rascal's quitting Infy finally! Good luck dude!

So that's that...feels awesome to see that some things havent changed much, but yet some things are better with a reason!

What's buzzin :
Sin Ella (Gipsy Kings)....
Eyes without a face (Billy Idol)...

Too sleepy...need some sleep desperately!

The Boss has to take the blame..

Brilliant article on what ails the Yankees.
Steibrenner sure has a lot of gall to blame the Pitching Coach for the ills plaguing the Yankees. Selena Roberts has really hit the nail (BOSS) on the head!

Dr. Hans Blix...and other celeb lectures.....

Dr. Hans Blix spoke at UCI, as part of the Chancellor's Distinguished Fellows Series.

This was one lecture I wouldnt have missed, especially having missed the lecture by Jose-Maria Aznar a few weeks ago. Happened to hear about the Blix lecture over lunch, so went for it with VR (no RM, that one's not in Irvine - somewhere else in the US!). Was uncanny, coz just this morning I read Sunil's post on the Top-10 things about being a graduate student in the US, and one of the things he had listed was the fact that we could "attend brilliant, informative seminars anywhere on campus".

I have attended seminars/lectures by quite a few interesting (and eminent folks) here at UCI. The best ones were His Holiness The Dalai Lama, and Dr. James Watson. His Holiness has a boyish charm, that is kinda disarming. I hold him in very high regard- after all he's an amazing person, a Nobel Winner, a father figure to this people, and a whole lot more.....

Dr. Watson ofcourse is a bit of joker - the eccentric absent-minded scientist. The meeting was sort-of informal, so maybe he wasnt too serious.

Dr. Blix is one of the most erudite speakers I have listened to. I dont know how well folks remember him, but he was the top weapons inspector for the UN and pressed the case for NOT going to war in Iraq on the basis of the faulty intelligence. But then we know what's happened.

Although the talk was about serious stuff - "Controlling Weapons of Mass Destruction - Lessons from Iraq", he interspersed it with quite a few jokes. I was surprised to hear that the US intelligence agencies actually wiretapped the offices and homes of Dr. Blix as well as those of his colleagues, for whatever reasons! He lamented the fact that if only the intelligence agencies were used for the right purposes! A fair bit of the lecture was devoted to elucidating on how to avoid a nuclear flare-up in Iran and North Korea by using carrots instead of sticks. He spoke about the usual suspects like the NPT, the 5 nuclear powers, India-Pak, AQK et al.

My friend Aida happened to ask Dr. Blix a question about the implications of the carrot-approach. He responded jocularly, referring to how Gaddafi had become a "good boy" in the eyes of the US, now that he had come clean on his nuclear program and had turned over stuff to the US. And he hoped that those in question also become "good boys" in the near future!

Overall he (just like all of us) hopes that things dont really get out of hand. But then I doubt either of the two contingencies that might arise would be an attractive proposition, as it's just a black hole for GWB. It's just that sometimes a one-track mind leads to a mess. We all know the truth...or so we think....

All in all a very interesting day....

So that's that.....


What's buzzin....
Achtung Baby - Track 8, 1:43' onwards...
Sarod for Harmony - Raaga Kirwani, Composition in 16 beats...(smile included at 2:08', as usual!!!)...
Achtung Baby - Track 7
Shanti Mantra - Ravi Shankar...

Seeking Pico Iyer...

Been a while since I posted a daily dekko....

This one comes from GreenChannel, who has put up a excerpt from an essay by one of my favorite authors, Pico Iyer. The entire essay can be found here.

IMHO, Pico Iyer is easily numero uno among the travel writers I have read. Bill Bryson's good, but somehow falls flat in trying to overdo the humor, and in getting the point across. Paul Theroux (I have just gone thru the first 100 pages of his "Dark Star Safari") comes across a little "holier than thou" and treats his sojourns like it's some sort of punishment.

I first read Pico Iyer in TIME when I was in school. I can't recollect what the article was all about, but I sure was impressed. Although he isnt too regular in his contributions to TIME, whenever he has written there, it's been lapped up eagerly by A and me. Every year TIME-Asia would bring out this special issue on travel, and invariably it would have an article by Pico Iyer (I dont know if they still do...).

I read "Video Night in Kathmandu" while I was staying at Ed's in Bombay in the summer of 2001. Was really impressed and planned to pick up some stuff from Crossword/Strand, but it was a futile trip into town - the saving grace being a nice afty/evening visiting the old haunts in Fountain and walking down the Causeway till Colaba PO. Meeting up with ILP as usual, talking about the usual stuff, catching up on school gossip and a lot more. (ILP has also played a role in influencing the books I have read, always recommending stuff during my school days. Will forever be indebted for the awesome book that kept me occupied on the BA flight).

Whenever I was in Landmark/Odyssey (which was pretty much every fortnight), would religiously check for Pico Iyer, but sadly couldnt find any of his books. Back then Amazon Marketplace was non-existent in my head.

Finally picked up the "Global Soul" on one of the Landmark trips. It is an awesome read, especially since he spoke about neither being from here, nor from there. Considering that I too feel pretty much the same, it struck a chord.

"Ransacked" a few bookstores in Bangalore when I was there, but again turned up empty-handed. Even had some agents on the lookout for books...all came to naught!

However, having come here, I have discovered Amazon Marketplace, where people sell their old books/extra stock. From the Pico Iyer collection, I have picked up "Tropical Classical", "Falling off the map" and ofcourse "Video Night in Kathmandu". Some sit back home in India, some occupy their pride of place in my bookshelf.

Among the other stuff, I have a couple of books by Bill Bryson, one by Theroux, a couple by James Watson (the classic one being his tome on the DNA, which I got at a 300% discount!), a few HRF Keatings (from the Inspector Ghote series), (and oh yeah) a couple of Feynmans....

Kool, aint it!?!

So that's that...

The Scudbomb

This post is kinda dedicated to ScudBomb.....

Faithful criminal...especially the heady days 1992-2000...
Someone I have argued with a zillion times....(We agreed to disagree on whether an MS was better than an MBA).....S is an MBA...
Bogart aficionado.....
Hindi movie encyclopedia....
Star Wars freako...
Obsessed with Skywalker....
Born to act.....after all who can forget all the takes...
The sidekick in Calcutta........
The bhojan on the Gitanjali Express...enough for a whole family....
The missing name on the reservation list....
Limca guzzler.....
Butt of many a joke....joke of many a butt....all taken with a wave of the fist...
The pillow incident.....
The change in 2000...the kiddie-fat all gone.....
Hounded in Nanavati.....
Passing sidey comments on Jadeja...which ultimately turned out to be true!

Overall, a walking brain...1/2 of a deadly duet...1/3 of a triumvirate.......

Eat, sleep, drink music

Had a good chuckle today. A few days ago a fellow blogger had commented about my taste in music. At that time I felt good that someone I consider an amazing writer had complimented my musical tastes. It was very amusing to discover the same person was a family friend of the dude who was singularly responsible for the paradigm shift in my musical horizons.
There's this social-networking thing (or wateverumaycallit) called Orkut, which I joined about a year ago. A lot of people have been intrigued by the musical tastes I have put down there. It reads: "From Mozart to Maharajapuram....from Metallica to Mukesh".
As regular visitors to this blog would have noticed, a lot of the stuff I put up is music-related (besides cricket, and a few personal stuff). I have music on pretty much all day, and it's something I cant live without. Believe me, the iPod has been a huge blessing, coz I have condensed my 100 odd mp3 and audio cds into a thing the a little larger than a visiting card!
One side of my family is fully musical, with my aunts being AIR-artistes. The other side is totally non-musical. The family joke goes that at a concert in London in the late 1930s, a great-uncle of mine actually sat through the rendition of "God Save the King", because he thought it was just another part of the performance - but needless to say he was not embarrassed one bit!
During the early years I grew up listening to my parents' English tapes - Jim Reeves, The Seekers, Beatles, Harry Bellafonte, Elvis the Pelvis. Those were the days of good ol' DD and not much else from the West percolated through. I still do listen to the Beatles (one of the most amazing groups to have walked this earth) and Harry Bellafonte. Somehow, Jim Reeves evokes a gamut of emotions - he wrote a lot of sentimental stuff, and some zany stuff like "Mexican Joe" and "Billy Bayou" (two personal favorites from the Jim Reeves collection).
I remember the Sunday afternoons when the 3 of us would lie down and listen to Hemant Kumar, and music from the RK-Studio films. These still play on the iPod and bring back very fond memories of the old Philips with the 2-decks! That was my introduction to Rafi, Lata, Mukesh and Manna Dey...and ofcourse the famous Shamshad Begum & Geeta Dutt (the killer answer)!
Much to my chagrin my folks decided that at the age of 9 it was time I used my time a little better, so why not invite a paatu maami over and teach me some good Carnatic music. At that time I didnt really enjoy it, but believe me today I cant get enough of Carnatic instrumental music. It's awesome that A-A send me CDs off and on thru folks coming this side of the world.
The vocal experiment was a bit of a disaster once my voice broke, and it was kind of embarrassing - if u know what I mean. Plus by then I was too busy with extra-currics at school. I do have a wee bit of regret that I didnt give my music more attention.
Sometime in 5th standard I do remember collecting 15 Pepsi caps over a summer vacation and exchanging it for a tape. That tape had songs by Phil Collins, Rod Stewart and Paul Simon among others. The first tape I bought was Phil Collins' "...But Seriously" with bday money M-aunty gave me for my 11th bday! I still have the tape, and Phil is one of my all-time favourites (including the stuff he did with Genesis). Two major influences then were R&S thanks to the awesome vacation I spent with them in Madras in the summer of 1991. They got me hooked to soft-rock....
C intro-ed me to Billy Joel thanks to a tape of his greatest hits she got me sometime in 1992. Still quote some of his songs. A lot of friends remember the song which disappeared off the tape coz I played it so many times :)!
Over the years in middle and high school, I got down to listening to a fair bit of pop and rock. U2, Dire Straits :) and a whole lot more...some being blasted from neighbours' houses...
In JC, it was good fun....the majority of the music was from 107.1 :)! But then, we listened to 107.1 for the awesomely cool RJs they had - Anish Trivedi, Jack, Tarana, the T-Man....Man, I miss the Sundown show. Radio MidDay rocked.....And who can forget the dedications...and the free movie tickets which invariably went to Ashu bete and Sumi.
College and Madras were the place where the shift began. It was largely due to the dudes I hung out with....Iyer, Smoking Gunn, BC, PuffDaddy, Bhillu etc. The main person who influenced me more than anything else (and in more ways than one-two-three) was Linuslax. Floyd is one of my favorites all thanks to him. Also started listening to Maharajapuram Santhanam (imho the only tolerable vocalist, besides MSS). As me and a friend came to a consensus, Maharajapuram's voice is smooth like whiskey (it's a different thing that I havent touched whiskey!).
BC, Bhillu and me had and still have this uncanny knack of analyzing lyrics and quoting them at suitable instances! It's still amazing how we analyze music and quote it to each other. And who can forget the dude who painstakingly typed out a floyd song the other day at 3am PST :D. I for one was half asleep by the time he was through!
During the Bangalore days I got hooked to Indian classical music. Over the last 3 years I have painstakingly built up a fairly decent collection of Indian classical instrumental CDs - who can forget the innumerable mad trips to Brigade/MG Road and walks down to Music World on CMH road :)!
Much to someone's chagrin, a lot of the music I used to listen to between 2002-2004 was purely Indian classical...Amjad Ali Khan, Ali Akbar Khan and Ravi Shankar...the RS-Ali Akbar jugalbandis are amazing imho. Same with the Nikhil Bannerjee-Ali Akbar Khan jugalbandi.
Around 6 months ago, the Subr-man, The Skydiver and I went for a concert by Umayalpuram Sivaraman and his percussion ensemble. It was sheer MINDBLOWING stuff. With that I got hooked to Carnatic classical music. A lot of the classical stuff I listen to nowadays is by Lalgudi, MSG and L.Subramaniam. I tend to be partial to LS, probably because I like fusion a little more compared to hardcore Carnatic stuff. Some of the electric violin stuff by Ganesh-Kumaresh is also really good.

So thats the music bit..someday will blog about the literary side of things....

What am I reading:
The Six Sigma Way - Peter Pande and gang (LOL..reminds me of Pandey-Wandey's tuitions and the huge roar in the class......Aks :))
Dark Star Safari - Paul Theroux
The Great Indian Novel - Shashi Tharoor