So says one of my company's initiatives. With someone 'talking' on a topic either related to the domain or something in general which could be applicable to a wider audience and people from other location tune in (am sure, there would be just one or two apart from the main person who is dialling in).
But this is not about that Terrific Tuesday. This is about my own Terrific Tuesday - Oct, the 10th, 2006. Life simply couldn't be any more great. yes, that was my feeling as i hit the sack that day. Want to know what made me feel like that ? If yes, continue reading. If no, you have to be dumb to have been reading so far (People who already know of that day's events are exempted from the above rule :-) ).
It all started at 5.30. Yes, thats 24hr format and am talking about morning. Thats when i got up. Had to, because I was supposed to be in office by 6.30. (Damn!! some communication problem, because it wouldn't have mattered if I had reached office around normal time). So I reach office by 6.30 and things go as they are supposed to. Nothing out of the ordinary until late afternoon. One thing leads to another. A server that has to malfunction for just my ID amongst all other people, people unable to co-operate due to other committments (lack of will ???), situation from which the only way out is to wait for 'things' to happen and finally I leave office at 10 (Yes, we are back to 12hr clock and i mean P.M X-( ). I catch a cab and pay 70 bucks for a travel that usually costs 10 by auto.
If I thought things were to end there on a tiring day, I were to be proved so awfully wrong. There is an eerie darkness about my building whereas the neighbourhood seems pretty normal. There is no food outside my room. (I get to know the next day that the guy who supplies my food, assumed that I was out of town, since I hadn't returned from office till 9.45 and also since the home was totally dark).
So, I take my phone out and decide that there is no point in paying 300 as rent without using it (although that would only add on to the 300). Halfway through one of the calls, I get to know from my Landlady that there won't any power that day to our home. The power meter apparently blew and would be rectified only the next day. Wonderful isn't it ?.
I am in office from 6.30 in the morning till 10 at night, there is no dinner and there would also be no power all night. Could things get any more great ?. Surely I couldn't get in there that early. I had to spend sometime away from the sweaty hell and I chose to call up few 'jinglies' and 'polambify'. If I were to suffer, I wasn't going down alone. (Muhahahahaha) And so it went on till 1230. Finally I had no option but to sweat my way to sleep.
Thats how, TT turned out to be Terror Tuesday for me.
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Hairy Affair !!!
I decide to blog after quite a lengthy break and guess what...the topic once again revolves around racism and cricket !!!
So, everyone has had his/her opinion on Umpire Darrel Hair, Pakistan, Inzy et al. Its a very unfortunate incident for cricket as a whole. But who is really at fault ? Could we possibly pin-point just one person or a group as being at fault ?? I think everyone involved with conducting the game at The Brit Oval that day failed collectively. Not just the ICC or Inzy or PCB, everyone of them.
Darrel Hair might have jumped the gun in accusing Pakistan of tampering with the ball's condition. But, seriously what can an on-field umpire do, if he finds that the ball has been tampered with ? He already has enough on his hands to be looking for videos for proof. Thats the job of the TV production company. If they miss out on something, that doesnt necessarily mean the thing did not happen.
I don't mean to say that Pakistan tampered with the ball. But their reaction to the allegation, was just childish. As Wasim Akram put it, it was like street cricket. We have had our batting, if you allege us, we are not going to bowl to you. That happens in gully cricket not on the international stage with the world watching. Pathetic. Their contention that they were just lodging a protest doesn't sound strong enough. I think that was a reason to reduce the punishment. The umpires had no choice than to go by the rules. They informed both the teams about the rules, the English batsmen came out to show their willingness to play and this is where things get interesting.
PCB chairman Shahryar Khan reckons Pakistan were ready to come back at that point and just needed some more time but the umpires wanted them to come immediately. Not exactly so, Mr. Khan. Because this time the TV cameras did catch what was happening with the Pak team. Kamran Akmal came out of the dressing room, without his pads/gloves, sat on a seat scratching his head for sometime. He then took a paper, turned few pages as if looking for a picture story and then went back in. He just wanted camera attention i guess. Silly fellow. Silly team. Inzy being the captain has to face the music. No doubt about that in my mind.
Some people claim that the incident is a slur to Pakistan as a whole, that they should defame Hair and stuff. Cmon folks, get hold of yourself. If that is indeed the case, does that mean everytime Pakistan or anyother time has been found indulging in illegal activities, that particular country as a whole has been cheating ??. People would just say anything to grab headlines and incite public opinion.
Another argument against Hair (from Maninder Singh) is that nobody is above the game. Well, so aren't Pakistan, are they ?. They had no right to hold the game and money-paying public at their mercy. Umpire Hair is a very strong umpire, but he is definitely not racist. Its important that we don't judge Pakistan by what some of its players have done before. In the same vein, is it not equally important that we don't equate this incident, even if Hair has got it wrong, with what he has done before ??
Coming back to the racist allegation, what is it ? Is it some kind of fad to accuse every white person who stands up against someone or something related to black/brown people as being racist ?. People are always on the lookout for the smallest faults and immediately the Australian (or for that matter, English or South African) player/official is branded as being racist without even considering the fact that they couldn't be all wrong.
Now isn't looking for oppurtunities to put down the whites as being racist, essentially a racist behavior on its own ???
Your call...
So, everyone has had his/her opinion on Umpire Darrel Hair, Pakistan, Inzy et al. Its a very unfortunate incident for cricket as a whole. But who is really at fault ? Could we possibly pin-point just one person or a group as being at fault ?? I think everyone involved with conducting the game at The Brit Oval that day failed collectively. Not just the ICC or Inzy or PCB, everyone of them.
Darrel Hair might have jumped the gun in accusing Pakistan of tampering with the ball's condition. But, seriously what can an on-field umpire do, if he finds that the ball has been tampered with ? He already has enough on his hands to be looking for videos for proof. Thats the job of the TV production company. If they miss out on something, that doesnt necessarily mean the thing did not happen.
I don't mean to say that Pakistan tampered with the ball. But their reaction to the allegation, was just childish. As Wasim Akram put it, it was like street cricket. We have had our batting, if you allege us, we are not going to bowl to you. That happens in gully cricket not on the international stage with the world watching. Pathetic. Their contention that they were just lodging a protest doesn't sound strong enough. I think that was a reason to reduce the punishment. The umpires had no choice than to go by the rules. They informed both the teams about the rules, the English batsmen came out to show their willingness to play and this is where things get interesting.
PCB chairman Shahryar Khan reckons Pakistan were ready to come back at that point and just needed some more time but the umpires wanted them to come immediately. Not exactly so, Mr. Khan. Because this time the TV cameras did catch what was happening with the Pak team. Kamran Akmal came out of the dressing room, without his pads/gloves, sat on a seat scratching his head for sometime. He then took a paper, turned few pages as if looking for a picture story and then went back in. He just wanted camera attention i guess. Silly fellow. Silly team. Inzy being the captain has to face the music. No doubt about that in my mind.
Some people claim that the incident is a slur to Pakistan as a whole, that they should defame Hair and stuff. Cmon folks, get hold of yourself. If that is indeed the case, does that mean everytime Pakistan or anyother time has been found indulging in illegal activities, that particular country as a whole has been cheating ??. People would just say anything to grab headlines and incite public opinion.
Another argument against Hair (from Maninder Singh) is that nobody is above the game. Well, so aren't Pakistan, are they ?. They had no right to hold the game and money-paying public at their mercy. Umpire Hair is a very strong umpire, but he is definitely not racist. Its important that we don't judge Pakistan by what some of its players have done before. In the same vein, is it not equally important that we don't equate this incident, even if Hair has got it wrong, with what he has done before ??
Coming back to the racist allegation, what is it ? Is it some kind of fad to accuse every white person who stands up against someone or something related to black/brown people as being racist ?. People are always on the lookout for the smallest faults and immediately the Australian (or for that matter, English or South African) player/official is branded as being racist without even considering the fact that they couldn't be all wrong.
Now isn't looking for oppurtunities to put down the whites as being racist, essentially a racist behavior on its own ???
Your call...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Racism in cricket
Recently there was a furore down under when a small section of the aussie crowd targetted few South African and Sri Lankan players with 'racist' chants during the VB series. Was the issue really as much as it was hyped to be ? I thought it was somewhat blown out of proportions, especially by the South African team management and i would think the reason for that would be the fact that they wanted some of the attention diverted from their continuous shambolic performances.
Racism can not be condoned and the guilty must be punished. One of the reasons given for the players taking it to so sensitively was because they have had a troubled past and these things rekindled those memories. (Seriously - are you joking ?? - D'oh). Crowds the world over in any sport always side with the home team. That is natural. The supporters try their best to egg their team towards glory and also try to put of the opposition with their boos and chantings. I think racism is a serious issue in a game like football (soccer) where hundreds and thousands make racist remarks in unison when a particular player gets the ball. But the issue in Australia was a group of at the most half a dozen people at a time who got 'high' and made some senseless remarks.
Am not saying that they are right, but at a professional level cant the players even take that much ?. The crowd along the boundary line will always be very voiceforous. Be it a test match or ODI or 20-20 or even a local district tournament. There will almost always be 'unparlimentary' remarks and hootings and all sorts of nonsense dished out. Many times i have seen players respond to that with a mock smile which could only infuriate the crowd further, but then in my opinion thats the best way to respond. If the players world over can take in the assh***s and mfk**s chants as being part of the mad crowd behaviour, why not this ?
If you were to stop all of these, would the match really be as fun as it normally is ? It would still be the same watching on tv, but for the players, crowd pressure is part of the package.
The South African team management went to the extent of threatening to pull out of future tours to Australia if the racist remarks did not stop. Back home, with a week before the return tour of Australia to South Africa kick starts, the South African players go to press and actually ask the crowd to target the aussies. ha ha ha - bunch of losers. Perhaps the crowd cant get in much racist remarks against the aussies, but whats the logic or sense in a player actually asking the crowd for support and that too in a sort of negative sense ?. Every one knows that the crowd will target the opposition players and now when a player from the home team comes out in the open and makes such statements i dont think the spirit would be great between the two teams. Its almost like, we were targetted down under and now its time to payback (probably with interest :P). Thats perfectly fine, then why complain when you were there ??
It all seems to be part of some mental game that the South Africans want to play and sadly they are too childish at that. Australia have lost the first two international games(at the time of writing) and could go on to lose the ODI series and even the Test series. But for me, South Africa have already lost it when Boucher went to press with his naive remarks and found support in none other than the so called captain fantastic - Greame Smith.
Thats a typical post by a hardcore aussie fan, aint it ;) :D ?
Racism can not be condoned and the guilty must be punished. One of the reasons given for the players taking it to so sensitively was because they have had a troubled past and these things rekindled those memories. (Seriously - are you joking ?? - D'oh). Crowds the world over in any sport always side with the home team. That is natural. The supporters try their best to egg their team towards glory and also try to put of the opposition with their boos and chantings. I think racism is a serious issue in a game like football (soccer) where hundreds and thousands make racist remarks in unison when a particular player gets the ball. But the issue in Australia was a group of at the most half a dozen people at a time who got 'high' and made some senseless remarks.
Am not saying that they are right, but at a professional level cant the players even take that much ?. The crowd along the boundary line will always be very voiceforous. Be it a test match or ODI or 20-20 or even a local district tournament. There will almost always be 'unparlimentary' remarks and hootings and all sorts of nonsense dished out. Many times i have seen players respond to that with a mock smile which could only infuriate the crowd further, but then in my opinion thats the best way to respond. If the players world over can take in the assh***s and mfk**s chants as being part of the mad crowd behaviour, why not this ?
If you were to stop all of these, would the match really be as fun as it normally is ? It would still be the same watching on tv, but for the players, crowd pressure is part of the package.
The South African team management went to the extent of threatening to pull out of future tours to Australia if the racist remarks did not stop. Back home, with a week before the return tour of Australia to South Africa kick starts, the South African players go to press and actually ask the crowd to target the aussies. ha ha ha - bunch of losers. Perhaps the crowd cant get in much racist remarks against the aussies, but whats the logic or sense in a player actually asking the crowd for support and that too in a sort of negative sense ?. Every one knows that the crowd will target the opposition players and now when a player from the home team comes out in the open and makes such statements i dont think the spirit would be great between the two teams. Its almost like, we were targetted down under and now its time to payback (probably with interest :P). Thats perfectly fine, then why complain when you were there ??
It all seems to be part of some mental game that the South Africans want to play and sadly they are too childish at that. Australia have lost the first two international games(at the time of writing) and could go on to lose the ODI series and even the Test series. But for me, South Africa have already lost it when Boucher went to press with his naive remarks and found support in none other than the so called captain fantastic - Greame Smith.
Thats a typical post by a hardcore aussie fan, aint it ;) :D ?
Monday, February 27, 2006
B to the A to the B to the A - BABA
Finally after a long long break, i decided to blog after hearing an interesting account of my friend's recent trip to Junagadh (hope i got the spelling right).
Junagadh is a place in Gujarat near Diu. Its supposedly famous for its temple atop a mountain (10000 steps :O) and a fort. Recently there was a 'shivratri mela' and apparently tens of thousands (if not lakhs) of people throng to that temple during this time. So my friend decided to go there not out of "bhakthi" or anything but just to have an unique experience with such a massive crowd. Pity he couldnt get anyone to accompany him all the way there (its a 12 hour journey by bus from Surat). Undaunted, he went alone all the way there and came back with a rather 'interesting' experience.
After climbing few thousand steps, he was eating some fruits when a "sadhu" who was resting there approached him and the first question he asked my friend was if he was married or not :D. When my friend replied in the negative, the 'baba' (that was what he told his name to be when my friend asked him) goes on talking all crap about girls. My friend tried to adopt a more neutral stand (slightly tilted towards girls) even as the 'baba' just went on the rampage about the fairer sex. So talking like this they climbed the stairs. In between the baba got tired and wanted to rest but my friend wanted to carry on as he wanted to return back and so the baba continued. Then with just couple of thousand steps or something to go, the crowd was so huge that it could have taken about 3 hrs to just climb up. So my friend decided that it was time to head back when the baba asked to rest for a while. As they continued the journey back down the mountain, the baba requested my friend to stay for the night (scary !!!!). He even told that he will get a room in a guest for them both :O. My friend insited that he had to return for imp college work that night itself though the next day was sunday. The baba requested so much so that he even mentioned that if he stayed for just this one night, his job would be over. (Now what on devils mind was he meaning by that ???). But my friend wasnt going to be convinced that easily and he had already started feeling bit uncomfortable with a baba who hates girls, rips them left right and center and talks about a night in a room and some 'job' :D.
The baba then took my friend to the eating place where i suppose 'anna dhaanam' (now whats the english word for that ?? Free food:p ) was taking place. There suddenly the baba started chatting some mantra looking into the eyes of my friend. My friend then put on his walkman (:D) and closed his eyes and started saying to himself repeatedly that he couldnt be hypnotized so easily and apparently the baba started chanting the mantra everytime my friend closed his eyes.
After the food, they continued on their journey downhill, when the baba tried to convince him again to stay back. Out of general genoristy to an elderly person who had given company till now and also paid the expenses incurred so far, my friend asked him of his address in Ahemdabad (yeah, thats where his 'ashram' or whatever was supposed to be) and said that he would visit at a later time. The baba asked how much time was left for my friend in college and was replied to as 2 more months.
Now comes the next eerie part: The baba suddenly proposes to my friend that why not he come with my friend to surat and live the next two months with him :D. My friend then politely refuses citing the strict hostel rules barring visitors from staying in our rooms. Disappointed, the baba asks my friend to come right away after college to his place and even promises regular food, job (selling kerosene perhaps - wtf !!!) amongst other things. He only wanted my friend to promise a single thing - My friend shouldnt get married in the next two months (Bond for job offer eh ?? - ha ha ha ). Finally my friend manages to get away from the place by catching the bus back to surat.
Now this is just about what had happened as told to me yesterday afternoon. I blogged this simultaneously while chatting, so apologies if the attempt is bit poor. I will try to get my friend to read this and see if i missed any key point :D.
Now my reaction as well as a handful of others on hearing about the incident was that the baba is most definetly GAY and just wanted a partner. But for all my friend or myself know, the baba could just be genuinely looking for a sishya to follow his idealogies or whatever. Am not too sure if anyone of us are correct in blaming him to be GAY when we dont know him at all. But then the jury is out in my blog i guess :P so let your views known :).
Junagadh is a place in Gujarat near Diu. Its supposedly famous for its temple atop a mountain (10000 steps :O) and a fort. Recently there was a 'shivratri mela' and apparently tens of thousands (if not lakhs) of people throng to that temple during this time. So my friend decided to go there not out of "bhakthi" or anything but just to have an unique experience with such a massive crowd. Pity he couldnt get anyone to accompany him all the way there (its a 12 hour journey by bus from Surat). Undaunted, he went alone all the way there and came back with a rather 'interesting' experience.
After climbing few thousand steps, he was eating some fruits when a "sadhu" who was resting there approached him and the first question he asked my friend was if he was married or not :D. When my friend replied in the negative, the 'baba' (that was what he told his name to be when my friend asked him) goes on talking all crap about girls. My friend tried to adopt a more neutral stand (slightly tilted towards girls) even as the 'baba' just went on the rampage about the fairer sex. So talking like this they climbed the stairs. In between the baba got tired and wanted to rest but my friend wanted to carry on as he wanted to return back and so the baba continued. Then with just couple of thousand steps or something to go, the crowd was so huge that it could have taken about 3 hrs to just climb up. So my friend decided that it was time to head back when the baba asked to rest for a while. As they continued the journey back down the mountain, the baba requested my friend to stay for the night (scary !!!!). He even told that he will get a room in a guest for them both :O. My friend insited that he had to return for imp college work that night itself though the next day was sunday. The baba requested so much so that he even mentioned that if he stayed for just this one night, his job would be over. (Now what on devils mind was he meaning by that ???). But my friend wasnt going to be convinced that easily and he had already started feeling bit uncomfortable with a baba who hates girls, rips them left right and center and talks about a night in a room and some 'job' :D.
The baba then took my friend to the eating place where i suppose 'anna dhaanam' (now whats the english word for that ?? Free food:p ) was taking place. There suddenly the baba started chatting some mantra looking into the eyes of my friend. My friend then put on his walkman (:D) and closed his eyes and started saying to himself repeatedly that he couldnt be hypnotized so easily and apparently the baba started chanting the mantra everytime my friend closed his eyes.
After the food, they continued on their journey downhill, when the baba tried to convince him again to stay back. Out of general genoristy to an elderly person who had given company till now and also paid the expenses incurred so far, my friend asked him of his address in Ahemdabad (yeah, thats where his 'ashram' or whatever was supposed to be) and said that he would visit at a later time. The baba asked how much time was left for my friend in college and was replied to as 2 more months.
Now comes the next eerie part: The baba suddenly proposes to my friend that why not he come with my friend to surat and live the next two months with him :D. My friend then politely refuses citing the strict hostel rules barring visitors from staying in our rooms. Disappointed, the baba asks my friend to come right away after college to his place and even promises regular food, job (selling kerosene perhaps - wtf !!!) amongst other things. He only wanted my friend to promise a single thing - My friend shouldnt get married in the next two months (Bond for job offer eh ?? - ha ha ha ). Finally my friend manages to get away from the place by catching the bus back to surat.
Now this is just about what had happened as told to me yesterday afternoon. I blogged this simultaneously while chatting, so apologies if the attempt is bit poor. I will try to get my friend to read this and see if i missed any key point :D.
Now my reaction as well as a handful of others on hearing about the incident was that the baba is most definetly GAY and just wanted a partner. But for all my friend or myself know, the baba could just be genuinely looking for a sishya to follow his idealogies or whatever. Am not too sure if anyone of us are correct in blaming him to be GAY when we dont know him at all. But then the jury is out in my blog i guess :P so let your views known :).
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