Its bye-bye Ganguly.

Ganguly and another one of his atrocious shots!

Its high drama before the 5th ODI; is he in? is he out? is he captain?. ICC made is quite simple for Ganguly to gracefully take a break, but no sir! Our captain will go down fighting. I hope he is made to miss the next few matches, otherwise with current form he won't be able to come back to complete his 5000 test runs & 10000 ODI runs.

I just can't believe it when people argue that he should stay in the team because he has done so well in the past. They stretch it further to label everyone thankless who is in favor of Ganguly exclusion from the team. Sure he has done excellent for the team (in the past), but so have Kapil Dev, Gavaskar, Srikant. Going by the stupid logic all of them should be still playing for India! The bottomline is that with his current form he doesn't qualify to be in the team and ofcourse you have to be in the team to be the captain. As for the thankless tag, its a competitive sport and entire nation's pride and hopes are at stake. Its extremely important that we select the best team from whatever resources we have. Sadly, Ganguly doesn't make into the top 14, atleast in my opinion.

I do feel that Ganguly has some years' cricket left in him but to continue he must regain his form. Indian team cannot afford a free-rider, especially when there middle order is struggling to perform consistently. And what weight could his opinion carry with absolutely no performance to back it! In a time of such low confidence, his captaincy is surely to take a toll.

Best for Ganguly will be to not represent India for a while. He can try to get his form back in domestic cricket or English county cricket. When he comes back, he should be taken back as a top-order batsman and not as a captain. Let Dravid stay as captain for a while, make Ganguly his vice. It'll surely reduce the stress on Ganguly.

As of now, its bye-bye Ganguly. Get well soon!

Gym (Miss)Adventures

It has been around a month since I started gymming. My main motives behind this endeavour were to lose some of the loose weight and relocate some. Till now, I've made moderate success; some weight was relocated from my pocket to the instructor's desk. If I've been a regular at the gym, the credit must go to ever insistent Nandu and also to the presence of some nice dames at the gym. Its because of them that my time in the gym, though trying, passes like a breeze. I've actually started to look ahead towards the evenings.

It was one of such evenings. I was on the treadmill, trying to push myself through the twenty minutes, I've allotted myself. This was the moment when she entered the gym. I noticed her before too; she was another one of the regular lasses at the gym. Her figure didn't look as if it needed much toning. She also had nice features and all in all was an absolute hottie. As she entered, she gave me an inquisitive look which was absolutely crying out loud - "Who's the stud?". She then checked her watch, perhaps taking a mental note about when to come the next day. Just like 50 cents in the Reebok poster, outside our gym, I'm also firm believer in the obvious fact that I am what I am. and being what I am, that look isn't new to me. Still coming from her, it really tingled the hair at the back of my neck!

On the radio, Dev Anand was crooning:

Nazron se kitne teer chale
Chalne do jigar par jhelenge
In pyaar ki ujli raahon par
Hum jaana ki baazi khelenge
In do naino ke sagar mein
Koi dil ki naiya dubota hai
Jiya oh, jiya oh jiya kuchh bol do
Arrey oh, dil ka parda khol do...

Then I glaced at the mirror in front of me and the obvious became clear to me. I was looking absolutely fantabulatic! My hair had grown them enough to cover the tragedy of the last hair cut; I was wearing my favorite blue gym shirt (which covers up pretty nicely); I had one day old stubble which was looking smart. To cut it short - I was Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise & Brosnan, all rolled into one! No wonder she looked so interested. I pumped up the speed of treadmill to my all time high of 8.5 (I had to pull it down to 7 after some 15 seconds).

Meanwhile, she got herself set at the cycle. She was stealing some glances to check out me time and again. It was surely another kill for the ladykiller; my thoughts started to wander - She looks like a northie, perhaps some student or working here in Bangalore. She can be a model too! What name would suit her best? Perhaps Nisha - small, sweet and suave! Now that it was just a matter of collecting the kill, I started to think about how to proceed. Radio went on:

Tum bhi to is aag mein jalte ho
Chehre se bayaa ho jaata hain
Har baat pe aahe bharte ho
Har baar pe dil tharraata hai
Jab dil pe chhuriyaan chalti hain
Kab chain se koi sota hai
Jiya oh, jiya oh jiya kuchh bol do
Arrey oh, dil ka parda khol do

May be I should ask for a coffee after gym - Nandu can take an auto. Asking for dinner will be too early. Dinner can come later, perhaps at Ebony! If she turns out to be veggie, Angeethi isn't bad either. Oh, that can wait, what about NOW? Do I go to her? How do I start?

- The name is Varun. (naaaaaaaaah, too formal)
- Call me Varun! (duh!)
- Hello! I'm Varun. (tchaaah!)
- Hi! (phooooooh!)

I was just contemplating the situation, when, through the mirror, I noticed her proceeding towards me. It got me really self-conscious. I was going to again increase the speed but then decided not to lest it might cause embarrassment. I was following her through the mirror and was practising what would be my dashing opening line (The name is Varun .. Call me Varun ). She was almost there.

Hottie: Hi!
Me: Tall me Varun.. uggg grrl...
Hottie: oinnn .. How much more time will you take on the treadmill?
Me: (checked the treadmill, it had been 27 minutes since I started!)Uh.. I'm just done. (gracefully got down) All yours!
Hottie: Thanks!

Needless to say, she didn't return another glance. It was my turn to note the time; I'll try best to skip gym at this time for a while. Radio was playing:

Bade miyan deewane, aise na bano
Haseena kya chahe, zara humse suno

P.S.: Totally work of fiction. All characters are fictitious expect Nandu, the instructor & me ofcourse.
P.P.S.: I've updated my photoblog, please to check out.

A View To Kill

Yup, this bond flick was perhaps the biggest bore (actually it was A View To A Kill; I got it muddled up!). Still, I thought this was perfect title for my Photoblog! Short of smart ideas, I am currently using Google's tools (Picassa + Hello + Blogger) to maintain the photoblog.

Currently, I've put up the pictures from my recent trip to Pune & Mumbai. Next I'll be uploading some pictures from my last Goa trip, in December '04. I'll keep uploading latest stuff there, unless Jha stops to lend me his superb Canon Powershot S1 IS. I'm not much of a photographer, but I'm very much interested in learning the art. With all the luck, I might get better & pull up some real stunners. Till then please bear with my experiments and keep visiting the photoblog. Please to put in some comments too.

(One of my favorites)

Sania Mirza's doing it now.

Almost all the cricketers, including small wonder Parthiv Patel & Ajit Agarkar, have done it and now the latest face in the advertisement world is Sania Mirza. She is promoting Malabar Gold, which is fancying to go international now. I couldn't help noticing her huge hoardings placed all over the city; she looks atrocious in them!! First of all, they've put all sorts of make-up on her face, next they have covered her up in jewellery; she looks like one of those ladies from Chaach Bhi Kabhi Dahi Thi.

These marketing people definitely know how to get their work done! I still can't imagine how could Sehwag agree for Sehwag ki maa ad! Cola-wars are most enjoyable in the backbiting world of advertising. Over the years I've seen quite a few furious threads of spoofing others' ads. Latest is the Mountain Dew ad, where they've made absolute mockery of Akshay Kumar's Thums Up ad. Sprite people are quite sharp in this department. Their advertisements have a certain touch of zang to them.

Talking of interesting ads, one candy has extremely funny ad (I can't recall the name of the candy; may be the theme shouldn't be so funny :). It goes like this:

Gabbar: Arre O Sambha! Kitne ka inaam rakhi hai re sarkar humare upar?
Sambha: Sardaar, poore pachaas hajjar ... baar bata chuka hoon. Ek baar mein baat samajh mein nahi aati? Aur koi kaam-dhaam nahi hai mujhe?

I was literally rolling on the floor, laughing, when I first saw this one. Now I fancy to enter advertisement world sometime :). Funny thought and that'll be a funny day!

The delights of Night Driving in Bangalore

If you like that rush of adrenaline in your veins, if you fancy yourself doing daring stunts on your bike, then you'll be pleased to have a ride in the evening traffic at Namma Bangaluru. Not only it keeps your reflexes sharp, it also teaches you the important lesson about the fragility of life.

A ride at any time of the day in Bangalore traffic is incredible, but there are certain areas where night time traffic has definite edge. The traffic signals, for instance, they are not applicable, or so it seems, once the Sun sets. The result, an existing game of touch me not! Just imagine, you arrive at an intersection, traffic is rushing in from all directions; you have a rousing challange in your hands. The field is all set (much before your arrival) and the game is on. You have to beat all others at take up your original direction, as soon as possible. Novices waste too much time in waiting while experts don't mind taking up all sorts of turns, who dares wins!

If this gave you the impression that traffic at that time is cut-throat, you can not be further from truth. The cars coming from opposite direction are so assisting that they keep their lights in high beam. You never know when sleep might get the best of you, someone must take the onus to keep your eyes (and pupils!) wide open. The pedestrians - they are the most considerate lot. They'll search for the darkest spot on the road and try to cross the road from there, lest they might break the concentration of riders by their appearance.

Buses, the transportation for masses and how well they accomplish their tasks! Once the Sun sets, its obvious that their riders are anxious to reach their destination ASAP. KSRTC buses start to run at a break-neck speed at that time, obviously to assist their passengers. Let the roads be narrow, let the traffic be crawling, they never think twice before pushing their buses to the last possible inch! Such is their dedication that they make sure that no other means be possible to reach before them (by literally blocking the roads).

Auto-rickshaws, what can I say about them? They have the license to kill! Its only in the night time that we see enough to appreciate their skills & talents. They have the coveted ability to take a U-turn at any time, in any traffic, without any warning! One can learn a lot only by watching them drive. Give them space enough for a bicycle, they'll try and push their way through it. These are really brave heart fellows and don't shrink from bending the rules or even breaking them. If customer is bhagwan, which authority can be superior to them?

Lastly, the drivers at Bangalore have immaculate sense of timing and razor sharp reflexes! You notice this when just about 10 seconds before the signal gets green, vehicles from behind you start honking. The entire flock gathered at the red light, starts inching ahead as soon as it smells the coming of green. Keeps lazy people, like yours truly, on toes! Car owners, specially software people, never forget their two-wheeler riding days and the essential surviving skills gathered in that period. They still enjoy the same freedom to sway the vehicle, over take from the wrong direction, make combative cuts and what not! We at Bangalore, believe in Work while you work, Play while you play, Play some more while you drive!

One can only imagine how much the car owners enjoy this. As for me, I only get about 20 minutes of this joyride every evening (how I wish I had more!) on my Pulsar.

Zeher!

We went for the movie on Saturday. It was that sort of movie which supports the time dilation funda; at the interval, it was barely a minute above an hour since the movie started, and we felt as if it has been aeons! Kabra was sleeping in the second half in his meditation pose; Jha was restless, tossing around in his seat; Sheikh and me had given up on commenting. Yes, it was that bad!

Lets leave the acting aside; the script, the dialogues were all very ludicrous! For better understanding, go through the following ones:

Bozo Hero: Kal raat humare beech mein jo bhi hua, theek nahi tha.
(Aaj raat theek se kar lena!)
********
Mrs.Bozo: Ab mujhe pata chala ki tumhe mujhse ek baccha nahi, ek chaukidaar chahiye.

********
Cop Shetty: Raj, case banao ki Anna aur uska husband apni maut ka natak karke kuch to fraud kar rahe the.
(April fool perhaps, too bad they were killed for that!)

Now about the acting, the hero, Mr.Bozo didn't get much chance to display his talents. He should be best suited for the roles like dressed as a tree in the background. Udita Goswami looked very uncomfortable in clothings and was ready to shed them at the slightest of hints. May be it had something to do with the shooting in Goa; all humid and hot, who wants to stay dressed! Shamita Shetty looked confused; she wasn't the one selected for the skin show, but she looked more than keen on it. The leading couple was supposed to be working for Goa Police, but they are never showed in their Khakis, Goa factor again perhaps.

If you're die hard fan of Udita (without clothes) don't miss the movie; the story et al are there to ruin the striptease, but thats all part of parcel in Bollywood!

SOS!

Hi fellas,
I'm looking out for a space where I can upload potentially infinite amount of images and make them public too. Imagestation lets you keep as many pictures as you want, but you can share them only with imagestation users. I'm looking out for space to upload some of my recent pics and later probably start a photoblog too.

Meanwhile, enjoy the new "Photoblogs" section in "Blogs I Read". My favorite picture (from Who Am I?):




TIA,
- Varun

Zen and Garfield

I once fancied becoming a fighter pilot, an astronaut, a wildlife photographer, a cricketer; I'm none of these. I also fancied becoming an IITian, a computer science engineer, a software engineer; I am now!

Whats on the TV?

For past three-four weeks our cable was out at the previous house, rendering my 20" Onida useless. It was frustrating in the start, more so because I missed the ongoing test series between India-Pakistan. But I didn't miss TV for long; started to read lot more books. I was quite pleased with my reading efforts; I was finishing books at never before pace (probably Harry Potter series was an exception but then I was in college and had all the time to read!). Today we shifted to our new residence and found the cable wire functioning, now TV has started to mesmerize us again.

Studies indicate people's minds are less active while watching the TV than while sleeping. I doubt how capable are minds of the people who are part of such studies, but still it could be the case. How much does one need to apply his mind to understand what Berri Ke Ber girl is venturing to convey? I spend most of my TV time surfing news channels, but even they are broadcasting crap like Aaj Ka Gunehgaar and Sansani. 24 hours new channels are the worst thing that could have happen to the news programs. Now they don't have enough material to show whole day, this is pulling their standards down to bull crap like Election Qwwali.

But, no matter how much we hate it, we all are enslaved by the idiot box. From my new room I can see the TV of my neighbours. That apartment is also leased by bachelors, probably software engineers too. For last half an hour they are surfing the entire frequency spectrum in hope of finding something watchable. The search ultimately ended at FTV. It started all over again after a while, this time its DD Sports. Imagine, watching volleyball matches between two countries, about whom you know absolutely zilch, at such late hours! What do I make out of it? There are so many better way to spend time or waste time, if you want to, still we find ourselves staring agape at the boob tube.

Its a strange world!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Today we shifted to our new home. It (the moving process) was quite messy, a definite pain in neck! My mood has lightened considerably in the evening (now) since it has rained. Not enthu to write, so will let the pictures take over.

May be I'm being a little too mean to the pool soul. May be he can take few leaves out of Younis Khan's book. After the first test he was called names like "Useless Khan" & "P*nis Khan". But what a splendid come back to silence his critics! Ganguly's morale will be down in the dumps after such poor performance and specially after getting booed by compatriots, but confidence is the key for Dada. He has done excellently in ODI's and I hope he will come back strongly in tomorrow's game.

The opening game of the much anticipated ODI series between two bitterest arch-rivals, sounds yummy!

Currently Reading: The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason