Best wishes Jenna and Henry!

Photo courtesy: CNN.COM

President Bush's daughter Jenna Bush married Henry Hager on Saturday May-10-2008.
"Best Wishes for a Happy Married Life"

வரலாறு

வரலாறு நீ படைக்கணும்

இவர் யாரு

உலகம் வியக்கணும்

உந்தன் பேரென்ன ஊரென்ன

குலமென்ன குடியென்ன

என்பதை மறந்து

இன்றைய நிலையென்ன நிஜமென்ன

பொருளென்ன என்பதை

நித்தமும் உணர்ந்து

உடல் மறந்து

முகம் மலர்ந்து

தலை நிமிர்ந்து

துயர் துடைக்க கரம் உயர்த்து

மனிதா!

*-*-*

( இந்த பாடலை யாராவது நிறைவு செய்யுங்களேன் - தயவுசெய்து)

IPL - Punjab vs. Chennai

I couldn't resist the temptation when DirecTv offered the IPL matches 'Live' for 59$. Called today and subscribed for the remaining games.

It was a nail biting match today. To see 'MAC' stadium aka 'Chepauk' stadium from here in the USA LIVE packed with spectators and celebrities alike was remarkable indeed. Add the glamor of the home team 'Chennai Super Kings' beating the 'Kings XI Punjab' and I got my money's worth the very first day.

I write this after watching Balaji bowl today. I am glad he is back from his injury. He bowled very well and truly deserved the Hatrick. I used to be a big fan of Balaji and I hope and pray he stays fit and gets back into the Indian team.

Dhoni and Badrinath played very well and Marsh and Pathan made the match a thriller !

Players like Harbhajan and Sreesanth should learn from Balaji. He was calm as a monk when the stadium was erupting in joy.

Way to go Balaji !

Tabu - Namesake - Wonderful

The clip above from the tamil movie 'Nayagan' makes my eyes wet whenever I watch it. It's been over 20 years since this movie came out, yet it hits me straight in my heart where it is soft.

I admire quite a few men for their amazing acting skills, the top being Kamalhasan. Close to him are Dustin Hoffman, Michael Douglas, Mohanlal, Thilakan and Prakash Raj to name a few.

Among women, I have never thought of anyone as a great actor until I saw 'Namesake' yesterday. Tabu...wow...she is amazing! She has beauty and great acting in her. I've admired her acting skills in Kandukonden Kandukonden and Cheeni Kum but 'Namesake' IMHO has polished the diamond in Tabu. She is beautiful and dazzles in her acting as well.

Hat's off to Mira Nair for casting Tabu in that role in 'Namesake'. Wonderful story by 'Jhumpa Lahiri'. Wonderful background scores and nice photography as well. Sharp dialogues. What a movie.

People like me who live the American Dream, will one day face situations like the movie portrays..that's for sure.

I am prepared !

India's Independence - Document

Can someone please point me to the

'Document of the Declaration of India's Independence from the British'.

I'd like to know where the original is.
I'd like to know what was written in the proclamation.
Who signed it from Indian side / British side ?

Is it in a museum in India? Are the public allowed to see it?

Have you seen it? Is it in the web anywhere?

NRI prejudice

NRI - Non Resident Indian

Can he/she write about the problems in India ? Can he/she write about corruption, quality of life and other such problems in India that bothers him/her ?

I've seen quite a few bloggers complain and even curse NRIs for doing the things above. Though it doesn't bother me a lot to see such comments / curses, it does hurt me a little.

I would like to iterate that a NRI and RI both have equal rights to write/complain about India just as they have the rights to be proud of their homeland ! I don't see anything wrong here.

I was born and raised in India and had to face problems that bothered me and affected me and my family. I got a chance to become an NRI and I live happily here in the USA. Yeah..I am really happy.

I love this country where I live. I don't have to face day-to-day problems that my beloved ones in India face. I must consider myself lucky !

But then, I do care about India just like an RI would do, heck I even care more. An NRI doesn't need to blow his/her pipes about what he has done/does for his/her homeland. Many take a cheap shot and ask me:

What are you doing about it ?

My answer to that:

I don't need to tell you what I did / what I do.
Tell me, what you are doing.
Don't tell me - I live in India. It means nothing.
Why don't you join the Indian army and serve the motherland ?

Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative ( DNDI )

Cholesterol, Heart Attack, Hypertension, Diabetes, Cancer

This is the main focus of the developed countries and the Pharmaceutical companies. Most of the research today is done in these areas only.

What about Malaria, Filaria, Dengue, Chikungunya etc. which mostly affects the poor and the third world countries / under developed countries ?

Who cares ! How many people in the developed nations would even know what Filaria is or Chikungunya is. ( I did read that the US Army has a vaccine for Chikungunya ! What a shame that it is not available to the countries where this disease takes its painful toll )

I was thrilled to read about DNDI in some magazine. I am glad such organizations exist today.

In 2003, seven organisations from around the world joined forces to establish DNDi: five public sector institutions – the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation from Brazil, the Indian Council for Medical Research, the Kenya Medical Research Institute, the Ministry of Health of Malaysia and France’s Pasteur Institute; one humanitarian organisation, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF); and one international research organisation, the UNDP/World Bank/WHO’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR), which acts as a permanent observer to the initiative.

I'd like to appeal to all of you to support organizations like this who hopefully will do something about the neglected diseases.

தசாவதாரம்

Photo courtesy: Dasavatharam.net

அவியலை நம்பி வாழும்

திரை உலகில் ( ஒவ்வொறு முறையும் )

புது படையலை படைக்க நினைக்கும்

கலைஞனே - வாழ்க!

கை காலாட்டி

மாயை செய்யும்

பொய் வாழும் திரை உலகில்

மெய் காட்டல் - இனிக்குமா?

நோய் போக்கி மணக்குமா?

அரைத்த மாவுடன் - கொஞ்சம்

இலை தழை சேர்த்து

வெள்ளை வாடையுடன்

தின்னப் படைத்தால்

போதுமே எமக்கு!

ரசிப்போமே

குதிப்போமே

ஏன் இந்த அறிவியல் ஆயுர்வேதம்?

இட்லி தோசை தின்னு வளர்ந்த

தேகமைய்யா - உம்முடைய

வல்லாரை துவையல்

ஒவ்வுமா ? .... அல்லது

(PRODUCERஐ)

கல்லறை கொண்டு செல்லுமா?

Why Himesh Reshamiyya ?

Photo courtesy: Business week

Dasavatharam music is just average.

I have a question for Mr.Kamal hassan.

Why did you choose Himesh Reshamiyya when you could have chosen one from the great talents we have here ?

Ilayaraja, A.R.Rahman, Vidyasagar, Harris Jeyaraj, Vijay Antony, Srikanth Deva, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja, Deva, Sri Devi prasad, Bharadwaj, D.Imman Joshua Sridhar, Sirpy, Mani Sharma, Pravin Mani, Sabesh Murali, S.A. Rajkumar

Harbhajan needs Anger Management

News & Photo courtesy - Cricinfo

பாகைக்கு பின்னால்
சோகையா ஹர்பஜா?

பின் ஏன் இந்த
முன் கோபம்?

ஒரு முறை கண்டம் தாண்டி
தவறு செய்தாய் - ஆனால்
தப்பித்தாய் ! ( BCCI கிருபையில்)

இ.பி.கோ அனைவருக்கும் பொது - அதனால்
சப்பிக்கோ கையை - கோபம் வந்தால் !

-இப்படிக்கு-
உன் விசிறி

தசாவதார பாடல்கள்

Photo courtesy: Dasavatharam website

கருப்பை வெளுப்பாக்கி

வெத்தை வெங்காயமாக்கி

சத்துக்கு சதை சேர்த்து

குத்து பாட்டுடன்

நாட்டை கலக்கிய கதையை

நேற்று தானே பார்த்தோம்!

ஏனையா கமல ஹாசனே

இந்த கனவு ?

எதையாவது சாதிக்கணும் என

ஏன் இந்த வெறி ?

பல முறை அடி வாங்கியும்

சிலை போல

ஏன் இந்த மாயை!

தசாவதார பாடல்கள் புஸ்வாணம்!

படம் எப்படி பார்ப்போம்!

IPL Cheerleaders

Almost all Desi magazines in the net today reported about Cheerleaders in IPL and the grunts of some people who want to ban them.

What's wrong about cheerleaders ? Afterall IPL is 100% commercial , with actors and actresses as team ambassadors. Why not have the cheerleaders and make it even more glamorous ?

Why are these politicians and narrow minded public barking here, when Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood and other woods in India come out with movies with a lot of flesh ? Even worse, most of them even get a clean rating by the authorities.

I recently watched two movies in Tamil. BILLA and SIVAJI. The heroines in these movies wore skimpy outfits and exposed flesh to the maximum ! Those of you who saw those movies would know what I am talking about.

What was the rating of those two movies? Did any politician open his / her mouth about it? Did anyone write about it ?

Why cry wolf about Cheerleaders now?

HYPOCRITES

Sivaji - The Boss - on DVD

Finally, bought the 3 DVD pack of 'Sivaji - The Boss' this evening at Raaga in Sunnyvale. I usually buy AYNGARAN DVDs for their quality. As I expected the quality of this DVD is also superb. Cost of the DVD - 24 USD.

I am happy, I didn't pay the 15$ tickets that they charged at the theaters here. Now, I can watch whenever I want and whatever I want....heck I can even watch the 'Making of Sivaji' and the '175 day celebrations' that came as bonuses for 24 USD.

About the movie now:

I enjoyed it ! Worth a watch once. KV Anand's cinematography is superb. Sujatha's dialogues ( He had a fascination for the tamil word 'Ahppu' ) were very good. Songs were very well done by ARR. Vivek made me laugh along with Rajini. Shankar was good in pieces. Felt sad about Raghuvaran and Sujatha !

I will never pay 15$ to watch a movie in theaters, no matter what.

C O O L - C O O L - C O O L

8% Economy - Beneficiaries

Photo courtesy: The Hindu

The city is eight years behind in complying with the Municipal Solid Waste Rules of 2000, which stipulate segregation and processing of waste. Garbage dumping in the Perungudi - Pallikaranai marshland has also harmed the ecology of the wetland and burning of wastes has polluted the air.

You too Maestro ?

Photo courtesy: Onemovielinks


Never in my dreams did I imagine that IR would have lifted all these.

Well , can these be called 'Inspirations', I bet that's what IR would say.

You too Maestro ?

PS - Thanks Vichu for sending me this.

'உட்லண்ட்ஸ்'

பல வருடங்கள்

'உட்லண்ட்ஸ்' உணவை உண்டு

ஏப்பம் விட்ட

அரசியல்வாதிகள்

இதோ

'உட்லண்ட்ஸ்' ஹோட்டலையே உண்டு

ஏப்பம் விட

தயாராகி விட்டார்கள்!

செறிக்குமா?

காலம் தான் பதில் சொல்லும்!

எனக்கு ஏனோ....நெஞ்சம் கரிக்கிறது

PIERCEY TOYOTA MILPITAS - ROCKS !!

How often do you enjoy you car service experience? I did last week...probably for the first time in several years.

Thanks to my cousin Vichu who recommended Piercey Toyota's service, I decided to try them out on Saturday at their new showroom in Milpitas.

I called them and they asked me to come-in. I reached there around noon and I was simply flattered by their service.

As I drove my car into the service ramp, service advisors came like vultures, greeted me, took my keys, took me inside the showroom, gathered details of the service and requested me to wait..all in less than 15 minutes.

The waiting hall was like a hug Mall, wonderfully designed. There were play areas, Big screen TV's, all kinds of ( New ) magazines and newspapers and wonderful sofas to sit and relax.

Coffee, Tea, Expresso etc were free in the coffee machines. Free bottled spring water was a nice to have.

The best was the Internet service. There were 3 workstations with High-speed Internet. It was superb.

When they called me and gave the car back, I felt bad that I had to leave. I felt like getting out of a SPA...not a car dealership.

PS - The service was done well. I liked the car wash which is a perk these days ( atleast in places I've been too ).

PIERCEY TOYOTA leads the way. Hope others follow.

MagicJack - 40$ an year - Amazing !

I was reading Newsweek today when I stumbled upon MagicJack.

I immediately signed up for 1 year. Lots of good reviews.

40$ per year is just too cheap !

Give it a shot and let me know.

I'll also review MagicJack, once I get the device and use it.

Sachin enters politics ?

I was shocked to see this headline in Indian Express today. When did Sachin join politics ? Without announcement ?

Read on...!

Ex CEC Gill, Scindia in ministry; Sachin left out

Cricket in the USA

Stickcricket

Is cricket the second most popular sport in the world? At least, that's what the fans say - according to this article in New York Times today.

The game is similar to baseball, but with differences that can make it difficult for Americans to follow. Players run with their bats in hand; balls are bowled, not pitched; spit balls are allowed; fielders are not permitted to wear gloves; there is no foul territory; and bowlers (pitchers) sprint before releasing the ball, which typically bounces and picks up spin before reaching a batsman.

I grew up playing cricket. Fun days..indeed, looking back. We used to make the stumps out of tree branches, bats from Coconut trees. We came out to play in our best outfits..whatever we had. We played with a lot of enthusiasm.

Our heroes those days were Chandrasekhar, Gavaskar, Viswanath, Engineer, Brijesh Patel, Pataudi to name a few.

We had matches where the captain of the losing side would sign a paper saying 'We lost our match today'. We had our arguments, our fights, our moments of joy. We cried when our team mate died in an accident. We 'booed' when our team mate joined the opposite team !

Time passed, we moved on. Some of us got a chance to play for Perungalathur CC which finally made it to the Leagues in Madras. Then, most of us quit playing.

I play at times here locally, but end up with some painkillers in the evening. But..Cricket still remains close to my heart. I've lost the passion for Test cricket, 20-20 is too short I feel...I love the one day games.

Glad to see Cricket being talked about here in the USA. I doubt it..but who knows, one day Cricket might become as popular as Baseball, Basketball, Football here !

All for Water

Courtesy: Sify

These are the things the politicians do:

Create animosity
Induce violence
Create panic
Damage property
Damage lives
Cause inconvenience
Disrupt normal life

Chennai: Even though the dates for Karnataka Assembly elections have been announced, the state has locked horns with Tamil Nadu over the Hogenakkal water issue.

Tamil Nadu saw stray incidents of violence and a black out of Kannada channels on the issue and not just the Central Government, even Tamil cinema's superstar Rajnikanth is in a tight spot.

What the politicians can't ( will not ) do:

Try for a permanent solution
Desalinate sea water
Connect rivers where water flows into the Ocean
Deepen tanks, lakes
Remove encroachements in lakes to store water

USE THEIR BRAIN FOR CONSTRUCTIVE PURPOSES.

Dear Mr.Kaif

Photo courtesy: Cricinfo

My Dear Mohammad Kaif,

How are you ? Long time no see !

Welcome back to the Indian team. You got lucky didn't you. And, I won't blame you, that's the trend these days ! Do you remember how Ishant Sharma got in? Do you know that Dinesh Karthik is praying for Dhoni to be injured. Hope you understand.

I know your domestic season has been good and that you are a good fielder too. I laugh at your batting stance..but that's alright as long as you score runs.

Now, do me a favor - I know you will try hard. ( This is a do or die chance for you ) Somehow manage a 100 or atleast a 50 ! If you do that ...the selectors will have a nightmare..wondering whom to drop when Mr.Sachin comes back !

Good Luck Mr. Kaif.

Best wishes,

Narayanan Venkitu

Earth Hour - 2008

EARTH HOUR - 2008

LET'S DO OUR PART

LET'S SAVE OUR PLANET

New Format for TEST CRICKET needed

The name "Test" is thought to arise from the idea that the matches are a "test of strength and competency" between the sides involved. It seems to have been used first to describe an English team that toured Australia in 1861-62, although those matches are not considered Test matches today. The first ever official Test match commenced on the 15th of March 1877, contested by England and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, where the Australians won by 45 runs.

( Wikipedia )

By Sunday evening India time, another test match would probably go down the tubes as 'Draw', aka 'No results'.

I am not sure if there are other games that can end in a 'No result' situation.

Not sure about you, but for me, it is just too boring to watch a five day game that ends in a tame draw !

Test cricket - The five day version of the game with two innings per side has been going on for a few centuries now. A few changes have happened in the last century like the scrapping of the 'REST DAY'.

But for most part, test cricket is still the same.

I feel it is high time the authorities came together with a new format for the longer version of the game ( IMHO, for the survival of Test cricket ).

May I suggest a maximum of one day per side ? And if the scores are tied at the end, a shoot out or a coin toss. I don't mind 2 innings per side.

The world has changed since test cricket evolved and is changing by the second.

Why not TEST CRICKET ?

Universal Charger / Adaptor

NIKON DSLR

CASIO Digital

LG Cellphone

Nokia Cellphone

Razr Cellphone

Nintendo SP

Nintendo DS

Sony PS2

WII

IPOD

San Disk MP3 Player

Laptop

Wireless Router

Modem

Battery Chargers

Bluetooth Chargers

Hair Trimmer

Shaver

Electric Toothbrush

Etc. Etc.

If you own these gadgets you know that each one of these has a different charger / power adaptor. If you travel - God bless you ! You need a seperate bag for the Chargers !.

I was browsing Amazon today for Universal chargers / adaptors and found this product. Looks very interesting indeed. I am planning to try it out. I'll let you know how it works out.

Cochin International Airport

( My photo of Cochin International Airport )

I had the opportunity to fly from Cochin to Chennai during my 2006 India trip. I loved the airport and the services.

I liked the cleanliness, the architecture and the passenger facilities. The waiting area was very nice indeed and so were the shopping areas. The roads were nice around the airport and the parking lot was huge. As I took off from Cochin I noticed how green it was around the airport.

My only crib was the doubt if it could handle the load when many more airlines come to Cochin.

Looks like Cochin Airport is a big hit according to IBNLIVE.

Sachin said...!

Pawar recalled Sachin Tendulkar meeting him to convey that players of his generation would like to opt out when the selectors were about to announce the Indian team for the ICC World Twenty20.

“Sachin met me and suggested ‘I know you don’t interfere with the team selection but please tell the selectors not to include players of my generation in the Twenty20 squad.’ He said ‘my generation is not fit for Twenty20, so give an opportunity to the youngsters.’”

( News from THE HINDU )

நடுத்தெருவர்க்கம்

அன்று

நடுத்தரவர்க்கம்

இன்று

நடுத்தெருவர்க்கம்

Happy Birthday Adhithi

Adhithi turned 14 today

Time flies

'Happy Birthday Adhithi'

Tamil actor Raghuvaran passes away

Photo courtesy: Sify Movies

49 years is too young an age to die. God bless his soul.

I am a big fan of Raghuvaran. Started right from his TV Serials and his Tamil movie 'Ezhavathu manidhan'. Those who saw 'Mudhalvan' would recollect his wonderful portrayal of Tamil Nadu's CM.

I'll watch 'Mudhalvan' anytime, just for Raghuvaran.

Big Loss for the Tamil Film Industry.

நியாய தர்மங்கள்

அப்பா அழுது நான் இதுவரை என் 22 வயது வாழ்வில் பார்த்ததில்லை !

'போயிட்டு வாம்மா !' துண்டால் முகத்தை துடைத்துக்கொண்டே அழுதார். அம்மா என்றும் இல்லாமல் இன்று கொஞ்சம் தைரியமாக இருந்தாள்.

பாட்டி பாதிக்கண்னால் பார்த்து..ஒரு கை தூக்கி பொக்கை வாயில் என்னவோ சொல்ல, மாமா, மாமி, சித்தி, சித்தப்பா, குழந்தைகள் கை அசைத்து வழி அனுப்ப..

சுரேஷ், விஜய், ஷங்கர், ராமா, பாலாஜி, சாரு, சித்ரா, அதிதி, ப்ரீதி மற்றும் நண்பர்கள் 'BYE..BYE' சொல்ல...

கனத்த மனதுடன், கன்னத்தில், கண்களில் நீருடன், கார் கதவை திறந்து ஏறிக்கொண்டேன். ராஜேஷ் மேல் சாய்ந்து கொள்ள கார் கிளம்பியது.

நான் பிறந்து, வளர்ந்து திரிந்த ஊர்..மெல்ல மெல்ல..பின்னால் மறைய..இதோ ஒரு 100 கிலோமீட்டர் தூரத்தில் உள்ள ராஜேஷ் வீட்டுக்கு....என் புகுந்த விட்டுக்கு..பயணம் ஆரம்பம்.

ஏன் டீ ரம்யா பெண்ணாகப் பிறந்தாய் ? ஏன்.. ஏன் ? எனக்குள் ஒரு கேள்வி.

--

( தொடரும் )

--

BCCI - A Suggestion for ODI Team selection

Dravid wants to come back to the One Day Team

Ganguly is desperate and wonders how he can get in

Laxman wants to be there

Sachin is holding on

Zaheer Khan, RP Singh are getting ready after injuries

Yuvaraj isn't sure - To Date or To Bat

Dinesh Karthik, VRV Singh, Pankaj Singh - Tired carrying drinks

Sehwag - Losing hair over ODI Thoughts

S Badrinath, Murali Karthik and the likes:

Learning SAP to try and get into IT rather than wait forever for a chance

Ajit Agarkar - The Warrior

Still trying hard, using the 'Kar' value !

My suggestion to BCCI:

Just like Under-19, have a few more teams

20 - 28 ( Team Acne )

29 - 35 ( Team Amrutanjan / Idupvali )

and then finally a

Senior Citizens team of India ( Team Viagra )

Hold a Lottery to choose which group goes for a series.

That way you can satisfy all !

DJIA vs. Hang Seng & BSE Sensex

BSE Sensex vs Hang Seng

Hang Seng vs Dow Jones Industrial Average

BSE Sensex vs Dow Jones Industrial Average

Ilayaraja - My God

Picture courtesy: Keerthi's Avyukta

I grew up listening to Ilayaraja's songs. In my opinion he revolutionized Tamil film music. He came with a bang via 'Annakkili' and there was no stopping ! Even today his songs stand apart..just for one reason - Sheer Melody.

I was watching some videos in Ganesh's Blog today and went speechless for a few minutes to see the talent in Kerala. Please watch and enjoy IR and these wonderful singers. Please don't miss the comments of the judges at the end of the videos.

A word about Keerthi. His creativity is amazing. This pencil sketch of IR (above) is a classic example of his creativity. I love his writing, his photography and his paintings / sketches. I consider myself lucky to have such a great person as my friend.

Curry leaves - No Stock in Bay Area

Photo courtesy: Paajaka.com

Three vital ingredients in Indian Cuisine:

Turmeric

Asafoetida

Curry Leaves

All of the above have very good medicinal properties which are well documented.

Now, all of a sudden there is a shortage of Curry Leaves in the Bay Area. I am not sure why. I didn't read anything about it.

All I hear in the Indian stores is

'Sorry , Out of Stock'

Does anyone know what is going on ?

Delegates & Super Delegates

Photo courtesy: Conservative Outpost

Those of you who follow the presidential race in the USA would know by now that it is going to be an extremely tight finish for both Mr.Obama and Mrs. Clinton to get the nomination of the Democratic party.

Looks like it would finally come to the Super Delegates.

Here is what Wikipedia says about Super Delegates:

Unlike most convention delegates, the super delegates are not selected based on the party primaries and caucuses in each U.S. state. Instead, the super delegates are seated automatically, based solely on their status as current or former elected officeholders and party officials. They are free to support any candidate for the nomination.

I wonder why they still continue this 'Super Delegate' tradition.

I remember when President Bush got elected 8 years back, he did not have the popular votes..but he won thanks to the delegate count. I thought that was not fair !

Now again, Mr.Obama and Mrs. Clinton are ( even for their nomination ) at the mercy of Super Delegates.

Ponting & Co. RIP !

Photo courtesy: Sydney Morning Herald

So, the proof is in the Pudding aka 'CB Series Winner'

Congratulations Team India - Under 30. ( 99% ).

What does this prove ? It proves the faith of the Indian selectors. It proves the faith of a common ( often called Aging ) man like me. It proves that young blood is the need of the hour especially in the smaller versions of Cricket.

Finally it proved wrong all those critics, all those who spat at the selectors, when they found that Mr.Wall and Mr.Dadha were dropped from the ODI squad. I got some flak too, for applauding the team selection !

Thanks to injuries to RP Singh and Zaheer Khan we found a few gems like Ishant and Praveen. Thanks to the sacking of Dravid/Ganguly we found gems like Rohit Sharma !

Believe me, there are some more gems in this same team, who were not brought out ...to show the world their dazzle. Time will come soon for them too.

Sachin - Congratulations for the great knocks in the last two matches.

Lastly a word for the Aussies - I hope you are a bit light-headed now, thanks to the trashing by India. I hope you lost your head weight !

Ponting & Co. RIP !

சுஜாதாவுக்கு - ரா.கி.ரங்கராஜன் அஞ்சலி

புதிய எழுத்தாளர்கள் அவரைப் போல எழுத வேண்டும் என்று ஆசைப்பட்டு எழுதுவது உண்டு. அவ்வளவு ஏன்... ஆரம்ப காலத்தில் நானே அவரைப்போல எழுதிப் புகழ்பெற வேண்டும் என்று சிறுபிள்ளைத்தனமாக ஆசைப்பட்டதுண்டு.

அவருடைய நுட்பமான அறிவு, அளவிட முடியாத உழைப்பு, படிப்பு, நட்பு வட்டாரம், பெரிய இடத்துப் பழக்கவழக்கங்கள் இவற்றில் ஆயிரத்தில் ஒரு பங்குகூட எனக்கு வராது என்பதை உணர்ந்து, அவரை முந்தவேண்டும் என்ற எண்ணத்தை விட்டுவிட்டேன்.

மரணம் ஒன்றில்தான் அவரை முந்த முடியும் என்று எண்ணியிருந்தேன்.

அதையும் பொய்ப்பித்துவிட்டார் என் அருமை நண்பர் சுஜாதா!

ஜூனியர் விகடனில் - ரா.கி. ரங்கராஜன்
( படிக்க சந்தா தேவை)

சச்சின் - விசிறிகளே !

நூறு அடித்ததும்

வாரி கட்டிக் கொண்டு

வசை பாட
ஓடி வரும்

சச்சின் - விசிறிகளே!

அவர்..

நாறிய பொழுது

பேச்சு மூச்சு இல்லாமல்

மறைந்து கிடந்த

மாயம் தான் என்ன ?

Sydney ODI - My thoughts

It doesn't matter if India loses the next two games. It doesn't matter if we are beaten black and blue. A mostly young Indian team ridiculed by many for a lack of experience proved that they could beat a formidable Australia...in Australia.

Today, every other magazine and website has praised Sachin. Hats off to him. Despite his age he was able to tackle the Aussie bowling on a mostly flat track. Great knock indeed.

I am not a great fan of Sachin - but I admired something yesterday. Even as he reached his hundred he was quite active. He wasn't showing signs of any distress physically. This is something I haven't seen with the younger players these days. They usually call for a bye-runner and cramp and show signs of physical weakness as they go further.

To my surprise Sachin batted the 45+ overs and he was OK in the end. Hats off Sachin. You have to bat well the next game or two to prove your critics like me wrong !

I didn't read anything written about a 19 year old Piyush Chawla. Those who saw him bowl yesterday would have admired his Leggies, Topspinners and Googlies and his amazing accuracy. 10-0-33-0 is an amazing analysis !

The catch he took was a turning point in the game. I bet Munaf would have stood there watching...if he was in the team !

I am glad the Indian Team Management finally decided to give Piyush a go. And what a move it was !

Well..Well...as we go to GABBA on tuesday Sachin and Co. beware. If my instincts are right it will be a fast track. Though we have Ishant....I doubt if a fast track will suit Sachin and Co. Only time will tell. Let's see.

And like someone in the crowd said yesterday:

' Yuvi - Stop Dating - Start Batting '

60,000 crore Loan waiver

New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday presented a Budget which waived off loans worth Rs 60,000 crore to small farmers, hoped for an 8.8 percent growth and announced several social sector schemes.

Source - IBNLIVE.COM

How do you define a small farmer ?

**
Is there a fool-proof mechanism in place to identify them ?

**
Who is going to pay for this waiver ?

**-**

World's Hottest Chilli Pepper - Bhut Jolokia from India

(Video courtesy: Wall Street Journal Online)

I was reading about the World's hottest Chilli Pepper - Bhut Jolokia today.

Voila, its from my homeland India.

Here is some trivia

The standard measure for hot peppers is the Scoville Heat Unit, or SHU, named after Wilbur Lincoln Scoville, a chemist who in 1912 developed a method of assessing the heat given off by capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili peppers.

Jalapeño peppers measure about 5,000 SHUs. The Bhut Jolokia tops a million.

எழுத்தாளர் சுஜாதா காலமானார்!

FEB-27-2008

ஒரு சகாப்தம் முடிந்தது !
ஒரு இமயம் சாய்ந்தது !

ஒரு சுனாமி ஒய்ந்தது !

என் அபிமான எழுத்தாளர் சுஜாதா காலமானார்!

ஐயா -

உம்மால் - பல விஷயங்கள் கற்றேன்

பயன் பெற்றேன்!

உமது ஆன்மா சாந்தி அடைய

இறைவனை வேண்டுகிறேன்!

Indian Team Management - No spine

I watched the match last night and went to bed with mixed emotions.

Congratulations Australia for making the Indians sweat !

Our bowling - At the best, it was mediocre barring a few deliveries by Ishant Sharma. Sreesanth and Pathan were so predictive and the Aussies slammed them along with Ishant.

Harbhajan and Yuvraj bowled a tight spell to restrict the Australians to 317. At one stage I thought they'd easily cross 400 !

Our batting - Apart from Gambhir and Uthappa, it was a pathetic show. Gautham's form and his stroke making skills were superb. Uthappa showed his class with his powerful (baseball style) shots.

Drop Old Man Sachin

I did some math and noticed that Old Man Sachin's average in the CB series so far is close to 19 runs. Why not drop him and bring in Dinesh Karthik? Dhoni can get some rest from wicket keeping too and focus more on his captaincy and batting.

Why is the Indian Management giving so many changes to Sachin when a young player like Praveen Kumar or Manoj Tiwari gets only one match ? What is the Logic ?

I would also drop Sreesanth and bring in Praveen Kumar ( He is an allrounder). Piyush Chawla must be played and Rohit Sharma can be dropped to get him in.

Here is my team for the next game against Sri Lanka.

Dinesh Karthik, Sehwag , Gambir, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Uthappa, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan, Piyush Chawla, Ishant Sharma.

The Stimulus package - Advantage China

Photo courtesy: www.glennbeck.com

My family with two kids and with our level of income will be getting 1800 USD sometime around May 2008. This would be thanks to the stimulus package approved recently by President Bush.

I already have plans...Yeah..I would be able to payoff some of my credit card debts !

I am not sure how it would help in the long run! I am not an Economist so I don't want to go deeper into this, but I as a common man feel that this is only a 'Band Aid'.

I found this discussion funny. This was in CNN Headline News where Glenn Beck was talking about it.

This is what he said:

• The money for the package is being borrowed from China.
• US has to pay interest for it.
• People will be using it to buy products mostly manufactured in China.
• So the money again goes back to China.
• Who gains ? - China
• China gets back the money + Interest on the money + money made by the increased sales of Chinese made products.

So, this is a Great Economic Simulus package for China!

Piyush Chawla - Need of the hour

Another loss yesterday to Australia. I thought we gave the game off with some reckless batting. Aussies enjoyed the gift, despite their pathetic batting performance.

Gavaskar is really upset about Munaf. I agree with Sunil 100%, Munaf performed like he was playing a local game in Gujarat!

I am upset about the Team management's choice to ask Pathan come at No.3. I am upset that we don't play a Leggie.

I would like to see Piyush Chawla play tomorrow. He needs to be groomed. Having played cricket during my younger days I can tell you that a good leg spinner (especially a wrist spinner ) is hard to play.

I am not sure if you saw the Benson and Hedges Cup Final in 1985. I was lucky to watch it. Check out how L.Sivaramakrishnan a leg spinner ( Wrist ) rocked the Pakistanis out! Not many people expected it and Siva's performance throughout that series was superb and we won the cup !

I hope the selectors will drop Uthappa and Munaf and play Tiwary and Piyush against the Lankans tomorrow.