DEVELOPING NATION?? REALLY??

Yesterday my friend sent me a message saying the supreme court had stayed the OBC quota and i was genuinely happy.. Being in the general category, I'm sure a lot of us would've felt extreme anger whenever they say reservation in education.. Having been brought up in the society as exists today, we understood that nothing should value more than the merit of the individual..

Yesterday, i also realised that all these were false hopes.. All the politicians seemed unanimous in saying that the decision of the supreme court was wrong.. Every single one of them looking for political leverage.. Did we actually elect these leaders?? The worst part being that the petition had been put forward based on a 1931 census.. How is such data even valid in the present time??

The government should be trying to get students who will take India to the world.. Instead they are more worried about how many of them could be convinced to vote for them come the next election.. I mean, it's probably Karunanidhi's last term, can't he at least do something right before he leaves?? The entire world is moving forward and India is probably the only country where people are fighting to get a backward caste certificate.. Sometimes you wonder who the disadvantaged are that the government talks about..

I hate people like myself.. All this anger and we done nothing at all.. Having said that, i don't think most people know what to do when they come across a situation like this.. I sincerely hope though that someone does something about it.. If they do, they have my support.. Let us pray that all the struggle that so many students across India have gone through does not go in vain..

BLACK FRIDAY

Cricinfo's headlines read "A Billion Hopes Sunk" and i couldn't agree with them more.. Yesterday was one of my worst cricket viewing experiences and I've seen India crumble many a time.. The most famed batting line up in cricket was unable to achieve a target of 255 on what seemed like a batsman's track post lunch..

The captain and coach kept talking about the "process" and the "flexibility" that the team possessed but both of these wasn't seen yesterday.. The bowlers as far as I'm concerned did their job but were a little unfortunate in the beginning..

India has too many glorified batsmen.. They are treated like demi gods here.. I don't know if the players realise the importance they are given in this country.. I agree, there is too much pressure on them but failing so often and at critical times is simply unacceptable.. There weakness is exposed time and again when the play away from home, South Africa and West Indies stand as good examples..

I'm an ardent Sachin fan but his form off late has been disturbing.. A friend of mine told me about reading this..
"Has the day come when we're seriously talking about Sachin batting well against Bermuda?" one intelligent former Indian cricketer responded when it was mentioned in passing that the little man looked sharp in the last match. "
His triumphs have only been in India or against minnows.. Failed against South Africa and here against Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.. He should dropped for a series at least, something that hasn't happened since he made his debut.. India should looking for an alternative.. Anyway, nowadays "Har Ghar Mein Sachin", So shouldn't be a problem..

There needs to be a change.. Players should stop living on past glories or one off occasions.. Greg Chappell's interview yesterday was pretty comic.. Most of his answers being "It wasn't good enough" or "This isn't the right forum".. Apparently, 18 months isn't enough to hone the skills of this team to at least get them to the 2nd round..

I hate it when India lose but yesterday was too painful.. I know it's just a game.. India losing also would've been okay but them doing so without a fight is a reality i don't want to accept..

300

Badly wanted to see this movie in the theatre but don't think i can for the time being.. So got the movie from Barry(Tankoo).. The movie created tremendous hype and i must say, it lived upto it..

The story is pretty simple and was given in the trailers itself.. A thousand nations of the Persian empire descend upon the greek land of Sparta, said to have the finest warriors.. How king Leonidas and his army of 300 men take on the millions of the persian army forms the story..

The entire story is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name.. It apparently sticks entirely to the book without deviating.. There are just a couple of small twists in the story but guess they are pretty obvious anyway..

It's hard to believe the entire movie except one scene(not sure which one) was shot with a blue screen.. The movie looks great on screen.. The battle sequence being one of the best.. The movie does have a bit of gore though but it isn't over the top and i guess you need it when depicting a battle.. Gerard Butler does a great job as King Leonidas..

All in all, a great movie watching experience.. Would've been ten times better on the big screen.. A must watch for every movie buff..

(If you want to read more about the battle of thermopyle, read the book 'The Spartan' by Valerio Massimo Manfredi)

WRONG TIMING??

It's been the vettiest semester I've had in college.. So much fun.. So much oor suthifying.. Regained old friends.. Got closer to few people.. All in all a great semester so far..

We had a great few weeks planned ahead of us.. A trip to kodai to to escape from the Chennai heat was the first on our agenda.. Project had taken a back seat even before it had begun.. Don;t think anyone really cares.. I was living a dream..

Well, dreams do come to an end and so did this one.. In what can be called a freaky accident, a guy in my gym dropped weights on my leg and fractured my toe.. Real bummer considering i have been really enthusiastic the last few weeks about getting into proper shape.. Yes, I've put on some extra weight that i shouldn't have..

I didn't think it would be that big a deal but the last couple of days have been pretty tough.. Not being able to walk after having been able to do so all my life sucks.. Walking around the house itself has been very hard.. God knows what i would've done if not for my sister.. Love her..

To top this, had to attend CAT yesterday given how badly i had screwed up ATM in CAT1, my worst performance till date:) .. Thanks to Barry, Bill, Peter, John, Charles, J and Adi for helping me move around college..

All this ensured i miss the Kodai trip but guess it's getting cancelled now anyway.. TCS had to keep their fitness test next week.. Not sure if I'll be able to make it though..

The doctor is gonna plaster up my leg tomorrow.. I apparently need four weeks of rest minimum before I'm back on my feet, literally.. Don't know how I'm going to kill time.. Pity i watched all the movies i have, would've been the ideal time to use them.. Don't think I'll be able to make it to the scheduled trip two weeks from now, so guys have fun planning :D .. I sincerely hope my leg heals soon.. Want to get back to being vetti, oor suthifying and chumma driving my bike around.. Which reminds me, it sucks not being able to ride the bike.. Don't want to end my college life this way..

WHAT A FEAT!!!

There's just one word to describe this.. WOW.. Herchelle Gibbs hitting Van Bunge of Netherlands for 6 six's in an over.. The first time ever in ODI history.. Kudos..

GRRRRR

Chennai is getting extremely irritating.. I love the city but the last few weeks have got on my nerves.. All the latest movies release all over India except Chennai for god knows what reason.. Ghost Rider delayed by a week.. The lesser said about Departed the better.. Still no sign of The Number 23..

I would've been patient about it still but this week was the limit.. 300 openend to great reviews all over the world and they started playing trailers on TV saying it's releasing on the 16th.. Only yest did i realise it was for the rest of India and not Chennai.. Absolute idiots.. Wonder why they are doing this.. This is the one reason that prompts me to download most movies and watch rather than wait.. I'll make an exception for 300 though.. Hope and pray it releases soon..

BUDDING TALENT

Santy playing Unn Siripinil from Pachaikili Muthucharam.. Excellent given that noone taught him this song.. Kudos.. Santy Fox!!!

MY NEW PHONE

A full circle and i'm back with Sony again.. Got myself a new Sony Ericsson K750i.. A while back actually but forgot to write about it.. The phone is just amazing..

2 Mega pixel Camera, Unlimited video recording, radio and Mp3 support, Extendable memory.. Infra red and Bluetooth enabled.. All this and it costs less than 10k.. The only problem with the phone is battery which also is decent and lasts atleast a day of heavy usage..

If any of you are planning on buying a new phone, go for this phone.. Sony rocks!!!

WEST INDIES VS PAKISTAN

Perfect start to the World Cup, at least for West Indies it was.. The host nation taking on Pakistan at Sabina Park, Jamaica..

The West Indies made a great comeback while batting from the situation they were in.. Marlon Samuels and Brian Lara led the way followed by a Blitzkrieg by Dwayne Smith.. Umar Gul and Rao Iftikar were the pick of the Pakistan bowlers..

The West Indies struck early blows and followed it with wickets at periodic intervals.. Dwayne Smith again played a vital part getting the wickets of Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam.. Dwayne Bravo was amazing both while bowling and fielding.. Shoaib Malik was the only one who put up a good fight scoring 62 off 54 balls..

Dwayne Smith picked up the man of the match with a fine performance.. A great team effort by the West Indies and a thoroughly deserved victory..

WORLD CUP

The mega event has begun, the one we've all been waiting for (i have atleast).. Gonna ensure many sleepless nights for everyone.. Probably the most unpredictable world cup so far given the rise and fall in form of various nations..

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that India should win the world cup.. They seem a pretty balanced side with lots of flexibility.. My ideal semi finalists would be Australia, South Africa, New Zealand (atleast for Stephen Fleming's sake) and India.. Lets see what it ends up as..

Ooh Aah India, Aaya India.. Ladega Toh Jeetega!!!

AMAZE '07

Indian Institute of Planning and Management(IIPM), Chennai had organised a concert by Shaan, KK and Anuradha Shriram as the finale of their culturals on March 10th.. I hadn't heard even heard of this place till then.. Nice way to get publicity..

The turnout for the show was very poor.. They bumped us all in front since there were too few people.. The returns from the show go to some charity apparently, so that's my good deed for the week(Yaay!!!)..

The concert began about half an hour late.. KK started off with Yaaron and sang his regular set of songs Tadap Tadap, Strawberry, Pal etc.. The highlight was Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai.. Amazing Performance.. Loved it..

I still have no idea why they asked John Britto's dance group to perform.. We conveniently used that time to go have dinner.. Pretty Unimpressive.. Next on was Anuradha Shriram.. An okay performance.. Couple really nice numbers mainly cause i like tamizh music (which most people there didn't seem to)..

When Shaan came on stage, it was dhamaka again.. Started brilliantly with Main Hoon Don ( or Shaan).. He was amazing.. Pity he didn't sing any Rahman songs though.. All three singers finally came together for a few numbers.. Shaan and KK did the 'O Podu' chorus when Anuradha Shriram sang Gemini..

They ended the night brilliantly with four tracks.. 'Dus Bahane','Koi Kahe', 'It's The Time To Disco' and 'Where's The Party Tonight'.. The three of them did a small medley of songs after this.. Suchitra of Radio Mirchi fame compered the show and she looked hot.. All in all, a great day.. Super fun..