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To Hang or not to Hang Saddam

Saddam is likely to be hanged this weekend. Well we all know he is guilty of killing many people. Some reports suggest he even killed his sons-in-law. He has been held responsible for the death of more than 140 people. The judgement of the Iraqi court decrees that he has to be hanged before January 27.

I am no fan of Saddam, but with the current situation in Iraq, Saddam's hanging will only add to the confusion, and there will be a clash between the Shias and Sunnis and the U.S. forces and supportere of Saddam's Baath' Party.

What about George Bush who is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent Iraqis and Afghans. No answers for that as he is the most powerful man on earth and everyone has to follow his whims and fancies.

God help Iraq and God help poor America.

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Second Test Update

The Indians had to sweat it out before they could bowl the Proteas out. Prince scored 121 before he was caught by Laxman of Sreesanth's bowling. The surprise package was Morkel who was notout on 31 and Ntini scored 16 runs and was out lbw to Kumble. The final score was 328.

India started disastrously losing Sehwag for a duck. I personally think Pathan should have stayed back and Sehwag should have returned home, he is becoming a liability for the team and not scoring at all. Next to depart was Dravid who was given out lbw of Nel, but I think the ball struck him a bit high on the legs, but he is out.

As I am writing this, Sachin and Jaffer are playing on 14 and 26 respectively. Let us see what happens..

A

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The Singur Controversy-What went wrong?

"Mamata Bannerjee put on oxygen support," screams the news headline in a news website. Mamata has been on a hunger strike for the past 21 days in protest of the proposed Tata small car factory that is supposed to come up in Singur. The problem is that the government has sanctioned prime agricultural land for the factory. Already a sizeable number of farmers have accepted the generous compensation given by the Tatas for their land, almost 6 to seven times of the actual property value.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, the West Bengal CM says that he cannot ask the Tatas to back out as it was he who took the initiative for inviting the Tatas to set up a factory. The argument is why was prime agricultural land offered to the Tatas when barren or unfertile land could have served the purpose, and why do they require such a vast area for their small-car factory?

Let us wait and watch and see what happens...

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Pathan Sent Packing

Irfan Pathan, has been given an air-ticket back home and literally sent packing to regain his lost form by playing in the Ranji Trophy matches. The fact is he is the only Indian player to have scored a century in the ongoing series in South Africa. In Vengsarkar's words-"He is in the team as a bowler who can bat a bit, not as a batsman who can bowl a bit."

So Pathan has about 4 months in which he has to master his reverse swing and wicket taking ability, to play for India in the World Cup in the Caribbean.

When I am writing this Sreesanth is being belted across the park in Durban and Zaheer has taken two wickets in the second test. Let us see what happens. Best of luck Pathan.

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Merry Christmas

It is that time of the year again, prayers and celebrations, carols and choir performances, plum cakes and rice puddings, Santa Claus and gifts... A Merry Christmas to everybody, and may the new year bring happiness and prosperity to everyone.

Breaking the Protean jinx

A Victory finally..
India finally broke the Protean jinx. We managed to win the first test match by 123 runs. Sreesanth who took five wickets in the first and three wickets in the second innings, destroyed the South African batting line-up, and will hopefully maintain his form in this series.Ganguly and Laxman played some crucial knocks and Zaheer's thirty odd runs in the second innings was a good performance.What worries eveyone is that the top order has failed again and I do believe that Jaffer should be replaced by Dinesh Karthick.For the moment let us enjoy our victory. Enjoy guys.

Paes and Bhupathi, end of a golden era

India won another gold at the Doha Asian Games yesterday, when Paes and Bhupathi defeated a Thai pair in a thrilling match. The result read 5-7, 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. Immediately after the victory, Paes announced his break-up with Bhupathi and said he would never partner Bhupathi again. The duo who have won many laurels for India in the past and have had ego-clashes for quite sometime and the end was inevitable, but the sudden announcement after the gold medal came as a shock to everyone.

The duo inspired a new generation of players like Sania, Rohan Bopanna, Ritwik, Rushmi Chakravarthy and others to take up tennis as a career.

I guess all good things have to come to an end and that is what has happened to Paes and Bhupathi. It is bad news for Indian tennis. We have to move on and identify new players to carry the mantle of Paes and Bhupathi.

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Finally a victory

The match between India and the Rest of South Africa team, ended in India's favour. Ganguly hit a brilliant 83 in the first innings but went for a duck in the second. The top order comprising of Sachin, Sehwag and Jaffer failed to boost our confidence with another disappointing performance in both innings of the match.

It was Pathan who made India's day, he scored a brilliant 111 not out in the first innings and 40 n.o. in the second. Some superb bowling by Zaheer and Sreesanth ensured a victory for the Indians.

The test series is extremely crucial for India as the one-day series was a total debacle. Sehwag will be the key. He is a different player when it comes to the longer format of the game. Remember Pakistan, if Laxman and Dravid can support Sehwag and Sachin and Ganguly play decently, there is some hope for the team.

You cannot expect the bowlers to defend a total less than 300 or 350 runs. Sreesanth, Zaheer and Pathan have to do well, Kumble knows his job and the veteran has his task cut out before him. Harbhajan is bound to get hit all across the park, but his doosra and variation in speed might do the trick.

I hope Dinesh Karthick is retained in the side. His batting is good and he is an able fielder. All eyes will be on Dada and he has a good opportunity to redeem himself. He has to be very careful about the bouncer aimed at his ribs.

December 15 is when the first test starts, let us wait and watch.

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Well and truly beaten
India were well and truly beaten by the Proteas in the recently concluded one-day series. The only consolation was our victory in the 20:20 match. The test series starts on December 15. With just another eight days remaining and a practice match against teh rest of South Africa team, Team-India has to get back to its winning ways. Laxman and Ganguly are good on paper and their batting in the upcoming matches will decide their future for once and forever.

The positives that emerged for India was the form of Zaheer with the ball and Dinesh Karthick's impressive batting. Dhoni was the only player to score more than 100 runs for India in the one-day series.

Bowling wise, the team failed in the last match and squandered impressive starts in the other games.

Let us wait for the test matches to begin.

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A chance to salvage their pride-

India have chance to salvage a bit of their pride when they meet the Proteas today. I hope that India plays the 20 overs fully and not get skittled out in 10 or 12 overs. Dhoni and Sehwag have the ability to hit the ball very hard and I feel Dhoni should be promoted up the order say at number 3.

The key lies in restricting the Proteas and avoiding silly goof-ups while fielding the ball. Let bygones be bygones India have to pull up their socks, do some serious soul-searching and win this match.

This is a desperate request from a die-hard fan. Please win this match...

Can Dada rescue India?

The fourth one-dayer had the same ending as the ones before it with India losing to South Africa without putting up a fight. The squad for the test-team which plays three tests in South Africa was announced today.

I think sweet shops in Kolkatta will do extra business today as rosgollas and sandesh would be distributed to celebrate the return of Dada to the Indian team almost a year after he played a test in Karachi.

The team is as follows:-

Squad: Rahul Dravid (capt), Wasim Jaffer, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), VVS Laxman (vice-capt), Dinesh Kaarthick, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Munaf Patel, Irfan Pathan, VRV Singh, Zaheer Khan and S Sreesanth.

Laxman has been named as vice-captain, I personally feel that Kumble deserves that place, and I am certain that Kumble will end up as the most deserving star who never captained India. Sehwag is certain to be dropped if he does not fire in the first test.

All that remains is one 20:20 fixture and the fifth ODI. Team India has to win these games to salvage some respect and let us see if Dada inspires again......

Uneasy is the head on which lies the burden of captaincy-or-How the Indian cookie crumbled in Durban.

The first ODI match between India and South Africa was cancelled because of heavy rain, so when the second match started on time on November 22, expectations were high. The Indian team had disappointed its supporters with its performance in the Champions Trophy, and Dravid and Sachin had promised to make amends in South Africa.

The match started well for India, and Zaheer Khan, who was back in the side bowled his heart out and took the crucial wickets of Graeme Smith and Bosman. Unfortunately for India, it was Kallis's day and he went on to hit an unbeaten 119. He was ably supported by A.B. de. Villiers who hit a strokeful 41. Harbhajan was tormented by Kallis and he went for 59 runs from his 10 overs and failed to pick up a wicket. I wish the management plays Kumble in the next match, or we are going to be hit for another 300 or 400 runs.(Anyway we could not chase 248 so imagine our plight chasing mammoth totals)

Agarkar and Munaf Patel also bowled pretty well to restrict the Proteas to 248.

When Sachin and Wasim Jaffer walked out to open the Indian batting, I had a feeling that this would not click(I just reached home in time before the Indian innings started at 10 P.M.)Now I wish I had watched some other channel. Jaffer's ODI debut ended in a big disappointment with his stumps being dislodged by Pollock. How do you expect a new guy to open the innings, that too on a bouncy track? Then Kaif walked in and he went into defensive mode. At the other end Sachin produced some boundaries. Then Kaif departed, caught by Gibbs at point. Then Dravid came and he just scored 18. Then... the cookie crumbled and the famed Indian batting order was skittled out for just 91. I have added the Indian scorecard, courtesy of Cricbuzz to highlight our miserable form-

Batting: India Innings
Batsmen
India (91/10 in 29.1 ovs)
Runs
Balls
4's
6's
SR
Wasim Jaffer
b S Pollock
0
3
0
0
0.00
Sachin Tendulkar
b A Nel
35
51
5
0
68.63
Mohammad Kaif
c H Gibbs b S Pollock
8
19
1
0
42.11
Rahul Dravid (c)
b C Langeveldt
18
25
3
0
72.00
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk)
c M Boucher b A Nel
14
27
3
0
51.85
Suresh Raina
c J Kallis b A Nel
4
12
0
0
33.33
Dinesh Mongia
c J Kemp b J Kallis
1
9
0
0
11.11
Harbhajan Singh
lbw b J Kallis
1
4
0
0
25.00
Ajit Agarkar
b J Kallis
6
16
1
0
37.50
Zaheer Khan
c M Boucher b A Nel
1
8
0
0
12.50
Munaf Patel
not out
0
3
0
0
0.00
Extras:
b - 0, w - 1, nb - 2, lb - 0
3

Total:(91 for 10 in 29.1 overs)
91
Run Rate: 3.1

Now tell me what should we do as loyal supporters, the meagre total ruffled feathers in the Parliament with MPs asking Chappell to be sacked. I still believe Dada should be brought back. He has the best batting average for an Indian in South Africa and Laxman deserves justice.

The latest news is that Vengsarkar has flown to South Africa for important talks with the team and coach. Let us hope India at least puts up a fight on Sunday for the third match.

Hope we win or atleast lose by a smaller margin

A Monsoon Wedding-Part-2

First of all an apology to all the dedicated readers of my blog, especially Revathi, Jeanne and Mick, I was totally occupied with work and found no time to blog. Finally I have found some free time now, so BACK TO BLOGGING.

The feast was sumptuous, and after some time of chatting about the "porutham" of the bride and the groom, we decided it was time to explore Tirunelveli. We had about three hours time from 4 P.M. to 7 P. M., and decided to make good use of it.
The first stop on our tour itineary was the famous Kanthimathi Nellaiyappar Temple. We took a bus to the temple which was about 25 minutes from the Junction busstand. The visit to this temple will remain as one of my most cherished memories. I was spellbound by the architecture and the grandeur of the sculptures and the layout of the temple.
This twin temple dedicated to Siva (Nellaiyappar) and Parvathi (Kanthimathi) is situated in the heart of the city. Built by the Pandyas in the 13C but entirely remodeled and extended in 17C - 18C , the main deity is a 'Suyambu Lingam' or a Shiva Lingam which erupted from underneath the earth. The temple is worth seeing for its beautiful sculptures, musical pillars, valuable jewels, a golden lily tank and a thousand pillared mandapa. It is one of the five sacred places in Saiva religion.
The highlight of the temple is the set of musical pillars, which produce musical notes on tapping them. Then there was a huge pond with fishes and the temple elephant who blessed all of us.
Next stop was the Iruttu Kadai Halwa shop.
Tirunelveli is synonymous with its halwa dripping with ghee that melts in your mouth instantly. So we bought halwa from the famous "Iruttu Kadai", maybe it does not have tubelights, I don't know why its called that. "Iruttu Kadai" when translated means "Dark Shop".
Then we just visited some of the shops and brought a silk saree for the bride and a silk mundu and Jibba(kurta) for the groom. It was beginning to get dark and we returned to the marriage hall.
D-DAY for Mapillai
It is 7:40 and our mapillai and his bride are about to enter a new stage in their lives or shall I say life as they are supposed to be-"One in spirit and Soul from now..." The vaathiyars(priests) chanted the mantras and the thali(mangalsutra) was tied on to the bride to the echoing of the "Nadaswaram Gettimelams".
The bride cried as she was leaving her family and joining a new family. I was immediately transported to 1994 when my sister was married and she cried a lot hugging our mother and uncle.
Then everyone proceeded to the dining hall, where a grand feast was arranged. Then it was time to say goodbyes and promises were made to visit each other(all far-flung relatives living places as varied as Palakkad and Pathankot). I returnedwith my sister and brother-in-law by the Nellai Express. That is another story, which will form the basis of my next post.
Keep reading.Cheers.

A Monsoon Wedding
The past week has been totally hectic and I had no sleep for four days from Friday evening to Monday evening. I left for Tirunelveli to attend my cousin's marriage. I could not get train tickets, so I booked a ticket on a bus K.P.N. Travels. Koyambedu to Tirunelveli via Villupuram, Trichy and Madurai. It was raining throughout and to top it they put one sick comedy movie called Gusthi on the bus. It starred Karthik and Prabhu and had two women romping in skinny outfits provocating everyone and then saying-"Unakku Akka Thangachi Illaya"(Don't you have brothers and sisters?)The bus was comfortable and the seats were spacious, but somehow I just could not sleep. It was an awesome experience to view the change in the sky and the landscape from sunset to sunrise. Something that I will never forget. Another thing that I wanted to know is, aren't there any luxury buses in India which have toilets. I might sound a bit vulgar, but facts are facts. I took a leak at all the scheduled stops - Villupuram, Trichy, Madurai and an unscheduled place without a name somewhere on the highway.I finally reached Tirunelveli at around 7:30 A.M. It was drizzling continuously like the irritating rain at Lords which is not severe, but enough to stop a cricket match. I had breakfast at Nellai Saravana Bhavan, good food and decent service. I took an auto to the marriage hall-Rajmahal Thirumana Mandapam. One common factor in Tamil nadu is that everywhere the auto-drivers will fleece you. It was just about a kilometre and I had to pay 25 rupees.The ceremony(Nischidamboolam) was yet to start and only a few of our distant relatives had reached the hall. The bridegroom Dinesh was loking ill at ease, perhaps he was reliving his bachelor days as his bachelorhood was about to end. The customary rounds of "Namaskaram Mama and Mami" were completed andI entered my room. The hall was really huge and had lots of facilities. I had a room to myself, which I would have to share with other relatives when they would arrive. I had a refreshing bath, and contemplated on my course of action.By 9 A.M., the far-flung relatives started arriving by various modes of transport. The ceremonies had also begun. I was dog-tired but I looked at the ceremony for an hour. Then I went to my room and slept for a couple of hours. When I got up it was almost 1 P.M. I went to the dining hall, already the "Mudhal Pandhi" (First batch of diners) was in progress. I sat in the next batch of diners and dug into the sumptuous spread of the "Kalyana Sappadhu" (Wedding Feast)By now my cousins had arrived and then all of us decided to visit the various places in the town, as the marriage was to take place only on the next morning.To be continued......

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Calypso Challenge for India

India have an acid test today as they play West Indies in their Champions Trophy match today. The match is very important as the winning team will enter the semi finals. India have been humiliated by West Indies in the past couple of months, in the Carribean and Kuala Lumpur.

Another worrying factor for the Men in Blue is that West Indies have defeated the World Champions Australia, twice in the recent weeks.

India almost made a mess of an easy target in their first match against England, and I firmly believe that if the Pommies had scored another 30-40 runs we would have been in trouble. One redeeming factor was that Pathan is back in form with the new ball, and he generated a fair bit of pace and swing in his opening spell.

As I have mentioned before in my previous entries, Pathan needs to be India's strike bowler, who can get some valuable runs down the order, not a swashbuckling number three batsman.

Sehwag's poor form with the bat continues to worry me. If he does not score well in this series, he might end up like Ganguly Dada.

Lets hope we win the match today.

Best of Luck to both the teams.

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To Hang or Not to Hang..., That is the Question.

Mohammed Afzal the prime accused in the Parliament terrorist attack case was sentenced to death and scheduled to be hung on October 20.

Immediately there were protests across the nation specially in Kashmir, demanding the cancellation of the death sentence. Afzal's wife presented a mercy petition to the President, and the hanging has been postponed.

This is not good for Indian justice and democracy. Afzal has been proved guilty beyond doubt and pardoning him will set a wrong example to others.

He deserves to die and his hanging should serve an example to all terrorists.

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All The P.M.'s Men-

The "Food for Oil Money Laundering Case," ruffled many a political feather in the Indian political ranks, and the Minister of External Affairs K.Natwar Singh was forced to resign. He has launched a tirade against Sonia Gandhi and the Congress, and declares that he has been made a scapegoat.

The P.M. Mr. Manmohan Singh announced some changes in the Cabinet Ministry. Pranab Mukherjee is the new Minister of External Affairs, a post that he held a decade back.

The biggest surprise was the appointment of the A.K. Antony, former Chief Minister of Kerala as the Defence Minister. Let us see if Antony takes a strong stand against Pakistan's proxy-war and terrorism.

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Srividya R.I.P.

Srividya passed away in the early hours of October 19, in a private hospital in Trivandrum. She had been waging a battle against cancer for nearly four years.
Daughter of eminent classical singer M.L. Vasanthakumari, Srividya entered the film world at a very young age doing a prominent role in the Sivaji Ganesan-starrer Thiruvarul Selvar.
She has acted in more than 300 films in all the South-Indian languages and Hindi. She made it big on Asianet the Malayalam T.V. channel, with splendid performances in serials like Muhurtham, she died when she was acting in the serial AmmaThamburathi, which is currently on air.

I liked her roles in movies like Kamal's "Aboorva Sahotarargal," and "AboorvaRaagangal" Mohanlal's "Pavithram" and Jai Shanker's "Noothukku Noor"

Her personal life was a mess and her husband continuously harassed her for money and property. The long drawn battle for divorce sapped her interest in life. She was a true fighter and lived life to the fullest battling against all odds.

Rest in Peace...

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Bad Days for Pakistani Cricket

Well it seems that the Pakistani cricket team is going through the influence of Shani, Lord Saturn. It sarted with the Oval Test fiasco. Inzamam was caught in the midst of a ball-tampering scandal. Umpire Hair could not produce evidence to prove his accusation, but Inzy was banned for four matches for bringing disrepute to the game.

Then Younis Khan was announced as the Pakistani skipper for the ICC Championship Trophy, and everything looked fine. Just before the team was about to pack its bags and come to India, Younis called a press-conference and announced that-"I do not want to be a part-time captain and be a replacement for others."

PCB was in total confusion and Mohammed Yousuf(Youhana) was named captain. Two days later top officials in the Pakistani Cricket Board resigned and Younis Khan was once again reinstated as captain.

The final nail in the coffin was hammered today when PCB announced that speedsters Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif had failed a drug-test and they were recalled and would not be playing in the ICC Championship.

After all this I still won't be surprised if Pakistan enter the semi-finals, because they have always performed well under pressure.

Let us wait and watch.

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International Terrorism

Terrorism is not Jihad or restricted to Islam alone. Across the world countries are fighting against terrorists. Sri lanka has been fighting a long battle with the LTTE who want a separate country for Tamilians. India is facing problems form groups like the Bodos, Ultras and Naxalites in addition to Islamic groups like SIMI, Lashkar-e-toiba and Hazrat-ul-Mujahideen.

On the other hand George Bush’s War on Terrorism, is no different from any other terrorist organization as thousands of innocent people have died in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pakistan’s ISI has been sponsoring terrorist attacks in India for ages. All these issues have made the world into a volcano of tension, which might erupt at any moment.

It is impossible to destroy every single terrorist in the world. You and me as responsible citizens should do our bit. If you see any suspicious person or object immediately notify the police. While travelling by public-transport ensure that there is no unclaimed baggage or package, and do not pick up anything from the street or on the beach.

To conclude I believe that its high time that Mr.Bush stops his aspirations to control Iraq and high time that India takes a definite stand on Pakistan’s proxy war and retaliate effectively as Musharraf is not making any efforts to bring peace.

A world without war is only possible in Utopia, we should learn to live and survive in this harsh world.

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The Poet's Tale

Train travel is a fascinating experience. I commute to office everyday by local train and meet many interesting characters. On Saturday while returning home I met a middle-aged man. He was sitting next to me and was trying to look at the cover of the book I was reading.

He wanted to speak to me but was hesitant, he finally found courage to speak and introduced himself. I am quoting his words here-"Hello sir, I am Kumar. I am a poet." He glanced at the novel I was reading and said-"Sir, I have written three books all of them are poetry collections, I am struggling to find an agent to sell my books. I have approached shops like Landmark and Bookpoint but they are politely trying to avoid me, can you help me sir. I have put in my life's savings and printed these books. All of them are examples of Tamil Pudhu Kavithai-New age Tamil Poetry." I said to him-"I do not know how to read Tamil but I will try to help you."

He then spoke of his family. His wife worked as a clerk in the collectorate and he had a son who studied in third standard. He spoke of his troubles, how his relatives thought his literary pursuits to be a waste of time and labelled him as an "irresponsible house-holder."

He said that his wife was extremely supportive and encouraged him to write. I guess he is a lucky man to have got such an understanding and caring wife. He gave me his address and asked me to visit his house. He even made me an offer and asked me to translate his poems into English.

Who knows? Maybe I will visit him this Sunday.

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Chepauk's cup of woes

Two aliens were visiting Earth to research the local customs.They split up so that they could learn more in the time allowed. When they met to share their knowledge, the first alien told of a religious ceremony it had seen. "I went to a large green field shaped like a meteorite crater. Around the edges, several thousand worshippers gathered. Then two priests walk to the centre of the field to a rectangular area and hammer six spears into the ground, three at each end. Then eleven more priests walk out, clad in white robes. Then two high priests wielding clubs walk to the centre and one of the other priests starts throwing a red orb at the ones with the clubs." "Gee," replied the other alien, "what happens next?"

"Then it begins to rain."

This is the best way to describe international cricket matches held at Chennai's M.A.Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. A number of matches starting from an India -NZ one-dayer to a test match that India should have comfortably won against the Australians have been washed out. Even the final of the Challenger Trophy was washed and nature denied Sehwag a well deserved century.

At this rate I think the authorities should put up a retractable roof over the stadium to stop rain from stopping a match. Australia has one stadium with this feature. Let us hope the next ODI in Chepauk is not washed out.

CRICKET FOR FAME OR FOR PATRIOTISM


India is a nation of fanatics. We have religious fanatics, political fanatics, cinema fanatics and finally the most important and most common of all cricket fanatics. In my opinion the game of cricket is the greatest contribution that the British made to India. In a country of such diverse traditions and culture cricket is the one unifying spirit that transcends all boundaries and differences. A Tamilian and a Kannadiga may be at loggerheads over the Cauvery river water issue, but they are inseparable in their admiration for Dravid and Tendulkar.

Cricket has evolved a long way from the playing fields of Oxford and Cambridge to the multi-million dollar industry it is today. The ICC or International Cricket Council, is the governing body that supervises the growth and development of the sport globally. Cricket has undergone a sea of transformation from the traditional five-day test match to the one-day match and the current phenomenon 20:20 cricket.

Today a cricketer has a lot to look forward to, 20-25 years back there were no endorsements and advertising money and roles in slickly shot TV commercials. Look at the scene today we have cricketers endorsing everything from soft-drinks to motorbikes and video-games. They run restaurants and own shares in multi-national corporations. It is detrimental to the growth of the game. Money is needed, but like any other thing, money in excess is a vice.

Fame is naturally linked with sport and when it has such widespread coverage like cricket it is instantaneous. Take the current example of India’s swashbuckling wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni his exploits with the bat have made him the new poster-boy of Indian cricket. He was an ordinary ticket collector working in the railways and now he is the country’s youth-icon. We need to weigh his merits carefully and observe him two to three years down the line to see how fame has affected him.


Shane Warne is an example of how fame can go into your head and transform you from hero to villain. From being the new spin-phenomenon of Australian cricket to being the highest wicket-taker in test cricket, his personal life has become a total mess. Numerous sex-scandals alcohol abuse and indiscipline has led to a divorce from his wife of more than 5 years. Former Indian captain Azharuddin is another example, caught in the match-fixing controversy, he is yet to be cleared of the accusations and charges levelled on him.


Perhaps former South African captain Hansie Cronje’s tale is the most tragic of all. Hailed as an inventive captain, the world was shocked when he was proved to be the centre of the match-fixing scandal. He died in an air-crash disgraced forever.

Sachin is undoubtedly one of India’s greatest sportsmen and he says he plays for his beloved India. His patriotism was proved when he failed to pay excise duty for a Ferrari gifted by Michael Schummacher to him. This from a person who earns nearly 10 million dollars annually through his endorsements and restaurants.


Patriotism need not necessarily mean being an army soldier and killing enemies with your gun. It is present in each and everything that you do. Cricket is a fiercely patriotic game, and nothing is tenser than an India-Pakistan cricket match. Both fame and patriotism play important roles in the performance of a sportsperson.
An optimum balance should be struck between the two for superior sportsmanship.



We need to wake up and stop worshipping our cricketers as gods, they are just human beings representing our country. It is this blind hero-worship that propels the players greed for fame and money. The government should take steps to develop more talent and give equal opportunities to youngsters to represent their country.

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Small Town Cricket Talk

When the Joker Pulled up an ace

Sunday October 1, was a normal day like any other, and I had no inkling of the role I would be playing in the evening. 4 P.M. saw the gang at the play ground. Thirteen of them including me were present. Two teams of 6 players each were formed and I was designated the role of the Joker. In local cricketing language a joker is a player who bats for both the teams and dons the gloves of the wicket keeper for both sides.

The first two matches ended with each team winning one match and thus the third match became a final of sorts. Simbu's team won the toss and decided to bat first. The entire team was bowled out (including me) for 16 runs in 5.4 overs.

Rahul decided to open the batting with our "sweep-master" Parthiban. Simbu opened the balling and Rahul was clean bowled of the first ball of Simbu's over. In the same over Parthiban lost his wicket. At the end of 5 overs Rahul's team required 5 runs to win and Prakash was batting with Kannan. At this point I opted opted to field in the forward position and Kumar decided to keep wickets. The first ball of the last over bowled by Magi was whipped to long-off for a double. The second ball was struck firmly by Prakash towards me. I lunged at the ball and threw the ball at the bowler's end. We just have one wicket at the bowler's end, and I aimed at it from about 12 metres away. The fielders erupted in joy when Prakash failed to make his ground and was run out by my direct throw at the stump.

Then it was my turn as the joker to bat for Rahul's team. 4 balls left and three runs to win. It was getting dark and becoming very difficult to view the ball properly. I struck the ball with all my strength and managed to take 2 runs. Now the scores were tied and the match was poised for a nail-biting finish.

1 run to win of three balls. The next two balls whipped past me with great speed as I failed to make contact with the ball. Now I was extremely nervous and the fielders had circled around me like vultures surrounding a corpse. At this moment Prakash decided to be my by-runner and the instructions given by Rahul to Kanna were very clear-"If the bat makes contact with the ball run like hell."

Magi looked like Shoib Akhtar and took a long run-up and hurled the ball at me like a grenade. I just closed my eyes and swung at the ball like a wood-cutter with his axe. The ball met the meat (centre) of the bat and met the boundary rope.

There were shouts of joy and disappointment among the boys and Rahul and Prakash started singing.

Well folks that's my tale of when the joker became the hero.

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Happy Navarathri to everybody out there.

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A Record of Sorts

Mohanlal, one of India's finest actors is on his way to achieve an unique record. More than 20 years back he was paired with Poornima Jayaram in his debut "Manjil Virinja Pookal"(Flowers that Blossomed in the Mist."

Now Poornima and director K.Bhagyaraj's daughter Saranya, who made her debut with Prithviraj in Parijatham, is all set to play Mohanlal's heroine in the new movie "Photographer."

Thus Lalettan has become the first actor in the world to act as a hero with both mother and daughter.

Cheers.

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DVD Review 1
I saw this movie called "The Hero". It stars Jet Li and a host of other actors whose names I do not know. The movie was in Chinese with English sub-titles.

It is based on a true story taken from Chinese history. A king plans to unite the seven warring tribes in China and goes on a violent conquest of the opposing tribes. The tribes are fiercely independent and have no interest in being ruled over by a tyrant.

Many assassination attempts are made but all end up in vain. Here comes our hero Jet Li, he organises an elaborate plan in which he captures and kills some people who made a previous attempt on the king's life, to gain a private audience with the king.

He specializes in a martial art form called-"Death within ten feet" The scenes showing his excellence with his sword and the war scenes are excellent. In the end Li realises that the king's plans are honourable and good in the larger interest of the people. He allows himself to be killed by the king's soldiers.

The movie ends with a message saying that the king united all the seven tribes and established a new dynasty.

The music and camera-work is top-notch and is definitely worth watching.

Mahesh's-Rate-o-Meter-3 out of 5.

Cheers.

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The DVD Club
I finally got a DVD player. I wanted to buy one right from my college days, and the desire got postponed due to lack of funds. I finally saved enough money to buy one. I got ideas galore from my friends and colleagues about the various models in the market and their various features. Most of them suggested a Sony DVD player, but the best things in life don't come cheap and so the Sony factor was overruled by the price factor. The next options were Philips and Samsung. I decided to experiment and visited various shops to compare prices and features.

I did some research and found out that the main component of the players would cost about Rs 650/-(I think its the disc reader), courtesy of my friends in Ritchie Street. So I decided to buy an assembled DVD player. It is MP-4 compatabile(Video form of an MP-3).

I paid Rs 2000/- for it. It is silver in colour and has the Samsung logo on it(Marketing Genius). What I like about my player are the LED lights that flash a myriad of colours when the player is in use.

I hope to start another series tiltled DVD reviews, that will carry a review of the movies that I watch on my player.

Cheers.

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Guru Greg and his dadagiri

India's dismal performance at the DLF Cup in Malaysia has set the panic bells ringing in the Indian camp. "Too much of anything is good for nothing." I think our coach Guru Greg should understand this. There is no harm in experimenting, but don't toy around with your top order and reduce it to a bunch of school kids playing street-cricket with a rubber ball.

The great batsmen-Dravid, Shewag and Yuvraj Singh have failed miserably in the series. Harbhajan and Sachin were the only saving grace for us in this series. Greg's determination to make Irfan into another Kapil, is taking its toll on Pathan as a bowler. He is no longer able to swing the ball and take wickets in his opening spell.

I do not understand the point of playing Sreesanth in just one match. The kid has genuine talent and speed. He has already been omitted from the Champion's Trophy. So he should have been played in more matches. Agarkar has made a comeback of sorts for perhaps the twentieth time. I sincerely believe that the team has to stick with him regularly. He has to head the bowling department for the World Cup.

I do not know what happened to Zaheer and Balaji and why are we kicking Anil Kumble out of the ODI squad. The Aussies and the West Indians were troubled by Harbhajan's spin. I am sure Kumble could have won us the series if he would have played.

I am waiting for the pompous Kiran More to leave the selection panel. The new selector Dilip Vengsarkar is sure to give Ganguly and perhaps Laxman a chance in the ODI squad. Being a batsman he knows the importance of a solid batting squad.

The Challenger Trophy beginning on October 1, should be interesting as many players will be fighting for a return to the national squad. Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. We really need to put up a good show in the Champions Trophy, or else I think all hopes for even a place in the last four in the World Cup will vanish.

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"Mohana" is no more...
Padmini India's greatest classical dancer and a great actress passed away in the early hours of Monday September 25. She was the last surviving member of the Travancore sisters. Lalitha, Ragini and Padmini were accomplished dancers and actresses. Padmini broke linguistic barriers and acted in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi and dubbed in her own voice for all these languages.

She acted with M.G.R., Shivaji Ganeshan, Gemini Ganeshan, Prem Nazir, Raj Kapoor and many other leading men of her time. Some of my favourite movies in which she starred were-Vanji Kottai Valibhan-with Gemini and Vyjayanthi Mala, Thilana Mohanambal and Vietnam Veedu with Shivaji Ganeshan, Nokkatha Doorathu Kannum Nattu-Fazil's movie starring Nadiya and Mohanlal(remade as Poove Poo Choodava in Tamil)

She married Doctor Ramachandran and settled in the U.S. where she started a dance-school. She was an intelligent and humble woman who was a constant bundle of energy. A great artist and a beautiful person. Indian cinema will miss her.

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The Boss is Back-Sachin's century no. 40
Sachin made a strong comeback to the Indian team after a long lay off due to injury. He punished the Weat Indian bowlers mercilessly with some superb shots. He scored 141 runs and carried the bat through the innings(he remained notout).

This was just the second time in his career when he opened the innings and remained notout till the end. He was provided good support by Irfan Pathan who scored a swashbuckling 64. India posted 309/5 in 50 overs.


Unfortunately rain and Gayle played spoilsport. West Indies were 141/2 at the end of 20 overs when rain stopped the proceedings. The Duckworth/Lewis rule was enforced and the West Indins were declared the winners by 29 runs.

Hope Sachin plays even better against the Aussies and that it does not rain and cause problems.

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Terrorism on the rise
This year has not gone well for the average Maharashtrian. Seven blasts at important railway stations on the Mumbai local train service, made the people remember the '93 blasts. The police are yet to find a proper perpetrator of these blasts and are just providing hazy assumptions based on even hazier Identikit photos of possible terrorists.

A few days back terror returned in the form of the Malegaon blasts. Today afternoon another explosive device was recovered from a bsy shopping-complex in Malegaon.

A couple of days back the Chennai police recovered a cache of rockets being sent to Andhra Pradesh supposedly to be used by the Naxals. Further investigation revealed that these were manufactured in the Ambattur Industrial Estate in suburban Chennai. A high ranking AP police official has issued a statement saying that he was aware of this rocket manufacturing unit for the past three years. I wonder if he was swatting flies and mosquitoes all this while.

The point is that stringent surprise raids and checks should be undertaken in all industrial units big or small across India. We have close to 40 million engineering units both small and big that manufacture things ranging from nuts and bolts to helicopters.

Many unscrupulous factory-owners are using their manufacturing and explosive licence to herald terror. It is high time that the government opens its eyes to the evil that is spreading like wildfire.

Another disturbing factor is that more and more educated youth from affluent families are turning to a life of crime and terror. Specially susceptible are the youth staying in small and mid-size towns.

This is not an isolated case. A well-planned and financially supportive mastermind is building a network for something really big and destructive. Recent statements by the Lashkar-e-Toiba add fuel to fire.

You and me as responsible citizens should do our bit. If you see any suspicious person or object immediately notify the police. While travelling by public-transport ensure that there is no unclaimed baggage or package, and do not pick up anything from the street or on the beach.

There is only one way to fight terrorism to be alert and careful.

Jai Hind.

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Reflections on 9/11
Five years have passed since the fateful day on which the American pride was hurt really bad. Till then terrorism on such a large scale was only dreamt of in movies. Recent research by eminent scholars throws open a whole new aspect on the incident. They say that the whole thing was rigged by the American government. There are many websites that support and document this conspiracy theory.

We might never know what really happened, but the failure of the Americans to capture Osama with all their modern gadgets adds fuel to this theory. Remember Osama was helped by the American government to fight the Russians in the eighties.

All said and done a silent prayer for all those who lost their lives on 9/11

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Babu Moshai...Adieu-A Tribute to Hrishida
Hrishikesh Mukherjee, was one of the few directors in India whose movies were sans violence and vulgarity. A longtime assistant of the great Bimal Roy. his movies touched a chord with the hearts and minds of the Indian middle-class family. He portrayed the father-daughter relationship poignantly in Anupama. The platonic friendship in Anand and Namak Haram and cemented Amitabh's career.

Movies like Golmaal, Chupke Chupke, Khoobsurat, Bawarchi were clean comedies that provided wholesome comedies. Today's bawdy comedies stand nowhere in comparison with Hrishida's works.

He will be missed by all cinema lovers.

Good Bye Babu Moshai, regale your audiences in heaven.

Cinema, You and I
Vetayaadu Vilayaadu-Hunt and Play-Movie Review
"Another episode in a police officer's life"
Post Kakha Kakha, Gautam returns witha bang and presents VV. The movie was embroiled in one controversy after another since its inception. A suicide attempt, debts, ego-conflicts, bouncing of cheques; all this can be a plot for another movie.

The movie has been shot slickly and Ravi Verman's camera work is top-notch. I do not want to reveal too many details about the movie, but that is the movie reviewer's problem to balance the details while reviewing a movie. Kamal is Raghavan a cop, who investigates the murder of his colleague's daughter.(The girl is very beautiful, never seen her before, and has potential to be the next cute little thing). Raghavan investigates and the perpetrators of the crime cannot be discovered. Arokyaraj (played by Prakashraj) and his wife are haunted by the memories of their dead daughter and decide to settle in America. Six months later the couple are found brutally killed.
Raghavan is intrigued and he leaves foe New York to hunt the killers. On the flight to NY, scenes of Raghavan's past flash- his first wife(Kamalinee Mukherjee; another beauty bitten by the cinema bug), their romance and her death caused by the underworld.
In NY, Raghavan is helped by Anderson, investigations reveal four corpses in a forest like area, Raghavan beats the American police and details emerge. In between investigations Raghavan saves Aradhana(Jo) from commiting suicide and they find solace in each other.
Anderson pulls one for Uncle Sam and discovers a link, a finger tied to a lemon and chillies, similar to the one found in Prakashraj's daughter's murder.
Who are the killers? Are the American killings and the killing in Tamil Nadu linked? Do Kamal and Aradhana get married? Are the killers caught?
Watch the movie for the answers.
The movie has excellent music by Harris Jayraj and "Paartha Mudhal Naalae" is the best of the lot. "Karka Karka" Kamal's entry song is tastefully done. The big minus is the amount of bloodshed and the graphic violence shown on screen.
All said and done, the movie is definitely worth watching.
Mahesh's Rate-o-Meter- 3.5/5.

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Shehnai Ke Shahenshah-The Emperor of the Shehnai-Ustad Bismillah Khan
Shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan died of cardiac arrest in the wee hours of Monday morning. Khan was born on March 21, 1916 into a family of court musicians and later trained under his uncle, the late Ali Bux 'Vilayatu', a shehnai player at Varanasi's Vishwanath temple.

He enthralled audiences across the world with his refreshing blend of music, infact he resurrected the shehnai from the obscurity of being an accompanying instrument to an independent instrument.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award. He was a man of simple tastes and led a Puritan lifestyle. He has now left our world and is perhaps enthralling the gods in heaven with his sweet melodies.

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Remembering Ammama-My Grandmother
It is almost 16 years since my grandma passed away, I don't know why, but yesterday I was going through our family photo albums when I saw a photograph of my grandparents posing for their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary. Both of them were simple people, my grandpa was a cook and my grand ma ran a small store in our native village in Kerala. They had four children two boys and two girls . My mother was their third child. All the children were raised with great care and love even though they were financially poor.

My two uncles came to the erstwhile Calcutta to make a living , they prospered and in five years time saved money to bring the family from Kerala to Calcutta.

My father was on a contract job in the Middle-East and both me and my sister were brought up by our mother in our uncle's house. My sister was very close to grandpa, while I was the centre of affection of my grandma. Grandma used to narrate fairy-tales and prepare delicious savouries and sweets during festivals.

When grandpa died, she was totally heart-broken and was never able to recover from the personal tragedy. She died three years later.

When I am alone I recollect the days I spent in her laps listening to her fairy-tales and falling asleep. Some things in life are priceless and I wish my grandma were alive to see me, her grandson working and earning his living.

I know that she is a star in the skies watching my progress and showering her blessings on me.

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A Different Charm
Chennai or Madras, I prefer the latter so I will stick to it, is a city of contradictions, like most Indian cities. On one side you have elite five-star hotels where the rich and famous wine and dine, and on the other you have the road side "thattukadas," dishing their fare to the poor man. We have super structures made of steel and glass harbouring international software companies and we also have small two room sheds in industrial estates making spare parts for machines. The point I am trying to make there is something or the other for everyone according to their tastes and budget.

Madras is a treasure-trove for book lovers like me. The footpath on Pycrofts Road off Marina Beach and the Lily Pond Complex at Moore Market near the Central Railway Station are good places to hunt for rare and used books. Then we have our own legend, Luz Thata an old man who has been selling books for more than fifty years at Luz, near Mylapore, opposite the Kamadhenu Theatre.

There is a strange charm that second-hand book shops exude, the dark rooms with shelves full of books on various topics in different languages, and the smell of old paper and bound leather. One gets transported in time when we leaf through some old novel belonging to a Raju or a Rita dated January12, 1964 or April 2, 1974. We wonder what the original owner might be doing now or the occassion when he or she would have received the book.

Unfortunately the second-book shops are dying out because of the competetive discounts offered by big shops. Another alarming fact as narrated by Chandran a book-seller is-" People have no time to read good fiction, everyone is busy preparing for competetive exams and studying engineering, computers or medicine. Few people come to us asking for old novels. All people ask for is Harry Potter, Sidney Sheldon and Da Vinci Code."

This has led to the rise in book piracy. Now even these sellers have to stock copies of pirated books which are sold at a third of the price of the original to survive. I personally feel that book piracy is less harmful than video piracy. Atleast people will be reading something and gain some information and may actually be tempted to read the works of masters like Dickens or Verne.

So if you guys are in Chennai, you now know where to get a good bargain on your books.

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Small Town Cricket Talk

Sunday the 23 rd of July 2007 was a landmark date for the cricketers of Anjaneyapuram in Kakallur. The occassion was the inauguration of the Anjaneya cricket tournament. My group of friends went through lot of problems to organise this tournament, but all of us were very happy when the tournament was inaugurated by a doctor who lives in our locality. A total of 12 teams each team having 8 players is taking part in this competition including our team-The Maruti Cricket Club.

The tournament is spread across 4 Sundays, with 4 matches played everyday. The results at the end of the opening day are as follows: -
Match 1 - Annai Teresa Club defeated Bad Boys Team by 30 runs.
Match 2 - Jai Sports Club defeated Nice Guys team by 2 wickets.
Match 3 - Maruti Cricket Club defeated Victory Club by 37 runs.
Match 4 - Sultans Team defeated Venky's Super 8 by 1 wicket.

Next Sunday the 30 th of July will be an important because the teams who lost on the 23 rd face the risk of elimination if they lose again.

Keep waiting till August 1 for more cricketing news.

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Small-Town Cricket Talk
Cricket is a religion in India and our town Tiruvallur is no exception. Every Sunday we guys in our locality play cricket from 3 P.M. in the afternoon to about 6:30 P.M. in the evening.
All of us are in the age group of 17-25 years and are very passionate in our love for the game.

Last sunday Silambarasan the fire-brand maverick who is our version of Shoaib Akhtar created a record of sorts when took a hat-trick in the very first over of the match. Adding to his credit, all three batsmen were clean bowled.

Over the years most of us have taken a hat-trick but none of us had mastered the feat in the very first over of a match.

Kudos to Simbu.

Small Town Cricket talk will return next week with news of more records.

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The Wave of Terror

Picture this, you are out of your office the tensions of the day behind you, and making your way to your house and your loved ones by the local train. Then a blast and blood and mangled bodies everywhere. Mumbaikars had a rude shock yesterday evening between 6 and 6:30 P.M. when seven blasts ripped through Mumbai's life-line the local train service. The blasts took place in the first class compartments of trains in Bhayandar, Jogeshwari, Mahim, SantaCruz, Khar, Matunga and Borivali.
Nearly 200 people are dead and close to 350 are seiously injured. Eye-witnesses say many people jumped from moving trains to save their lives. The government has sounded an alert and security has been beefed up in the metros. The Lashkar-e-Toiba is suspected of carrying out these attacks, but no arrests have been made so far.

A silent prayer for all those who lost their lives in this terror carnage. May their souls rest in peace.

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The Cup of Joy-The FIFA World Cup.

A month of staying awake into the early of hours of the morning ended today when Italy defeated France 5-3 on penalties. At the end of extra-time the score was 1-1. David Trezeguet hit the bar with his spot kick and the decisive penalty in the shootout was scored by Fabio Grosso. The worried French fans were soon cheering however when Florent Malouda drove into the box and was felled by a clumsy challenge from Materazzi.
Zidane stepped up to take the seventh-minute penalty, opting to nonchalantly dink it above the diving Gianluigi Buffon and the ball struck the bar before bouncing down behind the line to put France ahead.
Italy equalised after 19 minutes when Materazzi atoned for his earlier misdemeanour by rising magnificently above Patrick Vieira to head home an Andrea Pirlo corner from the right.

Italy erupted in joy when they were declared winners, they have won the cup 4 times now. Zinedine Zidane's head-butt an act of temporary madness led to his ignonimous exit in his final match. All said and done the Italians who were not even considered to be potential semi-finalists at the beginning have won the cup. The next cup is in South Africa and we might see some big surprises from the African continent.

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PAYANANGAL MUDIVATHILAI-Journeys Never End.

EPISODE-2-Soodu aana Nei-biscuit rendu ruva-Hot clarified-butter biscuits for two rupees.

No train journey is complete without savouring the various eatables that are available on the local trains. This episode is dedicated to the Nei biscuit.

Made out of clarified butter, sugar and flour it is sometimes flavoured with pineapple essence and baked in a perfect round shape. It is something to be tasted and enjoyed. Some variants include the coconut and choco biscuit. Priced at Rs 2 and sold by placing it in an old newspaper bit, it is a slice of joy for the young as well as the old.

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PAYANANGAL MUDIVATHILAI-Journeys Never End.
Travelling in India's public transprt system, be it buses, trains or aeroplanes is the best way to study humanity. I live in a town called Tiruvallur in Tamil Nadu, which is about 45 kilometres from the state capital Chennai, the erstwhile Madras. Right from my college days to the present while coming to office I commute by the local train or EMU as it is called.

This is the beginning of a series in which I plan to chronicle the different people whom I meet on the train, their stories, the struggles of the hawkers and the persistence of the pestering beggars on the train.

EPISODE-1-They can't see but they struggle......

Hats off.... to this select group of about 50 people which includes both men and women, they are visually-challenged and spend almost 14 hours a day on the train selling various items that include-remote-covers, key-chains, toy mobile-phones for kids, batteries, ball-pens etc... .

I personally know a bunch of lazy people who have no physical handicap, but prefer to stay at home and survive on the earnings of their other family members. When I see them, I often wonder at the tragic-irony of life and wonder what great things these blind people would have achieved if they had normal eye-sight.

Life is a daily struggle for these hawkers. They make about 400 to 500 rupees a day. Of this about 300 rupees goes to the cost of buying the articles, 50 to 60 rupees goes as bribe-money to the R.P.F.(railway-police). At the end they make about 100 to 175 rupees a day.

There are a couple of blind couples too, the man hawks key-chains and batteries while the lady sells pop-corn packets. A struggle indeed. The next time you travel by train by something from these hawkers, it will bring a smile on their face and you will feel happy too.

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A Twist in the Temple's Tale
The Sabarimala Temple authorities and the Travancore Devaswom Board members are in the eye of a storm, after the confession of Kannada actress Jayamala that she entered the sanctum-sanctorum and touched the feet of the deity.

Why the Fuss?

Lord Ayappa is a brahmachari. Women only above the age of 60 or girls who have not reached puberty are allowed to visit the temple. So this startling relevation means that "punyajanam" special purification ceremonies will have to be performed to restore the holiness and purity of the temple.

Prasnam-The namboodiri's prediction and discovery.

Unnikrishna Panicker, an astrologer announced that the sanctity of the inner sanctorum had been breached by a young woman.

This report was published in a newspaper, and Jayamala immediately confirmed the report by saying that she had visited the temple 20 years ago. She was pushed by the crowd and she unwittingly touched the feet of the deity.

What the officials say?

The officials refute the claim saying that it is impossible for a woman to enter the temple let alone the inner sanctum as the security is very strict.

What is going to happen?

A judicial probe is most likely to be ordered by the Kerala government and some people are going to be ashamed if the reports are confirmed and may have to do a lot of explaining to the administration and the devotees.

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INDIA'S CARIBBEAN CALYPSO
This seems to be a series loaded with controversies. The Lara-Dhoni episode shocked cricket lovers. The third test saw very poor umpiring and the Indians were denied many good appeals for lbw.
The test ended in a draw like the previous two tests.
Scores-West Indies-581 and 172/6 declared.
India-362 and 298/4.
Laxman got a century in the first innings and 63 in the second and Sehwag scored a quickfire 65 in the second innings.
Darren Ganga was declared the man-of-the-match for his batting performance.

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ORU AAL MAATHRAM (ONE MAN ALONE)
Mammooty was bold enough to take Bollywood by it's throat at the IIFA Awards ceremony. He stood his ground and criticised the Bollywood film fraternity for not giving South-Indian films their due regard. He said that the IIFA Awards just represented and rewarded Hindi cinema and there was no logic in calling it the International Indian Film Awards.
Three cheers for Mammookka for his grit and courage to speak the truth. Hope the narrow minds of Bollywood open their minds to the gems of the South.

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CRICKET CONTROVERSIES
Cricket is called "a gentleman's game", but it has had its fair share of controversies-match-fixing, sledging, racial discrimination, misappropriation of funds etc... . In the recently concluded first test match between India and the West Indies at Antigua, something really ugly happened.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Dhoni was going all hammer and tongs at the West Indies bowlers and smashing the red-cherry to all corners of the park. He hit six sixes and four fours in his total of 69. He hit a ball of Dave Mohammed which was caught on the boundary by Darren Ganga. It appeared that the fielder had touched the boundary rope when taking the catch. The decision was referred to the third umpire who could not give a concrete answer. The decision was made in favour of the batsman and it appeared that Dhoni would continue his blitzkrieg. Lara suddenly grabbed the ball from umpire rauf's hand almost walked off the field. Then he spoke to Dhoni and assured that his fielder had taken a clean catch. Things were heating up, when Mr.Cool Dravid declared the Indian innings and the issue ended.
Now we hear that the match refree has fined Sehwag for excessive appealing. My query is if you fine a player for excessive appealing, what do you do to a captain who behaves rudely with the umpires and the opposite team's players. It seems that the Indian players are once again being unjustly punished by the I.C.C. officials. This is not in the true spirit of the game and will spoil the image of free and fair cricket.

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hi

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LALETTAN STRIKES GOLD WITH VADAKKUMNATHAN
Mohanlal's long awaited movie Vadakkumnathan(The Lord of the North-Shiva) is turning out to be a superhit with the ladies and children loving his onscreen antics.
The movie is scripted by lyricist Girish Puthencherry and is evidently inspired by the Russell Crowe starrer "A Beautiful Mind."
Mohanlal plays the role of a brilliant Sanskrit professor-Bharath Pisharody. He runs away from his house on the eve of his wedding. No one understands the cause for this as he was to marry his childhood sweetheart Meera played by Padmapriya.
Years pass and he is presumed to be dead. His mother and brother visit Haridwar to perform his last rites. Lo and behold he is there and he is taken home. Why did he run? What happenned to him? Does he marry Meera?
Watch the movie to get the answers for these questions.
It is a hatrick for Lalettan with Thanmatra, Rasatanthram and Vadakkumnathan.
Hope his form continues and his Onam release Mahasamudhram and July bilingual release Aran/Keerthichakra are big hits.

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THE DA VINCI CODE AND PETTY POLITICS
The Tamil Nadu government dropped a bombshell on all movie-lovers early in the morning today. The 8 A.M. news on Sun T.V. proudly proclaimed the ban on the English and Tamil versions of The Da Vinci Code which was due for release on June 2.
It is really funny to note that primarily Catholic countries like Poland have raised no hue and cry over the release of this movie.
At a time when even mainstream cinema is full of sex, violence and dialogues with double entendres, it is a ridiculous on the part of the government to ban one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the year.
It is a bit funny when you notice that the government has taken no steps to ban movies of Shakeela and other porn queens, but it feels that Ron Howard's movie will corrupt the public especially the youth.
Mr. Karunanidhi is a shrewd politician and in an effort to save his Christian vote bank, he is playing to the galleries and has been instrumental in banning the movie.
Guys an afterthought-
DVDs of the movies are available for less than 100 bucks in various parts of the city. So watch the movie in your house.
Cheers.

memories
An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45 years old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window. The Father asked his Son, "What is this?" The Son replied "It is a crow". After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time, "What is this." The Son said "Father, I have just now told you "It's a crow". After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time, "What is this?" At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the Son's tone when he said to his Father with a rebuff. "It's a crow, a crow". A little after, the Father again asked his Son t he 4th time, "What is this?" This time the Son shouted at his Father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?" A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his Son was born. On opening a page, he asked his Son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary :- "Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a Crow. I hugged him lovingly each time h e asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated I rather felt affection for my innocent child". While the little child asked him 23 times "What is this", the Father had felt no irritation in replying to the same question all 23 times and when today the Father asked his Son the same question just 4 times, the Son felt irritated and annoyed. So.. If your parents attain old age, do not repulse them or look at them as a burden, but speak to them a gracious word, be cool, obedient, humble and kind to them. Be considerate to your parents.From today say this aloud, "I want to see my parents happy forever. They have cared for me ever since I was a little child. They have always showered their selfless love on me. They crossed all mountains and valleys without seeing the storm and heat to make me a person presentable in the society today". Say a prayer to God, "I will serve my old parents in the BEST way. I will say all good and kind words to my dear parents, no matter how they behave". All of us should read this story and realise that our parents have undergone many sacrifices to rear us. They would have gone that extra mile to satisfy our childish desires. The growing number of old-age homes proves that people are becoming inhuman and no longer have any time to take care of their aged parents.We should remember that "Where Love is God is."A soft answer and a loving smile goes a long way in comforting our parents. Spread the message of love and care and respect all aged people.

memories
A Wake-up call for Team India
Well all said and done we lost the one-day series in the West Indies 4-1. It is a shame all matches were close finishes and we should have won the second match. I believe that the defeat in the second match upset the apple-cart for the Indians. The B.C.C.I. continues to baffle me and others with its really strange team selection. The best bowler for India in the one-day series Ajit Agarkar has been dropped. Robin Uthappa is a budding player and giving him just one chance to play defies logic. I am not sure how V.R. V. Singh is going to bowl. The Test series will start in a few days and we shall find out if we can defeat the Caribs in the longer version of the game. Sehwag was unlucky to miss a century twice in succession. If only he had carried on the series would have ended in India's favour. Hope he maintains his form and scores a double century in West Indies.

memories
The Rising Caste of Education
I have nothing personal against the C ongress government or Mr. Arjun Singh, but I do feel that the Congress is following the tried and tested British formula of Divide and Rule. 27% reservation for backward communities is the burning issue right now. It has got more prominence than Amir's Fanaa and Sachin's shoulder injury. Merit is what counts if you go on making reservations how do you expect to produce quality students who will become top-notch professionals. Everyone talks about M.B.C., O.B.C., S.C./S.T., but what about the students belonging to the Forward Communities. Brilliant F.C. students with aspirations to become engineers and doctors often end up doing B.Sc. and B.Com. courses.
We talk of providing more money and better jobs for people of backward communities. I will provide some statistics here, which will provide the true picture.
At a time when the Congress government wants to raise the quota for Other Backward Classes to 49.5 per cent in private and public sectors, nobody talks about the plight of the upper castes. The public image of the Brahmins, for instance, is that of an affluent, pampered class. But is it so today?...Did you know that you stumble upon a number of Brahmins working as coolies at Delhi's railway stations? One of them, Kripa Shankar Sharma, says while his daughter is doing her Bachelors in Science he is not sure if she will secure a job. "Dalits often have five to six kids, but they are confident of placing them easily and well," he says. As a result, the Dalit population is increasing in villa ges. He adds: "Dalits are provided with housing, even their pigs have spaces; whereas there is no provision for gaushalas (cowsheds) for the cows of the Brahmins.".. .This reverse discrimination is also found in bureaucracy and politics. Most of the intellectual Brahmin Tamil class has emigrated outside Tamil Nadu. Only 5 seats out of 600 in the combined UP and Bihar assembly are held by Brahmins -- the rest are in the hands of the Yadavs. 400,000 Brahmins of the Kashmir valley, the once respected Kashmiri Pandits, now live as refugees in their own country, sometimes in refugee camps in Jammu and Delhi in appalling conditions. But who cares about them? Their vote bank is negligible. And this is not limited to the North alone. 75 per cent of domestic help and cooks in Andhra Pradesh are Brahmins. A study of the Brahmin community in a district in Andhra Pradesh (Brahmins of India by J. Radhakrishna, published by Chugh Publications) reveals that today all purohits live below the poverty line. Eighty per cent of those surveyed stated that their poverty and traditional style of dress and hair (tuft) had made them the butt of ridicu le. Financial constraints coupled with the existing system of reservations for the 'backward classes' prevented them from providing secular education to their children. ...There is no reason to believe that the condition of Brahmins in other parts of the country is different. In this connection it would be revealing to quote the per capita income of various communities as stated by the Karnataka finance minister in the state assembly: Christians Rs 1,562, Vokkaligas Rs 914, Muslims Rs 794, Scheduled castes Rs 680, Scheduled Tribes Rs 577 and Brahmins Rs 537....Priests are under tremendous difficulty today, sometimes even forced to beg for alms for survival. There are innumerable instances in which Brahmin priests who spent a lifetime studying Vedas are being ridiculed and disrespected. At Tamil Nadu's Ranganathaswamy Temple, a priest's monthly salary is Rs 300 (Census Department studies) and a daily allowance of one measure of rice. The government staff at the same temple receive Rs 2,500 plus per month. But these facts have not modified the priests' reputation as 'haves' and as 'exploiters.' T he destitution of Hindu priests has moved none, not even the parties known for Hindu sympathy.
Now after reading this, tell me who is the exploited community. Karunanidhi is bound to make the lives of the priests even worse. He has decided to pass a legislation that people belonging to any community can perform the duties of a priest. I shall present some facts here:
Do you think only Brahmins perform pujas in Tamil Nadu, think again you are wrong. The Gurukal community who are not exactly Brahmins but coming under F.C. perform pujas, many temples have Brahmins as pujaris too. Now there are numerous small Amman temples (Goddess Shakti in her various forms) where people belonging to the backward communities and even many women perform pujas. If you do not believe me enroute to Chennai Central railway station on Pallavan Salai there are two Amman temples parallel to each other. In one of these temples a lady does puja on most of the days. Similarly there are many temples across the state whwere the so called "underprivileged people" perform pujas.

There is no harm in learning or studying the Vedas but to forcefully impress your ideologies of Anti-Brahminism on the people of the state whom you govern is nothing short of absolute dictatorship. These people have to realise that Brahmins have contributed a lot to the growth of this country. Some great luminaries like Rajaji, Ramanujam, Sir C.V. Raman belong to the F.C.
Coming back to the issue of student quotas why can't they provide scholarships for those students from the backward communities. In the end it is the middle-class student from the forward community who suffers the most marks do not mean everything any longer you should be born a shudra to succeed in India. I personally feel that this trend will make a Brahmin feel -"It is a curse to be born a Brahmin in India."
This Remandalisation is going to destroy the economic and social progress of this country. God made man and man made Religion. Caste system was based on the profesion that followed in the Aryan period. Slowly it became a symbol of power and and agression and then it became hereditary. It has become so deep-rooted in our culture that it has become an accepted part of our lives. I believe that in most of India except for some distant villages the curse of Untouchability has been removed. A few yers back it was announced that people who converted to Christianity would be given the same facilities given as people from SC/ST communities. This resulted in mass conversion and whole villages in Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Karnataka became complete Christian communities.
The protest of doctors continues throughout the country, but this government wants to make us slaves. Oh Lord when shall this country become self-sufficient and free of the narrow dreary corridoors of doom called casteism? Please post your comments and give me your opinion on this topic.

memories
Rasatanthram(Chemistry)-Movie Review
Wine matures and tastes better with age. Similarly the Mohanlal-Sathyan Anthikad combination which returns to the silverscreen after 12 long years for a superhit presentation-Rasatanthram. I saw the movie at Anand theatre, Chennai on Sunday. The theatre was 75% full which is pretty good and everyone enjoyed Lal ettan and Velayudhan Kutty's(Meera in disguise) antics.
Premachandran (Mohanlal) is the middle class friendly neighbourhood Mr Nice Guy who goes out of his way to make life better for others. He is extremely hardworking and devoted to his work as a carpenter and is an expert in Vaastu shastra. The man virtually lives for others with his gang of expert carpenters Manikandan Asari (Innocent) and others.
People in the village have blind faith in Premachandran and he stays with his father whom he calls Master (Gopi) a retired teacher. His neighbour (KPAC Lalitha), her daughter who has a silent admiration for him, house owner (Oduvil Unnikrishnan) a failed carpenter (Mamukoya) are the other people in the village.
One day while repairing the house of a rich contractor Roy Joseph (Sreekumar) Premachandran comes across Kanmani (Meera Jasmine) the maid servant who is like a slave in the house. He saves her from suicide and due to certain circumstances he disguises Kanmani as a boy Velayudhan Kutty and she comes to live in his house.
But one day police nab her after a complaint from Roy. In the court she blurts out that she is in love with Premachandran creating fresh problems for the man. Actually Premachandran has a past as he has taken upon himself a murder committed by someone else to save his sister’s honour! Now Premachandran has to look after Kanmani, the burden of his father and the entire village which has been evicted by the government for a power project.
The problem with Rasathantram is that it lacks a story but works on the Sathyan formula of Mohanlal as a do-gooder and provides comedy and sentiments in the right dose. Mohanlal is simply superb and his comedy timing, controlled emotions and outburst in the climax take the film to great heights. The scene where he removes the roof tiles and accidentally sees Meera taking a bath brings the house down.
Meera is perfect foil for Mohanlal and she does a great comedy act. As Velayudhan Kutty in disguise, her body language is a treat to watch. The way she falls for Premachandran and slowly makes him interested in her can be done only by a versatile actress like Meera. Sathyan regulars –Innocent, Oduvil, Mamukoya all are good. In the climax, Jagathy’s character is a bit contrived. Gopi as Mohanlal’s father is a right choice as the father-son emotional scenes are well handled. The songs are melodious with three chartbusters-Attangara ...., Poo-poo kunguma poo and thevaram...
Watch the movie.
Rating ****/5.

memories: May 2006
India's tour of the Carribean
The second match was a tear-jerker in the real sense. India's unbeaten streak of winning 17 matches chasing a total was broken when India lost the match by a run. Chasing a modest total of 199, India were all out for 197. This was largely due to Sarwan's wonderful unbeaten innings of 98.
Meanwhile, Yuvraj played a largely restrained innings, which consumed 121 balls and included eight fours and a six. Dismissed cheaply in the first ODI, he showed exemplary character in carry the Indian innings on his shoulders in energy sapping conditions.
Yuvraj featured in two vital partnerships. He added 64 runs for the fifth wicket with Suresh Raina (27) in the middle overs to help side recover from the doldrums of 60 for four.
The left-hander then added another 47 runs for the eighth wicket with Ramesh Powar that saw India rebound from 134 for seven to needing 22 runs of as many balls.
Ian Bradshaw, the best bowler on view on Thursday, proved to be the nemesis again, claiming 3-33 with his nagging length.
The left arm seamer did the early damage, having Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid in his new ball spell, before returning to remove Ajit Agarkar in the latter part of the innings.
Also frustrating the Indian batsmen were part-time slow bowlers Marlon Samuels (2-30) and Chris Gayle (1-33). The West Indian fielding was also sharper that helped the bowlers maintain the pressure on the Indian batsmen while defending a meagre total.

The third match is on Tuesday.

memories: May 2006
India's Tour of the Carribean
Well we started the tour with a victory, Dravid's excellent knock of 105 along with the 66 scored by Kaif(who has finally found his form) enabled India to win the first O.D.I. against West Indies.
The match at Kingston was reduced to a 45 overs a side match because of overnight rains. Dravid won the toss and elected to field. Chris Gayle struck a solid 123 runs and at one stage it looked like the Caribs would score 280. Agarkar and Harbhajan bowled superbly to restrict the Caribs to 250.
Dravid and Sehwag opened the batting and Sehwag got out because of a silly run-out. Irfan and Yuvraj failed and Dhoni hit a couple of balls to the fence. Kaif and Dravid built a solid partnership and along with Raina Kaif hit a four of the penultimate ball of the Indian innings to guide India to a five-wicket win.

memories
Netaji-An Undying Legacy
There is something about Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose that refuses to die from the minds of the general Indian public. The British and the successive Congress governments at the centre tried to feed a lie saying that Netaji died in a plane-crash near Taipei in Taiwan. There is no documented proof that such an air-crash occurred. The Justice Mukherjee Commission reiterates this and declares that Netaji is dead but he did not die in the crash. Recently an article appeared in which an 104 year old man claiming to be Netaji's bodyguard said that Netaji died in Uttar Pradesh where he lived incognito calling himself Baba. Reports of Netaji staying in teh erstwhile U.S.S.R. and his meetings with Stalin are documented in K.G.B. dossiers. Whatever may be it is certain that Netaji is dead by now. If he were alive he would be 109 years old. Just imagine if he was at the for-front the whole scheme of the Indian freedom-struggle would have changed. We would have got our independence earlier and would have been a military super-power. If he is alive hope he is fine, if he is dead my salutations to a true martyr. Jai Hind.

Cinema, You and I
Guys go watch this movie, this is not the usual run-of-the-mill, Tamil action+love+comedy+sentiment+item song movie. The story and presentation is slick and different. The theme is "Crime does not pay." Jeevan, Malavika, Sonia Agarwal, Vivek, Abbas, Manoj K. Jayan and the director Susi Ganeshan all have pivotal roles in the movie. I am not going to spoil the party by revealing the full story. I will just give a brief outline-Manickam, played by Jeevan is sent to the city to live with his uncle a police officer. He chances upon an illicit affair between Malavika and Abbas and videotapes their "act". He blackmails them and travels to Australia along with his village friends. An encounter with Rosie, Sonia Agarwal, who is not what she pretends to be, love, blackmail, fights and retribution make the movie a must-watch. Who is Rosie? What happens to Malavika and Manickam? How does the detective help Manoj? Watch the movie and get the answers to these questions. Good music by Bharadwaj, with two chartbusters-"Poi Solaporen" and "Thiruttu Payale", Vivek watch out your comedy is getting stale. Excellent cinematography and intelligent direction. Rating ****/5*s

Cinema, You and I
This is one awesome movie that every Indian should watch. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra merges two plots in Rang De Basanti. The first is about a group of friends, their bonding, the carefree lifestyle they lead. The second plot pertains to the past, when freedom fighters sacrificed their lives during the pre-independence era. Without doubt, Mehra’s intentions are noble, since portions in the film do succeed in pricking your conscience. Mehra draws parallels between Indians ruled by the British and Indians ruled by corrupt politicians today. The message is subtle at first, but echoes piercingly before it reaches its finale. The transition of the five friends from meaningless to meaningful existence is done brilliantly. But the impact Rang De Basanti ought to make gets diluted to an extent… If the awakening, after one of their friends dies in an air crash, is a master stroke from the writing point of view, the sequence of events that lead to the climax take an idealistic route. The friends enter a radio station, force the staffers to leave the premises, go Live, confess to the world that they’ve gunned down the Defence Minister for certain reasons. By then, the commandos get into action and the radio station turns into a battleground. A better finale was the need of the hour! Also, Rang De Basanti unfolds at a leisurely pace all through. After establishing the characters in the first 30 minutes, the story doesn’t really race forward. The sepia-tone parallels are engaging at times, not always. Besides, the message that the film carries with it tends to get diluted towards the climax. Most importantly, a common man buying a ticket to watch Rang De Basanti may definitely be aware that it’s all about youth and patriotism [thanks to the well-crafted promos], but the treatment of the subject isn’t the type that’ll meet with universal acceptance. The handling of the subject would restrict it to the elite, the thinking viewer or those who frequent the multiplexes. If this faction of movie-going audience might give it a thumbs up, the aam junta or those looking for a solid entertainer might look the other way. Let’s face it, Rang De Basanti offers entertainment, but it’s not your run-of-the-mill kind of a movie. Sue [Alice Patten], a young, London-based film-maker chances upon the diaries of her grandfather, who served in the British Police Force in India during the freedom struggle. Excited about these memoirs, she makes plans to shoot a film on the Indian revolutionaries mentioned in the diaries. She flies to Delhi and casts a group of five friends to play the pivotal roles of these revolutionaries. The youngsters are DJ [Aamir Khan], Karan [Siddharth], Aslam [Kunal Kapoor], Sukhi [Sharman Joshi] and Sonia [Soha Ali Khan]. One of their foes, Laxman [Atul Kulkarni], also joins them subsequently. However, products of modern India, the five youngsters initially refuse to be part of the project as they don't identify with these characters from the past. Not surprising, considering that they are a part of a generation of Indians that believes in consumerism. To them issues like patriotism and giving one's life for one's beliefs is the stuff text-books are made of. They would rather party than be patriots. In the film, both the 1930s British India and the India today run parallel and intersect with each other at crucial points. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra opens the cards at the very outset. Alice’s sequences at the start, right till her arrival in Delhi and conducting a screen-test, are intriguing. But the film actually gets a push the moment the focus shifts to the five friends. From being hesitant to eventually agreeing to enact the roles of the revolutionaries in Alice’s film, these sequences take the film to an all-time high. In between, the sequences featuring Atul Kulkarni and Kiron Kher only cement the goings-on. The glitch is that the narrative goes into the past and returns to the present with alarming regularity, which tends to confuse the viewer at times. Besides, after the first 30 minutes or so, there’s not much movement in the story. If the first half abounds in light moments, the post-interval portions get into a serious mode. The story takes a turn when one of their friends [Madhavan] expires in an air crash. The film holds your attention right till the elimination of the Defence Minister [Mohan Agashe], but the remainder, which leads to the climax, is a downer. The climax should’ve been the highpoint of the film, taking the film to a crescendo, but it doesn’t. In fact, the climax ruins the impact considerably. Another drawback is that the film goes into a major flashback in the second half. Agreed, it has been deftly executed, but the film could’ve done without those portions. The writers should’ve come to the point straightaway: The air crash, the awakening and the revenge. Even the songs -- in the second half specifically -- don’t really contribute in taking the story forward. Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has an eye for detail and it is more than evident in his second endeavor. But it’s the writing [screenplay: Rensil D Silva and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra; story-script: Kamlesh Pandey] that’s not foolproof. Yet, there’s no denying that Mehra proves his prowess in a number of sequences. Two shining examples: Aamir breaks down while having supper with Alice and the group getting upset after hearing the Defence Minister’s speech. Technically, it’s a first-rate effort. Dialogues [Prasoon Joshi, Rensil D Silva] are excellent. The usage of Punjabi words gives the film that certain freshness. A.R. Rahman's music is ordinary. Barring ‘Paathshala’ and the title track, Rahman’s score doesn’t stay with you after the screening has ended. Cinematography [Binod Pradhan] is outstanding. The lensman captures the essence of Delhi beautifully. Stunts [Allan Amin] are okay. Visual effects [Pankaj Khandpur] are topnotch. You expect Aamir Khan to deliver yet another astounding performance in Rang De Basanti and he does, but it’s not Aamir alone that you applaud in the film. Of course, Aamir gets into the skin of the character and delivers a knockout performance from start to end, but the film has more gems when it comes to performances: Siddharth [excellent], Atul Kulkarni [fantastic], Soha Ali Khan [a complete revelation; efficient], Kunal Kapoor [natural] and Sharman Joshi [powerful]. Alice Patten is brilliant and besides delivering a flawless performance, her style of speaking Hindi is sure to win a lot of hearts. Madhavan is likeable. Waheeda Rehman is graceful as ever. Both Om Puri and Anupam Kher don’t get much scope. Kiron Kher is exceptional yet again. Mohan Agashe, Steven Mckintosh, K.K. Raina and Lekh Tandon are adequate. Songs are A-grade especially Roobaroo and RDB title track. The movie gets a rating of ****/5 Watch it, and think how you can challenge and change the system.

Cinema, You and I
The latest movie from the Bhatt-camp-"Gangster", is releasing this week. Expectations are very high as this is directed by Anurag Basu, the guy who gave ud-"Murder". The movie stars our "serial-kisser", Emraan Hashmi, Shiney Ahuja and debutant Kangana. The movie is shot in Seoul and has stunning visuals. The movie is slightly inspired from the Abu Salem affair. The music is already topping the charts and it seems the movie will be a hit.

Cinema, You and I
Pachakuthira-Movie Review
Much was expected from Dileep after the stupendous success of Chanthupottu. Lion was a commercil pot-boiler, so I am not taking it into consideration. Kamal is a great director, but this movie lacks a proper plot and storyline. A horde of comedians form the supporting cast and do the usual comic antics which are supposed to make you laugh. Dileep is trying what Kamalahasan used to do, come in different get-ups in each movie. The movie is touted to be a complete family entertainer. The first half drags but the second half of the movie saves it from falling flat on its face. Sentiments and comedy alone cannot guarantee success for a movie. Ilayaraja's music is a big letdown. The basic plot of the film is lifted from Dustin Hoffman-Tom Cruise 1988 Oscar winning Rain Man which has been Indianised to suit Dileep’s comedy image but every scene from the beginning to end is predictable and clichéd. Anandakuttan (Dileep), a happy-go-lucky guy is a supplier of extras in films and he has a group of artists (Salim Kumar, Gopika and others) with him. One day a travel agent tells him that he has a brother Akash Menon (Dileep) in Germany who is coming down to stay with him after his mother passed away there!!Akash Menon is an autistic who has a mental growth of a 5-year-old who makes life miserable for Anandakuttan till he finally decides to give him away for adoption to a rich family in Germany! But how Anadakuttan develops love and sympathy towards his brother and prevents the adoption forms the rest of the sentimental second half. In the Vishu-collection race this "green horse", will lose the race to Thuruppu Gulan and Rasatanthiram.

memories
DLF Cup
Things are not all honey and roses for the Indian cricket team. The Series win over a depleted English team brought signs of hope for the fans of cricket. Abu Dhabi is a different ball-game. Winning the toss and electing to bat first the Indians posed a meagre total of 197 and there were 4 run-outs in the innings. Venugopal Rao top-scored with 61 notout. Pakistan chased the total for the loss of 4 wickets and 9 balls to spare. Younis Khan topscored with 71 and was declared man-of -the-match. Earlier in the day Shoaib Malik took 3 wickets and a couple of catches. India have to win today's match to save some pride. Hope we win.

memories
M.V. Doulos-The Floating Book-FairThe world's oldest sailing ship, the M.V.Doulos is in town. It is docked at the Chennai harbour. The ship has an impressive collection of about 6000 different books and a number of music cassettes and CDs. Entry is free for people below the age of 16, but they must be accompanied by an adult. An adult-ticket costs Rs.50. All things are priced in Doulos units. 100 units equals 80 rupees. I hate to say this but the book fair is more of a Christian book-fair and almost 80% of the books are related to Christianity and a couple of free books on Christianity are distributed free to all visitors. Even then it is worth a trip and being onboard a real ship is a whole new experience and the children will love it. It is advisable to go to the ticket counter near the Secretariat as early as possible to avoid waiting in a queue in the hot sun. A bus takes the visitors from the ticket counter to the ship in the harbour.

memories
M.V. Doulos-The Floating Book-Fair
The world's oldest sailing ship, the M.V.Doulos is in town. It is docked at the Chennai harbour. The ship has an impressive collection of about 6000 different books and a number of music cassettes and CDs. Entry is free for people below the age of 16, but they must be accompanied by an adult. An adult-ticket costs Rs.50. All things are priced in Doulos units. 100 units equals 80 rupees. I hate to say this but the book fair is more of a Christian book-fair and almost 80% of the books are related to Christianity and a couple of free books on Christianity are distributed free to all visitors. Even then it is worth a trip and being onboard a real ship is a whole new experience and the children will love it. It is advisable to go to the ticket counter near the Secretariat as early as possible to avoid waiting in a queue in the hot sun. A bus takes the visitors from the ticket counter to the ship in the harbour.

memories
Ind vs Eng series
Well, well the Indian team is winning even though the top order is failing again and again. yuvraj and raina did the rescue act on Monday at Goa. Yuvi struck a brilliant 103 and raina hit 61 runs to propel India to 294 in 50 overs.
Pathan struck for India and took 4 English wickets. In between the Indians got a scare when Collingwood and Geraint Jones forged a solid partnership, Collingwood scored 93, but it was too late. England lost the match by 45 runs and Yuvi was declared man of the match.