Cricket or Something Like it........

The BCCI is the richest cricket body in the world and every now and then we hear of millions being added to its coffers, mainly by scheduling matches in non-descript locations around the globe. At home we were considered to be Tigers,well lets look at it this way,we were always tigers at home but without the killer instinct.Probably the knee-jerk reactions of indian cricket fans doesn't put much emphasis on the champions trophy, if it was the world cup then we might have been watching news reports of nationwide protests and reactions to any loss against any team and on any given day. Our one day record is dismal, we can't produce an express fast bowler who can bowl at 150 kph even though we boast of a billion cricket crazy fanatics. Commando training sessions initiated by foreign coaches are nothing more than an outdoor trek for the players.I bet our players just forget to fire the bullets in an all out war.

We have the greatest players , even GOD plays in our team, but he never wins matches for india. Its pretty difficult to digest the fact that none of us even remember the last time we won a cricket match against australia and that too convincingly. Its not too difficult to accept that we are good at only one sport, but its still not good enough to challenge the top teams in the world. Last season we had no complaints when we set a new record for chasing totals,but the dismal pangs of inconsistency have never left the team. Come the best teams in the world and our inadequacies are seriously exposed! Who is responsible, the selectors, the coach, the players or the board ? I believe we as fans have set the bar too high...

A couple of years down the road even dravid and sachin will take up their positions behind the commentary box or start a business enterprise of their own. What becomes of the team then, well the blame game goes on... Its time us gullible fans realise and accept that we are way behind other teams when it comes to team spirit and body language, and its something which is not going to change anytime soon. Even ricky ponting gives 100% when he is the 12th man, captain, fielder, bowler or batsman,he plays only for the team , individual brilliance never comes at the expense of the team. Almost all the batting records are held by indians but sadly it has not affected our overall win-loss record too much.

Personally it was for the first time ever that yesterday's loss to australia did not sting, as i had already toned down my expectations much before the match began.I enjoyed the match and saw the best team win. Its time all of us stopped expecting miracles to happen and consider cricket matches featuring india as just another entertainment option...

Dissecting the COUP!

About two weeks ago everything seemed so surreal that it almost seemed impossible to come to terms with the ensuing coup d'etat in Thailand. Having been well read on the making of a coup,one cannot be blamed for believing that south american banana republics or at the most a few east and west african states are more at home with such an event. A rude awakening though returning home from what was supposed to be just another routine day's work.The television channels went blank, army personnel with their entire armory were out on the streets,but yet a single shot was not fired. They call it a bloodless coup,no blood on the streets and no smell of gunpowder hanging in the air. Just two days after the coup, tourists and locals alike were seen grabbing their share of the limelight,the scene resembled a gun's n roses live concert.

Well the general impression is that it was just waiting to happen...the army has always had a huge presence in Thailand...i guess they had been in hibernation for over 15 years. 23 Coups in over 70 years...and probably we think that's the lot! Well who knows....a new interim government is in place....already under a huge cloud of criticism for the wrong reasons..the average age of the entire cabinet is 63 years...people just call them a bunch of oldies.. In between the stalemate and mayhem,calm has prevailed over the thai financial markets..the currency is stable and foreign investment is generally unaffected.. reminds me of something i heard the other day they have close to $60 billion in foreign reserves,so what the heck..they can take a few pitfalls in FDI flows..

To an expat the impending rains and flood scenario is more alarming than the political imbroglio. The largest airport in SE Asia,Suvarnabhumi international airport opened on schedule and is being billed as the pride of thailand. Quite an imposing structure with a futuristic facade....44 years of hard work and 4 years of construction have made it possible.. Sadly though the chief orchestrator ,ousted PM thaksin shinawatra couldn't be part of the opening ceremony.. if he deserved to be there or not is open to debate.

Long Live the King!

The Week long celebrations for the 60th anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Rama IX of Thailand begin this Friday the 9th of June. He is the world's longest reigning monarch and is reknowned worldwide for his benovelence and dedication to his subjects in the Kingdom of Thailand.

Rediff.com provides an insight into the life and times of the King and why he is and remains the single source of reverence and inspiration for all Thai people.

Where You'd like to be ?

Worldwide Quality of Living survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting reveals India's two best cities Delhi and Mumbai are ranked at 150 -- 29 positions behind Colombo ranked at 121 and even behind Senegal's capital Dakar (144). Bangalore is ranked at 153 up one position from its 2005 ranking, while Chennai is ranked at 160. The top-ranking city in China is Shanghai in 103rd place (score 80.1).Bangkok city is ranked at 107 down one place from its 2005 ranking of 106.

Zurich ranks as the world's top city for quality of living,the city scores 108.2 and is only marginally ahead of Geneva, which scores 108.1, while Vancouver follows in third place with a score of 107.7. In contrast, Baghdad is the lowest ranking city in the survey, scoring just 14.5. Almost half the top 30 scoring cities are in Western Europe.

The analysis is part of Mercer's annual World-wide Quality of LivingSurvey, covering more than 350 cities, to help governments and multinational companies place employees on international assignments. Each city is based on an evaluation of 39 criteria, including political, social,economic and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education,transport and other public services. Cities are ranked against New York as the base city, which has an index score of 100.

Three Cheers for Pantip Plaza!

Having scourged the net and also a few other malls in Bangkok for a decent Digital Camera, i finally got the best deal i could ever ask for , at the Pantip Plaza. My research had shown me that the difference between a decent digital camera and very good one amounts to about an additional 10K, for more or less the same features, with the sole exception of brand name. So a Sony Cybershot 6.1 Mp, camera and a samsung 5.1 Mp camera had more or less the same features, but had a price differential of about 9000 Baht.

Well i went for the Digilife DV Camera, featured on the left. I got it for just 7500 Baht, but hey let's take a look at the features

Its main feature is its 11 Mp image sensor, 8X digital zoom, Movie Record, Picture Record, Voice Record, MP3 Player, PC Camera, Mass Storage Device, 512 MB SD card with an inbuilt memory of 64 MB,NP 60 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery, Remote Control, TV Out, and 2976x2232¡F2048x1536¡F1024x768 image resolution.
And add to that a one year warranty.

I have finally got a winner, well i am looking to put it to the test during the Songkran holidays.

What's common between"Dil Se" & " Inside Man"?

Well bollywood and A R . Rahman sure seem to be going places.
Last night at the cineplex i realised that the soundtrack "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from "Dil se" wasn't just an audio mismatch.
"Inside Man" uses the same soundtrack from Mani Ratnam's Dil se,at the beginning and at the end of the movie.The music is also featured in the background during the climax.

The song did not seem out of place even though we were spared the usual song n' dance routine. " Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya" rolls on with a frame by frame view showcasing New York City. After being voted one of the best five songs of the last decade, AR. Rahman has sure got another accolade to cherish.

Proud to be an Indian!

Happy 57th Republic Day! Saare Jahan se Accha Hindustan Hamara, hum bulbulen hain iski ye gulistan hamara!

Now about the image, i chose it because it depicts the very core beliefs shared and experienced by every Indian. The lensman needs to be commended for taking such a simple yet transfixing image. I have been hearing in the news, that India is on every delegate's lips at the summit for the World Economic Forum being held at Davos. The gross magnitude of India's domestic market has simply led to one conclusion, that India cannot be ignored anymore. Add to that a continuous growth rate of 8% for 9 successive quarters, now this implies India means business this time round.

But going back to the image there are over 260 million people below the poverty line. That means people who cannot even afford one single square meal everyday, and a majority of them are children, very similar to our girl in the image shown above. It is the common people who have been left out the India's success story over the last decade. I know its better said than done , but just imagine if we all priviledged lot, do our bit in making people aware and even lending a helping hand sometime, then this would go a long way in shaping a brand new India.Today i read an inspirational article on women officers training in the Indian Army's special weapon's unit. Its actions such as these which will propel India into the Big league.

Much Ado about Nothing!!

The hype for MBA placement season has well and truly started. The IIM's, XIM's and other top rung Management Institutes are ready to declare their triumphs and thus keep on rolling their colossal juggernaut forward, into the new year. But as is always the case , there always lingers an uneasy air over what is told and what actually is true. Reputed MBA schools harboring the top management brains in the country, certainly have a penchnat of going over the top when it comes to quoting the placement records for their respective institutes.

Follow the link below to differentiate between Myth and Reality.

Winds of Change!

I have always felt that people who deem themselves to be able instructors, clearly define out the pros and cons of situations and then make a decision. After a long time the critical vein in me has managed to thwart all other topics and decided to concentrate on a very burning issue. I hate to say it but certain respectable educational institutions in India have taken it upon themselves to defame the very principles upon which they were founded.

Looking at the past two years and the two years before that, the influx of indian students into Assumption University has undergone a galactic sea of change. I am not questioning the modus operandi of the selection process but the objectivity behind it. In the first two batches i had a firm opinion that quality and accountability were the sole benchmarks considered during selection. These factors have somehow been overshadowed and by the looks of it , quality has certainly given way to quantity. And its but understood that where we have quantity , quality grossly underscores. What could have emerged as one of the best examples of cross-cultural educational success stories to emerge out of India, is sadly heading towards total oblivion. It might take a few years though before wisdom dawns on the responsible perpetrators.

The title aptly describes the mood of other students from the previous batches as they are reluctantly pulled into this new formed quagmire. Well i guess when the going gets tough the tough get going , and optimism for the future stills hangs by a narrow thread. The time has come to seperate the men from the boys.