Coming up ....

.... during Diwali & after. Have started saving up already. That's the reason why I've skipped Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna & am thinking of giving a miss to Lage Raho Munnabhai.

babu moshai ....

One of my all time favourite Hindi film directors has passed away. Farewell Hrishida.

2007 Honda CRV

Spy pics are out a few days ahead of it's launch. I don't like it .... just not happening.

Outta here

Pluto won't be considered a part of our Solar System anymore. As simple as that.

Lucky? You bet!

Santhosh did not apply for this month's bus pass. And they didn't check for them during the 1st week of August. It's the 1st time that has happened. Lucky? You bet!

Last Wednesday morning, on the 16E, Santhosh is sitting beside me when the bus pass checker asks for our passes. Santhosh says he doesn't have one. The checker asks for his ID card & moves on .... & then forgets all about it! The penalty for riding without a pass is 2 months of bus fee deducted from your salary. Lucky? You bet!

The next morning, on Thursday, both of us are on the 16O, when the same thing happens. He's asked for his ID again & I think Santhosh's luck has finally run out. But nope, a repeat of yesterday happens & the checker moves on after forgetting all about him. Lucky? You bet!

Now, Santhosh is smart enough to realize that he shouldn't be riding his luck any longer, so he decides not to take the company shuttle to office for the rest of this month i.e. 5 working days. This morning he's on an auto on Hosur Road when the thing's brakes fail. The driver rams it into the divider. The 2 passengers seated at the rear, on the left & right side, have a broken finger & a busted forehead. The guy in the middle escapes without a scratch .... guess who he was. Lucky? You betcha!

I love these guys!

Jolly's wheels

Jolly bought his on Sunday, the black top-end model.

Uh oh!

From Yahoo! India Cricket

Pakistan forfeit fourth test after ball row

Monday August 21, 04:21 AM
By Tony Lawrence

LONDON (Reuters) - England were awarded the fourth and final test on Sunday after Pakistan forfeited the match on a day of high farce and bitter recriminations following a ball-tampering storm.

Pakistan refused to return to the field after tea on day four at The Oval after Darrell Hair and fellow umpire Billy Doctrove had earlier imposed a five-run penalty against them for ball-tampering and changed the ball.

When Pakistan did later take to the field, the umpires did not appear, leading to extensive negotiations that ended with the abandonment almost six hours after the drama began.

England win the four-test series 3-0. Pakistan's forfeiture is unprecedented in test history.

"In accordance with the laws of cricket it was noted that the umpires had correctly deemed that Pakistan had forfeited the match and awarded the test to England," read a statement on behalf of the International Cricket Council, England and Wales Cricket Board and the Pakistan Cricket Board.

"The Pakistan team was aggrieved by the award of five penalty runs to England. The award of those penalty runs for alleged interference with the ball is under review by the ICC match referee Mike Procter, whose report will be considered in due course."

Pakistan's players, on course for a face-saving win, had been stunned during the afternoon session when the umpires took action.

They continued playing until tea, with England on 298 for four in their second innings and still 33 runs shy of making Pakistan bat again, when the fiasco exploded.

SEVERAL CONTROVERSIES

Hair, who has been involved in several controversies with teams from the sub-continent in the past, and Doctrove walked out to the middle alone, then returned to the pavilion as Pakistan's players staged a protest by remaining in the dressing room.

The umpires walked out again 15 minutes later, this time followed by England batsmen Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, but Pakistan again failed to show. Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was clearly visible reading a newspaper without his pads on.

The situation took a new turn around 45 minutes after the scheduled restart when Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq led his side out, then straight back in, as this time the umpires did not emerge.

Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said Hair had entered the Pakistan dressing room after they had first failed to reappear and asked Inzamam if he was forfeiting the game.

Woolmer said Inzamam had countered by asking why the ball had been changed but Hair had refused to discuss the matter and left.

The ICC is due to issue a separate report "concerning action which may be taken in relation to the forfeiture of the match by Pakistan".

Pakistan Cricket Board head Shaharyar Khan, who consulted with ECB counterpart David Morgan, said: "From our point of view the boys were extremely upset at the slur of what happened. They wanted to register a protest with the match officials. We were going to stay off for just a few minutes."

He said Pakistan's players categorically denied they had tampered with the ball. "No one was consulted, no one was told... they felt deeply aggrieved."

Khan added he did not know what would happen to the one-day series against England due to start after the tests.

Pakistan were upset when the umpires ruled the ball had been tampered with after Alastair Cook had been bowled by a reverse-swinging yorker from pace bowler Umar Gul.

Inzamam became embroiled in a heated exchange with the umpires before the England batsmen at the crease, Kevin Pietersen and Collingwood, were allowed to choose a replacement ball.

Hair first hit the headlines when he called Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan for throwing in Australia in 1995-6.

Now, THIS is a full blown controversy. This umpire Hair has no love lost for Asian teams (I think the only Asian country that he hasn't messed with is India, 'cause of the clout obviously), but the Pakis aren't exactly unknown for ball tampering either. Hmmm, now whose side does one take?

Working Saturday

I hate coming to office on Saturdays. Was the 2nd person to enter the ODC today. That definitely is a first.

Arni has the DB2 certification exam today at 10:00. I've already asked for the treat.

GOA

It got set up like this ....

12th, 13th Aug - Saturday & Sunday
14th Aug - 'Holiday in lieu of long weekend', courtesy the Company
15th Aug - Independence Day
16th Aug - Janmashtami

So, 12th - 16th was a straight 5 days of declared holidays after the 'holiday drought' prevalent since the last holiday in May.

Too good an oppurtunity to be missed, me thought, as did Praveen, Divesh & Sid. Arni had to prepare for a certification exam, Ajay had commitments at work, Anu faced domestic compulsions & Neeral, well, he is on the East coast & coming over to the West coast was a bit prohibitive for him. So, it was the 4 of us who would be leaving for Goa on the 11th.

It didn't start off well. For starters, we didn't have confirmed tickets on the Madras Vasco Express. Travelling in the general compartment for 14 hours was not a thought to be relished. Add to that an auto ride from BTM to Yesvantpur that lasted for an hour & a half (& cost ~180) & you realize that our 'ride' had already begun! Plus, the train was a good 3 hours late, which meant that we'd have to sit somewhere on the floor of the crowded station (all of Bangalore seemed headed to Goa) while trying not to freeze from the really cold wind blowing across (smart asses that we are, none of us had packed in anything warm, while the rest of the populace walked around in leather jackets).

The train finally chugged in at 12:30 a.m. & each of us managed to get a berth to sleep on .... it was a miracle! Spent the night sleeping peacefully & dreaming of Goa's beaches & stuff that I can't mention here.

The morning of the 12th dawned as we found ourselves high up on the Western Ghats. This section of the track was unbelievably scenic, with steep walls of rock rising up on one side of the train & sheer drops hundreds of feet below on the other. The monsoons were in full force & the train seemed to be passing through clouds which were thick & all around. The forests were extremely lush & green, prompting Sid to mention "yahaan bahut saanp hoga" a number of times. The monotony was broken by tunnels (a total of 17) & waterfalls, wondeful white streams of sparkling, bubbling water which would descend down the rock faces on one side of the train, pass UNDER the tracks, & fall away towards the valley below on their way down to the plains. One of them, called Doodhsagar Falls was especially huge & produced an awesome spectacle as the train passed right in front of it.

Along the way are stations called Castle Rock & Culem, which tell you that you ain't in Karnataka anymore .... the train has crossed over into Goan territory. Call it irony or what you will, but here we were, enjoying the beauty of nature high up on the mountains, while on the way to a seaside vacation! That's India for you.

The train pulled into Margaon station at around 4 in the evening & Swapnil called up to say that he'd be there in 5 minutes. Div had arrived earlier & checked in at the hotel. Soon enough, my 'jigri dost' from the best days of my life showed up in his silver Honda City. Apart from a bit of weight gain, he was the same old Swapnil I knew back in school. That, & the fact that he had become awfully busy, staying glued to his Moto Razr V3.

The first thing that hits you about Goa (especially if you've reached there from a place like Bangalore) is how laid-back & relaxed the people & the place is. I was beginning to wonder why Margaon looked like there was a curfew on when Swapnil rightly stated, "abe ye Goa hai, Bangalore nahin. Idhar 10 baje dukaan khulta hai aur 2 baje bandh, Phir shaam ko 5 baje se subah 5 baje tak." Of course, he was referring to the bars & pubs which are as prevalent here as are traffic jams in Bangalore. And this was the off-season! God knows what this place turns into during the tourist season.

Swapnil had booked us into Hotel Sea Coin right on Colva beach & that's where we met Div. It's a great feeling meeting old friends after long periods of time. Soon we were off to Benaulim beach, a beach known only to locals, according to Swapnil, to watch the sunset. It's a fantastic beach (see the pic). The only people present were the 5 of us, some fishermen casting their nets & a couple making out on a bench on the far side. Foster's in hand, the 4 of us caught up on old times & future plans, while Swapnil was busy chatting up to his Bombay based girlfriend. Soon, it was time to return. Goa has narrow, albeit very well maintained roads, & it's a fantastic feeling cruising on them at 70-80 kmph after doing a max of 10 kmph on Bangalore's roads for the last 1 year.

Dinner time & we decided to move into Kentuckee, the neighbouring eating joint by the Colva beach, where a live band added to the great atmosphere. Goa has some serious hotties coming over from Europe & half the time was spent in checking out the femmes. Coming to the food, the Pomfret served at this place was too good to be true, huge sizes, non-smelly & absolutely fresh. Div wasted no time in ordering one & Prav was made to pick up the tab (by common consent). Thanks dude .... the dinner was wonderful.

Swapnil returned from town at around 11 in the night, & while the rest retired to the hotel rooms for the night, Swap & me decided to catch up old times whilst sitting in his Honda on the beachfront, the Sony Xplod pumping out the beat. It's been more than 10 years since we parted company, due to circumstances that still stir up some bitter memories & half the time was spent in discussing how life had been such a bitch since then. I've had my share of ups & downs (more downs than ups, really) & as Swap said, he'd learned a lot since then too. He's had his share of female company & had turned wiser for the experience .... but still couldn't help wonder why there was still no girl in my life .... oh well. He was leaving for Bombay the next day. One thing is for sure, this is one guy who was, and remains, a great friend .... I haven't found many like him. The late time did not make a difference to the local populace, gangs of girls & guys kept driving up & going down to bathe at the well-lit beach .... at 2 in the morning .... I love this place!

The next day (the 13th), we hired a cab which was gonna show us around all of the places worth seeing in Goa. That meant 2 huge temples, 2 huger churches (the Basilica of Bom Jesus & the Se Cathedral), some beaches, Dona Paula, the Panjim riverfront, Aguada fort (the one made famous by Dil Chahta Hai) & sundry other spots on the way. Our driver, Laxman took little time in developing a great rapport & was soon enjoying his driving (& cigarettes) as much as we were enjoying the sights of his state. The churches were some sight, huge structures built long ago by the Portuguese & the calm & silence prevalent inside them was to be experienced to be believed. Couldn't help imagining what it must have been like back then during the time the Portuguese ruled these parts. Aguada fort had the 4 of us posing at the very spot where Saif, Aamir & Akshaye delivered those famous lines, "10 saal baad ek-doosre se milna to door, .... something, something". In the meantime, lunch had me sampling some Feni & the guys buying up some more Feni & Port Wine for the people back at Bangalore.

It was all topped off by a river cruise on the Mandovi (to the point where it meets the Arabian Sea & back) during the evening. And during the course of the whole day, we kept running into packs of Gujju tourists who seemed to be following us everywhere we went .... or was it the other way round?

Headed back to Kentuckee for dinner & this time we decided to drink ourselves silly. So, it was beer & Bacardi all around till 2 in the morning & this time Div picked up the tab. Plus, Div being the cigarette connoisseur that he is, had brought along the best of the fags .... 555, B&H, Marlboro & these were passed around freely. Hail the great Lambu! Then there was the waiter, named Bagh Rodriguez who said, "hotel line mein main pehli baar aapke jaise customers dekh raha hoon" .... that's how well the 4 of us were gelling into the ambience.

All of us woke up late on the 14th (our last day) & headed straight for the restaurant. Beer was ordered (to go with breakfast!) & the final rounds of bakar-c indulged in before the packing for the return journey began. Boarded the Vasco-Yesvantpur Bi-Weekly at Margaon (our tickets had thankfully been confirmed) that night at 9:30 & reached Bangalore at 11 on the morning of the 14th. It had been a great trip. As Praveen said, "boss, achcha hua jo hum log nikal liye". Yup, I agree .... it was not looking good, what with the unconfirmed tickets, the flood situation & all the uncertainty .... but venture out we did, & The One Above decided to smile on our small group. Thanks a lot, mate!


Addendum - There are times when your heart tells you to do something & the brain asks for the absolute opposite. This time I decided to go by what the heart was saying .... only time will tell if I made the correct decision. It wasn't easy.

Tere Bin

Atif Aslam is back after Wo Lamhey & Aadat with this one from Bas Ek Pal. The song has just the right amount of percussion (for my liking) beating out a slow rhythm set amidst some soulful lyrics. But what sets the song apart is Atif's rendition .... man, this guy can sing & sing well. You could keep listening to the song if only to listen to him belt it out.

This film's soundtrack has had really low publicity but seems one of the best to have emerged this year.

Ho hummmm...........

The CUT phase got over yesterday.

System Testing can get really boring for coders like me.

Chevrolet Kodiak

The Americans make some insane Pick-Ups, but this one has got to take the cake!

Suna hai mohabbat ki taqdeer mein,
Likhe hain andhere ghaney,

Tabhi aaj shaayad sitaare sabhi,
Zaraa sa hi roshan huey,

Mere haath ki in lakeeron mein likhe,
Abhi aur kitne sitam,

Khafaa ho gayi hai khushi waqt se,
Ho rahe hain meherbaan gham,

Tere pyaar mein aise jiye hum,
Jalaa hai ye dil, ye aanken hui nam,

Tere pyaar mein aise jiye hum,
Jalaa hai ye dil, ye aanken hui nam ....

From 'Bas Ek Pal' (Bas Ek Pal O.S.T.) by K.K.

BMW, Audi & Subaru grudge ads

BMW started it, Audi responded & Subaru decided to rub it in. Good fun, actually.

.... and besides,

~100 & 160 on the waiting list for the up & down trips to Goa. I don't even wanna think about it.

The Hungarian GP was 'the most topsy turvy that I have ever seen' according to the commentator. Schumacher got the wrong tyres on & retired with 3 laps remaining after swiping Heidfeld. Raikonnen was on pole but ended up on the DNF list with Alonso. And Honda won their 1st race of the year with Button picking up his 1st ever race win after 116 tries! .... there's hope yet for people like me .... just gotta keep those blinkers on. Kind of like Praveen .... dude got a 10k per month pay hike .... shows you that hard work definitely pays.

Omkara

Dark, intense & with a sense of foreboding .... the movie had everything that the hype had said it would. The effort that Vishal Bhardwaj puts into his movies was evident in Maqbool itself, but that film had somehow not made much of an impact. But Omkara does everything that Maqbool couldn't & then some.

First off, the star cast .... it helps a lot in increasing a film's profile if it features established stars in unconventional roles. And when you've got a star cast that goes like this .... Kareena, Konkona, Bipasha, Devgun, Saif & Vivek .... you know this film's gonna be worth the 150 bucks in terms of the glam quotient, at least.

The performances .... well,
Ajay Devgun & Bipasha - 3 stock expressions & great looking abs.
Vivek - Umm, OK sort of.
Kareena & Konkona - Kareena's getting there & Konkona's well on her way .... these two were impressive.
And THE role of the film, Saif essaying Langda Tyagi .... what do you say about a guy, who when he came on the Hindi movie scene, was such a rank bad performer. And look at where he's got to now.

Okay, conceded that his role has the highest potential in the film, even then one can't imagine anybody else delivering the kind of performance he has .... it's that good. The getup, the limp, the look in his eyes, everything holds your attention like nothing else in the film. Jealousy, deceit, treachery .... they all are a part of our lives .... often playing more of a part than we would like to portray & that's where you can identify with Langda's character. Seriously, if one has had a hard time & is looking for inspiration to get to where you really wanna be, look no further than Saif .... he's got to a point where he can carry off a film like Omkara on his own shoulders. And that's saying something.

Other things praiseworthy include the sets, the characterizations & especially the dialogue (Bhardwaj himself), which adds to the hard hitting impact in a big way (besides bringing back memories of the lingo we used back in college). All in all, a good film which shows the way for the future of Hindi moviedom .... the script should be the star & not the stars themselves. And one more thing, .... all halls should stock Masala Popcorn like they have at Innovative. It went really well with the 2 shots of Smirnoff I had before the movie.

Shaayad ....

Kal ki in baaton mein kya rakha hai
Socho to kuchh bhi nahi, sab khalaa hai
Aaj bhi kuchh badlaa nahi
Kal jahaan tha ab bhi hoon vahin

Shaayad yahi kismat mein likha
Manzil nahi, phir bhi mein chala

In sab savaalon mein kya rakha hai
Kyon main kuchh sochoon jab, sab fanaa hai

Aaj phir usi mor pay hoon kharaa
Kis gunaah ki seh raha hoon sazaa

Aaj phir usi mor pay hoon kharaa
Kis gunaah ki seh raha hoon sazaa

Lyrics from 'Shaayad' by Call

#@$%&* !

Work, work & more work! And if that ain't enough, the new flyover near home has been inaugurated & traffic flow from Silk Board to MICO Layout has worsened! It now takes about half an hour to 40 mins to cover a stretch which was do-able in 15 minutes earlier! Traffic management & planning in Bangalore is pathetic to say the least.

So it's leave home at 7:30 & reach back at 10 in the night. I HATE this routine.