Finally reached 'that' landmark ..... it's been a long time coming.

As the guy in the Weekender ad used to say back in the 80s ..... "Not there yet, but I'm getting there ..... yeah, I'm getting there". Greens are the best.

Eklavya

Hindi films are coming of age ..... content-wise, direction-wise & performance-wise. How else do you explain an under 2 hour long drama with no songs; no parallel comedy track & superb attention to detail?

It's a story of palace intrigue & of upholding old-time honour & tradition, Rajasthan style. The 'Devigarh' fort has been shot extremely well & conveys the sense of foreboding that prevails throughout the film. Amitabh is at his usual best, Saif does well, Jimmy Shergill shows promise but could have done with longer screen time, Jackie Shroff returns after some time & there's a delightful cameo by Sanjay Dutt. The movie does drag at times but it's part of the act, I guess.

Followed it with lunch at McDonalds & the McVeggie has me hooked. Ditto for the Potato Wedges ..... no wonder Sittu loves 'em.

But the best thing was that I managed to catch the film for a measly 60 bucks.

Swift by autopsyche

This is autopsyche's latest job .....



..... I think he's probably the best customizer in the country right now.

drunk on a Saturday evening

Life's a bitch
& that's a fact,

but that's one of the things
u realise once u're all outta tact,

No use plannin now
cause it's all a lost cause,

it's gonna keep comin & railin ya
without so much as a pause,

shattered dreams, causes lost
which one do i regret the most,

each regret greater than the other
loss & more loss the fact of the matter,

what could've been had i done that
what is now other than a cold hard fact,

there's no escape, conscience is a killer
it spares no one, everybody's fodder,

truth flows out when u're high
kinda feels like walkin on the sky,

so I think i'd better hurry up with this
before sense takes over & i start wonderin why?

all ur life you fight not to come last
thinking there'll be happiness, sum sorta class,

but everytime u see them movin ahead
that voice in ur head gets activated,

all day, every waking hour
it riles ur state with it's power,

get up, get dusted, run, in the race stay,
else what's the world gonna say?

there goes a loser, could've but dint try hard enough
probably wasn't made of the hard stuff,

it's a bad time to be my age, my position,
no one to hear ya out, no one sayin you're sane,

cause that's the reality of our life & times
succeed & succeed u must, that's the unyeilding truth,

be prepared to face it, however ugly it might seem
if u gonna be sumwhere, it's as part of what the others' dream,

i ask, is it my fault if i stay content?
i wait for the answer, but all i hear is the wind .....

Punjabi stunt-baazi

The video speaks for itself .....



..... is the Indian stunting scene happening or what!

Is this really happening?

Fleming hails 'amazing day'

Two thumping wins over the best team in the world and a neighbour with whom you share a spicy rivalry is reason enough for joy. But as it came on the back of seven losses in eight games in the CB series in Australia recently, it is little wonder Stephen Fleming, the New Zealand captain, was moved to call his side's five-wicket win at Eden Park an "amazing day."

"It was an amazing day, great for the game and great for us to get across the line in a big-scoring match," Fleming said, after his side had chased down 337 to clinch the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy with a game to spare.

Before this series, New Zealand had only won two of their last 22 ODIs against their Trans-Tasman rivals, a run stretching out over five years. In less than a week, they have doubled that tally.

South Africa take over top spot

South Africa have replaced Australia at the head of the ICC ODI rankings following Australia's five-wicket loss to New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland. It is the first time Australia has slipped from the top spot since the rankings began, in October 2002.

Australia's defeat was their fourth consecutive defeat - the first such sequence since 1997 - and fifth in their last six matches. South Africa on the other hand, have been in stunning form, having won seven of their last eight ODIs (with one washed out). Even if Australia win the final match of the Chappell-Hadlee series, in Hamilton on Tuesday, it will not be enough for the side to regain top spot.

- Cricinfo, 18th Feb '07

Hmmm ..... things are shaping up nicely just before the World Cup.

EDIT: And this is what happened today .....

Stunning McMillan seals whitewash

New Zealand 350 for 9 (McMillan 117, McCullum 86*, Fulton 51) beat Australia 346 for 5 (Hayden 181*, Watson 68) by 1 wicket

Craig McMillan and Brendon McCullum blasted New Zealand to another massive run-chase as they negated Matthew Hayden's 181 and inflicted a cleansweep on Australia at Hamilton. The home team flew to 350 with only one wicket to spare on the back of McMillan's 117 and his 165-run partnership with McCullum.

Their second-innings 340 at Auckland on Sunday - which was the second-highest chase in ODI history - was bettered again as McMillan showed contempt for the Australia attack despite coming to the crease at 4 for 41.

- Cricinfo, 20th Feb '07

Australia's bowling ineptitude

Australia lost to South Africa in Johannesburg last year after scoring 434 for four - then the highest total in the history of limited-overs cricket - and have since lost three times to New Zealand after scoring more than 330.

Australia made 336 for four in Auckland on Sunday and lost by five wickets with eight balls to spare, lost in Christchurch last year in a similar run chase and were beaten on Tuesday after posting a third massive total.

In each case, the ineptitude of Australia's bowling attack was the key factor of the match and Australia now heads to the World Cup with its confidence in tatters and its No 1 world ranking conceded to South Africa.

New Zealand whitewashed Australia in a limited-overs series for the first time and increased Australia's anxiety ahead of the World Cup.

- NDTV, 20th Feb '07

To WC '07

Just witnessed a very entertaining ODI ..... India managing a comfortable win over the Lankans to take the series 2-1 after being 0-1 down. It turns out that just before the World Cup .....

• Sehwag is looking kinda okay, although he could be better
• Sourav has made a fantastic comeback & should be one of the mainstays in India's WC campaign
• Yuvraj is back in form & how!
• Dinesh & Dhoni form a formidable lower order

So, the batting looks sorted out. It's just that .....

• the allrounder's slot lacks somebody competent
• the bowling is not very disciplined
• Sachin is struggling with injuries as usual (didn't play today)

This was india's last ODI before WC '07 & they ended it on a high. So, here's wishing all the best to Team India for the World Cup ..... get it home guys!

R.I.P. friend

Sabby informs that Piggy died in the line of duty in Assam.

God bless your soul, friend. Thanks for your service to the nation.

One of my blog posts got featured in Mumbai Mirror! Heh!

Check this out.

The TARGET GSD team got the Best Project Team award for our Vertical today ..... 1 of 3 teams out of the 15 odd running projects in the last quarter. Rajan & me had a hard time hiding the shock on our faces :) Anyway, it was a nice surprise.

As was the appearance of Egg Fried Rice with Chicken Momos on Golconda's lunch menu!

Jolly's managed to wrangle a job with Dell ..... he shifts to the City Beautiful by the end of the month ..... cool.

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Pulsar 200 looks deadly in black!

By the way, teaser ads for the 'new' Karizma have started airing. Let's see if Hero Honda comes out with something more substantial than a sticker job.

Aero India 2007

The world's 4th largest(!) air show concluded yesterday & here's a selection of the best on display. All pics courtesy aeroindia.org .... all copyrights acknowledged, I hope those guys don't mind.

First ..... the Indians .....

The LCA Tejas in IAF colors ..... looks good.

The Sarang ALH.

The deadly Su30MKI ..... flying upside down.

The gigantic IL78MKI refueller.

Second, the contenders for IAF's 126 nos MRCA contract .....

The awesome Mig 35.

The bonafide F 18 E Super Hornet.

The radical Swedish Saab Gripen.

And lastly, the American stuff .....

The Chinook & the c-17 GlobeMaster.

The Bell 407 which is vying for an Indian Army contract.

India is poised to take it's defence relationship with the US to another level ..... as was evident by the large American presence at the show. But the Russian/European/Israeli stuff on display wasn't bad either. All in all a very impressive show indeed.

Long weekend

We are the beneficiaries of a long weekend, courtesy the Cauvery Tribunal's decision. Bangalore (& the rest of Karnataka) is shut down today. Traffic is sparse & the silence in the colony is palpable.

Anyway, there are a lot of cricket matches going on around the world at this time & here's my assessment of the results & the action.

England vs Australia is 1st up & what a surprise it's been. England, rank outsiders in the lead up to the Australia vs New Zealand vs England tri series, not only won their last 2 must-win league games to reach the finals, but also managed to upset the Aussie juggernaut spectacularly by winning the 1st 2 of the best of 3 finals! This is the 1st Aussie defeat in an ODI tri series in 14 years! The look on Ponting's face at the presentation was priceless ..... heh heh.

Pakistan & the Proteas are slugging it out in their 5 match ODI series in South Africa & predictably, the Pakis performances are ranging over the entire scale, from the sublime to the ridiculous. One match, they score 350 odd batting 1st & the very next match they're at 8 for 2 after 10 overs! South Africa lead the series 2-1 with 1 ODI washed out & 1 still to go.

Meanwhile, here in mere desh ki dharti, the Sri Lankans are showing ominous signs of solid form right before the World Cup. India as usual are experimenting without much success, although the final 15 for the World Cup has been announced.

The teams to watch out for at the World Cup then would be South Africa & Sri Lanka, on current form. Of course, on past reputation, one would have to go for Australia & Pakistan ..... & these 4 are the likely semi finalists too. India, ..... well, I don't see them going past the Super 8 stage, to be frank.

That said, I've been listening to Pentagram's newest single, Voice. It raises hope for the Indian rock scene ..... things aren't as bad as they seem. For those interested, it's available as a free download on nokia.co.in.

#77 wears a shoud of silence these days since Ajay left for good on Thursday & Sid flew to London on the way to Mexico. It's just Arni & Prav & me for now with occasional visits by Anu & Soumya & Salil. That's how it's gonna be all February.

Karamchand is coming back! This should be interesting.

And its hard to hold on
When theres no one to lean on
- Bon Jovi in 'Keep The Faith'

Also, listening to Motorcycle's 'As The Rush Comes' & Darude's 'Feel The Beat' as the bus rolls down Hosur Road at 70 kmph is another experience altogether.

Had a long conversation with 'The Depot' yesterday. We were talking after more than 2 years. Almost everybody from the batch is settled except Kinnu. Sad. And nobody seems to have any idea about K.P.

New Tatamobile

This pic of the new Tatamobile (called the TL Sprint in Europe) has recently appeared on the Net.

Styling is a major bump up on the old Merc influenced design, although this one does resemble the current Mitsubishi Pajero in parts (headlights & window design). Looks good though.

Let's see when they launch this in India & how they position it in the market. Most probably, they'll keep the old 207 DI for the transporters & market this as a lifestyle choice. The Indian market could do with a good looking pick-up.