New Year's Resolution

Looks like I'm into one of those moods again. When I think I'd do blah blah blah things in the year to come. And when the year arrives, and passes by, I realize I have not even started half of the things. :-)

In fact it is for the first time in 2004, when I have managed to stand by what I had decided I'd do, or rather I'd not do at the beginning of the year. Never mind it was something very sissy thing! And I am still being ridiculed for it!!

I have not yet decided another silly thing for 2005. But then, I still have some time left!

Wish you and your loved ones a wonderful new year to come!

Before I finish, a request. In case you haven't already done it, please do your bit for the tsunami victims. May you live for years to come to celebrate more and more 31st nights, but unless we do something, those unfortunate souls may not be able to. Liked the post "A Story That Truly Touched My Heart" by Kiruba on this.

signing off,

Prejudice

In introspection, I might be better without the usual hurry I am in while making opinions about others. Some people call it prejudice.

I think, I have to work on it quite a bit.

signing off,

The South-East Asia Earthquake and Tsunami

In case you are willing to contribute towards Tsunami relief funds, this site gives pretty good information how you can do it.

Stock Market

I too like my few other friends, now have a share trading account. (Mine is with Indiainfoline.com) It is quite a new experience for me, this trading business. And I have to learn a lot how to do it without burning my fingers.

As of now keeping my fingers crossed and praying that NTPC would soon cross 100. :-)

signing off,

Records

A question arises, about Bangladesh's test status. No doubt they (read Ashraful) fought bravely in first innings of second test match against India. But then they have not been able to do away with their 'minnow' status. For a long period now. Ayaz Menon and my friend disagree with me saying everyone has to start from somewhere. All I am saying is they should be given some more opportunity in less demanding one day cricket, so that they can be at par with other test teams. Having said this, they have to do quite a hard work. Importantly, they should not give away hope. Remember it has taken us 20 years to record first test win!

Again, my personal feelings about creating records against teams like Bangladesh are mixed. Agreed that Anil and Sachin have put a lot of hard work for their 435 wickets and 34 centuries against every cricket playing country. Also Irfan and Zaheer would be delighted to have first 10 wicket haul and a highest score by no 10 batsman respectively. Still (though I cannot comment about them) I would have been happier if these records would have come in some previous series particularly against Australia. Too much hopeful, I am!

Nonetheless they have shown good display of hunger to win and talent in this series. Hopefully the trend would continue in series to come.

signing off,

I know what everyone wants.

They just want to be wished on their birthday, preferably with a card or a call or a gift. Even if it means you just have scribbled a few lines in email. Makes their day. And in turn, yours too!

signing off,

Haloscan

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Who's your favorite hero, saar?

Sounds like a routine question. At least in our country where there are fortunes made and unmade every week, in fact every day, in the movie industries across India. There are bollywood crazy cities like Mumbai and Delhi. There are people going crazy over Rajnikanth or Madhavan or Ajith in Madras. Same about Chiranjeevi in Andhrapradesh. So I was not at all surprised when this question was hurled at me out of nowhere. But the consequence was quite interesting!

I was waiting y'day in a saloon nearby my home to get my hair cut so that I'd go home and plan for rest of the day. But this chap is not letting me go. First there is the fact that it is Sunday and everyone is out there in the saloon. So first I wait half an hour browsing through latest Filmfare admiring sensuous Bipasha. Then after a while I am summoned up to the chair. The conversation that follows, as it is.

Hair stylist(lets call him S hereafter): (says something in Telegu, I hope. It could have been Kannada for all I know.)

Me: Medium on top, small on sides.

S: Telugu illa? Hindi?

Me: Hindi.

S: Telugu nahi aata?

Me: Nahi, Hindi, English, Marathi.

S: Marathi humko nahi aata.

Me: Telugu humko nahi aata.

S: laughs heartily at my joke (?)

Meanwhile, the TV is showing some analysis of Tendulkar's batting and S is clearly not interested in Harsha Bhogle's figures. He switches the channel and now it is showing someone else's figure. Few moments pass in silence.

S: (suddenly waking me up) Saar, saar .. ye song suno. (The song is Pacchai Nirame from Alaipayuthey -- which was remade as title song of Saathiya in Hindi) Bahot achchha song hai. Ye movie original Tamil hona. Baad mein Hindi mein banaya.

Me: Yeah. Pata hai.

S: Aapka favorite hero kaun hai?

Me: Koi nahi, sab log mujhe achchha lagta hai.

S: Lekin sab se achchha kaun hai?

Me: (resigned) Amitabh Bachchan

S: Maine hero poonchha. Uncle nahi!

Me: (amused) Uncle!! Are yaar, wo to sab se achchha hai.

S: Shahrukh Khan achchha nahi lagta tumko?

Me: Nahi. Hritik Roshan maybe.

S: Shahrukh achchha kyon nahi lagta? Wo muslim hai isliye?

Me: (man! what reasoning!!) Nahi yaar, aisa kuchh nahi. Aamir Khan achchha lagta hai mujhe.

S: Hmm Aamir Khan humko bhi achchha lagta. Salmaan Khan?

Me: Hmm, ok types! (never argue with a man with scissors!)

S: Shahrukh Khan ka naya movie dekha?

Me: Nahi. Ye batao, tumhara favorite hero kaun hai?

S: (With a despairing look clearly suggesting an urgent need to work on my general knowledge and in a tone that would suggest I've asked something like "Tumhara naam kya hai Basanti?")Chiranjeevi.

Signs

Nope. I am not discussing the M Night Shyamalan's movie. I am discussing my email signatures over the years, rather over the months.

I will tell you that I am obsessed with music. I like it so much that in fact I just cannot imagine myself without my earphones any time of the day. I almost worship my favorite lyricists, vocalists, guitarists, drummers. So naturally most of my signature lines have come from these sets of people; well on second thoughts, not from drummers!

Two particular ones I remember are the most recent. "Tongue tied and twisted, just an earth bound misfit, I" by Gilmour and ".. so never mind the darkness, we still can find the way!" by Rose.

I have been fascinated by Pink Floyd from the moment I listened to them. With Barret without Barret, with Waters without Waters, I worship them. In my opinion they have written some of the beautiful lyrics to match Waters' or Gilmour's mesmerizing voice. You'd have to listen to Shine on you crazy diamond to enjoy it. The line cited above, though is not from Shine on you crazy diamond. It is a Watersless Floyd creation. From album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the song is Learning to Fly. If you get to watch the video of the song, please don't miss the chance. It is quite colorful and almost makes you long to fly. But not like the young man depicted there. That'd either be insanely suicidal or inexplicably miraculous!

The second one is from artists whose oeuvre, though rock, is quite different from Floyds. They rely on hoarse voice, heavy electric guitars and less than subtle drums. They too have their large followings. One being me. I used to kind of dislike Guns N Roses at beginning. Because of, to a certain extent, MTv. They never got tired of showing November Rain and Sweet Child o Mine virtually endless times and I got bored in first two/three attempts. But when I listened to more songs by them, esp Estranged and Civil War, I kinda became their fan. This particular line comes from their smash hit November Rain. It is an amazingly positive ending to a song which goes through quite ups and downs.

So here they are. Two of my favorite lines. If I change my sig, I'd love to discuss it here too.

signing off,

Steffi, will you ..

My memory got kind of refreshed as I stumbled upon this piece of writing about the goddess on the center court, and had a chance to look at the forwarded video clipping.

It goes,

... She is also known for her sense of humour. During a tight Wimbledon semi-final match against Kimiko Date, she was serving when a spectator yelled out "Steffi!". Everyone, including Steffi, burst out laughing. Composing herself, she got ready to serve again, when the fan shouted "Steffi! Will you marry me?" The whole stadium burst into peals of laughter and play was delayed for a couple of minutes. Steffi got ready to serve again, tossed the ball, caught it, then turned to the fan and yelled "How much money do you have?"

I have worshipped Steffi Graf more than all other sportmen/women combined! She remained an undisputable queen of tennis during her tenure. And no one dared to replace her in my mind, not Navratilova, not Seles, not Sanchez-Vicario, not Sabatini and definitely not new comers like Hingis (well, if I call Hingis a newcomer then those Williams, Henin-Hardennes, Myskinas, Sharapovas are definitely kids). Forehands have never looked elegant and fierce at the same time, after she quit. Her game came with a rather gentle service (with ball tossed up higher than normally people would do) and relatively weaker backhands (but she worked very hard to get it strong). But boy, wasn't it a treat to watch! She had great athletic physique and a graceful presence on court. I don't think anyone she defeated would have been humiliated by it, it least I would not have given a chance. As Sir Neville Cardus would have put it, "Even though she is kicking you in ribs, you might think she is helping you getting up." (Apologies, Sir!) Rather it was an honour to play against her. Her opponents who have achieved rare feats of defeating her would certainly cherish those memories for long. I remember crying in disbelief when she had lost in the very first round of Wimbledon. I'd never be able to forgive Lori McNeil for it.

Finally as my friend aptly put it, she is one of those ladies whom you cannot love enough.

Miss you a lot Steffi!

signing off,