strike of the pun'gent

.................................................curse of the apple

we are all just prisoners here of our own device

bees saal baad

Apparently there was this piece written by Harsha Bhogle, a greenhorn then, talking about one Sachin Tendulkar, very well a greenhorn then. This appeared in Sportsworld, a magazine that I used to consider a poor man's Sportstar (of course not literally). Whenever I couldn't lay my hands on a Sportstar, I would grudgingly settle for a Sportsworld. But that tale is for another day.

In this article, written in his trademark simple yet weighty style, Harsha Bhogle delineates the early story of a man, whose principles we would cynically dismiss as those belonging to Aesop's Fables. In italics are a few select Bhogle's words followed by a reflection of the current situation. What can one not do armed with an arrogant hindsight?

And for all the publicity he has received, Sachin Tendulkar is really still a kid... And is very shy. Opening out only after you have coaxed him for some time.

Oh! really?

His record is awesome. He has scored far more runs than all of us scored looking dreamily out of the window in a boring Social Studies class when we were his age.

:) :)

Quite often, he is playing all day; important because it has helped him build the stamina to play long innings. "I don't get tired," he says, referring to them. "If you practise every day, you get used to it."

Madras'99 ........... Bristol'99

Wasn't he thrilled at being invited to the Ranji nets? "Definitely. After playing there I got a lot of confidence."

thrilled?! invited?! Ranji nets?! (with all respect to the Ranji Trophy)

The question that arises then, given all the publicity is: Just how good is Sachin Tendulkar?

For an honest reflection ask Henry Olonga, Shoaib Akhtar, or better, Shane Warne.

Luckily for Sachin, there is a calming influence over him, just so he doesn't get carried away by this acclaim.

There are a few things in life utterly immune.

Achrekar, in fact, is quite upset about the publicity Sachin is getting. "People don't realise that he is just 15. They keep calling him for some felicitation or the other. The other day he was asked to inaugurate a children's library. This is ridiculous. These things are bound to go to his head. He will start thinking he has achieved everything. I hope all this stops so he can concentrate and work hard."

Promise kept, chinta karu naka, Achrekar Sir!

In how many cities would a 15-year-old be presented a Gunn and Moore by the Indian captain?

GM signage be damned, after him, in fact, it has become an honor for a batsman to share the letters M.R.F on their English willows with him. Brian Lara and Steve Waugh would concur.

This is really just the beginning and I will be watching this little star with avid interest for the next three years. He is in the right company. And the right environment. The next few years will show whether he has it in him the mental toughness to overcome the over-exposure. If it does not go to his head, surely there is a great future beckoning.

No comments.

and the best for the last.

Isn't there a lot of pressure on him now? Everyone assumes he will get a big score? "Only in the beginning. Till I get set. Once I get set, I don't think of anything."

ha ha ha, little did one expect Harsha Bhogle to be some soothsayer from another world we didn't know of, prophesying something which has only changed recently, a little bit.

The Fruit of Eden

cometh the hour, cometh the man

my unsung hero, V V S Laxman

return of the pun'gent

Dravidian beauty of State College, PA

Penn Azhagi

of comatose elements

It was time to head back home after a near grueling day at work.

Music, particularly Indian film music for me, lends itself to various interpretations and recollections in a different light (no pun intended) at different time points, moods, frames of mind and milieus. More often than not, top notch US roads do help.

This time it was So Gaya Yeh Jahaan (N Chandra's Tezaab 1988).

Alka Yagnik's chubby voice dipped in milk, and honey helped Madhuri Dixit pine; Shabbir Kumar's vocal chords seemed as if they were perennially stretched to the limit allowing gusts of air to go in, go out, go in, go out (imagine Alif Laila, Alif Laila, Alif Laila) helping Anil Kapoor reminisce; Laxmikant-Pyarelal, taking a detour from their heavy duty arrangements deeply rooted in India and Indianness, brought in a delightful rock star orchestration with a nice backup vocal chorus .

Of course, the star of the song, Nitin Mukhesh. I can only imagine a wood pecker at work going about what it does best when I think of the nasal Nitin Mukhesh on this track. Man, Chunkey Pandey couldn't have asked for more!

Could I be ported back to my naive '80s?

Kissa KJo Ka

Rare hopping across Twitter eventually led me to one of the more refreshing one-on-ones in recent times. Now there are interviews and then there are interviews. If you are unlucky you could chance upon utterly stifling, choking, diabetes inducing interviews that are dipped in the caramel of diplomacy. If you find my words cheesy, then you had better brace yourselves to the interviews I am talking about.

Now, ever since that monster called Kuch Kuch Hota Hai took the shine away in 1998 from Satya and Dil Se, two gems that I have held close to my heart, I have had problems with his cinema. Cinema mind you, not the person, which is what it should be. Slowly but surely his stature grew, and slowly but surely my hatred for his offerings travelled northwards. Nothing could stop him, it seemed, so much so that he and his cinema became a reference point and his brand worthy enough to be derided. We are dealing with India here.

But with time, I realized that here was a man who was comfortable in his skin, totally unapologetic about that, in a right way. While we winced, he seemed to maintain his composure and cool even when his orientation, sexuality which is no Tom, Dick and Harish's business, was tossed up and made an object of national debate and fodder for gossip mills by every Tom's Dick and Harish. He believed in his cinema, knew where his inspiration came from, knew who his idols were, made no bones about the fact that he craved being lapped up by the hoi polloi of Bihar as well as the hoity toity of Birmingham. Whether we took to his tales or not, whether we admired his craft or the lack thereof, his steel was respect worthy. Time and again he acknowledged his cinematic limitations, acknowledged what he could offer, and he could not be what others were. This is all when he needn't have! The TIMESNOW interview where he owns up to his follies, his supposed lack of vision or the ability to take risks makes you respect him a little bit more. You admire his honesty where he mentions there are far better filmmakers than him, whose work he cannot even dream to emulate. Isn't this coming out clean, when there is absolutely no need (keeping in mind your self-respect), heartwarming? Doesn't this make for good television at least from the standpoints of the interview, the interviewer, and the interviewee? Isn't it good when he dodges all those scathing barbs with a smile, unflustered stripping the interviewer of his pants confining all dirty linen to laundries or bedrooms? Doesn't this make it less synthetic, less plastic? Doesn't this make you purge out all that frustration has been bottled up courtesy other celebrities' pseudo-diplomacy, pseudo-chivalry on air into a sigh of relief?

Bring them on more. Whether we like it or not. So what if the honesty seems to be a little selective, so what if this is a pre-recorded programme.

For possessing balls apparently made of pure stainless steel, whether or not I take to or talk of your cinema, Karan Johar, respect!

Rare hopping across Twitter did eventually lead me to one of the more refreshing one-on-ones in recent times.

nothing is left

Jyoti Basu

1 9 1 4 - 2 0 1 0

badal rahein hain hum yahaan

Few commercial symbols of modern India evoke such emotions and feel good factor as Doordarshan, Rasna, Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, and Bajaj. When their swankier, sleeker successors (satellite TV, energy drinks, Zee Horror Show, and Honda) came around, we took figurative showers to wash off all the dirty thoughts. How could we break the allegiances? Yet we grudgingly but surely moved on. These symbols didn't change, and they did what they had to in their own unpretentious way. They never gave us the dirty stares for cheating on them, there was some kind of a motherly loving smile on their faces almost as if saying "it's OK, you have to move on."

We moved on and yet in our near-perfect, super consumerist, comfortable lives when we chance upon the news of such a nostalgic gem going to its grave, we are reminded that yes, the party cannot go on for long.

Bajaj Auto has decided to discontinue its scooter production.

hamara bajaj ab nahi rahega

His Master's Voice

This and this should act as primers to how they feed off of each other.

I edited this clip from a longer video. I feel this is a treat to watch at least from our Telugu standpoint. For us Kamal was synonymous with SPB when it came to voice apart from other stuff.

Watch this video. For me the scary part plays from 1.32 through 2.01.

:)

In the Wi.Si.Ni.Ty

1) He is unshaven, wears (an Abercrombie & Fitch/Aeropostale/Hollister/American Eagle) with the logos splashes all across in bold, is pursuing an MS, is a hardcore cynic/skeptic, cannot tolerate/appreciate a fellow's success/talent, will use every tool in his kitty to belittle/deride/pull someone down verbally and has a rice-filled plate. Every academic degree he bags ups his rate in the matrimonial market. He is very helpful, resourceful but, be warned, all this is at the cost of your self-respect. Even before you have retracted your hand out of a luke warm hand shake, he has had known your surname/region/sub-region/group and other such social tags. He could put court judges to shame. He is very well known for objective thinking, excels at it. He is not found in design schools, mass communication classes, economics schools, sociology/history/psychology schools, cutting-edge research labs. He has great respect for art; pure, commercial cinema, that is. He, ironically, has utter contempt for art cinema; anything for the brain and not below the waist is waste, "art cinema." Theatre/Photography/Crafts are for the jobless. If you find someone extremely articulate with a great sense of attire voicing out his opinion on life and the bigger picture and not relaying a general consensus on public fora on national TV, make no mistake it is not him. If he is into research, rest assured, he is sure of the results/goal. He shall never take the uncharted territory. He never ever fails. He is never ever allowed to fail. He cannot fail. He has never ever heard of dignity of labor. He believes in and propagates a caste system/hierarchy in degrees/professions. He has known your salary even before you run through your offer letter. He doesn't intellectualize stuff much, is usually fun to hang out with, is very social with a fantastic network and is never aloof. He can virtually get any job done in the market. Simple, straightforward. He is actually a confused soul looking to stitch together the pieces of his framework that actually is his identity but mercilessly trampled by the rest of the sheep. Accordingly, has one idol in cricket, a choice no one will dispute, and one idol in movies, a choice no one will dispute. Owing to his objectivity/fact-filled-database, you cannot win an argument with him. Education is very important for him, degrees I mean. That gives him respect and a standing in the society. He values success a lot and admires, respects, likes to hang around with the successful. He can justify all phenomena/acts/theories in hindsight/retrospect. His sentences end in itself/only; "yesterday only, yesterday itself."

2) He is outwardly simple in attire, unkempt/unshaven but different from #1, is bespectacled, looks like a geek, may be one, argues/can argue, debate/can debate till the dawn of the doomsday, connects everything to Dawkins/Rabindro Sangeet/Sen. (Amartya, not Sushmita!!) He goes weak at knees at the sight of a sweet or a Sweety. If you find someone extremely articulate with a great sense of attire voicing out his opinion on various aspects of life and the bigger picture and not relaying a general consensus on public fora on national TV, make no mistake, it is him. More often than not, "liberal" is his middle name. He has great respect for music/literature/fine arts in all forms. Theatre, Drama, Quizzing and Debating feature in his keywords list. For him cinema is Ray, Fellini, Ghatak, Godard, Kieslowski, Kurosawa, Bergman, Majidi, Gopalakrishnan and Kashyap. He can relate to infidelity, and your other orientations. The rebellious streak in him could take him to the level of being capable of changing the face of humanity. No jokes. Only if he decides to. Owing to his subjective thinking, and the god given ability to go on a complete tangent, you cannot win an argument with him. If you have friends at at NID, MICA, TISS, DSE, XLRI he/she could belong to #2. If someone has the knack of getting on to your nervous system, it is him, it is him, it is him.

3) He is a cynic first, rest everything follows. His cynicism/skepticism beats that of #1 hollow. He is a professor or into research at IISc., NCBS, JNCASR, and TIFR. He is usually on panels, committees along with #2 at business schools. He is usually silent but can get very vocal when agitated. He is extremely articulate and awes you with his subjective talk but should the situation demand it, can put #1 to shame with his objectivity. He has great respect for music/literature/fine arts in all forms. Theatre, Drama, Quizzing feature in his keywords list. He has a good eye for the visual. He will not talk to you further, if your first five/six sentences don't match up to his standards. With him, you cannot/shall not bullshit.

4) He is a thinker/engineer/economist/editor/systems engineer/US Senator/a left-arm orthodox spinner who has worked for Oracle/MRF/Indian Express/Hindustan Lever in the past. He is a well opinionated blogger, can wax eloquent on anything under the sun but don't expect him to bail you out of the soup you are in. You should have read the manual/rule book/encyclopedia/dictionary. He is not afraid, doesn't care for what society thinks of him, and can make time/space for his Vishnu Sahasranamam on his $20 million trip to the moon. No jokes.

5) He is different from the rest of his neighbors in every sense. Barring a geographical proximity, he shares nothing with his neighbors. In fact, he could lay claim to be living in a separate country. The older/aged version could be a high court judge, a high flying cabinet secretary, an RBI Governor, an ex-death metal band member. The younger version, if he is into rock music and is in Bombay, is without a doubt with a goatee/chin beard on his face below which is a Metallica tee with a loose-fit denim. He is 2X compared to #2 in rebellion. He will question anything and everything. He has an affinity for black, will wear black to weddings, preferably a fabindia, takes up fashionable causes and has a novel/book to his name. Dare not face him with coached/tutored answers or facts, as in the #1, he will cut you apart into pieces. If you have friends at St. Stephen's, St. Xavier's, Presidency he/she could belong to #5. Usually he has a sardonic smile on his face, and that says everything. After all he is god's child. The mothers in this land are quite unlike the mothers elsewhere.

6) He likes his city's climate; in fact all good things in his city are a function of the salubrious climate. He believes in amassing every tool that will lead to a comfortable life. He leads a very perfect, all-taken-care of kind of life. His father subscribes to either a The Hindu or an Indian Express. He doesn't mind that as long as he gets his share of the The Times of India. He has a bike to commute to his engineering college, lands a "good, respectable job" in the one of those "good, respectable companies," builds that perfect house on a 30 X 40 or a 60 X 40 plot, gets hold of a good "respectable car." He loves his morning breakfast, cannot wait for his evening snack; weekends are dedicated to visiting his other pieces of land and of course eating out, and doesn't mind eating out what he has eaten/eats at home. The cycle continues. He is usually not very controversial and is like a potato in a curry. He adds to the census.

7) He is the one you want to scared of/careful about. He is the proverbial no-nonsense variety. He is friendly but only after you are subjected to several rounds of his mental worthiness screenings. He will smile at you, and laugh with you only if he trusts you, or knows you. Otherwise if you are his geographical/polar opposite you are actually a fly/bug he so wants to crush to death. He loves an occasional Dosa (not pronounced "Dhosa," the way you usually and correctly do) and Saambhar (not the "Saambaar," you are used to) in a posh restaurant. He will not mind an oily puri for his breakfast and then bread-jam-butter tho hai hi. God has given fingers for something else you retards and not for eating food. He cannot think of eating if there is no metal tool in sight. He has to rip apart his staple food with both his hands even if that is as delicate as your (*insert your choice of expression*). He has to make tiny chunks of that bread, fold those chunks into edible bites with both his hands in a manner that resembles a Hyderabadi pan wallah. I am not kidding. Okay there exists an alternative. One hand holds the gravy-filled spoon at an angle to the plate, the other hand gently slides the bread to the spoon, lifts the gravy and the rest is obvious. Usually his plate has one dry curry, one gravy-based counterpart, two-three breads, one watery dal and an occasional slice of an onion/cucumber/tomato. Okay, I forgot, a cup of rice with a regret. He doesn't mind working elsewhere but will religiously, over the weekend, head straight to the nearest theatre playing an achhi picture by Karan Johar/Aditya Chopra/Yash Chopra, and round it off with a garmagaram Parantha. (Not parotta/parota, you dimwits). Like his father who has worked for BHEL, TATA, Reliance, Hero Cycles, NTPC, OIL, GAIL, SAIL, Govt. of India he also believes in a conventional, respectable line of work with a nice degree next to his name, preferably an aM.B.A not an eM.B.A. Since he is not like avryb'dy (everybody, for the retards), he will want to go to IIT first. If, Vaishnodevi forbid, he doesn't make it to an IIT, he will wash off the sins by appearing for CAT but not until having worked for an achhi company elsewhere for 2-3 years. Okay, again, if he doesn't think like avryb'dy, he will "sit for" a civil services exam to get into a respectable IAS and swears by travelling in a Rajdhani, or a Shatabdi. He doesn't believe in plurals. All car that we saw were good. His gods start and end with Krishn, Ramji. Who are Raghavendra Swami, Alamelu and Aandaal??!??

Can & Able

,please note, never occur* together.

Their namesakes never did in Archer's world.

*rampant in the southern parts of India

the return of the pungent

...............................The.Norwegian parliament sets a new president

.......................................................................................................2009 Nobel Peace Prize

Take a bow, Archer

Times of India: You are an ardent cricket fan. With the advent of Twenty20, many cricketers have questioned the viability of Test cricket. Comment.

Jeffrey Archer: Twenty20 has nothing to do with cricket. Cricket is a test match, where V V S Laxman and Rahul Dravid are facing the Australians in an impossible position, and a day later they win the match. That’s cricket.

how I derived the Paa theme music ringtone

This post might reek of "show off." Stay away if you have no stomach for it.

tools required:

• Internet Explorer (not my choice of browser but works in this case, I am not sure of the RealPlayer add on for other browsers)
• RealPlayer v. 11 (helps download any .flv video including the YouTube ones)
• Switch Sound File Converter (a freeware)
• Windows Movie Maker (ships as a default)
• Apple iTunes (optional; for high quality AAC)

learning curve: minimal

time taken: ~3 minutes

1. I opened the webpage on Internet Explorer.
2. I clicked the "my videos" section. A small video started playing.
3. On the top right hand corner of the player, a small RealPlayer feature prompted me to download this video.
4. I downloaded the video in its .flv format.
5. I relocated the video from the RealPlayer library to the desktop for easy access.
6. I opened the Switch Sound File Converter, added this .flv video, and converted it to an .mp3 file
7. I opened the Windows Movie Maker, imported the .mp3 file, dragged it to the audio timeline. It is important for the beginning of the file to coincide with the beginning of the timeline.
8. I played the audio file, made sure what the start and the end points of my desired ringtone would be. I did not care for any dialogue part.
9. I clipped the beginning sequence (that occurs before the start point) and the tail sequence (that occurs after the end point).
10. I played the left over clip. This was the raw file I wanted.
11. I dragged the clip to "zero" of the audio timeline.
12. I published the clip as an audio file. It was saved in its default .wma format.
13. I opened the Switch Sound File Converter, added the .wma file and converted it to a .mp3 file (230KB).
14. I added this .mp3 file to the Apple iTunes software, and created an AAC version. The file was now saved in a .mp4 format (326KB).
15. I transferred the .mp3 file to my cellphone via Bluetooth.

..........I had the new Paa-violins-theme music ringtone I so craved.

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PS: Leave your email ID and I could mail it! I promise. Hit by a sudden bout of altruism :)

paartly sonny

Will Balki-IR-PC bring back the good times, the southern I mean, of the '80s?

test'icular strength,

V V S Laxman has in loads for him to be mouthing these lines in this era.

It's been a long time since you've played, but can you see any circumstances where you could make a return to the Indian ODI team?
No, not at all. I'm focusing totally now on Test-match cricket, and I think the Indian team is moving forward where there are a lot of youngsters who have come up and done well in the one-day format, and that's the way to progress.

Do you see that you seem to be the exception that proves the rule at the moment, where several players have given up Test cricket to concentrate on ODI cricket, whereas you've gone the other way?
For me, representing the country is a great moment and I would give up anything to represent my country. Test-match cricket is really special to me because as a kid I always dreamt of playing for India in Test matches. I take a lot of pride in representing the country and always will do.

interview courtesy: Greg Lansdowne, Big Hitter; ESPN cricinfo

title courtesy: Naseeruddin Shah

one shepherd takes away another

How many non-playing gentlemen, with their endearing superstitions, on the field can make broadcast producers/cameramen aim their cameras at you?

He, for me, was one of the few blokes who added color, and a dash of romance to cricket. He was in the league of Dickie Bird, Srinivasa Venkataraghavan, Merv Hughes, Curtley Ambrose, Jonty Rhodes when it came to combining excellence with a persona to match; take away any of these, or of their ilk, cricket would just remain an exercise in statistics, records, numbers, and boring , staid gentlemanliness.

For all he has done in making watching cricket a pleasurable exercise with his authority, and own quirks, the most noticeable being the famous "double jig" at every Nelson in cricket, he deserves rest now.




........................................................Rest In Peace, David Shepherd

Medley Melody

The coming together of a supremely talented yet scoffed at music director/producer/composer, a promising lyricist with no star wattage as yet (apparently armed with a Ph.D in Hindi), a director who one could sue for not having lived up to all his promises produces a gem that in my book could collapse under its own weight and features a truly outstanding male chorus padding up one of the most musically/vocally challenged yet popular singers of the times; to be redeemed later for our good health by a crooner whose unplugged version is a masterclass in playback singing.

........................................................Tu Jaane Na

...................................................................................Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani (2009)

strings-on-skin has never disappointed me; quite easily one of the better tracks in a long long time.

credits: Pritam Chakraborty, Irshad Kamil, Rajkumar Santoshi, Atif Aslam, and Kailash Kher

Moonlighting

akashe jyotsna

moonlight in the sky

phuler pathe chita baagher gayer karam

on the forest trail the scent of the leopard

hridoy amar horin jano

my heart is like deer

ratrer ei niraboder bhetor, kondike cholechi?

in the silence of this night, which way am I going?

rupali paatar chaya amar shorire

the silvery shadow of leaves on my body

kothao kono horin neyi

no more deer anywhere

aar joto door jaayee, kaashter moton banka chaand

as far as I go I see the moon bent like a sickle

shesh shonale horin, shorsho khete niyeche jano

cutting the last golden deer-grain

taar par dhire dhire dube jaache

then sinking slowly

shata shata mrigedaar choker ghumer andhokaarer bhetor

into the darkness of all the sleep In the eyes of a hundred does

...................................................... ..............Jibonanda Dass

I would like to go to my grave with this.

dedicated to Lakshmi Narayanan

Go Ruminate!