It’s the time for new blood to dominate. Sample this:

David Warner – 4 Tests. Mauled Indias bowling

Ed Cowan – 3 tests – Consistenly jacking India as an opener

Mithchell Starc – 2 tests – Got Gambhir and Tendulkar in the second innings

Umesh Yadav -12 wickets in the series including a 5 wicket haul

But, we are proud to present –  

Rohit Sharma – hanging around in Australia

Ajinkya Rahane – hanging around in Australia

Cheteshwar Pujara – Dropped after just 3 matches

Abhinav Mukund – Shunned after Sehwag is back

So here it is from a loyal fan –

Lets just build a batting lineup. Not just on paper, but to have a stomach for a fight.

Sehwag – Please get a level head on your shoulder or walk away

Gambhir – Learnor walk away

VVS Laxman – Just Go away dude!

Sachin –Maybe it is time you felt 99 was good for the country. Don’t lose your dignity.

“ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW about how to live and what to do and how to be I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate-school mountain, but there in the sand pile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:

Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup – they all die.So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned – the biggest word of all – LOOK.

Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and equality and sane living. Take any of those items and extrapolate it into sophisticated adult terms and apply it to your family life or your work or your government or your world and it holds true and clear and firm. Think what a better world it would be if all – the whole world – had cookies and milk about three o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankies for a nap. Or if all governments had a basic policy to always put thing back where they found them and to clean up their own mess.

And it is still true, no matter how old you are – when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”

Which brings me to that unfulfilled wish of mine, to be a chef. Ah, what joys! I wasn’t really a foodie growing up. Matter of fact, I would find reasons to avoid food, firmly believing that food was a unnecessary indulgence and one needs to have just about bare minimum to survive. Regardless, my mother, who is the best cook in the world [and I can take on anyone who challenges that ] persisted in her efforts of spinning out fantastic, simple dishes which would eventually turn the tide. I owe my love for Indian recipes to my mom. Add to that, my wife has managed to introduce me to a whole new world of continental dishes. Imagine this, I had never even eaten pasta till I was married, never eaten anything that passed by a mushroom and salad meant cut cucumber and tomatoes! Ha!

Anyways, post marriage, in trying to do my duties as a helpful husband, I discovered that I actually loved cooking. Yes, I had cooked earlier, before I was married, but that was when there was a need or mom was away visiting relatives. But I never cooked when leading a bachelor life in Bombay pre-marriage. With Megs, I not only discovered that I like enjoyed cooking, I also love experimenting.

I used to make some regular staples with a limited experimentation earlier, a chicken curry, or anything with eggs. But now that I find myself hooked on to Masterchef Australia Season 2 for the past few weeks, I have tried a bit of experimentation and met with moderate success. And once I started reading Samar Halarnkar’s blog, the passion re-ignited. I love the way he speaks about spices and I agree with him wholeheartedly, when he says that making your own garam masala is far more exciting than picking up the readymade variety. It just takes the dish to a whole new level.

This week, I intend making a barbeque chicken recipe. Everything except the chicken will be made by me. Bon appétit!

7 things about John Abraham

1. John Abraham loves football and has a great body
2. That he has a brand new home theatre system
3. Tha he spins the ball like no one else
4. That he is a planner, and schedules things much in advance
5. That he works on his time scheduling himself, painstakingly
6. Friends come first for him
7. That he is committed so much to work that nothing else matters!

Source: http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/30/2010070920100709020241649427b5b0d/John-to-miss-out-on-FIFA-finals.html

Except the strange opening, the film works beautifully. Adjusting to the wierd camera angles isnt too much trouble thanks to likes of Bigg Boss and Emotional Atyachaar. The narrative is tight for the three segments and the completely unknown cast adds to the believability. The dialogues are something that one hasn’t heard too often on film. Its the lingo of the aam aadmi. Among the three stories, the one that remains in the mind is the second. Its something that is completely refreshing and relatable. The first one is predictable a la Manohar Kahaniyaan.

Its a good experiment. It remains to be seen how people react to this experiment. For one, the two college girls sitting next to us couldnt figure out for about 25 minutes into the movie why the camera was shaking so much. There you go!

One would think that BMC would maintain the premises surrounding their waste management office, and make it an example. But no Sir, they don’t believe in setting examples. Just check out the photos. These either surround this office or are about 100 metres from it. Not only are these nor swept for years, but nothing has been done to prevent encroachment by builders.

I tried to bring this to the notice of the Clean Up team. Here is what I did –

ROUND 1. I wrote to the Additional Commissioner – this mail was answered by someone from United Way, an audit agency. Don’t know whether the Additional Commissioner is even aware of such a mail being written. Nevertheless, I followed up with the agency on mail and phone, which is about 2 weeks now. They have been responsive, but have not been able to find a solution. They gave me numbers of some clean up marshals for the ward.

ROUND 2. I called up the Clean Up Marshals who control this area and fixed a meeting. I met them and they saw the area. Surprisingly, they informed me that they are only empowered to fine, that too when they catch someone and that they will not be able to get the road cleaned! They told me that I need to see the JO in the Solid Waste Management Department.

ROUND 3. I visited the SWM office and met the concerned person, one Mr. Acharekar. Mr. Acharekar had a fantastic observation when questioned why the road was not being maintained. He washed his hands off saying that the road did not even belong to the BMC!!! When I pointed out that BMC had installed street lights here, he said that the road has not been handed over to him by the BMC! Wow man, a BMC officer saying this!!!

Pathetic. Roadblock now. Anyways, I have put in a complaint on the BMC website and wait!!! So much for being a vigilant citizen.

MTNL: These guys just blew me away with their promptness when I had trouble with my broadband connection. And the linesman repairing the fault in my broadband line called me every 30 minutes just to ensure that I was getting uninterrupted bradband connection. Small gesture, happy customer!

HSBC: The bank with whom I have been banking with for 10 years now has been the biggest let down. And I can’t even close the account how much ever hard I try. They are making me go in circles, there seems to be zero co-ordination between the branch and the call centre. I am caught in a vicious triangle of the call centre-branch-relationship manager. Global bank, hah!

Reliance Netconnect: Bad product, bad network and lousy customer service. This is one organisation where I believe no department talks to the other. The Retention Department can actually give you the moon when you want to discontinue your service. But thats that. What happens after that is one crazy whirlwind. Wonder if they even have a singular customer view.

Pop Tates: This small yet comfortable eating joint situated at 7 Bunglows, Andheri has been our favourite for years now. Smiling waiters, welcoming attitude and a plate of fries for my little daughter (on the house) while we wait for our food and drinks, makes this joint even endearing!

These experiences reinforce that customer delight are formed by the small gestures, not big promises. All organisations have policies. Very few, unfortunately, have heart.

The issues do not lie with the people. The “aam” aadmi does not care about the peace with Pakistan, he worries about his next meal. He does not care about the ghazal singer from Karachi, he wonders about why is Ajmal Kasab still alive. The real issues are on the political front. No amount of people’s movement, if that ever happens, will serve any purpose towards peace. Yes, The “Times of India” can vie for another award (in journalism or social advertising), like they did with Lead India and the Teach India campaigns. But even the campaign looks unconvincing, defensive, and non committal in its targets.

Many issues remain unanswered. Should we forget and move on? What does TOI have to say about the firing across the border which occurs almost everyday? And what about the likes of Sarabjeet? And will it get the Jang Group to pressurise the Pakistani government to finally come clean and accept the attack on Mumbai?

Wet dreams, TOI. “Aman ki Asha” just feels good, doesn’t achieve anything. And yes, it soils you.

But Birla Sunlife Insurance has cleverly used the vulnerability to highlight this in their ads. I was quite impressed. Interesting take. To see such strong personalities, who possibly don’t have to think of their financial security as as severely as us salaried people, who don’t have to lead “monthly” lives like us because they have big annual contracts, who have possibly have made enough by just endorsing brands, be so candid on camera, appear worried is nice. The ad does make you sit up and take notice. Maybe you want to SMS and know about their security plan. Good use of the customer insight for a good camapign.

On the other hand, the Max NewYork Life ad is pure entertainment. Over-protective parents, submissive son, and the care/worry aspect. Nice premise, nice ad, nice acting, good comic timing, but not serving the purpose. The product promise of Life Plans is under-delivered, the brand window doest get established, and the corporate brand positioning of Zyaada doesnt get register. Do I want to watch the ad over and over again? Yes. But, do I want to know more? No. Sadly.