Are we really free?

PastPresent

This independence day, I pray that we can one day be truly free. Free from the pseudo-secular system, from the corrupt system, from the clutches of the political system focussed on its own benefit than the country’s, free from the sense of hopelessness that has crept up in society, from the Matrix like situation where these is a sense of false freedom and security.

I wonder when our great freedom fighters fought for freedom what they would have had in mind. Would they look at NOW and be proud of getting us freedom? And freedom from what? From the British Governance? And for what?

Would they say, yes, this is what we had wished for the people of this great country? Would they be proud that millions still are illiterate because of poor educational programs? Or be happy to know that hundreds and thousands of innocents are trapped in jails…

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Sunsets!

On all days God paints an amazing picture on the canvas called nature. And most days we miss admiring his beautiful creation. On some lucky days like these, we find ourselves placed right in front of the most tantalizingly amazing spot and we cannot help but lose ourselves in it. This was captured in Rajasthan, when on a hectic business road trip, my colleagues needed to take a smoke break, and I reluctantly stepped out of the car…to this. I have never seen a sunset so serene, so peaceful and so relaxing.

#IndvSA #Mauka

There was this amazing ad that caught everyone’s attention – no not the #dettol ad – the Star Sports IndvPak #Mauka ad. And after India fantastic win, its 6-0 against Pakistan for India. This of course sparked hundreds of memes with the character looking solemnly at his box of fire crackers. Star Sports has been quick in releasing the second Mauka ad – the one with #IndvSA. Watch it here

After the euphoria to maintain the record against Pakistan, it’s time to break another record. Thanks to this #Mauka ad, everyone interested in cricket (and not) know that India has played SA thrice in the World Cup. And never won.

Here’s something more –

1. In all the WC matches vs SA, India have batted first
2. In Melbourne, where India play SA, India have had 8 wins out of 18 innings
3. 3 have come batting first, 5 batting second
4. In Melbourne, SA have 7 wins out of 9 innings
5. All of them have been batting second

Stats suggest that SA’s strength clearly is in chasing – at least against India in WC as well as at Melbourne. Ditto for India at #Melbourne. And since India have never played SA at Melbourne, so there’s no record of these teams performance against each other at this ground.

Statistically speaking, if we want to make most of this #Mauka, we need to bat second. We do have a good chasing unit – some of Kohli’s best performances are chasing, Dhoni is a great finisher – betweeen these two, on a good day – we can make it. But statistics don’t really matter when it comes to the game. The better team on that day will win. Yesterday, we were the better team. Will we be the one on next Sunday?

Why are we scared?

Why are we scared? What are we scared of? Of losing? If we have to lose then let us lose with a bunch of new guys. At least we would have a chance of learning from our mistakes. Let us build a future and not revel in past glory.

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 I learned in kindergarten

I came across this wonderful piece of writing by Robert Fulghum. Truly feel good for me.

“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.”

Masterchef

When I was in college, beyond us regular bhed-bakri gang who wanted to join either engineering or medical, I had a friend Yash Amin, who wanted to be a chef. Strange to us then, why would anyone want to do that. But, that was his passion, and I believe today that Yash is a very successful chef, who has worked wonders in kitchens in India and abroad. A toast to you pal!

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!

Creating a celebrity image – with the dumbest facts!

Ok, so that’s the big news! John Abraham to miss the FIFA World Cup finals. Ha ha!  But this is a lesson in how to add to the celebrity quotient with tidbits of information using a inane platform…

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

LSD:

Its a world of new cinema. Kaminey, Ishqiya, Love Sex Aur Dhokha and the real India. Love and sex is an integral part of this India. A bolder India. With Big Boss, Indians discovered mass voyeurism. We tuned in every day to watch this game of a bunch of nobodies fight it out, sling mud at each other and have some entertainment that one would generally not do publicly. LSD uses this to pluck out three stories from what could be anyplace in India and gives us a mix of experential and new world cinema.

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!

Merry Go Round!

This one is a filthy one. Or rather about one.

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.

Pain!

When you say nothing
But your eyes say something,
When you cry; and I cannot
understand even if I try,
When you hold my hand
As if it was a magic wand,
I can only see you bear it my child
And there’s nothing I can do. Helpless!