Square Cuts

Sensex Simplified

2011-05-24T22:14:00.026+05:30

For most of us, the indices displayed at the Dalal Street, Mumbai present an obscure score of market performance. For those of us who have dabbled in this quest, the directions in index changes are somewhat understood. Let’s try to develop a concrete understanding of the index and appreciate its importance in the larger scheme of things.

To begin with, let us first try to understand some of the concepts used in corporate finance.

Equity Financing: We know that public companies issue or sell shares to generate the financial capital required to expand their operations. By issuing the shares at a certain share price, companies gain access to large pools of money at cheaper cost than that through debt financing viz., bank loans etc.

Shares Outstanding: Shares outstanding is the number of shares authorized, issued and purchased by investors.

Market Capitalization: Market cap is equal to Share Price times the Share Outstanding. Thus, if a company issues 1000 shares at a share price of Rs. 10 per share, then the market capitalization is equal to Rs. 10000.

Public Float: Apart from public investors, the company employees, directors, officers also purchase shares in the form of large holdings of founding shareholders, cross-corporate holdings, Governments holdings etc. The public float of a company is the amount of capital invested by the general public but not by the company’s private investors. Thus, the public float of the company indicates the public investment- an indicator of public confidence-of the company.

Computation of BSE Sensex:

The market capitalizations of 30 well-established companies form the basis for BSE Sensex. These companies involve high volumes of public financial trading and represent the various industrial sectors of Indian economy.

Suppose the market consists of following three companies, as on May 2011, with the specified share prices and number of issued public shares:

The sum of public float market capitalizations of the three companies is Rs. 2050000, the sum of Rs. 600000, Rs. 1200000 and Rs. 250000.

The base year for Sensex computation is 1978-79. Suppose the total market capitalization of the industry, in 1979, is Rs. 10000.

Then, the value of BSE Sensex, for May 2011 is:

We have illustrated the computation for three companies in this example. The above method is applied for 30 companies and the resultant index is displayed by the BSE.

Higher the index, higher is the aggregate market capitalization, which simply means to say that larger amounts of public equity are pumped into the market. This indicates higher investor confidence- an expectation of higher future earnings- in the markets.

Similarly, a reduction in the index reflects a decrease in the aggregate market capitalization; a withdrawal of public equity from the market. Loss of public equity in the markets signify economic slowdown or in more adverse situations, a large-scale financial breakdown.

Thus, in essence, the Sensex is well and truly a Sensitive Index.

Volkswagen Passat- Sound Track

2011-04-21T17:18:00.005+05:30

Here's the super trendy background sound track of Volkswagen Passat TVC, aired this summer. Goes well with the class resonated by its 6-Speed Dual Shift Gearbox.

Download and enjoy this ad tune. Replace your old SMS buzz with this one. You might as well fall in love with driving.

Limca- Do Pal Taazgi

2011-04-21T14:47:00.004+05:30

The latest of the Limca ads comes with a lovely music composition spiced up with racy lyrics. The ad conveys the freshness attribute of the soft drink to perfection, thanks to Adah's vivacity and Cara Lisa's gentle background singing. The musicians, under Amar Mangrulkar have woven Swanand Kirkire's lyrics into a soothingly melodious tune. This one shouldn't be missed.

Download the ad tune and enjoy it on your smartphone. A classy ring tone perhaps. Cheers.

ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು

2010-08-01T21:11:00.013+05:30

You'd love to be here. Where else?! It's none other than ನಮ್ಮ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರು!!

From Jaipur to Johannesburg

2009-02-27T16:47:00.007+05:30

On April 3, 2008, Ashish Kaul, Executive VP, Zee Network had said," The matches will not affect our soaps because firstly, Indians do not associate with domestic cricket. Secondly, IPL has become a big product only because Shah Rukh is endorsing it. Sans SRK, it is just a inter-corporate match between Anil Ambani, Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya’s teams. Thirdly even if there are cricket icons like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, how many of the 59 matches will they be actually playing? In a 20:20 format each player will be on field for about 10-15 minutes. Their fans will watch them play and come back to their favourite soaps,” is his firm belief. In fact, he contends that the impact of these matches on the soaps will be less than 1 per cent, “assuming there will be an impact”.

A few weeks down the lane, the IPL witnessed a whopping TRP rating of 7.3, way ahead the second placed Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (4.5) and the third placed Saat Phere (4.3). Milking the cash cow was official broadcaster SET Max, whose market share leapfrogged to 28.8% from a measly 5.7% just a few weeks ago. One of the dipstick poll respondent Lata B, whose favourite team is the Kings XI of Punjab, "Usually, when I surf in the evenings every channel has soaps running. But now with the IPL matches being telecast, I find it makes for a good break from my regular viewing." Sensing the threat posed by the IPL, some sought to admit the hard fact. Anirudh Pathak, Creative consultant for fiction with a channel, says IPL has affected their prime time slots. "And now, as teams get more popular, the audience is watching these matches with increased interest. But thankfully, the IPL is happening at this time of the year; this is the season for weddings and power shortages, so we were prepared for lower TRP ratings." he says.

The IPL certainly has its reverberations crossing the boundary lines. Having treated the viewers worldwide to intense moments of thril, agony, drama and excitement, the league now acts as an international stage for the widespread promotion of the game, which still is largely unpopular in several countries. Apart from the usual rollicking stuff displayed on the telly, IPL seeks a new dimension to the game to make it commercially more viable, morphing the format from a Test to a T20. Now that the IPL has stamped its authority on the sports market, the challenge ahead for the organizers is to press home the advantage of the popularity to introduce the game to virgin territory. Barring a couple of countries, the whole of Africa and large parts of America are unfamiliar with the game that has been worshipped in Asia. With the commercial clout backing the organizers, IPL and ICC have a distinct advantage which can be used wisely to mark cricket on the global platform. PC was spot-on to call it a shrewd combination of sport and business.

The shifting of IPL away from India is quite unfortunate, but there's every bit of wisdom involved in that decision. It is tacit to face tremendous difficulties for a parallel run of the two most rivetting events in India, with the threat of inadequate security looming large over the entire couple of months. Conducting IPL in India during such a period would only make the nation more vulnerable to ugly scars of terrorism, and the incidents like the one which happened in Lahore recently. It would be extremely foolhardy to politicize the decision, which naturally drew angst from millions across the country. What fails to be seen is the fact that IPL's sojourn to countries like South Africa or England will help our domestic players earn some valuable experience of playing abroad and expanding their cricketing sense to employ the best measures in dealing with the best international cricketers involved. And how often do our domestic cricketers have the opportunity to call around abroad shores?

Paying paramount importance to the interests of the spectators and the franchisees, IPL organizers now face immense pressure to alter the existing logistics to conduct the tournament in a successful way. They seem confident enough to call it forth in the same way as the last year's edition. And what better place than South Africa, the nation which has firm roots associated with India.

Johannesburg or Jaipur, India will always relish the flavour of IPL, the only one of its kind....

On The Red Carpet

2009-01-30T10:52:00.006+05:30

February 22.

Kodak Theatre, Hollywood.

Hugh Jackman. The Australian singer will definitely not feel at ease with millions of viewers watching him host the 81st Academy Awards. And being a novice certainly doesn’t help. With names like Slumdog Millionaire, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Richard Jenkins, Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway and Kate Winslet sizzling the nomination charts, the evening is set to witness some emotions- of joy and of disgust, of shock and of surprise and above all, a load of expectations from India.

We are the proponents of a script, seemingly unusual, which relates to Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the entire nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. What happens next is well known.

Danny Boyle got his men to depict much more than the sheer logline. Slumdog is a movie which is delicately woven around the threads of imagination, innocence, adventure, misfortune, mercilessness and of course, the rugged realities dwelling in the discarded sections of Indian society. Our nation is home to several Jamals, Latikas and those who are impatient enough not to throw it away. Boyle’s efforts bore unprecedented fruition when he successfully transformed the harsh cruelty of the initial part of the movie to a heart-touching romantic fable which illustrates how an impoverished can overcome all odds and find true love. Before the movie culminates to a blissful ending, it underscores the moral associations of innocent love and wilful diligence, often disregarded in reality.

Despite some flaws, Slumdog Millionaire resembles an inspirational fairy-tale which arouses moments of intense passion and the trauma experienced before the conquest of glory. And that has been the struggle felt by the movie itself. Had it not been for the Fox Searchlight which came to the rescue, the movie would never have been released, let alone the prospects of reaching the Oscar Screen. Having emerged as the underdog Oscar nominee only in late 2008, Slumdog now severely threatens to romp its way to the Oscar triumph. Will the movie make it? Come February 22, 2009.

Irrespective of all that, a hearty congrats to Boyle, Kapoor, Rahman, Patel, Frieda, Gulzar and all those who strove hard to place the movie on the coveted Red Carpet.

We Render Sehwag

2008-12-15T21:47:00.009+05:30

The curators at Chepauk wouldn’t be surprised to find some blades of burnt grass at the end of fourth day of the 1^st test between India and England. They’d recall finding similar stuff when India last played a Test here. There was something common on both the occasions. Not with the matchstick but a dreaded piece of a willow in the hands of a man less famously known as the Multan Marauder or Nawab of Najafgarh. And for all that glorious cuts- uppish and square, the man under focus is the innocent soft-spoken-yet-demolishing Virender Sehwag!

A target of 387 is not for nothing noted as a record target. And did I say that we were batting a fourth innings against the likes of Andrew Flintoff, Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar on a cracking fifth day track at energy-sapping Chennai? Not tough enough to stop Sehwag from making merry. And that’s exactly what the he did. Result- the English Team was driven to a state of autism.

Team India was clearly nowhere near the mark for the first three days. Perhaps the Mumbai affliction had hit us hard. A tinge of rust on the attitude was almost noticeable. Having conceded a crucial lead of 75, the English had slipped from 43-3 to 172-3 at stumps on Day 3. An air of defeat loomed large and we hoped to salvage a well-saved draw. True, Kirsten was confident, but that sounded a bit too optimistic. That was till Sehwag came out to bat.

Earlier on the 4^thday, England had crawled woefully in the 2^nd session to notch a paltry 57 in 22.5 overs. As if to remind them of what scoring rate is in conventional sense, and what it could be during his reign, Sehwag started flaying the wood at leather in his singular fashion. On Sunday noon, Chepauk was the place to be; with the deafening decibel cheer of the crowd resonating with the bat speed of Sehwag, as the ball made several trips down the ground, on the offs, off the legs and an aerial route for change. The delightful hits were the on their ground journey, the off-side being the most preferred direction. The flight became a regular spectacle, not off the bowlers’ hands but off the bat, with as many as four of them being sent straight to the throngs watching in awe. As KP watched, he’d have felt philosophical of the afflictions faced by bowlers who wither under the Sehwag agony. That is our Viru in his zone, a zone that is completely his own. On one instance, as Cricinfo put it, “A full toss from Monty Panesar was clipped through midwicket so precisely that the fieldsmen running across the rope met each other just as the ball squeezed past them and over.” Elsewhere on the screen, something read,

“ 11.2. Panesar to Sehwag, SIX, it’s so easy for him, just sizes up the length and goes downtown against the spin with a stunning six over long-on, man oh man oh man....”

57 runs were up by the 38^th delivery of the innings. There’s nothing much a bowler can do under such circumstances. Neither the history of the game nor the reputation of the bowler matters; either great accuracy or Sehwag’s misfortune can bring an end to such electrifying drama. Talk of bowling, Sehwag’s here for the grind.

Eventually, when he got out after a swashbuckling assault of 83 off 68, talks of a memorable Indian victory had gained momentum on and off the cricketing arena. The job was done, and perhaps, in the best possible way. Some balls were lost and some were torn. This was an innings which undid the effort of the team which remained on top for 10 sessions of the test.

An exact contrast to the theory of non-violence. The English would stop learning history after this.

This was the Test that will be remembered for many reasons other than cricket. There are few Tests which have no losers and this was an example of one such contest. The English know that it is their courage and the belief in Indian values which brings them here. We, as Indians, are mighty grateful to the trust they instilled in us, to bail us out of the dark terror-struck times. It’s great to see them cooperate with us to revive the class of Test cricket, perhaps at the time when it required the most. England can take solace in the fact that it is their presence here, which heals us and restores normalcy. People are talking cricket again. Sachin is playing for the nation more than ever. Can there ever be a better revival? This is the Test of the times. Cheer up England. Well done India. You guys contrived well to present me a high successful chase as my birthday gift.

India Battles Atrocities

2008-11-30T12:51:00.007+05:30

Before anything, a mighty salute to the brave martyrs of Mumbai Rescue Operations- Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte, Vijay Salaskar, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Gajendra Singh, Rajeev Khandekar and several other officers who laid down their lives for the greatest cause ever -India.

We strongly condemn the heinous atrocities committed by those who never valued anything except terror.

At the time of writing, the death toll at the Mumbai war siege reads 183. More than 350 are still fighting the battle of war and death amidst intense pain.

For 60 hours of intense operation in the southern Mumbai, the breath of a common man was shockingly bated in what can be described as a carnal ransack compounded with conflagration of terrorism. It was not only the financial capital, but the entire world minus the terrorists, which came reeling under the the banal cloud of terrorism. A cataclysm of blood at the heart of Indian economy has left a scar on humanity and its beautiful essence.

The scenes of terrorists running mayhem was the least thing Indians expected to come across right at the start of the day. A relaxed and serene restaurant quarter at Colaba turns into the epicentre of terror and bloodshed. The police get on their feet to counter-attack the menace. Within minutes, Nariman House, Hotel Taj Mahal and Trident Oberoi become the cynosure of eyes filled with tears and grief. The press crew lines up to bring a comprehensive picture. Even as the world grapples with the agony of ruthless cruelty, India summons its power to send its best soldiers to halt the terrorists on their blood-shedding spree. Finally, after 3 nights and 2 days, India succeeds in its effort to run the terrorists out of their steam and breath. After a daylong siege the soldiers took control of the building, but unfortunately it was too late to save the hostages, all of whom were found dead. Indian commandos killed two militants in the luxury Trident-Oberoi hotel on Friday and rescued nearly 100 people. After evacuating around 400 people from The Taj, our forces cleared the militants and rendered the place free of terror.

The harsh reality left behind by the series of attacks is that the criminals were almost omnipotent: They could strike where, when and -almost -whomever they wanted. Terrorist attacks have riddled the nation more often than ever in the current year. Not long ago, it was Jaipur which came under fire. Just a few months ago, Bangalore and Ahmedabad were raided in a span of two days. Shortly after, Delhi witnessed a series of attacks. And then, it was Guwahati. What was less frequent has become a matter of familiarity in recent times. Just a few weeks ago, an explosion rocked the city of Malegaon in the state of Maharashtra. The Indian police and paramilitary force is the biggest security force in the world, but given that India's population hovers around 1.2 billion, it is still much too small. But whatever be the siege, Indian soldiers have gallantly lived up to their duty of rescuing India from any terror threat.

The world today needs to join hands to erase this canker which threatens to disrupt the society in its wanton fit. But over the last few days, Indians has shown the world that they are not the ones going to be cornered by nefarious minds. We stand up to salute the nation which has given us everything. Bravo India...!!

The Royal Bengal Tiger- Saurav Ganguly

2008-10-27T16:03:00.025+05:30

"The Prince of Calcutta. Two of his special qualities are his intelligence and articulation, both of which have helped him immensely in the world of contemporary cricket." -Geoffrey Boycott.

"The great thing about Saurav is that he doesn't let any criticism bother him. He is his own man, and an intensely determined one. He always speaks his mind. His batting is a unique mix of touch and power. When he plays those drives, it's all touch, all elegance. Timing is his gift. He has the ability to not only clear the ropes but even the stadium. Against spin, my god, he is really a murderer! One thing I'd love to have from his game is his the ability to clear the ropes. As a captain, he is always encouraging his batsmen, reminding them of past successes. Sourav is among the best one-day players I have seen". -VVS Laxman.

"A quality batsman. There are a couple of things I like about his batting. He is right up there on my list, as far as offside play goes. The other thing he excels at is his use of feet to spinners. He keeps his head down, has nice footwork and a lovely long follow-through. I really enjoy it when he comes down the track to spinners. In fact, you can safely bet that it would go for a six." -Ian Chappell.

"The great thing about Saurav is that he doesn't let any criticism bother him. He is his own man, and an intensely determined one. He always speaks his mind. His batting is a unique mix of touch and power. When he plays those drives, it's all touch, all elegance. Timing is his gift. He has the ability to not only clear the ropes but even the stadium. Against spin, my god, he is really a murderer! One thing I'd love to have from his game is his the ability to clear the ropes. As a captain, he is always encouraging his batsmen, reminding them of past successes. Sourav is among the best one-day players I have seen". -VVS Laxman.

"Ever since Saurav became the captain, I do not feel like a youngster in the team any more. Everybody is treated equally and Saurav himself is extremely approachable and a pillar of strength. Saurav stood by me when I was struggling. I owe a great deal to him for standing by me at the most important time. I can't express my gratitude to him in words." -Harbhajan Singh.

“On the off side, first there is God and then Saurav Ganguly.” -Rahul Dravid.

There once was an Indian team, a team which represented us in the Wills World Cup 1996. Azhar and his bunch of men were just about there, relying heavily on the young shoulders of Sachin Tendulkar. The common dictum was that India would stay in the hunt till Sachin stays at the crease. Too much for an expectation really. Sachin needed a partner and there was one such in a young person of a joint-family of 50 residing in The City Of Joy- Kolkata. [A record, Saurav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar ODI partnership measures 8227 runs in 176 innings at an outstanding average of 47.55, Cricinfo]. For a person who wanted to be a footballer- understandable given the knowledge of the intense passion of football in Kolkata- he took up cricket because of brother Snehashish's liking for cricket. And much to the awe of cricketosphere, it still remains a mystery how Saurav could take up left-handed batting despite being a natural right-hander during his childhood!!

His first international appearance dates back to 1992- ODI against West Indies at Perth- where he failed to leave his mark. But that we know Saurav for his qualities today, it's not surprising that he fought his way back to the team by consistent domestic performances. Some were concerned about his problems of attitude and haughtiness, but that apart, Saurav was special in his sense of batting, which enabled him to score a century against England at Lord's in 1996. Alongside came Rahul Dravid, and in the coming years, Indian was cricket built around the core of this strong batting triumvirate.

Though Saurav Ganguly had a decent Test average, it was in the ODIs that he shone to his acme. His best performances have come all around the globe, with Toronto being a paradise for him. It was here that he tormented Pakistan both with the bat and the ball. Coming to Dhaka next year, his 124 was the cornerstone of Indian victory, chasing 315 to take home the series. And then came the belligerent 183 off 148 balls at Taunton at Sri Lanka in '99 World Cup, where he sent several balls drowning into the nearby rivulet. At Adelaide against Pakistan in 2000, Ganguly cruises to 141 displaying a hunger to feast on anything pitched off. These were the knocks which brought Ganguly to the doorsteps of captaincy when India were left reeling under the dark clouds of match-fixing scandal. Tendulkar had faltered in his role as a captain and Saurav was here, raring to go.

It was under Ganguly that the players transmuted from being a mere group of cricketers to Team India. Known for his aggressive style of captaincy, Ganguly's tenure at the top is marked by several accomplishments. A series victory over Australia in India, which included the famous Kolkata victory, in 2001 is regarded to be India's best performance. The remarkable transformation of an under-confident team to a team which reached the World Cup Final in South Africa, 2003 and a series victory over Pakistan in their land remain the most notable achievements of Team India under Ganguly. Players like Sehwag, Laxman, Harbhajan, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Zaheer were groomed well to hold the position that they now play for. A veritable master that he is, Saurav still commands the distinction of being the Most Successful Captain of Team India.

He still is game for come-back, as he famously did once. Over the past couple of years, his Tests average is much better than that of Dravid or Tendulkar. [Test best of 239 against Pakistan in Bangalore, 2007] The selectors might have problems with him, he might not be comfortable against the bouncer, there might be a slow runner in him or a slow fielder, but Saurav still is the architect of the success which Team India now thrives in. There is a great amount of difference in the style of the game being played on either side of Saurav's tenure. He will be missed a lot during the coming days. Team India today has terms such as 'The Fab Four' or 'Team Huddle', contrary to the terms like 'Little Master' before 1996. That alone tells us the impact Saurav, as a captain, has left.

Mysore Dasara- Taking Karnataka To The World

2008-10-04T14:49:00.018+05:30

It is that part of the year again, when the evening crowd is at its feet, busy shopping for the upcoming festival. The posters hang around evey arcade, attracting the buyers with large discounts, mega-bonanzas, bargains and other exciting offers. The newspapers aren't spared too, for they are less of news but more of advertisements and business promos. Bangalore Times, a popular supplement of Times of India, contains 4 additional sheets of such promos, with players like Big Bazaar, Brand Factory and e-Zone filling the most of it. My nearest market at Jayanagar 4th Block, which happens to be an ultimate shopping destination for most of the South Bangaloreans, is all illumination along its corridors. Ganesh Chaturthi concluded recently, but the buzz was replaced by a month-long preparation for our Nada Habba Dasara. Karnataka is in its colourful elements, with the state romping in its characteristic grandeur.

Mysore. The Royal City of Karnataka has been the capital of several dynasties from as early as 1400. Known for its overwhelming heritage, a sight of Mysore during Dasara can actually cure you of sore eyes. The Navaratri glory begins on Mahalaya Amavasya, and runs in full splendour for the coming 9 days. With the Royal Family of Mysore inaugurating the festivals by performing special puja to Goddess Chamundeshwari, a host of cultural activities are arranged to mark the tradition of Dasara, which celebrates and commemorates the triumph of truth over evil. Programs like Wrestling Competition, Sports, Poet's Meet, Film Festival and Food Festival are attended by large number of people.

The Gombe Habba, a festival in which several dolls are arranged for display and good wishes being shared, is definitely worth a watch. The Mysore Palace, which was once owned by Wodeyar rulers, is being converted into a museum, which treasures royal costumes, paintings and jewellery. One wouldn't miss the sight of the jewel-studded throne of the Wodeyars kept at display at the Durbar Hall. The doors, decorated with taste, open to luxurious rooms which displays several paintings and royal craftwork. As many as eight portraits of Goddess Shakthi and an original painting from famed painter Raja Ravi Verma are displayed.

Vijaydashmi is the tenth day of the festival, which is also the day of Goddess Saraswati, the deity of knowledge and learning, known to bestow wisdom to worshippers. The auspicious day is also known Ayudha Puja, on which the workers must worship their tools. This day in Mysore, the celebrations reach their peak with a glorious procession of Goddess Chamundeshwari through the city streets. Starting from The Palace, the procession concludes at the Banni Mantap. In the past however, the 'Jumbo Savari' used to carry the Maharaja through the streets but this practice was modified recently. The procession is followed by the torch-light parade and a splendid display of fireworks which dazzle the night sky.

The Dasara festival at Mysore certainly reflects the culture and tradition of Karnataka. Every day in Mysore during the festival is fantastic, given the rich heritage of our state.

Left-handed Legerdermain

2008-09-20T16:49:00.012+05:30

During those murky days of 1975 in England, as the crowd clad heavily in thick jackets and watched the game, the batsmen relaxed in the middle, enjoying the mild zephyrs crossing the park, seldom rotating the strike and changing ends. A run rate of about 3 rpo was the norm, and anything above 4 rpo never fell short of deserved eulogy. There was a certain Vivian Richards, known for his ability to send the ball out to tremendous distances, but a player of his caliber was too occasional and hence, outstanding. The better percentage of the deliveries were left for the wicket-keepers behind to collect, and if there was a wicket to fall, it mostly would have been a nick to the slips. More than half of the softest dismissals in cricket belong to those days of yore.

Two decades later, things were markedly different. The overall run rate jumped considerably to over 5. In came a new brand of cricketers, whose natural prowess belonged to their left arms. These were cricketers who perhaps drew inspiration from legends like Gary Sobers, who excelled in many sports along with cricket. Sobers played soccer, golf and basketball for native Barbados. You would be mighty surprised when looked into his bowling options. Left-arm-fast-medium, Slow-left-arm-orthodox and Slow-left-arm-Chinaman. Any thing else?

In the case of left-handed batting, one can actually notice that the striking arm is the right arm. And vice versa.

Sultan(s) Of Swing. The Dire Straits found a better match for their name in Wasim Akram. Very few know that Wasim Akram was struggling to make it to his college team. Gracious indeed. How can someone miss a cricketer of the highest embodiment? Wasim Akram, is known for his tremendous left-handed dexterity. That he could swing the ball either way, off or leg, change of pace, cut, length and angles is absolutely unprecendented. In the 1992 World Cup final, the two deliveries he produced to get rid of Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis were almost unplayable. His bowling statistics speak for themselves. Not only this, he also has a Test best score of 257*, better than that of Sachin Tendulkar. Wasim is an inspiration for younger quicks who include Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan.

The most notable of the batsmen is the ever-damaging and punitive Sanath Jayasuriya, who single-handedly threatened to finish the game in a jiffy. His aggressive batting is one of the cornerstones of the birth of a new cricketing strategy, which was to be carried successively in the later years. A virtuoso performer that he is with the bat, his off side flicks which send the ball over the ropes are the shots which any aspiring batsman would love to emulate. Those shots defy the laws of gravity and projectile motion, else why would Jayasuriya be the lone man to hit them? And if the batting is not sufficient, Sanath possesses the ability to choke the run rate with his slow left arm tweaks. His form is perhaps, getting better with his age.

Around this time in Perth Down Under, Adam Gilchrist was gradually making progress from an ordinary wicket-keeper to a specialist one endowed with fantastic batting abilities. Spending couple of years with the domestic Western Australia Warriors, Gilchrist successively topped the seasons most dismissals by a wicket-keeper. Initially being tried at the number seven position, Gilchrist went on to score at a brisk pace which prompted the think-tank to promote him to the opening order. In the 1999 World Cup Final, Gilchrist slammed Shoaib Akhtar's express deliveries to all corners of Lord's to script an emphatic victory. And in 2003 World Cup Final, Gilchrist rubbed into Indian woes by striking a well-timed 57 at the top. More was to come in the 2007 World Cup Final, when he lambasted a potent Sri Lankan attack to rip 149 off a mere 104 balls. Perhaps, bigger occasions ignite his spirits. GIlchrist is equally punishing in his white jersey. The distinction of being the first person to club hundred sixes in test cricket will always remain in his name.

Kevin Pietersen's switch-hit may have caused controversies but given the power he can derive, one can fairly give him the license. It is after all, not an easy shot to play. To swivel the arm in the reverse direction and pull is quite innovative.

Other names such as Chris Gayle, Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Marcus Trescothick, Kumar Sangakkara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Graeme Smith, Saurav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Andrew Strauss have all carved special niche for themselves in the world of international cricket.

Left-armers have not dominated only cricket. Ask John McEnroe. One of the most prolific tennis player of his time, McEnroe had an odd technique which added to his strength of hitting the ball a considerable distance as early as the age of 4, which was the result of an extra-ordinary combination of hand-eye coordination plus power. Same with Martina Navratilova, her angle asked new questions to those facing her at the opposite end. Former Wimbledon Champion Goran Ivanisevic is another in the list. Not surprisingly, many of the guys are ambidextrous today. One of my pals named Praveen (Blogspot), bowls left-arm and bats right-arm. It definitely is worth a try. The left armers have a special charm arising out of the difference they create.

Delicious Delights of Andhra Cuisine

2008-08-27T12:44:00.004+05:30

Someone who has travelled far and wide across India would definitely have experienced this. And those who have not would still find it easy to imagine. The South of India is visibly distinct when compared with the Northern half. The difference you notice when your train changes borders from UP to MP is not evident as it is when you chug across a South Indian border. The change of language can be a decisive factor though. Apart from language, all the 5 states have multifarious culture, lifestyle and traditions. While Kerala takes your memory to a series of regatta amidst verdant plains and water yards, Tamil Nadu reminds you of the temples of Cholas and Pallava dynasties, apart from hill stations and beaches. Karnataka, as I wrote in my previous topic 'One State, Many Worlds', is an assortment of various colours of life in the plateau. Historical temples, breath-taking green farmlands, thick jungles, gorgeous waterfalls, dry plains, everything except for desert and snow. And then there is Andhra Pradesh, the culture of which is a motley of Coastal Andhra, Telangana and Rayalseema. Arising from its broad demographics is the variety of lifestyles- as reflected in the styles of cuisine and language. Before the prelude runs into a long one, let me converge to the topic. The taste of Andhra Cuisine.

Andhra cuisine, is notably known for its hot and spicy delicacies. Having influenced by the Hyderabadi and the original Andhra styles, the cuisine highlights the common thread of two cultures- spice! The speciality of this cuisine is that it does not take much time to pique the sense of taste buds. Hyderabadi Biriyani is a case in point. Known for its richness of spice and flavour, the Biriyani is one of the most sought after main course at any Andhra restaurant. The frond leaves used for serving just add to make the desire more ineluctable. Rice being the staple crop in Andhra, it's not a surprising thing that most of the Andhra delicacies are made of rice. The dishes are always accompanied by pickles/chutneys called as Patchadis. Herbs add to the seasoning which is served with the hot curry. Desserts include Kheer and Savayin (Vermicelli), prepared mostly during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A wide range of dishes are prepared during Makara Sankranti.

Some of the popular vegetarian savouries include the famous Pesarattu, which tastes like Upma eaten with chutney. Dosas and Tamarind rice are the most common breakfasts in Andhra household. The Gongura chutney is a famous pickle, which is a must for any meal.

At least half of the 6.2 million denizens of Bangalore would have relished the Andhra cuisine, at famous Andhra style restaurants lines of Nandhini, Mayura, Amravathi, Nagarjuna Sagar etc. It's conversant to see many people choose Andhra meals for lunch and dinner. In terms of business, this cuisine has been comfortably cruising ahead as compared to other menus such as Chinese or Thai. Currently catering to the Deccan region, the cuisine would not take much to dominate over other recipes. Hyderabad House, plans to take the cuisine to Sydney, Australia and The Gulf. Andhra cuisine finally romps abroad and why not, after all, there's no paucity of admirers of these victuals.......

China, Phelps and Bindra Sizzle in Beijing

2008-08-15T16:28:00.018+05:30

The 08-08-08 event was the most spectacular and awe-inspiring of recent times. The artistry, creativity and elegance put up by China was all there to see. Beijing was the cynosure of all eyes as the Bird's Nest basked in resplendent colours that evening. The sky lit itself to reflect the pomp unfolding beneath as the onlookers rejoiced every single moment of it, taking in all the pulchritude of the event. And those who thought China was sultry and dull in its appearance had several questions eating their minds. It was as good as a Peking Manchow served to a hungry man, unsettling the bitter prejudice surrounding China and leaving him crave for more. As an emerging nation, China made several strong statements, leaving everyone spellbound. Such was the specialty of the ceremony that French President Nicolas Sarkozy had to withdraw his earlier decision of not touring China. The West had to open itself to accept the staunch truth- China's Rising Power. George Bush and Vladimir Putin never complained in the end. President Hu Jintao later was to tell,"The World had never needed mutual understanding, mutual toleration and mutual cooperation as much as it does today".

In the news for all the good reasons, it is the 25 year old Indian shooting ace Abhinav Singh Bindra who ended the country's long wait for its first ever Olympic Gold in an individual event. India's last Olympic Gold came when our hockey team emerged triumphant at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In Beijing, it was on this historic day, August 11, 2008 that India finally found its answers in the 10m Air Rifle Event. The young lad deserved this after several years of rigor and practice. An Olympian breaking into tears of joy at the medals podium is such a familiar sight. After all, it is the ultimate honour of human endeavour in any field. Surprisingly enough, Abhinav never expressed a flinch of tear or excitement. His gentle smile while accepting the coveted Gold perhaps arises from his strong belief of reaching heights by diligent workmanship. Finnish Henri Hakkinen, who was leading Bindra comfortably till the penultimate round, was all praise for Abhinav's consistency and his temperament of relentless fight. Hakkinen and China's Zhu Qinan, holding the first two spots after the qualification round were left trailing by Abhinav's accuracy. Bindra's last shot of 10.8 was just too good to be beaten by Hakkinen's listless 9.7. Abhinav's achievement adds the much-needed fillip to Indian Olympic circle, which was to a great extent, nominal in its cause till now. London now awaits Bindra for yet another gold, but let's hope he does not lose sight of his aim like Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Medal, Glory, Encomiums and lots of Hope rest on Bindra post his golden feat. Lets cheer him up for more.

At the time of writing, the shark had successfully achieved its 6th Gold. And wait!! He is not done yet. With 12 Golds in his name, American Swimming Sensation Michael Phelps is all set to finish Beijing off with two more. During 2004 Athens Olympics, Phelps had 6 Gold and 2 Bronze medals under his name. Today, he is reigning the All Time Olympics Medal Chart with 12 Golds. Michael Phelps has more than compensated for sister Whitney's injury that rendered her unfit to swim just when she was on the verge of making it to the national squad. Phelps is now all set to overtake Mark Spitz record tally of 7 Gold medals in a single Olympic Games.That shouldn't be a difficult task for him. He's been on song right from day 1 when he pocketed a Gold at the 400m individual medley, setting a World Record of 4:03.84. His feet have been referred to as 'fins' by the media, because he wears a shoe sized 14. His wing span, said to be at almost 6.5 ft, coupled by his 6' 4" height makes it ridiculously easy for him to transfer large amounts of water behind him. His hands and feet are like paddles in water and has an incredibly powerful kick. Having shown his ability to dominate in any swimming event, Phelps is special for his signature butterfly stroke. Says U.S swimming coach Bob Bowman,"I think if it were all over today, he'd be the greatest Olympian who ever lived".

China have been dominating hosts overall. They are comfortably placed at the top of the table at the moment, and are bound to finish on a high. The USA is far behind them with only eleven golds so far, and when you realize that Phelps alone has notched 6 of them, you know well.

Bean's Comical Pantomimes

2008-07-09T09:26:00.003+05:30

“People think because I can make them laugh on the stage, I'll be able to make them laugh in person. That isn't the case at all. I am essentially a rather quiet, dull person who just happens to be a performer.................” – Rowan Atkinson.

The world today largely misses Buster Keaton, who ripped laughter among the audience with his trademark, seemingly-nondescript deadpan expressions. Alongside Keaton was a brilliant comedian named Harold Lloyd, who endured several injuries while performing dangerous stunts to make people laugh. And how can one forget a certain Charlie Chaplin, who delicately wove comical hues with ironies of a hapless bond servant treated in a merciless way. The above three influential comedians of the modern era will be remembered for a long time for their singular styles of making us break into laughter.

It required the outstanding efforts of an exceptionally talented Rowan Atkinson to continue from where Chaplin had left. The role of Mr. Bean was first developed by Atkinson during his days at Oxford where he studied M.Sc. Teaming up with Richard Curtis, an emerging screen-writer, Atkinson took up writing comedy reviews for the Oxford Playhouse. Meanwhile, a sketch featuring the character Mr. Bean was performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. In 1987, Atkinson’s earliest appearances was at the “Just For Laughs” comedy festival in Montreal, Canada, a stage which he used as a test platform for his Mr. Bean character.

Mr. Bean, as we all know is a clumsy, funny, slow-witted, a-bit-selfish-at-times kind of a person who brings all sorts of unusual schemes into everyday life. Most of his antics involve around basic chores of getting dressed, eating, driving, or navigating a public washroom. An Englishman with a child’s mind, the character is played by Rowan Atkinson himself. Mr. Bean series can be considered somewhat a pantomime as it is much similar to early silent movies and relies on pure physical comedy, with Mr. Bean speaking almost nothing. This has added to its strength and makes it easy to be sold worldwide without any change in dialogue. Atkinson, who excels in his part of playing snobs and maladjusted individuals, must be lauded for his incredible enacting of an unusual character. He attributes his character’s success to the fact that the socially awkward, middle-aged Bean’s routine adventures, largely due to his inability to cope with the smallest of life’s foibles, reflects the feelings and experiences of people the world over.

Many would not know that it was Rowan Atkinson who has voice characterized Zazu, a red hornbill, in the movie, The Lion King. And many would be astonished by the fact that there are just 14 episodes of Mr. Bean series, but the kind of popularity and fame it has shot into, is transcendent. In the 1990’s, Mr. Bean series went on to be the highest-rated comedy series in British history. The series has been broadcasted in more than 80 countries, with nine million videos being sold all across the world. In Canada, the show has been a huge hit on the CBC channel.

In stark contrast to the character he depicts, Atkinson is known as an intensely private person. Living in a London suburb with his wife Sunetra Sastry and two children Lily and Benjamin, he rarely speaks about his family life. With a strong passion for Aston Matins and Ferraris, Rowan loves to collect cars. “But I’ve stopped talking about my cars” he says. “ I buy and sell them with such rapidity that by the time I’ve told you about what car I’ve got, I would have sold it” he quips. The British Leyland Mini car owes a large part of its success to Bean, as it is always seen bumping another car out of its parking space.

The person behind the screen is markedly simple. But Mr. Bean has always been a fascinating collection of conflicting qualities, or rather, lack of qualities.................

Ebullient, Energetic, Espana

2008-06-30T13:14:00.011+05:30

Michael Schumacher, Harrison Ford, Enrique Iglesias, Jurgen Klinsmann Franz Beckenbauer, Joseph Sepp Blatter, Henry Kissinger, Juan Carlos........ the list went on at the VIP stand of a full-house 55000-holder Ernst-Happel Stadion at Vienna, the capital city of Austria. Gentlemen from sports, politics, culture and royalty had all arrived to watch Germany take on Spain in the grand finale to what was a spectacular UEFA Euro 2008 Championships.

UEFA Euro 2008 made an estimated two million soccer fans visit Vienna and cops had to fly in from France, Germany and Switzerland to ensure that the tournament was free of any shameful incident. It really is difficult to contain the ardent proponents who cheer for their respective nations. As many as 650 volunteers on job saw to it that the city streets were litter-free. Austria made every single effort to neatly carry out the task they had agreed upon to. Incredible effort!!

Lacking the usual pace during the initial stage of the championships, Germany finally came into its own with a host of performances which saw them outplay Portugal in the quarter-finals and then surprise Turkey in the semis with that glorious penultimate minute scorcher from Phillip Lahm which enraptured the Germans to no end. That’ll be an unforgettable moment for Lahm, as that atoned for his casual approach for the good part of the game. Germany were fortunate to squeeze through a spot to finals, something which even Joaquim Loew agreed. Schwiensteiger, Klose, Ballack and Podolski ended as the prominent goal scorers for Germany.

Spain on the other hand produced some consistent good performance right from the beginning of the tournament. David Villa’s hat-trick against Russia was one of the highlights of their impressive display in the league stages. In the quarter-finals, Spain outclassed Italy in the penalties, with their goal-keeper Iker Casillas being the hero of the evening following his two match-winning saves from Daniele de Rossi and Antonio de Natale. Guus Hiddink’s Russia, which managed to string together a bunch of victories to advance into the round of final 4, were again defeated by Spain, which also managed to maintain a clean sheet. Xavi, Guiza and Silva piled on goals to see Spain 3-0 home.

For the title clash, Germany received a boost when skipper Michael Ballack was included despite nursing a calf strain. Loew’s side did not take much time to settle. They were the side which looked more comfortable in the first half as the passing looked better than at any previous stage of the tournament. However, Miroslav Klose and Thomas Hitzlsperger could not convert any glimpses into a goal. Spain, minus the tournament-leading scorer David Villa, took a while to get accustomed to a new 4-5-1 formation.

Three minutes past the half hour mark, Torres sent one striking down the inside-right channel after Xavi sent a smooth ball into the German area. With a goal as lead, Spain increased the spirit of play and capitalized as Germany looked less potent with Ballack getting injured his left eye at an inopportune moment.

Spain leading the first half 1-0 held its nerve despite Shwiensteiger and Klose trying hard to make it all even. The scoreline would have read 2-0 if not for some intelligent defending and low crosses being cut short by Germans. And finally, as the game drew towards close, Spain had every reason to cheer for they were advancing towards a first major victory since 1964. They deserved the victory and the tournament for being consistent and performing throughout.

Meanwhile, Raul would have been as disappointed as Germany, for he opted to stay out of the competition. Torres, the man for Spain, was all joy as any Spanish on earth for putting an end to the famous tag which Spain had managed to achieve, ‘Perennial Hapless Comedy Under-Achievers Of International Football’.

Come What MAY......

2008-06-12T22:07:00.015+05:30

It has been quite some time since I last hit the "Publish Post" link. The month of May 2008 was perhaps filled with more news than any month in the first half of the year. Perhaps, the lionine share of the news and all that constantly hit the daily headlines belongs to the Indian Premier League which has blown the trumpet of freshness, both in the world of cricket and that of business. Lots of cricket zealots (wives and girlfriends apart) would have silently cursed Lalit Modi, for spoiling their evening plans, sleep and keeping a zillions of spines chilling at the eerie hour of 12 (2400 hrs) in the possible hottest month of the summer. It really was an ornate extravaganza, for at times, I felt that the IPL would eventually replace the quadrennial World Cup in its fame charts.

Modi, later in Exxtra Innings, revealed that it was during a scorching noon at Wimbledon, where it all began. Sharad Pawar, Modi and other eminent officials of BCCI were at the Centre Court watching in awe as The Fedex Juggernaut was on its full strength thrashing a belligerent, equipotent Rafael Nadal en route its 5th consecutive championship to equal an existing record of Bjorn Borg. That the finale dragged itself into exhaustive 5 setter, two of which included tie-breakers, gave the spectators more than their penny's worth. Taking a cue from the unprecedented glory of Wimbledon, our guys have done an incredible job of gifting us a month-and-a-half-long reality blockbuster, which has already cast its growing shadow on the 50-50 over or 5-day version of the game. The league has already launched India to the fore of a corporate run cricket with tremendous ease. Fittingly, Rajasthan Royals, led by a shrewd campaigner in Shane Warne won the inagural edition of IPL, effectively putting an end to theories which sought the opinion that the amount of money invested is tantamount to talent and success. Where were the Asnodkars and the lesser known Pathans in the mind of a well bred cricket purist?? Hardly anyone would have guessed that these cricketers, who have spent most of their time playing for dull Plate 'B' divisions would carve a gem of success from a team which resembled a sandstone at the beginning of the league. All plaudits to Rajasthan, for proving the pith of the success was hard work and self belief. Those impaired in the Jaipur blast can happily find some smiles returning on their faces following the stupendous feat of Rajasthan Royals.

While IPL itself is not the soul of life, the month of May had other important things in store.In Karnataka,the focus on cricket had to take a back seat as the Royal Challengers of Bangalore did everything unasked for.Instead, someone who had been ruthlessly humiliated and betrayed in a 20-20 contest (the stakes involved here were higher than an IPL tie) had all reasons to cheer as he successfully made a come-back to shut JD(S) out of contention, atleast for the coming 5 years. BJP ripped severe deep cuts into its earlier coalition partner with 110 seats favoring the earlier-beleaguered party. While BJP's clinch this time around improved from 80 (2004 stats) to 110, that of JD(S) saw a slump from 58 to 28. A neat shift of 30 in the wrong direction for demonstrating calculated betrayal. The media crew, known for its expertize in spicing up things, did not miss capturing a glimpse of an empty JD(S) headquarters at the onset of declaration of the election denouement. Congress meanwhile remained mute as ever, taking no chances to reform ties with a party who've clearly demonstrated what they are capable of. BSY finally ascended the throne and the new government has just finished its expansion and is looking forward to justify its selection. The independent winners were drafted to create a majority bench and were actually offered posts which they otherwise would have never likely achieved. With this victory, BJP, which has seen tremendous success of late, achieved its first full strength government in South India and is looking in good nick for the 2009 national elections.

On May 5th, oil prices reached US $120 per gallon for the first time to pressurize world economy. And more was to come as it soared close to $130 at the end of the month creating severe panic. The central government, already under fire from several quarters due to rising inflation and fluctuating economy is fighting its best to keep the surge within manageable limits by reducing tax levy and other involved costs, but it remains to be seen as to how long will this last. Tough times await us if this runs rampant. It's interesting to see how Mr Manmohan Singh and Co. would manage to stabilize things in the final leg of UPA's helm at the top.

Shifting our focus to the cinema, Bollywood fared moderately this summer. It's the smaller screen which has captured the excitement with a steep increase noticed in television viewer points and ratings. While it was the Set Max which romped home with maximum prime-time television viewings, Star Plus came up with innovative programmes like 'Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain..?' to keep the viewers craving for more. Shah Rukh's affable hosting of the show has won several fans already including the likes of Lalu Yadav and Amitabh Baccchan.

So many things happening there within a short span of 30 days. It was a hectic but nevertheless happening May, things came and things went. Come what MAY, things begin and things continue.....................

The Remarkable Assortment of Fun and Comic

2008-06-01T09:33:00.011+05:30

Suppandi.....Kalia the Crow.....Chamataka.....Naseeruddin Hodja.....Kapish.....Tantri the Mantri.....Ramu and Shamu.....Doob Doob.....Chamataka......Raja Hooja.....Detective Dog Ranjha.....Mopes and Purr.....Mooshik.....Shikari Shambhu.....and the list goes on.....

Well, I can bravely assume that it is totally impolitic to introduce these famed characters, as they easily have a large number of friends and fans across people of different age groups, predominantly children. All of them are skittish and special in their own characteristic way, and when you mix them together to form a colourful, humorous motley, it combines into a household-name-popular comic series called Tinkle. Into its 28th year, Tinkle has been the most sought-after comic in India, and still continues to reign the roster. Known for its incredible assortment of fun, stories, puzzles, quiz, contests and other features, this comic series has the reputation of more than 600 copies being printed till date.

Tinkle grew into fame in the early 80's shortly after being introduced. I still remember those days when I eagerly waited for the newspaper vendor to deliver the latest copy, and never gave it up until I finished reading at a stretch. Every story published in Tinkle has been distinct and of new taste, particularly the very first story of every edition, which generally is a sort of parable. Tinkle Digest, the greater version of Tinkle, has several such stories which teach a moral or two. Not surprisingly, it costs Rs.50 a copy, but is indeed worth every single penny.

Suppandi, one of the most entertaining characters of Tinkle is my most favourite character. I wonder if there is any other master on earth who has the forbearance and composure of that of Suppandi's owner, who gets baffled everytime he commands a task to Suppandi. Suppandi rocks nevertheless.

Coming to another funny character, any hunter would envy the hap of Shikari Shambhu who accidentally succeeds in hunting down a feral man-eater on the prowl. Sheer serendipity...!! As is his customary wont, he never (always, yet successful) has faltered in his bid to win the catch. Only his finicky wife and we readers know how lucky he is. Else, all other countrymen and village folks from hinterlands have a great reverence for Shambhu, the intelligent hunter.

Kalia, the crow, gifted with an exceptional moral rectitude and remarkable intellect has been the killjoy of zillion malicious plans devised by the hapless Chamataka and its willing accomplice Doob Doob for ages.

And then there is the wise Naseeruddin Hodja, a dream minister any emperor would love to have in his political state of affairs. Tantri the Mantri, the sly minister, has never had the fortune of stepping the throne, given his nefarious thoughts of cut short the life of his innocent ruler Raja Hooja. Serves him right, after all. And he is not finished yet, busy devising another one.

Mopes and Purr have been the most vigilant detective duo on the block, hunting down the culprits every now and then, with aplomb. This series got introduced later as it was missing in the earlier fortnightly editions of Tinkle.

To search and publish such fresh, wonderful stories, with other topics of related interest, on a regular basis when you have a large, anxiously waiting fan base can get seriously onerous. We readers are extremely grateful to Mr. Anant Pai, more fondly known as Uncle Pai. And not to forget the painstaking efforts of the artist team of Tinkle, who tirelessly depict the funny expressions and illustrate the gist of Tinkle. In many ways, Tinkle has been the elixir of thousands of us to get rid of all the tedium and feel rejuvenated. There may be a certain Champak or Gokulam, but Tinkle easily rules the realm of comics and is way beyond its contenders in terms of its number of readers and fans. It rightly deserves all the encomiums and eulogies.........

The Best Option To Ride

2008-05-16T09:39:00.015+05:30

It was about 5 in the evening when I pulled out my Honda Unicorn and wiped a thin veneer of dust settled on it. The dust wasn't an unusual thing, given that there are several vehicles travelling through our colony, for there is a massive restructuring of paths and traffic routes all over JP Nagar due to the start of construction of a new traffic-decongestant subway at the 24th main. The route to my home from the market had just got longer, for there was the need to travel all the way down the intersection and take a U-turn for the simple task of crossing the raised median. Not too far away, I could catch the sight of a few people accompanied by a bicycle crossing the median by just crossing the cycle over the ridge. It's so very easy to sneak through with a bicycle than travel far and forth by my Honda. Add to that, the ease of pedalling and working out a few lazy, teeny-weeny muscles in your thigh, it's thousand times better to use a lovely-little-lighter frame of a chassis called Bicycle. It's like using a pencil on a moon than a specially invented zero-gravity refill pen. This perhaps is an appropriate metaphor. Simple things make things simpler, more often than not.

Bicycle, the term was coined by the French in 1860. A simple manifestation of a wheel driven by a pedalled gear, bicycle is perhaps the biggest accomplishment of a mechanical engineer who would dream of motorbikes and other transport vehicles. The chassis is a triangular frame, as in most of the cases, and the balance created on the frame is impeccable. At the first sight, the body may not generate any curiosity but come to think of it in technical terms and the mechanism which transforms the force generated by the pedal and imparted to the torque of the gear which transforms into a rotatory action, you have a marvel of a creation here. Over a long period of time, bicycle has undergone a lot of changes in its design and appearance but the charm of riding it for the very first time still remains to be matched.

Bicycle offers a vast sphere of advantage to its users. Talking of health and physical exercise, riding a bicycle gets rid of all the lethargy gained from jobs, most of which are getting more sedentary by the day. It is found that riding a bicycle for ten miles has the health benefit which is as much as the deficit of health caused by smoking a pack of cigarettes. A long ride during weekends in the verdant meadows and green country side should give you the ideal health uplift if the rest of the days are spent working at a desk at office. Cycling offers us a good alternative to catch up with some much-needed exercise compared to that obtained from a saunter in a park or a casual walk. A good amount of cycling would easily help you shed all those flaccid rings on your belly, and if you are a lean person, it would increase your hunger and thereby assimilate more.

Many would feel to see that there's no fun involved in cycling but ask someone who pedals regularly, he'd give you a perfect reason. When we pedal in using that extra bit of energy required to climb an acclivity, there's a complete breathe-in of fresh air which reaches all the way to the depth of the lungs. Breathing well is the single most important sensation to keep yourself young and feel rejuvenated over and again. Ask Yoga teachers and those who teach meditation, they would never disagree.

Coming to the hike of fuel prices, we are in the era where a barrel of crude oil costs US $126, which stood at around $99 not more than an year ago. If this increase gets more wanton and unheralded, days would not be far away when one would think more than once about their means of commuting. What could not be achieved by the Earth Hour would then be accomplished by the sheer rise in oil prices....!! Moreover, a layman would not demand the intelligence of a rocket scientist to understand the benefits of bicycle over motorbikes when it comes to maintaining the cleanliness of environment and reducing air pollution. And just imagine the pleasant sound of a cycle bell than the long clangor and din of relentless frantic honking and all sorts of noise made by automated vehicles. Noise pollution levels would come down considerably and a sense of tranquility prevails all over. It's more than in one way, useful and effective.

I take an exception to those travelling to farther places with limited time, but isn't it wise to use a bicycle if you have to commute moderate distances, in the vicinity of around 2-3 km? And for those who stay in cities like Bangalore, where there's a mandatory helmet rule in current existence, a simple pedal would save all the frowns and grimace of choking under the weight and help you keep smiling instead. For many good reasons as stated, cycling is a healthy practice. Don't feel shy of cycling, in case you do, for there's no age limit or barrier as such. Bicycle's a great gift to us from all those engineers who spent long hours designing it. They definitely deserve a special mention here. It's nothing mind-boggling but not less important indeed.

I believe that to a large extent that your views are affirmative with those of mine. And cycling is, after all, a ride to enjoy. It won't be long before cycling would be in the vogue.

Vodafone- Everyday I Want To Fly

2008-05-11T13:55:00.009+05:30

"Everyday I want to fly, stay by my side..

Everyday I want to dream, stay by my side..

Every morning, I wish I could just play..

Wish the mornings were just days.."

Given my penchant to listen to this as many times as possible, I could just not withstand the temptation to post the lyrics. Hats off to the guys who composed this new Vodafone song in a video which shows a little girl being taken care by the responsible, cute pug, which is "Happy To Help".

Click here to visit the full page.

Indian Premier League -IPL-8 Teams, Without Any Players, Only Warriors!

2008-04-14T22:55:00.023+05:30

India, as we all know is a diverse nation. Diversity is one thing you would see everywhere, be it the season, or the style of living, or simply a dish which a person relishes at his/her favourite restaurant. There are religions sundry, ranging from Hindus to Parsees. There are places several, from metropolitans to villages. There are people many, from The President to A Common Man. When there are so many different things around, there aren't many games. Yes, we do games like Hockey and Soccer, but ironically, their existence is limited only to newspapers and local clubs. And then there's Cricket- a game which some die-hard fans like me and you follow- be it the score updates following all the way to your cell-phones when in classroom/office, or the sheer passion of watching the match glued to the telly and for a moment forgetting all rest other things. Cricket has almost went on to be a religion here, for there are a billion well-thought opinions as to whom should MS Dhoni choose for the final playing eleven, and most of the opinions are interestingly being justified in an impeccable way, almost faultless. Most of us are dogmatic anyway, aren't we?

BCCI chose this moment opportune to mark the beginning of a new trend in the cricketing world. It was on Friday, the 14th of September 2007, that they formally announced the start of Indian Premier League, a tournament on the lines of Soccer's English Premier League and the National Basketball League of the US. Twenty20 brand of cricket just got its dream start when India won the Inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa last year in a thrilling encounter against arch-rivals Pakistan, and it was the glory and the success of this event which salvaged ICC's lost pride in the farcical World Cup '07 at West Indies. World Twenty20's encore in South Africa shot out all concerns of Twenty20 biting the dust. And a new chapter of Twenty20 is here now, waiting to write the excitement all over again. April 18 is just round the corner now, and the tournament is on the verge of entering reality, after days of Bollywood Biggies and Business Moguls spending millions of bucks to accomodate the best sixteen under their names.

Never have the Bollywood superstars have had it so much to with Cricket. It was a new sight seeing big names like Shah Rukh Khan and Priety Zinta, along with liquor baron Vijay Mallya arrive at the auctioning of the players. The next days headlines made bold statements of MS Dhoni being paid the highest of them all, with rosters of players being auctioned and stacked millions of dollars against their names.

The 59-game event will kick off at the picturesque 55000-seater floodlit M.Chinnaswamy stadium at Bangalore with the-Vijay Mallya-owned hosts Bangalore Royal Challengers pitting against Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla owned-Kolkata Knight Riders. Unequivocally, one needs such huge names clashing at each other to set the wheels rolling. The two men at the toss would be the same men who began their careers together at The Lords, way back in 1996 and rose to fame with their careers almost going hand in hand. Rahul Dravid and Saurav Ganguly, the most respected names in an Indian cricketing fraternity, would have a go at each other in a contest which has many other stars on platter, Ross Taylor, Ishant Sharma, Anil Kumble, Nathan Bracken and Chris Gayle to name a few. That must be the contest which would see every Bangalorean and Kolkatan cheer their heroes. Bangalore's been seeing heavy preparations for the last fortnight to kick start the event in a grand way, amidst local election pressures. Cricket enthusiastic kids, with some time off from the school, are having a gala time. Red and Golden Yellow clad Kannadigas are game with the Black and Gold clad Bongs. Indian film stars Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif along with locals Upendra and Ramya have been roped in to cheer for the Bangalore franchise while Khan himself will be doing it for his team. While Kolkata has good players like David Hussey, Ricky Ponting, Salman Butt, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Bangalore has its talent brimming from a pool of players like Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis who can grind down any attack, with a hard hitting Australian Cameron White alongside Mark Boucher. Dale Steyn, fresh from his exploits in the season has it in him to hit the right areas and castle the batsmen. Praveen Kumar can bring his leg cutters to telling effect and make life difficult for the men with the willow.

Shifting our focus to Emerging Media-owned Rajasthan Royals, they have hitters like Y Pathan, Graeme Smith, Dmitri Mascarenhas and Younis Khan in their ranks. And with them, they have a world class spinner called Shane Warne who would be leading the squad which has other impressive bowlers like Morne Morkel and Sohail Tanvir. They should make a great team, with the kind of bowling they possess, usually difficult to clear the ropes. Shane Warne himself would be rallying his bowlers well with an intelligent cricketing acumen and expertise, enabling Rajasthan Royals to achieve silent glory, without any icon players as such. They also have got sensible batsmen like Mohammad Kaif and Justin Langer who can arrest any danger with their characteristic calm approach to the game.

Travelling down South, from Jaipur to Chennai, we enter the land of Chennai Super Kings, led by the dynamic and astute Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is not new to leadership. It is not for nothing he is the most paid cricketer on the arena, the Indian Cements have shelled out a whopping $1.5 million to bag him, as a matter of fact. Keeping in support with the Jharkhand Blaster is the powerful-in-form Matthew Hayden, who can clear stands with utter disdain, and a smiling ease. In Stephen Fleming and Michael Hussey, they have got calm yet attacking batsmen, who on their day can take any bowler to the cleaners. And there are men like Albie Morkel and Jacob Oram, who have the flair and the left handed bat speed required to hit even good balls. Furthermore, the bowling department looks aggressive with the names itself, men like Muttiah Muralitharan and Makhaya Ntini able do the required damage in no time at all. This is one team which has the potential to bang any other outfit, and with a thinking Dhoni at their helm, it's easier DONE than said.

Did we have a look at Delhi? The Delhi Daredevils have got Multan Marauder Virender Sehwag and another Delhiite Gautam Gambhir, both looking in ominous form. There's South African AB de Villiers, Pakistani Shoaib Malik and young Indian talent Shikhar Dhawan, who can bat according to the nature of the pitch and score freely. Bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Daniel Vettori and Mohammad Asif are unplayables when they get going. Also are allrounders like Tillekeratne Dilshan and Fervez Maharoof who have been doing good for SriLanka for the past couple of years. Delhi has got all the firepower to intimidate the opposition. The skipper is someone who warm the offside region with his gamut of powerful strokes and trademark uppish cuts which can sail all the way over third man. Akshay Kumar is the brand ambassador for Delhi Daredevils, with GMR Holdings being the owners.

Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad. Now here's the information on the team, which, in my view, is the most dangerous team of the IPL. When there's someone like Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds in the side, you actually would not ask for more strokemakers. But add to them players like Shahid Afridi and Herschelle Gibbs and you know you are easily the most famed line up in the batting department. These are natural strokemakers, who are tailor-made for this format of the game, their mantra being "think nothing but hit everything which comes your way!". To buttress the already sound batting line up are Scott Styris, Rohit Sharma and VVS Laxman who are the men to anchor and steady the ship. Vaas is very much an intelligent bowler, with clever variations in pace and length. With Nuwan Zoysa, he has the right support to bowl to his strength. And Styris and Afridi can do the middle-overs job along with Symonds. Looking the most balanced team in the fray, I would not be surprised an inch if this team can go on to win the series. All credit to the Deccan Chronicle to weave such a wonderful blend of energy and experience. Positive predictions aplenty for this team from people and pundits around.

Preity Zinta walked into the auctioning conference with the least piece of information on cricket. But she has found a good mix of cricketers in her Kings XI Punjab. Yuvraj Singh, who has it in him to whack all the six deliveries in an over to six sixes is the Icon Player of this team, and he is well supported in the batting department with the likes of Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ramnaresh Sarwan, James Hopes and Simon Katich. All rounder Irfan Pathan can be handy in home conditions with his ability to move the ball laterally. Brett Lee, who's been in terrific form of late, is backed by bowlers like Sreesanth, Kyle Mills and Piyush Chawla. Sarwan too can prove his mettle with his slow leg cutters which are difficult to get hit out. A sound team woven around power and intellect.

Mumbai Indians, the most expensive franchise of IPL, are lucky to have some of the world's biggest names in their ranks with the batting department consisting of Sachin Tendulkar, Sanath Jayasuriya, Robin Uthappa, Loots Bosman and Ashwell Prince. Shaun Pollock is a synonym for accuracy in the world cricket thesaurus, and he is being fostered by Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Lasith Malinga and Dilhara Fernando. Hrithik Roshan is the brand ambassador of the Mumbai Indians and this team will get the best reception at the vociferous Wankhede Stadium. The team has Sudarshan Chakra engraved as its symbol, which denotes victory. If an opening partnership of the dream combine Sachin and Jayasuriya gets going, then there is nothing in the world stopping them. Robin Uthappa, the young batting sensation can derive all knowledge from these stalwarts and can keep batting to his usual tempo, scoring runs at will. Mumbai Indians Team is owned by leading businessman Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Group of Industries.

IPL has seen a large share of everything till date. Hypes, controversies, media wrath, celebrity participations, money issues and tremendous public attention. It's time it actually gets into the act and prove its worth. The stage is set. The arrival is anticipated. IPL's first edition will give us a clear picture as to where the game of cricket is heading towards....

The Spirit of Olympics

2008-04-05T10:21:00.013+05:30

At the juncture of European, Asian and African continents is situated a country, capturing an area of 50,994 square miles. Surrounded by the Meditterannean Sea, Aegean Sea and the Ionian Sea, this country is considered as the matrix of Western Philosophy, Democracy, Political Science, Major Scientific and Mathematic Principles and literature. Perhaps many would have already guessed it now. Yes, I am speaking of Greece, the most learned country, as one might tend to call it. And it was here in Olympia when the Olympic Games started, way back in 776 BC.

However, Olympics went on for about 4 centuries then, played only in Olympia. A popular Greek myth says that Heracles, the creator of Olympics, started it to honour his father Zeus, the God of Sky and Thunder. It comprised of games, conspicious of religion and sacrifice, in praise of the Gods. Not surprisingly, only men who spoke Greek language were allowed to participate, unlike the modern version. Twenty games were spread over several days and later on, the number of games were increased. Much like the way it is today, Olympics were regularly held once in every 4 years and the time interim was termed as 'Olympiad'. Winners of these games were extolled and praised in honour in poems and they were deified into idols and statues.

But after a few centuries, as Romans conquered Greece and started domineering, Olympics Games declined as the new tyrants saw them against their practices. Greeks had to run the gauntlet and suffer at the hands of Romans, who left nothing unturned in their capture of Greece and denouncing their culture and festivals, and anything native of Greek was deemed as Pagan and against Christianity. That signalled the bitter end of ancient Olympics and heritage of Greece of the pre-Jesus period. Several centuries passed by and Olympics and its glory was only confined to history and ancient literature.

In the year 1859, a rich Greek nobleman by the name Evangelos Zappas sponsored the revival of Olympics. He paid for the renovation of ancient Panathenian stadium and it was in the historic year of 1896, that the first Modern Olympics was inagurated in Athens, the present day capital of Greece. 14 countries took part bringing in 241 participants. Though a small number of participants, this event was the largest international one until then. Greek public and officials are very cheerful and enthusiastic about this tradition and they even proposed to have a monopoly in organizing Olympics, which however was not accepted by International Olympics Committee, an official organizer of Modern Olympics. In 1900, it was Paris which hosted the second version of the event, and this was also the very first time that women were allowed to participate. It took notable contributions from Pierre de Coubertin who founded IOC.

Recently, in the 2004 Athens Olympics, the number of participants stood at a remarkable 11000, coming in from 202 countries. As many as 16000 media journalists and broadcasters were involved, with an estimated 3.8 billion viewers watching the game on television. An increasing size of event and participants poses a huge challenge to IOC. The sheer number of athletes, participants, journalists, media and advertizers makes it a heavy burden on the cities organizing the mega event. An updated budget of 9 billion pounds has been earmarked for the London Olympic Games to be held in 2012, making it the most expensive Olympics to date...! Although United Nations recognize only 193 countries, IOC permits several dependencies and colonies to allow their participants to involve though these athletes and competitors belong to other member nation. Countries like Hong Kong, Bermuda and Puerto Rico are some such countries being allowed to participate as separate entities. The upcoming Beijing Olympic Games has 302 events.

The Olympic Games is best recognized by its famed symbol of Olympic Rings, being adopted in 1914. These five intertwined rings depict the unity of five inhabited continents, with the Americas being considered as a single ring. They appear in five colours of Red, Blue, Green,Yellow and Black bearing in mind the fact that each country has atleast one of these five colours to select in its national flag. The official motto adopted by Olympics is, "Citius, Altius, Fortius", which in Latin means, "Swifter, Higher, Stronger". Prior to the commencement of each Olympic event, the traditional Olympic Flame is lit in Olympia and is brought to the host city by forerunners carrying the torch in relay. This tradition was introduced in 1936. Also introduced later was The Olympic Mascot, which is an animal or a human figure essentially representing the cultural glory of host nation. Misha, a Russian Bear, was one such mascot during Olympics held in Russia in 1980.

The Olympic Games are today, the world's largest pageant of athetic skills and competitive spirit, where all countries take part in the ultimate event of glory and rich tradition. Signing off this post, I would leave you with this special Olympic Creed,

"The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well."

A Change in Telly Technology

2008-03-19T10:31:00.012+05:30

Heading into the 21st century, we're moving into an era dominated by technology. With rapid celerity in inventions and discoveries, the entire scenario of working things up has undergone a drastic change. Major changes are observed in all sectors and fields, with those seen in information and communication being the most prominent ones. Gone were the days when everyone had to rely on telegraph messaging and fax. It was with the innovators coming up with cathode ray tube and spending long hours in the lab to develop the first ever colour television, way back in 1928. However, telly took a long time to set its foot in India, when it was introduced in early '80s.

It was a historical moment when The Independence Day celebrations were relayed live for the first time ever, in 1982, marking the beginning of new generation of technology-related services This was followed by The Asian Games later in the same year. It was Doordarshan which then dished out famous soaps like Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi, Hum Log, Buniyaad etc. Later came the mega epics Ramayana and Mahabharatha, which were regularly relayed on weekends. And which Indian of the previous decade can forget song programs like Rangoli and Chitrahaar, with the former kickstarting a host of Sunday special programs. Doordarshan has got its own little charm of leaving us nostalgic, and possibly craving for a moment of the days of yore. That apart, media started spreading its wings into a device which was more sophisticated than a single little box called radio which comprised of a simple LCR circuit. New careers began and a brand fresh world of advertising and journalism took birth.....

In the last decade, things started changing colours, when P.V Narasimha Rao-led-government launched a series of social and economic reforms, opening up trade and facilitating market growth. This was the era of a new system of Cable Television. Star Network launched in 1991 took the nation by storm by offering programs of different hues, comprising of a bunch of channels including Star Plus, Star Sports, Star Movies and Star World. Music channels like Music Television MTV and Channel [V] were launched soon after, aimed primarily at the pop culture of Indian youth and adolescents. Likewise, channels like Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and National Geographic were specialized channels focussing on knowledge and information for people of any age group. Emerging as contenders to the Rupert Murdoch-led-Star Television Group were Zee Network and Sony Entertainment Television India, which offer a wide bracket of channels categorized into entertainment, news, sports and music. Zee TV is considered as the first private owned television network in India. To the teeny weeny tottering kids we have Cartoon Network followed by Nickelodeon and Pogo with Disney relaying fresh channels like Toon Disney and Disney Kids. Cricket, a religion in India, is being devoted an exclusive channel Star Cricket which relays nothing but cricket. On regional lines, we have the US $ 4 billion Sun Network based in South India which offers television services in 5 languages- Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Bengali. Another prominent player in this sector is the Eenadu TV network, which rolls out channels for many as 12 languages. And coming up more on the roster of regional Kannada channels are independent channels like TV9, Suvarna TV, Kasturi TV etc.

However, as technology developed, Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) system gained importance which intended satellite channel reception for home receptions, reducing the size of the dish used earlier yo a great extent and making it more simple and portable. DBS facilitates both analog and digital television and radio reception, is extended to other digital television services provided including interactive and video-on-demand services. The first entrant in this newest era of television viewing is Dish TV DTH, a service offered by Essel Group. Apart from broadcasting high-quality programmes from satellites to your home, it also offers complete control of what you watch and pay for. One can extract the true potential of television set yoked with high quality DVD sound. Also included is a special feature Electronic Program Guide which gives us the entire list of upcoming programme schedule and movie timings. Parental Lock, Games, Interactive TV and Movie On Demand are other interesting features which serve as a complete set of options for viewer's delight....!

And yes, if you always loved to grouse about the quality of transmission and picture clarity, you would have a difficult time coping up with the excellent, see-true quality offered by Dish TV. With nothing else dependent on the connection, you can afford not to worry about power-cuts in other areas which usually deprive us of cable connection. So many offers being offered for much lower prices than cable connections pose a serious threat for cable operators around. Of late, we also have Tata Sky which is vying with Dish TV DTH and making rapid strides in its bid to challenge the latter. The market has already shown a positive response and increasingly demanding for more. It's getting more implausible for viewers to opt for the old incessant cable connection. The simple cross-row grid of television antenna and cables are being replaced with a tiny-yet-much-efficient dish. It's time we upgrade ourselves with technology and wish for more. Wish Karo, Dish Karo.....

One State Many Worlds

2008-03-12T08:31:00.010+05:30

India is blessed with a mixed landscape ranging from frigid mountains to rainforests, deserts, plains, flat terrain, hills and plateaus. With a coast stretch running for over 7000 km, India lies on the peninsula that protrudes into the Indian Ocean, making it a cynosure of all eyes, ones which travel high distance on top and some which globe-trot on a simple school-atlas. One can imagine, how pale a look the subcontinent would have worn, if it was without India. The 7th most largest country in the world has everything to offer, and it's not all that amusing to know why people from abroad cash in their money to have a look at what our nation offers, both in natural and cultural aspects. We have come across the exotic Alps of Switzerland, the sub-zero forests in Canada, the flat mountain ranges of Mexico, the Southern Alps of New Zealand, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the Atacama Desert of Chile. But when it comes to diversity, it's India all the way. To have such a varied pattern of land distribution in an area of just over 3 million sq.km is fantastic!

The northern half of India comprises to a large extent of arable land, courtesy the mega rivers Ganges and Yamuna and innumerable rivulets and streams. These are rivers which have a history of thousands of years, perenially flowing as the water from Himalayas melts down to gush forth. It was primarily for this reason that Aryans migrated here and flourished with agriculture. Coming South, we have an excellent mix of conditions which make the plateau, a complete showcase for visitors and travellers. Being encompassed with water bodies on all the three sides, the peninsula comprises of palatial Western Ghats stretching its grasp from north Maharashtra to down bottom Kerala, scenic Eastern Ghats bordering all the way from West Bengal to Tamil Nadu, and not to forget the Vindhya and Satpura ranges in the heart of the plateau. What more can a person eager with his mountain expedition paraphernalia can ask for?

Amidst all these, Karnataka has got a large share in its offerings. The three important geographical zones in the state are The Hilly Malnad region/Western Ghats, The coastal Karavali region and the Bayaluseeme region of plain plateau. Rivers Kaveri, Krishna, Tungabhadra and Sharavathi are the prominent ones, catering to the growing water and irrigation needs of people here. With about 20% of the land area covered with forests, most of it in the Western Ghats, the state has rich sources of natural resources, flora and fauna. The average rainfall is about 1100 mm, with the differences showing in Malnad region and Bayaluseeme range. Soil shows a significant distribution and variety, with almost 11 different types of soil being recorded. And to talk of temperature, the variation is well pronounced, from 2-3 deg.C to 45-46 deg.C. You just cannot afford to pack off your sweaters or T-shirts once and away.........

Come with your bags packed with all the travelling stuff, you would least like to sit forlorn when Karnataka offers you so many tourist destinations. No matter what kind of a person, he/she always finds a wide bracket of options which include ancient sculptures, temples of famous realms, modern-buzz-choc-a-bloc cities, serene forests, calm meadows, old ruins, dry plains and long stretch of coast-line.

Lots of dynasties ruled over the region in the past, with The Badami Chalukyas, The Hoysalas and The Vijayanagar Empire being the most notable ones. Many ancient monuments are situated at historic places like Pattadakal, Aihole, Badami and Bijapur. Virupaksha temple at Pattadakal (the other one's at Hampi) and the sylvan ancient caves at Badami are agreeably the major edifices of the era passed by, with inscriptions in Sanskrit scripted on them. Coming to Hampi, now recognized as the World Heritage Site by UNESCO, we get to see the impressive ruins of the past, along with the most memorable Ugra Narasimha temple and the Vittala temple. At Bijapur, the hub of Urdu and Persian literature, we have the world famous Gol Gumbaz sepulcher which is the world's second largest dome. Down south at Mysore, we have a place which defines Karnataka by its style. It was here that the formers vassals and chiefs of Vijayanagar empire chose to start an own dynasty. The famous Mysore Palace, which hosts the pompous Dasara (which is the official festival of the state) is a must-watch, showcasing the full glory of Karnataka in its true splendour. Other famous historic places include The Fort at Chitradurga, ancient sculptures at Belur and Halebeedu, artistic old ruins at Srirangapatna. Places of public interest also include Sringeri temple, Shravanabelagola Monolith, Sirsi, Dharmasthala, Kollur temple, Subramanya temple, Kudalasangama, Udupi Krishna temple, Murudeshwar temple, MM Hills, BR Hills, Kemmannugundi hills and Kudremukh Hill Station, near Chickmagalur.

Coming to the more scenic Western Ghats, one must not fail to catch a glimpse of Sharavathi river, which falls from a height of 829 feet to create a visual-treat for spectators gazing in awe. Sheer beauty. You would love to go on mountain-climbing if shown places like Mullayyangiri, which is the acme of a peak in Karnataka, standing tall at 1925 metres. For a person who hasn't been on a high, he must take a short trip to Yana, an elysian destination, a breath-taking one, very hard to describe, no words at all........! Perhaps He Himself created it, just nothing can explain how beautiful it can get. It is surrounded by two little falls, Magod and Satod, beautiful ones, which make a good trip for a couple of days.

The coast line, stretching off from Karwar all the way Mangalore has got some interesting places to visit. Temples at Gokarna, Murudeshwar are flocked by throngs of people, all round the year. Maravanthe, Malpe and Ullal are the more known beaches. A light house beach at NITK, Suratkal is a great place to be, with a tall light-house stationed here, adding colour to the college nearby which houses close to 2390 students.

There are several other less known picnic spots in the state which deserve attention. Dandeli, near Karwar, is a good place for forest buffs wildlife freaks. And more of little places near a lovely little town of Sakleshpur in Hassan district, more easily approachable from Bangalore and Mysore via road and rail, has got plenty to offer. Nearby places see lots of trekking and visitors who would like to take some time off the busy humdrum routine at the office.

And for those who would love to visit Karnataka, take a long leave, for it's not a place to be seen within a short period of time. It's got an entire gamut in store. One State, Many Worlds........

Sudoku Puzzler

2008-03-05T09:42:00.011+05:30

Numbers are hypothetical values processed in our mind when we use to quantify things. The magnitude of a number is called as a numeral, which denotes the number in both its idea and quantity. Numbers are used to measure things, record count, indicate sizes and extents, compare values, store content, chart statistics, secure passwords, communicate information and encrypt data. They were found to be used as early as 30000 years ago and Egyptian and Mesopotomian civilizations have secure records in the form of writing tablets and clay slates. Man also used numbers to play games and amuse himself. We understand that he was more interested to whet his quantitative approach and replenish his skills, than gratifying himself by the useful little sense obtained by just using them to denote and save track. Haven't we come across infants playing abacus, a testimonial to the fact that man enjoyed being with numbers and took them game.

In perhaps what has been the most-creative-irrefutable-logic-yet-so simple-puzzle ever perceived, Sudoku stands handsomely tall and smart among myriad innumerable number-games. Its speciality and flair arises from the truth that it's pleasingly simple but tantalizingly draining nonetheless. Though it became an international only in the last few years, the concept was found long back.

To start off, Sudoku is a number placement based game accompanied with logic. Noted mathematician Leonard Euler invented a class of game called Latin Squares which required the player to complete every row and column of a NXN grid with numbers 1 through N, without repeating. In the daily newspaper Sudoku, one has to fill in a 9X9 matrix in such a way that every row, every column and every 3X3 matrix in the entire grid contains numbers 1 to 9 only once. This game was first seen in Dell Magazines in the year 1979, when American architect Howard Garns published them as a puzzle called "Number Place". However, the name Sudoku was given by Nikoli when it was introduced in Japan later. In Japanese, 'Su Doku' means 'Single Number'. A retired judge and computer programmer from Hong Kong, Wayne Gould developed a computer program which could generate and solve Sudoku puzzles. A few years ago, he requested to publish his sudokus in London Times, which went on to prove a big hit.

For someone who's keen to know about the statistics, here's an interesting piece of information. The number of possible 9X9 Sudoku combinations is 6,670,903,752,021,072,936,960. Now, can I imagine someone finishing on that count? He would do that entire lifetime and still fall short!

In India, the very first Sudoku was published in May 2005, in Hindustan Times and a month later, Times of India too started rolling out its version. Initially, it was seen as an enigma for people well nurtured with mathematics only, but later, many kids, students and even the elderly began growing hungry. Logic being the only thing involved, it has nothing to do with mathematics or operations. All it takes is a little enough brainwork to give a feeling of satisfaction when the puzzle is complete, taking less time and skill that required to solve a crossword, for instance. Perhaps this was the prominent reason which made people prefer sudoku over crossword, although these require two entirely different sets of skill and knowledge.

The exercise of solving Sudoku puzzles has got its own advantages. It stops memory decline, improves logic, enhances reasoning skills, allows us to think in multiple ways and even halt the progress of Alzheimer's disease. Now that is something that the doctor does not ask. In schools, kids are being taught to solve sudoku to energize their mental batteries and increase the flow of thoughts, which enables them to perform better at studies. The initial fluster notwithstanding, they come up with good reasoning and solve their way to happiness. And one can imagine the sense of a little victory over a tiny yet thinking puzzle.

Next time when you come across a Sudoku when you're free, try solving it. Your brains will thank you for your time and letting it sharpen. It still is a short-simple game, after all.....

Rbk- I Am What I Am

2008-02-27T08:48:00.006+05:30

The era of late 18th and early 19th century assumes tremendous importance in history. And there are no prizes for guessing why. For it was during this period that the great Industrial Revolution kicked off in North America and Europe, especially Britain. It all started with James Watt inventing the famous Steam Engine in 1781. The manual-labor-driven economy gradually started making way to a machinery-automation-driven one. The change was not very fast but was effectual nevertheless. A few prominent inventions in this era include the Electric generator by Michael Faraday, Steel Plough by John Deere, Lead Acid Battery by Gaston Plante, Cathode Ray Tube by William Crookes, Wireless Telecommunication by Nicolas Tesla and many more. What makes it interesting to observe that these inventions were the results of improvisation of scientists and engineers on various new discoveries of effects and properties. Engineers then designed methods for large-scale manufacture of products and the upshot of this was the emerging of new factories and industries and thus, business companies.

And to introduce you all into this, this is something about the advent of a shoe industry. The first known shoes date back to 7000 to 8000 years before this. But it was not before the year 1895, a new industry called Mercury Sports was found by Joseph William Foster. 63 years thereafter, it was renamed as Reebok by siblings Joe and Jesse Foster, derived from the word (which Joe found in a dictionary won in a race), 'rhebok', an African word for an antelope. Later, it took special efforts from Paul Fireman to procure distribution rights in North America.

It was in the year 1982, when people started taking interests in fitness and aerobics. As a popular American actress and political activist, Jane Fonda, in her set of well known fitness videos, of the Workout Series and in the much-famed Workout Book, released in 1982, acknowledges that fitness craze was in the air and it was the same force which resulted in a record sale of more than 17 million copies of her book. Jobs became more sedentary and there was an increasing awareness to catch up with the missing fitness. Games like Baseball and Basketball started garnering enthusiasm among the stay-fit-folk and their rapid accretion appeared imminent. Throngs of people crowded gymnasiums and fitness centers to keep themselves in good shape. Who doesn't want to have a supple and flexible body, after all?

Reebok grew famous in this generation, especially with its Free-Style Athletic series, designed for women. Being a prominent player in the industry of its kind, Reebok dishes out several sport accessories, apparel and athletic footwear. Another particular series of footwear was The Reebok 'Pump' Series which was designed for comfort of ankle. It was incorporated with a special air bladder, capable of being inflated using an internal mechanism. And the tag line was more interesting, "Pump Up, Air Out". Initially used by basketball players, this brand grew more in demand and it wasn't long before 'Pump' hit the tennis and soccer arena. Some zealots used it to flaunt and at the same time, improve their gait. And few others displayed a penchant to wear wrist-bands with the famous vector logo on them.

In as many as 14 countries, we can find Reebok's factories. It's China which tops the list with 51% of the Reebok products being manufactured, followed by US, Indonesia and Vietnam. The workforce employed is close to 76000. The assessment of production, marketing and operating costs have been carefully carried out and set-up accordingly. Customers and users from Asia and Europe have welcomed Reebok products well, looking at the consumers statistics displayed on a geographical basis.

One can see that Reebok covers many international sportsmen from a host of games when it came to endorsements. Talking of cricket, Indian skipper MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Gautham Gambhir and many other players like Shoaib Malik and Chris Gayle have been roped in. Come to soccer, French striker Thierry Henry and Ukraine champ Andriy Shevchenko have been great ambassadors. As many as 5 teams in the Australian Football League have been sponsored of late. This apart, Reebok has sponsored many singers, Rapper Jay-Z and 50 Cent to name a few. Not to forget the "Lost in Translation" beauty and Golden Globe Award winning American actress Scarlett Johannson.

Reebok is what Reebok is. Much in reflection with its special unique selling proposition "I Am What I Am"....

The Wonder Metal

2008-02-19T14:20:00.010+05:30

Spanish- TITANIO.
Croatian- TITANIJ.
French- TITANE.
German- TITAN-R.

Wondering what all these are? These are the different ways how folks name the 'Wonder Metal'-TITANIUM.

Let's jump back to the year 1791. In the nether regions of Ural Mountains in Russia, is situated Ilmen lake, encompassed by Ilmen Mountain Range. Concentrated into layers by "Magmatic Segregation", Ilmenite forms a primary mineral in mafic igneous rocks. Ilmenite also occurs in pegmatites, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks. William Gregor, a British mineralogist, came across Ilmenite deposits at the Manaccan Valley. After several studies and processes, scientists came upon a greyish metal which was found to be light, strong, lustrous and corrosion-resistant. Later, it was Martin Kaproth who isolated the same metal from a mineral called Rutile. Paying respect to the great Titans of the Greek Mythology, Kaproth christened the new metal as Titanium.

Titanium occurs in many ores namely anatase, brookite, ilmenite, perovskite, sphene and many iron ores. Of these, rutile and ilmenite are considered as two primary ores. Rich ilmenite deposits are found in India, Norway, New Zealand, Ukraine, Canada and Australia. In the American continents, North and South, a very good quantity of Rutile is found, and traces in South Africa together add up to 90000 tonnes of Titanium extracted every year. The estimated amount of Titanium is about 600 million tonnes, thereby making it the seventh most abundant metal accounting for 0.63% of earth's crust by mass. It has been observed that Titanium was found in the rocks obtained from moon and in trace quantites from meteorites. Reports suggest the presence of traces of the metal in the sun's crust too. Now that is something which throws light on the universal existence of transition metals.

Kroll's Process and FFC Cambridge Process are the most important processes involved in the production of Titanium, though there are several other by-processes. The reason why it cannot be obtained by reduction of its dioxides is that the metal reacts with oxygen at higher temperatures.

A striking speciality observed in this new metal is that it possessed an excellent strength-to-weight ratio. The density of Titanium when compared with that of other metals of similar strength was found to be much low. When it was seen that pure titanium metal gave a strength of 434 MPa, which is equal to some of the other steel alloys, the weight was seen to be 45% less. Now that is a marked advantage waiting to get improvised upon. Add to that the high melting point of 1900K, we have a metal here which can also be used as a refractory material. Another interesting feature of Titanium is that it has a good resistance to corrosion. One would find it difficult to believe that Titanium has got similar resistance properties as that of Platinum. Acids, moist chlorine and salt water solutions have negligible effect on Titanium. This said, it is found to dissolve in concentrated acid solutions. However, Titanium is thermodynamically, a very reactive metal. It forms a passive oxide coating when exposed to elevated temperatures in air. Found to be paramagnetic, it possesses good electrical and thermal conductivity.

What crowns Titanium over its transition counterparts is the variety of application involved. Titanium dioxide is used as a permanent white pigment in paper, toothpaste, paints, enamel, laquer and plastic. However, the metal is seen to be used almost anywhere and everywhere. It is used in propeller shafts in jet engines, aircrafts, armour plating, naval ships, spacecrafts, missiles, helicopter exhaust ducts, hydraulic systems, shafts and rigging of heat exchangers of desalination plants, heat chillers for salt water aquariums, fishing lines, diver knives, human implants, bone supports, matrix composites, thin wall condenser tubing, topside water management systems, flue gas desulphurization for pollution control, PTA plants for polyester production, pressure vessels, hydrometallurgical autoclaves, substrate for hard-disk drives, lacrosse stick shafts, spectacles frames, anodes, cell-covers, surgical instruments, bicycles, clocks, tennis racquet and many more.

Interestingly, it is seen that Titanium is also used in modern designer jewellery. Titanium rings- including engagement rings and wedding bands are the fastest growing segments in titanium jewellery segment, because of its ability to withstand strength even after grooving and carving. Some jewellery also include diamonds with titanium, especially of the bezel type.

The golf industry has found that the lightweight titanium club heads can be bigger than those made of steel, enlarging the "sweet spot" of the club and thus increasing distance and accuracy. That would be a golfer's delight.

It's not surprising to know that Titanium is famously known as the 'Wonder Metal'। A marvel of a metal indeed.

A celestial ladle....!!!

2008-02-08T05:32:00.003+05:30

December 15th, 1997. It was a calm, quiet evening. The sun had made his way well beyond the horizon and the birds were returning to their nests, after a long day in search of food.
Not far away, at my home, the mood was frenzy, as it was my birthday and me and my brother were into preparations. My friends Satish, Subramaniam, Avinash and Vijay (my cousin brother, best pal and alter ego) were to come to my place and I was mentally occupied with the things to do to make the evening more colourful. Cake, Candles and Coke were ready and waiting to get in action. The stage was set and the ambience was refreshing. My parents gifted with a brand new Hercules MTB that day, which made me all the more cheerful.

From my verandah, I could descry some bicycles heading towards my path. And within minutes, I was surrounded by my pals, with each of them dressed up sprucely and eager to flaunt. I took them up to the first floor to my home. You can imagine how incessantly we were chatting with each other and having fun. We just had finished with our mid-term exams and were in a lighter mood. The mood to enjoy was not light though, it was filled with lots of enthusiasm and charm.

I lit off the lights and cut the cakes, followed by them singing the birthday wish and soon enough, we were munching cakes and sweets, with lots of chocolates and spicy mixture. "Fizzzzz........!!!" sounded the coke jar when I opened it and poured it out to glasses. We finished having them and now it was time for us to go to the terrace. It was a sky which was clear and surprisingly enough, there wasn't even a bit of haze, so usual to find on a December evening. The light breeze only made the visit more inviting and lively.

We cast our sight in to the illimitable sky and kept watching. The view was magnificent and made us more longing towards a stroll in the space. We had just learnt about different constellations and stars-clusters at the school and here we were with the sky showing up all its splendor and pulchritude. Satish and Vijay came along to spot Andromeda and we managed to catch "The Hunter" or more specifically, "The Orion". Rigel, a prominent star in this bunch, was shining in its full glitter and the other seven tried to overcome her flair, but in vain.

As we looked on, we reminded ourselves about the much-famed "Big Dipper" or "The Plough" as they call it in UK, "Sapta Rishi" (seven stars) in India or "The Casserole" (saucepan) in France. We were eager beavers when it came to explore and find things rather than rote-learning. Having said that, we continued to gaze but found it difficult to find the "Big" Dipper. One of us pointed out to the tiny kite-resembling cluster and mistook it to be the one. Our efforts notwithstanding, we never were able to spot it. Perhaps the fact that we never had any realistic clue of its size made it more difficult to find it. Riding on our bent to find it, we stood there thinking when one of us spotted two stars, far from each other though, joined by a thin trail which seemingly resembled a line. And when we were able to find another one and ultimately the entire bunch of them. How lovely it was to find one such beautiful constellation. It wasn't a small cluster, which is what made it all the more tough to spot. But once found, it was easily to be noticed again. Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar and Alkaid really combine well to form one of the most resplendent of the myriad clusters dazzling out there.

"The Big Dipper" is an asterism formed within a constellation called Ursa Major, one of the 88 officially recognized constellations. Being circumpolar, that is to mean never setting below the horizon, it is always visible in the northern skies. There are lots of different mythological stories and beliefs related to this constellation. And Greeks are the first people who come to mind when we think of myths. They have a strange story of Zeus swirling and throwing two bears, one big and one small into the sky to make them immortal and safe. The bigger and the smaller bears today are the parts of the constellations, Big and Small Dipper respectively. Some native Americans associated the colors of autumn leaves, poured out by the fall with the bowl upside down.

Keeping myths apart, Sapta Rishi has also been of tremendous help when it came to the concerns of sailors and navigators. Some of them were exact enough to predict the time of the night by watching the positions of Sapta Rishi. The charming constellation has also made things much simpler to those who search the star Polaris, or more commonly known as The Pole Star. It has been observed that the two stars of the constellation, the ones situated far away from the tail end of the dipper point towards the Polaris. Polaris being a fainter star is situated much farther (at about approximately five times the distance between the pointers themselves). And more surprisingly, North is more accurately marked by Polaris than the usual magnetic compass....

Alaska's provincial flag is more diaphanous to the above fact। And in Ireland, this constellation is known to be the political symbol. Hmm, the choosers of the symbol were pretty innovative and novel in that aspect. Of the seven stars, Mizar is the most closest to earth, at 78 light years and Dubhe is the most farthest at 124 light years. "The Big Dipper" has lent a cherubic presence to the night sky, it has been beautiful, helpful and charismatic. I had a splendid time on my birthday, and we all had the actual look at the stars and groups about which we learnt in the text-books. It was as if as we had been taken on a space ride. The experience was simply, fascinating...!!!!

Chicken 'Cull'ture

2008-01-30T23:17:00.005+05:30

"Mmmmmmm........!!!!! Tasty.......Just delicious...........", exclaimed Sid. He was quite evidently relishing every bit of it. Understandably so. After all, it had been many days since he last bit into a juicy piece of meat. The very sight of him savoring chicken lolly-pop made everyone long for one of that kind. The golden brown fry, spices and the lime spread over it only helped to intensify the onlooker's desire. And someone who had thought of giving up chicken and turn to a new vegetarian leaf had to reassess his thoughts and allow himself to let free. It isn't an edifying thought, it's nasty actually. But one can understand the rationale and the drama behind such circumstances, barring a few hard-nosed-right-from-birth-vegetarians.

Chicken are always associated with humans, from a considerable eon of age-line. The very first pictures of chicken is Europe are found on the Corinthian pottery dating as back as 7th century BC. A famous bard named Cratinus,in 5th century BC, christened chicken as "The Persian Alarm". Chickens, along with dogs and pigs were the most common domestic animals to have served the people living during the Lapita culture, the very first of the Neolithic kind, in Oceania. More of chicken, on a mythological and religious note, they are considered as the the channels of evil spirits during Hindu cremations at Indonesia. The hens and cocks are very deeply respected in Greek mythology and traditions too, because of their valor, exotic nature and charm. One might feel surprised that, in many European folk tales, the unlucky and evil spirits just flee at the first crowing of a cock.

The early man dwelled on chicken on a considerable extent for his living. These were the most commonly found meat in the Middle Ages. It was observed that chicken tasted good, was neutral and quite healthy, more so as it was digestible easily, without any fuss. Muscle tissues like breast, legs and thigh are the most favored pieces when one chooses chicken, with eggs being his/her more occasional diet. Coming with a very good nutrient value, these foods supplement us with a host of proteins and vitamins, so vital for our food consumption for stronger bones and cell synthesis.

Cornish, White Rock, Cochien, Silkie may be easily mistook for some fairy-tale names appearing in poetry or literature. But interestingly, these are some of the hybrid versions and breeds of chicken, as in U.S, Europe and Australasia. They have been in such good demand, that man probably found it too very long to wait for a hen to lay an egg and then eat it. Instead, he came up with an ingenious idea of artificial incubation. The process is accelerated, and luckily, a good breed of new chicken has been obtained. That really must have doused his hunger fires. Seemingly though. And with this came a new practice called Poultry and chicken were fed and artificially incubated and a novel business emerged. Perhaps that was some sort of a reward for the germinal ideas of the innovators.

Fried Chicken, Chicken Soup, Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Rice have been the most savored foods across the world. And where on earth can someone ever find the likes of KFC, McDonalds and Burger King making big cash without selling chicken? There have been many such eat-outs like Subway etc. but the one who first came up with such a novel idea of catering to the taste buds of many, deserves behemoth amounts of praise. A good way of making money indeed. A policy drafted straight from the book "Few Fast Earning Strategies", assuming there was one such book.......!!!! Chicken have been fairly successful in driving lucre to a businessman's pocket.

While the tiny birds have been helpful in ways aplenty, to the mankind, the latter is not exactly the same to them. Agreed, he does look after them carefully, but not without any solid reason. After all, he's not so obtuse in his approach, is he? That perhaps, is what sets off being the most distinguishing feature between a four-legged creature and someone with two legs and a gifted little brain.

He's shown the height of cruelty when it actually required him to be mature, realistic and kind in his approach. The poor hens, like we humans, are prone to a variety of diseases with Red Mite, Thrush, Mushy Chick Disease, Bird Flu, Salmonella, BlackHead disease and Gumboro to name a few. Recently, Bird Flu has been on a rampage in India, with West Bengal being the most hapless of the regions to suffer, already crippled by the vehement protests and strikes. The symptoms have been discouraging and panic-causing. More than 90% of the hen collapsed to death and a few more casualties occurring later. The government found itself aghast at the very first reports and ordered culling straightaway, making every attempt to keep the rest of them unaffected and disallowing it to grow rapid-fire and run haywire. But by then, the infected number had swollen to a whopping 378000. Birbhum district was the worst-hit, alone accounting for 350000. Meat-vendors ran frustrated as they tried their best, pulling out all stops and leaving no stones unturned in their bid to sell off the meat at prices less than half the earlier ones and found it increasingly difficult to have a word with the buyers. Egg sales reached a nadir at the market. The H5N1 strain of bird flu had telling effects on the state affairs and economy, leaving a dark trail on the ministers of affairs and those at helm. They were instead bothered about deciding the compensation figure. After severe round of discussions and formal ratification, they came up with a number 1 million, for Birbhum district. The culling operations and itinerary was decided soon after.

It was strikingly disappointing of the big league to come up with an ordinary thought. They never bothered to check whether the hens due for culling were affected or not. Some ignorant farmers arrived at the culling stage with few plump, hale and hearty hens and completely unaffected. Veterinary doctors were busy in their supporting operations and were worried of reaching the planned target and off took the culling. It was disheartening to see those little birds die, some of them, for no reason at all. The operations picked up good speed and the farmers were asked to stay far from their poultries. Similar operations were put in effect in Bihar too, as there were some cases reported in that region too.

There is a need for technology and wise men to come up with something better than culling operations. Agreed, that was the first measure everyone tends to take when in crisis but what of all those measures required to prevent the cause of such a pandemic disease. There are various factors based upon the cleanliness and safety standards which have an effect in helping prevent such diseases and those measures have to be legally implemented. Conditions at the affected districts like Birbhum were verified and it was found that the hen were allowed to grow in sub-standard poultry conditions and treated in an unhygienic way. Necessary steps had to be taken before-hand and poultries which lack the required facilities and cleanliness must have been not sanctioned. Had the authorities come up with a strict code of regulations, the results would have been much different altogether. It's not only for the people of PETA to care for animals but it's our collective, implicit and foremost duty to care for animals and protect them. We need them and they need us. Perhaps Man has forgot that he lives in a world where the nature supports symbiosis.

Chicken have served us from the long past. And they have done so in a very fruitful way, catering to his needs and serving our appetite and taste.

Was this the sort of 'Cull'mination the little birds deserved??

Church bids adieu at "The City of Churches"

2008-01-29T00:48:00.004+05:30

January 28, 2008.

“Some people hear their own inner voices with great clearness. And they live by what they hear. Such people become crazy... or they become legend.”

It was a warm summer morning at this picturesque city in South Australian Province. Few people remember it as the fifth largest populated city down under. And few others name it as "The City of Churches". This was the city which has enjoyed great religious freedom from its past. The coast-line is not too far away with the Gulf St.Vincent at its east and covered by the Mount Lofty Ranges, on the west, which rise somewhere about 700 metre.

Some 1.1 million denizens of this city had been busy since 6 in the morning, with many of them getting ready to start off a new fresh week on a positive note at their offices, colleges, banks and shops.

And there were a very few lucky people, quite exiguous of them, who chose to do something different than sticking to their routine, atleast on this final day. They never knew that this moment would arrive so soon, but they had grudgingly accepted that precise bit of sheer truth. And they knew that this day won't be arriving later than that momentous Monday.

The seats at the Oval were filling fast, and there was an air blend of excitement, sorrow and disappointment among the 33597 strong audience who had given their everything to be present at the venue. They were a very lucky bunch of people I tell you. Very lucky.

The spectators had not come here wishing to see the fifth day of a dull test match, nor had they come here to see their nation win. Instead, they had shelled out their extra bit of hard-earned penny to see something which none of the other 3 tests before this had witnessed. Some of them even took pains of waking up at the wee hours of 3 A.M and queue up to take their best places at this historic venue which was to witness a historical event. The Adelaide Oval has been home to all the budding South Australian cricketers and sportsmen since the year the time-line read a number 1871. A scoreboard set up on November 3, 1911, is still intact and is considered a treat for those who have a penchant for antique things, though many consider is antiquated. The first ever One Day International, the BodyLine peak war and Rahul Dravid's single-handed test victory are some of the most important eye-catchers of the Adelaide dossier.

All the on-lookers' eyes were set on a tiny man wearing thick gloves and entering the field with a bunch of fellow Australians and team-mates. This was the man who was the cynosure of all those who recognized and appreciated the spirit of a player who plays with his heads high, commitment true and a passion for his job. His team-mates affectionately called him 'Church' for he had the name of Lord Jesus in him. I guess that's the most obvious reason, but reasons apart, this man is clearly, in no way, less than the Lord Himself, for he's been blessed with something very few in the universe have been.

It was for this reason that Cricket Australia allowed him to play 96 tests for their country, wearing the proud Baggy Green. But then, he made his debut at the age of 24, much late than what he should have actually done. And after that, he made amends for all the lost time and came up with a defining character which left everyone dazed.

The man under our observation is a gem of a person called Adam Craig Gilchrist. To say that he is the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world is just stating the well known fact, but just in case for any unlucky ignorants and un-informatives out there.

Starting with, he made a meek first class debut for New South Wales in 1992 and a silent debut ODI appearance in 1996. The world then was at the feet of Sanath Jayasuriya, a dashing (to say the least) batsman. But here was a man of less words and a more dangerous bat. The stage was set and the arrival was yet to be announced.

He was his nation's 129th ODI cap and made his debut against South Africa at Faridabad, 25th October 1996. And many blokes never knew what this man had been all about but it wasn't that something burst out all of a sudden. The approach here was to see-learn-try up-falter-stand up-learn-understand-believe-defend-drive-pull-punch-thrash-cut-loft-dominate-demoralize of a kind. Noble bowlers found it difficult as the man grew and started fulminating in full throttle. Their Road To Perdition was growing more clear and the cut of the wrists gradually wore an intimidating stare. And off came the bowlers, off their spells, coming out crying and turning agnostic in their hopes to keep this man silent, let alone getting his coveted wicket.

Shaun Pollock, Shoaib Akhtar, Chaminda Vaas, Heath Streak, Merve Dillon, Azhar Mahmood, Venkatesh Prasad, Muttiah Muralitharan, Daryll Tuffey and many more.. All got whacked all over the park, with Gilchrist having a strange penchant to drive Shoaib Akhtar in particular, out of the attack and his minds and clean up his antics.

This was just the ODI scene. But there was lot to follow on the white-attire-circuit. Having made his debut at the Wooloon Gabba, Brisbane, in November 1999, against Pakistan, he belied a general Australian spectator's thought that Ian Healy was the better wicket-keeper for the longer version of the game. Pat came the reply, Church had scored a quick-fire 81 to lead Australia to a comfortable win. In his next test, the very second, he piled on the agony of the hapless Pakistani bowlers and scored an unbeaten 149 to guide his team to yet another victory, this time, a series winning one. And if at all, there was any thought of Healy being the better of the two, it was effaced at will. Here was the batsman who had an intention to stay and stay long. He was not here to be compared with someone and being judged on that.

And what happened after that is a big, eventful odyssey, filled with pleasure, excitement and drive. Any Australian would dream to bat like him, if possible.

But today was a different day altogether. Church had just surpassed the world record of 414 Test dismissals and knew that he would call it a day soon. But that was not something that the cricketing world anticipated, not so soon atleast. The decision came as a rude shock to his team-mates and colleagues and peers apart. He had the privilege of captaining his country for the last time of his international career, on the final day. That sounds so ironical. He took his 379th and the last catch of his exceptional test career, off Virender Sehwag. India batted out the entire day of the match, leaving Gilchrist unable to lead Australia in the second innings of the match. John Buchanan, the former Australian coach, states that Gilchrist's retirement had more impact than the retirements of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd asked Gilchrist to reconsider his decision but the Legend of West Australia revealed that he choose to retire after dropping VVS Laxman during the test matches against India, and realizing that he had lost his "competitive edge".

The visitors had made a long, crying walk back to their homes। Cricket can sometimes get very cruel, callous and heartless. We miss you Gilly. A great test match had come to an end but more importantly, a great test career had come to an end. It was hard to accept the harsh fact that the "Church" had closed it doors at "The City of Churchs".