News on the Loose

I remember the good old days when I used to wait till 10:00 PM on Fridays to see "The World this Week" hosted by the legendary Prannoy Roy. He was a man who revolutionized the way in which news is conveyed at least from the Indian perspective. Maybe he followed the path of the BBCs and the CNNs, but he was the man who transformed the face of news in India.

When he came up with a dedicated news channel in the form of STAR News a few years later, there was a major upheaval amongst the news broadcasters whether a 24 hour news channel will succeed in India; again the man proved them wrong. Then came NDTV and that marked the rising of several new exciting story tellers like Rajdeep Sardesai, Srinivasan Jain, Burkha Dutt, Arnab Goswami etc. Soon there was a flurry of news channels that rocked the Indian media, and I as an ardent follower of news only through TV was really excited about the move expecting diverse perspectives from different people; but what it led to is the topic of discussion here.

The news media is dubbed as the watchdog of the Democracy; but is it really doing its job effectively. This doubt keeps passing my mind every time there is breaking news and soon after that it fades off in thin air. I am talking about the “Jessica Lal Case”, “Amar Singh ka amar kahani”, “Nithari Killings”, “7-11”, “Blue line buses” and the list goes on and on and on…

Every news channel is only interested in bringing the so-called “breaking news” to the viewers to increase their TRP ratings, but they are not really interested in following the story and let the viewers see the final outcome of it; except for a few news items like the “Sanjay Dutt Drama”, “India Fashion Week”, specific sports features etc.

Is this the responsibility of a news broadcaster? I have my own doubts about it and if someone can clarify please do so. The other day when the triumphant Indian team was returning back from Johannesburg, our fragile capital market was at its rocking best touching an all-time high of 17,000. I was really surprised to see all the news channels covering every move of the victory parade of the Indian team from the Mumbai airport to the Wankhede stadium and not the stock market scenario. It was in fact a great feat that India achieved in Jo’burg, but isn’t the economic scenario of India more important that the “Heroes’ welcome”. For me it was…

To add insult to injury, I had to sift through all the news channels back and forth to finally see the figure of 17,000 on my TV screens. That’s the watchdog in full action for you. One more instance: when had lost the cricket series to Australia and we desperately needed to win the 20-20 fixture in Mumbai and you know what is the “hot-news” about the 20-20 match… “Deepika Padukone is going to be at the Wankhede to witness her heroes Dhoni and Yuvraj play against Australia”, what the heck is the buzz about her coming for the match. I am more bothered about the team selection and the fitness of the players.

There is so much of real important news to cover, and there are enough channels and slots to telecast these happenings. The question here is:

• whether they really want to bring the news that is necessary for the public

• whether they are interested not just in improving their TRPs

• whether they want to just engross the audience with “breaking news” and not enlighten them with the hidden facts behind the scene

• whether they want to become the authentic watch dogs of the Indian Democracy.

धोनी का काम क्या हैं? (What is Dhoni's work)

Just as you would have seen in the recent promo's for the ICC World Twenty20, an icecream vendor says "धोनी का काम धोना हैं!!!". It took Dhoni and his men in blue to prove it right in just 4 weeks time. Here's how they did it...



... LITERALLY!!!

DreamWorks ICT

"Dreams are nothing but incoherent ideas, occasioned by partial or imperfect sleep."

Yes indeed!!! Almost 1.1 billion people with partial or imperfect sleep after the ICT’s (Indian Cricket Team) debacle in the World cup, losing to minnows Bangladesh lead to a dream - a dream of achieving something better; something that can console millions of broken hearts; something that the current generation can cherish and pass on to the next generation.

With the stalwarts out of the arena for a little while, owing to opportunity to new blood; with the tag of an underdog entering a new venture; with the stamp of “chokers” at the big stage; with the least of odds to win a competition, what Team India did at the Wanderers winning the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 was a dream come true for every Indian Cricket fan.

India was not the side with the strongest team on paper. It was neither a side whose batting order ran till no. 9 in the line up nor a team with 5 all-rounders, but definitely proved to be a team to be with 11 like-minded individuals destined to perform as a cohesive unit throughout the tournament.

India was never the front runner to win the shortened version of the game as we were “not known” to perform under pressure and that too with only 20 overs to show your mettle and come out winning is definitely something. India proved everyone wrong including Ravi Shastri who commented in Cricinfo “Although my heart says India, my logic goes for Australia” just before the semi-finals.

With the likes of Australia, South Africa, England, and Sri Lanka out of the team tournament (75% courtesy to India), it was left to India and Pakistan to fight it out in the finals. It was an amazing game of cricket, with the arch-rivals competing with each other in every department of the game.

It was a roller-coaster ride for 180 minutes and the momentum was shifting back and forth after every 5 minutes. If Pakistan did well to restrict India to a low score (in the context of the game), India did equally well to take wickets at regular intervals and push the Pakistan batsmen to the back foot.

Some loose shots played by their batsmen and some loose deliveries by the Indian bowlers and suddenly there was amplified blood-pressure and increase in the pulse rate. Thanks to some big-hitting by Misbah Ul-Haq and Sohail Tanvir; from nowhere these guys with their lusty blows took Pakistan towards an unlikely win against the much favored ICT.

It was match down to the wire and worth every second and penny spent on it. With 13 runs to score from 6 balls, I had my fingers crossed like any other cricket lover – but from inside praying for India to win the humdinger. A wide delivery, followed by a six over long off from the extra delivery – what else can you ask for from an India-Pakistan finals. And then came the moment of joy for India with Misbah trying to loft it over short fine leg, but Sreesanth was promptly standing there to take all Indians over cloud nine.

After months of prolonged criticism about the Indian Cricket Team and after futile debates over the composition of the team, the men in blue came up triumphant.

Go-India-Go!!!

And now about the title:

As most of you know, I am ardent fan of movies (apart from sports) and just wanted to relate this dream working for the ICT (Indian Cricket Team) with the movie production house DreamWorks SKG. ;-)

Legends of the Fall

People who have been very close to me, know me as a sports fanatic; may it be Cricket, Basketball, Soccer, Tennis, Motorsports, Badminton, and for that matter any sport that is telecast on TV - I follow it with utmost vigor. Doesn't mean that I do not play anything at all; I used to play basketball regularly during college, and as an average Indian - I do play Cricket in its purest - tennis ball cricket (but at times the real one as well)

Hence as a tribute to some of the sportsmen, just wanted to list down a few legends I have closely followed in the last 20 years:

1. Michael Jordan - My icon, my inspiration to take basketball seriously as a sport when I was in college and would stay very close to my heart for his all-round ability on the court
2. Sachin Tendulkar - Modesty is the man's middle name, and that is what I admire from this little master more than his batting skills, attitude, commitment, so on and so forth
3. Michael Schumacher - The man who redefined Formula 1 (in the current era), and who has several records to his name which are pretty tough to rewrite
4. Pete Sampras - His actions speak louder than his words, as I have never seen him utter a word on the Tennis court
5. Lance Armstrong - When you are already in your 30s; suffering from testicular cancer, and the world has written you off - to bounce back and win 6 back-to-back is no easy job
6. Yelena Isinbayeva - The lady does not get bored breaking her own records in pole vault for the last 5 years or so
7. Michael Phelps - The man burns 12,000 calories a day practicing in the pool, which has earned him 14 Olympic Gold medals so far (and counting)
8. MS Dhoni - Captain Courageous, as we call him - has developed day after day, in his demeanor
9. Tiger Woods - The Accenture ad says it all, I need not articulate much
10. Roger Federer - The king of grass, only after Petey... The Swiss ace has definitely etched his name not just in my memory, but also in Tennis history

I'm sure that this list will evolve, but these sportsgreat are my "top of the mind" picks (rather "Close to the heart" picks)

The art of decision making

Every task that we do in life is definitely a challenge in one way or the other. The challenge may arise at different junctures. It can be when you receive a task in hand, or when you explore alternatives, or when you execute it; but ultimately in each every step in the process of executing a task we make decisions. Decisions - whether or not to take the task, in the first case; how to go about it, what to do, when to do, how to do and with whom to do it. Taking the right decisions at the right time can make or break your success. So, let’s talk about the art of decision making and how to achieve success by taking the right ones:

• First and foremost, foresee if you can stand by your decision till the very end; although “Impossible is nothing”, there are a few instances and circumstances when certain parameters will be out of your reach.
  

• The more opposition you expect to a decision, the more important it is to choose the right moment
  

• Beware of cheating paralysis with analysis
  

• DO NOT stampede into a decision without exploring alternatives; PLAN – B is very important
  

• If waiting will eliminate an option, decide now and decide wisely
  

• When making your decision DO NOT ignore your instincts; because at times your ESP can do wonders to you
  

• Set a deadline; decisions without a deadline is like a bike without a brake
  

• And finally when you do act, act forcefully; sometimes even unwise decisions with a convergent force can beat the odds

Decision making is a distinct art, which does not have any specific road maps that can lead to success, but the above mentioned were some of the finds from my real life experience.

The Shaving Set

We are a gang of 10 freinds who call themselves as the "Shaving Set". To our credit we own a google groups and an Orkut community of the same name. The description about the group goes like:

"This group is formed by destiny. There is no escape or relief for its members to evade from it. Well known for its Poor Jokes. Each one is capable for cracking some non-sense in the name of jokes and make your head reel. Meant for nuts and cracks. it is members pride, non-members envy."

We hang out together right from our college days and we try and come together for all the possible occassions and the latest get together was at my house warming ceremony (which I had blogged about a week back).

The group never runs out of sad, sadder and saddest jokes (which we call "Mokkai" in Tamil vernacular). This is one such episode which was cleanly consolidated by the "King of mokkai" one of my closest buddies Mayilvaganan. For those of you who cannot read or understand Tamil; or those of you who are out of the wavelength of the group the following exchanges will be greek and latin, but it evokes a great deal of laughter everytime I read it.

Adi reaches Sab's house @ 3:am in the morning
- Sab appa shows the bedroom to him and just leaves to take lungi for him and when he returns he finds him sleeping in the room
... next day he feels to all -"Illappa, ippadi thongaravangla naan paarthadhu illa"

Talks about Sivaji is going on
Venkat: Machi, sivaji-la Shreya yeppppadi irukka - hmm, Ahaaa - chance-ey illa
Mehta (a kid in Sab's House): (appavi thanamaga) yennaga Poochi kadichuducha...
... all agree unanimously to call venkat as "Poochikadi Venkat" henceforth

Karthi anna had bought Kouton branded shirts
Adi: Like Kouton, there is a brand called Cotton (and he goes on) - the font and colors will also be same
Venkat: Ama, naan paarthuirukken - C pottu round potturukkum...
Myl: Machi, appadi pottuirutha adthu Copyright -da

While going in Cab
Myl: inga yellam Black-soil -a
Venkat: itha kettu nee enna panna pora
Myl: illada, black soil-na Bengal gram yellam nalla mulaikkume adhunala ketten... anyhow.
Apdi mulaichulum ivange "Pollachi gram"-nnu than soluvange... (I agree - above one was damn mokkai)

During a foto session, Sab
Naan ungalukku korangu-a (monkey) kaamippen, yellarum parkkura mathiri fotovukku pose kodukkanum...
(After the foto was taken, everybody sees in different direction, Adi exactly in the opposite direction...) - Pavi upload that foto for others.

Adi takes a foto in 10 x camera
Adi: Pinnadi ponga..
Adi: Innum pinnadi ponga..
Adi: Innum konjam..
Myl: Ivannukku ithey velaida... pinnadi ponga ponga solli kadaichiya zoom panni yeduppan...

During Trekking, Guide (Srini) shows us
Anga parunga... Kaattu yeruma, anga parunga... kaattu Koli, anga parunga... Kaattu panni After it'z over...
Somebody: Ivanga yedha parthalum adukku munnadi "Kaattu..." sethukkurangeda
Praveen just arrives before the group
Subbu: Athane... praveena kaattula partha udane avane "Kaattu praveen-nu" sollidaratha...

Praveen & Subbu keep calling themselves kaattu Subbu & kaattu Praveen each other and the next day they come to a settlement
Praveen: Nee ippa sonnathukkum, naan unnai kaalaiyela (morning) sonnathukkum sariya pochu...

Sab: oruthar yanai thorathi moocha-ve (urine) poittar
Praveen: Avvalavu avasarathiluma...

We hear "Yaanai Piliral" sound in the morning
Venkat: Yaanai sombal murikkuthu
Somebody: Pirandu padukkuthu...
Venkat: (with expression) ama yeluthuruchu.. 'oh! innikku sunday thane porumaiya yeluthirukkalam' nu thirumba thoongum pola

Praveen couldn't take the foto of a "Pulli Maan"
Venkat: Avanala spotted deer spot panna mudiyala

Somebody: Yeppadi subbu unga appa ippdi fit-a irukkaru
Subbu: Treadmill-a oduvaru
Myl: Yenna periya visayam yenga appa windmill-ulaye oduvaru..
Joke extends... and adi appa, pavi appa gets rice-mill and mavu-mill

Venkat, Adi, Karthi anna (carrying water bottle), Myl - walking to the main room for breakfast
Venkat: (boasting abt his shitting) Kalaiyula yeluduruchu free-a poittu vandhutten
Karthi Anna: thannikku yenna pannine...
Venkat: Bottle-la yeduthuttu poiten
Karthi: Unnakku andha thanni paththuchha...
Myl: Adula avan meethi thanni vera kondu vanthan...
Karthi: Aiaiye....
Myl: Yenna aiaiye... atha than ippa neenga thookittu varringa...
Karthi immediately disposes the bottle.

Talking about somebody who has got 2 cars
Venkat: Machi, Avanellam 2 car vacchu yenna panna poran
Praveen: Mask of Zorro-la varra mathiri intha kaila onnu antha kaila onnu oottuvannu irukkum
Venkat: (as if he missed the scene in that film) yeppada andha scene varum
Praveen: Mask of zorro-vula yedhuda car... appdi kuthiraiya (horse) than ottuvaan...

Praveen, Sab, Myl & venkat sit in the front row in the cab - Congested
Subbu: Praveen - nee pinnadi ukkaru (lean backward)
Sab - nee munnadi ukkaru (lean front)
Myl - nee pinnadi
Peter - nee munnadi
Venkat: Sorry pa, nambanala intha Fibbanocci series yellam maintain panna mudiyadu...

... After some time, Venkat moves forward
Myl: Machi, ivan move pannina vudan dam-a thorandhu vitta mathiri kaathu varuthu da... everybody agrees and says "Correct.. yengalukku yellam kuda kaathu varuthu"

A red "korangu bommai" - full of fur - hangs in the cab - the hands of it are more reddish than the body parts
Myl: pavam itha korangu bommai... thongi thongi kaiyellam sevanthu pochu... (most of them laughed).
Subbu: nee adikkura intha mokka jokukku nanga than sirippom...
Myl: Porakkaila yenda kolanthaiyum mokka podurathilla, Athu mokkaiya varathum, varathathum - athoda friends nala than, (Adade Achchiriya kuri...)

Talk abt expectations of our future spouse
Subbu: Mayil, unnakku yeppadi ponnu varanum ninaikkure
Myl: vandha podhum, subbu
Subbu: Peter unnakku
Venkat: Naan romba yedirpakkala, yenakku parkkable-la irunda podum... (he meant parkkura madhiri irunda podhum)
All in chorus: yennadhu park-kkablelava -> Nanga yeppadi peter unnakku parkable- irukkuma illaiya paththu ponnu paakurathu...

Venkat: Shreya-va paru yevvalu alaga irukka... kadavuloda (God) padaippe padippu than
Myl: yenda dai, neththu full-a unnai Kaadu, Malai, lake, dam yellam suththi kaamichom appalam unakku kaduvuloda padaippu theriyala... rascal

Home Sweet Home

“Veetai Katti paar; Kalyanam panni paar”, this is how a Tamil saying goes to elucidate the intricacies involved in performing a wedding and building a house. I personally felt that this was kind of an exaggeration given the fast moving nature of the world. I was proved wrong very recently, but the final outcome was my “Home Sweet Home”

Building a house of his own was my dad’s dream for almost 2 decades and it was eluding him for all his life. This was because he was moving to different places; thanks to the nature of his job. Finally he decided materialize it about 4 months back. The journey began there and there were a lot of ups and downs during this 4 month period.

Ours is a two-bedroom independent house in a residential area in Udumalpet (for those of you who do not know Udumalpet, it is a 2 hour drive from Coimbatore). A lot of planning and debates and fights have gone in to the construction of this house of ours, as ideas were pouring from various corners. My dad wanted to keep the house straight and simple with a “no frills attached” tag; but I and my brother in particular had different ideas.

Although our contribution in terms of the plan and the construction was very less, both me and my brother took pains in getting the home a “no complaints place”. We took utmost care in making the home beautiful and at the same time not to affect the sentiments of our parents.

With me being placed in Hyderabad and my brother in Mumbai it was difficult for us to oversee the developments and the way in which our home was coming up; but technology helped us a lot in sending the designs and colors that we desired for different rooms of our home and in-turn made my dad techno-savvy.

Finally the d-day came and when the final moment came my dad was a “proud man”. I have never seen him so happy and feeling proud of his work, but yet modest after seeing his longstanding dream come true. All those people who built their houses will definitely agree to this.

That’s not the end of the story. I’ll follow-up this blog with the small tour that I and my friends made to Top-slips and all the fun that we had there.