The real Slumdog millionaires!!

Though never a die hard fan, KBC has always managed to tempt me to linger on it during my insane channel surfing. Is it the charisma of the Big B, the raw human emotion or my 'feel good' when I seemed to answer Qs worth a few lakhs with ease. But I somehow feel this season of KBC really stood out and not for the reasons mentioned above.

This season belonged to the 'Mango' people( Saif's dialogue from Love aaj kal loosely translated into Aam Admi). Be it the computer operator from Bihar, the housewife from West bengal or the bank manager who all went home richer by a few and more lakhs, it seemed more a victory of the quest for knowledge. And it seemed shameful that these simple, small town individuals seemed much more well informed about the most diverse topics than the my so called forever online, "information at my fingertips" google generation. 

When I expressed this to my lovely companion of many a debate and of course the journey of life Sriganesh, his point of view was interesting. He agreed that it was indeed commendable however how will this ensure means of livelihood and only a limited few would get access to a stage and platform like KBC. Though it seemed to make sense, it triggered a thought and a very disturbing one at that- So what is real education? what is the purpose of education? 

And honestly I dont believe a show like KBC can be simply won by mugging up data and facts , it definitely goes a step beyond and requires a lot more exposure to varied subjects. Isnt that supposed to be real education - awareness of the past and present and the ability to apply and relate? And isnt that qualification enough  to land someone a job, a steady income and respect in society? This question will certainly open up a Pandora's box and am sure this piece will steer into a direction which might be a lengthy debate in itself.

But it really warmed my heart to see for a change a reality show made at least a small percentage of this intelligent, thirsty for knowledge yet simple individuals return changed men and women. And I am certain as much as the money seems precious, what will be a takeaway and a bigger high will the respect and pedestal  that the society will present them with which otherwise would have been possibly a distant dream. Jai ho !!!!

The spirit of life!

It was another routine Sunday in Phuket. A bunch of eager tourists all excited to see the pristine, picturesque Phi Phi islands set off on a speed boat. The demographics of the boat were very interesting - a group that was prefect for a unity in diversity photograph- Indians, Thai, Chinese, French, Australian, Danish and Mexican. The journey began and so did the onslaught of the rain gods. They beat down mercilessly on the boat and the boat continued its tryst with staying on top of the waves that seemed to be further strengthened by the high tide. The captain after a valiant 20 mins made a detour and docked at a nearby island for shelter and more importantly safety. The residents of the island swung into action - put out the warmers, brought out some tea and coffee and roasted some hot corn for the emotionally and mentally drained tourists. " Eat today, pay tomorrow" they reassured the tourists when they protested saying their belongings were in the boat locker and could not pay for them right away.After a stopover of an hour, the captain declared that we should head back as there was an emergency declared in the sea and it was no longer safe to get any further. En route back, no one spoke a word. The fear was writ on every face, a prayer on every lip. A few broke down as the sea was merciless with the rains competing closely in its threats. But what happened after was heartwarming, the Chinese family began to sing, a lot of them held hands, stayed close to each other, speaking to each other in a language that the other wouldnt even understand but still there was a comfort and a camaraderie. And finally when the boat touched shore , an exhausted, relieved and yet a wiser for life group stepped out. I salute this spirit- the spirit where words didnt matter, actions and silences spoke loud, where human emotion amalgamated a otherwise very diverse group, I salute the spirit of life!! 

Match Report- Geekgods v/s CSC

It was yet another warm sultry afternoon at Fernvale B for the match between Geekgods and CSC. The team went in confident after their last 2 wins and Uday chose to bat after winning the toss. The team playing saw the comeback of 2 seasoned youngsters Pulkit Khanna and Gaurav Pundir and also marked the debut of Vinay Nair in singapore. Out went the two openers and Sriganesh seemed in fine nick putting on some quick runs before he was run out to brilliant direct hit . Then began Kiran's blitzkrieg- backed by his wife Rachana and 3 year old son Vivaan he went on to make a quickfire 52 generously peppered with boundaries. Then came a time when wickets fell in quick succession but one man stood and played the anchor- Keshav. He played very sensible cricket not just playing out a major part of the innings but also hitting shots when it merited. Full marks to CSC for some brilliant bowling not conceding too many extras and some fine fielding. Geek Gods finished their 30 overs with 178 on the board.

The openers who were looking menacing succumbed to some very good bowling and soon the CSC team seemed to be in soup with quick wickets falling at regular intervals. Although at on stage Ram threatened to pull it away for them, full marks to the captain for intelligently using his bowling lineup and putting the pressure rigth back. The bowling lineup of Gaurav, Pulkit, Keshav, Vinay, Yuvaraj and Balaji contributed to the massacre and CSC was all out for 140 in 23 overs.

Final Scoreboard

Geekgods 178/8
CSC3 140 all out after 23 overs

Picks of the day

1. Keshav seemed omnipresent- superb all round performance with the bat and the ball.
2. Kiran for yet another briliant innings
3. Bowling lineup for the in line and wicket taking performance.
4. SG debutante Vinay bowling and fielding
5. Vivaan (Master Kiran) for his vocal support during the match.
6. The cool Ipad/Iphone app the CSC team has for scoring.

Areas of improvement

1. Running between wickets and calling could have been better.

Great going Geekgods for victory no 3 in a row and look forward to scripting many more success stories with you .

Match Report- Geekgods v/s PWC

August 13th 2011- the sun after its brief deliberation decided to shine nice and bright at about 8:00 AM . The stage was set for the match between the Geek gods and PWC at Fernvale. The match began at 8:10 with the two captains walking out for the toss. The toss was won by Uday who after a consultative 2 mins with the team decided to put PWC in to bat. Kiran set the ball rolling with the first over and maintained a good line. Prakash who came in next managed to baffle the batsmen and ended his first over with a wicket maiden. The top order in PWC never settled down with wickets following at frequent intervals till the middle order managed to salvage the situation with some clean and lofty hits. Rishi the top scorer of PWC along with Rehmat played a good knock and managed to put some quick runs on the board. Akshay who came in after Rehmat's dismissal played a neat cameo smacking the ball around for his 25 and supporting Rishi. Rishi however succumbed to a brilliant stumping by WK Sriganesh off Prakash and he returned to the crease 4 short of his 50. The match was shortened to 28 overs due to the late start and PWC managed to put on a competitive target of 195 to win. Prakash was the top of the bowling table with a tidy spell conceding just 18 runs from 6 overs with 2 crucial breakthrough wickets. the rest of the wickets were shared between Uday,Kiran, Jagan and Yuvaraj and 2 run outs.

The Geek gods began their run chase with a bang when Kiran smacked a six right into the pavilion in his 1st ball faced. I am tempted to steal a line from the O so famous sidhu one liners " The ball travelled so high it could bring an airhostess down with it " . Well certainly no air hostesss but this acted as a de stresser to the team and the batsmen who settled down well with Sriganesh rotating the strike and Kiran who was back in form with his clean hits. The partnership was broken at 55 when Sriganesh was bowled out and in walked the centurion of the last match-Santosh. Santosh seems to be having a field day and thoroughly enjoyed himself and entertained the audience with his quickfire attack making 74 off 44 balls . He and Kiran complemented each other, playing sensible cricket putting on a 100 run partnership before Kiran was out for 58. Santosh carried on the party with able support from Prakash, Sai and finally Uday who finished the match off in style with a 6. The Geek gods raced home with 6 overs to spare and beating the auditors at their number game on the field.

Final scoreboard

PWC 194/9 after 28 overs
Geek Gods 196/ 4 after 22.2 overs.

My picks of the day

. Prakash with his economical and eventful bowling spell
Kiran peaking in time with lofty clean hitting
Santosh carrying on the great form and making a big score yet again

My Areas of improvement from a observer standpoint

Quicker turnaround between overs
Cleaner pickups during fielding
More Calling between batsmen when running between wickets.

The Geek Gods seem to be back to their winning ways and this is good sign before the league matches in Sept. The run up to the match on Sept 25 is crucial and the friendly matches will give time and the platform for the players to get back into form and put Geek gods in a good position to settle in the top 3 of the league.

The May that was in Chennai

Come month of May and the Chennaites usually dread the onset of what is popularly known as 'Agni Natchatiram' or the hottest month of the year. This year was no different,the heat was merciless. But to accompany the piping hot filter kaapis, we had quite a plateful  of sweet and savory conversation items . Now you may go back and read the first line of this blog again- Hottest month and now I am saying piping hot coffee... uhaa before you dismiss me as no good... let me tell you the one sure shot way to spot a tamilian even in the sahara desert will be - a piping hot cup of coffee and mind it filter coffee . Some habits never die, they evolve. I may now drink it from a mug, with foam on top, with chocolate sauce, chilled, steamed whatever but my roots are intact- coffee it is!

This month was interesting and like they say about the budget had something for everyone. The IT boys and girls in their plush offices were worried about the rising price of petrol, the toll road charges and of course the fatter increments that were due to be revealed by  month end. The gods in Tamil Nadu had a stressful time as electoral candidates gave them little time to rest in their last minute attempts to appease the gods for a favourable election results. The students were stressed- their days were 'numbered' vacations coming to a close or even worse 10th and 12th results were awaited! But the aam aadmi - my my had quite a few things on his plate- inflation, political climate change and of course the prayer on every one's lips for Rajanikant who was taken ill this month. And all this amidst 'Whistle podu' for CSK.

Things have  way of sorting themselves out, a new government came in not before some a few 'ji' rather 2 'Ji' s were arrested in the 2G scam and sent to the famous VIP getaway- Tihar. The new government has 5 years to tick off some items in its manifesto, its too early to comment! CSK was rocking the boat to and from managing to keep the audience interested and the advertisers happy!

But a news that continues to haunt TamilNadu and now the an international location as well is - Thalaivar Rajani's health. TV channels air programmes of devotees fasting, conducting huge poojas and more so had a man swear ' he can donate all of his body parts for thalaivar's sake and whats more he swears that his mom was in coma, his bro had a serious accident and he has never made such an offer! Now my moral compass is swinging quite wildly, I am confused-  is this something to be proud about?And why will you air this on prime time TV? Somewhere in my head, the definition of media in a democracy is getting rewritten.

But someone i feel most sorry about is Rajani himself. Leave him and his family alone for once. I am a huge fan more of his simplicity and his humility. He is a simple man, he is unwell just like any other human being and will take as much time to recoup. The family  needs time,  space and yes needs all our  prayers- just like anyone in the world needs it.

There is so much suffering in the world, people who are lined up in queues for organ donation , why even for blood? Where are these valiant souls who profess these things on TV then? I am sure this kind of fanatical adoration can be put to better use. And who better than the media to sensitize the masses? I really wish that these 'sensational stories' are used the right way to inspire the audience to act and be there for fellow human beings. just as they feel for one great man. I am sure Rajani will not want it any other way.

May may have come and gone, some successes, some pending closure, the rains are also setting in. My prayers for a lovely monsoon and no more power and water cuts and of course that Rana is back with friends, family and fans soon..

Signing off  as I can't hold on any longer- The aroma, the steam, the mug,my 4 PM coffee beckons......

'Midas' Singh Dhoni does it again!

Its been  just about 2 months since India silenced the lions and tigers of world cricket with their stupendous victory in securing the highest honor of modern day cricket- The World championship. It is interesting how thanks to the attention span of the audience the true test of a nation's cricketing strength started off with test cricket then 'progressed' to slide down towards a 50 over ODI and now stands at a T20.

But yet this World cup was grand!! Thanks to the media and retail frenzy and most importantly this was the time corporate India trying to woo its employees with ' World Cup friendly' policies. Mega screens for the semis and finals at workplaces, relaxation of the dress code to allow 'Team India' T shirts, paid leaves on match days. Undoubtedly, the best days in my corporate life so far !! And the team didn't disappoint.  MSD and his men bled blue and strode past each obstacle outdoing themselves at every juncture. And the cup was finally home!! The media houses were delighted- they had enough to cover for the next one month, match analysis, photographs, interviews with aam junta, interviews with the neighbour of MSD's childhood friend's aunt . The cricketers were obviously tired ..... collecting their keys to their villas, cars, bikes and of course posing for photographs. But yes the Indian junta was  still hungry for more.

Just as they were recovering from hoarse throats and fatigue of the sweet victory began the glitz and glamor of the IPL. The corporate czars rubbed shoulders with the larger  than life superstars, cheer leaders brought along cheer and lots of curious stares and the cricketers did what they did best - played hard and partied harder.  All eyes were on the Chennai Super kings to see if the MSD magic would work again!! And disappointing enough to all those critics and non believers the king and his army marched to victory again!!!

I am not a cricket or psychology expert but yes my years of experience watching cricket and the captains who came and went, some good some forgettable, MSD stands out! There are so many things about him that are refreshing - his ability to control emotion and find his 'inner peace' ( See Kung Fu Panda 2 for more) , his ability to motivate the bunch of above the ordinary youngsters to an extraordinary goal, his ability to keep everyone guessing - Nehra over Ashwin, Sreesanth in the final are decisions he admitted will be forgotten now that they have won and above all- the ability to have inspired the team to follow his path not by force but sheer admiration and devotion is remarkable. The feeling seems fanatical within the team, be it India or CSK these guys seem to do as he says without a question or a doubt. And why not it pays off each and every time. It will be a watch to see how long and if this trend will continue. However when i look back at the hectic cricket season, MSD will remain the architect and visonary of leading two fantastic teams to success and its probably only fair that he is now christened - 'Midas' Singh Dhoni- whatever he touches  turns into gold!