An event-phul week!

As I scribble this post, its almost dark here at 7 am in the morning in Shillong... thanx to the near total Solar Eclipse, a once-in-more-than-a-100-year occurrence ! I was told I am not allowed to look out into the sky, but couldn't help doing it :)
It has been an eventful last week out here, with lots of stuff happening... Firstly, the long-awaited 'Sports Management' course finally came to an end, after a splendid week-full of activites, presentations etc. It was by-far one of the best courses I had done! Then, there had been 'Bakar-unlimited' in the last few days... Not something new, but nevertheless, last week paani thoda sar ke upar chala gaya tha... :) Moreover, got the opportunity to eat Bombay Biites ka Veg. Cheese Burger 4 times... And trust me, Midnight is the best time to have these burgers... waah! mouth watering already!!! Exclusive Movie screenings for the elite: The classroom-turned-theatre, where night shows are aired is one awesome place to be in, especially when the movie is a pathetic one!!! Yea, you read that right! A pathetic one. And that's when the junta is in the best of its form and comments galore... A roller-coaster ride.. truly! That's not all... The cherry on top of the icing on top of the cake has been the post-midnight rounds of Table Tennis! 1 am to god knows wat time daily... when you start playing TT, time is something that just keeps running...
oh, by the way, I forgot to mention! the closing ceremony of the eventful week is happening today with a Cultural evening by a Rajasthani Folk Group & a Talent show by the Fachhas! the drama might just come to an end... only to start another one! :)

too much T20... excess salt in the food ??

Well, there seems to be just T20 cricket being telecast on TV these days... immediately after the 2nd round of IPL ended, the 2nd edition of the World Cup began. I wonder whether this overdose of T20 leaves any kind of interest in the cricket watchers' community in the lengthier forms of the game. Even the 50 over game for that matter may seem to be tooo long to watch fully, because of the advent of the so called "the most exciting version" - T20! Can you imagine yourself sitting in front of Star Cricket from 9 am to 5 pm to watch a 50 over game, especially after you have become so used to watching a complete cricket game in 3 hours flat?? To add to the spice of T20 cricket are attractions like 8-10 sixes in each innings, last ball finishes, unlimited number of twists and turns!! Given all this, I doubt if many cricket enthusiasts will be left with any patience to watch an entire 50 over game, which was quite happening before the invention of the 20 over format. Personally, I strongly feel most may not be able to do it.

If this is the condition of the ODIs, what words could I use for the future of the longest version of the game. Test Cricket - considered to be the truest form of Cricket, is losing its popularity slowly but surely. The day is not far when a 3rd day of an Ashes Test at Lord's or MCG will have empty stands. T20 cricket has become a hot commodity these days, for the marketers, for the players as well as for the Cricket boards! It has led to complete commercialization of the game.

I am not writing this blog as a result of my disappointment after the T20 World Cup debacle that India faced. That could be one of the reasons, but definitely not the only one. The reason being given for their poor show was the fatigue factor. One must remember that this fatigue was a result of not a 5 match test series against Pakistan, it was because of the just concluded IPL 2. It is very obvious that too much of T20 can be disasterous for the players' stamina, a critical requirement for the 5-day format. We all know as a fact that the Suresh Rainas, the Rohit Sharmas and the Yusuf Pathans cannot be part of the 11 of an Indian test squad, a fact proved again in this T20 World cup where all of them were caught struggling against the good-old short ball! This means that an Indian test team will have players mostly different from the ones in the T20 team, atleast in the batting department. And which also means that the popularity of T20 will be of no match to that of Test cricket, least in India.

I wonder if the cricket boards (read BCCI !) are pondering over the dark future of ODI and Test cricket. One may argue by stating that T20 has been consistently pulling crowds, with most games running into full houses, but my counter-argument would be that T20 is good from the crowd's perspective - its full of masala, a kind of a 3 hour thriller movie show! But is it as good from the GAME's perspective? Isn't Cricket the loser and Money the winner in this growing popularity of T20 cricket??? My sincere request to the 'Owners of the game' - please let the game live long... Its not worth losing it!

Shillong - a true paradise...

It was skepticism all over when I came to know that I would be spending my next two years at this place... Little did I know what an Eden it would turn out to be... The weather, the scenic magnificence, amazing waterfalls, valleys... jitni bhi taarif ki jaye, kam hai... It is not like any other Hill station, this one's different in a lot many ways...
First of all, it is not as commercialized as a Shimla or an Ooty... Its a blessing in disguise that Shillong in not very well connected, else hoteliers and related businesses would have squeezed out its Natural Beauty by now.
Secondly, Shillong is the face of the rich and unique Culture of North East... Each North Eastern state carries a cultural legacy of its own, which is worth experiencing... So many places to visit around Shillong, both within Meghalaya, and also in other '7-sister' states... Believe me, North Eastern India is a Travel-maniac's paradise.. Be it an Adventure enthusiast, Wildlife Hunter, Religious tourist, or someone who loves Peace & tranquility or who is on a Leisure trail - it has got something for everyone...
Lastly, the PEOPLE ! I sincerely feel it is a real previlige to have got an opportunity to come here... The people here are so kind hearted, peace loving, helpful and so accepting, that the urban population has to take a cue from them... These are people who are very content with whatever little they possess.. They just love nature, and most of their homes, however small they may be, have a small Garden outside... They are ones, who love their music also very much; Rock music thrives in their senses, and most of them I feel, are born with this talent of playing a guitar!
I am already feeling bad to have come here just for 20 months, as I realize that 1 year is almost over! Dear Time, take your Time !!! Let the remaining 10 months go on like an Eternity!

Bangalored !!!

The winter internship for 2 months brought me to this “2nd hometown” of all Chennaites. Bangalore or Bengalooru (not sure why there is a trend in India to keep changing names of major cities) has a charm of its own. I prefer referring to it as Bangalore itself. Though I had visited the “pub city” many times before, this was the longest time I got to spend in the city at 1 go.

My first reaction when I heard that I was posted at Bangalore for the Interns was that – I was so close to home that I could visit it every weekend. But as fate would have it, my 2 day weekends at the company where I interned were converted to 1 day weekends. I still visited Chennai thrice in between. That is pretty good I guess for an 8 week stay. Well, the motivation factor was (obviously) – ghar ka khana!! And considering that home was just 6 hours away, it wasn’t a bad proposition at all!! :)

As soon as one thinks of B’lore, the first places that come to the mind are: M.G. Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street etc. I had already visited these places on my previous visits. Hence, chose to stay away from these clichés this time around.

Few of the experiences of Bangalore worth mentioning are:

Walkathon of 8 kms! : The need for sending an urgent Speed Post took me to GPO (General Post Office) in Central Bangalore on a Sunday morning. Only GPO offered 24 hours service for Speed Post. A small research using our own maps.google.com on the previous evening showed that the place was 5 kms from my PG. I chose to take an auto to get there. During my return, I decided to take a walk back to my PG acco in Indiranagar CMH Road. I always liked taking long walks, especially in new cities in order to explore the roads. So here I was, walking from Vidhan Soudha (opposite GPO) to Indiranagar via Vittal Mallya Road – Raja Ram Mohan Roy Road – Richmond Town – Brigade Road – MG Road – Old Madras Road – Ulsoor – Indiranagar CMH Road. I ended up walking about 7-8 kms, atleast 2.5 km more than required, thanks to my ignorance about the routes. ‘All’s well that ends well’ – as they say. Nevertheless, it was a nice way to explore the city on an otherwise lazy Sunday.

Death by Chocolate: Had heard a lot about something Bangaloreans pyaar se call DBC. It’s a Sundae comprising of chocolate truffle pastry, ice cream, tons of chocolate sauce, topped with nuts served at the Corner House (a chain of ice cream parlours) outlets. It’s hard to describe the DBC experience in words! The melting chocolate inside the mouth takes you to Cloud Nine! And 1 Sundae is more than sufficient as a substitute for an entire meal. My mouth has already started watering as I am writing about DBC :) Simply Awesome!

Customer Service Redefined: How often in South India do you get to see a customer care employee from a Government dept. answer you in Hindi? How often are you satisfied (not just satisfied but delighted) after the call is completed?? How often??? Bangalore’s BMTC is definitely worth a mention here. During my stay, I had to go to the new airport BIAL, around an hour away from the city. Called up the Customer Care of BMTC to find out about the Red A/C Volvo Bus service (Vajra) – the service connecting various points in the city to the new airport. Ripley’s Believe Me or Not, I was guided not just with the exact boarding point that was closest to my PG along with the exact timing of the bus, I was also given the Mobile number of the Conductor of the bus for that particular route, for that particular timing of the service. Not just that, the time was 11.30 pm, and I called up the conductor at that odd time to confirm the timing with him. Even the conductor was as friendly as the Customer Care guy! Wow, amazing! Customer service truly redefined!

Autowallahs – pain in the neck: Being from Chennai, I know how bad Autowalas can get, especially with people from outside the city. The B’lore Auto guys are no different. The For-Namesake meters, rude drivers, double charges after 10 pm etc. – everything same as Chennai! :(

Bus Conductors’ tactics to mint extra money – ahh !!$$!!: One thing very peculiar of the BMTC Bus conductors is that – if you give them a Rs. 50 or a Rs. 100 note for a ticket amount lesser than that, they never pay the change back to you, though they might have the change. This happens every single time. They just write a note behind the ticket, asking you to collect the change when you’re about to get down, hoping that you forget so that they can make some extra money. Trust me; it’s a pathetic feeling when you actually forget!!! :)

Traffic, as always: The metro construction was in full swing during my stay. Though faced terrible traffic jams because of this, I guess traffic is something which you’ll have to live with when in B’lore. However, hopefully things should be better when the construction is complete. Kuch paane ke liye kuch khona padta hai!

Overall, had a terrific stay in Bengalooru, and as I said, it’s like a second home for all Chennaites.

Last heard news: Our dearest Lalu Yadav has funded a research for Bullet train service from Chennai to B’lore. Sounds interesting! Can we hope to reach B’lore from Chn in 2 hours flat by say 2020??? Only time will tell.

"Marks for work" scam

You must have heard about the ‘Cash for votes’ scam, which is the talking point, as the LS election is just round the corner. Ever heard of the ‘Marks for work’ scam? Well, it’s no different from the former. Not going too much into the Nitty-gritties (for obvious reasons :)... Just like while getting some money in order to choose a particular leader, Voters forget the seriousness of choosing an Able leader... "Marks for Work" also comprises of some stakeholders forgetting the importance of “Learning” & concentrate on “Earning” marks. In the process, only those tasks, which have Mark(et) value are considered essential.
Will we ever get an education system in India, at least in B-schools, where the practice of ‘Marks for Work’ is abolished??? A bit too unrealistic to ask for I guess... :)

Namma Chennai....

Well, this is my first ever blog… And I dint have to think a lot to decide what it had to be about. Yes… Chennai !!! Chennai – the land of beautiful beaches, the land of idlis, the land of filter kaapis, the land of kutcheries, the land of what not ! This city has got a charm of its own, an appeal of a peculiar kind. Only a Chennaite – a true one at heart, can appreciate what this ‘City of Simplicity’ has to offer. A perfect blend of cultural diversity and modernization. A metropolis whose ethnic values have not been given up to give place to the bustling city life. A city where people still know who their neighbors are, know even their neighbors’ kith and kin. A place where the 20-somethings celebrate the traditional music festivals in the month of December with the same zeal and zest as the modern musical extravaganza of A. R. Rahman and Shankar Mahadevan.

Chennai is tat mother, which has given birth to the stars in Rajnikanth, Kamal Hassan and the likes. A lot of e-mail forwards have been passed around making fun of the psychic, funny, non-realistic ways employed by these actors to prove their herogiri in their movies… But the fact that is forgotten is that these are the people who gross more at the box-office than anyone else in the industry. These are the ones worshipped like demigods by the masses, the ones whom people can look up to, they are the ones against whom NGOs don’t have to start ‘Quit smoking as it affects our children, our future’ campaigns…

The law and order situation in the city is the best one can get in today’s scenario. People here still have their respects intact for the flashing red lights on the roads and for the men in khakees. The IT & manufacturing hub that it is, people and organizations from round the world are flocking to spread their wings here. It’s not without a reason that Chennai is being called as the ‘Detroit of the East’. And even people originating or being educated from this place are succeeding with flying colors all over the world in their respective fields, thanks to the first-class education system in-effect here. It is not difficult to find a ‘Shriram Narayanan’ or a ‘Karthik Subramaniam’ in the biggest tech-based firms of the world like Yahoo, Google & Adobe.

Well… the purpose of this post is not to boast about the achievements of Chennai and its junta (oops, I already have done that !!!). The reason I am penning down my thoughts is to tell the innumerous non-Chennaites staying in Chennai and scolding it each day, that Chennai isn’t a bad place to live; provided you change your perspective a little.

The argument is that the food out here is pathetic. Well, say this is to a Chennaite and he’ll burst with ire. You can’t demand good aloo parathas everywhere in this land of idlis and dosas. People here eat rice with rasam, sambhar & curd as their staple diet, and you cannot demand to change that for anyone’s sake. You will have to like the specialties of this place rather than ask it to change its specialties.

Another issue of debate is the culture of Chennai. “There is no night-life at all” is what is being said. It is true that you will not find many restaurants serving food after 11 pm in this part of the world. Instead of the roadside dhabas operating in the late nights, you will find police patrol vehicles and policemen staying awake so that you can sleep safely and peacefully. And one has to accept the fact that this is a city which sleeps early and wakes up early as well. Where else in the world can you find restaurants serving hot breakfast at 5.30 or 6 am in the morning? This is Chennai after all, not Los Angeles where you’ll find fast-food outlets operating 24x7.

“People of Chennai aren’t hep!!!” Such statements make me pity the dudes & dudettes making such remarks. These are the people who think that wearing mini skirts and 4 earrings instead of 1 is what is called as being ‘hep’. Such people must understand that the actual fact is that the youth of Chennai don’t feel shy to sport a tilak on their foreheads or to wear a plaited hair-style.

“Language is a major problem!” Yes, it is indeed a problem for the locals to understand what is being said in Hindi. The same problem is being faced by the non-Tamil speaking junta living here. It is a mutual problem, not something faced by one side alone. You don’t complain about the language problem faced in Italy or Spain, do you? You accept it because there is nothing much one can do about it. It is the same thing; Chennai is giving you an opportunity to feel like you stay in a foreign land. Enjoy the experience of not understanding the locals and not being able to make yourselves understand.

“The autowallahs are a menace!!” Aah !! Yes, they indeed are !!! And its a fact that nothing much is being done about it either. Hmmm, all I have to say is - It is in reality a big problem, needs to be answered. And the earlier it is done; the better. And which city doesn’t have issues to be attended?? Chennai is no Utopia either. We’ll have to stay with the problem till it is resolved.

What more… Chennai is a city which can make people feel at home; people who have forgotten how to live a peaceful life without any hustle-bustle. It is a proud fact that Chennai is the best metropolis one can get to spend an entire lifetime, provided you can look at it that way !

Chennai Rox !!! Yea, it truly does !!!!