Chala Musaddi ...
It was the most hilarious of tv serials i had watched whenever i last watched TV. Now they have made a movie out of it. Some of the jokes might sound similar , but the appeal is not restricted to that but in the stereotypes they present of the Govt offices in northern India right down to dressing, accent and ofcourse the problems common people have in dealing with them. Enjoy.
Jul 27, 2011
Jun 6, 2011
May 22, 2011
Return of Glamour
Two faces emerged in Rome Masters Tennis past week. Maria Sharapova and Samantha Stosur. Gave me a chance to talk about Tennis.
My first memories of Tennis are Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker. The rivalry of two wimbledon finals that eventually denied Ivan the Big W title. Ivan was my fav player during those days. My father asked me to figure out by myself the scoring for tennis and which i eventually understood without wiki (that was late 80s ). The attraction to tennis was strengthened by emergence of Steffi Graf and the rare appearances of Gabriela Sabatini (she was finishing her not so successful career) . Boys being boys, we would rush to School lib to get hold of the SportsStar to see the poster of Steffi. But to anybody thinking fans admire only looks, many have walked the courts but if you don't play you hardly move beyond prelim rounds and so no fan following as Kournikova realised. Steffi and Monica (who if not hampered by stabbing would have had achieved what Steffi did ) was another memorable rivalry. In the meanwhile, after departure of Ivan, Stefan Edberg etc. tennis scene remianed unpredictable for a while with Stich, Jim Courier and others filling in till the next great, Sampras. Sampras was an all round consistent guy who has since then been only matched by Fedrer and Nadal in talent.
There were phases of Indian moments in Tennis, mainly in Davis Cup to cheer about.
Coming back to Rome Masters , man being man i missed glamour in tennis but i am happy to see the likes of Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki , Daniela Hantuchova etc on circuit. But none of them have achieved or inspired in a way Kim Cljisters has, by being among very few moms to win a Grand Slam. Hats Off.
My first memories of Tennis are Ivan Lendl and Boris Becker. The rivalry of two wimbledon finals that eventually denied Ivan the Big W title. Ivan was my fav player during those days. My father asked me to figure out by myself the scoring for tennis and which i eventually understood without wiki (that was late 80s ). The attraction to tennis was strengthened by emergence of Steffi Graf and the rare appearances of Gabriela Sabatini (she was finishing her not so successful career) . Boys being boys, we would rush to School lib to get hold of the SportsStar to see the poster of Steffi. But to anybody thinking fans admire only looks, many have walked the courts but if you don't play you hardly move beyond prelim rounds and so no fan following as Kournikova realised. Steffi and Monica (who if not hampered by stabbing would have had achieved what Steffi did ) was another memorable rivalry. In the meanwhile, after departure of Ivan, Stefan Edberg etc. tennis scene remianed unpredictable for a while with Stich, Jim Courier and others filling in till the next great, Sampras. Sampras was an all round consistent guy who has since then been only matched by Fedrer and Nadal in talent.
There were phases of Indian moments in Tennis, mainly in Davis Cup to cheer about.
Coming back to Rome Masters , man being man i missed glamour in tennis but i am happy to see the likes of Maria Sharapova, Samantha Stosur, Caroline Wozniacki , Daniela Hantuchova etc on circuit. But none of them have achieved or inspired in a way Kim Cljisters has, by being among very few moms to win a Grand Slam. Hats Off.
May 15, 2011
Bravest of Brave
Watch this three part video on the plight of Gurkhas and the shameful and unjust treatment meted out by Britain. Link
A Gurkha who serves in British Army sometimes has no pension and till 1997 had no right to settle in Britain even though some of them had earned VCs in WW2 and Falkland wars. Gurkha regiments both in India and Britain are known to send a chill down the spine of enemy forces. Both Grenadiers and Gurkha Rifles have won three PVCs each for Indian Army . The selection process through which a Gurkha has to go in Nepal , is probably the toughest in the world. and as recently as Afghan fighting, Gurkhas have earned medals. They are duty bound to the extreme.
And such Gurkhas are unable to satisfy the British embassy that they have a valid reason to be able to go/stay in Britain ; while many illegal immigrants cannot be removed from Britain on human rights ground, many get asylum based on lies , many get unemployment benefits doing nothing and many plan terror from within UK.
A Gurkha who serves in British Army sometimes has no pension and till 1997 had no right to settle in Britain even though some of them had earned VCs in WW2 and Falkland wars. Gurkha regiments both in India and Britain are known to send a chill down the spine of enemy forces. Both Grenadiers and Gurkha Rifles have won three PVCs each for Indian Army . The selection process through which a Gurkha has to go in Nepal , is probably the toughest in the world. and as recently as Afghan fighting, Gurkhas have earned medals. They are duty bound to the extreme.
And such Gurkhas are unable to satisfy the British embassy that they have a valid reason to be able to go/stay in Britain ; while many illegal immigrants cannot be removed from Britain on human rights ground, many get asylum based on lies , many get unemployment benefits doing nothing and many plan terror from within UK.
May 7, 2011
Book Review
Title : Curfewed Nights
I have been a sympathizer of armed forces and therefore had been looking for the other perspective on Kashmir story. In my college, I had friends from Kashmir, however to avoid controversial debates/ to be politically correct, i never could indulge them in debates.
The author is journalist by profession and has therefore been careful never to explicitly state his opinion/likes/dislikes . So more or less everything has to be read between lines rather narrations. Some interesting things
--Author admits that even in early 80s , before the start of insurgency, his family and folks in his village would be supporting Pakistan during cricket matches. So by and large Kashmiri population has been siding with Pakistan since 47 and it has not been a knee jerk reaction to the claimed atrocities of Armed Forces.
-Book also gives a indication that inspite of this sympathy towards Pakistan, the Muslim population of Kashmir by itself was in harmony with all minorities living there.
Author has made a lot of effort to cover the victims of atrocities and bring out their stories however has been candid that most of them were insurgents who had received training across the border! (and we still provide proof to our neighbor about the existence of such training facilities )
The regrettable part of the book is that author did not make same effort to meet the Indian soldiers serving in Kashmir/ widows of Indian soldiers who lost their life saving civilians or soldiers and officers who risk their life every day.
Also author has not made any effort to bring narratives from stone pelters though considering the journalistic background of author it was not very difficult to do so. However all in all , book brought some new insights. Worth a read.
I have been a sympathizer of armed forces and therefore had been looking for the other perspective on Kashmir story. In my college, I had friends from Kashmir, however to avoid controversial debates/ to be politically correct, i never could indulge them in debates.
The author is journalist by profession and has therefore been careful never to explicitly state his opinion/likes/dislikes . So more or less everything has to be read between lines rather narrations. Some interesting things
--Author admits that even in early 80s , before the start of insurgency, his family and folks in his village would be supporting Pakistan during cricket matches. So by and large Kashmiri population has been siding with Pakistan since 47 and it has not been a knee jerk reaction to the claimed atrocities of Armed Forces.
-Book also gives a indication that inspite of this sympathy towards Pakistan, the Muslim population of Kashmir by itself was in harmony with all minorities living there.
Author has made a lot of effort to cover the victims of atrocities and bring out their stories however has been candid that most of them were insurgents who had received training across the border! (and we still provide proof to our neighbor about the existence of such training facilities )
The regrettable part of the book is that author did not make same effort to meet the Indian soldiers serving in Kashmir/ widows of Indian soldiers who lost their life saving civilians or soldiers and officers who risk their life every day.
Also author has not made any effort to bring narratives from stone pelters though considering the journalistic background of author it was not very difficult to do so. However all in all , book brought some new insights. Worth a read.
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