So, everybody in Kolkata … enjoy today … Happy Rains!

After reading the news piece about some minister from the National Congress Party calling him a “non-secular” person just because he praised Narendra Modi for his developmental work in Gujarat I was appalled by how trivial a matter they could find to hit him with when they had a bigger cause of drafting and passing an Anti-Corruption Bill in hand. This does not mean that Narendra Modi’s non-secular acts are not known to us. No righteous person can support his special sentiments towards his religion so as to harm people of another religion (as news reports has said). What I mean to say is that we have to look beyond religious affiliations and caste and creed when India is facing a much bigger adversary who does not know caste, creed or even religion. They do not think of all that when they hoard their bank accounts with the tax-payers’ money. They do not see whether the money that they swindle from belongs to an extremist or to a liberal. They simply know “money”.

Hence, my only request to the people who are trying to find these trifling faults in a man who is fighting for a greater cause must look at themselves first and think … are they really hurt by what Anna Hazare said about Narendra Modi or are they trying to fight with him just because they lost the previous battle?

It is absolutely clear that the differentiating factor between the winning and losing side was their bowling and fielding. India won the match by sheer disciplined fielding and bowling. Honestly I have never been a fan of the team’s early foray with the bowl and their spread across the field. It was unlikely of the team improvising and adjusting to the changing pitch and bowlers bowling a straight line without giving an extra till the late overs. That was something that cricketers all across the world should add in their cricketing-lessons.

Pakistan’s dropped catches, failed leg-before-wickets and patchy bowling costed them invaluably. That showed how unprepared and nervous they felt in Mohali. This Mohali had been a lucky pitch for them the last 2 times they had played here against India. The Pakistani bowlers came back confidently towards the end to take the 9 wickets of the Indian batting. Among the remarkable dismissals were Yuvraj Singh’s bowled facing his 1st ball, Sehwag lbw and Virat Kohli’s catch by Umar Akmal, all bowled by Wahab Riaz. Wahab’s 5 wicket detruction was the highlight and saving grace for the rather sad Pakistani bowling and fielding. His career best would have won him the Man of the Match if Pakistan would have made the targetted 261 runs.

The lowest point for Pakistan was Umar Gul’s worst bowling performance ever. Giving away 69 runs in 8 overs lead Pakistan’s loss. Also Pakistani fielders faired badly when it came to catching Sachin’s weak strikes. It was only because of Pakistan’s bad luck that Sachin survived and made 85 which brought him the Man of the Match award. Fielding positions were another area where Pakistan got a setback. Fours could not be contained in the initial overs and even the ball over-throws was worrysome. As for the dropped catches, any Pakistani cricket fan would be outraged for such a bad performance.

As for India, Dhoni was right in praising his ‘boys’ for their bowling and fielding. When he said that he didn’t have to use an extra bowler because his major bowlers were doing their job was so true in more ways than one. It is unlikely that all bowlers click on the same day. But it happened yesterday evening. Such line and length is quite a treat. And the fielding … sigh! It was top order. Crisp and prompt. Absolutely mouthwatering. The ecstasy of watching the celebrations after every wicket is like you suddenly attained wings! Your eyes pop out and you feel like crying out loud with endorphins in blood reaching abnormal levels.

Let us take victorios names now. The Indian bowling line-up – Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh. All taking 2 wickets each. All maintaining splendid line and length. This is unnatural and unusual for Indian cricket. It might be that such figures were there before I was born (1983), but after that, I did not see such a phenomenon. Notable wickets were Yuvraj’s crippling of the Pakistani middle order, Bhajji’s bowling Umar Akmal out who would have been dangerous if left in the middle (he made 29 off 24 balls), also his sending the valuable Shahid Afridi back to the pavilion before he could damage the winning plans that Dhoni and his men were working on throughout the match was just wow! I must say I started my celebrations after Shahid was caught outside the 30 yard circle by a cool and confident Sehwag. Towards the end Nehra’s 2 quick wickets and in the climax Zaheer Khan chorusing the swan song for Pakistan by dismissing the steady Misbah-ul-Haq who was the only one who could turn Pakistan’s fate if someone in the down order would support him by staying in the crease, was a lovely treat.

Fielding was the best thing that India discovered they could work with in this match. Be it Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh or Virat Kohli. Their fielding positions were prim and proper and they did not disappoint. Catches by Virat and Sehwag were something to go back and watch again and again. It was the saving of 1 or 2 runs that I believe brought India closer to the cup.

I apologize for mixing a little salt in such a sweet but there are 3 moments in the match which notably made me scream with irritation. First, Yuvraj’s arm hitting the bales while attempting a run out, his conceding 15 runs in one of the late overs he bowled (the first ball went for a wide and a four!) and Ashish Nehra’s lousy almost-catch outside the 30 yard circle. Special apologies to Yuvi … you’re my most favorite player since you started playing . As for Nehra, sorry for the finger you hurt trying to take that catch.

I really hope that the men in blue learn from these invaluable lessons in bowling and fielding that they themselves scripted in this match. Wish them all the bestest of wishes for the World Cup Final 2011 on Saturday against the best bowling side in the world – Sri Lanka.

The 76-year-old woman walked down the hallway of Clearview Addictions Clinic, searching for the right department. She passed signs for the “Heroin Addiction Department (HAD),” the “Smoking Addiction Department (SAD)” and the “Bingo Addiction Department (BAD).” Then she spotted the department she was looking for: “Facebook Addiction Department (FAD).”

It was the busiest department in the clinic, with about three dozen people filling the waiting room, most of them staring blankly into their Blackberries and iPhones. A middle-aged man with unkempt hair was pacing the room, muttering,”I need to milk my cows. I need to milk my cows.”

A twenty-something man was prone on the floor, his face buried in his hands, while a curly-haired woman comforted him.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be all right.”

“I just don’t understand it. I thought my update was LOL-worthy, but none of my friends even clicked the ‘like’ button.”

“How long has it been?”

“Almost five minutes. That’s like five months in the real world.”

The 76-year-old woman waited until her name was called, then followed the receptionist into the office of Alfred Zulu, Facebook Addiction Counselor.

“Please have a seat, Edna,” he said with a warm smile. “And tell me how it all started.”

“Well, it’s all my grandson’s fault. He sent me an invitation to join Facebook. I had never heard of Facebook before, but I thought it was something for me, because I usually have my face in a book.”

“How soon were you hooked?”

“Faster than you can say ‘create a profile.’ I found myself on Facebook at least eight times each day — and more times at night. Sometimes I’d wake up in the middle of the night to check it, just in case there was an update from one of my new friends in India . My husband didn’t like that. He said that friendship is a precious thing and should never be outsourced.”

“What do you like most about Facebook?”

“It makes me feel like I have a life. In the real world, I have only five or six friends, but on Facebook, I have 674. I’m even friends with Juan Carlos Montoya.”

“Who’s he?”

“I don’t know, but he’s got 4,000 friends, so he must be famous.”

“Facebook has helped you make some connections, I see..”

“Oh yes. I’ve even connected with some of the gals from high school — I still call them ‘gals.’ I hadn’t heard from some of them in ages, so it was exciting to look at their profiles and figure out who’s retired, who’s still working, and who’s had some work done. I love browsing their photos and reading their updates. I know where they’ve been on vacation, which movies they’ve watched, and whether they hang their toilet paper over or under. I’ve also been playing a game with some of them.”

“Let me guess. Farmville?”

“No, Mafia Wars. I’m a Hitman. No one messes with Edna.”

“Wouldn’t you rather meet some of your friends in person?”

“No, not really. It’s so much easier on Facebook. We don’t need to gussy ourselves up. We don’t need to take baths or wear perfume or use mouthwash. That’s the best thing about Facebook — you can’t smell anyone. Everyone is attractive, because everyone has picked a good profile pic. One of the gals is using a profile pic that was taken, I’m pretty certain, during the Eisenhower Administration. “

“What pic are you using?”

“Well, I spent five hours searching for a profile pic, but couldn’t find one I really liked. So I decided to visit the local beauty salon.”

“To make yourself look prettier?”

“No, to take a pic of one of the young ladies there. That’s what I’m using.”

“Didn’t your friends notice that you look different?”

“Some of them did, but I just told them I’ve been doing lots of yoga.”

“When did you realize that your Facebooking might be a problem?”

“I realized it last Sunday night, when I was on Facebook and saw a message on my wall from my husband: ‘I moved out of the house five days ago. Just thought you should know.’”

“What did you do?”

“What else? I unfriended him of course!”

Are you one of us? If yes, you will know what I was doing at around 2AM last night. Star movies was showing Titanic and because my husband had to sleep early because it was office night, I couldn’t watch it. Unable to sleep under the stress of missing the ‘action’ I decided to force myself to sleep. But sleep is a mindless bitch. She stays away when mind commands and heart does not respond. Heart wanted Titanic, mind said “nap time … dive inside your covers” and I was anyways messed up.

Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice (1982)

Enough! No more mind games. Let the heart drive. Out comes my 10 inch Acer Aspire. Throwing the covers over my head in the dead dark of the night, I switched on. Blue light flooded the room like sunshine and my heart leapt with joy. Entering the movies folder was more anticipating than waiting for my salary. I chose to watch the 1982 classic “Sophie’s Choice”, the story based in America about a young writer befriending a Jewish American and a Polish Catholic who had suffered from the Hitler’s holocaust.

I had never seen the movie before. All I knew was Meryl Streep won the Academy award for best actress and my favorite mother-daughter team, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore were fond of this movie. This was reason enough for me to spend the next 2 hours 31 mins in the dark room with only the netbook light under the covers with my husband sleeping (un)soundly to watch the schizophrenic antics of Nathan Landau, heart-rending Sophie’s past and experiences of young Stingo as he tries hard to live as a writer only to be sucked into the fun and dramatic life of the passionate couple.

Now, after waking up late in the morning, getting lessons on gastric instability caused by sleepless nights and spending the major part of the morning thinking about choices Sophie makes in her life, I decided to record my experience here. This is testimonial to the fact that Oscar fever is real and will be experienced by all movie buffs all around the world.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 53,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 6 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 15 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 186 posts. There were 45 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 3mb. That’s about 4 pictures per month.

The busiest day of the year was February 20th with 3 views. The most popular post that day was I am a Gulmohar Tree.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were google.co.in, guruji.com, search.conduit.com, facebook.com, and stumbleupon.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for gulmohar tree, gulmohar, ranjish hi sahi lyrics, teri yaadein love story, and teri yaadein.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

I am a Gulmohar Tree April 2007
21 comments

Teri Yaadein – Male and Female versions May 2007
224 comments

Ranjish Hi Sahi – Runa Laila June 2007
26 comments

Star Parivar Awards 2007 May 2007
60 comments

Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk March 2010
68 comments

Dalhousie Square with GPO or the General Post Office situated in the centre of the heart of the city, is the commercial centre of Kolkata of the yesteryears. There are so many buildings around the GPO that sings of a glorious past and lovely and strong present. The BSNL telecommunications offices,  Raj Bhavan and of course the Writer’s Buildings are some of the imposing examples of the old world architecture.

Here are some of the pictures I took around this area.

Peepli Live is a movie about a villager who decides to commit suicide hoping to attain the 1 lakh rupees compensation from the government to save his land. This news reaches the journalists and they mileu around the poor man’s house to capture the suicide! No sooner is the news flashed on TV that ministers and political wannabes start showing up and making ‘squeezing-sponge’ comments. The mountain of bizarre ridiculous freak show boils to the point that the villager runs away from the limelight and eventually journalists declare him dead because of an LPG-gas blast in a hut where presumably he was present at that time. Finally, the world remains the same, nothing changes. Nor does the villager’s family get anything from the government (since, he did not commit suicide … he had an ‘accident’), nor does the government do anything. All ministers and political aspirants live the way they do, dream the way they do and do whatever stupidity they do!!

This movie seemed to be a gag pointed towards the worthless politicians and sensation-loving journalists who think only about power and TRPs respectively. This movie reminded me of the various journalistic incongruity we’ve seen in the recent years – a 10 year old boy in a hole in the ground, a man committing suicide from a building … etc. I started wondering if independence means our Fundamental Rights of the ‘freedom of press’ and ‘right to vote’, then do we really need them?

What kind of ‘journalistic freedom’ do we have? Sensationalism seems to be name of the game of TRPs. Journalists seems to be dependent on TRPs. Where’s the independence?
Whom are we voting for? Political aspirants who are lapping dogs who only think about power and money. Ministers who keep trying to save their own status and position. What do these people give to the country?

Where is our Independence?

Godrej Goes Stake Shopping

MUMBAI. Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL) is on an acquisition spree. Since March, this year, the Mumbai-based FMCG major has bought stakes in 5 companies spanning 3 continents, Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Within less than two weeks in June-July, Godrej has bought 100% stakes in two Latin American firms – Issue Group and Argencos. The Issue Group, the Latin American market leader in hair color, has a strong presence across Argentina, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay. Argencos is an Argentinean hair care company. “Argencos is a perfect, complementary add-on to our earlier acquisition of Issue Group. I expect the combination of the two businesses to set us on a firm footing in achieving our plans for Latin America,” says GCPL Chairman Adi Godrej. These two Latin American buyouts cost Godrej USD 43 million.

In March, GCPL acquired the Nigeria-based company, Tura, famous for its medicated soaps. In April, GCPL acquired Indonesia’s Megasari Group, that has a stronghold in the household products market.

At  home, GCPL bought the remaining 51% stake in the 15-year old joint venture, Godrej Sara Lee for Rs. 1,100 crores giving Godrej 100% ownership in the company. This “catapults GCPL to becoming the country’s strongest performers in the area of household products” GCPL chairman Adi Godrej proudly comments. The joint venture would primarily market insecticides, including the mosquito repellant brand Good Knight and Hit, air freshener Ambi Pur and shoe polish Kiwi in India. Post this acquisition, Godrej Sara Lee will be renamed as Godrej Household Products Limited.

With strong brands and the aim to achieve greater heights strategically, Godrej has the potential of emerging as a premier consumer care product company in the global market.



Won the 2nd Prize for the News Writing Assignment/Contest for the EIM TOI Print Journalism Workshop.
Note: This is the first time in my entire life that I’ve won an award. I personally am grateful for my support system (family and friends) and everybody who made it possible for me to attend the classes irrespective of my tight office schedules.

Also a brilliant line – “People say Football World Cup is about Life And Death; but actually it’s much more than that…”

World Cup 1930

Image Courtsey: Allsport

Winners: Uruguay
Teams: 13
Teams in qualifiers: N/A
Notable absentees: Of the major European countries, only France took part
Surprises: USA, who finished third
Golden Boot: Guillermo Stábile (Argentina) – 8
Stats: A total of 70 goals were scored (3.89 per match); Argentina (18) scored the most
Format: One group of four and three groups of three in the qualifying stage, with the top from each group going into the semi-finals
Number of matches: 18

World Cup 1934

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Italy
Teams: 16
Teams in qualifiers: 32
Notable absentees: Holders Uruguay, England
Surprises: Egypt
Golden Boot: Oldrich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia) – 5
Stats: A total of 70 goals were scored (4.12 per match); Italy (12) scored the most
Format: Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches
Number of matches: 17

World Cup 1938

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Italy

Teams: 15

Teams in qualifiers: 37
Notable absentees: Argentina, England, Spain, Uruguay
Surprises: Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Cuba
Golden Boot: Leônidas (Brazil) – 7
Stats: A total of 84 goals were scored (4.67 per match); Hungary (15) scored the most
Format: Straight knockout, replays for drawn matches

Number of matches: 18

World Cup 1950

Image Courtsey: Allsport

Winners: Uruguay

Teams: 13

Teams in qualifiers: 34
Notable absentees: France, Germany, Hungary
Surprises: Bolivia
Golden Boot: Ademir (Brazil) – 9
Stats: A total of 88 goals were scored (4.00 per match); Brazil (22) scored the most
Format: Four groups, with the winners of each progressing to a four-team round-robin final group. Withdrawals meant there were two groups of four, one of three and one of two

Number of matches: 22

World Cup 1954

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: West Germany

Teams: 16

Teams in qualifiers: 45
Notable absentees: Spain
Surprises: Korean Republic
Golden Boot: Sándor Kocsis (Hungary) – 11
Stats: A total of 140 goals were scored (5.38 per match); Hungary (27) scored the most
Format: Four groups of four with two seeded and two unseeded teams in each group. However, the teams played just two matches per group rather than the usual three, with the seeded sides facing unseeded sides. Where teams ended up tied for the second qualifying position by points, they required a play-off. The two teams finishing at the top of their group went through to the quarter-finals

Number of matches: 26

World Cup 1958

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Brazil

Teams: 16

Teams in qualifiers: 45
Notable absentees: Italy, Uruguay
Surprises: Wales, Northern Ireland
Golden Boot: Just Fontaine (France) – 13
Stats: A total of 126 goals were scored (3.60 per match); France (23) scored the most
Format: Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches: 35

World Cup 1962

Image Courtsey: Allsport

Winners: Brazil

Teams: 16

Teams in qualifiers: 56
Notable absentees: Sweden
Surprises: Colombia
Golden Boot: Garrincha, Vavá (Brazil), Leonel Sánchez (Chile), Drazan Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Flórián Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (USSR) – 4
Stats: A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Brazil (14) scored the most
Format: Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals

Number of matches: 32

World Cup 1966

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: England

Teams: 16

Teams in qualifiers: 70
Notable absentees: None
Surprises: North Korea
Golden Boot: Eusébio (Portugal) – 9
Stats: A total of 89 goals were scored (2.78 per match); Portugal (17) scored the most
Format: Four groups of four, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals
Number of matches: 32

World Cup 1970

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Brazil
Teams: 16
Teams in qualifiers: 75
Number of matches: 32

Notable absentees: Argentina, France, Portugal, Spain

Surprises: Morocco, the first African qualifiers since World War II

Golden Boot: Gerd Muller (Germany) – 10

World Cup 1974

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: West Germany

Teams: 16
Teams in qualifiers: 99
Notable absentees: England, France, Hungary, Spain, USSR
Surprises: Australia, Haiti and Zaire
Golden Boot: Grzegorz Lato (Poland) – 7
Stats: A total of 97 goals were scored (2.55 per match); Poland (16) scored the most
Format: Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group going into a second round of two four-team groups and the winners facing each other in the final

Number of matches: 38

World Cup 1978

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Argentina

Teams: 16
Teams in qualifiers: 107
Notable absentees: England, Czechoslovakia, USSR
Surprises: Iran, Tunisia

Golden Boot: Mario Kempes (Argentina) – 6
Stats: A total of 102 goals were scored (2.68 per match); Argentina and Netherlands (15) scored the most
Format: Four groups of four in the qualifying stage, with the top two from each group into a second round of two groups of four, the top side in each progressing into the final

Number of matches: 38

World Cup 1982

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Italy

Teams: 24
Teams in qualifiers: 109
Notable absentees: Netherlands, Mexico
Surprises: Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, New Zealand

Golden Boot: Paolo Rossi (Italy) – 6
Stats: A total of 146 goals were scored (2.81 per match); France (16) scored the most
Format: Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the second round, where they split into four groups of three. The winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals

Number of matches: 52

World Cup 1986

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Argentina

Teams: 24
Teams in qualifiers: 121
Notable absentees: Netherlands
Surprises: Canada, Iraq

Golden Boot: Gary Lineker (England) – 6
Stats: A total of 132 goals were scored (2.54 per match); Argentina (14) scored the most
Format: Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third-place finishers

Number of matches: 52

World Cup 1990

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: West Germany
Teams: 24
Teams in qualifiers: 116
Notable absentees: Denmark, France, Portugal
Surprises: Costa Rica, Republic of Ireland, UAE
Golden Boot: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) – 6
Stats: A total of 115 goals were scored (2.21 per match), which was the lowest goals-per-match ratio in World Cup history; West Germany (15) scored the most
Format: Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best third place finishers
Number of matches: 52

World Cup 1994

Image Courtsey: Allsport

Winners: Brazil
Teams: 24
Teams in qualifiers: 147
Notable absentees: England, France
Surprises: Greece, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia
Golden Boot: Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria), Oleg Salenko (Russia) – 6
Stats: A total of 141 goals were scored (2.71 per match); Sweden (15) scored the most
Format: Six groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16, plus four best 3rd place finishers
Number of matches: 52

World Cup 1998

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: France
Teams: 32
Teams in qualifiers: 174
Notable absentees: Russia
Surprises: Jamaica, Japan, South Africa
Golden Boot: Davor Suker (Croatia) – 6
Stats: A total of 171 goals were scored (2.67 per match); France (15) scored the most
Format: Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches: 64

World Cup 2002

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Brazil
Teams: 32
Teams in qualifiers: 199
Notable absentees: Netherlands
Surprises: Senegal, South Korea, Turkey
Golden Boot: Ronaldo (Brazil) – 8
Stats: A total of 161 goals were scored (2.52 per match); Brazil (18) scored the most
Format: Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches: 64

World Cup 2006

Image Courtsey: GettyImages

Winners: Italy
Teams: 32
Teams in qualifiers: 198
Notable Absentees: Cameroon, Nigeria
Surprises: Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad & Tobago
Golden Boot: Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 5
Stats: A total of 147 goals were scored (2.30 per match); Germany (14) scored the most
Format: Eight groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to a knockout round of 16
Number of matches: 64

World Cup 2010 ?????

Whoever created this, I salute you

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