Phadu joke Originality displayed by Shantanu Sengupta, whose blog link adorns the right bar on this page:

Dada: "Baba, tere paas cd hain kya?"
Baba: "Haan, hain... kyon?"
Dada: "Aur mere paas maa hain... to apne paas CDMA hain"

:))))))  ¶ 8:41 PM 0 comments

  Ganguly, the politician And I thought Sourav Ganguly was a sportsman. This past week, with some deft maneuvering - to get back in the Indian cricket team, and with some out-of-character sentimental acting, he has proven himself worthy of a very good political career. Ah... and sorry, before I forget, this admirable performance was solely and exclusively for his own good... not for the good of the cricket team, which is sure to crack down the middle after his return, or for the good of the paying cricket loving public, who are sure to see some exciting bat-flashing outside the off stump when they would probably prefer some solid traditional run scoring.

If Ganguly had remained arrogant and had tried to fight his way back to team, that would have been more in character. The Ganguly all of us thought we knew was the Ganguly that was a fighter - fierce, arrogant and unconventional. A lot of us respected him for having these qualities and a lot of us believed that he was the one who could build the team-spirit and killer instinct that the men-in-blue lacked. Before the current fiasco, I respected him for being a good leader of men, who led India to some of its more famous cricketing victories, and for being one of the best Indian off-side players of all times.

But now all that is gone, that respect has been replaced by derision, even disgust. Sourav Ganguly, in the matter of a few months, has become a joke for me. For me, his selection in the Indian test cricket team as a batting all-rounder is a joke, and reeks of politics. A cursory glance at the statistics of his test career supports my view - while his batting average is a respectable 41.18, he has only picked up 25 wickets in 84 tests matches at an average of 52.5. And he has played cricket for 10 years, enough time for the selectors to make their judgments about his "all-round" qualities. The presence of an outside hand, to me, is obvious. Sourav fans need to look at his record over the past few years and realize that dropping him from the team is an obvious action, and is not part of anyone's irrational agenda.

I agree with some points of the pro-Ganguly camp. I agree that he deserves a second chance, and I agree that he deserves a graceful exit after all he's done for the game in India. I, also, do not believe that, given a second chance, Ganguly will fail. Some of his performances in the past have been classy and he has the potential to improve his game. However, I protest against the way he is trying to strong-arm his way into the team. I, also, hate the way he is creating discord, both in the team and among cricket fans, to meet his own ends and satisfy his huge ego. His presence in the team is almost sure to be a disruptive influence. It will ensure that politics, and not performance, becomes the primary decision parameter in the Indian cricket team. It will make the Indian team regress.

So, for the good of the game, and for the good of Indian cricket, the call should be unequivocal - Quit, Ganguly.  ¶ 8:23 PM 0 comments

  Mumbai... meri jaan... Whenever I walk out of the Churchgate railway station in Mumbai, I hear the words "Mumbai nagri... sapnon ki nagri" ("Mumbai city - the city of dreams")- replayed from hundreds of Bollywood films (usually in Om Puri's tone). More recently, this playback also leads to a recurring question - What drives Mumbai? Why do more and more aspirants still head for Mumbai when they now have multiple other options which did not exist earlier?

Mumbai has a lot of things going against it - high costs of living, long commutes, over-crowded suburbs, Asia's largest slum etc. Still, a significant number of my top-ranking batchmates from IIM B work in some of the most prominent companies in India in Mumbai and swear by the place. Being a Mumbai-kar to the core - this does make me happy but the question remains unanswered.

I could also think of several reasons in favor of Mumbai - Mumbai, the most cosmopolitan city in the country, accepts and assimilates people from all economic and social backgrounds much better than other cities. Also, the Marwaris, the Gujratis and the Sindhis in Mumbai have created a fertile ground and positive perception for entrepreneurship, a vital requirement for economic development. Or, being the financial capital of India with most banks and two major stock exchanges based in the city makes Mumbai the best place to source capital. Also, it could possibly be a virtuous cycle - good, skilled manpower which already exists in the city attracts and draws more good-quality manpower. And, finally, the success could also be attributed to historical and geographical reasons.

While all the above factors would probably have contributed to Mumbai's success - none of them provide an entirely convincing answer or a solution that is not replicable elsewhere. The answer I believe is right stuck me in a flash of insight - I was speaking to my father and he was telling me about how he plans to take his property business forward and he made the following statement: "If Dhirubhai can become India's biggest businessman after being a lower class worker, I am sure I can at least do 10% of that". It was then that it stuck me - the petrol pump attendant who turned into a business tycoon, the waiter who turned into a movie superstar, the swampy island that turned into the country's largest business district, all define the soul of Mumbai. The primary attraction of Mumbai for most people coming from outside is encapsulated in one word - aspiration. For most people, Mumbai is the place where dreams can, practically, be chased and realized. The exhilaration of being part of a city on the move, of being part of a society of people who are venturing and achieving, spending long hours at workplaces, doing all they can to achieve their aspirations; draws a significant proportion of the nations best.

This quality of Mumbai also explains why Mumbai has the most service-oriented firms, is an extremely competitive place, and is the seat of the financial and film industries of the country along with the ubiquitous Mumbai underworld. The rest of the things that I mentioned before - along with the country's best party scene, Mid-day and the insomniac lifestyle - add to the legend.

It is not uncommon for a Mumbai-kar to be filmi and I, being a proud true Mumbai-kar am no different, so here goes -

Rafi: Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Aye dil hai..
(Kahin building kahin traame, kahin motor kahin mill
Milta hai yahan sab kuchh ik milta nahin dil) -2

Insaan ka nahin kahin naam-o-nishaan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Aye dil hai..
(Kahin satta, kahin patta kahin chori kahin res
Kahin daaka, kahin phaaka kahin thokar kahin thes) -2

Bekaaro ke hain kai kaam yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Aye dil hai..
(Beghar ko aawara yahan kehte has has
Khud kaate gale sabke kahe isko business) -2

Ik cheez ke hain kai naam yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan
Aye dil hai..

Geeta: (Bura duniya woh hai kehta aisa bhola tu na ban
Jo hai karta woh hai bharta hai yahan ka yeh chalan) -2
Tadbeer nahin chalne ki yahan
Yeh hai Bombay, yeh hai Bombay, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan

Rafi: Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan

Geeta: Aye dil hai aasaa jeena yahan
Suno mister, suno bandhu, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan

Rafi: Aye dil hai mushkil jeena yahan
Zara hat ke zara bach ke, yeh hai Bombay meri jaan

Movie: C.I.D (1956)
Music: O.P Nayyar
Singers: Mohd. Rafi & Geetha Dutt  ¶ 12:17 AM 1 comments

  Goings and .. goings My apartment-mate, Bonny, left Chennai today. It is not a shock, or a surprise as we all knew that he had gotten this great, better paying job in another city and that he was planning to leave this week. However, the thought that a friend who has shared the apartment with me (and two other people) has gone to another city and I might not often meet him again (possibly) does leave me slightly depressed.

Our stay in Chennai has also been quite epic. Since we came to Chennai, we northies (north indians) had decided that we will not stay in Chennai for more than 3 or max 4 months - so much so that we always renewed our apartment lease for 3 months at a time, always laughing off suggestions by our land-lord that we extend it by a longer period. Bonny stayed for 2 yrs and 5 months in Chennai and I am still here...

Anyways, another close friend of mind, Bee, is leaving for the UK this week-end.... another story, another day.  ¶ 11:49 PM 0 comments

  Un-quotable quote "Afraid of the demons of his mind, he retreated to the castle of his home. After smoking his brain for years, he realized that the demons died years ago - only kept alive by his thoughts"  ¶ 7:10 PM 0 comments

  Saawan mein... Lyricists who write those romantic songs about couples in the rain have never truly encountered the troubles faced during a deluge - similar to the ones faced by Mumbai in July '05 and Chennai and Bangalore in the end of October '05.

Yours truly had the misfortune of being a victim when someone upstairs decided to kick the bucket, not remembering that it was full of water and more importantly - forgetting that drainage in Chennai is close to non-existent. On Thursday, 27th October, the designated day on which my close friend Rajesh B (Bee) had decided to tie the knot with Ranjeetha, the heavens opened up.

The earlier night, my Hyundai decided to give notice of its age and was therefore unavailable on the 27th. I had stayed overnight at my friends place and the journey (!) the next morning to my place was epic. We managed to con a auto-rickshaw wallah who agreed to transport us to my place in Nungamabakkam. Several flooded roads, stalled autos (we even push-started the auto in the rain) and muttered abuses later we managed to traverse the 6 km stretch in close to 1.5 hours. All this while, the rain continued unabated.

Now, the fight had just begun, later, we managed to make it to Bee's wedding hall to find kitchen utensils floating in the basement, which was the lunch area. Thankfully, the wedding hall itself was untouched and after some smart maneuvering the lunch, also, was salvaged on a higher floor. The wedding itself was uneventful. However, in the afternoon, against the good advice of friends I decided to go to office... and returned 30 minutes later drenched to the skin.

Several wet trips to Bee's nearby flat and his, mercifully, dry reception later... I managed to reach home in the night to a warm bed, though sleep itself was scant as I had to drop worried people to the airport through the night.

The next time I hear a romantic, rainy song on TV, I will... change the channel!!!!  ¶ 5:48 PM 0 comments