Paul-the octopus

The 2010 FIFA world cup will be remembered for a lot of things- perennial underachievers Spain winning their maiden world cup, early exit of heavyweights like Italy and France, refereeing blunders leading to the oft-repeated demand for the use of technology in the game, the Jabulani football ball, Paris Hilton drug scandal, the pro\anti-vuvuzela campaign and Shakira's 'waka waka'.

Many a celebrity players like Rooney, Messi, Ronaldo flopped miserably and new heroes like Forlán, Mueller emerged. But the biggest celebrity to emerge out of the world cup was 'Paul the octopus'. As an oracle, Paul made one right prediction after the other denying its skeptics their gotcha moment. No media coverage of the matches by the news channels across the world was complete without Paul's prediction as the main attraction. So much so, that after the German loss in the semifinal calls were made to kill the octopus. The Spanish prime minister on the other hand was ready to send bodyguards for its protection.

The other animals across the world, however, were not as lucky. Even the humans masquerading as astrologers/oracles/know-it-all-analysts could not get the pre match predictions as accurately as Paul did (he had a 100% record, after all).

Astrologers in India, who have been routinely making wrong predictions on almost everything happening under the sun can now eat crow, dump the parakeet and have an octopus as a pet.

Image Courtesy: Received in an email forward. If you own this image and do not wish it to be displayed here, please write so in a comment to this post. I will remove the image.

Vuvuzela anyone ? .....naaah

A world cup football match, sitting on the couch in front of the TV set with lots of goodies to munch on-sounds like a perfect evening. Isn't it? Wait until you hear the monotonous, irritating noise in the stadium. The match is about to start and the football stadium has been attacked by a billion bees. The worst part is that the bees are trying to kill the spectators and the players, not by stinging but by making an annoying and deafening noise.

Just when you start praying for the safety of the people inside the stadium, you realize that the noise is because of the fans blowing en masse into an instrument called vuvuzela.

It does not make for pleasant TV viewing. All you hear is the 'angry bees' and any chance of soaking yourself in the wonderful experience is gone. If big sporting events are viewed as a platform for promoting a country in the international arena, then vuvuzela is definitely not the way to go.

However, all is not lost. Vuvuzela noise-haters have some options that they can try:
1. Take one with you at the stadium and throw it on the field. Make sure you do not hit anyone; that way FIFA will ban the instrument and you won't be charged either. Make sure you are not surrounded by people carrying vuvuzelas or else you might find yourself on the ground.
2. Protest by making your own 'noises' about the 'noise' so that the chorus outshouts the 'noise' and the organizers finally ban the instrument.
3. The TV viewers can download and use the software from here. (I have not tried this so do it at your own risk)
4. Accept that it is a part of the tournament's cultural identity and live with it. One option for the people visiting South Africa is to buy some vuvuzelas and take them back home. They can later be gifted to the kids of parents you do not like.

SA, FIFA, ESPN are you listening?

Image courtesy: rediff

Two late trains and a wedding

Last week I went to attend a friend's wedding at Bagalkot (630 km from Bangalore). The train journey (Solapur Express) that was supposed to take 12 hours actually took 15 hours for no reason. Frequent travelers to the place said that the train is almost always late by at least 2 hours by the time it reaches its destination.

Reaching Bagalkot late meant that I missed most part of the wedding ceremony especially the rituals part, which is boring anyways (except for the bride, groom and their immediate families). All I could do was to have a quick photo-op with the newlyweds and lunch. Not that I am complaining, but you would expect to do more when you travel a total of 1300 km (back and forth). The good part was that we were treated royally by the friend's family from the moment we reached Bagalkot.

I returned to Bangalore the same evening. The return journey was the same as the onward journey. Only this time the train(Golgumbaz Express) was late by 5 hours. It arrived 2.5 hours late at the station and the only thing that I could do in the meantime was to listen to songs-everything from Hanuman Chalisa to Pink Floyd.

On a more positive note, now when I plan to go to the North Karnataka tourist circuit of Badami-Aihole-Pattadakal (Solapur Express can be boarded to reach these places), I already have a first hand knowledge of the fact that I have to take into account the extra 3-4 hours that would be wasted in the train journey and can plan accordingly.

Railways should either make the train run on time or change their bloody timetable to reflect the actual running time.

Oh, by the way, may D and A have a happy and a prosperous married life.
Amen!!!

hmmm...

Sometimes you work relentlessly towards achieving something and don't get it. You just don't get it-no matter how hard you try, no matter how well you deserve it. At times things just fall in place like God\nature (whatever you prefer) had charted out a perfect dream plan for you. Sometimes life drags along like a daily soap; you can ignore the world around you for days and when you actually take notice it is all still the same. Time passes and yet is paused. At times it takes you in the fast lane like a Ferrari on nuclear fuel. Sometimes when you think that you have reached the summit, you realize it is just the base camp. At other times you reach the destination just as the journey begins.

I think in the end everything is right. If it is not right it is not the end.

The joy of running

So, finally I started running. Some part of me always wanted to get up early in the morning and go for a short run. I started running some weeks ago and was quite gung-ho about the whole thing for the first week. As the days progressed I fell back to my old routine of walking up late and taking it as an excuse for not running in the morning. Running on the road in the evening is not a good option in Bangalore, what with the traffic and the pollution.

The first day when I started was an eye-opener. Any kind of cardio exercise can leave you exhausted when you are on the wrong side of 25 and have not done any kind of physical activity in ages. After just about a few hundred meters the mouth cracked and I was gasping for breath. So, I alternated between running and walking. When I returned home the whole body was hot with blood and wet with sweat. Although I was not very exhausted, the muscles were sore; but I had some satisfaction that I had completed the distance. This was probably my most vigorous physical activity in the last couple of years (I have played some tennis and done some trekking but these activities do not compare to running).

I think running gives some kind of high. Not sure if it is just me or if it happens with everyone, but it does elevate the mood and is also a great stress buster.

I ran 3 km on the first day in 16 minutes. Today I did it in 12 min. I am not sure how much time an average beginner should take to run 3 Km on a part-concrete-part-tarred road. For now though, this seems enough motivation. I have decided to run every alternate day, slowly increasing the pace and the distance. Let me see if I can stick to it.

Another day, another milestone

Just when anyone who had ever heard of a game called cricket (yes, I am including the ones who have never actually played it) was giving Sachin the advice to give a valedictory speech and retire, he did what no one else could in the last 39 years. This after proving himself day-in day-out, on and off the field, with a career record that requires no mention and in the last one year a performance that is much better than most in the world.

Sachin, like fine wine, is getting better with the age.

He truly rocks and for the suckers who had written his cricketing obituary-go get a life.

P.S: I had written this post just after Sachin had completed the first ever ODI double hundred. Somehow was busy with work [;)] and could not post it earlier.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Need I say more :)

Vidyarthi Bhavan

I am not a fan of south Indian cuisine especially the one that is served at average restaurants in Bangalore. But there is one place that serves wonderful masala dosa- Vidyarthi Bhavan (VB). Located in Gandhi bazaar, Basavanagudi, the place reminds one of the Bangalore of the olden days. Unlike the plush eating joints that one can find all over Bangalore the ambiance in VB is nothing to write home about(except for the sketches of Kannada luminaries on the yellow, painted walls). It is often overcrowded and the service is not excellent either.

VB serves the usual south Indian fare that most restaurants do but what sets it apart is the hot and crispy masala dosa served with delectable coconut chutney. The dosa is smaller than what most other places serve but by far the best that I have ever eaten. Whenever I visit my friend in Basavanagudi , we often go to VB for the dosa followed by a cup of steaming coffee.

Masala dosa and coffee

The crowd mostly comprises of old timers who have been eating here for decades and they vouch for all the fare that VB dishes out.

The menu

Left:The crowd,mostly old timers.Right:Sketches of Kannada luminaries

To keep up with the changing times the owners of VB may have to change the old-world, homely ambiance that they have had for decades (as the patrons claim). As far I am concerned I do not mind it as long as the masala dosas remain the same.

A tale of two cities

26 January is celebrated as the Republic Day in India. Every year on this day the Republic Day parade in New Delhi is telecast live on Doordarshan.

Yesterday while watching the telecast I could not help notice the contrast between the parade in New Delhi and the National Day parade in Beijing on 1 Oct 2009.

While the parade and celebrations in Delhi were marred by fog throughout the morning, the Chinese had used cloud seeding to avoid possible rainfall or thick cloud over Tiananmen Square where the ground formations and aircraft passed through during the National Day parade.

The Chinese parade was a spectacular display of military might; the parade in India did not have as many new weaponry or fighter air-crafts.

Finally the event in India was telecast by Doordarshan. The pictures on the TV were pathetic to say the least. This accompanied by mundane commentary made the whole event a parasite for the sore eyes. In contrast the Chinese telecast was wonderful and was probably aided by the latest technologies in TV broadcasting.

I believe the whole idea of parade serves only two purposes: it takes the citizens on an ego trip . It is also a medium to showcase the nation's defense (read offense) prowess and cultural extravaganza to the outside world, more of the former than the latter.

I do not know the implications of altering the weather conditions by cloud seeding but the government here can at least make sure that the telecast of the event is good. It is time that the event is handled by some professional event management agency and the telecast rights given to private channels.

In case someone missed the parade on TV in the early nineties yesterday's telecast was all one had to watch to bring back the memories.

So who is the real idiot?

Of late I have read a lot of blog posts and newspaper reports about how the producers of the movie '3 idiots' used the story line from the book 'Five Point Someone' by Chetan Bhagat (CB) and did not give him 'due' credit. Most of the people believe that CB has been cheated by the producers of the movie and enough newsprint and television time has been spent on demonizing the makers of the film.

Yes, the movie was inspired from the book (irrespective of what the film makers claim) but CB went over the top accusing the filmmakers of not giving him the story credit that he deserved.

I think CB is a smart ass who used media for publicity (his new book was released recently). He has painted himself to be a victim of the high handedness of the producers of the movie. Public sympathy often lies with the underdog and he has manipulated the media and the public after portraying himself as the sufferer at the hands of the rich and mighty. He may even have been looking for a share in the pie after the phenomenal success of the movie at the box office.

He had signed a contract with the producers about the movie credit and the use of the storyline (use may be 10% or 100%, he was paid for it anyways) from the book and the producers just used the contract to their advantage.

Coming from a management background (he studied at IIM-A and had enough experience in the corporate sector) CB knows the legalities involved in signing a written document.
Moreover he had one more film based on of his other books already released. He should have known how the industry works.

It was only after the producers came out with contract terms and the No Disclosure Agreement that he had signed after reading the final script of the movie that all his lies fell flat.

No publicity is bad publicity and he certainly realizes this. The time in the marketing classes at IIM-A are certainly paying him now. It is the media and his readers, who he took for a ride.

Solar Eclipse

When I went for lunch at work today the office cafeteria was relatively empty, which was strange considering that I went at the peak hours. It was then that I remembered that today was the longest Annular solar eclipse of the century. There were very few people having lunch and most of the people were waiting for the solar eclipse to be over before they could eat lunch. One of the colleagues had in fact stuffed himself with heavy breakfast so that he does not feel hungry till 3:30 PM (when the eclipse would be finally over). It was strange to see so many highly educated people not realize the difference between faith and superstition.

A day before the eclipse most of the news channels in India had programs related to the eclipse. There were a variety of programs with guests\analysts from various fields on the TV - explaining the solar eclipse,how best to view it, how to prevent eyes from damage while viewing it and the last ones explaining the effect of the eclipse on the people.

Amidst all this there were some news channels telecasting the effect of social eclipse on the life of people. They had invited some self-styled know-it-all priests, numerologists and astrologers. The prime time discussion on the TV was informing people about how they can avert dangers arising in their zodiac signs because of the solar eclipse. This is irresponsible journalism in disguise of arguments like we-show-what-the-people-want-to-see.

While I do understand that in a democratic society people have the right to express their opinions and disagree with each other, I am all against some sections of the media blatantly propagating superstitions with such abandon. And these are TV channels with a sizable viewership in India.

By the by I did see the eclipse with a filter and it was one of the most wonderful sights I have ever seen. I pity those who were sitting inside their houses/workplaces-hungry and waiting for the eclipse to be over.