Durga Puja 2009

With an injured leg, movement was curtailed. This translated into aborted puja pandal hopping this year. However, one did go to nearby puja pandals viz. Chembur and Shivaji Park

From Durga Puja 2009

Chembur took up the design of an old Bengal estate. One can still see some of it in upcountry Bengal.

In Shivaji Park, under the auspicies of the Bengal Club, the main attraction for me are the food stalls. However, the crowd was immense and the ground was muddy. Hence, for the greater good, it was ditched. One also had to head home in the traffic.

From Durga Puja 2009

Well, one will have to wait for next year for the grub.

Cricket Post: Bangalore v Mumbai

Bangalore has had a recent resurgence with two consecutive wins, first against Kolkata and then against Punjab. With six points, they had the opportunity to win and jump to the top four on the table. Mumbai on the other hand already had 8 points and would have gone to the top of the table. I live tweeted the entire match and I am putting it here as a full report of the match.

Exciting stuff here, Ravi says. First thing I hear as I switch on the telly. South africans take over RCB, get JPD. Exit of KP significant?

Note: Had a conversation with Dibyo on this. Dibyo said KP may not have known about Du Preez and Van der Merwe. Also, KP as a bat did not really shine. A shame because “it would have been a treat, Bangalorean or not“

Dravid back in the team. Am not sure if Uthappa still makes the grade. But possibly no Indian alternative available

SMG says Du Preez is a ’surprise package’ cos he took wkts of SRT & Rahane, etc. ‘inspired selection’. bcos SMG has no idea who this guy is

Jaya – 39, SRT – 36, Jumbo – 38, RSD – 36, Kallis – 35, that’s the line up today. Young man’s game, anyone?

Note: Got it wrong, he is 33. Doesn’t change the purport of my tweet anyway

Jaya has just started scoring freely. But has to stop because of the tactical time out. Likely we will see AK 1st over after the break

8 off AK’s 1st over, all run. SMG feels 39 year old Jaya’s legs will cave in with all the running. What all does he get away with, does SMG.

Note: In Twitterland, we have had major things to say about Sunny Gavaskar’s commentary, not all of it is fit for publishing.

120 – 130 target likely. RCB will have to watch out for their first over wicket blues. No Ryder mind you, that should help I suppose

MI did very well in part 2 of their innings. Nayar seems hot candidate for Indian team for the World T20 team.

Note: In the last five overs, MI (Bravo and Nayar) put up 63 runs. Tremendous stuff. MI were 53/3 at the end of 10 overs. They finished with 149/4.

MI 149. Think it is going to be really tough for RCB. Their batting has been much under par. And today they have Wasim Jaffar to open.

Jaffar, a solid opng bat, says SMG, opportunity to show he relishes the game. What a contrast to his talk re M Vijay y’day

Note: Sanjeev and me had a banter about the propensity of the “crawl” when Jaffar and RSD come together. Sanjeev suggested that RSD and Jaffar would not complete 150 runs even in 50 overs, leave alone 20 overs. But Sanjeev then disproves himself by pulling out stats where Jaffar scored 178 of 132 balls. And argument about RSD is non starter anyway.

camera pans the crowd and shows all posters which sya inane things like Thank You IPL etc. Think they are planted by LM pr team

Note: Really, in all the cricket across the world, where have we actually seen posters thanking the tournament, board, board members, organising committee members, administrators, etc. You think an average Indian cricket fan is going to make a poster saying “Thank You Niranjan Shah”?

Lots of chikni chicks in the Mallya box waving RCB flags. My guess, Mallya has got his F1 pit babes over for the weekend.

Jaffar really wasted that over. Five dots including the ball that he got out to. Upset the rhythm they had first 2 overs.

Kallis takes 2 sixes of Malinga’s 1st over. Makes up for the previous over depression. Kallis going at 200 SR

Kallis timing and placement is outstanding tonight. He has been shining infrequently this #ipl . Hope he carries on for a big one

Danny Morrison reports that there are 35 cameras covering one match. That’s more than the number of players in the KKR team.

Note: This KKR team is a joke and hence making more jokes referring to them is perfectly okay.

Malinga bowls a maiden. Uthappa kept swinging his bat and hit nothing. Will have to be made up in this Nayar over.

Just 3 runs in the last 2 overs. RR has nosedived.

KP may have gone but seems to have left his scratchy play with Uthappa, including the stupid switch hit shot

Time out break > time required to smoke a kingsize cigarette

Nayar’s bowling run up and bowling in gen is reminiscent of Chris Harris and Gavin Larsen

+15 (Prem’s system), 9 wkts in hand. This is RCB’s game as of now. If they win, the ipl is wide open. Only KKR are assured of 8th spot

Zak’s going off. Won’t be avail to bowl a few overs at least. This will be crucial for MI.

This one is definitely planted “Lalit Modi, we Indians are proud of you”. They prbbly hand out these posters saying u’ll be on tv

Note: See above. LM has definitely done a good job, he has made a big business killing. He’s a successful fellow. Right. Poster in the stadium? Why not for Ratan Tata? For Dhirubhai Ambani?

Ok Robin Uthappa has just pressed a button and found his form. That six makes it +2 now. Are we done here?

1st fifty for Robin in all the #ipl matches he has played over two years. Underperformance to the hilt. Anyway, makes RCB much stronger.

16 off 18, that’s -2. This has been the best batting performance of the #ipl so far. Just good intelligent stuff runs all over the park, etc

9 wkts, 11 balls to spare. That’s 2 out of 2 for AK as captain. This Indo-RSA combo for RCB seems to be a sound strat.

DC, DD, MI and RCB all 8 points. CSK, RR, KxiP on 7 points. This would be good fun.

Bangalore thus move to the fourth spot. Lots of matches still to be played. But, the general thinking is that 7-8 wins should see one through to the semis. So RCB have three more matches to win at least (and one of them is against KKR). But of course, KKR is not so much significant as all teams have matches against KKR. Delhi infact has yet to play KKR, so they have two potential wins there.

As of now, from the consistent form on display – Hyderabad and Delhi look solid; Mumbai & Punjab are slightly more consistent than Bangalore, Rajasthan and Chennai.

But, to borrow from Ravi Shastri’s cliche list, the tournament is going to the wire.

Mumbai Votes Tomorrow

Tomorrow 30th April, 2009, Mumbai goes to the polls. There are six Lok Sabha constituencies (A Link to Google’s LS 2009 page with a map – set your location e.g. Chembur, Mumbai and the page / map will adjust in Mumbai).

Polling begins at 7 a.m.  Dial 1290 from any MTNL landline, you will get the Election Commission in case you need info on your polling booth, got any any complaints, etc

Janaagraha has set up Booth Level Volunteers in most places. They will help you check your name on the voting lists and other such requirements. In fact, if you are planning to take a holiday tomorrow, you can even sign up to be a volunteer. First go cast your vote and then take up your assignment. You can go and check details here.

So Jai Hind.

Just found this presentation called Mumbai Votes on Slideshare. Worth a look.

James Bond Speaks English

Pushing training programmes requires some reference point. And when it comes to learning to speak English, what better than James Bond? Learn to speak English like James Bond.

 

Speak English Like James Bond

There is even a “100% guarantee”. My only issue, James Bond has been played by many actors who were Scottish, Irish, Welsh, Australian and English. They all had different accents, styles and voices. In this poster, the photograph of Roger Moore is used.

So what does “speak English like James Bond” really constitute? What is it that I am getting a guarantee for? If something is not happening, what do I claim for in the guarantee?

Not clear at all.

Why is Kumble smiling in Dadar?

 

Anil Kumble Promoting MBA courses

In Dadar, Mumbai one fine morning I saw this – the smiling face of Anil Kumble with the logo of some university emblazoned on his blazer and all the other courses mentioned.

I could not get it. For a man of his stature to be used in a cloth banner to promote a local business management training programme – not good.

The Art of Elephanta

The Gharapuri Island, about 11 kms North East of Apollo Bunder (The Gateway of India) is popularly called Elephanta. It houses a set of Shaivist caves – i.e. dedicated to Shiva, probably carved around 7th Century AD. 

This is the Sadashiva – The Panchmukhi Shiva (Five Headed). This image is ubiquitious in most tourist brochures of India and Mumbai See the Full Album The Art of Elephanta

The most famous image from the Caves, indeed to main image of the page is the Tri-headed Shiva, called Sadashiva. According to the legend in the guide books, this idol represents the five faces of Shiva (Panchmukha Shiva) – three of which is visible. The fourth face is implied (at the back) and the fifth is the mythical face unseen by any mortal.

Another interesting image is that of Ravana holding aloft Mount Kailasha

Ravana holding aloft Mount Kailasha, with Shiva sitting on top of the mountain From The Art of Elephanta

For those who regularly visit historical places in India would be aware of the lousy work done by ASI to maintain these priceless examples of Indian heritage. Here in Elephanta it was sheer commerce that was keeping it thriving. Libertarians and free marketers I am sure would be very happy. The local population (who seemed to be descendents of the Siddis – taking a guess on the basis of their physical features) were doing their all – well run restaurants, shops selling all kinds of stones, palkhis, guides, cleaners, even a monkey watcher.

Cave art in India is aplenty. In Mumbai itself, besides Elephanta, we have Jogeshwari, Kanheri (inside Borivili National Park), Mahakali (Junction of SEEPZ and the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road) and Mandapeshwar. While Elephanta is a set of temples dedicated to Shiva, Kanheri and Mahakali are of Buddhist origins.

One also saw a lot of tourists especially the foreigners making their way to Elephanta. No doubt, they were refering to the Lonely Planet and following Tony Wheeler’s suggestions. 

The enormous central bust of Shiva, its eyes closed in eternal contemplation, may be the most serene sight you witness in India.

For more photos, visit my new Picasa public gallery (The earlier one has saturated all the available free space).

Recession dinner time

A friend of mine who runs a lounge in Bangalore spoke of how the economic situation is hitting the fine dining places in many of the large cities. Popular hang out places are running 40%-50% – much much below normal. 

In Mumbai, the situation seems to be mixed. Today itself I came back from a dinner at Oh! Calcutta in Tardeo. I was with the wife and the wife’s parents. We had an elaborate meal. We made a reservation in the morning itself. We came in by 8.30 pm and took our seats. By 9 pm, the restaurant was full. Oh! Calcutta does have a reputation for leisurely service. With the restaurant full, the leisureliness became a tad too irritating.

Anyway, the point of the matter is that Tuesday evening, i.e. working day, we have a full restaurant where the average meal for four people is around Rs. 3K. So are people recovering from the economic crisis?

Cut to Toto’s Garage Pub in Bandra. A typical working day night would resemble a Borivili local train. Friday and Saturday nights would resemble a Virar local train. These days, it resembles the early morning harbour line trains. There’s enough place to stretch out horizontally and have your drink, zamindar style.

Of course, for Toto’s the additional hit happened because of Ramodoss’s smoking ban. The smoking ban has significantly changed the usage behaviour of the patrons of Toto’s. Now, half the customers are standing outside in the footpath puffing away. After one puff, customers go in, finish their drink and order one more. Even as the bar tender is preparing the next drink, they are back outside for another puff. And life goes on.

By the way, at Oh! Calcutta tonight, for those who are interested, we had the following

1. Mutton Ryzala
2. Shorshebata Ilish (with bones) – without bones is for the cowards and pretenders
3. Chittagong Chicken
4. Bhaja Platter – an assortment of fried vegetables including brinjals, bhendi, fulgobi and alu
5. Luchi
6. For starters, we had bhetki fish fry and prawn cutlet

For drinks I had Vodka with aam panna (which was interesting) and the wife tried Vodka with tender coconut water (which wasn’t exciting at all) .

Mumbai Attacks – 2

It’s now 27 hours since the first gunshot was heard. The last day and a bit have stretched everyone – physically and mentally

The Police – completely out of their league. 25 armed to the teeth fighters trained in high class military skills working on a battle plan that would have made even Erwin Rommel proud.

The official said they had recovered bags of dry fruits from the terrorists killed at the Trident, enough to last them a few days, besides AK-47 and AK-56 assault rifles, hand grenades and several hundred rounds of ammunition. – The Hindustan Times

The Government – what seemed initially to be some gang war has all the possible scenarios rolled into one – invasion by a platoon of guerillas, seizure of public installations, taking of hostages and of course wanton widespread killing

Before I could reach there, the terrorists who had attacked one of the hospitals, the Cama Hospital, had left and those who attacked the railway station had also left. – Expressindia

The Traditional News Media – Never has our much acclaimed media faced a situation like this. Previous events like the 1993 blasts, the 2006 train blasts, 26 July rainwash in Mumbai were easier to manage – fewer channels so less competition hence more opportunity to reach to high vantage points and sources.

But this time, as one can see on TV, in front of anyone walking out of the Taj or Trident – whether he or she be a cop, a politician, a survivor, a commando – there are more microphones, dictaphones and mobile telephones thrust in front of every face. No sensitivity towards giving the survivor some space, nudging and poking to get the right vantage points, the needless and often pointless badgering for inane technicalities (How many commandos do you have? Is there panic amongst the hostages? Are you happy to be free? etc)

It is really sad that in the last 24 hrs not a single channel has covered the situation at hospitals, doctors contribution, their experience. DDeeps on Twitter

The Social Web: What did rise to the occasion was the world wide web  and all its sharing and collaboration services – Twitter, Blogs, Google Maps, Wikis, the works. Updates by the second. People across the globe knew which terrorist was operating from where, there were photographs from the spot that hit screens across the world much before CNN-IBN stream hit CNN International. I twittered

To stay away from dumb analysis and reporting on TV news channels, move over to social media – http://tinyurl.com/5hf6gx

I am building an aggregation of key comments, remarks, statements and the like on the Mumbai Attacks here. (Using simple Google Notebooks) Feel free to enhance and suggest improves

The depravity and the humanity

Source: Reuters via The Guardian

A kid caught right in the middle of terror getting a drink of water from an equally stressed out cop

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Mumbai Attack

As I was transfixed both TV and my laptop in my house in Chembur, here’s a quick summary of some significant facts and things

Media restrain
Full scale commando operation at the Taj and Trident. Media (TV and online) have been asked to restrain coverage. The same signals are being tracked by terrorists inside as well.

LeT, Karachi, Satcom
6 terrorists arrested in the night are being interrogated (Link): Three things that have emerged so far
- They came in boats from Karachi
- They were talking to Karachi using Satcoms
- Lashkar-e-Toiba of Pakistan is the mastermind (along with local cells)

Good samaritans
Amit Varma blogs about the whole night on India Uncut having been as close to an eyewitness as one can get. Incidentally, Mr. Varma was on Larry King Live as was Deepak Chopra who believes this is a response to Barack Obama’s popularity amongst Muslims. Unfortunately, Deepak Chopra seems to have missed out on the fact that people killed here were mostly Indians who had no connection with Barack Obama in the first place.

The kind folk at the Gordon House Hotel did three important things for us last night. One, they ushered us in when the gunshots began, assuring us that we’d be safer inside than outside. Two, they got us a room for the night, and extra mattresses and so on. Three, in the morning, they refused to accept payment for the room, insisting that we were their guests and this was their duty.

We left them a hefty tip out of gratitude, but I’m still in disbelief about their kindness. I often complain about the poor service in the hospitality industry in India, but never again about All Stir Fry or the Gordon House Hotel. What guys!

Barkha Dutt gets as abominable as possible
In the Kargil war, a bunker of the Indian army was destroyed after the enemy tracked its location using the signals of Barkha Dutt’s Irridium phone. My cousin who was a Brigadier in the war (now he is a Major General) told me of deep anger in the army towards her – she continued to use her phone even after being warned – Remember that blurb they keep showing “I am speaking from a bunker…”

Now she is in front of Trident and talking about negotiations, political indecision, Kandahar hijacking… hello, can we cut out this needless speculation?

Best places to keep in touch
Twitter:  Run the search string #mumbai in Twitter and keep refreshing or use this
Wikipedia: A page on the entire 26 November 2008 Mumbai attack is being developed in realtime (Well done, who ever is doing it)

ibnlive.com has started a Light a Candle on its website

Regret SMS
In the middle of all this, a generic regret sms was sent by Bigflix and seventymm saying they would be unable to do any deliveries today. Well, there’s nothing to be regretful about.

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