Word Cup 2011 – The countdown begins

Come February 19, the entire nation will just have one prayer on their lips – The earnest desire to see M.S. Dhoni lift the World Cup on a festive Mumbai night in April.

The Format

One look at the World Cup format and it is clear that the organizers have blocked all holes to avoid any mishap similar to the disastrous 2007 WC fiasco. The draw and the format has all but ensured that the hosts’ interests would be preserved at least till the quarter finals of the WC- which effectively means, the sponsors’ interests would be sustained at least till the final week.

This is where the problem lies, though. The concept of quarter finals makes it difficult to predict a winner and one can also argue that we might have a situation where the most consistent teams might suddenly find themselves out of the competition with just one bad game. One needs to go only as far back as the 96 World Cup. South Africa won all 5 of their group matches, to meet the Windies who just won 2 out of their 5. However, they were knocked out By Brian Lara, and the Windies sailed through to the semis. This is where a format like the Super six is better suited as the more consistent teams would make the semi-finals.

Perhaps the best thing to do from the next Wold Cup would be to have the top 6 teams (from ICC ranking table) sail through to the main event directly. The 4 bottom ranked teams and 4 qualifying teams can play a knock out tournament a week before the WC main event. The top 2 teams from the bottom 8 can then join the top 6 to have just 8 teams for the WC main event. These teams can play against each other, with the top 4 making it to the semis. This would also reduce the meaningless games and make the WC a more interesting spectacle.

The Favorites and Why

Back to WC 2011 after that small digression. Though it is difficult to pick a winner, India and Sri Lanka look like the early tournament favorites, based on current form. I think the advantage of playing in home conditions is a bit over hyped these days because, thanks to the IPL exposure, sub continent conditions are no longer a mystery. However, the home crowd will drive both these teams in their quest for glory. Australia and Pakistan would be the dark horses. Australia have a batting order that runs deep and their seamers like Bollinger, Brett Lee have enough experience on the sub continent, thanks to the IPL. However, they will definitely miss a quality spinner and once the new ball is seen through, they might struggle with their bowling. Though Pakistan might look like an odd pick, the only thing predictable about them is their unpredictability. Currently, they have a stable middle order with Misbah and Younis, though their top order appears shaky. Their lower middle order is arguably the best in the tournament with Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Razaq and Wahab Riaz. A bowling attack that includes Shoaib, Razaq, Wahab Riaz,Sohail Tanveer,Saeed Ajmal and Afridi can trouble any batting line up. In addition, they will be desperate to prove themselves as the opportunities that they get on world stage is minimal these days. The quarter final format would particularly suit an inconsistent team like Pakistan. This is because theoretically, a team needs just 3 ( or if they are lucky, only 2) out of 6 games to reach the quarter finals. From there, 3 good days are enough to win the World cup. This is what makes the task of picking a clear winner particularly difficult.

Out of these teams, Sri Lanka looks like the safest bet to reach the semis, and I have my reasons. Let us take a look at Group A. Sri Lanka play all their matches at home, and their spin attack of Murali, Herath and Mendis is easily the best. So they are most likely to top their group. This means, that they will take on the fourth placed team from group B. This is likely to be Windies or Bangladesh, and hence, out of all teams, they will be the most likely ones to get an easier QF match. Australia are most likely to finish second from Group A. Let us move to group B now. India and South Africa are most likely to finish at the top of this group. Both these teams will be nervous because the winner will face the fourth placed team from group A and the runner up will face the third placed team. This means that both India and South Africa are likely to face either Pakistan or New Zealand ; potential giant killers. This is where India would be missing the advantage that Sri Lanka has. England are likely to take the 3rd slot from group A. However, only a man with a lot of flair for unconventional thinking can put their money on England or South Africa to win the world cup. This is because there will be 3 pressure games within a week (QF,SF and Finals), which means three good days under high pressure ; something a South African team has never achieved. England, I think would be really jaded coming into this WC after a long tour down under where they played 5 tests and 7 one dayers. They have lost a bit of momentum going down 6-1 and it highly likely that they would face Australia in the quarters, and my money would be on Australia to come through. So the top 7 test teams are most likely to sail though from the group stages, and I think it will be a toss up between Windies and Bangladesh for the eighth slot. Bangladesh can not be taken lightly because , they play all their group matches at home and their battery of left arm spinners will choke all the non Asian teams who have not faced them regularly. So this time, since we do not have a Super Six league, it is more of a question of who plays whom in the knockouts , rather than worrying about which teams would qualify. This is where I think the teams would be cautious not to lose a few crucial games in the group stages and eventually run into a red hot team in the quarter finals.

The Indians

As a passionate Indian supporter, it would be a dream to see India lift the trophy, and we have a squad that has every chance of succeeding. Much will depend on how Sachin and Sehwag set the tone at the top. Also, if Yusuf can cash in on the batting power play,especially against the minnows like Holland and Ireland, we have every chance of improving our net run rate to ensure we finish as the top ranking team in the group, which would mean we would avoid a clash with Sri Lanka and Australia in the QF. (Though we might have a sudden death encounter with Pakistan). It is no more a question of whether Virat Kohli will make it to the starting XI. It is a question of where he plays and whom he replaces. Ideally Gautam Gambhir should play at number 3, so it looks like Raina might have to be sacrificed. One major “X” factor that might assist the Indians is their ability to handle pressure. Time and again, they have made a comeback from nowhere and held their nerves and this is a priceless asset when it comes to the knockout stages.

Our bowling was top class in South Africa in the death overs, and if Zaheer and Nehra can stay fit, it is only going to help our cause. The department India has an edge over most teams is the part time attack. Yuvraj, Raina,Sehwag, Yusuf can all turn their arm over, and this would mean a regular dose of 15-20 overs, allowing India to play the extra batsman. This is priceless because, we are going to play in February and March in flood light games. This would bring in the dew factor and playing an extra batsman might prove handly, as most matches are likely to be won by teams that bat better through the 50 overs. Win the toss, field first, and then chase the total with 7 batsmen (and the dew factor) would be mantra of the Indian team in the group stages.

On a personal note, I hope my childhood buddy Ashwin plays as many games as possible and picks up a bucket of wickets in this World Cup. What a dream he is living ! Wearing the Indian jersey at the World Cup and sharing a dressing room with Sachin ! And speaking of Sachin; forget all the talks about the Bharat Ratna, I think our entire nation owes him a World Cup. I bunked my school in fifth grade to watch India play SL in WC 1996, and cried all night and skipped dinner when that sinister ‘keeper Kalu hid the ball in his gloves, deceiving Sachin and silently whipped the bails off as he set off for a run ! That sight remains etched in memory. And it was disappointment once again in 2003, when Sachin pulled a ball straight down Mcgrath’s throat in pursuit of a stiff chase. He is in the form of his life right now, and once again in 2011, even though I am sitting in the other end of the world in San Francisco, I would still burn the mid night oil to watch every ball that my hero is going to face and hope that he erases those painful memories of 96 and ’03 by bowing out of the ODI format with a sterling century at the Wankhede on April 2nd 2011 !

Let the Celebrations begin !

So with a billion minds occupied with a single thought, a billion hearts swelling with Indian pride and hope, with two billion hands clapping earnestly for each boundary , with 2 billion legs jumping for joy at every opposition wicket,with 2 billion eyes glued to the TV with overflowing expectations ,with 2 billion lips fervently filled with prayers, and a billion sore throats fanatically cheering the team on, let us put everything aside for the next couple of months and live the Indian World Cup dream – Go India !

Endhiran : an Experience

Expectations had reached fever pitch ever since the producers had announced the release dates. This was the first Rajni movie releasing since I had come to USA and the ambience at Big Cinemas , San Jose was so electrifying that I had pinch myself to check if I was not in Chennai. The theatre was a riot..All seats were occupied by 6:30 itself for the 7:30 show.. the atmosphere resembled a mini Chennai.. tamils everywhere, even girls wore T shirts with Endhiran stills printed on them..as soon as the graphics S-U-P-E-R-S-T-A-R appeared, there was madness ; hooting, whistling, trains inside the theatre, rockets, bits of paper thrown up for each Rajni close up shot..

Credit must be given to the entire Endhiran team for almost managing to meet the sky high expectations..that itself is an achievement. I will make an honest attempt to ensure that I do not reveal the story, plot or important scenes in the next few lines, as everybody should enjoy the fun ride at the theatres.

Endhiran is pure magic. For the initial 20 minutes or so, I too shared the same concerns of millions of Rajni fans; no intro scene, no intro song( just the title track playing in the back ground), and the slow pace of the scenes, but once the plot was established, it made you stay hooked to your seats. Kadhal Anukkal song has been shot in a beautiful location. Serene lake, glittering sand, clear blue sky, mesmerizing Ash and charming Rajni.. what more do you need ? And the crowd went berserk towards the end of the song where Rajni walks in his inimitable style in super slo-mo .The first half is filled with Chitti’s fun antics and is a joyous ride. The re recording in the interval scene needs a special mention. Rahman shows his class in elevating this scene to a different level.

The dialogue writers have also included witty anecdotes packed with computer jargons that evoke quite a few giggles. Sabu Cyril’s art work is breathtaking. Rathnavelu’s camera work is commendable, not only because of the good visuals, but also for the fact that not at one point does the movie make you step back and think that you are actually seeing 2 separate frames of shots during the combination scenes of Chitti and Vasi, the lighting work is spot on and the progressions are seamless.

Super Star looks dashing through out the movie, and one can’t help but reminisce the words that Abbas utters during the climax fight sequence in Padayappa “waav..what a man, ungalukku vayase aagala !” – so true. “Irumbile Oru Irudhayam” song has been neatly choreographed and Ash looks super hot and you can not take your eyes of her and her slick dancing skills have been intelligently utilized. Kilimanjaro too was fun to watch and Raju Sundaram has made Rajni shake a leg to his strengths. “Arima”, though it has been lavishly shot, dripping grandeur in each frame was slightly disappointing, considering the fact that it is Prabhu Deva who was in charge. Coming from the man who made the Super Star make some eye catching moves in “Rakkama Kaiya Thattu”, “Baba Kichu Tha” and “Oru Koodai Sunlight”, this one was below par.

Hats off to Shankar.. what a visionary. To dream of something like this, and most importantly, the perseverance to leave no stone unturned to realise that dream is truly remarkable. Watching each and every frame, you could realise the effort that would have gone into the drawing board to conceptualize them, get the artists to stand in the correct positions to facilitate the VFX and get the right expressions from them , is a herculean effort because most of the shoots would have been shot only using green matting. I truly admire his creative portrayal of the climax which is breathtaking on screen. But he must have gone through a truckload of challenges before bringing to life each scene in the movie. Special credit to him for not falling into the “Super Star” image trap and having full faith in his script.

Most of the reviews have been positive, but there have a few disgruntled grumblings and people are entitled to have their own views. However, none can question the painstaking efforts of the director to give life to such a concept. He has not fallen back on any Hollywood sci-fi movies for the script but this is proper love triangle that will cater to the Indian tastes. A few of them are disappointed with the fact that this is not a typical Rajni movie with an intro scene, an intro song followed by a fight ( or the reverse), a few comedy scenes, followed by a sequence where he is put in a spot by his enemies during the interval block, and then he strikes back by getting rich in a single song/sequence and avenges his wrongs. We have been seeing this for fifteen years and it is time we saw something new and refreshing which is what Endiran offers to fellow die hard fans. There have also been complaints about the placement of songs, the sequences before “Irumbile” and “Kilimanjaro” etc but one must accept the fact that the sci- fi setting of the movie might not appeal immediately to our rural audience and we need to give them some space to shout out their throats. After all, it is extremely difficult to please everybody at the same time and the director has done his best towards it. Finally, about the complaints regarding the length of the movie, I can only chuckle.. Folks, we are seeing Rajni in a major role after 3 years.. and forget 3 hours, I can’t complain even if it is for 4 hours.. after all, if there is one hero who can captivate the audience for such a length of time on screen, it is Rajnikanth

Robot is an out and out Shankar movie; yet Rajni shines like a star, or the SUPER-STAR to be precise – that is his greatness. All those wannabe Rajni’s in Kollywood can learn a thing or two from him. No demands for intro scenes, punch dialogues etc; doing what the script demands in his own unique way. I can’t thank Shankar enough for enabling Superstar bring out all his histrionic skills in this movie which have been forced into a dormant state by his larger than life image. The man carries the film on his shoulders and has magetic screen presence. The innocence he brings into the Chitti role in the first half, the frustrations he brings out when the scientist is not able to make the final leap to realise his dream, the helplessness in the voice and gait when Chitti is about to be dismantled are noteworthy. But the elephant in the room is Chitti version 2.0. This is vintage Rajni, who combines the naughtiness of his Netrikkan character with the command and body language of Alex Pandian from Moondru Mugham; leaving you yearning for more The scene before the climax where he discovers the scheme laid out to trap him by Vasi.. a delight to watch..even Rajni’s villainy is attractive and addictive!

Endhiran is easily the best ever Indian movie made in terms of VFX superiority and would easily rank amongst the top 5 performances of Rajnikanth. It is a movie that only Rajnikanth can pull off successfully in his own inimitable style. Endhiran is an Indian movie I can proudly show to my non Indian friends.. while watching the movie , we were as excited as kids in a candy store ; virgins awaiting their first night.. running out of idioms and words.. Shankar’s amazing vision.. and Rajni Rocks… Enndhirraaaa !!!!!!

Six Flags,Catalina and SSN Alumni Meet

* It has been a while since I blogged and I think it is a good sign because Oracle is keeping me relatively busy . Let me begin with our visit to Six Flags sometime in May. After the experience, I can’t help thinking that the sole aim of the person who designed this crazy park is to push people to their limits of fear and endurance. As if the rides like Medusa, etc are not crazy enough,if you need respite from the rides, you have to deal with live killer whales, lions, tigers, cheetahs, elephants, snakes, crocodiles etc along the way, the only solace being that most of them are caged “The Roar” was a thrill a minute ride in which we had an almost 10 storey high sudden drop and the speeds almost touched 50 mph. If this shook you up horizontally, the next one was a beast called “Medusa” – the most thrilling roller coaster on the west coast. The theme for it is “Look at fear straight in the eye”, and boy, it was “thrillingly” imposing. After a few silent prayers, we were ready to go. The ascent to the top was ever so slow, increasing the nervous anxiety. Suddenly, we found ourselves confronted head first with a vertical drop of almost 150 feet, and this was a floorless roller coaster which meant your legs could not have any support. U turns, O turns, you name it and Medusa had it. Being suspended upside down during an O-turn, at almost 50 feet and the coaster travelling at 60 mph is one of the most thrilling moments one can ever experience ! By this time, we knew what to expect at six flags and were prepared for anything now. Another thrilling ride was “Kong” ; here we had a two inversion roll over, a 90 degree inversion and a 360 roll, all at a maximum height of 100 feet and speeds touching 50 mph ! The best thing about all these rides were that you felt so safe, thanks to the safety belts. Then came the decision I was going to regret for the rest of the day. No, it was not about any rides but the french fries that we had for a quick snack. They were completely drenched in oil and our next ride was Hammerhead Shark. As if the “drench” fries were not enough, this was another 360 ride, similar to Ranger in MGM, the one difference being there was no overhead roof !. Upside down, this also gave a sufficient pause for about 30 seconds for us to enjoy the world upside down mid air. To make matters worse, I could feel my safety belt loosening when I was mid air !My only concern was whether I could hold back from puking at the person who was right below I had to take a break for a couple of hours, thanks to the drench fries. The next ride was called “Tazmanian Devil”, and it indeed was a devil. This was a pendulum which took us back to our geometry class;remember all those angles like 90,135,180,270 etc which we can draw with just a compass and ruler and without a protractor ? This ride made us revisit all those angles at mind blowing speeds. We also witnessed a killer whale show and a white tiger show in the evening. The majestic white tiger going under water to grab a slice of meat was a sight to behold ! On the way, the tigers, lions, cheetahs and aligators made sure their presence was felt. It was a thrill a minute experience, and I would strongly recommend Six Flags for all those in the US for once in a lifetime experience. However, a word of caution, it is not for the weak hearted

* We spent the long weekend on Catalina Island.. a beautiful place, serene green trees, clear blue water, sun beating down your back, golden sand and lots of fun activities.. although I would say it was more of a honeymoon spot, and not the exact place for a bunch of guys to roam around .. we spent a couple of days on the island, the ferry ride from the shore to the island was pretty relaxing and parasailing and jet skiing was awesome.. we stopped on the way back at LA and there was a street which resembled typical marwadi streets to the core..sweet stalls, saree shops, bangle shops and people in colorful Gujarat costumes crossing the streets and we are not in India !

* We had the SSN Alumni meet a couple of weeks back and it was great to have Shiv Nadar amongst us. Mrs Kala highlighted the achievements of SSN and it was heartening to note the scholarships and other good will being extended to the rural students and the financially challenged people. If only the Center brought out reservations along these lines and not on the “so called nobility” of birth (or the lack of it which is the basis of reservation). Mr Nadar once again re iterated the fact that although it would be very easy to settle down in the Bay Area, he would be really happy if at least few of us went back to India. Count me in Sir, I cant wait to settle down in our own country in the very near future

* Watched a few movies this month..watched Paiyya, and did not like the movie much, it was pretty ok – not too good and not too bad, had great expectations about Taimannah , but she was disappointing in the movie and did not look great too..it was more like Run + Sandaozhi rehashed in a bad taste.. then I watched Singam as people suggested it was light hearted masala movie where one can have fun at the theatre, but somehow that too was disappointing ; our masala movies too are getting boring these days.. then I watched Sura ; pathetic to say the least, feel sorry for Vijay;looks like no one can save him from his bloated ego now ; then watched Raavanan, the best of lot. Though the story was wafer thin and the screen play was slow and spineless, I loved the way the characters were portrayed; I was aghast at the harsh negative reviews for the movie; is it that we always want heroes to be portrayed as self sacrificing demi-gods and villains as serial rapists and murderers ? Why can’t we accept the blur between good and bad ? Are not we all guilty of at least one negative deed and proud of at least one positive act? Nobody is good forever and nobody is bad forever. Don’t we all love to think we are altruists yet secretly despise ourselves for one silent guilt or the other all through our lives ? Should we still falsely convince ourselves that we are eternal do-gooders, attempt to hide “the grey” and silently let it transform into a beast in secrecy ? Or would be ready to be self critical and accept “the grey”, our shortcomings openly ( or at least to ourselves) and try to overcome them ? Some food for thought

Graduation Weekend @ CMU

It was exciting to be back in Pittsburgh for the commencement weekend. Pittsburgh, the lovely place that seemed to remind us of small yet beautiful hill stations like Ooty, Kodaikanal etc.

I had booked tickets pretty late and hence had to settle for the cheapest deal available(which too, was expensive by normal standards). My journey to Pittsburgh was on AirTran and I would strongly warn people who are going to travel in future never ever use this Air Carrier . It was pathetic and even K.S.R.T.C buses are better. Even a worm would struggle and squirm with the available leg space in the air craft. I had a stop over at Atlanta. I had been up at 4 : 30 in the morning through out the week, thanks to OWB training. I was feeling extremely sleepy and as soon as I got into the flight (at about 9: A.M Eastern Time) , I fell asleep, asking the air hostess to wake me up only when we were going to land in Pittsburgh. The flight was supposed to reach Pittsburgh at 10:30 in the morning. I was sleeping like a log and was completely unaware of the announcements that were being made. The air hostess woke me up and said we were going to land. I checked the time and it was just 10 o clock. “Wow !, this pilot must be a genius, landing half an hour early”. They asked us to de-plane and wait for instructions at the gate. I found this a little strange and when I met the officials, they asked me to go to another gate. I was still surprised and when I asked them why, they told me that the flight to Pittsburgh would leave at 11:00 ! I was astounded and then they explained to me that they had made an emergency landing at Atlanta again as the flight had developed a mechanical snag ! What a novel way to ruin the start of a long awaited weekend !

The officials announced that we would get a 50$ discount on our next Air Tran flight (aah ! who would want it anyway ;D ) . Finally, I reached Pittsburgh at around 1: 30 in the afternoon. I took the Airport Flier(28 X) ride back home, and it seemed like someone had painted Pitt all over again. She was dull, white and gloomy when I left in February and she was in full bloom now ;green, warm and inviting ! After a quick shower, we headed straight to the S.V. temple, along with a couple of friends from the next batch who had just arrived in Pitt. It was so blissful visiting the S.V temple after a long time. We came back and spent some time at the ISR. We returned home at around midnight.

The next day, we collected our graduation robes and got ready after a quick snack. We started meeting our friends one by one. After clicking some pictures, it was time for the commencement walk. We started from the Gates-Hillman Center and proceeded towards the Gesling stadium. Me and Vignesh were walking together;we have been the best of friends for seven years now, and destiny has really been kind to us. We were class mates in U.G for four years, worked for the same company for a year, got admits to the the same course, stayed together as room mates during our stay at CMU and, very soon will be room mates again at S.F.O once Vignesh starts working for Yahoo ! Now, that is a record that will take some beating ! We entered the footsteps of Gesling stadium to loud music,wild cheers and incessant clapping from the audience. As we walked forward, me and Vignesh stopped conversing in order to absorb the moment. We felt like kings entering the Colosseum. I looked back at the journey we had to endure. Staying away from the comforts of home that was 40,000 miles away, managing all things by yourself,cooking, washing, cleaning, managing groceries, classes, projects, exams, presentations, struggling at times for even one proper meal a day, falling sick and not informing home lest they get tense, enduring dark days during placement, managing to stay focused in spite of the mess happening around; it was emotionally satisfying. Life does not give you whatever you ask for, but it is best to enjoy whatever you get to the fullest We took our seats in the stadium and after a speech in which the speaker tried her maximum to put everyone to sleep, we headed towards the music hall for our department convocation.

We were seated in chronological order of last names, and though I had given the phonetics, Dr Garlan still got it absolutely wrong when he called out my name. The people of Vellore will never forgive him for that. One by one, we walked out to receive the degree certificates. I could not help missing my family at that time. How I wish, my grandfather was alive. He had passed away in 2004, and he was my best friend, guide, first cricket coach, sloka instructor and many more. I wish my Dad was there in Pittsburgh to witness the moment. He had never been to a professional college, and built his life from scratch without any assistance, but when it came to his kids, he made sure we got all that we necessarily wanted. I wish my Sister and her family was there; she worked more than me at times for my admits, and my brother in law has always given me crisp yet valuable advice when it came to decision making. I am not sure if Paddu would have realised what was happening, but she would have been happy for her “Hari Mama”. Most importantly, how I wish my Mom was there to see this in person. She was the one who taught me to dream big and I was just living her dream. This one was for you Mom, you are the best

After a few more photographs, we took a small break for a quick shower and were back again as a gang for another fun filled outing. Sai generously treated us at “Star of India” and we visited the Cathedral at night. It was a beautiful sight. We went upto the 36th floor but the doors were locked beyond that. To my surprise, shock, horror, I am just struggling for words here, I saw a guy, with only his i pod and laptop for company, seated all alone, on the thirty fifth floor of the Cathedral, at 10:30 on a Sunday night. What the hell is wrong with him ? I can understand people loving solitude but this was beyond limits ! The Cathedral is a perfectly spooky place on Sunday evenings, and would make a great spot for a horror movie setting or a villain chasing a heroine.

I had to leave at 3:30 the next morning, as I had to report to work on Monday. I was so sleepy early in the morning, and it was time for embarrassment. The conversation between me and the Air Tran official.
Air Tran official :Morning, can i have your last name ?
Me : Ramani
Air Tran Official : Sorry, I can’t find a match. Can you spell it for me ?
Me : Oh , yeah, I think I gave it as Vellore Ramani. You know I have been having this problem all the time; this middle name last name confusion, I had a problem with the EAD card even. So from then on…( and I keep mouthing nonsense, suffering from verbal diarrhea)
Air Tran Official : Sorry, no luck again. Can i see your confirmation print out ?
Me : Sure , here it is
Air Tran Official : Sorry , you have been booked on a United Airlines flight and not Air Tran flight !
Me : (Sheepishly) Oh, ya, I get it now, you know it can happen to anyone at 4:30 in the morning !

She was giggling uncontrollably. She must have thought that either this guy was yet to recover from a hang over or was drunk early in the morning. To make matters worse, she was good looking too..

The return flight on United Airlines was much more comfortable. I saw a movie “Invictus”. It was watchable. I headed straight from the airport to the office at noon, wishing the weekend end would never end.

God willing, the next big thing and another occasion for celebration is just round the corner

Life@Oracle, World T20 & Impending CMU trip

* This was easily the busiest week I have had since joining Oracle. I had taken a class on Oracle Warehouse Builer which is extensively used in my project. Since it was a Live Web Class and the instructor was from Colorado, I had to take the class from my cubicle at 6 30 in the morning ! Which meant catching the 6 o clock bus and getting up at around 4 :45 to have a shower and pack lunch. However, it felt heavenly to start work right at 6 : 30 in the morning. America had made my fast forget my early morning Chennai days and this was a nice gentle reminder. Coming back to the training, Warehouse Builder is an amazing tool. I am still feeling my way through it but the features like Experts, Debugger, Profiler etc are really powerful. Its fun and exciting !

* It was sad to see India lose without a fight in the T20 world cup but it is not entirely surprising. We were undercooked coming into the championships, arriving barely 100 hours before the event, and not playing a single practice game. Ideally, they would have been better served with a one week camp and a couple of matches on the Barbados wicket. The IPL gave a false cushion, and since most of those picked were in great form in the IPL, it was assumed that things would fall in place. You can get the best of milk,cream,apples,grapes,bananas etc but still it does not guarantee a good fruit salad ! The players definitely needed a mini camp to bond, and work out strategies. It was sad to see Dhoni lead the team in the manner in which he did. There was no imagination and it was evident that he was mentally tired, in addition to being physically tested, thanks to the IPL. Packing the side with 8 batsmen, winning the toss, and electing to field on a quick Barbados wicket, yet shockingly opening the bowling with a spinner etc were hard to comprehend. It was evident that it was a defensive strategy; it was more a case of trying to avoid batting first on such a quick wicket. It was sad to see them play like that because this was pretty much the same bunch that has done well in the recent past. Having said that, the after effects , thanks to the media was disgusting. Nobody plays a game and not want to win, and lets not forget that India is the number 1 test team in the world. We Indians must learn to take defeat in the right spirit. Not so long ago, we were basking in the glory of their achievements, and after a tournament exit, we throw them into the bin. It was also hilarious to note the board complaining, after all weren’t they also behind the IPL ? The IPL has almost become indispensable and the least we can do is to adjust the schedules so that players get atleast 2 weeks of rest between the IPL and the next tour. It was also amusing to hear all the talks of players going behind money etc. We must understand a sportman’s career is short and highly volatile. How many of us even remember Debhashish Mohanty, Abhey Kuruvilla, Sadagopan Ramesh these days ? Did they not win matches for our country ? All it takes is an off color tour or a freakish injury and one can easily slip into oblivion. And we must keep in mind that all the commercials and corporate backing exists only for those who perform. Do we see any non performing cricketer in high end commercials ? What is wrong in the players trying to make hay while the sun shines ? How many of us will be ready to give up a high paying corporate job for a modest public service job in the first place ? I think its grossly unfair that after each and every defeat, we become obsessed with player bank balances. Public memory is short and very soon everything will be forgotten once the team starts winning. After all did not the World T20 victory soften our hearts after the World Cup debacle in 2007 ? Once again, what is more important is that we are the NUMBER 1 Test team in the world. As long as that is safe, who cares about silly T20

* Will be flying to CMU this weekend for the Commencement ceremony. It will be nice to get back to Pittsburgh, meet the people and roam around the University Campus once again. Hopefully, we should click some pictures ( I have very few pictures since coming to the US ).Planning to write a separate blog after the visit

SPB@SFO

Music breaks barriers and re writes boundaries..this Sunday I attended the legendary S.P Balasubramaniam’s live show and it was an amazing experience !

One needs no formal training to appreciate music, and though I had opportunities to learn it properly (typical in a TamBrahm household), I always preferred playing Cricket in the open, and having seen my sister during a couple of times during her paatu class, I decided I just could not sit down for a couple if hours in the same place. So I am likely to remain all life, a competent bathroom singer

The best aspect of SFO is that, at times, it makes you feel so much closer to home.. On weekends, Nitin and I eat until we can take no more at Hotel Saravana Bhavan. The gathering for S.P.B’s concert was so native that it made me wonder if I was entering Kamarajar Arangam instead. It was so comforting

We were about 30 minutes late for the show, and while we were entering, the legend was singing “Raagangal Padhinaaru” from Thillu Mullu..we were lucky to get seats in the front row and the first song was one of my favourite from “Rajni hits”..the next song was “Kattavandi kattavandi” from Sagalakala Vallavan..the interesting observation, as told by S.P.B was that both were based on the Sindhu Bhairavi raagam..different situations, different moods, different composers and different tastes !

The songs then seamlessly flowed.. The singers who sang with S.P.B where his sister S.P Shailaja, another female who had an amazing voice I was told she was the daughter of Raghavender, the man who played Suhasini’s step-father role in Sindhu Bhairavi, is her name Sujatha ?), and another immensely talented upcoming singer from Telugu industry, Krishna. “Kavidhai Kaelungal” from Punnagai Mannan was also mind blowing..such a tough song was rendered with awesome ease.

Krishna kept the youth on their feet with numbers like “Neeyindri Naanum Illai” from Varanam Ayiram..”Vaa Vaa Pakkam Vaa” by SPB from Thanga Magan also got the crowd charged up.

Nevertheless, he did not sing some of his most memorable hits.. For example, I was eagerly awaiting numbers like “Mandram Vandha”, “Ilaya Nila”,” Anjali Anjali”, “Vaa Vennila”, “Nilave Vaa”, “Madai Thirandhu”, “Kadhal Rojave”,”Thanga Thamarai”,”Vathi Kuchi Pathikaadhu da”,”Satham Illadha Thanimai Kaetten”,”O Podu”,” En Kadhale En Kadhale” etc..perhaps he felt that the audience had listened to these numbers over and over again and felt a few other songs would be interesting..

“Yei Aatha” from Payanangal Mudivadhillai was sung with so much of energy.. and much to our delight, on our request, he sang a few lines from “Unakenna Maele Nindraai” and “Ballelaka”.. my god the way he effortlessly rendered the high decibel parts of the song was out of the world.. there were also a few melodies like “Azhagooril Poothavale” from Thirumalai and his latest hit “Naan Pogiren Maele” from Naanayam. There was also a song from the film “Kadhal Oviyam” which I was listening too for the first time.

SPB’s anecdotes during the concerts also were amusing and hilarious.. it was evident that he shared a special rapport with Ilayaraja.. he was also liberal in his praise for Rahman.

But the song that made my day was “Minnale” from May Madham.. it was my favourite Rahman composition and to listen to SPB live was ethereal..the simple tune, soulful rendering, beautiful lyrics, the violin accompaniments that take you to a sad yet irresistible world.. this song has class written all over it !

The man’s energy, enthusiasm,stamina, voice control and breath control has to be seen to be believed. If the orchestra was replaced by a karaoke, and you closed your eyes and heard him sing, it was as though it was straight from an i pod ! So authentic.

SPB wound up the day with “Megam Kottatum” . It was an unforgettable day and one that I will cherish for a long time.

As sweet as nectar, as soothing as a lullaby
He is the one and only SPB!

IPL : When Sport becomes a product

In the past week, IPL has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. You know you are in trouble when sport, which usually takes the last few pages in a newspaper makes it to the front page ! I am penning down a few ideas of my own, as well as genuine concerns raised on various newspapers in the past week.

* Lalit Modi has got a wrap on his knuckles and it is time for celebration for the genuine lovers of cricket. He fell into his own trap. Lalit Modi has always been the giant elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about. Drunk and drenched in power, he has fast risen to be the next powerful person to Sonia Gandhi ( yeah we can always forget Manmohan ji, he is , at best an “existing” PM ) in India.

* I honestly believe he is being praised for a lot of things for which he does not deserve credit. First and foremost, though he can claim the IPL to be his baby, T20 for heaven’s sake was not his invention ! It was invented by suave Englishmen who wanted to do something drastic because their national game (Cricket), was losing its popularity to football (read EPL). T20 was born in England in 2005. The IPL is nothing but a convenient conglomeration of the best points from EPL, T20, NFL (franchises, home away concept) etc. So all Modi has done is smart repackaging ! Yes, Modi has been a successful business man, as he has taken IPL accross the world, but still, he has not done anything new. Why should I not believe that an honest committee of a couple of knowledgeable test cricketers and the best brains from IIM’s in India would have scaled greater heights than Modi ? And lets digest the fact that IPL is successful because of the cricketers and not the “behind the stage” players . Tough Luck, Mr Modi

* The Western World might praise Modi in the open and feel grumpy behind his back but both are unnecessary. The West must realise that Modi is no Messiah and he has not supplied Cricket with much needed oxgen or revolutionised the sport . India is the biggest market for the sport and anybody with basic business acumen, would have succeeded nine times out of ten in a similar venture. Yes, there can not be another private cricket event as big as the IPL; but that is not because of Modi, it is because of the vast Indian market.

* You can have all the glamour, all the marketing, millions of Modis but the event will never succeed without the cricketers. If they attempt to push that to the back burner, then the circus will soon wind up. The biggest positive has been the recognition that some of the relatively unkown cricketers have received. Today along with Saas- Bahu serials,bollywood, politics,Sachin,Dhoni and others; a Harmeet Singh, a Suman, a Saurabh Tiwary, a Rayudu, a Sathish, a Kamran Khan is also being discussed !

* T 20 has been a good avenue for taking the game to virgin markets. But it should be used as a window for projecting the beauty of test matches, which is the sport’s pinnacle. Yes, the IPL has taken the sport to girls, house wifes even, weaning them away from the mega serials; but ladies please understand that what you are watching is not REAL CRICKET. Ask any true cricket lover and he will tell you. All these big boundary hits on cement like wickets can not match the heavenly bliss of a fiery spell from a fast bowler, or a sublime innings from a batsman hounded by 5 close in catchers and wily spinners, or a tensely fought draw during the final hours of the fifth day of a test match. THAT IS CRICKET

* Cricket is a beautiful game/ sport and I have a problem when these guys try to turn it into a product. If cricket was a baby, Modi has shamelessly dissected its each and every tender part and sold them separately.
Mr Modi, kindly understand that when a ball crosses the boundary ropes without bouncing inside the field of play, it is called a S-I-X or a S-I-X-E-R; Yeah Mr. Modi, we appreciate your genuine concerns about kids watching the programme and the need for people to get the pronunciation and spelling right , but still you should not rename it to a “DLF Maximum”. We are sick and tired of commentators arguing whether it was a “Karbonn Kamaal Catch” or a “City Moment of Success”. Yes you have continuously banged into our living rooms and even a three year old knows what brand DLF, Citi or Karbonn stands for. Mission accomplished. Now will you please remove these titles accompanying cricketing moments ? Knowing Mr. Modi, he will sell it to other brands next year. it could be a “State Moment of Success “, “Graphite Kamaal Catch” or whatever and the day when a commentator is going to be fired for failing to get over the hangover of a previous brand is not far away. And I switching on the TV because I want to see Sachin bat,Kumble bowl, Saurav lead his team and I could not care less to see Modi on screen literally every alternate over, sitting on a sofa lounge texting and tweeting his way to glory, or discussing intensely with the team owners( I am sure its not cricket ) It is sad to see commentators shamelessly selling themselves to the money crazy bureaucrats. And we are not talking about some A, B or C. These are legends of the game like Sunil Gavaskar, Geoffrey Dujon, Ravi Shastri ( no ;Arun Lal, Sivaramakrishnan, Manjrekar do not find a place here )

* The cheerleaders are another major distraction (Not that I am complaining though ). Again it is a shameless lift by Mr Modi from the T20 world cup held in South Africa and it is not IPL’s brain child. Anybody who has visited the stadiums will vouch that the mere presence of players is enough to send the crowd into a tizzy. Do I need a Sachin or Anil Kumble to grin at me when I go to a movie to rave about Nayanthara, Shriya or Tamanna ? Similarly, I do not need women in biniki skirts and tight tees to gyrate on screen when I am busy counting the number of runs for Sachin’s fifty or the number of runs given by Kumble in that over. As simple as that. The cheerleaders might be necessary in places like UK or South Africa to bring in the crowd and keep them excited. But there, cricketers are mere mortals;in India, they are demi gods and they do not need to piggy back on unknown women from foreign lands to bring in the crowds. And anyone watching the representation among the cheerleaders can easily make out that there is tacit racism involved in the selection. Somehow , we Indians have a thing for fair skin

* The most blatant abuse of viewership time was the strategic time out from second edition of IPL 2. The yawning 7 1/2 minute interview at the end of tenth over of each innings saw a plethora of advertisements flooding the TV screens, conveniently sold to a sponsor. Lalit Modi would not even listen to the “The God of Cricket” Sachin’s complaints that the time outs were hampering the momentum of the game. Sorry Sachin, you might know a thing or two about Cricket, but this is IPL and Modi is the boss ! He arrogantly refused to scrap it because it was sold to a sponsor for the entire tournament’s length and scrapping it would result in heavy monetary losses. Who cares about the cricket anyway? And this year , Modi, being the business man that he is has repackaged the intervals into two slots of 2.5 minutes each and sold it to Maxx Mobile. Mr Modi, if you had ever played cricket at a decent level, you would have known that cricketers know how to discuss strategies within the alloted time, and we do not need your extra time outs. Haven’t you ever seen the 12th man running in with a pair of gloves to the batsmen in the middle whenever the dressing room needs to convey a message ? Or have you not seen the substitute whispering into a fast bowler’s ear at fine leg/third man when he is in the middle of a spell? Mr Modi , please do not flatter yourself

* The Ravi Jadeja ban for IPL 3 was an eye opener. I am not trying to justify Jadeja’s acts but once again, we saw blatant abuse of power to curb the player’s earning capabilities. Jadeja is one of the most promising players coming up, and if he felt he was worth more than the 40 lakhs that he was being paid, and wanted to negotiate a better deal, in what way is he committing a crime ? Who is Mr. Modi , to fix rules, that Jadeja can hope for an increase only after three years ? The irony is that they are paying around 3.5 crores for Ishant Sharma who is warming the benches and his bottom this season ! Mr Modi, if you conveniently hide under the garb of “trying to protect a teenager’s career and helping him find the right way to handle money” ( as you clain in those interviews to the media), then what about the IPL after night parties which all cricketers have to compulsorily attend ? All I can see in those photos is drinks, more drinks, women and more women ? So is that the right way to look after young cricketers At the same time, one can not deny the fact that Jadeja was attempting to be greedy, and this will be the trend in the years to come, with the amount of money floating around. Back in 1999/2000 when we were playing representative cricket for Tamil Nadu juniors, ( R Ashwin, the current Chennai Super Kings sensation and me were room mates then ), our daily wages were a mere 75 rupees ! From that, we spent around 60 rs towards food and we could barely save 15 rs per day from our match fees. Today , i heard the present Tamil Nadu juniors receive anywhere between 2500 – 3000 Rs per day ! Now that is insane, what do you expect a 14 year old to do with that sort of money !

* I also read that all benefits including tax are being extended to the IPL moghuls. We are talking about Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya and all those money drunk people who run the show. Why the hell do we need to extend tax sops to these billionaires when my parents and your parents sincerely file their return for the peanuts that they earn ? And Mr. Powar who is from Maharashtra says he is helpless with regards to the escalating prices of food items. Mr Powar, with these 200 odd crores ( from tax alone) , could you not do something about the acute price increase and power shortage. I should not be doing the thinking when you are the Union Minister. And this is yet another incident that proves that we Indians perenially resign to the fact that we are a poor country,when ironically, we are represented significantly by billionaires in Forbes list each year. Thalaivar (Rajni) classically puts it in Sivaji in a two liner ( India ezhai naadu illa , irukara panam ellam panakaaranga kitteye thangi irukku.. the rich get richer and the poor get poorer)

* We can’t thank Tharoor and Modi enough. You guys rock man seriously. Thanks for putting the menace into the limelight. Here was a union minister who pretended that all that he was trying to do was bring cricket to Kochi, and alas ! he conveniently attempts to pocket a cool 70 crores through his “close friend ” (When will people stop misusing the word “friendship” ?). Mr Modi is no saint either, he, through his relatives has stakes in Kolkata, Rajasthan and Punjab. Still, I do not think it was a wise decision on the part of the Kochi owners to have opted for the city in first place. Kerala, is a beautiful place, it is my favourite “go-to” place in India, it is a place I would take my wife for pleasant moments after marriage, but still it has a long way to go before it becomes an IPL power centre. The local talent is limited and already we have 3 power centres in close vicinity ( Chennai, Banglore and Hyderabad), there is no proper cricket stadium at present, and the franchises would have been better served in chosing Ahmedabad. But just have a look at the number of politicians running the game these days. Sharad Powar ( president elect ICC). Rajiv Shukla (BCCI- Congress), Farooq Abdullah ( union minister and president Jammu Kashmir Cricket Association). Arun Jaitley – former union minister, and president Delhi District Cricket Association, Narendra Modi – CM Gujarat and president Gujarat Cricket Association. Lalu Prasad Yadav, former Union Minister and Cheif Patron Bihar CA. There are a few more as well. We already can’t stand these individuals in politics and do we need them in cricket too ?

* On a concluding note, I am really happy for my childhood buddy Ashwin Ravi who has been consistently delivering for the Chennai Super Kings. We have known each other since he was in 4th standard. We played together, went to the same school, same college, same clubs and I have seen from close quarters the sacrifices made and the time and energy devoted by his father ( Ravi uncle) and Chithra Aunty. It was so nice of Ashwin to mention his dad when he received the Man of the match award. They both truly deserve the success. Ravi Uncle would accompany Ashwin to every cricket match, constantly encourage our team,(he took special interest in my career too), he was our team manager on our tours to Bangalore and when it came to studies he would patiently gather all the school notes for him so that Ashwin could prepare when not playing cricket. I am sure that family deserves every success that has come their way.. All the best da machi..!

Bret “The Hitman” – A Real “Reel” Hero

* Sunday March 28 2010 : Not even in the wildest dreams would have any die hard “Hart” fan possibly even imagined that this day would arrive.. Just goes to prove that life is a great leveler and what goes around comes around For the uneducated, do you remember our younger days when we played UNO and WWF trump cards as if our life depended on it ? He is the guy with the Championship belt and consistently amongst in the top 3 ranks ( depending upon when you purchased your trump cards ), in neon pink and black. When Bret was unceremoniously ousted from the WWF on Nov 9, 1997, after the “Montreal Screw Job”, many “H(e)arts” sank in despair. Life would just not be the same anymore. I remember waking up at 2 30 in the morning in the middle of April ’96 just to watch Bret in action and when he lost to Shawn, I just could not accept it. Bret was a hero for millions and his exit was inglorious to say the least. With his exit, the WWF just could not manage TRP’s with wrestling alone. They had lost the ultimate superstar and this heralded the attitude era, and the WWF was not for kids anymore. Divas came, and brought with them the oomph and sleaze. I tried switching over to WCW but they just did not know how to handle Bret and he was wasted there. In WWF, I was following THE Rock, who was a great entertainer, but it just was not the same without Bret. Gradually, I stopped following it on TV. I grew up in life and learnt that everything in WWF was scripted and all the stunts were not really meant to hurt the opponents, but still Bret remained a childhood hero to me.
Looking back, one could not entirely blame Vince Mcmahon, as he was the owner of the WWF and as he had lost Bret to the rival company, he wanted to make sure that he did not lose Bret as a champion so that his business would not be affected. For Bret, it was an emotional saga. He knew it would be his final match in WWF and he had brought his kids to see the match as it was held in his native Canada. Tell me which father would want to be seen as a loser in front of his kids ? So Bret too was justified in demanding that he should win that match and he would then forfeit the title voluntarily in the next episode of Raw. Vince had faithfully agreed to it. But the businessman in him got the better of him and he crafted a devious plot behind Hitman’s back to rob him of glory. Years passed by and Bret witnessed the death of his brother Owen, his brother in law the British Bulldog and a reckless kick to his face by Goldberg in WCW ended his career. Worse was to follow; Bret suffered an accident which left him paralyzed on his left side. He took a three years to come back to normal. He was inducted into the Hall of fame in 2006, but the “screw job” still left a bitter taste. We Bret fans were resigned to the fact that we would never see Bret in action after the paralytic attack. But miracles happen in life. Vince had called him back for a storyline on a 3 month contract. Vince is a shrewed man; he knew the brand “Hart” would sell on any day. But for us “Hart” fans, we just did not mind it. In Wrestlemania, Bret signalled his victory over Vince with his signature move, “The Sharp Shooter”. Atlast, it was emotionally satisfying to see Bret’s career end on a high. This was indeed a golden day for all “Bret” fans. There have been scores of wrestlers who have come and gone; but when the entire audience cheers for a man who had last wrestled for the company 12 1/2 years ago, it speaks volumes of the charisma of the Hitman. It was cinematic , yet satisfying and more than Bret, it was his fans who were desperate for this particular day. To seek parallels, imagine a movie in which Rajnikant/Amitabh loses to the antagonist and the film ends abruptly. Years later, the maker of the movie feels the movie deserved a better climax and comes up with a finale in which the hero emerges triumphant; this is something similar Bret gave “manliness” to the color pink. Thank you “Bret” for coming back just for your fans. After all who does not like to see their childhood hero win

* It has been almost three weeks since I joined Oracle and I have enjoyed my stay so far. The work is challenging and pushes me to challenge myself each day. This last one year, I have been forced to take care of all my needs by myself. It has given me lots of time for myself; to analyse what I like/dislike, strengths/shortcomings etc. ( I will write a separate blog on this ). It was different when I was in CMU ,but now having started working, I do miss people more than ever. I can’t wait to come back to India, but I know it won’t happen anytime soon

* One interesting activity that me Achu and Srikanth a.k.a Logic have been doing since the past month is our Saturday Night Conference. We speak for an hour about all the happenings in our lives ( though me and Achu do most of the talking and Logic just listens). It is nice and we hope to continue this. It is such a nice stress buster and we have also had intelligent conversations about life, religion, god faith, social responsibility, relationships etc. Guys who are willing to join ; do let us know. The more, the merrier

* Another interesting incident happened last Wednesday. Somehow the people in SFO hardly make use of the public transport services and usually it is just me and the driver during my entire journey from home – Oracle – home. Out of the blue, this stunningly gorgeous female was in the bus by the time I got in. So we were three in all in the bus ( driver included) . She was so lovely to watch and I just could not take my eyes of her. It has been almost a year since my harmones worked overtime over a woman( for various reasons, and before you have other thoughts, it is strictly non-medical ). After all, you can have all the babes with hot bodies by the dozen in the US, but you just can not replace a graceful Indian girl. She was near perfect; just about the correct height, a black top and a thick black skirt, sitting cross legged with free flowing hair falling over her beautiful face, teasingly half revealing her eyes,nose and lips. I guess she was an NRI (based on the accent which which she had a conversation over the phone), and after five minutes of deliberation whether I needed to pick up a conversation with her or not, ( anyway we were just two and the bus was ours now), I struggled to find my voice and just when I was thinking about the best greeting with which I should start, damn it ; she stretched her slender arms for the “Stop Request” button and the next moment she was gone.. cha ..jestu miss

Oracle, SFO & Vinnai Thandi Varuvaayaa…

* March 12th 2010.. It felt like June 1 2007 again ..(which was my first day at Cognizant)..it was my first day at Oracle (after all the travails and the cancelled India trip thanks to the mess with the EAD card)..I was scheduled to meet my manager at 10 a.m that day, but I wanted to be there much earlier than that..so after half an hour’s wait for a scheduled bus at the stop (which is sacrilegious if you had lived in Pittsburgh the previous year where the buses arrive bang on time, all through the day,all days a week and in all weeks a year) , I finally reached the Campus.. and I walked into the building.. with memories of the first day in Cognizant, and fresh hopes for a similar fruitful association.. it has been good so far..and I got to meet my team mates on the first day, and they have made me feel very comfortable..hoping to make lots of friends there.. the first two days have been interesting, and have been exploring the campus and the food at Oracle, thanks to Priya (SSN/CMU classmate)..hoping to meet all the other people from SSN/CMU soon..

* Its been a week since I have arrived in SFO.. the weather has been pleasant for a start, although it gets pretty chilly in the evenings.. and having come from Pittsburgh where there would be a party every time the Mercury raised its head above 0 in winter, its strange that I have been feeling the cold even at 50 F..

* My ordeal with “cards” continues, and last week when I decided at last, I needed to do some shopping.. me and Rohit (I wish more people like him are always around .. he had finalised the apartment, checked out the transportation facilities, booked tickets and much more for me ; I just had to land in SFO and there he was at the airport too in the middle of the night !) went to one the shopping malls..I decided to withdraw some cash from my international card, and after a 15 minute search for an ATM, we located one, only to find it was out of service. We searched around for half an hour, to discover another one.. I stuck in my card, (and this was one of those irritating ATM’s which requires you to pull out your card quickly as soon as you stick it in).. and it was not coming out.. after an angry grab, I not only pulled the card but also the tape on its back side.. and there I was.. pennyless, and with 1300 $ stuck in the international card.. we returned home empty handed..no shopping.. again..

* I am proud that I am desperately sticking on to the “Indianness” in me.. and the more people think I am out of sync with the world in USA, the more I want to cling on to it ..some of the questions that people around me asked me made me wonder what I was doing all this time in Pittsburgh..
they :”What are the places you have visited in the US ?” me : none except Pitt ( where I stayed.. and it was a pity, I did not explore that too..) ..if you can discard New York,( where I had been for an interview), I just realised that I had not travelled at all !

* Whenever people ask me if we can go out for lunch/dinner, I keep suggesting Indian restaurants all the time (after all the Pizzas and Subway sandwiches that were a staple diet in the fall semester and the holidays, I never miss a chance to feast on Indian food ).. and some of them have asked questions like why don’t you explore different cuisine (I realized that they had a point, cos though I had a great appetite, I always kept eating the same kind of stuff.. but the gem of all questions was this ” Why do you always eat Indian food ? why don’t you try the food here, the “American” cuisine ? “.. this question had me in splits.. well there are a lots of Indian restaurants around in Pitt and SFO which always attract a good number of natives, and we have all those Pizza shops and Sub-ways(ok make that American if you want) favored by students, and .. as far as I know, falafal and other varieties that people used to eat in Pitt belonged to Mediterranean,pasta belongs to Italy, and noodles to China ( I suppose, or did the Italians beat them to that too ?) lets ignore the Continental breakfast that was served often in Pitt (which was nothing but cookies, cup cakes and juices and we don’t expect people to spend the entire morning to prepare such a meal)..err.. well.. then what exactly is american food ? I have seen restaurants with signboards like “Authentic Indian Cuisine” “Authentic South Indian Cuisine” “Authentic Bollywood (yes !) Cuisine”,”Authentic Mediterranean Cusine”, authentic Italian,Chinese, Japanese.. and so on, but I am yet to find a signboard that says “Authentic American Cuisine” here !

* I saw Vinnai Thandi Varuvayaa last Friday.. and I fell completely in love with it..it has been quite sometime since we saw such a neat love story sans all the masala.. it had all the stereo types and cliches from time immemorial.. boy and girl from different religion, the heroine’s strict dad and her hot head brother, yet the presentation makes it a stand out from other movies.. i am no fan of gautham menon, especially after watching Varanam Ayiram, somehow Trisha never gave me sleepless nights, and like everybody else, the antics of “Young/Little Super Star” in his previous movies got to my nerves; yet this film was worth a watch..

1) To begin with, the title scrolls in which the names appear in tamil and their shadows in english were innovative..

2) The timing of all the songs in the movie were near perfect. Simbhu’s reactions just before the Hosanna song, the violin BGM in the build up to the song were amazing..

3) The hero’s journey to Kerala, and the the conversation between the hero and Trisha was amusing.. dialogues like ” nariya paer unakku try pannirpangale, sappa figure key thala kizha nippanga”, “un kan vazhiya avanga enna parkala pola irukku” were cute..

4) Malayalam is always a sweet language and the lyrics in omana penne and aaromale sounded sweet ( although we could not follow some of them).. the hero touching of the heroine’s feet( which was a sweet passive statement that conveys that you are willing to let go your ego, which is the key to any relationship and treat the other person as your equal) was a novelty..the best part was reserved towards the end when the hero showers a barrage of kisses on the heroine..and the heroines reactions where she wants more of it, but at the same time her alter ego pushes the hero away was a classic depiction of the conflicts in mind..

5) The follow up scenes at the coffee house were also worth a watch..and the scene in which the hero and heroine return from a movie was also nice..as Trisha goes on about how they should be just friends and she asks the hero if she could go and tell her father they were just friends so that they could meet at her house, Simbhu retorts with “Enna try panra, Jessie?”..semma powerful one liner.. and its end where she says “I hate you” and Simbhu hits back with a slight nod , a “Thank You” and a vigourous shake of the head.. a classic..

6) Trisha’s bold calling off of her marriage, and Simbhu’s dialogue when his accomplice Ganesh ( who raised a laugh every time he opened his mouth) explains the danger confronting them at the police station.. ” Sir, ava kalyanathaye nirithitta saar” was hilarious..then comes one of the two best scenes in the movie.. Trisha’s confession of her love for the hero.. the depiction of a girl’s passion for a guy and the intensity of her dialogues was novel for tamil cinema..” When you proposed to me, I was angry not because you did it but because I thought you had discovered my feelings towards you”.. another amazing one liner..and the BGM which was a different version of Aaromale elevated the scene to a different level..

7) The mannipaya song is one of my all time favourites.. the magic of Shreya goshal’s voice and the soulful lyrics of Thamarai.. “Kaatrile aadum kaagidham naan, nee dhaane ennai kadidham aakinaai.. anbil thodangi, anbil mudikkiren”, “anaivarum thoongum iravenum naeram, enakadhu thalai anai, nanaithidum eeram”, “oru naal sirithen maru naal veruthen unai naan kollamal kondru pudhaithene mannipaaya”.. stirring lyrics..

8 ) The mood swings of the heroine were again realistic and not overdone,.. her calling off of the relationship first, and then her struggle to convince herself about it and then discover reasons for it represented once again,a classic conflict of mind and the struggle to overcome emotions and get a false conviction that she was doing the right thing was again a sensitive and realistic portrayal.. and the best part of it was the director’s conscious shaping of her character where she neither appeared villianous nor evoked sympathy.. highly appreciable..

9) The timing of the Aaromale song could not have been better.. the visuals were a treat in all songs, but the mood of the song was so inspiring..

10) The Central Park scene after the Aaromale song was definitely one of the best we will see.. Trisha’s eagerness and anxiety to know about the other girl in Simbhu’s life, her pensive dialogue where she says ” go ahead and describe her Karthik” perhaps a hidden intention to see if the other girl would have been a better match than her, and the entire sequence of Simbhu’s dialogues was touching.. “ava kaala thotturken naan. ava paeru kooda Jessie (and a pause).. Jessie”.. another classic from Gautham Menon and again, Rahman’s soul stirring placement of the violin BGM of mannipaya at the perfect time leaves a lasting memory of the scene ..

11) The climax was again realistic.. kudos to the director for not succumbing to pressures and giving it a happy ending.. after all most all time romantic classics and umpteen real life romances rarely have a perfect ending …it was a sweet and simple movie in which almost everbody could identify themselves with and relate to one of the central characters in the movie..there are very few movies which make you feel glad for having watched them and Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya was one amongst them..

Good bye to fifth@Aiken, Morewood and Craig !

So its finally time to say good bye to Pittsburgh. I will be in SFO very soon to start my tenure at Oracle. Looking back, Pittsburgh has given me really fond memories to savor. Thank you goddess of Pittsburgh for being so kind to me

It would be nice to probably to jot down a few things which had been a part of my life in India/which I missed in Pittsburgh.

1) SMS : Thanks to CUG, I think I used to send around 10000 SMSes per month in India. Here, thanks to the exorbitant messaging rates,cheap call rates and absence of dear friends, I have not sent a single SMS since I have landed in Pittsburgh. I am sure I have completely forgotten the art and would really struggle if someone were to ask me type one..

2) PTC ride : No two thoughts, the bus service in Pitt is definitely one of the best in the whole world. Prompt timings, sweet bus drivers, comfortable seats; in short travelling in bus in Pitt was a pleasure. Still, I dearly miss those early morning, bumpy, humid, congested bus rides of Chennai;namely the routes 11h,5e,49a,37g,17m,25g to name a few. Back home,one you step out of our buses, with your belongings intact, we had godly sense of achievement about our rides;here you feel more human..

3) Idly sambhar and dosa : I have lamented enough about how I miss south indian food in my previous blogs. I have reached a stage where I am bore of tasting my own preparations ..Still Pitt offers tasty gujarathi food at quite a few locations : U Pitt Vinay Bhai’s food truck, Prince of India, India garden ; Tamarind offers decent south indian menu..

4) Heat and Humidity : It was fun to see snow for the first time, but Pittsburgh winter was awefully cold. In fact, during the final stages, it was time for rejoicing if the mercury levels rose above zero. I would anyday swap the Chennai weather to the snowy winter. Lots of people who are not born an bred in Chennai complain about our weather (and I think its understandable as the humidity levels are really torrid) ,but to me, the 5 45 morning sun screaming on your back, the beads of sweat on your eyebrow, the cool breeze that filled the surroundings in the evenings, the smell of soil just after the rains.. that was heaven too

5) Cricket : Enough said about it already, but thanks to illegal streaming (sssh..silence), I did not miss Sachin’s double hundred !

6) Chennai FM channels : They were an inseparable part of my life right through my under graduation bus rides,Cognizant bus rides and SSN-SASE hostel evenings. Suryan,Radio Mirchi,Aaha,Radio One,FM Rainbow aargh..How i miss my Nokia 6030 and the best part about SSN-SASE stay was the hostel (never mind the dingy room and the unpalatable mess food). I loved the evening walks around my SSN campus, and it was nice to experience hostel life as I was a day scholar in UG..

7) Trains : How can we forget our good old Indian Railways.. either when you travel as a gang of friends or as a close knit family, trains are the best mode of transport

I have mixed feelings when I think of leaving Pittsburgh.. I have fallen in love with this place, as this has been the only city other than Chennai in which I have camped for such a long duration..I will miss those lovely long walks from Aiken to Craig via Morewood… I will miss my Kentucky Home.., I will miss the couch in the living room..I will miss my empty glances at the star light sky through my window,I will miss my “cave” and the friends at MSE and MSIT who have been good to me (though reflecting back, I was not my normal self somehow during my stay here in CMU with respect to making friends.. I could have socialised more and made more friends..I think I sort of kept to myself at CMU).. I will miss gazing at the intimidating “big house” near Amberson..I will miss staring at the lovely Cathedral of learning..I will miss the “cuckoos” of the traffic signals for pedestrians,..I will miss Vinai Bhai’s food truck,..I will miss the escort rides back home late in the night,I will miss squash at CMU, I will miss the lounges at the UC, I will miss the comfort of the lovely canopy of trees from Morewood to Craig which have witnessed a mixture of emotions during my lonely walks..I will miss the hot chicks at Subway and Maxim ..( we used to order a pizza, and share it.. a fountain drink came along with it but the refill was not allowed if the drink was shared.. so one of used to gobble it up, ask for a refill, the other person used to wait outside the Pizza shop, and once we came out, we threw out the straw, replaced it with a fresh one and the other person would have the drink now .. all is fair in the life of a graduate student )..I will miss those beautiful damsels who used to jog all around fifth avenue as if their life depended on it..I will miss the bus rides in 71D and 500, I will miss the Pittsburgh Venkatajalapathi kovil , and the prasadam of course

I can’t wait to come back for the graduation walk in May.Thanks a lot to all natives of Pittsburgh who have been so good to me.. and thanks to the goddess of Pittsburgh for making me comfortable here..Pittsburgh.. will always hold a special place in my heart