Now that the Euro 2008 tournament is over, and Spain have deservedly won it, I will reserve writing about that for another entry. For now, I thought of putting down a team of the tournament. There were very many impressive players and finding a 11 is a pretty hard job. However this is the best that I thought that one could put together.
Goal Keeper - GIANLUIGI BUFFON : This was a difficult tournament when it came to picking a goalkeeper. You might be shocked I haven't picked Casillas being the Madridista that I am, but although he did not concede many goals, he barely had any saves to make, the defence was solid enough and Saint Iker did not have to show why he is god. The other keepers in the semis are not even worth a mention. The Russian, forgive me for forgetting his name, conceded way too many goals. Lehmann is a joke, and Rüştü is a bigger joke. Buffon gets the nod here because he made some fantastic saves, including Mutu's penalty and kept the Azzuri in the game with some incredible saves, until he came up against Casillas of course in the shootout.
Right Back - SERGIO RAMOS : Okay, here the Madridista in me comes out, but if you think about it seriously, he has been the best at this position. Defensively a little questionable early in the tournament, but slowly attained back the levels that he is so famous for as the tournament progressed. Constantly menacing down the right flank, he's a night mare for oppositions and to add to that he's almost the target man for any setpiece and almost came close to scoring in the final. Even defensively he had a brilliant last couple of games. Deservedly on this team.
Centre Back - CARLES PUYOL : Catalan by birth, you would not expect him to give his all while playing for La Furia, but he was the linchpin of the defence. Crucial tackles and interventions giving the Spanish defence the necessary experience and calmness, he was the defender of the tournament for me.
Centre Back - GIORGIO CHIELLINI : The Juventus wing back was employed in a make shift role for his country and he stepped up to the occasion. He was sure of all tackles, and was so solid and it is primarily due to him that when they played Spain they did not concede any goals. To stop such a creative force from scoring goals for 120 minutes, that is surely an achievement to put him on this team.
Left Back - YURI ZHIRKOV : The Russians took everyone by storm this year, and storm is the right word to describe this player. The pace with which he goes forward is unbelievable and defensively solid too, was a regular in Russia's now famous open approach to the game. Lahm had a fairly decent outing as well, but Zhirkov is my pick.
Defensive Midfield - MARCOS SENNA : If ever Spain has missed something all these years, it is someone like him. The Brazilian born holding midfielder is the most composed player in the centre of the pitch for the Spanish team. Sitting in front of the defensive and launching off attacks, the perfect blend for a holding midfielder, he gives room for the creative forces of the likes of Iniesta,Silva and others to carry the attack forward. My pick for player of the tournament, surely walks in to the top 11.
Left Midfield - DAVID SILVA : One of the unsung heroes of the Spanish team, and probably unheard of to non La Liga watchers, this Valencia starlet is a beautiful left footed player. All of 23, he has a big future in store for him. Constantly switching flanks, he is elegant with the ball and is a threat to any team with his attacking instincts. He gets the nod ahead of other competitors like Van der waart,Podolski.
Right Midfield - WESLEY SNEIJDER : The centre of all attack for the Oranje, he has been a revelation in this tournament. With powerful long range shots, and quick counter attack movements, this flexible winger/central midfielder is an asset to any team. Schwienstieger although deservant of a pick, misses out because of his silly red card and poor showing in the finals. Altintop also is a name worth mentioning but Sneijder is a bigger and better player.
Centre Midfield - MICHAEL BALLACK : The German captain is the centre of focus in the German team, with a largely young team, he is the father figure of sorts who brings the much needed experience and a player of his stature is surely an asset to any team. With his deft touches and powerful strikes, he is the best central midfielder in the tournament. Xavi deserves a mention here, but Ballack almost single handedly carries the German team and hence gets the nod.
Attacking Midfield/ 'The Hole' - ANDREI ARSHAVIN : Not many had heard of this Zenit St. Petersburg star before the tournament. He missed out on the first two games Russia played due to a suspension. But when he came back, he came back with a bang. Setting the tournament alight with his quick counter attack, classy touches and brilliant passing, he has been the revelation of the tournament. He surely is not a 2 game wonder and we will see much more of him in Europe's big stage, possibly with Barcelona.
Striker - FERNANDO TORRES : You could argue Villa deserves this position. With no disrespect to Villa, he is not in the league of Torres. True he might not have scored that many, but he is a sensation. His pace and strength is unmatched and there is barely anyone better than him when he does what he does best, which is torment the defence. Unselfish, Precise, Classy you almost tend to run out of adjectives to describe this Spanish kid turned hard scouser. El Niño is my forward to round off this team.
Manager - LUIS ARAGONES : This was tough, Hiddink gave me second thoughts when i thought of Aragones, but the wise old man has to get it. I have to admit I didn't want him in charge when he made his spat with Raul public, but he seems to have everything right to give Spain what they truly deserve, a big title. Hats off to the 'grandfather'.
Substitutes - Fabregas,Villa,Schwienstieger,Xavi,Anyukov,Altintop,Casillas : Most of these are justified, with Fabregas deserving a special mention for the tag of super-sub, he has been extremely effective once he has been introduced in the game. The rest of them make up the bench only because they cannot fit into the starting eleven.
This is my pick for the team of the tournament. Everything ranging from comments to slippers are welcome to be thrown.
It has been a great Euro, and we have deserved champions. Viva España.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Best of Mangalore
Two years into engineering, and staying away from home, one would have learnt to appreciate home food. Thanks to the rather bad quality food that is offered at our hostels, and even our canteens, it is not surprising why people flock to Mangalore at every given opportunity. I have often been a victim of this, and even though its hard on the pocket at times, food at Mangalore is the only sort of compensation one has when home food is not available. So I decided to make a list of the 5 best things I have eaten in this wonderful city, that has done justice to my lack of good food. It has seen me evolve from a staunch veggie to one that almost eats anything now. But the fact is that I have never been disappointed at the quality of food this place has to offer at any time of these two years. I will most certainly miss these once I am out of college. Here's to Mangalore, my second most favourite city.
5. Chicken Dum Hyderabadi Biryani at Palkhi
During my first trip to Mangalore as an NITKian with some seniors, Palkhi was often mentioned as the most expensive restaurant in the city and it is not often that people can afford to go eat there. I have been to Palkhi a few times after that, few times enough to know that this dish is brilliant. The closest you can get to authentic Biryani, priced at 100, is quite a steal for the quantity and quality it has to offer.
4. Dal Makhni at Rinku Punjabi Dhaba
There's a good chance you have not heard of this place. But one hungry day, I found this place and I thought to myself I struck gold once done. Roti's are probably a rip off at this place, but the Dal Makhni is simply superb. It even tastes better than the one at Palkhi and its costs just 40 bucks. Now that's a deal for a hungry person who carries a light wallet, which of course describes most NITK guys. The Dhaba is a little hard to find, it is located near KMC Hostels at Attavar, in case you want to give this dish a go.
3. Murg Kali Mirch at Palkhi
This is a regular for me, I probably have had this almost every time I have eaten at Palkhi. Its a little expensive at 120 bucks, but is the best non-vegetarian side dish one can find in Mangalore to eat with Rotis. Oh by the way Palkhi offers a 10% discount on all bills if you flash your NITK Id card. Now that surely is an incentive to at least try this dish once.
2. Paneer Shazlisk at Liquid Lounge
People either do not understand me or brand me an idiot when I say I like LL for the food more than anything else. But trust me, the food there is simply out of the world. There are many dishes that could fit this list but this one beats them all, by a big mile that too. Its a little expensive at 120 bucks, but it is very filling. This dish is a combination of what looks like Ghee Rice in the dark setting of LL along with the most wonderful gravy which has almost innumerable paneer pieces. And they do indeed make a great combination. People who do not drink, who have things against places like LL, have come here to eat this, that should speak volumes.
1. Kori Rotti and Curry at Kori Rotti
Your probably shocked at this. and you probably ought to be if you haven't eaten this. But that's where I tell you to go eat it. This dish is a Mangalore speciality, it basically comprises of what is known as Kori Rotti, which looks something like fried rottis. These rotti's are placed on a plate and hot spicy Chicken Curry is poured over it which makes the Kori Rotti soggy and my god, it is a match made in heaven. It costs 45 bucks and you are full at the end of one plate. The place is located opposite Empire mall and is on the main road, so it is easy to find as well. I have eaten this dish at a Mangalorean home as well, and this place makes it as good as the home version.You just have to try this.
Honourable Mentions: Twister at Cherry Square, Auflauf at Diesel Cafe, Chilly Chicken Lasagna at Froth on Top, Cheese Burst Pizzas at Domino's, Foot longs at Chef's
If you have not eaten any of the above mentioned, please go ahead and do so, you have less than two years left! And please if there's anything I have missed out do let me know :)
5. Chicken Dum Hyderabadi Biryani at Palkhi
During my first trip to Mangalore as an NITKian with some seniors, Palkhi was often mentioned as the most expensive restaurant in the city and it is not often that people can afford to go eat there. I have been to Palkhi a few times after that, few times enough to know that this dish is brilliant. The closest you can get to authentic Biryani, priced at 100, is quite a steal for the quantity and quality it has to offer.
4. Dal Makhni at Rinku Punjabi Dhaba
There's a good chance you have not heard of this place. But one hungry day, I found this place and I thought to myself I struck gold once done. Roti's are probably a rip off at this place, but the Dal Makhni is simply superb. It even tastes better than the one at Palkhi and its costs just 40 bucks. Now that's a deal for a hungry person who carries a light wallet, which of course describes most NITK guys. The Dhaba is a little hard to find, it is located near KMC Hostels at Attavar, in case you want to give this dish a go.
3. Murg Kali Mirch at Palkhi
This is a regular for me, I probably have had this almost every time I have eaten at Palkhi. Its a little expensive at 120 bucks, but is the best non-vegetarian side dish one can find in Mangalore to eat with Rotis. Oh by the way Palkhi offers a 10% discount on all bills if you flash your NITK Id card. Now that surely is an incentive to at least try this dish once.
2. Paneer Shazlisk at Liquid Lounge
People either do not understand me or brand me an idiot when I say I like LL for the food more than anything else. But trust me, the food there is simply out of the world. There are many dishes that could fit this list but this one beats them all, by a big mile that too. Its a little expensive at 120 bucks, but it is very filling. This dish is a combination of what looks like Ghee Rice in the dark setting of LL along with the most wonderful gravy which has almost innumerable paneer pieces. And they do indeed make a great combination. People who do not drink, who have things against places like LL, have come here to eat this, that should speak volumes.
1. Kori Rotti and Curry at Kori Rotti
Your probably shocked at this. and you probably ought to be if you haven't eaten this. But that's where I tell you to go eat it. This dish is a Mangalore speciality, it basically comprises of what is known as Kori Rotti, which looks something like fried rottis. These rotti's are placed on a plate and hot spicy Chicken Curry is poured over it which makes the Kori Rotti soggy and my god, it is a match made in heaven. It costs 45 bucks and you are full at the end of one plate. The place is located opposite Empire mall and is on the main road, so it is easy to find as well. I have eaten this dish at a Mangalorean home as well, and this place makes it as good as the home version.You just have to try this.
Honourable Mentions: Twister at Cherry Square, Auflauf at Diesel Cafe, Chilly Chicken Lasagna at Froth on Top, Cheese Burst Pizzas at Domino's, Foot longs at Chef's
If you have not eaten any of the above mentioned, please go ahead and do so, you have less than two years left! And please if there's anything I have missed out do let me know :)
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Double Standards of English Football
What's grabbing the world football headlines these days? Euro ? Nope. Sadly so, it is the Cristiano Ronaldo saga, which has been blown out of proportion. For many weeks we have seen every newspaper, every website and every TV channel that is connected to football talk about the supposed interest from Real Madrid in Manchester United's star midfielder.
First and foremost, there has been NO official approach from Real Madrid at all. A certain Spanish newspaper called Marca which is obsessed with stories that sell and create unnecessary hype is the devil behind this scheme. They have been doing this from when I can remember. Every year they pick one superstar that is apparently bound to arrive at Real Madrid and most often that does not happen. For example, last year the best player was Kaka, and Marca expectedly linked him to Real and all summer long there were stories. What is so different this year then? The mere fact that it is an English team, and more importantly the mother of all such stories, Manchester United. You could alter Shakespeare's saying to suit this context and say "Hype, thy middle name be English football", and perhaps first name Manchester United. Marca sells news like this year after year and they strategically chose England and haven't they been successful.
Another part of this story that not many know the details of is the fact that Manchester United lodged a complaint to FIFA that Real are illegally trying to tap up their player who is currently contracted to them. FIFA of course as expected branded this as rubbish stating that there is no proof that Real have done anything to create this spur. You could argue that FIFA is pro Real, but the truth of the matter is that there has been nothing official and hence Manchester have nothing to work against. Manchester famously declared to the world that they are not the greatest fans of Real's transfer policy, but this where they are at fault. Hypocrisy is one thing that puts off most people. They publicise their ever so famous youth development policy, but the truth is after the so called golden generation of the 99 Champions league winning team, there is nobody that can be called their own. Their moves for Hargreaves,Rooney,Ferdinand etc are all very similar to what they criticize Real for except it was not blown out of proportion like this one. “Do as I say but not as I do” should certainly not be what a club like Manchester United practice if they are going to attack other clubs for being interested in their players. So while Manchester United fans and staff complain about Real’s alleged efforts to sign Ronaldo, Manchester United goes right ahead and does similar types move to what Real is being accused of, and in some cases even worse because they get players with great potential for peanuts. Although the scale is much different between a 15 year old prospect and a 23 year super star (although he is unproven to most of the world as of yet), the principle is still the same.
Similar is the case with other English teams too, Arsenal too buy players at a ridiculously young age, Liverpool raid Spain at every given chance and Chelsea make the most random buys one can. The face of football is changing, loyalty is a thing of the past. Perhaps Spanish teams can be accused of not doing the same but what can be done if English clubs tap up youth prospects at a young age of 15 only because the contract rules are different in Spain,Italy etc than England. They should develop their own players, and maybe some Englishmen, because these days the national team finds it hard even to qualify for big competitions.
First and foremost, there has been NO official approach from Real Madrid at all. A certain Spanish newspaper called Marca which is obsessed with stories that sell and create unnecessary hype is the devil behind this scheme. They have been doing this from when I can remember. Every year they pick one superstar that is apparently bound to arrive at Real Madrid and most often that does not happen. For example, last year the best player was Kaka, and Marca expectedly linked him to Real and all summer long there were stories. What is so different this year then? The mere fact that it is an English team, and more importantly the mother of all such stories, Manchester United. You could alter Shakespeare's saying to suit this context and say "Hype, thy middle name be English football", and perhaps first name Manchester United. Marca sells news like this year after year and they strategically chose England and haven't they been successful.
Another part of this story that not many know the details of is the fact that Manchester United lodged a complaint to FIFA that Real are illegally trying to tap up their player who is currently contracted to them. FIFA of course as expected branded this as rubbish stating that there is no proof that Real have done anything to create this spur. You could argue that FIFA is pro Real, but the truth of the matter is that there has been nothing official and hence Manchester have nothing to work against. Manchester famously declared to the world that they are not the greatest fans of Real's transfer policy, but this where they are at fault. Hypocrisy is one thing that puts off most people. They publicise their ever so famous youth development policy, but the truth is after the so called golden generation of the 99 Champions league winning team, there is nobody that can be called their own. Their moves for Hargreaves,Rooney,Ferdinand etc are all very similar to what they criticize Real for except it was not blown out of proportion like this one. “Do as I say but not as I do” should certainly not be what a club like Manchester United practice if they are going to attack other clubs for being interested in their players. So while Manchester United fans and staff complain about Real’s alleged efforts to sign Ronaldo, Manchester United goes right ahead and does similar types move to what Real is being accused of, and in some cases even worse because they get players with great potential for peanuts. Although the scale is much different between a 15 year old prospect and a 23 year super star (although he is unproven to most of the world as of yet), the principle is still the same.
Similar is the case with other English teams too, Arsenal too buy players at a ridiculously young age, Liverpool raid Spain at every given chance and Chelsea make the most random buys one can. The face of football is changing, loyalty is a thing of the past. Perhaps Spanish teams can be accused of not doing the same but what can be done if English clubs tap up youth prospects at a young age of 15 only because the contract rules are different in Spain,Italy etc than England. They should develop their own players, and maybe some Englishmen, because these days the national team finds it hard even to qualify for big competitions.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
New Admission Process to the NITs
A few days ago, I heard that there will be a change of admission pattern for the NITs from this year. If you are not aware yet, the change is that unlike before, the non-home state seats of any NIT will not have any state reservation and will purely be decided based on a students AIR. Now some people might say how the hell does this affect us. Directly no, but there are bound to be a lot of changes.
Let us first see what this means to different people. People in states like Rajasthan and Andhra will rejoice at this. Clearly these two states produce are the ones that produce the highest AIRs. But due to the limited no. of seats reserved for these states, people with high ranks are bound to lose out. But now, this rule comes as a blessing from the heavens and we will surely see many more people from these states. On the other hand, the states where competition is not that much like Karnataka or Tamil Nadu are luckily blessed with the best NITs, so i doubt it affecting them that much apart from the competition for spots in home NITs gets tougher slightly because of people's subject preferences. Apart from that there are states like Goa,and the North Eastern states which stand absolutely no chance to getting in to the good NITs because they seldom produce high AIR's and have thus far been helped by the state reservation. But i think the most hit will be the intermediate states like say a Kerala, or a Bengal. These states are often caught in the fix between choosing their home state NITs which could be classified as second tier, and choosing the higher rated NITs and that will now be difficult because of this new rule. Some may argue that this rule is fair, because everyone should be given an equal opportunity, but there again is where the other side of the equation is highlighted too. Since the methods of training/coaching/schooling are not that advanced in some states, and are not upto the mark of Hyderabad/Kota, is it fair to deny them admission to some of the best institutes of the country. You could argue that, this will create the study environment of a Kota in other states also because of the competition but its not very realistic.
Coming to how this would affect us NITKians, you can almost say goodbye to the party system, which would mean a first step in getting rid of dirty politics, but it also means there will almost be no diversity in the crowd of people. The college would have probably seen the last of North East people (God bless the football team). And there will be an overflow of gults and the likes.
What does all this mean to you? Do you think this is the best thing to happen or not? I personally am against this because it defeats the purpose of creating NITs to give people from all states the right to a good college after the IITs. Also there will not be as much diversity anymore and the balance of things would be lost. Only time will tell what difference this change will bring about.
Let us first see what this means to different people. People in states like Rajasthan and Andhra will rejoice at this. Clearly these two states produce are the ones that produce the highest AIRs. But due to the limited no. of seats reserved for these states, people with high ranks are bound to lose out. But now, this rule comes as a blessing from the heavens and we will surely see many more people from these states. On the other hand, the states where competition is not that much like Karnataka or Tamil Nadu are luckily blessed with the best NITs, so i doubt it affecting them that much apart from the competition for spots in home NITs gets tougher slightly because of people's subject preferences. Apart from that there are states like Goa,and the North Eastern states which stand absolutely no chance to getting in to the good NITs because they seldom produce high AIR's and have thus far been helped by the state reservation. But i think the most hit will be the intermediate states like say a Kerala, or a Bengal. These states are often caught in the fix between choosing their home state NITs which could be classified as second tier, and choosing the higher rated NITs and that will now be difficult because of this new rule. Some may argue that this rule is fair, because everyone should be given an equal opportunity, but there again is where the other side of the equation is highlighted too. Since the methods of training/coaching/schooling are not that advanced in some states, and are not upto the mark of Hyderabad/Kota, is it fair to deny them admission to some of the best institutes of the country. You could argue that, this will create the study environment of a Kota in other states also because of the competition but its not very realistic.
Coming to how this would affect us NITKians, you can almost say goodbye to the party system, which would mean a first step in getting rid of dirty politics, but it also means there will almost be no diversity in the crowd of people. The college would have probably seen the last of North East people (God bless the football team). And there will be an overflow of gults and the likes.
What does all this mean to you? Do you think this is the best thing to happen or not? I personally am against this because it defeats the purpose of creating NITs to give people from all states the right to a good college after the IITs. Also there will not be as much diversity anymore and the balance of things would be lost. Only time will tell what difference this change will bring about.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Fairy Tale : Shipping up to Boston
If ever you thought fairy tales were not possible, stop right there and think about the recently concluded NBA Finals. Boston Celtics, were the team with the worst record in the Eastern Conference last season. That's worst out of 15 teams and they finished in the bottom three in the entire league that consists of 30 teams. After such a season, a fairytale tag can be associated with this team only if they won the championships next year. And guess what they did? This year they were the best team in the regular season with a stunning home record of under 10 losses. And in the playoffs although they lost almost all road games, they had the best home record. How did such a remarkable comeback happen? What are the changes that this franchise made? What did this team do in order to justify their name as the greatest franchise ever and lift their 17th title. Here's 3 reasons why I think all this was possible.
3) Doc Rivers and his philosophy : The head coach of the Celtics, is a practitioner of the defence is the best form of offence philosophy. He has revitalised this team to the strongest defensive units. They have come across one of the best offences in the form of Bryant's Lakers and James' Cavaliers. With the ranks of KG and hardworking talents like Powe and Perkins, this is a hard defense to score over.
2) Trades and players : Strategic trades involving their draft picks,and existing players strengthened the team with the arrival of the big presence of Kevin Garnett and the clutch shooting of Ray Allen, along with the presence of their charismatic captain Paul Pierce. This is quite an exceptional team on paper and boy, did they not live up to it on court.
1) Desire : Pierce has been with the Celtics throughout his 10 year long career and he could have easily transferred to a stronger team, but he chose to stick with them because he wanted the championship ever so badly. Garnett is a player of high value. He has been the league MVP, the best defensive player of the year on numerous occasions, and until last year probably the best player ever not to win a championship and one can only imagine how much he would have wanted one. If there is just one second left on the clock, and you trail by one, who is the one person you want to have on the ball ? Nope i would not choose Jordan, Allen is my man. He has one of the most smooth shooting actions and is your go to guy in clutch moments. Apart from this you have the young Rondo, who has got a touch of class about his game and other noteworthy mentions like Perkins,Powe,Brown and Casell. You knew on day 1 that this team wanted to go all the way and restore the pride associated with this franchise.
These are the three reasons as to why the Celtics are once again back on top, and worthily enough their court was resounding to Queen singing We are the Champions.
3) Doc Rivers and his philosophy : The head coach of the Celtics, is a practitioner of the defence is the best form of offence philosophy. He has revitalised this team to the strongest defensive units. They have come across one of the best offences in the form of Bryant's Lakers and James' Cavaliers. With the ranks of KG and hardworking talents like Powe and Perkins, this is a hard defense to score over.
2) Trades and players : Strategic trades involving their draft picks,and existing players strengthened the team with the arrival of the big presence of Kevin Garnett and the clutch shooting of Ray Allen, along with the presence of their charismatic captain Paul Pierce. This is quite an exceptional team on paper and boy, did they not live up to it on court.
1) Desire : Pierce has been with the Celtics throughout his 10 year long career and he could have easily transferred to a stronger team, but he chose to stick with them because he wanted the championship ever so badly. Garnett is a player of high value. He has been the league MVP, the best defensive player of the year on numerous occasions, and until last year probably the best player ever not to win a championship and one can only imagine how much he would have wanted one. If there is just one second left on the clock, and you trail by one, who is the one person you want to have on the ball ? Nope i would not choose Jordan, Allen is my man. He has one of the most smooth shooting actions and is your go to guy in clutch moments. Apart from this you have the young Rondo, who has got a touch of class about his game and other noteworthy mentions like Perkins,Powe,Brown and Casell. You knew on day 1 that this team wanted to go all the way and restore the pride associated with this franchise.
These are the three reasons as to why the Celtics are once again back on top, and worthily enough their court was resounding to Queen singing We are the Champions.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
A Few Good Men
When an assortment of 400 odd people collect at a college after an elaborate procedure, these are the kind of characters that so peacefully co-exist for the most part of 4 years
One guy who does nothing but play FIFA and WoW
One guy who can be used a substitute for a loudspeaker
One imba writer who spreads the afro-american message of peace and respect.
One guy whose nick name translates to a penis in his native language.
One athletically challenged supposed tech God who breaks up with his girlfriend once a month.
One semi-dasa who blasts techno music so that people in the other wing can "groove to it baby"
One guy who does the same on the other wing only with technical death metal instead.
One old aged guy who thinks he should play only in DoTA games where pros play
One self proclaimed stud who in answer to the above mentioned person's cocky statement of "I didn't get any 6's this sem" said with a smile "Neither did I"
One guy when drunk asked the Chief Warden , "Who the fuck are you?"
One gossip king who is not so accidentally in love with a certain Barack Obama and the US Elections
One supposed circuits God who tells his mother everything including facts like his roommate is going upstairs to watch porn.
One guy who is always in the reading room or on the phone with his girlfriend in Madras.
One guy who has man-boobies and cannot get through more than fifteen minutes if there is no electricity
One of his partners in crime who spends most of his nights at Gamedrome under the pretext of a KC Project, who also by the way has atrocious spellings to cancel his legendary mathematical skills.
One guy who is part of the most diverse groups in college, the GCG,the basketball group,and his wing.
One guy who has a million cousins and just will not go to a movie or eat out with the above mentioned guy.
One god level percussionist who quit drinking for his girlfriend.
One god level guitarist who told his girlfriend he quit drinking.
One guy who repeats whatever people around say, and now anyone else doing so calls for the usage of a verb that derives its name from this guy.
One ardent Manchester united fan who's daily activities consist only of sleeping,playing dota, and saying Shata Thu
One supposed con to be who blames the above mentioned guy for his gpa for dropping from 8.5 to 7.5
One guy who started stalking a girl who in the first place started stalking him, so much so to an extent the girl's brother threatened to launch a police complaint.
One guy who owns most of Kulai, and has Tavera's at his disposal at the call of a few Tulu words.
One guy who did not deserve to pass second standard and has a name that co-incidentally rhymes with 'Gay one'
One guy who's music taste range from Carnatic to Led Zeppelin and who gives 'points' when he appreciates acts of people.
One guy who is fat,gay and always messages
One guy who can never be seen.
One sardar who thinks he is the greatest singer ever born.
One guy who has a godly aura about him and defines the word Imba in any respect, who even has a cult following under his name.
Now, with such a collection of people, its not hard to see why people generally tend to prefer college to home.
PS: Amul Treat to anyone who puts the correct names to each of these descriptions :D
One guy who does nothing but play FIFA and WoW
One guy who can be used a substitute for a loudspeaker
One imba writer who spreads the afro-american message of peace and respect.
One guy whose nick name translates to a penis in his native language.
One athletically challenged supposed tech God who breaks up with his girlfriend once a month.
One semi-dasa who blasts techno music so that people in the other wing can "groove to it baby"
One guy who does the same on the other wing only with technical death metal instead.
One old aged guy who thinks he should play only in DoTA games where pros play
One self proclaimed stud who in answer to the above mentioned person's cocky statement of "I didn't get any 6's this sem" said with a smile "Neither did I"
One guy when drunk asked the Chief Warden , "Who the fuck are you?"
One gossip king who is not so accidentally in love with a certain Barack Obama and the US Elections
One supposed circuits God who tells his mother everything including facts like his roommate is going upstairs to watch porn.
One guy who is always in the reading room or on the phone with his girlfriend in Madras.
One guy who has man-boobies and cannot get through more than fifteen minutes if there is no electricity
One of his partners in crime who spends most of his nights at Gamedrome under the pretext of a KC Project, who also by the way has atrocious spellings to cancel his legendary mathematical skills.
One guy who is part of the most diverse groups in college, the GCG,the basketball group,and his wing.
One guy who has a million cousins and just will not go to a movie or eat out with the above mentioned guy.
One god level percussionist who quit drinking for his girlfriend.
One god level guitarist who told his girlfriend he quit drinking.
One guy who repeats whatever people around say, and now anyone else doing so calls for the usage of a verb that derives its name from this guy.
One ardent Manchester united fan who's daily activities consist only of sleeping,playing dota, and saying Shata Thu
One supposed con to be who blames the above mentioned guy for his gpa for dropping from 8.5 to 7.5
One guy who started stalking a girl who in the first place started stalking him, so much so to an extent the girl's brother threatened to launch a police complaint.
One guy who owns most of Kulai, and has Tavera's at his disposal at the call of a few Tulu words.
One guy who did not deserve to pass second standard and has a name that co-incidentally rhymes with 'Gay one'
One guy who's music taste range from Carnatic to Led Zeppelin and who gives 'points' when he appreciates acts of people.
One guy who is fat,gay and always messages
One guy who can never be seen.
One sardar who thinks he is the greatest singer ever born.
One guy who has a godly aura about him and defines the word Imba in any respect, who even has a cult following under his name.
Now, with such a collection of people, its not hard to see why people generally tend to prefer college to home.
PS: Amul Treat to anyone who puts the correct names to each of these descriptions :D
Sunday, June 15, 2008
American Drama
Initially I thought of restricting to writing about sports,but I will write on other things as well, starting off with this.
* Orange County
Drama based on a rich society in an upmarket California locality. Basically about this one rich family who adopt a tough poor kid and how life revolves around these circumstances.
* One Tree Hill
Series based on two half brothers, set in a town called Tree Hill. One is from the richer side of town, popular basketball player from high school and the other, obviously from the poor soccer mom who is a good basketball player but never gets to play for the school etc. and how these two gel, amongst other things.
* Grey's Anatomy
Soap based on the life of a medical intern, who is the daughter of the best doctor to have worked in the same hospital that she is doing her residency in, and that hospital also employs her one night stand converted to boyfriend to true love etc.
There are many more dramas like this that i have seen.
What is common about them?
*They all have very promising first seasons but fade away drastically then onwards.
*They all work around with a maximum of 8 main characters and a couple of other recurring characters.
*At least one case of adultery in every three episodes.
*Ridiculous things happen to these extra-ordinarily dumb people like getting into Berkley and Harvard Med and what not.
Looking at this we see that these serials are no different from our good own Indian ones except for the long and stretched out ones we have. So what is it that draws people to these kind of serials. My guess : Just the sheer brilliance of these writers to make a story based on the lives of just 6-8 people, its not easy and they do in fact end up making a good, albeit funny job of it.
* Orange County
Drama based on a rich society in an upmarket California locality. Basically about this one rich family who adopt a tough poor kid and how life revolves around these circumstances.
* One Tree Hill
Series based on two half brothers, set in a town called Tree Hill. One is from the richer side of town, popular basketball player from high school and the other, obviously from the poor soccer mom who is a good basketball player but never gets to play for the school etc. and how these two gel, amongst other things.
* Grey's Anatomy
Soap based on the life of a medical intern, who is the daughter of the best doctor to have worked in the same hospital that she is doing her residency in, and that hospital also employs her one night stand converted to boyfriend to true love etc.
There are many more dramas like this that i have seen.
What is common about them?
*They all have very promising first seasons but fade away drastically then onwards.
*They all work around with a maximum of 8 main characters and a couple of other recurring characters.
*At least one case of adultery in every three episodes.
*Ridiculous things happen to these extra-ordinarily dumb people like getting into Berkley and Harvard Med and what not.
Looking at this we see that these serials are no different from our good own Indian ones except for the long and stretched out ones we have. So what is it that draws people to these kind of serials. My guess : Just the sheer brilliance of these writers to make a story based on the lives of just 6-8 people, its not easy and they do in fact end up making a good, albeit funny job of it.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
¡Viva España!
Spain 4 Russia 1- If you did not catch the game live, somehow find your way to catch it on repeat, or at least the highlights. Last night Spain produced the best performance in the Euro 2008 tournament thus far. The Spanish national team have always boasted of some of the biggest names in world football. Sadly, they have also never won any major international silverware apart from Euro 64. This has earned them the 'underachiever' tag in every tournament. There are several reasons for Spain not to perform at the big stage.
Firstly, it is a country that is plagued by regional rivalry. There are mainly three regions in Spain: Castilla, Catalunya, and Basque among many other subdivisions. These regions do not even identify themselves with the name Spain. They speak different languages, and are even granted autonomy in government. Hence,in the past the team that Spain has put out has never had the national pride that most other teams can associate with. If you notice, even in the present day team, the players born in the Catalan or Basque regions do not wear the Spanish socks, instead they wear their own 'country's'. There are many other political affairs with this country. During the reigns of Franco, Catalan players(including some of the greats like Kubala) were never allowed to play for Spain.Even today a player born in Catalunya cannot become the captain of Spain. This is why Iker Casillas,although has every right to lead the team, is chosen as Captain ahead of the more experienced Carles Puyol. With this sort of regionalism involved, its not hard to see why Spain has never been very successful.
Secondly, Spain just never seem to have the luck. From recent history: In the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, it wouldn't be wrong to say they were cheated out by Korea. In Euro 2004, they got eliminated through goal difference and some last minute goals. In the 2006 World Cup, they bumped into a very inspired Zidane, just at the wrong time.
But,this may be the year in which history is changed. With a squad boasting of some of the world's top class players, there is every chance for them to fancy their chances at this year's European Championships. At goal, they have one of the best shot stoppers in their captain Iker Casillas. The amount of experience Puyol adds to the defence, that already has some of the young stars of the game in Ramos and Capdevilla makes the defence an all the more tough one to breach. In midfield they have Xavi and Iniesta, who have pushed the likes of a player of Fabregas' calibre to the bench. In Torres and Villa, they possibly have the best striker combination in the World at the moment. We saw last night, what this team can do, how fast they can hit opponents on counters, how sublime their passing can be, and just how determined this team is to finally deliver on such a big stage. Its high time the La Furia Roja deliver and this is that tournament. ¡Viva España!
Firstly, it is a country that is plagued by regional rivalry. There are mainly three regions in Spain: Castilla, Catalunya, and Basque among many other subdivisions. These regions do not even identify themselves with the name Spain. They speak different languages, and are even granted autonomy in government. Hence,in the past the team that Spain has put out has never had the national pride that most other teams can associate with. If you notice, even in the present day team, the players born in the Catalan or Basque regions do not wear the Spanish socks, instead they wear their own 'country's'. There are many other political affairs with this country. During the reigns of Franco, Catalan players(including some of the greats like Kubala) were never allowed to play for Spain.Even today a player born in Catalunya cannot become the captain of Spain. This is why Iker Casillas,although has every right to lead the team, is chosen as Captain ahead of the more experienced Carles Puyol. With this sort of regionalism involved, its not hard to see why Spain has never been very successful.
Secondly, Spain just never seem to have the luck. From recent history: In the 2002 World Cup in Korea-Japan, it wouldn't be wrong to say they were cheated out by Korea. In Euro 2004, they got eliminated through goal difference and some last minute goals. In the 2006 World Cup, they bumped into a very inspired Zidane, just at the wrong time.
But,this may be the year in which history is changed. With a squad boasting of some of the world's top class players, there is every chance for them to fancy their chances at this year's European Championships. At goal, they have one of the best shot stoppers in their captain Iker Casillas. The amount of experience Puyol adds to the defence, that already has some of the young stars of the game in Ramos and Capdevilla makes the defence an all the more tough one to breach. In midfield they have Xavi and Iniesta, who have pushed the likes of a player of Fabregas' calibre to the bench. In Torres and Villa, they possibly have the best striker combination in the World at the moment. We saw last night, what this team can do, how fast they can hit opponents on counters, how sublime their passing can be, and just how determined this team is to finally deliver on such a big stage. Its high time the La Furia Roja deliver and this is that tournament. ¡Viva España!
Friday, June 6, 2008
For love or for money
Inspiration for this post is taken from happenings in the world of sport of late and especially a conversation i had with a friend last night. As the title probably suggests, I have often wondered what is it that drives sportsmen these days. Is it really their love and passion for the game or is it just the monetary benefits that are associated with it. Doing a small financial analysis, I would like to bring to your notice that they amount of money that has been involved in sports these days going up almost exponentially. There was a time in the 90's when a world record football signing would cost say 5 million pounds at the most. There was a time when a cricketer's salary was actually more than his commercial endorsements. There was a time when people had backup jobs whilst simultaneously representing their national team in any particular sport. Think of the situation today. A football signing for 5 million pounds is considered a steal. Commercial endorsements are the primary source of income for cricketers. Thus the motive for sportsmen has changed from playing for love to playing for money. Just the number of business tycoons that have entered the sporting business in the past few years is exhilarating. Most NBA teams are owned by Hollywood big shots, Football clubs are owned by oil tycoons and the likes. Owners of formula one teams are amongst the richest people in the planet. And now even the most patriotic of games, if you could say so, has been invaded by money in the form of the IPL. With the amount of money pouring in, it is expected that the sportsmen live up to it and take it up as something very serious. No longer does it seem possible to play just for the sheer joy of it. I'm beginning to wonder, is it not fair for sportsmen to say they do not play for love of the sport, but for the love of money.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
IPL Champions - Really ?
Rajasthan Royals were recently crowned the champions of the inaugural DLF Indian Premier League. Is that apt ? Now, before you start thinking you should beat me up, hang on. No doubt they were the best team and they are deserved winners. What I meant by apt was the term 'Indian' in the statement. Firstly Jaipur is not a city that boasts of one of the 8 biggest cricket stadiums. It was perhaps chosen even for an IPL Team only because of Lalit Modi. Rajasthan has barely ever produced Indian cricketers (2 in the entire history of cricket in fact). Statistically Ahmedabad has one of the best stadiums in terms of capability, and capacity. But I am guessing this city was not chosen mainly because Gujrat is a dry state and the image of the IPL is a rather cool modern one. Alright fair enough to chose Jaipur. The name was chosen to be Rajasthan Royals and since there is a severe dearth of cricket players from Rajasthan, they could not be associated with an 'iconic player' (which is actually a good thing, because the two finalists happened to be the ones without these 'iconic players'). After the bidding process, the biggest name that the team could associate with is that of Shane Warne. No disrespect to Warney, but its a shame that we cannot have 8 capable Indian leaders. Now, coming to the rest of the team. If you count, you notice that there are barely any Indian team players. Barring Yousuf Pathan, who in all fairness to what I'm saying, has just broken into the national team. And then there is Munaf Patel, he was supposed to be the next big thing in Indian fast bowling, but as usual fatigue and the hype associated with everything in Indian cricket has made him a not so regular earner of a spot in the final eleven that plays. People talk about irony in life. They say the best rapper is a White, the best football player in England is not English, so on. Perhaps it is not that ironic that the best cricket team in India is barely even Indian.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)