Mad-ras!

A few days back, Dinamalar splashed pictures of a couple passionately kissing each other, causing an uproar here in Singara Chennai. Another picture was of a girl with a bottle of beer in her hand. And honestly, I dont see anything wrong in that. This is invasion of privacy, in its most ugliest form. Apparently the Commissioner has issued a notice ordering a three-month closure of the hotel. The police claim that the hotel was not licensed to serve liquor in the first place. And for a fact, I know that the hotel has a pub ( Leather Bar) as well as a disco ( Pasha) both of which have been in the business for longer than I can remember. I guess their response has more to do with containing the voices condemning such obscene incidents than anything else. And just a few days back, The Deccan Chronicle came out with a photo of the Commissioner of Police, Chennai's son happily partying away late in the night. That pic was titled something like "One rule for Policemen, one rule for the rest"

I have tried to get some news links on all these, and have been searching on the net for quite a while now...with no luck. Will add them on soon.

Back to the story. Coming in the wake of recent comments by actress Khushboo, ( about pre-marital sex) this prompts us to think along the lines of invasion of privacy, misuse of the freedom of the press and what next ? Khushboo was just just expressing her views on 'pre-marital sex in Chennai'. She said that all the taboo about pre-marital sex was a thing of the past, and people wouldnt mind marrying even if they know that their partner was not a virgin. As expected, public activists and politicians blew the issue out of proportion and made some 'news grabbing' out of it.

I have to admit, Chennai is still conservative. But we could do without such uninspired and unimaginative journalism.

Kaapi...

One thing that I look forward to every morning, is my daily dose of Kaapi.
And I love it dark and strong. As most South Indians, I am addicted to caffeine.
Turning the pages of The Hindu , allowing time for that small sip from my coffee mug ( and yes I make that sssslurping sound) is sheer bliss. Add to it, we have a thinnai in front of our house constructed especially for this.

As far as I can remember, I've never liked Horlicks, Complan...the lot. They were good only to eat and not to drink. I used to read contradictory articles from the Reader's Digest, one stating coffee will give you heart problems, the other claiming it will increase your lifespan. They never stopped me though. For some strange reason, Amma never used to give me strong coffee when I was a kid. But I always used to sneak into the kitchen and add that extra bit of dicaction give it that perfect taste and colour. It has now become a part of my daily life.
Apart from the most obvious of uses :P, a morning coffee gives you a mental stimulation that keeps you going for the rest of the day.
Times at which you can have coffee during the day:
1. Breakfast
2. Before lunch
3. After a sumptuous lunch
4. Evening ( Cannot miss)
5. Sometimes, after a tiffin dinner

And for people working in offices that have a coffee vending machine, that number will most probably go up. I have had coffee from vending machines. Everytime I swear " This tastes like shit, nothing compares to a hot mug of filter coffee". But I still drink from the machine.
Call it caffeine addiction or whatever you want, but give me my daily dose :)

MBA theme!

I have finally decided to add a bit more MBA-flavour to my blog. My preparations for this year's CAT have just started. I am also writing GMAT and applying for fall'06.
If you can can link me up with a person doing an MBA in the US, please let me know. I owe you a beer ;) I need to talk to a lot of people before I decide where to apply.
Back to the books for now I guess :P
And anyone with a shout...please shout and make yourself heard!

Cheers

On yer bikes maite!!

As I write, the last few nails are being hammered into the Aussies coffin. England regain the Ashes after 17 years. The English press as expected will shower profound but unexpected ways to praise the current England team which ran away deserved winners. After every match, one would be left with the feeling..."What more can one expect from a test match ?", and in just a week's time the questions would be answered. I cannot resist but round up this epic series.
The first test was just another day in the office for the Aussies. That led to thoughts of 4-0....a whitewash.....the bookies were a busy lot. The next 3 tests were nerve-janglers, arguably the most exciting test matches played in the same series between any two test-playing nations. ( Of the ones that I have watched of course) If the first test was all about Mcgrath, Warne and the Aussie batting lineup, the second test was all about one man. Andrew Flintoff. A superb all-round display from arguably the best all-rounder in world cricket today.
The third test, though a drawn match was a thriller. Lee and Mcgrath hung on, hoping against hope to clinch a draw, that epitomised the Aussie-never-say-die attitude. Steve Waugh would have been pleased as punch. The highlights of the match were brilliant hundreds from Vaughan, Ponting and Strauss, an entertaining 90 from the cameo-man Warne and a six-wicket haul by Simon whatshisnameagain Jones. The fourth test was (gosh I cant come up with another word for pulsating) a nerve-wracking (hyuk hyuk)adventure from which the Poms emerged victorious by three wickets. A century from Flintoff and his partnership with the English version of Parthiv Patel, Geraint drop-it-like-its-hot ;) Jones in the first innings proved to be decisive in the end.

That set up a grand finale at The Oval. The Aussies would take home the Ashes if it was a drawn series, and the Englishmen needed to win to clinch the Ashes after 17 long years. Centuries from Strauss and Langer, Hayden doing a VVS, a timely century to pacify the selectors until the next rubber and that man Pietersen. A bulky bloke with a blond streak of hair that dispatched the leather to all parts of the ground, stands included. Butterfingers or not, he was the man. As they say, Cometh the hour, cometh the man. England scampered through the home-stretch, unscathed and victorious.
For a more comprehensive report on the Ashes, who else but cricinfo.

And in retrospect, there were far too many party jokes even before it all started.

The Daily Telegraph, Sydney
"What's worse than a whingeing Englishman? Gloating Pommies. One day we'll lose the Ashes and it will be as horrific as waking up after a night on the drink in a room full of images of Camilla Parker Bowles."
Glenn McGrath
"I think I was saying 3-0 or 4-0 about 12 months ago, thinking there might be a bit of rain around. But with the weather as it is at the moment, I have to say 5-0."
Terry Alderman
"I definitely believe if any of our batsmen get out to Giles in the Tests they should go and hang themselves. But I'm confident that won't happen."
Jeff Thomson
"England will lose the five-Test series 3-0 and the margin will be worse for them if it doesn't rain. If you put the players from Australia and England up against each other it is embarrassing. There is no contest between them on an individual or team basis." and if this wasnt enough, "Hoggard's like a net bowler when you compare him to McGrath and Kasprowicz."

Laughter-the best medicene.

My bet for player of the series, Andrew Flintoff. But you cannot simply forget Shane the legend Warne. He was at em all the time.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. If Lillee dont get em, Thommo must" Well I guess thats got to be rewritten after all. An epic series that will linger in the memory of all those who watched the drama unfold.
Cheers!

Tagged!

Before my first tag-post...many thanks to Preethi, not only for tagging me..but also
teaching me what this whole hype is about :) So here goes...

Seven things I would like to do before I die:

* Be able to do things that I want to do..anytime..anywhere.
* Create a huge business empire ( Yeah okok...over dhaan..adangu )
* To be able to look back at my life at some point and say Hmmm..thats some good shit man!
* Stay fit and healthy :)
* Make my folks hear this Thirukural, which goes like
" Eendrapozhudhum peridhuvakkum than maganai
Saandron yena kaetta thaai"
( There is nothing that compares to a Mom hearing very very nice things said about her son by the society)
* Go on a trip to Europe and New Zealand with my friends and esp to catch a game at OT, The Theater of Dreams :)
* Watch my kid grow up to be better than me...its kinda tough though!

Seven things that I can do:

* Make tag-posts :)
* Make others laugh ( I hope they are laughing with me )
* Grow a very nice beer belly in a short span of time :)
* Play tennis ( hehehe..thanks for not tagging me a week earlier Preethy)
* Shout at my Mom
* Drive back home after getting drunk. ( I take the responsibility most of the times)
* Rant and rave about doing something, and after doing it the first few weeks..feel like..God..What made me do this??

Seven things that I can't do:

* Sustain a long-standing interest in the opposite sex.
* Say no to people.
* Cant play basketball ( How I wish...:( )
* Lie at home. ( Have lied sometimes about trivial things....breaking that trust barrier is something that plays on mind..and I end up blurting out the truth. Makes me look like a jackass though)
* Cant keep an expensive commodity for a long time without losing it.
* Work hard and study for more than half an hour at a stretch. More particularly I cannot keep up with my study-schedule, for which I take hours to plan.
* Dance!!!

Seven things that attract me to the opposite sex:

* Intellect
* Athleticism
* A woman that doesnt act like a snob and throw a fit on trivial and unimportant things.
* Wit and beauty.
* A woman that doesnt cry unnecessarily. Stays cool. Mentally strong.
* One that strikes the right balance between partying and being traditional.
* I also get easily attracted to people with wheatish complexion. ( Good looking ofcourse :P)

Seven things you say the most:

* Otha
* Bitch
* The f word
* Sorry :)
* One more beer please ::)
* Good on ya mate!
* OK...I gtg now...catchya later!

Seven celebrity crushes:
This is quite difficult...Cant call em crushes..but I think they are HOT.

* Jennifer Aniston
* Sania Mirza
* Simran
* Steffi Graf
* Julia Roberts
* Aparna Popat
* Anju Bobby Gerorge / Asin. ( Well I guess that makes it 8! )

Seven people I would like to tag:

* Arun
* Akshay
* Loki
* Viji
* Sandy
* Deepthi
* Rakesh

A weekend of celebrations!

Early September is always a period full of celebrations.
September 3rd was my sister's birthday.....
Happy Birthday Sandy!


September 5th was my parents silver jubilee wedding annivesary!
We hosted an informal party at Carnival Rooftop ( a nearby restaurant)
Hmmmm....25 not out and going strong :)

Is Democracy pulling India down?

A debate on NDTV which I thought would be interesting to have on my blog :)

What do you think?

London Bomber video

Mohammad Sidique Khan, one of the bombers in the much publicised and oft heard about London bombing attacks was on TV today. This is the transcript of the video (where he justifies his actions) that created an outrage in the UK.
The authenticity of the tape is still unknown. This link has the story as reported by BBC and there is also a link on the same page where you can watch the video .

And continuing in the same vein...
How many bombings...how many terrorists...how many murdered innocent men, women and children...how many more??
Though there is no doubt that the entire world feels for the innocent men and women who lost their lives in the bombings, as an Indian, I felt...Hmmm...just another day...just another bomb.This happens everyday in Kashmir. The world takes no notice. Kashmir..Baghdad..the story is the same. Is this how much we value human life? There has to be a way....
May the dead souls rest in peace!