Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Cricket Mania

Posted by Varun | Tuesday, October 5, 2010 | Category: , , , , | 18 comments

I feel depressed whenever I watch the Indian cricket team lose. The depression increases many folds when they lose from a winning position. I know it is something not in my control. I know it is a sport and the team cannot win all the time. I know Sachin is not God. I know Dhoni is an over-rated star. I know Dravid and Laxman cannot win us test matches all the time. So what is it that causes the depression.

I think it is simply the love for the game and the country. Honestly speaking, inspite of all the match fixing, spot fixing scandals/allegations, inspite of overdose of cricket, I still love the game a lot. I might no longer follow every ball, I might no longer look at the score card every five seconds but I still follow the game whenever and wherever possible.

I hate it when people speak badly about team India. I hate it when smart-asses say idiotic things about the game. I hate it when self proclaimed experts of the game comment unnecessary things. I sometimes speak idiotic things too but deep down inside I am always hoping that the team wins. I simply cannot take Indian cricket team's failure.

Like every kid in India, I grew up watching cricket and hoping that I would play for India some day. I always dreamt about holding a bat and hitting the winning runs for the country. I could spin the ball like Kumble and bat like Sachin. Don't get surprised! Every one in India can do that. It is only a few lucky ones who play for the country though.

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Lunch Break
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Had started to write this post when Indians were 8 wickets down. Had gone out for lunch dejected and disappointed. Mann hi mann mein I was hoping for a miracle. Wanted to end this post in a jubiliant mood no matter what.

Miracle it was! Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman has taken India home yet again! I have to take one of my words back. Laxman can win us tests against Australia any given day. Australians don't seem to have the key to the treasure chest where Laxman safe guards his wicket.

What an amazing match and what an amazing player. I have been busy reading the articles written my Australian media ever since the win and it is truly a special feeling to read such awesome words.

Here are some snippets for you;

"Edges flew wide and short balls were bunted high and safe early in the partnership but eventually Laxman’s undeniable class kicked in"

"VVS Laxman steers India to very special Test match win"

"VVS Laxman has returned to thwart Australia yet again"

I don't want to discuss anything about the match since it will be the topic of the discussion in all news papers and all conference rooms for the next two days.

I am happy, I am jubilant, I am ecstatic and I am smiling. The frown I had when I started writing this post has vanished. I am as happy as the two people in the picture below;



















And BTW, it will be interesting to see who takes the front page of the news paper tomorrow. Abhinav Bindra with his CWG gold medal or VVS. Your guess is as good as mine ;)

Monday, September 13, 2010

The (big) Bang!!

Posted by Varun | Monday, September 13, 2010 | Category: , , | 13 comments

I have this habit of reading Google talk messages of all my friends at least one time every day and I am pretty sure that this habit of mine is not unique.

People generally update their status with inspirational quotes, new phone numbers, blog updates, song they are listening to, current location, personalized messages, hilarious jokes, movie reviews etc but I had a surprise in store when I read the status messages of my friends today.

Here's what I saw!!

- Dabang!!

- Item ye aam hui... darling tere liye

- Hum tum me itne ched karenge ki confuse ho jaoge... Ki sans kaha se le aur ..... !!

- Munni badnaam hui...darling tere liye...:-P

- Da Bang.....

- Lafander se humein yaad aaya ....

What does it tell you!? It tells me that all these friends of mine have watched the movie 'Dabangg' over the weekend and loved it. No one would spoil their personal space otherwise. So what is it you think has made this movie bigger than 3-idiots (Dabangg got a better opening than 3-idiots).

Following is my take on it;

In an era where filmmakers have become thinkers and trying to out-think the audience by making films that no one really understands (Couldn't really understand the love story in Kites for example), this movie comes as a welcome surprise. You don't need brains to watch / understand this film. It is an out and out Bollywood entertainer. It is something Bollywood is known for.

Right from Deewar where the angry young hero manhandles around 20 people inside a garage to Dabangg where the hero single handedly kicks the hell out of a gang of dacoits, hindi cinema heroes are known to be super heroes by birth. Someone who can dodge a bullet or bomb and kill the bad guy with one quick blow.

We should thank Dabangg and Salman Khan for bringing this brand of hero back into Bollywood. Aamir tried it with Ghajini but it was any day a remake of tamil movie. This one is ek-dum original :)

Frankly speaking, I was tired of watching these crying, mentally retarded, metro sexual, realistic heroes on screen. I see those kinds of guys all the time on page 3 anyway.

Coming to the storyline of the movie, why do you want a story anyway when you so many other
things to cheer and whistle about (Oh yeah! I whistled to my hearts content watching the first day first show in Bangalore) . For instance, you have these amazing dialogues, brilliant songs, action sequences that even Rajnikant fans would be proud of, pretty actress and last but not least, Munni :)

Salman Khan has managed to strike a chord with everyone who has watched this movie so far and I am sure he'll continue to do so for the next few weeks/months to come. This movie is going to be one of the biggest hits of his career and one that will feed Salman's brothers and their kids for generations to come.

All said and done, if you ask me if I am waiting for Dabangg-2, my answer would be, "Kamaal karte ho yaar, ye bhi koyi pooch ne wali baat hai!!?" :)

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Schumi is back!

Posted by Varun | Thursday, January 28, 2010 | Category: , , , , , , | 18 comments


Before my comment section is taken over by spammers an

d before that poor thing surrenders into submission, I have decided to stage a comeback and kick them out!

You read it right! I am back! Tonnes and tonnes o

f work in office took me away from blogging and I somehow never made an attempt to come back after that.

My comeback news may not be as exciting as Michael Schumacher's comeback to Formula-1 but I am sure it will be more exciting than India's test series in Bangladesh :)

My parents and few friends who've seen me drive an Alto at 140 kmph, a Santro at 150 kmph, a Swift at 160 kmph and a Vauxhall Zafira at 190 kmph fondly call me Schumi and that explains the title of the post. I've been called a BMTC/KSTRC bus driver as well but I'll stick to the best name of the lot.

I get maximum number of comments when I let my thoughts flow arbitrarily and that is what I have decided to do for my comeback post. Here it goes;

Sports:

Cricket: It was good to see that none of the IPL teams hired services of Pakistani players. I simply loved reading the comments of Pakistani players after the auction was over. India Vs Bangladesh was a waste of time, money and players. It cost us Rahul Dravid and Yuvraj Singh. Hope the replacements find their feet soon.

Tennis: Haven't followed Australian open very keenly this time around but I'll be rooting for anyone who'll be playing against Serena in the finals. Good to see Andy Murray in the finals. He'll be a tough nut to crack.

Formula 1: Can't wait till March. It will be one awesome, adrenaline pumping and exciting season.

Play-station 3: I am not sure if this qualifies as a sport but I love playing it whenever I find some free time. This is by the way the latest addition to my gadget showcase and another culprit that's kept me out of blogging :). I am currently playing Uncharted 2: Among thieves, FIFA 10 and Gran Tourismo 5 prologue.

Current Affairs: Shashi Taroor's tweets are more popular than any statement made in any parliament these days. But Abdul Kasab with his tandoori chicken demands and cheap comments and without any twitter account beats even Shashi Taroor to the headlines of all news papers. Not sure why they've not hanged him yet. If both of them fail to make it to the headlines, then it is definitely an Indian thrashed in Australia who gets the footage. Padma awards were a total mess this year with Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Sant Singh Chatwal making it to that list.

Movies: Haven't watched any new movie lately (My definition of lately is one week) but have plans to watch Ishqiya, Rann and Road to Sangam this weekend. Can't wait for My name is Khan.

Television: I am hooked on to 'Ye Pyar Na Hoga Kam' on Colors, musical reality show Music ka Maha Mukabla on Star Plus and Dance India Dance on Zee. I do watch Balika Vadhu too but don't mind missing it once in a while.

Travelogue: Had been to a lot of places nearby and far in last two months. Every place beautiful than the other. Goa, Mumbai, Mudigere, Chikmagaluru, Devaladakere, Horanadu, Shringeri, Kalasa, Shivmogga, Jog Falls, Linganamakki Dam to name a few. Now that I have started writing again, I'll probably write a post on my trips in detail very soon.

I’ll end the post with a section that I had promised I'll write with every new post.

Did you know? : A Haitian girl was found alive 15 days after quake. Miracle? What do you think?

PS: Apologies for not writing regularly.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Time to celebrate

Posted by Varun | Thursday, September 10, 2009 | Category: , , , , , | 15 comments

It is my Dad's birthday on 11th October and since he will not be in India on that day, I have come up with a unique way to clebrate it here in Bengaluru. I have decideded to take part in two events. I have registered for one and yet to purchase tickets for another. Both the events are equally awesome and I am sure any person any where in this world would love to attend them.

Enjoy the teasers :)

To book tickets log on to http://www.livetree.in/events.html

Yeah! Sonu Nigam Live. That's what the Poster says! I just cannot wait another month to attend this concert. I'll be booking the tickets by next week. Tickets are priced at 550,1100 and 2200. A touch too high but then I am sure it will be worth every paisa.

For registration and more information, Log on to http://bsaherculescyclothon.in.com/

After the success of Bengaluru Marathon, it is time of cycle enthisiasts to do something similar. Yes, It it Cyclathon time! It is sponsored by BSA Hercules and is a Network 18 venture. I have already registered for this event and am looking forward to being a part of the first Bengaluru Cyclathon. Join me and get healthy. I'll be taking part in the 'Green Ride'.
Did you know about any of these events? Are you planning to attend them? Let me know if you do...
Apart from dad's birthday and these events there is one very important reason for me to celebrate! It is finally confirmed that we will be getting our salary hikes this year. We might get it next week! Yey, Yippe!! Yey!!. Can't stop grinning :D
From now on, I am planning to end all my posts with a Did you know section!. It might or might not be related to the post but will definintely be something new. Let me know if I should continue it or not! I promise it will not be techie stuff all the time. There are lot more interesting things happening in this world.
Did you know: Yahoo have launched thier own version of twitter (The world famous micro blogging site). It is called meme. You can create your accounts there in two ways. Either through invitation from your friends or through a waiting list which is quite long. I have created mine! When are you creating yours!?
My meme's titled Goodness Gracious Me(me) - http://meme.yahoo.com/varungiridhara

Saturday, September 5, 2009

New Darling of Tennis

Posted by Varun | Saturday, September 5, 2009 | Category: , , , , | 14 comments


Source: Google Images

She is just seventeen but can beat the best on her day! She is ranked seventy in the world and third in America after Williams sisters.

She has just shocked Elena Dementieva (The Olympic Gold Medalist) and Maria Sharapova (US Open Champion - 06, Wimbledon Champion - 04) in the current US open and is now going to take on Nadia Petrova in the round of 16. Guess she has taken a liking to the ova's and eva's of Tennis.

Even though I was rooting for Maria Sharapova and was very disappointed that she didn't win, the three hour match made me stand up, applaud and congratulate the teen. It was an error-prone match for Sharapova. She committed around 65 unforced errors out of which 21 were double faults. She is seriously struggling with her serve. I hope she works on it and comes back strong in her next tournament.

We cannot take anything away from the teenager though. She has been playing her best tennis and achieving the results. Her agility in the court and strong forehand makes up for the power tennis that other players play. She is a fighter and a true American at heart.

Here's wishing her all the best for her next match. Hope she wins it! Irrespective of whether she wins her next match or not, the new darling of tennis has won herself a new fan!

She is none other than Melanie Oudin.

Addendum: There were two other noteworthy upsets yesterday. Both of them after I fell asleep :)
- Another teenager Petra Kvitova (19 years) has defeated the World No. 1 Dinara Safina. These upsets have made life easier for the Williams sisters and I hate to see them both in the finals. I hope there are two more upsets in the women's draw :)
- Andy Roddick has been shown the door in a five set thriller by an unseeded American John Isner.

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