DADAgiri never ends....

"All good things come to an end...."

Maybe it was poetic justice. All thought Sourav Ganguly's final Test innings had passed. All were disappointed that he didn't get a hundred as he poked tamely to Michael Clarke at slip. It looked the game will end in a draw. Maybe it was okay. Obituaries had already been written. It was a sad end indeed. A century would have been a fairytale ending. Even the BCCI had felicitated him.

But two days later he was back. This was his moment, to set right the error committed in the first innings. But there was a rider: the first innings was emotional, in the second India were in trouble. There was no time to look around to find familiar faces in the crowd. A series win was on the cards.

He ran out at the fall of VVS Laxman's wicket. The rousing reception was befitting of the figure, thin attendance notwithstanding. Even the Australians lined up to applaud. Ganguly acknowledged and walked up to Sachin Tendulkar for a brief chat, then walked back to take guard. It was the same bowler who cut his fairytale short in the first innings. Jason Krejza was on debut. He turned his bat too early. Krejza completed the catch. Ganguly was out for nought, first ball.

It reminds you of the Aussie cricket great Don, Sir Donald Bradman. He was out for a duck in his last innings. Those who saw him say he was teary-eyed. He needed only four runs from his last knock to bow out with a batting average of 100. It would have been perfect, an ode to his prowess that was on display on either side of World War II. Yet, he finished on 99.94. Some say this is the very reason the Don lives on for generations. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was human. Even he wasn't perfect. The comparison ends here.

Over the years, Ganguly was increasingly revered for his captaincy. His batting, although not forgotten, had been eclipsed. His aggressive batting was not as talked about as his firebrand personality. He made a triumphant return to the side two years ago. He scored all the runs. But even his colleagues paid tributes to him as the leader who changed things for them.

Even his one-day career ended without prior notice. Someone with more than 11000 runs was done away with at the start of the year. It was not a fitting end. But he wanted to go out of Test cricket by himself. By his own admission, he might have never returned if a new selection regime had not taken over.

Ganguly was never perfect. He was all too human. His triumphs are entangled with failure. His rise has been riddled with ridicule. His setbacks were trumped by his comebacks. There was conflict in every aspect of his cricketing career. He scored a hundred on debut. There was no way he could end with a century. Maybe it was a fitting end. He was no Bradman. He could never have been Bradman. He was Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, our very own Dada....

A great captain he was, not seen of his likes anytime anywhere in India.... He was the one.... the chosen one !!!

He could have played more.... But lets stay away from controversies, he made his own decision.... the final decision.... and a decision which was complemented by an emphatic 2-0 series win....

India & Cricket will miss you DADA !!! and nobody can ever forget that scene from the NatWest final at Lords.... Indian captain fluttering his jersey in the air.... Its only YOU who can do it....

Dada might have said adios to international cricket.... but DADAgiri never ends....!!!

Random Thoughts

I am bored..... very much bored.... I've got an exam tomorrow and here I am.... writing a new post for my blog..... I dunno wat to write.... No topic in my 1688 cm³ brain (yes i had to use MS-Word's Insert Symbol option to get dis CUBE symbol '³'.... its 'Alt+0179'....) I got the size of brain when i played 'Who Has The Biggest Brain?' on Facebook..... Huh ! as in those guys got into my mind and took the measurements and size of my brain !!! As per them, I am a GEEK(n : an obsessive enthusiast)....

Fuhget it.... Its just meant for timepass !!! What else....

Lets talk something more serious.... Politics??? Many of you will have decided to stop reading this post after you came across the word 'Politics'..... Nobody's interested in it... But I dunno why I'm so much interested in the so-called 'dirty' politics of our country....

Talking in general terms.... India has lost much since Independence in 1947.... First it was Pakistan.... then Bangladesh (ya.... if we wanted, we could have taken over Bangladesh that time, but we decided to let it become a new country....)..... More recently, we have lost half of Kashmir, what we called the 'Crown' of India.... Half of that 'Crown' is not a part of India !!! Bizzarre.... Aint it??

Today, every state in India is independent.... has its own government..... has its own leaders.... has its own language..... But with more than 7 national & 60-plus reqional political parties, we can not develop.... Every other damn politician who is denied a ticket from a particular party either changes the party or forms a new one..... the latter option being used more often.... While changing parties or forming new ones, these guys do not care about what is their political view... Their ultimate aim is to be in the limelight and to be in power.....

The guys who, at the time of elections, accuse each other suddenly become friends.... This is a major drawback of the Indian democratic system.... 'Coz nobody can work towards development in this era of coalition.... One party has to take care of the other.... Everybody must be politically correct.... so that the other coalition member support the government....

Every other day, there's a news of a blast in India.... But has anyone thought that what is the root cause of this problem??? I can hear somebody saying.... Kashmir issue.... Pakistan..... OK, just for the time being if we assume that these are the cause of the terror attacks in India, let me ask What these politicians have done to to eradicate this problem..... NOTHING....!!!

Put the terrorism issue aside.... thats too big an issue to be discussed..... What about internal security issues like Naxalism???? There's a parallel army which is fighting with the Indian army in India..... This issue is entirely dependant on the government.... No external pressures.... Its not an international issue.... If the people in power wanted, they could have solved it much before....

The question arises that if all the politicians are corrupt or inefficient, who should we choose??? Should we not vote at all??? My answer would be 'NO'.... I haven't voted till date.... This will be my first election (no no no..... i'm not contesting it.....) According to me, we should vote, keeping the religious sentiments aside, keeping parties aside (party should be secondary).... The guy with a tainted criminal background should not be chosen....

I dont know if I am right, but thats what I feel....

Cheers !!!

Long live India.... A peaceful India !!!

Amen !

Kyunki.... it was sooooo BORING !!!

Kyunki.... it was sooooooooo BORING.....


Kyunki.... the plot was always UNREAL !!!


Kyunki.... it was TORTURING the viewers (mostly males...) from EIGHT long years....


Kyunki.... BAA was almost 300 years old.... almost IMMORTAL !!!


Kyunki.... TULSI wasn't really the IDEAL BAHU....

These are just a few of the answers of the question :

"WHY... WHY.... WHY.. WHY DID THEY STOPPED AIRING 'KYUNKI SAAS BHI KABHI BAHU THI'???"

By now, you must have understood that I wasn't a big fan of the mega sob-soap with almost a kilometre long name.... Calling it a SOB-SOAP won't be wrong.... I can hear people saying 'YES'.... Guys ! This show has been on the idiot-box for more than ONE-THIRD of my life (till now !!)..... Yes, KSBKBT (short for :: Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi..... wow !! more than a kilometre...) has been on air since July 2000 with 1800-plus episodes been aired..... Balaji Telefilms became a mega production house with the success of this soap opera.... I'm glad that this has ended.... Really !!!

November 6, 2008 would be remembered as the Independence (from the mega Saas-Bahu Sob Saga) Day in Indian Idiot-Box Industry (read :: Indian TV Industry)... This serial was the seed of all the Saas-Bahu serials on TV today.....

Ekta Kapoor called it her 'CONCEPT' !!! Huh...!

In most of the Indian homes, the War-For-Remote will end now.... This show gained popularity since it was first aired.... and the protagonist Tulsi and the Gujjus (read :: Gujaratis) from the Virani family became household names....

Ekta Kapoor believes in re-birth.... This show was the first where she tried the 'RE-BIRTH' formula.... With the death of Mihir Virani, there was uproar in Indian households.... The ladies cried for days.... (CRAP !!!) And eventually Ekta had to change the plot of the serial..... Then she used this formula in almost every other soap several times....

Viewers were bored of this sob-saga... and the TRPs were at all time low.... So Star Plus, the channel which aired it, decided to terminate the airing of KSBKBT !!! Ekta and Balaji Telefilms (the production house) challenged the decision in Mumbai High Court.... The Honorable Court upheld the channel's decision (Thankfully...!!!)

Adios Tulsi.... Adios BAA... Adios Virani Family.... Adios SOBS n TEARS !!!

Hoping to see something FRESH on the IDIOT-BOX (yes.... you guess it right... TV) !!!

My Co-Passengers

:: WARNING : Long Post Ahead ::

With havin travelled a lot (and with never having got a good company.....) i think i could jot down the types of co-passengers i observed and anyone would encounter on the journey.....

As i said earlier, i've never had good company en route.... Company doesn't matter when you are travelling with friends or family..... But it does matter a lot while travelling alone..... And lemme tell u, i haven't been lucky as Chetan Bhagat said he was in 'One Night @ The Call Center'..... Not even once..... Huh !!!

Lets recall the 'species' (yeah.... generalising is a bit better..... Blogiquette....) i've come across while travelling.....

1. THE CHATTER BOX :
This species of co-passengers is the most common of all...... Mostly of the feminine types..... Males of these species either do not exist or have extinct.... They start talking at any topic any time for hours..... Most dangerous when two of the same species get together..... They don't know the meaning of the word 'Strangers'..... As they are most common, consider yourself lucky if you don't get this kind of co-passengers.....

2. THE BORN-TO-SLEEP TYPES :
Born to sleep..... The name describes it all..... These people don't get to sleep in their everyday life..... They lay down on the berth as soon as they find one and sleep throughout the entire route..... Most boring of all the species....

3. THE CAN'T-STOP-EATING TYPES :
These people would die if they stop eating for a few minutes..... Need something in their mouths in regular intervals..... This species is quite common..... You can't help but suffer their eating desire as they gobble up anything.... almost anything.... and create a mess where they sit.....

4. THE MUSIC LOVERS (???) :
This species is not Music LOVERS actually..... In fact, they want to show off their multimedia cellphones and portable music players..... My humble request to the members of this species is 'USE THE HEADPHONES THAT COME ALONG UR MUSIC PLAYER'..... Playing music loudly at public places and public transport is a sign of showing off..... Nobody stops you to listen to your favourite music..... But why do you want others (who might not like it) to listen to them..... The 'Born-to-Sleep' species gets most irritated by them (* the reason is most obvious....)

5. THE IRRITATING KIDS :
I love kids.... (though i don't have mine....) Yet some of them are of this species..... They throw tantrums all the way long..... Start crying when you least expect.... at might.... when you are talking on cellphone..... when others are sleeping (*i said others coz i don't get to sleep while travelling)..... And the worst part is that you can't scold them and you have to keep smiling..... When their parents 'pretend' to get angry on them, all you can say is 'Let him/her do, (s)he's just a kid....'

6. THE CHAI-WALLAHS AND OTHERS :
Though they aren't exactly co-passengers, but since they torture you with their monotonous voices, i thought they can also be included in the list..... 'Chaiiiii-ya..... Chaiiiii-ya..... Chaiiiii-waleya..... Chaiiiii bolo Chaiiiii-ya......' thats a typical dialogue you'd hear in any Indian train..... Once you give them a glance, they'll irritate u as if they're forcefully selling u their 'Chaiiiii-ya'.....

7. THE TRANS-SEXUALS :
Just a better name for (ahem ahem....) 'chhakkas' or eunuchs..... Again not co-passengers, but a part of the journey !!! I hate it when they touch u.... I never give them a single penny..... Instead i give them a wierd look.... to shoo them away.....

These are just some of the species..... there are many more of them you'll come across.....

So before hanging up, lemme wish u 'Happy Travelling'.....!!!

A Crowded Day

:: WARNING : Long Post Ahead ::

Mumbai.... 8.15 pm

Yes i've reached Mumbai.... and most of the last twenty-four hours have passed with what we get in plenty in India - the crowd.....

Yeah.... With the festive season just completed, crowd is what you get anywhere you go.... The trains from Rajasthan to Mumbai are always jam-packed, no matter what point of time it is..... But during the time of festivals and weddings, they are just a bit better than Indian jails.... You don't even get tickets in the TATKAAL SERVICE (meaning Emergency Service.... the booking starts 5 whole days before the date of journey..... Crap !!! Emergency doesn't tell you that I'm coming after 5 days.... Get your tickets ready.... Wow !!! What if it did....) So its the dalaals (read :: ticket agents) who make all the money out of it..... So i visited one of the dalaals to arrange a ticket since i had to go to Mumbai with my sister's son..... He came to my place to celebrate Diwali.... Somehow a ticket was arranged.... But it was booked with some random name and some random age....

Rahul.... 21 yrs.... That was going to be my identity in the train..... That agent made me a year elder..... He gave me a new name..... And he charged 250 bucks extra on a 300 bucks ticket.....

I had to get a general ticket for my nephew and say a penalty inside the train..... as there was 'NO ROOM' (read :: no more booking permitted, not even wait listed tickets) in the train.....

We got a general ticket and boarded the 9:54 pm Suryanagari Express..... I got a 'Side Middle' berth.... (* who told Lalu Yadav to apply his brains here.... This is the most uncomfortable berth..... One person can't sleep there comfortably and we two people had to adjust in there....)

Fortunately, there was a family in the same compartment whose one seat was in another coach.... I dunno whether I was fortunate or they were..... I agreed coz it wasn't a Side berth..... We moved our luggage to the other coach and got settled there....

Damn !!! It was crowded like hell.... All one could see was either people or luggage..... People were sleeping or sitting everywhere.... in the passage, in the space between the berths on the floor and even near the toilets..... I would cancel my journey rather than travelling this way.....

There was hardly any place to move comfortably..... We still had to..... There were 14 people already present in the compartment meant for 9 guys.... And we two made that figure to 16.... That meant almost 2 people per seat.....

Honorable (is he....???) Railways Minister Lalu Yadav should've increased the number of trains rather than increasing the number of berths in a compartment.... (dumb guy....!!!)

I can't sleep in train.... I rarely sleep.... So i made my nephew sleep..... He slept within no time.... I decided to lay down in that cramped place rather than getting bored sitting idle all night..... I couldn't sleep.... Only i know how i passed the night.....

The time passed very slowly..... There's a morning after every night..... There was still around 6 hours of journey left..... The day isn't as boring as the night.... Even if you don't have good company (* not necessarily girls.....) its easier to 'kill' time during the day as you get people to talk to.....

The time passed away.... Soon i got down at Borivali.... Again to board another train..... This time it was the local train to a suburb where my sis lived..... Crowded it was again..... When will the Mumbai locals get crowd-free....??? After a few hours, it was time to get back to Mumbai..... Another train.... Yuck !!! I hate this....

I left two trains.... I was wasting time.... So i decided to get into the next one, no matter how crowed it was..... I did the same.... It was crowded.... Yet i managed.....

After some time, i'm getting bored and tired of the train experience.... So i decided to blog it.... And here i am.... typing this piece of blog on my cellphone.... (* ya.... believe me, i'm doing it on my cellphone....)

Tomorrow, i've to go back to my place.... Yeah...!!! You guessed it right.... BY A TRAIN....!!! This time i got the ticket using the TATKAAL SERVICE..... I'm going to travel on my own name and i'll be of my own age..... But i expect a less crowded train and some good company in the train.....

Here i hang up.... (* remember.... its my cellphone....)

So guys.... Wish me a Happy n Less-Crowded Journey....!!!