It certainly helps to have well educated qualified individuals as ministers. Check out this article with interesting quotes (from Tom Friedman of NY Times book release function) from Mani Shankar Iyer, Union Minister for Petroleum in the Manmohan Singh ministry. The current government in India a strange mix of extremes, especially when it comes to the ministers and there pedigree.
Monday, 30 May 2005
Sunday, 29 May 2005
Cricket: Unpredictable WI strikes back
West Indies, the ever unpredictable cricket team swung back to thrash the resurgent Pak. Its a great victory for a team in the dumps. WI have also ensured that they can't loose the test series. Lara once again proved that he is still very much a force to reckon with. His spate of recent centuries should maker the injury prone Sachin wary of his max 100s record. Hats off to Chanderpaul for leading from the front.
This test also proves that Inzy and Youhana are too critical to Pak. Shahid Afridi played a belligerent knock as always. Opening with him might have given the fight back a different flavor. But again, you can never predict.
Younis Khan had a lousy debut as captain. More than its bowling, it was Pak's batting that caused them the test. Bazid Khan blew a good chance to make an ompression while Yasir Hameed continues to prove his unreliability. Salman but is still very much an India specialist (batsmen who scores mostly against India!).
Younis Khan had a lousy debut as captain. More than its bowling, it was Pak's batting that caused them the test. Bazid Khan blew a good chance to make an ompression while Yasir Hameed continues to prove his unreliability. Salman but is still very much an India specialist (batsmen who scores mostly against India!).
Saturday, 28 May 2005
Bangladesh-England Test Cricket
What a pathetic show by the Bangaldeshis! The test match was almost over in 2 days! The ICC is doing a great disservice to Test cricket by granting test status to countries that are simply not ready for it. It destroys the confidence of the team and the much stronger opponents loose interest. Test cricket being the big loser in the process. As for England, this is hardly a preparation for the upcoming Ashes (which incidentally should be an exciting series. I don't think England has had a stronger team for a long time)
As a part of the qualifying process teams should be forced to play against local teams in other countries to prove a certain level of proficiency. For instance, Bangladesh should have played more cricket in the domestic circuit in India (Ranji, Duleep and other trophies) before being granted test status.
I certainly hope Bangladesh perform better in the rest of the England tour!
As a part of the qualifying process teams should be forced to play against local teams in other countries to prove a certain level of proficiency. For instance, Bangladesh should have played more cricket in the domestic circuit in India (Ranji, Duleep and other trophies) before being granted test status.
I certainly hope Bangladesh perform better in the rest of the England tour!
Thursday, 26 May 2005
Bay Area Traffic
Ever since the toll on Dumbarton bridge was increased, I have noticed a significant decrease in traffic along this route! I wonder if there is any data available on this. 880 on the other hand continues to be a nightmare in rush hour. The mess at the 237 junction has been fixed for the most part (the exit for the car pool lane will ease things more when completed). The 880 bottleneck happens now between Warren Ave and Dixon Landing exits. There seems to be stop and go traffic between these points at virtually all times (especially peak hours). Wonder why? I don't think its 680 off Mission that is the cause. In general, Bay Area traffic is no where close to the way it was in the hey days of the valley (late 90s). The only reason not wish for the return of the hey days!! Oh well...
Wednesday, 25 May 2005
Experiences of Americans living in Bangalore(India)
Interesting article talking about experiences of many Americans living and working in India.
this is an audio post - click to playQuote of the day!
"There is only a veneer of democracy in the United States, and we have a real democracy," he said, brushing aside suggestions that Iran's election rules unfairly favor the hard-liners who control much of the government. "Election laws are so complicated in your country that people have no choice but to vote for one of the candidates who are with one of the two parties." Ali Akhbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president of Iran. Check out the complete article in NY Times. (registration required)
While there might be some partial truths in this, its ironical that it has to come from a politician in Iran!
While there might be some partial truths in this, its ironical that it has to come from a politician in Iran!
Tuesday, 24 May 2005
Diluting the IIT brand?
On the one hand you have events such as the recent pan IIT meet to improve and enhance the IIT brand at a global level. But on the other you have a rapid increase in number of IITs, unfortunately driven by partisan government proposals. Will the next government release a new list of universities to be blessed with the IIT brand? Will fake IIT degrees soon be available? Does India have the resources to upgrade so many universities in a short period of time? The existing IITs are already struggling without quality new faculty to replace retiring faculty. How are these new IITs going to cope with these challenges?
Is the Govt. diluting one of India's best brands? The ominous signs of it are certainly there.
Is the Govt. diluting one of India's best brands? The ominous signs of it are certainly there.
India Cricket Team: Opportunity to experiment
Sachin is going to be unavailable. Ganguly will be serving a ban. This opens up two slots in the playing eleven in the Indian team for the WI-India-SL ODI series. Great opportunity to try out some newcomers. I hope the selectors don't fall back on the discards like Mongia, VVS and others but instead give some newcomers proven in the domestic tournaments, a chance to prove themselves at the international level. This will help expand the talent pool when it comes to selecting the team for the next World Cup.
Google Custom Home Page
Tried out the new Google custom home page feature. As always, simple, yet cool. The drag and move feature is way cool. Unlike my Yahoo (where there are simply too many options), I like the fact that the options are relatively few to start with (I'm sure they'll expand over time!). The ability to have Gmail on the home page saves a few extra clicks. It will be really cool if Google adds Blogger and a couple of other common applications (say a spreadsheet, and presentation software) to be run online.
The Google News page customization was a little annoying. I customized it a couple of times (I saved it too!), and yet when I re-started Firefox, the customization was gone! Oh well...the price (not quite, mostly frustration!) you pay for being an early adopter.
The Google News page customization was a little annoying. I customized it a couple of times (I saved it too!), and yet when I re-started Firefox, the customization was gone! Oh well...the price (not quite, mostly frustration!) you pay for being an early adopter.
Error when publishing to this blog
001 java.io.IOException: EOF while reading from control connection
I got this error when trying to publish to my blog. So I am trying to publish another piece and see if it goes through...
I got this error when trying to publish to my blog. So I am trying to publish another piece and see if it goes through...
Man, All these browsers!
Netscape, IE, Firefox, Safari etc etc. and each of their versions, extensions and what not! Testing websites and applications on each of these has become quite a task. Check out Rediff (a pretty popular site) on Firefox. The home page is pretty messed up. It has been so for quite a few months now. Or maybe its something unique to my PC.
Its about time someone (Microsoft, huh??) came out with a master browsers (Netscape seems to be trying this with its new release) and destroyed all other browsers once and for all. It will make everyone's life so much easier on the net. There was an article some years back in Time magazine (I think) where the writer suggested that we give all the software business on the planet to Microsoft, then the next time we have trouble we'll have only one company to blame! (Of course, it could be a hardware issue!).
p.s: Btw, can someone tell me how to prevent pop-ups from this site! I use Firefox for the most part and sometimes IE.
Its about time someone (Microsoft, huh??) came out with a master browsers (Netscape seems to be trying this with its new release) and destroyed all other browsers once and for all. It will make everyone's life so much easier on the net. There was an article some years back in Time magazine (I think) where the writer suggested that we give all the software business on the planet to Microsoft, then the next time we have trouble we'll have only one company to blame! (Of course, it could be a hardware issue!).
p.s: Btw, can someone tell me how to prevent pop-ups from this site! I use Firefox for the most part and sometimes IE.
Monday, 23 May 2005
Senate Crisis: What a pity!
The US Senate crisis appears to have been averted.
After all the excitement created by the Presidential elections last year, there has been a relative lull on the US political scene. Barring the boring opposition (which systematically ended in failure) from Democrats to virtually every nominee proposed for every single post by the President, there has hardly been any new exciting developments since the Presidential polls (with Howard Dean in charge there is some hope of an literal outburst sooner or later). Unfortunately, just when it seemed like some new excitement will creep into the mainstream the Senators have arrived at a comprise. What a pity! (They just saved the world from a few thousand hours of TV analysis and speculation and several thousands of pages of online commentary!)
After all the excitement created by the Presidential elections last year, there has been a relative lull on the US political scene. Barring the boring opposition (which systematically ended in failure) from Democrats to virtually every nominee proposed for every single post by the President, there has hardly been any new exciting developments since the Presidential polls (with Howard Dean in charge there is some hope of an literal outburst sooner or later). Unfortunately, just when it seemed like some new excitement will creep into the mainstream the Senators have arrived at a comprise. What a pity! (They just saved the world from a few thousand hours of TV analysis and speculation and several thousands of pages of online commentary!)
Thursday, 19 May 2005
Chappell it is...Dada still wields clout
Greg Chappell landed the job of the coach for the Indian cricket. Given that Ganguly was in favor of him, its a sign that Dada is still a force to reckon with behind the scenes in Indian cricket. I just hope Chappell can influence the selection to a point where India is not simply re-cycling the same superstars from match to match (only to end up with the current pathetic world ODI ranking). He managed to convince the committee that he is the best choice for the job. Its time now for him to convince the Indian cricket crazy public that the committee made the right choice.
Personally, I am glad its not an Indian coach. In case you haven't been following Jimmy Amarnath took 2 hours to complete his allotted 45 min interview thanks to computer trouble. He brought along a relative to help with the computer. Just one more reason our former stars might not be good fits for job in this day and age of technology driven analysis and strategy.
Personally, I am glad its not an Indian coach. In case you haven't been following Jimmy Amarnath took 2 hours to complete his allotted 45 min interview thanks to computer trouble. He brought along a relative to help with the computer. Just one more reason our former stars might not be good fits for job in this day and age of technology driven analysis and strategy.
A VC calls it quits
Check out this article by a VC who has decided to quit the VC business. Interesting analysis -- can no longer make insane amounts of money from investments, so its not worth it, the dynamics of the VC business has changed etc. Maybe its about time more VCs quit the business. The world will be then be left with less greedy VCs who are ok with the idea of making smaller returns over a longer period of time. Entrepreneurs will have true partners in building companies. There will be fewer VCs but hopefully genuine, quality ones, who won't have to claim that "their money is different". With the economic downturn every industry has seen changes, its about time the VC industry did. After all, the business of "making money without doing any work" (quote from a well known veteran VC, Bill Draper I think) can't last forever!
Impressive win for Netflix
Check out this story about Wal-Mart's deal with Netflix. Truly an impressive victory for Netflix. Its amazing how a small company with an innovative idea is able to hang on to its lead in the market. It will be interesting to see how this whole space shapes up. I suspect that either Netflix might be forced to expand beyond DVD rentals or might eventually get swallowed up by the Amazons of the world.
p.s: Netflix desi collection of late has improved significantly (especially Hindi).
p.s: Netflix desi collection of late has improved significantly (especially Hindi).
Tuesday, 17 May 2005
Kerala Update
Pitched by the KTDC as "God's own country" the southern state of Kerala, tucked away in a corner of India, is a unique blend of breath taking scenic beauty, rare left leanings among its people, highest influx of foreign exchange in the country (mostly from "mallus" in the middle east), highest rate of suicide in India, very high consumption of liquor among its residents and potentially high rate of domestic violence, highest rate of literacy in India, etc.
Here is a quick dump of news from the state. None of these have been necessarily fact checked, some of it is hearsay, some of it is mere conjecture/inference, all from a very brief trip to God's own country.
Politics
1. A new Chief Minister (Ooman Chandy) replaced AK Antony, but is struggling to stay afloat. Plenty of opposition within the ruling UDF, as always. All those dropped from the new ministry are waiting by the sidelines to destroy the new govt. There is not a day when someone does not call for the CM's resignation.
2. The erstwhile Congress leader M. Karunakaran has launched a new party, National Cong (Indira) while still technically remaining in the Congress! He installed his son, Muralidharan as the party leader! Some Congressman said in jest that he should have named his party "Kundumba Congress (meaning "family Congress"). Ironically, he has spent a better part of his 86 years fighting the Communists, and yet finds himself fishing for political favors from them!
If there is one thing the veteran Congress leader can claim from his long political career ("I could have been PM"), it is about consistency. He has consistently opposed the Kerala Chief Minister (even if the CM were from his own party!) as long as he himself does not hold the post! Now this golden rule has been extended to the next generation, his kids. Now, as long as his son and daughter are not in plum political posts, his infamous "oppose everything" strategy will be in place. The Kerala electorate has been smart and tossed both the Karunakaran kids to the defeated list of political waanabees. Yet, Daddy steps in to the rescue and keeps them in the limelight. One more defeat at the polls and the damage can be irreversible.
3. The Communists meanwhile are just counting days before they return to power. Kerala electorate has a unique electoral strategy -- every election the opposition is voted to power! Going by this as well as the fact that the Congress and its UDF are falling apart, the popular opinion appears to be that the CPM will be back in power soon. With the passing away of CPM veteran E.K Nayanar and other political happenings, it appears as though Pinarayi Vijayan is the front-runner for the CM's post.
4. Hartal/Bandh ("strikes") when life comes to a standstill at the tax payers expense, are very common even to this day.
Films, Music:
1. The Movie business appears to have slumped. Its no longer a good business proposition, apparently. Several theatres have closed down. The number of film releases have dropped. Former big stars like Mohanlal and Mamooty come out with only a couple of movies each year. Dileep apparently is the box office favorite.
2. Udhayananu Tharam, a new film, is a movie worth watch (starring Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Meena).
3. "Dapaan kuthu" was/is very popular in Tamil Nadu. Kerala has been hit by a Dapaan kuthu storm in the recent past thanks to a hit song by a certain Jessie Gift. Every movie has one now.
4. Unlike in the past, when mallu (slang for "malayalam" the language of Kerala) movies had a distinctive style of their own (realistic, easy paced, no pressure to have songs, unnecessary fights, minimal song and dance, focus on acting more than the actor), these days Mallu movies have started to ape the conventional Tamil, Hindi, Telugu movies. Song and dance sequences infested with extras, hereos and heroines gyrating to noisy music, these were alien to mallu films. Not any more. Unfortunately, they do such a poor job of it, its pretty pathetic to watch. The realistic aspect of Mallu movies appears to have been lost. Barring the occasional good film, the standard stuff is similar to other regional trash.
Living
1. As a part of an e-governance initiative the govt has setup a comptuerised center in TVM (and possibly other cities) with extended work hours where citizens can stop by and pay any bill - telephone, electricity etc. (I think the center is called "Friends").
2. The govt buses have done away with conventional tickets. The bus conductor carries a devices where he punches in the value of your ticket and out comes a print out, Viola!
3. The mall culture that has stormed the major Indian cities and the up and coming ones (like Gurgaon) has yet to hit Kerala.
4. Bookstores are so few in TVM, the capital city. One local said to me that the local public libraries are pretty good. Anyone who loves to read goes there. No one buys books!
Cricket
The popularity of cricket has grown significantly. Mostly at the expense of soccer. Fields where one could always watch soccer being played have now been replaced by cricket. Soccer meanwhile has become a part time affair. Tinu Yohanan the local cricketer who made it to the Indian team appears to have vanished from the national scene. He still appears for the state Ranji team.
Infrastructure
1. There is a proposal (championed by Dr. M.K Muneer, Minister of Works) to develop an extended freeway connecting the entire state of Kerala. Personally, I think this is a plan worth implementing and it will do wonders to the state and its economy and give it a huge advantage over its neighboring states. Unfortunately, there appears to be severe opposition ("the road will divide the state into two" and other compliants) to this plan. With the current govt floundering, this plan may fall by the wayside.
2. Power outages are very common unfortunately.
3. Broadband connections to homes has improved significantly. Wireless phone service to homes combined with wireless internet service has started to take off. Here is how it works. You get a wireless telephone device (very much like a regular phone rather than a cell phone) which you keep at home and use like you would regular phone. You can hook up your computer to it and connect wireless to the Internet. They claim speeds of up to 112 Kbps. Tata Indicomm and Reliance are the two competing services.
Here is a quick dump of news from the state. None of these have been necessarily fact checked, some of it is hearsay, some of it is mere conjecture/inference, all from a very brief trip to God's own country.
Politics
1. A new Chief Minister (Ooman Chandy) replaced AK Antony, but is struggling to stay afloat. Plenty of opposition within the ruling UDF, as always. All those dropped from the new ministry are waiting by the sidelines to destroy the new govt. There is not a day when someone does not call for the CM's resignation.
2. The erstwhile Congress leader M. Karunakaran has launched a new party, National Cong (Indira) while still technically remaining in the Congress! He installed his son, Muralidharan as the party leader! Some Congressman said in jest that he should have named his party "Kundumba Congress (meaning "family Congress"). Ironically, he has spent a better part of his 86 years fighting the Communists, and yet finds himself fishing for political favors from them!
If there is one thing the veteran Congress leader can claim from his long political career ("I could have been PM"), it is about consistency. He has consistently opposed the Kerala Chief Minister (even if the CM were from his own party!) as long as he himself does not hold the post! Now this golden rule has been extended to the next generation, his kids. Now, as long as his son and daughter are not in plum political posts, his infamous "oppose everything" strategy will be in place. The Kerala electorate has been smart and tossed both the Karunakaran kids to the defeated list of political waanabees. Yet, Daddy steps in to the rescue and keeps them in the limelight. One more defeat at the polls and the damage can be irreversible.
3. The Communists meanwhile are just counting days before they return to power. Kerala electorate has a unique electoral strategy -- every election the opposition is voted to power! Going by this as well as the fact that the Congress and its UDF are falling apart, the popular opinion appears to be that the CPM will be back in power soon. With the passing away of CPM veteran E.K Nayanar and other political happenings, it appears as though Pinarayi Vijayan is the front-runner for the CM's post.
4. Hartal/Bandh ("strikes") when life comes to a standstill at the tax payers expense, are very common even to this day.
Films, Music:
1. The Movie business appears to have slumped. Its no longer a good business proposition, apparently. Several theatres have closed down. The number of film releases have dropped. Former big stars like Mohanlal and Mamooty come out with only a couple of movies each year. Dileep apparently is the box office favorite.
2. Udhayananu Tharam, a new film, is a movie worth watch (starring Mohanlal, Sreenivasan, Meena).
3. "Dapaan kuthu" was/is very popular in Tamil Nadu. Kerala has been hit by a Dapaan kuthu storm in the recent past thanks to a hit song by a certain Jessie Gift. Every movie has one now.
4. Unlike in the past, when mallu (slang for "malayalam" the language of Kerala) movies had a distinctive style of their own (realistic, easy paced, no pressure to have songs, unnecessary fights, minimal song and dance, focus on acting more than the actor), these days Mallu movies have started to ape the conventional Tamil, Hindi, Telugu movies. Song and dance sequences infested with extras, hereos and heroines gyrating to noisy music, these were alien to mallu films. Not any more. Unfortunately, they do such a poor job of it, its pretty pathetic to watch. The realistic aspect of Mallu movies appears to have been lost. Barring the occasional good film, the standard stuff is similar to other regional trash.
Living
1. As a part of an e-governance initiative the govt has setup a comptuerised center in TVM (and possibly other cities) with extended work hours where citizens can stop by and pay any bill - telephone, electricity etc. (I think the center is called "Friends").
2. The govt buses have done away with conventional tickets. The bus conductor carries a devices where he punches in the value of your ticket and out comes a print out, Viola!
3. The mall culture that has stormed the major Indian cities and the up and coming ones (like Gurgaon) has yet to hit Kerala.
4. Bookstores are so few in TVM, the capital city. One local said to me that the local public libraries are pretty good. Anyone who loves to read goes there. No one buys books!
Cricket
The popularity of cricket has grown significantly. Mostly at the expense of soccer. Fields where one could always watch soccer being played have now been replaced by cricket. Soccer meanwhile has become a part time affair. Tinu Yohanan the local cricketer who made it to the Indian team appears to have vanished from the national scene. He still appears for the state Ranji team.
Infrastructure
1. There is a proposal (championed by Dr. M.K Muneer, Minister of Works) to develop an extended freeway connecting the entire state of Kerala. Personally, I think this is a plan worth implementing and it will do wonders to the state and its economy and give it a huge advantage over its neighboring states. Unfortunately, there appears to be severe opposition ("the road will divide the state into two" and other compliants) to this plan. With the current govt floundering, this plan may fall by the wayside.
2. Power outages are very common unfortunately.
3. Broadband connections to homes has improved significantly. Wireless phone service to homes combined with wireless internet service has started to take off. Here is how it works. You get a wireless telephone device (very much like a regular phone rather than a cell phone) which you keep at home and use like you would regular phone. You can hook up your computer to it and connect wireless to the Internet. They claim speeds of up to 112 Kbps. Tata Indicomm and Reliance are the two competing services.
Monday, 16 May 2005
Give Our Cricket Heroes a break!
A floundering team like the West Indies have taken a bold step. They have dropped Lara, or rested him! (yeah, right). Its time India did the same. Sachin, Ganguly, Kaif, Pathan, Kumble, Nehra, among others need a break from the game. This is a perfect time for India to experiment with some new fresh talent. This will give India a great opportunity to broaden the scope of selection for the next world cup. How about a new look 14-member squad for the next one day series against SL and WI:
Virender Sehwag
MS Dhoni (wkeeper)
Rahul Dravid (Captain)
Yuvraj Singh
S. Sriram
Venugopal Rao
RS Sodhi
Joginder Sharma
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
SS Paul
Romesh Powar
Hemang Badhani
JP Yadav
The intent of going in for a new look team is not to get rid of our (I dare say, jaded) superstars. Instead, its an opportunity to give the up and coming stars some international exposure and see how they perform. This will help broaden the pool from which the final 15 for the next world cup can be selected. Afraid that India will get thulped witha seemingly second string team? Not to bother, check out India's current standing in world one day cricket. This is what our superstars have achieved in the last couple of years. It can't get worse.
Virender Sehwag
MS Dhoni (wkeeper)
Rahul Dravid (Captain)
Yuvraj Singh
S. Sriram
Venugopal Rao
RS Sodhi
Joginder Sharma
Harbhajan Singh
Zaheer Khan
SS Paul
Romesh Powar
Hemang Badhani
JP Yadav
The intent of going in for a new look team is not to get rid of our (I dare say, jaded) superstars. Instead, its an opportunity to give the up and coming stars some international exposure and see how they perform. This will help broaden the pool from which the final 15 for the next world cup can be selected. Afraid that India will get thulped witha seemingly second string team? Not to bother, check out India's current standing in world one day cricket. This is what our superstars have achieved in the last couple of years. It can't get worse.
Saturday, 14 May 2005
Book Review: Maximum City
Author: Suketu Mehta
Non-fiction, based on the City of Bombay (Mumbai).
The author does a terrific job of identifying a whole bunch of characters based in Mumbai and explores each one of them in great detail, through a series of anecdotes and very deep personal interactions. The amount of time and research spent in this book is truly fascinating. Its a wonderful expression of the author's journalistic talents. To give you an idea, here is a gist of the kind of individuals and their psyche that he has tried to explore: Monolisa, the bar dancer;Babbanji, the teenager poet from Bihar; Bal Thackeray ("a cross between Saddam and Pat Buchanan"), the Shiv Sena supremo; Seventhibhai and family, who give up wordly life; Besides there are others from the underworld ranging from small time killers to top Dons (Chotta Shakeel), Ajay Lal, the ACP (cop), Bollywood folks like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt etc.
The author has a nice easy style of writing that makes the book easy to read. He certainly has a great sense of humor as is in display in the early part of the book in particular. The sections which talk about the use of the word "bhenchod" (its various flavors and connotations) is truly hilarious. For instance he describes the mood when India when it tested the nuclear bomb with a simple "We have shown the world, bhenchod".
The only real issue I had about the book was its length. I thought it was a little too long. Personally, I find a 500+ page book a little daunting. I completed most of it on a plane journey. At least for me, on a regular day, its hard to find such uninterrupted time to read such a lengthy piece of work.
Non-fiction, based on the City of Bombay (Mumbai).
The author does a terrific job of identifying a whole bunch of characters based in Mumbai and explores each one of them in great detail, through a series of anecdotes and very deep personal interactions. The amount of time and research spent in this book is truly fascinating. Its a wonderful expression of the author's journalistic talents. To give you an idea, here is a gist of the kind of individuals and their psyche that he has tried to explore: Monolisa, the bar dancer;Babbanji, the teenager poet from Bihar; Bal Thackeray ("a cross between Saddam and Pat Buchanan"), the Shiv Sena supremo; Seventhibhai and family, who give up wordly life; Besides there are others from the underworld ranging from small time killers to top Dons (Chotta Shakeel), Ajay Lal, the ACP (cop), Bollywood folks like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Dutt etc.
The author has a nice easy style of writing that makes the book easy to read. He certainly has a great sense of humor as is in display in the early part of the book in particular. The sections which talk about the use of the word "bhenchod" (its various flavors and connotations) is truly hilarious. For instance he describes the mood when India when it tested the nuclear bomb with a simple "We have shown the world, bhenchod".
The only real issue I had about the book was its length. I thought it was a little too long. Personally, I find a 500+ page book a little daunting. I completed most of it on a plane journey. At least for me, on a regular day, its hard to find such uninterrupted time to read such a lengthy piece of work.
If you lived or live in Bombay (Mumbai), have an interest in Indian politics, have wondered about the Bollywood connections with the underworld, or simply care to know more about Mumbai -- how it has transformed over the years, its people and its challenges, this book is a "must read".
There is an interview with the author on NPR which I found very interesting as well.
There is an interview with the author on NPR which I found very interesting as well.
Spice Hut in Fremont
The popular Spice Hut restaurant in Sunnyvale has now opened one in Fremont, close to Coconut Hill, the Indian grocery. The food is extremely good, and the place is very crowded despite being very spacious. If you like Kerala-style cooking, its definitely worth checking out.
Thursday, 12 May 2005
It's my blogging anniversary!
I have completed a full year since I published for the first time on this blog. In short, I now have one year of blogging experience! (for whatever that's worth!) Its been great and hope to do more in the months and years ahead. Its amazing how time flies!
Btw, I set up Google Adsense (to check it out, more than to serve as my retirement package!) a couple months back on this blog. I have earned exactly $0.49 to-date. Not exactly a great ROI story! Hey, but why do people climb mountains?
Btw, I set up Google Adsense (to check it out, more than to serve as my retirement package!) a couple months back on this blog. I have earned exactly $0.49 to-date. Not exactly a great ROI story! Hey, but why do people climb mountains?
Michael Jackson
Check out this news report about the quotes from Jackson -- ready made fodder for the late night talk show hosts! I hope this case is over once and for all. The media is nuts to be covering this on the front page every single day for god knows how long!
Ash, Bachchan in US Media, Rajnikanth next?
This is kinda late news. Read this only now (since I was away) that both Ash and Bachchan were on US television. I read the transcript of Bachchan's interview. Pretty decent.
Certainly Bollywood types are going places. However, I don't think India would have truly arrived until Rajnikanth makes it to one of these shows!
Certainly Bollywood types are going places. However, I don't think India would have truly arrived until Rajnikanth makes it to one of these shows!
Tuesday, 10 May 2005
Diplomatic traffic
In case you haven't noticed, the number of foreign dignitaries visiting India in the last few months has been truly phenomenal. In my lifetime I have not witnessed this level of diplomatic traffic. Top leaders from China, Iran, Pak, Japan, Afghanistan, Russia, USA, to name a few. Hopefully India can leverage some of these relationships to land a permanent seat on the UN security council.
Indian Idol Cassettes/CDs selling like hot cakes
Abhijeet Sawant, the Indian Idol (concept imported from the US show American Idol) seems to have become hugely popular. Cassettes/CDs with his songs appear to be permanently sold out. Even in a place like TVM where hindi is hardly spoken, these cassettes/CDs are flying off the shelf.
Sunday, 8 May 2005
Movie Review: Chandramukhi --The Return of the Tamil Superstar
Chandramukhi (Tamil film) stars Rajnikanth, Prabhu, Nayanthara, Jyothika and others.
An all time hit, Padayappa, a relative flop, Baba, a few political false starts, and a two year hiatus from films. This was what Rajnikanth was up against. One more flop and the man would have been history for all practical purposes. Under these circumstances, selecting a come back vehicle must have been a tough call. Based on current press reports it sounds like Tamil cinema's superstar has once again delivered a super hit despite all these odds.
The film is very much an "un-Rajni" film. Its a family drama. The hero has no villain to fight against. There are no cigarette tricks, no political dialogues, no tailored punch lines. Yet, its a watchable, entertaining, and engaging film especially if you have not seen the original malayalam version, Manichitrathazhu. Despite the long break Rajnikanth does not seem to have lost his touch. As many of the usual ingredients of a typical Rajni film have been weaved into the story: An intro song with a fast moving background with scores of extras while the hero moves energetically with an MGR-esque sleight of the hand, a couple of fight sequences, a few songs (Konja Neram being my favorite), plenty of comedy etc.
Tamil films unlike Bollywood, still seems to prefer pretty faced women with well endowed back-sides. Nayanthara and Jyothika do justice to this requirement. Vadivelu's comedy is an asset to the film. Prabhu is a passenger (I guess he was more focused on the production activities). The rest of the supporting cast does a reasonable job.
As for Rajnikanth. Credit to him for having maintained himself so well. At 55 the guy is slim and trim. After his lip job, and perfect wig, and plenty of make up, Rajnikanth seems to have been geared up for a successful return to the silver screen. For once, great care has been taken in his dressing. He is well dressed throughout the film without being distracting. His racy dialogue delivery style remains intact. He did throw in his trademark sun glasses flip, barring which the conventional style was absent. Given the story and script there was little room for it. In any case, he handles his role with the utmost ease.
A lot has been written about the plot, so I am going to avoid mentioning it here again. If its a Rajni film it doesn't really matter. Does it? If you are a typical Tamil film viewer, either you are pro or against Rajnikanth. If you are pro you will like anything he dishes out. If you are anti-Rajni you will find something criticize no matter what. So the plot is inconsequential anyway!
Overall, the film is certainly worth watching, especially if you haven't seen the original Malayalam film. The background score is quite annoying (I find this to be as trend among a number of Indian films, especially the fast jerky screen movements accompanied by loud music). The music is adequate and the acting of the supporting cast decent.
Lastly, having been there and done it over and over again, I hope the superstar will use the success of this family drama, to transition to movies where he doesn't necessarily have to be portrayed as young, fighting villains, prancing around with 20 year olds etc. If he does manage to accomplish this transition, Tamil cinema would be much better served. There is no question, Rajnikanth is Tamil cinema's all time great box office draw and has remained so for over two decades. That's a tall order. The question is if he can make a transition and offer something new going forward and still maintain his top draw status instead of simply re-hashing the tried and tested formula.
An all time hit, Padayappa, a relative flop, Baba, a few political false starts, and a two year hiatus from films. This was what Rajnikanth was up against. One more flop and the man would have been history for all practical purposes. Under these circumstances, selecting a come back vehicle must have been a tough call. Based on current press reports it sounds like Tamil cinema's superstar has once again delivered a super hit despite all these odds.
The film is very much an "un-Rajni" film. Its a family drama. The hero has no villain to fight against. There are no cigarette tricks, no political dialogues, no tailored punch lines. Yet, its a watchable, entertaining, and engaging film especially if you have not seen the original malayalam version, Manichitrathazhu. Despite the long break Rajnikanth does not seem to have lost his touch. As many of the usual ingredients of a typical Rajni film have been weaved into the story: An intro song with a fast moving background with scores of extras while the hero moves energetically with an MGR-esque sleight of the hand, a couple of fight sequences, a few songs (Konja Neram being my favorite), plenty of comedy etc.
Tamil films unlike Bollywood, still seems to prefer pretty faced women with well endowed back-sides. Nayanthara and Jyothika do justice to this requirement. Vadivelu's comedy is an asset to the film. Prabhu is a passenger (I guess he was more focused on the production activities). The rest of the supporting cast does a reasonable job.
As for Rajnikanth. Credit to him for having maintained himself so well. At 55 the guy is slim and trim. After his lip job, and perfect wig, and plenty of make up, Rajnikanth seems to have been geared up for a successful return to the silver screen. For once, great care has been taken in his dressing. He is well dressed throughout the film without being distracting. His racy dialogue delivery style remains intact. He did throw in his trademark sun glasses flip, barring which the conventional style was absent. Given the story and script there was little room for it. In any case, he handles his role with the utmost ease.
A lot has been written about the plot, so I am going to avoid mentioning it here again. If its a Rajni film it doesn't really matter. Does it? If you are a typical Tamil film viewer, either you are pro or against Rajnikanth. If you are pro you will like anything he dishes out. If you are anti-Rajni you will find something criticize no matter what. So the plot is inconsequential anyway!
Overall, the film is certainly worth watching, especially if you haven't seen the original Malayalam film. The background score is quite annoying (I find this to be as trend among a number of Indian films, especially the fast jerky screen movements accompanied by loud music). The music is adequate and the acting of the supporting cast decent.
Lastly, having been there and done it over and over again, I hope the superstar will use the success of this family drama, to transition to movies where he doesn't necessarily have to be portrayed as young, fighting villains, prancing around with 20 year olds etc. If he does manage to accomplish this transition, Tamil cinema would be much better served. There is no question, Rajnikanth is Tamil cinema's all time great box office draw and has remained so for over two decades. That's a tall order. The question is if he can make a transition and offer something new going forward and still maintain his top draw status instead of simply re-hashing the tried and tested formula.
India Cricket Team Coach
The contenders as reported in the press: Greg Chappell, Tom Moody, Mohinder Amarnath, Sandeep Patil, Dean Jones.
Firstly, I think Indian coaches should be eliminated from contention. Sorry, but I think an Indian coach will succumb to too many pressures -- zonal, political, personal etc. I don't think Indian cricket has reached a stage where it can accommodate an Indian coach.
As for the phirangs, IMHO that top cricketers seldom make good coaches. If you agree with this, Greg Chappell is automatically eliminated. That leaves a choice between Tom Moody and Dean Jones. I think both of them are pretty good, but if I have to pick between the two I would prefer Tom Moody because he is an all rounder. It helps to be intimately familiar at a personal level, with all aspects of the game. In this respect I think an all rounder is best equipped.
I have a strange suspicion that someone other than those mentioned in the press will eventually be chosen. Anyway, it should be interesting to see who eventually makes it. A strong communicator and a good thinker who is not afraid of any consequences is the best choice.
Firstly, I think Indian coaches should be eliminated from contention. Sorry, but I think an Indian coach will succumb to too many pressures -- zonal, political, personal etc. I don't think Indian cricket has reached a stage where it can accommodate an Indian coach.
As for the phirangs, IMHO that top cricketers seldom make good coaches. If you agree with this, Greg Chappell is automatically eliminated. That leaves a choice between Tom Moody and Dean Jones. I think both of them are pretty good, but if I have to pick between the two I would prefer Tom Moody because he is an all rounder. It helps to be intimately familiar at a personal level, with all aspects of the game. In this respect I think an all rounder is best equipped.
I have a strange suspicion that someone other than those mentioned in the press will eventually be chosen. Anyway, it should be interesting to see who eventually makes it. A strong communicator and a good thinker who is not afraid of any consequences is the best choice.
Saturday, 7 May 2005
Flying Autos are here
The airline industry in India is poised to take off in a big way. The rapid economic growth, a growing middle class, plenty of multinational companies, all combined has driven a huge demand for airlines. Quite understandably a number new airlines have enterted the fray: Jet,Sahara, Deccan, Kingfisher, Magic, Spicejet to name a few. Jet Airways, the leading and most established among these, is eyeing the international market. It has just started flights to Singapore and Middle East. The market in India is clearly huge. Airlines can be hugely profitable provided they can find the right routes and maintain affordable price levels.
Deccan airlines uses RK Laxman's "common man" as its logo/symbol signifying that its aspiring to reach the masses. They have launched a price war by announcing a limited number of seats at Re. 1 per ticket (requires 90 days advanced purchase plus some other requirements). Other airlines are threatening to follow suit. I hope these airlines survive and don't compromise on quality, safety and other bare essentials associated with air travel.
A friend of mine, aptly described his flying experience in one of these low cost airlines, "It was like a flying auto!!".
Deccan airlines uses RK Laxman's "common man" as its logo/symbol signifying that its aspiring to reach the masses. They have launched a price war by announcing a limited number of seats at Re. 1 per ticket (requires 90 days advanced purchase plus some other requirements). Other airlines are threatening to follow suit. I hope these airlines survive and don't compromise on quality, safety and other bare essentials associated with air travel.
A friend of mine, aptly described his flying experience in one of these low cost airlines, "It was like a flying auto!!".
Maid in India
Having maids to help at home has been the norm in India, particularly in Indian cities. On my recent visit to India, I realized how much the "maid industry" has grown, diversified and spawned specializations! A friend of mine has 5 maids! One for cooking and cleaning dishes, another for sweeping and washing clothes, another for cleaning the bathroom, fourth for cleaning the car and fifth for pick-up, drop off and babysitting! When some friends suggested that he re-locate to the US, his first reaction was, "Man, we can't survive without these maids!".
A minimum of three maids is almost a certainty in most households in major cities. These maids earn upwards of Rs. 1000 per month depending on their role. Most maids service several household everyday. Many of them are well dressed and extremely well to do. All of them are armed with cell phones! And pretty soon some of the high end ones will be driving cars. In short, maids in India is a rapidly growing industry. Its largely overlooked by the mainstream media and hence there is no real hard data to track its growth. With the rapid economic growth in India, the maid industry is bound to grow and more and more village folk are likely to migrate to cities to grab these job opportunities.
A minimum of three maids is almost a certainty in most households in major cities. These maids earn upwards of Rs. 1000 per month depending on their role. Most maids service several household everyday. Many of them are well dressed and extremely well to do. All of them are armed with cell phones! And pretty soon some of the high end ones will be driving cars. In short, maids in India is a rapidly growing industry. Its largely overlooked by the mainstream media and hence there is no real hard data to track its growth. With the rapid economic growth in India, the maid industry is bound to grow and more and more village folk are likely to migrate to cities to grab these job opportunities.
Monday, 2 May 2005
Movie Review: Udayananu Tharam
Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, Meena and Sreenivasan. The title translates to Udhayan is the star.
Mohanlal-Sreenivasan combo is know for many super hit malayalam films. Sreenivasan incidentally has written many of these successful stories and scripts. Here he manages to deliver another super hit. Saw the film after 100 days and it was still packed. Mohanlal plays Udhayan, a struggling movie director, story, screenplay writer. Sreenivasan is a friend and also an aspiring struggling movie star still looking for his first break.
The story revolves around how Sreenivasan's character steals Udhayan's screenplay and story and becomes a superstar overnight by insisting on acting in the film. The rest of the story revolves around how Udhayan struggles and yet comes on top at the end. Meena plays Udhayan's love interest and a leading actress in the film. The relationship between the two is particularly well handled. Mohanlal's performance is simply fantastic. The various emotions he portrays with minimum fuss is simply fascinating. He is a class act. No doubt.
The movie has some interesting twists and turns and keeps you engaged. Sreenivasan's tantrums are a little annoying but there are several comical scenes especially the reference to films stars diversifying into other business (selling parottas with their pictures on the packets). The songs are decent. Overall a good package, and hence a super hit. I hear that the malayalam films are on the decline and good movies are hard to come by. So when something even reasonable shows up a hit is almost certain. That's the local theory.
Udhayananu Tharam is definitely worth watching. I enjoyed it. Won't be surprised if a hindi version is in the works.
Mohanlal-Sreenivasan combo is know for many super hit malayalam films. Sreenivasan incidentally has written many of these successful stories and scripts. Here he manages to deliver another super hit. Saw the film after 100 days and it was still packed. Mohanlal plays Udhayan, a struggling movie director, story, screenplay writer. Sreenivasan is a friend and also an aspiring struggling movie star still looking for his first break.
The story revolves around how Sreenivasan's character steals Udhayan's screenplay and story and becomes a superstar overnight by insisting on acting in the film. The rest of the story revolves around how Udhayan struggles and yet comes on top at the end. Meena plays Udhayan's love interest and a leading actress in the film. The relationship between the two is particularly well handled. Mohanlal's performance is simply fantastic. The various emotions he portrays with minimum fuss is simply fascinating. He is a class act. No doubt.
The movie has some interesting twists and turns and keeps you engaged. Sreenivasan's tantrums are a little annoying but there are several comical scenes especially the reference to films stars diversifying into other business (selling parottas with their pictures on the packets). The songs are decent. Overall a good package, and hence a super hit. I hear that the malayalam films are on the decline and good movies are hard to come by. So when something even reasonable shows up a hit is almost certain. That's the local theory.
Udhayananu Tharam is definitely worth watching. I enjoyed it. Won't be surprised if a hindi version is in the works.
For the first time (and hopefully the last)
Saw a man hanging from a tree. Most likely committed suicide. Was driving by and saw a small crowd gathered. A few cops were taking pictures. Looked up to see what was going on, and saw a man hanging from the tree! Thankfully, I saw only below his chest because of the crowd and the traffic. It was a strange experience. Didn't know how to react. Took a while to sink in. Location: Trivandrum in Kerala, India.
Movie Review: Swades
This is a movie about a US returned NRI -- visits India in search of a loved one, gradually moved/, enamored by villages and the problems facing India, finds his lady love, and decides to live happily ever after in India, kissing goodbye to a job as a project manager at NASA. This in short is the story of Swades. The director riding on his Lagaan success has tried his best to follow a similar style/pattern. The sets are similar, some of the songs feel similar etc. But unfortunately, the movie lacks the "dum" (for lack of another word). It doesn't come even close to Lagaan. Its a little unfair to compare, but the truth is it ain't anywhere close to Lagaan. I wish the director had focused more on why the hero was so moved. This part of the film which forms its crux, was simply was not compelling enough. AR Rahman's music goes well with the movie.
I didn't find any long drawn "moral science" lesson of any sort in the movie. The new entrant Gayatri Joshi did a fine job holding her own opposite today's mega star, Shahrukh Khan, who put up a good measured performance without any overacting, thankfully. She certainly needs a more glamorous role to get into the big league in bollywood.
Overall, I thought it was an ok movie.
I didn't find any long drawn "moral science" lesson of any sort in the movie. The new entrant Gayatri Joshi did a fine job holding her own opposite today's mega star, Shahrukh Khan, who put up a good measured performance without any overacting, thankfully. She certainly needs a more glamorous role to get into the big league in bollywood.
Overall, I thought it was an ok movie.
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