Cricket's new thoroughbreds

I recently had the occasion and privilege to watch some real cricket. White flannels, red balls...the real thing you know. I grew up in the 70s. An era when cricket underwent tumultuous changes. The WSC and Kerry Packer era, introduction of night cricket, the onset of ODI's and finally the introduction of the helmet all began in this decade.

However, that would come later. For the most part we watched in awe as some brilliant cricketers tested each others skills purely with bat and ball. No helmets, ordinary protective equipment and some seriously personal battles. You had fearsome fast bowlers, dashing batsmen, relatively friendly fielding (yeah, just check out YouTube to yuk it up).

My most vivid memories are however reserved for a handful of these brilliant cricketers. Top of my list were of course India's defiant answer to the world, those 2 great little masters - Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath. Just imagine how much these gentlemen would have scored against attacks today. Playing for a weak team they each boasted an impeccable record against the top sides of the time, the Windies and Australia and the unending respect of their opponents. More importantly they played with dignity and pride in the colors of their country.

Flash forward to circa 2001 and the whole unearthing of match fixing. I still don;t believe the extent of the rumors but for sure, those were dark days to be a cricket fan. All we had as Indian fans was the boy (do I need to take his name?). He's 38 now, but still a boy. As he stands on another media celebrated threshold (99 centuries are 99 more than you or I will ever make so we need to shut up eh?) one can only thank him for keeping our belief in the game alive. This is not to denigrate other very good and even great cricketers, but purely from a credibility perspective, Sachin brooks no argument.

So back to my recent sojourn to test cricket..must confess T20 is fun but well I;m from a different era. The recently concluded Aus - SA series reaffirmed my faith in test cricket. More importantly it's unearthed a seriously brilliant talent in Pat Cummins. This kid has it all and India had better watch for him. Hes going to hurt us.

Here's my random list of young talent that's going to keep test cricket alive for the next couple of decades -

1. Pat Cummins
2. Darren Bravo
3. Stuart Broad
4. Steve Finn
5. R. Ashwin
6. Hashim Amla
7. David Bairstow (keep an eye on this kid)
8. Umesh Yadav (hope he stays fit)

Been a while since I published. The rust is telling and I think this may be my weakest post yet. Promise to do better going forward. Cheers guys...

Birthdays and Rockstar

A couple of days ago I took another step deeper into middle age. 44 years old. Yayyyy (use an ironic tone on this one while reading please)

Used to be, birthdays meant cake, sandwiches, wafers and soft drinks. Shared among friends and in our case, my sister and I. We share a birthday a few years apart. Pretty much one of a handful of things we have in common. She's fiery, I'm laconic;  she's extrovert, I well...; you get the picture.

She wasn't here. Bummer. Missed her. Damn I must learn to stay en pointe...

Well, my birthday this year was a quiet affair. A nice quiet lunch with my parents and a close friend. A movie and a chance to catch my breath, reflect on the year gone by and a look ahead to the years ahead. So much left to do....a general seeping realization that the time to rest maybe a bit further away than I'd hoped, until....

The cake!!...specially ordered by ze wife...true bliss is a chocolate hazelnut mousse cake using virgin chocolate, a nutty wafer base and little scrunches of hazelnut in every morsel. Hot damn! So much to live for!!!! Life's worth living again, heppee budde!!!

It's funny isn't it? There are times I've been feeling  totally bleahh about everything and it's all crap and you know what I'm talking about. And suddenly, a little gesture, a small piece of magic makes it all better. There's this wonderful line in an other wise decrepit film called "How do you know" where Paul Ruud's character says - 'We're one small adjustment away from making ourselves happy'. I realized that day what he was saying.

Eat cake. That's it.

________________________________________________________________________________

Saw 'Rockstar' yesterday. Really wanted to like it. Loved Ranbir Kapoor, the first half, the visuals and the scenery.

Hated Nargis Fakhri. How did she get into the movies? We should get the Razzie guys to start one for India. She'd be a shoo in. What a waste of space. 

Really disappointed with Imtiaz Ali's writing. This is a guy who's work I really like and man did I feel let down in the second half. What a cop out. Instead of focusing on the travails of the rock star lifestyle (it's not easy you know), we have our protagonist traipsing through Europe with a mannequin in some absurdly boring version of tragic romance. Everything I saw in the trailers which made me think there was a point to the whole exercise...well turned out to be meaningless pap. From that standpoint I guess it stands to reason...today's performers are all about image in any case so why should this movie be different. But did it have to be so bloody boring? And who fed the editor sleeping pills?

Shame really, because Ranbir Kapoor's performance is sincere, searing and in places downright genius. This guy has some serious acting chops and for his sake I hope he continues to do good cinema. Good luck to him.

Finally, why are our producers approaching A R Rahman to score music? He doesn't care anymore. There are 14 songs in the film. The punchline of Sadda Haq is the only one I can remember. How many can you remember after you exit the cinema hall? How many can you hum in the bath? 

It's rock music buddy, it's supposed to be simple, an opiate for the masses something that everything can sing along. Not some disjointed pretentious and unstructured pap that you're subjecting your loyal audience. This movie was a tribute to Shammi Kapoor (title credits). Does anyone recall Teesri Manzil? Now that was ground breaking stuff. Changed Bollywod music forever right? Rockstar's music does not. Sad. 

Give me Shankar - Ehsaan - Loy or Vishal - Shekhar anyday.

Progress, clutter and lousy advertising

I was playing scrabble last night. Online. I'm reasonably competent at it. and I realized (for the millionth time) how times had changed. The internet has made the world smaller (that's true...i measured it with my ruling stick).

Seriously though, on the one hand we have access to all the information we need, are able to communicate with people at the push of a button anywhere in the world, watch and listen to art forms from bygone eras and from faraway places. Wonderful stuff. so much so, that we take it for granted. It's like TV, or the radio, or the telephone, or the motor car, or the steam engine...you see what I'm getting at?

It's progress. Our great grand parents were amazed at the arrival of the telephone, the victrola and then the motor car. Our grand parents were the first generation to see the television and listen to live broadcasts. Our parents heralded the age of TV and stereo sound. They passed it on to us and we went and created the age of digital and mobile technology and then the internet.

What now? What's the next step? Everything since really has been maximizing the potential of an awesome invention call the web. The very fact that I'm writing this is proof of how far we've come. 20 years ago this would have been a journal or a diary my kid would have read after my passing. Today...well I get to share it with the world in real time (or virtually real, there's one to ponder). Way cool.

Then again, I find that my attention span isn't anything like what it used to be. I get bored easily. The amount of information available to us is perhaps more than we need.

In our urgent need to be noticed, we've created monsters. The arrival of media darlings, reality stars (what a crock) and zero talent jerk offs masquerading as superstars proliferate our consciousness precisely for the same reasons.

And what of advertising? Man, the quality of creatives (or lack thereof) screams for a reassessment of what they're teaching in advertising and marketing courses. The levels of me-too advertising are ridiculous. Maybe every creative head learnt at the feet of the same master. This must change. The biggest culprits are the big brands...ridiculous. Just take a look at Colgate's campaign/

At lunch yesterday with a friend, I was informed to my amazement that India's premier advertising industry junket (Goafest) was primarily funded by one single agency. 70% of the entries were theirs. Stands to reason that they win most of the awards, tom-tom about it  through their PR teams and grab a larger portion of the advertising pie. The cycle never ends right? Well, maybe owners should actively look for agencies with a different perspective. Someone's got to get a little brave. Who knows they might be pleasantly surprised.

The ability to annoy effortlessly

Isn't it funny how everyone of us possesses the unique ability to effortlessly annoy some people in the world in spite of our best intentions? There are of course those brilliantly talented people with the innate gift of annoying everyone all the time...Mika, Kangana Ranaut, Rakhi Sawant, Kim Kardashian...I could go on.

But I digress. I realized today that sometimes situations, mindsets, occasions and for roughly 50% of the worlds population, the time of the month (I'm going to get slammed for this !) all conspire to make a seemingly harmless situation snowball into a monster crisis with potentially catastrophic consequences. Don't know about you guys, but this scares the crap out of me. Somehow, this only happens with those you really truly care for. Then again, if you don't care for someone, you don't really mind pissing them off. He he he.

How does one deal with this? Does one stay on guard at all times? Does one rehearse what one is going to say? Is it possible to never, ever suffer from FIM (foot in mouth for the uninitiated)? I don't think it's possible.

Wise people tell you that with maturity comes wisdom.

Bullshit.

With maturity comes grey hair, a bulging midriff (I've been middle aged since birth by the way) and a cantankerous disposition (yup, that would be me as a child again). What I think happens is at some point everyone of us arrives at the conclusion - Sod it. Life's too short and we can either spending it being pissed off or let it go.

It's not forgiveness that helps us overcome annoying people. It's resignation (optimists, in your lingo it's acceptance without the smile) and the realization that no matter what you do, your only salvation resides in ice cream and junk food. They never talk back, they stay with you forever (!) and they're a constant reminder of that goofy smile on your face. I speak of course of myself here. For some it's other things (let your imagination run riot here and be honest about your own feel good...)

This seemingly rambling and directionless diatribe has achieved one purpose..I now actively crave a sundae. Time to annoy the wife again...

Have a lovely weekend friends. 

Music...mostly Music

Well actually, there's nothing important that I have to say today, so much of this is drivel. Apologies in advance.

But yes, fuel's going north again. Does this government really know how to stem this rot? Will charismatic leadership in the next elections suffice to overcome serial incompetence? Will the alternatives be any better? 

Ah this is depressing. On to other things...

I love Music. It acts as a therapeutic, mood definer, essential. I'm currently listening to the music of an Irish band called James. They're what U2 should have become rather than the corny moronic media friendly crapshoot they;ve become. Front man Tim Booth is a better, on-key version of Bono. And the musicians are simply better. Check out "Sound" from the album "Seven". Brilliant. Also get the live version from the album "getting away with it". Tracks are available on most internet radio sites (www.grooveshark.com is a good example).

In general I've realized that I don;t conform to the vast majority of musical tastes. Remixes, neo-fusion (what the hell is that anyway), Beyonce, Akon, Shakira, Justin Bieber make me cry tears of frustration. But I'm getting older and I don't expect to be in tune with what kids listen to right? The rules of "generation gaps" always hold true. But I'll tell you this...every preceding generation post World War II has had a reason for being anti-establishment. Teen angst, anger, rebellion had its roots in some serious social situations prevalent through the 50's to the 90's. Whether it was racial segregation, war, gender equality, social acceptance, orientation or global causes music acted as a mirror of the changing times. 

It's different now isn't it. Sure there are still great artists around. Just as there were meaningless artists then. But the shelf life of songs has  vanished. Andy Warhol's 15 minute prediction is wrong. It's 15 seconds of fame now. It's time to get paid and laid...the hell with anything else. It's an unfortunate fallout of that great invention - downloads. I'm all for technology guys, but I'd love to see this generation spawn another John Lennon, Bob Dylan, a Pete Townsend, Roger Waters or even a Tupac and Kurt Cobain. These guys had a voice. They had something to say, they were the voice of a generation. And you know what? They still get heard. They're still relevant.

It's the same in India too. Thanks to remixes, most party tracks are versions of songs from the days when sampling meant food tasting. Musicians actually played instruments and singers didn't aspire to acting careers (as a rule) and vice versa. 

I don't expect my view to be popular..but hey, I'll listen to anyone trying to convince me. That's the beauty of it.

Keenan and Reuben...

Mumbai RIP. The lawlessness associated with other states that we giggled over at parties and over drinks has come home to roost. How is this different from Delhi, UP, Bihar, or any other state. People saying that Mumbai is safe for women are living in la-la land. Trust me, it's cynical, but nothing will change. Two fine young men have paid the ultimate price for standing up to hooliganism. Their families have been scarred forever.

We'll martyr them for a while, some of us will cry a tear and go back to our mundane existences. How many more instances will it take for us to stop calling this place the maximum city? This is not the city I grew up in. Everyday, it sinks deeper and deeper into a quagmire of lawlessness, hooliganism and fear. It's not going to change guys. No one cares really. If we did, this wouldn't happen so brazenly. Let's stop the delusion and face up to some reality for a change. Sad, very sad.

We've brought this on ourselves. How will this change? What are the answers? I really would love to hear about it. I have a family. It means more to me than anything in the world. I want my family safe, sound and taken care of. Who guarantees it? Forget the bigger picture for a moment. That's not going to get it done. Late at night watch your loved ones while they sleep. See what it means to you. Care for that. Make sure nothing harms them. Teach them to stay safe. Stay alive. Start there.

Shameful? Encouraging people to live like mice not men? Perhaps. This is real life friends. Not a movie. Courage has a new meaning today no? It's who you know. How many guys can you rustle up to beat up two young men who stand up to you? Knowing full well, that you'll pretty much get away with it. Guys if you have that kind of clout...this city is yours to take. For simple guys like me...hell I don't know what the options are. I'm going with safety. If you have a better option do let me know. I would love to find out.

From a father, a husband and a son. My condolences to the families of Keenan and Reuben. RIP.

Spot fixing, Hugh Jackman and wannabes

Woke up this morning and saw the news..same shit, different day. The world completed another rotation, Saturn's changing locations (apparently that's a good thing) and those stupid morons masquerading as cricketers were found guilty of match fixing. The cynic in me cries out - How could you get caught? Idiots!!! Learn from the umpires...everything is human error and moral conscience. Read Lalit Modi's quote in the TOI guys - I'm not the only one who's been carping on this. Cricketers are very well paid in India, England, Australia and South Africa. It's nations like Pakistan and the West Indies which need to worry about their players. Cash strapped boards, a floundering cricket system hampered by stagnating social development and personal economic exigencies all create a series of soft targets in the form of young cricketers who feel the need for social acclaim, the trappings of wealth and be seen in the same light as their peers across the cricketing aristocracy. The era of the Imran Khans, Wasim Akrams, Intikhab Alams and Zaheer Abbas are over. Guys who plied their wares to great success and benefit in the English County Circuit and as a result became media darlings.

How different is this from the corruption in any other area of our lives? The solution isn't really as difficult as we think. Secure these guys monetary and material future, educate them on the perils and penalties of transgressing the law and protect them from shyster agents and tabloid sting based.journalism. Feel really bad for Mohammed Aamer. Hugely talented and  really misguided. Such a waste.

Kudos to the BCCI for realizing this. I'm sure there will be cases that come up but I fervently believe (I must...as a lover of the game) that corrupt cricketers are made not born. The IPL and the bonuses are players earn from winning have begun a culture of making winning a habit (believe me guys, England was an aberration - a well deserved kick in the pants).

But to go back to my pet peeve of the day. Why aren't the umpires coming under scrutiny. What gives? Without naming names, how many players have suffered at the hands of partisan umpires afraid of their country's idols records being overtaken? What remuneration do they receive compared to players? It's a full time job these days and one with great responsibility and zero gratitude. How tough would it be for them to just go the other way on a couple of marginal calls? Just a thought...

Anyway, got depressed, switched channels. "Australia" was showing on the telly. Hugh Jackman. Damn I hate that guy! No one's got a right to look that good. I am heartily sick of my wife drooling all over this useless side of beef and turning around looking at me and sighing in despair (for those who know me, it's obvious why!)

Seriously though, how come no one made a father and son flick with Clint Eastwood and Hugh Jackman essaying the main protagonists? How come no one's thinking of bringing back Dirty Harry with Hugh Jackman as Harry Callahan. I'm not kidding, this guy looks more like Clint Eastwood in his prime than anybody I can think of. Oh well...

Finally, internet tit-bit... that wannabe Kim Kardashian's getting divorced. Poor beggar Kris Humphries. The power forward's had his knees chopped off. Didn't realize he was marrying a reality star who's script demanded that she get married and divorced in the same season. Wait a minute...maybe he did and got paid for it! (NBA's locked out, players will be missing paychecks soon). Ahh who cares anyway...

I'm beginning to enjoy this stuff. If you guys are reading. Hope you are too. Would love a discussion on any subject written here or otherwise. You know how it's done. Cheers and have a lovely day.

Getting off the ground...

Fellow denizens of our lovely planet...finally off the inertia bus. Took my 5 years to get off my formidable rear to actually get down and do something I've been threatening to do forever.

I'm finally a blogger! Yay!!

Now what? Writer's block already. I thought of penning things I care about, stuff made for the ages, the brilliance of Pat Metheny's solos, Sachin Tendulkar's straight drive, Kobe Bryant's buzzer beaters, Leonardo DiCaprio's lack of Oscar attention and I realized...who give's a good goddamn? Everybody's done this..everybody knows.

So the conundrum remains. I've therefore decided that from time to time, this blog is going to present a world view that is shared by none other than yours truly. If I feel strongly about it, I'm going to jot a few lines...if I like something (unlikely really...everything's so silly these days), I'll muse. If I don't I'll piss and moan, bitch like crazy...generally vent into this great cyber void and save my friends and family the trouble of dealing with my unending litany of rubbish and sniping.

A rising sense of calm surrounds me as I write this. Maybe, just maybe I've a platform to air my meaningless point of view (gee, I'm a cyber laggard). Who knows, someone might even read it.

I'm bored now...until I feel like writing again, this is all I'm capable of for now