Back after a busy long weekend; Spent most of the time in the Studio, did manage to watch NFL and few movies on SunTV.
Sathyaraj’s spoof movie “மஹா நடிகன்” was shown on Sun TV. It was funny in places. However the irony was, just the day before [Friday] Sun TV Aired “வில்லாதி வில்லன்”, Satya Raj in triple torture mode. Man! The movie reaches its heights in the climax. GowndaMani roles over the ground for about a mile escaping 200 plus police men firing about 20,000 rounds at him for 2 minutes. But still Gowndersir escapes like a circus bear on motor bike, then jumps up and puts a gun on the judge. Forces him to change his recent judgement, he then apologizes and escapes with Satyaraj number 2 to save his girl friend from Satya raj number 3, btw: the Girl friend is daughter of Satyaraj number one who like his script spends most of the movie time on a wheel chair. Ayya Revolutionary Promise! this movie contained materials for about 10 or more spoof movies. I don’t know why the வில்லாதி வில்லன் Script was not considered while writing Maha Nadigan. Having worked more than 60% movies in this illogical fashion Mr. PromiseRaj sitting tight in a glass house has real guts to make a parody. I wish people make more parody movies in Tamil.
As expected Dada is back! I was surprised to see Parthiv Patel. Selectors dropped the Tamil Nadu wicket keeper batsmen Dinesh Kartik citing Dhonis performance in recent times. But they have picked up Parthiv Patel as a back up keeper. I feel Dinesh Kartik should be the automatic backup keeper. Dinesh! It is about time to change your name to Dineshukar and migrate some where to west side of India. Board has been unfair to this player from Tamil Nadu. Dada is not out of Controversy; Mr. More is upset about Gangully missing Ranji games for Bengal. It seems he was not exempted to miss the state games.
On Saturday I was on the DC’s popular Indian TV show “Darshan”, they interviewed and discussed about my musical efforts and my latest music album H1bees. Thanks to Alisha Thomas for the interview opportunity.
This morning Washington Post carried an Article on Call centers Written by Mitra Kalita. Also check the audio post on Indian club music by Mitra Kalita. Interesting.
Good day.
12/27/05
12/22/05
Yep! We won and moved up to number 2 position in the ICC ranking. Sri Lankans were beaten by real class, it is time to pull their socks, Jayasuriya has been recalled. I would suggest changing their captain. Sri Lanka needs to think outside Vaas and Murali. But hey why should I care.
Arun Lal struggled initially to carry the award show but soon came back to his gears. Sehwag spoke all smiling about his Team and the whole effort in broken English, Harbajan Man of the match and Kumble, the man of the series were given TV’s. What next! - Indian team will be touring Pakistan next month, Sehwag has to come good at least in Pakistan to maintain is reputation. Kaif should be dropped, Gautham Gambheer should also get the axe but Board will given him one more chance, frankly I would give one more chance to Gangully. What ever all said and done the same team will can tour Pakisthan. We never know the board and its stink tank.
Mr. More, the instant selection expert was seen sitting next Chappel and discussing something. Topic: Who will get the pink slip? Must be “Tamarind Dissolving” feeling for Kaif and Gambheer. Let us wait and see, bottom line the tour depends on how top order [Dravid, Sachin, VVS, Sehwag] performs.
Enough of Cricket, let me jump to some Extempore music!.
Yesterday evening, I was practicing by playing some music at random; yes I do practice piano or keyboards whenever I feel like. I came up with a mix;, the basic rule I followed while writing this score was to just play what ever occurred in my mind, I should not go back and correct musical parts based on theory or progressions or popularity or any other factor. No retakes also - live performance, directly drop the score on the sequencer from my head via my fingers that travels over 5 octaves of my MotifES and Korg Triton This is what I got, check it out!..
or download directly from here..click the image
Arun Lal struggled initially to carry the award show but soon came back to his gears. Sehwag spoke all smiling about his Team and the whole effort in broken English, Harbajan Man of the match and Kumble, the man of the series were given TV’s. What next! - Indian team will be touring Pakistan next month, Sehwag has to come good at least in Pakistan to maintain is reputation. Kaif should be dropped, Gautham Gambheer should also get the axe but Board will given him one more chance, frankly I would give one more chance to Gangully. What ever all said and done the same team will can tour Pakisthan. We never know the board and its stink tank.
Mr. More, the instant selection expert was seen sitting next Chappel and discussing something. Topic: Who will get the pink slip? Must be “Tamarind Dissolving” feeling for Kaif and Gambheer. Let us wait and see, bottom line the tour depends on how top order [Dravid, Sachin, VVS, Sehwag] performs.
Enough of Cricket, let me jump to some Extempore music!.
Yesterday evening, I was practicing by playing some music at random; yes I do practice piano or keyboards whenever I feel like. I came up with a mix;, the basic rule I followed while writing this score was to just play what ever occurred in my mind, I should not go back and correct musical parts based on theory or progressions or popularity or any other factor. No retakes also - live performance, directly drop the score on the sequencer from my head via my fingers that travels over 5 octaves of my MotifES and Korg Triton This is what I got, check it out!..
or download directly from here..click the image
12/20/05
Indians were 287 for 9 at close, 479 runs ahead. Harbajan and Kumble were nitpicking the Lankans and were unbeaten, an very important over night stay, now Indians gets to choose the type of roller for the morning session. Roll heavy!
Sachin gets a dubious decision in about every 4 innings. It was about time he got one, Umpire Ghauri did the needful. Sachin was playing quite well, just then a ball that pitched on off and middle bounced more than expected clearly going about the stumps stuck around his hip area, He was ruled LBW by the umpire. Ridicules!.
Sehwag got out in the first ball of the innings. He played a reckless one day stroke and was caught right royally by the 3rd man. Someone had a banner in the stadium listing a “New Indian team”, Sehwag was the 12th man and opening slot was given to Pathan and Dhoni. When it comes to opinions, we Indians are first to let it out boldly. There was also a message for Mr. Kiran More.
Yuvraj saved the day, after a duck in the first innings he came good with an excellent knock and set India towards the victory path. Kaif was pathetic in spite of hitting a six; he kept dancing around the pitch. His batting looked as though it was brain dead, someone had to just cut the food tube, Whew! Bandra and the umpire pulled the tube. What ever!, he deserved to be dropped. Gambheer the opener tried his best, at an average of around 10.change - a 10 second decision for Mr. More and Co. “DROP HIM!” [Read it using ESPN's Chris Burman’s style - FUMBLE!]
Inconsistent Agarkar played quite well and renewed his all rounder title till 2007 while Irfan got some runes and applied for the all rounder title.
Commentators: Why can’t they pick better commentators? The present group is totally boring, and most the time the commentators read from the screen captions Duh! Can’t we see it? I have no offence to the Sri Lankan Commentators, still I cannot take it more, they are so biased at times they come up with some fantastic crap. TWI=Total Waste International? Poor English presented well can be taken but poor presentation be it in English, Hindi, Tamil, Tulu ,Gujarathi or Konkini – TGS [தாங்கலடா சாமி]
479 in the 4th innings is a big “ask” for any team, however I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for an Indian victory.
PS::My name has been added to the IMDB, thanks to Arun Vaidyanathan for this addition, he made sure my name appears in IMDB.com. He sent them all the details about me and my studio. A pleasure to work with directors who takes care of his crew.
Arun! Thanks!
Sachin gets a dubious decision in about every 4 innings. It was about time he got one, Umpire Ghauri did the needful. Sachin was playing quite well, just then a ball that pitched on off and middle bounced more than expected clearly going about the stumps stuck around his hip area, He was ruled LBW by the umpire. Ridicules!.
Sehwag got out in the first ball of the innings. He played a reckless one day stroke and was caught right royally by the 3rd man. Someone had a banner in the stadium listing a “New Indian team”, Sehwag was the 12th man and opening slot was given to Pathan and Dhoni. When it comes to opinions, we Indians are first to let it out boldly. There was also a message for Mr. Kiran More.
Yuvraj saved the day, after a duck in the first innings he came good with an excellent knock and set India towards the victory path. Kaif was pathetic in spite of hitting a six; he kept dancing around the pitch. His batting looked as though it was brain dead, someone had to just cut the food tube, Whew! Bandra and the umpire pulled the tube. What ever!, he deserved to be dropped. Gambheer the opener tried his best, at an average of around 10.change - a 10 second decision for Mr. More and Co. “DROP HIM!” [Read it using ESPN's Chris Burman’s style - FUMBLE!]
Inconsistent Agarkar played quite well and renewed his all rounder title till 2007 while Irfan got some runes and applied for the all rounder title.
Commentators: Why can’t they pick better commentators? The present group is totally boring, and most the time the commentators read from the screen captions Duh! Can’t we see it? I have no offence to the Sri Lankan Commentators, still I cannot take it more, they are so biased at times they come up with some fantastic crap. TWI=Total Waste International? Poor English presented well can be taken but poor presentation be it in English, Hindi, Tamil, Tulu ,Gujarathi or Konkini – TGS [தாங்கலடா சாமி]
479 in the 4th innings is a big “ask” for any team, however I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for an Indian victory.
PS::My name has been added to the IMDB, thanks to Arun Vaidyanathan for this addition, he made sure my name appears in IMDB.com. He sent them all the details about me and my studio. A pleasure to work with directors who takes care of his crew.
Arun! Thanks!
12/16/05
Gangully gets supports from all quarters; this time is not only a Bengal affair, whole country is behind Gangully today. Lok Sabha to take this for discussion . This clearly speaks about Gangully’s popularity and his contribution to the team.
The selectors have stated there will be no reversal of decisions, this is bull #1, thinking about the Indian selection process, and selector’s qualification, the so called selection panel’s experience in the sport is almost 70% lesser than the players they select or drop. The reason is the post is an honorary job; hence there are no talented folks to take it up. Talent does not come free. What the heck, why don’t you pay them? BCCI earning – the world knows how much money they make; how can an organization survive on honorary posts to pick a team that would serve as a national pride? Once a responsible job becomes a service, right away about 90% of the candidates they get will be well below par, because they will not be called for any other job. A half baked group simply rushes to occupy jobs in spite of knowing their caliber.
Today, Mr. Kiran More’s claims, selectors and the panel are focused on taking India to next level. I like to know what the next level is. I remember the story of Frog in the well. A frog born, bought up and spoilt in a well, can think only within the boundaries of the well. The truth here is the selection panel is made up ex-cricketers and few other CEO-Cymbals [aka jalra to the CEO] . We cannot expect anything technical from the Cymbal side of the table, and the pity is the so called cricketers on other side of table have played very minimal cricket to realize the so called next level. The coach and the captain are not given a free hand and they should not open anything to the public. Their hands are tied right royally here.
Yesterday the BCCI CEO mentions that he had no clue about the decision of sacking Gangully, he came to know it via TV, - More and Co says this decision was based on performance and young blood in the team - If Gangully has been dropped based on poor performance, then why in the hell Agarkar is retained till date in spite of tons of mediocre inconsistent performance?
The coach – the day he came in we had problems, Checking his past, he does not have a clean chit, after all he is an player who asked his brother to roll the last ball, and gave a reason that his mind was not in the proper place at that time., meaning, called himself a madcap.
Indian played badly in Sri Lanka, yes top players were not in form, we had a bad time, this is the first time Gangully’s captaincy seemed to slip. However his poor batting form was used in targeting him. Coach to save his lucrative position, he complained about the captain, calls Gangully “insane”, went a step ahead and complained about his predecessor John Wright. After the Email episode subsided, he shows fingers to cricket crazy fans of India, later after a day; his ass gets covered by a lie “nursing injured hand”. Frankly if you ask me, he was let go of the hook in this issue, everyone forgot about it. Today, there are rumors that Chappell’s view was the main cause for sending him home.
Chappell’s complained about the bad boy Gangully, is it, let us rewind Chappell’s background. He has zero experience in being an International coach. The local team he coached was nothing commendable, I really doubt if Chappell knew about Gangully contribution to the team till date. imo, He is currently enjoying a free on Dravid’s expertise Coach as of now thinks that he is bigger than Indian cricket, it is matter of time for Indian cricket to pull him down to eat his own words, mark this.You may ask me what agenda he has to distort dada, well! time will expose the agenda.
For dada, please improve your service to the nation - please write a book about the internal functionalities, hungama’s and affairs of BCCI, a black box no ex-cricketer have dared to expose, you can, you have nothing to loose.
The selectors have stated there will be no reversal of decisions, this is bull #1, thinking about the Indian selection process, and selector’s qualification, the so called selection panel’s experience in the sport is almost 70% lesser than the players they select or drop. The reason is the post is an honorary job; hence there are no talented folks to take it up. Talent does not come free. What the heck, why don’t you pay them? BCCI earning – the world knows how much money they make; how can an organization survive on honorary posts to pick a team that would serve as a national pride? Once a responsible job becomes a service, right away about 90% of the candidates they get will be well below par, because they will not be called for any other job. A half baked group simply rushes to occupy jobs in spite of knowing their caliber.
Today, Mr. Kiran More’s claims, selectors and the panel are focused on taking India to next level. I like to know what the next level is. I remember the story of Frog in the well. A frog born, bought up and spoilt in a well, can think only within the boundaries of the well. The truth here is the selection panel is made up ex-cricketers and few other CEO-Cymbals [aka jalra to the CEO] . We cannot expect anything technical from the Cymbal side of the table, and the pity is the so called cricketers on other side of table have played very minimal cricket to realize the so called next level. The coach and the captain are not given a free hand and they should not open anything to the public. Their hands are tied right royally here.
Yesterday the BCCI CEO mentions that he had no clue about the decision of sacking Gangully, he came to know it via TV, - More and Co says this decision was based on performance and young blood in the team - If Gangully has been dropped based on poor performance, then why in the hell Agarkar is retained till date in spite of tons of mediocre inconsistent performance?
The coach – the day he came in we had problems, Checking his past, he does not have a clean chit, after all he is an player who asked his brother to roll the last ball, and gave a reason that his mind was not in the proper place at that time., meaning, called himself a madcap.
Indian played badly in Sri Lanka, yes top players were not in form, we had a bad time, this is the first time Gangully’s captaincy seemed to slip. However his poor batting form was used in targeting him. Coach to save his lucrative position, he complained about the captain, calls Gangully “insane”, went a step ahead and complained about his predecessor John Wright. After the Email episode subsided, he shows fingers to cricket crazy fans of India, later after a day; his ass gets covered by a lie “nursing injured hand”. Frankly if you ask me, he was let go of the hook in this issue, everyone forgot about it. Today, there are rumors that Chappell’s view was the main cause for sending him home.
Chappell’s complained about the bad boy Gangully, is it, let us rewind Chappell’s background. He has zero experience in being an International coach. The local team he coached was nothing commendable, I really doubt if Chappell knew about Gangully contribution to the team till date. imo, He is currently enjoying a free on Dravid’s expertise Coach as of now thinks that he is bigger than Indian cricket, it is matter of time for Indian cricket to pull him down to eat his own words, mark this.You may ask me what agenda he has to distort dada, well! time will expose the agenda.
For dada, please improve your service to the nation - please write a book about the internal functionalities, hungama’s and affairs of BCCI, a black box no ex-cricketer have dared to expose, you can, you have nothing to loose.
12/15/05
வன்ஜத்தில் விழுந்தாய்யடா!
The Irony of the year, Indian Captain Rahul Dravid named Gangully as one of the main contributors in India’s victory over Sri Lanka, but something happened in the next 1800 seconds, Gangully gets the pink slip from the selection committee. Today BCCI president expressed shock over dropping Gangully; he also denied any senior board member interference. It seems the Mr. Pawar got the news from the TV. Duh! How can the so called selection committee never bother to inform the president when making an important decision? Gangully has severed Indian team for quite some time. Firing him is a major decision. How can this happen without the consent of team think tanks, board presidents, members etc. This is a clear case of personal vendetta and motivated from outside.
The irony #2 a former captain who revolutionized the team with commendable performances at home and aboard gets sacked by so called selection committee in which majority of the members have never seen triple figure mark in their test cricketing life. Pathetic! Gangully return to the India side is very remote; this might be end of the road for Dada. The only console at this time is - He is not first and he will not be the last to get such raw deals from these unscrupulous, politically governed so called BCCI selection process scheme. Sachin, Dravid, VVS, Sehwag – be prepared.
The irony #2 a former captain who revolutionized the team with commendable performances at home and aboard gets sacked by so called selection committee in which majority of the members have never seen triple figure mark in their test cricketing life. Pathetic! Gangully return to the India side is very remote; this might be end of the road for Dada. The only console at this time is - He is not first and he will not be the last to get such raw deals from these unscrupulous, politically governed so called BCCI selection process scheme. Sachin, Dravid, VVS, Sehwag – be prepared.
Today's POD-CASTING[PULAMBAL OF THE DAY CASTING]உள்ளத்தில் நல்ல உள்ளம் உறன்காதென்பது வல்லவன் வகுத்ததடா ..வருவதை எதிர் கொள்ளடா....
செந்சோற்றுக் கடன் தீர்க்க சேராத இடம் சேர்ந்து வன்ஜத்தில் விழுந்தாய்யடா....
செந்சோற்றுக் கடன் தீர்க்க சேராத இடம் சேர்ந்து வன்ஜத்தில் விழுந்தாய்யடா....
12/14/05
ப கு க த
1)“We have a player (Yuvraj) who is doing better. It is not fair to drop him” ,
2)“What we felt was that Yuvraj is in good form and we are looking at future”,
3)The situation is that I don't want Ganguly at number six.
A clear case of personal vendetta - Kiran More the selection committee chair cranium, notorious for changing sides uttered those above golden words
This is totally ridiculous, Gangully has been shown the door in spite of responsible performances in a low scoring game.
“We have a player (Yuvraj) who is doing better - Mr. More? How did you arrive at this blind conclusion? Based on what facts? Yuvraj has played 14 innings till date in test cricket, and has scored about 416 runs while Gangully’s last 14 innings totals to 504. Yes skeptics, I hear Bangladesh etc, Gangully did not schedule it on his own, we cannot write off performances just because opponents are weak. It is not Gangully’s fault to schedule thumb sucking games. Board and ICC schedules matches.
Secondly what about the “experience factor”? When a lack luster and less experienced player like “More” heads the selection committee, why wasn’t Gangully’s experience ever considered? I am sure Gangully’s experience is superior to the aggregate achievements of ex-cricketers in the board. It is not correct for the Indian cricket board to treat a player of such caliber using personal vendetta. A player who has scored more than 1000 runs at least 3 times in a calendar year, a successful caption for India deserves better treatment. Gangully’s experience is definitely an added value to the team.
The replacement seems to be much more political; after lecturing about future value of team etc, they go and get a player from the history book. Wasim Jaffer, he has already been tried and has an average of some 20.change. Why? Did triple century in recent first class game help? Board is trying hard to cover up a pumpkin pie using a plate of rice. Once again the quota devil shows its ugly face. He is a west zone player, 70% of the top level board members are from West Zone. Jaffer’s selection has been influenced by this factor. I have no doubt, why get an opener to replace an all rounder instead? Currently our opener Gambheer is pathetic. The total time Gambheer spends in the middle is equal to the time taken to open a Pepsi bottle; he has failed for quite some time.
Next, if board gives a second chance to player from the history book, then what happened to a bowler called Balaji? Why he is never considered? Agarkar’s performance has been inconsistent always but some how finds his way through, what happened to the future view here? Why not give Balaji another chance? Oh Supernatural being! Please explain me about these double standards.
Renovation to the board has not changed anything, God Father Part 1 , now Part 2
பகுகத - (பழைய குருடி கதவ தரடி/பழைய குருடா கதவ தரட)
1)“We have a player (Yuvraj) who is doing better. It is not fair to drop him” ,
2)“What we felt was that Yuvraj is in good form and we are looking at future”,
3)The situation is that I don't want Ganguly at number six.
A clear case of personal vendetta - Kiran More the selection committee chair cranium, notorious for changing sides uttered those above golden words
This is totally ridiculous, Gangully has been shown the door in spite of responsible performances in a low scoring game.
“We have a player (Yuvraj) who is doing better - Mr. More? How did you arrive at this blind conclusion? Based on what facts? Yuvraj has played 14 innings till date in test cricket, and has scored about 416 runs while Gangully’s last 14 innings totals to 504. Yes skeptics, I hear Bangladesh etc, Gangully did not schedule it on his own, we cannot write off performances just because opponents are weak. It is not Gangully’s fault to schedule thumb sucking games. Board and ICC schedules matches.
Secondly what about the “experience factor”? When a lack luster and less experienced player like “More” heads the selection committee, why wasn’t Gangully’s experience ever considered? I am sure Gangully’s experience is superior to the aggregate achievements of ex-cricketers in the board. It is not correct for the Indian cricket board to treat a player of such caliber using personal vendetta. A player who has scored more than 1000 runs at least 3 times in a calendar year, a successful caption for India deserves better treatment. Gangully’s experience is definitely an added value to the team.
The replacement seems to be much more political; after lecturing about future value of team etc, they go and get a player from the history book. Wasim Jaffer, he has already been tried and has an average of some 20.change. Why? Did triple century in recent first class game help? Board is trying hard to cover up a pumpkin pie using a plate of rice. Once again the quota devil shows its ugly face. He is a west zone player, 70% of the top level board members are from West Zone. Jaffer’s selection has been influenced by this factor. I have no doubt, why get an opener to replace an all rounder instead? Currently our opener Gambheer is pathetic. The total time Gambheer spends in the middle is equal to the time taken to open a Pepsi bottle; he has failed for quite some time.
Next, if board gives a second chance to player from the history book, then what happened to a bowler called Balaji? Why he is never considered? Agarkar’s performance has been inconsistent always but some how finds his way through, what happened to the future view here? Why not give Balaji another chance? Oh Supernatural being! Please explain me about these double standards.
Renovation to the board has not changed anything, God Father Part 1 , now Part 2
பகுகத - (பழைய குருடி கதவ தரடி/பழைய குருடா கதவ தரட)
12/13/05
Luka Chuppi from Rang De Basanti , made my day, I have been longing for A.R.rahman to get back into serious form. In recent times, even good songs from him went into the drain, movies failed in the box office. Rang De Basanti raises hopes for another music storm, Luka Chuppi a well contained melodies song with minimal orchestration. It is very important to understand that just the song’s tempo does not determine the melody element in a song. Rahman and Asha Lata Mangeshkar [Surprise!] renders the song with lot of natural expressions and emotions. And song does not contain techno audio effects and stylus drum grooves; a powerful melody over simple and traditional orchestration, I suppose this is the magical ingredient which impresses many set of ears. Way to go big guy! I will get the CD this week.
India is on the winning path, Sachin's record will shine further if India wins the game, Sachin shut his skeptics down by a good century on an unpredictable Kotla track. I was wide awake to witness the history. Indians got 3 poor decisions in the first innings; this was the main reason for the sudden collapse. But yesterday Atapatu was given the benefit of doubt from a ball from Kumble which hit his pad and was destined to hit the stumps. Pathan’s played a gem of an innings in the second innings. Next test on Sunday, Sehwag will back, axe on Gangully or Yuraj or Ghambeer …never know. I felt Gangully played well but was over cautious; he should have stepped forward and played his usual strokes. But hey when job is at stake we don’t browse the internet even for emails
Good day.
India is on the winning path, Sachin's record will shine further if India wins the game, Sachin shut his skeptics down by a good century on an unpredictable Kotla track. I was wide awake to witness the history. Indians got 3 poor decisions in the first innings; this was the main reason for the sudden collapse. But yesterday Atapatu was given the benefit of doubt from a ball from Kumble which hit his pad and was destined to hit the stumps. Pathan’s played a gem of an innings in the second innings. Next test on Sunday, Sehwag will back, axe on Gangully or Yuraj or Ghambeer …never know. I felt Gangully played well but was over cautious; he should have stepped forward and played his usual strokes. But hey when job is at stake we don’t browse the internet even for emails
Good day.
12/12/05
தவமாய் தவம் இருந்து -
Cinema can be called as “another practice of Story telling”. The movie maker or the Director uses his/her strong visual commutation skill to unwrap the story in front of you. Yesterday I happened to watch a movie, in which the director takes you thorough you a journey. A journey of an ordinary human being, a journey which a common man will relate and appreciate every emotion and feeling of the celluloid reflections.
I am running out superlatives to describe this feature film. In the era of fast paced Tamil action movies with punch dialogues and chroma key shots, Director/Actor Cheran comes good in a reality show - “thavamai thavam irundu” [தவமாய் தவம் இருந்து].
Right from Bhim Singhs to Sridhars or KB’s, the Tamil cine industry has never hesitated to exploit various people sentiments and emotions, be it - Love, Mother or wedding, and many other mellow dramatic subjects. However till date I have not seen a script that opens a life of an ordinary father from a son’s perspective. The script explores, enacts the emotions and tasks faced by a father who works hard for the better of the family through out his lifetime. The script justifies the claim “head of the family”.
The main cast in the movie “Raj Kiran” , we have seen excellent performances by Sivaji Ganesan, S.V.Ranga Rao and many other stalwarts character actor of yesteryears. Today I would just add Raj Kiran into this list of stalwarts who take their acting seriously. Raj Kiran performance is natural and simply mind-boggling, I am quite confident that he is going to win awards at various levels including the nationals.
In fact every person in the movie did their part quite well. Saranya, wow! And same applies to the “anni” character. Kudos Cheran! Simply you are an amazing director to bring out so many emotions from everyone. In general every character underplays their part with subtle emotions that had so much life in them, the major plus point for this movie - No melodramatic over acting or over flow of feelings. This is sheer reality. Check this, Cheran joins engineering and goes to a class, the heroine volunteers to explain some theorems in front of the class, as she explains it with real accuracy and interest, the camera close on Cheran, he raises his one of his eyebrow slightly displaying millions of emotions. The love game starts right there!
The story is quite simple and real. The hero recollects his father’s scarifies in each and every frame. The essence of the movie: Younger son realizes his father’s only happiness and motto in life, - providing a good future to him and his brother.
The movie screen plays this realization at various stages of Son’s life.
Raj Kiran and Saraniya, typical parents with hand to mouth income spend their life for his kids. Raj Kiran runs a printing press, rides cycle every day to the city. He also takes his kids to a school in the city, gets them in the evening to his press and returns home. Put it short, “It’s been a hard day life, working like a log”, still he manages to smile and do anything for betterment of kids. The innocent nature his portray will burn emotional souls to simply cry loud.
The part that I was moved was when Raj Kiran, contrary to his belief asks the younger son [Cheran] to go and leave separate with is wife. He comes to this
conclusion based on his elder brother’s behavior, when he gets married his wife pesters him to move away, he talks to his elder son politely not knowing the sinister in him. Raj Kiran gives an innocent talk about the family, expenses and loans that he need to pay back. However in later part of life, seeing his younger one also go in the wrong way, he changes his course and belief of life and advices what is best for this son. Imo, this is what a dad is all about.
The only thing I would want to change in this movie is the background music and the songs, could have been better. I felt music lacked some serious emotions. I expected silence and different kind of emotions and different set of instrumentation, but music director[s] [Sabesh/Murali] had other plans, they catered to the Director requirement, it ends there.
Another general complain would be "too long", however in my view, such lead time is needed for so much emotion to reach you, rather hit you. When you walk out of the theater your heart and mind will be heavy for quite some time. No jokes, this is real. Mine was, for emotional guys like me, I don’t know if we can ever watch is movie again and load our heart with guilt. For western audience, a little editing will fetch this movie an Oscar, Yes! This is an Oscar material.
I have come across skeptical people who often whine about superficial father’s day celebrations, for them hey! Go see this movie.
I am running out superlatives to describe this feature film. In the era of fast paced Tamil action movies with punch dialogues and chroma key shots, Director/Actor Cheran comes good in a reality show - “thavamai thavam irundu” [தவமாய் தவம் இருந்து].
Right from Bhim Singhs to Sridhars or KB’s, the Tamil cine industry has never hesitated to exploit various people sentiments and emotions, be it - Love, Mother or wedding, and many other mellow dramatic subjects. However till date I have not seen a script that opens a life of an ordinary father from a son’s perspective. The script explores, enacts the emotions and tasks faced by a father who works hard for the better of the family through out his lifetime. The script justifies the claim “head of the family”.
The main cast in the movie “Raj Kiran” , we have seen excellent performances by Sivaji Ganesan, S.V.Ranga Rao and many other stalwarts character actor of yesteryears. Today I would just add Raj Kiran into this list of stalwarts who take their acting seriously. Raj Kiran performance is natural and simply mind-boggling, I am quite confident that he is going to win awards at various levels including the nationals.
In fact every person in the movie did their part quite well. Saranya, wow! And same applies to the “anni” character. Kudos Cheran! Simply you are an amazing director to bring out so many emotions from everyone. In general every character underplays their part with subtle emotions that had so much life in them, the major plus point for this movie - No melodramatic over acting or over flow of feelings. This is sheer reality. Check this, Cheran joins engineering and goes to a class, the heroine volunteers to explain some theorems in front of the class, as she explains it with real accuracy and interest, the camera close on Cheran, he raises his one of his eyebrow slightly displaying millions of emotions. The love game starts right there!
The story is quite simple and real. The hero recollects his father’s scarifies in each and every frame. The essence of the movie: Younger son realizes his father’s only happiness and motto in life, - providing a good future to him and his brother.
The movie screen plays this realization at various stages of Son’s life.
Raj Kiran and Saraniya, typical parents with hand to mouth income spend their life for his kids. Raj Kiran runs a printing press, rides cycle every day to the city. He also takes his kids to a school in the city, gets them in the evening to his press and returns home. Put it short, “It’s been a hard day life, working like a log”, still he manages to smile and do anything for betterment of kids. The innocent nature his portray will burn emotional souls to simply cry loud.
The part that I was moved was when Raj Kiran, contrary to his belief asks the younger son [Cheran] to go and leave separate with is wife. He comes to this
conclusion based on his elder brother’s behavior, when he gets married his wife pesters him to move away, he talks to his elder son politely not knowing the sinister in him. Raj Kiran gives an innocent talk about the family, expenses and loans that he need to pay back. However in later part of life, seeing his younger one also go in the wrong way, he changes his course and belief of life and advices what is best for this son. Imo, this is what a dad is all about.
The only thing I would want to change in this movie is the background music and the songs, could have been better. I felt music lacked some serious emotions. I expected silence and different kind of emotions and different set of instrumentation, but music director[s] [Sabesh/Murali] had other plans, they catered to the Director requirement, it ends there.
Another general complain would be "too long", however in my view, such lead time is needed for so much emotion to reach you, rather hit you. When you walk out of the theater your heart and mind will be heavy for quite some time. No jokes, this is real. Mine was, for emotional guys like me, I don’t know if we can ever watch is movie again and load our heart with guilt. For western audience, a little editing will fetch this movie an Oscar, Yes! This is an Oscar material.
I have come across skeptical people who often whine about superficial father’s day celebrations, for them hey! Go see this movie.
12/9/05
Sehwag is ruled out of Second test, he called in sick reason:தொண்டைல கீச்கீச் [இரட்டை கிளவி] [cc: thoNdaila kIchkIch]. Captain Dravid missed a practice session, and he also called in sick. So who would be the interim captain?
or Kaif [but he is in the verge of being sick]
or VVS [he is technically sick and and a *rick]
Or Gangully? [Chappel will fall sick]
or Kumble? [??????]
or Agarkar ? [this thought itself makes me Sick ]
Sachin? Just before appointing Dravid, board did asked Sachin if he would be interested in this portfolio, he had clearly denied this offer, [my nitpicking friend from Mumbai, my source: R.Mohan’s interview in Vikatan that came about month ago] Why not Irfan? Other than Keeping he has opened batting, played top/middle/bottom order, by the way he can also bowl, Why not experiment him with Captaincy? What ever, Mr. Coach states Dravid shall play so there is no question about an interim captain. Team composition or confusion, we will know! it soon.
More Rains in Tamil Nadu, while DC metro had about 3-6 inches of snow this morning, however the snow ended just in time for the morning commute mess.
Sunday 11th Dec , is Mahakavi Bharathi’s 123rd Birthday, my good friend Srikanth Meenakshihad designed some T-Shirts for Charity purpose with Bharathi's face and punch lines, You can download all of the song from my Mahakavi Album here
Have a great weekend.
or Kaif [but he is in the verge of being sick]
or VVS [he is technically sick and and a *rick]
Or Gangully? [Chappel will fall sick]
or Kumble? [??????]
or Agarkar ? [this thought itself makes me Sick ]
Sachin? Just before appointing Dravid, board did asked Sachin if he would be interested in this portfolio, he had clearly denied this offer, [my nitpicking friend from Mumbai, my source: R.Mohan’s interview in Vikatan that came about month ago] Why not Irfan? Other than Keeping he has opened batting, played top/middle/bottom order, by the way he can also bowl, Why not experiment him with Captaincy? What ever, Mr. Coach states Dravid shall play so there is no question about an interim captain. Team composition or confusion, we will know! it soon.
More Rains in Tamil Nadu, while DC metro had about 3-6 inches of snow this morning, however the snow ended just in time for the morning commute mess.
Sunday 11th Dec , is Mahakavi Bharathi’s 123rd Birthday, my good friend Srikanth Meenakshihad designed some T-Shirts for Charity purpose with Bharathi's face and punch lines, You can download all of the song from my Mahakavi Album here
Have a great weekend.
12/8/05
"Fanoos" is nearing Chennai, “Fanoos” = hanging lantern. What the heck it is?, another one of those deep sea depressions that bring in rain. How does a cyclone compare itself to a hanging lantern? No clue - after all the word Katrina in German means "Pure". So from a Hindi name “Bazz” we have now moved to an Egyptian name. As Arun mentioned few days ago in Blog, my suggestion would be use demons name as “Kamsan”, “Duchadanan” etc. But hey that is வட மொழி [cc:vada mozi] we don’t support any “வட” [cc:vada], தயிர் வடா [cc:thayir vada] or மெது வடா [cc:medu vada] mozies. It is about time for the “Tamil defenders” to do perform a “dharna” aka “slap stick comedy” in front of the Weather office.[Closing captaining provided by TTTTTAUSA]
When a company replaces top management, many changes can be expected, BCCI is going through such changes, it seems BCCI will invite fresh tenders for Cricket Coverage and Team Sponsors, son the “SAHARA” Indian team can change, if a company with a longer gets the sponsorship, for example “SmithKlineBeecham”, the logo would occupy both the sides “Smith Kline[PTO]Beecham” What ever, we will never know if BCCI would come clean out of this quagmire.
Listen to OliFm at work, a nice little web radio station from Toronto, Canada that plays many new Tamil songs in pure digital form. They also air my songs, right from 80s from Chennai to the latest “Engineering mark”. :)
Stay warm!.
When a company replaces top management, many changes can be expected, BCCI is going through such changes, it seems BCCI will invite fresh tenders for Cricket Coverage and Team Sponsors, son the “SAHARA” Indian team can change, if a company with a longer gets the sponsorship, for example “SmithKlineBeecham”, the logo would occupy both the sides “Smith Kline[PTO]Beecham” What ever, we will never know if BCCI would come clean out of this quagmire.
Listen to OliFm at work, a nice little web radio station from Toronto, Canada that plays many new Tamil songs in pure digital form. They also air my songs, right from 80s from Chennai to the latest “Engineering mark”. :)
Stay warm!.
Today's POD-CASTING[PULAMBAL OF THE DAY CASTING]DC power ball is 100 million. Mmm…
12/7/05
Microsoft will be investing more in India.
"My dream is to create a computer for every desk and every home. In India, we have not yet scratched the surface," Gates said. He will skip Banglore and will be visiting Chennai instead.
"My dream is to create a computer for every desk and every home. In India, we have not yet scratched the surface," Gates said. He will skip Banglore and will be visiting Chennai instead.
12/6/05
The remarkable first test comes to an end, I was surprised to see many people show up for a dead game, “hehe” I did watch it to, I watched it for few other reason, one is nostalgic, It is a pleasure to watch your home town from other side of the world, little glimpse of good old MAC, D stand, A stand, the ground noise and the ambience a real pleasure that cannot be missed.
As far as Indian team was concerned they were given free unlimited meals tokens. Dravid and Sachin make sure they got enough “gaj”, Sachin’s decision was not 100% correct infact any other player say “Ponting or Smith” would have got the benefit of doubt. VVS was pathetic and was run out thanks to Dada who claimed his wicket. Dada was tensed, and his usual smile seemed missing. Pressure I suppose, he has to play and score runs inorder to be in the team. Dhoni came in as though he was there to win a war, he wanted to hit everything including few flies in empty stands, but…was cleaned soon. Over all Indians wasted the free meals tokens. Could not take it longer, I went to bed after the lunch break. Morning I woke up to see “damn it” the Match was drawn [Duh!], I thought! Ok, what ever! I feel Lankan’s have gained a psychological advantage over India. Lot of support for Gangully and Dhoni in Chennai, and one interesting thing - many banners written in HINDI!, halo! When did Tamilans get the heart to learn Hindi? “Dude! Tamil Nadu is growing up chill out now” Why do I say this? Just read below...
Yesterday’s issue of Washington post carried a fantastic article on Chennai. The article was titled, “Detroit's Next Big Threat” written by Sebastian Mallaby. Columnist Mr. Mallaby predicts Chennai automobile industry is at critical point and its output will soon compensate its dodgy infrastructure. He says Chennai also shows why India succeeds in software and services. It seems 10 years ago none of our products had international standards however today the industry is grown such that almost all automobile companies adhere to strict international standards and have almost every international certification possible. He names few top companies of Chennai including TVS and the Rane group. It seems Sundram Fasteners [TVS group of companies] has won a General Motors "Supplier of the Year" award five times, and it supplies 100 percent of GM's radiator caps. Go Chennai! Go!.
As far as Indian team was concerned they were given free unlimited meals tokens. Dravid and Sachin make sure they got enough “gaj”, Sachin’s decision was not 100% correct infact any other player say “Ponting or Smith” would have got the benefit of doubt. VVS was pathetic and was run out thanks to Dada who claimed his wicket. Dada was tensed, and his usual smile seemed missing. Pressure I suppose, he has to play and score runs inorder to be in the team. Dhoni came in as though he was there to win a war, he wanted to hit everything including few flies in empty stands, but…was cleaned soon. Over all Indians wasted the free meals tokens. Could not take it longer, I went to bed after the lunch break. Morning I woke up to see “damn it” the Match was drawn [Duh!], I thought! Ok, what ever! I feel Lankan’s have gained a psychological advantage over India. Lot of support for Gangully and Dhoni in Chennai, and one interesting thing - many banners written in HINDI!, halo! When did Tamilans get the heart to learn Hindi? “Dude! Tamil Nadu is growing up chill out now” Why do I say this? Just read below...
Yesterday’s issue of Washington post carried a fantastic article on Chennai. The article was titled, “Detroit's Next Big Threat” written by Sebastian Mallaby. Columnist Mr. Mallaby predicts Chennai automobile industry is at critical point and its output will soon compensate its dodgy infrastructure. He says Chennai also shows why India succeeds in software and services. It seems 10 years ago none of our products had international standards however today the industry is grown such that almost all automobile companies adhere to strict international standards and have almost every international certification possible. He names few top companies of Chennai including TVS and the Rane group. It seems Sundram Fasteners [TVS group of companies] has won a General Motors "Supplier of the Year" award five times, and it supplies 100 percent of GM's radiator caps. Go Chennai! Go!.
12/5/05
Sun TV now airs the greatest game on Show on TV “Gold Hunt” aka “தகதகதகதகதகதங்க வேட்டை”. Hosted by “Padaiappa” fame Ramya Krishnan, who spends first 10 minutes of show explaining her makeup, ornaments, dress etc; sponsors exploit this occasion by providing their top of the line garments and gold wares. However I wish Colgate gets into the sponsorship, so that they can supply her with few tooth brushes and paste.
Two family compete to “pick” [தமிழ்ல சொன்ன ……] gold coins for every right answer. Actually participants seem to enjoy it but for us the viewers, the agony multiplies, – for every right answer we need to watch the participant’s “hand” pick the gold coin in slow motion with back ground music similar to Macana’s gold. For every wrong answer, Ramya drops the coins in a fish tank, the coins thus collected in the fish tank can be won by the viewers by sending in a SMS. Ramyaji speculates this throughout the show and will not tell the reason for the fish tank collection. Duh!.
Questions to the show makers;
Who frames fantastic questions like "யானைக்கு எத்தனை கால்?" or
பூனைக்கு எத்தனை வால்?"
Why there are questions about Hindu gods? Something is wrong principally! right?
What is the significance of the rubber snake props found in each Egyptian “treasure” chests?
Also I noted this, there were about 10,000 Tamil Violations in most Suv TV programs, people can call sun TV Channel as “Tamil Violation” channel. Self proclaimed Tamil watchmen [காவலர்கல்][ who often pardon SunTV for such mishaps are on vacation I suppose,I think it is better to remove letters like "ள் ழ் ழ" from Tamil to prevent language mishaps on SunTV.
Violation 1: The choices for each questions uses “ABCD”, this is pathetic, don’t we have “life letters” like அ ஆ இ ஈ ? [எனக்கு ஏன் ஊர் வம்பு இது மருத்துவர்/compounder problem]
Violation 2: why A studio set with Egyptians mummies in spite of having fantastic architectural values in Tamil Nadu?
Violation 3 [சந்துல சிந்து]: In the program, "மீண்டும் மீண்டும் சிரிப்பு" 90% of the times the hero consumes alcohol with his friends. This is shown quite cleary in closeup shots.
And many more…..Violations are so many it warrents a "balai et danse de poussoirs" near sun TV office or near Ramya Krishnan’s or Murthy's home.
ps: Many parts of Chennai are under water, 1000s are stranded in the rain. People need help. I am sure Government is doing their best. However SUNTV did not waste single minute, they were busy trying to score points over the ruling party at every possible given opportunity. idhu thanda - "சன்"துல சிந்து.
If you have not known this, the 1st between has started in Chennai about 5hrs ago and it will end it another 8 hrs. Until next rain there will be no international cricket in Chennai.
Good day.
Two family compete to “pick” [தமிழ்ல சொன்ன ……] gold coins for every right answer. Actually participants seem to enjoy it but for us the viewers, the agony multiplies, – for every right answer we need to watch the participant’s “hand” pick the gold coin in slow motion with back ground music similar to Macana’s gold. For every wrong answer, Ramya drops the coins in a fish tank, the coins thus collected in the fish tank can be won by the viewers by sending in a SMS. Ramyaji speculates this throughout the show and will not tell the reason for the fish tank collection. Duh!.
Questions to the show makers;
Who frames fantastic questions like "யானைக்கு எத்தனை கால்?" or
பூனைக்கு எத்தனை வால்?"
Why there are questions about Hindu gods? Something is wrong principally! right?
What is the significance of the rubber snake props found in each Egyptian “treasure” chests?
Also I noted this, there were about 10,000 Tamil Violations in most Suv TV programs, people can call sun TV Channel as “Tamil Violation” channel. Self proclaimed Tamil watchmen [காவலர்கல்][ who often pardon SunTV for such mishaps are on vacation I suppose,I think it is better to remove letters like "ள் ழ் ழ" from Tamil to prevent language mishaps on SunTV.
Violation 1: The choices for each questions uses “ABCD”, this is pathetic, don’t we have “life letters” like அ ஆ இ ஈ ? [எனக்கு ஏன் ஊர் வம்பு இது மருத்துவர்/compounder problem]
Violation 2: why A studio set with Egyptians mummies in spite of having fantastic architectural values in Tamil Nadu?
Violation 3 [சந்துல சிந்து]: In the program, "மீண்டும் மீண்டும் சிரிப்பு" 90% of the times the hero consumes alcohol with his friends. This is shown quite cleary in closeup shots.
And many more…..Violations are so many it warrents a "balai et danse de poussoirs" near sun TV office or near Ramya Krishnan’s or Murthy's home.
ps: Many parts of Chennai are under water, 1000s are stranded in the rain. People need help. I am sure Government is doing their best. However SUNTV did not waste single minute, they were busy trying to score points over the ruling party at every possible given opportunity. idhu thanda - "சன்"துல சிந்து.
If you have not known this, the 1st between has started in Chennai about 5hrs ago and it will end it another 8 hrs. Until next rain there will be no international cricket in Chennai.
Good day.
12/1/05
Yesterday I ventured into a Desi fast food near my place. HOTBREADS - the famous Desi fast food franchise. They opened about a month ago; many of my friends were talking about the fast food and pastries Yes! They have a wide variety of fast food items with Indian flavor. If you travel around Kentland Blvd area in Gaithersburg, make sure you drop in, it is worth the money. Their service is also quick and fantastic. Don’t miss their VadaPav and the mango mousse….Address: 70 Market street (Kentlands) Gaithersburg - MD 20878 (Maryland) [Next to Lowes]
Be it dry or wet, when it comes to Chennai - Water seems to be a perennial problem. The first test match could drain into Marina for nothing. It is very sad to see BCCI not being concerned about the sentiments of Chennai people who love this game. Usually Cricket matches are played in Chennai during Pongal time frame. I hope the cricket loving people in Chennai sue this slipshod attitude of BCCI and TNCA. Anyways I would be subscribing to willow TV to catch the game.
If you have super dish at home please check the ASIAN FM channel. Looks like a Non-Stop Desi radio station.
Back to work.
Be it dry or wet, when it comes to Chennai - Water seems to be a perennial problem. The first test match could drain into Marina for nothing. It is very sad to see BCCI not being concerned about the sentiments of Chennai people who love this game. Usually Cricket matches are played in Chennai during Pongal time frame. I hope the cricket loving people in Chennai sue this slipshod attitude of BCCI and TNCA. Anyways I would be subscribing to willow TV to catch the game.
If you have super dish at home please check the ASIAN FM channel. Looks like a Non-Stop Desi radio station.
Back to work.
11/29/05
Tuesday! Talk.
BCCI members elected their new president; usually every BCCI election is trick or treat event, or “பொம்மலாட்ம்” [Dollmia Puppet show] . This time the election was overseen by Election commission of India. So we can expect some sanity.
Mr. Jagmohan Dalmia bites dust and will have to stepped down after running his show for around 20000 years. Union minister Mr. Sharad Pawar gets the power to control the most lucrative game in India. The only game body in India that did not have any political control or influence was cricket; this was one main reason for Cricket being successful in India. Good thing is Mr. Dalmia and his cronies were shown the door for now but getting in a political leader to govern is a concern; let us hope for the best.
Dravid was all praise for his team and thanked everyone. Dravid passed the exam with flying colors. Under his reign India seems to perform much better.
Pathan bowling spell for precise and probing, while Agarkar was mediocre and lacked consistency in fact he was pathetic. Balaji where did he go? I am sure he deserves another chance. Sachin started off with some fantastic strokes, but was out to an unbelievable catch by Prince.
Umpiring issues: When players are penalized for their “wrong doings” Why not treat the umpire in the same fashion? Two LBW decisions yesterday went against India; Butcher was plumb to Murli Kartik, while Sehwag LBW decision was dreadful, both the decision came at a crucial juncture. Sehwag and Sachin were blasting every bowler around when Sehwag was given out. This slowed down the innings, Dravid was very tentative for first 30 minutes at least. However he played a captain’s knock to see India home.
My point is such umpiring incidents make me speculate about umpire Harper; it makes me feel that he had an agenda in mind to upset India. Like players Umpires needs to be penalized or Captains should get an opportunity to appeal against such ruthless decisions that could change the outcome of a hard fought series. Did ICC announce New Year bonus for its employees? I was very much worried to see Jeff Crowe as the match referee; he is notorious for fine collection.
Sri Lankan Test series starts on Dec 2nd 2005 in Chennai; Hope we get some game time as rain gods have been too liberal and at times brutal towards Chennai. “Goliath” Gangully will back but he has come to good - really good, there is no “DOLLMIA” to support him. All the best DADA.
Mr. Jagmohan Dalmia bites dust and will have to stepped down after running his show for around 20000 years. Union minister Mr. Sharad Pawar gets the power to control the most lucrative game in India. The only game body in India that did not have any political control or influence was cricket; this was one main reason for Cricket being successful in India. Good thing is Mr. Dalmia and his cronies were shown the door for now but getting in a political leader to govern is a concern; let us hope for the best.
Dravid was all praise for his team and thanked everyone. Dravid passed the exam with flying colors. Under his reign India seems to perform much better.
Pathan bowling spell for precise and probing, while Agarkar was mediocre and lacked consistency in fact he was pathetic. Balaji where did he go? I am sure he deserves another chance. Sachin started off with some fantastic strokes, but was out to an unbelievable catch by Prince.
Umpiring issues: When players are penalized for their “wrong doings” Why not treat the umpire in the same fashion? Two LBW decisions yesterday went against India; Butcher was plumb to Murli Kartik, while Sehwag LBW decision was dreadful, both the decision came at a crucial juncture. Sehwag and Sachin were blasting every bowler around when Sehwag was given out. This slowed down the innings, Dravid was very tentative for first 30 minutes at least. However he played a captain’s knock to see India home.
My point is such umpiring incidents make me speculate about umpire Harper; it makes me feel that he had an agenda in mind to upset India. Like players Umpires needs to be penalized or Captains should get an opportunity to appeal against such ruthless decisions that could change the outcome of a hard fought series. Did ICC announce New Year bonus for its employees? I was very much worried to see Jeff Crowe as the match referee; he is notorious for fine collection.
Sri Lankan Test series starts on Dec 2nd 2005 in Chennai; Hope we get some game time as rain gods have been too liberal and at times brutal towards Chennai. “Goliath” Gangully will back but he has come to good - really good, there is no “DOLLMIA” to support him. All the best DADA.
11/28/05
Monday!
Nov 28th, 1996, boarded an Indian airlines flight to Delhi from where United 747 took us to Chicago via London. We landed 1/2 sleep, cleared the daunting immigration, landed in Minneapolis along with 20 inches of snow. Clueless we were about our future, we started our life, a life similar to a roller coaster ride, today 9 years gone, and we are here! With great friends, family; Thank you god!
India lost the Kolkotta one day game, I really like to know “the experimental reason” for asking Irfan to open, that too when Dravid had time and again mentioned that he is still a bowler in the team. I would never meddle with the top order for a crucial game; I found the idea of promoting Irfan simply ridiculous. Greg Chappel got into some more controversies; it seems he managed to show the middle finger to a bunch of Gangully fans picketing outside the stadium. Though they deserve it, I think the coach should take the higher road in these kinds of issues. Players like Kiriti azad had cribbed as though this was against the “so called culture” I think it is bull, the same fanatics burnt effigies and “slippered” pictures of Chappel before TV cameras. Is this our culture?
Yesterday on Sapthaswarangal [SunTV], the drummer who played for JPR College of engineering, was simply excellent, great sense of timing and perfection, I am sure he has a great future and will come round the Kodambakkam community. The winner of the show was Loyola collage Thanks to their vocalists “Harish” he was amazing and sang with perfection. The keyboardists were also too good and played some tough Raja-Phrases of the 80s with ease. It was really nice to see such young talents have a stage to present them. Thanks to SunTv , in the midst of dull boring soaps, these kinds of musical shows create some sanity in the entertainment values. Talking of soaps I peeked into the serial Kolangal, Yuk!, that’s it. It is really pathetic to see so called “Tamil” creativity reach a new lower level of degradation.
We had a great thanks giving, friends of ours visited, we spent the whole long weekend end talking music, movies and cricket.
We were 191/4 when I uploaded this page; I hope we level the series.
India lost the Kolkotta one day game, I really like to know “the experimental reason” for asking Irfan to open, that too when Dravid had time and again mentioned that he is still a bowler in the team. I would never meddle with the top order for a crucial game; I found the idea of promoting Irfan simply ridiculous. Greg Chappel got into some more controversies; it seems he managed to show the middle finger to a bunch of Gangully fans picketing outside the stadium. Though they deserve it, I think the coach should take the higher road in these kinds of issues. Players like Kiriti azad had cribbed as though this was against the “so called culture” I think it is bull, the same fanatics burnt effigies and “slippered” pictures of Chappel before TV cameras. Is this our culture?
Yesterday on Sapthaswarangal [SunTV], the drummer who played for JPR College of engineering, was simply excellent, great sense of timing and perfection, I am sure he has a great future and will come round the Kodambakkam community. The winner of the show was Loyola collage Thanks to their vocalists “Harish” he was amazing and sang with perfection. The keyboardists were also too good and played some tough Raja-Phrases of the 80s with ease. It was really nice to see such young talents have a stage to present them. Thanks to SunTv , in the midst of dull boring soaps, these kinds of musical shows create some sanity in the entertainment values. Talking of soaps I peeked into the serial Kolangal, Yuk!, that’s it. It is really pathetic to see so called “Tamil” creativity reach a new lower level of degradation.
We had a great thanks giving, friends of ours visited, we spent the whole long weekend end talking music, movies and cricket.
We were 191/4 when I uploaded this page; I hope we level the series.
11/22/05
Great Depression of Chennai
50,000+ cricket fans went depressed today in Chennai, thanks to the clipper “depression” that sailed over Chennai. Third time in a row people of Chennai were denied from watching good game of cricket. When India was all set to beat Australia, the final day’s play was washed out, and then the washout New Zealand game, now one more to the list.
When it comes to good cricket, Chennai is already under the Set top box fiasco spell, now it is the turn of the weather gods; Mr. Varuna is really stingy when it comes to Chennai, but he suddenly decides to shed his charitable contributions over Chennai. Alas one more game gobbled by a depression from Bay of Bengal. It was kind of sad to watch people who showed up for the game busy cursing the rain god, the irony here is for past few years the city has been trying very hard to impress Mr. Varuna, he was their temporary enemy today.
Most went back home just in time to catch the evening quota of Tele serials that establishes Tamil culture and its heritage. This also includes reality shows called “News” where we get to see tamil men and tamil women with broom sticks cursing in pure Tamil about some one in full throat.
It is not very surprising to know that BCCI have no clue about geography in general. They don’t know even their own boss till date, so how will they know the north East Monsoon around the Coromandal Coast? A school kid will tell you that it rains cats and dogs or if not at least some rats in Chennai during October and November time frame. What is the point in scheduling a game during this period? Chennai does having a fantastic competitive stadium, so what? Our proud TNCA is always on the bad books of BCCI for political reasons; so we don’t get good games, if at all we get, it rains out. Out of 50,000, I hope at least 40,000 loyal cricket fans get their money refunded; the rest 10,000 allocated were OC tickets anyway.
Sitting on the other side of the world, I woke up this morning at about 3.55am, just to catch glimpse of my home town, when the camera pans I would look for someone I know. My little Banner which I made - "Rain Rain go away - come again another day" our little Sachin want to play! Went waste; Kolkota, here we come!
Good day.
Ps: Please donate your old geography books to BCCI.
When it comes to good cricket, Chennai is already under the Set top box fiasco spell, now it is the turn of the weather gods; Mr. Varuna is really stingy when it comes to Chennai, but he suddenly decides to shed his charitable contributions over Chennai. Alas one more game gobbled by a depression from Bay of Bengal. It was kind of sad to watch people who showed up for the game busy cursing the rain god, the irony here is for past few years the city has been trying very hard to impress Mr. Varuna, he was their temporary enemy today.
Most went back home just in time to catch the evening quota of Tele serials that establishes Tamil culture and its heritage. This also includes reality shows called “News” where we get to see tamil men and tamil women with broom sticks cursing in pure Tamil about some one in full throat.
It is not very surprising to know that BCCI have no clue about geography in general. They don’t know even their own boss till date, so how will they know the north East Monsoon around the Coromandal Coast? A school kid will tell you that it rains cats and dogs or if not at least some rats in Chennai during October and November time frame. What is the point in scheduling a game during this period? Chennai does having a fantastic competitive stadium, so what? Our proud TNCA is always on the bad books of BCCI for political reasons; so we don’t get good games, if at all we get, it rains out. Out of 50,000, I hope at least 40,000 loyal cricket fans get their money refunded; the rest 10,000 allocated were OC tickets anyway.
Sitting on the other side of the world, I woke up this morning at about 3.55am, just to catch glimpse of my home town, when the camera pans I would look for someone I know. My little Banner which I made - "Rain Rain go away - come again another day" our little Sachin want to play! Went waste; Kolkota, here we come!
Good day.
Ps: Please donate your old geography books to BCCI.
11/21/05
Monday!
Over the weekend, watched a movie on DVD called 'Ullam Ketkumae’. I liked the movie for its theme and clean screen play. We have seen similar movies about collage love, fun etc, however the young cast in this movie made it more realistic. No “heroism” or “Chroma key” fights or “Punch Dialogues”, or “Teacher teasing in name of comedy” or “over loaded soft core porno” a set of simple love stories /infatuations that is knitted around college life. Characters in the movie can found in everyone’s school life. Harris Jeyaraj does a fine job in few songs however in every song he uses some weird language for the hook phrase, “Lieko Laima” was one such thing I am yet to understand. There were some impressive English lyrics too, however singing seemed too loud. I wish more movies are made in this manner and this movie would be really interesting if the running time is reduced by 60 minutes. Since the director has to cater for 3 hours, he had to include some dragging Tamil movie elements.
Yesterday evening saw “BABA the movie” on Sun TV, since this has been discussed I have nothing more to comment on this, however the end of the movie there was a note - “to be continued..” I really don’t know what the intention was, may be “BABA” becomes a post graduate, which is “ ” Thank god as Rajini fan I have Chandramuki to celebrate.
It is been raining in Chennai; one day might be washed out or a shortened game are in cards. India won the Banglore one day in style. Sehwag played a good innings to ensure his place in the team. Weekend I was also busy with few recordings and composing sessions. Yes! Another project in the pipe line already and things are starting to pick up. Expect some announcements end of next month.
Lieko laima – Have a Good day.
Yesterday evening saw “BABA the movie” on Sun TV, since this has been discussed I have nothing more to comment on this, however the end of the movie there was a note - “to be continued..” I really don’t know what the intention was, may be “BABA” becomes a post graduate, which is “ ” Thank god as Rajini fan I have Chandramuki to celebrate.
It is been raining in Chennai; one day might be washed out or a shortened game are in cards. India won the Banglore one day in style. Sehwag played a good innings to ensure his place in the team. Weekend I was also busy with few recordings and composing sessions. Yes! Another project in the pipe line already and things are starting to pick up. Expect some announcements end of next month.
Lieko laima – Have a Good day.
11/18/05
H1BEES NEWS
(1) Interview with Srikanth Devarajan, Shankar Nagarajan, and Srivatsa Srinivasan, the team behind the CD "H1-Bees by Srikanth" By Ada/AV team, UCLA International institute. Published on: 11/15/2005 -
Click Here.., Thanks to Ana La O' for the interview;
(2) The popular Indian Pod cast show – “A Pod Cast on Indian Music” has featured H1BEES which includes some of the old compositions of Srikanth. Srikanth/Shankar and Srivatsa spoke to Amit Varshneya, the host for the show.
Thanks Amit for featuring us.
Other news
============
(3) CD Baby Restocked our Cds ,If you have not ordered the CD yet, you can order it via www.cdBaby.com/srikanth
Have a good weekend.
Thanks.,
Click Here.., Thanks to Ana La O' for the interview;
(2) The popular Indian Pod cast show – “A Pod Cast on Indian Music” has featured H1BEES which includes some of the old compositions of Srikanth. Srikanth/Shankar and Srivatsa spoke to Amit Varshneya, the host for the show.
Thanks Amit for featuring us.
Other news
============
(3) CD Baby Restocked our Cds ,If you have not ordered the CD yet, you can order it via www.cdBaby.com/srikanth
Have a good weekend.
Thanks.,
11/16/05
********** An Update
After a month long empty “hundis”, ICC finally managed to get some doe in their coffers.
Harbajan fined 25% of his match fee. Jeff Crowe fined Harbajan for gestures against Ashwell Prince. It seems Harbajan pleaded guilty and fine was reduced by to 25%, this offense carries an 50% forfeiture.Duh! there goes the 6 star dinner for ICC members.
seriously, my question is: How come Crowe missed Mel's ill behavior and gestures to the Indian batsmen? But managed promptly to ticket Harbajan? May be the South Africans “caught the Crow” well ahead of the game. This is Ridiculous! Dear Banglorians if he is still around for the next game don’t give him Water.
Harbajan fined 25% of his match fee. Jeff Crowe fined Harbajan for gestures against Ashwell Prince. It seems Harbajan pleaded guilty and fine was reduced by to 25%, this offense carries an 50% forfeiture.Duh! there goes the 6 star dinner for ICC members.
seriously, my question is: How come Crowe missed Mel's ill behavior and gestures to the Indian batsmen? But managed promptly to ticket Harbajan? May be the South Africans “caught the Crow” well ahead of the game. This is Ridiculous! Dear Banglorians if he is still around for the next game don’t give him Water.
GPS Failed to work this time.
The flouring new Indian team lost its way and lost the game to South Africa. I really felt why there was a need to play an international game on a semi constructed stadium. Like players getting tuned by playing first class games the cricket pitch should also be tuned with few first class games. The pitch was an unpredictable slop with uneven bounce; the conditions suited the bowlers more in the first session. Dravid for his part lost a vital toss and as expected India was in trouble right away. Sehwag was tempted and he was out playing the same stroke for the millionth time. I think he never learns. In this process he also gave hopes for Dada.
Sachin might be the player with most number of dubious decisions against him. He was given out caught behind by umpire Hariharan. The ball clearly missed the edge and I really do not know how umpire could miss such decisions. Top order was tinkered once again. Kaif was promoted; it was matter of time before he walked back with a pale face. Dravid was bowled, I think Dravid could have come in at number three; Dravid has the technique to keep the bowlers checked on an unpredictable wicket. But! Keeping it short, thanks to Yuvarj, Harbajan and Ifran India had put forth a respectable score. Yuvarj’s century was worth millions.
Super sub: I really don’t what was the reason to pick Gautham Gambir as the super sub. Ok may be an extra batsmen, but already having 2 openers in the lineup, why not an all rounder like Suresh Raina? On Gambir’s selection - he plays or Sehwag plays.
South African batting was not “fantastic” or “mind sweeping”; the same old Modus operandi - dull mechanical mode. Smith was out plumb in the first over to Irfan. Everyone except the umpire got the decision right. Soon he started to play some strokes and hit Irfan quite well in next few overs. If someone complains about Sehwag’s footwork, hey! What about Smith then? Indian bowling was over all pathetic at stages. Harbajan did reduce the run rate though. However the most pathetic issue in this ordeal was the commentary team, Robin Jackman and Ranjith Fernando especially. Seriously at 12.00 midnight, agony multiplied. There was clearly a bias in commentating by the South African crew, while Mr. Ranjith was settling accounts. The new guy MEL was full of tantrums however South African commentating team appreciated every inch of it. If it had been “dada Ganguva”,oh wait!.. We term that as misbehavior.
Bottom line, India lost the match however gave a good fight, while South Africa did not win it convincingly, from 35-5 they managed to donate 214 runs in spite of unpredictable uneven track - they just won with an over+ to spare. 0-1 , I hope we recover in future games, BCCI should pick stadiums that really suite India. Home team advantage has to be exploited.
Ps: Boasting English team lost the first test to Pakistan!
Sachin might be the player with most number of dubious decisions against him. He was given out caught behind by umpire Hariharan. The ball clearly missed the edge and I really do not know how umpire could miss such decisions. Top order was tinkered once again. Kaif was promoted; it was matter of time before he walked back with a pale face. Dravid was bowled, I think Dravid could have come in at number three; Dravid has the technique to keep the bowlers checked on an unpredictable wicket. But! Keeping it short, thanks to Yuvarj, Harbajan and Ifran India had put forth a respectable score. Yuvarj’s century was worth millions.
Super sub: I really don’t what was the reason to pick Gautham Gambir as the super sub. Ok may be an extra batsmen, but already having 2 openers in the lineup, why not an all rounder like Suresh Raina? On Gambir’s selection - he plays or Sehwag plays.
South African batting was not “fantastic” or “mind sweeping”; the same old Modus operandi - dull mechanical mode. Smith was out plumb in the first over to Irfan. Everyone except the umpire got the decision right. Soon he started to play some strokes and hit Irfan quite well in next few overs. If someone complains about Sehwag’s footwork, hey! What about Smith then? Indian bowling was over all pathetic at stages. Harbajan did reduce the run rate though. However the most pathetic issue in this ordeal was the commentary team, Robin Jackman and Ranjith Fernando especially. Seriously at 12.00 midnight, agony multiplied. There was clearly a bias in commentating by the South African crew, while Mr. Ranjith was settling accounts. The new guy MEL was full of tantrums however South African commentating team appreciated every inch of it. If it had been “dada Ganguva”,oh wait!.. We term that as misbehavior.
Bottom line, India lost the match however gave a good fight, while South Africa did not win it convincingly, from 35-5 they managed to donate 214 runs in spite of unpredictable uneven track - they just won with an over+ to spare. 0-1 , I hope we recover in future games, BCCI should pick stadiums that really suite India. Home team advantage has to be exploited.
Ps: Boasting English team lost the first test to Pakistan!
11/14/05
Monday!
One more big time H1bees Buzz, H1Bees on “All Things Considered”.
Vatsa and I were on NPR on Sunday on “All Things Considered”; we spoke about the album and my musical ventures. I also did an impromptu composing for them, a simple melody on the Raga Amurthavarshini with little bass and drum parts.
It was a pleasure to talk to the NPR, Thanks to Tracy Wahl - NPR, for this interview. And thanks to my boss Craig Shaffer for permitting me to talk to them during working hours in my office. Yah!, I am still a dedicated computer consultant and not yet a full time musician.:)
You can listen to it here.
All things Considered
or
Inteview Site
Now back to Never ending Cricket Craze…
Great victory for the India team; we can enjoy this victory for one more day. I was browsing through some statistics in Rediff .com, surprise! I did find something interesting.
Record #1. Indian wicket-keeper Dhoni hit 17 sixes in the series. He established a new world record of most sixes in an ODI series/tournament.
Do you know who was holding this record before along with Jayasuriya?
Gangully - 16 sixes in 7 matches; He falls in 2 slots for this world record meaning 3rd and 6th position for his record is held by Gangully.
Record #2: Dravid and Dhoni had an outstanding Average of above 100, this is the third and fourth instances where Indian batsmen ending a series or tournament with an average of 100-plus while scoring at least 300 runs.
Do you who second person to have such a record
Gangully ICC Champion Trophy, 2000-01, Total of 348 – with an average of 116.00
It is a pity to watch a person with such batting talent being neglected out rightly from Indian cricket. I don’t want to take side and argue for Gangully. However I feel Gangully deserves another chance and on his side he needs to accept the fact “No One is indispensable”. I am sure he can do better in spite of the golden ducks in a recent first class game. I feel the pitch must have been a “clay” pond.:)
Good day.
Vatsa and I were on NPR on Sunday on “All Things Considered”; we spoke about the album and my musical ventures. I also did an impromptu composing for them, a simple melody on the Raga Amurthavarshini with little bass and drum parts.
It was a pleasure to talk to the NPR, Thanks to Tracy Wahl - NPR, for this interview. And thanks to my boss Craig Shaffer for permitting me to talk to them during working hours in my office. Yah!, I am still a dedicated computer consultant and not yet a full time musician.:)
You can listen to it here.
All things Considered
or
Inteview Site
Now back to Never ending Cricket Craze…
Great victory for the India team; we can enjoy this victory for one more day. I was browsing through some statistics in Rediff .com, surprise! I did find something interesting.
Record #1. Indian wicket-keeper Dhoni hit 17 sixes in the series. He established a new world record of most sixes in an ODI series/tournament.
Do you know who was holding this record before along with Jayasuriya?
Gangully - 16 sixes in 7 matches; He falls in 2 slots for this world record meaning 3rd and 6th position for his record is held by Gangully.
Record #2: Dravid and Dhoni had an outstanding Average of above 100, this is the third and fourth instances where Indian batsmen ending a series or tournament with an average of 100-plus while scoring at least 300 runs.
Do you who second person to have such a record
Gangully ICC Champion Trophy, 2000-01, Total of 348 – with an average of 116.00
It is a pity to watch a person with such batting talent being neglected out rightly from Indian cricket. I don’t want to take side and argue for Gangully. However I feel Gangully deserves another chance and on his side he needs to accept the fact “No One is indispensable”. I am sure he can do better in spite of the golden ducks in a recent first class game. I feel the pitch must have been a “clay” pond.:)
Good day.
11/11/05
TGIF...
The final game of the series, I got carried away in my earlier Blog and mentioned India was 6-1, however I still believe that my “typo” predication can happen.
India has to open with Sachin and Sehwag; basically this batting pair can create jitters even among good bowlers. I still feel the rotation policy should not be overused on the top order. Gangully and Sachin was one such pair in later part of 90s who created such Jitters.
Dravid should be back in command, and I want Sehwag to score some runs to boost his one day average, which is really mediocre. Or may be some one should tell him this is a test match, he might whack some runs then. Sehwag had recently mentioned that he is not worried about batting form, he is concerned about winning, frankly if this rule is applied to everyone Gangully should be given another chance. As mentioned in my previous Blogs his winning streak was pathetic only for last few years.
Today, Gangully’s return to the side is still a doubt. It is a pity to see a player who has a five figure aggregate to be left out for granted. However if anyone is to blame for this, it should Gangully himself. We need to agree that GanguDADA was a different Indian captain; the rest of the cricketing world simply assumes an Indian captain to be timid person. It was in this manner. Gangully certainly changed this equation in the cricketing world. He did follow Steve Waugh’s Sledging or sugar coated “Mental Aggression” Techniques. He did reply to the media with aggression etc. This is all good and different from other previous Indian captains.
But a captain, the CEO of the team has to set an example; this includes off and on the field. His fielding abilities were useless, and he was informed about this from various quarters, still he never bothered to improve. His running between wickets, he never grounds his bat, this is basics, and once again experts told him correct his weakness for which he never cared. Off the field, many have complained about him for not sticking to the schedule, not coming in proper uniform for Toss. These issues might sound minor to him however when it comes to the CEO post, it matters a lot for the post. Such minor issues have accumulated against him over a period of time.
Bottom line, one need to respect the “designation”, “portfolio”, if not the designation will not respect him/her.
In my 2 cent opinion, statically Ganguly has phenomenal scores and records, India should have this player in the squad. However he has collected a lot of speed tickets points and never cared to resolve them. This attitude will supersede the statistical value and make him look like a real bad boy. Only some superlative performance in domestic cricket can get him back into the team, until I feel he is done.
Finally, some H1BEES Buzzzzzzzz..
How would your name sound on French Radio?
Yes, my album effort was discussed in "Radio France". Radio France carried a 6 minute capsule talking about me, my album and my wonderful team of artist/marketing personals behind this effort. Shankar our Marketing/ProKGuru told me about his yesterday; Thanks to him, if not for Shankar we would have never known about this.
Le portrait du jour par Marc Kravetz
Srikan't et les H-1Bees
You can check their website here online.
Thanks to Radio France for this introduction and provding a link to h1bees.com.
Have a great Weekend.
India has to open with Sachin and Sehwag; basically this batting pair can create jitters even among good bowlers. I still feel the rotation policy should not be overused on the top order. Gangully and Sachin was one such pair in later part of 90s who created such Jitters.
Dravid should be back in command, and I want Sehwag to score some runs to boost his one day average, which is really mediocre. Or may be some one should tell him this is a test match, he might whack some runs then. Sehwag had recently mentioned that he is not worried about batting form, he is concerned about winning, frankly if this rule is applied to everyone Gangully should be given another chance. As mentioned in my previous Blogs his winning streak was pathetic only for last few years.
Today, Gangully’s return to the side is still a doubt. It is a pity to see a player who has a five figure aggregate to be left out for granted. However if anyone is to blame for this, it should Gangully himself. We need to agree that GanguDADA was a different Indian captain; the rest of the cricketing world simply assumes an Indian captain to be timid person. It was in this manner. Gangully certainly changed this equation in the cricketing world. He did follow Steve Waugh’s Sledging or sugar coated “Mental Aggression” Techniques. He did reply to the media with aggression etc. This is all good and different from other previous Indian captains.
But a captain, the CEO of the team has to set an example; this includes off and on the field. His fielding abilities were useless, and he was informed about this from various quarters, still he never bothered to improve. His running between wickets, he never grounds his bat, this is basics, and once again experts told him correct his weakness for which he never cared. Off the field, many have complained about him for not sticking to the schedule, not coming in proper uniform for Toss. These issues might sound minor to him however when it comes to the CEO post, it matters a lot for the post. Such minor issues have accumulated against him over a period of time.
Bottom line, one need to respect the “designation”, “portfolio”, if not the designation will not respect him/her.
In my 2 cent opinion, statically Ganguly has phenomenal scores and records, India should have this player in the squad. However he has collected a lot of speed tickets points and never cared to resolve them. This attitude will supersede the statistical value and make him look like a real bad boy. Only some superlative performance in domestic cricket can get him back into the team, until I feel he is done.
Finally, some H1BEES Buzzzzzzzz..
How would your name sound on French Radio?
Yes, my album effort was discussed in "Radio France". Radio France carried a 6 minute capsule talking about me, my album and my wonderful team of artist/marketing personals behind this effort. Shankar our Marketing/Pro
Le portrait du jour par Marc Kravetz
Srikan't et les H-1Bees
You can check their website here online.
Thanks to Radio France for this introduction and provding a link to h1bees.com.
Have a great Weekend.
11/9/05
One more victory, a reality check
Along with in-form injury return Kaif, Yuvaraj Singh finally got runs under his belt. Both saw India home to win the 6th one day, Indians are 6-1 now. Indian team fielding was at his best in this game. 9 out 10 of times fielders were able to hit the stumps directly. The run outs of Dilshan and Arnold were crucial to the game. Dhoni also came up with a lightning speed stumping to get rid of Jayawardhane.
An assertive Sehwag was leading the side with real enthusiasm and confidence; he kept attacking, after seeing the initial onslaught by Messer’s Jaya Suriya & Co, I was nervous about his decision to bowl first. It was a hardcore batting track. Most captains would chose to put up a high score, and then defend it. However Sehwag opted to bowl, after initial hiccups, his bowlers came good with tight line and not to forget some ridiculous batting display by Sri Lankans. Another interesting thing on Sehwag’s captaincy was his field placing, it seemed to be very unique; the region from point to cover was “defended” by 4 best fielders in the side, they just stood on the circle. They stopped everything and anything creating a virtual pressure for the batsmen, who then automatically perished by pressing the panic button.In fact all the fielders were placed just on/around the inner circle.
Sreeshanth was pathetic at the start, and kept bowling short and gave lot of room to Jayasuriya, however soon changed his line and foxed Jayasuriya. More than anyone the left hander R.P.Singh bowled quite well and earned the man of the match, getting four wickets on a “CowPoop” coated batting track is big deal. He deserves the award.
India’s batting order was modified once again. I see no reason why Sehwag took the number one slot. Sachin and Sehwag has to open the innings, this should not change even for experimental reasons. I don’t feel Gautam Gambir can take on new ball on a bowling track. Indians are 6-1; we were underdogs before the series started, the team went through commotion and changes in the team chemistry, however today the team seemed to have over come all the issues, and on the right path.
What is for Gangully in this? What is his future? His credit history for runs is still good on papers, but today the team does not seem to miss his batting or his captaincy tantrums. I really do not know if he would be considered even as player now.
Bottom line, under the new management Indians have won six games comfortably. Under this new management certain usual issues stands corrected. For example Fines, the ICC match referee fund did not get cash inflow till date. The dreaded “Over rate” fine has always been an issue for திருவாளர் Gangully. He often gets penalized by the match referee for time delay, over rate or failing to follow some ridiculous ICC code of conduct principle.
The over rate under new captain Dravid or captain-Sub Sehwag seems to be perfect Or may be we can speculate on this, had the referee been one Mr. Ranjan Madhugulle , at least ICC’s tea expenses would be covered. What ever, the team India looks more disciplined or looks just what the doctor ordered. We need to accept the fact that new Coach Dravid and every team members really want to establish some professional conduct and working ethics in the team. Along with the coach Dravid is ready to work towards such changes and experiments.
I wish the same level of sanitization is done for the BCCI Selection Committee. The latest fiasco by the Joker Bunch was Vikram Singh’s selection. He was selected but now sits out with an injury. What this means is, there was no clear communication between the player, the local board, or the Indian team and or the BCCI HR department, How can board select someone who has been declared unfit?, Joker bunch had no clue who is on the roaster. We cannot expect Kiran More and his cronies to answer any logical, rational questions in this matter.
Some one out there, please check with Ian Chappel, if he is free we can get him to head the BCCI selection committee.
An assertive Sehwag was leading the side with real enthusiasm and confidence; he kept attacking, after seeing the initial onslaught by Messer’s Jaya Suriya & Co, I was nervous about his decision to bowl first. It was a hardcore batting track. Most captains would chose to put up a high score, and then defend it. However Sehwag opted to bowl, after initial hiccups, his bowlers came good with tight line and not to forget some ridiculous batting display by Sri Lankans. Another interesting thing on Sehwag’s captaincy was his field placing, it seemed to be very unique; the region from point to cover was “defended” by 4 best fielders in the side, they just stood on the circle. They stopped everything and anything creating a virtual pressure for the batsmen, who then automatically perished by pressing the panic button.In fact all the fielders were placed just on/around the inner circle.
Sreeshanth was pathetic at the start, and kept bowling short and gave lot of room to Jayasuriya, however soon changed his line and foxed Jayasuriya. More than anyone the left hander R.P.Singh bowled quite well and earned the man of the match, getting four wickets on a “CowPoop” coated batting track is big deal. He deserves the award.
India’s batting order was modified once again. I see no reason why Sehwag took the number one slot. Sachin and Sehwag has to open the innings, this should not change even for experimental reasons. I don’t feel Gautam Gambir can take on new ball on a bowling track. Indians are 6-1; we were underdogs before the series started, the team went through commotion and changes in the team chemistry, however today the team seemed to have over come all the issues, and on the right path.
What is for Gangully in this? What is his future? His credit history for runs is still good on papers, but today the team does not seem to miss his batting or his captaincy tantrums. I really do not know if he would be considered even as player now.
Bottom line, under the new management Indians have won six games comfortably. Under this new management certain usual issues stands corrected. For example Fines, the ICC match referee fund did not get cash inflow till date. The dreaded “Over rate” fine has always been an issue for திருவாளர் Gangully. He often gets penalized by the match referee for time delay, over rate or failing to follow some ridiculous ICC code of conduct principle.
The over rate under new captain Dravid or captain-Sub Sehwag seems to be perfect Or may be we can speculate on this, had the referee been one Mr. Ranjan Madhugulle , at least ICC’s tea expenses would be covered. What ever, the team India looks more disciplined or looks just what the doctor ordered. We need to accept the fact that new Coach Dravid and every team members really want to establish some professional conduct and working ethics in the team. Along with the coach Dravid is ready to work towards such changes and experiments.
I wish the same level of sanitization is done for the BCCI Selection Committee. The latest fiasco by the Joker Bunch was Vikram Singh’s selection. He was selected but now sits out with an injury. What this means is, there was no clear communication between the player, the local board, or the Indian team and or the BCCI HR department, How can board select someone who has been declared unfit?, Joker bunch had no clue who is on the roaster. We cannot expect Kiran More and his cronies to answer any logical, rational questions in this matter.
Some one out there, please check with Ian Chappel, if he is free we can get him to head the BCCI selection committee.
11/8/05
Quick Update
H1BEES CD is now available world wide via CD Baby.COM, Click here.Very soon Tracks will also be digitally available on Apple ITunes ™, ITunes™ –Europe, MSN Music and many other popular digital outlets. Using the digital distribution mode, tracks can be purchased individually.
11/7/05
Monday
Music: Dr. Thomas invited me to attend the Washington post Scholarship awards on Saturday. Every year Washington post presents Scholarship awards to high school students in DC metro area for their talent. Alisha and Swathi were among the finalists. Alisha performed live “Daddy’s girl” a song written by Udhaya and composed by me. It was composed for the short film Stinking Cigar, directed by Arun. It was really fantastic to watch Alisha sing in front of 400 people; to me it was an amazing experience to hear my composition on the Warner Theater’s PA system, later people cheering for the track. Thanks to Alisha for choosing this track.
“Swathi Raman”, [She sang Thikutheriyadha katil in my H1BEES album]. She sang a Carnatic Number along with a Mirudangam accompaniment. For the entire evening all most 95% of the songs were in English, Swathi went ahead and choose a Tamil classical number, In her 3 minutes time slot she sang “thUkiya thiruvadi” , she managed to squeeze in little “kalapana swarams” with a mini “nerval” too. It was a great pleasure for me to hear the only Indian language/Tamil song for the entire evening. One more Indian high school kid played the “Dhol”, man he was amazing!
Having used both the voices before in my recordings, it was a proud movement for me to watch these teen singers expand their talent horizon. During the evening there were many fantastic Tap dance, Ballet dance and opera presentations, many talented kids performed mind blowing stuff. Congratulations to all the winners.
Weekend...
Circle the best answer,
Q) What would happen to a person if he is thrown from 3000 feet mountain cliff? He is about 200 pounds.
(a)[RIP] He Rests in Pieces
(b)He survives but with a skull, rib, shoulder, hands, legs, hip fractures and be in a coma for next year or two.
(c)In about 20 minutes he walks out from a 1970 Benz with his newly married wife.
If your name is NOT K.S. Ravikumar you would be thinking about choosing (a) or (b), and never ever consider (c), C is clearly illogical by any IQ standards. Yesterday I was watching Thalaivar’s movie “Muthu” and the above question is from the “chapter 22 – Climax”. In 1990-95 semesters, KS.Ravikumar chooses option C and passed the exam with flying colors. God only knows how? Taking about GOD, Sachin was rested for the 5th one day; India managed to lose an easy game in spite of 2 good knocks by Gambir and Dravid. Winning is a habit, I feel India has left an opening for the Lankan’s. Hope the team comes back with full force to maintain the winning streak.
Now Continue Your Monotonous Monday…
“Swathi Raman”, [She sang Thikutheriyadha katil in my H1BEES album]. She sang a Carnatic Number along with a Mirudangam accompaniment. For the entire evening all most 95% of the songs were in English, Swathi went ahead and choose a Tamil classical number, In her 3 minutes time slot she sang “thUkiya thiruvadi” , she managed to squeeze in little “kalapana swarams” with a mini “nerval” too. It was a great pleasure for me to hear the only Indian language/Tamil song for the entire evening. One more Indian high school kid played the “Dhol”, man he was amazing!
Having used both the voices before in my recordings, it was a proud movement for me to watch these teen singers expand their talent horizon. During the evening there were many fantastic Tap dance, Ballet dance and opera presentations, many talented kids performed mind blowing stuff. Congratulations to all the winners.
Weekend...
Circle the best answer,
Q) What would happen to a person if he is thrown from 3000 feet mountain cliff? He is about 200 pounds.
(a)[RIP] He Rests in Pieces
(b)He survives but with a skull, rib, shoulder, hands, legs, hip fractures and be in a coma for next year or two.
(c)In about 20 minutes he walks out from a 1970 Benz with his newly married wife.
If your name is NOT K.S. Ravikumar you would be thinking about choosing (a) or (b), and never ever consider (c), C is clearly illogical by any IQ standards. Yesterday I was watching Thalaivar’s movie “Muthu” and the above question is from the “chapter 22 – Climax”. In 1990-95 semesters, KS.Ravikumar chooses option C and passed the exam with flying colors. God only knows how? Taking about GOD, Sachin was rested for the 5th one day; India managed to lose an easy game in spite of 2 good knocks by Gambir and Dravid. Winning is a habit, I feel India has left an opening for the Lankan’s. Hope the team comes back with full force to maintain the winning streak.
Now Continue Your Monotonous Monday…
11/3/05
Game Day, India wins the Videocon cup!
Breaking my superstitions I went ahead and subscribed the games on willow.tv; my money did not go waste. YES, India won the game and the series with flying colors. Dhoni finished the game in style by launching 2 massive sixes to complete the formalities. India won the Videocon cup 4-0. Sri Lanka is yet to win in India in this tour.
It was a pleasure to watch many new faces in action; future of Indian Cricket.
Raina, he impressed me right away by his balanced and matured batting ability. The lefthander’s short selection was very prudent and did not want to give anything away. He was firm on his approach and made sure India won the game. Partnership between him and Dhoni was well organized. "Maro Maro" Dhoni played second fiddle while Raina took the lead. Raina is also an amazing fielder, a very promising future Indian team permanent. He was the “Supersub” and he replaced Srisanth.
Venugopal Rao, The youngster’s square cuts bought back reminiscence of GRV. The good old Gundappa’s style seems to have reborn, thanks to little man VenuGopal Rao, another good prospect for the future Indian team with solid batting technique.
Srisanth, he has a smooth run up with a crisp side arm bowling action. He was very impressive in the first few overs, he bowled a perfect line and length but very soon he lost his accuracy and started to bowl too many short balls and paid the toll. He can be tuned and share the new ball with Pathan.
Thanks to some fantastic swing bowling by my “man” Agarkar, he won the well deserved man of the match award,. Ravi Sastri once again talked about his all round ability during the function, this time Agarkar clearly mentioned that he prefers to bowl rather than bat. Promoted Yuvraj Singh started of with a bang played gleeful shots however perished to a superb catch. I feel Raina already holds a team travel ticket however he is still on “RAC”. Yuvraj has to perform to his full potential else Raina’s ticket would be confirmed.
Sachin played an ambitious stroke and “was bowled by VAAS”, Sehwag was very lucky, Lankans kept dropping him at regular intervals. He managed to stick around with the captain who played his usual cameo knock. I should also mention about Harbajan, he bowled a sensible line to keep the Lankan’s under control, 4-0, I am hoping for a 7-0.
Yawn!, I am very sleepy.:)
It was a pleasure to watch many new faces in action; future of Indian Cricket.
Raina, he impressed me right away by his balanced and matured batting ability. The lefthander’s short selection was very prudent and did not want to give anything away. He was firm on his approach and made sure India won the game. Partnership between him and Dhoni was well organized. "Maro Maro" Dhoni played second fiddle while Raina took the lead. Raina is also an amazing fielder, a very promising future Indian team permanent. He was the “Supersub” and he replaced Srisanth.
Venugopal Rao, The youngster’s square cuts bought back reminiscence of GRV. The good old Gundappa’s style seems to have reborn, thanks to little man VenuGopal Rao, another good prospect for the future Indian team with solid batting technique.
Srisanth, he has a smooth run up with a crisp side arm bowling action. He was very impressive in the first few overs, he bowled a perfect line and length but very soon he lost his accuracy and started to bowl too many short balls and paid the toll. He can be tuned and share the new ball with Pathan.
Thanks to some fantastic swing bowling by my “man” Agarkar, he won the well deserved man of the match award,. Ravi Sastri once again talked about his all round ability during the function, this time Agarkar clearly mentioned that he prefers to bowl rather than bat. Promoted Yuvraj Singh started of with a bang played gleeful shots however perished to a superb catch. I feel Raina already holds a team travel ticket however he is still on “RAC”. Yuvraj has to perform to his full potential else Raina’s ticket would be confirmed.
Sachin played an ambitious stroke and “was bowled by VAAS”, Sehwag was very lucky, Lankans kept dropping him at regular intervals. He managed to stick around with the captain who played his usual cameo knock. I should also mention about Harbajan, he bowled a sensible line to keep the Lankan’s under control, 4-0, I am hoping for a 7-0.
Yawn!, I am very sleepy.:)
10/31/05
Keepers’ day out!
Sri Lanka tried to prove why they were second in the ICC one day rankings. Sangakara started the proceedings and went on to score a ton, he carried the bat thorough the innings and was unbeaten on 138. Lanka set a target of 299 for India.
Seriously, with an in form batting line up, I believed we would chase and reach the target though with some struggle. However I never guessed even in my dreams, [yes it was about 2.00am] that India would do this in the fashion Dhoni played.
When Sachin was out cheaply, I was wondering, Pathan would show up however Dravid made one more surprise! Move - Desi “Dhil” Christ aka Donni was promoted to number three. He took about 40 balls to reach half century. It was his day; he went on to score the highest score by a wicket keeper. India won, Dhooni remained 183 Not out, the ball was sent out of the oval about 15 times via FedEx Ground and about 10 times via FedEx Air. The 10th trip did not bring the ball back, the game was over. Frankly I wish Sri Lanka had scored 20 more runs, Dhoni would have got his double hundred. In the later part of the innings, Dhoni was suffering from cramps, Viru ran for him. Cricinfo commentators were discussing about this innings with full excitement. It must have been “One heck of an innings [Thanks Madden] to watch.
Indians have won 3 games in a row; victories were achieved with command and class. For Lanka the only batsmen who seemed to have form was Sangakara, rest of the batsmen are really in poor form. Hope the team recovers and gives a fight in remaining one dayers.
Keepers’ day out: About 600 runs were made,of which 50% was scored by the wicketkeepers.
என் இனிய தீபாவளி நல் வாழ்த்துக்கள்
10/28/05
Great going!
My Match Review: Sachin! Sachin! IrFan! IrFan! Rahul Rahul! Team India Team India. We trashed Sri Lanka.
What do cricketing fans or maniacs get from these 2 games? Did it indicate anything? These 2 games makes me raise questions about Mr. Ex-Captain, for past few seasons, as a captain did he really do anything for the team or he did not bother to care? or The leaked Chappel's email did lot of good for Indian cricket?
How come a team that was in sheer disaster suddenly starts to play high level Cricket? How come a team that often struggled to maintain some consistency managed to win 2 games with authenticity? May be I am too early to celebrate or come to a conclusion, same happened against Pakistan. We won 2 and lost the rest, however this time I feel games against Sri Lanka a clear message is being sent by the new captain Dravid and the Coach. They are serious and care only about “Indian Cricket”. Few lucky Friends of mine who has Direct TV connection tells me that Indian fielding was at its best.
Various media outlets have been speculating Mohali dew conditions for past 2 days, true, during this time of the year D/N games are a mess. Like many, I was also assuming “captain who wins the toss” would bat and put a high score. Under such conditions batting first had better chance of wining.
However Dravid just did the opposite! And his decision was right on the money. In form Irfan Pathan did the magic from the word go; among Indian fast bowlers Javagal Srinath knows the knack of getting Jayasuriya out early, Jayasuriya often slashes over 3rd man, with proper line and length Srinath would often exploit this weakness, Dravid/Pathan & Co did the same, plan worked again. Probably India saved lot of runs by getting him out in the earlier overs. Pathan also got rid of Sangakara, a terrific player. I was half sleep when this happened, suddenly the commentator screamed in excitement, Dilshan was out the next ball. Sri Lankan under their new “Australian coach”, submerged deep into waters and never recovered. Pathan finished 4 for 37 runs.
Sachin in pumped up “form” and Sehwag on cards for a big score, 123 seemed too small. But knowing Indian cricket and its greatness for long now, I did have a fear. Usually in low scoring games, the game is wide open. "Wait till the fat lady sings" 2 or 3 quick wickets, Murali would eat the cake in full. And of course Indians have lost games in this fashion very many times in the past. But “Sachin” went onto score his next Fifty and more - saw “INDIA WIN THE GAME”.I hope Dravid and his men continue their aggression.
Ps: It is about time for Sachin haters to go on a long term hibernation, Alaska would be the best spot, you might have to share it with the Polar Bears or Gangully who was reported to be seen - walking on a glacier.
What do cricketing fans or maniacs get from these 2 games? Did it indicate anything? These 2 games makes me raise questions about Mr. Ex-Captain, for past few seasons, as a captain did he really do anything for the team or he did not bother to care? or The leaked Chappel's email did lot of good for Indian cricket?
How come a team that was in sheer disaster suddenly starts to play high level Cricket? How come a team that often struggled to maintain some consistency managed to win 2 games with authenticity? May be I am too early to celebrate or come to a conclusion, same happened against Pakistan. We won 2 and lost the rest, however this time I feel games against Sri Lanka a clear message is being sent by the new captain Dravid and the Coach. They are serious and care only about “Indian Cricket”. Few lucky Friends of mine who has Direct TV connection tells me that Indian fielding was at its best.
Various media outlets have been speculating Mohali dew conditions for past 2 days, true, during this time of the year D/N games are a mess. Like many, I was also assuming “captain who wins the toss” would bat and put a high score. Under such conditions batting first had better chance of wining.
However Dravid just did the opposite! And his decision was right on the money. In form Irfan Pathan did the magic from the word go; among Indian fast bowlers Javagal Srinath knows the knack of getting Jayasuriya out early, Jayasuriya often slashes over 3rd man, with proper line and length Srinath would often exploit this weakness, Dravid/Pathan & Co did the same, plan worked again. Probably India saved lot of runs by getting him out in the earlier overs. Pathan also got rid of Sangakara, a terrific player. I was half sleep when this happened, suddenly the commentator screamed in excitement, Dilshan was out the next ball. Sri Lankan under their new “Australian coach”, submerged deep into waters and never recovered. Pathan finished 4 for 37 runs.
Sachin in pumped up “form” and Sehwag on cards for a big score, 123 seemed too small. But knowing Indian cricket and its greatness for long now, I did have a fear. Usually in low scoring games, the game is wide open. "Wait till the fat lady sings" 2 or 3 quick wickets, Murali would eat the cake in full. And of course Indians have lost games in this fashion very many times in the past. But “Sachin” went onto score his next Fifty and more - saw “INDIA WIN THE GAME”.I hope Dravid and his men continue their aggression.
Ps: It is about time for Sachin haters to go on a long term hibernation, Alaska would be the best spot, you might have to share it with the Polar Bears or Gangully who was reported to be seen - walking on a glacier.
10/25/05
Sachin Inspires!
I was annoyed yesterday for not getting the game on the Dish Network. It was being shown live on Direct TV, The only person who has direct TV in my circle was my friend Vatsa, his VCR is broken! My “pulambal” reached red alert level , hence called Dish network! None had a clue. The automatic message recommended a WWF game for $45.99 instead. The only way was to get Direct TV in my home.
However as of 8.39am today, I don’t intended to get one more Dish on my roof top. Dish network though boasts about their so called “great” digital service, in reality they don’t really care about cricket, in fact about anything. They just need you to sign up for a year and keep their coffers filled very month.
The above lines are leftovers from yesterday’s pulambal’s.
Willow TV shows it on the internet for a price of $129.00; if you ask me, frankly I don’t trust my DSL connection; I feel it cannot take the load. Hence I went back to good olden days of listening to cricket commentary, Thanks to Cricinfo.org, I subscribed to their enthusiastic commentary.
Match result - India won! good start for the season, the new captain and Mr. Grumpy coach; To me I was very happy to see “my man” shine bright, from his long medical leave Sachin came back with a big bang, he sent SMS , emails, snail mail , “pura” messages to his “beloved” critics. He also sent a truck load “prasadams” to his life time devotees like me.
I had been stating this for long enough to all my friends, [most would kick me if I do it again];
A pleasant surprise was IrFan Pathan, he scored 80+ and even over took the little master; he slammed 4 massive sixes as per the commentators it was something not to be missed, however as a dish network subscriber, my fate I missed a great batting display. Damn Dish Network and damn NIMBUS! And boo to BCCI;
Nagpur is known for high scores, 350 was little more than I expected. Harbajan, whose selection was also questioned, claimed 3 wickets. India won by 152 runs, a good start for the season. If I am right, this the 9th time Sachin gets out at 90’s; if he had made them all, 47 would be the magic number!...oh there I go! AGAIN Singing Sachin Praise.! Hey! What else you expect in this Blog;
However as of 8.39am today, I don’t intended to get one more Dish on my roof top. Dish network though boasts about their so called “great” digital service, in reality they don’t really care about cricket, in fact about anything. They just need you to sign up for a year and keep their coffers filled very month.
The above lines are leftovers from yesterday’s pulambal’s.
Willow TV shows it on the internet for a price of $129.00; if you ask me, frankly I don’t trust my DSL connection; I feel it cannot take the load. Hence I went back to good olden days of listening to cricket commentary, Thanks to Cricinfo.org, I subscribed to their enthusiastic commentary.
Match result - India won! good start for the season, the new captain and Mr. Grumpy coach; To me I was very happy to see “my man” shine bright, from his long medical leave Sachin came back with a big bang, he sent SMS , emails, snail mail , “pura” messages to his “beloved” critics. He also sent a truck load “prasadams” to his life time devotees like me.
I had been stating this for long enough to all my friends, [most would kick me if I do it again];
Regardless of his form Sachin’s presence in the team is always a booster to the team in general.This match once again proved my “Jalraculor” or “ChingChakular” statement; without him we know how pathetic our team played in earlier tours this year. The start he gave ensured and inspired even the patient Rahul Dravid to play aggressive cricket. Dravid played a captain’s knock of 85 in about 64 balls. This includes a six! & 8 fours; by this innings Dravid also sent messages to his critics, [yes! #include “Sriks.h”]
A pleasant surprise was IrFan Pathan, he scored 80+ and even over took the little master; he slammed 4 massive sixes as per the commentators it was something not to be missed, however as a dish network subscriber, my fate I missed a great batting display. Damn Dish Network and damn NIMBUS! And boo to BCCI;
Nagpur is known for high scores, 350 was little more than I expected. Harbajan, whose selection was also questioned, claimed 3 wickets. India won by 152 runs, a good start for the season. If I am right, this the 9th time Sachin gets out at 90’s; if he had made them all, 47 would be the magic number!...oh there I go! AGAIN Singing Sachin Praise.! Hey! What else you expect in this Blog;
10/24/05
T-18 the India/ Sri Lanka series
It is about T-18 for the start of the India/ Sri Lanka series; until this minute I do not know which TV is going to carry it live here in the United States. Dish network has no news, while Direct TV when I checked it last time did not have any information. I am sure some websites will carry it live; I don’t prefer to watch the game on a 19inch monitor ½ asleep.
Cricket telecast rights is the main source of revenue for the BCCI, it is some what a similar to duck that lays golden egg for the BCCI. However BCCI due to its unprofessional outfit is all set to kill this duck. I would have spent about $1500-$2000 at least for cricket till date, and it is matter of time before I stop caring to watch this live. Why can’t BCCI get their act together and make sure every crazy fan like me out there gets it live at an affordable cost? If Dish network carries it, I know they would charge a nose bleeding bundle amount. Let me keep my fingers crossed.
There were various unfair questions on Sachin’s selection for last few weeks. When it comes to Sachin, even his sick leave is treated to retirement, a pity. Here is guy who plays for the country right from 16 years and he has been playing long enough to get into some kind medical conditions. Many have forgotten this, just before Sachin went on his sick leave, he had scored a brilliant century against Pakistan.
And more over “Team India” did not do big without him also; they lost at every outing at regular intervals, in spite of juggling the captains, replacing the coach, fiddling with the batting order, replacing the straps in the pad, changing inner gloves color, adding one more helmet or change the red color of holy “kunkum” used by Gangully & Co to blue. Mmm What ever! Nothing worked till date;
Sachin being in the team is vital for others to perform well. This fact needs to be accepted! Dravid has clearly stated that he is very happy and pumped up on Sachin’s return. Indian team has to pick up their momentum and prove the fact that they are not “mere local heroes”. Greg Chappel has to do something better, else it is not only Sri Lanka who would win, his pal Gangully would come out with flying colors.
Finally,
OPEN the charity organization which recently featured “Rasika” the music band out of Virginia have released a 2 set DVD that contains edited portions from the show, this can be got for a donation of $10.00 + Shipping. Please contact Kumar Thiagrajan (kumart@interamerica.com) or Chox Solaiappan (schocku@yahoo.com) to order your copies. I will try to get an audio clip from the show and upload it in my Blog soon.
Cricket telecast rights is the main source of revenue for the BCCI, it is some what a similar to duck that lays golden egg for the BCCI. However BCCI due to its unprofessional outfit is all set to kill this duck. I would have spent about $1500-$2000 at least for cricket till date, and it is matter of time before I stop caring to watch this live. Why can’t BCCI get their act together and make sure every crazy fan like me out there gets it live at an affordable cost? If Dish network carries it, I know they would charge a nose bleeding bundle amount. Let me keep my fingers crossed.
There were various unfair questions on Sachin’s selection for last few weeks. When it comes to Sachin, even his sick leave is treated to retirement, a pity. Here is guy who plays for the country right from 16 years and he has been playing long enough to get into some kind medical conditions. Many have forgotten this, just before Sachin went on his sick leave, he had scored a brilliant century against Pakistan.
And more over “Team India” did not do big without him also; they lost at every outing at regular intervals, in spite of juggling the captains, replacing the coach, fiddling with the batting order, replacing the straps in the pad, changing inner gloves color, adding one more helmet or change the red color of holy “kunkum” used by Gangully & Co to blue. Mmm What ever! Nothing worked till date;
Sachin being in the team is vital for others to perform well. This fact needs to be accepted! Dravid has clearly stated that he is very happy and pumped up on Sachin’s return. Indian team has to pick up their momentum and prove the fact that they are not “mere local heroes”. Greg Chappel has to do something better, else it is not only Sri Lanka who would win, his pal Gangully would come out with flying colors.
Finally,
OPEN the charity organization which recently featured “Rasika” the music band out of Virginia have released a 2 set DVD that contains edited portions from the show, this can be got for a donation of $10.00 + Shipping. Please contact Kumar Thiagrajan (kumart@interamerica.com) or Chox Solaiappan (schocku@yahoo.com) to order your copies. I will try to get an audio clip from the show and upload it in my Blog soon.
10/20/05
H1Bee News
My interview and an article Written by Subha J. Rao appeared on "The Hindu", dated Oct 20th 2005.
Few days ago, I spoke with Neki Bedi – [BBC ASIA NETWORK] on her show called "The Drive", went live at around 4.25GMT. BBC also carried an article about the album on their technologies section. Thanks to Clarke Boyd, BBC and Subha J Rao of the Hindu to covering about this album. Clarke Boyd also did a news clip on his very popular pod cast show and which was also aired on National public Radio.
Few days ago, I spoke with Neki Bedi – [BBC ASIA NETWORK] on her show called "The Drive", went live at around 4.25GMT. BBC also carried an article about the album on their technologies section. Thanks to Clarke Boyd, BBC and Subha J Rao of the Hindu to covering about this album. Clarke Boyd also did a news clip on his very popular pod cast show and which was also aired on National public Radio.
10/12/05
Yadayada.....
During the recently concluded the super one day series, ICC was boasting about experimenting technology for umpiring decisions. Field Umpires, if their regular pair of eyes fails to judge a decision would refer it to the third eye. This includes LBW, catches and every other decision. However in spite of 3rd eye, 4th eye and the 5th camera eyes, Ricky Ponting was trapped plumb by Ntini, other than the spectators, every other “ICC appointed” eye right royally missed it.
Most Umpires would not refer too much to the third umpire because if they start doing so for every decision, they would be mere coat hangers and a ball counter. ICC instead of wasting time on these worthless tactics, they could create measures to maintain a high level of umpiring competency and consistency. These are called “innovations” agreed but it becomes good only if they are used properly. It is like spending tons of money on an automatic motorized twin spinning damn tooth brush when you have 2 hands well intact and working to its full potential.
Murali will be playing in SCG, I think after about a decade or so. His stopped bowling in Australia after Mr. Hair called NO BALL for chucking. ICC has cleared Murali which means Mr. Hair was wrong in his initial judgment. Darrel Hair was never warned for ruling such a haste decision. However he is an Aussie hence ICC has a higher threshold for players and umpires from certain countries.
For past 2 days Media has been speculating Dravid to lead India for the Sri Lankan series. But BCCI has called it a ridiculous rumor. However the “BJ’s” are meeting in few days, they could have waited for Gangully to recover and met later this month. Looks like the speculation will come true. Sachin is back playing first class games, however he did not get any runs. Chappel has welcomed his return. Everyone wants him perform to stay in the race.
Head Line News, a news network channel run by India today/AAj Tak is now available live from India on Dish network. One week free promotional transmission is on now. The News casts are professional and as good as any news channel here. Live news! not a delayed news recording as show on Sun TV.
I watched an unbiased coverage on Headline news about the sad monster earthquake that has rattled Pakistan and parts of India. It was heart breaking and I could not take it further. When it comes to nature, human is no where. Most people who suffered this calamity were already under the poverty line had nothing for them. It is sad to see Nature being cruel to such people; it simply seized their only asset, “family and loved ones”. Hope relief efforts gets the survivors some peace of mind. More than that, at least now their government should take serious steps to protect people by enforcing rules and regulation for construction in these volatile seismic zones.
Finally, Last VijayaDasmi I officially inaugurated the recordings for H1BEES album in my studio, it is now 1 year since and I am happy to see its progress. Last week the album was featured on NPR/BBC. And many of my friends have heard it and took time to call me, thanks guys.
Most Umpires would not refer too much to the third umpire because if they start doing so for every decision, they would be mere coat hangers and a ball counter. ICC instead of wasting time on these worthless tactics, they could create measures to maintain a high level of umpiring competency and consistency. These are called “innovations” agreed but it becomes good only if they are used properly. It is like spending tons of money on an automatic motorized twin spinning damn tooth brush when you have 2 hands well intact and working to its full potential.
Murali will be playing in SCG, I think after about a decade or so. His stopped bowling in Australia after Mr. Hair called NO BALL for chucking. ICC has cleared Murali which means Mr. Hair was wrong in his initial judgment. Darrel Hair was never warned for ruling such a haste decision. However he is an Aussie hence ICC has a higher threshold for players and umpires from certain countries.
For past 2 days Media has been speculating Dravid to lead India for the Sri Lankan series. But BCCI has called it a ridiculous rumor. However the “BJ’s” are meeting in few days, they could have waited for Gangully to recover and met later this month. Looks like the speculation will come true. Sachin is back playing first class games, however he did not get any runs. Chappel has welcomed his return. Everyone wants him perform to stay in the race.
Head Line News, a news network channel run by India today/AAj Tak is now available live from India on Dish network. One week free promotional transmission is on now. The News casts are professional and as good as any news channel here. Live news! not a delayed news recording as show on Sun TV.
I watched an unbiased coverage on Headline news about the sad monster earthquake that has rattled Pakistan and parts of India. It was heart breaking and I could not take it further. When it comes to nature, human is no where. Most people who suffered this calamity were already under the poverty line had nothing for them. It is sad to see Nature being cruel to such people; it simply seized their only asset, “family and loved ones”. Hope relief efforts gets the survivors some peace of mind. More than that, at least now their government should take serious steps to protect people by enforcing rules and regulation for construction in these volatile seismic zones.
Finally, Last VijayaDasmi I officially inaugurated the recordings for H1BEES album in my studio, it is now 1 year since and I am happy to see its progress. Last week the album was featured on NPR/BBC. And many of my friends have heard it and took time to call me, thanks guys.
10/5/05
Game Day
Super Series Aus vs Rest of the world
ICC’s dream cricket - The Super series kicked off yesterday. Dish network had scheduled a 11.30pm start, however maintaining “their tradition” the actual telecast started only at 12.00 midnight. For 30 painstaking delayed minutes it was Kenny’ G sax! Music “Good Lord”
This game was played at the Telstra Dome, a gorgeous indoor stadium that has a floating roof and a capacity of 40,000 seats for Cricket. The capacity can be increased based on the event; it seems for a rock show they can hold up to 70,000. However the sad part was it was not even filled to its 25% capacity. Given the prelude and the hype for this game, it was a big let down by the locals. May be most preferred to go to work; but in the thin crowed I did spot Indians with giant size flags. “சங்கு சுட்டாலும் வெண்மை தரும்”
The rest of the world 11 [+ 1 super sub] line up was star studded. The Shaun Pollock was captain for the one day squad. The squad: Sehwag, Sangakkara, Kallis, Lara, Pietersen, Dravid, Flintoff, Pollock, Vettori, Muralitharan and Akhtar. Afridi was the super sub. There was a buzz in the commentary box about Andrew Flitoff. Australia had the same side except 2 new faces. Pointing won the toss and elected to bat. Dean Jones and Sunil Gavasker presented both the teams with the official cap.
I felt this through out the game. Over all the captaincy [World team] was kind of not up to the mark for the world 11. I don’t want blame Shaun Pollock right away. It is very hard to deal the chemistry of such a powerful lineup. However the basics never change, he should have got the spinners little bit earlier. Instead he continued the power play and went on with Flintoff. Flintoff was mediocre and his line & length was questionable. Gilly happily singing “apidi pOdu pOdu” whacked him around the Dome. Flint off sucked to the core. Who knows for his poor performance he would not hesitate to blame Pollock however we need to wait for his next book to know about it. Katich managed to score runs but was fragile all through. Finally Kallis got rid of Gilly.
Pointing walked in for a “Kathak Batting Fusion”. His major weakness of “shuffling” was once again exposed. If Gangu dada’s weakness is short ball, Pointing has the weakness to shuffle more than a Vegas poker dealer. Ball hit his pads more than Sangakkara’s gloves. Finally he was pinned down by the Pollock and Kallis, he lost his patience and lifted one to the roof, Lara took a great catch and the dance show thus came to an end. Martin walked in and supplied some food materials for the supper break. He was out for a Duck. In spite of good bowling by Pollock Vettori and Murali, Aussies managed to score 250.
The rest of game for rest of the world was totally out of sync. I felt like watching India playing. Other than Sangakkara no one played to their potential. At the end the powerful star studded team lost the game by 100 runs. Jack “the stubborn” Kallis took the day off. Our own “Dharmer” Dravid was out in an odd fashion while Lambasting Lara was careless. Pietersen hyped resume did not do any good, he was out LBW. Poor Afridi did not have Agarkar or Zahir to hook on to; he was out in no time. Flintoff tried to get some runs however unfortunately for him this is not England where anything over the inner circle is 6-G [granted]. This is Australia where the oval is real and he has to cover more square feet to get the maximum. He will get right sooner or later.
The world 12 fielding was also not up to the standard. Sanjay “the perfect” Majeraker mentioned that the world team did not have great fielders in the squad. This made sense. As mentioned earlier I also felt captain’s attitude makes the difference in the team constitution. I hardly saw any body language from Pollock. The guys were playing because they were asked to play. The whole squad lacked the spirit to perform. Pollock also cannot do much, given their merits it is hard for him to scream at a world class player.
Bottom line, McGrath and Lee were the main force that won the game for the Aussies. Their batting is still fragile. This victory will boost Aussie confidence and can also increase their ego levels. We need to wait and watch the second game; I hope the world team will have its chemistry in place. For now Aussies are one up.
This game was played at the Telstra Dome, a gorgeous indoor stadium that has a floating roof and a capacity of 40,000 seats for Cricket. The capacity can be increased based on the event; it seems for a rock show they can hold up to 70,000. However the sad part was it was not even filled to its 25% capacity. Given the prelude and the hype for this game, it was a big let down by the locals. May be most preferred to go to work; but in the thin crowed I did spot Indians with giant size flags. “சங்கு சுட்டாலும் வெண்மை தரும்”
The rest of the world 11 [+ 1 super sub] line up was star studded. The Shaun Pollock was captain for the one day squad. The squad: Sehwag, Sangakkara, Kallis, Lara, Pietersen, Dravid, Flintoff, Pollock, Vettori, Muralitharan and Akhtar. Afridi was the super sub. There was a buzz in the commentary box about Andrew Flitoff. Australia had the same side except 2 new faces. Pointing won the toss and elected to bat. Dean Jones and Sunil Gavasker presented both the teams with the official cap.
I felt this through out the game. Over all the captaincy [World team] was kind of not up to the mark for the world 11. I don’t want blame Shaun Pollock right away. It is very hard to deal the chemistry of such a powerful lineup. However the basics never change, he should have got the spinners little bit earlier. Instead he continued the power play and went on with Flintoff. Flintoff was mediocre and his line & length was questionable. Gilly happily singing “apidi pOdu pOdu” whacked him around the Dome. Flint off sucked to the core. Who knows for his poor performance he would not hesitate to blame Pollock however we need to wait for his next book to know about it. Katich managed to score runs but was fragile all through. Finally Kallis got rid of Gilly.
Pointing walked in for a “Kathak Batting Fusion”. His major weakness of “shuffling” was once again exposed. If Gangu dada’s weakness is short ball, Pointing has the weakness to shuffle more than a Vegas poker dealer. Ball hit his pads more than Sangakkara’s gloves. Finally he was pinned down by the Pollock and Kallis, he lost his patience and lifted one to the roof, Lara took a great catch and the dance show thus came to an end. Martin walked in and supplied some food materials for the supper break. He was out for a Duck. In spite of good bowling by Pollock Vettori and Murali, Aussies managed to score 250.
The rest of game for rest of the world was totally out of sync. I felt like watching India playing. Other than Sangakkara no one played to their potential. At the end the powerful star studded team lost the game by 100 runs. Jack “the stubborn” Kallis took the day off. Our own “Dharmer” Dravid was out in an odd fashion while Lambasting Lara was careless. Pietersen hyped resume did not do any good, he was out LBW. Poor Afridi did not have Agarkar or Zahir to hook on to; he was out in no time. Flintoff tried to get some runs however unfortunately for him this is not England where anything over the inner circle is 6-G [granted]. This is Australia where the oval is real and he has to cover more square feet to get the maximum. He will get right sooner or later.
The world 12 fielding was also not up to the standard. Sanjay “the perfect” Majeraker mentioned that the world team did not have great fielders in the squad. This made sense. As mentioned earlier I also felt captain’s attitude makes the difference in the team constitution. I hardly saw any body language from Pollock. The guys were playing because they were asked to play. The whole squad lacked the spirit to perform. Pollock also cannot do much, given their merits it is hard for him to scream at a world class player.
Bottom line, McGrath and Lee were the main force that won the game for the Aussies. Their batting is still fragile. This victory will boost Aussie confidence and can also increase their ego levels. We need to wait and watch the second game; I hope the world team will have its chemistry in place. For now Aussies are one up.
10/4/05
GOLU 2005
by Jayashree Srikanth and Sriya Srikanth
Stage 1: The steps are set. The concrete stones are placed near the base in order to raise the PKL to 2000LBS. [PKL=Playful Kids Load]
Stage 2: The rough looking Steps are given a clean set of dress. Carpet is protected with papers. The left and right will feature miniatures city /village and a music hall.
Stage 3: The steps are being filled.
Stage 4: Three zones are almost ready
Stage 5: Let there be Light
Stage 6: let there be some more light
Stage 2: The rough looking Steps are given a clean set of dress. Carpet is protected with papers. The left and right will feature miniatures city /village and a music hall.
Stage 3: The steps are being filled.
Stage 4: Three zones are almost ready
Stage 5: Let there be Light
Stage 6: let there be some more light
Miniature Town Ship
(Aerial view)
Miniature Stage
10/3/05
The Weekend
After about 2 months, this was the first weekend I spent at home. However 70% of the weekend was spent on helping my wife and my daughter in setting up their Golu 2005. They have 7 steps and 2 miniature townships built. They had got various miniature city and village props from Chennai. Golu 2005 officially kicks of tonight. I will upload some pictures once the full setup is done.
Flintoff's "Alley Sonata" [சந்துல சிந்து] came to an official end when Paul Russel, Chief of the Glamorgan county team for which Ganguly played this season categorically stated that “Ganguly is an outstanding professional who settled into the team and worked hard on and off the field”. He also adds that Gangully always came to team practice in time and did whatever he was told to do so. He expressed surprise about Flintoff's critical remarks in his autobiography. In fact, the team has the opposite image of Ganguly of what Flintoff has written. Bottom line, there was no hint of anything of what Flintoff has said. He was very friendly with the other team-members and used to often go out with them for dinner. I think Flintoff instead of using the current circumstance to sell his Book needs to get away from this cheap tactics and get a life.
The World Series cricket starts this week, Dish Network will be is bringing it live here in the US. The charge will be around $65.00.
Sachin recovered from his injury and announced that he is fit to play. He will be playing the Champion trophy. I happen to catch his interview on news broadcast. He was in his usual spirit. I wish he gets back into action quickly. Team India needs his services badly.
Rest of the weekend went on watching the NFL. Vikings the team I support, sucked to the core and lost to Atlanta; however losers of the week award goes to Kansas City Chiefs. In fact today we a new addendum released for the meaning for the word Losers
Losers: One that fails to win: the losers of the game.
a. One who takes loss in a specified way: (a)A graceful loser; (b)A poor loser (c) The Kansas city Chief ‘s way.
Philly Eagles came back from an 18 point deficit to win the game. In 3rd quarter Chief was shutdown. Something similar to Indian cricket team where Sehwag and Sachin give a great start but the rest “rests in peace”,
Good day.
Flintoff's "Alley Sonata" [சந்துல சிந்து] came to an official end when Paul Russel, Chief of the Glamorgan county team for which Ganguly played this season categorically stated that “Ganguly is an outstanding professional who settled into the team and worked hard on and off the field”. He also adds that Gangully always came to team practice in time and did whatever he was told to do so. He expressed surprise about Flintoff's critical remarks in his autobiography. In fact, the team has the opposite image of Ganguly of what Flintoff has written. Bottom line, there was no hint of anything of what Flintoff has said. He was very friendly with the other team-members and used to often go out with them for dinner. I think Flintoff instead of using the current circumstance to sell his Book needs to get away from this cheap tactics and get a life.
The World Series cricket starts this week, Dish Network will be is bringing it live here in the US. The charge will be around $65.00.
Sachin recovered from his injury and announced that he is fit to play. He will be playing the Champion trophy. I happen to catch his interview on news broadcast. He was in his usual spirit. I wish he gets back into action quickly. Team India needs his services badly.
Rest of the weekend went on watching the NFL. Vikings the team I support, sucked to the core and lost to Atlanta; however losers of the week award goes to Kansas City Chiefs. In fact today we a new addendum released for the meaning for the word Losers
Losers: One that fails to win: the losers of the game.
a. One who takes loss in a specified way: (a)A graceful loser; (b)A poor loser (c) The Kansas city Chief ‘s way.
Philly Eagles came back from an 18 point deficit to win the game. In 3rd quarter Chief was shutdown. Something similar to Indian cricket team where Sehwag and Sachin give a great start but the rest “rests in peace”,
Good day.
9/29/05
H1BEES News
Last week H1BEES the music album was featured on the Aaj Tak Hindi news channel, India. They featured the release function and my interview in their weekly program called “duniya”. The program was produced by Vidhushi Sinha of Voice of America/Aaj Tak.
Indian Express carried the Washington post article all over India.
TV Asia, USA featured the CD release in their community round up program. They covered the entire evening program along with my interview and interviews from others artists who worked with me in this album.
Urban India a magazine based out of NYC has a 2 page article on H1BEES.
Vatsa [Co-Producer] and I gave interviews to the NPR/BBC and few popular POD cast shows in the east coast. NPR Washington, DC had requested a copy of the CD; they might soon do a feature on the CD.
CDs available at:
www.h1bees.com TamilOviam.com DVD Unlimited Online South Indian Specialties,Oak Tree Road, Edison, NJ 08820 DVD Unlimited Stores - 1734,Oak Tree Road,Edison, NJ 08820 BombayBazzar,NJ Malabar Indian Mart, Gaithersburg, MD
Indian Express carried the Washington post article all over India.
TV Asia, USA featured the CD release in their community round up program. They covered the entire evening program along with my interview and interviews from others artists who worked with me in this album.
Urban India a magazine based out of NYC has a 2 page article on H1BEES.
Vatsa [Co-Producer] and I gave interviews to the NPR/BBC and few popular POD cast shows in the east coast. NPR Washington, DC had requested a copy of the CD; they might soon do a feature on the CD.
CDs available at:
9/28/05
Introducing The EyeWash...
The best remedy for Catch22 syndrome
"Side effects Warning"
1.Coach can be branded as a "fool" or a "liar"
2.Gloom feeling in the dressing room will continue
3.Poor and pathetic performance by Gangully will go unnoticed.
4.Team-India can be called as Scheme-India.
5. Distort the world cup dream
1.Coach can be branded as a "fool" or a "liar"
2.Gloom feeling in the dressing room will continue
3.Poor and pathetic performance by Gangully will go unnoticed.
4.Team-India can be called as Scheme-India.
5. Distort the world cup dream
9/26/05
தேவுடா தேவுடா
The Chappell’s email that was leaked to the press has created some serious controversies for Indian Cricket. I am not supporting Gangully or the coach here because I am confused to take sides.
Excerpts from the Email
1. At no stage did I ask Mr Ganguly to step down from the captaincy of the Indian team. But my confusion reaches it heights when I read the following lines in the email
On the basis of this and other observations and comments from players in the squad about the unsettling effect Sourav was having on the group “I suggested to Sourav that he should consider stepping down from the captaincy” at the end of the tour in the interests of the team and in his own best interests. Don’t you feel these lines contradict his first line of the mail? So I am really confused to see the culprit.
“The next day I enquired with a number of the players as to what they had thought of Sourav's retirement” , People, why in the world a coach would worry about captain’s retirement and his provident fund balance? It is for the Board to worry right? Makes me feel Mr. Chappel over did his portfolio. Chappel also goes on further and trashes the former coach of the side. “John Wright obviously allowed this to go on to the detriment of the team. I am not prepared to sit back and allow this to continue or we will get the same results we have been seeing for some time now.” Here is new coach, who is yet to prove his capacity goes around asking about the captain to other players and comments on his predecessor performance. When Mr. Chappell walked in, did he not give a clean chit on Gangully &Co? What happened suddenly?
The dirt pot is stirred further now; BCCI officials have started to finger point each other. Mr. Dungarpur complains or may be revealed yesterday that John Wright stepped down as India's coach because of Ganguly and Mr. Dalmiya's high-handedness. Wright spoke to him in private it seems. Duh! Why in the hell Mr. Dungarpur did not call the press and reveal this before? If Mr Dungarpur’s intention was to improve Indian cricket, why was he waiting for a favorable position to score points? The team manager Mr. Chowdhary for his part has a little statement supporting Gangully. He claims points made by the coach on Gangully missing the net practice was incorrect. BCCI apart from this mind blowing issue, they have their own internal problem in picking their office bearers.
Today, after the strong email dose from the Coach, the world knows how the Indian Cricket team and its board work. This is totally pathetic, BCCI apart from themselves being a bunch of jokers now have paved way for the players and fans to be called as jokers.
"தேவுடா தேவுடா ஏழு மலை தேவுடா....
சூடுடா சூடுடா BCCI பக்கம் சூடுடா
எங்காளு உள்ளங்கள் தகர டப்பாக்கள்
நீ கொஞ்ஜம் பட்ட டிட்டடா..." [Repeatu]
Excerpts from the Email
1. At no stage did I ask Mr Ganguly to step down from the captaincy of the Indian team. But my confusion reaches it heights when I read the following lines in the email
On the basis of this and other observations and comments from players in the squad about the unsettling effect Sourav was having on the group “I suggested to Sourav that he should consider stepping down from the captaincy” at the end of the tour in the interests of the team and in his own best interests. Don’t you feel these lines contradict his first line of the mail? So I am really confused to see the culprit.
“The next day I enquired with a number of the players as to what they had thought of Sourav's retirement” , People, why in the world a coach would worry about captain’s retirement and his provident fund balance? It is for the Board to worry right? Makes me feel Mr. Chappel over did his portfolio. Chappel also goes on further and trashes the former coach of the side. “John Wright obviously allowed this to go on to the detriment of the team. I am not prepared to sit back and allow this to continue or we will get the same results we have been seeing for some time now.” Here is new coach, who is yet to prove his capacity goes around asking about the captain to other players and comments on his predecessor performance. When Mr. Chappell walked in, did he not give a clean chit on Gangully &Co? What happened suddenly?
The dirt pot is stirred further now; BCCI officials have started to finger point each other. Mr. Dungarpur complains or may be revealed yesterday that John Wright stepped down as India's coach because of Ganguly and Mr. Dalmiya's high-handedness. Wright spoke to him in private it seems. Duh! Why in the hell Mr. Dungarpur did not call the press and reveal this before? If Mr Dungarpur’s intention was to improve Indian cricket, why was he waiting for a favorable position to score points? The team manager Mr. Chowdhary for his part has a little statement supporting Gangully. He claims points made by the coach on Gangully missing the net practice was incorrect. BCCI apart from this mind blowing issue, they have their own internal problem in picking their office bearers.
Today, after the strong email dose from the Coach, the world knows how the Indian Cricket team and its board work. This is totally pathetic, BCCI apart from themselves being a bunch of jokers now have paved way for the players and fans to be called as jokers.
"தேவுடா தேவுடா ஏழு மலை தேவுடா....
சூடுடா சூடுடா BCCI பக்கம் சூடுடா
எங்காளு உள்ளங்கள் தகர டப்பாக்கள்
நீ கொஞ்ஜம் பட்ட டிட்டடா..." [Repeatu]
The following segment is
sponsored by இதயம் நல் எண்னை,
Cycle Brand ஊது"வத்தீ..."
Ps:Kaif played well at number 3 position and was dropped; there are 2 major competitors for this position? If you know what I mean? “Which snake pit has what snake”, you never know. sponsored by இதயம் நல் எண்னை,
Cycle Brand ஊது"வத்தீ..."
9/23/05
Gangully a/c Dr - 2005
to Chappel A/c -2005
(Being the Account Settled)
Greg Chappel comes out with a strong message through an email. It is speculated that he has written 6 pages about Gangully’s behavior, according to him Dada is not mentally or physically fit to lead India. Wow! that’s a bold statement for a brand new “foreign” Coach to make.
Some might claim Chappel makes sense, my question to them but why there weren’t any issues with the previous coach? There was no complaining or even sarcastic hints from John Wright till date about Gangully or the team. Team performance was much better during his tenure. The whole environment was healthy.
On the other hand the day Mr. Chappel stepped into the Indian side the team lost his focus and started to see only defeats. We lost in a sequence to every little team. There seems to be no harmony in the team, team selection seems to be haphazard. I feel going by past records, Gangully has been leading the side for quite some time and he did not have any issues with the magnitude Chappel complains. There were complains but were mostly by the media and from the commentators box, Australian media and their band wagon of commentators in particular.
The BCCI, whose quorum can be termed as the world’s most unprofessional bunch, is clue less in this issue till date. They are busy fighting amongst themselves to pick their head. They will soon face the contempt of the court. Yesterday their AGM went into a dead lock and was adjourned ignoring orders from the Calcutta High Court. The board election was postponed to the year 3205. So we cannot look for proper or sane explanation from these people.
I wish Sachin recovers and gets back into the team. If you see until Sachin was around, let us not worry he scored runs or not but others played much better to their potential just to match Sachin’s standards. Sachin was a catalyst in the team whose presence was vital in the team’s chemistry. This is what I feel.
Gangully might be going through a bad patch or his final cricketing days, I don’t care, having been selected as the captain by the BCCI [or the bunch of jokers], it was not appropriate for a coach to ask the captain to resign just before the game. This was not a prudent move by the coach. This can demoralize the entire team and will power the opponents.
Gangully on his side was also childish when he opened the can of worms about this incident to the press. Media seems to be against Gangully, his hundred in first test was termed as “painstaking century in the Bulawayo Test” where he took 240+ balls to score 101. In the next test Rahul Dravid scored a 98 in almost same number of balls. But media never cared.
Having opened the can of worms Gangully has to face the repercussions, while I don’t trust Mr. Chappel’s claims about Gangully. Chappel is merely settling accounts with the Indian captain for his recent outbursts to the media.
As of now Indian cricket is doomed.
Some might claim Chappel makes sense, my question to them but why there weren’t any issues with the previous coach? There was no complaining or even sarcastic hints from John Wright till date about Gangully or the team. Team performance was much better during his tenure. The whole environment was healthy.
On the other hand the day Mr. Chappel stepped into the Indian side the team lost his focus and started to see only defeats. We lost in a sequence to every little team. There seems to be no harmony in the team, team selection seems to be haphazard. I feel going by past records, Gangully has been leading the side for quite some time and he did not have any issues with the magnitude Chappel complains. There were complains but were mostly by the media and from the commentators box, Australian media and their band wagon of commentators in particular.
The BCCI, whose quorum can be termed as the world’s most unprofessional bunch, is clue less in this issue till date. They are busy fighting amongst themselves to pick their head. They will soon face the contempt of the court. Yesterday their AGM went into a dead lock and was adjourned ignoring orders from the Calcutta High Court. The board election was postponed to the year 3205. So we cannot look for proper or sane explanation from these people.
I wish Sachin recovers and gets back into the team. If you see until Sachin was around, let us not worry he scored runs or not but others played much better to their potential just to match Sachin’s standards. Sachin was a catalyst in the team whose presence was vital in the team’s chemistry. This is what I feel.
Gangully might be going through a bad patch or his final cricketing days, I don’t care, having been selected as the captain by the BCCI [or the bunch of jokers], it was not appropriate for a coach to ask the captain to resign just before the game. This was not a prudent move by the coach. This can demoralize the entire team and will power the opponents.
Gangully on his side was also childish when he opened the can of worms about this incident to the press. Media seems to be against Gangully, his hundred in first test was termed as “painstaking century in the Bulawayo Test” where he took 240+ balls to score 101. In the next test Rahul Dravid scored a 98 in almost same number of balls. But media never cared.
Having opened the can of worms Gangully has to face the repercussions, while I don’t trust Mr. Chappel’s claims about Gangully. Chappel is merely settling accounts with the Indian captain for his recent outbursts to the media.
As of now Indian cricket is doomed.
9/22/05
Mixing a live Band -
Part 2
Meet the Vocalists
The orchestra can be accurate, perfect and very professional agreed, but every thing counts only if the singers rise to the occasion. Rasika is also blessed in this area. Apart from having a talented and dedicated orchestra, they have exceptional vocalist who carried the show well.
Priya Raman, this is the first time I am meeting Priya. She is a direct product from the 80’s and early 90’s era; Priya based out of NC, a senior member of the band gave a brilliant performance. Katril from “Johnny”, second song in the show was her highlight. She also sang perfectly my favourite song "pAratha nyabagam illaiyo" from pudiya paravai.
Raghu, Carnatic musician trained under TNS captured the audience with his vocal acrobatics. The song “oru naL poduma” was his highlight. Sapna Kartik, another senior member, “pAdava un pAdalai” was done remarkably well by her. I was surprised when she hit few lower notes while singing the famous “apidi podu” from Gilly, Tonality in her vocals was very unique and distinctive. Composer Srikanth has already taken a note.
Singing accurately is 40% of the task. Meaning basics are to be addressed first however 60% of the effort goes to the emotion, pronunciation, brightness or feel [what ever you call] the vocalists could produce. The next man I going to talk about is blessed with plenty of talent. As far as Rasika is concerned, Suresh Ramachandran is a new comer, however knowing him well I was not really surprised by the energy he got on the stage. Suresh can carry any song to a different height by his natural emotions and his stage presence. The show opener by him, devuda devuda clearly marked the beginning of a great show and indicated what is going to follow to the audience. His medley with other artists was real fun. The way Suresh and Priya sang “vanitha mani” from Vikram,man this was out of this world. This includes the opening dialogues. I would say this was the best song of the evening.
Kartik is a vocalist in the band, since Kartik is already suffering from heavy cold due to the intro I gave about him in the first part; I will let the album H1BEES do the talking about his singing ability.Prabodh, based out of Richmond, a naturally talented stage vocalist. He knows the knack to get the audience go along with him, though his Tamil pronunciations were questionable, he peeked well at the end.
The band had a new lady voice this year, Uma Ravishanker, her vocal range was quite high. When ever she went on higher octaves I had do some manual limiting. A great find for the band. Apart from the above Rasika had few part time singers Aswin, the mimicry guy and Guru.
Finally, I have to mention about the great “backing vocals” by Vatsa [Vatsa okva] . Vatsa was also the MC.
Priya Raman, this is the first time I am meeting Priya. She is a direct product from the 80’s and early 90’s era; Priya based out of NC, a senior member of the band gave a brilliant performance. Katril from “Johnny”, second song in the show was her highlight. She also sang perfectly my favourite song "pAratha nyabagam illaiyo" from pudiya paravai.
Raghu, Carnatic musician trained under TNS captured the audience with his vocal acrobatics. The song “oru naL poduma” was his highlight. Sapna Kartik, another senior member, “pAdava un pAdalai” was done remarkably well by her. I was surprised when she hit few lower notes while singing the famous “apidi podu” from Gilly, Tonality in her vocals was very unique and distinctive. Composer Srikanth has already taken a note.
Singing accurately is 40% of the task. Meaning basics are to be addressed first however 60% of the effort goes to the emotion, pronunciation, brightness or feel [what ever you call] the vocalists could produce. The next man I going to talk about is blessed with plenty of talent. As far as Rasika is concerned, Suresh Ramachandran is a new comer, however knowing him well I was not really surprised by the energy he got on the stage. Suresh can carry any song to a different height by his natural emotions and his stage presence. The show opener by him, devuda devuda clearly marked the beginning of a great show and indicated what is going to follow to the audience. His medley with other artists was real fun. The way Suresh and Priya sang “vanitha mani” from Vikram,man this was out of this world. This includes the opening dialogues. I would say this was the best song of the evening.
Kartik is a vocalist in the band, since Kartik is already suffering from heavy cold due to the intro I gave about him in the first part; I will let the album H1BEES do the talking about his singing ability.Prabodh, based out of Richmond, a naturally talented stage vocalist. He knows the knack to get the audience go along with him, though his Tamil pronunciations were questionable, he peeked well at the end.
The band had a new lady voice this year, Uma Ravishanker, her vocal range was quite high. When ever she went on higher octaves I had do some manual limiting. A great find for the band. Apart from the above Rasika had few part time singers Aswin, the mimicry guy and Guru.
Finally, I have to mention about the great “backing vocals” by Vatsa [Vatsa okva] . Vatsa was also the MC.
9/19/05
Mixing a Live Band…
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to sound engineer an excellent live music show in Chantilly VA. “Rasika” the east coast based Tamil music band gave their annual performance for the charity organization OPEN at Chantilly High school auditorium. It was a full house; the hall was filled with 500-600 people. It was a great team effort, I was really happy to be a part of the evening or as my friend Vocalist Suresh rightly pleaded to everyone to adopt him into the band. I think I would also do the same; these guys are fun to work with and have plenty of positive energy around them.
“Man of the match”, Kartik, yes the same Kartik who sang H1BEES title track.
Few have confused him with Play back singer Karthick in my album. The song I recorded with Play back singer Karthick was for a different album [Yes! one more big step].
If you ask me, Kartik is the first musician ever to play my compositions with full heart, soul and dedication. He made sure he got out all the nuances in my composition. The guitar solo in the 3rd section in track h1bees was played by him.
This was a great effort because the note placement in the track was more suited for a keyboard player and it is very hard for a guitar player to get the flow. But patience and practice paved the way, he did it right. He lives 60 miles from my house, still in spite of his very tight schedule, he had patience to drive down to the studio with his gadgets and do this for me. Thanks Q!
About 3 months ago, Kartik voted to get me on board into this wonderful band called Rasika, he requested me to join the fun and help them in sound modeling and engineering. Coming from a studio background, working on live mixes is a specialization on its own accord. Though I loved sound modeling and engineering I did think twice before saying yes.
I did not want to do a MIC testing 123 job, I wanted to give something extra in the mix. At the end of the day their efforts should not go waste because of my poor handling of sounds. But with Katik’s trust in me I thought I will do it. To live up to their standards I took the job with real seriousness. When working on live mix, unless the sound engineer knows the music, he/she cannot mix the parts in the right proportion. Something like cooking, if you do not know the ingredients and its proportion, the output will suffer.
Its my luck, 90% of the songs picked by the band were my favorites from the 80’s, I would quote my song 80s in Chennai “azagAna in isai isaigani thandida” So it was a matter of few hours for me to grove into this effort. In spite of my tight H1BEE schedule, I made sure I joined them in their rehearsal sections; took time to understand the chemistry behind the team.
The Band has 2 excellent keyboard players, Vilon Vidwan turned KeyB player Sundu and Mirudangam Vidwan Turned KeyB player Ajith [every weekend drove all the way from Richmond]. Both of them are very talented and played every little lead and counter points composed by Raja. They did not miss or mess anything from the original composition.
The guitar section consists Kartik [of course] Suresh, Pankaj and Sydney on Bass. Sydney pumped in breathtaking bass parts and was surprised when he told me that he has never heard some songs in the list. Suresh has a fantastic midi controlled electric guitar [Roland GTs], meaning he plays flute on his guitar, and he is a classical trained guitarists, even took lessons from my good friend Guitar Prasanna. Pankaj, he does not talk Tamil, but his guitar work was very honest. These 4 guys along with the Keys had worked for about 5 months almost every day to get the musical parts in place.
Drum and percussion: Das, - very skilled Drummer on a powerful Roland V drums kit. I have not worked with Das before, this was my first time, I enjoyed it, and Das being a senior musician was very patient to take my inputs on the drum mix. Das along with his friend Shyam are working on Hindi movies and progressing towards Bollywood at a rapid pace.
Next - Drummer Karthick – He plays Roland pads, and every other hand percussion including Bongos and “Tappe”. He rocks and makes merry. A very funny person filled with humor and energy. When he saw me at the rehearsals, called me "periya thalai is here we better do well", and I still think he referred to my age :) You got to listen to Karthick singing while drumming, yes! I heard it thru the over head mic that I placed for the cymbals. It was just fun talking and working with him. Just a note, Karthick’s wife Priya wrote the song Thedi Thedi in my album H1bees.
Finally, On Tabla - Pro player Topo. The way he played for “poo vee sem poove” is still ringing in my ears; he was totally authentic and very impressive.
The mix board that was given to me was a “Midas [Venice] 320” often used by pro bands like Elton John, NSync . It made me go WOW! When Bill, the sound guy told me that he was getting me a Midas.
This is a wide band! Already 16 channels on the mix board,
• 1- Bass
• 2 & 3 : drum 1,
• 4& 5 : drum 2
• 6,7,8 – Kartik [Electric, acoustic, and 12 string]
• 9,10 - Suresh [Roland GT’s]
• 11 – Pankaj
• 12 &13 – Sundu – kb [Korg Triton/Roland]
• 14 – Ajith – Kb
• 15 /16 Tabla
With this I will stop it here today, I wish to write about the singers and then I will give a narration of how I mixed this live show.
“Man of the match”, Kartik, yes the same Kartik who sang H1BEES title track.
Few have confused him with Play back singer Karthick in my album. The song I recorded with Play back singer Karthick was for a different album [Yes! one more big step].
If you ask me, Kartik is the first musician ever to play my compositions with full heart, soul and dedication. He made sure he got out all the nuances in my composition. The guitar solo in the 3rd section in track h1bees was played by him.
This was a great effort because the note placement in the track was more suited for a keyboard player and it is very hard for a guitar player to get the flow. But patience and practice paved the way, he did it right. He lives 60 miles from my house, still in spite of his very tight schedule, he had patience to drive down to the studio with his gadgets and do this for me. Thanks Q!
About 3 months ago, Kartik voted to get me on board into this wonderful band called Rasika, he requested me to join the fun and help them in sound modeling and engineering. Coming from a studio background, working on live mixes is a specialization on its own accord. Though I loved sound modeling and engineering I did think twice before saying yes.
I did not want to do a MIC testing 123 job, I wanted to give something extra in the mix. At the end of the day their efforts should not go waste because of my poor handling of sounds. But with Katik’s trust in me I thought I will do it. To live up to their standards I took the job with real seriousness. When working on live mix, unless the sound engineer knows the music, he/she cannot mix the parts in the right proportion. Something like cooking, if you do not know the ingredients and its proportion, the output will suffer.
Its my luck, 90% of the songs picked by the band were my favorites from the 80’s, I would quote my song 80s in Chennai “azagAna in isai isaigani thandida” So it was a matter of few hours for me to grove into this effort. In spite of my tight H1BEE schedule, I made sure I joined them in their rehearsal sections; took time to understand the chemistry behind the team.
The Band has 2 excellent keyboard players, Vilon Vidwan turned KeyB player Sundu and Mirudangam Vidwan Turned KeyB player Ajith [every weekend drove all the way from Richmond]. Both of them are very talented and played every little lead and counter points composed by Raja. They did not miss or mess anything from the original composition.
The guitar section consists Kartik [of course] Suresh, Pankaj and Sydney on Bass. Sydney pumped in breathtaking bass parts and was surprised when he told me that he has never heard some songs in the list. Suresh has a fantastic midi controlled electric guitar [Roland GTs], meaning he plays flute on his guitar, and he is a classical trained guitarists, even took lessons from my good friend Guitar Prasanna. Pankaj, he does not talk Tamil, but his guitar work was very honest. These 4 guys along with the Keys had worked for about 5 months almost every day to get the musical parts in place.
Drum and percussion: Das, - very skilled Drummer on a powerful Roland V drums kit. I have not worked with Das before, this was my first time, I enjoyed it, and Das being a senior musician was very patient to take my inputs on the drum mix. Das along with his friend Shyam are working on Hindi movies and progressing towards Bollywood at a rapid pace.
Next - Drummer Karthick – He plays Roland pads, and every other hand percussion including Bongos and “Tappe”. He rocks and makes merry. A very funny person filled with humor and energy. When he saw me at the rehearsals, called me "periya thalai is here we better do well", and I still think he referred to my age :) You got to listen to Karthick singing while drumming, yes! I heard it thru the over head mic that I placed for the cymbals. It was just fun talking and working with him. Just a note, Karthick’s wife Priya wrote the song Thedi Thedi in my album H1bees.
Finally, On Tabla - Pro player Topo. The way he played for “poo vee sem poove” is still ringing in my ears; he was totally authentic and very impressive.
The mix board that was given to me was a “Midas [Venice] 320” often used by pro bands like Elton John, NSync . It made me go WOW! When Bill, the sound guy told me that he was getting me a Midas.
This is a wide band! Already 16 channels on the mix board,
• 1- Bass
• 2 & 3 : drum 1,
• 4& 5 : drum 2
• 6,7,8 – Kartik [Electric, acoustic, and 12 string]
• 9,10 - Suresh [Roland GT’s]
• 11 – Pankaj
• 12 &13 – Sundu – kb [Korg Triton/Roland]
• 14 – Ajith – Kb
• 15 /16 Tabla
With this I will stop it here today, I wish to write about the singers and then I will give a narration of how I mixed this live show.
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