Goodbye Maharaja!!!!

Lords, 13th July 2002.... every Indian cricket fan was on cloud nine. This picture shows not only Sourav Ganguly's emotions that night but of whole India. It was more than a mere reply to what Flintoff did at Wankhede. Thats Dada...Maharaja...Prince of Kolkata.

"The only man after God on the off side" are the most talked about words about Sourav Ganguly and truly the pleasure his off-drives have given over last 12 years to any and every cricket follower is unmatchable. I take immense pride in being left-hander and very much thankful to the person who first gave me cricket bat and asked me to hold it that way.

So called IT generation...young generation of India has grown up watching fab four batting and I think everybody will agree that it hurts to see the fort Fab-4 built up finally getting dismantled. Along with off-drives Ganguly would always be known for his Captaincy. No one would ever dare to deny him credit for matches India won abroad. Dada's leadership and the best ever middle order in India's history made that possible. Indians were always called Tigers at home and sheeps abroad but Ganguly and his team has surely changed this perception of cricket analysts by winning everywhere around the world.

Nagpur was the last test appearance for Ganguly. In first inning it was very certain till that beauty from Krejza that he will be giving fitting reply to Chappell (who holds unique record for scoring century in debut and in last innning) by scoring century in the last appearance but that was not to happen and he fell short by 15 runs. Today in his last test appearance he got out on zero. Thats what is called fate. Finally, Maharaja thanks for making every Indian proud of your achievements and showcasing world the might of India.

Goodbye Dada....Wish you all the best...

Yesterday was one great day for me….. I will cherish memories of it forever…..

For the first time I went to Formula-1 sports bar here in Pune…. The atmosphere was electrifying… It was worth paying 250 bucks…..

I had been to sports bar earlier in US as well as in Hyderabad but the atmosphere was never so great… (There might be better sports bars but I am yet to go ther)

Moreover the way championship was shaped up this year, it was just awesome…It was as thrilling as last year…I was praying for Ferrari’s victory…(I just don’t like watching Mclaren win)

And believe me guys, it turned out to be greatest race I have ever seen….

It had all the drama embedded in it….. It was raining so heavily just before race starts that race start was delayed by 10 mins…The moment it started raining there were all sorts of ill-words from Ferrari fans around….. Everybody knows this year Ferrari was as poor as Force India in wet conditions…. They were just unable to keep their vehicle on track in wet conditions….. Almost all drivers went for tyre change just moments before start of the race choosing Intermediate tyres….

Within few loops bright sunshine was all over the park and there was a kind of sigh of relief over all faces….. But for Massa to win Hamilton was required to end race below 5th position and he was driving pretty comfortably at 4th position….

It was first pit-stop that excited all the people present in the bar….. Hamilton who was driving 4th moved down to 5th position…Ferrari contingent in the bar was glad to c this…. There onwards It was normal race… It was clear that Felipe is gonna win the race….he was driving amazing…. Hamilton was not at all able to take back 4th spot and after second pit stop even Force India was challenging him… He was further down and facing all sorts of problems with Force India putting up challenge….. But Fisi’s challenge lasted for very small time and within a lap Hamilton was back to CHAMPIONSHIP….

But the real drama was reserved for the end….. On Team radios, pit-crews were calling drivers back in pits for tyre change as rain was expected in few minutes...

It was last 7-8 laps and the greatest find of this season Sebastian Vettel was driving like anything…. He was almost on Hamilton’ s tail wings ….. And that was the time every Ferrari fan around started yelling, hurling abuses at Hamilton…. Praying for some mechanical problem to his machine…..

It was second last lap of the last race of the season and Vettel had an amazing overtaking manuovre, he gained 5th position with Hamilton down at 6th. We were on cloud nine…… British faces and Mclaren supporters were almost in tears…. Vettel defended Hamilton attack till end…. I was dancing, clapping….. We could see Massa family overjoyed…All the Ferrari fans could not believe their eyes as it looked as if it was again similar story to last year and Hamilton lost the final bout…..But this joy was very short-lived as suddenly one british fan in the bar stood up…..Looking at all of us said “No…….Hamilton won the championship…He finished 5th”… and then came the big blow…. Useless Timo Glock could not hold his place and he was overtaken by Hamilton as well as Vettel on the last turn….

I didnt stay in the bar for one more minute… Left for the home with tears in my eyes….
Thanks Vettel for that one moment…I just want to see u in Ferrari paddock in coming years….... And good luck to Massa for next year….

भारतीय खेल दिन !!!!

20th August 2008 will go as one of the greatest days in India's sporting history. Never before India has secured two Olympic medals on same day in its 112 years Olympic history.

First of all Congratulations to Sushil Kumar. For a wrestler winning 3 bouts within a span of one hour were heroic efforts. Sushil Kumar who was one of the medal hopes at Athens came out strongly even after loosing second round against eventual silver medalist and winning bronze medal for India . Freestyle Wrestling (कुश्ती) used to be played and followed passionately across India. I hope this medal will rejuvenate India's favourite game and will bring more glory in coming Olympics.

Vijender's quarterfinal victory has assured India at least Bronze medal. Till now he has won very comfortably against all of his opponents. It is giving assurance that he wont be satisfied on Bronze. He will fight for Gold only. I wish him all the best and pray that he will win another gold for India.

Finally, Thanks to both the players for making it one of the most memorable days. 20th August should be celebrated as भारतीय खेल दिन here onwards.

On a lighter note, as today being Rajiv Gandhi's birthday and India already awards Khel-Ratna award by his name, I would like to call it राजीव गाँधी खेल दिवस :-)

I cried for Sutil!!!!!

Force India are really minnows compared to all other great F1 teams. I believe while competing their(minnow teams) focus remains on max 5 constructor points at the end of the season. (Funding to such teams is still mystery to me. Every billionaire tries his hand and fulfills his fancies by owning F1 team..this is what I believe). On Sunday they were very close to their debut on scorecard. They were hardly 4 laps away from full 5 points. The great German Andrian Sutil would have gone in history books with broad smile and also the great Indian Vijay Mallya, ever-enthusiastic Rich-Man.

I was following game on net. I was disappointed initially to see none of the Ferrari's leading the race even though qualified on front row. But Adrian's heroics caught my eyes. He must have drove wonderfully as Steve Slater picked him up as Driver of the race. I really cried when I read KR banged his car and he retired from the race. For a driver like Sutil and Constructor like Force India, it was once in year opportunity and it really slipped out of their hands due to somebody Else's mistake.

Consolation for Sutil as well as Force India came from KR as well as every F1 follower. I believe Force India looks at this lost opportunity as a step stone towards competitive future and races hard here onwards.

Hail Sutil for his heroics.

Radio City!!!

I am really thankful to e-sakal for letting me know this great news. It will be a great entertainment to Nanded Janata to listen to RC.

On business front I believe this might turn out to be game-changer for radio broadcasters. Almost every district place in India has got Radio-Transmission station, these private players would be utilising available facilities only and reaching broader audience. They would be establishing stations on rental basis and saving complete installation costs.

Also, It was very important for them to reach newer audience in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities as their business was almost saturated in metros and big cities. This way they would be generating revenues out of typical middle-class India. At these places they might not be able to sell advertisements at the same rate to metros and big cities but they would surely be able to tap local market. Their profit margins would not be very great but compared to investments, it must be significant.

This kind of business module of providing available facilities to private radio broadcasters, government will also be earning good chunk of money and profits which were literally drained through these mass communication resources. On the similar lines, now they need to either rejuvenate DoorDarshan and give it back its old glory or hand it over to some private operator with time-sharing module so that it can regain its spot in audience's mind.

नम्मा बेन्गालूरू !!!!

Last 8 months of Bangalore stay was great. Weather, food, people in Bangalore were really awesome. I will surely cherish my professional experience also for all the good and bad reasons.

For me food has always been very important...go anywhere what matters most to me is food I get. I came to bangalore expecting some problems in that regard but to my surprise I got and njoyed very tasty - delicious food here.

My roommates Subhas, Vinit, Bhavesh and for sometime Vippu were great guys/cooks who like to prepare at home...Me too started with washing utensils and promoted to prepare at least Poha. We prepared some dishes which I bet are very rare to get at Bachelor accomodation like Handava,Dhokala, Khichadi-Kadhi . भरल्या-भेंडीची भाजी at bachelor stay was really unexpected. Poha/Maggy और अदरक-वाली चाय was very much regular breakfast. In fact Adrak-Pudhina waali chaay was the best learning in Blore stay :-) It really refreshes you a lot. Such delicious food must be the only reason for good belly I am having.

Professionally also this stay was quite good. Got new friends in office. Alay was always there to solve any problem at work. Koustubh was there to cool down my temper. Even in bad days at stockmarket, discussions with Shreyas were really helpful. His forwards were very much informative. Forward messages received from my friends Nikhil and Nandu were really good one. Chit-Chat and all the PJs with my friend and cubicle-mate Elzi was very cool and relaxing time of rotation.

My dear friend Sachin Dharmapurikar was also here for almost 6 months so it was like back to good old Hyderabad days.

Best part of Bangalore stay was IISc. Thanks to Saurya for calling me there, otherwise its really impossible for a muggle like me to get into that magic land.

Weather at Bangalore is undoubtedly very uncharacteristic of Southern India. It rains at least once in every month; be it March or November. It cools down very fast just like Pune (Couldn't help it)...

Lastly couple of snaps from Bangalore, I am sure very rare to see somewhere else in India...Its the beauty of Bangalore ...Thanks again...

Shame....Shame....

It is shameful feeling that we could not qualify for Olympics. Its time to seriously think about our National Game. Its time to bring some new administrators and players into Indian Hockey.

I am not a big hockey fan but do follow it. I never thought that Indian Hockey will go to such poor levels. I did watch India vs. England in league and felt pity about our defence. It was pathetic by any standards. They conceded goal in the last minutes. Simple defence strategy of Man-marking (at least for forwards) could not be seen. I think its time to show "Chak De India" to Indian Men Hockey.

The Centuryman

Cricket world reckons Sachin as the Centuryman. He is the highest century makers in either form of the cricket. But there was always an allegation that he plays for himself and centuries rather than for team's cause. When many people say how many of Sachin's hundreds have come for a winning cause,Here is analysis of each of those centuries he scored when INDIA lost and reason why it went in vain. Out of the 42 hundreds, 11 hundreds have gone in vain.

1. 137 off 137 (Strike rate 100) balls Vs SriLanka at Delhi in 1996 World Cup. India scored 271/3 in 50 overs. The only other 50 score was from Azhar. SL made 272 in 48.4 overs. Manoj Prabhakar had 4-0-47-0. He also opened in the innings and scored 7 of 36 balls.

2. 100 of 111 Balls Vs Pak in Singapore- Apr 96.India 226 all out in 47.1 overs, When Sachin was out score was 186/4 (We cant blame because next 3 are match fixtures) . Pak had a reduced target of 187 from 33 overs.

3. 110 of 138 Balls (Slower but...) vs Sri Lanka In Colombo - Aug 96. Again India 226 for 5 in 50 overs, Only other 50 score from Azhar (58 of 99 balls !!!) .Sachin has also bowled 6-0-29-1 , the second most economical bowler and the only wicket taker (SL were 230/1 in 44.2 ) of the match next to Srinath. 7 bowlers were used by Azhar.

4. 143 of 131 Balls (!!!) Vs Aus at Sharjah, Apr 1998. This was chasing under lights. The qualifying match before the final. The whole world knows about this match. Still one interesting point, when Sachin was out India were 242 at 5 at 43 overs. Target was 276 in 46. Still India finished at 250/5 scoring just 8 of the next 3 overs. Great performance by Laxman and Kanithkar indeed.

5. 101 of 140 Balls against SL at Sharjah in Oct 2000.Indian score was 224/8 in 50 overs. (No other 50 score). SL got 225/5 in 43.5; Sachin also bowled 5-0-22-0, better economy rate than everyone except Srinath.

6. 146 of 153 Balls against Zimbabwe at Jodhpur - December 2000 (Game of Dougla Mariliar) India made 283 / 8 in 50 overs. Sachin was the last man to be dismissed , score was 235/8 at 46.3 overs when he was out. Agarkar and Zaheer Khan propelled India to 283 in the last 3.3 overs. When Sachin has scored 146 of 235 in 46.3 overs, you can guess what the other 8 great batsmen were doing against the World class Zimbabwe attack. Second Highest scorer was Zaheer Khan with 32. Zim got 284/9 in 49.5 overs. Kumble bowled the last over. Sachin also got 6-0-35-1

7. 101 of 129 Balls Vs SA at Johannesburg - Oct 2001India got 279/5 in 50, Ganguly made 127 of 126 balls. When Ganguly got out, the score was 193-1 in 35.2 overs. Sachin was the last man to get out at 263. SA got 280 in 48.4 overs. Sachin bowled 9-0-51-0, second best in economy rate next only to Agarkar (10-0-45-1)

8. 141 of 135 balls Vs Pak at Rawalpindi, March 2004 India was chasing 329 and was 317 all out in 48.4 overs, 8 balls to spare. No other batsman made even a 50 (when chasing 300 ) and when Sachin was out, India were 245-4 in 38.4 overs. They needed 85 from 68 balls with 6 wickets in hand.

9. 123 of 130 Balls vs Pak at Ahmedabad, April 2005. India made 315/6 in 48 overs (48 over match), again no other 50 score. Second highest was Dhoni 47 of 64 balls, (third highest was extras - 39). Pak made 319 in 48 overs. The three quicks (Balaji, Nehra and Khan went for 188 runs from 26 overs between them taking only 2 wickets). Sachin bowled 6-0-36-1. No Harbhajan and no Kumble.

10. 100 of 113 Balls Vs Pak at Peshawar, Feb-2006. India were 328 all out in 49.4 overs. Pathan and Dhoni got 60 each. When Sachin was out when India were 305-5 in 45 overs. Managed only 23 in the last 5 overs.Pak scored 311/7 in 47 overs and won by D/L method. Could have been anybody's game. Sachin did not bowl.

11. 141* of 148 balls vs WI at Malaysia. India made 309 /5 in 50 overs. Sachin was not out. Pathan was the only other 50 scorer. WI made 141/2 in 20 overs and won by D/L method. Again could have been anybody's game. In the other 31 instances India has won 30 times and once there was no result. Now, please think again when you say sachin's 100s were in the losing cause and that he is not a team player. It is a fact that for the entire 90's India played International cricket with 1 PLAYER and 10 JOKERS.

P.S: Forward this to all those people who still doubt in great man's commitment, think his centuries are in losing cause and ENLIGHTEN them!!!

"Monkey & The Obnoxious Weed"
India's tour of Australia was kind of Jungle Safari for all the viewers. We, Indians are Tigers playing against Kangaroos with players named as "Monkey", "Weed" etc. At least for this series, I felt like organisers should have created award "Creature of the tournament" and believe me there would have been tough competition for the winner.
Even though both the teams played some unbelievable cricket, non-cricketing issues have stolen the limelight and many of the great on-field performances didn't get its due credit.
"Summer Australia" was very difficult period for Indians. They were facing verbal volleys on-field as well as off-field thru' ut the summer. Many a occasions they kept their cool but it seems like their patience, their temper was not enough which resulted in the "Monkey & The Obnoxious Weed". In this forgettable episode for all non-cricketing issues, there were two creatures Bhajji and Symmo who played key characters.
Bhajji has a mixed profile for on-field activities. He has earned a good name for his bowling, he is amongst the most prominent Off-spinners of this era but he has earned very bad name for his on-field behavior. He was reprimanded for his excessive appealing, his fight with police and his questionable on-field behavior had made him sit out of the team. But the racist allegation against him was not acceptable at all. There were obvious reasons behind BCCI not accepting that Bhajji has said "Monkey" or racist slur to Symmo because they know normal Indians don't feel like swearing if they say somebody "Monkey". Its something like "गाली देनी है तो सामनेवाले को लगे ऐसी गाली देना"....जैसे की " तेरे माँ की.....तेरे ....... की " and In India "Monkey" is a word used by parents, elderly persons towards brats।
The other culprits in the whole episode, Haydos and Symmo are the real obnoxious weeds in the world of cricket. On- field behavior of Symmonds or Haydon is also not very good either. It could be seen through their swearing at opposition bowlers after getting out and at batsman while fielding almost every time.
Optimistic person believes that whatever happens it happens for good only. Here also this "Monkey" issue had made a big difference, a big good to Indian cricket. It helped in making Indians play harder than ever with more passion and more dedication. It showed to the world that Indians are super economy and upcoming cricketing powerhouse. Thanks to "Monkey" and that "Little obnoxious weed" also as because of them only I have got to see some wonderful cricket.

Super Sunday!!!!
It was a good day in field for Indian sports and a great Sunday for Indian viewers. They wouldn't have asked for more. Win against Australia in finals, Colts winning World Cup and Hockey team routing an opposition.
Great display of batsmanship by Tendulkar and Rohit & true character display (neglecting the gestures) by Bhajji in getting Heydon's and Symonds's wicket uplifted India's hopes of winning CB series. Tendulkar's inning was a remarkable for the shots he has played. He hardly gave any chances to Aussies in his century. Half-century in the match against SriLanka and today's century is a fitting reply to his once upon a time teammate and a baiter now Sanjay Manjarekar who is running Hate Tendulkar campaign for quite sometime now. It was delight to watch 10dulkar's shots today. This inning wasnt as explosive as Sharjah but it is nothing less important than that. Century in the finals was in waiting from Sachin. One could see that he had always played with great consistancy throughout the series/tournament in last couple of years but a big score in finals and that too chasing the target was not there. It was long due from him and did come out at the the most required situation.
The other hero of the day Rohit Sharma played exceptionally well. He was in good control of every shots he has played. He was very much dejected when he got out. I felt like he wanted Tendulkar's century more desperately than Tendulkar himself. He wanted to hug Tendulkar, his idol from childhood, on his 42nd ODI Century(almost after missing 5 or 6 ODI centuries) but unfortunately he missed on that great opportunity. But their was more to his awesome performance as an appreciation of his batting skills came from Sachin himself. Sachin's comments on Rohit were an assurance to all the viewers that another big star for India is in making. This will surely help his confidence further bolstering India's bright future.
There was a feeling like U-19 World Cup is in our kitty right from the start of the tournament itself but very low target set by India displaying poor shot selection and typical harakiri by batsman must have created panic in Indian dressing room. On such crunch situation their bowlers did a good job and helped India win the cup for the second time. Though India won the World Cup, it was not very convincing display of cricketing skills by Indian colts. Their catching was pathetic and wicket-keeping was terribly bad. Moreover, throughout the SouthAfrican chase, I felt like South Africa is loosing the game rather than India winning it.
Last but not the least in our national game hockey, India playing against minnows for the final spot in the Olympics won comfortably (8-0) against Russia today showing that they want to win big and secure their place for Olympics.
It was really a great day as everywhere India won. Hope to see many more Super Sundays,Mondays and every days :-)
Hurrey!!!!

Harsha Unplugged!!!!
I received this fwd of Harsha Bhogale's one-liners...Many of them are really good....

1. This was in a match btw india and sa.. umpire rudi kuertzen caught on camera sporting a rare smile. harsha commented.... "last time rudi kuerzten smiled there was peace in west asia"

2. This is again from the natwest trophy final..When yuvraj got out at a very crucial stage..harsha's one liner.. " Yuvraj singh will realize that this will be his longest walk bak to the pavillion "

3. When Sachin once got out to a lollypop offspinner (I guess it was Michael Vaughn) in '02. He wonderfully said, " Oh what a shame. It was reminiscent of a soldier who survived the war when all the bullets were flying by his nose and then got run over by a bicycle in his native town ."

4. ind vs aus 2000 icc knockout champioship played in kenya. (yuvi's debut) Sachin was smasing all aussie bowlers, and then he his a superb off drive off lee. harsha : " this innings by tendulkar has been a beautiful garden, the last shot being the most beautiful flower in it "

5. ind vs nzl. (in nzl 2002-2003) sehwag had MANY lucky escapes. when he was dropped once again. harsha : " its been that kind of a day. today sehwag can walk blindfolded across a busy highway and not get runover ."

6. Natwest Final: During Naser Hussain's mistimed hits/top edges on his way to his maiden hundred " Naser Hussain is trying desperately hard to find innovative ways of getting himself out"

7. in the same match... " if you are not watching this segment of play, don't ever call yourself a cricket lover anymore. you are watching cricket of a very high order here".

8. Here's n old one...at perth Adam Gilchrist took a blinder and he described Gilly's dive thus, " ... some of the sea-gulls flying here are going to get a complex."

9. when tendulkar got a hundred he said " touch of Class & stamp of Authority "

10. recently in india's tour of south africa...he blurted out suddenly after sreesanth's antiques with the bat and hips..." dis is the funniest thing u'll ever watch on a cricket field"...!!

11. When Smith dropped Sachin in the 2nd Test Graeme Smith would be hoping that the world under his feet opens up & he would find a crevice large enough for him to slip through.... 12. After india lost the recent test series in SA India lost the series because they surprised themselves by winning the 1st test . A win should never be a surprise .

13. After Anil Kumble scored his maiden Ton...this is what our great man had to say... " This is the most romantic moment in Indian Cricket....."

14. " The last time Billy gave lbw , Berlin wall was not there , there was peace in Afganistan,..................."

15. In a match between Aus n SL , Harsha said to Ian Chappell , " I am sure you'll never become a lawyer , I understand everything you say " Ian Chappell had no counter for this.

16. Harsha was hosting the ICC Awards before the T20 World Cup and he called on Jonty Rhodes to present an award. So as Jonty began climbing down the stairs, Harsha exclaimed, ''it's pretty unusual to see Jonty walk down the stairs, I thought he might slide down them !"

17. when the wickets were falling in a heap in the T20 match... THIS SERIES IS SPONSERED BY KFC AND THE WICKETS ARE FALLING FASTER THAN THEIR (KFC's) DELIVERIES.... 18. when Gambhir was dropped twice on consecutive deliveries, - " We should conduct a dream job in Australia & the winner will get to stand in the slip region!!!!!!"

19. When Kumble and Ishant were batting, Hussey dropped a catch of Ishant off the bowling of Johnson and Harsha exclaimed," It's autumn in Adelaide. It's the time when leaves change their colour and they start dropping. Here, as well the catches are dropping..".

20. In a match, dravid left a ball alone while batting. To this gavaskar, who was commenting alongside harsha was very impressed by the way he left the ball. He went on appreciating that for a minute or so. After this harsha's comment was, " Sunny, you nearly got an orgasm of happiness, didn't u!" & then both burst out into laughter!

21. dhoni is battin with anil kumble.. dhoni calls for a tight single,n harsha has this to say," dhoni scrambles for a single n causes anil kumble n all of his 37 yrs to rush to the other end.."

22. after shaun tait did not live up to the hype Cricket Australia created around him, ponting took him off the attack. harsha, in his own inimitable style: 'shaun tait should go up to ponting and say " hello mr ponting, my name is shaun tait, and i am supposed to take 45 wickets in this test match "

23. HB was analysing the innings of laxman...laxman made a crucial 79 in the second innings. HB said something like- " aussies must be feeling that wenever we are on the verge of 17th,this man(laxman) comes in between!"

24. RP SIngh walked in but it was Laxman on strike. So the Aussies wanted him to take a single and get RP on strike... so they spread out the field completely, with only the keeper, one slip and one gully inside the 30 yard circle.. That's when Harsha says .. "now suddenly, Don Bradman is batting out there in the middle... "

25. Seeing the flock of seagulls flying across the pitch Harsha tells Wasim Akram : " As you would say in Punjabi... kee gull hai? sea gull hai!!! "

26. when michael clarke was caught at slip off kumble , he was still watin 4 da decision , over this harsha said, " i think he is waitin for tomorrow's newspaper to declare him out"

27. Yuvraj hit the long six off brett lee went outside the stadium in durban 'are there people working late in the office there....... we want the ball back'

28. in t-20 gayle hit a monstrous six but but fell just short of the golf course outside the stadium harsha: " wat a poor shot just misses the golf course "

29. " if i cannot be tendulkar then tendulkar can also not be me "

30. the palyers told their favourite shots while coming on to bat.... Collingwood said "a little nurdle of the pads" and Pietersen said blocking the ball.... Harsha commented " the next thing they'll say is that their favourite shot is to leave the ball alone"

31. what an introduction to India Australia semifinal: " This is a battle between unstoppable force against immovable object ".

One more to the list...I heard in CB series final on 2nd March

32. Thru'out the CB series Dhoni called Heads and lost almost every toss....On loosing toss again in the Final at SCG Harsha commented

"M.S.Dhoni calls heads always & the coin has tails on both the sides"...

This chat between Harsha and Gawaskar ended with comment from Gawaskar that because of Dhoni's habit of calling Heads and quite predictable nature of coin, its not surprising that Dhoni looses a lot of tosses.

Today I received one fwd related to the current Marathi-Mumbai controversy. I never thought this controversy will reach to this level. I really doubt whether actual mumbaikar is behind all this. Per my understanding it is a political fight.

Truck-Art

I have always believed that Public Transport, Goods Transport vehicles are sensible social development tools :-)

They spread desired messages even to the interiors of the country. Truck-art is one such thing which gives you a good laughter along with helping the noble cause.

This is my attempt to collect as many slogans, photographs as possible.

कीचड में पैर दालोगी तो धोनाही पडेगा,

ड्रायवर से शादी करोगी तो रोनाही पडेगा

Request to my dear friends,

In this attempt I require your help also. If you have clicked any photo or you know any slogan please send it on my mail ID deshpandeshriram@gmail.com

जनता गाडी..

Indian middle class, so called babus,(another british gift to India on freedom) have always believed that car is for Sahab only, but almost 2 years back Ratan Tata gave them dream to own a car which fits into their limited budget. Legendary Ratan Tata unveiled the most awaited product in India, his most cherished dream....Peoples Car....A Car for Indian middle class.... A car for 1 Lakh.

When I heard of this concept Peoples car, I searched on net and found some interesting information. Post Second world war, concept of Economy cars / Peoples car had come up with the introduction of Fiat500 and VW Beetle in the world automobile market and changed these markets drastically. I strongly believe that, this car Nano is gonna rewrite Indian automobile history which started with Maruti in late 80's :-) ......wasnt it too late (could not figure out the responsibles for this delay).

As promised, It is available at around 1 Lakh which means approximately @ EMI 2500/- which is quite affordable for a normal Indian middle class. It is gonna reframe India's identity till now, An Autorikshaw. Autorikshaws are available @ 80K and now car is available @ 1L so it becomes obvious that whosoever wants to buy Rik to ferry people will go for this car and can earn charges for 2 more seats. If Tata's Indica has become India's cab then Tata's Nano can surely become India's new Auto. On a lighter note, in my opinion it is very good for all the bachelors who are earning sufficient chunk of money and are in their twenties. They will have their own vehicle for travel at ok mileage and more over even if it bumps into something will not cost a lot. We say that "there are more cars than people in US" indicating prosperity in US and it is really true. Chak De India, its your turn now.

As claimed by Tata himself, it satisfies all the environmental and safety norms in India which surprised many on the Tata competitors who cried fouls that TATAs are bypassing safety and environmentals norms. My only question to environmentalists or safety concerned people is whether Bajaj Autorikshaw or HeroHonda Splendor provides better safety to passenger or emits less pollutents.

WIth the introduction of Tata Nano by September '08, Bajaj Auto's Rikshaw business will get badly hit. Earlier Hero Honda has completely ended Bajaj's Scooter (two-wheeler) dominance in 90's and now Tata's have come up with this Nano to end Bajaj's Auto-Rikshaw (three-wheeler) dominance. Always, Bajaj's have hit back strongly (remember Pulser) so expect something from their stable pretty soon.

The Big Problem: Undoubtedly in the current Oil & Gas scenario, this car will be one big problem but think about it at sometime later. For Now, मानो या ना मानो.....Its Nano.

Happy New Year!!!!

Year 2008 has started on pretty happy note for all the cricket lovers. Sachin's 38th test century in the first test of the year was worth waiting. It is a great knock due to the situation in which it has come. Very important 129 runs partnership with Bhajji might turn out to be the deciding factor in Second test (Hope that something like First Inning will happen in second inning also on 4th day excluding bad umpiring).
It is very difficult to play when tailenders are at the other end. Sachin has done this job superbly by showing confidence in the ability of tailenders and at the same time scoring on every opportunity. When Kumble got out he was playing on 69, and with tailenders he had moved from 69 to 154*. This itself shows the greatness of the knock and more importantly it was thoroughly chance less knock.
It was proud feeling for every Indian watching Australians giving standing ovation to Sachin's century. In my opinion it was typical "Chak De" moment. This moment showed the sporting nature of Cricket Lovers irrespective of nationalities, but same was not the thing in case of Australian players. It was clearly visible that hardly couple of players (Gilchrist & Clarke) applauded Tendulkar's efforts.
The joy and relief on Tendulkar's face after century gave remembrance to what was there on Ganguly's face at Kolkatta. He has waited enough for this ton. During almost last one year he has got himself out on seven occasions in 90's and once in 80's which means almost 8 possible hundreds have been declined by destiny, but the wait was worth as it came against Australia, The World Champions.
I wish that we will get to see many more centuries in coming days from The Great Indian Quartet.
P.S. Dravid will surely come back in form in this series.

Demons with the dreaded finger!!!!

Second test at SCG will always be remembered for its bad umpiring rather than the beautiful knocks by Symonds and Hogg. Men in white coats have marred the gentleman's game with their power. On top of these men in white coats, third umpire with all the possible technologies to his aid made an error which caused India loose the grip over the match.

Its well known that, most of the times first inning of the test match decides the outcome. With below level umpiring we have seen till now in this test, it is clear that the result will not be at all in favour of India.

I am not at all an ardent fan of Indian Bowling attack though I have very high respect for Kumble & Bhajji, I was feeling really bad for them yesterday. Almost everything went against them other than another poor decision against Punter.

I understand that on-field umpires are humans and are prone to mistakes. There shouldn't be criticism against that as it is part and parcel of the game but mistake from third umpire is not at all acceptable. Third umpire is there because on-field umpires have doubt in their mind and thats why they want to get help from somebody else.

Yesterday's third umpire's decision against Symonds was a big mistake on its side. One will not be able to know the intention behind that decision whether it was through patriotism (obviously unsportsmanlike) or with some justification, it is clear that the third umpire should not be allowed to sit in that chair any more otherwise we will get to see such decisions more.

I read in the newspaper about Gilchrist opposing more usage of technology in umpiring, I also strongly feel the same. The nature of game should not be changed allowing more usage of technology for on-field umpires but to provide unbiased environment in cricket I guess time has come to follow Tennis. They came up with idea of Challenges . Something on the similar lines should be introduced in cricket. I hope challenging umpires decision will not be contempt of umpiring institution as they understand that one bad decision can turn the game.

My suggestion is during complete course of match both the teams should be given 5 challenges and it will be left to the team whether to use it during their batting or bowling. Such provision would surely improvise the status of game and team worthy of winning the game will result in winning the game.