6 things I hate about IPL!!

The following article was written by Rahul Fernandes,product manager with in.com. I came across this fabulous article and thought of sharing with all.


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The facts first: I've not missed a single IPL match this season. I'm a cricket junkie. And I quite like the IPL. However, I've somehow developed a love-hate relationship with Lalit Modi's billion-dollar baby. Here's why...

Aankhon-Dekha (Be)haal

Have you dared to tune into the Hindi commentary? Arun Lal, Atul Wassan, Saba Karim and Co have forced me to use the mute button. To say they are intolerable is putting it very mildly. If you want to speak in Hindi, please go ahead. But don't call a bread-and-butter shot 'nashte ka shot'. I prefer watching the games on YouTube (despite the five-minute delay and my poor wi-fi connection) just to hear the English commentary.

Environmental Tokenism

The IPL has tied up with the UN Environment Programme ostensibly "to become one of the most environmentally-friendly major sports events in the world and bring environmental awareness to millions of sports fans around the world". So, before every match, one of the commentators spells out a simplistic environment protection tip. Three hours later, there's a flurry of hazardous firecrackers to celebrate one team's win over the other. The sky is bright enough for you to be fooled into believing it's New Year's Eve or Diwali. The truth: it's a league match of the environment-conscious IPL. And we're not even getting into facts like how much power could have been saved if the matches weren't played under lights.

Karbonn Footprints

Last time I checked, cricket was about fours, sixes, wickets and catches. Not DLF Maximum, Citi Moment of Success and Karbonn Kamaal Catch and what have you. Marketers can go to any extent to score high on brand recall in their next market research report. But this is pushing it a bit too far. Tweaking the rules of cricket is acceptable, but altering its lexicon is not.

Lalit 'I Am Everywhere' Modi

Yes, he gave birth to the IPL. Thank you very much. But he's like this over-enthusiastic single parent who won't take his eye off his child even for a nanosecond. He's in the stands, he's in the dug-out, he's in the commentary box, he's at the presentation ceremony and then at the after-party. He's also on Twitter. Even if you stop following him, he has enough cronies retweeting his posts. But it's too much to ask for any modi-fication, isn't it?

Dugout Blues

They may have spent precious millions on buying their teams, but the franchise owners have no business sitting in the dugout. It's not a place for cricketers to explain the difference between leg-spin and off-spin to their owners. If you've paid a bomb to hire a coach, let him do his job in peace. And let the players enjoy the guy-talk. You don't see owners chatting with players on the bench or on the sidelines during an EPL game. It's a professional league, not a family picnic. Though I must confess, it's nice to see Preity Zinta giving her boys the high-fives every time there's a, well, Citi Moment of Success.

Aggrieved Party

The cramped international calendar and equally tough IPL schedule leaves players with little time to rest. To make matters worse, the players have to now compulsorily attend after-parties in the company of some dishy women and, of course, ubiquitous team owners. It sure makes for mouthwatering gossip and glossy tabloid photos but it's tough on the players who are anyway under constant media glare. The idea of commentators speaking to players on the ground during the course of a match is equally unreasonable. The trouble is, there's way too much money at stake for anyone to dissent.

I think I've spewed enough venom for the BCCI to hit me for a DLF Maximum. It's time for a Max Mobile Strategic Time-Out.
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Book Review:My first attempt

"I don't read books" would be my prompt answer in the column of information in my profiles of all the social-networking sites.I had given the same answer even in my blog profile.I must find time to change it immediately.
The reason is that I've nurtured the habit of reading books and it is real fun.This miracle happened when I was wading through the folders in my computer and I found an e-book titled "2 States:The story of my marriage by Chetan Bhagat". I've heard about this young author and his best-sellers but haven't read any of his creations.

Bollywood block-buster movie "3 Idiots" was based on Chetan Bhagat's 2004 novel "Five point someone:What not to do at IIT".His various other novels are 'One Night @ the call center","The 3 mistakes of my life" released in 2005 and 2008 respectively.This young creator has graduated from prestigious institutions,IIT-Delhi and IIM-Ahmedabad.

"2 States:The story of my marriage" is the story based on his life.The title conveys an obvious meaning that he loved a girl from an another state and succeeded in marrying her.

The first page in the book mentions the following fact:

Love marriages around the world are simple:
Boy loves girl.Girl loves boy.They get married.

In India there are a few more steps:
Boy loves girl.Girl loves boy.
Girl's family loves the boy.Boy's family loves the girl.
Girl's family loves boy's family.Boy's family loves girl's family.
Girl and boy still love each other. They get married.

The protagonists are Krish Malhotra,a Punjabi boy who pushes himself into IIM-A after a hectic life at IIT-D and Ananya Swaminathan,a Tamilian girl from a conservative Brahmin family who makes it to IIM-A after completing her degree in economics.Ananya is rated as the best looking girl in IIM-A and Krish gets to meet her first at the canteen and wins her friendship by saving her from a quarrel with the kitchen staff.

The story moves on as their 'just-friends' relationship reaches higher levels and finally they fall for each other.They start doing night studies 'together' and they do the 'you-know-what' thing as most lovers do.Krish and Ananya are madly in love with each other.Ananya wants her parents to be happy over their marriage and so does Krish. So they decide to marry only with their parents' permission.Two long years pass by and  the placements in IIM are round the corner.Krish must find a job to make sure he doesn't miss Ananya.
Krish gets his job in Citibank and Ananya lands in Hindustan Lever Limited(HLL).Krish and Ananya wanted to make sure their parents' first meeting during their convocation ceremony ends up sweet but what happens is the other way round.
Krish's mom is not fond of South Indians because they're black and ugly-looking and she wants only a Punjabi to be her daughter-in-law because you get many 'surprise' gifts in a Punjabi marriage.Her thoughts are very  narrow and her loose-talks can instantly get the other person's BP rising.
Ananya's mom and dad are typical South Indian brahmin parents who want their daughter to be married to someone from their community and if the boy is in an overseas job,they are double-happy.

Krish and Ananya have to do a lot of things to convince their conservative parents.Krish tries and luckily gets his first posting at Chennai where Ananya is housed....

Hey wait,I guess this is a book review.. Then why in the world am I narrating the whole story to you guys.I'm seriously and completely engrossed in it...That is a characteristic of a good book.

So let me wrap it up.. Then how Krish manages to convince Ananya's parents and how Ananya wins the hearts of Krish's relatives form the crux of the story.Whether they join hands and marry or not forms the climax of the story...

The story is narrated in a very simple language that even a layman understands and the flow of events is well controlled by the author and that keeps your eyes glued to the book.

Verdict:This book is worth a read more than once.

To my readers:
This is my first book review.So please leave your comments based on which I can improve my writing. 

Women's Reservation Bill:My view

I guess many of my readers(if any) are thinking why I discuss too much politics in my blog. This is because a wide range of thoughts pierce my head if the topic is a political one. Moreover,I  like blogging the hottest topic in town and I feel fulfilled in doing so.Let me get the matter straight...

Tuesday,March 9 will be marked in India's history as the most momentous occasion as that day witnessed the passing of The 108th Constitution Amendment Bill or the Women's reservation Bill in the Upper House,also called the Rajya Sabha.It reserves 33% of the seats in the Parliament and state assemblies for women.The historic bill made it after struggling for 14 years.It was first planned to be passed in the Lower House or Lok Sabha when the United Front government was at the centre,headed by HD Deve Gowda in 1996.But failed to do so due to stiff opposition from other parties.So the idea was dropped then and there.

Later under the leadership of AB Vajpayee, the National Democratic Alliance formed the government in 1998,the bill was again wiped off its dust and passed in Lok Sabha.The bill met with the same fate as it did during the United Front regime.The bill was temporarily disposed off.

The NDA led government was knocked down by the United Progressive Alliance,a coalition government with Congress as its backbone.The Congress realized it was the right time to bring back the bill as it had successfully managed to get through its initial tenure(initial 5 years of government).The Congress did one-hell-of an intelligent move. It did not pass the bill in the Lok Sabha.Instead it did it in Rajya Sabha.The reason is the Lok Sabha has a total of 552 seats and for a bill to become a law,it should possess the backing of 2/3rd of the total strength of a House.In this case,it is 368 seats which is huge.Hence it passed the bill in Rajya Sabha,which has a total strength of 233.So it is enough if nearly 150 MPs voted in favor of the bill.

And to everyone's surprise the bill was successfully passed inspite of stiff opposition from some parties like BSP,SP,RJD,LJP and the Trinamool Congress.In fact,even the main opposition party,the BJP voted in favor of the bill.That must have come as a big sigh of relief to Sonia Gandhi,being a woman herself and the Chairperson of the most powerful political party,the Congress.

According to me, the bill should have been passed much earlier.This is because the top-most and powerful positions are held by women in our country.
Sonia Gandhi,Chairperson of the Congress,the backbone of the ruling alliance.
Pratibha Patil,Honorable President of India.
Meira Kumar,Honorable speaker in the Lok Sabha.
Sushma Swaraj,leader of the opposition in Parliament... to mention a few.

I'm dying to watch if this bill is going to be of any help to the people of India,especially some of the unrecognized and downtrodden women.Will this bill bring about empowerment of women or uplift the status of women in our male-dominated society?This question will not fetch an answer in the near future because the bill has to be passed in the Lower House and it requires the consent of the President.It definitely is going to take some valuable time,which we don't have much.

I personally believe that the passage of the bill will bring about change in India because 33% women in Parliament and state assemblies would mean there will be more women MPs and MLAs who would work for the country and for which 'Mother' India should be proud of.I'm not trying to offend the male counterparts here as they are equally competent. So my point here is that giving equal opportunity to women would prove fruitful for both the country and its people.

Disclaimer:The thoughts and views which I have mentioned above are completely mine and is not intended to hurt anyone.

'And the award goes to':Kathryn or Cameron

How do you feel when your 'ex' gives you problem on stage?!Sounds different?That is what award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow is doing to James Cameron,her ex-husband.She not only posed as a stiff competitor in the recently held British Academy of Film and Television Arts(BAFTAs) awards but also won the Best Director award for her war-thriller movie,The Hurt Locker.Her movie also piled up awards in other categories such as Best Film,Original Screenplay,Sound,Editing and Cinematography.At the other end,James Cameron took home awards in the Production Design and Special Visual Effects categories for his $237 million(official estimate) sci-fi mega block-buster,Avatar.Other estimates put the cost between $280 million and $310 million for production, and at $150 million for promotion.

The hurt locker,entirely shot in Jordan portrays the lifestyle and mindset of the members of the US ARMY Explosive Ordnance Disposal(EOD) team.This is a war thriller movie showing the tactics used by the Army team in detecting and diffusing bombs.The title is slang for being injured in an explosion, as in 'they sent him to the hurt locker'.
Avatar,set in the year 2154, when humans are mining a precious mineral called unobtanium on Pandora.The expansion of the mining colony threatens the continued existence of a local tribe of Na'vi.The film's title refers to the genetically engineered Na'vi bodies used by several human characters to interact with the natives of Pandora.

Now everyone's eyes are on the the most prestigious awards,The Oscars.
Kathryn has won 5 BAFTAs and James Cameron 2.

The Hurt Locker has been nominated in the following 9 categories:
Writing (Original Screenplay),
Sound Mixing,
Sound Editing,
Best Picture,
Music (Original Score),
Film Editing,
Directing,
Cinematography,
Actor in a Leading Role.

Avatar has been nominated in the following 9 categories:
Art Direction,
Cinematography,
Directing,
Film Editing,
Music (Original Score),
Best Picture,
Sound Editing,
Sound Mixing,
Visual Effects.

So, as you can see both the movies have been nominated in 9 categories each.These movies have locked horns in 6 categories.I'm dying to see which movie will sweep the Oscars this year.Let us wait and watch....

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya!!

Cast:Simbu,Trisha

Director:Gautham Vasudev Menon

Music Director:A R Rahman

Cinematographer:Manoj Paramahamsa

Art director:Rajeevan

Producer: Udhayanidhi Stalin

Before starting off with my review,I've to say that this movie is THE best performance by the lead actors Simbu and Trisha till date. It is also one of Gautham's and Rahman's best.

I can say that there hasn't been such a light,romantic and feel-good entertainer for the past decade in Tamil cinema.

Jessica(Trisha),a Malayali Christian and Simbu(Karthik),a Hindu live inside the same compound.When Simbu sees Trisha for the first time,he falls for her.But Trisha isn't quite comfortable citing her father's(Babu Antony) non-acceptance as the reason.They try to continue as friends and things change over gradually...

Karthik's friend,Ganesh has donned the comic cap and his one-line dialogues makes you burst into laughter. K S Ravikumar who does a cameo role cruises with ease.

Gautham has come up trumps with his maiden romance flick.He has done a perfect casting and all credits go to him.Kudos to Nalini Sriram,the costume designer as the outfits had been light-colored with a classy urban touch.Art Director Rajeevan is an as'set' for Gautham as he has done a fabulous job. Be it the heritage boat-house or the interiors of Ganesh's house,he has done it with perfection. Music composer A R Rahman has given his best and all songs are chart-busters and they'll surely be this year's top picks. His BGM gives a lively feel and goes down well with the romance.Gautham has given extra freedom for Rahman and ARR has utilized it well. The choreography of 'Hosanna' resembles Gautham's earlier flicks and that gets you a bit boring.

Overall,VTV is an awesomely well-made romance movie.It is light and can make up your weekend if you watch it with your loved ones.

TWO THUMBS UP for VTV!!!!

Rating:4/5 :)