Silly Point

2E Factor in Cricket

2007-09-14T14:19:00.001-07:00

It was my original plan to write about India's victory test series victory in England. However, after witnessing the recent T20 match between India and Pakistan. I must confess that I had to immediately revisit my original plan and write about something that is actually revolutionizing the game of cricket.

I always used to wonder how it would have been for people back in 1975 to see the first ever world cup of one day cricket. After having accustomed to follow a cricket match for 5 days, it must have been exhilarating for those at that time to watch matches reduced to a one day affair. Guess, we are all experiencing probably the same feeling what those people in 1975 would have, if not more. Game has changed a lot since 1975 in more number of ways, be it type of shots played, sponsorships, money and politics.

Two most important changes that stand out is, one to do with Economics and the other one is to do with Cricket being treated as Entertainment. While, we leave the economics piece to the administrators, let us touch upon the entertainment factor. Before T20 the last time I found the game being approached in a different manner was when Greatbatch played those explosive opening innings during the 1992 world cup in Australia. From then on Jayasurya just mastered it and ensured that Srilanka lifted the cup in 1996. Some of the changes that were brought to the game in the last 15 years are the field restriction, third umpire, power plays, super sub, Duckworth Lewis and so on, some of them have stayed and some of them have vanished. I sincerely believe all these were done just for the 2E’s that we have listed.

The most recent entry to the change is T20 matches, boy isn’t it a big change. A free hit for a no-ball, bowl out rule for a tied match, matches getting over in just about 3hrs, things can’t get better. With the advent of India Cricket League and BCCI’s champion league with 4 countries, on couldn’t help but think Cricket is on the verge of a major change and for sure it is for the betterment as it will improve our 2E’s and that’s what is more important. Those oldies might tend to think that this spoils the purity of the game, how many times we would have seen a batsman making room on the leg stump against a leg spinner and hitting him over the cover fieldsman in the older version of test cricket, probably none. Thanks to the one day cricket we savour such shots, I can still remember Laxman playing such a shot with his wrists. With the T20 games, one is certainly going to witness some innovative shots and more importantly, free minds going and batting. In my opinion T20 is the best thing that has happened to cricket and it is only going to add enhance our 2E’s, let us wait and watch.

Naan Vandhuttennnnn....

2007-09-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

Naan padhivu ezhudhi romba naal aachu... 5 months of marraige life ennoda kanna moodiduchu... Gentelman padathulaSaranrajukku avaroda aapa advice kudupaaru... Iam settled and You are not settled'nu.. Idhu edhukku??? Kalyanathukku!!! correct... Andha settle'kku meaning ennanu ippa naan therinjikitten... Civil Engineering'la... specifica Geotechnical Engineeringla... Settle'na Mannu nallaamungiduchu artham... Surukkamaa sollanumna midhichittanga, Podhachittaanga, Amukkittnaga .. ippadi edhavadhu sollalaam....Adhu pola... I am settled now...

Enna dhideernu romba naal kazhichu dhideernu endhirichu oru blog'nu ellarum yosikkalam... onnum illa makkaley, Office'la ukkandhuttu google'la ennoda perukku oru search vitten.. chumma enna match varudhunnu paakalaamnu... Not bad 3 pages vandhudhu... naan idhu varaikkum kazhatti irukkardhukku adhu romba jaasthi... Adhula, ennoda nanban, maamu Moganraso'da Kaipullai padhiva paarthen... Naan kooda avan kalyanathukku appuram blog panradhu illannu nenachen... paarthaa nerayaezhudhi irukkan... Seri, nambalom aarambippomnu, marubadiyum ennoda nanbanaala inspire aagi.. marubadiyum oru pullayarsuzhi... Innum sila naatkalil oru padhivu...

Neeyum Pathu Masam.... Naanum Pathu Masam

2007-02-16T02:57:00.000-08:00

This morning I happened to listen to this song Aanenna Pennena Neeyenna Naanenna...... from Darmadurai. While I have alwaysadmired the quality of that song, What stuck me today was the lyrics and specifically the phrase "PATHU MAASAM", this phrasereally took me to my school days. Not because I was becoming sentimental about the song, it is just that "PATHU MASAM" reminded me of one of my classmate in school who we used to call as "PATHU MASAM". I don't know why we called him so, but somehow he had this name.

So what? Why such a round about? Get into the matter man, well sometime back I had read a posting in wikedpedia that gave the list of terminologies that we use in street cricket right from Attetail to Over Gajji. After hearing this song and inspired by the wikepedia posting, thought I would list some of those nicknames of my friends that can tickle someones nerve. Now let us get going...

NILA PALLAN : The same guy who was called as pathu masam used to be addressed by this name, because his front two teeth use to be in the shape of valar pirai.

MATTU PALLAN : No prices for guessing, he had some big teeth

ELI : Don't know why but he actually used to look like a ELI, in fact nowadays when I meet him I fin it difficult to call him with his actual name.

KAEKKU : This guy's name is K.Suresh and it was shortened.

TUSSU : Don't know why though...

THOCHAI : God knows what this means, but this is a famous name

GANDHI : Because he used to wear a Gandhi Kannadi

BENDU : His forearm used to be slightly bent

KEESI : Apparently a short form of Krishna Kumar.

GARIBALDI : Inspired by one of the kings we read in History and the color of the person (Friends no racism involved here u see :-)).

PULIYODHARAI : Inspired by the fart that this guy released after having puli saadham

TOM CRUISE : This guy is one of my close friend and he used to ride his cycle like tom cruise, nothing inspired by the looks. Please do no get misled.

PUTCHUTTING : This name was the best of all, actually coined by THOCHAI, the reason behind this is highly scietific. Our friend who carries this name had once caught his fart in hand and release it near the nose of THOCHAI. What a sickening act? hence this name PUDICHU UTTING combined as PUTCHUTTING. Nevertheless I take a bow to Thochai for coining this name :-)

I was able to recall only this much, anyone reading this post can probably leave the nicknames of their friends in the comments...

IITians Are Big Fools

2007-02-12T09:41:00.000-08:00

I got this as a forward from my friend and this was an article captured in The Outlook as well. It is an eye opener, being an alumnus of IIT Bombay, to learn that this speech was delivered in IITB makes me feel great as well. Check out... good one.

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'IITians Are Big Fools'
No, it wasn't a frustrated or failed aspirant but a former IITian who said this last week at a lecture, while addressing a crowd of nearly a thousand IITians.

No, it wasn't a frustrated or failed aspirant but a former IITian who said this last week at a lecture while addressing a crowd of nearly a thousand IITians and other college students during the annual Techfest at Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB). But coming from Dunu Roy, who, unlike his colleagues and peers, decided to pursue grassroot integration of technology with local and practical requirements, it shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone who has followed this IITian's career.
But for a first-timer, the 90-minute talk and the subsequent Q&A could well have been an eye-opener. Provoking his audience by calling them "big fools" who know nothing about India and its village life, Roy said the IITians are victims of the politics of education and science. He added that the first lesson he learnt was that technologists and engineers are under an illusion that they get to take the decisions. That was not all. He went on to say that environmental dynamics aren’t understood by engineers who seem to specialise in solving one problem to create another one, thereby creating a "sustainability for the engineering profession—and not for the people".
"How many of you will end up working for the Haliburtons and Microsofts of the world?" he asked. And then proceeded to answer by pointing out that many of the students would do so because "Indian technical education is geared to meet global demands". The collapse of the US education system has led to a shortage of scientists and technologists, he said, which is why the courses they [the IITians] are learning are required for the US". Since Indian engineers are also cheaper than the American counterparts, "it made good sense for the Indian government to promote technical education so that you can provide cheap service to the US." Therefore, he suggested, the curriculum has changed. Earlier, he pointed out, IITs had a more integrated approach and also taught humanities, ethics and logic. But these subjects were removed in order to hasten the production of ‘unreal’ technologists.
The original vision to set up IITs stemmed from the independence movement. The Indian leaders at that time realised "the need to have trained scientists and technologists" who could provide equal rights to food, shelter, education and work to the people. The idea was to take the "best from universal education, invest in pockets like IITs (so that) they would return their expertise to the common pool of the country." Which is why the money to fund the IITs comes from the exchequer, he pointed out.
And then came perhaps the most thought-provoking part of the lecture. Referring to the hyped-up success stories of IITians —he cited the example of Kanwal Rekhi, a Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist— who have earned millions of dollars, Roy posited that while the ostensible aim of education is to teach us about success, most of our learnings comes from analysing and understanding failures. For every one IITian who makes money, there are 10 others who don't. And no one talks about the thousands of IITians who stay back and work for the country despite encountering victimisation by domestic politics of science and technology. Urging the young students to ask questions, and not just be receivers of "wisdom", Roy asked them to "learn the laws of motion of society and not just the laws of motion of science."
And coming from him, it did not sound phoney. For after his post-graduation from IITB, Roy moved to Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh and started the Vidushak Karkhana as part of the Shahdol Group carrying out focussed work on building a development model for the district and its implementation, in conjunction with local people.He was involved in this for 17 years during which he earned his income primarily out of repairing bicycles in the village district. He then shifted to Delhi for a four-year stint with the World Wide Fund for Nature, and later set up the Hazards Centre, a multi-disciplinary consultancy group. It’s rare for IITians to be the recipients of such blunt talk. And it should be noted that the student organisers of Techfest invited Dunu Roy to give this talk after accepting his condition that there would be no restriction on the content of his lecture. So perhaps the IITians are not such big fools after all.

Ultimate Maama - Part II

2007-02-05T09:43:00.000-08:00

As we said bye and see you on 1st August, I instantly switched to the mode of enjoying the remaining 3 weeks before the college. With no one at home accepting my decision to do Civil Engineering, enjoying the remaining holidays was a challenge. Till date I have not regretted for the decision to do Civil Engineering at Anna University, however the reason for which I took up Civil Engineering was a disappointment. It is always easy to do a post mortem, and would be unreasonable to make any comment on how life would have been on a path untaken. Nevertheless what followed was 4 years of fun filled and highly rewarding college life.

July 31st, 1995
Traditionally Anna University always opens up the academic year on every August 1st; I think the rules have changed a lot now. On July 31st, everyone assembles at Vivekananda auditorium to pay the semester fees and register for the subsequent semester courses, 1st year students also had the same rule. I stepped into the Vivekananda auditorium proudly thinking that I am a student. Not sure how many of us would have observed, we always address school going pupil as SCHOOL CHILDREN irrespective of the standard, not many times we call them as school students. This is one of my favorite observations that my class teacher in 12th standard made a point to re-iterate. As a proud student of Anna University I sat inside the auditorium to wait for my turn to pay the fees. I was wearing one of my brothers blue striped shirt and as a perfect Chennaiite had left the shirt outside my trouser and was wearing a bata leather slipper. I was also holding a folder with all my certificates and most significantly a malaimadhi Tamil novel.

As I was waiting for my turn, was thinking to myself about Mohan Raj and wondered how it will be to attend classes along with him. Truly living to the cliché of “Will Live For 100 Years” I heard the hero of the posting’s voice uttering “Excuse me what is the time now”. As I turned to say the time, my brain somehow instructed my lips to pull of a smile from nowhere. By now the readers must be wondering what is so significant about Malaimadhi. If the shear look of Mohan Raj created an impression about him, it is the Malaimadhi novel name that made Mohan Raj set his initial impression on me. With all due credit to him if anyone see’s a guy carrying a novel named MANJU + 5, will come to the immediate conclusion to which Mohan Raj also came. To put it in Chennai slang, he thought I am a matter boy carrying a sex novel during college admission. That was a damaging impression to have first up. With our initial impressions set on each other, what we both went on to prove was that “initial impression need not always be the best impression”.

Kick Start...
First 3 weeks or so in our college was not significant however just towards the end of the first month we had that famous Ganesha drinking milk episode. This posting will not get into any details on the milk episode, however what is important is, the way we used the episode to win first prize in the intra college variety entertainment competition. This was one of the headiest moments in our college life, we got our first prize by beating the most fancied veterans from the third year mechanical engineering group. This significantly marked the first time that MohanRaj and I got to work together and started to appreciate each other. During this time I observed certain wonderful qualities of MohanRaj, the one that I admire the most is his patience. I am exactly polar opposite to him when it comes to patience. I have always dreamt to be as patient as him and to date have not managed to achieve it.

The next significant moment in out interaction came during the freshers party organized by Anna University in the Vivekananda Auditorium. I do remember the senior who ragged us, without physical or mental abuse from the senior; the whole incident was really funny. Both Mohan Raj and myself were asked to play Tikkilona in the main pathway of the auditorium, without a modicum of hesitation we both played that with great enthusiasm. When I imagine my dicky vis-à-vis Maams’s, there is no comparison at all. There were other incidents during the freshers party, for want of maintaining decency those are all censored. That pretty much covers the initial interactions with Maams, during the subsequent posts; we will get into some more incidents…

Ultimate Mama

2007-01-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

After some deep thinking and reviewing of multiple subjects for my next 3 to 5 posts, I finally decided to put some write up on my inimitable mama. When I say mama, I am not talking about my mom’s brother or my dad’s sister’s husband or my sister’s husband. I am going to talk about my friend Mr. Mohan Raj who we all call as mama and for sure he is a great mama. Let us get this rolling and see how many posting this spans out to be, let us start with our first meeting….

Our first Encounter...

Our first meeting dates back to 1995 in the month of June. I had taken Kovai Express in the morning along with my Dad for my Engineering Admission at Government College of Technology, commonly called as GCT. Guess the college is in Lolly Road / Thadagam Road, I really like the names of those roads. Interestingly, people give a different expansion for the acronym GCT (Girls College of Technology), this apparently is due to the fact that the percentage of girls in this college is higher than the guys, and one would tend to think LUCKY GUYS. As I reached Kovai sometime in the afternoon, we headed straight to PSG, IMS (Medical College at Peelamedu). This is where my brother had finished his MBBS and some of his friends helped us with accommodation inside the campus.

Next day morning dad and I found our way to GCT and I was taken aback by the distance of the college building from the main gate. After a long walk we reached the main building and further we were directed to the nearby auditorium. Both of us were surprised to see the parents and kids with beds, books and huge suitcases. While we inquired on the reason, we then realized that the classes start once the admission is over. I was not prepared for that since my plan was to get back home (Chennai) and return after a week. I was feeling sick just by thinking about the fact that I need to spend my time out of home and I did not like that idea even a wee bit. On the contrary to majority of the students in the campus I was feeling very low and sick.

While my dad and I were trying to find our way to the auditorium we encountered a guy who was tall, a bit dark, shaven head and with a neatly pressed formal shirt and a trouser. My initial thought was that he must be a senior; I did not have the courage to talk to him. In my mind the look of his was imposing and sent a wave of fear in my spine. My dad approached this guy and asked for the way to auditorium, that’s when we learnt that he has also come for admission. I was surprised and realized how small I am (in size) when compared to my peers. Truly and surely I was scared about the prospect of attending classes with this guy, don’t know why, but I was dead scared. This man happens to be the softest guy I have come across so far and he answers to the name of Mohan Raj.

After that I did not see him during the admission and completed all my admission formalities and headed back to PSG medical college. Next day, I attended the first half of the class where a rude chemistry teacher lambasted a guy. I still couldn’t figure out a reason for him scolding the poor guy. Guess what, our teacher gave the time table for the semester and our friend who was taken to task had noted down the days as columns and periods as rows (typically people note down the days in rows and periods in columns). This apparently pissed our teacher and gave him a mouthful; in fact he even concluded that our poor friend will become good for nothing. One does not expect this from a teacher, at that time I was scared, but if I ever happen see such a teacher I will give my piece of mind. He had no business in the first place to shout at the guy since it is one’s prerogative to note down things the way they understand and want to. Our respected teacher went to an extent of making a judgment, not done, certainly not done.

After that first session, dad and I took the afternoon Kovai express and reached home in the night. By this time I decided not to continue with GCT and I was looking forward for the counseling at Anna University for the admission of two branches Civiil and Geo Informatics Engineering.

A Week Later…..

I headed to Anna University (If I get the date correct it was July 6th, 1995) along with my Dad and Mom. We took the then Pallavan Bus 47A and I was thrilled to see T.Nagar since that was the first time I passed T.Nagar. We got down at Anna University and went straight for counseling; I met quite a few of those people who would then go on to become one of my best friends. Top of the list was one Lakshmi Krishnan, a wonderful girl whom I respect a lot. During the admission process, one of my other friend Makka (Arun Prasad Raja) was having problems in admission and unfortunately we were not able to help him. When all the admissions procedures were done I had a sigh of relief that I need not go out of home for my graduation. Somewhere in the corner of my heart I also felt happy that I need not encounter Mohan Raj again in life, but that happiness was short lived. Just when we stepped out of the campus, we found Mohan Raj along with his parents and he felt happy to let me know that he has also got admitted into Civil Engineering. I don’t think he had any clue on how sad and scared I was about his admission....

This is how the whole thing started, we will get into some details in the upcoming postings…

My Pencil Curves

2007-01-07T22:55:00.000-08:00

Friends,
During my days in Mumbai I used to spend my time by reading books and doing some pencil sketches. Thought I will post some of my pencil sketches... These are all not from my imagination but was made by looking at some pictures...

Openings and Interludes for Songs

2006-12-28T00:13:00.000-08:00

Listening to music is one of the most popular hobbies that is quoted in many CV's and I am no exception to that list. I was wondering what are the aspects that will enthuse some one to listen to music. One might think that this is a basic and easy question, the amusing thing is, I was not able to put words to a very obvious answer. Hence, I decided to shortlist some of aspects that I love in listening to music specifically to movie songs.

Top of my mind were

1. Lyrics

2. Tune

3. Orchestration

4. Singers
Am sure there can be many more...

When I listen to some songs, apart from the quality of the song, the opening that is given to the song and the interludes that are played has created goose bumps. It is amazing that if you try singing that song you will end up humming the interludes orthe opening muisic piece of some of those. Then I went about listing some of those songs where I just fell in love with the opening and the interlude. There are many songs that can be listed, I decided to list some of the songs that cameon top of my mind. Let us see the list and please note that this list is not in any order of classification it is justfrom the top of my mind...

1. Aagaaya Gangai - Dharma Yudham

The opening for the song with the humming of S.Janaki can create instant joy to any one and if you are a Rajinikanth fan look out for his walk during the opening. Nothing needs to be said about Sridevi, it is there for all of us to see :-)

2. Mandram vandha thendralukku - Mouna Ragam

Can there be a better song to give that soothing feeling than this one, probably not.The humming with which SPB starts off will make anyone even in a deep slumber to get up and take a note of this song.

3. Ilaya Nila - Payanangal Mudivadhillai

The interlude piece for this is arguably one of the best ever. Once in an interview SPB was narrating about complication in theinterlude, apparently the guitar note is very complicated to play with the use of multiple strings. During the recording Illayaraja had got fed-up with the artists in-ability to play the note and he had picked the guitar himself and played it. This is the problem in working with geniuses, they expect others also to be at the same level what say? check this song outfor the interlude.

4. Aedho Mogam - Kozhi Koovudhu

This matter song from Kozhi Koovudhu with Viji and Suresh stands out for its sheer orchestration and the sensuous tune.Just listen you will realize, actually I do not have words to explain the quality of this song.

5. Sandhana Kaatre Sendhamizh Ootrey- Thanikkaatu Raja

Not sure how many would have noticed that guitar piece as an opening for this song. Check it out and you cant avoid saying that famous Rajinikant dialogue "IDHU EPPADI IRUKKU"

6. Poomalaye - Pagal Nilavu

Have a look at Murali running across the woods as the opening violin note of this song starts off. It will clearly express themood of a young man in love and the kind of flowing emotions. Check it out...

7. Aanandha Raagam - Panneer Pushpangal

Yesterday while I was drving back home from office radio mirchi had played this song. For the first time I paid attention toUma Ramanans voice and the hum for opening up the song. Thats when I decided that this songs should be a part of this list..

8. Aasaya Kaathula Thoodhu vittu - Jhonny

I am wondering if there is any other song that has captured the imagination of people across all ages and across generationprobably very few. S.P.Sailaja has done a tremendous job in singing this one and that folk opening along with the beats issomething that will always linger in everyone's ears.

9. Ilamai Idho Idho - Sakala Kala Vallavan

There is no better song for new year than this one. I remember waiting for this song to be played in Oliyum Oliyum for the newyear. The picturization of this song should be one of the all time best and the creative SPB with his false voice is terrific.People can definitely recall the table dance of Kamal along with the Chandelier, Tyres and what not... I guess Raja would have used all the instruments at his disposal for composing this master piece. Wonder if Raja himself can compose another song like this.Be it the opening, interludes or the song itself, if this song does not create energy in someone no other song will..

10. Idhazhil Kadhai Ezhudhum - Unnal Mudiyum Thambi

This song from the Balanchader movie will stand out for its classical touch and the rendering from Chitra and SPB. The opening of this song is nothing less than special, check out...

11. Ilamai enum Poongaatru - Pagalil Oru Iravu

Any young guys, please do not see this song. Your heart will break to see Sridevi along with some guy in a matteranski song. Restrict yourself to listening this, you will enjoy every bit of this song...

12. Sangeedha Megam thaen sindhum neram - Udhaya Geetham

The opening note of this song is something that has captured everyone's imagination. If you happen to see Mohan enacting this song you can have fun with a touch of comedy to it. Wonder if anyone will sing like the way Mohan does....

13. Pothi Vecha Malligai Mottu - Man Vaasanai

Check out for Pandian pulling our Revathi from a pit using a rope and the background opening note for this song. Bharathiraja has done complete justice to the opening of this song, may be Pandian was a misfit :-)

14. Oru kili urugudhu urimayil - Aanandha Gummi

I have always seen this song being enacted in a funny manner in many variety entertainment programs and recently in Kalakka Povadhu Yaaru of Vijay TV. Even those things cannot overshadow the quality of opening given to this song, check out this very popular number..

15. Andhi Mazhai - Raaja Paarvai

By now one must be wondering, how can this song cannot be a part of this. This is magical number rendered by SPB and Janaki, check out for the hums in the interlude (I guess that was sung by TV. Gopalakirshnan - not sure though)

16. Vaan Nila Nila Alla - Pattina Pravesam

I guess this is the only song in the list that is not composed by Illayaraja, I just love this song for violin. One of the best, check out. Also, you can see Sivachandran in this song if you get to see the video...

There can be many more added to this list, this is just from the top of my mind.

Management Mantra's from Rajnikanth

2006-12-27T04:46:00.000-08:00

Mantra 1

Rajni’s punch
“ Khanna naan yosikama sollrathile, sollittu yosikrithile’

Management Lesson
Planning is absolutely important and having planned there is no need for any re confirmation in the attainment of the objective.

Mantra 2

Rajni’s Dialogue ( in 16 vayathinile )
" Ithu eppadi iruku”

Management Mantra
Getting the opinion of the downline is very important for any top management. This makes an organisation very democratic”

Mantra 3

Rajni’s punch: ( in Dharmathin Thalaivan)
" Nan thatti kaetpaen, aana, kotti kudupaen”

Management mantra
The top management can demand and at the same time reward probably thru Incentives and ESOPs.

Mantra 4

Rajni’s Punch: ( in Arunachalam )
“Sollraan, seiraan”

Management Mantra
üThese two words just are good enough to understand the importance of Delegation and Implementation….both are very important to any professionally managed company.

Mantra 5

Rajni’s Punch: ( In Baasha )
" Naan oru thadavai sonna, nooru vaati sonna mathuri “

This is a peculiar statement which may even put Peter Drucker to feel small.

Management Mantra
In less than 10 words, he narrates the importance of proper communication skills and listening skills. There should always be clarity and authority in what the management says and the there should be no room for any misinterpretation. Also if the listening skill is well established, we can avoid waste of time and efforts in communicating the same subject thru phone, mails, memos

Mantra 6

Rajni’s punch: ( in Baba )
“ Naan lateaa vandalum, latestaa varuven”

Management Mantra
Even if there is delay in rolling out a product or service, we need to ensure that we deploy the latest methods and technology. This is important to all industries.

Mantra 7

Rajni’s Punch: ( in Baba )
“ Asantha adikirathu unga style. Asarama adikirathu Baba style”

Management Mantra
It is very important to be pro active than reactive. This is particularly important for Telecom and Credit card companies. You need to be launching pleasant surprises to the consumers before the competitor knows about them.

Mantra 8

Rajni’s Punch: ( in Padaiyappa)
“en vazhi thanee vazhi”

Management mantra
“ You need to be different to succeed. Don’t choose a me too line of business.

Mantra 9

Rajni’s Punch: ( in Engeyo kaeta kural )
“ Kai alavu kasu iruntha athu namma kappathum, athuve kazuthu iruntha atha namma kappathunum”

Management Lesson
Here he clearly talks about treasury operations and wealth management services. The management should focus on their core business. Investment advice should be left to the wealth management companies or experts. In fact Mutual Funds should use this punch to multiply their clientele.

Mantra 10

Rajni’s Punch: ( in Baba )
Baba counting starts now 1,2,3,…

Management mantra
Here he just narrates the importance of timelines….

Shane Warne - The best ever

2006-12-21T23:38:00.000-08:00

This morning I was reading an article in Hindu written by Nirmal Shekar paying tribute to a Legend who just announced his retirement from international cricket. He is none other than the one who answers to the name of Shane Warne. Over the years I have read quite a few articles of Nirmal Shekar and one can see a poetic flow in all his articles. His creativity has always amused me, particularly his articles on Roger Federer are of top quality. This has now inspired me to attempt an article on Shane Warne, here we go….

It was sometime in early 1992 during a Sydney test match when Shane Warne made his debut and got butchered by Indian batsmen Ravi Shastri and Sachin Tendulkar. Not sure the number of people who had thought that this man would go on to become one of the greatest ever to have stepped into the cricket field. 14 years down the line, one can feel privileged to have lived in an era when this legend has lived. Mr. Venkatraghavan once said that he could hear a fizz when Shane releases the ball that goes on to bamboozle the batsmen. The kind of variety and control that Shane possesses in his art is just unmatched by any of them who ever practiced the art of leg spin bowling.

Nirmal Shekar, in his article dwelled into the aspect of the kind of symphony that his hands create along with the leather sphere and had made comparisons to Van Goh and Pandit Ravishankar. It is the body language that Shane exhibits on the cricket field distinguishes him from the other lesser mortals. Historically, it is believed that fast bowlers are aggressive and one can recollect many names to validate this right from Jeff Thomson till Allan Donald. Imagine a man taking just four steps for his delivery stride with his left foot landing on the crease, shoulder, elbow and wrist in perfect position to release the ball to do exactly the same thing that his mind wants to do exhibiting the aggression that will make the batsmen scared. It is often said that Illayaraja writes his musical notes that when played will be exactly the same as what he had in his mind. An equivalent of that will be Shane’s control over the delivery, be it flipper, leg break, googly etc. the consistency with which he delivers them the way he wants to is just unparalleled, may be Kumble, McGrath and Murali will be the closest challengers.

Everyone knows about the ball of the century that was sent down to Mike Gatting in an Ashes test match, the trajectory of the delivery starting outside off stump, making that parabolic descent to outside leg stump, hitting the pitch and taking a turn to clip the off stump bails. My heart goes to Mike Gatting, for once he would have thought that there is very little that he could have done to not getting out for such a delivery. I can recollect another incident in a Sydney test match against Pakistan with the last ball of the day to be delivered by Shane and Basit Ali was taking guard to face the ball. It is actually interesting to notice how Basit Ali was set-up to get out in that over. Continuous chat with Ian Healy on subjects that was as irrelevant as to which beer to have in the evening to challenging whether Basit will be able survive that over, it was an intriguing battle between mind of the batsmen and this great bowler. Just before the last ball was delivered Shane had made some fielding changes that left the batsmen wonder on what will be thrown at him. History will say that Shane delivered the ball with the same trajectory as it was sent to Mike Gatting and Basit was confused whether to use the bat / legs and ends up making a big front foot stride and the balls passes through the legs to hit the stumps. If anyone gets to see that video you can hear Richie Benaud saying “He has done him between the legs” in the commentary box. Now that was a special moment.

It is not that this champion bowler was never challenged, no one apart from Sachin, Lara and Sidhu has played him better, even the great Rahul Dravid had his measure of struggle against this great man. Sachin’s battle against Shane will be etched in everyone’s memory, with a special mention on the Chennai test where Sachin hit Shane for a six over midwicket playing against the spin, that was genius v/s genius. However, there is this special moment between Lara and Shane in a one day match where West Indies required nearly 100 runs in the last 10 overs to win the match. Lara was woefully out of form and he had just scratched to a 50 in 99 balls in that match, the defining moment came when Lara took strike against Shane and ended up scoring more than 30 runs in the last two overs of Shane and when Lara was out, he had made 90 runs of 110 balls and West Indies went on to win that match.

If someone has to take the risk of summarizing on what makes Shane a legend, it has to be his aggression, natrural talent, passion, spirit and above all his control over the art of leg spin bowling that has allowed him to reach this scale. There will be a huge hollow after he leaves, one wishes to see him associated with cricket for the years to come and be successful in all his endeavors.

Welcome back...Dada!!

2006-12-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Friends,
Not being a creative person did not help my cause in choosing the subject for my first posting. After a long hard thought I decided to play it safe by picking an article from cricinfo on my favourite Dada. This was written by Jamie Alter on his return to the team India with a gutsy 83. With all the words around, realistically speaking Dada still has more work to be done before he can consider that he is fully back. My best wishes will always be with him and so will be the prayers of all his supporters... Come on Dada.. Come on...

Exorcising the demons
Jamie Alter

Sourav Ganguly played with confidence and an air of calmness

Straight off the bat, this is not just about the runs he scored. This is about a man who came, saw and conquered - if only for the moment - the demons in his head, the ghosts in his past. This is about a man with so much to prove, recalled to his country's cause not so much because he was in form but because the so called 'marquee' players had all but lost themselves to the Indian management's faith; a former captain let down by his own board, yet who had done little to suggest over the past ten months that he had the cojones to play Test cricket again.

This is about Sourav Ganguly and his 141-ball, 224-minute 83 against the Rest of South Africa at Potchefstroom, as strong a statement of intent as there can be. When he walked in, the Indians had lost Wasim Jaffer, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar with just 37 on the board. When Ganguly left, they had crossed 200, 115 splendid runs had been added with Irfan Pathan, and had taken a huge step towards securing a morale-boosting tour win.

And a man with reason to feel embittered had done enough to show his detractors that he belonged there at that very moment. This was an innings of so many dimensions and emotions. He was wary about the balls he played, he arched his back, he watched his back lift, he cover drove, he edged, he was dropped, and he copped a nasty Nantie Hayward lifter smack above the right ear.

Given all that had transpired over the past year, given the conditions of his selection, and given the situation the Indians were in, Ganguly walked out to the middle at Potchefstroom on December 7 with a fathomable amount of pressure on his shoulders.

Countless television channels in India filled the airwaves with images of Ganguly batting for hours at the nets, running laps around the Eden Gardens, and stressing on how serious he was about making a comeback. For those who chuckled at the footage and Ganguly's quotes about sorting out technical difficulties, it is important to raise here the issue of his technique. After the first day's play, Ganguly revealed what had been noticed in his innings: "In India, I take a leg-stump guard. Here, I decided to take a middle-stump guard. When you are out of the team, you get a lot more time to analyse your batting, otherwise you're just going from one series to another and you don't get much of a chance. I've had time on my hands and I've worked on certain things."

Too true. He was no longer flip-flopping with a tentative front foot shuffle or just plain stuck in expectancy of the short ball. Rather, he played with upright balance, distributing his body weight better, his shortened backlift allowing him to play much straighter. And his head was still. Absolutely still. Where Jaffer misread the movement of the ball, Sehwag the pace and length, and Tendulkar and Laxman were drawn into tame prods outside off stump, Ganguly got right behind the line, played with a full face of the bat, and soft hands, and kept the ball as close to the ground as he could.

His first boundary was a glance down to third man, the second a four to the point fence via a misfield but, once in the 20s, he produced two shots that revived memories of the greatness he used to perch upon. First, Morne Morkel, the day's wrecker-in-chief, pitched ever so slightly on a full length and was driven through cover and mid-off. Hayward served up a half-volley outside off stump and was square-driven through point.

There was a moment of worry, and I'm sure scoffing in some corners, when he ducked into Hayward's next ball and had the medical staff out for an examination. But in the bowler's next over, Ganguly slapped consecutive fours through point and extra cover, one back-foot, the other elegantly off the front, to indicate that he was not in South Africa to be intimidated. The bouncers, ducking, and cover driving - and the odd word from Hayward - continued between Ganguly and the South African pacers all morning and afternoon, until he finally departed, edging an attempted cut off Friedel de Wet to the 'keeper.

What thoughts rested or raged in his head as he stepped over the ropes and made his way to the crease, only Ganguly will know. What he felt when he mistimed a drive to midwicket and picked up a single to get to 50, we can assume. What he felt when he walked back into the Indian dressing room, with 83 hard-earned runs to his name, the knowledge that he had done what a famed top-order hadn't, should not be surmised. Therein lies the beautiful complexity of an estranged individual. There was a bittersweet touch to his contribution following a second-innings duck, but for his unwavering focus, judicious shot selection, and resolve to get into perfect position, Ganguly's 83 should merit automatic selection for the first Test at Johannesburg.

He said - on his recall"They [critics] told me that I had achieved everything in any case, played for the team for 11 years, been captain for five - what else did I want to get out of the game? But I just felt I still had it in me to play at the highest level for longer. At some level, I felt my career will be incomplete if I simply give up now."

They said - Greg Chappell on Ganguly's move to take middle-stump guard"It was a smart move. It showed that he had applied his mind and come up with the right method to overcome the conditions. He looks calm, relaxed, very fit. He looks like he's worked hard on aspects of his game. He's applying both mind and method and that's showing."

Chappell speaks, in praise again, of Ganguly's footwork"That was very important too [play off the front foot as much as possible]. It allowed him to take his decision just that much time later. By leaning forward, he was able to judge the length of the ball accurately, which also allowed him to leave the right balls. That's why he could also play his shots without too much of a problem."

From the inside - Dilip Vengsarkar, India's chairman of selectors"It's good to score runs in the first match of a tour and it will stand him in good stead for the Tests, which are the ultimate. I hope he performs, I think he has it in him to score runs and it is good to see him back."