Rolling Stones…

Gathers no moss, they say. There is another way of looking at this. Pigs rolling in the sty do gather dirt. But they never realize what they are rolling in or the fact that the stench is killing the neighborhood, do they? Why? Well, they get used to it.

Science says as a fact that, even humans, put in the middle of a garbage pool, as time passes (in fact not so long, 10-15 minutes probably) have their sense of smell adjusted that they no longer really realize where they are.

And so all you can accumulate by virtue of spending long periods in a company is some fabulous muck. It is difficult to realize what kind of crap pot that you are in as you get experienced. And by the time you realize it, you just have to hope and pray that it’s not too late.

Cut to the top story of the day.

Roger Federer wins Wimbledon and becomes the Greatest Grand Slam winner.

This is one rolling stone, which pockets slams as it rolls by. Coming at the heel of a seemingly impossible win at the French Open, this is a fantastic result for Federer. This story is amazing from a different perspective.

I started watching tennis is mid eighties. It was a transcient era from that of individual dominance of Laver and then Borg, to eighties of fights among equals. On a given day Becker, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander, Cash, Stich, the ageing Connors or McEnroe, any one can win a slam. The trend was about to continue given the increasing nature of competition in the men’s field.

Till a certain Pete Sampras came along.

There were Agassi, Chang, Courier, Kafelnikov, Ivanisevic, and an emerging Spanish armada in the circuit. But Sampras was clearly the dominator. I grew up watching every one of Sampras’s Slam wins. He was a not a natural popular choice. Andre Agassi was one. But the utter dominance of Pete Sampras was breath taking for me. His serving was so powerful, so certain. Even now I cannot think of a sure thing in life than him serving for a match. Don’t think he has ever lost his serve, while doing so. So powerful was his game, that the opponents were often brutalized into submission rather than getting beaten on a tennis court. All this he delivered with poise, elegance and skill, that there was this vicarious pleasure to be had, witnessing the massacre on the court which everyone approved! It was like watching a high action blood spilling war movie, violent but gripping and arresting. I thought this kind of dominance is impossible to recur in the near future (of the past!). All tennis fans also had the same view, I can bet.

Most improbably, as Pete was going out, his successor smoothly filled his position, before anyone realized that it was vacant. Federer’s dominance in the mid decade was even more mind altering. If watching Sampras was like watching a heavy duty action flick, watching Federer’s demolition act is like watching a live human dissection set to Bach or Beethovan’s Symphonic music at the back ground. Like an eye pleasing ballet where the protagonist goes around massacring his opponents in a highly choreographed manner in the most aesthetically pleasing way, if you may. It was the same utter domination and gave a similar vicarious pleasure, but of a different genre.

The Gods then decided to surprise you and throw in one more, while Federer was for Grass and concrete, he sent one for Clay. Between, Federer and Nadal, the domination is complete. It is so ruthless now that it is certain that if you beat either of them, the other is there to take revenge. I don’t think any sport has seen two such sportsman tag-teaming to such devastating effect, except for Bret & Owen Hart of WWE. ;-).

Federer has now done with his record making obligations and is ageing as well. Nadal should emerge stronger after recovering from a battered knee. There is this new Roddick. Along with the stoic scot Murray, Del Potro and the only other lone slam sniffer, Djokovic, the tennis at the top is extremely promising.

At this juncture, either it becomes like Equal Eighties, where every one can hope for a spoil or a more fascinating prospect would be a fully recovered and durable Nadal, mounting his own assault on what has now become Mt.Federer.

There is a small issue here. Very much like Mt.Everest and the lot which keep growing year after year, Mt.Federer might also grow up by couple of slams or more. If at all anyone can mount a serious challenge and has the right kind of start, it is Rafa for now. Then again, there could be some one else hiding in the ranks, biding time, waiting to ambush, ready to roll and gather some slams.

Getting back to the head to the initial lines, S keeps telling that it is time to get out of the rut that the job has become. As the pig story goes, as long as you are there in the pit, you don’t realize how much you are affecting others with your dirt slinging habits! I am beginning to affect people close to me and this should stop.

So here it is to S… let me try to become a Rolling Stone, throw away the muck and gather some millions on the way..! ;-) !

IPL2

It is difficult to give this heady mix of Sports, Entertainment, Glamour, Politics and Drama a miss.

IPL2 is already the showcase of a daring Indian psyche. I guess I can safely say such shifting of location of a local league to a foreign country has not happened in any other sport across the world. This may have been a forced decision on BCCI. It is well understood that the television is the prime driver and the geographic location may be an immaterial factor. But the departure from staying true to established league norms of ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ matches, ‘Home Grounds’, ‘Loyal Home Fans’ etc. was audacious and the conviction that the interest can be sustained at a foreign shore is a laudable.

While all this and more (or less, in case of the cheer leaders’ garb) has begun to generate the widespread interest, what has really captured the attention for me is the performance of the oldies.

Warne, Hayden, Kumble, Murali, Sachin & Dravid are the key performers in the matches so far. In the very first over from Warne, we could see the ball jumping and turning as if he has been bowling all year. Kumble was accurate as ever. Sachin & Dravid are staking claims for a place in the Indian T20 team. Hayden was in his usual intimidating mood, brutally shaking off the indifferent first match innings. Saurav failed but will take a lot of comfort from the success of his peers. We have not seen Gilchrist & Sanath getting into action yet but they surely will have their days.

T20 is a blink-and-you-miss cricket form. Teams do not have time to recover. There are no grand plans but a sleight here and a trick there can do the do. In such form of cricket age does not matter. If you can put the bat to the ball, do so to avoid the 11 guys on the field, in which ever manner you can and sustain that for ten or fifteen minutes, you might have made an important contribution. Similarly, a batsman frustrating miserly over or a wily wicket taking ball or two, can change the match. What T20 has done is to take the game to one of its simplest forms – the Mayhem of Street Cricket.

Street Cricket all over the world is enjoyed by the young and the old alike. Youngsters will taunt the oldies over a sloppy fielding or a bad running between wickets, the Uncles win get back by purely playing on the youthful impatience. Of course, the physical fitness and conditioning of the young is unmatchable, it is easier for a wily old horse to sustain his run over a 20 over match much better than any other longer version of the game. When it comes to the international stage, we are talking about world class athletes, who know a thing or two about fitness irrespective of their age.

So far in IPL2, these guys have been a joy and a thrill to watch. It is not that these oldies are there to just put on a show and be the crowd pullers that they are. They are genuine entertainers in their own right, masters of their trade and have nothing to prove to anyone.

But with their edgy competitiveness, mighty experience and supreme talent, all ready to be pulled out for a condensed, intense form of cricket, the oldies are probably just the right guys to have on your side.

Allah Rakha Rahman wins the Oscar..

A R Rahman has won 2 oscars and the whole of India is absolutely thrilled with this accolade.

In 1992, the film ‘Roja’ released without any announcement or fanfare. There was this very small last page advertisement in ‘The Hindu’ on the day of the release which caught my eye. And then I thought there is some error in the advertisement. There was no name of Illayaraja in the credits. Some ‘A R Rahman’ was mentioned and I promptly thought it was some other technician. But then, the film had all the known names at right roles, except the music director credit.

The ‘Maniratnam – Illayaraja’ combination is an extraordinary partnership to put it mildly. The sheer quality of output is staggering. Along with Maniratnam’s visualization, their songs are benchmark for film song picturization.

Here is the list of films that Maniratnam has done leading up to Roja:

1991 – Thalapathi - Illayaraja (in his 600th film - ?)
1990 – Anjali - ,, (in his 500th film - ?)
1989 – Gitanjali / Idayathai Thirudadhey - ,,
1988 – Agni Natchatram - ,, (in his 300/400th film or so)
1987 – Nayagan - ,,
1986 – Mauna Ragam - ,,
1985 – Idhayakovil - ,,
1986 – Pagal Nilavu - ,,

Now, just thinking about any of the songs in each one of the above films will make you smile. Listening to them, any day and any time of the day, makes the moment special. The quality of compositions, the variety, the breadth, the depth given by Illayaraja, is of one from a sheer genius. And to think this partnership can be changed or challenged is unthinkable.

But then consider the list below:

1992 – Roja - AR Rahman
1993 – Thiruda Thiruda - ,,
1995 – Bombay - ,,
1997 – Iruvar - ,,
1998 – Dil Se - ,,
2000 – Alaipayuthae - ,,
2002 – Kannathil Muthamittal - ,,
2004 – Ayidha Ezhuthu / Yuva - ,,
2007 – Guru - ,,

No less exceptional. No less staggering. In my list, Raja is ahead of Rahman, only because of the volume of his work and the consistent background magic that he has created in each of the films in the list.

Now getting back to the Oscar and other awards….

In my opinion, any one who even remotely challenges the first list is worthy of any award on the block.

If it happens to be the Oscar, I’ll settle for that as well.

;-)

Congratulations, A R Rahman…!

Sachin Tendulkar wins his French Open..!!

Sachin Tendulkar i guess beat Roger Federer (& a retired Pete Sampras) to win his French Open...!

This is what he had to say after the match.. the poise and the choice of words underline his class.

"I dedicate this century to the people of Mumbai," the batting maestro said, adding "cricket cannot lessen whatever happened... I hope this 100 will give some amount of happiness to the people.""What happened in Mumbai was extremely extremely unfortunate and it will be hard to recover," Tendulkar said, adding, "we are right with the people who lost their near and dear ones.

So, here is Congratulations to Sachin, on his French Open win..!

Me, my breakfast and Parthasarathy of Triplicane...

This morning, thought I will finally get around to the Triplicane Parthasarathy Temple. I had Madras born, Chennai bred Banglorean, as my guide (while on that, friend, philosopher, as well… ;-)).

One step inside the temple, it feels like you have been transported to some 13th Century Chola period and it seemed possible that the Pandian King could be somewhere lurking around as part of his evangelization drive to convert Vaishnavites onto becoming a Shaivite.

If this is difficult to picture here is an easier explanation. It was like walking into the sets of the film Dasavatharam and expecting Napolean to tap your shoulders. Actually Asin would have been nicer option but that will be veering out of the topic. Let me leave this at this. (Sigh!) (That sigh was for the fact that I actually had several taps on the shoulder, alas by my FPG)

Any case, it happened that Lord Parthasarathy had decided to hide behind the curtain, when we went. I was very much hurt that the Lord could spurn me. I mean what gall, having given the rights to someone else.

But then I could have had my revenge then and there. The Prasadam stall had Puliyodhara and other assorted stuff like the sweet Appam, etc. Since I haven’t had my breakfast then, it was a wonderful opportunity in the offing for me to treat the Lordship’s aboard as a meal counter and get even by gorging on the fare available. But anger overrode the opportunity and I rushed out. Only to realize that I was still hungry and angry while the Lord in his abode smug and smiling. Cannot stop thinking that only God knows what the Lord was up to behind the curtain!

So here is what I have decided. That I will once go to the temple only for the Puliyodhara and nothing else. Then will decide on a meeting Parthasarathy on a later occasion when my FPG is around.

In my case, revenge is a dish, best served hot and spicy from a temple madapalli!

Appetite, literally..!

To eat to live or to live to eat, that’s never an ambiguity for me.

In the past week or so, I have picked couple of books on food, to read. One a small compendium, titled, ‘A Cook’s Companion’ and the other ‘It must’ve been something I ate’ by Jeffrey Steingarten.

‘A Cook’s Companion’ is a typically neat British publication (Robson Books) on gastronomical trivia. It contains some wonderful little tidbits on food history, science, and facts/fiction.

Sample this trivia,

During wartimes, inside the rationed environs of a warship, the once a day complete meal used to be served in square plates, hence ‘Square Meals’.

And this quote,

There are two things in life I like firm, and one of them is jelly. – Mae West

Or this anonymous limerick,

There was a young gourmet of Crediton
Who took pate de foie gras and spread it on
A chocolate biscuit
He murmured ‘I’ll risk it’
His tomb bears the date that he said it on.

Nice, isn’t it?

The book has hundreds of such entries. And can be a delightful companion on a lazy Sunday afternoon or a lonely train journey (as I found out).

I have just started reading ‘ It must have ..’ and from what I have read, Steingarten writes with a very understated dry self deprecating humor which is hard to not grin at while reading. I will post a bit more once I am through with the reading.

A typical food related book would be a collection of recipes, more often than not. However, if you lay your hands on books which go beyond just recipes, they offer a reading with a new taste. Food is such an integral part of our daily life in times of mirth or misery. It is no surprise that there is so much to write about than just recipes.

S has been reading books by MFK Fisher and found them as relishing as a plate of home made festive savories. I got to find a way to dig into her fare. I have in my shelf an autobiographical book that I haven’t read yet, ‘The Devil in the kitchen’ by Marco Pierre White – a celebrity chef and on top of it, a Brit. (A British cook, makes you wonder, what a nice time pass profession that it would be, given the fact that there is nothing so much called British cuisine!). The point I am trying to make is that while there is so much to read generally, there is much more to read on food, specifically. I guess it will be a genre which can offer a lip smacking fare page after page.

Getting back to where I started: To eat to live or to live to eat, that’s never an ambiguity for me.

;-)!

Cannot digest…

The events of last two days in Bombay are the ones that evoke disbelief, disgust, shock, anger, irritation, shame and irony. It has prompted questions on who is responsible and accountable. Revenge plays on mind. Yet restraint is the need of the hour.

There will be stories concocted on the planning and brains behind this attack. The motives will be analyzed. The response will be questioned. The retaliation and fight back will be criticized. Political mileage will be sought. Diplomacy will be tested and stretched. Heroes will be hailed. A lot more would be mourned and forgotten.

I was shut inside house due to incessant rains in Chennai. Was hooked on to work from home and I had the TV on all day. It was like watching a full scale action movie albeit in real time. The vicarious entertainment it provided was sickening in when you think about the terror that it has afflicted.

Some things are certain. No more inaction by hiding behind the hyped Mumbaiyya Spirit of returning back to work after a day of horror. There is a need for a clear home land security organization, like the Army. The PM has for the first time come out with a stronger response, which is welcome.

If there are no specific, tangible and visible measures taken, then, one more such attack and people will riot, which again might be one of the objectives of such terror acts.

The efforts of the NSG, even though they are only doing what they are trained for, and the armed forces should be lauded. The challenges of mounting a counter terrorist operation in these conditions are beyond the normal realms. The Taj staff has been reported to be calm, collected and still helpful to the guests amidst chaos, which is poignantly heartening.

Beyond all this analysis of what had happened, why, how, when and where, the whole situation, it is the fact that a bunch of young minds can be trained to believe in these acts of terror as means of proving a point or instruments of getting to an objective that is nauseating. It makes acts of suicide bombing, or flying into an high rise etc, which are point in time acts, elementary in their conception and execution. Here the intent and the long drawn execution are an elaborate exhibition of demented minds.

But for the first time, the weapons and the suicidal conditioning have failed to cloak the cowardice on display.

All said, what had happened is difficult to digest.

The (changing) times... (?!)

Actually i had a different post earlier out here. Something to do with the difficult times that we are in globally, ironic situation that i find at work locally and confusing times otherwise. Some folks read it. One said i am being too tight and other said 'no comments'! Both are right. The global conditions have been talked, analysed and written about using the last byte available. Local condition at work is actually nothing much to really merit a comment. The confusion otherwise is essentially taking myself a bit more seriously than i ought to. So decided to put in a reform post! ;-)

However, my thoughts on the festivals and festive season remains. These festivals do give people a reason to look forward to that given day without their usual worries and fears. Here is sincerely wishing that every day is a festival..!

(the picture above taken with my mobile at Madurai Meenakshi Temple at the Navagraha sannidhi where people offer ghee filled dhiyas in an effort to appease Shani, Rahu, Kedhu and the likes)