A small note midway

Rahul Dravid must be feeling like someone who's found himself on a roller coaster that's descending rapidly. A week ago, he couldn't do anything wrong (except call a declaration) and now he must be the first to nervously ponder over his decision to bat first at Lahore. It must have been a 50-50 decision, but it was quite a brave option to take. Image-wise, it further adds to his tag of being "bold" and "forward thinking" (but I've noticed that stand-in captains are usually that way). I think everyone overdid the "invincibility" of the Indian batting lineup - this was a good wakeup call. It was good to see that there was the now customary fightback in the lower middle order, but India find themselves in the position of having to produce a 2nd innings score that will ensure their safety and if they score fast enough, even challenge the opposition. (They haven't had to do this for a while, last time against Windies, IIRC). Notice my optimism here, but no reason why they can't. Especially, if they want to be known as a great Test side, for it isn't always about winning with an innings to spare.

The talking point has been of course the muddle over the likely selection conflict with Ganguly's return. I was extremely appalled to read in Ayaz Memon's TOI column today that a selector thought the team should've forestalled the problem by picking 5 bowlers (implying that Yuvraj should've been left out). Absolutely incredible! If you share misapprehensions about the quality of our selectors, you have every reason to. That one of these guys could actually consider jeopardising a Test match to be rid of selection dilemmas is shocking. Why could he not suggest that Ganguly not show undue haste (Ganguly can clearly see, IMHO, history being made without him and he's desperate to be a part of the action) in announcing his return? Perhaps a quiet word to the skipper to lay low, maybe even say he wouldn't be totally fit so as to refrain from upsetting the balance? The problem is Ganguly is in that dangerous zone every captain faces now and then, where teams do better without him. It is critical for him to produce a performance to retain a place, especially since it's tough for him to produce the "the team needs me to captain them" argument all the time. Surely he knows this. Hopefully, he will produce the goods as batsman, for he's even less likely to improve his fielding and dive around now!

This turn of events could easily bring about Harish's plans for Yuvraj to open: Chopra replaced by Yuvraj and Ganguly back at 6. I don't agree of course, not yet. I feel that Yuvraj has a quality that very few of the big boys of the Indian lineup have: he plays well with the tail. Especially given that India now seem to bat till 9 or even 10, it's very crucial for one major batsman to be around with them. Additionally, Harish's push is in keeping with the Aussie model. I think Sehwag can do the Hayden role, in fact he overdoes it. Chopra may not be the most technically sound opener, but he knows the role and his running-between-the-wickets is good. Plus, I have a theory that Aussies operate with 3 openers at two different slots. Langer-Hayden at the top, and Gilchrist at 7. Gilchrist gives them an opener-like performance, usually against the new ball and psychologically affects teams when they think they're into the tail. Yuvraj could easily do that role - it would give him more hits against his favoured fast bowlers. As for Ganguly, I would love to see him walk out to open in the next test - he loves to make a statement or two, and how would that be like! Though you have to say, if Chopra is out, it will have to be Laxman or Dravid or Yuvraj to open. Perhaps even Patel. As for Yuvraj and opening, for the last few months, I strongly feel he should open in ODIs (I know right now the slot is not vacant), but I think he'll explode into a great ODI batsman at #1 or #2 just like Sachin did.

Coming back to images, Ganguly's own on-field machinations and reputation as a canny figure means that whenever there's a controversy, people tend to be suspicious of him. On the other hand, SRT & Dravid enjoy such "gentlemanly" images that they can get away with murder, as has happened a couple of times. I think people need to be more gracious to everyone. Though, if the Indian team management wants to be known as a ruthless and "team first" outfit, it's hard to see what else they can do apart from leaving Ganguly out of the XI. Dravid found himself facing the harsh glare alone after the declaration controversy, though at first everyone said that they "put the team above individuals". Having taken that stand, will they have the guts to follow that policy for another big name? Declaring when they did, in the end analysis, was a relatively soft decision. This one may actually decide the series, unless Ganguly can silence the loud whispers. Whether it's mind over heart will be interesting to see. The biggest favour his boys (Yuvraj included) can do for the beleagured captain is to settle the series in Lahore itself and make it an easy call!

Pardon my impertinence...

... but this is a question I've always wanted to ask of those inhabitants of the blogosphere who have it: how is it you guys have a "Current Music"? It surprises me a little, because when I've the headphones on, usually a playlist is being walked through. Usually the list is of an entire album, so I would've understood the "Current Music" blank being filled in with the name of one collection. But just one song? Is that the song you're playing *when* you are writing your post? Is there a possibility that the song changes as you hit "Publish" and therefore it technically isn't "Current" any more? If so, do you wait for it the song to return in its "Repeat" slot before releasing the mouse button? Or is it more literally speaking, the only song being played continuously (I've done that myself once or twice, but not everytime)?. As I said, it puzzles me.

*** In a sort of Blogging version of the Moore's Law offshoot, why is it that the smaller, the post the more the number of comments? Is it because one feels that since it is compact, it must be that much more profound, more saar packed from margin to margin? Or is it that there is an unwritten quota of words per blog, and if the blogger will not, the commentor will complete it? As I keep saying, it puzzles me.

(OK, you can call it an "Observation", not a "Law").

Lessons

It was Mark Twain, I think, who said they are called "lessons" because there are so less of them. Some recent quotes I caught from the instructive medium of TV electioneering that made me miss education:

Advanced Courses in History:

"... and there was Helen who caused World War II"
- Vinay Katiyar, BJP, comparing Sonia Gandhi to the wretched fates of Gandhari and Ms. Troy (not Nicholas Cage's sister, you movie freak!)

For the "chchaatra" preparing for Hindi Madhyamik:

"You know who they were? Woh a.ngrezo.n ke ToDii the!". ("ToDii" == "Lackey" according to the subtitles)
- Kapil Sibal, INC, generous in his "praise" of L.K.Advani's family.

Book Parade

A egoistic attempt to tell people "See? I read these kinds of books". Reads from the recent past, present and near future :

* Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha: The only book in an Irish setting I've read so far (I still haven't used Ulysses for anything apart from weight-training). Wonderfully written, in the tongue of a 10 year old. Booker winner. About Patrick, Sinbad, his ma and most importantly, his da.

* Turning Point: Physicist Fritjof Capra's concerns about the Cartesian world view and why it ought to follow a "holistic path". Good explanations about the streams of scientific evolution. Affectionately titled The Mama of Physics by me. Why? Because Capra had written a book earlier called The Tao of Physics. Tao, Mama. Get it?

* Someone Like You: Short stories by Roald Dahl. The presence of two stories from the Reader's Digest Best Short Stories collection lured me into borrowing this one. Very ironic thus far.

* The Blue Bedspread: Set in Calcutta. Interesting structure, oscillating from present to past and back. So so.

* Being John McEnroe: Thanks to The B. Express. Couldn't put it down. Genius, that man McEnroe.

* All The World's A Spittoon: Travel adventures of a self-confessed 120-pound "weakling", 28 year old Indian, walking/riding/sailing back to India in one of the most roundabout ways since someone called Christopher C. tried it. Spicy stuff, lots of Disco Dancer and Mithun-da appearances, even a Bappi-da lookalike.

Soon to follow: Red Earth and Pouring Rain, The Art of Captaincy (revised edition). Must try and finish The Art of Unix Programming and Metamagical Themas.

Laugh and you laugh alone

Against the adage of course, but I've found these days that when I laugh, I usually laugh alone. In particular, when I'm watching films or TV shows. Either I have lost a chunk of the part of the brain that makes one chuckle or people find more and different things to be humoured by than me, but the fact is that I've observed a certain "out of phase" laughter track when I'm involved in it.

Most of the junta finds different stuff funnier than me. Case in point was a film called Hungama. When so many people told me it was funny, I knew I wouldn't find it the same way. I can just tell. It's an easily derivable personal formula that spews the answer as "not funny" when one of its variables, namely the amount of people finding it funny, is inordinately large. I might've opened my mouth once during the flick. Perhaps to yawn. Much to the consternation of some of my relatives (after they were picking themselves off the floor having being "loT-poT" with "hasii"). Perhaps they called me a dirty word like "snob" or "elitist". But I loved Deewana Mastana which proves I still got what it takes to laugh. It's the movies that got cornier, I console myself.

Another case study: the PIFF screening of No Man's Land. A poignant tale wrapped in a protective blanket of tragicomedy. The humour is dark, desperate, dismissive, defensive. I didn't find anything funny in it. Amused at the clever wit, of course, but that didn't hide the tragedy of each passing minute. But if I had recorded the sounds from the audience and played it back to you, you would've been forgiven for thinking I was in a theatre showing Groucho Marx. They roared when guns were fired accidentally, they held their splitting stomachs when the men threatened each other, they slapped their hands in laughter when the bureaucrats took over. And I sat there, being reduced to helpless unhappiness, and puzzled at the jokes invisible to me.

These will tell me if I'm in a minority here. I like the lame & aimless humour of Sajid Khan rather than the superficially imitative Shekhar Suman. I laugh at Leno's jokes though sometimes I have no clue who the person in the middle of the joke is, but I can imagine the context well. I'd pay to watch Utpal Dutt go "yeeesh" rather than hear Shakti Kapoor's favourite monosyllables. I think Cyrus Broacha is the funniest man in India. I think Senthil-Goundamani (who, you ask?) and Vivek are worth listening to. I think Seinfeld is a philosopher sent on earth to help us understand better our world. There's a lot more I could offer, but why bother? R.K.Narayan, in one of his brilliant essays, indicated that the best way to kill laughter was to analyse it. Let me not do that.

One last peek. Tell you what, I think I'm not going to like "Munnabhai M.B.B.S", if I see it. End of presentation.

Three for One

After watching Amelie (Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain), I've completed the troika of films that contended for the 2002 Oscars, which for us Indians was the most memorable Oscar ceremony in recent times. I was lucky enough to watch No Man's Land in a theatre (watched Lagaan in one too) and my viewing of the three films were in tune with my pre-Oscar predictions, for I correctly forecasted the Bosnian film's win. The simple reason then was that the Academy voters, on past form, were more likely to vote for a cynical, darkly tragicomic film set among contemporary issues rather than a long Indian film set two centuries ago involving an unfamiliar sport (though its theme of David v Goliath could be an Oscar favourite) and a French film about romance and happiness.

Personally, I would rank the films in that very order too. So even if we discount such subconscious biases on part of the Academy, they have got it right on merit too. All three films were quite outstanding, but No Man's Land's story, execution and cinematic merits outdid the rest in most departments.

In some sense, the three storylines were quite representative of the image and ethos of the countries they come from. No Man's Land echoes brilliantly the collective tragedy of centuries of parochial hatred coupled with modern (and criminal) incompetence that the Balkans has been smothered under. Where else would you set a story like Amelie where fact and fantasy do a pretty dance together but in France? As for Lagaan, where else would you set an epic, an epic where a few take on the strength of the mighty and improbably win? The best thing one could say about all these three landmarks is that they were good enough to make us believe in their otherwise incredible stories.

More Trailer trailing

Lakshya has started doing the rounds of the tv channels. The sole spot unusually repeats almost every 5 minutes in the usual slots (unusual, for promos don't appear so regularly, especially when they've just been introduced). True to the Farhan Akhtar method, new hairstyles for the pre-draft Hrithik Roshan and also for Preity Zinta. Rockish guitar riffs are conspicuous in the background. *** Main Hoon Naa gives me more reason to react harshly against Farah Khan whose typically frothy choreography I identify with the Karan Johan candy mill mafia. Unless the college in her directorial venture teaches dancing *and* cheerleading, I don't see why there are so many pom-poms and FK troupe members doing acrobatics per square inch of frame. Another addition to the Riverdale High type Sharmistha Roy (assuming it is she who's doing Art for this film) collection. On the positive note, I quite liked the "looks" in "Gorii Gorii" (Sajid Khan gets rehabilitated) and "Tumse Milke Dil Ka" (I don't think it's the song title), esp. the consistent glossy colours used in the latter. But Mr. Malik undoes some of the good work - with his voice in the first and the "qawwali" attempt. *** Hum Tum has Rani Mukherji (didn't know this was her spelling version of her surname) sporting a cool look (good contrast to Yuva (incidentally, notice how Tamil directors keep casting her as the everyday Bengali lady?) ) and Saif Ali Khan (who's sadly typecast, I'm afraid - was he the same guy from Ek Hasina Thi?). This is obviously the promised Bollywood version of When Harry Met Sally and considering that this is a Yash Chopra production, I know each sparkling dialogue from the original will be re-incarnated as song and dance, albeit not so successfully. I'll be happy to be proved wrong.

Faux News - III

Faux News bulletin

(You know it's time if it's faux pas nine!)

"He's giving me nightmares!" confesses Shoaib

By Pradeep Journal-Bandookwala

The Rawalpindi Express has had a not-so successful series against the Indians so far, both in the One Dayers and the just concluded Test match. What's more, he now seems to be suffering psychological injuries that can only be worrying for Pakistani coach Javed Miandad and captain Inzamam.

Speaking exclusively to Faux News, Shoaib Akhtar revealed for the first time the severe mental scarring he sustained in the last few weeks, in particular the torment he has been facing from Indian all-rounder Lakshmipathy Balaji. "I cannot believe that I have been carted about the park by him as if I was Brett Lee" said the Pakistani paceman. Further he added "I have trouble sleeping at night. I have visions of him dancing down the pitch and heaving me over my head for six". Moreover, Shoaib has had no answer to the Chennai Charger's deliveries while batting himself - Balaji has also claimed the speedster's wicket in the series. "I can still see him grinning in my dreams", he said.

This revelation brought muted reactions from the Indian camp, but former Test player Navjot Singh Sidhu, no mean deadly grimacer himself, claimed to have passed on a few tips on the art to a willing student. "He has the chuckle of a crazed hyena!" said the former opener of the lanky bowler. Shoaib Akhtar has reportedly approached Aussie psychologist Sandy Gordon for some professional advice and has been seeking some help from Shane Warne who had suffered a similar condition a few years ago. However, cricketer turned politician Imran Khan was irritated by Akhtar's public confession and said that the current Pakistani coach had given similar troubles to Chetan Sharma. He lamented the state that the talented Pakistani players had got into but still considered them as good, if not better, than the Indians.

Akhtar had hoped that Balaji would be left out of the Test squad for Multan with the return of Agarkar & Kumble, but his inclusion has evidently caused the Pakistani spearhead further loss of confidence. A triple ton from Sehwag & a near double by Tendulkar spared him of another run-in with his nemesis, but there still remain a potential four innings for the fastest bowler in world cricket. The scoreline now stands at 3-0 in favour of Balaji.

---

Jest like that!

Q: To what has the Maharashtra Government attributed the current mood of prosperity and the increase in sugar & oil production?

A: The tiL-guD factor!

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Click here for a free look at an earlier edition.

Fantasticaa!

Don't you wish you could enjoy your job this way? :-)

翻訳で失われる

If you are the kind that sometimes feels lonely in a crowd, finds somewhat unintelligible the idioms of all kinds of relationships, sometimes dissolve spontaneously into tears when no one is looking, into your visor or onto your pillow, are continuously unsure of the hands dealt out to you, have had the experience to understand that some of the best times in life are tiny and fleeting and irretrievable, for whom time hangs interminably with hostility and can be filled with a hundred different actions but you choose to stuff them with a million irreconciliable thoughts, curled up and seeking solace in the one person you're both stuck with and can rely on, i.e. yourself; if you are this kind, then perhaps you will like to see Lost in Translation.

The title of this post, if you haven't guessed it yet, is the Japanese translation of the phrase "Lost in Translation" according to the WorldLingo service . If you happen to have settings in your browser that don't render the title correctly and make it look like "?????", then you know what happened, right? It got "lost in translation".

Even Rahul

In a measure of how pervasive it has got, the stand-in Indian captain (in his post-toss interview with Ian Chappell) said there was a "feel good factor" among his team. Considering that Rahul Dravid is usually very politically correct and is very judicious in his choice of words, this must have been an unconscious use of a phrase that can be heard several times during the day in all sorts of conversations. Like "nothing official about it", another triumph for the copywriter.

Thoughts on the AE/Yuva soundtrack

Disclaimer: I haven't heard this album (Aaytha Ezhuthu that is) from the CD, only from decent quality .rms and mp3s. This is not a review, so it doesn't matter. Plus, I don't have a CD player that can play the copy protected CD, so ironically it prevents me from buying it - can't help that.

It doesn't help that seven times in the past the combination of Mani Ratnam, A.R.Rahman and Vairamuthu have delivered some of the best soundtracks in the last 15 years. Their music has had both commercial and critical success - with album sales and National Awards testament to them. So when the latest offering is due, one can't help but feel excited about the prospect of their 8th collection. For me, Aaytha Ezhuthu ranks #8 on that list. They have covered a lot of musical ground in the past, so I don't quite agree with the appeal for not comparing this to the earlier ones. It is inevitable, and I don't see it as a negative comment.

Initial disappointment has given way to a certain making of peace with it. The songs are definitely not outstanding among all the many ones done in the past. However, there is quite a bit to relish from it too. I don't think Rahman is floundering, for Meenaxi showed that the depth and range is still there. Since I haven't seen AE, I don't know if the songs fit the film well.

It has been quite interesting to see how the fan communities react to each release. "Fan-aticism"is an oft-discussed topic among my social circle, particularly w.r.t to music - the R.D.Burman groups and shows give me a chance for more objective observation. In this case, I'm a fan struggling to retain my objectivity. The fact that I'm a fan impels me to give all new ARR albums a greater chance to hook me than I would any other recent offering. I must say that Rahman albums of late haven't reached out and grabbed the populace by their shirtcollars, but that's not to say the output has suffered. It has changed, altered, evolved. I still don't like the excessive rap-based trend in the songs, but to some extent the subject matter of these films have also been responsible.

I've also noticed that the first reaction of fans to any criticism is to get defensive and/or aggressive about it. It's hard to be unbiased - there's nothing wrong in having a slant towards it, but a good appreciator of anything should be able to work for himself what the limits of it are. I really find it irritating when "fans" get so possessive about their idols, who themselves are smart enough to understand what has gone wrong and are unwilling to lend an ear to any dissenter. Anu Malik is one person who carries a persecution complex around instead of reflecting on reality, these fans are no different according to me.

That slight tirade over. Coming to this album, I don't completely agree with it being labeled a "techno/trance" album - another generalization that will do it no good. There are six tracks, of which only one would probably a trance track (I'm no authority on these things). Fanaah is quite interesting in that though it is apparently set in a discotheque, it gets very philosophical and profound about love and has an extended sargam (is that what I can call it?) from the music director. It's very western and urban, and Vivek Oberoi & Ms. Kapoor would be quite suitable in it - you can already appreciate the wisdom of the casting. Fanaah is a cool Urdu word to be used here, and Rahman has expounded on its significance in interviews.

Dol Dol is more instrumental (the "voice" instrument included) than song. This album was supposed to be just a soundtrack for this originally songless film. This track fits easily into that mould.

SanDa Kozhi is sung by Madhushree (Naina Milaike), an interesting choice. Her diction is suspect to me, but I am confused since she did get some of the tough words right on some occasions and different on others. This is easily a trademark ARR song, and the folkish crooning by him in the middle is excellent, and in retrospect, well worth the album.

Goodbye NaNbaa is one of those that grew quietly from a negative view to an appreciative one. I liked the changes in tone and tempo, in particular the hushed singing of Sunita Sarathy. The male portions are crowded with a lot of percussions at times. The slow, jazzy portions towards the end fit into the structure of the song, I felt.

The beginning of Jana GaNa Mana heightens one's expectations, so the rest of the song was a letdown for me. This is a lyrical beauty and the mood set in the beginning embellishes them greatly, but somehow, I got the feeling of incompleteness overall.

I really dislike the Adnan Sami song - Nenjam Ellaam - for me it's a nothing song. After a while, here's an ARR song that I can't even listen to and disregard - it has no flavour in it for me. I really wish ARR would stop using people uncomfortable with singing in Tamil. There's a distinct labouring effort seen in their output that seems to cut into their aural expressions. Gone are the days when they used to be cute. Haven't heard SPB in ages.

Yuva for me was painful to hear for the first time. Except for Khudaa Haafiz and Kabhi Neem (both in parts), I found the others embarassing at times. The critical difference between the two versions are the lyrics. Clearly, the Tamil one came before, and Mehboob hasn't been able to fill in the Vairamuthu blanks. Some of the Hindi lyrics are so bad that they distract whatever flavour is available in the music. Vairamuthu on the other hand has done a marvellous job. Except for Goodbye NaNbaa where I felt the words were sometimes a little trite and too modern, the rest are great, especially the politically idealistic Jana GaNa ("Oh Rulers of the people's minds, think of them"), in exploring the mystical dimensions of love in Fanaah ("The body is the wick, love the flame") and the mollifying yet scolding words of SaNda Kozhi. The Hindi version of Jana GaNa Mana merely comes out as a weak lookalike of Mammaiya Kero (Arjun - R.D.Burman), just because of the lyrics.

I really wish Mani Ratnam would've gone ahead with his original convictions of using just a background score. To me, specific portions of most of the songs seem to be outstanding, but the rest of the pieces don't sustain it. I'm just speculating here, but could it be that that's how these started off life, and were later extended? I feel the album has ended up somewhere between a great background score and an average album, definitely by past standards. Perhaps the film (for a change) will heighten the experience of the songs. The fans will end up loving it, whether in parts or in totality. The Tamil lyrics are the biggest plus in AE, and can alter the perception of the tracks. I don't the masses are going to make a fuss about it, the album is different from Bollywoodian tastes for sure. Will now move my attention to watching some trademark Mani Ratnam [choreo|cinemato]graphy for these songs.

AE/Yuva Trailer Watch - II

The Hindi trailers are now featuring some of the songs - first Khuda Haafiz and now Kabhi Neem. The Tamil trailers are still in the triad establishing the characters of Surya, Siddharth and Madhavan. For those who will be following and watching both versions, the comparisons between the Tamil & Hindi casts will be very interesting to follow. The dialogues and scenes evidenced so far are almost identical. Madhavan (in his third different "look" for a MR movie) sports this drastic haircut, which started me thinking on how Tamil and the other South Indian film actors, (not to be called "South" - you idiotic media people) have never shied away from changing as required. Contrast this with a unkempt Abhishek B. , the Hindi counterpart of Madhavan in Yuva which is as far as he would go I guess. Especially as it was rumoured that he didn't want to play a negative role in the first place.

*** Having sat up last night to watch the three Aaytha Ezhuthu trailers (cool rotation of the dots in the logo, BTW), I could see a distinct difference in promotional styles on the Hindi & Tamil channels. The Hindi trailers almost to a film have songs leading their promos, however good or bad. The Tamil ones, OTOH, mix the montage with dialogues, scenes and songs. They also highlight the technical crew in a big way - the editor, writer(s), lyricists and cameramen are given fontspace apart from the MDs & directors. Yuva's trailers were initially in that mould, and now focus on the songs - wonder if that was influenced by the way things are promoted down in Madras. The focus of songs in Hindi trailers are probably explained because of the endless runs on music channels. *** Aaytha Ezhuthu is probably the biggest blogger-promoted upcoming film, atleast in my slice of the blogosphere. Again explained by the fact that people of this common profile are also those who are likely to be interested in Mani Ratnam or Ram Gopal Varma style films. *** Some of the stills revealed on websites are quite superb - that's right, pile on the expectations...

Ayutha Ezhuthu/Yuva Watch [updated]

The trailers are out... First of all, the logo is (pardon the descent into teenybopper slang) way cool! (See it at the official website for Ayutha Ezhuthu). In keeping with my general impressions of the names of the Hindi & Tamil versions, the logo for Yuva is just about ok.

Anti on some of the rumours linking AE & the Oscar nominated City of God

A note on the trailers:

Trailers for Mani Ratnam films create quite a buzz usually, and the songs usually herald the film on TV (Dil Se for example). Not this time. They've chosen to establish the characters of the three male (stars and) protagonists. Ajay Devgan is the the man with the ideology, with a montage of jail, leadership and protest. Vivek Oberoi will probably in the center of the mental conflict, and is portrayed as a normal guy wanting to leave for the US. Abhishek Bachchan looks like being the negative pole of the film - wanting money and power, and with a unkempt look. I'm a known Kareena Kapoor baiter, but I must be fair and say that she looks quite pretty in the scenes so far, and the wardrobe looks elegant - trust Mani saar to get it right. >Rani Mukherjee is a flash here and there opposite the Small B (shades of Antara Mali in Company). No idea how the three lines intersect.

The trailers have chosen to establish the "intellectual" vibe of the film. And there is one more subliminal message: Calcutta looms not far behind in all the shots, clearly an important part of the movie. Adds to the buzz. The last metro to form the backdrop of a Ratnam film after Madras, Bombay & Delhi. Snatches of very Western sounding, clearly Rahman-esque music linger in the audioscape. More buzz. Haven't seen any Ayutha Ezhuthu trailers yet.

I really don't believe this movie will do well commercially all over India - sadly, films these days have been bracketed into "metro multiplex movies" too easily. So if it is a cultural partition, I'm clearly on the side that feels excited by these trailers. I have my doubts about the histrionic abilities of Messrs. Kapoor, Trisha, Siddharth & Deol and whether Oberoi & Bachchan can do it here. But Mani saar got Simran to dazzle in KM, didn't he? But just putting Ratnam, Rahman, Vairamuthu on the same line here sends a tingle down the spine. Add the rest of the names in Tamil & Hindi and ... can you blame us all for hyping this one? A man who can have it and doesn't want it, a man who would like to have it, and a man who wants it and can't have it - is that what the trailers want to tell us?

The next steps in Blog Tools

Follow an interesting discussion on A vision for the next generation of blogging tools here. The comments there have already thrown out a number of extremely thought provoking ideas.

My own personal yearning right now is for the ability to index, organize and group my blog posts based on content, areas and perhaps intended audience. Right now, I'm organizing my archives to do part of this albeit manually. Wouldn't it be great to have your post automatically added into a collection of your previous blogs on "Films" or "Cricket"?

The good Doctor(s) is(are) back

Star World has a new season of (probably my most favourite comedy series) Frasier. Quite appropriately, the cracker of an episode featured a profusion of Oedipal urges and typically sardonic wit. No Eddie in sight, but Rita Wilson (more famously known as Mrs. Tom Hanks) was a guest star.

This was our world once

The Pune pages of the Indian Express feature a small write-up on Dear ol' Boat Club a.k.a the nerve centre of COEP. Of course, there's no mention of the Quiz Club, you woud be hard pressed to find any resident COEPian who professed any knowledge of that.

Related: Ode, Elegy, Paean & Requiem to the Boat Club quiz

Life back then wasn't so different

Was good to see this one again, this time in the pages of Eric Steven Raymond's The Art of Unix Programming.

It's a well-known fact that computing devices such as the abacus were invented thousands of years ago. But it's not well known that the first use of a common computer protocol occurred in the Old Testament. This, of course, was when Moses aborted the Egyptians' process with a control-sea.

-- Tom Galloway, rec.arts.comics, February 1992

A LOI rule suggestion

We know that bowling sides are sometimes reduced to being punching bags for batsmen who wield the 15-over rule, only 1 bouncer per over rules etc. to rein in the spinners and seamers. I've always had a small improvement in mind in the ODI rules that I think can address this imbalance. I find it a little unfair that a batting side has the opportunity to use an in-form batsman for as much of the 50 overs as possible, while the bowling side can give its in-form bowlers only upto 10 overs each. Additionally, with the balance of teams tilting towards a buffer batsman, the bowling side always has a weak 5th/6th bowler that is targeted by the opposing batsman; this only causes a spiralling effect in the imbalance. I clearly rememebr a match between India & Australia in the tri-series Down Under in 1999 (the third team being Pakistan). I think it was at Sydney, where the conditions were exceptionally favourable for the seamers. India was out for a low score, but the Aussies got into trouble straightaway with Srinath bowling grenades and bombs in a straight 10-over spell. The fact that the Aussies were able to play out Srinath's 10 and that Symonds could give the other batsman (SRW or Bevan?) some support meant that they won.

My suggestion to allow the bowling side the option of allowing atleast one bowler to have a quota of upto 12 or 13 overs. You want to see the best batsmen of one side take on the best bowlers of the others, not them wait for those 10 overs and bash the 5th bowler up. By allowing an increased quota (it could even be 11/12 overs each for two bowlers perhaps) would give beleagured captains an fair chance to overcome situations where one other bowler is having an off day. If Srinath had bowled a couple of more overs that day, India might've won!

I look at it as easing some of the restrictive trade practices in cricket :-).

Faux News - II

Faux News bulletin

(You know it's time if it's faux pas nine!)

Boring vandals at it again!

From our Culture correspondent in Pune

In yet another protest from the morality police that seems to have estabished an outpost in the old cultural city of Pune, activists of yet another organization have threatened agitations and even vandalism against what they claim to be "lowering of standards in the Indian society".

In a press conference, the spokesman of the hitherto unknown "Rambhau Anna's Moral Bunch Of Gentlemans", also known as the RAMBO-G Brigade, Mr. Gaurang Zebadkar protested the recent decision of baker-turned-director Essel "Buns" Ali to cast renegade star Prem Kahn and star-child Premi K. Dev Annie in the title roles of his upcoming multi-million historical magnum opus Budgie Row & Mist-Annie. Mr. Zebadkar claimed that Maharastrian self-pride could not accept such a mis-casting. He said that these two Bollywood stars in particular epitomised the growing rot in Indian culture. Ms. Asmita Gujarati, leader of the women's wing of the Brigade and well-known garments manufacturer, accused the stars of polluting many young minds into following skimpy fashion trends, directly affecting the livelihood of several cotton mill workers. The RAMBO-G Brigade laid out a set of 6 demands, including the dropping of either one of the lead actors and replacing him or her with a local Maharastrian performer, in keeping with the "sons-of-the-soil" policy adopted by the organization. Taking a tough stand, Ms. Gujarati said "We've not worn bangles to see some outsiders make films on our heroes and misrepresent our culture". Both Mr. Zebadkar & Ms. Gujarati refused to comment on whether they had read the film's script to ascertain its validity.

This correspondent was unable to reach Mr. Essel "Buns" Ali, but his secretary informed us that Mr. Ali had no reaction to give to the press on this matter. Mr. Ali is said to be in South Africa scouting locations for his film. This is not the first time that the one-time baker has had to face criticisms over his movies. It may be recalled that the Alcoholics Anonymous group had been up in arms over Mr. Ali's last venture. Ms. Dev Annie was also unavailable for comment, and is said to be wrapping up work on her film Chum Maali - The Friendship of a Gardener. However, an irate Mr. Kahn did react strongly against his detractors and dismissed all criticisms that he was not the right choice to play the role. Friends of the actor say that he almost jumped out of his clothes in indignation when he heard the RAMBO-G Brigade spokesman claim that Kahn didn't even know how to speak Marathi. The same sources refused to confirm if Kahn's exact words were "Tya.nchaa Ai**** Du*** **** ***".

Budgie Row & Mist-Annie is a classic early 20th-century tale of love and sacrifice. Buddhijeevi "Budgie" Row, a seller of birds, rescued young Annie in a daring bid in the mist and rain from Hash Wednesday Chowk, (the flesh-trade bazaar of ancient Pune named after a notorious English opium trader who established it) where she had been forced to live by an evil uncle. In time, they became the leading lights of Puneri society and established a famous hotel called The Saturday Sambaar (some say it was by virtue of their close relationship with the then Vice President). Mr. "Buns" Ali has sought to portray their tempestuous courtship and happy marriage on screen as a tribute to his memories of the dahi vada during his college days at The Saturday Sambaar. He plans to release it on Valentine's Day 2005, a move that has further irked the militant members of the Brigade who have threatened to burn down The Saturday Sambaar in protest. It still remains to be seen which of the two parties will blink first, clearly this is a game of blinkmanship.

---

Jest like that!

Q: What did Fardeen Khan have to say when he found Pepsi was in trouble over the pesticides scam?

A: "It always happens to me. If I'm with Pepsi, this happens. When I tried Coke, the police got after me. Damn!"

Contributed by Faux Muddler

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ROTK revisited

I have been reviewing my reactions to LOTR - ROTK and have a few more points to offer. The principal reason why I stayed away from reading the books was to find out for myself how that affects the way how I react to the filmed version. In most cases where a film is based on a well-known book, I know a bit about the plot, but in the case of LOTR, I was completely ignorant of it. It was a very interesting exercise in forming an opinion of film adaptations and the difficulties in doing them - David Lean's biography (a BCL copy of which I had read a few years ago) had dwelt on the many pitfalls accompanying screen adaptations.

Most LOTR fans (those who've read the books) I know are primarily excited in seeing how the Jackson trilogy brings to screen Tolkien's grand and complex vision. They are already aware of the plot, so they can set aside any anxiety in that regard. This doesn't not hold for those who haven't read the books and they wonder what else is in store ahead. Unfortunately, I think the story in the last segment is very inevitable and everyone recognises it - it is, after all, a straightforward tale of good versus evil at its core. Even within that limitation, the grey areas as signified by Gollum/Smeagol do provide an excellent counterpoint to the plucky Hobbits and the conventional bravery of the other heroes. I think the film's plot would never have had any surprises - in a book, this predictability can be overcome with the elements of wordsmithy, character development etc without worrying too much about the length. In a film, this has to be done with the elements of locales, acting, battle scenes et al, which do need the viewer to be looking out for them. Those viewers who aren't watching out for the development of the plot can do this better, and especially those who must have read and marvelled at Tolkien's imaginative settings and character sketches, which apparently Jackson has done justice to on screen. But for viewers like me, it cannot be achieved on the first viewing where the story is always paramount - there is such a profusion of participants that it is hard work keeping up with the multitude of interwoven threads in the first place.

There is absolutely no disputing the top-notch cinematography, locales, special effects. There are some glorious cinematic moments too, some of the battle sequences, the grateful bowing of everyone to the Hobbits, the opening with a brief flashback to Smeagol are all well-done. But I still carry my criticisms of the unravelling of the plot for the last edition, and hence my opposition for a Best Picture nod for this particular film taken alone, though everyone knows it is more in recognition for all the three etc. I think the last two editions couldn't carry that section of the audience that had not read the books, and while that may be excellent motivation to read them, as a cinematic endeavour, it hasn't been quite that successful. LOTR-FOTR did a marvellous job (as one commentor rightly pointed out) in introducing us to the world of Middle Earth, the context of the conflicts, the various traits of the different races and unveiled this grand canvas that previously lived in the minds of the LOTR fans. The Two Towers, but for the Gollum development, was the weakest of the three to my mind. I'm sure a lot of details didn't make it to the screenplay from the books, and I still feel some of the last scenes (those that book fans, on the contrary, may feel aggrieved that they had been only fleetingly referred to in the film) didn't add much cinematic value and only succeeded in diluting the end to an intense plot.

I'm quite happy that my decision to stay away from the books has helped me in thinking about these things from an alternative point-of-view. When I finish reading them and watch the films again, I'm sure I'll have a completely different experience and understand even better the classic dilemma between books and film adaptations.

Kal-yawn-am

Would you really want to get married in front of the cabinets of 10 states and 2 Union Territories, one national cabinet, the casts of 5 multistarrers and assorted junta (both civilian and military ruling) ? If you would, consider being born into the household of the Sahara Shri (that sounds more like a bodybuilding title, to be honest).

I hope the younger Roys aren't anything like Augustus Fink-Nottle, whose nuptials caused him grave stress & exhalation. If they are, then they are in for trouble. At most wedding receptions, the broom-and-ride have a torrid time meeting hordes of people, shaking hands, nodding heads, smiling and receiving "Best Wishes from Mr. X and fly.". I have been a strong advocate for the use of modern technology such as flash cards and smiling mukhautas (a wonderful Russian storybook called Captains' Island had a female villain with a fake smile pasted on her lips) which may prevent the h(m)arried couple from being permanently disfigured and disabled. Fathers have to cop much of the blame, for they love to introduce all and sundry to the kids - they don't apply a filtering process. They have no pecking order, no list of most-wanted. They try to be egalitarian and introduce everyone who shows up. "This is my aunt's brother's third cousin". "Oh ho! You must meet him. He is the guy who didn't show me three answers in our XIIth Board exam, as a result of which I got into Engineering and not Medical".

The point I'm trying to make here is that I hope the Senior Shri is more considerate on this ground to his sons and dottirs-in-law-to-be, but having invited such dignitaries, he's gotta make sure he gets everyone on stage according to protocol. Even then, greeting ministers of every description is bound to take its toll. The Union Minister for Information Technology is ok, but having to shake hands with the Madhya Pradesh Minister for Animal Husbandry and Cow Protection is a little too much. I'd make sure the latter washes his hands first.

Don't even get me started on the phillumy guests. The rumour is that Karan Johar might shoot his next two multistarrers in three days in the scenic locales of the Sheher, for where else can you get these guys under one roof in the same block of dates? Rajkumar Santoshi bagged the contract for shooting the wedding videos, it is reported. That's quite a leg up for wedding video cameramen all around the country. Once Santoshi gets this entered into IMDB, the Union of W.V.C will make a collective representation to IMDB for inclusion of their credits, and to the I & B Ministry for the inception of a National Award in their category. Gone are the days when W.V.C would pan to catch the bride and her pretty companions, and the odd shot of an uncle easing a finger into his nasal cavities. Wedding Videos invariably left out recalcitrant relatives who would complain later that they never got to even one of the shots. Are they telecasting this wedding live on the Sahara channels? Will the guests wear the Sahara uniform with symbol pinned over their hearts like the newsreaders? Ooh, I'm all agog!

And is that why Bryan Adams was/is in the country? For the sangeet ceremony?

Ring and the King

Ticked off The Return of the King yesterday from the to-view list, and I did come back rather disappointed. It's strictly average, me thought. True, some of the battle sequences were stunningly created, but at the completion of the film, I was just tired. Perhaps it was because I haven't read the books (wanted to hold off till I finished watching all three), but I think they would've been more captivating. My perceptions are coloured by the end of the film being stretched for atleast 15 minutes - everyone in the theatre just lost it at the endless extensions into the future. Guess it's not easy to adapt a sprawling set of fiction.

Was I the only one to see parallels in the screenplay of both the last installments of The Return of the King and The Matrix Revolutions in how there were three very similarly structured threads? One, the main force fighting a seemingly losing battle, the second being a small force bringing succour to the main force from an alternative and difficult route, and the third being the main protagonists moving towards the "source" through difficult terrain and the elements for sacrifice and doubt et al. Very similar to me. Of course, both exhibited a benumbing array of characters (real and fictional) to fill the screen. Gollum's characterization and presentation was keenly detailed as before. That was done very well. Perhaps, my movie watching habits are veering in the direction of more dialogue and less action based films. Still, I liked the Fellowship of the Ring the best. And please don't tell me LOTR-ROTK will win an Oscar! (that is, for Best Pic) I really agree with one BBC film reporter who hoped someone else would beat the force of the reel Ring. I don't think this must've been the best film of the year, and that the direction was top notch (I'm strictly talking in terms of Part III). But everyone's being "oh-so-inevitable" about it, so don't rule out a result similar to Spielberg & E.T at the Oscars (in 1981, IIRC).

*** The king whose return I was really interested in scored 11, took a catch and didn't bowl yesterday. The Lord of the Spin : The Return of the King (as one Aussie poster put it) didn't last long due to rain, but attracted the most crowd ever for a Victorian Second XI match of any sort.

The Aussie selectors have always exhibited some sort of perverse pleasure in dropping big names - it may serve to show the rest of the world their reserves and non-reliance on the aces. Though one is faithful to one's favourites, the Aussie selectors have got it right more often than not. Dean Jones mentioned the rumour that Warne would probably not be picked for the tour to Sri Lanka in response to Bhogle's comment that Warne would walk into it, especially given the troubled Indian series for their bowlers. It reflects the opposing positions of the romantic and the hardened pro - the romantics would love to see as much of Warne and his ilk for some more time.

Grab me a Grammy

Not being much of a Western music (especially pop) follower, The Grammies usually held only quizzing significance to me. Partially, I attribute it to the fact that there are so many of them to hand out, much like the Olympic golds for swimming. It's easier to remember the top Oscar categories, or the sprint golds, but when you have categories like Best New Male Country and 4 x 400 medley among many other similarly titled prizes, it is excusable to be washed away with the flotsam.

Many "performers" win more than one awards - this seems to be a manifestation of the Pigeonhole Principle: there seem to be more awards than people wanting to win them, so it's obvious a few of them will take home a clutch.

But the Grammies do push a limit or two - they seem to have categories for anything that can be done with an open mouth (well, alright, almost anything!). Take Best Spoken Word for example. This year's winners included Bill Clinton and Mikhail Gorbachev. Given that Hillary Clinton won a Grammy some time back in a similar category, they're just waiting for Chelsea to say something into a tape, so as to complete the family album. But seriously, how Best can Clinton's Spoken Words get? His UnSpoken Words would be more interesting. And Gorbachev? Did they understand what he was saying? I cannot see how Bill and Mike can speak better than Pu La or Solomon Poppayya (I know I've got the spelling wrong there), but then we shouldn't kid ourselves that these are international awards.

*** We had our own version of the Gs, called the IMMies a few months ago. Needless to say, the range of music was as Indian as Bollywood is representative of Indian cinema.

Intransitive

A Transitive relation is one in which if an element "a" is related to element "b", and element "b" in turn is related to element "c", then "a" is also related to "c".

Cricket definitely does not exhibit the transitive property. Or else, if people think Sachin Tendulkar plays like Don Bradman, and Virender Sehwag plays like Tendulkar, wouldn't that make Sehwag play like Bradman?

"Leave 'em alone!"

The title of this post would be my response to the many detractors of the Indian cricket team. Results have not gone our way, but they have gone exactly according to reason. Which is good. Indian cricket always suffers from the flash-in-the-pan success story that flatters its supporters. Let the fans learn the hard route to setting expectations that don't conceal a sting.

Two men spent some time, during the collapse of the Indian innings at Sydney, talking about the series in its entirety and where it left Indian cricket. Both Harsha Bhogle and Dean Jones made the point that this series runs the danger of being judged by the last four games, which would wrongly erase the achievements in the months preceding that week. Jones thinks that this current Aussie team, whatever its performance against India in the Tests, is the best *ever* ODI team in the history of the game. Jones is not one given to tossing compliments lightly, also he is one of the true greats of the limited overs game, and among those from Simpson's lot that charted out a separate approach to this format - so one has to take his comments seriously. It is hard to argue with his statement - rarely has a team played so mightily in all departments as this team. Which is why let us wait before passing judgement on our home team. It's hard to say where we stand - I agree with Harish they're not number 2 yet. Maybe three or even four. For me, the real test will be what India does in the next 12 months against various other countries.

Of the many finals India has lost, I guess half of them have been to Australia? If so, and if we argue Australia are playing astonishingly well, the best ODI cricket ever, then don't weigh those defeats as much as losing to any other team. The only other times we've lost were to South Africa and West Indies, I think. And that was some time ago. This doesn't clearly show where we stand on an absolute scale, especially because in the last few months, India has been constantly playing Australia, New Zealand and Zimbabwe. Results against Zimbabwe & NZ are skewed indicators, the former are half a team in reality and the latter were played met on strange wickets there and here. We play Australia again in the next 12 months, but we also play other tournaments - against Pakistan, England & the Champions Trophy. Those would be better indications as to where we really stand. Till then, don't exaggerate or demean the standing of the team.

People who complain India loses in finals forget that we hardly made finals 3-4 years ago. Would they rather have India bowing out before the knockout stages or India losing at finals? Atleast the latter means that the team is playing worse than just 1 of the participating teams - usually it has been Australia, and that is a fact. I agree that their showing in finals has resulted in demoralising losses, but compared to the team of 4 years ago, this team is winning more matches. Also, we now know that the team has about 5-7 players who can put in top performances - 4 years ago, that number was 1 or perhaps 2. Don't forget that we're still not a well-oiled machine rolling in unison - we commit a lot of basic errors - so don't expect them to be world champs yet. Not until they can show they know how to do those things better than the current world champs. That's why I don't have any bitterness or moroseness - inspite of my optimism, I had no real reason to expect them to outperform the team that's playing better than anyone else has in the history of the game.

There are a host of immediate problems: keepers, spinners, Dravid unable to play his Bevan-like role like he did in the World-Cup, the obvious technical faults of Ganguly, the mental fears of Tendulkar, the stop-start performances of Yuvraj. There are pluses too - 5 medium pacers to choose from, a possible bowling all-rounder in Pathan, terrific catching, the wicket-taking abilities of Agarkar, the indications that there are a lot of runs left in Tendulkar & Dravid, and Laxman's realisation that he may actually have things to do in an ODI match. One thing I must say is - the senior players need to have a long think about their place in history - it is there for the taking, but they seemed to be filled with unknown trepidations in their journey towards it. The next 5 years beckon - they will decide India's cricketing future like never before.

India are in serious trouble of becoming the 2000s equivalent of the England team of the 80s - which got into a lot of finals and had some great individual talent, but never managed to win a single important trophy. This cannot be attributed to "choking" - the finals they lost were never manoeuvred by England into winning positions (except perhaps the '87 WC final). They never looked like winning. For me, "choking" is to contrive to lose from positions of victory. Gavaskar says this Indian team has taken the tag of chokers from the South Africans. I disagree. South Africa invented newer ways to lose from winning positions - like Boucher/Pollock in the '03 WC, and Klusener/Donald in the previous edition. Also, they did so in various stages of a tournament. This Indian team looks like the Englishmen of Gatting and Gooch - they don't know how to get into winning positions in the first place. Incidentally, unless Saurav Ganguly does a repair job as an all-round player, he could end up being the Brearley of India. For a start, he could re-invent himself as a fielder like Sidhu did.

History may repeat itself, but it's not necessary that the repetition will be a clone of the past - minor mutations are possible. It is equally possible that India learn from these victories and defeats to go on to illustrious deeds. Tendulkar gives the impression that he is playing out two cricket lives in one - the newest one has just begun. And Rahul Dravid - please tell your teammates to hold on to the memories of losing and to do everything possible to not face that feeling again.

Dousing the Fire

Maybe it was the illustrious company of fellow BC Quizzer and one of the Chakravyuuh (COEP's own open quiz) organizers, Anup Mankar, but together we may have cracked one of the many annoying puzzles of recent Bollywood titles. If you're among one of those who likes to keep a close eye on titles of the form X the Y, you would know one of the earliest and most famous was Daag the Fire. Everyone thought this was an awful piece of translation from Hindi to English. But fikar not, here is an implausible theory for it.

Anup told me about the impending meeting with Dr. AAG, a high ranking PIET official (let it be said that samajhdaar ko ishaara ...), on the matter of the quiz. The natural response to someone saying aag was to expand it and say Oh, you mean Aag the Fire? And then, like a firebolt gone astray, it hit us: the makers must have started off with The Aag the Fire which some enterprising sub-editor somewhere contracted, for lack of space, into the now notorious Daag the Fire.

For more of the same (what some Tamil speakers would call "veTTi pech.u"), please visit the Boat Club quizzes, Saturdays at 12 noon. No wonder that the senior Mankar thinks his youngest-born is wasting his time on weekends.)

Pressure is...

Standing on a tiny two-wheeler at a signal with 35 seconds left to the green signal, almost empty roads ahead, with a large and menacing truck edging closer right behind and honking away to hustle you to break the signal.

Magical Meenaxi

It's not quite 241 not out, but it is very, very close.

. Sachin Tendulkar and A.R.Rahman have always had a few things in common. They've plied their wares in the same era, and have been acclaimed for being geniuses at their own talents. Both have a reputation for being reticent and softspoken, but they are always among the two most talked about personalities in the media. And their every output is scrutinised with eagle-eyes. Over the last 12-odd months, their creations have not met the (colossal) expectations of their fans and more so, their critics. But their fans didn't write them off as some others did, especially as they kept offering small glimpses of what they could do, having unveiled their bag of tricks over a decade.

Tendulkar came back to blistering form, but not without a few adjustments forced upon him - he learnt that marrying opportunity with his talent was all that he had to do. His opportunity came, and now it is the turn of the quiet guy from Panchathan.

The buzz around Meenaxi: A Tale of Three Cities was quite extraordinary among the fan groups, almost suffocating. In fact, this has been counter-productive in the past in terms of setting expectations. A prolonged and tantalising wait for the release was followed by a sneak peek at some of the songs before I finally laid my hands on the album.

I was prepared to be disappointed, given all the hype. The trailers for Yeh Rishta (Reena Bharadwaj, with the trivia nugget that the scratch version was recorded in Rahman's apartment in London) suggested a melodious piece that could be the highlight of the collection. The song begins with a humming almost identical to Konjum MainakkaLey (Kandukondain...). The orchestration is diverse, but toned to enhance the singer's voice - the beats are conventional and do not overpower. In fact, when the percussion rejoins the rest, it sounds quite inspired. John Themis's strings (a constant refrain in the album) are very supportive. Bharadwaj does a good job with her controlled modulations. A very typical ARR melody, harmonious and good, especially with the deft touches such as the sound of rippling water that contributes a great deal to the dreaminess of the lyrics (Rahat Indori).

Chinamma Chilakamma (lyrics and voice by Sukhwindara Singh) is somewhat reminiscent of Gopala Gopala (Kadhalan), in part because of the Telugu lyrics and the folkish portions. The backing vocals grow on you, and in fact get better later in the song. Foot-tapping with the Indian dhols. Anyone who says this is the next Chaiyya is doing all concerned a disservice. Sukhwindara Singh is decent without being extraordinary. Not among the top songs of the album, but definitely not bad. Give it some time and it'll catch on. The flute in the initial sections is different from the usual ARR employment.

Sonu Nigam, in what is becoming somewhat of a trademark, is in another quietly exhortative song on life and is much restrained in his effort with Do Kadam Aur Sahi (the original title for this film). The famed ARR violins coupled with the strummings of Rashid Ali make a collective comeback after a hiatus. A mellow percussive beat and Naveen playing almost unnoticed fill in the sounds, followed by triumphant trumpets.

Dhuaa.n Dhuaa.n carries the signature elements of an Asha-ARR combo. Kunal starts off with a very curious, initially-hard-to-get humming to the accompaniment of heavy percussions (evidently Sivamani), followed by Asha Bhonsle's na na na opening to yet another heavy breathing exercise in conveying smouldering, passionate lyrics . I rather think she pulls it off. I was quite disappointed with the second half of the song, it seems to run counter to the rush and drive of the first. I haven't quite come to terms with that part yet. Very rhythm-oriented, a la Rangeela.

Alka Yagnik, with additional vocals of Dallinda (a Lebanese singer), sings Rang Hai, another highly rhythmic, quick tempo song. There are a lot of modulations, I'm still not sure if Yagnik's effort works. Easily, my least favourite of the six vocalized songs. But there are some parts that were very interesting and still worth repetitions.
(The opening sequence with the "ra.ng laayiire" seems quite familiar, but I can't place it)

I then heard the first of the two instrumental pieces. These are quite innovative in terms of conception, and the execution succeeds to a certain extent. Cyclist's Rhythm has Naveen on the flute on top of his form, with Sivamani doing his own thing - one can picture him stroking and banging away on his myriad collection of drums, large and small, along with his other percussion thingies (I can picturise them, but can't name them!). And if you are wondering, yes, it is sprinkled with the ringing of a bell.

Potter's Village is for James Asher and Hossam Ramzy to jam away - very West/Central Asian sounding strings and percussion ranging from the ghaTam and jhinchaks to electronic beats. The piece conveys a remote and rural spot, with the mellow sounds of a fantasy village erupting slowly into a frenzy and then subsiding back again.

By this time, my feelings about the album were mixed - I didn't think it had that extra-special quality about it, bar a couple of songs. Perhaps a re-listen would slowly change my opinion? I tracked back through another iteration hoping to assuage my own expectations about this collection. It did not strike me at all that I had missed something I had marked out when I heard the listing. Not before track six began with its alaaps did it hit me that I had somehow skipped the qawwali! And boy, did it rock!

The guys behind the awesome Piya Haji Ali (Fiza) were back to full form in Noor-un-ala. If these are the kind of lyrics an octogenarian painter is going to churn out from a hospital bed, then M.F.Hussain should probably do more of the same. Murtuza Khan and Qadir Khan (no mention of "Mustafa" in the credits) take off where they left last time. Everytime, ARR gets out the harmonium/peti, he has scored. From Bombay's KaNNalaNe to the Wedding Qawwali from Bombay Dreams (Noor is in this fashion) and Piya Haji Ali, he has scored. Noor is a rousing addition to filmi qawwalis, and fits the bill perfectly, different from the reverential Haji Ali. Rahman is even audacious enough to add electronic strokes to it. If you could hit a last-ball six in a music album, this would be it. And definitely a big one at that.

I've never revised my entire opinion about an album based on one song as much as I did with Meenaxi. But Noor-un-ala is just tremendous and lifts the entire album. In any album, if a song like Yeh Rishta plays second fiddle to a qawwali, it has to be one heck of a set of six plus two.

Now I can't take the headphones off. The cover design for the CD is quite exotic and wonderful, with different shades of reds, blacks, yellows and Tabus :-). But I wish they'd included the lyrics (atleast I didn't find them), for Rahat Indori has done a fine job, steering clear of platitudes and clichés. Someone has also remarked how the mood of all the songs are upbeat and soulful - it probably reflects the subject created by the barefoot man with the brushes. All the more reason why the album scores - if there is one word I'd describe it by, it would be "rich". The orchestration is lavish, varied and resonant without being a slave to extravagance. I wouldn't say the songs break any new ground musically, with all the elements having appeared previously in other Rahman collections. But they combine well together. It's too early to say where it lies among the echelons of previous ARR efforts and how it will be received by everyone, but there is a lot in its sounds to be hopeful about. I'm not raving yet and trying to be objective, but its difficult to be so! This is a great example of how creativity from different strands of art could mix to produce a little bit of magic. And apparently, there could be a couple of songs being kept behind, including a Malayalam song.

Announcing another

Veteran (grizzled?) Pune & BC quizzer, tennis buff, sports trivia freak, cynical UP resident and bibliophile joins the pack. Drop in at Anand Sivashankar's blog (and listen to GT roar in response :-) ).

Atom Feed

Blogger is finally giving everyone a free site feed. But it's not RSS, it's Atom. More details here. The link for this blog is this url.

Since my Feeds client FeedReader doesn't seem support the new standard (wonder what's new in it), can't see how it looks in a client.

Quiz Blog - IV: Appeal

If fellow quizzer-bloggers could spare some time to make a mention of the Interrobang Quiz Blog on their respective blogs and perhaps also link to it, I would be quite grateful. I hope the aims and energies for maintaining it can be shared by others too, to which an increase in readership would prove more motivational.

Pune weather

The weather in and around Pune is probably at its best right now: blue skies with the odd whiff of a fat Cumulus floating about, warm & mid-20 afternoons, cool mornings and the rest of the package. Modern day Wordsworths have been spotted scurrying to their keyboards to save to disks their fanciful feelings for the springtime.

TV watch

BBC World's weekend programming has always been extraordinary in terms of information presentation and production values. Another excellent series has begun, titled The History of Britain, a 15-part series. Not sure where I joined in, but I can tell it is somewhere early going by the last two episodes. They were about Beckett & the murder in the cathedral, Magna Carta, Richard the Lionheart, the Bruces of Scotland and the Welsh struggle. Well presented by historian Simon Schama.

*** I had a post some days ago on how Zee Cinema pushes in so many ads during a movie telecast, making them Alex-style unbearable 4+ hours torture routines. SetMAX has evidently seen an opportunity to go in the reverse direction: they have begun a "No breaks" slot for films on Sunday afternoons, which is quite welcome.

Film-sy Publicity

Being a Maqbool well-wisher (I liked the film and the music), I've been observant of its publicity strategy, for it's not the run-of-the-mill film and would not be a natural contender for box office success. I find that most people had not heard about it. A leading Pune bookstore had no idea about the music album of the film. Almost everyone else I've mentioned the name to have had such blank expressions that I tried to reason why that would be the case. So I tried keeping a close eye on film trailers and saw a couple of interesting things. Maqbool's recall value is likely to be limited: the music isn't the low-life temporary junk food that it is surrounded by. The actors are top class, but not one who would have a great mass following. Even Tabu seems to suffer from the tag of aaj kal woh aise hii filme.n kartii hai. Until very recently, there haven't been any anticipatory articles in the print or web media (which are the ones I frequent). Probably, there aren't too many funds to spend and they're holding it back for the last week before the release (Jan 30). Vishal was on MTV Fresh with Cyrus, Tabu's article appeared in the Pune Times of India, and the trailers have increased in frequency of appearance and in variety. It does seem likely that Maqbool won't, barring a surprising assertion of latent appreciation for quality among people, do that well. Still Vishal has two new projects coming up, one of them with Shekhar Kapur.

From my close watch of trailers: the Dharma Productions' Kal Ho Naa Ho still has many spots, and is probably the most frequent of film trailers. The ghastly looking Aetbaar also enjoys strong marketing backup from Cutting Edge Entertainment (their maiden venture), it seems.

*** Raghu Romeo made by FTII grad Rajat Kapoor (more known for playing assorted uncles in Dil Chahta Hai and Monsoon Wedding) is another film that is facing oblivion, even before a proper release. Which is a shame, for the film starring Vijay Raaz & Maria Goretti has received a lot of acclaim and awards (got a top prize at the MAMI festival in Mumbai). The film has been ready for a long while now and Kapur is understandably despondent that he hasn't been able to get distribution for his labour of love. One hopes he will have some luck this year.

Trivia note: Rajat Kapoor who is often mixed up with Rajit Kapur (of Byomkesh Bakshi fame) first made his presence felt in the Bhatt camp's TV production Zameen Aasmaan which also starred Rajit Kapur.

*** Rounding off my little troika of disappointments at lack of awareness of quality entertainment, I was very surprised to hear a bunch of people claim that they had never heard of J.R.R.Tolkien. The profile of these people was English-speaking, software types who have definitely watched the LOTR films. Whether this "ignorance" was for the purposes of a game of 20 Questions (where Tolkien was the person to be identified, to which that team got to a "dead British fiction-writing author who writes stories based on the themes of war, but isn't strictly a children's writer, and whose books have turned into films") was not clear, but I still don't think it was such an obscure choice as all my teammates had heard of it.

Musical tidbits

Lakeer

Didn't expect this to have any thing drastically different, as it was known that most songs would come from an earlier ARR film Rhythm. Nachle - Daler Mehndi for the first time singing for ARR - seemed notable mostly for Mehndi's robust singing voice. I've never really fancied the original of Uff Ho Jalta hai, the same for this Asha number. Paigham stands up pretty well with the crossover lyrics, I thought the line jii karta hai... fitted the meter extremely well. The three new songs provoked mixed reactions. I liked parts of Sadiyaa.n, mainly the opening and Hariharan's part. Found the female solo and Udit Narayan's portion quite dull. For some reason, reviewers have been unhappy with Rozaana and Shehezaade, while for me, these were the two I kept coming back for. Rozaana is the first cheerleader-situation song I've heard (a first for Indian movies?) and seems to fit it well. The choice of now-defunct pop group Viva! for the song is apt, for they bring the right blend of cohesive voices required. It was rousing and get-up-and-go, which is what you'd want a song of that nature to be. Shehezaade reminded me a lot of the arrangement from the Bombay Dreams version of Shakalaka Baby. This one seems to be a guys-in-a-car-on-a-dare theme. I found the scatting decent and the mood upbeat and very western.

All in all, nothing pathbreaking, but definitely passable.

*** ARR is due for a blockbuster this year. The first of the hopefuls is releasing this month, and Meenaxi's trailers are already out on television. Immediately revealing something very gorgeous: the cinematography of Santosh Sivan. *** I don't think I'll get to see Kamalhassan'sVirumandi soon, but Illayaraja's folk tunes do tell a great deal about the film. No one else but the Maestro could've done them. In Kamal saar, he must've found an able and supportive director for his music. *** Paap and Maqbool are other albums that I found very appealing so far, based on the samples of the former and the film version of the latter.

Kill-see Grammar?

English grammar teachers have not been this incensed since Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Birds, was advertised as "The Birds is coming!". One of the dudes is back: with the tersely titled I... Proud to Be an Indian - (pausing to massage my stomach which is recovering from pangs of laughter) - in which the dude is supposed to be called "I". Yes, just that much. Talk about having an ego! Or should that be the Wizard of Id?

More power to this brand of cinema!

Overheard in a counselling room…

"…and this has become more frequent, in fact, this is all he does for most part of the day. At first, I thought, fine, he's just seeing some educational programme or maybe some serial, I mean, how harmless can that get? Then, he started staying up late, you know, and so I didn't like that much, because, everyone in my house tends to sleep early, and my grandma likes to get up early. So I 'd potter around in my study, finishing my work, and the light would be on in the living room & the sound volume would be ever so low. This one time, I went up to get him to go to bed and I got suspicious when he was very startled to see me and at once, he changed the channel. I mean, stuff that we'd have done too if we had this kind of T.V reach in our days. Don't laugh, man, I know it sounds trivial, but it makes me sort of uneasy."

"But surely, you never know it was some kind of…you know, shady stuff that he was watching."

"Don't they teach you anything about Freud or something at med. school?"

"Now calm down. See, did you catch him red-handed, sort of. I mean, what's the proof?"

"See, he doesn't know all the controls in the remote. The model of T.V. I own has that back feature, you can go back and see upto a couple of previous channels. And after I put him in bed, I clicked that to check, and he was watching the cable channel and also that, you know, that silly French channel…"

"And how long did you watch them… Ok Ok, sorry, sit down"

"Please, I need some help man, it gets embarrassing at times, what with my grandma around."

"Why don't you ask her to speak to him or get someone else?"

"For one, I couldn't discuss this with her. And even I was to, she's so fond of him that, whatever he does, she always glosses over it. Never scolds anyone. And my family isn't the type where we have those kinds of elders-children type discussions. We are sort of old-fashioned, you know."

"Then reduce his T.V. viewing. Maybe sit alongside or if you can't, get your wife to spend more time in the living room, so he'll be embarrassed to try anything. See, he's just started this kind of behaviour, so I'm sure you can pull him out."

"Actually, it's also about the net, you know. I got my computer, last month, with Internet and all. And because he knows how to use it and so on.."

"So? Yahoo and Search, eh! This is pretty normal for kids, but… "

"You see! He doesn't know about the History folder and all, and it's pretty disconcerting to see some of the stuff. So, what do I do man? My younger son always looks up to him and it would be pretty bad to see them giggling over that kind of stuff. Sort of a parental disaster."

"Hey, don't overreact man. It happens. Especially, when people get access to T.V. and the Internet in these times, when there's such a lot of stuff of that kind around, easily accessible. Best thing is to solve it from a kid's perspective. That's what I always advise all those parents who come to me. Generally, the approach works. Try treating him as a kid. But, don't get me wrong here, it's pretty funny actually. Was he like this before? I don't remember him like that before."

"Yeah, you're right. It is hilarious actually. He's a bit of a child now. Never knew there was a bit of the 'dirty old man' in old Grandpa. I guess he's making up for all the lost fun now…"

Repeat Value

About an year ago when I was on holiday in Madras, I accompanied parents and some relatives to a nearby temple near my uncle's house. There I saw someone pulling out a guitar, which quite naturally surprised me. A peek inside showed that the place was set with mikes et al. The guitar guy sat down and started to strum away - some people around him cleared their throats, and off they went - singing bhajans semi-pop style. Not only that, there was also a lot of arm-waving and clapping, quite in the style of Afro-American church choirs. It was quite unorthodox and hence interesting. My own individual brand of theism+agnosticism coupled with a natural scepticism for any religious social activity meant I could take an objective view and see what effect it was having on the devout public assembled there.

Digression: I have never seen another city yet that has so much to do with so many temples (not comparing temple-towns here whose identity revolve around the temple). A good way of putting this is to invoke comparisons from those great reflectors of Indian society: the soap opera. While the Hindi soap opera has its social occasions among seasonal and off-seasonal Garba Raas festivities, the Tamil soap will set up scenes in temples. Coincidences, altercations between estranged relatives, murder plots - all are cooked and baked in the temple plot. The Hindi soap prefers to have a tulsi plant in its aa.ngan and be done with it - to move on to the more important business of sorry sari exhibitionism.

To my mind, the performance caused three kinds of groups to emerge. one: those who were in-sync with these radical devotional ideas and uninhibitedly joined in the expressionism, two: those who weren't quite sure what to make of this - not being the kinds of Indians who love to dance at their own weddings (or anyone else's, for that matter) and who have a general disdain of all things flamboyant, and three: those who had made up their minds that this wasn't going to be their style of seeking the lord.

I say all of this (the above and the following) with a view to being non-judgemental, motivated by curiosity. I was quite surprised to see all this in orthodox, temple-frequenting Madras. It is also, possibly, a small reflection on the eclectism of the religion that this hasn't quite resulted in any particular vaad-vivaad on the methods employed in devotion. Coming back to that temple, my aunt's brother was in the inside of things, and consequently my uncle too, so information as to who was behind all of this became clear shortly.

The name is Ravi Shankar.

Sri Ravi Shankar

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

After India's not so happy experiences with popular godmen, there has been a lull of such personages in the media. But this gentleman has come on to the main pages of the newspapers in the last few years (esp. the Times of India group whose ruling family evidently have a close association with him - so this probably goes in the rule books for their journos of things they must cover?). Words like Sudarshan Kriya and The Art of Living have punctuated those media reports. High profile proponents increase its visibility.

I'm always a little shy (wary?) of any organized religious activity (and haven't been in the frame of mind or circumstantial need to seek out any such so far - perhaps it will come later on in life), so I'm just curious about his organization. My cousin who has done the course (or some part of it, I forget) says it's pretty decent and somewhat difficult. There's a lot of breathing exercises et al involved. I'm curious in general as to how a religious preacher/teacher starts off. Are these activities radically new ideas developed wholly by the individual or does he/she learn it from some guru or some scripture? Or was there a mystical dimension to their discovery? Is it a discovery or an invention? The flip side is: is it a well known idea well packaged? Do they feel happy about the publicity?

Whatever be the case, Ravi Shankar's organization is quite the in-thing among people. One hears a lot about it here and there. This post was sparked off because I saw a lot of rush in traffic coming back home today, lots of parked cars outside the nearby grounds. He's having a meeting there today.

Quiz Blog - III

Semi-long story, but the quiz blog has moved to Interrobang principally because Blogdrive doesn't provide permalinks. The quiz blog looks misshapen now, pliss to bear with it. Commenting et al to follow, but do check the updates on the new location.

More on the story:

Well, that Blogdrive doesn't provide permalinks is something I found late in my courtship of an alternate blogging service. I also found that no clean workarounds were available for the same. Well, I can live without the blogpad (what is it called really?) on the left and can jugaad my own commenting service, but need to have permalinks. Since blogspot has already given out "interrobang" to someone, I reversed the functions of "notesandstones" and 'interrobang" to the url and the blog-name respectively. I think it works.

The link is now on the roll on the right.

Remains of the Day

Reading the memoirs of Agatha Christie and came across a description of what social customs and etiquette were like in English society during her childhood. Her mother would tell the little Agatha to leave some morsels on her plate "for Miss Manners". This is in sharp contrast to childhood education in the manners department here (at least the way I was instructed). We were exhorted to make sure our plate (or leaf when it came to weddings, many social customs were explained and enforced by eagle-eyed relatives to the young kids over the kalyaaNa chaapaTTu elai) was clean to the point of being spotless at the end. This automatically led to discipline in the asking for more food if you wanted to achieve the clean slate (or plate) at the end and plus you wouldn't waste any food. Modern parents usually tend to be a little lax with their children and there are a lot of leftovers - quite avoidable.

It also gave me a small lesson in persistence and foresight - in the kalyaaNa lunches, you had to spread out your hand in advance lest the onrushing appaLam (which usually looked as big as a frisbee) or payasam dispensing guy would put some more on your leaf. Those could easily translate into moments of weaknesses, for the guy would usually be insistent on doling out another helping for you and tempt you accordingly. It was a question of who blinked first.

Dada says it like it is

It hasn't reappeared in any of the main newspaper stories, both online and print, but during an interview with the Sportsline/Sportscenter India (ESPN-Star) reporter at the end of the Sydney Test, Saurav Ganguly lashed out at some of the "previous Indian captains" who had rubbished the current Indian team in many articles before the tour began. He said it was "shameful" and "that's the reason our country doesn't progress". He pointed out to the fact that these people had never done gone abroad and won anything significant themselves. In short, he unleashed a mini-sized fury on these "pundits".

I'd agree with the Indian captain. Many of these former captains have been unnecessarily over-critical, sometimes bordering on jealousy and hidden resentments. They question the sincerity and faith of these players, I don't think most of them merit such accusations. Come to think of it, many members of the public do it, but it would hurt more if ex-players (who are supposed to be knowledgeable) do it. Also, if one is going to make predictions and be proved wrong, he ought to have the courtesy of accepting he called it incorrectly. That doesn't happen to often with these guys.

Not to say that all of Ganguly's tactics were correct (and I agree broadly with this article) but there is no question (and I have been a doubter) that he has got it right more often than not. Criticise fairly is all he will ask, I'm sure.

This is a broader problem. When you select someone as captain and invest your confidence in him, you must not be unfair to him. Comments must be responsible and fair. I think Ganguly was entitled to his outburst.

Quiz Blog - II

The quiz blog is up and running and goes by the name of Notes and Stones a.k.a Interrobang. The first posts are up. An elaboration on the names will follow soon. Hosting it on Blogdrive gives me a chance to try another blog provider - to their credit, the package has a commenting system and a clean interface for entries. The layout is literally plain vanilla so far. The fact that one of those blogpad-type-thingies is part of the layout brought a frown to my face (I usually find it annoying that it causes a repeated page refresh) and I haven't decided whether to remove it, leave it or simply eliminate the refresh. The look will undergo further work.

The "R" is for...

Relief: Perhaps relief doesn't quite describe it well, but it is a good substitute. The talent had never deserted him, luck had. But so had many people's faith. To the supporter, it is a relief that he do not have to spend energy in hosing down the disbelief of those people, and can go back to more weightier issues.

Riposte: Sachin Tendulkar is a much liked man, so people aren't nasty towards him for personal reasons. But he does have his professional detractors - who have been answered. And how!

Records: The most significant of the many that fell by the wayside: the highest unbeaten score by an Indian in Test matches and that SRT already has three double tons. The floodgates of the big scores have been unlocked and await an outpouring.

Refusal: To get out. To pay both a compliment, his desire to remain unvanquished was almost Dravidesque (can't say Dravid-ian :-) ).

Relishing: Enjoy the moment lads.

Redux: One will have to wait and see if this really is the beginning a brand new phase in his continuous evolution, but one gets the feeling it is. The most heartwarming thing is now Sachin Tendulkar has played almost every kind of innings (bar the matchwinning-in-a-pressurised-situation that eluded him at Chennai) and knows what to do in all of them. He now knows that he can bat for 5 sessions and easily pick up a big score - I'm sure the flavour of that taste would motivate him to try and scale the trees for more such fruit.

To boldly connect where none exists before?

E.M.Forster ("only connect") might've approved. Is this the outcome of a febrile imagination affected adversely by the disease of connection-making, or does the name of Hrithik Roshan in Farhan Akhtar's next film (Lakshya - a war film that I hope will be made better than other recent efforts- will it erase his "only-for-high-society filmmaker" tag?) ring some sort of a bell? The name is Karan Shergill. I wonder what that tolling bell tells me... ?

Another upcoming film "Agnipankh" is in the Vijeta mould - the Air Force forms the backdrop

Phase I complete

I don't want to be over-exultant, but I think we should be happy while it lasts, for we know not what the morrow brings. Phase I of the SRT Redux campaign has completed successfully and in semi-challenging circumstances. There is a long way to go yet.

*** ESPN-Star fall prey to the SETMax "glamour" phenomenon - a little surprised to see their poll for a female guest for the newly launched teatime show "Shaz and Waz Show" - the two gentlemen (who have quite "rangeele" reputations) promising to talk a lot about cricket. I may cringe (I didn't see the teatime special, so not sure what happened), but I was atleast happy that the lady who ultimately won was my choice too.

The "Don't Walk" Sign

Most Indian cricket enthusiasts have bemoaned the way some of the LBW decisions (especially in the previous match) haven't gone our way. Steve Bucknor is back at the SCG in place of David Shepherd. I'm not a fan of Bucknor, indeed I don't rate him very highly at all. I can't prove it offhand, but I think every series that he has umpired in, he has made some awful blunders - not the kind of mistakes that are the result of some close calls, but some seriously poor stuff which I don't think can be balanced out by any other good decisions he can pull off. That's why I feel Virender Sehwag shouldn't have walked before Bucknor gave his view. I don't think there was a convincing sound or deflection to his nick (I'm assuming he nicked it because he walked) and I don't think Bucknor (assuming he was not going to go temporarily off the handle this time) could've given him out. I don't necessarily agree all the time with the view that states you make things difficult for the umpire but on some occasions you don't make it too easy as well. The Indian team need not help the umpires out - they don't influence the bad decisions they get, so leave all decision-making to the umpires. It may not even out in the context of a series for that batsman, but it may even out for the team. Sehwag was in good flow and could've been even more dangerous.

There is a time and a place for being very sporting - much as I admire Adam Gilchrist's gesture in the WC Semi Final vs Sri Lanka, I would advocate the path taken by Dravid. He was one player who suffered early one because he walked a few times and also got a few rough ones, now he waits for the umpire to do his job. This is not a "don't walk because you are playing the Aussies who don't do others favours", but "don't walk because it's Bucknor and Bowden making the (crooked?) decisions". (Seeing Bowden jumping out of the way to escape being hit by a shy at the stumps was funny, but he was not watching the stumps at all - these guys have it easy sometimes too because of the third ump.)