Borders are meant to be crossed

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

Borders are meant to be crossed and so are Bradmans, Gavasakars & Tendulkars.

Brian Lara stands on his own when we want to talk of batting geniuses (and this coming from an unabashed Sachin Tendulkar fan).

There is something so very enigmatic about Brian Charles Lara. Defying hopes that he fail every time he went out to bat so that Tendulkar could overtake him soon. Defying wishes that people criticize him for his flashy batting..his unorthodox play. Defying statistics. Defying history (no mortal man has returned to regain the record of highest Test score). Defying Fate. And ultimately defying die-hard Sachin fans and succeeding in winning them over to his league of admirers. Time & again. One Man. Brian Lara. Batting superstar. Cricket God.

Leave aside the 148* (with the last man standing to win the match against Australia), forget the epic 375 against England, forget the 501* against Durham in a county match, forget the 400* (to regain his batting record), forget the 11187* (and still going strong....to become the greatest scorer in the history of the game), forget the second-fastest 100 in ODI history (though it came against Bangladesh), forget the other trivial records like 28 runs of the last over in a Test Match (!!), his onfield brawls with Glen McGrath & Allan Donald and then proceeding to take them to the cleaners for a brief time before getting out to the very same bowlers ("but mate, I already proved a point"). But just for the great character that it takes to win over grudging admirers from your arch rival's camp, Mr Brian Charles Lara, wish there were more like you!!

Krishna, nee begane baaro!

Posted by Jay-talking! |4 comments

Hey there (late) Mr BS Manjunathan...you ex IIML graduate .....you ex IOCL employee....you ....you tragic hero...you martyr....foolishly idealistic....young dreamer.....man who dared to go off the beaten track.....man who wanted to stand up & be counted...you...the man who wanted to make a difference!!! I gave my 2 minutes to you today. Thanks for making me feel like a human being again for those minutes...away from the zombie like existence of everyday office life. Thanks for making me feel like a whole load of shit too. Thanks so much for giving me such a big complex. My heartfelt salutations! RIP !! God Bless !!!

Monicaaa.. oh my darl....whatever!!

Posted by Jay-talking! |6 comments

Knowing the way we operate in India, I am sure that a lot of horoscopes will come flowing in into Mr Bedi’s residence now that Monica Bedi has proclaimed herself single once again. Just wait for this to become a media issue soon.

My take on the Khushboo issue

Posted by Jay-talking! |3 comments

You would think that the whole nation has gone bonkers. One just has to express an opinion on just, lets say, the shade of red in those pavements across the street and its all over the papers the next day with a few no-good loafers out on the streets right next to your door in their pajamas ("that's in keeping with our culture as well as our freedom of expression; those noble souls who took the time and pains to draft an absolutely impartial constitution must be kicking themselves assuming that they are allowed to do so wherever they are, God bless") protesting against what they call "a moral outrage and a deep stirring of the soul".

Just take the Khushboo episode for instance. As is only natural, the media has confounded itself and the well meaning and, of course, "better be worth what I pay" readers by merrily mixing two issues. One is compelled to ask, 'Hey dude, what's the ruckus about?' Is the whole brouhaha (one likes using such words) on

(i) whether Khushboo, being a celebrity and as is the wont with all celebrities, having to carry the burden of being a responsible one, is allowed to air her views in a public forum keeping in view the grand tradition of the 'freedom of expression' (take a wild guess on where my sympathies lie),

OR

(ii) whether the idea of 'pre marital sex' as floated by Khushboo is a tenable and reasonable idea especially with the advent of AIDS.


On (ii), I reserve my comments. Advocating safe sex is an option. But advocating safe pre-marital sex? But well, to each his own. I still do enjoy my early morning naps.

Just a touch of narcissism

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

Naah..not into Tamil politics yet!! First the shades..then the shadiness!!

Evocative....

Posted by Jay-talking! |15 comments

Thought of adding this. When I first saw this sketch by the future Anjolie Ela Menon of India, I thought Lukshmi Iyer ("how’s Dubai, girl?") had sent one of those optical illusions you get in those forwarded mails (of course when you forward it to your friends, they have “already got it way back in 1972!!”). The arch seems to come down to nowhere. Also the creaky stairs ( I do not know how…..but the sketch says it …see it for yourself) reminds you of those old RL Stevenson stories. Evocative. Anything to take away from the accountant’s world of “numb”ers!!

Phew...at last!

Posted by Jay-talking! |2 comments

Its over!!! All the students can now heave a huge sigh of relief. CA finals are finally over. Now the long dreary wait for the results begin.

Still time yet for those hankies to come out, for those joyous screams, for the put-on airs while entering the Institute campus (“I am qualified, dude!! You still a student???”), for those praises coming from the proud papa’s friends (“my son is a CA!!”) and those modest replies to those praises (“I think I will go for my Master’s next year”). Hey man, for the moment, just chill out!!

Cricket Hungama

Posted by Jay-talking! |7 comments

Honee ko anhonee kar de, anhonee ko honee,
Ek jagah jab jama ho teenon
Sachin, Sehwag and Dhoni!
Sachin, Sehwag and Dhoni!!

Hurray…India is back to winning ways and Sachin supposedly back on the television in his most natural avatar (definitely not as an ad model).

There is an India vs South Africa game in Bangalore this week. Got tickets, anyone?

Why Old Man Mozz?

Posted by Jay-talking! |1 comments

Old Man Mozz… when one has spent an entire childhood idolizing one of the most enduring and enigmatic personality in the lineage of comic book superheroes, one does not exhaust one’s colored cells in that cranium too much wondering what names to give to pet themes.

The Phantom shaped my childhood only the way he can. I can ascribe a lot of low grades in school to those fat bound volumes of Indrajal borrowed from a friend, purchased at the local raddi ka dukaan, stolen from the school library etc. Now you know why Old Man Mozz…right?

Then when the internet boom started, I immediately searched the web for news on my favorite hero. Maybe some long lost comics available on the net? Maybe the third part of that unfinished story is available?

At long last, I found this link and was thrilled to bits. Enjoy!!