Cricket goes for a toss: Close encounters of the 20/20 kind

For some, Twenty Twenty is an invitation for disaster. But cricket itself cannot be isolated from innovative concepts, albeit aimed at minting money by compromising on the core values of a game.

No one can doubt that Twenty Twenty would mean races to the boundaries and more hits above it. This would mean instant joys and instant money as viewers all over would rather watch a game with an ensured result and big hitting rather than a Test which need not necessarily produce a result.

For true connoisseurs of the willow, Twenty Twenty will be a relegation of the nuances of the game to plain hard hitting of the Dhoni kind.

They see scant regard to the skills of a bowler or batsman in this version, which is true. Sincere apologies, but Twenty Twenty is here to stay.

Our right to ridicule...Posterity’s Right To Ridicule

There need not be any right to information for Indians. This is the line of thinking in the United Progressive Alliance, which rules a billion people.

And this comes after enacting a law empowering the citizens to seek exactly the same right.
Declassification of key documents is a routine phenomenon in civilized societies. On June 6, 2006, Nazi era secrets relating to CIA’s murky cold war ties with Nazi Germany were thrown open to the world by the US National Archives.

Needless to say it shows the premier spy agency in bad light.

These documents could not have been shown the light as and when the events which tampered with human conscience unfurled, due to obvious reasons.

It is essential that posterity should have a clear idea of the multitude of the shady and not-so-shady notes and jottings which steered the jittery course of mankind.

After the passage of time, evidence looses its edge as a tool of persecution.

It only retains a verve of curiosity factor, which should be passed on to posterity without fail.

This basic premise, which forms the bedrock of history as well as democracy, is being scuttled by the Indian government.

This subversion of universally acceptable values is unpardonable.

The irony is that if the process of dissemination of information is scuttled, history reinvents itself to sling mud on the perpetrators of such monstrous acts. It is just a matter of time before that happens.

The numb duds presiding over this gory ineptitude do not have much time revel in the comfort zone of suppressed facts.

The legend of Maradona

Just click on this link if there is any

doubt about the greatest

footballer of all times

A call to honour the moles & molls

Moles and molls are an integral part of bilateral ties. A don’s moll is enjoying the comforts of an Indian prison after being extradited.

And a mole in the Prime Ministers Office has been snooping on key information for years, while a former External Affairs Minister chose not to reveal it as it involved the honour of the PMO.

The moral of the culturally nationalistic story is that, in case you come across a mole in the country’s most sensitive office, it would be better to look towards Kandahar and have a Champagne – It could be construed as a toast the released passengers of a hijacked flight and a greeting for the dreaded shenanigans of terror who were freed by a government which boasts of having pursued a policy of hot pursuit, a la Israel.

And then we can toast for POTA, which would have made the terror kingpins shiver. Alas it ain't there.

A special toast to Jayamala, the Kannada actress who swore that she touched the idol at Sabarimala, where females are not allowed after puberty and before menopause. That was magic on her part. Or divine intervention?

Incidentally the temple priest is now facing charges of visiting a whorehouse for lessons on morality.

A toast for the priest too, Mr Jaswant.

Meanwhile, the PMO mole will have his own toasts to make. Cheers.

Mirror hoax

A Mumbai newspaper which claims to be the mirror of the megapolis recently splashed on its cover an exclusive wedding picture of Javed Miandad’s son and Dawood’s daughter.

It turns out that it is neither Javed’s son nor Dawood’s daughter.

It was just an e-mail which did the rounds. How it appeared on the cover is baffling. So much for authenticity.

A couple of days later, a sister concern of the mirror published from Hyderabad carries the same photograph. Well done.

A bureaucratic fiefdom of idiots

AT 5.19 P.M. IST (gmt+5.30) blogspot was back. Can't say if it was even before, but doesn't matter.


Earlier posting

Hello all. These words can’t be seen, in case you are in India.

The Union Government has put a gag order on certain blogs, which was waywardly executed by bureaucracy.

So please hang on till the gag order goes up in flames.

Your friendly neighbourhood blogger

Bombay, 20th July, 2006.

Indian Government terrorises blogosphere

Blogosphere got a jolt after it came to light that Internet Service providers across the nation had barred Blogspot. Bloggers were reporting difficulties in accessing and posting blogs.

And unconfirmed reports say ISPs have been asked to control access to Blogspot simply because SIMI, the outfit being investigated for links with the Serial blasts that shook Mumbai last Tuesday, had used blogs to communicate.

Sources say the government does not intend to block access to any site. The present unavailability has been linked to investigations on the serial blasts . Government agencies are reportedly whetting information available with ISPs.

What transpired at the Zidane-Chirac meet..

The Bombay conundrum: To suspect or not

Serial blasts took away many lives, disrupted rail lines, paralysed Bombay and buried one crucial point in the resultant chaos: Terror is here to stay. Or rather terror attacks.

It is impossible to check terror draped in turbans or bombs concealed in tiffin boxes.

And it has now become imperative to learn how to live with it, regardless of whether its perpetrators are of Hindu or Muslim origin.

That is where civic sense and an alert mind comes into play. Two days after what is now being called 7/11, passengers raised an alarm when they saw four people throwing bags into a creek at Bhayender. Four people were arrested.

Although it is not known if there were bombs inside the bags, the point is that citizens are beginning to watch what everyone else does, with an eye of suspicion. This helps.

For, even if it emerges that there were no bombs, there could be no fickle reason for people to throw bags into a creek. Something murky is bound to be there in that act.

Now what this means is that everyone will view everyone with suspicion in a train and that would add to the tense atmosphere in the overcrowded locals, as they call it in this part of the world.

Fair enough. Its better to be a bit rough than to watch helplessly when blood soaks the tracks.

Mumbai: 150 killed in serial blasts in Western Railway trains (With pictures)

Update 1.45. a.m, July 12: The death toll in serial blasts which rocked Mumbai on Tuesday evening has risen to 150, unconfirmed reports said.

40 bodies have been recovered from a bogie in Jogeswari.

50 died in Mira Road.
More than 300 are injured.

The blasts occurred within a span of eleven minutes. High intensive explosives have been used.

The train in which the blast occurred at Borivali was a Virar fast.

The Prime Minister made a statement at 8.49: We will fight terror, he said.

Union Home Minister Shivaraj Patil said government would take all possible measures. Bu that was about two hours after seven blasts had taken 100 precious lives.

He also condemned the incident.

Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said the first task is to attend to the injured.

Earlier report below.






Seven blasts rocked Mumbai on Tuesday evening, killing 50.

All the blasts were in the crowded Western line -- Mahim, Matunga, Khar, Bandra, Jogeswari, Borivali, Mira Road.

Trains on western line have been stopped.

Initial reports said first blast was at Khar. Unconfirmed reports now say the first blast was at Matunga Road on the Western line.

Around 40 lakh people commute in the western line.

All the blasts occurred in first class compartments between 6 and 6.30 p.m.



All phonelines have been jammed.

State government authorities have not commented.

The blasts occurred in this order: Bhayender, Mira Road, Borivali, Jogeswari, Bandra, Matunga and Khar.

The Union Cabinet is holding an emergency meeting.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav are likely to visit Mumbai.

The Union Cabinet is holding an emergency meeting.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav are likely to visit Mumbai.

And Zizou...

If you thought Zizou would be shoved out from the famed chapters of soccer, you could be as wrong as Napolean was umpteen times when he slogged to solve a mathematical puzzle.

That the son of Algerian immigrants lost his cool in a crucial encounter isn’t taking away the elegance of his effortless playmaking skills.

There definitely was provocation from Italy defender Marco Materazzi, whom the French coach described as the real man of the match. He got Zidane out and sealed the cup for Italy. Well done Materazzi.

And Zidane’s just another example sportsmen losing cool. After McGrath. Maradona. Beckham. And many others.

And that’s why the Golden Ball was truly his.

Racial slur? Tweaking his nipples? No clue.

And word has come from Materazzi that he "insulted" Zidane because he was super arrogant.

Now Zizou, what is it that Materazzi mumbled?

United Holidays of Monsoon

Would you like holidays in summer or monsoon?

The disastrous disaster management plan of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which kept many people indoors in Bombay during rains and others stranded as usual, has spurred talk of schools being shut in Monsoons rather than in the simmering heat of summer.

It doesn't make much of a difference if holidays are swapped.

If the world were to observe Christmas on April 1 from next year and All Fools Day on America's Independence Day there might be some noises but the majority wouldn't mind.
So those who are irked by the holiness of their purported favourite days can just switch their days and celebrate some other day.

Corporates should also consider the Monsoon vacation plan. Fortunately, if they refuse to take affirmative action on those lines, the BMC think tanks will force them to do that.

That is a win-win situation for all and sundry. So why is it not pouring heaven and earth in Mumbai now.

Do we have to invoke a 26/7 cloudburst to get holidays in monsoon?

The insecurities of super men

Tatas are getting insecure now. The group sees the predatory footprints of Mittal heading towards India.

Why does everyone see a predator in Mittal. May be it is an off-shoot of the ruthless execution of operation Arcelor.

When it comes to their own turf, Indian corporates shelve all talks of liberalization and go on a huddle.

They then demand a level-playing field, a euphemism for protectionism.

That is why Wal-Mart won’t get to spread its giant retail canopy to India till Reliance opens shop in every nook and corner.

And then they talk of disinvestment, another euphemism for giving up profit making government firms at throwaway prices to conglomerates.

Wonder what would have been the government’s issue if it had complete control of Maruti?

Would it have affected the day-to-day running of the nation?

So who in this corporate hell is shying way at this overdose of liberalisation: No need to break your brains, it is your friendly neighbourhood corporate only.

Cant resist saying: This is a nation of hypocrisies, with corporate honchos at its helm.

The final trajectory

So Italy and Germany clash with history in Italy’s side and form and groundswell of support tilting to the hosts.

History really has little impact on a 90-minute game. So Germany is laughing its way to the final, but the Cup winner could still be a dark horse. It is tantalising to bet on Portugual.

Punters have gone for a toss but those who bet for betting’s sake can still make a killing.
So do we have a Germany vs Portugal final or a France vs Italy final?

One thing is sure, two of the four semi-finalists are there at the cost of better teams. So the best team cannot win, and we are not talking about Brazil. They got what they deserved.

The flavour is out

Adios Argentina

Now, the nasty round of predictions come as the flavour has gone out of the World Cup.

Only one thing is sure, Brazil cannot win this cup.

Nostradamus, can you hear this?