India's "destiny" at Sydney

At last! The words did come out: "May be India was destined to lose in Sydney" ! I tried my level best to curtail those exact same words for the past 4 days; but I couldn't anymore. I switched off cricinfo and am keeping myself at a distance from the depressing couple of hours that is to follow.
Over the past few years I have tended to believe that there exists no destiny. And after recently reading an article on Chaos theory, I felt even more confident that it is we who shape our destiny, and life never follows a fixed course. A minuscule event in our life can bring about changes, that sometimes becomes extremely hard to comprehend, as is beautifully narrated in the movie The Butterfly Effect.
Karma, the actions and the effects of those actions, is synonymous to the famous adage: What you sow is what you reap! The concept of Karma that is the very foundation of Hinduism and its principles, is contradictory to the concept of destiny. May be the word 'destiny' is being used too frequently for my liking. May be people have come to use it as an escape mechanism when things dont shape up as they intended them to be.
But if you were to believe in Karma, then today would have been a historic day in Indian cricket, that would have made 32 billion teeth smile; but as it stands it leaves 2 billion eyes in tears...

Another day at the office...the last!

It is not exactly what the managers look for - their employees writing blogs at workplace. But I dont think mine would mind; this is my last day at Dell as a summer intern, and frankly I have remained jobless these last few days.
Its the end of a 11-week internship program, one which was highly beneficial, monetarily and workwise, getting to work on tools and equipments worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Dell is a pretty good company to work for (it pays really well!), although I did not in my wildest dreams think about working here. A EE hardware engineer would be more inclined to join companies like Intel or AMD, and it was no different for me. But I have no regrets, at the end of 11 weeks, when I leave the company proud and satisfied with my work...
It was surprise interview call from Dell, and I had a week to prepare for the interview. I borrowed some books from the library and worked really hard. There was disappointment at not being able to make to my favorite companies, but at least I had something to feel happy about. I was not nervous before the interview; was I feeling confident subconsciously or whether I didnt care about it, I dont really know. It was one of the best interviews I had, answering questions promptly and knew I had cracked it. The same night I got a call from the HR...
This was the second most happiest day of my life (the Purdue admit still beats 'em all)! After weeks of pondering over my life, what to do with it, suddenly the gates opened - there was a direction and I grabbed the chance with both hands. I thanked god and was happy with it.
The Indian contingent in Dell is not like Intel; having said that my team has 7 Indians and a Pakistani...what else can you ask for? And the fun started! The initial days I just spent time with the others understanding what they are working on, pretty much jobless, and then my manager (one of the best people I have met) gave me a good project. I have never worked with deadlines and weekly reports, so this was a nice challenge. Making some rapid strides in my work, my manager lavished praises - first time there was a genuine appreciation for my academic related work and it felt really good. Got done with the project, gave a presentation, got good feedback and have achieved what I set out to do.
Its a nice feeling when you earn good money in a big city, live in a comfortable apartment with cozy furnitures, eat out everyday, buying drinks in your tab, so on...And from tomorrow its back to being student again, living in a small bedroom and possibly sharing it with another person, getting miserly, eating out sparingly, thinking about ever penny you spend, searching for birthday treats, taking the greyhound (US interstate bus service) et cetera.

That's life aint it !

'Eye' am Brown ..and you are???

The summer interns at Dell, me being one of them, gathered around for lunch as usual in the cafeteria, eating, discussing about cars, trips, car rentals...One thing led to another and we ended up talking about how we fared when we were getting our driving licenses. License test in US requires preparation, and sometimes like in m case requires a revision of sorts on the day of your test.
I was pretty damn sure I gave my eye color as black while filling out the forms, that also needed you to mention your height and hair color. I was fairly certain that my license card had it all just the way I specified it: Eye color: BL, Hair color: BL, Height: 5 ft 7" ...My friend said his eye color was Brown. We definitely knew it wasn't. Its a desire for many to have non-black eyes, girls find guys with brown eyes charming, and I imagined this to be just another case! I was getting a strange feeling that all of us were going to be wrong...
And yes, we were indeed wrong!
I checked my license to see what was in there. It said 'Eye color - BR'. Yay...I have brown eyes. Nothing to feel ecstatic about it though, as they still look black, but yes technically my eyes are brown :) ..It was a big 'eye' opener (pardon the pun)! So whats your eye color?

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_color

MIAMI and Daytona Beach - Spring 2007

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Monsoon kills thousands..again !!!

I am writing this blog after being terribly disturbed and mentally shaken reading about the deaths of thousands of Indians and Bangladeshis this monsoon season! The season is far from over and the situation is getting worse year by year. If you read about people losing their children, their cattle, their house, their every minuscule belonging and are worried and depressed because of this, please join me in addressing this issue, as the time has come to put an end to the misery of our dear fellow citizens who are victimized every year by the fury of the South-west monsoon.
The general weather pattern throughout the world this year has been rather unrelenting. The winters have been intense, especially in parts of US and Europe which have seen rather unprecedented snowfall, and the monsoons have brought about rains that lashed several parts of the world, India in particular. What do we attribute this to? Is it 'Global warming' that is causing this? Or is it some sort of a peculiar arrangement of solar bodies? I am not much of an astrophysicist, but I would be interested in listening to the views of some of them. That apart, it is now a question of how to solve this problem. It can no longer be termed as a harsh reality that we have to live with; it is now time to start interlinking rivers, and if there are still some good men left in Indian politics, this should happen fast! I mean real fast...
The concept of River interlinking has been around for quite a while. However, as it always happens, our egotistical politicians always make it a point to not continue any good work that the earlier government had started. People address the river-interlinking concept after a disaster like this, but immediately forget once things get back to normal. Even the news channels forget to focus on this issue, and it becomes a forgotten topic. Had the Brahmaputra been linked to the rivers in the rain-deprived Rajasthan or the five rivers in Punjab, a lot of fatalities could have been avoided. Krishna river water is diverted to Tamil Nadu, which caters to the needs of the Chennai metropolitan area, is just an example how states can get mutually benefited. We dont need proof for the concept to work, it will just work fine! The media should be more relentless (like the monsoon) and not let the politicians off the hook...

Simon Taufel being humiliated by the press...

I am writing this article after being terribly dissapointed reading the articles in some of the Indian E-news papers about the dismissals of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. For the benefit of the readers, Sachin was given Leg-before while not offering a shot to a Collingwood delivery, and the ball was clearly missing off-stump by 5-6 inches. Ganguly was caught behind down the leg-side, or so the umpire and the Englishmen thought, when there was no evidence of any contact with the bat.

Indians tend to get extremely happy when Sachin escapes a caught-behind, we all know he is not a walker like Gilchrist, and start celebrating at the good fortune. But when he was wrongly given out, there seems to be rage among the Indian Press and there are headlines critisizing Taufel's decision. It is so unfair to the umpire, who has constantly established his credibility, and as a matter of fact he makes the game more competitive by giving the advantage to the bowler on more occasions than not in this era of batsman dominated matches. The first and foremost criticism must be on Sachin, for not playing a shot, albeit the ball was outside off, especially against a bowler like Collingwood. He should be shocked at the replay, for the way he padded up and not for the decision, and its hi-time Indian press starts realising that. They are projecting Taufel as a demon, who is adament on spoiling the Indian party in Nottingham.

Fine! Mistakes happen. Had the batsman played a shot , it would have never happened. Lets give the man some leeway, and let him continue his wonderful umpiring job. And it wouldn't hurt if some people thought twice before they started typing...

Kalam back to Anna

I read an article on The Hindu (online edition) today which said that former President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam is considering coming back to Anna University. A room is being readied for him at the campus. It is also proposed that he will be co-advising students who are pursuing a Ph. D. at the university. This is such a welcome initiative by the President and also Dr. Viswanathan, vice-chancellor of Anna University, as this provides a great opportunity for students to work in close quarters with the great man himself.

The reputation of Anna University, esp. College of Engineering, Guindy, already a prefered destination for many aspiring engineers, will be extremely enhanced through this move. Students would now be tempted to work towards their Doctorate at Anna University without thinking about universities and professors in the US and elsewhere. Although there are speculations that Dr. Kalam had plans of taking up office in Nalanda University in Bihar, it would do no harm to the students if he functioned as an advisor at both varsities.

Sachin, Dravid or Gavaskar???

Reading an article about Dravid's test debut in 1996 and his heroics in 2002, both during the tours to England, I was left with a tricky question- Who is the best modern batsman to have played for India ? There have been many debates in the past on this, but I felt I had to answer this question for myself. Individual tastes differ, each person evaluates performance on a different metric, hence each will come up with a different name.

Quickly shortlisting, I was left with three choices: Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid. These choices were merely common sense. Once you look at their averages and possess a little knowledge of Indian Cricket, these names would crop up instantaneously. Strange though, Gavaskar was an opener, Dravid number 3 and Tendulkar number 4 (at least for most part of his career). So this makes the job a little difficult as now there will be different parameters to consider for each player.
Gavaskar: Sheer determination, coupled with extremely good foot movement were his greatest strengths. Without question he was India's greatest ever test opener, who scored heavily against top bowlers in his era. He played some of the fastest and skillful bowlers from West Indies like Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Malcom Marshall and registered some stunning centuries in the 70's and early 80's. However, his ability against the spinners was good, at best, partly because there were not too many outstanding spin bowlers during his cricketing days, which probably diluted his concentration against them and would get out to mediocre bowlers.
Sachin: Not many people in cricket are called by their first name. This Indian great and a batting genious has registered his name in the record books tons of times, and in all likelihood would end up as the most prolific run scorer in both One dayers and Tests. Scoring centuries against every test playing nation, in every test playing nation, and doing that with utmost regularity is what makes him an all time great! A career spanning 18 years and still counting, it is studded with some stunning performances against Australia, Pakistan, South Africa and England, more so in One dayers than test matches. A Champion who can alter his game dramatically according to the situation, play in a subdued mode and then suddenly explode with a barrage of 4's and 6's, has invented his own shots in cricket, for instance the cut over 3rd man and paddle sweep. Acknowledged by the greatest of all Sir Don as his modern avatar, Sachin will remain as India's favorite son for a long time to come.
Dravid: Limited in ability, one guy who has transformed himself to be successful in One dayers, has carried those acquired skills into test matches, and remains India's most reliable player, more so during overseas tours. Great thinker and an astute student of the game, he has played the most superior hand in many of the Indian victories in the last decade. Innings in Kolkata, Adelaide and Rawalpindi all come in mind, ended up in the winning cause. No player, barring Kallis, in international cricket has a better defence than Dravid, and would definitely please the person that wrote the coaching manual. Often coming in early, as Indian openers prefer sitting in the dressing room, he has steadied the innings on a number of occassions and led the country to a winning position from a hopeless cause, of course the bowlers never finish the job. He gives the Indian fan that extra comfort by his presence, and I think that counts a lot considering the demands of the mad cricket loving public. Most fast bowlers have said he is the most difficult person to get out. He has also taken up captaincy, but continues to deliver when the chips are down.

Now who is the best ? Gavaskar probably faced the toughest job in cricket, that of opening the innings, and pretty good at that. But those days cricket fever was not as high, schedules not as packed as these days, and not so much hype by the media. So in a sense there was less pressure on Gavaskar, although the intensity of cricket played was extremely high. Dravid is as technically as sound as an opener, and also plays shots to keep the momentum going. Sachin has always been in the comfort zone of number 4. If the first three batsmen before him had given the innings a start, all he needed was to play himself in and make runs. Also he never had to play with tail that often, so that gave him the time to score all those runs. Dravid achieved his 'Greatness' within six years in international cricket, Sachin took a decade. Dravid was instrumental in more test wins and draws, both overseas and subcontinent. There have been fewer instances when Sachin single handedly took the team to victory. So in that aspect Sachin is always No. 2 to Dravid. The latter has absorbed pressure and yet continues to deliver during crucial juncture, and thus is a greater player. Having said that, Sachin is delightful in his strokeplay. Master at dominating attacks and dessimating bowlers (Andy Caddick and Shoaib Akhtar in WC 2002). He still remains the greatest threat to opposition fast bowlers. He inspires others in the team, his presence is huge motivation and comforting factor for the others in the dressing room. He can hit the same ball anywhere in the park right from 3rd man all the way round to fine leg. Play them either off front or back foot, attack or defend and what not! It is this class that separates Tendulkar from others. Both Dravid and Tendulkar are great batsmen, one of the all time greats. And according to me it is only fair concluding that both are the greatest Indian batsmen of all time!