The jackal howls in the Lion's den

"Terrorists can surprise Us " - (Un)Hon'able PM Dr.Manmohan Singh
Well, it was no surprise to me and atleast a few million citizens in India. It is a well known fact that India is a sitting duck as far as terrorism is concerned. The terrorists have proven that they can strike at will at the place of their choosing.
"Please stay indoors...do not venture out" - Shivraj Patil
These were the same words used by our home minster when there were blasts on the eve of Diwali (forgive me for not mentioning the year...there are so many blasts, I am unable to keep track of them.)
It made me wonder as to which home minster in his right senses would make such a statement. The home minster is supposed to say something like "Citizens, do not be afraid. Go ahead with your normal life. We will bring these cowards to book". But what do you expect from this minister who himself fosters cowardice in his citizens ?

I love my country too much to hate it, but I indeed have the right to be ashamed of it, as I consider it my own. The lethargy and apathy goes back to the way India won her freedom. I know that some readers would not accept this viewpoint, but I am of the belief that a non violent struggle for independence is tantamount to begging for alms. Why did the british leave India ?
hmm..maybe because they were too preoccupied with rebuilding their own country which was in virtual ruins after World War II. Does this seem like a plausible reason ?
The USA won their freedom gallantly, by waging a war of independence and fighting to the last man. Their epic war of independence portrayed valor which inspires americans even today.
The gutless way in which India won its independence sowed the seeds for the spinelessness that haunts us to this day.

POTA being revoked was like a blank cheque being handed out to terrorists outfits who have had a field day after the congress came to power. Well, the BJP wasn't the best , but atleast they tried.

"Come on, these terror attacks took place in BJP ruled states. Shouldn't Modi assume responsibility ?"

Well, the day you send an unarmed man into battle and expect him to win, Modi will assume resposibility. What can Modi or anyone for that matter do, when POTA has been revoked ? All they can do is sit and watch the dhamaka.

President Bush may be the laughing stock of many. But the sight of the President addressing people who had gathered atop the rubble of the WTC still remains etched in my memory.
He thundered "My friends, I can hear you...The world can hear you...and the people who did this will hear from all of us soon". He kept up his promise by kicking terrorist butt, a month later in Afghanistan. Osama bin laden may still be at large, but USA was never attacked again.
The only leader in India who does not evoke a sense of disdain and kindles a ray of hope is Narendra Modi. Among the various 'leaders' who played out a recorded message 'condemning these cowardly acts of terror', Modi was the only one who spoke about nabbing the perpetrators.
A beleagured nation watches with bated breath to see what the man dubbed as the 'Sher' of Gujarat can do. Afterall, his very constituency- Maninagar reeled under the impact of Saturday's attacks.
The lion has been attacked in its own den. The time has come, to let out a roar and start the hunt.

Trusted like the Fox

http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/jun/15ndeal.htm

It amazes me how these (expletive) commie (expletive) have evaded treason charges in India's 61 years of existence. I think they were pretty close to getting charged with treason during the Sino-Indian war of 1964. Too bad they were not eradicated that that time.

Poetry for a change :)

Poetry by 'Kavidhai Sooravali' Tejaswi



We live but once - The Journey of Life

As the journey of Life begins, to each his own and the paths we seek,
seldom resemble so to speak

Time is of essence and every moment precious,
In this world so capricious,
as we march towards our goal
sometimes we tend to ignore our soul.

Some battles that were better, not fought
and forgiveness that couldn't be sought
Aplenty are the grudges kept
and the multitude of tears wept

Good memories , we must strive to keep,
and on bad days, forget to weep
For indeed we have a lot to cherish,
which sadly, without a trace, perish.

Live in the present and enjoy each instant
assuaging fears about the future, which is distant
pledge to live life by the day
while the sun shines, making hay.

As I awaken with a yawn,
to yet another awe-inspiring dawn
I remind myself, we live but once,
And I live mine by my conscience.

-Tejas

To Cut one's Nose to spite One's face

Well, back to one of things I blog passionately about ....Politics :)
After an arduous seventeen months, the democratic race culminated in a historic win for Barack Obama. Being the undergdog going into the race, Barack Obama outlasted one of the best political machines to ever - the clintons. As I watched the headlines with intrigue, ruminating about the possible political fallout for India , I was indeed taken aback to see that Hillary had still not conceded.
Well, for months now, people except ardent Hillary supporters knew that the writing was on the wall and Hillary's fate - all but sealed. But however, Obama had been a true gentleman by not askinig her to quit the race even after the democratic top brass was clamouring for Hillary to quit and back Obama for the sake of party unity. But however, Hillary showed signs of delusion by saying that she was still very much in the race, the exact same moment Barack Obama was giving his victory speech. I, for one was flabbergasted to see that the lady whom I had respected once, would stop at nothing to grasp power.

Here of some of the reasons why Hillary lost. To start off, it would be an understatement to say that she was complacent. She never expected Obama to pose a serious challenge and was found wanting in that respect. Secondly, she went after Obama with vitriolic attacks which Obama never resorted to. Thridly, she came a cropper in one of the major issues which turned the 'educated' vote in Barack's favor. Hillary copied a 'gas tax holiday' idea from John McCain (the republican candidate) and dished it out to the people thinking they would buy the idea. But however, on reading the fine print, it became evident that the idea was counter-produtive and would result in gas prices skyrocketing. Obama was the only candidate who spoke out against the gas tax holiday and therefore won over hordes of educated voters. Hillary on the other hand refused to accept lack of proper judgement on her part and continued to pedal the gas bill which left a bitter taste in the mouths of many. While Obama time and again made it a point to stress that he wasnt a perfect man, Hillary gave the impression of a headstrong woman who could never accept her mistakes and learn from them.

Now here is where the title of my post comes in. Because of this long drawn battle between Obama and Hillary, the party is totally divided right down the middle. Hillary commands a huge lead over Obama with woman voters (especially women over 50 years of age) and blue collared voters. But here is where delusional turns to sheer madness. Most of Hillary's female supporters threaten to vote for McCain since Hillary lost to Obama. Some of the claims made are,

"People conspired against Hillary"
"Obama stole the nomination"
"People are sexist...they can never tolerate a woman being in charge"

None of the above charges hold water because , Obama won fair and square. He ran a clean race, did not resort to slander and came across as more human than Hillary.

Abortion rights is a raging issue in the USA. The issue is about whether a woman has the right to seek abortion or not. While the democrats say that women should have the right to seek abortion (pro-choice) , the republicans say that even the embryo should have the status of a human being (pro-life).

Most of the women in USA are pro-choice. McCain is totally pro-life. So here is a jist of what these women stand to lose if they vote for McCain.

1) They stand to lose their abortion rights.
McCain , as president will pass laws that ensure that women will not have the right to choose.
2) McCain will ensure that the war in Iraq rages on for a hundred years thereby sending the economy down the drain. As I write, the DOW Jones is down by 400 points and unemployment is at its highest level.
3) Gas prices are skyrocketing and very soon, people will have to employ bullock carts

But inspite of a myriad of factors, these womn stand firm by their decision to vote for McCain.
Why ???
- because Hillary did not win.

Well, one thing is for sure. This is not going to affect Obama or Hillary in any way. Both of them will just return to the senate and continue their plum jobs. But however, it is these very women who will be sitting around the table at night wondering whether they can pay the mortgage or fill their fuel tanks for the next week.
Can they think rationally and not vote out of spite ? It remains to be seen




Most women here are indeed

Chellam ! I love U !!!!!!

This is a blog on my scintillating chicago trip (though I would not like to compare it with my aug'07 trip that will forever be etched in my memory).
So Kaka Kaka style , "Naanga naalu beru...yengalukku planning-na yennane theriyaadhu".
Myself, PT (Vijaykarthik, my classmate from PSBB), Koushik(my flatmate), Ganesh (koushik's frd)
were the so called formulators of the trip. Later , another person named Yoganand(PT's colleague) joined us in our venture.
I was supposed to be the one to land in chicago first and and was supposed to meet PT at O'Hare airport at 1:30 PMon Friday. PT had told me that he would take time off from work and meet me at the specified time. As usual , I could count on PT to bungle and I wasn't disappointed. PT turned up at 3:30 PM and took Ganesh and me home. Till that time , Ganesh and I had been scratching around in O'Hare , spending half the time cursing PT and the other half looking at pretty girls ;)
Finally, we reached PT's house and waited for Koushik to arrive at the airport. Koushik landed at 5:30 PM and after PT decided to mete out the same 'late' treatment, we picked him up in a semi-frozen state from outside the airport . That very same night , we decided to eat at an Indian restaurant and therefore, borrowed a GPS (Global positioning system- which is a device that gives us driving directions) from a friend. This GPS was given the nickname 'chellam' as it had a female voice and became the object of ridicule for getting us lost most of the time.
On the way to the Indian restaurant, our trip got off to a flying start with us having a flat tyre. After managing to get it changed, we used the GPS to locate the Indian restaurant. But 'chellam' got it a tad wrong when it led us into a restricted airbase. After evading threats of arrest by the officers manning the base, we located the restaurant , had dinner and returned home hurling abuses at 'chellam' all the while. The next day started off without anything bizarre and we reached the rapids for our big activity of the day. White Water Rafting !!



After cracking some 'wise guy' jokes about the lurking dangers invloved in rafting, the Instructor showed us the rapids. And behold ! What a treat to the eye !! The rapids were looking dangerous and promised a lot of thrill. What followed was the experience of a lifetime :D We felt like daring marines intruding into enemy waters , braving huge waves to reach across the bank. I personally had a great timeright at the front of the raft, where I came up-close and personal with them monster waves. After the dangerous portions were over we came to the placid portion of the river. I took the permission of the Instructor to to swim across the bank and took the plunge into the river =))
After a few measured strokes, I reached the opposite bank only to learn of the hilarity that had transpired after I had jumped. PT had also taken the plunge after me. The hilarious part- he didnt know how to swim !! Thankfully, we were all strapped with lifevests and so safety was never an issue. But however, PT floated like a toad and was ultimately picked up by the boys when he passed alongside the raft.
We headed towards our camping site after rafting and as usual 'chellam' screwed us up big time - almost. we were supposed to take a turn at a certain point. But however after endless mistakes by 'chellam' we were left with a tough choice - to trust 'chellam' and turn left or trust our gut and turn right. We went with the latter and were proven right - thus enhancing 'chellam's reputation of being useless beyond measure. But however, by that time, we had run out of expletives and were floundering for words to express chellam's ineffectiveness. We arrived at the campsite at 10:30 PM to find the camp in charge totally sloshed. Luckily, he was sober enough to help us set up our tents. To beat the freezing cold, we tried to camp fire, but to no avail.Unable to bear the cold, we slept in the car that night and awoke the next morning feeling exhausted from the previous day's ordeal.

We made our way back to chicago bruised, but with a strange, inexplicable sense of accomplishment.
As we were just about to park the car outside the gates of PT's house, 'chellam' hummed
"Please make a legal U-Turn at the next available junction".


WHAT CAN I SAY EXCEPT ,

"CHELLAM !!! I LOVE U !!!!!!!!!!! (PRAKASH RAJ ISHSTYLE)

Hilarious

I saw the title on one of IBN's articles.

"India wants Pak to say sorry for ceasefire breach"

yeah....Y stop with the sorry ? I believe they should Kiss and Make up :P:P:P

One Day Wonder

I write this blog as one of my best friends (dont wanna name who it is openly. Will just say that his name starts with 'K' and ends with 'eshav') said he would not even glance through my blog if did not have something about cricket in it. So here goes.
I have been trying to come to terms with the newest version of the game namely the T20. After watching quite a few matches, I can safely assume that every bowler who bowls in a T20 game feels like Russel Crowe from Gladiator. What the T20 version of the game has done, is to transform modern cricket stadiums into Roman Gladiatoral arenas where bowlers frantically try to save their skin.
I do not have anything against the T20 versison of the game as such, but it is the odds that are completely stacked against the bowlers that perturb me. First up, the bowlers are given dead-flat tracks where they are as potent as snakes without fangs. Adding insult to injury is the free-hit rule that practically crucifies the bowlers for overstepping. This is not what cricket is supposed to be and I for one, dont enjoy it.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have test matches that are facing extinction due to T20. While I believe that tests should continue to hold their rightful place in cricket , I personally do not believe that they are the highest form of the game.

Ok..now I now that I may be chastised for the above comment. But I do believe that it is the one day format that truly proves a batsman's mettle (Talking purely from the batting perspective here). Firstly , one day cricket does not allow you to play negatively. Many yester-year batsman have proved that, given the option, they would settle for a tame draw. There is no question of that in one day cricket. Another aspect of One day cricket is that, it also allows enough time for a batsman to construct an innings. It forces batsmen to improve their running between wickets as the format makes it inevitable for them to keep the scoreboard ticking.
And here is the major one. One day cricket forces batsmen to play good balls for runs. In test cricket, while most batsmen would be content enough to leave balls outside the offstump, or above waist high, one day cricket ensures that batsman have to score off good balls as well thereby improving their technique and prowess.
Moreover, the one day format of the game is often accompanied by a mental game where players often need to outthink their their counterparts - for instance, Martin Crowe thought out-of-the-box when he sent Mark Greatbatch to flay the bowling during the first few overs when fielding restrictions were in place. One of the major advantages that the one day game has over the T20 is that , it gives a team at the recieving end of a batting onslaught/batting collapse time to bounce back. ODI cricket truly measures the depth of talent that a team has. For instance, I would like to quote Kapil dev's legendary 175 at trentbridge in 1975 when he along with syed Kirmani way down the order rescued India from impending disaster. In T20 cricket, such a rescue would not have been possible.
I have lost count of the number of times the iconic Micheal Bevan has masterminded run-chases even after having come in to bat at precarious situations.

As far as I am ocncerned, One day cricket sets the standard and is complete in almost everyway possible. I might be wrong , but I think that T20 cricket in its present form will lose its lustre due to its nauseating barrage of fours and sixes.
I am sure that by just giving the pitch a little bit of juice and bounce, a lot of current day batting heroes will be transformed into comedians dancing in the middle of the pitch.