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December 3rd, 2009
rfc9000
 | 10:04 am - Some QOTDs after Sehwag's innings y'day
- I missed the big knock in the last Test. I didn't want to miss out this time. I just wanted to hit the bad balls (seriously?!)
- Cricket is a non-contact sport, but watching Virender Sehwag bat is as visceral an experience as watching Muhammad Ali dominate the ring in his prime.
- Virender Sehwag batted like the nearby Arabian Sea in high tide - and when Sri Lanka tried to plug one hole, he rushed in through the other.
- Part of Sehwag would have felt for Sri Lanka (he says he feels sorry for the bowlers when he bats this well)
- Sri Lanka had forgotten what an edge looked like.
- In the next over, Tillakaratne Dilshan got an edge that Mahela Jayawardene couldn't hang onto. It could be argued that no sane man would have been expecting an edge by then.
- But when Sehwag bats like he did, you feel sorry for the bowlers, put the other batsmen in the footnote, and move on.
- Each time he went aerial, the crowd in the stands appeared to jump as high. It wasn't just bedlam though. Time after time, people turned to those standing next to them, looking bemused. Each expression said the same thing: 'Did you see THAT?'
- On Thursday afternoon, Sehwag toyed with the greatest offspinner to play the game as though he were some glorified net bowler.
- Thursday's tour de force brought to mind a remarkable night in Kingston when Smokin' Joe Frazier, was knocked down five times in the space of two rounds by the giant-fisted George Foreman. Boxing had never seen a puncher like Foreman, just as cricket has never seen a destroyer like Sehwag.
- Quick by any standard, but nothing outrageous for someone who is batting's answer to Usain Bolt.
- At Multan just over five years ago, he pretty much ended the career of one very special offspinner, Saqlain Mushtaq. Saqlain had gone into that series speaking of a surprise ball, the teesra [the third one]. After much discussion in the media box, it was decided that it was the delivery that Sehwag kept whacking over midwicket for fours and sixes.
- Sehwag now has five of the 10 fastest double-centuries in history, including three of the first four. This though is a man utterly insouciant when it comes to such landmarks. He could well go on to obliterate Lara's record tomorrow. He certainly has a great chance to put even Bradman in the shade and score a third triple. None of those possibilities is likely to make him lose sleep though. For someone who has reduced batting to its most elemental, only the next ball matters. If it's there to be hit, regardless of whether he's on 299 or 399, he'll go for it. Which is precisely why it's such a bloody privilege to watch him play.
Current Music: Lookin out my back door - CCR
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deponti
 | 06:18 pm - Going Slow May Not Really Be the Best Thing...
On the way to visit the Jayamangali Blackbuck Sanctuary, we were negotating a badly dug-up stretch of highway, and I found this notice:
Now,
this link
tells me that Pune is 835km (about 519 miles) from Bangalore....
I wonder if the guy who put up the notice HAD to give the way to Pune, but doesn't WANT us to go there....?
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) amused
Current Music: still hearing the excellent nAgaswaram/sax music from the morning
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December 2nd, 2009
deponti
| 04:37 am - Words on the Chennai Photo Walk
How many of us can so easily get Gold Medals or afford a Rolex?
( some more gems )
Most of all, I loved this sign, which unwittingly gave the message that it IS wiser to wear a helmet... and ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) itsalouwelylife asked if "glass change" meant currency coins that made of glass!
Current Mood: tense
Current Music: none...it's 4.30am!
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December 1st, 2009
deponti
| 09:34 pm - Bargaining...
In
one of my posts
I had talked about the joys of bargaining, and asakiyume had said she would never like it...I need to explain this to her'
I buy stuff in two ways. One is...the straightforward way. I look at the price of something, pay it, get the item, and off I go.
But on the other side is the whole wide world of bargaining!
It takes a lifetime here to know what is bargainable,and what is not. (I would never, for example, bargain for 5 kg of rice at the store!) But over a period of time, one...just *knows*.
And then, of course, the pas de deux begins....
( the bargain )
Good bargaining practices are...a form of culture!
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/tired.gif) sleepy
Current Music: none
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November 30th, 2009
deponti
| 10:06 am - AchAri in Chennai
In the heart of
Mylapore
past
Luz
connecting North Mada (mAdA) Street and
Katcheri Road
is a small street...lane...called "Maddala )Narayanan Street" (maddaLa nArAyaNan)
Who Maddala Narayanan was, history does not see fit to record (at least, I couldn't find traces on the internet!)..."maddaLam" being a variation of the percussion instrument, the
Mridangam
the instrument being more used for harikathA and yakshagAnA....
but for a long time, many musicians resided on this street or its surrounding areas.
There are still some music shops here, where one can buy veeNAs, tablAs, or repair various instruments...
But MY song, today, is about the small jewellers' shops that also sit on this street, and this particular one:
Can you see the shop there? Yes, it's that tiny little...well, literally window of opportunity that's open next to the motorcycle!
In this shop, for at least thirty years (to my certain recollection) sits Sri T G Purushottaman Achari.
( More about this, with little digressions )
Well...in my grandmother's day, the jeweller would probably have been called home, where he would have spent the entire day on the "thiNNai" (the front porch) in the shade of a neem tree or two, setting and repairing jewellery....my generation went to him to get our work done...who knows how the next few generations (I certainly don't envisage women giving up jewellery in the next few thousands of years!) will manage?
Current Mood: jaw is swollen AGAIN!
Current Music: ushA rAjagOpAL violin (good) on arangisai
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November 28th, 2009
deponti
| 10:23 am - Disappointing....
Organizing events is not something I do regularly...I do hope it's something I do well...!
When one is organizing an event, one HAS to take the majority's convenience into consideration while setting the date and venue....but it's SO disappointing when some of the people who, you know, will add a lot of value to the event, cannot make it!
I am organizing the JLRNTP meet in January Twenty-Ten...and so far, I have got 18 "yes"es, and only 2 "no"s...but both are from people that I would *particularly* like to have.
Well, actually, I must say that I know most of the NTP members personally now, so, to me, every "no" would be a disappointment...
How I wish I could organize an even where EVERYONE could be there! Ha, that will not happen in the real world.
My article about NTP in Citizen Matters:
here
My announcement of the March 2007 program:
here
My account of the October 2008 NTP:
here
My account of the March 2009 NTP:
here
And..finally...my account of the NTP that I took:
here
Current Mood: disapponted!
Current Music: nAttaikuranji...beautifully sung by Raji Gopalakrishnan
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November 27th, 2009
deponti
| 05:14 pm - Here's someone who already has a time machine...
prashanthks was wanting a time machine, to finish all the tasks that he has. But here's a friend of mine who already owns one! I sent an email and got this reply:
On Fri, Nov 27, 2009 at 10:53 AM, wrote:
I will be travelling between 24 Nov to 29th Oct 2009
If this person is not careful, they could wind up as an infant....
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: some TV serial
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deponti
| 09:29 am - Everywhere, the glare of the sun blots out the stars...
The sunrise on the Marina today was lovely, as usual...
It really looked like the "rising sun" symbol of the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or DMK
Came back and read more about Dubai's debt...and felt that everywhere, I am watching hype and brightness and charm of manner overshadow genuine worth, and steadiness.
Those who have charm...bankers...financiers...the "marketers" convince others with big talk and sweet words...and honest and trusting people fall for it, every time!
It's so sad that often, big finance seems to be a big sham, without any substance to it. The edifice stands as long as Peter can be robbed to pay Paul. When Peter refuses to be fleeced, the walls go tumbling down.
Love of money is, indeed, the root of all evil. Five years ago, "Dubai" was a magic word; what is it today?
Current Mood: thinking...
Current Music: arangisai....T V Ramprasad...good
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November 26th, 2009
deponti
| 10:55 pm - To All My American Friends....
I give thanks...for all the good things I have in my life...including friends like you.
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: none
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deponti
| 07:48 pm - What on earth....???
What is this slow carb rice and how is it different from regular rice? If I eat my regular rice very slowly, will it become slow carb rice?
What's the bet that this rice is twice as expensive as regular rice?
Current Mood: amused
Current Music: slow carbs!
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November 25th, 2009
deponti
| 06:28 pm - Birds and other creatures at Manchinabele
We were pretty lucky with our sightings and observations on the Manchinabele trip on the 21st of November; apart from the
TAWNY EAGLE
I also got, thanks to Manju, a first-time-ever sighting, and observation, of the
WHITE-NAPED WOODPECKER
high up in a
TAMARIND tree
( more here.... )
I compare my learning to this shoot, reaching beyond what's old to something new and fresh:
Here's a 360-degree view of the Manchinabele backwaters, with the beautiful
LITTLE EGRETS floating in to land...
A beautiful place, and an enjoyable outing...I took the train to Chennai feeling very happy indeed.
Current Mood: tired
Current Music: none
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deponti
| 08:41 am - 102 years old..not a happy post
Yesterday, I went with my friend G, to visit her maternal grandmother, PattammAL.....she's now 102 years old.
In the years when I spent my second stint at Chennai, I became good friends with this lady. She lived by herself, in a breezy, lovely flat in the VaLLuvar kOttam area, with a full-time cook and a part-time maid for company.
She was very knowledgeable about music; my friend G says that another lady became interested in ThevAram songs after listening to P's wide repertoire. Certainly, I found her guidance useful and I have gone to her home to practice before concerts.
She was very fond of Sanskrit shlokAs, and not so fond of the TV, which was there for the cook's benefit! When I entered, some tape or the other would often be playing.
She herself ate very little (she was around 95 at the time) but she was most hospitable, and would offer me whatever had been made that day. She would often tell me to inform her beforehand, so that she could have the cook make something "better"!
She would play Boggle with me and G, and would enjoy the game just as much as we did. Once she told me I could use only words that she was familiar with: "Don't tell me that all these words are now there, I don't know them!" she smiled.
She was very good with her hands, too, and I still have the set of coasters that she crocheted for me...
Neatly dressed, I never once found her harking back too much to the past; perhaps I missed out, in this way, on the accounts of her life, which would have been very interesting indeed...pages of history come to life.
But now...everything is changed. She fell, once, but recovered; she had to move into a rented apartment from the breezy, cool one. Then, she broke her right arm, and this, somehow, seemed to break that indomitable spirit, too, G says. In the years that I moved to Bangalore, she still seemed fine, and was indepenedent in taking care of herself...but in the past few months, she has become disoriented to place and time; the always spare, lean frame has shrunk to skeletal proportions, and the words she speaks are either unintelligible, or are not relevant.
She hasn't been able to even recognize G, or the fact that her daughter (G's mother) died exactly a year ago.. perhaps she is spared the pain...
But...she now feels the burden of her age and existence, and G says she often asks if G can administer something to help her die...she has lost the will to live, and surely, she dislikes beind dependent on others for her daily tasks.
She's being cared for by an 80-year-old cook, who herself appears in need of care and is hard of hearing, and two or three ladies who clean her, bathe her and care for her, one full-time, and the others part-time. She is often irritated with them, as her frustration probably increases at her dependency.
She misses having family around; the lady who was so independent that she hardly liked being touched, now clings to my hand and G's...and sheds tears. She doesn't like it when G has to leave. G goes to spend time with her twice or thrice a week... a difficult enough task, as G has an aging mother in law to look after at home, and a full-time, demanding job as well.
The plight of dependent age is before me...stark and dreadful...and I remind myself that I am actually looking at a lady who is being reasonably well-cared for. Her son and daughter in law live in a tiny flat where they cannot accomodate her; G says they spend about 40 or 50 thousand rupees a month on maintaining the establishment, from the rent to the salaries to the food....
"dheerghAyushymAn bhava....( may you live a long life)" ...the phrase no longer denotes a blessing to me. My mother used to say, "one must die and have people say, 'sad, she died'...rather than living and have people say, 'sad, she's living'..." and now I see the justice of her remarks.
The MahAbhArathA chronicles the sufferings of Devavrata, who became Bheeshma....the man who could die when he wished to, but who could, in actuality, die only long after he *wanted* to. He lived to see values and customs changing and his own kinsfolk becoming his enemies. The last days of his life were spent on a bed of arrows...and that, to me, symbolizes the difficulties of those who have to live through a depenedent old age.
PattamAL mAmi....I pray for a painless release for you. You are already no longer the person I was friends with. That person...has gone, forever. All that is there now...is the husk of the body, and the remains of that wonderful mind and its repository of knowledge.
I repeat the mantrA even more forcefully:
"anAyAsEna maraNam, vinA dhainyEna jeevanam...kripayA pAhimAm shambhO...sharaNAgatha vathsala"
(let me lead an independent life and die very easily...have mercy on me, Shiva, the friend of those who surrender to You.)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/sad.gif) sad
Current Music: waiting for arangisai.....
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deponti
| 07:12 am - Manchinabele (or Manchanabele)....
I took the morning off, last Saturday after some more dental torture work, to go with the BULBs, and visit
Manchinabele Reservoir area ...the dam is built across the
Arkavathi river .
We took the turning when we saw the signboard:
( manchinabele scenes )
the weather was like this most of the time: sunshine through the clouds:
I'll post about the birds and (a few) other creatures that we saw....next!
Current Mood: sleepless
Current Music: some hindi songs
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November 24th, 2009
deponti
| 01:05 pm - Some more signboards...
I had showed you Romance Tailors in Mylapore:
But who will actually DO the romancing? Here's who
"Gents specialist" doesn't mean they are gay, but that they are men's tailors....
But, if you happen to think that to err is human, there's a place for you, too, in Bangalore, where you can stay in comfort:
If you don't like that, you can take this auto and growl...
I am feeling rather growly myself, and going "grrrrr" at all the things I see going badly around me...
Current Mood: I hate heat and humidity...
Current Music: must find something....enjoyed Dwaram's concert on arangisai this morning
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November 23rd, 2009
deponti
| 11:04 pm - How to Kayak in Bangalore....
...you use an
inflatable kayak
Here's Kiran, who met us near
Manchinabele Dam backwaters
( kayaking )
Here's Kiran, paddling off:
Thank you, Kiran and Manju...I had never before seen an inflatable kayak, though no doubt it is old hat to several readers!
Kiran and Manju tell me that there are about 20 people who regularly meet at Manchinabele to kayak together.
When I asked where I might hire such kayaks, the kayaking/rafting organization they mentioned is
Adreno
Notice that it's in association with
Jungle Lodges and Resorts !
Current Mood: sleepy
Current Music: music? now?
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deponti
| 09:02 pm - Harassment by security personnel on public roads.....
I wish I had a Chennai magazine like Citizen Matters to post to...but I don't, so my blog will have to do.
Motorists, though the privileged lot in terms of affordability, can also get royally harassed at times...and by people who consider the public road somehow their own domain....I am talking about the security personnel of the various buildings on the road.
Today, after dropping my sister in law at Apollo Hospital, I went looking for a space to park the car, and came to 1st Street, Cenotaph Road, where the
Japanese Consulate
is:
( the incident )
The minute we get into a uniform, we LOVE to harass our fellow-citizens in any way we can. It's a mindset...a way of life. I am sure the Consul does not know what is going on outside his building.
People like me, who know our rights, try to fight back...often unsuccessfully. Others are cowed down by the uniform and meekly obey. Others...powerful people themselves...ignoore all the rules. If I had been a politcal person, the same guard would have, obsequiously, have allowed me to park.
It's disgusting....and it's not restricted to Chennai alone.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/angry.gif) irritated
Current Music: some uzliss TV show
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deponti
| 07:14 am - Wishing them every happiness...
kadambarid married
Prabhu Ramachandran
yesterday....
Here's wishinng them long years of happiness together!
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: none yet
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November 22nd, 2009
rfc9000
| 07:05 pm - Advisor-Student vs QB-WR
A star advisor-student combination is very much like a star Quarterback-Wide Receiver combination, like a Tom Brady - Randy Moss. Without one, the other is just not the same.
Interestingly, the analogy can be even extended further:
- A stud advisor with mediocre students still ends up performing well but won't become a superstar - like a Drew Brees, who always performs in every game with typically atleast 4-5 mediocre receivers, but is never talked about in the same league as a Brady or a Peyton Manning.
- A super talented student with a mediocre advisor can still sometimes make his name - like a Larry Fitzgerald or an Andre Johnson or a Calvin Johnson. But not always - like a TO!
One can also think of a nice analogy between college football superstars and their NFL drafting and how well they end up performing in NFL, to PhD graduates and jobs and then how well they perform during their tenure track.
Moral: Nothing really :) Just some idle ramblings on a lazy Sunday afternoon...
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deponti
| 10:23 pm - Tawny Eagle, Dark Morph: Manchinabele,211109
amoghavarsha says this pic is washed out...but I was shooting against the bright late morning sky..and this is what I got!
Nodding off as I type....the rest of this trip later, in detail!
Current Mood: sleepeeeee
Current Music: yawning out loud
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