Just another Cricket post ...

Have been reading all the furor over the recent India-Bangladesh match where India lost to Bangladesh (India are strong favorites and Bangladesh were typically being reffered to as Minnows in the media !). There is similar if not worse reaction to Pakistan losing to Ireland and exiting the Cricket world cup!

Mostly the blog world is polarized about the mob mentality of the Indian Cricket fan and how the ardent fan is justifiably pissed at the performance of his / her Cricket hero ! Most of it is in reaction to how a mob stormed into one of the cricketers home and destroyed property, etc.,

A sample is here.. here..and now that the Pakistan cricket coach's death has been declared "suspicious", we are going to see a lot more posts on losing and winning games when you have a huge fan base in the billions!

A message to my cricket loving brethren :

CHILL OUT !!!

It is a sport. Someone wins, someone loses, sometimes someone makes some money, sometimes someone loses money, they all become part of the statistic and pretty soon it is all forgotten and one goes about buying ones favorite brand of shaving razor or tea bag or insurance policy. Yeah, that same favorite which is common between you and your Cricketer idol!

Just think of how you would have watched the game were it advertised a little differently as a SUN TV movie.. (now pardon the Tamlish! and imagine the below words with a strong Tamizh accent)

Indhiya tholaikatchigalil mudhal murayaaga
thiraikku vandhu sila mani nerangale aana
Satchin, sEvAg, DhOni, Mandira matrum palar nadiththa
Indiava Bangladesha pOtti

Kaana thavaraadheergal !

I am sure it would be a laugh fest at that point..

I am still waiting for the Indian team to make it to the final 8 for a personal reason. I get to watch the matches only if they make it to the final 8 or else I forfeit the right to order the games on Dish Network (My bet with my home bookie a.k.a. wife!).

Considering the 250 Crore rupees loss mentioned in a few blogs ($ 50 Million) in advertising revenue, ticket sales etc. being projected, they must be playing like they have a fire under their youknowwhats, but I hope the match does not get fixed for ticket sales. I would rather see those cricket heroes do their absolute best and win it with their talent and teamwork!

Good luck to team India!

On a personal note to my dad : You are probably right. Most matches are rigged and I am still stupid enough to succumb to cricket fever! I always feel like that dude who watches the action replay and says "I hope he hits the ball at least this time"!!

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Corruption ?

Read this post by Sree recently. Was reminded of my own post, just after I started blogging !!

Guess things havent changed much in two years!

This post is not just about those questions. It is about the reference to the movie Guru!

Mani Ratnam has made a great movie, a real entertainer and I give him credit for it.

If you have watched Aviator, you cannot help but wonder if a few scenes from Guru have taken their inspiration from Aviator. Would especially point to the one where Leonardo or Abhishek sit down in front of the panel and they take a good look all the whirring video cameras, or the ones where both of them say "do whatever it takes to get the contract". Leonardo offers prostitutes, Abhishek offers a veiled threat!

The jist of Aviator(Guru) is that Howard Hughes (Gurukant Desai) wants to be the king of the Aviation(textile) industry in US (India) and eventually the world, and he has to fight corruption at the Senator(Minister) level to be just that. In doing so, he faces the wrath of the govenment, stockholders, competitors, and the press, then goes through an inquiry comittee and finally comes out with minor damages! In short one man fights against a system that tries to hold him down when he starts firing on all cylinders!

Aviator is more of a biography that focus on Hughes and his disease while Guru is a love story for the most part! So the movies have a look and feel that is very very different.

What is interesting is that :
Howard Hughes - Mid 1940's!
Dhirubhai (Guru) - Mid 1970's!

I do not think things have changed much in the USA or India in regards to the system! The only difference in my opinion is people in the USA are exposed to these corruption levels only if they are multi millionaries, trying to become billionaries. In India even the poorest end up tasting the system!

To clarify, you cannot bribe traffic cops or building inspectors in the US. People who represent the rule of law that an average citizen would normally come in contact! At least I have not heard of any instances. We do get stories of corrupt politicians who take bribes in all forms almost on a daily basis when we tune into public radio!! (Cunningham, Abramof stories, etc. etc.).
I guess in the US, "A bribe too small is not worth taking!!". (I like the way that just came out. Should trademark this Gandhimadhi style!).

As long as sparrows have existed, so have sparrowhawks!! As long as citizens exist, there will be politicians, a goverment by the people, of the people, for the people, that also screws the people if they challenge the government in any way!

Comic = Comedy ?

Saw a recent article which says Tamizh comedy actor Vadivelu, will act as Spiderman !!

While most bloggers who have reacted to this have expressed shock or have questioned if Vadivelu would actually be funny as Spiderman(warning X rated link!), they have left out one obvious fact!

Vadivelu, has pre-qualified for this role!! What is the one biggest thing which differentiates an ordinary (or "Saadha Man" in Tamizh) from a superhero-man a.k.a. (super, spider, bat, X, etc.) man?

Every 4th grader knows this joke!

"saadha" ordinary men wear pants over underwear
Super-men wear underwear over their pants!

Have you seen the way Vadivelu ties his dhoti (or lungi) ? His dhoti line is always above his underwear line!! Normal people would wear their dhoti (the variety of cloth refered to as veshti, lungi etc.,) so that it comes till your knees when folded. That way your underwear is still protected from public view! Not Vadivelu. Recently, at a special gala thrown by the movie industry for the CM of Tamizhnadu, he did a skit and even there he tied up his silk dhoti almost to his waist, exposing his boxers! He should have no issues with the spiderman costume!

This opens up other important questions. Does this mean Vadivelu will have a monopoly on all superhero movie remakes in Tamizh ? The answer my friends, is a resounding NO! Another Tamizh actor by the name of Vijaya T. Rajendar (the T stands for Teddy), can give vadivelu a run for his money. He could probably do the role of the Beast or Wolverine in X-men, without any make up!!

As an added bonus, he can rhyme and limmerick his way into the hearts of superhero lovers by saying things like :

Naan dhan da beast-u,
unakku vekkaren da feast-u!

(I am the beast, I am going to give you a feast!)

Can Kelsey Grammar top that?

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