So full of it!

We're all so full of ourselves, we're bursting at the seams. We think about ourselves all the time, we worry about ourselves all the time, we write meaningless unbelievably sissy poems about ourselves and our feelings and our lovers who we have never met in this life and hope to meet when the next turn comes around (when i say 'we', i mean 'you' ofcourse. I'm just too polite to be rude). When will mankind be rid of sissiness? I believe sissiness is a result of overly thinking about oneself and about the way 'I am'.
'I am like that, Accept me as i am'.
A distorted image of oneself, either in a good way or a bad way (like Sawyer in 'Lost') is the core reason for mankind to move away from their true nature.
I just cant believe how full of it we are! (Is the sentence right?)Is it the primordial fear of annihilation that keeps us doing and thinking what we do? I don't just mean annihilation of the body, more so of the 'ego', the small mind, the devil inside us which always wants to be right, no matter what.
The first step towards realizing yourself is understanding you are like a speck of dust caught by the early morning sun peeping through the shades into your bedroom(or any other room for that matter). 100 years from now you will be DEAD and no soul will remember you ever walked the planet. Thats how insignificant you are ( Please note we are speaking about you and not me. )
Going slightly off the track,another question that has been hounding me for some days now, how does my mind know that it has to be confined to this body? hmmm... The mystery deepens....

Sri Sri

"Of all the truths in the world, Divine love alone is the supreme. Because anything else you do, be it a righteous action, if it has no love behind it, that action is worthless. Suppose you have knowledge and the knowledge does not create love and totality of awareness in you, that knowledge is useless! How can you even have the knowledge if there is no love? If you love astronomy then you will go more deep into it. Of the eternal truth, only love stands, and it is the most important. And what is Love? Love is not just an emotion ! Oh, I love you so much. That's not love. Love is seeing that there is no difference. I am you, you are me. You are part of me, I am part of you. Feeling that oneness is love. And it's not just an intellectual understanding, but coming in the level of experience and living that."

"Living life as joy and ease is spirituality. Spirituality is not some ritual, or doing something. It's a very pleasant, uplifted state of your being and seeing that the whole world is all spirit or consciousness. Seeing that there is one Big Mind among all the human beings, animals and all the life in the world is spirituality, and that Love is the essence of Life."

- H.H Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Golmaal

Yesterday night a theory of mine about Indian movies was proved wrong by an old man in an old movie. I have always believed that no actor from the hindi (or for that matter tamil, telegu or kannada) movie industry was a match for the malayalam actors in portraying comedy. Paresh Rawal is a name which comes to mind when we think of hindi comedy. But he is made to look outstanding because of the mediocrity surrounding him. If i was acting with Sunil, sorry Suniel Shetty, John Abraham or Akshay Kumar, I'd look good too. Not to undermine Paresh Rawal's caliber but if you compare him with stalwarts like Jagathy Sreekumar or Innocent or Cochin Haneefa, he pales in comparison. He would fade into oblivion if he was a comedian in the malayalam industry ( im not talking about new brand of mallu actors like Jayasuriya or Kunjacko Boban).
And then i saw a movie called Golmaal. I think i now know where Priyadarsan and other directors got their inspiration to make the genre of movies which were such hits in Kerala in the mid 80s. The movies with mistaken identities, goof ups and a comic ending where everyone seems to be chasing everyone else. For the first time i saw a hindi actor doing comedy which would have made Mohanlal, Sreenivasan or Jagathy proud. Utpal Dutt was simply AMAZING in the movie and the chemistry between him and Amol Palekar was outstanding. Im guessing the role he played in Golmaal as the eccentric , hard nosed businessman was the one copied by Thilakan and others in scores of mallu movies. The subtle nuances and slap stick comedy in the film are very much like those we see in the Mohanlal, Sreenivasan and Jagathy movies of the 80s.
Blore boyz, a must see for you guys.
Moving on to more tragic movie experiences i had,
Saw 1/4 th of 'Thuruppu Gulan', 3/4 th of 'Chandrolsavam' and the whole of 'Lion'. These movies have the mega stars of malayalam movie industry. Maybe thats why it was a mega pain to even attempt to see these movies. Pathetic.
And on that bright note, i end my musings for the day. toodle doo.

Movies - 21-05-06

Anger Management - **1/2 ( corny ending )
About a Boy - ***1/2 ( Hugh Grant is suprisingly good. Movie avoids most cliches. A good watch)
Shattered Glass - ***1/2 (Based on a true story. Watch it without reading any review)

When it comes down to it

I'd rather be with people i love than anywhere else in the world.
I always thought that. That's exactly why i didn't want to travel.Id give anything in the world for being back with my family and friends. Id give my right hand to see Rachu right now.
Anyways that's life.
Accept it and move on.
I sound as if i were in a disaster movie. Well..nope. Im just in knutsford in the UK. Its a small little place. It has all of 2 streets and one Rolls Royce showroom. And it never stops raining. Its like standing under the shower in Madhu Chettan's place. It isn't strong enough to drench you, but if you stand under it long enough the water will reach all parts of your body.
I've said more Thank Yous after landing in the UK than i have in the last 26 years of my life. Its like they're absolutely infatuated with the word "Thank You". The guy who serves your dinner at the hotel says "Thank You" when he you enter the hotel, order food, drink water ,eat dinner, cough or pick your nose. Since he says it, i feel compelled to say the same when he picks his nose.
Im listening to Radio Dum Dum now. That's a malayalam radio station. Never listened to it while i was in India :-)
Anyways off for now. My wifey should be here soon. Really looking forward to see her here.
Well pip pip.

Light the fire

A team of security men open the gates and herd the huge gathering inside. They do their best to keep the mob orderly and try to stop them from running amok inside the house grounds. But all their efforts go in vain as the crowd catch a glimpse of their Goddess. They run forward and prostrate themselves, tears of joy and gratitude running down their cheeks. They cannot believe their fortune. They are seeing their saviour in front of their eyes.
The camera zooms upwards and we get a look at the object of their worship and gratitude. Her Holiness, Purutchithalaivi Dr. J Jayalalitha.
Now i realize why India needs to be educated. It is not enough that we know how to code in java and insert customized genes in our DNA. Our people need to be brought out of the darkness of ignorance. They need to be enabled such that they can use their powers of discretion. But our politicians reign because of the vulnerability of the poor. It is not in their interest to alleviate the downtrodden. The ignorance and sacrifice of the poor is what ensures another term in office. Another stint at making hay while the power shines.

Innocence was writ on the face of these people as they fell at the feet of their proclaimed God. Their tears were true.The gratitude was sincere.But the person they worship does not do justice to their devotion.But then which Indian politician deserves the kind of adulation they receive?
When will we have a leader who raises Indian politics from the mediocrity of present to a height never visited since Independence?
How will it, when we, the honest citizens , do not want to dirty our hands in the muck that is Indian politics? I guess this is just a reflection of the insensitivity that has gripped the Indian public. A country gets the leader it deserves. Who are these people but one amongst you and me? They rise because we allow them to.

Getting out...

Choices in life are a nuisance. Unless you have such clarity in thought that nothing wavers you from seeing the right path. But then again,is there a 'right path'?
Do choices really matter? I, for one have never lamented about a choice I made. Look whats in front of you and deal with it is my way.
But before you have made your choice, the possibilities are endless and therefore confusing. No I am not confused right now, but I could be if I chose to.
Do I want to spend the rest of my life in front of a computer writing things in a language no one understands and debating about things I don't really care for?
Or do I plunge into the unknown which promises no money and probably no future? I've never been one to play it safe. My time will come. Then....I want out.
Shouldn't life be what I want it to be?
Why do I care about the parameters the world sets? Money, Job, Social Obligations.
Why should I be obliged to do anything I see no reason to?
Im thinking about giving up one at a time. Social Obligations - ive kind of given up. Job and Money next :-)
Anyways the driving force for me never has been money. But I have to do a job I don't care much for.
But till I figure out what I do want to do, I go on.
Not too far away from now.. I will get out...

'D' company

India went into the 3rd test against England with 5 bowlers.
In my opinion we should go in with 9 bowlers,Dhoni and Dravid.
And change the name of the team to 'D'.
I remember Sachin saying a few years back that he doesn't mind getting out playing an attacking shot. The present Sachin gets out playing defensive pokes ( not even shots ) at balls wide outside the off stump. Sachin needs to sort out in his mind the approach he is going to take before he resumes his cricket. Maybe even an Azhar style attacking game (remember Lance Klusener getting it from Azha in Eden Gardens???) could work. Atleast i'd like to see that :-)
This Indian team seems to frustrate you in many ways but in the end, we seem to be winning. So am i being too critical here?
One thing is for sure. This is a team that doesn't say die. Sreesanth and 'old man' Kumble fighting it out as i write.
*******
India all out and in the span of 15 overs, India has already grassed one. Simplest of catches according to Prem Panicker.


Anyways... look out for an Aviator clad dyuude roaming around town.

50-50

And the ICC wanted a 20-20 world cup!
If the Aus-SA match is going to set the trend for future ODIs,and I believe it will, then we don't need the 20-20 format. Why see slam bam matches for 40 overs when you can see it for 100?
No team is going to be up against a 300+ score and feel intimidated from now. No team which puts up a 300+ score is going to feel complacent. You can almost hear Shastri say " Well the Indians will feel they were 30 runs short. But its a competitive total. Indians have 367 on the board and will have to bowl and field like tigers to prevent Bangladesh from getting that."

Life is pregnant with possibilities.( No, I am not speaking about cricket. )
For me to be delivered from the rut of my mind, I need to break the chains that form the boundaries of my life. Can I do it from the confines of my mind without the changes breaking over and spilling into the physical world? Or is it a necessity that the physical world which is a reflection of the subtle world I create in my mind also changes? I guess it has to. What does not change other than change?

But if you had to, what would you change first? People try to change the physical world and hope that frees their mind. Sorry. I do not think that works. Change has to come from within and then the world around you changes. Now how do you change the world within?
That i guess is The Search.

Multipoly

After months of ceaselessly playing the game at every opportunity, we have now officially decided than too much monopoly ( multipoly ) is not the best way to spend your friday, saturday and sunday evenings. Our dear friend Abhi came up with an alternative, a brain racking and philosophical game. Hide N Seek.


You know what brings sense into my life?
Death.
If Seena makes upma in the morning, i ask myself "if i died now, would it matter to me that i had upma for breakfast?"
See how death puts things in perspective.

Entertain me boys

"I'm a cricket match person. I appreciate it. As I understand it, I may have a little chance to learn something about cricket. It's a great pastime."
The US President George Bush aims to watch some matches while visiting India

Right. I don't think this warrants any further comment. Where do I hang up my boots?

I didn't see Laxman get out today first ball but im sure, as usual, he had a bewildered expression on his face that said "huh did I just get out? didnt I just come in? Whats going on???"
If Kaif gets a ton today ( since we're wishing, Pathan too), Lax will pay the price for his lax attitude. Yuvi will come into the team and Kaif will be breathing down Laxman's neck ( Imagine that, Kaif on Laxman's shoulder..breathing down his neck..)

Very often cricketers forget that the game is about entertainment and when they do that, inevitably they don't do well. Case in point - India got 54 runs in 26 overs today. How many wickets fell? Five.
Ofcourse you may argue that because the wickets fell, the scoring rate dropped.
Tell me this, how many times have you seen a team scoring at the rate India was today and keeping wickets intact and going on to make a huge score ( I don't know about the Boycott era, im talking about now). The very proposition is absurd. You cannot making a big score without scoring. Simple as that. If India had attacked more, they might still have lost wickets but the session might have ended like this - 120 runs in 26 overs, 5 wickets. Better than what we have now, right?

Distorted perception of the ultimate Reality

I don't know the world.
Every second of my life I see it through my mind. And the vision I get though my mind is narrowed by my past impressions, subtle fears and desires. Most feelings or thoughts which arises is not because of the present. Its a slightly, if at all, altered flavour of what my mind tells me I should feel or think. The more I am aware of it, the more I know it exists. And this awareness is my road to freedom.

Indian Team Prediction

1. Rahul Dravid (c)
2. Verender Sehwag
3. Wasim Jaffer
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. VVS Laxman
6. Saurav Ganguly
7. Mohammed Kaif
8. Dhoni
9. Irfan Pathan
10. S Sreesanth
11. Bhajji
12. Anil Kumble
13. R.P Singh/Munaf Patel
14. P Chawla

Paul Barber

Everybody in a barber shop knows everybody else. Im the only guy who does not know anyone. And I always get the apprentice barber to do my hair. Looking at my hair you'd think he'd finish in 5 minutes. Nope, he took 45 minutes to cut my hair today. Was very meticulous in what he was doing. I believe he counts the hair before cutting it. Must check his log to find out how much I have left.
And the discussion in there are always polemical ( dictionary.com). I think every politician in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and the State legislatures should get their hair cut everyday just so that they can understand how to run the country.
And if Dravid is very lucky and its his day, he might get some helpful advice too ( he missed today's ). I've heard that barbers have their own discussion forums on Tuesdays from early morning till midnight ( now u know why they're closed on Tuesdays) where they decide on the topics to be discussed in their shops for the next week. I hear this week its Bird Flu, Bush's visit, Piyush Chawla and the new KamaSutra ad.

Ugly Girl

"Ugly Looking Girl."
That's what my mother had to say about the new model in the mysore sandal soap advertisement. At the moment when amma made the remark, the 'ugly girl' was going hammer and tongs at the Paki bowlers in the port city of Karachi.
Yup the girl was Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His hair flying all over the place in a soap ad.
Whatever products he endorses, he is worth his weight in gold as far as Indian cricket is concerned.
What amazes me most about the man is his calmness. I don't think India ever had such a good finisher of the game. Robin Singh and Jadeja were pretty good but they rarely finished off tough games for us. His sixers of the pacers were of such brute force you felt sorry for the bowler!
Anyways the way it is going now India are a fantastic ODI team but for us to reach the same heights in tests we need atleast 1 more good bowler capable of taking wickets on any track and with any ball.
Lets hope VRV, Munaf Patel or Sreesanth will be able to do the job.

The Last Pillar

The only remaining limb of the government which has remained (comparatively) out of reach of our money hungry, power greedy, vote seeking politicians is being seen as a source by which they can increase their vote banks.
Read this article for more details -
Muslims in the Army
The United Progressive Alliance brands the BJP as communal and hollers from roof tops about its 'secularism'. They have ordered an enquiry into the percentage of Muslims in the army. To what effect? This is just a starting point for a much more bigger agenda. Once the report comes out about the lesser number of Muslims in the army, ofcourse the 'secular' UPA will have to adjust this shortcoming by having reservation for Muslims. The army too HAS to be secular, right? The Army is the only government body which does not recruit based on caste creed or any other factor. And now and now.. the Congress has stumbled upon this brilliant idea of striking at the roots of the protectors of the nation. Every well built organization has its grounds on a good recruitment process. If the army recruitment is fooled about with for petty political gain..God help the Country.

Mor-e

Where is more and more technology taking us?
Is it making the quality of our life better? And when I say life I don't mean the things you do from morning till night. I don't mean the activities or people in your life. I mean your LIFE.
Is more technology the need of the hour? ( this thought has been put into my head by Eckhart Tolle ) What is knowledge without wisdom?

An interesting theory by Osho on technology and 'fast' food and 'fast' love and fast 'whatever'. Osho says it is Christianity which has brought about this concept of doing everything fast. No, he is not blaming Christianity. Listen to the reason he states. Made sense to me. Christianity does not believe in reincarnation. So this life here now is all you get and therefore you need to do EVERYTHING in this short time. Which is the exact opposite of Hinduism where everyone is easygoing and will wait for a couple of years or decades or lifetimes before getting something done.
(That is how the 'Hindu rate of growth' came up). Guess we probably need a judicious mix of both.

Look at this story I found in rediff The Dang Story . Its seems straight out of a Suresh Gopi flick. Its so typical of our country, it does not shock us anymore.

Kyun Sehte Rahe....

Namo nishan rahe na rahe
Ye Kaarvan rahe na rahe
Ujale mein pee gaya
Roshan huan, jee gaya
Kyun sehte rahe....

Airport Strike

What drives the politicians to behave like politicians?
How do they live with themselves? I suppose they do not have a moment to reflect, so the pangs of guilt have no time to strike.
The Airport strike has inconvenienced the common man. Who the hell are these people to prevent the common man from traveling? I just heard that some flights have been cancelled due to the strike. The left wants to be in power above anything else. But they also want to keep their image of pro - people ( well the politicians are also people..I guess) intact. No one loses by this except you and me. The UPA will call the leaders of the labour unions supporting the strike to a meeting and things will be sorted out after a lot of hullabaloo. So everyone wins. The left keeps their image intact, the UPA settled everything by pursuing a 'tough' stand and the public..Well who cares about the public?

The Three Towers

From the Terrific Threesome to the Fabulous Foursome ( remember March 13,2001 - Kolkata) to now, the 'Onerable Onesome ( sounds like TOI,eh ).
The Three remaining Towers have fallen.
Dravid stands tall. And he stands tall because he does not need to lean on the past. He does not have 35 test centuries to his credit, he is not India's most successful captain and he is not a very very special talent. He is India's most dependable player, the most committed and now the Indian captain. If Ganguly is dropped based on his non performance, then the same criteria applies to everyone else. Sachin, VVS, Kumble, Agarkar. Lets face it. Sachin seems past his prime, Laxman is not dependable and the Indian bowling is taken to the cleaners by Akmal,Afridi,Razzak and any body else who is interested.
Dravid is the only man who has the tenacity to carry India into the future. Bring in fresh talent. Open up those heavily bolted doors to the Indian middle order. No pace? Get back to bowling fast( remember Zaheer at 140 kmph taking Steve Waugh's middle stump out?). We have enough spinners. We don't need our 'fast' bowlers to bowl at 120k's. Venky Prasad slower ball is more of a threat than Pathan's bouncer.
I've had enough of heart breaks from Indian cricket. I resign as a devout Indian cricket fan. Im rooting for Bangladesh from now.
Bashar Bashar Bashar!

Khoon Chala

"You're not in the services for the money"
"No"
"Want to make a difference? Want to DO something?"
"Ya"
"join the IAS, IPS"
"Maybe"
"politics?"
"Maybe"
"well.. see you at the parliament."

Sachin a la re

India need 607 runs to win the 3rd test and thereby the series.
We've already lost 2 of our best bats while the score was on 8.
Where do we go from here? It might go the way most Indian 2nd innings collapses go.We get all out for under 200 with zaheer khan and pathan probably chipping in a bit to get the score to near 200. Sachin gets out for 27.
Or we could see the innings I have been yearning for. A Sachin masterpiece. I think we'd still lose. But for once..for once I'd like to see the Sachin of old. And I saw a glimpse of it today when we cut and pulled Shoaib 'crooked - arm - due - to genetic - reasons' Akhtar to the fence. No one cuts the bowler to size as Sachin does. I remember the time ( not too far ago ) when watching Sachin bat was pure joy. Nowadays im not interested when he comes in.

Be Still

"Be still. The trees ahead and bush beside you are not lost." - Albert Einstein

movies movies...

4 of them. Yup. Past week has been a bit of a movie watching week. And none of them were your standard run of the mill movies. Probably Love Actually comes close to being that. The movie has about 17 love stories (not really) embedded in it and by the end of it you feel that love actually has too much love actually. I liked the story where this chap loves his best friend's wife. Hugh Grant as the arse kicking British PM is pretty likeable and Liam Neeson is good as the father of a 10 year old in love with his school's hottest babe. The story of the unspoken love between the writer ( Colin Firth) and his portugese house keeping lady is sissy.
Im not even going to talk about the rest of the movie.
Now that i've vented out my feelings on Love actually the other moveis i saw were Princess Mononoke, Birth and Duel. All pretty good. Go watch them blah blah blah.

Am going to watch Rang De Basanti tonight. dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga dinga...
Have not gone for a movie in the 1st week of its release in a long time. Signs of growing old i guess( and of growing wisdom).

Jet - hara

So... Jet Airways takes over Air Sahara.
Big Deal!
Bet it was but how does it affect the common man? or more importantly the common cricket lover?
Read in rediff that "The Air Sahara brand is likely to be scrubbed, sources said adding some adjustments are understood to have been made regarding Air Sahara's liabilities like the sponsorship of the Indian Cricket team."
Im guessing it means that the cricket team now gets to have Jet - hara on their chest, leading forearm and leading biceps. The trailing ones will still have Nike on it. I'm actually considering bidding for their trailing triceps and helmet grill. Improve brand Krishnan before I become emperor of Hindustan ( not a religious comment ).
I hope for God's sake that the Indian team one day outfits improve. Even Bangladesh has better pajamas than us.

MI - 2

Recently the Honorable Government of India has indicated to me that they are interested in availing of my services. Not yet sure in what capacity but hey! its the thought that counts.
The amount of time it takes for the Honorable Government of India to reach a decision whether they want me or not is time enough for me to get married, settle down in a nice little job, buy a car, a piece of land, a fridge,TV, pots n pans and 120 issues of India Today. Ive even forgotten why I wanted to work for them in the first place.
Anyways , its a kind of a landmark for me as I go about ruthlessly achieving all I wanted to in life.
HUWAHAHAHAHAH!!!!
Forward March!

Kiss the BCCI

Have you noticed that Indian cricketers after getting a century kiss their helmet or the left side of their shirt? Thats the BCCI emblem you're kissing gentlemen.Just thought id mention it. (think Sharad Pawar, J. Dalmiya)