"Arrived" in London - Part 1

The Flight to London
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After ending 2 and 1/2 months of pampering by my parents, relatives and friends I boarded British Airways BA36 to London on Saturday, 5th of November. It was non-eventful flight, watched 2 movies, ate 3 meals before the flight landed safely at the Heathrow Airport Terminal 4. I have to get used to these long flights but after seeing the majority of my co-passenger make their way to the Transit lounge awating another long flight to the US, I did not feel that bad..

First Impression
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Unlike any metropolitan city, you will not see any highrises or flash buildings. No one can claim to have understood the definition of the term 'Old School' until you have set foot in this Country. They rightfully pride in their history and traditions. If you can gather how the Indian Parliment looks, here every other building looks similar. And to complicate things it seems within London your house should confirm to a certain design and no 2 adjacent houses can look different! That explains a lot doesnt it? The pace is a lot less frantic than in Singapore and better than Chennai. People on the road have a lot time for each other, a lot more patient. Town centre is to the Uk what downtown is to the US. Any day of the week, any time of the day the town centre is always quite crowded....

Job Search in the UK
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Companies turn to recruiting agents to recruit staff, they give out specific requirements i.e. A job description and basic/desirable requirements. These guys advertise and screen CVs before forwarding the 'chosen' ones to the Firm. The firm then chooses whom they would like to interview and you are notified by the recruiting agent to attend the interview. After the interview the feedback is sent via the recruiting agent and if successful the agent gets paid by the Company for his/her service.

First Month in the UK
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To be continued....

Visited an Astrologer on Thursday...

I had been to an Astrologer last Thurday to consult him on my future. It was a very comical experience actually. As soon as I went it, the person there asked me to write down my name, date of birth and time of birth. Then I was made to wait for about half hour, the fella was supposed searching for scriptures that had my future predicted.Out came a very young fella, probably around 17-18 max, he did bring a set of scriptures and the show started with some hymns.

He started asking questions about my birth day, my past, my father' details, my siblings and mother's details. Except for 2 things, everything else was wrong, and I being the dumb idiot that I am kept correcting him with the right information. After realizing that this was going no where, he said he had brought the wrong scripture and went back to get the right one. After just 10 mins, he was back and the show started again, but this time he was spot on, but then I did not forget the fact that I had told him all this just 10 mins ago!!!!! I played along and confirmed everything and the little bastard did have the balls to ask me 'Have all that I asked you correct?'. Amazingly I did manage to keep my cool, which amazed my sister. As I had confirmed that my life was in line with all the scripture had mentioned, he said that this iwas the right scripture and my life would play out exactly the way the scripture had been written.

After this he brought out a small book and kept writing something with a handwriting even doctors would find hard to decipher. This went on for nearly an hour, then he started 'predicting' my future. he said the usual stuff, marriage, kids, job, money, car....and a long life. After all the glorious predictions, he used the magic word "BUT", then he mentioned that some of my stars were parked at places they were not supposed to be, and I had been a very bad guy in my previous past and had a lot of bad Karma. Coming to the business end of things, he charged me 300 Rs for doing a parrot and repeating whatever I told him. He did talk about a pooja where he would pray to Lord Shiva daily after dark for 96 days, if I compensated his efforts with money, I would live a life that almost all would kill for.

I must admit with the life he promises you once the 'pooja/ceremony' is done, its quite tempting to play safe and pay him to do so. Its quite a convincing act that these guys put up to tell you that can alter destiny! I just paid him the money for the consultation and later told him that I need to talk to my mother first before subscribing to the pooja and got out of there as fast as my recovering legs could take me. Was definitely an amazing experience, nowadays its so cheap to play god!

Japan GP: Its one step forward then two steps back for Ferrari

Kimi, the Prince, showed why he is still the best around once inside a car, unfortunately it seems he still needs to improve his skills off the car, especially in understanding the limits of a machine that cannot match his speed. The Barrichello of McLaren, 'Fat B*****d' Montoya was taken out again by 'never an ally' Villeneuve, that means Schumi goes to Shanghai with a two point lead over the 'Made to look better by the car' Montoya. Frankly unless another driver takes him out, he will surely overtake the King to take 3rd place in the driver's standings but then McLaren deserve nothing less this year, brilliant show, if not for the poor showing by Mercedes, McLaren would have dominated this year just like Ferrari did for so long.

The King did a 4-day testing progamme during the 2-week break, welcome news but not to much effect as shown by the results. More of this is needed, but as he himself has said it - "Our new challenge will be to not let the down last very long. We want to fight for the championship again next year.", Team Ferrari & Bridgestone will be back to please the Tifosi. As for the Prince taking over from the King in 2007, I pray to God that happens because right now there is no better choice to fly the Ferrari flag at the top.

As for next season's driver line-ups, Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, BAR, Toyota, Red Bull have settled thiers, so the only seats available are at 1 at BMW to partner Hiedlfeld, 1 at Williams to partner Webber, so its looks like curtains for Narain's F1 adventure unless he is willing to put up another year in a 'making up the numbers' car. So Narain, looks like we wont be seeing you next year. There is news that there might be a new team next year which should increase his hopes a wee bit. Maybe he should do A1, which by the way is very confusing and nowhere as intersting as F1. I dont think people will take to it, its only positive is that with F1 season closing soon, racing fans might peek into a little but they definitely need to put up a better show and need more big names. Furthermore, if you think F1 Qualifying is complicated, A1 is way too complicated!! Maybe I need to read up a little more and maybe it a little too early to write them off.

EPL: Is it really over?

Paddy power, wonder who makes makes the decisions at this betting house!! I think Abromovich must have paid him to do this, probably one of Mourinho's elaborate mind games, after selling his oil plant for 7.9 Billion a few weeks ago, this must be Roman's small gift to Mourinho!!! I for one dont think its over, United and Arsenal, in a way Liverpool are all in it. If Newcastle think they can make it into top six, anything can happen.

As for my favs, its definitely in shambles. Chelsea are due at OT soon and this is the not the form you want going into such a crucial match. The only highlights so far this season has been Ji Sung Park and Van Der Sar, both the new signings have shown that its money well spent. Park was the spark (sorry could not avoit that) last weekend, if not for him the team definitely lacks the creativity of old, the play has been very direct and teams easily man mark us out of the game and only Park's brilliance avoided another embarassing defeat at Craven Cottage. Blackburn showed how a disciplined game against United will win you 3 points, home or away!

Sir Alex's tactics have been questioned recently. Although its very disappointing to see such a legend receive that kind of disrespect, I can clearly see where they are coming from. I dont think why we should not be more flexible, we have told the world that we play 4-3-3, so there is no surprise waiting for them, to add to that Sir Alex did not change anything when clearly it wasn't working against Blackburn!! Where are the days when he would just take a defender out and throw in Ole to get the winning goal? The speed of United's play have gone and it more like watching an Italian team these days, we might not play ball like Arsenal, no one will for that matter, but United were feared for our speed, the excellent counter-attacks, the way we turned defence into attack, everything's missing, it's as if United are using the Premiership to practice for Europe. Finally, we have one of the best headers of the ball playing upfront in Ruud and Ronaldo can do a decent job of that too but we dont cross that many into the box anymore!!

Keano, the time has come and I for one think he should leave. I did mention United's counterattacks and in way Keano's age has contributed in its demise because when we hit back it was usually Captain Fantastic driving the team forward and a Beckham/Giggs killer pass that created the chances, now both are not possible! What happened to Sir Alex is a good reason why Keane should leave at the top and not come back, if he does that he would be bigger than Sir Alex or Bryan Robson, probably remembered as the best ever to have worn the United shirt and I would hate to see him any stick, he doent deserve it.

EPL is back!

Who will win the league?
I am a United fan, so its Manchester United. Everyone seems to have blind faith in Mourinho and his supremely talented squad, but I am not sure they will be as dominating this year as last year. They would have been studied day and night by now and I am sure teams will be more prepared for them this year, you only have to watch Arsenal's community shield match, the better team actually lost. Finally Pool would be a bother but it will be interesting as most of Rafa's purchases are new to the English game, so I dont expect them to click this year.

The battle for Europe?
I can see a mini league of 7 fighting for 2 places, Everton, Charlton, Bolton, Boro, Spurs, Man City, Birmingham and if I were to choose 2, I would plump for Spurs and Boro. Man City would push these 2 but lose out, just like last year

Definitely Mid-Table with the ocassional giant killing act?
NewCastle, Portsmouth, Blackburn, Aston Villa

Relegation Dog-Fight?
Fulham, West Brom, West Ham, Sunderland, Wigan

Who will finally be relegated
Fulham, Sunderland, Wigan

Players teams cannot do without
United - Ruud, Van Der Sar, Scholes
Arsenal - Henry, Ljunberg, Toure's Central Defence Partner
Chelsea - Terry, Makelele, Lampard and Cech
Liverpool - Reina, Stevie G, Alonso
Spurs - Davids, King's Central Defence Partner
Man City - Andrew Cole, James
Boro - Yakubu, Mendieta, Boateng
Villa - Phillips, Solano, Mellberg
Birmigham - Butt, Forsell, Dunn
West Brom - Zlotan Gera, Kevin Campbell
West Ham - Sheringham, Neo-Coker, Etherington
New Castle - The whole team, even 1 injury will affect them badly
Portsmouth - Robert, Westerveld, Lua Lua
Wigan - No Idea
Fulham - Diop, Collins John
Charlton - Holland, Murphy, Smertin
Sunderland - Arca
BlackBurn - Bellamy, Pedersen
Bolton - Jay Jay, Diouf, Giannakopoulos
Everton - Cahill, Martyn, Kilbane

Manager Sack Race?
Souness, Pardew, O'Leary

Interesting Transfers (Hit 50%, Flop 50%)
Davids, Park Ji-Sung, Alexandre Song, Crouch, Emre, Robert, Butt

Top Scorer
Who else but supremely talented Henry, hopefully Ruud will push him this season

Hungary GP: Enjoyed every single lap of it

For many Juan's retirement put an end to all the excitement at last weekend's Hungarian GP, but for me and the millions who follow the King and his car, it was thrilling right to the end. Just as the King mentioned, last week was a step forward in the right direction. People pointing to Schumi's light fuel the fact that the track does not favor overtaking as the reason why Schumi out-qualified everyone finished second, forget to acknowledge that this is the hottest race within Europe, the tyres seemed to have fared a lot better than before.

Congrats to the Future King, Kimi, on yet another exciting win. Although it’s still not in his hands, a repeat of last race's circumstances should surely put him right back in the race. The next grand prix is anybody's call as Turkey is the latest addition to the calendar, everyone starts on equal terms and McLaren's supremely superior overall package should see them start as favourites. They seem to have found a extra second on Renault, probably due to the thier new front wing. It certainly looks cool.

MotoGP champ Valentino Rossi has apparently tested a Ferrari again. The Italian completed 80 laps at Firano early this week. His season has not started that well, so I am sure it will be a few more years before he loses his love for MotoGP, it surely will be a few more years before he decides to test himself at F1.

It has finally happened. Rubens is leaving. Compared to the previous no 2, 'Handbags' Eddie Irvine, Rubinho was a gem, and Schumacher, at least privately would acknowledge that he was his best ever No 2, both in terms of talent and a team player. The team and Tifosi should be genuinely happy that this great Brazilian gets to at least compete on equal terms with Button (Not confirmed) next season. BAR currently has a better package than Ferrari but not a better car, on way short of McLaren or Renault, so it would be interesting to see how far Barrichello can push them. A big thank-you and all the best to my favourite Brazilian!

In comes another Brazilian, Felipe Massa. I should admit I am slightly disappointed because after Kimi (who by the way doesnt say much) had openly admited that he fancies driving for Ferrari, I hoped Ferrari would go all out to get him. Massa is no slow driver; he has outclassed Villeneuve in almost every other GP this year, so he is not the worst possible choice. Everyone seems to suggest he was the best available, but I am sure he will be nurtured into a World Champion.

In many ways, I always felt that the King is way too underestimated. People somehow beleive that the all conquering Ferrari of the last few seasons were presents from Heaven and the King won because of the car and the unfair team tactics. So, what has happened this year has clearly shown that there is no other driver who knows his car better than this man!. His feedback and know-how of his car is legendary. Ferrari's package this year is non-competitive but it’s the King's talent that is making the car look half decent. I hope this season shuts a few people up! Pushing a car to its limits can be done by anyone on the grid, they all are fast drivers, even Karthikeyan can do that, but understanding the car's +'s and -'s is and extracting the most out of it is where the King has no match as yet, Coultard is the closest pretender.

German GP: Its all over

The close up on Schumi’s tyres around lap 40 summed up Ferrari's season. Even after 67 laps it would be hard to find a Michelin that worn out. The stupid commentators kept saying the King's super-charged Qualifying lap and the difference between Rubino's lap and his was mainly due to less fuel load. I wish I was next to those 'B*******' when Schumi pitted on the same lap as Alonso, just 2 laps in front of Rubino. I can’t imagine how you can call yourself a fan if you can tell a 'Schumacher Special' when you see one. This by no means is due to Rubino's inability to work the car; the car is built for the Champion so Rubino is always going to slower or any 2nd driver for that matter. I wish Rubino gets a drive at BAR or BMW because he deserves No 1 Status and I personally would like to see what he can do given a top car and a No 1 Status.

McLaren are flying, their new front wing looked so cool and seemed to make the difference on the day, Kimi clearly outpaced Alonso. Those consecutive fastest laps (lap 21-24) would have taken any McLaren fan to the moon and beyond. Their machinery seems to make even crap drivers go from 20 to 2nd! Seriously speaking, I hate to do this but I do salute Mr. "Bad to not so bad' Montoya for his 2nd place finish after starting from the last. I was very impressed that with the way he took his time when he found himself behind the Schumi/Button battle, the Montoya we knew would have got stuck in immediately and most probably taken atleast one out.

As for this season, its Alonso's or atleast it’s his to lose. I don’t see Renault going off the boil that drastically and few more podium finishes should see him being crowned as the 'Youngest' F1 World Champion, a far cry from his Minardi days! Congratulations to him, he was slightly lucky but then he still had to be there at 2nd and was consistently quicker than the rest of the pack (His fastest lap was a good half second faster than Montoya's).

Returning to the King, I feel really sorry for him and the team. I am sure if it was anything to do with the car itself he would be at it by now, but unfortunately it’s the tyres and armed with feedback from only 3 teams (Out of which 2 are Jordan and Minardi), Bridgestone cannot be blamed for not matching Michelin. All these irritatinly recurrent calls for him to retire should be from people who dont understand the sport, the King still has not lost anything and is actually compensating for the poor package he is on. Him keeping his 2nd place all the way till the 40th lap deserves special praise, the whole team I am sure are very proud people and all this hurt will be channeled to bounce back next year. Remember it not about falling but about how fast you can get back up. Ferrari will return and it will be this team who will do it.

Does God need our defence, are we really that full of ourselves?

I used to be an atheist, used to love the arguments that provoked in class with friends, teachers and my parents. A close friend, just before my 'O' levels took personal interest in my studies to show the kind of marks that I was capable of scoring and set my path right. When someone does that for you, that person deserves your respect and he used that to get me to the temple. More than the respect I had for him, it was his constant reminder that I can improve with god's influence and that selfishness in me that got me to the temple for the first time by myself. That is how my spiritual journey started. Hand on heart not many people ask God for something without a selfish motivation, its how small most of us are. We first need to acknowledge that. The religion that we are born into is a decision made by our forefathers and passed on to us, so only GOD is the only universal truth. People armed with education, time and money come up with new religions and faiths, showing that religion/faith are man-made paths towards the supreme power and there is no right or wrong.

The term 'Spiritual Journey', just refers walking a path towards God. It by no means should be confused with ‘Spiritual growth’, Spiritual growth is honed and perfected only practice, subjecting oneself to the strict discipline of what has been advised i.e. prayer, meditation or good deeds. No faith or religion advices killing or bloodshed as the path towards God, then why take it? It’s quite amazing that every religion has a group which has opted for violence to defend itself. I am sure not many belonging to these groups can answer the question ‘What/Who are you defending against?’ Taking people along with us on our spiritual journey is not a must and harming people who chose a different path is downright stupid.

My friend forwarded a few mails a few days ago. One questioned the secularity of India and preaching of Hinduism in quite an offensive tone. There was one person’s defence of both India and Hinduism and another mail discussing Islam in the same tone as the first mail. When all our faiths are so vast with so much to know that not many have mastered them, I wonder how we can assume to know so much about another religion to question it? With it being so difficult to cultivate the discipline necessary to follow our own religion that most of us do compromise, are we worthy enough to question something we know very little of and never have practiced. By closing your eyes for 24 hrs, you can never experience a blind man’s life, similarly reading a book is no way to ‘know’ a religion.

Finally to those who think defending God is their purpose of life, I have only one to day – ‘by suggesting that God/Faith/Religion needs the defence of a worthless mortal like you - you are insulting the very God/Faith/Religion that you are trying to glorify’. God is almighty and God does not need your help, so change your agenda and do what God wants you to do (practice the preaching with utmost discipline) instead of pretending to add a purpose to your life by plucking at thin air.

One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things - –- Henry Miller

We all should live the life of a traveler, even if for a short while. From ancient times, it has always been a man’s desire to find out what is over the next hill, and that very same feeling has never deserted anyone of us, but the fear of leaving the comfort of the familiar is what that prevents those of us from not exploring. At the mention of a place, no matter where we are, a mental picture appears in our mind describing the place. The picture is defined by what we have seen if we have already been there. For most places, where we would not have seen it ourselves, the picture is defined by what we have studied, heard or read and sometimes its funny to see how far from truth that picture is.

The magic of travel is that you leave your own home secure in your own knowledge and identity but once you are off and the world in all its richness and surprises intervenes. We meet people that we cannot invent, see scenes that we cannot imagine, life that no education can show, and experience cultures that we cannot define. As we open ourselves to the world totally different to our own, we can realize that our own life which was so large to consume our life thus far is actually such a small dot in space and time and we will become a different person, for the better.

It’s a pity when some of us don’t want to be travelers but be tourists. Tourists just pass through the surface of other’s people lives without actually leaving their own, most often, rather sadly and painfully try to bring their world with them wherever they go or when desperate will try and recreate the world that they left. Tourist will never risk the security of their own understanding and never realize how small and limited their experiences really are. True travelers become the fabric of the local’s everyday lives, embrace them without judging them.

While we should acknowledge the curse of travel - that we may end up being runners, running away from our lives, its twists of fate, our problems and complications and thus ending up complicating the lives of people around and us and punishing them by abandoning them at their time of need, I personally believe that when tragedies or great changes in life occurs, if we are well traveled, we will understand that there are million ways to live and we will be able to move to new and worthy things.

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page." -- St. Augustine

ManU Away Kit 05/06

Personally I am sad that they are taking the black one away, but the new one looks good. I especially like the red trims. Brilliant, its been refreshing since moving to Nike, the kits are far better. More class!

To Taiwan and Back

Back to the mundane and boring life, landed back in Singapore @7.30 PM, was back home in time for Dinner (fish curry and veggie), something I had missed badly. Over the last week, we did a lot of walking and even a short and unexpected trek so I cant wait to get to the gym and see if I have lost any weight! I did eat a lot on the trip, so am slightly worried if that would have negated all the walking and climbing, hopefully it did not! To summarize, it is a very beautiful country and we had a magnificent time. I am not sure why they have not told the world about what they have! Whoever I had talked to before my trip told me about the shopping and the food there (my friends did nothing but confirm it), but its a shallow thought. The country is all about its beautiful mountains and its vast coastline. Its mountains right through the country so there is not way to cross the country but to go one whole round along the coastline to get from the east to the west and you have to experience it to realize the beauty of it. The highlights of the trip were Alishan and the Sun Moon Lake.

If you were to call Taiwan, Chinese State of America, you would not be that far wrong. Its amazing how you can feel the American influence right from the time you set foot in the country, they call their highways. 'freeways', left hand drive, second hand car showrooms, neon streetlights, Time Square like setup at the Shilin Night Market, even their long distance buses are of the same colour as of the Greyhound and is designed exactly the same! The people are quite updated in fashion and talk nothing except Chinese, it took a good 4 days before I heard someone speak English, they are slightly rude or not that friendly, although I would be the first to mention that they were a few exceptions.

Taking a tour package meant that we spent most of our time on the bus, there was this once that we had lunch, took a long ride, close to 7 hours and went straight for dinner. The journey and the beauty of what we saw from the bus made up for that disappointment. The Taiwanese have a very impressive train network, and it was disappointing that the tour guides don’t use them, it will help to plan more activities for their clients. We had a puncture at the Tarako Gorge, the bus driver tried a three point turn over the curbs and the burst both the left rear tyres. We even had a breakdown, gear problem I guess and had to change buses. The replacement bus was a far better one and left us wondering why the bus had not broken down on the first day instead of the last day.

The tour guide strictly spoke Mandarin alone and said he would die if asked to speak English, so obviously we did not push it. He thought I was a black guy from America and kept calling me ang-moh. It only shows that these guys dont get to see much dark skin all their lives :) The fella did schedule in enough marketing stops, and Joy amazing spent handsomely at every stop, as I told him, he is a marketing man's dream. At the Sun Moon lake, the guide even resorted to playing the charity card, they explained about the earthquake that shook Taiwan and these tribes needed the money to rebuild, while I dont doubt that, I don’t think paying these shopkeepers was the best avenue to channel charity funds to people who needed it. I saw a BMW 3 and Nissan Cefiro just opposite the shop

I did get to go 'free & easy' truly. Tian Guan and myself went to explore Keelung all by ourselves. While the gang left to Bjetou for experiencing hot springs, we both left for Keelung. This decision to split was taken over coffee at Taipei 101, still am not sure how or why it came about, but the chance to see Taiwan the way I wanted to just feel on my lap and I did not want to ask many questions. We took directions from staff at Taipei 101, went to Sangshuan Station and bought tickets to Keelung. Tian Guan got chatty with few aunties on the train. Once we got to Keelung we saw a Star Cruise getting ready to set sail and took a walk towards it, followed a few road signs to get to a temple and a night market, searched for Tian Guan's snack but I ended up buying a shirt for myself and my friend! Took the Taiwanese Greyhound back to Taipei and met up the gang back at Shilin for Dinner, followed that up with more shopping and supper before we called it a day.

The last day was a silent affair, started with hunting for breakfast and President's Biscuits and we took a van, arranged by our tour guide to get to the airport. I thought I had only 300 over on me so spent in on getting a couple of bracelets for my cousins. The ride was uncomfortably silent, Ade and Tian Guan did manage to start a few topics but the rest did not seem interested, I was looking to them to take the gloom away from me, but felt more for Joy who had to return alone, but maybe he kept himself busy with more shopping. After getting to the airport we found out that the flight was delayed by half an hour, so I called my Sis and Dad. Upon clearing the rubbish in my pocket, I found 200 NT$, spent in on a book and got the gang to scribble some thoughts....opted out of lunch as none of us felt hungry. The flight back was not that eventful, they were a few pretty girls on board and three of them were seated just behind us, so it was better than many a recent trip.

Finally, 8 days of pure fun, another country visited, poorer in terms on money, richer in terms of memories. Just like the any other previous trip with my friends, enjoyed this enormously. I would like to thank each one of them for their translations; putting up with me and helping me see a country I would not have survived on my own. I owe this lot for too many things they have done for me and the list just got longer...........

On a trip to Taiwan.....

Will be on tour to Taiwan for the next week....even the boss excused me off an assignment today so that I can travel peacefully and come back to slog. The colleagues warned that its not the most renowned for its hygiene but has a lot of good things to eat....I know there are lot of things to eat and see, but makes me wonder if I would like them....anyway, there is no backing out now

Why Taiwan, everybody asks me this, well I enjoyed my last trip with these guys, so was interested in doing another, and Taiwan was the popular choice. Anyway the way I see it, I may never be able to do this trip alone, so why not make use of this oppurtunity because my friends can atleast help to overcome the language barrier! I would like to do Beijing and Shanghai too, maybe the Chinese GP in October will be a good oppurtunity ;)

The places I look forward to - Tarako Gorge at Hualien, the 101 building and Chiayi. Unfortunately the 101 building is not covered by the package so thats an additional cost. I was keen on going free and easy but the some were not that keen on lugging their baggage around, even worse, not all of those who complained are girls :(

For the next one week, I will take notes daily so that you can see the country through my eyes and my camera lens. Will update the blog next Sunday, it should be a long one!

Indians 'world's biggest readers'

Here is a article on the BBC - Indians are world's biggest readers

If you read the full article, there is one guy supporting the survey saying, Indians are extremely entrepreneurial and one doubting it by saying "he could not see Indians flocking to the bookstores". His argument is that Novels don’t sell by the thousands within India. Novels and self-help books are not news, they don’t get outdated within an hour. I think the choice of picture on the article should fuse any doubts along those lines, Indians read, simple; Not necessarily from the book shelves of big-name bookstores but from the used bookstores. I wonder why Venkateshwar Rao, supposedly a leading columnist never gave a thought to the thousands of such shops all across the country. I don’t think they make money exporting the books back to the US and UK :)

I know streets in Chennai where thousands of such books get sold everyday and those reading are not those worry about the rat race but the ones that go through the motions of 9-5 and read just to keep them informed and have some intelligent chatter over tea! Even if you take the rat race amongst Indians, these second-hand bookstores play a huge part in that they are a lot of self-made graduates who study via correspondence (Self-study, part-time courses made available by reputed Universities) using books sold from such bookstores.

Another interesting find is that Indians are 4th from bottom when it comes to watching TV! Amazing, considering the millions watching the mega serials on TV every night and the countless TV channels that we have! I am sure the people surveyed were not the right choice to make such a decision, and for sure is flawed, but still anything that shows India in a better light is welcome by me!

What if? - Always counter productive

When I play pool with my colleagues, there is this one guy who goes "Why, what happened?" whenever I miss something obvious or a shot easy to take. I would annoy me really because, it’s not reversible and even if I found out why; he is not going to allow me to re-take the shot, so why bother wondering why!

The same goes with this habit of wondering what if? At times of difficulty or disappointment we most often spend time imagining what would have been if we have changed some little thing, some little decision in our life. The only outcomes is that it makes you even more unhappy and makes you hate yourself/ or the other person who influenced your decision. The weaker ones are even worse; they won’t even accept responsibility for their decisions, but lay the blame at the feet of the person who influenced his/her decision. There is nothing more counter-productive than wondering what if?

When you take a wrong turn on the road, you don’t actually trace back and wonder why, you just look at where you want to be, and take actions on how to get there from where you are currently. Its quite a gift if we can maintain the same attitude with our decisions that we have to make daily in our lives. We should not wallow in disappointment over how we got to where we are but think about what we need to get where we want to be, as with so many things about self help lessons, EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

Anniyan - Bad movie, good cause.....

I watched the much hyped latest Tamil movie - Anniyan. Just because the director was due a movie, he seems to have taken his oft repeated ideas from his previous movies and conjured up a concoction that does not hide the lack of effort on his behalf. For a movie which took more than a 10 Million Singapore Dollars to complete, it’s definitely a disappointment. Half that money seems to have spent on a single song!

Even though I am angry with myself on spending so much on the movie, I am happy that in a small way the movie has asked the right questions to the Indian public. The question on corruption, small mistakes and acceptance need to be asked and needed such a grand stage as this. Hopefully it gets a few of us thinking. If 500 Million people steal 5 cents, then it’s a 5 Million dollar crime, people need to realize this. Another interesting point was regarding sports. For a country of our size domination in the sports arena should come easy, it’s the politics that’s stopping us. Take football for instance, the problem that countries like Thailand face is the physical edge, we don’t even lack that, so why is our team not even one-tenth as decent as the Thai’s – no one knows and no one cares……

It was slightly disappointing that the crux of the issue was criticized within the movie by the comedy actor Vivek; he did try to convince that problems within the society has be accepted, and one has to adapt himself to lead a normal life; that was a mistake in itself. Education has a much bigger role in India’s re-awakening. Re-awakening, because we were big before the British plundered us, and movies should play their part in it. Movies with such powerful social tones such as Anniyan if delivered the right way will get the common man thinking, if we combine this with the power of the students and the money from NRI’s, India will be back where it rightfully belongs.

As for the movie itself, the publicity blurb for the film says: 'He who comes from Hell is not afraid of Hot Ashes'. Well it’s partly true, the movie is definitely from hell and Shankar is not afraid to churn out crap even after ‘Boys’.

US GP: Farce? It could have been worse

Firstly, congrats to the King and his deputy for making the Tifosi and the rest of claret red fans happy with a Ferrari 1-2. It’s a shame that they did not have to fight for it, as with the Canadian GP, the rest of the pack did not fancy it. Slightly unhappy with Narain that he did not compete for the 3rd place on the podium, it was his opportunity to have grabbed some limelight; it would have been great to see the Indian Flag on the podium.

If you have read the post-race press conferences, you can see that the press tried hard to put all the blame on Ferrari not agreeing to the extra chicane. It was shameful because the chicane was not the problem; it was Michelin's tyre durability. The choice to go with Michelin was one that the racing teams took, under no-one else's influence. You can’t take a faulty pen to the exams and ask the examiner and the other students to postpone the exam. Just because Michelin provides the tyres for the majority of the teams, FIA or the Bridgestone runners cannot be blamed for a situation whose only cause is under performing Michelin tyres. The Michelin runners were doing well until now leaving Ferrari on the way-side, Ferrari did not ask for a rule change then, did it?

Only justified boohs were those from the stands, they paid good money to get into the track and covered huge distances to get there. To see six cars, out of which two belonged to a different class must have hurt. The Michelin runners have to be pay some penalty, because it was not a situation were the cars were not running but a question of not taking turn 13 at the maximum speed, it was a compromise but something within their hands. By taking thier cars out, they made a point, one which is not within their authority to make. As I mentioned, it could have been worse, in the sense that they could have "staged" their retirements, taking a car out every other lap.

Biggest disappointment of the weekend is Mr. Paul Stoddard, Minardi's owner. This B**t**d not only sent his cars out without lending his support to the Michelin runners most of whom supported his stupid case to re-use last year's car without following the 2005 standards, but also blamed his decision on Jordan's decision to race!!!! Cunning piece of shit, he took the points that were available and still wants to look good. Shameful behavior!

India - Economically on fast forward but socially?

Kindly read this article on Aids by Time before reading further. Are we paying the price for our super fast economic growth? Assuming that the numbers are flawed as suggested by the article, one of the following is true. Either the government has no time for social issues because it needs to fill its empty coffers or they don’t want to highlight the social problems fearing that it would falter our economic growth. As far I am concerned its the latter. I never read about the Child sex problems in Goa and Calcutta while I was in India, to date I still don’t know why we haven’t taken measures to use the database of such bastards that the developed nations maintain to ban them from entering our country.

My friend is the one who brought up this article. He asked "Why does the Indian Government not spend more on education and resources like condoms and free syringes?" As he is a Singaporean his assumptions that the Government should act on social issues and its initiatives reach people effectively, of which mostly succeed can be forgiven. As Indians we know that the same does not apply to our country and the size of the country and head count of its people makes doing the same a Himalayan Challenge. So if we wanted immediate action, it’s from the NGO's and few good people who take up social well-being as their sole agenda of life. But is education really the problem?

India of today is the best example of the Rich and Poor Divide. There are millions who are far educated make 50K a month living amongst the rest who make up the majority and don’t get to make that even within a year. Let’s take the educated, trendy, socially and economically aware lot - who is to say that they have not contributed to the current AIDS situation? If multiple sex partners is considered cool, it won’t help the cause will it? Among this crowd there are people who blame the society for their AIDs plight and want to spread it as an act of revenge, so there you go, counseling is more of a solution rather that mass education.

Next question was "Is it really so hard to speak to those who live in villages about sex?" Yes, its taboo, but the fact is that sex is something that the poor can find easily. Often its their only past time, women in the villages still don’t get to "put their foot down" and stand their ground, they are being married only for children and to take care of domestic duties. The concept of condoms will be frowned upon as children are considered to be "god’s gift", so anything that prevents that from happening is evil! You cant educate them by talking to them, as these people will only learn if it happens to them, even if the next door neighbour get AIDS, the person is most probably say the infected person must have angered the gods and would assume that the same thing wont happen to him/her.

Final Question, "What would it take to make such topics acceptable (apart from bollywood's and the media's increasing contribution)?" Bollywood's role is open to debate. Its no point that the Actors talk about it off screen, because that does not reach the masses. Its the stories and their roles on screen that influence the masses. Like the recent guideline to avoid smoking scenes in movies, stars should avoid stories that advocate wrong messages to the society. So what does it take? No constructive action can be expected from the masses, having said that, if something dramatic happens then they will heed. The closest successful example is Polio, even in the remote villages; they are aware of the disease and take vaccination. If you wonder why they are so receptive, because it does not take much from their part, just turn up and get vaccinated, so the only solution is to find a cure, something as simple as a vaccine.

CANADIAN GP: Ferrari back? Not a chance....

As much as I was happy to see two red suits on the podium on Sunday, everyone within the team and the Tifosi would unwillingly acknowledge that the two podium places were gifts from Renault rather than hard earned points. Although not that happy with the weekend, I would like to celebrate Renault's "DNF" status against both its cars. These are the first signs that the Championship is not a foregone conclusion so early into the season, at least the constructors is really wide open.

After looking promising over the initial races, Narain seems to have gone off the boil so soon, retirement over technical reasons are unfortunate but mistakes like his are not. Only note of consolation was that both Button and Alonso did the same thing, but the fact is that they are established drivers and there is no question mark over their immediate F1 future which is not the case for Narain. This reminds me of the Roy Keane-Ireland fiasco. Like Roy said, there is no point celebrating playing the World Cup, if those celebrations exceed its limits and you don’t work hard, you will be out after the first round! This applies to Narain, he has worked hard for where he is and it would be very disappointing to see lose all that within one year.

Kimi, my choice for Schumacher II, had another good race, McLaren seems to have sorted out their package and look to the best out there at the moment. I really wanted to see Kimi take on Montoya for the first position but the self proclaimed championship material dumbass decided that red lights apply only for commoners and justifiably sent packing back to the garage by the race steward. At the end of last season, I was really looking forward to 3 battles among teammates, Kimi vs Montoya, Trulli vs R.Schumacher, Webber Vs Hiedfeld - amazing none of the three have lived up to expectations......As for Barri, extraordinary third place, did his job well and suitably rewarded.

Finishing off with the King himself, I am worried about his aggressiveness again. It was very unlike Schumi to follow Kimi like he did on Sunday and he did not even try, was very disappointed. I hope it was the car or the tyre or his thin championship hopes were the reasons behind his decision to accept second place. I read another blog where it was suggested that Schumi should have retired when we was at the top, uneducated would my immediate response, I am sure that Schumi would consider this to be one of his interesting years and would be relishing the challenge. Quitting at the top is for people who have piggybacked their way to the top or were born at the top, not for people who have worked their way up because they know their way back up and will surely return.

European GP - Really sorry for Kimi

Nick Heidfeld - Slowly but steadily proving himself, McLaren overlooked him when he and the world expected the McLaren seat. But then they had a chance again last year and plumped for "Mr Good for nothing but talk" Montoya. The excuse for "Please look at me, I can talk" Montoya is that he is not race-fit and would take a few weeks more to prove that McLaren can conjure 2 good cars. It seems BMW wants to buy over Sauber and take Heidfeld over with them. With Massa doing well and making Villeneuve look like a truck driver, that would mean Karthikeyan has to strike off Sauber as potential suitors. Narain again lost out to Monteiro, and it was a racing maneuvre Monteiro took him out fair and square.

As for the King himself, he desperately needs some luck and he can only earn that by taking the pole. Bad luck struck in the form of Webber this time, but still did well to finish 5th and definitely my star of the race. Unfortunately there was none of his mid-race bursts that we have come to be accustomed to recently, so, 5th place was not bad and Barrichello gave the Tifosi something to shout about. Ferrari, importantly Bridgestone are definitely way off the race pace but its very impressive that there has been no public bitching so far. Its important that they stay united. Everyone seems to think that the King will bow out this year, but I personally am very sure that he will take all this on his chin and will be back and will go out being acknowledged as the best racing driver and team leader ever, not only by the Tifosi but every single soul that is passionate about F1.

Only other talking points were Webber's acceptance of blame for his mistake at the first corner, a true gentleman and unfortunately too nice to be in F1! Next time we hear "It was a racing incident", the person needs to be reminded of Webbers actions. BAR seemed to have partied for the past month and were way off in everything and Button did well to finish at all.

Finally the sight of Kimi walking back. I really felt for him, no matter how much he earns he would have gladly traded all his wealth for a promise from god that such a thing would never happen again! I remember this happening to his mentor Hakkinen once before but not sure during which GP or the year and I think it was a Ferrari that benefited, but again not sure whether it was Schumi or that "Montoya Snr" Eddie Irvine. We use the cliche 'So near, yet so far' so often that sometimes we forget the bloody sad significance of that, it really hurts and in my own context I have experienced it and it takes a lot to recover from that and it for sure is not easy. There is no comforting word in the dictionary that would have cooled Kimi. Kimi, the world is sincerely sorry.

Glamour GP (Monaco) - McLaren win it in Style

SCHUMI - "Everything that can go wrong, went wrong", Ferrari's story of the season. Very unfortunate again with the front wing, Barri's mistakes at the pit stop turned out to be costly too. Its the qualifying pace and somehow they seem to struggle so much in qualifying its amazing that on race-day, the fastest lap belongs to Schumi. So I cant quite understand why they cant perform during qualifying and the low finishing positions also means that they have to go very early during qualifying and sets the tone for the entire weekend. Its very frustrating and this rant helps me to get thing off my chest!

McLaren's second win on the trot, happy atleast its Kimi who is winning and not that self proclaimed best driver but have won nothing much Montoya. Actually if McLaren did not push Renault, I would be very interested to see whether the FIA would meet at the end of the season to discuss how to restrict their success rate? Its a shame that the entire paddock is enjoying the Ferrari Struggle but great champions will not take shit lying down and will fight back and as I have mentioned quite often, Ferrari will be hurting and will fight back soon. It was very very saddening to see the McLaren race off from Schumi so fast after the safety car period.

Alonso seems to be doing the right things, after the TV closed on his tyres its quite amazing that he finished fourth. His fight with Nick and Webber was quite good and enjoyable. His drive at Imola and Monaco will be definitely be highlighted in all year end reviews, will stay with me to for a long time. So Young, extremely fast and tactically intelligent - Seems like the complete package. Nick's move on Alonso was quite impressive, especially the fact that in spite of the late move he made the chicane quite comfortably, excellent technique. Makes you wonder if Webber had let him pass earlier, would he have been fast enough to catch Kimi? Nick is clearly showing that he is the best driver of the 2 and Webber needs to buck up soon or will lose his Team Favourite status and with Button "maybe" returning to BMW, it will be very interesting to see who among Nick and Mark will lose thier seat.

Next, as usual about my country man Narain - Carries the hope of the nation, seems like a billion prayers are not enough to be given a good car. I hope its technical failure that caused his retirement, slowly but surely Monteiro seems to be getting back. Narain needs to beware of this recent performances.

Highlights of the weekend - Ralf's 6 place finish after starting at the back, steady job but unfortunately still behind Trulli. Villeneuve's move that took out his own teammate Massa, it was quite funny to see reports that Jacque owned up to his mistake, as if it needed confirmation. I would have loved to have been the fly on the wall during the team meeting at Sauber's HeadQuarters. Thanks to them Ferrari finished within the points. Owe you one Jacque. Finally Schumi's much debated moves on Barrichello and his brother, I havent seen the clip, the B******s on Star TV did not show it, was actually hoping to catch it atleast on Chequered flag, but was disappointed.

BLACK - Brilliance, a must see movie

Over the weekend, managed to watch the movie BLACK by Sanjay leela Bansali. Another excellent project by the man, a touch of class. The movie touches you to the core. Everyone needs the experience. While watching it I did not know it was about Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan and was amazed at how one can think of such a script! Even if the movie was inspired, the Director is due a lot of credit to what we watched on the screen. It has the feel of a Hollywood movie. This movie (Screenplay + Director + Acting) really makes Million Dollar baby look like a Rajni Masala Flick.

The movie is about how a teacher Debraj (Amitabh Bachan) turns a Blind + Deaf + Dumb child from a brat into a cultured lady and how when Debraj is struck with Alzheimer's disease, the same child nurtures him back to sanity.

Kudos to everyone who have taken the lead roles, special mention to the little girl who has played little Michelle - surely destined for even greater things. Rani's chance of a lifetime and she has maximized her oppurtunity. Emotions of Michelle's sister is a learning point, its sometimes unfair to people like her (Perfectly normal Siblings of physically challenged) and takes a bigger sacrifice from them right from the young as they are given much attention. Overall its a must see and I fully expect some sort of International recognition for Bhansali and Rani Mukerjee.

Children who are physically or emotionally challenged are often tagged "faulty" and sent to rehab centers. This movie exposes the laziness and lack of responsibility on the part of people making such decisions. They are incomplete but compensated in more ways than one it takes only love and some sacrifice to show them the way and make them realize their destiny. There is a difference between knowing what to do (Theory) and actually doing it (Practice) - Motivation. It still remains a mystery to me what motivates people like Mother Teresa or in this case Annie Sullivan to lead a life that they have lead. The closest answer that I have is Purity; A pure mind and a kind heart.

The movie is also about the teaching profession, something that is very close to my heart because next to our parents they are the people who have made us what we are today. I say that because many a times we question the knowledge of our parents and friends but seldom teachers, I remember correcting my parents because the teacher said so! BLACK shows how Noble a profession it is and why people whose motivation is only money and those who dont realize that are shaping the futures of those who they are teaching should find other jobs to do.

Religion and Growth of a Child

My flat mate’s thoughts: He sees similarities between the beliefs of the 3 religions, in terms of them coming into existence, principles and the growth of a child. I thought it was very interesting and profound. So here goes...

During its early years, Parents usually teach the child principles on how to lead life and what is good and what is bad. This is in line with Hinduism, the oldest of the 3 dominating religions, where principles are taught. Next as the child grows and interacts with other children and people, it is taught love and how to love fellow human beings and this aligns with Christianity which preaches that love takes one closer to god. Next as the child enters the teenage, Parents introduce rules on how to a lead a good life for the benefit of the child, similar in the way Islam defines on the ideal way to lead life.

No matter what our religious beliefs are, we would appreciate that there is some light in what he is talking about....

Kumar's EPL Awards 2005

My Team of the Year:
Formation - 4-3-2-1
Petr Cech, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Ryan Nelson, Gabriel Hienze, Claude Makelele, Frank Lampard, Tim Cahill, Shaun Wright Phillips, Arjen Robben and Thierry Henry.

This team would have Carragher as rightback because he has been so excellent throughout the year, he should be in the team and I can’t find a rightback who has been that good to make any team of the year. I would go with Nelson at Centre Back because for a NewZealander to make the move to England and impress so much bodes well for Asia-Pacific. Hienze, my find of the year, without him we definitely would not have even finished 3rd. Three in the midfield for me, Cahill and Lampard as the attacking force with Makelele as the holding player. Personally I would like to have Ruud supported by Henry and Robben as the attacking trio but unfortunately Ruud has been missing all season so it’s SWP with Henry leading the line.

My Young Team of the Year
Formation 4-4-2
Tomasz Kuszczak, Nedum Onuaha, Robert Huth, Phillip Senderos, Gael Clichy, Darren Fletcher, Cesc Fabregas, Kieran Richardson, Christiano Ronaldo, Jose Antonio Reyes, Wayne Rooney

Goal of the Season
Wayne Rooney - Manchester United vs Newcastle United, Old Trafford

Moment of the Season
Steven Gerrard's last minute goal against Olympiakos which enabled the team to qualify for the Knockout stages - few would have imagined the Reds to reach the finals at that stage of the season, even their own fans would not have imagined what has happened so far

Forgettable Moment of the Season
Dyer and Bowyer of Newcastle fighting on the pitch in front of thier own fans

Manager of the Season
David Moyes and Jose Mourinho. David Moyes should have taken it but I think Everton will be playing Champions League football only because Liverpool and Bolton did not want it and did not push Everton to the wire, Everton made enough mistakes all season but fortunately for them Liverpool and Bolton committed even more

Best English Player
Frank Lampard - Magnificent

Best Foreign Player
Thierry Henry - We are so fortunate to see someone as gifted as this guy play week in week out.

Most Improved Player
Gareth Barry

Did not meet Expectations
Paul Scholes, United have failed to make it because of this man. Its not only because of him but mostly because he has been a shadow of himself and there is no true heir to his throne at United. Keane and Scholes needs able deputies and SAF need to find them as soon as possible for us to return to the limelight

Spanish GP - No glory for Alonso but still on track

150,000 from his home town made the journey to Barcelona to see thier "own" strut his stuff on home soil. Alonso did a amazing lap during the Saturday qualification. but was not enough to take the pole. Probably that was his highlight of the race. Unfortunately was not able to see either the 2nd qualifying and the race.

Kimi dominated right from the word go, not a bad move over the weekend, everything worked out well for him. I am sincerely happy for him and always like to see him do well because I think he is the rightful heir to Schumi's throne as no other driver can match the raw pace of this man given the right machinery. Taking away nothing from Alonso, he is driving a car much technically superior to the McLaren. As for the ever-moaning Montoya, he should be very happy that his team's mistakes disguised the fact that he was terrible over the entire weekend.

As for Schumi, when you have 2 punctures on a single lap there cannot be any more obvious sign that its just not working out for Ferrari and Bridgestone, but the fact is that the Red Ferrari is still the best car out there, the charts clearly show that; Only Bridgestone need to up their pace and that should be very frustrating for the Ferrari Thinktank as there is only so much they can do in terms. Time is running out, its getting to the stage where for the King to take the Championship, not only does he have to win but he needs both Alonso and Trulli to fare badly.

Narain, another steady job, nothing left to discuss, just a slight disappointment to see his name last and behind his teammate Tiago Monteiro.

Apprentice Season 2 - Episode 6 - Very obvious

The task was to Design and price designer clothing for women working with one upcoming designer from a pool that was pre-selected for the teams. John leads Mosaic and Maria is the Project Manager for Apex.

Apex - I think they won the competition with the first major decision they had to make, choose the right designer - They chose a gay male designer, simple does it. The mantra was ‘We made it very clear to Darren that we wanted a line which any one of us could buy and wear’. There you go, A gay male designer, assisted by fashionable street wise women - Apex were already at the driver's seat. The only interesting thing was Elizabeth's disapproval to choosing Darren and Maria's brilliant decision to get her out of the way (Useless Jennifer goes too) by tasking her to take care of the buyers, an important task but if you have the proper goods on the table, they would surely sell.

Mosaic - They chose a odd looking lady to do thier designs, did not catch on why though. A lot of goofing around, Kelly the Taskmaster is obviously not happy an he speaks his mind, there is no place for a military man on a creative assignment but I like the way he takes control when they are sourcing for materials. I personally felt that Kelly should have went with the team liasing with the buyers, there are decisions to be made there and Kelly's organization and eye for detail would have helped in determing the price and what exactly the buyers want. He was wasted on the creative team and John would have done better to have seperated Raj and Kelly. John does something stupid here and follows his heart and sticks around the models , its all upto Kevin on pricing - Thats exactly where John dug his grave and this is where he got down the helicopter.

Down at the Fashion show, the dresses are paraded by the models and the usual drama is added by the fact that Mosaic's stuff is appreciated by everyone including Trump and the Apex team. So like Kevin, you would beleive that Mosaic have done it again. But guess what, Apex makes $22,060 while Mosaic could only do $7,735. As good as Mosaic's design was, nobody was willing to take the risk on the new designs.

So it to to the boardroom for the boys and a plush party for the women. Raj being Raj declares that the party looks boring, oh, the men get to watch from the balcony. At the board room, John gets questioned as usual and everyone blames either John or Andy (Funny that because he was not involved much, that they say is the main problem). John consults Kelly and picks up some strategy tips: if both Kevin and Wes are seen by Donald as strong contenders, bringing both of them in is likely to get John fired. John picks Kevin and not Wes, but that is a mistake, why you ask? Trump says so.

Reason Donald Trump Fired John, in his own words - "We had no choice he just made too many bad decisions". I agree, once he decided to personally check on the models when their measurements, as we all know, were provided to them, he took his eye of his task and simply had to go.

Valuable insight gained from this episode: "Know your market... You have to go after the audience. If you can't pinpoint the market you wont be successful." - Donald Trump

Chelsea - Worthy Champions

Out came Sir Alex and Wenger to congratulate Chelsea on winning the Premiership, joining the entire world in acknowledging the fact that the bar has been raised, considerably high. "United usually gets going after Christmas", heard so often from Sir Alex - he bloody well knows, it does not apply anymore. Any inconsistent title-challenger will be out of the race by Christmas, including Chelsea. Maintaining the hunger is what Champions are made of, something I have always admired with United, it would be interesting to see whether Chelsea can do that - its easy to catch the "Been there, done that" attitude.

With so many pointing to the millions that has been spent, I would say that only 2 men are responsible for Chelsea's success, Mourinho and Petr Cech. Many say Lampard, well he does no more than what Henry does for Arsenal. You can clearly see that the players want to play for Mourinho; he has that x-factor, something that makes you want to work with him. Another important fact is that, in a way he has manipulated the press to his advantage, he has always maintained that he is superior and most of the press share the same opinion. The London press has always wanted a dominant force within London and they have taken to Chelsea at Arsenal's cost. No wonder we hear faint reports that Wenger has brought Arsenal "as far as he can"....I have never read that before.

Petr Cech, if you would count the number of games United and Arsenal have not won due to glaring goalkeeper errors, you will have enough proof that Cech's contribution is more important than that of Terry or Lampard. I for one feel that Terry and Lampard are being celebrated more because they are English. No one other keeper is so cool and controlled with the ball on the line and with only one hand over it, I remember so many instances where he did that so comfortably, his save from Baros last Wednesday is yet another example to why he is the biggest Champion amongst a team of winners.

As for United, its a very sad end to their season, win the FA Cup or not, it has been very disappointing. In a season that we took 6 points off Arsenal, Newcastle and Liverpool we lost points to teams like Everton, Bolton, and Blackburn. So it’s not about talent or ability, it’s simply down to attitude. Chelsea treated every single team with respect and won without expecting any team to surrender to them. So consistency and the will to succeed are the factors that won Chelsea the title this year and the team with most of both this qualities WILL WIN the title next year and it will be interesting next year.

Everton - moral champions of this season. There is so much hoo-hah on whether they should play in the Champions league or not. If Liverpool loses tonight, the debate is off. It’s very premature I would say, even if Liverpool does go through to the final, its Milan who is waiting and for me they are of even higher class than Chelsea. If the miracle does happen and Liverpool does win the CL, I think they deserve to defend it. It’s after all called the CHAMPIONS League. Everton would be at best another Celtic or Rangers and would be happy to find them in the UEFA Cup come February, so the English FA has better chances of having an English team in the final knockout stages with Liverpool than Everton.

Apprentice Season 2 - Episode 5 - Unfair Judgement

Managed to catch my second full episode, again few very interesting things that could be debated on. Firstly since the APEX team was performing badly and there was lot of in-fighting, so, Pamela the only female in the all-conquering MOSAIC team gets transferred to APEX, because Trump believes she can whip them into shape and lead them to success. The task given to both teams is to go live on QVC Television, I suppose its a direct sales TV channel, and choose a product which has never been sold before and sell in within 22 Mins out of which 12 mins will be spent "selling" it live on TV.

Pamela maybe was not too happy and the attitude was "Here is somebody superior brought in to HELP us". It was evident in Pamela approach, bossy and superior and all of her team too in that they took her orders and rarely questioned her and even when they did they actually did not stand up for what they believed. It was Pamela's decisions and choices all the way. Pamela in choosing to be so actually raised the stakes for herself, if the team were to win she would rightfully be 'GOD' and if they were to lose, she would succeed in her secondary task of bringing her teammates together, but they would united AGAINST HER! To be fair to her, given that she did not have any time together with the team before being assigned the task, I think her approach was justified, just that her team i.e. SHE HAD TO WIN. The brilliant sub-plot was that if Pamela were to lead this nuts to victory, much of Mosaic's success will be attributed to her, so the boys had to win.

Mosaic chose to sell a grill to make sandwiches and Apex chose a cleaning bar. Pricing obviously was key and both team had members differing on how much the selling price should be. Again
Pamela chose the price, Iwana did not agree but was not strong enough to stand her ground. The sad part was there was no strong performer in the Apex team who could earn the respect of Pamela, given her recent introduction to the team and the task at hand, I really thought she was doing a good job at it. So Pamela asked the team to choose what they wanted to to, something quite tricky too, because she had no time to assess the team she had no other choice but then an individual's self assessment can rarely be right, especially unders stress. Iwana moaned that Pamela assigned tasks to everyone and she did not take any responsibility onto herself, this is the sort of petty behaviour that we should fast to identify. Iwana dear, the whole project is on Pamela's shoulders, and there is no bigger responsibility.

A few other little squabbles later the sales were done and Mosaic won by a whisker, 10.43$. So the key was price and it was Pamela's decision and in the boardroom, she actually shot herself in the foot saying that the "right" price was actually 10$ more than what they had or rather she had opted for. It was back to the boardroom for Apex and Iwana pointed the obvious that Pamela was bossy and had to go, Pamela chose Stacy and Maria to join her in the firing line. George agreed with me here, he was impressed with Pamela's leadership qualities but Trump suggested maybe Pamela was too strong as she did not listen to anyone, that Mr. Trump, was all your doing because you pushed her into this muck without prior warning and none of her team had any history to justify her trust.

Pamela was sacked, for lacking good assessment of people. Very vital I agree but then she was not given the time. I agree again its something that can happen to anyone in the business world and I also think put in Pamela's shoes any person would not have done much differently. It was that single mistake in not using the respect the team had on her to get the team behind her. If she had used the 2 hr bus ride to understand the team instead of putting them down, she and apex would have won comfortably. This again goes on to prove on the importance of having people below you wanting to work for you. If Pamela had convinced the team to walk behind her instead of dragging them, they all could have taken that extra step needed to defeat Mosaic.

The real winner was Chris, he let himself being bullied into decision by Kelly, he did not contribute much to the task and will take all the credit for Mosaic's rather narrow victory, all thanks to Kelly's magic choice of 71$. So many of us can find such people around us and that what makes this world so interesting and our lives challenging.

Ferrari are back, well almost......

To all those who wrote off Ferrari, there you go! I always said Ferrari will not take this lying down and the last race is the proof. A team full of champions and the bad press they received is just PATHETIC. You can clearly see that I was waiting for this, yeah yeah, I know that Schumi did not win it and Barrichello DNF but then Ferrari was found a whole 2 seconds in that car. I was at Sepang in 2001 and Schumi finished third after starting 22nd, and next to that this memory will stay with me.

Now that I got all that off my chest, respect must be given to where its due and stand up Mr. Alonso, to keep a seven-time world champion in a far superior car following you meekly for 12 laps takes some courage doing and I was really surprised that he managed to do just that. Fantastic effort and if at all he wins the championship this year, he truly deserves it for this one performance alone. The sinister Kumar would like to point out the simply amazing traction control of the Renault and Imola being Imola is not a track famous for overtaking, these he thinks aided Alonso but even he cant deny that those 2 factors alone could not have kept the Master tagging with his tails between his legs :( It was a perfect tactical performance.

As far as the Heir to the throne, Mr. Alonso is being mooted to be the one, but my tip is Raikonnen. I think he is the real deal, my thoughts are slightly influenced by the fact that he is a Ferrari fan and I genuinely believe that he will be Schumi's replacement on the No 1 car. The tifosi would like an Italian taking that seat and Trulli is too old to stand a chance and maybe just maybe Fisichella could nick it. Also lets not forget that silly story circulating that Valentino Rossi after getting bored with MotoGP may actually give F1 a shot and he could be behind a Ferrari!

To finish off, my parting shot to those people who thought Ferrari were finished, "Come and talk to me after you clean the egg of your face, it smells!" If you are not still convinced, wait for a fortnight. I almost finished without my regular mention of Narain, again job well done sir. Yet another finish and as long as he keeps completing the race and does better than his teammate, I fully expect to see him back in a better car next season.

A fantastic cricket series...good for both nations

Kudos to our country, except for that bottle throwing incident in Delhi, we received the Pakistan cricket team gracefully, treated them really well and sent them home very happy. 6 real exciting matches with the Ahmedabad match and that last over by Sachin being the real highlight of the series. I myself thoroughly enjoyed it. A little disappointed with claims that it will end 3-3 and the matches were not decided by the players but by punters and diplomats. I don’t think people realize that makes everyone watching a big fool! There is no proof that they are wrong, but 4-2 suggests that it was not the call of the diplomat’s at least.

If I were to look back, Afridi's knock in the last 2 matches, Sehwag's in the first 2 matches, Rana's bowling, Dravid's stability, Pathan's 64, Zaheer's romance on camera are things that I will remember from the last the seven weeks. Rana got the Man of the Series award, while I agree that he did extremely well, probably even exceeded his expectations, the real hero was Inzi. I always thought the most dangerous one-day performer was Micheal Bevan of Australia, he may not have many individual records but from what I remember he has had many match winning performances, similarly I think Inzi plays for the team, plays in a difficult position, brings stability to the line-up. He has to be commended for his work rate - he has really improved his running between the wickets. He never cares for personal glory, 80 half centuries - enough proof for me.

Two major causalities from this series will be Akthar and Ganguly. Akthar - hope that what he saw of his teammates brings him down to earth and puts some humility into him. I am sure he would have thought that his team would suffer without him leading the line - Now, Rana has shown him discipline and hard work are more important to a bowler than pure pace and silly antics! Technically he would for sure improve this team but his character will only destroy the camaraderie amongst the players unless he changes himself. Ganguly, I am really sorry for him. The Indian cricket supporters need a scapegoat and even I cant come up with anyone better. His ban is probably the best gift he needs right now. He sure needs a break, hopefully he will come back the classy left hander we all love to watch. I hope Dravid's two matches have shown that Ganguly is still needed and the captain scoring runs does not necessarily translate into the team winning the match.

I hope this is another big step forward in improving relations with our neighbours. Pakistan has to lot to gain from co-operating with us, it is gifted in its geographical location, right amongst China and India, and hopefully they can work with amicably with both and help both the Superpowers to succeed. It’s hard to ignore the importance of Kashmir and Shimla to India's tourism income and the earlier we settle things with Pakistan, the better for both nations and if cricket is an avenue then, we should congratulate both Cricket Associations on a job well done.

Liverpool European Champions?

Rafa Benitez should be the man, more than anybody else this success should be credited to. Yes for the current Liverpool team, I am sure this is considered a success, even the most die-hard fan would have not been confident that they would still be involved in the competition, definitely not when they drew Juventus. Great work, Benitez's success on the CL Scene should send a warning to the EPL teams next year, whether they qualify to the final or go on and win it, Liverpool will be a force next year. It would be funny if we discuss CL with Everton fans from now on, I am sure they all would be rooting for Chelsea, if the Arsenal fans know better, they should too because if Pool wins it, even Arsenal will go into the qualifying draw for next year's competition. As much I hate to say it, I think Liverpool can go on and win it, yes you read that right :)

AC Milan vs PSV - PSV captain fantastic Van Bommel's final year at the club and it looks like he wants to gift the fans the biggest prize. The teams seems to be working for him too, Bommel led by example and Barcelona should be adding one more fine midfielder to their ranks, do they really need so many? Tottenham will do extremely well if they get him, but I see him at a CL club. United should think of him, although United rarely gets players in this age-group. If it was 0-0 against the current Lyon team, they would have had a chance against Milan but I think the question is whether they can score against the Italians or not - Dida is on a run, against Inter yesterday, it was his 7th consecutive match without conceding. Again its the Manager who is their biggest player, Hiddink and his Korea team did wonders so why cant he do the same with PSV

With Mourinho trying to prove that he is indeed the "Special" one, Benitez trying his best to get into the Champions league next year, it has to be said the hard way, Hiddink looking to do the impossible in getting his team to eliminate Milan, this year's semis looks more like a chess game. Usually for the past few years, once United are out of the competition, I can never get myself to watch the CL but this years it looks very interesting, looking forward to Apr 27. How much money will I put on a Pool vs PSV final? All I can say is that I wont be surprised, and it that really happens Mourinho will have to give up his "Special" seat to the winning manager.

Pakistan won, United were embarassed.

From the last 3 games, it can be safely said that India and Pakistan rather not bother to play but close shop after the toss! India won the toss for the first 2 matches, decided to win and won comprehensively. For the crucial third, Pak did the same. I personally felt that Pakistan did a good controlled job at thier batting but it was definitely not something that would have tested the Indian batting order, especially with such a weak attacking line like Paksitan's current line-up. But, Rana proved me wrong, but I am still of the opinion there was a something in the wicket that should have helped him, dont get me wrong, he is not bad but 6/27! He either is very inconsistent or is very lucky. It makes things a little more interesting in the fact that its 2-1 and it can go either way.

As for United, sad, embarassingly sad. Its one thing to be beaten but another if you are played out of the game, then it really is embarassing. Manchester United can lose, all good teams will at somepoint lose, but it was the manner to the defeat. Right from the start, they did not look like getting the 3 points, all their efforts were blunt. Its the business end of the season, except for the mid-table sides, everyone has something to play for and its usually the team which wants it more than will end-up winning. Three points yesterday would have realistically changed anything this year except to reduce the margin with Chelsea, but Manchester United cannot give up, should not give up. Its more about the pride of wearing the shirt and representing the millions who are passionate about this Club.

Sir Alex did not help in not playing his best team, but again if you have a squad of 25 players and if you have a semi-final next week, his team choice is justified. The players let him down, simple as that. They did not want it like the Norwich players did, sometimes I dont think so the current set of players understand what it takes to be wearing the Manchester United Jersey. This is why you need local lads within the team, you will always get that bit extra from the local boys, especially during these games that require graft more than skill. To teams like Norwich, playing United is the glamour tie, they are always going to try that bit harder, adding to that is they need the 3 points to play teams like United for one more year, so in a way any team's position or on the table or form does not matter. The 11 out on the field, especially Silvestre should be ashamed, they have let a lot of people down including themselves.

Apprentice - Learning something by selling Ice Cream

I was told to watch Apprentice to see how certain things work with Businesses, for all the theory that we can learn from schools, the best lessons come from Guest Leactures and case studies. I am no fan of reality TV because except for in the Amazing race, I see more drama than reality. As for the Apprentice, its not about learning business but its like a case study to see how people do things and how small things can affect the big picture. Its good to learn about teamwork and different characters, imagine when you are on big projects, it would be nice to have a camera to track what every single member does and to see what and how every member contributes and what effect they have on the achieving or failing to achieve the final goal. This is why I am beginning to like the Apprentice, I am sure certain part of it is being "structured" to add to the drama, but still I am sure there is something to take out of it

Last episode, am not sure of the episode number but it the one where the 2 teams were asked to conjure up a new ice-cream flavour and sell the ice-cream. They were attached to an ice-cream company Ciao Bello, the 2 teams were Mosaic (A guy called Kelly, with military experience was the Project Manager) and the other was Apex(A lady called Iwana, was voted in as PM). Mosaic could not come up with anything creative and as they were running out of time, they decided to mix Donuts with Vanilla and Choclate. Whereas at Apex, it was pure chaos, atleast that the camera view, it was like school children, anyway over time they came up with something called Red Velvet. Although the first team made a decision earlier, they had to go out and hunt for the doughnuts (About 200 of them) but Apex were lucky as Ciao Bello had all the stuff needed in house. So they did not lose out on time.

Next was the Marketing strategy i.e. Where to sell the ice-cream, Apex initially were targetting Restraurants but Mosaic were targetting Times Square. I think Times Square was a better option because selling in bulk can help to finish the stock faster, but selling directly to the public will remove the cost of the middlemen and increase the profit margin. The target afterall is to make the most money. The twist was that Apex eavesdropped on Mosaic and changed their strategy to do direct sales too, if not for, that Mosaic would have been a shoo-in. Mosaic were eager sellers, with a help of some creative thinking i.e. getting pretty women in to help them and calling their ice cream "Breakfast" ice-cream were steady. They still had a trump card because they promised part of thier sales to charity and used the charity pitch effectively. Apex were really chaotic, they parted ways by mistake and started late, although they tried to catch up by selling directly to restraurants.

At the end of the day, Mosaic actually made 250$ more, inspite of contributing a part of thier earning to charity. So Iwana's head was on the chopping board and she was given a choice to choose 2 or 3 ppl to accompany her to the board room to face Mr. Trump. Iwana choose, Stacie J, a loosecannon, who was not a team player, and 1 more girl, Jennifer. A guy on her team Bradford who cannot be queried Basically he got "cocky". Bradford gave up his exemption because he was so sure he did well and he wont be voted out.

Donald Trump sumed up why the four of them were in front of him: Ivana was a lousy leader, didn't have respect of team. Stacie J was hated by all. Jennifer really has got to keep her mouth shut because she opens it at the wrong time. Bradford made a stupid, impulsive decision. He fired Bradford. In business o­nce if you get too cocky and full of yourself you go downhill. Bradford was so happy about his part, the was just too confident and gave up his advantage unnecessarily. I believe that is what Trump was thinking. It was a strategic advantage which he gave up emotionally and emotions dont have any place in business, that was the lesson.

Always pick the winner!

If you thought this is going to be related to betting, you are wrong but dont be harsh on yourself because it was inspired by betting, off the subject, I have to mention about my Architect guy at the office who predicted Liverpool to win 2-1 and Liverpool to win both at half-time and full-time, just lucky you think? He wagered 20 dollars on Chelsea to win 4-1, if he was right it would have earned him 660 SGD!!! One can only imagine his reaction to Ballack's dive 93 minutes into a 90 minute match that changed the result from 4-1 to 4-2........

Returning to what I wanted to write about, when we feel inadequate in things that we want to be a success at, we usually tend to boost our self-esteem by joining up with people obviously inferior in that same thing that we hold dear. Mixing with people who are superior most often is threatening and leads to a lot of self-reflection, the outcome can be positive but we dont dare. Mixing with equals is the next best option but its not too comfortable and mixing with people who havent made it actually makes us feel a winner and we tend to do that often because that inflates our ego and makes us feel better.

I am sure at some point of time we would have found ourselves in such a position, one thing that we should hope that happens to us, is to realize that we are in such a position because its such a comfort zone that its quite reasonable not to wake up. The lesson from sports that we should learn is that we can only improve by playing against superiority, only then will we push ourselves. If we dont mix with people better than us, we may find comfort in the knowledge that we will never be challenged, but then we will never find out what the next step is all about. Remember if we avoid "growing pains" by sticking with people who either haven't made it or who are not interested in "growing", we will NOT grow.

Australian Football team joining the Asian Football Federation to avoid playing against the team that finishes 5th in the South American Qualifying FC is a perfect example for this discussion because, from the Aussie point of view is that since they are not being challenged all the way till they reach the play-offs, they cannot raise the game just for those 2 games and thus fail to qualify. So they say that they are willing to muck it with the Asians because they feel will be challenged more by the Asians that their pacific neighbours. I am still not ok with this because, the Asians teams are not going to test Australia any better than thier local rivals do, they gain by not meeting the South Americans and so instead of playing 2 tough games every four years, they will qualify to the World Cup and will play 3 first round games against better opposition - just a game extra. Australia is to gain from this and Asia will lose in the short term.

A bad sporting weekend......real bad!

My roommate walked into my room on Thursday and reminded me of the exciting weekend ahead, a cricket match between Ind and Pak, Premiership returning after the International break and the Bahrain GP. To add to all this excitement, F2005 was out on the tracks and doing quite well. A perfect weekend would have been a Pak Victory, United collecting 3 points against Blackburn, Chelsea not managing anything more than a draw away to Southampton and a Ferrari 1-2 with Schumi taking the podium. I know that is asking for too much but then when exactly the opposite happens, it is a dampener.........sad :(

Cricket - Brilliant start after sending back 2 dangerous batsmen in Tendulkar and Ganguly but then those 2 stupid mistakes with Sehwag cost them dear. He was the in-form player coming into the match and he made the Pak team pay, brilliant innings. As for Pakistan's batting, when you have the 10th and 11th batsmen gettting all the glory, the less said about the team's batting performance, the better. They need a good strike bowler to partner Sami - whatever happend to the 'Gul' guy - cant remember his full name....

Football - United failed me too. Ruud really looks out of sorts and is taking far too long to get back into the mix of things. Maybe he was rushed back too early - the pressure on him to score is immense, it was very sad to see him taken off. United before Ruud's return, were flowing, on hindsight it looks like a big mistake in rushing the great man back. I dont blame Fergie because no-one in their right mind would not play Ruud provided he is available, but then his confidence seems real low and his movement seems restricted. Finally Ronaldo, one day he sets the world alight and the next weekend he just cannot create anything, he was run ragged by Blackburn, could not make any impact on the match although the referee did not gaurd him, some were real crude challenges.

Its Chelsea's title, no doubt about that, for both United and Arsenal its now, all about damage limitation and getting that second place and being guaranteed Champions League for next season. Btw, if Liverpool did go on and win the Champions League, the second placed team in the League will not qualify automatically and will have to play the Qualification matches - something my Football Manager 2005 experience had taught me

Finally, the Bahrain GP - The only positive from the race, F2005 is fast enough. The real insult of the weekend was the fact that the only cars that finished behind a Ferrari was either a Jordan or a Minardi - It was that bad! Great work by the one person I for sure know had a worse weekend than myself -Barrichello, he did great in getting that car to finish, the technical problems were very obvious and you could clearly see that he was struggling. Schumi's pursuit of Alonso during the first few laps showed that there is light at the end of the tunnel and the end of the tunnel is near. At Monza, I am very confident that the Tifosi will go home with a big smile, the extra week before the next race is a boon in disguise and am sure Ferrari will be on the podium.

Karthikeyan - it was all praise before the race on how he was the best rookie among the 4 who started this year, then he was harshly reminded that he was in a Jordan. As long as its not his mistake, I am sure we will see him back in a better car next year - my best bet is Sauber - I dont see Villenueve being around for long. I pray that Karthikeyan gets his big break, maybe even this year, with the way Villeneueve has been doing (Not any better than Schumi, I know), I see him being replaced soon. Red Bull, another team brought back down to earth, Klien - extremely unfortunate and unlucky and Coultard - extremely lucky to get to finish amongst the points for the third consecutive race.

To finish off, congratulations to Alonso, again a brilliant performance, leading from start to finish. He does not have to lap a Ferrari every race, it really hurts. De La Rosa, if there was any man-of-the-race award, it would have certainly gone to this man. I would have switched off if not for this man, I would really love to hear Montoya's thoughts on this guy's performance. I intially thought that it was a struggling Ferrari that was showing him in good light but the way he drove right to the end made me change my mind. McLaren wont be that worried with Montoya's injury right now, they have a better behind the wheel for now. Along with Hiedfeld, he had yet again proved the vast difference a good competitive car can make make to a driver's performance. So, for now lets just pray that Karthikeyan can impress enough to get a better racing seat next season.

Real bad sporting weekend, the good news is that its over and the only way is up - Predictions - United to return with a bang and take the Cup, Ferrari to return to take the podium at Monza and Pak to win atleast 2 matches. Almost forgot the highlight of the weekend, Coultard commenting on the speculation that Montoya damaged his collar bone riding a motocross bike said, "When fat people start exercising that's what happens" Waiting to hear from Montoya..... :)