Weather is not the only thing that has changed a bit, there is quite a war now on in the telecom market in Kenya. Now, coming from India and super low cost regime, i was shocked to see that mobile telephony though very popular, was mighty expensive, with rates as high as 6 shillings to call on your own service provider network and 8 shillings to the other networks. Safaricom, in partnership with Vodafone, is the market leader with 77 % market and its rates are totally exploitative, at least to me. However, Zain the no. 2 with 15 %market, was recently bought by Airtel and apparently, Manoj Kohli is heading the business here now and as you can imagine he has gone flat out. 3 shillings a call across all networks and 1 bob for an SMS. Safaricom has swiftly responded with a 2 shilling/bob tariff but only for a month. It would be interesting to see if Airtel will revolutionize this market just as it did in India. I will keep an eye on it.

Another thing that i have an eye on is cricket and more i see this new Indian team sans SRT and Dravid et al, more i detest it. I just do not like the casual manner in which it does everything, they just talk about achieving this and that and all that is today is the result of a process…is all this casulaness a part of the plan? it seems that there is no passion to do well or a remorse when you fail. Dhoni, of course, has a lot of anger and complaining to do about practice facilities and too much cricket and what not to do and being”more aggressive” and hence turns up late for media briefings. I just do not get it, they depend on the media to make all their money and still treat its probing parts as a pariah and with disdain. The thing is those people who live by the sword die by the sword and hence its extremely hypocritical of the players to avoid the media when they might have tough questions because their mega bucks come from it as well. IPL is not a cricketing event its a marketing media bonanza, Mr. Dhoni. and its a real shame that my national captain does not turn up to accept accountability after one of India’s worst defeats. The thing is, shame seems to have a price and people like Rohit sharma, yuvraj Singh et al who never seem to be doing justice to their talents and chances they get, they seem to have gotten their price and hence they dont bother about it anymore and of course there are people like Ravindra Jadeja who has no real talent so there is no reason for him to have shame, he should simply count his bucks and i am sure that’s all he will ever make no fans or respect. What we have as a team is a bunch of whiners who love to hide behind their board and cry that every one is bullying them. In short, i dont think i like to support my ODI team anymore. I would rather support the Paki team which at least has passion and shame intact.

I did manage to see Inception after all last saturday. Well, i would say it was a great experience, seeing something so complex yet simple. The biggest mind f**k was of course the ending, as that damn totem was still in motion!!!! Was it dream or reality???  Damn you Nolan, you did it again. Nolan really has the talent for story telling and all his movies mementos,  Batman begings, The prestige, The dark Knight and now inception are simply awesome and he really lives to his reputation.

What also almost lived up to its reputation was Nairobbery. After the movie, and a round of nice and mighty expensive plate of pani puris ( INR 200 for 8 pcs.) we were greeted by the rain as we left the mall, we needed to walk for a while  to get to a matatu and though it was dark and raining we decided to walk next to a busy road. What we neglected that a part of the road is pretty deserted and as we approached that section, we saw two men frantically running towards us, looking scared and clinging to their bags and we got a little scared and then they shouted, ” Go back,  run, we just got mugged’” we started to run back and took shelter from the rains and the crooks in a apartment complex’s  security guard’s hut. He said it was safe to be there and he was kind enough to call us a cab, Then we got home. It was a close shave and i almost met Nairobbery!!! The city seems to have that moniker for a reason

A lesson learnt -  Never walk after dark on the roads of Nairobi, Take a Cab.

We stayed at the Bagoria spa resort, owned by ex Kenyan Prez Moi, well he owned practically the whole 50 Km strech around that place. In the evening, we had a tribal dance troupe performing during dinner and yours truly also shook a leg with them, got clicked with their shields and Spears and blew the real vuvuzelas made out of a horn.  Simply Awesome.

As i said, this has been eventful last few days and some of the things were not so awesome. The not so awesome thing that happened made me think about the nature of lying. Lying simply put is to mis state a fact knowingly. However, isnt it also lying when you just hide the facts on the grounds of what you think is the normal course of events and it does not occur to you to tell people about it. I think its a lie as well and in some scenarios a bigger one than the simple lying. I committed both these kinds of lying these past few days. I lied, on both the counts. However, as you may realise its never the lie that ashames you the most, i am not saying it doesnt, but what causes you greatest grief is the pain that it causes to the people you love and care for. I did somthing pretty terrible which was harmless in my opinion but now that i look at it again was a big big mistake. why did i do it? well i am still looking for reasons and i have still have not understood well as to just why on earth i was so silly and such a moron , an idiot as someone has rightly called me. I know why i did it, just out of sheer habit and unnecessarily trying to be something i am not and nor i want to be, may be just to get a kick out of the whole deal. And now i am so sorry about it and more so about my conduct of keeping a dear one in total ignorance about it.  I never ever intended to hurt that person, some one who has been so kind to me, who has always stood by me and has loved me unconditionally even when i did not deserve it,  but i went ahead anyways and destroyed all the trust that was reposed in me and just seeing that person to be in such grief makes you want to shoot yourself for the stupid stupid mistake and error of judgment and ashames you of your own conduct.  I can not even begin to apologize and even if i get a chance i still havent figured out where to begin. But such is the nature of people who really love you and care for you, they give you a second chance. I have got one as well and i know its my last and i also know that i have no scope to slip because angels also have their limits. All i want to say is that i will do the best i can to undo what i have done so that the trust that i have lost can be regained by me. And to my loved ones in the tear island also, i am sorry and i hope to have the right words to explain what i did was not malicious but just a stupid stupid mistake.

I am sorry, i really am.

So here i am, in Nairobi and it has been exactly 17 days since i landed here and it has been great so far.  Before coming here i had a few worries, and being addicted to worries, i could not shake that feeling off, however to my surprise i have not even thought about those worries since i landed here. My worries were of course related to how safe is the city actually, will a vegetarian survive in the city which loves its game meat, how safe would be public transport, where will i live and stuff like that. As i see now most of my worries have been laid to rest. I found a house to share over an internet forum and the flatmates were gracious enough to receive me at the airport and get me to the the house and helped me settle down and it has been great so far. The city is as safe or unsafe as any big city though its mostly non violent snatching that rules but so far i have found that if you are a little careful and just stay in areas that have lots of people, you will be just fine. Vegetarian food is plentifully available, presence of a strong Indian diaspora ensures that there are a few Indian restaurant as well. The people are very friendly and cooperative and will go out of their way to assist you get the right address etc. Love their music and dance with their hips. Cost of living, well yes its more expensive and telephone and internet are really costly.  The City of Nairobi is very beautiful and scenic and the cool weather is simply great, especially if you are coming from the Indian summer of 45 degrees.

That brings you to Public transport and there is just one way to travel in Kenya, its the Mataus!!! Matatus are small vans, generally Toyota hi ace, which seats 14 people excluding the conductor and the driver. Matatus rock, you see as you get in them you are subjected to music at decibel levels that surely aren’t legal, some even have video screens and disco lights, its a party on the road basically. However, Mataus or their drivers, depends on how you look at it, i guess are born with the notion that every inch of the road and any direction is for them. So far i have seen them drive in the traffic, against the traffic, overtake from left and right, get up on the sideways in case the road is a little congested, get into a ditch to get ahead of the traffic, in short they drive the way they wish and you are a wise man if you do not question the status quo.  And i am told that the situation was worse till the government reigned them in with serious restrictions in mid 2000s!!! Anyways, mataus are a way of life in Nairobi.

Highlight of the week was going to the Giraffe center, a small zoo like reserve, which started as an orphanage for the Giraffes. It was so exiting to see the Giraffes, live and then i also fed them and petted them, they are so gentle and so tall but i think you knew that!!

Anyways, this first post from Nairobi has run its course and come to an end, more of this African safari in the posts to follow. So far, its been Hakuna Matata in the green city under the sun.

Asante Sana. (Thanks a lot in Swahili)

MKP

Talking of addictions, my biggest and long lasting addiction – Cricket,  it has been in question for the first time these days. and it has nothing to do with the loss at the T20 or whatever. Its to do with a team, or a part of it who do not play with commitment and pride and to whom a loss does not matter, who give the impression they do not care what happens to people who follow them with such zeal and admiration. I was fortunate that i watched most of my cricket in the era of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble, Sri Nath, Robin singh etc. men of character, of commitment , who played for respect, of their peers and their fans, who played with a purpose, who tried their best, win or loss not withstanding, their commitment was never in question. You could never Grudge a Srinath who bowled with all he had got, even if the wickets or runs per over were always not the best in class. You could never grudge a Ganguly, who was ,lets face it, afraid of the short ball, still was brave enough to lead from the front, it was the sheer strength of character of Sachin, Dravid and Kumble that a boy like me did not lose his trust in the game after the dark phase of match fixing. How can i then be content with a Yuvraj or Rohit sharma or a shreeshanth who have no respect for their bodies and their ability, no matter the talent, why would i root for these guys who make all the money and are just content with it. I do not grudge them their money or their good life, on the contrary i am a firm believer that a sportsman should milk all he can as his shelf life is short i just want a little respect for the thing that gets them all that money and fun. I have decided, that the day SRT hangs his boots ( and i pray that day never comes) that would be the last day of my active following of the game.

Talking of addictions, i have another one , i worry a lot and i worry even more when i am happy, sounds weird but true. These days have been very exciting and the next six eight months look very promising as well, with lots of traveling to new places, new cultures and a lot to look forward to both personally and professionally and i feel happy and that makes me worried, yes i worry. Dont know why, may be the fear of the unknown, what i would eat, snakes or just sheer bad chain of events , cause generally when i am happy things tend to go wrong. I am not a pessimist but yes i worry all the time. I just hope that like Smoking, cricket i give this up as well. someday.

Well, i made a start to kicking the worrying habit, it has been raining for 2 days now in Colombo and i walked in the rain today, after a very long time. As i got down the bus and walked towards my place this morning, the skies opened up and i put away my umbrella and just soaked in the water falling from the heavens. I walked in that heavy rain for 20 mins, smiling and singing. I think i will still worry for the rest of my life but i guess i will balance it with some carefree moments like the ones i had this morning. Liberating.

MKP

So now for some fun…IPL, what else, its the flavor of the month. So since my last post, Tharoor is no more the Junior minister at MEA and looks like before one of the Franchisee wins the IPL, Lalit Modi will go back to being the failed entrepreneur that he was.

Apparently Love is blind, ask Sania, but this affair is both blind and cheap. Mr. Tharoor, its downright disgusting and revolting to note that you sullied your gen next Indian Politico image for a meager 70 crores  for your girlfriend ???? I mean it was expected of you to be intelligent enough to realise that in the multi billion dollar game that IPL is, 70 crores, sweat equity or other wise, are peanuts of the cheapest variety!!! It is very dis appointing to say the least that you did all this of favor asking and “mentoring” and what not just for 70 Crores, is that all your “integrity” is worth??, i thought after 35 years of international Diplomacy at the UN and writing some well read and well sold novels you would at least quote a higher figure? Also, Sunanda is really beautiful and i am sure you could have at least gotten her greater benefits, no wonder you could not go on to become the no.1 at the UN, no persuasion skills!! Its a good thing that you had to quit, so that you can learn that if you are selling your integrity at least get the price you are worth, also, on a serious note, how could some one like you, who is so well respected amongst the youth and the informed in the country, be so careless in your dealings and get associated with such dubious dealings, please either choose better issues to “mentor”  for Kerela or get a better price or get a better girlfriend !!

Lalit Modi, finally is about to bite the dust. one knew that this man is getting bigger than the brand and the game that makes the money flow into his brand, when he had reprimanded Gautam Gambhir for calling Rajasthan Royals ordinary. I mean, someone who would shell bricks in his pants if asked to face a Brett Lee’s slower one, was so blinded by his power that he reprimands a person who has it in him to be the next Indian cricket captain after MS Dhoni. So, now we find that Mr. Modi that you are nothing more than a normal greedy, second rate deal broker, who tries to fill his coffers, by granting favors to family and friends, flaunts his new found connections and even cheats the very game that feeds him. I mean come on, greed should have a limit i mean why were you not happy with a fleet of Mercedes S class cars, Private jets and luxury yachts that you had to have all the power as well, choose wisely i mean, Chidambaram was anyways pissed with you as the current IT probe reports, which took place last year, clearly suggest and apparently soon you will have no place to hide, what made you think that you would get away with anything as they say, those who live in glass houses change clothes with lights off, not Tweet about it!! well, now we have seen you in a state that no one of us wanted to. All the best with all those probes and cases that would keep you busy for the foreseeable future. My suggestion, get Sunanda Pushkar’s lawyer he seems to be an expert on saving the skin of the corrupt.

Whatever happens to Lalchi Modi,  T20 cricket and IPL are and will remain money spinning machines and to be honest that ok, lets just do it in a manner that is not disgusting. I mean the IPL has been good for so may first class cricketers who give their best years to the game and IPL has for the first time given them some good money in the bank, airtime on TV and lifts them up from being merely names on a scorecard stub of a first class game played in front of empty stands. However, its for the BCCI to ensure that future talent is well mentored and advised to handle this fame and money and stay focused on what brings them these laurels. Cricket, i.e.

Thats it as of now.

MKP

There are so many things i do not like about the IPL, apart from the mostly average games dished out. Take the Jersys for example, but for Deccan Chargers and to some extent Mumbai Indians, rest are absolutely horrendous with the Kings XI Punjab being the ugliest.It looks as if the designers with the worst sense of aesthetics and no respect for sports were specifically chosen to design these disasters, Preity i thought you had better taste or was it Ness..well it may be is a good thing that you are guys are not together anymore coz if you both agreed on that dress for your team you would have made even worse decisions together or tell me was this jersey the reason that it ended, i mean one of you actually saw how funny and ridiculous it is.  However, may be they have realised how ugly they are so all the teams, all of them have tried to cover most of the fiasco with as many labels and ads as possible,The chest, the back, the arms (leading and non leading , they have different prices), legs, caps, Helmets( i suspect the box and the underwear are also sponsoring ads just in case the pajamas get rolled down and we will see, Amul cozy ad on an exposed yet sponsored bum). It looks plain ugly and is an eye sore to watch. reminding you of that stupid SRK movie “fir bhi dil hai hindustani” where the terrorist to be hanged (played by Paresh Rawal) is covered by sponsorship and there is a media frenzy about the live telecast of the execution, it looks almost prophetic for the IPL tamasha now in the hindsight, every thing that can and can not be sponsored has been sponsored. The sixes are DLF maximums, any wicket is a citi moment of success and even the most straightforward of chances is a Karbon Kamal Catch. Thats not all, They also have the breaks,strategically called strategic timeout to have more advertisement air time which is sponsored perhaps the first ever in history, a sponsored commercial break. The biggest of all is my anger about bringing down a game of serious passion equal to a soap opera on TV. This is the biggest threat in my opinion that will kill other formats, people loosing interest in the factors that have actually made the game of cricket, the great game that it is, Skill over power, patience over impetuosity, Character over popularity and most of all, Passion for gaining respect of your peers than to land that lucrative contract. Its a party, have fun but then lets please get back to the game played by hard balls and big boys. It aint cricket if it aint played over 5 days. and now to a sad development….

Oh Sania…..what have you done, your absolute hurry to get into the wedlock is making you blind, i mean Shoaib Malik..come on!! The guy is a potential match fixer, banned for a year from playing for his country, was a gutless captain and is not a team player, you want to pair up with him to play your happily ever after Doubles. Not to forget he married a woman, also from Hyderabad in 2002 over the phone after an internet romance and that divorce is still pending. Well, if its true love and all that jazz then there is no remedy, its blind i am sure the marriage will be the eye opener for you. I just have a theory that you are doing this because:

1. You are absolutely desperate to get married and willing to compromise on the quality of the person (that would explain your choice)

2. You are still depressed about your breakup with your ex fiance and are trying to get back at him (unlikely but possible, in that case Mr. Ex axe that Paki) ; or…

3. You have totally lost it, i know all that traveling on the tour can get to you!!!

But in all three cases i just want you to take a strategic timeout and think it through.You can do better and deserve better.

But if you really are totally messed up and are willing to go ahead with it then…All the very best and wishing you all the best for the Future and please keep playing for India and yourself.

But then, Think Again. Please.

MKP

The government has managed to get the Women’s reservation bill approved by the upper house and now its being debated in the Lok Sabha and once the house ratifies it, the state assemblies will have to pass it before it becomes the law and hence over the next 15 years, the seats in all the elected assemblies, both at center and state 33% of the seats will be reserved for women on a rotation basis so that by the end of 15 years all the seats have been represented at least once by a woman. The government and the opposition deserve a lot of credit for this. I am not a big fan of the idea of reservations per se but i do understand that it is a necessary evil to correct social and political wrongs of the past, so far it has not achieved great results, we have had SC, ST, OBC reservations for a long time and they have given poor to mixed results in terms of the goals they were set to achieve, but yes i am ok to live with them as they have helped a lot of families who had very limited chances, but that has meant my chances have been cut in some ways, but i have also seen the pie grow in the last 10 years or so and till we keep it growing we will have enough opportunities for all, caste or gender not withstanding, it has in a way helped and pushed people to look beyond government jobs in the rural areas and that is a good thing. It has been tough on a lot of people but then it has had been tough on a lot of previous generations of the downtrodden classes, may be its just a circle of karma. I hear a lot of opinions that why do we need reservations, have any of the developed countries, well functioning democracies provided such provisions, well you are right they havent. What we forget that these countries and democracies have also been through their own evolution, America did not choose an African American president till it had hundreds of years of democracy behind it. The equality of women achieved in the west has not happened overnight and is till not complete in a lots of ways. This is India’s growth process and i think its about time we had this experiment.

It is not my argument that more women in the legislatures will transform our polity. Hardly, given our penchant to be ruled by dynasties we will see wives, daughters and daughter in laws of powerful politicians holding these seats so that it remains in the family for most of the 33 %. Well, they cant be worse than the men we choose to lead so i argue that it cant get worse but it can get better, a little defeatist, may be , but still rational. We are not looking for every women to be  a catalyst of change we will see mostly Rabri Devis coming up but we might, just might get a few good women. I hear that Indira Gandhi, went from being the goongi Gudiya (mute doll) to being the only “Man” in her cabinet and if that happens to more women in our country it would not be a bad thing.  Women tend to be less corruptible and more sensitive though more ruthless as well, so lets see how it goes from here. I am ready to vote for a woman next elections.

MKP

I live on the Galle road, the best road in Colombo, in the heart of the city which houses Majestic city, the largest mall in Sri Lanka, going till the President’s residence, the Galle sea face, barefoot gallery and the Taj Samudra , Grand Cinnamon and Hilton hotels, MGM and Stardust Casinos, McDonald’s, Barista and Pizza Hut. Other roads that I frequent are the duplication road, the road parallel to the Galle road with clubs like Rhythm and Blues, Lush etc, the Havelock road, the  High level road, the road i was mugged on, etc. The by lanes that join the Galle and duplication road are perhaps the most trendiest residence addresses in the whole of Colombo and are parking grounds for four wheeled beasts like the Land Rovers, Pajeros, Monteros and beauties like Bentlys, Jaguars and Mercs . On the sidewalks of these by lanes and the Galle road, i see some of the homeless who have made the sidewalk their own. Like the man who I see everyday lying in the shade of the highest wall on the by lane next to the British council, well any time during the day, morning or evening I see him in the same position, leaning on an electric pole and with a paper and pen, doing weird calculations, it’s always numbers with him, no words, a genius gone wrong may be. Then there is this family who i don’t see all day but come evening they materialise and take up a side walk section, just in front of a closed male accessories store, and roll out their households with cardboards for beds, bags, radio and the other accoutrements. They are four in number and the mother and son, i presume, are constantly in an argument while the father and daughter in law look on, every night. Then there is this guy on crutches, he has polio, with glasses, seen near the cross section of Majestic city, he is always talking in English, its another thing that he is mostly talking to himself which makes me a little uncomfortable as i pass him, but his English is impeccable. Then there is this weird kind of guy, big in size, middle aged and always seen in branded tracks and T shirts, mostly Nike, seen chatting up auto drivers during the day and sleeping on the sidewalk by the night, i find it pretty baffling given his gold chain and sleek snickers, my guess a drug addict, he has eyes like that.  I know it may be insensitive to say so but even the homeless here are different from back home, very very different may be here they seem a little better off and life seems to be a little softer on them than the poor families who you see on the roadside in India, who don’t even have the luxury of a sidewalk.

Then there is another variety that comes out as the stars come up. Hookers. There are three of them who can be seen every night on my stretch of the Galle road. Each takes up their own position at the opening of three consecutive by lanes. They are dressed more or less same every night with heavy makeup. One of them always has a fiery red T shirt which involuntary triggers the Sting number ‘Roxanne’ in my head, another one is dressed in a black dress and the third one…well i can’t recall. They stand in the shadows for most of the time and then show themselves in the light as they see approaching a potential client. Sometimes it goes like this, a bike/car slows down near them and then speeds away then reverses and speaks to one of them and then it leads to business, i guess. And then there is the fourth one, i think a man dressed as a woman, his long wig gives him away amongst other things, interestingly he stands on the opposite side of the road as to his female competitors, on second thoughts may be caters to a separate niche of the market. Well, it seems that they spend all the night there looking for business and in case it’s a lean night they crash on the sidewalk for the rest of the night as i see them sleeping them there some of the mornings as well with the make up a little messed up and weariness writ large on what is revealed in the daylight middle aged sleeping faces  and that red T shirts reminds me of Sting again…

Roxanne
You don’t have to put on the red light
Those days are over
You don’t have to sell your body to the night

Roxanne
You don’t have to wear that dress tonight
Walk the streets for money
You don’t care if it’s wrong or if it’s right

Roxanne
You don’t have to put on the red light……

I had a taste of Sri Lankan hospitality as well where i was offered meals i would not finish in a day at every visit. The landlady in whose house i was put up was kind to offer me dinner and breakfast. The dinner was well made fried rice and dal and the breakfast was rice and coconut sambhol. A coconut sambhol is sort of a dry curry with finely grated coconut and spices (READ CHILLIES) all were really good and offered with a big smile but that coconut Sambhol will rate as the hottest thing i ever ate, my toungue is still recovering from it.

I also got to see the romantic side of the locals. One feild officer of the organisation i work with here showed me the Valentine’s gift he was making for his girlfriend. It is a very beautiful painting , he said that he has been working on it after office hours for more than a month and the effort clearly showed it really is very pretty. It also has a message that was supposed to read – Ever loving, never changing, but as you know love is blind he made a small spelling error and it reads ‘ always loving, newer chenging’ i thought of pointing it out but that would have ruined his all effort so i kept mum. I hope that either she is equally blindly in love and doesnt notice (only a fool would see the words and miss the message) or has equal spelling powers as her boyfriend. Have i ever done such stuff for valentine’s …..well once i did but now i am better and cured of the disease.

A word about the villages in Sri Lanka, they were green, clean and very small, in fact i could not believe they were villages as they just dont look anything like the villages in India.  For starters,  all the houses that i saw were pucca or concrete houses with fancy woodwork, electricity, good road connectivity, clean  and working sewage systems. everywhere you saw kids coming back from school in their school dress and other accouterments, buses and autos plying and you would assume its a small town in India but i have been reliably told that those were actually villages. It could be that i was in a well off area or may be i missed the poorer sections but i will have to say that in all my 138 days here i havent yet seen a non concrete house or even any sign of abject poverty. Most of these villages, at least the ones i had a chance to visit, are fueled by the remittances sentby family members working abroad, i asked if this was a region specific phenomenon but know most of the rural areas in Sri Lanka are run by agriculture and remittances. The bottom line is that the quality of life in the villages is definitely better than back home, at least from what i have seen as of now.

MKP

To make the misery complete, Indian test team , the so called No. 1 ranked in the world were humiliated by a South African team which are indeed the real No. 1 team in the world as of today. As always its not the defeat but the manner in which it was ‘achieved’ by the millionaires that sucks. What class and skill  SAF showed in the total annihilation of this Indian Team. Dale Steyn produced perhaps the best display of fast bowling that has been seen in that country in the last decade!! Awesome and masterly, Fierce  pace with deadly accuracy and skillful swing exposed the Indian batting line up barring the two greats who are never overawed by the bowler or his reputation but they didnt do enough!!  MSD, the master of mediocre attacks was exposed blatantly and he clearly was battling, i mean just look at the kind of respect he was showing to Paul Harris, someone who will never be accused of turning the ball in his life, the least said about MSD’s panting against the quick men the best. Badrinath finally proved that he is the one who should be playing tests than Yuvraj. Just like Sehwag’s statement against Bangladesh, i will have to say that this Indian team has very ordinary bowling and can not take 20 wickets against a Class side. Harbhajan needs to be rested and Ishant not to be picked till he bowls in the 140s again on a regular basis and let Ojha and Mishra be the spin Twins. Few facts – Dravid is irreplaceable as of now, Ganguly and Kumble were forced to retire, they can still command their place in this test team, the talent cupboard is pretty bare both in bowling and batting especially in the longer version. We, but for a miracle, will lose 2-0 as i cant see this bowling  take 20 SAF wickets. India needs to do better against Class sides like Australia and South Africa  rather than dismantling ordinary sides like Bangladesh and SL if they want to be seen as a respectable test team and that would come from playing better cricket, high on Quality and Character, sadly both were missing in Nagpur.

Coming to the only bright side of the day, I finally watched Avatar and suffice it to say that i have not seen anything quite like it, Mesmerizing . This movie is a testament of unlimited power of Human Imagination and what it can conceive, hats off to James Cameron. Avatar is also a reminder that Human greed more than anything else is what will destroy Human race, Life and the beautiful planet we live in.

Well this dark thought sums up my mood for the day.

MKP