UCL '08 Finals .... in darkness :(

The Champions league final this year was something i was looking forward to earnestly..Man u Vs Chelsea..The first all English Champions league final..Two of the best clubs in the EPL..with tensions already running high after Man U's Premiership victory this year..the stage was set for a high voltage match between the two sides...but alas, it turned out to be a frustrating affair for me...

I was poking and persuading my friends to find some pub or bar that would show the match..but that unfortunately did not work out. So i was preparing to watch it at my home itself. The match was scheduled to begin at fifteen minutes past midnight on 21st..It was just about to turn on the TV when .(click,click,tsssh), (beep,beep,beep [the comp's UPS])..the damn lights went out...

I am sure you can understand what I was going through at that point of time..I was cursing MSEB at the top of my voice...The entire day electricity was stable..in fact it was pretty stable for the past few days and it wasnt even a load-shedding day. I was praying real hard hoping that the lights would come back on soon but it did not even after 15-20 mins. I gave up then and rushed to my friend's place who did not have a TV but i was hoping to atleast be updated to the match through the net. I reached his place when the score became 1-0 with Ronaldo scoring. I was frantically texting my friends asking what happened and how he scored n stuff and was still upset coz i could not watch the match...I probably was there till the end of the match..missed Lamp's equaliser too :(..anyway..my flat-mate finally texted me to inform me that the lights have come back on. I rushed back to watch atleast the extra time. But luck just did not seem to be with me that day..I dont know which blasted SOB made Ten Sports disapper from the TV...i was so angry that time because i had to waste time tuning the fu%#$ing TV. Holy shit..I dont think i was so irritated ever in my life...then finally the damn channel came on channel no 76..bloody took so long to get there..I was able to watch a few minutes of extra time..since the score was still tied I was hoping that the game would go to penalties and it did..Extra time came to and end and i was just about to get a glass of water for myself when it happened again..(click,click,tssh)...no beeps this time as the comp was shut..:(:(..

I gave up then and went to my room...I tried to remain calm and tried to reason with myself thinking maybe God did not want me to watch it live :P:P...but no i could not console myself..i missed what i think was a nail biting penalty. My friend messaged me and told me that Man U won..Im not a fan of either teams but still i felt bad i missed the penalty...i then tried to sleep..but since mosquitoes were sucking every drop of blood from my body i could not sleep at all. Moreover it was also quite hot. I realized that sleeping was out of question right now and just sat in balcony waiting....

Electricity finally came back at 5 am. With the fan back on, i could finally get some sleep. Thankfully then All-out was taking care of the job of killing the mosquitoes for me..(though i feel mosquitoes have evolved and have grown to be immune to such chemicals)...I finally saw the match at 10 am the next day..They were actually fighting tooth and nail for the cup.. Man U dominated the first half and Chelsea the 2nd.. Tensions were running high with Drogba slapping Vidic and being sent off. But the highlight was no doubt, the penalty shootout. I was sitting on the edge of my seat watchng them. I feel sad for JT though, with the poor guy undergoing therapy to recover from the pain of his penalty miss. And Chelsea's also without a manager now..The last i heard almost 10 players are going to exit during the forthcoming transfer window with Abramovich wanting a new set of players to up the ante further.I heard he'll be trying to entice Milan with loads of cash for Kaka..Anyway..lets hope something good happens for them next year...For now, its Man U all the way...:)...Glory Glory...

PS: MSEB should be sued to inflict such pain on people...

The Title Picture

The title picture had been taken on top of Chapora Fort, Goa. Its the place where the famous Dil Chahta Hai spot is situated. Personally, I feel it is one of the most beautiful places to go to during sunset. I was completely stunned by the beauty of the view of the Arabian Sea. It was one of the most magnificent sights I've ever witnessed. Everyone who visits Goa should definitely not miss this one..

IPL - the new phenomenon to hit India

IPL -

Its is the new buzzword all over town. People everywhere are making it a point to tune in to Set Max every day to catch their favourite cricket stars in action. Skeptics were saying the IPL would not be successful in India, a country where people value the national team more than any other team. But the concept of supporting the home city/state team has caught on and people have taken to it like a fish to water. The stadiums, which were a bit empty on the first couple of days, have been packed ever since..tickets are sold out for every game..

There has been a huge talk about IPL and the impact it has on cricket and especially local Indian cricket. The amount of money pumped into this league is of herculean proportions, with corporate powerhouses like Reliance and Vijay Mallya's UB group along with bollywood A-listers like SRK, Preity Zinta etc paying huge amounts to buy the teams and bidding for the players of their choice.

I really appreciate the way BCCI came up with this idea of involving young talent from different states and making them play with some of the big guns from around the world. The concept of a cricket league is not BCCI's brainchild though, as the idea was originally conceived by Zee's ICL. But nonetheless, it is there for all to see which league is turning out to be the successful one (read: money-spinner). But on another note, there are some glaring facts which show gross misconduct on part of the BCCI.

It stepped so low that it asked all the other countries' national cricket boards to ban their players from the their international team if they join ICL. How can BCCI ask other boards to ban the player from their team and how can other boards even accept this ridiculous request? Did BCCI pay all the boards in this world to do that. Does BCCI control world cricket??...Secondly, it is using the grounds which were supposed to be used for international encounters. I have no issues with that, but when ICL requested for permission to use the grounds, they sent a note to all the grounds in India not to permit ICL matches. Is that the way they encourage a new idea. Is BCCI trying to encourage cricket and youngsters in India or are they trying to make as much money as they can.

Well, I am glad that local players are getting recognition for their efforts and I am hoping a few of them get seats in the national team. Indian selectors should reward the players for their performances in the IPL, even though Twenty20 calls for a different set of skills and requires a different mindset and style of play. I hope some of the newly discovered talent gets some consideration when the selectors decide who plays in the tri-series between Pakistan and Bangladesh. The IPL has produced players who can be put in all forms of the game, be it the limited overs version or test cricket.

Another point i wanted to say was the players' salaries which is stratospheric and somewhat ironical and in a way, not morally right too. Experienced players of proven caliber and skill are being paid lesser than what some might call "One hit wonders" and some not even that! With the salary caps being raised to 20 million dollars from the current 5 million dollars next season onwards, we can expect the players' salaries to be comparable to what football stars earn in the wealthy clubs of the BPL in a couple of years. The English Cricket Board (ECB) will also sooner or later be forced to step down from their stubborn stance of disallowing players from featuring in the IPL and will make exceptions for star players like Kevin Peitersen and Andrew Flintoff to play, grudgingly or otherwise. There are reports of Kevin Peitersen being approached by one of the franchisees for a whopping sum of 16 crores, which provided the deal is inked, would turn make him the costliest player in the IPL..

Well updating you on the current scenario in the IPL, we're running into the fifth week and its already the end of the road for Bangalore,Hyderabad and KKR. Bangalore got some saving grace when they beat Chennai on Wednesday. Its beyond me how such an explosive team like Hyderabad cannot produce a win. How they manage to lose every game is something that is difficult to digest!... Rajasthan and Punjab have definitely confirmed their slots in the semi-finals which leaves Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi in contention for the remaining slots. The latter teams mentioned are fighting tooth and nail and its difficult to say which team will make it now, though we will find out soon enough. The contest is only going to get more thrilling and unpredictable from now on. Rajasthan continues to lead the points table and look to be unrelenting in their momentum towards victory. I support Chennai...though i feel only Mumbai, Punjab and Rajasthan have some solid chances of reaching the finals.

On another note i would like to mention a story i read online about SRK , still reeling from the failure of his IPL team and his show KAPPSTH ( did i get that acronym right?).I read that SRK has told Dada to get out of the tourney in style.."with a bang" quoting SRK. Guess Vijay Mallya should take a leaf out of SRK's book and should learn to support his team through thick and thin. It was grossly unjust on Mallya's part to blame Dravid on the selection of his team and also his team's inability to create a win. He also blamed him for bad team selection. Hell! who told him not to select his own set of players. If Mallya says that he trusted Dravid's judgement that he has to live with it. He can't blame him for his judgement now!...And to add salt to the wound, he went public with this annoucement. I am sure Dravid must have been deeply disturbed as he is someone whose known to be deeply affected by criticism. I would not be surprised if Dravid hands over his resignation after the season though i hope that does not happen as he is the only good player in the team. I cant believe though that he selected players like Boucher and Kallis who were rejects in their own national Twenty20 league...Anyway lets hope something good happens for them next year..

Also commenting on the Bhajji controversy, I totally support the IPL ban and the 5 ODI ban on him. It is high time he is taught a lesson for his continual misdemeanours on the field and learns to behave like a mature player like the other seniors in the team. But Sreesanth is no less, his punishment is seeming like a slap on the wrist. He too should be punished for his outrageous antics on the field. He seems to have no respect for any player at all..

With the BCCI requesting the ICC to keep the IPL window every year free from other national tours, all the players, national and international, should be free during the IPL time period..and with that i hope Chennai can recreate the magic of their first 5 games :) With the IPL proving to be a bumper success, it is going to be a fixture every die-hard cricket fan will be waiting for every year.

Cheers!

PL's - A Retrospection

Yeah ... thats right! I created this blog in the dead of night when I should be studying a certain highly irritating subject viz. Telecom networks and management. It took me a day to decipher what i should be studying from this subject. I shudder to think how in Merlin's beard am I even gonna attempt to start this subject. So anyway, jumping to come to the crux of this post, the last prep leave of my engineering life. I look back and think of all the PLs i've spent.Doing less studying, definitely less, and more doing other worthwhile(less?) things. I remember the first PL when we had like what?..10 days to prepare 5 whole subjects. It was the year when I was in the college hostel and all of my friends and me were together. Nights were spent in the library, empty classrooms,BCR or just about any empty space inside the college (Days were spent sleeping btw). We worked hard and it was fun too since all of us were together. I never had the experience of studying in a group and i must say, its very effective and never gets monotonous too. Those late night solving of maths question papers by SSK, the 3 am (and 5 am too) chai at Park, a shady restaurant in our campus vicinity, which was a late night haunt for the local goons. The waiter there, UK(forgot what it stood for!) used to boast of his knowledge of mechanical engg! Those chais really energised us and kept us awake!..The experience was wonderful. I guess that was the time when existing friendships were further strengthened and new bonds were formed. Moreover, I dont think I'd worked so hard even during my board exams. The hallowed Jigar's(solved previous years' papers) came in handy too. I think after my 1st year I studied only from them for the exams and trust me they were almost always more than enough. It got me through some tough times.

The first semester exams came and went and were more or less uneventful. Though i think i hadnt slept for two straight nights..which was a first for me.I remember the day before my civil engineering paper though. Me and my very good friend Harsh, were auditioning for the college cultural event which was to be held 3 months later. We spent a major part of the day singing our throats out to a very demanding and fussy senior. He made us sing in God knows how many scales and blah blah. I dont know squat about music so please forgive my ignorance! And the worst part was that in the end he said " Forget it guys, I dont think you are up for the job". I remember another friend, sang once and was instantly agreed upon. Well i guess you are making certain assumptions on how my voice is, but might i add that there a handful who think its pretty gud (No offence to you Harsh, your voice rocks! hands down). OK where were we, yeah the civil exam was the next day. It was 11 pm. Both me and # hadn't touched our civil books yet. We got freaked when we saw how much was there to do. All those back sight bearings and foresight bearings and related twaddle was going over my head, something that could be attributed mainly to the fact that I never paid attention to what the constantly-looking-over-his-shoulder lecherous pervert Patil tried to teach. (A certified eccentric character, he once turned back to look towards the blackboard almost 250 times in a span of just an hour!).Anyway coming back..I pulled an all-nighter again and studied till 9:30 am..the exam was at 10. Harsh i think gave up at 1 am and slept off.:). I gave the exam with groggy eyes and thankfully it went ok...and with that our first sem exams were over. I was pretty sure I'd pass all my exams, and guess what?..I pulled it off, and that too with flying colors. Probably the first and last time i got a distinction :(...In fact all of us scored well above our expectations that time.

All my other PL's were just okay, nothing spectacular to reminisce about. But one feature was common with all of them; The freedom of sleeping whenever you wanted to and having the whole day to yourself..something u crave for during the earlier parts of the semester..And i feel sad thinking that engineering is coming to an end. Feel sad thinking that all the people i've met, the friends i've made, I wont be seeing them with the same habitualness as it is now. The experience is something i will remember my entire life. The good days, the bad days and the really ugly ones too, the details of which i might describe some other time when i get nostalgic to the point of annoyance!...

Intro!

Let me first let you in on why i decided to blog.Everyday i see and hear of people from all walks of life put forth their thoughts, opinions and views on the blogosphere. I think its a very intelligent method of putting across one's thoughts out to the people. So i thought why not give it a try. I'm still quite new to this medium of communication so i ask you to have a bit of patience with me as I am still learning the ropes. Hope me and blogging go a long way!...