FAREWELL RICKY PONTING??????

The curtains may have well and truly come down on Ricky Ponting's test career with his repeated failures to get runs against the number one test team in the world (South Africa) on their tour down under......


The Aussies are ruthless when it comes to judging the worth of their cricketers and their place in their side, perform or perish is their mantra, and there is no scope whatsoever for sloppiness or silly sentimentality........

Ponting may well find himself falling by the wayside unless he sees the reading on the wall and either announces his immediate retirement from the longest form of the game at the conclusion of the second test or then at the end of the ongoing test series.......

Will a certain 39 year old Indian cricketer who is well past his prime take a cue from this enfant terrible of Australian cricket or then continue with his nocturnal tendency of depriving a deserving youngster of a much desired place in the Indian test eleven on the basis of past laurels and glories......

The writing's very much on the wall too see, pity our cricketers conveniently develop partial blindness every time the writing comes up before them.........

IS THIS HOW WE TREAT OUR WAR HEROES???

IS THIS HOW WE TREAT OUR WAR HEROES??????


One just witnessed the rather heart rending and sorry spectacle of a NSG commando and hero of the tumultuous events that unfolded on the night of 26/11 in the maximum city narrating his litany of woes and berating the callous system that has left him to fend for himself........

The hero in question is one Surender Kumar a former NSG commando and integral part of the 26/11 operations, the very same person was critically wounded during the course of the operation, underwent the prescribed course of treatment at various government hospitals and was conveniently dismissed form service by his employers who deemed him to be medically unfit for active duty and operations........

Mr. Kumar claims that he was made to run from pillar to post in order to get recourse to the pension that was his just due and the very same has not been forthcoming for the last year and more for reasons best known to the authorities........

He also goes on to say that he was the sole earning member of the family and that his wife and progeny are dependent on him for their livelihood, he somehow managed to tide over this period of crisis thanks to the timely help rendered by a few good samaritans, but is now being denied the reimbursement of the expenses incurred by him during the course of these fateful 13 months by the Central Government Health Scheme officials on the flimsiest of grounds.........

The grounds on which his claims for reimbursement were rejected indeed have to be heard to be believed and those grounds were that he had neither informed the CGHS authorities before embarking on this course of treatment nor sought the required permissions in this regard at their end........

Surender Kumar's rejoinder to this absurd rejection is both topical as well as coldly logical, according to him the CGHS card came his way around six to seven months back and therefore where was the need and occasion to seek the necessary permissions and information that the CGHS authorities are seeking from him........

This war hero also goes on to narrate how his efforts to seek requisite information about the number of wounded and dead during the course of the very same operation and monies collected from various sources and disbursal of the same to the families of the dead and wounded were repeatedly stonewalled by the NSG higher ups despite the said information being sought under the purview of the much touted right to information act..........

While one may tend to give the system and the NSG higher ups the benefit of doubt on the grounds that these claims may indeed be motivated and a gross exaggeration if the real version of events the fact remains that we are indeed highly callous in our treatment of our war heroes and tend them to take them for granted more often than not...........

The very least that the government of the day and the system can do is to give this war hero the requisite details of the issues dear to him and issue an enquiry into the rather serious allegations levelled by him against the NSG authorities by either a sitting or retired high or supreme court judge so that the truth can be brought out in this case and the findings of the one man commission could also help in setting right the anomalies that have crept in within the system during due course of time........

WAR HEROES ARE INDEED A PRECIOUS COMMODITY AND NEED TO BE HANDLED WITH DUE CARE AND DILIGENCE, failing which this already highly endangered species might indeed become extinct and look us groping for grossly unsuitable alternatives whenever their services are required the most..............

ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND IT"S SELF STYLED DEFENDERS>>>>

One simply fails to understand the hullabaloo or consternation raised by self styled or proclaimed defenders of human rights who have taken unto themselves the unseemly burden of defending the rights of fornicators, rapists, mass murderers, paedophiles, bride burners, naxalites and other such illustrious beings who are hell bent upon destroying the very last vestiges of humanity from this hallowed planet.......


I would simply like to take this opportunity of asking these self proclaimed champions of human rights a few valid questions pertaining to the victims of these seemingly inhuman terrorists or merchants of death who go around killing people with impunity as if the same was a god given right bestowed on them by some divine power who speaks to them in a deathly lingo that only they can decipher.......

These very same champions of human rights and so called defenders of democracy raise a hue and cry whenever there is an incident of naxalites being eliminated in police strikes, but, conveniently look the other way whenever scores of policemen are massacred as ultras and simply wish away these deaths as the spoils of war, why aren't the policemen human and don't they enjoy the same rights enjoyed by these enemies of the nation, or then does anybody and everybody waging a war against the nation deserve a special status in your jaundiced opinion.........

Kasab and others of their ilk are simply tools and implements in the hands of merchants of death who are hell bent upon destroying the last traces of the very existence of a country called India from the world map and pray tell me why didn't you cry yourself hoarse and raise a whimper of protest against the needless deaths of martyrs like Tukaram Ombale, Vijay Salaskar and others who were victims of Kasab's blood lust.......

The fact of the matter is that Kasab and others like him deserve no mercy whatsoever and should have simply been tried as a war criminal as he did commit the unpardonable crime of waging war against the Indian state, the credit if any for giving him a fair trial and due opportunity of defending himself should go the robust and impartial Indian judicial system that accorded this butcher the privilege of lingering on for four long years even after executing scores of innocent Indians........

Please for your sake as well as the sake of humanity as a whole, get your priorities and facts right and start lionising victims of terrorism and naxalism instead of the perpetrators of these spine chilling crimes against humanity..............

WEDNESDAY RAMBLINGS...........

I have often times heard wannabe politicians make lofty promises about turning the stinking metropolis of Mumbai into a Shanghai and a sleepy old Gurdaspur time and again, well the reality is for all to see, Mumbai is certainly a far cry from the promised Shanghai and Gurdaspur continues to remain as backward as ever, yet we continue to elect and re-elect these very same politicians time and again, one wonders whether we need to set our sense of priorities right and get our heads examined just before the onset of an election..........

Our sense of justice has to be seen in order to be believed, a certain Mumbai based political outfit firstly justifies the arrest of two hapless twenty year old's who posted innocuous queries on their facebook pages about the veracity of Mumbai being shut down on account of a octogenarian's funeral and then lionise the objectionable antics of a group of lumpen elements who go about vandalising the orthopaedic facility of one of the girl's uncles, political wisdom and it's espousal????????

The Mumbai police's paranoia and sense of misplaced justice certainly seems to have come to the fore if their recent actions are any yardstick to go by, they firstly arrest two young 21 year old's for posting seemingly innocuous posts on their facebook accounts and subsequently announce a DIG level enquiry into the actions of the concerned officials........

The hallowed soil of Punjab beckons with it's pristine waters of five rivers and intoxicating smells of the soil and it's hearty people, well I am off on a week long sojourn of my karmabhoomi, wish you could join me on this journey of discovery and self realisation...........

With various political parties and religious groups having assumed the role of super censors unto themselves and raising increasingly whimsical objections about any and every film slated to hit the theatres, one really wonders whether the government of the day should disband the present censor board and appoint these self styled "enlightened" souls in their place instead..........

Dhoni certainly needs to be put out to pasture because his raves and rants about rank turners have begun resembling that of a wailing banshee, it's good to be obsessed at the thought at avenging away defeats, or then should I say humiliations, but being obsessed to this extent does certainly raise doubts in one's mind about the said gentleman's sanity............

Shane Watson is all set to miss the second test in the ongoing home series against the Proteas on account of his failure to recover from an ankle injury, wonder what it is with this very same Mr.Watson and his remarkable propensity to break down just before the advent of any and every important home and away series.........

Just read a couple of facebook posts doubting the veracity of the Maharshtra government's version of events pertaining to Kasab's execution and citing Dengue related complications being the true reason behind his passing, well knowing the propensity of the present ruling dispensation to lying through it's teeth, only a rank fool would rule out the possibility of their basking in reflected glory..........

Ajmal Aamir Kasab's execution is being touted as a huge triumph in the continuing war against terror by the ruling political dispensation; well if hanging a foot soldier is indeed a huge triumph, why don't you lay your hands on Saeed Azhar, Tiger Memon and Dawood Ibrahim, thereby ending this war once and for all..........

24 hour English news channels have just put out the news about Pepsi Co. bagging the rights to be the title sponsors of the beleaguered IPL for the next five years; well Lalit Modi must certainly be shaking his head in consternation at their folly and having a hearty laugh at their obtuseness in this regard.........

Messrs Salman Khurshid, R.R. Patil and Prithviraj Chavan hail Ajmal Aamir Kasab's hanging as an epochal event and a reflection of their sincerity towards fighting the incessant war against terror; Whatever happened to a certain Afzal Guru, Bhullar and late prime minster Rajiv Gandhi's assassins???????

DEAR SHRI MSD..............

Dear Shri Mahendra Singh Dhoni,


Your recent statement demanding rank turners on which the balls starts turning square from day one onwards not only smacks of sheer arrogance, an abject lack of knowledge of how pitches are prepared, but above all misplaced and highly erroneous understanding of the hallowed cricketing concept titled "home advantage"........

Every side worth it's salt does definitely play to it's strength and does make an effort towards adding extra teeth to it's bowling attack by giving them the added advantage of favourable pitches, but, what you have failed to take cognisance of is the indisputable fact that these pitches are invariably sporting in nature and give both bowlers and batsmen an almost equal opportunity of coming out on top and not veritable minefields on which the batsmen are nothing more than sitting ducks........

Gone are those days when the Indian opening bowlers simply used to take the shine of the ball and then hand over the same to the spin quartet for further usage, neither does India have spin bowlers of the eminence, ability and sagacity of the famed spin quartet and neither are the present lot of medium pacers mere passengers whose primary job is to simply get rid of the shine on the red cricketing cherry........

You are also putting paid to the hopes and aspirations of both up and coming speedsters as well as those already operating on the cricket circuit with some distinction with your nonsensical demand as the dice is already heavily loaded against these pacemen on pitches that neither offer them pace of the deck nor sideways or lateral movement and by asking for rank turners you seem hell bent upon sounding their death knell and sending them into oblivion.......

Have you even spared a though about the repercussions that these rank turners are going to have on the careers of both present day as well as future Indian batsmen, Indian batsmen have more often than not struggled on seam and swing friendly pitches outside the subcontinent and you are only compounding their misery by exerting undue pressure on curators to produce rank turners in place of pitches that offer the barest hint of bounce and swing, thereby providing them with a heaven sent opportunity of acquitting themselves for sterner test ahead.........

The visiting England team also has in it's ranks a certain gentleman who answers to the name of Graeme Swann, well for your kind information, the very same Mr. Swann is arguably the best off spinner on the present day cricketing scene and may just prove to be more than a handful for the young Indian batsmen looking to cement their places within the team for the next five years and more............

Respected Sir, you would be better served by focussing your energies on honing your pathetic keeping skills and paying greater attention to collection as well as catching techniques and getting a batting clinic from master technicians of the likes of a certain Rahul Sharad Dravid and Sunil Manohar Gavaskar who are eminently capable of teaching you more than a thing or two about meeting the ball under your chin and the art of playing the ball with your bat and pad close together rather than the ungainly lunges and hideous swishes that seem to have become an integral part of your batting repertoire...........

Kindly justify your place in the side before beginning to make such outlandish demands as you have done little or nothing of note in the recent past that warrants your continuance in Indian test colours, the entire world and it's cousin is well acquainted with the fact that you owe your captaincy as well as place in the side to the benevolence of a certain Mr. N.Srinivasan, so don't perpetrate that widely held belief by repeatedly failing both as a captain as well as wicket keeper/batsman........

Raving and ranting is the exclusive domain od lunatics and loonies, so kindly leave these antics to them and concentrate your energies on furthering your cause unless you want to see your name added to the two afore mentioned ranks, as for the preparation of pitches, well the curators going around are more than eminently qualified to handle the same and certainly don't need unsolicited advice from a novice like you in this regard.........

Wishing you all the best in your future endeavours, I remain,

Yours Faithfully,

Sundeep Chopra,

an avowed Indian cricket fan...........

ON CHETESHWAR PUJARA.........

Here's why I feel that the new kid on the block, Cheteshwar Pujara can now stake a legitimate claim to being called the "natural" successor to a certain Rahul Sharad Dravid.............


# The Saurashtra run machine certainly has a calm head on his shoulders and does not get ruffled by the most trying of circumstances......

# His voracious appetite for runs certainly matches that of his illustrious predecessor, he averages in excess of 71 runs per innings after 6 test matches and this is just a precursor of things to come.......

# This humble unassuming lad is always looking out for former cricketers who can give him sage advice and pointers on how to go about conducting himself as a public figure, better his lot both as a batsman as well as cricketer and most importantly, has the mental acumen to separate the grain from the chaff..........

# The space between his ears is certainly rendering him yeoman's service, one can clearly see that his mind is constantly ticking and conjuring up newer and more innovative ideas about how to perfect his craft........

# He is a consummate team man and has always placed the interests of the team before his own.........

# Having risen from the ashes of virtual obscurity and coming from a humble background, this bloke is certainly well aware of the indisputable fact that this glorious game is his ticket to glory and personal grandeur.........

# Both his grandfather and father were first class cricketers who represented their state with a modicum of distinction and these cricketing roots only serve to keep him grounded and avoid the unnecessary complications arising from a swollen head.........

# A sound technique and impregnable defence are the foundation stones on which the edifice of his entire game are based, he eschews flamboyant strokes, cuts out all risks and simply goes about his job of scoring runs to the best of his ability.......

# He is a simple unassuming character who prefers to shun the limelight and remain in the background, he prefers to let his bat do the talking and shuns the pitfalls associated with making grandiose statements pertaining to oneself..........

# He more often than not is the first bloke to arrive at the nets or training sessions and invariably the last to leave and is well acquainted with the fact that he lacks the natural ability of some of his more illustrious team mates and thus has to run the proverbial extra mile in an effort to stay afloat in the increasingly competitive present day cricketing environment.........

# He is a self effacing bloke with the inherent ability to take criticism both warranted and unwarranted square on his chin, he is not given to violent reactions and uses every brick hurled at him as a stepping stone to glory and success.........

Ladies and Gentlemen; petticoats and pants, I hereby give you Cheteshwar Pujara, "the wall's" natural successor and a permanent fixture in all cricketing glories to come for the next decade and more........

MONDAY RUMINATIONS!!!!!!!!!

Apna Punjab Hovve, tambe de glass vich taazi, taazi lassi hove, gobi de parathey naal taaza makkhan hove, todi waala saag hovve, naal bhatti waala gur hovve, parivaar taa pind da saath hovve, Apna Punjab Hovve, Apna Punjab..........

will be in Apna Punjab between November 26 and December 2, ardently looking forward to satiating myself on Sarson da saag and makki di rotis cause' the same is bound to be the flavour of the season...........

One of my favourite ever persons' Sushmita Sen turns a year older and hopefully wiser on this fateful day; way to go, O! lady of substance, here's looking foward to seeing you in meaningful roles that indeed do you as well as your indomitable person complete justice..........

Trust controversy's favourite child Anuraag Kashyap to indeed put things in the right perspective; laughing off the film industry's predilection and fixation with flicks that earn Rs. 100 crore plus at the box office and turnstiles; Mr. Kashyap's take on the same is indeed priceless, "what is 100 crore, less than 20 million at today's exchange rates, hell Halle Berry, Demi Moore and Nicole Kidman take home all that and more after shooting for 90 days for a Hollywood flick".............

our sense of sycophancy and hero worship certainly takes the cake, if not the entire bakery, ageing warhorse Zaheer Khan delivers alleged thunderbolts at speeds between 125-135 kmph during the recently concluded Ahmedabad test and ends up snaring three English wickets in both innings, yesteryear cricketers and so called experts continue with their nocturnal tendency of anointing him with the dubious titles of "one of India's finest ever test bowlers" and "a jewel in the Indian cricket crown", I surely rest my case and leave you to draw your own conclusions...........

"Son of Sardaar" is fast heading towards the much coveted hundred crore mark if related media reports are indeed to be believed; sad commentary indeed about our sense of humour and the abysmal depths to which the same has plummeted........


Our definition of the word "secular" indeed seems derived from a sixteenth century dictionary; the term "secular" has come to mean something that requires permission from every self styled religious authority and entity before being released or disseminated in the public domain, do India and Indians really exist in the twenty first century????   More than twenty lakh Mumbaikars line the route of Balasaheb Thackeray's funeral procession and lakhs more throng Shivaji Park moments before his funeral pyre was lit; fitting answer indeed to all those who called this staunch patriot communal, one dimensional, a rabble rouser, anachronism from the past, doubters and self styled secularists, do wake up and smell the coffee........   Umpire Aleem Dar certainly needs a crash course on geometric angles and points of release; he steadfastly not outed appeals wherein the ball would have crashed bang into middle stump and gave hapless batsmen out when the ball would have missed the leg stump by the proverbial country mile........   Cheteshwar Pujara has not only made the country proud, but also drew comparisons with the incomparable Rahul Sharad Dravid; way to go Pujara, you'll certainly achieve a great deal by emulating the great man..........

AHMEDABAD TEST: CONCLUSION.........

Rejoice all ardent Indian cricket supporters and fans, team India has just thrashed team England by a convincing nine wicket margin 47 minutes after lunch on the fifth and final day of the ongoing test match at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Gujarat stadium........


Mention should surely be made of England captain Alastair Cook's monumental and epochal effort, this doughty Englishman defied the much vaunted Indian spin twins for over nine and a half hours and 400+ deliveries, everything that was hurled with him was met with a straight bat that was as wide as a barn door and everything that was wayward was duly punished with the contempt it deserved; a Ojha special that turned wickedly off the straight was required to breach his defences and open the floodgates as far as team India was concerned........

He was well complimented in his valiant efforts to salvage some respectability for his team by an equally determined and valiant wicket keeper batsman who answers to the name of Matt Prior, this gentleman who averages in excess of 43 in the longest form off the game put paid to team India's aspirations of winding up the test on day four with a 160 odd run partnership with his brave skipper, with 91 being his individual share of the spoils and only the vagaries off a fifth day pitch halted his imperious march towards a hundred/century that he so richly deserved.......

The fact that these two above mentioned gentlemen scored more than 80% of the team total in their second innings must surely be causing the England team management many a sleepless night as their other batting stalwarts like Kevin Petersen and Ian Bell struggled to come to terms with a viciously turning and sometimes deceptive surface as these two batsmen have to surely contribute handsomely to their team's cause if the Englishmen want to make a fist of the remaining three test matches in the series and salvage their lost pride........

Kevin Petersen seems to have developed some kind of mental block or fear factor against left arm tweakers and was defeated by their guile in both innings of this recently concluded test match, this English version of Virender Sehwag has been dismissed 26 times thus far by left arm tweakers in the course of his glittering test career and will soon have to set right this anomaly in both his as well as his team's interests as for Ian Bell both his footwork, shot selection and temperament let him down big time in this ordeal by fire on Indian soil........

As for team India, Cheteshwar Pujara, Pragyan Ojha, Umesh Yadav, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh were the biggest plus point to have emerged from this match, Pujara ended up with an undefeated or unbeaten match aggregate of 247 runs and did no harm whatsoever to the lofty claims being made about his being a natural successor to the seemingly impregnable Rahul Sharad Dravid..........

The Nawab of Najafgarh, Virender Sehwag, did certainly rediscover his midas touch and vaunted form with a brutal century in the team's first outing, this century that took it's time in coming after a rather long two plus years long interval did certainly warm the cockles of all Virender Sehwag supporters and raise expectations of an encore in the remaining three test matches in this series.......

Hyderabadi left arm tweaker, Pragyan Ojha certainly did no harm to erstwhile skipper Saurav Ganguly's claims about his being India's number one spinner no harm, his match haul of nine wickets for a little over 170 odd runs did certainly put paid to his supposedly more gifted spin twin Ravichandran Ashwin's claims about being team India's numero uno spinner as far as this test match was concerned at least; as for Yuvraj Singh's 70 plus run knock in India's first innings, it certainly must have given him a lot of confidence and made him feel that he certainly does belong at this level........

The English lions will have to do some intense soul searching and introspection about their team composition, bowling attack as well as their batsmen's approach towards negating the wiles of the Indian spinners before the start of the second test match at Mumbai's hallowed Wankhede stadium, as for team India they certainly can put their feet up and bask in the aftermath of a hard fought test win with selection headaches pertaining to ageing warhorse Zaheer being preferred over young steed Ishant Sharma being the only issue that the team management and selectors need to address........

AHMEDABAD TEST:DAY THREE

Day three of the India-England test match currently underway at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Cricket stadium certainly had it all; wickets galore, spinners running amok and a resolute fightback by batsmen who had their backs to the wall bringing the curtains down on an intriguing day of test cricket........


Resuming their innings at the paltry overnight score of 41/3, the Englishmen soon found themselves in a quandary from which they could never extricate themselves adroitly or suitably, reduced to a disastrous 97/7 at one stage, it took two resolute partnerships of 43 and 47 for the eighth and ninth wickets to give their innings a modicum of respectability, though their final aggregate of 191 saw them 330 runs in arrears and following on.........

Left arm tweaker Pragyan Ojha led the charge for team India with career best figures of 5/45, and he was adequately supported by Ravichandran Ashwin who ended up with returns of 3/80, while wicket keeper Matt Prior top scored for the Englishmen with an attacking 48, the only other English batsman who acquitted himself adequately was skipper Alastair Cook who staved off the Indian spinners long enough to aggregate 41 respectable runs........

Staring down the wrong end of a dark and seemingly desolate barrel, the Englishmen began their second innings 330 runs in deficit and facing the ignominy of following on, however the determination and resolve of the Englishmen to give a good account of themselves the second time around certainly helped their cause no end and they ended up putting paid to team India's hopes of knocking them over for a second time with lots to spare.......

A resolute and fairly productive 111 run unbeaten partnership between skipper Alastair Cook and rookie Nick Compton must certainly have given the Englishmen plenty of hope and a renewed lease of life, with the pitch showing signs of easing up and the Indian spinners signs of weariness, team England must certainly be harbouring hopes of still making a fist off a seemingly hopeless position.......

Their openers will saunter to the crease with respective scores of 74 and 34 not out, while team India's bowlers or more particularly spin twins will have to rediscover their wicket taking form of the first two sessions on day three if they nurture any hopes of ending the ongoing test match on day four........

AHMEDABAD TEST:DAY TWO............

Day two of the test match between India and England at Ahmedabad's Motera stadium certainly belonged to a true son of the soil Cheteshwar Pujara; his monumental/epic unbeaten double century and Ravichandran Ashwin's twin strikes at the fag end of the day's play certainly left team England's hopes and aspirations of making a fist of this test match in tatters.......


Cheteshwar Pujara certainly does have a voracious appetite for runs and more runs and his four triple tons and stupendous average of 54 plus at the first class level certainly more than prove this point; he seems to be one of those old world batsmen who rarely ever seem ruffled by all that goes on around them and more importantly possesses all the desired attributes of patience, skill, gumption, technique, temperament and single minded determination that indeed make him a natural successor to a certain Rahul Sharad Dravid........

If Mr. Pujara brought forth all the virtues of test batsmanship, the pied piper of Punjab let go of a golden opportunity of notching up a rare test century with his profligacy, impatience and impetuousness, Yuvraj Singh has certainly got to be the most natrually gifted batsmen that India has produced in a long, long time; but he throws his wicket away with sheer disdain as making runs seems to come too easily too him; while his antics might curry favour with the paying public, he certainly does drive cricketing afficionados round the bend with his penchant for gifting away his wicket to the opposition time and again.......

While, Yuvraj gave his wicket away to a bemused Samit Patel off a rank long hop, so called captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni pottered around for 37 deliveries before getting bowled round his legs by a marauding Graeme Swann, thereby becoming his fifth victim for the innings in the process, one really wonders why the selectors continue top persist with this rather sorry apology for a test batsman, his comical lunges at every delivery bowled at him and agricultural swishes with the bat only seem to underline the fact that here is a cricketer bereft of any semblance of a basic technique.........

His questionable tactics of prolonging the innings beyond a certain point must also be questioned, the team and nation as a whole would have been better served by declaring at the score of 500, thereby according the bowlers an opportunity of picking up a wicket or two more than the three that they eventually ended up with........

Any captain has got to justify his place in the team and Dhoni certainly seems to be doing everything to the contrary rather than justifying his inclusion, his technical naivete and lack of rudimentary cricketing skills saw team India suffer the ignominy of eight successive test defeats on foreign soil; many a former captain has lost both his captaincy as well as place in the side for seemingly lesser sins and it is common knowledge that Dhoni only continues to be the test captain due to the unstinted support extended to him by a certain Mr N. Srinivasan........

Ravichandran Ashwin only enhanced his reputation of being India's best spinner at present, his twin strikes (Compton and Trott) certainly did leave the ENGLISHMEN in tatters, while he bowled the former through the gate sneaking between bat and pad, the latter was well held at short leg by Pujara as he pooped up the ball of both bat and pad, with his twin Pragyan Ojha joining the party, the writing certainly seems to be on the wall in public view as far as team England are concerned.......

The Tamil Nadu offies fiftieth strike has more than dented the English team's confidence and only monumental efforts from the two not out batsmen; Cook and Petersen might just about end up saving them the blushes; team India certainly hold all the aces going into day three with a monumental 480 run lead, the English batsmen are certainly fighting with their backs to the wall and the Indian spinners will certainly look to keep them there..........

AHMEDABAD TEST:DAY ONE..........

A fascinating day's test cricket unfolded at Ahmedabad's Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera thereby heralding a see sawing and wildly vacillating swing of fortunes in the remaining four days of cricket in this test match and the remaining three to come in the India-England test series that got underway earlier today.......


The day undoubtedly belonged to three distinct individuals; Virender Sehwag, Cheteshwar Pujara and England's spinner extraordinaire Graeme Swann; Sehwag's innings did indeed come as a breath of fresh air and unequivocally announced the Nawab of Najafgarh's welcome return to form and familiar ways, Viru's twenty third test century was certainly a scintillating effort punctuated with trademark drives through the off side, cuts, glides, pulls and an effortless six over long on off the hapless Tim Bresnan, while this run a ball century did certainly give team India renewed hope, it's abrupt termination on account of an ungainly hoik across the line did certainly dismay hearts that were anticipating a lot more besides........

The Saurashtra run machine (Cheteshwar Pujara) was indeed a revelation; his undefeated 98 run knock was a study in contrasts, while his first 55 runs were amassed off a paltry 74 balls and were embellished with eye catching drives through both the off and on side, the remaining 43 runs were accumulated off almost 100 balls and were totally dedicated to furthering the team's cause, mention must also be made about Swann's exemplary efforts with the red cherry, on a day when his counterparts struggled to make an impression, this untiring offie bamboozled, bewildered and bedazzled the opposition Indian batsmen and thereby lured them into a web from which they struggled to extricate themselves and ended up snaring the four Indian wickets to have fallen on the day........

Though Gambhir was an integral part and parcel of an enterprising 134 run opening partnership his 45 run knock of 11 balls was certainly a far cry from his fluent best, he struggled throughout and was put out of his misery by a Swann delivery that turned back into him and disturbed his castle, Sehwag was Swann's next victim after sharing a ninety odd run partnership with Pujara, his ungainly swipe against the spin only connected with hot air and resulted in the stumps behind him being rearranged......

Self styled cricketing "GOD" Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar did try to hit his way out of trouble and back into form; his sorry efforts were however nipped in the bud by the Swann and Patel combination that saw him holing out to mid wicket and added further fuel to the already raging fires pertaining to his imminent retirement, Virat Kohli did promise much but delivered little, his 67 ball sojourn in the middle did come to a premature end when he was beaten neck and crop by a Swann beauty that gripped the surface turned prodigiously and ended up disturbing his citadel........

Team India ended the day on a rather healthy looking 323/4 with Yuvraj batting on 22 and Pujara on 98, team England will certainly be looking forward to snaring at least a couple of Indian wickets within the first thirty to forty five minutes of resumption of play on day two, while team India will certainly be looking to consolidate it's position and end up with a 500 run plus total on the board.......

Day tow certainly promises to be an even more fascinating and eventful day of cricket in comparison to day one, with the pitch already beginning to show signs of wear, tear and deterioration, this test match might well be over in four days or less if the Indian spinners bowl as well as a certain Graeme Swann.........

ON OPENERS: BOTH PAST AND PRESENT>>>>

Openers or opening batsmen are indeed a blessed lot; they not only have to put up with the thunderbolts of the opposition speedsters, sledging and unwarranted comments by the close in fielders, but also have to take constant barbs from the media about their places in the side in their stride..........


Team India has been really blessed in this regard, and we have had a plethora of successful opening combinations doing well both for themselves as well as the team ever since the halycon days of Messrs Vijay Merchant and Pankaj Roy; they were subsequently followed by equally successful opening pairs like Sunny Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan, Sunny Gavaskar and Krishnamachari Srikkanth, and Ravi Shastri-Navjot Singh Sidhu........

Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir have kept the flag flying aloft in this regard and are widely regarded as the most formidable present day opening pair; yet the Indian media as is it's wont, continues to take pot shots at the continuance of this opening partnership and has raised serious doubts about it's usefulness and relevance......

The fact of the matter is that this opening combination continues to average a more than healthy average of 53 runs per innings as a pair despite not having had a century plus stand for more than a calendar year and scored individual test centuries for almost eighteen months........

Are statistics and cold figures the only yardstick or measure of an opening pair's efficacy or effectiveness or do potential, pedigree and ability also count for something; well if the last three mentioned parameters are all that it takes then team India can certainly continue to remain carefree in this regard........

Gambhir and Sehwag are certainly the best opening pair in the land, but has the time to disband this most successful opening partnership in India's cricketing history arrived? the answer unfortunately would have to lie in the affirmative for the following cricketing reasons.........

Virender Sehwag is not a natural opening batsman but willingly or manfully donned the mantle at his then captain and benefactor Saurav Ganguly's behest; he certainly did make a meal of this new found position and responsibility and arguably proved to be one of India's best ever openers, but, the fact remains that Sehwag has been vocal about seeking a return to his familiar middle order role for the last two years and more and is only persisting with this onerous responsibility at the behest of the team management..........

You need to enjoy your chosen vocation to do justice to it, and the opener's role was not Sehwag's chosen vocation but was rather thrust upon him and all credit to him for being an unqualified success in a seemingly unfamiliar position, but one fails to understand the reluctance on the part of both the team management as well as the selectors with regard to reverting him back to his familiar middle order position.......

The Nawab of Najafgarh will become the senior most batsman in the team by default once a certain Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar hangs his boots and that fateful day is certainly not too far off, and the entire world and it's cousin is well acquainted with the indisputable fact regarding a cricketer's reflexes and responses slowing down once he crosses the age of 35, Sehwag is already past 34 now so grant him his wish before he starts becoming a liability in the side..........

Better late than never, one only hopes and prays that divine wisdom dawns on the selectors and team management art long last, as the extended cricketing season on home soil does indeed afford them a golden opportunity of slotting Virender Sehwag in the middle order........

As for the opening partnership, give the eternal bridesmaid Ajinkya Rahane a chance to prove his mettle in this imposing role at the highest level, he has more than made a meal of it in the shorter versions of the game despite limited opportunities being accorded to him and there is certainly no reason why he cannot replicate this success in the oldest and longest version of this glorious game......

Well what is that someone once said about wishes being horses and beggars riding the same..............

JAB TAK HAI JAAN!!!!!!!

Raise as toast to the sultan of sublime love and romance Yash Chopra because his last directorial venture "JAB TAK HAI JAAN" not only rocks but also rekindles your belief about true love being the purest virtue of them all.......


Essentially a simple love story of three kindred folks: Samar (King Shahrukh Khan), Meera (Katrina Kaif) and Akira (Anushka Sharma), the same languidly unfolds between the serene and tranquil locales of London, the English countryside and Kashmir and Ladakh to be precise.......

Spanning a period of a decade and more in the lives of two out of the three protagonists, Mr. Yash Chopra pens or authors a romantic sonnet that underlines the fact that neither tragic circumstances, misplaced beliefs, fate nor the almighty can prevent or stop two hearts who are destined to meet after a long interval and spend the remainder or remaining part of their lives together........

The two leading ladies or female protagonists are both strong characters in their own right and add two more feathers in the already overcrowded cap of Mr. Yash Chopra and add two more names to a growing list of almost immortal Yash Chopra heroines; a la Chandni and other such mentionables.........

"King" Shahrukh Khan has come up with a nuanced and cultured performance and more than does justice to both his characters of an army bomb disposal expert as well as a happy go lucky youth who is struggling to make ends meet in good old London by doing a whole host of odd jobs, while Katrina Kaif is fairly competent in the author backed role of Meera though she does grate on your nerves occasionally in the emotional parts........

Anushka Sharma does come across as a whiff of fresh air and lives the role of Akira the spunky and completely self obsessed modern day woman who realises what it is to love and lose after coming into close contact with King Khan's character; here's a woman after my own heart who is completely sure of herself, what she wants and her motives, way to go Anushka, I for one would be ardently looking forward to your forthcoming films..........

Neetu Singh or then should I say Kapoor and her better or worse half Rishi Kapoor shine in a ten minute long cameo; this wondrous couple seems so much in love with each other after thirty plus years of holy matrimony and leave you hoping and praying that you would also remain as much in love with your spouse after thirty plus years of marriage.........

Music or melodious music has more often than not been a cornerstone of all Yash Chopra films but sadly is a big let down this time around, Challa and Saans main teri are the only two tracks that linger on in your memory after stepping out of the dark environs of the auditorium, certainly a far cry from either Gulzar Saab or AR Rahman's best effort........

A tad too long at almost three hours, this romantic sonnet did not only reaffirm my long standing belief about pure and selfless love being the purest form of the good lord's prayer or veneration and has made me love my better half just that bit more; a big thank you Yashji for rekindling these beliefs and emotions........

RATING:3.5/5, DO GRAB A CHILLED PEPSI, TUB OF BUTTERED POPCORN AND SETTLE DOWN FOR A RATHER LONG AND MELLIFLUOUS ODE TO LOVE IN THE COMPANY OF THE WOMAN YOU LOVE AND CHERISH>>>>>

ON WHAT DIWALI MEANS TO ME!!!!!!!!!

Diwali or Deepavali means many things to many people; it is time to reunite with family and friends for some; for others it's time to have a blast, a fortunate few head off to foreign shores, while a few hardy others try to tempt lady providence into blessing them by shelling out a few thousand at the roulette and card tables in a rather foolhardy attempt to woo lady providence........


As far as I am concerned, the festival of lights has always been time to take stock, a time to sit back and analyse all that I did and achieved over the past year or so, exult in my highs, try and forget my lows, and above all rededicate myself to my ideals and life's goals.......

Diwali has and will always be a timed for giving, giving away sweets, fruits, clothes and notes to people who are not as fortunate as me, showering blessings on younger one' and receiving love and blessings from the elders in the family; as we have always believed that giving is so much more fun than receiving..........

Dark clouds of sorrow and desolation have however overshadowed our family's celebrations this time around; I lost my dearest Papa just a little over two months back and am still trying to come to terms with this astounding and debilitating loss, so no sparklers, flower pots, fun, frolic and gaeity this time around.........

The giving will however continue unabated as this is what my parents taught me and I have never ever questioned either their wisdom or noble intentions in this regard and rededicate myself with renewed vigour to making a difference no matter however insignificant...........

Missing you lots Papa, wish you were around to bless and guide us as always.........

Dear Ms. SUSHMA SWARAJ,

Dear Ms. Sushma Swaraj,


Raving and ranting against perceived slights against the Hindu religion and it's plethora of gods and goddesses could garner you the few votes of the fringe elements and fundamentalists but will only serve to alienate the moderates and saner elements even further from your already estranged party......

The choice is entirely yours, do you want to continue to rave and rant like a banshee about slights both real as well as imagined, or then speak the language of inclusion and development which incidentally is what a significant majority of the Indian electorate wants to hear.......

For your kindest information, Radha is a common household name and there are crores of Radha's out there; so stop raising a hue and cry over a non issue and focus your attention on highlighting the real issues of corruption, graft, unemployment, galloping inflation, increasing incidence of crimes against women and most importantly setting your own house right by immediately getting rid of a party president who has indeed become a huge liability for the party........

As for your objections against the Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar co-production "Oh! My God", the flick has rendered the whole of India a great service by exposing the nefarious deeds and exploits of self styled godmen who's only religion is the one of fleecing unsuspecting people and filling up their coffers at their expense......

Religion is indeed the "opium of the masses", but largely is a personal affair, the Indian constitution guarantees us all the right of practising, professing and propagating our religion in any matter whatsoever as it does not hurt somebody else's sentiments, and we certainly do not need sermons from self serving politicians on how to go about guarding our religious identities........

Kindly do enlighten me on why you and other leaders of your ilk begin playing the highly stereotyped Ram, Mandir and other religious symbols and connotations card any and every time elections to crucial states and the country as a whole dawn upon us and why do you conveniently forget these supposedly crucial (?) issues in the interim, a significant majority have us have seen through your canards and opportunism and refuse to be swayed by it all........

Do immediately stop playing the infamous roles of the rabble rouser and instigator of religious passions as they will get you nowhere both in the short ans well as long term, the only language that the electorate is interested in hearing is the one of development and bijli, sadak, paani............

Hoping that you will immediately initiate a course correction, I remain,

Yours Faithfully,

Sundeep Chopra,

a concerned INDIAN>>>

AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: MEDIA OVERKILL??????

Am still recovering from all the media hype, hoopla, overreach and overkill surrounding the presidential elections of the United States of America and wondering why our media makes such a hue and cry over an event that has little or no relevance to our daily lives......


While there is no denying the fact that America is the most powerful nation on planet earth and any and every action of the Americans does cast it's shadow on the rest of the world, the Americans do not determine our foreign, economic, domestic or defence related policies and is so are the US presidential elections really worth all that time and airwaves?????

Obama' re-election or otherwise determines the present and future course of 300 plus American citizens lives and may be a few million more worldwide; but I am still not sure as to how this re-election or otherwise determines the future course of 130 crore plus Indian lives and am therefore bewildered and flummoxed by the day long media coverage provided to this rather fruitless exercise.......

Or then have I completely missed the point and am blissfully unaware of our government and media having sold their objectivity, freedom and right to free speech and expression to the office of the American President; the American presidential elections warrants non stop coverage from 5 a.m. till midnight; one wonders why the television news channels do not pay similar attention to minute issues determining the daily existence of crores of Indians........

Currying favour with the American establishment and president may be in the best interests of both our government as well as media houses; but we citizens have still not pledged our sovereignty and freedom to the Americans so kindly refrain from foisting the US presidential elections on us unsuspecting lot........

Self styled foreign policy experts, America watchers and news anchors spewed American propaganda and sang hosannas to America's glory till they had America coming out of one's ears; but I for the hell of me cannot remember a single Indian election or achievement generating such media attention and generating non stop media coverage from 5 a.m. till midnight........

Will our news channel editors who take the greatest umbrage to any suggestions/questions or innuendos about their lack of objectivity and bipartisanship stop being American acolytes and spewing plaudits about all things American or will a sense of objectivity and non partisanship prevail when it comes to the coverage of such events; well my guess is as good as yours in this context and regard.......

Until then, let's all sit back and enjoy the rather sorry spectacle of both our English as well as Hindi news channels being a "BEGAANI SHAADI MAIN ABDULLAH DEEWAANA"...........

DEAR HINDI FILM MAKERS!!!!!!!

Dear Hindi Film Makers,


Your intentions pertaining to raising a few laughs and making the audience forget their worries and stresses albeit momentarily are indeed noble and more than welcome, but one wonders whether you need to resort to caricatures and profiling of certain sects and communities in order to do so?????

I am a proud and humble Punjabi and know for a fact that most if not all Punjabis and Sikhs are indeed a far cry from the loud, boisterous, crude and loutish caricatures that you have made us out to be in a significant majority of the films that you churn out with nauseating regularity.......

While I have no reservations about being the butt of few jokes and laughs being raised at the expense of my community; I am vehemently opposed to the idea of stereotyping any community and propagating falsehoods and misplaced ideas and notions about the same......

Yes indeed, we Punjabis and Sikhs are a proud lot who are inherently proud of our customs, culture, behaviours and unique practices of our very own and will certainly grant the fact that we do tend to be loud and boisterous in showing our affections for others; but that comes naturally to us as we believe in wearing our hearts on our sleeves and reacting with our hearts rather than our heads in a significant majority of cases........

We have made countless sacrifices in the cause of the nation and are always at the forefront in the case of natural calamity or attack on the nation by forces inimical to it so why don't you highlight and portray these admirable qualities and character traits instead of lampooning and caricaturing these two hardy and loving communities......

So much for Sikhs and Punjabis, Parsis, Sindhis and Tamilians have also borne the brunt of your rather sorry state of humour if any and been the butt of ridicule and uncalled for mirth thanks to your tasteless and trite portrayals of the communities in question.......

Raising a laugh out of anybody is one of the most onerous tasks that one can undertake, but do the laughs always have to be raised at someone's expense, why can't you churn out more situational comedies like a Chupke Chupke, Gol Maal, Chashme Baddur, or the recent Luv Shuv Tey Chicken Khurana.......

The above mentioned flicks or movies did certainly raise more than a guffaw or two and are remembered till date with awe and reverence; but what was both refreshing as well as welcome in the case of these unforgettable films was the fact that they raised laughs without resorting to either toilet or gutter humour and reverting to stereotype..........

Let's try and make a lot more of such movies that both make you laugh as well as nostalgic about them, humour is indeed welcome but without a bitter after taste in the mouth.........

Here's looking forward to a refurbished and improved sense of humour from your side......

A concerned Indian,

Sundeep Chopra............

RAHUL SHARAD DRAVID: MAN FOR ALL AGES!!!!!

Here's why I feel that Rahul Sharad Dravid was and will always continue to be a far better test batsman than the so called "God of Cricket" Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and should therefore always occupy pride of place in the hierarchy of the greatest ever Indian batsmen........


* Neither Rahul Dravid nor his legions of followers have ever made any pompous claims about his being or then having any intentions whatsoever of being the "God of Cricket"........

* Rahul Dravid was the quintessential team player who always put team before self and therefore batted at every position from number 1 to 7 depending on the needs of the team......

* Mr. Dravid was a far more astute captain than his supposedly more illustrious counterpart and his sterling record of having achieved the maximum number of test victories on foreign soil more than justifies this claim.......

* Rahul Sharad Dravid was always an ardent student of the game during a career spanning sixteen years and more and never ever aspired to become a master of the same.......

* He always was and will always be far more technically proficient than a certain Mr. Tendulkar; ask the legions of fast bowlers who were at the receiving end of a bat that they could seldom beat........

* Rahul Dravid was one of those old fashioned batsmen who always believed in batting within his limitations and grounding out the opposition and was never given to unnecessary flamboyance or profligacy of throwing his wicket away with a flashy stroke........

* Rahul Dravid's immeasurable contribution to the plethora of test victories achieved by team India during his illustrious career does certainly warrant him pride of place amongst the echelons of Indian test greats.........

* Calm as the most serene ocean, Rahul Sharad Dravid had an inner core of tensile steel and was a storehouse of cricketing knowledge that any of his younger team mates could delve into........

* His greatest ever achievement was that he was always an object of sheer respect and admiration and never ever aspired to become an object of deification........

* He selflessly donned the big gloves and spent hours honing a craft that did not come to him naturally; Rahul was a more than useful keeper, catch Mr. Tendulkar ever doing the same for the team...........

* Rahul Dravid walked away from it all with his head held high and when the world was till wondering why; while Mr. Tendulkar's antics and pathetic attempts at clinging on to his test place on the basis of past laurels have disillusioned numerous Indian cricket fans like yours truly.......

RAHUL SHARAD DRAVID: TODAY, TOMORROW AND FOR EVERMORE.........

MONDAY MUSINGS!!!!!!!!

Yuvraj Singh's recently released autobiography and testament to living life to the hilt is a super success and nominated for the Booker Prize........

Ajay Devgn's drowning his sorrows with tubs of Christmas nog and going all soppy over his better half Kajol's favourite saree, with the box office debacle of "Son of Sardar" being the express reason behind his rather sorry predicament........

Barack Obama's moping on his narrow loss in the presidential race and ruminating over what might have been!!!!!

Sunil Manohar Gavaskar is having a well deserved rest and wondering where his next lifetime achievement award is going to come from.......

King Khan (Shahrukh Khan) is holding court in his sprawling Dubai mansion and celebrating the unprecedented success of his latest love triangle "Jab Tak Hai Jaan" which has already amassed in excess of Rs. 150 crore at the box office.....

Anna Hazare's is on the terra firma of Ralegan Siddhi and is instructing his fellow villagers how to celebrate the festive season without imbibing a single drop of distilled spirits.......

Arvind Kejriwal is in dreamland and seeing visions of himself as Mahatma Gandhi version 2.0!!!!!!!

Narendra Modi's gained access to Santa and is regaling him with reasons on why his wish of becoming India's prime minister should be granted without any further ado!!!!!

Digvijay Singh's having his fill off Christmas pie in the august company of Manish Tiwary and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.........

Rahul Baba's being lulled into sleep with the aid of his favourite lullaby "Brown Girl in the Ring tra-la-la".......

silent night, holy night, Maunmohan's drowsy and Mama Sonia's putting him to bed!!!!!

can someone out there help me; Diwali is yet to dawn upon us and I am already beginning to think about roast Turkey, marzipans, stockings, gifts, trees, kissing under the tree, root beer, cake and Christmas!!!!!!!

So much for the dreams and aspirations of our hallowed and blessed lot; so what are the plans, dreams and aspirations of the beleaguered Aam Aadmi for the festive season ahead?????