Thank You

Thank you Mahendra Singh Dhoni for everything. Superlative captain, fair and just leader. You make me proud.

Thank you Sachin Tendulkar, for being such an exemplary player. India is proud that you are an Indian.

Thank you Gautam Gambhir, Oh! what nerves you truly have. Thanks for refusing to take any unnecessary risks. But Why Oh! Why did you choose Pereira of all people to lose your wicket to?

Thank you Virender Sehwag, for all the entertainment you provided. Be it your 175 against Bangladesh or you super cameo against Pakistan or even your on field antics

Thank you Virat Kohli, for just being so strong willed, for all the partnerships and for also having the nerve to tell Sachin that he actually, is out. I see a bright future for Indian cricket in you.

Thank you Suresh Raina, for your electric fielding (your influence even made Ashish Nehra field (a feat!)) and your gritty knocks against Australia (loved the way you smacked Lee’s short balls to boundaries) and Pakistan

Thank you Zaheer Khan, for being the bowling captain and for making things happen when nothing seemed possible

Thank you Harbhajan Singh, for remembering that you actually can bowl and take wickets too

Thank you Munaf Patel and Ashish Nehra for lifting your bowling at the right time

Thank you Ravichandran Ashwin for making Bhajji look pedestrian and teaching him how it’s actually done (read carom ball)

Thank you Piyush Chawla, for being the team’s lucky mascot.

Thank you Yusuf Pathan, for making me miss Raina more than I ever thought I would

Thank you Shantakumaran Sreesanth, for fielding better than bowling and being a nuisance in general.

Thank you Yuvraj Singh, for becoming the all rounder India never had. I stand corrected you are the BEST.

Thank you Gary Kirsten, you Sir are AWESOME. RESPECT

Love,

A cricket crazy Indian.

We Are the Champions

“I've paid my dues -
Time after time -
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime -
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I've come through

We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end-
We are the champions-
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world “

Yes yes yes Indians are the WORLD CHAMPIONS. I am a World Champion. We thumped Sri Lanka to win by 6 wickets and 10 balls to spare  My Captain and his boys have done what I thought I would never see in this lifetime. I have waited 15 years to see this day. Today I am living my dream. Now I have a dozen cricket stories for my children and their children too. I am going to bore them with “You know in 2011 when India won the world cup…”. Men in Blue have ensured this generation bragging rights for the rest of their lifetimes. No Khans, No Gandhi’s we swear by Dhoni.

Thank You Team India. You were magnificent!!!!!

Aashayein.. World Cup 2011 A Dream

“Teri woh raftaar ho (Such should be your pace)

Roke se bhi tu na ruke (That even if stopped you shouldn’t stop)

Haasil kar aisa shikhar (Achieve such heights)

Parbat ki bhi nazarein uthe” (That even a mountain has to look up to you)

On Wednesday India defeated Pakistan to reach the finals of the ICC World Cup 2011. There is tremendous pressure on the team to win the cup. As an avid cricket fan, I honestly was surprised to see my team enter the finals. I mean it’s not the best unit in the world in terms of defense (bowling and fielding) yet it managed to conquer such heights. Before the tournament started India was touted as the favorites (reasons for which failed me completely) but as the league games started the “favorites” tag started to lose some shine thanks to some patchy performances by the Indians  and also because of  our awful media(they honestly have verbal diarrhea). But somehow the Team has managed to win and come out trumps in all the crunch matches. So what makes this team tick? How can they possibly win against some of the best teams in the world?

I would like to give a lot of credit to the players and the captain. They know their strengths and weaknesses more than you and me. They try to play their strengths and more often than not have been successful. I as an Indian am proud of my team and what ever they have achieved so far. They have given me a tight slap on the face for not believing in them and their abilities. I am really happy that they have made it so far. Even if they don’t win tomorrow it wouldn’t make me unhappy. Yeah! It would be great to have the cup in India in the hands of one of the best captains of the Indian Cricket Team but no matter what happens I stand by them.

My message to Team India – Go and play your best. Race the odds and better your own performance. You are your toughest competitor. Good Luck.

No matter what...

No matter what happens today I will stand by my team. If they lose I will admit that they had one bad day at the office. I will not throw them any insults or call them any names. I will not ask my Captain to step down, because I will know deep in my heart that he did the best he could.  I will not question the coach’s commitment towards his team. I will not stand by any mud slinging the media starts. If we win I will bow my head in humility and thank the team for playing so well and for  leading us to victory. I will feel for the opposing team’s captain, coach and their million fans who would be heart broken just as easily as we could have been. I will not stand by the thought that this match is a war. I will not entertain comments taking pot shots at the opponent. Irrespective of whether the people on the other side do the same or not I will be happy in my heart that we came so far and that there is always a next time.

Good Luck! Team India. Go play your best. I am with you J

Kerala - God's own country and devil's own people

Before I start I would like to clarify that I am a Mallu born to two pure Mallu parents who in turn had pure Mallu parents. No mix and match here. I am as much a Malayali as any of you with the only difference that I was bought up in New Delhi. Every year I would look forward to, two months of vacation in Kerala with my cousins and aunts and grandparents. It used to be beautiful with all the trips to Kovalam, Kanyakumari, and Ponmudi. This is how I always looked at Kerala. Then school got over, life moved to England and from there to Chennai. Chennai, The imaginary cosmopolitan of South India, Capital of Tamil Nadu. As soon as I stepped into Chennai I felt an animosity towards it. Awful climate, xenophobic and unhelpful people, expensive, agreed with the general Malayali opinion that ‘Pandi” (slang used for Tamilians by Malayalis) people were rude and unclean. Couldn’t wait to get out of there. The opportunity arrived in the form of my marriage. My future husband who happens to be a Tamilian happened to be working in Kochi, Kerala. There was no end to my happiness. Just imagine going my back to my home land, the place I’ve always loved and longed to be.

I arrived in Cochin with lots of expectations and what I ended up with was bitter disappointment and disgust. The people here were vulgar, unhelpful, lazy, uncouth and unruly. Ever since I arrived here, each day has been a mini battle. Battle with shopkeepers, battle with bus conductors, and battle with colleagues because I just didn’t fit in this place. It had changed or maybe it had always been like this and my immature eyes could never see it before. This is a failed state. Period.  No Info Park, No Smart City is going to help it. What can you expect out of a state which is held at ransom by Unions? And politicians are more worried about what to call the state as opposed to running the state. Kerala or Keralam will not make an iota of difference to the state. People here are not willing to work hard but want to get paid for free. In a corporate office they want to speak in Malayam and alienate non malayalis. Cant even buy a mid range mobile phone here without being constantly lied to or cheated.

Is this what my homeland has become? After over 26 years of being a proud Keralite, today I have to bow my head in shame and say I am from Kerala.

I'd rather be a loud, obnoxious “Pandi” than a scheming, rude, two faced Mallu.

First Thoughts

I have been forced into blogging by friends who are fed up of all my tweets and random thoughts. So this is the first post and as Confucius said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." And this is the first step towards blogging. Hmmm was this supposed to feel special?

The tough part now is, to look for something meaningful to post here.