tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21541568722709632932024-03-19T08:38:58.442+05:30My Personal BlogHi Everyone
I am R S Rajesh, Whoa I start to blog and this blog is about me, my family, my friends and my world. Though I am not too popular, I am making an effort to get closer to my friends and they in turn will get deeper into my world. I appreciate you guys coming on here and I will try as much as possible to keep you guys entertained. This is not YOUTUBE though!!R S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-80812367769263668232013-09-05T15:00:00.000+05:302013-09-05T15:00:15.095+05:3020 Different Ways to be 20 -20 ChampsGood on ya Mate! Good on ya Mate!<br />
<br />
A literal translation of what it means is here below:<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">A term used by Aussie's to express a job well done. Aussie slang for "Thanks" or any other gratitude </span><br />
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To me, I am mirroring both those meanings to the leader and the team members who have scripted a dramatic turn around of things to happen and that script would have put any Bollywood writer to shame. I am echoing thoughts of a million more Deccan Chargers' fans to thank the Australian legend, legends rather, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.<br />
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I am not a great admirer of the 20-20 format of the game. Because I always felt and perhaps still feel that the aesthetic value of the game of cricket is being lost. Cricket played in whites appeals a bit more to me than cricket played amidst cheer leaders and a lot of glamor and commercial quotient. But this is just me and my thoughts. But on the flip side of the coin, there are more people who are drawn to the grounds, there are many international players and legends who are signed up and it is exciting to see more and more people coming into the grounds, with their families, young and old, to watch the games. This only conveys that Cricket is fast emerging as a family entertainer.<br />
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Cricket purists like me will not agree to this idea though we continue to endorse the 20-20 form the game from an ability of a batsman to clear the field and the ability of a bowler to circumvent the batsman's capability. Thats the chord with which we strike.<br />
<br />
I began with a premise Thanking the entertainers. It was a nerve wracking tournament for who all watched it, particularly the last 3 games.<br />
Here is the final catastrophe, Deccan chargers finished at the bottom of the table last year in 2008, this year they ended at the top of the table, winning the championship. I have studied the transformation and I have 20 reasons why the DC emerged championships this year. Take a look. <br />
<br style="font-weight: bold;" />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Adam Gilchrist:</span><br />
I am in awe of this legendary Australian player and his magnanimous deeds on and off the field. What sportman and what a spirit he would inculcate amongst the team members, not just among them but his sportsmanship is contagious to the opponents as well. Naming Adam Gilchrist as the leader of the team was a very strong decision taken by the franchise and everyone would agree to that at the end of the first 4 games in IPL2009.<br />
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He emerged as the leading scorer for the team this year and he is also rewarded as the MVP for the 2009 season. Quite rightly so. Adam is a big match player. He reserves his best only for the most appropriate of situations. Remember what he had done in the 2003, 2007 world cup finals? He simply tore away the opposition. Although he didnt tear away Anil Kumble, he returned with a shrewd brain and tactical impetus to emerge as a winner. Talk about tear-away, just chew the cud on the 35 ball 85 he made against the Delhi team. Sehwag was put to shame. The ball just disappeared.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Andrew Symonds</span><br />
The DC had the luxury of having Andrew Symonds for most of the season. There is something about the Australians and that seems, in sports, that these guys are not made on this planet. Th way they play and intimidate the opposition. He is one mountain of a guy in terms of confidence, in terms of the ability to clear the ground and his golden arm, that produces the result for a captain when in need. It sure happened in the final, when Adam Gilchrist tossed the ball to Symo and he produced 2 of the best possible deliveries from his kitty to remove the most happening NZ player, Ross Taylor and the infant, Virat Kohli. Symo also lashed his tongue at the young opener Manish Pandey and put him to rest as long as he was at the crease. Some may call it sledging, but everything is fair in love, war and 20-20. Symo clearly sent out a message to Andrew Hildich, the chairman of selectors, Cricket Australia, that he is still a force to reckon with in the Ashes. Adam Gilchrist has so much faith in Symo, they both have played for almost a decade in the same Australian team and they are not used to losing. So much so that Adam simply could not find a place for the Dwayne Smith in the side as soon as Symo arrived. Dwayne has been winning matches for us both with the ball and the bat. Take a bow Symo.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Darren Lehmann</span><br />
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There is something about Australians, I repeat. Darren is the head coach of the Deccan Chargers, he was made incharge at the behest of Adam. He also brings in a lot of luck! He was with Rajasthan Royals last year and they won the cup and this year he is with DC and I am sure the franchise owners, Mr. Reddy would not allow Darren Lehmann to go into any other franchise forever. The thing about him is his tactical genius. He is ever cool even in the disastrous situations. He would just allow things to turn around. He did make possibilities and thats why our campaign started on a winning note. He simply said, we are improving, we are a lot better than last year because we have won more games. But he didnt allow complacency to get into any member of the side.<br />
<br style="font-weight: bold;" />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4. VVS Laxman</span><br />
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Most people think, VVS Laxman is not fit to be in the 20-20 side. I think the same, but let me put in a way that people should digest the fact. His maturity as a cricketer and as a human surfaces right from the scheme of things which paved the way for the formation of DC as one of the franchises. He quit to be the icon player for the franchise and made way for Andrew Symonds. He created that opportunity. That shows his heart. Pretty soon in 2009 (also for 2008) he understood that he may not fit into the team dynamics when it comes to playing the 20-20. So he warmed the bench for most of the season and thus gave opportunities for the younger lot, and they havent proved wrong. T Suman, his replacement, soon became one of the reliable hitters that Adam Gilchrist can turn to whenever there was a quick drop of wickets at the start. Also he is a fantastic fielder and chips in with economic spells. Something that VVS doesnt have in his bag of tricks. But it will take an age for Suman to develop the heart of VVS and also inculcate VVS' play. VVS is an unmatchable player with immense talent at the 50 over format and at the test level. Ask Steve Waugh. Steve Waugh and Warne still wake up in the middle of the night, remembering the innings that VVS played against them in 2001.<br />
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VVS also gave up the captaincy for the team's cause. I am still proud of VVS as a cricketer and as a person and his accoplishments are something I will cherish until I die.<br />
<br style="font-weight: bold;" />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Herschelle Gibbs</span><br />
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Adam Gilchrist's second fiddle. The one problem with him is that he is not consistent enough. But he replicates Jonty Rhodes on the fieldR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-65328006939263605292013-09-05T14:59:00.001+05:302013-09-05T14:59:29.197+05:30<br />
<br />R S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-16420210507106074342009-04-06T13:49:00.002+05:302009-04-06T13:57:07.899+05:30Of Petty things and LeadershipHey AllR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-58900832104545661552009-04-01T20:32:00.003+05:302009-04-01T20:44:43.063+05:30<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYLZB0PljfvgvEihWJhwMKpKhhGJcoC6quN7rzfLrZZEUKMcQp3ZvGsM1TI8xkzlq9SpHikb8yaDz2WYEjcdyv6HEFoQHdMBCbyauEqe3GbJwju9QaHnrxgPv9AnMAuCqEVyN2mnm_oY/s1600-h/Travel-Agents.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxYLZB0PljfvgvEihWJhwMKpKhhGJcoC6quN7rzfLrZZEUKMcQp3ZvGsM1TI8xkzlq9SpHikb8yaDz2WYEjcdyv6HEFoQHdMBCbyauEqe3GbJwju9QaHnrxgPv9AnMAuCqEVyN2mnm_oY/s400/Travel-Agents.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319741393507754690" border="0" /></a>
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mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:10.0pt; line-height:115%;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1076243897; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:320874920 67698713 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715 67698703 67698713 67698715;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:alpha-lower; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-.25in;} ol {margin-bottom:0in;} ul {margin-bottom:0in;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here are a few things that I want to do:</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">a.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Visit<span style=""> </span>Australia, watch the Ashes – Boxing day test match in Melbourne</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">b.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Meet my cricket icons (gods) Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh, Shane Warne, McGrath, touch their feet and seek their blessings</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">c.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Go to Glacier Bay National Park</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">d.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Back Pack most of Europe</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">e.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Visit Rome and the Coliseum</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">f.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Boat ride on the streets of Venice</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">g.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Watch the cricket game between England and Australia at Lords </p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">h.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Drive along the Scottish woods</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">i.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Spend some time at Port Hawkesbury in Nova Scotia and experience what it feels to be in the middle of a thunderstorm</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">j.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Get to the Victoria Falls in Africa and take a Safari</p> <p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style=""><span style="">k.<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Make a movie, a comical one</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Well, the list is endless. You might want to do a million more things and frantically you realize that there is no means to accomplish what you just put down. In my case, whatever I have listed above is a partial list of things that I would most want to do before I die. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Like mine, everyone of you would have a list and almost everyday one wishes that some of the wish list gets closer to materialization. Most of us would not have the means to overcome the wish list. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">As I understand, there is only one reason why we are not in a position to making our wishes come true. We simply do NOT possess enough clarity of thought in whatever we seek. We wanted to become someone in life, but we end up being someone or something else in life. This holds true for 90% of the people we know. The remaining 10% of the people who are set out to achieve what they want to achieve are those who essentially defy the normal logic of leading a life, or rebellious in attitude or unconventional or extremely passionate about their hobbies or necessarily much more determined than normal humans and possess an absolute clarity of thought through seeking objectivity in life or their living. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most of us are leading a rather compromising life. We want to eat something but we end up not having it for reasons which may not be mentioned. We wanted our choice of career, but we are someone else in the office. I always wanted to be connected with the world of spirits or to narrow down my choice of sport, it has always been cricket. As you can see from my different things I would do before I die, most of it is connected with either travel and tourism or sports. But I ended up going to a rather boring office, with boring people around and not much of excitement between the 9 hours that I spend in my closed room. Although I dreamt about having a job that puts me on a sports desk and makes me travel around the world, I didn’t take the right steps to achieve that goal and now I rue my chances of having lost a decade of experience in ruing about the same. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am writing this to persuade a section of my readers to pursue their hobbies. How you could do that? Well make your hobby your job but the vice versa of my statement doesn’t hold the purpose. If you have your hobby as your job, there is nothing remorseful about it. One tends to be more than creative about the work or hobby in this case. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Bill Lawry, the famous Australian cricket commentator, was once asked by Ray Martin<span style=""> </span>as to how HE brought about so much life into his JOB. Bill stopped him mid way into the question and corrected Ray telling him that it was NOT his JOB, but it was his HOBBY that he pursues with Channel 9. When you are pursue your hobby, you bring life into whatever you set out to do. You tend to be creative, start looking at positives from every angle…. And a lot of things that make the work place a lot better and people start enjoying it. I totally agree with Bill. I always keep telling people that Tony Grieg, Bill Lawry, Tony Cozier and the forgotten Henry Blofeld are the most liveliest cricket commentators ever to grace the commentary box. Because all that they knew was better english and a better understanding of what their everyday passion and hobby was and that was nothing but cricket. They eat, sleep, drink and talk cricket. That made them commenting icons of the cricket world. I was watching this interview with Bill Lawry in 1997 when a game got canceled because of rain in Brisbane. Bill is<span style=""> </span>so very damn right by all perspective. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Most of us are bogged down by our daily routine and lack of creativity in every walk of life, that our lives have become insanely lifeless. We are nothing but dead<span style=""> </span>men and women walking. All that we can do to overcome this situation is to take a break, get within our skin and seek solace and query our soul as to what we are, what we are capable of and seek what we are set out to do. Seek clarity of thought, seek objectivity of our existence. Pursue our hobbies. Forget everything, every pressure and just QUIT from the daily mockery of our life.
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Its rather very easy to say this than making it possible. But its our life and who else but one himself/herself knows the purpose of thier/our life. Afterall we live for ourselves and our life needs a direction of sorts.
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, I am watching a lot of Seinfeld these days and hopefully the script to make one similar Seinfeld ready in Telugu is coming soon. I have the actors ready tho!</p><p class="MsoNormal">I want to pursue my hobbies and making so, I will have control over my time. When I have control over my time, I do things as per my schedule and not anyone else's schedule. The by-product of doing so is going to be means to accomplish my remaining hobbies and that is to Travel the world. If I am able to do that before I turn 50, my purpose of existence has been established.
<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cheers mate</p><p class="MsoNormal">Rajesh</p><p class="MsoNormal">PS: By the way, thats me and my Fiance'
<br /></p>R S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-19014528799195592432009-03-25T10:50:00.005+05:302009-03-25T13:44:50.010+05:30Welcome Again<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRomrI4pHLFElM3XbCeuvv4aEfzLRvKNkK7elKAwSiE4WZxAkiOOlMKNTD14cdEId00mSej3QQoCkYQuwhZulRUIQBlTWa7kBVwDBEu0Phqsmz_DC6HUzH-kzHbyJAKKKxwGOLHwwf3w/s1600-h/image_3285.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZRomrI4pHLFElM3XbCeuvv4aEfzLRvKNkK7elKAwSiE4WZxAkiOOlMKNTD14cdEId00mSej3QQoCkYQuwhZulRUIQBlTWa7kBVwDBEu0Phqsmz_DC6HUzH-kzHbyJAKKKxwGOLHwwf3w/s400/image_3285.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317035855820534066" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIWSWPkTHOqqJ_FKU96WNahglLkhvmK_0W-tRiVEfAjG2qqUwGjnM8te2_ZV9Czfo6XQDgjuqewIkz-RRIYfBQyhp8OxRrTo25x59BC5l1wp486T8beA6RoPwt-pBkgFxTywWdDVbN34/s1600-h/image_3258.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoIWSWPkTHOqqJ_FKU96WNahglLkhvmK_0W-tRiVEfAjG2qqUwGjnM8te2_ZV9Czfo6XQDgjuqewIkz-RRIYfBQyhp8OxRrTo25x59BC5l1wp486T8beA6RoPwt-pBkgFxTywWdDVbN34/s400/image_3258.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317035428828886754" border="0" /></a><br />A big hello to everyone, everywhere.<br /><br />I have taken some time off from blogging, oh well not that I am into blogging every day and every hour. Even my posts that were usually once in a week or two have become once in month. I have every reason for my "slackness". Me and my whole family have been occupied with ceremonies that included my "Upanayanam" and my sister's wedding.<br /><br />I was a shy person and always eluded myself from the whole relative fraternity right from my days as a kid. I entertained myself in solitude and admiring the nature whenever I visited them in their town. I would quickly venture out using a cycle and sit by a lake for hours before I came back to their place for dinner and some sleep. That way, the kind of impression I generated with them was more like an "obedient son who never spoke a word and always remained silent."<br /><br />After a long time, we had a whole bandwagon of guests from all corners of the country and people whom I have met before, never met before and all kinds. Our house was filled with guests and a lot of noise made. Since I am in this gathering after a long while, I was enjoying every moment. I was also proud that we were hosting this entire fraternity at our place, entertaining them, taking care of their needs and also enabling subtle comforts. It was a proud moment for all of us (me, my parents and brother). This time I was more social and also inobedient at times, particularly towards the women folk. I didnt like their political agendas and also some section of the women crowd were hitting out at the lesser mortals with their superiority complex. I dont like this kind of an attitude which becomes contageous and makes some sensitive women step away from the gathering. Since it was our first ceremony at home and I didnt like the environment to be corrupted with ill feelings towards one another. If the situation demanded that I raise my voice, I would want to do that. I started off with this feeling. In a nut shell, the brain was pre-meditated to exhibit the other side of me. No sooner I started off with this attitude, it took me no time to make it public. I did it with utmost authority. It surely did have some consequences but I was happy that my attitude was directed at the right audience and the people most worthy of having a pleasant atmosphere were happy with it.<br /><br />So this attitude of mine was some kind of a revealation to those people who thought I was still a shy and aloof person.<br /><br />The point I am trying to make is there will always be people who would need constant attention, who always want to be obeyed, who always to stamp their authority, who always want to show their supremacy, who have an air of their elderliness and want to put their foot down on lesser mortals. This happens particularly in family gatherings (families who have a history of being very conservative and persuasive) and more particularly with the women folk. What it does is creates an atmosphere where people get divided into groups and start having their own agenda. The objectivity of hosting and making any ceremony succesful gets corrupted because of these groups, which is unwarranted. Our family wanted a sucvcesful event and by a mile it was a grand success.<br /><br />Let me tell you the reasons why the event of my sister's wedding was a hit off. I must admire my sister for being very objective right from her childhood. She always knew what she wanted and she would go any mile to get it established with all positivity. At the same time she also has in mind what people around her would be ok with her decisiveness. She has all the freedom to do whatever she wanted, this was bestowed onto her by my parents who never raised any concerns with whatever she tried to do. As a kid she was extremely studious and always minded her busienss, which is to bury herself in books. She always topped the class, school, college and even the entrance exams. She was the one who bagged a rank of 127 with minimal coaching for the engineering entrance. She topped the JNTU with her engineering degree. Achievements of this magnitude always left my parents, not to intervene with her. My cousin put it like this about my sister and I echo the same feeling about her; which is "<span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:navy;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10;color:navy;" > I sometimes feel belittled by the silent objectivity she shows just by result of her actions. It is rare to see such an individual in this day and age of temptations and faulty tribulations. She is the fruit of your mom & dad’s simplistic lifestyle without much selfishness."<br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I could not find any better words to express and thats why I chose to copy the feelings from my cousin.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><br /></span></span><br />She also chose her partner for life and by all counts we all are very impressed with the groom (hes a sweet guy to be with; although I regret not being able to spend too much time with him, I just wanted to leave the newly-weds alone) and their family. They all are very modest and down to earth people and subtle things made them extremely grateful and enjoy our hosting. More importantly this marriage was a "cross-cultural-conglomeration;" if I am allowed to put it this way. They come from Madurai and they have allowed us total freedom to perform the wedding with utmost focus on our traditions and customs. So we wanted to make it a memorable experience for everyone. Nowadays marriages are just click away. While the technologists boast of this feature, purists like us wanted to contradict it. Most marriages are over in a span of a couple of hours, we are proud that we did it over 48 hours. This was startling to most people. Some put it as, this is simply unaffordable. But all our family got together and erased the misconceptions that are concerned with this event. There was no conservationism when it came to spending for this event while considering where we could economize our means and still create an extravagant feeling.<br /><br />Like all things end in a good way... the celebrations too slowly started to fade and the normalcy returned to our lives in terms of our daily livelihood and routine errands.<br /><br />While my parents are away for the reception of my sister and Karthik (our newest member in the family) I wanted to write about this post.<br /><br />I also have to worry about what my dinner could be in the evening and who would pop in to give us some company. Since my mom is away, we have to do the cooking ourselves....<br /><br />More later....<br /><br />Cheers!<br />RajeshR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-14916031244529667802009-01-27T23:20:00.002+05:302009-01-28T00:23:22.274+05:30A tribute to creativity, A welcome changeHi All.<br /><br />There was nothing else to do for me now. I could have slept very early. I tried. A couple of phone calls woke me up from bed. One was from a friend of mine from Canada and the other an office colleague. While I attended the call from Canada as I can hardly afford to not pick calls from the other side of the world, still swearing about the call. I thought I will give a call to my friend from office a little later. I do take calls all the time, but not today. I wanted to sleep very early coz, I have to go to the airport at 2 AM and pick my sister who is coming back from USA after 2 years. So I needed the sleep because the new airport just takes 2 hours to get there.<br /><br />Once I am up from sleep, I can hardly go back to bed. So its still about 90 minutes for me to start to the airport. I didnt find anything better to do than blog about a stunning movie which I watched recently.<br /><br />This movie provoked several thoughts within me and most people who think like me. One of the thoughts is:<br />a. why does it take a westener to make a movie about our country and do a splendid job making it and whats more spectacular is that the movie gets 10 different nominations at the 81st Academy Awards? A movie, that has left most people in the Americans, spell bound and swept the Golden Globes?<br /><br />b. Are all Indian movie makers creatively DEAD? Braindead, rather?<br />c. Why do we want to make a controversy out of nothing, just to be noticed and grab attention? Why cant we simply appreciate an artwork, in any form. Not just the movie?<br />d. Why cant we pay tribute to a foreign national who understands the diversity, the adversity, the cultural dynamics of our nation and can do a fabulous job of putting it up on celluloid?<br /><br />I tried to find answers for some of the thoughts, I realized that I was not one among the millions who would belong to the 4 groups above. I am simply unfazed by the controversies for I am in total agreement to a fantastic creative work.<br /><br />I am talking about the movie, "SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE". There is little ecstacy, after you watch it, why it should not be nominated at the Academy OR WHY IT SHOULD NOT HAVE SWEPT GOLDEN GLOBES.<br /><br />There was a lot of noise which this movie created and I was watching all of it.. I thought there must be something in this movie and I should watch it. Then the golden globes happened, my curiosity increased by leaps and bounds. Then I started swirling for my cousin Ravi, who would have downloaded the movie from some site.. but hes resting in St Louis. Althought I never downloaded any movie off the internet as I believe in admiring the efforts of the crew and the time they took to make a masterpiece. But I could not resist the temptation and then I thought I can make an exception. I will download it and for doing something unethical, I will advocate for this movie and create enough publicity among my friends and ask them watch it in THEATRES ONLY. In this way, I would have covered up my sin of watching it online and also created revenue stream for the producers of this movie by making my friends watch it. Bonus money.<br /><br />I watched it and a week later, I cannot stop admiring the artifacts in this movie. It raised a few eye brows alright, but it is realisitc. I must appreciate the nerve of the story writer, the screenplay and the direction in some scenes (the entire movie, ofcourse) was breath taking. The guy jumps into shit to get the autograph of this favorite hero, AB. That is life, for most slum dwellers. That is how they lead, that is how they survive untill they discover their death. They face everything from utter poverty to, riots on religion to slavery, to drudgedness and what not.<br />The script writer has done his home work exceedingly well.<br /><br />To movie goers like me, its an eye opener, to watch the slum dwellers daily routine. We seldom spare a thought for them and the moment we pass by a slum, we think of, ewwww.. how could anyone live there.. But to millions of slum dwellers its their life. Did we ever spare a thought for them? NOPE~!!!!Nor did I. The movie takes us through various phases of a slum dweller before he comes a full circle. Riots, beggary, cheating, conning..... and then the underworld. In between all this our protagonist has a love tale. This was combed very well into the script. and the lifeline of this movie.<br /><br />Coming to mainstream cinema, it puts me in a sorry state just to read about the many controversies that are being aired in various forms of media. One of them reads, that India is being presented in a wrong way... and that the slum dwellers stiff and things like that..Well isnt this true? Do NOT most people see it regularly? Is it not reality? If its not and India is only a hub for all outsourcing and hi tech jobs, what made Mother Teresa stick here and do the job that everyone shyed away? Why did the great Australian icon, Steve waugh, has most of his charity activities in Kolkata and India for that matter. Let the guys present what India's other side also. Please do NOT make it political. Creativity has no boundaries, art knows no political thinking and philosophy. Art forms are not totally biased. Appreciate it.<br /><br />The fact, which I constantly mention in my previous posts, that we cine-goers are so attuned to watching belle dancing, those death defying, unrealistic stunts, that sex appeal, that cleavage show, and those romantic numbers.. For once be different. Watch the real stuff.. admire what is real or what could be close to reality. Watch movies for entertainment, but add a little bit of education to that and make it.. EDUTAINMENT. Watch movies from a artists' perspective and then get the real message. Last but not the least, if you think India is being portrayed in a wrong way and all that darn things, thats your viewpoint and purely your opinion and dont make it political.<br /><br />The other thought that gathers momentum in my mind right now, is to have an edge towards PHILANTHROPY. Lets give the society something back for what we derived from it. Lets make someone's life a better one. Atleast one day of his life. If we are not in a position to do that, atleast lets not ruin someone's life for a moment and not be judgemental about anything or anyone.<br /><br />If you are to ask me, which category this movie would win the ACADEMY'S appreciation, I will pick SCREENPLAY. I wish this movie all the best at the ACADEMY AWARDS.<br /><br />Cheers!<br />Rajesh<br /><br />PS: Go watch this movie in the theatres, near you, Do NOT DOWNLOAD.R S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-46258943907975034622009-01-05T14:17:00.004+05:302009-01-05T15:50:53.791+05:30Blockbuster Effects -2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiS7Z2OyExpNjzySCukm8TF3bO2TxTmRXC2rQTLYACCzcUz7QEdAR7k_oahi5WJeZqRWv1zQf0J4kqWvTbzB8524PuMPdGHzvwQycXeCb_xZU23sotFYUB1-UKSdLlwAHHbWt4nsTY40/s1600-h/original_puri_45eabcfd4e31e.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdiS7Z2OyExpNjzySCukm8TF3bO2TxTmRXC2rQTLYACCzcUz7QEdAR7k_oahi5WJeZqRWv1zQf0J4kqWvTbzB8524PuMPdGHzvwQycXeCb_xZU23sotFYUB1-UKSdLlwAHHbWt4nsTY40/s320/original_puri_45eabcfd4e31e.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5287751509011743970" border="0" /></a><br />Hey!<br /><br />I posted my views about movies and entertainment these days in India and it felt really incomplete about the way I have projected Indian cinema. The ground reality is I am not too educated in the movies or the media bandwagon as such, but they are purely my views and I wanted to express how frustrated I am with the lack of quality in movies and viewership. I also felt I should underline most fundamental problems the movie industry is facing.<br /><br />This is only an attempt to showcase the other side of the coin. It happened by chance to me that I finally made it to a movie on last saturday evening. I went to the movie because;<br /><br />We had a cricket game on saturday afternoon and we were playing against the team after a long gap. We had beaten GE Energy almost all times we played except for once when it was a tie. I wanted to score some big runs against them after I was inspired by the way Ricky Ponting played against the South Africans for the boxing day test match. I really wanted to make it big. So I had all warmed up for the game, I went to the gym the night before to get my feet movement on track and also to ease my body so that it doesnt show any signs of sickness after playing the game. I went the gym the next morning to get some additional stretching done and I had an extra 3.5 KM run on the treadmill. So I was really conditioned for this game. Becuase I knew I will have to bowl and also open the batting to get the required scores. Back home from the gym, I was watching cricket again and I was also planning how I would bat and bowl to win again. Finally the moment came and we lost the toss and we were asked to bowl first. I usually open the bowling too, but there are a couple of new guys in our team who can really bowl fast and terrorise the opposition from the start, so I had to make way for them and I came in as first change, because I could also swing the ball. I had picked up 3 wickets against the same in the last game, coming in first change and I also liked to come in at that point. I bowled well, although I didnt pick any wickets, I could control the run rate. My 2 overs went for 8 runs. So it was good to be in that position. My fielding was also good as I affected 2 run outs quickly. I had a chance to do a Jonty diving onto the stumps, but I decided against it as I didnt trust my instinct so much.<br /><br />We had to chase 120 in 20 overs to win the game. I was relaxed as I was up to the task and I was raring to go. Mind you I had worked out and also planned my innings. I faced the first ball and I spanked it for 4 runs. This is the first time in my cricket history that I opened my account with a boundary. I felt really good as I was making my plan work. But the whole enthusiasm lasted only this ball as I was out the very next ball trying the same shot to the same ball and this time instead of finding the boundary, I found the safest hands of the opposite team captain, he didnt move a millimeter to complete the catch. I could not believe what had just gone by and I was in a state of shock. I had over 24 hours of planning done to play my game. I had done everything right be fit for this game, fielded well, bowled well and lasted only one ball in my batting. Thats why purists say, that although cricket is a batsman's game, a batsman is only one ball away from being at the pavilion. My shot the first ball was a classic, it rolled on the ground till the boundary and through the covers, my next ball a similar shot, but played in the air, went into the hands.<br /><br />It took me an hour to come out of this grief and in that one hour, my team stalwarts made merry about the bowling, we won the match with over 7 overs to spare. It was a comfortable win for my team. We were all glad, we planned for a party in the evening. But I excused myself from it and I wanted to come out of what happened to me in my batting. I feeling of disgust, guilt towards myself overtook my emotions and I wanted to come out of it. So all I did was find the nearest movie hall and keep myself occupied for the next 3-4 hours, which would have given me enough time to come back home and hit the bed right away. The next morning I would have another cricket match to play.<br /><br />So I found the movie, its named "Neninthe" (a literal translation would mean, "I am like this, only"). I have watched almost all the movies from this director/actor duo. Puri Jagan is the director, Ravi Teja is the protagonist. They are good friends. I have had the privillege of meeting Puri at the shooting of one of his movies, Super, 3 years ago and I was mesmerized by his charm and the innovativeness that he brought to his way of film making. I met Ravi at a function before the launch of his movie, Vikramarkudu. These both guys were extremely warm and accomplicing and very down to earth. More importantly their level of super stardome didnt really create an air over their human persona. Thats why I remained a loyal fan of Ravi. He also happens to be a very close friend of my room mate in Canada, Durga Prasad, I would call him DP. So that feeling also made me stick to his movies. Puri had both good movies and bad movies. His good movies were really good and for me another reason to stick to him and watch his movies.<br /><br />This is a part 2 of my previous post "Blockbuster effects." While in my previous post, I had badly criticised the industry for doing nothing to improve the quality on the 70 mm screen, Puri exposes the facts, why the industry is in shambles, well he made an attempt to, in his movie "Neninthe". That movie prompted me to showcase the other side of my criticism about the industry. In other words, I am drawing my reasons from this movie.<br /><br />There are some key aspects which are highlighted in this movie and those are the facts.<br /><br />a. The industry is englufed in ego. Egos of producers, actors, directors and virtually everyone who is a part of the movie industry. Egos of fans as well.<br /><br />b. There is not really any encouragement to creative talent in the industry<br /><br />c. The image persona of any actor doesnt allow them to accept themes that take them away from their image. And the resultant movie is a canned product. You can recycle it any time and come out with the same thing in different colors.<br /><br />d. The director is a mere puppet in the hands of the producer and the financier<br /><br />When you have several discerning facts which are the roadblocks to a good movie and when there are several people who want to a movie made to suit their image/persona/popular belief/what have you, lilttle can you expect the output on the 70mm screens is something that the director wanted to showcase. The director wants to tell a story, afterall cinema is all about telling a story, when you compromise at every level, the plot/story is lost and what turns out to be is a mix of several overlapping tales and escapades. That is how you lack quality. That is how you bring down viewership quality to stooping levels.<br /><br />This movie also highlights the hardships of aspiring movie professionals and what stops them from achieving what they have set out to. The hardships may be family oriented, may be professional when you bend down to others' dictums. The hardships are when you fall prey to "influential personalities" that dictate the movie industry.<br /><br />This movie is a whip to everyone whether you belong to the film fraternity or you are an ordinary film buff. Puri has been quite successful at pointing out issues such as piracy, online publicity websites, online movie review boards, to us as viewers at large, to the politics inside the industry and the producers. He unleashed his whip and quite rightly spat on the face of those online movie review sites, who have a reviewer who is not so canny about the way he/she drafts the reviews. He/she is not necessarily a film technician but are only acting judges to the storyline and there are millions of netizens who watch the review before they watch the movie and are quite judgemental about watching movies. A ten minute biased review by some buff who knows no hell about movies and the technicalities just brings down a million dollar movie to its knees. The producers/directors are made a bunch of jokers by the so called reviewers who have their favorrites in every industry and draw their attention by canning those opinions which will bring in the moolah.<br /><br />In short, this movie exposes the film fraternity's those black holes which are either directly or indirectly eluding the quality levels in movie making.<br /><br />Those who have dire interests in the movie industry and those who vie for upgrading the quality streaming of movies and those who advocate for viewership quality, may please join hands with Puri. This movie is a must watch, only get educated about the movie industry, not to entertain themselves for 3 hours. This movie is not for them who want to get entertained. This movie is for them who want to get educated about the prevailing system and who get entertained in this process.<br /><br />By all means, Puri and Ravi have weaved their magic again. They have influenced me to write the sequel to my Blockbuster effects. I am really glad I have written it before I watched this movie.<br /><br />I cant wait to meet Puri and Ravi again and congratulate them for a splendid effort.<br /><br />Cheers!<br />RajeshR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-37530755164350089802008-12-30T14:46:00.004+05:302008-12-31T11:30:44.829+05:30Blockbuster Effects<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfp2jdoyesUtPFW2C65w9JSXc2q6jddD3r_Ci9YFOJjU12UEIoxShv7FRrolRWMDpl0jr0YJqeA3wEKpzTra87ZjCXG1sbVHEOpvl7MsAAF1XrVu-zbbWTqtKoQf3OnTTMskSYxAHOmA/s1600-h/gee_ru_139233.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfp2jdoyesUtPFW2C65w9JSXc2q6jddD3r_Ci9YFOJjU12UEIoxShv7FRrolRWMDpl0jr0YJqeA3wEKpzTra87ZjCXG1sbVHEOpvl7MsAAF1XrVu-zbbWTqtKoQf3OnTTMskSYxAHOmA/s320/gee_ru_139233.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285830137201510802" border="0" /></a><br />A big hello to everyone!<br /><br />I am hoping most of my folks in India and also in USA/Canada are having a fabulous time holidaying for Christmas and New year. It comes as a welcome break to most people whom I know and talk to on a daily basis. I am returning to blogging after a long break and perhaps its time I pen some views about today's entertainment.<br /><br />For most South Indians, the weekends are a perfect time to catch up with the tinsel world. We sure do, although with not so content filled hearts, we still want to end up at the huge 70mm screens surrounded by 4 walls. The host in the form of a 70 mm screen may not be the perfect thing to watch, but that is all what we get to entertain our work filled souls for 5 days in a week. I am trying to drive home a point, much to my dismay, that what we want to watch is not what we get in the movie halls.<br /><br />a. A pointless script in the first place<br />b. utter senseless filmography,<br />c. sleaze show coupled with some erratic dances or shall I put it as "erotic" ( I may be offending a fraternity of professionals, but I have a point to make )<br />d. a director who is not necessarily a creative fanatic, but he is merely here to lead a group of egoistic actors who want to alter the script, no end, to suit their image. On the whole the directors' mission, immaterial of whether the cinema is a hit or no, is totally unaccomplished.<br />e. Some vulgar comedy, pointless<br />f. you have a whole lot of people running around trees, only trying to convey their romantic emotions<br />g. There is a villain, whose only mission is to get the better half of the protagonist. He/she exhibits a lot of perpetual possessiveness.<br />h. There is a family melodrama<br /><br />In all this, we are totally missing the protagonists' mission or objective. We only know about it, at the end of the movie, when it has a happy ending. Indian cinema only has a happy ending. Gone or the days, when there is a reality which is portrayed on screen. That is perceived to be the story's objective.<br /><br />When you club points, "a" through "g", you have a story and you show it to 1 billion people in this country and what counts is how much we have duped the originality and how many fools the director-producer combination has created in this whole process.<br /><br />I am trying to tell that Indian cinema (in some cases, the world cinema) is on the decline. There are over 1000s of movies made in India every year (may be higher up of 10000) none having a real message to the society. We are being made scapegoats out of watching those pointless movies, dances and the skin show. Mind you there have been great producers and directors in the past who have given us the privilege to watch some classics and still create the urge to watch them over and over again. Now, from a point of evolution, we are moving towards the point of dissolution. We have evolved in cinema, not with the story lines or cinematography, but we have moved ahead of time with the amount of graphics on screen, the huge and expansive sets that make up a scene, the costumes (phew, in some movies the costumes are missing, not much spent over there). Do we really need it?<br /><br />Most of the times, I want to go back to those yesteryear classics that bring in a sense of relief to our stress filled souls. For example, I was watching these two movies, WHERE EAGLES DARE and THE GREAT ESCAPE. These two movies belonged to the same writer, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_MacLean" title="Alistair MacLean">Alistair MacLean</a> and they have relatively a very simple plot to unearth, very simple screenplay, minimum dialogs, in some scenes, there is only a stare, yet they have been very powerful to make the audience stay on the edge of the seats. The background score as well is very belonging to the scene being enacted. A very simple plot, simplistic dialogs, crafted cinematography and ACTORS have created some classics and you remember it even today and probably for as long as the society can embrace them.<br /><br />Indian cinema could learn a ton of lessons from these examples. We have learnt those lessons and how did we implement them:<br /><br />a. We have so much emotion that has been created by actors<br />b. we have multiplied the climax in movies by three fold<br />c. we have multiple twists and turns<br />d. we have lost the whole essence of comedy by replacing it with vulgarity<br />e. we are drawing larger audiences and making money by virtue of the skin show<br />Mind you, that the story has to draw the crowds to the movie hall and not, essentially not the cleavage show!<br /><br />Cinema is all about, TELLING A STORY. Its a total art and about dedication that your team can bring in to narrate the story, and the more you make it simpler, the more chances it has to stay in the memories of people.<br /><br />What we need today are movies that make more sense. I am sure every director and producer have tried countless permutations and combination of love stories in India. Little do people realize that great blockbusters are those stories which remained closer to the sense of reality. Even in Hollywood (from where we assume to getting inspired) FICTION is totally not the WINNER.<br /><br />Media in today's world has a very powerful social responsibility. The media is in here to fill the gaps in the society and to create an ecosystem which will only boost societal responsibilities, responsibilities towards each other. But today's media is another ENTERTAINMENT tool. Just as much drama we find in a daily soap or a movie, there is enough drama written in today's newspapers. So the film fraternity and the movie world are virtually in the same business.. and that is to entertain people. This should change with immediate effect. As Raghu says, the objective of media is to draw opinions from people and act like a mirror to create a better accommodating society. I hope this is the case in the future.<br /><br />On the same note, I hope all of us get to watch better movies, movies with a message and movies with an objective oriented approach to reforming society. Not all movies may be like that, but reformation is what we need. The quality of viewership also needs to change. We are of the same quality as our previous generations.<br /><br />Hopefully some director notices this script and makes full use of his potential to make movies.<br /><br />Have a FABULOUS NEW YEAR AHEAD!<br /><br />Cheers!<br />RajeshR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-61785300524612703192008-12-15T11:53:00.005+05:302008-12-15T14:42:51.302+05:30Learn, Unlearn and Relearn - The new Mantra for success<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdPZ6SGPJsNM3x0KylJXcV3N3v2nFf3QO6IHfb-GnmHlco4m67FmwHCQUJ7GGv5PvF0l2npRJ_1PYCGySzEPMUneWrsBUxurst6VrNzOi0b0Hmnhb02KDYIbLpQG7Xl20V8OCy4__RiY/s1600-h/levelofchange.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 315px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAdPZ6SGPJsNM3x0KylJXcV3N3v2nFf3QO6IHfb-GnmHlco4m67FmwHCQUJ7GGv5PvF0l2npRJ_1PYCGySzEPMUneWrsBUxurst6VrNzOi0b0Hmnhb02KDYIbLpQG7Xl20V8OCy4__RiY/s320/levelofchange.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279942291182250978" border="0" /></a><br />Hi All, ( I am hoping that more and more people visit my blog and thats one reason why I greet as ALL) I haven't yet publicized my blog even to my intimate circle of friends and relatives but only a select few. I will do it once I am content with the content.<br /><br />My metaphor, which has been inducted into me by my good friend and mentor, Jairam, this is the first thing he taught me, amongst a thousand more, is:<br /><br />THE BIGGEST ILLITERATE OF TODAY'S WORLD IS NOT THE PERSON WHO DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO READ OR WRITE BUT A PERSON WHO DOES NOT LEARN, UNLEARN AND RELEARN EVERYDAY.<br /><br />I am in want of words to establish the sanctity of the statement mentioned above. How can one NOT be in agreement with the above? Almost in every situation and circumstances dotted by seconds in time, you and I would have been found wanting trying to understand what is being communicated or what has been asked to execute using a new theory/approach/philosophy? How many did we realize and asked ourselves, "when did things start moving in this direction?"<br />Or how many times were we caught unawares much to the bewilderment of the worldly fact?<br /><br />The answer is, we are not simply evolving with time. Our our evolution and the knowledge enhancement be it in the professional walks of life or personal is not at a pace with which all the unaware things of ours move or evolve.<br /><br />The solution for all of us is to me mechanize our learning systems, just like a software program which performs the stipulated and triggers tasks that it is supposed to be responsible for. Similar to the program, our mind has to trigger to learning attributes that will form the critical mass of our actions in everyday life only to become obsolete the next day. But since your mind has been programmed to pick up latest techniques at the end of everyday, you are attuned to perform your actions, the next day, using your new found knowledge today. That's what one great philosopher and Jairam precisely meant by LEARN, UNLEARN AND RELEARN.<br /><br />We are talking about globalization, a flat-flat world out there. An executive of today has the luxury of having breakfast in one continent, lunches in the sky dinners with their counterparts in some other corner of the planet. In this kind of a scenario, you are not only tackling your inner self but also a mixture of cultures and communication strategies. Immense exchange of ideas, philosophies of work, culture exchange and you name it and you have to face it. This constant travel exchange and work brings in a lot of challenges to the professionals of today and one needs to perennially adapt to the ever-changing world exchange and stay abreast to be able to survive.<br /><br />That's why I reiterate the one-line metaphor to learn, unlearn and re-learn. You win, but its only temporary and you have to face a new challenge the next day.<br /><br />The world is outdated every 24 hours.<br /><br />Each day presents us with an opportunity to be creative, to make lives simpler yet we make it that much more complicated with thoughts that deviate our focus and energies to something worth not controlling.<br />There are a billion people struggling to make a mark (I am one of them) but our thought processes and minds are overshadowed or encapsulated under a thick membrane of jealousy, fear and attitude. If we look at people who have succeeded in this world are the ones who didnt have any inhibitions or limitations to unleash their creative side. They are the ones who perfectly mastered the art of overpowering basic instincts of fear of failure, jealousy and deprived themselves of materialistic everyday pleasures. These are very simple roadblocks, yet we become corrupted to ideas of pleasure and relaxation. Well, thats how are tuned into. And thats why there are a billion people who struggle everyday and only a few thousands how have found success. Mind you that I am one of these billion struggling people. BUT I am in pursuit of gaps and drawbacks, enabling me to survive. I have a few very good mentors, and friends ( will name them in my later posts, firstly I will have to convince them to make them public). These guys are like a mirror and will portray what I am every time I look upto them. They will let me know where the gaps and bulges are.<br /><br />So friends, lets evolve and become survivors in this ever changing world. Change is imminent, persistent and never easy. But we have to face it.<br /><br />Lets learn, unlearn and relearn.<br /><br />More later..<br /><br />RajeshR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-28385321040266610742008-12-12T14:42:00.002+05:302008-12-12T14:44:41.076+05:30My Most Passionate Passion - Cricket<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTysH70c4jd508YCwKge6vYKwvq5Sp-PbZH809dVefbpDItfoq5ktiolQ3HExrsFvLaCgpJxO8FgL_kbV99thVcJnL_YuPxeKqjgdEMivGbmKnfUwMnNGeEFQ59vGm-EYsnNQfUVLxgpg/s1600-h/2914364.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTysH70c4jd508YCwKge6vYKwvq5Sp-PbZH809dVefbpDItfoq5ktiolQ3HExrsFvLaCgpJxO8FgL_kbV99thVcJnL_YuPxeKqjgdEMivGbmKnfUwMnNGeEFQ59vGm-EYsnNQfUVLxgpg/s320/2914364.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5278829465660060994" /></a><br />Hi There!<br /><br />I welcome you all to my blog again. If this blog even entertains one person in the entire world, I would have made a worthy investment in writing so much interesting stuff.<br /><br />I come today after finishing my medicals for the insurance I believe I have done something worthy in life. I am so proud of my fitness and the amount of running on the treadmill. The examiner was touched and moved by my enthusiasm to get onto the treadmill. He was shocked that a large body frame, I had, could overcome the cardiac tests. I ran hard and easy sometimes. I was sweating but not tired. Lastly the report came and I had to sign on it and it said, I am normal. I am glad.<br /><br />I want to write about me as a sportsperson. Not one in this world that I am sportsman. I am sports enthusiast. Largely because I had a fatty figure, a huge pot belly and I could hardly move my body and run like other people. But when I got on with the game, some of my reflexes stun even the pilots of the F-16s. And so very true.<br /><br />I remember very well, I played my first cricket game when I was 6 years old. It was a Sunday and all my dad's colleagues wanted to encourage the kids in the colony with a game of cricket. Stanley was the eldest in the entire kids gang. Everyone could believe, he was from the Caribbean and bowled real fast. I didnt even know how to hold the bat. My team was batting second and we had to chase down 20 odd runs and all the guys were out. At the crease were Ravi and myself. We both started to bat, kinda okay stuff. I still the recount the shot which got us the winning runs. It was semi hearted pull and the ball flew to mid off and towards the boundary and I was staring at the ball, lazy as I was, hoping that the ball would reach the boundary. Out came some very furious and frustrated screams from my team mates, it turned out that the ball would not race to the boundary and we needed 2 to win the game. I started to pull my fat body for 2 and before I could realize I have completed 2 runs, there were some angry pats on the back. Thats how I started my cricket. Since then I have been playing with my heart out in each and every game, but not really a star of sorts. I have so much fun.<br /><br />I ran out of some kids company as early as 9 and since then I was stuck to either books or encyclopaedia or some TV shows. Cricket only started when we moved to Hyderabad. I had so many friends and we used to play the game every evening. I still remember Prasad who would induct a match or two on every Sunday. The Jyothi theatre ground is where I learnt how to play the game. Untill 1996/1997 I was an average guy who could hold the bat and ball and help with a run or two in the end and who could stop the ball by virtue of the hands and the big body I had. I would never allow a ball to pass through my hands and several times in that period I had the appreciation of my team mates at the ability to stop or pull an awesome catch. Next year, in 1997, I discoverd how hard I could hit the ball. I didnt even so many calories existed in my body and so much so that I could send Ravinder's bowling to way behind the ground and usually it would end up on some terrace which is 80-90 meters away. The terrace of Jyothi theatre is wher I usually ended by batting ability. I must admit that none of these attributes apply now to my game of cricket, today. There is an occasional brilliance to the way I play these days and never consistent.<br /><br />In one of the games we played in the BHEL grounds, our team got out to a paltry score and we had to defend really hard to save the game. I was put at Short Mid wicket position (reasons, obvious, I could not run fast in the boundary positions). Prasad was bowling really well and we had to complement his efforts and I resolved that I will have to do well if I have to earn my next game. I picked up 3 catches, and 1 run out. All the catches, and I still recount have been a result of some eye enticing reflexive actions. I held one catch in between my legs. The other, to the left, a stretch of my hand and the ball stood glued to my palm and a run out a sharp shooter to the bowlers end. There have umpteen reflex catches in the years to come, but this was the beginning.<br /><br />I wanted to be known to everyone of my friends as a good cricketer. And I did all that which will support my cause. But no results. I wasnt too practical. But in one of those games, I wanted to make a mark and become a regular in the squad and I literally begged the captain to allow me a chance to bat up the order. His girl friend must have kissed him in the morning and he obliged my request. I played with Revanth as my partner. I played several shots and when I got out and Rewanth was the first to applaud. He commented loudly that I played the shots that made me look like Mark Waugh. Listening to that, I was probably an inch away from Paradise. Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh are GODS to me and I would do anything possible to play/look like them. From that day on, I would always play a cricket game with my sun glasses, a white sweat band worn on the left wrist and a cricketer's hat. All of these were attributed that only associated with Mark Waugh. I became to be known as Mark Waugh's fav son. I still remember the best accolade that came to me, was from Sanjay Khunger in California. He watched me play a game at the Toronto Cricket Club and he commented saying I was the lost twin of Mark and Steve. I hung Sanjay's picture on one of my walls and what he said about me in my apartment in Toronto.<br /><br />I have played 100s of games but the one that stays on top is the one we played after our grade 12. Sunil was the captain of our grade 12 team and we wanted to beat the commerce guys badly because we have been at the receiving end from them most of the time during grade 12 days. We wanted to beat them at any cost and we played this game right after our final examinations. All of us were early, I was adhering to the advise from Sunil and he was in a rather pensive mood asking me to do well. We were fielding first and I dropped probably the simplest catch of my career. Sunil was furious that I let off an easy chance which could have been a huge boost for us. The next ball, again was towards me and I leapt so hard that I held the ball on one bounce and had a shy at the stumps and the guy whom I let off was awe struck as I ran him out. Sunil came hugging to me and apologized for his rude stuff a ball before that. He offered me to put me in to bat at the top of the order and I did have some divine intervention, I batted like hell. I was whacking the ball frequently into the nearby lake every time and before I realized, I made 32 runs in form of 4-4s and 2-6s. While the opposite team never receieved this treatment from me all through these 2 years and before they could realize that the game was already over, Sunil was dumb struck. He could not believe what I did to them. I was humble and modest every way possible and came home. We still recount that game and have a beer.<br /><br />I want to wriet about my cricket in my next post. Its simply not enough on one page and I have so much to talk about.<br /><br />I am going to post more interesting stuff about our graduation cricket days and my days as a cricketer in Canada.<br /><br />Cheers!<br /><br />Rajesh<br />aka Mark WaughR S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-60431514953844599682008-12-09T15:50:00.003+05:302008-12-09T16:19:06.519+05:30My Activity for today<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv47k763OTw1njtmfm5IDKNK4NgyJI2kbhjPUqEpQLXsYXNSscRuWW7m8p2FHbX_LFdkU7QxXtM0jFoG8TKuP1MtB7c1KpfAiyJOWFRfjvEcVhGX7IFHg3aZigPWYhuP7BHqLf0yLFpCY/s1600-h/08-12-08_1146.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv47k763OTw1njtmfm5IDKNK4NgyJI2kbhjPUqEpQLXsYXNSscRuWW7m8p2FHbX_LFdkU7QxXtM0jFoG8TKuP1MtB7c1KpfAiyJOWFRfjvEcVhGX7IFHg3aZigPWYhuP7BHqLf0yLFpCY/s320/08-12-08_1146.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277740266218990658" /></a><br />Hi All, <div><br /></div><div>I think this is an addiction. Blogging is soon going to become an addiction and it has to be that way. </div><div><br /></div><div>I see a lot of youngsters getting onto the internet and not really sure what percentage of those guys actually use the internet to the best of their ability. Rather than people driving the internet and the computers, its the other way round. These gadgets are ruling over the youngsters. The computers are controlling the mankind. But this is just me and my opinions and I may not be 100% right, but thats exactly what I going to use the internet for. To drive my point home. Many youngsters these days are glued to the internet age, to chat, to watch their favorite sports, videos (courtesy Youtube and many others) and what not. The keyboard perhaps may be taking away the human touch and the element of being personal as a whole. In my vision, the robotics getting to our homes and helping us with the daily stuff is not too far away. </div><div> </div><div>Technology has to evolve and its evolving at a rapid pace. We have surface computing from Microsoft, we have touch phones, we have bluetooth and huh, the list doesnt end here. All these just put me into some kind of discomfort zone and make me ask a question, Are we outliving our life? How nice would it be if we go to our friends place and pleasantly surprise him/her rather than chatting with him/her on your computer? We are losing the human touch and getting lazier day by day. Some day all these devices will replace most of us. We will start to live in a virtual world. Everything is imaginary and most actions of ours will be fantasies of tomorrow. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am at the office today while the office is closed for the rest of the employees. Its Bakr-id and its a fastival for the Islamic community and its a national holiday in India. </div><div><br /></div><div>I came to office for 2 reasons, I have a couple of proposals to be signed off and submitted for projects and the other reason is more for my personal gain. </div><div><br /></div><div>Saving money for your retirement/future expenses is a must. I have been working since 8 years and do NOT have a single $ in the account as saving. True, I am not exaggerating anything, but I have been ignorant all these years to the idea of saving for future. One such attempt today is how I went about investing in Life Insurance and Long term gain plan. I have been forced onto this concept by a very good friend of mine, Hemanth Reddy. He is one man, I always find to be completely organized in all aspects of life. Whoa, he is a perfect planner. Atleast I hold that impression about him. Well, he is an agent to Max New York Life Insurance company in India an he has been talking to me about insuring since 3 years and I didnt really buy into his idea. One that I never had any money, but I cannot be like that forever. </div><div><br /></div><div>I have been mulling over with the thought of insurance and I decided that I must get it when Hemanth called me last week and reminded me of my commitment to meet him. I was looking to postpone again but what gives, I have been postpoing him since 3 years. I decided its time, lets do it. </div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing that I did in the morning, I told my dad about what I am going to do with some money. He looked alright with it, he must have thought I might be running in the right direction. </div><div>Fine, I went to Hemanth's work place. We had a looooooooong meeting. Really long. Its right, Hemanth and Prashanth were explaining to me about how their policies and insurance work and they did a good job with it. I handed over cheques and signed on a few documents to complete the formalities. </div><div> </div><div>It was time for a medical test and Hemanth reminded me that there would be a treadmill test. I wasnt too perturbed by the treadmill test. Because I do a lot of running and walking on the treadmill at the gym everyday. I run for about 3 Kilometers on the treadmill. But running with the wires on the body, is a bit of concern. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lets check it anyway. </div><div><br /></div><div>Well I just got a call from my fellows in BHEL for a game of volleyball, and Iam just going to drive there. </div><div><br /></div><div>Catch you later</div>R S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2154156872270963293.post-60051147754223658812008-12-07T08:59:00.000+05:302008-12-07T09:36:10.474+05:30I start to Blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAybIWNY19im9i6UYUfuC_iUmQjhh5gzBzw6z9zc7LeE2ZKOWvQLOvzkGYz-vX_32Fkdsq8sAc0BTFO8ikvTXHzLgHCSfSOG-OYrIpn4vJMsdT6-YFcr6chaYtremw4wTdJKM4PBdCd-U/s1600-h/CamPic80.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAybIWNY19im9i6UYUfuC_iUmQjhh5gzBzw6z9zc7LeE2ZKOWvQLOvzkGYz-vX_32Fkdsq8sAc0BTFO8ikvTXHzLgHCSfSOG-OYrIpn4vJMsdT6-YFcr6chaYtremw4wTdJKM4PBdCd-U/s320/CamPic80.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276894568076448146" /></a><br />A very big Hi to everyone whos taken time to logon to my personal blog. <div><br /></div><div>Finally, I am here writing my first post. I start to Blog today and what better is the day other than my Birthday. Today I land on my 29th Birthday. I just got another year older. </div><div><br /></div><div>My favorite cousin, Chanti from Palakole is here and hes here by chance. He didnt know it was my birthday. His typical style of saying Hi to people is passing a spanky, sattiric comment on the other person. I woke up from my bed, early in the morning, he too just opened the gate of our home and started to walk in. He looked at me and passed a very humorous and comment and asked me if I was alive. Its his way of saying, that you havent been calling me since 3 months or so, very typical of him. Suddenly my mom rushes from the kitchen and wishes me a very happy birthday and Chanti looks at me in awe and shocked for a moment and with an expression of regret on his face for having passed the comment on me. </div><div><br /></div><div>We laugh it off, he shakes my hand and I rush to freshen up. In between all these, I have already attended some 12 calls in the 15 minutes from my friends since school, college and work life. </div><div><br /></div><div>My brother, Pavan, wished me and gifted a really cool shirt. While this is happening my sister calls up from Chicago to wish and my dad rushed out from bed to wish and asked my mom to gift me some thing. </div><div><br /></div><div>I must tell you all, that on my birthday, the whole world just gets cosier for me. Just on this day only. I have never been celebrating my birthday, I remember I first cut a cake when I was 5 years old, and after that the other time I cut a cake was when I was 20, Bobby ( I have a whole lot to write about him, later) Dinesh, Sathish made me cut a cake at 12 in the night and in the middle of a boulevard. Later, I next cut the cake, on 5th of Dec 2008, my office has arranged for a party, and today being a sunday, office is closed so they had to plan it in advance. 3 times in 29 years. </div><div><br /></div><div>There is a reason for not celebrating, one I am not amused by a lot of people gathering for some dinner/lunch, second, we are not getting any younger each year, so its not a celebration time, its a worrying thing and all these years and perhaps to a little extent even now, its been quite a struggle for me in all aspects. So I didnt have the idea to celebrate and I got used to being in my own state of mind. </div><div><br /></div><div>Lets get to the objectives. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to share with my friends, family and those people who would want to know about me, those things which would rather be buried with me. I want to express myself to my friends and family, I want to clear the misconceptions about me, certain misunderstandings. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to write about some amazing things that happened to me in life and which are unique and I could not have expected they would happen to me. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to write about my friends. I have such great friends and I thankful to them for being with me and I am sure they are always there for the rest of my life. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to write about my mentors in my professional and personal life. </div><div><br /></div><div>I want to write, so it can help my aspirations to become an author at a later point of time. Well the amount of traffic that this blog of mine could generate will determine if I want to become a novelist or an author. I am just kidding about being a writer/author what have you. </div><div><br /></div><div>That ends my first post as a blogger. I will it updated as and when time permits me to. </div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks for being here!</div>R S Rajeshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03088068401417166105noreply@blogger.com0