Indian Idols- Hype or Real- Deal or No deal-The ultimate contest of luck

Though I am not a keen follower of Hindi Soap operas or the contests (thanks to my poor knowledge of Hindi) I have been addicted to two of them thanks to my Daughter. One is the Indian idol from Sony TV and the other one' Deal or No deal' with the deadly Mantra. Both of them are fascinating to say the least!

Though the Indian idol is a much hyped up show based on it's more illustrious predecessor ' American idols' the show especially during it's final stages has attracted enough controversy to merit attention. Elimination of Amey who until that point of time was the craze of the entire Nation as well as the Judges and the probable Indian Idol for 2006 was suddenly thrown out by the so called SMS savvy Junta from all over the country though he accepted the verdict gracefully. But the seasoned judges like Fara khan and Sonu Nigam made a mess out of the whole situation by walking out after the results leaving Anuj who was the winner of that round virtually in tears with no one to console or support except his cousin. It was known to the judges right from day one that the winners are decided based on SMS votes across the country and what is the point of objecting to those results since their opinions anyway did not count in the ultimate election round and in the first place they should not have agreed to become the Judges if they had such reservations. May be a calculated ploy to get some more publicity for the show as it approaches its final rounds! At this point of time Karunya from Hyderabad looks like the final winner though we can never predict with the swing of the SMS votes according to the whims and fancies of the viewing public

After Mantra took over from the simple Maddy, with her delightful costumes, the merry dances and unexpected hugs with the participants the show has simply taken another dimension altogether. It's the ultimate contest of luck where a lay man can win amounts ranging up to 1 crore purely based on luck without any elaborate preparations with 'computerji' for the nerve wracking quiz questions and the need to use the grey matter most of the time. What makes the show click is the range of contestants from the Mumbai dabbahwalas and taxi drivers all the way up to the some surgeons and professors each of whom have a definite need for this money, some of them quiet genuine like higher studies of their off springs or medical treatments. The saddest episode was the one where the guy finally landed up with a chlor mint and wept on the screen as he needed the money badly for some medical treatment. The show conveys the very essence of life, happiness and sadness alternates every minute and at the end of the day is a great experience to become a balanced person in life since you go through so many emotions in an hour.

RK

TN Assembly Elections round the corner- plenty of excitement

I have always been fascinated with the Indian elections thanks to Prannoy's analysis which was a path breaker those days, especially the TN elections and how the different TV channels cover them

This time seems to be no exception with the juggernaut of the so called all party wagon lead by DMK(lost count of the number of parties in that alliance) competing with AMMA (alias AIADMK) with the exception of VAIKO who seems to have jumped out of the wagon at the last minute thanks to an additional bait of 12 seats offered by AMMA. She simply brushed off the press in her inimitable style about the alignment with VAIKO with her now familiar answer' in politics there are no permanent friends or enemies ' and that's it. Congress folks who perennially dream of a 'Kamaraj Raj' always end up with a cropper and this time they have ended up with '48' thanks to VAIKO but I am sure the strategist as he is always'Kalignar' would simply leave congress with at least 30 seats where they don't even have a chance of getting their deposits leave alone winning. ' Ayya' of PMK mentioned he is content but not fully happy with his allotment which was typical of his style and his followers as usual were left confused as to what he meant except of course his son. As usual the film stars like Vijayakanth, Karthik etc promise to add fun but not much in terms of seats except 1-2. Not every one can after all become an MGR or Jayalalitha with a mass film base. They had something special over and above the heroics in the films and that's what made them click. ‘Chevalier Nadigar Thilagam' is a classic example who miserably failed in politics though he as an actor par excellence
SUN and Jaya as usual have their own versions of the biased election scenario and the pre exit polls would follow set patterns and trends once the first one is released with lots of charts, graphs and analysis. However though the electronic voting and results are quiet efficient the charm of being awake through the night listening to DD and Radio of the results as they came in with few films and some snacks/tea in between for 1-2 nights is now a thing of the past as the results come out in 3-4 hours. I still feel with all odds staked against her, AMMA would still pull it off as she only can every time raising like a Phoenix from the Ashes when she has been written off! I only watch one programme on Jaya TV and that's the late night recorded assembly where the amusing spectacle of the Ministers headed by Loyal 'OP' praising AMMA to glory and ready to thump their desks what ever and when ever she starts to speak in front of an empty opposition most of the time! The opposition members because of the innumerable walkouts they have made can rather be called as ' MLLC' - Member of Legislative Lobby and Canteen as they spend most of the time only in these places as shown by the channels. Perhaps they might get into Guinness for the most number of walkouts ever made.
Anyway it's fun time till May 2006 when yet another election would decide the destiny of the state for another 5 years and let's keep our fingers crossed. But the TN Polls have always given a comprehensive verdict in favour of one party and there is no question of hung assembly or horse trading as witnessed in other States.

RK

Run Fiesta - A One day wonder or a massacre of hapless bowlers


872 Runs and 13 wickets in 99.5 overs! Staggering for a day's cricket. But this is what happened at New Wanderers in Bull Ring this week. Punter and Gibbs were the butchers who just decided that in Cricket that day there were only boundaries and there was no point in running between the 22 yards. Accepted that boundaries were pulled back, the green outfield was virtually a Formulae 1 track and the pitch was a graveyard but the batsmen still had to connect over after over and they did!
What a match it was but unfortunately we did not have the privilege at Gulf to watch the match thanks to Fox sports who I guess were covering some innocuous base ball matches. Just compare this with the one we played with England in the 1975 WC when Sunil Gavaskar carried his bat for a meager score in 60 overs and claimed that it was a batting practice since anyway the target of 300+ set by English was not reachable considering the depth of that Indian team. One day cricket has come a long way since 1975 and this match was the ultimate pinnacle of glory at least for the time being. I doubt whether we might see another match of this nature in the next 5 years or so. This brings us to another point that these types of matches can really become boring over a period of time and slowly but steadily the bowlers, especially spinners would become the subject of folk tales for our grand children. I still feel whatever be the pitch 435 was defendable even without Glen and Shane and somewhere Ponting got it all wrong. Anyway heart of heart I was happy that the Australians are not as invincible as they seem to be some time back and they are mortals at the end of the day. They can be beaten irrespective of the big scores if the opponents have the will and believe in themselves.

RK

Typical Gulf senario-


Petrol is cheaper than water Payment-But of late both seem to be going up

Any building construction finishes in 3 months-may be lesser if you pass through Sheikh Zayed Road day in and day out-New bridges and roads come up virtually every day - Amazing but true

The way buildings and apartments are coming up in Dubai may be they would end up with more apartments then the population itself

Less qualified get more salary than Qualified- Irony especially for some expats- We grumble but continue anyway!

Lucky People from some Nationalities who were gardeners or plumbers back home become Vice Presidents and COO's

Companies can kick away their employees without any reason- Threat of the ban looms large like a domicile’s sword-Nobody knows when there is a ban or when there isn't -Limited and unlimited contracts add to the confusion!

Wastas (recommendation) are more powerful than money

Cleaners have more Wasta than officers -They are the eyes and ears of the CEO

Watchman has more Rights than the Building Owner -They are the virtual Kings of the basements and the Car cleaning industry-U just can't afford to antagonize them

Gulf climate changes so fast, in one hour You can see rains, dust storm, hot / humid / chilling weather - Shammal is the name expats blurt out whenever there is a wind blowing in any direction

Gulf is located in desert, still you find greenery everywhere- Municipality workers plant small Palm samplings and when they grow to some height cut it off and again start with a new one-Great way to find jobs!

Keralites learn Arabic faster than the Arabs themselves -They are 'simbly' the Kings of innovation when it comes to survival

In Gulf, time goes very fast, Friday to Friday comes u never know, its sooo fast
School Children start and end their terms when you open and close your eyes or even before Ganguly finishes his innings!

Every bachelor has a dream of getting married and buying a house in home town -Most married 'bachelors' spend time looking at the photos of the villas they have constructed back home- They are too old to live or sick when they go back to these villas

Suddenly mother and father in laws with whom there was virtually a shadow boxing fight every other day back home become the best people on earth when they turn up for 2-3 months to Gulf, but not more than that! 3 months limit is a huge boon for the daughter in laws

Being at home is more painful than being at work , but people pretend to be busy always- Landlines and mobiles are a great companion-You can get telephone lines to India but just can't reach homes any time of the day -Wives are too busy to attend the calls of the spouses or they are working -Local calls are free!

Indians appear/pretend more religious/God fearing than they really were back home - Prayer groups, samajs, meditation centers, Sat sanghs abound in plenty in every nook and corner with sumptuous Prasad’s week after week

Theatres are full of Arab nationals whenever there is a movie of Salman / Sharukh

FM stations thrive on Bollywood gossips and if it's a hit song you can hear the same 100 times a week

Gulf girls sing Hindi songs but don't understand anything

Dance Bars and Pubs are more than that in Bangalore-Most of the unhappy guys anyway spend time up to wee hours in the morning in these places

A beauty Parlor every 5 meters/ Laundry every 3 meters/ Grocery/cold stores every 2 meters/ Kerala Tea kadai/Shawarma shop every meter

Food/Grocery delivery to your home-Spoiled for choice-Even you get Kovilapatti kadalai urundai and Tirunelvlei Halwa in your doorsteps

Smashed cars are more than good cars -Number of accidents increase very month like the NSE index

TRAFFIC SIGNAL IN GULF:
GREEN : Signal to go, for Americans, Europeans and Indians
YELLOW : Signal to go, for Egyptians and Pakistanis
RED : Signal to go for others

Some inputs from KK and Friends and on 2nd thoughts added my comments where appropriate

RK

Ganguly -Chappell Controversy-Never ending fiasco

After a brief lull as usual the hot topic of last few months debated by every cricket loving fan of India surfaced again thanks to an interview given by Greg to ’Guardian’ (of all the newspapers)

The scribes in UK who have this phenomenal ability to sensationalize story of a River Breach into a Tsunami had a party time and the fight goes on and on! No one knows what will be the logical conclusion of this meaningless diatribe between two sworn enemies as it seems now (not to forget the fact that the 2 folks not long ago were great pals)

Dalmiya who had kept quiet during his tenure when Bishen Bedi had mentioned that all Indian Cricketers should be thrown into Pacific ocean or the insulting comments made by ex cricketers like Mohinder and Madanal on the team and selectors suddenly seems to have waken up as the savior of past and present players in his new Avtar. Pawar has rightly sent a show cause notice and got an apology from Greg that the personal comments about the ‘Maharaja’ was a big mistake. It doesn't seem to end there as Ganugly's fans may be pushing for a defamation suit against Greg and all the Cricket savvy Lawyers who had made a killing during peak of BCCI/Doordarshan/ZEE and betting scam related cases come into the limelight again.

Everything except action on the field seems to be happening to Indian Cricket all over again and we are in for great fun and court action in the days to come. I personally feel that Greg crossed all limits of personal ethics in making that comment on Ganguly's financial status and deserves all the criticism and condemnation for making such distasteful comments. All said and done the Prince of Kolkatta was one of India's Great and most successful Captains and was the National icon of the Country not long ago for bringing in some great victories from overseas territories all the way from Down under to Pakistan including the great WC run in South Africa.

The tail piece was Kiran More's comment that irrespective of any domestic performance by Ganguly he can never find place in the team as long as he was the Chief of Selectors. If that is the case and he is biased with such a pre conceived notion I think it's Kiran More who needs to be thrown out and not Ganguly.

As my favorite great Sir Geoffrey says' its all "ROBBISH" and "WICKED TO WICKED"

RK

Karama- A culinary connoisseur’s delight- Contd

Some of the unfortunate guys who visited my blog yesterday because I presume they had nothing much to do were bit sad that had left out some of their Fav joints. So here we go to complete the list though I am sure some more would crop up in due course

Chat/Mumbai/Delhiwalas fav

Bombay Chowpathy - Masala tea (that too in Matka), Bhel Puri, Ragada Pattice, Kulfi and Dahi Palak Pakodas are unbeatable here and on week ends even if you reach at 12 AM they are there to welcome you with a smile

Bikanerwala -Sudden spurt in their client list in the last 6 months or so - Their Chinese combo is too good as also some of the chats and ice creams prepared right in front of you and served fresh. Great vibrant place to eat and chat and a combo of self service and table service add to the comfort

Chappan Bhog - Famous for it's variety of sweets and savories. Gulab Jamun and basundhi with a hot samosa for a chat is a perfect foil for the evening. Bindi fry as a starter is a must eat

Hare Krishna /ISKCON friends Fav - Govinda's

Amazing place where they follow what is preached by their Guru and you don't get any coffee or tea. Even masala items like garlic or onion are not added to any of the main courses but the taste is different and great and the ambience with mild instrumentals or bhajans is soothing. Divinity and food blended with health and harmony! You come out of the hotel and some natural ice creams like tender coconut and other fruits without artificial flavor are perfect desserts to end the day
There is one more called 'Gopala' which is similar but is more towards Bur Dubai

Chinese

China Wall - New joint but excellent service and door delivery. Their starters and lollypops can kick start any party
Kitchen King- Nice Combos bundled with an economical price tag and is quiet handy when you go on picnics.

Some more Chinese joints like China House, Valley etc are spread all over and I have lost count

Over and above there are some excellent roadside joints which serve great falafils, sandwich(both veg and chicken) shawarmas and 24 hours tea and these are virtually every third joint of any road within Karama. Just as I was passing by the main road yesterday and I saw two more on the anvil- Sri Krishna Sweets of Chennai and Adyar Anandha Bhavan likely to open any time.

I think it's only a matter of time before the chutneys and sambars flood the Karama roads even if there are no rains and that aroma will keep us going amidst the traffic and the perennial crowds in front of LULU and the Park

RK