Dubai Expatriate Residents-Running from pillar to post

Where to go and what to do next year? This is the question uppermost in the minds of majority of the working expatriates of mid and low income group population from the Sub Continent living in Dubai. Sky rocketing rents, increase in school education fees with hardly any value addition, ever increasing traffic jams, parking fees everywhere, increase in day to day consumable item prices and on top of that the changing rules with regards to change of jobs and visa bans are a cause of concern.

These are some of the facts brought out by the latest survey YouGovSiraj-Gulf News Poll

School fees increased between 11 and 20 per cent in the past year.

A startling 70 per cent believe education does not provide 'good value for money'.

50 per cent of expatriates are saying that they are sufficiently dis-satisfied to consider sending their children to their home country for education.

69 and 56 per cent of the respondents in the categories of monthly incomes below Dh7,824 and between Dh7,828 and Dh14,676 respectively report that they have had to scale down living expenses to cope with schooling costs

Though the rent increase cap is fixed at 15 % per annum about one third report that landlords have not complied with it

The burden is reflected in the ratio of rent to salary, which is as high as 45 per cent or in some cases close to 50 %

Expect the unexpected when it comes to cost of living is the message especially for those first timers coming down to Dubai as pointed out in this article in today's Gulf News with respect to hidden cost of housing and the driving licenses. The only hope is that as the new properties come up for occupation in the next 3-6 months, the rents of the existing ones might come down or at least remain the same though there is no certainty and the Government is also taking some measures to regularize the cost of some essential commodities. Dubai is no doubt becoming one of the Asian economic giants like Singapore and Shanghai with tall buidlings and large shopping malls as well as massive man made islands with some world class unbelievable tourist attractions in the next 5 years or so. However not sure as to how the middle and low income group of expatriates who have made this place as a home away from home all these years and toiled to hard to contribute to the prosperity and productivity of this place as well as their own cope up with this ever increasing cost of living??

RK

Gandhigiri rocks even today

Rahul Bajaj's comments in Economic times and few other Industry leaders brings the focus of the nation back to Mahatma as we near yet another of his birth anniversary and in the midst of centenary celebrations of his non-cooperation moment in South Africa. Of course the whole country is now debating this subject thanks to the film Lage Raho Munnabhai which has brilliantly brought out the relevance of Gandhian principles which is all the more relevant in today's world dominated by Vengeance, animosity for fellow human beings, hatred, religious clashes, crime and corruption and above all the meaningless bomb blasts and the aftermath. Incidentally in the latest Economic Times survey of Young Management graduates and Industry captains Bill Gates walks away as the most inspired hero with 37 % of the votes and Gandhiji has been relegated to the second place with 30 % votes.

Though my Hindi Knowledge is poor I thoroughly enjoyed the film since it crossed all language barriers and the main characters including Sanjay Dutt and Circuit were simply class in their respective roles not to forget the portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi as a guide to Munnabhai. The whole message of how you can even turn a dreaded gangster around towards love, truth and non violent means is put across in a simple way with lots of funny and hilarious situations without ever losing sight of the core message right through the film which is
'means is as important as your end goals and what matters is not only when you achieve them but also how you achieve them'

Though I have hardly read any of his books or even attempted to understand his core principles like may be many of the millions of fellow countrymen, this film definitely has made me re think on at least trying and following if possible some of his concepts in day to day life which are relevant even today. This movie is a must for every Indian young or old!

RK

Aussies roll on-for Indians it's yet another tournament defeat as usual

It was their 17th one day tournament victory in 19 finals in the last 3 years or so and the one at KL in the recent DLF cup came after innumerable experiments with a team of 18, changing and chopping batting orders and bowling combinations from a team which has almost half of it's player's ages on the other side of 30's. Looks like there is the Australian team on one side and the rest of other teams on the other with a huge gap which is widening by the day. The English media is as usual putting up lot of pre ashes hype with the Barmie's army and I am sure that with the their relative injury hit current strengths vs. a resurgent Aussie team the results are a foregone conclusion and the English team would be whitewashed in no time. After all one swallow does not make a summer and the last ashes series win of England is more of an exception than anything else.

For the Indian team it was yet another tournament defeat though they also experimented with disastrous results unlike the Aussies. After all experiments can only be as successful as your reserve strengths and on today's from Indian team sadly lags behind in terms of the second and third level of reserve players thanks to the format and importance given to domestic cricket.

Dilip Vengsarkar takes over as chairman of selectors and Kapil is the new chairman of NCA. Both are outstanding cricketers of their era and can be expected to perform to their full potential if there is no political interference. Dilip is a much better choice then the small but big mouthed 'More' and is an ideal bet ahead of the World cup and we can expect less of controversies in team selections though the age old zonal selection system would continue to be biased until and unless we get in to the Aussie mould of a professional selection team

Before I end this is a good joke of an aspiring young batsman:

The cricketer was proud of his progress as a batsman and invited his new mother-in-law along to watch him play, hoping to impress her. At the crease, he turned to the wicket-keeper and said 'I'm anxious to really play well and go for the big shots. That's my wife's mother over there.' 'Don't be silly,' said the wicket-keeper. 'You'll never hit her at two hundred yards.

RK

A doyen of Tamil Cinema- Demise of a great actress

With the demise of Padmini (Papimma as she was called) Tamil film industry has lost one of its greatest female actresses of the last 50 years. She had acted in 250+ films in various languages and her special talent was of course her phenomenal dancing talent coupled with great expressive eyes which could convey 100 stories at a time and a sublime beautiful own voice which used to transcend all language barriers.

Jaya TV had a 1 hour tribute to Padmini yesterday night and it was worth its weight in gold. Some of the memorable songs from vanjikottai valibhan, manamagal, thenum paalum and of course Thillana Mohanambal were simply class acts from the actress, her facial expressions a delight to watch. But the final song which was from Vietnam Veedu"enn kannil neer Vazhindhal' where both Sivaji and Padmini are at their very best was indeed memorable.

Veteran Nagesh’s comment ' her body which had been the very definition of skillful movements during her career now lies still in a coffin' conveyed the very essence of life when the final hour arrives

RK

Call Center Agents -'Where to hide'

It's really getting to a stage where you start thinking twice before picking up unknown numbers. The so called marketing companies which call themselves as representatives of Banks have a tough target to achieve whether it's credit cards, loans, etc and share the same source of database of contacts all over the place. Some of them manage to be polite and skillful extending the call for few minutes but most of the others chose the most in opportune time to start talking about free cards, transfer of balance, free gifts for taking loans etc in a irritating tone and the call is invariably junked to trash folders. On top of that for the existing card holders Banks politely send an SMS encouraging you not to pay on time or only buy on deferred payment basis even if you have the necessary bank balance.

Though the plastic cards have become part and parcel of our life with all the gold, platinum and silver categories and most of them are free for life, the hidden charges by way of interest, penalty for non payment and un authorized debits can be real killers. More than anything else the impulsive buying spree just because there is a huge limits with some loyalty offer like air miles, reward points etc leads to the ultimate dooms day when the minimum balance syndrome takes over and over a period of time you end up with an o/s balance which in 'n' times your monthly repayment capability and the real trouble begins.

This joke on the capability of the banks/CC companies to follow up on old balances can be taken either as a testimony to their debt collection skills or to the fact how merciless they can be when it comes to outstanding dues

Rajiv and Mona are flying to Australia for a two-week vacation to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Suddenly, over the public address system, the Captain announces, "Ladies and Gentlemen, I am afraid I have some very bad news. Our engines have ceased functioning and we will attempt an emergency landing. Luckily, I see an uncharted island below us and we should be able to land on the beach. However, the odds are that we may never be rescued and will have to live on the island for the rest of our lives!"
Thanks to the skill of the flight crew, the plane lands safely on the island. An hour later Rajiv turns to his wife and asks, "Mona, did we pay our Rs 5 lakh deposit cheque yet to .... Bank?" "No, sweetheart," she responds. Did you remember to send cheques for the auto loan to them too this month?" he asks."Oh, forgive me, Rajiv," begged Mona. "I didn't send that one, either."Rajiv, still shaken from the crash landing, then asks, "Mona, did we pay our ...Bank Master card yet? "Oh no! I'm sorry. I forgot to send the cheque," she says, Rajiv grabs her and gives her the biggest kiss in 20 years. Mona pulls away and asks him, "So, why did you kiss me?"Rajiv answers, "They'll find us"

Some Gloden rules

Never have credit cards more than necessary even if they are free for life (not more than 2-3)
Never change your habit of paying on time simply because there is a deferred payment offer
Never change card balances from one bank to another just because another 30 days credit is available without interest or a watch or TV is given for free
Always check the finer small prints of application for pre-closure of loans before you take any sort of loan from bank
Always check your statement when you come back from a holiday where you have used the card extensively

RK

Glorious profession of Accountants-'Changing times'

Like all other professions with changing times the once sacrosanct profession of Accountants world over seems to be undergoing a rapid transformation and India with all the talk of phenomenal GDP growth and the multinational invasion is no exception. I still remember the olden days when passing CA was of course the ultimate litmus test of an Accounts graduate and the many legendary stories of 'Ghajni Muhammad's ' coming out after the results with the same old excuse that the exam was tough and the pass rate was just 2-3% was an oft repeated familiar story.

But with changing times many other overseas qualifications like CPA, CIMA, CFA and multiple certification bodies world over have taken the lime light and additional qualifications in software, Systems Audit Management etc have become the minimum criteria for a decent job. The profession of accountants itself has dramatically changed with emphasis more on consulting like joint venture projects, FEMA guidelines, compliance with Sarbanes Oxley, GAAP etc and the glorified BPO activities( most of it is nothing but pay roll processing, debt collection, credit card application processing etc) have become the order of the day. The olden day accountant who had the onerous responsibility of certifying whether the books of accounts represented a true and fair view of the enterprise to the stakeholders is slowly but steadily moving into the oblivion and with the advent of big '4' as they are known new phrases like regulatory compliance, ethical governance, prudent risk mangement etc are taking over and dilution of this critical responsibility has resulted in catastrophes like Enron, World Com and many more during the last 5 years.

In this context there is a good joke going around how the Big Audit firms are making simple things look complex. Read on and it's worth it though a bit longer. I am sure most of my Accounting friends would enzoy this one:

Three accountants were standing at the Toilet. The first accountant finished and walked over to the sink to wash his hands. He then proceeded to dry his hands very carefully. He used paper towel and ensured that every single spot of water on his hands was dried. Turning to the other two accountants, he said, "At Price Waterhouse coopers", we are trained to be extremely thorough.” The second accountant finished his task and he proceeded to wash his hands. He used a single paper towel and made sure that he dried his hands using every available portion of the paper towel as well as used the dryer and turned to say 'at "Ernst &Young", not only are we trained to be extremely thorough,but we are also trained to be extremely efficient.” The third accountant from one of the by lanes of Armenian Street in Chennai finished and walked straight for the door, shouting over his shoulder, "At Ramswamy and Subramaniam &Co Chartered Accountants, we don't pee on our hands!"

RK

Our Man is back with a bang-'the one and only little master'

There were cries for his retirement, people had written him off, injury after injury, his own ex player friends and now TV commentators suggested that he was afraid of risk of failure, but that little man who had kept quiet all along in this intense drama of speculation and media madness simply let the bat do the talking when the DLF tournament opened against Caribbean’s. Some majestic sixes, classy boundaries, swift running between the wickets and above all the stamina and energy to remain through 50 overs in high humidity after 6 months of lay off simply proved that he is still arguably the World's best batsman on view and his detractors have to wait for at least another 2-3 years for the inevitable retirement to happen.

Sachin is India's jewel of sports and a global ambassador for the country and it may take a while for somebody to break his stupendous records in both the forms of the game. It's sad that in a country with very few achievements in the sporting arena at world level our media still continues to hound and cast doubts on the ability and commitment of one of the greatest cricketers of our era!

RK

Jillunnu oru Kadhal - Not bad for a Debutant Director

Thanks to the timing of release of the movie around the real life wedding of Surya and Jo on 9/11 the movie had gained momentum even before release and 'namma makkal' flocked to theatres with high expectations especially since 'JO' had decided to call it a day (as usual like any other actress I am sure she will come back from retirement once she gets bored of family life)

Incidentally most of the office email servers of Tamil rasiga perumakkal must have got choked with the flood of Surya-Jo wedding snaps including that of her mehendi and the poor IT administrators must have had a nightmare with the mail traffic. 'Vazhga Tamil Rasiga perumakkalin kalai thondu and valarga space availability in email servers'

Surprisingly even a place like Dubai was no exception and we had to wait for 3 days to finally get some tickets. The first half was racy and the second a bit dull towards the end. Surya as usual is at his very best torn between the love of a wife who is so dear to him and his ex lover who is snatched away from him after a wedding during his college days. I would put Surya at one pedestal more than that of Vijay and on par with Vikram of the current crop of Tamil actors. Jo is splendid as the loving wife who is shocked to read about the old affairs of her husband and her facial expressions full of emotions are a treat to watch. The slim and beautiful Bhumika after a long period of disappearance comes to back to Tamil screen with a bang and is any day better than most of the current Tamil heroines who put up weight and look shabby in no time. Vadivelu seems to be growing in stature with every movie and this one is no exception. His opening entry in to a panchayat and the 'lollus' in the Mumbai brothels is something not to be missed. All said and done this guy has class, timing, facial expressions and variety and stands out among the current comedians. ARR's title tune and some of the songs still distinguish him from the other music directors

Jillunnu Oru Kadal is definitely worth seeing once and the Director Krishna who was assistant to Goutham makes a perfect debut with a classy screen play and direction backed up by an excellent camera and an editing team

RK

Emotional week of sporting action

There were two legends who retired from contemporary sports this week after a long and marvelous career and one Indian redeemed himself with a great victory defying age and history

The first and foremost was Martina Navratilova who won her 59th career grand slam at the US open when she is one month short of 50 years defying all sporting theories. How can a woman run around a grand slam tournament at the age of 50 with such agility, remarkable speed and an aggressive frame of mind hitting winners from both flanks. I think this a classic example of mind prevailing over body and the single minded perseverance and will to win simply took over the ageing body and physical dis comfort. Hats of to a true champion who retires in style after 30 glorious years of tennis and probably along with Billie Jean King would rate as one of the all time greats ever in Women's tennis

The other hero was the German racing ace Schumacher who won a Grand prix race in Italy for the 90th time and just 2 points separate him from the current leader for a record 8th championship title. In his press conference to announce the retirement he beautifully summed up the art of retirement for sportsmen as to why they should quit when they are at the peak of glory and fame and to go out in style. It will take while for the Ferrari team to fill up the void left by Schumacher and remains to be seen whether his replacement Rakionnen can rise up the team's expectations. Where's our own Karthik Narain by the way after all his penultimate/last place finishes in the last year's championship ? Still struggling for a sponsor as is the case with most of the Indian sport professionals in individual sports events.

The Indian I was referring to in the first para is none other than our 'Lee' or Leander Peas. After almost 3 years of multiple physical injuries, health problems including a major brain cancer scare, virtual retirement from singles except Davis cup he rose like a phoenix from the ashes to win the US Open doubles title with Martin Damm and the great sportsman he is gave all the credit to Martin for the title. This was Lee's 7th career doubles grand slam title at the age of 33 and coming as it does after all the hurdles is a phenomenal achievement. I don't think there is any other sportsmen in Indian history who has given so much at the National level (exclude team games like Hockey and cricket) and his adrenalin flow and pumped up fists during some remarkable Davis cup victories over opponents much above his ranking clearly goes to show the guy's commitment and patriotism towards his country. Hope this year at least he would be considered for the highest sports award of the country.

RK

Navrathiri, Golus and Sundal - Memory trip down the lane

It's Navrathiri time for the next 10 days or so and as usual poojas, vathillai pakku visits, small little gifts, name sake Golus along with the silk Sari mamis must be busy back home though the intensity and the fun of olden days no longer seems to be there. Just thought of recapping my memories of this lovely festival celebrated by our community

During Mid 70's when I used to be 5-6 years I remember the Golu at my native place Arni which had a traditional 7 step golu with the added flavor of 'Bommalattam' from behind the old sarees doubled up as a kind of curtain for the kids and different varieties of sundal and what was the flavour of the day was a huge surprise debated in hushed tones by the Mami's so that duplication doesn’t take place. A dug up small water tank called 'kulam'was an added attraction. When we came to Chennai it became bit subdued though the mela continued with multiple visits to invited places and slowly but steadily colorful cards printed in style became the source of invitation instead of simple post cards and the gifts also became bit costlier as a status symbol moving away from the traditional blouse bits

But the best part was during my Bahrain tenure when all the husbands became glorified Chauffeurs driving the silk sari mamis after coming back from office to at least 5-7 houses per day and by the fourth or fifth day the stomach had gone for a toss reverberating with the after effects of the sundal smell all over the place and we used to shudder at the thought of managing the balance days. Some houses still used to convert their hall shelf with some Teddies and Barbies as a poor substitute for the actual Golu toys and I remember one particular house who always hosted a grand buffet for the Golu and that was the last stop to finish off the dinner and head back home tired and exhausted while the women folk used to have a quick analysis of the gifts for the day

In Dubai as is the case with the place itself there is more hype with appointments confirmed over mail /ecards or cell phones and there is hardly any trace of golu at all in any of the houses. It became more of a social visit for the close friend’s houses in the midst of chaotic traffic and no way more than 2 houses could be covered with the only point of interest being what the gift was supposed to be and when we would go back home.

So Navratiri slowly but steadily like any other traditional festival seems to be losing it's charm and getting accustomed and adjusted to the modern day time pressure and stress with it's own innovations.

RK

Never ending Vande Mataram controversy

It's supposed to be the centenary year of the Vande Mataram song written somewhere in 1870's by Bunkim Chandra Chatterjee and later adopted as the National Anthem. There is already a debate that this centenary year itself disputed since nobody knows when the song became the official national song and what the word Vande means- Salutation, praise, worship or combination of all of them. As usual Arjun Singh has managed to rake up a meaningless controversy with the mandate to Educational Insitutions and hastily taking a "U' turn later.

If it means worship in the context of mother then the real issue snowballs since Islam permits only worship of the ' Allah' as brought out in this interview by a leading cleric who points out that Muslims in the country would never have any objections to salutation or praise of Mother as in ARR's ' Maa Tuje Salam' as is the case with many other Islamic countries like Bangladesh(mother) or Jordan (salutation to their King)

But in this beautiful analysis Vir Sanghvi brings out the nuances of the entire controversy and exposes the true colors of all the concerned parties including the RSS, BJP, Congress and the Islamic organizations. Some of his closing comments need to be reproduced for those of you who don't have the time to go through this article.

The moment you force people to be patriotic, you devalue patriotism. We have become so imprisoned in our petty politics and our pointless little debates that we have lost sight of the big picture. Secularism does not mean sterilisation. And patriotism is not a section of the Indian Penal Code.

RK

Sad Death of an Australian Hero

The whole Australian country is rising as one to mourn the death of its great adventure hero, Steve Irwin nicknamed as crocodile hunter who is adored by millions of animal lovers all over the world and frequently featured in Animal Planet channel. The outpouring of grief is even being compared to that of Princess Diana or John F. Kennedy and the great sport loving nation of Kangaroos almost came to a standstill on hearing the news. Such is their admiration and respect for their sportsman which very few countries can be proud of.

Steve died while filming an underwater operation of a stingray which bit him in the chest with a sharp barb and he died while he was removing the barb from his chest. I think this video which has been captured as and when made public would be one of the all time great heroic live acts by an individual reflecting the ultimate passion and love for the adventure sport.

There was one tribute from one of his fans in CNN from Ohio which summed it up all

'My preschool grandchildren had always thought wild animals were merely something to fear and avoid. They learned from Steve that the natural world does hold danger but also provides precious gifts to us all. They now know that this world is meant to be shared by all living creatures. Go in peace, Steve'

RK

Japan's Male Hierarchy passion continues

After 40 years the female baby syndrome is finally broken in the Japan Royal family with the birth of a baby boy to Japan's Princess Kiko. This ends the succession crisis which plagued one of the world's oldest royal families. Princess Kiko is the wife of Prince Akishino, Emperor Akihito's second son and makes the new born third in line to the throne after his uncle Crown Prince Naruhito and his father.

This subject was a serious matter of discussion through out Japan with the Parliament even contemplating an amendment to change the age old practice of having only a male member from the Royal family as monarch. There is also speculation that this would spark a baby boom in Japan which has seen a serious decline in population growth and birth rates and for the first time in decades, the Koi No Bori or the Carp flag traditionally hoisted to celebrate male heirs seems to be fluttering everywhere.

Brings us back to home scenario where people after all the talk of gender inequality, female rights as well as prevention of female baby infanticide in Tamil Nadu still grumble
' kudumbathukku oru ambilai varisu illanre oru kuraidhan'. So we are also similar to the Japanese scenario except one small difference- They might talk about this syndrome only for Royal families where as every house back home talks about the heir apparent as a future breadwinner with all the additional family responsibilities loaded to the helpless boy as he grows along!

RK

Madras University- 150 years on and still young

Madras University is celebrating its sesquicentennial year from September 5th and as one of it's also ran lesser known alumnus I take pride in being part of such a glorious Institution. Six Presidents, two Nobel winners and many other distinguished personalities have brought fame and glory to the famous old red brick building which stands majestically opposite to the Marina water front even today as a great architectural and historic monument.

I had visited the University may be two or three times when I was doing my Commerce post graduation directly and invariably ended up losing the way on those huge corridors and beautiful stair cases surrounded by lovely greenery. There were so many departments and labs all over though the whole place always used to be an oasis of calm and serenity may be because of its huge size and the large halls. Even those days I used to see the girls and boys of may be Presidency and Queen Mary’s colleges taking shelter under those huge trees supposedly discussing their academic interests though my fertile imagination as always used to end up thinking of the inevitable love stories between them. I tried later on to get in to the university for my MBA since I always had a fascination for the place and as usual ended up on a losing note since the quota system was already in place and there were hardly 30-40 meritorious students per year getting in and by no stretch of imagination I was going to be one of them.

Though the University has lost its glamour and sheen to the more famous ones like Anna Engineering and Madras Medical in the recent years it still continues to be a pioneer in many areas and would be the pride of Chennaites for ever.

RK

Ganguly left out again- is this the 'end for Dada'

Why humiliate the most successful Indian captain by including him in long list of 30 and ignoring him for the champion’s trophy final list of 14. Within 2 years he has slid from that of a super hero status to that of a persona non grata and going by selectors preferences for youth looks like he has to hang up his boots without any further chances or a grand farewell like that of a Steven Waugh or Allan Border. Dada didn't help his cause either by leaking confidential mails and picking up a fight with Chappell during the early days without realizing the enormous after effects of that collision and is now paying the price with forced retirement. His form during the county matches was also pathetic and there was no reason to include him in the probable 30 names only for the inevitable to happen later. But even his hard core detractors would agree that he brought a new found sense of urgency, aggressiveness, the famous Team India approach with those huddles and was instrumental in Indian cricket team becoming a brand by itself.

There was also one more debatable deletion of Sree santh and inclusion of RP Singh for Champions trophy. Just to put the records straight Sree santh(I am a great fan of his typical 'mallu' hip shaking dance ) was the most aggressive wicket taking bowler in the recent WI tour and RP has gone wicketless in the last four one dayers he has played at an average rate of 6.5 per over. Strange are the ways of selectors and the zonal selection games continue.

Sometimes photos tell the story and the first and last ones in this file photo conveys it all! The prince of Kolkatta definitely deserved a better exit!

RK

Ujjain Professor's murder-'A black day' for Indian education

Professor Sabharwal's gruesome murder last week in front of a large contingent of student’s union representatives, jawans, fellow professors and security staff in Ujjain is shocking. The only consolation was the sole evidence of an honest watchman who has come out in front of the media and promised to expose the real culprits. Thanks to ABVP and NSUI unions and their political clout the MP police have just made some formality arrests and the real culprits are at large.

This incident shows the extent to which our education is polluted and corrupted thanks to the political union system and the young student leaders later on lose direction in life falling prey as Hench men and Goons to the hungry politicians who are after their political enemies with a vengeance. I think high time the student union's are banned through out the country as they are no longer the symbols of democracy and in its place each university can have a selected team of young outstanding academic rank holders who will represent the colleges in all forums

Let the soul of the Professor rest in peace and this never ending madness of student elections stop once and for all!

RK

Andre Agassi- A True Legend

As Agassi battles it out on US open courts for one last time, I am sure all tennis fans without exception would salute this legend for his never say die attitude and playing the game in the right spirit with a big mischievous smart smile all the time. At 36 with 60 singles titles, 8 grand slam championships including all the four majors (one of the few to achieve the feat in the modern era) and 20 years into the professional circuit he still plays the five setters to the last point and more surprisingly wins most of them.

Retiring with grace at your peak is an art and very few sports men and women have perfected them and Andre's wife Graf, one of my all time favorites with 22 grand slam titles is a perfect example. She retired when she was at her peak in 1999. Andre also could have retired during the last year's memorable run to the US open final but seems to have reserved his best for one last hurrah at the coveted title. Given the state of his body and the excruciating pain killers for his back problems which he has been taking through out the year he might not go all the way but as and when he gets defeated he will go down in the history books as an undisputed champion and arguably one of the all time greats ever. His return of service is probably the best ever the game has seen in the last 40 years or so eclispsing even the great Jimmy Connors of the whirlwind 70's and 80's

As usual the Indian tennis challenge is fizzling out fast with the exit of Sania, Mahesh with only Leander left in the doubles version. Sania mania seems to be fast fading after all the hype and may she will end up as yet another Indian tennis player who also played the grand slams without going through qualification rounds!

RK