Achane poloru kallananenne aadyam vilichathennnamma..

Achane poloru kallananenne aadyam vilichathennnamma..
Amminja paallunruna kunjine amma villikunnu kallan...

Oodumbol Chadumbol onnamaakumbol kootukar vazhthunnu Kallan
Kaminee Maare commentadikumbol Nannamillaloda Kalla....

Achhenodu ammini teacher paranju padikaan midukanee kallan
Kochu kusharthikal kazhttumbol, ente en ettan villikunnu Kallan

Deepam Valam veche neeram...
Kakathe kavarathe Kallam Parayathe Kallanayi Pande pirrannuu...

Sachin's 100th 100

No words to describe this legend’s achievement. Beyond doubt Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has proved to the world as to why he is the best this sport has ever seen. It was truly history in the making and I feel honored and privileged to have witnessed this chapter of cricketing history being engraved in gold.

Cricket - The English Tour 2011

India has lost its number 1 position, the series and it's pride with this crushing defeat in three consecutive matches I quote from NDTV. Indians looked as if they could not bowl or field. This I believe is the first series that I have seen India out-beaten in every department like fitness, bowling, fielding, batting, player selection and most importantly decision making. Nobody looked in-charge neither the coach nor the captain.

India lacked an aggressive body language. I heard one commentator say "This is the nicest Indian team he has ever seen. Too polite and too good, unlike the aggressive team under Saurav which anyone would think twice before facing...." Even poor Sreeshanth looked like a tame pussy cat.

One more match in this series and hope they show some metal and aggression.

Cricket 2011

These are my first thoughts to be uploaded in 2011 and it’s about Cricket, Cricket and more Cricket! I love this sport and I am proud to be one of the billion commoners from India to be a huge fan of this sporting extravaganza.

India has most definitely a good chance of making history on home ground, but the pressure of a billion aspirations and hope on the team is so huge that I feel sorry for them. Me being from a Basket Ball background quite understand what is going through the mind of each member of the team. In my view what would disturb the team most would be the cost of non-performance. Many fans unfortunately are so unsporting that in a gify they could forget all the good that a sport star has done till now.

Two days back I was fortunate to meet and talk to Dale Stein at an event in Bangalore. He was brilliant and amazingly composed. Team India needs to be cool and composed. Never loose your cool like the immature Shreeshant, whats he trying to prove? Who is he angry at?

I quote

"Anger of the mind is poison to the soul" - unkown....

"Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burned. - Buddha"

My thought at end of today is “Please keep cool and its only sport” and may the best team win!

Football a true world sport.... Waka Waka, Wavin Flag

A look at this year’s “FIFA 2010” prompted me put down thoughts.

Football had always a sense of magic around it, nothing to beat the euphoria and excitement around this game. I am a diehard Maradona fan and of lately little Messi's. Unlike any sport, the long lasting impact is huge. Every season comes up with a completely new theme blowing fire into players, fans and organizers alike. It comes in the form of hit songs, a new Adidas Jabulani, the venues, the jerseys and each component has its own story.

Coming to us, we too have cricket, but the impression that the cricket world cup leaves us with is in reality quite short lived. IPL is making wonderful and unique attempts in branding cricket in a positive direction and I hope it continues to grow ad-mist recent controversies .

But the Indian government and our people have to look urgently at the future and bringing up a brand new generation in sports. We need more quality sports facilities especially around residential areas. Parks are good, but we need stadiums, grounds and indoor facilities. I was recently looking at a place to play basket ball around my home. Not one available anywhere around. There are a few premium clubs, but who can afford its membership?

With out proper facility, many sports are dying in this great country.

T20 and India

A miserable performance from the champions and dreams of a billion Indian goes crashing down. It was a shame to see India play the way they did in the super eight and as a spectator it felt that most of them did not know even the basics of cricket. We performed below par in almost every aspect of the game, starting from bowling, and batting, fielding. The running between the wickets was a disgrace, so bad that Ravi Shastri even commented on it. Clearly there were neither strategies in place nor any contingency plans.

The answer for this poor play I believe was simple

1. 1) Lack of practice
2. 2) Poor selection

Blame it on the IPL, blame it on the parties or anything else, but one week of practice is definitely not enough to go into a tournament, definitely not the world cup. The IPL should have got over at least 3 weeks before the world cup or at least the playing 15 should have been released like other countries did. This was a mistake by the BCCI, the team management, the coach and the captain. They should have realized that they are going to the West Indies, where pitches never favored India and planned a proper coaching and practice schedule.

I remember when we used to go for school basketball tournaments; we started exclusive practice at least 3 weeks before although we played every day.

All said and done, we are always a good team and will always be champions. We have 2011 coming up and we have to stay focused and not let IPL, ICL or anything distract the Indian team.

Educational Reform - One entrance exam for science colleges

Well done Mr. Sibal and your team!

I believe this should have happened ages back. Its a great start to educational reform. right now students are sick of writing multiple exams to get into various institutions. CAT has proved to be a success story! why not science institutions?

You can't keep dividing rural and urban India, the gap must be bridged along with other reforms. Sibal is intelligent and surely good reforms will follow.

I wish and pray that they do something similar for school nursery admissions as well :). It's a nightmare for parents applying.

A Rise in Muthaliks!

People increasingly getting into these kind of terrorist outfits?

I like almost every common man is very concerned to see a steep rise in elements like Muthalik.

Groups like the "Ram Sene" or any Sene are filled with uneducated and mostly illiterate people. The sad reality is that a vast majority of them are unemployed, goons or anti socials.

• Why do a few rouges call themselves custodians of Indian Culture and only target the youth and women?
• What is their answer against corruption?
• What is their answer against poverty and unemployment?
• Can they stop Prostitution?
• Can they ever take on any government for lack of poor infrastructure?
• What about Medical Aid to poor?
• How about increasing agriculture in India?
• How about providing safety for Indian Women
• Education?

They do not have the brains nor the guts to stand up for real issues. Moreover women and youth will be soft targets for cheap political mileage.

The answer I believe is simple:

- The idle mind is the Devil's work shop

- The law must act swift and fast, spare none...

Guardians of the Law are answerable to none?

Can common people ever get justice? Shocking to read the following headlines

"Top Cop get 6 months for Molesting a child.." , "Brutal Murderer, Kerala Cop gets life...", "Cops gets suspended for taking bribe..."

• Why is so little punishment given to a child molester ?
• How can a brutal murder by a cop given only life?
• For the guardians of law (cops and other public servants) it must be stricter, swifter and the quantum of punishment must be 10 times more severe.
• 19 years is ridiculous.

Rediff Customer Support Policy - buy and get lost?

Has anyone tried to contact Rediff.com customer support? Then you will understand what I mean. It is perfect example of a disaster.

• No telephone Numbers - No matter how important your issue is.
• No Chat support
• Not even an “email id” mentioned anywhere
• No Form

The only thing they have highlighted “Enter you order number and Check Order Status”. Adding to all these woes, I send an email yesterday for a serious and urgent problem in with regards to a Domain Hosting. The reply I get has nothing to do with what I asked

This is their reply to an Urgent Issue. It is so freaking humorous that I am compelled to share the content.

“Our customer support representative will attend to your mail and will revert within 2 working days. Since your interaction is being tracked through the subject line, we request you not to change the subject line for your future correspondence. If you query is about an existing order, then do ensure that your order number is mentioned in the mail. Note: You may track your order via mobile by simply typing TRACK <> and send it to 57333. Your status will be updated via SMS. Alternatively, you may follow the status of your order by viewing the same at Track My Order. In case you have not mentioned the order number, then you may click on Track My Order to retrieve the order number and send us a fresh mail by clicking on the HELP section. Please ignore this message if you have quoted your Order number and allow our Customer Support to get back to you in time. Glad to assist you. Regards, The Customer Service Team http://www.rediff.com/”

We are paying through our nose for Domains, Hosting etc… but not a single point of contact? What is the customer policy? Is it “buy and get lost”? So who is responsible? Why is such big company ripping people off? How can we as people still afford to keep them in business. Totally no respect for customers.

I quote a line from the very famous song “Hotel California”.

“We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!”

Internet - an efficient and transparent way of governing

I was humoured by a report which stated that seasoned politicians are afraid of using the internet to avoid any "Cattle Class" like controversies.

What they need to understand is the Internet is now a media of the Masses. It is such an important and easy way of getting in touch with your elected representative, especially in a fully literate constituency like Trivandrum.

If public servants can use it as medium to communicate ongoing progress of development work and receive petitions and update status etc... What an efficient and transparent way of governing.

This is where we need educated people like Dr.Shashi Tharoor "to lead the way". I pray and hope that the rest of the "Holy Cows" follow him.

Jai Hind!

Bail Out - The magical new Bizz Word

Bail Out - or rather "Bail me out" is the magical new Bizz Phrase in 2009. From the eyes of the common man, this phrase means - When a business belonging to top industrialists loose money, they need more money from the government.

I am not a communist, but why should my money (the common tax payer) be used to pay for their ineffciency and wrong policies.

And a does bail out mean lessons learnt or remorse or change or restructuring?

No... not at all.In what we see around a "Bail out" is a time for celebration and exuberant spending, parties, buying new jets, salary hikes. The sad part is that there are even hefty compensations in millions given to top executives who have achieved the Bail Out from the government not even considering the fact that they are the ones who screwed up... Instead of taking action against them, you reward these fat cats.

Recently, private airlines are crying for Bail Outs. Why? dont they have money or rather huge profits from their group companies which they can use instead of a government bail out? Vijay Malya should use his liquour profits to bail out King fisher not tax payers money.

The real worry is who is going to Bail Out the world's millions, the poor, the actual deserving, the starving and the dying.

Will any government or G8 hold a summit to discuss possibilites of saving the dying or feeding the poor? Will any opposition walk out for the cause of the poor. Will any of the world presidents or heads of states meet up to discuss anything other than finance or millitary or nuclear or sanctions.

Everyone is entitled to know the law or is it different for the Rich and Famous?

Celebrity and Socialite Ms Sheetal Mafatlal was detained at Mumbai airport on Saturday night by the Air Intelligence Unit for under valuing the jewellery she was carrying. Like most celeb cases, this too would be washed out of the window and the commoner will forget as "time heals anything in India". As in this case the ignorance of the India Law cannot be an excuse to break it.

At least in this case a really strong messages has to be send across that nation

1) No one is above the law of the land.

2) You cannot be ignorant on basic laws. If you are a citizen you need to know the law of the land.

Just imagine if the country's most affluent and educated say they do not know the law, what would be situation of the under privileged which constitutes 95%.

It is high time that people be more proactive to learn and teach the law. Its also high time that the government enforces a compulsory subject call the "Indian Law" , which must be taught to everyone starting from schools.

Relevance of issues raised by Parties

It is so sad to see that even in the 21st Centaury; all the issue raised by political parties seems most irrelevant. There real issues like mentioned below get no attention.

1) Corruption 2) Injustice to women 3) Faster and more effective Judiciary 4) Effective and corruption free policing. 5) Food 6) Water 7) Effective Drainage and Proper Waste disposal 9) Roads and Infrastructure, the road tax system is pathetic. 10) Pollution and Environmental control 11) Power 12) Education

People has to wait 10 years for Vehicle insurance claim? Lack of coordination between the various governments agencies, especially between the states. It is night mare if you have a job that gives you transfers from a state to a state. There is not one descent road or bridge. Why do I pay taxes? When nothing of my core issue is being dealt with? It is so easy to sit and blame Terrorism, Al Qaeda, Pakistan etc… but what is these parties doing for India? None of these parties has even given one point that will ease the pain out of a commoner.

They will go ahead with Ram Mandir, stop English Education, declare Taj as an International Monument, rename states, cities and roads to regional names, Beat up women who drink and wear jeans, create Hartals or strikes and close shops, hospitals and block roads.

But how will all this help me the common man?

In-Adequate Exposure of Political leaders nationally or globally

International Exposure of Political leaders is the need of the hour. Especially in states like Kerala, where the level of education among the leaders is adequately high. Education alone cannot help you make right decisions you need exposure, and exposure to good governance. Being the most educated state in the country we have the lowest economic development. It is fact that our current leaders are not able to imbibe anything new into the system or even into their own party worker.

 Why are Malayalees outside doing so well? Why are they so hardworking outside? Why do they support working 24x7x365 only outside? Why can’t they do it within?

 It will take a person like Dr. Shashi Tharoor, a Keralite, with immense exposure globally to take on this mammoth task of revolutionizing the Malayalee thought process.

 We the NRK’s living outside Kerala welcome the decision that Dr. Shashi Tharoor took to contest the Lok Sabha elections.  Also that fact that his contesting will open the gates of politics to the young educated and exposed talent for new ideas to transform our society.

IPL and India

If some sense prevails within the Organizing Committee, they must reschedule the matches and hold it in India itself.
Moreover the IPL committee has no right hold the country to a ransom at an important time synonym to a national emergency; i.e. Lok Sabha elections. Tomorrow even if India is going through war, will these people will go ahead and play the IPL?
Everyone is talking about security to players, but how can IPL guarantee security to each and every citizen that is involved. The Government needs to take this up more strongly.
The whole essence of this tournament is the regional spirit and that would be killed if held anywhere else other than the region each team represents. Imagine a guy from Essex, England, cheering for the Chennai Super Kings?? Or the English Premier league being held in India, who would you cheer for?

India and the Oscars….

I love 2008-2009… What’s suddenly happening? Indians are winning Gold at Olympics, winning at the Oscars, Indian companies going ahead and acquiring other firms abroad. Yes, we are getting into the main league. I feel the same way as Americans felt when Obama was sworn in.

 A very discouraging article in Yahoo, “It shouldn't have won” by some Sandipan Deb (http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20090224/1241/top-it-shouldn-t-have-won.html) prompted me to write this.

 I have always loved AR’s serene music and had no doubt that one day he’ll make it to the top. But when less famous Resul Pookutty went up there and said "my country and my civilisation", I could feel my blood boil with pride. He went on to add “This is not a sound award but a piece of history being handed down to him” and I can’t agree better on his choice of words. Yes, truly it was history in the making. At least now, I hope the world will see that there are many talented technicians, artists and film makers who currently work with barely no new technology can do lots more with some international recognition and support.

 No matter how insignificant this may seem to some; this is indeed historic and will remain as “happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme”.

End of the Human Race ?

After much thought and I have begun to realize that some of prophecies regarding the end of world is slowly coming true. The one and only reason is “Intolerance”. This growing hatred between humans is crossing all boundaries and reaching new dimensions with the fight for religion, land & money. The message of hate rather than love, the message of divide rather than unity, the message of death rather than life is spreading like wild fire. And soon every man will be by himself, all alone in this big wide world.