A few notes on the IPL

The Rajasthan Royals just won the first tournament of the DLF Indian Premier League - and I mean that both in terms of time and how it happened. I'm rather disappointed, because RR has been my least favourite team all through the tournament - primarily because I'm a sucker for underdogs, and I don't like teams that win everything they play. But then, I wasn't supporting Chennai either, because I'm not too fond of Dhoni.

Actually, once it got to the semi-final stage, I wasn't really fond of any of the teams. I thought I'd support the Delhi Daredevils, but when you think of the way they just gave in to the RRs, there's just no point. But I never thought Punjab's King's XI wouldn't make it to the finals, and I really thought they were the only team who would be able to beat Rajasthan, but that didn't happen either.

For a while today, I really did think Chennai would make it, but the last two balls of the match changed everything around. I was hoping for a bowl-out when they needed just one run off the last ball, but Sohail Tanveer managed to pull it off on the last ball.

Come to think of it, nothing in this tournament went the way I wanted it to go. I supported the Kolkata Knight Riders, and had very high hopes of their success in the first match when Brandan McCellum hit his 158 and the Bangalore Royal Challengers just didn't know what to do. But I am extremely glad I didn't get tickets for their match against the Mumbai Indians when I was in Bombay on the 16th of May, because the way KKR played was just ridiculous. I still think they could have made it through to the semis if that damn rain hadn't washed out the match in Delhi, but who knows?

The other teams I liked which didn't make it through were the Mumbai Indians and, well, the Deccan Chargers of Hyderabad. MI totally deserved to not make it through to the semis consideruing the way they fielded in their last few games. And that Dilhara character who gave a wide in that last over against God knows which team now, and following it up with dropping a catch on the last ball, is just a fool of the first order.

The thing with the Deccan Chargers is that you can't really figure out why they lost everything they played. They have two people in the top ten scoring batsmen list, R P Singh was one of the leading wicket takers, they made decent scores in quite a few matches, but then... something would just go wrong. They just couldn't close any of their matches on a winning note. I really admired VVS Laxman for giving up his icon status so their team could use the money to get more players, but that team... just didn't click when it mattered.

But at the end of the day, you've got to give credit to Shane Warne for bringing the Royals together the way he has, more so since half the players in the team probably don't speak English. Like them or not, the team completely deserved to win the IPL.

It's been a very exciting 40 days (which started during my exams) of cricket every single day. But at least I'll be allowed to watch my shows which come during matches. And I really really hope ravi Shastri didn't mean his statement about Makhaya Ntini "bringing a lot of colour to the tournament" the way I suspect he did.

The Queen's Necklace

Many years ago, I read the following passage in Mary Higgins Clark's book Moonlight Becomes You, and the lines have stayed with me ever since for some reason:

Manhattan stretched before him, ablaze with lights. He looked at the East River bridges and remembered that when he had told Maggie his office was on the forty-second floor of the World Trade Center, she had told him about the first time she had gone for a cocktail at Windows on the World atop the center. “It was just becoming dusk. The lights of the bridges went on, and then all the building and streetlights started glowing. It was like watching a highborn Victorian lady put on her jewelry—necklace, bracelets, rings, even a tiara.”

We were driving along Marine Drive in Mumbai today evening, and the lights both on the road we were approaching and across the harbour were absolutely brilliant to watch. My father mentioned how the road used to be called a "Queen's Necklace" because of the lights lining the road, which immediately brought back this passage to mind.

Missing her already...

The family's off on a week-long vacation tomorrow, and the mother and I went to drop Kyra (the golden retriever) off at her usual boarding place today. I swear to you, there is no bigger heart-breaking sight in the world than Her Highness looking back at me oh-so-reproachfully as she's led away by the doctors there.

My mum was busy with the formalities when Kyra was taken away, so missed the departure. I told her not to go in and see Kyra one more time, but she insisted on doing so. Kyra, of course, seeing Mamma, bounded up to her, thinking it's time to go home already. Net result, Kyra was even more mournful when Mamma walked away, and Mamma was more upset than before.

I usually try to avoid dropping Kyra off when we go on vacation, because I inevitably break down. I couldn't get out of it today, but managed not to break down completely. The mother, on the other hand, has never ever dropped Kyra off before. I think she now knows why I try to avoid it.

*Sniff*

I'm fine...

I don't have a particularly high opinion of Rahul Bose as an actor. Nonetheless, what little I've seen and read of him in interviews et al., I do think he's a fairly intelligent and sane person. (Some people will catch onto what I mean by sane here; most won't. It's the former minority which is impertinent enough to call me neurotic.)

Coming back to Rahul Bose, his directorial debut Everybody says I'm fine! is one of the most brilliant movies I have come across. Unfortunately, it's also made my life that bit more complicated. I swear to you, ever since I've seen that movie, I have not been able to sit through one hair cut or head massage without wondering if the person behind can hear my thoughts.

I had my annual hair cut today, and as usual, the second it started, I started wondering if the fellow could hear my thoughts. Then I started wondering what I was thinking about anyway. Then I started wondering what I shouldn't think about in case he can hear me. Then I tried to think of acceptable thoughts which wouldn't matter if they were heard. And then I thought about how gorgeous my hair.

*sigh* It happens every time. [Why is every time not one word?!?]

And in case you're wondering, I only got my hair trimmed; I like it long, but in this heat, it's impossible to handle.

Also, this post has been in the making for nearly six months, so I'm not too sure what exactly I meant by the first paragraph, but I'm letting it go. It seems right to me, although I'm pretty sure I'm taking it the same way I originally meant it.

Of celebrities and their blogs...

*sigh* Just when you think the Bachchan family cannot get more in your face then it already is, you get proven wrong.

Amitabh Bachchan has started blogging. Now, a) he doesn't write particularly well, and b) his blog is in one of those irritating formats where not only does the whole entry not show up in Google Reader, but it doesn't even show up on the home page of the damn blog! You have to do the whole clicking on a link to read the rest of the entry bit to read every entry which is really annoying. And honestly, the man is just full of himself! If you're a "superstar" in India, the media is going to hound you. And if you're going to react to every single thing the media says about you, then we've had it! And, even if I choose not to read his blog, I can't get away from it, because both HT City or Delhi Times are bound by compulsion for some obscure reasons to quote his entries on a daily basis.

Don't get me wrong; I think the Bachchan family is tremendously talented. Jaya Bachchan has always been one of my favourite actresses. Amitabh Bachchan is above and beyond almost everyone else in the industry; you just have to look at Hrishikesh Mukherjee's movies, Sholay, and Black to realise that, to name just a few. Aishwarya Rai can act quite decently if she has the right movie and the right director, and Abhishek Bachchan, of course, I had a huge crush on till the whole family started getting on my nerves. I mean, not only are they doing utterly ridiculous movies most of the time (just look at Jhoom Barabar Jhoom), but they're freaking everywhere!

Incidentally, can anyone tell me why Aamir Khan's blog doesn't have a feed to which I can subscribe to on Google Reader?

My latest aversion

I have recently discovered that I do not like spiders. I don't screech at the sight of them, or refuse to enter a room just because there's one around, like some people I shall not name do where lizards are concerned. I would, however, appreciate it if they stayed as far away from me as possible.

I caught the last scene of Charlotte's Web on television the other day, and all I could think while Wilbur was cooing over the zillions of baby spiders crawling all over the place was "Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" Seriously, they were not cute.

And then I caught the Forbidden Forest scene from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I'm shuddering now even thinking of that scene. Have you seen how that thing landed on the car and grabbed Ron? Ugh.

An opinion on recent events

Abso-freakin'-lutely.

Admittedly, I don't know much about both this incident or the Scarlett Keeling case. But, I reiterate. You cannot blame a girl's lifestyle or background for the atrocities carried out to her. That's just cowardly and stoopid.

Yes, I do think it was completely irresponsible of Scarlett's mother to leave her 15-year-old daughter in a place like Goa, in a country like India, and go off, no matter what the reason. But to say that is why this happened is just sickening.

You know, when I was working with RAHI Foundation, I used to hear of cases where the mother knew the father was molesting his child(ren) but didn't do anything about it for various reasons. Whatever the reason, putting the entire blame on her for what happened to her child(ren) is just as ridiculous. Yes, there is some blame there too, but not entirely.

Why are people always so keen to blame anyone but the perpetrators themselves?

I hate thinking of titles for posts

Do you ever look up at the sky and watch those two white fuzzy lines which get and longer and longer as a jet flies overhead? Isn't it really cool?

Ahem. This is not what I meant to write about.

Right. So as most of you know by now, I am not particularly un-judgmental by nature. I am, in fact, a snob, forsooth. (Always wanted to use that word, don'tcha know? Should there be a comma before it though?)

Now despite my judgmentalness about most things, if there's something I don't get fussed about, it's the way people dress. As I've stated before, I think it's absolutely ridiculous to blame the way women to dress for the animalistic tendencies of men. I don't care if people want to wear mini skirts or tank tops, or if they want to wear saris or salwar-kameezes. I don't even know half the time (OK, a lot more than half the time) what is supposed to be in vogue at any given time, apart from the fact that it's never what I want to buy. If a girl wants to dress a certain way, and can carry it off, good for her. What's your problem anyway?

What I do get somewhat hassled by, however, is when some people insist on dressing a certain way, when it very obviously does not suit them. I know girls who can wear anything - even the ugliest pyjamas available in Sarojni Nagar - and still look gorgeous. But let's face it, not all of us are made that way. Most of us look nice in certain kinds of clothes, and not so great in other kind of clothes. And anyone with the slightest brain in their heads would figure out what suits us and wear that, rather than what's in fashion. Of course, if you're like me, you'd stick what makes you comfortable, and hang fashion altogether, but that's just me.

My point is, when you're short, and have a somewhat healthy build, wouldn't it be a better idea to not wear tight and short T-shirts? Or those clinging type of gowns which I didn't know people outside of the red carpet in Hollywood actually wore? And well, if you absolutely have to wear such T-shirts, and pair it up with low-waisted jeans to boot, would you please, oh please, not sit anywhere in my line of vision?

PS: I swear, the comments on the last post have convinced me this topic deserves a post. But it'll have to wait. Exams are on, and I barely come online these days. Quelle horreur!

PS2: I am beginning to feel I'm awfully opinionated. Ya think?

Yippee dedda doo

Without meaning to sound conceited in any way, it is one of the facts of life that I am far better at giving viva voce exams than I am at giving written exams. Because in written exams, when I don't know something (which is rather frequently, considering the amount I study) I simpl blank out. In viva exams, on the other hand, when I'm asked something I don't know the answer to, I seem to have the knack of making up answers on the spot, which, luckily for me, seem to do the trick.

Today (well, yesterday, really) was my viva oral exam for my dissertation. After talking about my study, methodology, tools etc., and coming up with rather decent explanations for why on earth my study shows no significant differences between the two groups, the external examiner picked up on one my results pertaining to gender differences. He asked me why I thought such a result had come up, and from there, we went onto socialization of boys and girls in India, leading to a rather animated discussion about the state of women of India.

Now anyone who knows me knows that I'm in my element when I have to make up answers during interviews. They also know that the aforementioned topic is, honestly, something I can go on and on about*. So you can well imagine how my viva went and why I've been grinning since my exit line, which incidentally, was essentially a summary of this post.

See, it pays to be a feminist. Now if only the rest of my exams involve such discussions, I'm all set.

*Apparently, almost everyone does know this about me, because I hear the second some of my classmates I've never really spoken much to heard what turn my viva had taken, they were certain it had gone well. I need to become more enigmatic.

Meme #2: Page 123, Line 5

Meant to put this up weeks ago, but didn't quite get round to it. I can't believe I haven't blogged in nearly a month! It's like I'm going the Zig's way! ;)

Another meme doing the rounds of the blogosphere these days is this:

Open the nearest book to page 123, go down to the 5th sentence and type up the 3 following sentences. Then, pass the message along to other people you want to invite to contribute to the game.

So the only book around me right now is Udai Pareek's Training Instruments in HRD and OD (dear Lord, I sound like a nerd). The chapter is Relevant Conceptual Frameworks of Personal and Interpersonal Orientation, and the section is on Coercive Bases [of Power]. So here goes:

"For the same reason, charisma is included in coercive power, because a charismatic leader arouses strong emotions, and get things done. The leader does not treat his or her followers as mature people who are competent to make their own choices. Referent power is different, as we shall see in the next section."

Everyone who reads this and has a blog, you are tagged.