Korbo Lodbo “Harbo” Re

The first international IPL came to a scintillating end. Deccan Chargers languishing at the bottom of the table last year, managed a resurgent come back and overpowered Royal Challenger Bangalore. The grand finale was followed by a magnificent closing ceremony.  Although this year, the interest levels were not as high as IPL1, they were sufficient to cause problems for the “Saas Bahu” viewers.

IPL2 will be majorly remembered for 3 events:

1.  Controversies as to where and when the event should be held
   
2. The innovative and amusing Vodafone advertisements
   
3. The most important – Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)
   

By now you would have guessed, the source of the title. It’s a modification of KKR mantra “Korbo Lodbo Jeetbo Re”. Thanks to their dreadful performance (Played – 14 Won – 3 Lost – 10 No Result – 1), it was no surprise that they became the whipping boys (reminds me of my report cardJ).

Even before the season started, KKR was in news for their off the field heroics (took “lodbo Re” a bit too seriouslyJ). John Buchanan, surprised all the purists and even the amateurs with his preposterous “4 Captain Theory”. The only person in agreement was the team owner SRK (that’s what matters). Well, he surely does have a lot of cricketing experience (remember Chamatkar).

KKR’s quest for glory started miserably. In the very first match they barely managed to score 101, and lost comprehensively to Deccan Chargers. Their first win was over Kings XI Punjab, majorly due to the erratic Duckworth and Lewis. This was followed by a nightmare which lasted for 10 games (Lost – 9 No Result – 1).

SRK, during one of his interviews with Mandira Bedi (another cricketing nerdJ), said he visualized his team winning the trophy and celebrating on the streets of Kolkata (Don't count your chickens before they hatch). SRK would have never imagined that by end of the season, he would be desperately trying to sell his team.

During the course of the tournament other controversies such as “fake ipl player” and racial discrimination, added to the teams misery. Experts of the game have already come out with various explanations behind the team’s failure. The most acclaimed being the “lack of unity” (I endorse it).

Next year IPL3 would come alive, and so would the uncertainties. SRK might not be the team owner. Buchanan and McCullum might not be the coach and captain respectively. KKR’s losing streak (9 losses on the trought) might be broken (will require hell of an effortJ). One thing is for sure, India would still dance to the tune of “Korbo Lodbo Jeetbo Re”. Clear hai!

Sports – Modern India

History of sports in India can be traced back to the Vedic Era (1500-500BC). Some historians are of the view that sports such as chess, wrestling, polo, archery, hockey and even badminton were originated from India (Don’t feel embarrassed, even I was not aware of thisJ).

Modern Indian sports, according to me, can be broadly divided into 2 categories:

1. Cricket
2. Non-Cricket

Over the years, cricket in India has evolved from just being a sport. It has become a religion. The intensity of the game is so extreme, that it coerces people of different religion into one, and makes them cheer for their country.

All other sports, however well our players might perform, fail to generate the same kind of fanatic following. Small children are able to recite names of almost 20 cricket players, but they don’t even know the Indian hockey team’s captain (well even I don’tJ).

In this section, I would post on both the categories of modern Indian sports (emphasis would be on the 1^st categoryJ). I am no sports expert, but being an Indian, it’s my fundamental right to comment on cricket.

I am not alone; there are other 1billion experts who are in direct competition. Most of them (including me), have had the experience of playing the game either in an apartment parking or in a park (where more than 20 matches are played simultaneously, and it’s tough to identify where your players areJ). In spite of the rich experience, it has never discouraged them from articulating their private theories and expert advice on cricketers and cricket matches.

So, be prepared for the posts of a common man, who even though has never played a cricket match outside his locality, has scored n number (n->∞) of international centuries in his dreamsJ.

 

Mummy No.1

The title of the post, for those who are unaware, has been derived from a nomenclature popularized in 1990s by bollywood star Govinda. Even today some of his rib tickling flicks such as “Haseena Man Jayegi”, “Hero No.1”, “Coolie No.1”, “Dulhe Raja” etc can be watched repeatedly.

Since childhood I have been fascinated by cooking (alright I am just kiddingJ). It was not until 2004, year when I started copy + paste (software engineerJ), that I ever thought of putting my footsteps in kitchen.

Staying alone in Silicon Valley of India, I realized the importance of the proverb “Necessity is the mother of invention”. Tired of eating floating icebergs (Idli) in a red ocean (sambhar) and foot long dosa’s, I decided to try my luck in cooking.

On one fine day, (must have been Friday the 13J) I decided to cook myself an “entire lunch”. Sounds big isn’t it. Well the menu actually was only dal and rice. Confused, I decided to call up my savior, Mummy No.1.

I still remember vividly my struggle for survival. For almost 30 min (by then incoming was freeJ), I took on the spot cookery classes. The end result, to be true, was edible food which encouraged me take up cooking as a hobby.

Since then (except for 2 years of unpaid leave in a b-schoolJ), I have been cooking on a regular basis (for all the girls out there, I am still a bachelorJ).

In this blog I intend to list a number of delectable recipes and tips. The listed recipes would be vegetarian (some would include egg as well). The source of these recipes and tips is the unparalleled experience and expertise of my mother (she has already experimented all of them on meJ).

As and when I cook, I would try my best to pen them down as well. So friends get ready for the most appetizing and delicious blog ever!

Transformation

Well, what an irony. Out of all the topics in the world my 2^nd blog is on education (CAT to be in particular). I hope my professors are reading this. Probably they would realize how wrong they were in giving me those monstrous gradesJ.

Three months of idle time can transform any individual (kindly include the previous 2 years as wellJ). March, 2009 witnessed a near impossible event. From being a student throughout my life, I decided to step into the shoes of an instructor.

With no idea whatsoever I strolled into a Career Launcher center. The moment I met the center head I was greeted by a big million dollar smile (Rs.15000 to be exact. That’s what candidates pay for a yearlong training in this part of India). Unfortunately, his happiness was short lived as I told him that I was there to get paid rather than pay.

I have no idea as to what on earth occurred to him, I was offered a Quant/ DI instructor position immediately. Probably that was my lucky day (should have gone to a casino insteadJ).

March 9 was D Day. My first lecture as an instructor was on “Data Sufficiency and Data Interpretation Based on Percentages”. It was a 2 hour long, enjoyable (at least for me, not sure about the students) and informative (I learnt more than the studentsJ) session.

Since then there has been no looking back. Every weekend I take approximately 6-8 hours of classes. The feedback has been very encouraging, and the centre head is very pleased (probably the students feel inspired after seeing me, if he can do it then anyone canJ).

From the past few weeks, I have moved onto a more matured role of conducting workshops for CAT aspirants. These workshops are held once a month. I will post the presentation and other relevant details in the coming weeks. Till then it’s TATA J

My first blog (will it be the last???)

Finally, after months of procrastination I have decided to write a blog. In a b-school, writing blogs has more or less become a norm (yours truly being a deviationJ).

According to me, b-school students can be divided into 3 broad categories:

1. Students who are regular with their blog and have an opinion on almost everything (e.g. whether hostel washing machines should be top loading or front loading)
2. Students who start to write in a gush of excitement, and with time their posts decreases just as their hairline
3. Students who neither write nor allow others to write ( I was one of themJ)

So you might wonder why is it that all of a sudden a person like me decided to write. Well, the answer to this is my elder brother. After reading his beautifully scripted blog, I was inspired to write. (I know what you are thinking, I have moved to the 2 category)

So friends I shall try my level best to be regular (would share only legitimate opinions). In case you have any suggestions/feedback, kindly keep it with yourselfJ.

God Bless.