The mother of all humdingers!

Australia and South Africa faced off for the second time in the World cup 1999 tournament, this time in the semi finals at Edgbaston. Given the history of clashes between the two great teams, few would have bet against another classic but the match went way beyond expectations and turned out to be one of the most fascinating modern day matches. Coming into the match, the teams were pretty much even. The Aussies were probably a little more confident given that they had beaten the Proteas in their must win clash in the super six stage at Headingley thanks to their captain Steve Waugh's magnificent century. Australia had started the tournament pretty badly with defeats against Pakistan and New Zealand but had found their feet later and proved to be a resurgent unit after that winning every game to reach the semis and set up this mouth watering contest. The Proteas on the other hand had performed extremely well in the tournament except for a shock defeat against Zimbabwe and then a loss against Australia. Their batting was fairly strong and the bowling led by Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock backed up by the fantastic fielding ability of Jonty Rhodes and Herschelle Gibbs who surely was looking to make amends for his blunder at Headingley when his premature celebration on snapping Steve Waugh's catch resulted in a drop catch and eventually cost the match.

The Australian form had been more or less patchy with no one being consistent throughout. Micheal Bevan and Steve Waugh were the in form players and the bowling led by Glenn Mcgrath and Shane Warne was just peaking. This match had all the ingredients for being a classic and it did not disappoint one bit. Here's a recap of that surreal encounter.

Australian innings:

South Africa won the toss and put Australia in to make use of the pace friendly conditions. They were rewarded very early when the star Aussie opener Mark Waugh was caught behind off Pollock. This start boosted the Proteas who were rather infamously known for their ability to choke in big games. Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist combined in an aggressive stand, with the highlight being Ponting's excellent pull shot for six off Steve Elworthy. The partnership was looking rather dangerous when Allan Donald was introduced in the attack. He struck immediately when, with the score on 54, Ponting played an extravagant drive and was held in the covers by Gary Kirsten. Disaster struck for the Aussies when Darren Lehmann was caught behind by Boucher off a beauty from Donald which just seamed away a touch. The Proteas were well and truly on top a bit later when Gilchrist was caught down at third man trying to upper cut a Jacques Kallis delivery. With the score on aa rather shaky 68/4, the captain Steve Waugh was joined by Michael Bevan who was the orchestrator of many a rescue act previously.

Waugh and Bevan started off a little cautiously but soon opened up and played some great shots. When Lance Klusener was brought into the attack, Waugh lofted him straight for a boundary and a little later for a six. Bevan also started playing some confident shots. The match had taken a sudden twist and the South Africans were playing catch up. But, just as it seemed that the Aussies would wrest the initiative, Shaun Pollock came back for a spell and removed Steve Waugh for 56 caught behind by Mark Boucher who was having a great game thus far. The pair had added an invaluable 90 runs for the fifth wicket and helped the Aussies recover from a precarious position. Pollock was bowling beautifully and trapped Tom Moody plumb in front just three balls later and the see saw game was well and truly now swinging the way of the Proteas.

The great leg spinner Shane Warne joined Bevan to help consolidate. Warne did get away aith a few lucky edges and managed to help add some quick runs when with the score on 207, he was completely foxed by a great slower delivery by Shaun Pollock and Hansie Cronje, the South African captain clung on to the skier at short mid wicket. Allan Donald followed this up with two crackers to bowl Paul Reiffel and Damien Fleming and all of a sudden, when it looked like Australia would post a cmpetitive target of 225, they were 207/9. Michael Bevan who had reached 50 earlier, swung a boundary to mid wicket off Pollock before being caught behind trying to repeat the same shot. The final score was 213, one that the Proteas must have fancied to chase down quite comfortably..or so they thought.


South African Innings

The openers Gibbs and Kirsten made their way out and by now the spectators knew they were in for a feast. Gibbs started off extremely positvely including a glorious backfoot drive off Damien Fleming and also essayed a couple of gorgeous straight drives. Kirsten meanwhile was looking as solid as ever and the Aussies realized it was time for a change. 'Cometh the hour cometh the man' is a popular phrase but it has never been more perfectly applicable than to the wily genius of Shane Warne who was handed the ball by his captain with the SOuth Africans on 48 after 12 overs. Back in the 1996 edition , with Australia staring down the barrel in the semi finals against the West Indies, Warne grabbed 4 wickets to spin Australia to victory in a thriller at Mohali. This time around he was bowling toa much more confident pair of openers. The second ball of Warne's first over was an absolute peach. It drifted towards leg stump and drew Gibbs forward before spinning viciously to take the of stump. It was in some ways reminiscent of the 'ball of the century' he had bowled at Old Trafford in 1993 to Mike Gatting. As David Gower put it so perfectly on commentary, it was absolutely exactly what Australia wanted.







Shane Warne was pumped and playing him now required some skill and resolve. Gary Kirsten had been solid thus far, but played a rather uncharacteristic slog sweep at Warne who was turning it big now. The stumps were pegged back and Warne roared. He knew that getting that wicket was vital. Two balls later, Warne had Cronje driving and the edge flew to Mark Waugh at slip. Replays showed that the ball had come off the foot but the umpire had thought otherwise and by now the Aussies sniffed the chance. They tightened the screws and runs dried up and with the score on 61 in the 22nd over, Daryll Cullinan was run out by a direct hit from Michael Bevan after being slow to respond to a call from Kallis. South Africa were now in dire straits and they badly needed aa partnership. Kallis and Rhodes started finding the gaps, Rhodes in particular looking very aggressive. He played a couple of unorthodox sweep shots off Moody and then swept Mark Waugh for six. The score had moved along to 145 in the 41st over when Rhodes fell trying to pull Paul Reiffel and holed out to Bevan at deep mid-wicket. Shaun Pollock came in and smote Warne for a huge six over long on. But, Warne had the last laugh when he had the top scorer Kallis caught at cover by Steve Waugh when he tried to chip over the infield.

The tension was now palpable and both spectators and the thousands of viewers were on tenterhooks at this stage. The commentary duties were entrusted to the vocal and highly excitable Aussie Bill Lawry and the equally enthusiastic South African Mike Procter. Things just could not have been better!. Fleming came back to bowl and castled Shaun Pollock off an inside edge and the Aussies were on cloud nine. 30 runs more to get and just 4 overs remained. It seemed like the match was all but Australia's. The man of the tournament till then Lance Klusener had other ideas. He had been in scintillating form and continued it by hitting boundaries to third man and mid wicket and keeping the Proteas in the hunt. Glenn Mcgrath came on to bowl the 49th over and the tension was unbearable now. The atmosphere had reached fever pitch and the commentary provided the extra bit of excitement. Off the second ball, Mcgrath bowled a near perfect yorker to castle Boucher and with it, one wondered- the South AFrican hopes of winning. Steve Elworthy walked in and just 2 balls later he was run out after a brilliant throw from Reiffel in the deep was deflected by Mcgrath onto the stumps at the non striker's end when Elworthy attempted a second run. At 198/9 it seemed like the Proteas were dead and buried considering that the next man in Allan Donald was pretty much the perfect tailender. Klusener smashed the next delivery which was a low full toss to Reiffel at long on who should have held on to a fairly simple chance but he grassed it and worse still, he tipped it over the ropes. This was a massive moment and Klusener pushed a single to deep quare leg to keep the strike. 9 runs were required off the last over now which was to be bowled by Damien Fleming.



Fingernails were being chewed, players couldn't stand and watch, spectators were off their seats and tv viewers were just enthralled and the fascinating contest was approaching its grand finale. It almost seemed like the only way these teams be able to decide a contest between them but no one was prepared for this thriller. Lawry and Procter watched as Fleming bowled the first ball. Klusener crashed it to the cover boundary and the ball sped on the turf and even before the sweeper moved, it was gone. Now it was 5 required off 5 balls. The next ball was a yorker, but Klusener whacked it again and Mark Waugh, one of the finest fielders could not even get a sighter of it at long off. The extraordinary game had just turned again. Procter was going crazy and Bill Lawry, still hopeful suggesting that a tie, now a definite possibility would see Australia go through by virtue of their earlier win at Headingely. Steve Waugh, cool as ever, brought all his fielders into the circle enticing Klusener to go for a big hit which is all the Aussies could hope for now given that 1 run to get from 4 balls was not a difficult task. Fleming, realizing his mistake switched to over the wicket and bowled a short ball which Klusener mistimed to mid on where Lehmann fielded and threw at the non striker's end where Allan Donald had backed up too far. The throw missed the stumps by a whisker and Donald looked to the heavens. And as Procter put it, the ball missing was the difference between a world cup final berth or nothing!..The players and the crowd waited with bated breath for the next ball. Surely this was going to be SPuth Africa's day they thought. The next ball which was fuller on the stumps was squeezed down the ground past the bowler by Lance Klusener and he set off immediately for the run which would clinch it, but Donald wasn't sure where the ball was and in that moment of horror he didn't run and the throw was relayed by the fielder to the bowler who then threw the ball to Gilchrist and the keeper whipped off the bails to leave Donald stranded, Klusener stunned and Hansie Cronje devastated. Australia had gone through because the match had ended ina a tie. The most unlikely of results when the match started became quite a possibility as the game went on and finally when it happened, it left people looking for words and the sheer excitement of every minute of that nail biting thriller left the spectators and viewers alike believing that they had been treated to a match of epic proportions, and a contest between bat and ball which is unlikely to be rivalled in the years to come.



At the end of the match and even after years, cricket lovers ponder about the last over and what could have been. Shane Warne's magical spell, Bevan and Steve Waugh's grit, Klusener's great hitting have all become a part of cricket folklore and this magnificent cricket match will undoubtedly rank right up there as the greatest ODI ever played.


The detailed scorecard of this classic world cup encounter can be found here.


Trivia:

• This was the first ever tie in the history of the world cup.
  
  
• This match was also the last time that Australia did not go on to win a World cup match. They have won all games ever since.
  
  
• Lance Klusener was dismissed only twice in the entire world cup averaging over 140 and finished as Man of the series.
  

The highlights of this match can be found here.

An enchanting musical journey..revisiting the golden age of hindi film music!

For once I am dead sure that almost anyone who has grown up over the years listening to Hindi music on reading this will be in accord with me when I say that Hindi cinema had its golden era of music between the 1950's through the 80's and the standard of music and lyrics has steadily come down ever since with a few exceptions. I wanted to write a piece on the golden era of hindi film music which has really been a great source of joy for me for years..By providing the video links I am just making an effort to make reading this blog a little more useful rather truly a more melody filled journey!..

I made a pretty late entry to the world of old hindi songs in say about 1996-97 when I was about 14. Now I just cant imagine a day without listening to a few classics or humming them incessantly..I just felt like writing about the phase in Hindi cinema which brought the greatest joy to the audience be it in terms of quality cinema and more so for its extraordinary music which has left an indelible mark....

The 1940's i.e before independence had a few good songs and set the tone for what was to follow..some of the greats who sang and composed in this phase included the genius K.L Saigal who sang the immortal classic Soja Rajkumari in the movie Zindagi (1940) and the great composer Pankaj Mullick. These greats turned out to be the inspiration for a host of great singers who followed...

Post independence years saw the greatest playback singers in the Mohammed Rafi who had a voice like velvet and the nightingale of Indian cinema Lata Mangeshkar. The other dazzling performers included the versatile genius Kishore Kumar, the evergreen Asha Bhonsle, Manna Dey who made classical singing seem a stroll, Mukesh whose melancholic numbers are unforgettable and many more wonderful talents..The best songs between 1948-1950 include the evergreen and amazing Aaiye meherbaan from the movie Howrah Bridge sung by Asha Bhonsle and the haunting Aayega Aanewala from the movie Mahal sung by Lata Mangeshkar which immortalized Madhubala..

The 1950's had some glorious music composed by the great S.D Burman, Naushad and O.P Nayyar. 1952 saw the movie Baiju Bawra released which had the classic combination of Mohd Rafi(singer), Naushad (music) and Shakeel Badayuni (lyrics). One of the most popular songs from the movie was O Duniya ke Rakhwale sung quite wonderfully by Mohd Rafi..

Other great songs from the early 1950's included the legendary number
Yeh Zindagi Usiki hai from the movie Anarkali, Chandni raatein sung by Lata and Hemant Kumar from the movie Jaal..

By the mid 1950's Lata and Rafi were the leading singers and almost every movie had them doing playback..some of my personal favorites from this phase include the smooth as silk voice of Talat Mahmood crooning Jalte hain Jiske liye from the movie Sujata set to tune beautifully by the legend S.D Burman and the quite extraordinary classical duet Ketaki Gulab Juhi sung by the inimitable doyen of Hindustani music Bhimsen Joshi and the master of classical tunes Manna Dey from the movie Basant Bahar..

Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar had some fantastic movies in this phase and needless to say they had great songs. Raj Kapoor's Shree 420 released in 1955 and Chori Chori in 1956 had two classic melodies by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar i.e. the evergreen romantic number Pyar hua Ikraar hua and the pleasant Aaja Sanam respectively..



Dilip Kumar starred in the huge hit Madhumathi opposite Vyjayanthi Mala and this movie which had music by Salil Chowdhary raised the level of music to dizzy heights..of the many classic songs from this movie Mukesh's Suhana Safar and Lata's immortal Aaja Re Pardesi stand out..Meanwhile Dev Anand was also becoming a hugely popular star and perhaps his most famous number in the 1950's was the still popular Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle duet Chod do Aanchal from the movie Paying Guest.






The 1950's set the stage for what I believe was simply the greatest two decades of Hindi film music i.e. the 60's and 70's. Innumerable classics graced Bollywood then and the songs from this time are without a shadow of doubt still the most popular be it for remixes or in the casual Antakshari..


In 1960, three classic movies released including K Asif's magnum opus Mughal E Azam which had the immortal love song Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya picturized on the breathtaking beauty Madhubala and rendered by the one and only Lata. Also another great song from the same movie was Mohe Panghat sung by Lata Mangeshkar and set to tune by the great Naushad Ali.

Also in the year 1960 Mohammed Rafi sang the evergreen classical Madhuban mein Radhika naache for Dilip Kumar in the movie Kohinoor and the one and only Chaudhvin ka chand from the movie by the same name picturized on the legendary actor Gurudutt and the stunning Waheeda Rehman.

Hum Dono, a movie starring Dev Anand and Sadhana was released in 1961 and this movie even if not very famous had the most extraordinary songs. Music was supposed to have been composed by the legend S.D Burman, but he backed out due to some rift and fortunately for music lovers, his student Jaidev agreed to compose. Among the great songs in this movie, Abhi na jao chodkar sung by Mohd Rafi and Asha Bhonsle is my personal favorite and according to me, it is probably the best romantic duet of all time. The other fantastic songs in this movie include the divine prayer Allah tero naam, the classic Main Zindagi ka saath nibaatha chala incidentally Sachin Tendulkar's favorite song too..and the wonderful Kabhi Khud pe sung by Rafi.





Other glorious songs from early 1960' include Rafi's superb Ehsan Tera Hoga from Junglee, Lata's wonderful Aapki Nazron ne samjha from the movie Anpadh, Mohd Rafi's superb rendition of Chaahoonga mein tujhe from the movie Dosti which gave Laxmikant Pyarelal their first award on their debut as music directors..My personal favorite during the early 60's is the most moving and melodious Poocho na kaise sung by the great Manna Dey in the movie Meri Surat Teri Aankhen..

1965-66 saw some very different and innovative music coming to the forefront along with the old style classics such as Guide which had among its numerous melodies, the gem Tere mere sapne sung by Mohd Rafi for Dev Anand..

O.P Nayyar, who unbelievably never composed a single song for Lata Mangeshkar despite she being the undisputed queen of the music industry brought out the classic Kashmir Ki Kali which starred the man who changed the face of the hero in movies Shammi Kapoor and the young Sharmila Tagore..This movie was a smash hit and its songs are still extremely popular..The best ones being Yeh Chand sa roshan chehra ,Deewana hua baadal and Isharon Isharon mein.

R.D Burman, who was the son of the legendary S.D Burman revolutionized hindi film music by fusion with Western tunes and with it ushered in a new era and redefined composing..Also known as Pancham, he went on to become arguably the greatest music director in Hindi cinema..The movie Teesri Manzil starring Shammi Kapoor had the superb numbers Aaja Aaja, O hasina zulfon and O mere sona which still get people's feet tapping..

Other fantastic songs in the 1960's include the peppy Kajra Mohabbat wala from Kismat, the haunting Naina Barse
and Lag ja gale from Woh Kaun thi and the mesmerizing Zara Si Aahat from Haqeeqat..

The fantastic 60's set the pace for the simply outstanding 1970's which brought to the forefront great actors and the genius of Kishore Kumar in full swing..

1969-70 saw the release of Shakti Samant's Aaradhana which turned out to be one of the greatest musical hits of all time..This movie brought together Rajesh Khanna who soon became the superstar of Hindi cinema and the beautiful Sharmila Tagore. The songs from that movie have captured the imagination of music lovers for decades and continue to enthrall..Be it the evergreen Mere Sapnon ki Rani and Roop tera Mastana sung for Rajesh Khanna by the inimitable Kishore Kumar, the great duets Gunguna rahe hein and Kora Kaagaz tha or the wonderful Chanda hai tu sung by Lata Mangeshkar, this movie's songs have held a special place in the hindi music lover's heart and will continue to do so..

1970 also saw the release of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Anand. A truly fascinating movie set on the last few months of a cancer patient portrayed to perfection by Rajesh Khanna and a performance par excellence by a then not so famous Amitabh Bachchan..This movie had a few beautiful songs including one of my all time favorites Kahin Door jab sung brilliantly by Mukesh..

Mera Naam Joker of Raj Kapoor released about the same time. Though the movie bombed the melancholic songs Jaane kahan gaye woh din and Jeena yahan marna yahan are immortal and their rendition by Mukesh is simple fantastic..

Buoyed by Aaradhana's extraordinary success, Shakti Samant brought out Amar Prem again starring Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore..Kishore Kumar had by then become the voice of Bollywood and his ability to sing fast numbers and yet be the master of the slow/sad songs was exceptional.Rajesh Khanna's success in films was definitely in part attributed to Kishore's mastery while singing for him just like Mohd Rafi brought out his best while singing for Shammi Kapoor in the 1960's..

Amar Prem composed by R.D Burman had the classic Chingari koi bhadke sung by Kishore and the everlasting gem Raina beeti jaye sung quite amazingly by lata Mangeshkar..Andaz, which was another movie released about then had the hugely popular Kishore-Rajesh combination bring out the trendy number Zindagi ek safar ...

By about 1972-73, nearly every film placed a huge emphasis on quality music and songs and this was just what the film goer wanted..fantastic songs kept coming and it was truly the golden age of hindi film music..

Abhimaan, which was another movie directed by the great Hrishikesh Mukherjee starred the then popular Amitabh Bachchan who had risen to stardom following Zanjeer(1972)..and the diminutive Jaya Bhaduri. The movie focused on the subject of music and the songs turned out to be a great treat..Music was composed by S.D Burman and each song was exceptional. The best of the lot were Tere Mere milan sung by Kishore and Lata and the beautifully picturized Teri bindiya sung by Mohd Rafi and Lata..

Some of the other movies around the same time included Raj kapoor's smash hit Bobby in which he introduced his son Rishi Kapoor and a younge Dimple Kapadia..the most popular songs from this movie included Main shayar to nahin and Hum tum ek kamre. Anamika, starring Sanjeev Kumar and Jaya Bhaduri had a couple of great songs in Meri bheegi bheegi and Bahon mein chale aao.

Yaadon ki Baarat had music by R.D Burman and the classic Chura Liya hai is till date possibly the most popular song from that period..

Other personal favorites of mine from the early 1970's include Bole re papihara sung splendidly by Vani Jayaram from Guddi and the best of sad songs Zindagi ka safar from the movie Safar.



The mid to late 70's had the greatest hindi movie of all Sholay which had the ever popular song Yeh Dosti ..Other notable songs from this period include the wonderful and all time favorite Kabhi Kabhie from the movie Kabhi Kabhie, Kya hua tera vada from the movie Hum kisi se kam nahin which marked a memorable return for Mohd Rafi when he bagged the filmfare award for the song..Some of my other personal favorites inlcude Jab Deep jale from chitchor starring Amol Palekar, Dil Kya kare sung quite superbly by Kishore Kumar in the movie Julie..and the exceptional O saathi re by Kishore Kumar from the Amitabh starrer Muqaddar ka sikander..

The 1980's also had some fantastic songs such as Tere mere beech from the Kamal Hassan starrer Ek Duje ke liye, Dil Cheez kya hai portaying the ravishing Rekha in Umrao Jaan..In general though, atleast from a personal point of view, the quality of songs and movies came down slowly but steadily all through the decade..There were some notable songs but great numbers never flowed with the regularity of the previous two decades...Some other great songs like Papa kehte hain were seen again in the Aamir Khan Juhi Chawla starrer Qayamat se Qayamat tak..

1942 a love story starring Anil kapoor had the legendary R.D Burman composing for the final time and it turned out to be a movie filled with a few great songs..the best ones being Ek ladki ko dekha , Kuch na kaho . The 1990s did have a few great numbers till about the middle and ever since there has been a very steady decline in quality which is something rather unfortunate..

I am extremely fortunate that I have had the chance to be able to listen to the glorious years of playback i.e. between 1950-80's and assimilate some knowledge on the great songs, singers and composers of that period..It truly has been a wonderful and enchanting musical journey and I never feel better than the moments when I listen to these classics..!

PS: These songs are mostly the ones that came to my mind at the time of writing this piece..am very sure I have missed many great ones..It certainly is not intentional..I will be more than glad to hear from any of you about some other ones that I may have missed mentioning..



Disclaimer: The images displayed and video links provided are purely used for informational purposes and to enhance the blog's readability.

IPL is pretty sad except for ................Warnie!

I have never been a big T-20 fan let alone the razzmatazz that is the IPL. There is too much glitz and glamour associated with it and almost every aspect of it being commercialized doesn't seem to appeal to me. I might be branded a traditionalist and someone who is refusing to accept the changing times but I'd rather be one..I sure hope that all this tinkering with the game is restricted to this abbreviated form..

A plethora of ads and sponsors, ever increasing presence of Bollywood stars and a most puerile effort on to select the next 'pretty lass' from the crowds for Bollywood seems to add to the already crazy drama and hype that surround this tournament. Frankly to me it is just a sure shot way to rake in the moolah whilst sacrificing quality. The commentary is fairly crass with innumerable sponsor names being mentioned in almost every line for example a 'citi' moment of success and 'DLF' maximum. Adding to it is an almost artificial effort being made by commentators to try and shout louder every ball in order to 'enthrall' the viewers..sadly for all the extradorinary hype and burgeoning flow of cash this tournament in particular and T-20 in general generates, it fails to achieve one thing- leaving behind memories of matches and individual performances like what test matches do..

But the IPL does bring with all this a few positives and the most glorious among them is the joy of watching some legends and superstars of the game we have so come to love perform together in the same teams and also face off..Warne vs Tendulkar will probably never evoke the same charm as it did in a test match but there is still the opportunity to watch these fantastic players perform in the game that is supposedly designed for the young...

The first day of the IPL featured some of the greatest names to have graced the game in the peerless Sachin Tendulkar, the wizard Shane Warne who incidentally showcased his exceptional leadership skill in the first edition by taking a bunch of no hopers in Rajasthan all the way to the title, Matthew Hayden- the huge Aussie opening legend and many more superstars. The day had it all - some great bowling and dazzling fielding, excellent batting by Tendulkar and oh yeah a dog entering the field and refusing to leave..perhaps it didn't like the IPL and the format too much...!



The one reason I am even thinking about writing about this tournament is because I was utterly mesmerized, bewitched, stunned and captivated and what not by watching Shane Warne unfurl his bag of tricks against Bangalore. It is nothing new and I have watched the blond genius make a fool and confound many a great batsman- Mike Gatting, Graham Gooch, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Strauss to name a few..Warne bowling has without a shadow of doubt been the best thing to happen to the game in a long time..The very air of drama, sense of anticipation and the extraordinary theatre that surround the man who is surely larger than the game is quite unbelievable. Whether he gets a wicket, goes for a boundary, appeals or even marks his run up this man has the ability to capture the imagination of the viewers. T-20 may not quite be the arena for the great champion that he is but it was just fascinating to watch the wily spinner showcase why he is right up there...Reviving the dying art of leg spin and almost single handedly making it a great joy to watch, Warnie has ruled numerous cricketing hearts like mine for years. All the controversies, personal problems, rifts and the bad boy image only seem to add to the enduring image of a genius who is all too human. Thank GOD for Shane Warne...test cricket is definitely a lot poorer without a player like him but atleast we have the IPL to watch the man bowl which I believe to be the greatest sight on a cricket field!

AND YEAH the best moment in my life has been being able to meet the man face to face at the Taj West End in Bangalore on OCT 10 2004...WOW!!!

PS: Always wanted to write a piece on Warne..article by Sambit Bal in cricinfo proved to be the inspiration to do so..!

a phone convo 2 reflect upon...

Most friends of mine know that I am a phone addict and capable of making endless conversations much to the amazement and irritation of people around..I must confess I cant imagine how I went through 4 years of engg without a cell..cant fathom it now!!..convo topics range from gals to cricket to discussion on gud ol times, some gossip and bak 2 gals..:D..so wut special convo am I talking about of the innumerable ones I have had..well, there is a reason and a very strong one..

I was at work today when karthik (cka) called me at about 11:45..nothing too different considering he calls regularly even after ive gotten back to India from the US..what seemed to be just another usual chat shaped into something Ive always reflected on and thought about but never discussed much...and thank god..i got the chance to do so..

It was about the lovely city of Bangalore where I have been all my life..it has been a fantastic place and my life thus far overflows with great memories of the memorable times I have had with family and friends there..and yeah..karthik has been a part of all this for over 10 years now..it aint just another of my usual nostalgic blogs but a few facts which do evoke concern for most loyal Bangaloreans...

Firstly, I have to go back a few years say about 15-16 maybe...bangalore was not yet the It hub that it is now...wasnt burgeoning with wealth..wasnt filled with such a huge population, blessed with fantastic weather and certainly had a very relaxed lifestyle making it a haven for visitors..

Life was very simple then..going to school by auto/van getting back by walk, making sure I caught my daily dose of playing cricket and then settled for some quiet time with the books..sigh!...weekends were spent in playing and also going out with parents to some temples and occasionally a movie...cka also had a similar time in malleshwaram, a fantastic area in Blore...even after a few yrs say when we got to 11th and 12th and even engg...our idea of entertainment used 2 be quite simple- a good game of cricket and a nice lunch/dinner with friends..we never really focused on say clubs, pubs etc and the aspects that were slowly changing the face of the beautiful city we knew...

but then..what was the aspect we were so concerned about and astonished?...it was the fact that along with the city changing its face, the younger generation especially the group say anything greater than 4 yrs younger to us was so radically different from us...they knew so much more..were never the ones to say yes and listen..always rebellious, indulged in profanities with almost ridiculous regularity..

cka made a stmt which made me wonder...he said the way the city in particular and india in general were headed, it may not be the worst idea to actually raise ones kid in the bay area as opposed to the so called 'cultural' hub (pub I shud say now) in Bangalore..I actually coudnt say no immediately..if he had said so a few yrs back I would have vehemently opposed him but now I had to ponder..We tried to get to the crux of the matter..Why is the present generation like this? Is it because of the city or is the city that way coz of the crowd..I guess its a 2 way relation...bangalore's IT expansion has made it a totally cosmopolitan city with a great mix of people. It has brought the people who party and love to spend their money and also made them mingle with the so called conservative crowd and change the ones who are generally thrifty..The result has seen a huge flow of cash and pubs and clubs aplenty have cropped up because there are people ready to have fun and unwind after a hectic weekend..while I dont blame the people who enjoy nor the way they do..the culture is so infectious that it has caught on the high school and college crowd too often with quite disastrous effects..

Also, parents want their children to study in real good and top notch schools that generally admit the high class..the culture evidently is going to reflect the high class lifestyle and the children learn and know a lot more than say their counterparts in the traditional simple schools which are quite rare of late..
As a matter of fact I am quite stunned and find it rather inexplicable that the youngsters say about 18-20 know so much and more about a plethora of issues.. a relationship be it normal or even the physical one seems much 2 ordinary a thing while for us it seemed a very big deal indeed..

There is a very big chasm between the crowd which lived through its teen years in the mid 90's and the one now...and bangalore it seems has literally changed beyond recognition in some ways..Frankly..I cannot do much to change the situation but can only say I have been fortunate to have been brought up and taught how to live in the best and ever so simple times of the beautiful city..and I do reflect on those days whenever I can!!