Missing Havells

Much to the anticipation, sorry beyond the anticipation circuit broke today not once but twice ensuring a holiday for the traders of both BSE and NIFTY and of course for a so called pleasant reason. Exuberance and excitement is exhibited beyond expectation and now I fear that these very expectations might overburden the new government and it is to be seen how many of these expectations would be really met by Manmohan and Co – If you ask me it would be very few and hence I see that all the enthusiasts are in for a shocker and might crumble down once they are back from their wonder land to this real world. If I am proved wrong I would not mind but I believe that though things are slated to be better but they cannot be so irrational. Agreed LEFT has left the government but do watch out for the people like the one in race for the railway ministry!

Amazing Verdict

Finally the public verdict is out and the results are beyond everyone’s expectations. It is a clear Jai Ho for the incumbent prime minister to take over at the center for five more years. I am glad the Indian voters have given one tight slap on the face of all irrational small party prime ministerial aspirants. The regional parties have been stripped of their unreasonable bargaining power. They will be rushing to center to offer unconditional support with whatever little strength they have … reason being no one other than UPA has even a slightest chance to have a go at setting up the government. Other main features of this verdict have been voter has rejected hate based and religion based political parties. And most importantly Left has been decimated even in Kerala and Bengal pushing them into some serious introspection mode. Finally congratulations to Dr. Manmohan for being first PM after Pandit Nehru to take over the charges for a second five year term. Sorry that Mr. Advani’s dream of occupying the PM’s chair will remain a dream for ever – this is the last time he would be contesting in election.

With political stability investors on D-Street would be euphoric and we could see a Mega Monday or Magic Monday where markets could hit circuit breaker for a different reason this time atleast in NIFTY if not BSE. Yeah, media would be disappointed for not having a chance to cover all the horse trading and other political speculations as a result of this clear mandate. Now with IPL getting into the last week the focus shifts there. There have been many close matches in the last few weeks and the teams are still jumping all across the table. Except for Delhi no one seems to be safe zone and five teams leaving Kolkata and Mumbai are contesting closely for the semi final spot – it looks like it’s likely to go down to the wire and final positions would be clear only after the final league match between the last year’s rock bottom teams and yeah they are very much in contention for the semifinal berths.

Closing In

After a series of one sided affairs and rain affected games it is heartening to see some close encounters. The fever is slowly catching up and the teams are finding themselves all over the table swapping positions after every game. No one except the last year flop teams Hyderabad and Bangalore are playing predictably, the former winning consistently and the latter losing consistently after their inaugural victory over the last year champs.

So the contest is definitely closing in and yeah Sri Lankan troops are also closing in on the LTTE camps and the NEWS is that the LTTE and Prabhakaran would be history in a couple of days from now. I wish that the story ends forever and both the Sinhalese and Tamilians lead a progressive life in future. What is difficult to comprehend is why is Indian government intervening now? If we wanted to do something we should have done it during the 48hour cease fire break last week; not at the stage when the war is almost nearing the end. We can suggest the Lankan government to ensure the safety of the civilians but there is no way we could hamper their plans of trapping the tiger to restore the much awaited peace in the area. Anyways it is too late for the sleeping Indian government to do anything silly and I hope that Lankan government just go according to their plans.

Masterful Beginning

The NRI version of the cricket carnival begins today much to the respite of many like me who are finding it hard to fight the boredom … and what a beginning this is!!! There is absolutely no hangover from previous edition as both the finalists of the first edition were humbled on the very first day by the two great batting maestros of the Indian cricket. So any punters betting based on previous records beware.

Absolutely dream beginning with both Sachin and Rahul winning MoMs to start the tournament. The run feast is there to stay for a month and I hope the Indian youngsters make the most of this ‘special’ opportunity … special because thanks to Chidambaram and general elections in the country – the players have a chance to play on foreign wickets. I wish this time the franchises play more competitive cricket unlike last year where Hyderabad and Bangalore teams were virtually out of contention for semifinal even before the halfway mark of the tournament. If there is anything I can ask for after such a great beginning it is Hyderabad and Bangalore teams making it to the semifinals if not finals … ok jokes apart. I would be surprised if this edition will be as bright as the previous one – courtesy absence of Indian crowds but I can always wish that it provides good exposure to the young players both Indian and foreign and lots and lots and lots of entertainment to the billions of the cricketing fans glued to TV.

Musical Chairs and One India

With fewdays to go for the public verdict for the 15th time after Independence, we have atleast two dozen aspirants from various parties for the coveted prime ministerial post. If the scene continues so we might see a different PM each month as part of their power sharing program. Scary ..isn't it? During this period of economic insecurity, political instability is the last thing we would want to have. I wish people become prudent and vote for one of the two biggies or their pre poll alliance partners .. in short UPA or NDA and put an end to the dreams of the selfish small party captains - They are anyways not in a position to provide a stable government. As some one said Third front is just a parking lot before the elections every one joins it and leaves it to choose their partners after the poll verdict.

Meanwhile this elections made sure that Lalit Modi had tough time MODIfying the IPL schedule to make it feasible and finally the summer cricket bonanza is moving to South Africa. And the publicity of the mega event is in full swing. If last years ad showed IPL as mano, ranjan ka baap... this time it says that it is possible to see one billion people doing the same thing at a given point of time i.e, watching IPL. Nice Concept, however the ad has few glitches, for example - it shows that all Indians are reacting similarly after a runout dismissal ... a Mumbaikar would feel low after Sachin's dismissal where as a Bengali would rejoice on the same and hence it is not true that one billion people will react similarly - Remember people take sides and only then they can enjoy this shorter version cricket festival.

Hmmm with both the elections heat and IPL fever catching up media must be licking its lips to cover these events and increase TRPs!

Rock On !! Spot on!!!

I always liked the albums that tells a short story in 4-5 minutes with a cool music or song in the background and often wondered why it gets over so soon. Today, I came across a 140 min album with a nice story of four friends who felt they could create magic with music - but as usual the good things are always delayed and this one was no exception and it had to wait for 10 years - the story is all about why and how, with a touchy feel.
Great music - Shankar Ehsaan Loy trio rocked as usual , crisp story telling and smart casting were highlights of this musical magic. The makers got everything spot on in making this Rock On!!! For me it had an interesting quote which will stay with me for ever -

Rock On!! Zindagi milegi naa dubaaraaa

Mahi Way

Mahendra Singh Dhoni , not so favorite name for me since he threw the seniors out of the ODI team, but cannot resist myself from writing this post. The player who failed to manage an average of 10 in the world cup last year in spite of entering the tournament as one of the top3 ODI bastmen impressed one and all by regaining his No1 ODI bastman position last week after his performance in the Emerald Isle.

It should be appreciated that as soon as he became captain he made an effort to inculcate the good points of his predecessor, Rahul Dravid - who always lead the team by setting up an example through his master batting. Once known as the swashbuckling hard hitting symbol of Indian cricket, now bats with a purpose and responsibility and controlled aggression slipping into the shoes of his previous captain. (Strike rate as captain is 83.23 compared to 96.26 before being captain of Indian team). He has mastered the art of shifting gears - His batting might not look pretty and neat but it ends up being effective. Cool head has always been a plus point over his predecessor. As a captain over the last one year he averages close to 55 in 36 ODIs which by no means can be belittled and called as fluke as it was done when he saved the Lords Test last year.

Now everything is not over - just like Yuvraj, Kaif and Dhoni were groomed by batting around Dravid ... time has come for Dhoni to take up that role as well to allow young players like Rohit Sharma, Raina and Badrinath to blossom, batting alongside him. It is definitely a great role to be taken up by this young dynamite but then I am sure for a player who had found answer to the mysterious carrom-bowling even with lack of so-called technique, it will be just another challenge and he will find a Mahi way to it!!!