Mysterious Kolkata

I was in Kolkata last week. Trip to Kolkata was always been cherishable since my childhood. In School days I used to go to Kolkata in long summer break. Used to have great time in Mamar bari. Oh! Yea used to have great time in Babar mamar bari, Mashi der bari. Hope all is well now after doing this justice to most of the relatives. In Summer West Bengal produces one of the best if not the best Mangoes called Himsagar. I find Alphanso of Maharshtra over rated Mangoes. One should taste Himsagar then you will become Diwana of its sweetness. Other attraction is Sweets. Kolkata has got the record numbers of sweet mart & they must be beating any other cities of the world convincingly on this matter. Also quality of sweets in West Bengal is the best you can get anywhere in India with a very reasonable price. Sweet marts are there in every lane of Kolkata. Some of the sweet marts do humungous business through out the day with people queuing up to buy their favourite sweet. In childhood main attraction used to be visiting Kolkata Museum, Birla Planetarium, Victoria Memorial, Nico Park etc. Then when little grown up attraction went towards visiting happening places like Park Street, Nandan, Garihat. Once getting into Job I visit Kol for lesser days, so get less time to visit all the iconic places but make sure to have good time with old pals & relatives. Now to meet friends the destination has become malls. I wonder after staying in a place of malls in Vashi is it worth to spend your crucial few days of holidays in malls again. But these days Kol is proud of South City so invariably that’s the place to meet friends & have mindful of adda.

This time I was trying to understand Kolkata more closely. I went to Kolkata on the day when Cyclone named Laila is supposed to come. Kolkata experienced cyclone earlier too that was Aila. That created havoc. So I was little worried whether my flight will land to Kol or not. But by God's grace the Laila didn’t turn up in Kolkata. It was night, not late night by Mumbai standards it was only around 11 PM. At 11 Pm my taxi was moving at 80 km/hr speed, yes in Kol roads one can get into that speed too. The point is that unlike Mumbai here it was utter silence at 11 Pm. To take it in a positive way its peace in Kol at night. I guess you get peace in night only in Kolkata unless you are in bank of Ganges at early morning.

Whats next? Any guesses? Friends, Its election time in Kolkata. Its carnival time for intellectual freaks. By the way it seems always election time in Kolkata whichever month of the year you go to Kolkata. Reach any square you will find somebody giving public speech: Manush keno erom bhabe bodle jachche ( Why people is changing so frequently), Keno desher kono onno jaygaye Mach bhaat Rs 10 e pawa jayena (Why anywhere in India one cannot get Fish Rice in 10 Rs other than West Bengal). Yes its true in Kol you can get Fish Rice in 10 Rs with some add ons like Dal & potato fry. In all the lanes you will find the flags of all leading party flying. Irony is that all the flags of different parties are mingled in such a way that it seems they are old friends & having good time in each others company. Alas! It would have happened in reality then today Kolkata could have progressed a lot.

By the way one unique thing seen this time. I was in a bus & reached Golpark square. Suddenly bus stopped. After a while I could see a long stretch of a mob marching from one end to another. It is hawkers union. They were in protest rally. It kept going for 5 minutes with all vehicles in square remained stranded to see this marching. They even got a band party which we generally hire for Baraat. The protest rally included a live band party as a special item number. I guess that is to make hawkers in a rally focused on protesting rather to go & earn their livelihoods. In West Bengal this word called "Protest” has been bane for people there. I guess Narendra Modi is saying its boon for us & bane for West Bengal after inaugurating Tata Nano plant yesterday at Sanand in Gujarat. I conclude my piece with a food for thought for all if this “Protest” word could have been erased from the psyche of people in west Bengal, our Sonar Bangla would have progressed a lot economically & may have become leading cities of the world.

Kites head towards nowhere

Today watched Kites with lot of expectation. The movie has got all the prerequistes of making a huge box office hit with likes of Hrithik, Barbara- The mexican beauty, Kangana, Direction of Anurag Basu & Music of Rajesh Roshan. But matter of fact is that Kite somewhere got confused in midair to head towards which direction. At the end it gone nowhere & crashed somewhere in no mans land I guess.
As per me the movie lacked the proper story line. Story has more of confusion than engrossing. It lacks the punch. The movie doesn't justify the presence of Barbara. The romance between the two also not presented properly. Other than the sequence where Hrithik & Barbara does that finger art form act (forgot the name of the art form) there is nothing meaty which keeps the audience to feel the pulse of the movie. Other than that the seductive glances & some kisses here & there were shown in plenty. But the romance lacks the passion which audience would have liked to watch after knowing the pair of Hrithik & Barbara in the movie.
Hrithik's strong points are always been dancing & action. The one sequence where dance was shown in a crash was not worth enjoying. Movie demanded some international dance form which should have been done by Hrithik & Barbara which could have been hold the key & justified the pair somewhat. Also the action theme was seen before many time. I mean the on road chase in the second half of the movie. The action could have been presented with more impact with some sequence of one to one fight shoot which could have justified Hrithik's macho image. Also there is no twist in the tale in the movie. It got all boring at the end. Only one should give credit to the Kites team for the boldness to make a cross over film & trying something different. It will inspire other directors to try something different like this hopefully with more impact & passion.

Lot Can Happen Over Coffee

Few days back I was in Café Coffee Day. Just wondering how this coffee concept has picked up a big time in India. Here in Mumbai even small gullies have CCD outlets which are doing fabulous business. As the word coffee comes in my mind I start mumbling the famous bangla song of Manna Dey Coffee Houser sei adda ta ar neye. It means gone those days of gossiping at Indian Coffee House. May be Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company Ltd. (ABCTCL) got inspired from it & pumped the trend in a different package & opened a chain of Café with a name of Café Coffee Day. CCD as they referred by everybody has revolutionaries the coffee business in India which is always been dominated by Tea industry. Tea always been a dominant addiction of most of the people in India. Coffee always been thought as a drink for a change or sipped mostly in winters. But definitely the coffee connoisseurs were always been there in plenty in South India. CCD has given a refreshing youth taste to it with very smartly done interiors which has a rich & vibrant looks which goes properly with the mindset of youth these days. Also adds a feel good factor for people coming in & getting inspired with- Lot can happen over coffee. Keeping on with the trend and globalization they have tied up with World space for non stop music and Microsense for Wi-Fi connection. If a person is looking for exciting weekend afternoon, Cafe Coffee Day is the destination where you can get the feel of music, Wifi connection to keep in touch with your social networks with a sip of coffee. CCD has caught the transformation in India’s psyche after the economic growth in the country & successful in regenerating the café culture which was somehow getting lost although Indian Coffee House is in very much existence. To the credit of Indian Coffee House they are in existence for last 52 years since their inception in 1958. It is run by employees only. But it didn’t catch the imagination of 21st century generation youth because it lacks the innovation & transformation which is basically needed from time to time. CCD has been one step ahead by introducing music & wifi connection. Also targeting the youth of the country. They have put their outlets in every nukes & corners of Metros & also in important location of other cities. They have put their outlets in Malls, the big company office premises& inside the college premises too. They are present in most of the locations of a city. Infact it will not be wrong to say that they have created Coffee wave in India. It’s a favorite hangout place for college crowd & also the place for dating. Even a preferred destination for business meeting. Even one of my colleagues kid who is just 4 years old wants to go to CCD in every weekend with her parents. They have justified their punch line that Lot Can Happen Over Coffee.

Disastrous World T20 for Team India

After the hooplah of IPL everybody said India is one of the leading contender of this year's World T20 but all beaten to the dust. India even unable to qualify for semis. So what happened to our poster boys. Some are saying it's over cricket, some are saying its the radial tyre like tummy of some of our celebrated cricketers is the reason, or its the pubbing & some times bawal & tamashas at the pub taken the focus out of cricketers, or is it the memories of lady loves back home in India kept the focus out of short balls & our big boys failed at the big stage. Yes, our public & media are right to ask these questions because we only shower accolades to them when they excel in cricketing frontier.
So where was the ghost? It was the same old SHORT BALL. Gavaskar asks Indian team to go back to NCA. Yes he is correct because when the students does mistakes continuously they have to take special coaching. But I thought in Indian team players should be masters not students & thats why they got the cap to play for the country. Also I fail to understand that these bunch of player's have performed well before in Aussie & Kiwi wickets which are supposed to be more bouncy than Windies wicket. Now suddenly why they are unable to play short balls. This limitation had been earlier seen in previous edition of world cup too. So why they were not better prepared this time. As per me it is fat salary they earning every year & the additional IPL cheques has created mockery of the prestige & pride for playing in Team India. Its lack of application without doubt & players doesn't care till they getting those fat salaries. If you ask any cricketer what are your limitations he can easily gauge it after years of playing cricket. So why they didn't prepare themselves for short ball before Wortld T20. Only one thing can improve Indian cricket is the performance based salary & qualitative analysis should be done after each tournament. We have enough pool of talent in our country atleast to play T20 or onedayers so selecters should no be shy to drop any player who has underperformed, whosoever it may be.
Lastly Indian bowling is always been a problem. How come a world class team can keep persuing bowlers like Nehra for so long who doesn't have anything even to scare a crow through left alone the quality of balls. Other than Harbhajan India lacks genuine bowler whom team can bank upon at the time of crisis. Even Zaheer disappoints in most of the big games. It's high time we start looking at options of good fast bowlers & groom them properly. As per me Ishant Sharma can be groomed. He is a good test bowler. He needs some different kind of balls in his armoury to excel in Onedayers & T20. He is young & talented bowler who can be groomed for future. Even Irfan Pathan should be given confidence because he can be asset to the team as he bats well. For long time we are looking for an all rounder after Kapil's retirement. Pathan can be the solution, if he gets good backing & confidence from the BCCI but it seems this selection committee doesn't have much faith on him.
Lets hope misery of Indian team regularly failing at big tournaments ends soon with better application from the players & proper selection of the team.

England the deserving winner of World T20, 2010

England has finally won a World title in Cricket. They were 3 times finalist in in 50-50 World cup format. But all those dissapointment gone now with a World title win that too against arch rivals Aussies. England are the deserving winner. They played matured cricket in the series. Their bowling was good with a appropriate combination of spin & pace. Batsman clicked in crucial times including the hunk of the team- KP. It seems Kevin Peterson (KP) decided beforehand to add to his joy of fatherhood with a title win & cameback after seeing his baby & wife with determination to clinch the cup. On the otherhand Aussie played it all wrong in the finals for the first time after a long long time. Otherwise Aussies are very tough team to beat in finals. They can be called as unbeatable in finals but not so now after loosing convincingly against rivals England. The new kid on the block- Craig Kieswetter has made no harm to his reputation by playing a mesmerising innings in a crucial final. He may be a big bet in next IPL. Swann bowled terific & not to forget the spell of Sidebottom. KP is deserving man of the series with some crucial knocks & catches. At the end the superior team in all departments of the game won the cup.

Dhoni's CSK is deserving winner of IPL-3

When Dhoni is captaining a side & they are in a final, you do have a feeling that CSK has the edge under charismatic leader. When you look into Sachin, that too injured Sachin who is not very fit for the match you feel will it be a one more so near still so far for Sachin. There are so many romantic stories on field with Sachin which ended with sad ending. Alas! yesterday one more story ended with sad ending for Sachin's Mumbai Indian. They have played such a good cricket in this IPL that they created a different level for themselves something you compare with invincible Auusies under Steve Waugh.
But credit to given to CSK, they done the basics correct. Selected a team with their strengths i.e. spin bowling. When Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat they never got carried away with the euphoria of final. They played calm & composed cricket at the start, gauged the wicket well and at the end they played slam bang shots which help them to a score of 168 which any team batting first can take in DY Patil stadium and that too in finals. Sluggish fielding is one of the reason for score reaching to 168 but credit goes to Dhoni's boys as they paced their innings as the doctor ordered.
Once CSK have made 168, which is around 20 runs more trhan what Dhoni was targetting it all left with smart cookie Dhoni to rotate his bowlers tactically. They have the best spin attack with Ashwin & Jakati did justice to the faith shown by CSK team management. Old fox is as always at his best and that too its final so he has to produce goods.
Though I think that this match could have been won if MI would have paced the chase more properly. They should have accelerated with Abhishek Nayar little earlier than when he started hitting sixes, Latter on Pollard should have been on crease after Sachin got out. It was atrocious that Duminy came before Pollard when only 6 odd overs left. Primarily because Duminy is mainly placer of the ball and where as Pollard is a big hitter of the ball. Later on when Pollard came asking rate was humongous still he tried to turn the match on his head but it was highly unlikely possible at that juncture.
CSK is well deserve winner as they done the basics well and played calculative cricket which is unfortunately MI didn't do in the final.
Feels bad for Sachin but as Sachin the iconic player of Mumbai Indian has announced that he will play next edition of IPL so looking forward to see Mumbai Indians winning IPL in next edition with Sachin having winning trophy with beaming smile.

Sachin Aala Re!

These days when Sachin is in the team then hardly that team can loose. The way Sachin is batting these days the opponent team are having demoralising effect. In last few months there are hardly any bowlers who looked comfortable bowling against Sachin. Mumbai Indian are blessed to have Sachin in their team who has given flying start yet again against Delhi Daredevils. His 63 of 32 balls consisted of 11 trademark fours. Who said he is not ideal for T20, the man who can score at 200% strike rate without hitting any Sixes and playing risk free cricket with ease is asset to any team. One more guy who has impressed a lot is gutsy S.S Tiwari who played a flamboyant innings of 61 of 37 balls with 6 Sixes. The man from the Dhoni land is making a mark here & by look of things he may be drafted to Indian T20 squad very soon. Regarding Delhi Daredevils who are one of the strong contender for this year's IPL had a horrid day on the field. Their captain Gauty had a hamstring pull on the field and he was unable to bat. All rested to opener Sehwag & Dilshan to chase a mammoth total of 218. They did give a good start of quick fire 37 runs in 4 overs but ater that both of them perished quickly and it was uphill task for the rest of the batters to keep the same momentum going which was required to chase the big total of 218. Over all it was comfortable win for Aala Re boys and things are looking preety good from here on for them as Pollard and Bravo also joined in after finishing their international assignment.