On a personal note..

I have never heard Churchill’s speech; I have learnt about Swami Vivekananda’s address to the republic of religions, where he opened with ‘Brothers and Sisters of America’, which by itself had 2 minutes applause; I have learnt about John F Kennedy’s ‘And my fellow Americans, ask not what country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man’; I have learnt from others how Gandhi and Hitler mesmerized audiences with their powerful speech. But what I heard from Obama yesterday regarding race should be judged as one of the best. If time permits do hear it in youtube. The oratory, gestures, word choice, all where exemplary.

Sledging – Uthappa Style Uthappa has written a column in cricinfo about sledging and how he and his teammates are not bogged down by sledging. He also mentions a conversion he had with Hayden, Hayden, "This boy has got an average of 27; let’s bring it down to 20 before he leaves Australia." Uthappa, “You know Matt, if you had batted in different positions that I have batted in you wouldn't even have had the average of 20” I think someone should tell him that what he did was called defending and not sledging. All he was trying was to be a cry baby. Sledging is an art, and being a hardcore guy who grew up in Triplicane, I have seen guys cry, seen guys getting angry and guys who do what Uthappa did. They think they reciprocated well, but in turn they only made fool of themselves. Where I grew up, It’s not just on cricket field where sledging happens; it was part and parcel of life around me. I have to admit, I have been on the receiving end lots of time but yo...

I am one of those, who don’t take failure/rejection well. I know it is part of learning and part of life, but that’s who I am. My physical and mental state (don’t ask me why) is in a way, that the moment I accept failure I know for sure I will be down the drain. Given the background, for 2 weeks I underwent lots of interviews and session with one of the leading consulting firm in US for a job. Everything went well, and they were happy with my credential, and I was mentally preparing myself for a new job. All of sudden, I got a call yesterday; the lady informed me that they have a “Non Compete” clause with my current company and they will run into legal trouble if they hire me. She informed me that if I quit my job, then they can hire me after 3 months, which I don’t want to do. Anyhow,didn't expect that. Upset!!!!

One day I wish to buy an IPL franchise, put them in a good market and name them Dare Devils. A great stadium could be built at the footsteps of Nilgiris. A good star hotel near that area, the stadium will be multipurpose, with shopping mall around the stadium. We could carry on events such as political meeting, cultural programs during off season. In addition, a good public park near the stadium. Man, if only.

After couple of decades in international cricket, Tendulkar for the first time carried India for a win. Great win though, good job.