BSNL Bangalore 2007 marathon

My aunt who works in BSNL called me to ask me, if I would be interested in taking part in the marathon conducted by BSNL. Without a second thought, I said 'YES'. There were several races that day - 42 km full marathon, 21 km half marathon, 5 km marathon run for charity, run for senior citizens and for physically disabled. There was representation from many countries.
I roped in my colleague Manju and my cousin Nanda for the run. The race was expected to begin at 9.00 am for which the reporting time was 8.00 am. Me and Manju reached in time and even had break fast at the venue. Nanda was as usual late and reached when the race was about to begin. We all got T-shirts and caps from BSNL - thanks to my aunt who arranged it.
I was not sure if my fitness level was good enough to complete the 5 km stretch. But I was able to complete the entire stretch of 5 km in one go without stopping for rest (I took 10 seconds break twice waiting for my friend to catch up). I could complete the run in 25 min - thats 5 minutes per km. I was amazed at my own performance.
We waited for others to finish the race. My aunt finished her 5 km stretch 15 minutes after we had completed. My uncle took part in the race for senior citizens.
There was a senior couple (husband 80 yrs and wife 69 yrs) who completed the 5 km stretch as well. There were hundreds of kids from various schools as well. They finished the race with much more ease.

Gosai Ghat and ShivanaSamudra Trip

During the October holidays, my sister and nephew were at home and we decided to go out on a one day outing. I suggested ShivanaSamudra and everyone agreed. We started from Bangalore on my car on mysore road. There are 2 approaches to shivanasamudra - first via kanakapura and the other via mysore road. I was told that the Mysore road was better for driving. We started by 9.30 am and were quickly at Ramanagar. We stopped at my favorite breakfast place - Kamath Lokruchi. After relishing on different kinds of dosas for an hour we started again. It was quite a sunny day and everyone in the car started complaining about going to ShivanaSamudra as there was no shelter there and we would be baked in the sun. My sis suggested that we go to Gosai Ghat near Mandya. I quickly called up a couple of people to find out what was in Gosai Ghat. My friends suggested that I go to that place as there was a river(kaveri) flowing there. To reach Gosai Ghat, I had to take a left turn on mysore road at Sreerangapattana. We reached the place by noon. We could see a few people taking bath in the river. There was a lot of water in the river. The place was NOT very crowded. We all got in to water and spent more than an hour there. My 10 month old son was having a great time playing in water. This is a good place for one day outing from Bangalore. The only problem is that there is no place for the ladies to change clothes. One has to take the cover of some temple shrines.
We were very hungry when we started back from there. One place I prefer to have lunch on Bangalore mysore highway is Hotel Haripriya in Mandya. After having lunch we decided to go to ShivanaSamudra. One has to take a deviation in Maddur to reach ShivanaSamudra. This road is not all that great, but you can drive on that road. One particular stretch of 4 km is quite bad near Malavalli. We reached ShivanaSamudra by 5.30 p.m. There is a beautiful water fall here. It is called the 'Gagana Chukki' falls. Close by is another falls called 'Bhara chukki' falls. But as we reached the place quite late, we didn't have the time to go to the other falls. There was a lot of water in the falls. It was a treat to watch. The weather was also cool and the sun was just setting. We enjoyed the sunset over the falls. They have even started a hotel at this place. People can stay here for the night. It is a nice getaway from Bangalore. We started from there just after sunset. Driving in the dark in the Malavalli road (bad road) could have been avoided if we had reached the place earlier. But, once on mysore road, you can reach Bangalore in an hours time.

To reach Gosai Ghat from Bangalore
Bangalore - Ramanagar - Chennapattana - Maddur - Mandya - Sreeranga Pattana - Gosai Ghat - Roughly 120 KM from Bangalore

To reach Shivana Samudra
Bangalore - Ramanagar - Chennapattana - Maddur - Malavalli - ShivanaSamudra - Roughly 110 KM from Bangalore

Carelessness causes wastage of money

I recently realized that I had misplaced the copy of my car insurance. The insurance company was located in Delhi. Upon calling them up, they told me that I have to send a Demand Draft (DD) for Rs 50/- in order to get a new duplicate copy.
I quickly went to the bank close by to get a DD. I landed up paying Rs 56/- as the service charge, for a Rs 50/- DD. I was cursing myself for choosing a private bank over nationalized bank as the DD charges were high. Upon inquiring later, I found that the DD charges were only marginally lesser in Nationalized banks. A few years ago, I remember paying not more than Rs 10/- for DD of this amount.
After getting the DD, I payed another Rs 60/- for courier. A couple of days later, I was going through a pile of papers at home and found the misplaced insurance document.
I had unnecessarily spent Rs 166/- (excluding a few long STD phone call charges)for being careless. Had I sorted out my pile of papers earlier, I wouldn't have spent the money and time. I have learnt my lesson.

Indo-Pak match - Me on TV

Ask any Indian, what his/her fav sport is, and the answer you get is "CRICKET".
It is the sport the nation breathes. Well, today I got a 5 day pass for the India-Pakistan test match at Bangalore. Ind-Pak matches are always very exciting. How could I miss a chance to watch it.
Me and my cousin reached the stadium. There was a huge crowd waiting to get in. Some were busy looking for tickets. It is very difficult to get tickets for a test match in Bangalore on a weekend. In the past I have paid Rs 300/- for a Rs 50/- inspite of reaching the venue at 6.00 am to buy tickets. I have seen that sometimes the tickets are sold at the counter for 15 minutes when we see a "sold out" board. The rest of the tickets goes to black market. I stopped to get my face painted with the tri-colour. I also bought a flag outside the stadium.
I managed to sneak my camera in to the stadium. But the security snatched the stick that was with the Indian flag. They think that the mob will start a fight with the stick.
It was an exciting first day of cricket. Though India lost 4 quick wickets, Yuvaraj and Ganguly played a spectacular innings. Yuvi's score was the highest by any left handed batsman in Bangalore. Our statisticians collect some crazy statistics these days.


We were jumping and screaming at every shot. I was waving the Indian flag and having fun. Just then, one of my friend's called me to tell me that he saw me on TV. A few more friends and relatives called me and told me that they all saw me on TV during the match and during the highlights. I am going again tomorrow also. Hope Indian can post a big score - Amen

Road trip from Bangalore to mysore on a bullet

Two weeks ago, I had to got o Mysore for some personal work. I was continuously debating with myself whether I should take a bus, train or drive in my car. After some thought, I thought of doing something, which I rarely get an opportunity - long bullet ride.
I was up and ready with my helmet, leather jacket and clothes for a day and was off. I started from home by 10.30 a.m. After giving a quick stop for fuel, I was off on the high way. You are in a bilssful state when you are enjoying the sounds of a bullet while going at 60 KPH. It was a very pleasant day with the sun not being very bright. There was a pleasant sunshine and cool breeze. I was already enjoying the cool breeze on my face. Initially I was cruising at a lower speeds, but as I covered more distance, I started gaining speed. By now, I was touching 70 kmph. I reached Ramnagar and gave a 20 minute break. While I was sipping tea from a road side tea stall, I quickly made a few phone calls. I started from there and started touching 80 kmph and above. Even though I was traveling alone, the journey was not boring. On either side of the road was lush green paddy fields. Paddy seeds are sown right after monsoons during June-July, which cover up the entire fields by October. By now I was already at 90 kmph. Riding the bullet is simply effortless. I used to earlier own a Hero Honday Splendor, which, used to take a lot of effort to reach 70+ kph ( I have covered thousands of kms of highway trip on my splendor as well). I gave my second 20 minute break at Sreeranga Pattana to make a few more phone calls. From here, on a few occasions my 500 CC bike Bullet touched 95kms. I didn't go above this, because if something were to go wrong, I would have to run around alone to get help (had to be extra careful as this was my first solo long distance ride). Within minutes I was at Mysore ring road, where I took a deviation towards T.Narasipura, which was my final destination. T.Narasipura is a small town, 30 kms from Mysore. My problems started from here, as I had to go on some really bad roads. There were small stretches where there was no road at all. It was a dirt track ride at certain patches. Bullet, which is known for bad shock absorbers, was already hurting my back. I reached my destination by 2.00. pm. Discounting the two 20-minute breaks that I had taken, my journey was for 2.5 hours and I had covered 170 kms. After having my lunch and taking some rest, I headed back to Mysore. This time, I was feeling that I was riding on Mars (Mars has craters too). By the time I reached Mysore, my back was hurting a lot. I took a pain killer and went to bed.
The next day, I had to visit T.Narasipura again before going back to Bangalore. I decided that I had enough of the bad roads. I parked my Bike at Mysore Bus stand and took a bus to T.Narasipura. After finishing my work, I was back in Mysore by 4.00 p.m. My cousin called me up and told me that she would join me on my way back to Bangalore. I took the Bullet from the Mysore Bus stand and went to her office. After reaching there, I asked her, if we she was ready for Ass-Ass-I-Nation. She told me that she was very excited about this trip. We started from Mysore 5.15 P.M. I told her that I was going to cover maximum distance while we had sun shine. Riding during night is something I generally avoid as the headlight is not very bright. The reaction time to obstacles will be very less as we can spot them very late.
Right from the word go, I started clocking 90 kmph. We witnessed beautiful sun set en-route. I cruised comfortably all the way till Maddur. By now, I had started losing sun light quickly. I had decided not to stop till I reached Kamat Lokruchi at Ramnagar. I reached there by 6.30 PM. I had covered 90 kms in 1 hour 15 minutes. The traffic was low as it was a week day and hence we were able to cover the distance quickly. We stopped for some snacks and coffee. The hot Mirchi Bajji and coffee was perfect after the ride. We sat there and relaxed for an hour. I asked my cousin, how she felt and she said that she was enjoying the ride.
I had another 50 kms to cover before to reach home. I thought that I would take it a little easy and cruise. But as I started, I realized that I had surrendered to the supreme power of the Bullet. There was no way, I could go below 80 kmph. There were occasion when I was cruising at 90 kmph even in the darkness. The temperature had started falling. This year we are having a cold winter. Bangalore recorded some lowest temperatures in decades this year. The traffic was also thickening as we were closing Bangalore. I reached home by 8.30 kmph. I had coverd the last 50 km in 1 hour.
After reaching home, I asked my cousin, if she was ASS-ASS-I-NATED, and she said with a smile "Not As(s) much".

It was a wonderful long drive on the Bullet. I would like to call it the Biking Nirvana. I had covered a total 400 kms in 2 days. I roughly got 30 km per liter of Petrol.

Total Distance: 400 KM.
Total Time on road: 4 hours 45 minutes.
Bike: 500 CC Bullet.
Top Speed : 95 Kph.
Mileage: 30 kmpl.
When: November, 2007.
Route: Bangalore - Mysore - T.Narasipura - Mysore - Bangalore.

Tata Indigo XL review

Yesterday, my friend Nawaz called me up to get some thoughts on buying a new car. He had been doing some research himself on the web and also been talking to his other friends. From what he had heard from his friends, he seemed to have been quite impressed by Tata Indigo XL. When he called me up, he was very upbeat and was explaining the features a lot. He asked me if I could go along with him to the Tata show room to take a test drive of the vehicle. I agreed and went to the show room with him. I had never test driven a new car and it was my first time.
Tata Indigo has petrol and and Diesel variants. In each of these variants, they have two models - Classic and Grand. At the showroom 'Grand' was there a display piece and we started inspecting while we were waiting for the executive to come and attend to us. The car looked good. At first glance, the most impressive thing about the car is the space. There is a lot of room inside. The back seat is very spacious and 3 people can sit very comfortably. Tall people won't have any problem stretching their legs when they are seated in the back seat.
By now the executive came to us. She started explaining the features of the car. The classic is the more basic model which has a 1.4 ltr engine. The boot (trunk) is quite big, but still not as big as I had expected it to be (as there is a lot of room inside). The interiors are not very great with the car. They have tried to give a wooden finish to the front panel, but it is made of plastic and doesn't go well with the car. The 'Classic' comes with premium fabric upholstery which is pretty good. One very good feature which I haven't seen in any sedan is split AC. There are separate AC ducts for the back seat. This feature is something, I have seen only in Qualis and Tavera. But even in those, the AC ducts are on the roof, but in Indigo, they are at the bottom (between the two front seats). This is a cool feature. Another unique feature is the chiller. The chiller is in the glove box and can keep your cool drinks chill (ofcourse the AC has to be ON for this). Fog lamps, all 4 power windows, power steering, rear defogger and central locking, front seat height adjustor (for both seats) are all default in the Basic model. There is no Cup holder for the driver's seat. It is there only for the passengers in the back seat.
The basic model comes at around 6.1 or 6.2 lakhs on road in Bangalore and is a good buy.
The Grand comes with a few extra features. It comes with leather upholstery, 4 speaker DVD player with two LCD displays behind both the front seats, a car phone kit (free nokia phone and a charger) and power seat height adjuster.
Now it was the time to test drive. I took out the 1.4 petrol for a drive. I could only drive it in busy Bangalore traffic. It had a smooth pickup even when the AC was on. The gear shift was smooth. Really not much complain with the car. This is not to be considered as the the full 'GO' for this model as the drive was only for 2 kms in traffic. One has to drive the car before making their choice. However there were a few things I was not comfortable with the car. The gear seemed to be very far from the driver's seat. One has to reach out for it. I am used to driving a Maruti Baleno which has a very big front window shield which gives a very clear view of the road. I was not very happy about it in this car. For tall people whose head almost reaches the roof, the road view is not very clear.
After the test drive of the petrol version, we tried the diesel version. I sat in the car and turned the ignition on and I was immediately disappointed. There was a lot of engine noise and vibration. It was like sitting in a truck (OK, I am exaggerating here, but I was very unhappy). The Grand Diesel comes at around 8.75 lakhs in Bangalore. Who would want to pay so much money for a diesel car with just 1.4 ltr engine which makes so much noise. Atleast I wouldn't. The diesel versions of Verna are so smooth when compared to Tata Indigo. Classic makes a good buy for that price, but Tatas will have a difficult task selling the diesel version of Indigo XL, that too when they have the image of a taxi.

Mukesh Ambani - Richest man in the World

Yes, it is true. Today, Mukesh Ambani became the richest man in the world. It is a little hard to believe, but it is true. He makes India proud. Indian Stock market is on a continous bull run which saw reliance stock scaling new heights.
After the death of Dhirubhai Ambani, Mukesh got Reliance Industries and has strived hard to reach the peak. Hope the bull run continues and he stays at top for a long time to come.
He has surpassed Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim Helu.


1. Mukesh Ambani - $63.2 billion
2. Carlos Slim Helu - $62.2993 billion
3. William Bill Gates - $62.29 billion
4. Warren Buffett - $55.9 billion
5. Lakshmi Mittal - $50.9 billion

kimi wins the 2007 championship

what a victory to Kimi and what a win for Ferrari. It was a stunning victory for Kimi Raikkonen who needed to win and get maximum points. Before the race I thougth that Kimi won't make to it to the top of the championship points. But the good strategy from Ferrari and good driving by Kimi put him on the top. Unfortunately for the Rookie Lewis Hamilton, it was a disaster race.

Drivers points

01 Kimi Räikkönen 110
02 Lewis Hamilton 109
03 Fernando Alonso 109

Constructor Points
01 Ferrari 204
02 BMW 101
03 Renault 51

Rich Dad Poor dad's Robert Kiyosaki

Funny mahabharat climax scene :))

This is a funny episode from the movie "Jaane bhi do yaaro"

watch the video

Cool Down Tommy, He's Leavin, You Don't Have To Bite Him...

This is how Sreesanth reacted when Symonds got out during the India-Australia cricket match in the future's cup 2007

click on the image to enlarge

Free medical treatment at sathya sai super speciality hospitals

Medical expenses are one killer of an expense and can leave bring you to streets. Some of the treatments can run in to lakhs of rupees. If you are not prepared (read http://mail2nagen.blogspot.com/2007/07/tips-on-medical-insurance.html ), either you will have to borrow from evrey relative/friend or let go of the patient.
Time and again I had heard of Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospitals which give free medical treatment to everyone. Today I bumped in to a nice article which talks about a patients experiece at SSSIHMS and also the research happening there (read the article here )
In a country where 70% of the people live either below poverty line or can just afford a basic life, hospitals like sathya sai hospitals are a boon.
I have no personal experience with this place, but have heard that the treatment comes totally free. Downside is the waiting period. For some of the surgeries, one has to wait for a turn.
I have read that the Sathya sai hostpitals are in Prashanti gram in Andra Pradesh and white field in Bangalore
Some links
http://www.saihospital.org/ssshhospitals.htm
http://www.sathyasai.org/saihealth/content.htm
http://www.sathyasaihospital.com/

Pranesh Comedy

Pranesh Comedy Part 1


Pranesh Comedy Part 2


Pranesh Comedy Part 3


Pranesh Comedy Part 4



Pranesh Comedy Part 5


Pranesh Comedy Part 6


pranesh comedy part 7

Deepika Padukone on ftv!!!

Places to visit around bangalore

There are lot of places to visit around Bangalore.There are a few one day trips and a few that can be done in 2-3 days.
One beauty of Bangalore is, you find hills all around Bangalore. 50-70 kms in any direction going out of Bangalore, you fill find hills.
On Tumkur road, you will find Devarayana Durga, Shivagange etc.
On Mysore road, you will find RamNagar
On Bellary road, you will find Nandi hills
On Hosur road, you will find KrishnaGiri.
On kanakpura road, you will find kabbal durga
On Magadi Road, you will find Savana Durga

There are a lot of pilgrimage spots to visit as well.

-----Place------Dist----Type
-----------------------------
Sri-Ram-Betta---50--Piligrim
Rangasthala-----60--Piligrim
Savana-Durga----60--Hill
Ghati-Subramanya70--Piligrim
Nandi-hills-----70--Hill-stn
Revanasiddesh-be70--Piligrim
Shiva-gange-----70--Piligrim
Antharagange----75--Piligrim
Chikka-Thirupath75--Piligrim
Kanva-reservoir-80--Dam
Mekedatu--------80--Ravine
Kaivara---------85--Piligrim
Sheebi----------90--Temple-Paint
Devarayana-durga100-Piligrim
Kokkare-Belluru-100-Birds-sanctu
Kudumalai-------100-Piligrim
Melukote--------100-Piligrim
Muththathhi-----100-River
Vidurashwatha---100-Piligrim
Sri-Rangapatna--120-Piligrim
Bheemeswari-----125-River
Karighatta------125-Piligrim
Shivasamudram---125-Water-fall
Ranganathittu---130-Birds-sanctu
Adi-chunchanagir140-Piligrim
Lepakshi--------140-Piligrim
Mahadevapura----140-River
Mysore----------140-Historical
Shravana-Belugol140-Piligrim
Hogenakal-------150-Water-fall
KRS,-Balamuri---150-Barrage
Mudukuthore-----150-Piligrim
Talakadu--------150-Piligrim
Chunchana-katte-160-Water-fall
Kadiri----------160-Piligrim
Nanjanagudu-----160-Piligrim
T.-Narasipur----170-Piligrim
Sathanur-dam----175-Dam
Somanathapur----175-Archeology
Hemagiri--------200-Water-fall
Ramanathapura---200-Piligrim
Tiruvannamalai--200-Piligrim
Halebeedu-------210-Archeology
B.-R-.-Hills----220-Hill-station
Bandipur--------220-Wild-life
Gopalaswamy-bett220-Piligrim
Harangi---------220-Landscape
Nisarga-Dhama---220-Land-scape
Kabini----------230-Wild-life
Nagarahole------230-Wild-life
Belur-----------240-Archeology
Mudumalai-------240-Wild-life
Yercaud---------240-Hill-station
Bababudangiri---250-Hill-station
Irpu------------250-Water-fall
Kemmannugundi---260-Hill-station
Kudrehabbe------260-Landscape
Talakaveri------260-Land-scape
Bhadra----------270-Wild-life
Manikyadhara----270-Water-fall
Muthodi---------270-Wild-life
Subramanya------275-Piligrim
M.-M.-Hills-----280-Piligrim
Bisle-----------300-Hill-station
Gajanur---------300-Barrage
Horanadu--------300-Piligrim
Mandagadde------300-Birds-sanctu
Shringeri-------350-Piligrim
Ulvi------------300-Birds-sanctu
Nagar-----------320-Archeology
Ooty------------320-Hill-station
Coonoor---------340-Hill-station
Ikkeri----------340-Archeology
Keladi----------340-Archeology
Dharmasthala----350-Piligrim
Hampi-----------350-Historical
Hampi-----------350-Archeology
Kudremukh-------350-Hill-station
Mantralaya------350-Piligrim
T.B.-Dam--------350-Dam
Varadahalli-----350-Landscape
Agumbe----------357-Hill-station
Moodabidiri-----360-Archeology
Gudavi----------375-Birds-sanctu
Humbucha--------380-Archeology
Jog-------------380-Water-fall
Karkala---------380-Archeology
Kaup------------380-Beach
St.-Mary's-Islan386-Landscape
Katil-----------387-Piligrim
Devarahole------400-River
Magodu-falls----400-Water-fall
Mrudeshwara-----400-Piligrim
Satodi-falls----400-Water-fall
Udupi-----------415-Piligrim
Honnavar--------425-Piligrim
Gokarna---------460-Piligrim
Maravanthe------467-Beach
Badami-&-Aihole-500-Caves
Kollur----------500-Piligrim
Kollur-forest---520-Wildlife
Yana------------580-Landscape
Gokak-falls---------Water-fall
Varaahi-------------Landscape
Koravangala-----200-Archeology
Ridge-----------250-Landscape
Mosale----------200-Archeology
Doddagadduvalli-200-Archeology
Munnar---------550--Hill-station

A BRIDGE TOO FAR

A BRIDGE TOO FAR ……Awesome…..!!!!!!!!!

The Lord surveyed the Ram Setu and said "Hanuman, how diligently and
strenuously you and your vanara sena had built this bridge several
centuries back. It is remarkable that it has withstood the ravages of
the climatic and geographical changes over centuries. It is indeed an
amazing feat especially considering the fact that a bridge at Hyderabad
built by Gammon using latest technology collapsed the other day even
before they could stick the posters on its pillars."

Hanuman with all humility spoke "Jai Sri Ram, it is all because of your
grace. We just scribbled your name on the bricks and threw them in the
sea and they held. No steel from TISCO or cement from Ambuja or ACC was
ever used. But Lord, why rake up the old issue now."

Ram spoke "Well, Hanuman some people down there want to demolish the
bridge and construct a canal. The contract involves lot of money and lot
of money will be made. They will make money on demolition and make more
money on construction. "

Hanuman humbly bowed down and said "Why not we go down and present our case"

Ram said "Times have changed since we were down there. They will ask us
to submit age proof and we don't have either a birth certificate or
school leaving certificate. We traveled mainly on foot and some times in
bullock carts and so we don't have a driving license either. As far as
the address proof is concerned the fact that I was born at Ayodhya is
itself under litigation for over half a century, If I go in a
traditional attire with bow and arrow, the ordinary folks may recognize
me but Arjun Singh may take me to be some tribal and, at the most, offer
a seat at IIT under the reserved category. Also, a God cannot walk in
dressed in a three-piece suit and announce his arrival. It would make
even the devotees suspicious. So it is dilemma so to say."

"I can vouch for you by saying that I personally built the bridge."

"My dear, Anjani putra, it will not work. They will ask you to produce
the lay-out plan, the project details, including financial outlay and
how the project cost was met and the completion certificate. Nothing is
accepted without documentary evidence in India . You may cough but
unless a doctor certifies it, you have no cough. A pensioner may present
himself personally but the authorities do not take it as proof. He has
to produce a life-certificate to prove that he is alive. It is that
complicated."

"Lord can't understand these historians. Over the years you have given
darshan once every hundred years to saints like Surdas, Tulsidas, Saint
Thyagaraja, Jayadeva, Bhadrachala Ramdas and even Sant Tukaram and still
they disbelieve your existence and say Ramayana is a myth. The only
option, I see, is to re-enact Ramayana on earth and set the government
records straight once for all."

Lord smiled "It isn't that easy today. Ravan is apprehensive that he may
look like a saint in front of Karunanidhi. I also spoke to his mama
Mareecha, who appeared as a golden deer to tempt Sita maiyya when I was
in the forest and he said that he won't take a chance of stepping on
earth as long as Salman Khan is around."

Jai Shree Ram


PS: Not sure who the original author of the post is. I got it as an email forward and posted it. I found a couple of links on the net posting the same article.

http://markets.moneycontrol.com/india/messageboardblog/16/51/message_thread/1922761/2222807
http://whimsicalmind.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/a-bridge-too-far/

Balle Balle - India won the T20 world cup

What a great day for Indian cricket. India won their first Twenty 20 world championship. What a great show by the players. They played as a team and held their nerve till the last. There were too many anxious moments in the match. The match was never over until the last over. I was thinking that Misbah almost pulled the match away from India. Thanks to some sensible bowling and fielding from Indians. Good catches were taken.
There was heavy traffic today evening after 4.30 p.m. Everyone trying to head back home to watch the match.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has achieved a one of the greatest success in his life and that too while serving his first series as a captain of Indian cricket team.

The team which won the world cup

G Gambhir
Yusuf Pathan
R Uthappa
Y Singh
MS Dhoni (captain)
R Sharma
I Pathan
J Sharma
Harbhajan Singh
S Sreesanth
RP Singh

Source of photos http://www.cricinfo.com/

Indian Idol 3

I am forced to watch some of these programs like Indian Idol, Nach Baliye etc. The TV gets hogged during these shows at home.
Yesterday, there was the finals of Indian Idol 3 program on Sony TV and we were all watching the show. The anchor said that people of India were voting to chose the winner of the contest. What surprised me was when he said that they had received more than 7 crore (70 million) SMS votes. First reaction would be - WOW.

But then, if you put your thinking caps on, what occurs is -

In a country of 100 crore, 70% leave in villages. So I don't think that they would vote.
That leaves 30 crore people to vote.
Of this 30 crore, I guess the whole of TN, Kerala and many of the other south Indian states would not be watching Hindi channels.
So, we can reduce another 5 crore of the urban crowd.
That leaves only 25 crore people to vote
Assume that most of the people from other states, would like to watch Tele serials in Hindi and their local language. And also assuming that there are many poeple who would watch other music, sports etc channels, I can conveniently reduce the audience watching sony TV to less than 10 crore - I find this number to be very big too ( Unfortunately, I don't have any live statistics or any TPC numbers - all these numbers are arrived by me by some guess and logic).
Now there are other similar programs (song and dance competition) on STAR TV and other channels which are telecast at the same time. These programs attract good number of audience as well.
Many of the remaining viewers are students on prepaid and other middle class folks with a lot of them on life time free incoming scheme (this scheme doesn't have any messaging or outgoing facility).
Now the voting crowd (in my opinion) is definitely reduced to less than 7 crore (which is the number of votes received). Now think, how many people out of this lot would have cell phones.
With the SMS charges to these programs costing between Rs 3 - 5, how many people would send SMS to make someone win a contest. Even if we go by the logic that some people (5 percent of voting crowd) vote multiple times, 7 crore votes can't be reached.

I think, the numbers are just built up by the TV channels to generate curiosity amongst the audience. 7 crore votes NO CHANCE.

Spiderman Ganesha

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Yuvraj 6 Sixes vs England Twenty20 World Cup Match

What a match it was between Indian and England. Yuvaraj Singh was at his best, scoring 6 sixes in an over. Thats a World T20 record. No one has done it before.
When Yuvi got out, commentator said, that Yuvi came like a Thunder and went like a lightning.










Watch the video ball by ball where yuvi scores 6 sixes



Hope India beats South Africa today and go over to the next round