The event was won by ITM with Sardar Patel coming second and HR coming third.

Elims :- ( 20 questions- not in serial order here)

1.) Who said ” Tatas represent the Spirit of Adventure”- Mahatma Gandhi

2.) India’s only five star airline- Kingfisher

3.) DLF Logo

4.) India First Logo

5.) Sachin Tendulkar Toothpaste- Sach

6.) Ajit Jain Photo

7.) Question on Ray Kroc, McDonalds and the San Diego Padres baseball team.

8.) Deccan 360 Logo- man behind it- Captain Gopinath

9.) Adolf Hitler- ” “I regard ______ as my inspiration” to a Detroit News Reporter.

___ is Henry Ford.

10.) Tipping Point- Malcolm Gladwell

11.) Boeing Logo

12.) Dennis Tomkins, Bush and I invented a shoe to defy Isaac Newton.

I here is Michael Jackson

13.) Pic of Apple Corporation’s Founders

14.) SBI Campaign featuring Dadabhai Nowrojee

15.) Question on 7-11 stores- name changed from U-Tote

16.) Rama Bijapurkar Photo

17.) Question on Bandra Worli Sea Link- first phase of West Island Freeway

18.) For Those Who Love Speed- Tata Photon Ad

19.) Question on Publishing House Founded by Allen Lane in 1935- Penguin

20.) Sanjeev Bikhchandani Photo

Had to chose between watching Love Story 2050 and Jaane Tu, and opted for the latter ( * Was partially influenced by newspaper reviews that declared the former to be a no hoper *)

And the film, Abbas Tyrewala’s directorial debut, isn’t bad at all. It also marks the debut of Imran Khan ( Aamir’s nephew) and Prateik Babbar ( The son of Smita Patil and Raj Babbar)

Jai ( Imran) and Aditi ( Genelia D’Souza of Masti, Mere Baap Pehle Aap fame) have been best buddies since college started. Over five years, they’ve grown extremely close, leading everyone to believe that they are ” perfect ” for each other. Jai is a Rajasthan “Royal” but has been brought up by his mom ( Ratna Pathak) to tread on the path of non violence. He prefers to fight with brain rather than brawn, unlike Aditi ( who is game for a fight, and has foul words flying out of her mouth every single second)

While everybody else thinks Jai and Aditi are perfect for each other, the two in question have never thought of the other in that manner. They set out to find life partners for each other ( Manjari Fadnis and Ayaz Khan), but then in true Bollywood style, realise that they are meant for each other.

We see a reverse Hum Paanch with Ratna Pathak talking to the dead Naseruddin Shah in the portrait.

Prateik Babbar is excellent in his role as Amit ( Aditi’s brother). Quite debut, but the lad does have some talent.

There are of course a few minor issues with the film

Rotlu looks too old to be twenty ( Judging by his baldness)

Our dear Jai rides a horse from what looks like South Mumbai to the international airport to stop Aditi from boarding a flight to- you guessed right, America ! This when he could so easily have made a phone call from the police station from which he had just come out ! But then he needed to fulfill the third condition to be a true warrior, and that I suppose, had to be incorporated in the film.

Bombs and Rotlu getting together seemed too quick and artificial, but I guess that the director could not really afford to devote time to them.

Genelia D’Souza looks bubbly from the posters ( And cute if I may add- her smile is infectious !!!). But her hairdo at the end of the movie seems messed up to me.

Imran Khan looks fresh, but I wouldn’t judge him on one film alone.

Not a bad flick- I’ll give it 3 on 5.

The Rajasthan Royals started this tournament off on the worst possible note. They were humiliated by Delhi in the opener, and pundits were already awarding them the wooden spoon. But in an amazing comeback, they won all their seven home IPL, lost only two more ( An abject surrender to Mumbai, and a loss to Kings XI in Mohali), and proved that their league campaign was not a fluke by winning the tournament. As the Knight Riders, Royal Bangalore Challengers and the other teams started to lose slip, the Royals went from strength to strength.

So when did this turnaround really begin ? I believe that we need to go back to the game that the Royals played against the Deccan Chargers. Andrew Symonds had a perfect match, but muffed up the last over as Shane Warne took the requisite 19 off it to guide the Royals home. Not only was that the highest total chased successfully by a team batting second, but it also gave the Royals confidence that they could bring the Big Boys to their knees with sheer hard work and determination.

Anyway, coming back to this game, Suresh Raina will be a crestfallen fan. And the same goes for Chamara Kapugedera. The former dropped Yusuf Pathan when he was on 12, and the latter failed to make good use of the long handle towards the end of the CSK innings. Indeed many Chennai fans will be asking the same question- Why was Badrinath not sent ahead of Kapugedera ? Badrinath made 6 off 2. Kapugedera made 8 off 12. And in the end, 10 extra runs could have easily netted the Super Kings an extra .6 million USD in prize money.

The BCCI seems to be laughing all the way to the bank. So are Sony, telecasters of the league.

And the BCCI is talking of allowing the franchisees to change their city if they wish. How odd would be it be to see the Chennai Super Kings play in Mohali and the Kings XI Punjab at Chepauk ? :p

And coming back to the Royals, they seem to have won the hearts of all the Marwadis around the country. Apparently, they lived up to the “Kanjoos” tag by underspending in the first round . And they have brought recognition to the community and to a state that has never managed to win the Ranji Trophy despite boasting of some word class players in Rusi Surti, Vijay Manjrekar and co.

Congratulations Warnie !!!

In their first game, they were simply ” oubatted ” by Michael Hussey.

In their second game, Shane Warne marshalled his men well, and the Royals upset the Kings.

But this is what I’m coming to. After the Royals beat the Kings 11, a prominent T.V. channel screamed ” Preity ki dusri haar ”.

What could Preity Zinta have done that Yuvraj and his boys could not have ? And in what way does she influence their on- field fortunes ? Maybe she should flash that megawatt smile a lot more, and avoid relegating players from the team hotel to accommodate socialite friends ( Read Gagandeep Singh and co )

If Manchester United were to lose two games in a row, do we see the headline ” Glazer ki dusri haar ” ? Of course not.

As for the Mumbai Indians, Sachin Tendulkar missed their second match against the Super Kings. In fact, Tendulkar turns 35 in a little while from now. Happy birthday to the Master Blaster.

And with the Super Kings blasting their way to a second 200+ score, one could have been forgiven for misreading MI as Mission Impossible when Jayasuriya and Co. came out to bat.

The Kings were in control for most part of the game. With the required rate climbing higher and higher, it seemed that nothing less than a miracle would be required to prevent the Mumbai Indians from joining Kings 11 and the Deccan Chargers in the list of teams not to have scored a point in the IPL.

And a miracle it nearly was.

Abhishek Nayar and Harbhajan Singh batted as if it was a World Cup final.

When Singh did fall to Murali in the penultimate over, Mumbai needed 19 to win off the last over.

Bowler : Joginder Sharma.

It seems that Dhoni chose to go with Joginder, keeping in mind what he did at the T20 World Cup in South Africa.

First ball- four ( 15 to win off five)

Second ball- four ( 11 to win off four)

Third ball- single, no ball. ( Nine to win off four)

Mistake here. Big mistake. It ensured that Ashish Nehra would play the free hit. 

Fourth ball- Nehra swings and misses ( Nine off three)

Fifth Ball- Nehra takes one ( Eight off two)

Sixth Ball- Joginder gets it right, and Nayar cannot get underneath the ball. (  Eight off one)

Seventh ball- Single.

CSK win.

I’ve even seen a guy who has a personal servant to tie his watch and shoe laces. And that man is fit and healthy, and not some invalid. Do you call this luxury, or sheer laziness on the part of the man ?

We treat our servants like dirt. We whistle to waiters in the restaurant, and motion with our fingers for them  to come to our table. Never will we ever able to see them as equals. It is one reason that socialism won’t ever work in India, not in the next century. The gap is too wide to bridge. And part of the blame lies with the servants, for they do not stand up in face of such treatment. On the other hand, they believe it to be a way of life, and sometimes think that things are amiss if they are not shouted upon.

Somebody once said ” Judge a man by the way he treats his inferiors, and not his equals ” If one does look at that say, half of the Indian middle and upper class would be found guilty.

And keeping in mind the fact that people buy new clothes and clean their houses, I’ve decided to gift my blog a new look.

A change in theme has been effected on this blog; I had a bit of time on my hands to go through the themes.

Ended up choosing Ocean Mist by Ed Merritt.

What do you think about it ?

The three ads figure

1.) A fat man becoming Arnold Schwarzenegger reincarnate.

2.) An old woman becoming a cherubic youngster.

3.) A dark woman suddenly becoming fair.

These guys need to rethink their marketing campaign- there are certainly better methods than this to create buzz.

Personally speaking, I have nothing against homosexuality. But there was nothing in the books that even hinted that the man was gay. Many people, including me, assumed that he chose to remain a bachelor or probably had a wife and child who were killed in the war against Grindelwald.

That probably means that Dumbledore was smitten with Gellert Grindelwald and did not want to confront his former ‘love’ till the end.  The love was probably one sided though.

This will come as a great shock for the guys who use ADMM as their ship in their stories.

The guys at Dark Lord Potter have literally blasted Rowling, accusing her of fu*&ing with the series.

A few things which allowed a hearty laugh.

1.) Harry saying to Rufus Scrimgeur ” I’m Dumbledore’s man, through and through”

2.)  I wonder what Albus Severus Potter would have to say. Look at this post of Jbern

3.) Harry felt as if he was being X-rayed by the gaze……..

Most authors of fanfiction have always preferred to portrary Sirius Black as a gay character, pairing him up either Snape or Lupin ( who are unable to find partners for reasons best known to them)

I wonder whether Dumbledore ever felt attracted to the young Tom Riddle. Some fics touch upon the fact that power attracts power, and was that the reason that Dumbledore chose not to eliminate Tom Riddle before he became Lord Voldemort ?

Racism is always a problem that has existed in Indian society. Even sixty years after the British left us, it is an attitude which is deep rooted in the Indian psyche. And no, this behaviour isn’t restricted to the middle class or the lower middle class. The upper middle class and upper class are just as guilty as the lower ones. Even those who look prim in society and say that they do not discriminate never practice what they preach. We even had a serial which deals with this issue- Saat Phere starring Rajshri Thakur on Zee. We Indians are probably the greatest hypocrites on the planet. I have never gone to America or Great Britain, and cannot remark on racism there. But in India, it is alive and kicking. If you are just an average black child, be rest assured that people will use your colour every time they want to insult you. You might learn to ignore it, but the psychological damage will always remain. How many dark children have you met who wish in the deepest corner of their heart that they were born fair ?

Our society has some clear ideas about what is right and wrong. Those ideas have been hammered into our brains and no generation has been spared. It starts with the whole distinction between black and white. White is supposed to be pure and good, while black is said to radiate evil. Every child is taught to fear the darkness and embrace the sunlight. Even in fiction like the Harry Potter series, the world is taught that Light is good, and the Dark Arts are evil.

Our minds are conditioned towards the fact that black means’ not beautiful’. I even remember a conversation with a dude in a train. These were his exact words. ” Naomi Campbell kaali hai. How on earth can she be a model yaar ? How can someone find her beautiful ? ”

There aren’t too many examples of the two races intermingling via marriage. Apart from Seal and Klum, I can’t recollect any such couple.

And then we have Mr. Watson of Crick and Watson fame, saying that Blacks are intellectually more stupid than Whites

OK, going back to the game. Hamish Blair’s photograph has just served as proof of our actions. Some people maintain that the Aussies sledge at every opportunity, and that we should fight fire with fire. So target Symonds, their only black cricketer. Is it right to stoop to their level ? Shouldn’t we act a little more mature ? And some of the Aussies have promised revenge when we tour Australia. So are we going to keep trading insults back and forth ?

Hoping for a good game today. The Aussies will want revenge for their semifinal defeat, and a win here would put the icing on the cake- for they have had an excellent tour of India so far.

I haven’t exactly been a great fan of Orkut- although I was one of the first persons to join. I feel people do mindless stuff there. Half of the scraps are complete crap. ” Hey, how is u ?’ or ” Do u want frandship ?” ” Pls replay me “. Waste of bandwidth and effort IMO.

One thing I do appreciate about the site- it is an effective way of finding out people whom you last had contact with a long, long time ago.

For reasons not too difficult to guess, Orkut has become the face of social networking in India. Facebook is slowly gaining ground, but it will take time to rival Google’s creation. All the rest- Hi5, Tagged and Zorpia to name the few have not managed to create even a dent in Orkut’s market share.

And now with the Adnan Patrawalla case, the site has received plenty of media and news attention. Debates and seminars are taking place everyday to discuss about the effects on Orkut on teens. I do not blame Orkut for what happened, but I do agree with the fact that the site is more popular that what it probably should be.

One thing is for sure, if Orkut does happen to be banned in India, the cyber cafe owners will be one pissed lot. Orkut receives more traffic in India, even more than WWE ( check Alexa and that one places Orkut quite high, and remember that many people in India still do not know what Alexa is). I have seen guys having no knowledge of computers coming in and trying to establish an e-mail ID so that they too can hop on to the Orkut bandwagon. The craze for Orkut doesn’t seem to have diminished- it has only increased after its launch.