Posts from — April 2005

This has been a week of Fernando Alonsos…

One of them won a stunning duel with Michael Schumacher at the San Marino F1 Grand Prix, making it his third win in a row!

… while the other successfully managed the maiden flight of the Super Jumbo, the A380, as it’s chef d’orchestre.

In his post, A Bloggers Dozen, Yazad asks for the photos of the Bloggers’ Meet post.

Well, here they are…

Well, I’m afraid the photos aren’t exactly of award-winning quality. They’ve been clicked using my cameraphone. Also, I’m afraid I’ve not captured Amit Varma’s naked elbow!

The other day, at the Bloggers’ Meet, someone (I don’t quite remember who) took a quick poll to see how many people supported ‘black market’. I think a couple of us raised their hands to show that they were pro-’black market’. The reason that was put forward was that the buyer should be able to freely determine what he wants to buy.

Fair enough, I say!

But isn’t ‘black market’ a way to evade the regulations (which are invariably unjust and illogical) imposed by government? So, shouldn’t you actually protest against the regulation itself, rather than supporting something that circumvents that regulation?

Or is the circumvention itself, an act of protest against the regulation?

Oh c’mon!! … a delayed start due to a damp pitch??!

If they did this in England, cricket would never be played there at all!!

So what if the ball seams a bit early on… so what if the ball doesn’t come on to the bat all that much in the first few overs… so what if the spectators don’t get to see a slam-bang start to the first innings?!!

If they can play on a pitch that takes a sharp turn only in the second innings, then surely thay can play on a pitch that helps the seamers in the first innings!!

C’mon… Sourav and Inzy!! You are underestimating the batting skills of your openers if you show reluctance to play citing a damp pitch!! So get cracking gentlemen… stop being such sissies!!

Note: This post uses the most frequently used letter of the English alphabet quite liberally.

When I reached the Cafe Coffee Day outlet at Dadar TT, it was already 10 minutes past 3 PM. Seeing no one standing outside, I waited for bloggers to arrive. A guy arrived, looking at his watch, casting a glance or two in my direction with a smile on his face. I thought, oooh great, he’s recognized me! There’s a rush, even in the most modest of human beings, when they are thus recognized!! I took a step towards him. But the guy walked past me and gave his girlfriend (standing behind me) a hug.

There are times when the bottom of a rock looks very inviting!

Anyways, in a few minutes S. Anand walked past. I recognized him from a bloggers’ meet couple of years back. After chatting with him for a couple of minutes, I called up Yazad to check if he was on his way. He told me to enter the café and locate guy with long hair and a big smile. That would be Amit Varma, he told me.

Inside the café, it wasn’t hard to locate Amit after Yazad’s precise instructions. He was accompanied by Ravikiran, Aadisht, Nandan, Saket and Anand, who were sitting around a table that had a small placard saying “Blog Meet”. Later, Zainaab joined us armed with a guitar. In a few minutes, the tally had increased to 12 with the addition of Yazad, Altaf and Arnab.

Amidst some mandatory PJ’s by Cartelians, we shifted from the air-conditioned interiors of the café to the oppressingly sunny outdoors and from there, back to the comfortable indoors. The conversation ranged from making predictions about the India-Pakistan ODI series to locating Kenya on the African continent. But it was too noisy in the café and we had to shout to make ourselves heard over the din. In the meanwhile, Chandrahas joined us.

The presence of so many Cartel members would’ve normally meant a discussion dominated by Libertarianism. But surprisingly it wasn’t so. And it was only when Saket said that he was half Libertarian that the discussion moved towards the pet topics of the Cartel. Anarchy was defined, the necessity of government was questioned and demanding taxes was likened to mugging. It made for a fascinating discussion.

Pretty soon though, I left the Meet and made my way to the MMRDA grounds at BKC to watch the finals of the Brand Equity Quiz ‘05.