It seems that the election campaign has turned into a cola-drink war..

Take a look at Jai Ho versus Bhay ho :

Cricket Fans will remember March 11 2009 a Holi-day for one more reason. Sehwag’s slam bang century. New Zealand scored 279 in 47 overs losing 5 wickets. Not a bad target for a game that was marred by rain; but Sehwag had other plans. The par score after 23.3 overs was 117. India were 84 ahead of that par score. India won by a considerable margin. I captured the magic of Sehwag using some interesting comments from commentators and viewers of cricinfo. Interesting and entertaining comments if you missed todays play..

Over 1.5 - Thompson to Sehwag, FOUR, slightly short in length and Sehwag plonks his front foot out and crashes it over short midwicket.

Over 7.3 - O’Brien to Sehwag, FOUR, Oh dear oh dear . Sehwag almost decapitated O’Brien here. It was a full length delivery, he thrashed it on the up and the ball flew past the startled bowler

Over 7.6 - O’Brien to Sehwag, FOUR, Oh my… Sehwag is gone bonkers. It was short-pitched delivery and Sehwag cleared the front foot and clouted it over mid-on and to the long-on boundary

Sujay: “O’Brien in his blog wrote….Sehwag has scored 42 runs of 21 balls from him….guess Sehwag now wants it to be 84 from 21 balls!! Hope the blogger continues to blog…i mean bowl though!”

Over 14.3 - Srikanth: “Sehwag Vs NZ reminds me of Obelix against the Romans! O’Brien must be wondering what magic potion Sehwag’s Ma {mother] fed him as a baby.

Over 17.6 - “Watching sehwag bat is like watching the movie KILL BILL , he just massacres anyone and everyone who comes in his way.” …. As the character Hattori Hanzo said, “Revenge is never a straight line. It’s a forest, And like a forest it’s easy to lose your way… To get lost… To forget where you came in”

Over 18.4 - Vettori to Sehwag, SIX, Catch catch was Vettori’s cry of plea but that has been sucked over long-off boundary by the fans. He waltzed down the track and got under the ball. Initially, one thought he got more elevation than distance but it kept going. 100 up for Virender Sehwag. 7th fastest in the ODI history.

vamsi Krishna: “Sehwag seems to have short term memory loss ,ala Ghajini,[ a movie inspired from Memento] and seems to be thinking of only next 5 overs! Great stuff from him. This rate, India will wrap up in 25-30 overs.” …. “I have to believe in a world outside my own mind. I have to believe that my actions still have meaning. Even if I can’t remember them. I have to believe that when my eyes are closed, the world’s still here. Do I believe the world’s still here? Is it still out there?” At least Sehwag is still out there.

Vinod: “Well, Sehwag is not suffering from any short term memory… He knows exactly what needs to be done in a rain curtailed match and he is just chasing the rains to get a result/win for India! Hats off to his smart thinking.”

Over 23.2 - Oram to Sehwag, SIX, The end is nigh. 200 of the partnership is up in style. It was a short delivery, Sehwag pulled it off the front foot and over deep midwicket and the ball sailed towards raucous fans

Anil: “Would anyone believe Gambhir is batting faster than a run-a-ball?? With Sehwag down the other end, everything seems so slow in comparison.”

Tag line of Nestle

Let’s start a self test.

Have you heard about Maggi?
How many of you have tried this humble dish at least once in your life?
How many of you like it?
Can you eat it any time when you are hungry?
Does the magical aroma of the tastemaker leave you asking who’s cooking?

If there are more yes’s then you are a self-proclaimed Maggi loyalist.

Despite loads of USP this humble snack contains Pickloo my friend adds, “this (Maggi) is going to ruin our traditional Indian eating habit” He gets infuriated, “It has no value addition, is this some kind of a food?”

His comment comes to me as a dasher, where in my mind I wish to put Maggi (at least for the younger and selective few from the older generation) as a national food. A national food? They have introduced a range to fit in the Indian bill such as Dal Sambhar, Chatpata, tomato, Vegetable Atta, Shahi Pulao, Bhuna masala, rice mania, Lemon masala apart from the extremely popular masala. Dry vegetables like carrots, beans and onions are also part of the growing strategy to penetrate deep inside the large undivided and hugely fragmented Indian market.

Are you wondering if Nestle has bribed me to write in favor of this? No, FYI Take this: the Maggi lovers at Orkut have 38, 251 and Facebook have 16, 252 members and growing. I am leaving that endless stream of bloggers and self-confessed Maggi lovers who have an online presence, I am sure that the numbers are astronomical at the offline world. For the meat lovers, Maggi, was basically a substitute ‘cheap Meat extract’. It also has over a 100 year presence in history and the origin lies in Eastern European countries - Switzerland, Germany and Austria were the first adaptors and random surveys shout ‘Indians are the highest consumers of Maggi’.

So what’s so special about Maggi? This humble 2 minute smacking item cuts across region, religion, caste, gender, creed, age and has remained a top choice for urban mothers and pampered children when it comes to that evening snack. Evening? We have really lived on this scrumptious food that’s easily available and cheap, an absolute delite for our unplanned breakfasts, impromptu dinners and planned brunches at various point of our lives. My friend Vikram previously had rebuked me to initiate any kind of experiments with Maggi-’Milk Maggi’. But, my friend, I believe in this process and it is surely going to attract people some day.

What does it takes to have a bowl of it? Rs 10 and 2 minutes.Do you feel the same?

@ Pickloo is going to kill me

Just to heave a sigh of relief, I felt to have a heart to heart talk with you, “will making efforts be the solution to this havoc or there is no help for it?”.

Ever wondered why the shape of our land is very authentic, why it is so elegant than the whole world ? Our national anthem will make you aware about its undisputed origin. The nature had made it to be developed and prospered but, the fellows residing by does not want to stand upon the ceremony and motions those folks to a chair of power who pledges to live up with high expectations, finally disdain your feelings and leave you in gloom. No blind man can be a judge of colors. If we know it well then why often to play fool.

By many means this country is being eroded by many secular folks, not only insurgency but also terrorist attacks, riots and many more has been faced by this country. As the land of wisdom is getting occupied by irrational and indiscreet fellows the shape of land is also getting hostile and loath. As the acquitting people are getting replaced by penalized one, the day is very near when country will no more be announced as the land of honesty and uprightness.

This is a land of peace and power of humanity, the oomph we are using to destroy it, should be placed to protect our land, its brotherhood and to regain the value of politics which has been turned to a lucrative profession now a days.

If still the blue stockings of the country does not want to rise up for it, there is no help for it.

Yes, hypocrisy is the matter to agitate but, the problem lies in ‘I’. This ‘I’ is obligatory the hub of your life, all your possessions revolves around ‘I’.

One corner of your white painted heart always keep on suggesting some amendments for the mistake you made in past, always prevent you to deprive others of their right but, men being self centered thinks let it be, nothing succeeds like success, and all your aesthetic values got overshadowed by your money makes  the mare go philosophy. One might not be thinking to delude someone but it happens as your black painted heart completely believes in ‘I’.

And as life will change its pose, you will be at the other end of prosperity and from top to bottom you will be surrounded by grievances.

The folk whom you tricked earlier will come and pay you a hearty felicitation for all your vengeance so, stop being Lucifer of your life and avoid sticky wickets. Don’t let your all hopes end in a smoke.

One who live for others need not to bother for themselves.

So finally we have got what was ours. There was no bravery involved, only loads of cash, diplomatic efforts and some non sense sms/ viewers polling. I am talking about Mahatma Gandhi’s last articles or memorabilia. The items include a pair of leather sandals, steel rim spectacles and a silver plate set and a1910 Zenith pocket watch. These articles were held, till now by a Californian businessman James Otis and he got a princely sum paid by an Indian liquor baron at the Antiquorum auction house. That’s not the end, Mr Otis wanted the Indian government to cut down defence spending and allocate more funds for the poor and marginalized. With full regards to Mr Seller, your wishes are absolutely unwarranted, unconditional and extraneous. There is another thought that goes in my mind that, whether/if this is the same watch (Zenith) what Mahatma Gandhi wore at the time of his death? He got assassinated during his evening prayers.With an amount of $1.8 million, Mr Otis plans to promote pacifism. I wonder how these items went all the way to America.

I have grown up watching the gentleman’s game in an era, which is still considered the golden decade in the history of Indian cricket. It was the 80’s. We didn’t have a television in our home then when we the underdogs beat West Indies. I also was very young to remember how the celebrations could have shaped up in that period. The baby boomers of India must have had their times. Kapil Dev, Sunny, Kris, Vengsarkar, they were the legends. The images of that moment have embedded a deep memory inside. The crowd easily mingled with the players and the players in return happily enjoying ecstasy, flowing champagne and a strange amalgamation of unity among all. Kris Srikkant smoked a fag while watching his team mates lifting the trophy.

My room mate woke me up on March 3 only to tell that the Sri Lankan team is under fire by militants in Pakistan. Some of them injured. The sad incident was being compared to the ‘72 Munich massacre when Palestinian terror groups held athletes. An ungentlemanly event has triggered round of protest, anger and disdain among the global cricketing body. To an extent that Pakistan is completely isolated when coming close to cricketing relations. We have refrained our team to travel Pakistan, once in 2004 and second in 2009, both in view of tensions escalating between the two countries. A military helicopter airlifts panicky Lankan cricketers from a Lahore stadium should be the last thing I’ve imagined in this game. But then anything is possible. Pakistan appears to have a rough time, In Peshawar March 5 a 17th century mausoleum of a Pashto poet Abdul Rahman was blown up by neo- fundamentalists because women formed a part of visitors streaming everyday.
I am fumed after getting to know that cricket is an “un-islamic” game labelled by these fanatics. We are forced to live in a time where terror, politics and religion can mix in the same time laced with deadly gun powder. Isolating Pakistan is not the solution. Cricket is receiving an un-natural death and was once considered as Pakistan’s soft power towards peace. Not any more!

My father should be deeply saddened by what is happening these days to cricket. The IPL – Indian Professional League should be played under unprecedented security. And unlike the 80’s cricket players are prized catch today. Nothing much to say, but games and politics should be set apart.

Have you noticed clocks at TV commercials, print advertisements, I mean most of them. It shows Ten Ten. Often thought what the logic is behind it. The leading clock manufacturers imply that it is a standard some other confirmed sources justify by saying that that it (the positioning of the arms gives a smiley kind of look. There are rounds of theories that go around pertaining this standard practice such as timing of Lincoln’s assassination, the first bomb falling over Hiroshima, even Gandhiji’s watch recently auctioned bears that timing – 10:10. Some can argue what’s there in this time, it occur everyday over the years and it will, in years to come. Anyways, I never received a convincing answer which I have kept looking for many years.