When Shane Warne on his first Ashes tour to England in 1993, asked Big Merv on what he should expect in England, this was his reply - “A beer company sponsors us, the test matches have rest days, the poms are crap and we all get around in a bus and have fun”

Will UIsrael attack Iran? More importantly does Israel have the capability to hit the Iranian sites of  Natanz, Fordo, Arak and Isfahan? As per military assessment, Israel's air force (composed mainly of F15s and F16s)  would have to fly over 1600 km and back, over hostile air space,  refuel in mid flight, fight off anti-air defenses and  which are built in mountains and bomb installations which are built under 30 feet of reinforced concrete. 
Herculean task no doubt, but the Israelis have done it before - in 1981 to Osirak, (Operation Opera) and in 2007, Syria (Operation Orchard).
So it all boils down to whether the US gives the go-ahead to Israel or not.

Couple of good sports sites - goforsports .
India's best known squash coach blogs here

2012 has started off on a bright not for Indian squash. The Indian team of Deepika Pallikal (world no 15), Ramit  Tandon (world no 183) and Ravi Dixit (world number 384) finished 2nd in the World Under 21Championship in Chennai.World Under 21 Squash Championship at Chennai. Boosted by enthusiastic home support and inspired play by Deepika and Ramit, India beat Germany and squash powerhouses - Australia and France on the way to the final. In the end, though Egypt with players ranked Number 20,25 and 42 in the world were too good.

The came the good news that Deepika has achieved the topmost ranking for an Indian Women in International Squash of World no 15. After her scintillating performance at the Tournament of Champions where she finished second, squash lovers have high expectation from this 20 year old.

On the men's side - six-time national champ - Saurav Ghoshal won his fifth and biggest PSA title so far in the international circuit.. He has already achieved the highest rank ever for an Indian player and hopefully this year he cracks the top 10.

Valentine Day

It's that time of the year, when I go online and order flowers to be delivered on February 14th - to the home of my favorite uncle and aunt. This year is extra special as they celebrate their 50th marriage anniversary. 50 years of love and togetherness, joy and sorrow, ups and downs, each year a signpost on a life well lived.

It was a family ritual to wish relatives on special occasions - birthdays, anniversaries. And for me 14th of Feb was forever associated with my uncle and aunt's anniversary. It was only when I was studying Engineering in Pune, that I slowly became aware of another significance to this date.

As the D-day, err V-day approached, boyz would be strutting their pectorals, the girls would dissolve into incessant bouts of giggling, and there would be multitude of single stem red roses in the campus..And a few random bouquets for the rich ones.

So I started getting inquisitive about this V-Day, and being a quizzer, I had to get to the source, to prepare for the inevitable V-day questions. I dug into history books (no Wiki those days, alas) to find out that its origins are vague - it is at various times credited to either a Roman Bishop who conducted marriages in secret or an actor dude called Rudolf Valentino who in his salad days  was Salman Khan in MPK and Aamir in QSQT combined. Seriously, do you believe in this hogwash?  Or like me, like any other rational person that is,  believe that it is not credited to any Rudolf-Shudolf, it was simply a super-brainwave in the mind of a marketing professional somewhere who dreamed up this gig and earned himself a lifetime bonus, and ever-lasting gratitude of makers of greeting cards, roses, chocolates, mushy movies, beauty parlors and radio stations. Also, the right wing goons, who wait year long for this day when they can get to bully weak kneed boys, conduct impromptu shaadi's, get their share of 15 minutes on the telly and save Bhartiya Sanskriti, of course.

Though one wonders why in India we follow these obscure icons and celebrate V-Day, why cannot we have a K-day. After our very own Romantic devta - Kamdeva.  At least it will be more original, and the goon squad’s logic of protecting Indian sanskriti would be deflated. One can of course, rationalize the popularity of V-day in India, after all 1/3rd of India's population is in the age group of 15-24, the segment most prone to churning of romantic hormones. And in a society where a boy and girl find it difficult to find a place to meet, this day provides a kind of laissez faire, a license-to-express love. Though like in most things, we Indians tend to go overboard. V-day billboards, theme parties, V-day dressing in colleges, all day romantic mush playing on radio and TV. This also turns all the lumpen elements of society into street side Romeos, for whom any damsel in eyesight becomes fair game. If we have V-day salsa classes, the day is not far when we would have special V-day kickboxing classes to train women to fight back.

Anyway, V-day has now assumed tsunamic proportions in our lives, and indeed it's difficult to rationalize with a person about such an irrational feeling like love. So instead of fighting the wave, I will gracefully sidestep and allow it to pass like any other normal day, go to work, play tennis, read a book. And yes, celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of lovely couple.

Chasing a mountain like 324 to win, England are half way there with more than half the side back in the dugout. Playing at home is different compared to playing in sub-continent like conditions. Take e.g of Ian Bell. He was one of the standout batsmen against England. His scores in the Test read like 45,0,31,159,34,235. Against Pakistan it reads - 0,4,29,3,5,10. Trouble for England was that their other two middle order stalwarts- Peitersen and Morgan also flopped.
But rather than ineptitude against spin, credit should be given to the relentless pressure created by an unheralded Pakistani team. If a team can't have access to the rich talents of Muhammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Afridi and still bowl out England time and again, speaks volumes about the team's hunger to win and their latent talent.

Averaged out.

While following the gritty day four of the England- Pakistan test at Dubai, came across this statistical delight as of lunch on the fourth day

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Finished reading Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. A novella inspired by the author's own struggles during the Great Depression, the story is about two men looking for work in California. George is ambitious, quick witted and friend-cum-mentor to Lennie, who is immensely strong but mentally challenged. After being forced to flee their previous workplace due to a misdemeanor by Lennie, they start work at a ranch near the town of Soledad, California. Here they meet a gamut of characters in form of people living and working in the ranch. The duo make friends, get into fights and all the while keeping their dream, of getting their own land, alive. The story ends in tragedy when Lennie unintentionally commits another crime.

In this book, Steinbeck gives a insight into the hard life of men working in the ranches during depression era California. Themes of racism, loneliness, desperation, euthanasia are touched upon.

The title of the book is taken from Robert Burns poem - "To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough"

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!

The thing which hits you first when you land in Seoul's Incheon airport is the size..the sheer vastness of it. I have seen other gargantuan's like Amsterdam's Schipol airport, Singapore's Changi airport, and Dubai's International Airport, but somehow Incheon seems to beat them.

Sign of a civilization lies in it's toilets - as somebody (dunno who..has just stuck to my grey cells)..and if that is taken as the criteria, South Korea is highly civilized. Spotlessly clean, big and roomy...takes one breath away.

Takes us one hour to clear immigration, lots of flights land alongwith us, and it seems there are ten thousand people in front of us. The helpers at the counter, quickly open new counters, and do on-the-spot load balancing of the queues. Very enterprising. Chalk another one up for Incheon.!

After coming out of immigration, pick up baggage and head to the information counter to inquire about the pre-paid taxis. The assistant suggests taking the Airport Bus Limousine service, as it is cheaper, and will also drop me very near to my hotel. Taxi fare will be 140,000 won, while the bus fare is 14000 won - 1/10th the price. I buy the ticket, and hop on to the bus..thinking that I sacrificed luxury to save money. But no fear, the bus lives up to the Limousine tag..comfortable, enough room to stretch my legs, has seat belts, coffee holders, and a TV up front.

Am dog tired after the 8 hour flight, and nod off after tightening the seat belts. Wake up when the driver announces, the destination.. mine is the last stop - CALT tower. Get down and head to the information counter to ask for direction to hotel. Oakwood is two buildings away, a five minute walk.
Check in!

Seoul..veni vidi..and will soon vici

:-)

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