Chota Bheem and the Curse of Damiyaan - Movie Review

And finally Anjali and I went to see one of her favourite cartoon characters 'Chota Bheem' in the animated movie 'Chota Bheema nd the curse of Damiyaan'. We headed off to Inox for the 11 a.m. show and armed ourselves with Coke and popcorn and seated ourselves. In a couple of minutes I realised that I had wasted an entire 150 bucks on Anjali's ticket  as she preferred to sit in my lap to watch the movie instead of sitting on her seat which she...

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The Paradoxes of Life - Success and Failure

Success is achieved when failure stops bothering you. It is that moment when you think that failure can be handled anyway and start looking beyond it.Pic by SatishWhen there is enough failure and you see it as a teacher, as a master, success arrives.We can fight failure and get frustrated. Or see failure as part of the route to success and welcome it and enjoy the ride.Success is failure - looked at different...

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Thought for the Day - Your Life as an Advertisement

This should interest the wannabe film makers and ad merchants. It will challenge the creative juice of anyone in fact, but I do think it is a good way to visualise the good life for yourself.Pic by SatishMake a trailer or an advertisement (a mental one of course) of the ideal life as you see it for yourself. Say, a 10 second video. Start with the introduction or rather the titles - Presenting "The One Who Never Quit" (or some title that epitomises...

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HCA Announces Pension for First Class Cricketers

The Hyderabad Cricket Association has finally announced a pension plan for first class cricketers who have played less than twenty five matches for Hyderabad last week. The players who have played more than twenty five games have been enjoying pensions announced by the BCCI for a few years now while those who played less than the magic number of 25 were left at the mercy of their respective associations. Some associations dealt with this issue quickly and announced a decent pension while some dilly dallied. HCA announced it last week.Two segments...

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Thought for the Day - You the Filter

I love this imagery. That I am the filter, a very subtle one. And that the input into the filter is life flowing through me. If I block the flow with negative emotions and thoughts, with garbage that my filter has collected over the years, then life will be a struggle. It will have a tough time expressing itself. I will struggle as I try to shape life as it flows through me, as I try to stop it, restrain it. There is immense pressure on me.On the...

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The Hyderabad Diaries May 28, 2012

It is hot in Hyderabad. If anyone has an option to stay elsewhere, go there.The petrol prices are among the highest in the country. Second only to Bengaluru if I am not mistaken. There is a bandh today because Jagan Mohan Reddy has been arrested. High drama for the next few days. But despite all this, the news is that Jagan will be our next CM. Such a young CM could well be the PM in a few years! All through his questioning the police cordoned off the entire Raj Bhavan road from Somajiguda to Khairtabad. Can you believe it? But then the Congress...

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Bisla Does the Star Turn - KKR Wins

There's something about the unpredictable guys. All along, before KKR started its mammoth chase, Sunil Gavaskar kept saying that Manvinder Bisla could be a handful and that he has the strokes that can take the game away. And so the soft spoken and clear headed Bisla proved to be, striking brilliant cricketing shots, save for the one odd reverse sweep, knocking Ashwin out of the firing line, and having CSK gasping for breath every over. Kallis realised that all he needs to do is hang around and just kept giving the strike back to Bisla who was phenomenal....

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The Paradoxes of Life - Less IS More Enjoyment

Less is more enjoyment. Less is more intensity. Less is more focus. Less is greater concentration.As opposed to the capitalistic credo of more and more, and the dil maange more lines that make people swell up literally, it is the 'less' that provides more intensity, more enjoyment, more happiness.  There was a time when I used to buy cassettes and listen to music. Listening to a particular singer or group was a ritual and needed effort. We'd listen to each and every song in the album, pick the best and listen to them again. The few songs we...

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The Traffic Cops of Hyderabad and I

I was at the Secunderabad Club junction turning towards the Jubilee Bus Stand. The light was red. I looked for a sign that said 'No Right Turn'. None spotted. I could see a 'No Right Turn' facing the traffic to the right and assumed that since there was none facing me, there was no such rule (the traffic cops won't have different rules for two directions would they?). The light turned green. I saw that only the signal to go straight into the Club came on. The signal to turn right was silent. I figured that since there was no sign and perhaps the...

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IPL 5 - CSK is my bet

At the outset, I must say I'd bet on CSK. They are a different breed in the big matches, have won before and will be hungry to seal it. For them its as if they are on the home stretch and they will stride in confidently. They are not complacent as they have had a rough season and if anything are on top of their game now. KKR will be on the back foot a bit, being in the finals for the first time, wanting to prove a point and under a bit of pressure already.The sides are evenly matched though KKR will be without Balaji who is a huge asset in the...

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The New Divide - Petrol guys vs Diesel guys

After being divided by states, regions, languages, communities, wealth, haves and have nots (and what not) we now have a new divide sponsored by the government itself!. The petrol guys versus the diesel guys. I have been already laughed at by the diesel guys for owning a petrol car which, they sniggered, has already lost out 20% of its resale value. 'You poor petrol guys,' they laughed and sniggered. I did not know what to say except that I sharply said I had no intention of selling my car at a 20% discount now.The diesel guys looked smug, happy...

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IPL Playoffs - Delhi Daredevils beats Itself

In the end it was Delhi daredevils that beat itself as it fought with all the demons in its head. If one felt that this game was about strategy and tactics and doing everything right, Delhi went the other way. They did not even do its normal things right. Facing a resurgent CSK was one but beating the demons in their head was another and sadly, the best team in the IPL, went down without a whimper, without a fight, showed no heart and simply fell apart. CSK walked all over it.It must have started with the panic at Irfan Pathan's injury or so they...

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CSK vs Delhi Daredevils - CSK is my bet

I have said it before and I say it again. There's some magic potion that MSD infects his team with and its called belief. Somehow they know when the time comes, they will pull it off. For just a while MSD looked jaded but he has got his familiar belief about him again and at just the right time. Will Delhi be able to pull it off against CSK? Tough I'd say.Delhi will not go down without a fight. Sehwag will to his best to bat well and long and so will the rest of his awesome batting line up. But they will be up against a strategically superior and...

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Thought for the Day - Do Everything Differently

What if we decided to do everything differently and not in the way we normally do. React differently I mean and do stuff. Like saying Yes to things we normally say No to and saying NO to things we normally say YES to. Small things of course and not stuff that kills you. Just enough to mess up the pattern in the mind.Now what would you call that? I would call it loads of fun. Fun then, is probably not doing everything the same way and messing up the pattern once in a while - or rather - all the time.It could also mess up several mental patterns...

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Old and Lost Pubs of Hyderabad

In the 1990s there was a sudden profusion of pubs in Hyderabad. I don't know why pubs made a sudden entry in Hyderabad then. Hyderabad was till then known for shady bars and restaurants of all sorts where guys generally went and guzzled till they passed out. The wine shops were all over the place and people normally were very serious about their drinking and did not want to mix their drinking with music and other distractions. The bars were made for conversation, for opening of hearts and for liquor to be consumed. No music, but the palli, chana...

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The Paradoxes of Our Lives - When we give up, we get

When we give up, we get.We can try hard and want and kick and shout. But it is only when we give it up that we get it. We can take it, possess it by force but it will not satisfy us until we start giving it up. Until we keep a distance from it. Until we find the balance between wanting it and respecting it.To get it, do all that you have to. But give it up in the mi...

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Thought for the Day - 100% is actually taking a step back

100% is not giving 'more' really. It is more like stepping back a bit - and being more deliberate and conscious and intense. When we step back and become more aware we give 100%.Normally when we think 100% we think we need frenzied and uncontrolled action or thought. We try to do too much and nothing works. It all seems pointless and self-defeating. Don't do too much. Step back. And choose to be deliberate and intense in the now.When our act and thought are deliberate and controlled and purposeful, we are there. 100% is all about deliberate action,...

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CSK Wins - Dhoni Delivers As Usual

His middle name must be belief. Dhoni simply strode out to the wicket showing no signs of any concern over the slow run rate and loss of early wickets and went about playing as he he knew exactly what to do. In 20 balls he manufactured an unbeaten 51 and infected his partner Bravo enough to get him to score an unbeaten 33 with some unbelievable last over strokes. 187 was always going to be tough for the Mumbai Indians and in the end it was pretty easy for the CSK team. His handling of his bowling resources was exceptional again as he used Jakati...

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IPL Playoff 2 - Mumbai Indians versus Chennai Super Kings

I'll go with the Chennai Super Kings because they have this amazing ability to sneak through. As long as they have Dhoni who protects their interests like some warrior god, CSK will always find unlikely wins, unlikely heroes and will make the opposition commit some amazingly stupid mistakes by merely being stoic and holding their belief. As a team they know what it is to win, they know how to hold their belief and they know that the 'power is with them' which in itself is huge. From Hussey to Vijay, Morkel to Dhoni, Raina to Bravo, this side has...

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Donna Summers and Robin Gibb R.I.P.

Two artistes who gave me lots of peace and excitement in my adolescent years through their music were Donna Summers and Robin Gibbs. Donna Summers was irrepressible with her songs. Her 'Love to love you baby' was almost banned for its explicit sounds of orgasmic love making and was an instant hit naturally with all the adolescent kids. It was a good number and one of those tunes you'd never forget. But what I remember Donna Summers most for was for her album 'Bad Girls'. I had borrowed this album, a cassette, from my friend Mani and settled down...

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Deepika Padukone and the boys

It was amazing to watch the effect a beautiful woman can have on men. Gaurav Kapoor, the anchor flirted with her like an adolescent teenager, Jadeja was tongue tied and once, even let his eyes wander fleetingly along Deepika's long, long legs (which she chose to display by wearing some really small shorts) and even the veteran Harsha Bhogle was lost for words and quick comebacks and suffered a loss of composure. Total discomfort among the men as the lady stretched her long legs and sat most comfortably in the cricket studio as if she was shooting...

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IPL Playoffs - KKR beats Delhi Daredevils

The game swung here and there. KKR started brightly and then slowed down and it looked like they did not have enough and then they got plenty in the last couple of overs and ended up with 162. Virender Sehwag always looks like a captain with no plan and he goes as instinctively at his captaincy as he does with his batting. He makes some awful mistakes like giving Varun Aaron the last over and generally taking the foot off the accelerator in the last overs. Yusuf Pathan and Laxmi Ratan came good and before they realised what they were up to KKR...

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Delhi Daredevils vs Kolkata Knight Riders - 1st Playoff

The first playoff should be underway and its time to pick the likely winner of the game. I'll go with Delhi Daredevils at 60: 40 in this match despite the fact that this side may be a bit under pressure if they bat second. Right now Delhi looks good all round with their bowling and batting in place and have enough firepower to put all other teams under pressure.KKR will look for Gambhir, Kallis and mostly the Yusuf Pathan and McCullum's to come good with their cameos. Everyone needs to pitch in here and if they do not show enough desperation, KKR...

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The Great Dictator - Movie Review

Watched 'The Great Dictator' on a whim the other day. I was not sure if I'd watched the video which had been lying with me for a long time and only after I was fifteen minutes into the movie did I remember that I had watched it before. But then, as with any great movie, I was so drawn into the movie that I was glued to the screen for the rest of the movie until the credits went up in the end. Now, more than ever I wonder at the genius of Charlie...

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The Power of Your Subconscious Mind - Dr. Joseph Murphy

First published in 1963 'The Power of Your Subconscious Mind' (Bantam, Rs. 237.50) has sold over a million copies and certainly is one of the all time great self-help books. Written in a fashion that belongs to an entirely different era, with frequent quotes from the bible, the author however conveys emphatically even to readers of this century, the impact that our subconscious mind has over our quality of life. How our omniscient, healing and constantly...

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Sangakarra gets it right finally - DC knocks out RCB!

The one thing that stood out for me in today's IPL game - where a resurgent Deccan Chargers beat a shaky and nervous Royal Challengers Bangalore was that Sangakarra got it right finally. He used his strengths up front, trusted the youngsters to deliver and created pressure at the right moments. Using Steyn upfront against Gayle and Dilshan (who was looking to hold the innings together) was the key and Steyn did the trick by getting rid of both. Amit Mishra created enough pressure on an already nervous RCB batting order that is so dependent on Gayle...

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Thought for the Day - What Does the End Mean To You?

It is something we do often. We label an end and forget about it. What do you want? Money. Success. Happiness. Peace. Wealth. Harmony. Having used the word we settle back pleased that we have fixed our noble targets somewhere. This is what I want!But the key really is to find out what those words mean to us. What does happiness mean or what does money mean or what does success mean to you?Take money for instance. To some it could be a billion, to others a million, to some others thousands. But at what stage, at what number, does "money' really...

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The IPL Franchise Owners - Entertainment Value

It's fun to see the IPL franchise owners. They are an odd lot, accompanied by an odder lot of people around them. Some behave like hysterical fans, some behave like they are the ones who are actually playing, some are absent totally. But when I noticed the problems the KKR franchise owner has been having with the MCA officials and the way the RCB owner courted controversy over his player's molestation charges, I decided that its time to take a look at this lot - whose job is rather thankless, much like the umpires or the cheerleaders. I decided...

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Aadhaar Cards Arriveth - A Traumatic Experience

The Aadhaar cards arrived in important looking envelopes last week. I was mighty pleased to receive my Aadhaar card because I had made much sacrifice to get it. But wait a minute - there are only two envelopes when we are three. The grumpy postman revealed the secret - he said he was making multiple trips to each household due to this rather haphazard manner of sending the cards by the Aadhaar people. Perhaps they have some complex method of segregating family members which we do not know yet. Anyway I was beaming all over with my envelope until...

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Most Dangerous IPL Batsmen to Bowl to

If I were a bowler I'd be really worried about bowling length balls or over pitched balls to these batsmen. Here the danger is all about physical danger - the ball can knock your head off in your follow through, fracture your leg or hand and cause serious damage to softer parts. Bowlers should seriously think of having protection in certain areas when bowling to these batsmen.1) M.S. Dhoni: The batspeed and the power of his forearms makes the ball coming straight off the Dhoni blade the most dangerous. More so because he hits dead straight at your...

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Batsmen I Like Watching in IPL 5

My list of the top 10 batsmen I like to watch in the IPL5. 1) Ajinkya Rahane: The Rajasthan Royals batsman plays all the cricketing shots with great correctness and pedigree. He  never looks like he struggling for timing nor does he appear too technical to be stylish. He has an easy elegance to his batting, times the ball well, hits big shots with ease and has the temperament to play long innings. He can rotate the strike, innovate (that six over point against Bravo was awesome) and score the big shots and is difficult to dislodge. Without...

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Thought for the Day - It's important to commit fully to one thing to find your purpose

To find our life purpose (or that one thing we're here for) it is important to commit to one thing fully. I find that we do not commit to any one aspect of our life because there are many conflicting areas - things we love against things we must do for a livelihood for example. If you wish to find that purpose, it may make sense to commit to one thing.  I personally never committed myself fully to my job nor my cricket. The only thing I have...

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Indirom - Great Opportunity for Aspiring Indian Writers

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