Life Etc Etc

Two teams punch their way into the Most Painful Performances in Cricket Hall of Fame  with their sheer misjudgment and lack of direction. Our dual inductees into the Hall of Fame share many similarities and their rivalry goes a long way back. These teams are guilty of burdening us (the fans) with two embarrassing sporting fails on the World Cup Stage. Without any further ado lets talk about the back story which intertwines these Hall of Fame inductions. The year was 1996, school was just about to finish when news arrived that Sri Lanka were 1/2 (read that as two wickets for one run) in the all important World Cup Semi-Final against India. That news was like nectar to my ears, I immediately rushed home, only to find that  Aravinda de Silva  had steadied the ship with a magical innings . Aravinda's fearless stroke play along with Roshan Mahanama's  resilience set India a testing but perfectly attainable target of 252 runs. Flashback India lost Sidhu's wicket quit...

The contest season is well and truly underway here in Toastmasters and this year we once again have a talented field of speakers vying for the foremost honor in public speaking. As an active contestant over the last few years, I have not only seen many success stories but have also seen quite a few trip ups which could have been avoided if only people knew what to watch out for. So here are a list of myths compiled using all my toastmasters’ experience which should probably help a contestant avoid a potential pothole. Have the audience in the palm of your hand <Courtesy:  Alexandre Pellaes > Myth 1– Current Trending Topics are a sure shot way to success : Let me admit picking up a hot issue definitely grabs eyeballs for starters but it’s the conviction with which you convey the argument that ultimately matters. One line of approach which attracts audience to such speeches is a personalized example. Let the audience know your perspective and then support your reasoning ...

                                                                                                                                 Melvin Bibo V/S Sushil Kumar - A match made in Heaven  A picture speaks a thousands words but when pictures transcend into motion via live broadcast to tell a story of guts, gumption and glory an epic tale which should be passed down the ages is born. Life is reinvigorated and recharged through these tales. Each of these tales tell you not to give up in the face of insurmountable odds and to forge ahead in life with grit and conviction.  I came across one such tale when I read Ernest Hemingway's immortal classic " The Old Man a...

125 years have rolled by since the comic genius, the showman and the master (the epithets will never end) Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin has graced earth and its also the centenary of his " Tramp " character (who first tiptoed into our hearts in the film " Kid Auto Races at Venice "). The timing couldn't have been better for me to pay my tributes to an all time Chaplin classic, The Circus . Charlie Chaplin and Laurel & Hardy films were a big part of my childhood and one of the first films I ever remember watching in a theater was another Chaplin classic " The Kid ". But despite watching several of his short films and masterpieces such as Modern Times and The Great Dictator I never knew that Chaplin made a movie called "The Circus" until a few weeks ago(Thank you Romedy for airing the picture and enlightening me). This won't be a typical review. I won't go too much into the plot but I will say this "The Circus"...

Somewhere at the back of my mind I had to publish a follow-up to my previous commentary because in all these years of watching cricket there were lot more than just three performances which caused me pain. You might have already noticed that I am using the word ‘performances’ instead of ‘knocks’. This is because even though Cricket is a batsman’s game all the three departments of bowling, batting and fielding need to work in order to make a team go over the line. So here are a few embarrassing moments in the sport of cricket which have well and truly upped my pain levels. Shastri deadbats:   Ravi Shastri paved the way for many Indian triumphs over the course of his career but the 1992 world cup (which was also his last) came at a time when he was at the nadir of his powers. Shastri started off the world cup with a sluggish 57 (112) against England which India went on to lose by nine runs .   Shastri decelerated further in the next match against Australia where he blocked...

Its been just a shade over twenty four hours since the World T20 final and the story on everyone's lips continues to be how Yuvraj's knock of 11 from 21 balls deprived India of a second world championship in the shortest format. I watched the Indian innings in its entirety and I must confess that even though  Yuvraj's knock was agonizing, what was even more painful to watch was the disappointment on the faces of the spectators (who had travelled far and wide to support the Indian team) and the disbelief on the faces of the players (in the Indian Team dugout) regarding what was transpiring on the field. Yuvraj Singh unable to middle the ball Yuvraj Singh Strike Rate 2014 T20 World Cup <Courtesy:  Chandi Sports > Now make no mistake I have tremendous respect for Yuvraj's determination and have been an ardent admirer of his talents right from his fiery debut in Nairobi. His unbelievable six-hitting in Durban was magical and his champion like perf...

Its not everyday that someone can advertise a destination as the place where "Dreams come true" and live up to it every step. I have been fortunate enough to visit both Disney World at Orlando as well as Disneyland (Euro Disney) at Paris and must say my experiences in the magical land of Disney have been nothing but amazing. The support staff there are truly helpful and courteous and the rides are out of this world. But what takes the cake is a magical piece of paper called the Fastpass . The Fastpass allows the visitors to come back to the ride at a later time and wait in a shorter queue rather than waiting in the regular queue where one could end up spending twice or thrice much as time as the Fastpass queue. Fastpass thus allows you to plan and take as many rides as possible without getting stalled at any one ride. But how does Disney know how long would it take on a particular queue (Fastpass/Regular) for any particular ride. How does Disney measure the wait times ...