Tendulkar is GREAT but.....

Every aging sports icon has to go through a cruel phase of introspection where he has to answer to himself & his millions of fans on his impending retirement. The icon has to decide to call it quits when the question is still "Why retire now?" and before the question turns into "Why not retire now?" One of the persons who did this to perfection is 'Pistol' Pete Sampras. When the sports fraternity had started writing him off, he showed the world what he is made up of by winning the US Open championship and his record 14th grand slam tournament. Then he coolly bid farewell to the game when at the top of his game. He did not pick up a racquet for close to 3 years and when he finally did pick up a racquet for a seniors tournament, no less a person than John McEnroe wants him to return to his famous hunting ground of Wimbledon.

A similar problem seems to be haunting Sachin Tendulkar these days. Anyone who watched him play Bangladesh even for 10 minutes could clearly tell that there is something terribly wrong with him and his cricket. It is not that I don't recognize the contribution Sachin has made to Indian cricket but to still continue playing when his mind is not there in the game is doing injustice to a prospective younger player aiming for his batting slot. More than injustice to a player, it is a great injustice to the public in a cricket loving nation like India. It is unfair on my part to suggest this but the facts seem to point to only this: Sachin is still playing only for the huge amount of endorsements that he has signed for. When you think that Sachin is worth a staggering $4.6 million annual endorsement money it is easily fathomable to understand the motive behind Sachin wanting to continue playing internationally. Will Sachin prove me wrong in England and make me eat my words? I would be more than happy to do that but the chances of that happening are very slim though right now.

Tim Duncan -- Team Man Extraordinaire

What does it take to be considered as one of the greatest NBA player of the present generation and still be away from the glaring spotlight and frenzy of the media? A humility & humbleness beyond anything that the NBA watching American crowd has ever known to exist. Tim Duncan personifies the word 'Team Player' and even raises the grid a few levels for this term in his own nonchalant way. When flashing dunks and looping throws are the norm of the day, here is a man who plays a selfless game with the disposition of a Buddhist monk. He might (and he is) be considered too boring a player that not many of the Spurs fan buy & wear his numbered jersey. And he doesn't seem to care about it a lot. He is a leader from whom the likes of Kobe, Shaq and others should take tutorials from on a regular basis. As the management gurus would tell, "Point out a mistake and he would look at himself in the mirror. Praise him and he would point out through the windows".

(Right hand corner caption captures the essence perfectly)

And why did I suddenly go raving about Duncan? I found two articles pertaining to Duncan here and here & couldn't help but thinking about his greatness. The chances of the Spurs becoming the champions this year are very high and even higher are the chances that Tim Duncan will be the finals MVP. Mark my words: if that happens, the chances of Duncan talking about how great his team is, his coach Popovich is are really high. And do I expect him to talk about his contributions for the victory? Not a chance. Duncan is beyond all that!!

The Starfish Story

Very frequently I get to hear from people about the futility of someone trying to change the way things are done at office or at home or in the world. I always get to hear these words from those people: "It doesn't make a difference". Whenever this statement comes up, a story that I have read and internalized springs to my mind.

One day a man was walking along the seashore. He noticed that during the night many seashells and starfish had washed upon the beach. Thoroughly enjoying the morning sun and cool sea air, the man walked for miles.

As he strolled along, he noticed a small figure dancing in the distance. It made him chuckle to think of someone celebrating life in such an uninhibited way. As he drew closer, however, it became apparent that the figure was not dancing. Instead, she seemed to be repeatedly performing some ritual.

He drew nearer still and noticed that the small figure was a child. She was methodically picking up starfish and tossing them into the surf. He paused for a moment, puzzled, then asked, "Why are you throwing these starfish?"

"It's high tide," she replied, "If I leave them on the beach, the sun will soon dry them and they will die. I am throwing them into the ocean so they can live." The man considered her actions, impressed with the child's thoughtfulness. Then he motioned up and down the miles of the beach. "There must be thousands of starfish along here," he said, "You cannot possibly make a difference."

The young girl stopped. Her face darkened. She chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip, "You're probably right," she said softly. She looked down at the sand. Then she leaned over, carefully picked up another starfish, pulled back and arched it gently into the sea.

With a tone of gentle defiance, she said, "But I made a difference for that one."

Paradigm Shift

I am presently reading the "The 7 habits of highly effective people" by Stephen Covey and the story reproduced below is one that has greatly impressed me. I don't think the concept of "Paradigm Shift" could have been explained any better than this.

Important note: This story has been taken verbatim from the book and is NOT my own writing.

I remember a mini-Paradigm Shift I experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly -- some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people's papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing.

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, "Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn't control them a little more?"

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, "Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either."

Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently; I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn't have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior; my heart was filled with the man's pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. "Your wife just died? Oh, I'm so sorry. Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?" Everything changed in an instant.

Periyar -- Movie Review

I was eagerly waiting to watch this movie ever since it released for two reasons. First is due to the fact that it is about Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, a known atheist and rational thinking proponent. I am very poor in history & wanted to find out what Periyar's philosophy is and why he is so highly rated & respected. Second is because it is directed by Gnana Rajasekaran, the director of the movie "Bharathi". Though Bharathi was not a great movie, it was a decent attempt in making a biopic of a very popular person in Tamilnadu.

The story of Periyar (1879-1973) starts with E.V.Ramasamy being shown as a person who hates the traditions and the associated superstitious beliefs that were prevalent during his time. He criticizes the orthodox practices of his mother and family. When his father openly condemns him in front of others for a 'perceived' disrespect to the Brahmin's community, he leaves Erode to make his own living. His growth from that stage as a rational thinker to a leader of the people is portrayed in a beautiful albeit slow manner.

Some of the scenes & dialogues are thought provoking and add the necessary spice to an otherwise slow narration of the events. Considering the fact that the director has to deal with narrating the life story of a person who lived for 94 years with a major portion of it spent under the public radar, it is indeed a commendable effort to sustain the interests of the viewer for a 3-hour span. Due to my lack of knowledge about the life of Periyar, I am unable to comment on whether the director covered all the significant events in Periyar's life. The only thing that I could vouch for is that the director did indeed keep me interested throughout and not even once did I feel bored with the proceedings. The music of Vidyasagar and the lyrics of Vairamuthu give able support to the director. Sathyaraj (as Periyar) comes up with a brilliant performance and portrayal of the aging Periyar is exemplary and surely deserves rich accolades (Check out the small peeve I had about Sathyaraj in the negatives)

The negatives of the movie are:

1. There is no mention of the year of the incidents. The director assumes that the viewer is familiar with the dates & years (Which I was not) of those events and hence the narration appears incomplete
2. Only the positive image of Periyar is projected. The balance that comes out of projecting the human frailty of Periyar is missing
3. Some of the events look contrived and seem to be inserted to please Periyar's followers
4. The camera work by Thankar Bachan is atrocious (Or was it the projector at Sree theater or my sullied glasses?). Many of the long shots appeared hazy and out of focus
5. Sathyaraj's acting in the initial stages of the movie(As the middle aged person). He seems to have acted in a lot of action movies these days and his body language reflects that
6. The makeup leaves a lot to be desired. The face of Sathyaraj projects a different age while his hands project a different age (Check it in the photo above). It is applicable for the rest of the cast as well
   

Last Cut: Despite the long list of grievances against the movie, Periyar is a movie that is worth watching for the honest attempt. Go with an open mind regarding the discussions about God and you will enjoy this movie.

Rating: 7/10

P.S: For an entirely different view about this movie, check out my friend's review here. Read the interview of Gnana Rajasekaran here.

Spiderman 3 -- Movie Review

"We have a choice" -- this is one of the dialogues that Spiderman tells in the third edition of the franchise movie "Spiderman". Very true indeed. I had a choice of heeding to the review posted by my friends here or to this one here. I made the 'wrong' choice of still going ahead to watch this movie.

Assume that you are the director of a franchise movie like the Spiderman. What would you do to make the third edition of the movie become a greater grosser than the previous two movies? Elementary, Dr.Watson.

1. Add more villains. More villains equals more stupid fight sequences involving the 'Super Hero' Spiderman
2. Throw in a bit of revenge to add more dramatic action scenes
3. Add some silly tiffs between Spiderman & his love interest so that the 'Super Hero' could show his human side
4. Add oodles of sentiment to make the public sniff and sob during the movie

The director does all this and more. What we get is a English movie that looks more like a Hindi movie (Tamil movies have more 'Logic' these days in their stories) devoid of any logic. The director gets caught in his own web (Pun intended) and struggles to get out of it. The long winded battle between Spidey & the set of villains and himself goes on & on & on............

It is not that the movie doesn't have any worthy scenes or sequences or dialogues. It is just that those are few & far in between that the disappointment of watching this movie cannot be expressed but can only be wished upon others. The hilarious scenes are played out superbly by Tobey McGuire with so much ease that you are left dazed by his performance. Sadly, the above mentioned scenes come when Spidey feels lost in love and you are supposed to empathize with the Hero!!!

Last Cut: Get out of harms way by avoiding this movie at all cost. After all, 'we have a choice'........ Exercise it intelligently

Rating: 4/10

P.S: Spiderman 3 has broken all the box-office records in the USA & internationally. Read about it here.

Ooops.......... Traffic Jam

No graphics here in the adjacent photo. It is just that a Boeing 737 flight that was being taken for aviation academy got stranded midway in the busy Chembur area of Mumbai. It seems it has been lying there for the last 5 days. Now the process of dismantling it & selling the parts has started. It would indeed be a sight to watch a 'Stranded' aircraft in the busy roads of Mumbai. If only I were in Mumbai, I would have surely paid it a visit!!!

You can read more about this news here. I was also able to get a much bigger photo of the aircraft. Check it out as well.

Book not written!!!

How would you feel if someone gives an interview about a book they have written and finally ends up saying that they have not read the book? This is exactly what Steve Harmison does in this interview. It is indeed a well known fact that the tour diaries and other books from popular sports personalities are "Ghost Written" by someone else. Does it mean that the person whose name has been credited with writing it not even read it once before approving for publishing?

The transcript of the interview where Harmison coolly says about not having read the book:
I ask how he came to write the book. "It came about when Marcus went home. He was writing a diary with Justin Langer and, when he went home, they asked me if I'd do it. I thought, 'Yeah, why not? I've not been involved in a book before.'" Did he have to be very disciplined to maintain the diary? "Not really. I've not read the book but what I'm hearing from the feedback of people who've glanced through it is that it's a pretty honest opinion of what happened." (Taken from cricinfo)

It amounts to cheating the public & their fans who dish out the money to buy the book only to find at a later point of time that the 'Popular' star has no clue whatsoever on what has been written in the book. A sad state of affairs indeed in the world of sports.