The Nomad gets an award (his first) from the Bohemian Rover - and that too for having 'The Power of Schmooze' !!
You may wonder, what is so surprising about it? But then, lets introduce to you -
The (real) Nomad
Lone warrior of the desert. He has waged a one-man war against the world with no success whatsoever. He also harbours an unshakable belief that he is a best-selling author waiting to be discovered. His quest for publication began with his autobiography "Sand in my Y-fronts". It was rejected. As were "Sand in my Y-fronts II" and Sand in my Y-fronts - The Musical". Here is a sampler for you
So I guess now you know for a writer like me, this award is special
The recent India Australia one day series has been more in the news for the 'wrong' reasons that the right ones. But first the cricket and my disclaimer - Australia was and still is the better cricket team. Nobody in their right mind would contest that. But what that title has brought with it remains to be examined.
Sreesanth's tomfoolery and Mumbai / Baroda crowd antics have got Australia's goat and they are screaming "racism, racism" louder than Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu !! This has even instigated my fellow bloggers in Australia into planning a reception for the Indians when they turn up down under in December !! How cute !!
I would say it is a clear case of the kettle calling the pot black, or rather 'Ulta Chor Kotwaal Ko Daante'. Have these guys forgotten Darren Lehmann who called Sri Lankans as Black C***s on the field ?? Have these guys forgotten how often their sledging gets personal ?? Remember Glenn McGrath taunting Ramnaresh Sarwan and Saurav Ganguly? Remember Michael Slater taking it out on Dravid?
C'mon Aussie - just because someone turned the heat back on you - and gave you a piece of your own medicine, you've turned overnight into Sisters from the Missionaries of Charity !!
Symonds, the man at the centre of this all had this to say at the start of the series... "Something has been sparked inside of me, watching them carry on over the last few days,. We have had a very successful side and I think watching how we celebrate and how they celebrate, I think we have been pretty humble in the way we have gone about it."
"And personally, I think they have got far too carried away with their celebrations. It has definitely sparked passion inside of us. It has certainly spiced it up as well."
Humble?? My fuckin ass !!! I'd like to shove some memory pills down his throat to remind them of what they did to Sharad Pawar after winning the Champions Trophy. Or of their own celebrations when they returned to Sydney after winning the World Cup.
I used to think of you as a champion side, a side full of sportsmen - not anymore, you're just another bunch of bigoted, racist, full of yourselves white boys masquerading as ambassadors for the sport. Sorry, we do not want ambassadors like you. We'd rather have more Sachin Tendulkars and Rahul Dravids - not because they are one of the best cricketers, but simply because they are one of the nicest human beings you'll meet on a cricket field. Sport needs them - not you
There aren't many more songs better than this one - an absolute classic. So true of our leaders, our politicians - the men in charge of our countries !!
Roger Waters at his best
Sing along
You have a natural tendency To squeeze off a shot You're good fun at parties You wear the right masks You're old but you still Like a laugh in the locker room You can't abide change You're at home on the range You opened your suitcase Behind the old workings To show off the magnum You deafened the canyon A comfort a friend Only upstaged in the end By the Uzi machine gun Does the recoil remind you Remind you of sex Old man what the hell you gonna kill next Old timer who you gonna kill next I looked over Jordan and what did I see Saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris I swam in your pools And lay under your palm trees I looked in the eyes of the Indian Who lay on the Federal Building steps And through the range finder over the hill I saw the front line boys popping their pills Sick of the mess they find On their desert stage And the bravery of being out of range Yeah the question is vexed Old man what the hell you gonna kill next Old timer who you gonna kill next Hey bartender over here Two more shots And two more beers Sir turn up the TV sound The war has started on the ground Just love those laser guided bombs They're really great For righting wrongs You hit the target And win the game From bars 3,000 miles away 3,000 miles away We play the game With the bravery of being out of range We zap and maim With the bravery of being out of range We strafe the train With the bravery of being out of range We gain terrain With the bravery of being out of range With the bravery of being out of range We play the game With the bravery of being out of range
1. Air Crash Investigation 2. Top Gear 3. Wild 4. Takeshi's Castle
Four movies I can watch over and over
1. Sholay 2. LOTR - the series 3. Star Wars (the original trilogy) 4. Andaz Apna Apna
Four places I have lived
1. Delhi 2. Mumbai 3. Bangalore 4. Hyderabad
Four places I have been on holiday (in the last couple of years)
1. Dharakhoh 2. Ferozpur 3. Bareilly 4. Bayana
Four of my favourite dishes
1. Rajma Chawal 2. Butter Chicken 3. Mommy's hot parathas with last night's dal from the fridge 4. Chicken Biryani from Hyderabad House
Four websites I visit daily
1. Google 2. Wikipedia 3. irfca.org 4. airliners.net
Four places I would rather be right now
1. Dangle my feet off that ledge near Chandrakhani pass 2. Rafting down the Alaknanda from Rudraprayag 3. On a train anywhere in the country 4. At a dhaba in Punjab, having a drink and watching a movie with the truck drivers on the in house TV
The Victoria Terminus is perhaps the most famous example of Indo-Gothic architecture from the Victorian era. Its status as a world heritage site and the fact that it is among one of the most busiest stations in the world - take the spotlight away from an equally imposing building across the street.
The headquarters of the BMC or the Bombay Municipal Corporation is another stunning piece of architecture. For most though, it is also home to one of the most inept organizations in the country. I wish they realize how difficult it is a manage an urban sprawl the size of Bombay. Here's one to you BMC
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Image Details
Camera: Canon Powershot S2 IS Aperture: f/6.3 Shutter Speed: 6 sec Focal Length: 36mm ISO Speed: ISO 100
After a long train spotting session I was headed towards my car parked near Shankar Market in Connaught Place. As I walked past the now familiar ruins of the Campa Cola factory, I couldn't help but be reminisce the good old school days when we drank that stuff by the liters !
Back in the eighties Campa Cola and its sister brands ruled the roost in India, with competition only from the Parle stable comprising Thums Up, Limca, Gold Spot and others. While I wouldn't go into which was more popular, here in Delhi - Campa ruled supreme, perhaps due to its Punjabi connections.
In our school, Campa brands had a monopoly in the school canteen and Campa Cola accounted for more than 95% of the sale. In school - Campa (hereafter referring to the Cola version only, except when indicated) was part of every aspect of our lives. Back then, one bottle of 200ml was 4 or 5 rupees, which meant we could have one virtually everyday! To spend a day without it was unheard of. We looked forward to functions in school - especially house functions when we would stay back late in school and be served loads of patties or chola bhaturas from Nathu's downed with liters of what else but Campa.
Sports days meant Campa, free periods meant Campa - but birthdays were the most special. Any friend's birthday meant a crate full of Campa for all and sundry. But this lot was hardly ever consumed - instead it was used to drench the birthday boy and girl to the point that his clothes would stink of the stuff for weeks. That done, the were carried off to the school pool and dunked in a ceremony worthy of the Republic Day parade!
Campa was what we grew up on, but the fizz for the company didn't last forever. The liberalization of the 90s meant that Coke and Pepsi returned to India with a vengeance. While Parle rolled over and played dead within months of their arrival - Campa soldiered on. While the generations that grew it, stood by for a few years; Gen -X all but fell prey to the new age marketing of the Cola giants. Poor ol' Campa stood no chance, and its internal feuds only hastened its demise. It struggled somehow into the late 90s but it was too much to ask for. Our school canteen too gave up on Campa and switched to Pepsi, who even ended up being our hockey team sponsor and then one fine day, there was Campa no more....
But wait... did I see some freshly painted Campa signs? Were they really Campa bottles stacked neatly in a stall situated in one corner of the factory? My curiosity got the better of me and I asked the person manning the stall if it was really the real thing? Well almost - news is that a Haryana based group has taken over the rights to the Campa name and its formulation. Campa is alive again and being bottled in a plant in Haryana and being sold in Delhi in limited quantity.
Of course I bought a bottle and drank it straight down. The taste seemed alright, in fact good and certainly very different from Coke / Pepsi / Thums Up !! But was it really the same taste? Well frankly, I don't know.... after all I was having it after nearly 12 years !! Whatever it was.... it did bring memories of those days back again.
Don't know how long will the bubble last, but while you can... go have it
