The Whole Thing is that

So, here's the deal. I wrote this Yesterday. Before the Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals match.

Unlike the last time, Im not getting caught up in the fervour of the IPL. Maybe since I missed the opening matches this weekend cause of the move, or since It isnt being played in Mumbai like it was last year. It was a completely different atmosphere altogether. The city was gripped in the throes of IPL fever, with hoardings, advertisements staring you in the face wherever you went. Road blocks, traffic diversions owing to the matches were graciously overlooked as we all adopted teams of states other than ours, with players from around the world and 'owners' who have little or nothing to do with the game altogether.

The boys in office are playing 'Fantasy Cricket' - a weekly collection and winner takes all after strategically piecing together a team. Football enthusiasts would be familiar with this term cause of the widely popular 'Fantasy Football league' which takes involvement in football to new levels!
I of course, get to be part of all the action, my cubicle being right in the midst of all action. Today there was great furore over the rules of the fantasy football and totalling of points. 10 boys all raking up the decibel levels in office intensly deliberating the pros and cons and best way forward.

I wonder if the Royals will be able to work their magic again. They were my team last year. Right now Im torn between my team last year and the Mumbai Indians or even the Chennai Super Kings.

Cut to today. After having watched the Kolkata Knight Riders vs. Rajasthan Royals match.
Screw that! Im SO into it now! Last nights match REALLY turned things around!! Insanely EXCITING, CUT THROAT and undecided till the last minute!
Thats why I LOVE the Rajasthan Royals, they were the underdogs last time, with no impressive lineups or expensive players like the other teams. Heck this year, they're even worse off, with Shaun Watson (Playing for Australia), Akmal and Tanveer (No Pakistani players in IPL this time) who were star performers not playing for reasons illustrated in brackets.

But YET. against the heavy duty team of KKR, they went in Guns Blazing, knowing they had set a lesser than modest score, which seemed like chickenfeed for the likes of Gayle, Ganguli etc. BUT they didnt lose hope and with a mentor like Shane warne with his patient paternal guidance and his faith in his team, coupled with his strategic and daring field positions gave the KKR a run for their money.
The fielding was tight (barring one drop), positions judiciously selected, which paid off with some wickets falling just when they were required. KKR was held to Ransom, and made to toil for each run. Until the last over when it was 2 runs from 2 balls and I tucked into bed, thinking we've lost when a loud Groan from my brother signalled otherwise.
Mr. Ganguli had fallen when there were only 2 more runs to make! However, one run was made off the last ball and the superover was called in. Another innovation from IPL!

It was a bold move sending in 18 year old Kamran Khan to bowl to Gayle, who towered over him physically like a thumb does an index finger. Whether the sixes and wide proved expensive or not was a question Yusuf put to rest with his clean sweep of the 16 runs required to win.

And they're back. How badly they've played so far and where they lie on the scoreboard is inconsequential, since for me, The RR's fighting spirit and never say die attitude makes them my favorite team. GO RAJASTHAN ROYALS!

Also, A won the pot luck of the Fantasy Cricket for the week!! (De Villers century and Yusuf's man of the match accelerated him to the top). Im totally joining the pool next weekend.
Help me selecting the 16 players? Ill give you a percentage :D

Holla!

I went Here for the weekend! Its a direction (Towards Gujarat) Ive never driven down in before, and was mucho excited! Somehow, all previous weekend get-aways meant driving in the Pune/Mahableshwar/Matheran/Lonavla/Khandala directions with the lone exception of Durshet which was covered on the way back from Nashik one day.

First the Logistics for anyone who wants to go. 2 days max, in a good resort since there isn't much to do in town. (Except drink like its free, cause it almost is). Hence a good resort is a requirement in case of wanting to spend time indoors, (Swimming pool contributing to a fraction of activities). Its a 3-4 hour drive from Mumbai, with a few decent stops on the way. There's a Kamat for breakfast/snacks along the way which is the only restaurant I would recommend since the rest looked like halts for truck drivers.

Stock up on the booze on the way home for drinking friends and relatives, since Daman is almost like one giant Duty free shop. The Beaches are a slight disappointment, this being my first experience with black sand. Devka beach is pebbled which means not only does it look cluttered (an aside from the usual smooth as butter sandy beaches) but also, there are no activities here.

Jhampore beach is slightly better off, (picture below) with some interesting photography stunts with my new camera! I'm going to try not gloating there, but the Sony DSCT 77 is a seriously bad ass camera. And I mean this in the nicest sense of the term.

I did Horse riding on the beach! Rode this Beautifully Tall and sturdy horse named 'Chetak'. It was the first time I got onto a horse since the tenth standard when my last year of training was. (Serendipity trained in riding for 4 years whilst Dad was in the Navy. If it interest you, the fee was 25 Rs per month for alternate day, 6.oo a.m. in the morning classes for defence kids and 625 per month for civilians lol!! )

I started tentatively with the horse owner (or his little son was more like it) holding the reins alongside, but soon after asked him to let go and broke into a light trot. It was exhilarating, that tiny little pick of speed with the reins in my hand and while we didn't gallop or even canter (since the Horse is not riding trained - only drag along trained) the feeling of being on a horse, saddled up with the reins in my hand was enough to feel a rush. He bucked a few times as the trainer hit him (which I got very angry with) but he wouldn't respond to my gentle prods with my ankles, which made me feel really sad. Having said that, by the time I got off, I was rejuvenated and excited that I could get onto a horse with confidence and not feel as though its something I Haven't done in such a long time!

The resort had a small pond-like pool. (What is with these tiny pools anyway?!) The Naval pool was 10 lanes, Olympic sized and has me spoilt for life. Anything smaller and I feel like I'm swimming in a bathtub or something. It was fun for small races with the boys though. Needless to say, I won (all!) and it does wonder for ones ego. Specially when one is the only girl participating against the boys and one wins. This obviously means the Boys get the privilege of hearing this from me very often. :D

Also, FUSEBALL happened! At Mirasol . Oh, and I also played Frisbee for the first time! It took a couple of very (very very) badly placed throws to get the action right. In fact my first throw was so bad, I was made to throw in the direction of someone standing near the sea, and it STILL (bloody hell) Boomeranged its way dangerously close to disgruntled Uncle. But then, got the hang of it. Cant wait till next time! :)

Ok, In addition to Maldives, Durshet/Kolhad Rafting if your planning a trip to Daman and need info, ask!

On other developing news items, Something transpired over the course of last night and this morning and 6 followers have dropped off my blog. This, for some reason looks to be a conspiracy to me with a lot more bloggers having followers withdraw their everencouragingloveandsupport. Thats just mean no? Is there tum ting wong? :D

I just realized, I got these, from Imps mom. Hence without further ado, Thanks Imps mom. :)

I pass them on to Sunshine, Hitch, Piper, Snow, Kiran, Parul, Abhishek and Aditya Take a bow guys!

Hitch - This guy is fun. He's almost always the first to comment on most of the people he reads. how he does it is beyond me.

Piper and Snow - are recent nameless, faceless blogger friends who I have no idea why, But I really identify with! Most of their posts have me n absolute agreement! and I feel as though I almost know them!

Kiran - Is an outstanding, Inspiring woman. Met her at Indiahelps and I love her stories with the extremely adorable Krishh, who I have to say, will break a lot of hearts when grown up :)

Parul's ranting about the loss of a follower too! :) I absolutely love her slightly sarcastic, easily funny way of putting things. :D

Aditya is also a faceless blogger whose blog I first commented on since he wrote something about Regal Barista - a stone's throw from my house!

Abhishek - Look at this as stimulus to blogging again, Since thats at least one avenue to 'feel in touch'. And the Poems HAVE to make a reappearance now!

Sunshine - Your the only anonymous blogger Ive added to my F/B account or even given my real name to. Think we've been the longest blog-buddies for my blog. :)

Fed Ex vs. Rafa last evening. Clash of the Top two seeds in the world of Tennis. Conversation with Mom just before the Match -
Me - "So, Mom whose side are you on?" {Mom's a DIE HARD Federer Fan}
Mom - " Federer, But Nadal has been playing so well, and its commendable how much of a challenge he poses to Federer. (pauses for a minute) No wait, Im a Federer Fan, so Federer.
(Some time into the match when Nadal just wins his second set with some BEAUTIFUL angled forehand shots)
Mom - (exults with semi Yahoo type stance) "Hes playing so well no? He should just stay cool now, and concentrate on breaking Federer in the first 2 games itself."
Me - "err, whose side are you on?"
Mom - "Nadal!"
Rangbadlu girgit type side switching detailed above continued throughout the match. When the game was at a crucial 2 sets all (and unfortunately we were out) but when told, she had an incredibly perplexed "Oh no, whom to support look now" with so much sincerity that I pinched her cheek and found her ultimately cute.
*************************************************************
Rafael, your cute. I like how your Racquet matched your wristband which matched your headband which in turn matched your shoes, which were contrasting your shirt very well. It brought our your tanned, even skin perfectly. Having said that, PLEASE wear better underwear. It was truly painful to see you undo wedgies every time it was your serve or 4 minutes, whichever came sooner.
*************************************************************
Here's a fair warning. At a party, If you take it upon yourself to order shots for a half a dozen people (or more) at a party, ASK THEM IF THEY WANT IT. Specially if said shot were to cost 400 bucks a piece, and taste like bitter bathwater and needs to be washed down with sprite.
*************************************************************
I just did this. And it turns out that my top three Qualities are Confidence, Openness, Extrovertism and Empathy. Which is true, but what about My great sense of humor and looks? GAHH. :)
Also, it said semi-high masculinity (68%) so i now have an official statistic to prove tomboyishness. err, anyone think i ought to be ashamed of this? hehehe
And you, reading this, DO IT! But, please to be making sure that 20 minutes are free since the quiz has long introspecting questions and 11 pages. Don't say I didn't warn you.
*************************************************************
You know that feeling when a client calls you up and RUSH RUSH RUSH this job is so urgent and time lines are so critical and then out of dedication to duty you work work work and get job done in condensed amount of time, only to mail said client and you get an out of office reply?
"I (client) will be out of office until the 15th of February with no access to mails and blah"
Aren't they just peachy?
*************************************************************
Last Sunday, the three girlies J, U and I sat for an hour and a half discussing travel plans (which I fear shall remain in exploratory phase only) to very ambitious (and out of budget) places like Ireland, Gold Coast, Ibiza, Bali and such. If any kind soul in aforementioned places would like to offer us help (stay, food and money lol) and advise, please feel free to do so. Also, European readers (if any) please to offer backpacking help which shall be reimbursed on your trip to India (or something).
Knowing trip above may not work out, I went ahead and made plans for Leh Laddakh with N. Leddus see where I go finally. Leddus hope I go SOMEWHERE finally.
*************************************************************
The Nomad and Serendipity met before their Indiahelps meeting very ambitiously to grab a soup and sandwich before. We called the Soup Watermelon Juice and the Sandwich was called an 8" Veggie Delight pizza.
*************************************************************
And I leave you with that. And this - :)

Semi adventure sport # 2

Like completely overexcited, impatient fools who got carried away with the weekful of rains last week, we planned a trip to Durshet. Its a small forest Lodge close to Khopoli, that encloses close to 43 acres of land. Its a beautiful contrast to the cemented, commercial getaways we're generally used to. There was no television, cellular network or vehicles.

For once, you could hear the sound of yourself breathe, look out of the room and see an expanse of greenery and nothing beyond. The only spoiler (and what a spoiler it was) was the small teeny meeny itsy bitsy fact that IT DID NOT RAIN. However, the weather was overcast, cloudy and kept manipulating us into thinking that it will, in fact rain. But it did'nt. Darn it. Darn and Double darn.

source

The picture above is of the river Kundalika - where three of us from the group that had gone, went rafting. A must-do if u like thrills. Add this to the snorkelling we did at Maldives and im slowly striking off things i want to do from my list of 'Things i Have to Want to Must do'.

source

Its a whole lot of fun, although not life defying as we had expected it to be. As one of the people in our group said ' At no point were my balls in my mouth' lol. For the crass language, i apologise :). The rapids had interesting names -'Johnnie walker', 'Morning headache', 'Butterfly' etc. Our guide too, was the right combination of fun, serious, dispensed a lottt of information about the place and the sport which was good to know. The coolest part was jumping off the raft and into the river and swimming alongside for a nearly a km or two.

The drive to this place is absolutely picturesque, its as though your driving through small villages which have been untouched by technology and modern life. The roads are surrounded by lush greenery on both sides, and the other vehicles (!!!) will be the occasional meandering cows.

Did i forget to mention that like last time, im Tanned AGAIN?

Rajasthan Royals all the way!

As a rule, I land up supporting the Underdog. And this was no exception - Rajasthan Royals was defninitely the poorest team, with no coach and the only stars to boast of being Shane Warne battling personal problems and looking for redemption, and Graeme Smith.

They had no coach, no Icon as the Indian captain, no real crowd support, no big budgets for advertising and marketing, in fact, they had nothing to lose. Thats what the had going for them.

I LOVED the team spirit, the sheer determination, and never say die attitude that the team displayed. Had they lost yesterday, they had won our hearts anyway...really. Had we even heard of a Swapnil Asnodkar before this? This little guy, all of five foot somethign has held his nerves and undauntedly hit the best of the best for big overs. Niraj Jadeja, who looks more like he ought to be chilling at Barista with his teeny bopper friends had a MAGNIFICENT 69 run (6th wicket) parternship which won them a crucial match.

Each player came into his own in this team, each player found a niche and was supported by his team mates in executing it best. Words fail me in trying to express how proud I feel about a team full of youngsters who have shown so much maturity, so much calm and defeated the 'Icons' of this game - None of our four Icons Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid or Sehwag made their mark, faltering in strategy, teamwork, and at times in form altogether. With all the advantages these teams had, they went nowhere.

Have developed new found respect for Shane Warne...images of him patting Shane Watsons back after he (Watson) gave an over of 25 runs and telling him its ok, talking encouragingly to each player (some of whom dont even understand English very well), praising the 'young Swapnil' and Yusuf and the others, giving them the deserved credit, and taking very litle himself, will not leave me for a long time to come.

All in all, Im a little worried about what Im gonna do with all the excitiement and energy Ive managed to build up in the last 45 days. Phew.

F1 - 2008 is here finallyyyyy

'Its not because of a woman, its because of eleven men'
And to top it off, F1 season kicks off on March 16th, at Melbourne, Australia. Can the 2008 season possibly be as close-fought and competitive as last year? Will anyone step up to challenge Ferrari and McLaren at the front of the field?

Kimi the iceman Raikkonen,to you my support i pledge.

Go Barca!!

Am i the only woman who thinks Xavi Hernandez is verrrryyyy NICE. (IF you-know-what-I-mean). All in favor say aye. lol.

While on the subject, two really insane Football games were watched by one. Saturday night MANU - Arsenal (4-0)(actually this was less of a game and more of a pulverisation). and today Barca vs Celtic. (3-2). While the former was dominated by MANU from the start (2-0 in 20 mins), and (3-0) by half time, todays game Barca vs Celtic was seriously thrilling to watch.

I got home in time to watch the re-run... When i turned on the TV it was 2-2, (Barca - Henry and Messi) Celtic (dont know the spellings of the two fellas lol). BUT WHAT A GAME! Although Barca dominated the game throughout (80-85% ball possession, 500 passes completed) the second half, it was still a delight to watch considering the BRILLIANT footwork by Ronaldinho, Messi, Henry, Deco (substitued in the second half, think 10 mins before time).

Touch and go touch and go seemed to be the strategy for Barcelona, no player retained the ball for too long, the passes were well manoeuvered and even better executed, Celtic did not stand a chance. Also, the Celtic uniform reminded me of a little boys sailor unniform in green stripes instead of blue :) They also have a player called Mc Donald btw! (why would u name your kid that?!)

Messi had another goal in the 79th minute, very very well done. Honorable mention to Thierry Henry who managed to cut past the Celtic defenders and reach clear to receive some beautiful cross'es delivered to him, but were well saved by the goalkeeper. (in usual style, he also tried getting some free kicks etc which didnt really work. i hate when he behaves like a whiny footballer, he did the same in the World cup as well %^&*$##%^)

Ronaldinho has had a good season so far, albeit injury ridden. 8 games 6 goals. he can do better...he too was substitued in the second half, but after some really fancy footwork and outstanding runing.

Truly worth my one hour I'd say.

Ladies and Gentleman, We are the T20 World CHAMPIONS!!

For all those who thought we could'nt - WE DID. Putting into words yesterdays match or the hopes that were riding on it is IMPOSSIBLE.

It was a FEAST for the watchers - unpredictably predictable (India -Pak are always a roller coaster). ROCKING ROLLING. SURELY WINNING. almost lost. GOT BACK INTO IT. SIX SIX FOUR. maybe we'll lose. Wicket. Wicket. MAYBE. JUST MAYBE.SIX. oh my god.

Last over. COME ON INDIA. Hearts pacing. Everyone on their feet. DOT BALL. come on. come on. Fingers tracing GANESH pendant. Drink spilling. HAND HOLDING. almost won. NEARLY lost. wicket. did u say wicket?? wicket. wicket. ohmygod. wicket. WICKET! We won!!

Chest Pumping EVERYONE HUGGING. Thanking the Almighty. We WON. :)

Cricket in India isnt only about our team winning, its in the eyes of the people - the one's that did not watch the match out of superstition ( namely, my folks among many others, who sincerely believe that whenever they watch a match, we lose), wore the same clothes or sat in the same position for three hours, its in the love of the liftmen/watchmen and cab drivers who were huddled close to the transistor waiting ardently for that magical moment. In the sound of the crackers lit by the chawl outside my house in sheer celebration. In the hearts of the country who goes to great lenghts too see us win.

Many thanks to our office admin team who sent us an email saying we could leave at 4.00 p.m yesterday :)
Renewed interest and female fan frenzy are the least of the things Twenty 20 brings with it. The new format has taken off well and makes for truly action packed, paisa vasool action.

ESPN hiked the rates of advertising in the last 10 secondsof the match by over 250%. wow. BCCI announced 20 million dollars prize money for our team. Yuvraj Singh got ONE CRORE. phew. New stars are born.

A new team India bubbling with youth energy enthusiasm aggression passion and dreams is here. Make way.