.

Baar BaarDekho has confused India

Dharma Productions's latest offering "Baar Baar Dekho" has opened to mixed reactions across the whole country. While some have termed it as a path breaking film, some others are shocked at the on-screen experience of watching it.

We loved it..

Critics and Karan Johar's friends, Sidharth Malhotra's parents and Katrina Kaif's staff claim that they both understood and loved the film. 

One critic Mr. Karan's Mouthpiece said while speaking to Faking news correspondent, "Its a film that speaks of relationships in the scientific language that today's generation understands. Its not a rom com that we get to see every week these days. HaHaHa.  Its a sci-fi film based on time travel with its heart in the Indian family values. Its an Indian Interstellar I would say."

Another critic Mr. Barrons Mugger outpoured his emotions while speaking to us ,"I despise giving it the trivial term the 'rom-com'. It is the ultimate what-if saga, narrated with a tender care and subdued splendour that makes every moment between the lead pair precious and gladdening". Our correspondent could not take it any more and shut his mike.

What the hell was that...

However, the common man in the country is struggling to make sense of the film. The South Indians believe the film is based on Kumbhakaran's marital life. One of the many Srinivases down South, on condition of anonymity spoke to us. "The protagonist in the film is based on Kumbhakarna. First he sleeps for 10 days. Then he sleeps for 2 years, and then for 20 years. Vonnly Kumbhakarna can do this. But this is Bollywood movie nooo. They will marry many times.... Mrs. Kumbhakaran was loyal to her husband. These Bollywood people have twisted the facts."

People from Punjab have a contrasting take on this. They believe the inappropriate cuts from Pahlaj Nihalani  are responsible for the confusion.

Miss BraveAndBold  spoke to our correspondent," The Censor Board is behaving like a grandmother. There are so many cuts in the film that it looks like a time travel film. Sidharth Malhotra sleeps at 40 years of age and wakes up at 60. I am sure
Karan Johar the director must have shot some scenes for that period and they have been cut off. Where is the freedom of expression?"

The common man's critic Kamal R Khan has lashed out at Karan Johar for making the film calling him a 2 Rs. film maker. "Baar baar dekho ek bar bhi nahin dekhni chahiye. Karan Johar does not know how to edit films. Pehle song, fir shadi, fir bache, fir divorce aur fir budhapa. Is film mein sab ulta pulta hai. These people are 2 Rs people."

Karan Johar has come forward to clear the confusion. He appealed to the viewers to "baar baar dekho" to understand it better. "Indians are obsessed with simplistic plots and predictable screenplays. Baar baar dekho is an attempt to change the Indian mindsets. You don't have to watch a film to understand it. You can take plenty of questions from it and discuss with your friends and in this aspect, I am proud to say that our film has pushed the envelope."

Baar Baar Dekho disrupts India's sleep

Sleeping for a cause

Various incidents of abnormal sleeping patterns have been reported from various parts of the country. The one common thing about all the patients is that they all watched Baar Baar Dekho. 

Dr. Farci Gupta from Fortis Hospital, Noida spoke to our correspondent," Sleep disorder is not such a bad thing. Boozing will get them to sleep. But the problem here is the patients are trying to give up alcohol to avoid sleeping which is insane. We are trying to inject beer through saline and get them to sleep."

The families of the patients are severely worried. Mrs. Swapn Doshi agreed to talk to us. "We got married recently and were on honeymoon. Baar Baar Dekho was our first movie together. My husband started behaving strangely after the film got over. He cooked for me, washed my clothes and even did my facial. I thought the film did wonders to him. I was wrong. I woke in the middle of the following night and found him awake. When I asked him to sleep, he retorted saying he did not want to sleep and wake up to a five year old son.". And started crying aloud.

Mrs. Wudbe Maa has a different problem. Her husband has been sleeping continuously for the last 3 days. "I am three months pregnant. I wanted a handsome boy like Sidharth. So I insisted we watch that stupid film. And now my husband says not to wake him up till the baby becomes 5 years old."

Abnormal sleeping tendencies have also been reported from South. Mr. Sleepy Gowda at Sinfosys was assigned a critical bug to fix by his Manager on Monday. Mr. Gowda went to sleep in the hope of getting up after the issue gets fixed by his U.S. counterparts. The security woke him up the next day and asked him to vacate the company immediately.

Mr.Gowda though did not reach home immediately. He got stuck in traffic and went to sleep, hoping to wake up at home some day. He woke up after two days to find himself at the same spot with the same people.

Moral policing

Is moral policing required ?? Is it not restricting our right to freedom ? There has been a lot of hue and cry about this issue with the national media vehemetly opposing this. The answer is YES. Because we in India are bound by our morals more than any law. And degradation of morals is destruction of social order which any number of amendments to the existing laws would not be able to arrest.

But moral policing should not be reduced to finger pointing.  Neither should it be a way of branding people as moral and immoral. It ought to be a way of imposing self restraint even in the toughest of situations. Moral policemen are like rag-pickers.... who try to clean every one else's dirt and end up as the most untidy people in the society. I am sure none of us wants to be like that.


Lets not get any murkier. Its time for self introspection. Lets identify our short comings , humbly accept them and rectify them, lower the egos and enhance our dignity. It is this self obsessed strive for perfection from each and every individual , irrespective of gender, which is the need of the hour. The world around is an imperfect place. Let us compensate for that.

P.S :  You can find posts on similar topics at http://www.isb.edu/idiya/

For the heck of It....

Yup...so finally I get the time to be in this space again ! I am in a new job , at a new place and amongst new people.
The last post was about a new year resolution, and it took great resolve on my part to actually post that here. And two weeks into the new year, my resolution is not just broken....but thrashed to pieces. When you decide to skip a meal so that you can stay longer in your razai....you are not living an enviable life.
But then resolutions are not meant to be broken..they are supposed to be worked upon....and we have 365 days to do so. Anyway, living a good life being on your own is not easy.

For starters, I stay alone in a too-spacious-for-a-bachelor house. And the land lord seems to have lost his sleep, unable to find out the reasons for my "living-status" after months of thread bare analyses. My solitude has come at the cost of someone's sanity !

Is he single ?? If he is single, why is he staying alone ? Or...is he actually staying alone ??
Nahiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.


The advanced cheques of a lakh rupees that I gave him are not making him feel any better. Not that it matters to me....even though he said ( seconds after after receiving the cheques ) that I was like his son. Costliest parents in the world !!

And it is not just the landlords who are perturbed. My servant maid keeps explaining me the financial benefits of having a room-mate. Her case studies can put IIMs to shame I tell you.

P.S: Pretty evident that I really dont have much to write,  other than the resolve to do so, and its all a part of the Grand New Year Resolution of mine. Blogging for the heck of it.....

WELCOME 2011.............

Wishing all the readers ( ?? )  a happy and prosperous new year... may all you guys be blessed with all the good things in life.... I for myself have resolved to be a better person and live a better life.........how simple :P

Vivaha Bhojanambu

Friend pelli… Thadepalli lo…  memu andaram maa maa maargaala lo ooru cherukunnam. Thana swagraamamu ayi nanduna  Sastry moham LED vale veligi pothundi.  Adi go…. adi choosaava… playground… nenu chinnappudu goli lu aadukunnanu… aa illu choosava… ground floor lo oka ammayi undedi… naa childhood crush…

“ aa chettu choosaraa… akkada memu cricket aadu kune vaallam… “,  antu chettu daggara ki theesukelladu sastry.  Chettu mundu unna matti vaipu teekshnanga choosaadu Vasu… “Batting pitch “ annadu. “ Kaadu ra… enda kaalam spinners ki, chali kaalam fast bowlers ki help untundi… varsha kalan lo gaddi molusthundi kabatti seam movement koda untundi….oka saari nenu ee pitch meeda thirty runs kottanu… appatlo nannu andaru Dinesh Karthik ani thega pogidesevaaru. “….ila thana paatha bangarulokam gurinchi maaku vivaristhunnadu sastry.  Sastry talent college lo choosina local candidate tho godava vaddu anukoni vaadi maata la ki un koduthu unnamu.

Jogi ki emi thochatledu… “ orei.. tiffin cheddam ra..” , annadu…

“Avunu raa. nenu kooda tea thaagali “, antu kadupu lo baadha ni okka sari kakkesaanu nenu.  “enduku le ra… mandapaaniki velthe valle pedathaaru gaa”, annadu Jumbo.  Vaadi maata ke fix aipoyi mandapaani ki vellam.

Mandapam antha janaala tho nindi povadam tho maku chivari row lo kurchi lu maathrame migilaayi. Enda lo thiragadam valla eppudu glamour tho niga niga laadi poye maa mohaalu konchem dull ga maarayi. Dantho memu pelli koduku vallam anna vishayam janaalu grahincha leka poyaaru. Food items ghuma ghuma laadi pothunnnayi.

Laddu, kova, halwa, juice….. ila inkenno. Balakrishna sneha ullal ni choosinattu memu vaati kesi choosthunnam. Kaani avi ma daaka raaledu.

“Manam bikku bikku na koorchunnam kabatte mana daaka emi raavatledu.. pose maaruddam”, annadu Jumbo. Andari lo telivi galla vaadu avvadam tho vaadi maata ki eduru undadu. Indra lo Chiranjeevi antha kaaka poyina konchem ade style lo korchunnam. Aina phalitham ledu.  Pepe jeans tea shirt vesukunna Vasu baga hurt aiyadu. “ I want to talk to Nellore Pedda Reddy right now… yes…” antu thana viswaroopanni choopinchaadu ( paathakulu pedardhaalu theeya raadu ).

Laabham ledani Jumbo pelli koduku ki phone chesaadu, “ Hello….. enti raa… food items anni baagunnaya…. Kummuthunnara…”, adigaadu PK( pelli koduku ).  Ekkado kaalindi maa andariki.

“ Ippudu kaasi yaatra jaruguthundi raa…. Aa tarvatha pelli.. so kaneesam oka aaru gantalu paduthundi annaaniki…kadupu ninda tiffin thinandi….”…

“Kaasi yathra ante mee baava maridi kallu kaduguthaadu gaa… snaanam elago cheyavu, kaneesam kallu aina sarigga kadiginchuko… notlo bellam pedathaaru tarvatha…konchem naku anthe…mottam kori keyaku… bedulu pudathaayi vedhava… aaru gantalu paduthunda antha aiye sariki…  aa purohithudiki katnam lo vaata istaanu anu.. tatkal lo avagodathaadu… leka pothe memu padukuntaamu.. pelli aiyaaka mammalni nidra lepu…. Aina pelli neku pasthulu maka...” antu kadupu lo kasi antha kakkesaamu .

Signal weak ga undadam valla PK emi vinalekapoyaadu. Kaani ma ghosha hall lo koorchunna andariki vinapadindi. Ventane 4 plates snacks and juices maku sanction aiyayi. Paruvu poindi anna baadha okati pakkana pedithe food mathram adirindi.

Keeping The Interest Alive..............

It has been long since I have posted something at this place but the world does not seem to be bothering too much. Anyway, without bothering too much about what exactly bothers the world, I just move on in desperation to write something...........

I have been following Pakistan's tour of England very closely and this implies a few things.

1.  I have nothing much to do these days.
2. Orkut scraps had died long back, eve(n) profile visits have stopped now.
3. India vs Sri Lanka test series is almost killing my interest in the game.

So coming back to Pakistan and its cricket, a few modifications in the rules of the game, essentially aimed
at the survival of Test Cricket in Pakistan :

1. Pak fielders donot have to catch the ball before it bounces on the ground. They can allow the
    ball to bounce once before catching to effect the dismissal of the batsman concerned.

2. The above rule applies to all the fielders except Kamran Akmal. ICC is not convinced about his
     ability to catch the ball on the first bounce. Hence the amendment for Kamran Akmal states that
     it is enough for Kamran Akmal to touch the ball with his gloves before the ball bounces twice, to
    effect the dismissal.

3. Its not mandatory for Pak batsmen to run between the wickets or clear the ropes to get some runs.
    Every ball they middle/edge/touch with the bat would give them a bonus run.

4. A Pak batsman must be dismissed twice to be sent to the pavilion. The first time he is genuinely dismissed,
    it will be referred to STEVE BUCKNOR, who is expected/supposed/assumed  to contradict it.
    ( This rule is Pak's version of UDRS. )

5.  Pakistan team is supposed to name a trump player every match, who would be retiring after that match.
     The score made by trump player would be doubled before adding it to the team score.

6. Once retired, a Pak player cannot represent Pakistan for the next 3 tests. This rule has been fomulated
    to avoid confusion vis-a-vis who retired when.

   After announcing the rules to the press, ICC Chief remarked :

  " I understand that these rules are not sufficient to ensure Pakistan beat Bangladesh. However I believe
  the only two brains in Pakistan, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, would teach the players to utilise them
  efficiently to reduce the margins of defeats. Because at the end the day,  CRICKET has to win. "

  P.S. :
  More importantly, the Pak players need to understand that retiring from the game is not the 
  same as tiring on the field, and coming out of retirement is not akin to coming out of the
  dressing room.  Mr Imran and Mr.Wasim should educate their fellow countrymen regarding 
  the nuances of tiring and re-tiring , going-in and coming-out of retirements.


 

Team Meeting

The first test against South Africa ended in four days and the extra day gained was used in analysing the reasons at an emergency team meeting. My thoughts on what transpired there :


The  "performace analysis" meeting began with Dhoni stepping in. Most of the players were already present.

Dhoni : Hi guys, we are here to analyse your respective individual performances in the last test. So, all you guys have your notebooks?


All (in chorus) : Yes Sir!

Dhoni : Gary (Kirsten) , are you ready ?

Gary :  Ya ya, just downloading a new movie,  ya...,  1 GB  and this is India, so 3 hours.... ok yup, let us start dude.

Coach Gary still believes in the dossier by Paddy Upton !

Gary : OK, Gambhir.... what happened,  we had high expectations from you!

Gambhir: Actually Gary, I am not able to understand which way the ball was moving .

He almost started crying.  

Viru : How does it matter yaar ?  Just hit it man......... and if you dont connect, just say " ALL IS WELL". Forget it and move on...

Harbhajan Singh (Bhajji) entered the room just as Viru finished.

Bhajji : Sorry, I am late.

Dhoni thundered : Doosra kahan gaya ?

Bhajji (with all the innocence in the world) : (Amit) Mishra is in bathroom.

Dhoni (irritated)  :  I did not mean doosra bowler, I meant doosra delivery.

Bhajji : I actually bowled a lot of doosraas. But the pitch was so cracked up, even straight deliveries started turning.

Gary : Well.. this is a serious problem. You and Mishra will attend a presentation from Jumbo (Anil Kumble) on  " How to bowl straight spinners? "

Dhoni : Great idea, these are Jumbo wickets, you  bowl like a Sharne Warne here and you will get nightmares. 

Sachin liked the compliment, but restrained himself keeping

in mind the mood in the dressing room.

Gary : Viru! Why did you chase a delivery that pitched miles away ? 

Viru :   I loose concentration.

Dhoni : Takle pe thel lagaya kar. Mishra! iski maalish karade yaar.

Mishra had no option but to nod. " So sweet  Mishra! " , said Dhoni. 


Gary :  Viru! Chase only the balls that land on the pitch. Don't go for those that land on the grass.


Viru : Hmmmmmmmmmmm...........


Gary : Note it down!!!!!!!!!!

Dhoni : Viru will have nets and Ishanth will bowl at him. Ishanth! Bowl your natural deliveries that pitch on the grass and move away.

Viru and Ishanth : Ok.......

Gary turned towards Badrinath, Murli Vijay and Wridhiman Saha.

"You freshers... when a bowler bowls at you and the ball hits the stumps, you are actually out. Keep it in mind!"

"Appadia....." said Badrinath, on knowing the "Truth of his Life" .


Wridhiman Saha promptly noted the statement in his notebook.




Gary : Ok. We are almost done. Sachin! What are your inputs for the session?
            

Dhoni flashed his airhostess smile saying, "Please Sachin..".


Sachin said perhaps the most logical of all the said things in the meeting.


"I know a curator, a very good one.. Bal Thackeray..! He is the best curator in India.. from Aamchi Mumbai.  He "RE-DESIGNED" the Kotla pitch in 1999 and Jumbo took 10 wickets in an innings. Why don't we bring him at Eden Grdens?"


Bhajji got excited. Yeah yeah.. Jumbo used to tell me how good a curator he was. He was Jumbo's favourite. Get him in. I will take all the wickets.



The meeting supposed to analyse the fiasco ended on a feel-good note. 


PS : I admit I should have posted it before the second test began....... but I have been uncharacteristically busy :)

IPL again..........

Half way into the IPL 2 and we still donot know who will make it to the semis and who will not.
Yes. The optimist in me says KKR still has an outside chance if Sourav is handed over the captaincy and the coach confined to his hotel room. I take this blog as an opportunity to step out of the gloom that SRK has gifted to his die-hard fans by nodding to "multiple" mindless decisions taken by John Buchanan. My thoughts on the consequences for the loosing teams:

KKR
SRK sacks Buchanan and company. Rani Mukherji is appointed as the coach and Kajol will be the Manager, hoping that the chemistry extends on to the cricket field as well. Katrina Kaif becomes the Manager of the team (sensible move given how well she has been managing Salman Khan).

RCB
Kingfisher shuts down its airways. And the players have been assured of lucrative posts in the soon-to-be-launched Kingfisher AUTOS.

MUMBAI INDIANS
Sachin Tendulkar says, " I am not enjoying the captaincy ". Raj Thackeray accuses the North Indian players (Harbhajan Singh, Shikhar Dhawan) for the loss.

RAJASTHAN ROYALS
A sense of relief would prevail among all the viewers as Shilpa Shetty will no longer be giving her
thirty-two-teeth-visible smile. The lady has been the worst thing to have hapened to the IPL.
From her ugly smile to her fractured ( actually doctored) nose, and the worst part...
her discussing the pitch with Mandira Bedi. For someone who has been glued to cricket since 10 years of age , ( and I believe there are atleast 90 crores like "someone"), that was inhuman.
Anyway, I trust the long leg(s) of the lady would do no good to the team and we will soon be spared.

KINGS XI PUNJAB
Yuvraj would virtually kick all the players and Sreeshanth will have enough reasons to cry. Karan Johar is hoping that Preity Zinta gives him (Sreeshanth I mean...) company. He can use the footage in his upcoming films. By the way, the actress has already given three expressions in the IPL and the Bollywod directors are completely mesmerized by the never-seen-before versatility of her facial muscles.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
Karunanidhi has a REAL reason now to go on fast (not that anybody cares).

DELHI DAREDEVILS
Narendra Modi blames the UPA government for the loss. Advani calls SEHWAG a "weak captain".

P.S: DECCAN CHARGERS is missing and that is only because I want them to win . It should not be perceived as "lack of sufficient creativity" :P

INDIAN CHEERLEADERS LEAGUE (ICL)

Gripped by the IPL 2 fever, I take the responsibility of nominating cheer leaders for various teams a.k.a ICL :)

KOLKOTA KNIGHT RIDERS
SRK jumps enough and remembering GANGULY's shirt waving antics, I doubt they would need any profesional cheer-leader. Not to mention that SRK implies the superset of RANI MUKERJI, KARAN JOHAR and FARAH KHAN.

DECCAN CHARGERS
What does it take to cheer up a Hyderabadi? Biryaani, Mirchi, Irani chai.........
Can we have SANJEEV KAPOOR as a cheer-leader please ? Though I suspect CHIRANJEEVIand PAVAN KALYAN would voluntarily take up the roles (for a different reason though).

KINGS XI PUNJAB
I am forced to believe that they have a cheerleader in their own team. SREESHANTH! :P

MUMBAI INDIANS
RAJ THACKERAY! Not sure if he can cheer his kids up, but not a bad idea to keep him involved for a good two months.

DELHI DAREDEVILS
Given the form of Sehwag and Gambhir, cheer leader will have to dance non-stop.
AKSHAY KUMAR would do. DILLI TO DURBAN would make him richer than CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA. :P

RAJASTHAN ROYALS
12% stake does not come free. SHILPA SHETTY can play the dual (?) role of the cheer-leader.

ROYAL CHALLENGERS BANGALORE:
Given their performance last year, do they need any cheer-leader? :p
But the soporphics badly need someone to wake them up. A bunch of hostel wardens ringing bells after every over may help.

CHENNAI SUPER KINGS
ENNA RASKALAAA! Yes u got it! Get him to the stadium and I guess every viewer would turn into a cheer-leader. MIND IT.....:P

Coding in Testing

#include "stdio.h"
void main()
{
while(1)
printf("\n I HATE TESTING :( ");
}

PLAGIARISM

Found this in one of my friends's scrapbook.................

Exam == Agnipath
Classes == Kabhi Kabhi
Viva == Khamoshi
Examination Hall == Krishna Cottage
Examiner == Mrityudata
Course == GodZilla
Paper Correction == Andha Kaanoon
Exam Time == Qayamat se Qayamat Tak
Question Paper == Paheli
Answer Paper == Kora Kagaz
Marks == One Two ka Four
Cheating == Hamesha
Last Exam == Main Azad Hoon
Result == Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander
Pass == God Tussi Great Ho
Fail == Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
Vacations == Masti
Supplementary == Aakhri Rasta

:P

Read my post BLOG OF THE BLOGS? This is an example of a TYPICAL SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI BLOG....
http://yedilmangemore.blogspot.com
Hope the blogger does not read this :P

BLOG OF THE BLOGS...

A thought on how the blogs of various repuuted directors would turn out to be, if and when they decide to join the Blogosphere. It is just a light-hearted take and not intended to offend or criticize anyone.

Starting with my favourite director....

KARAN JOHAR

His blog would be full of love, marriage, love before, during and after marriage, Indian love, alien love, NRI love... It would be the most popular of all blogs, cos he would reveal some inside stories of the stars. Like what does SRK think of Ajay Devgan's blog, what does Kajol think of Aamir's blog, might even ask Rani to choose one between Aamir and SRK's blogs. And do I need to mention that the first three comments on the blog would be from the principal cast of KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI.

ADITYA CHOPRA...
He does blog, seriously. But the reclusive director is more secretive about his blog than about his films. So, you will never get to read it. Gooogle has given up searching for it.

SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI...
Don't try to read it. Not supposed to be read. Concentrate on the layout instead, I mean the background colour. He started off with White, changed it to red, blue, yellow and then BLACK. The one with black background is the best( cos u just cant read it). His latest post with a "blue" background is yet to get a single reader, forget about comments.

MAHESH BHATT...
Adult blog. Not for you if you are younger than 18.

RAM GOPAL VARMA...
Too dark to read. Youth stay away from it. Kids find it really funny.

ASHUTOSH GOWARIKER...
Long and preachy. Recommended by N.C.E.R.T to include as part of the curriculum in primary schools.

SOORAJ BARJATYA...
The only versatile blog that deals with all the issues of the world. Every post is unique and different from the rest. VIVAH, SHAADI, NIKAAH, BYAAH, MARRIAGE are some of his unique posts.

YASH CHOPRA...
Blog would be in PUNJABI with HINDI font. Strictly for only those who know PUNJABI. If you did not understand the lines in VEER-ZAARA, stay away.

ANU MALIK...
Don't compalin if u get the feel that his posts have been copied and pasted from any of the above blogs.

HIMESH RESHAMMIYA...
Does not blog. Because the AUTO RICKSHAW COMMUNITY is not interested in blogs yet.

Interesting article on the state of Indian cricket

The link below contains comments attributed to SOURAV GANGULY which he has subsequently denied. Still, the article makes for an interesting reading for cricket buffs.

http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/indvaus2008/content/current/story/373180.html

END OF AN ERA.................

SOURAV GANGULY is the most popular man today. The hitherto "Lord Snooty" has been suddenly transformed into Mr. Perfect in the eyes' of the cricketing world. All his ex-foes, be it Kiran More or Greg Chappel, have only niceties for him. All this after he declared that the STEEL had melted under the heat of humiliation. This is not the case of a hero going back home a satisfied man, taking with him all the laurels and sweet memories. It is a sorry tale of a fighter who was toyed with, tortured, harrased, humiliated and mentally disintegrated. A fighter who had to fight the system more than the opposition.Someone who had eliminated regionalism in his regime only to become a victim of it. To blame Kumble here may not be correct. For no one knows what transpires in the selection meeting.

On his part, Ganguly had a miserable series in Sri Lanka, struggling against both Muralitharan and Mendis. And this was convincing enough for the selectors that he was not worthy enough to play in the Irany Trophy. The fact that he scored a series-levelling 87 on the Kanpur minefield against Soth Africa was conveniently forgotten. People have short memory, and when it comes to Ganguly, they become Ghajinis.

Anyway Bengalis were busy in Durga pooja, so he could be dropped without much fuss. And Vengsarkar, who in his own perception, was the CREATOR of Dada's career and had all the rights to destroy it as and when he wanted. And he did.

Image is something you have to build over a period of time. You have to thank your fans, thank the public and prepare some nice quotes for the press conferences; in short be Mr. Nice. Most importantly, you are not allowed to use swear words. Sourav might have realised this very late. And he meant it when he said, "May be they (selectors) don't like my face". Take the case of Yuvraj Singh! His off-field activities had prevented him from becoming the skipper, that he is as inspirational a captain as Sourav was to be proved later in IPL.

We are a thankless nation that has never cared to respect its heroes. It is a strange coincidence but I do feel that this entire episode can be linked to that of Subhash Chandra Bose and his mysterious exile from the country post Independence. He was literally driven away from the nation mercilessly because his ideas clashed with that of Gandhi. Sourav's contribution to Indian cricket is no less than Netaji's to Independence. And both have been ruthlessly driven away.

I am not blaming individuals here. It is the system that is to be blamed. The system where the one with a not-so-good image gets victimised. Sourav said he wanted to live a pressure-free life. That is an understatement of his traumatic experiences over the last three years. Himesh
Reshamiya might stop singing soon. Sania Mirza would quit her game, unable to bear the scrutiny on the length of her skirts. And Salman Khan would end up marrying against his own wishes. Ending of eras in a Free Democratic Country like ours.