Germany - Part 3

I realized that I didn't talk much about the Rhine river cruise. KD is one of the many companies that organizes the river cruise and with these guys you can use the German rail pass as well. They may not have the best of the facilities but its still good. The rive cruise goes through many small yet beautiful cities like Rudesheim, Bacharach, St Goar etc. You can also get off at any town in between and catch the local train to the next station if you wish. The trains also run along the river side. By being on the train you don't miss a lot. You definitely save a lot of time. And it does make a lot of sense to get off and take a train because after the first hour, the cruise does get boring.

With Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, and Bonn done, it was time to head towards the town where the wedding was happening. The wedding was the primary reason for our Germany visit. Let me warn you ahead of time that this section may not be of great interest to many of you as its not about travel and sightseeing.

Bad Driburg was the town we had to reach. We left Cologne on 9th mid-day, made at least 2 changes on the train and then took a bus to reach the town. We were the only non-germans in many of those sections we traveled. I am sure a lot of locals would have been surprised or even suspicious seeing us backpacking through some truly German locations.

Bad Driburg is a recovery town (popular for thermal spas) for old aged people. From my first line you can see where this would go. The moment we got off the railway station, the first sign I noticed was about a hospital. And the hospital was actually next door to the railway station, which sort of gave us a peek into what we could expect here. Nevertheless, we were here just for the wedding.

We checked-in to our hotel and walked to the other side of town (about 1km) to where the church was. Had a quick look around the area and also met the bride, groom and their family for a few minutes while they were in rehearsal. The same day evening, we had a small dinner with family and friends. The next day was the wedding. It was a Protestant-Catholic wedding and pretty much every word of it was in German. Altogether a different experience - my first church wedding outside India. Very different from our kind of weddings. There were only about 100 guests in all, including family. Every minute of the wedding was carefully planned by the bride and the groom. The after wedding party was at a spa-hotel that was right opposite the church. We just walked, clicked a few pictures and had some wine/juice.

The bride's family had something for us next. They gave us postcards for us to write wishes for the couple. These postcards were then tied to a gas balloon and let off into the air. A balloon would land someday in the garden of someone's house. The recipient if enthusiastic enough, would post the card back to the couple. The couple gets to know how far the balloons traveled. We got to know that in one such wedding, the balloons went as far as Denmark!

It was time for dinner. We got seated in a particular table. Seating was all pre-decided. Dinner was served with a series of presentations/wishes in between. This was exactly where the family and friends put enormous effort to make the event hilarious and interesting. Both families worked extremely hard in their own capacities to put up pictures and events from the past to tell us many stories about couple and their journey until the wedding. Just like the Hollywood movies! They also had small games and quizzes for the couple through which everyone got to know the couple better. Friends groups from work and university also had similar presentations. There was a photo booth to take pictures and these pictures would go into a scrap book. You also had the opportunity to write wishes for the couple on that book. There was a live band and a DJ. When all of this got over, it was roughly 5am in the morning. I didn't stay that long. I took off around three.

Got up that Sunday (the 11th), packed our bags and took the train towards what was going to be the best city of our trip - Berlin!

Germany - Part 2

Like most of Western Europe, Germany is quite easy to get around and people do speak English and don't take offense like the French.

Frankfurt was our first stop. Our hotel was in Sachsenhausen, which was part of the city's old town (by the way, almost every city in Germany has an old town which is called Aldstadt). It was a very vibrant location with many beer gardens and noisy people.

Germans know a few things better than most of their European friends, besides automobiles and engineering I mean - and that's potatoes and beer. We had some of the best potato based food and beers all through the trip.

Textorstrasse in the same part of town has a few restaurants that serve some of the best apple wine (apfelwein). These restaurants are more popular with the locals and hence not many tourists are there, which was good in a way too. Summer festivals were happening all over town and we got a chance to mingle with the locals. We spent a few hours in a suburb called Bornheim (this place survived the war). This side of the city is famous for small cafes and restaurants along the streets with hardly any space for cars to get around.

We did a day trip to Stuttgart - the home of Porsche and Mercedes Benz. We managed to see the Porsche Museum and understand Bernoulli's principle, also walked around the town center a bit.

Our next stop was Mainz. Trains are amazing in Germany - very efficient. All stations have a full timetable printed and made available in every platform indicating all arrivals and departures for the day. Many intercity trains also have the train route printed as a catalogue for the passengers to view. This also lists the connections available at every station the train stopped.

We had to walk a lot from the Mainz Hbf (Hbf is short for Hauptbahnof i.e Main train station) to the departure point for the Rhine river cruise. We walked the wrong way for quite a bit and hence ended up missing the first boat. The next boat was in an hour. We got in and found a nice spot. As the cruise began I noticed that there were hardly any young couples around. Everyone was 60 plus. Looks like river cruises are not popular among the active. Well, who would want to sit in a boat and see castles from the water! We got off at the last stop Boppard and took a train to Koblenz. Then another train to Cologne.

We spent 3 nights in Cologne. The cruise to Cologne almost took a full day. The next day was spent in Bonn visiting the Arithmeum, University, and the House of Beethoven. On the last day, we visited the most famous cathedral, chocolate museum, some of the 12 other cathedrals, the padlock bridge and spent the evening at a local brew house. Cologne is famous for Kolsch beer.

Germany - Part 1

So our 3 week holiday (rather exploration) of Germany started in the first week of August, 2nd to be more precise.

Since our decision to travel was made quite late, the cheapest tickets we could get was around 1550 AUD return with Air China.

So we boarded the flight in Melbourne. The first surprise came when we checked in and they told us that we had to collect our bags in Shanghai (that was our stop-over) and then re-check the bags in for the next leg. That was understandable as we had a stop-over of more than 12 hrs.

Shanghai Pudong was quite an experience. We got there and we got no instructions from the airline staff about what we needed to do. We ended up straight at immigration. My wife decided to request for a transit visa so that we could explore the possibility of getting to the city for the night rather than being stuck at the airport hotel. After some struggle with a limited English speaking officer, we got an authorization. We collected our bags and then walked out.

One tourist agent on the way out offered to help us with hotel accommodation. After looking at a few hotels, we decided to get one for around 50 USD for one night, including airport transfers. We paid the guy and then got out of the airport and were waiting for the cab. One of the guys walked us out and was waiting for the cab with us.

Shanghai is full of smokers. Everyone around us was smoking non-stop. The air around us was horrible and it was a very hot evening. We were just waiting there. We tried speaking to the guy who came with us about the cab. Obviously he spoke only Mandarin and we were still clueless. Finally, a vehicle arrived. It was worse than the Maruti Omni but a larger version.

We got in and the guy drove for about 10 mins. Around the Pudong airport, the roads are all four lane and I noticed a few highways as well. Our van driver was not following any traffic regulations. He was driving in the middle of two lanes and did not stop at many traffic lights. Now that's something I have prior experience for sure.

Just off these massive roadways are small ghettoes, a perfect example of income distribution, and that was where our hotel was. The lane was deserted and no street lights in many sections. It was slightly scary. We checked into the hotel and decided to get some food.

The nearest place was a cross-section with a few street shops. Not a single word of English. There was a lady making stir-fried noodles. Our pictionary and dumb-c skills helped us a bit and we got ourselves a good and cheap dinner for like 30 RMB. Not bad. We walked back, slept well and got back to the airport on time the next day.

On the return is when we decided that we should never fly through China again. Thankfully, our bags were checked-in directly to Melbourne. We got off at Beijing and we had only a 4 hour transit. We had to do a proper immigration  and security check because our next flight to Melbourne was a local flight going through Shanghai. It took a lot of trouble and queuing up. Then in Shanghai, we were asked to leave the aircraft and do another round of security checks and what not. We finally got back on the same aircraft. I was reminded of my super easy connections and efficient transfers in Singapore and KL. So much trouble for deciding to fly low-cost. And let's not even talk about the food. Asian Hindu Vegetarian gets stir fried veggies and rice! Their in-flight food options are so inflexible that even getting an extra piece of bread roll takes atleast 30 minutes. And one of the flight attendants told me that they don't have extra butter!

That's part 1 for you and there is more to come during this week.

Raanjhanaa

Raanjhanaa is a movie that revolves around the life of a self-centred Zoya, played by Sonam Kapoor. The movie is not about a demented stalker, not about slitting wrists for love, not about politics and not about inter-caste weddings.

Dhanush's first Hindi movie has been doing well and doesn't require my approval. In a lot of places, he does remind us of his previous movies. There is a bit of 3, Kadhal Kondaen and perhaps a few more. Dialog delivery suffers but his acting and emotions make up for the flaws. When the producers released the trailer, they obviously showed the highlights of his hindi speaking skills and the tamil audience were slightly spellbound. That feeling slips away when we get into the mood of the movie.

Zoya is the centerpiece of this movie. Its her intentions (I am unsure if I can use the word selfish to describe her intentions), that drives the so-called protagonist Kundan to do whatever he does in the film. Love is just another emotion in the movie. In fact, Zoya's silence and vengeance are the deeper aspects of the movie that tend to stand out during the second half. 

So men, here are the rules simply put. Even in small towns, your silly pranks and smiles will not work. Get ahead and get smart. Women need more than blood. They want you to be educated and ambitious. What Kundan does in the second half of the movie is unbelievable and absolute nonsense. Its a directorial flaw. And Zoya does get a bit emotional towards the end for Kundan but it was too late.

Nevertheless, the colors in the movie are brilliant. Music heightens your spirits to a completely new level. Raanjhana is best understood when you see it from the eyes of Zoya.

USHA BUO 2013 - Predictions

With the seedings out, its now time to have a quick look at the pools and the games that follow. Here it is

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C
Learning to Fly	Stall 7	Spinergy
Blitzkrieg	Chakraa	DoD
Storm Chasers	Airborne Chicken Pox	Cat Dogs
Shurikens	Falcons	Fly Wild
Dishqiya	Dhokla Biryani	Fringe Flickers
Blue Rays	Discreed	Flying Spirits
Spin Doctors	Discotech	Airborne Small Pox
Airbenders	Air Traffic Control	Spin Offs

With 8 teams in every pool, it is going to be a lot of games per team before they get divided into Gold, Silver and Fun (that's how the organizers decided to call the last pool). The first two days of pool games is not going to be easy at all and I am sure we will be in for a few surprises.

If things go by the way my brain is thinking right now, here is what we can expect from every pool.

Pool A will be topped by Learning to Fly (nothing different. Same team, maybe a few new additions. They should sail through, especially considering its grass and they have been quite consistent on grass). It will be a good fight for Storm Chasers with Shurikens in the same pool (if the people I used to know  in Shurikens are still around I mean). If they get their act together, then team Blitz has a chance too. Dishqiya is a good contender as well considering that they have worked together as team for sometime now.

Pool B will be topped by Stall 7 (but for a few X-Men characters missing from their roster, the college team has come a long way and should sustain their run), followed by a good fight for the next few places between the following teams: Airborne Chicken Pox (guessing this is their A team as there is a small pox somewhere down the line. Airborne performed well at Kodai when I was there and at the Heat last year. They should do well this time around too);  Falcons (the young boys of Bangalore give most of the teams a hard time) and Chakraa (a team that I know closely and has been doing reasonably well)

Pool C will be topped by Fly Wild (runner up at Chennai Heat. These guys should be on fire this time around), followed by Spinergy and DoD. Cat Dogs are going to have a tough time in this pool with 3 other strong teams.

The Gold Pool would probably look like this, in no particular order or ranking

Learning to Fly

Stall 7

Fly Wild

Spinergy

Storm Chasers (the design of Pool A makes it easy for them)

There will be a sort of scramble for the next 3 places. An educated guess would be DoD, Airborne Chicken Pox and Chakraa, but we cannot leave out the Falcons who have the capability to create an upset. Watch out for the games these teams play as they could go either ways. Interesting that out of the five teams mentioned above, three are in one pool. Which sort of gives DoD an easy entry to the Gold Pool unless the Cat Dogs throw a surprise party. I decided to leave Blitz out of this equation because their performance hasn't been consistent beyond Chennai Heat.

As there is not much information about the Gold Pool match-ups, in the end its mostly going to be a final between Stall 7 and Learning to Fly and I am expecting the host team to continue their winning streak.

PS: These are completely my thoughts from the information I have. I will be only happy if more rabbits are pulled out of the hats.

USHA BUO 2013 - Seedings Analysis

The seeding of teams and pools for USHA BUO 2013 was just released today. The organizers Arjun Lall, Satish Raj and Abhishek Srinivas have done a good job in getting out the information for the tournament. We'll come to that soon.

A quick look at the seedings (Don't mind the font. Silly excel troubles)

1	Learning To Fly	9	Cat Dogs	17	Discreed
2	Stall7	10	Fly Wild	18	Blue Rays
3	Spinergy	11	Falcons	19	Spin Doctors
4	DoD	12	Shurikens	20	Discotech
5	Chakraa	13	Dishqiya	21	Airborne Small Pox
6	Blitzkrieg	14	Dhokla Biryani	22	Spin Offs
7	Storm Chasers	15	Fringe Flickers	23	Air Traffic Control
8	Airborne Chicken Pox	16	Flying Spirits	24	Airbenders

So we have the usual suspects on the top (see the first column 1 to 8)

DoD seems to have moved up. They have been doing quite well as a team and we expect them to do well this time too.

Blitzkrieg at 6 was something not expected, considering that they have not been a consistent performer (atleast from what I know).

Storm Chasers Mumbai at 7 - also a good team but not quite sure if they can be up there.

Airborne at 8 - definitely a hardworking team and I think they entered the Gold pool last time in Chennai Heat if I am not wrong.

CatDog from Delhi (guessing its the original Stray Dogs), Flywild, Falcons and Shurikens have all been pushed to the next 8. Quite a shock.

All three teams (above) are definitely at a seeding that is contestable. I am not getting to the point of asking why they are where they are. TD's have the ultimate call. We still don't have a strict process of maintaining rankings in India Ultimate. And not all teams have participated in all tournaments. They end up doing a mix and match as and when required.

For now, seeding seems to be okay. Watch out for the next post about pools and predictions.

Singam 2

The original Singam was a treat to watch. An emotional yet strong police officer story with all the commercial ingredients to make it a perfect Tamil entertainer. Singam 2 is not quite there. Too many characters, bad music and not so great villains make this movie longer and boring.

Singam 2 shows a quick recap of Singam before leading into its theme, just to let you know that they are following the original track that was laid (which also means that we have to provide screen space for all the characters from the old film - what a pity). Tamil cinema still hasn't reached a stage where they can do something like a James Bond franchise with unrelated movies and yet do fantastic at the box office. I am sure we have the capability but many directors still are hung up on song and dance.

So what's new! An item number with Angadi Theru Anjali, local and international baddies, Hansika, and Santhanam.

Singam 2 is all about Suriya. If at any point you removed all the surrounding characters (esp family, love, and comedy), the movie would still make sense. And if the director had made any attempt to remove a few of those characters, the movie would have been slightly better too.

Hansika as an infatuated school-girl adds just color to the Tuticorin backdrop. Santhanam's sequences are not very enjoyable but his mockery of scenes and dialogues from the first movie are definitely a treat. Three villains and one of them calling himself the King of the Indian Ocean (absolutely ridiculous), I definitely think that Prakash Raj did a much better job in the first movie. Rahman does a good job in playing his part as one of the bad guys.

The movie takes us to all sorts of places. Starting from Tuticorin to Chennai, Kerala and then South Africa as well. Scenes are quick and short but predictable and weak.

Don't even get me started about the music. In this one, DSP fails to make your feet tap. After the first song, you are convinced that the first movie's soundtrack was worth every minute of your ear.

I find it very difficult to continue this review because of the confusion the screenplay creates by having so many scenes. In the end, all I can remember is Suriya finding a way to ensure that every bad guy is out of business. Beyond that everything about Singam 2 is waste of time. Having said that, a theme to just oust baddies is quite horrible because that's been the premise of Tamil Cinema for generations. So director Hari doesn't churn out anything interesting.

Going at this rate, actors like Suriya, Vijay and Vikram will become a forgotten trio if they don't invest their time and talent in working on meaningful scripts.

Wimbledon 2013 Day One

I just noticed that my previous post was around the Australian Open and the opening day at Wimbledon has prompted me to write another one. Looking back at what happened yesterday, I am sure that the British media and every sports broadcaster around the world is wondering what just happened!

The king of clay was reduced to a pauper on grass. A shocking round one disaster! This is not new for Nadal as he had a similar experience with Lukas Rosol but this happening in the first round with a person who just ran over Novak in the semis and lifted the cup at Roland Garros roughly about 2-3 weeks back came in as quite a shock.

The next shock was Errani. She was almost like a queen of clay when she reached that semi-final in Roland Garros. Then came an unknown Puig from Puerto Rico who gave her the run of her life perhaps. Puig is not a consistent player. She did take the first set easily but literally struggled through the second one when Errani pulled herself up a bit. Nevertheless, it was too late for Errani because Puig was already up 5-1.

Roger cruised through his game with Victor. He must have walked into the court with this big worry at the back of his mind about meeting Nadal in the 4th round but now that's out of the way!

The biggest shock for me was Hewitt. At 32, the 2002 Wimbledon Champion was on fire. He played a fantastic round one against Wawrinka (a Roland Garros quarter finalist and the guy who made Novak shit bricks in Melbourne). I guess these Wawrinka moments are quite short-lived and Hewitt's consistency helped him get through.

Mladenovic from France showed up like the next Anna Kournikova but then she was up against Maria. The first set was very tight. On the second, Maria picked up pace and sailed through.

And I totally forgot about our Drama Queen Victoria Azarenka. I am sure all of us can remember what she did from the semi final against Sloane Stephens in Melbourne this year. That was definitely unwarranted. In London, she sort of slipped and fell down, ended up hurting her knees. I am not sure if the fall was really bad but I did notice that Vika was really out of shape. She looked slightly overweight and unfit. Buckle up Vika, you need to get back your house in order.

The Scary Round Four

Stanisla Wawrinka - a name unheard of, until yesterday night has become the talk of the tennis world today. And this has sparked me to write a post.

Yesterday, at the Australian Open 2013 Men's Singles Round 4, he gave Novak Djokovic a run for everything - money, title, fame, name and most importantly - the game. While I sat through the five hour battle that Novak fought, to defend his campaign to the quarter finals; I realized what havoc Stan had created.

Novak lost the first set 1-6 in rapid 25 minutes. No one expected this from a world number one. He was down on the second set as well but then managed to win it 7-5 in about an hour. The third set was reasonably comfortable when Novak won at 6-4 spending only 45 mins. While everyone believed that Novak had to get the fourth set, he lost it at 6-7. He did put up a very good fight because Stan got it only after 68 mins. The fifth and final set lasted a nasty 104 mins. In the end Novak survived.

Was Novak overconfident? He probably was in the beginning. He would have never expected a 15th seed player to shock him out of his wits in the first set. Stan served 16 aces against Novak's 7; but it was not just about the aces. Novak struggled to keep up with the serves in general.

Stan kept Novak on his feet all through the 5 sets. Stan was literally dictating the game. You would expect it to be the other way around, but that hardly happened. I still remember a few points where Stan moved a few feet to swing the ball and Novak was running like a dog all over the baseline to make the return. Moreover, Stan's backhand's became a nightmare for Novak.

Towards the end of the ordeal, Novak managed to pull himself up a bit more than Stan, which gave Novak a slight advantage and a ticket to the quarter finals.

What helped Novak all through was his fitness. He could not bring his A-game because Stan quashed it right from the start. Years and years of playing competitive tennis, esp the 5 setters, gave Novak the edge he needed to last that long. Stan developed a minor hamstring injury during the game which definitely made him slow in the last 2-3 sets. Despite that, Stan took the 4th set. But his injury started playing up. The last set was a clear indicator when Stan moved less and relied on serves and backhands. Nevertheless, Novak was nowhere close to making an advantage of this.

At the end of the day, it was Stan's mistakes that made Novak win. And clearly, those mistakes were not forced on him by Novak. If Stan was even 10% more fit than what he was in the 5th set, Novak would have had to re-schedule his return ticket.

No Limits: Book Review

Michael Phelps it not an unknown name for anyone who follows sports. With 8 Gold medals in just one Olympics at Beijing, he became one of the most celebrated sports professionals in the history of Olympics.

No Limits is a book about Phelp's mental and physical journey from being a kid diagnosed with ADHD to stealing every winning moment at the Beijing Olympics. For people, who watched the 2012 Olympics at London, I am sure you guys would be thinking that this book would have been worth the wait to have captured everything until those greatest moments in London, especially the one where the FINA President declares Phelps as the greatest swimmer ever. Nevertheless, this book still does a lot of justice to Phelps' road to success. 

The book is divided into 8 chapters. Each chapter talks about a particular race and also weaves in Phelps' childhood, conversations with his coach and family, Athens 2004 Olympics and the Olympic Trials. For hardcore swimming fans, this book is captivating yet feels like a pool overdose. Swimmers will definitely relate to every number mentioned in the book, especially the details about how much a hundredth of a second matters, timing the turns and the splits. The book also introduces us to Phelps' interactions with some of the world's greatest swimmers like Mark Spitz, Ryan Lochte and Ian Thorpe.

There is a large part of the book, separated out in every chapter, that talks about Phelps' family and the support they gave him all through his journey. His sisters, who almost made the Olympic team but had to stay out due to health issues, had a huge impact on his decision to take up swimming. Being diagnosed with ADHD, Phelps was a rebellious kid and had to focus his energies in one direction. In his early years, Phelps' mom along with his coach, mentor and friend Bob Bowman took special interest in shaping his career.

The book also takes readers into an area that is not known to outsiders - about Phelps consuming more than 8000 cal per day, his foot size at 14 and his practice session that is an average of 11000 meters every day. Phelps also talks in detail about United States Swimming, the rigorous Olympic trials, and drug tests. 

The one important learning from this book is Goal Setting and sticking to the plan; also leaving out everything that would cause hindrance to achieving those goals (even if it was family). And these were not goals for the next Championships in 3 months but for the next US Olympic Trials. Once the goal was set and committed, aspects like  courage, determination, confidence, and the will to succeed would fall in place.

Michael Phelps gives a lot of lessons for anybody who is interested in chasing excellence. Perhaps the most important lesson from the book in his own words is this: "Nothing is impossible, you have to dream big dreams - the bigger, the better."

Kumki

Kumki, the latest movie by Prabu Solomon is a ridiculously stupid movie. I am writing this at the beginning to save some time for readers who do not want to continue.

The name Kumki actually refers to a type of elephant that is used to drive away wild elephants from troubling villagers in mountainous districts. These elephants are specifically trained by the forest department or other factions to keep people safe from wild elephant attacks.

Anyway, the Kumki that released last Friday is a nonsensical love story under the pretext of an elephant. A mahout brings his unconditioned elephant to protect a village and ends up being there because he falls in love with a girl there. Total rubbish.

Before any further abuse, I would like to credit the director for having chosen an amazing shooting location. The mountains, fields, waterfalls and the forest was a treat for the eye. Photography and Cinematography take top honors.

Music was literally a pain in the ass. There is a song pretty much every five minutes and that kills the interest for anyone who wants to watch the movie. The background score is amazing and I think the music director should have stopped right there.

Vikram Prabhu - I am sorry. This movie will not do any charm for you. You have to write this movie off and hope for another director to give you a break. And also hope that the new director has not seen this movie. Or even better, fund your next movie. Other than showing off brawn here and there, Vikram has not done anything worth mentioning.

Lakshmi Menon - the female lead has no scope as well.

The only person who saves this movie right from the beginning till the end is Thambi Ramaiyya. His dialogues, expressions, and sense of humor made me sit through the movie. If not for him, this movie wouldn't have crossed the weekend.

The elephant came of use only during the last 10 minutes of the movie. Until then it seemed like a complete waste of time. And Vikram Prabhu's dialogue in the end where he says to the elephant "Everyone thought you were mad but actually I was the one who was mad" is the only dialogue that made the presence of the elephant in the whole movie worthwhile.

Overall: Kumki is a big headache and not worth even a pirated VCD

Thuppakki - Quiet and Racy

It takes so much time in Melbourne to get an opportunity to watch a Diwali release. Gosh two weeks!

Anyways, I guess the wait was definitely worth it. AR Murugadoss proves that he is not a director who can be taken for granted. And yes, there is hope in Tamil cinema for good movies.

Thuppakki is a very quiet yet racy film. For once, the commercial aspects of a mass hero film has been played down very efficiently and the presentation of the rest of the screenplay has moved up a few notches without heavy damage. The theme of the movie is based on eliminating terrorist sleeper cells operating within the country. Maybe the theme by itself was a reason for the director to keep the extravagance under wraps. Good decision indeed. Execution becomes a key element of such movies and I should give the director a big salute. Scenes did not seem stretched at all.

In a year when most other superstars of Kollywood have wasted their talent and screen space on delivering over senseless scripts, Vijay has stolen the opportunity to shed his mass hero appeal from the likes of Sivakasi, Thiruppachi etc etc and play it down, a bit mellowed is the right word. No punch dialogues in high intensity and measured usage of words makes his character more believable in a number of instances.

With everything going right with the script, someone got drunk and introduced two characters to waste time. Kajal Agarwal and Jayaram.

Kajal Agarwal was hopeless. For a movie of this kind, she was zero value add. I would have been happy if she was kidnapped by the villain, like the typical Tamil movie climax but that didn't happen too. Am sure someone gave her a voice over and that was pathetic.

Jayaram - an actor whose talent was made worthless by the script.

Sathyan, as Vijay's friend, plays a very good role in the movie. His reactions and sense of comedy was more than enough for screen. The director didn't have to experiment another side-track with Jayaram and Vijay which turned out be a fiasco.

Oh yes, music. Harris J. He should have stuck to background score. Every song in the movie was just another loo break opportunity.

Tamil cinema can never end without bloopers. The climax was the best here. A bomb had been set to blast in 15 mins. And there was exactly 15 mins left for the whole movie to end. And in that time, the hero fights the villain, jumps out of the ship, the ship blasts and later he also manages a tearful send off from his family. This was hilarious. When people say, cut the crap, they really mean it. So, in future, please cut the crap.

Overall: Thuppakki entertains

Coldplay

So, I attended the Coldplay concert today at the Etihad Stadium in Docklands, Melbourne. I was new to the band. I had heard of them but hadn't heard their songs at all. I started listening only after I landed in Melbourne. Only a few of their songs registered in my mind and thankfully, they performed the ones I had heard a number of times (Paradise, Charlie Brown and Princess of China). The concert had some great pyrotechnics and the stadium was packed. It was a great experience but I never knew that it was going to be the experience I would never want to recollect again in my life.

Turns out that she also wanted to come to the concert. When the tickets came up for purchase, I asked many times and I got answers like "I may not be in town, so let's not buy". The first batch of tickets sold out. Then my friends who were attending the concert, asked us to buy. I looked up again. Tickets were available. I asked if I could buy. I got the same answer. Tickets were not cheap. 100 dollars each and I had no interest in buying a ticket and letting it go waste. I asked many many time before booking my ticket. I got the same response. So, I went ahead and booked my tickets; and by doing that I paved way for an atomic bomb to burst.

All the dialog about not wanting to spend more money, unsure of not being in town, Diwali and wanting to stay at home to prepare a sweet dish was all a big sham? In the bigger scheme of things, these were ideas that were planted in my mind to try and create a deviation so as to see if I steered back and said "its okay, I want you to be there with me". Obviously, it had no impact. Rather, I had no idea. Its like the Melbourne weather. It could rain, hail, shine and be windy on the same day. What would you do? Not listen to anyone and just walk like its a normal day.

I could have surprised her, she says. But why? Why should I surprise? Didn't I ask whether I can buy tickets? Didn't I plan for it in advance? During all those times, I never got an answer that told me - go and buy it. It was always signals to not buy.

I just don't get it. Why can't things be straight and simple in life. Why are women so complicated? If you want to go, then why don't you just say it?

I can't handle surprises. In fact, I am the last one who could think of anything of that sort. My rules in life are very simple. There is no instinct. Its rule driven and basic yes or no. I cannot work with something that is lying on the back of the mind and infer the same. It simply doesn't work that way for me.

So today's concert has gone down in my books as one of those days that will come back and haunt me forever. Every time I listen to a Coldplay song or someone talk to me about the band, I am going to have a nasty time.

And the husbands who book surprise holidays for your wives - if I see you anywhere, I am going to kick you in the nuts.

Maattrraan: The Milk Powder Conspiracy

History: Director Vijay decided to make a bad movie with Vikram and approached a few producers. He said he will shoot in London. Producers were not happy. Hearing this, KV Anand announced that he will team up with Suriya and shoot a movie in Ukraine which will not just be bad but be called the WORST MOVIE of 2012. That was the beginning of Maattrraan.

Maattrraan is about conjoined twins tangled in a milk powder conspiracy. The screenplay has a huge marquee titled SHIT running everywhere.

Director KV Anand has lost it completely. He was his best in KO, which was also copied from a Ben Affleck movie. After that its just downhill mister. Although his concept of having the conjoined twins is a novel idea, it totally misses the point. And then selling a genetically modified product to the Russian Olympic Athletes; and selling the same stuff in India. Ridiculous. WADA Officials please note, there is someone who is giving ideas to escape the doping tests.

For all the drama you did, shouldn't you atleast get the medals tally right. You claim in the movie that because of consuming this GM stuff, the athletes broke world records and Russia beat United States. And in the medals tally, China is number one. Russia is not even in the Top 10!!! What a genius you are. And hence I am not going to talk about direction. You have got a Razzie Nomination.

Gosh Suriya. Looking smart and young is not enough. Please choose good scripts. Did you even read this before signing up? Does it even make sense? Anyway, the scenes with the twins are marvelous. That fight around half-time was even longer than a SUN TV Mega Serial. And there isn't much to say about acting because too many things are happening at the same time. The director managed to fool you too.

Kajal Agarwal does manage to get some credit in the movie. Thankfully she is not the glam girl who smiles and romances when required. She does more than that, acting I mean. Good for you girl.

The first half is good because its has all the commercial elements of Tamil cinema. Ideally, the movie should have stopped there. It would have made money in the box office if the audience were shown just the first half. The second half is just trash.

Harris Jayaraj - for the past 12 years, you have ensured that you will always stick to 6 tunes. Hashing and rehashing for every movie.

The only person who has done a commendable job in the movie is the dad of the twins. He is fantastic. A very good choice for the script. Having been around in the industry for many years, he presents himself as a quite yet powerful character throughout the movie.

Overall: Maattrraan is a movie that should have been shelved during the story discussions.

Suited politicians are no better

A talk about politics always leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth. For years, I have been exposed to the Indian scenario and I have had enough. There is a new scam every year and then there is the typical Indian mentality to forgive and forget.

By the time I moved to the Great Southern Land, I had seen politicians and parties from around the world. And then, I began to realize that politicians are no different.

The ones in the UK, USA and Australia are all well-read lawyers or graduates from one of the best institutions. They are all suit-clad and dapper. That's one major difference from how it is in India where there is no importance to education and presentation.

At the end of the day, even education didn't turn these guys in developed nations into better individuals. The smear-my-face campaign is on full swing.

Someone here dug up a story about Julia G's employer from god knows when. Apparently she didn't perform well or whatever and there was some stuff about she creating a trust on her boyfriend's name. The Opposition started talking about this for days connecting that to present day political decisions. It was so ridiculous.

The next target was the Opposition. News got out that Tony A was quite a rough guy in school. It seems he punched a wall just next to a girl's face. Again an attempt on his character. He got on press saying that he didn't remember anything of that sort. Days later, he comes back and says such an incident never happened. Every one in the parliament had to talk about this for a week.

I was like - you guys are so lame and low. Don't you have better things to do than run such smear campaigns. Whoever they are - politicians, media, publicists, lobbyists, jobless people etc. How are you any different from the parties in Tamil Nadu that shout dirty stuff against each other or the national parties like BJP and Congress. You guys here give more polished nonsense whereas your counterparts in India are a little more rustic and ruthless.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone in the Republican Party finds out that Barack Obama didn't pay the bill or tip the waiter on his first date with Michelle.

Thaandavam : Movie Review

 What's with movies hitting the screens on similar themes within a short span of time? Just now Salman Khan finished being a RAW Agent and then Vikram follows suit. And can we please end the India-UK relationship for sometime? Why should all conspiracies end up creating problems in the UK or around that area, when you can stage better things around Eastern Europe. Yes, in the latter case, there is no guarantee of just shooting the movie and getting away. Someone would use the script in reality. HA HA

Thaandavam is yet another RAW Agent story. Vikram plays the role and he comes across as a revenge agent more.

Comedy - doesn't make you laugh at all. I began to think why spend so much money; get our comedians to London and abuse Britishers? Is that some sort of a post independence rage?

Music -  GV Prakash is also becoming predictable like Harris J. There seems to be a lack of experimentation and thought in the compositions. The first song reminded me of a Michael Jackson number. The second one was like one of George Michael's. The third song in the village was similar to one from a Rajkiran movie and the fourth sounded like a Harris J. I lost it after that.

Direction - this movie isn't like any of Vijay's previous movies, which did very well at the awards arena. Directors are always stretched between intelligent action films and commercial aspects. This is not a thin line but a choice and scripts get twisted because the Chennai audience doesn't appreciate a tight story-line. Research well done on the echolocation science but the movie doesn't tell much. Vijay seems to be happy with his team of GV, Vikram, Anushka and Nirav Shah from his previous movie but I hope it doesn't become a comfort zone with less experimentation. The script weakens in a lot of places and then picks up pace. The scene just before the intermission and the use of Ledex as a courier service was REALLY LAME.

There is a landslide of characters in the movie. Big names every where and simply not required. Anushka looks good but age is catching up lady! You need to get back to some serious yoga and fitness. Amy Jackson was wasted. If I removed her from the script, it would still work with very minor tweaks and hold better. Characters from the village are again sort of reminding you of the scenes from Surya-Jothika's Sillunu Oru Kaadhal. Was there a need for Nasser to be a Sri Lankan police officer? Or was it the multi-cultural and diversity aspect? And Lakshmi Rai as well. Why does everyone have to be in this movie? Don't get me started about voice-overs.

Vikram's desperate measures for a success after the Rajapaattai fiasco seems to have helped. The script is around him and he delivers. Romance between Vikram and Anushka is very mature and subtle. Thankfully, for a such a movie, absolutely didn't go overboard.

Thaandavam would have been a better action movie sans the comedy, songs and procession of characters. And with this, I hope to return to blogging. Thanks for reading.

Leaving Maximum City

So, all of this happened way back in January and I was really lazy to write about this.

Towards the end of December, I decided that it was time to leave. I may have stayed around for maximum another year. Dont think I could have managed beyond that. But life had to take a different track.

Quitting was actually not easy. This was not the first time but it was very tough this time. And for the first time - Totally unplanned.

On a not so fine morning (which I realized a little later), I entered the office. As usual, I was one of the few people to get in that early. I opened my inbox and I saw an email from my boss. He had written to find out what I was working on and wanted to have a status update. I was totally shocked when I read that email. I had already planned to quit sometime in December but this email put me in a spot. I had to take a quick decision. If I were to meet him as if nothing was going to happen, started something to work on and then later told him (in less than a week), he would be really furious as to why I didn't bring that up during my earlier meeting with him. It was quite natural. So, the only option that was left was to quit that very moment. I took some time and waited for my friend, had a chat with him and then composed the email. This time, I almost started shivering. I still can't explain why, but yes I did shiver. Maybe because I was not sure what my boss would tell me or rather how he would react. Nevertheless, I wrote that email and stepped out to have a cup of tea.

I got a call from an another person who works for my boss and asked me to meet with the CIO. It was my first meeting with him and also my last meeting. Over a cup of coffee, I gave him my reasons to leave. He was very understanding and he told me that he will do his best to get me relieved.

I tried to meet my boss that day. He told me that he was busy and he will call me. I waited for 2 days. No response. I tried to meet him again. Same answer. Then I decided to write an email to keep things on record. I got a response that something will be decided in a few days time. A few days passed. Suddenly, one fine morning, I got an email from the HR that it was my last day and I had to pay up the notice period if I wanted to leave. No discussion nothing at all. Decision taken without consent. I was partially bankrupt and had no option but to tell them that I was prepared to serve the full notice period instead of paying the shortfall. Now, this went into another discussion. My boss was probably irritated with all this and he asked me to move desk to somewhere close to his cabin. I moved and he was out of office the next few days, busy with meetings. As usual, I kept calling HR frantically trying to find out what was happening. Meanwhile, the guys who were responsible to get me relieved from the company were never aware of these happenings. They already started processing everything based on my previously mentioned last day. I had to tell them to take a break.

At one point, everyone was okay with me serving the notice period. I tried to meet my boss again. There were many failed attempts and one day I got through to him. He told me that he was going to speak to the HR. I told him that I could wait. Meanwhile, it was already New Years. Everyone in my friends circle at the office was eager to find out what was happening. Things were not moving. That's all.

Finally, the surprise came. The HR discussion was done and they decided to relieve me. Again, this was told to me all of a sudden. I had like few hours left in the day to pack up and leave. I finished all the formalities in quite a jiffy and left.

I can still remember those 2-3 weeks after I submitted my resignation. I was literally wasting time in the office. Everyone who came up to talk to me would ask me the same question - when is your last date? and I would say "nice question, but simply no answer"

Camp 3 to Summit

We reached Camp 3 and there was some surprise for sure.

The environmentalist did not need aspirin. He actually needed the inhaler, but he managed to borrow one from some other team who decided to help (this happened on its own and was not part of the simulation).

The photographer and environmentalist were at critical health. Everyone else was at weak health. Satellite communication went for a toss. All weather predictions had to be done manually. Every team member had been given a set of data that could be used to calculate the weather range, windchill factor and windspeed. Based on this information, the team could decide whether to move to Camp 4 or stay put for another day.

The team got into action. All data was collected and using traditional temperature formulae and windchill tables, the weather forecasting was done. We found out that we risk a frost-bite within 5 minutes of ascent. That was the last thing we wanted.

The biggest decision was made. To stay back, stay alive and stay healthy.

The decision helped us. It was the 4th day and the sherpas delivered the oxygen cannisters. Our next job was to divide the oxygen cannisters among the team members. Health status has improved and everyone was good to climb. Weather was fantastic and there was no point in waiting. Again, everyone had relevant information on the oxygen cannisters. The number of cannisters were to be decided based on the hours taken to summit and back, from Camp 4, and the rate at which oxygen was being consumed by each person.

We did some calculations and then split the cannisters. As we were doing that, we also figured out that there was a cost associated to with the cannisters. So we were quite careful about allocating extra. We were also mindful about the weight that it would add to the backpack. This was a big mistake on our part.

None of us needed medicines. We put our footsteps forward. Camp 4 seemed to be a tough place. Icy winds and troubling temperatures. Health had come down. The environmentalist was not very sure now. He had an incentive to stay here and collect some browny points. So, he started suggesting us to think about leaving him at Camp 4. The leader was not too keen on doing that. The other question was to decide whether we need to administer medicine or not.

After prolonged discussions, we decided that if we were going to leave the environmentalist behind, then we will not give any medicine to him. Our other option was to give him the medicine and move to summit. The photographer was also weak and he needed aspirin too. We administered the medicine and decided to Summit.

The worst happened. The marathoner, environmentalist and physician could not summit and they were rescued.

Camp 1 and 2

After the brief was sent out, I had a break for close to 10 days. Our first meeting happened after I was back. Some groups had already finished the simulation by the time I was back.

Our first meeting was quite a breeze. We were at Base Camp. We sat through and introduced ourselves, stating what we look forward to during this simulation. As everyone was in great health, we decided to proceed to Camp 1. We reached the camp without any problem at all.

The next decision was to move to Camp 2. The photographer had some issues because he had an incentive to stay at Camp 1 for one extra day. None of the others had any motivation. There was a restriction to have only one rest day during the six day trip. The environmentalist wanted to spend an extra day at Camp 4. The leader wanted everyone to stick together. Seeing all this happening, the photographer decided to move to Camp 2. He thought that if things did not go well, he could stay in Camp 2 for an extra day and then get back to Camp 1; basically not summit at all.

Everyone ascended to Camp 2. This place was first sight of how things could go awry. Everyone's health had come down. The environmentalist was critical. Anyone could contract asthma or AMS. The physician did have the medical equipment (inhaler, aspirin, blood pressure monitor) to administer to one of the team members at a time. The important decision was to know what medicine to give and see how we can progress.

The photographer was in a fix. Now he had to decide. He was the only one who had a different motive - "Stay back". The discussion began. The leader was quite clear. He didnt want to keep anyone back. The overall team objectives were at stake. The photographer decided to take a call. If he didnt stay back, he would lose only 25% from his overall goals; but the team as a whole would achieve more, perhaps more than 30%. He decided to let go of his personal interest.

The team took a call to administer the aspirin to the environmentalist and move to Camp 3. The marathoner played the very important role of gauging the temperature at every stage. We were at Camp 3 now.

Mt Everest

Mt Everest is a simulation exercise that focuses mostly on team work, leadership, and conflict resolution. As part of the training program, its being administered here.

We have been divided into teams of 5. There is one leader. Every person on the team has a defined role to play.

The Team needs to progress from Base Camp to Summit. In between there are 3-4 camps to cross. Moving from one camp to another is a decision that the team needs to make. This decision could be based on individual interest, climatic conditions, individual health, availability of supplies, need to rescue etc.

Yesterday we got the first email about the simulation. Immediately one of the teams called for a meeting and I got to know about that. I had just logged into the system to see my role and my goals and within that short period of time, a team meeting had been called.

Anyways, the team met and this is what happened. As a given rule, everyone could access the system through the same password, which means, I could use my friend's email id and know what his role in the team is (which I think is a big flaw in the administration of the simulation). So, this team actually logged into the system for everyone on their team, copied all the details and sent out a single document containing all the information for each team member. Now, this means that every team member knows what the other's role in the group is. They also get to know more details about each role such as individual goals against group goals and scoring patterns for all the individual goals.

The simulation is rigged now. This will not give rise to any conflict as the leader knows what the other team members want and he will know what to answer without any reason for negotiation. The game will be staged rather than being simulated.

Now, the team says that they did this because they want to be the number one in this game; whatever it takes. 'What does that mean' when they were asked back. They said 'They would get points as a team and every individual would also get points'. So yes, now you got all the points that you need and you also won the first place. So What??

Nothing happens. This is an office and you don't get a performance bonus to win this game. This is just a simulation to know how teams work and how they resolve conflicts. If the most ideal and healthy situation was simulated, then  there is no need for a team. The leader can himself see everyone's strengths from the simulation screen and make a decision. HA HA HA

While I was writing this, I got an email from the organizer that its okay to share information (even with unique passwords, team members could still share information). The most important thing is if that can be converted into actions. Let's see what happens next.