Bad Light saved Oz

Yesterday was the thrilling final day of the first test match in a four match series. The Australians continued their second innings from 193 for 5. They declared when their score reached 228 for 6,thereby setting a target of 299 for Indians. A foolish decision to declare at that stage. They underestimated Indians. But it is well known fact that over confidence will never pay.
Though Indians lost two early wickets, they played steadily.Sachin played a good innings and scored 49. Laxman scored 42 and he was there at the crease till the end. When Indian lost 4 wickets, bad light stopped the play. Indians were in a good position and they would have won the match.Match was declared as a draw and bad light saved Australians.

putta

Blog posts

Today i was meddling the settings in the blog.I found that posts can be submitted through e-mails. There is an option in the e -mail tab under settings, to create an e- mail address for the blog. This address is of the form <blog username>.<some word>@blogger.com The e mail address of our blog is amuserz.rockerz@blogger.com .This can also be changed. Any mail sent to this address will be published automatically in the blog. The subject of the mail will become the post title. I am sending this post through my yahoo mail. And Friends, misuse of this id has to be avoided. We can also write post to this blog from our own blogger id. This can be done by adding our id in the "add author" option. This is available in the permissions tab under settings.This will be helpful for those writing posts in more than one blog. putta

The Born Fighter - Sourav Ganguly!! Saluting A Legend!!

And the era of one of the greatest batsmen in history has come to an end. Dada has announced his retirement from cricket. Sourav Ganguly is one rare of a kind who dares to call a spade a spade. He was perhaps the first Indian captain to instill the self belief that they have in them to become invincible. After WC winning Kapil Dev and to an extent Azharuddin, India lacked that leader who can motivate his players on and off the field. India was experiencing a turbulent period where they ended on the losing side even to the less fancied teams. Even the greatest batsman Sachin Tendulkar could not tilt the tide in favor of India. After the maestro relinquishing the captaincy, the onus fell on “Dada”.

The captaincy was not given to him on a platter. It was a period when India had been rocked by match fixing scandals and when Azhar and Jadeja had their ignominious exits. Also Javagal Srinath, Venkatesh Prasad and Robin Singh had retired and the situation was too horrible to comprehend. Sourav did not get bogged down by these and he handled the situation with such an ease and grace that is rarely seen of a new captain. Perhaps, Graeme Smith was the next such skipper. The most striking feature of Sourav’s captaincy was the fact that he relished his role. The Bengal Tiger had that realistic zeal in himself to prove and succeed on the big stage. He must be credited with discovering and harneesing the talent out of the younger breeds the likes of whom are Sehwag, Zaheer, Yuvraj, Kaif, Harbhajan and even the current sensation Dhoni.

Sourav can always be proud of the fact that he formed an entire team that was only slightly short of INVINCIBLE. It can be proven from the fact that we are the only team to have given the Aussies a run for their money and reputation both at home and abroad. This is a fact none can take away from him. The fact that he led India in most number of Test matches and inevitably the most number of team wins clearly tell the indomitable will he possessed. The daredevilry, aggressiveness and speaking-truth-in-front-of their-faces attitude attracted both admirers and critics. He made sure neither success went to his head nor failure into his heart. These traits clearly are an indicator of his supreme levels of success he had during his tenure as a captain.

Now coming to his breathtaking display of attacking batting, it is not often we see a batsman accumulate 18000 runs. And he is only the third to have 10000 runs,100 wickets and 100 catches in his kitty after Sachin and Sanath. Very few people have achieved this feat and I really salute the great warrior. When coming to his batting, what everyone remembers is his flamboyant drives through the off side. That’s why he is perfectly christened as “The God of Off-Side”. By the way who could forget the huge hammerings he gave by dancing down the track to almost all the bowlers he faced. At any moment it was sheer pleasure for the spectator. He has not spared even a single spinner I guess. His sixes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Shane Warne and Saqlain Mushtaq were so fascinating to watch. Though some critics say that he has a weakness in facing short balls, he compensated more for that with his elegant short selection. As I said, the statistics speak volumes of his achievements. And who could forget the terrific opening partnerships he had with Sachin. They gave nightmares to every bowling attack in the world.

Whatever he has done to the cricketing fraternity will be remembered forever. I feel that if Sourav had played for any other country, probably, he would have been the greatest sport star of that country. Unfortunately we had Sachin Tendulkar here. I am in no way underestimating Sourav’s caliber. I would say he and Dravid definitely missed out some more accolades that they so richly deserved. But that always happens in life. To have watched such a terrific trio in action was definitely fantastic. Ganguly leaves behind a huge void that definitely will take some time to be filled. Though there are some promising youngsters in sight, we cannot fill up a “Ganguly” spot for sure so easily.

The air of charisma that Ganguly has carried with him and the respect he has commanded from teammates and oppositions alike are something which must be tried to be emulated by any aspiring cricketer. It really pains me to think of cricket where I can no longer see those cover drives and sixes. His strategic field positions, his aggression on the field and composure off it, his emotional strength are something everyone will miss. Because there are not many who have become the second highest scorer after making a comeback. He was the second highest run scorer in the world after Jacques Kallis and the leading scorer for India in 2007. That was what I said about emotional strength. It is the perfect COMEBACK, something we have not witnessed in any sport excepting the legendary Lance Armstrong. And for his stature he definitely deserved a fiiting farewell.. Those standing ovations, those tears and those hugs from his teammates.. He richly deserved everything of those.. As I type these sentences my eyes turn moist.. Thats what Ganguly has been to us.. A Hero in every sense.. And Ganguly has chosen the perfect occasion, though I think its at least a year early.. But no one knows Ganguly better than himself.

And I hope these eyes will also turn moist when Sachin,Dravid and Kumble retire.. But Dada will always be special for he is the first to exit the cricketing scene gracefully!!

So it really pains me to miss those special Dada moments….

Those nail bites on the field...
Those shirt take offs…
Those blinking eyes while batting.
Those elegant shots.
Those aggressive captaincy..
Those encouragement to youngsters.
Those “Never Give Up” spirits.
Those infectious celebrations after taking a wicket or a victory.

Everything I will miss...

Dada, You will remain in our hearts forever..

Let the Maharajah Of Cricket have a peaceful retired life and let his invaluable services to Indian cricket continue forever and ever..

Love U Dada..

U people have been part of my lives!

And u ll remain so!!

Vignesh..

Ronaldo - Recovered

Ronaldo, the highest goal scorer in world cup history has been declared fit to play again. The Brazilian striker has scored 15 goals in three world cups. He scored his 15th goal in 2006 world cup against Ghana thereby beating Mueller's record pf 14 goals in world cup. He scored two goals in 2002 world cup final which helped Brazil clinch the cup.

While playing for AC Milan on last Feb, he ruptured a tendon in his left knee. Now he has been declared fit to play again. He is not with any club now. He is in talks with Manchester City. If he joins Manchester City, he could play alongside with another Brazilian forward,Robinho. Though most part of his career was spoiled due to several injuries, he said that he is confident to resume playing.

Hope this great footballer will come back in a great manner.

putta.

No Smoking!!

I feel really elated to hear this news! The ban on smoking in public places! And Wow! What a beautiful article in THE WEEK! But I would like to put forth my views! A real good move that might go in a long way in preventing the society from many evils. Kudos to Anbumani Ramadoss for bringing this into effect. That too on Gandhi Jayanthi. It requires real bravery to bring such a ban on smoking.. As good things always have criticism, this ban has also attracted its own share of detractors especially from the Bollywood and Kollywood fraternity.

I was really happy that SRK has voiced his support towards the ban though he had not promised he would quit smoking.. :)Thats de main problem with addiction.. You tend to give up a habit after rigorous efforts and unbelievable levels of mind control.. But on seeing an old mate with a small puff or a small bottle of alcohol u r pushed back into the trap with a renewed vengeance of continuing it forever! The slide downhill is always the easiest, be it in life or smoking, but it ll definitely lead to hell. Am seriously sincere in these words! IT WILL LEAD YOU TO HELL!

But I have 0% rights on people who smoke and its their individual wish to smoke or drink or whatever they like to do. We cant mend people by law alone. U cant stop a diabetic person from eating sweets or restrain a young lad with eye power from watching tv or computers. It lies in their willpower. Similarly, (though the comparison might seem unfair) we cant always check a smoker.

But this ban protects the non smokers instead of the smokers. And thats what i like in this ban. It does not say, "Smoking Is Illegal! A Smoking person in India will be jailed" or any such crap! It clearly states, "Smoking In PUBLIC PLACES is banned"! Thus it provides a sigh of relief from the cigarette smoke which I assure most of the non smokers detest. And when children dont see their elders smoking in the middle of the road the chances of they getting into the smokers' lobby is very less.. As the children are the most impressionable of all..(These points I put forth assuming that parents dont tend to smoke in front of their children in their houses! :)) From these points of view I wholeheartedly appreciate the ban and I salute the Health Ministry as a whole! Because if I congratulate the health minister alone people may twist it as a supporter of a particular party and make this whole serious issue of health as politics!

Because as adults its our duty and responsibility to guide our next generation. They may or may not take it. But we should be in a position to help them differentiate between good and bad. And that will definitely go a long way in shaping their destiny and their future which in turn decides the state of our society and ultimately the fate of our nation. Sometimes small things go a long way!

So, I sincerely wish this ban is strongly enforced..

And by 2020 (Kalam's Year) I hope there will be no smokers in our country!

You may term it as greed. But I will term it as HOPE!

Please Give Up Smoking.
Your Well Wisher,
Vignesh.

Dada - Back in the team..

Ganguly selected for first two test matches against Australia to be held on October 2008. It was really a great news for all Dada fans. They celebrated this. People in his hometown Kolkatta, celebrated this in a grand manner.

Ganguly was a great captain for India. He was the one who laid the foundation of the present team. He led the Indian team to the finals in 2003 world cup. Indians came out as runners in that world cup. He was also batting very well in the late 90s. During that period,Sachin and Ganguly were scoring huge runs as opening partnership in almost all matches. Later he did not play well for few matches continuously and due to which he was dropped from the team. But, he came back to the team through his excellent performance. Last time when Australia was here for test series,under his captaincy,India won the series. In the second match of that series, India won the match even after getting follow on. Now, he was selected for the test matches against Australia. Hope he will perform very well.

putta.

INDIAN HONOURS AND AWARDS

For the purpose of classification, Indian honours and awards can be divided into two categories :

(a) Gallantry awards.
(b) Non-gallantry awards.

The gallantry awards are again divisible into two categories:

(a) Those for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
(b) Those for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy.

The first category of the gallantry awards comprises :

1. Param vir chakra
2. Maha vir chakra
3. Vir chakra
4. Sena ,Nao sena and Vayu sena medal
5. Mention in Dispatches
6. Chiefs of Staff Commendation Card

The second category of the gallantry awards comprise the following :

1. Ashoka chakra
2. Kirti chakra
3. Shaurya chakra

* These were originally named Ashoka Chakra Class I, Class II, Class III

Among non-gallantry awards, the following can be mentioned :

1. Bharat Ratna
2. Padma Vibhushan
3. Padma Bhushan
4. Param Vishisht Seva Medal
5. Padma Shri
6. Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal
7. Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
8. Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
9. Yudh Seva Medal
10. Vishisht Seva Medal
11. 30 Years Long Seva Medal
12. 20 Years Long Service Medal
13. 9 Years Long Service Medal
14. Meritorious Service Medal
15. Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
16. General Service Medal - 1947
17. Samar Seva Medal
18. Sainya Seva Medal
19. Videsh Seva Medal
20. Commendation Card
21. Raksha Medal
22. Poorvi Star
23. Paschimi Star
24. Sangram Medal
25. Wound Medal
26. 25th Independence Anniversary Medal

Source of information,
K.Vinodh Shankar.

NOKIA MOBILE TRICKS

These Nokia codes will work on most Nokia Mobile Phones,

Code	Description
*3370#	Activate Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR) - Your phone uses the best sound quality but talk time is reduced my approx. 5%
#3370#	Deactivate Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR)
*4720#	Activate Half Rate Codec - Your phone uses a lower quality sound but you should gain approx 30% more Talk Time.
#4720#	Deactivate Half Rate Codec.
*#0000#	Displays your phones software version, 1st Line : Software Version, 2nd Line : Software Release Date, 3rd Line : Compression Type.
*#9999#	Phones software version if *#0000# does not work.
*#06#	For checking the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI Number).
#pw+1234567890+1#	Provider Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w" and "+" symbols).
#pw+1234567890+2#	Network Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w" and "+" symbols).
#pw+1234567890+3#	Country Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w" and "+" symbols).
#pw+1234567890+4#	SIM Card Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w" and "+" symbols).
*#147#	(vodafone) this lets you know who called you last.
*#1471#	Last call (Only vodofone).
*#21#	Allows you to check the number that "All Calls" are diverted to.
*#2640#	Displays security code in use.
*#30#	Lets you see the private number.
*#43#	Allows you to check the "Call Waiting" status of your phone.
*#61#	Allows you to check the number that "On No Reply" calls are diverted to.
*#62#	Allows you to check the number that "Divert If Unreachable (no service)" calls are diverted to.
*#67#	Allows you to check the number that "On Busy Calls" are diverted to.
*#67705646#	Removes operator logo on 3310 & 3330.
*#73#	Reset phone timers and game scores.
*#746025625#	Displays the SIM Clock status, if your phone supports this power saving feature "SIM Clock Stop Allowed", it means you will get the best standby time possible.
*#7760#	Manufactures code.
*#7780#	Restore factory settings.
*#8110#	Software version for the nokia 8110.
*#92702689#	Displays - 1.Serial Number, 2.Date Made, 3.Purchase Date, 4.Date of last repair (0000 for no repairs), 5.Transfer User Data. To exit this mode you need to switch your phone off then on again.
*#94870345123456789#	Deactivate the PWM-Mem.
**21*number#	Turn on "All Calls" diverting to the phone number entered.
**61*number#	Turn on "No Reply" diverting to the phone number entered.
**67*number#	Turn on "On Busy" diverting to the phone number entered.
12345	This is the default security code.
press and hold #	Lets you switch between lines.

The Kolkata Magic!!

As I was reading about Shah Rukh Khan's article that he had become a Kolkata-Vasi after he bought Kolkata Knight Riders and now that he was celebrating Durga Puja, my memories of good old Kolkata started enticing me in absolute awe and joy. Kolkata,The City Of Palaces, the city where I had spent three to four years of my schooling , the city where I had my cricketing fervour exposed, the city that taught me "knowledge was not just books" (Thank God I learnt it in my 5th standard itself), the city where schools were much more fun-filled than the colleges, the innumerable number of bandhs and holidays, the city where the people were so hospitable and friendly, the city where the fastest of metros and the slowest of trams were side by side, the city which went frenzied at hearing the names of Sourav Ganguly, the city which had the likes of Tagore,Netaji, the city where I paid my homage to Mother Teresa.. It all sprang into my mind simultaneously.

Kolkata is a city that has a distinctive flavour stamped on it. The richest of the rich and the poorest of the poor mingle so easily and were so caring and loving for one another. Magnanimity and Helping Tendency wise I would rate them right at the top. The people were so expressive and they enjoyed for/at almost everything. Be it a Holi, a Dada century, a Mohun Bagan or an East Bengal win, a Leander Paes medal or for that matter even a victory in road side carrom or chess. They were de ones who just wanted a reason to celebrate.

When things are going like this in Bengal would people miss out a chance to celebrate the ten day gala - The Durga Pooja? Everyone go gaga over this Durga Pooja.. One of the most important festivals at Bengal. They celebrate it with such pomp and gaiety that it would be infectious for even the most insane person on the earth. And the winter holidays in the schools made us to erupt in sheer joy.. :)"Pundals" would be put up in every street corner. The idols of Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswathi and Ganesha (In some places even Lord Karthikeya) would be beautifully made with the highest of artistic acumen and they will be adorned with all types of jewels.

The whole of Kolkata would be on the streets from evening 4 to mid night 1. Durga Pooja being in the winter season and the temperature being in the ten's, it would not have been a more pleasant weather to visit almost all the streets in the huge metro. Even such a chill weather would not bog us down in eating the yummy ice creams in almost every single pundal. Not to forget the countless pani puris and rasagullas we gobbled in. The pleasure derived at such an enjoyment with family and friends is something which I cannot express in words.

The pleasure of the celebrations at Durga Pooja is because of the mixture of devotion, enjoyment and the collective effortss that the people put in trying to make the festive a stupendous success.. Even there were prizes for the best decorated "Pundals". So it added the necessary motivation to the function. The sincerity shown by the people for making everything the best is certainly inspirational and sometimes enviable too.. No doubt, Durga Pooja remains one of the most memorable moments of my life.

Now that I ve come back to Tamil Nadu, I miss Kolkata and everything associated with it!

Hope I will go there sooner or later :)

Make Merry,
Vignesh. :)

My First Hai-Koo!!

This was my first attempt at poetry when I was in my school.. I assure you that this short poem or Hai-Koo s an overflow of my emotions and does not target any single person! :)

கவிதை போட்டியில் கலந்து கொண்டேன்.
தலைப்போ அழகு.
என்னவளை எண்ணி என் பேனா கிறுக்க ஆரம்பித்தது..
இறுதியில் நான் பரிசு பெற்றது என்னவோ
ஓவிய போட்டியில்!


Cheers!
Vignesh

Muniyandi, 3rd year Zoology! - The Experience And The Lesson!

Hello guys! I wanted to type "Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondraamaandu" in English.. A perfect mokkai to start with.. :) I wanna share this movie experience with u.. See I am not writing a review of this movie.. So continue reading.. I had just returned from my long and exhilarating tour of Rajkot, Jamnagar, Surat, Porbandar and Mumbai after completing my final sem exams.. Travelling has been my passion since childhood and I ve covered a good part of our nation because of my extensive travel since my childhood. The next 15 days was quite a relaxing affair.. After that I badly wanted to go out travelling again. And than came de break from de relaxation.. :)

Luckily, Kapil invited us for a function in his house.. Our gang quickly sprang into action.. We planned to roam entire West T.N. Coimbatore being my hometown and dreamtown we skipped that.. So me, Praveen and Vinodh made a landing at Navin's house at Erode. The two days we spent der was hell of fun. As usual sleeping and eating the 1st day because we were tired of 5 hrs travel :)

That night we, being night owls, decided to go to a movie as usual.. Night shows were my favourite ever since my childhood.. Had gone to umpteen number of night shows with family.. Same was de case with Praveen and Navin.. Vinodh had not gone to one.. And he was skeptical bout coming to one :) Fakkir had delayed his arrival by 6 hours. He said, "We ll go to Subramaniapuram together. U ppl go to some other movie da".

So we were fighting among ourselves as to go to which movie. Navin said,"We ll go to Dasavatharam". But we all had watched it 3 to 4 times. Vinodh said ,"Lets try Hancock".. As we heard it was not tat worth I suggested, "Lets go for Muniyandi Vilangiyal Moondraamaandu".. All stared at me like a pack of hyenas waiting for a deer.. Somehow I convinced them saying Vadivelu was der.. Though I myself was sure that the movie would be a disaster.. It was a risk and we decided to take..

As usual we entered the theatre 30 mins late.. To avoid de "crowd" we took a ticket in "BALCONY".. The crowd which we never anticipated to be in such large numbers was too tough to handle.. There were 10 people below us and in de balcony 7 (Including the 4 of us). The other three were : A newly married couple who came to romance in the theatre.. (Think theirs was a joint family :)).. Another was a middle aged man drunk heavily.. He was half asleep.. We whistled and shouted at almost everything. (I mean at the cinema! Not at de couple! ;)). The movie was so unbearable and being a first timer for night shows Vinodh slept for 1.5 hrs in de 2.5 hrs. The other three of us were chatting.. While de couple were busy romancing.. The hero was just fighting and shouting as usual.. The heroine was made to look stupid in every scene.. Vadivelu comedies were below par..

The movie was an utter waste of time, energy and money.. When we came out of de cinema hall I had a nice thrashing and scolding for suggesting such a brilliant movie.. Night 1 'o' clock, I and Praveen drove our way back to home when we saw de other two missing.. They were caught by traffic police thinking they were drunk.. After a small argument he showed mercy on them and we were back home thinking about the height of "vettiness" we were undergoing.. This movie experience had such a lasting impression on us tat we dint dare to venture into the theatres for another fortnight..

Worser part was because of tat we were late to Praveen's house at Salem wer Fakkir joined us. As a result, late to our wonderful and a memorable bike ride to Yercaud Hills led by the experienced Praveen.. :)The worst part was we were as usual late to the function at Kapil's house (The Most Important Agenda Of Out Trip!!!).. We dint mind his scoldings and enjoyed there too. Wait,Innum mudiala!! We continued our fun ride to Fakkir's house at Trichy.. In between, we became religious and we planned a quick trip to Namakkal Aanjaneya Temple and Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple. We had promised to return to our houses within 2 days.. But we took 5 to 6 days.. After Trichy, Navin suggested' "Pollacchi Vaalpaarai poagalaama da?"..

We shouted together, "Aala vidu saamy" and happily strode back home..

Eagerly awaiting the next trip..

It was fun,fun and fun.. We rocked wherever we went..

By our laziness, carelessness and lucky go attitude.. :)

As usual..

For thats our gang's brand name.. :)

Innum Solvaen,
Vignesh.

The CAT !!!

CAT of late has become a craze and an obsession for de "just passed out of college" guys.. The "passion" viewpoint of doing an MBA has vanished and taking on the CAT has become a jolly game for most of the youngsters.. As we are all idling away our time and we wan to shown off that we r a little busy than what the other person is construing about us we conveniently lie that " Hey! Trying CAT". After all CAT s not such a easy affair guys!

Most of my frenz (almost all!) have an eccentric opinion that they can bell the CAT hands down and get into the IIM's.. All have this tendentious opinion that an engineering graduate has much more brain and talent than a commerce or arts student. I must thrash such guys! They also easily say,"Macchan! One year work! CAT next year!". As if IIM's are in queue to give them their "much deserved seat". God save them!

I seriously believe that CAT s not a child's play and it requires serious work,dedication and determination. This aspect s seriously missing in 95% of B.E's. Including me. Thats why I chose to write on this topic. In order to bell the CAT we must re-assess ourselves, our aims and ambitions and then work towards CAT. I am not pessimistic. Am just saying crackin the CAT is not wat everyone can do.. It requires serious introspection and motivation. All the best guys. Take CAT seriously. After all I will take pride in saying, "Hey 10 of my friends are in IIM's". :) ;)

CAT Wishes,
Vignesh.