Tube of Hell again

It was not the same tube again - but much more worse this time:
4-0 vs Sevilla, 2-2 vs Valencia, 0-0 vs Chelsea, 6-2 vs Real Madrid (holy crap!), 1-1 vs Chelsea, 3-3 vs Villareal, 4-1 vs Bilbao (CDR Finals) - and all this in 21 days! All green results with a couple of scraps!
Now that Barca has won the "double" (Liga and Copa in the reverse order) they are looking into the possibility of a historic "treble". Can they overcome the Mancunians? It is going to be one hell of a game on May 27th.

Tube of Hell

Every team in the Spanish League (La Liga) this year has to play Sevilla, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Villareal in succession. This phase of the league I call as "Tube of Hell" as these teams are the top ones in Spain and Europe/world. It can be devastating for lesser teams to play such hard games, all in a row. Also it is made more intriguing for the teams themselves from the above list, by including Valencia in the place of their own, when they pass through the "Tube of Hell".

While most teams have stuttered in this tube of hell, Barca has come out gloriously. 3-0 vs Sevilla, 4-0 vs Valencia, 2-0 vs Real Madrid and 2-1 vs Villareal.

A lot of critics were dismissing the notion that Barca is the team to beat this season, before December, citing that they haven't played any of the top teams. Now that Barca has come through the tube unscathed, no one is questioning as to who is going to lift the title.

10 points ahead at the table already, they are in for something big. Whether it will be a thing or things, May will tell. For now, the next question will be, will Real Madrid be forced to give Barca a "guard of honor" when they meet again in the Bernabeu in 2009. That will happen, if Barca goes to the capital 16 points clear. That will happen.

Forca Barca.

Makkal - dawn of a new age?

I have been (forced to) watching a lot of TV in the recent times and could not escape appreciating the quality of programs in one particular channel - Makkal TV.

First and foremost, Makkal has made a sincere effort to make the programs completely TAMIL. Yes, all their studio made programs are pure Tamil scripted - no English, no Sanskrit. No hellos, no sorrys. I am no fanatic of pure Tamil, but it is refreshing to see the effort these people have put in. Only time you get to hear some other lingo is when the interviewee's cannot cope with the interviewer or during the commercials(you cant help there!). (If you complain about not understanding the language in a couple of political comedy shows, then it is because they are talking in the famous "Madras bhaashai")

The programs have variety - politics, economics, fun-games, live interviews and mostly reality TV. No movies. No mega serials. There is so much of silverscreen crap stuffed into the home box channels these days, that it is more choking than entertaining. The future for successful TV channels lies in dumping their current image as a 24x7 mini movie theater and it seems like Makkal is the first Tamil channel in that direction.

Like most of the Tamil channels, Makkal also has its origins from one of the political parties (PMK), and hence most of its NEWS and political programs appear heavily biased, and from my limited experience with the channel, I can say that this is the only downside of an otherwise excellent TV channel, which has a lot of scope for becoming a pioneer of reality TV in the Tamil speaking world. Even in the sub-continent.

With a very talented set of anchors, a handful of novel shows and total abstinence from movie based programs, Makkal has a strong potential for carving for itself a very niche audience. How far it will go will depend on how much of political agenda will be infused into its otherwise seemingly "neutral, independent and secular" schedule. Time will tell.

futball fuss

The Euro fever has come to an end with those unending chants of 'viva espana'! For invalids like me who cannot be awake to watch the matches at those ungodly hours, it is the news bulletins that give a vivid description of the flow of the game! Yes, I find that the written articles bring the matches more alive than the video highlights. That is probably because the written word has more perspective than the 21" screen.

There are two columnists in particular, whose articles I never miss: Rob Hughes of IHT and Phil Ball of soccernet (espn). Both have their own styles of writing and their own prides and prejudices. I just love reading both of them.

Rob is very emotionally attached to football - he can't digest the hyper commercialization of the "world game". He follows all football news with an eye on the financial implications. He makes it a point to mention the absence of local talent in rich clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea. Like me, he loves Barca and Argentina. No wonder, I love his writing.

Phil is also a gifted writer, who can blend humour even into his most serious sounding articles. He is an Englishman settled in Spain for a long time now (he probably married a Spanish girl!) and loves to follow the La Liga, Spain's top league football. His writings are influenced by the social and political events of Spain - surrounded by the separatist forces of Andulasia, Basques and the Catalans. If you know a little bit of Spain's history, then Phil Ball is sure to amuse you with his digest of the Spanish league.

I would have never come to like football if not for these writers' articles with their mix of economics and politics into what otherwise would have been vanilla commentary.

Afterall I am a desi. I always like it with 'masala'!

I followed the Euro games with a different perspective - grouping the teams based on their kit sponsors.

* There were 16 teams in total and 4 kit sponsors - Nike (5 teams), Adidas (5 teams), Puma (5 teams) and Umbro (1 team).
* All 5 Nike teams made it to the quarterfinals. Only 2 Adidas and 1 Puma entered the last 8.
* Each semifinal featured a Nike vs Adidas and in both the games Adidas won and entered finals!
* In spite of all its teams getting into the second round, Nike could not feature in the finals! Adidas entered into the knockout round with only two teams, who eventually entered the finals.

Honestly, I supported Nike (Russia/Turkey), but ended up in disappointment. (as usual, bun!).

Another point to note is that the winners of all groups, save Spain, lost in the quarterfinals. It is the second placed teams from each group who reached the semis.

Last but not the least, I still dont understand why the schedule was drawn in such a manner to allow Spain to meet Russia again in a match before the finals. Had it been like A vs C and B vs D, such a repetition could have been avoided before the final match. I have no idea why UEFA did not think about this!

Hope the coming season will get my favourites back to where they belong - Barca, Liverpool and AC Milan - the top of their respective leagues. I wouldnt mind sponsoring a bash on the night Barca sets their hand on the Champions League Trophy!

Forca Barca.

Forest. Friends. Fun.

The trip to Bandipur last weekend is very special to me in many a sense.

First, it is a mini get together of my batch - of the 125, 19 of us were there - 1 in every 6 - and that too after 3.5 years and that too not a few hours, but for 2 whole days! (The 20th member of the trip was our evergreen "Jith" Kumaran!)

Second, the excitement of the jungle safari that we undertook - right through the abode of the great animal species of Bandipur - watching them in their natural state of living. We also had a documentary about the state of the animals in the sanctuary, the challenges they face and their life styles across seasons. For me it was like a reminder about how wild the world is and how every species accept it gracefully. Only humans whine!

Third, the trip was planned as a gift for my birthday. The mail thread started like this: "Bunti's BDay Gift" - Bandipur Trip :-)

Fourth, the excitement of going through my favourite 4-laned Bangalore-Mysore SH17.

Fifth, the pampering accomodation at the KSTDC Bandipur Safari Lodge - something which I did not expect at all (naturally I keep my expectations low, when Govt services are involved). The safari package, the cottages, themed interiors, great food, professional staff, punctual guides, natural environment and clean air were all worth the 2.2K that we paid per person per night.

I have to mention the interiors of the cottages here - each room had an animal as the central object. There was a huge painting of the animal on the wall behind the bed - it was a real painting done by a local lady - not a wallpaper. The curtains, bed spreads and the mats also had some resemblance or the other of the same animal. Like my room's tiger paw curtains and mats, tiger striped bedspreads. Yes, I stayed in the Tiger Room in the Tiger Country!!!


We played cricket and frisbee. We went for an unguided trek, climbing a steep hill through the bushes with atmost difficulty. But once reaching the top we found that there was a simple, well laid route, just a few metres away, but hidden in plain sight. Most of us felt good about not discovering it in the first place :)

Additionally, I got to learn Salsa from my Guru, Sai - who was a surprise member of the trip.

Overall it was a fantastic break from the routine.

Golden Rules for Career Success [Richard Moran]

[can't resist posting this here]

Golden Rules for Career Success

[WORKING as a business consultant all over the world, Richard Moran has discovered some basic career-related rules that everyone should know—but many don’t.]

• Business is made up of ambiguous victories and nebulous defeats. Claim them all as victories.
• Keep track of what you do; someone is sure to ask.
• Be comfortable around senior managers, or learn to fake it.
• Never bring your boss a problem without some solution. You are getting paid to think, not to whine.
• Long hours don’t mean anything; results count, not effort.
• Write down ideas; they get lost, like good pens.
• Always arrive at work 30 minutes before your boss.
• Help other people network for jobs. You never know when your turn will come.
• Don’t take days off sick—unless you are.
• Assume no one can/will keep a secret.
• Know when you do your best—morning, night, under pressure, relaxed; schedule and prioritize your work accordingly.
• Treat everyone who works in the organization with respect and dignity, whether it be the cleaner or the managing director. Don’t ever be patronizing.
• Never appear stressed in front of a client, a customer or your boss. Take a deep breath and ask yourself: In the course of human events, how important is this?
• If you get the entrepreneurial urge, visit someone who has his own business. It may cure you.
• Acknowledging someone else’s contribution will repay you doubly.
• Career planning is an oxymoron. The most exciting opportunities tend to be unplanned.
• Always choose to do what you’ll remember ten years from now.
• The size of your office is not as important as the size of your pay cheque.
• Understand what finished work looks like and deliver your work only when it is finished.
• The person who spends all of his or her time is not hard-working; he or she is boring.
• Know how to write business letters—including thank-you notes as well as proposals.
• Never confuse a memo with reality. Most memos from the top are political fantasy.
• Eliminate guilt. Don’t fiddle expenses, taxes or benefits, and don’t cheat colleagues.
• Reorganizations mean that someone will lose his or her job. Get on the committee that will make the recommendations.
• Job security does not exist. Always have an answer to the question, “What would I do if I lost my job tomorrow?”
• Go to the company Christmas party. Don’t get drunk at the company Christmas party.
• Avoid working at weekends. Work longer during the week if you have to.
• The most successful people in business are interesting.
• Sometimes you’ll be on a winning streak and everything will click; take maximum advantage. When the opposite is true, hold steady and wait it out.
• Never in your life say, “It’s not my job.”
• Be loyal to your career, your interests and yourself.
• Understand the skills and abilities that set you apart. Use them whenever you have an opportunity.
• People remember the end of the project. As they say in boxing, “Always finish stronger than you start.”

When Bhavani Met Spree...

Little did I know, when I opted to learn "Technical German" as an additional credit in my college, that the first country for me to visit outside India will be Germany! In fact one of the reasons for me to choose Anna University over my local PSG Tech - is to get exposed to the cosmopolitan culture of Chennai and to feed my flair for languages! How much of those objectives got accomplished from my 4 year stint at AU I dont know, but I definitely got an introduction to the German language.

So, when my office, totally based in US, told me that I have to go to Germany, for a period of 3 months, I could simply not believe it. It is not the excitement of going abroad, but the excitement of going to Germany, a country that I have come to know so much through all the years with the history books and the language! Even after reaching there I cant believe it for a couple of days!

New country, new culture, new customs, new language and new people! I dont know how long did I roam around with a gaping mouth! Probably all the three months! If I start writing about Berlin, the city of my stay or my visits to Amsterdam or Norway, it will be a loooong post! I will reserve it for another day.

The well developed infrastructure, public transport, communication facilities, super hot figures (he he ..), artistic historic buildings, boring modern high rises, totally obedient commuters, ... contribute to the awe!

The loneliness, phone costs [ :( ], lack of social events (...why did you not go to pubs?...), lack of the sight of children, backpain are the shortcomings!

All in all, it was a different 3 months in my life, with so many new experiences and new learning everyday! There was shock, surprise, amazement, despair, depression, shame and joy - with one or the other of these extreme feelings constantly accompanying me all the time!

...and in the long run, I also became a foreign 'mappillai'! :-))