One and only Sachin Tendulkar ..

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar-the Mount Everest of Cricket. His Test and One Day International records are unmatched and unparalleled. His image in the Cricket World is like that of Mount Everest- tallest in the world.


He has got highest runs under his belt in both Test and One Day Cricket. He also has the highest number of centuries in both the versions of the game.


He was born on 24th April 1973. He was named after the music genius Sachin Dev Burman. He learnt Cricket from Ramakant Achrekar. He made his debut in International Cricket  arena  against Pakistan in 1989. Since then he has never looked back.


It won't be wrong to call him the savior of Indian Cricket. He has won victory from the jaws of defeat on many occasions for India. The most remarkable of them that I remember is his innings against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup in South Africa where he opened the innings and played a gem of an inning of 98 runs. This inning won the match for India. In the same match he thrashed the Pakistani speed battery consisting of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Abdur Razzaq.


Hope he continues to play for India and bring glory to the motherland. My best wishes to the Little Master !! :)

Remarkable day for Indian Test Cricket

5th October 2010 will be written in Golden letters in the history of Indian Test Cricket. This day India snatched away victory from the jaws of defeat by defeating Australia in the Mohali Test.With this victory India has shrugged off the chokers tag thrust on them.


 When India entered the field on fifth and final day of the Test matchnobody expected India to win the match. Even a draw seemed a distant dream. But due the heroics of VVS Laxman, India pulled up a miraculous victory. Chasing 216 to win, India reached the score with one wicket in hand.


Following is the summary of the match:
Australia 1st innings - 428(All out)
India 1st innings- 405(All out)
Australia 2nd innings-192 (All out)
India 2nd innings- 216-9
Result: India win by 1 wicket.
Man of the Match: Zaheer Khan

Grand Common Wealth Games-2010 opening ceremony

Brushing aside all the negative publicity that India got even before the start of Commonwealth games, India pulled up a spectacular display at the opening ceremony. This also proved why India deserved to host the CWG. The opening ceremony showcased India's culture and history and it was spiced up by some Bollywood masala. Overall it was one of the most spectacular, colourful and eye catching ceremony ever witnessed.

Some 7000 artists performed at the opening ceremony.A child prodigy Keshav played Tabla and matched the beats of some 1000 drummers. Some 1200 moving lights and 25 stacks of speakers producing 500,000 Watts of sound were used. 2700 shots of fireworks spread over 88 locations on the roof of the stadium created a spectacular display of fireworks.


Prince Charles received the Queen's Baton from Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar and said,"I have much pleasure in declaring the games open." Later President of India Pratibha Patil said,:Let the games begin."


International media highly praised the manner in which the opening ceremony was conducted. Following were the comments that appeared in International Media:
"India has arrived: Spectacular ceremony opens Commonwealth Games."-The Guardian


"Commonwealth Games make spectacular start."-Herald Sun


"An ancient land opens its hearts to the World."-The Sydney Morning Herald.

Lessons learnt from the epic Mahabharat

A brief summary of Mahabharat:

It is a Sanskrit epic of ancient India which narrates the Kurukshetra war between the Kaurvas and Pandavas. It describes the life op people in ancient India and preaches the four 'goals of life' or purusharthas. The latter are enumerated as dharma(right action), artha (purpose), karma(duty) and moksha (liberation). This epic was written by the sage Vyasa. The central theme of the epic is that 'good triumphs over evil'.

 Lessons learnt:
       1. Bhagvad Gita was preached to Arjuna on the battlefields of Kurukshetra. This preaching is of excellent value even today. It preaches man to perform his duties without worrying about the results.
        2. Lord Krishna and Arjuna were very good friends. Lord Krishna stood by Arjuna on many difficult occassions and also saved his life many times. This teaches us to value our friends.
        3. Devavratha got his nickname Bhishma (terrible vow) because of his vow to never get married in his lifetime. This vow ultimately leads to his downfall. This teaches us to 'look before leap'. Before promising anything we must consider consequences.
       4. Karna also known as 'Danveer' because of his quality to donate anything and everything that was asked to him is also an important character of this epic. Because of his habit of donating he lost all of his precious things including his golden armor which ultimately lead to his downfall. This teaches us that while giving we must consider the necessity of the receiver.
       5. Arjuna was a great archer of his time and he was very proud of his skills which made him arrogant. Lord Krishna played various tricks on him to expose his hollowness and break his overconfidence. This teaches us not to be proud of what we have never be over confident. Same thing can be learnt from the story of Bhima.
        6. Duryodhana and Dussassana insulted Draupadi- wife of Pandavas which ultimately lead to their annihilation. This teaches us never to insult a woman.
        7. Dhrutrashtra was taught good advices by Lord Krishna, Vidura, etc. but he ignored them because of his mad love for his sons. This teaches us that ignoring good advices can cause harm and destruction. This also shows how mad love of parents can spoil their children.

     

Truth behind artificially ripened fruits

       Ripening agent like calcium carbide is being used to speed up the ripening process. They allow many fruits like mangoes and bananas to be picked prior to full ripening. This method is generally useful for the traders since ripened fruits cannot be transported properly over long distances. However, this method is harmful for the consumers, because artificially ripened fruits are tasteless and toxic.

        Calcium carbide which is generally used as an artificial ripening agent, once dissolved with water produces acetylene. Acetylene is believed to affect the nervous system by reducing the oxygen supply to the brain. Ethylene which is a byproduct is also known to damage the neurological system.

         Artificially ripened fruits differ from  the natural ones since they are uniformly well colored and black patches may appear on them in 2 or 3 days.

     
         In India the practice of artificially ripening is banned under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and violators are liable to undergo six month imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs. 1,000. But there are hardly any cases where traders or retailers are booked under this act.

         It is necessary that we look before eating. While eating mangoes and apples, cut them into pieces rather than consuming directly. Fruits which have uniform color, for example a bunch of bananas having a uniform color is more likely to be ripened artificially. And lastly wash them before consuming.

        

Indian Cricket team: Kings on the cards

        The recent debacle of the Indian Cricket team at the T20 World Cup in West Indies has exposed its hollowness. The weakness of Indian team against short pitched deliveries was banked handsomely by their opponents. It is ridiculous to see Indian players playing at the highest level struggle against quality fast bowling and something is really wrong with the Cricketing structure in India.

        The excuse presented by the Indian skipper MS Dhoni that the late night IPL parties were a cause of  defeat  does not justify Indian teams abysmal performance. Last year too the Indian Cricket team had blamed the IPL for the last years fiasco in defending the World Cup championship. BCCI should have also learned from the last years experience and could have made changes in the IPL schedule keeping in mind the World Cup. But the truth is that the greedy nature of both the Board and the Players led to the downfall.

           Indian players also need to have a change of attitude. Indian coach Gary Kirsten raising questions about the commitment of Indian players is not a good sign. Fitness level of the players was also under the scanner during this World Cup. The words quoted by the coach that at 42 he is fitter than some of the players in the Indian Cricket team is really embarassing for the players.

         My advise to the Indian team in this situation would be, play for your country and not for money. Stop blaming the IPL for the fiasco. There were players in the Australian and English team as well who participated in IPL but they never complained. The performance of such players has even got better while playing for the country. Take the case of Kevin Pietersen, he also participated in the IPL and also became a father for the first time during the tournament but still his commitment his unquestionable. He played match winning innings in the semifinal and the final and was judged Man of the Tournament. Same commitment from the Indian players is expected. Finally, Dhoni  & Co. don't be a BADMAASH COMPANY  chasing money. You are our heroes and real heroes are defined by their deeds. Don't be kings on the cards...be kings in our hearts !!

       

Synopsis 4: Digital Fortress and Deception Point

      Both these books by Dan Brown have remarkable similarities. This is the reason why I am writing the combined synopsis of both these books. The above photo was clicked immediately after I finished reading both these books.


       Digital Fortress is about an organization named National Security Agency (NSA) while Deception Point is about National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). Both these organizations are US based and have a significant role in the security of that country.


       Digital Fortress revolves around Susan Fletcher- a brilliant, beautiful Cryptographer and an employee at NSA. This book describes how she is able to save the NSA from a conspiracy hatched by the Director of NSA. In this process she gets help from David Becker, a professor at Georgetown University and a brilliant foreign language specialist.


        Deception Point revolves around Rachel Sexton-daughter of a politician and an employee at NRO. This book describes how she is able to unmask the NRO director who tries to deceive the whole world by manipulating with the scientific evidence about extraterrestrial  life. In this process she gets help from Michael Tolland - an oceanographer and a T.V. presenter.

Synopsis 3- Angels and Demons

         I read this novel after watching the movie but I found that the book is more interesting than the movie. This is because the book has got more twists and turns and is thrilling till the end.


         The book describes how Robert Langdon, Professor of symbology at Harvard and the main character of this book, with the help of Vettoria Vetra(an Italian scientiest and the other main character of the book) are able to save Vatican from a deadly conspiracy. Robert Langdon uses his knowledge of symbology to prevent Vatican from a certain annihilation.


         In this novel I particularly liked the description of the medieval age monuments of Rome and Vatican.


          This book is a must read for suspense lovers. :)
            




   

Synopsis 2: Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

         Dan Brown novels are my favorite. That is the reason I am writing reviews of the novels. I am going to write a series of reviews of all the Dan Brown books. This is first of the series.

         Dan Brown has blended the historical facts along with his observations with immaculate perfection. It is a highly riveting  and interesting story which keeps you turning pages.

          This book describes how Robert Langdon,Professor of Religious Symbology at Harvard University solves a series of puzzles to unravel the mystery behind the murder of curator Jacques Saunière of the Louvre Museum in Paris.The ultimate solution is found to be connected with the possible location of the Holy Grail and to a mysterious society called the Priory of Sion, as well as to the Knights Templar. The story also involves the Roman Catholic organization Opus Dei.

            The pains he might have taken to write this book is highly commendable. A fantastic novel !!



   

Labour Day

       "There is power, there is power in a band of working men, when they stand, hand in hand. That's is a power, that's a power that must rule every land."-Joe Hill.
        As the above saying goes, it is the power of labour which is behind every nations success and economic progress. To acknowledge this fact, Labour Day is celebrated all over the world on May1. This day is also known as 'May Day' or 'Workers Day'.

        The origin of May Day has its origins in the Eight Hour Day movement, which advocated eight hours of work, eight hours of recreation and eight hours of rest.

        I am the of the opinion that this day can also be taken as a day to remember the contribution of farmers and soldiers of our country. Farmers on one hand provide us with food-grains, vegetables and fruits necessary foe life. On the other hand, soldiers protect our land from the enemy. Our ex- Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri rightly quoted, "Jai Jawan, Jai  Kisan." It mean hail the soldier and hail the farmer.