Different Strokes

Finally, I have got what all of us crave for – Time! So I have been catching up on a lot of reading, watching news, watching movies, reading newspaper and going through piles of magazines.

• After World Cup, I thought I would be watching every match of IPL. Unfortunately, it is too much cricket and the matches start so late in the day (4 pm onwards) that I prefer to do other things, rather than sit and watch matches. However, I do watch all the matches of Chennai Super Kings. I am a Dhoni-fan after all, and he is throwing in quite a few helicopter shots too.    
• It seems Sri Lanka government and Cricket Board is hell bent on getting the national cricketers back by 5^th May. I fail to understand all these discussions! Wasn’t it made clear from the beginning how long IPL is going to be played, then why this last minute changes? I am sure Sri Lankan cricketers would not appreciate it.
• Come May 1^st, female badminton players will have to wear skirts for tournaments. Read this. I was watching this news item and several badminton players like Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponappa are quite OK with this attempt to glamourise this sport. I particularly loved what Gopichand had to say about this. It was something to the effect that there are many things which should be done for marketing this sport well, and this isn’t the most important of them all.

• I have also been eyeing gold prices (just out of interest and not to invest) which don’t seem to be slowing down at all. But actually it is Silver which has turned out to be the best performing asset in the last 5 years. Read this. 
• When I read this article in Outlook, it was as if I was reading my own thoughts. It was heartening to see how so many people joined hands with Anna Hazare for the Jan LokPal Bill. Those who were not joining it in person at Jantar-Mantar or various local venues across cities were supporting it through Facebook, Twitter and SMS. But I did not join this “fight against corruption”; my conscience did not allow me! Who am I to raise fingers at politicians, as if I have never been party to the corrupt practices which are order of the day? It did not feel right. Moreover, Jan LokPal Bill is not the solution to all forms of corruption. Of course, there are enough arguments that we need to start somewhere but the point is if we need to start somewhere, we need to first look within. (This is strictly my personal opinion) 
• I am really looking forward to the release of this unusual movie called “I AM”. Read all about the movie on its official website. 
• Recently, I watched “Tanu Weds Manu” on Tata Sky and absolutely loved it. OK, I could not understand the characterization of Tanu as well as Manu for a while but then I just stopped being too logical about it and let it go. It is in the genre of ‘Jab We Met’, which I still feel was a better movie but this was good too. What I fail to understand everytime I see Kangana Ranaut is why she did whatever she did to her face. Her lips look grotesque and there’s something weird about her face too. Just as we were getting used to her curly mane and strange accent, she goes ahead and spoils her face. She used to look refreshingly different. Now, she looks weird. But my love for Madhavan continues J I have already seen the movie twice, and apparently there are talks about a sequel too.
• I am always on the lookout for good books. Here’s a list I am looking out for:

The Locust and the Bird by Hanan AL-Shaykh 

The Lotus Queen by Rikin Khamar 

Why Loiter? Women And Risk On Mumbai Streets by Shilpa Phadke, Sameera Khan, Shilpa Ranade 

Sideways on a Scooter: Life and Love in India by Miranda Kennedy  

·        I want to buy a good SLR camera soon. I have always loved photographs much more than videos.