Titans, Chapter 1: July 2006

Zizou, the Talismanic Frenchman.

I started following the fortunes of the French Football Team (Les Bleus) way back in 1996. It was the Euro cup, hosted by England. 10 years back, it was the French flair and the crisp passing that caught my eye. For some reason, I started backing them and took them to the Semis of that tournament. That was my first futbol tournament...

OK, so what if Zizou came off the bench in his debut match in 1994 and scored twice against the Czechs? For the French, there was no one who could match up to Michel Platini. 2 Years on and all hailed the arrival of Zinedine Zidane to the world stage. By then, Zidane had already collected enough Silverware with Bordeaux and Juventus but France'98 was about the Gold, something which had illuded the French for a long long time. Something on which ZZ had his eyes set. How can I forget those starting days of 10th Standard in Calcutta. A rank outsider, thats what I was with all the Brazil, Italy and Argentina supporters around me. France as World Cup '98 Champions...pooh pooh...! Zinedine Zidane...whos that? Lets talk bout Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Batistuta and Del Piero. And as the days progressed, the teams feel by the wayside.

July 12, 1998: Up steps the man, the French No. 10, the best player ever to control the middle third of a football pitch. 2 pin point headers, off 2 corners in the 1st half, silenced the Samba for 4 years. The yellow, green and blue company of Ronaldos and Rivaldos went home, silenced by the might of Zidane. For me, emotions were running high. A casual poll in class had revealed that my classmates were only deliberating the victory margin for Brazil, there was no doubt about the result, though. And how different were the things to be, 3-0, the last one pumped in by Emmanuel Petit and Brazilians were thrashed. The next day at school - "I told you...Viva la France!!!".

Then that was followed up by the Euro 2000 win, a last gasp victory against the Italians. There was the Champions League win against Bayern Leverkussen, Zidane showcasing his class with his Left footed volley, which ultimately proved to be the winner. All is well, says I, to myself.
And then World Cup 2002 happened...

4 years on, Zidane and the French had a chance to redeem themselves in Germany. It was the great man's final hurrah. We were so hoping that Zizou would bow out of Football with a Bang. And did he do that...
The sublime penalty. That deft touch. The header which almost went in. And a moment of madness. So close, yet so far. The glory that was not to be. God gives you hope and takes it all away in a second.

Minus Zidane, for me, there is a void in this great game of futbol, like never before.

Pele, Eusebio, Cryuff, Beckenbauer, Platini, Maradona, _______
Zidane?
Yes.

Still to come: Titans, Chapter 2.

Incommunicado

So it was Karnataka bandh on 4th October, Wednesday. Some dispute over Belgaum between Jai Maharashtra and Sakat hot Karanataka. Well...who cares...?!?

We decided to take advantage of the midweek off and went off to the hills...Nandi Hills. The nice Brigadier uncle from MES (Millitary Engineering Services) had arranged for 2 Fauji gadis, black Ambees with red light on top, et al. After that, there was no stopping us, errr..., except once. On the way, bout 30 km from Bengaluru and 40 odd from the hill top, we came across this group of "peaceful" protesters "requesting" us to "reconsider our trip", that too, ever so "peacefully". I couldn't make the sarcasm more evident. The scene was almost comic, we, nicely tucked in the Ambees, and one poor Policewallah trying to handle the, by now, quite irate mob. One gentlemen pointed his finger to the direction we came from and said..."Go Back". Not quite the Quit India Movements "Simon go back' though. I was in the front seat and cracked up, a very unsmart move, I must add. Neway, some conversation followed between the policewallah. Brigadier uncle rolled down the window and said "Suniye, hum sab Delhi se hain, aur hum bhee aapke saath hain...!". And that proved to be good enough for the floodgates to open. Off we were...to the country side.

I later discovered that the abbreviation MES had been (mis)interpreted by the mob as 'Maharashtra Ekeekarn Samithi'. Those familiar with the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute and the root cause of the Karanataka bandh will understand the significance of it all...

(Not Just) Another Saturday Morning

5 months since I last blogged. It would have been so much more fun to say, "5 months on, and so much has changed...". But as I think of it, I don't even know when the summers of April have given way to the June - August monsoons. Now he (Monsoon) is on the run, "Retreating Monsoon", they told us in school. The winter will set in soon and I am looking forward to all the Jacket/Pullover wearing oppurtunities. On the flip side, still dreading the thought of getting up on all those cold dreary mornings, JUST (:-)) to get to office. The thought of enjoying the comforts of my bed, my blanket and pillow on weekends is very relishing.

There is so much that people like to say and write about Friday and Saturday nights at their favourite Pubs/Discs, getting sloshed and generally high on life. Just thought I will drop in a word about that peaceful Saturday morning when you get up lazily with an almost Panoramic (I dont know why that word is suitable, but just think it describes how I feel on a Saturday morning) feel of the weekend ahead. The first thing that comes to my mind is a nice Saturday morning tea, with friends and roommates. One guy makes the tea, another one fetches the biskuts and chips, ones busy on the PlayStation and the last one is generally lounging around...Tea gets ready, the stool is made empty to accomodate the tray (I mean the plate, serves the purpose though!) and everyone finds his/her comfy spot. Newspaper is read out leisurely and there are arbit discussions about the crap on TV and funny stories on page 3. Everyones sipping his hot cuppa Tea and reaching out to grab his share of eatables.

Not sure how many will identify with whats written above...but the point that is being put across is about the value of those simple things in life. In this age of 5-long-days working weeks, we feel the need to catch up with the all the lost fun on Saturdays and Sundays. Some go Dancing, others go Pubbing, some spend time indoors watching movies and others just go out for a drive. But an hour of sitting together and doing nothing (well, sipping Tea and munching eatables isnt exactly 'nothing', still...) is something (ironic?!?) which goes a long long way in...ummm...I dont know wot, but it does do something. Maybe it gives us that feeling of peace and satisfaction like never before...

To use Mastercards famour ad campaign:

Movie at the nearest Multiplex and dinner: 300 bucks.

Night out getting sloshed at Purple Haze : 500 bucks.

10:30 am on the first day of the weekend , sitting with friends, sipping tea and not knowing whats planned out for the rest of the 2 days: PRICELESS.

Thundering Typhoons

I was having a chat with my brother in Germany and he mentioned about his visit to Bruge, Belgium. Tintin affecianados (did i get that right?) might recall the creator of TinTin : Herge.

A few of us might have even noticed the name on the covers of our favourite TinTin books...

Tintin

&

The Explorers to the Moon

By Herge

My first Tintin was The Shooting Star. Actually, my bro got it as a birthday gift. That was some 16 years back...

The adventures of TinTin have enthralled a lot many of us. And aren't we all in love with the ever abusing, ever thirsty for a drink :-), and always faithful companion Captain Haddock. The one thing which, for me, will alwayz stand out about Captain Haddock is his vocabulary...his box of expletives :

Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles,Thundering Typhoons,Pockmark, Freshwater Swab, Carpet Sellers (this one takes the cake), Baby Snatchers, and so many more...

Although I've loved each and every TinTin, it has to be said that no TinTin is complete without the bumbling twins - Thomson and ThomPson (with a P as in Philadelphia). Even when I pick up a TinTin now, I find their antics hilarious and rib tickling. 'Course, any description is incomplete without, the slightly hard of hearing, Prof. Cuthbert Calculus. Introduced in the funniest of ways in Secret of the Unicorn, Calculus (and his infamous Pendulum, the one which alwayz pointed to the west) forms an important aspect of humour and adventure throughout the rest of the TinTins. No Snowy, we can't forget you, the first page of The Broken Ear, in which, Snowy is doing some kinda exercise with TinTin is etched in my memory forever, for some reason. Btw, hes quite a drunkard himself :-)

Even baddies deserve a mention. Rastapopoulos was the cigar smokin' badman in a few of the TinTins. Made his final appearance in The Lake of Sharks, which , I think, is not a Herge creation.

Personally, the adventures I liked most were The Secret of the Unicorn + Red Rackhams Treasure & The 7 crystal balls + The prisoners of the Sun (Rascacapac!!!).

Does anyone know Captain Haddocks first name?

The Sultan of Swing

Forth-coming ...

Mark Knopfler & Emmylou Harris

All The Roadrunning...

...says the website http://www.mark-knopfler-news.co.uk/.

Having released moderately successful Solo Albums - Sailing to Philadelphia, A Ragpicker's Dream and Shanghri-La, and the intense world tour following Shangri-La's release (he was there in Mumbai too...so was I !), Mark Knopfler, the headman of the Dire Straits, has come out with a duet album with a particular Emmylou Harris (never heard of her b4!). Infact, the album will be released worldwide on 24th April...the song names seem interesting.

Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler are the reason, I, so to say, 'got into Rock'. It was the first day of the new millenium and I was in Delhi at my cuz's place. Thats when I first heard the sound of the groovy opening keyboard riff of 'Walk of Life'. That was followed up by them xtraordinary lyrics :

We've gotta install Microwave oven, Custom Kitchen Delivery,

We've gotta move these Referigators, We've gotta move these colour TVVVVVVVVVVs...

And the rest, as they say, is history. First album I bought was the compilation 'Sultans of Swing'. Couldnt stop there, couldnt have enuff of em, so On Every Street, Communique, et al. soon followed.

The crowning glory, without doubt, was March 5th, 2005, when MK performed live in Bandra - Kurla complex in Mumbaiiiiiii...and u bet, I was there. The T-Shirt's still there with me.

Lookin' fwd. to the next album, I wonder how he'll sound in a Duet with a lady.

The first song is called Beachcombing...rings a bell...isnt there a book by the name 'Beachcombing at Miramar' or sumthin...

Ready...Steady...Go...

My first blog...and guess wot...I am absolutely lost for words.
Funny isn't it, how often this happens to us. You get all ready and prepared to start writing, and the words just get choked. Damn that Murphy. Not a very auspicious beginning, to say the least. But I am determined to put somethin' on paper...be it utter trash. Jus to get a start.

Its one of those funny dayz when workload is drastically less.
Its a wierd cycle for the likes of us...the times when there is no work, you feel all messed up and an insignificant part of the human race, a 0 contributor (I bet Aryabhatta is laughing now). All you ask for, pray for, dream of, is to get work, feel on top of things once more. And then the day comes...ur Request has been granted.

One month down...and you feel like shit...you say to urself..."You LLLoser, you work ur Butts of from 9 to 9 and end up with no Life...Damn!"

Its a funny dilemna, I wonder how many know wot I am talkin' bout...

P.S. :Watch this space for better blogs.