Was the T20 cup fixed?

Bring on the bricks but I can bet my life that the cup was fixed by the highest authorities of the game.

What makes me think so? Well, the way the cup went on and ended. Close matches but rarely any earth shattering upsets. Right from the 1st match till the last.

What do the authorities gain? Well, simple!! The game was losing its sheen in India and Pakistan, the countries with largest cricket fans. The fallout of the WC debacle was reducing fan following in these two countries resulting in loss on sponsorship and revenues for the game. So, how to get that back. Simple, just 'rehabillitate' India and Pakistan cricket and the idiots will flock again to the stadiums and make heroes out of the mortals. So the dual mission of promoting T20 and getting the revenue back in game is accomplished, Indian cricketers are heroes again and Sharad Pawar is laughing all the way.

Angry on reading this? Think I am traitor or someone who just whines? Then just wait a moment, take a deep breath and think again on what I have said above. You might find the answers

Magic or madness, it's just the spirit

Have been accussed many a times by friends out of Mumbai that I overdo my love for the Mumbai spirit but then everytime I see it grow, I am tempted to write about it.

Please show me a place in India where more than hundred thousand people assemble and wait from 2am in the morning for a procession.
Please show me a place where this mass celebrates the festival with a gutso, prays soulfully and then leave peacefully
Please show me a place where the rich and poor, able and disabled, those who travelled on a hand cart and those who reached in their swanky cars, all get together shoulder to shoulder for a celebration of life.

Yeah, that's Mumbai for me. No two hoots for your lineage or you social status. You are what you are at that moment. That's why, all seen early this morning were just devotees.

Left at 2 am for the Darshan of Lalbagh Cha Raja. Stood patiently for a few hours as the procession took long to reach. more than 4 hours to cover a kilometre. Huge garlands tied on oppsite buildings, nearly a lakh of devotees patiently waiting, people serving devotees water, cold drinks, snacks. The procession arrives and people break out in jubiliation. But no stamping, no pushing, no jostling, Madness but orderly madness. And when that passes, the crowd breaks up peacefully for their homes.. just some method in madness I call this.

So, Mumbai is still the Rockstar City of India not because of anything else but just because everyone here be it a hand cart puller or an industrialist, is a rock star in his / her attitude.

Phool for a fool

Extreme reactions on websites on Katunanidhi's remarks about Rama and Hinduism. One reader on a leading portal went as far as saying 'Wish there is another Tsunami in TN and then the entire Rama believing north belt should show their middle finger to Tamilians asking for relief'. The sentence hits you as here is a countryman wishing that his fellow countrymen face a disaster and then be shown the door. What has brought about this?

Many would say BJP's stand on Rama Sethu but there was nothing divisive about it, at the best it can be called hypocrisy. But the man who has divided the country is none other than my favourite court jester, Karunanidhi (TN seems to have some taste when it comes to politicians). Not that he has practised athiesm all his life. Remember seeing pictures of his family washing Sathya Sai Baba's feet or him doing a havan before the last assembly elections.

He should be sent a bunch of flowers everyday and told 'You are sick, get well soon'. He surely needs a visit to the asylum for his actions which will have far reaching consequences.

Running a startup - The first 3 months

Ah.. Hayagreeva Consulting just completed 3 months. Been a journey. Highs and lows one after another and so frequent they are like playing hide n seek every few hours.

Business generation has been not a problem though closing the paperwork on contracts has been a nightmare. Partners have really helped in getting us noticed. Just this morning, closed the paperwork on 2 deals. Now the third one to close. Pipeline looks good. Though it's been a nightmare convincing the prospects to put faith into a start-up.

Office space and infrastructure has not been much of a pressure because help has come from the family. Now looking for a bigger space as more people join in October.

Recruitment has been a total disappointment. Can't fathom the lack of ambition, ethics and professionalism in many of the software engineers. Taking an offer, then not joining without informing or not taking calls or using the offers to get other higher offers.... good for individual short term benefits but a let down on all other fronts. I find this behaviour worse than politicians and goons. But then, that's the way the industry works. Inspite of this, have found ahve good guys ready to put their future with a start-up and I surely won't let them down. Whoever is on board seems to enjoy the kind of work because this is where they getting to learn the best technology and work on complex projects.

Spent few sleepless nights in last 3 weeks due to the uncertainty over the project contracts. Now that it's sorted, I want to sleep well tonight to start what I call the next journey for Hayagreeva - The journey towards growth and delivery

Castro & Guevara

I was watching a show on Fidel Castro last night on the TV and how different people involved with him either love him or hate him. Just wondered who and what was the real Castro? A pathbreaking revolutionary? A stubborn idealist? A bloodsucking dictator?

Went back to my books about Castro and Guevara. They both led one of the biggest revolutions in the modern history. Then when they reached a stage where they could meet their goals, Guevara moved on to fuel other revolutions and tragically died in Bolivia later while Castro went on to rule Cuba for decades. Who was right and who was wrong in them? Had Castro too left the task of rebuilding Cuba to others, he might have been as big a hero like Guevara but then won't that be 'turning ones back'? Would they have then blamed him for not completing his work? Is he being hated by many just because he chose to stay on run his country his way in process making him a dictator. Similarily, was it not requried of Guevara to join in the contruction process too after the revolution because revolutions are not only about a regime change, they are about a change in sociol, political, economic thinking.

All said and done, one just can't wash away the impact these two have had on generations after them. The more I read about Guevara, the more I wish I was born in that era and in that place where he fired people's imaginations with his idealism.