Savouring till the last morsel at..... Giorgio

I was so engrossed with my office work that I couldn’t keep in touch with my friends for over 2 months. I don’t remember a similar instance prior to this since joining the IT workforce. So this led to a meeting of sorts and catching up with updates during dinner. We had to decide a restaurant and we wanted to try out someplace we haven’t been. I gave a call to my colleague (fondly called “Macha”¹ by his peers) who can rant about n number of restaurants in any place you ask for. People look toward him for suggestions on apparels/footwear/movies/Tours/anything under the sun. To cut a long story short, we use him as our yellow pages. I gave my location and my expectation and pat came the reply.... “Giorgio”.

Few meters from the Beseant Nagar church is this small restaurant where I feel the management never had to turn away any diner as it was empty bare 2 tables and it was a SATURDAY. We settled ourselves in a corner and started glancing at the menu. It was a multi cuisine restaurant that boasts with serving food varieties from more than 10 countries’. A usual routine of Soups with starters’ formality was completed with a Mexican (Nachos) and Indian (Baby corn & Mushroom) starters. It was decidedly yummy and I knew we were in for a feast. Soon, the main course followed with pastas (Al Forno and Cantolleni) and sizzlers. Both were rich in cheese, no doubt about that except that the sizzler had an Indian/Italian mix of vegetables while the pastas had more of mushroom. The starters had tickled the taste buds and when this irresistible food was placed on that table I started devouring them as if it was my last meal. If you find too much of mushroom in the food we ordered you have myself to blame for, I am mad about mushrooms or shall we say obsessed? I try to squeeze in as much mushroom as possible when I have my food outside and even enjoy mushroom “Masala Dosai”² in Ratna Cafe apart from those “Idly Sambars”³.

After this heady mix, we thought we could still attempt at having a Pizza and an order was placed for the same. No surprises there, a mushroom pizza of course. This was not of the type you get a Pizza huts and corners or the ones you get at authentic Italian restaurants – Little Italy/Bella Ciao. It was a sumptuous meal and none of the items were found lacking in taste. Though the pricing is on the higher side, I would still recommend people to try out here. One of the best I have had in the last few months and being a food freak, it was gratifying.

All said and done, my favourite food will always be “Vatha Kuzhambu, Thachi mammu and vadumangai”⁴.

PS:

1: Refers to being lucky and not to be confused with “Machan”.

2, 3, 4: South Indian food items.

Disgraced enroute to Africa

"The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well." – Pierre de Coubertin

What transpired on the field of Stade de France last week, would linger in the minds of football fraternity for a very long time. After all, this is a second “hand of god” wherein, the first enabled the demigod of Argentina secure a berth in Semi finals for his team and ultimately claiming the world cup while not less in stature Frenchman enabled the hosts to qualify for the 2010 world cup. Thierry Henry, a footballer of impeccable character couldn’t help slipping from greatness on day when his un-footballish play sealed the fate of an enthusiastic team that deserved to be traveling to Africa. Fair play and skills should dictate the outcome of a sport and not treachery. I don’t intend to smear Henry but his little aberration has given a birth to a ghost that it would be impossible to exorcise for years to come.

It seems fate is not without a sense of irony, (quote borrowed) as Henry comes from the same country as a certain visionary who advocated the spirit of playing and being sport. Times have changed where only the goal matters most and not the means which when achieved isn’t bothered. Notwithstanding the match fixing scandals and rise of racist views, this punches a deep hole in to the very beauty of sport and sportsmanship. Probably from Henry’s perspective, this would be his last chance to play in the football finals at an international level and in a rush of madness left a trail of melee behind. I feel pity for him, if he had been truthful, he would have been condemned by his own countrymen in spite of his greatness. We live in a world were past good deeds are forgotten and thrive on what holds for the future.

This could be easily avoided in the future only if FIFA takes steps toward assisting referees with technology as in other sports which they aren't inclined to do and god knows why.

PS: I could not help but feel pity of a certain Trappatoni (as a manager) who for the second time in this decade has been felled by a referee’s fault in a do or die game. He was the manager of the Azzuris in the 2002 WC 1-2 defeat to South Korea in the round of 16.

Flex the flexi timing

Whoa! So this is how it is when you reach office before 9 AM. How did I manage to do this? It has been 2 weeks since I decided to venture into this new territory and leave my goddamn principles behind (waking at 7… I am not kidding). The view is filled with vacant seats and I hear an occasional sound of somebody scurrying past my desk. Working hours across all offices are from 0900 to 1800 but not expected to be followed religiously. We call it flexible timings, time that suits us to come to office and that suits to return home irrespective of the work at hand.

It has been more than 4 years since I started working, or shall I say “I was employed”. Sorry for the wisecrack and I assure you I would refrain from making any smartass comments further. I used to step into office at around 1100; a switch to a different company in between (after 3 years) didn’t make any impact. I usually go out for lunch with few friends of mine and have a long chat after that in the lawn within our office premises. It was during one of those chat sessions, one among them voiced out his opinion that we should make a habit of being in office between 0900 and 1800 not more not less. He further added that it augers well for a work/life balance. I initially had an apprehension to this but saw others agree to his view. It took me 2 more weeks to implement and I felt good about this. I had always left home late because I didn’t have much to do at home. But now, I get few new books and have started reading them. I even get some time to catch up with a cousin of mine in the evenings for a snack chat.

This self imposed work timings though are to our convenience now, would definitely hinder us in a long run. Why can’t we complete our work within the time and leave home to spend some time with our family (or friends if not staying with family). Of course, there could be some exceptions when you have to stay back for a release or for a production support but definitely should not be accommodated in your routine.

Circus.... err...... sorry, did you say politicians?

As any salaried class men/women I never thought I had an allegiance toward any political party. To go further, I never gave a damn to the ideas or vision that the parties were projecting for the welfare of people. But deep within me, I had my own preferences of who should lead our country in the global arena. I am not a BJP sympathizer but knew I was anti-congress and I don’t have many reasons why I should not be.

They have been ruling the country after our independence except for few years and most of the time it was one family that dominated the space. You could draw comparisons with the political stage in Tamil Nadu. I have always felt the congress party didn’t have the nerve to hold against the bigger players in the world arena. We were never good in negotiating with the foreign players, be it the boundaries or the free trade market.

These things made me yearn for a change in the rule. The alternative could only be BJP and I carry no notions of being represented by the communists. 2 months back, when the general elections were on, I was expecting a change at the centre as it was projected that the incumbent government would not manage to get the people's mandate in the opinion polls. The result however was in favour of congress and not to my pleasing though I was not hurt. But recently when the BJP had its general body meeting to determine the reason for their poor outing, what ensued was a pandemonium. Internal fighting is not a rare occurrence in our political parties but of this magnitude was the first of its kind (honestly, that I know of). Was it the same party that was led by a stalwart, Vajpayee?

After the 2009 debacle, Advani started distancing himself from party affairs and all the smaller players glimpsed a chance of their lifetime to admire themselves as the future leader, saviour of the party. The stage was set for the clash of egos and for sure, few were bent and many broken. What more, war of words in front of the media. They definitely would have thanked god for the electoral result. I felt a tinge of sadness for the party but there was something that hit hard on my face, thanks to the hindsight. If this party had won the elections, this scenario would have occurred but with a different reason. How would they be able to run the government when they could not find a consensus within themselves? This was one time I was not unhappy that congress (a stable government) was at power.

Congress: “Sit still and revenge will visit thine enemies”

Could this be a coincidence? Draw a parallel to England and the only difference is that the ruling party is in tatters now. Gordon Brown has to have some magic up his sleeve to turn around the tide in his favour if the labor party has to win the elections next year. The opinion polls point to an all time low for Mr. Brown and to make matters worse most of his cabinet ministers have deserted him, an ominous sign. Can they overcome the glitch and win the elections? Anything that BJP could come up with to resolve the impasse? God knows …………

When the bubble burst...

The T20 world cup 2009 is far from over, still in round robin stage to be precise but the Indian contingent has hopped in for the next tour of their never ending FTPs. But what was the atmosphere like within the dressing room when they were doomed. In a cricket crazy nation like India, it was the least of all that could happen and the reverberation was deafening on the day when it became ineligible for the knockout stage.

Who do we blame for India’s early exit from the tournament? I feel no one is to be blamed but the keen followers of this damned game. Do not forget the expert analysts at private television channels who vouchsafe for our team’s immortality and rip them apart when the result reverses. The most intriguing factor is how come the newscasters are privy to the captain’s/coach’s thoughts and air them disregarding its authenticity. The truth goes for a toss here and viewers get to mull over the garbled story.

The argument goes by, India being a defending champion, this was totally unexpected. But what was the basis of this expectation on the team? Statistics never lie and a win percentage of less than 50 (around 40) between the end of the previous World Cup and the current suggest that we never were dominating this form of cricket. The Indian team was performing better in other formats but never on this. So why was this hyped?

Coach Kirsten’s comments “we thought we were clever, but the other teams caught up with our strategy.” When did we ever have a strategy? Why are we reluctant to believe that the victory in 2007 was a “flash in a pan”? Consistency has been an issue with the Indian teams throughout their cricketing history and this team is no exception. A bubble was spotted 2 years back and its immediate burst was never acknowledged. It is time to move on rather languishing at our team’s dismal show. After all, it’s just a game. J

Am I a Nonstarter? If not, then who is....

Note: Readers are requested to bear with below content if it looks gibberish as this is my honest attempt to start blogging.

This being my first blog, it’s worth mentioning the reason behind the title provided for this. As the name suggests, I am a nonstarter.

Planning: This is a word which I use quite frequently though never reveal to the ever conscious public.

Execution: This is a word which I am still trying to comprehend or rather stumble upon. I have been planning to wake up early (7 AM is early by my standards) for a very long time and jog/walk along the beach given the fact that it is few yards from my house and try to burn the excessive fat that has grabbed a lot of attention/space in my body. The above statement does not need any completion. This is one among the many which most of the people could relate to as this person is also a humble employee of an IT organization. I can’t think of even a single act which I had started to see it through halfway let alone its completion.

It’s a never ending list and to prove that I can break from this mould, we will have to see if I am not lazy enough to blog again.