Olympics - Celebration time, but also retrospect...

India never had it so good @ the Olympics - 3 medals at the Beijing Olympics is like, wow.. herez the list of India's moments at the Olympics:

• Indian Hockey team: Gold medal from 1928 olypics to 1956 olympics - GOSH!!
• Norman Pitchard: First asian to win a medal at the olympics, the only indian to win 2 medals in a single olympiad - 2 silvers in 200 m & 200 m hurdles!
• Khashaba Daadasaheb Jadha: Bronze in bantomweight freestyle wrestling in 1952
• Leander Paes: Bronze in mens singles in 1996
• Karnam Malleswari: Bronze in womens 69 Kg weightlifting in 2000
• Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: Silver in mens double trap event in shooting in 2004

Surely, it's a time to celebrate - we've never won so many medals at a Olympics - But at the same time, its time to ask the question: Given our population, why do we win so few medals, fewer medals than some non-descript nations in the world?? A few thoughts:

• Poor Sports Infrastructure/Sports Management/Political System/No sponsorship blah blah.. we've read about it so many times.. I'm not going to elaborate here
• It's difficult to have sports as an profession in India, because you make money only if you are amongst the very top - otherwise, you don't make any money (with the exception of cricket, which has a lot of sponsorship backing). People prefer to play safe & concentrate on academics - which guarantees monetary benefits. Also, it's a 'prestige issue' in the society - A sportsman is not perceived to 'do well in life'
• Our race does not score high on physical constitution. We dont have the strength (unlike the whites), we dont have stamina (unlike the blacks) we dont have agility(unlike the chinks/orientals). We do better in mental sports (like chess) or team sports which are less demanding physically (like cricket)

The best things in world come for free

When was the last time you:

• Walked on grass early in the morning without slippers?
• Took a stroll along the beach, with the waters washing your feet?
• Took a early morning walk in a garden?
• Swam in a Sea/Ocean/River?
• Took bath in a waterfall?
• Went trekking in a hill station/forest?
• Had tea/pakoda at a road-side dhabha on a rainy day?
• Saw Sunrise/Sunset on a beach/good viewpoint?
• Went on a long ride/drive listening to some great music on a pleasant day?
• Heard the chirping of birds on an early morning garden walk?
• Got wet (intentionally!) in the rain?
• Ate at a local kaiyendi bhavan?

The points mentioned above are some of the things that give me a high, am sure some of them will apply to you too. No wonder, it's said that 'The best things in world come for free'.

On one side, we're going to the most expensive restaurants, the best multiplexes, the best malls in pursuit of happiness, but missing out on some of the free things that Mother Nature has gifted us. Not for one moment am I suggesting that we should throw away the luxuries of a good city life (They're really good!), but we should also experience what is naturally free - which would in all probability, give a bigger high than your latest visit to the new mall.

There are other joys of simple living as well - Travelling by bus/train (Rider: if it's not too crowded!) in Chennai for example. Not only do you save money, but you also keep yourself fit by walking up to the bus-stand/train station, you get to see/hear people of various strata in the society, keeps you grounded.. Similarly, I feel nice when I get to eat good road-side food.. The thing is, I used to experience a lot of these things when I was a kid, but graudally insulated myself from such activities under the excuse of more luxury/convenience and so on. It's amazing how we completely ignore joys of living a simple life, as we pursue more luxurious exploits in the search for happiness.

Perfect Weather

Everybody has their own definition of the 'Perfect-Weather-Day'. Mine is 'Cloudy with a gentle breeze'. Citing such an opportunistic day on 2nd Aug, I went to Thiruvanmiyur beach - it's an heavenly feeling to walk by the waters while listening to some good music. Another nirvana moment is to ride on the bike on such days, without a helmet & with earphones. The cool breeze brushing by my face, I went on a long ride, exploring new routes. I found a new entrance to IIT Madras campus, by the Taramani Bus stand. I was reminded of my old Vana Vani days when a little KV school girl asked for a lift to the school from the entrance (Lazy me was no exception to this act!).

To say that IIT Chennai campus is an superb place will be an understatement. It is amazing to see so much flora & fauna in the scenic campus. The banyan tree hangovers on the winding roads will forever be etched in my memory. I loafed around the campus for quite a while - I had the opportunity to see a deer jumping, a hug pig crossing the road (or was it a wild boar?!). Check out this beautiful deer posing for me! Usually deers do not allow humans to come near them, but this guy seemed to love being photographed!

Kuselan disappoints ..

Saw Kuselan on it's first day of release ... It's been a long time since I saw a movie on the first-day, it was almost part of my weekly schedule when I was in Pune ... I'm not a big Rajni fan, but I'm fascinated by the mass hysteria surrounding him .. I love watching Rajni movies within the first few days, as just being in the theatre is an experience in itself (Had none of it at Mayajaal though)..

Kuselan is not a bad movie - I'd say it's average - which is unacceptable by Rajni's standards. Here's my reasoning:
1) The movie dragged in parts, was slow with average screenplay (even though the story is good)
2) There were too many excruciatingly over-sentimental scenes
3) Comedy was very average, animation horrible
4) No attention to detail - Meena always wore lipstick & striking sarees for a barbers wife who doesn't have money to buy a chair! In another scene, when Rajni meets some Japanese, they greet each other by saying, "Sayanora" - which means 'Goodbye' in Japanese!

This movie will not fare anywhere close to 'Sivaji' or 'Chandramukhi', it will just do above average - which is a major disappointment for a Thalaivar movie. Most surprisingly, movie tickets are easily available (Major reason: only 50% tickets are reserved by the Rajni Fan Clubs), there is less hype around this movie - because Rajni appears in fewer scenes, there is no action, there is no villain, there is no Rajni style/punch dialogues and so on. Surely, Rajni needs to stop doing his favourite roles (Remember Baba?!) and continue doing his fan's favourite roles!

I am very sure I will not watch this movie for the second time - Sincerely contemplating watching Kung Fu Panda for the third time though!