tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55986452235220498472024-02-02T04:17:47.800-05:00FootnotesWelcome to a collection of multifarious ideas, features and opinions including a unique take on politics, media affairs, sports and everything else that gets the youth talking! Apart from everything that’s ‘happening’, my focus is to cover issues either swept under the carpet or the ones overlooked. Comments, opinions and suggestions are always welcome!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-40863735903064213692011-08-08T16:22:00.000-04:002011-08-16T16:27:16.481-04:00Indian Cricket's Unsung Hero<span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">My take on the drama that unfolded leading to Rahul Dravid announcing his retirement from the limited overs format of the game. One of my personal favorites. Read On!</span></span>
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<br />If there would ever be a literature, art or entertainment piece by this title, rest assured, Rahul Dravid for once will unanimously be India’s No.1. Mark this date on your calendar, probably for the first time there existed this day in Indian cricket when nothing could overshadow the subsequent developments surrounding the news of Rahul Dravid’s surprise inclusion in the ODI team for England series. For once, Dravid became a ‘trending’ topic on Twitter. For once the Facebook status updates were giving the man his due respect without expressing their disappointment at Sachin not getting his 100th international ton! Regrettably, it all happened on one of the saddest days for Indian cricket. The day Rahul Dravid, almost a synonym to the word commitment, just announced his retirement plans.
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<br />If you disapprove of me calling it as ‘one of the saddest days’, quickly check with the BCCI and the selectors who would agree that this news is indeed depressing, for they just got to know that their ‘punching bag’ has just punched back where it’d hit them the most. And befittingly so! For how long can a man take all the responsibility and the embarrassment of being snubbed by the administrators at the same time?
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<br />This has been Dravid’s day by far and quite a dramatic one, despite the fact that the man-in-form was out of action, on purpose and suitably so, as the rest of the team picked up some important match practice in Northampton. Back home in Chennai, the selection committee that sat to choose the Indian team for the one-off T20 match and the subsequent ODI series against England, sprang quite a surprise by naming the veteran right hander in the 16-man squad. For Indian cricket, its Déjà vu 2009!
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<br />Well, Rahul Dravid and surprises don’t fit in a single sentence, for if you know the man, you’d also know how he brings the sense of déjà vu with his ever-dependable batting display every time his team is in trouble. After his surprise makeshift inclusion today, as the speculations were rife in media about whether it’s ‘The End’ for the former skipper, the 38 year old Bangalorean himself put an end to the saga. What’s being touted as Dravid’s cold-shoulder to the BCCI, he expressed his surprise at the inclusion and his desire to retire for the limited overs format at the end of the England series in September.
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<br />Flashback to the September morning in 2007 when the Indian cricket fans woke up to the news of Rahul Dravid stepping down as the skipper of the national side to concentrate better on his batting which was calling for serious attention. With this came, the clarion call of building a youth based bench strength for the 2011 World Cup under the able leadership of the then youth icon MS Dhoni came. A couple of bad series, and in a manner similar to that of Sourav Ganguly’s, the Indian cricket’s Mr. Dependable was subsequently axed. And as they say, there was no looking back from there, for the selectors that is.
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<br />For sure, a man like Rahul Dravid would have been through a sea of emotions on being dropped in a rather unceremonious fashion. But for this humble man, actions speak louder than the words and appropriately so, with the prestigious World Cup spot in the hindsight, he got back to the basics of domestic cricket to reclaim the spot he so deserved. All the hard work and toil went unnoticed as the cricket administrators in the country went on to built the acclaimed ‘youth brigade’ for this format and continued to neglect the man with an experience of over 300 ODI appearances and more than ten thousand runs under his belt.
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<br />The ‘jugaad’ (English translation: stop-gap arrangement) policy that the team selection committee has followed right since the later part of 2007 saw Dravid coming back into the ODI side a couple of years later in 2009 for the Champions Trophy as the youth brigade was having a tough time dealing with the testing conditions in South Africa. This surprising move, although criticized, sparked the hopes of the coveted position in the World Cup 2011 squad, not only in Dravid’s mind but also for those who valued his experience, the flexibility and the dependability factor he offered.
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<br />India’s early exit from the tournament called for a deep introspection and as in the following series ODI cricket returned to the flat tracks of the subcontinent, Dravid was conveniently dropped without any clear explanations, to accommodate ‘young blood’.
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<br />Almost two years have passed again since his last ODI appearance in the India vs West Indies encounter at Johannesburg on Sep 30 2009. Dravid’s name did not feature in the list of 30 probables for Team India’s World Cup campaign. Knowing Dravid, he would have best tried to rubbish any thoughts of self-doubts before the inner voices compelled him to elude the pain, to move on and focus on the task at hand, Test cricket. Four months after a successful World Cup campaign, with the World Champion side failing to leave a mark outside the subcontinent, its back to The Wall, literally!
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<br />It is not really tough to understand why the selection committee came up with a ‘Back to Future’ plan for the ODI series. The 38 year old Rahul Dravid, with three centuries in the last five Test matches, has been India’s lone savior in tough and testing English and Caribbean pitches. While the youth brigade fails to counter short balls, the finest technician of modern era has consistently brought respectability to India’s overseas performance in the last couple of months which doesn’t recommend their World No. 1 status.
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<br />Rahul Dravid is the third Indian after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly and stands at no. 7 position in the list of top run getters in the limited overs format of the game with 10765 runs from 313 innings of 339 matches at an average nearly touching the 40 mark. Add to it his recently claimed second spot in the all time list of highest run-scorers in the history of Test cricket now withstanding, the selection committee chairperson Krishnamchari Srikkanth claims to have selected the team on merit basis. For obvious reasons, amidst the countless injured and non–performing players, the selectors are back to their favorite scapegoat as Dravid best suits their myopic interests.
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<br />The news of Dravid’s recall was welcomed with mixed emotions as evident from the buzz at various social media platforms. While on one hand hardcore fans hailed the move as a comeback for their hero, others expressed their concern over the bankruptcy of the talent pool that the cricket administrators have claimed to nurtured over these years. However, the unanimous emotion all over has been critical of the disrespect shown to a man of Dravid’s stature.
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<br />A sense of disappointment prevailed as the followers of the game questioned that if Dravid is considered fit for ODI cricket now and if this selection has indeed been ‘merit based’ as Cheeka said, how do they justify not selecting this man for WC 2011? The so called youth brigade has so far failed to last a five day game or play the testing conditions in England and the Caribbean. We sure have built a pool of players, 30 best injury-prone non-performers in the name of bench-strength. It is high time that the BCCI and its selection committee realizes who they are insulting. Don’t be surprised if next the selection committee forces Ganguly and Anil Kumble out of retirement to save pride in England. It’s not ‘horses for courses’, it rather panic attack.
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<br />As cricketer Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) rightly summed it up on Twitter,
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<br /> <span style="font-style:italic;">“While I think that Dravid’s absence from ODI was premature, going back to him as a stop-gap arrangement is adding insult to injury!”</span>
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<br />Hours later, in another surprise development, Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from the shorter formats of the game at the end the series he’s just been selected for. Subtly letting out the frustration and openly expressing shock at learning about his inclusion in the ODI and T20 team after two years, Rahul Dravid read out the following note to the press:
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<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">“I’m honoured and privileged to be picked for the ODI side. Since I had not been picked for one-day cricket for the last two years, I was obviously a little surprised. And to be honest, because I had not been picked, I had not informed the selectors or the board of my desire to solely focus on Test cricket.
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<br />At the end of this one-day series, I would like to announce my retirement from one-day and Twenty20 cricket and concentrate only on Test cricket. I am committed, as always to give my best to India in this one-day series and obviously the Test series that follows. In the short term I am committed because now I have been picked for the series, but in the long term I think it is best for me and Indian cricket that I focus on Test cricket”</span>
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<br />Inevitable as you’d like to suggest, I would term Dravid’s retirement as a loss for Team India, for he never got his due. The man carried the burden of Team India, played a phenomenal role in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, gave the team the much required balance by donning the wicket keeping gloves, offered flexibility in the batting order by filling is as an opener at times and as a middle order mainstay on other, and yet without any tantrums, carried on under the shadow of the likes of the flamboyant Tendulkar, Ganguly and Sehwag trio. What’s even more depressing is that fact even as the things settle down eventually, he’ll only be listed as a ‘forgotten hero’ of Indian cricket!
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<br />Irrespective of what the man has achieved in his glorious career spanning over 15 years, and how he has done that, I look up to him as a role model. A man who stood up for his team whenever the odds were against it and did whatever he was asked to do, be it batting, wicket-keeping, captaincy, opening or even being humble enough to stay back for the series he’s been surprisingly selected for, only a day after claiming to a leading English national daily that he doesn’t like spending much of time away from his young family. Every word from Dravid’s brief press statement today makes me numb. Bear with me, my heart is in the coffin there with Dravid. And I must pause till it comes back to me.
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<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Originally posted at Sportskeeda.com by me!</span> Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-90286690603819674292011-06-22T18:07:00.000-04:002011-06-22T18:10:04.336-04:00Internship at Sportskeeda.comHere's the first one- <a href="http://www.sportskeeda.com/2011/06/23/rahul-dravid-when-the-going-gets-tough-the-tough-get-going/">Rahul Dravid: When the going gets Tough, the Tough gets going! </a>http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif<br /><br />Hope you enjoy reading it! :)Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-149338238713868352011-06-20T04:14:00.000-04:002011-06-20T03:18:48.178-04:00Celebrating 15 Years of The Wall<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX64SeQIlR6XMpGfXb4AqMdyIlzRbIRpbRmZoIXIeHqiGNLKy051d7FczmXdxrlb4pz7VrQc4qZcT2wAg8GMZTPrKYLKbqVA2awBJDq6lDvGap4yQSJsDqEPOZiTTUv2N4Bg0x2RVq1yKB/s1600/270+collage.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX64SeQIlR6XMpGfXb4AqMdyIlzRbIRpbRmZoIXIeHqiGNLKy051d7FczmXdxrlb4pz7VrQc4qZcT2wAg8GMZTPrKYLKbqVA2awBJDq6lDvGap4yQSJsDqEPOZiTTUv2N4Bg0x2RVq1yKB/s400/270+collage.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620191728981284098" /></a><br />It's been 15 years of classy batting, flawless technique, rock solid defense, pure discipline, commitment, hardwork and selflessness, and today, this Player no. 207 is known as 'The Wall' of Indian Cricket team. <br /><br />A career which began at the Mecca of cricket, Lord's, this day back in 1996, has traveled across the globe, achieving milestones and scaling new peaks. Batting, bowling, extraordinary fielding, wicketkeeping, opening, captaincy, he's done it all for his Team. <br /><br />Countless outstanding innings, countless matches saved, countless records shattered.. A salute to a glorious career completing 15 years today! No matter what people say, no matter what the statistics reflect, he'll remain a legend forever. Commitment, Consistency and Class well personified! <br /><br />Today, as India take on West Indies in the first of the three Test match series, this man steps into Sabina Park representing his country for a mammoth 150th time. This certainly is his last tour to the Caribbean and most certainly the first of the last few series of an outstanding career. And for Once I'd love to be proven wrong by this man.. till then, Happy 15th! :)Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-55282859149495806302010-06-20T16:57:00.000-04:002010-06-20T17:00:15.016-04:00Celebrating 14 years of The WALLYes, it's anniversary celebrations for Dravidians!<br /><br />For a Dravid fanatic like me, the new year begins on June 20th, the day when Rahul Dravid made his debut for India in test cricket, only to be renamed as the Mr. Dependable and Mr. Consistent, by far the most consistent batsmen India has ever produced.<br /><br />The last year, on field, was not that happening, though his appearance for his state team Karnataka was one proud moment! the IPL too wasn't that exciting although there were some outstanding knocks towards the end of it.<br /><br />Off field, the last year has been by far the best in my 10 years of fanaticism and Dravidism. The DDCA-Karntaka Ranji match at Roshanara Club, Delhi being 'The Most Memorable' time in the last one year. 10-13 Nov 2009, the first meeting, the first conversation, the first autograph, the first photograph and yes, as per my 10 yr old promise, my first interview too! :D<br /><br />Despite the disappointment of not making it to the Asia Cup team, and being out of the ODI flavour for second consecutive yr, there's still hope, for a man with 21 thousand international runs under his belt, it's just a bad phase. And like the previous many hurdles, he shall overcome this too! :)<br /><br />It's Celebration time again!<br />Happy 14th! :)<br />♥ ♥Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-20117374521181977152010-04-25T17:15:00.000-04:002010-04-25T19:09:41.135-04:00Exam fever!Wow! I have an exam in less than next 6 hours and I'm blogging! Needless to say, this time, I'm so so so NOT prepared to give exams!<br /><br />Somebody please kill me for the up-coming week and thrown me back post that! Or don't. <br /><br />Sigh! More than one reasons for not studying. Can't detail all but definitely quite pissed with one major factor: NOTES!!! Or rather, our AWESOME professors! Hmph!!!<br /><br />The four subjects this semester are Advanced Reporting, Advanced Editing, Advertising & PR and Media Industry & Management. Easy, Oh yes! But then, a reminder! My course is theoretical. VERY THEORETICAL. And to pass such a papers (or such 4 papers!) you need NOTES! This is the present scenario. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advanced Reporting:</span> Thank you for not giving us ANY class notes! Or rather, NO notes at all. One photocopy, thats it! <br />Thank you Google-ji! And you also, Wikipedia-ji. You guys are a savior! I shall now onwards idolize Larry Page and Sergey Brin for this masterpiece! See, I'm a Google-Gen-Kid, I had to Google this as well! Sigh!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advanced Editing:</span> First ten classes = half the notes. But then, they make absolutely no sense at all. General information, all of it. What is news? Editorial, article, lead and stuff. We can faff better. Anyday! Seriously! I mean that's all we do in papers. Give us more so that we can faff around that. However, the situation is better that Advanced Reporting. I'm glad. Thank you!<br /><br />Advertising & PR was taught by two different teachers. Hence<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Advertising:</span> Write, write some more, and write a bit more. Thats all what we have done in advertising classes, half of which I did not even attend. And when you open the notes, Whoa! they again don't make sense! The syllabus and the notes don't sync. It's all general stuff. So much so that we get bored and star repelling our notebooks. Needless to mention, same teacher as Editing. However, the situation is better than PR. Needless to say same teacher as Reporting. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">PR:</span> Huh! Never mind! [Read, Ctrl+C & Ctrl+V Advanced Reporting]<br />But wait, we have some photostats. Although they don't make any sense till the penultimate page of each copy! <span style="font-style:italic;">Ahaan</span>, well, thats a separate issue, isn't it. We HAVE photocopies at the end of the day. Humongous pile, how can you forget that Vidhu? Remember, thats where you've spent half your pocket money this semester!!!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Media Industry & Management:</span> A. Sir! Our very humble and down-to-earth A. Sir! Our polite A. Sir. Sir is so sweet and so down-to earth man, I tell you! He treats us like his own kids. He treats each one of us like his own grandchildren. and he's very fair and honest with his marking too! He has no favorite student. He marks everybody on her performance, no favoritism at all. For example: Once I missed my internal exam of his subject because I wasn't keeping well because of a damn headache. He didn't give me any grace marks even though I topped university. Instead he asked me to sit for a re-test. However, later he had to cancel the re-test because of his tight schedule. He then gave me passing marks on the basis of my class attendance record so that I don't flunk. This clearly shows how fair minded A. Sir is as a person. This also reflects how caring sir is as he did not let a 'bright' student fail. <br /><br />Did someone mention MIM notes? Well, this is how he makes us write notes. Yes, the same way for our university exams. At least somewhere I have notes. And I'm preparing to write stories in a similar fashion. Let me concentrate. <br /><br />Don't you have an exam? Concentrate on your own!<br /> <br />So, where were I?Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-72743768164493313632010-03-21T12:53:00.000-04:002010-03-21T13:01:25.394-04:00Bleh!Exams are less than a month away and I don't feel like studying.<br /><br />Agrrrrr!! Have to <span style="font-style:italic;">ikatha karo</span> the notes as well <span style="font-style:italic;">abhi</span>!!<br /><br />And the assignments! The product is finally done, pheww!! God, I must say Anubha Ma'am <span style="font-style:italic;">ka</span> presentations/assignments/tests are always a learning experience! Two weeks back I learnt, I'm zero <span style="font-style:italic;">abhi tak</span> in MIM. And this time, I think I can make creative greeting cards!<br /><br />Back to 'to-do list', Sigh! Jyoti and Christy's presentations, with three tests and more assignments and more photocopies! Huh, studying is hectic.<br /><br />Time <span style="font-style:italic;">kahan hai padhne ko</span>, will anyone please explain!!<br /><br /><br />Sigh!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-50708893877129672792010-03-21T10:10:00.000-04:002010-03-21T10:12:37.249-04:00Sexism and sport<a href="http://phoenixritu.com/2010/03/sexism-and-sport/">Sexism and sport</a>, by <a href="http://phoenixritu.com/">Ritu Lalit</a>.<br /><br />P.S.: Thanks Aunty :)Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-79226212060313717212010-03-14T16:26:00.000-04:002010-03-14T16:35:07.022-04:00JLTJust wanted to scribble something. Anything. Randomly! <br /><br />It's been long, isn't it?<br /><br />And plus, now I have all the time in the world for vellapanti! Literally so. Because with this huge pile of assignments and assignments and more assignments, I don't feel like writing anything! So yes, I have time :D<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Kintu parantu, kya likhun?!</span><br /><br />Match, oh yes! <span style="font-style:italic;">Apna</span> RCB <span style="font-style:italic;">ka</span> match. <span style="font-style:italic;">Pitt gaye lakin</span>, forget it.<br /><br />Rahul Dravid played well though. Nothing new <span style="font-style:italic;">na</span>? <span style="font-style:italic;">Kya</span> awesome timing <span style="font-style:italic;">tha yaar</span>!<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Fir se</span> Rahul Dravid! Obsessed!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-63959324473291191672010-03-10T18:12:00.000-05:002010-03-21T19:22:23.875-04:00Short and not-so-sweet Bangalore trip, revisited!There is more than one reason to hate the Bangalore trip!<br /><br />And though I haven't spoken much about the first, here's the second.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeR5xg0ls4SpkN0gD_iAEEVlSiCbBS7Uy4YOy9JsJ8-KZqtdxiGy08Qk8005GBWS2z7KaB-Im7Jopoy3E2O00LkDAlP-l-TgZXq9rKAlADPvhjjvm98rCS8SRvIp2VfYOx0m8Ki4gIQ5o/s1600-h/Wall.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbeR5xg0ls4SpkN0gD_iAEEVlSiCbBS7Uy4YOy9JsJ8-KZqtdxiGy08Qk8005GBWS2z7KaB-Im7Jopoy3E2O00LkDAlP-l-TgZXq9rKAlADPvhjjvm98rCS8SRvIp2VfYOx0m8Ki4gIQ5o/s400/Wall.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5451214191682514402" /></a><br /><br />Now somebody at KSCA please tell me if this is a parking lot or what?!?!?Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-24957408514915417552010-03-04T05:21:00.000-05:002010-03-04T11:28:45.034-05:00Beep BeepMajorly majorly upset and irritated to the core.<br /><br />Amazed by the totally random and least organised conduct of the whole thing. One major event and very haphazard. Very poor.<br /><br />More than anything else, amused by the types of 'co-incidences' that can happen despite having a professional back-up IT team!<br /><br /><br />Beep!!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-62559391279674355572010-03-03T04:14:00.000-05:002010-03-04T11:20:08.973-05:00Off to the Garden City!Leaving for Bangalore in a while...couple of hours precisely.<br /><br />Hope I do well there. Hope it is as exciting as I'm expecting it to be!<br />Looking forward to meeting Anil Kumble. Ray Jennings, he's so humble! And of course, THE editor, Sambit Bal!<br /><br />For a change, hope there's no Rahul Dravid becasue him being there means I don't/can't open my mouth, stare all the while and call myself Dravid instead!<br /><br />More on this when I return or maybe, LIVE updates!<br /><br />Cheers!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-61962954270802438122010-02-28T09:52:00.000-05:002010-02-28T10:16:05.656-05:00Life's hectic!And for a change, I'm loving it!<br /><br />Well my to-do list is really long at this time!<br /><br />1. I have work to be finished by midnight.<br />2. I have Commonwealth internship assignment to be submitted before morning. This shall be followed by three interviews tomorrow morning. But that should be fun. Talking to young achievers is always fun!<br />3. Ah, reminds me, Christy Ma'am <span style="font-style:italic;">ka</span> Feb 26th assignment too! But that's now due Tuesday na! Wait, you'll be mentioned in the next post then!<br />4. Okay, next I have a bit of preparation to be done for Bangalore too. FFC-2 Auditions <span style="font-style:italic;">hain yaar</span>, need to gear up! <br />5. Oh wow! Bangalore reminds, I also have a couple of assignments from RCB. Deadline, midnight. Or wait, can't we include Monday too, extended weekend it is. I really hope so! Lets see how much can I finish today. <br />6. Dinner. Well, lunch also for that matter.<br />7. Sleep. <br /><br />But then, as I just mentioned earlier, all this hectic schedule is much fun this time around! <br />Reasons? Next post. Busy <span style="font-style:italic;">abhi</span>. Please.Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-55429201618904698972010-02-26T14:13:00.000-05:002010-02-26T16:09:56.623-05:00Bangalore Calling!<a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/">Royal challengers Bangalore</a> announced the finalists of the Fanatic Fans Challenge 2 for the LIVE auditions in Bangalore. And yes, I've made it to the <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/cricket-online-contests/ffc2/finalists">top 9</a>! <br /><br />So yes, I'm off to Bangalore next week for this! Rahul Dravid's hometown!<br /><br />Much to my relief, the auditions have been postponed to Wednesday. Well, I'm eager to go and experience this but then I also need to chalk out certain issues, mostly with my mind, before I make the final call.<br /><br />Or wait, haven't I already decided that I have to have to go, howsoever my mind tries to screw things! Once in a lifetime opportunity <span style="font-style:italic;">yaar</span>!<br /><br />So, here I cancel all my appointments for the 3rd March for a date with M. Chinnaswammy!<br /><br />Or wait...ummmm..err, bleh!<br /><br /><br />Also, many thanks to all those who voted for me and encouraged me for this. Thanks a lot for your support!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-31980143888340343952010-02-24T13:28:00.000-05:002010-02-24T13:29:55.807-05:00Aila, 200!!Sachin made a double ton in ODI. Many congrats to the li’l master and his million followers! It is indeed a moment of pride for a cricket-crazy nation like ours.<br /><br />It was an awesomely brilliant innings from the Master Blaster. Or probably that would be an understatement! <br /><br />Everybody expected Sachin to get the first double ton in ODIs, more so because he's the only one who could have ever achieved this feat!<br /><br />No wonder both the other batsmen attempting a double ton couldn’t go beyond 194!<br /><br /><br />P.S.: Sheesh! I can still figure out a Rahul Dravid connection here with the figures! But this is cricket history’s first double ton by the Sachin, so let this be my first post on Sachin on my blog without any Dravid connection or mention!<br /><br />P.P.S.: I still have Rahul Dravid in this post, talk about fanaticism!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-14105340048046362332010-02-24T09:00:00.000-05:002010-02-24T13:02:58.750-05:00Shit happensNot certainly in the best of moods as I write this, a day later and it still feels terrible. Probably I now understand what a ‘mixed bag ‘of emotions actually is! Probably now I understand life’s patented rule, ‘Shit happens’.<br /><br />Less than three days ago, I was impatiently waiting for Feb 23rd. The reason being, well I guess, you might have already figured out a certain Rahul Dravid connection by now. <br /><br />Well yes, Dravid, making a comeback to the shorter version of the game, was leading Karnataka in the Vijay Hazare Trophy QF today. He was back into ODI module after a gap two years (baring the 5 odd matches that he played a couple of months ago) and so were I! Wasn’t that enough a reason to get impatient and follow the age old superstitions? Happy, obviously.<br /><br />However, the day was a mixed bag. Or rather, not the one I was looking forward to!<br />Well for those of you again looking for a Dravid connection, he did not disappoint with the bat and led Karnataka into the semis pretty comfortably.<br /><br />I started this day with a flashback and not really a happy one. So, we shall not really talk about it any more. Raat gayi baat gayi, chuck it!<br /><br />Slept at about four in the morning to get up all set to cheer for Karnataka and Dravid once again. Trying to cheer up you see. Happy mood.<br /><br />But the day had a lot more to offer. Left for college early in the morning to reach on time for 9 a.m. class. College till 4 p.m. everyday means it takes us, at least me, two periods to settle down and mentally prepare myself for this long a day dedicated to studies, err, theoretical studies. <br /><br />Mishika got a text and wasn’t too happy about the Virgin Tree being cut right opposite college, Lakshaya being too attached to the tree. She wanted permission to go out and protest which Jyoti ma’am refused. Not caring much about it, Anda, Eww, Chunnu, Apeksha and Ishani left with Mishika the very next moment. Tensed. I wanted to leave but I stayed back, I’m a fool you see!<br /><br />Mish then called up five minutes later to inform that its not one tree but at least 15 being cut today on the Siri Fort road and she needed support. I just managed to get the class canceled this time around and we joined her. Bad mood.<br /><br />Two hours of standing there, protesting, following the people, chasing the higher officers getting in touch with knowledgeable and influential people, cops, court orders, UTIPEC orders and stuff, we still were not sure if we’ll manage to save the trees and the pedestrian space. Bad mood, again. Speculations. Tensed. Planning to get illogical yet logical if they have all the papers and permissions in place. <br /><br />However, we did manage to get a one day stay order since they did not have the UTTIPEC permission to widen roads for which they need to cut trees. Happy again!<br /><br />All this done, we had to think beyond the 24 hr hold and devise a plan of action. We were happy and all geared up and preparing for a protest. Too happy, notice.<br /><br />One experience it was and I wanted to share this. Picked up the phone, dialed the no. I dial the most in any year and got the worst news possible. THE WORST mood ever! It took me more than half an hour to accept it. <br /><br />Too disappointed, numb and halfheartedly I congratulated everyone for the little success we had managed while protesting and got, rather tired to get involved in the further discussions on the plan of action. My mind was certainly not there anymore.<br /><br />I wanted to cry. I did, I think. I wanted to ask everyone to shut-up. I wanted to someone to slap me and say how could you even think of it? I wanted to leave college ASAP, damn the protest and everything! Much more than that, I wanted a Ctrl+Alt+Delete option.Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-43978390623693361952010-02-18T13:47:00.000-05:002010-02-24T13:54:40.317-05:00Ibn-e-BatutaI loved the movie. Gripping story and awesome acting by all the three and the songs were more of an icing on the cake!<br /><br />Ibn-e-Batuta! For past don’t-know-how-many days, I’ve been singing this song! Couldn’t figure out the word till I heard it loud in the theatre. Didn’t know the meaning till today. <br /><br />And finding out the meaning was another amusing story! Ah! Let me not narrate this one here. Google ‘Ibn-e-Batuta’ and you’re bound to get amused by the results!<br /><br />Ibn-e-Batuta has a new identity now! A definition there says Ibn-e-Batuta is a song from a 2010 Hindi movie titled Ishqiya! <br /><br />I must say, poor guy! Traveled all over, narrated stories, became famous, history books added him, reached Indian film industry, used in a latest chart topper by our very own Gulzar and there, he got lost! Even Google doesn’t recognize him before the fifth page of results! Talk about films and music being an altogether different religion in India!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-78117132734874050022010-01-18T08:06:00.000-05:002010-02-08T09:05:49.543-05:00Blogging FOR Royal Challenegrs Bangalore!Now this is like another dream come true!<br /><br />4a.m. in the morning, unable to find sleep, I switched on the PC to complete a pending college assignment. I wasn’t really in the mood to finish it. It was, no doubt, boring but I had no choice. Bored in less than ten minutes I return to my beloved Farmville on Facebook. My crops were crying for help!<br /><br />Just then I returned to check the status of my assignment, which I was expecting, would signal finished by itself! Half-hearted Google searches and then, I began compiling the data, again. Little had I realized that it would still end up in my ‘TO-DO’ list!<br /><br />Reason? My mailbox! 15 mails in a space of 3 hrs!<br /><br />Random SMS jokes, stupid forward mails, three had a job to offer, another two were willing to pay Rs 10,000 for filling a survey, the last two congratulating for a grand prize! The grand prize being a mutli-million dollar lottery with the popular software company!<br /><br />I selected all of them in one go and pressed the Delete button with frustration!<br />But hey! I didn’t read the subject of the last one. It said congrats, but I guess they ain’t asking to claim any damn prize!<br /><br />I got back to the Trash folder and this is what I found!<br /><br />From: Nidhi@RCB<br />Subject: <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/blog/ah-how-the-fan-club-grows">Congrats! You can now blog for RCB</a><br /><br />I can blog FOR Royal Challengers Bangalore! <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/fan/purnima-malhotra">I'm a blogger</a> with my favourite IPL team! I'm now a blogger for Dravid's team! Delighted, overjoyed, tears of joy, would all be an understatement. Though I was expecting this sometime early in January, got delayed, but I'm glad I made it!<br /><br />For those who know my craze for Rahul Dravid and my loyalty for <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/">Royal Challengers Bangalore</a> for the same reason, would easily understand how BIGGGGGG this is for me!<br />It’s Huge, exciting and quite big a platform for an amateur like me!<br /><br />I’m glad to be a part of same and hereby, thank <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/">RCB</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/nidhi?ref=ts">Nidhi</a> and everyone in the <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/">RCB</a> wagon for their warm welcome!<br /><br />Royal Challengers…Game for More!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-34365255795184110562010-01-08T11:53:00.001-05:002010-01-08T12:01:49.517-05:00Gautam's confident ahead of title clashAnd <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/blog/gautam_confident_ahead_of_the_title_clash">here</a> is the second one, before I get permanent with RCB!<br /><br />Shortly after the semi-final match between Karnataka and UP, I Interviewed Muralidharen Gautam who scored his second ton this season.<br /><br />And for those expecting Rahul Dravid's interview here, well, wait for the <a href="http://purnimawrites.blogspot.com/2009/08/step-closer.html">book</a>!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-58936949458580095902010-01-08T11:26:00.000-05:002010-01-08T11:49:16.396-05:00Blogging with RCB!Bored to hell in the holidays, I just wrote an article and mailed it to <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/">Royal Challengers Bangalore</a> website.<br /><br />Here's the <a href="http://www.royalchallengers.com/blog/fan_tribute_to_dravid_and_kallis">link</a> to it.<br /><br />Well, not only it got published, I'll also get blogging space on their website, on Rahul Dravid's birthday, all thanks to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137854&id=621805887&ref=nf#/nidhi?ref=ts">Nidhi</a>!<br /><br />Looking forward to it!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-3338165109870939942009-11-25T10:48:00.001-05:002009-11-25T10:50:44.591-05:00THE Moment!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIq8b3bn2vgL0JhsAk6PtoBdP57XX4_l6G7lQo7RR7bievgU6V348cOXDKvtRG0PLRQMY9rnQnGrQPyh6rh4djkZP6JU3zjYzwCMqGdg6VhnYGNz41mzH07yj6-uQ_Sma-Z8JyVUjxjyV2/s1600/3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIq8b3bn2vgL0JhsAk6PtoBdP57XX4_l6G7lQo7RR7bievgU6V348cOXDKvtRG0PLRQMY9rnQnGrQPyh6rh4djkZP6JU3zjYzwCMqGdg6VhnYGNz41mzH07yj6-uQ_Sma-Z8JyVUjxjyV2/s400/3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408068815032145042" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFEBf5_Pv5LzTNgLRbto3wm5SaZEbost9fK0GKliU_vKMYe_lVBg7y-ZCN-M4LF1WdOxJggS6tTbVEr3T_pdvMglz2keJd8yfDCEDh3pN63pUUTzkyed6DFWg8HXoz-iCLPKDca5RULES/s1600/2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEFEBf5_Pv5LzTNgLRbto3wm5SaZEbost9fK0GKliU_vKMYe_lVBg7y-ZCN-M4LF1WdOxJggS6tTbVEr3T_pdvMglz2keJd8yfDCEDh3pN63pUUTzkyed6DFWg8HXoz-iCLPKDca5RULES/s400/2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408068735620298146" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbSG8igx85DI0lvQZtP5LcnPkd1kzlASGPLVhzraIo0xot-6NAtGYP3iI7dxZhKWB3QTdhdIamaivRiboJLaJt34P5tuxD2kDZRjFIUNFVJ5hr71SKMS3F527aC3prsNE4opc-Bf-RqG3/s1600/1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbSG8igx85DI0lvQZtP5LcnPkd1kzlASGPLVhzraIo0xot-6NAtGYP3iI7dxZhKWB3QTdhdIamaivRiboJLaJt34P5tuxD2kDZRjFIUNFVJ5hr71SKMS3F527aC3prsNE4opc-Bf-RqG3/s400/1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408068667781624642" /></a><br /><br />This definitely was a dream come true for me. After 10 years of patience, I finally met Dravid! And as per my 10 yr old promise, my first interview was indeed that of Dravid's!! :)Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-61307264066742471522009-08-30T01:59:00.000-04:002009-08-30T02:11:27.814-04:00The meeting with the legend!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNQPLF0bqJ4zdAN6RlRdbrT5GGULX_8FKceac6aU1Gj1UxuXgphrUnJSw-M8TyYNyGUzj4JfMV7cLetzbf5izNPxhV4lcrMvU63UBd_IEEdWLy_x3ACwfOtx6YGwIprPZaiU0V4wTsw9L/s1600-h/the+wall+for+the+wall.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNQPLF0bqJ4zdAN6RlRdbrT5GGULX_8FKceac6aU1Gj1UxuXgphrUnJSw-M8TyYNyGUzj4JfMV7cLetzbf5izNPxhV4lcrMvU63UBd_IEEdWLy_x3ACwfOtx6YGwIprPZaiU0V4wTsw9L/s400/the+wall+for+the+wall.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375634390595695586" border="0" /></a> The Wall for The Wall<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE28DdddV5boILqfRaz0ym6LRLcrWqEcjIlcUIyDbQAj0vLZB7t5Vhhnk7H4pN08ijrqsp58kjHHB6pdu3iikRv0cCIPhmKSecAjeD9UshWD8YmxjUXgISrYwez2xhQk4s-kN1NfpWxWy6/s1600-h/My+match+bat,+I+askd+holding+the+bat,+Sir+a+message+followed+by+your+autograph,+Dravid+smiled+and+obliged.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE28DdddV5boILqfRaz0ym6LRLcrWqEcjIlcUIyDbQAj0vLZB7t5Vhhnk7H4pN08ijrqsp58kjHHB6pdu3iikRv0cCIPhmKSecAjeD9UshWD8YmxjUXgISrYwez2xhQk4s-kN1NfpWxWy6/s400/My+match+bat,+I+askd+holding+the+bat,+Sir+a+message+followed+by+your+autograph,+Dravid+smiled+and+obliged.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375634301823281938" border="0" /></a>Sameer's autographed bat!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHST2UA-7RnGasGlKmBCLhIwFu-7DlFtQlCp3wt8Sd3y3eOyWIcxkjVyLmzpvHOr9SXk3VxVuxzgxWCVamADwAEUEcHZ5VmShLBQXyajKj2bQ_IaHCeJ5ta2gIYq4hShbbpu5I4g_dCB9g/s1600-h/sameer+getting+his+bat+signed.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHST2UA-7RnGasGlKmBCLhIwFu-7DlFtQlCp3wt8Sd3y3eOyWIcxkjVyLmzpvHOr9SXk3VxVuxzgxWCVamADwAEUEcHZ5VmShLBQXyajKj2bQ_IaHCeJ5ta2gIYq4hShbbpu5I4g_dCB9g/s400/sameer+getting+his+bat+signed.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375634215721920082" border="0" /></a>Sameer getting his bat signed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71duPnH2ylWwWmGt6grqC_40z4fO5T-gzDhzSNTWnOUbBZ073PpejUZH6S2tenZt1p__WqMWgRJlf5cmQasylbZ_xDV-4OcVtd5udMk4xsld2ONSxPQGvjuCTxBRusMtJUE4_PNJp8VOo/s1600-h/Sandeep,+Keerthi+%28face+not+visible%29,+Amogha+%28look+%40+him%29,+Dheeraj+With+Dravid.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg71duPnH2ylWwWmGt6grqC_40z4fO5T-gzDhzSNTWnOUbBZ073PpejUZH6S2tenZt1p__WqMWgRJlf5cmQasylbZ_xDV-4OcVtd5udMk4xsld2ONSxPQGvjuCTxBRusMtJUE4_PNJp8VOo/s400/Sandeep,+Keerthi+%28face+not+visible%29,+Amogha+%28look+%40+him%29,+Dheeraj+With+Dravid.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375634057166770114" border="0" /></a> Dravid signing the official letter.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGzGwvsgKHR_aJNCnlpVNJsfOwIrnNplx4f_93jlm-lgGgQyQFDKOEZy_rhStHOTJaDv35IHJrTIFVnC8qXwzK24boolos1FuDlrUfuUV4KWb-5O-Zrl9pqBazpS0k3-I6tTOzQnZ313g/s1600-h/Sandeep+With+Dravid.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 317px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAGzGwvsgKHR_aJNCnlpVNJsfOwIrnNplx4f_93jlm-lgGgQyQFDKOEZy_rhStHOTJaDv35IHJrTIFVnC8qXwzK24boolos1FuDlrUfuUV4KWb-5O-Zrl9pqBazpS0k3-I6tTOzQnZ313g/s400/Sandeep+With+Dravid.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375633955761994130" border="0" /></a>Sandeep showing the official letter.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhZgoH-kfW9oYod6tExl9_D4aiYlECRaOgYpxLc9xFDQJwLcpc33rwabqUTrJ3lr3jwttstBwfYP_r2Io80d9FbBuhduHnqdmM92ns7WfASNj4V0ZWyppnGMbvDA7dcba0dftX1Bv9dA3/s1600-h/Sameer+with+Dravid.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 393px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVhZgoH-kfW9oYod6tExl9_D4aiYlECRaOgYpxLc9xFDQJwLcpc33rwabqUTrJ3lr3jwttstBwfYP_r2Io80d9FbBuhduHnqdmM92ns7WfASNj4V0ZWyppnGMbvDA7dcba0dftX1Bv9dA3/s400/Sameer+with+Dravid.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375633345206166162" border="0" /></a>Sameer with Dravid.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginn-kF4Pw1n6L4L-aopDE5ZFOhpIVpoQ0XVkvZGd3gFfyVCE8GWy-k1XfXATzpQGz_8bxqKr_vVrxGTKdlt2C1j-pQwGkfwSNJV4vgtsl83BHgY71jUkpla14uBnIHssOjq9b9LIB867F/s1600-h/(L-R)+Amogha,+Dheeraj,+Ravi,+Rahul+Dravid,+Keerthi,+Sigma,+Kartik,+Sandeep,+Sameer.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEginn-kF4Pw1n6L4L-aopDE5ZFOhpIVpoQ0XVkvZGd3gFfyVCE8GWy-k1XfXATzpQGz_8bxqKr_vVrxGTKdlt2C1j-pQwGkfwSNJV4vgtsl83BHgY71jUkpla14uBnIHssOjq9b9LIB867F/s400/(L-R)+Amogha,+Dheeraj,+Ravi,+Rahul+Dravid,+Keerthi,+Sigma,+Kartik,+Sandeep,+Sameer.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375632672028386002" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6vcg0UEJebeQhddAenAteD-D6j4RlKThA-dZYHTFFN56Imy3EluVtOPA2NDiFg5SBMjTeGBbu44AEK2VxsRP4_SGeY4OhtYCAgSkIpQ_QZ87PDKfdDl7JcBo-kewQBFtc8nRK86gKS2Id/s1600-h/(L-R)+Sandeep,+Keerthi,+Amogha+%28look+%40+him+again%29++Dheeraj+and+Dravid+having+a+look+at+the+permission+letter.JPG"><br /></a>Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-9721371048601364102009-08-20T12:13:00.000-04:002009-08-20T12:15:59.812-04:00A Step Closer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nIclpEljVoDgAKTfJJKyP1XdfIp_uz9t42QH3h1iN0wk9bktRgCaKeFlbBssQqaa2lS82MNZ1S5TM6RDkzP2WUTV1tXkL5RbltTGhLVp96FrznTYae1tRoDTrG_IAFMkZ4DHREFgj-JB/s1600-h/confirmation+letter.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 233px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3nIclpEljVoDgAKTfJJKyP1XdfIp_uz9t42QH3h1iN0wk9bktRgCaKeFlbBssQqaa2lS82MNZ1S5TM6RDkzP2WUTV1tXkL5RbltTGhLVp96FrznTYae1tRoDTrG_IAFMkZ4DHREFgj-JB/s320/confirmation+letter.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372080200397628866" /></a><br />Probably one of those happiest days of my life. Our efforts to compile the book, Behind The Wall got a new boost today. Our chief guest, the man himself, Rahul Dravid, today gave not only an official go ahead (see pic) for it, but also ensure that he’ll be present for the launch, no matter what!<br /><br />Our book started about a year ago, Thanks to AB. However, to be really honest, there wasn’t much dedication. This boost I’m sure will now enable us to unite everyone as a team and work for it. Another 6 months and we plan for a grand launch.<br /><br />Where is a big big question. The participating members are from all over India. Ah, abroad as well. Deciding a venue will be one pain but I guess this is a DREAM project and everyone will care the least about the place and more about how to fit this into the schedule and not miss the grand opportunity to meet the legend face to face. But we’ll make sure Prosper and Mekhala are here in India for the launch.<br /><br />What a day!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-55972983194756521992009-08-18T15:26:00.001-04:002009-08-18T15:29:55.693-04:00Friends!I thought it would be a long day considering we planned to start with Communiqué. But then, one reason or the other and everybody were busy.<br /><br />Yet I stayed till 3:45 in college, doing what?! <br />Oh, the print outs of the first drafts. And then framing a time-line for the Communiqué process.<br />The style sheet too! Though I haven’t added a word to it. Nor have I downloaded the required fonts. Ah! I am LAZY!<br /><br />I met Ekta after a long while. Well though she is in Gargi, she rarely comes. And the other days, our time table doesn’t allow. This meeting happened after a week almost. Hence, after a long while.<br /><br />And then, I met another friend after a long time. Three weeks this time, almost. Spent nice two hours chit-chatting with Aru bhua, without realizing it was getting late.<br />The conversation ranged from the <span style="font-style:italic;">daaru</span> party to trying <span style="font-style:italic;">daaru</span>, to their recent Leh trip and then to our probable trip. Discussing feasible venues for a short trip with college friends. The weather. Goa. The do’s and the don’ts. The points to be remembered. The newspaper, the Journo junction shirt (no, T-shirt, it is) and its color.<br />Apart from that, a little (actually, more than that) cribbing about the weirdest person on this planet. @##$%!!#@$$@!##@. <br />Oh! I forgot my hair-cut too. Eventually, I have started liking it. A little. Waiting for someone else’s comments on the same. And I return for those, tomorrow!<br /> <br />Oh yes, I cancelled a meeting with another couple of friends today. The gap, if you are wondering, is four days this time. Have to meet them, and more than that surprise them with the new hair-cut!<br /><br /><br />Okay now, the Style sheet is the first thing I do tomorrow. Err, I mean, I hope so!<br />We finally start with the editing. FINALLY!!! Well. I hope so, again! Days will now get longer, for sure!Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-60177244755094543402009-08-18T13:53:00.000-04:002009-08-19T00:12:09.588-04:00Back to Office!Well, I was told and ordered (and I thought) I must be a little regular with my blog.<br />Nothing much to update matching the genre of my blog, which is by the way, taking a sporty turn!<br /><br />Anyhow, let me begin with something sporty.<br />A visit back to my beloved sports desk at The Asian Age was memorable in more than one ways.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Autowalas</span> going on strike gives you an opportunity to learn more about things and places around. A <span style="font-style:italic;">fortcut</span> to Green Park, a <span style="font-style:italic;">chhota fortcut</span> and the <span style="font-style:italic;">ganda-nala</span> running parallel to my college, I added a lot to my limited knowledge about the vicinity — all thanks to <a href="http://ishita-dasgupta.blogspot.com/">Ishita</a>. Thank you!<br /><br />Ishita is not lazy, you know! Contrary to my belief, and popular belief as well, she’s active. Really active rather! She walks. On odd days, either with her iPod or a buddy on a phone call, she prefers to walk from college to home and not care about an auto! Kudos girl.<br /><br />Back to office, Sunit and R. Bhardwaj now sport a new look. Suits them. <br />Harpreet was a little busy. I wish we had some time to catch up.<br /><br />However, the most amazing part of the visit was the brief 15-minutes Dravid talk with my first Editor, Rahul Sir. I always knew he was a Dravid fan, his room or rather the posters and photographs said it all, our talk just confirmed it!<br /><br />I think it was a little foolish to ask him about the photographs however I couldn’t resist the temptation I had for almost two months! And this gave the start to our Dravid talk.<br /><br />It was nice to see another person and someone like Rahul sir, extremely happy and excited about Dravid’s comeback to the shorter version of the game.<br />The most amazing part of it was to learn from sir’s experiences in Pakistan’s during Indian ckt team’s historic tour way back in 2004. Most soothing to the ears was sir’s narrative of Dravid’s mammoth 270.<br /><br />I go back on Wednesday for sir’s interview for my article, my contribution to Communiqué. And yes, I’ll catch up with him a little later as well, for a different interview though!<br /><br />Oh yes, how can I forget to mention this! I have been asked to come back and design the main sports page again when Dravid scores heavily in the ICC Champions Trophy. More than one reason to look forward to CT.<br /><br /><br />P.S.: Thanks Ishita for the walk till Green Park. I just realized how close you are to the college!<br /><br />P.P.S.: Your dog is too cute, I forgot his name though. I don’t normally like dogs, but your pet deserved a mention here.Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5598645223522049847.post-80147573245106375902009-06-20T04:35:00.000-04:002009-06-20T04:50:08.458-04:00Celebrating 13 years of THE WALL<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetps57EC2Pjio8hVqA4_tERa8ZK5vISvyQ3Shgsa3uNoGKkd4cMu71niDGYLbpxDbc2jLDmq4Tkzf440ZHTr5cfG0W8hZy_K447R409YcgkDaCRcWHnoqaNa6HyI0evDzSWOF7ucf6Gdv/s1600-h/MoonRD.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgetps57EC2Pjio8hVqA4_tERa8ZK5vISvyQ3Shgsa3uNoGKkd4cMu71niDGYLbpxDbc2jLDmq4Tkzf440ZHTr5cfG0W8hZy_K447R409YcgkDaCRcWHnoqaNa6HyI0evDzSWOF7ucf6Gdv/s320/MoonRD.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5349329073574416034" border="0" /></a>
<br /><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cdoc%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} h3 {mso-margin-top-alt:auto; margin-right:0in; mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; margin-left:0in; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-outline-level:3; font-size:13.5pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b>If I'll ever have to ask somebody to bat for my life then it’ll have to be Rahul Dravid — Brian Charles Lara</b></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><b><o:p></o:p></b></p><div> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><b><o:p> </o:p></b></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">13 years ago, <st1:date year="1996" day="20" month="6">June 20, 1996</st1:date>, a young cricketer stepped at cricket’s <st1:city><st1:place>Mecca</st1:place></st1:city>, Lord’s, becoming the 207<sup>th</sup> player to represent <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> in international Cricket.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Making his debut for <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> with an ambition to be one bracketed amongst his idols, Gavaskar and Vishwanath, this player no. 207 for <st1:country-region><st1:place>India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is now known as THE WALL of the Indian Cricket team, the most dependable and consistent batsman Indian cricket has ever produced. <o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">13 years have passed ever since Dravid made his debut and with his flawless, classy technique, charismatic batting and rock solid defense, undoubtedly the man has not transformed himself into the most reliable Test player and most dependable bat in world but has also achieved his ultimate goal.
<br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">With over 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, a record 184 Test catches, 5 double centuries and countless match winning efforts, the man silenced all his critics with his bat. Once labeled as unfit for ODI, the man today has an unmatched record not only in ODIs but also the shortest format of the game, T20.</p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">His contribution to the Indian Cricket has been immense, and correctly summed up by Navjot Singh Sidhu, “Rahul is a player who’ll walk on broken glass if his team tells him to.” <o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p>
<br /></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">To Dravid,
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<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Started watching cricket the day you scored your first double ton in <st1:city><st1:place>Delhi</st1:place></st1:city>. Ever since then, I knew one thing, until Dravid is there, no harm done!</p><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">As a cricket fan I have grown up learning Dravid and defeat can’t be framed into one sentence. As far as I remember, the only time you’ve disappointed me was the day you got married!</p><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Thank you for those amazing 13 years you’ve selflessly dedicated to Indian cricket.<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Thanks for giving the confidence to tell the world that I am “Proud to be a Rahul Dravid Fan”<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Thanks for being there whenever the team required.</p><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /><o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">Hats off to you!<o:p></o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><p style="font-weight: bold; text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal">With LOVE!</p><div style="text-align: justify;"> </div><p style="text-align: justify;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Purnima</span><o:p></o:p></p> <div style="text-align: justify;"><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 10"><link style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Cdoc%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="country-region"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--></div>Purnima Malhotrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05209345400234065144noreply@blogger.com3