I have to mention this upcoming movie, 3 Idiots, the preview poster of which is posted above.

You should be suspicious — I’m no fan of Aamir (which should be fairly obvious by now), I’m not eagerly awaiting it for many reasons (at the helm is Kareena) and I didn’t think Five-point someone was any good.

It’s just that the snap reminds me of Asha Parekh.

If you need further reference, read this.

Apologies for staying away from the blog for a few days. I’ve been busy with work and catching up on many pending movies. All reviews and new posts should be up in a day.

Or maybe two.

Inspite of being exhausted, I ventured out to see what the Leonid meteor shower thing was all about. One problem with the Bay Area is that no matter how far you drive, the city lights are still strong. Finally, we decided to go to the Big Basin State Park and along Skyline Blvd. (CA 35).

The problem — everyone decided to do the same thing !

So either everyone in the Bay Area is an astronomy enthusiast .. or I had no clue that area was a magnet for couples.

Anyway, the shower.

It wasn’t expected to be intense in North America so we spotted it in the tens, not hundreds. No photography could happen. It was an okayish experience in the outdoor cold.

Spectacle-wise and cold-wise, nothing comes even close to the Aurora Borealis experience.

I came across this nicely made short film forwarded to me by my friend Onkar, whose friend, in turn, shot this. But you didn’t need to know that.

Here it is — the short-film titled “Yard Sale” inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s six-word short story. I could just type in the six words, but it would spoil the movie for you.

Enjoy.

Now for the real reason why I posted it — the background track. I am unable to get the piece out of my head and have been playing the video in a loop since a couple of days now. I’ve written to the film-maker too but no reply as yet.

Would anyone here have a clue about the piece ? I suspect it might be an independent track that’s just mixed in the background here.

Thought I should share (and stare) :

During the 2009 Leonid meteor shower, you may see anywhere from 30 to 300 shooting stars an hour, depending on whether you’re in the right place to see the showy peak on November 17, experts predict.

With the highest number of meteors streaking across the skies around 4:45 p.m. ET, the Leonids peak will be effectively invisible for viewers in North America and Europe.

In those regions, sky-watchers are advised to venture out away from bright city lights between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on the 17th, when they should see 30 to 50 meteors an hour.

Note that the time is EST.

Link via Tushar B., who also wants me to recognize his humanitarian efforts in introducing readers to this blog.

The plan was to post tweets from my Twitter page every Friday. As promised and *on schedule*, here they are. There was a huge backlog, so the post is very long. Enjoy.
I’d still recommend following the tweets at my Twitter page.

Disturbing video (atleast for me) : Chinese develop a way to fry fish so that it’s alive when served http://is.gd/4WFu1

Bhatt film disrupted coz of son’s suspected terror links http://is.gd/4WEob Er .. or maybe the movie Tum Mile was *that* bad.

I’m sure the those who use the Wii for exercise also eat at McDonald’s for dieting http://is.gd/4WvOC

Nice headline : Tendulkar unites all of India yet again http://is.gd/4WvCw I am so tempted to say to someone, ‘I told you so’.

You can’t get lower than this, Mr. Thackeray — Mamta Banerjee flays you and most people agree with her. http://is.gd/4WvuN

Last plug, at the blog : You don’t mess with Tendulkar http://is.gd/4W1Xi .. RT at your will.

For all YouTube addicts : Check your YouTube IQ : http://is.gd/4W78y

Karan Johar defends Kurbaan poster http://is.gd/4W25X .. He finally discovers manhood ! Yay !

At the blog : You don’t mess with Tendulkar http://is.gd/4W1Xi

@amitvarma : You don’t mess with Sachin. And you don’t mess with BCCI. No one does. http://is.gd/4W1hN

Piece starts with-Actresses claim news hungry media makes up stories of link ups http://is.gd/4W14K The title – Shahid moves on to Anushka

Obama’s speech that touches on issues like free speech censored in China http://is.gd/4W0EB .. Irony, anyone ?

“Oba Mao” shirts are on sale in China .. http://is.gd/4W0xe .. That one sentence just gave Fox News enough material for a month.

Ranbir snubs RGV project .. http://is.gd/4VZAE .. The kid’s got brains. I like him already !

Shivraj Patil’s autobio 1000 pages long http://bit.ly/2Qvvgp Nothin happens in it, just the ink, paper quality r changed every 5 pages.

Must-watch video – Pakistan Rock Rails Against the West, Not the Taliban http://bit.ly/4rEyyR (ft. nutcase Ali Azmat)

So if Al Gore hadn’t lost those elections, we wouldn’t have global warming at all !

Palin wasn’t aware Bristol was sexually active till pregnant http://bit.ly/2BTePE Actually even for a few days after that.

Bareback poster of Kareena has Sena fuming http://bit.ly/4rIKpd If only her face was shown, she cud’ve passed off as a man

At the blog : Laga Reh by Shehzad Roy http://is.gd/4VjGd .. Superb song, don’t miss it (http://is.gd/4VjGF)

R R Patil brushing up Hindi to avoid being ‘misinterpreted’ http://is.gd/4Vi3c .. I’d suggest toning down on SRK movies.

PC : Headley case is not a cricket match for which a ball-by-ball description has to be given http://bit.ly/22kyyP.. Nice !

@amitvarma : Reminds me of Rohit’s blow-up doll gift on Bigg Boss for his bday (they called it Chi Chi Poo). I am not making this up.

Gary Kirsten’s sex advice (http://is.gd/4UA6I) finally makes it to The Colbert Report :: http://is.gd/4UA5G

WTF question of the day on #bb3 to Bakhtiyar – Do you see a generation gap between you and Tanaaz ?

This is the *best* wiki article *ever* (of the C.I.D. show that airs on Sony) http://is.gd/4UrA5

20 years ago, Tendulkar and Kambli were at the start of their careers. Today Sachin is god and Kambli is in Bigg Boss.

Google Wave – Theory and Reality http://is.gd/4TYCV .. Quite true.

I have 30 Google Wave invites. Anyone interested ? If yes … really ???

@amitvarma : In that report, Mahesh Bhatt says ‘I will not say anything more’. There’s one very rare sentence.

RT @flyyoufools: @amitvarma Woah… IBN staffers must be in great health! From all the exercise they get frm jumping to conclusions.

TOI lists sexual obsessions http://is.gd/4TXgP Quote:There is no signal stronger than pissing on someone. That’s ‘on’ not ‘off’

At the blog : MLA wants a Ph.D. http://is.gd/4TWSa

At the blog : Music and logarithms http://is.gd/4TWoh

At the blog : A missing piece in the MNS puzzle http://is.gd/4TWnL

Heh. An image search for next BJP pres Nitin Gadkari throws up Rakhi Sawant quite high http://is.gd/4TLhr RSS won’t be happy.

Oops .. and there goes one country I can’t visit.

In China, those who complain to govt risk kidnap: report http://is.gd/4TEZv .. Like, duh !!

For mountain lovers-Views from the 7 highest mountain passes on earth http://is.gd/4TEMe Spectacular ! (I’ve been to just 1)

Anurag Kashyap on MNS interrupting a Danish film at MAMI http://is.gd/4TCH1 The man’s got b*lls, a rarity in Bwood (via @salilb)

Carrie Prejean on Larry King (on asked Do you have a hero ?) : Sarah Palin is my hero. (must-watch intrvw http://is.gd/4TCtl)

Carrie Prejean on Larry King – ‘My book is for Americans who believe that their beliefs are under attacks.’ She believes so.

State recovers Rs 57,000 from MNS http://is.gd/4TBOR Nice start, now the state should recover the real cost of all damages.

Tanaaz says Television ki duniya mein Tanaaz-Bakhtiyar bohot bade naam hai. OK I’ll note that. Who’s the guy again ? #bb3

Word of advice to Bigg Boss : If you want to create a scripted show, first bring in freakin’ better actors !! #bb3

Indian news agencies seem to have dedicated one person to write a daily article

Microsoft patents sudo http://bit.ly/3WFhL9 Linux fanboys are so going to hate MS for this. Meh .. they already do.

19 nominees for best RTI user award http://is.gd/4TzsD Either way, an RTI app will be filed for how the winner was selected.

Must-read for the Facebook addicts http://is.gd/4TyRi .. Yes, it is about your annoying status messages.

I hear that it rained in Pune before Phyan was expected and stopped when the met. issued the Phyan warning.

You didn’t see this coming, did you ? http://bit.ly/1WrtP6 ..

Fellatio common among bats http://is.gd/4SLMu That’s what happens when you do it in the dark.

My 2 cents http://is.gd/4Sl7S @amitvarma: See what I found: http://bit.ly/FUrasRT @mvatlarge: Arre, DNA ran a story on Bebo’s dog’s illness.

Raj T says admiring Hitler, Leave aside his negative aspects like d barbaric annihilation of millions of Jews.http://is.gd/4SjuR

UN declares Afghan election “credible, legitimate” http://is.gd/4SiUZ When was the last time someone took the UN seriously ?

See the world’s scariest path http://is.gd/4SiJQ .. The fun starts after a minute in the video.

The 13 types of friends on Facebook http://is.gd/4Siu0 .. I am not in the list — the kind that doesn’t use FB.

Japan sets a legal ‘maximum waist size’ http://is.gd/4SilP .. If you don’t want to hand out visas to Americans, just say so !

Couple in court for loud sex http://is.gd/4Si43 Money quote: A 10-minute recording of their sex sessions was played out before a judge.

Wedding rehearsals begin for Shilpa-Raj http://is.gd/4ShO5 .. He’s already married once, what more can he do ?

Quite a WTF mindtrick .. http://is.gd/4Sgtk .. Worked for me .. bizarrely. Let me know your answer.

Bakhtiyar wants to separate from Tanaaz .. Bigg Boss isn’t scripted. Right. #bb3

Indian rlwys recruits wrestlers to intimidate ticketless passengers http://is.gd/4S336 and YouTube shud recruit geniuses for comments.

Microsoft India seeing good response to Windows 7 http://bit.ly/2stlON .. which basically means lotsa torrent dloads going on.

No that’ s Jupiter. Can’t blame them, u don’t get protection for such sizes @omniprasan : @iyerdeepak may be we get a child moon!

Researchs create lab-grown penis http://bit.ly/1×7hFp .. I wonder how their ‘Bring ur child to work’ day goes.

World will not end in 2012, says Nasa http://bit.ly/1eFK5R Thanks, Ibut m not sure about the moon, given the way ur humping it

If you aren’t sure if Bigg Boss is scripted, watch Pravesh with Claudia #bb3

‘Drunk’ youth mows down 3 in Noida http://is.gd/4Rp5F .. If Leonidas were from Noida, he’d have to do this to be an adult.

Fearing getting slapped, Ricky Ponting taking Marathi lessons http://is.gd/4R8HK (by @FakingNews)

I wouldn’t count this out yet. RT @OldmonkMGM: MNS workers demand TOEFL to be conducted in Marathi.

Strengthening Mumbai’s security top priority : R.R.Patil. http://bit.ly/DfMD2 Not put foot in mouth, second. Bar girls, distant third.

Heh. 30 mins of your life can give happiness to half a billion people .. http://bit.ly/1wJf5U

Snake bites man, man bites snake back http://bit.ly/2s60DQ In India ‘man bites snake’ shd replace ‘man bites dog’ http://bit.ly/4EW1oh)

I am not encouraging separatist movement in China: Dalai Lama http://bit.ly/3qOzxT Coz Tibet isn’t a part of China ? Sly !! Heh.

Those opposing Vande Mtrm have no right to be in India http://bit.ly/iQSp4 Same for those who don’t know about ‘rights’. Oops.

Suicide bomber shot dead in Islamabad http://bit.ly/HgGdz .. Say what you want, he succeeded.

Ashok Chavan : The time has come to deliver results http://bit.ly/2ByIW .. Only in India can u get away with saying that.

Aamir Khan elaborates on the diff betn idiot and stupid http://bit.ly/8nke6 What an intelligent man !

Unable to figure out Google Wave, youngster kills himself http://bit.ly/3S7hYp @FakingNews is getting better and better.

Here’s my dream #TedIndia speaker list : Arundhati R., Barkha D., Baba Ramdev, Rohit Verma, Himesh R., and Savita Bhabhi. #ted

At The Onion : Scientists Dissect Coworker To Find Out More About Scientists http://is.gd/4PgUR .. Hehe.

[Farooq dates wife Moily at violence-prone roadside restaurant] .. [they left happily, waving at stunned crowd] http://is.gd/4PeTj

Watching the trailers of 3 Idiots, I suspect Aamir Khan will be around 400 years old by the time he plays an aged person.

Maharastrian immigrants preserve culture, language in Israel http://is.gd/4Oocx Would that make the Thackerays proud or not ?

Berlusconi to discuss ‘morality’ with Pope http://is.gd/4Oo8k That’s like MJ discussing child welfare with, well, the Pope.

Indyarocks founder hopes to topple no. of Orkut next yr http://is.gd/4OnMm .. Spamming people does not mean they are members !

My thoughts on the first session of #TedIndia : http://bit.ly/FPHft .. Eager to watch Harsha Bhogle.

#TedIndia session 1 thoughts http://bit.ly/FPHft

P.C. Chidambaram’s favourite Coen brothers’ movie : The Man Who Wasn’t There http://is.gd/4NolH

A short film inspired by a six-word short story of Hemingway : http://is.gd/4NlV2

Sawai Gandharva dates announced – 7th to 10th Jan http://72.78.249.107/Sakal/... Kindly RT.

Bhansali’s next is After Khamoshi: The Musical http://is.gd/4MDOH .. I’m super excited. The title itself oozes creativity.

Watch TedIndia at Indiatimes : http://is.gd/4MDGk #TedIndia .. Please RT.

China accuses Dalai of attempting to ‘damage’ Sino-India ties http://is.gd/4MdkU .. Okay DNA, that’s NOT his first name.

RT @Jhunjhunwala: Rehman Malik does not need any evidence to prove the existence of Rajnikanth #Rajnikanth

When Deve Gowda first saw #Rajnikanth, he couldn’t sleep for one whole day.

Eric Cartman’s Poker Face .. uncut .. must-watch .. http://bit.ly/jyp9d

London Sleeps #unseenprequels

Main Aur Miss. Khanna #unseenprequels

What’s your ASL ? #unseenprequels

Love Kal Aaj #unseenprequels

Dev C #unseenprequels

#unseenprequels : Chandni Chowk to Nepal

This is massive or what : Deepika-Ranbir call it quits http://bit.ly/27VcC6 .. Please RT ?

Briton ‘allergic’ to wife n develops rashes whenever he goes near her http://is.gd/4LvYX Excuse #win.

Bear kills 2 infiltrators in Kashmir as they hid in its cave http://is.gd/4LvFk .. It sure knows about property rights.

Can we settle this age old debate – Do the Maggi noodles go in first or does the masala ? #maggi

Key to successful marriage is smarter woman who is 5 yrs younger http://bit.ly/3BNSqT Guess it only works for stupid old men

A year after 26/11, Indians perceive rising food prices as a bigger threat than terrorism http://bit.ly/2TlTyn .. Right.

Mel Gibson and girlfriend welcome a baby girl http://bit.ly/1J5m1v Wouldn’t it be fun if she grew up to be a Jew lesbian ?

The most-beautiful places of China http://bit.ly/3xLJf .. If only it had some pics of Arunachal, the link would’ve been viral.

Times compiles a list of famous ‘thought-provoking’ SRK dialogues http://bit.ly/1mcZKX Includes Baazigar, DDLJ, Darr lines. Heh.

Loved this line : ‘SRK cast a magic spell over the participants of the marathon’ http://bit.ly/4gcIpZ

I just saw a Twitter list named “people”. Too bad if (you’re his friend and) you didn’t make it to his list.

Ah .. more puns from Mumbai Mirror for those interested http://is.gd/4IGlq

Love him or hate him, the man’s [George W. Bush] got a sense of humour http://is.gd/4IGgP

Fresh PIL ‘fired’ at bullet-proof vests http://is.gd/4IwIi So did something really bad happen d last time u didn’t use a pun?

RT @over_rated: If you want to scare republicans on Halloween, get your immigrant friends to dress up as the Public Option.

Terrorists sending coded messages in blog rants http://is.gd/4ImaC .. So if Barkha Dutt doesn’t get you, the cops will.

‘On this show, celebrities will disclose some stunning truth about their past life’ http://bit.ly/1wM8i4

@kaisernova : Heh, exactly my thought. Who the f*** buys one kilo of ginger !!

WTF news : ‘Colors gets I&B notice for ‘corrupt’ babu in serial’ http://is.gd/4HsNf .. OK why don’t u just write all scripts ?

Heh. Rohit Verma seems so excited about the best ‘catcher’ award. #bb3

Whoa .. Rohit Verma is taking bitchiness to new heights #bb3

#Hindi2English: Don ka intzaar to gyarah mulko ki police kar rahi hai = Myself Roman Polanski.

#Hindi2English: Hum jaha pe khade ho jaate hein, line wahi se shuru hoti hai = I start a new meme everyday (@amitvarma)

#Hindi2English: I can talk english, i can walk english, i can laugh english = Screw English, regional language FTW !!

#Hindi2English: Paanch Rupaiya Bara Ana.= Five-point someone.

RT @amitvarma: #Hindi2English: Gussa thook do = STOP USING ALL CAPS. CALM DOwn. There, there.

#Hindi2English: Tarkih par tarikh = I have an awesome dating life !

#Hindi2English: Kanoon ke haath bahut lambe hote hain = It’s a cover up for his other ’shortcomings’.

#Hindi2English: Yeh sunne se pehle meri jaan kyun nahi chali gayi = Oh cool .. new Himesh song !

#Hindi2English: In kutton ke saamne mat nachna = You have been eliminated from Jhalak Dikhla Ja.

Gay prince finds true love, horoscopes match perfectly too http://is.gd/4GPn5 which reminds me, wht the @#$@ is Chi Chi Poo ?

The Pope will now allow Anglicans to recognize him as their leader. (via The Colbert Report)

“VIPs, stray dog delay 10 flights in New Delhi” http://is.gd/4Gl4Y .. Juxtaposition #win.

Jail inmates keen to participate in Rahul’s swayamvar. “They have started wearing lipsticks n dressing up” http://is.gd/4GkTF

Epic revenge saga : Ridiculed in school for being geeky, geek has now bedded 500 women, wins prize for it http://is.gd/4G8kE

Only Arnold can pull this off http://is.gd/4G88E .. You don’t mess with Arnold, unless you’re a California wild-fire.

Rediff headline : ‘On the ramp: Ballet, beauty and Amrita Rao’ http://is.gd/4G7YV .. Ouch.

Windows 7 dominoes epic #fail .. watch @ 1:25 http://is.gd/4G7Ox .. The rest is fine.

Sarah Palin received $1.25 million to pen memoir http://is.gd/4FuRS .. Methinks the money was to shut her mouth.

RT @sidin: I was thinking Karol Bagh, Dwarka etc. Not! RT @amitvarma: TOI tells us the 10 places where women want to be touched.

Wire snaps on the #baybridge, entire load falls on Twitter : http://is.gd/4FbI6

Facebook might just get next year’s Nobel Peace Prize .. http://is.gd/4EZwK .. Surely a better effort than Obama’s.

RT @StephenAtHome: whoever said that revenge is a dished best served cold never tried it sauteed with carrots and summer squash. delightful

Mamata demands President’s rule in WB .. http://is.gd/4EG1X .. For the last time, that doesn’t mean Obama will head WB !

George W. Bush turns motivational speaker http://is.gd/4EEUJ .. The idea being, if I can be President, u can do anything.

#castingforhollywoodramayana Amar Singh for Hanuman .. coz he himself said so -> http://is.gd/4EEnB

Himesh for Vali, people were scared of his shouting, plus he dies. #castingforhollywoodramayana

Arundhati Roy for Valmiki, both write fiction bestsellers. #castingforhollywoodramayana

Asked if the party [BJP] needed surgery, Rajnath [Singh] said, “Not at all, who says that?” http://is.gd/4EDJh .. Denial #win.

#uselesscreations Designer wear for prisoners http://is.gd/4ECXE

RT @rameshsrivats: TN govt. to support 50-over cricket. In line with the teachings of Bhaaratiyar who clearly said – “ODI Vilayaadu Paapa”.

Must watch : Karan Thapar’s unflinching concentration in the face of Ms. Roy’s falling pallu http://is.gd/4Dk71

QOTD from #bb3 .. Poonam : Aditi is a little more difficult to penetrate.

“Social groups and political leaders have objected to this [Raju Srivastav] semi-nudity on TV” http://is.gd/4CZx9 .. FTW !

#BhagwadGitaSez : Closed caption : Arjuna is godlike.

#BhagwadGitaSez : Okay fine .. I’ll try to get Preity Zinta to hug you if you win. Now will you get on with the fight !!

RT @amitvarma: #BhagwadGitaSez ‘Krish, just got an SMS from some Lalit Modi asking if I can finish the war in three hours. Whaddya think?’

#BhagwadGitaSez @amitvarma: ‘Lalit Modi also wanted 6 teams. But he assured me that I’ll be the icon player of my team’.

#BhagwadGitaSez : Listen up guys, the war begins trow. By tonight, you need to delete those guys from your FB friends list

#BhagwadGitaSez : Krishna : and the book’s complete … Trust me, this is going to be a fiction bestseller someday.

#BhagwadGitaSez : Sanjaya : I’m here to interview for the post of a commentator. Heard the previous guy, Arun Lal, got fired

#BhagwadGitaSez : *sigh* Bhishma is a very lonely man … Hey, that’s an awesome line, hope it is famous someday.

#BhagwadGitaSez : Drona’s last tweet : “Fu*k, just saw an arrow coming towar’

#BhagwadGitaSez : Hey Krish, quick ques. – Can I play Himesh songs on my speaker as a defense tactic ?

#BhagwadGitaSez : Get this, all keyords of this war are gonna be remade as lame movies. Kurukshetra, Krish, Arjun, Drona ..

#BhagwadGitaSez : If you’re really angry, forget the Bhramastra sh*t. Type in CAPITAL LETTERS !

#BhagwadGitaSez : Umm you can’t fight after sunset. Look, I don’t care if you’re not a day person !!

#BhagwadGitaSez : Must say Drona fought well. He surely deserves a great movie made in his name …. NOT.

#BhagwadGitaSez : Can’t believe Drona fell for that Ashwatthama prank. ROTFL !

#BhagwadGitaSez Bhishma is giving his parting monologue. Such a drama queen.

Walt Disney to offer refund to parents of babies whose I.Q. did not increase by Baby Einstein DVDs http://bit.ly/13oAzH .. heh.

My law : If there’s an issue, Arundhati Roy has a wrong opinion about it.

One more : Arundhati Roy – The real fact is–and I believe this–that it is the .[....] http://bit.ly/1qJG4q

WTF falls short : I have told her to increase her breast and butt size but there’s no action on her part http://bit.ly/39006a

Q : Whose acting is the best in Blue ? .. A: The sharks (via @alltalk)

Demand for new Maha CM to selected from OBCs http://is.gd/4Algk .. Totally. The next Gandhi heir should also be an OBC.

Wen calls Manmohan ‘old friend’, agree to strengthen ties http://bit.ly/l5Uot … Wen called PM old, our media will announce.

‘Rajini blessed by Sri Dayananda Saraswati’ http://is.gd/4AeQm .. It is obvious the editor of the piece wasn’t blessed.

Priceless : ‘With only 13 days of campaigning, I got 36,000 votes. Nw I’ll work seriously for the people’ http://bit.ly/33zgcT

As they say, age does not a wise person make.

Sachin Tendulkar had famously said a couple of days back that Mumbai is for all Indians (or was it a Mumbai Indians pun ?). Bal Thackeray goes for the easy bait :

“There was no need for him to take a cheeky single by making such remarks,” Sena mouthpiece Sammana quoted Thackeray as saying.

“By making these remarks, you have got run-out on the pitch of Marathi psyche. You were not even born when the ‘Marathi Manoos’ got Mumbai and 105 Marathi people sacrificed their lives to get Mumbai,” he said.

Anyone wants to take a guess who got run-out here ? You have one chance.

All the Sena had to do was keep quiet about the issue — didn’t 50 years of the Congress teach everyone this one small thing ?

It also says :

Thackeray expressed displeasure that Sachin “left the crease” and moved to the pitch of politics by making these remarks which have hurt Marathi sentiment.

If an average person should not talk about politics, who do you think votes leaders into power ? As much as this attitude irks me, I cannot help but admire how politicians want the average person to stay away from politics, except of course during elections.

And now an open letter to all kinds of Sainiks :

Listen up Sainiks, and I mean to say this in the sweetest way possible – You don’t mess with Tendulkar. You go around hitting everyone in Mumbai, but you don’t mess with Tendulkar. You comply (allegedly) with rioters, but you don’t mess with Tendulkar. You dig up pitches, but you don’t mess with Tendulkar. You do all the nonsense in the world, but you DON’T mess with Tendulkar.

A minor statistic – you have around 5 million voters. The guy has a billion die-hard fans — and that’s only just Indians.

So if it comes down to choosing between you and Tendulkar for Maharashtrians, you stand as much a chance as Warne stands with Tendulkar. As irrational as it sounds, it is true.

So what did you get — you don’t mess with Tendulkar.

Yours sincerely,

P.S. : Oh and you also don’t mess with the BCCI. Recall the last person who messed with them and isn’t messed up now.

I read this headline :

SC stays winding up, merger proceedings of Subhiksha.

It reminds me of something Arun Shourie revealed at a session recently — the average time required in India to wind up a business is around 15 years.

Starting a business can be done at the click of a finger — around 9 months. I just meant comparatively.

Did anyone say License Raj was over ?

Still worse, we also have a Language Raj now. Hah !

After the Shiv Sena and MNS, I read about an upcoming Food Taliban in Maharashtra — a non-political group of  people batting for Maharashtrian cuisine :

They have also written to the higher education minister to include authentic Maharashtrian cuisine in the hotel management curriculum offered by various institutes. If the state fails to act on the appeal, they are all set to approach the court.

They’ve also appealed to state-run hotels and resorts to promote Maharashtrian cuisine. I’m fine with that, the state rarely does things that are sensible anyway. But approaching the court to include the cuisine in institutes ? Yeah right.

The report also adds :

Every year, 22,000 students pass out from catering colleges.

Heh. Indeed.

I am personally a huge fan of Maharashtrian food. Legend has it that as a toddler, I used to escape to neighbours’ homes to have Maharashtrian food. (Btw, I just had above-average PuraN PoLi at Chaat Paradise in Mountain View — do check it out). But I digress.

What I’m getting at is that Maharashtrian cuisine is hardly ubiquitous for such appeals to make good business sense. And really, what is the difference between enforcing a cuisine in curriculum and the saffronization of textbooks ? Both claim to help preserve an entity. I’m all for such noble causes — just please do it in your time with your money.

While at that, do read this piece “An Attitude to Serve” by the best food writer out there, Vikram Doctor. Pasting an excerpt that gets the crux :

And it is here, I have to say, that Maharashtrian food has often lost out thanks to the disinterest of its restaurateurs in really promoting it.

Many of Mumbai’s first eateries were Maharashtrian, in the khanevals or community canteens opened by workers from the region who came from the end of the 19th century onwards to find employment in the city’s booming mills. Most of the small restaurants I mentioned earlier had their roots in such khanewals, but the point is that they stayed rooted, and never tried to expand or appeal to a larger clientele.

The best example of this is Anantashram which is famous for its simple, but entirely delicious food that’s cooked over charcoal fires and served in an atmospheric house in the old area of Khotachiwadi. But Anantashram is also known for the rudeness of its waiters, who refuse requests to photograph the place and deter any attempts to ask questions.

A few years back Khotachiwadi organised a weekend festival to show off its quaint small backlanes and old wooden bungalows to the rest of the city, but Anantashram refused to participate. And that Sunday it closed, since it was always closed on Sundays, despite the fact that there were hordes of hungry visitors who it could have profited from.

I don’t need to add anything about Maharashtrian entrepreneurship — all I want to say has been said by Pu. La. Deshpande in his essay Mumbaikar, Punekar ki Nagpurkar.

More than just a couple of friends asked me why no one commented on the post “A missing piece in the MNS puzzle“.

I say to them the whole purpose of the post would’ve been defeated had a debate ensued.

The irony.

P.S. : Either that or no one reads this blog. I like the former one though.