I Amsterdam

"Been there... done that..."

Amsterdamers love bicycles. There are very few over-weight people there.

If there ever was a list must-see PG-13 guide to Amsterdam, I'd probably be able to answer with that unmistakable phrase. One weekend was definitely not enough to explore this city of contrasts - the deep historical cultures and modern expressionisms, the aristocratic and the sleazy, the order and chaos, traditionalists and liberalists. This city has just about everything for everyone in this world.

One of the over 7000 canals in Amsterdam

We rolled our way into Amsterdam after a 3.5hr train journey from Aachen. Have I complimented the public transport system in Europe yet? I wanna stress again how efficient this system is... trains, buses (and Amsterdam's trams and canal boats) arrive and leave exactly on time. One can almost synchronise one's watches to this system. The city greeted us with a dready low lights and a chilly wind. After scouting around for possible accommodation, we eventually chose a slightly dingy hotel with common toilets (managed to set a new record time in colon block during my stay in Holland). For budget tourists like us this was perfectly fine.

Madame Tussards in Amsterdam. The tram rails were everywhere...

We hit the streets after dumping our stuff in our rooms. Though the intention was to check out the place, the general vector was towards the infamous Red Light District (called RLD from now on to minimise the shock factor). We had to see what all the fuss was about... :) A few hours and space brownies later, all was clear. Window shopping has never been this mind numbing. The brownies took their time but the effects were evident. The city comes alive in the night. There was a gentle mix of races, genders and ages in the RLD. The area was clearly demarked with raised platforms with red LEDs. The smell of weed that floated lightly in the air was mildly intoxicating. I remember gentle hallucinations while catching up with sleep that night… :)

The Dam built during prosperous Amsterdam. The Dam square is popular with street soccer in the night.

We spent the Saturday soaking in the culture of the city. Visited the Rembrandt and Van Gogh museums. It was refreshing to find the art museums filled mostly with young people. The Historical museum provided a fascinating insight into the history of Amsterdam. The first true entrepreneurs of the world were the Dutch East India Company (VOC) – their vision and influence in the world and in their company at the time can be none other than inspirational. Rembrandt was a meticulous artist who served the rich traders of the Netherlands and lived and died following his genius in art. Van Gogh was a demented genius who couldn’t break out of the mould around him and thus resorted to personal affliction to define his journey in life. 2 ‘stars’ of the cultural city that is Amsterdam.

Another spectacular palace on the banks of the River Amstel

We visited a few other museums (;)) and did the canal-boat tour of the city. The houses and canals that connect its residents to each part of the city were the most striking parts of the tour. We rounded the long day, avoiding speeding electric trams and cold winds, with a visit to the Dam amongst many other places…

Amsterdam's RLD. An intriquing mix of beauty and sleaze.

Sunday morning was spent collecting souvenirs and planning the trip back to Aachen. Calf muscles and the skin on the tip of my nose were worn out, and my back was aching, but this trip will always be in my mind. I will definitely come back to this city of contrasts. Amsterdam has without doubt left a mark in me. I Amsterdam.

The bicycle shelter next to the train station. Probably around 500, maybe more.

Watching the Daily Show with Jon Steward on Comedy Central - the host has hilariously slaughtered George W. Bush's state of the nation address last week... These guys are just brilliant. Three cheers to Freedom of Speech.

In Aachen, Germany!

One of the many types of beers on offer in Germany

Eventually the Gods smiled upon me, and I managed to pry out a company-sponsored trip to Germany (the real reason's M-PBN training). The training is happening in the company's training offices in Aachen, Germany. This little town is situated around 15 mins from the border to Netherlands in the old West Germany, further west of Bonn and Koln (Cologne).

The weather has been a tad different that the warm, sunny 20 degrees of Johannesburg, with the average temperature around the 2 degree mark. The locals describe the weather during the last few days a little chillier than usual with snow expected anytime soon.

Dusseldorf Flughawen bahnhof

We landed in Dusseldorf on Sunday afternoon with no idea how to get to Aachen around 2 hours away. The signs weren't really helpful, and colleagues had warned us against the attitude of Germans against foreigners. Our first experience wasn't that that great with the irritable Hofbahn information operator directing us to a German ticket machine with no option to change languages. I remember being quite angry but after reflection, I'm now thankful he made it difficult for us, 'cause its how we learnt how life works around here...

I now enjoy 'conversing' with the Germans. My mixture of Afrikaans with the few German words I've learnt seem to do the trick. We all have a big laugh after our conversation wondering how on earth we managed to get our points through. The people seem to warm up to tourists attempting to join them in their daily lives.

A massive gate in Aachen - remains of a fort around the city

A funny moment happened earlier this evening when we stopped for supper at the many 'Doner Kebaps' (hugely popular Persian/Turkish eat-outs that serve varieties of schwarmas and wursts) - I was trying to explain to the waiter that I was looking a typical German dish (he was light-skinned and had a typically Persian look). First attempts at Afrikaans and English failed to put the point through, so I resorted to sign language. All this while he and I were exchanging laughs at our attempts at understanding each other. Eventually he said something in German and I managed to pick out the words 'Indian' and 'sprekend'. I assumed he wanted to know if I speak any Indian languages so I started with Malayalam and moved on to Hindi (...nothing was working so what the hell!) A bit of broken Hindi seemed to do the trick as I discovered he was Pakistani. After attempting all the languages I knew, it seemed the least obvious one did the trick. He recommended a really delicious dish and gave us complimentary Turkish sweets (really delicious, may I add)...

A side of a cathedral in Aachen - don't let this poor pic fool u, this building was huge!

I'm really enjoying this country and town. There's a lot of history in this place, and the culture and people just add to the charm. Many really massive cathedrals, gates and renovated palaces. The weather is unfortunate but there are too many positives to even think of that. The machine that is the public transport system is truely inspiring.


Hoping to do Amsterdam this weekened. More on Germany later (hopefully better quality pics too)...

FPS in Javascript

Found this cool site with links to First Person Shootout code in Javascript... nice!

Our camera-shy dog...

Ramblings on Lobola and Apocalypso

The courts here in SA recently legalised same-sex marriages amidst a furore from religious communities in SA. In light of this, I found this M&E cartoon extremely funny and satirical.

The definition 'lobola' can be found here. Contrary to the Indian custom (dowry) where the bride's family contributes to the wealth of the newly weds, the southern African custom of lobola works vice-versa. The husband (and perhaps his family) shows his commitment to the wedding by paying the bride's family.

I've tried researching the history behind these customs, but haven't really had any luck. It would be quite interesting to see how (and more interestingly, why) these traditions came about. I'm surprised lobola didn't work out the same way as the dowry system (the flow of payment, I mean) given the male-dominated culture that was inherent in early native African life.



I'm really looking forward to Mel Gibson's film Apocalypso. Its based on the ancient Mayan civilisation that existed for almost 1000 years, but suddenly (given the time frame) ceased to exist with ancient Mayan religious sites and pyramids the only proof of their existence.

Theorists blame the geographical and political catalysts behind their sudden disappearance. Mel's apparantly attempting to highlight similarities between this and the USA of today.

Hmmm... Can't wait to formulate an opinion... :)

Original fearsome 4some minus 2

Outside menlyn

The original fearsome 4some minus 1

Outside menlyn

1000 hits..?? wahoo...!

This blog's hit the 1000 mark... yeah...!

Heartfelt thanks to my regular visitors, friends whose arms I've twisted, and the search engines of the world...

Comments are welcome... please go ahead; make my day.

On that note, here's a link to the latest addition to a kiddie terrorist's weapons arsenal:
http://www.newslose.com/2006/12/07/laughing-infection-a-new-war-excuse/

Pics from the Pro20 match on Friday 1 Dec

Some pics from the 20-20 match last weekend...


The view from where we were sitting. The clouds were ominous throughout the game.


The gang... some of us anyway...


The poster... (came on TV during the post-match presentation... yeah!)


More of the poster...

After yet another forgettable performance by the Indian cricket team yesterday against South African in Port Elizabeth, its with sheer exuberance that I scribble something on the wonderful bunch out here.

After almost a month here, certain cricketers have certainly helped lend a hand at creating a post on the their talents both on and off the field. This post is a follow-up on a previous one on certain members of the SA cricket team.

Ajit Agarkar: Namade Ajit... He is proof that it takes a lot more than fragile stature and flappy ears to bring down a batsman. His reasoning at bowling a slow bouncer in the last over of a tight match has been referred to in various textbooks on Unexplained Human Behavior. Peter Jackson's S-FX team had contacted him for the role of Gollum in LOTR, but it was subsequently rejected due to lack of enthusiasm (apparently namade Ajit didn't know Liv Tyler was taken).

Virender Sehwag: The case of Missing Wickets has been filed against him is reportedly being referred to the Police commissioner of SA. Complaints have come from fans about the various ways he manages to lose his wickets. Cricinfo's chief statistician has been given the go-ahead to start a new stat on the number and various ways a single batsman has gotten out. Our Virender apparently leads the table (followed closely by the Royal Canadian Mounties cricket league's standby 11th man). A gangwar is currently brewing among members of the Mumbai underground on who's playing the Sehwag card.

Mohammed Kaif: Quite possibly selected due to his experience in the ODI squad; this tactic backfired because selectors didn't realise at that point that the experience was actually for the betterment to the bowlers that bowled against him. Cricinfo's chief statistician has not yet recorded a shot off the middle of his bat. The 8th annual Gum-Maker's association convention tabled 'sticky gloves' on the top of its agenda after realising the possibility of making enormous amounts of moola from selling gloves to him. Due to the slow advancement of technology, the gum is not yet strong enough to ensure the bat stays still in his hand, hence sticky tape and genetic technology is being considered.

Dinesh Mongia: A major mystery nagging the Indian cricket selectors and the general public has been how Dinesh managed to make the ODI squad. Many suspect diplomatic involvement - apparently Dinesh was included because this move would inevitably lead to SA taking a series white-wash, and thus would ensure continued inter-government ties thereby ensuring lasting Indian investment in Africa. The possibility of few other moles have not been discounted. The Chinese are crying foul, and are considering sending their rugby team to SA.

The rest of the players seem to have played their hearts out, hence their roles will not be brought to light (not just yet)...


(Disclaimer: the above post can be considered as the lamentations of a proud, but unimpressed Indian supporter. Any remarks against a reader's hero is purely uncoincidental and intended).

Worldview at gabs

Outside a game lodge

Thattukada in Gabarone

The sign outside a resturant in Gabarone:



I recently had to visit Gabarone, Botswana for work, and was really not looking forward to the bland food on offer at the hotels. But, I was blissfully surprised when my friends took me to a South Indian resturant in Gabz...

We had Kappa and fish curry with fish fry as a side dish... Just loved it! Its times like this that make being a Mallu so kewl... The possibility of enjoyin my favourite South Indian dishes a couple of km's away from my hotel is one of the many joys of this beautiful country...




Yesterday I had the most succulent fillet of steak I've ever had.

The wanderers just before the rain

Safari in Sandton City (or, how we managed to get pics with members of the Indian team)

In true cricketing spirit (and subdued fanatical tendencies), a couple of buddies and I decided last night to prowl around the up-market Sandton City shopping mall in Johannesburg in search of members of the Indian cricket team. The grapevine insisted that the team would be housed in the glamorous Sandton Sun (a hotel in the same complex as Sandton City), and so, the probability of spotting a member of the team should be pretty good. So, armed with trusty camera-phones and a sizeable measure of charisma (gotta charm the cricketers and/or their WAGs into posing in photos for us), we ventured into uncharted waters hoping to be the only ones to single out helpless cricketers on our radar.

Very big mistake - the place was uncharacteristically populated with brown-skinned, camera-toting Indian families furiously scouting every nook and corner for signs of a celebrity.

The evening started well for us though. In true alpha male fashion, we decided we would stop over at the Nando's Portuguese fastfood chicken outlet before sending out the search parties. After ordering the usual, we grabbed a table and started engrossing ourselves with chicken and chit-chat (why the chicken crossed the road seems to be the favoured topic at this restaurant). Through sheer luck, I let my eyes wander from my plate (bad Pramod! bad! No food for u!) to the unfunctioning escalator in front of me. Lo, and behold, the figures of Munaf Patel & Wasim Jaffer walking down and turning towards the information board. After meekly mentioning it to my buddies :-) and startling a few customers, we strategised on our next move. Luckily, there weren't any other scavenger Indian supporters around, so we decided to make our move (ok, ok- it was more instinctive).

Anush decided he'd go up to them and ask them where they were from and what they wanted. I was left to look after the food (again, true alpha male style). Lucky guy, that Anush - his fluency in Hindi has never let him down. After approaching them, and chatting for a couple of minutes, he came back and announced that they might be having supper at Nando's (yeah!). They also promised photographs after their meal. So, cool and composed, we carried on with our supper, peeking up frequently to calculate how much distance was reduced between them and our table.

They eventually ordered and sat at a table next to us. In the mean time, we prepped ourselves with possible advice to give to them on how to beat the South Africans at home. For the gossip columnist reading this blog, Munaf Patel eats a s*(&(t load of food - one full chicken and 4 Portuguese rolls (usually reserved for a family of 4).

Feeling a little embarrassed of the possibility of making fools of ourselves next to our cricketing heros (and the rather impatient row of people waiting for out table), we decided to wait for them outside the restaurant.

While there, we met another league of supporters from TCS who also spotted the pair and decided to meander around the restaurant. One of them mentioned that they had spotted Dravid around the corner. Our party quickly broke up with half of us rushing to that side of the mall in search of him. No luck - apparently he'd left. I have my doubts - I think our fellow supporters were trying to wiggle their way to the top of the queue... Hmmm..

Well, they eventually came out, and we took a few pics before letting them go. The TCS pack started running after them like little schoolgirls, but we decided to keep our pride and try the hotel area instead.

Best move of the evening. We (by luck) managed to block off Tendulkar, Sehwag & WAG, and Agarkar on their way back to the hotel. Pics taken with them was posted earlier.

Details of this unscrupulous operation the next post...

Indian team in SA

Sachin & Agarkar

Indian team in SA

Munaf Patel

While browsing through an the online newspapers on India, I came across the article on
Ganguly being considered for a position in the Indian cricket "due to his marked form in the
domestic series, as well as the disappointing form of the current team setup".

Normally I would have dismissed the article as a mere attempt by the West Bengal Board of cricket to bring back their prince, but after Team India's recent form in the Champion's trophy, I'm rather inclined (with a slight queasy feeling) towards bringing him back.

Never been a huge fan of Ganguly. I always felt a number of his hundreds were flukes (dropped catches, bad teams etc.), but, to his credit, he does have a handy repertoire of shots. When he pulls it off, it looks good. The real test though, would have to be his (and I guess, any other ODI player's) real test would have to be his performance against the Aussies. I pulled out the stats from the StatGuru section from www.cricinfo.com for analysis:


Mat Runs HS BatAv 100 50 W BB BowlAv 5w Ct St
unfiltered 279 10123 183 40.65 22 60 93 5/16 37.31 2 96 0
filtered 30 647 100 22.31 1 4 7 3/41 46.42 0 12 0

for India 30 647 100 22.31 1 4 7 3/41 46.42 0 12 0
Australia 30 647 100 22.31 1 4 7 3/41 46.42 0 12 0

In other words, an average of 22.31 against Aus vs 40.65 against all teams.

The hundred was in a VB series match in Australia in 2000 where India lost the match chasing a total.

So a rash player, in serendipitous form, with a apparent negative influence on other players of the team (according to Chappell). Does Team India really need a player like that?

I hate to say this, but I think they do. The current team setup is lacking an experience left-handed batsman with a bit of attitude. Now would be a real good time to bring him in, as there won't too much pressure on his ability to bat. The pressure would rather on the rest of the players and coach of the team. Hopefully he won't hash it by blocking 40 balls without scoring a run (like he did in his last test match against Zimbabwe).

Hopefully this will be the last chop-n-change exercise on the team. Time is rapidly running out on the team of selector's attempts at finding that star new player for the team, and I believe they should rather focus on correcting glaring errors in the current team, and prepping them for the matches in the WC next year.

I also feel we aren't seeing any of that 'risky' cricket. Dravid's captaincy is solid, and dependable; but I can't see some of his tactics pulling through against the might of a strong team like Australia. I was impressed by Brian Lara's captaincy at the ICC championship. The manner in which they approached the last game was truly courageous, and I believe they could have pulled if off, if it weren't for some slacking at the 2nd half of the WI innings.

I also believe that this is how a match can be won against Australia - by keeping a foot on the pedal at all times, thereby controlling the flow of the game, and ensuring that the opposition
always keeps trying to enter the game. The incredible SA-Aus game at the Wanderers was an excellent depiction of such a tactic. The Aussies really looked out of it that day; or rather, were never allowed to command the game like they're used to doing. The game is still one of my favorite of all.

England's defense of the Ashes this year is gonna be pretty interesting. Looking forward to some good cricket when India comes over here next week. I plan to attend the first ODI at the Wanderers. Look out for a bunch of 40-odd rowdy, ill-dressed Indian supporters on the grass embankment furiously waving placards with Malayalam swear-words.... ;)

Movie of the week: Don - the chase begins again

Watched Bollywood director Farhan Akthar’s remake of the Amitabh Bachchan 80’s classic ‘Don’ a few weeks back (on premier afternoon, in fact). Expectations of this movie were almost nothing as I had never had the pleasure of watching the original, nor had any clue of how the plot would unfold (the advantage of watching on premier day).

The director’s previous 2 endeavours have been Dil Chahta Hai (DCH) and Lakshya. DCH is still currently holding strong on my top 5 list of the best all-time hindi movies – the defining aspects of this movie were the charming scriptijng, some innovative shots, a great team of actors, and last but definitely not least, a star director. I was heavily impressed by the debut and it was with great anticipation when I saw Lakshya. Bad mistake – every time I’ve watched a movie expecting a big one, I’ve always been disappointed.

The first half of the movie was slightly dragging especially Don’s encounter with Kareena Kapoor’s character (perhaps to pay homage to the original). Deciding to meet on a beach to conclude a business transaction might have also been a bit contrived. But it was the multiple shots of the action scenes (see editing) that caught my attention. The fight scenes never faulted through false shots (not usually the case, esp. in Malayalam movies ;) ). Every punch, throw or movement of a car seemed as real as can be through some slick editing that showed just enough to keep the intention sensible. This technique has been perfected in English movies for a while now, and more recently in Tamil movies (‘Gajani’). I thought a few of the stunts may have been copied from somewhere, but I might be mistaken...

The music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy was fantastic. Another attempt at paying homage to the original by remixing its music (I wouldn’t really call it a remix as each song or score had a fresh originality in it). The use of techno music in the theme and in a couple of scenes in the movie is sure to strike a chord (intended!) with the modern generation (ala DCH).

The locations were superb. Malaysia looks like a paradise. The dialogues, I thought, were simple and to the point. The Don’s little one-liners like ‘Don ko pakadna mushkil nahin… namumkin hai’ etc. etc. were humorously classic (excuse the expression, can’t think of another better description). I have a feeling the script-writers may have pulled it off the Chuck Norris website ;)

The best part of the movie was obviously the ending. Don’t worry – no spoilers here. Credit to the director for pulling off a ‘James Bond’ style movie, with ample twists and turns to keep the audience on their toes till the end. The authenticity of the movie has definitely set a new standard in Hindi movie-making. Here’s hoping for a lot more on similar themes.

Pietersburg

Rainbow outside our home

Sunset in centurion