Its all happening, its all happening!!! ... Band Aid voices screaming in my head (think Almost Famous).

2 Days to my departure from this office and I already feel the blood coursing in my veins. The time to fall off the map, the time to not dread the coming of the morning but to rush towards it with outstretched arms, the time to grow younger than you were and the time to be free.

Almost there. Almost.

Soon I'll be lugging 7-8 kilos in a beat up faithful rucksack up a mountain keeping pace with a couple of old timers. Only to be sleeping on state transport buses and inside sleeping bags with a tent for shelter and the night sky for company. And finally back to being able to do whatever the fuck you want, whenever the fuck you want.

Atleast for a little while.

Free (Now all I need is my Wild Indian Woman!!)

However, it shall do me good to see through these last 48 hours appropriately. Too many things to clear with too many bleddy depts. Also one must leave with one's boss's blessings in my profession. Which is really my top concern now since I have been given work today, which I ought to do extra well, and would too if only it wasn't for this nagging drowsiness. Which again is my bad I suppose. Stayed up till 2:30 am watching Heat. What can a man do when you put Al Pacino and Robert DiNero against each other with their abundance of style, guns and ammo? To top that you put in a long haired, blonde, hitman/junkie played by Val Kilmer, you're really conspiring to keep your regular run of the mill working man up all night.

Man, I'd love to be a gangster.

"We Jazz June, we die soon"

I've always been attracted to breaking the rules. Not because the rules are good or bad or right or wrong. But simply because they are there. Don't get me wrong. I'm not prescribing a lifestyle choice here or advocating anything for that matter. Just that it feels good breaking them rules. Always has you know. Its a good feeling that never lets you down. Like a tried and tested high.

However, Neil McCauley (Robert Di Nero) was too smart. Even for Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino). A career criminal was he, and with honour. Until she came along.

Eady (Amy Brenneman) when Neil (Robert Di Nero) sees her for the first time in Heat

Picture from here

The kinda lady you'd leave it all behind for (but thats assuming you've had had a life to leave behind in the first place). There's freedom there too I suspect. That makes Amy Brenneman our Hottie of the Month.

Cheers.

Had the craziest weekend in the longest time. One of the oldest friends was in town, and well we had ourselves a boy's night out. Stag as the good old times of school when the wimmen would look at us and smile benignly with a look that unmistakably revealed their innate desire to tousle our hair and squeeze our cheeks. Yea I felt like a goddamn kid then but nowadays they simply look the other way. I'm thinking being a kid and cute was better than being an inebriated adult and a potential rapist. Anyway we were saved from our blushes outside a nightclub when a bunch of Irish women decided that they not only wanted to enter with us, but they also wanted to party with us the rest of the night. All I had said was, "I love U2 man, please could you get us inside??" Also for the first time in my life was I hailed as a "gentleman" along with my friend (often repeatedly) by the same aforesaid Irishwomen. Yeah take that all ye who look away. Take that I say!

Also belated happy birthday old friend. You know who you are. I don't think they'll have blogs where you are but there's really no other way I can say this to you now, is there. For the record, I did actually go out and raise a toast to you, so you'd better do the same for me up there.

To DVR who is a million miles away ..

Of Heartbreaks

En route to an early morning game of football, what was the first in ages, sitting in an auto with 2 other players, chatting about what was last evening's game between city rivals East Bengal and Mohunbagan and Robin Singh's two match winning strikes when our veteran auto driver turned and retorted to us young EB fanboys with disdain that "Prothom goal ta kheye toh Shilton-er book bhenge gelo, tar por dwitya goal aar ki thamabe??!? Or je mon bhenge gechche".

Literally translates to "The first goal broke Shilton's heart (Shilton = Mohunbagan goal keeper), how do you expect him to stop the second. The poor man was heartbroken".

I've been wanting to leave this city for a while. And sometimes it seems like I'll never get out. But some other times, times like these, they bring a smile to my face. For such sometimes happen only in Kolkata.

I don't know what it is. Maybe its the weather, maybe being amidst civilization after 5 years of semi-imprisonment, or maybe its just me all of 24 but not for long. Whatever it is, its never been this hapless before. There are too many people and too many acquaintances, yet life has never felt lonelier. Almost as if out of spite for those acquaintances, who well are great people.. really. And who are still the same. The way they were when you'd left them. Left home. Yet now... now you belong elsewhere. And the friends of old, well they're just friends of old. Not companions of the present. I guess. Weird.

Nevermind. I still got music. And did I mention the weather? It is great! Fabulous in fact. Walk out of the shivering shade into the lazy sun and bask a while making the drag last inside your lungs. God bless ITC.

Also speaking of music, an old friend was recently speaking, in between sips of hot tea, of how sometimes the simplest of words and the most clichéd of tunes encompass all that there is, there was and there ever will be. In just a moment. The slight tremble of the voice, or the sudden softness in the finger picked twang, or the promise of ever returning to the start and always ending up close but not quite. Just like life, sometimes. Only sometimes.

Here's a sappy number by two beautiful and talented artists that makes me wish I was born in different times. So let the devil take tomorrow, cause tonight I need a friend..

I love weekends.

4 days to go...

Boredom compounded with work leads to what follows. Those who've had the lack in life to read the Malazan Book of the Fallen atleast till the 3rd book (there are 10 in all) shall know better the context of my paltry poesy. Those who haven't, well whats there. Cheers.

Of being done (Brukhalian's Prayer)

In the raging glory earned with blood and tears

find my death, a final prayer

to all who watch and reap, but never sow,

for all who live and die beneath their blows;

that all the power, anger and pain

sheltered within these fragile frames

that follow my shadow to the betrayal imminent

live on past us and never faint

for the crime of our deaths, uncommitted yet,

shall weild a vengeance moulded in hate.

Let us march to our deaths then, old friends and new.

Let the crime be complete, and a hero rise anew.

A hero with no song, no place beneath the sun,

but just a man, not dead, for he’s not yet done.

Stuck in the middle of all them Exhibits. There must be some kind of way out of here..

I CANNAAWT!

Questions that flummox me innocent mind...

1. Whatsup??!?

2. I'm reading. Person X walks up and inquires, "What're you doing?"

3. Mother : "What're you doing with your life?"

4. "DO SOMETHING!!" (Mother again, but that was not a question)

5. There are a bunch of fresh A4 sheets stacked at the printer next to me that are visible to all and sundry. A fellow colleague walks up and asks "Could you pleease put some paper in the printer?". EVERYDAY!

6. Boss : "So you wish to quit? Now what, become a mercenary?"

7. Friends (different ones on separate occasions) : "Why're you like this man?"

Random.

Champion of the World

Ask any Indian, "which Indian is the best in the world at his/her respective sport?" wherein being the best is not an annual event. It is a status that is earned over the course of one's career.

Most of India will answer SACHIN! Well duh!

Some might even say Saina Nehwal.. or wait maybe... atleast she's one of the best.

Rarely would one hear the name of Mangte Chungneijang Mary Kom. Well if not Indians, then atleast the International Boxing Federation has pronounced MC Mary Kom as the 'best female boxer' in the world after she achieved the "unimaginable", as pugilist Vijender Kumar put it, by winning her 5th Women's World Boxing Championship title in a row.

There's something terribly attractive about sportswomen that I find myself unable to resist. When you make that a mother of twins, hailing from a male dominated third world country that pretends otherwise, successful in a male dominated sport and who is born but two years before I, well you get love and respect in immeasurable yet equal measure. The Hottie of the Month dear readers, although late but not never, is MC Mary Kom.

The wind burns most of my cigarette away even as dry leaves and dust particles rush headlong into my flying hair, clinging on in inanimate survival. Its been pleasantly cold all day.

Winter is here, and I feel fine!

Cheers.

Today is a day of coincidences. The believer would say there are no coincidences. I wonder if there is much one can do either ways. What must be done, must be done. And weirdly I'm not alone in this one. Not alone, not today. Also a third one is there, watching over, or so I like to believe. Fuck you, bastard. You should have hung on a little longer. Then it could've been the three of us. Well now you'll just have to wait till we're done here.

Got me a new Ipod. Never thought I'd buy one, never felt the need to... but there you have it. Rather I do.

Last night was no fun. Tried getting high with a bunch of old timers, but there was too much going on. Inside our heads. Hence, too many silences. Left unbroken, yet coloured with knowing smiles. The blessing of being with old timers.

Been listening this song since last night. You keep me hanging on by JJ Cale. Its beautiful. Wonder what its like to feel that way. Bet its not as good as the song. Or maybe it is.

Have a nice day.

Too much work, too few chiquititas...

Encompasses my present condition in 6 words.

However, I have been reading ANOTHER fantasy series (this one longer than the last one I read...much longer) wherein I seemed to have developed the proverbial "hots" for this fishergirl-ascendant possessed killer-simply a hot bod assassin.

Which brings me to my Hottie of the Month.

Apsalar

And the festive season begins...

Dear Sleep,

I do not hate you. In fact I miss you more with every daaay! I know I sound like a Backstreet Boy, but what to do, I'll go anywhere for you.

The reason I've been giving you such less time is because my days aren't mine no more. They're rented to a monster machine that don't know you. Never been enamored by you. Never really tasted your sweet sweet breath. I know thats not your fault but baby you gotta understand. I work not just to fill my stomach, but because it is something I must do. Be gainfully employed they said. Do something! they said. So here I am. Doing me job. But in the pursuit of acceptance and credibility in an alien (and often abnormally stoopid) world, I have lost that which is most dear to me. My life.

Hence, in the darkness of the night when I'm all by myself, I fight to keep you away in order to live a little. Listen to 'em old tunes of rebellion and grey numbed pain; read about 'em wise kings, conceited gods, lustful queens, vengeful princes and the unnamed soldiers; stay awake a bit and spend some time with the person I love the most...myself; and lastly but nevertheleast smoke a sweet 'un.

So bear with me my love. Give me time, for that is what I do not seem to have no more. Be patient. Do not hold me back and quarrel like you do when I try to leave you in the mornings. For even when I push thee away, know that I still yearn for thee.

Love.

Me.

Of Corporate Arrogance

Facebook has recently started attempting to register the word "face" as its trademark with the United States Patent & Trade Mark Office (USPTO).

Technically, no individual may solely be vested with the exclusive rights on the use of the word "face", it being a common word in the English Language. However, Facebook's claim may be accepted if they are able to show that the word "face" has become distinctive in respect of the services provided by applicant by way of continuous use over a considerable period of time.

Now, it makes sense to apply for the mark 'Facebook' as a whole using the aforesaid arguments and the claim that 'Facebook' as a whole is a newly coined term using two English words in conjunction with one another, which were unused in relation to the given services of the applicant, and that tremendous cross-border reputation has accrued in respect of the same in favour of the applicant. In fact Facebook would be well within its rights to do so and thereby diligently protect its valuable intellectual property. What is unsettling however, is Facebook's insistence on getting the word "face" and probably later the word "book" registered in its favour. The effect of such registration is to say (loosely, depending on other facts and circumstances) that any instance of the use of the word "face" in relation to online service providers (regardless of the nature of such service) shall be held to be an infringement of Zuckerberg's great intellectual property that is Facebook. Notwithstanding the unwanted precedent it shall inevitably set which is likely to be followed by various other multinationals applying for exclusive rights on regular words of the English language.

So far, even without a valid registration, Facebook has successfully threatened and gotten a travel website to change its name from Placebook to TripTrace. They are also likely to initiate legal action against Teachbook, which is an online portal for teachers, for the use of the term "book". This reveals the sincerity of their intentions of following up the application on "face" by another for "book", probably using their first application as a precedent.

While it is unlikely that "face" will be granted registration one can never be too sure when it comes to financially resourceful multinational corporations. In any case such an application or claim is an example of a humongous ego and arrogance on the part of Zuckerberg & Co. that probably believes itself to be the sole reason for the existence of Law and not the other way round. I hope such arrogance is nipped in the bud by the USPTO.

Of Liberation

I have de-activated my facebook account. For the first time ever. The reason was simple and provided by one of those multiple choice questions that facebook keeps asking. It being "I spend too much time on facebook"... and might I add doing nothing at all. In my defence, its all this job's fault. I never really had the facebook bug and hence it made sense to be on it. Presently, I sign in after every other assignment on the pretext of taking a break. Hence, its time to call quits. Lets see how long this lasts. If my Quit Smoking campaigns against the self is anything to go by, it won't last long. But I'm hoping against it.

Eid Mubarak and...

... another bhai is about to bite the dust. The parents are gonna be meeting tomorrow, and well you know you know. The bhai and the probable bhabi seem to like each other though. Tons. That can't be too bad except for maybe the inevitable.

That's 2 down 7 to go by circa 2011.

The only question on everyone's mind.... WHO'S NEXT??

Yesterday

A man walked into Arambagh's Food Mart and asked for a tube of Fair and Handsome face cream for men.

Calcuttans, like Calcutta, never cease to astonish.

The Last of The First

August 30, 2010 witnessed, among other things, the passing away of the last surviving footballer to have participated in World Cup 1930, in Uruguay. Senor Francisco "Pancho" Varallo, Center Forward for the Argentine national team circa 1930-1937. At 20, he was the youngest player in the 1930 World Cup thereby becoming the youngest player in the World Cup Finals in 1930 (Argentina lost the finals to Uruguay 4-2).

Varallo in action against Italia (you gotta admit the pants rock!)

I have never watched him play, nor seen any footage of this man in action. In fact I hadn't heard of him till I came across an article citing his death. However, I did read up on his life, and the man is an Argentine legend having scored 180 goals in 210 league games for his club Boca Juniors; a record that lasted till 2008 when it was broken by Martin Palermo. He even jokingly expressed his desire to come out of his retirement upon hearing the news of his record being finally broken by Palermo. He was 98 years old in 2008.

Senor Varallo lived for a 100 years. RIP.

ps: Picture from here.

Ja saala, My heart goes shala-la-la-la ..

HOTTIE OF THE MONTH : Caroline Dhavernas

She makes me heart squeak ..

Picture from here.

Aaj mere yaaron ka budday hain...

Steering clear of posts beginning with "Of", here's to inform everyone that a looong looooong (too loong) time ago 2 idiots, namely TJ Eckleberg and Niniel decided that enough was enough and it was time that they fulfill their destinies of being the eternal spot(s) on my poor innocent mind. They were born 364 days apart, with TJ leading the way as usual. Since then it was ordained that my life would not be... what do they say... a normal one, thanks to our aforesaid hero and heroine.

So here's to the 2 idiots who have forever been and shall forever remain hell-bent on making a 3rd idiot out of me. Happy 25th and 24th respectively buggers. And I won't forget to put roses on your graaaves.

Of being a Dilliwallah

Courtesy : Dinesh Kapur

I know, I know its offensive but the black bit cracked me up..

Of Time and I

Saala I wake up every morning to an alarm, 6 days a week, and get to Office and switch on my computer at about the same time everyday...for over a year now.

Just not so long ago during college Time was a slave to me. Now it seems like I'm a slave to Time, and will be forever mooore.

Lesson : Don't get a job or forever sing, I want to breaak freeeee ..

Of Life coming to a full circle at a Govt. Office

Place : The Office of the Registrar of Firms, Societies and Non-trading Corporations at 10th Floor, Todi Mansion, Kolkata.

Time : Bright hot muggy afternoon.

So I finally stepped out of the cramped lift onto the 10th floor of Todi Mansion after having waited for over 20 minutes to get into the said lift in the first place (the queue had spilled onto the street outside). A small doorway to the left blocked by a wall of sweating visitors, queuing up for reasons best known to themselves, seemed to be the entrance to the Office. I waded my way through the barrage of bodies while profusely muttering apologies and calmly digesting the "tsk tsk(s)" and "arre dekhe moshai dekhe(s)" to finally find myself at the first desk of the said Govt. office where a bespectacled bucktooth civil servant sat signing papers while vociferously elaborating on his family's illustrous history to another sitting beside him.

I was here to file a couple of applications under the RTI Act. On inquiring as to who was the appropriate person to receive my application, I was pointed toward 'choto babu' who happened to be another bespectacled civil servant with a more sombre appearance. On repeating my question to the said 'choto babu' I was directed to a 'madam', a middle aged bespectacled (again!!) lady who spared me more time and attention than the two previous officers. However, she had no idea what the RTI was, or atleast she did a damn good job pretending not to know. She directed me to the Registrar's office itself, 'bodo babu', informing me that "uni jaanben.." (he'll know.. what you're talking about...i presume). So I met the Registrar himself who very kindly and calmly directed me to approach the desk just to the left of the entrance and submit my application and also reminded me to keep a receipt stamped photocopy for myself.

So I headed out one last time and lo! It was the bespectacled bucktooth civil servant, whom I'd met first upon entering the said office, that I had to submit my applications to. Only by this time he was going on about how they used to have 35 bigha jomeen (bigha = acre??; jomeen = zameen = plot of land) in Chottogram(Chittagong) that the dirty mullahs snatched from them.

My first real experience with the Indian bureaucracy. In retrospect it was entertaining, if nothing else. I only wish it wasn't soo bloody hot!

(FYI, I did manage to file the said application, though only after I informed our esteemed officer that I was instructed to come to him by 'bodo babu' himself)

Of Help & Pride

The Hindu reports that "Over 1,700 people have died and the UN says more than 650,000 people are without basic shelter while six million desperately need emergency aid. Tens of thousands of villages are still under water" in the current floods that have plagued Pakistan.

In what could be a political or a humanitarian gesture, the Indian government has offered US $5 million in flood relief aid to its struggling neighbour. Pakistan is yet to accept such offer. While India's offer is worthy of praise, one can't be sure of the motivations behind the same. Especially if one is a Pakistan national. However, the people stranded without basic life sustaining amenities could sure use the assistance. But would you live a life of gratitude to one you perceive as your enemy, or suffer with your pride intact?

I hope Pakistan accepts the funds.

Of New Delhi

I was in Delhi for a couple of nights to...well basically to live it up with a bunch of old timers who had come from 3 different cities to the nation's capital to re-live the days of the good old boy's hostel one more time. The only problem being that there were too many boys, just like in the times of the said boy's hostel.

Anyway, this short whirlwind trip to Delhi was fun to say the least. Friday saw me cross 4 state borders as I flew out of Kolkata, landed at the Delhi airport from where I was whisked away to Gurgaon to have lunch with an old school friend. Thereafter I availed the services of the Delhi Metro to get to Qutub Minar Station wherefrom an autoride took me to Barakhamba Road where I had an unscheduled meeting with an ugly sibling. Thereafter I got picked up by another friend, a proud Advocate of the Delhi High Court now, and rode away into the evening to Noida Stadium to play a football match which we arrived too late to participate in {classic kels... for the uninitiated kels is the affectionate insinuation of life giving one the proverbial kela (banana)}. In any case our team lost 8-2 to a bunch of kids from a local school who obviously weighed a good 20 kilos less than each of us and had a clean pair of lungs to go with that no doubt. Also the fact that we played the entire first half with 4 players against 7 didn't help our cause.

Saturday, turned out to be the longest day I'd lived since I left college. It commenced at 7 in the morning with a practice football match at Pandara Road, wherein I realised the exact extent of my match-unfitness, and ended at 5 next morning with a well rolled joint, rolled by yours truly. In the middle I managed to fit in going swimming, breakfast at CP, a couple of hours sleep, meeting a bunch of old timers edging to break loose of their newfound corporate sanity, a few choicest cocktails accompanied by a bottle of Black Label and a 5ltr keg of chilled Heineken, and some of the usual drunken drama that is not so usual in my life anymore. Like I said, FUN!

Just one of the many reasons I should shift to New Delhi.

Nalsar Batch 2004-09 babies!!

And a couple of my batchmates have become fathers!! Ola babies! They are our hotties for this month.

Ms. Tandin Wangmo (Good job Nima Dorji)

And more recently Ms. Kuenga Wangmo (Excellent work Ugyen Wangdi)

May the force be with them and the Gods always smile upon them. With all my loving to these beautiful ladies.

I have to watch

Enthiran - The Robot (poster)

Anyone with sub-titled copies?

Please to make noise.

Poster from here.

To bullfight, or not to bullfight

An estimated 13,500 bulls are said to perish each year in bullfights all across Spain. Bullfights are an inherent part of Spanish culture and is considered to be in danger from modernisation of urban thought and the acts of various International Animal Rights organisations which have been trying unsuccessfully to bring about the demise of this cultural bloodsport.

Recently the local parliament of Catalonia (which boasts supplying half the football team and the complete style of gameplay that won the World Cup '10) has voted in favour of banning bullfighting within its territories from 2012 becoming the only county in Spain to have done so. This was officially in furtherance of an international petition signed by 140,000 people calling for a ban on the 'sport'. However, many local political analysts believe that the same petition was ratified as a reaction to a Spanish constitutional court turning down Catalonia's 2006 autonomy charter earlier this month declaring that Catalonia was not a sovereign nation. A detailed report is available here.

While most of Spain regards such aforesaid ban as an attack on Spanish culture, animal welfare activists from around the world have lauded Catalonia for the same.

In what is good news for Spanish bulls, it is also to be understood that there have been generations of Spanish families and bullfighters who have studied, trained and practised bullfighting for centuries and have innovated and mastered techniques vide such long and continuous practice. Further if being a non-vegetarian is not considered cruel (and it isn't, the goddamn food chain exists for a reason...besides we were meant to eat meat...just ask any dentist) then how can bullfights be construed so. Especially when it gives the bull a fighting chance, no matter what the odds. Besides humans are an inherently violent species, where the law is designed to minimise the occurrence of violence with respect to other humans. It must also be kept in mind that the law does not equate any other species to humanity. Even the most endangered ones maybe destroyed to preserve human life. In such aforesaid context of global intellectual hypocrisy, can a tradition where violence is directed at non-human living creatures (which are not in danger of extinction) and one that has existed and evolved over centuries, so much so that it forms an integral part of local identity, truly be considered worth banning or doing away with entirely?

India's Soccer City

The list of football stars that have visited Kolkata in the past is long and illustrious compared to any other Indian city. Some of the names I can recall are the likes of Lothar Matthaus, Karl Heinz Rumminege, Diego Maradona, Branco, Romario, Oliver Kahn, and Gerd Mueller. Tomorrow another great footballing talent will land in the city. While all the aforesaid greats visited us only after they'd hung up their boots, this gentleman will need to go home and iron his jersey after his stint here is done. And he's just come off playing the tournament of his life.

Europa Champion 2010, World Cup Golden Ball Awardee 2010, Diego Forlan.

And he's not coming alone. She's gonna be there too!!

Zaira Nara, Forlan's erstwhile girlfriend

Ergo, be there at Yuva Bharti Krirangan, (Salt Lake Stadium) August 1, 2010 at 1700 hrs if you can. See you there!

Pictures from here and here respectively.

Back to the cradle

Got my hands on some old Mohiner songs. I had always been fond of Mohin's material. Especially because the youngest of Mohin's horses (the band being named Mohiner Ghoraguli literally translating to mean Mohin's Horses) Mr. Abraham Mazumdar was my music teacher at school and a close friend of the family. Further the band, despite performing in obscurity right through its career in the 1970s, was arguably singlehandedly responsible for the splurge of Bangla Rock bands and artists that came to fore during the late eighties and early nineties and is an important part of the history of modern Bengali popular music.

Last night I heard the song Tomay Dilam after an eternity. I had almost forgotten it even existed. Unlike most Mohin fans, I prefer this vocal harmony and keyboard driven number over their more renowned hits such as Bhalobashi, Prithibi and Ruksana. This seems to me to be a melancholic love song to the Calcuttan in general. Its a beautiful song and I wish I could put up the song itself, but being the technological retard that I am I haven't figured out how to do that yet. In any case it isn't mine to put up.

So instead I got down to translating it. My case is hindered by my poor grasp on the English language and an even poorer understanding of my own mother tongue (I'm glad blogs don't require mandatory pictures of its administrators for I'd rather no one saw my face). Albeit the same, I hope I am able to atleast give the reader a hint of the beauty and the mellow despair in this song and do justice to its eloquent wordplay in the Bengali language. It is a sad and beautiful song that left me awake till late last night.

Tomay Dilam (I give to you)

In the city’s warmest day

of tar fueled sunlight,

a breath of rain

I give to you today.

What else could I give?

Them old rallies,

the rows of them old trams,

the balloon store on the sidewalk

whose thread knotted reds & whites

are my discordant city’s Rhododendron

I give to you today.

What else is there in the late night neon lights,

that illuminate these restaurants.

The highest roof of the tallest building

I give to you today.

I cannot give

the smell of grass, flowers and rice fields,

two palmfuls of softness.

Instead the silent reassurance of the

slightly leaking burnt diesel,

I give to you today.

All the images of the city’s verse

I give to you today.

[I give to you today] x 3

Original Lyrics by the Late Gautam Chattopadhyay

Indian v. Red Devils

Delhi boy Sunil Chhetri will soon be seen taking the field against Manchester United on July 25 as part of the latter's tour of USA. Chhetri will be playing for his new club Kansas City Wizards when they take on the former world club champions in a friendly encounter. Although Wayne Rooney and Patrice Evra are said to have stayed out of the tour on holidays, big names like Ryan Giggs, Berbatov and Edwin Van der Sar will be available for the English giants. A detailed report of the same is available here.

Sunil Chhetri appearing for his erstwhile club Kansas City Wizards

Here's hoping that the India No. 11 gets playing time against one of the greatest football clubs in the world and does us all proud. Gooo Chhetrii!

Romario comes home

Brazilian legend and Calcutta's favourite son (since most Bengali Calcuttans consider themselves Brazilians with the remaining firmly believing that they were actually born in Argentina, and that Bengal is in India today due to some sort of tectonic shift or CIA conspiracy) Romario de Souza Faria came to the city a couple of days back to encourage youngsters participating in a state-wide football tournament, the Kolkata Police Coca-Cola Friendship Cup. He is staying on to host a reality tv show on football, to be aired on Mahua Channel, alongside former team mate and fellow World Champion 1994, Branco.

It seems a tad weird to imagine how a game meant to be watched live can be any more real than it already is, but atleast its a good excuse to have one of the finest exponents of the game in your hometown. He's probably as loved here as he is at home, and probably better remembered. I can only confirm that after I have been to Brazil in 2014 ;)

Cheers, and good luck to Romario for his future exploits in the city of joy.

Picture from here.

Find of the tournament

This World Cup saw various styles of football being executed by some really talented men. Some stars did not live up to their reputations, whilst others outdid theirs. One such who came through in glory was Per Mertesacker, who in my limited opinion has been one of the players of the tournament alongside the likes of Diego Forlan, Lionel Messi (yes, I thought he played great and with a lot of responsibility) and Sergio Ramos.

Per Mertesacker (Germany)

While I had experienced the other aforesaid superstars earlier, I hadn't quite seen much of the Werder Bremen defender in action. He was in the German squad that reached the Euro 2008 finals, however, I cannot recall him from that game. That being said I must admit that it was love at first notice this time around. He's a fantastic defender, who defends clean and effectively. Does not give out any set pieces near the penalty area, wins airballs/goalkicks, and also scores vide useful headers. Just to give one an idea what it must feel like being a striker attacking Mertesacker's defence, here's an image from the Germany-England game where Jermaine Defoe (one of the most prolific English scorers from the past season) finds himself on the wrong side of the tall Bavarian.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!

PS : According to the grapevine, Arsenal a preparing to make a 22 Million Pound bid for this talented defender to play for them in the coming season. I pray and hope the deal goes through for its a fact that no striker would wish to run into Mertesacker en route to a goal.

Pictures from here.

I want to go

Perito Moreno Glacier (Patagonia, South America)

Any sponsors??

Picture from here.

Knight & Day

Tom Cruise is a certified idiot. Cameron Diaz looks like an uglier sibling of herself (even in a red bikini).

TJ Eckleberg is responsible for me viewing this absolute piece of shit.

First tag on this page. Tagged by Priyanka.

“This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog’s content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant.”

Wnndrr!

Some rules of the Game:

a) Show off your honesty(and modesty) by thanking the person who gave you the award and link to their post. (Gracias Ms. Kumar!)

b) List 10 honest things about yourself. Cheating makes you lame, so just play along, all you taggees.

c) Select 7 other bloggers you think deserve this award and pass it on to them.

d) Notify said bloggers about the award and invite them to be the honest ones next.

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1) I don't comb or oil my hair. Ma says all my hair will fall off soon as a result.

2) I wish I were leaner and stronger, kinda like Sergio Ramos. (Sheesh)

3) If I were a rockstar I'd totally die on stage. Read Leslie Harvey.

4) I like to live vicariously off my heroes. Like re-enact their acts as would be done by me. Time...anytime, place...my dreams.

5) I know the lyrics to too many MLTR songs for my own liking. (I will shoot anyone who laughs)

6) I want to get a bike but my mum won't let me get one. So I drive a car...hahahaha! I still want a bike though.

7) I'm 'meat'arian. Love meat, survive purely on a non-vegetarian diet.

8) I can spend an entire day with only myself for company and not get bored. I love me.

9) I'd rather be a mediocre footballer than a kickass lawyer. But I'd rather be a mediocre lawyer than a mediocre anything else (apart from a footballer, ofcourse).

10) My next BIG plan is to be there for Brazil 2014! All the way till Mardi Gras. Doesn't matter if I even go, its worth planning for..

Tagging Shamli, Rahul Saha, TJ Eckleberg, Niniel, Oswald, Meenakshi and The Comedian. And whoever else wishes to be tagged or has nothing better to do ...

Cheers.