Introducing Drahul Dravid

Yes, it is official now. Rahul Sharad Dravid, the ace Indian cricketer has officially changed his name to Drahul Dravid. Drahul called a media conference yesterday and announced this to the world. A few days back, Rahul Dravid and his family had gone to their native temple in Indore, Madhya Pradesh for this name-changing ceremony.

Rahul was very emotional about this ceremony and he wanted to attend the function in his Indian cricket wear. As seen in the picture above, the moment the priest confirmed that the name had been changed, Drahul burst into tears. Few of his Indian cricket team colleagues (who wanted to remain unnamed) also attended the ceremony. When asked on why he started crying after this ceremony, Drahul said that the thing that worried him the most was the expense that his fans have to go through to purchase posters of him with the new name. Drahul also said that once the IPL was finished, Drahul would personally add the D to all his posters owned by his fans, as he felt that he would anyway have nothing else to do after the IPL finishes.

Drahul also said that numerological or astrological reasons were not behind this name change. He said that he had to change the name to indicate clearly his style of cricket. He didn't want his name to be just because selectors thought that he could play an aggressive style of cricket. Drahul also said that he had always learnt batting as an art form where the face of the bat should point towards the pitch such that the ball, on hitting the bat, falls within the pitch (and within half a metre of the batsman) and rolls to a stop within a metre. (Given below is a photo where Rahul Dravid was expressing his frustration because of Sachin Tendulkar's inability to understand this concept)

He said that this talent was limited to very few cricketers around the world and this is the talent required to produce a draw in test cricket. So, by changing his name from Rahul to Drahul, he was clearly communicating that he should be included in the squad only if the required result was a draw. He also added that his dad had recognised this talent in him the moment he was born and hence put Dravid as his last name. But the world had failed to see the draw in dravid and that is why he had to change his first name to drahul to double-emphasize. Drahul felt that this name change would bring about a change in his image.

Technorati Tags: rahul dravid IPL Bangalore royal challengers

India's very own dumb blondes

Okay, they are not blonde, but they do represent what "dumb blondes" are supposed to be famous for - their dumbness. Yesterday's episode of "Kya Aap Panchvi pass sey tez hai" was a special episode with stars from TV soaps making their appearance on the show and wining money for charity.
Sarah Khan(Sadhna) and Parul Chauhan (Ragini) of “Sapna Babul Ka….Bidaai” were on first and right from the start, they seemed to be perfect candidates to fail a 5th class exam. Usually on the show, insets are shown about the educational achievements of the participants to embarrass them further if they don't answer a question. But, this was not the case for these two. Maybe, the producers knew that even after "preparing" them for the show, they would make a fool of themselves, that he decided not to embarrass them further. Or, they became models at such an early age that they didn't have time to complete class 5. How else would you explain the following responses:
Question 1 - Find the number of common nouns beginning with the letter "B" in the following sentence: In Bombay, I met Billoo with a basket in a blue bus.
So, the stars (the two girls) start thinking aloud. Parul says, "Basket and bus must be the two common nouns". But, the smarter Sara says, "What about Bombay, it is a common place, so it must be a common noun"!!!!
The producers then realised that their questions would prove too tough for this pair, but it was too late. Maybe they should have put Timbuktoo instead of Bombay, then Sara would have said, "Timbuktoo is not such a common place, so it cannot be a common noun"

Question 2 - Neil Armstrong was the first person on the moon. Which country does he belong to?
Parul is quite confident and she says "America". Shah Rukh, who is aware of their dumbness, wants to take them for a ride and says, "That is the name of the continent. I am looking for the name of the country". Immediately, the smart Sara says, "New York?". Shah Rukh then realises that any further discussion would embarrass the entire TV fraternity, so he accepts America and closes the question.

Question 3 - Which is the only mammal which can fly like a bird?
Parul, who has until now been overshadowed in being dumb by Sara, decides to take matter into her own hands and confidently says, "Kangaroo". Shah Rukh, desperately containing his laughter, goes to the center of the stage and imitates the movement of a Kangaroo and asks, "Are you sure that a Kangaroo flies like a bird?".

The producers by then had decided that they had had enough of this smart duo and decided to end their round and call on the next group. Now, i realise why TV soaps are so slow and prolong each and every scene. It is not the intention of the director, but it is the adaptability of the TV stars that is the problem. They seem to be so dumb that it takes them forever to understand and show an expression and the director has no other choice, but to capture the entire thing on camera!

Technorati Tags: kya aap paanchvi pass sey tez hai shah rukh khan are you smarter than a 5th grader quiz star plus

Indian Premier League (IPL) is a success

Why do i conclude so? Because i "feel" so. When Chennai Super Kings lost their matches, i felt bad and was wondering as to what they could have done better. When the Chennai team gets a wicket, i applaud and feel happy, though that wicket might be a player whom i would love to watch any other day.
This was what the organisers of IPL wanted, this was what Lalit Modi would have hoped for and it has happened. IPL has become an addiction. I spend seven hours both days of the weekend watching both the matches. Somehow, my earlier argument that 20-20 matches are just 3 hrs long doesn't seem to hold good with Vidhya any longer and i get admonished every time i put on the channel to watch IPL.
No, I was never a cricket-crazed person. I love to play cricket and given an opportunity, i don't mind playing it all day. But, watching cricket for extended periods not for me. I consistently used to fall asleep on the sofa between the 15th and the 40th overs of an innings.
I was never a fan of test cricket with the exception of Ashes. Getting up at odd hours of the night to watch the first ball being bowled in the boxing day test match, that is something only a true cricket fan would understand! Maybe it is the green grounds, maybe it is the telecast quality, maybe it is the commentary team, i don't know the reason, but i can watch the entire three sessions of an ashes test match without taking a break. The other test matches, i care a damn. An india-sri lanka match happening in Jaipur, chennai wherever, I just hear about it from friends. At the other end, there are people (there are!) who watch the ball-by-ball commentary on cricinfo of even Ranji trophy matches! I wouldn't even recognise the names of most of the guys on the team.
But, IPL is different. The cricket is entertaining (not just the cheerleaders), it is fast and furious. The new talent knocking on the national team would surely give the jitters to the experienced indian players. I am addicted to IPL. What about you ?
and ...Chennai Super Kings rock!