Monthly Archive for April, 2009

Seven Reasons Why Knight Riders Totally Rock

Published on April 30, 2009 in Cricket. 70 Comments

Of late there has been an obscene rush in writing the most astringent of articles railing against the Knight Riders, a state of affairs no doubt triggered by their not-so-perfect performances. A leading media outlet even had a piece citing seven reasons why Buchanan should go. Amidst this tidal wave of vicious criticism, let me stand apart from the crowd and give you seven good reasons why the Knight Riders rock.

1. The IPL is a circus. And no circus is complete without a clown. A clown typically performs each of the acts commonly seen in a circus— cycling, jumping through hoops, antics with animals. But they bungle ceaselessly while doing each of them. Similarly the KKR goes through the motions of batting, fielding and bowling but in each of these activities manages to embarrass itself so thoroughly that the audience is left howling with laughter. In a world where there is so much sadness and grief, what can beat the pristine delight of watching the King’s Men bumbling along, falling down, ripping their trousers and soiling themselves? And if there was any doubt as to how seriously the KKR team treats its role as the tournament’s clown, they even communicate among themselves using sign language in the same way that clowns connect with their audience noiselessly through pantomime.

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IPL 2.0 Snippet II

Published on April 29, 2009 in Cricket. 27 Comments

Just when you thought you had seen the last of Buchanan’s magic, he pulls out yet another rabbit from his golden helmet. [Link]

Kolkata have now devised a new sign language to communicate with each other on the field, in order to negate the language problem that players of different backgrounds have to contend with in the IPL, and at the same time, to keep the opponents guessing about their strategies.

An adaptation from baseball, the Knight Riders team have learnt these new signs to get their field-placings right, and to guide the bowlers about what line and length to bowl against particular batsmen. According to sources, the elevation of wicketkeeper Brendon McCullum to captaincy is also seen as an extension of the baseball logic, where the catcher behind the plate discusses the next throw with the pitcher using sign language.

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The Last Cowboy

Published on April 28, 2009 in Bollywood and Memories. 32 Comments

Ek to kam zindgaani, us se bhi kam hai jawaani
Jab tak josh mein jawaani
Jab tak khoon mein rawaani
Mujhe hosh mein aane na do

-Jaanbaaz

Josh. Zindagi. Jawani. Attitude. Style.

Feroz Khan.

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Sidhuism Number 73

Published on April 27, 2009 in Politics. 10 Comments

In an interview on Samay, the Patiala Pegg-head says:

Visa provision should be made easier. The bus services between India and Pakistan should be continued. And Sikhs should be harassed unnecessarily on suspicious ground.

Now normally I would have put this down as a typo but then again since this is Sidhu we are talking about, I withhold my judgment.

[Link: Courtesy Abhik Bhattacharya]