I had stayed awake for the IPL Auctions for one reason and one reason only. And that was to watch live my favorite team KKR display its razor sharp acumen in the same way that it does every year. They did not disappoint me of course—– buying, at the highest possible price, Shane Bond, who was cannon fodder last time he played in the ICL and whose propensity for break-downs reminds of the song from Kishen Kanhaiyya ‘Band ke saath o Mama, tum break dance dikhlana, breakdown ho jaaye, par tum break lagana” . I am sure SRK must have had his reasons—maybe someone told him to invest in bond markets, maybe his kids love James Bond and he bought Shane Bond by mistake, maybe he will have a “My Name is Bond/My Name is Khan” tie-in or maybe the auction theory experts that KKR hired just felt this was a game-theoretically proper decision. I was kind of hoping for those that favored Butt and Gayle to see the wisdom in getting Poleard and Pornell. But what to do?
Monthly Archive for January, 2010
Page 2 of 3
Standing balanced on two bikes. Bursting through the screen. Ala re Ala.
‘May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss’.
Here ladies and gentleman is the first look at the cover for my first book. Not just the cover but the entire spread. Some minor re-touches are being done but this is more or less the final cut. Please click on the small picture above to see a more full-sized (or what is technically called the Shakeela) version of the book spread.
In the summer of 1977, at one of the biggest political rallies ever seen at the Brigade Parade ground, a diminutive bald-headed man in a spotless white kurta and dhoti, declared–’As long as the people remain with us, no one will be able to efface us.’ [Source]. The sea of humanity roared back, believing in the ability of the interlocutor to bring ‘change’—change that could be believed in
On a cold January in 2010, the same man took his last journey. The mood, as Hindustan Times reports, was markedly different. Glaringly so.
While the tamasha of the Golden Globes was going on today, had a chance to watch Sidney Lumet’s ’12 Angry Men’. A tight, claustrophobic movie about twelve men in a jury room on the ‘hottest day of the year’ deliberating whether a eighteen-year old kid from a rough neighborhood, against whom evidence is stacked, is guilty of murdering his father, ’12 Angry Men’ is a fascinating look at justice, prejudice, the wisdom (or lack of it) of the crowd and perhaps the best explanation of ‘reasonable doubt’ that one is likely to find in popular media—a concept most of us (myself included) often seem to forget as we fulminate in anger when we find courts releasing criminals whom we know ‘did it’. If you have not seen ’12 Angry Men’ , then I recommend you do so. This is as close to cinematic perfection you are going to get, more so in the season of vacuous-special-FX-being-made-to- pass- off -as-great cinema. Or in short— ‘Avatar’.
Though I have not watched it, I do know that ’12 Angry Men’ was re-made in Hindi as Ek Ruka Hua Faisla. I think it can re-remade again as ‘Ek Aur Do Barah —the Anger’ , this time with more masala and more of the Bollywood aesthetic. Since it has to make money, we have to have song (Dilip Sen Sameer Sen), dance (Bosco-Caesar) and flesh. And we need big-name stars for every juror.
Before we start, a few messages from your sponsor. Namely me.
The official launch of my book ‘May I Hebb Your Attention Pliss’ will be at Casuarina Hall, in India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road on March 5th, 2010 (High tea at 6.30pm followed by event at 7pm).
Everyone is invited. Please do plan to attend.
There will be another event in Kolkata whose date has not been finalized yet. Watch this space and the Facebook group for this blog for details.
Meanwhile the book got two media mentions, one in DNA India and one in Deccan Chronicle to go along with the Tehelka one. Which is good.
Finally, the spectacularly talented Sidin Vadukut’s book Dork releases this month from Penguin and you are requested to hop over here and read more about it. This is one book I am looking forward to read.
Now coming to the main program.
The Fake IPL Player (henceforth to be known as FIP) needs no introduction. But I will give a brief one nonetheless.
Continue reading ‘A Real Interview With the Fake IPL Player’
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