Chp 176. This Month that was, May 2008.

The IPL League is finally reaching its end, with the top four teams preparing to knock-out each other. It captivated the hearts of millions of Indians and other cricket lovers all over the World, and completely decimated the much hyped “Panchvi Pass” show. This was also the first time in my entire life I watched and enjoyed cricket

But what I find quite irritating, are the News channels they gave too much of importance and air-time to this game. There’s a cyclone in Myanmar, an earthquake in China, another case of “honor killing” in our country, important counter-policies by the government to battle inflation etc etc yet all we see in all the news channels are IPL IPL IPL. Slap gate. Highlights. This statement. That statement. Dug-out issues. SRK’s long sms. Why people why?

Just a marketing strategy suggestion. I’m sure most of the people are also fed up of seeing the same IPL news over and over again on every news channel. Instead, if one channel never aired IPL news and showed only genuine news, I think that channel would receive much higher TVR points. Sometimes a “herd mentality” is not the wisest solution.

Phoenix finally landed on the Red Planet after a journey of 295 days. Now Agent Scully fans like me will know if the truth is really out there or not. Even the Vatican said it’s okay to believe in aliens But if there are indeed aliens and they come to our planet officially, I will definitely boycott the grand Reception. Why? Because I think all aliens display unfair bias favoritism and prejudice against non-Americans. Why do they always abduct people only from the States? I mean, aren’t the rest of us, Indians, Ethopians, Japanese, Iranians etc worth experimenting over too? Comon, slice us too, insert those probes into our bodies, plant those micro-chips into our head too pleaseeee... Hmmmff.

The UPSC results came out a few days ago and my cousin Saidingpuii achieved the rank of 131. I am extremely proud of her, knowing how well she deserves this. Saii, always the quiet one, devoted to God, family and her studies, is definitely a person who automatically generates respect by the way she leads an ascetic lifestyle. Back in Hyderabad 4 years ago, none of my friends dared to drink or even smoke whenever she came over to my place for a sleepover. They couldn’t believe we’re related Go kick IAS butt, little sis.

Speaking of sisters, last week my bed-ridden sis told me to take a break from babysitting her the whole day and gave me a couple of moolah to go splurge at the Mall. And that’s exactly what I did. I watched Speed Racer, Iron Man and Forbidden Kingdom all in one shot! Hehe. As soon as one movie was over, I ran down to the ticket counter, bought the next ticket, ran up to the theatre again just in time to catch the beginning of the next movie. Yup, definitely one of the perks of a Mall cum Multiplex.

Loved “Speed Racer” and “Iron Man”, but “Forbidden Kingdom” was such a disaster. I had no idea how that movie and “Iron Man” had the same ratings in the local papers! It’s like that movie Freddy Vs Jason. I was crazy about “Friday the 13th” and “Nightmare on Elm Street” series, and when those two characters finally met for the first time, I went to the theatre with such high expectations, only to be sent hurling down Flopsville.

Likewise, I LOVE Jet Li and Jackie Chan movies, but “Forbidden Kingdom” just didn’t deliver. The picture quality resembled more of those Fearless Hyena days, the CGs were quite lame, and it was no way at par with CTHD or HOFD, or even Hero for that matter. Narnia: Prince Caspian was another movie I saw recently in the big screen. Better than the first part of course, but the most awaited release for me is Ice Age 3 scheduled for next year.

Sports: I was up the other night till 3 in the morning watching the UEFA Champion’s League Finals between Chelsea and ManUtd. The Red Devils barely managed to edge past the Blues at penalties, thanks to all the contentious decisions by the referee (including the linesmen) during the 120+ minute game, which always seemed to go in favor of the Red Devils. That’s what you get for having a coach cum manager who loves to throw his weight around (quite literally) and intimidate the match officials like a 5th Grade bully.

Yeah yeah, I was cheering for the Blues, but only because I am a hardcore Arsenal fan. I will always cheer for the team that’s playing against ManUtd, even if my team is already out of the Title race. So what if I have a vindictive malefic vicious heart? Bite me.

Anyway, enough of football for now. Next season, Arsenal will win the Treble and we shall talk all about that then.

The recent Neeraj Grover murder case splashed across every newspaper sounded more like those overdramatized passion+sex+murder stories one can find only in those sleazy “Crime & Detective” magazines, except of course this was a true story, a very unfortunate true story. Maria and Mathew had sex twice after brutally murdering Tanveer and chopping his body to pieces So, I guess it’s really true then, when people say crime excites people and serves as an aphrodisiac. A very expensive and gory aphrodisiac indeed. I’ll pass.

Another murder case in Noida. 14 years old Arushi Talwar. Maybe the cops are watching too many CSI episodes, I don’t know. But the way they are immediately jumping to conclusions is totally absurd. First it was Hemraj who killed her. After Hemraj’s body was found on the terrace, it was a disgruntled employee who killed Hemraj and had to kill Aarushi too because she witnessed the whole incident. Next it was the dad who killed both of them because they knew about his extramarital affair. After that it was a case of honor killing because the father found both Hemraj and Arushi in an "objectionable but not compromising position".

Every day we see new conclusions contradicting the previous conclusion. I mean, do the cops think people who follow this news are so freaking dumb? Ah she did it. Nooo he did. Wait he did it. Yesss she did it. I think... he did it. Meanwhile AQUA has a very interesting take on this whole issue, about how nobody remembers Hemraj in the midst of all these just because he’s a servant, that too a Nepali servant. A must read.

I met an old friend of mine recently. Pawan Deokule. Half marathi half kannadigan, he believes only half the migrant laborers in Mumbai should leave the city, not all, and that only half the water from Hogenekkal should be given to Karnataka. Just kidding

The funny thing about my relationship with Pawan is that, he always ends up being relocated to the city that I am currently in. Hyderabad, Mysore, Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and now Mumbai again! I’m SERIOUSLY considering about suing him for stalking

I guess those are some of the highlights of this month. I am still clueless about when I will be able to go back to Mizoram because of my sister’s condition, and I really am starting to miss my nieces back home a lot. J [ calliopia’s canticles ] and Mesjay had been helping me out a lot with my prose and poetry compositions and I can’t say enough to thank them for that. BW finally got married, and next on the line is RTPA.

Man, all the eligible bachelors around me are falling down like dominoes.

dhat dhat dhat dhat…

Game over. You got married!