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And he did it again! And in style. So what does it mean… well for one, if these guys meet in the Wimbledon final this July, the ticket prices for the match will shoot through the roof. Perhaps, it might be the most expensive Wimbledon ticket to get.

So lets get back to the main topic. Poor Fedex, French Open is one parcel that he just can’t deliver. And the most disheartening aspect, yeah, not sad, that was in 2006, not even frustrating, that must be last year, is that it’s the same spaniard that stands in the way, Rafa. He just whisks past all others and then hits the wall, and this year it hurt bad. So where does this leave his legacy. Well no doubt that Roger is amongst of the best, but every time a detractor would be quick to remark about how he lost three times straight to Nadal. And this is what makes Roger a regular great player. Pete never managed to win at Paris also.

Now shifting focus to the greens at Wimbledon. I hope, really, really hope that they meet again on the Centre Court once again. It would be some match. And my bet is on Rafa this time again. Last year he almost beat Roger. And this year he is even closer. I think at this level, it’s all mental. The surface would not matter that much. Nadal seems to be getting better on grass. And after the rout at the French Open, Roger must be raring to make things even on the grass.

So if anyone happens to have an extra ticket to the match… you know where to find me and I shall forever be grateful

Let me too join in and vent my frustrations at the level of umpiring that we are witnessing downunder. The current Indian tour of the Aussie is turning into a farce. There is bad umpiring and then there is what’s happening on the current tour. Symonds not given out, Rahul given out, umpires taking Ricky’s words on a dubious catch, third umpire turning a blind eye!

The umpires might as well setup a sun bed on the field, apply sunscreen, sip Mojitos, and read the books on cricket laws. Since they aren’t doing a good job umpiring, they might as well have a relaxing vacation in the Aussie summer!

As this year rushes towards it finality, I am compiling a list of the most memorable sporting events that we had the privilege to witness this year. There were quite a few this year. For India it was a bittersweet year.

So let me begin with the one event that had billion and half people come to a standstill on one promising Monday evening in late September. The event : The Twenty20 final. After, what could only be termed as the most disgraceful performance by the Indian team in the ODI World Cup a few months earlier, the expectations from us were at an all time low. Also, majority of the desi crowd were oblivious with this new format. So when our first match was washed out, we were like… déjà vu… But then the tie with the Pakis, and we winning the bowl out got us curious. This was quickly followed by a loss against the kiwis. Phhbbt… But from that point on… the rest they say is history. Sending the English out of the park, followed by stealing victory against the Proteas, and then outclassing the almighty Aussie and finally defeating the Pakis to claim the maiden Twenty20 World Cup had the whole nation euphoric.

The stars for India were Yuvraj, Dhoni with a young and fired up team. Dhoni, who was just made the captain, displayed outstanding leadership (I have never seen a more honest, calm, motivating Indian captain) and unwavering belief in his team. The moments that will forever be etched in our memories are Yuraj hiting 6 sixes, and Sreesanth beating the pitch…

Cheers to Dhoni and his desi brigade…

Well, of course it’s easy to choose one (hopefully) after you seen the movies, but are you willing to stick your neck out for either, today? Well, I, for once am willing to go with Sanjay Leela Bhansali, for the sole reason of his past track record. He has made 4 movies - Black, Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Khamoshi. I have enjoyed all of them, with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, and Devdas being my favorites. Infact Devdas, is one of the handful Shahrukh Khan(SRK) movies that I actually like. Earlier Sanjay was involved in the screen-writing for 1942: A Love Story too. Another beautiful movie. So basically, an almost 100% track record.

The things about his movies that I love are the vivid imagery of his settings, locales, the music, the color, lively vibe that it permeates on the silver screen. Even though Devdas is a tragedy, the colorful sets made it so breathtakingly spectacular, a visual delight…

Not many people I know liked Devdas, they said it was overdone, SRK over acted, so did Jackie and Aishwarya was there only for her dances… but I loved it. I had never seen any of the earlier takes one the novel by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. The songs and dances, the big houses, the rich, colorful costumes, drapes all around, the traditions, the characters, this was Bollywood at its mesmerising best. And the famous quote, “Gaonwalon ne kaha gaon chhod do, Bauji ne kaha Paro chhod do, Paro ne kaha sharab chhod do, Ma ne kaha ghar chhod do. Ek din woh kahega (pointing heavenwards) duniya chhod do” summarized the despair of the lead character… Of course, the original story has to be given its due credit, but one also has to give it to Sanjay too.

I like Sanjay’s movie making style. He tells stories using the full spectrum of human emotions… from the outrageous, Salman to the serious and introvert Ajay in HDDCS, the quirky, Jackie, the hopeful and charming Madhuri, and the tragic SRK in Devdas, the unconventional in Amitabh and Rani in Black and the real Nana Patekar in Khamoshi… His sets are huge, elaborate and brilliant. He goes all the way! So I expect another delightful work from him in Saawariyan. And from the promos that I have seen, it seems to be another visual treat…

Om Shanti Om, though with SRK, and teaming up once again with Farah Khan, seems to be a big budget, stylish, expensive, loud, bollywood’s ‘it’s very different‘ masala movie which boast of having everybody who is anybody doing some cameo appearance to create a buzz around the film. This movie seems to be more of a reason to have a prolonged get-together of the elite personalities in Bollywood today, than bringing a script to life on a screen. Most likely, it too will do very well at the box office.

I wish I could ask you to quantify your expectation and then your experience after watching the movie, but wouldn’t that be too easy a question Well these are my view on the two of the biggest movies coming out this Diwali… Happy viewing … and have a blast, and lots of sweets during this Diwali!!!

Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suite on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday night. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life… But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin’ else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you’ve got heroin?

Ah.. there’s my next shot!

A historic day for aviation! And a sterling example of the ability of the human genius and its spirit. Kudos to all the people who made the A380 fly! How I wish I could have been on it’s maiden flight from Singapore to Sydney. Well, anyways…. I hope I fly this marvel of engineering, ASAP.

As we all know, The Sunday Times of India is an extended edition. In addition to the news, it has articles from various prominent personalities. Two such personalities are Shashi Tharoor, and Shobhaa De. The articles by these two on this week’s edition caught my attention. Shashi’s screamed ‘Too bad we can’t have a leader like Sarkozy‘ while Shobhaa De’s read, ‘Jawani Diwani‘. Ok, so first thing first, Shashi, Ofcourse we can’t have a leader like Sarkozy, because we are not France. We are a blend of a billion plus individuals, who don’t speak the same language, are mostly Hindus yet pray to different gods, have been cataclysmically classified into the senseless hierarchy of castes, celebrate different festivals, eat different cuisine, have different traditions, have different lines of thoughts, views, have localized issues, are not educated enough, have to fight everyday to get access to life’s basic necessities, are living in a ‘developing’ nation, are surrounded by non democratic neighbors, are subjected to terrorist brutalities, are home to illegal immigrants. Yes, if we were like France, we would have a leader like Sarkozy, I would even suggest that we would find someone better than him from amongst the billion. It’s not easy juggling the aspirations of extremely diverse billion people, which call India their home. I see it as nothing short of a miracle that we even have a democracy and have sustained it for the last 60 years. I guess it’s easy to sit in an audience and be mesmerized by an orator who uses charm and wit to influence his audience, not that there is anything wrong with that, Sarkozy is a politician, he has to, but you Mr. Shashi, must also soak in the ground realities in India. We are not perfect, but we are doing well!

Next, the socialite, Shobhaa De. Hers is not an article but a cheeky summary of week’s event using some witty adjectives from the comfort of her home surrounded by, what I assume, are her uber - elite friends from Mumbai. She mentions three young ’single’ Indians who were in news this week, Dhoni, Rahul Gandhi, and Prashant Tamang. The article looks promising, but then as one skims through it, the realization is dawned that she only understands and can articulate the cricket related story. Sadly Rajiv and Prashant are just mentioned to, maybe prove to the readers that she is indeed aware of the week’s ‘people in the news’ but in no ways, well versed enough to comment on their actions, or talent as in the case of Prashant.

My point is that it’s nice that Times can get these ‘well-known’ people to write articles, but it doesn’t guarantee that these would enrich the lives of the people who read them. These two articles, this Sunday, are in my mind nothing more than ordinary views that anyone one with some inclination to writing can come up with. These are just words to fill up space. And seems like the authors can get away with them. I would want the Times, at the very least to provide for a forum to question, commend, argue the views expressed, rather than SMS a number conveying my like or dislike of the article.

Anyways, just my two cents!

Well done Team India. I can almost hear the hallowed words, “First Twenty20 World Champions… India”. Poor host, they caught us on the wrong freaking day. Ofcousre, we were gonna win the match, but we wanted to top the group. No way were we getting out of Durban. Not with another weekend approaching. We get treated like gods here, especially by the female kinds. So after we win against the Aussies, we go straight to party.

And then on Monday, well why wouldn’t they just hand over the trophy! Does Pakistan really want to be humiliated once again? Last time, we were kind to them. We made it look as if it was real close. After all we are neighbours! But this time around we will take no prisoners. Prepare to die, you Pakis!

As for a final with NZ, naah, not a chance!

~views expressed are of a member of the Indian team

And with it is Eau Rouge! I missed it last year. I think it was really disappointing to drop Spa-Francorchamps from the F1 calendar last year. I guess F1 officials were also quick to realize this blunder. There is something special about this circuit which lies in the hilly region surrounded by the towns of Francorchamps, Malmedy and Stavelot in Belgium. It is the longest circuit in the current calendar, but that’s not its USP. Monaco has its Grand Hotel hairpin (formerly known as Loew’s Hairpin) and the Tunnel, Monza has its the Curva Parabolica, and the Variante Ascari. But Spa-Francorchamps, it’s special because of Eau Rouge, one of the most thrilling corners in the whole of F1. Building up speed after exiting the La Source hairpin the drivers launch steeply uphill into a sweeping left-right-left collection of corners with a blind summit. The TV pictures don’t really do justice in bringing to the audience the full spectacle that is the Eau Rouge complex. The change in the elevation at the start and at the end of the corner almost goes unnoticed. But once you have seen the pictures of the complex, and may be, tried playing a simulation on PS2, PC, can you maybe get a hint of how it must feel to take this corner in an accelerating F1 car with out taking your foot off the gas in real life.

On Spa-Francorchamps, drivers, race engineers and the spectators agree, that it’s one of the greatest track to race on. It’s fast and it can be dangerous. The weather always adds that little bit of uncertainty to the whole experience. BBC rates it a full 10 out of 10. And considering that Indianapolis, Monza, Monaco manage to get 6, 8, 9 respectively you can only imagine why I was utterly dismayed last year to miss out on this, the most perfect of race track.

Drivers in yesterdays qualifying touched 200 mph in the straight following the Eau Rouge, confirming that this is one of the fastest racing track. But being able to go fast is a double edge sword, as even the slightest of mistake and you are off the track and into the barricade at more that 180 mph. Jacques Villeneuve who is no stranger to driving on limits once famously remarked after his shunt, “My best-ever crash”!

I changed my blog’s tag line. It was earlier ‘me, myself and no Irene’. I really liked it but since it had a solitary feel to it, and I am pushing for a more collaborative effort to create content for iRohit.com, I decided to withdraw it.

My new tag line tries to capture the spirit of blogging. Blogging is about personal views that one wants to shout aloud to the world and hope that they connect with someone…. but at it end of the day it’s just that, your personal views against 6 billion others. And it doesn’t matter what impact it makes, if at all, but you are pleased to have put it out there.

So my new tag line is, ‘Oh well, whatever, nevermind’. To some of you, it will bring a smile and make absolute sense. Others will say, oh well, iRohit.com is finally plagiarizing. Well, anyways, my reply to all is, ‘Oh well, whatever, nevermind’