Will he be back?

It would be exactly a year since Ganguly played his last one day international. Harare was the location and it was here that he appeared in his last one day match. And after that it has been a rough patch for this cricketer, whom everybody loved to call "The Prince of Calcutta". One of the most exciting batsmen and probably the most toughest captain India has ever produced, this left handed batsmen produced magic with his bat in his golden days. His career has been through a very tough phase and it looks like he would never be able to rule the world like he used to. And with him not being in the best of forms even in practice matches, it would be a lucky factor for him if he makes it to the playing eleven.

I have always admired Ganguly for portraying arrogance on the pitch, and the way he used to carry himself, opening with Sachin. When he was on song, it was a delight to see him attack. The first 10 overs of the Natwest series finals and the 1999 world cup against Srilanka have been my favorites among his numerous innings. And the way he has been playing recently makes one feel whether it was the same Ganguly who provided entertainment a few years back.

With the world cup fast approaching, its very evident that the Indian team would be considering and deciding on the best 14. With a famous world cup campaign in 2003, where they came very close to taking the cup, this team would be aiming to grab the cup. And with probably the last world cup for many of the senior players, the team would be looking to give Sachin and his team the gift of their lifetime. And with such intense competition to get into the team , would Ganguly be able to to get into the team and show the world why he was considered the God of off-side.

Cove Beach

My last 2 visits to the US were exciting only when i took a holiday and travelled to some of the famous destinations, which everyone in the US have visited. Having been in a city which had literally nothing to explore and weekends restricted to staying at home, it was always a quiet stay for me. I had always tried making that stay pretty interesting by making use of the breaks by revolving around the US. Being a person who loves to see new places, travelling was always on top of my priorities whenever in was in the US. and with my wife accompanying me, i am sure of visiting many places during this trip.

This visit has been a different one for me. It has been Stamford in Connecticut where i would be spending my next few months. A new client and a new place, my trip has been pretty good for the last 15 days. Stamford is a city which is pretty crowded and bustling with activities. And between these hustles and bustles resides a beach which is as calm as the breeze - Cove beach.

I found out that this beach is one of the attractions of the city. Always filled with people who want to take off their daily tensions by relaxing on the beach , I found that the weekends are a place for people to spend their entire day in the beach. Having a big park in the entrance to the beach, there is also a tram which takes the visitors around the park. And in addition, there is a small coffee shop which also sells icecreams, juices and snacks.

The sight of the beach is a lovely one. With sea birds flocking around and an amazing scenery, the Cove beach is sure a great place to be in. People usually come as a big family, carrying all their bedsheets and food and towels, and have a gala time on the beach. And the biggest advantage of the beach is that it has a good link with the public transportation. With frequency of buses from almost all the spots in Stamford, even new entrants to the city, like me, could make it easily to the beach. And so, if you are visiting Stamford don't forget to check this spot out.

And so with the beach only a few miles from my appartment, I am sure to keep visiting the beach often.

A Trial?

Is this a trial for the real one?

Mani Ratnam's next

Mani Ratnam's next movie after his current ongoing project Guru , which stars Abishek,Aishwarya and Madhavan, would be another hindi one. The movie titled Lajjo,an adaptation of Ismat Chugtai’s book, will see Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor share the screen. The film is scheduled for 2007 and will be released in the mid 2007.

Mani would certainly be one of the few South Indian directors held in high esteem by the hindi film world. Other than Ram Gopal Verma, whose movies are eagerly anticipated, Mani holds the audience pulse by delivering quality movies. Though none of his hindi movies have made it big in bollywood, he still holds a great market, thanks to his excellent film making skills.

Apart from being a brilliant director, Mani Ratnam is one whom actors are eager to work with. He extracts the best out of them, which very few directors have been able to. Abishek Bachan showed how good an actor he is in Yuva, which transformed his sliding career. And with Aamir, having a reputation to select and act in the best of films, it would undoubtedly be an exciting combo.

With Mani making it consecutive in Bollywood, theres a major dissapointment for his tamil fans, who have been waiting for his next tamil movie. Its been 2 years since he gave his last tamil movie. And with Lajjo scheduled for 2007, it would be a long wait to see him direct a tamil film.

Sillunu Oru Kadhal

There are a very few movies which pep up our expectations right from the day the announcement about their launch was made. 2006 is definitely a year which has a couple of movies in the waiting list. And one among those hot releases is the Surya-Jyothika-Bhoomika starrer Sillunu Oru Kadhal. The movie scheduled to be a 2006 release has just had the audio launch and has raised the audience expectations. With the trailor of the movie making to a couple of websites, the movie definitely looks to be a hot property. And with the wedding bells of Surya and Jyothika in September,the whole of Kodambakkam will be crossing their fingers on how the film turns out to be.

The soundtrack is definitely one of the highlights of the film. With A.R.Rehman back in the run and the songs quite youthful and peppy, it sure has all the credentials to be a blockbuster. And if the picturisations do justice to the songs, it would only add to it being better. The trailor indicates that the movie would be high stuff as far as the visuals is concerned. And hope they carry on the work for the songs too.

The story of the film, a love triangle , though sounds familiar, could turn out to be an interesting one if the director handles his part well. Coming from the Gowtham Menon crew, and being his first film, it would be interesting to see how he handles.

Surya looks very smart and could be the one to look out for, in the movie. Sporting a new look , having improved his physique and with youth bubbling in him in the movie, he should definitely be the highlight of the movie. And with him sharing the screen with Jyothika and Bhoomika, it could be a fantastic romance in the offering. Having known to share a great chemistry with Jo, it would be interesting to see how the chemistry with Bhoomika works out.

Sillunu Oru Kadhal - hope it turns out like its title.

A Break

When I started blogging 3 months back, I knew it would be an addictive affair. With millions of people in the blog world , I realised it would be a very interesting hobby which would connect me to several other bloggers who have been making this blog world a great place to visit and keep visiting. But I never thought that it would be an affair which would list on top of my priorities. With 112 posts in the last 3 months , it has been a solid proof to say how much I have loved blogging. And with a fascination to write, it made blogging one which I have loved so much.

The daily stress in my work life has never been a barrier in me posting blogs. With a clock stretching to nearly 15 hours at work, writing and posting has been one which has made me relax from my daily strenous work life. And with the addition of a family life, creating a few hours to write a new and different post has been quite a challenge. But as we say, there would always be a time where we would be forced to take a break. And for me the forthcoming weeks would be a "break" time.

Onsite travels have always been part and parcel of an Indian software engineers profile. Having already travelled to Singapore and United States, my company wanted me to make yet another trip to the US. And with my wife joining me, it would be a trip which I would be looking forward to. Working with a new client and visiting a new city, meeting my brother and his family, visiting all the fantastic places around USA , meeting my cousins in the US, these are a few things which has raised the spirits of this travel.

Not really sure of having a computer at home and able to access only at work place, it has raised the question whether I would really be able to keep posting regularly, as I have been doing in the last 3 months. So bloggers, keep visiting my blog as I would keep posting whenever I find the time. And last but not least, thank you for keeping my spirits high in the last 3 months. Without you, this blog would never have made it the way it is.

See You.

2006's best

Every year has seen numerous movies being made in the film industry. The expectations of each movie among the fans and the general audience has never had the slightest possible decline. People await with the biggest expectation whenever a film gets released. They wait for many a months to see the movie and the date of its release is a diwali for them. The crowd at theatres for several weeks is an indication of the passion for movies in India.

Rediff had a column on 2006's best hindi films. Being a movie freak, who loves to watch tamil films, this year has been quite a pleasing one for me. The movies I have watched have been a mixed affair, as I have had the dissapointment in a few while I have had a big smile on my face after watching a few. There have been many films in 2006 which were awaited because of the unit involved. And need to say, there are many in the waiting list which would be a bonanza for the fans. Sivaji , Pokiri , Dasavatharam , Vetaiyadu Vilaiyadu are a few of the biggest films which would hit the theatres in the months to come.

As i said, 2006 has seen a few good films, which I was personally satisfied at watching. And today I would be listing out 5 of those movies which brought a huge smile at the end of watching them.

Parijatham - This was a very refreshing movie from Bhagyaraj which suited well to the taste of the current generation. With an excellent screenplay and good performances from Prithviraj and Saranya , Parijatham had a great fragrance.

Chithiram Pesudhadi - This was a movie with a totally unexpected and a stunning climax. Though it had the usual violent love story, it was made better by its direction.

Pattiyal - A superb soundtrack , an excellent BGM , good performances and a fine direction made Pattiyal a great movie to watch. The finish to the film was very realistic which gave the movie its deserved treatment.

Dishyum - Though the movie had a bad climax, Dishyum was still a good film. Though the movie dealt with the usual boy-girl relationship, the good direction and the performances of Jeeva and Sandhya made it a good one to watch.

Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi - Vadivelu made one forget that he was a comedian. With a beautiful performance, he gave life to the movie as he carried the entire movie on his shoulders, and made it a funny affair.