India win Kolkota test against SA; retain No.1 spot

A superb team effort both in batting and bowling saw India beat South Africa in the 2^nd test at Eden Gardens and retain the No.1 test ranking.

One South African stood like a rock and offered stubborn resistance to the Indian bowlers.  Hashim Amla thwarted our win hopes until the fag end of the fifth days play nearly carrying the South Africans to safety with an unbeaten 127 to deservedly win the man of the match and man of the series. 

With rain ruining the 4^th days play,  South Africa resumed the fifth day at 115 for three after conceding a lead of 347 runs, the South Africans were all out for 289 with just 15 minutes remaining on a nail-biting last day.

Spinners Harbhajan Singh (5/59) and Amit Mishra (3/84) were the wreckers-in-chief as they ripped through the South African middle order but it was the stout resistance from Amla and the tailenders which delayed the victory.

After the tea break, the Indians were literally racing against time to dismiss the last three wickets in the tense post-tea session and the injury-induced absence of Zaheer Khan did have a bearing.

Harbhajan claimed the last wicket of Mornie Morkel, trapping him leg before wicket, to mark India’s victory and send the vociferous Eden crowd into a frenzy. The fiesty off spinner ran towards the boundary line and was soon hugged by his teammates who celebrated the victory. Amla and Morkel defied the Indians for 124 balls to frustrate the hosts who just could not get the breakthrough despite deploying an attacking field right through the day.

But it was Amla, who achieved the rare feat of scoring centuries in all the innings he played in the series, who took the centrestage with his superb batting, occupying the crease for more than a day and facing 394 balls.

With the Test series ending with honours shared, both the teams will now gear up for the three-match one-day series beginning in Jaipur from Sunday.

With this win, India not only avenged their defeat in the Nagpur series-opener but also nixed South Africa’s bid to snatch the number one Test team’s tag

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Bottle tree park

Spent the chinese new year afternoon at Bottle tree park (this park is located between Khatib and Yio Chu Kang MRT).  It is so named because of the ‘bottle trees’ that are grown here.  The bottle tree is has a trunk shaped like a bottle and grows in Australia. 

The bottle tree park here has a small lake with boating.  There is also a small pond where children can fish.  There is a Chinese Seafood resaurant within the park, a Japanese restaurant  and a children playground. 

Breakfast with the common man! Tribute to RK Laxman

My favourite cartoonist will always be R.K Laxman.  I would never miss his You Said It column in TOI.  I would always go through the cartoon page on the TOI page while having my morning breakfast. 

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Laxman  (born 23 October 1924) is an Indian cartoonist, illustrator, and humorist. He is widely regarded as India’s greatest-ever cartoonist and is best known for his creation The Common Man.

Laxman was engrossed by the illustrations in magazines such as Strand Magazine, Punch, Bystander, Wide World and Tit-Bits, even before he could read. Soon he was drawing on his own, on the floors, walls and doors of his house and doodling caricatures of his teachers at school; praised by a teacher for his drawing of a peepal leaf, he began to think of himself as an artist in the making.  Another early influence on Laxman were the cartoons of the world-renowned British cartoonist, Sir David Low (whose signature he misread as “cow” for a long time) that appeared now and then in The Hindu. 

Laxmans cartoons speak for the common man. The man on the street, the middle-class man who lives an ordinary life.  The frustrations, the angst, the everyday hassles are all brought to light in his cartoons through wit, satire, humour and brilliance.

For me there is no other cartoonist like RK Laxman!

Cricket may be played in Olympics 2020

Cricket was cleared to pursue its bid to be included in future Games after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rubberstamped the sport’s recognition on Thursday.

Cricket, powerboating and sports climbing became the latest sports to be officially recognised by the IOC, a status necessary before launching a bid to become part of the Olympic programme.

source: Reuters

 

Self-improvement tips for 2010 – by Robin Sharma

I am a fan of Robin Sharma‘s books and he has posted 62 ways to make this year your best year yet which I really liked and would try my best to follow.  Here are the 62 ways —

62 Ways To Make 2010 Your Best New Year Yet

 

1. Remember that leadership isn’t about your position. It’s about your influence.
2. Get fit like a pro athlete
3. Lift people up versus tearing people down
4. Protect your good name. An impeccable reputation takes a lifetime to build. And 60 seconds to lose
5. Surround yourself with positive, ethical people who are committed to excellence
6. Remember that even a 1% daily innovation rate amounts to at least a 100% rate of innovation in 100 days
7. Believe in your dreams (even when others laugh at them)
8. Measure your success, not by your net worth but by your self worth (and how happy you feel)
9. Take an intelligent risk every 24 hours. No try-No Win.
10. Read “Buffett: The Making of an American Capitalist”
11. Watch “Man on Wire”
12. Regardless of your title at work, be a team builder.
13. Remember that business is all about relationships and human connections
14. Say “please” more
15. Say “thank you” more
16. Know your Big 5: the five things that need to happen by the end of this year for you to feel it’s been your best year yet
17. Read your Big 5 every morning while the rest of the world is asleep
18. Read “As You Think”. At least twice this year.
19. Be willing to fail. It’s the price of greatness
20. Focus less on making money and more on creating value
21. Spend less, save more
22. Leave everything you touch better than you found it
23. Be the most positive person in every room you’re in
24. Run your own race
24. Stay true to your deepest values and best ideals
25. Write a handwritten thank you note to a customer/friend/loved one every day
26. When you travel, send love letters to your kids on hotel stationary. In time, they’ll have a rich collection to remember your travels by
27. Read “Atlas Shrugged”
28. Be a problem solver versus a trouble maker
29. Rather than doing many things at mediocrity do just a few things-but at mastery
30. Honor your parents
31. Commit to doing great work-whether anyone notices it or not. It’s one of life’s best sources of happiness.
32. Give more than you receive (another of the truths of happiness)
33. Have your 1/3/5/10/25 years goals recorded on paper and review them weekly
34. Be patient. Slow and steady wins the race. The only reason businesses that went from zero to a billion in a year or two get featured in magazines is because 99% of businesses require a lot more time to win
34. Underpromise and then overdeliver
35. See part of your job as “a developer of people” (whether you work in the boardroom or the mailroom)
36. Wear your heart on your sleeve. When people see you’re real, they’ll fall in love with you
37. Be authentic versus plastic
38. Read “The Alchemist”
39. Remember that life wants you to win. So get out of your own way
40. Consider that behind every fear lives your next level of growth (and power)
41. Eat less food
42. Drink more water
43. Rest when you need to
44. Read “SUCCESS” magazine
45. Write your eulogy and them live your life backwards
46. Demand the best from yourself
47. Remember that the more you go to your limits, the more your limits will expand
48. See everything that happens to you as an opportunity to grow (and therefore, as a precious gift)
49. Be obsessed with learning and self-development
50. Become comfortable alone (you are the only person you get to be with your whole life)
51. Smile. It’s a stunningly effective way to win in business and life
52. Reflect on the shortness of life
53. Be bold when it comes to your dreams but gentle with those you love
54. Remember that success is dangerous because it can kill drive/innovation/passion and going the extra mile. Be successful yet stay hungry
55. Read “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”
56. Be of deep value to this world
57. Own beautiful things but don’t let them own you
58. Use excellent words.
59. Laugh more.
60. Don’t complain, gossip or be negative.
61. Plan as if you’ll live forever but live as if you’ll die tomorrow.
62. Feel free to pass these lessons on to those you want to help.

Outliers

 

I am currently reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell.  It is a very interesting book in which the Gladwell looks at everyone from rock stars to professional athletes, software billionaires to scientific geniuses, to show that the story of success is far more surprising than we could ever have imagined.  He reveals that it ‘s as much about where we’re from and what we do, as who we are – and that no one, not even a genius, ever makes it alone

Singapore Air Show 2010

Today spent the warm Sunday afternoon at Changi Exhibition centre catching the Singapore Air Show.  The Singapore Airshow is one of the world’s top three airshows and Asia’s largest aerospace and defence exhibition.

We were able to see the A-10 Thunderbolt II live display operated by USAF.  The live displays are the best part of the show and its worth watching the acrobatic manoeuvres at high speed.

We also saw some of the static aircraft displays of CH-47, Global Hawk, A330, Firescout, Apache etc.  There were long queues to enter the aircraft and we queued to see the CH-47 only. 

The mad chase

Frantic  feet shuffle to and fro
Cars and buses zoom across the street
Its yet another busy day
In the concrete jungle

For some its the rush to work
For another a rush to to catch the flight
An opening ceremony to address
A closing down sale that cannot be missed

A woman with labour pain screams
An ambulance siren  cries for attention
A wedding to attend here, a birthday party there
People scamper  in all directions

Our cravings multiply day by day
No control to our indulgence
You have everything you need
Yet there is a void so deep

Where is your destination, O mind!
Thoughts keep shuffling like a pack of cards
Have you found what you seek
Is it glory, love, success or revenge?

The world outside is just an illusion
Senses chasing objects of desire
Turn back from this mad chase
What you seek is within you

©copyright 6^th February 2010 skm

Divide and rule

There is no end to what our politicians from Shiv Sena and MNS will do to get attention.  Their latest ploy is to target celebrities like Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani and SRK.  Rahul Gandhi and Sonia are also not spared in the verbal slinging.

It is regrettable that the state of Maharashtra and the party come first for these politicians (I wouldn’t call them leaders) and the future of the country is ignored. 

On the recent republic day, it was indeed heartening  to see how different states of India were exhibited at  republic day floats in parts of Gujarat and other states.  While most people in India love the different flavours of India – namely the language, culture etc. It is indeed surprising that these parties are rooting for a complete Maratha nation which has nothing to do with India.

Where will this acrimonious tirade end? 

Even our school children have a better sense of maturity and understanding when they read the pledge everyday( ‘All Indians are my brothers and sisters’ ).

If they are seriously interested in coming to power in elections, the Shiv Sena and MNS will have to lead by example and concentrate their efforts on remaking Mumbai and Maharashtra ( the Shanghai model which was mooted long ago is now ‘muted’ and looks impossible with such politicians at the helm).

My Cichlid tank

After having reared goldfish, angelfish and neon tetra this time I setup a tank with African cichlids.  These are very interesting fish that are very active and aggressive.  So, the tank can be setup with coral sand at the bottom and some rocks (cichlids love to hide in the holes of the rocks and also love to spit sand and alter the look of the tank). 

So, after cleaning up the tank, I filled the tank with coral sand upto 1.5 inches from the bottom.  Then, I placed the rocks and filled the tank with water.  After the pump was started the tank was allowed to run for 1 week until the water was clean.  Then, the fish were introduced.

We named our cichlids: Phelps, Goldy, Sweety, Softy, Master, Spotty,  Blacky and Lovely.  Initially , Phelps was the most aggressive and liked to chase the others around.  But, nowadays it has calmed down.  About 10% of the water in the tank has to be changed every week.

  The tank is a 20Wx2 tank  with length 62cm , breadth 40cm and height 53cm.  The pH for the water is about 8.0 – 8.2.