Two years on...

It's been two years since the Tsunami that devastated large parts of South-East Asia. Many people have gone back in to set up new homes, and new ways to survive. But how much work has really been done to make the journey back to normalcy as pleasant as possible? Destruction looms even now in many areas, and bear testimony to what went over them. Surely, new settlers will find it very unsettling to set shop in such locales?

But more importantly, are we as a civilisation better equipped to handle emergencies of this kind, now that we have experience of how wrong it can get? Last heard, neither India nor any of the of the other affected nations had any warning mechanisms installed that can forewarn of impending catastrophe. Should such systems not be installed on the double? Surely, the cost incurred in installing them is much less than the losses incurred in rehabilitation of the survivors, loss due to tourism, and rebuilding and reclaiming lost areas?

I wonder whose responsibility it is... engineers and researchers who actually come up with new methods to combat and survive nature, world bodies such as the UN, or the respective governments?

It's Christmas... but is it?

Christmas is here, but where is winter?

As Christmas approached, we were quite surprised to realise that we were still going around, even at night, in light summer clothing. What the heck!! What's Christmas without proper winter? And Kolkata is no exception: many regions reported a rise in temperatures from the average around this time... Some of my contacts abroad, such as in USA, said the same thing... It's cold, but not much snow!

When industries, environmental groups, and the rest of us are all bickering over the seriousness of global warming, should this ring a bell somewhere?

Is global warming catching up?

A Birthday Gift...

I recently completed my Twenty Second year of being on Planet Earth.

As is customary, everybody who remembered the date made it a point to wish me on my achievement, and to wish me success in my coming years as well. But the best birthday gift that I got was from a very close friend.

She thanked me for being her friend, for being somebody that she can trust... she thanked me for being who I am. That was the most wonderful gift that I could have ever imagined to get. Because that is ultimately what everyone strives for, isn't it? That he be loved for who he is, that he be liked for the way he makes others feel. That, to me, is the biggest success in life, much more than the fame and the fortune that we all run after.

Thank you, dear friend, for what you gave me on my birthday. I have one more thing to ask for, though. Pray that I may grow to be a better human being.

Is he back?

Sourav Ganguly scored an impressive 83 today in his first tour match in South Africa. Does this herald the return of the former captain as a regular member of the team?

It is often heard that the pitches in South Africa for the tour matches are invariably a far cry from the pitches served up for the test matches. In other words, flat batting tracks welcome the touring batsmen for the preparation matches, while hostile, bouncy, seaming tracks tear the same batsmen apart in the test matches.

Was this the case today also? Indeed, it was heard in the media yesterday that the Potchefstroom (it's hard to spell, isn't it? Did I get it right?) pitch is quite conducive to batting. If that was indeed the case, why, oh why, were the top six batsmen, excluding, of course, Sourav, found wanting? It is quite amazing to note that the only two players who stayed at the wicket for some time in the morning session were the two men brought in from India for the test matches! Sehwag, Jaffer, Sachin, Dhoni... they have spent almost a month in SA, and yet they are found wanting, that too, apparently on a track that is not so bowler friendly?? It was only in the afternoon session, when the ball had lost its potency, that Irfan Pathan and Harbhajan Singh were able to get in some useful runs.

In any case it feels good to know that Sourav is back where he belongs. Yes, he got hit on the helmet. Yes, he had a few streaky shots early on. But the bottom line is that he stayed. The mental strength is there; the gritty 'never say die' attitude is there; and so are the shots that make him one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket. In short, Sourav Ganguly is right as we know him to be: crunching the drives through point and cover point; getting hit behind the ear and still giving the bowler an eyefull.

Welcome back, Sourav. Hopefully this is only the start to a wonderful tour.

Hi everybody!

Well, here I am. A new foray, in a new direction. I finally have my own blog!! Now what remains to be seen is how often I am able to publish, and whether I can actually write in an interesting manner, as I happen to believe.

Well, you have to be the judge on that, and so, do come back often, and do comment on the posts, or anything else that you want to talk about.

Meanwhile, do visit my photo-webpage (or whatever you want to call it). If you like what you see, do let me know. If you don't like what you see, tell me anyway, and may be how I can improve.

Ciao!