Month: March 2007

The Chinese government has a vast infrastructure to keep an eye blogs which include articles that encourage dissent. It is reported that China employs a workforce of over 30,000 to prowl Web sites and blogs for offensive content and stammers. Apart from individual blogs, China has blocked entire blogging platforms such as LiveJournal.

You can use the Great Firewall of China website to see if your blog or website is blocked in China. Thankfully Manu Khanna’s Ramblings isn’t, at least not yet. But it has made no difference to the readership of my blog, it still stands at a grand total of 2; besides myself, Tina is sweet enough to drop in every once in a while.

The Indian cricket team that toured England in August 19990 comprised a young spinner who held much promise. The great Allan Lamb failed to read him and became Kumble’s first test victim. But no one ever expected Anil Kumble last so long considering the fact that he was a leg-spinner only in words. In reality he bowled at speeds of 95Kmph, almost comparable to any Indian fast bowler.

Now after playing international cricket for almost 17 years to the day, Anil Kumble, “Jumbo” to team mates has decided to hang his boots. Kumble, 36, is India’s most successful bowler in both forms of the game. Most memorable of his spells include the ten-wickets in an innings against Pakistan at New Delhi and a match-winning twelve runs for six wickets against West Indies in the Hero Cup final in 1993.
Continue reading “Anil Kumble Retires”

I very well remember the first time I was contacted by a telemarketer who mysteriously acquired my phone number within two days of my getting it. I felt special because I had just joined a new employer and was interested in acquiring all facilities that one can go in for as a professional. The girl who had called up on the behalf of Citibank was very sweet and addressed me as “Mr. Khanna.” She offered me a credit card with no yearly rental. Needless to say, I fell into her trap and about thirty minutes later was filling up an application for a credit card. Rest, as they say is history.
Continue reading “No More Unsolicited Calls Hopefully”

When I was up North, I used to think of Hyderabad as a very nice place to be in. I dreamt of smooth roads, beautiful gardens, and most of all an enthusiastic and highly professional working class. I included the latter in my list because many MNCs opened their offices here, and not in any other Indian city. Low labor and infrastructure costs were the hallmark of all cities in India. So what made the MNCs choose Hyderabad? The answer that came to my mind was the working class of Hyderabad. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
The working class of Hyderabad really sux. I must add that I am not referring to the entire population (including myself), this post is dedicated to those special souls doing blue-collared jobs. Carpenters, electricians, washer men, house maids, drivers etc. rule the roost and making them do jobs for you is impossible. Believe it or not, Tina and I have went without a house maid for more than ten days at a stretch. Its not that maids aren’t available. Contrary to that, take a walk down any road and you will spot at least ten of them. But you can cry, crib, shout, or plead but they will not come to your house for work.

Continue reading “The Deadpans of Hyderabad”

Yes, India’s World Cup campaign is almost over. When I when I checked the score last they were 161 for 9. One after the other, all Indian batsmen have gifted their wickets to the Sri Lankans. After hitting a big hundred against Bermuda, Sehwag thought that his bad patch was over and became complacent. Yuvraj seemed to be on a suicide mission, backing up to the middle of the pitch to take a single that just wasn’t there. What was he thinking? Even the once great Tendulkar fell cheaply, which is happening quite often these days.

See winning or losing is all part of the game, what bothers me most about India’s exit from the World Cup is the way they lose. Forget about trying to win, they don’t even try making a fight out of it. They fall like a pack of cards. This is how India is. The bottom line is that the Indian top order (Ganguly, Sachin, Dravid, and Sehwag) have about a hundred centuries between them, but today they played like kids. Their records are good enough to keep them in the team, in reality at least half of them should be dumped for good, including Sachin and Sehwag

I am really looking forward to see how the Indian news channels react to this. They are a spineless lot and will have little trouble in blasting the same team and coach, who until a few hours ago were like gods.