(in no particular order)

1. Arun Sagar – “On being a fan”
2. Sidvee – “When Dravid was there”
3. Sidarth Monga – “Hiding behind the wall”
4. Kunal Pradhan – “Dravid, who never changes”
5. Rohit Brijnath – “The beauty of waiting in Test cricket”
6. Sidvee – “Dravid and the mastery of struggle”
7. Sidvee – “Degrees of fandom”
8. Vikramjit Singh – “The Curious Case of Rahul Dravid’s Rebellion” (contributed by Supreeth)
9. Alan Tyers – “The Secret Diary of Rahul Dravid, Aged 29792 Balls”
10. Sriram Dayanand – “The Beacon”

Anyway what have I been doing? Listening to Adele, pretty much all day long. Her voice is so incredibly beautiful and her words seem to pull thoughts right out of my soul (corny alert). So far, I’ve been hooked to “Lovesong”, “Hometown Glory”, “Set Fire To The Rain” and (of course) “Rolling In The Deep”. It makes for good writing music while I’m at work, and I’ve learnt that a lot of writers tend to listen to the same song (or set of songs) for a considerable period of time while they work. You get used to the rhythm and the words, so it doesn’t interrupt your flow of thought, and you also get to drown out anything else that distracts you – ringing phones, annoying humming etc.

I’ve also been watching a lot of Test cricket – specifically the Indian tour of England. I’m so glad Dravid is doing well, although it wouldn’t hurt if the other guys pitched in occasionally It does annoy me that the entire country is again focussed on a certain record that could be made, but I guess this will always happen. It also angered me a great deal to learn that the Indian media was portraying Dhoni’s decision as being “heavily influenced” (translation : he meekly listened) by a certain senior pro. I think we’ve seen enough of this guy to know that he’s strong-willed and confident enough to play his role as captain thoroughly and intelligently – heck, the guy led us to a World Cup victory! I’m also pretty kicked about the fact that he made that decision when he could have very easily have chosen not to and still look good. This shows immense maturity on his part and sort of represents the India I choose to belong to – we’re loyal to what we believe is right, and we’re confident enough to uphold these values without hiding behind this jingoist attitude that is normally associated with “representing India”.  Where’s the value of independence and intelligent thinking if we are forever going to say “you did the same thing, so we can too” ? That faintly sounds like the admonishing I used to get when I was younger : “If he/she jumps in a well, will you also?”

Ok, enough about cricket. I could go on and on!

I’ve meaning to catch up on my reading, and I have made some progress on that front : I started Siddartha Deb’s “The Beautiful and the Damned”, a book that caught my interest after I read excerpts from it’s first chapter (based on the infamous Arindham Chaudhuri of the infamous IIPM)

- can I just take a break here and say that I really love the role of the word “infamous” ? I mean, we all know it really means famous, but it still gets to be a word by itself, so much more effective than plain old “famous” ; I guess the baggage of negativity is what makes it exciting -

that was published in Caravan magazine (I do hope all of you have read about how IIPM “handled” this). I was excited to read about a lot of my city in the book – sights, people and localities that I am more than familiar with – but unfortunately this a book that DEMANDS every ounce of your attention (it certainly merits it) in order for you to make any sense of it. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean to say that it’s heavy or unreadable; it just isn’t quite cut out for short work commutes or that time you spend reading just before you fall into zzz land. On the other hand, I wouldn’t call this a holiday-reading type book, either. Whatever the case, I do intend on finishing it at the earliest.

On August 1st, I completed two months as an employee. I’ve been having a great time so far, getting to do a lot of learning – and I’m glad to report that unlike many graduates I know, it is not disconnected from what I studied in college at all I find it thoroughly satisfying that I get to research and write about topics that are not usually things I would have pushed myself to read up about.

Here’s to more successful days ahead!

First, there was Rahul Sharad Dravid and his magnificent 104 against New Zealand. I didn’t watch any part of his innings, but kept a close eye on the score. I can’t help but admire this man, I don’t know how exactly it started, but he’s been one of the few people/things I *believe* in and no I am not saying that in a fanatical-SQUEEEE-fangirl kind of way (okay, maybe just a little bit).

Then, there was Darcy.

I sat down to watch Pride & Prejudice (2005) for probably the fifth time, and this movie never fails to remind me why I love Darcy so. For a long, long time my idea of the perfect romance stemmed from the relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr.Darcy. The witty banter in the beginning, then the quiet looks, filled with longing coupled with awkwardness. No fanfare, but fierce all the same. So now, I will go back and read the novel (again) and fall back into Darcy-land.

I’ve been watching Glee lately, and I love it. It seems plastic and superficial at first, you know high-school-drama (sigh) and cool kids and not-so-cool kids and teacher crushes and same-age-boy crushes. But then all these characters sing amazingly, fantastically, mind-blowingly well AND none of them are clear cut black and white (I kind of have a weakness for those kinds).

Also this week, I re-discovered my love for a certain RCB batsman. Well not re-discovered, it had just kind of subsided into a little corner that I visited occasionally when I saw his name in the papers or on television. But then I got to watch him play live against KKR at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, and there he was in the flesh – running, smiling, hitting gorgeous 4′s and 6′s. There is beauty in the world again.

I start my advertising internship tomorrow. Let’s see how that goes.

(From Andy’s A to Z at Cricinfo)

Pardon me if I’m wrong, but wouldn’t this distract him? The poor thing would have to firstly strain to actually hear what the commentators are asking him/ saying through the noisy crowd, and then secondly he’d have to answer while keeping his eyes on the game. Wicket-keeping requires a decent amount of concentration, doesn’t it? It might be an interesting concept ( actual “live” interaction) but at what cost?

Then again, this is 20-20 cricket – anything is possible!

Against Australia.

Let me repeat that..

Against Australia.

As in they lost and we won. As in we beat them. As in we are going into the final, and they are going home. As in we were better than them this match. AS in we were amazing. As in we were fantastic.

Ok I think I made my point

Also..

Well played, Yuvraj!

I dislike commenting on how my papers went, since my answer will invariably be held against me either at that time, or later! However, I did figure out that one of the secrets to writing an ISC exam is to actually write everything you know about a particular topic, regardless of if you have actually finished answering the question.

(Does that make sense?)

Oh I expect I should say something about this.
Well I don’t really know what to say. Disappointment? Sure. But then I guess he is one of those people who cannot function at all without without being comfortable with his situation himself. So if this is what makes him happy, then I’m sure it was the right decision to make.

Oh and on Friday, I gave in to temptation and bought one of those smiley-faced yellow stress balls :

But I know, deep down, it’s only a matter of time before my dog discovers its existence no matter how well I hide it in the desk drawer.

Sigh. Life is harsh.

Well, the end of an aggressive Test there which India won deservedly. Particular credit must go to Zaheer Khan, for his nine wickets, who is the Man of the Match, while Sachin Tendulkar made 91. So, India take a 1-0 lead and there are plenty of celebrations on the balcony and on the pitch. Ganguly raises his bat as he walks off, and the India team come down the steps now to shake hands with England. After the draw at Lord’s – where they had a let-off as England were closing in on the win – India now take a 1-0 lead into the third and final Test at The Oval.

- Cricinfo