Main Albela ...Main Deewana ...

When Serena Williams won the Australian Open 2005, I felt happy for her. Here is a really talented tennis player - one who has all the shots in the book, who has plenty of poise to go with power and most importantly a fighting spirit that can enable her to come back from any point in the match. One such match was the semi-final against Maria Sharapova.

Sharapova had beaten Serena in the finals at Wimbledon and the Tour Championships last year. Revenge was always going to be a motivating factor in this match. No doubt Saharapova is a talented young player - besides being sexy - but clearly she has a lot to prove, lot to conquer if she has to attain Serena's level or think about crossing it.

This took me back to the Wimbledon final last year where I stood alone supporting Serena while all my friends rooted madly for the Russian blonde. This is not the only time I have stood alone against the rest. Also in that Wimbledon, most of my friends supported Roddick simply because he was the underdog, while I backed Federer simply because he was a better player. Throughout the early and mid-nineties it was a fashion in my family to oppose Steffi Graf because she was so good, for me Steffi was the reason I started watching tennis.

This trait of mine in which I root for someone against the group extends to beyond tennis. I was one of the few who saw the talent and ability of Rahul Dravid right at the time of the 1996 tour of England, while my friends kept abusing him for being excessively slow - one went on to suggest that Vikram Rathore (who was also an upcoming player at that time and has now retired in peace) was a much better player than him !!!!

When it comes to cinema, the story is pretty similar. While Shahrukh-bashing is a passion all around me, I adore the man and appreciate how he has managed to rule the industry for 15 years. So also when my friends are mesmerised by the perfect, graceful Aishwarya Rai I prefer the earthy, exuberant Rani Mukherjee and Preity Zinta.

That's just me - different and weird (as people put it.)

The King Is Dead ... Long Live The New King !

Over the past 12 months Roger Federer had raised tennis to such supreme levels that it was quite essential for him to have a really bad day for anyone to have a chance against him. Or his opponent would have to be in a freakishly rich vein of form. The latter happened last night at the Australian Open.

If there is one player who has the ability to beat Federer at his best, it is Marat Safin. Not Roddick not Hewitt. Safin is an insanely talented player much like Federer but has a very different game in many respects. His problems have been fitness, consistency and more worryingly temperament. All 3 fell in place last night and he was able to edge out the Swiss King in an epic 5-set thriller.

This Australian Open has been a great one - the 2 great matches Hewitt played against Nadal and Nalbandian, Serena and Sharapova playing some fantastic tennis and it was all topped by what 2 of the game's most naturally gifted players produced last night. Will there be more to come ?? Or will the finals be an anti-climax ???

I say : "Go Safin !!!"

Rehman does it ... AGAIN !!!

It is common knowledge that you do not fall in love with AR Rehman's songs the first time you hear them (with some exceptions - his early works (Roja, Bombay), couple of numbers from Lagaan, Taal etc.). It is equally well-known that you cannot help falling for them sooner or later when you have heard them a certain number of times (well most, at any rate).

With Swades, I thought that his luck had finally run out. For a couple of months the songs failed to enthrall me. However, today I cannot help replaying the songs of Swades all day (even the slower ones like Ahista and Dekho na). I take my hat off to the man.

Freedom ??

www.dictionary.com gives the following meanings:
Freedom : The capacity to exercise choice.
Independence: Freedom from the influence, guidance, or control of another or others; self-reliance

The 2 ideas are closely interrelated and regarded as fundamental principles in modern civilization. Sometimes, however I can't help wondering whether these are indeed the great benevolent rights they are made out to be. Here I am talking about freedom at a personal level where an individual chooses the course of his life : what career path he wishes to follow, what goals he wishes to achieve, where he intends to live etc. not at the level of nations and governments and all that.

Several times I think: Wouldn't it be great to have some guardian angel looking over me and making all my decisions ? An angel whom I trust and who has nothing but my own personal benefit at heart ?? Yes, parents play this role generally during childhood but wouldn't it be wonderful to have some such angel throughout one's life ??

The idea is - yes, I know life is beautiful and I want to enjoy it - I know I will enjoy it no matter what I choose to do if I intend to enjoy it - but what I do not need is this stress of all the decision-making and exploring of options that seems to sap up energy and does little to clear the picture.

Of course many people will rightly consider these ideas as childish and those of one looking to shirk responsibility - part of myself agrees with that - but I can't help dreaming ...

Relativity

While in Pune, a couple of weeks ago when the temperature dropped below 10 celsius on a couple of occasions, I did experience a tinge of cold. Today in Iowa City, 2 degrees Fahrenheit seems reasonable. Theory of Relativity at play ??
Partly, maybe. In my recent encounters with extreme weather I realize that a lot depends on your mindset. When mentally you know it is going to be cold you automatically generate a kind of mechanism to fight it and hence Iowa City and Pune seem just as reasonable to the body.
Of course this assumes that the layers you put on are appropriate for the place and the time ...

Hum Hain Iss Pal Yahan ...

Jaane Ho Kal Kahaan
Hum Mile Na Mile Hum Rahe Na Rahe
Rahengi Sada Yahan Pyaar Ki Ye Dastaan
Sunege Sada Jise Yeh Zameen Aasmaan

One of AR Rehman's better compositions in recent times. This track from Kisna is really good. Much better than the relatively ordinary effort in Swades. It is all set to be the next great ballad of the year after Tere Liye. I do not claim to understand too much of these terms but I think the way it builds up to a crescendo is amazing.

I, Einstein ??

Hi
This was the leader whose personality matches mine the most according to this Test !!!
That's amazing !

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

It's The Beginning ...

"It's the end," she said. "It's the beginning," he answered.
She is Dagny Taggart, he is John Galt: the heroine and hero respectively, in Ayn Rand's masterpiece, Atlas Shrugged. When the men of reason, the men of strength, the men of intellect, the men of the mind went on strike against a World which sought to exploit their virtue at the same time admonishing and punishing them for it; it slowly but inevitably destroyed itself. Once the destruction was complete, these men would return to rebuild it - to mark a new beginning.

Yesterday, seven months after I started reading the book at the Ohare International Airport in Chicago about to board my flight to India, I reached the end. And today is a new beginning - the beginning of this blog. The book took me almost eight months and three flights halfway across the World to complete.

Rand's philosophy (for those who are unaware) consists of individualism, objectivism and rationality among other things. People at times consider it too extremist, too conservative and too capitalistic. I am certainly deeply influenced by her unbending support for rationality, reason and Objectivism. Hence the title and theme of this blog.

Atlas Shrugged is definitely a must-read although I wouldn't ask all to agree with all that is says. In fact, for those new to Ayn Rand, I would suggest you read the Fountainhead first. It is much smaller, lighter, quicker and more moderate. In Rand's own words it is "only an overture to Atlas Shrugged." Atlas Shrugged tends to get a bit slow in parts but once it picks up one can't let go of it. The end is a bit of an anti-climax I thought; but the rest of the book more than sufficiently makes up for it.