Final Draft

Today I had the pleasure of seeing one of the very few and very good plays in Marathi theatre. An aunt and my Mom came up with the plan of going and I was all for it. As it is I consider theatre artists to be far more talented than film artists. Attribute it to the overdose of senseless stuff in the Marathi film line.
Watching a play in a theatre is a grand experience in all by itself. The glowing lights, the excitement of seeing the set in the first scene when the curtains open, the make up of the artists and the first dialogue, all make your breath stop and get you excited in anticipation. It was even more exciting for me as I was seeing it after a very long long time.
As for the play is concerned, it is named 'Final Draft'. I found it pretty interesting and refreshingly new. Again attribute it to the endless list of slapstick comedies at theatres near you. There are some funny moments though but they are very well in the flow of the story and do not look conjured up. The actors are nevertheless superb. Most important was that the play struck a chord somewhere deep within. I spent a lot of time after the show introspecting. As the show ended, there werent the usual comments of 'sahi hai', 'mast hai' or 'theek tha'. People were all praise for it but deep down they were thinking about it. This play left me a little bit perturbed and made an attempt at starting a thought process. Summing it up, I found this one to be a must see. You can get the synopsis here. The producers have wittily made a blog for fans like me to post comments. So read the synopsis and make up your mind to see this one quickly.

Tennis in the Olympics

Federer has won the gold in Olympic Tennis in the Men's doubles event. Good to see that. A player of his calibre did not deserve to go empty handed at the Olympics. As it is I do not see Olympic Tennis to be as competetive as the ATP Tour events. Most of the players come with a laid back attitude. There are occaisional flashes of brilliance like we saw in the Blake vs Fedex match or the Rafa vs Djoker. But in all the event in which a 'well past his prime' Fernando Gonzalez is a silver medallist, cannot be regarded as the epitome of ultimate sporting achievement.
In this case, I see the Grand Slams in a better light. (I was never a fan of Olympic Tennis and do not bother to check it unless dear old Fedro or the warring Indian Express are playing!) Everyone comes well prepared. The matches are 5 setters with a rule that the fifth set will not end till a clear 2 game lead is established. This makes the sport more competetive as the player has to break the opponents serve atleast once in the match. And some of the matches continue for well more that 3-31/2 hours. This tests the stamina of the players as nothing can. Thus I consider the Grand Slams to be the pinnacle of success in tennis world. Far more than the Olympics.
And lastly as a fan of fedex I hope, he reaches this pinnacle many more times in the years to follow! :-D lol

My Dear old Fedro!!

"Will we see this Federer again?"

Last few months have been very tough for me as an avid tennis fan. Beloved Fedex is not winning as I want him to win. Ever since his loss to Rafa in the historic five-setter at Wimby-2008, Fed is not looking the same anymore. It is very disheartening to read about dear old Fedex loosing to yet unheralded players. Today also Federer lost to James Blake in the Olympics Q/F. Though Blake deserves the credit for coming up with a very good performance, Federer was clearly not in his elements today. Looks like his dream of winning the elusive medal will remain a dream for ever. I just hope that he comes back hard at his opponents and does true fans like us proud. Infact I am more desperate for him to win this year's last Grand Slam than even he is. Now we have the US Open, Paris and Madrid Masters and the year ending Masters Cup. Lets hope he wraps this not so inspiring year with style, playing the kind of tennis we all know only our Beloved Fedro can!!!

The Rains

Ever since I started blogging, I have always welcomed rain through my posts. This year isnt going to be any different. This is the first time I am experiencing monsoon freely in some city other than Mumbai. Every city has a special character which is revealed only during the monsoons. Surat is no different. Surtis welcome rain with much caution. There is always the danger of the Tapi unleashing its horror on the diamond city everytime a downpour occurs. Instead as a boon, the Surtis view the rain as a spoiler. Naturally so as the Surtis are fond of moving out of their houses and enjoying some delicious food. Everytime it rains in a sunday, the newspapers cast a sorry headline.
Opposite is the case in Mumbai. I think a Mumbaikar is the only Indian after the poor farmer who is overjoyed on the prospect of rain. Even after the heavy floods of 2005, famously known as 26/7, which killed nearly thousand and affected even more, Mumbaikars still welcome rain with the same zeal. This year when the rains got delayed, whole of Mumbai went into some sort of mourning as if a disaster was impending. And when it finally rained, that also so furiously that it threatened to fill the streets with water, Mumbai still enjoyed every bit of it. And thats what makes me love Mumbai all the way more even though I am hundreds of kilometres away from it!!!!

Some interesting blogs!

Here are they

• Seth Godin - He always mesmerises me with his marvellous speaking skills.
• The Steve Jobs Secret Blog - Steve Jobs is a big name in itself. Probably the only man in the world who can stand upto Bill Gates and maybe come out better!

And last but not the least, here is India's very own Bridget Jones - Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan aka eM aka The Compulsive Confessor. This isnt a business or marketing blog but a fun/freak out kind of. I came across this when I read about a recently released book, 'you are here' by the blogger. See here. The headline is catchy as it is always the case with desi portals but going by the article, I feel that the substance is actually way more than what we think it to me.
I think that I may get hooked to the blog. Which male isnt interested in knowing what a young woman thinks??? lol ;-)