May 11th weekly updates
Quotable Quotes
In our country a family has ruled for more than 22 years. Is there no one capable to run the country ? Narendra Modi Gujarat Chief Minister
The Prime Minister's chair is not a heir loom -- AB Bardhan CPI General Secretary
Having been carved out of India, Pakistan's identity has always been a problem. Pakistan is a fragile entity - Condoleezza Rice Former US Secretary of State
Human rights without God are fragile -- Pope Benedict XVI
Do not go by the Congress manifesto . Once the election is over , it is thrown in to the dustbin -- Maywati BSP Chief
Our country needs a man like him for the top executive job to ensure rapid progress - Raj Thackeray MNS Chief on BJP's Narendra Modi.
Football
ManU powered their way in to the finals of the European Championship league with a resounding semi final victory over Arsenal - When ManU scored only one goal in their home match, the talk was Arsensal will punish them when they visited them for the second leg -- Not so -- ManU played brilliant football and possession and scored three more to clean Arsenal up-- They will meet Barcelona towards end of the month in the final -- Barca were lucky winners against Chelsea through a away goal that tied the match at 1-1 -- Scoring goals away from your own ground counts and Barca did just that to level the match -- It was lucky because the goal scored by Barca was in the injury time of the match and literally robbed Chelsea from getting in to the final in the last minute-
ManU continued to play dominant attacking football in the EPL as well and need four points from the last three games to clinch a third successive title -- Manu have bounced back strongly after losses to Liverpool and Fulham and are playing extremely well as a team --
Formula one
Jenson Button continued the amazing turnaround for Brawn GP ( ex Honda team ) by winning the Spanish GP -- It was his fourth win out of five races- Last year's champion Hamilton of McLaren and Massa of Ferrari struggled as the races went in to Europe. Jenson won but not without controversy with his own team mate Barichello- Brawn Gp were on a three pit strategy for both their cars and midway through the race , Jenson changed it to two stop strategy and this robbed Barichello of the race win -- It was clear that the Brawn team was trying to put up Jenson as the championship man and relegate Barichello -- Barichello should know this better -- When he was driving for Ferrari , Schmi was put up ahead of him and this forced Barichello to quit Ferrari and move on -- Barichello uttered the same threat -- he should know better what will work -- There is a commonality -- the man who was Tech Director at Ferrari and the man who owns Brawn GP are common-- Ross Brawn !!
The race for Ferrari was poorly run-- Raikonen's car had mechanical problems and he dropped out early- Massa hung on and at times was in the lead and looked like settling to a fourth place when things that are unthinkable of happening at Ferrari surfaced- Over the team Radio , we heard Massa's engineer thunder" save fuel "- and that was it -- Massa had to slow down and that allowed Vettel who was fifth to move ahead -- Alonso who was a distant sixth caught and Massa was told to allow Alonso to pass as well -- Finally , one was not sure if Massa had fuel to complete the race-- he eventually did -- But it was clear that Ferrari who are known for their planning , strategy and precision are slipping very badly-- Not sure what is going to change to improve their fortunes--
Meanwhile Ferrari has threatened to pull out from the 2010 season if costs cuts are imposed !!
The Trip to Theni and Munnar -- Chitkala
We had a very good vacation and I requested one of the kids ( two nieces and my daughter ) to do a write up-- Chitkala the younger one of my niece who came on this trip volunteered and so here it goes with my interruptions and commentary at many places.
We went on a long drive to Theni-- We started at around 7 Am from Chennai and stopped in a restroom and had breakfast that was carried from home ( Sri: we stopped past Chinglepet at a Lorry resting bay-- there was a clean place for us to sit and eat -- There was no water in the wash basin and the toilets were locked up -- I checked with the guy who had keys to the washrooms and who was to maintain the place , as to why they were closed -- his answer was simple and effective -- to keep them clean -- ellati gallegeze pannidvanaga !! I was wondering why they built these in the first place )
We moved on and had lunch at Trichy-- Enroute to Theni we stopped at a farm house ( we seem to be visiting farm lands quite often ) , had overdose of Coconut water and then went to Vaigai dam -- the hotel in Theni was lovely as well --
Theni is a beautiful place -- very fertile , clean and pollution levels are bare --The next day we went to Kumbakarai falls where we had to search for the water but always when you think of abandoning , you find something and in a similar manner found a small shallow pond that was deep enough to walk in to and stay afloat and there was inflow as well at one place -- that set us going for nearly two hours--
The return from Kumbakarai to Theni was through thick mango groves -We paused and were given a dozen of mangoes free from the grove -- People are so nice -- we just had to ask and we were given -- The mangoes were being plucked to be sent to the market and the owner had no hesitation in sharing his fruit -- Stopped at the nearest village , got hold of salt and chilli powder and you can guess what happened to the mangoes !! We found some time in the evening and as we were wondering what to do , the car whizzed past the " Great Indian Circus "-- and we knew exactly how to spend the evening time -- Having missed the circus in Chennai , we took the tickets for the seven pm show ( Sri: the kids enjoyed the circus -- For me it was a change from what I saw may be thirty years back -- No animals -- we had a solitary elephant , couple of dogs , camels and a horse -most the exercises are done by girls ( very young ) and few boys-- while you can amaze yourselves at the circus ,it was not a good feeling -- we all realised that the young kids in the circus are missing out on so many things including education and they may be well under aged to be employed at the circus - While we have so much care for animals , we need much more for these children as well )
Sri :
Munnar was very quiet , nice and just like Munnar we saw five years ago-- The good thing is the condition of the roads right through -- No potholes at all -- We had to encounter a Kerla Bandh as well -- I asked one of the shopkeepers as to why there was a bandh the next day -- He said he did not know the reason but there was bandh-- Couple of others said the same -- Bandh without a reason -- yes that can happen in keral which has the highest literacy rate !! Shops close to Sterling resorts where we stayed were open including a Jain hotel -- I asked the cashier of the hotel about the Bandh-- he said that it did not apply to them as they were from outside the state !! Good logic and true to his word , he was open and did roaring business !!
The other thing was lack of connectivity to mobile and internet at Munnar and that I can tell you was bliss !! Here is a link to the pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/Srikanthsrividya/Munnar09?feat=email
PS: Chitkala is going to sixth standard -- She wrote but lost interest and time to complete -- so I have filled in
In our country a family has ruled for more than 22 years. Is there no one capable to run the country ? Narendra Modi Gujarat Chief Minister
The Prime Minister's chair is not a heir loom -- AB Bardhan CPI General Secretary
Having been carved out of India, Pakistan's identity has always been a problem. Pakistan is a fragile entity - Condoleezza Rice Former US Secretary of State
Human rights without God are fragile -- Pope Benedict XVI
Do not go by the Congress manifesto . Once the election is over , it is thrown in to the dustbin -- Maywati BSP Chief
Our country needs a man like him for the top executive job to ensure rapid progress - Raj Thackeray MNS Chief on BJP's Narendra Modi.
Football
ManU powered their way in to the finals of the European Championship league with a resounding semi final victory over Arsenal - When ManU scored only one goal in their home match, the talk was Arsensal will punish them when they visited them for the second leg -- Not so -- ManU played brilliant football and possession and scored three more to clean Arsenal up-- They will meet Barcelona towards end of the month in the final -- Barca were lucky winners against Chelsea through a away goal that tied the match at 1-1 -- Scoring goals away from your own ground counts and Barca did just that to level the match -- It was lucky because the goal scored by Barca was in the injury time of the match and literally robbed Chelsea from getting in to the final in the last minute-
ManU continued to play dominant attacking football in the EPL as well and need four points from the last three games to clinch a third successive title -- Manu have bounced back strongly after losses to Liverpool and Fulham and are playing extremely well as a team --
Formula one
Jenson Button continued the amazing turnaround for Brawn GP ( ex Honda team ) by winning the Spanish GP -- It was his fourth win out of five races- Last year's champion Hamilton of McLaren and Massa of Ferrari struggled as the races went in to Europe. Jenson won but not without controversy with his own team mate Barichello- Brawn Gp were on a three pit strategy for both their cars and midway through the race , Jenson changed it to two stop strategy and this robbed Barichello of the race win -- It was clear that the Brawn team was trying to put up Jenson as the championship man and relegate Barichello -- Barichello should know this better -- When he was driving for Ferrari , Schmi was put up ahead of him and this forced Barichello to quit Ferrari and move on -- Barichello uttered the same threat -- he should know better what will work -- There is a commonality -- the man who was Tech Director at Ferrari and the man who owns Brawn GP are common-- Ross Brawn !!
The race for Ferrari was poorly run-- Raikonen's car had mechanical problems and he dropped out early- Massa hung on and at times was in the lead and looked like settling to a fourth place when things that are unthinkable of happening at Ferrari surfaced- Over the team Radio , we heard Massa's engineer thunder" save fuel "- and that was it -- Massa had to slow down and that allowed Vettel who was fifth to move ahead -- Alonso who was a distant sixth caught and Massa was told to allow Alonso to pass as well -- Finally , one was not sure if Massa had fuel to complete the race-- he eventually did -- But it was clear that Ferrari who are known for their planning , strategy and precision are slipping very badly-- Not sure what is going to change to improve their fortunes--
Meanwhile Ferrari has threatened to pull out from the 2010 season if costs cuts are imposed !!
The Trip to Theni and Munnar -- Chitkala
We had a very good vacation and I requested one of the kids ( two nieces and my daughter ) to do a write up-- Chitkala the younger one of my niece who came on this trip volunteered and so here it goes with my interruptions and commentary at many places.
We went on a long drive to Theni-- We started at around 7 Am from Chennai and stopped in a restroom and had breakfast that was carried from home ( Sri: we stopped past Chinglepet at a Lorry resting bay-- there was a clean place for us to sit and eat -- There was no water in the wash basin and the toilets were locked up -- I checked with the guy who had keys to the washrooms and who was to maintain the place , as to why they were closed -- his answer was simple and effective -- to keep them clean -- ellati gallegeze pannidvanaga !! I was wondering why they built these in the first place )
We moved on and had lunch at Trichy-- Enroute to Theni we stopped at a farm house ( we seem to be visiting farm lands quite often ) , had overdose of Coconut water and then went to Vaigai dam -- the hotel in Theni was lovely as well --
Theni is a beautiful place -- very fertile , clean and pollution levels are bare --The next day we went to Kumbakarai falls where we had to search for the water but always when you think of abandoning , you find something and in a similar manner found a small shallow pond that was deep enough to walk in to and stay afloat and there was inflow as well at one place -- that set us going for nearly two hours--
The return from Kumbakarai to Theni was through thick mango groves -We paused and were given a dozen of mangoes free from the grove -- People are so nice -- we just had to ask and we were given -- The mangoes were being plucked to be sent to the market and the owner had no hesitation in sharing his fruit -- Stopped at the nearest village , got hold of salt and chilli powder and you can guess what happened to the mangoes !! We found some time in the evening and as we were wondering what to do , the car whizzed past the " Great Indian Circus "-- and we knew exactly how to spend the evening time -- Having missed the circus in Chennai , we took the tickets for the seven pm show ( Sri: the kids enjoyed the circus -- For me it was a change from what I saw may be thirty years back -- No animals -- we had a solitary elephant , couple of dogs , camels and a horse -most the exercises are done by girls ( very young ) and few boys-- while you can amaze yourselves at the circus ,it was not a good feeling -- we all realised that the young kids in the circus are missing out on so many things including education and they may be well under aged to be employed at the circus - While we have so much care for animals , we need much more for these children as well )
Sri :
Munnar was very quiet , nice and just like Munnar we saw five years ago-- The good thing is the condition of the roads right through -- No potholes at all -- We had to encounter a Kerla Bandh as well -- I asked one of the shopkeepers as to why there was a bandh the next day -- He said he did not know the reason but there was bandh-- Couple of others said the same -- Bandh without a reason -- yes that can happen in keral which has the highest literacy rate !! Shops close to Sterling resorts where we stayed were open including a Jain hotel -- I asked the cashier of the hotel about the Bandh-- he said that it did not apply to them as they were from outside the state !! Good logic and true to his word , he was open and did roaring business !!
The other thing was lack of connectivity to mobile and internet at Munnar and that I can tell you was bliss !! Here is a link to the pictures
http://picasaweb.google.com/Srikanthsrividya/Munnar09?feat=email
PS: Chitkala is going to sixth standard -- She wrote but lost interest and time to complete -- so I have filled in
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