Drive-In

Woodlands. Woodlands Drive-In. Woodies. Drive-in.
So many things in Madras have changed and continue to change every day. Not this place on Cathedral Road. It still remains the favourite haunt of a whole lot of people, including myself, almost all of them in the 30s and more. The younger lot is no longer to be seen here. The "jolluvuttifying" crowd has now grown up and the "kadalai podara" crowd frequents Barista, Qwiky's, Ispahani Centre, Spencer Plaza and what not.
The drive way to the Drive-In remains as bumpy as ever. Cars are parked as haphazardly as ever. Waiters take their own sweet time -- at least one thing I appreciate them for, they don't distinguish between a guy who drives into the place in a swanky Benz or the guys who pedals in on a rickety bicycle. Both get the same treatment, which cannot be said of a whole lot of other business establishments. The first thing guys at these establishments -- restaurants or shops -- do is to size you up and assess how important you are as a customer. Their treatment towards follows their assessment. Not so in Drive-In. The waiters also are not bothered if you have come there for just a cup of coffee or for a whole tiffin.
It still serves, in my opinion, the best dosais, masala dosais, bondas, Pongal/avial, curd vadai and of course, the sambar. One only wishes that they change the flooring, provide new wash basins and clean them at frequent intervals daily. You can still see the cat waiting under your table for a morsel or, if you are lucky, catch a glimpse of one scampering across the hall with a dead rat in its mouth.
PB Srinivas is still a regular, coming in around 2 p.m. and occupying a table for a couple of hours everyday. If anyone feels like chatting him up, he welcomes that. If you are lucky, he will even sing a few lines from one of his hits. Otherwise, he is content reading his papers and writing down songs.
Thank god that Drive-In has not yet become a concrete jungle taken over by somebody like Saravana Bhavan. I hope that doesn't ever happen. I also hope that the Woodlands management refurbishes the place without changing its character. Still a great place to meet up and chat. No one is going to bother you if you don't order anything at all.

Tsunami - A year after

It was exactly a year ago - December 26, a Sunday - that we along the east coast of India woke up to a horrible tragedy and a new word -- tsunami -- entered our lexicon. Till then, we were at best used to cyclones crossing the coast. How could the beloved Marina do this, was probably the question on most people's lips after the enormity of the tragedy had sunk in. Only later were we to realise that the tsunami had struck from Indonesia and moved west wards leaving behind a trail of death and destruction.
Boys playing cricket on the beach, regular beach walkers, tourists who had come to catch a glimpse of the beach that they had only heard about and, of course, the fishermen were all affected. Cars - sedans, hatchbacks and what not -- damaged. I am sure each one of us can recollect, if not first hand, at least experiences narrated to us by others.
The city was back to normal the next day, the administration -- after an initial slackness -- responded quickly and the general public added their bit.
Of course, there were those who seemed to be having a good time on the beach after the waves had receded. A whole lot of yuppies were seen getting themselves photographed with their mobile phone cameras with the destruction in the background, while a number of hooligans went about hitting people just for the heck of it.
And, then there were the satellite television channels and newspaper writers who started using the word tsunami to describe anything -- the fight between the Ambani brothers, for one!
A year after, the tsunami remains a great tragedy and obviously provides enough opportunities for politicians to criticise each other. Not even a tragedy of this dimension can shut them up.

Ganguly is back

Three cheers to all those who protested Ganguly's exclusion from the team. He is back for the tour to Pakistan. And, the chairman of the selection committee Kiran More says Ganguly was selected because of his experience in playing tests and Kaif was not selected because of his lack of experience in playing test match cricket.
How true. Makes you wonder why Ganguly was dropped in the first place for the Ahmedabad test. As if his experience in tests was not required for that match. How honest Kiran More has been when he said that Kaif was not selected for his lack of experience. Would More care to explain how a player like Kaif can have experience in playing tests when he is not selected at all. It defies all logic. But, that is what the selection committee and the selection process are all about.
I have nothing against Ganguly nor am I a fan at all. I have always thought that his achievements were hyped up. I didn't think too much of his abilities as a batsman. Apart from that cover drive and a loft over long on in small grounds, there is nothing much you could talk about. Strange for a left hander, as they are known for their repertoire.
Anyway, this is not to discuss Ganguly's batting prowess at all. It is to recllect how often the selectors prove how true what Mohinder Amarnath said long ago when he was dropped from the team. And, imagine bringing back Parthiv Patel. Would the selectors at least care to explain his selection and why Dinesh Karthick was not selected. And, what about L. Balaji's exclusion from the team?
Jagmohan Dalmiya and the Left politicians from West Bengal must be the ones having the last laugh. Yet another victory for the Left, I suppose. How they managed to whip up feelings.
And three cheers to Sharad Pawar, the consummate politician. Is there anybody who believes that he did not influence the selection process? The BCCI might have got new office bearers and the newspapers might have reported that Jagmohan Dalmiya's stranglehold over cricket administration in the country has ended. But, in the end it is quite apparent that he continues to pull strings, directly or indirectly.
Poor Ganguly. He is not in the team now for his cricketing abilities -- at least for the Delhi test against Sri Lanka , Kiran More said he had been selected as a "batting all-rounder". Now there is no such attempt. Experience, is the reason that has been given. Good luck to him and thanks to Ganguly for proving to all cricket lovers what a game of politics cricket is. No wonder politicians want to discuss cricket in Parliament. When selectors take over their job, what will the poor politicians do?

What a tragedy

Over 40 people were killed in a stampede in Madras when they had gone to collect flood relief doled out by the Government. This is the third such stampede since the Government started giving flood relief -- a dhoti, sari, some rice and (I suppose) money too. Only this time, the toll is much higher. As usual, the opposition parties in Tamil Nadu will call for Jayalalitha's head and the Government will order, what has become by now, a statutory enquiry. Probably more people have died in the stampedes than in the rains. What is it that makes us want to stand in long queues, unmindful of the heckling and jostling just to collect something given free by the State? I am sure at least half the people standing in such queues can still live without collecting relief. The political parties believe in treating us like beggars and we too are quite happy to be just that. That's the real tragedy.

Another Sting operaton

First the disclaimer - I didn't watch the satellite on which it was telecast (or for that matter any other channel that carried the sting operation as a news item) nor am I holding a brief for the MPs.
I wonder what the channel in question was trying to prove. Sting operations are losing their novelty value and are no longer stinging. Apart from the parties concerned and Parliament taking notice of it, I doubt whether the general public would be interested.
The most interesting part of this post - wonder when the other estates (assuming the media is the fourth estate) and the general public decide to do sting operations on the media!

Natwar Singh goes

Natwar Singh has quit. And, he says he is quitting not because he is guilty but because he does not want to be the reason for Parliament getting stalled!!!

The Volcker Controversy!

Is it about FDI in corruption?