Waste of time

A nation of 1 billion people, and they are represented by 11 actors turned cricketers at the World Cup of Cricket. Supposed to be the richest cricketing body and among the richest sporting bodies in the world, the BCCI is still inefficient in their functioning. The selection procedures, the domestic cricket circuit and the activities of the BCCI (primarily based towards monetary benefits) need to be reset and thought and structured all over again. Carrying the hope of 1 billion people is not an easy task, but failing to satisfy even 1 in that 1 billion, is not easy either. A well hyped up team, the expectations collapsed after the very first match. The supposedly great players in the team, could not get India 2 victories out of 3 matches. People will continue writing about Indian cricket and the great players which emerged, but these miserable performances always leave an indelible mark in one's mind. And these so called greats will always be remembered for letting the team and the country down. People are called 'great' when they perform for their country when others fail. After this, I think 'great' needs to be redefined after whats happening these days.

Priorities..

Europeans in general have a sense of pride, towards their country and towards being european. Some of this pride results in arrogance, especially in a few countries. I cannot generalize on any country from the very little contact I have, but the people you interact with on a day-to-day basis, represent the average person of that country. This makes it easy to form opinions.
Living in Italy for the past 1 month now, I can now differentiate between people from certain countries with precision. Even though the accent with which they speak, the clothes they wear and the physical characteristics make it easier, it is the body language and the attitude which finally give in. And strangely, this difference is also clear in the case of people from different states in India. I attribute it to the priorities which different cultures give, to different values in life.

Journey to Torino

22nd Feb 2007; My first trip to Europe. Don't know whether I was excited or anxious. Mixed feelings I should say. Only thing I was looking forward to that time was the business class ticket that I had. And to say the truth, it crossed all my expectations. Thanks to a cousin of mine.
The journey to frankfurt was enjoyable for the fact that I had a lot of champagne. But nothing extra ordinary to see from the aircraft. Did not even get a glimpse of Europe till I landed as there was heavy fog and visibility was poor. So, even though I was in frankfurt, I hadn't seen europe as yet.

Part II of the journey; Frankfurt to Torino. Was during the day, and so all the fog had vanished and the sky was pretty clear as you can see. Must admit, the best view I have ever had in my life; The alps from above. Some peaks above the clouds and the others below it. Only Hell can be more beautiful (Heaven I heard is boring, so going by that theory).
Always wanted to see the alps, but never thought will see it this way.
This was the last memorable moment of my journey to Torino. But on my way from the airport, there was one more incident which immediately made me like Italy. The people. Though we never spoke the same language, and there was no way we could understand each other, a man guided me to the place where I was supposed to stay, which I think was amazing. He took the trouble to understand me and was going on emphasizing that I need to use more sign langauge so that he could understand me. Got onto the same train as me and got down where I was supposed to get down and showed me the place. He then waited for the next train and went where he was supposed to go. I think thats one quality you won't find in people of any other country. And so far this experience has just been getting better. You find more and more nice people each day. Bravo Italiano.

Restart

And by these words I am gonna start writing again. Life's not been so smooth so that I could spend time on this. But now life is. And guess this is the best way to let people know whats happening. And I also noticed that my typing speed has gone down a lot. So 3 benefits in one.