The Sikhs celebrate Diwali as the day the sixth guru Guru Hargobind was released from captivity along with several other Hindu kings. The Durbar of the Golden temple was lit up with diyas to celebrate the home coming.

The Jains believe that Mahavira attained Nirvana on Diwalli day on 15th October 527 BC. This perhaps explains why Deepavaili or Diwali no matter how you pronounce it is a truly national festival.

Finally, there is the story of King Bali of the netherworld, who with his mighty power, had become a threat to the gods. To curb his powers, Lord Vishnu in the guise of a Brahmin boy (Vamana), visits him and begs for that much land as he could cover with three footsteps. (In the Indian tradition Brahmin youth are scholars and students. They are spiritual seekers and survive on alms alone. Since their studies are for the benefit of the community they are never refused alms)

Once Bali grants his strange alms request, with the first step, the Lord covers the entire heavens and with his second step the earth. When he asked Bali where he could keep his third step, Bali offers his head and puts the Lord's foot on his head and asks his forgiveness. Bali is banished into the nether world by his third stride. However pleased with his generosity and repentance, Lord Vishnu grants him a boon to return to earth once on Deepavali day each year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance and spread the radiance of generosity, love and wisdom. The people of the earth in turn contribute their mite by lighting lamps in their homes as a symbol of helping Lord Bali fulfill his annual mission and celebrate his return to earth.

That is perhaps why Deepavali is a time of giving, forgiving, sharing and thanksgiving, a time for look backs, celebrations and new beginnings and of course a time to renew old friendships and forge new ones.

Here is wishing you and your extended family the very best not only for the festive season and also for the times ahead

The incident is being compared to the attack on M F Hussein and the fatwa on Rushdie which is ridiculous. From what I have seen on TV the case appears to be one of painting religious icons in a way which offends sensibility and borders on obscenity. This has happened within the portals of an educational institution. If that is true then it offends my middle class orthodox mentality and I would certainly not let any of my younger generation learn art at such an institution. I am certain that this sentiment would be echoed by most Indian parents. As far as the children are concerned, their art should reflect their creative evolution and they should not be courting controversy for the sake of publicity in which case the artist is being hypocritical and untrue to the tradition of art.

Let us leave the rabble rousing moralistic police and the TRP avaricious media, who are ever eager to court and arouse controversy out of this. Let those who matter i.e. the parents, the students and the academics debate and discuss on what constitutes an Art Education. The platform which brings them together could be a more responsible face of the media, maybe the print media, the internet, bloggers park, or a parent teachers association, a student union meeting or a combination of these....

The ICC:

A group of uniquely demented morons who run the game at an international level. They have still not been able to decide when a game is actually over. (The Darrel Hair episode in a test match and the joint Fiasco in the world cup final). Once they are able to finalize this important guideline, they will perhaps devote their time to other less pressing issues like deciding whether the world cup was a success or not and whether the Asian Boards need to be put in their place.

The BCCI:

A group of men who are elected to the office of the richest sports body in the land without having either an iota of administrative sense or any passion for the game. Their sole motto to enrich the coffers through a mixture of TV rights/ticket sales and sponsorships. Where all the money goes, nobody actually knows and none have the right to ask because they are an autonomous body whatever that means. What it does give them is bargaining clout with the ICC because they claim that they account for 70% of the money the game makes world-wide

The Selectors:

A group of men some of whom have played the game at the highest level and others who are there to make up the numbers. They hold office at the pleasure of the Board and meet before every major tour on an honorary basis to decide who will represent the country. Decisions are on a majority vote.

The Sponsors

They come in two categories. The first group gives hefty sums of money to the BCCI or the ICC, in the name of team sponsorships for the national team and earns the right to stick their names and logos on the shirts, pants, pads bat etc of the players. It may be noted that TEAM INDIA is perhaps the only international cricket team where the name of the sponsor overshadows the name of the country on the jersey. In addition the team sponsors can also shoot commercials with the players. The players however are not paid by the sponsors who pay either the BCCI or the ICC and keep them dangling for dates in true filmy style.

The other sponsor is the player's individual sponsors and comprises companies who could not afford or those who missed out the team sponsorships and enter into contracts with the players or their agents. Some of these companies have products which are in direct competition with those of the team sponsor

The Coach

He inherited a fairly good team under a strong leader. At the time Team India was thought of as the only team which could challenge Australia. Greg's job was to build a team to win in 2007. He had differences with Sourav and after his much rift with him, a new leadership took over. After some initial hiccups and lots of politicking, things finally began to look up. 17 one day wins on the trot. Youngsters like Yuvraj and Dhoni put their hands up. The team flattered to deceive. Gradually things started to go wrong. Losses to West Indies and SA. The youngsters did not deliver. Under public pressure the selectors scripted Sourav's return to the team and wonder of wonders he actually managed to score some runs to the embarassment of his detractors. To add to the problems caused by Sourav's return, there were rumours that Sachin wanted the captaincy. The cracks were beginning to widen. Austraian methods were not quite working. The conflicts were too many for the coach and captain to handle and the writing was on the wall but the blue billion did not quite see it.

The Players

A group of immensely talented individuals who failed to gel as team. It is tragic that such a group of men could not for one month rise above their differences and play the sport to their potential. Win or Lose is an integral part of the game but we did not see an effort. By the time the tragedy of exit begin to sink in it was too late.

The Former Players:

Men who have played the game at highest level and know what it is all about. They are now put to pasture and return through chat shows, syndicated columns and TV contracts to comment on the game they once played. They are summoned on an ado basis by the BCCI to stick band-aid on the gaping wounds suffered by Indian Cricket after every major debacle. The treatment of the malaise bugging the administration of the game is strictly off limits.

The Media:

A group of TRP hogging maniacs who try to squeeze every drop of TRP out of every possible story whether real or imaginary. After finishing the effects of sponsorship on performance and highlighting the huge fissures in the team, spreading a whisper campaign against Sourav and his time in the middle contract, they switched to focusing on the Indian Flag on Mandira's saree and launching Sting campaigns on selectors to improve their flagging TRPs.

The Groundsmen:

The men in charge of preparing the grounds and pitches in the country. Wiser men say that the pitches are key to producing good cricket and good cricketers. Unfortunately, most of the Indian groundsmen are glorified "Maalis" with little knowledge and no formal training on the art and science of pitch making.

The Ranji Players

They are the source for future talent. They play to empty stadia on dead pitches against sub-standard opposition and are expected to make the cut to international cricket with little or no support from either a sponsor or the BCCI until they are actually good enough to make the grade.

And Finally the Fans

They rival the worst in European football. They catapult themselves with the team fortunes from the delirious heights of the rare victories to the despairingly regular depths of defeat. In a country of one billion desperately starved of icons they worship their cricketing heroes and are brutally critical and violent when the Gods fail badly. When they win they are worshipped and when they lose their houses are stoned, they are greeted with rotten eggs and tomatoes and garlanded with Chappals.

With this motley group of specimens being the key stakeholders of the game, one is not at all surprised at the levels of under-achievement Indian Cricket has been able to consistently deliver.

The words 'racecar,' 'kayak' "malayalam" and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes). (Yep, I knew you were going to "do" this one.)

There are only four words in the English language which end in "dous": tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous. (You're not doubting this, are you?)

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: "abstemious" and "facetious." (Yes, admit it, you are going to say . a e i o u)

TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard. (All you typists are going to test this out)

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds. (Some days that's about what my memory span is)

A "jiffy" is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years. (I know some people that could do this too.)

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors.

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite! (Now you know why you should stay away from people who have eaten too many!!)

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket. (Good thing he did that)

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid.

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Now you know almost everything

Well I am in a software project in Angola, thousands of miles away from my family on New Year's Eve preparing for "Go-Live". As I left the college portals with starlight in my eyes, if someone had told me that this would be my future, a quarter of a century or more down the road, I would have told the fortune teller that he was insane. But then that it is where I am!! Many a time we end up doing what we never intended to . It all boils down to what the caterpillar at the crossroads told Alice "It does not matter which road you take if you do not know where you want to go!"( Lewis Caroll in Alice in Wonderland)

Consolation is that I am not alone and that perhaps it is the story of quite a few folks who hit middle age before they realize it. But then we still have half our lives left to get the radar right and reset course! What is life without a few challenges or should I say opportunitiesJ

Well for me the first priority is to set the radar for the rest of my life by the middle of next year and then plan and chart out the course in instalments of three yearsJ

While I am busy finalizing the big picture there are other smaller resolutions like finding more time for

· For family

· For friends

· The sick, the underprivileged, the orphans and the aged

· Reading, Writing, Music and the Movies

· Society as a whole to perform my role as a citizen rather than be an armchair critic of politicians and their ilk

· Take care of my oldest and most faithful friend my body and his various components especially the lungs and the liver and the bones and the back!"

· To give the job on hand my best shot

· Travel and learn more about different lands, their peoples and cultures and enjoy multi-faceted hues of nature

· Sunsets, sunrises, rain drops, dew drops, flowers, fruit trees, paddy fields, mountains beaches, deserts, cliffs, canyons and whatever else Nature's Munificence has to offer. (The picture is of a sunset on the Altlantic, in Angola where I am now. You can see the Oil rigs in the distance)

· The music of life, to take it slower and savour and enjoy it before the song is over as quoted in a poem in my last post.

Now that I have made a public statement of intent, here is hoping I will be able to follow them in some degree. In case I do slip up, I will be depending on my fellow Ilanders to haul me over the coals and bring me back on course. Looking forward the days to come, will be the days I will treasure most when I reach the twilight years.

As I sit and pen my dreams, I find that they have hardly changed over the years, which reminds me of an old song by Mary Hopkins which is one of my all time favourites:

Once upon time there was a Tavern,

Where we used to raise a glass or two.

Remember how we laughed away the hours,

Think of all the great things we would do.

Those were the days my friend

We thought they'd never end

We'd sing and dance forever and a day

We'd live the life we choose,

We'd fight and never lose

We were young and sure did have our way

Then the busy years went rushing by us

We lost our starry notions on the way

If by chance I'd see you in the Tavern,

We'd smile at one other and we'd say

Those were the days. O Yes those were the days.

Just tonight I stood before the Tavern

Nothing was the way it used to be

Through the doors there came familiar laughter,

I saw your face and heard you call my name

O my friend we are older but no wiser

For in our hearts the dreams are still the same.

Those were the days my friend.O Yes those were the days.

Here is wishing all of you and your near and dear ones a very happy, safe, healthy and prosperous 2007 and beyond. While celebrating and ringing out the Old and ringing in the New do take time to pray for all those who are less fortunate than us and include them in your thoughts and celebrations as well as in your plans for the years and times ahead.

Here are a few anecdotes which I liked. You may enjoy them if you have not seen them before


Situation ...1

A woman came home, screeching her car into the driveway, and ran into the house. She slammed the door and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Honey, pack your bags. I won the damn lottery!" The husband said, "Oh my God! What should I pack, beach stuff or mountain stuff?"

"Doesn't matter," she said. "Just get the hell out."

Situation 2

Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right, and the other is a husband.

Situation 3

A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license. First, of course, he had to take an eye sight test.The optician showed him a card with the letters:C Z W I X N O S T A C Z. "Can you read this?" the optician asked.

"Read it?" the Polish guy replied, "I know the guy."

Situation 4

A husband was making a breakfast of fried eggs for his wife. Suddenly, his wife burst into the kitchen. "Careful," she said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my GOD! You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful...CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the Salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!!! THE SALT!!!" The husband stared at her. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The wife calmly replied, "I wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."