Press Conference at Hotel Park

There I was at the press conference of the Chennai Open tennis championship at Hotel Park. After a quick look at the draw, I was a touch disappointed for there were new no players-none from the top 10 except Moya. Of course, Srichaphan is there.

A lot of expectations was there when TN Govt. pitched in as main sponsor (1 crore).

At least, let's hope there will be more crowd than usual at the Nungambakkam Stadium.

An addition to The Sportstar team

There is a sports recruit to the Sportstar team. His name is N.U. Abilash. He is a Phd from Warwick University in United Kingdom. Basically, his job is to rewrite copies of the Sportstar.

A research scholar, Abilash has contributed articles in the web features of magazine Outlook magazine.
Wish him all the best.

Other uses of beach

Those interested in beach volleyball can do so from November 18 to 21.

Used to seeing bikni-clad foreign men and women on TVs, you can see them in flesh and blood at the Eliots beach.

Want to chill out, do so at Elliots.
PS: It is the National beach volleyball championship.

Zombie mode

My mind is not working. It is neither a writer's block nor is it depression. SOmething in between, you can say. I am trying my best to be myself--cheerful and enthusiastic.

A role model software professional

Software profesionals, generally, belong to the "progressive" community. Hard-working, beer-guzzling, rational thinkers, software pros are the country's image and pride.

Sriram V Iyer is not one among them, an honourable exeption. A brilliant yet unimaginably humble software professional. He quit Philips to join Beceem, a company doing business in wireless communications. This man is a delight to be with.

I am proud to say that I am one of his cousins, a silent admirer.

There are several qualities that I have imbibed from this 25-year-old. For one, who wrote a book, and one that is doing roaring business, there is a not a trace of arrogance and envy. He is a poster boy for simplicity and humility.

A man who has read a lot of books on religion (Hinduism, to be precise), Sriram is an authoriy in Sanskrit (though he will not accept it). Never have I seen him crib about anything, rile anybody, back-talk anyone.

He is an optimist to the power of infinity. Always ready for a laugh, Sriram seldom says no to guidance or genuine help. It is no wonder that my father is one of his inspirations!

Like Sriram, there could be many men and women around us from whom we can pick a lot of positives. Only if we reach out to them, stepping aside our Himalayan egos for a moment, our world will be better off.

When I see lesser mortals put an air over themselves, I can only feel sorry for them.

My father

There are fathers, but there is nobody like my father T.R. Krishnamurthy (called TRK in office and among relatives). He is special, simply because he is simple. He taught me the value of maintaining relationships.

Even during the peak of his career, he ensured that he made weekend visits to relatives houses, almost all of them. We used to call him "ulavarum olikathir" (roughly translated into roaming light).

The visits continue even 6 years after his retirement.

He said, "the reason why today's generation dosen't have any long-standing relationship is because for them the other person should reciprocate whatever he/she does." An inch deviation and they are upset, he says. Relationships suffer, old friends part ways. Out of sight, out of mind is another reason, he reasons.

My father shunned those negative mindsets. He continues to meet people whom he met decades earlier. Old friends remain intact. New friends keep adding. Something unimaginable now.

Last week, when my father's old friend who was his neighbout in Villivakkam (now we r in Anna Nagar) came to our house and recollected my dad's generosity and large-mindedness, I was touched to the quick.

Intrinsically, his habits have rubbed off on me and I try my best to maintain relationships.

I think it is a lesson our younger generation would do well to put into practice.

Say hand-outs, say Escape

Hand-outs can sometimes be unnerving. More than an exclusive story. They tire you out and challenge your concentration. More often than not, people are happy if the other man does the "dirty" work.

In sports, there are results in hockey, cricket, football...As many sports as many hand-outs, mostly badly written.

If there is anything the sportx journalists would like to share, it is the hand-outs. They have no by-line, they don't really demand your intelligence.

There are legendary stories of how senior people slip hand-outs into the young man's desk, without the latter's notice.

The poor young thing is perplexed of a sudden appearance of a mangled paper.
Surely, hand-outs are like allies in politics. You don't want them but you can't do without them.

Arrest of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi

The arrest of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi, a controversial and media-savvy godman, did disturb me.

These questions cropped up in my mind immediately. What are godmen for? Why do they exist?

My mother always use to say you need middlemen to reach God as ordinary men like us do not have the maturity or the "power" to reach the Almighty. The arrest will certainly send the wrong signals.

I certainly hold no brief for Sri Jayendra Saraswathi. Compared to his predecessors, he was a big letdown, and he failed miserably in managing the institution. And by making irresponsible statements in the Badri-Masjid case, he only aggravated the conflict.

But what does his arrest mean to a lot of "religious minded" men and women.

As my colleague Ramanan said, "religion will be nice if there is no middlemen."

I am not as sure as Ramanan. I believe there is role for an intermediary. There is Matha Amrithanandmiyee and she is doing a wonderful service to humanity. They enable us to understand spirituality and help us become better person.

Banishing religion and admonishing middlemen are no answer to the problems.