Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - a name to reckon with

Sachin , Sachinnnn , Sachinnnn,Sachinnnn,  wherever the pint sized curly haired gem goes that victory chant will always follow him .

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is quite like Amitabh Bachchan ( his favourite actor ) aka Vijay Dinanath Chauhan from Agneepath which is also his favourite movie . Sachin was the angry young man with a cause taking on the opposition by the scruff of the neck inspiring many with his conduct on and off the field . There are many Sachin moments for all of us - the desert storm where The late Tony Greig with his animated and magical voice letting us know Sachin has arrived and how , the World Cup in 2003 where Sachin battled personal issues and set the record straight on the field and that one innings in New Zealand when Sachin came out as an Opening Batsman and hammered the living daylights of the kiwi Bowlers ( quite sure Danny Morrison will agree )  I for one absolutely love his straight drive which ticked  all manners of conventions showing the makers name with pride during the full follow through . The cover drive was copybook material straight out of a owners manual and when the bowler did try his version of a perfume ball .. Sachin responded with a pull or a hook . Sachin makes India tick .. don't believe me ...how many of us have switched on and switched off the idiot box when Sachin is in form or out , there will always be a debate around whether he was the best or not , the bowlers he faced .. every single one of them from the miserly curtly Ambrose to the fast and furious Dale Steyn had just no answer to the great man's pryotechnics .. the answer lies right there . Sachin is arguably known as the god of cricket . I would say his game is meant for the gods and even the gods  would  have been happy to watch him play showcasing his full repertoire of tricks a  la desi version of Troy . Well destiny certainly was his and and he chose a canvas as big as the cricket field to paint it with all the strong colours possible .
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - he came , he saw and he conquered and I dare say .. still conquering and while he is at it .. happywala birthday Sachin Tendulkar . Have a good one . 

Smaaash - this one really knocked the ball out of the park

I was invited by Smaaash to get a flavour of what their entertainment Center is all about and boy was I in for a ride of a different kind . The Smaaash entertainment Center has a staff which is dressed in shades of blue and they can lighten up your day and drive your blues away like a snap of a finger . The staff is on point , knowledgable and know the Center inside out.

I am a bigggg cricket addict and given a chance I would love to play cricket day and night against bowlers of all shapes and sizes . The Smaaash cricket game has different levels and you get to play bowlers of the pace of Wasim Akram , Brett Lee , Shoaib Akhtar , keioron pollard and also face the spin and guile of Shane warne , Muralidharan, Anil Kumble and Sachin . It's a virtual game you play against these bowlers with live commentary and score . This is the closest you can get to playing bowlers of this pedigree and the experience is priceless.

The finger coaster is another ride if you like a little bit of a rollercoaster in your day ( bangalore traffic can do that to you ) . What I liked about this ride is the fact that you could customise with your fingertip and you can't blame anyone but yourself when you go through this virtual reality game.

I like the idea of seeing tall buildings but walking a plank on the 15th floor of a building to another building with the environment playing truant .. well it tested me  and I came out tops - this was the star attraction - a virtual reality game called Vertigo - walk the plank
The arcade zone has games for the child within you ..whilst the twilight bowling is quite a sight when you bowl the nine pins down . If you have nimble feet and are blessed with focus you might fancy the game which tests your dancing skills.

A word on the in house restaurant which is aptly titled mighty small .. the servings are mighty and made with minimum of effort.

 If you are looking at having a smaaashing time with your family or friends  or want some alone time .. then Smaaash - India's first Urban Sports Center might just work for you 

Rishabh Pant wins heart and the Royal Challengers Bangalore plays Bold

Rishabh Pant ,the south paw who announced his arrival in IPl 2017 with a six has the kind of presence which Sir Vivian Richards will be proud of . His half century was worth its weight in gold ..coming in the circumstances it came in because of a personal bereavement , it deserved nothing less than a win . The rest of his team mates though seemed happy to be in the dugout playing musical chairs with each other losing wickets in a flurry , trying to become millionaires with their shot selection.

Royal Challengers Bangalore with the kind of support they get across the globe and in a city which was once known as the pensioners paradise came to the party at last. The absence of the charismatic Virat Kohli , the hard working KL Rahul and ABD - the man who defies geometric conventions with his audacious shots were sorely felt. It's also an opportunity for the other lesser known team members to make their presence felt and like that line in the trippy movie - Sholay-"Loha Garam hain mar do hatoda" loosely translated as "strike the iron when it's hot" .. Kedhar Jadhav did just that . He played unconventional shots all across the park racing to 69 off just 37 balls giving the Bold army the impetus to cheer the home side all the way through. RCB ended up with 157 for the loss of 8 wickets and from the looks of it on a batting paradise like the Chinnaswamy Stadium one felt they were 20 -30 runs short .. but then destiny has other plans.

The Delhi innings was all about Pant .He showed a lot of heart and spirit to fight till the end whilst his team members did not show the alacrity to partner with him to weather the Rcbian bowling which was top notch. RCB was in control of the game right throughout making the moments count . The spinners making the ball mumble a bit , the pacers with sheer pace and variations unsettling the Delhi batsmen. 21 runs were needed off the last 2 overs and the  penultimate over bowled by Shane Watson was a template on how to bowl right at the death . He gave nothing away and Amit Mishra swishing his blade like Zorro in thin air managed just two runs . The last over was a master stroke by the captain , he gave the ball to left arm spinner Negi . 19 needed off the last over and Pant tried hitting Negi out of the park ended up losing his leg stump and  the game was in Royal Challengers Bangalore's pocket. This win could just be the shot in the arm for RCB to kick start their winning ways and let their numerous fans across the globes rejoice with cheer and unbridled excitement 

My moment with a Martian ( on screen )

My moment with a Martian

I was invited for the life movie premiere which was presented by Sony Pictures in association with Rubin Raj Productions in a city which prides itself in being second to none  in terms of technology and I might just add in vehicular density. The movie premiere was a star studded affair with people from the creative space converging in an hour before this science fiction thriller was showcased at Fun Cinemas in Bangalore City . The backdrop , the selfie station and needless to say Sony Pictures and Rubin Raj Productions were head and shoulders above the rest . The people selected to come and watch this thriller were a right mix of the enterprising community of bangalore .

Life - the movie in a nutshell tells the story of six brave scientists aboard an international space station who have just discovered extra terrestrial life on Mars . All six of them have a destiny of their own which is unravelled as the movie orbits on a course of its own . Let's just say The extra terrestrial from Mars who is named Calvin for all sorts of friendly reasons doesn't turn out to be as friendly as the name would sound . There are lot of defining moments in this thriller and the first encounter the lead doc has with the extra terrestrial in a controlled environment is a scene  to watch out for. This movie keeps you on the edge of the seat and tells how life really is in outer space through the eyes of these passionate and emotional scientists dealing with an enemy from "within ". The movie ends on an open note and whilst you leave the theatre .. you are thinking what if this really happens and thank your stars that at times being too emotional might just not be a good thing whilst dealing with extra terrestrials from Mars.This thriller  was more of a emotional ride than a scientific one for me and on that note I would rate it as 3.5 / 5 with 0 being the lowest and 5 being the highest .

See you at the movies