Breakfast with champions - a review

The Caribbean flavour

By the end of this episode you might just end up humming the champion song which works at all levels because of its really simple singalong  lyrics . Gaurav manages to remove the sheen from the cricketers and make them more humane like all of us . Bravo a teetotaller reveals during the freewheeling conversation that Cricket unites West Indies as against other sports . The breakfast is shudh Gujarati vegetarian fare and as expected Bravo is game enough to try a little bit of everything  revealing a side of him which says it's better to try and fail rather than not try at all.

The Chandni Chowk connection

What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force .. Danny Morrison is in Chandni Chowk .Dan the man  gets a crash course on the gastronomic history of the paratha Wali galli from Gaurav whilst walking through the crowded alleyways . An animated Danny shoots the breeze with Gaurav over puri aloo and a dry hair massage and answers some very interesting questions on his debut match and his desi connection with India

Master class with the tweaker

Bishen Singh Bedi - the man who could deceive you with his guile and loop as a bowler is an interviewers delight . He is frank , outspoken and calls a spade a spade . Gaurav - charming and easy going gets Bish to talk and one feels like a fly in that sprawling garden listening to his incredible stories . He speaks about the inspirational Tiger Pataudi, his moment with Sir Donald Brahman on integrity ,his fellow tweakers .. and that moment when Shane Warne  sought his advice  out before bowling to Sachin Tendulkar. There certainly was sukoon and junoon in this episode

The Rawalpindi express
Picture this .. Shoaib Akhtar running with a f-16 ... with the kind of speed he used to bowl its quite a possibility. In this episode you get to see a side of Shoaib Akhtar who is raw , impulsive , candid and hard working . Gaurav through the course of the conversation over croissants and waffles gets us to know what makes the Rawalpindi tick- that madness and that animalistic run .

The correct man

There is something about Ajinkya rahane .. the way he let's his bat do the talking and then digs into that big omelette of his giving a glimpse of his mindset whilst batting ,his take of what marriage is all about vis a vis the non striker in cricketing parlance and his immense respect for Rahul Dravid.


Bakbak with Zak

It's always tough for bowlers says Zaheer khan nonchalantly .. he with his left arm swing might give the impression that he means business from the word go but during this freewheeling conversation you get to see a side which is nostalgic and has come to terms with the fact that he was a part of a World Cup winning squad in   2011.. and he loves his cheese cake and ghee in no particular order.They say fast bowlers hunt in pairs .. but fast bowlers as next door neighbours ....Ajit Agarkar stays right  next door and he makes an appearance in this episode talking about the size of bats and the Caribbean drawl of Michael Holding aka whispering death  who just loves the IPL ( nudge nudge wink , wink ) and that line summarises this episode pretty well - the mind is writing cheques which the body can't encash anymore 

Spin , guile and English batsmen

A t20 game is not just slam bang stuff . There is so much more to it this encounter at the Chinnaswamy stadium between the home team and the t20 2016 World Cup finalist had all the makings of a classic and it didn't disappoint .

Top 10 moments in this game

1. The Virat Kohli run out right at the beginning of the Indian innings must have cockled the hearts of the English side but not for long
2. Raina is a flat track bully and if it's a t20 he suddenly becomes asterix with or without that magic potion . He was greeted by deodorant balls and he does what he does best , muscling the ball with his full follow through , his straight six was the stand out
3. KL Rahul hit one of the biggest sixes which was around 98 metres and over the roof top . Coming from a touch player like him .. He really upped the ante but then he paid a price for playing across the line a bit too often getting castled by a straight delivery
4. The English Bowlers tried bowling to a plan but the Suresh Raina and MSDcombine had other plans , navigating one particular miserly MoenAli over which was worth gold dust in this format
5. Raina made a quick fifty , Dhoni in this particular innings was playing straight racing to his first fifty in t20 giving Yuvraj time to settle in
6. Yuvraj Singh - when on song is an absolute pleasure to watch . He made love to the ball in the most left handed manner .He  was playing like lord shiva on tandav . He made the most of the 18th over , taking 24 runs , losing his wicket in the process , but the damage had been done .india making a mammoth 202 runs which in hindsight is quite a challenging target in the beautiful Chinnaswamy stadium

7.  The English batsmen were greeted with the wide grin of #nehraji and he bowled a superb first over ..not giving an inch away
8. It didn't take much time for the spinners to get into the contest ..the hard working Amit Mishra leading the way
9. T20 games are not always batsmen pulverising the ball , it gets interesting when there is an even contest between bat and ball . Morgan in one particular over of Suresh Raina took him to the cleaners , hitting him all around the park for 22 runs . The next over proved to be the game changer
10. Yazhuvendra chawal a RCBian knows the Chinnaswamy stadium like the back of his hand and he baffled the English batsmen with his vast repertoire of tricks who wanted to go back home in a hurry . Chawal took 6 wickets for 25 .

The Indian batsmen did set up the score but the bowlers were up to it baffling  the English batsmen with pace , spin and guile making the victory even more sweeter.

Roger that

A game of equals or do numbers say a different story . Two champs who have vastly different approaches to their games . The man who could have been a ballet dancer in another life .. you can roger that . Roger Federer in full flow is poetry in motion . He looks like he has all the time in the world to play his ground strokes all across the court whilst the gent at the other end looks like a man who was born to fight and retrieve anything which comes his way . Good , bad or ugly it doesn't matter .

Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have had an injury ridden backstory  and when it matters the most ... they bring their A game to the court. Today was quite a super Sunday . The champs hitting their straps early , displaying supreme levels of fitness winning two sets a piece getting into autopilot mode in the fifth set giving the sporting Melbourne populace their dollars worth .

Both the champs played with a take no prisoner nonchalance delivering winners from any angle possible . Federer playing the ball early never having a bad hair day whilst Rafa is all rough power maximising his defensive game to the T. Nadal powers through to take a two games to love lead against the champ whose down the line and cross court backhand from Anywhere on the court Is a piece of art .

In five setters Rafa is a fortress he will retrieve ,retrieve and retrieve till the opponent just gives up .This game is like a match up between a rolls Royce and a raging bull and man do they mean business or what . High risk tennis at its best . Both the players bruising each other mentally with the angles on their shots . Nadal is all brute power whilst Federer is grace personified .

Federer for the first time in three and a half hours coming to the net with the score tied on 3-3 delivering a winner to take a 4-3 lead making tennis great rod laver look on approvingly. Roger Federer breaks Nadal on his serve taking his game into auto pilot mode serving for the championship at 5-3 .Federer brings out the aces when it matters the most winning the championship in a five setter which will be written in the annals of history as a battle of greats with hawkeye deciding the final
Point . This was a slugfest between two champions giving their best on the big stage playing a game which is meant for the gods 

msdhoni - the untold story movie review

#msdhonitheuntoldstory - if you are a #msdhoni fan and have that image of 2011 World Cup winning moment when Dhoni hits the winning six .. This could be that movie for you . I was proved right in my quote to #deccanchronicle that sushanth Singh Rajput has mirrored Dhoni to the "t" . He has played msd with sincerity .. Getting his gait , mannerisms , the walks he walks, long locks, the raw confidence and that helicopter shot ..

a special mention for Herry Tangiri who played yuvraj Singh on screen . He got his swagger, expressions , bowling action was perfect ..and to think Herry Tangiri was originally a right hander . For me his scenes with Dhoni were the real moments ..

10 reasons why you should watch pink - the movie

10 reasons why you should watch pink

1) Amitabh Bachchan - actor par excellence , his silence speaks louder than words and when he speaks the courtroom feels small , really small & his sardonic sense of humour

2) it's not about candle night marches or women crusaders but regular issues which a women faces and the reality that unfolds

3) the three leading girls .. Gutsy , brave and independent and an important scene around why we need to know more about Meghalaya

4) the policewomen who lies through her teeth when she is  questioned by the man who has no bad hair day - Amitabh Bachchan and the golden handshake she gets at the end from the great man

5) the judge who for a change does not go bombastic but appears quite reasonable taking in both sides of the argument with an even head

6) the supporting cast of the actors and the friends who look and sound perfect for the role .. Getting the Delhi lingo just right

7) this movie is not about jazzy production values , item numbers or slapstick comedy .. But content and real issues

8) this movie will inspire you to run and get that mask altitude training mask which AB uses

9) the background score , the early mornings and late evenings of Delhi

10) last but certainly not the least .. The last time I had seen a good courtroom drama was in a few good men .. Pink beats this by a big margin as it deals with real reasons, does not offer solutions wrapped in colourful paper

10 reasons why you should watch pink - the movie

10 reasons why you should watch pink

1) Amitabh Bachchan - actor par excellence , his silence speaks louder than words and when he speaks the courtroom feels small , really small & his dry sense of humour

2) it's not about candle night marches or women crusaders but regular issues which a women faces and the reality that unfolds

3) the three leading girls .. Gutsy , brave and independent and an important scene around why we need to know more about Meghalaya

4) the policewomen who lies through her teeth when she is  questioned and the golden handshake she gets at the end from the great man

5) the judge who for a change does not go bombastic but appears quite reasonable taking in both sides of the argument with an even head

6) the supporting cast of the actors and the friends who look and sound perfect for the role .. Getting the Delhi lingo just right

7) this movie is not about jazzy production values , item numbers or slapstick comedy .. But content and real issues

8) this movie will inspire you to run and get that mask altitude training mask which AB uses

9) the background score , the early mornings and late evenings of Delhi

10) last but certainly not the least .. The last time I had seen a good courtroom drama was in a few good men .. Pink beats this by a big margin as it deals with real reasons, does not offer solutions wrapped in colourful paper

#shinewithbosch

#shinewithbosch

That kind of day where there was absolutely no traffic on the streets of bangalore because of a bandh and for a brief fleeting nano second of a moment you start missing the traffic and then it rained ...

The #Shinewithbosch event which was held at the Royal Orchid Hotel Lawns and organised by Krafting Success Productions was different from the rest .You were greeted by an assorted variety of vehicles which looked like they hadnt seen ek boondh ka paani for quite some time .The vehicles were ergonomically stationed in just the right manner ( link & picture attached -https://twitter.com/shevititan/status/759265360159862785  with the two wheeler , hatchback and the SUV sharing screenspace to get maximum eye balls.

The event started bang on time with all the reviewers waiting to get their hands dirty literally, figuratively and metaphorically. The Emcee urging the assortment of bloggers and reviewers to come over have a dekkho and clean up the mess .The Vehicles though dirty had a strange beauty which required a #selfiemoment with them and they gladly  obliged (link &picture attached https://twitter.com/shevititan/status/759273623106519040.

Age is just a number , its the spirit that counts and everyone was invited to come over and put mud on the vehicles and then the most interesting part of the clean up . We all love playing with water. We played our version of holi with a modern day pichkari aka a high pressure washer which was hugely efficient , easy to navigate , light and simple . (Link and picture attached https://twitter.com/shevititan/status/759278705537581056

We were shown different models of the high pressure washer and what i liked was how the product was integrated with the event wherein everyone was urged , encouraged to have a go at cleaning the vehicles using the different combinations of the high pressure washers.

Rain did not want to miss out on the fun and it looked like the raingods also wanted to do their two bits in cleaning up which forced all of us to take solace whilst the discussion during the lunch break was all about Bosch's new products , its configurations and the pricing

Everyone had a good product experience at the launch of the high pressure washers looking at the smiles of all the bloggers, reviewers gathered there . After all who doesnt like playing with water and cleaning up.( Link & picture attached -https://twitter.com/shevititan/status/759287423356456961

 The range of high pressure washers looked they were invented for life making it a fun experience for everyone. If you are looking at getting your vehicles clean and dry come rain or shine ..Bosch's high powered washers might just work for you ..