Wednesday, June 25, 2008

0 to 60 in 3 months!

Not a very impressive measure of speed and power, you say? In Bengaluru, this is not a measure of speed and power. Rather it is the number of dents, bumps, scratches etc. you can expect on your shiny brand new car.

My loyal readers are probably aware that Mona and I bought a car a couple of months ago. Since the time we bought the car, each one of us (the driver included) have had over a dozen minor driving incidents (doesn't make sense to call them accidents because they don't happen as frequently). These include bumping into a scooter, being hit by a truck, driving into a pillar, backing onto a pole, grazing numerous pedestrians and having lightning strike the car. OK, all the but the last one are absolutely true!!

How do you deal with this? You begin to embrace the adjust and move on mentality of India. These incidents rarely turn into a big production. Worst case there is a minor argument between the two injured parties and then everybody moves on with their lives. No police reports, no insurance claims, no exchanging of phone/license numbers .... just a dented and scratched car which can probably be repaired for less than $100!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

WiiMania hits Bangalore

Aanish has been pining for a Wii ever since the day that Nintendo announced it. Couple of years later, his wish has finally come true. Last week, I was in Los Angeles and was finally able to pick one up for him. Actually, thanks are due to Uncle Mitul who tracked down what seemed like the last remaining console in town. This was the day after I spent running all over town and paying a visit to Toys R Us, Best Buy, Target etc. to try and locate this elusive game.

Was the wait and the effort in acquiring this worth it?

The answer is a resounding YES! This new invention from Nintendo is really pretty cool. This thing is not just a game but you can get real time news, weather etc by connecting the Wii to the internet via your Wi-Fi network. Games are a lot of fun and all of us have been quite intrigued by this little white device. Summer vacation has started for the kids and the Wii will no doubt be this summer's blockbuster in our house!

Saturday, June 07, 2008

T20





No, no, no ... we are not talking about the twentieth installment of the Governator's Terminator franchise. T20 is the new format for the game of Cricket! Fans of the sport know that this Gentleman's game is a 5-day match between two teams played in two innings. While the classic version of the game remains wildly popular in India, the game was a bit too long for folks used to baseball, basketball, football etc. A One-Day version of cricket has been popular for years and now it is getting even shorter. The T20 format calls for a 20-over match and lasts about 3-4 hours.

Couple of Indian entrepreneurs formed the Indian Premier League. Teams are formed by assembling top players from around the world and auctioning them to individual teams. The game has all the ingredients of global entertainment - rich owners, temperamental players, controversy, bad boy behavior, cheer leaders and bollywood entertainment!

Over the last four months, teams (with interesting names such as Daredevils, Super Kings, Chargers, Challengers etc.) battled it out with the Rajasthan Royals emerging as the winners. Mona and Aanish because huge fans and cricket was blaring on TV almost every night in the house (unheard of in our house!!).

The tournament has ended but cricket has not. It has become a year-along phenomena with tri-series, one-day internationals, test matches etc. etc. The India/Pakistan/Bangladesh series is about to start soon and I am sure we will all stay tuned in!