A disappointing World Cup

I know that Spain was arguably the best team and won the World Cup. No doubt, the Spaniards deserved to win given that they played well consistently throughout the World Cup if you leave out their game against Switzerland. However,what disappointed me was the under achievement of Latin American teams. At the pre-quarters, it was hailed as a World Cup that would be dominated by the South Americans given that all 5 Latin American teams qualified. Alas, it was not to be. What ails Latin American soccer? Teams from the continent are supposed to play the most attractive soccer but yet, they failed. The reason could be that teams like Brazil changed their style of play and started trying to play more like the European teams. One thing that coaches like Dunga should realize is that you play to your strengths and not try to change your style. Portugal tried being too defensive and everyone knew how far they got. To win games and to win the World Cup, you need to play attacking soccer even if it means that your opponent could score goals against you. Brazil has been known for playing real attacking soccer but in this World Cup, the team was a shadow of its former self. Dunga left out great players like Ronaldiho suggesting a shift in strategy. True, Ronaldinho was not playing the best soccer of his life at that particular point in time but you just don't shut out a player of such class. Dunga deserved being thrown out after the World Cup. What ailed Argentina? I really don't know but I think they just had a bad day against the Germans that day. They really didn't deserve to lose 0-4. Uruguay was a bit unlucky in the third place play off and in the semifinals but then again, they were lucky against Ghana. Chile and Paraguay were good in patches but never showed that they were capable of playing on the 11th of July. I really hope that footballing giants like Brazil and Argentina really focus on their strengths in the next World Cup and stop trying to imitate the European style of play. The European style of play is efficient but not elegant save for teams like Spain. The Latin American style of play is magic and a treat for the eyes. Alas, we saw too little of the latter this World Cup.Some critics say that Brazil and Argentina are overrated. They are not overrated; they just didn't go all out. It is a long painstaking wait for 2014 but it might be one worth waiting for if we finally do see some magic....

Cricket-A sport that is useless

We Indians have been in love with cricket for ages and it is high time that we take a look at the sport and decide whether we really need to give this sport undue importance. This post has nothing to do with the fact that India is more or less out of the T20 World Cup. I am not a grief stricken fan. Far from that. There was a time when I was crazy about cricket. I was out playing cricket even before my board exam. I was young and foolish at that time. Those were my salad days. However, as I grew older and wiser, I came to realize that spending 7 hours in front of the TV to watch a sport that is played in reality by only 9 or so nations, is nothing but a waste of time. Of course, now we have the T20 but it still lasts for 3 hours or so. Cricket is played by a very few countries and is never going to gain the kind of foothold that a game like soccer has. I am not saying playing a game is bad and that spending 3 hours on a game is bad. Man needs his entertainment. That is not the question but the question is " Do we Indians need cricket?" We suck at all other sports and fare very badly at the Olympics. Cricket is a reason too why we do so. We give a lot of undue importance to this stupid game and therefore forget that to be respected as a nation, we also need to do well at the Olympics and in real games like soccer. I still cannot believe that a nation of 1.2 billion people cannot at least qualify for the FIFA World Cup. Add to it the fact that cricket is ridden with controversies and people who are ready to indulge in backstabbing at the drop of a hat. Our players are overpaid and overrated. Cricket is not even an Olympic sport. Why do we need such a useless game? What is the need of the hour is to start ignoring cricket and let it die its own death. It has to; otherwise, we Indians will always suck at other sports and games and idiots like Modi will take people like us for a ride. Modi is just an example. Think of it. Fans make cricket in India what it is . However, are we even treated right by the powers that be? I have always wanted India to do well at the Olympics and feel proud of it but alas, that seems a distant dream with a British imposed game like cricket still having a huge fan following in India. Does it have to do with the fact that we Indians can be easily manipulated by the powers that be or does it have to do with the fact that we have a lot of people who never grow up? I do not know the answer to that question of mine but I do know that cricket has to go away for things to get better for India on the world stage.

Blistering barnacles..he confessed

Why the fuck do you need a confession ?

I have been following the Kasab trial for ages . At last , the asshole confessed. Good or else some of our leaders without balls would have said that we cannot prosecute him because he has not confessed. I mean why do we need a confession ? Wasn’t everything caught on tape ? I am ashamed of how this trial was conducted and appalled at the shamelessness of our leaders. I mean give us Indian citizens a break . This asshole killed a lot of innocent people . It is not about him feeling remorse now .

I was furious when I read how many lakhs were being spent on keeping this guy safe . First of all , Kasab is small fry . Not many would want him killed ( I mean Pakistani terror groups ) . Second , why did this trial have to take so long . I think the guy himself felt guilty and got tired of the tamasha . He finally brought this to an end . Maybe, just maybe, some policemen with balls threatened him and told him to confess this time around . God knows what the truth is but I am glad that this guy finally confessed

I think the bane of India is our breed of politicians . They act in such a way to make sure that they get voted to power the next time too compromising on nationalism and patriotism .

Now , I wonder if some of our politicians will try and ensure he is not hanged . More idiocy is sure to follow . With idiotic politicians at the helm , that is the least one can expect.

Excuse my French .

Berlin U-bahn

Berlin is a big city and considered to be one of the best cities in Europe in terms of what you can do for fun.

You can come across a lot of people ( really diverse ) just by travelling by one of the umpteen U bahn trains or whatever you can call them . Now , U bahn means underground train .

One can learn a lot about people here by just observing people while you are on one of those trains . For instance, there was this black man or rather a mulatto listening to music and throwing his hands in the air as if he was beating on drums . Was he really enjoying the music he was listening to so much that he was oblivious to people around him or is he one of those show offs who want to get the attention of people ?

At another end , there were young girls ( Can I call them prepubescent? ) whose actions suggested that they were in their mid 20’s . One girl was making a lot of gestures while on the train apparently to one of her friends who was on one of the platforms . She was frantically making some hand gestures and there was this man who looked like he was a paedophile. He was staring at her so blatantly that I wondered if the girl noticed. Don’t get me wrong . I am not saying that he was a paedophile for sure . But , the way he looked at her made me feel that he was one . I was observing this man . Was anyone observing me ? I am not sure but I had like to believe that I am very subtle when it comes to staring at people or rather observing people. Oh then , you have the Turkish boys ( young ones at that ) and some German young girls who don’t think music has to be only heard by them . They think they should make everyone else on the train hear it too . : )

If we like it , so should the others …….

Last but not the least, there are the grumpy old women and men who give you stares that make you think they are racists but in reality they are not .
Strange how you can see a lot in just a ten minutes ride from point A to point B but this is Berlin , a city that most Germans consider to be another country .

In short , all I can say is Dolce Vita

Greece ( May 2009 )

I have been to almost 20 countries . Wait.I am not boasting but of all the countries I have visited in the last two years, I liked Greece the most . I am not talking about the countries I lived in .

Greece is very similar to India . Very similar . Take a look at picture no 3. I am sure I can show you places like that in India .

In Greece in general , people are friendly like us Indians and the situation on the roads can be as chaotic as on the roads in India .

There are many places in Greece that have Indian toilets in public places instead of Western toilets . There was an outbreak of some disease long back in Greece which spread through soiled Western toilet seats and hence the change .

However, in many public places, there are Western toilets without seat covers. How are people supposed to use them ? There are many people who look like Indians there . Must be the sun or something . If you intend to leave a tip for a waiter , make sure you leave the money behind like in India

Greece is one of the European countries where you still have people to fill your petrol tank for you just as it is in India . You can never see this in Germany

Greece depends a lot on tourism and some of its Islands are really cool . I was on Hydra Island during my visit in May . Not the best Island but it is more of an island for families. Technically , no vehicles are allowed and you can ride on donkeys to get from point A to point B or you can walk . And yes, Indians can get tanned too . he he . The water is crystal clear there . Notice the green tinge .

Italy has a lot of similarities with India too but maybe I will post on that later

In fact , I noticed that I get along very well with the Greeks and Italians . My best friends at work are two Greeks …Do all Indians get along with the Greeks and the Italians .I do not know but I think not .

Is God a figment of one's imagination ?

This is a question that has been asked over and over again that it sometimes bores you to death and yet I chose to get back to it .

I am no atheist and I blog often on sites hosted by atheists. Am I religious ? I think I am but my actions do not necessarily confirm that . I am not a regular churchgoer

I question my own religion quite a lot . Christianity that is . Wasn’t religion created to make people better and the world a better place ? Did it ? I do not think it did so overall .

So many atrocities have been committed in the name of religion . Christianity , Islam and Hinduism .

I think religion has been misused by narcissists to get to positions of power and there were many people who were dumb enough to fall for their machinations.

Haven’t you thought how powerful religion can be when people who have no proof that God exists go to great lengths to do anything to please this God ?

Does God exist ? I have no solid proof yet I have faith and one cannot prove belief. I believe because there are so many unexplained answers and because of personal experiences. Were these experiences just coincidence or were they indeed from God?
Many atheists tell me that science has almost all the answers. Almost is not all and not only that , we have not been able to create life yet . I do not mean primitive forms of bacteria or viruses that were supposedly created ( no real proof for that too ) .I mean beings like us . Of course, they have an excuse that they need more time . Take all the time you need. Yet, I am not sure they will get there.

I am not quoting the theory of intelligent design to support the notion that God exists.

At this point in time , I have my questions .

Why would God show special interest in only some people or at least why does it seem that he does ? Why does not God heal amputees anymore ? Why are children born with AIDS for no fault of theirs ?

All this does make me think and I am no mainstream Christian . I could even be deemed a heretic by Christian fundamentalists. That is not the point. The point of this post was to make you think and come up with answers if you have any .

Who is a racist?

This is a question that always comes to my mind .

If a waiter who waits on me does not serve me the way I would expect him to serve me , do I brand him a racist ? He happens to be in a white dominated country and I am not white . He happens to be white . Is he a racist ? Well , I could assume he was one but I am not sure he is one . If a police officer at the airport stops me and only people of colour like me in EU zones when I am flying from one European Union country ( Schengen ) to another Schengen country , and he or she does so to check if we are illegal immigrants when technically , there is no passport control , then hell yeah , this police office is racist or at least thinks people of colour are not as good as white people . Yet, when you highlight racism issues to some people including people of colour , they say that you are only trying to play the victim and what you have experienced is not racism but it is just a figment of your own imagination . That is what I call baloney . I think the people who accuse people of colour of raising false racism issues when they really have a point are either contributing indirectly to the cause of racists or are dumb ..I am being nice by stopping at dumb.

I mean if a guy came over to me and said, say that German waiter over there is racist because he served me late or did not say thank you , I would ask him to think again . Of course, he would be better off not going to that restaurant again because either way he stands only to gain . He can avoid poor service and he can also avoid probably being confronted by a real racist. But , if a guy says that he was harassed by the Police based on his colour and when it is clear given what he says , to brand this person as delusional is childish . Don’t get me wrong . I am not branding all white people racist . They are simply not . I have some very good friends who happen to be white but I have noticed a lot of racism is rampant in the developed world . Yet , when I do bring this up to a few whites, they get all defensive and some even get aggressive . Not all whites think stupidly though. They forget that all that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing .

Why is racism so rampant ? Is it a fear of the unknown ? Is it because they want to believe that people of colour cannot be better than them ? Or is it because they have a problem with their genes ?

I think in the developed world , if you happen to be too nice to people for instance at work , you are thought to be weak . Strange isn’t it ? Well , people here assume that if you are too nice , you are trying to cover up some of your disabilities. Twisted concept to say the least.

It also has to do with the inferiority complex of many people of colour . When they go abroad or they are with some white people , they try to do everything in the world to be like the white man or to please the white man .

Before I conclude with this post for the day , I want to say that I meant no offense but I know that I am not far from the truth . Am I an exceptional person of colour who has my own identity ? Am I a role model ? That is not for me to say . Can we combat racism ? Maybe, to an extent yes. You can either leave the country where racism is rampant or you can have your own identity and put a check on racism in places like say your work place by being assertive and by also giving the impression that you will not take shit .

Last but not the least, some of you who might come across this post of mine may say ,if I think racism is rampant in the country where I am , why am I here . Well , I was born in a foreign country and raised there. I have been to almost 20 countries . I like the international experience. I am not in love with the country that is my adopted home for now . I am just here to make money . This can never be my home . My home will always be the country which issued me a passport