Kashmir, tied by its own hangman’s noose
Crumble through god’s own living abuse
Ram, Allah, Christ and the Jews
Have always caused so much dispute

Ohhhh God, where are you?
But also, Why are you?

Blowing bridges in Baghdad to fulfill a greed
We have agreed, we want more than what we need
No water, no jobs, in the garden of stone
Eyes filled with tears, and mud filled with bones

aaa ayye aaa ayyyee

I have no faith, no God, I need it no more
I cannot recall, but we were better off before

Ohhhh God, where are you?
But also, Why are you?

You want some fu**ing rock
We wanna give you a lot
You want to get some in
We wanna get some out

But you seem to stand nowhere
And you gotta go there
Cause there is no-one here
That can make you go nuts

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

(Chorus)
We are rockers
With a bloody grawler
With a bloodless axemen
With a vandal basher
And the rest is badder

Well, that is all I remember. There was another verse - but its faded in my memories, just like my first guitar.

Lyrics - Yogesh

The 2010 Test match calendar is bleak. It is barred by the popular yet frivolous formats of the game namely ODI and T20. However, the ICC future tour programs must go on and this year we have few interesting test series.

India and South Africa playing 2 test matches in India. It is a shame, the worlds top 2 teams deserve at least a 4 test match series, if not 5. However, like a homeless man who prefers to sleep in the subway station than out in the open, I will take 2 Test matches over nothing. It is going to be a close series and India will triumph just marginally.

Next big series will be South Africa in the West Indies for 3 test matches. Most people don’t rate the current WI team. I am an exception. I think the team suffers from being compared day in and out with their highly successful predecessors. I see men in WI team that have tremendous ability to upstage South Africa. Gayle with his flair, Chanderpaul with his steel, Benn with his spin and Edwards, Taylor and Roach with their 90 miles per hour bowling are as deadly a test match team as there is one around. Barring any major injuries, I predict that series to actually be a draw. Make no mistake that South Africa is a highly talented, structured and motivated team. But there is something about WI at home, they are dangerous.

Next up is Australia vs Pakistan. Given the state of Pakistan, the series will be held in England. I don’t honestly see Pakistan team having any chance against the Australians in English conditions. It is unfair to Pakistan that they cannot hold test matches at home, but they are not a sharp team and there are no guarantees they would win at home either. I give that one to Australia - easy.

The last one is the mother of all series. The Ashes. England will travel to Australia at the end of 2010 and play 5 test matches. Oh boy, I derive more pleasure from The Ashes than I derive from anything else in the world. And I predict that England will uproot the Aussies at home this time around, and will retain the Ashes.

So nothing much will change this year - no team will take the claims to uproot India from number one slot. England team will move up - they will be the number 2 ranked cricket team in the world by the end of it, very closely followed by South Africa at number 3 position.

This is your cricket analyst, Shekhar Khera, siging off for StaleFresh, Chicago. Have a great cricketing year.

It all started when I decided to take a train to Lake Michegin. On the train I saw an old man whispering to himself. I took the seat next to him, scared of his appearance, but mostly intrigued to hear his mumblings. Within seconds I realized he was not talking to himself, but was talking to an empty seat in front of him. It seemed he was answering questions about the pain he feels in his arms. I looked around the bus and it felt like every passenger is staring at me. I was terrified to witness an old man taking to an empty seat, and every visible life on the train starring at me. It was like a nightmare and I wanted to wake up in haste. However, realizing that this is real, I decided to complete the rest of the journey standing near the metra doors.

As I was about to get up, the old man turned to me and said “Son, where do you get off?” I wanted to say Lake Michigan but in stead I replied ‘Chestnut’. It was not unusual for me to get off at Chestnut as most of my train journey’s end there. Brian, Tricia, Christine, Ravi and Andrew all live by Chestnut. But today I wanted to go to Michigan to sit by the lake and enjoy the much awaited sunshine in Chicago. However, out of habit and anxiety, I announced Chestnut to the old man. Before I could even correct myself, he said “God is great. Son, please help me walk to the taxi stand, my shoulders hurt”.

I was trapped. Now correcting my destination would suggest to him that I am ignorant and disrespectful. I felt the weight of ‘reputation of my generation’ on my shoulders and said “Of course Sir, Please don’t worry about it”. He smiled back and started his mumblings, in a much better tone. I looked around again and everyone was busy doing their own thing. It felt normal again. I browsed through my phone to check the metra schedule. The next train to Michigan after we get off at Chestnut will be in 15 minutes - I decided to ride that after assisting the old man.

I got off at Chestnut. Series of small incidents took place, and next thing I am doing is sitting in a Taxi with Mr. Davis and taking him to the Northwester Memorial Hospital. We reach there, and I alert the nurse about his shoulder condition. He gives me a huge smile and I leave him to get back to my life. I decide to skip lake Michigan and in stead go to Murphy’s for lunch, located at the corner of chestnut and Wrigley. The sky was clear and the sun was shinning bright, it was a perfect day.

I was sitting at the sidewalk area enjoying my lunch, and a girl stopped by and asked if I would recommend the food at Murphy’s. I smiled at her and said “This place serves the best calamari and home grown beer”. She looked up to the sky and said “I hear it is raining cats and dogs at the lake today. You did good to get off here in stead and enjoy the lovely day. The world goes around sharing the sunshine.” She smiled, and before I could even construct her words my head, she left. I was chilled to every bone in my body.

Who was she? The question has beckoned me often since then. Today I feel that I have my answer. She was a ‘choice’. I could choose her to be my faith or I could choose her to be a stranger who spoke some coincidental words. However, I do recognize at that point in time - it did not feel like a coincidence at all.

Within minutes, my wandering thoughts about ducks in the lake turned into excruciating realities of corporate crap that surrounds most of us in our 20’s or 30’s something. I mean here I am in a building that does not belong to me, on a desk that does not have my name, a laptop that I didn’t pay for, high speed internet that for the only time I didn’t ask for, and a telephone that I don’t want to ever pick up. These things keep me hostage, far away from the freedom enjoyed by the ducks in the path of my vision.

I find it ludicrous when I think about it. We are working for clients we barely know at a personal level, on unprecedented deadlines that have become a corporate fad, with attention to details that we woefully miss at the remains of our personal life, and relentless dedication that dooms us submerged into the depths of what I would like to refer from now on as the ‘corporate mafia’. Make no mistake - mafia it is. It makes you do the work, leaves you with no option, sets the rules, pays you enough for you to keep coming back, and ensures you are not around to see your kid play cricket. All these sacrifices so that we remain socially acceptable in this robotic society we have turned ourselves into with the turn of the centaury. This begs the question, have we forgotten the difference between what is ridiculous verses sublime?

The ridiculous being - all this slavery so that we can grow inches on our plasma, eat finer cuts of meat, upgrade to a new gadgets that we most likely already own, plan our next fancy vacation to wonderland, and buy a Tag Huer to tell us the time that we are loosing by the day. And the sublime being - spending 2 hours over a lunch on a Wednesday, calling friends and family for as long as you want, spending some time with the girl at starbucks that actually smiles at you and knows your name, and just be on a vacation without actually going anywhere.

Maybe I need to reclaim my life or maybe I just had a heavy work month. The point is that if we struggle to strike a balance, it is imperative we tilt towards the sublime than the ridiculous. Or else you will spend away like a sitting duck while the mafia will have the last laugh.

I have met many people, seen a bunch of different places, lived with immoderation, and in each of those times, life has meant different things to me. At times square in new york - it meant being someone famous one day, in new delhi - it meant being home and comfortable, at camping and rafting - it meant being adventurous, and in walking back home from indus river through fields in ladhakh - it meant being just organic. Working with colleagues at work - it meant being competitive, and working with clients - it meant being quick and witty. Spending a day fishing - it meant being free, while pulling a living fish out of water - it meant being just lucky to be on the other side.

Getting a cricket ball to spin a million miles - it meant being magical, and winning a game of tennis from the jaws of defeat - it meant being achievable. Riding on a horse that went wild and almost threw me in seven springs -it meant being a ‘close shave’. Life was giving me a valuable lesson every time, and it was up for me to simply grab it.

The same applies to human relationships which are typically more complex than your independent experiences with life. There is too much judgement and control in modern day human life. What to say, how to say, what to do, what to wear, how to speak, what to eat, where to spend, how to behave, what to ignore, what to accept.. to many floating questions in the air. These are like mini bombs that can mutilate relationships.

Good intentions, good acts, good thoughts and good behaviour are not good enough anymore. It goes back to the question of how you look at it? People who make an effort to see through others rather than just look at them, have a better chance of keeping the relationships around them simple. Once you can see through someone’s goodness, then every ritual or odd thing they do or say becomes frivolous. Otherwise, if you just keep looking at people as objects, then you are bound to question your relationships with them, which can never be good.

Sometimes you just think of things you’ve seen, and ponder upon the old memories that you have salvaged. I think of all the great people i’ve met, the relationships i’ve made, the places i’ve been, the pictures i’ve taken, the music i’ve enjoyed, the sports i’ve played and the sun sets i’ve seen. All extraordinary memories that I will cherish for life.

Signature room has an ambiance and service that you would normally associate with any fine dinning restaurant. On top of that, it is located on the top of the world and offers a breath taking view. The menu is reasonably expansive and I assure you that you will find your steak, or fish, or chicken or vegetarian entrée. I ordered myself a Scottish Salmon, and it was an absolute treat. Perfectly sauteéd and rich in flavor. I rarely get my wine right, because I am more of a beer guy, but this time I got a glass of Merlot which just blended perfectly with the fish, the bread and of course the great company I was with. In fact, my friend who is a hesitant guzzler at best, ordered himself the same wine after he did a little taste ride from me.

The signature room does not quite have the reputation in Chicago as far as the quality of food is concerned. Not sure if that is accurate because me and my friends were pretty darn happy with all our meals. Maybe they traded a chef recently, or maybe we were completely dazzled to distinguish between good food and bad food, or maybe we were so happy in each others company that everything else was just too petty. The amazing part is that the food is actually not that expensive. An entree is about $30 USD, and a glass of wine is about $10 USD. I have paid a lot more money for meals at worst places.

There were a couple of things that they could have done better. Firstly, when we entered the restaurant, it smelled like fish. And I know that it is one of the hardest smell to get rid off specially if too many people are eating it, but come-on, who wants to be greeted by that odor? But very quickly it just disappeared as our senses made the adjustment. Secondly, the butter that was served had a hard texture which made it a little bit of work to actually grease up the bread.  I really can’t think of any other issue with either the food or service or ambiance. The sum and substance is that I would highly recommend this restaurant. Try and grab a seat on the north or south side and just blend in. Thumbs up!

I read the book couple of years ago and was truly captivated with the God vs Science battle, if I can put it so simply. Angels and Demons is about how Illuminati’s - a name that refers to a group of people including scientist and architects, who wants to take their revenge on the church by killing the cardinals who are trying to elect a new Bishop in Rome. It is a pretty intense plot with suspense all the way till the end. The movie is well shot, and the screenplay is exceptional. It explains the cause of Illuminati’s anger against the church, the reasons behind how and where and when are the cardinals executed. Of course, it’s fictional but it is also very real in some ways.

It is but natural to compare this with Da Vinci Code, and I think Angels and Demons as a movie is a clear winner. It retained all the cliche’s of a Dan Brown book, but a lot of other serious stuff has been stripped away. Not every scene has a reference to the source of a Novel, which made Da Vinci Code a bit of a drag. A lot more liberty has been applied to characterisation to make them look Hollywood ready.

The flip side was acting for me. Not a single performance that you can even nominate for the Oscars. It was the script and screenplay that kept me going, the actors (including Mr Hanks) were just very ordinary. So much was happening around them, the entire city was on the verge to collapse, cardinals were dying, the time lines were so tight, but they were just simply going through emotions and vomiting their dialogues.

Would also like to bring to your notice, that the friend I was watching this movie with was taking cat naps regularly in the theater. But I would not read too much into it.. seriously!

Next to my home in a lonely house,
There lived a boy who’s name was Kurt,
More than any other thing, he used to play Guitar,
And I knew there and then, he is gonna be a star

Then one day I met him down the street,
His face was blue and spirits green,
I asked him the reason, and he started to dry,
Cause his dad had made him come kill someone

(Chorus)
Hey God, will no one try to understand him?
He’s livin life in the black streets,
Will no one try and stand beside him,
And save him from this big bad world,
Poor Kurt, Dear Kurt!

Far from my home, in another town,
There lived a girl, her name was Jennifer,
She was beautiful, with a perfect figure,
A future super model, even fools could figure

Few months later, at a coffee shop,
She looked so pale, and wanted to drop,
When I asked the reason, she started to cry,
Cause her mom had made her, f*** someone,

(Chorus)
Hey God, will no one try to understand her?
She’s livin life in the dark streets,
Will no one try and stand beside her,
And save her from this big bad world,
Poor Jennifer, Dear Jennifer!

Credits:
Lyrics: Yogesh & Shekhar
Lead Guitar: Yogesh
Lead Vocal: Shekhar
Base: Adarsh
Rhythm: Manav
Drums: Bhuvan