The old old thing

There's something seriously wrong with Indian hockey. I'm not talking about the squabbling in the Indian hockey association. It's our team that bothers me. We're starting to consistently stink up the place. I watched India get drubbed by Malaysia (4-1) just now and it's a sickening feeling.

I think almost every Indian hockey lover remembers the golden days and wonders when we'll reach the greatness that is our legacy. Not in a long, long time if we continue the way we are going. We've tried different Indian coaches, we've tried a foreign coach who rubbed people the wrong way (and wasn't really a great coach anyway) and we still come up way short.

What we need is a coach who is a professional, who will make sure that India plays like a team, and who'll pick the best players, and who'll change the way we play. There is an absolute lack of creativity in the way India plays now-a-days. We rely on individual brilliance and there is no concept of a team.

We need to get a coach with proven success in the international field, who'll teach the Indians how to adapt to the "new" style of hockey. If he charges a great deal, borrow some money from the BCCI and pay him. We can pay the BCCI back when we win some tournaments, and when the success comes so will the sponsors.

It's such a joy to watch the Indians play when they are in full flow, but lately that's been rare and it happens in spite of the coaches not because of them. There is talent in the country, but it's how we use the talent and how we adapt to the "modern" game that will determine whether we're bottom-dwellers or whether we're back to the glory days.

Hockey is our national game, it's time to reclaim it.

Yesterday's rains in Bangalore

I took these pictures from my balcony yesterday. The rains just came without a warning (the met department didn't have a clue) and the amount of water and the force of the water was amazing.



PS: Click on the photos to see ones with better resolution.

Shrapnel's Intellectual Pursuit

If you're a heavy metal fan, Shrapnel is a band that you must check out. Even if you don't like metal a great deal (I'm one of those heathens), it's worth checking out the songs because Shrapnel's put together a decent collection of original music. And these guys are still in college!

Here are some thoughts on the songs that I liked. Keep in mind that I'm not all that much into metal. Also, check out the song samples for yourself and make up your own mind.

When Doubt Takes Over starts with a lovely riff and the tension built up continued through. I loved the thrash-metal kind of sound on this song and I liked the lyrics too.

What do you do when you become your worst enemy?
Your constant paranoia affects your sanity,
You’ve worked so hard to be the person that you are
You feel like giving up, the end seems so far

Deep, huh?

Catharsis starts off nice and slow, gives you an almost surreal feeling in the intro. Then, the distortion guitar pierces through. I liked this one the best.

The only slightly negative observation that I had was that the drums didn't really sound like they were a part of the music, in the sense that the drums stood out from the guitars and the bass. It's probably my speakers!

To find out how you can buy Shrapnel's music, go to their Store. The price (at least in India) is Rs. 100 and you get a lot more than just a CD. Yeah, I'll be getting an album in the near future.

And, maybe, get to see them live sometime.

PS: My friend (we refer to him as God), who's an amazing guitarist, remarked yesterday that Shrapnel is a great name for a band and I agree. It's a kick-ass name.

PPS: I could be wrong but I felt that the sound on Perspective Intolerance had a Randy Rhoads kinda edge to it.

TOI quotes bloggers with NO attribution

The Bangalore Times "supplement" of this morning's Times of India (TOI) has an article called Sabre-rattling in cyber space, which talks about the controversy about Indra Nooyi's recent comments. (I'm not going there.)

The article discusses the reaction of the blogosphere to the controversy and essentially is a collection of quotes from (what appears to be) different blogs. What was interesting was that the writer (Panchalee Thakur) did not mention even one blog's address. Are journalists this unaware of acceptable use and quoting policies? Or is this just journalistic hubris? When bloggers quote each other, there's always an attribution. How come a big newspaper like TOI sees no need to do this?

Or this it just not surprising anymore, given the way journalism is going now-a-days?

VH1 -- Behind The Music and more

If you're a fan of rock music (mostly) and love to know about the people behind the bands, VH1's Behind the Music is the show for you. I just saw the Bon Jovi story and I enjoyed it. You learn a lot about the bands, the people behind the band, the (mostly) tragic stories, and the show is put together quite nicely.

VH1 plays a lot of the rock classics and does not play any Indian music. If you're sick of hearing the same stuff on MTV India, Channel V, and the other music channels, this is a channel you must watch.

And, if you're not getting VH1, go and hit your cable operator on the head with a rock or something.

Concert Rumours

The venerable Bangalore newspaper (not!) The Times of India reported today that Eric Clapton might be coming to India sometime this year. In the same article, there was a mention of Steve Vai coming to India as well. (For those of you that haven't heard of Steve Vai, he's an awesome guitarist, one of Satriani's students, and the other permanent member of G3.)

During the Mark Knopfler and Satriani shows, I heard rumours that The Eagles were coming to India sometime this year. Then, there was talk of Megadeath coming to India as well. All of these are unconfirmed but it'll be nice if we get these concerts in India.

PS: Niranj, thanks for the info.

Meeting fans at concerts

I went to the Mark Knopfler concert in Bangalore alone. I met three guys there and I met them again at the Joe Satriani concert (alone again because my friend was sick and couldn't make it), so this time we hung out together. At the Satriani concert, I met five or six more people, including one American from Annapolis, Maryland, who's working with an NGO in Bangalore! I also met a guy from a band called Shrapnel, a heavy metal band, whose songs you can hear here.

There was something about this Satriani concert though--all the fans were friendly and the atmosphere was really nice. We shared sips of water and Red Bull, whenever we were able to get a little "donated" to us.

Maybe music does bring people together and in a broad sense so does art.

Satriani scorches Bangalore

In one word--awesome. I'd seen Joe Satriani play in the US before and he never did anything like what he did in Bangalore. Joe said during the show, You guys are crazy. And we were. Read on, you'll understand why!

I reached Palace Grounds at around 2.15 pm in the afternoon. Scheduled gate opening time: 5.15 pm. I walked about half a kilometere to find that there were no gates. The sound check was going on and Jeff Campitelli (the drummer) was on stage checking his drum kit, and taking a LOT of pictures. Jeff came down to the ground and every fan who was out there got to meet him. He was really down to earth and signed autographs, posed for pictures, did everything a fan could ask for. Jeff, you rock!

We then waited in the only shaded place in the ground, by the sound booth. I met a couple of more fans, one of whom had waited there from 10.30 am, another who came in from Chennai but was there before me. And I thought I was a crazy fan going there three hours early.

When Satch came on stage with his floppy hat, we shouted and he waved to us. He went to the left-side of the stage, picked up a guitar and started warming up. Even in his warm up exercises, his fingers were moving like a locomotive (in slightly slowed motion) and it was fluid.

Joe plugged in and then the sound check began. We heard him play one song before the event organisers then decided that they wanted to show us who was boss, so we were escorted out. I don't think Joe cared that we were there but the event organisers (Opium Events) had to show their power. They'd hear it from us later, when we booed them.

So, we waited, just outside the "gates" (there weren't any) and saw Joe do his sound check. We could hear him clearly and see him but the stage was about a 100 metres away. Anyway, the sun was beating down and it was hot and there was no water available. The local help decided that they needed gates, so while we were standing, they put up temporary "gates". Every fan out there was commenting about how DNA Networks would have done a much more professional job. Thinking about it now though, I'm happy that Opium was a little unprofessional. We got to meet Jeff, got to see Joe. Maybe we like unprofessional huh?

Then again, maybe not. We were supposed to be let in at 5.15 p.m., but that was delayed for about half an hour. Before that, we had to fight with the event management guys (Global Inc) who told us that they wanted our tickets. Each ticket has two parts, the part that the organisers keep and the part that they give the fans. Now, Opium and their partners (cronies) had given whole booklets of tickets to companies, so they didn't have the counterfoils to produce (for tax purposes), so they wanted our entire tickets. Of course, this got the fans mad. I've been to a number of concerts, I've never given away my ticket. Any fan knows that a concert is a souvenir that you keep. We argued, we shouted, we finally got the guy to agree to tear only 20% of the ticket. My ticket now says, E Satriani. I'm still mad about that.

I'd met three other Satriani fans who were at the Knopfler concert, so all of us were together, at the front row. We were in the hot sun, no water, and we had to drink Pepsi (not exactly the best substitute) to beat the thirst.

Add to that the fact that we had to listen to a heavy metal band (Brahma) open for Joe, it was sheer torture. I've not yet heard an Indian metal band that doesn't sound like Metallica and these guys didn't disappoint me. I must admit that we weren't too well-behaved at this point because we were mad at Opium Events and the band had connections with Opium.

When I think about now though, the "pain" was all worth it, but Opium could've made it better for us fans. There was a guy from Opium, Shaiz Zeus, who gave us some water, and a sip or two of Red Bull, juice; he was a life-saver. Note to organisers of rock concerts -- Provide WATER.

Anyway Joe Satriani made an entrance at about 7.15 pm or so and man did he rock. As soon as Joe came in, the crowd went nuts. When he started playing, we all chanted the tune of the song. It was crazy. The crowd was going, Oh, oh, oh-oh,.... Who needs lyrics?

The energy of the crowd was amazing and it was matched by Joe. He was jumping, he moved around the stage, and he looked liked he was having a blast. I've not seen Joe moving around so much (he didn't when I saw him in Columbus, Ohio) and playing to the crowd, and I think Bangalore's got to get some credit for that.

Every fan that I spoke to was there because they loved his music and I think almost all of them played the guitar. There was this girl near me who split my ear-drum shrieking every time Joe played a hot riff, she was a guitar player to. So was the girl standing next to me. (No, I was there alone!) There's a reason bands come to Bangalore--the crowds are knowledgeable, the fans *know* their music, and the energy we give off is amazing.

For me, the fact that I could see Joe up close, see his fingers move (effortlessly), hear the blindingly fast riffs, see him do all sorts of things with a guitar, it was well worth the price and some more. As the Mastercard ad goes, Priceless.

I loved all the stuff Joe played (for almost three hours) but I was really thrilled when he played Always with me, always with you, and Going Down. He played stuff from almost all his albums and ended with Flying in A Blue Dream, a perfect end to a perfect concert.

It was a dream come true to see Joe Satriani live in India and I'm glad that he made it. He said that he'd come back (there were chants of G3 during and after the show). I have a feeling, based on what I saw, that he will come back. I, for one, will be there when he comes next.

PS: This is an edited version of the review that I'd posted on the Satriani website. Yeah, I realise it's long.

-----Updated on May 25, 3.25 p.m.-----

I got an email from the guy who gave us water. Turns out his name was Zeus and not Shaiz as I'd written. Apologies. He mentioned that there was water available at the concert. (I didn't find any when I'd asked around.) He also clarified that the problem with the tickets wasn't caused by Opium Events. I thought I'd give you his side of the story as well.

Shiok, it's different and it's delicious

If you like Oriental food, Shiok is a place you must visit. Madhu's restaurant serves up dishes like you've never tasted before--at least not in India. The restaurant is a nice, comfortable place to enjoy a good meal.

I've had Madhu's Thai red curry both times that I've visited his restaurant and I recommend the dish. This time around, I tried the Drunken noodles (chicken). Flat noodles (not pasta!), Chinese style--superb. I also tried the rice wine ginger soup (don't remember the exact name) which was a clear soup, where you could taste the wine and the strips of ginger added to the already flavoursome soup. Good again. There's also stuff for vegetarians on the menu.

Here's what Madhu (better known as MadMan) writes on the Shiok website:

"Shiok" (pronounced 'she-oak') is a Malaysian-Singaporean slang word roughly meaning "damn good", "heavenly" or "yummy" that is a common expression of their love of good food. We try to recreate the same Asian magic in our kitchen.

I'll attest to that--the food was yummy. Go try it. Shiok's on CMH road in Indiranagar. Visit the website for directions.

A woman's worst nightmare

India seems to be fast becoming a woman's worst nightmare. A couple of weeks ago a girl was molested by a policeman in Mumbai. The cop was apparently drunk but man oh man, these are the people that are supposed to be protecting us. And, this incident happened in a city considered to be the safest in India for women. Even more recently, a woman was dragged into a car and molested in Delhi. What is going on in our cities and villages?

That's not all. What's even more disgusting is the kind of sensitivity shown to the rape victims. The judge on another rape case actually asked the victim to show up and answer the accused's intention of marrying the victim. She told the judge that she'd like to see the guy hang.

Shiv Sena, in response to the Mumbai rape, said the following in its magazine Saamna:

There seems to be a competition among youngsters to show their undergarments in the name of ‘below-waist’ fashion,’’ says the article. ‘‘It is no longer feasible for a family to roam on Chowpatty. To see girls dangle a cigarette openly is worrisome. If a man is incited by such clothes, who can one blame?

(I didn't read the actual magazine but I got this from this article in the Indian Express.) Here's more wisdom:

Another senior leader, Pramod Navalkar, said, ‘‘We are compromising with our culture. The manner in which girls behave and socialise today is exceeding all limits. In the good old days, girls from Ghatkopar would not venture to Chowpatty.’’

It's disgusting to read statements like these. These are the same people who want couples not to display affection in public or probably even go back to the women being in the home, preferably in the kitchen. Neanderthals!

The person who's committing a rape, he won't care about whether a woman is wearing a bikini or a burkha. He'll do it anyway. To say that a woman who's wearing skimpy clothes is inviting a rape is sheer nonsense. And all this traditional bullshit doesn't work either. I don't think women in villages wear low-cut jeans or whatever else is "non-traditional" in our moral police's views.

What we need to do is to make the streets safer for women in India. It starts with stopping the eve-teasing, the jostling in buses, and even the way rape and molestation is (disgustingly) depicted in movies. While the police have to do a better job, so do we as ordinary citizens. I've quoted this before and I'll do it again:

All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. -- Edmund Burke

It's the people stupid

I went over to the Citibank office this morning to get my address change done. (Read my earlier post on this.)

I met the manager. She remembered me because she was the person that I'd handed the last letter to, the one that caused the latest screw-up. She typed up an email right away (while she was talking to me) and sent it off. She listened to me and disarmed me completely by agreeing that Citibank had "messed up big time" (her words). I went away thinking, I was angry when I went there, I'm not angry anymore.

Why? Partly because, I met a real person, flesh and blood, who listened to my problem and who did something to fix it. See, she's part of this organisation that I was upset with (and I still am) but the way she treated me, I'm less upset with the organisation (Citibank) than I was yesterday.

Automation is great. I love being able to check my balances at any time in the night. I love being able to transact wherever I am. But, there are still some things that as a customer need me to meet with people, face to face. Organisations must have face to face contact with customers, even if it's limited. If the employees (who meet customers) in an organisation are customer friendly and find solutions, you can BET your behind that the customers will be happy with the organisation. It's that simple.

Now, I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that the address change will happen.

Address changes and Citibank

40 days.

It's been 40 days since I gave in an address change request to Citibank and it's still not been done. Actually, it was done, and Citibank messed it up again. So, my day counter is back in action again.

Citibank discourages you from going to their office. Almost all the transactions have to be done either by phone or online. They discourage you by charging you if you go to a bank for a transaction. Almost everything is electronic.

How do you change your address then?

I said almost! You write a good ol' fashioned letter. And, since their head-office is in Chennai, you either drop it off in their Bangalore office (MG road) or you mail it to them in Chennai.

They lost a letter of mine that I dropped off.

Also, they don't do changes in their Bangalore office. They send it to Chennai. So what needs to take less than a day takes about four to five working days. Why? Because I guess that the "system" (or database) is in Chennai. Wow, all this from a global bank.

You can transfer funds from your accounts, you can order demand drafts, you can pay anyone, you can do almost anything online from your Citibank account, but you can't change your address. Apparently, your money is not as well guarded as your address.

Your account is guarded by a telephone PIN, an ATM PIN, and an Internet Banking PIN. I wonder if they'll have an address change PIN soon. It'd make things less complicated than this for sure.

Phenom's Unbound

Phenom is a rock band in Bangalore (and I'm a dolt for missing them for so long) that I heard about from Atul Chitnis, but didn't bother to check out until a few days ago. I downloaded a song (Unbound) from their album Unbound and I loved it. Super guitars, lovely vocals and keyboard, and they sound polished and tight. I'm downloading the rest as we speak.

Here's some info about Phenom from their website:

When someone asked Phenom how they got their name, lead vocalist and bassist Gaurav answered "as a college band, we didn't have a name, so our audiences named us Phenom, and the name stuck".

This, in a way, symbolises the laid-back approach Phenom has towards this whole "band business" - focussing intensely on their music, and less bothered about the trappings and publicity parts.

Hope to catch them live sometime.

Sunday Jam

In keeping with my rediscovered passion for live music, I went to St. John's auditorium in Koramangala to check out the Sunday Jam. This is a regular event (first Sunday of the month), which used to be held in some faraway place called The Club.

The highlight of the evening was supposed to be a band called STOMP (no relation to that wonderful New York dance group). I wasn't impressed. In fact, I left after two songs. One of the lead guitarists was a prima donna who was gesticulating to the mixer guy when the song was in progress and making all sorts of expressions complaining about feedback which we could not hear in the audience. Maybe they should've brought their own sound guys too.

The band that did impress me was Surfer's Saga, a band made up of four doctors from St. John's. I liked them because they played a couple of Satriani covers and nailed them. Senthil, the guitarist, was just awesome and he added his own improvisations to an already fast Raspberry Jam Delta V. The band was tight, they looked like they were having fun on stage, and they sounded good. I spoke to these guys later and that's how I found out that Joe Satriani is coming to Bangalore. Woo hoo! It's amazing the number of Satriani fans I've met in concerts in Bangalore.

A couple of observations about Bangalore's music scene. There are a lot of talented musicians in Bangalore. There are a lot of heavy metal fans in Bangalore. There are also a lot of bands that have not figured out what they want to play, so they play everything, from metal to pop. Identity crisis I guess.

But there's nothing to beat live music. Now, if they could do something about those mosquitoes at St. John's.

Joe Satriani in India

Yes, it's happening. Here's info from Joe Satriani's website.

May '05
13 Fri MMRDA Grounds Bombay, IN
15 Sun Salt Lake City Grounds Calcutta, IN
17 Tue Palace Grounds Bangalore, IN

Here's information about the tickets.

Joe in India Tickets go on sale May 3 and are being sold by Planet M, the leading music store in India. For any group ticket sales, an email should be sent to info@opiumevents.com.

All this info, because I happened to attend Sunday Jam and spoke to Surfers Saga, a band that played a couple of Satriani covers. (More on this event later.) Glad I went instead of sitting and home and watching TV.