Blow-by-blow Account

28 March 2005: Exciting last day play in the Bangalore test. Pity India lost. (Imagine losing to a Pak team that is without the Rawalpindi Express!)

27 March 2005: Wrote Xanadu. Saw a non-descript fusion flick, Where is the Party Yaar, which seemed to have frozen India in a time wrap.

26 March 2005: Had a quiet Holi. Wrote brutes in the bottle. Soven set up her blog at soven.blogspot.com. I hope this would get her blogging and connect to a wonderful world of creative people.

25 March 2005: Saw Tango Charlie at Chanakya. A pedestrian film with a weak script. Two redeeming features: Ajay Devgan’s acting and Nandana Sen’s cameo role.

24 March 2005: Interesting and event packed day. Inzy scored an unbeaten 184 in his 100th test at Bangalore. Went to Taj Mahal hotel’s Machan for the inauguration of National Geographic’s photographer, Mohit Midha’s exhibition, who crafted sensual emotions and natural visual grandeur in his series on wildlife and nature. Had invited NAP and Mai too (thank you, Ruchita) and am sure they enjoyed the experience. After Machan, we went to Delhi’s largest pub, QBA, where we had good food with some equally delicious conversation. The place has great lighting and is truly sprawling. We were touched when Mai said that Soven is like their daughter. I hope Tara and Soven become buddies as they grow into beautiful young people.

23 March 2005: Judging Amy is turning out to be an engaging serial on the Hallmark channel. Starring Amy Brenneman as Judge Amy Gray, the series juxtaposes Amy’s personal and professional life beautifully. Outstanding performance by the talented and great looking Amy who is a graduate of Harvard University. (Confession: I am a sucker for power women like Amy). The CBS series is based on the real-life experiences of Amy's mother, a State of Connecticut Superior Court judge.

22 March 2005: Soven’s personal website went live today. www.soven.in is now her home in cyberspace. Do check it out.

21 March 2005: Soven got her broadband connection at home today, and father and daughter had their first yahoo! chat late in the night. This is how it went:
soventrehan: Yo, ass!
santre: hi baby
soventrehan: wat r u doin?
santre: are u enjoying it?
soventrehan: first answer my ques, dorkus!!
santre: internet is a wonderful world but u must use it with caution
santre: babes i am talkin with u
soventrehan: u should really see that movie: papa, why do u preach??
santre: is that a movie doll?
soventrehan: gosh, wats wid ur antennas? Of course, it is...
santre: sorry i didn't know abt it
soventrehan: at least according to Meg Cabot
santre: cool
santre: i am sure u will make the best use of the Internet
soventrehan: Yeah...wid Adult internet, dont ya think?
santre: nopes
soventrehan: what, then???Should i be a sugaah girl??
santre: yes that you must continue to be
santre: pop's sugaah gal
soventrehan: can u tell me the names of some interesting sites? those which i might enjoy...
santre: go to google doll and search for the subject of ur interest
santre: and now u better go to sleep…

20 March 2005: Great day for Indian sports. India beat Pak by 195 runs, and NK finished 11th in the Malaysian GP. The F1 race was grueling and it was nice to see NK surviving the odds. His car may not be great but his team, Jordan, needs to be commended for believing in him. Went for dinner at Ritu’s place, and once again, we managed to delve into our wonder years. NAP and Mai were also there, along with their American friend, Joel, and we had great fun, as Ritu excelled in her hospitality.

Gokul, her hubby, is a very warm person, and he made me taste a great single malt called Caol Ila (Google on Caol Ila: “With its limited availability and its difficult name-- pronounced "cull-eela"-- it has been almost a secret Islay malt. The Gaelic word Caol is in English "kyle" meaning "sound" as in a narrow strip of water. Caol Ila means "Sound of Islay". The distillery, appropriately hidden is in a cove near Port Askaig. The water source for Caol Ila is the peaty Loch Nam Ban about a mile away from which the water flows through fields, arriving at a waterfall near the distillery. A bit lighter than its competitors, with less smoke and peat.”).

I also tasted a blend of four single malts called Green Label. This is what Google says about Green Label: “The Green Label jumps out like a single malt, but then takes the palette on a flavor safari that no one malt could travel, commuting back and forth from smoky, peaty Islay to elegant, floral Speyside. Unlike a blend, which typically will steer its components toward subtlety, the Pure Malt always maintains the edge of its pot-stilled parts. This makes an interesting taste exercise as you endeavor to pick out the single malts, which include Talisker from the Isle of Skye, Caol Ila of Islay, and Linkwood and Cragganmore from the Speyside Highlands. The nose is honeyed and perfumed, with cake icing, peat and a bit of cheese. The honey and smoke continue on the palate, joined by licorice as the cheese hint turns to sharp Stilton. The long finish is buttered toast with marmalade.” Sounds poetic, isn’t it?

Even the liqueur served was Galliano, which was super. Galliano, also known as Liquore Galliano, says Google, “is a sweet, yellow Italian herbal liqueur. It is flavored with various herbs, flowers and spices, including anise, licorice and vanilla, giving it a unique taste.” Mmm!

19 March 2005: Soven sent me her first e-card from megcabot.co.uk. This is what it says: “This is to Daddy super cool! U may not know it but i really appreciate whatever you have done for me...Love ya! + ur poems were super cool 2! So, here’s a card to say that you rock!

18 March 2005: Pitch Brainstorm session at The Ashok. While the first session on the changing demographics of the Indian consumer was disappointing, the second one on stock value versus brand value proved to be stimulating. A gentleman from the south called Dravid was outstanding in his exposition. Booked the domain Soven.in for 5 years. Sachin got a bad decision from Steve Bucknor, but as they say, it all evens out in the end.

17 March 2005: Dinner with NAP and Mai, Ritu and Gokul at DGC. It was very nice to have met my school buddy, NAP (Acronym for Nuclear and Astro Physicist), along with his pretty wife, Mai. Ritu is also a childhood buddy and we did relive a lot of old times. NAP is settled in St. Paul’s, Minnesota.

16 March 2005: First day of the Second India-Pak test at Kolkata. Pity Sachin got out at 52. Saving grace: he crossed 10,000 runs in test cricket. Other milestones: Buddy SB got promoted to the rank of VP. (I’m happy for him), Steve Bucknor is officiating in his 100th test, and finalised a new tenant for RP-I. Remix was a tad disappointing today, what with Anvesha in London!