Lara and Tendulkar

On a day when one of the world's best batsmen, Brian Lara faced yet another delivery from one of the world's best bowlers, Glenn Mcgrath, history was meant to be rewritten. The fascinating duels between these two has been a treat for the billions of viewers worldwide. It is a different matter that Mcgrath has dismissed him most number of times in Test cricket(15 in total) and it is altogether a different issue that Lara has dominated the Australian bowling attack many a times in the past decade. It is sheer destiny that Lara had to break Allan Border's record for most test runs in Australia against Australia, and by clipping Mcgrath for a single on the onside. Lara's feat today is a result of his stylish dominance over almost all bowlers in the world. The class and style evoked by the master is evident by that stylish backlift when he pulls the fast bowlers through the on-side piercing the gaps with ease. Lara can be attributed to have been gifted with a priceless sense of timing.

Now talks on Lara reminds us of another great batsmen of the era, the Indian prodigy - Sachin Tendulkar. The Bombay bomber is in a league of his own and has dominated bowlers in ruthless fashion. Playing for 16 years is no joke at the international level and he might be the next one in the line to break Lara's record. He will definitely perch himself in a level that would be impossible for the others to overtake in a jiffy. Considering the number of years he has left in him, one can expect a lot from the Indian master blaster. So, this inevitably leads us to the question - Lara or Tendulkar? Let's stack up the stats!!

Lara has played 121 matches and has raked in 11,000 odd runs surpassing Allan Border. He is three short of the world record of the number of centuries. He has an average and figures that do not interest me. We can similarly raise nice figures for Tendulkar to make his resume look good. There are some innings where both the players have beaten the scruff out of the opposition.

Some innings I cherish

1) I vividly remember the first test at Madras in the 1998 Australia tour of India. Shane Warne dismisses Sachin for 4 in the first innings and Australia take a crucial 80 odd runs lead. The second innings witnessed Sachin at his blistering best, a sold 155* against a high quality pace and spin Australian attack. The Australians were blasted out into the black hole created by the Master.

2) A match against Pakistan peps up any Indian fan, and it is easy to imagine how much of a pressure the cricketers of both sides will have to put up with. Madras match again. Sachin notched up an innings of very high quality by putting up 136 runs, a match which saw India go down by 16 runs. This is where one can notice the key difference between him and Lara. Lara generally ends up finishing the match for the West Indies.

3) World Cup 2003 : Team India had to chase 274 runs in The Centurion and Shoaib Akhtar had said in the pre-match reports that he planned to target Tendulkar. But by the first over, the equations had reversed. Tendulkar demolished Akhtar out of the attack by taking 18 runs in his first over. Akhtar and Pakistan were devastated. That was full flurry unleashed.

4) I think it was the 1996 test series against South Africa in South Africa. The touring Indian team had a terrible team under Tendulkar's captaincy. It was the second test match of the series. He wilted an aggressive South African bowling comprising Allan Donald at his best, Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Fanie de Villiers. He scored a brilliant 169 at the Cape Town test and also shared a fantastic stand with Mohammed Azharuddin. Sachin also scored in similar fashion about five years later when India again toured South Africa, but this time scoring a superb 155 in the company of his disciple Virender Sehwag.

5) How can anyone forget the Sharjah Innings where he single handedly destroyed Australia in one of the most ripping innings in ODI!

Now coming to Lara,

1) A scathing 277 in SCG in 1992 against an Australian attack which boasted of Craig McDermott and Shane Warne. Most of the Cricket Pundits rate this as one of the greatest ever Test Innings of all time.

2) The BridgeTown test match where he single handedly takes West Indies to victory from the jaws of defeat. WI are 105/5 (as always) and chasing a target of 308 in the fourth Innings against the best team of the era, Lara single handedly plucks the match right in front of the Aussies' nose. WI won the match by a wicket and one still remembers the two balls that Courtney Walsh had to face from Glenn Macgrath. Lara had done it again!

3) The innings of 375 and 400 against England where in the first of the two, he creates a world record and in the next he reclaims the world record.

4) The 2003 World Cup where Lara launches an assault of terrific quality against the much hyped South Africans in the inaugural match. His hundred took WI to a victory against all odds. In an earlier instance, in the 1996 edition, he similarly defied a much superior South African bowling attack in the quarter finals to bring up a sensational victory.

Talking about both these players, one can go on and on about the skill and prowess both of them possess. It is a delight to watch the maestros bat. But at the end of the day, after unearthing the statistics and after inevitable comparisons, it seems that Tendulkar has never won a match when the chips are down. He might have gone on to play a big innings but it was somebody else who had to finish it off in the end, unlike Lara who single handedly battles it out in the crease. But both of them give their best against the Australians. It remains to be seen what the future beckons from the blades of two of the brightest stars in world cricket.

PS : Please don't ask me how in the world I had the time to compose a big one!

Eden Gardens clean bowls India

A big match in Eden Gardens, Calcutta is generally a moment to savour. But what happened on 25 November, 2005 is really hard to take. Most of the Indians would like to forget what happened that day not because of the terrible all-round performance by the Indians but because of the way the crowd pulled its weight in South Africa's favour. Come on! One can't support the opposition just because your state player is not playing for the country. The truth is Sourav Ganguly did not deserve a placed in the one day squad going by his current form. Current form! He has been going through a bad patch for the last two years. What more does he expect from the selectors? But, what does Calcutta do? It shows its disappointment by ridiculing the home team and applauding the visitors. There is definitely nothing wrong in applauding the opposition's performance but why turn hostile to a team that you have been supporting for the last how many ever years.

It is a funny story. Calcutta turns hostile because one of its favourite sons is discarded from the team. Does that mean they are doing a favour by turning hostile to the others. It was a shame to see such a crowd in the best sporting ground in the country. It was the same crowd that reacted badly to Sri Lanka's semi final loss in the 1996 World Cup. These were the same guys who cut loose when Tendulkar was given out in controversial circumstances in the Asia cup test match against Pakistan at the very venue. So, where did they lose all the patriosm in a jiffy? In any case, I don't mean to justify the earlier actions from the crowd, but it just goes to show how things change drastically in such a short span of time. Sachin, Hai Hai and Dravid Murdabad are not the kind of reactions you expect from this cricket frenzy crowd. It certainly leaves a bad taste in front of the international community. If this is the case, there should have been riots in Bangalore when Rahul Dravid was dropped from the one day squad for a year in the late nineties. What about VVS Laxman? Hyderabad crowd should have indulged in mountain throwing (not just stone throwing!!) at the Indian players.

It is the overall interests of the team that have to be kept in mind rather than single out individuals. Sourav Ganguly has been a great player and a great skipper, but that is past as no player can rest on past laurels. One has to consistently perform at the international level to cement a place in the team. An Eden Gardens match is as exciting for the spectators as for the players. This may be the first time that an Indian team was dreading to play on one of its favourite turfs. It would have given a lot of jitters to the team to be hounded like this. I bet they wouldn't mind playing a match even in Karachi for nothing can get worse than this!

Luckily I did not get to see the match. As such, it was disgusting to see the reports in all the news sites. One match not worth remembering!

Salaam Namaste - Offbeat

A subject that has not been dealt effectively finally finds its way into the folds of Hindi cinema. It depends on the viewer's take on live in relationship. A simple story of a couple(not a married one) staying together just to find out whether they can be compatible in the future or not forms the backdrop of this movie.

Writing a review on Salaam Namaste at this point may not serve a lot of purpose for others, since I guess most of them would have watched the movie by now. But I had the opportunity to watch it after a considerable time thanks to the India Association here. As always, my punctuality deserts me at such moments and I arrived at the Physics seminar hall a good fifteen minutes late. But the good thing about Indian movies is that the viewer can follow the story from any given point. It doesn't matter whether one is fifteen minutes late or an hour late!

It is about two people, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, who have divergent set of views and though both of them lead their lives with different ideologies, have mutual feelings for each other. Saif is pretty keen on a long term relationship with Preity, though the latter is very doubtful of the both of them striking good chemistry. So, they decide to live in together for a few days and then see how the relationship takes shape before deciding to tie the nuptial knot. The early days goes on brilliantly before a series of events force both of them to decide whether they are making the right moves.

Now, to watch such a hindi movie after a lot of repetitive, cliched and boring themes leaves us with a pretty good feeling. It is not the run-of-the-mill movie where the hero and the heroine are running around trees and then finally decide to come together at all odds. The subject here is quite touchy and the director(I missed the credits. Remember I was fifteen minutes late!!) has done a good job to portray such a theme with ease. When most of the movies flash the The End message on the screen as soon as the hero and the heroine get together, here the movie ends once the two of them have stabilised their relationship after showing the viewers the pros and cons of a relationship. It is never easy to direct a movie of such a controversy prone subject(Kushboo and Suhasini can tell how controversial this is), but at the end of the day, a nice message is conveyed. But inspite of all that, the movie could have ended on serious overtones instead of getting meaningless comedy elements interleaved in the ending. It was totally disgusting to see Abhishek Bachchan(yes it is Abhishek in a guest appearance) wield his role as a doctor and that too with some slapstick comedy that was irritating.

Saif and Preity have done a terrific job. Dil Chahta Hai has made a big difference to Saif and he seems to fit any role to perfection with his good acting skills and he is one of those few actors these days who has a perfect sense of timing in comedy sequences. He makes it look really casual. Preity is as cherubic as ever, displaying lots of enthusiasm and energy, and springing to life with gaiety. Her display of emotions is truly commendable. It is not one of those movies where the actress has got just a job of pleasing the hero with her song and dance ability. She has a clearly defined role in the movie and plays it to laudable limits. Arshad Warsi, as Saif's friend in the movie, has played a good supporting role. He is the favourite of the masses after his fantastic role in Munna Bhai MBBS and here too, he does not let anyone down with his acting skills. Javed Jaffrey has been roped in for a very small role and I did not find anything exciting about his comedy. The songs are pretty lively and the cinematography is excellent capturing the picturesque locations of Austraila very well.

Overall a decent Hindi movie to watch and the offbeat theme breaks the dull lullaby of the old fashioned themes so often repeated in Hindi cinema.

Comedy unplugged!

Five days of holidays to look forward to is great, considering the kind of crammed schedule we have to put up with. We decided to spend the evening watching one of everyone's alltime favourite movies, Michael Madana Kamarajan. It was a long time since I had watched this movie and it was real fun to catch up with the old times again!! On any day, it is better to watch an old movie than risk watching a new meaningless movie and so we decided to go ahead with this entertaining Kamal classic.

A laugh riot

Seeing Michael Madana Kamarajan for the nth time does not give the viewer the chance to change his opinion on the movie. One Kamal Hassan is more than enough in a movie, but what do you do when you are put up with four Kamal Hassans for three hours. You just put up with him in glee!! There are some movies where you just hope the movie ends within the first ten minutes of the start, but MMK is totally different. At the end of the movie, the reaction is Oh! The movie has got over! This movie was released in the year 1990, but almost 15 years later, the movie can still be glorified for its comedy.

I will not be delving into the details of the movie. Obviously, everyone should have seen the movie more than once. It is about four sons Michael, Madan, Kameswaran and Raju who get separated at birth due to a conspiracy hatched by their father's brother. The movie basically deals with the tryst of the four brothers in various situations and how they come out unscathed to get together in the end. Kamal Hassan, as Kameswaran is a delight with his Malayali accent. His encounters with Urvashi and her paati(grandma) is a treat to watch. That particular sequence where a fish falls into a sambar in an Iyer aam(house) keeps the viewers in splits. The dialogues etched for that scene is unforgettable. I mean It is too good! Urvashi's oodles of talent is well captured, and no wonder Kamal Hassan speaks highly of her in any interview. Delhi Ganesh, as Kamal's father has done a little cameo. He is such a gifted actor that he fits in a role to sublime ease.

Kamal, as Michael plays a local goon and Madan is a multi-millionaire Kamal. Madan's personal secretary as well as friend is the Bheema of Mahabharata fame. Bhim boy is characterised in a peculiarly funny way, totally different from the angry young man we see in Mahabharata. Nagesh, as the corrupt secretary dons his role to perfection. The final Kamal is Raju, who is a part of the fire brigade. Roopini, Kushboo and Manorama have done a good job as supporting actresses, but it is Uravashi who steals the show with her dynamic prowess.

Kamal of course as expected steals the show. The supporting cast is excellent too. Every actor enacts his role to a nicety. Coming to the dialogues of the movie, Crazy Mohan has come up with unbeatable dialogues. There is not an iota of doubt when he is acknowledged to be the best dialogue writer in Tamil cinema. Ilayaraja's music is highly commendable. Isaignani's music fits perfectly in the movie. The sundari neeyum.. song and its picturisation is the highlight of the movie. Singeetham Srinivasa Rao has crafted a lot of movies with Kamal and the duo share a special rapport that has seen them come up with a number of hits - Apoorva Sahodarargal, Pushpaka Vimana, and Mumbai Express to an extent.

If merry making is the mantra, watch this movie to beat any time blues!!

The divine being

I sat back today on a real sleepy afternoon not knowing what to do. The film songs and the western musical appeared to fade away in pale insignificance. I wanted something different to recharge my batteries. A gloomy weather is no sign of an active mind. Lethargy grasped firmly in my mind, not allowing me to come out of its clasps. Then, I decided Why not listen to MS? By the way, I assume that everyone knows who MS is, because even a kid ought to know who she is. M S Subbulakshmi of course!!! A half an hour's worth of ethereal music transferred me to the highest echeleon of happiness and peace. Hanuman Chalisa, in praise of Lord Hanuman and Vishnu Sahasranamam, in praise of Lord Vishnu left me spellbound. That was divine incarnation singing. I can still recollect the face in my mind - the large kumkum on her forehead signifying the very embodiment of compassion and peace. She had captivated the billions of people around the world with that magical voice that could lighten your mood and gladden your heart. The only Indian to fill the corridors of the United Nations with her voice, she had achieved what one can only dream of in a lifetime. I don't know any other singer whose voice remained as good as that, even in the late eighties. Her death marked the end of an era, where she dominated right from start to end. It was domination even her competitors must have cherished. But then, who could compete with MS? Her sublime eternal voice fills every Indian household early in the morning to the enchanting Suprabhatam. MS, a once in a lifetime phenomenon, is not human art but divine grace perpetuated in her being.

Rahman(was) at his best?

On a cold saturday evening, just before going to the University, my friend and I were shuffling with the IPod hoping to hear some good music. The speakers came to life with one of Rahman's greatest muscial Pudhu vellai mazhai from Roja. That's when we had the discussion - Can Rahman ever recreate the magic of Roja? Roja was his first musical and this prodigious talent was identified by another versatile genius - Mani Ratnam. The combination has worked magic ever since, but inspite of a host of other movies for which they joined together - Iruvar, Thiruda Thiruda, Dil Se, Kannathil Muthamittal, Alai Payuthey and Ayutha Ezhuthu, none could come upto the expectations of Roja. Of course, these movies have fantastic music compositions and some of my favourites. Rahman has always delivered the best for Mani Ratnam, but the problem is that his first movie has surged ahead in such dynamic proportions that anything else from Rahman is only considered not even a close but a distant second best.

Roja had the freshness of life. Be it the jingles of Chinna Chinna aasai, or the foot tapping Rukumani Rukumani, or SPB's Kadhal Rojave, Rahman had broken the myth of conservative music. Undoubtedly the best song of the album, Pudhu vellai mazhai, people never knew that such good music could be juxtaposed in cinematic sequences. The music was an instant hit amidst the masses. Rahman had brought out the highest quality of music one could imagine. The cinematography accompanying the musical was nothing short of exemplary.

No wonder, my friend, when he talks of the latest Rahman compositions, he says, Come on! This is nowhere near Roja! That was the first Tamil movie I had seen in the theatre with family and friends simply because of the music. Today Rahman's standards have declined. He is not able to come anywhere close to what he was before.

In a way, my friend may be right, but then you can't get a Roja out of every movie. Definitely, some of Rahman's latest musical have been forgettable. There was a time when only one song in Rahman's album would not be upto the standards but today such songs are increasing in his album. The problem today is everybody is trying to emulate Rahman and that's making Rahman look as if he is getting repetitive. Every person has a Once in a lifetime experience, and Rahman had it in the first instant. Going by my friend, Rahman was at his best for only a single movie in that case!!

Lastly to quote my friend, If Rahman can come up with a composition of Roja's stature atleast once in ten movies, that would be great!

Obviously that would be great, but can Rahman do it?

Global Capitalism

The mail in my inbox read Dr. Andrew Bernstein of the Ayn Rand Institute will be speaking on the topic of global capitalism... I had no second thoughts. I am attending this seminar. I did not even know who Dr Andrew Bernstein was, but his affiliation to the Ayn Rand institute was more than enough to motivate me. Having read The Fountainhead, and in the process of reading Atlas Shrugged, I did not need a second invitation.

Let me tell you something. The motivation levels to attend a seminar at 7PM at the Havener Center is no joke what with the temperature tending to sub zero levels. The walk from the department to the Havener center and then back to the department chills. I was one of the thirty odd guys to be present in the hall. The talks on Capitalism was not on an economic point of view alone, but on the fact that how different parts of the world are in a better position today thanks to capitalism. He said how the Asian power houses are emerging due to the advocacy of capitalism. The per capita income shot to a new high in the last fifty years in Japan, China, India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and many other countries. He particularly talked about the entrepreneurship friendly policy of the government of Hong Kong, because of which the number of small scale industries sky rocketed. Even in Europe, apart from Russia - mainly Stalin's policies, there were many countries whose economic growth received a staggering boost due to capitalism. Poland, on this front, reaped the benefits. Of all continents, it is Africa that has to shed its confined policies and wake up from the slumber. There were many such examples that kept the seminar going for more than an hour. At the end he concluded with, if one has to support capitalism, then there has to be the following things

• Members from one country should be able to trade with members of the other country without any restrictions
• People should speak about the positives of capitalism
• Freedom to chose what you want - If you are getting a product from a store that offers less price, one is obviously drawn to that store

At the end of the seminar, there was the Q & A session and I wasn't too surprised when there were a host of questions from the audience. One of them asked How do we draw a line to curb capitalism if it is affecting the environment? The United Nations has set up a committee and a panel of environmentalists to look into the effects of Global Warming. What about that? The reply was I believe neither the UN nor the environmentalists. Man is way below nature when it comes to inflicting the nature. We do not have the power to tamper with the laws of nature. Economic growth is in no way related to the environment. We should promote industries in a big way and environment cannot be affected by something as miniscule as that. There are more damaging issues in the world. There should be a committee that has to be set up to study the occurence of earthquakes, sandstorms and tsunamis, where millions of lives are lost every year. There were other questions Should there be government intervention on setting up of new industries to study its bane since human lives are to be given paramount importance? What should be the role of such regulatory bodies? How come USA has a huge growth since the government is not entirely capitalistic? Is it possible that the great depression in Europe could have been indirectly due to capitalism?

I would have loved it had there been an environmentalist too. That would have added spice to the seminar. It would have been a classic contest between a full fledged supporter of capitalism and an anti-industrialist(rather an environmentalist)!

Given a good time frame, there might have been lot more questions except that he had to catch a flight from St. Louis early morning the next day. He said Those of you who haven't read the Atlas Shrugged, great! It is like a virgin waiting for it. Grab a copy!

If you want to know more about Dr Andrew Bernstein, you can visit http://www.andrewbernstein.net

The night of 13th November, 2005

I am sure nobody has any doubts regarding the popularity of India's most celebrated festival - Deepavali. Also called Diwali, it brings with it a fervour of activity and bliss all around. The whole of India gets ready to cash the excitement and goodwill that percolates slowly. India is secular by all right and Diwali takes the flavour of secularism to new heights. A festival that cuts across all religious barriers, whiffing past all caste, creed and colour, generating an atmosphere of agog is Diwali. In India, the preparations for the big festival start well in advance, and it is a time for happiness for everyone. Everyone has his own way of raking in the moolah to cash in on the good times!

Now, how do things change when you are abroad? Here in Rolla, the Diwali night is almost the biggest festival. People in and around Rolla gather in large numbers to witness the gloss associated with the event. This year, we had the Diwali Nite on 13th Nov, 2005. The auditorium was booked well in advance and the seating capacity of 700 looks miniscule considering the number of people who want a seat in the large atria.

The Indian student community is at the frenzy of activity with almost everyone trying to chip in, in some form or the other to be a part of such a large event. The cultural night has all the ingredients of an enjoyable evening - music shows, dance performances, presentations of the four corners of India, fireworks and not to forget the most important thing - fantastic Indian cuisine.

The food is cooked for about 750 people by the students. The cooking goes on for about two days and it was fascinating to perform the various permutations and combinations to add the right ingredients. To list the food items,

Sweets
Gajar Halwa
Kheer

Vegetarian dishes
Dum Aloo Kashmiri
Paneer Makhanwala
Jeera Rice
Vegetable Biriyani
Pineapple Raitha

Non-vegetarian dishes
Spicy chicken curry
Chicken biriyani

All this well supported by Butter Naan.

Certainly, this is enough to stimulate your taste buds! The food items were an instant hit with people coming back for multiple helpings to quench their hunger for good Indian food. Overall it was a fun filled night, and certainly the right occasion to get together to showcase India. Writing this blog and selecting the photos was a huge effort for me, what with having to take only 5-6 photos from around 600 pictures!

Break the shackles...

As my friend exposed me to the world of Pink Floyd, there were a couple of songs that really blew me apart - Turning away and Learning to Fly. Obviously, I was inspired to come up with my own version if not in a big way! Thanks Pravin (he shares my name but with a different spelling)!

A world that has become rhetoric,
With farce so often justified,
No real ways to come out with the truth,
Hope you don’t follow the line!

Dropping words that are only mystified,
Neither enlightening nor commendable,
Living with hidden traits and an individuality,
Losing its value over a period of time!

A non-existent peace of mind; where to find,
A sense of belonging lost; you are in a coterie,
Live to appease, but how long?
When are you coming out of the deja-vu?

A fixed pattern that is close to your heart,
It does require a lot of will to change,
You are in to herald a bright future,
A future not to be wilted, witness the sheen!

A long way to go, to face the world,
It is so easy to live the rest blurred,
You just have to break the shackles,
Live to leave an everlasting legacy!

Today!

In deep retrospection or rather introspection, I had a flurry of thoughts hitting me. This was just the right time to translate my thoughts to words!

It was the time of kings,
When there weren't many a thing,
A life full of joy and peace,
Every reason to feel at ease!

Today, the days of democracy,
Where life is getting crazy,
Many a people in the race,
To run the country through a maze!

In the darbar, subjects and ministers,
Many a talks, but none sinister,
A clear solution fell in place,
There was a feeling of solace!

Today, a mess of all sorts,
Leading a life full of torts,
Everyone fighting for fame,
But none to share the blame!

Those were the days,
When law had its say,
Morals and values formed the core,
People followed it without a sore!

Today, people have no time,
Anything other than a dime is a crime,
Morals and values today a sore,
Dime, dime and dime form the core!

True values have lost its meaning,
It is upto us to relive the feelings,
Of honesty, trust and mutual respect
Before it is wiped out; the last speck;

Masala Dosai....The most I miss!

Wow! Imagine the crispy nei(ghee) roast filled with ullakazhangu(potato) curry or more commonly called the masala coated with a layer of melting butter in your mouth. Whoa! What a feeling! The feeling itself paralyses me for a moment. Nothing in the world can beat the delicate roll of a masala dosai. Get me the dishes - burgers, pizzas, enchiladas, burritos.... I am sure nothing can come close to this most famous South Indian dish. The crunchy masala dosai gives a feeling of immense satisfaction and pleasure as it finds its way through the esophagus, conveying the dosai from the pharynx to the stomach ( I think I remember some Biology). Inevitably, back in India, a weekly bout of four-five masala dosais used to find its way into my stomach. Any hotel, any place, the dish used to be dosai. I am reminded of the number of new darshinis(stand-in restaurants) lining up the streets every other day. One place that stands out for fantastic masala dosais is Central Tiffin Room (Shree Sagar). This place is located on Margosa Road in Malleswaram just opposite the play ground. An old, green building is no indication of the delicacies served inside. An evening stroll with friends, and we would invariably land up in this wonderful place and gobble up the offerings in delight. The ambience of the place was such that you can sit with friends and talk for a long time over a plate of Dosai and Sambar. I used to like this place all the more because of the green chutney that used to accompany the plate of Dosai, coconut chutney and sambar. The best part was to wait for the bearer to get the dosai after you have placed the order. Those few minutes were often spent in the direction of the kitchen. It was like waiting for eternity. And when you are hungry, no need to mention how much the wait is worth. Oh! When is it going to come! What a feeling! The discussions gradually used to subside once we saw the plates of dosas balanced beautifully by the bearer, and for the next few minutes, there used to be no talks but only the pleasure of stimulating your taste buds.

My mother often used to reprimand me after a masala dosai fiesta....Don't tell me you had masala dosai again! Now.......I am not sure when I am going to have the next dosai, let alone masala dosai. How I wish my mother can scold me for having masala dosais! For a dosai freak, there can't be a worse punishment!!!