Monkey Business

Monday, May 30, 2011

Reproduction is below

Years gone by
Five centuries to the count
Where the present lake stands
Were the paddy fields that stretched
To the far corners of the valley
Forming the rice basin of the hill country


The commoner garden
Name for the city was Bogambara
Which literally meant
The valley with plenty (of water and produce)
Of bo (plenty), gam (village) bara (belonging)
Was a place of homage to the Dhamma Raja
The Buddha


Then there were more monkeys
Than human beings dwelling in the mountains
That stretched from Knuckles to Hantana range
And the monkeys could reign
The tree tops
Without ever climbing down


Though the palace was built
More than five centuries ago
The lake that is rudiment
Of its former majesty
But thrice as big as it today
Was built by the last King of Senkadagala,
The Rajasinghe


With the ascent of the British
The city lost its majesty
One end of the lake
Left to be filled up
And the other end of the lake
Becoming the Bogambara stadium
With a prison nearby
Leaving behind a legacy
Sans the beauty and serenity
Of the Wadawasam age


The forest range
That overshadowed
The southern belt
Was cleared up rapidly,
Roadways and railways built around
With most of the old monuments
Demolished except a few
A British design was planted
With an armory of offense
To the west of the city


A half a century ago
When I went for
A cold bath in my birthday suit
To Raja Pihilla, the King's fountain
My mum had to worry about
Only the monkeys who descent down
To pinch our bright coloured cloths


Just in the last quarter century
With monkeys in business suits
Taking over the city
On a so called tourist drive
The lake that is reclaimed or filled
With more and more of filth and rubbish
Without any semblance or regard to aquatic life
Is it a living monument to the modern age pollution?


In fifty years from now
With the wanton destruction
Of the remaining rain forest of mother Lanka
The rains failing and the rivers drying
The lake would be a muddy field
Yet again,
Back to its original self


But million dollar question would be
Who would plough the fields?
With all the business monkeys
By then,
Would have
Left the city of Kandy

Monkey Stories and Chinese Catapults in Ceylon

Monkey Stories and Chinese Catapults in Ceylon

I decided to pen this down having seen imported Chinese catapults selling street hawkers in the City of Kandy.

They are meant to harm and injure monkeys who venture into human habitat.

1. 50 years ago

Even though monkey population has dwindled over the past 50 years the remaining population is treated as unwelcome guests in this Buddhist city of Kandy.

What made me to write this was a baby monkey’s plight and the mother monkeys resolve to retrieve it from disaster.

But let me list few of the encounters I had with them.

Unlike 50 years ago, monkeys have become aggressive and fierce.

If a foreign visitor sees a monkey in anywhere in this country do not try to befriend them.

It is a very risky and they will bite you and you may have to get the anti-rabies vaccination.

This was not so when we were kids.

If I (we) wanted a mango,what I used to do was to throw a piece of wood at the tall mango tree avoiding the monkeys.

If monkeys did ignore my act, on the first instance, I would throw another just close enough (not directing at them) to the young monkeys (The King Monkey would be guarding the retinue from an advantage point).

It yielded the intended result.

Young but stupid monkey would pick one ripe mango and throw at us holding firmly the other ripe mango in its left hand.

Young monkeys love to imitate our actions by default.

So I pick up the mango and eat it on my way to school. 

 

Kandy city had enough trees, especially mango trees (the best small variety I loved was Mee Amba- I hate fleshy Kartha Kolumbo) of different varieties which the Reverend Mahinda Thera discovered with his encounter with the King Devanampiya Tissa (which is very well documented in our history).

It was then the level of intelligence that was the subject matter.

In my piece here, it is the level of stupidity and disregard for mother nature that is intended to depict.

Buddhism is a deep philosophy and a high level of intelligence is needed to grasp the subject. 

It was only after testing his level of intelligence that the Thera preached to him the Dhamma. The dialogue between the king and Arhat Mahinda which is known as the Intelligence test is as follows. 

 

Arhat Mahinda (A.M):
Mighty King, What is this tree? (pointing at the Mango tree which was near by)
King(K):
It is a mango tree
A.M:
Are there any other mango trees other than this tree?
K:
Yes, there are several
A.M:
Are there any trees other than this mango tree and other mango trees?
K:
Yes, But those trees are not mango trees.
A.M:
Are there any trees other than those mango trees and the trees which are not mango?
K:
Yes, It is this mango tree
A.M:
Do you have relatives?
K:
Yes, several
A.M:
Are there any one who is not related to you?
K:
Yes, several
A.M:
Are there anyone else other than those who are your relatives and non relatives?
K:
Yes, It is me.

Satisfied with his level of intelligence, Arhat Mahinda preached to him Chulla Haththipadopama Sutta. The king soon became a follower of the Buddha. Then Arhat Mahinda ordained Banduka and preached Samachiththa Pariyaya Sutta to the gathering.

2. Encounter with a Photo Frame

30 years ago, we still had monkey visitors to our neighborhood but without any discordance.

They pick a few mangoes from our garden and then move forward.

I had just returned from UK and I gave my father in law a tiny but beautiful photo frame (I forget what the inscription was) as souvenir.

He had a tiny cubicle separate from the main house for his meditation activities.

He kept the door and window opened and was chatting with us.

Then, I noticed a monkey descending from a tall Kotta (Cotton) tree towards the roof. I just wanted to watch (hiding) what the monkey was up to.

He entered through the window and I knew that he was up to pick something that attracted it.

Mind you it was the picture frame (souvenir) it grabbed.

In a flash, he was up the cotton tree and I tried my primitive skill of throwing something at him and expecting him to return the favour.

But this monkey was not stupid enough like the yesteryear monkeys, took to his swing and in a moment was away from our garden.

I distinctly remember it regarding its own picture as a shadow as it was ascending the tree.

I had gone wild for moment but had not trained sufficiently enough then to reflect meditatively of my monkey predicament.

3. Recent Encounter in Kandy

I can be bit reflective of the recent incident.

I visit the city briefly and return no sooner my jobs are attended, mainly in the evening.

This day, I visited the city in the morning and finished my work and was coming towards the bus halt.

There was bit of a pandemonium going on and as usual a crowd of people gathered there watching the unfolding scenario.

I generally avoid these encounters but was inquisitive enough to casually asses the situation.

At a distance I saw something like a splashed banana skin (triangular in shape), if I did not see it, I would have involuntarily trod on it.

It was a tiny monkey face down (face not visible but covered by the trunk).

It looked dead but second thought knew that it had fallen down from the tall pipal tree and concussed.

My immediate response was to act as a traffic warden.

I hid behind a make shift shed (right in the middle of the road) avoiding eye contact with the mother monkey.

I stood across the road so that I prevented the three wheeler (from behind) drivers won’t run across the pour soul.

People coming from front, I diverted towards the crowd that had gathered and was enlarging.

In about five minutes it lifted its head but still hanging down and the mother on the ground at a distance was watching the progress. 
The rest of the monkeys of the pack were on the pipal tree.

Then a stupid guy threw some water from a bottle and I said don’t in a high voice and thankfully the water did not reach the baby monkey.

It is a height of stupidity and water does not have a place when somebody is concussed (injured) it might choke and kill instead.

This was the crescendo event and the mother monkey fiercely charged at the offender crossing the road and passing the baby in its move.

Then the baby lifted its head for a moment and then the mother approached it but it slumped back to stupor and the mother retreated back.

Then in about a few minutes it regained it composure and clung to the belly of the mother.

I was expecting the mother to pick the baby up and to my enlightenment it is not the monkey way of baby care.

It had to cling to the mother while she does the jumping and it failed in its repertoire and fell from her (tree) belly in the first instance.

The mother trained it for the second time, cling hard and firm.

In a flash the mother was up on the tree and another young monkey came across the road and charged at the crowd, especially the guy who threw water and retreated having displayed its fierce gesture.

I failed to realize that there was a monkey sitting on the roof of the shed, right above my head ready to attack.

A women seated in a bus, a slight distance away from this scene, alerted me and I quietly walked back "saying to the monkey" now that you got the baby back why not pull back to the trees.

I believe, if you talk gently to these monkeys they seem to understand and become adaptable to the human presence.

With that friendly command they retreated without much a do.


These monkeys are very aggressive, not docile like the old monkeys.

Then I related this story to the bus driver and he told me in a near by village a bus had run over a monkey on the road and for a day the monkey pack had stopped buses plying on that road till night fall.

Long time ago (15 years ago) I saw a baby monkey had fallen off from a electric post and dead on the pavement with the brain exposed. 
I did not have the patience to watch what the pack’s response was then.

4. Grieving Monkey

A bus driver in Ampara had befriended a lonely monkey.

This guy unfortunately had died recently.

I saw this monkey landing on the front of the bus and looking at the driver and not finding the diseased driver and moving onto another bus.

I was told this went on for weeks and I have not seen it again.

It used to ply on the top of the bus from Ampara to Kandy looking for his human friend.

This is getting lengthy and I will close up with few lines.

As kids I used to partake mangoes as a gift from monkeys.

Now we do not have monkeys nor mango trees in the city of Kandy.

As Parents I used to guard against monkeys stealing food from my daughter’s mid day pack.

These monkeys did not fear the dogs.

In actual fact, dogs feared them.

I had the habit of feeding monkeys with ice cream packed in plastic balls.

The Wall’s Ice cream made these ice cream balls.

I leave few of these plastic balls on the tree trunks.

They come down and grab them and get a freezing shock but in a few trial and error encounters open the lid on top and enjoy the ice cream just like our kids do.

I have heard a family who moved (probably to enter the kids to a school in Kandy) into a residence in Kandy had poisoning monkeys.

Our closest evolutionary link is treated as Unwanted Guests in this Buddhist City.

That is the evolution of the modern business man.

How to Reduce Arsenic in Rice

How to Reduce Arsenic in Rice

Avoid feeding infants with rice but use other supplements.

We do not what it does to babies.

In adults it may take 20 years for arsenic to develop symptoms.

How it react with heavy elements like cadmium is also not known.

The soil is contaminated with arsenic with prolong use of 

pesticides and herbicides from 1960s to increase the crop yield.

The chronic kidney disease in our farmers is also related to arsenic and other heavy metals in agrochemicals.

The main sources of arsenic pollution include certain pesticides and herbicides, wood preservatives, phosphate fertilizers, industrial waste, mining activities, coal burning and smelting.

Read the Web Artcle b Dr. Atli Arnarsony

The arsenic content of rice can be reduced by washing and cooking the rice with clean water that is low in arsenic.
This is effective for both white and brown rice, potentially reducing the arsenic content by up to 57%.
However, if the cooking water is high in arsenic, it may have the opposite effect and raise the arsenic content significantly.
The following tips should help reduce the arsenic content of your rice.

• Wash the rice before cooking. This method may remove 10–28% of the arsenic.
  
• Soak rice overnight, discard the water and use fresh water for cooking.
  
• Use plenty of water when cooking.
  
• Brown rice contains higher amounts of arsenic than white rice.
  
• If you eat large amounts of rice, the white variety may be a better choice.
  
• Choose aromatic rice, such as basmati or jasmine.
  
• Choose rice from the Himalayan region, including North India, North Pakistan and Nepal.
  
• If possible, avoid rice that is grown during the dry season.
  
• The use of arsenic-contaminated water is more common during that time.
  

The last and most important piece of advice concerns your diet as a whole. Make sure to diversify your diet by eating many different foods.
Your diet should never be dominated by one type of food.
Not only does this ensure that you are getting all the nutrients you need, it also prevents you from getting too much of one thing.

Bottom Line:

You can follow a few simple cooking methods tips to reduce the arsenic content of rice. Also keep in mind that some types of rice, such as basmati and jasmine, are lower in arsenic.

American Food Industry and Sucker Advertising

American Food Industry and Sucker Advertising

I listened to an (almost one hour ) advertisement on food advice by somebody purported to be a doctor, most likely PhD holder not a medical person.

Medical personnel globally are prevented from advertising themselves and promoting drugs in any form. 

They do it by using other methods including pharmaceutical representatives.

Patients have the right to report against those doctors who do advertisements, to the relevant authorities in their own countries.

First and foremost, I clicked into a discussion (may be about the plight of a poor dog) but lured into this bogus doctor (Type of Motley Fool Approach).

That is the first offense.

This is the very reason I have gone into digital zeroing with the Internet.

Internet has become a Universal Junk Yard (UJY) of information.

Me engaging in it, to counteract misinformation (except on this occasion) is not something I wish to do in my twilight years.

I have much better things to do. 

 

Now come to this presentation (slanted towards weight reduction).

She started with advising not to eat yogurt (unless home made).

Let me take the home making of yogurt, first.

It is time consuming and one has to do it everyday.

It wastes milk.

I did this when kids were small and I gave it up since kids were not impressed with the yogurt gone sour on standing outside the fridge.

I did it again in my retirement and gave it up due to cost of fresh milk.

It is easy to buy the commercial product which is cheaper in the long run in time and money.

Now I have got used to Yogurt Milk. Its costs Rs. 70/= currently.

Flavored Iced Tea is Rs. 65/=.

Coca Cola is Rs. 70/=.

All these three I drink as a supplement of my water intake not for nutritional components.

Please note this advice is for adults (not for kids. I have given up practicing paediatrics by conviction and not by choice).

Coca Cola gives both flavor and quantity. I am not worried about its trace quantities of cocaine.

Iced Tea (peach flavor) gives the flavor but not enough in quantity unless I drink two.

I prefer yogurt drink (strawberry flavor) on a day I am well hydrated and not when I am thirsty.

Its water quantity (more milk solids) very small.

Only reason, I prefer it is it has probiotics and it soften stools.

I give a cup a day of yogurt to my dog so that it does get its probiotics and make its stools soft.

Of course he gets a mixed berry (expensive) flavored one as a treat once a week.

Other fruits, plums chocolates are not for dogs.

I used to believe that dogs eat almost what a man eats.

The end result is my dog is totally blind with cataracts.

So giving leftovers and cakes are not the correct dog food.

Now I wonder not giving even, rice containing high quantity of arsenic.

By the way, rice is not a baby food because of its arsenic content.

Funny part about this woman’s lecture is that she sells a capsule which contains probiotics producing bacteria three times a day.

Her understanding in microbiology is zero.

Once these bacteria gets colonized in the intestine (in certain parts), they remain so for life, unless your doctor / nurse gives a heavy dose of antibiotics and a hospitalized colony of bacteria from his / her unwashed hands.

Her reason and contention for forbidding yogurt is its content of fructose added by the food industry. 

She does not say anything about lactose in milk that causes lactose intolerance but in yogurt (If you're lactose intolerant and looking for yogurt, go Greek. Greek yogurt, which is thicker because much of the whey, the watery part of milk, has been strained out in processing. This also removes much of the lactose) lactose is broken down to a significant degree.

Less I talk about American Corn Syrup Industry and fructose is better at this juncture!

I will cut short this procrastination by stating that she had three other things in her prescription including herbal tea extract.

I know very little about (ask a Chinese or a Japanese) herbal tea and have decided to cut tea to zero if possible now.

I use tea as a stimulant to keep up at night (working with the computer is cut down now, I do not need tea or coffee)

The second component is three digestive enzymes in the capsule.

Unless the gut is totally destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation, (even then it is risky, may digest the exposed tissues) enzyme supplement is unscientific.

The third component is a putative indirect insulin antagonistic chemical that suppresses appetite.

My conclusion is, if one takes this treatment of three capsules a day will make the bacteria in the gut thrive unopposed (any bacteria not necessarily the probiotics producing) and starve the patient to death (one who sees in a poorly managed refuge camp in Ceylon).

Her logic is feed the bacteria (well digested by enzymes and a good culture medium) and starve the gullible American.

What a circuitous way to starve a greedy American!

With Donald Trump in high office, anything is possible in America.

Captain Alistair Cook and Sri-Lankan Cricket

Captain Alistair Cook and Sri-Lankan Cricket

I am officially on digital retirement, but if I do not pen few lines on Alistair Cook, I feel very uncomfortable.

Apart from Mahela and Sanga, Alistair was my favorite cricketer.

I enjoyed watching his stylish strokes, typical of English cricketers of yesteryear.

I was very unhappy he had to take the burden of the captaincy, thinking he will fail in his batting.

He did not.

I want him to continue play and beat Sachin’s record.

I firmly believe he can do that in couple of years.

He should not let his body burn out but should pick and choose where and when to play now that he is not the captain.

Five test matches in India was not the right choice.

He should do that in mainly in England and Australia.

I also think he should drop out of 50 overs which generally ruins the master strokes of a good player.

Thank You Alistair for your contribution on and off the field.

One more point, I have noticed lately, you have gone bit haggard.

Before you took up the captaincy you had a lovely boyish smile and a chubby face.

You need to get that cheerful self now that you are a dad.

Kids do not like to see a grumpy dad.

Chubby face will come once you start enjoying family life and cricket.

Good luck and I am watching YOU closely even if you score only 30 runs.

There is a caveat here!

If you beat Sachin by any chance, it won't last for long.

It will make Kohli to up his gear to catch up with You.

He is a class act (Kohli) and he did come to cricket bit late, since Sachin was hanging onto his driving seat, bit too longer than it was necessary.

In my opinion 30 runs is the base for an opener and any run in excess is a bonus.

If you get that 30 base consistently not only you will have a 50 average when you retire but certainly will go pass Sachin’s record.

Below is a collection of my blog writings that include a comment on an Andrew Strauss’s innings against India.

Captain Cook masterminded his Timing and Batting

Sunday, July 27, 2014

They say class is permanent and form may have temporary setbacks.

Two examples are Mahela and Sanga.

They go through patches of bad form but when they come back, they come back in style.

I think Cook as a batsman is a Class Act.

He knows it and poor English commentators should “Eat the humble Pie, NOW.

What the selectors should do is to find him a partner, and possibly make him come, one down.

One does not send the best batman to guillotine, first up especially when the guy is out of form.

There is a lot to learn from Mahela and Suaga.

Not only they are friends but complement each other.

Poor Captain Cook does not have good pal to comfort him in the thick of things and in the field.

I am writing this before he gets his ton.

Whether he gets his ton or not, I will always watch him play.

I say you won't see a guy like Mahela for another 20 years but I watch him play all the “wrist-ky” shots for a few moments, even he makes only 30 runs.

This phrase is applied to Sanga too, but with a little revision, watch when you are in 70 to 80 and do not get out to a part time baller.

Getting run out, I do not blame.

Your legs are “achy backy” at thirties.

The last phrase applies to Captain Cook, too.

Do not let him run a lot.

He is a big guy unlike Mahela and Sanga, and has to carry a Big Frame on his legs.

Where are the Gentlemen in Cricket?

Monday, June 9, 2014

Where are the Gentlemen in Cricket?
I sometimes feel ashamed to be a Sri-Lankan.
There are hundred of reasons but I will list only a few.
1. Our politicians lie blatantly and what is worse is that they are proud of it.
2. Sri-Lankan including politician do not work on a schedule or on at least a flexible Time Table.
Our politicians only have private agenda.
Good example is our ethnic issue we are prolonging and procrastinating (both sides).
3. We have the most ugly constitution in the world, and generation of politicians who promise to change it abrogate their responsibility.
4. Then, the Buddhist Insurgency (that is how I wish to call it unfortunately), the latest fashion, Buddhist monks have taken over police duty while our policemen will kill suspects not convicted arbitrarily.
The explanation generally is that they were taken to a hide out / dug out and were exploring hidden weapons and the suspect got hold of a weapon and attempted to kill a policeman.
This is kids stuff and explanation.
5. I never thought, cricket will be on this list.
Let me explain why I do not watch cricket now.
One of our ex-minister of sports was known to have used his goons to kill university students.
That was his sports, primitive hunter gatherer mentality.
Another was good at rigging polls at massive scale.
Rigging vote was his sports.
He also had a penchant for female athletes.
Another one was a thug who suppressed the voting rights of minority.
Thuggery was his sports.
I have dealt with many other issues especially mass scale corruption in building a new cricketing venues and plundering money even in laying Grass not on the cricketing turf but he was a TURF man by default.
 
Only reason we became proud was cricket.
 
That was because of winning the World Cup.

I have a prediction, they we will not go beyond the quarter final in 2015.
I need not analyze the reasons.

When cricketers become politicians (except Arjuna Ranatunga), they think they can use their influence to win games by hook or by crook.
That was what happened in England.

This is related to Mankarding Joe Butler.
It is my opinion (within the spirit of the game)!


By making these changes, the ICC have changed the balance of regulations in the professional game in favour of the fielding side. Attempts at, and appeals for, a run out under these circumstances are upheld, despite protestations by some that they are "not within the spirit of the game."
In July 2014 The World Cricket Council, an independent consultative body of former international captains and umpires, commenting in the light of the Buttler runout by Senanayake, unanimously expressed support of Sri Lanka's actions and a lack of sympathy with the batsman.
Win the game by hook or by crook.
He was supposed to be coming from a premier Buddhist School (when we look at some monks this is not an aberration) in Colombo.
He was under scrutiny for his balling action.
He should have been prudent in his selection and choice of activities on the field.

He wanted become a hero and actually became a minion in front of ardent Sri-Lankan expatriates.
 
I am not defending the English cricketer.

I am ashamed of the umpires too.

They could have been proactive after the first warning.
They did not.
Many of their umpiring decisions were pretty bad.

Sri-Lankan captain should have been conscious of the fact that his team mate was under scrutiny and he could have pulled him out of the deep end of the pool.
He did not.
He allowed him to sink in disgrace.

One of the reasons, I think is that the Sri-Lankans do not have self belief of winning, even in such a low key match.

The glory of the winning was under the dark sky, just like the typical weather in spring in England.

If they do not have that self belief how can they win the World Cup?

Cricket sometimes is a mind game, the present day cricketing is noted for its lack.

Not dirty tricks under the carpet.

For some unknown reason, I felt he was not ready for the top job and now I feel he is not good at shepherding the minnows (size of the country not the population).

He was predicted as the most valued player in the last world cup.
He could not complete and compete at the last world cup.

He will be in the next world cup.
He will surly burn out well before the final stages of the game.
He comes as a baller and only balls when the conditions suit him and not the team.
He does not believe in his balling.

How can he give confidence to younger players when he himself does not have confidence?

That is the bottom line.

When he balls he might get blasted but then as the captain he can withdraw himself easily which option Malinga does not have.

I am not suggesting Malinga is a better choice.

Good player does not become a good captain.
Good example is Cook.

England is ruining his talent but they have many talented players and during the next few months they will find a good captain.

Unfortunately, we do not have a pool (for captaincy).

Like politicians our cricketers will slit the next one in line and I do not think we play as a team.

Every player is trying to secure his place and secure his pocket with money not glory.

I am sorry, Sri-Lankan cricket lovers, for my scathing remarks.

I will not write anymore on Sri-Lankan cricket.
That was my resolve for many years now.

But keeping silent is very bad.

That is why our politics is in ruins (on the field and outside).

I am writing on behalf of the spectators not on behalf of the cricketers.
I do not care for them now.

I would pen down few lines on Chandhimal before writing my obituary (like the obituary on Democracy) on cricket.

Like the comments of South African sport writer Chesterfield (I hope I got the name), I have a query on him.

He queried who is this Chandhimal, before the last world cup?

I was not much interested last time, I wrote a response under his comment thinking it was Chamara De Silva (I thought Chesterfield was not picking up Sri-Lankan player names which are not like Christian names but he had made a mistake but in fact I made a mistake).

That was the first time I knew about Chandhimal.

My current comment is who ruined Chandhimal?

I think it is Sri-Lankan sports writers and Dhilshan.

Dilshan was sent as an opener by one of the cricket selectors to ruin his career.
Dhilshan knew that the AXE was on him and he thrived on the challenge.

What happened was the CHEAP and CHIEF selector had to go.

I think Sanath (chief selector) has to go before the voters oust him in the next election after failing at the next world cup, if he wants to keep his parliament seat with a big pension.

That is what I call a wise counsel (from me to him).

There was a very bad taste in my mouth, when Angelo (them vying for the top post) let Chandhimal get his century, risking a loss in a one day international in England.

When did Chandhimal win a game for us after that.
That was self before the game (both Angelo and Chandhimal).
One was eying for the top post and the other to secure a as a regular player.

Both ploys were bad when there is collaboration.

One succeeded and the other is out of the team.

This is total mismanagement.

What we need is Total Quality Management (TQM).
We do not have it now like the Singer's Punchhewa, who was behind our victory as a non player.

We also need good sports writers like Chesterfield.

We do not have any.

I think Chesterfield is in heaven and I am told by Maha Brahma, they are not allowed to play or watch cricket in heaven.

They only allow Mega Cassino Play, just like in Sri-Lanka.

Our Cassino owners have direct access to Heaven, Hell (for players), Cricket and Sri-Lanka.

Postscript;
Mind you there were three ex-captains on the field when this happened.
The incident ruined their (bad taste in their mouth) image too, especially taking into consideration Mahela who walks out when he knows, he is out.

I think both Mahela and Sangakkara should retire, if they feel their body is out (I call it the burn out syndrome), in style now but not after failing under a bad captain.

I respect whatever their personal goals and decisions and wish them happy life after retirement.

Both of them have done wonders.
I think Dhilshan is already showing signs of burn out and reconsider his options,too.

Who says one day cricket is dull?

Monday, February 28, 2011

We had a fascinating game of cricket today.

The match was between cricketing fanatic India and the game's originator England.

It was nice to see England captain Strauss take man of the match award beating, the legend of India, Sachin Tandukar.

There is is no match for the young blood of England and it was no fun for Sachin and his weary legs.

I suppose when time comes one has to retire and there were guys in this side of the Palk Straight who wanted to join the team and we were wise enough to spare him the agony. Trying to entertain your fan base is not good for your physique and health our Sachin also will retire and become a sporting ambassador to the Asian continent who are keen on betting and bringing bad name to the game.

I hope Indian spectator would be nice to him the day he fails and retire.

Anyway cricket was the winner taking the game to the wire and making a tie was a big achievement and neither side deserved to lose this match.

It was a good stater for the tournament.

A star was born and that is Andrew Strauss and English fans should be proud of him.

Not only he brought ashes home (team game) but brought the 50 over game to its heights.

But you boys must make sure you beat Australia in this tournament.

We will be cheering for England all the way.

We are fed of Australian arrogance and I saw somewhere England was written off.

I predict a final with England and South Africa and it does not matter who wins if you make it into that point even though I favour South Africa.