Sunday, March 22, 2009

Cricket part 2

Shah Rukh Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Preity Zinta the owners of the club?
Indian Premier League or IPL, as it is fondly referred to, is a new kid on the cricket block. A somewhat different version of Twenty20, Indian Premier League became an instant eye catcher with its launch in April 2008. Created by the Board of Cricket Control of India, the league is managed by the Vice President, BCCI, Lalit Modi. Involving players from all across the globe, India Premier League presented the cricket in its latest avatar. Starting its first season in April 2008, IPL is all set for its second term, schedule to get started on April 10, 2009.

There were 8 teams ; Royal Bangalore Challenger, Knight Riders, King XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Daredevils, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians and Deccan Chargers - in the first season of the Indian Premier League, which competed against each other. The four winning teams progressed to the semi finals and the winners from both the semi finals made it to the finals of the IPL. Rajasthan Royals won the finals and took the Indian Premier League 2008 trophy home. The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, commencing on April 10, 2009 is expected to be more interesting with some of the leading players of the various teams, taking part in it. The first match will be hosted by the winners of the last year - Rajasthan Royals - in Jaipur.
IPL Teams - IPL Teams Owner - IPL Teams Captain
Rajasthan Royals - Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra - Shane Warne
Kings XI Punjab - Preity Zinta - Yuvaraj Singh
Chennai SuperKings - India Cement - M.S. Dhoni
Delhi Daredevils - Yogesh Shetty(GMR Group) - Virendra Sehwag
Mumbai Indians - Mukesh Ambani - Sachin Tendulkar
Kolkata Knight Riders - Shah Rukh Khan - Saurav Ganguly
Bangalore Royal Challengers - Vijay Mallya - Kevin Pieterson
Deccan Chargers - J Krishan (Deccan Chronicle) - Laxman

Friday, March 20, 2009

Cricket - is a religion not heard by many but followed by plenty in India

After admiring so long for the any Indian cricket's team original jersey, finally I got one and at the back clearly stamped name of "Dhoni" one of the best ever cricketer in the world of cricket(some Indians even called him a god).

Chennai Superking Jersey
Cricket is a Religion in India
The Indian sub-continent has wide variety of people following different religions. Several books regarding India might suggest that Hinduism is the leading religion in this region. But the real India has a religion not heard by many, but followed by plenty in India. Cricket is the biggest religion in India.
God?
This religion has several gods who keep changing every few years, although there is no holy book for this religion; people can recite names and figures with ease.
One of the famous temple seen here
What is Cricket?
Some introduction to cricket. It is a sport just like any other sport played by very few countries around the world. It resembles baseball in the way it is played. Each team has 11 players and the team that scores most points(runs) in a day wins. To find out more about Cricket, check out Wikipedia.

Way Heading to State Cricket Tournament-horribly congested!

History
India picked up cricket from the British who once ruled over India for over 200 years. India has a big history with cricket with the Maharajas(Kings) playing the game. Indians are very fanatical about the game. Each game is not watched on sportive grounds but as a rite. When India wins a game, the whole nation erupts with joy and when they lose, there are usually some heads rolling and some players prematurely ending their career.

Myself on the way to Cricket Tournament
Cricket is crazy!
To befriend an Indian, the best thing one needs to do is follow Cricket. The fastest way to an Indian's heart is through Cricket. Likewise Malaysian, we all are football fanatic but most of us "kaki bangku". Should you know any other countries following sports so religiously just tell me where and what kind of sport?

Watching some Indian friends enjoying cricket in the heat of the sun in the summer
Indian Cricket- The Beginning
Cricket, the gentleman’s game, is the unofficial national game of India. Though seems to be embedded in the life of country, it did not originate in India. The origin of this game can be traced back to a place named Weald, near London. Initially played by the children of the farmers of the region, today it is the most popular sport after Soccer. There are many beliefs regarding the etymology of the word. Some people believe it to be originated from a French word ‘Crequet’, meaning a Club while others think it to be derived from an English word ‘Crycc’. The game took around 4 centuries to reach India. British brought this game to India in the 17th century. The records show that the first ever cricket match in India was played in 1721 AD. Initially accepted by the Parsi community, this game of foreigners began to appear in organized form with the establishment of the ‘Oriental Cricket Club’ in 1848. This cricket club of Mumbai marked the beginning of interest of Indian people in cricket. The first official cricket match was played between Parsis and Europeans in 1877 AD. Till late 19th century people of this country did not open their hearts to the game. The popularity of the game started building up among the Indian people when some of the Indians such as Sir Ranjitisinhji and Sir Duleepsinhji started playing cricket for English cricket team in 1900s. Their cricket score helped to raise the interest and prestige of the game among Indians.
Dhoni oh Dhoni - Autobiography

Full Name: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Born: July 7, 1981, Ranchi, Bihar
Major teams: India, Jharkhand
Batting style: Right-hand bat
Fielding Position: Wicketkeeper
Achievements: Highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIs (183 not out); highest number of sixes (10) in an ODI innings by a wicketkeeper (most by an Indian); highest batting average for a wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the new poster boy of Indian cricket. With his long mane and swashbuckling batting style, Dhoni has the whole country drooling over him at this moment.Dhoni got his big break in the Indian team courtesy his exploits against Pakistan A, in the triangular tournament in Kenya, where he destroyed bowling attacks with disdain. After making his one-day international debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in December 2004 Dhoni remained subdued in the first four matches he played.It was his fifth one-dayer, against Pakistan at Vishakapatnam, which heralded MS Dhoni's arrival at the big stage when the dashing wicket keeper cracked a dazzling 148 from just 123 balls. Dhoni followed it with another cracker of an innings against Sri Lanka on 31 October 2005, when he clobbered his way to a mammoth 183 off just 145 balls, thus breaking Adam Gilchrist's record for the highest score by a wicketkeeper in ODIsDuring this blitzkrieg, Dhoni also broke Saeed Anwar's record of most runs scored off boundaries by scoring a total of 120 runs off 4s and 6s eclipsing the previous record of 118. Riding on the good showing in the One-Dayers, Dhoni made his Test debut against Sri Lanka and in only his fifth Test, scored his maiden century to help India avoid follow-on against Pakistan. Ever since, Dhoni has been a crucial member of the Indian side.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Spring festival - Take all the sorrow away and make life even more colourful

Spring Festival - Holi

Holi, also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed in India, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad, the UK, Fiji and Nepal. In West Bengal of India and Bangladesh, it is known as Dolyatra (Doljatra) or Boshonto Utsav ("spring festival").

The main day, Holi, also known as Dhulheti, Dhulandi or Dhulendi, is celebrated by people throwing coloured powder and coloured water at each other. Bonfires are lit the day before, also known as Holika Dahan (death of Holik) or Chhoti Holi (little Holi). The bonfires are lit in memory of the miraculous escape that young Prahlad had when Demoness Holika, sister of Hiranyakashipu, carried him into the fire. Holika was burnt but Prahlad, a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu, escaped without any injuries due to his unshakable devotion.
Holi is celebrated on the full moon day in the month of Phalugna or Falguna (Phalgun Purnima), which usually falls in the later part of February or March. In 2009, Holi (Dhulandi) is on 11th March and Holika Dahan is on 10th March. Rangapanchami occurs a few days later on a Panchami (fifth day of the full moon), marking the end of festivities involving colours.


Rituals of Holi
The main emphasis of the festival is on the burning of the holy fire or Holika. The origin of the traditional lighting of Holi is attributed by some to the burning of demonesses like Holika, Holaka and Putana who represent evil, or to the burning of Madan according to others.

Dol Purnima (Rang Panchami), the festival of colour is celebrated with great festivity and joy. On this day, people come out wearing pure white clothes and gather together in a common place where they play it with gay abandon.

In India, Holi is regarded as one of the greatest festivals. Most of the Hindu festival is celebrated as the national festival and almost everyone celebrates it regardless of the religion i.e. even Muslims celebrate it. Christians may also join in although Holi mostly falls during their Lent season and many would not join in the festivities. The day of Holi is also one of the national holiday in India. People walk down their neighbourhoods to celebrate Holi by exchanging colours and throwing and splashing water to each other.
One of the most famous activities is throwing water balloon to each other also called Lola(meaning water balloon). Also a lot of people mix 'bhang' in their drinks and food as done in Shivaratri. It is believed that the combination of different colours played at this festival take all the sorrow away and make life even more colourful .
Festival of colours, Holi is celebrated with great fanfare in the Gujarat state of India. Falling on the full moon day in the month of Phalguna, Holi is a major Hindu festival and marks the agricultural season of the Rabi crop. Bonfire is also lit in the main squares of the villages, localities and colonies. People collect at the time of bonfire and celebrate the event, which is symbolic of the victory of good over evil by singing and dancing. Tribals of Gujarat celebrate Holi in great enthusiasm and dance around the fire.
Natural colours
The spring season, during which the weather changes, is believed to cause viral fever and cold. Thus, the playful throwing of natural coloured powders has a medicinal significance: the colours are traditionally made of Neem, Kumkum, Haldi, Bilva, and other medicinal herbs prescribed by Āyurvedic doctors. A special drink called thandai is prepared, sometimes containing bhang (Cannabis sativa). Unfortunately the commercial aspect of celebration has led to an increase in the use of synthetic colours which, in some cases, may be toxic.