The World Cup Countdown... The Best Posts

So, collected over the last 18 days of cyber-dribbling, I have put together the best posts / articles on football in general and the WC in s...

Gulzar Redux... Ijaazat onwards

This rejoinder is in response to a friend’s request that the earlier Gulzar piece made too long a leap from Ijaazat to Buty Aur Bubli. And ...

The Truth in Advertising Hoardings

I was whispering it under my breath, murmuring it in football addas and desperately praying for it. I was not saying it on my blog, only qui...

The Twens of June

June 22, 1986 This is the day a Hand of God helped Diego Maradona. This is also the day El Diego atoned for that help by scoring the most br...

In the Name of the Father... Part II

NAAM GHUM JAYEGA... Bengali names are among the most maligned topics on the Blogosphere (read this , for example!)... coming very close to t...

1:20 a.m, 14th June 2006

The above date stamp is a mix of two nostalgic strains... one, it was the typical start of Prof. Shonku's diaries and two, it is the sta...

Deewaar: The 72nd Viewing

Hindi cinema dialogue - especially by the heroes - has always made conscious attempts to be in the realm of memorability. By being bombastic...

22 hours, 43 minutes to go...

Don’t go by the clock in the title… The World Cup really kicks off at midnight of 13th June, as the Samba magicians start their campaign aga...

3 days, 6 hours, 31 minutes to go...

Written c. 2002 on a flight back to Calcutta from Bagdogra (I was ASM - Bengal then... what a job to have during the World Cup!)... after th...