CSK Ruturaj Gaikwad's day out ! ... TN way out of QF

At Manchester in 1982, Sandip Patil hit Bob Willis for six fours (4440444, the third ball being a no ball) -  racing from 73 to 104 in nine balls. He was 129 not out when rain brought an early end to the match. Years later at the Oval Chris Gayle hit Matthew Hoggard for 6 fours in a single over in 2004; Ramnaresh Sarwan hit Munaf Patel at St Kitts in 2006 and Sanath Jayasuriya hitting James Anderson for 6 fours in an over at Kandy in 2007. – all these are Test records !! 

Not many would have followed Vijay Hazare Trophy – but all would be searching the score card of one of the QFs after that breath-taking performance of CSK star Ruturaj Gaikwad.

 

In the  4th quarter final at Nadiad, November 28, 2022, Saurashtra 293/8 beat Tamil Nadu 249 by 44 runs !!  - in the second QF Maharashtra 330/5 beat Uttar Pradesh by 58 runs !   A good century – 159 off 143 balls with 18 fours and 3 sixers by Aryan Juyal was eclipsed by Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 220 off 159 studded with mere 10 fours and 16 sixers !!  

Till our College days in Cricket Quiz, there would be one Q on Malcolm Nash whose moment of shame came on 31.8.1968 when Garfield Sobers captaining  Nottinghamshire hit the left arm spinner of  Glamorgan   Malcolm Nash to all parts of the ground for 6 sixers.  Ben Stokes escaped a similar fate – when Carlos Braithwaite looked on course to become the second West Indies international to hit six sixes in a row, in the T20 World Cup final in 2016, but his fourth  consecutive sixes off the first four balls of the final over clinched the title.  

Years later in Jan 1985, Ravi Shastri who was rather a docile player with leg side glance bringing him most runs, ran amok against Baroda’s left arm spinner Tilak Raj for 6 sixers – have not seen any video of that match.   In the WC 2007 at West Indies, which India and Pakistan would like to forget for obvious reasons, South Africas Herschelle Gibbes tore into  Daan van Bunge of the Netherlands hitting six sixes.  Perhaps the top most of them all came from Yuvi.  Yuvraj Singh brazen assault on Stuart Broad in T20I WC I 2007 -  Broad bowled the 19th over,  balls kept disappearing to stands.   

Read that Worcestershire’s Ross Whitely  carted Yorkshire Vikings spinner Karl Carver in a T20 Blast match at Headingley for 36 runs; Hazratullah Zazai  bludgeoned his way into the history books off the deliveries of the hapless Abdullah Mazari in Afghastan local match. Canterbury Kings batsman Leo Carter joined the party.  Famous big hitter from WI - Kieron Pollard hit Akila Dananjaya for 6 sixers after he  had taken a hat-trick in his previous over.  Thisara Perera hit 36 in a lankan match  

Today it is all about Ruturaj Gaikwad shattering List A Cricket record slamming 7 consecutive sixers off Uttar Pradesh bowler Shiva Singh  and finishing unbeaten on 220 off 159 balls.  Gaikwad's 43-run over also became the joint-most expensive over in the history of List A cricket, previously achieved by Northern Districts's Brett Hampton and Joe Carter in New Zealand's domestic 50-over game in 2018.  That time it was by 2 batsman and that over consisted of 2 no balls.  Today it was a solitary no balls and all the 7 were sent outside the fence  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
28.11.2022. 

Benevolence ! - act of compassion from a pushcart seller

How often do you do charity ! – and would you like those to be seen by others ! 

USS Benevolence (AH-13) a United States Navy Hospital Ship, was built as SS Marine Lion in 1944 by Sun Shipbuilding & Drydock Co., in Chester, Pennsylvania, under a Maritime Commission contract. She displaced 11,141 tons fully loaded, with  maximum speed was 17.5 knots. She was sponsored by Mrs. Daisy Unter, transferred to the United States Navy on 31 July 1944, converted to a hospital ship by Todd-Erie Basin Shipyard, Inc., Brooklyn and was commissioned on 12 May 1945. 

Live your life in such a way that you’ll be remembered for your kindness, compassion, fairness, character, benevolence, and many other good things, a life of compassion to fellow humans, especially those under-privileged.

Omnibenevolence  is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "unlimited or infinite benevolence". Some philosophers have felt  that it is impossible, or at least improbable !! 

Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has donated more than $750 million in Berkshire Hathaway stock to the four foundations run by his family recently, but unlike with his planned annual gifts to charity each summer, the donations didn't include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

 

This evening was intrigued by crows following this pushcart merchant .. .. perhaps his entire stock/capital can be purchased with a few hundred of rupees, yet he exhibited nobleness.  He was taking out some of his product and spraying it for the hungry birds ! those crispy morsels falling out of his hand can be clearly seen !! – appreciate his benevolence. 

அன்றறிவாம் என்னாது அறஞ்செய்க மற்றது

பொன்றுங்கால் பொன்றாத் துணை.  

வள்ளுவர் வாய்மொழி :   இளமையில் நல்ல உடல் நலத்துடன் உள்ள போதே  அறம் செய்ய வேண்டும்.   பிற்காலத்தில் பார்த்து கொள்ளலாம் என்று எண்ணாமல் அறம் செய்ய வேண்டும். அதுவே உடல் அழியும் காலத்தில் அழியா துணையாகும்.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
28.11.2022 

I love elephants ! - this is not a real one !!

 I love elephants !  ~  and this is not a real one !!!  - in the background of Thiruvetteswarar temple, Triplicane

Millennium kids may not even imagine that these gentle giant pachyderms walked on the streets of Triplicane and elsewhere in Chennai and .. Tamil Nadu  – not so long ago !! 

Remembering our Heroes - sad day when Nation was under siege 26/11

We see them in every street corner, at busy traffic intersections, some movies come ridiculing their efforts,   RED SALUTE  to them – the Army and Police are the real protectors and WE live happily and peacefully because of their sacrifices. This is the photo of Tukaram Omble, who died this day 14 years ago ! – must have been part of our history and school curriculum .. .. were you able to recognize him ? 

From every angle, the Taj Palace near the Gate way of India, the imposing arch monument on the Arabic sea erected  to commemorate the landing of King George V and Queen Mary at Apollo Bunder on their visit to India in 1911, prior to Delhi Durbar. The hotel preceded it – the Queen could have seen the hotel, but not the monument.                                

                                             The historic Taj Mahal Palace hotel first opened its doors to guests 113 years ago, on December 16, 1903. Located in Colaba, Mumbai, the Taj Mahal hotel, or the Taj Palace hotel, was the country's first ever harbour landmark. Over the last century or so, the hotel has played host to royalty, several dignitaries, and eminent personalities from all over the world. A popular theory states that Jamshedji Tata built the hotel because he was refused entry at Watson Hotel, one of the grandest hotels of that time, which was for 'whites only.  

In the beautiful motherland, there have been debates on surgical strikes with politicians calling for proof !! -  Nation can never forget this day  26/11 when it was  under siege by militants from across the border.  How many felt sorrowed and spoke for those martyrs of Police and jawans of the motherland ??  .. .. and blatant media who were for ratings showing all the plan and movement of Army jawans !! – how mindless it was.

The horrific memories of the night when the terrorists hijacked the police vehicle  and killed top cops and then went on shooting innocents haunts people.  The illustrious   Bhaskar Kadam, Hemant Bawdhankar, Sanjay Govilkar, Tukaram Omble,  Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte ,  Vijay Salaskar, Shashank Shinde, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Hawaldar Gajendra Singh – and the like should be the heroes whom the Nation must be reading and knowing.  There were so many unsung heroes too – for example the Fire Service of Mumbai whose personnel did not flinch once as they grabbed their gear and rushed to douse fire amid an intense gun battle.   

On that unfortunate day in 2008, 10 Pakistani terrorists arrived by sea route and opened fire indiscriminately at people killing 166, including 18 security personnel, and injuring several others, besides damaging property worth crores.  The attack began on 26 November and lasted until 29 November. The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, the Oberoi Trident, the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower, Leopold Cafe, Cama Hospital, the Nariman House Jewish community centre were some of the places targeted by the terrorists. Ajmal Kasab was the only terrorist captured alive. He was hanged four years later on November 21, 2012.  

Tributes poured in on the 14^th  anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeting 'Terrorism threatens humanity' while remembering the victims of the 26/11 attacks. "Those who planned and oversaw this attack must be brought to justice. We owe this to every victim of terrorism around the world," EAM Jaishankar said, sharing a short video from the deadly attack that left 166 people dead and more than 300 people injured.  

On Friday, India told the UN that its efforts to sanction those involved in the 26/11 terror attacks have been blocked in the past for political reasons, enabling them to walk free and organise further cross-border assaults against the country. India's remark came after China's repeated efforts to block the proposal by India and the US to blacklist Pakistan-based militant and Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed’s son, Hafiz Talah Saeed and designate him as a “global terrorist”. Hafiz Saeed is the mastermind behind the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.  

Sadly after the gruesome attack which had clear evidence to the involvement of neighbours, there was no reprisal.  It is now reported that on December 2, 2008, India's military, political and intelligence leadership went into a huddle in the Prime Minister's Office in South Block. The agenda at hand was weighty. The dozen or so men in a room deliberated options that had the potential of triggering a possible fifth India-Pakistan war. It was just a week since 10 Pakistani terrorists had targeted Mumbai and killed 165 people. The incident had provoked national outrage and there was tremendous public pressure on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to retaliate.

Almost all the options discussed by the heads of the military, spy chiefs revolved around punishing the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) which had masterminded the attack. The range of options included special forces missions, covert attacks, strikes by the air force on terrorist training camps and even an option of a limited war. Indian investigators had traced the Pakistani hand in both the March 1993 Mumbai serial blasts and the July 2006 suburban train bombings. These attacks had killed more people-257 and 187 respectively. But 26/11 was different. It was the first attack carried out by Pakistani nationals who hit civilian targets and foreign nationals with calculated brutality. Unlike the December 2001 attack on India's parliament where all five terrorists were gunned down, one of the Mumbai attackers, captured alive less than six hours after the attack began, had revealed the full extent of the conspiracy.  

It was only meetings and perhaps no action .. then there was another meeting   of India's security establishment which  was more focused on the military option against Pakistan. By now, the Manmohan Singh government had clearly ruled out either an Operation Parakram-style mobilisation of the Indian military or the Cold Start option that replaced it. Options now almost exclusively focused on punitive strikes against the LeT, which had carried out the attack. Exactly a week after the attack, Indian intelligence agencies had built up a comprehensive picture of the LeT's complicity in the attack-confessions from the sole terrorist arrested, Ajmal Kasab, and several hours of conversations intercepted between the LeT handler in a Karachi control room and the Mumbai attackers.  

They perpetrators of heinous crime against our Nation  are still at large enjoying the hospitality and benefits of Pakistan !!  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26^th Nov. 2022

PS:   Ajmal Kasab, the face of Mumbai terror is no more; he had been given a name ‘Sameer Chaudhury’ with red thread around his visit; their heinous plan would have succeeded if all terrorists had been killed but destiny was otherwise, exeuctued by  martyr Tukaram Omble .. . if not some organization would have fought for his release and some would have invoked human rights !!!

  

Painted stork ! நாராய் நாராய் செங்கால் நாராய்

Painted storks have long slender legs !  - the one on the right of the picture appears to have even longer legs !!

 

தமிழ் இலக்கியம் மிக சிறப்பானது .. .. ஒருவர் தம் கருத்தை மற்றவருக்குத் தெரிவிக்க இடையே பிறிதொருவரை அனுப்புவதே தூதாகும். தூதினைப் புறத்தூது, அகத்தூது என இரண்டாகக் கூறுவார்.   தலைவன் தலைவியிடத்தே தூது அனுப்புதலும், தலைவி தலைவனிடத்தே தூது அனுப்புதலும் அகத்தூது  !!  அரசர்கள், பகைவரிடத்துத் தூது அனுப்புதலும், புலவர்கள் புரவலர்களிடத்துத் தூது அனுப்புவதும்   புறத்தூது  -இதுவோ தம் வறுமையை தம் மனைவிக்கு சொல்லிய தூது .. தூது செல்லும் பறவை 'நாரை" . 

நாராய் நாராய் செங்கால் நாராய்;  பழம்படு பனையின் கிழங்கு பிளந்தன்ன !

பவளக் கூர்வாய்ச் செங்கால் நாராய் ;

நீயுநின் மனைவியும் தென்றிசைக் குமரியாடி, வடதிசைக் கேகுவீ ராயின்  

The painted stork (Mycteria leucocephala) is a large wader in the stork family. It is found in the wetlands of the plains of tropical Asia south of the Himalayas in the Indian Subcontinent and extending into Southeast Asia. Their distinctive pink tertial feathers of the adults give them their name. They forage in flocks in shallow waters along rivers or lakes. They immerse their half open beaks in water and sweep them from side to side and snap up their prey of small fish that are sensed by touch. As they wade along they also stir the water with their feet to flush hiding fish. They nest colonially in trees, often along with other waterbirds. The only sounds they produce are weak moans or bill clattering at the nest. They are not migratory and only make short distance movements in some parts of their range in response to changes in weather or food availability or for breeding. Like other storks, they are often seen soaring on thermals.   

This large stork has a heavy yellow beak with a down-curved tip that gives it a resemblance to an ibis. The head of the adult is bare and orange or reddish in colour. The long tertials are tipped in bright pink and at rest they extend over the back and rump. There is a distinctive black breast band with white scaly markings. The band continues into the under-wing coverts and the white tips of the black coverts give it the appearance of white stripes running across the under-wing lining.  

மஞ்சள் மூக்கு நாரை (Painted Stork) வண்ண நாரை  - நாரைக் குடும்பத்தைச் சேர்ந்த ஒரு பறவை ஆகும். மஞ்சள் மூக்கு நாரைகள் மரங்களில் கூடுகட்டுகின்றன. இவை இந்தியத் துணைக்கண்டப் பகுதிகளிலும், தென் இமயமலைப் பகுதிகளிலும் காணப்படும்.  அளவில் பெரிய, ஆரஞ்சு நிற அலகு கொண்ட சங்குவளை நாரைகளில், ஆண் பறவையே ‘எங்கே கூடு கட்டலாம்?’ என்று முடிவு செய்யும். அந்த இடத்தைப் பார்த்துவிட்டுத்தான், ‘இவனுடன் கூடலாமா வேண்டாமா?’ என்று பெண் பறவை முடிவு செய்யும். ரொம்பவும் கடுமையான போட்டி இருக்கும்பட்சத்தில், எந்த ஆண் பறவை மிகவும் உயரமாக இருக்கிறதோ, அதனோடுதான் பெண் பறவை இணைசேருமாம்.  மரங்களின் மீது கூடு கட்டி வாழும் இந்தப் பறவைகளுக்கு, நீர்வாழ் உயிரினங்கள்தாம் முக்கிய உணவு.  

நாரை விடு தூது என்ற இந்நூலின் ஆசிரியர், கும்பகோணம் அருகிலுள்ள  சத்திமுத்தம் எனும் ஊரில் வாழ்ந்த காரணத்தினால் சத்திமுத்தப்புலவர் என்று அழைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்.  உமையம்மை இறைவனை வழிபட்டுத் தழுவி முத்தமிட்ட காரணத்தால் சத்திமுத்தம் என்ற பெயர் வழங்கப்படுகிறது என்பர்.   வறுமையில் உள்ள புலவர், அவரது நிலையைத் தன் மனைவிக்குக் கூற நாரையைத் தூதாக அனுப்புகிறார்.  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
26.11.2022 

focus ! - the power of concentration - wait before you shoot !!

What do you see in this photo ?? 

At Hasthinapuram, the youthful Pandavas and Gaurvas were learning all the warfare .. .. one day,  Guru Dronacharya decided to show his other pupils why he favoured Arjuna. He  set up a target in the shape of a bird on a tree and invited his students to shoot at it. Before they did so, however, they had to answer his questions.  

First, Duryodhana took up his stance. “What can you see?” asked Dronacharya. The answer was, “I can see the bird, the leaves, the tree...”  .. .. yuvarajas came one after the other – with almost same answer or one outsmarting the other !  

When Arjuna picked up his bow, set the arrow and drew the string, his teacher asked, “What do you see?” Arjuna replied, “The eye of the bird.” “Can you see the tree?” asked Dronacharya. “No, only the eye of the bird,” was the answer. Dronacharya then went through a list: tree, bark, leaves, flowers, fruits, his brothers, cousins, even the teacher himself. To everything Arjuna’s answer was the same: “No, I can only see the eye of the bird.” When Dronacharya gave him the order to shoot, Arjuna released the arrow. It sped straight to the target and the bird came tumbling down.  

That was the classic example of focus and concentration.   .. .. when a new aim is to be made, some do nothing - sit back, close their eyes, remain silent for a while !!  it is not being  inactive but an act of stimulating  thoughts capturing exactly what the task and how it is to be done - very thing that cognitive psychologists mean when they say mindfulness. We all know that in order to accomplish a certain thing we must concentrate.   

Concentration is purely a mental process. It needs an inward turning of the mind. It is not a muscular exercise. You should not fight and wrestle with the mind violently. When you concentrate on any object, avoid tension anywhere in the body or mind. Think gently of the object in a continuous manner. Do not allow the mind to wander away. Concentration can be done only if you are free from all distractions. A man whose mind is filled with passion and all sorts of fantastic desires can hardly concentrate on any object even for a second. His mind will be jumping like an old monkey.

 

Perhaps you would have enjoyed this anecdote .. .. ..yet, don’t practice it everywhere – the first photo shows a host of things and farther out there was a white pigeon, if the photographer (yours truly) had closed his eyes to meditate and concentrate, perhaps the dove would have flown away !!  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
25.11.2022 

Lankan Cricket turmoil ! - remember MJ Gopalan Trophy ? ! ?

Do you know or remember the famous MJ Gopalan and the trophy named after him ?  .. have seen him walk on the roads of Triplicane, a few decades ago !!

 

Srilanka is in turmoil and its Cricket is in shambles … they did not perform well in ICC T20WC – and that is not all .  .. Chamika Karunaratne has been handed a one-year suspended ban by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) after a disciplinary inquiry of the board found him guilty of breaching the player agreement - the exact nature of the violation has not been made public - during the recent men's T20 World Cup in Australia.  Karunaratne, the 26-year-old allrounder, was also fined US$5000 after pleading guilty to the charges.  The sentence on Karunaratne has come in the wake of team-mate Danushka Gunathilaka's arrest in Australia on charges of sexual assault. Gunathilaka is currently out on bail.   

Not many would have followed the 1^st Test at Galle I July 2022 .. Test no. 2472 – an enthralling result on the final day.  The scorecard reads :   Sri Lanka -= 222 & 337;  Pakistan -  218 & 344/6 -  Pakistan won by 4 wickets.    

Kurunegala electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka.  Nalin Nilantha Bandara Wijerathna Jayamaha Hitihamilage represents this seat -  ( current member of parliament for Kurunegala District, a member of the United National Party.  

A tense final morning, in which Pakistan had 120 to get with seven wickets in hand, began with the closest call. Mohammad Rizwan, coming forward to a Prabath Jayasuriya delivery, saw the ball slip between bat and pad before passing within a couple of centimetres of the off bail.  Then there was the rain. A large black cloud parked itself over the stadium when Pakistan had about 25 to get. Not willing to let his almost 400-ball innings end in a rain-affected draw, Shafique came down the pitch and tried to launch Dhananjaya de Silva over deep midwicket, and only ended up skying it to Kasun Rajitha, who came in a few metres off the boundary and dropped it.

But through all this, though three wickets fell, and though Pakistan had to scrap for the last 40 runs, Shafique's continued presence meant that they always had the chase in hand.  With 11 required, the dark cloud that had forced a hurried shot out of Shafique unleashed a torrent. But the heavy rain lasted only minutes, and it soon became clear that play would resume, which it did following a delay of about 90 minutes. Shafique fittingly hit the winning runs, a slap through the covers to take him to 160 not out off 406.   

That was not an ordinary result, now it is alleged .. ..   Sri Lanka Cricket has invited Alex Marshall, the head of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit, to investigate allegations of match-fixing made in Sri Lanka's parliament. The allegation relates to the first Test of Pakistan's tour of Sri Lanka in July, when Pakistan chased down a target of 342 in the fourth innings, to go 1-0 up in the series. The claim was made by Member of Parliament Nalin Bandara, who said this in parliament earlier this month.   

"In the last Pakistan series, our team scored 400-odd [Sri Lanka had set a target of 342, a ground record if achieved], and still lost in the last innings. From the person who rolls the pitch, everyone has been given money. The board has become a gambling den." He offered no evidence to support his allegation, which came at the tail-end of a speech that had mostly referred to SLC's alleged mismanagement of its players. During the speech, Bandara also referenced an ongoing feud between himself and SLC president Shammi Silva.  As Bandara's speech is covered by parliamentary privilege, it is immune to libel and defamation suits.  

Now getting to the first para -   Cricket lovers of Tamil Nadu have enjoyed this.  Ceylon  was not an official Test playing nation until 1982.  The MJ Gopalan Trophy was held annually — with the venue alternating between Madras, as it was called then, and Colombo.  The tournament was suspended after 1982-83, with Sri Lanka acquiring Test status and the  ethnic crisis. Subsequent attempts to revive it were intermittent and eventually given up in the new millennium.  Ceylon  have won the trophy  10 times, Tamil Nadu 5 times, and 12 matches have been drawn.

 

Decades ago, played MJ Gopalan, a double Inernational. Morappakam Josyam Gopalan  [1906 – 2003] represented India in cricket and hockey. When Ranji Trophy was inaugurated in 1934, MJ Gopalan delivered  the first ball of the  Ranji tournament. His only Test match was against England at Calcutta in early 1934.  In 1936 he was selected in the hockey team for the Berlin Olympics and the cricket team to tour England. It was known beforehand that Gopalan would have a small role to play in the England tour because of the presence of Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh. Still he chose the latter, which turned out to be a terrible decision. The hockey team captained by Dhyan Chand, one of the finest teams in the history of the sport, won the gold medal with little difficulty. As it turned out, Gopalan did not play a Test in England. The tour was marred by internal politics and the team returned in disgrace.   

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
24.11.2022

  

heard of Battle of Saraighat !! - hail Mahavir Lachit Barpukhan !!

 I vividly remember how in 1982 I was in Class 7 and read a chapter on Mahavir Lachit Barphukan as part of my history syllabus. With every re-reading of that chapter, the visualisation of his military heroism became clearer and more impactful. But as I grew older and explored advanced history books, a glaring gap became noticeable. 

Not my words but that of Himanta Biswa Sharma and in case you don’t know – he is the serving Chief Minister of Assam, a five timemember from Jalukbari.   We have read about Battle of Plassey, Battle of Panipat, Ibrahim Lodi, Gajni Mohammad, Babar, Akbar, Aurangazeb  and the like .. ..  ever read about Saraighat battle ???  

Saraighat in Guwahati lies on  the north bank of the river Brahmaputra. Sarai was a small village where the old abandoned N.F. Railway station of Amingaon was located.In Saraighat, it is here that a famous  naval battle with the Mughals on the waters of the Brahmaputra by “feigning an attack with a few ships from the front”, took place.  The Battle of Saraighat was a naval battle fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire (led by the Kachwaha raja, Ram Singh I), and the Ahom Kingdom (led by Lachit Borphukan) on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat. Although fewer in numbers, the Ahom Army defeated the Mughal Army by clever diplomatic negotiations to buy time, guerrilla tactics, psychological warfare, military intelligence and by exploiting the sole weakness of the Mughal forces—its navy.  The Battle of Saraighat was the last battle in the last major attempt by the Mughals to extend their empire into Assam. Though the Mughals managed to regain Guwahati briefly later after a Borphukan deserted it, the Ahoms wrested control in the Battle of Itakhuli in 1682 and maintained it till the end of their rule.   “The right-angled triangle of the Brahmaputra (Itakhuli-Kamakhya-Aswakranta) became a complicated tangle of boats and men battling to save themselves from drowning. The Assamese spanned the Brahmaputra by an improvised bridge of boats placed side by side. They also resorted to a wily trick, combining a frontal charge with a surprise attack from behind, that proved decisive”  !!  

The Ahom kingdom (1228–1826)(close to Six centuries)  was a late medieval  kingdom in the Brahmaputra Valley in Assam. It maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years having successfully resisted Mughal expansion in Northeast India.   It expanded under Suhungmung in the 16th century. The kingdom became weaker with the rise of the Moamoria rebellion, and subsequently fell to repeated Burmese invasions of Assam. With the defeat of the Burmese after the First Anglo-Burmese War and the Treaty of Yandabo in 1826, control of the kingdom passed into East India Company hands.   The British-controlled province after 1838 and later the Indian state of Assam came to be known by this name.   

Lachit Barphukan (24.11.1622 – 25.4.1672) was a daring  commander and Borphukan, in the Ahom kingdom, known for his leadership in the 1671 Battle of Saraighat that thwarted a drawn-out attempt by Mughal forces under the command of Ramsingh I to take over Ahom kingdom.  He died about a year later due to illness. 

Lachit Borphukan was the youngest son of Momai Tamuli Borbarua, the first Borbarua of upper-Assam and Commander-in-Chief of the Ahom army under King Pratap Singha. His father Momai Tamuli Borbarua, was a bonded labourer against a loan of four rupees, is his early life, later he turned to minister and a noble.  He was chosen for the position of Borphukan by Chakradhwaj Singha.  After being defeated by Lachit and his forces, the Mughals army sailed up the Brahmaputra river from Dhaka towards Assam advancing to Guwahati. The Mughal Army under Ram Singh I consisted of 30,000 infantry, 15,000 archers, 18,000 Turkish cavalry, 5,000 gunners and over 1000 cannons besides a large flotilla of boats.  Ram Singh, the Mughal commander in chief failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war. An arrow carrying a letter by Ram Singh telling that Lachit have been paid rupees one lakh and he should evacuate Guwahati was fired into the Ahom camp, which eventually reached the Ahom king, Chakradhwaj Singha 

Lachit Borphukan was victorious and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati.  Today, November 24 is celebrated as Lachit Divas (Lachit Day) in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan and the victory of the Assamese army at the Battle of Saraighat.  The best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy is conferred the Lachit Borphukan gold medal every year from 1999 

Now the Nation is celebrating its forgotten heroes correcting the wrongly portrayed history.  PM Shri Narendra Modi ji  will attend the valedictory function being organised in Delhi’s Vigyan Bhawan on 25 November to celebrate the 400th birth anniversary of Ahom commander Lachit Barphukon. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Assam government has geared up for the three-day-long celebrations of the 400th birth anniversary of Ahom general Lachit Barphukon in the National Capital.  The first day of the event began  on 23 November with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurating an exhibition. Today Union home minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest for the plenary session at Vigyan Bhawan. In February, former president Ram Nath Kovind had launched Barphukon’s birth anniversary celebrations and laid the foundation of a 150-foot bronze statue of the legendary commander being constructed at Hollongapar near Assam’s Teok.  

Hail those great warriors of our homeland, Jai Hind.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
24.11.2022

Marina beach - தேங்காய் மாங்காய் பட்டாணி சுண்டல் !!

I promise that this is not what I usually post !!  far different !  - please do read in full and revert with your comments !!!  உங்களுக்கு  45 வயதுக்கு  மேல் ஆகிவிட்டதா ?  சென்னைவாசியா !!  மெரினா கடற்கரையில்  - தேங்காய் மாங்காய் பட்டாணி சுண்டல் சாப்பிட்ட அனுபவம் உண்டா ?  -  இந்த பதிவை முழுமையாக படிக்கவும் ! - உங்களுக்கும் இதே அனுபவம் ஏற்பட்டு இருக்கலாம் ?!?!? 

Impersonation attacks continue to surge as cybercriminals increasingly leverage trusted brands and business relationships. Such sophisticated phishing attacks not only help adversaries better manipulate victims, but they also significantly boost their ability to carry out fraud, steal data and execute financial crimes. Since impersonation attacks leverage familiarity and reputation, they tend to appear more believable.  

When Elon Musk first launched his Twitter Blue subscription service, the whole point was to make it possible to buy the blue checkmark as a coveted status symbol. Now, the billionaire is backtracking (for now, at least), announcing in a tweet that the relaunch of Blue Verified checkmarks will be delayed, and likely when it does roll out, checkmarks distinguishing between Blue Verified subscribers and official verified accounts will be different colors.  “Holding off relaunch of Blue Verified until there is high confidence of stopping impersonation,” Musk tweeted. “Will probably use different color check for organizations than individuals.”  

இளைஞனான பாண்டியன் அண்ணியின் கொடுமை தாளாமல் தற்கொலைக்கு முயல்கிறான். அவனை கபாலி காப்பாற்றுகிறான். இன்சூரன்ஸ் பணத்துக்காக வேண்டி கபாலியும் மருதுவும் சேர்ந்து பாண்டியனை துன்புறுத்துகின்றனர். பாண்டியனைக் கொன்றுவிட்டு இன்சூரன்ஸ் பணத்தை தாங்கள் அடைய முயற்சிக்கின்றனர். அவர்களிடமிருந்து பாண்டியன் தப்பித்து விடுகிறான்.1962ம் ஆண்டு சிவாஜி நடித்து பி. ஆர். பந்துலு இயக்கத்தில் வெளிவந்த,   பலே பாண்டியா திரைப்படக்கதை!  

ஆள் மாறாட்டம்  தமிழ் சினிமாவுக்கு புதிதல்ல !!  எனினும் சங்கவியின் கதை முற்றிலும் வித்தியாசமானது.  வந்தவாசி செல்லும் பாதையில் வேம்பாக்கம் கிராமத்தில் வளர்ந்து, ஏரியில் குளித்து விளையாடி, பள்ளி பருவம்  சாதாரணமாகவே சென்றது.  அவள் இளங்கலை படிக்க சென்னை வந்த போது வேறு  சில மாணவிகளுடன் சேர்ந்து தங்கினாள்.  இளங்கலை முடித்து சரியான வேலை கிடைக்காததால் - தலைநகர் டெல்லி சென்று ஓர் பெரிய தொழிற்சாலையில் உயர் பதவியில் சேர்ந்தாள் -  அன்று முதல் ஏறுமுகம் தான் !! 

நிறைய பணம் அவளுக்கு நிறைய சந்தோஷத்தை தந்தாலும், அவள் தன் கிராமம் பக்கமோ, ஏன் சென்னை பக்கமோ செல்லவே இல்லை.  அந்த நிறுவனத்தில் ஒரு உயர் பதவியில் இருந்த கல்யாணமாகாத ஷன்பேகருக்கு அவளை பிடிக்கவில்லை.  தீபாவளி பண்டிகைக்கு பலர் ஊருக்கு செல்ல அவளும் அவனும் மட்டுமே அன்று அலுவலகத்தில் !! 

திடீரென அவன் அருகே வந்து நிற்க, சங்கவிக்கு படபடத்தது .. .. ..மீனா, நீ எந்த காலேஜில் படித்தாய் ?  உன்கூட படித்தவர்கள் இப்போது எங்கே உள்ளார்கள் என வினவினான் !!  நான் படித்தது, இராணி மேரி கல்லூரியில் - என் கூட படித்தவர்கள் யார் கூடவும் நான் இப்போது தொடர்பில் இல்லை என்றாள்.   நான் சொல்வதை கேட்காவிட்டால் - உன் மீது கடும் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டி இருக்கும் என சொல்லி, அவன் வெளியேறினான்.  

மீனா ??  -  சங்கவி  !!  - குழப்பமா !  .... கல்லூரி ஹாஸ்டலில் பழைய பீரோவில், ஒரு நாள் மீனா என்ற மாணவியின் முதுகலை படிப்பு சான்றிதழ்களை கண்ட சங்கவி ஆரம்பத்தில், அவற்றை தர முயற்சித்தாள்.  யார் அந்த மீனா கண்டு பிடிக்க முடியவில்லை.  வேலை சேரவேண்டும் என்ற வெறியில், ஆள் மாறாட்டம் செய்து, மீனா என்ற பெயரில், அந்த முதுகலை பட்டத்தை காட்டி - சேர்ந்து, உயர் பதவிகள் பெற்ற சந்தோஷங்கள் எல்லாம் இப்போது பயமாக மாறின !!  

பயம், ஆத்திரத்தில், மனது கெட்டு விடும்.  வெளியே போன ஷன்பேகர் சாப்பிட்டு திரும்பி வந்தால் என்ன செய்வது - அவனுக்கு நான் சான்றிதழ்களை மாற்றியது தெரியுமா ?  அவன் என்ன எதிர்பார்க்கிறான் ? - நாம் மாட்டிக்கொள்ளாமல் இருக்க அவனை மாடியில் இருந்து தள்ளி விடலாமா ? ............   கோவத்தில், பதட்டத்தின் உச்ச கட்டத்தில் மீனா .. ............... .......... 

Want to guess the ending !  - what do you feel about Sanghavi – one wrong step leading to some more !  Well, I also do not know the full story .. ..  .. you get one odd page only when you buy ‘thengai mangai pattani sundal’ in beach !!  (that gets packed in that cone shaped paper)  

In my younger days, as we sat in Marina beach in the evenings – from say 4 pm till pitch dark night, young boys with a thagara dappa full of kai murukku, milagu vadai  and sundal would roam around.  They were young and almost similar in looks, some old torn clothes, hair-oil flowing, spotting thiruneeru (vibuthi) on their foreheads.  When asked, mostly the same story, of running away from Madurai or some other village – landing up in Madras, only to be exploited by some group, who would send them with food material – they were forced to sell the entire stock and return with specified money, else they would not get food and would be beaten !!  

That sundal would invariably be packed in a single sheet of some Tamil magazine – and the story that was contained in that would often make an interesting reading !  

A couple of such sellers recently pictured at Marina beach.  

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
23.11.2022 

shadows !! - Nizhal nigam aagathu !!!

A shadow can never come closest to its original !!  .. .. a shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, or a reverse projection of the object blocking the light. 

One may not instantaneously recognize the name - Mahalakshmi Menon, better known by her stagename Shobha! (1962-19800) - In 1966, Shoba made her screen debut in Tamil thriller film Thattungal Thirakkappadum directed by actor J. P. Chandrababu and at 17 won National award for film Pasi; then vanished away committing suicide. Malayalam film Lekhayude Maranam Oru Flashback is supposedly based on her life and death. 

                    Indumathi hates men and she is adamant that she will never get married. Sanjeevi is a friend of Venkatachalam and often visits his house.   Though Indumathi too starts liking Sanjeevi, she is too egotistical to show her romantic side to Sanjeevi as she doesn't want to remove her stubborn attitude "mask".  

Nizhal Nijamagiradhu ( Illusion becomes reality)  directed by K. Balachander, was relased in  1978 introduced cut-shoe among youth – it had  Kamal Haasan, Sarath Babu, Sumithra Shobha – and  was a remake of the Malayalam film Adimakal.  Adimaikal had been released in 1969, directed by KS Sethu Madhavan, starring Prem Nazir, Sathyan, Sheela and Sharada, to the music of G Devarajan.  The film was  based on the novel of the same name by Pamman.  The film was remade in Hindi as Intezar (1973) in Telugu as Chilakamma Cheppindi (1977) and in Tamil as Nizhal Nijamagiradhu  

For those of us given to a life of MS Excel and Powerpoint – a drop shadow is a subtle way to enhance a graphic or text. While you can format text and shapes with a drop shadow effect in a slide, customizing it to suit the shape or text is a bigger challenge.  In PowerPoint, you can apply a drop shadow to WordArt or any other text and emphasize the word on the slide 

The white-throated kingfisher (Halcyon smyrnensis) pictured here flying above water, is  also known as the white-breasted kingfisher,  is a tree kingfisher, widely distributed in Asia.   It can often be found well away from water where it feeds on a wide range of prey that includes small reptiles, amphibians, crabs, small rodents and even birds. During the breeding season they call loudly in the mornings from prominent perches including the tops of buildings in urban areas or on wires.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
23.11.2022 

How to name it ! - how will Narayan Jagadeesan name his child ?!?

I think Narayan Jagadeesan is still unmarried – my son asked me a hypothetical Q – on what NJ  would name his son / daughter ?? – a Cricket Q only !!

Miles away lies – Sydney -   the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about 70 km (43.5 mi) towards the Blue Mountains to the west.  Sydney is made up of 658 suburbs, spread across 33 local government areas. Residents of the city are known as "Sydneysiders” -  nicknames of the city include the 'Emerald City' and the 'Harbour City'.  Aboriginal Australians have inhabited the Greater Sydney region for at least 30,000 years, and Aboriginal engravings and cultural sites are common throughout Greater Sydney. The traditional custodians of the land on which modern Sydney stands are the clans of the Darug, Dharawal and Eora peoples.

During his first Pacific voyage in 1770, James Cook charted the eastern coast of Australia, making landfall at Botany Bay. In 1788, the First Fleet of convicts, led by Arthur Phillip, founded Sydney as a British penal colony, the first European settlement in Australia.  After World War II, Sydney experienced mass migration and by 2021 over 40 per cent of the population was born overseas.  

We grew up seeing the exploits of Clive Lloyd- saw a bit of Roy Fredricks, then it was Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes opening partnerships, Allwyn Kallicharan,  King Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, Richie Richardson .. .. .. and later Brian Charles Lara, born in 1969 at Cantaro, Santa Cruz, Trinidad. 

At a time when we fully admired Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, there was Brian Lara scoring massive scores .. with elegance.  Even his stance was thrilling - the bat raised high in the air, the weight poised on a bent front knee, the eyes low and level. Then the guillotine would fall, sending the ball flashing to the boundary.  Lara played for Trinidad's junior football and table tennis sides, but it was cricket that really drew him. In 1990, at 20, he became Trinidad and Tobago's youngest captain, and that year, he also made his Test debut, in that 3rd Test, Lahore,  1990,   scoring 44 and 6 against Pakistan.  Masood Anwar too debuted in that match but played only that solitary test !!

In the space of two months in 1994, Lara's 375 and 501 not out broke world records for the highest Test and first-class scores, but sudden fame seemed to turn him into a confused and contradictory figure. During an inventive but largely fruitless spell as captain of a fading West Indies team, Lara reiterated his genius by single-handedly defying the 1998-99 Australian tourists with a sequence of 213, 8, 153 not out and 100.

Lara ended up with  11953 runs in 131 tests with 34 centuries; 10405 runs in 299 ODIs with 19 centuries. Though he scored 375 & 400 ! -  his 277 at Sydney was significant.  In his fifth test, played at Sydney in Jan 1993, Lara scored his maiden century – 277 – West Indies went on to win the final two tests taking the series at 2-1 -   Lara went on to name his daughter Sydney after scoring 277 at SCG.

Yesterday at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru in Vijay Hazare tourney against Arunachal Pradesh – so many  records were shattered by the Tamil Nadu batter during his innings of 277 off 141 balls against Arunachal Pradesh at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.  His individual score of 277 is now  the highest individual score in men's List A cricket. The previous highest was 268 by Alistair Brown against Glamorgan in 2002. Jagadeesan's 277 is also the highest score in all List A cricket, surpassing 271 not out by Sripali Weerakkody against Pushpadana Ladies in the 2007 Sri Lanka Women's One-Day tournament.

With Sai Sudarshan, the other centurion, NJ shared a partnership of 416 – becoming the first pair to share a 400-run stand for any wicket in men's List A cricket. The previous highest partnership was 372 between Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels for the second wicket against Zimbabwe in 2015.

The Q on the lines of Lara naming his daughter ‘Sydney’ after his 277 at Sydney Cricket ground – Jagadeesan may name his off-spring after the place he scored 277  .. .. generally, we do not name after places (exceptions like Thirupathi, Palani, Chidambaram, Mathurai ! .. ..  – Bengaluru is sort of ruled out – he may deeply think of Chinnaswami !!

In case you did not know, the Bengaluru stadium is named after M Chinnaswamy, who was the president of the Indian board from 1977 to  1980, and was involved in the administration of Karnataka cricket for close to four decades. The foundation for the construction of the stadium was laid in May 1969 and building began in 1970. The stadium was given Test status in hosted West Indies in the opening match in Nov 1974, even when the stadium was only half-built. That match  saw the debut of two West Indian greats, Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards.  Hemant Kanitkar debuted and made 65 in his very first International innings. Chinnaswamy represented India in the International Cricket Council in 1965, 1973 and 1977 - 1980. A lawyer by profession, he actively practiced from 1925 till 1975.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
22.11.2022
  

weather predictions - what the monk thinks !!

When some weather reports say : the intense clouds is now north east of Chennai and tomorrow it is expected to be east of Chennai and very very close to us and some part of the intense clouds are going to fall over the city and the adjoining areas.

 

.. .. piriyala !! - will it rain today ??  is what commoner asks !!