Sri TES Raghavan is no more !!

Sad to share the news that Triplicane lost one of its famed sons – Thiru TES Raghavan [Thirumalai Echampadi Srinivasa Raghavan].  He was 94

 

The versatile scholar, Mr TES was a   Hindi Pundit,  who worked in Hindu High School  also.  His the Hindi translation of Thiruvalluvar''s ''Thirukkural'' won the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize 2020    

He was residing in Triplicane, was with his son at Bengaluru when he passed away peacefully today (25.4.2024) 

Sadagati to the departed and pray Emperuman to give strength to his son Mr Parthasarathi and his siblings to bear this colossal loss. Understand that obsequies will be performed tomorrow (ie., 26.4.2024)   Friday at around  11.00 AM at New 114 Old 138 Venkatrangam Pillai Street, Triplicane, Chennai 600 005. Contact 94441 68779/ 044 28442126/ 044 28442329

 
Respects to the departed soul
With regret – S Sampathkumar
25.4.2024

life is about efforts to attract !!

 

What is life about ! – if it were to be defined by a man close to his 60s!    Half of it was lost in trying to attract people, to showcase what one did not possess really and the rest lost in realizing that nothing worthwhile happened.  Not an advice to youth – simple, live your life in the you want, not the way you feel others like !! 

The beauty of the saree is determined by its ‘Pallu’  (the broad hem) – ask any Man, who accompanies his wife or sisters or – when buying a saree !!  - would you have observed many  ‘a good lookin model showing pallu in saree advts’ .. .. Tilakaratne Dilshan ?!? 

Flirting !  - might bring back some memories of your younger days !  In our school days,  rich possessed cycles and some had special skills – they would try riding up and down, thinking that the girl would get attracted by his driving skills !! – sometimes might fall down and become an object of ridicule ! 

Trying to attract is a trait common in humans right from the birth of first woman ! - everyone knows the feeling of walking into a room full of friendly faces, and although each person seems nice, open and willing to talk, only one face stands out from the crowd. There may be a lot of physically attractive people in the room, but you can't seem to take your eyes off of this one particular person.  .. .. or many of us would like to attract a stranger more than a known person, thereby attaching undue importance to one and trying to display all our good qualities to woe and attract ! Most people can tell if they're attracted to someone in the first 90 seconds after they meet. Some theories  suggests that women are naturally attracted to men who exude confidence and passion, and who seem to lead exciting lives.   

According to a Professor of Anthropology, We always want what we can't have. No post on fatal attractions or crushes that develop along line – here is a duck trying to woo its mate !

 
Thoughts of Aasami sirippu sinthanaiyaan !!
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
23.4.2024

 

Bleev Me !! ~ Bowlers too hog limelight in IPL 2024

IPL 2024 is becoming bowler’s death-knell with 300 threatening to be breached and teams have crossed 250 with ease !! yet two bowlers have garnered glory in today’s match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.

 

He would sadly remember that 52^nd match at Jaipur on 7^th May 2023.  Just when Rajasthan Royals thought they had collected two points by defending 214 and had started to celebrate, their last-ball wicket transformed into a no-ball from Sandeep Sharma (called belatedly by the third umpire), and Abdul Samad smoked a straight six off the free hit to get Sunrisers Hyderabad the four more runs they needed, sparking wild celebrations in the orange camp while the players and home fans in pink were left stunned. 

The diminutive Sandeep Sharma has grown the difficult way.  He has been plagued by injuries including a massive shoulder injury, has had to sit out, had indifferent two years, yet has been an unsung hero.   Largely in  T20, a bowler up for the fight is way more important than a bowler with the skill. 

He looks small but bowls well – and one is left wondering  if Sandeep would have played more than just the two T20Is he has for India about a decade ago,  had it not been for the presence of Bhuvneshwar KUmar. Now, there is no place for Bhuvneshwar himself in the India side. Sandeep Sharma – who, a swing bowler, probably a little too slow in the air or too early with the movement? A death bowler celebrating with one finger raised to the sky only to find out he has overstepped and then lose the match on the re-bowled last ball? 

Before you read further, today the celebrity was Yuzvendra Chahal.  He became the first bowler in IPL history  to reach the milestone of 200 wickets. Dwayne Bravo is second on the list of leading wicket-takers in the IPL with 183 scalps.  There are 2 with 200+ wickets in T20 - Danny Briggs (219) and Samit Patel (208) playing  in England's T20 Blast.

 

Sandeep Sharma  went unsold at auction for an year yet Rajasthan Royals had plans for him and drafted him – in a side where Trent Boult has the new ball 

Recall that back in July 2015 at Harare there were 7 debutants.   In that  1st T20, India beat Zimbabwe  convincingly by 54 runs.   Indian openers Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, followed by Uthappa all made 30s – Mohit Sharma, Harbhajan, Bhuvaneswar Kumar and Axar Patel bowled well.  The score in brief : India 178 for 5 (Uthappa 39*, Mpofu 3-33) beat Zimbabwe 124 for 7 (Axar 3-17) by 54 runs.  There were 7 debutants - :  STR Binny, KM Jadhav, MK Pandey, AR Patel and Sandeep Sharma (India); N Madziva and T Muzarabani (Zimbabwe) – some of them have been playing T20 for long courtesy the muddled IPL. 

Sandeep Sharma, 22,  at that time of his debut had already played 43 matches in the format - many of them for Kings XI Punjab. At International level, Chamu Chibhabha lifted his very first delivery over long-on, holding the pose after his shot. Hamilton Masakadza scooped his fourth delivery for a second six.  There have been 10  bowlers who have conceded a six off their first legitimate delivery in T20Is (at that time) and the list includes Muttiah Muralitharan. The other debutant Neville Madziva found it even tougher conceding 46. 

Today he gave a remarkable exhibition of swing bowling with figures of 4-0-18-5.  His victims of the day are :  Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma,  Tim David & Gerald Coetzee 

Interesting. 
 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
22.4.2024 

Two abandoned kitten and ... .. some Samaritans

Do you like animals .. .. have any pets !  feed the stray ones regularly? Pets are a big part of life in many parts of the world, and a growing economy often means a growing pet population. Dogs and cats are the most popular pets.

Do we really see enough of good things and appreciate !  No post on having pets or treating them as menace ! – one on abandoned kitten ! .. .. more about the goodness of a shop keeper in Icehouse and another woman.  Even to those living in Triplicane,  Eagle footwear may not exactly ring a bell – this shop selling footwear, bags and repairing exists for decades.

Read that when  kittens are first born they are completely helpless. Their eyes are closed, their ears are folded, and they can’t stand, keep themselves warm or eat on their own. They rely on their mother  for everything!  A newborn kitten will have a low temperature of 95-97 degrees, which will go up to 100 degrees over the course of the first week. During this time it is critical to provide a gentle heat source to keep the kitten warm and stable. The kitten's environment should be between 85 and 90 degrees at this time.  Newborns do not have a gag reflex. For this reason, it is essential to feed very slowly and with extreme caution.

தெருக்களில் நாம் பல வித்தியாசமான காட்சிகளை காணலாம் (நம் கண்கள் திறந்து இருந்தால் !) .. .. முண்டாசு கவிஞன் மஹாகவி பாரதியார் முழங்கினார் :  - கேளடா ...மானிடவா .. என்று அவர்தம் வீட்டில் பஞ்சு வெள்ளை பூனை ஈன்ற குட்டிகளை பற்றி : 

சாம்பல் நிறத்தொரு குட்டி*  கரும் சாந்தின் நிறம் ஓரு குட்டி

பாம்பின் நிறமொரு குட்டி * வெள்ளை பாலின் நிறம் ஓரு குட்டி

 

**  **  **  **

மியாவ் மியாவ் பூனைக்குட்டி !  வீட்டை சுத்தும் பூனைக்குட்டி !!

அத்தான் மனது வெல்லக்கட்டி ! அவர் அழகை சொல்லடி செல்லக்கட்டி !!

குமுதம் 1961 ஆம் ஆண்டு வெளிவந்தது.  ஏ. சுப்பாராவ் இயக்கத்தில் வெளிவந்த இத்திரைப்படத்தில் எஸ். எஸ். ராஜேந்திரன், விஜயகுமாரி மற்றும் பலரும் நடித்திருந்தனர். இப்படத்திற்கு கே. வி. மகாதேவன் இசையமைத்திருந்தார். பல பாடல்கள் ஹிட்டானது.  எம். எஸ். இராஜேஸ்வரி  குரலில், மியாவ் மியாவ் பூனை குட்டி பாடல் பிரபலமானது.   இவர்தாம் - களத்தூர் கண்ணம்மா திரைப்படத்தில் அம்மாவும் நீயே அப்பாவும் நீயே பாடியவர்.    நாயகன் படத்து  - நான் சிரித்தால் தீபாவளி, பாடலிலும் இவர் குரல் ஒலிக்கும்.

Cats have been a cinema staple for more than a century, dating all the way back to the 1901 silent short film The Sick Kitten. Sometimes they're cute, and sometimes they're creepy, but a film is almost always more interesting with a feline element.  The Sick Kitten is a 1903 British short silent comedy film, directed by George Albert Smith, featuring two young children tending to a sick kitten.

Yesterday found these kitten in a small box and the owner trying to feed them with a syringe.  Then another lady waiting for bus peeped in and advised that they are better bottle fed!  - good natured people trying to care for abandoned little ones.  One feels very bad about the Society that we live in.  Someone had placed these two little ones,  presumably a day or two old in a plastic bag -  literally abandoned, separated from their mother, or may be mother had died or ran away or whatever. In that stage, the kittens would have died in a day or two – if they had managed to get out of the bag, could have been ran over by big vehicles on road.

Their luck, they were spotted by a man running a small shop near Ice house  bus stand – he was sad in seeing these juveniles.  He is Sahabdeen – Eagle footwear is the shop near Ice house bus stand / NKT Girls School.   Read that kittens after being born,  display primary altriciality and are fully dependent on their mothers for survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. After about two weeks, kittens develop quickly and begin to explore the world outside their nest. After a further three to four weeks, they begin to eat solid food and grow baby teeth.

Mr Deen and a woman by name  Mrs Latha took care of these abandoned pets, provided them safety with a carton box and some rags, first fed them with a syringe, now with a feeding bottle.  They have  successfully taken care of the 2 kitten  for a week or more – now when photographed inside the small box that had become their home, they had opened eyes but yet weak – hope they too live their lives

Feel happy in being a long standing customer of this store and appreciate the good act of this Samaritans.

With regards – S Sampathkumar
21.4.2024 

Jasminum sambac - Adukku malligai - Incorporeal Jasmine !

Another day – a holiday at that and it dawned so beautifully – so happy in seeing so many of them in my terrace !!  அனங்கம்  என்றால் என்ன அறிவீரா !!  :  1)  உடலில்லாதது. அங்கமனங்கமான (incorporeal)  2) இருவாட்சி  3) மல்லிகை பூ.   உருவம் என்பதை ‘இருக்கும் ஒன்று’ எனக் கொண்டால், அருவம் என்பதை ‘இல்லாத ஒன்று’ எனலாம்.

ஒச்சாயி ஒரு விதவை - கரிசல்பட்டி கிராமத்தில்  பள்ளி படிப்பை பாதியில் நிறுத்திய அவளது மகன் வீரண்ணனோடு வாழ்ந்து வருகிறாள்.  ஒச்சாயின் பெண்ணுக்கும் மூக்கையா தேவருக்கும் பிறந்த மகள் முத்துப்பேச்சி.  மூக்கையா தேவருக்கு ஹம்சவல்லி என்ற பெண்ணுடன் தொடர்பு உள்ளது.  முத்துப்பேச்சிக்கு தன் மாமன் மீது ஆசை !! - அவர்கள் குடும்பத்தில் நிலத்தகராறு காரணமாக பேச்சு வார்த்தை இல்லை !!

பொத்தி வச்ச மல்லிகை மொட்டு, பூத்திருச்சு வெக்கத்த விட்டு

பேசிப் பேசி ராசியானதே, மாமன் பேரைச் சொல்லிச் சொல்லி ஆளானதே

ரொம்ப நாளானதே

பாரதிராஜாவின் இயக்கத்தில்   1983ம் ஆண்டு வெளிவந்த படம் மண்வாசனை  - புதுமுக நடிகர்கள் பாண்டியன், ரேவதி மற்றும் பலர் நடிக்க, இளையராஜா இன்னிசை தந்தது இப்படத்தை வெற்றிப்படமாக்கியது.   இப்படத்தில் மேற்கண்ட  சிறப்பான பாடல் பட்டிதொட்டியெங்கும் ஒலித்தது :

Incorporeality is "the state or quality of being incorporeal or bodiless; immateriality; incorporealism."  Incorporeal - means "Not composed of matter; having no material existence”.

Incorporeality is a quality of souls, spirits, and God in many religions. In ancient philosophy, any attenuated "thin" matter such as air, aether, fire or light was considered incorporeal. The ancient Greeks believed air, as opposed to solid earth, to be incorporeal, insofar as it is less resistant to movement; and the ancient Persians believed fire to be incorporeal in that every soul was said to be produced from it.  In modern philosophy, a distinction between the incorporeal and immaterial is not necessarily maintained: a body is described as incorporeal if it is not made out of matter.

In the problem of universals, universals are separable from any particular embodiment in one sense, while in another, they seem inherent nonetheless. Aristotle offered a hylomorphic account of abstraction in contrast to Plato's world of Forms. Aristotle used the Greek terms soma (body) and hyle (matter, literally "wood").

 

"In Ayurveda, it is  known as 'Hrudhya Gandha', which means 'fragrance pleasing to the heart'. It is a cooling herb.  For sure you love them – they come ‘dime a dozen’ and there are so many varieties.  Here is one grown in our terrace ! -  

 

அடுக்கு மல்லிகை - இருவாட்சி மல்லிகை!  சிரியா நாட்டில் உள்ள டமாஸ்கஸ் நகரின் குறியீட்டு மலர் மல்லிகை. இந்தியாவில் மல்லிகை என்றாலே மதுரை. மதுரை என்றாலே மல்லிகைதான். மல்லிகைச் செடியா? கொடியா? -  இரண்டும்தான். மல்லிகை ஆலிவ் குடும்பமான ‘ஒலிசியே’ எனும் புதர் மற்றும் கொடிகள் சார்ந்த பேரினம். ‘ஜாஸ்மினும் சம்பக்’ (Jasminum Sambac) எனும் தாவரவியல் பெயரால் அழைக்கப்படும் மல்லிகை, இந்தியா, ஸ்ரீலங்கா, தாய்லாந்து, மியான்மர் நாடுகளில் காணப்படும் மலரினமாகும். 

The biggest difference between jasmine varieties is their growth habit. The most well-known types are vines, especially Jasminum polyanthum.   Given our love affair with jasmine, it's no surprise that this flower finds several mentions, from being used to decorating the hair or  being added to earthen pots of water to quench thirst.  The Layered Jasmine plant is a deciduous shrub native to Asia,  it produces stunning flowers that have  ornamental and commercial values.

Jasminum sambac (Arabian jasmine) is a species of jasmine native to tropical Asia, from the Indian subcontinent to Southeast Asia. It is cultivated globally.  Jasminum sambac is a small shrub or vine growing up to 0.5 to 3 m (1.6 to 9.8 ft) in height. It is widely cultivated for its attractive and sweetly fragrant flowers. The flowers may be used as a fragrant ingredient in perfumes and jasmine tea. It is the national flower of the Philippines, where it is known as sampaguita,  as well as being one of the three national flowers of Indonesia, where it is known as melati putih.

Jasminum sambac is classified under the genus Jasminum under the tribe Jasmineae.  It belongs to the olive family Oleaceae.  The English common name of "Arabian jasmine", Jasminum sambac is due to it being widely cultivated in Southwest of Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Oman. The Medieval Arabic term "zanbaq" denoted jasmine flower-oil from the flowers of any species of jasmine. This word entered late medieval Latin as "sambacus" and "zambacca" with the same meaning as the Arabic, and then in post-medieval Latin plant taxonomy the word was adopted as a label for the J. sambac species.  In 1753, Carl Linnaeus first described the plant as Nyctanthes sambac in the first edition of his famous book Systema Naturae. In 1789, William Aiton reclassified the plant to the genus Jasminum. He also coined the common English name of "Arabian jasmine".

Very happy to see a bunch of them this morning in my terrace !

With regards – S Sampathkumar
21.4.2024

 

  

Delhi Carnage by Head Master and student !

By some queer statistics – can you imagine what signifies that :  13^th july 1974 to 12^th Sept 1982  

 

Today it was carnage ! by Head Master and a Student -  at some point of time, when the screen queried would Sun Risers erase their own high score ! – the answer seemed obvious – for it appeared that 300 would be breached and perhaps even 400 was within the realms of possibility.  All in a match where a 28 ball 53 may not be spoken off much – and Delhi bowlers could be commended for restricting their opponents at 266 in 20 overs !  - yes you are reading that right. 

It was bloody carnage at Delhi in 35^th match of IPL 2024 as Sunrisers reached 100 in just  5 overs -  it read : Khaleel Ahamed 19; Lalit Yadav 21; Anrich Nortje 22; Lalit Yadav 21 & KUldeep 20 !!!    What do you call today’s game !!  ~ a nightmare for the bowler, grand work for the Statisticians !!  at last Abhishek Sharma got out to a stunning catch by Axar Patel off Kuldeep having made 46 off mere 12 with six sixers, his partner Travis Head got out at 89 off 32 with 6 sixers and 11 fours. They broke the record held by Nottinghamshire with 106 for 0 against Durham in 2017 at Trent Bridge. The previous highest in the IPL was 105 for 0 by Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2017. 

Shahbaz Ahmed – left arm spinner and left hand bat made 59 off 29, hitting the last ball for a 6 to have a strike rate of 203.   Today Travis Head got his 50 off 16 balls joining his partner as the fastest.  Ahhishek had made 50 against MI earlier this season.   This season Sunrisers have breched 250 thrice !! 

I grew up watching One dayers and that was the time when a score 240+ was considered a safe score in 50 overs Cricket.  India played their very first ODI at Leeds on 13.7.1974, batting first made 265 in 55 overs  – Captain Ajit Wadekar made 67 while Brijesh Patel made 82 with 2 sixers.   A very good score those days, yet they lost to England. 

Their next score over 250 came in Sept 12, 1982 (29 matches later) at Amritsar against Sri Lanka.  Krishnamachari Srikkanth blazed 57, while Ashok Malhothra’s 40 and Kapil Dev 49 took India to 269/7 in 46 overs (rain reduced) – India won comfortably.  300 was very formidable.   

300+ was indeed formidable – in One dayers.  Our first score of 300+ came on Apr 15, 1996 in Pepsi Sharjah Cup against Pakistan. India made 305/5 and won by 28 runs.  Not many would remember that Sachin Tendulkar opened with Vikram Rathour.  Man of the match Sachin made 118 while Navjot Sidhu made 101. Tendulkar and Sidhu had a partnership of 231. Paki attack consisted off Waqar Younis, Aaqib Javed, Ataur Rehman, Saqlain Mushtaq and Aamer Sohail.  Rehman had forgettable figures of 10-0-85-1.  Indian attack was Javgal Srinath, B Venkateshwara Prasad, Anil Kumble, Ashish Kapoor, Sachin Tendulkar and Ajay Jadeja. 

The first time when 300 was breached in ODI Cricket too involved India, but what every Indian would like to forget !!  ~ it was the 1^st match of Prudential WC at London on 7.6.1975.  England made 334/4 while Indians made an ungainly crawling 132/3 in 60  overs.   Madanlal bowled the first delivery to Dennis Amiss who opened with JA Jameson.  Amiss made 137. Fletcher made 48, Tony Greig was out for 4,  Chris Old played a cameo making 52 off 30.  Madanlal, Mohinder amaranth, Karsan Ghavri, Eknath solkar and Srinivasan Venkatraghavan were the bowlers.    

Needing  335 – Sunil Gavaskar made 36 not out off 174  deliveries.  Solkar made 8, Anshuman Gaekwad made 22, Gundappa Viswanath 37, Brijesh Patel 16 not out,.  Indians would certainly like to forget this match. 

Breaching 300 in T20  is likely to happen this season itself in IPL – as bowlers continue to suffer in the hands of power tool wielding big hitters.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
20.4.2024
 

what happens when Thala walks into bat !!

"Lucknow" is the anglicised spelling of the local pronunciation "Lakhnau". According to one legend, the city is named after Lakshmana, another  hero of the Hindu ithihasa Ramayana. The legend states that Lakshmana had a palace or an estate in the area, which was called Lakshmanapuri, the    settlement came to be known as Lakhanpur (or Lachhmanpur) by the 11th century, and later, Lucknow. 

Sound is measured in decibels (dB). A whisper is about 30 dB, normal conversation is about 60 dB, and a motorcycle engine running is about 95 dB. Noise above 70 dB over a prolonged period of time may start to damage your hearing.  What would 95dB mean and can you imagine where you would heat that ?  

On 6^th Nov 2018, the stadium hosted its first international match, a Twenty20 International (T20I) between India and the West Indies, becoming the 52nd stadium in India to host an international cricket match.  Yesterday Chennai Super Kings played Lucknow Super Giants at Ekana Cricket Stadium [Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee (BRSABV) Ekana Cricket Stadium] having a seating capacity of 50,000, and is the fifth largest international cricket stadium of India.  

Team CSK is not known for chopping or changing its order or approach much.  Yet this time Sir Jadeja walked in at no. 4 surprising many though the situation was bad.  Put in, CSK  lost Rachin Ravindra for a golden duck and, three overs later, Ruturaj Gaikwad edged a Yash Thakur outswinger behind. Losing two wickets in the powerplay, perhaps, made CSK save Shivam Dube for later and send  Jadeja who played responsibly meaning quite slowly.  Ajinkya Rahane,  made efforts to keep the score card ticking with a regular flow of boundaries.  Sooner  LSG bowlers stifled Moeen Ali and Jadeja - they went 34 balls without a boundary. Jadeja broke the drought in the 16th over, and reached his fifty in the 17th with a six off Mohsin Khan that Deepak Hooda should have taken but only managed to tip over.

 

Moeen set things up for Dhoni with three sixes in a row off Bishnoi in the 18th over, and Dhoni came out to a rapturous reception when Moeen holed out attempting a fourth six off the same bowler.  After a single off his first ball, Dhoni was facing two inexperienced bowlers in Mohsin and Thakur. He first bashed Mohsin to the extra-cover boundary for a one-bounce four, and followed it with the most un-Dhoniesque six you'll see: walking across because Mohsin had been bowling them wide outside off and lapping him over the keeper's head. It was a 14-run over that included three wides.

 

The fans - almost entirely yellow - were having the time of their lives. Dhoni got the strike in the last over, he clobbered a six over cow corner. Thakur attempted wide yorkers that resulted in two more fours off the last three balls and Dhoni finished on 28 off just nine balls that helped CSK smash 63 in last four overs. Clearly the score was not enough though. Throughout the current IPL season, Dhoni has been in formidable form, maintaining an undefeated streak and amassing 87 runs with an extraordinary strike rate exceeding 255. His sustained excellence and ability to control the game’s rhythm affirm his status as one of cricket’s all-time greats. 

The Ekana Stadium crowd in Lucknow was served the perfect buffet on Friday night: spectacular MS Dhoni fireworks that powered Chennai Super Kings to 176 for 6 and then the home team Lucknow Super Giants chasing it down with KL Rahul making  82 off 53 from captain. 

The stadium was awash in a sea of CSK yellow perhaps thinking that this could well the Thala’s final appearance here.  Capturing the moment’s intensity, Sasha, the wife of cricketer Quinton de Kock, shared an Instagram story that spoke volumes. Her post featured a snapshot of her smartwatch alerting to “Loud Environment: Sound levels hit 95 decibels,” a testament to the roaring support for Dhoni that could potentially lead to temporary hearing loss after mere minutes of exposure.

 

The Noise app on Apple Watch measures the ambient sound levels in your environment using the microphone and duration of exposure. When Apple Watch detects that the decibel level has risen to a point where hearing could be affected, it notifies the users with a tap on the wrist !!

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
20.4.2024 

Here comes the Lioness !!

 

விழியிலே மணி விழியில், மௌன மொழி பேசும்

 

‘Nants ingonyama bagithi Baba Sithi uhm ingonyama.

‘Nants ingonyama bagithi baba Sithi uhhmm ingonyama Ingonyama Siyo Nqoba Ingonyama Ingonyama nengw’ enamabala’ 

‘Here comes a lion, father, Oh yes it’s a lion.

‘Here comes a lion, father, Oh yes it’s a lion. A lion we’re going to conquer, a lion, a lion and a leopard come to this open place.’

 

‘The Circle of Life’, the opening call in The Lion King, marks the moment the young Simba is held up by Rafiki for all the animals of Pride Rock to see.

cyclone in Arab desert land !!

A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the land surface of the Earth is arid or semi-arid. This includes much of the polar regions, where little precipitation occurs, and which are sometimes called polar deserts or "cold deserts".  

The word meant  a bag made of palm leaves in the language of the Maldives. A cyclonic storm named as ‘Tropical Cyclone Gonu’ was indeed odd occurring   in the Gulf of Oman and made landfall in Iran, a nation not known for cyclones.  That was considered a thing of the past and a rare occurrence.

The Arab states of the Persian Gulf  refer  to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen is bound to the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based on history and culture.

The term has been used in different contexts to refer to a number of Arab states in the Gulf region. The prominent regional political union Gulf Cooperation Council includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. 

For those of us watching Vadivelu, Gulf country is Dubai and includes Apitabi. !! 

The Gulf has been severely impacted by heavy rain  in the Persian Gulf, causing flash flooding across the region. Several states recorded nearly a year's worth of rain in a single day. The floods had a significant impact across the region, with Oman and the United Arab Emirates being particularly affected,  resulting in the deaths of at least 24 people, including 19 in Oman.  Southeastern Iran, Yemen, and the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, as well as the Gulf states of Bahrain and Qatar, also experienced heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding.

The Persian Gulf region is known for its hot and dry weather, though heavy rains causing flooding have also occurred with greater regularity in recent years.  A  Senior forecaster  of the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) explained that "a low pressure system in the upper atmosphere, coupled with low pressure at the surface had acted like a pressure 'squeeze' on the air. That squeeze, intensified by the contrast between warmer temperatures at ground level and colder temperatures higher up, created the conditions for the powerful thunderstorm".  Meteorologists from the University of Reading stated that the heavy rain was caused by large thunderstorms.

In Oman, at least 19 people were killed due to the floods that  included 10 schoolchildren and their driver whose vehicle was washed away by flood waters in Samad al-Shan on 14 April 2024.  The UAE witnessed a record-breaking rainfall in a 24 hour period, surpassing Emirati meteorological data since records began in 1949.  

In the aftermath of the floods, some news outlets quoted specialist meteorologist Ahmed Habib linking the heavy downpours to the UAE's cloud seeding program. Due to the arid desert climate and high temperatures, cloud seeding has been used previously in the United Arab Emirates in order to combat water scarcity. Dismissing the allegations,   the deputy director-general of the UAE’s National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), said the institution “did not conduct any seeding operations during this event.  Scientists from the University of Reading, whose cloud seeding program is used by the UAE, denied that cloud seeding was to blame for the heavy rainfall, given that the large-scale weather pattern was predicted in advance and was too large to be influenced by cloud seeding. They added that the effects of cloud seeding are typically short-lived, lasting for a few hours.

Recalling Cyclone Gonu that  struck the Gulf in June 2007.  It was  an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that became the strongest cyclone on record in the Arabian Sea. The second named tropical cyclone of the 2007 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Gonu developed from a persistent area of convection in the eastern Arabian Sea on June 1, 2007.  It  turned northward into the Gulf of Oman, and dissipated on June 7, after making landfall in southern Iran, the first landfall in the country since 1898.

Intense tropical cyclones like Gonu are extremely rare in the Arabian Sea, and most storms in this area tend to be small and dissipate quickly The cyclone caused 50 deaths and about $4.2 billion in damage (2007 USD) in Oman, where the cyclone was considered the nation's worst natural disaster.  

With regards – S Sampathkumar
19^th Apr 2024 

Featured here are damages of Gonu

How many are standing to vote in your booth ????

Indian Elections are the toughest ones to conduct in a country of 1,439,053,844 as of 18.4.2024, based on Worldometer. Election Commission deserves appreciation for this electoral exercise.  It is fully technology as votes are cast on EVM which has to a large extent eliminated booth capturing and mass voting (by hooligans) 

Am surprised that you can find the no. of people standing in Queue in your booth and go to vote, if you have not voted yet.  Check for yourself at : https://erolls.tn.gov.in/Queue/

 

If it less than 30 in queue, it should take around 15 mins only. No Excuse at all for staying away! Please cast your vote without fail.  Do carry approved photo ID card

 

In a city of educated masses, can we take the polling % to higher 90s !?!??! 

 

19.4.2024 

Technology stops Tilak Varma !! - what is a dead ball ??

Technology has changed the game a lot !  in 1983 tense WC finals – with mighty West Indies tottering, remember a moment, Krish Srikkanth picking up the ball and throwing down  the stumps at non-striker end, most of us believed Faud Bacchus was short of crease ! – he was not given out in an era when we thought every direct hit earned a run out ! – we cursed the Umpire.  Now a days, many a decisions are overturned by referrals with the use of technology.  Yet Tilak Verma would be cursing technology and hopefully, it may not have any impact in the result of today’s match at Mullanpur.

 

Surprisingly in a Team that boasts of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Tim David,  Romario Shepherd – and a team that had big hitters like Kieron Pollard – Tilak Varma has a milestone of 50 sixers – the quickest to reach that target for MI.    

Whether or not technology is a blessing or a curse has been a heated debate for a while. In cricket, the answer is pretty straightforward. Now that cricket matches are regularly recorded and aired, cameras are an expected feature on the pitch. Today towards the end, when MI was hurrying, Tilak Varma hit Harshal Patel hard and high, but it did not reach any fielders in the long !!   - reason it hit the Spidercam and had its direction changed.   It was declared a dead ball – whether it would have gone for a 6 or 4 or would have landed in the hands of a fielder – not known !!  

Day before at Eden Gardens, there was a man   turning down singles in the 18th over, after Rovman Powell got out following a decent cameo. He later clobbered two sixes and a four off the penultimate over, to get the equation down to nine off the final six balls.  Despite a grand performance by Sunil Naraine, it was Butler show.

Jos Buttler started slightly slow as Rajasthan Royals (RR) aimed to travel at more than 11 an over, making only 25 off his first 18 balls. He was at the crease during what seemed like a debilitating mid-innings slowdown, in which Royals scored only 30 from six overs, and lost three wickets in that time, and with a stunning unbeaten 107 he ensured a dream victory.    Varun Chakravarthy  bowled the final, was hit for a 6 off the first then bowled three dots but Butler finished in the final over. 

Today at Mullanpur, MI put into bat by Sam Curran finished at 192/7  with Rohit, Sky and Tilak Varma contributing. In the final over (19.4 to be precise)  an aerial shot by Tilak on its way to long-on struck the spider camera.    Rule no. 20.1 : defines when ‘Ball is dead’  

20.1.1 The ball becomes dead when

20.1.1.1 it is finally settled in the hands of the wicket-keeper or of the bowler.

20.1.1.2 a boundary is scored

20.1.1.3 a batter is dismissed.  The ball will be deemed to be dead from the instant of the incident causing the dismissal.

20.1.1.4 whether played or not it becomes trapped between the bat and person of a batter or between items of his/her clothing or equipment.

20.1.1.5 whether played or not it lodges in the clothing or equipment of a batter or the clothing of an umpire.

.. ..  and there are many more circumstances when the ball is deemed dead, ie., no runs, no wickets, no action, the delivery too is not counted.  Today it was by hitting an equipment.

 

What would have happened if on the final over needing say 4 – a clean hit, moments before crossing the boundary hits the equipment.  Rule would say a dead ball and what would be fate, if the batsman thus denied legitimate runs, gets out in the next and Team loses !!

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
18.4.2024