UN..or US 

Prove that N=S

U might be thinking the crusader has gone crazy, after reading this title. But, I couldn't help saying this after coming to know about one of the decisions taken by the UN some weeks back. They decided to declare the US invasion of Iraq as a fight against terrorism. The whole world knows what actually happened in Iraq. The search for a non- existent WMD and the bloody attack that followed are one of the worst happenings in human history. Even the villian Mr. Bush himself admitted his folly. In that scenario such a declaration coming from an organisation boasting of 191 member countries, is absurd to say the least. The UN has got a tradition of bending its back to US interests. But this is just going too far. Do we need such an organisation, when it becomes hard to differentiate between the US national policy and the UN policy? And what are the other 190 members doing there?Are the oblivious to what is happening inside UN?I don't have much knowledge of what are the actual processes that goes into it before a decision is made, but still I wonder why none of these countries reacted to this news. This is what made me write the titile of this post because the line that divided UN from US has now blurred more than at anytime in history. So now the equation is UN=US...obviously,N=S..afterall a nation is sometimes referred to as a state, so what difference does it make.

In this scenario, Shashi Tharoor's candidacy to the post of UN Secretary General assumes very much importance. If he is elected he has to either bend his back to the demands of US or shoulder the blame that he's at UN just for the sake of India. Also, his candidacy puts a question mark over a permanent membership for India in the UN. But, now who cares for a permanent membership in an organisation slowly on the path of extinction.......

with love, your crusader Praveen

Music all the way 

WORLD MUSIC DAY- A journey.....

Today is the world music day...It could better be called a day specially for die hard music fans like me...My day started with the soothing strains of guitar from the song 'Vellai Pookkal' by A.R.Rahman. A song for world peace, this one could be called one of India's best exports to world music. So, a perfect start to the day.
Then I came to Deep Forest's 'Forest Hymn', which gave me a feeling of being inside some dense African forest with the tribal singers all around me. Truely, a 'Jungli' xperience.
Now its time to escape from the jungle to the Carribean Islands. Hmm...I could hear Bob Marley's classic 'Buffallo Soldier' from a distance. Somehow, that reminded me of our own Marley, Jassie gift. Its time for some tabla with the maestro Zakir Hussain and Dasgupta on Sarod. It was part of a 1989 concert in Canada. Heavenly.....Man, what is this?Where are your favorite rock songs...bingo...here it comes...Oasis's' Wonderwall', voted as one of the best songs played on guitar. Then came Metallica's 'The outlaw torn', not a very famous song, but i like this very much for that pumping rhythm. Back to another softie..Damien Rice's 'Cannonball'...cool guitar work and amazing romantic lyrics...ha..got me into dreamworld...

Now some jazz with Norah Jones's 'Come Away with me'..can any be song be softer than this?, I was wondering....
What music without some of our own great Raveendran Master's song...I played my favs...'Pramadhavanam'...'Harimuraleeravam'......The unmistakable classical touch in film songs...i bow my head to the legend...
Now some sufi stuff...Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is the first and last stop...and the sufi inspired 'chaiyya chaiyya' of ARR came next....
Back to rock...Guns N Roses's 'Sweet Child O' Mine' and 'Estranged'....
Now some death...Slipknot's 'duality' sounds great and visuals.... aaah...Goryyyyy
What about some old rock n roll classic...yeah...BEATLES...'love me do', 'hey Jude' and 'Let it be'....a nod to the swinging 60s....
back to some soothing instrumentals with Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and his Mohana veena in raag Sarang from his grammy award winning album 'The lure of desert'...then U.Srinivas playing 'Endaro mahanobhaavulu' in his mandolin...2 of my all time favorites...
Now its the time to disco with some dance music from venga boys...i played the song for the socccer season...'Brazilllllllll'.....I ended the listening session with A.R.Rahman's 'Golden age' from 'warriors of Heaven and earth'...

Now time to get out and celebrate the day...me and my friends went to the museum auditorium in the evening for the world music day celebrations by alliance de francaise...It featured many artists from in and around kerala playing music ranging from classical to blues....a great way to end a music filled day...

Now am back at my home ready for another musical ride...This time the artist and listener is the same person....myself on guitar...playing 4 me....he hee....

Yours musically, Crusader Praveen

GOALLLLLLLLLLL 

ARGENTINAAAA

The guys from the land of the 'hand of the god' goal had a goal fest against Serbia and Montenegro. 6 goals in a world cup match that too from one side, that doesn't happen everyday. And mind you, Serbia was not at all a weak team. Full marks to Argentina for such a classy and clinical display that made the Serbians mute speactators. Still, its not the number of goals that matters, its the way in which it was scored that really made me jump up from my seat and applaud them. The 2nd goal scored by Cambiasso would easily become the goal of this world cup or maybe one among the top 3 of alltime. I would rather attribute that goal to each of the 9 men who participated in that wonderful display of passing. Would u believe it- 24 passes....o godd...here's a list of how it went....

Requilme-Ayala-Requilme-Rodriguez-Sorin-Crespo-Requilme-Rodriguez-Burdisso-Rodriguez-Crespo-Requilme-Sorin-Requilme-Mascherano-Requilme-Sorin-Requilme-Sorin-Saviola-Requilme-Saviola-Cambiasso-Crespo-CambiassoGOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

If viewed from the air, this whole passage of play would've looked something like Raja Ravi Varma's brushes running along in a canvas. U never know what it would look like in the end...and the finished thing would be the most extraordinary looking thing in thw world....Yes, this one was....comparable to the painting of Shakunthala......a grand salute to the team that did it for us, the soccer fans of the world....

Teves scored a goal of sheer individual brilliance. Messi proved his worth by setting up a goal and scoring one, all in 16 minutes...Is he, the next Maradona in the making, as the Diego would have us believe? And oh...god...I 4got the God of Argentina, who was in the stands, dancing up and down with joy, like a kid. I consider him as the single biggest inspiration behind this Argentine performance. DIEGO MARADONA.....any footballer will be charged up, when u see him rooting for u and chanting for you in the stands, more so if he is an Argentine. Maradona is an exception among those former champions, who sit in the special gallery in coats and suits. He sat there[sorry...danced out there] with the other fans ,wearing the Argentine jersey with pride.....Hats off to u....MARADONAAAA....

But, i still have doubt whether Argentinians have peaked a little too early in the world cup. lets ..wait and see....

NB- Inspite of whatever is written here, am still a Brazil supporter and strongly believe that they are gonna win the cup.....

Courtesy- The mathrubhoomi newspaper for the list of the players involved in that wonderful 2nd goal.

I dedicate this post to the Argentine fans worldwide, who are in a rocking mood right now...hope that mood remains till they meet Brazil in the final.....

with luv, ur crusader Praveen

RO RO BRAZIL..HEXACAMPIOS 

La Copa De La Vida

Indeed...the cup of life it is and it is overflowing with joy and madness...the last fortnight has seen the frenzy reaching a feverish pitch...The fans on a mad rush to get the jersies of their favorite teams and also queuing up at the nearest saloon to get those weirdo haircuts. The streets are wearing a festive atmosphere. The World cup is 4 days old today. And my friends were wondering why still no article on the world cup in my blog. So, friends here is my answer to you. For me,The 2006 FIFA world cup officially starts only today. Because today the samba warriors gonna set their foot on the German turf, ready for another record breaking conquest. The Brazil team brings it with all the wild beauty of attacking football. Which other team could boast a striking force consisting of Ronaldo, Adriano with Ronaldinho and Kaka as the midfield generals and old warhorses Roberto Carlos and Cafu at the back. Indeed, an embarassment of riches.

The world cup this far has produced some amazing moments. The inaugural function saw an unprecedented get together of former champions. It was really a great experience to watch all those great men together in a single stage. And the sexy model Claudia Schiffer did make Pele squint his eyes and look at her, when they carried the cup together to the stage. But i would've liked to see Maradona along with Pele, though Pele would prefer Schiffer. Also, the German President's speech in Germany was as comprehensible to me as an economics class. He should have delivered his speech in English, reflecting the true nature of the global game. The 1st match itself created a record for the most number of goals in a world cup opening match. Costa Rica did give host Germany some anxious moments before surrendering. The goal by Germany's Frings was a gem. England didn't leave up to the hype in its first match as it scrapped through with an own goal, though it was from a brilliant free kick from Beckham. Another great moment of this world cup was when newbies Trinidad and Tobago secured a draw against Sweden, after being reduced to 10 men. Argentina won emphatically by the brilliance of its midfield general Requilme, who had a hand[sorry, leg] in both goals. Portugal won against its former colony Angola, with the help of Pauleta's goal. Australia made an amazing comeback against Japan, after being down one goal till the 83rd minute. Japan's goal was a controversial one with the aussie goalkeeper being obstructed and pulled down by Japanese players. But the Aussie triple strike in the last 10 minutes really left Japan shell shocked. As the commentator was saying, Lady luck left Japan after giving a kiss on both its cheek in the 1st half. I think Lady luck liked the Aussie lips more than the Japanese cheeks. France got a drab draw with Switzerland. I wonderr what happens to Theirry Henry in the big matches. He wasted countless chances today also. He doesn't display that spirit with which he plays for his club when he plays for his country. Does really money matter there, Mr.Henry?

A notable thing about the matches was that the players who performed brilliantly were mostly english premier league stars. From Costa Rica's Paulo Wanchope to Australia's Cahill and Holland's Robben, the premier league stars have distinguished themselves. But, wait for the Spanish premiera liga stars, because the biggest of 'em are in Brazil-Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Roberto Carlos...do u need more....Brazil are now the overwhelming favorites of the media, bookies and the public. Even the opposing teams have made them the favorites. The Brazil players are saying that its a clever ploy by these teams because they could play without pressure. But the media who made them the favorites are saying that favorites never win the cup. What an absolute contradiction...Am sure the yellow army is gonna prove all these jugheads wrong. Also, Ronaldo's weight is a bigger news for the media than the world cup itself. Why do they find fault with such a genius, who has proved his worth again and again...In 2002, the same thing happened and we all saw what happened once the world cup started....So, lets wait and seeeee....for Ronaldo, Little Ronaldo[Ronaldinho] and company to rock the world cup 2006....hopefully i could write more about them on july 9th...when they become HEXACAMPIOSSSSS

With the World cup reigning the public conscience everywhere, all other sports have taken a backseat. The French Open saw emperor Federer being humbled again on clay by the King of clay Nadal. Now I have to wait one more year to see Federer winning the grand slam. In F1, my favorite Schumi was again bettered by the young Alonso...really brilliant driving,dude...The sport which was relegated to nothingness was cricket. The crowd for the 2nd test tells the whole story. Still, Sehwag's swashbuckling innings was really a treat to watch. Lara was seen jumping up and down with joy after Trinidad and Tobago secured the draw against Sweden. And in the 1st innings, he got out soon. Maybe, he wanted to watch the world cup badly. Atleast, that is better than playing in front of an empty stadium.

The world cup song of 2006 ''Time of our lives'' is a disappointment. Toni Braxton and Il Divo belts out what can be called an opera song at best. I wonder, in whose head the idea for such a song came from. Also the album 'Voices from the world cup' is a compilation of love songs. Whoever has compiled this list has carefully selected the love songs of the artists featured in the album. So we have Ricky Martin's 'private emotions' instead of 'the cup of life' and Savage garden's 'truly madly deeply' instead of their other energetic numbers. The only saving grace is the anthem 'celebrate the day', which is getting good airplay in all the channels.
OK...Me gonna watch the match noww....15 minutes more 4 the lionssss to start roaringg....Until then.....its VIVAAA BRAZILLLLLL....oh..wait...lemme play tht Venga Boys song once moreee Brazilllllll....lalallaallaaaaaaaaaaaaaa brazillllllllllllll
with love , Your crusader Praveen

My idol..My dream fulfilled 

GR8EST DAY OF MY LIFE

Today....oh.....what should i writee...no words are enough to describe this day...a dream of 14 years fulfilled...Never thought it would be fulfilled this soon...When I was in 2nd standard, Roja released..That was the first cassette i brought..then i dreamed of meeting this man..and i've lived with this dream for 14 years with his music providing me solace every moment....and without any warning the D Day arrived today...10th June 2006....a day to remember forever in my life...the day i met my biggest idol...the day i met the man whose music, i've grown up with...the day i met the musical genius A.R.RAHMAN.

Before going into the details let me thank the wonderful person who made this possible...and that is my dear sister Swapna...She was the one who called me at the time when ARR was here. She said ''boy, run run''.and i did just that.The moment i got the call, i rushed outside to my bike...before kickstarting, I called up some of my friends and told this great news and as it turned out, most of my friends didn't believe me and sat at home. They thought ..''ha, this guy is being fooled by some prankster. Let him go out there and be a fool''. But i was sure that my sister won't play that kind of prank with me. Stil I had my own doubts. So with my mind clouded with doubts, I kicked on the bike and started my journey. Sometimes heart rulz over the head..this was one of those moments as i sped through the heavy city traffic at 105 kmph. Atlast i reached the ultimate destination..Kanakakkunu Palace. There was a big flex board in front with pic of ARR and singer Srinivas announcing the launch of a music album. Now i was confident that ARR was inside, still i doubted whether he had left already.

When I reached infront of the palace, I saw a mercedes...sure...he's inside...So I got in...Lots of ppl were standing there. The function was almost over by then. Still I pushed through them and ......ohhh godddd.....my gooodness....there he's....i closed my eyes and opened again,just to make sure that i wasn't dreaming. Yes, it was him with that inimitable smile. I couldn't see anything else between him and me..Mind u, there were some very big singers and film stars sitting there. I would surely have given a second look to them on any other day. Maybe i would have pesteres them for autographs..But, not this day...When my idol is there in front of me....I thought of ways to get close to him...i went near the backstage waiting for the function to get over. I got a pen from a press photographer and stood there. The main function got over and next was the screening of the video and the guests were preparing to get down from the dias to the front row...This was my chance..I ran into the stage and pushed aside the man standing close to ARR[i later realised that it was the popular malayalam actor Jayaram] and got closeee to my idol. First thing I did was to touch him, just to check if this was a real man. Then I shook his hand. He still had that pleasant smile.Lots of people got there by then.The policemen swung into action and drew everyone away and made way for ARR to sit on the front row. Thank god...they din't see me standing there beside the big speaker set. I walked to his seat and gave pen and a piece of paper, which my little cousin had torn from his copy book and had given me as i left home. ARR scribbled ''luv ARR'' on it, but it was hard to make out. By then the policeman had grabbed my shirt and pulled me out. Still, I was happy. I got the autograph...

Then, the function got over. A.R.R was escorted to the outside of the palace and the fans and the police were running after him. Soon he was surrounded by an army of pressmen and policemen, outside the palace. There was no way I could've got near him now. Hmm...now lemme try a trick. I took out my mobile phone from my pocket and held it up and began shouting ''press..press'' at the policemen. This gave them the impression that am a press reporter[he hee...meee] wanting to record an interview with ARR. They gave me way and there I was now again standing close to ARR, the 3rd time this day. Oh...am i dreamingggggggg. Now it was time for the pressman Praveen to ask questions. The guys there were asking some question in Hindi like ''agla project kya hai''. Now I shooted my question, ''Sir, When r u gonna do a concert in Kerala?''..He smiled and said..''I Don't Know''...Then I said..''Sir, there are many die hard fans out here ,as u can see, who would love to see you livee....sir, pls do it for us''....he again smiled and said...''I'll try''. Now he was walking to his car...there were autograph hunters running behind him. Me too ran close behind him. As he reached his car and opened the door, someone called out ''Bolo A.R.Rahman Ki Jai''..We tooo joined him ..''Bolo A.R.Rahman Ki Jai''....He smiled and got in....The door closed. Lotz of guys were trying to catch a glimpse through the closed windows. Some guys clicked pictures of him. The sad thing for me was that I din't have a camera with me then. Still, I was happy for having met him....Now his car sarted to roll...and we all waved him goodbye..He too waved back....Then the Benz disappeared out of sight. I stood there for a few seconds looking at the road through which the car just went. And I could sense drops of tear in both my eyes. The first time in my life, I cried out of happiness...the happiness of having fulfilled a dream that i've been nursing from the day I heard Roja...the day I, for the 1st time truly loved a song....the day from which my life with A.R.Rahman's soul stirring started.....again i scribble the date heree......10/06/06......and in my heart.....No day can be better than this.......am still shaking my head wondering if all of this was a great dream.....

thanking my chechi again.....

i dedicate this post to the millions of A.R.Rahman fans who dream about meeting him someday...Hope all their wishes come true...
with tons of happiness and disbelief, your crusader Praveen