India Wins Cricket World Cup 2011

India has won the Cricket World Cup 2011. India is the champion of the world of Cricket. Blessed by God Almighty, India has won the ultimate prize in Cricket - sending the entire nation into a state of frenzy.

In the biggest showdown in the world of cricket, hosts India took on co-hosts Sri Lanka in a high voltage final at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai on 2nd April 2011. 

Sri Lanka won a controversial toss and decided to bat first. They scored a majestic 275 runs, inspired by a great century by Mahela Jayawardane. 

Chasing under pressure was never India's forte, and the top order collapsed. However, powered by a great sheet anchor knock by Gautam Gambhir and super cool innings by uber cool captain - MS Dhoni, India won the World Cup it style. Gary Kirsten - India's coach - was also a great influencing factor in this victory.

Winning moments like these are rare, and India have done it in great style.

India had last won the World Cup in 1983 - under the leadership of Kapil Dev. And in 2011, just less than 10 hours back, entire India was on tenterhooks. Sachin was playing in what was most likely his final World Cup match, and the entire nation wanted Team India to win the Cup.

The toss was a disaster. MSD threw the coin and Sangakarra made the wrong call. Incidentally, neither the referee nor MSD had heard what the Sri Lankan captain had called. The referee insisted that the toss be done again. The Lankans won it this time and chose to bat. The entire country contemplated whether this toss-gate would result in the loss of the Cup 9 hours later.

Sri Lanka got off to a good start - but not a great one. Their top players - Tharanga, Dilshan and Sangakarra - couldn't score freely and were out without scoring heavily. 

Mahela Jayawardane stepped up and took on the responsibility of steering the innings. He scored 103 runs - proudly cheered by his wife. The lower order batsmen too hit some great boundaries and sixes. Sri Lanka made it to 275 runs, a score which would have scared most Indians.

Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh and Munaf Patel had kept their cool in the most important match of their career. Yuvraj too bowled his quota of 10 overs, taking crucial wickets. The surprise selection - Sreesanth - took some stick. Yet, he didn't let the match  completely slip out of India's match.

And when India took to the field to start the batting, the hopes of the entire nation rested on master blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. 

Sehwag got out in the first over of the match - caught leg-before-wicket to Malinga. My thoughts raced by to 2003, when Sachin had got out to McGrath in the finals against Australia. Would India lose the finals again? 

Next came Gautam Gambhir. If there is any man in the Indian team who is the most under-rated, it's Gautam. If there is any man who plays without seeking any attention, it's Gautam. 

Sachin Tendulkar looked to be in great touch, scoring good runs. But then came then moment which the entire nation feared. Sachin Tendulkar got out for 18 runs, and people across the country felt that the Cup had slipped out of India's hands.

Virat Kohli came into the middle and scored a respectable 35 runs. He was caught out by a stunning catch by Dilshan. At this moment, India were under immense pressure. The fire was on. And in walked the uber-cool skipper, MS Dhoni, ahead of the man in form - Yuvraj Singh.

If you have noticed MSD keeping the stumps, you would notice that he goes about his job with heavy concentration and supreme determination. India needed these very qualities at this moment. 

Dhoni rose to the occasion. He went about scoring runs with a quiet pace. He kept Gambhir on his feet and made him do the same. And after doing all the hard work though the middle of the innings, India were standing at the door steps of victory.

Gambhir got out on the score of 97, with India needing just 53 odd runs. I had got into a superstitious habit of not sitting down for the last 20 overs. Incidentally, I sat down for a single ball and Gambhir got out. That made me curse myself, but only to make a resolution of not sitting down - until India wins the World Cup.

Once Gambhir was back, the Man of the Series Yuvraj Singh joined his skipper in the middle. Both the champions went about scoring the runs with ease, never letting the pressure get on to them. At the same time, they didn't let the strike rate to climb.

They say - Strike while the iron is hot. True to this axiom, when Kulasekara came to bowl in the 47th over, Dhoni and Yuvi ripped apart his bowling to bring India on to striking distance of a victory - a victory which could not have been stolen from the nation - come what may!!

And in the 49th over, the skipper MS Dhoni won the World Cup for India, hitting the biggest six of the match, in great style. India had won the World Cup. India were crowned as the Champions. India had won the title - sending the entire nation of 1.2 billions into a state of euphoria, pride and happiness.

If you have to relive those moments, it is these three minutes of magic. The entire country wanted Dhoni to finish it in style with a four. He delivered a sixer - the most stylish one. He didn't start celebrating until the ball had landed in the stands. After that, it was just party all the way. 



Jubilant and emotional scenes were seen across the entire nation. Almost every single player said that they had won the Cup for Sachin. Sachin was his modest self in the victory, crediting the entire team. MSD was his frank self - playing a captain's knock in the most important match of his career, backing his decisions, laying any doubts about his leadership capabilities to rest.

Importantly, a great team work powered India to this majestic victory. Different player fired when it mattered the most in different matches. India made true of the saying - the sum is more than its parts. 

After a long gap of 28 years, India had won the World Cup. I was not even a 28 day baby when India had won the Cup back in 1983. And today, it is a proud moment to see India being crowned as the Champions of World Cricket.

Jai Ho!!! 

(All pictures courtesy - Getty Images, Google and The Times Of India)

ICC Cricket World Cup Finals 2011

Fresh Fresh 
~~~
India wins Cricket World Cup 2011
~~~

The stage is set for the battle for the supremacy over the world of Cricket. It will be India Vs Sri Lanka in the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup Finals on Saturday, 2nd April 2011 in Mumbai (Bombay).

Both India and Sri Lanka have been co-hosts for this World Cup -  staged across the Indian sub-continent over the last 40 days. The sub-continental giants - both of whom have won the World Cup once - will be taking on each other in the finals at Wankhede stadium, Mumbai.

India were touted as the favorites for winning the championships. They have lived upto that expectation, losing just one match on the road to the final. Sri Lanka too were considered as a strong side. They too have grown from strength to strength to block the tickets to Bombay.

In the semi-finals, Sri Lanka played against New Zealand. After restricting New Zealand to just 217 runs, Sri Lanka kept their cool in the difficult run chase - winning by 5 wickets. 

The top order fired for Sri Lanka, as it has done all through the tournament. Guys in the middle order also digged in to take the team to a glorious victory. Importantly, it was their champion spinner - Muttiah Muralitharan's - last match on Sri Lankan soil. And Sri Lanka heads to the final with the intent of wearing the Champion's Crown once again.

The other semi final was between India and Pakistan. It wasn't a cricket match. It was a battle. The hype before the match was simply too huge too comprehend. 

Adding to the pressure was the fact that the Prime Minister's of both nations - Dr. Manmohan Singh of India and Yousuf Raza Gilani of Pakistan - were meeting on the sidelines of the cricket match. This is what they called as cricket diplomacy.

India batted first and the Indian top order looked as if they were firing. Only Sachin was able to dig through the innings, with the blessings of the generous Pakistani fielders who dropped him four times. India managed to score a respectable total of 260 runs.

In the second innings, MS Dhoni - India's captain - led the team into the field. The entire nation contemplated Dhoni's choice to play Nehra over Ashwin - expecting it to back fire. 

Pakistan got off to a great start. But India took wickets at regular intervals. All the five bowlers bowled like champions in the most important match in a decade. The Pakistani team fell like nine pins. Misbah-Ul-Haq, the eldest Pakistani player, scored at a snail's pace, virtually awarding the match to India.

And with two wickets a piece, the five Indian bowlers wrapped up the Pakistani innings with a bowl to spare, winning by a majestic 29 runs.  

With this, the euphoria is set to rise further - culminating in the final's in Mumbai. Sachin Tendulkar, India's Demi-God will be playing it in front of his home crowd. The entire nation will be hoping that India wins.

If there is one star which is missing on Sachin's proud chest, it is the victory medal of the World Cup. And Sachin would be making every possible effort to win the Cup for India, in what should be - for all practical purposes - his last World Cup match. ( A few blog posts back, an anonymous visitor left behind a comment, saying - Sachin will play two more World Cup's. You never know what the future holds.) 

But as they say, Cricket is a team game. And the entire team needs to back up Sachin. India needs a fiery start from Virender Sehwag and a stable knock from Gautam Gambhir. Yuvraj Singh should score a decent knock and Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni should make a respectable contribution.

Among the bowlers, Zaheer Khan has to lead the attack once again. Harbhajan has to bowl with all his guile. Munaf Patel was impressive in the big game against Pakistan and should keep his cool. 

And, if - once again - you have too choose between Ashwin and Nehra, Nehra should get a place in the playing eleven. But you never know how the uber cool skipper - MSD - would think. Whatever may be the choice, the chosen player should play his best.

Most importantly, it's the captain - MS Dhoni. He is the captain of the ship which has sailed so far. He is the general of the army which has won all these battles. Dhoni would have got a lot of flak - be it for his selections, or for his interspersed poor keeping, or his mediocre batting through the Cup. 

Whatever may be the case, captaincy is his stronghold. He should construct his best thoughts over the next two days, prepare a plan for every single eventuality which may shape up in the game, and lead his team with confidence. He has a team which is extremely talented, and has a huge heart. He just has to rally them like a bunch of champions and take them to the glorious pedestal - a victory in the Cricket World Cup.

As for what Sri Lanka needs to do, I will just leave it to the Lankans. They are India's opponents - and any tips are not advisable.

However, it will be worthwhile to analyse Sri Lankan's for the benefit for India. The top three batsmen - Dilshan, Tharanga and Sangakkara - are the most dangerous. India should prepare a very strong plan to get these guys out.

Among the bowlers, Malinga has been very very dangerous with his slingers. Sachin and Sehwag should rip apart his bowling, and demoralize him completely. 

The spin twins - Murali and Ajantha Mendes - will use all their tricks to get the Indian's out. India should play them with utmost caution, and capitalise on their weak deliveries.

Simply speaking, India have an uphill task against Sri Lanka. A long fifteen years back, in 1996, when I was just a little school going boy, India played Sri Lanka in the World Cup semi-finals at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The Indian batting crumbled under pressure and India lost poorly. Sri Lanka went on to win the match, under the leadership of Arjuna Ranatunga. 

I just want one thing. India should avenge that defeat and win the Cricket World Cup 2011.

For the next two days, the entire nation will be on tenterhooks. After celebrating the victory against Pakistan, the entire nation will sit down and prepare the plans for winning the World Cup. From trains to buses, from schools to colleges, from TV to Radio, from corporate boardrooms to the neighboring tea-shops - it will be just one thing - India and World Cup. Everything else will take a back seat.

You don't have any Octopus Paul predicting the winners. But if you are interested in following someone, it should be the guru of spin bowling, the wizard of spin - Aussie spinner, Shane Warne. He has been predicting winners with amazing accuracy. Do not forget to check him out on his twitter page before and through the match.

I strongly hope and pray to God that India emerge victorious in Mumbai on 2nd April 2011, in the World Cup final.

And by God's grace, if this wish comes true, entire India will erupt into a state of joy and euphoria. Just three days more - and India will be crowned as the Champions of World Cricket.

Dhak Dhak Go, India Go!!

The Loss Of A Habit

A long time back I had read about this quote.

~~ Good habits, once established are just as hard to break as are bad habits.
~~~~ Robert Puller

Well, when I read this one, I prayed to God that all the good habits that I posses stay with me, forever.

But sadly, in recent months, I have lost one very good habit which I possessed. A habit which I deeply cherished. A habit which made me many a precious friend. A habit which started countless discussions in innumerable situations.

It is the habit of Reading. It was the habit of Reading.

Sadly, I have lost the habit of reading in all its forms. Be it news papers, or magazines, or books. All of it.

There was a time when I used to start my day with reading of the newspapers. I would go through all the pages and read the most eye-catching ones first. I would also make a mental bookmark of the articles that I needed to catch up later in the day - possibly over the evening tea or while having dinner.

But off late, early morning sleep has been more precious. The only thing after getting up is to get ready and head off to work. This has made reading of the news papers a rarity.

The only solace is the fact is that I manage to catch up with the online newspapers - spending a maximum of 20-30 minutes a day on it. But it does not give the same satisfaction as that of reading a "real" news paper. What's bad is the fact that the quality of news articles that show up on the first page of the website are not upto the mark or diverse enough to give me full fledged information about the going on's in the world.

Next one is the habit of reading books. I was a voracious reader at one point of time - gulping upto three books a month in my tight schedule. Reading was the most common pastime over the weekends and holidays. I enjoyed reading about any topic under the sun - fiction, non-fiction, thrillers, comics, romance, business, biographies - the list was endless.

Back in school, during the summer vacations, I used to enroll at the local library. It used to offer a facility to take two books at a time, for sixty rupees a month. 

I used to make the best use of that opportunity by reading two books a day. And most importantly, every school year - wait for the vacations to arrive.  

But then came my personal computer - only to steal away the company of my humble books. Enticing Electronics took over the humble Paper.

This picture made me wonder whether it was the same me who used to read the Harry Potter books on the same day of they being released, keeping every other thing on the sun aside, only to finish the book and get to the end of the mystery. With Harry Potter, the mystery never ended.

I would also love to read before sleep. Falling asleep while reading was one of the pleasures life used to offer.

I maintained an online compilation of the books I had read and I planned to read. Shelfari was the website where I maintained this list. It took me quite a while even to recollect this website. I had to take support of my email to do so. That explains the gravity with which I have lost it all.

And then came the habit of blogging. Blogging, like Reading, is quite addictive. And for the last few months, it has been Blogging Vs Reading. Blogging has won hands down.

The advent of movie franchisees has been another factor which led to this situation. Twilight has been one of the most sucessfull novel series in the last couple of years, and I was keen to check it out - by reading. Ultimately, I ended up seeing the movies - killing any chance of reading the books.

Another thing which has contributed to this downfall is the short articles that we read on the internet. Although they are easy to grasp, they have resulted in a reduced attention span. And a reduced attention span does not make life easy for reading books.

There was a time when every alternate shopping trip with friends consisted of visiting the neighboring book store. Flipping through the books, looking for interesting stuff was a great way to pass time and connect. And If something caught you eye, by God's grace, you could buy it. And make the best utilization of the purchase by sharing it with your friends.

These days I force myself to get a few of books - every few months - just in the hope of kick starting back the habit. Or maybe read some magazines to develop the interest back.

The only book that I can remember of reading in recent times - without putting it down - was "Freakonomics". I loved the concept of the book and the answers put down to simple, real world, questions.

Books make you think, and that was the case with "Freakonomics" too. I had purchased this book while traveling for work - over the Xmas weekend. Incidentally, the travel back home was delayed due to bad weather, delayed flights and a shutdown airport (in the capital city of the biggest country on the earth). 

Made me wonder - Why do we have all the travel troubles in the midst of the holiday season?? If you have read "Freakonomics", you will acknowledge that this is one question which the authors of the book would love to answer - with their excellent analysis.

This loss has been hurting me more over the last few days - since I discussed books with two people. Some one told me that she had slept only at 2.30 in the morning - because she couldn't sense the time while reading. That made me jealous. That made me recollect my old times. 

And someone else told me that her favorite book was "The Kite Runner". And I professed that "To Kill A Mocking Bird" is my favorite. Incidentally, this lady was able to recollect the most significant line of this book - thanks to her sharp memory. 

~~ "Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

~~~~ Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird. 

All this made me wonder - maybe it is time to revive this wonderful habit. I can't make a resolution, because, they say that resolutions are meant to be broken. But an attempt can be certainly made.

If wishes were horses, and horses could fly, I would also love J.K. Rowling to start writing again. Her narration was awesome and reading her books kept me engaged for hours altogether. 

A visit to the bookstore at my office could also help. They offer a generous discount of 10% on every book that you buy.

Maybe the help of the good old "Reader's Digest" can be sought. It's short articles might help to tide over the attention span problem. And once that's taken care, a good flowing book can bring back the good old days. 

A few of them are already in the pipe line - an almost biography of Winston Churchill, a book by N.R. Narayana Murthy on the Indian society - A Better India, A Better World, and a book with the name - Flirting With Disaster.

Well, only time can tell whether I will be sucessfull in my endeavour. A worthwhile resolution could be to come back to this blogpost and leave a comment on completely reading the above mentioned three books. Let's see how soon it happens.

And have you lost any habit recently? Was it for the good or bad? And if it was for the bad, I certainly hope that you are taking those small steps back - to reclaim that habit which was a wonderful part of your life.

Against Cyber Censorship

Time and again, we have discussed about silly laws. These laws are ridiculous to such an extent -  you would wonder what would have the law makers thought about while making them.

One such law has recently been proposed by the Government of India under the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008. This draft deals with the due diligence to be observed by some entities - being referred to as "Intermediaries".

Now question 1. Who are these Intermediaries?

An intermediary is defined as any entity, which on behalf of another receives, stores or transmits any electronic record. Importantly, Telecommunication Networks, Web-hosting and Internet Service Providers, Search Engines, Blogs, Online payment and Auction sites as well as Cyber Cafes have been classified as Intermediaries.

And question 2. What are these intermediaries supposed to do?

As part of the due diligence, they are supposed to be responsible for the contents that they host.

What does this mean for the bloggers?

Well, it means that the bloggers are responsible for the contents that they host on their blog. I would say - nothing wrong with that. 

But if the contents that they host would be reviewed by someone, and if some steps are taken to restrain those contents, views and opinions from being published - then it would mean that the Freedom of Expression is being curtailed.

Blogs give an opportunity to an individual to share their thoughts. And a chance to the general public to share their counter views. And if such healthy discussions are being clipped, it would not reflect nicely on a democratic country like India.

After all, we do not want to go the China way. If I see the visitors to my humble blog, I hardly find anyone from mainland China.

Once when I asked my friend in China to check out my writings, she said sadly - the site does not exist. The Chinese government had blocked my site.

Well, we don't want such a situation to exist in India. India has given her people a chance to voice their opinions and thoughts. And it should continue this way - for the development of the nation and her people.

If you are interested in reading more about Internet Freedom - how some countries have taken steps to curb it and how the people have overcome such difficulties - you should have a look at this article.

This article has classified Saudi Arabia, Burma, China, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Uzbekistan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Vietnam as  "Enemies of the Internet".

Other countries are classified as "Countries Under Surveillance".  You might be surprised to find some first world countries - like Australia and France - in this list.

We should hope that better sense prevails and such laws are not passed. Only then we can ensure we have an inclusive growth - and voices of the people being heard.

And lastly, before I conclude, it will be worthwhile to note that 12th March is observed as "World Day Against Cyber Censorship".

Here is the newly compiled list of nations and the leaders of the nations who are considered as opponents of the Freedom of the Internet.

Catch more here for discussions on this topic.

Bloggable

I have been an avid blogger for the last 4 years. And blogs have been active on the internet for the last decade or so.

The humble blog topics - which millions like me and you write about - have finally found an official recognition, courtesy the Oxford Dictionary.

The word Bloggable has made its way to the Oxford Dictionary.

It means - and I quote "suitable or sufficiently interesting as a topic for a blog".

A sample sentence right the from dictionary is - "I started subscribing to the journal in the hope of finding bloggable material in there". 

And I pray to God and hope that I get a lot of bloggable topics to voice my opinions and thoughts.

Arab World Protests And Crisis

The Arab World is in turmoil. Agitations are the order of the day - across several Arab world countries. And many of them are on a verge of a mass social and a political upheaval.

This has caused media furore all over the world. The eyes of the entire world is focussed on this region.

Which countries exactly are said to be a part of the Arab world? 

The picture above would give you a broad idea. Right at the center of the world map - slightly above the equator, these countries compose the elite Arab world.

Starting from the Middle East countries - Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Bahrain, and Kuwait to the countries in the north of Africa - Mauritania, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Lebanon and Sudan are a part of the Arab world. 

Also included are the African power houses - Egypt and Jordan. Iraq too is a part of the Arab world. And so is Somalia - which is known as the pirate capital of the world these days.

You might wonder why did I use the term elite to describe the Arab world nations?

It's not without a reason. First of all, these Arab countries are rich in oil. Not just rich - they are mega rich.

Oil is something which drives the energy generators across the world. It is the fuel for the vehicles which you own. And all of this increases the dependency of the world on these oil rich Arab countries.

A conflict in Iraq sends the cost of the oil barrel right through the roof. And this has a downward spiraling effect on the rest of the economy - right across the world.

How are these Arab world countries structured - socially, economically and politically?

Arabic is the first language for most countries in this part of the world. And most people practice Islam as their religion. A good point to note is that most of these countries enjoy a good literacy rate.

Arab countries are considered to be economically thriving. The Sheiks of the Arab worlds are the icons of this mass wealth. They make their money by selling oil, gas and other petroleum products.

Most countries are considered to be emerging economies. Dubai, a part of the UAE, for example, is a hub for expatriates and home to the tallest building in the world - the Burj Khalifa. Qatar has been chosen to host the Soccer World Cup in 2022.

Bahrain is the fastest growing economy in the Arab world. And Qatar tops the charts for the highest GDP in the world.

If oil and gas money unite these countries on the economic front, the style of leadership unites them at the political front.

Almost all these countries have an authoritarian regime. If we consider the Freedom Index, then it would be noteworthy to understand that countries with authoritarian regimes are considered to be dictatorial.

They would indicate a considerable lack of democratic freedom. And lack of democratic freedom would have an impact on various parts of life - the social freedom, the economic freedom, the political freedom, the press freedom etc.

Human rights are a reason of concern in these countries. Women rights too are a matter of concern.

With all this background information, you would be thinking of one thing.

If the economies of the Arab world are thriving, so must be its people? And if the people are thriving, are they really happy? Or aren't they thriving at all? What is it that is causing the sea of protests at the heart of the Arab world?

To give you a pre-cursor, have a look at this statement by the Saudi Prince - Bandar Bin Sultan.

"If you tell me that building this whole country ... out of $400bn, that we misused, or got, $50bn, I'll tell you, 'Yes. So what?'."

This would give you a view that Arabian leaders are quite cocky. And if the allegations are true, they would have amassed a mass of wealth while ruling their respective nations. The ex Egyptian president - Hosni Mubarak, the Saudi rulers, the former leader of Iraq - Saddam Hussein were known to be filthy rich.

It all started in Tunisia on Dec 2010. Starting 18th Dec 2010, people took to the streets of Tunisia - protesting against corruption, lack of freedom of various points which compose the Freedom Index, inflation, unemployment plus a lot of other factors.

The heat was directed towards the President Ben Ali who was in power for the last 23 years. Ben Ali could not sustain the pressure of mass unrest and resigned on 14th Jan 2011 and fled to Saudi Arabia. The winners were the Tunisian people.

But the real take away of the Tunisian revolution was the motivation it set in the mind of the other people in the Arab world - who were also be suppressed under such long running leaders.

The Egyptian protests began on 25th Jan 2011. People took to the streets of Cairo, Alexandria and other major Egyptian cities.

Hosni Mubarak had been the Egyptian president for 3 decades. He tried his best to quell the people's uprising but was unsuccessful. After trying to take some steps to make him appear good in the eyes of the nation, he finally resigned on 11th Feb 2011. Since then, he has been untraceable. But the Egyptian people got what they wanted.

Protests also started in Algeria in late December 2010. The people of Yemen and Jordan too have started with the protests against their regime since Jan 2011.

They have been unsuccessful till now to overthrow the current rulers. But with the kind of heat building up across the region, the leaders are bound to succumb and hand over the reins to the authorities chosen by the masses.

Taking a cue from the victorious Egyptian people, the janata in Bahrain and Libya have also taken to the streets in Feb 2011. In Bahrain, people took to the streets of Manama - demanding greater political freedom and an end to the rule of the monarchs.

The leaders of the Bahrain have used the military to squelch these protests. Till today, the protests are on. And these brave people are hopeful that they will get what they want.

The protests in Libya have been more bloody. Libya is under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi who has been ruling the nations for a long 42 years.

Now, four decades is a long time to be in power. And if someone in power for such a long time in modern times, you can safely conclude that brute force has played its part.

Needless to say, Gaddafi has the tag of been the worlds longest ruling autocrat. He has been accused of ordering the bombing of a Pan Am jet off the coast of Scotland in 1988, which resulted in the death of 270 people.

Protesters have been demonstrating strongly in Tripoli, Benghazi, and other Libyan cities. The protests have later spread to other cities too. While Gaddafi asked his armed forces to launch a deathly offensive against his own common men, some of the armed forces revolted against him and have gone against his order.

This has resulted in a deathly battle across various Egyptian cities. Gaddafi has also resorted to bombings by fighter jets to quell the uprising.

Libya is the largest producer of oil in Africa. And this conflict has sent the prices of the crude oil through the roofs. The cost of crude oil is hovering around 110 USD. This has resulted in soaring prices of the commodities across the world.

The entire world watches these protests in Libya and other African nations closely. They hope for a speedy resolution. They expect that the people of these nations are victorious, without loss of precious lives of men and women. All of this is in hope for a more democratic and secure world.

Liz Hurley

You have people who are hugely talented and skilled. And this makes them famous and popular. And then you have some who are popular just because they are pretty, beautiful and smart. And you also have some, who are social bees, which moves them up the popularity chart.

If you know Elizabeth Hurley a.k.a. Liz Hurley - you would wonder about the category to which she belongs to. But whatever may be the category, she is hugely popular with the newspapers and the tabloids. And this has been the way for the last fifteen years.

All of 45 years, Liz is an English model and actress. 

She has been an actress since 1987 - acting in about 32 films since then. Her films have not been hugely popular - but she has been extremely popular. 

So what has made Liz move up the popularity chart over the years??

Well, in 1987, a hitherto unknown Liz Hurley met the British actor Hugh Grant. And they were good friends, a couple in fact, for 13 years till the year 2000.

And it was with Hugh Grant that she propelled herself up the popularity ranks. 

At the age of 29, in 1994, she walked with Hugh Grant to the premiere of his film - Four Weddings and a Funeral - wearing a black Versace dress. The dress was held together by several gold safety pins and it immediately put her right at the center of the media's attraction.

This "Safety Pin" dress was later voted as the greatest red carpet gown of all time.

An year later, she was signed up by Estee Lauder to model for their products. And since then, she has been an icon for them - helping them sell their stuff across the world. 

Most famously, she helped them sold their perfumes - becoming a style icon. Sensuous and Pleasures were immensely successful.

Liz Hurley also supports Estee Lauder's breast cancer awareness campaign.

All of this happened much before I knew someone called Liz Hurley ever existed. That was when she starred in a movie named Bedazzled. A review of this movie introduced me to her.

She split from Hugh Grant in 2000 and had a baby with Steve Bing in 2002. Later in 2002, she started dating Indian business man Arun Nayar.

Her relationship with Arun also went through intense media scrutiny. They finally married in India in the year 2007.

All through these years - till date, she remained good friends with Hugh Grant.

And after her much publicized marriage to Arun, she announced that she had split form him in late 2010. And this was via Twitter - the new age communication media.

And if you are wondering what had possibly triggered this, then you should have a look at the picture below. 

This was at the races in Melbourne in July last year.  If Liz is famous, so is he. He is none other than Shane Warne - the greatest spinner in the world of cricket in the last 25 years.   

Since then, the media has been intensely speculating the nature of the relationship between the British starlet and the Aussie spinner.

They had been keeping their long distance relationship alive with a lot of tweets. And when the Liz decided to go to Australia to meet Warnie, the media was all gung-ho. Her visit has made it right to the front pages of the tabloids.

What is it about Liz which makes her immensely attractive? Is it her charm or is it her intelligence? Is it her beauty or is it her persona? What makes her be in the media's spotlight continuously? 

Keep contemplating.

So here is Ms. Hurley - going from strength to strength - becoming a hugely sucessfull social celebrity. And if she does end up marrying Warne, then she is bound to be a darling of the Aussie masses.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

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Click here for India wins Cricket World Cup 2011
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Click here for a view on the finals

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In India, they say - Cricket is a religion. And Sachin is the God.

For the unknowns, Cricket is a game. And Sachin Tendulkar is the most cherished player in Indian cricket.

And for the knowns, this introduction is not needed. 

What also is not needed is a reminder that the biggest festival in the game of cricket - The ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 - is set to start in the less than 10 days from now in the Indian Sub-continent.

The World Cup will be hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh jointly. Pakistan was initially decided as one of the co-host. But a spate of terror attacks in the country in 2009 resulted in Pakistan losing its chance to be one of the co-hosts.

Stumpy will be the Mascot for this World Cup.

Cricket is a game which is played most commonly in the Commonwealth nations. Considering this, you will see most of the nations participating in the game to be Commonwealth nations. The Netherlands in the exception.

Fourteen nations will be participating in this year's World Cup. Four of them are the associate members of the ICC while the remaining ten are the permanent members.

The World Cup will be played over 42 days - starting 19th Feb 2011. The finals are scheduled in Mumbai on 2nd April 2011.

The matches will be played across 13 stadiums across the 3 nations - 8 in India, 3 in Sri Lanka and 2 in Bangladesh.

What makes this Cup special is the fact that it is 10th edition of the Cricket World Cup.

What makes it special for me and you is the fact that it will be played in our country. India as a co host are one of the favorites to win the World Cup.

Back in 1983, India won the third edition of the Cup in England - beating the mighty West Indies.

Four years later, the Cup travelled to India. Australia won the Reliance World Cup in 1987.

Circa 1992, the Cup was played in Australia and New Zealand. Pakistan, under the able leadership of Imran Khan, emerged as the victors.

The Cup was back on the Indian Sub-continent in 1996. India managed to reach the semi-finals but were blown away by the eventual winners - Sri Lanka.

Later in 1999 and 2003, Australia were the champions. They played like lions - under the leadership of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting.

The 2007 World Cup is the one of which I have the faintest of the memories. Played in distant West Indies, I don't think I even managed to see a single match. Australia were the winners once again.

But off late, the Australians are no longer the ruthless warriors.

India, under the wings of their charismatic captain, M.S. Dhoni are the new superstars. At this moment, they are right at the top of the ICC rankings.

The draw is out and each group comprises of 7 nations - with round robin games to be played between each country.

In Group A - Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan - look like the favorites to go into the knock out stages.

In Group B, you have India, England, South Africa and West Indies looking like the most likely candidates for the next stage.

But in a stage big as the Word Cup, you have a few rookie nations who can upset the applecart of these biggies. Bangladesh, Ireland, Kenya and Zimbabwe have the capability to beat these star nations.

As always, all of India hopes and prays that India will win the World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar - at the age of 37 - will be playing in his sixth and last World Cup. And he would definitely like to crown his superb career record by winning the World Cup for India. 

And with the final to be played in Bombay a.k.a. Mumbai, Sachin will just have one thing on his mind for the next month and a half - lifting the Cup with his proud hands.

Chitrangada Singh

"Ohh My God!!!". 

This is what I said when I looked at this picture of hers less than 24 hours back.

She is none other than Chitrangada Singh.

I was reading a new article which had her interview. It said - her name meant - someone with unique features. I wouldn't disagree.

All of 34 years, the Indian actress has been on silver screen for the last 8 years. Yet she has acted in just 5 films.

Six years back, she made a stunning debut in the film - Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi (A Thousand Such Wishes). Her role as Geeta Rao received widespread appreciation.

In this movie, she didn't dress up in alluring clothes. Or didn't have any enticing make up. Yet, I found her amazingly attractive.

A month back, I wrote about Attraction. And contemplated why someone is attracted towards someone.

It's very difficult to say why someone is attracted to someone. And Chitrangada is that someone for me.

After 2005, Chitrangada took a hiatus from making movies. 

And when she made her comeback in 2008, starring in Sorry Bhai, I made a beeline to watch her movie on the first weekend.

And then she disappeared again. Only to come back again in 2011.

Starring in Yeh Saali Zindagi, she is making waves again.

So what is it about Chitrangada which makes her so enamoring, so tempting, so alluring, so charismatic??

Is it her eyes - which makes you drown in them??

Or is it her dusky looks, coupled with a messy hairstyle which gives her that desirable look?

Or is it her oomph factor - elegantly conveyed in the snap below - which would give the super models a run for their money?

Or her cute smile?

Or is it simply her elegance?

Keep thinking. And let me know if you are attracted towards her.