I Have Queued @ Wimbledon

A perfect sunny day, manicured lawn, bowl of strawberry with a cream and a ticket to Wimbledon, a great recipe for a day full of tennis. Watching somebody serving at 120mph from a 10 feet distance is indeed a thrilling. The game becomes exciting when the same serve is returned accurately along the side lines. One tends to get bewildered when somebody could not even attempt a passing shot few feet away and fans broke up with 'Awa' with a slow drop shot closer to the nets. Accurate line judgement, prompt ball boys and cheering crowd, help the game scale great heights.

On one fine weekend, I woke up at 4 O'clock, packed my bags and hurried up to get a place in the queue as closer as possible. If you want a ticket delivered at your home, you have to participate in a lucky draw. Last date for applying for 2008 Wimbledon is Dec2007. Few tickets are available on internet. Selling starts at 8Pm the previous day and ends at 10 Sec's past 8Pm . The best way to watch tennis is to become a lineman or a ball boy. Few people prefer to become tennis player.

London weather can play a spoil game. I happen to witness hardly 2 hours of tennis during my 36 hours stay at Wimbledon over 2 days. With no hesitation, I can say that those 2 hours were far more exciting than hours of tennis I have watched on television. I can weather hours of wait in a queue, persistent rain, wet cloths, blowing wind and shivering cold, to watch Leyton Hewitt serving big aces. Leander Paes giving chest bumps, Brian Lara clapping for Justin Henin's passing shot and the glimpses of Sania Mirza. Believe me; Sania looks gorgeous than she appears in a picture.

Wimbledon is a tennis village with altogether 18 courts. Jewell in the crown is the famous ' Centre Court'. Court no 1 & 2 are cheaper in that order, followed by remaining ground courts having paltry entry fee. Players according to the ranking are allocated to different courts. There was a section where aspiring kids can interact with tennis greats. The 'All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club' always endeavours to provide 'State O Art' facilities to all players. Ball boys, ground staff & line umpires have to go through gruelling hours of practise sessions to get 'Match Fit'.

Professionalism along with courtesy, affection & big smiles are free along with 18£ ticket. I could hardly here any complains from 15000 odd fans who went through all pains. All this makes the game 'Great' and player a 'Demigod'. Is there a difference between a sport winner and a 'Tirupathi Balaji'? Is there a difference between crazy fans and 'Amarnath Pilgrims'?

Enjoy the Snaps: http://picasaweb.google.com/mandarsj11/Wimbledon

Mandar Joshi

Tata Consultancy Services, London (5 July 2007)

Anything For Tummy

It's not about Money Honey!
It's all about Tummy!!

Onsite is all about first time experiences. In the forefront of all is 'Cooking'. First time in my 24 years, I found myself wondering in a food mall in search of a cheapest oil brand. I searched 50 shops for getting 'Tur Dal'. My search for curd is still on!
Believe me cooking can be the most interesting out of office activity. Before leaving India, Mom had given me a book full of recipes, dal, chawal, sabji and roti. Till date I have never referred to that book, but still, I can make rice, dal tadka, any sabji, fried rice, and yes, chapatti also! Its was like, trial and no-error.
Cooking is all about time and resource management. My resources- 4 burner Gas, microwave, toaster, vegetable chopper, a range of catering instruments and of course 'India se laya hua Pressure Cooker'. Using these resources to an optimum efficiency and reducing cooking time to a minimum is a real critical task. My mummy is best in that.
Wash rice & dal, put on the cooker, put the milk on another burner, put 2 breads in a toaster and set 30 sec timer, start cutting tomato and onion, toast is ready, apply butter, milk is ready, pour into cup, start cutting again, sandwich is ready, ' Are anda to boil kiya hi nahi', cooker whistled, half sandwich is finished, milk cup is empty, second whistle, remaining sandwich, egg is ready, rice is ready, put on oil, 'Sambhalo boss, tadka jalna nahi chahiye ', put it into dal, dinner is ready, half is already finished, have the remaining in front of National Geographic.After this huge mess, there is a huge pile to be cleaned up. Vinayak comes to the task from now on.
On 23rd July, on Vinayak's birthday, we had a delicious menu. Kashish had made garmagaram parothe. 'Aakho se pani ata hai, So pyas nahi katega? Aare haaat!!' I took that task. Delicious potato-onion rassa was ready. Rice is always a simple task. I arranged a dining table with all available cutleries and lit up the candle. Even Bharat appreciated the smell of the delicacies. He was on line on video conference from Canada.
Around Amsterdam, there are few Indian restaurants. First we had a go at one panjabi dabba 'Sandly'. On that day I had the best panjabi meal of my life. I think Bambaiya panjabies have a long way to go. There is another restaurant called 'Gandhi', still it serves non-veg items. 'Rushi Kapur' was serving there. We had another delicious meal on our way back from Rotterdam, Just for 10 Euros. 'Akhir Bambayi mai 10 rupaiya mai kya milata hai bhai !!'.

Mandar Joshi
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.Amsterdam (2 August 2006)

Straight From Holland

Its been 25 days, I been here in his land called Holland. It's been a dream run until now, lets hope the party continues.

Netherlands alias Holland is one of the most advanced countries in the world. The world's tallest breed lives here. At this point I can't resist myself comparing Amsterdam with Pune! Lets read on. This is a country of bicycles. Per head more than one bicycle. Bicycles don't have bells and breaks. Any time cyclist can come head on. Cycles are indeed designed to carry 2 to 3 people. Every cycle will have it's own innovative version. Shops close as a clock struck 6. Customer is not so critical commodity. They will drive you out after closing hours. You can see rows of cars parked along the road, but will not see a trace of human being around. Every house needs to have a cat or a dog.

This country is not only renowned for Tulips, Wind Mills and Wooden Boots, but also for legalised drugs, prostitution and gay marriages. Red light area in Amsterdam is one of the most popular tourist spot in the world!

We can see plenty of cannels running across the heart of the city. These cannels along with small lanes can be imagined as a huge scale 'BhulBhulaiya'. 40% of the country is reclaimed. It's said that 'God made the Earth, Dutch made the Netherlands'. Some part of the country is below the sea level. Can you imagine, Schipol airport in Amsterdam is 5 meters below sea level!!. I can't imagine. For years these people are fighting to keep themselves out of water. They have built huge windmills to pump the water back into the sea. If these mills stop working, we all will be under water.

Last Saturday, Vinayak and I had been to Dan-Haag beach. We boarded the train at Zuid-WTC. Watching lush grebe countryside and eating 'Shankarpale', we reached Dan-Haag. On our way towards beach we halted at Madurodam. It's miniature Holland. All tourist attractions, government offices, queen's palaces and even, Schipol Airport are miniaturised in exact proportion. All minor details of any monument are captured with a precision. Even trees have been bonsaied to suit the buildings. But still 12-euro entrance fee is a bit too much.

We reached the beach at about 3'o clock. The beach was full of people. It was a sunny weekend and people were enjoying the sunbath. We had 'Phodnicha Bhat' at the beach. (All Maharashtians should laugh at this point) Now it was time to enter the water. The water was ice cold. Duchesses were having their summer bath. I could hardly enter knee-deep water. I was about to have my chilliest bath. I jumped into one of the waves and got myself drenched.

It is a time, I should tell you something about Dutch female beings. Lets call it a 'Pari Katha'. Giving due respect to Nigro female beings, this land is full of heavenly ladies. Especially in summer, wearing a dress doesn't seem to be a priority. And on the beach………….(fill in the line with your own imagination)… ……………………………!!!!

This country has adopted a special community called 'Sreenam'. These people are from a country called 'Sreenam', which is somewhere near Brazil. These people look like a Nigro, but can speak Hindi. This community is running a separate FM radio station, which plays Hindi songs. Somewhere down the birth line, they have their origin in India. While we were enjoying the beach beauty, I was shocked to see a Nigro lady singing a Hindi song. It was a group of 3-4 Sreenamies. They seemed curious about Bollywood actor-actresses. We sang 2-3 songs for them. How can I explain a Nigro singing a Hindi song? It's difficult to explain and to hear also.

So,, If u have not got bored, next time I will tell you all about my cycle trip which I would be enjoying this week. I might go to Belgium also.
Please let me know your comments and the remaining line!!!

Disclaimer:Accuracy of the data is directly related to performance of the 'spell check'! The author can't be held responsible.--

Mandar Joshi

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Amsterdam. (17 July 2006)