Road Trip to Bhuleshwar

Bhuleshwar is a historic temple situated around 45 kms from Pune (Magarpatta, Hadapsar). Like many other temples around Pune, this 800 years old temple is also built on top of a ghat (hill). The short distance from Pune, and the location and historicalness of this temple make it ideal for a day trip. 

The route to Bhuleshwar is pretty straightforward. We started from Magarpatta, and got onto the Hadapsar-Sholapur road (NH9). It is a straight road for about 35 km to the Yavat village. On the way, you would cross a couple of toll plazas. Pay for a round trip toll ticket for Rs 34.50 at the first one at Loni, and you would be set for the whole trip. 

Once you take a right from the highway towards the Yavat village, begins a 10 km stretch where you can finally enjoy the drive to the temple. A year ago this road used to be an unpaved road full of small rocks and rubble, which made the drive to the temple nothing less than a torchure. The newly laid out road is pretty good, and you would enjoy the scenic drive through the ghats. 

Google Map Directions

The last half a kilometer is extremely steep with a pretty narrow road, so you need to drive very carefully. Once you reach the temple premises there is a proper parking space, and it offers a good ariel view of the villages at the bottom of the hill.

What lies inside the temple is nothing less than a treasure. There are amongst the finest carvings and statutes of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Many of the carvings seem to be telling a story, but it was a shame that there was no guide or any kind of information put out anywhere in the temple premises.  At the heart of the temple, there lies a Shiva linga enclosed in a small room. We had to wait for the priest to open the room to get the darshan. The priest spoke about a popular belief that at the time of prayers, when sweets are offered to the Shiv linga, there have been occurrences when the sweets have disappeared.  The priest also spoke about the mutilation of the carvings and statutes done by Aurangzeb and his troops. 

There are ample open spaces to lay down a mat and relax. You wouldn't find any kind of food arrangements close to the temple, so take your own food along. Bhuleshwar makes for an ideal day trip,  giving you a chance to enjoy the peace and tranquility of this historic temple at the top of a hill.

साहिल तक

"माझी कोई गीत सुनाकर 

मुझको मीठी नींद सुला दो 

और भोर होने से पहले 

मेरा साहिल पास बुला दो। "

-- सरोज साहनी 

Indian Lounge Music

I'm still unsure of the name for this genre of music. I've heard people referring it to as "Indian Lounge" or "Indian Classical Lounge"or "South Asian Lounge", "Indian Fusion" and a few other names. Blending Indian classical music with western sounds or new age music gives birth to this kind of genre which is still relatively new. I think this music became really popular with the Buddha Bar collection. Although my exposure to Coke Studio has been limited to the videos people have been sharing on the social networking mediums but the genre being featured there doesn't look very different either, although sufi music continues to be the predominant factor there.

My discovery to the "acoustic lounge" music is not very old, and in a subtle way it has carved a niche in my playlist which mostly features old rock numbers along with some alternative rock. I will let the music do all the talking in this post and will share some of the artists and songs that I have enjoyed listening to of late.

 Take Me Away (Original) by Amal Lad 

 RADHA (Original) by Amal Lad 

 LAYA PROJECT by Karsh Kale Official 

 Joy by Karsh Kale Official 

Pulkit, my cousin who stays in Pune, just informed me about Metallica's India tour. Their first gig is going to be in Delhi on October 28. I'm expected to be in Delhi during that time and this is something I don't want to miss. So I'll end this post with one of Metallica's acoustic versions of  "Nothing Else Matters".

फ़िक्र को धुंए में उड़ाता चला गया

It was yet another villainous night for Mumbai. Time and again the people of this country have to deal with this new kind of brutality that innocent lives are facing more than ever.  They are expected to show resilience, patience and are asked to return to normalcy, the sooner the better.  Once again the politicians deliver the same speech. These cowardly acts are condemned by our leaders. They share the pain and the grief of the nation, and the country moves on, once again.

The PM said, "The government will do everything in its power to prevent future attacks." This saddened me. Does this mean the government wasn't doing this earlier ? But then, what else will he say to express his solidarity with the people who have suffered from this barbaric attack. Like always, a small amount of money was kept aside from the PM's relief fund for those who are suffering.

The way the media covers such attacks in India is anyhow highly irresponsible. How the news channels reported the casualty numbers on 26.11, even before they came out from the authorities was outrageous. Their exclusives on bringing the bad news to the screens on the idiot box, their ways in which they try to be the first to report the latest numbers of the dead is so similar to the way they handle the TRP numbers. Isn't this abuse of power ? Sangram, a friend of mine said, "This is early christmas for the news channels." And I don't blame him for having this mindset after the 26.11 coverage. May be I'm wrong, but I made a conscious effort to not watch any news or read any articles after this attack, with the exception of the PM's speech. Staying 8000 miles away from your country can help you in staying away from this news.

I'm sure we all will move on once again. And many have already moved on. I find this briskness to normalcy also scary at times. Scary because, by simply moving on, we might be accepting the failures to prevent these attacks. Are we not admitting these as routine affairs that might continue to happen time and again ? Are we neglecting the signs of an incompetent intelligence or government ? 

I'm not sure of the answers to any of these questions and don't want to write anymore. So just like many others, my heart and prayers for Mumbai and for those who suffer. I will try to end this post on a pleasant note, so read these beautiful lines that my friend Tushar shared on the internet or step into the magical world and witness the "terror" of the one who must not be named, by watching the new "Harry Potter" flick, which I did not find that great.

"तन्हा ही सही पर दिल यहाँ हँसता है,

और खेल ज़माने का चलता है !

तुम भी बनके किरदार उलझे रहो, खुलते रहो ... "

Also read: Happy Valentine's Day ?

               People Like Us

"A moment of joy with some friends at Marine Drive, Mumbai"

मिठाई की दुकान - लोहित मलिक

मिठाई की दुकान (हास्य कविता) 

रामलाल ने खोली एक मिठाई की दुकान 

इसके पास होते गुलाबजामुन लाल लाल

जो भी इस गुलाबजामुन को खाता 

लाल रसीला वह हो जाता |

इसके पास होता लड्डू गोल गोल

जो भी इस लड्डू को खाता 

गोल गोल वह भी हो जाता |

इसके पास होता आगरे का पेठा

चीनी समान वह होता मीठा मीठा 

जो भी इस पेठे को को खाता 

वह भी मीठा बोलता जाता |

इसके पास होती बहुत सी इमरती 

जिसकी सदा बोलती रहती तूती

जो भी इस इमरती को खाए

वह खुद भी इमारती की तरह हो जाए | 

जो लोग रामलाल की दुकान पर जाते है 

बहुत सी मिठाइयाँ वे सब पाते हैं 

रामलाल की मिठाइयों को खाकर 

सब लोग वाह वाह कहते जाते हैं | 

-       लोहित मलिक

मिठाई की दुकान, मंदिर वाली गली, युसूफ सराय, नई दिल्ली 

God born in a wrong country

Sachin R Tendulkar, born on April 24 1973 in Bombay, India. Two years later, Jacques Henry Kallis was born on October 16 1975, in Cape Town, South Africa.

There are a lot of things common in these players. Both have an absolute calmness when at the crease. They strive for perfection. Even with all these years of cricket under their belt, they still are good students of the game. Improvising when needed, adapting to the most modern forms of cricket. The real ambassadors of the game portraying great humility and have always been in the media for all good reasons. Just that one is liked more by the media due to the impact, legacy and fraternity of cricket in his country.

Although Kallis first appeared in tests and ODIs 6 years after Tendulkar made his debut in 1989, Kallis has not been very far behind in the total number of runs scored in test cricket. And, in the end, what might separate the two would be the total number of runs because with the batting averages Kallis goes head-to-head with Tendulkar in all forms. Also, if a comparison is made for the last 10 years Kallis has performed better than Tendulkar.

There are a few arguments that I have heard that talk about Kallis has scored a lot of runs in tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh who are still novices when it comes to test cricket and that makes his statistics look a lot more attractive than what they really are. The fact that Kallis has scored a lot of runs against these two nations is true, and stunning because he averages 169.75 against Zimbabwe and 79.25 against Bangladesh.

So I wanted to pull up the statistics that does the comparison between Tendulkar and Kallis' test record excluding the runs scored against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. And I did manage to find this data, which would negate the argument of Kallis' record only looks overly attractive thanks to Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Best Test averages v all teams except B'desh and Zim since Jan 1999

Batsman	Tests	Runs	Average	100s/ 50s
Jacques Kallis	111	9932	59.47	34/ 45
Sachin Tendulkar	101	8299	52.85	26/ 38

With just 10 more tests Kallis has scored a whopping 1600 more runs than Tendulkar with a better average and more number of hundreds and fifties.

Another interesting statistic that I found was that both Sachin and Kallis have scored over 16%of their team runs in their test batting career. Also very interesting is the percentage of centuries they have scored from their teams' centuries.

Runs and hundreds by player and team

Batsman	Runs	Team runs	Percentage	100s	100s by team	Percentage
Sachin Tendulkar	14,690	89,657	16.38	51	200	25.50
Jacques Kallis	11,947	72,268	16.53	40	160	25.00

Sachin Tendulkar: Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	177	290	32	14692	248*	56.94			51	59		64	106	0
ODIs	453	442	41	18111	200*	45.16	20980	86.32	48	95	1981	193	136	0

Jacques Kallis: Batting and fielding averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	145	246	38	11947	201*	57.43	26418	45.22	40	54	1315	86	166	0
ODIs	314	300	53	11227	139	45.45	15426	72.77	17	82	880	130	122	0

The above table comparing their batting records proves that in terms of batting averages there is not much to say between these two players, in fact Kallis edging out slightly on top.

And all this talk doesn't even mention bowling. Because there is actually no comparison that can be made there. 

 Sachin Tendulkar: Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	177	135	4096	2388	45	3/10	3/14	53.06	3.49	91.0	0	0	0
ODIs	453	269	8044	6838	154	5/32	5/32	44.40	5.10	52.2	4	2	0

Jacques Kallis: Bowling averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	145	240	18337	8643	270	6/54	9/92	32.01	2.82	67.9	7	5	0
ODIs	314	275	10450	8387	264	5/30	5/30	31.76	4.81	39.5	2	2	0

For all the pundits who continue to consider Tendulkar ahead in terms of a  batting, shouldn't have any problems to admit the leader in the bowling trade. With over 250 wickets in both forms of the game and over 10000 runs again in both forms, I have to admit that Kallis "statistically" is a better overall cricketer than Tendulkar. And if I have to choose one in the all time test or ODI team, I will go for Kallis.

One of my favorite Sidhuisms is "statistics are like bikinis… what they reveal is suggestive, what they hide is essential! "  And seems like it is in this essentiality where Tendulkar wins the race and is called "God" by the whole world.


Earlier this year in their match against India in Cape town, Kallis was enduring chest injuries, muscle pains and bruised ribs when he saved SA from an early batting collapse (98-5), to 341 where he made his 40th Test century and won the match for SA.  Boucher said, "I don't think anyone understands how much pain he is in. The doctor told me it's like breaking your own rib."
This is when Harbhajan Singh said,"After Tendulkar, Jacques Kallis is the best player in the world."
I think this is a huge statement considering it is coming from a current Indian cricketer, and this is probably as close as one could publicly get, especially to the media, to praise a cricketer other than Tendulkar.


We also need to consider that Kallis belongs to a team that has been tagged as "chokers". And that tag would haunt him as well, along with the rest of the Proteas, the way it has been for so many years now. Not being able to help the team go all the way has been another argument from his critics. And I think this is where he is suppose to be lagging behind Tendulkar. Even though Tendulkar himself, doesn't have an impressive record when it comes to playing the finals. But the Proteas have hardly managed to even reach the finals. I believe this is where his biggest challenge lies, to help the Proteas reach and possibly win the finals of a big tournament like the world cup.


With Sachin not retiring post the 2011 world-cup win, I think it is going to be Sachin versus Kallis over the next few years in test and ODis. However, this comparison is for us, the cricket audience. Sachin and Kallis would both religiously, equally hungry for runs that they are, would continue breaking and establishing newer records and helping the game win hearts.

I believe we are lucky to have been born in the times to see both these greats play. And if Sachin is the God of Cricket, then I would just say that Kallis is no less, just that, he happened to be born in a country where Cricket is not a religion and may be that's why the world doesn't address him as one. But is it a problem if cricket has two Gods ?

Thanks to my Boston buddies who made me realize how Kallis is calmly and steadily building a strong portfolio that is going largely unnoticed by a large section of the media.

Data source: espncricinfo.com