So Mr. Obama, are you really up for an 18?

I appreciate your encouragement for my 1st blog, “Slumdog Millionaire is like a hole in one!” A close friend, “Sanjeev Gupta,” in an interrogating tone asked, “Did you really write it? I assumed your sister Sweta wrote it for you”. I am not sure if he was complementing me or just trashing my sister, who is an accomplished writer with two books to her credit. Anyway, I let it go; good friends are the only assets with a positive return on investment during these torrid times.

Talking of torrid times, I would like to ask with utmost respect. “What’s up Mr. Obama? Do you think you can save par despite finding yourself in a deep bunker on your 1st tee shot”.

It wasn’t that long ago when Obama won the longest presidential elections in the U.S. He made history by toppling his formidable rivals and succeeding in his improbable quest to become the first African-American president. Oprah cried at his swearing in ceremony and the rest of the world cried along (She wasn’t even handing out free goodies). Obama was the new messiah born to rescue the “planet in peril”. He was teed up for greatness.

I am religious too. When I was 1st introduced to Golf about 10 years ago, I instantly knew; this was not an ordinary sport but my religion. “Tiger Woods” was the Lord Almighty and “St. Andrews,” the home of Golf, was the Vatican. For years, I dreamt of my pilgrimage aka St. Andrews.

Obama’s passionate acceptance speech revealed how much the presidency meant to him. His journey of conviction and commitment meant: Giving up a fancy career education (He’s a Harvard graduate); starting out at the grassroots level as a social worker; and working his way up the political ladder. He and his young family made incredible sacrifices to get to where they are today.

During a family vacation in Scotland, my brother-in-law, Paul managed to get us a booking to play at St Andrew’s course. A round at the St Andrew’s was finally going to happen after years of commitment, hard work, and some wicked planning. I recall that experience as my “Obama moment”. There was family sacrifice involved too. Both Paul and I left our respective wives and kids in a café waiting for us while we went off to achieve our destiny.

Soon after the highs of his acceptance speech, Obama took office with a nation in the grip of the worst economic crisis in three-quarters of a century. He had inherited neither peace nor prosperity. He had to deal with global economic crisis, crippling deficit, spiraling public confidence, two wars, and things were about to get worse.

My moment had come. I was going finally going to play at St Andrews. I was anxious, excited, delirious, and all those things as I set for my 1st drive. Three holes later I was calling the experience a “complete nightmare”. Yes, you read it right; my dream turned into a nightmare. It was bitterly cold, the wind was crazy, and the links course felt like nothing I had ever played before. The ball would just hang there in the air teasing you and then make its way wherever the wind commanded it to go. By hole 6, I was loosing my mind. There was not a place on this course that we could buy water, and the gust was so strong that it was dislodging the ball from the tee at set up. By now my excitement was all gone, and I was fancying the idea of giving up and going back to the wife and kids at the café.

Obama went about forming a government and prioritizing a long list of costly demands at a time of unprecedented deficits. The crises deepened and financial markets reeled. Bernard Madoff and his ponzi scheme came to light. The long list of bailouts coupled with the un-repenting greed of corporate czars and the Wall Street vultures, added to Obama’s nightmare.

The wind was easing up and the cold was a lot more manageable. By the 9th hole, I had a much better understanding and respect for the conditions at St. Andrews. I started to enjoy the historic course and beautiful settings. I felt blessed walking the Holy Land (Scotland gave the world Golf and Scotch whisky). Nothing seemed to bother me anymore; the experience was unbelievable. I was absolutely up for my 18.

Obama is on his 3rd hole and things are likely to get worse for sometime before they get better. I am sure there are still Wall Street frauds that are yet to come to light; the global economy that will continue to hurt; and terrorists that will go about their mindless madness. But I will give a mulligan to the man, who in his brief tenure has given hope to the hopeless, shut down Guantanamo bay, and extended a hand of friendship to friends and foes. He has reaffirmed his commitment to fighting global warming in Copenhagen. Despite provocation by the naughty Kim Jong-il, Obama has called for a “Nuclear-free world”.


It is bitterly cold; the wind is very strong,
You will have to go without water for very long.
The ground will be very hard and bunkers will be mean
Even perfect approach shots will roll miles off the green
Before it gets better it will get worse
“Planet in Peril” is the Bush curse
On the path to greatness challenges lie waitin
So Mr. Obama are you really up for an 18?

Enjoy it!

"Slumdog Millionaire" is like a…… Hole in One!

There have been several debates around how good a movie was “Slumdog Millionaire” (SDM).While much of the world has raved about various aspects of the movie, many Indians believe SDM is a typical western stereotype of India that highlights slums, poverty, communal discord, child abuse, and yes, the Taj Mahal.

The way I look at it, who am I to judge SDM. The movie won eight Oscars, BAFTA, and God knows how many more awards. And, for those of us seeking desi- validation, our beloved Congress party has embraced the catchy Jai Ho number as their election theme song. (I have to admit that the thought of Manmohan and Sonia grooving to Jai Ho is a tad bit disturbing). Anyway now that Slumdog is the most internationally acclaimed INDIAN movie ever (the Brits stole chicken tikka masala first…so shoot me!), I think it is time, my fellow golfers to use simple GOLF FUNDA’S to bring this raging debate to a logical conclusion.

Danny Boyle’s creative genius has earned him a lot of credit. Boyle made his feature film directorial debut with “Shallow Grave”. The film was the most successful British film of 1995. The success of “Shallow Grave” led to the production of Boyle’s next project, “Trainspotting”.

Shallow Grave was a dream debut
Train spotting made Danny Boyle a star,
But then he made the Beach
which was like a Pro hitting “Double Par”

Today, the world can’t stop raving about Freida Pinto. Before starring in Slumdog Millionaire, Freida anchored the international travel show, Full Circle. She has also featured in several commercials. Her co-star, Dev Patel, is not only a British film and television actor but also a martial art artist.

For Frieda Pinto Slumdog was like a perfect “tee shot”.
I am not sure about her acting, but she is definitely hot.
She completely overshadowed her co-star,
It appears that the much distracted Dev Patel missed his “Par”.

The kids in SDM were precious. To most people, they were the real stars of the movie. People’s opinion has been most divided regarding how good or bad has SDM been for the little ones. Ayush (young Jamal),who has been acting in Bollywood since age ,four comes from a middle class family in Mumbai suburbs. He has appeared in many commercials and TV serials. In fact, he is an award winning artist. But the other stars, Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail (young Salim) and Rubina Ali (young Latika), were both discovered in the slums of Mumbai. Post SDM, they have both returned back to their humble lives in the slums.

Little Ayush, Azharuddin, and Rubina were cute and funny.
Like “amateur golfers” they got all the kudos,
But went home with no money.

AR Rahman and Anil Kapoor barely need an introduction. Rahman mesmerized the world with his music while Anil kapoor behaved like a raving lunatic and hogged all the lime light at the award ceremonies.

Anil showed his “handicap” anchoring the Crore pati game,
While the “Tiger Woods” of Indian music finally added a few Oscars to his name.

There is no denying that SDM was a phenomenon. It is impossible to articulate what really made it click. Was it the director? Actors? Children? Music? Or simplistic emotions that never failed to bring a smile to your face? My favorite was young Jamal jumping into a pile of poop, wading his way through the muck, and getting an autograph of Amitabh Bachhan. There was really no “formula” that made SDM a roaring success. . Every tiny bit fell into place, and the magic just happened.

My fellow Golfers, “Slumdog Millionaire” is best explained as a “HOLE IN ONE”. It is perfect in its imperfections.

Enjoy it!