"Baseballers" from the Land of Cricket

The fertile fields of Indian villages and the bustling streets of its cities have been the breeding grounds for many a world class cricketer.

It was only some time before somebody figured out that the same soil which produces great cricketers can produce great baseball players too esp. given the strong similarities between the 2 games. That's why I was pleasantly surprised by a small news item in the WSJ recently about the first Indian players- Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel being hired as part of Major League Baseball (Pittsburgh Pirates) : Game-Show Winners Earn a Place in Minors

And in the land of the Slumdog Millionaire is it not apt that these players were selected after winning a game show "Million Dollar Arm" ? A victory that transformed their lives moving them across the globe from small hamlets in Uttar Pradesh, India to the bustling ballpark of Pittsburgh.

And obviously as Cricket tries to make inroads into the uncharted waters of the US sports marketplace, Baseball would also be planning similar moves in India: "Indian hurlers' inking opens new market:Contracts for Singh and Patel could pave way for their countrymen"

Watch these "Baseballers" in action: "I don't know who Babe Ruth is" . Neither of them knew what baseball is or had ever touched a baseball before they took part in this contest.

Maybe this will open the floodgates......What next, Indian cricket teams hiring ball players from the wheat fields of Kansas?

Slumdog Millionaire : Contrasting Reviews

BBC- Soutik Biswas
'Why Slumdog fails to move me'

Rolling Stone - Peter Travers
What I feel for this movie isn't just admiration, it's mad love.

Uplifting ,"Poverty Porn", Breathtaking, "Slum Chic" - all terms used by various critics in describing the same movie. Has ruffled the feathers of Bollywood's movie icon, Amitabh Bachchan. Well, if the critics have such dramatically opposite opinions then it means the movie is really worth watching.

To my American Friends who ask me, "Do things like this really happen in India ? Is India really like this?"

My answer, " This is as much India as 'Die Hard' is USA".

Part Real , Part Director's imagination.

I will give it the highest accolade most Indian viewers give to a movie they really like - "Paisa Vasool"- got my money's worth!!