The Crusader and his ordeal

Indian rights activist Anna Hazare who had announced an indefinite hunger strike to demand tougher anti-corruption laws  in the form of the Jan Lokpal Bill was detained early this morning. What began as an early morning swoop on the anti-corruption crusader was to later turn out to a mammoth support of the man and his mission.  The 12 hour drama today was nothing short of poor management by the UPA team with the ministers trying to explain that they had no choice but to arrest Anna. The government surely shot itself in the foot today and  as a salvage counterop should now try to contain the public acrimony and the outrage. I fervently hope that there is some sane soul within the government who can follow the “buy peace and show reason” approach. All is still not lost and the government (for the sake of this country and its helpless citizenry) try and cut its losses and engages Anna Hazare rather than confronting him. Whether that happens will be as much a function of the voice of sanity within the UPA while mass support for Anna’s campaign gathers.
  What is more baffling is the ineptitude of the UPA government -It took 9 months to arrest Kalmadi ,4 years to arrest Kanimozhi and Raja but just 3 minutes to arrest Anna Hazare. Hope saner sense prevails

An evening at the Cavern Club

During a recent business trip to Liverpool, I was fortunate and thrilled to visit the Cavern Club, located in close proximity to the new swanky shopping district in the heart of Liverpool called Liverpool One. Mathew Street on which the Cavern club is located is barely a 5 min walk from the serviced apartment that i stayed. My colleague at work, Dave Prescott ensuring that I did not miss visiting the cavern club and took me and a couple of colleagues from the project to the Cavern Club. Cavern Club is more know as the launch pad of the Beatles after they made their first appearance on 9th Feb 1961 and another 291 more times. 

John Lennon's statue outside The Cavern Club,Mathew Street,Liverpool

Dave,I and Sudheer , The Cavern Club, Liverpool

The Cavern club is now a must see tourist spot for anyone who were associated with Beatle mania. My assumptions about the Cavern club not being a trendy spot 50 years on was shattered in no time as we entered the front room of the Cavern. This is where you can have your photograph taken on the cavern stage which has all the names of the bands that have played there. We could locate Queen, Sir Elton John, Rolling Stones, and Paul Young on the wall among the many more recognizable stars of my era and before. But the Beatlemania still lingers on thick and clear in the Cavern Club even today. After all, it is the world's most famous club made famous by the iconic Beatles and Liverpool's very own sons. John Lennon, Paul Mc Cartney,Geroge Harrison and Ringo Starr were the Fab Four of that decade and many more years after that who sang, crooned and visited this club a 292 times creating a piece of treasured history. There is a statue of John Lennon just outside the club where I very promptly had my picture clicked with 'him'. After all, Wasn't John Lennon the one who once said that The Beatles were more famous than Jesus? Some following he sure had. Once inside, we did manage to click pictures of ourselves near the stage, the wall with the Beatles mural before getting ourselves a drink and settling in a comfortable corner to enjoy some timeless live music. I also managed to pick a fridge magnet for a souvenir to remember the evening and the wonderful legacy of the Beatles. Special thanks to my good friend Dave for ensuring we experienced a real piece of Liverpool's history that evening before I headed home en route Manchester.

The football rivalry between Manchester and Liverpool is another post by itself, but will write about it another day..