Laxman proves it again, again and again...

How long will we be fed by the idol-worshipping media of our country who has mastered the technique of creating hype over non-issues!

Before the start of the Ahmedabad Test all that was flashed by the media was “Will Sachin be able to make his 50^th test century?” Nobody was concerned about the team or the match. After Sachin got out at 40 in the first innings of the test match,one leading Hindi news channel ran this headline all day long, “Sachin apne shatak se chuke!”

Its a pity that we forget the other heroes too conveniently. Be it Colombo or Mohali or Ahmedabad Laxman has showed and proved it again and again that he belongs to the group of “all time greats”! His 281* knock at Eden Gardens was not only his career's best but I would say it was the best ever innings of Indian cricket team because it was the innings that changed the face of Indian cricket. They defeated the Shaheshas of cricket, thats Steve Waugh's Australia and there was no looking back for the team!

From Quarter finalists of World Cup 1999 they turned out to be the finalists of World Cup 2003 .

His career might not have been blessed with 'n' number of centuries, half centuries, cola ads, mobile ads, captaincies, vice-captaincies,rumours with onscreen divas...but he has always served our team silently (sometimes even with injections!)

How many of us are aware of the fact that in the last 3 years, Laxman has been the 5th best test batsman with an average of almost 60 per innings. His average during this period has been more than the likes of Ponting, Dravid, Kallis, and Sachin. (Sachin's avg is 59.12 and Laxman's avg has been 59.42). During this period Sachin scored twelve centuries and eleven fifties while VVS has scored only five centuries and sixteen fifties.

Isnt it a pity that even Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan and Nayan Mongia (!) gets a Padmashree from the Government of India while this real hero has been ignored for years and years!

But all this media, hype, awards mean nothing when it comes to earning the love and respect of the masses. “Very Very Special” Laxman we know what you are capable of, you need not prove it to US again, again and again.

Vetnai -the undiscovered haven

Give a break to all the Bay of Bengal beaches ( or even Puri!) and Shantiniketan and enter this world of undiscovered black bucks this weekend.
A small village, Vetnai in the district of Ganjam (Orissa) and a mere 570km away from Kolkata has every potential to be one of the biggest attractions of eastern India which has surprisingly gone unnoticed by the tourists till now.
Surrounded by the Eastern Ghat mountain range, with a mere population of 1600, this place will surely turn out to be one of the most exciting weekend trip of yours.

How to reach :
Howrah Yesvantapur Express/2863 (departs @ 20:35 from Howrah and reaches Berhampur @ 05:45) and Howrah Chennai Superfast Mail/2839 (departs @ 23:45 from Howrah and reaches Berhampur @ 09:00) are the best trains for weekend tourists. Vetnai is 50km away from Berhampur and one can easily hire a car or an auto to Vetnai.

Accomodation:
Vetnai is still a virgin tourist spot and one has to stay at nearby places like Berhampur or Balugaon. Berhampur has a wide variety of hotels of various range.

Returning:
And if have to come back and attend your class or office again on Monday, the above mentioned couple of trains are going to be your best pick again. While  Yesvantapur Howrah Express/2864 (departs @ 20:15 from Berhampur and reaches Howrah @ 06:10),  Chennai Howrah Superfast Mail/2840 (departs @ 10:45 from Berhampur and reaches Howrah @ 04:00)