Writer. Editor. Writing and covering tech with Akriti Rana at ABP, Indian Express, TechPP, 91Mobiles and Openvy. Book reader, writer, occasional story teller.
There’s this old dog in Khan Market. Very old. He struggles to walk. And has problems chewing. And there is this lady. She sweeps the pavements. She comes every evening with food for him. Food that is soft enough for him to chew. And she feeds him. With her hands.
#DelhiByND
So I go to a Mother Dairy booth to buy some milk. As I am making my purchase, a “gentleman” leans over my shoulder and shouts his order. He has no mask. I ask him politely to step back. He sneers “Abe chill kar, case kam ho gaye hain. Vaccine aa gayi hai.”
THIS is the problem.
Hearing a lot of "Motilal Nehru's clothes used to go to Paris for drycleaning" nonsense, especially on whatsapp.
There was no flight from India to France prior to independence.
Sending clothes by ship would have taken months.
Who EVEN comes out with this nonsense?
THREAD: THE GREATEST INNINGS EVER PLAYED?
The greatest innings ever played? There are literally hundreds of contenders- Sunny’a 96, Lara’s 153, Atherton’s 185 and so on. One innings, however, stands out. And it was not even played in a Test.
January 5, 1972.
Melbourne.
THREAD: THE GREATEST PARTNERSHIP EVER? (Or THE DAY VIV RICHARDS WAS TOLD TO F**K OFF!)
Cricket has seen many epic partnerships: Laxman and Dravid, Ponstord and Bradman…and many more. The greatest partnership perhaps, was of just 21 runs.
Old Trafford, 10 July, 1976.
As per Pixel loving Twitter:
1. OnePlus is in trouble. (In spite of impressive growth)
2. Samsung makes bad phones. (No. 2 brand in India) l
3. No one likes Chinese phones.
( More than 75% buy them).
4. Everyone loves clean Android. (Less than 1 per cent market share)
This has got to be one of my favourite snaps in recent times. A leaf on a stem taken by the
@oneplus
8 Pro. The depth of field is fantastic - this is not a portrait mode or macro shot. Auto mode.
THREAD: THE BRAVEST PERFORMANCE IN CRICKET?
Cricket has seen some heroic performances. Kumble bowled with a broken jaw, Marshall and Salim Malik batted and bowled with fractures...
But one player perhaps outdid them all. And against the best.
November 20-25, 1986
Karachi
THREAD: THE GREATEST SPELL OF PACE BOWLING EVER
Cricket's hall of fame is packed with demon fast bowlers, from Spofforth to Tyson to Hall to Thomson... But the greatest spell of REALLY FAST bowling came from someone not really considered a "great."
August 21, 1994, The Oval
Some reviewers:
On getting a phone:
"Wow, better than the iPhone."
On getting earphones:
"Amazing. Better than the AirPods. "
On getting a notebook:
"Mind blown. Better than the MacBook."
On getting a tablet:
"Astonishing. This Paracetamol is better than the iPad!"
So
@XiaomiIndia
cancelled a Redmi K20 and K20 Pro launch event in Guwahati and donated the entire money for the launch - Rs 15 lakh - to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Wow. This. Wow.
Take a bow,
@manukumarjain
. This is very well done.
And this is rare. This is very rare. A brand claiming to miss its former head in a presentation. Normally, those who leave are kind of brushed behind a curtain (or under a carpet?). Good to see this from
@IndiaPOCO
This ad is going to pick up awards. It has not been understood by a lot of mainstream folks and been admired and analysed to an infinite extent by many in the ad community. Absolute award material.
One delivery,
One reaction.
Three photographers.
Wasim Akram bowls,
Alec Stewart dances
The dance
A batsman signs up for
When the ballet
Is conducted
By a pace bowler.
Captured by Tom Jenkins, Adrian Murrell and David Munden.
England vs Pakistan, the Oval.
This IS kinda epic. The 20000 mAh Mi Power Bank has actually been charging my friend’s MacBook Pro!! Not the fastest but it got it all the way from 0 to 52 per cent after which it has kept it at that level even while the notebook is being used.
@xiaomi
@XiaomiIndia
@manukumarjain
THREAD: THE BEST MAN OF THE MATCH SPEECH EVER?
Most players today accept a Man of the Match award with some cliches in front of a sponsor laden background. Things were a lot less structured in the past. Which might explain why the greatest MoM speech ever given was in 1977.
THREAD: THE DAY WE REALISED INDIA COULD BOWL QUICK
In the 1970s and 1980s, pace bowling and India were about as close as Tests and T20. Kapil was nippy, but Indian swing bowlers were supposed to induce edges rather than knock stumps over.
That changed on March 3, 1985.
Galaxy M51
Vivo X50
Pixel 4A
Right, and last year so many called the Redmi K20 overpriced. No, am not going to let this one go. There was all kinds of hell raised which in retrospect seems to have been unnecessary and worse, unfair.
The Twitter life of
@manukumarjain
"I am at Mi HQ..."
"Yes, but where is Poco F2?"
"We are launching a device..."
"Is it Poco F2?"
"We donated books to the needy..."
"When are you releasing Poco F2?"
"This is my dog..."
"Does he have a Poco F2?"
Well...
That said, I think
@RedmiIndia
's campaign for the Redmi K20 is miles ahead of anything its competitors have done. Gone off the beaten path. No celebs, no fancy ads, no associations with channels and mags...AND still getting attention. Take a bow,
@manukumarjain
Image of the day. Easily.
A student at Jogeshchandra Girls' School, Howrah bows to her desk as her school opens after nearly a year.
From Anandabazar Patrika, front page, Feb 13, 2021
Post courtesy: Aloke Kumar
Faltoo mein we moved IPL out of India. Arre bhai, if we have the resources to allow 20 lakh odd students to give exams safely, surely we could have been able to allow a hundred or so players to play safely? Hai na?
“You are my adversary
You are not my enemy
You might even be...
My friend.”
Friendship.
When two players
Play against each other
And there’s no way of knowing
Who is winning.
@Martina
@ChrissieEvert
Playing a Grand Slam final.
With a smile.
THREAD: THE MOST AMAZING COMEBACK IN CRICKET
Cricket has its share of dramatic comebacks. Players have returned from injury and being sacked. But imagine a retired player being spotted in a crowd watching a match, and being asked to play? It happened.
July 25, 1i986. Lord's.
MINI-THREAD: THE GREATEST COMPLIMENT PAID TO BISHAN SINGH BEDI
One can say a lot about Bishan Singh Bedi. He possessed the smoothest action ever. He was India’s highest wicket taker. He was probably one of the greatest spinners of all time.
But the best compliment to the man?
The sheer beauty of simple, fluid motion.
Martina Navratilova (
@Martina
) moves to the net against Evonne Goolagong Cawley. Sometime in the seventies.
The sales and market share and all are impressive, but for me this is THE stat from
@XiaomiIndia
:
Xiaomi employs more than 30,000 people in its manufacturing plants in India.
NINETY FIVE PER CENT OF THESE ARE WOMEN.
Right. Wow. Just wow.
Take a bow,
@manukumarjain
All right, and here we go: that's my review of the Poco X3
@TechPP
. The mid-segment has got a heavyweight. Not just one of the best options below Rs 20,000, but even a threat to the phones below Rs 25,000!
@IndiaPOCO
@POCOGlobal
THREAD: THE MOST EXPLOSIVE ODI KNOCK (AND PERHAPS THE GREATEST SIX EVER HIT!)
40 years ago, a No. 8 batsman stunned a massive crowd with an audacious display of batting. And hit the sport's greatest six.
And with a weird bat too.
February 13, 1983, MCG
The day of 'Excalibur'
THREAD: MOHINDER AMARNATH’S MOST AMAZING COMEBACK
In Indian cricket, Mohinder Amarnath is known as the “comeback man.” He was dropped many times, written off many times. And he kept reappearing. But perhaps his most amazing comeback was on December 23, 1987.
Guwahati.
Have you ever seen rivals who are friends?
Yes, several. This is sport. Not war. Actually the greatest friendship perhaps in the history of sport was between
@Martina
and
@ChrissieEvert
. I have never seen two players compete so fiercely even while being such close friends.
THREAD: WHEN BRADMAN ASKED EVERYONE TO WATCH - "YOU'LL NEVER SEE THE LIKE OF THIS AGAIN!"
The greatest innings ever? Lara's 277, Sachin's 136, Sobers' 254...there are so many. What about a knock that the great Bradman himself asked everyone to watch.
13 June, 1938.
THREAD: THE MOST FAMOUS GREETING IN CRICKET HISTORY?
Walking out to bat comes with its own chatter. The fielders, bowler and even the umpire, has a word or two for the newcomer. One new batsman, however, arrived with an epic greeting.
Friday the 13th!
December, Perth,
1974.
Johannesburg, 1995.
One of cricket's least talked of epic all round displays!
Took a world record 11 catches, then batted for 274 minutes to help save a seemingly lost Test.
With his shades on too!
Atherton's Test? Yes, but it was Jack Russell's Test too!
Players of the Match
THREAD: THE RANJI TROPHY FINAL THAT SAW AN INDIAN AND AN ENGLISHMAN PLAY 'BAZBALL'!
What do you do when you are set 867 (yes!) to win the prestigious Ranji Trophy?
Duh! You try to get the runs!
That's what two legends: one an Englishman and one an Indian, did in 1945.
Whispering Death can be...Deadly.
He was famous as perhaps the best left arm spinner in the world this side of Bishan Bedi, but one of the greatest action photographs ever taken featured Derek "Deadly" Underwood, batting.
Facing a certain Michael Holding.
Old Trafford, 1976.
THREAD:
When someone talks of the greatest ODI innings by a batsman, there is inevitably mention of knocks by Tendulkar, Kohli, AB De Villiers, Lara and so on. One knock, however, is so seldom mentioned that it seems forgotten. It was played on December 8, 1987. At Nagpur.
County cricket at its very best in the 1960s and 1970s.
Houses overlooking the ground.
A view from the car park.
Deck chairs near the boundary.
And oh yes,
Gary Sobers at the crease!
One of my favourite photographs. Because it shows the sport as being so close to...life.
I hear that the head of a phone brand in India has asked his comms team to work on a video in which he reviews the iPhone “like Carl Pei did.”
So hope this does not become a trend.
And
@getpeid
, SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING!
THREAD: REMEMBERING HIROSHIMA
On August 6, 1945, an atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It was the first time such a bomb was dropped on a human population. Some say it was done to end the World War. Some said it sent a signal to the USSR. This is what happened that day.
As per Twitter:
1. Don't buy Xiaomi: software updates ruin phone.
2. Don't buy Realme: no service, not responsive.
3. Don't buy Oppo and Vivo: overpriced, only dealers like it.
4. Don't buy OnePlus: brand is a traitor
5. Don't buy Apple: Overpriced shit
Ok...
All right, this is the greatest WhatsApp forward I have got (thank you,
@anandbaskaran4
). Lord Realtor sings about the Indian tour of the West Indies in 1971. The West Indies couldn’t put Gavaskar at all…
Amazing Caribbean tradition for making music around cricket!
Enjoy.
A lot of queries about this photograph. This was a picture that was used after
@manukumarjain
spoke at the launch of Xiaomi's first manufacturing plant in India in Vizag in 2015. Referring to India as his motherland, a rather emotional Manu said "mere paas maa hai." Epic.
THREAD: CRICKET's MOST AMAZING ROUND OF APPLAUSE
Applause is one of cricket's most thrilling sounds. Legends get it often, other players less so.
But the greatest round of applause in cricket? It was for a man not many know. And before he had faced a ball!
21 May, 1945
Lord's
Killing that SIM card tray in the US models means that suddenly asking relatives from the US to bring over an iPhone to India becomes a more difficult proposition.
THREAD: THE MOST AMAZING TEST DEBUT EVER?
A Test debut is special for a player.
Some rise to it.
Some crumble.
Some find themselves.
Some get lost.
One player did both!
He did not get a 100 or a five-fer but no one’s had a Test debut like him!
31 July, 1975, Lord’s.
Key assumptions of many tech reviewers:
OxygenOS is good (if bad, blame Oppo)
Color OS and FunTouch OS are bad
OneUI is fantastic
MIUI is ghastly
Stock Android is the best
Highest selling phone brands in India - Xiaomi, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, Realme.
There you go.
Announcing the winner of my most recent caption contest. Congratulations
@nimishdubey
A clever & compact caption…
Please DM
@MahindraRise
to receive your scale model Furio truck…. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Interesting tech "beliefs" seen as universal truths:
1. AMOLED is always better than LCD.
2. No Android but stock Android
3. Curved displays are better than flat ones
4. Sony sensors are always better than Samsung
5. Everyone plays PUBG
6. Qualcomm is always better than MediaTek
I could call him:
Deadly with the looks of a choir boy.
Sorcerer on cracking tracks.
Unfailing trier on flat ones.
Master of economy, more than any finance minister!
Or I could just say:
Sunil Gavaskar got worried while facing him.
Rest in peace, Derek "Deadly" Underwood!
At Rs 23,999, the Samsung Galaxy F62 is a heck of a proposition. Same chip as the Note 10, large Super AMOLED Plus display, 7000 mAh battery, 64 MP Sony IMX 682 main sensor, and heck, even Android 11.
Headache for a lot of folks, including Nord, Mi 10i, and Realme X7 Pro.
When your son returns from a long trip abroad...
A proud Manohar Gavaskar hugs his son, a certain Sunil Gavaskar, after the 1971 Windies tour.
On the right is the man who played a key role in Sunny becoming a cricketer, former Indian player Madhav Mantri (Sunny's uncle).