Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic is from Serbia. A great tennis player. No doubt about that. 

Novak is opposed to vaccine for covid epidemic. So, he did not get a vaccine injection. He wanted to play the Australian Grand Slam in Melbourne, Australia. On arrival in Australia, he was refused entry into the country because he did not have vaccine certificate. Novak said he has exemption certificate because he was covid positive. On the days he said he had covid, Novak was awarding prizes to children. The very next day he was giving interview to a French Magazine. 

The Border Control Officers did not believe his story and refused him entry into the country. 

In the form to be filled at the airport, there was a question whether he has visited any country in the past 14 days. He answered NO. But he visited Spain for a few days before arriving in Australia. When this was pointed out, Novak said he made an error and by mistake ticked NO in the form. 

They cancelled his visa and Novak was taken to a temporary detention facility. 

Novak is not a poor man. He is very rich. He can afford high price lawyers. He wanted to fight the Australian Government through the courts. According to newspaper reports, he has 4 lawyers at the rate of $50,000 each lawyer per day. So he paid $200,000 per day and fought it out. 

Novak had initial success. A lower court judge ruled in favor of Novak on a technicality. But Australian Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has special powers and he has the right to cancel Novak’s visa. 

Australia's immigration minister revoked Djokovic's visa ahead of the Australian Open, saying "it was in the public interest to do so." 

Novak’s lawyers appealed to the higher federal court. Judgement from the high court arrived. Novak lost. He will be deported. He cannot come back to Australia for the next 3 years. 

Novak thinks he is a demi-god because of his tennis prowess, ala some Indian cricket players. I have a new name for him. Novax Jackassovich. 

Australia is a democracy. He can pay high prized lawyers and make the judges hear his case on a Sunday. I would advise him to show this “courage” in a socialist republic country or in an absolute monarchy. It will be 6 months before his high prized lawyers even find out in which jail he is in. If you don’t like Australian rules and regulations, don’t go there.  Visa approval is a privilege and not a right.

 Maybe he is a nice guy but has bad advisors.

Covid Inconvenience

I read this news item. I immediately thought of Indian movie directors and producers. They can make an interesting movie out of this situation. 

There is a 30 year old woman in Zhengzhou, a city in Central China. Since she was getting old and still single, her family arranged a blind date for her. The guy was supposed to be a great cook. He invited her to his home for a dinner. 

Just when Wang was getting ready to go home after dinner, she found out the whole neighborhood had gone in to a strict lockdown. 

China’s lockdown rules are no joke. They will enforce it very strictly. 

Now, Wang is stuck in that guy’s house. She posted video clips of her unexpected co-living experience on social media. 

The above is a true story. Wang is still living in her date’s house. 

Here is a question for my readers. (Those hundreds of people who read my blog but never comment, please comment this time.) 

Imagine yourself as a movie director or writer.

Please tell me how you think this movie should end. Very romantic or horror movie or hilarious comedy? Or, any other ending?

Need In-Depth Analysis

(Caveat: This blog post has nothing to do with the Indian PM's Security fiasco.)

There is a Tamil saying 

“kannal parpathum khadal ketpadhum poi ; theera visaripathey mei”. 

English Translation: Eyes and ears deceive; in-depth analysis reveals truth. 

Here are two examples come to my mind: 

We all know how much Tucker Carlson of Fox News (on air) hates and criticizes President Biden and his son Hunter Biden. But the truth has come out that Tucker Carlson and Hunter Biden are close family friends. Hunter even wrote a recommendation letter to a college on behalf of Carlson’s son. And, Carlson intervened in an unflattering news story about Hunter Biden. 

These appear to be at odds with Carlson’s public attitude toward Hunter Biden. 

Another example. When Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and a few other leaders visited President Obama in the White House, here is the WH official photo release. 

Hosni Mubarak was walking behind President Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu (Israel), Mahmoud Abbas (Palestinian Authority), and King Abdullah II (Jordan).

Here is how the Egyptian newspapers altered that photo and published it (as if Mubarak leading the other leaders):

Iruvar Ullam (Tamil Movie)

Irvar Ullam (Two Hearts) is a 2021 Tamil Movie. I don’t know when it was released. But it is available in Amazon Prime in 2021. Starring Vinay and Archana Gupta. Directed by Ramesh G. 

This is not be confused with a Tamil movie made in 1963 with the same title, starring Sivaji Ganesan and Saroja Devi. 

This is not a movie review. This is what I thought after watching the movie. 

This movie is about a TamBrahm (Tamil Brahmin) IT professional working in USA. He marries a girl from India. They were living happily. Then comes this guy’s ex-fiancé who is determined to take revenge on this guy for cancelling their marriage. Did she succeed? 

This movie is somewhat realistic about the life in USA of many IT guys. Some of them are: 

Enjoy as much as you can in USA, but go back to India and marry an orthodox virgin from the same community. 

Busy with office work all the time and neglect the newly married wife. 

This FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) newly married wife wants to be more Americanized than the Americans. (Here I am looking for a right word. Poseur? Is this the right word?) 

In this movie, at the Krishna Jayanthi Pooja in someone’s home, every one drinks alcohol. This is pure exaggeration, me think. (I have lived my entire adult life in USA and attended many poojas in many homes including ours.  Never seen alcohol served at these religious functions.)

This movie is a MUST see, at least one time, by those parents (and their daughters) who are looking for a groom in USA.