An evening with Vishwanathan Anand.

I am just one of those lesser mortals who was granted the chance of a lifetime to meet the undisputed World Chess Champion. Not that I did something extraordinary for this honour... just that he happens to be the brand ambassador for AMD and came visiting us in our Bangalore office. From what I had read about him, I was anxious to see how a person, inspite of having reached the pinnacle of success, could be so down-to-earth. And he surely did not disappoint me. There was just a slight buzz in office when we realised that he had come in, and was having a meeting with the higher-ups. No pomp and fanfare.. None of the starry entourages.. Just Vishy. 

Vishy, as he is lovingly called by one and all, had come to AMD for a visit. There was genuine appreciation and applause all around when he entered. He is clearly one of the most popular sportspersons that India has ever produced. He looked so simple and at ease amongst us all. It was dificult envisioning how such a nice guy could royally massacre scores and scores of competitors...

We got to spend some time knowing more about the chess wizard.. also four bravehearts dared to take him on, in a game of chess... Need I even mention about who won? After a short quiz, hosted by the man himself, the court was thrown open. Thats when I got the opportunity to interview him.... not a very enchanting and interesting one though..

Me: How many players have you competed against, simultaneously, in blindfold chess?

Vishy: Five. Even though I won it, I will mostly never do it again.

Me: Why not?

Vishy: Its very exhausting.

After a brief photo session, it was time to bid adieu...

Huh?

What would your reaction be, if you came to know that the "fish curry meal" so neatly advertised in a restaurant's menu does not actually include the fish? It comes with only rice and curry. Its upto you to decide whether to order fish separately or not. Huh??? Exactly!! Thats what my reaction was, when I heard this from the waiter at the place I went to, for dinner tonight. I was about to blast him off into the deep confines of space for trying to keep a Bong away from his fish, when my friend stepped in and tried to explain the situation. "Its written here buddy 'Fish curry meal' and not "Fish and curry meal'", he said. Ha Ha!! Very funny. I finally relented and we agreed to take some other dishes which would actually have FISH in them. But, thats not all. He went on to add that  the prices mentioned in the menu, are not applicable anymore. Its been hiked. Come on' Have mercy on us... Reductions and freezes are in vogue nowadays.. Aren't you guys tuned into whats happening globally. How can you increase prices in the days of a 'global economic depression'. The situation was so bad, that we had to go into cost sutting mode and skip the appetizers. We were more than happy to atleast get something to eat and call it a dinner.