The monsoon is finally here -

- and Bombay is on a rainy day holiday. How thoroughly charming. In a purely aesthetic sense, I mean. The concept of not going to work on a rainy day sounds very lazy-socialist and alluring.

My Singaporean colleague could not understand the concept of a rainy day holiday - so it rains; you get an umbrella and walk out, right? So I was explaining to her - no, imagine the streets are two feet under water. Like a wading pool? Yeah, something like that. Except you may have potholes along the way so your car might be bumpy. Oh, like a roller coaster ride (!!). Hmm, yeah something like that. You might be wet through and through when you get to work, though. Many people actually carry extra clothes to work during the rains. But so do I, when I go gymming.

At which point I called her a first world baby and let it be. It was a charming conversation, though. I always knew growing up in India had given us a fair sense of the world - you see the good, the bad. Rich, poor, ruckus, quiet, dust, beauty, lovely people, awful people, all voiceferous people. But every now and then you get a jolt as to just how much being Indian shapes our understanding and thought process. And how despite leading seemingly similar lives in India and SG, such everyday things seem so alien to someone brought up in a different country.

On Michelle O

I love what she's wearing. I love what she's holding.

Naheeeeeeeeeeeen!

SoClose! 16-14; no no no no NO!

We love you, Andy. You rock.

Have a great week everyone; I'll be around, screening calls from my father. Oh, the gloat of the Federer fan right now.

And I have a confession to make - at the start of the match I went on record to say this would be RogerF wiping the floor with A-Rod's remains. For what it is worth, it was some pretty great tennis.

Battle of the Sexes

It's that time of the year again, when lawns are mowed Wimbledon and everyone around me is glued to the TV. One observation before I move on: I think this like begets like logic is actually true. My dad is a tennis crazy, and by upbringing, so am I. Turns out, so is my boss. Turns out, so is HIS boss. And a bunch of other very cool people in my life (K, N, 3G). Loonies of a feather? Watch together :)

So every year until 2007, June filled all possible blogs and sites with the all-important Q of should-women-be-paid-the-same-$$-prize-money? Venus W wrote the all-famous article that apparently caught PM Blair's attention, who eventually equalled the prize money - a grandiose GBP 850,000 for both the winners. The move was applauded by women and feminists everywhere.

But it's not really a victory for feminism; not nearly. This feels more like charity. I think equal pay should be given for equal work, not for playing 3-sets when the boys slog it out in five. Anyone who's picked up a tennis racquet will appreciate the sheer stamina - mental and physical - required to plough through 4 hours under the sun. In many ways, ATP and WTA literally play two different games - it's a bit like prepping for a 10K run vs a 21K run.

So it really feels wrong to say we're OK playing only three sets because (except for the W sisters) we none of us might actually survive a 5-setter; but we'll take the same money, thankyouverymuch. Not a good day for feminism, I think.

I also think that this argument is perhaps the only valid one floating around for the opposition. If you have any more, please let me know. But I heard some rather ludicrous ones the other day for why women should not be paid the same as men, like:

1. ATP is of a far higher quality than the WTA

Wrong. The ATP *right now* may be a lot better than the WTA, because it has Roger, Rafa, Andy, Andy and a bunch of players who have floated into the sport at the same time. In contrast, the WTA is in a particularly bad place NOW. But the era of Graf-Seles-Sanchez-Vicario isn't ancient history and will come around again, at which point the proponents of this theory will look, well really stupid.

In any case, writing women's tennis off as being of "lower quality" is the worst thing we can do to any girl who wants to take up a sport. Really, we broke off from the dark ages saying we wouldn't disciminate - how will that logic work out when we decide that one gender is, quite simply, better than the other at a sport?

Also, remember Bobby Riggs and Billy Jean King?

2. Payment should be made according to viewership
One word rebuttal: Anna Kournikova

To elaborate: Kournikova was the most-watched, most-googled player the game has ever seen. She never won a WTA title, but that didn't stop her round #1 matches from being over-flooded. Sure a thing of beauty is a joy forever, but if there is anyone out there who thinks she deserves to have been paid more than Lindsay Davenport, Venus W, Serena W, Navaratilova, Hingis, Graf and Roger Federer, please let me know.

3. Tennis is a man's sport
Two-word rebuttal - $%^@ you. No elaboration needed.

==

And finally, Rafa: please get well soon. We really, really miss you :(