THE ZUBIN Mehta in S. Sreesanth came to the fore at the Dhaka Sheraton hotel the other day. The Indian fast bowler saw a piano in the foyer and decided to give it a go, a journalist who was present there said. Sreesanth played the title song from "Baazigar", the Shahrukh Khan-Kajol movie of the early nineties. So far, Sreesanth was famous for his dancing ability. Now we know that he can handle the piano as well. Music obviously plays a key role in his happiness.

Surprise, sur-phrase
OBSERVERS OF the English language and the way people use it were pleased with Rahul Dravid"s range of expressions after India"s win over Bangladesh in the first one-day international on Thursday. Expressing his irritation with the media"s reluctance to accept Dinesh Karthik - the team"s back-up wicketkeeper - as a batsman, Dravid said Karthik was always a capable willow-wielder while wicket-keeping was "another string in his bow".

Classy touch that. It may not be so hot that it would make the Sports Quotations Hall of Fame. Still, it"s an improvement from the stock expressions favoured by athletes, especially Indian.

We want Sourav, Sachin
THIS ALWAYS happens to sportswriters at immigration counters. Stern Officer asks you the purpose of your visit. "To report so-and-so tournament," you tell him. Stern Officer turns Friendly Officer. "Oh!" he says, smiling, nodding his head. He then makes some observation pertaining to the concerned sport or competition. Here in Dhaka they said to us, "Sachin and Sourav not in one-day? Very bad! We wanted to see them in one-day." Wonder if selectors Dilip Vengsarkar and Bhupinder Singh Sr, encountered the same officer.

Just grill
THE FIRST thing we noticed while driving from the airport to the hotel was the omnipresent auto-rickshaw. It is different here. The driver sits in a cage of sorts. There"s a door to the side, which he locks and unlocks as needed. The reason, we found out, was to protect himself from robbers disguised as passengers.

A fish called Hilsa
MUMBAI DOESN'T have a vada pav statue. There"s no marble idli at a prominent Chennai location. Delhi does not have a chaat museum. But Dhaka does have a monument dedicated to its favourite food - the hilsa. Or the ilish. It occupies a prime spot at a wide intersection on the way to the Sher-e-Bangla Stadium.

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