Oh no I can not watch the World Cup! :o(

This post is for everyone that is chanting the same due to arm twisting tactics of Pehla.

Warning: This is a long post and contains some technical discussion.

Now, I am not, I repeat NOT going to rant about Pehla. Don't need to. But, what I am going to do is let you on to a little secret...

Here is how you can ensure you get your much needed dose of football during the world cup to stay alive - and that too WITHOUT having to subscribe to Pehla.

Here goes:
1. Invest in a good TV antenna. There are two - three types, take the one which has a net kind of a feature in the front, with twin claw shaped receivers instead of the usual cylindrical bars. Confused? Just ask the shop guy that you need an antenna with which you can get reception of Kuwait and Saudi sports channels.
These guys are showing the World Cup, and for free that too. The only cost attached is that of bearing their commentary (where they screw up big time - Theiry Henry is pronounced as "Theiry Horny", and no, they do not advertise parental guidance). Also you will have to bear with the half time analysis by a panel where everyone is a former foobtall player, plus is addressed to as 'captain'. But for free, this really does not matter.

2. This is a pay option. But a lot cheaper than what Pehla is charging. It is a bit complex, and you might have to do it yourself or get a really expert chap to do it. Subscribe to Dish TV in India. I know, their website says that the broadcast is for India, but then if you put up a 6 - 8 foot dish antenna, you will recieve their signals. But, here is the tricky part - you need their decoder and sim. The decoder you can find for anywhere, but the sim - you will get only in India. They have an offer where you pay Rs. 6000/= (around USD 135, AED 500) or so and you get the full stuff - receiver, sim and one year free subscription. Make sure to subscribe to Goal TV, Star Sports and ESPN Star Sports. This is a pricey thing, but then you get quite a lot of channels. Note that the overall cost can be lower - it all depends on the channels you subscribe to. Rs. 6000 is for all the channels. The basic package costs only Rs. 100.

The tough part is setting up the dish to catch the signals. You will have to set it up to catch signals from NSS-6 a satellite by NSAT. The satellite co-ordinates as well as the list of channels are available here. More info on the satellite is available here as well. The satellite's orbital position is at 95.0°E.
With the help of Google Earth, find out your latitude and longitude location (it takes time, but I found mine after two weeks of search. Just pray that Google Earth has a detailed map so that you can spot your building). Another way is identify some landmark near your house, say "Taj Mahal", go to google and enter this in search "Taj Mahal coordinates" without the quotes.

Once you have your house's location, go to this website.

In satellite orbit, enter 95.0

Then in the next two, enter your latitude and longitude coordinates. Then press calculate. This will give you 'dish azimuth value'. You need the 'relative to magnetic north' value. Now, say for example it says 172 degrees East to relative magnetic north. Draw a line pointing towards the magnetic north. Place a compass on that line and go 172 degrees towards the east i.e. right hand side of the line. Now draw a second line pointing towards 172 degrees east (in case it is 190 degrees east, then draw a line at 180 degrees east, from that line draw a line 10 degrees east. 180 + 10 = 190).

You should point your dish towards the second line. Make sure its LNB is directing in the exact direction as the second line drawn (or third or fourth as the case may be).

Now there is the elevation tilt. This is just through trial and error. But you do have a fair idea. Suppose it gives a value above 90 degrees, you have to point your dish straight upwards. If it is lesser than 90 degrees, its slant will be lesser. Just tilt it up a little by little and check.

The technical way of doing it is again holding a compass and seeing the angle. Try to match the tilt of the dish with the angle. How? Say it gave elevation of 75 degrees. Draw a line on a paper, then draw a 75 degree angle on that line. Hold this paper and see if your dish is elevated at the same level or not.

I know the second method looks very daunting and difficult. But it is not. It is pretty simple. It is just that we do not do something like this every day. I have done it twice earlier, so I know how to do it. I am no expert technician or anything, plus I did this the first time I was 15. So there, it really must be very easy.

The only tough part would be getting the exact coordinates of your house. Unless you have GPS or something. As an alternate, as I said, you could use the coordinates of the nearest land mark (which you will get through Google).

After you do all this, call up Pehla and say "Hahahahahaha !!!! Bwahahahahahaha !!!"