The Pleasure Is All Mine

Everyone likes to be part of a revolution, a change that sweeps across the masses. Our grandparents would have been overjoyed to have been living during the time of India's independence. Our parents lived through India's inclination stint towards glory, the Beatles and Hare Krishna movements.

Most of the present generation, I am sure would consider it a priviledge watching India's cricketing giants play as they grew up. Anil Kumble, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and VVS Laxman have been motivational figures in different aspects. Ah! To watch their struggles and comebacks makes you want to apply it to your daily life. I belong to the present generation and have been inspired by each one of them.

Anil Kumble: Determination; Sachin Tendulkar: Humility; Rahul Dravid: Hardwork; Saurav Ganguly: Attitude; VVS Laxman: Perseverence. Qualities that would sum up these greats.

Today we are at a threshold where it is time to bid adieu. Two of the five have already hung up their boots. The services performed by these players cannot be described in words. Their commitment to the country cannot be doubted. Their influence on a nation cannot be questioned.

As we stand on the brink of seeing these warriors ride proudly into the horizon, all we can do is stand up and applaud. Sometimes there is so much one wants to say or write but a gesture is just sufficient.

In this entry, I recollect some of the moments (not in order of importance) that gave me hope that when all seems lost, perseverence is the only attitude that matters....

1) Sachin Tendulkar's twin centuries against Australia at Sharjah that enabled India to come from nowhere to lift the Coca Cola cup.

2) Rahul Dravid's kiss of the India cap he scored the winning runs were scored at the Adelaide Test.

3) Sachin Tendulkar's six of Shoaib Akhtar during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa.

4) Natwest Series Triumph in England where two young guns carried the flame of hope to victory.

5) Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid's partnership at Taunton in the 1999 World Cup against Sri Lanka.

6) VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's partnership at Eden Gardens against Australia that brought India from no man's land back into the limelight.

7) Anil Kumble bowling 14 overs with a bandage in West Indies and claiming the prize wicket of Brian Lara.

8) Rahul Dravid's first century at the Wanderers in South Africa.

9) Anil Kumble's 10 wicket haul at the Feroze Shah Kotla against Pakistan.

10) Anil Kumble's leadership during the 2008 India/Australia test series.

Now as the mantle seems to be passing on (if there is anyone who is willing to take it), I am sure no one will be able to replace the Fab Five. At this juncture all I want to do is thank them for impacting my life and always wearing their hearts on their sleeves.

Here's wishing you the best in the future.

Sin For A Win

Oh Father forgive me, for I have sinned!

Las Vegas, the Sin City beckoned. Three hungry wolves along with a civilized couple made the 5 hour journey burning gas and clocking miles into the desert. The heat was not to last for long, the oasis appeared, cool shade and water for the hungry hearts.

It appeared as if all the drunk Greek goddesses descended upon this city like a bee to a honey suckle musk. Mini-skirts, cleavage, blondes, brunettes and booze. Bliss for the sore eyes!! To add to it, there were the casinos where money flowed in but never out.

The night follows the day and the creatures come to feast during the night time. Never had a street seen so many chicks fluttering about. Never was there so much "food" for the wolves. Never was a ride to a club so anticipated. Never was a scent of a woman so sweet and a touch so unforgettable! Never......

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. What happened to the wolves stays with the wolves. What happened to the civilized couple..well that's for everyone to know!

Oh Father forgive me, for I have sinned!

Long WeAkend blues

Well well, I'm back after a self-issued sabbatical. This blog will be a plethora of some stuff I've been meaning to write for a while. So sit back and enjoy...

To start with, I was lucky to see Mark Knopfler in concert at the beautiful Greek Theater in LA. I have practically grown up listening to Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler. Of course, this was at a time when people my age were gripped by the likes of Boyzone and Ricky Martin. So, I would consider myself to be pretty impressive listening to rock as compared to wannabes! The fascination and respect for Mark Knopfler grew and so did my CD collection. I can now safely say that I have his complete work. Now, ten years hence, as I find fascination with other eighties legends, Dire Straits/Mark Knopfler are still on the most-listened list. There was a time for close to a year, where I'd listen to Sultans Of Swing every single day! What's more admirable is that the humility of the man has grown as his fame and fortune increased. No airs about him (very unlike an immensly talented rockstar), he is aptly called "Silent man of rock and roll".

Anyway, coming back to the concert, I witnessed magic being created and played with. Every magician has his wand, Mark has his array of guitars. Accompanied by friends, I enjoyed every second of the concert screaming and singing the songs along with him. This was to a point when the infection rubbed on to my friends as well. All in all, a wonderful wonderful evening. Ah, I wish I'd see him again soon!

Moving on, I really fail to comprehend the long weekend syndrome. In case you are not with me, Long weekend syndrome is a disease whose symptoms are necessary and compulsive travel during the long weekend. If the long weekend begins on a Friday, families are packing their bags hastily so that they do not even waste four and a half minutes on the actual day! Oh that would be torture. At a time when we are still burning on our asses with the increase in fuel prices, I fail to understand the travel! I would rather lie in bed doing nothing all day! Of course, it would be nice to have a hot chick lying beside me, but then I'd be doing something! But let's not tread that path for now...

A couple of days before the long weekend, all people are asking and talking about is where the other person is heading to. This happens at work, phone conversations and even at gas stations! Of course not to mention, the tourist spots making all the cash at our expense. All the airfares have increased too. They'd be looking at every traveller on the long weekend and thinking, "Ah! Gotcha fuckers!" Anyway, it's not my place to judge who should do what (I think I've judged already) but it's definitely my space to write about it. Oh by the way, you can judge me all you want! In the words of Eric Cartman, "Screw you guys. I'm goin' home".

I've also been getting extremely pissed off at all the girls increasing their privacy settings on Orkut. This prevents us from looking at their albums! Why the fuck did Orkut introduce this feature?? If my understanding is correct, a website's popularity is judged by the number of hits. After this feature, guys like us are the ones taking the hits and not the website! I'm speaking for all the single men...no all men, who would very willingly agree with me! What's even more annoying is that even some "guys" have locked their albums. Talk about insecurity!! To be honest, it's so irritating to look at a "prospective" headshot in the profile picture only to find the album locked! This is like foreplay failure...so even talk about sex can safely be dismissed. Girls, please, let us judge your appearance by inviting us to your albums! Don't torture us by locking them. You are depriving us of our favourite pastime even more than lazing around with a chilled beer! Why put all the photos in the first place when you're feeling so insecure about it?? Think about it, what makes you think that someone in your "friend's list" isn't lusting after you?? Atleast, this way you're doing some social service and that ain't a bad thing after all.

And lastly, it's fucking annoying to see girls and "non-girls" use words like "Ma photos/Mah car". How hard is it to say "My photos/My car??" Also, as compared to Mah, it's still one letter short! Another popular word that pissed me off was "fren/frenz". For the ignorant folks, this stands for Friend. Kill me man...kill me now!

Also, for all the guys who write, "I'm simply gazzing through your profile", "Can I make frandships with you?", "Can I wanna be frands?", please continue the torturous Englees. Thank you for an honest attempt to make the reader laugh his ass off! Life will not be the same without you!

Escape

The mind has been acting up very frequently since the last post. The heart never gave in to writing though!

To begin with, I saw a movie which stirred my very soul. I normally do not well up during movies no matter how sentimental they are but this one was an exception. Most of you will agree and the other half probably do not have a heart! The story is set in San Francisco and is based on a true life portrayal. Will Smith plays the lead and in case you haven't already guessed, I am talking about 'The Pursuit Of HappYness". Please take the time off to see this one. It will definitely be time well spent and a lot of lessons erupt from it that could be easily applied in practical life.

Professionally, things could not have been better. The advantage of working in a core technological company means you have interactions with some truly brilliant folks by the hour. What is even more amazing is the humility each one possesses. The disadvantage is that I have to be always on my toes and leave no stone unturned so that I do not look like a fool in front of them. But the ramp-up has been good and smooth so far and not to mention exponential! I wonder how long it will be before I reach the tip of the curve and say hello to Mr.Gauss!!!

Having said that, there have been instances where the motivation and the will power does not gel in well. Such situations leave me sulking and wondering what the hell I have done to feel so out of place. Many a time, it even takes motivation to get out of bed in the morning. Many a time, I long for Saturday on a Monday morning. I have heard of Monday morning blues but this is ridiculous.

There are weeks that fly at the blink of an eye and there are some that take eons to end. There is something missing. In these times, I wonder how bad would it be to renounce all these luxuries. Simple things in life take priority. I want to work with people who have not been fortunate. I want to help save the world from Global Warming and Baptisms by Fire. I want to give more than I earn. I want to take trips to Himalayas and Dharamshala. I want to breathe clean oxygen enriched air. I want to splash cold waters of the Ganges on my face in the morning after camping on her bank during the night. I just want to escape......

Re Search

This is a conversation that was created after reading a few articles I came across on news websites. Sit back and enjoy..

Me: Hey Re and Search! How are you guys?
Re: I'm fine dude
Search: Wazz happening?

Me: I'm good guys. Just was musing over some recent research studies and findings
Re: Oh really?
Search: Yeah every news channel comes up with research analysis these days

Me: So this article is about how your life will imporve if you have steamy sex in the morning.
Re: Ho boy! All I get in the morning are burnt pancakes and stale milk
Search: I get steamy stuff man...Just that it ain't sex

Me: No guys really...I read this article
Re: You know what I'm wondering? Do the researchers get any practical training during these studies?
Search: If they did, those nerds would get LAID!!

Me: Interestingly enough, I read another article which says that your sex life will improve if your parents do not beat you as a kid.
Re: No wonder! I got my ass whopped when I was a kid! Little did I know it'll slow my sex life this much!
Search: I'd rather refrain from this topic. I had a bad childhood...it's showing up now!

Me: You know we should conduct our own research man...This kinda shit will get us some publicity and some money!
Re: Which asshole is going to fund the project?

Me: All you need is a good topic to work upon...we'll find someone and burn his cash
Search: I have a few in mind actually....
Re: Well, let's hear them!

Search: We can say Research shows that pigs like dirt
Re: Oh yeah! That's a good topic! I have one more...Research shows that Eating healthy can enable a man to stay in shape.
Me: Now we're getting somewhere. All we need are topics like these and some jackass will pay us to carry our research.

Re: We also need to make sure that we throw a couple of things about sex in there!
Me: Yeah, people read anything remotely related to sex. It's like free porn for them!
Search: I got another one. Research shows that having sex for the first time helps you lose your virginity!
Re: Yeah man! That's a good one. People don't really know about that.

Me: We also need lots of dumb topics too. Because that's what research is all about.
Re: I got it! Research shows that if you stay outside on a hot day, you are likely to get a headache.
Search: A couple more like that and we're golden!

Me: Research shows that driving a car gets you to a place faster than walking on foot!
Re: Yeah..people will definitely read that one with great interest

Me: Now that we have our ideas, lets find some corporate stooge and become sellouts!
Re: Yeah....let's get on it
Search: Right on!

And so you have it! Lots of new ideas that will pan out as research studies. Watch the news pages. Atleast one of these will soon be there!

Quest For Culture

I had a rather interesting chat with my friends yesterday night. We touched topics ranging from how the stars rule one's life to conceptualizing the exsistence of the Almighty. Somewhere in between we were musing about the culture and traditions that India stands for.

All of us had different viewpoints. What is culture? What is tradition? We could not arrive at one conclusive answer to both these questions. Can culture be intepreted as something that has been handed from generation to generation? Can we say culture exists in the way we practise the art of living? Maybe it is different for every individual and the way he/she perceives it. Yet, similar to the mysteries of the universe, there were more questions than answers.

I argued that culture is, in short, "Be good, Do good". What our ancestors believed need not be applicable to us. As long as we remain true to the inner voice, we exhibit a cultured living. To me culture can be seen in the way a child respects his parents. To me culture is a teenager not influenced by alcohol/cigarettes. Having said that, I know good friends who drink and smoke regularly but still carry out the duties of a son respectfully. Is my opinion on culture incorrect then?

Outward appearances and westernization may have hit the common man in India today. We hear about rape and illicit sex becoming the order of the day in our country. Would the great gods and sages of the past forseen this behaviour when they defined culture? Again, more questions than answers!

One longs to be in the arms of comfort when he is deprived of it. I want to undertake the quest for these answers when I am homeward bound. How much will I be able to satisfy my thirst remains to be seen. Noone can take away your identity but I believe you can surely shape it if you know what you seek and desire. Self discovery is, quite similar to spiritual discovery. Yet, I have experience of neither to quantify it.

A friendly chat inspired this post. Will an eager desire be able to identify it?

Anil K(ing)ble vs Steve (F***)nor

I normally do not express my views about cricket matches. I have believed that it should be left to the experts. I witnessed an extremely engrossing test match between India and Australia and will remember it for all the wrong reasons for many many years to come.

There are only certain things that can be said on television...the so called ethics comes into play there. But there are no such boundaries here. This is my space and I am the king here. I shall refrain from the technicalities because they have been presented quite beautifully in these links. I shall just stick to what I personally believed.

Taking a leaf out of Gautham Bhimani's post match presentation:

1) Mike Hussey should have been given out off Ishant Sharma when there was a clear nick off his bat. The umpires were catching their forty winks there.
2) Andrew Symonds had nicked the ball so loud that even the smallest hair on my ass heard it. But it seems like Steve Bucknor did not have my ass on his ear and as a result he did not hear anything.
3) Symonds was caught napping when M.S.Dhoni did some super quick work behind the stumps in the second innings on two occasions. On both counts the umpires thought they shall let Symonds continue to bat because of the strong "partnership" they had developed.
4) Rahul Dravid had his wall broken just when he had laid the foundation. Again Bucknor reminded me of that spoilt little kid who pees in the living room just after it has been cleaned. You just feel like whopping his ass.
5) Saurav Ganguly was given out caught behind by Mark Benson. Micheal Clarke cliamed that he had caught the ball cleanly and an ignorant captain supported his cause. Benson should have referred to the square leg umpire but took Ponting's word. I know ignorance can be a bliss, but in this case it required a bitch slap.
6) Ponting dove around like a cat on a hot pan to hold on to what he believed was a "correct" catch off M.S.Dhoni. If Ponting was right, then the TV cameras were wrong. And according to him they were! Oh, you poor technology...I am sorry to say you have died here.

I have always believed that fortune favours the brave. But in this case, it fucked us on the deal. Team India played against 13 players without the 12th man on the field! The force of a billion people could just stand and watch the atrocities that were committed on the field. After a lot of discussions and post match analysis, here's what I feel.

1) When the Australians get kicked at, they do not go down sportingly. All kinds of tactics were conjured up that reminded me of the arguments we used to have when playing street cricket.
2) Post their "win", Ponting said in reference to Saurav's dismissal fiasco that "That's how the game should be played". I think just because Ponting is the captain of a world class team, he rules the world and has a say in everything. If a man claims he is so honest, why the hell did'nt he walk when he had edged the ball in the first innings? Well, Mr.Ponting, just like how you think you own everything in cricket, I think you are an arrogant man and I own this space.
3) Hats off to Saurav when he did not acknowledge the crowd after reaching his 50. The mark of protest was clearly seen. I am sure if Dada were captian, we would have noticed a walk out similar to Sunil Gavaskar/Chetan Chauhan and Arjuna Ranatunga/Team Sri Lanka.
4) I bow down in reverence to Anil Kumble who maintianed dignity while talking to the media unlike his counterpart. I felt goosebumps when I saw Team India walking out to the field to congratulate them on the win. I personally feel they should not have done it but they rose above the game itself.
5) It will be interesting to see if an issue is raised against Australia's excessive appealing. Their reaction to every appeal turned down was as if they thought that the umpires were complete jackasses. Whether or not it ensures a penalty is a topic for another day. I guess in the ICC rule book if a team from the sub-continent is charged, they should be fucked! All other teams can do whatever they please.

6) I feel public speaking techniques and people management classes that Team India receives should be withdrawn. Play cricket just the way you play in crowded parks and narrow streets where every player is an authority. Believe me, that's the approach needed while playing in Australia.
7) I salute Harsha Bhogle and Sunil Gavaskar for a super post match talk. I especially loved the way Mr.Bhogle grilled all concerned in a sublime manner. As always Mr.Gavaskar's emotions were worth watching and his thoughts worth listening. Hats off to you Sirs! I now know why you are deeply respected in the cricketing fraternity.

Anyway, all has been completed. I cannot help but smile at the fact that if the roles were reversed, and if India had been in Australia's position, the game would have been played in much better spirit and dignity. Go Team India...Go Anil Kumble! You have locked horns with the bull and almost brought it down. Hang in there because one billion people are behind you to pick you up if you fall.