The end of an era

i watched cricket more as a form of art than as a sport..the master craftsmen, the artistes at work with lavish straight drives and elegant wristy leg glances and divine square cuts..all master pieces, priceless works of art...

with questions on the "fab four", and Sourav Ganguly's last test in the offing, my heart is heavy as the realisation dawned on me that this is the last that we cricket lovers shall see of these gems of strokes, the last of their makers too..

the twenty20 form has heralded the new dawn of brute force, of big shots and with the last of the best on the verge of bidding adieu it could be the end of cricket as we know it..

rest in peace, cricket.

long live cricket.

Farewell Jumbo..

A bolt from the blue.

Anil Kumble retires. Jumbo bids farewell to international cricket. A great cricketer- arguably the best. More than that, a Great Man.

A deluge of memories flooded the cricket lover's mind on this sombre moment..The ten wickets at the same ground where he bowled his last, many a match winning performance around the world when all but this man gave up..

But at the top of the list still remains his 1 wicket..

The wicket of Brian Lara in the West Indies...There the match was poised at a critical juncture and the rest of the Indian bowlers ineffective as ever, with Kumble retired hurt due to a broken jaw, courtesy Mervin Dillon, when the fans and connoisseurs noticed this large-hearted man at the sidelines of the field getting his jaw literally tied up from the physio Andrew Leipus..

And then he came on and bowled the over of his life.. my jaw ached when i saw his move..my heart in pain for his suffering...but my heart rejoicing for his courage..

Long live his courage...bye bye jumbo...

Bird-brained??

The other day we were sitting at the beach when we observed an incident very singular in nature.It was a perfect day, and everyone was happy;the playful waves hitting the sun-baked sand and quenching its thirst, the clouds in the sky readying themselves for the impending rains,crabs all over the shore,but it was the crows that caught our attention.

first of all, i have never seen so many crabs on a beach otherwise inhabited by scores of humans. these crabs seem to have adapted themelves to human ways, considering they were completely at home with all the coconuts, already-eaten corn cobs and even plastic packets of various sizes.now because these crabs came out time and again from their burrows, naturally there were crows waiting to swoop onto them.

they did try swooping and getting the crabs, but in vain.and soon enough they diverted their attention to this new game which is actually what my aforementioned singular incident is.these crows went and perched on the sand, right where the waves were cuming in, and everytime the waves came in, in trying to avoid the water, they performed this funny dance routine. with their wings flapping and beaks open..they danced backwards on their tiny two feet before flying away.and after a while, they were back at it again, looking the waves bravely in the eye, facing the strong wind,ready for the next one..

now i have never seen this, and i think neither had the crabs, which caused them to remain outside their burrows despite the crows' presence. this act of apparent pleasure made me wonder if the crows also experienced the same sort of thrill in fear, the adrenaline-rushing complex emotion that we humans feel whenever we except a challenge,and the immense joy when we have accomplished it..and the excitement of wanting to do it all over again...

may be they arent that "bird-brained" after all...

Theory of Relativity

The Abstract:
The story in kindergarten always ended with the tortoise winning the race. The crow always lost his cookie when he gloated too much with pride and the thirsty crow always managed to drink water from the scarcely filled jug.
I ve been told patience is the key to success and that the righteous people always end up happy. But i have experienced something altogether different. The world is governed by the "theory of relativity".Not only Einstien's, but also mine.
Life is not only 4D it is a multidimensional complex structure, with networks, webs and layers which are impossible to fathom. And every dimension is relative to the previous and the next ones.

The Fifth Dimension:Happiness.
Contrary to what is commonly perceived, happiness is not governed by the morality of your actions. It is actually relative to the satisfactoriness of the implementation of one's actions. you are not necessarily rewarded for speaking the truth, but you can be rewarded for an effective straight-faced lie. Pinocchio may just be labelled as "The Sexiest Man Alive" for his long nose and he is, obviously happy with that, irrespective of moral police's brickbats.

The Sixth Dimension:Success
Success, again depends on happiness. If you are happy, you are successful. Then it doesnt matter whether you are after the paycheck, nor does it matter how you get that paycheck.The hare was successful, because he slept and was happy sleeping;nor did he lose the second prize.

The Seventh Dimension: To Deserve
The seventh dimension is an anomaly because it is a verb. But as afore mentioned, actions are affected by relativity too. This dimension depends on factors as yet unexplained. For the time being they have been termed as fate, destiny, kismet, among other things. You need not deserve what you get, and you may not get what you deserve. According to the constraints followed by this dimension, you have no right to feel guilty for the former nor do you have the right to crib for the latter.
The crow may have remained thirsty after all, and the other crow(the proud one) may have got his bread and the accolades from the crow community for his wonderful song.

Conclusions:
There are many more dimensions as yet unknown. The research continues with experience...

Is it Necessity? or..?

I have often wondered...is it really necessity that is the mother of invention? Man has always strived to bring more comfort in life. All gizmos and gadgets, tools and instruments just to reduce his workload. What is the underlying inspiration behind all of this? isn't it laziness?

It was his laziness to walk that made man invent the wheel. It was sloth that made him invent the soft cushions,pillows and mattresses. And tell me wasn't it laziness to chew that made him cook food?

It's high time that laziness be given its rightful due- that of inspiring man to create miracles...

The real jewels of the nation

Amidst all the hue and cry of who shall be crowned the "jewel of India", the prestigious "Bharat Ratna", on the eve of the 59th republic day, in the 61st year of independence, has our country come of age? At least our politicians haven't, what with each party nominating its own leaders for the highest honour that can be bestowed upon a civilian.
But, let them all go to hell for all I care. None of them have done anything worth a "Bharat Ratna" at least, an award the previous recepients of which include the likes of Mother Teresa and Nelson Mandela.
India should take a leaf out of the "Time Magazine"'s book-or rather magazine. The person of the year last year was "YOU". Why not give this year's Bharat Ratna to the Common Man? The Indians on the streets who organised candle light vigils for false acquittals,who fought for justice through "Gandhigiri",who got lathi charged for believing in merit,for protesting against issues they felt for. The proactive citizens who live in the country with a dream , a mission, not to find opportunity in foreign lands, but to create a land of opportunities here itself. The Indians who believe in a concept like "Lead India", who are ready to show the world, while realising that we aren't the best, that we are capable of surging ahead; that the underdogs and the dark horses of every race should not be taken for granted. After 60 years of independence, why not pay a tribute to the real jewels, the people who have taken time out from their otherwise ordinary lives to do something extraordinary?