What can we learn from Cricket?

The obvious opening liner to post could have been…”In a Nation of over a billion, where Cricket is a religion and Cricketers (dummy) Gods……”, but then I dont intend to do the obvious . Many of us like to watch cricket. Many of us enjoy watching cricket. I would like to address my question to those who do not play cricket, but take pleasure in watching it. What have we learned from cricket? Rephrasing, what is it that we can learn from cricket?

My observations:

1.  Consider an ODI. Each side takes the field for atmost 50 overs. This means that a team is given upto 300 balls to knock out only 10 off the opposition. Why so?

2. At any point on the field, upto 14 people are willing to get that batsmen out. Why so? (Yeah yeah, I included those 3 umpires as well).

3. Sometimes, there is an appeal…all 11 players appeal, along with a strong crowd of say 20 thousand people. The batsman will not move untill that one man raises his finger…..why is that so?

Will try to answer these questions someday…meanwhile do chip in with your answers. You are free to take any route, even spiritual, to answer these if you like to do so. And congratulations to all of you, India got knocked out of T20 WC. Shame.

I Believe in Roger Federer

It has been a little over 3 days since Roger Federer achieved which many of us might have thought he would never achieve, and most of us were just waiting for when it would happen because there was no question of wheter he would be able to do it or not. Cryptic huh!!

Join me in congratulating Roger Federer on winning that coveted 14th GrandSlam, and a Career Grandslam. And who would have thought that he would be able to achieve it in a slow and drowsy clay court at Roland Garros. After what we saw of him in the last two years,  the not so ardent fans would have clearly written him off every major competition this year also. I do agree to the fact that great players like Nadal, Andy Murray and Djokovic had their respected bad days and were ousted unexpectedly, but let us not take the credit away from Roger by brooding over these things. It takes something to win a grand slam.  And you would not know what it takes to win it especially if you are the finalist for 3 consecutive years but end up on the other side. And year after year after year Federer has proven to the entire world  that he is capable of doing that.

The 2003-2007 era certainly belonged to Roger Federer, there is no question about that. He himself was once quoted saying : I have created a Monster of an image..” During these years he won almost every major tournament , except being the runner-up at the French Open. Worst was that he won most of his matches with minimal effort. If FedEx dropped a set, the commentators would make it an issue. If his impeccable backhand missed the line, the post-match analysis would need half and hour to discuss that. It is a fact that he is passed those days now, but that fire to win and keep close to that number one spot is still burning in him. There is a hunger to win and that is the mark of a true champion.

Perhaps,  we will hope to see days when Roger weilds his racquet with utter grace, those elegant half volleys down the alley, the angled cross court winners will flow along with his brilliance and some  intelligent tennis to take him to more grand slam victories….and all this time we cash in on the sheer pleasure of watching him play.

I believe in the phenomena called Roger Federer. Do you?

Its a different Ball game.

Its Australia and England in question today. Not for their awesome cricketing rivalries, but some unfortunate events that have been going on in both these countries for some time now. I know Australia is on the verge of exiting from the T20 worldcup, as I write, with Dilshan batting magnificently. But its not cricket that I want to point out here.

The Labor party in England looks like its on the verge of a collapse, yet again, like in 1981. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took over the reigns after the controversial Blari rule, seems to have landed right into the soup. One controversy after another surmounts his authority, as one after another of his so-called loyal ministers desert his side. The blame game , looks like it will begin shortly. Those policy blunders and those tainted MPs might just prove to be a bit tough to handle for Mr. Brown. What has disapointed the most is his prowess failed to establish himself as a real good leader. Strong convictions look good on paper for sure, but when you are sitting in the hot seat, you are expected to deliver. Looks like the Labor party might actually think about change in leadership…when are the elections? coming soon i guess..

Shifting focus to Australia. A lot of innocent Indians, especially students have been reportedly victimised. Upto 12 such incidents have occured within a span of few weeks. Quite a concern. This has caused some wide spread condemnation as well. Students have held protest rallies throughout Australia as well as India. The Oz police anyhow denies that these attacks are of racial nature and targetted only at Indians. Though it s a fact that Indians tend to work over night to be able to make those extra bucks to pay their loan, and live in less secure cheaper areas and can make easy targets. But the police seems to have provided some stats which suggest that it is a mere coincidence that only Indians are being attacked. Well all I know that it is not a coincidence that the Oz PMs effigy was burnt in Delhi. And that Bal Thackeray wants punitive action against all Australian cricketers who played in the IPL…..yeah right!!

The Good, the Bad and the Unfortunate

There are so many things going on around us. A lot of things happening, both good and horrible. Some of those that come to my mind, I want to share it with you.

Meira Kumar became the first Woman speaker of the Lok Sabha. This I am certain is a good thing. A refreshing change that we welcome. The best part of it being there were no ugly altercations between the ruling and the opposition parties and that it was an unanimous decision. Things seems to have changed for the good, now a days its more of an understanding between the two parties on either side when it comes to the speaker. Until past Lok Sabha sessions, mostly the party that supported the Govt from outside (like the LEFT – Somnath Chaterjee, or TDP-GMC Balayogi) were  given speaker privileges. But since this elections saw the Congress dictate terms it kept this position for itself.

Andrew Symonds found himself in another controversy, ‘alcohol’ related this time. And he seems to have broken the code of conduct which he promised to uphold during counseling. Symo has hence been sent home from SA and will not be a part of the Oz T20 team. You decide if this is a good tihng or a bad thing. I have mixed feelings. Frankly, I admire the cricketer but I never like Symonds…..

Urban poverty seems to be on a rise. Must be wondering if I have gone nuts….no I am not. Urban poverty is not our typical poverty. The type of problems the Urban Poor people typically face is related to housing and employment. Though people might be able to find some jobs on a more day to day basis, they do not provide for substantial amenities in life. Bad thing for sure.

Pakistan could not withhold Saeed of the JuD fame in custody for long. Even after India and many other countries of the world expressed their strong concerns, the JuD chief, who is believed to have strong ties with the Lashkar E Taiba (LeT) had to be let free on technical ground. Yeah Right! First you house arrest the chap, do not tell him clearly the reason why so. Fake that the UN is concern over his involvement in terrorist activities, make provisional detention laws that aid the criminals, and finally release the person, even after India strongly suggested that it was the Let (and maybe the JuD) that caused the Mumbai Massacare in NOv 2008. Bad Bad Bad thing. Just as Pakistan would have hoped to resume talks with ‘the newly formed old Govt. ‘, Saeed’s release will absolutely close whatever small window existed.

And by far the most Unfortunate event to have happend lately is the tragic disappearance of the flight Air France 447. We live in an era where statistics prove that Air Travel is a lot lot lot safer than the road. Even as age old aircrafst are being replaced with the new fancy ones,  this tragic event has proven that mishaps are  bound to happen. Nothing is 100% safe. What happened to Flight 447 after it left Rio in Brazil for Paris is still a mystery, whatthe heck, it was not even over the Bermuda Triangle. Whether both its engine broke down, or having bieng stuck in a strom it was repeatedly beaten by lightning that could have caused a chain or series of failures……we do not know. While attempts of making air travel more safer might be given the highest priority, accidents like this should not shake off our faith. Untill those accident investigators find that ‘black box’ and tell the rest of the world the actual reason of the mishap, we all will be but keep guessing.

Mumbai and the Indians

My neighbor is playing  ” All things bright and beautiful, all creatures big and small….All starts bright and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.“

And guess what, I am now reading how Mr. Raj Thackerey and his MNS played an important role in the recently concluded General Elections , 2009 or  #indiavotes09 like its more popular. What I found interesting in the new emergence of MNS as a stronger ‘Sena’ than any that ever existed is that it turned the fate of existing ’so called’ sarkar-raj upside down, allowing the Congress and the NCP to make small break aways especially in Mumbai and Thane. When Raj headed out of the Shiv Sena after claiming to have found his passion in salvaging the Marathi Pride, no one would have thought that the MNS can stand tall on a very electrifying performance in the polls. Though the Shiv Sena seems to be flagging under the soft-spoken Uddhav, while Raj is the new Pinch Hitter, the cosmopolitan image of ‘ the city i d like to be in right now’ (Mumbai) seems to be up against an odd chalenge. Raj might have asked for the ‘ChhatPuja’ to be stopped in Maharashtra, or Marathi Boards and Hoardings be put everywhere or the North Indians be damned for the ill fortunes of the city, but one thing is for sure……he is hereto stay!

Speaking of Mumbai, I was ardently supporting the Mumbai Indians this IPL. Cant help it, I grew up watching Sachin Tendulkar grow…sometimes your loyalties grow with you and you are not even aware. Even though I consider Hyderebad to be my hometown, and since I work in Bangalore…it was not a very very hard decision for me to support the Deccan Chargers once the Tendulkar Brigade were ousted. Now that the IPL is finally over, and I get back 1900 hrs to 2330 hrs of my everyday life…i look back at what the IPL has done, and I tell you it is tremendous. Even though the competition was shifted to a different country altogether, it did not deter the fans to emotionally connect to their franchise, which is by far the most vital factor in such an event. Kudos to the SouthAfrican people!!! The first season an exciting affair when the team which was the least expected to win took away all the glory, and the second season topped all the excitement when the ‘last two teams’ from season one fought it out for the Gold…boy o boy!! Another highlight of the second season was that the typical ‘it is a big-hitters game’ notion was shed to a small extent, when the cold weather, frozen-hands-dropping-catches and some quality spin bowling changed many a games at crucial junctures. Hyper-commercialization was slightly controlled this year, with the television viewers being lucky to see the ball actually leave the bat and reach the fence, and then began the ‘ZooZoo‘ ads, tell me about controlled broadcasting!!!!

O great! Now my neighbours playing..” There shall be showers of blessings, this is the promise of love….“  So let me stop at this note. Dont forget to check out my HomePage : http://www.sidharth.me/

P!

Well I just got off a very long days work, and it turns out that today’s newspaper was not delivered. I guess the credit goes to the heavy over night showers in Bangalore. So I have nothing ‘current’ to write about.  What the heck, let me share some gyaan.

P! : Must be quite a funny heading to start with, isnt it? Well I read it as ‘The P Factorial’ or simple the ‘P’ factor.

I was reading something interesting the other day and it suddenly came to my mind, a beautiful concept, so I thought I should share it with everyone. What I am referring to in here is the four characteristics that takes to be successful in …err…in life ( Big picture…Ho toh Big Ho!). Its not everyday that one might get an opportunity to start something new, maybe like a business, or a hi profile project. The 4 P Rule really pumps up to the individuals advantage in such conditions.

Purpose: I really don’t want to put in any effort to explain abt Purpose. This single word speaks volumes about itself.

Passion: I am an ardent believer in doing  what ever it is that your doing, with utmost  Passion and character. A sense of urgency can sometimes help. Also, you need to feel good about your work. You need to sometimes get attracted to your work. This will help you maintain your Focus.

Persistence:  This coming from me must be sounding absurd, but hey, you must ve seen bigger hypocrites. Persistence is all about making a habit. Following a daily routine, to play to your advantage. So all of you who always wanted to go jogging at 6am, stop thinking about it. When the time comes, just put on your shoes and go. Don’t think about it. It is going to be tough at the beginning, but I assure you that after a few days, it will happen automatically. (To let you in on a secret, I called myself a hippo-cry-te, bcz I always wanted to go jogging in the morning but I don’t. At least I always wanted to blog daily and now I have started doing that.)

Patience: And this one is a toughie. Many people preach that Success is not Instant, and that you need to keep working towards it constantly, I am not very successful in life YET….but anyways the preaching sounds logical. So lets leave this to that.

Did I say ‘this to that’…yeah have been using these ‘this is that’ and ‘that was that’ very often now. The clock is ticking pretty fast now, and I think I have lost my ability to think now. I poured whatever was present on the top of my mind. I guess its time i hit the sack. Laters.

PS: This is my first post with no typographical errors, some sort of personal achievement. Thankyou…Thankyou!! God Bless.

Where was I?

Before I almost began to Hate myself, for not being able to write in here, I decided I have had a long hibernation.My passion for writing in this space has taken a back seat in the recent past. Well I am to blame, effective time management has never been my ‘bowl of kheer’. I was sucked away deep into the whirlpool of work. Work life balance took a toll. Duh!!!!!

I have always had a dream. That I would have a notebook where in I would write the summary of  the ‘editorial’ passages from ‘The Hindu’. Because I always wantedto stay abreat with whatever was goin on around me. More so  it would help me write and fill that void, and help me save that so called ‘ Evangelist’ in me, who now seems to have been fading away.

It then struck me that I could use this space as that ‘Scratch Pad’. Jot down what I think about some current issues at hand. It would also help me save some notes about some current affairs, which might help you or me. So here I am, with zeal  taken from that last flickr of  hope,  changed over to The Hindu from Tims Of India, and pledged that I will read the days newspaper before 12 midnight everyday, and post my summary here.

Wish Me Luck.

Running….aaaah…. can be fun!!!

18th May 2008, actually put Bangalore in the world “running” map. The “Sunfeast World 10K” run was one of its kind, drawing crowds of all ages, of all colors and for all causes.  Congratulations to each and every one who participated and made this event a success(Gobar that was for you).

Well, speaking all of this, i actually found myself in a ” Event Crew ” tee, with a walkie-talkie in my hand, trying to coordinating stuff a day before the actual event, yep that ‘ d be Saturday 17th May 2008. I had actually signed up for volunteering in the “elite athlete management” section, so me and a bunch of few other volunteers gathered Saturday evening, ( to collect our instructions and also the tee ) inside the Kanteerva Stadium at 5PM. We were supposed to escort the internation ( and national “elite” athletes ) from the moment they stepped down the BUS ( on their way from the hotel to the stadium) where the elite athelete room was setup, till the end of the race, to the media centre for their press releases and back to the elite athlete room. But, coordinating all this was no easy as a lot of running around was needed to be done.

Once the race began, i was taking care of the “chip timings”….based on the timing chips which the athletes were asked to put on, that gave the exact time of their run. And i was supposed to coordinate with the volunteer at the linesmen who would have the results , as seen with the naked eye, and come to a common conclusion as to who the winner was. It was great fun doing all the running around from the timing room to the finish line, and the sneek-peak into the VIP lounge that boasted the presence of Vijay Amritraj, the event ambassador, along with the likes of Suresh Kalmadi,IOA chief, Rahul Bose and Dino Morea…. . The Media Centre was no different with reporters from the local as well as some renouned media channels.

But what the biggest take away from this experience for me was that, in this country  where Cricket is the God of all Sports and a religion, some of the not as much popular sports also do attract a very good number of participation and public support. I know being on the tracks is a totally different experience, but then being a part of the organizing team was equally relishing and a novel experience. The challenges that one who is actually organizing such an event can face, is actually enormous and most of the times goes unnoticed. I sincerely would like to appreciate the efforts of each and everyone who was involved with this event being a great success…(hehe…including me..i dint sleep the whole of Saturday night…came back home on Sunday afternoon and crashed from 3-7pm…that part of my life is blank….absolute delirium…had to wake up at 7 cz i was cheering for Mumbai Indians).

Do you like to Read?????

Hi Guys, i just came across this amazing site……please check it out.

Its a very novel concept of letting those “readers” get into their groove. The people responsible even deliver books (at a nominal price, for the renting of the books, delivery is supposed to be free) to your door step. Its not just an e-library, but also looks as if they have some funky delivery options. Nevertheless, whats the best part of the deal is that you get to keep the book for as long as you want and return them when you finish them. Though they have not mentioned a “timeout” window, but hey….can i keep them for ever?( i guess this is an invalid question!!!). I am surely gonna check this out once atleast and wil lpost my experiences…till then happy reading!!!!!!

http://www.librarywala.com/

Sorry, this will be useful to friends @Bangalore and @Mumbhaaai….

Shout Aloud…ooops is anyone listening?

Hmmn, this feels good ( to blog again i meant). I had an almost perfect morning today. For people who can sympathize with me, let me describe perfect first. I would describe perfect as the day when i could get an  who agrees to drop me to office on METER based fare Yeah, i know i live in Bangalore where every damn thing is supposed to be costly and to an extent I have learned to live with this wretched fact. But then, in this world where everything is becoming dearer,  i feel that little sincerity too comes at a high price.

Wonder if i can catch the attention of R.K Mishra in this blog. After the Unlock Bangalore saw some success, hey guys for those who visited Kastle Vista recently…the road is being laid again…well its in the process…., i would like to draw his attention to the increased Blood Sucking characteristics of the Auto Walas in bangalore. I would also not step back and go to the extent and advise him to rip every auto wala s license into pieces if found guilty of “meter tampering” and asking excessive fares, how about a massive campaign against these daily thugs, who are sometimes more ferocious than the mafia s and the DONs….never mind

OO btw….i actually started this blog post with a question that I have been pondering about since this morning. I boarded an Auto today at a “T” junction…( yep..vignana nagar auto stand guys!!!) and just then a small boy was coming in a perpendicular direction ( imagine the directions yourself), my auto jump started and suddenly a motorbike zoomed past. As soon as I just got inside the Auto, this motor cycle chap who was coming from the front ( of me and perpendicular to the kid)…..hit the front tyre of the kid s cycle, brushed past actually, and did not slow down even by a kilometer i guess ( goin at 50+ that too on vignana nagar roads…note the point). The kids was shaken, visibly, and at this very moment there was a gush of blood in me, that made me feel that i should shout …”hey B@#$%^&*……..A##$%^&”(ooops did anyone even listen to that, may be i was not loud enough)…..i looked at the kid, he was on his way again….

What I am still thinking is why the hell dint i get out of the auto and shout this aloud……..?

Dunno…..someday, i promise…if i ever see this happen again, i will shout it out aloud!!!!