Something on cricket ...

Another cricketing great, Muttiah Muralitharan, has chosen to call it a day.

On 22nd day of July 2010, he registered his 800th wicket in Test cricket in form of Pragyan Ojha in the ongoing test series against India. Like a true champion, he bowled his heart out, capturing 8 (exactly, the number needed to complete the figure of 800) wickets in the match and in the process helping the home team to win the match and take a 1-0 lead in the 3 match test series.

An apt way to end a glorious career (though prospects of rain , some rearguard batting display by the Indian tail enders and a spirited Malinga did seem to threaten Murali from reaching the landmark). With Murali's adieu to the game, an era has ended. Though, not quite a cricketing poster boy, he has served the SriLankan cricket very well.

We will be missing the man with big eyes , a bigger grin and even bigger turner of the cricket ball.

A cricket follower like me, will definitely feel sad and nostalgic, whenever cricketing legends of such stature decide to leave the game.

I feel blessed to be a part of a generation that has seen debut and growth of many mordern cricketers; most of them have gone on to become living legends from stark new comers.

I have witnessed the sensational test debut of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid at Lords in summer of 1996. I have seen Tendulkar making his Test debut against Pakistan in 1988 and winning laurels from then established greats like Imran Khan, Srikanth and Abdul qadir to name a few.

My growing up period was a transitional phase in world cricket. This phase saw some of the past players placing themselves on the pedestal of being great and young cricketers were making the world to sit back and watch their feats.

So, if on one hand I had the oppurtunity to see the exploits (in a limited amount) of Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Imran Khan, Geoff Marsh, David Boon, Dean Jones, Mike Gatting then on the other I was enamored by the skills of Tendulkar, Lara, Ganguly, Dravid, Ponting, Waugh brothers, Jayasuriya, Warne, Kumble, Wasim Akram, Arvinda de Silva, Rhodes, Klusener, Kallis ..... really the list is endless.

With many players calling it a day (both Indian and foreign) and more about to do so, it really hurts somewhere in the heart. Not only because they were great exponents of the game but more because of the fact, that during my growing up years, many of them started playing the game and gradually as I understood the game in a better fashion, these players went from being good to great.

Who would fit in the shoes of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh, Jhonty Rhodes, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Ricky Ponting ?

Will I be able to witness swashbuckling opening partnerships, as once stitched by Sourav Ganguly & Sachin Tendulkar? All the Spin wizards have left the scene. Where will I get to see the sheer pace of Wasim Akram, Allan Donald or Courtney Walsh?
Who can forget the magical wrist work of Azhar?

The younger cricketing generation, though immensely talented, will take time to re-create the magic of their predecessors.

There has been a paradigm shift in world cricket in last 15 years or so.

Cricket itself has changed; there was a time when a run rate of 4/4.5 in a 50 over match was considered safe. Matches took place only in the days and cricket gear meant only whites. 20/20 was probably a distant dream then. Concept of powerplay, hawk eye, third umpire were unthinkable and alien.

But, as we all are aware, those unthinkable concepts have become part and parcel of modern day cricket and now no target can be considered safe to defend. Cricketers take the field in colorful attires with names of sponsors pasted from the head gear to the footwear. 20/20 is mantra of cricket and talks are on to schedule test cricket in day/night format. I forgot the mention the color of balls have also changed

It used to cherry red during "good old days". Now we have the "kookaburra whites" for day/night format.

Hopefully, we will continue to enjoy cricket for the right reasons…

Signing off /

Traffic Snarls: Not so bad after all..

Traffic jams have become an indispensable part of any civilized city life. Any civilized city, across the globe, is unthinkable without traffic jams and if one can't find jams in a city, then that city shouldn't be considered civilized at all!!

Generally, we tend to loathe the very thought of traffic snarls however I Have tried to find out few positive aspects of the same. (Optimistic, eh??)

If you are stuck in a jam (that seems endless and timeless), you can catch up with a quick nap; it will compensate the loss (if any) of last night's sleep. It will have a positive effect on your health!!

I have realized that my Hindi vocabulary has become richer; I have added choicest Hindi abuses to my Hindi speaking capabilities. (I am very much indebted towards my co-passengers).Another gain...

There has been a growth in my geographical knowledge; to avoid jams, drivers tend to take detours and take less ventured roads and by lanes (only to end up in middle of the jam!!); however, such navigation adds to the knowledge. You start to know the traveling route just like back of your hands..

Next time you are planning to throw a party and don't know where to look for the DJ, then your search ends here; the amount of jarring and deafening music being played by our private bus drivers and conductors, is surely an indication of their latent talent. They surely know how to make some "noise".

In this treacherous weather getting stuck in a traffic snarl has another benefit. You can really sweat it out without actually hitting the gym. You lose calories; another way to stay fit and slender...

The best one is probably this one; if you use a public transport and take the same bus/auto and if co-passengers are more or less the same, then there are definite chances that you will be able to find your dream girl/boy during the stuck hours. With so much time to spend with each other, sparks will definitely fly and cupid will strike. The hassle to scout for prospective partners also gets reduced to a great extent.

So, you see traffic jams are not that bad after all...

Great Indian Family..

Indians, by nature, are very much attached to their respective families. From very early age, value of family is ingrained in the hearts and minds of each and every Indian. We love to stick together as a closely knit unit. However, when this love takes the form of a fetish, then unknowingly or (knowingly) we create problems for others.

Have we ever thought, why there is so much rush at the railway platforms or airports? Amongst other factors, the "Great Indian Family" is to be blamed!! Irrespective of the number of people making the trip actually, the number of well-wishers and attendants outnumber them at any given point of time... it does cause mayhem and confusion however who cares as long as the family is sticking together...

Last week, I visited a friend of mine at one of the upmarket hospitals; she was admiited there for a surgery. Post surgery, it was confusion time for the doctors and support staff as they had some tough time handling "The Family". One of the junior doctors jokingly said that the surgery was far more easier than handling the "caring family".

Even ATMs are not spared; I have seen an instance when a family of six, entered the ATM premises to take out cash. Being objected by the guard, every one replied in unison - "can't you see, we are Family!!"(by the way, their pet dog also went inside)

Long live the Indian Family...

Human Apathy...towards fellow humans

The world is becoming a strange place to live. Prices, temperatures are on a steady and constant rise however human values and concern for fellow humans are declining at a same rapid rate. We humans have become very indifferent towards others. A recent incident cemented this fact.

I was in Hardwar during last week of April 2009. While taking a walk towards the holy Ganges, I discovered a human body in one of the many narrow by-lanes .The body was lying near a heap of rubbish and flies were circling above it. I moved closer and was confirmed that man was dead. I quickly returned to the hotel and narrated the mishap to the manager and few locals.

The reaction? To my amazement, i discovered that the locals were already aware of the incident however no one really cared to inform the police or municipal authorities. They justified that police was already informed about the happening but it didn't take any appropriate measures. The body had been lying for 3 days.. the best thing locals had done was to "hide" the body in that narrow lane, so that it is not easily discovered by passers by.....

In a holy place, a man died... no one cared for his last rites ... it is the most painful aspect of the entire incident... may God bless the poor soul...

One sided nature of recession...

Economic slowdown, recession, lay offs, cost cutting; these are some of the "buzz" words, which have gained currency now a days due to poor economic conditions world wide.

People like me who are employed in the corporate sector are most hard hit. We have to live in a constant fear of insecurities and uncertainties, which are results of a deteriorating economy. The situation only looks grimmer with each passing day.

Many have lost their jobs, many have been forced to get their salary revised to a lower amount and there are many whose salary revision (of course, a raise) has been put on hold for an unknown period. (I am in the 3rd category and feel somewhat lucky than people in other 2 categories!!)

In simpler terms, the condition is not good and "recession" is being held as the main culprit!!

Now here is the twist; cost of living continues to inflate. Prices ranging from day to day to commodities to high end products are growing by leaps and bounds. "Recession" has not been able to check these prices. Really, I not have been able to understand the real economics behind this present situation.

It is a very confusing and tough situation for many of us; at one hand, source of income is being squeezed down but on the other, monthly expenditures and obligations are rising. How to bridge this gap is a million dollar question...

IPL or General Elections?

Finally, putting rest to all kind of speculations, Lalit Modi announced IPL season 2 will kick off from April 10th. Great amount of re-scheduling plans have been chalked out so that IPL matches don't clash with general elections polling; This is a good news for millions of cricket lovers across continents(I am one of them!!).

However, I still feel that two events of such great magnitude shouldn't take place at the same time. General Elections are far more important than any sporting event. Through these elections, we choose our representatives, who ultimately rule the country.

These two events will put extra pressure on the government agencies to provide security measures to matches as well the polling event. It will be a real testing time for the country.

On a lighter note, we will enjoy the double thriller of IPL glitz and glamor as well as the general election proceedings

All eyes will be on India.

May the best team win and the best political party form the Government!!

Is there any end to it?

Another incident of terrorist attack. Again, Mumbai was targeted.

It is a matter of national shame for all of us that such incidents are becoming so much regular in recent times that it seems we have to learn to live with such violent attacks. It seems that these incidents are going to be part and parcel of our lives; and as usual, the national government (doesn't matter whosoever is in power) is confused about what to do exactly!! They always seem to grope in the dark to find any solution to curb these unwanted violence. The security and intelligence machineries are always caught napping in such times and the miscreants are always successful in implementing their malicious plans.

How many times, the common man has to bear the brunt of such attacks? Aren’t we all tired of living under the shadows and threats of terrorism and violence?

It doesn't matter whether the place is Delhi, Mumbai or any other part of India, one thing is getting clearer by the day is no city is safe anymore for a common man.

It is more saddening and disturbing to see the lack of concern of the government agents in such cases. Maharashtra Deputy CM RR Patil made a statement saying such small incidents keep happening in big cities. He referred to the latest terror attack on Mumbai in which terrorists struck with great precision at multiple targets simultaneously, killing nearly 200 people and injuring much more. The ordeal went for almost 60 hours!!

Mr Deputy CM, would you have made a similar statement, if you had happened to caught in that situation or worse lost someone near and dear to you?

These ministers should be sacked with immediate effect. Aren't they ashamed of themselves?

Worse, the political parties(those in opposition), instead of joining hands and coming together to find a solution to curb terrorism, are more interested in politicizing such issues to get political mileage and ensure themselves of prospective vote banks. This is absolutely unthinkable and unacceptable;

And where is Mr. Raj Thackery these days? As we all know, he and his band of MNS goons are "well wishers" of Mumbai and Maharashtrians in Mumbai. He inflicted his senseless brand of terror on the innocent immigrants from other states, trying to show off his "good will" to fellow marathis. It is a really matter of debate, how many was he able to impress; probably,
none. Where has his concern gone now?

It is a very simple calculation; we really have to do away with these callous and senseless political thoughts; the lopsided government machinery has to be over hauled completely and only then we can fight such incidents fire with fire. We are happy pointing fingers to the neighboring nation and making allegations against them but at the same time we should get our acts together and pull our socks to counter such violent and disturbing activities.

Terrorism is reaching new heights. A terrorist is much more intelligent and better prepared and equipped now than ever. It has become a global phenomenon. A world community should be formed to destroy and demolish terrorism from its very roots. Its spine should be crushed so that it can't raise its ugly head anywhere in the world.

It’s high time, that head of the states along with respective security agencies sat and chalked out some concrete plans.