It is on the match-day of some Ireland vs ******** qualifier and here is how the conversation builds between two friends.
"Any score yet?"
(obviously being told Ireland the country had scored)
"Oh cool, who scored?"
(obviously being told the name)
"Yeah, but who scored?"
(friend repeats)
"Yeah I get it. Who scored the goal?"
(etc. etc.)
"Yeah. I get we scored. But who scored the fcuking goal??!"
(at this point his friend obviously takes a different approach, explaining that Ireland had scored the goal for Ireland)
"Oh. Right."
Now what's wrong with these westerners who keep such grotesque names for their children? Can't people have less controversial names considering the welfare of the poor human race?
Oriental names are no better anyway. I don't remember if i have shared this incident on blogosphere earlier. But it's worth a repeat. I know an acquaintance from China whose name is 'Ye Hi'. All's fine till now. But how will one compose a mail in English to this revered gentleman if situation need be?
Hi Hi,
Thanks for the blah blah.. It's been a pleasure to have worked with you blah blah...
P.S: I have fallen in love with your name.
Pradeep
or?
Hi Ye,
How's it going at your end?
Thanks,
Pradeep
Draws me blank. Hi Hi? Hi Ye?
God save humanity.
P.S: The above piece of information does not intend to hurt the feelings of any reader. The intent is solely to highlight the variety and diversity in various cultures around the globe. It is nothing but a praiseworthy vignette that finds space in the field of cultural studies by and large.
Amen!
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Journalism-Philosophy-Cricket-Life, My Stochastic Journey
How often has an article from the 'Times of India daily' been motivating or mentally stimulating? The question should be lauded for the humor content in itself :-P. The answer to it is 'Most often not'. Today, journalism is a field with high levels of cash flow in its arena and as is rightly said, in today's environment, 'Media means Business'. Having celebrated the luxury of being India's largest daily for ages together, the newspaper has created a new dimension in the field of advertising and media. Sex, Fun, Youth, Masala, Movies, Paparazzi news, Celebrity talk and a few more on the same lines can be termed as suitable labels for most of the articles that are covered these days. Nevertheless, Economics, Strategies, Terrorism and Politics do take center-stage in the Editorial section with contributions from stalwarts from the above mentioned domains. So I have in no way taken up an evaluation of the celebrated daily.
Having said that, what I wanted to write in this post was something completeley different. The first paragraph is more of a digression and the basic intent was to write about a full page article on a recent edition of the Times.
No points for guessing the topic chosen for discussion as terms like 'Master Laster', 'T-20' and twenty-"Ten" are ubiquitous in recent-day print and media. Yes, it was an article on 'The great Man'. A lot has been spoken and debated about his closeness to 'Divinity' in the religion of cricket and of late, even in a newer religion called 'Sport'. I am not going to grind that grain once again. What caught my eye was how motivating that article turned out to be.
I have heard of an incident in North India, which is not the sort that makes the headlines but yeah, interests a few amongst us. - "On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train "waited" for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!". Now how does the process of 'deifying' happen? What are the ingredients that enable one to become a candidate running for that post? Trying to figure out answers to these 'almost always' rhetoric questions, I realized the answer lies in removing the abstraction in them. Take the example of the same game and the gentlemen who've evolved in the last decade. I can think of England captain Kevin Pieterson's debut about three or four years back. In a period of six to eight months of international cricket, the 'modern media' that we were referring to at the beginning of this discussion, elevated him to a status of being compared with the master. Terms like 'Next Tendulkar' and 'English Master' did the rounds owing to his aggression and technique. 4 years into the arena and take a look at where he is now? He is undoubtedly one of the most important players of the English cricket team today. No denying that fact. But why isn't he tipped to be the next sensation any more? Genius is made out of perseverance, determination and a host of other virtues. But to me, the most important ingredient to it is 'feet on ground' and that is in coherence with the answer to the 'KP question'.
Achievement is something that every one of us encounter and come across in various stages of life. But the way we treat those encounters with 'achievement' is all that matters. The answer to that intriguing question on ingredients was in one quote from the Master himself - "Let the world think of our past. We should think of the future". An adage comes to my mind at this juncture. "You are very unique, just like everyone else". So, celebration should be a fleeting phenomenon when it comes to a bigger picture of life and its obstacles. Having said that success has to do with a combination of a variety of virtues, some more important than the others, one should stay motivated to reach the pinnacle of glory and be smart enough to keep that place until another touchstone is spotted high up the same ladder of life.
Anjali Tendulkar revealed in an interview that Sachin has sleep-walking tendencies and surprisingly, she said "Now we know what it takes to make a genius". I mused for a while after reading those two lines for i am an astute 'sleep-walker' too. But jokes apart, what was meant by usage of 'sleep-walking' is important. The determination and obsession that leads one to think of his duties day in and day out is what makes the genius. Sleep walking in most instances is associated with toiling minds and continuous thought flows during sleep as a result of the obsessive nature of the mind.
Masters come and masters go and we, for our part incessantly speak of them. But the paradigm shift from the connoisseur's role to the artist's role is what should be mulling in our minds and food for that kind of a thought comes from such great personalities and their lives.
Now, as a vindication of the levels of confidence and fearlessness involved in such instance of genius, watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oez4TSdZvJI
Having said that, what I wanted to write in this post was something completeley different. The first paragraph is more of a digression and the basic intent was to write about a full page article on a recent edition of the Times.
No points for guessing the topic chosen for discussion as terms like 'Master Laster', 'T-20' and twenty-"Ten" are ubiquitous in recent-day print and media. Yes, it was an article on 'The great Man'. A lot has been spoken and debated about his closeness to 'Divinity' in the religion of cricket and of late, even in a newer religion called 'Sport'. I am not going to grind that grain once again. What caught my eye was how motivating that article turned out to be.
I have heard of an incident in North India, which is not the sort that makes the headlines but yeah, interests a few amongst us. - "On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train "waited" for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!!". Now how does the process of 'deifying' happen? What are the ingredients that enable one to become a candidate running for that post? Trying to figure out answers to these 'almost always' rhetoric questions, I realized the answer lies in removing the abstraction in them. Take the example of the same game and the gentlemen who've evolved in the last decade. I can think of England captain Kevin Pieterson's debut about three or four years back. In a period of six to eight months of international cricket, the 'modern media' that we were referring to at the beginning of this discussion, elevated him to a status of being compared with the master. Terms like 'Next Tendulkar' and 'English Master' did the rounds owing to his aggression and technique. 4 years into the arena and take a look at where he is now? He is undoubtedly one of the most important players of the English cricket team today. No denying that fact. But why isn't he tipped to be the next sensation any more? Genius is made out of perseverance, determination and a host of other virtues. But to me, the most important ingredient to it is 'feet on ground' and that is in coherence with the answer to the 'KP question'.
Achievement is something that every one of us encounter and come across in various stages of life. But the way we treat those encounters with 'achievement' is all that matters. The answer to that intriguing question on ingredients was in one quote from the Master himself - "Let the world think of our past. We should think of the future". An adage comes to my mind at this juncture. "You are very unique, just like everyone else". So, celebration should be a fleeting phenomenon when it comes to a bigger picture of life and its obstacles. Having said that success has to do with a combination of a variety of virtues, some more important than the others, one should stay motivated to reach the pinnacle of glory and be smart enough to keep that place until another touchstone is spotted high up the same ladder of life.
Anjali Tendulkar revealed in an interview that Sachin has sleep-walking tendencies and surprisingly, she said "Now we know what it takes to make a genius". I mused for a while after reading those two lines for i am an astute 'sleep-walker' too. But jokes apart, what was meant by usage of 'sleep-walking' is important. The determination and obsession that leads one to think of his duties day in and day out is what makes the genius. Sleep walking in most instances is associated with toiling minds and continuous thought flows during sleep as a result of the obsessive nature of the mind.
Masters come and masters go and we, for our part incessantly speak of them. But the paradigm shift from the connoisseur's role to the artist's role is what should be mulling in our minds and food for that kind of a thought comes from such great personalities and their lives.
Now, as a vindication of the levels of confidence and fearlessness involved in such instance of genius, watch this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oez4TSdZvJI
Monday, 9 November 2009
The Forum that is worthwhile
From now on, I have decided I would bring the most hilarious set of comments on The Football365 Forum after every match week to this space for the benefit of 'Football Freaky' readers of this blog.
Here is the latest one after the highly anticipated ManU - Chelsea clash
"- A Man Utd team that is meant to be out of form and grinding out results played the better football than Chelsea. This is a Chelsea team that is meant to be cutting through every team that stands in their path. Man Utd will hold no worries about the rest of the season. Undoubtedly as the season gets to Christmas, Utd will hit their stride. 5 point gap or not, Fergie will still fancy his team's chances.
- John Terry must be wearing Jamie Carragher's lucky pants because he can now haul Valencia down in the box. The rest of the world calls that a penalty. A referee at Stamford Bridge doesn't call it anything!
- Deco is crap. Playing good against Bolton is not an achievement. When John O'Shea is playing better than you, it's time to consider retirement or playing in Italy.
- Jamie Redknapp needs to sack his tailor. He is wearing the tightest trousers on Earth every time Sky do coverage and if he eats anything with a single calorie in it, they will split open on live TV.
- Obertan looks like a much better buy than Nani. I know that is like saying "Sleeping with Megan Fox is better than sleeping with Vanessa Feltz" but Obertan could still be a flop. But he came on, linked up intelligently, showed a few tricks that were productive and not show pony-esque. It might be too much to hope but Utd might finally have a genuine successor to Giggs on the left wing.
- Carrick must be dreading the return of Hargreaves. Fletcher and Anderson are clearly ahead of him and rightly so. They both offer more energy, arguably better passing and more power. Hargreaves fully fit and Carrick may find himself reduced to Carling Cup & FA Cup games.
- And finally...Johnny Evans should be knighted. Any man who wins a header against Drogba whilst drop kicking him in the chest deserves the nation's respect. Especially when he gets away with it!"
Here is the latest one after the highly anticipated ManU - Chelsea clash
"- A Man Utd team that is meant to be out of form and grinding out results played the better football than Chelsea. This is a Chelsea team that is meant to be cutting through every team that stands in their path. Man Utd will hold no worries about the rest of the season. Undoubtedly as the season gets to Christmas, Utd will hit their stride. 5 point gap or not, Fergie will still fancy his team's chances.
- John Terry must be wearing Jamie Carragher's lucky pants because he can now haul Valencia down in the box. The rest of the world calls that a penalty. A referee at Stamford Bridge doesn't call it anything!
- Deco is crap. Playing good against Bolton is not an achievement. When John O'Shea is playing better than you, it's time to consider retirement or playing in Italy.
- Jamie Redknapp needs to sack his tailor. He is wearing the tightest trousers on Earth every time Sky do coverage and if he eats anything with a single calorie in it, they will split open on live TV.
- Obertan looks like a much better buy than Nani. I know that is like saying "Sleeping with Megan Fox is better than sleeping with Vanessa Feltz" but Obertan could still be a flop. But he came on, linked up intelligently, showed a few tricks that were productive and not show pony-esque. It might be too much to hope but Utd might finally have a genuine successor to Giggs on the left wing.
- Carrick must be dreading the return of Hargreaves. Fletcher and Anderson are clearly ahead of him and rightly so. They both offer more energy, arguably better passing and more power. Hargreaves fully fit and Carrick may find himself reduced to Carling Cup & FA Cup games.
- And finally...Johnny Evans should be knighted. Any man who wins a header against Drogba whilst drop kicking him in the chest deserves the nation's respect. Especially when he gets away with it!"
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