Yours Fervently, An Ardent Cricket fan

The Saturday meant a start to an amusing long weekend of sorts after quite some time and the self had woken to a rare rooster that crows late generally. Resting on the armchair like an octogenarian, I had breathed a lot of fresh air and was running through my mind the sequence of events that would follow in the next 3 days. That contained the following : read something to lift the spirits, drink a lot of coffee, eat to the stomach full, get the 11 hour sleep that has been evading for a while now and repeat the same in the order stated. Such was the beauty of the thought flow when the mind was particularly disturbed by a wayward sound that arose from somewhere in the neighbourhood. After curious onlooking, I found to my surprise that it was the gigantic wall clock that had caused the upset of the mind as the gong was doing its hourly duty at 3 hours post noon. Half an hour before the proceedings of the 4th day of the third test between India and England at Edgbaston.

It has been quite a while since I got myself deeply interested in a cricket match by and large. The last time such an instance was recorded was way back in March 2003 when Sehwag and Sachin entered the field to chase a mammoth 360 and Glenn McGrath had the shining red piece of leather to start the proceedings. After a considerable hiatus, the same interest started growing in me just before the ongoing series against England. What good parenting and modern pedagogic techniques that exemplify moral high ground have taught the growing youngster is that thing called maturity. As the body expands vertically and horizontally when man wakes up each morning to drink his cup of horlicks or viva or whatever suits him, the mind ought to expand. That, my ancestors used to call "maturity".
It has been well documented by learned people in the scriptures and elsewhere that mental maturity is quintessential for the uplifting of an individual. Though much has been talked about in this regard, what was visibly missing in my self as I got the bunch of potato chips and the plate of ground nuts in a move to gear up for a day of pleasing test cricket was the same thing that I have repeatedly lacked - maturity. To cut a long story short, what my heart ached at that particular juncture was for some legendary batting display from the few legendary batting names we have got on the roster so as to save the match and save our number one status by some hook or crook. This particular thought is a good example of an immature one at that. I call the very idea of the whim to be singularly childish. One cannot expect such a huge turnaround after two devastating performances at Lord's and Trent Bridge. But the heart ached for it in the same way it used to do back in 2002 and 2003 when Indian cricket was one of my highest priorities in life. I used to be an ardent fan way back then. But things have changed ever since and I moved on to other more intellectual addictions namely football, spirit, love and the rest of the things that G.K Chesterton used to talk about at length. So, this cricket fever recurring after such a long while was more of an aberration.

The end result? A big disappointment. Nothing that can be classified under the banner called sport has disappointed me to such a great extent, though I remember one instance when Benfica or some equally infernal force from Portugal knocked Man United out of Champions league and if my memory doesn't fail me, it was in the year 2005.After that one, now this particular disappointment from edgbaston made an impact on me and it was a sore one to say the least. The three matches that have taken England to summit from where India just toppled, were just a vindication of the visible listlessness in the Indian camp. There are cries and shouts inside the minds of the players and fans to abandon these humiliations and get back home, in the same way the Flintoff-led English team did during the 2008 terrorist attacks in Bombay. But we Indians are made of sterner stuff and it is not in our blood to call something off cheaply like that. We can continue to be distrait for ages and eons together but we shall not abandon. That fact being a given in the current scheme of things, the only logical thing to do is to somehow get over the fourth one as quickly as possible and start getting geared up for the five match one day series that is to follow. We could have been a very disheartened lot in the last 3 weeks, but the fact remains that it is not the end of the world and the one day series can help to make up for the shame quite a bit. So, along with the Indian team, I am telling myself after yesterday's horror collapse that all is not lost and that English August could after all culminate in an Indian September.

In Cricket, class is permanent and form is temporary. Let us hope to roar back in the one day series and worry about the test shambles in an introspection later in the year when we go down under.

If Only

If only we knew
That we are sent here only to view

If only we understood
That the world here is contrived

If only we realized
That love was the only thing real and unfeigned

If only we learnt
That nothing was ours when sent

If only we recognized
That nothing comes with us when we are cauterized

If only we were not men
And were sent down not to make any sin

If only we didn't create
Those that backfired and made us prostrate

If only we stopped
Hoarding money that is after all man-made

If only we thought
Life was more than what we have got

If only we were loved
If only we were to love
If only we were surreal
If only we were to live a dream
If only we were to exist and do nothing more
If one we didn't create the world we live in

We would not have been part of Mankind
We would not be part of the rat race

We would have realized that what cometh goeth the way it is destined
And we are mere actors who perform on stage
And we were no better than any other beast
And we are not the creators
Nor the destroyers

Life would have been a lot better

Enjoy Maadi

I have been cribbing for quite sometime about life at Hyderabad not being too eventful and i have contrived to a decision that if one has to enjoy life and spend money, one has to work in Bangalore.

Reasons:

1. Most/All of your friends invariably work in Bangalore.
2. You have numerous malls and weekends can't get better with the 'bird-watching opportunity' one always gets at these hangouts.
3. Since almost all of your college chums sit here, there is no scarcity of gossip.
4. You start biking like crazy for otherwise commuting is usually tough on weekdays.
5. Your virtues get better as you need to exercise a lot of patience owing to traffic.
6. You will not find any difficulties in knowing Bangalore's geography as it is almost a straight line on the map.
7. If you are a 'tamilian' you tend to feel at home for the language is spoken almost at every street corner.
8. Most/All high paying jobs are available in the city for almost every Indian company has a branch here.
9. You become immune to most/all air-borne diseases as the normal amount of Carbon Monoxide you inhale is awfully high and it overrides or suppresses other problems.
10. You can travel to any of the other three South Indian states by an overnight's journey.

If you are a Southie, Bangalore is 'the' place to be in.

P.S: Can somebody who has read this post find me a job at Bangalore? (Lol)

Downtown Tadipatri !!!!~!!!!

The merits and demerits of the "Life at the Country Side" is an age-old topic and i have come to discuss the same in this space. And here I am, back from a first-hand country side Experience. This post is dedicated to my visit to a small township on a hillock near downtown "Tadipatri" where i spent my blissful weekend. Tadipatri is a small town located en route to Chennai from Hyderabad and it is worth mentioning that it boasts of UltraTech's largest Cement Plant in Asia.

To start with, i concede to the fact that "Life downtown" is always a better bet than the one which involves the hustles and the hullabaloo of the metro. As part of the "clan" at college which threw tantrums at villages and village dwellers from down south, I have been actively involved in mocking at the way civilizations have, by far, neglected those people, who we are at this point, debating about.

My weekend involved a really splendid outing to my best friend's sweet home near Tadipatri. Nature was at its best and the gated community had loads to offer when I did my first sightseeing around the township on Saturday. The greenery and the peaceful community that inhabited this township, was so new to me for I have more or less grown up in a city, brought up with all the mall culture and other typical metro offerings.

I would like to introduce the four characters in this post who would be henceforth referred to as "Sir TPJ"(Daddy), "Rchie"(Sissy), "Chota Don"(Friend) and "Aunt Bliss"(Mommy). To talk of Sir TPJ, it would be a gross understatement if i just say he is a revered gentleman who commands a respectable position at this Township which nurtures a group of little over 1000 people from various parts of the country. Aunt Bliss is a wonderful cook and she loves cooking " elaborate four course meals" "three times a day". Fresh vegetables for lunch and dinner came from nearby gardens and the delicacies straight from Aunt Bliss' kitchen are worth mentioning. Rchie is the sweet sis who is currently enjoying her summer holidays back home and Chota Don is waiting to join college for his post graduate studies.

The wonderful weekend involved the fantastic walk down the park, delicious food served at regular intervals throughout the day, Malayalam movie on Asianet, UNO Card games, badminton outing, late night wodehouse humor, hot career discussions, dinner time family chit chats, Channel V Music hits, evening time lychee treats, endless football story times and lastly, the marathon Wimbledon final to finish it off. That final was one of the best tennis matches that i have been witness to, till date. A-Rod was at his career best only to lose out to the damned luck (courtesy: Fedex's "Black Magic") at the end of the day. The 5 hour finale bade good bye to me along with this cute family of four who took up the task of entertaining me for the weekend. Needless to say they did a fantastic job out of it and i would fail miserably if i miss out on mentioning the elegant Urbana "Tie and Handkerchief set" which was my parting gift.

This post is purely a tribute to the place and people that made my weekend downtown so remarkable. When it all turns nostalgic later one day, and i go back to turn the pages of my life fervently, these two pages would without doubt be a "highlighted couple" that would keep me entrenched in emotions for ages to come.

P.S: Uploaded a few snaps

Bidding Adieu!!

It's been a while since i wrote something in this space and i would blame my mad-ass workplace for it. Really long since i even got some respite from "coding to glory".

August 3rd, December 14th, January 6th, May 14th...These are some dates that a handful of highly overrated engineers in the country would seldom forget, for these are fixed dates when semesters start and end at BITS, Pilani.

I am nevertheless proud to belong to such a place- Bits, Pilani. But what saddens the thought is the fact that it is all coming to an end. In a way i have delinked myself from that lovely place when i opted for a double semester PS (For people who are unaware of these amazing BITSian terms, read as internship). Technically a student still, until i complete my second semester stint here mid june, I sense a feeling of doom and dismay.

Yeah..I'm gonna miss this place like crazy..I’m gonna miss a lot of things..and if I start listing them down..its gonna go on n on n on...

A few things i would like to mention

ANC, Wing Cricket, GymG Football, Amazing winters, FIFA, Counter Strike, AOE, Common Room EPL, Temple, Sky Lawns, CDC Tutorials, 404,Gandhi::223,Gandhi::223,Krishna::440,Malviya, SAC, Oasis 2006, Pahadi Trip, Sleepless nights, The unforgettable relationships, C'NOT, ICF-PS1, The Sand Storms, Krishna Redi, Kulu Manali Wing Trip, Dualites' lonely world,OT, OR, IPC, My Hercules Cycle, 24*7 music, prison break, RAF Movies, BOSM, Ganga gate, Bluemoon shakes, Bluemoon hot coffee, Sky Lab Cheese Pizza, Late night walk at the staff quarters..............

Yes i am going to miss this place. I felt it as i wrote down some of those million things that would never come back into my life.

The Freedom, The Friendships, The fun, The frolic...All of it seem to have become past when i ponder about them. It hurts to say goodbye...but reality awakens me. I bid adieu but with no sense of happiness.

P.S:An ode to everthing and everyone that came in my life in those 5 years at the best place in the world.

P.P.S:Million faces...Million expressions...Million hearts...Million memories...One place...One love...BITS Pilani!!!!!!!