Dada, All The Best..You always shall reign in our hearts..

Another Test match starts today, a test in every sense of the word, India-Australia clashes, or to use a more politically correct term, 'meets' are fraught with the kind of emotions we used to find with India-Pak encounters or The Ashes maybe, including the latters' mudslinging, mind-games and war of words,,the print media taking sides and going all out, no holds barred too. I am at my hostel room, far away from a Television set ,to participate in any of this, but am still rooting for my team.

Furthermore I am praying fervently for the 'oldies' in the team, who have so much to prove, unthinkable after all they have given to our cricket, I know, but that is just the way we are, or I should say, a 'select' few of us are. Early Alzheimer's setting in I guess. Among the Seniors is the one man who gave Indian Cricket its present face. Previously we were renowned as being the capitulators of the game, quick to give in at the knees, adept at looking the other way, turning the proverbial other cheek, always managing, by dint of sheer hard work, to snatch defeat from the jaws of Victory, till this Captain came along.

He was given the Cap by default, but what a turn around for our cricket that became..

The rest is history, they say, but for us who overlook history so very blithely, we need to recall them. We became gritty, starting to turn around and show our teeth, rather than walk-away, we started initiating mind-games, making a Hoity-Toity Captain wait at a toss, matching pert remarks with smart ones. Defensive playing was at an end, we started to think we could win, and we did. Youngsters came into the team, selection meets did not end until the Captain saw to it that he had exactly those he wanted in the team, nervous debuts were converted into man-of-the-match awards, T-shirts were waved from the balcony of Staid cricketing grounds, Overseas umpires in certain countries now couldn't just, on a whim, give any of our batsman ,the dreaded finger, there was someone who would raise a questioning voice, stand up chest to chest and question. This Captain was called 'The Bad Boy' of cricket, and he ended up with a lot less that he actually earned, because the rest of the money saw their way back into the ICC coffers, as fines. He made the team gel into a unit, made every member stand up for the other, if the occasion arose. He made the rest of the world, who always took us to be a Nation with one or two Individual talents, see us as a team who could give the rest a run for their money, and make a claim for the world cup. He made me proud to see us on the field, filled with confidence, raring to go, fighting tooth and nail, every single time, he made me stand up and applaud my team, and him along with it. He turned us into a Nation of fighters, and today I pray that his swan song is one which is heard loud and clear, I want him to go out with a bang, holding his head high, full of the pride he instilled in us.

For he is and always will be, India's most successful Captain Ever.

Happy Diwali, Guys!!!

I did not have much to write about for quite some time,,,,
And I am also losing hair, faster than a mouldy old Persian carpet,, Anyways, It is that time of the year again, when starbursts fill the night sky, fairy lights twinkle where ever you turn and the poor animals cower, indoors and out of doors, anticipating the early restoration of peace, much like Mumbai is,,,right now..
I like to watch the night sky lit up by the fireworks even though I am aware of the kind of exploitation that goes into their making, right from the countless children who literally burn themselves, year after year, to bring this glorious spectacle to us, to the kind of plight the animals and many people too are reduced to, by the explosive sounds,,,I had pets, I really know!!
Conflicting Emotions again?
Story of my life,,,
I was standing by the water cooler cum purifier that stands in the veranda of my hostel, and which according to me is THE saving grace of the place, last night, when I saw, in the distance, above the twinkling night-lights of Hyderabad,,that lay down like a carpet below my eyes,,what I thought was a cracker of the kind that goes up, up, up and finally turns to a majestic display of Stardust,,but it just kept rising,,and rising,,,,it also kept coming nearer,,before I panicked into thinking that the terrorists (again, sic!!) are finally targeting our Hostel,,I saw it turn into an aeroplane, emit a drone,,and fly away, above my hostel roof, towards destinations unknown,,Or was it the 8 pm to Kolkata? Anyways,,,Gullible took on new meaning for me...
Diwalis of my childhood,, how I long for those days,...
Hope that this festival of lights manages to illuminate all our lives,,filling up those dark corners with joy and above all,,HOPE!!!
Have an Eco-Friendly time please, Guys..

Autumn Blues

Dusky twilight, made more fragrant by the smoky whiff of burning leaves, you could detect the tang of pine needles in the smoke, the evening air is laden with ,the almost imperceptible chill of the fast approaching winter,, the long walks home from school were made even more pleasant by the company of dear friends, our conversations and our silences, albeit few and far between, were full of the compatibility of that age.
In my town, dusk came early, the sun slipping behind and below the encircling hills before the day got adjusted to its bedtime, you could see the faraway hills, dotted with their collection of homes, gradually start to blink and twinkle as each household light came on.
We would try and draw out the last moments before each of us reached home, mine was sort of midways, and every single day, as the gate clanged shut behind me, last jokes and plans for the morrow got shouted over the hedge that lined our boundary, cut in a series of waves by Dad, and I remember always feeling a pang of envy (?) over the last lap of the trip that I never got to participate in.
Home, the last clamor of the insects reverberating in the approaching silence, before they too gave way to the silent night-life. Cozying up together over the evening cups of tea, catching up on each others day, Mum and me being the major contributors to this, Dad was always more the listener, poor,sweet-thing, I guess he never had much to say, when we were around, and he loved to be the listener. The last few days before Durga Puja were filled with anticipation, plans and a sense of joy, at the approaching good times, but I always recall my joy was tempered by the realization that all this would be over even before it started, a matter of just 4 days a year, this somehow made my Holidays less of a joy than they really could have been, and in the process I ended losing out on a lot.
I wish, now, that I had those days back with me, again, to ensure that I lived them properly, giving every moment its due share of joy, its own share of happiness, perhaps the regrets of so many undone things wouldn’t haunt me so, then..
I see now that no one is assured of the number of years that he or she gets, in this world, and I want to be able to spend time with my parents, before it is too late, to try and tell them how much I love spending time with them, because I always assumed that they knew, that they understood, and even if they do, it is always better not to leave such things to chance.
I am planning to go home, in late October, hopefully the finances will be in place by then, and Autumn at home, even for a short while, sounds Heavenly.