The Cricket Post

So it has been a while since we won the cup that counts, and most of the dust has settled. And while there is a possibility that we still will be gloating about it till 2015, or the rest of our lives, whichever later, I just happen to have some vella time right now.

Anyhoo, I'm pretty sure most of us would have our own little April 2nd stories which will remain etched in our memories for a considerable amount of time, seeing as there is a high likelihood of us(You) leading (enduring?) otherwise meaningless existences. ouch!

Truth jokes aside, I think it was brilliant. I think each, and every moment was special mostly since the joy was so..unbridled. The momentary chest bumping, screaming and tears(!) aside, it simply gave everyone that one little chance of stepping up. Of being part of, or at least witness to something big, something spectacular and something they could call their own. bhui wahs.

Sure cricket is a commonwealth hangover, with probably about 20 countries playing competitively. Sure it needs a lot more than 90 minutes. Sure the current Aussie team is a shade of the past. And sure there were smses citing the exact results hours before. I say tell that to the little kid (cliche alert) with no shelter and nothing to cheer about, who ran across the street with a mini flag that night. To the millions of office goers who press F5 to refresh the commentary on cricinfo every time India plays. And to the hundreds of random people we high fived at 3 am at India Gate :)

In a nation riven by religion, communalism and what have you, cricket is the balm that heals. In a land as heterogenous, diverse and contradiction ridden as ours, it is probably the only thing that unites. Layman(you) style, here's why:

1) The equipment is Inexpensive - How much can 1 ball and 1 basic bat cost? now think golf.

2) It is easy to learn / play - meaning, anyone can stand and hit a ball.
3) Can be played anywhere - think nike advert. now compare that with tennis. or shooting!
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) Most significantly, we are genetically, and characteristically, a lazy people. And it is a lazy man's game. Really. Think 7 hours of mostly standing save 3 guys, and hitting a ball. Now think muscle. Football. Basketball.

It's like Bombay, or for that matter any other great port city of the world. It had to happen. It was inevitable.

Not just because of the silly reasons above. But because people could relate.They could dream, that just like a buck toothed budding bus conductor from among them could lift the 1983 World Cup, they too could make things better in their own lives. It gave them Hope. and Faith. Serious, aur kya chahiye?

Beyond that, and at a very logical level we've had barely anything to cheer about as a sporting nation, and with built in caveats anyway. Like Abhinav Bindra  had the money to fund his sport of choice. (not taking anything away from his phenomenal achievements). Or Karthikeyan had JK tyres backing him.

Now think how many times I used the word think in this post.

This is the abrupt ending.

p.s. because the energy never dies. (e.n.d.)

of hearts and rings and other nice things

oh darling aye, where might you be?
i'm sitting around, almost 23
papaji wants me by 26 to marry
that only leaves for congress years 3!

what if shit hits the fan, and arranged ho gayi shaadi
what telling to future grand children cool story
"bacchon papa liked my photo and,
nanu liked cash money!"

what about the rainbows,
and pink pink horsey,
what about mills and boons boy wealthy and muscle-y,
where be my prince william, balding hee sahi!

cometh my rajkumar,
palkein bichhaye main baithee..

and then there was april 2nd, 2011

world cup post won't be soon before long ! assume i'm cleverly holding it back to avoid clutter and retain brand differentiation :/

meanwhile, for all the baba logs dealing with existential angst, help me help you uncomplicate.

"So Who AM I?"

Read only the caps in the above.

hurry home ji

Dh

Keeping it simple since tendulkar's debut

P.S. If you actually bought the April's fool's day post, you need to get run over. by cows. Bovine intervention.

why do women like unicorns?

so the blog hit 4000 err..hits. curious much?

i also went to the hills. it was nice. you would have liked it.

coming to the title of the blog then, here's the ugly truth. no it ain't because of their fabulous strength, majestic beauty, the obvious phallic symbol (duh) sticking out of their head or the sparkles shooting orifices. It is because they are only tamable by..wait for it..virgins. Hah! Their purity renders the beast all weak kneed and submissive, akin to->

So there you have it. The whole taming the savage male syndrome all over o_O. Alas, ze innocent girlies seem to enjoy the illusion of control more than control itself. On a not so unrelated note, here's what Kumar john berger has to say - Men dream of women, women dream of themselves being dreamt of  :)

welcome.

My lyrics for today come from one of my fav songs from back in the day, as also my first song on ze black and white keys:

Anne's Song

You fill up my senses
like a night in the forest
like the mountains in springtime,
like a walk in the rain
like a storm in the desert,
like a sleepy blue ocean
you fill up my senses,
come fill me again.

Come let me love you,
let me give my life to you
let me drown in your laughter,
let me die in your arms
let me lay down beside you,
let me always be with you
come let me love you,
come love me again. 

Dh

p.s. the following information will change your life. or not.


At one point, you will honestly believe that you have unriddled THE puzzle. You will have your own little January 6 moment, where you understand yourself, know what you want to do with your life and figure everyone else out. Exactly two years later, you'll scrap all of your old, childish assumptions in favor of your current, brilliant hypothesis. "Man, I was an idiot two years ago when I thought I had life figured out, but now I've REALLY got it figured out." You'll calm down a little bit and look back on your youthful ignorance and laugh. "How could I think life was all about [X] when it's CLEARLY all about [Y]?!" Fact is, you'll repeat this process every two years. For the rest of your life. Which means that whatever you say right now, you're probably an idiot anyway.

Tee hee.

Meh.

I could barely contain my excitement.
"All right then, what is the meaning of it all, of this…of this world?"
"Mystery," I heard in my thoughts, or perhaps, "mercy," but I wasn't certain of either.


- Enishte Effendi meets God (thinks he meets God?) in the afterlife, Orhan Pamuk, My Name is Red

kingdom come

hello boys and girls.

i've had an interesting last few weeks. the weather has also been predictably curious. not that i mind the rain bet money, but here's a fun fact. ever since i was a kid and the weather changed, this is how my ears would become. what's not funny is that they would also start giving out heat :/ and i haven't even started talking about my cheeks yet. Its like leafs getting withered at the coming of the fall.

No. Not like they dry out and people crush them :l . What i meant was it's a regular phenomena.

The point is, here are a few conversations I may or may not have been part of in the recent past:

"I believe I can fly".."Yes but you'd make an ugly little bird"..
"Dude look at her" "Yes, I noticed that she has a strong jawline...oh wait....that means....testosterone..which means..." "I like the way you think"..
"I went to to _____" "Isn't that meant for kids?" "NO! It's for 18 - 25 year olds! Hmph" "I hope you do realise that you are closer to 25 than 18!"..
"I'm young, smart, funny and single. Now why do you think that is?" "I think yours is a case of Ek Phool, No Maali"..
(while discussing a top 40 under 40 list) "If there ever was a Top 40 under 4ft list you'd top that one!"..

i also happened to attend a few wedding functions recently and the food, as i messaged someone, was like me - good looking but useless :P. The cutest bit though, was how old people were taking care of each other. It was like this small little clique that had each other's back, even if the world's strides were too big for them to try and keep up, or even want to.

On an unrelated note, I and Hm were discussing that day @ R04 (yes. again.)  that everyone becomes smart by the time they're 70. The biggest thing they miss out on their way though is sharing. it's silly how simple yet significant it is and how people don't get it. confucius say, even if the hit rate is 1%, it's worthy effort. I think people are just afraid to part with whatever information/knowledge/commodity they possess fearing loss of exclusivity/more fish in the pond/dilution/and what have you...but I digress.

no what was i actually saying was, the guys who got married had a 7 year difference. Which makes me slightly uncomfortable. The 7 year glitch, to quote..me. To each his/her own, but I think that 7 years is a lot of years. I'm circumspect about arranged marriages anyway*, but 7? That's unfair on both people really. Once they get through the first few golden months etc, the age gap HAS to kick-in sometime no? It's like showing me a 9th grader today, who is probably taking baby steps in on the monthly blood spewing game, and telling me that I'm supposed to marry her. :/ Ok i know it starts much earlier, but you get the drift. At a deeper, and more day-to-day level, I would think there would be more respect than Louu in such a relationship. What do you think?

I went to the Comiccon yesterday! Too tired to type all about it, but a day totally well spent. there was also a prize for just showing up as comic characters etc. so I told them I've come dressed up as the Common Man by RK Laxman. They didn't give me anything :/

I also ended up going to this delightful little session post the above which was about 10 ways by which reading novels can change our lives. I am as surprised as you probably are at finding me at a place like this, but I totally hit it off with the guy on how books provide us this fascinating vantage point on the human mind, the range and depths of our choices, and how doubt is just as useful a virtue as certainty. I would've taken notes had I had a pen on me, it was that absorbing. I really think the city has a vibrant sub-culture if we only care to look at the right places.

I am sleepy now.

Peace be upon ye all.

Hurry home.

*dh1 speak at 22

p.s. i was listening to this, this , this and this while writing this.

Remember When

Remember when I was young and so were you
and time stood still and love was all we knew
You were the first, so was I
We made love and then you cried
Remember when

Remember when we vowed the vows
and walked the walk
Gave our hearts, made the start, it was hard
We lived and learned, life threw curves
There was joy, there was hurt
Remember when

Remember when old ones died and new were born
And life was changed, disassembled, rearranged
We came together, fell apart
And broke each other's hearts
Remember when

Remember when the sound of little feet
was the music
We danced to week to week
Brought back the love, we found trust
Vowed we'd never give it up
Remember when

Remember when thirty seemed so old
Now lookn' back it's just a steppin' stone
To where we are,
Where we've been
Said we'd do it all again
Remember when
Remember when we said when we turned gray
When the children grow up and move away
We won't be sad, we'll be glad
For all the life we've had
And we'll remember when

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzBr4ldUW8E
- Alan Jackson, OST from the movie 'Up'