Portfolio

Open publication - Free publishing - More development

Will a world cup victory signal the end of Sachin?

As i write this post, 2 countries which have been at war for over 64 years arebusy preparing in advance for the ultimate showdown between the greatest cricketing battle in the continent. A match between India and pakistan, that too in the World Cup. A match that has IT companies in India’s silicon city hurriedly declaring half day work for wednesday while pubs and restaurants anticipate a growing crowd and enormous quantities of beer flowing akin to a premier league football match, in the middle of the week! Even across the border, large screen displays are being put up to entertain the mass public gatherings expected for the showdown on wednesday. But silently unknown to many lurks an unknown worry; something which Indians would relegate to the back of their minds for now, but would find inevitable to accept shud India’s campaign this World Cup end with a victory – the lack of a further challenge to prolong the career of India’s most famous son- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Its been 23 years now that sachin has been the mainstay of the Indian economy apart from just the batting as everyone knows him better for. Spiraling advertising rates and bringing workaholics down to their knees whenever hes at the crease are just a  couple of indications of the power he wields among the Indian population. His penchant for records has seen him overtake every milestone the game could throw at him, instead choosing to set his own benchmarks seemingly unattainable by any common man. No wonder he is called god. But what does God do after he achieves everything? In the early world creation stories, God is known to have worked hard for 6 days and then rested on the 7th, after having achieved everything. God in religion can relax, but will a country of one billion accept their new age God to relax? God didnt find inspiration beyond creation of the world. will the lack of an adventurous appeal in the game, once Sachin attains the World cup signal an end to the craving and fire seen so often in him these days? Will he be reduced to a low intensity shadow of his current self as he wallows in the company of mortals not even remotely close to half his stature like Yusuf pathan and MS Dhoni? Will Sachin’s end possibly signify a 1990s west Indies type or the most recent australian type downslide in cricket enthusiasm in the country? Cricket for all one knows could meet with the same fate that hockey did a few decaded back once Dhyan Chand retired. Only time will tell but one fact of life will guarantee one particular incident which none of us would like to accept. A tiger hunts from dawn to duck awaiting his prey. Once captured, he chooses to sleep, not finding inspiration to do anything else. Tendulkar whether he is a god or a mortal will also follow the same fate. His current passion for the game will die a natural death once he attains the full and final goal in his life-THE WORLD CUP. For some reason this world Cup could be the last stage of the focus that we see in the eyes of a 37 year old man. Best of Luck India. Best of luck SRT. God Bless India

Memoirs-part 1

This post comes in the wake of my mind completely healing itself of damage i had thought would be irreversible. I fought, i lost and then i whined. Then again, i fought, i experimented and then i triumphed. This post is not a lecture on philosophy or moral values. I aint no Gandhi or Hitler to inspire the masses. But when i keep hearing people around me say 'my time is not right' or ''so much bad luck around me', i cant help but wonder why they say winners always win while losers can only whine.

2010 was not a great year at all for me, if i took it in till the mid year that is. Things were going bad. Personal and professional. But i remained strong, i studied and i returned to Kochi, eager to write my Gate exams. The days were tense indeed. So much was at stake. Reputation, honour and months of hard work. Not to forget the dreams of a family wanting to see its first IIT entrant. Why i took upon this mammoth task into my sleep induced brain is something i still cant fathom. How could i have become so mature about what i wanted in life all of a sudden? It just didnt seem right. Something somewhere was missing. I had changed from a no good bum to a career oriented professional in just 6 months. I was expected to clear the exams easily and get into an IIT. Some dreams at that. Feb 14th....the day when dim witted guys spend their money buying old flowers and rotten worded cards for a girl they barely know and singles keep cursing the day for reminding them of their status, here i was. The same day was my tryst with destiny. The GATE exam, exactly one year back. But it was not to be. Overconfidence and a fractured mind caved into me in the last minute, making me return with a just above average score. I was devastated. I lost trust in God, I lost trust in lots of things. And of all the bad times, my personal life got rocked like anything.  Nobody was to be blamed, but the timing was just not right. It was as if my strength was being tested. One loss after another.Being closer to reality always makes one change like never before, prompting an inner self never discovered. The subconscious is resurrected and so it had to happen with the strike of my heart. I had become a pale reflection of my former self. Defeated, lost and clueless. 2010....till April created permanent scars in me that no amount of laughter or friends could wipe away completely. It was like an alarm. Always there to wake you up when you drift off into a new world......

my article-city express

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=475630488995&set=a.475630483995.267532.509458995

im frustrated....

The city of Kochi will soon be overrun with small bridges. Confused? Well a drive through the lakes (more than 1 lakh on last count) formed on the beautifully cut, copy and pasted roads of the city, will warrant a need for them, before someone drowns in its apathy. Meetings, discussions, promises, contracts…the list of solutions and possibilities to this unending problem of man- made lakes on Kochi’s roads over the last 8 months is still to take wings. A suitable solution to this would be to rope in the services of PETA. Just imagine the number of insects such as ants being drowned in the tidal waves on the road, whenever a passerby or a vehicle travels through them. Entire colonies are being destroyed. Their sources of food are getting soggy. And with incessant rain and bad roads keeping the people away from shopping, there is not much for these insects within residential homes as well. PETA needs to be addressed about this serious famine and death issues so they can bring in their sniffer dogs, all chained in heavy lock and key, for evidence linking the deaths of these insects to the unfortunate rains battering the city’s well constructed roads. Of course, there could be a revolt from the mosquitoes and other superbugs, not to forget jaundice and common cold virus. They are having a ball for months now and would like to keep the party going forever. PETA being their parent organisation will have to listen to their needs as well. In this tug of war, between animal rights for ants and those thriving bugs, PETA would almost surely slip out and leave the matters in the hands of our corporation, lest they be accused of step-motherly treatment. After all, our councillors have ‘promised’ changes in the ‘coming’ days, they’ll say. Still we got a slim chance they may say yes and protest for better roads for the sake of the poor little ants if not for us humans, at the same time creating a pool of waste water elsewhere for the bugs to grow.

Another solution would be to invite the ISRO to come test their moon probes on the huge craters formed on the city’s roads. They could test for adaptability and ruggedness and even create shock absorbers for the same simulating our roads. The only problem would be whether these probes will find the city’s roads worse than the underdeveloped moon surface and claim for damages. For countering that, our hardworking councillors could be sent on a historic one- way voyage to study the terrain of Moon and decide the safety factor for ISRO’s probes. One- way cause the Malayalee in them will build a city and level the moon’s surface and of all things start a tea shop there as well. So why return to the craters of Kochi. And why return with empty promises.

crush...?anyone!!!

Now...ive been a guy who falls in love very fast...my close frnd akhil calls it as the butterfly effect....he says i can change from a caterpillar to a butterfly in a day's time and keep flyin from one flower to another until i find the right one. Though i've not been in many steady relation, i have always enjoyed my one sided experiences. Now this pretty girl in my school, used to keep me blue eyed at the age of 9. I kno i was too young, but cmon it was just a crush. My eyes wud follow her everywher...but like every crush of mine in the later years, this one too died fast...she was lookin at anotehr guy in class...and was askin me on tips to fine tune him...I had to be content being her brother....Even today....when i think of tat incident..i realise girls who smile a lot at you...half the time wud be doin so so that they can get favours done out of u.For guys who think a girl smilin at them is a sign of true love-beware.....u cud be her next big brother....

religion...

Now ive been an agnost for the better part of my life, only having changed my views recently. I always found it hard to understand the rituals associated with the church and the constant chanting of prayers. My mother once said i ought to have been born as a Buddhist, since their prayers involves just turning the scrolls on a pillar. The person who almost always influenced me in such matters of faith was a very close family friend, Asmi. She and her twin sister, Arya were my bro's age and they were our closest family friends in Delhi.  I was closer to asmi, for the main reason that she was more approachable. She used to fill my head with ideas about the One God and why worshipping idols was a waste of time. I used to stare in wonder at this girl of just 9 who would talk like she had just deciphered the reason for wars post 2000. Now, these twins were peculiar. Arya was tall and athletic; Asmi was graceful and petite. Asmi due to her small size was almost always targeted by bullies in the colony who would throw stones at her, hurting her in the process. Just so, she felt our side of the lane safer and would take me out on the cycle for her theology classes. Amen!!