The anniversary part I

We were friends for almost an year and a half when we eventually met up. Weird, I know. And when we did meet, we got along like a house on fire. After a characteristic and typical awkwardness from me at the initial meeting, it was as if we had been friends forever. We laughed, we cried, we fought, we made up and did anything in between and beyond.

We argued on everything and anything and at the end of a really hard fought debate and argument, we went back with a smile on our face and being content that nothing could break this bond we had. We had more than our share of fights, what with both of us being extremely hot headed, extremely opinionated and supremely sensitive but never did a fight make it to the next day. Either of us would say something comic and we both would laugh like crazy. Every night 10-12 was reserved for our phone call of the day. Although we chatted non-stop on messenger and met up for lunch, snacks, coffee etc etc etc, we both would find enough stuff to talk during those 2 hours. I can go on and on and on but lets just say that if ever there was soulmate for me, she was it. It was as if it was meant to be. I could sense that somewhere deep inside. I could not help but fall in love with her. And the best part was that I fell in love with my best friend. Not many can boast of that.

Once that realisation dawned on me, It took me only a few days to tell her how I felt.
Did she accept? Did she reject? Well, she did accept. Not immediately but eventually she did. The story of acceptance and how and when etc etc in the acceptance anniversary episode of the blog. For now, It would be enough to say that if I could single out one person in the world who could make me happy through the sadness I feel or make me smile through my tears, it would be her. I am extremely lucky to have her and 19th September 2007 would go down as one that changed my life forever.... For the better of course!

I know its coming around 2 weeks late but still... Happy Anniversary Sha!!

The Gold Rush

Abhinav Bindra wins India's first ever individual gold at the Olympics. Well done and Congrats!!

Now that that's done, lets come down to earth shall we? Abhinav Bindra is the reigning world champion in 10m Air Rifle event. Abhinav Bindra owns "an air-conditioned shooting range with a totally computerised Target Transportation System of international standards". Let me repeat, he owns it. He does not live near it, does not practice in it or any of the ilk. He owns it. Given all this, if he had returned with anything less than a medal, it should have been a national shame.

I know I am being harsh on the guy and given the fact that he had suffered a career threatening back injury some time back, he has done extremely well to make the comeback but once having made that comeback, he was always expected to win.

Now this brings me to the brass tracks so to speak. The point of this blog post. With all the praises raining from all kinds of politicians right from Prime Minister to President to Railway Minister, one would be forgiven for thinking that Bindra has done something impossible. Maybe made a return journey to The Sun. Or maybe first man to fly with using his own limbs. Or maybe he breached the speed of light while traveling on his Hero Cycle. I don't know. But it sure sounds like that.

For the uninitiated, getting a gold medal in Olympics is very very easy. A country like Ethiopia has 14 Gold Medals to its credit and most have been won in long distance running and are individual in nature. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing but respect for Ethiopia and Ethiopians but surely a country of a billion which is a supposed upcoming superpower should do better? But what do we have? A whole nation going gaga over a medal which in reality should have been almost a certainty.

Now that we know there is a problem, lets try and analyse it shall we?

Indians have traditionally done well in sports of skill and intellect. Hockey (when it was about skill and not about stamina and power), Chess etc. And now comes shooting. I agree that holding that rifle and shooting is no mean feat but it comes under the purview of skill sport rather than one based on power and stamina IMHO. Why does this happen? Why are we good only at skill and not at the physical aspect of sports? Reason is very simple. Skill is something you are born with. You can hone it and improve it by practice and coaching but being born with it is something very essential, at least in my view.

To take a very simplistic statistical view, In a nation of a billion, even if .001% are born to be world beaters, we will have 10000 of us who are potential medal winners. What is missing you ask? The answer is twofold. At first level, the will is missing from the politicians who also masquerade as sports administrators and due to this lack of will, there is a lack of infrastructure. So what we have is a lot of un-honed talent which is wasting away in some chai shop or at a construction site. We dont have infrastructure and good quality academies which will take these potential world beaters and turn them into world beaters.

We need some professional administrators who are not doing it as a part time job but are paid for doing it full time. We need people to look beyond a game played by 11 highly talented jokers (read cricket) whose fortunes will put a sinusoidal wave to shame and look at other sports like football, hockey, athletics to name a few. We need money coming in via sports budget and sponsorships and we need people capable enough to manage this money without filling it into their personal lockers.

We need a change in attitude, a change in mindset and a lot of such things and if I take them all up, this post will be even bigger than what it already is. But we surely need something that will change the whole scene of sports in India. Where will it come from and who will it come from is something I don't know and can't even begin to think. We can only hope that a day will come when rather than being ecstatic at a gold medal won after generations, we will be sad at a silver medal- for it would mean a lost gold....

Randomness

Dark lonely night
Little chill in the air
Thoughts unread
Truths untold
Eyes wide open
Mind shut
Reading but not registering
Seeing but not watching
Listening
Is that a sound?
Or a noise?
Sitting here
but roaming far and wide
Thinking, but what is it that I think?
Maybe its a lull before the storm
Or maybe, its the darkness before the light
Will I ever know?
Maybe; maybe not.
But then, will I know that I know?
Who will tell me that?
Or is it a sign that I have to await?
I am in the dark
Literally and figuratively
Maybe the dawn is not far
Or maybe, its just the beginning
Will it get worse before it gets better?
Or is this as bad as it can get
I will get an answer perhaps
So I wait..........

You and me...

An erratic poem at an ungodly hour... being me is weird and quirky. Anyway, here goes nothing...

A simple look,
A sweet smile,
I try to take it all in,
For it will be a while.
Till I see you again,
Or feel your touch
I try to say it all
But say nothing much.
How will I live
Without your fragrance
Those innocent eyes,
That naughty glance.
I think of you
And your are here with me
I think of you
And about you and me.
Though there is distance between us,
And time doesnt seem to go,
I wait with baited breath
'Cos I love you so...

Job or lack thereof...

Greetings from member of newly jobless youth of India brigade.

Next question is, how does it feel to be jobless. I would say it feels pretty jobless. No seriously, I dont have to get up early every day and get ready in a matter of few minutes while doing all my important mornign activities including but not limited to: getting up (kind of pre-requisite for everything else), brushing (more for others' sake. My one good deed for the day done), doing managerial activities (a load of... u know...), taking a bath (again, more for others' sake), wearing clothes (for my sake. Note: Up and down equally important, dont neglect either). These activities now can be done later in the day and in some cases, not at all. Saves time, saves energy, saves water and well.. saves in general.

Next comes the job part. No more fines for unpolished shoes, nails not cut, hair not combed, belt not worn properly etc. Means lots of money saved. A penny flicked is a penny earned. No wait. A penny saved is a penny earned (note to self: dont think aloud all the time). No more threats of not getting marks if I dont do X, Y or Z. No more exams for which I will cram the day before exam and no more compartment exams. No more being a call boy (dont get me wrong, I mean taking and making calls for accomplishing even the minutest of things. Dont assume anything they say). No more being the LCD (not the fancy, out-of-your-reach-oh-common-man TV. I mean Lowest Common Denominator) who takes up all the blame when the yellow stuff hits the fan. The list can go on and on but then you will get bored. If you already havent that is.

So my dear brothers, sisters and others, it feels good to be jobless and I hope it remains the same at least for a few more months. In the meanwhile, stay tooned to this blogspace for more shitty blogs in the near future.

A night to remember...

Almost everyone who knows me will also know that I am a die hard Liverpool fan. I might have mellowed down in my support over the past couple of years but make no mistake, in the vicinity of a Man Utd or a Chelsea supporter, the Red in me comes to the fore. Apart from being the only team I have supprted ever since I started following (thanks to Michael Owen and his wonder goal against Argentina in '98 WC), they are also the team that have given me one of the truly inspirational nights in my life. In fact, that night in Istanbul is the night I go back to whenever I need to lift myself up. The night when everything conspired for Liverpool and against Milan. The night when the second goal was a a result of a blatant offside not given minutes before the goal. The goal itself being scored by the outgoing Vladimir Smicer who would never play a game again for Liverpool (I suppose!). The night when the penalty awarded to Gerrard seemed dubious (I accept that he went to ground too easily!!), when Xabi missed the penalty at the first time of asking and when it fell kindly to him to tap it back in. Maybe the biggest of all signs- Sheva (of the rotting on the bench in Chelsea fame!!) who was, at the time, the best striker in the world, missed a tap in from 2 yards out. Finally it went to penalty shootout and who else but Sheva to miss the penalty and hand the big ears to Liverpool. From being 3-0 down and looking down and out, Steven Gerrard's team went on to win its 5th European Cup/Champion's League crown.

Many might be aware of all this. Many might agree or disagree with me on the observations and many might think- Why this now? Reason is that today, I watched that video again and was amazed at how it perks me up every single time I watch it. How it makes me believe in miracles. How it tells me that sometimes, your destiny precedes your actions. No matter what you do, you will get what's coming to you. I don't usually believe in luck but I do turn into a believer for sometime.

Whenever I feel the odds are against me or that I have been written off, I stop for a while and think of that night in Istanbul. A night to remember...

PS: If Djimi Traore can have a UCL winner's medal, anything is possible ;-)

Of Cats, Dogs, Rats and Bats

For many, its that time of the year again but for me, its the first time. I am talking about the mock CAT sesaon which, for me, begins with T.I.M.E's AIMCAT tomorrow. Having given half hearted (if you can call not touching the books till the D-Day as half hearted!!) attempts 3 times (05,06 and 07 with %iles of ~ 50, 82 and 82 respectively). This is not a blog to brag about my divine scores (yeah right!!) or do a oh-I'm-so-patheitic-please-pity-me routine. Its just one to keep tabs on my various performances as days pass by and maybe, just maybe to show some progress week on week, month on month.

Lets get it started shall we? Strategy for tomorrow- No specific studies to see where I stand and what I need to work on (although 3 CATs have told me that I am sooper at VA, passable at Quant and DI and downright pathetic at time management) . Lets see how it goes!!!