Snow Therapy...

They reached the hotel just before the nightfall.The tiredness of the journey was nullified on sight of snow.It was the first time in their lives that they had seen snow in real.Kashmir was much beyond their imagination....

They checked into their room. The night had set in.The room resembled a wood house.The walls had been painted brown and textured accordingly to give that effect.The room had a fireplace.There was no fan. Thankfully there was no TV.He ordered their dinner through room service.The room boy was bewildered... No tourist has visited Kashmir in deep winter.. On his request the room boy lit the fire at the fire place and left.The fire was soothing...

As an outsider one both loves and hates an average Kashmiri winter. The cold is severe that the hands become clammy and the chill forces one to breathe into his/her own hands to keep them warm .The warmth is temporary. One has to repeat the process a few minutes later because cold takes over again. Suddenly all you long for are warm covers or the sensation of a summer sun of Chennai..! But again,when one experiences the rise of the mercury in the valley, it is depressing. For everyone comes here to escape the heat and they hate the sun.Locals differ though.

He now turned towards her.She was admiring the hot red flames; their constant dancing was calming her nerves. They had trudged through the snow and now basked in the warmth in the cozy room. Bitter cold existed behind the closed door; and now, as she looked, there seemed to be frozen icicles hanging from the gutters. To her, it seemed, two sides on a coin; the first, the wet, miserable weather outside where only snow falling in dizzying speed existed. And in here, where one instantly felt as if they had stepped in a warm bath.The heat from the fireplace warmed them as she slowly gazed out the room window. She could make out that frost covered the edges of the window and snow was falling gently from the sky. As far as she could see, the ground was covered in a thick blanket of snow...

He went to his bed with hope as the only one thing in his mind... The Doctor had said high altitude would cure her...Hence of all the places the doctor had recommended , Kashmir was his choice...Sometimes he felt the doctor's argument irrational.Even the doctor had said once science does have limited explanations.... And.. Just before he closed his eyes, he looked at her once more. She appeared tranquil. Surely altitude has had some effect on her and he only hoped that the serenity of the place cured her insanity once for all...!

If 'UPA - 2' was the Indian Cricket Team that lost at England 0-4.

The loss (Complete Rout) to England earlier this year at England in the test series was unacceptable to lot of Indian Cricket Fans. It made England the No.1 Test team(deserving I would say) and India slipped to third place (this also deserving I would say). Rahul Dravid said something at the end of that series that I was impressed with. He said "We expected England to be good but we expected ourselves to be better. Unfortunately we were not".

I was upset but there were more depressing things happening at home with the functioning of UPA - 2. As Azim Premji had said , the Government lost its credibility. They simply fretted at crisis situations and indecisiveness at the top struck them hard.The statements that they were making everyday were humorous to say the least.So how would have this UPA 2 reacted to this loss suffered and what would have been their statements if they were not politicians but cricketers instead..?? What would have these people said about the humiliating loss when asked about by reporters.??
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1) P Chidambaram

Q)Sir.. What were the reasons for such a humiliating loss.?
A)Let us first understand that this loss cannot be termed as 'Intelligence Failure'. I had already shared 'intelligence' that the ball would seam around viciously in England to the other team members.So,please don't attribute the loss to 'intelligence' failure.

Q)If then what else sir ?
A)I had asked the team members to stop playing cricket since I knew the ball would seam around. We were infact even ready to sit and talk with the English Team members. But we did not because they were not ready to cease violence.

Q)Sir , you are not answering the question.
A)See.. I can tell you the reason. The reason for the failure was because of the presence of 'Saffron Terror'.

Q)Can you please explain further.
A)The English bowlers were 'terrorising' the batsmen of our team with vicious swing. The English bowlers turned the ball into saffron colour from red by applying some substance.

Q)Now that you have lost, what is the future course of action
A)I have asked to setup NSG commandos base at all metros. They will be alerted to deal with the situation as and when they arise appropriately.

Q)It seems Pranabh had sent a note during the series saying that you could have averted loss.
A)If Pranabh has sent a note , ask him to respond.I have no comments to make.
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2)Manish Tewari

Q)Sir.. What were the reasons for such a humiliating loss.?
A) I have no time for responding to Press. All I can say is England were corrupt from 'Head to Toe.'

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This statement of Manish Tewari was met with widespread criticism.Therefore two days later came Rashid Alvi to offer apology for the statement made by Manish Tewari and offer the correct explanations.

3)Rashid Alvi

Q)Can you specify the reasons for this failure.?
A)I will tell you the reason.But first let me offer apologies on behalf of Mr.Manish Tewari.He had made such a statement with anger. Everyone makes mistakes.Its important we forgive the statment made by Mr.Manish Tewari.Also his statements were taken out of context. You see , he is so upset that he is even refusing to be the spokesperson of the team herein afterwards. The reason for the defeat you see is nothing but the presence of 'Foreign forces'. We suspect the motive of 'United States of America' behind it.Its all part of a conspiracy.

Q)You are blaming the U.S.A,but they don't play cricket, then how could it be their motive?
A)This is all part of a big conspiracy thing that you people won't understand. I know its been happening.
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4)Pranabh Mukherjee

Q)Can you specify the reasons for this failure.?
A)You people have to understand that loss in cricket games is 'decontrolled'.It cannot be controlled by us.

Q)Is it not a irresponsible statement to make?
A)See.. We have already appealed against the use of some substance (Saffron in colour) by English bowlers to swing the ball.Since the matter is 'Sub-Judice' , I would not like to comment further.

Q)Is it true that you sent a note to Chidambaram saying that the loss could be averted?
A) It was sent by someone under me , but not me. They are not my views.In any case they are intra team notes and I don't understand why the general public is bothering about it.But I deny that the our team performance was 'unacceptable'.

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LATER they gave a joint press meet stating that the note had been written by someone else and Mr.Chidambaram had quoted "I am happy(!??) with the statement made by Pranabh. The matter is closed."

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5)Digvijay Singh

Q)Sir.. What were the reasons for such a humiliating loss.?
A)This is not the time to speculate, as all branded balls, including the 'ISI' marked ones, are affected with some saffron substance.It seems English bowlers purchased it from RSS & BJP and hence the ball swung viciously which could not be handled by our team members.

Q)How could English bowlers lay hands on these balls?
A) I have evidence that the RSS and the BJP has been supplying these balls to England team members. I will show the proof tomorrow.In any case, our performance has not been as bad as the 'Karnataka' Ranji Team. First let them perform. Then we can perform well.

Q)Then what is the solution?
I think the best way to tackle this is to appoint Rahul Gandhi as the Captain of the Indian Cricket team. Also, the RSS members are not allowing the team to perform. They are conspiring against the minorities. It is their plan A , B and C.

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6)Kapil Sibal

Q)What would you attribute this humiliating loss to ?
A)You must be Joking.There was NO LOSS. Infact there was 'Zero Loss'. The Media has hyped it up.

Q)Sir, it is you who are joking. How could you say there was no loss ?
A)I had eliminated board exams and similarly I had also eliminated victory or defeat in a bilateral series. The cricket was the winner. No one lost.(??!!)

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7)Manmohan Singh

There has been no official word from him.Apparently he is attending G8 countries meeting.But he is to meet Select group of Television News Editors next week.

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P.S.

Since UPA is in deep crisis in its second innings , they tried inducting VVS Laxman into the Cabinet.However even VVS Laxman failed to perform on hearing this news.

Sprinkled like Asafoetida..

In spite of all the suffering and effort that life invariably implies, there are some moments which makes you feel that there's more to life than mere pain... Life I believe will someday give you opportunities where you can possibly redeem happiness equivalent to the pain you have suffered.Its like a token..I think it works in the reverse also...

Well.. How can you possibly explain the joy of walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air or listening to timeless music at midnight or freaking out at dance floor or a bike ride at 4 am on the beach road or the satisfaction of understanding a work of classic vernacular literature or THAT moment where you shed all your fears and say 'attack me now'...! I have experienced all of the above recently.All these are nothing but pure happiness.

However , for the past three years ,I have been leading a life that almost resembles an individual who has suffered a 'love failure'...(Oh.. I have once again began my sorrow tales)Yes.I did not get that one thing that I desired most in life.I was distraught and I am still.Here is where people around me left me stranded.

When someone attributes my failures to my complacency , I simply laugh and say yes... However deep inside I know that complacency is not the reason because complacency occurs only when you think you know everything. My case is entirely different. In fact ,I would have been successful if I had been complacent.Confusing ah?. It is not.Being complacent would have meant that I am confident.Mine was opposite. My problem was fear. The fear of failure. Wasim Akram says that the reason Pakistan performed very poorly in 1999 final was because the players were worried about 'what would happen if they lose' and they thought it was the 'be all and end all of everything'. It is not so. Unfortunately that realisation comes later much after the defeat. That's the reason why I feel mental stability , clarity of thoughts and tension free approach are most necessary to overcome hurdles. And.. the universe knows that I lack all three.

Another funny complaint that I often hear people around me say is that the problems in my life are due to the fact that I do not take life seriously... Again I laugh and move away from them (the only reason I go away is if I stay longer ,I might show my temper on them and they would even possibly bloat up like Aunt Marge.)..But only I know that all problems are due to the fact I take life very very very very seriously.. I now think I need to chill..Its again the reverse solution.I need to take it easy.When will people around me realise that ?!

Another complaint which is once again false is that it seems I am not very attached to whatever I do. How do I make them realise that my problem is too much of an attachment. An important fact that I have realised now on from a very important person in my life is anything and everything in this world needs detached attachment.(See.. I am good at oxymorons). Its very important.A very good example that I can quote is not getting angry when Indian Test Cricket Team lost to England. Yes. I wanted India to win.I wanted them to be NO.1. And if they dont perform well, I am obviously disappointed. But at the same time , I am not going to damage myself by getting angry and shouting abuses at them or calling up my friend and lamenting about the non performance of the Team and arguing with them. Absolutely needless.Saves a lot of energy and keeps me calm.Not only in cricket, it needs to be applied to everything.Job,Friends,Parents and whatever.

Now..There's a theory that people quote often to me.Its a variation (with time) of the basic theory that 'Not everyone gets everything'.I often wonder whether this works that way.This theory goes like this.. Lets assume two material rewards A and B which is progressive in nature (i.e after obtaining A , you obtain B). You work very hard to obtain A , and in the end you miss it or you get it delayed.But you don't struggle for B and obtain it very easily. Now there is another person. He gets A now but ends up in life struggling for B and in the end never obtains it.You can substitute anything as A and B but it should be progressive.

So.. As per this.When something gets delayed, does that mean something else (Very special) is waiting.. ? Does it mean that if you do not get now, you will be getting something else later in lieu of the thing that you are not able to get now. For eg: 'A' can be equivalent to 'marrying the person you love most' and 'B' can be equivalent to 'Happy married Life'. Similarly A can be 'Rank in graduation' and B can be 'Job satisfaction'.So you can imagine. If X gets A , he does not get B. If Y does not get B he gets A.How much of the theory is true I do not know.However what I know is this theory is often the best consolation given to a person who has failed.!Even if this theory is not true,it helps people to rise after they fall and that is the reason why I respect this theory. Whatever it is ,I believe there must be just that enough motivation to keep oneself going.Here is where I believe that life sprays just about that enough happiness in times of despair. Motivation is the reason.

Despite all the sprinkled happiness(para 2)on the personal front recently(supposedly for my motivation as I figure it out), I still believe life is unfair. Because life invariably offers pain and pain is one thing my mind refuses to accept anymore.And more so because no amount of happiness can possibly fully redeem pain. Its like compensation money or insurance money offered after disaster.And that is the reason why despite all the small happiness it seeks to give after giving you the pain..

I still hate the concept of Life.

The Curious Case of Chennai's Bus Routes.

Q)What is the shortest distance between two random points ??. We all know the answer. Don't we?. The answer is 'A Straight Line' .Now the modified question. Q)What is the longest distance between two short distance points ???. The answer - Bus routes in Chennai.!No.Its not a joke.Seriously, I do not expect the bus routes here to be in a straight line. However is it wrong to expect it to be sensible ? I have been searching for some sort of logic in the way these routes have been framed by our authorities.There is none.

I am now quite familiar with majority of the bus routes in Chennai and the truth is its all messy. Even though the quality of buses have improved , it still cannot take away the irritation of travelling in a bus which takes the longest possible route to reach a destination.Take for example the evergreen 5B[T Nagar(Terminus) -> Mylapore (Tank)].The Shortest route is to go straight from T Nagar(Terminus) and then take a right to Nandanam Signal and then proceed straight to reach Mandaveli and Mylapore.What should normally be a 15 minute ride(Nandanam signal permitting) takes 45 mins to 1 hr. Our 5B goes to Saidapet -> Little Mount -> Adyar -> Mandaveli to reach Mylapore.. Imagine an outsider coming to the city and boarding a bus to Mylapore from T Nagar.All he gets travelling by 5B is some free sightseeing of Chennai. He can gawp in awe through the windows when the conductor whistles and says Raj Bhavan,Anna university,Sathya Studio etc..Surely a non chennaitte will remember that to reach mylapore , one must go via Anna University...!. I asked the logic behind 5B route while travelling in 5B to that driver himself.His argument was that this route was framed so that its easy for people in Saidapet and Adyar to reach Mylapore.!.Enna kodumai sir idhu?. The people in Saidapet can reach Mylapore by boarding 45B and people in Adyar can reach Mylapore by boarding 29C.!Why is there a need for 5B then? Bring this point to him and he says 'aamaan illa'!..

The Hero among all routes that I have travelled is 41D[Mandaveli - Avadi].Instead of boarding 41D,You can walk from Mandaveli and reach Anna Nagar earlier. True.I once boarded at Mandaveli around 8 A.M in hope that worst come worst I would be at Anna Nagar by 9.30 A.M and I ended up reaching there only by 10.30 A.M.I just could not quite understand why this bus goes to Nandanam , Ega theatre etc to reach Anna Nagar!.

There is another irritant by the name of 12C [Saligrammam -> Mylapore(Tank)]. I had an irritating experience with this bus when I was in Class X. It was getting late to school and I was crossing Teynampet Signal to catch 12B[Vadapalani ->Foreshore Estate]at SIET.(12B does not stop at Teynampet signal.It turns left and stops next to SIET College which is about 100 Meters away from the signal.) I saw a bus stuggling to get past signal.From a distance it seemed to be 12B.I boarded it and to my horror found it going straight and not turning left.(I had free school bus pass at that time and I could board any bus). I had boarded on 12C..! In a hurry , I got down at Nandanam and ran back to Teynampet to catch 12B...Had I been on the bus without getting down , I would have reached School 1 hr earlier.Felt bad that day , If only all the buses plying to Mylapore had the same bus routes , I would not have experienced that.

Speaking of 12B.I find it as one of the most straight routes in chennai even though it takes an unwanted 'pradhakshanam' around T Nagar.There has been an instance when even the driver of 12B once forgot the routes due to this 'pradakshanam' at T Nagar.Thankfully,he was guided by the passengers.

It was once in Tiruvottiyur that I got to know the real idiocy of MTC bus routes.I had to proceed to Red Hills from there and I got a shock of my life when I inquired about which Bus I had to board and from which side.People there at the Bus stop said to me that I could board any of the buses on either side !!!(opposites)[i.e I could board a bus that is coming from RIGHT TO LEFT or cross the road and board the bus that is coming from LEFT to RIGHT].Queer is it not ?Literally people were running from one end to another to catch any bus that was on that road. I don't remember the Bus Numbers though but this was one experience that I will never forget !

And not to mention 27D[Foreshore Estate -> Villivaakam].It takes 2.5 hrs to reach Villivaakam.It goes to areas in Chennai you have probably never been.Its that long a route.It goes to Pudupet and Egmore to reach Villivaakam.! I realised the best way to reach Villivaakam is to board a 29C , get down at 'Motcham' and board 27D from there.It is possible that you might catch a 27D bus that left the Foreshore Estate Terminus 2 hours before the latest one.!How pathetic.

Heard of same destination and different routes.? You must board 17 series at Kodambakkam.There is plain 17(which almost like all buses is sometimes suffixed with M to charge a Rupee extra) which reaches Nungambakkam. There is 17M/17D both reach broadway. However one among them reaches broadway via mount road (I forgot which one) and another reaches broadway by going to egmore !
Similar is the case of M21G and 45B[Both Guindy to Anna Square but completely different routes].And there are quite a few buses which ply on the same route but with different numbers. Yes. 1 cut and 21 [Both Central -> Mandaveli(same route)].This is what I like to call ''Catch '21' Situation''!.

I do agree the quality of buses have been improved but think of what all one passenger has to endure in addition to confusing routes.You have to watch the board carefully for the following. For there may be an extra 'M',Extn,Cut, and the most important of them all 'Ladies Special'(more so to avoid embarrassment). These rickety bus rides are lot of fun if you know the shortest possible route.The knowledge comes only through frequent travelling and with some bad experiences.I recently heard that google maps have come up with an app for Chennai's bus routes.! Idhu Thevaiya?.It will further confuse the innocent passengers.

Many feel its too late to modify the bus routes since the routes are now embedded into the blood cells of every MTC passenger and any further modifications will result in further confusion.I only hope the authorities simplify routes and revamp it completely in sync with the ambitious 'Metro Rail' once it starts to function.More so since the unified ticketing system for public transportation (The only good thing that Ponmudy did in 5 years) will now be implemented in Chennai. Just wish some sense prevails.

Cold Rice..

How worse it is to be unemployed at the age of 23...? I sometimes feel shameful.It sometimes tends to affect you emotionally...No denying that it feels pathetic. However , these kind of thoughts occur during the first few days of being officially 'Vetti'... But as in anything , by due passage of time these kind of thoughts and feelings wear off though not compeletely.. You start hearing it often and if you happen to self depreciate yourself (i.e. before others do),believe me it doesn't hurt that much..

The one thing that gives me satisfaction(though touch disappointed) is the fact that I have been busy being vetti (odd na?). There were several things I always wanted to do but never could allocate time for it...I must say I have fulfilled some of them during this time... First and foremost I obtained my driving licence.(Yes.. I also now know when to use the word license and when to use the word licence(which has always wanted to learn and would forget somehow))..I quite surprised myself with the number of books I caught up with. 'Standing My Ground' - Matthew Hayden, The Mahabharatha(finally I read it), The White Tiger and I am halfway through a book which unfortunately brings back some bad memories.. I have desired of maintaining a library of all songs of Illayaraja. I did achieve that partly when I happened to collect around 700 songs from Kamal Hassan movies and I took the pains to have it sorted film wise,director wise, singer wise , music director wise with everything being chronologically listed...and yes.. I finished 'Angry Birds'... I caught up with quite a number of movies.. Almost all releases one could say... Watched Cricket madly.. That is to say not even missing a single ball in a session.. I blogged quite a bit.. I met up with some old friends..

Also as irony would have it , I was invited to attend a seminar on "Work Life Balance".. This was because a lot of people who were to attend backed out( because they had office..!) and I was asked to fill up (by my college mate who works in the firm that conducted the seminar)so that there is at least some size-able crowd... Frankly I went there for the Buffet lunch they had promised to offer.. Alas, I also ended up having food for thought.. I know a lot of people feel that seminars and other such programs are useless.. I am still of the same opinion , but this one was different... Every issue that came up there was which I had already undergone previously which I did not know how to handle... All along the seminar , my thinking was 'Had I known how to handle this before, things could have been different'...

To think that I deserved this break would amount to saying too much.. Simply because , I know a lot of people who deserve a break.. And I know I dont.. But as life would have it , I am now on a pause button.. BUT this button I think is very important to anyone who is emotionally unstable like me.. There is a lot to reflect..You lazily look back at events and try to find faults in your own self..I did.I felt my mistakes were due to age and temper which can easily be put to being immature.. In difficult situations , some people are mature enough early to appreciate the consequence and react accordingly.Some people are overcome by intense anger that their minds cease to think...Easily I belong to the latter category..How much of the past is relevant?. Some are of the opinion that it is totally irrelevant. Learn from the past but do not brood over it say some.Never forget the past say some. I am not sure. But I know that all of us look at the past and surely say 'It could have been better'.I am no different... With all the time I had , I did reflect..


Coming back to vettiness , The secret to enjoy being vetti is the fact that you must not be bored... And I am not bored.. Not yet.. I may be soon.. I know it and that is my fear..:).. Well, Summa irukkarudhu na summa va ?.. It requires talent and I am very talented.. :)

Artistic Terrorists or Terrific Artists ?!!

I must say I was disappointed to read a news item in TOI during the IPL 4. It was Ishant Sharma's interview after taking a fifer in one of the matches.. It seems Dale Steyn advised him to concentrate on bowling fast and not try to swing the Ball..!

Well we all know what he did to Ricky Ponting in Perth by just swinging the ball...I have always been in awe with pure swing bowlers.. I get disappointed when bowlers compromise swing for speed. I prefer the vice versa.. In my opinion I find players at the International level often undermine the Art of Swing bowling and not much effort is put in learning it.. The world seems to suggest that bowling fast and being a tearaway quick is the only way to pick wickets.. But most batsmen at the International circuit can handle quick bowlers... Only tailenders are troubled by quick bowlers...None can handle genuine swing both ways....It is swing that will trouble the batsmen and get you the wickets... India won the 1983 world cup simply because we swung the ball.. and West Indies bowled Fast.. (Remember Balwinder Singh Sandhu's Inswinger to Gordon Greenidge...?).. James Anderson won the Ashes 2011 for England simply by swinging the ball.. Zaheer Khan's reverse swing won us the World cup.. Ashes 2005 was won only by Reverse Swing ( I will come to Ashes 2005 later).

I like Swing bowlers.. I simply love seeing the shape of the ball bamboozle the batsmen.. My favorite mode of dismissal of a batsman is an outswinger taking the edge of a forward defense / cover drive and caught at second slip..(Yes..Something about second slip..) My favorite swing bowler from India was Irfan Pathan(I hope he comes back well..).. He had the ability to do magic with the new ball..He was never express (much like what Praveen Kumar does now)..The amount of swing he could generate surprised me.. No Indian bowler had swung the ball like that before... I have heard people say of Manoj Prabhakar but I have never seen much of his bowling.. Irfan Pathan was special.. Even in non helpful conditions , he would curve the new ball.. You could be sure he would pick up two or three wickets upfront with the new ball.. He was the sole reason for India's victory against Pakistan in that historic series in 2004/05.

Here take a look at the Hat-trick he picked up at Karachi.. Just look at the beautiful swing..



Swing bowling is an art and also a science.. The ball swings more if there is dampness in the pitch.. It seams around more if the conditions are overcast.. There is work that is to be done on the ball.. The essence of swing bowling is to get the cricket ball to deviate sideways as it moves through the air towards or away from the batsman.Batsmen are used to facing orthodox swing - which happens when the ball is still relatively hard and new in the first 10 to 15 overs.
However, now fast bowlers have developed a new method of making the ball move in the air with the older ball called 'reverse swing' which is very potent.

But to obtain any sort of movement, there are a number of factors to consider.

--> The seam position of the cricket ball
--> The wear and tear on the ball
--> The polishing liquid (most often Saliva and Vaseline) used on the ball
--> The speed of the delivery
--> The bowler's action
--> The Weather Conditions

We often see fielders constantly shining one side of a ball by rubbing it on their trousers.The rubbing helps to maintain a smooth, shiny side while the opposite is left to deteriorate through normal wear and tear.Normally in any cricket team ,there is a 'specialist' ball polisher.. For eg: England's ball polisher is Alastair Cook.

The asymmetry of the ball is encouraged by the constant polishing of one side of the ball by members of the fielding team, while allowing the opposite side to deteriorate through wear and tear. Over time, this produces a marked difference in the aerodynamic properties of the two sides.To move the ball in an orthodox fashion away from a right-handed batsman, the rough side of the ball will be on the left side with the seam angling towards second slip. And it is the other way round for inswing - the rough side is on the right with the seam pointing towards an imaginary leg slip. Both deliveries also require a subtle change in seam grip too.This generally happens when the ball is relatively new but tends to stop after the ball has lost its shine and hardness.

Lets look at what James Anderson (My favourite Bowler in the world currently who can swing the ball both ways) is capable of doing with the New Ball.. Here is his spell that he bowled against India.. Take a look at the first three wickets.. (other two are short balls which Indians are generally not comfortable).My view is that Anderson and Praveen Kumar should stop playing ODI's to preserve themselves for the longer version of the game.



I am not sure whether Swann will cause lot of problems when India tour there this English Summer..Mark my words.. Whether India wins the Test Series will depend on how our batsmen play James Anderson..

In my opinon one of the most overrated bowler is Morne Morkel. Even I would not bother facing him.He does not swing.He does not cut. He bowls on a length. He does not even bowl in the corridor of uncertainty.(Bowlers at the backyard cricket where I play on Sunday's move the ball better..).. Then how come a bowler like Glenn Mcgrath with no swing or cutters succeed...? He kept the game simple. He always targeted the top of off stump and there were no loose balls. Out of frustration , eventually the batsmen would nick one and Mark Waugh was always there at the slips. Even his bouncers were well targeted. Not even one of his bouncers would go wasted (i.e above the keeper for four). Good batsmen have told in interviews that if Mcgrath was knocked of his length early , he was ordinary.

REVERSE SWING..

Once the ball becomes older and more worn, it will begin to move in the opposite direction to where it would usually swing with no great change in the bowling grip. For example, an outswinger's grip will move towards the batsman in the air while an inswinger will move away from the bat.People say the grip is all important bowling reverse swing . All this tends to happen very late on in the delivery, making it difficult for the batsman to pick up the changes in the air. Former Pakistan international Sarfraz Nawaz was the founder of reverse swing during the late 1970s, and he passed his knowledge on to former team-mate Imran Khan.

It was Imran who schooled bowlers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, who brought the art to the cricket world's attention during the late 1980s and 1990s.The dynamic duo managed to make the old ball swing a considerable distance at pace in both directions, a skill few bowlers can master. Wasim Akram was the greatest exponent of reverse swing.He would set up a batsmen with few inswingers and with the same seam position would make it hold its line. Look at this video were he sets up Dravid with inswingers and then bowls a outswinger to break his defense.



As my friend said recently , Dravid must be proud to get out to a ball like this.

Perhaps the series that revived Test Cricket was the Ashes 2005.My opinion is , it was fully won on Reverse Swing.It was reported that Flintoff could reverse the ball in 15 overs..!! How he did it no one knows.. He along with Simon Jones reversed the ball wonderfully well and that made Australian batsmen piss in their pants. You see a batsmen leaving a ball , hoping that it goes away , but as Reverse Swing would have it , they were bowled by leaving the balls.. Just take a look at this.. You will be stunned.



A Swinging ball is a poetry in motion.And those who swing it are Artists who terrorise batsmen. Long Live the art of swing.

Cuddle,Break and Patch -- (Part 1 - Mistrust)

"Isn't it true ?", Rohit asked as he switched his laptop on. "That we have become some sort of data dictionaries?".

"Dictionary ?.. Data..? What Rohit ?",Priya replied.Priya then bent over her cabin and gave 'Have u become mad?' kind of expression to Rohit.

"Yes Priya.. We all are gadgets now.We no longer have the retaining capacity.We are no longer able to keep our memmm ....". Rohit had paused... He had paused because Priya had started yawning. He would normally become furious if someone yawned when he spoke.He wanted people not to miss even a single word that he uttered because he knew that humans temperorily become deaf when they yawn and whatever movement of their face in acknowledgement would always be fake. Somehow Priya was never a target of his bad temper.He himself wanted to know why.
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Rohit waited patiently as she yawned for a good 10 seconds.Her mouth was wide open like Lord Krishna except that there was no world inside but effect of significant cavity.Also he noticed that her teeth were turning from white to 'eastman colour'. He continued "We are not able to keep our memories. All we now do is have a memory about memory." Rohit could make out that Priya now elevated herself from hearing.She was now listening what he was saying.

"We go somewhere and then come back and actively upload all our pictures onto Facebook. We blog about our experience, we tweet, etc. etc. In short,we just upload all your memories online and forget about it.Facebook and twitter have become our pensieves'"...

"Hmmm... Yes.." said Priya.
"Then what we remember is not the exact memory..But the memories about memory..You are right...." Priya now had a raised eyebrow pointing at Rohit..
"But why are you saying this now..?".
"Just a thought that crossed my mind." said Rohit picking bunch of papers from the draw without looking at her.
"C'mon.. No thoughts cross your mind without purpose.."

Rohit laughed.He then took the bunch of papers and left the room...Priya watched him until he disappeared from her vision. Needless to say , Rohit and Priya were colleagues.They were class mates in school and college as well.And as 'whatever' would have it , they were now team mates in office too.

Rohit came back to his cabin and kept the papers in his draw.. and then turned to Priya and said...
"Come home this sunday , I will introduce you to my cousin Vijay.. He's come back from Dubai forever... And probably we will venture out... He would be expecting you as well.. Va..And... You wanted to settle in Dubai illa ?.. He'll give you valuable inputs.. Trust me.."

"No.." said Priya instantaneously after the offer... "That is only day I have got to wash my clothes... Chance ey illa.."..

"Right then.... No problem.. I thought we can have dinner at his expense.. You are wasting a chance.."

"OC..ah! Oh.. Then I am coming.." said Priya 'doing a sudden balti' like a politician. Rohit was a touch surprised. Even though he knew girls' burn boy's wallet, this was unusual from Priya..

"So what about your clothes.. who will wash them..?" snapped Rohit playfully..
"I will wear jeans on monday.. You dont worry.. I never wash the Jeans.." told Priya sheepishly.
"Not a surprise.. I know no girl does that.." said Rohit and continued laughing for 5 minutes ignoring the glare from Priya.
"Very funny.."
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So.. Sunday Came.. and Priya was there at Rohit's place... Rohit knew Priya was not 'socially awkward'.Priya's definition of friendship was different. The Tea boy , the watchman ,the client , his PA , the receptionist at clients office, her maid , her scooter mechanic , her neighbour's relative ,everybody were her friends. She seemed to know everybody. And everybody knew her too. She had 1823 friends on Facebook (as per the latest 'census'.This was in addition to maid , mechanic etc who were not yet part of Facebook.Even Rohit was not part of this Facebook wave.).Yes.. Girls have more friends on facebook due to some strange reason but this was something huge..Sometimes Rohit would wonder what if all her 1823 friends turn up to her marriage along with their families. Would the marriage hall withstand.? Would she withstand ?.. He once suggested to Priya to get married secretly so that she could avoid such crowds..Priya laughed it off...
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Something surprised Rohit now.. What he realised in the 15 minute conversation with all the three was the fact that he was the only person who was talking... Priya who had the ability to start a conversation with any stranger at ease was unusually silent and so was Vijay.They both seemed to agree on one thing. That they were not going out for dinner.Instead Pizza man would arrive...Yes..He did arrive on time... It seemed Priya feasted that day. Never had Rohit seen her eat Pizza with such fondness... Immediately after the dinner Priya left.. It seemed as though she came only for the OC dinner..
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The next day Rohit and Priya (with her unwashed pair of denim blue) were back at the office doing usual routine things, that is to say other than working.

"Why were you so timid to start a conversation with Vijay..He's a nice guy.. He would have helped you with your travel plans..illa..?" asked Rohit.

"Rohit... Was I timid..?It was your cousin who was timid...And.. Moreover..I am not interested anymore in going abroad..I am going to settle here...I have given it a thought and... Yes.. India.. Sare jahaan se accha..." replied Priya with her trademark one sided 'half grin'.

"Its your wish then..You know best.."

"So..Tell me..How do I look.." asked Priya suddenly.
"What the ".. Rohit was taken aback..
"Ya.. How do I look.. ? ... I mean you look at girls.. Dont you?. You rate them is it not ?..Like that I mean.."said Priya standing up as she spoke..

"Why suddenly.. And moreover.. I have never looked at you that way.. And I have got lot's of work.. Don't spoil it.. No time for your jokes on me now.." snapped Rohit.

"Right.. Carry on.."..

Rohit thought Priya was pretty. She looked good(except her cavity affected teeth)..She was no Aishwarya Rai or Monica Belluci but she could give some good ones tough competition... Rohit unfortunately was of this good breed of boys who looked for 'inner beauty' and never really cared much about looks... For him Intelligence in a girl mattered most than good looks. Even though Rohit thought Priya was intelligent , he never felt a crush on her.. And he guessed this was the case from the other side too.
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Time passed by and there were several instances of get together happening between the three. Soon both Priya and Vijay started speaking freely with each other. The initial inhibition now disappeared.The three started to freak out every weekend and life was good.They would catch up all the new releases.. The three became good friends and seemed to enjoy the company.. Not a place in Chennai was left unvisited...Life seemed to be good..
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However there was one problem.. Vijay even after several months of search could not find a suitable job...He became dejected and depressed.He even avoided the social gatherings the three had planned earlier.He began distancing himself from Rohit and Priya..Rohit noticed that even Priya was not interested in the get together's after a point of time.. And suddenly one day...Vijay left to Dubai again to continue at the same job he once quit..

At the same time Rohit was moving up the ladder in the office... His work timings got awkward and sometimes , he would just doze off in the office... Priya somehow did her work on time.. and spent the remaining time by browsing matrimony websites to find a groom.. This was baffling for Rohit since Priya knew almost everyone in her locality and was popular and yet for her marriage , she had to seek the help of Internet...!

Time Passed by...
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Vijay suddenly called one day to Rohit..
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“ Macha,I want to tell you something.. I hope you don't get angry. Listen.I have been through tough times.I was into a relationship... It did not last long.. I had a terrible terrible break up...Things do not always go as we plan.The good news is I am now OK..."

Rohit did not know what to say... and said "You were in a mess here.. I knew there had to be a reason.. I never thought the reason would be a break up.. I am happy you are Ok now... But...why did you feel I would get angry for this..?"

Vijay paused for a moment and then said
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" The girl.. The girl... I was in a relationship with was Priya....I knew her even before you introduced her to me.. Once when I called you ,she had picked up the phone.. So got to know her... from that.. and then.. she was the one who asked me to come from Dubai... I came for her.. Things were nice initially.. and.. and.. she just could not... " Vijay continued to speak.. Nothing entered Rohit's ears though.. He was in complete shock that he did not show any emotion..He was just too stunned to speak anything more.. The least he expected from Vijay was an humble apology which he never received throughout that call ... and... that was the day Rohit last spoke to Vijay...
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Rohit understood a lot of things that day.. He had infact been a "bear in Shiva's Puja" all along.. He had been used.. Why they both hid it from him , he never could understand.. If only they had said it to him , he could have helped.. He now understood why Priya behaved unusually when Vijay was in chennai... He understood a lot of things.. He took leave from office for a week. Where he went no one knew. He came back refreshed.. He tried to put the past behind him..
He began to concentrate on his work...
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12 MONTHS LATER
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Priya and Rohit have now got new promotions.They are still in the same team... They both still come up with great projects when they team together.They both know one another's working style and complement each other very well... All is well now.. And... Rohit makes sure he never raises the topic of Vijay during his conversations with Priya... Some part of him wants to ask Priya why she did not confess that she knew Vijay much before he had actually 'introduced' him to her.He was disappointed that she also 'hid' her relationship with Vijay. Yes..He was angry with her..But..Somehow Priya was never a target of his bad temper...He himself wanted to know why...

Well.. There are some people in our lives with whom we just can't be angry with or worse even fake that we are angry... Is it not ?
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TO be continued.... (sometime later)

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P.S.Suggestions welcomed on how you would like the story(if any) to continue..(which I wont guarantee will certainly be incorporated..)

How free are we?

Before I started writing this, I looked at what the dictionary terms “Freedom” as. It said freedom is.

• The state of being free or at liberty rather than inconfinement or under physical restraint:
• Exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.
• The power to determine action without restraint.

So the question is should I have to go to the dictionary meaning to understand what freedom is or is freedom something that is already known?. I looked at it only because , I did not know.
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In the year 1949 , the Indian Constitution gave to Indians some of the liberal rights such as universal adult franchise which was way ahead of its times compared to other developed nations. However on the political front, India adopted Nehru’s socialist model that included a significant dilution in property rights, among others. The government entered businesses as its primary activity, to help it achieve the ‘commanding heights of the economy.’ Government owned factories sprung up quickly and began churning out shirts, watches, fridges, scooters, bicycles, milk, bread, and cheese.
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India's (Nehru's) fascination with socialism meant that individual citizens cannot be free to hold their property and carry on their professions freely .Only Rajaji wanted liberalisation. Economic liberalisation was introduced to India only in the year 1991. In response to a balance-of-payments crisis, India did away with the Licence Raj and ended many public monopolies, allowing automatic approval of foreign direct investment in many sectors. Since then, India has emerged as one of the fastest growing developing economy. Just imagine had India implemented this concept earlier as campaigned by Rajaji. Notable contributions aside- it seems that Shri Rajaji was also something of a fortune-teller.

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A classic case of freedom abuse is India's Right to Information Act (RTI) which now appears to be a victim of some of the very issues it was designed to fight against. This Act was perceived as the ultimate weapon for the people to fight corruption and get accountability from the government. However now it is slowly seen that this Act is also the victim of the nefarious factors that it was made to fight against. It is a running into bottlenecks, including abuses by officials who are deleting information to prevent it from reaching the people.

Citizen-campaigners are reporting missing information in a small but significant number of cases. They believe officials who do not want to release information simply make it vanish. A call for stringent action in 'missing document' cases needs to be made. Also, changes must be made in this act such as submission of a list of officials who are custodians of the missing documents, filing criminal cases against them, fining guilty officers and probe into deficient record maintaining system and for other anomalies.
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Freedom includes having our own non corrupt judicial system. The problem with Indian judiciary is something else. It is said that over three million cases are pending in India's 21 high courts, and an astounding 26.3 million cases are pending in subordinate courts across the country. At the same time, there are almost a quarter million under-trials languishing in jails across the country. Even fast track courts take minimum five years to give justice. It’s always said justice delayed is justice denied. Something must be done to reduce this backlog. Surely there is a way. There is a system of Advance Rulings prevalent in this country where nonresidents get judgements within 6 months. It baffles me why such a solution is not available for residents. This is a ‘free country’ where even an arm of the judiciary system (Advance Rulings) shows priority to nonresidents more than residents.
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It is a pity that the people of India do not have quality of life. Majority of the population in this country does not have the freedom to disrobe for sanitation. Also this is a country where thanks to traffic the ambulances do not arrive on time. Yes…Yes…. Pizza somehow arrives on time without fail !

The issue of reproductive technologies in our society today raises an
interesting question. Do they increase a women's freedom of choice or do they
expand the power of men and science over women. Is freedom to choose what they
can do with their bodies truly freedom? The evils against women such as female infanticide, dowry is prevalent even now. We have not attained freedom from them yet. We have not attained freedom from scams , whether it is by corporates (Satyam) or by Politicians (innumerable). Also a serious issue arises from the freedom of free access to the internet. This has made children frequent adult sites. Porn now comes on TV itself. Recently a spycam video of misdoings of a fake Godman was telecasted by a famous television channel in its prime time news. This could have easily been avoided. This brings us to the next point , the freedom of press.

Freedom of the press is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials. However the media must know its limits also. It cannot intrude the privacy of any person. A notable press victory of sorts was Wiki Leaks. Wiki Leaks has brought to light a series of disturbing insinuations and startling truths in the last year, some earth-shattering, others simply confirmations of our darkest suspicions about the way the world works. Wikileaks is the epitome of freedom of press. It revealed cables from and to United States that caused embarrassment to a lot of top notch officials. Julian Assange , the founder of Wikileaks has been awarded the Sydney Peace Foundation gold medal by the Sydney Peace Foundation of the University of Sydney for his "exceptional courage and initiative in pursuit of human rights." Truly Assange is a modern day hero.
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Kollywood dominates popular imagination in Tamil Nadu to a degree that perhaps far exceeds the influence of Bollywood. Yet, the industry was until elections gripped by intense fear. The film industry has always been a coveted fiefdom, but in the last five years, there’s been an almost absolute takeover by a family. If there is any Tamil film you’ve heard of recently, nine out of 10 times, it would have been produced by the first family that ruled Tamil Nadu until recently. And they did it by controlling its consumption — via marketing, theatres and media rights. Monopolizing distribution is a key component of the game. Often, they buy films of smaller producers and throw their massive marketing and distributing infrastructure behind it. On an hour long drive, one can count a song from their recent release playing four times on their own FM. This kind of promotion is of course free of charge in one’s own channel but they charge exorbitant rates for trailers of fresh releases by directors and producers not part of their stable.
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Many producers feel the only option for mass marketing is television and radio and both are controlled by the family.Like small-time businessmen, they now depend on the Internet and word-of-mouth for marketing. Recently, Kollywood saw a wave of small-budget films set in B-towns. The theme was raw, violent, realistic, and they turned into sleeper hits. Today, the so called ‘Madurai wave’ has also been monopolised by the family. Any first-time producer who refused to give in run the risk of their films never seeing the light of day.Theatre-owners were threatened to join hands with the family’s business interests. Many film makers could not find a single theatre willing to screen them since they did not have the ‘blessing’ of the family! Under the new Government, the Cine Industry hopes to breathe easy.
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Equity is a fundamentally significant concept that can be used to characterize the fairness and effectualness of education systems. Although it is not a new issue in both developing and developed nations, educational equity has received renewed interest because it is more widely recognized as a basic human right.

The main factor in making parents not send their children to government schools is reported to be “the discouragement effect” brought on in part by the “abysmal quality of Indian[state] schools.”

One major problem is teacher absenteeism. A major survey of educational provision in four northern Indian states, the Public Report on Basic Education (“Probe Report”), revealed startling findings on the quality of state schools. When researchers called unannounced on a large random sample of government schools, in only half was there any“teaching activity” going on at all! In one-third, the head teacher was absent. The team reported “several cases of irresponsible teachers keeping a school closed or non-functional for several months at a time;a school where the teacher was drunk…a head teacher who asks the children to do domestic chores, including looking after the baby; several cases of teachers sleeping at school…; a head teacher who came to school once a week…and so on down the line.

Why are private schools not celebrated as part of the way forward in achieving “education for all”? There seems to be three practical reasons why not. First, private schools charge fees, thus making them out of reach for the poor. To ensure that children from poor families unable to pay school fees are able to attend private schools, governments could finance their education through vouchers.The second objection questions whether high-quality provision could exist in private schools serving the poor because levels of resourcing are low. The third objection is oddest of all. It concerns the impact of private provision on state education: If poor parents support private education, this allegedly carries a real danger of undermining the government schooling system.

None of this discussion, of course, means that nothing could be improved in the private sector’s efforts to serve the poor. Access to private education could be extended even further by building on the initiatives—already undertaken bythe private schools themselves—that offer ree and reduced-fee seats to needy children. Such informal schemes could be extended and replicated by philanthropists and/or the state so that “pupil passports”or vouchers could be targeted at the poorest children (although there may be thedanger of additional regulations that could stifle the growth of private schools if they were administered by the state). With these passports or vouchers, many more of the poor could be empowered to attend private unaided schools.

A known fact is Sri Sankara Senior Secondary school at chennai does not want to admit poor students which is mandatory as per a new Right to education law. The law makes it obligatory on the state governments and local bodies to ensure that every child gets education in a neighbourhood school. The district education officer can admit 25% of poor children living nearby to any private school as per the Act. According to it, if a child around nine years old has never been to school, he/she must be admitted to the fourth standard after some training. The schools cannot refuse admission, and must provide education free of cost.
‘Admitting poor students may bring down discipline and the quality of education and also demoralize teachers’, says the principal of this School. In a circular issued to students by the Adyar-based school, the principal has linked a student's performance to his/her economic status and asked parents to protest against the Right To Education Act.The circular said that under the Act, the school would have no choice but to admit students from poor families, which would pull down its standards. She urged parents to "protest and fight" against the Act. Suggesting that the state's decision to implement it from the coming year could force the school to increase fees, she asked parents to appeal to the state and the Centre not to implement the Act in its present form.
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From the early teenage, all we dream is about being independent. At that age, freedom means making decisions on own. However as we grow, we lose our way. Instead of standing up to one’s own beliefs, we capitulate to others interpretations of ‘being free’. Suppose we puff cigarettes, use drugs or drink alcohol because we feel old enough or cool enough does not signify freedom. Freedom is about taking that responsibility for our own actions. Being free does not mean being lawfully right. Maturity and the ability to adopt responsibility do not in any way show the age. Everything lies in the mind. We must learn to say no to those things that are misrepresented as to being ‘cool’ to foster our freedom. Yes, we must have the spine to say no. People will try and talk to us to doing a lot of things that might seem ‘cool’. Being wise is saying no to these things. The ‘Misuse of Freedom’ is increasing day by day and only we can help ourselves.

Conclusion:

So how free are we? Can we conclude on a hypothetical scale of 1 to 10, we are probably on 4…? No! It does not work that way. It is not quantifiable. It is qualitative. Let’s take one definition, not imprisoned or enslaved, in the world we live in there are personal prisons and there are persons and things that enslave us. One prison is work, confined to forcibly do things and a simple gadget that enslaves is our mobile.

The true worth liberty is best known to people of Libya and Egypt. For the present generation in India, freedom is something of the past. Freedom to them is only confined to history books. It’s high time we realize it’s beyond that.
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P.S.1. Motivation levels have reached a new low and thats the first reason for my prolonged absence from blogging.The second reason is mentioned in P.S.2

P.S.2. Laziness has also reached a new high.

P.S.3. I promise myself to be more frequent. I also promise to come out with rib tickling posts.Ya...I know its long due.

P.S.4 Dont ask me why I did not name SUN Pictures , Cloud Nine , Mohana Movies , Red Giant , Nithu( Swami Nithyananda) in the post.I have done it here. :P ha ha..
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OF PEDALS AND BRAKES...

As I had already mentioned in one of my previous posts , I once got 3rd rank (and Varun got Second Rank.. Only one rank behind Varun...!(and I remember only one mark behind him..!) Wow! what an achievement!!) while I was at 3rd class at School.I look back at this 'Incident' often because it has had and it continues to have a very very significant impact on my life.Exactly one year back, when I was in complete mess with nil ego and negative self worth, I became a 'scavenger' who was searching for confidence of some kind from somewhere and this one (infact only) incident said to me I had once been among the top 5 in a class of 35 (i.e within 15 %) and I still can. This also said to me , If the pass percentage of CA final becomes 15 , I would pass. This hypothesis of mine may sound absolutely stupid to some.However it is not so. You must at some point of time in your life been devoid of self worth to understand this.

I also believe it is always very easy to say that "I will prove him wrong.." or "I will show them what I am made of" and proving to others is according to me is also very easy. I will tell you what is agony and misery. It is saying "Aiyo.. I have to prove it to myself..".. I have been through this.I know the pain. Hence the feeling that I once been among the top 5 in class gave me the soothing effect.

I 'showed what I am made of' to my father(I had promised that I would get into top 3) and hence he got me a BSA-Champ (as he promised) and I insisted it had to be without the support wheels on the side.Half of him wanted me to have this cycle and half of him did not.The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A rickety child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The awareness that this is what the child will always need can knock them hard.(Sometimes , ironic it may sound 'I too feel proud' about what I write, the previous two sentences are such lines.)
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I rode this cycle only within my street. I put upon myself a self imposed boundary. I would not even cross the road.For 'To' I was keeping left. For 'Fro' I was keeping right. However after one and a half years , I grew up and so did my audacity. And for the first time I crossed the road and I was properly keeping left. And only when I did try to cross back again I came as an obstacle to this speeding motorcyclist who in order to not hit me put his front brakes and ceased the motion of the vehicle. However a newtons law(I dont know which) of motion started working and he flew above me and broke not his crown but his helmet alone and I ran after (to my home).

After my parents mitigated for his damages by giving him some money.I was banned to bicycle. That was it. The end of BSA Champ. The champ had become junk. The champ I referred was myself.
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I was in 8th Class and my father decided to buy me a bicycle so that I was no more 'dependent'on my ever punctual School Bus and 'Benjamin'- The rash and arrogant Bus Driver.I was also in a way missing 'Bhakthavatsalam' - The sedate and signal obeying Bus Driver. He had been demoted that year. The school's population had reached something similar to 'Stage 2 of the Demographic Transition' and hence more and more parents depended on our school's own transport to 'pick up and drop' their children.The school authorities to cope with the rush leased a second hand van which 'Bhakthavatsalam' had to drive.
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My parents for once felt I needed to be independent.They said I had to go alone to shops. I had to go alone to a saloon.When they are late , I had to stay back alone at home. They said I had to become responsible..(A Refrain I have been hearing for a long long time).. However.. For all this to happen.. I Said .. First.. I have to have my own bicycle..(or else how will I go to shops and saloon alone depending again on the 'Pallavan'..)
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So.. Myself and my father went to this very famous cycle shop at Broadway(quite contrary to its narrow lane) to buy a Bicycle.. I had already made up my mind to buy the 'geared' cycle.The fascination with gears had started that early.I wanted blue colour but the shop had inventory of only grey colour.However at the joy of getting a cycle, I ignored the choice of colour.
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And so from 'Broadway' to 'Mylapore' began my first journey in my brand new Hercules 'Top Gear'. As the name suggests it was a very 'herculean' task for me to ride the cycle.First, I felt I did not have total control of my cycle as my leg did not reach the ground while I sat on it and secondly the front brakes constantly rubbed against the front wheel as I rode.This is frustrating.
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The effort I was putting to pedal did not quite get me the speed that it deserved.When 'efforts' do not yield the 'deserved results' and when there is something else that is stopping the momentum , all that crops up is disappointment , anger , frustration , irritation and not to mention hot tears .When I look back at this journey from 'Broadway to Mylapore' today , a question that arises in my mind is whether efforts are directly proportional to results ?. And I stand (after having fallen twice) before you today bringing an important truth that sometimes efforts are not directly proportional to results. It is certainly not inversely proportional too. The correlation between efforts and results is certainly not '1'.There is something else.
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Some people call it luck. Some call it divine intervention. I dont know. From a firm believer in luck , I have now began saying 'Luck is cruel. It attaches itself to people who do not depend on it'.
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I think the year I got that bicycle was 2000.'Broadway' to 'Mylapore' seemed eternity.Even more so with those non aligned wheel. So, as I rode I was immersed in futuristic thoughts .I had written an essay in school. It was like , I had solved the Y2K problem and I was rewarded.The fascination with the number 2000 gave rise too many questions and interpretations.
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I felt that many people tend to round off the period from '2000' to '2009' as the first decade of the new century. I wanted to say to them that..'2000' does not belong to the family of the first decade of the new century. This was my personal view and I knew many people would not subscibe to my view outright considering my 'affinity' towards Mathematics.. :)). Also , In the previous century , people referred a year by its last two digits. No problem. What wondered me is the fact that people had ceased to do it the next immediate century ?. Queer!. Cant get it..? See '1997' was simply referred colloquially just as '97'. Why have the people not followed suit ?. Why is '2000' not referred just as '0'. '2001' was not referred as 'one'.
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Thirdly,(this was due to the fact that I saw 'Hey Ram') I wanted to advice people. I wanted them not to write the date as 31.12.00 for 31.12.2000. Why u ask..?.I felt that suppose you write 31.12.00 , the archeologists who will see our writings thousands and thousands of years later may not be able find out the exact date of our works easily when they dig for something called 'Coovum Valley Civilisation'. (Civilisation??.. Are we Sure..??.. We'll settle that question later..). They may get confused whether its 31.12.2000 or 31.12.1900!. I felt this would be a great favour for 'generations to come'.
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And all this thought occured to me as I rode that bicycle.As Christoper Morley put it... "The bicycle, the bicycle surely, should always be the vehicle of novelists and poets". And hence I knew I was a futuristic thinker !. The point that I really want to make here is at that time , I felt I was extremely brilliant. I was antonym to modesty. I now realise that sometimes it is good to not to be modest.
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Hercules Top Gear had a depreciation(all because of my rough handling) rate of 50 percent for a year.And so by the time I reached my plus one( which is also quite an achievement) , I wanted a cycle once again to commute to school which was good 3.5 Kms away.
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I bought this conventional 'Annamalai' cycle... I had then moved to a suburb that is according to me wrongly christened 'Nanganallur'.Nangai'(women) 'Nal' (Good) 'Oor' (Town). I with all my experience now confess none of the women there are 'good' now both in terms of looks and behavior.Since I was new to the place , I did not know the 'route' to my school. I would wait in my cycle at the corner of my street. A 'fleet' of girls with uniform of my school would travel. I used to follow them.(simply because i did not know the route). They had a routine 'long' route by which all their friends home gets covered.They thought I was a 'Poriki' following them everywhere. It took me one week to get a grip of the place and I found a route which was most convenient.I now realise when you follow someone else's route , all you get is bad name even though your intentions are not bad.!

And..from now on.. My way will be always different.
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After school I did not require cycle. I became dependent on my friends who had bikes.Hence one day my parents sold this 'Annamalai' cycle of mine without my consent. I was livid with them. I felt as though a part of mine was being sold.... And I realise now that it was not part of mine but part of life. I have to move on. Separation is inevitable. See how relevant the main title of my blog is!
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And Now I move on with regrets that I have shown moments of madness. The past is something that I want to 'obliviate' asap. I have not been able to cross the line and also I have never been able to get the 'good' name that I felt I deserved ....I am a good person. I know. I hope others will also know.
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As an anonymous said.. 'A bicycle does get you there and more And there is always the thin edge of danger to keep you alert and comfortably apprehensive. Dogs become dogs again and snap at your feet; potholes become personal. And getting there is all the fun.'..

FUN - The word for which I have been searching the meaning for quite sometime now.

Damsel Sans Face...

He became weird. He stood on the bed and was oscillating like a pendulum.In fact his 'to and fro' was with much more precision. With every two oscillations , he nod his head twice.The first nod was like saying yes (that is to say the movement of the head was vertical). The second nod was horizontal.His eyes expressed uncertainty.His mouth was three quarters open but he was not yawning.His face was dull.He was constantly rubbing his right palm across his face and felt the stubble. Often he would catch hold of a single 'long grown' strand (among the short ones) from the stubble and tried to either pluck it or rotate it.
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The vision of his uncertain eyes focused outside his window to the corridor of a posh apartment at an angle of 45 degrees North and at a distance of about 30 meters . He waited for the divine silhouette of a girl. She came to the corridor every evening after changing her school uniform with a cup of some energy drink (probably boost).He could see the girl but the sun would hit the corridor in an angle at which the glare would make it impossible for him to concentrate on her face. Boys do not remember faces of pretty girls was his logic or simply put his own consolation. Her hair was visible. Her dress was visible.(She wore a skirt and a shirt.He had seen her in a pink skirt and a green skirt on alternate days.The shirt was always striped and so he could not make out whether she wore the same shirt everyday).However her face was not visible.He could only see the outline of her face.
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Today was overcast.So he thought he might be able to see her face at last. And as usual she had come today at the same time sharp (today was green skirt). He started looking at her. He sensed their eyes met.He gave an impression as though he was not focusing on her.He remained still. Within minutes (probably sensing trouble) ,she turned and started to walk back from the corridor. She paused for a moment and pushed back the right plait which had fallen in front of her shoulder with a swift movement of her head. The plait zoomed and fell at the back of her shoulders and she resumed her walk clutching both her plaits (how he liked double plaited girls!). Our guy was immersed in the Shhhtyle !!
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He smiled and fell on his bed. He tried to recollect the face of the girl. However he could not. He knew his logic was in fact true. Sun glare or no Sun glare.. Boys do not remember faces of pretty girls easily...
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P.S.1 - With this very small post , I now begin a new series of posts(labels) in the name "Groundnut Bulletin". Much More to come.... :) Hope all of you get to like it..