The Journey - Part 1 : Here
Clairvoyance...
Now whats so special about this station? The Idli-Wada here, more specifically the chutney is in the creme-de-la-creme range (Chutney-de-la-Chutney anyone???). You wont find a hotter/spicier chutney(good not good is a perception) in the big wide world . I had to act.
As it was not my usual train today, the idli shops were still open when the train reached here. And I was hungry too (Mr.Pinocchio, you had just gobbled down a plate full of Biryani 10 min back!You were not hungry!)Usually I am not good at prioritizing things, but with this heightened sense, your clarity of thought increases tenfold. The lost-ticket issue quickly got stored as meta-data in the brain,to be retrieved at a later time; all the brain cells focused on the job - the get-idly-chutney mission. The body then quickly responded, got down the train, got a pack of idli-wada and got back in the train with a sense of accomplishment . Done. More to exhibit some normal human behavior than any worry over the lost ticket, I reluctantly kept the pack aside and searched the bag for the ticket. Two whole minutes of searching proved futile. I opened the idli-wada pack and started savoring the yummy idli- chutney (Eat eat, you Bakasura!) . Mmmm...The taste hasn't changed even after 7-8 years. Few things just don't change :) .
So I waited and waited for the D-time (like D-day, you know)...... The guy never appeared. To keep my mind occupied, I went about the most logical thing to do - think about how to convert this into my next blog post, without actually knowing the ending. Its actually like yourself being in a suspense thriller! 9..10..10.30...10.45...10.50.... Then suddenly,as if to mock all my sense of caution and foreboding , simply out of thin air, appeared the TT -"Aapka ticket dikhaiye"... I gingerly produced my PAN Card "Sir, mera e-ticket ka print out kho gaya".... Without even speaking a word, he turned to the next guy and asked for his ticket and the person next, leaving me wondering .
Finally he came back to me."Sir, mere paas ID proof hain..." I showed my PAN card trying to twist my face to make it look like the one in the PAN card. He examined the PAN card for a few sceptical minutes, checked the list and repeated the same steps all over again .Then he promptly asked me to cough up Rs.50.Sigh!!!. He even gave me a receipt for the same. So it was once again Triumph of the Absent-minded. And, if I must add, the suspense thriller had turned out to be an anti-climax in the worst sense...
And then it struck me (Remember, all suspense thrillers have a flash back of shocking revelation at the end). The cyber cafe! I had taken a print-out of the ticket at the cyber cafe and kept them in the my back-pack.Then to make sure of the train time, I took the ticket out only to find out the time is not mentioned there. So I put down the print-out on the table (camera zooms on my hand..slow motion starts), check the timings in the website and walk out leaving the ticket BEHIND!!! Ahhh...(cut to the present) I am staring right into the face of the TT who has transformed into a hideous looking zombie with a scimitar in his hand....(Axe is passe) and I look around... the compartment is full of zombies... I scream ...and then....SLAAASSH....
(Don't bother guys, just another flash of my 'imaginary brilliance'....I mean...Ok just forget it...I reached Hyd next day morning 4.45 am,got down at the station,smiled & walked off into the mundane...)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The Journey - 1 : The Train,The Ticket & The Zombie
Even after 2 months, no one has still asked me why the blog is called 'Chaos is Forever'???( Do people know me so well? Or they just don't give a damn? My optimistic side surely its the former (My painfully practical side says surely people have much better things to do! :D)
08/12/2008. 4:00 PM .I got on the train from Bangalore to Hyderabad . Yes!yes!yes!I had booked the train tickets this time (Never mind I could not book tickets on time for the train which starts from Majestic station and for this train I had to go all the way to Y'pur!!! ). It was smooth journeying till 8 pm(reading His Dark Materials:The Amber Spyglass, listening to music). I had even got myself tuned to the incessant braying from the almost-berth-full college goers,supposedly on a trip. And at that point in time, as paradoxical as it may sound, came the expected twist in the tale. I opened my bag to check for my e-ticket print out. And what do I discover??? Bingo!!!
I was quite puzzled because for once I vividly remembered keeping the ticket in the bag. Well, I am quite at home during situations like these, so don't expect me to get all panicky and act hyper.I usually have a strategy during such situations: Ask yourself - What's the worst case scenario??? I had an ID proof and all but still had the least idea how the TT will react at the audacity. More often than not, you might expect another one from the get-rid-of-the-IT-people community to appear and growl "You e-ticket-losing morons, you Ipod-wielding dumbsh*ts,I guess I have been bestowed this opportunity to rid the world of your species.The world will be all the better with one less Software Engineer". The man gives a ferocious roar, lifts me up with two hands and hauls me out of the running train.I stumble and get on my feet to find myself in an eerily deserted station. I enter the eerily deserted town and find out its inhabited with zombies. I run back to the station only to find out what? There is no station!!! Thousands of zombies stagger towards me hungrily from all directions... (Yes,lot of time to kill when you are traveling alone) Presently, I came back to the real world with no zombies. I need to search the entire bag once, I thought.
Meanwhile, the train stopped. I absently asked a porter "Ee station babu?"( In telugu, every stranger's name is Babu) . The guy answered, "Dharmavaram Babu..." Instantly,I felt it. A heightened sense of things. The bigger picture. Clairvoyance...
(The Journey...Will continue)
08/12/2008. 4:00 PM .I got on the train from Bangalore to Hyderabad . Yes!yes!yes!I had booked the train tickets this time (Never mind I could not book tickets on time for the train which starts from Majestic station and for this train I had to go all the way to Y'pur!!! ). It was smooth journeying till 8 pm(reading His Dark Materials:The Amber Spyglass, listening to music). I had even got myself tuned to the incessant braying from the almost-berth-full college goers,supposedly on a trip. And at that point in time, as paradoxical as it may sound, came the expected twist in the tale. I opened my bag to check for my e-ticket print out. And what do I discover??? Bingo!!!
I was quite puzzled because for once I vividly remembered keeping the ticket in the bag. Well, I am quite at home during situations like these, so don't expect me to get all panicky and act hyper.I usually have a strategy during such situations: Ask yourself - What's the worst case scenario??? I had an ID proof and all but still had the least idea how the TT will react at the audacity. More often than not, you might expect another one from the get-rid-of-the-IT-people community to appear and growl "You e-ticket-losing morons, you Ipod-wielding dumbsh*ts,I guess I have been bestowed this opportunity to rid the world of your species.The world will be all the better with one less Software Engineer". The man gives a ferocious roar, lifts me up with two hands and hauls me out of the running train.I stumble and get on my feet to find myself in an eerily deserted station. I enter the eerily deserted town and find out its inhabited with zombies. I run back to the station only to find out what? There is no station!!! Thousands of zombies stagger towards me hungrily from all directions... (Yes,lot of time to kill when you are traveling alone) Presently, I came back to the real world with no zombies. I need to search the entire bag once, I thought.
Meanwhile, the train stopped. I absently asked a porter "Ee station babu?"( In telugu, every stranger's name is Babu) . The guy answered, "Dharmavaram Babu..." Instantly,I felt it. A heightened sense of things. The bigger picture. Clairvoyance...
(The Journey...Will continue)
Friday, December 12, 2008
Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi - Movie Review
Making the most of holidays, I went to see RNBDJ first day morning show. First the sad part - the storyline which has been doing rounds on the internet is almost correct. So no need to repeat the story line . Here's the review...
The movie starts out on a slow pace,introducing a simpleton SRK and his wife-by-accident, with bits of subtle humor thrown in. It picks pace once the other dashing,outrageously-over-the-top Punjabi Jat SRK enters(must say SRK looks old in this role too).For the first two hours movie goes on with a few funny & entertaining sequences, some good songs (a nice parody with special appearances from.. no prices for guessing :P) keeping the audience occupied. Then Mr.Director tells the characters in the movie there has to be some serious story also so that all kinds of audience are covered.(After all, this movie has been made to recover all the losses of Yash Raj productions in the last year or so :P). But there is only 45 minutes left of the movie.The characters now don't know what they are upto and get totally confused about their morality, their common sense etc & consequently the director loses track of his characters and the screenplay goes for a toss for that important half-hour or so. When there is 15 minutes to the movie, the director tells the characters "All of you are good Indian people.So be so. No justification required for anything". Finally everyone is good and the Rab Da Banaya hua Jodi live happily ever after...
Everyone knew it will be too much to expect Adi Chopra to revive the magic of DDLJ with this movie. Even Mohabbatein had some great sequences ( with SRK & the Big B) . But no magic to be seen here except for a couple of good sequences here and there(Esp check out the brilliant sequence just before the interval). Nothing much to remember the movie by. And even though I am an SRK fan, I can safely say this review is unbiased because the actor has done well to fit into the characters and play them as they are. But one sure misses the usual SRK with all his usual hamming,charisma & theatrics which we expect to see in this kind of a movie.Nothing special about the newcomer Anushka sharma.She just passes muse.
I will say go,watch the movie once and enjoy the good parts. The bad parts are not so bad,so they can be easily forgotten after the movie is over :)
The movie starts out on a slow pace,introducing a simpleton SRK and his wife-by-accident, with bits of subtle humor thrown in. It picks pace once the other dashing,outrageously-over-the-top Punjabi Jat SRK enters(must say SRK looks old in this role too).For the first two hours movie goes on with a few funny & entertaining sequences, some good songs (a nice parody with special appearances from.. no prices for guessing :P) keeping the audience occupied. Then Mr.Director tells the characters in the movie there has to be some serious story also so that all kinds of audience are covered.(After all, this movie has been made to recover all the losses of Yash Raj productions in the last year or so :P). But there is only 45 minutes left of the movie.The characters now don't know what they are upto and get totally confused about their morality, their common sense etc & consequently the director loses track of his characters and the screenplay goes for a toss for that important half-hour or so. When there is 15 minutes to the movie, the director tells the characters "All of you are good Indian people.So be so. No justification required for anything". Finally everyone is good and the Rab Da Banaya hua Jodi live happily ever after...
Everyone knew it will be too much to expect Adi Chopra to revive the magic of DDLJ with this movie. Even Mohabbatein had some great sequences ( with SRK & the Big B) . But no magic to be seen here except for a couple of good sequences here and there(Esp check out the brilliant sequence just before the interval). Nothing much to remember the movie by. And even though I am an SRK fan, I can safely say this review is unbiased because the actor has done well to fit into the characters and play them as they are. But one sure misses the usual SRK with all his usual hamming,charisma & theatrics which we expect to see in this kind of a movie.Nothing special about the newcomer Anushka sharma.She just passes muse.
I will say go,watch the movie once and enjoy the good parts. The bad parts are not so bad,so they can be easily forgotten after the movie is over :)
Friday, November 14, 2008
Phone Call...
(Manu Singh is plucking at a flower,looking forlorn)
"He loves me... He loves me not...He loves me.. He loves me not... "
"Manu Saar, how long will you keep waiting for his call? You haven't had a grain of rice since last fifteen days. He got elected as the President just 15 days back. He will call you... Hundradantonty percent! Come now, the paranthas are getting cold..."
"I just hope the other guy hasn't forgotten to tell this guy about our deal before leaving. I have serious doubts about the previous guy's memory. When the deal was being inked, he was telling me a joke about Spiderman & Superman . I didn't get the joke but guffawed anyway and said Sunny Deol is the best" (Gets up to fetch the paranthas)
Trrinngg.. Trrinnnng....Trrrinnngg...
"Thats Mr.O calling!(gleefully) Manu saar, didn't I tell you they all love you!? Here... "
(Manu comes back running and picks the receiver)
"Hello Mr.O!"
"Hellooo Manu!"
(in a complaining voice)"So finally you remembered me,Mr.O???"
"I'm really sorry Manu. You know I've been very busy since last 15 days, moving into the new HOUSE,setting up the house, painting it with white, all that you see..."
"You had to paint THE house WHITE???"
"Yes, the previous occupant had stayed for too long and had left too many marks. When I reached the house and was about to enter it,I saw right on the door was written in huge bold letters - 'B was here.B didn't wanna leave.They threw B out'. And there were other quotes too on the walls inside the house.So it look a hell-lot-of time to white wash the house and settle down"
"I see,I see. And what is this I hear Mr.O? You called up the neighborhood guy before calling me and spoke to him for a whole 20 minutes. A clear shift of interests?"(in a complaining & disapproving voice again)
"Hellooo..Manu...Helloo....I can't hear you.Can you speak up a bit?"
(Manu hesitates)"Ok. I am very relieved and happy with your answer..."
"My pleasure!"
"Mr.O,what do you think of our Chandrayaan?(proudly)Isn't it a phenomenal achievement?"
(Mr.O LOLs)"Oh that was hilarious,dude. Awesome movie. I was not able to catch a few lines here and there because of the language but the song & dance was totally cool..."
(Manu remains serene as usual)"Umm..Err...Cool. Coming to serious issues,how do you plan to stem the economic slowdown of the country,Mr.O?"
"YES!WE CAN!"
"Wow! And issues like terrorism,global warming etc, how do we tackle them???"
"Manu,dont you worry! I have a solid plan .The plan is ....umm...YES!WE CAN!"
"One question, Mr.O . Everyone seems to be very inspired by your 'Yes,we can' quote. How did you come up with such an inspirational quote?"
"Ah, that one? Well, to be frank,the morning I was to give a public speech,my wife was pestering me about taking our pet dog to the veterinarian. She called up again while I was in the midst of the speech. I picked up the phone & yelled into the mike 'YES!WE CAN!'. And,the rest,as they say, is history"
"Fascinating story. Now, when are you giving us the opportunity to give you a taste of the great Indian hospitality, Mr.O? Can you smell the hot hot paranthas I' m having while talking to you?"
"Oh Manu!Stop with the jokes! You're killing me..."
(Manu chuckles)"You haven't yet told when told will be your visit to India?"
"Hellooo..Helloo..I can't hear you Manu...."
"But I can hear your voice crystal clear Mr.O. Helloo, can you hear me now? So when will you be coming to India to..."
"Helloo..Manu..Helloo..Cant hear ya.. TTYL...Yes,we can...Ciao..."
(Phone disconnects)
"Mr.O is a great man..At least he called..."
P.S. : Not totally off-topic, The Shawshank Redemption totally rocks! ;)
"He loves me... He loves me not...He loves me.. He loves me not... "
"Manu Saar, how long will you keep waiting for his call? You haven't had a grain of rice since last fifteen days. He got elected as the President just 15 days back. He will call you... Hundradantonty percent! Come now, the paranthas are getting cold..."
"I just hope the other guy hasn't forgotten to tell this guy about our deal before leaving. I have serious doubts about the previous guy's memory. When the deal was being inked, he was telling me a joke about Spiderman & Superman . I didn't get the joke but guffawed anyway and said Sunny Deol is the best" (Gets up to fetch the paranthas)
Trrinngg.. Trrinnnng....Trrrinnngg...
"Thats Mr.O calling!(gleefully) Manu saar, didn't I tell you they all love you!? Here... "
(Manu comes back running and picks the receiver)
"Hello Mr.O!"
"Hellooo Manu!"
(in a complaining voice)"So finally you remembered me,Mr.O???"
"I'm really sorry Manu. You know I've been very busy since last 15 days, moving into the new HOUSE,setting up the house, painting it with white, all that you see..."
"You had to paint THE house WHITE???"
"Yes, the previous occupant had stayed for too long and had left too many marks. When I reached the house and was about to enter it,I saw right on the door was written in huge bold letters - 'B was here.B didn't wanna leave.They threw B out'. And there were other quotes too on the walls inside the house.So it look a hell-lot-of time to white wash the house and settle down"
"I see,I see. And what is this I hear Mr.O? You called up the neighborhood guy before calling me and spoke to him for a whole 20 minutes. A clear shift of interests?"(in a complaining & disapproving voice again)
"Hellooo..Manu...Helloo....I can't hear you.Can you speak up a bit?"
(Manu hesitates)"Ok. I am very relieved and happy with your answer..."
"My pleasure!"
"Mr.O,what do you think of our Chandrayaan?(proudly)Isn't it a phenomenal achievement?"
(Mr.O LOLs)"Oh that was hilarious,dude. Awesome movie. I was not able to catch a few lines here and there because of the language but the song & dance was totally cool..."
(Manu remains serene as usual)"Umm..Err...Cool. Coming to serious issues,how do you plan to stem the economic slowdown of the country,Mr.O?"
"YES!WE CAN!"
"Wow! And issues like terrorism,global warming etc, how do we tackle them???"
"Manu,dont you worry! I have a solid plan .The plan is ....umm...YES!WE CAN!"
"One question, Mr.O . Everyone seems to be very inspired by your 'Yes,we can' quote. How did you come up with such an inspirational quote?"
"Ah, that one? Well, to be frank,the morning I was to give a public speech,my wife was pestering me about taking our pet dog to the veterinarian. She called up again while I was in the midst of the speech. I picked up the phone & yelled into the mike 'YES!WE CAN!'. And,the rest,as they say, is history"
"Fascinating story. Now, when are you giving us the opportunity to give you a taste of the great Indian hospitality, Mr.O? Can you smell the hot hot paranthas I' m having while talking to you?"
"Oh Manu!Stop with the jokes! You're killing me..."
(Manu chuckles)"You haven't yet told when told will be your visit to India?"
"Hellooo..Helloo..I can't hear you Manu...."
"But I can hear your voice crystal clear Mr.O. Helloo, can you hear me now? So when will you be coming to India to..."
"Helloo..Manu..Helloo..Cant hear ya.. TTYL...Yes,we can...Ciao..."
(Phone disconnects)
"Mr.O is a great man..At least he called..."
P.S. : Not totally off-topic, The Shawshank Redemption totally rocks! ;)
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
MCPSri Pavan Kumar Kulkarni!!!
A female friend of mine bestowed the highest civilian award in the country upon me. Members of Wannabe-MCP Association in Ghatkopar have burnt effigies of me and raised slogans.The spokesperson of the society has already made a public declaration in Aaj Tak that once they find the person who has awarded me this honor, they will make an effigy and burn it. So,in order to save the effigy,we shall just keep the person-in-question's identity a secret. For people wondering if I am a deserving enough candidate for the title, here's the story.
Well,its not much of a story. Few friends of mine were planning to watch Fashion. I plainly said I don't like most of the movies with female leads(Hollywood or Bollywood) as they are pathetic. (Ok fine, I finally saw the movie.But this much I 'll say in my honor.They had to call me thrice). So if this doesn't make me the biggest MCP in the country, what will??? :P :P Male chauvinism is all about not watching Charlie's Angels,for example,correct?
I wonder why we don't have an all-girls version of Dil Chahta Hai (I couldn't resist this - Dil Chahti Hai? :D) Wonder why all good female-oriented movies are tear-jerkers? Wonder why we don't have a lady Indiana Jones? Uh wait,dude ... You talking about Lara Croft - Tomb Raider???
I rest my case.May justice prevail.
(Lara Croft was fabulous,tho.No doubt)
Well,its not much of a story. Few friends of mine were planning to watch Fashion. I plainly said I don't like most of the movies with female leads(Hollywood or Bollywood) as they are pathetic. (Ok fine, I finally saw the movie.But this much I 'll say in my honor.They had to call me thrice). So if this doesn't make me the biggest MCP in the country, what will??? :P :P Male chauvinism is all about not watching Charlie's Angels,for example,correct?
I wonder why we don't have an all-girls version of Dil Chahta Hai (I couldn't resist this - Dil Chahti Hai? :D) Wonder why all good female-oriented movies are tear-jerkers? Wonder why we don't have a lady Indiana Jones? Uh wait,dude ... You talking about Lara Croft - Tomb Raider???
I rest my case.May justice prevail.
(Lara Croft was fabulous,tho.No doubt)
Monday, November 10, 2008
2 movies in a day!!!
For a big time movie buff, this is pretty late but still.......The honor goes to Fashion & Quantum Of Solace. The other way round??? Nah.
As much as its difficult to digest, QoS sucked, if not big time. Fashion as expected, was passable & predictable. Ok watch. I just went because everyone was going(Yeah, that happens all the time.More on that in a coming-shortly post).There is so much of Priyanka Chopra in the movie I can safely say I have become allergic to her after watching the movie. Anyways,I wanna crib about QoS & I'll precisely do that. I am not a 007 fan as such, but some or the other way I have ended up watching the last 5 Bond movies at the theatre. And wasn't really impressed with any of them. I even found the highly acclaimed Casino Royale only watchable. Coming back to QoS, there isn't much plot in the movie as much as there is chaotic action . Also all the action sequences had a sense of deja-vu (been there,seen that you know) about them. And the movie is totally stripped off all the famous 007 elements - the theme music, the witty one-liners, the suaveness, the Bond-James-Bond line, the 'ROMANCE'!!! I mean, I agree the few movies before Casino... had descended into formula & were kinda kitsch, but with this one they have yo-yo ed to the other extreme. Hope the people involved get smarter for Bond 23. Only one question - Mr.Bond, WHY SO SERIOUS??? (Hey this quote has made it to both my posts :P). And one request to the makers- Bring the lovely ladies back to the show!!!
So,what was I saying? Yeah yeah, 2 movies in a single day. 3 in a day? Some other time, sure.
P.S : Most reviewers have actually praised the action sequences in QoS and the movie has got good reviews overall. I know its difficult, but don't get too biased by the review here.Go see it,at your own risk though ;)
As much as its difficult to digest, QoS sucked, if not big time. Fashion as expected, was passable & predictable. Ok watch. I just went because everyone was going(Yeah, that happens all the time.More on that in a coming-shortly post).There is so much of Priyanka Chopra in the movie I can safely say I have become allergic to her after watching the movie. Anyways,I wanna crib about QoS & I'll precisely do that. I am not a 007 fan as such, but some or the other way I have ended up watching the last 5 Bond movies at the theatre. And wasn't really impressed with any of them. I even found the highly acclaimed Casino Royale only watchable. Coming back to QoS, there isn't much plot in the movie as much as there is chaotic action . Also all the action sequences had a sense of deja-vu (been there,seen that you know) about them. And the movie is totally stripped off all the famous 007 elements - the theme music, the witty one-liners, the suaveness, the Bond-James-Bond line, the 'ROMANCE'!!! I mean, I agree the few movies before Casino... had descended into formula & were kinda kitsch, but with this one they have yo-yo ed to the other extreme. Hope the people involved get smarter for Bond 23. Only one question - Mr.Bond, WHY SO SERIOUS??? (Hey this quote has made it to both my posts :P). And one request to the makers- Bring the lovely ladies back to the show!!!
So,what was I saying? Yeah yeah, 2 movies in a single day. 3 in a day? Some other time, sure.
P.S : Most reviewers have actually praised the action sequences in QoS and the movie has got good reviews overall. I know its difficult, but don't get too biased by the review here.Go see it,at your own risk though ;)
Adios!
"On the offside, first there is God,and then there is Ganguly" - Rahul Dravid
Goodbye Dada... you have made Indian cricket proud :)
Goodbye Dada... you have made Indian cricket proud :)
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A passion that WAS - Part 1 ;)
“Arre Pavan, Yahaan pe jo koi bhi hai sab ko international cricket mein jaane ka 0.0001% toh chance hain, par tera toh bilkul bhi koi chance nahi yaar... ”
These were the exact words as I remember the Chimpanzee(aka Naveed ,Team Captain & Classmate) had said. He & people around were rolling on the floor with laughter. He said that neither because I was out clean bowled with each stump landing in three different directions nor because I was a big duck in the match. He said that after seeing me walk back after getting out. Flustered, insulted, angry, face as white as a ghost & now come to think of it probably a bit scared too :D. I just gave a wry smile back and crashed onto the ground. And see, his prediction was right. I didn’t make it to international cricket :P :P . That was my second official match for Section A Team. I was in 9th standard.
2 years ago …
(Dad) “Why so serious, Son??? Lets put a smile on that face…” (All you Dark Knight fans relax, I am not The Joker! :P) Yippee! This has got to be one of the best days in my life until then! A no-strings-attached permission from Dad allowing me to play cricket every Saturday after school :P :D… that too despite vehement protests from Mom :D….Phenomenal! Well… I have to admit I don’t remember much of my cricket playing days before my 6th standard. But I sure made up for it during the later half of my school days. Now all you readers, sit back, and let nostalgia kick in as I recount My Experiments with Cricket ;)
Cricket on Saturday afternoons was awesome fun. As soon as the last bell rang on Saturday 1 pm, we would all meet up & everyone in the group would be intimated as to what time to be back to the ground (around 2 usually). I would take a drop on someone’s cycle and rush home, drop the bag, change, have lunch and rush back to the school ground. Our school ground had no name as such, but for us, it was the Mecca Of Cricket, bigger in stature than the Ovals ,The Eden Gardens etc etc . My homeground :)
Let me explain the format of our game first. We, as a group, were unanimously against full length games with 10-15 overs a side, full length pitches and full arm bowling right from the beginning. Wise men that we were, we knew that would waste a lot of time and we would be too tired too soon to enjoy the game. Thus the concept of “short boundary” came into being.
Rules & Regulations:
- Number of overs depending on the number of players (universal rule ;))
- A very short boundary (so that we don’t need to slog much running)
- A small pitch (around 10 yards I guess)
- Bowling is standing from the bowler’s crease and delivering the ball.
- A six would get the batsman out. (That’s why the name short boundary)
Now to the selection of the stumps. This is one area where every Indian gulli-cricket-player is at his imaginative & creative best. We promptly zeroed on the kho-kho pole! That should’ve been the smallest stumps ever used in terms of breadth. ;) Now the best part! Right from the time we started playing, we always used only cork balls to play and never ever turned back to tennis or rubber ball after thatJ . Playing with a cork ball is pretty exciting. Also as it gets older, the surface of the ball gets rough & patchy. So it becomes easy to grip & it generates much better spin than a tennis ball or a rubber ball. Now everyone in the team was a Shane Warne! :D Also surprisingly, I don’t remember anyone getting seriously injured during all the time we played :)
We had decided right from the beginning that we needed more practice on the offside for us to blossom into great players.:P The decision was taken with immediate effect . No runs on the onside! Modesty be damned, I was the most dependable player in the group. And I guess much to the amusement of others, I used to take the game way too seriously. Others were the kind who would not hesitate to forfeit the match after batting just because they don’t want to field. :D. And we got used to this kinda cricket so much that when we played matches against other team where runs could be scored all round the wicket, most of us had forgotten there is something called onside where we can hit and score runs too :D . Soon we were regularly playing on weekdays too after school hours. I sometimes used to reach home at 6:30 – 7 pm on weekdays after a 2 hour session of play. Life was good then, in fact, great. And the images just don’t disappear from the mind’s eye…. The memories don’t fade…. And one of those days when I returned home late, took off my shoes and was about to enter the house , I could see a silhouette framed against the open door. Dark & eerie. I strained my eyes to see what it was. And then a lightning struck far far away and threw light for a split-second on the figure at the door. I could feel a terrible lump go down my throat & land in my stomach .My legs would give away, not out of exhaustion & fatigue but out of dread. Mom! A very very pissed off Mom! Yeah, some memories just DON’T fade away… :D.
Then there were the Section A - Section B matches. I was from Section A. And we pretty much sucked in our cricket. Chimpu (our Section A captain :D) used to come and play short boundary cricket with us regularly. He discovered an unpolished diamond in me (:P) and one fine day he said, “Pavan, Tu team mein aaja…” Yay! I was in the team.( Yeah yeah, Section A team, not even class team, oh let’s not even talk about school team. It should be pretty much clear by now I ain’t hear to brag about my talent in the game :P) And overnight we became the undisputed champs!!! Just Kidding . We still got pwned in most of the matches and in the process some cash to the other team :D :P
You will see some improvements in standards once you start playing for the official team - you use a proper cricket ball (the red ball all with the leather & the seam over the cork core), there is a mat along the pitch so that an even bounce is generated and you get to wear gloves on your hands and pads on your legs! And that was my nemesis in my first official match. I couldn’t run to save my life wit the pads on!!! And then, as wretched as it seems, I had to call for a runner. One fine delivery, I hit for a single, my runner ran & I ran along with him & then there was chaos. I was run out after scoring one :P . My 2nd match, as already explained , was a superior debacle. But soon I found my confidence and started making useful contributions. Alas! All good things come to an end. The clock was ticking. Soon they said – “ You have had enough fun now .You need not come to school from tomorrow.” And they handed me a certificate. :( The end of an era ….
These were the exact words as I remember the Chimpanzee(aka Naveed ,Team Captain & Classmate) had said. He & people around were rolling on the floor with laughter. He said that neither because I was out clean bowled with each stump landing in three different directions nor because I was a big duck in the match. He said that after seeing me walk back after getting out. Flustered, insulted, angry, face as white as a ghost & now come to think of it probably a bit scared too :D. I just gave a wry smile back and crashed onto the ground. And see, his prediction was right. I didn’t make it to international cricket :P :P . That was my second official match for Section A Team. I was in 9th standard.
2 years ago …
(Dad) “Why so serious, Son??? Lets put a smile on that face…” (All you Dark Knight fans relax, I am not The Joker! :P) Yippee! This has got to be one of the best days in my life until then! A no-strings-attached permission from Dad allowing me to play cricket every Saturday after school :P :D… that too despite vehement protests from Mom :D….Phenomenal! Well… I have to admit I don’t remember much of my cricket playing days before my 6th standard. But I sure made up for it during the later half of my school days. Now all you readers, sit back, and let nostalgia kick in as I recount My Experiments with Cricket ;)
Cricket on Saturday afternoons was awesome fun. As soon as the last bell rang on Saturday 1 pm, we would all meet up & everyone in the group would be intimated as to what time to be back to the ground (around 2 usually). I would take a drop on someone’s cycle and rush home, drop the bag, change, have lunch and rush back to the school ground. Our school ground had no name as such, but for us, it was the Mecca Of Cricket, bigger in stature than the Ovals ,The Eden Gardens etc etc . My homeground :)
Let me explain the format of our game first. We, as a group, were unanimously against full length games with 10-15 overs a side, full length pitches and full arm bowling right from the beginning. Wise men that we were, we knew that would waste a lot of time and we would be too tired too soon to enjoy the game. Thus the concept of “short boundary” came into being.
Rules & Regulations:
- Number of overs depending on the number of players (universal rule ;))
- A very short boundary (so that we don’t need to slog much running)
- A small pitch (around 10 yards I guess)
- Bowling is standing from the bowler’s crease and delivering the ball.
- A six would get the batsman out. (That’s why the name short boundary)
Now to the selection of the stumps. This is one area where every Indian gulli-cricket-player is at his imaginative & creative best. We promptly zeroed on the kho-kho pole! That should’ve been the smallest stumps ever used in terms of breadth. ;) Now the best part! Right from the time we started playing, we always used only cork balls to play and never ever turned back to tennis or rubber ball after thatJ . Playing with a cork ball is pretty exciting. Also as it gets older, the surface of the ball gets rough & patchy. So it becomes easy to grip & it generates much better spin than a tennis ball or a rubber ball. Now everyone in the team was a Shane Warne! :D Also surprisingly, I don’t remember anyone getting seriously injured during all the time we played :)
We had decided right from the beginning that we needed more practice on the offside for us to blossom into great players.:P The decision was taken with immediate effect . No runs on the onside! Modesty be damned, I was the most dependable player in the group. And I guess much to the amusement of others, I used to take the game way too seriously. Others were the kind who would not hesitate to forfeit the match after batting just because they don’t want to field. :D. And we got used to this kinda cricket so much that when we played matches against other team where runs could be scored all round the wicket, most of us had forgotten there is something called onside where we can hit and score runs too :D . Soon we were regularly playing on weekdays too after school hours. I sometimes used to reach home at 6:30 – 7 pm on weekdays after a 2 hour session of play. Life was good then, in fact, great. And the images just don’t disappear from the mind’s eye…. The memories don’t fade…. And one of those days when I returned home late, took off my shoes and was about to enter the house , I could see a silhouette framed against the open door. Dark & eerie. I strained my eyes to see what it was. And then a lightning struck far far away and threw light for a split-second on the figure at the door. I could feel a terrible lump go down my throat & land in my stomach .My legs would give away, not out of exhaustion & fatigue but out of dread. Mom! A very very pissed off Mom! Yeah, some memories just DON’T fade away… :D.
Then there were the Section A - Section B matches. I was from Section A. And we pretty much sucked in our cricket. Chimpu (our Section A captain :D) used to come and play short boundary cricket with us regularly. He discovered an unpolished diamond in me (:P) and one fine day he said, “Pavan, Tu team mein aaja…” Yay! I was in the team.( Yeah yeah, Section A team, not even class team, oh let’s not even talk about school team. It should be pretty much clear by now I ain’t hear to brag about my talent in the game :P) And overnight we became the undisputed champs!!! Just Kidding . We still got pwned in most of the matches and in the process some cash to the other team :D :P
You will see some improvements in standards once you start playing for the official team - you use a proper cricket ball (the red ball all with the leather & the seam over the cork core), there is a mat along the pitch so that an even bounce is generated and you get to wear gloves on your hands and pads on your legs! And that was my nemesis in my first official match. I couldn’t run to save my life wit the pads on!!! And then, as wretched as it seems, I had to call for a runner. One fine delivery, I hit for a single, my runner ran & I ran along with him & then there was chaos. I was run out after scoring one :P . My 2nd match, as already explained , was a superior debacle. But soon I found my confidence and started making useful contributions. Alas! All good things come to an end. The clock was ticking. Soon they said – “ You have had enough fun now .You need not come to school from tomorrow.” And they handed me a certificate. :( The end of an era ….
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Happy Diwali!!!
Happy Diwali to everyone! :)
Well... Hmmm successfully created the blog. Big achievement Pavan. A big round of applause everyone (Clap!Clap!Clap! :P) .. Thanku Thanku one and all.... This is my first post here.. Got lots to write.. But not today..feeling lazy u see(Hee hee... nintale enu bariyakke illa ashte :D).......Will let u guys know if something comes up ...Not very soon I guess... Lets see...Keep ur fingers crossed....(Dude Pavan, even ur blog seems to be chaotic :D) Yeah whatever :P
Well... Hmmm successfully created the blog. Big achievement Pavan. A big round of applause everyone (Clap!Clap!Clap! :P) .. Thanku Thanku one and all.... This is my first post here.. Got lots to write.. But not today..feeling lazy u see(Hee hee... nintale enu bariyakke illa ashte :D).......Will let u guys know if something comes up ...Not very soon I guess... Lets see...Keep ur fingers crossed....(Dude Pavan, even ur blog seems to be chaotic :D) Yeah whatever :P
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