God is Back...

"If Cricket is a relegion, Sachin is the god".In a country like India, Cricket is indeed a relegion more powerful than any other. Where relegion divides, cricket unites. Be it a Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Sikh or Parsi, when Sachin is flaying bowlers all around the park, there is a sense of oneness in their minds. A feeling that unites India ike none other. And noone brings out this feeling better than a dimunitive genius called Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. Just think, how many other players are referred to all over the world by their first name? It is most of the times, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, or Agarkar. Rarely does someone refer to them as Rahul or Saurav and others even more rarely. But Sachin has always been Sachin. Since his broken nose on his debut tour to Pakistan, India has bled with him. Each time he is injured, the whole country prays for his quick and healthy return...because noone else does to them what he does. So it was no big surprise that India's opening match at the DLF cup was a real big match. It was the return of the god. We had all been waiting for the moment and it was well worth the wait. It was a statement to all those who said Sachin's best is behind him and he should consider retirement. It said to them "In your Face". Sachin was never one to respond to criticism or provocation through words, whether it be a bowler or a so called "expert" who is on the other end. He just lets his actions talk for him. You can ask one Shane Warne who initially said that he has drawn out plans for Sachin and later modified that statement saying that he has nightmares about Sachin. Or you can ask Henry Olonga or Andrew Caddick or Shoaib Akhthar....the list ges on. So this Innings was a statement...done in style.The only thing that spoiled the occassion was Rain and the @#$%^*& Duckworth Lewis System which seriously needs to be scrapped. But I don't care if India wins or loses as long as Sachin keeps scoring big hundreds. Rain may have played spoilsport here. But the signs are clear. If you thought that Sachin is over the hill....If you thought that he has nothing more to give to the game....you'd better wake up and applogize...Coz the God is back and he is here to stay for a long long time. Go Sachin......

Lage Raho Mamu....

Apun ne pichle satterday ko "Lage Raho Munnabhai" dekh dala...kya mast pikkchar hai mamu....Apni Sanju Baba aur Arshad ne kya mast acting kiyeli hai....maa kasam mazaa aa gaya..aur woh Vidya Balan bhi kya dikhti hai baap....ekdam dhinchak...Apun ko pikkchar mein sab se mast to hamara circuit hi laga...Koi bhi doubt ho na...circuit se pooch dal... "Abe Circuit..ye October 2nd kya hota hai?"..."Dry day hai bhai"..."Kyon"....."Bilkul idea nahi hai bhai....Lekin tension nahi lene ka....pata lagate hai na.." Abe agar Circuit nahi hota to Munnabhai ki to vat lag jaati...bole to "durgati" ho jaata...Har ek ki life mein ek circuit hone ka...nahi to kya life hai yaar...aisa koi honaich mangta jisse kuch bhi bol sake......dil khol ke jiske saath baat kar sake...Apun to bahut lucky aadmi hai...kyonki apun ki life mein to aisi logon ki koi kami nahi hai....Kya Maamu...apun bhi kya bake jaa raha hai...phaltu mein dimaag ka bheja fry...to hum baat kar rahe the pikchar ka...Apun ko pata tha ki baapu akha country ka father hai...lekin isme to baapu munnabhai ka bhi baap nikla...bande ne sahi acting ki hai...Aur gaane...kya mast gaane hai....pehliwali pikchar se bhi mast... Bande mein tha dum....Pal pal har pal...samjho ho hi gaya....lage raho munnabhai...sab ekdam dhinchak gaane hai...To apun sabse vinamr se bol rahela hai..jaake bhai ko dekh ke aane ka....Aur agar lucky singh type ka koi aadmi aapke aas paas ho to usse bolne ka.."Get well soon". To apun abhi chalta hoon...phir mulakaat hogi..tab tak..goodbye..goodnight..Sayonara...

Its Onam......

The festival that brings a flood of sights and smells into mind. The sight of the flower carpets...in newspaper photos (nowadays rarely do people lay it out on their courtyards)...the sight of posters of all the Onam special audio cassettes..(mostly mimicry cassettes like De Maveli Kombathu and Onathinidakku Puttu kachavadam). More than the sights, its the smells that appeal to me..the smell of new clothes...the smell of payasam boiling...the mixed smell of the Onam feast...I really missed Onam for the last two years....As coming from Kanpur to Kerala took about 52 hours on train (didnt want to waste dad's money flying), it was just not possible..In the first year of MBA we had an Onam celebration at IITK with all the mallus there...Although it was some 2 weeks after the real Onam, i didnt want to miss it (it being the mallu food that was prepared for that occassion. Getting good mallu food in Kanpur is like finding an Oasis in Sahara Desert...or maybe even harder). So I took advantage of the opportunity and reached promptly for the feast and had a good time....Last year we were planning to have Onam celebration on Onam itself. I was busy discussing about the activities that we should have on that day with the president of the malayalees association, who happened to be my wing mate. Little did I know that someone up there was watching me and saying,"Plan on dear boy...But I have something else in mind for you". About 3 days before the celebration, including the sumptuous feast and a Mohanlal Movie, I was diagnosed with Jaundice and promptly admitted at Health Centre IIT Kanpur. The Onam Feast for me was 4 bottles of intravenous fructose....Well the stint in the health centre is another story altogether...maybe I'll save it for another time..So this year I have vowed to make up for the 2 lost Onams...I'm off to Kayamkulam today...Monday and Tuesday leave...will start back to Chennai after the Onam feast..Mmm.....Just thinking about it makes me hungry...Let me go and grab a sandwich...Happy Onam to all my readers (using plurals instead of naming my readers gives an impression that there are a lot more of them). So catch u all later...