The Record is where it belongs...

Finally...all is right with the world..Sachin Tendulkar, the best batsman in the world now holds the record for the highest individual score in an ODI and becomes the first batsman in the world to score a double hundred in an ODI.This was something he threatened to do in the Innings of 186 n.o. and 163 against New Zealand and 175 against Australia. Fate conspired in different ways to keep him from reaching the milestone. If the first time, he ran out of overs, second time he was hampered by injury and was unlucky to receive an awkward bounce during his knock of 175. But against South Africa at Gwalior nothing could stop him. From the first ball he faced, it was as if he was playing in a different zone altogether. This was a day that destiny had chosen to put the rightful heir on the throne. Right from the time he started playing, there was a belief in the people who watched him that if someone were to score 200 in an ODI ever, that would be Sachin Tendulkar. But as the wheel of time rolled by, that belief slowly started to die in many hearts. They thought at almost 37 years old, it was beyond him now.

Personally, I wanted Sachin to get a 100 yesterday and I am not ashamed to say that I didn't care if India won or lost as long as that happened. The way he started and got to the half century in a flash, I started getting a bit nervous. In my mind were many of his innings in 2008-09 where he fell in the nineties. There was no way to watch the match as I was in office. Cricinfo and AIR commentary on my iPod was the only avenue to keep abreast of the happenings. When he reached his century I started breathing easier. I was expecting him to cut loose after that and lose his wicket in the bid to accelerate the scoring. But as the scores started climbing, I was slowly realising that we were witnessing something special. Next milestone, 150 runs, came and went. With that he became the batsman with maximum 150+ scores. With each ball I feared the worst. A mis hit to long on, cramps, a run out while trying to pinch a double. Then exactly that happened. While going for a double, the stumps were broken and the decision was referred to the third umpire. I could not see the replays first hand and had to wait about a minute to know the verdict from the commentators on all India Radio. Might have been the longest one minute of my life. My palms were all sweaty and I didnt have enough nails to chew on. But even before the commentators confirmed it, the roar I heard in the background from the stadium told me it was not out. Then the belief set in...this was going to be Sachin's day. On this day in 1988 he entered the record books for the first time along with Vinod Kambli for the partnership of 664. After 22 years, he was meant to make history all over again. He crossed his personal best and entered the 190s. A small matter of the highest individual score was passed on the way but sights were set on the big one. Then something happened. Dhoni came in and started hogging the strike. Even though he was murdering the bowling and scoring heavily, never have I wished more that he mishit one and keep a boundary to a single. There were 2 overs left and Sachin was on 199. 49th over from Dale Steyn was played out by Dhoni and more irritatingly, he took a single off the last ball. I would have cursed him out loud if it were'nt for the fact that I was in the Office. I couldnt imagine Sachin being left stranded on 199 n.o. But then finally Dhoni took a single and Sachin wasted no time sealing the deal. First double hundred in an ODI by a batsman. Okay....not really a first double hundred in an ODI. Belinda Clark from Australia scored 229 against Denmark. But who cares about Women's Cricket?

Batting through 50 overs in the swealtering heat and then taking the field in the first ball of the South African Innings, add that full length dive in the first ODI to save a boundary and thus save the game, Sachin Tendulkar is single handedly proving that age is just a number. There might have been comparisons earlier...with Lara, Ponting, Richards, Bradman. All that stops now. Being Sachin Tendulkar means the following

1. Lose the chance to live a normal life
2. Bear the expectations of 1 Billion people every time you walk out to bat and they expect nothing less than a century from you....every time
3. Singlehandedly reclaim people's faith in the game after its darkest hour of match fixing. (The bookies would accept bets on Indian matches only after Sachin got out)
4. Put a smile on the face of the nation after the grievious terrorist attack in Mumabi (by leading the run chase with a century in the 4th innings against England.)
5. Remain untouched by any scandal whatsoever to such an extent that he was compared to Mahatma Gandhi.
6. Maintain the boyish enthusiasm and the love for the game after all these years (Even Lara took a break from Cricket to re focus)

When someone does all these for a span of 20 years and performs as Sachin has done, Then and Then only will one be eligible to be compared to Sachin Tendulkar. Throughout the time Sachin has played cricket, he has been the embodiment of what Aamir Khan preaches in his movie 3 Idiots.

"Success ke peeche mat bhaago...Excellence ke peeche bhaago, Success chak maarke tumhaare peeche aayegi"

The Joy of Travelling

There are two kinds of people in this world. One who like to grow roots and stay put in one place. They are happy with where they are and they like the comfort of familiarity. In free time they would rather enjoy some quiet time at home rather than venture out. The second kind are the ones bitten by Wanderlust. Their aim in life is to see everything. Given a couple of free days, they would pack their bags and head to explore the world. I have been finding out more and more each day that I belong to the second category.

The joy of travelling is a heady one. Earlier, during my student life, travel was kind of a necessary evil. I would have avoided it if I could but sadly I couldn't. I have had some horror stories of travel from those days. Once during my engineering days, I had to travel a 6 hour journey home literally standing on one leg, as I didnt have enough room to put my other leg down and I was getting poked in the back by a huge carton all the time. I didnt have enough space to move to a more comfortable position. Think a can of sardines and you will have a rough idea of what it was like. Another time, I travelled from Kanpur to Delhi sitting on the train doorway and one fine gentleman kept spitting his pan out of the window. No amount of reasoning could get him to stop doing that. While these experiences were tough to swallow at the time of happening, later I realised that whatever happens on a journey, they nevertheless make excellent stories. Like someone has said, "Adventure is discomfort recollected in comfort".

The first major travel I undertook voluntarily was after my summer internships during my MBA life. I had around a week left before the next semester was due to begin and I decided to spend that travelling. The sole purpose of this travel was to meet my geographically spread friends. First from Cochin to Chennai. Land in Chennai early morning, start from Chennai late night. From Chennai to Bangalore. Couple of days in Bangalore catching up with old friends. From Bangalore to Pune. Spending some time with my brother at AFMC. Then from Pune to Mumbai and Mumbai to Kanpur.

Once I got employed and became able to bear the cost of my own travels, I have taken all the opportunities that came my way to see the world. I have a group of friends equally bitten with the wanderlust. We plan and conduct tours at regular intervals. St.Mary's Island Mangalore, Bekal Fort, Tada Falls, Pulicat Lake, Nelliyampathy, Ottapalam, Wayanad, the list goes on. When I cannot find any company and I have some spare time, I travel alone. I once travelled 19 hours (up and down) to spend about 5 hours at a village that used to be a Dutch Outpost called Tharangambadi. Check out the archives of this blog for details on that trip. I also joined Chennai Trekking Club to avail of opportunities to explore the world around me. With CTC, I have been to Nagala, Talakona, Yelagiri, Kalrayan Hills and most recently Ooty.

Till now my travels have been limited to 2-3 days at a maximum. Now I am planning to take it to the next level. I am all set for a 2 week trip of Rajasthan and Jammu & Kashmir. If everything goes right, I will be flying out of Chennai on March 26th and will be back on April 12th. In this time I would be covering Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Amritsar, Jammu, Srinagar and Delhi. Tickets are booked, Accomodation arranged and leaves have been approved. Another month to go before I set off on this trip. The current plan is to make a travelogue out of this trip. If my laziness does not hold me back from writing it down, you can bet you will read all about it right here. So till then I leave you with the famous lines from Robert Frost

"And Miles to before I sleep, and Miles to before I sleep"

So I love Comics. What's so bad?

I am an ardent fan of comics. This includes titles from DC and Marvel Comics. Superman, Batman, Flash, Green Lantern, Captain America, Hulk, X-Men and so on. I have a huge collection of the soft copies (at last count I had around 140GB worth of it) of these comics. The problem is that whenever I tell someone that I like such type of comics and start talking about my collection, they look at me as if a third eye just opened up on my forehead. And then comes the oh-he's-still-just-a-kid smile. Really,what's so bad about liking comics?

Most people think that these are meant for kids. I respectfully disagree. Actually with some of the storylines in these days' comics, you would want to keep them out of children's hands. For e.g, In Identity Crisis, Dr.Light rapes Sue Dibny when she finds her along on the Justice League Sattelite. Comics are meant for children? Yeah..Right.

My attraction towards comics has different dimensions. Firstly, it is about what the character portrays. Superman is not just faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive. Superman is a character with such depth that we seldom think that much. I'll give you a taste. Those who read comics or atleast know about Superheroes know that all the Superheroes have a secret identity. Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spiderman is actually Peter Parker and so forth. They put on their costumes to become the superhero. In the case of Superman, he came to earth from a doomed planet Krypton. Earth's yellow sun gave him superpowers. He is actually Superman. He puts on a costume to become is alter ego Clark Kent. Clark is a mild mannered reporter. So, Clark Kent is how Superman sees the human race. Clutsy, Stumbling and a bit dumb. That's just one part. There is much more to the Superman mythos if you think about it.

Similarily Batman- the only superhero with no super powers, Spiderman - With great power comes great responsibility, Green Lantern - The power of emotions - Will, Hope, Fear, Love, Rage, Avarice and Compassion, X-Men : Another take on Racism. All these characters have such depth that you cannot help marvel at the brains that thought them up.

Secondly, Comics to me is an escape from the daily dreary routine life. For a few minutes I get transported to a world where arch rivals Hal Jordan and Sinestro are teaming up to fight Nekron who is bringing the dead back to life as his slaves. For those few minutes, I forget all my worries and fly with them. This serves as a stress buster for me. A safety valve for all the pent up tension of the day.

Thirdly, I admit, it fills the child in me with wide eyed wonder. The wander lust in me is sated to some extent by seeing new worlds ,albeit fictional and in a digital media and leaves me in awe of the great comic writers like Grant Morisson and Alan Moore. They created worlds out of nothing. The sheer creativity and attention to detail boggles the mind.

So I like Comics. Before you criticise, try it out yourself. I have some great graphic novels in mind for you. If you ever want to know about the magic of a great comic, you know where to find me.