Cricket..

today i noticed a strange thing...the India-Australia 7 ODI series started with one that was on till the last ball and I didn't bother to watch even a single delivery..not that i was dead busy...an occasional peek into cricinfo was enough to satiate the Cricket in me..

and this coming from one who had sworn to take a 1000 rebirths ( if required ) till he becomes a cricketer when it was too clear that cricket was not going to be in this birth...aaahhh...it was Class 4 then..I still remember those nights when I had wept all by myself...while every match beamed live on television always had me glued to the screen...had my own cricket copy where I maintained my own scorecard..through the screen into the greener side..as the spectators broke into frenzy at the slightest hint of the bat & ball battle...on the other side...my eyes on that non green strip at the center...my pencil busy with every run being scored..while within I was a little devil..scheming over my next excuse to watch the next 2 overs....judging the temper of my father...mother..those were complicated equations which when solved properly would give the safety limits....configure my excuses....

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Almost 15 years hence...today was a Sunday..more than a typical lazy one...watched 2 movies.....still struggling to get going with a work long pending...and guess what...I did not even bother to watch a single delivery being bowled!!!...not that I was dead busy....not that I had to scheme for every 2 overs...I had all the permission and the free time and yet....

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PRIORITIES...define our local life

outside the door

its part of my daily routine..the walk from the mess to the dept after the dinner that takes about 15 mins..i call up my people

calling up and listening to the wired voices..spraining the ear for a hint of emotion in the few minutes of conversation..conversation that mainly hovers around studies and health..conversation that hides all the local tension and the uncertainties of the mind..i talk talks to keep them happy..and so do they..

it is seven long years now..and home has never been the same..the room where i learnt my physics..the clock whose 7:25 would mean i have 3 more mins to sprint 500 metres to catch the school bus..the bathroom that was a witness to countless concerts..the kitchen where i had spent hours talking to ma..the verandah where i had slept many an evening during the summers..seven years and its all memories now...into my grey cells..behing the darkness of the eyes..abstract..intangible..

yet, its not a complaint..a calm recollection that sends a few pangs across

before i sleep..

have miles to go..or..

I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep

thats Robert Frost from STOPPING BY WOODS ON A SNOWY EVENING..but don't worry..tonight I am not going to remind you your high school english curriculum..this post is to state one of the prime thoughts that dwell within before i sleep..

ever since those hot summer afternoons..when the school has closed down..forced by ma would lie down on the cot below the speeding ceiling fan..the blades exhibiting a collective "motion" & "anti-motion" ( due to the finite persistence of vision of the eye and blah blah..)..fresh from an unsuccessful negotiation with ma about an afternoon cum evening grand cricket match..as i nurse the wounds of the turned down plea and hit the ball for a six in my daydream, I would wait for the Sleep to come. It was one of my initial pursuasion that has not bore fruit yet.

Always found the process of sleeping very boring..to lay inactive for hours..hell lot of time wasted..one fine day had a novel idea to spice up sleeping..!!..i shall wait to note the time when i sleep!!..thus began my "eager patience"..amidst all the cricket daydreams..a part of me would be on strict vigil..waiting for the magical transformation of the mind...when the thoughts no more arose like bubbles in the bucket water..when the sea has pacified...but..alas..was never lucky...could never manage to welcome Sleep!!..

sooner than later did I learn to live with the failure..more than being angry or impatient..started enjoying this helplessness..inability..and the helplessness turned into a routine with no exception....

its time for one more failure..but now I dont try..Goodnight..I will go to sleep

our politicians are at it again..

after the Ailaa..its now the full moon tides that are supposed to hit the Sunderbans on the night of June 6-7..and the bureaucracy-government-opposition trio has done enough to make matters worse..according to the news report..

"In the four days the army was involved in rescue and relief in the Sunderbans, a small force of just 200 men saved the lives of over 1000 people. But for some strange reason the state government removed them from the operation on May 29. Had the military been kept on the job and asked to repair the embankments, tens of thousands of Sunderbans villagers wouldn't be staring at a second devastation. "

"The state's huge bumbling machinery messed up the relief operations. Now, when it has thrown up its hands in surrender, saying the breaches cannot be repaired before the full moon tide hits on the night of June 6-7, it has again turned to the army and even the navy for relief, medical care and repair of embankments. But it may already be too late. "

and here's the worst part..

"The government's initial decision to deinduct the army and air force in a hurry could have been prompted by the Mamata Banerjee factor and to show that the state government was competent enough to tackle the situation. The railway minister had claimed she was the first to contact the defence minister for army and air force assistance."

will someone please tell them that the elections are just over..its okay if they take some rest and fight only inside the Writers during the House hours and leave the army to do its job for good..!!

the conversation

was there in the shop for a shaving blade..one of those all in 1 shop so common in campuses...5 and a half ft tall..around 70 kilos..stout figure..must be in his early 40s..greets me with a trimmed moustache as i enter..

"shaving blade" and my right hand goes up with an imaginary blade held between the index and the thumb..

he gets the plastic blade bottle and puts in front for me to choose..

"7 o clock nehi hay kya?"..(always saw father using them..those images of the black & white wrapper..super platinum..whizz pass everytime i look for a shaving blade )

"nehi...woh khatam ho gaya hai..wilkinson hai"

"okay..then i'll take one..hmmm"..want to make sure i dont forget..somehow hate coming to these stationery shops..try to take things at one go"ek dabur vatika hair oil de dijiye aur ek surf excel"

"surf excel abhi nehi hai...sham ko aayega..main kuch din hospital me tha..aaj hi dukan khula"..

"aap hospital me admitted the?"..he nods and waits for the obvious question..for a second i thought he looks nervous..let me not bother him by further health queries..but couldn't resist.."kyu..aap ko kya hua tha?"

he frowns a bit and bends up his left hand to place the palm over his left chest..he meant to point at the heart i supposed..he did not even have the courage to utter..this was enough for me..no more interrogation..stop troubling the poor soul and move out..

as he returns the change

"aagar kisika 102 hota hai to main bolta hu aap baad me 2 rupai dena..par jab kisika 98 hota hai..aur mere pas aagar change nehi hai to ek shampoo sashay ya toffee denge..to student bolte hai ki mujhe toffee nehi chahiye..shampoo nehi chahiye...mere pas hota to main de deta...main sochta hu sabse thik se behaviour karna.."..puts his palm in front.."dekhiye haat ke paanch ungli alag hai..aur woh zaroori bhi hain.."..folds his palm such that all the fingers appear of the same length"..nehi to aap kha nehi payenge"

not sure what is going on....i nod...is he in a preaching mood..or had a bad morning..some rude customer..or the visit to the hospital ( that too regarding matters of the heart ) have made him a serious thinker
i nodded..thought the 'paanch ungli' demo was quite nice..it was a welcome comical relief to the otherwise serious discourse....then comes the second innings..

"dekhiye aap jo karte hain woh madat nehi hain..duty hain..madat to sirf woh karta hai jiske paas bahut hai aur woh to sirf God hai..aap bohut hard work karke exam me 90 layenge...usse kuch farak nehi parega..par teacher jo 3-4 marks grace denge wohi kaam ko aayega..aap ka career hi badal ja sakta hai..aur woh God ne teacher ko message diya aapko grace marks dene ke liye....dkehiye aadmi aagar bolega nehi to woh bohut kharaap hain..woh aapne andar ka baat bol dega..to usko achcha lage ga..isiliye hum aapko bol rahe hain..."

so there you are..its the aftermath of the hospital visit..fine..i nod...forward my right leg towards the door..

"God lekin same hain...jisko leprosy hua hain..woh Mother Teresa ke pas..church me jayegai..woh nehi bolega ki woh Hindu hain ya musalman hain, isiliye nehi jayega...upar me saab dikhata hain ki aapas me bohut gussa hain..par wakt bura ane pe woh sab chala jata hain..usko tab madat chahiye"

"i am a man of simple thinking and simple living..main fauj me tha pehle..tab bohut hard tha..civil me aane ke baad main socha mujhe narm hoke milna chahiye sabse..nahi mujhe politics me interest hain na films mein..manhoman singh aapka PM..aap use pehchante ho..uske paas aap ka kuch hain?..woh aap ko pehchanta hain??..photo hain aapka uske paas??.."

"nehi"

"fir!!...kya fayeda politcs mein..??..cinema ban raha hai..woh log karoro ka income kar raha hain..hume kya milta hain??..kuch nahi.."..i nod

" dekhiye abhi aap se baat hua..main itna kuch bola..achcha lag raha hain...logo ke bich relationship to aisai hain..abhi koi humesha ke liye nehi rahega..to jitne din raho..pyaar se raho..aaram se raho"

at last a customer enters..and i bid him goodbye..

walking back.....i kept wondering why he spoke all this to me..most probably its the hospital visit...

so that was my try at reporting an incident in a 'novel style'..have written enough for today i guess..goodnight..got some pending work on mathematica guys...

shocking..

good morning..had to abandon my preplanned post as i feel i should be writing down this..

as i scan through the news items today, i chance upon the shooting of Dr. George Tiller in America..he ran one of the only three hospitals in America that provides late stage ( after the 21st week ) abortion...its equally shocking to hear the kind of hostility that he faced while living because of his service..to quote the news item.." A protester shot Mr Tiller in both arms in 1993, and his clinic was bombed in 1985.... vandalism at his clinic, including cut wires to surveillance cameras and damage to the roof that sent rainwater pouring into the building"....and mind you..all these happening at the "Meccaa" of the modern world.."the land of opportunity"...where dreams are realised- America!!

its one thing to learn that the Talibans have brought down the second century Buddha statues...you dont expect anything better....but news like the above are truly shocking...shameful..disturbing..and most importantly..

leaves the poet bleeding..

"Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high..Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit....Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake"

blogging finally...

a very warm welcome and nomoskaar...

oh...have waited for more than a minute now..thought i was good in writing in school....loved to write those 20 marks compositions in the Language examination..guess it will take some time before i manage to put the thoughts into typed words freely..lo..i have already put down four sentences and even thought of what i should write in my next post!!!!!

so that's it for now..make your self comfortable..will be back soon