Life and an Ice cream !

As the penultimate month of the year 2013 fast approaches its end, it was a time for me to start taking stock of how things have been this year. Though a final flashback post for the year is scheduled for next month, for me personally and generally, the year seems to have had more downs than ups.

Loss of people near and dear to me have been galore this year and also many a dream has been shattered; but then as wise men say, “Life Must Go on”.

I came across a wonderful similarity between life and an ice cream which a very dear friend has on his watsapp status. It says we should enjoy life and ice cream to the fullest before they melt away though I have a caveat for it. It is a certainty that the ice cream will definitely melt fast when you start enjoying it, but the case is reverse for life. The rate at which a person’s life might melt is inversely proportional to how much the person is enjoying life. The more you enjoy life, the less life melts away.

A person in his lifetime lives many lives. His entire journey of life is a summation of many different roles (lives) he enacts in the theater that begins with his birth. Everyone goes through incidents, day in and day out, that have more action, comedy, romance, tragedy and suspense than the greatest of blockbuster movies  and as a person evolves through his life journey soaking in these experiences, he becomes a wiser person, ready to embark upon a new life.

Probably the time has come for me to get a new life as well….but to embark or not to embark, that seems to be the question, my friend…..                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

The Legend- 5 things to learn from "The God"

74 attractive vintage  runs, rolling back the years, in the last innings of his career was not a bad ending for a fairy tale that Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar's entire cricketing career has been, starting as a bubbly 16 year old, nearly a quarter of a century ago.  Sachin, who finally bowed out in style from international cricket, with the distinction of being a part of a winning team in each of his last matches, in every form of the game that he so dearly loved and actually breathed for the last 24 years. As promised in my last post, this post is dedicated to the master batsman who for millions in this cricket crazy country of India was nothing short of  "The God".

Top 5 things to imbibe from Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar - 

1) Sacrifice and dedication because there is no short cut to success-  Sachin was one among the millions of youths who aspired to break into the Indian cricket team and played the game in the cricket mad metropolis of Mumbai. Though his talent for the game was evident, there were many more budding cricketers of his era, who had similar talents, if not more. No youth likes to lead a life of discipline and sacrifices, but Sachin, guided by members of his family especially his elder brother Ajit, saw discipline and sacrifices as a small foregoing in the larger incentive to be a player to reckon with. He led a regimented life and also stayed away from his family at his uncle's place which was closer to the grounds where he practised cricket.  The result, ohers fell by the way side but Sachin remained and transformed into a teen age sensation and then into a cricketing legend.

2) Continuously hone your skills, there is no age to learn- From the time he dreamed of playing for his country till the day he last played for the country, Sachin remained a learner for the game. When he used to play club cricket in his initial days, his coach Ramakant Achrekar would make him play as many matches he could play, ever day, because in his opinion, the best way to learn and hone one's cricketing skills was to play actual matches. After he made his debut and made his name as a cricketing genius, Sachin would often get back to basics and fine tune his batting techniques, so that he could continue to evolve as a cricketer, every day, each day. This probably was one of the reasons of the amazing longevity that he had as a professional cricketer.

3) It is only you and your attitude that makes or breaks you- It is not that Sachin has always got accolades, he has had to face his fair share of brickbats as well during the course of his cricketing career. To bear the burden of a billion cricket crazy public is not an easy task but Sachin came out unscathed in virtually all the situations that seemed to suggest sure doom for him. His stint as the Indian captain, for one, was probably a chapter best forgotten. His batting form dipped and the results nosed dived as well for Team India. One could be adamant and could have seen stepping aside as a captain as a step backward in life, but not Sachin. He stepped down as the skipper and channelized any disappointments that he had into demolishing opposition bowlers, marking the start of a golden period for him and Team India under the next captain Sourav Ganguly.

4) Be humble as even a large tree cannot survive without its roots- The name, fame, wealth and the iconic status that Sachin amassed in his career is unsurpassed in the annuls of Indian cricket. The fact that this did not get into his head, is a credit that must be showered on to him and his family, especially as he became an icon very early in life. A glaring example of a career and life destroyed by adulation and attention is that of Sachin's childhood buddy and a partner in school cricket records, Vinod Kambli. Kambli was an exciting talent and actually started off his career in a flamboyant manner even eclipsing Sachin. But arrogance and recklessness crept into him and his game and he soon faded into oblivion as fast as he had burst onto the scene. 

5) Be helpful and face life courageously because actual winners in life are never whiners- Many successful people like to keep the tricks of their trade kept to themselves only as they are afraid that divulging them might give rise to more competition. Sachin has never been short of giving advise to batsmen how to cope with their inadequacies, even while playing against them which is a hallmark of a person par excellence. During a particular phase in his career, he was out quite a number of times to dubious umpiring decisions and also had to undergo a few surgeries on his arm, but he never complained about them and bounced back from the set backs and continued playing the way only he can, as a winner.        

That he could decide the time of his retirement even after being on the wrong side of 40 years is a tribute to the legend.. But then wise men have said "Legends Never Retire"...... 

The Sachin Swan Song-The Change of Guard!

The "unthinkable" but inevitable thing is finally happening in Indian Cricket. Sachin "The God" Tendulkar is finally retiring from all forms of cricket after serving the game and his country for more than 24 years. An entertainer, a crowd puller, the world over and a wonderful ambassador of Cricket in general and Indian cricket in particular, the master batsman would play his 200th and final Test at his home ground of Wankhede in Mumbai against the visiting West Indian side beginning the 14th of November 2013.

Sachin "The God" Tendulkar

Team India has been in a transitional phase and with the retirement of Tendulkar, it would have players who would have played less than 20 odd tests, barring the Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. I intend to dedicate my next post on Sachin, so today, the post would be about the gradual change of guard that is taking place within the Indian cricket team.

Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami

The first test played between India and West Indies at the historical Eden Gardens in Kolkata generated immense "Sachin-mania" but Tendulkar's final swan song in the City of Joy was overshadowed by the performances by two Indian debutants, Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami backed by a power packed all round performance by Ravichandran Ashwin. The cases of the two men who made their debuts for India, could not have been more different.

The winning blow

The pedigree and talent of the stylish Rohit Sharma was never in doubt, though his temperament was,  and his debut was long over due as he was picked for the Indian cricket test squad as far as the year 2008 but could not play because of an unfortunate pre-match injury. The new designated Sultan of Swing, fast bowler Mohammed Shami, on the other hand was more of a surprise selection, although he was picked in the test squad after a decent showing against the Aussies in the preceding 7 match ODI series, he was not an automatic choice for the Kolkata test. The fact that he plays for Bengal and the Eden Gardens is his home ground could have been the clincher. The rest as they say is history. Rohit slammed a wonderful 177 and Shami picked up 9 wickets including 5 in the second innings to lit up Sachin's 199th test and condemned the West Indies to an innings defeat with in 3 days.

Sachin-The bowler

Though the Eden crowd would have been disappointed by their "God" not scoring runs (the fact that he got his 46th test wicket while bowling might have acted as a bit of a sweetener) they would have gone home reassured that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands with the enigmatic captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni at the helm, overseeing a change of guard and young players stepping in to fill the shoes of the greats like Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman. But the shoes of the greatest among them all, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, would be too big to fill...

The last hurrah??

In the mean time let us all wish that the little maestro entertains all for the final time in his last hurrah at the place where it all started........Cometh 14th November2013! Cometh The Final Sachin Swan Song!        

Diwali-The Festival of Lights

In  two days time, the Hindu festival of Diwali, also known as the "Festival of Lights", would be celebrated (3rd Nov) with religious fervor and gaiety among Indians all across the world. The festival has a very interesting origin as it is believed that it was on this day that Lord Rama, the revered Hindu deity returned from exile along with his wife Sita and brother Laxman to his kingdom of Ayodhya and to celebrate his return, the citizens of the city lit ghee lamps. And the tradition still continues...

The significance of Diwali is in the fact that the night sky is illuminated by firecrackers and houses and streets bask in the warm glow of lamps and candles. The symbolic Darkness is thus overcome by Light and as the festivities go on till late night, the death of the night is replaced by liveliness and a zest for life.

This Diwali lets all try to illuminate ourselves and eradicate "darkness" from our lives. Let us all search out for newer opportunities and open our minds to newer ideas and dispel the darkness of a closed mind because as the wise men have said there is nothing more expensive and wasteful than a closed mind and a lost opportunity.

Let us all move ahead in life and prosper and live a happy, peaceful life!
Happy Diwali to all in advance!!!