The Unforgettable Touch

You touched my soul without even laying a touch on my body,

But when you touched my body, the soul had departed by then,

And thus the 'Unfinished' continued..

The Unfinished Chapter..

I sit back tonight and turn over a few of the old pages..

The pages have by now withered on the edges..

But the pages strangely smell as fresh as the wet earth from the first rains..

They seem to intoxicate me like a fresh mug of brewing coffee, many of which we have shared before..

These pages have resurfaced after a long time but they seem as new as the first time..

The letters look a little blurred but the pictures they are painting are still crystal clear..

Once written with a quaint shiver, away from everyone's eyes..

And now being read, still away from everyone's eyes, and still with a shiver down the spine..

Every page feels like a fresh journey, the words unfurl how we travelled to come closer..

It still is a journey and brings me closer to you but you're far..very far..

Are we farther than we were ever closer? Or are we closer than we're farther now?

You still take up the same place in my heart..This book as well continues to take up the same place at my bedside..

I had tried to bring completeness to us even then but it remained otherwise.. I'm trying yet again this night to complete this chapter but it seems to remain otherwise..

And as I close my eyes to sleep, I slip in yet another bookmark at that page where many memories have been bookmarked for years now..

We still remain incomplete and so does the chapter.. But I keep promising to myself that we shall meet again at this very chapter..

Our very own unfinished chapter..

Let's Go Back and Be Carefree Again!

I was breathing down heavily and almost stumbled over my steps,

As I saw this young couple speeding on their bike and meandering away right past me from a close distance,

A part of me wanted to shout out and give them a good dressing down,

The other part smiled within and murmured, "Young, carefree, love birds."

As I closed my eyes, thanked heavens and gathered courage to start walking again,

I found this uncontrollable urge within to turn around and look in the direction of that fast couple again,

They are fast, so were We,

We zipped past the streets alike on our favourite ride,

A desire to be hugged tight from behind,

Feeling love in every whiff of air,

Lending care to none,

The joys of being carefree though were now gone.

As I get on the stairs of my building,

I hear a newly wed lady shout out, 'How can you forget to get sugar again?'

Dismissing that without much thought, I soon realise my grocery packet has everything but sugar,

It takes me back to our good old days where forgetting sugar had its own old world charm,

Where seeing the eyebrows curve up and scoldings pouring out was surprisingly warm.

As I finish preparing a coffee for myself and settle down to pour it,

My eyes stop over at the lovely couple mug that we drank in,

With much emotion I reach out for the mug,

Holding it seemed like running fingers on her,

The coffee gets cold as the time flies by,

I sit watching the mug with a deep sigh.

As I slip into my night suit and turn to sleep,

I no more find you along side me,

The pillows still smell of your body to me,

And the bedsheet reminds me of the terrible pink you chose for me,

As I gaze at the fan turning over,

The fresh air seems to bring you much closer,

The opposite wall adorns your photograph,

And you continue to smile and look over,

Seeing this, it feels nothing has ever changed,

As I tell ourselves, 'Let's go back and be carefree again.'

Life - Where We Lose To Win!

As I hold my drink on a moonlit night and look at the ice cubes melting away..
I realise that everything in life is earned by losing something..
Just like the ice cubes now are losing itself to make my drink better..
Or the moon that is losing its light to light up this dark night..
And the sun that burns itself to give us a new morning..
And that morning that loses itself to a new night..
Like that pencil which loses a part of itself for us to write..
And that child who loses his tears only to understand a smile..
Or that job where I lose some part of me to earn my livelihood..
That canvas which surrenders itself to the brush and loses itself to the colours..
And that white which has embraced colours like none else could ever do..
Or that me who loses myself to her to win her more..
Like that heart of which I give a bit away to get her bit more..
Life is all about those losses that help us win..
Life is all about that darkness which make us think..
If it were not for the losses, could we ever cherish a win?
It is very important to lose in life..
And not be a loser at the same time..

Cheers to life!

It's between you and me - 'We'

Like that autumn wind which touches the dead leaves and puffs life into them..
Like that rain which brings the earth to life..
Like that sun that lights up the sky..
Like the You who makes me come alive..
For the Like was not Like anymore..
For the Like was Love and perhaps a little more..

The first dew drop on a winter leaf..
The first cooing of an innocent fleet..
The first smell of the morning tea..
The first wish with eyes closed..
The first kiss on those shivering lips..
The first of which that brought you to me..
The first of it that made us We..

I knew two dreams now..
One in which I always wanted you to be with me and the one where I see all of it coming to being..
I knew two worlds now..
One in which we all lived and the one where just 'we' lived..
I knew two feelings now..
One where I loved you madly, deeply and much more and one where I am loved even more..

Without You, I couldn't have been the Me, I am..
Without You, We couldn't have been the We, we are..
When I say We, I mean You..
When I say you, I mean my world..

An identity that has no name!

What we share cannot be restricted to the confines of a name..

A name might not do just to what we are..

They might search for different meanings..

They might give it different names..

What we share might be restricted to the confines of what they name..

What we share is boundless, and that boundless binds us together..

We know no boundaries when together but to the world we may not be together..

For the world may restrict us by drawing boundaries..

What we share is boundless and their boundaries might not bind us anymore..

What we share is chaste but to the world it might not be true..

They have their own dogmas that are being thrust on us..

It was they who said that the heart has its own reasons of which the reason knows nothing

It is them who are asking for reasons now..

What we share is chaste but for this false world which is anything but true..

What we share need not be shared with them..

They who look to lay definitions to everything know not what we know..

To them, we can never be one but remain two..

We know we are one and would remain true..

But perhaps with a longing of acceptance..

Or maybe without it too.. We are happy to remain so..

An identity that has no name!

- I've a name but we don't have one together..We would still go on.. Like they say.. What's in a name?

The Death Of Romance

World cinema can be appropriately divided into two halves, namely, Hollywood and Bollywood. While critics believe that Hollywood is all about original and out of the box concepts coupled with technical brilliance, Bollywood on the other hand is about drama, dance, music and yes, love! Love builds an important part of our life and our movies too. It is believed that Indian cinema stands on two major pillars – love and music. And if we were to name the two major pillars of the domain of love, it would be the impeccable Rajesh Khanna and Yash Chopra. As we lost both these legends not too long back, there was this instant debate that popped up in our mind. Is this the end of an era? Is this the end of romance? While the entire nation slipped into grief and would have needed something spectacular to come out of it, what better than living the good old times that we were gifted by these two great artists.

They made love look lovelier.

There are actors of supreme finesse, performers of terrific command and then there is, yes, there is and not was, Rajesh Khanna. With twinkle in his eyes, limitless confidence in his mannerisms and dressed neatly in his customary kurta pyjama, he swept the world off with his charm. Unreal it was to enjoy the superstardom he did. Like Amitabh Bachchan in one of his famous blog posts mentions, “His generation and the generations that follow, shall never be able to describe, or understand his phenomena. The word 'superstar' was invented for him, and for me it shall ever remain his, and no others.” But far within this stardom laid an actor, an actor who presented love on screen like never before. Whether it was the Air Force Officer Arun Varma singing Mere sapnon ki rani atop an open jeep in Aradhana, or Sunil’s love over the societal norms in Daag, be it the insecure lover Kamal in Aap Ki Kasam or the selfless lover Anand Babu in Amar Prem, Rajesh Khanna was never him in all these memorable roles but the lover that we all are. And perhaps that is why we loved him because he loved just like us.

It wasn’t that Rajesh Khanna was the first actor to present love on screen, there were legends like Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor who had shone in this domain. But there was something inexplicable in him that struck a chord with all the movie watchers. As far as stardom goes, no actor in that generation enjoyed the status he did. Girls leaving their homes behind and getting married to photographs of Rajesh Khanna, writing him letters with their blood and painting his swanky white car with smudges of lipstick never happened to anyone else. And when Rajesh Khanna was struck by oblivion and faded out with time, movie making wasn’t abandoned but love sagas came to a standstill (fans would call it the death of romance while theorists would call it the shift in trend). And when Rajesh Khanna, fondly called Kaka, left for his heavenly abode, there were reportedly 1 million people who came down on the streets of Mumbai. There would have surely been a lot who had come in to catch a glimpse of the other stars that were present at the sombre occasion but those who came in from far lands like Singapore, California, London and many more had come in for their unconditional love for the Superstar, the love he showed us on screen. You get what you give and he took it all with him on his final journey. Death of romance? Not really. Perhaps a never ending love saga.

Some stories are written by the Almighty himself, one such story is that of the famous story teller, Yash Chopra. Born to a family which boasts of the great B.R.Chopra (his second brother), Yash Chopra didn’t take long to realize that cinema was his calling. Starting as an assistant to his brother, he soon took over the reigns, going on to create ripples with some very bold and ahead-of-times subjects. His first few movies were indicative of the fact that this maker was going to be different. If his movies revolving around religious sentiments, partition of India and hard hitting social drama were anything to go by, no one would have actually guessed that this man would offer anything other than impactful, hard hitting and bold subjects. Then came the formula of ensemble cast, the extremely famous lost and found formula and the most assuring of them all, action cinema which of course established Amitabh Bachchan as the angry young man.

Yash Chopra had always been a man on search for newer themes, ones that would speak our mind, ones that would at times show a lot of ‘we’ and the others that showed what ‘we’ dream to do and only live through the silver screen. Even the great maker himself wouldn’t have known that the genre he next attempted was a domain that would define him or in fact, he went on to define. And even when he showcased love on screen over and over again, he constantly brought to us newer and different shades of love, ones he hadn’t shown us before and that inimitable trait of his to do something very different with the same domain always made him what he eventually went on to be – the King Maker of Romance! If it was polygamy and the attached societal hindrances in Daag, Silsila showed us the story of an extramarital affair. In Darr, Yash Chopra presented a very refreshing subject of an obsessive lover who could go to any extent to get his girl of dreams and in Veer Zaara, we saw eternal, unconditional love, the kind which lasts the test of time. Every time the master brought love on screen, he gave us new reasons to love him all the more. And while he anyway wouldn’t have directed any more after his swan song, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, his passing away was a loss that the world of cinema couldn’t have ever prepared for. Many of us believe that with this, love would never be the same on screen anymore. His contribution to romantic cinema was such that perhaps love could be taken out of our movies but Yash Chopra couldn’t have been taken out of love. Perhaps he would have just sang out, “Main yahan hoon, yahan hoon, yahan hoon, yahan..”

Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young. Some would remember them for having ruled the box office for decades altogether while some would remember them for having ruled a million hearts. But as the years pass by and thousands of films keep being made every year, all of these would be achieved by someone or the other. What would separate the two then? Firsts are always special, be it the ‘first superstar of the nation’ or the ‘first or the only filmmaker to have actively made and directed films for five decades.’ And in arguments many with our parents over who is better, we would admit deep down that there wouldn’t have been this present had there not been this glorious past. Only a few would know that Yash Chopra’s production house (Yash Raj Films) was coined after the initials of the two greats themselves, Yash Chopra and Rajesh Khanna who got together in the former’s maiden production venture, Daag. None would have known that this partnership might not have reappeared too many times later but the partnership remained forever. Their passing away for many is the death of romance in the Hindi film industry and it wouldn’t be completely wrong to say so, since pumping in that kind of life in today’s cinema has become an almost improbable task. At the end of this piece, while we become nostalgic about these two stalwarts and look at the far end, they would be looking at us from above and saying, “Arreh, Yeh Bhi Ek Daur Hai, Woh Bhi Ek Daur Tha..”

The First Of Many More To Come..

It’s not even been a week but we have witnessed two young men rise up to the occasion and announce their arrival in a fashion only heroes can. Both were taking places that belonged to stalwarts from their respective teams, as much as the stalwarts belonged to those slots. The two stalwarts must have been their heroes as they conceived a dream of playing for their nation, therefore even bigger boots to step into. Comparisons were bound to happen and they did too, but couldn’t take the sheen away from the knocks that are going to be discussed for quite some time now. Yes, the young men are here to stay!

17^th August, 2012: England were reeling at 54-4 in a contest they needed to win to restore their Number One rank. They were without their Star – Kevin Pietersen but his absence wasn’t felt. The huge ‘text’ controversy was still afresh in every English mind as a popular topic of debate and discussion, the television commentators kept coming up with their opinions too but I’m speaking of his absence not being felt on that particular day, in the English batting lineup. Now that’s quite a statement. Pietersen brings to the table a fine blend of style and substance, of grit and arrogance, of authority and control, all of these which were never seen before in English cricket. Pietersen is a special talent indeed. But we are here to talk of another man who proved himself to be special, ‘as special as Pietersen or not’ makes the discussion futile and pointless.

Bairstow came in on the back of a splendid ton he scored for the England Lions but his international appearances in the longest format made for little impact and impression. “History has it that special men choose special occasion to showcase their talent and such was the case of Bairstow as well. He was caught napping against Roach’s bouncers on his maiden Test tour and that reiterated the fact that Test cricket is a different ball game altogether. He worked hard and came back, just like a hero would in a movie. The flamboyance was kept under check to begin with, unleashed just when he needed to put the opponents against the wall; there was grit that stitched a wonderful knock and there was perfect control too, to keep all the batting elements under check. Fierce pulls, wristy flicks, strong cuts, everything was present that day, just like it always is when he turns up for Yorkshire. A ton would have been perfect but sometimes imperfections make the moment beautiful, to some extent, romantic as well and above all, makes us human because that is essentially what we all are. From the anxiety of trying to figure out what would happen to England without a Pietersen in the batting lineup, to the discovery of Bairstow at the Lord’s, it was nothing but a wonderful moment for an English fan. In the truest sense, it seemed to be the second debut for young Jonny. England welcomed a young man with a lot of warmth and the timing couldn’t have been better than this.

23^rd August, 2012: Let transition be named something else for we have had enough of that word in recent times. Two of the most important names were missing from the Indian Test side after a very long time, something which we all spoke about but were afraid of facing. The only other time (in the last 16 years) the Indian Test outfit didn’t feature these two names together saw an annihilation (South Africa defeated India by an innings, 6 runs and a day to spare). The very thought of it was frightening. The think tank tossed up the best options possible and readied itself for the beginning of a new journey on a path unknown. The young men couldn’t have been served better as they began the rebuilding process on pitches and conditions known to them for years now. But there were spots to be taken which belonged to two people who made them their own with unimaginable hard work, inexplicable sustenance and a system which accepted successes and failures alike, for nothing should be taken for granted.

Kohli had been there in the setup for quite some time now (ODIs and T20Is) and had also recently exhibited his class and temperament in the longest format with his knocks down under. Until Laxman retired, Kohli was tipped to take Ganguly’s spot. It changed overnight with Laxman’s retirement. Dravid’s spot was left open and when Dhoni handed over the team list at the toss that had Pujara’s name, it was quite obvious that he would come in at number three, a position he is familiar to. His triple hundreds, match winning knocks and all that established him as the man for the future had come at that number. It was time to quickly elevate to the highest level and a few hours later, he had finished achieving that, or begun well to prove that?

In no time, the past transitioned to the future with Pujara and Kohli batting together, and India in a spot of bother. Kohli was at his confident best, as certain as he is when he plays with the colored clothing on. At the other end was Pujara, very little bothered with what the world was speaking of. He quietly marked his guard and went about his business. His first boundary stamped his authority (fierce slap through the point area) and his second marked the ease with which he can pull the ball. Very soon, Pujara added one spoke after the other to his wagon wheel, with utmost ease and elegance. The control over his batting, the determination to do well and the hunger to score runs were there for everyone to see. In perhaps no time, we were treated with the scenes of a young man sporting a smile and raising his bat aloft to soak in all the accolades, the first of many more to come. It was an artistic hundred with fine brush strokes on the canvas, knowing exactly where to draw the margins and where to pour the colours. When Pujara walked off the field unbeaten at stumps, there were many who jumped into conclusions and pointless comparisons, “India finds the New Wall!”, “Pujara is the answer to Dravid!”, etc. But all that Pujara had mentioned before the match and now after the day’s play were still the same, “It was like a second debut for me.” Pujara must be well acquainted with the cricket fans and media in India and thus he should be able to shrug away all these from getting to his head.

To call Pujara the next Dravid is unjust to both, for it took Dravid a decade and a half to be what he is called today – A legend! To flood Pujara with comparisons to Dravid would only put him under undue pressure. It’s time to celebrate a classy hundred, on only its true merit. Special talent needs special attention and India must know that they need to preserve and nurture this talent well. Like a wise man once mentioned, “For life in more ways than one, is about additions and not substitutions.”

Welcome to Test cricket, Bairstow and Pujara! May this be the first of many more to come.

This article was written on 24^th August and speaks of the arrival of two young men who promise us a bright future.

The music that we call, 'The Terrific Trio'

Indian cricket at the moment is going through its biggest transition, one which loomed large for the longer part of everyone’s discussion but to everyone’s surprise, the think tank didn’t show enough guts to address it. And as expected, the results have left the team unprepared and the entire thing looks unplanned. Given the fact that India has always been a batting superpower, the retirements of Dravid and Laxman have left a huge vacuum in the middle order. But for a change, I won’t delve deep into discussions about retirements and replacements, present and future, I would simply say, I’m sad. Yes, I’m sad about not being able to see the Terrific Trio in action anymore. The trinity that treated us with such mellifluous partnerships, match saving innings, winning moments, won’t be at work together anymore.

That for me ends the era which produced a galore of melodious moments, lyrical brilliance, silken success and flowing beauty!

Cricket for me, like many others who are reading this, is the first love; cinema comes a close second. And music is a regular in my day-to-day life. And strangely enough, I always manage to find something musical in both cricket and cinema. Music binds together both my love affairs.

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music” – Aldous Huxley.

Huxley couldn’t have been more correct when he spoke about music in the aforementioned way. Music is a part of life to many of us. Especially, we, the Indians, have a big appetite for all forms of entertainment – cinema, music and cricket. Right from times unknown, there are traces of music deeply rooted in the Indian soil and not so surprisingly, there’s a song for every possible occasion in our lives too. A song on the birth of a child, a song on death, a song for love and a song for sorrow, all stages of life if not melodious literally, does have a musical background.

Coming back to my love affairs, the combination of cinema and music is outright obvious, but cricket and music is something different. On that note (hopefully, a musical one), I will strive to draw a parallel between cricket and music.

The chords, The lyrics, The vocals.

Spare a thought! The wonderful trio that Dravid-Tendulkar-Laxman formed in the middle order of the Test outfit can be actually compared to the basic elements of a song. For starters, the three most basic and indispensable elements of a song are its chords, lyrics and vocals. Chords are better known as the dhun, lyrics are the bol or shabd and vocals is the awaaz. For any song, the chords frame the base or the body, lyrics immerse in the chords and vocals present the combination to produce the song as a whole. Take any of these elements out of the picture and you would have ‘nothing’. Interdependent on each other yet strong as an individual, all these elements don’t create the magic even if one goes amiss. Same is the case with the trinity we are talking about.

Chords frame the skeleton of the song, the base on which a song is built and creates space for other elements to come in. No one can think of anyone other than Dravid who fit the bill in this aspect. He set the tone, assessed the conditions, carved a platform and readied it for others to build on it. Chords and Dravid are synonymous to each other. Just like chords readily embrace lyrics to stitch the outfit of a song, Dravid, all throughout his career built the stage for others to perform.

Next in the process is the entry of lyrics. Poetic and meaningful, artistic and style coupled with substance, mark the very essence of lyrics in a song. The Very Very Special (VVS) Laxman brought all of this in one package. His batting brought meaning to the plans, his silken timing and wristwork talk of style, his memorable knocks showcase the substance he had and his overall batsmanship/craftsmanship was more often than not, regarded as elegance personified. Laxman for most of his career came late in the middle order, needing to embrace the situation upon him and he did that with aplomb. Just like lyrics dresses itself in the chords of the song, Laxman took the team forward by establishing big tasks with relative ease, on the platform laid down by his predecessors.

If not more important than the above two elements, the vocals are considered to be at least as important as them. The melody of the chords and the meaningful poetry which frame the lyrics would all go in vain, if the vocals don’t bring the soul to them. Vocals bring completeness to the song, so does Sachin Tendulkar to the team. For more than a couple of decades, Tendulkar has been the voice of Indian cricket. Just as a singer would lend his voice to a song after understanding the chords and lyrics, Tendulkar has lent his skills, expertise and an unchallenged vision to batting. For a chord to sound melodious and lyrics to be poetic, the vocals need to be spot on and that is what comes together to bring forth a mellifluous song. And in a similar way, Tendulkar is the one who sets poetry in motion.

At times, you might hum the tune. At times, you might find the lyrics enriching. And at times, the quality of singing is extraordinary. But it is only when all of these come together that the entire song becomes worthwhile. Dravid-Tendulkar-Laxman have crafted so much melody together that the thought of it not coming together anymore is disheartening. This dulcet song of Indian cricket will always be remembered for the kind of magic it weaved for a decade and a half.

The music that we call, 'The Terrific Trio'

Without music (Dravid-Tendulkar-Laxman), life would be a mistake. Words fall short when one strives to describe its true essence, it’s better to leave the magic do its tricks and be spellbound yourself.

At times, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture..”

This article speaks about the sadness of not being able to watch the Terrific Trio together anymore. This was written on the 18^th August, 2011.

Transition: A Hypocrisy

While we have shut ourselves in our own shell by either lamenting Dravid’s retirement or rejoicing his illustrious career, we have actually turned our backs at the long term plan. It’s pretty much like crying over spilt milk without trying to figure out where the next drop comes from. Let us get the facts straight. Dravid is gone. Laxman will be gone and Tendulkar is not far away. And I am not asking the clichéd question – where is Indian cricket headed towards? What I rather want to know is where does the think tank want it to go from here, or where did they want it to go when the transition began with Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly in 2008. Let us take a deeper plunge into this.

Since Dhoni took over the reigns completely, across all formats in the year 2008, Indian cricket has indeed come a long way; the two most defining moments being the Number One Test status (1st time ever since the ranking system was introduced) and the World Cup 2011 which came after 28 years. And as if the reasons weren’t enough, Tendulkar kept all and sundry busy with the euphoria of the 100th ton, which remained around the corner for a long time. Amidst all this joy and delirium, there has been a reality check too. Never in the past (that I can remember) did India concede eight straight defeats overseas, neither did they look as lackluster as they did in the recently concluded CB Series (being defending champions and not to forget, they’re the world champions). To be honest, Indian cricket is in troubled waters with a lot of players walking on thin ice. Like always, the media has called for a few heads, Laxman’s being the most popular one. But now with Dravid retiring, Laxman is safe. I would presume so. You would as well but how safe is India in Tests?

Laxman is the subject for a case study here. Pretty much like India’s overseas performance, Laxman’s performance has been appalling as well (like never before). His poor average in England (22.75) got poorer in Australia (19.37), the latter venue being expected to extract the best out of him. Each failure has been saddening, and by that, I do not mean that failures are meant to be beautiful. But he looked like a fish out of water, totally out of place. And since there are a few young ones knocking at the doors, it appears as if Laxman would vacate his spot for maybe a Rohit Sharma. That is questionable, but then, it is bound to be, isn’t it? India obviously can’t have an experienced player as Laxman's replacement in the future. Is there such replacement? There can’t be. And that is where you draft in people who show you that spark, one which makes you say, “Okay, this man deserves a go at the target.” The Rohit Sharmas, the Ajinkya Rahanes and the Suresh Rainas are the immediate answers. And just when one thought that Laxman will go away, Dravid goes away.

Dravid’s retirement leaves a huge vacuum but that would have happened whenever he left, now or later. But I’m a happy man, Dravid has actually left well, much like he has throughout his career. He has left when he still had a lot of cricket left in him. Now let’s quickly shift our focus to Laxman. Dravid’s exit hands Laxman the ticket to hang on longer. Invariably he would score a big one in one of his forthcoming Tests, given the performer he is, but India has to prepare for its overseas challenges. With the next overseas tour scheduled for December, 2013, (let’s not count the tour to Zimbabwe here, which comes earlier) the think tank will need to take a few serious steps, not just earmark the players for the future but start giving them a fair run, starting now. Unfortunate but true, Laxman is stuck between the present and future; presently in bad form and future looking bleak. I can only think of his glorious past helping his case.

Now this opens a can of worms. What does the think tank do now? Kohli, who till now would have been looked at as Ganguly’s replacement at No.6, might well be pushed up the order to No.3 to replace Dravid. And if Laxman is pushed up, it is more a stop-gap arrangement than anything else. Dravid’s retirement and India’s abysmal recent form have compounded into a big dilemma for the selection board. There are more textures to ‘transition’ than just the cutaneous one. In India, the domestic framework is blamed, the culture is blamed and one must have noticed by now, it’s the “blame-game” written large over everything. That time has come when the team management will need to shrug off all the fears and address the worries. Whether it is Srikkanth’s men who take that decision to take Indian cricket forward or someone else, it doesn’t matter. It’s time to bite the bullet, do they have the teeth?

Honestly, transition is easier said than done, but much like death, it is an unavoidable truth and for a country like India where cricketers are revered and worshipped, transition is an unutterable sin. Much like, talking about 9/11 in the US. It is inevitable, some take it on the chin and work towards it, some fall flat while trying too hard and some just go through the motions and avoid it for as long as they can. West Indies still lives in the 70s and early 80s, they don’t have an option either. That’s one side of the story. But an Australia, brave and practical, took the hard steps and is on its way back to supremacy. It is about the will to take the challenges, irrespective of what happens later. There might not be another Kumble, Ganguly, Dravid or Laxman, but there surely is a Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and many more who deserve as much chance as they can possibly get. The names - Kumble, Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman became known only because they were given adequate opportunities to prove their mettle.

India might not have found another Gavaskar opening in Tests, but they did find one of the most successful openers they have ever had - Virender Sehwag. Life in more ways than one, is about additions and not substitutions. Time now that India stands up tall and builds on the pillars of glory, rather than getting buried beneath.

This article was written post Rahul Dravid's retirement from the only form of the game he played then, Tests. 

What's In A Name!

Till yesterday, William Shakespeare’s impregnable impact was felt in the rich literature books but now it hasn’t spared the geography books either. The phrase, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” from Romeo and Juliet which enjoys cult status has been taken a little too seriously by the administrative bodies of our country. Everything in India seems to have a remarkable history, be it rich or controversial. There has been a lot of talk about the changed names of places in India and let us make it clear that all of that talk hasn’t been a healthy one. Be it a Bombay turned Mumbai or a Bangalore turned Bengaluru, none of the older names were tongue twisters to be honest. So what thinking goes into changing the names? As one would expect, the reasons are bountiful. Let’s take a closer look at them.

A few thought that it would be a good idea to shrug off the British legacy in terms of names too. By the time the British left the nation, they had defined a lot of places and their names in the country. According to a survey, a decent group of people in the country wanted a name which was more Indian than anything else. That leaves you startled. A name that has been carried forward for ages becomes a thorn in the eye suddenly. Strange!

Another set felt that it would be a good idea to stick to the Lingua franca, the common language of the common people. Many advocated in favour of the Desi feeling attached to the names but that could only be justified if the name reflected the cultural identity and the aspirations of the inhabitants of the place.  There’s  a  rich  cultural heritage  attached to  almost every  place,  hence  people  believed  that sticking to a particular historical thing of that particular place would bring out a native name. But as we all know, there’s certainly no survey done amongst the people of a particular place to zero down upon a new name. So, how would a changed name really speak the mind and heart of an inhabitant? Strange!

And there is another group which feels the importance of being well positioned in terms of the alphabetical order. Recently, a few assembly members and government officials of states like Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal  put  forth  their stance  on the disadvantages of  being alphabetically challenged. In every government meeting, the delegates of the states get to speak according to the initials of the names of their states. So, quite understandably when a person from West Bengal speaks at the last, many other delegates are done with their speech already and might just have lost interest or apparently walked out of the place as well, leaving the last speaker feeling unimportant. Many would believe that this is an exalted version but that is how the government officials feel. Strange!

Whether the reasons have been looked after or not while changing the names is the most pertinent query. In almost all the cases, it’s been proved to be a thankless job, i.e. it is impossible to please everyone with the change in name. Let us take a look at a few famous changes here.

• Bombay turned into Mumbai: By far the most popular  and glamorous city of the country, Mumbai was not called the name until in 1996 when the government decided to revamp its name after one of the popular deities, Mumbadevi. It took the efforts of the Associated Press to make the name of Mumbai, official and popular when they decided to use the new name in 2006. However, given a consensus is done, Bombay would still give a close fight to Mumbai as many still refer to the city by its old name.

• Madras turned into Chennai: One of the rarest cases among all in the discussion, the new name Chennai is not only nationally accepted but also globally accepted. There is a lot of rumor and hence no certainty on the history of the name but it is believed that Chennai comes from the town Chennappatnam, which in turn was named after the father of one of the early rulers. Madras got its new name the very same year in which Bombay was renamed as Mumbai.

• Calcutta turned into Kolkata: A clear case of removing the Anglicized version, Kolkata was named so in the year 2001. But much prior to this change, the local people always referred to Calcutta as Kolkata in the regional language and hence it wasn’t too tough for the change to be accepted. Although, foreigners who regard Calcutta as one of the finest and largest cities of the world, believe that the older name was the better name and continue to call it so.

• Bangalore turned into Bengaluru: Perhaps the city which faced the maximum flak for the name change, Bengaluru is finding it hard with the youngsters not ready to accept the change. The elder generation believes that it was always Bengaluru and Bangalore was only a cosmetic name while the youngsters feel that the extremely regional feel to the name has damaged the brand image.

The latest change on the block has caused a furore in the country. Yes, we are talking about Paschim Banga. Without an iota of doubt, this change has sparked off maximum speculations since the reasons it showed and the solution it came up with were never in sync with each other. The government officials complained about the alphabetical order and how West Bengal came last in the government meetings. Unfortunately enough, Paschim Banga was never the solution as it only pushed the state up the order by seven positions whereas Bengal or Bangla would have made it fourth on the list.

The argument didn’t end there since many historians didn’t find a clue to why the administrative body had to retain Paschim anyway. A valid argument to this point is if Punjab could exist on either side of the border without adding an “East” or “West” to it, then why would Bengal need a West/Paschim, especially when the other part of the erstwhile Bengal is Bangladesh now. Eventually, neither did it solve their prime concern nor did it help them in any other way.

However, the biggest concern amidst all this is the fact that the name changes are decided over an all-party meeting in a closed room without reaching a consensus with the Aam Janta. Does this really do justice to the billions who are going to accept the change? One wonders!

International changes:                                                                                                        

Kampuchea is now Cambodia
Ceylon is now Sri Lanka
Holland is now The Netherlands
Rhodesia is now Zimbabwe
Peking is now Beijing

Changes in India:
Orissa is now Odisha
Benares is now Varanasi
Baroda is now Vadodara
Pondicherry is now Puducherry
Calicut is now Kozhikode
Panjim is now Panaji

All that the change brings about is a fresh speculation and argument. More useless work for umpteen clerks who bang their heads while updating all the administrative processes. Right from changing the maps to creating new domains, to changing all existing files to tossing out all the present textbooks. On a personal level, all of us who have grown up saying Bombay and West Bengal all these years are seen fumbling and slipping up at times, eventually saying it by force of habit. How did the change help us then?

With name changes being the latest trend.. Ab Dilli (Delhi) dur nahin!

This article was written hours after West Bengal got itself renamed to Paschim Banga.

The Unknown Anna

Both are Gandhians. Both are selfless doers. Both are fighting for causes of colossal magnitude. Both resorted to fasting. Both are ordinary humans. Both are social activists. But one went on to become a National Hero and the other still remains to be just another social activist. Compare them on a couple of pans, put a 12 day fast on one and on the other, an eleven year fast. Of course, the latter is heavier.

Meet Sharmila Chanu, better known as Irom Sharmila Chanu. Born on 14th  March, 1972, none would have imagined it in their wildest of dreams that this lady from the North Eastern belt of India would go on to hold the record for being the World’s longest hunger striker. Her reasons to hold the hunger strike are no meager reasons. It is more than a decade now that she is demanding the Indian Government to repeal the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958. She blames this Act for creating the amount of insurgence it has in the areas of Manipur, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland. This Act was also imposed in Jammu and Kashmir later. This Act entitles the Armed forces with the ultimate authority to use force or fire upon any person, arrest without a warrant and search any premise without any notice during times of emergency in the disturbed areas.

Hell broke loose in Malom, a small town in the Imphal valley on the 2nd  of November back in the year 2000 when ten commoners were shot down at a bus stop by the Assam Rifles (a part of the Indian Paramilitary Forces). Deeply affected by the ruthless incident which otherwise is known as the Malom Massacre, Chanu began her journey of unimaginable struggle, inexplicable pain and intensive torture. Right from the outset, the killing of people based on mere suspicion sounds farcical and that is what Chanu is fighting against. Her fasting has become an epic struggle now and while the law makers and executors should pay heed to it, they instead have pushed her deep into further trouble. Her act of fasting has been looked upon as an attempt to suicide which is unlawful under Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code. The law has found her guilty on the above grounds and she serves an imprisonment up to one year (with or without fine) every year. Chanu keeps getting released and re-arrested every year which goes to show the indifference of the government towards her. While Chanu hasn’t taken a morsel of food or even a drop of water for more than a decade now, she has been put on nasogastric intubation which force feeds her twice a day with a handful of vitamins and nutrients. There are two sides to this discussion. You may look at it as a method to keep her alive or you may think of it as a cruel way to kill her again and again, every passing moment. But amidst all this, she might just weigh 37 kilos, her body organs might have gone defunct but the fact that she is still fighting on a hospital bed is painfully inspiring enough to create a wave of awakening.

Has her life created a wave of awakening? The answer is a painful NO. When Chanu started off with her fast, she might have never thought that it would take so long. And even after a decade’s fight, her demand longs for fulfillment. Her courage has been awarded with various Global, Bravery and Peace Awards but does that serve her purpose? The answer again is a painful NO. Her struggle got a fresh leash of life in the year 2006 when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised to amend the Act to ensure it was humane. And that promise is yet to be fulfilled.

Chanu’s life and struggle have been plots of innumerable documentaries, books, debate and a few audacious ones consider it to be a feat to be registered in the books of World Records. Did Chanu ever ask for all this? All that she still wants is justice. All that she still yearns for is respect for the human life which is violated by the AFSPA Act. Simple things are best answered with simplicity but our complex constitution doesn’t seem to believe in it. While the Ramlila Maidan where Anna sat down fasting was enveloped by special security personnel, Chanu on the other hand, is left seeking support. Anna found support from all across the country, including the media, celebrities, top businessmen, high rank officials etc. While the entire nation woke up to the chants of Anna and demanded justice, one wonders why such a step-motherly treatment has been dished out to Chanu. Does this mean that Chanu’s reasons don’t qualify for a hearing? If that is the story, then our country and its law makers really need to draw a line. And here we are not talking about the much hyped Below Poverty Line. The country now needs to draw a line for what deserves justice, which method is legal enough and who is qualified enough to do it?

In a nation where a kid falling into a pit makes news, celebrity break-ups and patch ups make news, Chanu’s story deserves better treatment. Irom Sharmila Chanu is rightly called the Iron Lady of Manipur, for more reasons than one. Her as-strong-as-iron determination and guts is a lesson to be learnt. But more importantly, the biggest question that we need to find an answer to is:

“Who defends the defender?”

This article was written during Anna Hazare's longest hunger strike to move the government to frame the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Monsoon Health Hazards

All that we hope for, after a never ending sultry spell of summer is the dashing rains. While one is totally sapped out by the exhausting heat, one still doesn’t lack the enthusiasm of welcoming the rain with open arms. For a school kid, monsoon is the splash of mud that he enjoys after school gets over whereas for a college goer it is the inexplicable joy of sipping a hot coffee and watching the rain drops create a mist on the glass panes. While an employee hates the rain interrupting his work schedule, a housewife loathes the weather for not allowing her to dry the washed clothes. These are the multiple contradictory remarks that people make about the rain. In a way, it wouldn’t be wrong to comment that the woman, who prays for the relieving rains during summer, actually hates it when she is confined to her living room during the incessant rains.

While monsoon brings with it a bundle of joy, it is also accompanied by a horde of diseases that the human body is immensely susceptible to. The ideal way of celebrating monsoon is by taking good care of our ownselves because they say, “Prevention is always better than cure.”

Monsoon poses a lot of threat in the form of innumerable water borne diseases and gastro-intestinal infections. Some of the common diseases that do the rounds are diarrhea, typhoid, jaundice, dengue, malaria, etc. Influenza is perhaps the commonest of all while gastric disturbances and high blood pressure are also encountered in this season.

So, we at P3, thought of helping our readers with a few health tips and precautions that one should follow in order to enjoy the monsoon in its full glory.

• Since most of the diseases encountered during monsoon are waterborne, one should take extra care of the water that is used, be it for drinking or any other purpose. The doctors advise us to boil water before using it, round the year and more so during this season. Contaminated water leads to several infections, especially diarrhea, which can aggravate many other diseases. It is also advised that one should drink boiled water since it helps digestion.

• Besides taking extreme care of the water we use, we should also be equally vigilant about the kind of food we consume. Eating out is a “Strict NO, NO!” The idea of having a quick snack at a roadside food stall sounds very tempting but it comes with a lot of germs. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to compromise a bit on the taste buds and actually look to have homemade food as far as possible. Eat food which is well cooked and served hot. Fried, spicy food must be avoided too.

• Fruits and vegetables should we washed carefully before cooking. Leafy vegetables are the ones which contain germs more than the other, hence special care should be taken about it. Vegetables and fruits which are cut long back and kept in the open should be avoided.

• Insects like flies are the most common carriers of germs and hence precaution should be taken in order to keep them away from causing contamination. Food should be covered at all times, vegetables and fruits should be kept away too.

• Mosquito breeds the most during this season and causes the most dangerous disease of the season in the form of malaria and dengue. Care should be taken to drive out any puddles. Phenyl or kerosene must be poured in the drainage areas to stop the breeding of mosquitoes. While malaria is the most common monsoon disease, dengue is suspected to engulf about two- fifth of the world population as per one of the latest reports released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Besides all these infections, Cholera is a dreaded bacterial infection which has caused a lot of deaths in the past and continues to be a danger even now. Typhoid, which again is a common name during the monsoons, is caused by contaminated food and water. Typhoid if not attended at the right time can cause a lot of complications.

The epidemic which took the world by storm, H1N1 otherwise known as Swine Flu, is also reported to see a rise during the monsoons. Till mid 2009, 34,000 cases of Swine Flu were reported, resulting in 1500 odd deaths.

The high humidity which is prevalent during the monsoons runs people into risks of getting several fungal infections. Doctors advise to wear cotton clothes and loose clothes to avoid fungal infections. Hair care problems are also on the rise during this time therefore proper conditioning and shampooing is advised.

Doctors strongly believe that dealing with monsoon diseases doesn’t require efforts which would force people to go out of their way. It in fact involves a lot of common sense and the basic knowledge that we had acquired during our primary school days. Habits like washing hands, using good detergent for washing, use of antiseptic soaps, etc. is a must.

Remember in this monsoon, cleanliness is the secret of healthiness and happiness!

This article was published in the health section of P3.. Not Just Page 3.

A Foodie's Day Out!

The charm of India lies in the fact that its unity shines amidst a plethora of diversities. Be it a thousand religions or a million Gods, be it a bountiful of beliefs and practices or a billion dreams, India has always come up with a lot of surprises. Not much different is its food habits as well.

“Thou shouldst eat to live; not live to eat.” – Socrates.

That saying doesn’t hold true anymore with the taste buds craving for more and hence it wouldn’t be wrong to claim, that many of us, including many of you – our readers, want to wear the best, possess the best and eat the best too, so much so that we at times can actually “Live to Eat.” The obsession is so much so that when matrimonial offers come across, the first question that the son’s mom asks is, “Does she know how to cook?” When the man returns exhausted from his workplace, the first question he asks is, “What’s there for dinner, tonight?” The finicky Gen Next kids can just ignore food that they don’t like and go on a fast. We’re pretty particular about what we eat, aren’t we? So, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to actually look at how India looks from the Foodie’s eyes.

If one keenly looks at India, every piece of land would spring up a different culture, a different lifestyle and a different food habit too. Variety is the spice of life and India, the land of spices, adds that spice to life too. The tourists from abroad have more often than not expressed their appreciation for the Indian food, despite succumbing to a Delhi Belly. The Indian Food Map is such that it urges one to dive into a fantasy of travelling throughout India and possibly enjoy the best meal at specific places for specific time of the day.

Statutory Warning: Travelling to all the mentioned parts of India for specific meals in a single day is completely fictitious. Any resemblance to the characters like Mr.India, Krrish, Ra.One is co-incidental.

Disclaimer: We’re not responsible for Delhi Belly (Diarrhea experienced by travellers in a foreign land for not being accustomed to local food and water.)

We start off the day with a hope to gobble up the best food in our breakfast and the Southern belt of India (especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka) doesn’t disappoint us. Wake up with the special coffee made from the plantations in Chikmagalur and expect to have the same aroma in life too. You can order for a sumptuous plate of Masala Dosai with the perfect blend of taste and appetite. For those who don’t quite favour the Dosai can go for a plate of Idlis with Sambar.

A fresh morning now makes way for some strenuous work at office and after all the hard work, one looks to have a heavy meal for lunch. The East is believed to have a heavy lunch and what more would one ask for if he is served with a spicy, yes a little oily bowl of fish (Ilish maach, better known as the King of fish) with a plate of steamed rice. You can choose your favourite dish of fish though, be it Bhaapa Ilish or Doi Maach. After satiating your hunger, the perfect thing that can light up your mood and sweeten your talks for the next few hours would be Rossogolla.

Rossogolla and West Bengal are synonymous, so much so that it is often called the Land of Rossogollas. The Bengalis have mastered the art of preparing this special dessert and keeping in mind that the diabetics can’t have it, they have this Sugar Free Rossogollas too.

Third on our list is the evening snacks and after having covered the Southern and Eastern India, it is time to move to the West. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to amalgamate the best of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra on our thali. The Gujarati snack bread known as Thepla and the tea time snack in the form of Khandvi make for luscious snacks. One can opt for the Vada Paos as well which is the most popular dish from Maharashtra or order for a plate of Batata Vada and Kandi Bhaaji. The list doesn’t end here with the Royal Rajasthanis dishing out the ever so tasty Pyaaz Kachoris. Wow! Food is like.. heaven, isn’t it ?

Now, last but no way is the least, our supper. All is well that ends well and here too, we have prepared for the best to round off a day which has been a “A Foodie’s Day Out!”  We now move towards North for what promises to be a mouthwatering dinner. While the veggies can enjoy the Delhi special Chhole Bhature/Masala Kulcha (which often is found on the To-do-list), the non-vegetarians have a lot to choose from. They can go for an out and out Punjabi meal like a Makke di Roti, Sarson da Saag or have the authentic Tandoori Chicken with Paranthe. Butter Chicken is among the other specialties here and still sells out the most in any restaurant located in any area of the nation. If it was Rossogollas in West Bengal, it is the ever so famous Chaach-Lassi served in a towering glass which rounds off a highly sumptuous meal.

After having gorged on a never ending variety of food, any foodie would be filled to the heart as well as stomach. Sometimes, diversities are welcome, especially when they offer such a wide array of dishes. Amidst all these diversities, the Indian food has managed to be a source of unity and hence, sends out a statement to all the tourists (who complain about the rich and high on cholesterol food) that, “Love me or hate me but you simply can’t resist me.”

Here’s wishing all our readers, Happy Munching.

This article was written in the month of May and was first published in P3.. Not Just Page 3 before being published on different other websites.

Snore Machaaye Shor!!

Not too long back, there was an attempt to forge an alliance between two families by a matrimonial agent. Like the usual customs of a Hindu family, the ladke-waale ventured out to meet the ladki-waale with their huge band wagon of friends and family. I strongly believe that even the IIM-A selections don’t follow such fine screening processes like we do for marriages here.

First the boy’s family meets the girl’s family, while the boy’s eyes keep scouring for the girl and the boy’s friends look for the girl’s friends and sisters. The boy’s family speaks to the girl who more often than not, gives an impression of cooking for the entire household and the colony as well. The boy’s family now makes way for the boy and his friends to meet the lady who comes along with her cousins and friends.

Like a film-maker would say, cut to the lawn, the evening is slowly slipping into the darkness with the lamps being switched on.

Boy and his friends: What’s your hobby?

Girl: Listening to music, cooking, umm...

Girl’s friends: What do you guys do on Sundays? You people drink, right?

Boy’s friends: Not just drink, in fact drink like a fish, sleep till noon, laze around and go pubbing the entire evening.

Girls’ friends: Sleep till noon ?? Gawd!

Boy’s friends: Yeah only if Raj (the prospective groom) doesn’t snore to death.

Breaking of glass! Lightning! Thunder!

Cut to the main-gate; The boy’s friends and family are seen walking out, the alliance broke.

Snoring can break marriages! That is how hazardous it can be! 

As per the dictionary, ‘snore’ means to breathe during sleep with hoarse or harsh sounds caused by the vibration of the soft palate. Wonder how a harsh and intolerable sound is produced by something called a soft palate, what’s so soft if it comes out with such a hard hitting noise? But sometimes, words fail to  describe the actual meaning of something; such is the case with snoring.

On being asked how snoring has affected him, a school-goer replied that every time he heard the sound of snoring coming through from the other room, he felt confident enough to surf through TV channels he wasn’t allowed to watch. To this a college goer replied that he made it a point to slowly sneak out a fag from his dad’s packet to enjoy the joys of doing something which he is restricted to.

We shall decide later whether snoring is a crime or not, but that it promotes crime is something we are sure of, after knowing the above mentioned reactions.

For a few wives, snoring of her husband confirms that it’s not yet time to rise from the bed to get going with her daily household chores in the morning. If this is how things would pan out to be, snoring might just go on to remove alarm clocks out of our lives forever.

Snoring is the Loot Lo offer that comes during the Puja vacations for the thieves in the town. While a thief goes patrolling across the households, he keeps a keen ear on the snoring that comes through the windows. Snoring confirms the existence of sleepaholics, hence easy shop- lifting, err.. house lifting!

“Where there is a snore, there’s certainly a confident chor!”

Meandering away from all the humor now, we take a look at a more serious incident. Not too long back, in fact only back in 2009, a man living in south-west Russia had been put behind the bars for murdering a woman who had this habit of snoring. Victor Rudakov had been invited over to the woman’s house for a drink along with his friends. By the time, the guys finished their drink and were about to go to sleep, this woman made terrible noise with her act of snoring. After failing to wake her up, Victor hit her with a plank of wood on the head for close to 30 times before she succumbed to death due to the injuries. Now that’s one serious offence. Isn’t it? Seven years of imprisonment for a snore-murder case, that’s something one wouldn’t imagine in the wildest of dreams.

Snoring and divorces aren’t surprising anymore. There have been many such occurrences in the past and there’s no stopping it seems. In some foreign countries, snoring is considered to be a crime as much as spitting on the roadside is. However, it doesn’t apply to India though, i.e both the crimes.

Snoring is certainly not a petty matter anymore, especially after having known the repercussions. Although there are a lot of exercises that can be adopted to get rid of snoring and hence divorces and murders, it seems people have started to live with it. If you have a snorer around, make sure you don’t use a wooden plank to avoid it.

Rather, remember this, “Two cotton balls a day keeps the snoring away!”

This article was written in the month of May, 2011 for the English monthly, P3.. Not Just Page 3.