The Prince is Gone – Long Live the Prince

As a great fan and follower of Indian cricket and DADA, it is with great disappointment and regret that I have been following the happenings (read: politics and dirty play) in Indian cricket. The very essence of the word “Team India” seems to have been lost. I choose to call it a word, because the two are inseparable and the former without the latter and vice-versa wouldn’t make much sense.

India’s most successful captain, the second highest century maker in ODI’s, et al are all well known facts that has been oft quoted in the media, but the very person behind all this has been treated shabbily, which has become a trend rather than an occurrence in India cricket. I watched the last test match at Delhi, not because I wanted to watch cricket, but to see how the former Indian captain gelled with the team and his on-field behavior. It was very interesting observing the transition that Ganguly went through the five days on field. The first day was more of a lone-affair, with Ganguly walking back alone at the end of day’s play. He was there when the maestro scripted his record breaking 35th hundred. Call it fate, call it coincidence, but that pair was once feared by every cricketing team on the planet when they walked out to bat in ODI’s.

The second day marked a more professional on-field approach, giving valuable tips and advice to the bowlers. There was a genuine effort from the part of the former to shed his much talked about “attitude” and be a part of “Team India”. Through the test match, there was a visible change, and in the final day, Ganguly was standing at second-slip next to the current Indian captain, waiting for the victory. At the end of the match, Dravid brought to notice the efforts of Ganguly during the press conference.

Fate is not without a sense of irony they say – and it was evident twice during the match. The man who Ganguly got into the team and groomed to be a match winner, the “apple of his eye” – Yuvraj Singh, who was at the crease when Ganguly misread Murali’s doosra, only to see his stumps shattered, was partially responsible (based on form and future of Indian cricket) for Ganguly’s exit from the team. The second instance was within a few minutes of Dravid’s media briefing, the chairman of selectors, announced that Ganguly has been dropped from the team from the very seat that Dravid made the briefing.

From a practical viewpoint, the future of Indian cricket looks bright and the team building process with world cup 2007 in mind is proceeding well, but the treatment of a man, the very man who was instrumental in the formation of “Team India”, should be treated this very manner. From an emotional standpoint, I am sure a majority of the country’s cricket crazy population sympathizes with Ganguly and agrees that he does not deserve this kind of a treatment.

From the current scheme of things, the words of Jim Morrison seem very apt -
“This is the end, beautiful friend. This is the end, my only friend”

As a fan of Dada, I only wish that the fighter in him doesn’t give up and he comes back as a much stronger player, riding on the back of PERFORMANCE rather than sympathy.

The Rainmaker

The monsoon doesn’t seem to offer Madras any reprieve and yesterday was no exception to that fact. I decided that the day before a deadline needs to be treated with respect and stayed at office till 12 AM. The last time I stayed at office past 7 PM was some time in May. I am one of the “gifted” few at work who works from 9 AM-6 PM, government office “ishtyle”, at a time when leaving at 6 PM is looked down upon as a crime. At 22, I firmly believe that spending more than 9 hours at work is a crime (crime would in fact be an understatement). Coming back to the monsoon, at 12 AM, after winding up from work, I decided that it would be the best time to spend a couple of hours at a coffee shop with friends talking about plans for the weekend and the new year, which is fast approaching. As I came out of office, I realized that the sound of water against brick seemed to be growing louder and the rainmaker had decided to dispose off my plans like a drenched piece of paper. On a late Friday evening, when plans get awry it is not a very nice feeling especially if you have worked for almost 15 hours. Then it struck me instead of doing nothing, I might as well enjoy the rains. As a person, I love the rains (as long as they don’t disturb my plans) and even more getting wet in the rains.

Riders on the Storm another dazzling composition by “The Doors”, was my partner for the rest of the wet evening followed by some brilliant pieces by Indian Ocean and concluded with “Shine on You Crazy Diamond”. As the rains are predicted to continue through today, it is very likely that, today is going to be another day spent indoors with music to fill the emptiness.

Doors of Perception

The zest to blog that finally broke free yesterday seems to have sustained within me and has egged me on to come up with another piece today. I was pondering over what to come up with and it so happens that today is Jim Morrison’s birthday as well as John Lennon’s death anniversary - ironic that the birth of one legend should coincide with the death of another. Jim Morrison famously once said “There are things known and things unknown and in between the doors”. A short sentence loaded with tons of significance.

Last evening was consequently a salutation to the genius of Jim Morrison. I decided to go on a long late evening drive on my bike with “The Doors” loaded on and the evening turned out to be one that I would not forget for quite a while. The impact the music had on me was profound and I forgot for a while what was happening and got transported to this place where all that surrounded me was emptiness and the sound of inspired music flowing from the soul of the geniuses. The resultant impact was felt in today’s work – a much relaxed, stress free approach with more music through the day and here I am writing this piece.

As I bring to an end the proceedings at work, I will head out to complete my day with the set of routine activities, which the human brain requires to keep peace but the mind revolts against. It is this constant battle between brain and mind that disturbs the inertia in the human body.

How the rest of the evening is going to unfold I do not know, but I do know that the transformation happening in my life is accelerating each day and seems to be headed down a long winding path called “the unknown”.

Wish You Were Here

Now that I have decided to "Keep Talking", I probably need to concoct something up to start filling up my blog page. I suddenly realize that I have “missed the bus” by not “talking enough” in the past. Hence this blog is dedicated to all those friends of mine, which is quite a number, who I wish were here with me – hence – Wish You Were Here.
The reason I chose to move to Madras, was because there is something about this place that strikes a chord with my heart. The presence of sufficient stock of family members, friends from school, college has created a mix that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else. And suddenly I feel that by creating this comfortable home for myself here, I seem to miss out on something – the friends – unforgotten – but not a part of my daily life any more.

I undertake these trips to Bangalore for this exact reason and during my past two trips to the U.S. I made it a point to meet up with as many of my friends as possible. In spite of all this there is still a blank that exists, which I am not sure what will fill up. It is probably this “blank” that drives me, the purpose of my existence, to find out what the blank is and fill it up. It is probably normal human nature to try to balance an unbalanced equation, the thirst and fear of unknown, a deadly yet vital combination that is the fuel of desire.

As another day at work comes to an end, another cycle of time completes, and the blank grows bigger. I only wish those friends were around to help me fill up the blanks.

“The sun is the same in the relative way, but you're older, and shorter of breath and one day closer to death”

Keep Talking

Being a new comer to the world of blogging, I had to ask myself as to why I chose to blog in the first place. I have been employed for almost 15 months now and there has been this urge within me to breakfree and do things that I have always wanted to do but some how never managed to do. Today is the day I decided, to write my first blog and here it is. "I dont know what I am doing or why I am doing but I know that I am doing it because I want to do it."

The last few weeks of mine have been littered with many seemingly inconsequential episodes that would probably alter the course of the upcoming new year. My passion for music seems to have grown manifold and it is not surprising that it is during the same time that I decided to kick a habit that seemed to have stuck with me till eternity. Nirvana, The Doors, Dream Theater, Pink Floyd are probably closer to me today than they have been to me in the past, when the mention of these names was probably to stay afloat in the midst of a conversation amongst an elite group.The quest for uncovering intricate details about people and events that have captivated my mind, seems to have enough fuel to keep it running for some time.

I have probably rediscovered myself at various levels, which I thought were figments of imagination their existence in a distant universe would have been more appropriate.
"For millions of years mankind lived just like the animals Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination We learned to talk There's a silence surrounding me I can't seem to think straight I'll sit in the corner No one can bother me I think I should speak now"
(Keep Talking - The Division Bell - Pink Floyd).
This song probably defines in the true sense as to why I finally chose to talk a.k.a blog and here it is my first blog - KEEP TALKING