Saturday, July 16, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The more i try not thinking about it, the more i am inclined otherwise.
We are ruled and governed by a bunch of wankers, rampant corruption, ever increasing inflation, screwed up ministries et al.
Now when i look back and review my decision of moving away from litigating for the government i feel glad i am no longer a part of this overtly fucked system.
However i do feel bad that i aint no longer a part of the system that stands up against these fuckers, but then again i aint superman.
Arghh i want to kill all these fuckers.
We are ruled and governed by a bunch of wankers, rampant corruption, ever increasing inflation, screwed up ministries et al.
Now when i look back and review my decision of moving away from litigating for the government i feel glad i am no longer a part of this overtly fucked system.
However i do feel bad that i aint no longer a part of the system that stands up against these fuckers, but then again i aint superman.
Arghh i want to kill all these fuckers.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Its been a strangish Sunday, if i may call it so, a trip to Old Delhi railway station first thing this morning, regret not taking the camera, but also glad i didnt have to trudge it along.
A mild head ache all afternoon and evening. A great Goan lunch...(vindaloo at its best)
And a decent work out in the evening.
And now watching the final day of the India -windies test match, and scared that India might lose this...
A mild head ache all afternoon and evening. A great Goan lunch...(vindaloo at its best)
And a decent work out in the evening.
And now watching the final day of the India -windies test match, and scared that India might lose this...
Friday, July 08, 2011
Finally the studio/study is ready. A new chestnut wood table, pristine white walls, the new imac, a neat bookshelf, a nice persian rug ( bought in Kabul) and a new bottle of Ardbeg.
Bloody brilliant.
Will be buying the remaining lights early next month.
Also spent the evening cleaning my Grand-dad's underwood typewriter from 1932. It shall don my desk from now on.
Bloody brilliant.
Will be buying the remaining lights early next month.
Also spent the evening cleaning my Grand-dad's underwood typewriter from 1932. It shall don my desk from now on.
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
A glass of single malt, a smoke, the dog by me feet, some soft crazy music playing repeat, i find my self spending yet another sleepless night in me study. The smell of a fresh coat of paint, rather heady!
All those law books, once my bread and hardly any butter don the shelves, instead strewn around are now some lenses, some diffusers, and loads of prints.
I might spend a lot more time here.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
The joys of having an almost ready study/ studio are rather unparalleled. I have been working on the same for a few days, and finally instead of resembling a dump, it actually looks something inhabitable.
Having the painters coming in tomorrow to paint it pure white. Looking forward to that.
Anyways got another shoot for Monday, its a rally again, fun but the heat and the humidity could play havoc with my well being.
Having the painters coming in tomorrow to paint it pure white. Looking forward to that.
Anyways got another shoot for Monday, its a rally again, fun but the heat and the humidity could play havoc with my well being.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Finally the monsoons are here, i woke up the past Sunday morning to the much awaited rain, though it hasnt been brilliant so far, but its still pretty decent. How i just love the rains ....
Anyways have been rather caught up the past week, working on the studio, painted the walls, now building the arch domes and the kino flows.
Also got an i-7 imac just for working on my photographs, gave away the old imac and upgraded to this bulldozer of a machine, 8gb ram and a 2 Tb HD bloody brilliant.
Even managed to wirelessly hook it up to the camera.
Getting there slow...
Anyways have been rather caught up the past week, working on the studio, painted the walls, now building the arch domes and the kino flows.
Also got an i-7 imac just for working on my photographs, gave away the old imac and upgraded to this bulldozer of a machine, 8gb ram and a 2 Tb HD bloody brilliant.
Even managed to wirelessly hook it up to the camera.
Getting there slow...
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, June 20, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Spent last evening with an old friend from law school, a local, bearded and pot bellied. Drank copious amounts of port and fenny at this really authentic goan eatery called florentine. The chicken kafriyal was to kill for. Florentine is a must visit for any one looking for authentic goan food.
Quite a lot was discussed over dinner, right from corruption in the legal system to the history of goan culture and the eventual yet inevitable accession ( read invasion) of goa by the Russians.
Quite a lot was discussed over dinner, right from corruption in the legal system to the history of goan culture and the eventual yet inevitable accession ( read invasion) of goa by the Russians.
So all while I passed my check-in baggage through security I was yet again asked to unpack me bags for inspection and I was questioned if I wanted to open a goan shack in delhi. Don't really blame them. With all those packs of authentic goan spices in my bag any one would have been astounded. Spent a mini fortune yesterday at newtons super Market ( you have to just love the names here). But I guess my favourite is lobo's. I'm quite a sucker when it comes to a Lobo's, be it a bar by the road, Or a shack by the bay, I have to always visit a Lobo's.
But a Gupta's tattoo bar or a pandeys prawn grill are a dead no!!
Dead funny
But a Gupta's tattoo bar or a pandeys prawn grill are a dead no!!
Dead funny
As I mentioned it's rather important to get away from the mundane at times to seek clarity. But strange things are known to happen to men who walk away to seek the much sought after clarity. The same can be said about me at a lot of levels.
I came here to find answers but I walk away still unsure and burdened with more questions, answers to which only time shall tell.
Yes I am in a lot of ways in a better state of mind, a lot better than what I have been in a long time, and that might help me going for a bit. But eventually those all important answers need to be sought. Time shall come to me rescue.
I came here to find answers but I walk away still unsure and burdened with more questions, answers to which only time shall tell.
Yes I am in a lot of ways in a better state of mind, a lot better than what I have been in a long time, and that might help me going for a bit. But eventually those all important answers need to be sought. Time shall come to me rescue.
Goa airport is nostalgia in overdrive. It brings back memories of the 80's where airports resembled train stations but just a wee but cleaner, however dambolin somehow managed to even destroy that notion, just had a big arse bandicoot scurry past me legs.
Such a far cry from what we are used to seeing these days.
This is bloody brilliant
Such a far cry from what we are used to seeing these days.
This is bloody brilliant
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Finally rode to a beach this evening, the choppy sea, the shades of grey, the sparse tourists (albeit all gujjus), me and my ipod.
Smoked a few cigs and maybe even a joint. Drank some fenny, just cos i had to do it!!!
Smoked a few cigs and maybe even a joint. Drank some fenny, just cos i had to do it!!!
And od'ed on Aik Alif- the song from West is West, with pretty strong lyrics-
"jo na jane hak ke takat, rabb na dewae usko himmat"
Monday, June 13, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Music is sometimes essential to cleanse the mind, the soul and the overtly cluttered thought process. Pearl Jam comes to the rescue.
Playlist for the afternoon
1. Release me
2. Lowlight
3. Garden
4. Longing to Belong
5. Elderly Woman behind a counter in a small town ( on repeat for 30 mins)
6. Immortality
7. Nothingman - Live on two legs version
8. Hunger strike
9. Light years
10 Sleight of hand
11. Unthought known
12. Amongst the waves
10 Sleight of hand
11. Unthought known
12. Amongst the waves
June has been quite a mixed bag so far, had a couple of great shoots, why cant all clients be like them. Thankfully paid for a lot of bills.
Anyways life still rambles along, at some levels slowly this thought is settling in that my back and neck will never really be pain free. I am hoping otherwise but i dont see how thats going to happen. Its been more than tough, its been distressing to say the least. Yes you can learn to live with pain, but its always at the back of your mind.
Also at a lot of levels i do realize that i need a holiday, but i cant travel. I am not allowed to take a flight, be on a train or drive for long distances, so here i am stuck in delhi, which is at a lot of levels driving me mad.
Anyways life still rambles along, at some levels slowly this thought is settling in that my back and neck will never really be pain free. I am hoping otherwise but i dont see how thats going to happen. Its been more than tough, its been distressing to say the least. Yes you can learn to live with pain, but its always at the back of your mind.
Also at a lot of levels i do realize that i need a holiday, but i cant travel. I am not allowed to take a flight, be on a train or drive for long distances, so here i am stuck in delhi, which is at a lot of levels driving me mad.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
Arghhh, I cant believe my luck, not like the neck and shoulder have healed totally, the stiffness still remains and prevents me from sleeping sound. And the scar, o lord the scar, its scary, its like someone slit my neck end to end, just the other day I was in Khan Market buying some coffee at a shop and this wee girl accompanied by her mum looked at me and screamed!!! Well at a lot of levels I cant blame her, the beard, the disheveled hair and that in your face scar, is a brilliant recipe to scare even the mighty hearted.
And now I have been laid low by the infamous Delhi bug, its been a week, and I cant really take this no more…
Fuck, I find my self in a tunnel and cant see the light!!!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Finally got off my arse and drove to CP and procured the Canon 580 Ex II Speedlite.
Now just waiting for the Gary Fong, lightsphere, powergrid, powersnoot and the amberdome.
Now just waiting for the Gary Fong, lightsphere, powergrid, powersnoot and the amberdome.
Monday, May 16, 2011
Monday, May 09, 2011
So, six weeks have past since the surgery, pain, stiffness, insomnia amongst other things have plagued my existence, its been torrid to say the least. Add to that, all those internal demons which have tormented the already tormented soul, i have fought albeit unsuccessfully, but come this evening, i can finally start my much awaited exercise regime.
Just being on the treadmill for those 45 mins can give me much needed impetus to start living again...
Just being on the treadmill for those 45 mins can give me much needed impetus to start living again...
And it dawned on me, that music could help, forgotten the joys of music, i somehow managed to find the healing powers of music last evening. At my ex boss's place for some wine and live music, i realised that music could actually heal my jangled nerves.
Yea it did help, albeit a wee bit, but it did.
Yea it did help, albeit a wee bit, but it did.
Friday, May 06, 2011
Just this moment, this very moment, when the clock is on the Verge of letting me know it's almost two am, I lie here in bed wondering why?
Beads of sweat slowly crawl down my forehead, the dogs by my side miserable in their existence, mosquitoes aplenty feast on my blood.
The laptop is dead, the power backup just ran out, it's just me and my iPad, delhi summer at it's worse and the government decides to fuck us all with a six hour power outage.
Third night in a row, and I can't understand as to why the freaking sadistic power company and government would indulge in act of power outage in the middle of the night? Why? What perverse pleasures can one derive out of this act of sheer insanity?
Give me a gun and I am all good to go and shoot every fucker complicit in such an act!!
For a man who hasn't really slept in a month, to be standing face to face with the delhi heat in the middle of the night with no sign of electricity is as maddening a scenario as one can fathom.
Beads of sweat slowly crawl down my forehead, the dogs by my side miserable in their existence, mosquitoes aplenty feast on my blood.
The laptop is dead, the power backup just ran out, it's just me and my iPad, delhi summer at it's worse and the government decides to fuck us all with a six hour power outage.
Third night in a row, and I can't understand as to why the freaking sadistic power company and government would indulge in act of power outage in the middle of the night? Why? What perverse pleasures can one derive out of this act of sheer insanity?
Give me a gun and I am all good to go and shoot every fucker complicit in such an act!!
For a man who hasn't really slept in a month, to be standing face to face with the delhi heat in the middle of the night with no sign of electricity is as maddening a scenario as one can fathom.
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
Anyways, so i couldn't travel the past weekend, thanks to the post op stiffness which is taking forever to abate.
And despite the many setbacks of the past month, including but not limited to the mother, objecting to the fact that i didnt want to be a lawyer no more, i have decided to invest some non existent money into more camera equipment. Firstly getting an external flash(finally), the top of the line canon 580 Ex Mk II, and then having a friend ship me Gary Fong's products from Canada.
The lightsphere, the powergrid, the powersnoot and the amberdome.
I dont know where ill get the money for this, but the power of the credit card shall help me through this.
And despite the many setbacks of the past month, including but not limited to the mother, objecting to the fact that i didnt want to be a lawyer no more, i have decided to invest some non existent money into more camera equipment. Firstly getting an external flash(finally), the top of the line canon 580 Ex Mk II, and then having a friend ship me Gary Fong's products from Canada.
The lightsphere, the powergrid, the powersnoot and the amberdome.
I dont know where ill get the money for this, but the power of the credit card shall help me through this.
Its hard to believe that Osama bin Laden is dead, its harder to believe that the world is shocked that he was found and then eventually albeit allegedly killed in Pakistan!!
What was the world expecting? to find him in the White House while he was going down on Obama in the Oval office or maybe find him at Bush’s ranch in Texas?
1.3 trillion dollars were spent, imagine if only that money was spent on eradicating hunger in Africa and India, or maybe someone even buying me a few more lenses and a EOS 1DS Mk IV?
So does this change anything? I doubt. Its strange that the around the time Osama was killed( 1.30 am IST) I was reading a book titled The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright, which discussed at length the events leading upto 9/11 including but not limited to the Egyptian upheaval through the 70’s and the 80’s and the role and development of Zawahiri ( who as we speak finds himself the leader of Al Qaeda).
The author went a long way discussing and debating the role of the Egyptian rulers and the crushing of the Islamic Brotherhood towards the eventual creation of the Al Qaeda, it also dwelled into the fact that Zawahiri was not a natural leader and would find it tough leading any organization leave alone the Al Qaeda.
At the end of it all what shocks me the most is the attitude of the world media and the world leaders especially the Pakistani government which claims to the biggest victim of terrorism.
I am sorry but I have read enough over the years, to believe that Pakistan has been and shall continue to be the biggest sympathizers of terrorism and an excellent haven for terrorists including one Mr. Bin Laden.
The realpolitik of this event will either snow ball into a clear division of the forces at play or will soon be brushed under the carpet, time will only tell where this ball rolls now.
Friday, April 29, 2011
I dont know what this is, am i slowly self destructing, or are the forces of universe conniving to screw me? Answers are a luxury i dont have, everything around, seems bleak and screwed.
The way i look at it, you replace one pain with another, you replace one disaster with another, you keep screwing your mind till it finally wakes up and tells you to end it all.
Scary but true i am getting there
The way i look at it, you replace one pain with another, you replace one disaster with another, you keep screwing your mind till it finally wakes up and tells you to end it all.
Scary but true i am getting there
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Seems like if all goes well, i might be heading to the mountains end of the month. My cousin who too is a photographer is coming down to delhi for 2 weeks and the two of us are planning a wee trip to Dhanolti and beyond.
A tent, 2 canon EOS 7D's, one Canon EOS 5d Mk II, three tripods, two ipads, one macbook pro, one 2 terabyte hard drive, a lifetime supply of wai wai noodles and i think we will manage to get atleast 5 mins of time lapse photography.
A tent, 2 canon EOS 7D's, one Canon EOS 5d Mk II, three tripods, two ipads, one macbook pro, one 2 terabyte hard drive, a lifetime supply of wai wai noodles and i think we will manage to get atleast 5 mins of time lapse photography.
So Zulu tried and thankfully failed at his first Kamakazie mission last evening, as things stand was almost run over by a car, just managed to break his right paw. It was too close to call, Bahadur even though saved his life should be bitch slapped for being a wee bit careless while taking him for his evening stroll.
And now i am glad i didnt get his tail docked, coz had it not been for his tail ( which was used to swiftly pull him away from his sure peril) things would be a lot different this morning.
And now i am glad i didnt get his tail docked, coz had it not been for his tail ( which was used to swiftly pull him away from his sure peril) things would be a lot different this morning.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
I guess they were right about this atleast, i guess its true that once they operate on your spine, especially that close to the blob of plasma they call your brain, something gets tweeked for life.
Post surgery even though life is more or less pain free ( an existence i had forgotten i could dwell in) but things just arent the same again. Something has been tweeked for good!!
I cant place a finger on it, i dont even think i can explain it, but its a strange place to be. For starters the insomnia is really really bad ( something i was warned by the doctors), maybe its the lack of sleep which is making me go mad ( didnt think there was any scope left for that), maybe its all those extra hours where my brain is slowly processing information it would rather not!!!
Arghhh its frustrating
Post surgery even though life is more or less pain free ( an existence i had forgotten i could dwell in) but things just arent the same again. Something has been tweeked for good!!
I cant place a finger on it, i dont even think i can explain it, but its a strange place to be. For starters the insomnia is really really bad ( something i was warned by the doctors), maybe its the lack of sleep which is making me go mad ( didnt think there was any scope left for that), maybe its all those extra hours where my brain is slowly processing information it would rather not!!!
Arghhh its frustrating
Friday, April 15, 2011
I guess it's rather strange when even the slightest movement of your desk , your study and or the objects placed securely on your study, makes you want to jump up and run for the door, these days it's not just me but even people around me jump at the thought of the first movement, thinking it's a damn earthquake!!!
Crazy state of existence, where we live in fear all the time
Crazy state of existence, where we live in fear all the time
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
So project time lapse is being conceptualized, given it a lot of thought, and starting beta testing last night.
Was on the terrace from midnight till 4 am testing the various degrees to work under.
Few things that came to mind, a)- this cant be done in Delhi, there is way too much light pollution, unless i blow up the entire Northern grid, the project can never see the light of the day!! The orange hues even with 3 second exposures takes away everything one could ask from a picture.
b)- I need a new tripod, the existing one just cant take the combined weight of the 7D and the 24-70mm or the 12-22mm wide angel, there is an element of shake even though majorly minuscule, i under no circumstances want to compromise on sharpness.
Took about 100 shots last night, varying from 3 sec to 2 min exposures, caught a lot of cloud in motion, but the orange hues killed it.
Will be retrying the process again tonight, few different settings, and maybe a different white balance, ( i went K 4300 on the manual setting, will push it down even further tonight.
But eventually i know where i can get this done, either i head to Rajasthan and catch the stars from the flat plains or i head to the mountains and capture the sharpness one can only see at 10,000 ft.
Was on the terrace from midnight till 4 am testing the various degrees to work under.
Few things that came to mind, a)- this cant be done in Delhi, there is way too much light pollution, unless i blow up the entire Northern grid, the project can never see the light of the day!! The orange hues even with 3 second exposures takes away everything one could ask from a picture.
b)- I need a new tripod, the existing one just cant take the combined weight of the 7D and the 24-70mm or the 12-22mm wide angel, there is an element of shake even though majorly minuscule, i under no circumstances want to compromise on sharpness.
Took about 100 shots last night, varying from 3 sec to 2 min exposures, caught a lot of cloud in motion, but the orange hues killed it.
Will be retrying the process again tonight, few different settings, and maybe a different white balance, ( i went K 4300 on the manual setting, will push it down even further tonight.
But eventually i know where i can get this done, either i head to Rajasthan and catch the stars from the flat plains or i head to the mountains and capture the sharpness one can only see at 10,000 ft.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Saturday, April 09, 2011
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
From the ashes they rose, resurrected like a Phoenix
Time stood still, for what seemed like an eternity, as the ball soared slowly through the air, flying like a saucer on a mission it sailed effortlessly into the Garware Stand at the Wankhade, that moment, that very moment, an immovable force engulfed 1.21 billion people for all times to come, and before we knew it we were World Champions.
Magnanimous is too mild a word to describe those few moments on the 2nd of April 2011, 28 years of pain buried for good, 28 years of indignation pushed aside for a life time.
Never again would we have to depend solely on images of Jimmy Amarnath running like a grasshopper on weed after winning the 83 cup, we now had a whole new set of images to live with and live for, Dhoni hitting that ball into orbit to lift the cup, Bhajji and Yuvraj overtaken by emotions, Zak in arms with the team and Virat carrying Sachin on his shoulders around the ground on a well deserved Victory Lap, but the image that stands out for me, the image that gives me the chills, the image that will cross my mind when I am on my deathbed, will be of Yuvraj Singh on his knees, fists clenched, arms raised, a man possessed, a man who believed we could win this, a man who had just beaten the once mighty Aussies, take a bow !!!
And now that its all over, I can look back and find it extremely hard to hold back my tears, 19th February to 2nd April, what a journey, an experience of a life time, an experience unforgettable and incomparable.
Thank you Team India, thank you cricket, for giving a million others and me a reason to live for again!!!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
A nation so full of contradictions that its hard to imagine the existence of an adhesive that could ever bring 17.5 % of the entire universe’s population together.
As this day dawned on me this morning, the tears from the night before were still fresh, albeit tears of joy, beautiful and bashful.
I finally slept after months, insomnia was passé. The ever-enduring pain was irrelevant; life after eons seemed beautiful.
I come from a family of cricket lovers and none more stauncher than my late father. The year was 1986, I was a wee six year old, still dabbling with my first bat and wondering what the fuss was all about, then came that dreadful evening when Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a six of the last ball to win the Australasia Cup, what followed next was pure pandemonium, unadulterated and pure, my father in a fit of un paralleled fury smashed the tele with a green marble ashtray (that (in)famous ashtray still rests on his study back home).
I had never seen my father more depressed more broken but its only now, that I can truly understand his pain. It was that autumn evening I realized what cricket was all about, what it meant to that man, a simple man, what it meant to a nation and an entire subcontinent. It meant the World to them and I had just joined that coveted group of fans. Life would never be the same.
It’s a well documented fact that I am nuts about cricket, I have stood outside T.V showrooms for hours at ends watching India play, I have sat in the same positions for what seemed like light years, coz any movement from my end could result in a catastrophic turn of events for the Indian Team, crammed and dying to use the loo, I have endured that pain, Why? There is no ‘why’ to it, it just had to be done, not for myself, but for the team. I once even asked my granny to knit me a powder blue jumper, the color of the Indian jersey. When I grew up I went a step further and painted my room blue, saved my meager pocket money every month so that I could buy a Sportsstar magazine which always carried a poster of a cricketer every month and all those posters were neatly put up in my room, only to be torn that fateful night in 1999 when we unceremoniously lost to Zimbabwe in the World cup.
And now we are at the threshold of History, so magnanimous, so great that words to describe it still haven’t been reduced to the English Dictionary. Most people around me weren’t born in 1983 or were still sucking a thumb, I was barely 3 and don’t remember much, but I do remember by dad running on the streets with me on his shoulders, high on euphoria, high on life, high on the fact that he was a World Champion, could you believe it, every Indian that evening was a World Champion (Goosebumps!!!)
If he was still alive, the old man would have driven himself and the entire neighborhood crazy, but to ensure the tradition isn’t broken I do it all the time here on my blog (how times have changed right?)
Come 2nd April, I for the very first time in the history of my existence will not be watching the final, I will be in a hospital bed hopefully recovering from a much needed surgery, but my thoughts and prayers will be with the Indian team. Despite my absence, I will ensure I play my part, Vikram and Nikhil ill make sure you get a call from my phone before the match and ill request the docs at the hospital to ensure I am wearing blue even in that state of forced comatose, my thoughts will be with the team.
Finally I would like to apologise to my family for making them miss the finals (if I was them I wont have, but thankfully there is only one me in my family), I hope they can catch it live on a tele at the hospital and come the 3rd of April when I finally wake up from my forced slumber I want my hand to be held and told that we won the World Cup. I will cry I know, I will break down with joy, I will wail, I will never be the same again.
All the Best people…..
Signing off.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Breaking News- A special bench of the Supreme Court after hearing an affidavit of urgency filed by Adv Sethi, vide an interim order valid only for 12 hours legalized euthanasia & decriminalized suicide. Thereby making it easy for thousands of indian cricket fans to easily end their lives. The Special Bench while noting the urgency and the state of all the indian fans suffering at the hands of the indian team also directed the govt counsel to make cyanide freely available at all shops within 2 hrs of the passing of such orders.
The writing was on the wall, we were all living in denial, making ourselves believe, we will win. People and their delusional bubbles!
Quarter way through the match, its more than obvious, the Pakis are bowling like there is no tomorrow…
Honestly put all the media hype aside, put aside what my friends said, put aside the nervous energy and the sleepless nights, it was obvious, come the 30th of March and there would be only one team that would come out trumps!!! And as things stand it seems its going to be Pakistan.
And the worst part, I cant even write no more, the numbness is setting in, its like rigor mortis….
Monday, March 28, 2011
There are only two ways of looking at this, either this wednesday will dawn upon us really fast, and all those with irritable bowel syndromes can finally give their overworked digestive systems a rest or.... time within its realm of relativity will slow down to such an extent that the Coming Wednesday shall never dawn upon us and by the time if it ever does, everyone would have lost interest in it.
Counting Down to the Grand Daddy of all Battles.
Someone once said, its just a game, its an obsession of 22 men running after a piece of leather, that someone was later stabbed in a busy market in Pakistan.
The year was 1996, it was the World Cup Quarter final between India and Pakistan at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore (I am sorry Bangaluroo, sounds like someone had a crazy banging session in the loo), and the stakes were as high as they could get.
There was shelling at the border that night, every time India or Pakistan lost a wicket, the country losing its wicket would invariably, through its acts of using force almost brought the two nations to war.
It was incredible, it was unbelievable (maybe I am writing this coz India won the match) but being at the stadium that night, the atmosphere was unparalled . Jadeja’s vicious counter attack of Waqar Younis and then who can ever forget the show down between Aamir Sohail and our very own Venky. The bat wagging incident followed by Venky uprooting Sohail’s off stump has gone in the anal’s of cricket history as one of those moments that can only be compared to the conquest of Normandi, to cut this rather long tirade short, it was bloody brilliant!!
Cut to Manchester on a windy day in 1999, India once again played their all too famous foes on a pitch that was supposed to aid seam and swing, thereby giving the naturally talented Pakistan bowlers a huge headstart, but our man Venky did what he had probably never done before, take 5 paksitani wickets to give india an improbable victory. I was on a bus that evening, ipod and mobile phone radios were still many years away from being invented and someone was carrying a good old boom box styled radio, and when Venky got Wasim as the last man out, the scenes on that bus were delirious.
Then came the 1st of March 2003, the Centurion, a ground known to aid bounce and with Shoiab Akhtar bowling with all those undetected steroids in him, it was going to be murder. I even stopped watching the match when india started batting, I had locked my self in a room and only came out when I heard my roommates behaving like junkies discovering the biggest cache of ganja ever. However one man (if I can still call him that) had different ideas, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar came out like a Torpedo honed in on its hapless victims ( read Pakistan) and square cut Pakistan over third man to take india to a brilliantly charged victory.
2007 was a farce, on that dreadful evening on the 18th of March both India and Pakistan got knocked out of the world cup losing to Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. It was a disaster; never had one fathomed the occurrence of such an event. The results were calamitous, Woolmer was murdered (honestly I think the coroner’s final report on the result of death was our very own equivalent of used toilet paper), Greg Chappell was axed albeit rightfully, and bothIndian and Pakistani cricket was at its lowest ebbs. Even God wasn’t spared and given his fair share of dishing. It was all too depressing.
Its true to say that India has never lost to Pakistan in a World Cup, however between 2003 and 2011, India and Pakistan have met twice at ICC events, ie the 2004 and 2009 Champions and were convincingly defeated.
Leading up to this World cup, both India and Pakistan had rather contrasting buildups. India were ranked 2nd and were looking rather strong, whereas Pakistan was battling allegations of spot fixing and internal feuds between the teams.
However now as we stand at the threshold of the grand daddy of all matches at this world cup, historical purviews suddenly have no relevance, it all comes down to who turns with his game on, on the 30th of March.
Its India’s batting against Pakistan’s bowling, Its Sachin v Umar, its Shewag v Ajmal and Yuvraj v Shahid.
Honestly its all too nerve wrecking. To put things into perspective, I was scheduled for a major surgery on the day of the match, which now has rescheduled owing to the match.
The country is drenched in a orgasmic euphoria of expectations, both the countries shall come to stand still, roads will be empty, offices will be forced to shut down, coz come this Wednesday, everyone is going to be on a sick leave or unavailable.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Blame Game
So the blame game begins, who do we blame for this loss? At the outset I blame myself, yes I was one of the reasons India lost this match and then this World Cup, its my fault I put so much faith in this team and thereby inadvertently put them under immense pressure.
Moving on I blame Saskshi and the Gharwali community for helping Dhoni get married and thereby losing his once overtly famous Mojo.
While I am at it, I blame Ashish Nehra, you must think its the last over against SA? No you are mistaken, to go to the bottom of this one has to go back a long way, when Ashish Nehra came back into the team in 2009, he had, to avoid his long and unfortunate spate of injuries taken a conscious decision to stop fornicating, after all someone like Nehra used to even injure himself during those unfortunate acts of fornication. All went well for a very long time, Nehra had his Mojo in place, he was bowling well and surprisingly not getting injured, till this unfortunate afternoon in September 2010, Nehra set aside his vow and obviously got injured, rest is history. He came back but by then lost his rhythm, thereby I blame him and his acts of fornication.
Further still I blame Vikram Huligol, who refused to answer my call this afternoon, thereby breaking a tradition, which was started on the day India played a practice match against the Aussies and beat them hollow.
I even blame the coin they used at the toss, how dare it fall against india, the person who minted that coin should be sent to the gallows forthwith and without fail.
Also I blame Karan Goswami, who came over to my place to watch the match, despite his knowledge that the last time he watched a match at my place, India lost to Pakistan in the 2009 Champions Trophy.
Finally, I blame the English for ever inventing this game, had you guys just gone around stealing diomands and kohinoors rather than inventing games, India would have never lost this match
The morning after, the morning after India got knocked out of the world cup, the sun did rise, but it wasn’t all that bright, the birds did chirp, but they weren’t all that loud, the cool breeze still swept across the city, but it still wasn’t that comfortable.
The morning after, life still went on, but it wasn’t the same, there was a deep underlying abysmal feeling, it was overpowering and heart wrenching.
The morning newspaper was duly burnt, there was no point reading it, or even acknowledging its existence. The ashes were then slowly carried away by the wind. Like a billion dreams that were shattered, the ashes cried out while the wind carried it away into the abyss.
The tears from the night before were still fresh, the pain was still sharp but life as it stood, still had to go on.
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