02/04/2011

It wasn't one of the perfect ways to begin a weekend. I woke up with the irritating thought that I had to go to the College to show the prototype of my final year project to my Internal Guide and to the Head of the Department. It wasn't a review though. The only respite being the fact that the breakfast at College had to be Vegetable Pulav since it was a Saturday and that's probably the only reason we attended College on Saturdays in the past 4 years. Much to our surprise the prototype worked perfectly well and we were in for a good amount of appreciation from the staff. Corrections were made in the rough draft of our report and we were all set to start back to home to catch the World Cup Final just in time.

I received phone calls from couple of my friends who wanted me to come to Skywalk to view the match in the big screen. I wanted to go, but my body wasn't willing to cooperate since I had just arrived home with the sun beating down on me for the past 1.5 hours. I chose to watch the match in television and probably when I get out of my tiredness I thought I would proceed to watch it in the big screen along with them. The toss took me into surprise as it looked more the gully cricket like for many reasons. "The toss is crucial." - I heard Ravi Shastri's dialogue-programmed voice in my mind from nowhere as it was total turmoil on the screen what I was witnessing at that moment. And no wonder Shastri too was part of the scene of crime. When Dhoni lost the toss the second time it was tossed, I almost had the thought that we lost the game. It was more like Ganguly winning the toss and chosing to field during the 2003 Final. Never mind, I thought we had equal chances of winning the game by the lucky loss with the toss.

My Dad and Mom who are all-time Cricket haters too joined me before the idiot-box to catch the Final. We were going great guns both with the bowling and fielding, forget Sreesanth! But I also had this crazy thought in one corner that Sree was also a part of the T20 WC Final winning team's playing eleven. I wished history repeated itself for this guy somehow that Saturday despite his terrible bowling. I dozed away after Sangakkara and Jayawardene started building up their partnership. The run rate kept oscillating just around 4.00 RPO. I woke up after the 40th over only to see our bowlers getting thrashed in the batting powerplay during the death and Jayawardene removing his helmet to mark his century. 274/6 was no mean score in a WC Final. Chasing it in Mumbai carrying a billion hopes is gonna be a real test of character for our guys. I kept my fingers crossed as Sachin and Sehwag walked in amidst the huge roar by the crowd. I was seeing Sachin walk into the pitch one last time in a WC match. I wished it wasn't his last ODI at least for what few suckers stirred up such a crazy rumor.

My Mom on the other hand started making coconut boli, a sweet, for dinner saying that India would definitely win the Cup. But what followed was a shock which would have caused me nausea had I been eating that moment. Sehwag getting out the second ball for a gold-coated duck and Sachin falling for 18, but playing an elegant and exquisite innings during that brief stay. A hot coconut boli came into my plate and I gave a confusing look at my Mom. She chuckled and said that the best is yet to come. My sentiments came to my mind for a moment. I usually had the habit of staying away from the television set whenever the Indian team was in a crisis. Even if it was against a team as bad as Afghanistan! I moved out from the drawing room into my room to sit before my PC and started playing few Hindi songs and had my supper.

I seriously felt that my 'sweet' dinner wasn't getting into my throat. I had become a choker! It took me an hour and ten minutes to finish my dinner!!! I only wished that the team didn't choke badly to face a loss similar to what happened in 2003. I opened a tab for Cricinfo to update me with whats happening at the Wankhede. I gulped two bottles of water as I felt the heat. Kohli and Gambhir were steadying the ship well. "Gambhir kannula oru fire theriyudhu!" (I could see fire in Gambhir's eyes!) came an SMS. I wished that it continued as my sentiments were working out perfectly. Kohli was out after an 83 run stand with Gauti. Well done! I had my instincts telling that Dhoni would come next ahead of Yuvraj and play a mammoth innings, at least to maintain the Right-Left combination at the crease. And lo...!!! Update came that Dhoni had stepped in. Instincts Part 1 - check! It was now Dhoni's turn to check the Part 2 too. The scoreboard ticked and ticked every moment. Wonderful! Rajnikant was trending in Twitter as well. Dhoni crossed his 50 and Gauti approached his century only to fall 3 runs short. It was a victory knock without any argument. After Yuvraj coming in, it was itching for me to go back to the hall and catch the remaining action as victory seemed more certain now. I just hoped that they did not throw away their wickets and put up another great-Indian-collapse!

As I was worrying on this regard, Yuvraj pulled one for a boundary and Dhoni slammed one for a SIX over the point an over later. I had come to watch at the right time! Dhoni escaped a run-out and things seemed normal soon. Every over had couple of boundaries from then and the duo were ripping off towards remaking history. Mom was clapping her hands even before the winning shot was made. Crackers went on instantly in my locality even before that. I was going to witness something very astonishing and unusual and shall be remembering it for the rest of my lifetime or probably tell this even to my grandchildren! Kulasekara's delivery was rocket-launched by Dhoni for a SIX and I erupted, the crowd erupted and of course the entire nation erupted! I witnessed it at last. Every member of the team getting emotional, Sachin being carried around the ground on a victory lap, the team lifting the WorldCup, all those were truly amazing and priceless moments that must be relished and cherished by every Indian indeed. While going to bed post midnight, I just realized that my sentiments worked and my Mom's sweet worked as well! LOL! :D

Leaving you with the visuals of victory! :)


DHONI LAUNCHING HIS HELICOPTER AT LAST....



WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS...!!! :) :) :)

We whacked 'em at WACA!!!

"And obviously I am not here to review about what the shit is happening in the politics or the world of football or cricket since I find many of my co-bloggers doing a better job!"
Well these are the lines which are none other than mine from my very first post. But now, i can't resist from writing this one though i may continue refraining from such kinda stuff hereafter. It couldn't get better than this either!

There's a saying "Nice guys finish last!" But on a sensational Saturday, en route to registering what might go down as India's greatest ever test win, Kumble's team proved that nice guys can just win it in style. Like in 2001, this win halted the Aussies' march towards a record 17th consecutive test win making it a sweet revenge after the Sydney fiasco! And with the WACA being the perfect battleground, which is considered as the fastest pitch in the world. Even though i hadn't been following the past two tests since i had college, luckily i got a chance to watch almost every ball of this fast paced Armageddon (courtesy : my local cable tv operator or whoever it is. You have the CAS - Conditional Access System and the damned set-top-box thingy in Chennai. Doh!)

After winning hearts by withdrawing the abuse charge against Brad Hogg which anyone would have guessed as a goodwill gesture from a submissive team, Kumble believed otherwise. He badly wanted to win though the thought of exacting revenge never crossed their minds. And the much awaited inclusion of Pathan and Sehwag obviously didn't let the team go down in any aspect! Sehwag, even though not providing a boisterous knock, full credit to him for chipping in with a good opening knock in the first and for picking up 2 vital wickets in the final innings which almost decided the fate of the match. And Pathan has once again emerged as the pace spearhead for India using the new ball efficiently in getting the early breakthroughs, his batting too played an important part! Another notable performance was obviously Ishant Sharma who was all successful in picking up the Punter on both the occasions. And Kumble will go down the history for his 600 wickets and Dravid becoming the second highest catcher alongside a number of feats by the team in this match!

Overall it was once again the team effort which got the much deserved victory for us. A victory considered the best overseas, more significant than the Twenty20 WC, and more significant than any other one in the history of Indian cricket! They have yet again proved that they can pounce back over the opposition and can make millions of hearts to celebrate. Lets hope that every encounter be a victory and every victory be a reason for those millions of hearts to celebrate which includes You, Me and every Indian! Chak De India!!!

Seasons In The Sun....

"We had joy, we had fun, we had Seasons in the sun,
But the wine and the song, like the Seasons, have all gone...."

Playing Westlife isn't a bad idea on a cold saturday night! After a week at the college i just sit back closing my eyes to relax myself to follow the lyrics and well, i find myself lost in the crowd of my memories! Always a nice feeling to recollect those cherished moments in life which are worth remembering. And summer life is one such... The only part of the year awaited by every school goer! (and now the college life seems to be quite different from the school one).

I still remember me having a countdown of the days left as the school nears its closing. But attending the litmus test and the so called "final exams" before that is a different story altogether! Hmmm.... who cares about that? And very obviously enjoyment and fun gets the first priority with great expectations on the vacation ahead! To everyone's surprise the papers turn up to be quite easy and this is it...! A long vacation is just 3 hours away! "Happy holidays!" No more lessons and homeworks, and no teachers sneaking around, atleast for some 2 more months.

The final bell, the bell of hope and happiness rings to its full swing to mark the end of the academic year and yes, we are here for yet another holiday season.... The squadron makes its way to the nearby ground getting ready for the cricket armageddon! The game is played with the same old school uniform in order to honor it. Never mind the scorching sun in the mid april... Nothing is gonna stop us now!

But these were the those older days that can hardly be remembered by anyone. Anytime cricket, those extra hours of sleep, getting trapped in those traditional japan made television video games (the joy stick is tampered and thrashed to the fullest) and running around for those cassettes are indeed unforgettable. But in this post i just make an attempt to get back to the recent past... My after school days... Those days after my 12th grade. Better i don't mention how my higher secondary was but it wasn't the worst anyway.

The final exam being mathematics has set the blood pressure high for many and i was quite satisfied with my above average performance. Anyway its time to forget about the past (something which i definitely cant) but the results seem to be haunting me around. After spending some extra time with my dear ones i make a move from my school hoping that the future brings the best (now i am comfortably settled in one of the best colleges in my city). With no clue on when the colleges are bound to open we look forward for a minimum 5 month holiday! A great kick-off for a summer vacation. A prolonged one for sure...

But... How am i gonna spend this time remains unanswered. Reading books could be the best option and with the internet connection being fixed up, i am now open to the virtual world! All my needs are bound to be fulfilled. Satisfaction at its best! And i had heard my friends speak about orkut those days in my school (now i am an orkutter with more than 6200 scraps... sheesh!) and i was quite eager to know what is it all about. So i have a busy time ahead... After some stumbling in the net, atlast i learnt a bit of it and was busy gathering my old friends (if not the new ones) and those whom i had lost for no reason. I was pleased to find most of them..... Surprisingly!

As far as my everyday schedule goes it just gotta be the opposite of the school life. Even i have never imagined me to be like that... Laziness personified. My day begins at 08:30am in the morning (some may still consider it to be early)accompanied by constant grumblings from ma and pa. And how do you expect someone who is making his way to the washroom walking in sleep to listen all these nonsense? A great head-start for the day! Then the breakfast is done around 10:30am... Just running late by 1 and a half hours! But it gotta be more than that...

Then i jump into my chair to switch on my system and with some blaring music to keep me alive, i login to orkut and yahoo to find if someone's hovering around there and start some useful(?) conversation. The girls are dealed in a different track and may get flirted to the core sometimes... But that goes even more when we meet in person.They just love getting flirted! Hmmm... while the firefox takes care of some multiple tabs, the internet explorer does the rest. I keep browsing the Indian Railway Fan Club site to know more about it.(I am a great rail-fan and i may come up with a post on that very soon) Man i am getting addicted to the net! After some browsing and orkutting i find the time to be around 01:30pm and hey its time for lunch! Am i running on time or what? This shouldn't be....

Post lunch, i try myself reading the newspaper which normally should be done in the morning, and now, let me cultivate the good habit of reading books. I browse through my shelf to find half a dozen of them which i had bought some time back and the time has come for its utility! (but this was for the first time - not that i browse my shelf everyday to search for a book) After some quick reading i just close my eyes to have a nap to get me back in action for the later half of the day. The better half....!

My friend wakes me up with his "Are u ready?" message and yes, we are off in a rash!(in a cycle... hehe) to the nearby ground for some cricket action. Time is 03:30pm now. Stumps fixed, teams announced, rules laid, let the game begin!(all these for an 8 over game) With some fast and furious action and some serious gimmicks on and off the field, we manage to play some 6 games altogether for the day! Time is 06:45pm by now and still there seems to be a spec of sunlight... "One more game?" and the losers come up saying "We are too tired, lets make a move". And how many times can they lose? And there's one pal of mine (an ardent football fan) who boasts that street football is the best! So much is his passion that he travels some 3 km in bus from his place to play that. !

Well, time is 07:00 pm now and wondering what to do now, we take a stroll in the streets and one of our friend takes us to a roadside bhel-puri shop. Yuk! i hate these roadside ones and bhel-puri is one junk which i hate to the core cuz i find every possible thing found in the earth being mixed in it. But these guys seem to be having a fetish for that! I just order a samosa and thats the only stuff that looks neat and clean to some extent with the least amount of mixing done. I am ready to eat!

Time 07:30pm (i dunno why am i mentioning the time so precisely, but since nothing interrupts the most busy guys in town like us, things go the same way everyday) we are now into our friend's apartment. This time to play "Bluff" a card game it is. We nestle in the terrace (so as not to disturb the other folks watching family soaps) with yet some more junkies and some drink to munch our time away. With some music playing in a mobile, we are now set for a perfect "Casino De Terrace"! The bluffmasters, after some one hour of solid bluffing settle for some gossip and fun. The ultimate purpose of the meet.... Plans for the weekend are also done. Mebbe for a beach or a swanky shopping mall. Time by now is 09:15pm.

After a late entry into my home to see my ma and pa grumble once again(they consider it to be a late one), i have my dinner and again i am back for some orkutting and now i am more pleased to see most of them online (some may feel its the perfect time for a bit of romance!) Who knows? Time by now is 10:00pm. I stay online for one more hour to find my mom standing back shouting at me "What the hell are you doing in the net sitting at late hours?". Phew! Still i have someone who keeps on watching me...Time is now 11:30pm. Its time to hit the sack....

But... The day is not yet over. I take my mobile to roll over my bed and this seems to be the best time for some messaging business. Good conversations do stir you up in the night! Well the world is still awake and more awake at this hour! The nightlife, the fun and everything is everywhere around... (Anyway an 18 year old cannot experience everything in nightlife) I throw away my mobile and once again i take my novel which i had flew over my bed to proceed with the story. And as i doze off i see that the time is around 02:00am. The next day had already begun.... And wohoooo! I am 4 hours behind my schedule! And doing this for some 5 odd months, just imagine how would it be? But everyday is indeed a new experience... Thats life!