Random Thoughts

Sport is about passion. And when its cricket and involves Indian fans, it is passion laced with madness. Our cricketers are our heroes. Thanks to the unbelievable turn around by Kapil Devils, way back, cricket continued to woo and inspire a lot of Indians. And when the world cup is won on the home turf with the command performance in 2011, as though it belonged to India, #Wewontgiveitback was expected to be coined for 2015. Realistically, though, when the likes of Sourav, Sachin, Rahul could not get it for India, the likes of Kohli, Raina, MSD would have to perform a miracle to get it. And miracle happened once, in 2011. Was it foolishness to expect it again? But, that is the way of the fan. We live with our cricketers ups and downs, with their tantrums of form and no-form. And they live with our admiration and despondence. The cycle goes on and on, the same fan who is throwing tantrums now, will hail their names when the next series begins. Well, at least most of them. And then, there...

Was looking for some inspiration to write anything other than book reviews. Found this interesting writing challenge on Daily Post and gave it a try... ------------- Water exists in many forms - ice, water and steam. It changes its form based on its surroundings and factors that influence its core. What suits me best, would be water, in that, most of the time, I flow along, whatever the setting may be. As a kid with working parents and in a joint family, it was necessary for me to be able to hold my tears, anger, frustration. Many a time, despite the feeling of anger or grief, it was imperative to be happy and play along. What used to work for me then, was to draw on a piece of paper, until I could get a handle on myself before being presentable to folks in the house or to run laps in a playground until I could no longer hold breath in my lungs, when I would just settle down and breathe; and with every breath, I would feel lighter. Part of the reason, to hold on to my emotions wa...

Cricket has been such an integral part of my life for over fifteen years now. I have watched and cheered my team, I shouted in frustration at the spineless cricket that we sometimes played, I cried with the pain of defeat, I soared on the wings of victory, but, always was with my team. So, diplomacy aside, I bleed blue and I want my team to win, each and every time, however stacked are the odds against us :). The first test match between India and Australia was highly emotional for any cricket lover because of the days leading upto this match. Philip Hughes was a stranger to me, yet not a stranger. He was a cricketer of promise and his abrupt death stunned the whole cricketing community. I was no exception to it. Watching the first hour of the match was exceptionally hard for me, especially that of Warner bat. And when Clarke walked in, I had tears in my eyes, understanding the magnanimity of the task ahead of him. But, as sport often does, it heals the wounds as you play along. It bal...

It is very important to remember how I feel today. The hurt that I feel right now, could swallow me, leaving me as a husk of a person that I am, that I aspire to be. Time and again, when I get into the comfort zone, falling back on being lethargic, there is this push from my conscience and the destiny seems to conspire with it to push me out of it. After all the hard work that I put in, it hurts to see that I cannot move forward from where I was. Every time I am caught up in work, I tend to forget that I work in a cut throat business, where 'I' am not important, what I do right now is not VERY important. My future value is diminishing every waking day , just as surely as I move to the closure of my life. I cannot afford to forget that, not for a waking second, if I want to be where I want to be. I am, but a microcosm in the bigger picture, one of the millions. Sure, I know my job, sure, I can do it with aplomb and so can a million others. Then, there are a million others who as...

DISCLAIMER: This is a fictional story. All the characters are fictional. The incident itself is a creation. Any resemblance to people or to the situations in the real world, is purely coincidental. -------------------------------------------- She stood, transfixed, her stance defensive, her body weighed down by her sorrow of losing a dear one. Her heart refused to accept, her mind could not correlate her anguish. She fought for control of her emotions that threatened to drown her in misery. Performing on a stage is a daunting task, which requires courage and back bone. She could not feel her spine, let alone her courage. But she was compelled to do so today. She was walking across a street, one of the million streets she hunted, in search for peace over the course of years and found an open mic night in one of the pubs on that street. She had no idea when her feet started walking towards the door nor did she have a recollection of walking on to the stage. She was shocked when a mik...

And so.. I had an experience in Taj Falaknuma last evening for my fourth wedding anniversary. (Shocking?! To me too!!  :) ) It was a memorable experience, personally, because my hubby spent time and effort to make time for “us”, remembering my off handed mention of Taj Falaknuma after the raving reviews. We both are mostly “go and get it done” people, at least when it comes to experiences at least one of us enjoys. So, it was surprising that we waited for an occasion, perhaps, we both hoped to make our anniversary memorable subconsciously, thanks to the influence of web about the grandeur of the palace. Adorned in a saree, surrounded by peaceful never ending land, walking hand in hand with my guy, made me feel the richness from within me. That moment of peace, that moment of shared intimacy among strangers, that moment of love that engulfed me, watching him awestruck at the brilliance of the then Nawab was worth the experience that dented his wallet. Watching him gasp and stare m...

Sachin retired, leaving an entire nation speechless with his emotional speech. While I watched the match on Saturday morning, I was having mixed feelings, but mostly there was a sense of helplessness. I am not a huge fan of Sachin. By the time I started watching cricket, Sachin was already a “little genius” and when cricket started to feel a bit more than just a sport for me, I have had my own heroes I grew to admire. I started watching cricket from the 1996 World Cup match between India and Pakistan in Bangalore. I got to admit, I had little idea what cricket was at that  point, just that the entire nation was praying that we win the match and the world cup. I can still remember the packed living room with all my cousins screaming and cheering, while I sat amidst all the chaos wondering what in the world was going on. And I sat there, amidst the cheers, to watch Ajay Jadeja whip Waqar Younis and suddenly the entire street erupted with joy. I could feel the adrenaline in the room ...