A couple of things...

Even in the midst of neck-deep things, we somehow find a moment or two of respite. I would be moving to the west coast over the next week. I am excited about the whole thing.I shall update my blog. Long, long ago i used to put up links for new blogs i stumble across. I didn't exactly stumble across these.Anyway, i found them nice and imaginative.

Kiran
Murali

See you soon.Take care :)

Before and After

When two days feel like the exact number of days, it means that you have been there every second of it. Every sleeping moment spent in dreaming, every waking moment wishing this weren’t a dream. The intention of this post is to chronicle a few things that still remain etched after the whole weekend tense rinse. As is the norm, I like to write short posts. Single line stories are ideal. However, the weekend action requires me to look at different things. So, I have decided to split up things into a few sub-posts. I will try to keep flow coherent and the contents vague.


The result of the tournament did have a strong impact on me. Why else would I indulge in such long post? Last year, I had just a single post saying “Just Got Screwed”. So, if you are looking for some suspense full of turns, twists go read some Nancy Drew: p!!

According to me there are a couple of ways of looking at life . No, I will not preach or punish with fundaes. I thought it was a really great way of spreading your palms and telling things. You can either view your life as a continuum with glitches and upsets at random points. Or you can view it as recurring themes and events, with mediocrity to fill up the space. Some believe in the former, some in latter, some in both, some in none. The weekend tournament was a glitch, upset for some, an event for some and mediocrity for others. People from far flung places (LA, Texas, Illinois, NJ, Delaware etc….), from different nations all came together to play, what men play: Cricket.

Other posts

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The Hungry and The Tired

PS: In the News

The Hungry and The Tired

The whole atmosphere at the ground was picnic-like. It was both hot and windy. People weaving in and out over the weekend, people perched on the IST tower during research breaks. I always loved games under the huge flood-lights. I remember during on of the matches (finals, I think), I was standing near the huge light pole. I happened to glance up (since I wasn’t doing much anyway) and saw the giant light lamps. Suddenly, I was remembered of south park. Kenny dying because of “accident”. I promptly relocated myself a little deeper in the field. The next instant my eyes glowed as brightly, as I saw ajay’s stump uprooted by pointy’s ripper. Many think that that instant was the turning point of the match. I agree. Pointy, despite all his shortcomings, reeled in the aristocrats (rohan’s team).Tired horses (dogs) stamping, stuttering all the way to the finish line. If I had to pick one reason, why I love to play these guys is the fight they put in. All their matches were close. The culmination, undoubtedly, was the semi-finals. The teams were tied and these guys scraped in due to fewer wickets.

“Haven’t you ever felt that rush?”, asked matter with the shake of fist and head in tandem.Earlier in the match, someone (many) had pointed at his suspect bowling action. I thought many people were being unfair to him. During the match, the accusations really got to Matter. On one occasion he threw down the stumps with such force, charan was almost impaled by the cartwheeling stump. I have felt the rush, but you need the required talent to back the rush too! See what I am saying?

In other stand-out features, susu hitting ajay for a flat six on the off. Ajay and Nishant affecting the last ball runout to scrape to finals. Charan whacking a dancing nishant non-chalantly for a six in the finals. Sathya’s one-handed catch plucked out of thin air. Matter rattling the middle stump on the first ball he delivered.

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“So, what’s your team name?”
“Untitled.jpg”
“Oh”. A valiant attempt at controlling the funny feeling in the stomach resulted in smirks and smiles. “Why?”
“Hmm. It’s a convoluted funda. I will tell you once the whole thing is done”
“Even your team-mates were laughing at the name”
“…”
“The commentator said: I wonder what he was watching when he came up with the name”
“The commentary was really fundoo. Don’t you think?” Skillful diversion in conversation is something they don’t teach you in school.

The whole tournament is a simple renaming process. Yeah. It is like Right-click. We come in as untitled and end up as champions.jpg. That’s the file name on my computer. Well, I thought it was a pretty good name (Southern accent of Tom Hanks)

Right back at you..

Its been almost an year since a great debacle. Life is full of surprises, pleasant and unpleasant.You know, i never thought i would play more cricket here in the US than i did in India.What? i already told you that? Several times? Err...well..redundancy is a good to clarify and re-assert certain things.

A great man once said that talent times seriousness is a constant. I am very serious about this tournament. More than probably it deserves? Last time, there was a crisis. In the big semifinals, i didnt step up.Whether i would have delivered or not was an entirely different question.But, i didnt step up to bowl the last over, resulted in two successive sleepless nights.I know how ricky ponting probably felt after he dropped the urn.;)

Well, its that time of the year again.And, the space and time between this and the next post would be more important to me than anything else.More important than the candidacy which i cleared this week.I am officially a PhD.Pray for our team (not optional)

Gult

"There are two kinds of people in this world.Gult people and Good people", said a friend of mine. Ever since, i set my foot in iit, i have been subjected this question with suprising intensity,"Are you a gult? haan..tell me are you a gult?". Close to the point that, "You don't look like a gult" has become a compliment of sorts. Remarks like "Its okay, you know.Its okay to be a gult" are common in gult-depleted circles.Seripaladi(Say-Ri-Paal-adi).It is hard to define my people in a straightforward douglas adams "mostly harmless" sort of way.

A few qualities that do or do not apply to us, in general.There are no ambitious gults.I haven't bothered to look for one. Down-to-earth? yes. Some are even below ground zero. Smart and sexy? yes and no. Adorable? only few,only as kids. Lazy? We are in no rush to be world-dominators. Stubborn? I think the previous precludes this one.You can't be lazy and stubborn.May be you can.Who cares.Gult metrosexual is a myth.Those don't exist. We are open to threesomes.As long as the couple is lesbian.

None of these statements can be corroborated with hard facts, but then , we don't believe in saying anything concrete.Including the previous statement.

PS: If you don't know who gults are, i don't know how you can find out about such things. Also read this amazing piece: The attractive gult

And, did you know that the first result MSN search gives for the query,totti, is my blog site. Not Francesco totti but me!!! i find it very surprising and pleasing.

Eloquent

I would love to tell you things like,"What do you call a person who is bald and bats left-handed?". Alas! (it has been a while since i have come across this word), i don't have such things to say.However, if you have some good jokes, please do share.It has been a while since i have a good one.

I noticed that in bollywood, heroines don't die tragic deaths. Talk about equal rights to men and women. I think true independence will be when men and women are both able to die equally on-screen. In QSQT, both of them die.I don't think that counts.

A guy is walking down the road. Mid-thirties. He is talking quite animatedly on his cell phone. As he passes me, he inclines his head, in a hello kind of way. I return the favor.Suddenly, his phone starts ringing.His face turns red. Soliloquy? Such a rookie mistake. You always have to keep the phone in silent mode, when you do that. I walk away into the sun, shaking my head.

What else? yeah..Got hold of the fanaa trailer.Looks like its on autopilot for a blockbuster. It looks like DilSe on the backdrop of Black.

Rain

And, suddenly, it started raining. I ran into the shelter, removed my jacket, and donned the bag and the coat on top of it. Slowly, I began my walk back home. It is, like I said, a short walk towards home. I don’t know why but rain always ripples some long lost memories. Things, I never knew were racked up in my mind. It is a steady rain and you could see the green freshness emanating from the land. My eyes feel clear in days. The wind is mild and gentle too. It is f*ing romantic. I pass the nearby gas station, pausing to see for lurking automobiles and walk up the slope. A murky rivulet is flowing down the slope with astonishing speed. Suddenly, my ears are filled with distant laughter and shrieks. Mud soaked arms and legs, seven cousins howling and “singing”. Paper boats, sand dams, filthy pools, pruned fingers. My shoes are soaked in water, as I trudge up to the river top. A sudden desire seizes me and I whisk out my notebook. I flip to the back and tear out three sheets. I sit on my knees, in a corner, with the book balanced and try to make a paper boat. It comes naturally, like I made them everyday, till today. I float six of them down the river, two big, four small. The small ones run off like little children followed by the somber adults. I watch them till they I can, and step out of the corner. Something hard hits me and I am airborne; a bolt of lightening strikes and I vanish into the thin air. What are the chances.