Rest in Peace, Atal ji

The August of 2018 was a month where quite a few veteran, renowned politicians of the country passed away.

We first lost the DMK patriarch (August 07), followed by Somnath Chatterjee (on the 13th), and then finally, that pole star of modern Indian politics called Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the 16th.

Now I know, there is a very convenient, armchair way of laughing off politicians and even their deaths. 

Good riddance, they weren't of any use anyway, they should all be packed off together, if anyone should die, it should be them first/only.

And suchlike (if not worse).

One can also see where all this comes from, and perhaps, it is the 99% of them who are giving the 1% of good ones a bad name!

What I can say for sure, is that like them or hate them, there is no denying the fact that these 3 politicians were stalwarts in their respective parties and ideologies. 

Both Somnath Chatterjee and M Karunanidhi were among those select few, who were not only politicians but also titans and recognized not just within party or within their dominant states, but across the entire country too.

One prays that God blesses their souls, and they rest in peace.

But with due respects to both the departed souls, there is no doubt that if there was one person whose death tore the most number of hearts, it was of the great Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

I am only one of a multitude of fans, who learned how to be a role model despite being a politician.

A person who had no enemies even after being in public life for multiple decades.

A refined poet at heart, and a statesman of the highest calibre, Vajpayee ji was someone we all loved.

Often labelled as the right man in the wrong party, his moderate temperament in a party of hardliners, his ability to take everyone together, his amazing oratory, his vision, his incisive analysis on everything he spoke about - all contributed towards making him the tallest leader of modern Indian politics, by a mile.

It was the early/mid-1990s and as an impressionable youngster, I remember wanting him to speak in Parliament, so that I could learn and enjoy his oratorial finesse, through the newly started live debates, televised on the telly.

Such was his impact, that one would be ready to reconsider one's stand, if Atal ji had said something contrarian to one's perspective.

That is the hallmark of a true stateman and shows the amount of genuine respect and regard he commanded for his vision and leadership, along with his transparency and integrity.

More than anything else, I believe that Atal ji, a true Bharat Ratna, will be remembered for making sure that one could get/make role models and heroes even through as generally abominable a place as politics.

Along with Late Shri Chatterjee and Late Shri Karunanidhi, I hope and pray that may you also rest in peace, Atal ji.

India will forever be lucky that one of her sons was a gem called Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Bring it on!

Every big match or big series neds its due recognition.
It is no news how eagerly, Virat and his boys in blue are looking forward to the England tour.

Messrs Shastri and Kohli have spelt their priorities quite clearly: the terms "success" and "greatness" for their Indian team are defined by performance and victories on overseas, especially South African, English, and Australian soils.

They have made a good start in that direvtion, with the South African sojourn being quite creditable for the team.
Now, come tomorrow, all heads turn to England, the biggest of tests and joys in cricket - in whites, and with the swinging conditions in England.

For the skipper too, there is no need to be inspired. We all know how important this tour is for him personally too. He has all the hunger and the ingredients to be counted among the best of the best ever batsmen, but domination in England has been a missing tickmark till now, on his CV.

So, as we enter the big day, here's wishing Captain Kohli and the Indian Cricket Team,  20 wickets in every match and atleast ome run more than England, each game :-)
Play well and good luck, bwaays!!!

Yoyo Mann!!

In news just in, it has emerged that popular rapper Honey Singh (oh yeah, of "O Yo Yo Honey Singhhh-ah" fame) has cleared the YoYo test.
He claims that he has ensured he has spoken YoYo more than 16 times in eah of his rap songs 😊

Well, PJs and fake-take apart, the whole episode of YoYo tests gaining popularity to the extent of being the sole criterion for selections and some former cricketers' disapproval of its importance has left many Indian cricket lovers baffled.

One hopes that the omission of Ambati Rayudu, one of the topmost performers of this year's IPL on the basis if YoYo tests, that too after having been selected, has been in bad taste.

Sure, it is only right to stress on fitness in today's cricket.
However, one can surely respect fitness without having to disrespect or humiliate (even though it is without any malafide intent) a selected Team India cricketer.

Why can't we have the hallowed and much-revered YoYo test conducted BEFORE the selection committee meets to pick the team?

It's time we avoided needless controversies and focused on the fame rather than the peripherals around it.
Here's wishing Team India the very best for the upcoming England series.

Rock it guys, a la YoYoHoney Singhh-a!! 😊

Big Daddies: MSD's CSK

A daddy is always a daddy.

This ia true for the CSKians again, who have done it again, bossing around with the trophy as the most consistent, big daddy team in all years of the IPL since its inception.

It's the third time they have done it and this one, with a much older team, considering the average age of the team was well-nigh 30.

To still be able to trump all their younger, fancied "juniors" and with elan at that, proves that age is just a number.
Cliched, but proven true.

Their triumph once again underscores the fact that eventually, what matters is how good you are with your skills and attitude.

Sure, age tends to slow anyone's reflexes.

Be it the hand-eye co-ordination, or that throwing oneself around for either snatching that extra run or be it saving that extra run, all count - all of these make the body resist co-operating with what the mind and heart want to do.

The hamstrings become even more critical than those handle-with-care cutlery items.

But more than any of these, everything else takes a backseat when one can still be fit enough and skilled enough.
Because what age also does is to empower you with experience and habe enough nous to handle and overcome any situation.

This is precisely what Shane What-a-son did, come the big night. Much to the haplessness of the Sunrisers.

Or, for that matter, an Amabati-only-33-Rayudu. Or a Faf or a Bhajji.
And of course, the one and only M S D.

Captain Cool once again displayed his usual astuteness, marshalling his troops in the best possible manner.
His captaincy has always defied conventions, and him not opting to bowl one of his specialist bowlers (Bhajji) again underscores that the man can think clearly and for the occasion, even if it means trying something novel or unexpected.

But more than his batting or 'keeping, even more than his captaincy, what stood out (again), was his coolness in enjoying the comfort of his daughter more than the trophy, after the win!

A daddy is truly, more than anything else, always a daddy.