Every breath you take, every move you make..

I just picked a thought (actually, it's a fact), which sounds rather gloomy: With every passing second, we are inching closer to our fated demise - the end of our life.

Well, it sure is a fact, but one need not feel too maudlin about it.
After all, we have only so much time on this planet (in this life), and what is important, instead of feeling what all you might miss out on and what all you might not be able to see/do/get, we'd surely be much better off focusing on what all we can do, what all we can set right, what all we can accomplish - with the time that we do have at our disposal.. ..with every passing moment.. ..with every breath we take.

This blog is no Face The Truth/Sach Ka Saamna platform, but I can admit that there have been so many times, when I might have hurt someone, when I could have done something better than I actually did, when I could have mended some fences, done something to make someone happy selflessly, et cetera, et cetera.

I just hope all of us get the good sense and more than just the intent, the ability and courage to execute our intent of setting things right, putting a smile on faces of everyone we meet especially our loved ones, sharing the joys and sorrows of our families together, making our lives more meaningful, more complete, and more "contentable" (just coined the word) - meaning, by the time we take our last breath, we are content, have no regrets, no I-wish-I-could've-done-that, no I-wish-I-hadn't-done-that.

I really hope I don't just write all this on this space and forget about it. I mean, it's always easier to say/preach/wish for something than to actually execute that wish/intention. But I just wanna make sure that if not all, at least most of the moments I have with me, are spent constructively, usefully, and in doing things that bring people together and make everyone's times together even more fun and cherishable.

Let's atleast honestly and sincerely try to make our lives contentable, likeable and loveable - not from others' point of view or to show anything to others, but just to feel better about things we did when we lived, and to feel good enough on having undone the mistakes of the past, of having had the courage to set things in order, of having mended relations, of having brought smiles on the faces which we always want to see smiling, of having seen to it that when no one sees us, we can see ourselves with our head held high and with our heart at peace.

Ab bahut ho gaya na?! :-)
I know, I think so too - till next time then!

It's ok, na?

One of my friends, Isha, keeps lamenting that my posts are mostly cricket and not much else. Ab kya karein bhai, actually this is bound to happen, coz I'm someone who straightaway lunges for the sports page in a newspaper, even if the paper is of the likes of The Economic Times.

On a serious note, actually I just go with the flow - if there's nothing appealing to me, I don't write(!), and if there's something I feel like writing about, I do - don't care much even if it consistently belongs to any specific domain or 'label'. Anyway, hope Isha and her ilk would welcome this non-cricket post, for a change!

Just finished with "The Alchemist" - I know it's a bestseller but with due respects to all its fans and ofcourse the very respectable Mr. Paulo Coelho, I did not find it as impressive as I was expecting it to be.
 

Perhaps it's a case of excessive expectations, or I might have missed appreciating something even when it might've been there, coz the bestseller that it has been, there must be something seriously great about it that I have failed to notice.

Anyway, that's my loss. But thinking of why you like any book, here are my reasons for doing so:

1. The message

2. The way that message is conveyed - with the plot, the lines, the humor (if required) and the narrative (if required)

And then follow the other qualities that these two elements ought to create in any good read:

1. Gripping - once you start the book, you need to stop reading it only if Aishwarya Rai has come running all the way just to sit with you, or..if you have actually finished reading it!

2. Readability - A good book can make you feel like reading it is more like talking to a known, pally friend - just a conversation - no need to bother about anything, just go with the flow, and enjoy without thinking too much, unless it's a Poirot/Holmes kinda suspense-thriller!

3. Enjoyment - This one's the clincher - you should just love reading the book and enjoy the time spent reading it - probably the toughest to make a reader do. Actually, if you can do this part, chances are you have done all others too. In other words, ensuring reader enjoyment makes up for all the Do's and Don'ts.

Basically, the message I got was about following your heart and sticking to your goals, being unwavering in following your destination, enjoying the journey to your destination, learning from anyone and everyone, what else? - but none of this was really new (and it doesn't matter even if it wasn't. Every new book does not mean every new line of thinking) but I somehow didn't find it gripping enough.

The plot seemed to drag/stretch as long as the Egyptian deserts mentioned therein and I knew it was not doing it for me when I was laboriously looking for each page to end, with a keen, continuous and tired eye on how many more still to go, before I reach the last page.

It was like watching a Sreesanth or the entire Australian team play match after match not only without quality, but also without sledging their opponents - could well be historical, but seems boring. (oops, there we go with the cricket again!)

Somehow, I just did not feel captivated enough through the book. Guess it's no sacrilege, just a matter of choice.
It's ok, na?!

Virender Sehwag's best six till date

This post is more about the virtue than the vice.
It's more about the positive aspect of Virender Sehwag's DDCA-expose than lamenting about the quagmire of politics, nepotism, corruption and a generally brazen disregard for professionalism, that the DDCA is neck-deep into.

There might be dozens of other such associations/sports bodies/clubs/people (not just in cricket or any other sport, but also in life) that may be just as corrupt and botched up, but the point is, how many people have the courage to stand up for something they believe in?

The thing to appreciate, respect and emulate, is to take it on, to take the bull by the horns, at least by the time we have attained some position from where our voice will not get choked in the chaotic ruckus of the very system we are taking on.

Why not have the courage of conviction to stand up for something we know is right and to protest against anything that we know is wrong, unfair, and unethical?

There's a wonderful saying - "If you cannot stand up for something (you believe in), you can fall for anything."

Some of us might be wondering why Sehwag would have wanted to challenge the administrators when his own place in the sun was assured, and when his own interest was being well-served.

And how could he be so sure that corruption in DDCA was indeed as rampant and as likely as SRK's presence in a Farah Khan/Karan Johar flick?

Well, I just read an article from the much-respected cricket journo Pradeep Magazine. The following extract from that article brings to light the reason why Sehwag, safely ensconced as an iconic player in the Delhi establishment, would want to make DDCA face the music:

"Those who are wondering why Virender Sehwag, safe in his fame, riches and iconic status, all of a sudden raised his voice and created a chaos in this 'ordered' world, perhaps don't know this story:
For two consecutive years, a young lad from the suburbs of Delhi would go to the selection trials of Delhi cricket, only to be shooed away after facing only half a dozen balls in the nets.
The crestfallen youngster found a godfather in Satish "Neelu" Sharma, who recognised his potential and pitted him against the full might of a DDCA team.
The boy smashed half a dozen sixes in his rampaging hundred, something that has become a signature of almost every Sehwag innings when he plays for India today."

C'mon, get me the popcorn, yaar - this is so very much like a truly, filmy-ly happy ending, with the hero bashing up the baddie in the end! Sweet redemption, Viru!

Aplenty are such scenarios in everyone's life where we just silently witness, and therefore knowingly or unknowingly connive with the trespassers of morality, ethics, and transparency, through our passive stance and tacit approval.

I just hope we all get to learn from Viru, and exhibit similar courage whenever we have our owns trysts with such scenarios. Power to you, Virender Dude Sehwag - this one's been the best six you've hit in your career, sending the ball of corrupt babudom at the cost of sheer talent, well outta the park!

Here's to more such Sehwags - may the club keep growing!

Jo WADA kiya, wo nibhana padega..

जी हाँ, पेश है एक और बार - BCCI की चमकार!
इसके जितना कमा नहीं पाती कई countries की सरकार!!
दादागिरी करने का मिला एक और हथियार!
करे अपने cricketers पर privacy-protection की बौछार!
BCCI की चमकार!

आया नया अँधेरा!!
(BCCI Says: "WADA का..)
..हर Clause मेरा"!

Enough, BCCI and Indian cricketers - much as we love our cricket, along with the joy you provide us with your talent, we are not taking this.

I mean, I simply don't get it, guys. Our cricketers are already exalted to demi-god status, we don't grudge them that. (It's another matter though, that all others who get recognition for the country should also come atleast close to the celeb status, wealth and sheer clout that the cricketers command after donning national colors).
But howsoever famous you may be, you cannot not adhere to already stated, and universally-accepted rules and guidelines.

We have the best of the best conforming to the clauses of the WADA - be it with the ATP (Tennis) or FIFA (Soccer) or all the sportspersons who participate in sports affiliated to the IOA (International Olympic Association). And didn't BCCI know what it was getting into, when it signed the agreement with WADA?

The cricketers are, reportedly, unhappy with the WADA clause that requires them to furnish information about where they would be, on the grounds that it infringes on their privacy. Sure, but isn't it a small price to pay for, if you understand the intent behind the policy and also note that all others agree to it as well?
Is others' privacy or information less sensitive or less important than our demi-gods'?

And instead of reining in the delinquents, why has the BCCI chosen to side with the cricketers, even taking on the Government, and bullying the ICC into creating a separate, autonomous testing system for cricketers?
Isn't that unfair use of monopoly?

One needs to be fair to all, and if security and privacy are the reasons, ask a Roger Federer if he is not entitled to privacy or the Pakistani and Sri Lankan teams if they are not concerned about security.
WADA is a universally-recognised body, which would only help each sport to get rid of the menace of doping.

And then, we whine about the lack of standards and cricket not being included in the Olympics.

If you shirk from performing when the stage is yours, you cannot cry over talent not being recognized.