14 years on...

It's been a little more than 14 years since the dastardly attacks of 26/11 in Mumbai.

While the world has moved on to other stories, other tragedies too, the memories of that horrible night continue to haunt the nation. I was nowhere near Mumbai that day. I lost no one from my known circle of  family and friends. Still, it was a day when one felt the entire nation lost someone or the other.

Perhaps a lot of the angst has come from the fact that the people being targeted were hapless, innocent civilians, and many foreign nationals identified by citizenship and religion,

It was made worse by the satellite channels which beamed live and "exclusive" coverage of the attacks and our counter-operations in defense.

We keep recounting the horrors of that night and the ensuing days but what will remain etched in my memory is the valor of our armed forces and the resilience of our citizens. It was a tragic day but it was also a day to ensure that we do not let any of the perpetrators rest till we bring them to justice. Most importantly, to Pakistan, as the nation being the sponsor and mastermind, orchestrating the entire series of attacks that day across Mumbai.

I am confident that we will always remain united and will continue to defend the motherland, and if need be, even go on the offensive to defuse and/or pre-emptively extirpate any sinister plans by anyone against our country. 

To the martyrs of 26/11 - Jai Ho!

What a birthday!

October 23, 2022
Generally, birthdays are a happy time. Apart from reflecting on another year as you age and be thankful for all your blessings, you also get greeted and loved by your family and friends. All in all, a relaxed, fun vibe all through the day.

This year, it was slightly different. Of course, all usual stuff I mentioned above did happen. Only, there was another ingredient in this year's birthday. October 23, 2022 also happened to host an India Pakistan match. That too in the World Cup. That too, after the heartbreaking loss 364 days ago in the previous World Cup (and another loss to them recently in the Asia Cup in August). 

This meant my birthday was also going to be a tense day, filled with the usual racy heartbeats and sweaty palms you come to expect from a typical India-Pakistan match.

The last thing I wanted was for us to lose on my birthday. Sure, it would not have been the end of the world. But of course, sentiments and rationality need not always coexist happily. I knew it would not have mattered but I still did not want us to lose to Pakistan, certainly not on my big day.

And as the match began, India won a good toss, had a great start with its bowlers but we squandered that advantage and Pakistan managed to make almost 160 (159), despite no contributions from Babar or Rizwan.

And then, the horror start. After the quick procession of wickets in the first 10 overs, my "happy" birthday began to seem more like more of a sad day. Until a certain Mr. Kohli and Mr. Pandya decided to take things in their own bats. From biding their time initially and rotating strike to counterattacking Nawaz and taking him out of the attack to taking the game deep continuously and staying in the hunt to 28 from 8 to the legendary consecutive sixes by Virat making it 16 from 6, to the controversial no-ball, to the 3 smart runs after being bowled on the free-hit, to the sensible left alone wide by Ashwin and to finally, the lofted off drive for the winning single - every single moment thereafter was a pulsating account of how we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. And of course, to the one and only Virat Kohli's chasing masterclass.

Thank God for making my birthday one of the sweetest eventually, by making India victorious and for all the lovely, unforgettable moments!! What. A. Day!

As I write, Pakistan has lost to Zimbabwe last night, in the most shocking manner, by 1 run. Their fans must be distraught and have every reason to feel so. They were not even chasing a score of 180+ or even 160-odd. Just 131. And with all due respect to Zimbabwe's bowlers, they aren't the most menacing attack in the world either. Even after Pakistan committing harakiri like only Pakistan can, they were still in a position where they needed just 3 runs off the last 3 balls, with 4 wickets in hand. And an in-form Nawaz in the middle. Yet, the pressure got to them and they are staring at an early exit, barring any miracles and all other results going their way.

For the Indian team, we have managed to thrash Netherlands quite comprehensively in our next encounter and now await South Africa on Sunday. Let's keep the momentum going and continue playing the best cricket we can. The rest should take care of itself too. 

Keep rocking, Team India...Jai Ho!

Rest in Peace, Raju ji

Comedian - A term that we often tend to associate with someone who can make you laugh.

Given the punch-down trend of comedy today, especially stand-up comedy (except a few honorable exceptions like Amit Tandon), Raju ji was a much bigger, better star from another league. 

He was at par with the Johnny Lever's and Surendra Sharma's of his time. This post is a tribute to the man who was more than just a comedian.  

Of course, I cannot claim to know too much more about Raju ji. Like most people, I was also aware of only his comic talents, his great mimicry style, and not to forget, his unique ability to personify even the inanimate objects or the most dull situations. 

Be it his hilarious take on flood-reporting by news reporters or the ROFL-worthy bits on observations at weddings or his performance of preaching as a gangster-turned-baba, each act was legendary and a comedy masterclass in itself. And obviously, these are just a few standout performances, it's by no means an exhaustive list.

The thing with Raju ji was that he never descended to the level of making comedy crass or below-the-belt. None of that could ever pass off as humor in his book. Every single act was something that the entire family could understand, enjoy, and watch on repeat.

Mimicry was another forte - where he could effortlessly pull off a Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Mithun, Johnny Lever, Shatrughan Sinha, even Shashi Kapoor, among many more. Besides, who can ever forget Amitabh Bachchan? His AB mimicry was on par with Sudesh Bhosle. No one else can ever come even close.

And then, there were those cute observations and one-liners on different authentic characters that he would pull from the common man - be it his sketches of an overexcited sister-in-law or the typical simpleton villager like Gajodhar, Sangattha, Baijnaath, each sketch was a treat to watch. Again, you could identify with the observations and marvel at his talent without needing any break.

But even more than all his talents, his best quality that I figured in these last few days was that he remained a genuine and true person, straight from his heart. It has been alleged that he was chucked out of The Kapil Sharma show because he criticized Bharti for consuming (and/or possessing) drugs. While the allegation may or may not be true, he is reported to have criticized Bharti only because he wished her well. There are also reports of many other comedians and artists who have shared that during their days of struggle, Raju ji had always lent his support to them in every way, including financial support.

Thanks to Saurabh Pant's podcast, in case you are also a fan, you can watch this memorable conversation of Raju speaking about his journey and the story behind some of his performances in this video.

Rest in peace, Raju ji. You went away too soon but your work will continue to live with us as some of our fondest memories. You will always be an immortal star for us.

You were a wonderful, lovely, and loveable soul who always brought happiness to everyone. May the Almighty also keep you happy and at peace, always. 

Om Shanti.

Chak de!

308 days ago, the stage was the T20 World Cup but the venue was the same and so was the opposition.

India Vs Pakistan

It really doesn't get bigger than this. More than revenge, it was a time for redemption for Team India.

On that night, we batted was timid and our bowling was lacklustre. 

Cut to August 28, 2022. Even this time, we were too timid in our batting for the most part (this was especially glaring after our new template of attacking the bowlers and batting positively from the get-go, in the last 6 months). We lost KL Rahul in what was almost a replica of his dismissal the last time around. With almost the same impact too.

We went into our shell for a bit, as edges flew, tensions rose, and we nicked and prodded for a few runs. Just when things were looking more in control, Sharma threw it all away and very soon, Kohli came tumbling after.

Then came the most significant partnership of the match, Jaddu and Hardik, as they went about their job of keeping the scoreboard moving and ensuring that we did not lose any more wickets. Remember, with only DK to follow and playing with a long tail while chasing at 9+ per over for the better part of the last 10 overs, another wicket would have set the cat amongst the pigeons.

Hardik Gold Pandya

No, the Gold is not his middle name because he loves wearing it along with a generous sprinkling of his tattoos. The Gold is very much part of him now (and may it long be) because he has become an invaluable cog in our armoury, with renewed zeal, much fitter physique, much calmer temperament and much fiery bowling spells too. And the killer batting prowess was always there. He is priceless to this team now. 24K priceless. And what better place for this golden boy to show his worth than in the Middle East!!

The zen-like calm and self-assuredness in his batting has been evident ever since his comeback after injury, in the IPL. Captaining a new team and taking it to IPL victory this year has only added to his credentials, qualities, and confidence.

What a beautiful blossoming and touchwood to that!

Overall, it was a great day for the team as we persevered in our bowling as well as batting for the most part, and eventually stood on the right side of the result after a well-fought, scrappy contest.

Some positives:
Hardik, Hardik Hardik

Jadeja's batting

Bhuvi's typical, understated brilliance

Kohli's semblance of his old self

Arshdeep (barring a few disappointments, did pretty well overall)

Things to work on:
KL Rahul

Rishabh's T20 future/potential team instability so close to the World Cup in October

Waiting for Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar, Ravi Bishnoi, and Venkatesh Iyer to make it to the team.
I know Venky Iyer is not even in the squad but he is surely a matchwinner and is ready, in my books.

My Preferred Team India for the T20 World Cup in Australia:

01. Rohit Sharma (c)

02. Venkatesh Iyer

03. Virat Kohli

04. Suryakumar Yadav

05. Rishabh Pant (wk)

06. Hardik Pandya (vc)

07. Ravindra Jadeja

08. Harshal Patel

09. Bhuvneshwar Kumar

10. Jasprit Bumrah

11. Yuzvendra Chahal

12. Deepak Chahar

13. Dinesh Karthik

14. Ravi Bishnoi

15. Deepak Hooda

16. Arshdeep Singh

17. Shardul Thakur

18. Washington Sundar

Anyway, that's for later. For now, well done, Team India - more power to you, keep going!

Jai Ho!