THE AGESLESS GENIUS

The 37-year old has regained the numero uno spot in test cricket after eight years. Well, ‘37’ seems to be just another number to him, which I guess hardly matters to him now. Having spent, rather ruled the cricket world for more than two decades Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has dictated many such numbers in his own terms.

He scripted miseries for the opponent teams single-handedly for almost a dcade, till he got ‘Dada’, ‘the Wall’ and the ‘very very special Laxman’ beside him. Gradually we got familiar with the terms ‘Big-3’ and then ‘Fav-4’… but again, only factor that remained constant is Sachin. In a recent article ‘Time Magazine’ hailed the master as the ‘Timeless Genius’… and why would they not? Most of our generation grew up watching Sachin playing and destroying opponents’ attacks…while most of his contemporaries have hung up their boots, some turned coaches, some commentators, some pitch experts, so much so that some have taken up the job of umpires. But this man’s never say die attitude still continues to cause nightmares to the opponent team every time he comes down to bat. I remember reading an article in ‘Anandamela’ in my early school days that referred to him as the ‘Bismoy Balak (Wonder Kid)’. The Kid eventually turned in to the God of Cricket and kept rewriting the history every now and then. Today, the master-blaster is as dangerous as ever, but has come a long way to add more elegance and maturity to his game.

Most number of Test matches, most runs in tests, most centuries in tests, most of number of ODI matches, most ODI runs, most ODI Centuries, highest individual score in ODIs, most number of Man of the Match’ and ‘Man of the Series’ awards, first one to reach many milestones… 403 runs in 4 innings in the recently concluded test series against the Aussies at an average of 134.33… numbers, numbers and more numbers! What more can one ask for to achieve in a lifetime?

But I guess there is certain a thing beyond numbers which the batting maestro would also long for, especially at this stage of his career where calling it a day is just a matter of time. The master batsman has added numerous feathers in his cap during his illustrious career, but he fell short of his some of his contemporaries probably in one aspect, and that is, getting a world cup for his country, and to some extent, a triple hundred in tests. Probably this is what kept him going on over the years, and even today his wicket remains the most prized wicket of all as it always has been.

After successfully hosting the Hockey World Cup and Commonwealth Games this year, India is again gearing up for hosting the ICC World Cup 2011. The World Cup which often seemed to be so near, always stayed little far from team India. More so for Sachin, who already has played in five of the Cricket carnivals and roaring to go for the sixth one, is yet experience the feeling of lifting the most covated tropy in the game. As expecting him to play in 2015 would be a bit too much to ask for, winning the World Cup in its home truf would probably be the best farewell gift that Team India would give to its longest serving compatriot.

I thank

At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.

No, I haven’t done anything earth shattering yet… nor have I achieved something which could be termed as success. But I must say, probably I have been amongst the blessed ones who have come across a few people in my 29 years of lifespan who helped me find a direction of life. As they say, silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone; this note is to thank each and every individual who contributed in their own way to help me reach wherever I am today. I also thank the ones who had hurt me on various occasions only to make me stronger and more practical towards life.

This note is for two of my friends who made me take one of the most crucial decisions of my life… probably they had more faith me than what I had in myself. Had I not played that gamble 12 years ago, my career would have sunk without a trace.

This note is for my teacher who made me believe in myself. When I was pushed to the wall, it was his encouraging words that helped me rediscover myself. I owe this to the gentleman who always rated individual development over academic scorecards and could inculcate the same belief in me.

A whimsical move also at times could become a master stroke, and I cannot thank enough couple of my friends who provoked me make that move when I was in another crossroad of career.

When life stranded me in an alien city, I found someone who not only stood beside me in need, but also turned out to be a friend, philosopher and guide. I am also thankful to a dear friend who albeit had a brief presence in my life… but she made that phase to remember for life.

Not many are fortunate enough to have a mentor who is more like an elder sister, a caring friend than a boss. I owe it to the One who not only helped me shape up as a professional, but also pulled me up whenever I fell short.

“Reflect each day on all you have to be grateful for and you will receive more to be grateful for."

We the people…

Do these kinds of news come as a shocker to you any longer? I am sure it catches your attention for a while, but the next moment you carry on with our day to day activities. True, there is not much you can do about it but being indifferent towards all these things… blasts, attacks, killings one after another gradually turned us to be emotionless creatures that have even forgotten to react to such incidents.

Few of us who have been brought up in the north-eastern states, probably are more indifferent towards these violence and deaths as we have seen the face of terror from a closer proximity. We have seen and heard people form rest of the country tagging North-East and J&K as the most unsafe zones in the country. But having tasted multiple attacks in both national and financial capitals of Country… I don’t think there is any part in the country which can be called as ‘safe’.

I dropped in to a friend’s place while coming back from office today… and as usual, we started crafting plans for the weekend, especially for a Friday movie… but since no major release taking place this weekend we preferred hold on till next weekend. We also planned to watch Kaminey which is scheduled for release on August 14 – on the eve of our Independence Day. But next moment, the ‘Independence Day’ factor proved to be good enough to put our plan to watch the movie in the backburner.

Reason??? It’s anybody’s guess now days. Even after 62 years of independence we do not feel free to move around in our own country. There is always a fear of a mishap… always there is a chance of being blown away or being shot at by the anti-social elements. We, the citizens of world’s largest democracy prefer to stay inside a locked door during Independence Day or Republic Day rather than going out and celebrating it as a national event. Today, we avoid going to market place during festive season… we are afraid of being a part of public gathering. Well, it’s not a choice… rather has become a compulsion. After all, risking you life is never a wise move either.

At times I ask myself… am I a citizen of this country? If yes, then I would have been able to move around every nook and corner of my country and enjoyed all my socio-economic and political rights and responsibilities, that too holding my head high. Unfortunately, things are not as it was supposed to be.

In their election campaign speeches, our political leaders promise and assure growth, prosperity and security of the nation and its citizen, but deep inside their hearts, they might well know that their speeches are just few words penned down by the party manifesto writers which would never be brought in to practice.

Question is… what do we pass on to our next generation?

* A secured future? Ruled out!
* A corruption free system? Sounds impractical!
* Amity in the society? Too optimistic!

So, what are we left with then? Guess, its high time to think over it…..

Dr. Puri to Ms. Bedi

Do you recognize the person on the right; I am sure most of you do. For those who do not… he is Dr. Narottam Puri, a doctor by profession, a sports analyst par excellence. He was best known as the anchor of the ‘World of Sports’ – a weekly programme on sports that would come on Doordarshan every Sunday. I am talking about the late 80’s when we did not have the luxury of watching cable TV and plethora of sports channels. Though I was too young at that time to know his name or profile, but the very face and his legendary commentary had made him to be a very familiar person to me.

Then there were few gentlemen who have been instrumental in redefining the spoken English of generation-X through their classy cricket commentaries. Yes, I am talking about Jeffery Boycott, Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Wilkins, Ravi Shastri and the likes who took the cricket commentaries to the next level. With their wit and sense of humour, people like Harsha Bhogle and Navjot Singh Sidhu further helped developing cricket commentary as an art and howsoever good or bad English I know today, to a large extent I owe it to these gentlemen and their legendary cricket commentaries.

But all good things come to an end… and probably we as a cricket crazy nation have matured so much that we don’t need an expert any more to talk cricket, rather the centre stage is being offered to pretty faces from showbiz and glamour world.

Thanks to the brilliant idea coined by Sony Entertainment Television when they thought of breaking the rule and introduced the utterly irritating television personality Mandira Bedi to host the Extra Innings during the IIC World Cup 2003. And that was the beginning of the end of quality cricket commentary which is now about to reach its culminating point any time.

It is indeed disheartening to see expert pitch analysts like Ravi Shastri being replaced by Mandira Bedi - a perfect fashion disaster, who remains in news more for wrong reasons like wearing Indian tricolour imprinted saree. Somebody recently termed her as the first lady of Indian Cricket… probably Anjum Chopra, Jhulan Goswami were fools to have wasted their time sweating in the field.

I guess the ‘Gentlemen’s Game’ is taking its last few breaths before getting perished in a world where cricket has been reduced to a mere money spinning game for Film stars and liquor barons; or it may just manage to survive being a part of the corporate world’s seasonal outing.

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The Perfect(ionist’s) Publicity Stints – An open letter to Aamir Khan

Dear Aamir,

Today, a picture in a national financial daily suddenly caught my attention. The photo caption said, “Aamir turns barber for a day...!” The article further said, you delighted you fans in New Delhi by treating them to a special haircutting session giving them the trademark buzz cut that you are seen sporting in your upcoming movie Ghajini.

That reminded me of the coca-cola ad that featured a long haired, dhoti-kurta clad bangali babu... probably that was the first instance I got to see you donning a new look for your then upcoming flick Mangal Pandey. I wondered, does one really have to grow his hair to play a particular character in an age when you have all the modern cutting-edge amenities to take care of all that. Well, probably here lies the difference between a perfectionist and lesser mortals like us.

You have proven your mettle and versatility over and again by portraying different characters in every new movie you acted in, and your efforts have been acknowledged by both mass and the class. You, probably, are the one and only actor in the country who has been taged as the ‘Perfectionist’.

You, along with Farhaan, gave us an all time cult movie... Dil Chahta Hai. As a college goer, I was swept away by your courage to stand against traditional schools of Chopras and Barjatiyas, and yet making it big in its own way. I started believing that a Bollywood flick does not necessarily have to be narrated in the form of a fairly tale.

But then, what makes you so frivolous that you always go overboard when it comes to promoting your movie? True that in today’s world, marketing of a product is all the more necessary, but even at the cost of diluting your reputation as actor rather than a star. C’mon Aamir, you should be confident enough that your movie, if it is a good product, would do well even without the marketing gimmicks. History has borne testimony to this fact over and again. Then why do you have to resort to these cheap and annoying publicity stints?

You placed your well-toned-bod statue at the theatres, fine; got the employees of Big Cinema’s donning the bald look, fine; walked ramp displaying Ghajini costumes, that is also fine. But the unprecedented hair-cutting session on Sunday has seemed to have raised all bars. Not in terms of the innovation or creativity applied, but of course, in terms of the desperation of hogging limelight. Now, would you please leave some properties untouched, (not sure though if anything is left out) and let the movie work on its own merit?

Why do we get to see you only when there is one a movie release round the corner? Be it a ‘dharna’ at Jantar-Mantar or making an appearance in ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’, or even making controversial statements... you have always been a front runner in whatever brings you in limelight.

You seem to have problems with every other actor around you. You named your pet after your fellow colleague SRK, and then wrote about it in your blog too. And your blog became a hit overnight. You made a comment on SLB-BigB’s magnum opus BLACK, the saga continued for few more days. Recently you made a statement that Himesh Reshamiya is the biggest marketer in the country, as no one could market himself or herself the way Himesh did. But Himesh, I guess, would have to take another birth to get closer to you. You seem to have mastered art of being in news even when there is no news. As we PR guys keep chanting... any publicity is a good publicity, we should look up to you as our role model. Aamir, you rock man!

In fine, I wish you all the luck for Ghajini. Booked tickets for tomorrow’s evening show, and I am sure this time also, as always, we would come out raving about the movie. Still, could not help but writing... your over the top publicity stints and indulging in to awful war of words with Shah Rukh could have been done away with.

Cheers!!!
Sandipan

Never say ‘good-bye…!’

“Tomorrow we meet the same then, dearest?
May I take your hand in mine?
Mere friends are we, - well, friends are the merest

keep much that I resign..."

- Robert Browning

“I don’t think we can have a future!” her voice was cold, but firm. I didn’t know how to react to this. Suddenly I saw all my dreams shattering down like a house of cards. Her words were nothing new to me, have heard these words countless times over last one and a half year. But this time around, I didn’t really expect a repetition of the same.

Her words still ring in my ears, “why are you doing like this? Don’t you know we are incomplete without each other?” I knew it, and I still believe, we are incomplete without each other. She is someone whom I understand more than she herself does; I can read through her eyes what exactly she is feeling deep inside her heart. Her presence makes life worth living; her smile can infuse life in to a dead soul. Yes, this is my friend, a friend who doubles your happiness when you are happy, and a friend who brings your smile back when you are sad, a shore where even sea comes and rests in peace.

This is no fairy tale, not set at the backdrop of a breathtaking European location or withering maple leaves. This is a small piece taken out of the pages of my life. Tried to tear these off quite a few times, but some unknown force held me back every time. One of my friends would always say, “memories… good or bad, always hurt”. Now I realize how true he was, especially if that memory is leaned to a soft corner of your heart.

We met when, I guess, we both needed each other. We had our respective setbacks in life, were searching for a shoulder to cry on, found each other sailing on the same boat. There was some chemistry, which got us along in no time, and could not even realize when we had become indispensable parts of each other’s lives, yes, a bit dependent as well. I would rather say, our bad times brought us close and closer with every passing day.

We come across many people in our lifetime, but only a few manage to leave a mark on our hearts, likewise, there are certain moments, which become the moment of a lifetime. There are some moments which life captures in its frame without even your knowledge. Often my mind hovers over the moments that I spent with her. The fights we would have on almost every small issues, the laughter we would share on every stupid joke; walking down holding each other’s hands in a drizzling evening, hitting the shopping street on a Saturday afternoon; a sip of cold coffee from the same mug, or even, catching up for movies… what not!

We have been torn between friendship and love, ended up losing everything – even the basis of our relationship – our friendship. Perhaps, we both had taken each other for granted in our own respective ways. We thought we were destined to be together; we won’t lose each other come what may. I knew my love for her has been one sided, but still deep inside my heart I had, rather still I have the belief that someday she would also feel the same. I often would tease her, ‘give it your best shot, I bet you can’t live without me!’ She would always affirm it, ‘yes, I can’t live without you!” The warmth of her expression would make me so confident that I could not see my boat sinking when it was just a few inches away from the shore.

I still could not make out what refrained her from comply with my wish. I thought everybody dreams of finding a very good friend in his or her spouse. Where there were trust, understanding, compatibility, mutual respect - everything that play the role of a catalyst in developing a feeling called love. She says she can’t live without me, but at the same time she is not willing to live with me even. There is a very thin line between friendship and taking that particular person as more than a friend, but I guess, it was not that thin for her. Probably it was thick enough that she did not mind forgoing with her relationship that she would share with her best friend. Well, probably I could have saved this relationship had I been a bit less selfish, and searched my happiness in hers. But it was easier said than actually done.

During last two and a half years, I have seen two different ways getting merged together, but I guess it was meant to cover a short distance only. Any kind de-merger or detachment carries some amount of bitterness with it. And this was no exception. In Browning’s words…
“Escape me?
Never… beloved!
While I am I, and you are you,
As long as the world contains us both -
me the loving, and you the loath
while the one eludes, must other pursue..."

I wish I could play Browning’s Hero - a rejected lover who discovered for him the all-sufficing glory of love in itself during his ‘Last Ride Together’ with his ladylove. I wish life was a silver screen where people often do away with bidding ‘good bye’ to the people they love. Whenever we would talk over phone or would chat online, before signing off she would say ‘bye’, and I would always reciprocate by saying ‘never say good bye!’ Ironically, ‘bye’ is the last word that I uttered when we spoke for the last time. I fell just a few inches short, but perhaps, those few inches were more than enough to ruin a beautiful relationship. Yes, I would say it was a beautiful relation only, we had moved beyond friendship, but lost somewhere in between very good friends and more than friends. I had to pay the price of falling in love with a very dear friend of mine… a very dear price!

~ O ~