The buck stops here...but where?

Millions of citizens snake their ways to work to do something incredible that will assure them of their monthly pay, job security, family safety, health and well being...its a war day by day. Dreams are in the range of a few thousands a month and lakhs a year...some even below that imaginable line...which is inching higher and higher and making us just...insignificant.

But what shocks the shit out of me is the fact that we have forgotten that one appetite can only be so much that can be consumed...of course many bite more than what they can chew...enter opulence & luxury.

My point is this...whats the use? Saving for future generations who wont give a damn once your soul exits your body? Im more bothered about the Here & Now...are we doing enough for the Here & Now...but doing everything possible for a tomorrow which we are not certain to even witness...

The Government is so hell bent on future initiatives that they have forgotten the current scene, grass root, basic issues of Poverty, Hunger, Power (I meant electricity) and of course corruption...I hate to lose confidence on my country and Im not willing to give up. Id like to fight...but theres always a price to pay!

With all the scams and controversies, we are not doing the rightful thing of serving this country with clean hands. Stains everywhere and blackened hearts...where is the light, where is the hope? Promises have been a dead slow process and reality is even further...

Crores has become a tag word for everyone who even hasnt been there in the thousand category as i described earlier. Its become a joke! Everyones pocket has ballooned up so much and become so huge that its become difficult to find the entry point...it has swelled and impregnated with paper and power...that we dont know where it all began and have no clue where this will all lead to...leave the end of it all!

I strongly feel that the day we know our limitations...we will know to live on contentment. Else we will be restless souls in an endless search for fame, wealth and power.

Rapes, Murders, Kidnappings, Terrorism, Thefts, Strikes, Riots, Suicides, Extortion, Arms, Hoarding...it all exists, Im not denying this at all. One must realize that where there is evil, there will always be good. No one is born evil, they are made so by people, purposes and situations...

My worry is that each part of India (North, East, West and South) have all been immersed in some burning issue that even dealing to solve is like burning ones fingers...thats how deep it has impacted us and this country's image.

Something else that worries me is the 'Chalta Hai / Parava Illa / Doesn't Matter' attitued and some issued have become literally like a slap in the face...If you want a positive future where sanity can prevail, we cannot be in a state which allows such absurdities to happen and then curtail in the name of the law...too little too late!

In Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne tells Alfred " I'm going to show the people of Gotham that the city doesn't belong to the criminals and the corrupt. People need dramatic examples to shake them out of apathy...and I cant do that as Bruce Wayne...A man is just flesh and blood and can be ignored or destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol, I can be incorruptible, everlasting."

This is where Im coming from...my heart aches for this country but somewhere my hands are tied as a human being...but id like to be a symbol that brings in that change...I dont know how or where...but I have a dream...for a better future...whose actions lie in today...the Here & Now...

Point is where will it all begin, where it would lead to, when it would end...no one knows. But we will certainly need one too many heroes for each issue rolling on and rescue us from such a misery. A hero can be anyone, that's the point of being a symbol!

I have a question for all the evil elements in this nation...Do you think this will last? I strongly feel that for peace, we have to prepare for war and this will come at a price...but are we willing to pay for this or continue in our current lifestyle of passivity and impasse? Ill leave it to you...but dont let your country down by inaction...dont let it fail by ignorance. Feel the fire, let it burn in our guts...stand up and shout!

Just because there is no one to question actions, people think that can lawless rampantly and then go into hiding? Do they think this tyranny will keep us all down? Of course we will survive, but can they? They were so wrong...Your buck stops here...from today!

Till the next cut is delivered...

Now that a long due rant is over, I can focus on more creative articles! Hopefully this is the last of the outpour! :)

How the game was won...

I’ve been playing serious cricket since my childhood and I’ve always been in a position where I have led a team because of some weird reason quoted once...that I was one of the tallest guys in the team! Warp speed to today...I’ve led taller people in my team, so it’s not about the height at all.

But in the last 6 years of my life, I have played a lot of city league tournaments and corporate teams and the joy has just been immense...because in all these years, I have created teams from scratch and gone on to have great wins and some sore losses. One learns that winning and losing is a part of the journey that teaches you a lot more.

It taught me to know more about people, their temperaments and hidden instincts that are generally curbed in their corporate outfits. It’s a joy to see each person unleash such character and diverse reactions that each person you thought you know, were a lot deeper that what met the eye.

I’m very passionate & loyal to the game and this is quite evident by my behaviour on the ground. I may not look like the fittest guy around, but out of nowhere, I can tend to surprise people with a few dives and outplay them in stamina. Of course the hard work and the experience is what got me there...but when I’m on the field, I mean business (obviously with the intent of having fun).

But what I have learnt the most is that it is the people management in ones team that makes it a successful one or otherwise. I have seen ordinary people pull off extraordinary performances in tough situations. I have also see that those who tend to promise a lot through speech, often don’t do much...though I have been fooled in that aspect as well.

It takes time to trust a team and time for the team to believe in a captain. It’s a mutual process which needs a careful investment of time and effort with a consistent set of members...it’s true that it works both ways...top-down and Bottom-Up. Commitment and Communication is critical and a general assessment of everyone’s skill plus character is critical for a captain.

I’ve always started with a 20 probable squad and slowly worked up with a final 15 man squad. We have the usual physical fitness session and followed by a nets practice session over a period of say 2 to 3 months (if there is adequate time before a tournament begins). The fun part is in knowing your team better in trivial & fun conversations during these sessions and this can be done without the captain / coach’s physical presence. All it requires is a trigger...once they see themselves unite under a banner of a team, they will relate to it and feel like working towards a single purpose...not winning, but to be affiliated to the team itself.

Being a part of a team is a social status to many youth who come from different strata of the society and from different situations and circumstances. The feeling of being counted and considered is such an important factor in getting a person to play for a team with purpose. For some it could be lost dreams come true to just get out of the habit from watching cricket to playing it on the field. For some, it is the habit of breaking away from childhood memories of not being a winner or a struggling student or simply a failure. For some, it could be a lost dream where they once in their past would have played and sheer nostalgia or a second chance in life could drive them.

I have come across people who seem quite serious at work but on field, they show their funny side through speech and action. Some of the silent ones are the ones who make the most noise on field. Unassuming ones are the ones with hidden talent and to see them perform was in itself a sheer learning for me. Lesson is to never underestimate a person and to give the right opportunity at the right time before they are judged.

Over the years, I have built some great relationships & have found some great friends and colleagues through this sport for which I am truly grateful. I have emerged as a changed person and with a different outlook over the years I have played with so many teams. I have also befriended organizers, opponents and rivals who still continue to stay in touch and invite me for matches and their nets sessions. This is amazing camaraderie which as humans we must strive for.

I’ve shed blood, sweat and tears, been intimidated, ridiculed and even appreciated and motivated by friends and foes on this hallowed field and I don’t regret any moment of it. I have been humbled, humiliated...respected and made to respect, despite age, color, time, background etc...this is what the game is capable to teach a person if willing to learn by oneself.

I would like to thank all the seniors with whom I’ve had the privilege of playing with and learning so many aspects of the game and improving on the same. This is a team sport and people supporting behind the scenes are also important and their effort in my cricketing will not go in vain. I would also like to acknowledge all my team mates in all the years of my playing who have trusted me in all times while leading them...good, bad and ugly.

I would also like to mention that I’ve also been witness to some of the best bowling, batting and fielding performances from my team mates who may seem ordinary in their office uniforms. But hand them over a pair of whites, cap and shoes...and see them fight like tigers.

My dad keeps asking me... “Isn’t the kit bag too heavy to carry on your shoulders by yourself?”. I replied... “its worth it dad”. That’s the day I learnt one thing...the day you realize that the pain is worth it, that’s when you know how the game is won...

And this is the end of the beginning!

Note  – The EID Parry Corporate Team led by me had recently beat the Region 2 Team in the intra Parry Cricket Championships in Jan 2013 at Chennai where we won by 11 runs in a thriller. If it wasn’t for my team’s courageous performance amidst all odds, the man of the match I had got would have been worthless. Complete credit to the way the boys played...the award must go to them all. Though we did not qualify for the finals due to the net run rate, we were happy with the fight we put up...we were all winners that day and for the times to come.

The winning moment...

Road Rage Ramble

We all are on the verge of becoming a local Mad Max...given the rate of road rage we experience on our way to office. Even if we are a part of the driving scene or even if we are the passenger.Fights at home have come under control and fights on road have shown a monumental increase...Id leave that to a subjective review and Im not including the reader here...they may agree or disagree. But in this article, Im going to spill my guts...

There has been an inculcated vein of madness in our reign as human beings in this current age...and we have many to blame and point our fingers towards. But somewhere, the desired inlet and outlet has been channeled to another dimension...lethal, fatal and eternal. I beg the reader to refer to their own cities and conditions...

Our speech has been derogatory and gestures have become fervent...the urge to stay ahead has driven our drive (quite literally) to accelerate and focus in our own direction and speed...leaving the universe around us in ignorant bliss...how many citizens have suffered, doesn't bother us much...and we don't give a damn!

The meaning of signals hanging tall has changed for sure...what is meant to slow us down, is now prompting us to speed up and cross the dreaded line...just because we don't want to be caught up. What is meant to stop us, is now a countdown with acceleration ready for the flag to set the race in motion...and what is meant to let us go, is a mindless 'kmph' / impress strangers battle staged with screeching rubber on tar like action movie...with mindless sound and light effects...

Writing this thus far is in itself a pressurized experience, because imagining it visually was a negative adrenaline that almost killed me creatively. Its been a while since Ive been composed on road while riding my two wheeler...I must look out constantly for myself so that I dont get my self killed or injured...worse if I have a passenger or a pillion...

Imagine this mindset with which people drive everyday...office and home seems a far better place to be at any given time...but our journey back and forth to these places seems to be the Devil's paradise...

Should we let the devil have its day or should we not fight this persistent battle till the end. How many deaths will it take to get some sense into people who think they are invincible...they have of course forgotten that we are after all...mortal! Heroes is for the movies...out here, its about life and death...and we only get one take. We are the director, we are the actors, we script our fates and we produce the outcome. How beautiful or ugly the end is, is certainly in our hands.

Id like to certainly live and die peacefully and not in a pool of blood with broken bones. Now its not a matter of choosing how you would like to live...its a matter of how you would like to die...

I don't want to play God on the road...as long as I don't play the Devil!

Please be safe and drive safe...Till the next cut is delivered...

(Image Source -  http://streetsblog.net/2010/09/20/the-psychology-of-road-rage-how-cars-transform-others-into-obstacles/)