Tendulkar Vs Agassi!

No no, it’s not a man to man duel or a comparison of their sporting prowess, it’s just that in the last few weeks I happen to read the autobiographies of these two sporting legends and I couldn’t stop myself from marvelling over their contrasting personalities and careers. Tendulkar’s autobiography was an automatic reading choice for a true blue Sachin fan like me not just because of the high anticipation attached with its launch but also due to its deemed Biblical status for the hard core cricket aficionados. Agassi’s autobiography on the other hand was not a natural choice, not that I don’t admire him as much but it was mainly due to one of my best friends valued recommendation that I resorted to reading it and my love for the game of tennis just added as the right trigger. And since I read them one after the other, a comparison of personalities was imminent but the startling contrast on the same was truly interesting.

Coverage – Both the books cover the sporting lives of  these two legends right from their anecdotes of childhood on how and when they actually took the game and the way it transpired into an epic success story. In both cases it talks in length about the most important duels of their sporting lives and also covers in detail their injury battles that went on to transform their character. Tendulkar however, have mostly refrained from touching upon the rather controversial issues like match fixing, IPL and doping and has been criticized as well for this evasion, but then he has categorically stated at the start of the book that he has not spoken about certain issues ever in his career as he was never comfortable doing so. Agassi, on the other hand has been as candid as one can be, be it his own trysts with the drug, his issues with his receding hairline or his take on anything that he felt was not so clean.

Love of the game – With the amount of success both these gentlemen have achieved in their respective careers it’s probably a given that both of them would have been madly in love with their trades. Not surprisingly enough Tendulkar has at length talked about his love for the game and all the sacrifices he has made to nurture his immense love for Cricket. But surprisingly, Agassi has time and again emphasized on the fact that how much he has always hated tennis. And it was only because of his Dad’s madness that he had to forcefully spend hours and hours toiling hard to excel in this sport and eventually weave his entire life around it. Weird, but true and the way he has narrated his frustrating experiences in this regards are outstanding.

Family life – Tendulkar has all his life epitomized and idolized his parents like an ideal son, he has time and again showered his gratitude for his Dad and Mom and emphasized on how they have been instrumental in the making of his remarkable career. He has also heaped high accolades for his elder brother Ajit on how he has been his partner in all the ups and downs of his cricketing career. Further to this, he has also defined his partnership with his wife Anjali, as the best he has ever had and he is indebted to her for all the sacrifices she has made in her career to let him flourish. Agassi on the other hand hasn't been so lucky with his relationships, though he maintained a cordial relationship with his mom and other siblings but one with his Dad had always been a wretched one. He always hated his dad for his dictatorial ways and his obsession for Andre’s excellence in Tennis, however in the hindsight whatever he eventually achieved in the game should be primarily attributed to his dad’s unparliamentary ways. Agassi’s love life has also been very contrasting one, he has been a maverick here as well and has had his share of affairs, breakups and divorce unlike the rather sedate and lyrical love story of the cricketing superstar.

Discipline & Work ethics – Leave aside Cricket, you would hardly find a more disciplined individual in any walk of life than Mr Tendulkar. His work ethics and focus for his art has been exemplary and almost impeccable. Undoubtedly, whatever he has achieved in his career is not just because of his god gifted talent but more so for his hard work and discipline towards the game. Agassi, however has been very volatile and lived on extremes with regards to his discipline and focus towards his game. For some periods he has been a strict disciplinarian, with a routine sans a blemish and on some he has been so reckless that it would bring a school boy to shame. No wonder, his good spells of tennis has also been so patchy and not so consistent as Master Blaster’s performances.

Contemporary Talk – Tendulkar has been as guarded in talking about his contemporaries or other legends of the game as he has always been all his life. The only aberration to this in his book has been his rather open hearted outburst against Greg Chappell, but for it and more for the disappointment of the grapevines he has been ever so courteous and gracious. Agassi on the other hand has been an absolute delight in this regards, he has blatantly spoken about his rivalries against Becker, Courier and Sampras and has also at length spoken on how acrimonious things have been between them on some occasions. And the manner in which he has touched upon these duels is one of the highpoints of his book.

Career wise – From the achievement standpoint Tendulkar has arguably achieved all that he could have as a cricketer and probably that no other cricketer has done in the past or might do in the future. Some might say a few triple tons would have made his CV a tad more complete but even without that, his has been a near perfect story, one that people can blindly idolize without any second thoughts. Agassi’s has been a total contrast though, with his talent, had he been Tendulkar-esque in his discipline and focus he would have clocked as many slams as Federer has won or even what his better half Stefanie has won. But he lived life on his own terms and probably has no regrets about it as well. His may not be a biblical story as Tendulkar’s but his is arguably a more practically possible one for the mortals.

Reader’s recommendation – Undoubtedly, both the books are a must read for any Tendulkar or Agassi fan. Tendulkar’s is more of a textbook, written well within the boundaries of the righteousness and for a true blue fan who has followed his career very closely, it offers not much novelty from the sensationalism standpoint. Agassi’s on the other hand is a perfect mix of his on the court and off the court exploits, that even his most ardent fans might not be well aware of. His may not be a prescribed textbook stuff but surely is a 70mm blockbuster material, full of action, romance and lots of drama. I enjoyed both these books to the core, Agassi’s a tad more for obvious reasons J.

Now it’s for you to decide, what’s your preferred flavor.

--

kin…

The AIB Hullaballoo!

In the last fortnight or so if there is something other than the Delhi elections, that has hogged immense limelight in the social media, then it is the All India Bakchod, AIB Roast controversy. AIB, per say is not an entirely new entity and is into existence through there hugely popular videos since 2013, much on the lines of similar social media players like Qtiyapa and The Viral Fever. However, they have all of a sudden become so controversial thanks to the AIB Knockout Roast comedy show that was held in Mumbai by the AIB team, featuring the Bollywood stars like Arjun Kapoor, Ranveer Singh and Karan Johar as the protagonists and other popular Bollywood stars like Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha, Alia Bhat, Anurag Kashyap to name a few as the key attendees.

So what is this whole concept about a Roast comedy show? Wikipedia defines it as an event in which specific individuals, a guest of honor (in this case Arjun and Ranveer), are subjected to good-nature d jokes at their expense intended to amuse the event's wider audience. This type of events are created as a mock counter to a toast. Such events are intended to honour specific individuals in a unique way. In addition to jokes and insult comedy, such events may also involve genuine praise and tributes. The implication is that the roastee is able to take the jokes in good humor and not as serious criticism or insult, and it is seen by some as a great honor to be roasted. The individual is surrounded by friends (In this case Alia, Deepika, Sonakshi, Anurag to name a few), fans, and well-wishers, who can receive some of the same treatment as well during the course of the evening. The party and presentation itself are both referred to as a "roast." The host of the event is called the "roast-master (Karan Johar in this case)". In a nutshell, anyone who is honored in such a way is said to have been "roasted."

Quite naturally, the language that was used in the AIB roast session wasn't holy and that coming from the A grade Bollywood celebs made it all the more jazzy. And when the leading ladies of the Bollywood sitting on the first row laugh out loud on these rather un-parliamentary jokes it becomes all the more eye catching. And as the videos went viral in the social media the usual miscreants popped up with vengeance to set the gravely disturbed moral orders right. Now, it is a hugely debatable issue that whether the show and the team of AIB should be banned and prosecuted in the court of law, as on one hand there is certainly a level of vulgarity attached with the content on display but then there is something known as freedom of expression and speech as well that people have every right to exercise. So who decides this thin line which acts as a balance between these two contrasting facets?

Will it be the Shiv Sena’s and BJP’s of the world, who any which way make an appearance on the Valentines and the Friendship Days of the year to safe guard the supposedly deteriorating Indian cultural values, acting as the self-anointed moral police of the nation. Or will it be the part time intellectual professors like Aamir Khan who profess being sensitive and respectful towards the society and refrain from such vulgarity. It can’t be the former as they are no more a maverick political outfit who can  indulge in such acts of hooliganism and forcefully shut things up at their own discretion, they are the ruling party at center and should act more responsibly and sensibly in dealing with such situations to cater to the interests of all the groups involved. And it can’t be the latter too as his work pieces like Ghajini, Delhi Belly etc. won’t pass his own professed vulgarity test, so it would be rather prudent for him to stay away from giving such hypocritical sermons. In fact, it would be best if we let our honorable court of law to decide what should be the permissible limit for freedom of expression and speech, keeping in mind the best interests of the society and these artists as well.

However, everyone is entitled to have an opinion, be it in favor, be it in against. I for that matter didn't enjoy the show at all, not because I am against the usage of such language or found the show too vulgar but just because I didn't find it funny enough. I would rather prefer watching movies in the genre of Gangs of Wasseypur and Satya to enjoy such crude language and humor associated with it. But that doesn't mean that I advocate a ban on such shows or groups, it’s an evolving art in our country and shouldn't be treated with a sense of unjust paranoia. And for the purists who are too concerned about such acts maligning our rich cultural heritage and ethos,  they should rather worry about the other far more vulgar and obscene videos more easily available for consumption by the masses in the social media.

--

kin…

The Exotic Spanish Experience!

If you ask me to name my favorite movie, one movie that will always feature in that list would be Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (ZNMD). Not just for its superlative star cast, emphatic dialogues and refreshing music but equally so for the locations where the movie was shot, SPAIN. Ever since, it has been a dream to visit this beautiful country and soak in the scenic landscape with best of your friends. So when we were planning for our next vacation sometime back in middle of December, Spain topped the list not just for the relatively convenient weather but even for the ZNMD hangover that had engrossed all of us for some time now. So Spain was zeroed in and we all were super excited to celebrate our new year in this magnificent country. With just about a week to go all the plans were finalized in a hush-hush manner and the short timeline and the looming Christmas and New Year’s break made our booking a bit too expensive, but then we were prepared to shell out that extra bit for the very thought of going to Spain J.

So as the D day approached, everyone was busy in their own way to prepare for an amazing vacation week ahead. So where I was struggling to keep my last minute leaves plans at office in check, Shalini was busy shopping for her beloved son, Avyaan’s food and clothing, Mayank, the planner in charge, was efficiently finalizing all the bookings, Harshita the chief itinerary and catering manager was giving final touches to the finer details of our vacation and our little princess, Charu was busy polishing her Spanish skills, as she was our only hope when it came to interacting with the locals out there J. However, the start of our trip wasn't that memorable, it was a chilly Saturday morning when we stepped out to board our cab for the airport and it was so windy that only after we have boarded the cab I realized that the wind has blown away my favorite Roger Federer cap L. Probably, a gush of wind from east of Spain to remind me the fact that we are going to the land of Rafael Nadal, so I better stay behaved J. To make matters worse, we got delayed to the extent that the flight had to delay its departure because of us, much to the dismay of our fellow passengers and howling flight staff.

Nevertheless, we landed on to a bright and sunny Barcelona, which was in itself a huge reprieve vis a vis a gloomy and cold London. Despite, an early and a hectic morning, we were super charged up as soon as we came out of the airport to witness a beautiful city shining bright with palm trees all across the streets with mountains on one side and not too far off, the coast on the other. It was a gentle reminder that the vacation has well and truly started J. We have booked ourselves a huge Spanish style apartment which was our luxurious abode in the heart of the city for next 2.5 days. Not that we spent a lot of time in there but whatever time we spent there was truly relaxing. For the next two days or so we explored the city in detail and experienced its rich cultural heritage, plentiful of beautiful monuments, breath taking coast line, unique food and a stark sense of pride among people where they want to be identified as Catalans and not Spaniards. We mostly explored the city on foot so it gave us a real sense of the Spanish culture and the prevalent lifestyle.

On the third day we had our plans to take our rented Car around midday and leave for our next destination, Valencia. Earlier, while we were planning for the trip there were lot of discussions around whether or not we should do a road trip, I was a bit apprehensive about the idea as it involved kids as well but then the overwhelming thought was that unless we do the road trip we won’t be able to see the real Spain. Finally, we finally agreed on taking the plunge with some confidence from our previous road trip to Wales and in the hindsight it was indeed a very good decision. Though, the shift from the usual right hand drive to left hand drive was a funny one, Mayank who proved out to be the best driver in the trip mastered the art pretty soon, however I kept banging the door with my left hand searching for the gear (as in a traditional right hand drive setup) J. It was indeed a super experience and the overall road trip of over 1500 kms made it all the more memorable. Although, the car that we hired (a brand new Volkswagen Caddy) was such a huge vehicle that it almost seemed that we were driving a bus and more often than not the person sitting at the back-most row had to literally shout his/her way to make himself/herself audible to the driver J.

Our journey to Valencia was very scenic and we reached our destination late in the evening and checked in to our apartment, which was once again a beautiful accommodation. For the next 2 days we covered the length and breadth of the city (thanks to our car), which included exploring the beautiful architectural masterpieces, pristine beaches, and buzzing city center. But our (mine and Mayank’s) main agenda of the stay here was to spend a gala time in the local Casinos and make a killing through it at least to an extent of sponsoring our trip through it. So what really happened when we actually ventured out on this mission was nothing surprising, we lost a lot, but neither of us repented doing it at allJ. It was indeed a relaxing time in Valencia and the relatively slow pace of the city added to the leisure. On the third morning we set out for Madrid, and after a rejuvenating 5 hrs drive reached the capital city well in time to celebrate the New Year’s eve.

We relaxed a bit in our hotel and drove out  for the dinner post which we had plans to embrace the New Year on the streets of Madrid. And I must confess, where all this while I was boasting highly about the Christmas and New Year’s decorations/lightings/preparations of London, Madrid was certainly a notch or two higher. The entire city was literally glittering and basking with the new year festivities and the scenes on the city center streets were truly mesmerizing and that surely made our new year very special. One unique new year tradition that we came to know out there was that the people leave there houses just before the midnight and meet at a common place and welcome the new year by eating exactly 12 grapes, as the clock strikes 12. We went on to debate on things like why grapes, why twelve and why eating on the street but yes, it was interesting indeed. The next day was spent in exploring the historic capital city and we were enchanted by the magnanimity and opulence of the metropolis. That being our last night in Spain we were out till late and treated ourselves to a sumptuous dinner and relished exploring the beautiful skyline of Madrid.

The next day we had targeted to leave for Barcelona by 4 am, as it was long 8 hour drive and with kids we didn’t want to take any chances. We did manage to execute our plans to success and by the time kids woke up we were on the outskirts of Barcelona. With our flight being at 10 in the night we almost had half a day at our disposal after returning the car, we decided to spent that day lazing around in the beach and enjoy every bit of the serenity on offer. And those last few hours on the  beach were so relaxing, comforting and memorable that we hardly felt any sense of tiredness even after that long ride back from Madrid.

As our vacation came to an end, there was evidently a sense of disappointment in everybody’s heart. There are some places that are so beautiful that you remember them for the rest of your lives and then there are some which are so memorable that you yearn to go there again and again. Spain is certainly one such place. Beautiful beaches, scenic landscapes, magnificent cities, sumptuous food and cheerful people make it one of the most preferred holiday destinations globally. In many ways it reminded me of Goa, as like Goa it may not be THE most exotic place in the world but that sense of calm, a ting of laziness and an overwhelming symphony of happiness in the air makes you instantly fall in love with it forever. This fantastic road trip would remain etched in our memories forever and those countless windmills across the large expanse of beautiful landscape would  surely get us back there, very soon.

Gracias Española!

--

kin…

The Big Boss Dilemma!

If there is something that is really considered derogatory in terms of your choice of TV viewings, it is surely watching Big Boss. Although, the connoisseurs of classic test match Cricket also find following IPL derogatory but in relative terms watching Big Boss is considered to be a bigger sin. It’s almost akin to the fact that you don’t have any real class if you watch these supposedly tailored/scripted chunks of entertainment doses. So it’s hardly surprising when you find a strange sense of reluctance in some ones admittance to the fact that he/she does follow Big Boss. More often than not you end up gazing which way the wind is blowing before deciding upon the level of your involvement in that discussion J.

But the most interesting thing a midst all this is the popularity of the show despite its predictability every after year. So every year when the season begins there is a general rant that the contestants this time around aren't that good and are boring compared to the last year. Then right from the very beginning lots of new relationships are formed, ranging from brother-sister, father-daughter, sister-sister and so on. And as the show moves on there are those characteristic high decibel fights, violence led short term evictions, brewing romance, late night dim light mushy tamasha, in the loo romance, through the season cat fights, periodic doses of wild card entries and the ever so similar streak of no-brainers.

And not so interestingly even the kind of contestants that take part in the show every year are pretty much the same, so there is for sure a petulant character that stays in the show till the last week, to single handedly take care of the TRPs (read Imam, Dolly, Sambhavana et al), there is an estranged couple to keep up a parallel track going (read Rajeev Delnaz, Dimpy Rahul et al), there is invariably a couple madly in love with each other (read Anupama Aryan, Kushal Gauhar, Upen Karishma et al), there is a drama queen from the TV sops to keep up the drama quotient intact (read Urvashi, Pratyusha, Shweta, Deepshikha et al), there is a bevy of gorgeous models/unsuccessful TV actresses (read Tanisha, Minisha, Mehak, Diandra et al), a representative from the transgender community, a self-proclaimed saint cum agony aunty (read Puneet Issar, Navjot Singh Sidhu et al)and a lot many peculiar type casts. And you can pretty much predict who will do what and what will happen next to the absolute precision. But you are still never quite sure as to who was right and who was not during the week till Salman comes up and opens his card on the weekend. His charisma, his charm and his madness definitely does wonder to the entertainment quotient but in the hindsight its hilarious how the entire nation awaits his verdict on right or wrong during the week with a bated breathJ.

I for that matter brazenly follow the show with the same interest level and invite a lot of wrath for it both at home and among my friends as well. But interestingly the people who detest me for following this piece of crap are also the ones who watch it as diligently as me J. My wife for instance, hates me for supposedly hijacking the remote from 9-10 every night and curses me for my cheap taste and lack of class. But somehow that doesn't stop her from watching the show as religiously as I do and even have strong views on her favorite and not so favorite contestants J. When I counter argue as to why do you watch it when it so cheap and low class, pat comes the reply ‘do I have a choice’, the ever so obedient and accommodating Indian wife J. And the funny thing is all the anti-Big Boss lamenting usually happens either during the commercial break or when the show is not on J. Similarly, one of my close friend who is out of the country for work is so busy these days that he couldn't even call his wife back home every day nevertheless he still manages to catch every episode of the show as if it’s a part of his Job Description. Another close friend of mine laments her tale saying that even his husband is super annoyed with her mania for watching Big Boss and keeps on cursing her on all forums for this irritating choice of hers but then he is the one who sits in front of the TV set bang on time at 9 every night and tunes into Colors J.

So it won’t be wrong to say that people who crib and curse it the most are the most avid followers of the show. If you don’t watch it, its fine, there is no discussion at all. But if you watch it and still cry over it, saying its crap, cheap, class less etc. it’s the most two faced thing possible. Understandably, it’s all scripted, predictable and beyond sanity but then it’s all tailored to keep the masses involved, engaged and captivated. After all, who doesn't like watching a beautiful couple getting cosy and comfortable at prime time at the confines of your living room or for that matter two people shouting at each other at the top of their voices and throwing fists at each other. Can it get any more entertaining? If not, you always have the remote in your hand to switch over and watch something more sensible, sane and classy, as they call it J.

And as the popular adage goes, you may love it, you may hate it but you can certainly not ignore it!

--

kin…

Gabbu Singh Diaries 1 | An unforgettable week with my sweetheart…

By the time our annual vacation was coming to an end, everyone in the group was sad for different reasons. One common reason was an end to one of the most exotic holidays we all have ever had during our week’s stay in Spain and the other prominent reason being the start of the same monotony at office all over again. My wife was a little more worried as she was resuming her work after a 5 month break, worried not just about with the anxiety pangs of her new job but more so with the fact that how will his beloved son do without her in the day time or for that matter how will she do without her darling son during the day. She was also concerned about the fact that in the first week of her job her not-so efficient albeit carefree hubby will be donning the hat of being a full time care taker of her son. So when others were trying to come to terms with work related challenges ahead for the new year, I was bracing myself for an altogether new and a unique challenge of being the sole full time care taker of my 18 months old son, Avyaan.

So as the eventful Monday neared, her anxiety rose exponentially and her questions to me started becoming all the more irritating. ‘ Will you be able to properly drop and pick him up from his nursery’ (No, I will book a cab for the toddler and let him manage on his own). ‘Will you be able to feed him his meals properly?’ (No, I will eat his cereals and baby food and keep him starving). ‘Will you be able to sing all his lullabies and make him sleep properly’ (No, I will give him some sedative and let the dose do the needful). I so wished to reinstate the fact that he is my son too but I refrained from getting into any such vicious discussion and curtly kept on replying with a ‘polite yes’. But expectedly she was not so convinced with my answers and kept on feeling that I am not too concerned or geared up for the challenge ahead. To be honest, I was not at all thinking about the week ahead, I was just trying to keep myself as blank as possible with a mind-set to tackle things as they come. As this how I have dealt with most of the key events of my life.

Not only was she worried about the week ahead, Delhi (read in laws )was in a state of numbness, Chhattisgarh (read parents) was breathing heavily too. As if their darling son/grandson is all of a sudden going to get into some not so safe custody. So for me to perform and survive in such a not so comfortable, hostile and discouraging environment wasn't an easy task. But then I was more concerned about managing my darling bwoy well, then fretting this unanimous lack of confidence in my abilities J.

So the day finally arrived and the day started a bit early too, as Mrs had to leave early for her first day at office. She left early but not before shedding a bucket full of tears, probably double of what she would have shed on her ‘bidai’ night, so much for the pain of going away from her son for the first time for this long. I too got ready by the time she left with an intent to keep my entire focus on the man of the hour. So the task ahead included feeding him a bowl of milk/cereal, getting him ready by putting on 6 layers of clothing as prescribed by her mother, getting his baby bag all decked up for his nursery and leave at least 20 minutes in advance so as to reach his nursery well in time. To make matters a bit more interesting Avyaan chose to lighten himself up minutes before leaving the house, so I had to do the 6 level undressing, cleaning up the mess and changing his nappies and dressing him up all over again. So if feeding, dressing and other stuff weren't some task in themselves, this was probably an added twister of the morning. Anyways, we eventually left for his nursery and he had no clue as to where was he heading to. Her mom kept on texting incessantly that ‘when you leave him there stay back for some time, he might cry and would want to come back, don’t just leave him there and rush back…’, I choose to ignore all of it and replied to none of those messages. After all, I was the boss now!

We reached there on time and when we entered the nursery Avyaan got visibly disturbed and started crying inconsolably. It was a tough moment, all the more tough when you have to leave him there crying and being all by himself. The staff there advised me to leave immediately and not to worry at all. I abide d and came out with a heavy heart, it wasn't a good feeling. But by the time I came out, I had 6 missed calls and 8 new messages on my cell, no points for guessing whose no. was it. I called her up and she did all the  talking for next 10 minutes, ‘So did he cry’ – Yes | ‘Did he cry a lot’ – Yes | ‘ You came out immediately’ – Yes | ‘ Can you hear him crying now too’ – Yes | ‘Can you peep in and see if he is fine’ – No | and so on…. I decided to stay outside and stroll around for the entire duration of his nearly 2 hour session and her texts kept on coming all this while. I went in by the end of 2 hours to see Avyaan standing at the door still crying hard and probably waiting for his dad or mom to come and take him home. And this was all the more gut wrenching. I asked the care taker how was his day today, to which she said, he kept on crying for the most part but that’s normal, things should improve in days to come and he will be alright. He jumped on to me and hugged me hard, probably as he has never done before, I could imagine how uncomfortable and disturbed he was with this sudden change in his life. We came back home and he was normal pretty soon. In between there were calls from Avyaan’s mom to know about everything that happened in these 2 hours and probably a lot more too. There were calls from Delhi too, to know about the grandson’s well being. And not to forget, in between I attended some official meetings too, over the phone wandering on the desolated streets of London, outside my son’s nursery, after all I was not on leave J.

Back home, act II - It was the time to cook, cook for Avyaan, cook for myself. So I cooked for both of us,  patiently invested 50 odd minutes to feed him his bowl of vegetable khichdi and then sang him his lullaby clinging him on to my chest and making him fall asleep in about 20 odd minutes. So where cooking for him and feeding him were quite an important milestones achieved, making him asleep was probably the icing on the cake J. He slept well for over two hours and that helped me to complete lot of my office work and answer lot of calls from around the world, giving minute by minute updates about the monster’s day so far. He woke up fresh, full of energy and engaged himself in his own world thereafter, I once again held fort and successfully fed him his portion of rice pudding to complete my last important task of the day J. The mommy dear arrived soon and reunited with Avyaan as if they were meeting after ages. I was told to once again narrate the entire day as it happened ( probably the innumerable calls and the texts during the day were all about discussing PM Modi’s plans for a cleaner India). I repeated the entire string of events as it happened, with a hope of getting some accolade for my supposedly brilliant job during the day, but that was not to be.

The rest of the week continued in the same vein, Avyaan’s crying in the nursery gradually decreased and he settled through as the week ended. The two and half  hours stroll around his nursery and office meetings on the roads of London continued. The cooking, feeding and sleeping efforts went on as diligently as did Mrs’ frequent calls and texts. I kept on expecting some token of appreciation from some corner or the other but Delhi and Chhattisgarh attributed this seamless and rather successful week to Avyaan’s character and him being such a hassle free child and his mommy dear brushed aside any such demand by saying  ‘you have not done anything extraordinary, this was expected out of you being his dad’ and ‘this is what I have been doing for months, have you ever applauded me for the same’. I neither had an answer for this backlash nor had the energy to indulge in an argument to rightfully claim my piece of appreciation. All I had after this eventful week was a great sense of joy, contentment and pride in the way we (dad son duo) have both collectively dealt through this rather challenging week. And for me this excitement and thrill was probably the same as it was when he was born on a sunny Sunday morning J. This indeed was an unforgettable week for me which not only brought me a tad more closer to him but even taught me a lot of things.

And for all the greed for some applause, I would say the confidence that all my friends bestowed on me by pinging me over the office communicator or over the phone throughout the week and asking ‘ How is Avyaan  doing’ or ‘What is there for lunch today’ or ‘ Has he slept’ and so on has been the real dose of encouragement and praise to get me going so well J.

A week seemed to be a long time but salute to Avyaan’s mom who has been doing this for months, my mom who has been doing it for years and all the moms in the world who have been doing this for ages!. You all rock. Thank You J

…

kin…

The 2015 Resolution Bustle!

Its new years’ time, time to enjoy, celebrate, have new hopes and look forward to  some new and exciting things ahead. It’s also the time to make some resolutions or break some of them by now or make fun of those who make such resolutions J. And fortunately enough I am not perfect, so I have this habit of making some resolutions and getting mocked off by a lot of my friends for indulging in something as nonsensical as this, but then that has hardly ever been a deterrent. I took some last year and will be taking a few this year too, that keeps me going and excited for the entire year and when your friends know about them you rather try harder to meet your resolutions to a greater extent to avoid some kick-ass banter J. So before I jump on to this year’s list, it’s important to assess last year’s progress J

So the list last year was a rather interesting one and here’s my honest report card on the same –

·         2014 Resolution 1: To write at least 2 blogs every month – I penned down 23 for the year, which I believe would be acceptable by any standards J

·         2014 Resolution 2: To explore the world of sea food – O, I made a killing on this one throughout the year and passed out with flying colors J

·         2014 Resolution 3: To not indulge into any unnecessary arguments or wittily mocking anyone – It’s actually a bit tricky to evaluate or quantify this one and I won’t say I didn't do this at all but I had it at the back of my mind throughout the year and I tried my best to stay away from such indulgences.  So I can safely assume that this was as well not a total failure

·         2014 Resolution 4: To read at least 12 good books this year – And I failed miserably on this one, I could read just 6 books for the year. Mainly because of the relocation and related instability at London but having said that I did fail to achieve this one by a big margin

·         2014 Resolution 5: To gift something really good to my wife – Hmmm…another tough one to quantify and qualify. I did my best to accomplish this one, gifted her and shopped for her throughout the year so that should let me pass through this one as well. But then my wife is yet to approve this so probably this might also go into the ‘hold’ category for now

In a nutshell, I couldn't achieve all my targets but then it wasn't a miserable show as well. And but for the relocation bit I would have rather fared much better on most of the unsuccessful ones as well. Naturally, the show last year does inspires me to do better this year round and be upbeat for the new resolutions. So after a lot of contemplation, the list for this year is as stated below –

·         2015 Resolution 1: To write at least 2 blogs every month- This one remains as is and I hope to achieve this in totality this year, probably a bare minimum expectation for the my love of writing

·         2015 Resolution 2: To read at least 6 good books in the year – I wish I could have resolved for a bigger number, but given the work and parenting schedule I will have for this year, I would rather aim low and try to achieve higher

·         2015 Resolution 3: To gift lot of goodies to my near and dear ones – The happiness and joy this brings in is certainly unparalleled. I did quite a bit of it last year as well but I have that greed of greater joy and hence putting this as well in the resolution bucket. However, more than anything else my wifey is already curios to know who all fall or will fall under this ‘near and dear ones’ category J

·         2015 Resolution 4: To work out for at least 150 days in the year – The least I could do to satiate my fitness pallets and since this in a way translates into thrice a week workout, it shouldn't be an arduous task. And I would really love to be disciplined on this one to the extent possible

·         2015 Resolution 5: Commit myself to do at least one instance of charity -  This resolution is to not only do some good to those in need but also experience that sense of satisfaction by indulging in a good social cause

There could be a few more things that I would like to certainly do in 2015 like being a movie buff, watch a lot of good movies, which I couldn't do a lot last year. As always, to commit myself for at least two good holidays in the year, though I am sure I might exceed this one for sure in 2015 J. Spend some more time with my close friends, as any time spent with them is unarguably just not enough. Be a little more kind and polite in the way I conduct myself and to an extent do away with my carefree and blunt self. If not anyone else, the success of this last bit would certainly keep my wife in high spirits J.

So the clock for the year has started ticking and the pressure to accomplish these rather big mouthed but achievable goals will only increase with every passing day. I hope I accomplish each of these by the end of this year, if not better all of them. As the gratification after achieving anything that you have aimed for is much more than making fun of those who make such resolutions J.

Happy New Year 2015!

Be Resolute J

--

kin…

London Diaries 4 | The Festive Frenzy!

The festive season in India starts around August and continues to spread its fervour and joyous spirit up till November when it reaches its zenith with Diwali. So while we have ‘Id’, ‘Janamashtami – Dahi Handi’, ‘Ganpati Pooja’ in Aug/Sep, we immerse in the ‘Navratri/Durga Pooja fever in Oct and cap it off with Diwali celebrations in Oct/Nov. There is one festival after the other that keeps the festive spirit high. Though, after school it has been tough to be at home for all these festivals but Diwali celebrations have always been reminiscent with lots of exciting pre-Diwali preparations and much sought after celebrations. So to think of a Diwali without being at home has been a rather not thought about scenario.

But if you aren’t in India you hardly get a hang of this festive euphoria. London, however is a bit different in this sense due to its cosmopolitan nature and a large Indian diaspora in the metropolis. So although, Janamashtami, Dahi Handi and Ganpati Pooja might not be as widely celebrated but during Navratri and Diwali, places like Wembley and Southall hardly give you a feel that you are not in India. The pre-festive chaos in  the markets, the spread of rangoli colours, a variety of diyas, decoration lights, bevy of interesting crackers, sumptuous sweets and snacks clearly reinstate the fact that Diwali has arrived, pretty much like any Indian local market, days before Diwali. So in this sense you don’t quite miss all the Diwali fervour and the associated build up but there is a lot more to it which actually keeps you longing for your home back in India.

Most importantly you miss your parents, your friends and the very idea of being with the family at this time. You miss those sumptuous delicacies that your mom cooks specially for Diwali, you miss your close friends and acquaintances coming home to meet and greet for Diwali. You miss the symphony of that noisy cracker lit Diwali night, you miss those messy roads on the next morning. And you miss that sorry feeling that you got to wait for 1 more year for Diwali to come back again and engross you in its magic.

But on one hand where you experience this festive void being away from India, you do also have this amazing opportunity to cherish and experience something totally extraordinary being here in London. The Christmas & New Year frenzy out here is simply unparalleled and out of this world. So while we prepare for days and weeks for Diwali out there in India, people out here plan and prep for Christmas for months in advance. Right from October end the festive lights start coming up, the market and the houses alike are all decked up and readied for the festival season ahead, the festive spirit keeps on rising exponentially and you can feel a sense of joy and excitement in the air. There are sales and discounts everywhere and people come out and shop in such proportions, as if there is no tomorrow. By the time Christmas arrives the entire city basks in the same glory as a newlywed bride does on her special day. And interestingly where all this while we have been watching and experiencing the festival time frenzy of the west through Hollywood movies but in reality it’s much more than that. In fact, it’s a phenomenal atmosphere and an experience worth living at least once in our life time.

It would be unfair to compare the Diwali frenzy back home with the festivities at west. But I always feel Diwali has a unique smell and a peculiar feel good zing attached to it that we all experience days and weeks before its arrival and I could easily figure out that people out here also feel the same excitement for December festivities. It probably has to do with the biggest festival of the year everywhere. Nevertheless, it’s a fantastic state to be in and how we wish we can be in the festive mode year round and feel the same happiness all around.

Though, given a chance and choice I would prefer being soaked in the Diwali fervour back home despite a near equal euphoria out here during Christmas. After all heart is where is home isJ.

Happy Holidays!

--

kin… 

..those were just children!!!

How do you feel when you see a kid falling down and getting his elbow and knees bruised while playing with his friends? You skip a heartbeat, you feel concerned, you feel sorry, you instantly empathize and feel like taking that suffering from him immediately. Kids are undoubtedly god’s most beautiful creation and they make this world a much better place to live with their innocence and infectious energy. So to imagine somebody causing slightest of harm to such innocent souls is unbelievable. And further to this, if somebody intentionally targets and harms these beautiful creation of god, it’s an inhuman task of unpardonable degree.

So what happened in Peshawar when a gang of psychotic idiots barged into a school and brutally killed over 130 odd innocent souls brought the entire world in state of shock. Not even the barbarians of mediaeval era would have done something this heinous , this scary and this shameful. Supposedly, the Taliban cadre to which those barbarians belonged claimed that this act was executed with an intent to teach a lesson to the masses (specifically state army) to understand the pain they themselves were going through due to army’s activities against them. Really? So to teach a lesson you kill school children? Children who probably don’t even know what a terrorist is or what a gun is or for that matter what jihad is. To kill them as brutally as they have done is unpardonable, no act of remorse or punishment can justify the sin they have committed. Any kind of genocide is unacceptable and abhorred universally but a genocide of this proportion has left one and all gasping for life.

Spare a thought for the parents of the kids who lost their lives in this massacre. That morning they would have sent them to the school, the holiest of all places in the world, with a sense of safety and security in their hearts and a belief that they would come back home having learnt something new. But what transpired that morning was actually the worst thing that could have happened to them and their families that day. I doubt any amount of healing or reprieve would help them overcome this tragedy ever in their lives. It was a indeed a black day for the entire mankind irrespective of the boundaries of the nations and supposed veils of different religions. Anyone who has a heart and a sane conscience would have cried as much as those bereaved parents. Surprisingly, the mastermind behind this brutal act is himself a father of 3. I wonder what on earth gave him the audacity and strength to execute this gut wrenching act.

But then a large reason behind this unfortunate incident is Pakistan’s own inability to do something concrete to fight this terror menace. They just don’t know what to do and which path to traverse for the larger good of their nation. They continue talking about good terror and bad terror, good Taliban and bad Taliban but is there anything like good sin or bad sin? Its sheer stupidity and as Hillary Clinton once rightly said, ‘you can't keep snakes in your backyard and expect them only to bite your neighbours. Eventually those snakes are going to turn on whoever has them in the backyard’. Hence, unless they themselves  get their act together, which seems highly improbable, they can’t expect these tragic incidents to stop haunting them.

For god’s sake those were just children, too innocent, too delicate and too naïve to face such brutality.  To see such a miserable event take place is a collective loss of the entire mankind. It’s not just the death of the of those 130 odd innocent souls but it’s a death of the humanity. I pity their philosophy of committing such brutal acts by the name of religion, I wonder if even Hell would give them a place when they leave their mortal avatar.

The heart bleeds and the soul cries... 

RIP those innocent souls. RIP Humanity.

--

kin…

The Appraisal Razzmatazz!

The appraisal time razzmatazz in any salaried setup is the most buzzing event of the year. Not so much in the government/public sector scenario perhaps, as those setups are being driven primarily by the pay commission concepts but in a typical corporate/private sector setup it’s no less than an action packed, high voltage TV drama.

So like with any good, popular and a successful drama series the appraisal drama also has a few protagonists in the form of ‘ Suddenly invisible but loaded with some unbelievably irritating facts, Manager aka Villain’ , ‘Highly hopeful and self-proclaimed best performer, Employee aka Hero’ and a ‘ I know you well, stop faking, friend/colleague aka Joker’. And then with such a startling star cast there ought to be some good plots as well to complement the former. So we also have some interesting plots as well in the form of – ‘Plan as never before and shut the yuck out of the manager, plot’, ‘Manager goes missing, plot’, ‘Promote me and who else, plot’, ‘Double digit hike is a minimum, plot’, ‘ You decline, I resign plot’ and if it’s an IT setup we have an added attraction in the form of  ‘Now, at least send me to onsite, plot’. So  let’s breeze through each of these plots and how these protagonists fare in these plots.

‘Plan as never before and shut the yuck out of the manager, plot’. The main protagonist of this plot is ‘Highly hopeful and self-proclaimed best performer, Employee aka Hero’. So although there is still about 3-4 months to the appraisal process kick off, the hero plans hard well in advance. He collates all kinds of appreciations from his key stakeholders, he tries and goes beyond the normal call of the duty and makes his presence felt everywhere, he for sure picks those pieces of work that everyone else in the team hates to work, he even stretches his back to work late hours and on weekends, all with a plan to nail it down in the final showdown. So much so that he even rehearses and equips well for all the what if scenarios that the villain might come up with in the final combat. All this while the Joker keeps on motivating the hero to continue with his approach and when not around he also laughs out loud on his hyper active cynicismsJ.

‘Manager goes missing, plot’. So all this while when the hero is planning, plotting and getting ready for the final showdown through all kinds of attention seeking gimmicks, the villain all of a sudden disappears, not literally though, but in the most funny ways. When our hero proactively participates and drives lot of initiatives to catch Manager’s eye, the villain turns a blind eye to it, as if he has hardly noticed this much anticipated pro activity. And while the hero has been busy planning perfectly, the villain is on his own is taking note of all the weird things that would go on to haunt the villain in the final showdown. Expectedly so the Joker keeps giving some false hopes to the hero by comforting him with those hypothetical acknowledgments from the villain that he has actually never ever given J.

‘Promote me and who else, plot’. So finally comes the D day, the day of final showdown. The hero enters, all well prepared, well equipped with a strong script in mind covering all the good and oh so good things he has done throughout the year which will eventually win him all the cash cows of the year. The manager aka villain on other hand comes equally prepared (much to the dismay of the hero), having done a crash course on company policy and being well briefed on the company’s financial guidance for the year, all this without an amicable expression on his face, at times even with a disgusted one. So when the hero starts his well-rehearsed winning narrative to take it to the zenith and claim for the ‘Promotion’ reward, the villain seems disinterested, almost to the point of being inattentive. And when the hero starts getting a bit restless, the villain throws up his ‘lack of quota card’ this year due to relatively challenging year for the company. This not only stumps the hero big time, even takes him off guard for a while. Joker however, who has already faced it all in his previous encounters, enjoys this anti-climax to the hilt.

‘Double digit hike is a minimum, plot’. Bruised, but not lost, the hero resorts to his Plan B and asks for a double digit hike for all the good things he has done throughout the year. And almost as if he is obliging the villain by taking the bitter pill of not getting promoted this year demands for a fat double digit hike that he is pretty much worthy of. The villain now comes to the front foot, diplomatically acknowledging hero’s efforts, hailing him as a senior member of the team and then smartly bracketing all these exceptional efforts under the minimum expectation bucket. After all a senior member of the team is expected to do much moreJ. So the double digit demand also goes for a toss, though in turn the wicked villain tries obliging the hero by comforting him saying, despite nothing exceptional from your end I will still and push our case with the higher management, just as a personal favour.

‘ You decline, I resign plot’. By now, the hero has already had enough. All these months where he was harping the hopes of getting promoted and grabbing a fat hike through his well-planned efforts, the villain has put all his plans in disarray. With a sense of frustration he throws up his trump card and threatens to resign for being not rewarded for his best in class performances and unparalleled efforts in the team. The villain being a seasoned campaigner tries to cool him down and advices him to not act hastily and rather think again. And promises him that any which way he will still try and do something for the hero. Joker finds this moment of rage and false assurance ever so familiar and fittingly hilariousJ.

‘Now, at least send me to onsite, plot’. The hero by now has lost it, he is dejected, shattered and broken. All his well-planned dreams have been broken by an experienced game player who is a pro at this. However, being in the IT setup there is also an additional carrot that serves equally good as a good hike or grade promotion and that is onsite. So the hero throws his last dice and negotiates with the villain for a quick fix onsite movement as a probable alternative and a supposed reward for his self-proclaimed beyond best in class performance throughout the year. Manager aka villain being an seasoned player instantly agrees to it and asks him to be assured of his onsite movement sooner than later. The Hero comes out with some sense of accomplishment, the villain feels good about his ever so well executed ways and Joker being a joker in the pack just laughs out loud J.

It’s a different matter though that by the time the hero eventually gets travel ready, the next appraisal cycle is on his head and he has to forego his next promotion/double digit hike as well as a trade-off for his last years promised onsite travel J. So more often than not the villain has the last laugh, unless of course if the hero in consideration is lucky, licky or just way too good to be ignored and maneuvered J.

---

kin…

63 Not Out Forever, RIP Phil!

Penning down an obituary isn’t an easy task, not just because of the emotions involved with the beloved passed by but more so due to ones inability to rightly express the sickening pain that this demise has brought in. And to do so for somebody whom you don’t know personally, haven’t met ever at all and neither were marvelling about ever in your life, does emphatically conveys the inconsolable grief that this event has caused. None of us would be able to see Phil Hughes bat again because of that fateful Tuesday afternoon. But to imagine that he lost his life playing a game he loved is something unbelievable. This can’t be real, this is grossly unfair, it’s a shame!

He wasn’t representing his country in a war nor was he out on a dangerous space mission, he was just playing the game he has loved all his life. But what has happened has not only moved his team mates but have affected the people across the globe irrespective of their love and interest in the game of Cricket. And anyone who has ever held a bat or bowled couple of bouncers would probably take a long time to overcome this tragedy. His family and friends are obviously going through the toughest time of their lives, coping up with this indescribable tragedy but spare a thought for his team mates and his opponents with whom Phil has played some part of his Cricket. And spare a thought for Sean Abott, will he ever be able to pick up a Cricket ball again and play this game like he has always done? He would be a really strong man to do so and would need as much support from his friends, team mates and family to overcome this grief that might haunt him for the rest of his life, as Phil’s family would need.

It’s not a time to talk about how good a cricketer Phil was, what feats he has achieved in his short career and what more he could have done as a Cricketer, it’s a time to lament, grieve and condole this tragedy. We should in fact pray to the almighty that no one ever comes across this again and may Phil’s soul rest in peace for ever. It has well and truly shaken the Cricket fraternity and its quite evident from the down pour of tributes and emotions in the last couple of days. it’s also truly heartening to see the gestures, support and concern that cricketers and officials irrespective of their nationalities are conveying for Phil. There are talks about the looming threat of 1^st Ind - Aus test being called off due to the mental trauma that this tragedy has caused to the players. And although Phil himself would have loved the game to go on but it should be better left to the players to take a final call on this, as this now is beyond the logics of commercials and entertainment.

It surely has been a sorry week and no words can express the deep infliction caused by this tragedy. This will stay in our memory for long and Phil will always be remembered. The call of the hour though is to show our support and care for the Hughes family and equally so for Sean Abott who should come out of this as a stronger person and not as guilt struck broken man.

Perhaps, the almighty felt that Phil was way too good to bat for the Australian team and play with the mortals out here, so he called him up to be the opening batsman for his own line up.

RIP Phil, you ll be missed!

…

kin…