Not Going Overboard

Photo courtesy www.abc.net.au

This post is not about going overboard. I still believe Sourav has nothing to prove to anybody. But I feel happy for him. For someone who has scored nearly 15,000 international runs its sad that a Duleep trophy hundred is used by one of his admirers for this post.

The tragedy, though, is not his cause or his doing. But I feel happy that certain people are now squirming.. Squirm hard Jokers (Read Raj Singh Dungarpur, Bobilli something, and all the others.. )

Oh Captain! My Captain

In various newspapers the headlines screams "Dravid in the hot seat...." etc. Another trial by the media, for the media and of the media has come to a satisfying end in true democratic style. I wish I could make a collection of the journalistic savagery that has been paraded for the past year or so. The campaign is over and we finally have a gentleman at helm who is going to please all.

Inspite of all objectivity I cannot but help feel bad for Sourav Ganguly. I have an uncanny liking for that man. The statistics around him and his captaincy does not matter. What matters is the spunk he injected into a bunch of men who made us proud as representatives of us. Rarely has any Indian sportsperson stood up with audacity on the world stage.

I never liked the participation-matters mindset of our country. You play to win. India as a country has a penchant to gag leaders and stifle them into anonimity. We do not display guts and do not like people displaying the same. We hate to see an individual getting mileage. Here the diplomatic and collective majority most often find the means to outdo the farsighted believers who have a vision and guts to follow it.

The Indian media and the cricket officials are used to the docile diplomats. Rarely can people tolerate leaders of men. They get too large for their boots for the comfort of princely types. Leaders like Ganguly have broad shoulderes. They carry responsibility and do not flinch to take the flak. People like him who live by the sword should not mind dieing by it.

So Indian cricket is back on track after 6 long years. We have had enough of leadership. All we need is a captain. Rahul Dravid, an impeccable gentlemen, will don that role. As for Sourav, I do not think he has any thing to prove to anybody. He is a leader of men and cricket anyways is no longer a sport. It is now a game which entertains millions. So it does not need leaders but performers. Sourav should concentrate on something which will utilise his leadership skills for general good.

I thank him for making me proud during all those times when he led from the front... Hat's Off Dada

Graphics © Kaushik Som

The Proud Parents

photo courtesy Flickr.com

Nilu and Guddi are proud parents of a baby boy. There could not have been a better day to have a child. It is like a special blessing from God.

Due to certain technicalities I am yet to see the little one's face but that is just a technicality which will get sorted out soon. I cant wait for the day when the three little ones will be play around each other.

Having seen Nilu from up close I am really happy for him. There have been some tumultous years before this. Surviving through all that and being where he is today I am really in awe. He is lucky to have found Guddi at the right time. As the women say in Hindi "Nazar na lag jaaye"

Get ready Betty and Veronica, Archies here.

Away From Home

Picture Courtesy www.anandautsav.com

For Bengalees around the world it is the time of the year when we wake up to the sound of Dhak. Today is Saptami and for the first time I find myself sitting in my office trying to work. It marks a huge shift in my life.

For the past 31 years I have never missed a Puja. Many a times I have been away from Calcutta but never been away from the festivities. Its a feeling of being left out.

It is a reality check. My current stint outside Calcutta is the longest I have ever been. I have been away from home for almost a year, but till this time it never pinched. My entire family is here but I am still feeling away from home.

But its a reality I will have to face every year and like everyone else I will get used to it. Who knows may be some time down the line I might be organising my own puja.

Till then a happy Durga Puja to all.

P.S. - For everyone else who is missing puja like me go to Anandautsav.com

50 and going strong

2nd November will be the second anniversary of my blog. My last post was my 50th. When I started out I had very little idea that I will continue to be interested in it two years on. Infact this seems one of the few things that I have been able to motivate myself to keep going on for a long time...

I wish myself luck for more...

Sanjog

We meet numerous people while we age and live. Among them there are many who leave an impression on the dint of what they do or undo.

Most often our opinions about people depend on the circumstances of our interactions. Some inspire awe and respect while some only invite contempt. While for some we feel sympathy and compassion, there are others with whom we empathise and identify. But there are a few who endears themselves for eternity. One such soul is my dear friend Rajesh Gode.

Rajesh is a simple and god fearing man. He epitomises our generation of the urban middle class whose parents have fought hard to put us where we are now. He has a son and a very nice wife. I met him during my stint in Pune.

I like Rajesh because of his simplicity and unassuming manner. He is perfectly down to earth - infact he is rooted to the earth. I have always drawn a strict line between friends and acquaintances. Rajesh falls under the first category.

We used to talk hours on end on topics which would otherwise sound pretty useless. I used to enjoy our walk in the campus of the Commisioner's Office just opposite our office. Our daily pastime would be to pick our Imlis and distribute them in office. Some days we even used to go Inox to watch the girls display their fineries. Infact my trip to Ranje was an experience in itself.

We spent some confusing times in my previous company in Pune. Besides other things we used to discuss the importance of usability in modern day life where human interface with computers have become so omnipresent.

A lot more time, money and human bandwidth needs to be spent on how our interactions with computers can be simpliflied. Rajesh went a step further. He went ahead and became a CUA (Certified Usability Analyst) from Human Factors International. Today I came to know that he has even got featured as their CUA of the month.

I am happy for him. Good guys always dont finish last...