THE BLUES AND THE YELLOWS

*Final year finally* read my facebook status a couple of weeks back. Now it isn’t really something to brag about but then the things I’ve had to go through for the past 5 years to actually get into final year are really something. The 40 odd likes I got for the status bear testimony to that fact. Agreed, 40 likes when you’ve got 800 friends is really a miniscule percentage but then, I am MALE. And on fb, if you are male, 40 is the equivalent of 400 likes! ;D

But I’ve already been whining enough of this so I’ll move on.

The ipl is finally coming to a close, what with only the playoffs left. Though Danny ‘MAD’ Morrison keeps pointing out every now and then how this year’s IPL has been the best of the IPLs thus far with so many nail biting finishes and last ball miracles, on a personal note I feel the ipl has lost its charm.

72 matches, 72 close matches yes but still, SEVENTY TWO is quite a large number. And having to put up with Danny Morrison and Navjot Singh Siddhu every other day does push you to the brink of insanity, attempts at mass murder even.

But then, this blog post isn’t about the duration of the qualifiers or the douche baggery that they call EXTRAA INNINGS (this doesn’t include you, Mr.Harsha Bhogle #RESPECT), hell it isn’t even about archana vijaya (IPL’s version of mandira bedi; only, slightly more taller and definitely more stupider). This blogpost is actually dedicated to self confessed soccer (or golf perhaps?) fans who jumpat every opportunity to say the IPL is fixed!

Just because CSK got extremely lucky ( they don’t call M.S.DHONI the man with the MIDAS touch for nothing) to have 3 results going their way and eventually qualifying for the playoffs doesn’t mean the matches were fixed. This isn’t WWE for heaven’s sake!

Which brings me to the UEFA Champions league finals between CHELSEA and BAYERN MUNICH. Bayern played brilliant football easily overshadowing Chelsea in the ‘corners won’ and ‘ball possession %’ columns, but then they forgot that a game is won only if you score god damned goals! The way robben and ribery were going, the match definitely looked fixed! (ha, take that soccer loving, cricket hating fother muckers!) but then, everyone knows that such a thing is bull shit. *I am a Chelsea fan myself!* B)


Which brings me to my point; just because a couple of fools decided to earn some extra cash by bowling a no ball doesn’t mean that every single person who does play cricket is a cheater too. This is an amazing game. Agreed,there are a few weeds to be pulled but then just because you have a set top box and an internet connection doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want about the game! You might say I am doing this just because I am a cricketer, more so a lover of the game. But no, my actions have a broader perspective. Remember kapil sibal, the chap who decided to have a censor board give U, U/A and A certificates for your tweets and fb statuses? Well, the rate at which the country is progressing at the moment, he could very well be owning an IPL team next season and considering the nature of some of the comments on ipl fixing that have been doing the rounds, well all I’ve got to say is “I wouldn’t be doing that if I were you.” B) :P

kapil sibal, if you didnt already know :P

So yes, be it soccer or cricket or even WWE, watch it just for the love of the game. Don’t put too much thought into it though, you aren’t really qualified for that yet.

Until next time,

ADIOS!

ESCAPING THE RAT RACE

Its been quite a while I know. It is just that life has become hectic, in a good sort of way. I am loving it but somewhere down the line I get this doubt that I am pulling myself away, getting detached from friends and the society in general. Turning a little psychotic even.

That is when I happened to come across this story.

A gem, a truly sweet lesson on patience.

A NYC Taxi driver wrote:

I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.

By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.

There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.

'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.

She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.

She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'

'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'

'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..

'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.

I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.

'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.

We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired. Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.

Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.

I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.

'Nothing,' I said

'You have to make a living,' she answered.

'There are other passengers,' I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.

'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.

We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.

But great moments often catch us unaware- beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

And that is when I realized that irrespective of who you are, what you do, irrespective of the pace at which the world is moving around you, as long as you dont spare a second to stop and admire the beauty of things around you, life will always be incomplete!

Until next time,

Keep smiling

ADIOS!