Disgraced enroute to Africa

"The important thing in life is not victory but combat; it is not to have vanquished but to have fought well." – Pierre de Coubertin

What transpired on the field of Stade de France last week, would linger in the minds of football fraternity for a very long time. After all, this is a second “hand of god” wherein, the first enabled the demigod of Argentina secure a berth in Semi finals for his team and ultimately claiming the world cup while not less in stature Frenchman enabled the hosts to qualify for the 2010 world cup. Thierry Henry, a footballer of impeccable character couldn’t help slipping from greatness on day when his un-footballish play sealed the fate of an enthusiastic team that deserved to be traveling to Africa. Fair play and skills should dictate the outcome of a sport and not treachery. I don’t intend to smear Henry but his little aberration has given a birth to a ghost that it would be impossible to exorcise for years to come.

It seems fate is not without a sense of irony, (quote borrowed) as Henry comes from the same country as a certain visionary who advocated the spirit of playing and being sport. Times have changed where only the goal matters most and not the means which when achieved isn’t bothered. Notwithstanding the match fixing scandals and rise of racist views, this punches a deep hole in to the very beauty of sport and sportsmanship. Probably from Henry’s perspective, this would be his last chance to play in the football finals at an international level and in a rush of madness left a trail of melee behind. I feel pity for him, if he had been truthful, he would have been condemned by his own countrymen in spite of his greatness. We live in a world were past good deeds are forgotten and thrive on what holds for the future.

This could be easily avoided in the future only if FIFA takes steps toward assisting referees with technology as in other sports which they aren't inclined to do and god knows why.

PS: I could not help but feel pity of a certain Trappatoni (as a manager) who for the second time in this decade has been felled by a referee’s fault in a do or die game. He was the manager of the Azzuris in the 2002 WC 1-2 defeat to South Korea in the round of 16.

Reminiscing the good old days

                It was sort of reliving those memories when few of my high school friends and me caught up to swap our stories. We had studied together from our kindergarten till we went our own ways to pursue our under graduation. Whoa, that’s 14 years together. So when we met again (5-6 people) at around 9 PM, it was nostalgic for many reasons. The usual recitations of events that command a mention in any reunion followed by pulling other’s legs were the agenda for the evening. It made me yearn for those golden days when we had nothing to care about in the world and live life to the fullest.

                Everybody had settled in their professional careers and it was as diverse as one could expect. They range from being Strategic manager in a large corporate house to running a dance class and performing stage shows. It soon veered towards a more common subject that guys of our age never get bored even after innumerous discussions. Yes, “So when are you tying the knot?” And a revelation it was for one had already got engaged few months back and another though didn’t venture an opinion then, is getting engaged this week.

                After a marathon 2 hour session we decided to meet in the school premises the next day (actually it was a planned meet for all the old students) and I was really in for a surprise as I could not recollect anybody’s face baring a handful though separated by few years either ways. I couldn’t stay for the entire session to accommodate few personal errands. All these events occurred during my diwali visit to my native. Having come back to work, the ritual started again last week with the only difference being a mail chain which helped us pulling few more names into the loop. Without exaggerating the mails accumulated in the following 2 days would have crossed a ton and I had to keep moving them to personal folders before my mailbox could become full.

                I really miss those moments and I could only hope to meet all these friends occasionally at least if not frequently though reality stares at me with the words “chances are remote”

Tryst with truth

“I conceived this story with you in my mind sir. Only you of all heroes could do justice to the script. ” There was an emphasis on HEROES. The director was narrating a script to the “_______ Star” (the industry had dried up all the adjectives even before Yuvaraj could make a foray into films).

“Hmm, and who do you suggest do the female lead?” That was the first time Yuvaraj opened his mouth during the 1 hour story discussion. There wasn't much of a scope for the leading ladies in all his movies except to shake a leg here and wipe a tear there. But he got to choose the gorgeous ladies and he couldn’t think of a heroine who he hasn’t paired with.

“Divya”. The last time you did a movie together, you scorched the screen. I have booked her call sheet for the next 2 months.

Yuvaraj couldn’t suppress his smile. He had enjoyed a good relationship with her on and off the sets.

He affirmed to do this movie. This was the first time after attaining a star status he had signed a movie without a prior knowledge of the full script. He was read only his part and those necessary for him to complete his part. His star power was waning and his last couple of movies bombed bringing down the movie producers to their knee. This was a sort of comeback vehicle. But what made him fall for this director was he was about to break his image and sport a new guise. Now the press would have to stop smirking at him which he hadn’t experienced since his formative years as an upcoming hero.

1 week later, the muhurat of the movie was attended by who’s who of the filmdom. Anybody who got a chance at the stage predicted this to be a blockbuster of the year and wished the team success. When it was time for director, he made his speech crisp and to the point.

“The story and the concept is entirely new, you would see a new treatment meted out. You are going to appreciate this. I guarantee you would never have seen this kind of a movie either in Bollywood or in the Hollywood. I hope the plot doesn’t get leaked.”

After the function, Yuvaraj was nowhere to be seen in the public. He shunned invitations to all the functions citing his guise had to be kept under wraps. The director didn’t give a hint of the storyline when queried and was playing his cards close to his chest. These little things led to a big expectation among the masses and this movie became the most talked about in the industry.

Once the post-production was completed, the director and Yuvaraj invited the press and arranged for a preview show. The audience’s face registered surprise when the hero skidded into a not unusual introduction. From then, till the title cards rolled, silence reigned and lights had to be switched on to bring the audience out of trance. They were thoroughly mesmerized. They just had one question for Yuvaraj.

“Was that really you?”

“Yes” quipped Yuvaraj. He was on cloud nine.

They appreciated his subtlety in makeover. He was clean shaven throughout the movie as against stubble that he wore every time. As if that wasn’t enough, he had parted his hair from right instead from left. You don’t call that cunning. Will you?

The next day, review on Page 3:

THE DIRECTOR KEEPS HIS PROMISE

This movie is yet another all star ensemble to bring back the crowd

to the theatres. This director is a man of his words for he has been so

secretive about the story that we are kept guessing about that even

after the end of the movie...............................

So(a)phisticated Telly

                The moment I switched on the television yesterday, a promo of a new soap opera (mega serial) was in play. This was during another soap aired between the commercials. I realized that it had been a decade since this serial marked its debut. Gosh! Think of 5 days a week for full 10 years. The director should have been abundantly talented to have hooked the whole of one state and keep them engrossed. May be we should look at the flip side of that coin. People have been living a decadent life of excessive obsession on soaps J. This indicates their consent to be fooled, mocked by and enabling the television studios and directors to thrive on staple concepts to rake in the moolah.

One of the successful directors of soaps did try his hand in wielding the megaphone with barrage of reviews notwithstanding, packed the movie with verbiage and handing visitation to patrons of the movie, if there was ever one. His vicissitude deterred the aspiring directors riding on the small screen bandwagon to follow his footsteps thereby showering mercy to the celluloid.

Briefly put, the 1 liner of all soaps would be women empowerment and there could never be a bigger goof up. The characters sketched and portrayed would make the modern day women cringe. Thinking of serials, I could recall few ranting I was subjected to witness albeit I wasn’t interested. To list a few:

(a)    Having completed one of my class X board exams, I was duly welcomed home by my granny with abuses directed toward the “Fit for nothing” villain who could have easily stolen the “Worst actor of the year” award trying his best to emote. However he did get his acknowledgement for his performance from my granny.

(b)   It was during one of the festivities at the temple did I hear the rumbling of 2 old women comparing notes on how the artists were performing and the direction where the story was headed concluding that a status quo was being maintained for the last 6 months.. gaw........

(c)    A one soap experienced artist reprised a small role of hero’s sidekick in celluloid and a group of women in the theatre seated in the row in front started referring by his debut screen name and reiterated how bad he is. (Note: not was.)

                I can only wonder why these enactments are taken seriously and discussed/dissected and spoil the mood surrounding them. A word of caution to those portraying archetypical villainy, stay indoors and do not get caught in the midst of ever emotionally empathizing viewers of your own soaps for they are more virulent than you appear to be on screen and gleefully ostracize you.

                It hath been my own volition or rather men’s nature that we aren’t glued to these serials. Back from the past, I am fortunate enough that I haven’t been interacting with people who consume serials as elixir for the last few years but I promise I have no notion that the situation would have improved and we have 2500+ episodes to second my opinion. When would this era end? Possibly not for another decade I suppose. 

Penalty Kick

A full 90 minutes of play could not bring out a result in the final play off between the rival school teams with score tied 0-0. The rivalry dated back a few decades when they were yet to make a reputation. The match was being held at the corporation grounds and the atmosphere was electrifying. It was the most anticipated event and was being played out to a sell out crowd.

Yuvaraj’s dream of representing the state seemed to be on the verge of materializing for he had shown a tremendous skill and precision over the last few matches. However, he was a bit off colour on the day when it mattered most. His shoulders sagged and looked toward his school supporters over the bleachers. He could hear them chanting his name. They pinned their hopes on Yuvaraj to deliver as he had been menacing the opposition defence. His eyes roved around to find Divya and there she was with her group smiling and gesturing at him. He had badly wanted her to be his girl friend and he knew if he wins this game, she was his’.

He had his chance in the first half but could not convert a cross from his midfielder and hit over the bars. The game progressed to the injury time of 4 minutes. Yuvaraj led the attack, piercing the midfielders and the defenders and his team’s ball possession and control was just good. With 1 minute for the final whistle he got into the D only to be tackled by their left back. The referee didn’t miss the act and awarded a penalty kick.

After a brief huddle, Yuvaraj came forward to take his kick. He was sweating profusely and was nervous as he knew he could seal the fate of the game by taking this shot. He would become a hero in his school and would be rewarded aptly and loads of appreciations to follow. He would be a sensation. Waking from the dream he concentrated and was waiting for the referee’s signal – whistle. The referee blew the whistle and it was muted by a roar from the audience and he stepped to shoot the ball.......... woke up startled.....getting kicked.... with his mom by his side and an alarm still ringing.

“Oh! Mom, I was just a second away from scoring a goal and we would have won the cup. ”

“You were about to hit a six last week and this time around a goal eh?”

“Mom, you have this uncanny timing of waking me up.”

“Can I ask you something?  What is the difference between an isotope and an isomer?”

“Err....... ”

“With barely a month for exams you are thoroughly lagging behind and dreaming things untenable by all means. For god sake grow up yuv and stop watching all those nonsense movies. Now make up your bed and get yourself ready. Don’t make your dad come up and whip you.”

During lunch he could not help listening to what Divya and her friend was chatting as he was sitting behind them.

Her friend asked, “Hey! Did you watch the match between India and Australia yesterday?”

“No, I was watching soap and I don’t miss even a single episode of all soaps.” Divya beamed with unsolicited pride. “I don’t worry much about sports. I hear the matches are fixed and they just play it out for the audience.”

“Not all matches are fixed but yeah, matches were fixed in the past but I don’t think that’s recurring.”

“Tell me; are Soccer and Football the same sport?”

“Grrr..............” Yuvaraj was stupefied.

Being guests of the Nizam

A trip to Hyderabad was in the offing and it did happen last weekend. The occasion was a wedding of one of our colleagues’ and we didn’t have any inkling to work on Friday. As we had to board an evening train, we started filing out of workspace by lunch. Though the journey consumed around 14 hours, it was enjoyable as we were 11 in the group trying to extract fun to the fullest. The wedding was to be on Sunday and we had the whole of Saturday to wander the streets of a beautiful city. I, very much liked the city and would rate it better than Chennai (though would not prefer to leave Chennai). The only dark spot in the otherwise pleasant visit was the loss of my friend’s wallet worth 2500/-.

Since we could not club a tour with this particular wedding, as we had done for the previous ones, we tried to do the routine stuff that the local tourists do. First was a visit to a “Lumbini Park” and there was nothing much to do there except gaze at the speed boats cruising along the lake and trampoline. We could not venture into either of these because the waiting time for boating was more than 2 hours and trampoline was restricted to people weighing less than 60 Kgs. Then came a distracted entertainment in the form of Cricket – Score 50 from 18 deliveries and bat for another 12 extra deliveries bowled by a machine. 3 of us did try our luck and we were able to score around 40. Having spent an hour trying what else to do having come here, we took few snaps and left for a bowling alley. None amongst us could boast of prior experience and yours truly was very much delighted to had ended with highest score (113) and thereby winning the championship (@#$?!)

The next day, we reached the wedding hall well in advance (as a matter of fact, first to reach even before the bride or the groom). The groom was rhapsodic and why wouldn’t he be, for he had been waiting for this day since his graduation...J. The rituals were in contrast as to what I had witnessed in the weddings in the past and it was over in few hours. We duly completed our formalities of wishing the newly weds and devouring some gorgeous food down the way. We had very little time before our return journey could start so we decided to do some shopping. One particular ad captivated us, a 4-D movie – “Haunted house” was being screened which runs for around 15 minutes. Wow! Man, it surely rocked. It was a 3-D movie with the addition of trying to create a reality by involving us in the adventure. It surely worked in their favour and we were thrilled to have experienced that. We felt it was apt to start so that we could pack our things and be on time for our return journey. Though we didn’t sightsee any place in particular it was a different experience altogether compared to the previous ones.

Shifting Bases

I am not going to bother giving another explanation for the hibernation that preceded this post. It has been few days since I shifted bases from my old residence to the current one which is located in the area known for its frenzied activity and populous commercial establishments (heart of Chennai).

Finally I had convinced my parents to stay with me and this has thrown up an option of having mom’s cooking for lunch and why would I not opt for this. Hmm, yummy food… after 4 long years of crunching and munching junks, this has provided a wonderful relief of sorts. But, there is a flipside to this ecstasy. The moment I devour all the food, my eyes start drooping and a nap would definitely help my cause but the chances are very remote. After all I sit beside my manager and the last thing he expects is a drowsy neighbor let alone the subject being his team member.

I haven’t completely acclimatized to my new surroundings as I still miss my previous abode (a stone’s throw from beach). I could just sneak few minutes to post this and I don’t expect to update my blog for at least another fortnight. Feeling a bit sleepy………….