The Ever Dependable Rahul Dravid

Not much to write about this guy RD ( well he does share something common with me ..the initials). already reams have been written about him. As I am writing this , it seems he is battling it out with Gambhir to help India save the test. Of all the greats in the indian batting lineup, the Sehwags, Tendulkars, Laxmans, Dhonis and Yuvrajs, the only person who has actually got an agregate of 200 in this match so far is the ever dependable Rahul Dravid. This despite the fact that he is made to look less than human in the eyes of some in the BCCI. Not too long ago thre were experts who were suggesting that he was at the end of the road as far as test cricket is concerned. These were part of the same group which suggested that he was done and over with as a one day player. Over the years one cannot help but wonder at Dravids tenacity, grit, perseverance, and the will to go that extra mile for his team. He has been the bridesmaid of the Indian cricket team for long, with cavaliers like Saurav Ganguly,Yuvraj, Dhoni, and connesuiers like Tendulkar and Laxman taking the plaudits everytime. But this man has carved for himself a reputation for being dependable almost every time his team has needed him. I hope by the time he is done and dusted in his test career, Rahul Dravid gets the recognition he is truly worth.

Slugfest .....

Of late I have been carying boxing gloves whenever I go to the gym. The management in the gym had put up a punching bag, some days back and I decided to put it to some use. no , Im not one to think of competing in some boxing championship, or have dreams ( or some would say nightmares) of having a bout with the likes of Mike Tyson, Muhammed Ali, joe Frazier et al. But its been a good long time since I actually punched someone / something since then l've been more of a non violent character.

Today, as usual I put on my gloves and began punching the bag, just to get my body into0 some motion, sort of a warm-up. There is an aerobics class going on in the adjoining room, windows of which open up into the balcony where yours truly is slowly going through the motions , with some light punches on the bag. I pick up intensity over the next 30 minutes, and furiously use all the power in me to punch the bag. Sweat flows down my brows, my shoulders ache, with the continous movement, my arms seem as if they are on fire with all the exertion, and my wrists scream for me to stop. Till one moment ... one moment, when the sweat trickles down into my eyes, causing them to burn. Almost instantaneously I turn away, with one hand outstretched to stop the punching bag as it is swinging, and the other trying to rub the perspiration away. I might as well have kept the outstretched hand down; anyways the only thing it could have stopped was only air ( as I was to realise later). In that one moment the bag swung towards me ( a result of Newtons third law ), and before I knew it BAM !!!!. The impact wasnt too hard, though the shock of being at the recieving end of something that was inadvertently a result of my own furious actions was. It was'nt as if I had been socked by someone a la Tyson or thereabouts... but it still shook me.

A few minutes, and a couple of glasses of water later I was back to giving the bag another pumelling, though this time , the punching was just that bit lighter, to avoid recurrence of the earlier mishap.

Aamar Officeyr Terrace

Aamaar third floorer jaalnaar theke neeche dekhi kobey, to neeche raastaay keu nei, bhishon shumshaam. Saamne ekti kore lamp-post jolchey emnei; maaachkhaane kobey ekto motorcyclist jaaye, kobey ekto car jaaye .Aami emnei daadiye dekhte thaaki. Ekto porey lab jaava hoy.' The setup has crashed man .. please do something' . Bhitore geye lab recycle korey aabaar baairey eshi. Tokhon porjonto aabaar raashtaaye keu nei. Shudu aami - jaalnaar theke dekhchi, aamar team , aar ei raatrir andhokar. Ekto porey bheriey terracey jaai aami. Upore dekhi aakashtaake . Shudu dekhte thaaki ek minute dui minute .. jaani na aar kothokhon. Taar pore kintu chokh bondho kore emnei daadiye thaaki ..
Shei terrace .. aami aar shudu aami. Ei dui minute aar keu aamar kaache ashtey paarbey na .. kaeno ki ei dui minute shudu aamaar , aar aamari thaakbey. Hotat emnei hawa chole, ekdom jorey. Aamar chokh aekhono bondho. Chup kore aamar mone ekti chobi eshe jaay .... chobi jetaakey dekhe, osthir mon shaanto hoy. Dui minute aage aamaar bookey, dhaaker mothom aamaar hrudoy dhok dhok korchilo. Aekhon kintu shetao normal hoye gelo. Dui minuter shaanti , aemon laage keu aamar kaache daadiye aache.. aamake dekhche , haasiye bolche .. 'kothaay khujcho aamake .. aami to tomaar shaamne'.
Chokh khuley dekhi aami .. keuo nei ... terracey aami eka aar chokher shaamne nokshotro.... aaekdom door ... shudu dekhte paari ... kaache jete paari na ....Choker tekhe jol podbey taar aage aami chok bondho korey dei. Firey jaai dorwajaar kaache, pichone firey dekhi na aabar. Chup Chap officey jaai .. aamar cubicley giye boshe thaaki. Shaamne Durga Maaer chobi. Maaer chokh dekhi dui minute. Taar porey aabar shuru hoye jaay
'Hey .. is that code done ?' Aamar teamate aamake jigesh korey. Chaarta shomay shokaale, aamar keyboardey F9 key daabiye code compile kori. 'Its done' .... ekti kore smile eshe aamar mukhey. Machine lock korey aami pondhro minute porey bheriye jaai.
Aajker kaaj hoye gelo ... kaalke nutun din aashbey .... aar phire kaalke raatribelaay aami aabar terracey aashbo.

Mental conflict in the first net in a month.

I told them my mind was not in it. Yet they insisted I attend. After all this was the first time I had missed 2-3 sessions in over 5 years. So , today was the big day. Reached at 7:20 AM, and immediately a snide remark ...' Ye kya aane ka time hai'. I was like ' Saale khud ek net ko aataa hai aur wo bhi aise ki zamaane pe ehsaan kiya, aur mereko suna raha hai'.. Wotever ... just ignored it and went on. Picked up a ball, and began to bowl .. medium pace, seam up.
First ball was a catastrophe ... lack of practise showed ... way outside the off stump, it would have probably clipped the person standing at first slip. 'Out of touch' they said .. ok.. Second ball was even worse ... this would have clipped third man. Third ball just about ok. Within the stumps that is. After that it was things became better. Everything fell in place, ball pitching just short of length middle and leg line, cramping the batsman for room. Then the typical left arm bowlers delivery, the one angling across a right handed batsman. So things started off badly, but the end was pretty good atleast as far as my bowling was concerned.
The batting began even more badly. Feet were not moving at all. It was almost as if I didnt want to be there. Short delivery outside the offstump, width offered.My mind was saying cut, the bat came down late, or at times early .. anyone else ( or even me in a better frame of mind would have made mincemeat of that kind of delivery), but today it was just not there. 'Hang in' I told myself ... you'll get a couple in the middle of the bat, and then you can go ballistic. Not today .. it was'nt meant to be. Tried to sweep a marginally fuller length delivery , idea - excelent execution - pathetic ( for a shot that I have practised over and over again.. and can actually boast of playing it even in my sleep), ball gets inside edge on to boot , and pops up to where silly point would have been. Then .. a crunchy hit off the front foot , followed by a some more nice hits, but the rest .. all pooping blunders , results of a mind far from sanity, and a heart torn away from its soul. Lucky I did not get out more than once ( an ugly hoick .. and clean bowled... anyone else .. and the ball would have been in orbit). Today .. it was more like a post mortem, I dread to think of what might be ...