This definitely was a dream come true for me. After 10 years of patience, I finally met Dravid! And as per my 10 yr old promise, my first interview was indeed that of Dravid's!! :)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
THE Moment!!
This definitely was a dream come true for me. After 10 years of patience, I finally met Dravid! And as per my 10 yr old promise, my first interview was indeed that of Dravid's!! :)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The meeting with the legend!
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Thursday, August 20, 2009
A Step Closer
Probably one of those happiest days of my life. Our efforts to compile the book, Behind The Wall got a new boost today. Our chief guest, the man himself, Rahul Dravid, today gave not only an official go ahead (see pic) for it, but also ensure that he’ll be present for the launch, no matter what!
Our book started about a year ago, Thanks to AB. However, to be really honest, there wasn’t much dedication. This boost I’m sure will now enable us to unite everyone as a team and work for it. Another 6 months and we plan for a grand launch.
Where is a big big question. The participating members are from all over India. Ah, abroad as well. Deciding a venue will be one pain but I guess this is a DREAM project and everyone will care the least about the place and more about how to fit this into the schedule and not miss the grand opportunity to meet the legend face to face. But we’ll make sure Prosper and Mekhala are here in India for the launch.
What a day!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Friends!
I thought it would be a long day considering we planned to start with Communiqué. But then, one reason or the other and everybody were busy.
Yet I stayed till 3:45 in college, doing what?!
Oh, the print outs of the first drafts. And then framing a time-line for the Communiqué process.
The style sheet too! Though I haven’t added a word to it. Nor have I downloaded the required fonts. Ah! I am LAZY!
I met Ekta after a long while. Well though she is in Gargi, she rarely comes. And the other days, our time table doesn’t allow. This meeting happened after a week almost. Hence, after a long while.
And then, I met another friend after a long time. Three weeks this time, almost. Spent nice two hours chit-chatting with Aru bhua, without realizing it was getting late.
The conversation ranged from the daaru party to trying daaru, to their recent Leh trip and then to our probable trip. Discussing feasible venues for a short trip with college friends. The weather. Goa. The do’s and the don’ts. The points to be remembered. The newspaper, the Journo junction shirt (no, T-shirt, it is) and its color.
Apart from that, a little (actually, more than that) cribbing about the weirdest person on this planet. @##$%!!#@$$@!##@.
Oh! I forgot my hair-cut too. Eventually, I have started liking it. A little. Waiting for someone else’s comments on the same. And I return for those, tomorrow!
Oh yes, I cancelled a meeting with another couple of friends today. The gap, if you are wondering, is four days this time. Have to meet them, and more than that surprise them with the new hair-cut!
Okay now, the Style sheet is the first thing I do tomorrow. Err, I mean, I hope so!
We finally start with the editing. FINALLY!!! Well. I hope so, again! Days will now get longer, for sure!
Yet I stayed till 3:45 in college, doing what?!
Oh, the print outs of the first drafts. And then framing a time-line for the Communiqué process.
The style sheet too! Though I haven’t added a word to it. Nor have I downloaded the required fonts. Ah! I am LAZY!
I met Ekta after a long while. Well though she is in Gargi, she rarely comes. And the other days, our time table doesn’t allow. This meeting happened after a week almost. Hence, after a long while.
And then, I met another friend after a long time. Three weeks this time, almost. Spent nice two hours chit-chatting with Aru bhua, without realizing it was getting late.
The conversation ranged from the daaru party to trying daaru, to their recent Leh trip and then to our probable trip. Discussing feasible venues for a short trip with college friends. The weather. Goa. The do’s and the don’ts. The points to be remembered. The newspaper, the Journo junction shirt (no, T-shirt, it is) and its color.
Apart from that, a little (actually, more than that) cribbing about the weirdest person on this planet. @##$%!!#@$$@!##@.
Oh! I forgot my hair-cut too. Eventually, I have started liking it. A little. Waiting for someone else’s comments on the same. And I return for those, tomorrow!
Oh yes, I cancelled a meeting with another couple of friends today. The gap, if you are wondering, is four days this time. Have to meet them, and more than that surprise them with the new hair-cut!
Okay now, the Style sheet is the first thing I do tomorrow. Err, I mean, I hope so!
We finally start with the editing. FINALLY!!! Well. I hope so, again! Days will now get longer, for sure!
Back to Office!
Well, I was told and ordered (and I thought) I must be a little regular with my blog.
Nothing much to update matching the genre of my blog, which is by the way, taking a sporty turn!
Anyhow, let me begin with something sporty.
A visit back to my beloved sports desk at The Asian Age was memorable in more than one ways.
Autowalas going on strike gives you an opportunity to learn more about things and places around. A fortcut to Green Park, a chhota fortcut and the ganda-nala running parallel to my college, I added a lot to my limited knowledge about the vicinity — all thanks to Ishita. Thank you!
Ishita is not lazy, you know! Contrary to my belief, and popular belief as well, she’s active. Really active rather! She walks. On odd days, either with her iPod or a buddy on a phone call, she prefers to walk from college to home and not care about an auto! Kudos girl.
Back to office, Sunit and R. Bhardwaj now sport a new look. Suits them.
Harpreet was a little busy. I wish we had some time to catch up.
However, the most amazing part of the visit was the brief 15-minutes Dravid talk with my first Editor, Rahul Sir. I always knew he was a Dravid fan, his room or rather the posters and photographs said it all, our talk just confirmed it!
I think it was a little foolish to ask him about the photographs however I couldn’t resist the temptation I had for almost two months! And this gave the start to our Dravid talk.
It was nice to see another person and someone like Rahul sir, extremely happy and excited about Dravid’s comeback to the shorter version of the game.
The most amazing part of it was to learn from sir’s experiences in Pakistan’s during Indian ckt team’s historic tour way back in 2004. Most soothing to the ears was sir’s narrative of Dravid’s mammoth 270.
I go back on Wednesday for sir’s interview for my article, my contribution to Communiqué. And yes, I’ll catch up with him a little later as well, for a different interview though!
Oh yes, how can I forget to mention this! I have been asked to come back and design the main sports page again when Dravid scores heavily in the ICC Champions Trophy. More than one reason to look forward to CT.
P.S.: Thanks Ishita for the walk till Green Park. I just realized how close you are to the college!
P.P.S.: Your dog is too cute, I forgot his name though. I don’t normally like dogs, but your pet deserved a mention here.
Nothing much to update matching the genre of my blog, which is by the way, taking a sporty turn!
Anyhow, let me begin with something sporty.
A visit back to my beloved sports desk at The Asian Age was memorable in more than one ways.
Autowalas going on strike gives you an opportunity to learn more about things and places around. A fortcut to Green Park, a chhota fortcut and the ganda-nala running parallel to my college, I added a lot to my limited knowledge about the vicinity — all thanks to Ishita. Thank you!
Ishita is not lazy, you know! Contrary to my belief, and popular belief as well, she’s active. Really active rather! She walks. On odd days, either with her iPod or a buddy on a phone call, she prefers to walk from college to home and not care about an auto! Kudos girl.
Back to office, Sunit and R. Bhardwaj now sport a new look. Suits them.
Harpreet was a little busy. I wish we had some time to catch up.
However, the most amazing part of the visit was the brief 15-minutes Dravid talk with my first Editor, Rahul Sir. I always knew he was a Dravid fan, his room or rather the posters and photographs said it all, our talk just confirmed it!
I think it was a little foolish to ask him about the photographs however I couldn’t resist the temptation I had for almost two months! And this gave the start to our Dravid talk.
It was nice to see another person and someone like Rahul sir, extremely happy and excited about Dravid’s comeback to the shorter version of the game.
The most amazing part of it was to learn from sir’s experiences in Pakistan’s during Indian ckt team’s historic tour way back in 2004. Most soothing to the ears was sir’s narrative of Dravid’s mammoth 270.
I go back on Wednesday for sir’s interview for my article, my contribution to Communiqué. And yes, I’ll catch up with him a little later as well, for a different interview though!
Oh yes, how can I forget to mention this! I have been asked to come back and design the main sports page again when Dravid scores heavily in the ICC Champions Trophy. More than one reason to look forward to CT.
P.S.: Thanks Ishita for the walk till Green Park. I just realized how close you are to the college!
P.P.S.: Your dog is too cute, I forgot his name though. I don’t normally like dogs, but your pet deserved a mention here.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Celebrating 13 years of THE WALL
If I'll ever have to ask somebody to bat for my life then it’ll have to be Rahul Dravid — Brian Charles Lara
13 years ago,
Making his debut for
13 years have passed ever since Dravid made his debut and with his flawless, classy technique, charismatic batting and rock solid defense, undoubtedly the man has not transformed himself into the most reliable Test player and most dependable bat in world but has also achieved his ultimate goal.
With over 10,000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, a record 184 Test catches, 5 double centuries and countless match winning efforts, the man silenced all his critics with his bat. Once labeled as unfit for ODI, the man today has an unmatched record not only in ODIs but also the shortest format of the game, T20.
His contribution to the Indian Cricket has been immense, and correctly summed up by Navjot Singh Sidhu, “Rahul is a player who’ll walk on broken glass if his team tells him to.”
To Dravid,
Started watching cricket the day you scored your first double ton in
As a cricket fan I have grown up learning Dravid and defeat can’t be framed into one sentence. As far as I remember, the only time you’ve disappointed me was the day you got married!
Thank you for those amazing 13 years you’ve selflessly dedicated to Indian cricket.
Thanks for giving the confidence to tell the world that I am “Proud to be a Rahul Dravid Fan”
Thanks for being there whenever the team required.
Hats off to you!
With LOVE!
Purnima
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Where is IPL heading to?
(Originally written in May 2008)
A television commercial termed DLF Indian Premier League as ‘manoranjan ka baap’, another stated it to be ‘Cricket weds Entertainment’. And surely, BCCI’s new buzz, DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) has so far, by all means, lived up to the expectations of the cricket fanatics, if not that of the organizers.
Eight state based teams, big shots like Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta et al paying handsome packages, buying the best men for their franchise, glittering promotional events and videos, enrolling superstars and the newly adopted concept of cheerleaders- this added tinge of glamour to India’s favorite game of cricket has proven to be a true entertainer with all the ingredients of a hit Indian entertainment recipe—movie stars, cricket demigods their blind hitting and of course the controversies.
By segregating one Team India into eight teams, the organizers aspired to provide a huge opportunity to the players, both seniors and juniors alike, to showcase their talent and also gain experience by including overseas players. The basic motive behind BCCI’s multi-crore endeavor was to generate a pool of players for the very competitive form of the game.
But alas! In the opening stages itself the sheer fun and joy was marred by a couple of controversies which have rocked the cricketing extravaganza— one due to the lack of adaptability of our political gurus and the other due to the lack of discipline amongst the players.
With just the inaugural edition of the action packed, adrenaline pumping contests on the field so far, and there have been numerous ‘issues’ related to it off the field. The cricketing action would start in the evening and the controversies it created help keep the media and the audience in its grip all day long. Unfortunately cricket took the back seat and controversies grabbed all the attention.
First the Maharashtra MLAs objected to the concept of cheerleaders. For them, those firangi, scantily clad girls, doing nothing more than their mere job, should be banned for obscenity. For those leaders, the cheerleaders are violating their cultural ethics. The leaders have been poking their nose into any thing and everything which is not even distantly related to their portfolios.
The basic idea behind the introduction of the cheerleaders was to motivate the players, to pep up things and create some buzz on the field. Rather than welcoming and adapting to the new concept, these leaders, are debating it’s compatibility to India’s culture. If somebody could ask them, please, that if a foreign concept of T-20 could be well adopted then why not that of the cheerleaders? Are the politicos genuinely concerned about the moral upliftment of the masses or just feeling left out of the IPL glamour?
And then the two poster boys of young and aggressive Team India landed the BCCI and themselves in an embarrassing situation. The Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth spat made headlines after the former slapped the latter after losing the match between their teams. Another controversy was sparked off between Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne in the later stages of the first round. Public displays of such emotions or rather aggression shows the psychology of the player. Such players misuse their celebrity status, their behavior clearly underlining the dangers of nurturing the star status system in the land of cricket fanatics. Such cases should be severely dealt with.
No doubt, IPL would help to enhance the competitive spirit amongst the players but would the players be able to shed their king size egos and gel together as Team India? The experience, exposure and pool of players generated would be of no use if the players carry forward their IPL bickering to Team India.
Again there were news of some of the franchisees firing the local players who had not been used in the tournament that far. The motive behind the launch of the event was to nurture the young, local talent and help them showcase their talent. Yet the owners of the franchise would not care enough for them and only banked upon the aged ‘stars’.
These controversies were of no good, and ended up hampering the motive, spirit and aspirations with which the mega event was launched. With the turn of events so far it would not be far from reality to state that this way, in the long run, IPL would only ruin the spirits of the Indian Cricket team.
Although quite early to say, yet with just a single edition into the cricket carnival and the way these controversies took the center stage, the question looms large that—where is the IPL taking the Indian cricket to? With all the added glitz and glamour, has cricket moved from being a game to an entertainment package?
A television commercial termed DLF Indian Premier League as ‘manoranjan ka baap’, another stated it to be ‘Cricket weds Entertainment’. And surely, BCCI’s new buzz, DLF Indian Premier League (IPL) has so far, by all means, lived up to the expectations of the cricket fanatics, if not that of the organizers.
Eight state based teams, big shots like Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta et al paying handsome packages, buying the best men for their franchise, glittering promotional events and videos, enrolling superstars and the newly adopted concept of cheerleaders- this added tinge of glamour to India’s favorite game of cricket has proven to be a true entertainer with all the ingredients of a hit Indian entertainment recipe—movie stars, cricket demigods their blind hitting and of course the controversies.
By segregating one Team India into eight teams, the organizers aspired to provide a huge opportunity to the players, both seniors and juniors alike, to showcase their talent and also gain experience by including overseas players. The basic motive behind BCCI’s multi-crore endeavor was to generate a pool of players for the very competitive form of the game.
But alas! In the opening stages itself the sheer fun and joy was marred by a couple of controversies which have rocked the cricketing extravaganza— one due to the lack of adaptability of our political gurus and the other due to the lack of discipline amongst the players.
With just the inaugural edition of the action packed, adrenaline pumping contests on the field so far, and there have been numerous ‘issues’ related to it off the field. The cricketing action would start in the evening and the controversies it created help keep the media and the audience in its grip all day long. Unfortunately cricket took the back seat and controversies grabbed all the attention.
First the Maharashtra MLAs objected to the concept of cheerleaders. For them, those firangi, scantily clad girls, doing nothing more than their mere job, should be banned for obscenity. For those leaders, the cheerleaders are violating their cultural ethics. The leaders have been poking their nose into any thing and everything which is not even distantly related to their portfolios.
The basic idea behind the introduction of the cheerleaders was to motivate the players, to pep up things and create some buzz on the field. Rather than welcoming and adapting to the new concept, these leaders, are debating it’s compatibility to India’s culture. If somebody could ask them, please, that if a foreign concept of T-20 could be well adopted then why not that of the cheerleaders? Are the politicos genuinely concerned about the moral upliftment of the masses or just feeling left out of the IPL glamour?
And then the two poster boys of young and aggressive Team India landed the BCCI and themselves in an embarrassing situation. The Harbhajan Singh and Sreesanth spat made headlines after the former slapped the latter after losing the match between their teams. Another controversy was sparked off between Sourav Ganguly and Shane Warne in the later stages of the first round. Public displays of such emotions or rather aggression shows the psychology of the player. Such players misuse their celebrity status, their behavior clearly underlining the dangers of nurturing the star status system in the land of cricket fanatics. Such cases should be severely dealt with.
No doubt, IPL would help to enhance the competitive spirit amongst the players but would the players be able to shed their king size egos and gel together as Team India? The experience, exposure and pool of players generated would be of no use if the players carry forward their IPL bickering to Team India.
Again there were news of some of the franchisees firing the local players who had not been used in the tournament that far. The motive behind the launch of the event was to nurture the young, local talent and help them showcase their talent. Yet the owners of the franchise would not care enough for them and only banked upon the aged ‘stars’.
These controversies were of no good, and ended up hampering the motive, spirit and aspirations with which the mega event was launched. With the turn of events so far it would not be far from reality to state that this way, in the long run, IPL would only ruin the spirits of the Indian Cricket team.
Although quite early to say, yet with just a single edition into the cricket carnival and the way these controversies took the center stage, the question looms large that—where is the IPL taking the Indian cricket to? With all the added glitz and glamour, has cricket moved from being a game to an entertainment package?
Friday, April 10, 2009
Catch 182
It has been a really long long wait. In the first test match against NZ, Rahul Dravid equaled Mark Waugh’s world record of 182 (most no. of) catches in test matches.
The wait, it seemed, was almost over!
Then came tough call, he dropped Daniel Vettori off Harbhajan Singh’s bowling and he missed the record! NZ’s innings came to an end and all the eyes were now set on the next match.
The man on the verge of a world record went without a catch in the second test match, much to the disappointment of his millions of fans. And Mr. Waugh said he is not a natural catcher…huh!?!
Focus shifts to the next match, if not now then not in nearly three months… NZ first innings too couldn’t get him there…India declared its second innings… piled up a huge target for the Kiwis and there was one last chance to achieve the rare milestone.
Innumerous prayers, to Allah, to Bhagwaan, to God and to Guruji… Fingers were crossed… “Edge one plz, just one. For once plz…”
I remember chanting it half asleep and almost completely dead. Despite the fever, despite feeling extremely weak, I made it a point to watch it LIVE. And I had to wait for a very brief period.
McIntosh finally edged this one to the third slip…Rahul Dravid was there… The catch wasn’t easy…but the man greeting it was tougher!
Reading the bowler’s intention and calculating the batsman’s movement, Dravid dived forward and low to take a really sharp catch. He caught it, slipped on the field, got back and in a rare display of emotion on the field; he planted a kiss on the cherry!
With the catch came the record! Rahul Dravid has now become the record holder of maximum number of catches in Tests, playing as non-wicketkeeper.
With 184 not out and still another couple of seasons left in him…the target is gonna be really tough for the successor!
What say, Mr Waugh??
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Untitled...
I flipped back a page and glanced through it. It wasn’t there. I flipped another page and then another. I had ‘read’ three pages since the thought provoking sentence but, involved in the process of skimming through the pages to find it again, I realized that I have merely read ahead and haven’t understood a word.
My absent mindedness while cramming the Indian Politics was about to scandalize me when I hit the target. I spotted the sentence I was looking for.
Yes, I had read it correctly. Yet I read it thrice again.
‘The Supreme Court slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000 on a petitioner for filling a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) who wanted Sindh to be replaced by Kashmir in the Indian national anthem.’
Sindh, Karachi’s capital…Sindh is in Pakistan not India.
“Dad, isn’t Sindh in Pakistan?” I questioned although assured of an affirmative answer to that.
“Since India’s independence in 1947”, he snapped back!
Neither understanding my emotions nor knowing how to react to it, I immediately Googled and studied the details.
The Union Home Ministry had to say that ‘tampering with the lyrics could destroy the National anthem and is not desirable’.
To quote Indian Express’ e-paper, The Centre’s affidavit averred: “The National Anthem is a highly emotive issue; any alteration/substitution in the Anthem will not only distort but also almost destroy the Anthem...Any tampering with a finely constructed poem or song, particularly of one of our greatest poets Gurudev Rabindranath, is not desirable.” The Sindhi Council of India also filed an affidavit supporting the Centre’s stand.
The fire that erupted half an hour ago, subdued. Not completely so. Discouraged and half convinced, I threw myself back into the book and continued what I am worst at, studying Indian politics!
But the focus had shifted.
“Was the partition of our nation desired? No! It happened because the existing circumstances in the country at that time made it inevitable. Isn’t it politically incorrect to include Sindh, or for that matter any part of the ancient India, when it is no more a part of the nation? Or is it because the national anthem is a composition of the legendary Rabindranath Tagore? But then again, why is the remixed version of a popular Bollywood number encouraged when these remixes by DJs are again a tampering of the lyrics and music of great composers?”
The questions continue to haunt…
My absent mindedness while cramming the Indian Politics was about to scandalize me when I hit the target. I spotted the sentence I was looking for.
Yes, I had read it correctly. Yet I read it thrice again.
‘The Supreme Court slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000 on a petitioner for filling a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) who wanted Sindh to be replaced by Kashmir in the Indian national anthem.’
Sindh, Karachi’s capital…Sindh is in Pakistan not India.
“Dad, isn’t Sindh in Pakistan?” I questioned although assured of an affirmative answer to that.
“Since India’s independence in 1947”, he snapped back!
Neither understanding my emotions nor knowing how to react to it, I immediately Googled and studied the details.
The Union Home Ministry had to say that ‘tampering with the lyrics could destroy the National anthem and is not desirable’.
To quote Indian Express’ e-paper, The Centre’s affidavit averred: “The National Anthem is a highly emotive issue; any alteration/substitution in the Anthem will not only distort but also almost destroy the Anthem...Any tampering with a finely constructed poem or song, particularly of one of our greatest poets Gurudev Rabindranath, is not desirable.” The Sindhi Council of India also filed an affidavit supporting the Centre’s stand.
The fire that erupted half an hour ago, subdued. Not completely so. Discouraged and half convinced, I threw myself back into the book and continued what I am worst at, studying Indian politics!
But the focus had shifted.
“Was the partition of our nation desired? No! It happened because the existing circumstances in the country at that time made it inevitable. Isn’t it politically incorrect to include Sindh, or for that matter any part of the ancient India, when it is no more a part of the nation? Or is it because the national anthem is a composition of the legendary Rabindranath Tagore? But then again, why is the remixed version of a popular Bollywood number encouraged when these remixes by DJs are again a tampering of the lyrics and music of great composers?”
The questions continue to haunt…
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