Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Random Clicks



I am on a thousand words spreeee...


Strawberries at Mahabaleshwar @ Rs 20/- per bunch!!!



Rock art by my sis!!






Environment friendly Packing @ ABB Ltd- Peenya






Mushroom.. looks yummm.. but NOT edible!!!!








The humble Lenovo T61 Keybord







Pretty seed flowers.. No.. its not a natural formation.. just Time pass during T time:)







A vintage ford at Chennai ( Round tana, Annanagar)








And finally, the gates of the Ladies Hostel, College of Engineering trivandrum... Many strong women have passed through these ...





Pictures Courtesy:- Divya Catherine Francis

The Sky Through My Window

I have run out of words for a long time... I believe Pictures equal a thousand words... so here are a few snaps of amature photography.

The sky through my window:- a series of pics clicked in a span of a year , through the window of my room ( # 79, Ladies Hostel, College of Engneering, Trivandrum). The change of seasons are reflected in the tree.. like a time span captured...
( VGA camera...requesting a pardon for image quality)

A rainy day...

Blue Blue skies...





Dark ominous Monsoon clouds




Dusk...




Pink autumn




Picture Courtesy:- Divya Catherine Francis

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

The Indian Cricket Ground

The Grace Gates, The 3 W’s Oval, The Greenidge & Haynes Stands, The Malcolm Marshall & Joel Garner Ends – all names with a nice ring to them. The practice of christening arenas in honour of sportsmen is perhaps as old as sport itself. Sadly, it is a tradition that’s not highly valued in India. The Wankhede is an exception, with stands celebrating the achievements of Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, and gates paying homage to Vinoo Mankad and Polly Umrigar. One may argue, and not without reason, that with Mumbai having produced a lion’s share of India’s heroes from yesteryear, there aren’t too many cricketers going around for other associations to honour. Hence we have stadiums named after administrators (acceptable), sponsors (a necessary evil) & politicians (downright embarrassing). The new stadium at Uppal seemed to take a step in the right direction with the V.V.S. Laxman stand, but for Shivlal Yadav to bestow his own name upon the pavilion, was a case of terrible blasphemy to a lineage that has produced, among others, Ghulam Ahmed, M.L. Jaisimha, Abbas Ali Baig, Asif Iqbal, Abid Ali & Mohammad Azharuddin. And of course, like everything else in the state of Andhra, it is called Rajiv Gandhi.

Now let’s say the BCCI got together over cocktails, and commissioned the ultimate Indian cricket ground, and got so drunk that they decided to baptize it in tribute to cricketers, and not DLF, Lalit Modi or Pranab Mukherjee; how might that go? At once, an exercise in appellation and an expression of admiration.

The name of the stadium is a no-brainer. Let’s call it Kapil Dev and move on. World Cup winner, all rounder nonpareil, and quite simply, the finest natural cricketer to have emerged from our shores. May this recompense him for PCA’s Mohali mural fiasco, an impudent obloquy on a legend who dared to bless a rebel.

I have come up with a system wherein great Indian batsmen lend their names to stands located in the directions of their respective signature strokes. Thus, we start with the Sachin Tendulkar pavilion, for there’s nothing straighter in cricket than pavilions, and the full face of Tendulkar’s instrument. The stand diametrically opposite to the pavilion would bear the name of that other champion of the V, Sunil Gavaskar. Square on either side of the pitch is the territory of those exalted exponents of square-cuts and square-drives, the two masters from Banaglore, Gundappa Vishwanath and Rahul Dravid. Giving Tendulkar company on his right, his comrade of a thousand opening sorties in ODIs, Saurav Ganguly. Batting from the same end as Tendulkar, his serene cover drives would be lapped up by the adoring patrons of this stand. Antipodal to this section, would be the V.V.S. Laxman Acres, HRH of Wide Mid-on & Deep Midwicket. Now that leaves us with stands flanking long-leg on both ends. While Indians haven’t been the best practitioners of the hook, the stroke that earns them a lot of their keep is the leg-glance. The inventor of this once exotic skill, the flagbearer of Oriental artistry, Kumar Shri Ranjitsinhji, could claim this stand dominion. The last remaining stand would be dedicated to Indian cricket’s first great partnership, Vijay Merchant & Syed Mushtaq Ali.

In cricket-speak, a stand is the reserve of batsmen, and an end, the bowler’s domain. The high pedigree of spin that Indian cricket has embraced is sassy enough to ensure fierce competition. The pavilion end would be eponymous with India’s biggest match-winner, Anil Kumble. The far end would salute the Bedi-Prasanna-Chandra axis, as glorious an inspiration as any for any bowler plying his craft from that end. I have deliberately left S. Venkataraghavan out as I have other plans for him.

The dressing rooms must convey a sense of sartorial elegance. I can think of no two cricketers better suited (pun intended) for the home and visiting sides’ changing rooms than Tiger Pataudi and Mohammad Azharuddin.

Most of us have never watched cricket in the flesh. We owe it to those who have brought it to our living rooms, to our earphones, and to our bookshelves. The Media Centre would be an institution to toast Dicky Rutnagur & Rajan Bala. The Commentary Box must recognize the services of Bobby Talyarkhan & Pearson Surita. The Broadcasting Suite has only one contender – Harsha Bhogle.

Let’s go back to Venkat, and honour him with the Third Umpire and Match Referee’s cabin. Raj Singh Dungarpur, for long the grey eminence of Indian cricket, would be the nomenclature incumbent of an imposing clubhouse. The scoreboard could be Mohandas Menon’s little alcove.

If anybody is keeping score, I have overlooked C.K. Nayudu, Muhammad Nissar, Lala Amarnath, Vijay Hazare, Vinoo Mankad, Subhash Gupte, Syed Kirmani, Dilip Vengsarkar & Virender Sehwag. At least the first and last in this list could be pacified. Being the biggest hitters, they could own the gates to the stadium, for that is where they regularly deposit the ball. To the rest, all I have to offer is a sincere apology.

Kartik

Monday, January 24, 2011

The Past



Memories cant be wished away,
Happy, sad - Shades of grey,
Sticking on to every breath,
Till they smudge to icy death,
They turn they twist - they tear away,
Tears in the night, smiles in the day,

Slivers of laughter from the past,
Refresh my mind, But alas,
They're of moments long gone by,
Smile at it with a longing sigh.

Heartaches and mistakes, bitter to taste,
Parts of decisions made in a haste,
Would it be better this way than that?
Would memories change now? Be laughed at?

Snaps and snippets blow the horn,
Chugging trains of thought are born,
Flashes of the past frame the windows now,
Smiling at victories, crying for love,
Wishing to live some, Change some,
Yearning for some in things yet to come...

And so.. Memories need not be wished away,
They're Sunshine wrapped in clouds of grey.


Divs

Friday, November 5, 2010

When Selvi came alive

In his compelling collection, Lawley Road & Other Stories, R. K. Narayan narrates the highly poignant tale of Selvi, the leading classical singer of her day. The subject is accustomed to the adoring applause of celebrity audiences, and yet immune to it through her piety to music. Following a renunciation of the spotlight, she restricts the expression of her art to a daily saadhana, witnessed & cherished by a handful of Malgudi commoners. The descent from exclusive chamber sessions at her estranged husband’s plush residence in upscale Lawley Extension, to impromptu rehearsals in the verandah of her late mother’s humble dwelling in decrepit Ellamman Street, fails to tarnish the quality of music.

Art breathes in its own inspiration. Dispossess it of the big stage. Divest it of adulation. Yet it remains resplendent, adorned by its inherent effulgence. It was a happy coincidence that I read Selvi in the car on my way to watch 2 artists grace an occasion more modest than their habitual realm. It has been second nature for Rahul Dravid & V. V. S. Laxman to parade their gifts in the rarefied echelons of international cricket. It is also to their credit that their relationship with domestic cricket (since they graduated to higher honours) wears proud commitment and goes beyond random dalliances. It was one such tryst with the Irani Cup in 2003 that gave me an opportunity to watch them forge a memorable partnership in flesh – one that didn’t win them as many accolades as their triple-century heists at Kolkata & Adelaide against Australia, but no less memorable for me personally. It was a game that saw most of their peers follow their example and embrace domestic cricket. Indeed, Rest of India, led by Saurav Ganguly, was pretty much the Indian Test XI save for Sachin Tendulkar who captained the opposing team, the Ranji champions Mumbai.

The first 3 days saw one of the most delicious contests possible - Anil Kumble bowling to Tendulkar – playing out to near empty stands at Chepauk. Neither man bested the other, but their gratitude for not having to lock horns in an international game was reinforced. Twin half centuries by SRT & a substantial first innings lead for Mumbai meant RoI had to get 340 on a wearing wicket to lay their hands on silverware. They got 50 of those by stumps on day 3, but lost both openers Virender Sehwag & Sanjay Bangar. Dravid walked out the next morning amidst enthusiastic cheering from a healthier Sunday crowd for local boy L. Balaji, and quickly banished Ramesh Powar over long on for a couple of sixes. The nightwatchman’s resolute defiance nearly lasted through the session, but altogether progress had been relatively slow. Laxman took guard with the misery of a 53-ball 5 in the first knock hanging over his head. On the other side of the luncheon interval, both men blossomed. Leg-spinner Sairaj Bahutule looked to exploit the rough. In a twinkling exhibition of decisive footwork, Laxman repeatedly met him on the full and the expanses at extra-cover & midwicket lay enslaved to a sovereign whim. Dravid stayed crisp and efficient against the faster men Ajit Agarkar & Avishkar Salvi, combating the short stuff with the fierce cut and the regal pull in all his majestic glory. Powar came back for a new spell with an over that was bookended by 2 4s and 2 6s. The former brought Laxman his half century, both full tosses caressed away. The latter took Dravid from 88 to 100, in a manner that would go on to become synonymous with Sehwag. On each occasion he danced down the track flouting open impertinence to the challenge, and thundered the ball into the Royal Sundaram stand high over the bowler’s head. A stalwart of Indian cricket had shown an upstart his place. After tea, Laxman relegated even Dravid to spectator, uncorking one champagne stroke after another. The promise of a glorious hundred wasn’t honoured though, Bahutule pooping his party one short of the landmark. That was my cue to leave as I had to catch a train back to my college in Vellore. As I haggled with an autowallah near Buckingham Canal, Chepauk went up in a groan that could only have meant Dravid’s dismissal.

With my hair standing on end, I wondered what the forthcoming season - featuring important tours to Australia & Pakistan - would have in store for the partners-in-crime. Dravid had started the season with a legitimate claim of being India’s finest. Six months later, he would end it undisputedly as the world’s best. 3 double centuries in 9 Tests, each one successively higher than the previous, would propel his Test average from 53 to 58. Laxman would also score 3 Test hundreds, and curiously, 5 ODI hundreds that winter. His 99 that day had been scored at nearly run-a-ball.

I got an SMS from my father as the Yelagiri Express pulled out of Central Station. I learnt that Ganguly & Kumble had steered the Rest home after a mini-collapse. I was also informed that I had left Selvi behind, my copy of Lawley Road & Other Stories having been forgotten in the car.

TUSKY


Monday, August 16, 2010

Kaju Feni

I can get Virender Sehwag out. Don’t laugh!! I bowl slow loopy spin, unsullied by skill, confidence or malice. Think Jeetan Patel, think Jason Krezja, think Paul Harris, Simon Katich and Suraj Randiv. Catch my drift? Don’t think Saqlain or Murali. I’m not that good. If I was, the scorecard would say “Sehwag not out 200”, not “Sehwag out bored by Kartik”. Oh if he was a strike away from a 100 or its multiples, I’d back myself more!

The day Sehwag made his Test debut, I got thrown out of a JEE Physics class. As Prof. Ananthan chastised me, I did some quick math. On a wing and a prayer that SRT was still batting, I could be back home in time for the opening day post-lunch session of the India-South Africa Test at Bloemfontein. On a lightning fast surface, with Pollock & Co. spitting venom, Tendulkar blitzed his way to a coruscating century of incandescent brilliance. As Ntini and Nantie Hayward bowled short to attacking fields, Sachin unleashed the upper cut to devastating effect. At the other end, a lookalike quietly took his first steps under The Master’s watchful eye, but would go on to construct a career free of His immense shadow. It wasn’t a defensive knock from Sehwag by any stretch of imagination. The upper cut was emulated, and some scorchers were punched off the backfoot. But it was probably the first time in his fledgling first-class career that he was part of substantial partnership, and not its star. It would most definitely be the last.

A few weeks later, Sehwag taught Sachin a thing or two about tackling Nasser Hussain & Ashley Giles’ negative bowling tactics. Then came the 2002 Champions Trophy where he could do no wrong. Even as his scintillating strokeplay set the tournament ablaze, it was a nerveless display of off-spin bowling that took the cake. It brought back memories of Tendulkar’s final over in the Hero Cup almost a decade ago. Then, as now, the opponents were South Africa, the occasion, the semi-final of a multi-nation tournament, and the result, a miracle victory. In the meantime, Sehwag was converted to an opener in both forms of the game. It was a no-brainer in LOIs, aimed at maximum utilisation of his natural game during field restrictions. To do so in Test cricket, reeked of desperation to fit a precious talent into a side with no vacancies in the middle-order. Everybody knew that one of these two investments would pay rich dividends. Few could have accurately picked out the blue chip. Along with making Dravid keep wicket in LOIs, it was one of Ganguly’s boldest moves. Dravid’s sacrifice ran its course out with the 2003 World Cup high. Sehwag’s promotion was crucial to India’s ascent to the top of the ICC Test rankings.

Everything about Viru screams out for limited-overs stardom. And yet the man himself swears by the longer version. The relative regard in which he holds the different forms of the game is manifest in his career stats. He prides himself on being an exceptional Test batsman, when all big hitters seem to be going the other way. Mind you, I would too, if I could score at a run a ball and average more than Dravid and fractionally less than Tendulkar. He has scored 21 Test hundreds, and yet maintains he doesn’t care for centuries. Of course he does, not as a personal statistic, but as part of a bigger picture in how it impacts his team’s chances. As much as plays the charade of perverse pleasure in missing major milestones by a hair’s breadth, his gumption for big knocks is readily apparent. You might bat around a score of 100 by Dravid for a total of 400. Sehwag could be back in the hut after a ton, and India could still be 120/1. Paucity of bowling resources makes it imperative for Viru to bat longer, and yet score at blistering rates. In giving a weak attack sufficient time to take 20 wickets, he has been as much a fifth bowler as he would if he rolled his arm over more often to deliver his vastly under-rated off breaks.

When the Fab Five clench a fist, Sehwag sticks out like a sore thumb. The rusticity of a Vishal Bharadwaj in an age of popcorn rom-coms and clichéd chic-flicks. The insouciance of playground slang in a tradition founded upon textbook grammar. The travesty of Kaju Feni in a cellar of vintage Bordeaux. The scandal of Tandoori Chicken in a Tam-Bram meal. It is the nature of his game that deters us from bestowing greatness upon him like we do on Sachin & Dravid. And yet, when his case is backed by no less than Ian Chappell, you know it’s not just hyperbole. Of late, a century seems to be there for the taking everytime he steps out in whites. It is an extremely close call to pick Dravid ahead of him as star of the noughties. He has played some of the finest Test innings of the decade; 2 triple hundreds and another that almost was, all 3 knocks at a strike rate that’s once-in-a-lifetime! There was the classy double against a rampaging Mendis that showed him at his controlled best (not if you believe the strike rate though!). When Andrew Strauss declared leaving India almost 400 to get in a little over a day at Chepauk, Tendulkar found catharsis for the heart-wrenchingly narrow miss a decade ago at the same venue. The difference; he walked in at 6/2 in 1999, and at 131/2 in 2008, of which Sehwag had bulldozed 83 in 68 balls.

The man talks like he hits; straight and hard. Everybody thinks Boycott was a boring batsman and knows Bangladesh is crap. Few would say it on air and walk away caring a damn for the consequences. As incorrect politically, as he is technically. When Sehwag and Dravid put on 410 for the 1st wicket, one could almost see Dravid’s speech in his pocket. Sehwag said he hadn’t even heard of Vinoo Mankad & Pankaj Roy, let alone their record for the highest opening partnership! Street-smart and extremely canny, he doesn’t do diplomacy; not quite General, but a fine Subedar-Major. Charging his team along, leading from the front, invariably towards victory. After all, Viru will forever be associated with Jai.

TUSKY

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Dreams



Dream your dreams so high,

Let no one pull you down,

Dont let the world reach

That place, call it your own.

Forget the world and what they say,

Just let go of the noise

Then you will see the beauty

You will see the dream rise

Make it sacred

More sacred than a shrine

Go there when you need strength

Go for peace of mind

Dont let them touch it

Or even have a peek

Dont ever listen to them talk

Of what you "were meant to be"

Decide for yourself,

Stick to your dream till the end

Its not they who will be you

When you have broken dreams to mend.

Divs