Kerala... as I have never felt before

"Muttathe Mullakku Manamilla"

Well said proverb.

I am so recharged!!! I've never felt this way. Such natural beauty was under my own nose and I have never felt it for the past twenty-three years!

I would wonder why so many tourists visit Kerala. What's there to see... It's all greenery. And monsoon... the worst season. How did monsoon tourism kick off in the first place??

With monsoon comes to mind, our family of four. We would go on a scooter, all wrapped up in raincoats. It was a torrid time for us, and we used to hate monsoon. Our house is on the infamous reclaimed paddy-lands of Thrissur and hence we experienced flooding every year. In short, we hated the monsoon.

But time creates such marvellous changes in the outlook of people. After an exciting tour of North India in the heat of the summer, I was back home for the monsoon. My driver, who picked me up at the Kochi airport was disgruntled, when he told the fact that we had not experienced sufficient rains yet. It was the middle of June and although the roads were wet in a few places, I did not see the look of the monsoon that I have been seeing for the pase 22 years. But, while I crossed the Chalakkudy river, I had a look outside and the unimaginably beautiful sight of Kerala took my heart away. Sorry to compare, but my homeland is the most beautiful place I've seen all year!!!! And then, I realized that I've been missing her so badly.

This was the beginning of one of the nost gratifying vacations of my life.... to the place where I have lived for 22 years, but never ever experienced the beauty in it..... As the monsoon kicked off, I was treated with the sight of the grey clouds creating a magnificent horizon over the green (now barren) paddy fields. A visit to see the Bharatapuzha was not on my initial agenda, but it was a great sight to see the river, filled with water.

The pinnacle of magnificence was the visit to Athirapilly-Vazhachaal, 60km from my home in Thrissur. Nature at its best....

In future, never blame the tourists!!!!!

Winds of Expression

It is late December. We are sitting under the giant umbrella in "Salkara". Of all the spots, this is one of those which is always close to our hearts. The umbrella signifies unity in friendship. And suddenly comes the wind... It has come late this year, by December andshould continue upto late February or early March, with all its intensity. The winds try to rip apart the already razed umbrella, but it has never done so, since the last four windy-seasons of our college life. Those beautiful four years started under this umbrella, in this Palakkadan winds. And they have ended there too.

 

Memories of that sudden swoosh that sweeps through Thrissur are nostalgic indeed. On my motorbike, I feel as if I am going to be taken away. The tin sheets on the top of my house seem to be ripped apart. The coconut palms in front of my house seem to fall down...... But still, therse winds bring with them the essence of life. Life flows in these winds. Due to them, you don't experience the cold of the winter. They indeed mitigate the coldness of sorrow!

 

We have moved into our own life, but the wind would still be flowing across our beautiful city.... 

 

Back after the break

Remenber Robin Singh? Not as the current fielding coach of the Indian cricket team, but as an allrounder, who made his comeback after six years into the team and cemented his place. Six months in blogging can be comparable to six years in cricket. Yes, I'm back with a bang.....

Times have changed a lot in these six months. The location, the seting, the environment, the people.... But, have I? I don't think so. There was a thought of restructuring, once I entered B-School life. But, after the initial few weeks in MANAGE, where I thought restructuring would be an imperative, I reerted back to my old self... The free flow of ideas, emotions and dreams started all over again. So did the lazy hours of thought!!!

Talking about new people, they are so different from anyone I've seen. Probably because of the geographical differences!! Astonishingly, the more demographically outcasted I was from this group, the more efforts I could take to unify into its diversity. With no chance to speak Malayalam, I've quite paradoxically become more in love with my mother tongue.

Still I found a set of people, good to talk to, have fun with and of course to have some serious discussions. I've discovered a beautiful language in Hindi, one which I hated the most in tenth class (probably because of the obnoxious teacher!!!). 

Life still moves on.... And godwilling, I'll never ever change a bit!!!!!!

Why did I blog?

Good question.....

Those were the real lonely times. If your shot at your first goal in life hits the goalpost and is out of play, there is enough reason to cry!!! Added to that your best friends are physically away from you, leaving you alone in the place where you are fallen in life... Enough reasons for starting to blog... Just for my own comfort.

The mind boggling cricket question

A cricket puzzle was taking most of my time for the past two weeks. I am in the elation of having got an answer.

" Two balls remain. Seven runs to win. Both batsmen are on 94 not out. The team wins and both batsmen are unbeaten on hundred. Howzaat?!!!"

At the first instance, it seemed quite simple. There could be a six off a no ball. But then, the team wins on the second last ball and the non-striker is stranded on 94. What about a four off a no ball. That cannot be true either.

I thought about facts clearly. Both batsmen should get six runs. So, there is no question of getting an extra run like a wide or a no ball. But, what about overthrows?? I had a point there. But still if you get four overthrows off three runs scored, the team wins the game. If it were two runs.... No then the same batsman would be on strike.

Now I had the necessities clearly spelt out:

• Both batsmen must score six runs each
• The strike must be changed

Then, one day, my brother hit the nail on the head, with one of the most bizzare ways to score six runs in a ball... The batsman hits the ball and runs the single. The ball hits a helmet of the fielding team and... hey!!! six runs in all and strike changed.

The next doubt, will the five runs awarded to the team on hitting the helmet of the fielding team, be awarded to the batsmen... the MCC website came to our help:

When 5 penalty runs are awarded to the batting side,

• they shall be scored as penalty extras and shall be in addition to any other penalties.
• they shall not be regarded as runs scored from either the immediately preceding delivery or the following delivery, and shall be in addition to any runs from those deliveries.
• the batsmen shall not change ends solely by reason of the 5 run penalty.

(Law: 42.17(c))

This negates the theory that the ball has hit the helmet!

Again we put our thinking caps on. I asked this question to a dozen people. They think and I think with them!!!! Days go on....

Finally, I got a clue to a possible answer from the most unexpected person: my mother. In simple words, Mom just hates cricket. She watches an India -Pak game and blindly states,"India is gonna lose", even when we require 1 run. Well, don't count the ladies out. They understand cricket better!!!

Here's the answer that I got: "Batsman A hits the ball and runs three. It's a bad throw by the fielding team and the ball goes for four overthrows. The batting team does the typical "Yeah.. we've won" kind of celebration. But hey, the umpire calls one-short!!!! Now, Batsman A has scored only six runs. He's got his century and he's off strike. Last ball... one run to win... Batsman B hits a six to get to his hundred... The team wins and both batsmen get to the magical three-figure mark"

One last doubt remained: Does the batsmen have to revert to the original striker-non-striker positions, once the one-short is called? MCC to the rescue again:

"If either batsman runs a short run, unless a boundary is scored the umpire concerned shall call and signal Short run as soon as the ball becomes dead and that run shall not be scored. the batsen do not change strike on the subsequent delivery"

(Law: 18.4(edited))

Again doubts keep arising... A boundary is scored, but not by the batsman, but by over-throws... Will the one-short count??

**************

Whew.... Let's just pray to God for the sake of all the umpires and match referees in the world that such a situation does not arise in cricket at all!!!!

The Man and the Machine

In life, it's not that hard to fall in love with inanimate objects. We are so fond of our house, into which we put our blood and sweat, to come up. The furniture, the curtains, the tiles on the floor, each and every drop the design has the touch of our masterstroke. Yet, we have to sell it out some day. It's the same with a motorcycle.

On the day my "Black Stallion" came into my life, he was so new... His black had immense lusture. He would stop at a touch on the brake pedal. Riding on him, I felt like I am on top of the world.

There is something awesome with bike riding. Robert Pirsing in "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance" tells a lot about immense satisfaction that bike riding can give. In a car, you seem to be locked inside, having no contact with the outside world. But, on a bike, you feel the breeze... the wonderful breeze that signifies the flow of life... It gives you a feeling that you are part of nature.

As my Black Stallion ran kilometres... from the nervous thousands to ten thousands... finally to thirty thousand, I established an excellent rapport with him. It's always like that. The more the distance you have rode your bike, the better it will become. Pirsing agrees too. However better it may be, a new bike cannot match the sheer pleasure that your old one can give.

My Black Stallion also has a history of carrying the most bizzare things in the world. From carrying ten insect boxes for the entomology submission to carrying the costumes for Arts Festivals... from food items for the dinner in the mess to the computer for some LCD show... He has done it all...

All good things should come to an end. And these are the last days that I share with this good old guy. It's pretty hard to lose someone whom you love. But, it is harder to lose "something" that I love....

All Day I Dream About Sport

For yours truly, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez are the bravest people alive on this planet. They are, as popular literature quotes, " the true revolutionaries, standing by all accounts, against imperial by or against any country".

The two are friends too. The latter paid a courtesy visit when Castro was bedridden. Recently, they appeared on newspapers and TV channels, in serious dialogue.

Now let me put the "critic-cap" on. Look closely at Castro's right chest and his hands.... You got it!!! It's Adidas' famous logo and the ever so popular three stripes.

• On April 11, 2006, Adidas announced an 11-year deal to become the official NBA (National Basketball Association of USA) apparel provider.
• Their football boots, team kits, and warm up suits are widely used by top professional club teams, such as Liverpool F.C., Newcastle United F.C., Chelsea F.C., Galatasaray, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich
• Adidas is the longstanding kit provider to the Germany national football team, a sponsorship that began in 1954 and is contracted to continue until at least 2018.

In short, adidas is a truly global brand.

Take a look at the jersey of the cuban football team (Pic 2)... Adidas has its prescence everywhere.

Football is a sport which has a history the less affluent countries competing with and beating the wealthiest in the world. Argentina, by the sheer magic of Diego Maradona, had lifted the FIFA world cup. If football was a level playing field in terms of countries, is fashion one such thing?

Take a look at the model wearing bikinis (Pic 3). They have the picture of the charismatic revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara. You decide the following comments!!!

Your truly sticks to his daily chores: All Day I Dream About Sport