Thank you, Sachin…

And so, finally the day has come when Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has retired. BCCI, for all its faults, did a lovely lovely job giving the great man a fitting farewell. Big photo memories by Star Sports, personalised digital snaps – they made it all very personal for the fan.

But, like with all things in the life of SRT, there are ample people who found reasons to crib about – he is hype, Dravid was match winner, VVS did not get due respect and so on…. Initially, i just wanted tell these guys “That’s how it  is, Live with it!” but then i thought a humble “Get well soon” would be better. SRT would approve. That’s about as nice i can be to people not respecting the joy, the privilege we have had because of these great cricketers!

Thankfully, the world is full of people far better at articulating things and putting it across to the whiners,in a nice and civil manner. And one of them is Shankar Khasnis , CEO, Feedback Consulting and a cricket aficionado. Reproduced below is a post by him – read on. Over the next few weeks, i plan to share/post a lot of SRT related posts, please bear with me

Shankar sir’s post :

The last 2-3 weeks that I have been traveling and meeting folks from all over the topic of discussion has been SRT . I hate comparisons between cricketers (if we are not driving home an intellectual point) but had to lump it because there were many who did just that. I possible could not explain to folks that I had a huge appetite for cricket and can appreciate more than one player in a single breath ! Meaningless comparison leads to disrespect of both comparables (if that is the case )! Last evening , I gave up explaining and came up with this standard template of my responses

1.Rahul is better than Sachin
Do you wish to establish Rahul’s greatness by comparing him with Sachin or for that matter anyone else. He deserves independent attention. Don’t devalue his greatness

2.Rahul & Laxman did not get their due
If there are any outstanding dues they must directly write to Mr. N. Srinivasan, Mr. Anil Kimble, Mr Arshad Ayub , Mr Rajiv Shukla, Mr. Kalanidhi Maran, Mr. Manoj Badale etc. They will get a response and the dues will be settled by wire transfer!

3.Rahul drives around in a Santro and Sachin drives a BMW
The day you saw Rahul, his BMW had gone to the garage for a service and the day you saw Sachin in a BMW his Nano was sent for its routine maintenance

4.Rahul is a better articulator than Sachin Which is why he was in a hurry to go and sit in the commentary box when we felt he was good for a return home series

5.Laxman won more matches in India
India stopped winning after he retired. I think we knew that right at the toss !

6.Vishwanathan Anand is a far greater sports personality than Sachin and deserves a Bharat Ratna
I did not know Vishy had started playing cricket ? Why does he always play against Norway, Russia etc. Sachin did not get to play them . So sad

7.Rahul is great because he was less talented than Sachin and yet made it this good.
Agree, Sachin never went to the nets. He only went there to get photographed for ad’s .

8.Sachin never got along with Laxman & Rahul
Exactly. That is the reason he said Rahul Dravid is irreplaceable when Rahul retired ! Laxman’s tears on the day of Sachin’s retirement were tears of joy – I heard him say good riddance to bad rubbish!!

9.Sachin will get his son to somehow play for India
Do you have partial amnesia ? Remember you forgot to get Rahul and Laxman into this point of yours . Actually you can bring in Samit and Sarvajit into this - Apple to Apple !

10. Sachin does not deserve Bharat Ratna
Please take it back and give it to Manmohan Singh for his constructive construction and deconstruction of the modern Indian economy

No offence meant to Rahul, Lax or Sachin .Lets all be happy that as cricket lovers god has sent us so many brilliant payers to satiate our appetite. There is so much one can like in every great player from around the world.

Think that settles the issue.

And finally, Thank you Sachin!

Piece Of Mind.......: London is a bad habit....

Piece Of Mind.......: London is a bad habit....: "London is a bad habit,one hates  to lose"...I came across this quote by  William Sansom just I was exiting The Shard in London,a...

Thank You Niku! (and people like him…)

I am worried.

A couple of days back, i was driving down the Eastern Express Highway, normal route. Know you all know how i react to a biker coming in sharply in front of my car, so when this uncle came in front of me near the Pestom Sagar flyover, i was about bark in the same manner – but for one thing, i didn't. The uncle was wearing a skull cap.

Secularism, classical definition be damned, has a interesting definition in India. Not wearing a skull cap gifted to you, for example, is a sign that i hate Muslims.

Propagated by secularists in the Indian political landscape, who claim to save India this way (no no, they have no personal ambitions). The majority Hindu population is supposed to bend over backwards to accommodate minorities, and one minority in particular, the others are not too important as vote banks. Even if they are wrong. And hence i did not bark at the guy.

So, i am secular now, you may note. I might attend an iftaar party or two, wear a skull cap if required. These are things, which will make me politically acceptable in my social circle and society at large. I may still tell my family members not to marry from this community or that, but thats fine, i have done all the token symbolism of being secular.

Its seems people are wiling to accept me based on my symbolic projections but not for i am actually being out there. And these people accepting me are not farmers, cobblers, drivers and others who are not too educated, these are business consultants. These are people expected to form judgments based on facts (and not on on other people’s judgements).

Lets just ignore policy, governance and issues like that. No one care about that, it is immaterial some states actually go out to provide for all irrespective of reigion, caste, creed etc. Look at Karnataka results. Secularism (and caste) are the most important things!

If this small sample is anything to go by, I think i have reasons to be worried about our country.

Work in progress blog post topics……

Mauritius travel

Weddings are fun, marriage is more fun!

Honeymoons are overhyped.

Secularism…..

Moving on……..

Twitter as a sample and universe….

Cricket…..part 1, part 2, part 3..

Sachin and Friends (this will be fun, i am going to trace all my friends throughout SRTs international career. The people with whom i shared the joy!)

Lets see by when i update these! in 2013, i have hardly posted anything. I tell you, marriage changes you life, you hardly think of anything else!

Mazaaa Nahi aa raha hai…

The 7 year itch : The inclination to become unfaithful after seven years of marriage Source

Now now, don't worry. Its not about the marriage. That's been hardly 7 weeks now and if you don't count the vacation,  hardly 7 days of a married mans life has been lived.

This is about something else. Sometime in August 2006, i joined a firm engaged in market research and consulting. Till then, my career was just drifting. Even this move could have backfired. I was hired as a, what it was then called, Temp. (Now of course we have a fancy sounding term for people hired in that manner – Research Associate). I was to work  on 1 project, roughly for 3 months and depending on my performance, i might be confirmed. The friend who recommended me, thought  i was perfect for the job. The guy who interviewed me was thinking short term – i could do the job at hand. For me, it was a nothing to lose situation. Worst case, i update my resume in 3 months!

In any event, it worked out well. I took to research like fish to water. Long travels, meeting people, gathering info, setting it out, learning tricks of the trade, giving “inputs”, team work so and so forth. Loved every part of it. Loved the way i grew into roles. From a researcher to anchor and project manager. Loved the interactions with clients, vendors,other stakeholders. Loved the chance to understand how businessmen think. How having money and/or power to impact things affects the way you look at the same scenario – you got to see those VCs or Management types rip apart your report. Loved the money i got. Loved the chance to see places i probably wouldn't have gone otherwise (Rural UP/ Uttarakhand/ Istanbul etc.) And the people i met and friends i made. It was good first 6 years.

And yet, now everything has changed. Everyday is Monday. Hate work related travel, even if it a couple of days. Hate having to go out and meet people. Hate client requests. Hate the futility of the entire effort in many cases. Hate the very idea of going out and meeting people and seeking information. For the past year or so, most work has been mechanically done. The phrase i used other day keeps coming back to my mind…cannot exactly pinpoint the reason though…….

Seeking a solution to the situation would have been easier if i knew what exactly the problem or possible solution is! Plus its no longer 2006 or 2010 where i had nothing to lose. Moving on as an experiment of on an impulse will not be the best course of action. and move on where? to what? Liabilities,responsibilities have to be factored in for decision making. Add to it the nawabi lifestyle.

Its going to be an interesting next few months – as i come to terms with the new and the old! Though one part is fun, doosre main mazaa nahi aa raha!

Île Maurice...... & a new amateur photographer!

The view from the room, by day and by evening below….

These giant water lily flowers are the only thing wife wanted to see in Mauritius!

I have always been good at sunset snaps…..

Thanks to the wife for the camera gift!

Listen, don't watch. Listen……

Rediscovering Mumbai……

Once you accept your newly found committed status (and that takes time), things start becoming clear. In moments of solitude, like waiting at traffic signals, you get visions or thoughts about how life is going to be soon, what activities you might be doing, whom you will be meeting, how you will be behaving or reacting to situations. Its scary at times and fun at times. Discussing the same with friends, though scarier or funnier, is pretty instructive. Recommended. 

One of the things that i see happening, atleast over the next year or so, is a lot of trips to a lot of locations as outings – shopping, sight seeing, family trip etc etc. In the last few years, i have practically been out of touch with Mumbai in a way. Unlike in Delhi (where i discovered Hauz Khas village last week) or Bangalore or some other city, i do not go out seeking to discover things about the city, cos its my city, i know all about it. Or i thought i did. But if you look at it, the city must have changed. And there are places i haven't been to in ages (Juhu Beach for eg.) but i am pretty sure to going soon. There are things that i havnt done, like standing outside SRK or Amitabh Bacchans house (and i am unlikely to still do that, but you, it wont be just my decision any longer!).

Now, due to the wedding and a wife who has never been to Mumbai, i am going to be seeing all of Mumbai again.All in all, same, familiar places, some memories from the childhood are going to be refreshed. And along the way i might rediscover Mumbai! I intend to keep updating as i rediscover places and things about Mumbai that i had lost touch with over many years in this label. Lets see…..

Coming first up soon – Gandhi Market, Matunga!

A discussion on marriages….

Sherlock Holmes: Annihilation!

Dr. John Watson: Rebirth.

Sherlock Holmes: Restriction!

Dr. John Watson: Structure.

Sherlock Holmes: Answering to a woman!

Dr. John Watson: Being in a relationship. Having a home, the possibility of a family. Who wants to die alone?

Sherlock Holmes: Right, so you'll get married tomorrow, settle down with Mary and I'll... die alone.

Interesting how thinking changes with time. 5 years back i might have agreed with Holmes. Now i am tending to agree with Dr.Watson. Age, i guess.

(I think i need a new label named marriage. I see it will be topic for many posts in the foreseeable future)

The problem with first impressions…..

…. is that they tend to stick! or so we have learned in school.

You all know my dad right? No no, not SCT, he is the biological one. I am talking about the one who signed all the leaves notes for me in engineering, Clinton. (Yes, that same dude who is right now sitting somewhere in the USA and is most unclear as to he will be attending my wedding or not). Well, for years, he thought of me (and probably still does) as a perennial late latif.

Last week, RR had come in from Bangalore and i went to meet her at Chembur. (and believe it or not, i lost my way there!). After our coffee, Panini, pasta and gupshup, i said i’ll drop her home. Despite years of knowing her, it was the first time she had seen me drive. As i entered a main road, slight error in judgement, a bus came too close and she went “you are a very bad driver”. Imagine! didnt matter that the bus guy just kept on coming despite blinker, indicators and horn! And now she will live with that impression all her life! Just like Clinton, who was once kept waiting for 30 mins at BARC because i misjudged the time it will take me to travel from Airoli where i had just shifted to.

Now, anyone who know me well, will agree i am a safe and decent driver who manages to reach everywhere more or less on time! But just illustrates how wrong first impressions can be!

Which brings me to the most important first impressions of my life – marriage. For all practical purposes, me and my fiancée decided to get married to each other based on very little information (assuming some broad criteria are fulfilled) on both sides. A 40-45 minutes conversation, most of which we don't remember,(except for the criminal record query i had) and we said OK to our parents. (Typical arranged marriage?? like in the good old times? hmmmm.) First impressions (from my end, dunno about her)– talkative, aware of the world around her, understands responsibility, family. thats all.

As the illustrations with CC and RR showed, i could have been horribly wrong. Only time will tell how things work out, because people with a courtship period of 1000 years have known to realise they got it wrong later. Its a risk either ways.

In the name of art....

hypothetical question, would you allow nude potraits of your parents, wife, gf, kids to be put up on show? In the name of art? I wouldn't, they mean something to me. So do the gods. Go ahead call me a right wing bigot or whatever.

to be updated....

Twitter gyaan...

RT @SexCigarsBooze: Life is hard for those willing to do only what is easy.