is IPL good or bad??

I would like to refer to an article written by Sanjay Manjrekar about the IPL. he said IPL gives the opportunity for ex cricketers to earn a livelihood and thus sustain their lives and those of their families. He was talking about people who find themselves like fish out of water when they are away from the cricketing field. In some ways he is right. Imagine an I-banker who is forced to work as a civil engineer after 15 years of working as a big shot in the investment world. Let's now look at the other end of the spectrum. The young players who are trying to find their feet in the world of cricket. For them IPL is a great opportunity to show their talents and make a claim for a spot at the international level.
But what about the people who are currently in the international playing XIs. What about the Malingas and the Gayles and the Dhonis and the Rainas. Everyone of those cricketers are just tired because of so much game time. At the end of the day they too want to rest and spend some time with their families. This is precisely one of the reasons why some of the international cricketers are taking voluntary retirement from their international careers.
The lure of the money is there and it creates a feeling of unprofessionalism in the players' minds. The fact that national contracts of year long do not pay any way near the month long contracts of the IPL or for that matter other lucrative leagues in Australia and WI and England. The fact that so much money sometimes brings in people with malicious ideas (read match fixing, spot fixing) into the picture. What the cricketing world does to tackle this problem will be very interesting to see in the coming years. Will we see some more Lalit Modis and Suresh Kalmadis or whether the bad time for cricket and IPL is behind us.

How different are weddings?

I never thought I would be blogging about a wedding especially after the Royal wedding itself. This blog thankfully has nothing to do with the Will-Kate show in England. This is about the way weddings are conducted in different countries across the world. Now why did I think I should write about? Actually in my office of about 500 people, an astonishing 25 countries are represented and people of some nationalities have a little more to say than the others. Hence I was sitting with a Pakistani and a Dutch and somehow we started to discuss our customs and traditions and all those womany stuff which I never thought I would discuss during office hours.

The Pakistani guy had recently attended a family wedding and was sharing his pictures with us. while seeing the pics the Dutch guy was amazed at the colorful dresses and backgrounds and the jewelry and 1000 dishes for the guests. He commented that it looks like a village fair and quietly asked "what would such a procession cost?" At that we tried explaining to the Dutch guy about the reasons and importance of such color and what great value it holds for people from India and Pakistan. The dutch guy then told me what I already knew about how weddings are done in the West. Both the girl and the boy leave home after 18 and have to fend on their own. When they think its time to marry they inform all their relatives of the date, time and venue and lo! the wedding is done.

If we were to compare the weddings of commoners in India/Pakistan and UK/USA apart from the color and the noise and the celebrations the cost would be a big difference as well. Of course India being such a big country there are vast differences geographically and culturally in the magnitude and the way weddings are done. North Indians (where I come from) are famous for big shot weddings with a lot of dancing, jewelry, fancy dresses, fireworks, lot of dowry (I don't support it) and plenty of egos involved. In the south and eastern India the color and the flavor is the same if not more but the amount of money involved is not as much. 

With the wedding season hitting its peak in India I do have a lots of wedding invitations lined up. Also some of my dearest friends and cousins will be marrying in the coming 2-3 years. It was really interesting to have such a discussion in the places I least expected. I hope I get to attend some European or American wedding as well. Do share your experiences. 

The Hangover

Its been more than two days now since Sachin made 200 but I am still not over it. Have seen his batting highlights about 15 times and read around 50 blogs/articles on the innings. Have been discussing the innings and the entire career of the little champion with any and everyone who is interested to talk about it. I dunno if I have gone mad or what but this elation and jubilation does not seem to end. People have written about him getting a Bharat Ratna, honouring him with knighthood, compared him to Sir Don and the rest, but all this is nothing. If anything all these awards will attain a whole new definition if these were given to Sachin. I mean how would another Ian Botham or a Gary Sobers even think of being called "Sir" after SRT is knighted? Would it not be unfair to the rest of the world to be compared to the legendary maestro of Indian cricket.

All this feels like a very long and pleasing hangover, when every little thought is filled of those off drives, those flicks on the leg side off yorker length balls and that subdued "I know I have done it" reaction along with scenes of people dancing with joy and cursing Dhoni at the same time.

I just wonder what goes on in his mind. He knows everything about people's expectations which started even when he was in his teens. He knows everything about how people react to his scores. He knows what bowler will bowl which ball to him. He also knows that by scoring that double ton he has probably (and I use this word because it is Sachin we are talking about) surpassed all levels of individual brilliance that are there to achieve in this great game. For people like me who have grown watching him bat and breaking records, it was a matter of time when something like this happened. Yes, we were a bit impatient in the late 90s when we thought our hero was at his peak (like all mortals are in their 20s) and would lead our country to glory. Maybe then he was just learning about his own game and saving his best for a very special chapter in this magical journey. Or maybe he really is an incarnation of Vishnu and has his own way of showing his "Leela". Whatever it is, I am waiting and so is the entire country. God or not, the weight of expectations just increased a thousand times on Sachin's shoulders, but don't worry HE knows it as well.

200 Not Out

 

After 39 odd years of limited overs cricket this record has finally been shattered. People have tried to accomplish it in the past. Saeed Anwar and Charles Coventry (who really??) came so close but gave it away. Brain Lara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Shahid Afridi, Viv Richards, and many many more "attacking" batsmen have been considered as people who could one day breach the 200 run barrier. But they were not able to. Either they lacked the skill or the desire will never be known. 24th February 2010, the day when this landmark was taken down by none other than Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. 

He who is called as the GOD by his followers, he who has graced the game of cricket for more than 20 years and he who has been told to retire from the game by quite a few (if not all) "pundits" of the game. So what is it that our dear GOD has and the others lack. The answer is simple, he is not human. If it were humanly possible it would have been done already. It is not really about the skill and the temperament and the strength but really something else. I find it hard to put it into words at this moment. yes people may one day get as many runs as he has got in this game, yes people may one day score as many 100s but no one can ever even think of being compared to this little champion or come close to getting such adulation from the followers of the game.  No other individual has and ever will drive a billion (if not more) people crazy with every stroke. No other cricketer can claim to bring cheer on so many faces all with a flick of the wrist. People stop whatever they are doing just to refresh a website to find the outcome of each and every ball he plays. People say Sir Donald Bradman was the greatest and that his comparing Sachin to himself was a compliment for Sachin. I wonder what if right now Sir Don was thinking "Ha!! what a fool I was to think I batted like him". 

Critics want him to step down, fans want him to play. I just wonder what he wants to do next. I just wonder if he does win the WC next year what will he do next. I just wonder...

When is the New Year?

So I was gone for a month from the blogspot but I am back. This time the festive atmosphere has brought a new and crazy idea into my mind. When should I celebrate the new year?

The question is simple and valid. for the past 22 years I had celebrated new year's eve (NYE) at 23:59 IST, but here in Abu Dhabi the clocks have shifted by 1.5 hours and I am in a fix. Should I celebrate according to the law of the land and disturb my yearly cycle by 1.5 hours or should I celebrate all alone at my usual time and end up feeling stupid and weird? This is a very tricky situation as the first option would mean I would be backstabbing all the happy memories of the past 22 years. I would be separated from my friends and my family and break that invisible heavenly connection and who knows what would happen as a result of all that. The second option would be embarrassing to say the least as I would be raising a toast and embracing 2010 with full enthusiasm while people will think I have gone crazy. Suggestions are invited especially from experienced NRIs.

and before I forget a very happy and prosperous new year to all.