The beginning of an end

I was completing my sandwich at Grillz. All seemed fine and as things should be. I finished things and started on the usual course to the hostel. The campus road was as it always is - quiet and leafy. Then I turned onto the road leading into the campus from the security post. It was almost time for sunset. The sun was sinking fast to my right illuminating the path in twilight gold. The breeze was pleasant. Things were normal. Or were they? Not a soul in sight from the check-post to the hostel except the guys in TRIG uniform. The hostel lift was already there at the ground floor as if expecting me. Or maybe it spotted someone at last. I decided to take a detour via the 6th floor to my room. Rooms 616 and 617 were lifeless. The next few rooms wore similar resemblances. They have been like that for some time now. At last I sight someone. One sleeping and the other staring at the laptop. A subdued conversation follows. Little jokes. Few laughs. Unusual. I then head to the staircase at the fair end. The campus sports a desolate look in the shadow. I then headed down to my room. Two more guys in sight. One on the phone and other on his laptop. I leave them at it and go to my room. The cupboards have been ransacked and things lie strewn haphazardly in the open suitcase. I step over the mess and start my favourite playlist on my laptop. The IP messenger shows 15 people as connected. The LTT station visible from my window is twinkling in the early darkness. A locomotive horn disturbs the unearthly calm. The railway station looked inviting. A call for one more journey. I refresh my inbox. No new mails. Everything seemed strange. An altogether new experience. And then it struck me. I was realizing change and not for the first time in my life. I knew it was time to leave. It is the beginning of an end.

Pitch Report IV

So there has been no real cricketing action as such recently. All we have is the Indian Punter's League (IPL) and I am doubtful if it can be classified as cricketing action. Elsewhere the English are welcoming the summer with County cricket. The schedule, teams, grounds would not be out of place for Ranji and WG Grace if they were to descend from heaven. So much for tradition and change.

The IPL has thrown up many new players recently. And no one knows to play cricket. The mess that is the IPL has got Bollywood pretty excited. Directors are working out the best plot to roll out a blockbuster. But one man has beaten them to it. With so many names and characters and sub-plots only one man can bring them on one stage. Yeah, I am talking about Karan Johar. Karan has conceptualized this song where all the characters meet in a big bungalow with SRK (acting as SRK in the movie) in the center, hands midway in the air, head turned upwards.

As the IPL comes to an end, its poor cousin the World T20 is to start soon. The commercialization of T20 is at its height even in a World Cup. Some matches start as early as 9 AM. Everything worked out to cater to the primetime in India. Maybe T20 will have time slots in the future. And companies have invested in a different sort of R&D this time round. Millions have been invested to make the Caribbean pitches inept for short bowling. They dont want 9 AM starts to go waste.

And best wishes to the Little Master on his birthday.

Hitting the road

So back to doing what I like best. Travelling! Road travel has never been my favourite and will never be; unless it is a bike. And I don't mind travelling long distances by bike. But I would always prefer a train to a car. that maybe because I am used to rail journeys. KKR may miss an opportunity to lose a match and squeeze some victories but I never miss an opportunity to travel!

So there I go again. Goa!! Third time in two years and I don't think I would get bored even if I go there as many times as Messi scores in a season. Same with train travel. I like beaches better than the mountains. That may be because beach is my home and mountains away. And there is no place like home!

It's always a pleasure to get away and be part of a sparse crowd rather than in the thick of it like in Bombay or Madras. It is a sea of strangeness outside of home. But not forever. No. It is all exciting to get your bag packed up for a trip. It is all fabulous enjoying a train ride. It is all fantastic to appreciate a beautiful landscape from a lonely road. It is all thrilling to be in the lap of Mother Nature. It is all fun to be together and have a whale of a time. But this is not a road that goes ever on. It winds back to that small island amidst the sea of strangeness. Sad though one maybe on the last lap of a journey home, ultimately it is to realise that there is no place like home.

667 Day Vacation

To Whomsoever it May Concern

Hello everyone. It has been a nice journey. It all started with a quest for knowledge and excellence. Innocuously what has been gained more and adds value more than the other two has been experience. It is a thing which is never expected of and always lies in the back of the mind. And it is equally helpful.

There have been good moments. And some better moments. Never a bitter moment, am too optimistic to brand anything as bitter. Exceptions abound but none encountered in these 667 days. A new thing to unearth, be it the beginning or the end. A friend, an event, a problem, a decision, a party, a night-out, a fight, a thought, an exam, an emergency, a drink, a language, a place, a hide-out, a secret, a crush, a game, a movie, a song, a lesson, a teacher...The list can go on.

A first thing to notice on the very first arrival is how the hostel towers over the college. Over the two years it has been that way in a lot of things. And it has been a joy to discover fun in the college and knowledge in the hostel. Thanks to all teachers and lectures and long hours. Thanks to the staff, the support system and the canteen. Thanks to the security, the laundry and the gym. But the best finds I need not thank and I know you don't expect.

And some things I never need mention,  those with me even before SIMSR. Thanks for the vacation everyone!

Total Football v2.0

When Johann Cruyff last conjured the philosophy of Total Football, Ajax won three consecutive European titles from 1971 to 1973 and the Dutch team reached the 1974 World Cup finals. Yesterday Cruyff, a former Barcelona man himself would have felt proud. Barca's game though similar, does not exactly match with the philosophy. But what they do is elevate the game to an art form through exemplary passing and in a way breaking football to its simplest form. As Cruyff himself said, "Simple football is the most beautiful. But playing simple football is the hardest thing".

Total Football is all about creating ample space. Cruyff's team did it by moving around with no player occupying a fixed position. What Barca do is not far away. They create that space through passing, passing and passing. Its a lot of first touches and by trying to win the ball they send the opponents in circles. And the orchestrators of this spectacle, pulling the strings in the midfield are two of Spain's best. Xavi and his padawan learner Iniesta are the deadliest combination in world football today, for both club and country.

Talking of space and Total Football, this Barca team has a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD). This needs neither space nor assists. It seems to work on its own and when it explodes its wrath appears terrible. It's diminutive, but still can muscle past five bulky defenders, and runs faster with the ball than players running without the ball. The WMD's exhibition of football is more than an art form, it is divine to say the least. And it plays in the no. 10 jersey.

With such assets it is not surprising that Barca embarrasses even the best of opponents. But the team's main weakness is endurance as it displayed in the first leg against Arsenal recently. A 2-2 scoreline technically qualifies for even honours. But those who saw what transpired know that Arsenal were outplayed beyond anyone's imagination. Real Madrid await them for El Clasico. A second consecutive Champions League title beckons.  If anyone can stop them it is gonna be The Special One. Inter have their task cut out.

Pitch Report III

Hello and welcome to the....er...third edition (I think so) of Pitch Report (Its been such a looong break). Its cricketing action almost daily but its all in the domestic scene. They call it the IPL. Starting off with international news; the Aussies have just had a undeafeated test summer. Now they have requested Cricket Australia to schedule all their tests only during the summer, be it in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. They do like to turn on the heat on their opposition.

In other news, the IPL continues unabated in India. Oops!! Hope I am not pulled up by Lalit Modi for mentioning IPL as other news. The most scarce resource in the IPL has been superlatives with almost every one of them used. Maybe they will borrow from Spanish or French for the remaining of the tournament. Gautam Gambhir more than others sure needs a lesson in superlatives.

As the IPL has progressed, Kings XI Punjab have emerged as the most feared team. Opposition teams are terrified because losing to them means a setback to their semifinal efforts and also they have to face the ignominy of losing to the Kings XI. And who says you have to be a winner to be feared.

The IPL is being considered as a great innovator but that can be limited to commercial endorsements. Innovations are being talked of elsewhere. ECB has declared that ODI county championships will have two innings - a Tendulkar idea. And Steve Waugh has been latest to endorse pink-ball day-night test matches. The IPL continues to ponder about tactical breaks to go with strategic timeouts. Set Max is smiling.