The Matchup!!!

What a shot!!!
And that makes it 30 runs for the over... 4, 6, 4, 6, 4, 6
Sehwag is on a roll and now the Delhi Daredevils need just 1 run more to win of 7 overs...
What a fine display of attacking batting...and to have such an experience on my first ever Live Match was a bonus...

To put things into perspective...I am talking about tyesterday's T20 match between Delhi DareDevils and the Deccan Chargers...
Delhi is my homestate and I have undying loyalty towards it even though I have been in Hyderabad close to 3 years now and in AP itself for almost 7...But that does not change the fact that I am a Delhiite by heart and yesterday I was all for the DareDevils...

The match was at Uppal Stadium and getting there from HITEC was a royal pain...we somehow reached there as the first over had just begun...with hopes and dreamy eyed we walked into the stadium to find our seats already taken...not wanting to create any scene (it was more to watch the cricket than waste our time squabbling with people) we rested our already weary bodies somewhere near mid-wicket (from one end that is)...

It was a sight...the field was green all over and looked magnificent...the legends were there on the field and McGrath was bowling...he looked so ordinary.
In fact, everyone we looked at...the bowler, the fielder or even the batsmen who had just walked in they did not look like the stars they look on TV...Its the distance I know but they were just there in front of us and it didnt seem like a big deal...it could be anyone.
Then a loud crack and the ball just effortlessly clears the field and lands way back into the crowd...

It then strikes you that these are no ordinary men...you cannot even imagine the finesse with which they guide or force the ball on TV as it does on the widescreen experience that your eyes and ears give you...

Watching a match live on TV is an altogether different experience...you are up close and personal with the players...you can see their changing expressions...the turning of the bat at the last moment...a fielder stopping the ball cms. from the rope in slow...a bowler releasing the ball with a perfect seam up...and all of this again in slow motion and with more angles than you could care to see from...

There is nothing of this sort when you are in a stadium...you have to strain your eyes to make out who is who...you have but once chance to see that cover drive..or else you can see it on the big screen standing in one corner of the ground with a pathetic resolution and wierd colour scheme...But there is something that no TV in any home can ever equal...

Its the single motion play...
The bowler glides in and gets into his delivery stride...delives a short ball which the batsmen pulls towards the mid-wicket...the fielder runs after it and slides to pick it up...gathers it cleanly and throws it from the edge of the ground straight over the top of the stumps and the batsman just making his ground...
When you are there, this all happens in a few secs with no pauses and in one continuous stream showcasing some terrific talent...where those ordinary looking people on the field suddenly jump into another gear and do extraordinary things...and you are seeing all of this in one go since you cannot afford to miss a moment...if its gone, its gone forever...that's what draws you towards the game...

On TV there are maybe 10 pauses when the camera changes direction...you see the bowler now...now you see the batsmen pulling the ball...now you see the fielder running after it...now he slides and throws it back and then you see the wicketkeeper gathering the ball on top of the stumps...This you may say brings you closer to the action but I say it takes you away...you won't believe it until you have been there...That single motion bigscreen experience is to be felt to be believed...
The fact that Delhi DareDevils knocked the wind out of Deccan Chargers was the icing on the cake...it just made the experience all the more wonderful...

I never understood why is there so much excitement to see a live match in a stadium filled to the brim amidst a sweating and screaming crowd when we can watch it from the comfort of our homes with so many camera angles and everything replayed back in slow motion...
Now I know.

A New Beginning

There is a slight unrest in the air...

I cannot pinpoint if it is justified but it is there nonetheless...a certain something is trying to make inroads in our lives here and it is being percieved as a higher meaning by someone and as unwanted and unwelcome by someone else...

Someone thinks it will shake people out of their slumber and change their way of living and someone thinks it is all a farce...

I come in the latter category...

I choose to stay passive to a few things...I dont want to do something myself but I don't feel any different for someone who does...

I think the most foolish thing that people do is pass a judgement on people they dont know on some action they dont understand...

No offences to anyone but I would leave it to the individual to decide how dysfunctional his/her life is and let them decide to take the appropriate action...That is until I really think I need to step in if someone does not realize that they are on the path to self destruction...

It is subjective I know...but I have come to trust my own decisions...I am impulsive but I am not naive or stupid...

Humans by nature have always looked at change a little suspiciously...lets accept it...we live the "if it aint broken, its working" mentality...

The institutions/forums/books that educate people how to "live happily" have been around for ages...They tell you the higher meaning of life...the inner force that is dormant...the power to choose and to make your dreams a reality...

I am told that a particular "course" will help you in reaching a higher level of learning...above a level where you cannot think beyond right now...it will give me the power to choose and go after something in an entirely different manner than I can possibly imagine and achieve what I dream of...I will also look at people in a different light altogether...I will become more committed towards whatever I am doing and I will never feel any contraints whatsover...That it is not only for people who are unhappy with their lives and want to succeed but some of the achievers and big shots are taking to it in a big way...be it housewives, CEOs, professionals etc. etc.

They all are learning to live their lives in a new way...

I respect that.

But what of people who think they are happy with imperfections...I am not perfect...no one I know is...I have had goals that I was not able to achieve and everyone has had that experience at some point of time in their lives...

We all have difficulties and constraints that we have to work under...Is that supposed to make us unhappy? I dont want to generalise since there will be differing views but it is agreed that if you keep looking at the unhappy side of your life then you cannot make yourself or anyone else happy...

But do I need a forum to tell me that I am unhappy right now and I dont realize that and also that I can do better...I am not unhappy right now and I can definitely do better...

It is then argued that it is not about making someone unhappy, happy, but about teaching how to live a life that is unbound, unchained and put your overburdened mind to peace...

But I see it as telling you that you are flawed in your thnking and you are not supposed to lead a life this way...

Wrong.

What if I am happy now in the present and I am on the track to someplace where I want to end up...

I am imperfect in my thinking and I have my flaws...

I am also happy.

I dont think that I want to improve on that.

I am resistant to change because I am not sure if I my mind is so screwed up that I need to take help to help me make my decisions...

I have a few priorities and as long as I am able to meet them then it is more than enough to keep me happy for the rest of my life...I dont think I need anyone to simplify it for me still further...

I am not sure how to end this post...I really am not able to think of a suitable ending.

Can you help me?

Long time no see...

Its been a while...

Almost an year now...

And it has been hectic...not that it is an excuse not to post for such a long time but I am so damn lazy...I procrastinate and it has plagued me...I cannot seem to do anything instantaneously...I just have to put off things over something else...and put off that thing too for something else altogether...

Not that my priorities are screwed but I just don't seem to get the point that I need to get a move on...I get things done and done well but only at the last moment...

What do you do when you feel like putting something off for tomorrow...You remember that you put off things and should not do this...and remind yourself this again and again till it becomes a way of life and you do things as soon as they are on your desk...But what to do when you keep forgetting things too?

I think I have a minor case of amnesia...I can't seem to remember things either and I put off the things that I do remember...So you may ask "Do you ever do anything...late or on time comes later...but do u actually bring something to completion?"

The resounding answer is: YES.

I do do things...and I do them on time...I remember them late in the day and then I run around to get it done but I don't rest till I complete them...and I have also realized that I perform best when I am hard pressed for time...I don't tire out running around...Never.

Strange as it may seem but it seems that this post does not convey anything...it just rambles on but it is not meant to be a post per se. It is meant to be a conversation with self and getting a few things in perspective...the fact that it appears on my blog is only because these thoughts started doing their rounds in my mind only when I opened this window to post something substantial but the force with which this came was unstoppable...

The topic was to be MBA...I am going for my MBA and going soon...I am very happy and elated. I have been looking forward to it for quite some time now...something or the other kept coming in the way but it had to happen sooner or later...I was going to make sure of that and it is happening now...

Starting a new life...on a new path and going among strangers set to become friends for life...going to a new place totally uncooked and raw...and sure of coming out all "well done"!!

With little time left...I promise to write some more sense soon...another poem perhaps ;-)

Till then...

Take care and cheers,

Sameer