Toast to life

When Ganguly hung his boots in Nagpur, we knew that we are in safe hands of MSD - the skipper.But race for his place in test side is fierce. It seems that selectors would enjoy problem of plenty this time. Though with his experience and his performance in shorter version of game makes Yuvraj, the first choice. But after 8 years of cricket and 6000 runs - he still remains a pauper of test cricket. Though with Laxman, Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly around, to break into Indian middle order was always a mean task. But in 20 odd tests that Yuvi has played, he never posed any sort of challenge to any of these stalwarts. Technicians attribute this ordinary run in longer version to chinks in his technique, but then are Laxman and Ganguly are are not exactly text book players. They were gifted, but then so is Yuvraj. Then what is it that Yuvraj is still competing against Rainas and Rohits. Hunger : - Does he lack what fab four of Indian middle order always possessed in abundance - Hunger to per...

Are you overworked? Are you working 15 hours a day? Are you regularly working on weekends? Has it been ages since you last indulged in any of your hobbies or long since you last spent quality time with your loved ones? If you heard “Aye” there times in last 15 seconds then beware you are flirting precariously with dangerous lifestyle. Stress and fatigue can no more be ridiculed as excuses underperformance, at least not since January 1994 when Dr Alan Massie, 27, dropped dead shortly after completing an 86-hour week. He had worked seven of the previous eight days and three nights, including unbroken spells of 27 hours and 24 hours. Most of us believe that we are indispensable at work place and the world would halt as soon as we stop. Similar notion was shared by a CEO of a Japanese firm before he suffered stroke due to overwork. To help him overcome his myth his doctor prescribed him spent seven days at city cemetery. CEO thought that this was a trick to keep him away from work, but he ...

We are finally on moon. So what it has taken some 40 years more than Mr Armstrong, its still an achievement par excellence. When I had sent out mail congratulating all my Indian acquaintances in US, many of them retorted back, questioning economic viability of the exorbitantly expansive adventure. Then there was a chain mail where there were jibes pointing at tonnes of moon rock in US museums and labs, other the other hand Indians are going gung -ho on planting tricolor on loose sand of moon. Some humanitarians reminded me of suffering of farmers from Bihar , who have lost there land to floods. Should we not spend our resources for alleviating the plight of men living on earth than for generations that would reside in lunar colonies. Several messages reminding me sorry state of infrastructure back home, when we are weaving dreams to build road to moon. For a moment all these criticisms and mockery would coerce even the most brilliant of visionaries to doubt significance of this feat. B...

The greatest ever!!!

A prince...A King.... A pauper...or A monk...for me these are four ways to describe cricketing life of one of the most entertaining character of Indian cricket - Saurav Chandidas Ganguly or simply "Dada". Prince - Lord's....Canada...Offside... For me his cricket started at Lord's, where his scintillating century not only won him approvals of pundits but also hearts of a billion fans. If that was not enough he came back with another one in the following test. Now we all knew, that we are for treat...a treat that lasted for 12 years. Saurav was on song from then on. Canada was like dream come true for him, what ever he touched turned gold. He became Boycotts and our "Prince of Calcutta". From that phase, what i remember most was one of ODI against Shri lanka, when Saurav was piercing Shri Lanka on offside at will. After conceding couple of boundaries through extra cover, Ranatunga packed offside with 7 fielders for Vaas. And if this sounds like an attacking ...

When I wrote "600 and more...", i had no clue that we would be bidding adios to Jumbo so soon. On hearing of his retirement, I was thrown back some 7 years back, when I witnessed his ripping his 400th wicket in Bangalore and you could hear chants of "Jumbo....Jumb0....Jumbo..." miles from Chinnaswami. I have never seen a player underplaying such an astounding achievement with such humility...but that was typically him. 18 years is helluava time in international cricket and 619 is a staggering figure. I am happy that he has so wisely chosen his time to bid good bye, it was so frustrating to see him groping for rythym on field. Though I would still not rate him as the best spinner of any era, he is nowhere close to magical Warney or mysterious Murli, his armory was very ordinary when compare to that of these to sorcerers. And i believe that I would not bet on any player, with such moderate talent, to knock off 619 timbers. And thats why Anil was so special, his perse...

Warne was gifted, Murli had a rubber wrist. One was a phenom other was magician. But I am not celebrating genius of either. Today cricket is celebrating 600th act of perseverance and 60oth fruit of shear hard work and 600th howaazat of determination. And man who is the reason for all these celebrations is our skipper Anil Radhakrishna Kumble.You may not count him as spinner, you may even call him a medium fast bowler or you may even mock when you read "Right arm leg spin" against his name but he has his name in all the history books right at the top. They say he is not aggressive, may be because he doesn’t sledge, he doesn’t make ugly gestures nor he strips on the balcony of lords. But ask any batsman who has faced him, he would tell u tales of his calm and quite aggression. Bowling one spell after another with such tremendous accuracy requires unbelievable aggression, unbelievable hunger for success, and unquenchable lust for victory. if aggression can be dressed a gentlema...

I loved her, i adored her, i worshipped her. I had devoted countless hours towards her, i had spent sleepless nights admiring her. I can never forget those chilly early morning dates in picturesque New Zealand , her charm reached another altitude altogether in those icy winds. Her tanned body, in white Lenin swinging to the beats of ragge’ gave rainbow to Caribbean beaches. Though she is English by blood but look at her closely you would find her skin tone to be very sub continental. Our love has seen many ups and downs....we had abysmal low when they alleged that she has been tainted by greedy "PUNTERS". Priests of high temples were found to guilty of lowest sins, glamour, glitz and glitter had replaced her calm and serene beauty, she had now become more of "theirs's " and less of "our's".But our love weathered all those storms without a trace of withering. I didn’t have audacity to question her virginity when Messiahs of our world still swore by ...