A nice gesture

Two days ago my friend Ameya gives me a call, after a long time. He tells me that his father would be turning 60 this year on 26th March and he has arranged a surprise party, and invited me for it. Fortunately, I did not have any prior commitments on that day so I agreed to visit. His entire family knows me, and it had been a long time I had met them. He needed some help with the preparations and asked me if I could come a bit early for the same. I agreed.

Today, I reached at the venue and Ameya was there busy with preparations along with a few more common friends. Not wasting any time, I joined Mangesh in inflating balloons. I think we had close to a 100 balloons. I could actually feel the unpleasant, greasy taste of those balloons on my tongue. I joined in with other decorations, setting up the desk and getting certain things which had been completely forgotten and were needed urgently.

We were all set with out preparations by 6 pm and the venue looked extremely cheerful. Ameya's father reached the venue by 6:30 pm. It was a pleasant surprise for him, was a bit overwhelmed by the occasion. The flow of events was something I was aware about but had never seen personally. Ameya and his siblings washed his father's feet with milk and water, which is known as abhishek. Mud diya's , 60 in number, were decorated in a thali which was used to bless uncle. Ameya's family is a big one, it's a joint family. Elderly people who were there blessed uncle, which was followed by the younger generation coming over the wish him. Cake cutting ceremony followed in some time and we all were singing "Happy Birthday to you.." not at all in sync. This was followed by a few games which we all played and enjoyed, and then uncle received gifts from all the guests. Dinner was served by 9 pm and we wrapped up everything by 10:30 pm.

Since the time I heard about this event, I had been thinking a lot. I can imagine how things would have been for my dad when he was doing what I did today, preparing for a birthday party. I am very happy for uncle because of the fact that he has such a wonderful and loving family. Making him feel special on his birthday just highlights the fact that Ameya and his family love him very much. In fact, the entire family loves each other. This is something which is rarely seen these days and I hope and pray that this love persists in Ameya's family as long as the stars shine.

On a general note, it is high time to realize that our parents have done such a thing for atleast 10 - 12 years just to make us feel special. Shouldn't we do the same in their old days atleast? Ameya did plan and execute this event for his personal satisfaction but it has helped to ring some bells in some minds. Jayesh, my friend who lost his father 2 years back, would have been wondering if he had done such a thing when his dad was alive. Prachi, Priti and Ashwini, whose dad's had also visited the event must be thinking that now even we would need to do such a thing for our mom's and dad's as they may make comparisons which would be difficult to handle. Mangesh and me are wondering if we can do a similar thing for our respective dad's as my dad would turn 50 this year and his dad would reach 75 next year. More than meeting my friends after a long time, more than spending a good time with Ameya's family, more than enjoying the party and more than savoring the delicious food, I have realized that this was a nice gesture which should be done with your parents and loved one's atleast sometimes. It should feel nice, you can imagine how peaceful would it be.

Relax and Start Fresh!

I just couldn't relax on Sunday. So many thoughts had been running across my mind the whole week. Weekdays were still better, as I had work to focus on and was too tired while coming back that this somehow did not bother much. Saturday was better again, thanks to the world cup match between India & South Africa. It finally boiled down to Sunday, as I was at home and had nothing much to do.

There are times when your past, present and future make sure they haunt you at the same time. The worst part, is that you cant think what to do about it. That's the exact reason why I don't like to do nothing on weekends, a case of empty mind being a devil's workshop emerges. I do not want to divulge any details but things about my career, personal life, financials and such other had been nagging me lately. It became intolerable to such an extent that I was about to do something stupid. Just then a thought flashed by - to work on a presentation.

During my MBA years, I never took keen interest in making presentations. Even so, I had learnt the approach of making presentations. This week I have a session to conduct on Digital Marketing. This particular presentation which I ended up with is what I had in mind for the same. However, this time I avoided to be spontaneous. It took me about an hour or so and it turned out to be good. The better part was the fact that I felt relaxed and nice after exhausting my mind for it.

Just that reminded me of my S.S.C year. One fine day, I was not able to sleep till late night. I had no other thing to do than keep rolling in my bed. I had been doing that for some days then but this time I couldn't. I could see some books kept on my study table. I got up and fetched those. I spent an hour or more studying that night. I felt really nice back then. Sunday's feeling was just the same, sort of a déjà vu in some sense.

Perhaps, I should try to calm down my mind when it is not. One of the best ways is reading. It has worked on many occasions. Others like listening music and watching movies also prove good. Some uncommon ways are like what I did on Sunday. I can surely try to be more conscious about these. These haven't solved my problems or addressed any concerns, how can they? These are like pit stops in F1 racing events. They help me relax and start fresh!

That was Spooky

There are times when a strange incident occurs and you tend to ignore it. What if a similar incident occurs again? It happened with me a few days back, while I was learning to drive at Ballard Pier in Mumbai. Some of you might already be aware about this place being a commercial area in south Mumbai housing a lot of offices since a very long time. A very high count of people from town, suburbs and adjoining towns visit this place on weekdays. In the evening, however, this place is very lonely. Wide roads, zero crowd make it a perfect for rookies to learn bikes and cars. Well, that's what they say but I really doubt that now.

About 2 weeks back, Pushkar and I reached this place and I started practicing. Everything was smooth for some time. Later, Pushkar got out of the car and asked to try the reverse gear. The moment he got out some stray dogs looked at him and started barking intermittently, as if they have seen something abnormal. We ignored them, although Pushkar was a bit scared, and I continued. Things were fine for some time and then suddenly the car stopped! We tried hard to get the car running but were unsuccessful. Some cab drivers, who helped us, suspected it to be a battery issue. We had to drag the car down to Pratik's place, thankfully he stayed close by, and then left for home. The next morning, Pushkar returned with the mechanic to get the car. To his surprise, the car started in the 1st attempt itself! Apparently, there wasn't any issue with the battery. Just to be sure, the mechanic took the car to his garage. He double checked the battery, changed a few spare parts like the starter, battery belt and gave us the car next day. Again, it was working fine.

In the last week, again we had been to the same place for driving. I practiced reverse gear for about half an hour. Pushkar was tired by that time and wanted to leave. Just then he saw a cute puppy by the side of the road. He asked me to come play with it for some time. I love dogs, and couldn't resist playing with it. We hung around for some time. We set out to leave when I said, "One more. Then we'll leave." Just then, the puppy started making weird noises, as if he's crying or seeing something abysmal. The car, which was doing so fine till now, was not ready to start, again! We tried a lot but to no avail. Looking at each other, we knew we had to drag it back to Pratik's house, again. Both of us got out of the car, and started pushing it. It was when we realized that a stray dog, who had been sleeping till that time, was following us and barking intermittently. The puppy continued its weird noises, which we ignored at that moment. Pushkar decided to jump start the car, and asked me to push it. The 1st attempt was unsuccessful, which made us tense. The dog following us was still barking, and the weird noises of that puppy could still be heard. We tried again, and luckily the car started! I got in and Pushkar drove me back in no time.

The other day, we were discussing this during lunch break. Pushkar told me that once he reached his place, he tried starting the car and, to his surprise, it started instantly. I complained about his car being a spoilsport. Suddenly, he realized something about that incident. There was a significant similarity in both incidents. It was the same area, around the same time of 12 am, the car stopped working suddenly and was fine in sometime, dogs were barking in a weird manner and the car stopped when I was driving. Was any paranormal activity involved here?

It feels spooky to think about it. But, there may be logical reasons about those incident. The car being a very old model, it might have stopped. Maybe the dogs were barking as it was very late in the night and they suspected us to be troublemakers as we were dragging the car. But, why did the puppy started making weird noises and continued it when just minutes back he was playing gleefully with us. During the 2nd incident, the car started when we were almost out of that area. The same area and similar time cannot just be a coincidence, can it? I do believe in the concept of spirits and so It would be thrilling to visit that place again, probably on a new moon day or a full moon day. On second thought, do we really need to take that risk? What say?

What a (Mis)Adventure!!

31st Jan 2011 - It was Day 4 of my driving lessons. Pushkar had been a good tutor (so far) and I had been an even better student. Today's agenda was to learn reverse and half clutch. As usual, we finished our dinner by 10:30 pm and left for Ballard Pier. I rehearshed whatever I had learnt in the last 3 days for some time, feeling more confident than before. Then, it was time to learn the new tricks. Pushkar told me about reverse and asked me to try it. 1st attempt was ok, 2nd one was slightly better. Confidence was seeping in and then it all began - the engine stopped and refused to start!

This had happened before as well, on my Day 2. That time, fortunately, we were close to Pushkar's place. When the car broke down we dragged it to his house, took us around 15-20 minutes. We got the car repaired again, replaced the battery as well. In spite of this, it happened again. It looked to be a battery problem. For those who know less about Ballard Pier, it's a commercial area and has a lot of offices. At that time in the night, the place is empty - ideal for activities like driving. In fact, Pushkar learnt driving there itself, so I had to follow him. So, the battery was down and the engine was unconscious. We looked at each other wondering what to do. Pushkar called up Hari bhai, the mechanic, and told him about the problem. He was available only in the morning, which left us the option of leaving the car there itself.

There were a few cab drivers there and we thought they could help us. Pushkar approached them and they oblidged. They inspected the problem and confirmed it to be a battery breakdown. We tried a few techniques to get the car going but it was not going to be. The cabbies told us to leave the car there as it is safe and we can come down tomorrow morning to pick it up. We agreed, and we parked the car. We asked one of the cabbies to leave us to our house - at Mumbai Central. Just when we were about to leave, a teenage boy approached us. He asked us, "What happened? Did your car breakdown? Should I have a look?" We were looking at him, thinking what to do. He asked the same thing again. We said, "Yes. No. Actually, we have.." The boy replied, "That's OK. If you don't wish any help from me, that's fine!" He left, leaving a deceptive smile on his face. We left, and all the way Pushkar could not stop wondering about the safety of his car. Our cabbie was telling us things like which battery to use, what he did before driving cabs, why were the earlier batteries better, and so on. We were not listening to him at all. I was disheartened, as I had decided so many things to try that night. Pushkar was tense, quite obviously. We reached our house, and then suddenly we decided to go back. Back then, we did not realize that Pratik's house was close by and we could park the car there, where it would be certainly safer than the current location. In tense situations, we tend to overlook sensible things. We paid the cabbie, and I went to my house to get my bike keys and helmet while Pushkar was waiting, impatiently, below my building.

My family stays in 2 separate rooms, my parents sleep in one and my sis and me sleep in other. I knocked on my door and my mom opened it. She felt I had came back from driving. I took the keys, as the lights were off and went to my room. There, Sayali was busy watching her favorite tv program. I seized the opportunity of quietly getting hold of my helmet without her realizing anything. I had to do all this to avoid my parents from knowing what had happened, as they would have nagged me for it which I did not want.

We left from my place and reached Pratik's house in 15 minutes where we parked my bike. We left to get the car. At that time, it was confusing to find the car as the roads and buildings seemed to be similar. Just when we were about to panic, I saw a glimpse of Maruti 800 from a long distance. We approached, feeling better and better when we came closer to it. Yes, it was the car we were looking for! I tried opening the door and it opened. By that time, Pushkar had not even keyed the car. I had forgotten to lock that particular door! Thank god, we came back. Again, we dragged the car for about 15-20 minutes and parked it below Pratik's building.

We were sweating and felt hungry as well. While going back home, we stopped at Say Cheese and Fruit Juice corner at Churni Road. It was already 12:30 am by then. We ordered chilly cheese sandwich, cocktail juice and water melon juice. All the while savouring these, we were thinking about the incident. Pushkar claimed that whenever I would drive it happened. I argued that his car is old, and had been lying uselessly for months so it happened. Our snacks were over soon and it was time to leave for home. I dropped him, came back and quietly entered my room. Sayali was sleeping by then, and my parents were already asleep. I changed, and was in bed real soon. I am glad nothing bad happened that night. All this did leave some good memories of a wonderful misadventure!

Tennis Days

Playing tennis, that too under lights, in a state of the art court is an experience I could never ever imagine 3 years back. Thanks to Zehra and Tushar, I could play my 1st ever tennis game under lights on a chilling christmas night. This game came after a very long time as the last time I played was back in June 2010. The game was very refreshing, and the pain is being felt now.

It all started in MET, back in Jan 2009. As very few people were placed by that time among the recession-hit Operations batch, a lot of people had a lot of time to spend (Should I say waste!) in the otherwise boring Sem - 4. Most of us chose different ways of spending time, but we spotted the intimidating tennis court and felt a pull we just couldn't resist. But there's a story which actually initiated this.

One of those days when Zehra, Tushar and Bhavik were at the court. Some guys were already playing then so they were waiting for their turn. I wasn't with them that time, as I had been to Vaishnao Devi in Jammu, the farthest place I have ever visited in India till now. So, there they were waiting, looking at those guys play a rookie kind of tennis. Zehra had a word with those guys, asking for their rackets and some time to play which they agreed they would do. 30 mins passed by, yet the guys did not stop playing, making things a bit frustrating for us. Soon enough it was 4:50 pm and we just could not bare anymore as the court would be open for students only till 5 pm. Zehra lost her patience (quite naturally) and asked the guys to which those morons said, "Sorry guys, we have a class to attend. We can't give you our rackets." They said this and left, leaving behind 3 people - 2 dejected & 1 furious. Zehra was so angry, Tushar & Bhavik could feel the heat. Zehra felt this should not happen again ever. She suggested to get our own tennis rackets. Tushar and Bhavik were wondering about it.

Buying those rackets was not a simple decision. Among all of us, only Zehra had been placed in Piramal Healthcare by that time. Tushar, Bhavik, Mousami and I were tense enough as we were not. Jobs, forget good ones, were not easily available. Money was also an issue for some of us. We were not sure as to we would be playing tennis that often. Worst, were we deciding to buy rackets just out of frustration? Zehra, Tushar and Bhavik had a group discussion about this. Once they all agreed to contribute, they called me up to ask if I would chip in as well. I agreed, without thinking much about it. It took me some time to realize that I had made one of the smartest decisions of my life in a blink. That was the day after which the tennis court at MET virtually belonged to us till the time we left the institution. (you can ask any of our batchmates about this)

We all used to play for hours together on the court. We downloaded videos from Youtube on how to play the game. We clicked our pics, video recorded our games. We were also planning to organize a intra collegiate tennis tournament then. We had been tan for a very long time. Now Zehra is atleast 2 times fairer than what she was during those days, I am sure Mousami, Tushar and Bhavik would agree! We forgot everything else while playing the game. There was always the tension of placements, education loan, personal commitments troubling all of us. It was the tennis court that made us release all of it and enjoy our lives. We enjoyed a lot, not just tennis, but our lives surrounding it.

Life without Wife

Just a rare occasion that my mom being away for 2 days has created such a mess at home. It makes me wonder how dependent we all are on her. More so my dad. Life without his wife has truly become miserable for him.

My mom is visiting Shirdi with her office colleagues. Usually, when our parents are away, my granny comes to stay at our place to look after us. This time, we all decided that we wont call her as we have grown up now and we can take care of ourselves! My dad was proud of this. Quite certainly, things haven't happened as we had planned. Much worse is the incident which happened some time back.

Things were going fine in the morning. Me and my sis had our breakfast and we started doing the household chores. Noon was approaching, and we started feeling the heat. It does look simple when mom does it, perhaps because we have always seen her doing those things. But, it's only when you put your feet in someone else's shoes that you realize the other side.

In the evening, dad had to pack some stuff. By the time he finished with it, he had a lot of waste paper to dump. Most of the times, it is my mom who does it. I wish she would have done it, atleast today. On second thought, if she had done it today, this hilarious incident would not have happened. So, what my dad does is he just forgets that his cell phone is also somewhere close to the waste. He dumps the waste papers along with his cell phone!

It was late in the night when my dad realizes that his cell phone is missing. We look around the entire house for it. We did found out certain things which had been missing since a few days, but could just not find the cell. He was worried. We asked him to remember the last call he received or made. It took him some time to realize what he had done. I had emptied the dust bin just a few minutes back in the garbage dumping in our backyard. Me and my dad went to find out the cell. It took us around half an hour to go through a lot of garbage before finally getting it back. I had never been so dirty all my life, thanks to my dad.

I am missing my mom. Back home it is very smooth when she's around. She makes our lives easier. It's a pity that we don't always realize or appreciate it. I hope this incident shall change a few things, atleast for me. I think it is also necessary to learn all of this. It's good to be in safe hands but just in case we face a similar situation again, atleast we would be somewhat prepared to face it! I dont say this often, but, mom I love you. Dad, you are hilarious at times. You did not realize but I just could not stop laughing for quite some time. I am waiting for mom to come back and I am gonna narrate this whole thing to her. Hahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa

Is Cricket really a Batsman friendly game??

If you are a cricket lover I am sure you must have heard commentators and analysts saying "Cricket is a batsman game!" many times. Many of these commentators have been players at the highest level of the game. Most of the analysts, on the other hand, go through a lot of data crunching to come up with their trivia and statistics. I therefore wonder how can they say such a thing without realizing that it is the exact opposite. Yes, Cricket is a bowler friendly game. I am sure it must be hard to believe, especially when the big boys say otherwise. Well, I do have facts to support this view.

First of all, a batsman has to face all the bowlers bowling to him in a match. He is all geared up, with pads, gloves and helmet to keep his body safe. He has to adjust his batting for pace, swing and spin. While scoring, he has to run, not just for himself but for his partner as well. The bowler, however, has 10 other men to help him get wickets. The fielders take catches; the wicket, however, is credited to the bowler. At times, a bowler makes life difficult for a batsman, which makes him vulnerable and he can give away his wicket to some other bowler. At times, the batsman is run-out. There are times when the ball edges on to the stumps. There are times when a non-striker batsman is given run-out because the ball has hit the stumps with the batsman out of crease, thanks to the bowler who could touch the ball before hitting the stumps, luckily. A bowler gets so many chances and such good support from the team to take wicket while a batsman needs to make sure he does not give any chance of taking his wicket.

In terms of statistics as well, it turns out that the bowlers have always had an advantage in the game.

Let us look at the top 2 batsman in Tests, ODI's and T-20's with their top 5 scores. It does take a lot of time and deliveries to face for even the top class batsman to score meaningful amount of runs. Even in T-20, the fastest half century took 12 deliveries. However, for the bowlers, things are easier. In a test match, a bowler needs to bowl a maximum of 20 good deliveries to take wickets, while 10 in ODI's and T-20's. All bowlers need not produce all of those deliveries; they can produce a few individually as well plus the fielders are there to take catches and make run-outs, while the batsman can also play on to the stumps.

The commentators and analysts definitely need to ponder over this.