Thank You Sachin

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

After a successful career spanning 24 years, Sachin Tendulkar retired today. I was 7 years old when he made his debut against Pakistan in Pakistan. I don’t remember much of him then, except the time when he famously hit 3 sixes in an Abdul Qadir over and effectively bringing an end to the spinner’s career. I also read that on this tour Sachin got a bloody nose by Waqar Younis, but instead of rushing back to the dressing room, he got himself treated on the ground and continued playing. It was simply awesome a 16 year old taking on the world, at the time when Indian team was known to meekly surrender when going got tough.

I grew up watching Sachin play all these years. In some ways, I wanted to bat like Sachin – emulate his batting style, his strokes. Cricket for me was watching Sachin bat. Sachin out – TV off was the common thing in many households. What attracted me towards his batting was just the way he loved to dominate the bowlers, he was raw, intense and was willing to give a fight – not take no for an answer. He was a one man army – as long as he was out there batting – there was always hope. Hope that India could somehow pull it off, turn the impossible into possible, snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat. He taught everyone to be hopeful, that one man can make a difference.  People came to watch him because he gave them hope, gave them something to cheer about when things were not going their way. He showed them not to give up without a fight.

Sachin has turned out to be one of the finest batsmen of this generation, has achieved many accolades but at the same time has remained extremely grounded. You hear about so many sportsmen who take success to their head and become arrogant. But not Sachin. He still remains the same. There was a moment in the ongoing series – not sure if people noticed. MS Dhoni was having a word with the bowler, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, I believe at the end of one of the sessions. Sachin was walking a little ahead of them. He could have easily offered his opinion on whatever MSD was saying, but he did not. That’s the best quality about him. He does not have any airs about him. Have read about how he ensures that all new comers in the team are comfortable approaching him and if he sees that they are hesitant, he approaches them himself to make sure they are comfortable.

I know whatever I write about him is very less. There is nothing about him which isn’t already written. The chants of “Sachin Sachin” are going to be missed forever. All I can say is Thank You Sachin for the memories.

ThankYou

Day 26/ 365 – Drama at Stamford Bridge

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday evening, we had a great game at Stamford Bridge – Chelsea vs. West Bromwich Albion. I happened to watch the last 10 minutes of the game and it was simply amazing pressure by Chelsea team who were lagging behind by a goal. West Bromwich had already defeated Manchester United at Old Trafford earlier this season and the same was happening at Stamford Bridge. This game was Jose Mourinho’s 100th game as manager for Chelsea and he has never lost a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge (which is quite a record – considering the teams he has faced). The record was at risk. But relentless pressure by Chelsea worked and they were awarded a penalty when Ramires was brought down near the goal box. My brother who is a die hard Man U fan simply said the referee has come under pressure and made a mistake. Like there was no pressure on the referee when Sir Alex was around :P.

I was surprised that Hazard was given the chance to take the penalty shot. After all that was written about him over the entire week and him not playing the UEFA game (benched was the reason), I wasn’t sure if he would be able to convert.  But he scored and proved to everyone that he is tough character and prevented the Jose Mourinho’s record being broken. At the end of the game, Mourinho looked relieved, but 2 points were dropped. With Liverpool winning, Chelsea are now at 3rd position. Not sure what happens to this Chelsea team, the week before last they were winning everything and since last 2 weeks, the performance has been inconsistent. May be the team is yet to settle, and right combination yet to be found. However, the issues need to be fixed sooner rather than later as the crucial month of December is around and Chelsea need to be at their best to win everything going forward.

Day 25/ 365 – Movie Review – Thor 2

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

As mentioned in my previous post, I watched Thor 2 (first day first show again!!) on Friday. Before the movie started, saw the trailer of the movie Sholay in 3D with enhanced sound effects. I was extremely impressed with the trailer and have decided to watch the movie in 3D once it releases. I am not sure of the box office response the movie would get. But I sure am going for the movie.

Warning – Spoiler ahead

The story revolves around weapon Aether which was previously owned by  Dark Elf Malekith. Odin’s father defeats him in battle and decides to bury Aether in a place deep down, where no one could find it. Loki is imprisoned after his deeds in New York, while Thor is fighting in Vanaheim to bring peace to the Nine Realms. Meanwhile Jane Foster is in London along with her assistant Darcy who takes her to an abandoned factory where the laws of physics are behaving oddly and objects are disappearing in thin air. Basically the objects get teleported to another world. Jane accidentally discovers Aether and it gets lodged in her body. In the meanwhile, Asgardians learn of the convergence where Nine Realms are aligned in a straight line. When Heimdall is not able to see Jane, he informs Thor of the same and he brings her along to Asgard. The doctors in Asgard are not able to remove Aether as it protects Jane against any threats, but at the same time is killing her.

The discovery of Aether activates Dark Elf Malekith, who was in a deep sleep after his defeat at the hands of Odin’s father. They discover that the Aether is at Asgard and attack Asgard. In their first attack, they are not able to take Aether with them as Jane was hidden by Thor’s mother who dies protecting her. However, the threat is imminent and Thor decides to take Jane to Svartalfheim (Dark World). However, Odin does not support the plan, thus requiring Thor to seek Loki’s help to escape from Asgard.

Thor, Loki and Foster confront Malekith and his forces, where Loki tricks Malekith into drawing the Aether out of her. However, Thor’s attempt to destroy the substance fails, and the Aether-empowered Malekith leaves with his ship. Loki appears to be fatally wounded while protecting Jane. Thor, cradling Loki, promises to tell their father of his sacrifice. Loki replies, “I didn’t do it for him” before evidently dying in Thor’s arms. Thor and Jane reunite with Selvig, Darcy and Ian, Darcy’s intern, in London after discovering another portal in a nearby cave. They learn that Malekith plans to unleash the Aether to destroy the universe, and that he will do this in Greenwich, the center of the Convergence. Thor battles Malekith, but a portal separates them, leaving Malekith unopposed. Thor comes back in time to help Jane, Selvig, Darcy and Ian use their scientific equipment to transport Malekith to Svartalfheim, killing him before he can destroy the universe.

I found the movie to be extremely good and thoroughly enjoyable. I wouldn’t disclose what happens in the end, because that’s the best part about the movie. The special effects in the movie were too good and once again Loki steals the show. I absolutely love the character. He is smart, cunning, full of tricks, while Thor is simple, honest and easily trusting – the two characters couldn’t be any more opposite.  I love the way Marvel makes their movie and introduces one character at a time. Eagerly looking forward now to Captain America – The Winter Soldier.

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Day 24/ 365 – Thor 2 – The Dark World

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

I will be watching this movie today – first day first show (atleast in Mumbai). Until a few years ago, I wasn’t even aware of the super hero called as Thor. All I knew were Superman, Spiderman, Batman and Phantom and I could say that I wasn’t a big fan of any of them. I didn’t keep up with the comics, or with the movies when they came out or for that matter television series (Smallville etc.). All that changed when I watched my first Batman movie and since then I try to see most of the super hero movies as and when they are released. At the same time, I have found a good friend, Saurav Roy, who is much more passionate about comic books and super hero characters and ensures that we watch any superhero movie first day first show. We watched The Dark Knight Rises – twice in the same day (first show and the last show). Booked the tickets for Superman – The Man of Steel, but couldn’t see it due some print issues all over Mumbai for the movie. Walked 4-5kms on pitch dark roads in Chandigarh to watch Wolverine while waiting to the catch the train next morning. And today we are going to see Thor 2 – The Dark World. Even though the movie is all about Thor, I like the character of Loki and it is played extremely well by Tom Hiddleston. He appears extremely calm from outside but full of anger inside. His manages this look very well and comes off as a smart calculating villain. Excited to know what he is up to in this movie. I really liked the first movie and I am hoping this one is even better than the first one.

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Day 23/ 365 – Mission to Mars

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Yesterday India launched a satellite probe to Mars – first of its kind for India and on shoestring budget of Rs. 450 crore (equivalent to $73 million – less than some of the movie budgets and definitely less than the transfer fee paid by Real Madrid for Gareth Bale) and within 15 months of Government approval. If probe manages to reach Mars, it would be the first from an Asian country and put ISRO at par with NASA, European Space Agency. This is quite an achievement by ISRO. After the launch news was announced, I spent some time going through Reddit to see what the reaction of the users was. I was anticipating a lot of racist comments and a lot of comments about how this money could be used to eliminate poverty etc and to be honest I was right. The initial reaction of the Reddit crowd was very negative, however, slowly and steadily a lot of positive comments were sent across by the users which was really heartwarming to see. Lately India has became very popular among the Western world for the amount of rapes which take place and how women are being harassed and generally all things negative. Anything positive that India does also tends to get drowned out by the negative voices. So I was glad this feat got applauded by the community .

I would consider the entire achievement as a lesson in frugal engineering. I think we are the masters when it comes to frugal engineering. Ask any FMCG company or any healthcare provider and they would readily acknowledge this fact. Considering the amount of poverty that we have in India, a lot of companies have come up with ways to reduce manufacturing cost to ensure that the production costs are kept to the minimum which turn keeps the overall cost low, else people aren’t going to buy it. Same thing is applicable for the healthcare industry, a lot of low cost solutions have been devised to ensure that treatment is provided to people at affordable prices and at good quality. We have already seen a lot of citizens from the Western world come to India and get treated at a relatively cheaper cost than back home. I think the world can learn a lot from India as far as frugal engineering goes. May be one day they will.

Mars probe liftoff
Mars probe liftoff

Day 20/ 365 – The conspiracy behind the reduced South Africa series

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

All Indian cricket followers are aware of the upcoming tour to South Africa, one of the most difficult places to tour in world cricket, especially if you are the Indian team. There has been a lot of coverage about how BCCI had not agreed to the itinerary and the same was unilaterally announced by the South African cricket board. Then came the real reason that BCCI didn’t get along with Haroon Lorgat because of his actions when he was the chairman of the ICC. There were even reports that the BCCI didn’t want him to be selected for the post of chief executive of South Africa cricket board. That’s what is called interference. However, that’s not the point. What if the Haroon Lorgat is just a scrape goat? What if the real reason is something else? Here is what I feel could have happened..

The original tour itinerary was supposed to have 3 tests, 7 ODIs and I believe 2 T20’s (not sure of the T20’s). The reduced tour itinerary now stands at 2 test matches and 3 ODI’s and no T20’s. Have we heard of any series where we don’t have T20’s? Post which India is supposed to travel to New Zealand to play 5 ODI’s and 2 test matches until end of Feb 2014. There is also World T20 World cup in March 2014. So there was no home test at least for the next 6 months. I am not sure if many people remember, around the time of July/ August that there was speculation in the media that selectors have asked Tendulkar to make up his mind and retire. Obviously, selectors simply denied it. Probably this gave BCCI the idea, to create this entire ruckus around Haroon Lorgat and not agree to the itinerary announced by the South African cricket board (CSA). After all how can they allow Tendulkar to play his last test in a foreign country? They would have probably also asked Tendulkar whether he intended to be around for the next season. I am thinking, Sachin, most likely, said “NO”. Now as a board, you cant have the best player this country has ever produced to retire in some other country and miss out the revenue his retirement would generate? I am guessing not. So what did BCCI do? They started looking out for teams who are free to play during the month of November and when they found out West Indies were available, offered them truck loads of money (we all know how starved of cash the Windies board is) and announced the series – which is now being marketed by Star Sports. Obviously, Sachin retiring is a huge event and BCCI is milking it to the maximum. I would have preferred Sachin retiring while facing the fastest bowler in the world, on the top of his game, in a foreign country with bouncy pitches rather than face a team who will hardly provide any challenge. I am not sure this is the type of send off Sachin would have wanted for himself – for the Lion, even though old, is still the king of the jungle.

Day 19/ 365 – Diwali

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

The festival of Diwali is upon us and on this auspicious occasion, I wish everyone a very Happy Diwali (although belated). A lot of people nowadays seem to be complaining how Diwali has become just a festival of noise and how much air pollution it causes etc. While I like to call these people enlightened, I feel that they are forgetting that they were once kids who would indulge in bursting crackers – creating noise and air pollution. They were once the same kids who would burst firecrackers late in the night and not let people sleep or get up at 4am in the morning and wake every one up with their Rassi Bombs. And believe me, they used to enjoy it a lot too. There was certain fun that was to be had, after all it is Diwali and you don’t get to light fireworks every day.  I was one of those kids who used to enjoy Diwali – burst crackers and all. I still do. While I don’t burst crackers any more, but I don’t feel others should give up their fun. I understand it is harmful for the environment and all, but at the same time it brings immense joy on the face of the child when he lights up the flower pots or when plays with the sparkles. I know I know a lot of you would be saying that it is not the children who burst bombs. But then, there is a child in everyone of us. May be for some adults, bursting crackers brings out the child in them. As it is our day to day lives are full of stress, may be bursting crackers with the loved ones will bring enjoyment in their stressed lives.

We have seen a reduction in the usage of noise producing firecrackers and pretty soon we would be moving towards a noiseless Diwali, which we would be equally enjoy. I think as a generation we are moving forward and it takes a some amount of time for the things to change. Until then for people who keep complaining about the noise, the air pollution and everything in between, I would just say – its Diwali, enjoy.

Day 18/ 365 – Drive to Nathdwara (3/3)

~ Akshay ~ Leave a comment

We reached Nathdwara after 15 hours of driving. After doing one darshan, the rest of the day was spent taking rest and catching up on some well deserved rest. We decided to leave the next afternoon after visiting all the afternoon darshans. The morning was spent in visiting the temple and doing darshans and at the same time doing shopping. We left for Mumbai at 1pm on Sunday afternoon. I decided to drive during the return trip while brother was sitting next to me. Once again we made the mistake of taking the Udaipur bypass. While the initial road was empty and didnt have any vehicles at all. We once again had to pass through the RIDCO area and this time we got stuck in heavy truck traffic. We drove on the extreme left on the muddy road and started to slowly overtake the trucks.  We drove like that for some 30 mins, until we couldn’t go any further. We were simply stuck in extremely slow moving traffic. It was already past 3pm and we were still stuck in slow moving truck traffic.

We finally found an opening in the traffic and drove in the opposite direction overtaking a lot of trucks. Finally we reached a spot were we couldn’t go forward any more. We were stuck behind some cars with trucks to our left and now we had trucks coming from onward direction. We were in a tight spot – on a single lane road and there was no place to go. We couldn’t go forward because of the cars and there was no scope of reversing. The on coming truck then went to the extreme right of the road and started passing us. A first couple of trucks were easily able to do that, but then came an 18 wheeler rig and he simply started driving straight at us. I started yelling at him that he was going to touch the car. He said he couldn’t go any further right and that the rig would topple over. Just at the same time, the vehicles started moving forward and we were able to move the car ahead. We were finally able to leave Udaipur 3 hours after we had started from Nathdwara. A lot of precious time was lost in the traffic.

We then started driving towards Ahmedabad and were cruising along. There was some festival going on the in the local village and at one such junction they had stopped the entire traffic as they were crossing the road. There were people dressed up in a colorful manner but were carrying swords and all. I wanted to take some pictures but since I was driving, there was no scope of doing that. We continued on our way to Ahmedabad. We reached the outskirts of Ahmedabad around 8pm. We werent sure of the directions and hence turned on our GPS on the phone and kept following directions. The GPS took us right through Ahmedabad city and we were surrounded by rash driving bike traffic from all sides. There were atleast 3 people on each bike that we saw and on one instance, we even saw 5 people on a bike. There were no traffic cops and none of the signals were working and traffic was generally a mess. At one such junction, we had a bike to our left who wanted to take a right and we were driving in the middle lane. Instead of waiting for us to go, they tried to overtake us and in the process hit the car. My brother who was driving at that time was damn pissed about this. But we decided to continue forward to our journey. We saw the exit towards Vadodara and took the Ahmedabad Vadodara expressway.

We took a dinner break near Bharuch around 10:30pm. There was still another 5-6 hours of driving ahead of us. The bad road between Bharuch and Surat was in front of us. I was driving in the right most lane, so were all the other vehicles. Apparently the middle lane had way too many potholes and there was no way for us to know when the next pothole would hit. We tried to slow down our speed and adjust the headlights, but it was just not possible to avoid it.  We drove like that until we reached Surat. By this time, I was tiring and asked my brother to take over. My brother then drove for the next 4 hours and we reached home around 4:30am on Monday morning. Initially, I thought it would be a good trip, but by the end of the journey we were all extremely tired. The next time, I do such a long distance trip, I am going to take some time and not have to drive 14-15 hours.