Time!

Have got no time to write a blog for the last week...Had so many thoughts to prompt me into it but no time!

Weekdays are absolutely occupied by work and more importantly the travel to work! And all the household chores are to be done on Saturday! That leaves me Sunday, which can be easily basked away sleeping or 'doing' nothing at all! Lets hope I can utilize some of my 'nothing' time.

Pune traffic is one of the reasons I am not having time on weekdays! I mean I am so dead breaking(more truer that braking) my bike about a zillion times to avoid from killing someone on road! Plus the most important factor in the exhaustion is the noise...People honking away at will. If this goes on and on...I am surely going to need a hearing instrument in a while. As soon as the traffic light turns green, all vehicles start hooting like its a mass raid! I mean there's absolutely no man on the road who actually wants to stay on the street! Plus, how's your honking going to matter? I blame it to the lack of traffic sense though. Consider for example Mumbai traffic: way too large in size. But because of the traffic sense of the drivers, you might take time to reach home (which is maybe 10 min extra) but you are not mentally dead! The huge number of two wheelers on road and the ability of three wheelers especially...And to add the quality of four wheelers to drive like a two wheelers just ruins the pleasure of a 'drive'.

For me at least, my company is starting a bus, so I might take more time but way less of mental stress! Plus, I might utilize the good little ipod of mine for more time that it deserves!

Sachin ala re...

As the long wait for the return of the batting maestro comes to an end, the hopes and expectation rise for his success. Nothing new in a country where careers are made or destroyed within battling of an eye.

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, an idol, a beyond divine status but still palpable approach to life making him very human and his down to earth persona reflecting what makes him a great champion. Started his career, what seems ages ago, in 1989, in a memorable series against Pakistan. I was very young, but still remember the scenes at home when everyone was expecting very little from the youngster, disregarding the choice voicing him too young to play. He was soon to prove his critics wrong. And, proof after proof, 35 test and 38 One-day centuries later, accumulating more man of the match awards than anyone in the history, is still doing it. Criticism has come his way aplenty, as much as he has received undying adulation from his fans. But a figure stands tall, etched in the memory, as the pride of the nation along with a handful few in the nations history. He has had his failures, but the most endearing part of the little man is to stand tall and learn every lesson with an infinite capacity to take the pain and work hard. His success has to be attributed to his talent, but chiefly to his acute intelligence and keen mind.

He admits, that he is a cricketer of the 'One day' age, when test cricket was taking a battering and the pajama cricket was taking over the mantle. Just as the Kerry Packer circus was doing a grand gala opening, there was an outburst of the 'hit out or get out' mantra. There were only a handful few who could still do well with the orthodox cricketing ways and methods. A select few who could exhibit all the shots from the teaching manuals. Then there were others who got so stuck with the teaching manual that they could not adapt to the rigorous requirements and changes in the game. Tendulkar succeeded because he had the approach of not only modifying and building his own technique when need be but keeping his foundations strong.

He loves the one-day format, where he can dominate the bowlers at will and baffle the crowds with his oomph, excitement and positive approach. But he thrives in the longer format too, scoring runs after runs and keeping the country's heart beating. There was an age when the entire country depended on his performance and he would rarely fail to deliver. When you have 10 players failing so regularly around you, your team facing defeats on a regular basis, it becomes hard to maintain that will to succeed. Though it is equally challenging to succeed any way, but if success comes to the team without your contribution, there is that extra impetus to do well yourself. He did not have that in the definitive part of his caree -a lapse of pressure that if you fail one time, there is someone else to do the job! But he marched on, carrying with him the spirit of the team which has now come to a stage where it no longer relies only on him. Its a transformation, a change that people don't understand to easily. Not only attributed to the rise of other players but also the advance in age and wear and tear of the body.

A machine that has become old, but still has in it to thrive extra to achieve the same output as the newer ones. A person after achieving success that might not be surpassable by anyone at all, stands as the most humble champion to have graced the cricket field. Very few critics can take that away from him and that alone is the biggest tribute to arguably the greatest to have played the game!

Terror Strikes...

As we hear about the series of blasts that ripped through the local railway transport system across Mumbai killing more than 150 people and leaving more than 500 injured, the first thought that comes to mind is - what a shame! It leaves you wondering about the similarity of the attack to the 1993 blasts – the first of its kind in the entire world. Mumbai, being the financial capital of India, the base of the underworld and being the largest city of the country has drawn attention of these ‘terrorist organizations’. Local trains are lifelines of the city and hitting the trains at prime rush hour takes huge planning and coordination. It’s the biggest failure of the Intelligence services of the country not to have inkling about such organized attacks.

Though Kashmir sees terrorist activities on a day to day basis, the impact of such well planned and orchestrated attacks on a cosmopolitan city leaves you wondering about what the Security and Intelligence systems of the country are adhering to. As today itself we saw another series of blasts across Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir. Though on the casualty score has been low there, a new trend that has been seen off late is the attack on tourists. Earlier the Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed or the Hizbul Mujahideen were seen attacking the residents (more prominently the Hindu Pundits) now they have taken on the tourists in what seems to be an act to acquire media attention.

Are these attacks linked? Is there a single factor behind Srinagar and Mumbai? As for Srinagar is concerned, the terrorist organizations have always been able to convince local goons to carry out their ‘operations’. In Mumbai, the 1993 attacks were carried out by the underworld nexus lead by Dawood Ebrahim and co. Can these attacks be linked to such gangs again?

While one can only sympathize with the victims and those affected, the thoughts of ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ hover around the mind. India has always been a target of these militant groups.

The strength of people around such occurrences gives you some relief as they stand together in these times of distress. The signs of normalcy settling in are a sign that we are getting immune to such acts. Is that the correct way out? Is there a solution to the problem? Can terrorism be controlled? What are the roots? All these questions spring to life. The root for terrorism is undoubtedly hatred and ill faith. But the true question is where does this hatred come from? How can the life value of fellow humans lose down to such low? Is the government taking all the necessary steps for such actions to stop?

Is Gandhi faith going to work or is the US way the solution or is there an intermediate solution? Can terrorism be stopped by terrifying? By killing a few people of the organizations, or bombing some hideouts, can these inhumane acts be stopped? For a first, the Indian economy and power is not strong enough to carry out what the US did in Afghanistan. According to me, what US did in Afghanistan against the Taliban was a farce, just to show that some action has been taken, but what was the result. The objective was to terminate/capture Osama bin Laden in which the US completely failed. Can India, hypothetically, go about doing the same in PoK? For me that’s not a solution. Not giving attention to these groups and not paying heed to their threats can give a sense of insignificance to these groups which could be interesting. But the Intelligence Services have to work doubly hard to make sure that such things are not repeated to incorporate security in the public mind.

Media has a very important role. Media has to be more careful in choosing the perspective to be portrayed out of a situation. Instead of showing panic, if a positive outlook is borne, giving a sense of strength and maturity, the effects can be serene instead of severe and can avoid repercussions like the riots in 1993.

Whatever maybe the way, the system needs a vision and perseverance to handle the situation and let us hope the proper vision gets support from all aspects of the society.

Azurris Rule in Berlin...

Italy are the World Champions for the fourth time in history, a repeat of their 1982 performance. Interestingly, just before the 1982 edition, there was a big match fixing scandal for the Scudetto just like the four Serie A teams have been under the watch eye. Well, the public will not complain about it much the next time the scandal hits the scene...

Zidane headbutted out of the final...not the first time he has been involved in such behaviorial felonies. For a player of his stature and position it was an absolute disgrace. Ironically, he has been awarded the Golden Ball, as the player of the tournament. For me, it was Fabio Canavarro. He has been the heart and soul of the Italian team and led them like a general in war. The World Cup was about defenses, highlighted by the fact that only 143 goals were scored compared to 161 in 2002 and 171 in 1998 in 64 games each, 141 scored in 1994 in only 52 games.

It was the efficasy at which the resolute Italian defense denied the opposition anything at all. The only goal they conceded was an own goal and one in the Final through a penalty that was 'earned' with all the theatrics. But flamboyance wins easily over tenacity. I dont say this because I hate France because they are cheats (same to Portugal- why cant they play a clean game!)...for me champions have to come across with humility and truth. Anyway, here summarizing a few best and worst moments of this edition...

Best players:
Fabio Canavarro(ITA), Zinedine Zidane(FRA), Andrea Pirlo(ITA), Ricardo(ESP), Gianluigi Buffon(ITA)

Worst players:
Peter Crouch(ENG), Pauletta(POR), Mark Viduka(AUS)

Top entertaining teams:
Germany, Argentina

Most boring teams:
England, Netherlands

Dramatic teams: teams that believed it was not football match, but WWF match
Portugal, France

Big let-downs:
Frank Lampard(ENG), Ronaldinho(BRA), Ruud van Nistelrooy(NED)

Stupidest people:
Zinedine Zidane(FRA), Sven Goran Ericsson(ENG-coach), De Rossi(ITA)

All show- no play:
Crsitiano Ronaldo(POR), Theirry Henry(FRA), Arjen Robben(NED)

Fed Ex delivers on time...

Federer Express marches on in style...

And thus, Roger Federer emulated Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras by winning four consecutive Wimbledon crowns by beating Rafael Nadal 6-0 7-6 6-7 6-3 at the All England Club for Tennis and Croquet. Prior to that, the pair of Nadal and Federer made it a first in the Open era and first since 1952 to play back to back French Open and Wimbledon finals...an outstanding feat by the two focii of the tennis world today. These true champions of the sport are as different as chalk and cheese. One has dominance on clay continuing a 66 match unbeaten streak on clay courts and the other making it 48 on the trot on grass with this win. One has flamboyance and exuberance written all over his charismatic endeavor; the other has a sense for tradition and has striking love for etiquettes. One sports a sleeveless vest and three-fourths; one sports a formal jacket on court.

But one thing they share is humility and respect for each other's abilities. The rivalry will definitely bring dividends and love from tennis lovers. Rivalries have always been great for the sport like Borg-Connors-McEnroe, Becker-Edberg, Edberg-Lendl and Sampras-Agassi. Just when the Roddick-Federer rivalry seemed to be building up with two back to back Wimbledon finals, Nadal has literally burst onto the scene with scintillating displays of committed tennis.

The final began with Federer running over his rival with such ease that it almost seemed like a first round match up. But Nadal soon raised levels to match Federer stroke for stroke which started to force errors from the Federer returns. Nadal broke Federer in the crucial 6th game of the second set to gain a 4-2 lead and just as he looked poised to get the set: serving at 5-3, Federer broke back and held his own to make it 5-5. As the set moved into the tiebreak, Federer clearly had to fight it out to win 7-5. That must have given Nadal much needed confidence going into the third which displayed fantastic tennis of the highest level. Eventually the set reaching another tiebreak without any break of serves and Nadal's will to perform got him the set he much needed. But then the World number one raised his game a notch and got two breaks on the trot, serving 5-1 for the Championships. Nadal showed great determination and grit to not go down without a fight and broke back but not for long as Federer sitting pretty
on the double break served out the match 6-3. Nadal has to beat it out another time to get a cherished championship. He does have to improve on his volleying ability to stake a claim.

Federer though, just proving to be the best Wimbledon champion in years to come. Next in line is motivation to equal Borg's record of 5 in a row!Guess its not as much trouble for Federer to change his jacket to bear 4 racquets on the pocket!

While keeping space for adding a few more...

A Beginning...

A very interesting moment to start my blogging career, if I may - a day which ends a month and half long period of sporting ecstasy.

It all started with the year's second tennis Grand Slam at Rolland Garros where World numero uno Roger Federer was vying for an all illusive French Open crown to become a proud conqueror of all four Grand Slams at a time. The only obstacle seen and one eventually proving invincible for him was the Spanish phenomenon - Rafael Nadal. After breezing past Nadal in the first set 6-1, Federer lost concentration and Nadal muscled him out in the bout

This was accompanied by India's tour of the West Indies, Critical Formula One Grand Prixs - ones which could decide if the championships might last a little longer. But then started the biggest sporting event along the years - FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany. An event that has sparkled unseen fan-following across the world. Today's the all important Final between Italy and France a repeat of the 2000 Euro Championships as about 2 billion viewers watching the fight for the most coveted and recognized prize in sport.

But before that comes another defining moment when Roger Federer takes on Rafael Nadal again, this time at the All England Club for the Championships at Wimbledon 2006. Federer eyes a fourth consecutive title to match Bjorn Borg and Pete Sampras in the open era. Nadal leads 6-1 head to head between the two a feat only he can boast over his opponent referred as 'the Archibald' for the artistry he creates on the tennis court. Notable statistics being that they have played 4 times on clay, considered Nadal's backyard and none on grass, easily Federer's best arena. Three times on hard courts have gone 2-1 in favor of Nadal. But today, Nadal has nothing to lose as he's considererd a strong underdog while on the other hand Federer has ample at stake. More to prove to himself against the Spanish about his ability to beat him.

The match starts in a while and I will add the match report soon...till then happy viewing...