Friday, December 24, 2010

Forlorn no more...


That Diego Forlan was the Golden Ball winner of the 2010 WC in South Africa may have come as a surprise to many but not me.He had single handedly led a side so much devoid of talents that were otherwise flooding in sides like Argentina,Spain and England.
Much to his credit,he led Uruguay to a deserved spot in the semis.The fact that Uruguay of all sides in Latin America went in the semis defies logic as Uruguay has only two distinguished players in their side by the name of Luis Suarez and Diego.
Having come of a fantastic season with Atletico Madrid,Diego was charged up with confidence after leading his side in to the Europa League trophy.His team later in the Uefa super cup demolished the higher tier team in Champions league holder..Internacionale.Diego has had just the near perfect year.His decisive goals against Liverpool,his former rival and Fulham in the Europa league showed his class
A team like Atletico would not dream much of winning the Liga BBVA with squads like Barcelona and Real Madrid making the league a two horse race most of the time.
But in spite of everything they ended up beating Barcelona and effectively giving Real another shot at the title race.So much for impact.
The goal against Fulham in the final in Hamburg.Goals when his side needed them in the World Cup.Diego has been a team player.He sacrificed his striker position for a more involved midfield role in the World Cup.That showed his commitment.Sir Alex Ferguson must have known with all his knowledge that he was letting a genius go for a pittance when he was incompatible with Nistelrooy as a striker and sent to Villareal.
He took that exile to his heart,and proved his mettle by winning Pichichi trophies in both in his time in the yellow submarine and in Atletico Madrid.A highly regarded forward in Spain now,he was named alongside the likes of David Villa and Samuel Eto'o.
It was inexplicable as to why he failed in England.He had the requisite pace skill and finesse in his game.His only flaw is probably flinging his jersey and his inability to back on after scoring a goal...
That aside.Players like him need to feature regularly because he is more of a form player.He is not the person who does you a cameo like Theo Walcott and even the odds.
It was evident as he got better and better with every game in the World Cup.
His powerfully precise shots tamed the troublesome Jabulani whose shape ruffled many a professional in the World Cup.That when players of the year like Kaka Ronaldo and Messi failed to control the wayward attributed of the ball amidst the irritating vuvuzuelas.The two names above were the most irritating finds of the
World Cup(Even more than Pele's predictions or Maradona's blatancy).
Led by Forlan,whose images as a Greek God were flooding magazines and the Internet,Uruguay defeated Ghana(amidst some fanning by Luis Suarez,mainly by his hand if not his game.) and ruined the African dream in the world cup.Although they were handicapped in the next game by the absence of the striker whose hand of God did Ghana in.Forlan did the scoring against Ghana,and in spite of a Herculean effort that hit the crossbar (that decided the road to the final)against Holland,Forlan failed.Forlan had tried his best.But it was not to be against a side so powerful and loaded in talents like Sneijder,Robben
and van Persie.Against the wounded Germany,Forlan tried his best there too,but it was too much for the diminutive dragon with the flailing golden tresses.
The Championship took its toll,and he was rightfully gifted the golden ball as a recognition of his dominance of the ball with his reality defying curling shots and that lethal finishing.Forlan returned without victory but not without glory.

He gained the respect he deserved in the event and showed the world how one man can make a difference.He represented what the likes of Rooney and Ribery lacked.The heart and soul of a heroe...a warrior and a rightfully worthy champion.It wont be strange if his former Manchester mentor gives him a call back in England.

In God i trust...


O God,I know I have sinned...a lot...
Forgive me Almighty for i seek thy
grace not because i love myself as much as
Narcissus..
but because i love my kith and kin more than
i do myself...
My love is reciprocated by them,who are good souls.
My sins are innumerable...and irrevocable,
but please show mercy for i love
my life and i love to live it.
Suffering has plagued me,I know its your wrath.
I seem to invite them in plenty.
But still i beseech you to save me.
Protect me from my foes,woes and trespasses.
I promise O Lord i will not let you down again.
My punishment is too great to bear.
Forgive me for i have a
lot to achieve.
A lot good to do.
I know I am no angel,
but please don't slight me as an epitome of evil.
Don't make me rust as barren and shrivel in plague.
Give me a chance Milord...a just chance...not solely to
achieve...
but to fulfill a promise...
a promise for a happy life for my seniors.
As when i was growing up and held his hand,
i regard him to be the most holy to me in land.
I revere him,
for he is your sincere devotee whose sin numbers are rare an
nominal...
I emulate him and a Mother
whose feisty love has saved me so many times in my life
in peril.
Also the one i share their blood with a sibling
whom I can give my life for...

Forgive me Lord...
please grace me thy panacea...my need of the hour...
For I shall not swear...but lay a promise never to let you down...
Please Oblige...O Lord...

The Leaders


We miss them.Ever
since the day we had gained our freedom.There is practically no one that stood up for something that did not decree as personal gain .Every time somebody made something,he exploited it for his good.That emanated from the capitalist mentality that is so rampant in the Occident.It is unfair though,that leaders who are one of us,should be given the burdens but scoffed at when it came to privileges.The borders of exclusivity
had to be defined,because of duplicability that threatens the innovative credits of the architect.If they fail they are trodden upon like ants on the floor.If they succeed well they are revered and pinned up on our walls as leaders.


Mark Elliot Zuckerberg did something that stood out in front in contrast to the corporate sleazeball.He was not one of those suited up success hungry businessman.
He was a simple person who stumbled upon the idea of one of the most popular networking websites in the Internet.The fact that he did this when he was a student only elaborates the desire of the well oiled brain.Fame,fortune and recognition as such followed him like he was the pied piper.
It was maintained that he did this for fun,and while that emerged to be an company with enormous potential,the simplicity and the appeal caught many an eye in the Internet.
Now that is a leader.One who works for passion and not motivated by money.That freedom allows the inventor to be free and the genius works tirelessly as such.
Leaders create and innovate in an environment of bliss.Its pathetic that there are only a handful who do that.The makers of the first mobile network in England,the inventors of 2-D and 3-D gaming all succeeded.Because they had the free spirit in common.That stands in contrast to the generations in India.A recent question rides in the mind of many,can our own future entrepreneurs pioneer something like above?
Needless to say,the social network concept is as brilliant as they come.Brain-child's like these don't need to be marketed,as they do well on their own.The closest such analogy is Lalit Modi's IPL.but he is no spring chicken when you talk about young entrepreneurs.That is because,unlike in India where genius evolves by cut throat competition,in the west it is nourished and if not innate,genius is acquired.Here,the sole ultimatum is to earn a cartload of money that one seeks to spend in a lavish and
happy life for him and his family.Here kids are bred so as to be earning units for their parents.A walking ATM,so to speak.Unlike in the West,where the mature offspring is not a dependence of the parent,but with age becomes more of a platonic relative.As much as we would like to harp about the values of our own cultures,how the young are respectful to the old;these are not compatible with the life that advances along in the west.
Its sad,that the root of such problems is not just mentality to study and think about paychecks,(rather than fulfillment of abilities) but is also connotative of the standards of living.As i mentioned before,genius is nurtured,instead of thrown in fierce competition in the West.That along with the general sense of security with regards to health and wealth.That also adds leverage to the working spirit which is not damped by burnout or lack of interest due to mundane jobs that spiral in the grooves of monotonicity.
It is as such justified to say that to expect such creative brilliance from one of our own is very difficult.There also has to be a lot of luck.Because more often that not,its luck that turns brave-hearts and heroes in what we call....

"The Leaders..."

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Bane of the left flank...


Gareth Frank Bale.Currently the toast of English football.
The ultimate dream of a winger.The young spike that has added far more sting than ever in the Spurs of north london.

On 2 November 2010, after a Champions League group stage match against Internazionale, teammate Rafael van der Vaart said, "Everyone is scared of him [Bale]. Maicon is one of the best right-backs in the world — he killed him."
That sums up the phenomenon that Tottenham have unearthed.
Already a highly sought-after commodity in the transfer market,Spurs credibility in the Champions league has been rubber stamped by Bale's class.
The amazing runs down the left wings would even make Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi proud.The ferocity of his game after the ball,his turf burning pace are not just skills that are raw and precocious.He worked hard to acquire them.Unlike the superstars named above,Bale's path to fame was not a bed of roses.Injuries,ligament tears and coming to terms with the hardest league in the world together with bad form and lack of confidence once saw him go on a win less streak of 24 games.But his will to succeed and the self confidence in his abilities turned on the afterburners in the highway of football glory.
Bale evolved as he matured and he laced his physical game with lethal precision that are necessary to make it on top as a winger.Initially a substitute for Benoit Assou-Ekotto,Bale now is a regular starter.Now he does not just help his defensive partner in his full back role,but together with another Spurs star Modric he turns defense into attack in the blink of an eye.It is amazing though.When he started out at Southampton with another pacy winger by the name of Theo Walcott,he was actually rated below him.Walcott is quicker and found his way and destiny in rivals Arsenal,but he finds it difficult to evolve in that highly competitive side.The big reason for Bale's success is because Bale has found with starting regularly that it is not just how you use your skills in the turf but also that the game is not just about speed or power ,its also about being at the right place at the right time.Now that makes him very hot to handle.Spurs were generally an unfancied side.But not anymore.After tearing apart opposition defenses of world class pedigree such as Maicon and Lucio;Bale,is more respected than any other winger in England.The sole exception has been Rafael da Silva,but the Brazilian too is a prodigy that matches Bale's class.But then Bale has been playing week after week while it has not been the same for Rafael.Bale's amazing gifts have been touted highly and he was eligible to play for England,but he chose Wales.That suffice to say defines why England have been so wayward in international football.Too much changing and no patience with youngsters.City,United Real Madrid Barcelona and Inter all have been associated with Bale but it is important he stays put,because he is not a finished product.He has a lot to learn and unlike the other young superstars should learn to be motivated by the passion for the game and not the money and fame.That makes the Ronaldo's and Messi's assets in their teams.Already midway in the season,he has made a lot of teams uncomfortable.Arsenal have bitten the dust in their own backyard.Chelsea squandered points at 3 point lane for the third time.Liverpool and City have struggled.In fact the only team that has been successful in bottling him up is United.Probably next time wont be so easy for the aging United defense against the developing superstar of tomorrow that is Bale.

Only 21,Bale has a long way to go.A very long one.The curling crosses will be more dangerous.The shots will have more power and experience will mould his skills as a great footballer.Of course the paychecks will also get fatter.Hopefully that wont be the case with his chained to the ground head.Touch-wood.Good luck Gareth!

Sachin Ton-dole-kar.





You can deny it.He blows your mind.21 years later he still does it.
Maybe the rigors of carrying the Indian team alone has taken its toll
on his body.But he still is the master.Occasionally the blaster.
He does not need to be the latter anymore though.We have a dangerous
explosive that is home grown for that.MSD.
But Sachin Tendulkar cant care less.He is like Jamaican rum.
The older the better.
Although that metaphor does not have a leg to stand as he
recently withdrew a lucrative offer to endorse one of its kind.
So I apologize.The novice blogger will have his errors.
But I swear I wont be Mr.Steve Bucknor.
For the last two and half decade he has been the leader of every Indian side that has taken the turf for a tussle.
It has been Sachin and ten others for like forever.
Fans and colleagues wont care who the opposition is.That is because we have God on our side.We have battled by him.And i mean every fan who wants a hundred every time
he enters the field.We pray for him.
We pray that the bowler is bashed around,we don't care about the pitch.
Whether its a coalmine in Delhi or Kanpur or a highway of a pitch in Sydney.
We don't care about the extra bounce the Mcgrath's or
the Donalds used to bounce him out.
We don't care about the field placements.
We want the rare edge to go past the bucket-like hands of the opposition fielders.
We want him to score.
We want the crisp cover drive which he denied in a Test against Australia.
We want him to bat forever and ever.We don't care if he is 50..We want him to play.Like Indiana Jones.Like Rocky Balboa.Like Amitabh Bachchan.We just cant get enough.Sorry if that is undue pressurizing.But the day
he debuted at 16..He made a choice.A promise to every Indian.That he will make us proud.He cant back out now.He must keep on doing what he does best.And even while some think that 50th Test century was enough..
Well you know what..as one his ad says "Impossible is nothing.."
May he achieve the impossible.And that is not just 100 tons.
But more...

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Inheritance


The biggest democracy of the world(for the geeks,in terms of population..)-India...
- the greatest country of the orient...
The country which is illustrious not only in its vast history,but because of its contribution in every facet of mankind.The nation which has been a resplendent jewel in Scientific economic and cultural advancement that implicates the greatness of the being known as homo sapiens.
The country envied by the west.
The standard setters when it came to prosperity, and a gold standard for imperialists.(Every kind of pun intended!)
From Alex(aka Sikandar) to Ghazni(not the movie!);from Ghengis to the British.There is practically no race absent from the list of invaders.


Well,that was like ages ago.
After thousands of years of plundering,desecrating every dimension of our inheritance with cultures that were foreign and visioned as vile(an understatement so to speak),we were left with the holy books(Gita Quran Bible and the Constitution).
Ah,yes we were left with fragments of a gigantic jigsaw that geeks like me decipher.
That so much so ..some people never cease to harp on to.
The giant jigsaw of - India!!!(one more time!)

That too was 6 decades ago.With the limbo phase between 15th August 1947-26 January 1950.A lot has changed since then.And to describe the multitude of change
i will give you an example-The earth with a gravel.Yes that's the ratio of change.
Every aspect of humanity has changed..the economy,the system,the people, the fashion,the ones who run the country.Girls don't like to take the backseat no more.
Kids don't learn mythology from books-they graduate it in from cabled television.
We learn about female heroines who fought for the country singlehandedly.We learn about Ramayana in a way that reeks of the classical Bollywood movie.Alas,with figments that spice up the monotonicity.Although i am not judging,it does say a lot that the future generations will only get what we shall impart unto them.
That's a cold reality.We want the future to sustain on itself by the values we give them.But are we giving them the right ones?


A certain leader revered by us youth recently said about saffron and related it to malice.It was unfortunate.Probably his only faux Pas.Well,um..he has younger kin who said something similar.Far more unfortunate.But the thing is..ultimately to evolve and make it as the "great" nation we are..we cant just keep this infighting in a non
pausable mode.Well since infighting has been the queue for imperialists.But then you want us to fight them in the borders in weathers you wont even tread in your best days.So, that you may use the bloody time in wasting in your futile diplomacy.
No country is , has and will be perfect.Nor will any system.Since it is the flaws that gels people together,in other cases causes estrangement.
They say they want the future to take the reins.Well,we shall let the old man know we cant have him tugging it and telling us to hold it too.You got to leave some room.But Son of a Gun..when we do..we are impudent.We confuse our sexuality , our virtues and we call ourselves modern.Thou shalt heap scorn.It is weird though.If you don't like it...do something about it.

Thing is...we shall keep making mistakes.It is inevitable.You must guide us.You must not pick us up.But tell us how to use the earth for leverage.That's your job sir.
Not to beat the h3## out of us in schools.Not to abuse us for your pleasures and debauchery.Not to make us work until breaking point in your IT mills.Not to make dirty money from marketing our flesh.That includes the crap that are flooded in the internet.Not to separate the ones we love with regard to our differences in caste and creed.Not to force us to take the blame to hide your ills.
Not to make our confidence hit six fit under while rock bottom.And if we cant get our inheritance,we shall take it from you.
No offense but it wont be pretty.No sir.Its our inheritance and like it or not we are going to get it from you.


One way or another.