Unlucky Mr. Manish Pandey

These are the recent stats of Manish Pandey. He has been performing well since last few years. Based on his gopod performances in IPL and recent domestic T20 matches, he finally was selected for the National squad for a one-off T20 International against West Indies.

However, before he could make his debut, the West Indies cricket team decided to abandon the tour mid-way during the One-Day series.

The young cricketer would have been elated by the maiden call only to see his dreams getting shattered later on. This is not the first time that he would have considered himself unlucky. After becoming the first Indian centurion in IPL, he was banned for a few matches when he tried to negotiate a better contract. He was making a paltry 30 Lakhs a year in IPL. That time, since he had not played for India, his name was not eligible for the players' auction. That year, he made 30 lakhs and Saurabh Tiwary, after having played 1-2 matches for India, walked away with 9 crores and 30 lakhs!!! It was not fair.

He was given a chance to play for India A against the touring Srilankan side and made an unbeaten 135 in the match. Afterwards, he has been consistently coming up with good performances.

I hope the opportunity knocks at his door again...and soon.

Dhoondhne se to bhagwaan mil jaate hain.....

Search for Veg

एक अकेला इस शहर में....
रात में और दोपहर में....
शाकाहारी खाना...
ढूंढता है....
शुद्ध शाकाहारी खाना....
ढूंढता है.....

Strange Incident

Strange incident happened today. While walking to the office, a girl approached me and asked for a favor. She was Malaysian and must have been in her 20s. She told me that the petrol light of her car (a metallic silver Myvi) is blinking and she needs some help. I noticed that an older woman was sitting in the back seat and seemed to be holding a baby. I could not really understand what the girl really wanted. Honestly, I expected that she would ask where the nearest fuel station was. Instead she asked me for money!!!

She told me that she has 6 ringgits only (!!!) with her, which is not sufficient for buying petrol. She also told me that she is going to Johor, which did not register in my mind immediately. Johor is FAR away.

So, to sum up their situation, 2 women left their house with a baby for Johor (which is around 4 hours away). They did not care to check the petrol level before leaving. And all they carried was 6 Ringgits between the two of them for the journey (there are several toll booths on the way)!!!

This sounded stupid and fishy at the same time. I was thinking if she is making all this up. But she looked pretty decent and did not come across as a person who would try and dupe an Indian (we are 'generally' cheap and miserly) near a police station. And she did look anxious and flustered. However, as I said, the story was indeed stupid and fishy.

I asked her how much does she need and she said 40 Ringgits. That is not a lot of money but 'practical' people generally do not give that much money to strangers with a stupid/fishy story.

Fortunately for her, I am not the practical types. I gave her the 40 Ringgits that she was asking for. She barely thanked me before jumping in her car. She did not ask me for my number or tell me that she would try and return the money!!! This made all this look even more strange. But, I walked away giving her a benefit of doubt.

I hope I have not been duped. I would feel disappointed (not embarrassed or cheated) if I come to know that people have been doing such things to make quick money. I do believe that world needs people who do not always think practically and try to help out complete strangers.

Shocking Declaration

I have been reading Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography. Most of the details in the book are already known, which is not surprising as Sachin has been one of the most 'written and talked about' celebrity. It is the smaller incidents and anecdotes that are quite interesting.

The section that I have loved the most so far is about what he felt when Rahul Dravid declared the innings in Multan in 2004, leaving Sachin stranded at 194 not out. That was undoubtedly a surprising decision. I had not watched the press conference afterwards and I did not know that Sachin had indeed communicated his surprise and disappointment. What is interesting is the point that Sachin has made in the book about Dravid delaying a declaration in Australia when Dravid was close to a century. On top of it, Sachin was pacing his innings in Multan as he knew the team plans and when exactly the team would declare. However, Dravid decided to declare an over in advance. The coach, Sourav Ganguly, Prof. Ratnakar Shetty (Manager) later told Sachin that it was not their decision and they felt sorry for Sachin. So, it was completely Dravid's decision. 

It is interesting to note that with that double hundred, Sachin would have equalled Dravid's tally of double-hundreds in Test cricket. Did that play a role? (Note: This is not in the book. It is my speculation)

I am surprised and happy that Sachin has communicated his thoughts about the incident so openly through the book.

My little assistant

Masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vini

Deda in my Glass!!!

Even Gods Make Mistakes

Managed to find an error in Sachin Tendulkar's autobiography. He has written that in the Boxing Day test match against Australia at MCG in 2003, Virender Sehwag got out on the bowling of Stuart Macgill.

This is incorrect as Sehwag was caught by Nathan Bracken at long-on off the bowling of Simon Katich.

I can never forget the innings and the dismissal. Sehwag played an innings that only he can. He got out trying to hit a six off a part-time bowler in order to reach what would have been his maiden double-hundred!!! I was amazed by the shot selection when he was knocking on the door of a milestone. Only he could have tried that. He failed to reach double century as Nathan Bracken caught the ball that was dying on him. I was heartbroken (and that is why I remember it) but Sehwag seemed unfazed. Later, at Multan against Pakistan, he tried to hit a six in order to reach a triple-century and thankfully he succeeded!!! That was the first triple century by an Indian and yet he thought of going for a six!!!

Coming back, Sachin has been factually incorrect. I am thinking of suing him for a dinner with him.

Saada Jeevan...Uchch Vichaar

No non-veg food, no alcohol, no aerated soft drinks....still going strong.

However, it is becoming a pain to try and find good vegetarian options in restaurants!!!

On this occasion, a Thai restaurant customized a dish for me. God Bless Them!!!!

All the loved ones!!!

This Day, Last Year

On this day last year, I had cried my heart out. That was Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar's last day in all forms of Cricket.

Thank You Sachin for all the great memories.

We are sorry Ananya

Dear Ananya,

I decided to write this to you as you are too young to understand this. And it is something that has been haunting me since yesterday. We felt bad when this happened and we feel bad whenever we are reminded (by each other) of the incident.

You are scared of movie theaters. You have indeed watched half a movie with us (you dozed off in the second half) but you were probably too young to get scared back then. Afterwards, we took you to watch an Amitabh Bachchan movie as you seem to be fond of him. However, you were scared by the dim lights and extremely loud sound (a monster screamed in a trailer before the movie started) and refused to sit in the hall. We tried whatever we could to pacify you and make you feel comfortable but you were just too scared. We came back before the movie could even start. We must have felt a little disappointed for missing out on an opportunity to watch a movie together but we understood your feelings.

Days and months went by. We never went to a movie hall again. Then one day we decided to try again. Your mom started to try and get you excited about watching an animated movie (your first movie was also an animated one) much before we left for the multiplex. You seemed excited.

However, when we reached the multiplex and were about to enter the hall, you started getting a little agitated. Probably the crowd, music and large posters reminded you of the last experience. You refused to go in the hall.

This time as well we understood your feelings but we tried to convince you to help you go past your fear. Your mom tried to remind you that you were so excited about watching the movie and it would be fun. But you did not change your mind.

We felt a little disappointed and said to each other (due to the disappointment) that we should not try again till you get much older. We were doing window shopping but we were definitely disappointed. I do not know whether you sensed our disappointment or just decided to give it a shot but you suddenly said "picture dekhenge" (will watch the movie)!!!

We were surprised and asked you again. You seemed absolutely unsure and confused but you again said, in a low voice, that you would watch the movie.

We were in the same complex and we returned to the multiplex. Just then I realized that you had gone absolutely quiet and were blankly staring at everything. You looked horrified. 

I pointed that to your mom and we asked you whether you want to watch the movie. You just looked at us and did not say anything. You had this uncertainty on your face and a hope that someone would understand. That is when I asked you with a smile "movie nahi dekhna hai na, ghar chalna hai na?" (You do not want to watch the movie and you want to go home, right?). You gave a faint but relieved smile and nodded.

I can never forget that expression of relief on your face. And I can never forget that you, sensing our disappointment, had decided to give it a shot. I am sorry Aanu, we should not have pushed you like that. We did not say anything to you but probably, with our expression and body language, we made you feel that you are doing something wrong. You were not. We were doing something wrong. And we are extremely sorry for that.

We will watch a movie together only when you are absolutely comfortable with it. I can understand that you have developed a mental block but that is okay. We are happy to wait.

I love you...always.

Papa

What a mess!!!

Fact # 1: Wife is not around since a fortnight

Fact # 2: Regular maid has been fired

Fact # 3: New maid comes once a week

Fact # 4: I have not got any better at keeping the house clean. I think I have this talent. Leave your clean house with me for a couple of days and I can turn it into a garbage bin!!!

Result: I can not stand this place. Disgusting!!!

Testing the Will Power

• Last alcoholic beverage was on Wednesday, 29th October 2014
• Last non-vegetarian meal was on 2nd November 2014
• Last aerated non-alcoholic beverage was on Tuesday, 4th November 2014

Now lets see how long can I abstain from such obsessions. I will be honest with you Animesh, I promise.

Strange Feeling

Today I returned to Kuala Lumpur after a 2 week trip to India. When I landed back in KL, I had this strange feeling. I felt that I have reached home!!! That is insane. I have been living in KL since last three years but I do not have any intentions of permanently relocating to Malaysia or any other country. India is home. Ranchi is home. Hyderabad is home away from home. KL is a temporary base. However, I felt comfortable and 'relieved' after reaching KL. It could be as I have my (our) own set-up over here. It could be as I can get that 'alone time' that I look for. Whatever it is, it was a strange feeling!!!