OH NO!

I am on the news.

கேள்விகளுக்கு பதில் தேடுவோம்.

இந்த இணையத்தில் இந்த பதிப்பை படித்தேன். இதை பார்த்ததில் எனக்கு முததில் தோண்றிய எண்ணங்களை இங்கு பதிவு செய்துள்ளேன். இதைப்படிப்போர்கள் படிப்பது மட்டுமின்றி இதை செயலில் ஆழ்த்த கரங்களை ஓங்கவீர்களென நம்புகிறேன்.

"மிக விளாவரியாக நிரய விஷயங்கள் தெரிவித்திருக்கிறீர்கள். ஆனால் பதிப்பை கேள்விகளுடன் முடித்திருக்காமல் சில விடைகள் பதித்திருந்தால் இன்னமும் வலுவான பதிப்பாக இருந்திருக்கும். எல்லா விஷயங்களுக்கும் அரசை நம்பி இருக்காமல், கல்வியை நமது கையில் எடுத்துக்கொண்டு பரிமாரும் எண்ணம் நம்மைப்போன்ற இளைஞர்களுக்கு வரவேண்டும். உலகிலேயே இளமையான நாடாக இருப்பதனால் பெருமை மட்டும் கொள்ளாமல், அதை சரியாக உபயோகத்தில் ஆழ்த்தினால் நிச்சயமாக 2020 ஆண்டில் மற்ற வளர்ந்து வரும் நாடுகளுக்கு ஒரு நல்ல எடுத்துக்காட்டாக நம் இந்தியா அமையும். ஒரு மனது கொண்ட இளைஞர்கள் ஒன்றாகச்சேர்ந்து ஒரு குரிக்கோளை அடைய முற்பட்டால், முடியாததென்பது கிடையாது, கேள்விகளுக்கும் இடம் கிடையாது."

Elephant Tru(n/c)k

What does the "X" above the elephant picture stand for? Hmm....

It would definitely be a great pitch for ads in the US for the pick-up trucks...

"Sí, se puede"

I recently read this article and was really amazed by the spirit shown by the people of Cuba. The article is aptly titled - "The Power of Community". The will to succeed and the optimistic struggle of this community has definitely paid off in the last 40 years. By profession, I promote energy efficiency and self-sustainability. But, the thing the article inspired me was the importance the Cuban community and government gives to the educational and medical welfare of its people. Mankind survived all the adversities of the years of civilization because people cared for eachother. This basic concept was lost somewhere in the midst of all the industrial and technological revolutions in the past century. We have become greedy, we have set our sights beyond what is really needed to sustain a happy and self-sufficient life. There is no argument that human nature is to keep exploring and wanting more but the roots of civilization must not be forgotten at the same time. We have to re-establish our wants and try to focus on the needs.

"Yes, it can be done".

Tragedies & Heroes

It is amazing how American media always come up with heroes out of tragedies. United 93 passengers were heroes after 9/11, as they possibly crashed the plane away from populated area. A 70-odd year old Israeli Professor is a hero in the Virginia Tech shootout as he supposedly took several bullets for his kids as they jumped out windows. All these seemingly heart-warming heroic acts might be intended to boost the morale of the public from the shock, but to me all these acts are just a hype to embellish the news and promote their own cause. Human nature is to survive and to protect. If normal humans performing these instinctive activities are heroes, then who is not a hero? It is important to give respect to the departed, but don't make a story out of it to sell your product.

Frankly speaking...

There is one thing that really makes life easier. But strangely many of us are reluctant to do that one thing for an unknown mysterious reason. Choices and decisions need to be made at some point or the other. Why wait to make a decision when the outcome is likely to be the same now or later? Life is too important to sit on choices for long. A strong planner and a quick decision maker is many steps ahead of one who isn't. Make life simpler and easier. Be frank and make quick and sane decisions.

பி.கு.: தத்துவம் நம்பர் மூணு லட்சத்தி பதினெட்டு.

சொத்தைப்பல்

இப்போதுதான் புரிகிறது, "சொத்தைப்பல்" என ஏன் சொல்கின்றனர் என்று. சரி செய்ய "சொத்தை" எழுதி வைக்கவேண்டியிருக்கிறது.

A bat, a ball and a whole lot of memories

Yes, it is true that India lost in the first round but that doesn't mean cricket has been swept under the mat for a while. Sunday was a rare weekend day in my life. I woke up early, cleaned up quick and drove towards a makeshift ball park cum cricket ground. I parked and walked towards the field covered by low fog hanging just 6 feet above the ground. It was slightly cold but the sight of cricket balls, stumps and bat just warmed me up from the inside.

Wishing my "good mornings" and smiling out my "how ya doins", I jogged towards the nearest ball I could get my hand on. I had a stiff back from a spasm I had a couple of days earlier and was a bit wary of testing it. But the spirit of playing cricket after a long break just gave me the energy to indulge. A couple of looping leg spinners dropped not far from the good length. I still had it in me. I recalled those wonderful days of competitive cricket I used to play for my school and then the college. I recalled the effort and sincerity I put to get into the school and college teams.

Getting into my school team was a no brainer. I used to play cricket all the time with my school buddies and was not too bad at it either. When it was time for school try-outs, most of us made it pretty easily as we knew eachother. It was also a fun time as our P.T. sir did little coaching and acted more as a moral supporter to the players. He had the confidence in us (or should I say that was the level of interest the school showed towards sports) to let us choose our own captain and the team. We did fair well even with little professional equipment, ground, coaching and "transport" (yea, we used to cram up the gear in our own kits and board the crowded Pallavan buses). We made it as far as the Quarter Finals of the TNCA Under-16 tournament and I am still proud of it as we got to play at the Chepauk MAC-B stadium (the little practice stadium outside the main MAC stadium). Those were good days.

Getting into my college team was a tough road. In my first year, I had to do so many things to get a chance that made me question my own integrity. Then, I gave myself the benefit of the doubt as I was young and immature. I had to give my TVS Champ to my seniors (in the cricket team) during lunch hours (God knows where they went). I had to stay back after hours just to bowl at net sessions so my seniors could play well in tournaments. I was not much of a bowler at school. But I had to do something different and something more than the guy next to me to get a chance. Finally one of my seniors (who used to take my moped during lunch) recommended me into the team. That was the chance I was waiting for and grasped it with both hands. I sat on the bench, but went with the team to all the tournaments to start with. Then, I was included in the playing eleven, playing low down in the order and bowling an over or two in between. I finally graduated to a regular middle order batsman with three or four overs a game. There were some memorable moments when I picked up three wickets in an over (unfortunately missing a hat-trick) and when my name was published in The Hindu for being the highest scorer for my college. Joyous days.

As I was recalling those wonderful days of the yesteryears (seems they were long long ago, so long ago, nobody can say how long ago...), the fog lifted up and the teams were formed. As the average age of the group of 16 was around 35 and to ensure equal opportunity to all(!!), a mandatory two overs per batsman or the fall of his wicket, whichever is earlier was stipulated (I guess it was suggested by a banker in the group!). The game was fun, refreshing and a good exercise for us. We ended up playing two games that were closely contested and both were decided by last wicket stands. The games were followed by idli, vadai, sambar and chutney, then by more Indian team bashing and Woolmer's murder speculating. It was an exhausting Sunday but turned out to be a memorable one.