Thursday, April 29, 2010

37 and still learning……

                                     

Greatness is a term often misquoted and honoured to some undeserving ones.The greats hardly care about the labels given to them,just move on and on and do their best in what they excel.Fame too similarly isn’t easy to handle.You need modesty and satisfaction to accept that.Still didn’t get it?The above note was just a small description of the unassailable little master Sachin Tendulkar who recently turned 37 on April 24,2010.

                   21 years ago,a short chap,barely 5 foot,despite any domestic experience made his foray into international cricket against our most fancied “neighbour” Pakistan.Short balls,bouncers,yorkers against a perilous bowling attack,Sachin braved it all and how many times?Two mighty decades.Who would have thought a guy who had got a last minute inclusion in the Indian team would be the world’s best batsman alongside Bradman,Gavaskar?Born in Mumbai to Sau Rajani and Sri Ramesh Tendulkar,Sachin rose from a humble background  overcoming many hurdles to reach his contemporary status in this game.

Making it to the national team was the first challenge and he had conquered it successfully.So what next,the basic thing,survival?Did he have it in to endure a long run in this unpredictable ever-changing game?This is where the master won the mental aspect of the game and worked very hard and gave everything in his stint on the field.Never have the records or achievements gone above his head and the statement given by himself clarifies this

“I have never thought where I will go, or forced any targets on myself.”

He obviously had seriously delicate times in his standing in this game.Many suggested him to retire immediately after the disastrous campaign of 2007 World Cup.He never got bothered by those tumultuous periods,but has indeed grown from it.Even till date,the preparation he undergoes for every game is the same,be it a practice match,T-20 Game,ODI or Tests.

“At least with me, the match starts much, much earlier than the actual match”

He has indeed conveyed that survival is all more remaining modest and advance in the game rather than getting overwhelmed by applause and bogged down by criticism.An owner of such great talent and  unperturbed self control,he still feels Cricket is more of a team game and nothing else.This sounds so true especially when the possessor of utmost respect worldwide says it.

Off the field he has his own forms of recreation,the main feature being spending personal time with his loved ones.Father of two children,Arjun and Sarah,the champion makes it a point not to over involve cricket in his conversations and fairly distance it instead.He gives enough respect to the game though, so does personal life deserves it and he has maintained that balance so very effectively.Vinod Kambli who charmed through a brief period in the Indian team is a childhood mate of the master.He goes on to say..

”Nothing has ever changed in Sachin.He’s as child like and as naughty as before.He’s never allowed fame,glory to affect his character.He deserves every bit of what he gets.”

Despite all these he credits his captains,co-players who have had undue faith in him as a player and helped him in this successful journey.He still feels he hasn’t had enough of the game but he’s sure of one thing,he’ll continue to play as long his love for cricket never fails him or his physical fitness would get the better of him.

I am 37 and still learning”

Neither words nor sayings would justify what he has done for the game.It’s certainly difficult to estimate how invaluable he’s as a team player and an icon.Never would just one article glorify a genious perfectly,probably never can one because

 “Genious isn’t a man of  words but a man of action”

.We can just say one thing at the moment.

Go on Master!Go on!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Reliving the classics of the golden era…

                                          

When wondering on what to zoom into my DVD player for the weekend,there I found a copy of a movie named “Saudagar” which I hardly knew anything about.All I could recognize were the faces of the ensemble cast starring Big B and Nutan.So i was pretty much sure of a tidy fare in the offing.Eventually it has surpassed all my expectations and here’s why.

Setting of the movie…..              

The movie commences with scenes capturing daily trends and chores of a villager.Mejuben(Nutan) is a widow who leads an unhappy compromising life who has nothing in life to be satisfied with.Meanwhile, Moti(Amitabh) is a trader of the essence earned from Khajur trees and converting to gur.To earn her living,Mejuben works a deal out with Moti and share the revenues earned from the business.Moti is a successful trader but has a meagre share in the money pocketed ,not even for himself.As days move on,Moti is awe-struck by a girl PhoolBanu(Padma Khanna) and both madly fall in love.In his quest for a marriage proposal to her girl’s father,the latter demands 500 bucks as a minimum deposit or a kind of security for his daughter.Moti, who hardly earns a square meal a day is left pondering over on how to arrange for the required sum and win over his lady love.Moti gets cunning this time around and plans to play a prank of a marriage with Mejuban and ensure the whole revenue to himself and when he’s able to make the ends meet,leave her on the name of divorce and marry his love interest.Poor lady falls in the trap and subsequently marries him though she’s a bit surprised of his decision.The rest of the tale focuses on twists and turns of both their lives and what fate had ultimately in store for them.

What struck me?

This offbeat movie is full of life like situations with each scene striking a chord with the audiences despite little commercial value.In terms of script,it has it’s heart at the right place.Amitabh long before his dream run in commercial cinema shows why is he called a true legend.Without any violence nor power dialogues,he redefines acting with subtle expressions and unmatchable composure.Nutan is at her very best matching scene by scene,expression by expression with Big B and handles a tough role with an admirable ease.Despite lesser screen presence,she steals the heart of the spectator scaling the film to unimaginable heights.Padma Khanna as a materialistic wife is just about passable.The music gels well with the pace of the movie and Sajna Hai Mujhe is my pick of the album.

Ultimately……

Life has many situations where we’re tested for our true caliber as an individual.The person who bails out himself safely without causing any unduly harm to others emerges as a true winner in life.The characters in the movie too are put into check their real mettle mentally.The basic reason the film works is for its simplicity and connectivity factors.Barely 2 hours,the film stands out effectively portraying the uncertainties of the unprivileged and on the whole has a good stamp of Rajshri Films in it.The director uses his imagination and turbulent realities weaving a gritty tale.Hats off! Make time for this one!This is a salute to a gem of the golden era!

 

 

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

A take on the “POWER” 5…….

Being in India,there are always a few areas which you can never leave out of your talks or chats.They never cease to exist.Here’s my take on the most talked about 5 topics i.e. power 5

MEDIA

Which day has not started or has gone by without a newspaper,television,radio or internet?It has such a creative power on influencing people’s thoughts,ideals nationally and globally.Since its beginning,it has evolved from being a national awakening medium to a complete business object.

          The sincerity,truth that had subsisted for long is slowly shriveling up.For drawing in our eye balls,media agencies are resorting to cheap  gossip news, rumours ,controversies and what not.TRP’s,sensationalism seem to be the order of the day.The common man’s faith has too  slackened in the media and truth seems to be completely projected out of the picture.Ensnaring the media into the trap is of course politics,about which we shall discuss later and corruption,the inalterable hazard of our nation.It’s time the big bosses come out of the so called race and put business equations off and elicit truth out in its best honest form.

CRICKET

If cricket is a religion,Sachin is god!”

The sport that generates excitement to every nook and corner to the country has been one of the most unifying factors of the nation.Cricket is celebrated and followed as a religion with people coming together for cheering their team with unnerving hope.You’ll never pass by a street where you wouldn’t witness a child playing this sport,for it enthuses everyone beyond the barriers of age,religion,colour,caste.Sachin’s brilliance,Gavaskar’s class,Kapil Dev’s sixes have all the more encouraged the young guns into the game.Some people play for pure joy,some to have a good hit with the bat and some to blaze all guns with their all-round capabilities.

Making into the Indian XI is a big thing and not only can talent do it but you need a combo of luck attached with it too.It takes a lot to be an international cricket player.Net sessions,Fielding practice,Fitness regimes can take toll of a player’s physical and mental capabilities.So lasting in international cricket is a true character test and not many can last the tide.Coming to the negative aspect,favoritism on the basis of zones has been existing from long and will never end probably.Money,influence can land you to any position in the game,particularly in India.This is a harsh truth every aspiring cricketer ought's to remember.

CELL PHONE

Ask any teenager what are the things you cannot live without?Definitely,cell phone would add on to the list.Such is its influence  on our daily life.Multiple applications coalescing into a single portable device and put in speakers and other functionalities packaged wonderfully,you have a mobile in your hands.It has revolutionized human existence and communication making things much simpler as each day passes by.

Somewhere down the line,if it goes down to addiction,i guess it also tends to affect human relationships too.Life becomes mechanical and we tend to give materialistic things more of an importance.So balancing both of them is the key.If handled well enough,yes it’s presence is rocking!So know where to draw the line because relationships are delicate,don't let’em off the hook.

POLITICS

Politics has been far from being honest in India.Gone are the days when people enter politics for public service,gone are the days where people had hope in their “leaders”!In short,Politics has become a bad word for the masses.Money,caste,religion plays a bigger role than the service most politicians of the nation today do.Any issue or an attack,the blame game starts.The Center starts blaming the other nation,Opposition starts blaming the former and this goes on from party to party,person to person and the matter dies up so quickly and how.Forgetting on how to solve an issue,our politicians do every possible thing to deviate it.When will this change?

When will a common see a politician helping him out in a crisis,share their pain like a mother,guiding like a father and standing up like a leader?Drastic changes in the mental set up are required to solve our problem.How long can we bear it?How many a time we’ll choose the best of the worst?These are startling questions we surely need an answer to.The politicians often need to remember that people form the government,their job is to handle the state/nation.If we can make a government,we can overthrow it too.Wake up SIRS,before it’s too late!

BOLLYWOOD

Indian films always have been popular worldwide and with huge marketing boom,it’s making great business abroad.Hindi cinema always had an inner voice in it’s films in the golden era of the 1970’s and 80’s.The mix of Amitabh,Rajesh Khanna,Raj Kapoor,Guru Dutt with film makers like Hrishikesh Mukherjee,Prakash Mehra aided by the well known Salim Javed say it all.Surely such talent will make anyone stand up and take note.Though the future generation of SRK,Aamir,Salman,Akshay Kumar have done momentous work,they could never reach the classy heights of the yesteryears.

As every field would have it,there’s a bad side to this one too.Personal ego’s between actors,regular cat fights between the heroines make it look really ugly at times.But in terms of movies,they’re definitely heading in the right direction with the main focus on script rather than male or female leads.This is a wonderful phenomenon and hope it paves way for more such films like Lagaan,TZP,MNIK and so on.So Good Going Bolly!Keep it up!

These “power” 5 rule the roost in today’s chatter among our circle and this is my take on them.Do let me know yours for the “talk” to proceed!!:-)

 

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