Calypso magic. End of the road.

I finally closed the cricinfo tab as the live score card read.
West Indies require another 206 runs with 7 wickets and 21.0 overs remaining.
The final nail in the coffin for a great sporting culture.

Something has gone, and ink and print
Will never bring it back;
I long for the great days again,
When the kings in white were black.
-"The Bookworm" by Walter de la Mare

the beginning of the affair.

My earliest memories of watching cricket and developing a liking for it was during India's tour of Pakistan 1991, and the subsequent ODI series that they played at Sharjah. Until then, my father's numerous attempts to get me and my brother interested in game , were mostly futile and often left him exasperated. There were better things to watch on tv. like superman cartoons. then it happened. it was one of those rainy Saturday evenings in Bangalore, not too good to do anything outdoors for two restless kids. go to the hall, and there's my father, watching the match, all excited. for some reason even amma was excited, which didn't happen too often. grudgingly, we sat down and watched the match. Doordarshan had that habit(it still does) of running matches by taking other programs off air. it was cricket instead of fsuperman. as we watched, there were a whole lot of questions for my father. he looked at us and smiled. he knew we had fallen in love with the game just as he had, when he was a child. Its a love affair that has persisted with me, fiercely possessive, not letting me appreciate any other game as much as I appreciate cricket. Barring a passing interest in football during the world cups, or a decent liking to tennis, cricket was and is still my mainstay.

some haunting line i heard somewhere

Across these miles i wish you well.
May nothing haunt your heart but sleep.
May you not sense wat i dont tell.

May you not dream,or doubt, or weep.

May what my pen this peaceless day
writes on this page not reach ur view
till its deffered print lets you say
it speaks to someone else than you.

initially thought it was from seth's golden gate. dont think so now.

empty spaces

there are times in life, when u take a beating. go down on your knees.unable to get up. or maybe unwilling to get up. but then, as people say, time is a healer.is it really?.. the necessities of life, your own existence instinct for survival maybe? pulls u along. props u up.and before u know u get going and then when u look back in retrospection, things still don't make sense. you just look away and realise that it stole a little bit of your future too .there's an emptiness that persists.. in the airport.. a party.... in the shower... unable to fill it in yourself, you wait.. for someone.. something.. to fill in the gaps....the empty spaces..to fill up your life once again.

peace at day break

A full bladder and a thumping head. that retching sensation deep down in your guts. legs that refuse to move.I hear water splashing in the bathroom. my roomie completing the background score singing "main hoon DON!!" even as he jerks off fantasizing about wataru-chan's big breasted tutors. I lie still looking around,contemplating the day ahead.robotics project.. mail biju tell him i will be late. work in the lib. who's giving me a break today? LB? aah! lovely LB and her pears. should be fun. as always. i reach for my laptop.log in. windows startup's is as irritating as ever. reminds me of wat steve jobs said. MS cant make products with culture.hehe culture my pseudo brit arse. i grope around for my mobile. check for missed calls. nothing.. as usual. stopped bothering me sometime back. Nana was supposed to call. maybe he was busy? probably tomorrow? my bladder reaches another threshold. currently there are more important things to worry about. like dying due to a burst bladder. more urgency. i hear the bathroom door open. can smell his mint flavor shampoo.
legs.. legs.... do u hear me. bladder bhaiyya needs a break. can we go to the bathroom now.??
hmm lets see. wat happens if we dont comply?
how bout a burst bladder! u wretched morons !!!
easy old guy. we know u are under immense pressure. hehehehehhe.
hell lets go bitch.
no u move first.
no u move.
i am on the wrong side.
oh well watever.
All conflicts settled, i make my way to the kitchen. how bout a little pre-brush snack?
haah.... sniff...
haah.... sniff...
yuck not today.
i see hunter prying around. suddenly decides to make a dash to the bathroom. not so fast. a hundred stones weighing me down, i reach before him.shutting the door. then a golden fountain. and a trickle. the flush. the coreolis effect. PEACE.