Month: May 2007

Life is all about Timing- ‘Waugh kya baat hai’

RajanThambehalli5 Comments

People realize pretty early; some don’t. That’s the beauty; it’s all timing.
I heard somewhere, “Well arranged time is the surest mark of a well-arranged mind.”

When we say, “I don’t have time for this, that, etc.,” what does it imply?
Are we not arranging things properly, or, we know the right things to be done.
By the time we figure out what we want, it’s too late.

“If youth only knows and age only could.”

This is just an aspect of our life, an important one. As a kid, I did things that used to cause harm to my friends. Very temperamental, I just did what I wanted without even thinking about the consequences of my actions. Dennis the Menace was appropriately my other name concerning pranks I used to play on others.

 

I couldn’t control my temper while I was playing because I always played to win, and it reached a stage wherein I started believing; only I could make my team win. I played brilliantly, and I guess my mind went crazy, seeing how I used to play. The mind of a youngster!!!

 

This was how I, till the age of 14.

 

In the past, I always felt I was more significant than the team, and to my credit, I used to play pretty well. One day I did see my friends feeling the heat when I yelled at a guy who got me run out. I was furious, and I thought the match would be lost because of me getting out.

 

We did lose, and I couldn’t accept defeat that easy on that day. I did play with many new guys (younger than me), gave them a chance (in a sense, to bat first and to bowl especially), but I never liked them getting better than me. I mostly competed with guys elder to me, and I always wanted to be better than them. Never felt intimidated in the presence of many people who were elder to me.

If indeed a player was better than me, I never used to like that guy in the same team. I used to work on my bowling to get him out or field like Jonty Rhodes to take a catch or create run-out opportunities. I made sure; he didn’t get better than me.

I did all this sportingly never used unfair means of getting them out.

This was how I improved my game, but my attitude toward carrying the entire burden didn’t go. This was also the result of my friends putting my name in a big way whenever I used to play. The thrill they used to get when they got my wicket, all this made me feel self-centered.

I always wanted to be known as the best player among all the guys who played, and I did make a special effort to raise the benchmark every time in whichever way possible.

Sometime late 1999, early 2000, I didn’t enjoy this tag, and I could not play that well. I mean, I had very high standards. Even though I scored more than anyone, I wasn’t doing the way I did all six years previously.

My bowling was getting better, and my fielding was never a problem. Batting wise, I stopped being ruthless (still used to score fast, but less compared to previous years).

I felt there were no challenges left. I didn’t have to prove to anyone as to how well I batted. People knew. Still, there were conflicting feelings inside me. I was15, and it was too early to stop playing cricket.

But I had to get over it fast. Some new guys were coming, and they were good. Soon we had a bunch of pretty talented guys. Maybe I was not too fond of this fact and trying to prove them; I was losing my touch.

 

When I saw others, I felt, “How can I fit in the team now? Clearly, no one is gonna drop me. But I didn’t like the present role; I need a change”.

Well, people I thought are average cricketers, and those who played under the shadows of me and other guys needed a boost somewhere. Timing is the key for every cricketer.

In a way, my yesteryear attitude would have ruined their self-confidence if I continued playing in the same way.

I decided and threw a challenge on myself. To start with, I opted to bat second last instead of my favorite and usual opening spot. I wanted to see how good others are, and my sole purpose was to make sure we won in the end. Now I started enjoying the victories even though I didn’t bat.

I was enjoying my bowling, and I was dying to bowl every time we played. It didn’t affect my batting, but it took the responsibility off my shoulders to hit the winning runs all the time.

Slowly I could see youngsters enjoying the game since they were getting involved lots. Later, I stopped bowling and gave youngsters a chance to bowl. I didn’t bowl but used to bat. Even if they conceded runs, I wanted to make sure we won and made sure they faced the opposition’s challenge.

Slowly, I batted down the order and bowled whenever I felt it was necessary to bowl. I enjoyed my fielding, and the fun I used to get taking catches and stopping the boundaries was just exciting. I was thriving on the factor of me being the leader.

The ‘I’ factor was slowly getting replaced by ‘We’, and I started enjoying a senior player’s role in one year. My temper level in yelling and giving back to bowlers abated, however the passion and aggression to win every match were very much there. I was more a patient man and, more importantly, understood the word ‘contentment.’ I also understood the fact, “We win as a team, lose as a team.” It is wrong to blame individuals for one’s failure.

My last three years, i.e., until 2003, were great in terms of personal growth and the way I grew intellectually with cricket as the backdrop.

It didn’t matter or affect me when we lost a game or two as long as we gave our best; I made sure I gave my best and could see everyone do their best.

In 2003, I felt it was high time I quit playing serious cricket. Somehow I didn’t want to involve playing regularly. It was a tough decision but a good one considering the trend and the changes that occurred.

Sadly, cricket was never the same, and I wouldn’t say because of me it stopped, but I am just proud that I pushed myself to greater heights, and along my way, I saw others trying hard as well. This was the sheer fun of Galli cricket, intersecting roads, huge plain lands; it was just fun.

Whenever I walk past these roads next to my place, I get reminded of all those moments that shaped my life to become a better human being than a cricketer I could have been at the highest level.

I never played serious cricket in terms of school or anything; I did play some serious atrocious games with guys who gave everything so that it was, at times, more than just fun.

It was a mission. All I can say, in retrospect, it was Mission Well Accomplished.
I want to thank all my friends who played a role in developing me into the right individual. Because of the challenges, I could raise myself every time, and 90% I did succeed.

Steve Waugh mainly inspired the change in attitude. He became the Captain of the Australian Team in 1998, which inspired me to become a leader and make others push hard and personally set challenges.

Like him, I was there only when situations demanded me to be there; otherwise, I was pretty happy seeing my other friends finishing the job.

This time, we started playing some ruthless cricket, and at the end of it, we had a great laugh at each other. It was a journey which I enjoyed without bothering about the destination.

My cricket life started trying to be a Sachin, which I did brilliantly by being the one-man army to end like a leader of Steve Waugh’s caliber.

In the end, more than cricket, I enjoyed the other aspects of seeing others happy, involving others, and, more importantly, compete as a team. Incidentally, Steve is my mom’s favourite cricketer, and she also used to accompany me to various cricket skill camps early in my life.

For me, the 6th of January, 2004, at 1.15 pm local Indian time, was a moment, which will remain with me forever.

Steve Waugh: caught Sachin Tendulkar bowled Kumble – 80

He got out off his trademark slog sweep, and fittingly Sachin took the catch. It was at his home ground SCG, Sydney. It was an emotional moment for me as well since I had stopped playing a few months back.

Last year, I did enjoy reading his book: “Out of my Comfort Zone,” which is what I always went through and which is also the inspiration for my Blog’s title.

I get reminded of the following line I thought of once as a kid.

“Many People think life is a game; I thought cricket was a game.”

Special Mention:

Sridhar (the first guy with whom I played on those roads in 1991), Anirudh (Bunty), Anupam (Dumpy), Praveen, Bharath, Ravi, Ajay, Vijay, Pavan, Anjaneya, Abhishek, Jaggu, Umapathy, Thejaswi Udupa, Abhilash, Monty, Niku, Basava ( the best I ever played with), Mallesh, Mote, Govinda (Kambli), Jagan, Raaghu, Pradeep, Sudhindra, Bipin( 4 years younger to me, highly talented), Kiran Sr, Kiran Jr, Nandu, Venugopal, Praveen, Renuka, Pavan, Santosh, Ramnath, Chetan, Nahush, Chaitanya, Kumaraswamy, Nikhil, Goutham, Preetham, Truthik, Anoop, Rakhshit, Rajat, Saravanan, Sharath, Allen, Elvin, Manjunath, Manu, Sanjay, Arun, Mayur, and others.

Most importantly, Anianna, who played a lot of cricket, and as a kid, I watched every game he and his friends played.

A special mention a man by the name of Mr. JayaPrakash. He was the first complete cricketer I ever saw. He gave me the first break into serious cricket as a substitute in a tournament. I still remember the way he used to hit sixes one-handed. Sadly he passed away in 1994 October.

A LIfe Less Ordinary!!! More Extraordinary

RajanThambehalliLeave a comment

Hi…..

Where do I start this?
Sometimes I feel why I should hit against a wall.

Am I sane to do it? It’s tough to get answers to such questions. Then
I do realize by introspection that it’s not a wall; she is a human being and whom I regard forever as a good friend to have met (even if it was only once).

Hence comparing you with the wall is the silliest analogy I can ever think of.

Then what is it?

All these days, I just hoped you end up having hassle-free life. And, hope is all I can give you at this moment.

I believe the most pristine relationship in this world is the relationship between a mother and her children. Innocence is at its peak when they start developing relationships very early in their lives. The sad part is, it keeps deteriorating slowly, and differences do creep in eventually. This is a fact.

After 23 years (Not yet, one more month to go), Even I feel the pinch when I try to manipulate things with my mother. It is tough, to be frank at all times. Why?

I am aware of things than previously, and as time goes, it becomes eventually tough to maintain or get back to that level of innocence I once had as a child.

The more I think about this aspect; I feel I am allowing the outer elements to control and hamper the innocence. This is no theory; it’s utterly pragmatic in every which way we would like to think.

Now this explains the theory “Change is the only constant thing.” So true, if changes can occur to a new relationship of that of a mother and her children, then why do we point fingers at other relationships and feel bad about it when it didn’t work.

By being frank in critical situations, one can still retain the innocence because changes can occur for the better.

All it takes is choice and effort to back the option.

With this enlightenment, I am trying to deal with trivial issues with a bigger picture in mind.

No wonder a good movie looks better on a big screen than on a small screen.

If we are making a movie of our lives, I agree with individuals to choose their cast. Stories, screenplays, editing, suspense, climax, thriller, comedy, etc., it’s all up to us to direct our thoughts to make a lifetime movie.

Generally, many movies include “cameos.” He gets appreciated only when he completes the job, which the main character is inhibited from doing.

It is our wish to extend the cameo’s role. But the extension of the cameo’s role must not affect the movie.

At the same time, one cannot ignore the importance of him. So we choose him either to please the public to help us make our movie a little better than what it is.

Or, we want him because we are convinced that he is there to play an important role.

This convincing act must be one’s own.

I remember the lines (or lies) you told me, “There is a reason why we both met.”

I don’t know whether you know the reason, but I certainly do. I need time from your kitty bag to tell what changes I have made in my life and the new career path I am looking at. I don’t know whether I would get some time from you, but you see, one needs to be optimistic, and I am confident one day I will get that “time” from you even if you try hard not to give. Hehehe.

Like they say, “Good things will always come to an end; if they aren’t good, then it’s not the end yet.”

I hope you got all the answers and you’ve come to understand that people and things are always going to change and you can’t stop them now.

I know for a fact, I cannot help or be there for all your problems. And trust me, no one will be there also for all of the issues. Time is the only comforter one can get.

Try, and you will get some time from others, but only if you try. Trust me, not everyone is selfish, and some people will be willing to help without any motive only if you give them a chance.

In the end, we are all separate; our stories, no matter how similar, come to a fork and diverge. We are drawn to each other because of our similarities, but it is our differences we must learn to respect.

This is the Quote of my life: “No one except me can spoil my life; it’s me and my choices which eventually would change my life.”

Let me try, An Enrique song for you……..

I have modified this for you.

Every day here you came for chatting (on g-talk)
and held your fingers; hence we don’t do much talking via chatting
When I asked, “How are you”?
You say you’re happy and you’re doin’ fine
Well, go ahead, baby, I got plenty of time
Sad eyes never lie
Sad eyes never lie

Well, for a while, I’ve been watching you unsteady
Ain’t going to move from the friendship ’til you’re good and ready
You show up, and then you shy away
But I know Preeti( pretty) soon you’ll be walkin’ this way
Sad eyes never lie
Sad eyes never lie

Baby, don’t you know I do care
Don’t you know that I’ve been there( not always, though)
Well, if something in the air feels a little unkind
Don’t worry, darling; it’ll slip your mind

I know you think you’d never be my friend
Well, that’s okay, baby, I don’t mind your trend
the shy photo smile of yours( on Orkut) is sweet; that’s a fact
Go ahead; I don’t mind the act ( of you not being in touch)

Here you come all planned up for a date to meet
Well, one more step, and it’ll be too late to treat
Adversity might make you feely lonely here and there
I am sure that you’re so sure I’ll be standing there
Sad eyes never lie
Sad eyes never lie
Sad eyes never lie
Sad eyes never lie

Why being so fussy on Peter and MJ??

RajanThambehalli3 Comments

First, why do people with superpowers not given the time to explain what they want in return for the services they do to humankind?

I am not pointing towards the iconic Superman or other superheroes of the comic world.

To me, just like heroes have special powers, the anti-heroes do possess similar sort of abilities. Why do heroes always win at the end of each raging battle, which encapsulates every individual who has come to watch at the cinema halls?

It is the heart of a hero that makes him more significant than the biggest of all anti-heroes.
Every individual does possess this extraordinary power in him. Circumstances will make him either choose the best of him/her or the worst.

Although this power is not the replica of the one shown in comics, the overall idea is very similar.
Take comics; we have Spiderman, who carries the burden of people’s expectations on the one hand and the other hand, Peter Parker’s identity, which he needs to retain.

For instance, human emotions can be easily recognized with Spiderman than say, for example, Superman. Spiderman was created on earth, whereas Superman arrived from Krypton.
Hence, the lone side of Peter Parker is very pragmatic compared to Clark Kent. Also, Peter is more family-oriented and very curious about other aspects of life.

His love life, however, is exciting and realistic. He loves MJ, the first love of his life. He had hidden his feelings for her and was just a good friend. He was much more than a friend at times. From an audience’s point of view, it was evident; he loved her and only her.

Poor old MJ, she did realize in the end where her heart was and did a brave thing opting out of marriage to be with Spiderman, despite knowing the consequences. She had this attitude “Let’s see,” without even thinking how hard it can be, being with someone who doesn’t talk when needed, always on the move, and more importantly, he is quite different from her except for the love which they have for each other and with it the respect.

Except for meeting and sharing few romantic moments, I didn’t see them doing anything beneficial for their future. She keeps thinking and hesitates to tell him or doesn’t get the right time to tell him what she thinks and feels. So she is disappointed, and at the same time, her career doesn’t seem to be going right. Overall she is one frustrated girl who has many expectations even though she doesn’t quite express them.

Peter, well, he is high on confidence and has MJ and no other girl on his mind. Even though he does interact with lots of them at research and college, his head is firm about MJ and no other.

Now, Peter on his own is brilliant with MJ, and they do rock whenever they meet. On such occasions, both are mad about each other, and they share a comfortable bubble around them. They never felt insecure.

The problem starts when Peter has to switch over Spiderman’s role, wherein he cannot be thinking about MJ or his personal life. He is there for others, and in turn, this might not be so easy for MJ at times.

Since she is associated with Peter, she will have to face inevitable consequences for which she isn’t quite ready to take a risk. Peter is one guy who never expresses his problems to others, but he is the first person who will be prepared to solve other’s problems. This mindset becomes very difficult for MJ to cope with because he is much stronger than she is.

He is also more confident and booming at what he is doing; this adds extra pressure on MJ to do well. I shall never blame MJ for that because she isn’t headstrong at all times; she keeps changing her decisions based on her mood swings. She is in mindset “He never understands me.” The point is, she never expressed, still expects him to be there. This is a bit tough on him and their relationship, but she does set such high standards for herself even though she knows she would never succeed in it. That’s her.

Peter plans to be with her for the rest of his life. He fails to understand her and thinks by giving her the freedom to do whatever she wants to do; he is not bossy in the relationship. But she doesn’t want this freedom; she wants him, she wants him to listen, understand and do that. Similarly, MJ cannot understand the responsibilities and standards which Peter sets for him. It’s tough for her.

He probably didn’t give her much time due to many other commitments, but that’s not the excuse. Somewhere, they both got so much freedom that; they started enjoying the silence of their relationship rather than the constant chatting, which used to be the case previously before being in a relationship.

In the past( before the relationship), they used to trust each other lots, used to talk, used to enjoy each other’s company lots, and both used to think of each other when crisis knocked their doors. They still trust, but expectations started to kill the relationship slowly.

While in a relationship, they chose others to solve and hear their problems.

The problem was never with them; they both are the best friends one can ever get in life.

Add little relationship dimension into it; the whole equilibrium gets disturbed. Both have changed in terms of keeping the same old things. Somewhere, the relationship broke the foundation with which they built their friendship castle.

Peter is a self-motivated person, whereas MJ isn’t.

Now, 2 part series is enough to realize that they cannot motivate each other in a relationship. Without the tag of connection, trust me, they will be inseparable as friends and will last forever. It would help if you tried to know whether it is possible or not possible. They just realized it’s not possible for them in a relationship.

Somewhere both of them will feel it’s not the same rapport they share, what they had before getting into this relationship. I guess parting ways for the sake of friendship will be the best thing to do. Somewhere I feel they can be only friends, not couples.

If the relationship doesn’t work, the beauty of their old friendship is that they will not curse each other or blame each other for the failure of their relationship. It was the attitude of MJ “Let’s try,” both of them did try, but it didn’t work out. But they are going to get stronger as friends once they forget the relationship aspect.

From the viewer’s perspective, it would be great if these two great friends be together for the rest of their lives. Good idea, as long as the tag of the relationship isn’t there.

While she plans to depart from the relationship because Peter would never initiate it no matter what, she puts the message, and he tries to change her decision, but she wouldn’t. All he thinks while he watches her going away-

“Yes, we love each other. We love more than any other person in this world, and there is nothing that we would like better than to hold on to each other forever. But she thinks it’s not for the best. Its her choice. So no matter how much my heart is going to break, I’ve got to let her go, so she can know just how much I love her. Maybe if I’m lucky, she’ll come back, but if not, I can make it through this.”

Sometimes you have to let go to see if there was anything worth holding on to.

Of all the romantic moments they shared, things change over a while; this was the moment in their lives. It shows the love they had for each other.

Just when the siren sounds loud and sadly, he is going to miss the words, “Go get them, Tiger.”

And then he shoots his web on a building and goes on with his life.

Now this will be the thing for the fourth part of the series. Add few anti-heroes we will find a brilliant movie grossing millions of dollars again.

The fifth part???? Who cares? It all depends on how Peter and MJ want to be together. Things can change; some are reversible, others aren’t.