The Small Voice

Letter to My 16 yrs old self from me of Today Dear Me, When should I write to you? I think the best time is now, when you have just crossed 16, and are recovering from Jaundice. You have missed schools by one month and are feeling completely lost. Your classmates have joined various tutions and well on the syllabus while you are still finding your bearings, despite having had a head start in Physics and Maths (right after your ICSE). Well, that’s bad, but that’s how life is as you will learn later. Believe in yourself and don’t get too serious about criticism / ridicule: Well, first and foremost, have faith in yourself. You have got a pretty cool head and lots of patience which will often come handy and amaze you a few times in the days to come. Your ability to stay focused and cool will be an asset. But talking smart or bragging will never be your forte. You will make a lot of friends, (including girls) by mostly just treating them nicely and as equals. Just by do...

My journey and moments with the little master -by Ashutosh Garud (guest) On 23rd December 2012, Sachin Tendulkar showed he is human after all. Yes he retired from ODI’s. Somewhere deep down in our hearts, the fans (including me) were anticipating the moment to be around the corner. I was 8, when he debuted and honestly I don’t remember his first runs and innings. A 16 year kid was hitting unbelievable strokes against some very established names. Understandably, his popularity was meteoric. Before I could realize I was sucked into his silky stroke play and for me Sachin became a synonym for cricket. Discovering Sachin the batsman... When I started playing serious cricket (the gully cricket was of course serious cricket), I started holding the bat right at the bottom of the handle and chose the heaviest of the bats available. So what if that made the cut, pull and the sweep shots much more difficult for me. After all I had to follow the way Sachin played, right? I use...

The year 2012 has been a significantly tumultuous year. We, as a nation, got angry, cried, protested and fought for our rights. We also saw the economy tumble to depressing depths as inflation and policy inaction brought a halt to the growth momentum. But this post is, as Abhishek suggests, is a “slice of my life” post. I write this in a pensive, reflective mood. Personally, the year 2012 started on a sad note for our family for a close relative. Early in the year, we witnessed one of those events which can only be called God’s wish. The only silver lining in the trauma, if it can be called that, was that the whole family behaved in a very mature manner. The bereaved were spared the pain of post-event blame fixing, usual in such events. My wife & I too, suffered a testing time personally. Hospitalisation, surgery and crazy medical bills. Definitely scary stuff. But in the end, life goes on. There were some nice things too that happened, and that has taught me bet...