A peek into my pensieve

I’ve had long drawn discussions with my old friends Vcd and Todd about the veracity of the popular notion that “Federer is the best player to have lifted a tennis racquet”. As I so often do, I tend to stick my money in stats from the past. I haven’t seen a player of the class of a Sampras who in the midst of greatness all around him stood head and shoulders above everyone else. Would Sampras be considered as a legend if Federer was playing in the same era? Probably not; but neither would Federer. These are just random musings on the part of an old man though. I still tend to look at facts and the fact is that I can’t get a certain US Open final out of my mind and that is where I need to delve deep into my pensieve to dig out the greatest upset that humbled a cocky Federer.

It was just another fine day in NewYork where the crowd had resigned to yet another youngster’s decimation by the hands of Roger. Little did they realize that this strapping, ebullient, Metro-sexual young man had the talent of a Sampras, the work ethic of a Courier, the grace of Edberg and the determination of a Lendl. Never had one seen the complete package in a wild card entry ever before. He ran like a gazelle covering every inch of concrete with consummate ease. His nonchalant wafts and magical racquet struck a deep chord with the rapacious crowd who egged his mastery and erupted at his opponent’s errors. He was a true son of the soil and the hallowed turf was shrinking its womb to etch his footprint where a vast legion of warriors had succumbed valiantly. The large contingent of Federer-haters including yours truly had finally found their voice after nine gruelling years of staying mute.

Federer face was ashen as if he had just been violated by a 12 inch alpha specimen. His precise if not perfect back hand had completely deserted him, his once feared fore hand was being mauled by incisive ground strokes and his unruffled demeanor was sullied by his rants towards the chair and his incessant frustrated hissing. The first set flew by like the cool autumn breeze that was blowing through the ‘Meadows’. The 6-4 score line against Federer appeared a lot closer than it actually was. Things though did not take a turn towards the worse; the youthful exuberance of the young man and his heart stopping plays lit up the azure sky; reminiscent of Sampras in the days of yore. A running back hand followed a delicate lob, every drop shot was accentuated by a fearsome forehand cross court passing shot and each precise first serve was complimented by an even better array of volleys. The second set was an even shorter affair: 6-2. This was Providence in flesh, justice was being served cold!

I sat there with my mind racing ahead of time imagining this young rookie lifting a rare piece of silverware amidst years of ruthless domination. I quickly snapped out of my halcyon thoughts for fear of bewitching the foreclosure of what lay ahead. But nothing of that nature happened; the best was yet to come. The relentless machine gun fire from the rookie’s racquet kept pace with the racing heart beats of every human being inside the arena. His iridescent presence beneath the luminous floodlights and an incandescent moon bequeathed the master of his glowing past. A 6-0 bagel set in the final was a fitting way to end Federer’s humiliation, just as the way he has humiliated others. The night was young but to me, a new day had already dawned.

The scenes after the young man’s victory are as fresh in my mind as the virgin snow. Even though I’m entering the fag end of my sojourn, I can never forget the euphoria of having seen my closest buddies beat one of the best player’s ever. If only he had continued longer, the question that I posed at the very beginning would have never been raised. He will always, to me, be a man who fought disability to emerge triumphant. That image of him lifting the trophy in one hand and a Jackie Shroffish thumbs-up with the other will forever be etched in my mind. Click here to reminisce a forgotten great.

I salute you my dear friend Marw.

For want of a nail - the kingdom was lost.

The US-India Atomic Energy Act promises to be the one of the most crucial treaties of the modern times. This is an act that not only establishes co-operation between the largest and the richest democracy's - but is also an harbinger to enhanced ties between these two giants.

In a time when even the signatory members of the controversial NPT - countries such as Iran and the once ratified North-Korea are facing flak from the rest of the world for developing nuclear technologies - here we have a non-signatory member being offered an option for technology transfer. This move is not only unprecedented, but also a great moral victory on a global stage for India.

It is an win-win situation for both countries as one can see it. India - a developing country facing acute power crisis gets accelerated access to advanced technology to fulfill its power needs and also establishes friendly ties with the most powerful and like-minded friend that one can have. United States on the other hand has clear commercial benefits to reap - and the added advantage of cozying up to a sleeping giant that is well on its way to wake up and dominate the coming century. It is in the interest of both countries to continue to build their relationship to next levels.

The deal looks all set to augur a new era in world politics - one that not only confirms the eastward shifting of the balance of world power - but in a way, also signals an unspoken acceptance to India's concerns over the nuclear-discrimination caused by NPT .

All of it was looking good - until a few spoil-sports, started creating obstacles - for reasons that seems to be inspired from local and petty political considerations.

It is sad to see the state of affairs.

Those opposing the deal, do not even site concrete reasons/solutions/alternatives to solve the energy crisis the country is facing. They talk about dangers of getting 'too close' to the capitalist powers of the United States - while conveniently ignore the very poignant fact that India has been registering record GDP rates only due to the money flowing in from this 'capitalist' country.

It is my hope that such short sighted political agendas do not derail the chance of a greater good-will and common-sense to prevail.

It reminds me of a poem I heard when I was perhaps seven years old. May be - the members of CPI should brush up their third standard literature syllabus - they surely seem to be behaving like seven year olds !

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.
For want of a shoe the horse was lost.
For want of a horse the rider was lost.
For want of a rider the battle was lost.
For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

Heres hoping that for the want of the nail of petty polics we do not loose us the kingdom of friendly co-operative co-existence.

Relics

I'd be the first one to candidly admit that Ballsy's call of throwing me out of this blog was so freakin justified. Clearly since "paani sar se upar chala gaya tha ", I thought of ending my prolonged dormancy in contributing to this hallowed space. Also, to infuse some contribution, I'd like everyone to comment on what they make out of this rhyme specifically highlighting the "pattern" it follows.

Quote:

That thing that should not be is
The unnamed feeling I so cease to miss
Unforgiven, my heart reaches out to thee
Master of puppets oh please help me be

Reflection is a mode I need to be in
Down in a hole that I am, guilty of sin
A rotten apple, is what I feel of me
High hopes, that I'll reach the shore I no longer see

Vicariously, as I live my mundane life
No longer sober in this despicable strife
Cemetary gates, is all I can see
An empty page my eulogy would be

All these hollow years, I tried in vain
Prayed for that beacon to take away my pain
A low man's lyric it seems, I can't reason why
Goodbye blue sky as each day goes awry

Welcome to the machine, is what life did say
The trooper that I am, I will have my way
As judgement beckons on this reckoning day
I won't be a man in the box, sinking into the clay

Under a pale grey sky, a brave new world shall arise
Coming back to life, that I'd severed all ties
I'll win the fight against the harvester of sorrow
And turn the page to a new tomorrow

- End Quote

~ Aup

Biggest Kanti so far ...

Today read the biggest Kanti (or as some may say "Kaante") of my life in a Fortune Cookie at Pei Wei.

It said

" Life is full of small decisions - like white or brown rice"

Note: I know I am giving it on a platter but at-least there will be some renewed interest in the blog

HDTV - A Pain!

I think I will no longer watch TV on HDTV. Infact, I am considering not buying HD-DVD’s too. I am even going to cut my subscription of HDTV and buy an analog TV with a modest 19″ screen. I am just tired of HDTV. You may wonder why such a drastic step. The world over, people are moving from normal TV experience to HD TV and I want to to go back. Well, I want to go back for precisely the reasons people want to get HD TV.

The advantages of HDTV are

Picture Clarity
I don’t think I need picture clarity anymore. Watching Pamela Anderson on the early morning ‘Today’ TV show and seeing the innumerable wrinkles she has was the final nail in the coffin. She looked all old, and the clarity in the TV enabled me to look beyond her ten coats of makeup. There was fat at the wrong places and suddenly she fell from a sexy baywatch temptation to an old woman trying to hide behind makeup. All my juvenile fantasies are now lost in the sea of lines and wrinkles. The only thing for what it was worth it is lost. Who needs brains anyways! Its just overrated.

The appearance of being surreal
Now, who wants that to see how real it looks as people on Fear Factor are eating worms. The worms look too real. I need instant gratification from the TV without the ‘ewww’ feeling.

The fall of Diva’s
Suddenly, Michelle Pfeiffer’s smile looks crooked, Pamela’s bod doesnt look all that perfect, infact you can count all the breakouts and pimples of Lindsay Lohan. Julia Robert’s vein across her forehead looks like a snake. You can see how tired an actress looks inspite of appearing cheerful. How, the top 100 sexiest women no longer rate on your list anymore.

Then, you see the oldies, the analog movies and you still like Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, Audrey Hepburn. They still occupy the pedestal you have kept for them. And then return back to the TV clip of Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie and you know how painful it is even to watch their chronic whining. And I purely attribute it to my crystal clear home theatre system which amplies the same. They need to have some artificial intelligence and have some pre-recoded nice voices.

So while I see a clip of Oprah and Dr.Phil and see what a huge crap it is. I think my HDTV and crystal clear sound from the Home Theatre system are to be blamed. I am going to go back to analog TV where most of the reality is smoothed out and the sound makes you skip few words which makes it more likeable. I hope this truly does the trick for a shallow and superficial person like me. I am deeply scarred and anguished by crystal clear TV and Sound.

Wrath

Here is my 2nd offering on the Se7en deadly sins after Lust.

The green yonder where my brothers grazed
Is strewn with men putrefied or an amputee
My pure azure sky has turned a fiery grey
Led me to believe in revenge and anarchy.

Marching around like a dumb sheep
To uphold a few rogues' cataclysm
My blood fertilizes the land
While you feast on flesh and Rum.

You raped my women and poisoned my land
Whilst I tremble standing atop my debris
I'm normally not a praying man, but I
Wish HE bestows upon you pain and travesty.

This spite is sucking me deeper
Burning soul nailed in your greedy crucifix
Vengeance will rise from the ashes
Towering like a ravaging Phoenix.

Armed with broken bones and rotting flesh
I carry on undeterred
An eye for an eye, will only
Pave way to open my Third.

i've found my non-profit

i have always been confused about charity (just like i have been confused about everything else).

* Why donate ?
- "because you should give back to society" is the most common answer I've encountered. Charity for me is helping someone get out of the rut and make a life for themselves. It should not involve just giving away. I've always felt - "Help not Donate" is the answer. There should be no free lunches.

* How to choose the right institution ?
- Most institutions I knew of were involved in the business of giving away. The feedback loop of what your money was being used for is generally mediocre. All in all, the gratification (in this case, the feeling that you made a difference) is not strong enough to warrant more donations. (I know it sounds against the idea of charity, but appropriate incentives always motivate people better)

I came across Kiva.org today. This to my mind appears to be the perfect charity. It resolves most of my confusions mentioned above. Based on the now famous model of Microfinance, it lets you lend money to someone who needs a loan. After the period of loan, you get repaid where you can choose to re-lend the money. This resolves both of my dilemma's mentioned above. It helps someone get going with their business and help them make a life for themselves. You are involved with the business you are lending to. The feedback loop is great because there is a journals tab which lets you know about the progress of the business at regular intervals.

So go ahead - Change Lives !