Did he Possess the Elder Wand??

In the International Cricket Council's world of wizardry, his "Patronus" was the flick past the widish mid-on, midwicket fielder,his hooks and pulls would "stupefy" you and seeing him lean into those cover drives and standing tall to play the cut shots,the opposition bowlers would hear the death knolls and know that the "Avada Kedavra" has struck.

This is not a batsman who was feared for his atrocious stroke play, but for being the master of the art of defending, yes it is the Indian cricketer to have boasted of the maximum female fan following, it is the Jammy boy, the Wall- Rahul Dravid. If he is "the wall" then why start the article with some of the most aggressive strokes played in the game of cricket. It is

just to acknowledge the fact that this cricketer had more to him than just being an occupier at the crease, being a superlative exponent of the defensive technique and being a slow scorer, he was one of the most accomplished hooker and puller of the ball the game has seen, he was, for a considerable time, the best finisher the game of ODI Cricket has seen.

It was way back in '94-'95, that while watching a Ranji Trophy match on the TV, I saw Rahul Dravid bat for the first time, I had just started watching the game and so wont call myself a follower till then, and then the next day, woke up and sat in front of the television waiting for the next day's game to start so that I can see him carry on his innings for the state of

Karnataka. Such was the magic of his batting prowess that a 7 year old kid was enchanted not miss a single moment of what this to-be stalwart of cricket had to portray. I was wondering then if this guy plays for Team India and my question was soon answered when he accompanied the Indian Test team to England in 1996. This tour marked the entry of two of the greatest

batsmen we have seen, one a masterclass offside player and the other showing a fair bit of liking for the onside play, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid.

Dravid had already made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka by then, but hadn't quite announced himself as well as he did in the Test arena. He never did come across as an aggressive player and people were already starting to write him off as a no show in the shorter format of the game. It was during the South Africa tour of '96-'97 that one actually saw the aggressive side

of this genius. In one of his test match innings, he dismissed one of the balls from Allan Donald over long leg! Now, who pulls a bowler bowling at 90-odd miles an hour, over long leg in a test match, even the most proficient players would just glance the bowl to fine leg to earn and easy boundary, but Rahul had other ideas. He was out there to prove something and

this single shot from him was a proof enough that he could be an asset in the shorter format of the game too. It was from the next ODI series that Rahul Dravid never looked back and accolades kept pouring in, records started to tumble.

World Cup'99 saw Rahul Dravid emerge as the leading scorer, with his innings of 150 against Sri Lanka at Taunton touted as one of the best innings played in a supporting role (you may recall, Sourav Ganguly scored a 183 in the same match). He would then be looked upto everytime to score runs for India and he added a fair bit og guile to his strokeplay, also his running between the wickets and was one of the busiest player in the middle, especially in the Indian team which

traditionally has been a side depending on boundaries to get their runs. I will not be exaggerating if I say that it was Dravid who instilled the importance of keeping the scoreboard ticking through singles and doubles and of treating the deliveries on their merit in the Indian squad, something which we now know is the most important aspect of middle overs batting in the shorter format of the game.

I am not aware of the exact stats, but seeing the bat in his hand, I can easily say that he used one of the lightest sticks available in the game, probably only heavier than Md. Azharuddin's. He used it to cast his spell, always keeping a soft bottom hand, dropping the ball just by his side and scampering across to keep the scorer busy. Such was his command over technique and control over his feet, hands and body that when required to innovate, he added the reverse sweep, the paddle, the lofted shot over mid wicket and the lofted straight drive, to emerge as one of the greates finishers the Indian cricket has seen (probably next only to Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh).

His record of not being out on a duck for 120 innings straight, of representing Indian in 93 consecutive test matches, of keeping the wickets for more than 80 matches and being the player with most number of catches speak of his stupendous concentration, unprecedented fitness and attention to detail towards the demands of his body. This player with an aggregate of over 10,000 runs in the 2 more played formats of the game, is truly one of the greatest who has served the Indian cricket even in the shorter format of the game.

Did You Touch Someone's Feet Today?

This happened in my 7th Standard, while going through one of the chapters, one of the most respected faculty in my

school, came up with a piece of advice on touching someone's feet. Her words were, "Jab bhi aap kisi ke charan sparsh karein,

toh unke pair ke anguthe ko chuyein, isse aap unki urja ke ek hisse ko apni urja mein shaamil kar payenge".

I was probably too young to actually relate to what she meant to say that day, but down the years, with exposure to the

world and with apparently an enhanced of how the Universe works, I think I can now draw a fair bit of understanding of what

she meant then.

We are all aware that the only driving force for the universe is Energy. If there was no energy, there would be no existence

of the universe, of earth or of life on earth. It is energy which is considered to be the driving force behind all the

natural or man-made phenomena. Gods are considered to be beings of energy, many of us do not actually believe in the

existence of God per se, but then I believe we all do have a general understanding that there is something beyond our

understanding which runs in the nature, and any logical explanation would lead into it being a form of energy.

In the same light, it has been found that every living organism also radiates some form of energy. We are all aware of the

thermal energy radiated in form of IR radiations, but I am not referring to that here. There is a constant flow of energy

which may not be visible to the naked eye, but as energy is everywhere around us, we keep interacting with it in certain

ways, which we are seldom aware of. This only gives rise to an individual's hues or aura, as many learned people may call

it. It must have happened with you or you would have heard people say, that they get positive vibes in presence of some

people and negative in the presence of others. It is again the presence of an individual's aura and our interaction with

the same that results in these kind of responses.

If we all somewhere are beings of energy and keep radiating same through our interactions with the omni-prsent energy across

the universe, then is there a certain law which this flow of energy follows. Again, as many science students must have

studied and others may have read that any charge carrying body, has the maximum accumulation of charges at it edges and from

there these are dissipated in the largest amount. Similarly, flow of energy from our body or aura follows the same law and

the maximum impact of the same can be felt at the edges of our bodies, that is, the toe of the foot will have the maximum

concentration of this energy around a person.

In our lives, all of us have faced and continue to face a certain dilemma, specially when asked to touch someone's feet as

a sign of showing respect. Most of us have at times argued saying that "I cant do it unless I feel it from inside" or "Is

touching feet the only way of showing respect" and hundred other arguments that we as thinking beings can come up with. If

we go into a little history and try to analyse as to why would have the tradition started in the first place, a logical

explanation may be derived. When we bow down to touch someone's feet, it is a mark of showing respect (as has been

followed for ages across all cultures, people bowed in front of kings, emperors, rulers as a mark of respect). The idea

where probably our culture or tradition stands out is the actual act of touching the other person's feet (most Western

cultures are aginst this overture into someone's personal space) which when followed by touching the other person's toe,

allows you to gain a part of his aura, his energy.

The dilemma of not actualy getting the feel of showing that kind of respect requires a certain amount of introspection and

reasoning on our parts. We need to accept the fact that every individual born is different, there are certain features in

every individual, which you may not have. These features are both negative as well as positive. In the human tendency of

becoming perfect, we somewhere deep down, strive to possess those positive qualities and get rid of the negative ones.

Now, as no individual is perfect, we all should accept that there is something we can learn from any individual standing

in front of us. This actually is the difficult part, specially for our generation which has been brought up in an

environment where they have been given independence to take their own decisions, and which many of us have mistaken as

meaning that we are omni-potent and do not have enough shortcomings that we need to learn or in fact that every person can

have enough ability to be able to possess something which we dont.

Once we accept this fact and get the humility to show enough respect to every human being for the fact that he is different

from us, the tradition of touching his feet will come as a natural action. We are actually gaining a part of his aura, his

personality by doing that and hence actually aiding the strife for getting the positives out of his personality and

inculcating the same in ourselves, proceeding on our paths to becoming perfect.

And for those who may not agree or have other ideas about the aura thing, just bending down in itself is a good execrise

(something most of us are in dire need of) and then, when you show that respect to the other person, the joy that you give

him is unprecedented. The feeling of being respected or gaining respect is a strong urge that many of us feel in our daily

life and if you can give that felling, that happiness by a mere bowing down and touching his feet, you are actually doing a

major act of spreading happiness. As the Art of Living patron, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar says, "There is already enough suffering

in the world, if each one of us can spread a few moments of happines, it will only make the world a better place to live

in."

Do not forget the blessings you get once you actually show someone your respect through touching their feet. Again, many of

us, logical, rational beings would say that the good things wont happen just because someone said it, but then dont you like

listening to good words spoken around you!!!

So next time you face the dilemma, just think of how different the other person is from you, respect him for that fact and

bow down to touch his feet. You have everything to gain here (yes gain is an important consideration, we are all ought to be

in a materialistic mould to better survive in the world :)).

Food for Thought!!!

This was when the price for petrol was hiked by as much as Rs.5/litre.

Just a thought which has been lingering in my mind for the last couple of days. We have had quite a few car launches, (considering the small Indian market in the specific automotive industry in question) in the past couple of years and a few lined up for the next couple, in the Diesel Automotive industry. In the same period we have seen spiraling prices for the Petrol fuel. Can the both be related?

Pretty obviously yes. One way of thinking would be that as petrol prices go up, petrol cars become more difficult to afford esp for the Middle Income Group and companies seeing this are now launching new cars which run on the cheaper Diesel fuel and in the small car industry, hence solving the fuel cost problem for MIG group and making profit in the process.

I am thinking a little differently. Is the rise in price really the cause for more Diesel cars being manufactured or are the cause and effect a little opposite here? In the manufacturing industry (now I may be wrong here but am certain to a larger extent), the decisions about launching a product in a new market (in this case Indian small automotive market),takes years of planning, strategizing and other plethora of activities before a decision is reached. This when then applied to the current market and the cars being launched, would mean that planning for same should have been in process well before the Petrol prices actually went up. Now thinking from a manufacturer's perspective, I have a huge market in India with the huge population growing day by day and more people joining the MIG group and looking out for better automotives to suit their needs and also be cost effective. Just in order to make an entry into the market, it would be ideal if this large group of customers has nothing else to look into but my product, my Diesel car. Best way to achieve this, if somehow the industry prices for the other fuel (petrol) go up.

Now from an average citizen's perspective, we can imagine how much profit this manufacturer is looking into given the huge potential market.

Food for thought now- Is it not a possible scenario and very probable at that, that at some higher level of planning, using the industry contacts and other ways we know of how things can be made to work for you in the market, a huge manufacturer ready to spend a lot knowing that he can make much more in profits can convince the higher level of mgmt and affect the prices of a fuel which internationally is getting more expensive (hence, no direct bearing as it is for policy makers?)? Why otherwise would I be launching a new product in a market already struggling and with the world economy already facing a downturn?

Doesn't this look like a very ripe scenario for another scam already made or in the making? Can we have an inquiry done into this not after but before a scandal actually has taken place?

Just the thoughts which came to my mind and where I would want to know how others amongst us think.

Woh Kaun Hai??

Rahul Dravid recently said in his post retirement speech, "One should understand where he is coming from to know where he is going"

Just sharing my thoughts on similar lines...

Woh Kaun Hai??

Aaj bahut dinon baad yeh khayal aaya

Ki kuch likhne ki koshish kari jaye.

Likhne baitha toh yahi sawaal saamne aaya

Ki woh kaun hai jiski badaulat yeh yantra hai jispe main likh paa raha hoon?

Woh kaun hai jisne yeh aasan banaya jispe main baith paa raha hoon?

Woh kaun hai jiski badualat yeh ghar hai jiski chhat ke neeche mein baitha hun?

Woh kaun hai jiski badaulat yeh shehar, yeh desh hai?

Woh kaun hai jiska karishma yeh srishti, yeh vatavaran hai?

Inhi kuch sawalon ka jawab dhundhte hue main sochta hun

Ki woh kaun hai jiski badaulat main hoon?

Ki main yeh sab mehsoos kar sakta hoon, samajh sakta hoon aur phir main apne antar-mann mein jhaankkar yeh poochta hun

Ki kya mere hone se hi yeh sab kuch hai??

Tabhi mujhe mere saare sawalon ka jawab milta hai ki agar main hi nahin hoon, toh mere liye is srishti, vatavaran, ghar ka kya mol...

Mujhe banane wala hi woh hai, jiske karishme se yeh sab hai

Wahi hain jinki wajah se mera wajood hai

Aaj ka insaan apna khud ka wajood banane ki kawayad mein kahin na kahin yeh bhool jata hai ki uska wajood us din se hai, us paigambar mein hai jiski wajah se uska janam hua

Hum jab tak apne Parvardigar ko samajh nahin payenge, apna wajood hamesha khojte hi reh jayenge.

Insaan ko aaj zarurat hai toh bas pehle apne astitva ko pehchanne ki

Uske baad hi woh apna wajood ko sahi mayenon mein dhoondh payega aur apne pairon par khada ho payega

Sach hi toh kaha gaya hai "Mujhe nahin pata bhagwan hai ya nahin, aur agar hai toh un pattharon mein hai ya pedon mein hai ya nadi, neheron mein hai jinhe hum poojte hain?....sach toh yahi hai ki dharti pe roop maa-baap ka hi us vidhata ki pehchan hai"