DarthVader’s blog

No this is not a dialog in a bollywood movie. These are lines said by a colonel in the Indian Army to his wife, 10 years back. I just happened to read this story in an old newspaper yesterday ( the newspaper was dated July 09), but reading it made my eyes moist. In todays world where couples divorce/separate on the drop of a hat citing 'incompatibility', this tale is really an eye opener. It says everything about love, caring, sharing, and also highlights the importance of the institution of marriage.

The said colonel was away fighting the intruders in Kargil, in 1999, when his wife was diagnosed with a tumor. Doctors at the Army hospital conveyed to her the news that after the operation, she would not be able to use her legs. When her husband got the news from the Army about this, he was given a few days off to visit her in hospital. After that he was back to war. The article doesnt say when exactly he said the words to her, but whenever he did, it would have conveyed a lot to his wife. After one operation, she was headed for another, in which she nearly went into coma, while her husband was busy fighting the enemy on the battlefield. While she was woried, that he did not become a casualty of war, he also on his part was equally worried about her. They could not meet for months, but the feeling remained with both inspite of the distance. He survived the war, and was back with his wife.

This story is 10 years old. The couple are living in Pune. What this story does highlights is that in any relation, its always the 'We' factor that is important and not the 'I' factor. It just says one thing .. 'As long as you are with me I can handle anything ... anything ... just dont give up on me .. I cant bear speration from you' . In today's times, where couples get married , and divorce, within 6 months( or at times go in for mutual separation barely one month after marriage), where breakups happen in love relations citing incompatibility, or some other reason ( Im just not into you .. or Its not happening .. are the standard lines one gets to hear), this story is like the light at the end of a dark tunnel. It is the beacon of hope .. which conveys a message, If you love someone, go out on a limb for him or her ... that is what love is all about. Love conquers all. That is where the sanctity of marriage comes from.. that someone is there for you, to see you through your tough times ... to help you smile when you are feeling low, to wipe your tears if  you are in pain ....

O death do not come for me now ....

For I have a dream to live

I have a heart in which to beat

I have possibly a shoulder to lay my head down

I have tears to flow down my eyes ....

Those which I had long ago forgotten ..

In the pain and anguish of having lived a life full of strife

I see now a shade where I can rest a while ..

O death do not come for me now.... I have a dream to live

I have a load of aspirations to fulfill

I have stories to tell ...

I have tales to listen to ... I have eyes to see my reflection in ...

O death do not come for me now.. I have a dream to live.

I have lived the life which was not mine, have taken part in struggles not of my doing

Have toiled hard in the desert of life without a trace of water or shade .. for what seems like eons ...

Now I see far in the horizon .. a shade that beckons me closer and closer it gets by every step I take

I desperately want to rest my tired limbs ... I want to feel the cool water flowing over me

I need the cool shade of dark tresses .... over my face  to shield me from the blazing sun

O death do not come for me now .... I have a dream to live.

Its true I was searching for you all this time ...

Its true I was hunting you out, in the frustration of living life itself

But having reached a point where I see some succour.... I want to rest now .. and enjoy my life a bit ...

I want to know the warmth of a beating heart ... I want to want feel the soft breeze of love

Wash away all my fatigue .. replenish my spirit, heal it to the point where I get rejuvenated

And face life again with a flourish

O death do not come for me now ... for I have a dream to live ...

I have my own castles to build .. I have to color them with my aspirations so deep

If you do wish to give me a gift as such give me the hope that my dreams will come true

And that I will finally be able to live the life I so desperately wanted.

O death do not come for me now ... for I have a dream to live.

T20 is the newest version of cricket, and it has caught on like wildfire.  I do watch a lot of cricket, both domestic and international level, from matches played in the 70s ( they are shown as Classics) to current day slugfests. Slugfest , a nice word for T20 ( atleast till the IPL came on in south Africa, which sort of evened the contest between bat and ball). Come to think of it, I could help but wonder how some of the earlier Indian cricketers ( from mid 70's to 90's) would have fared in this latest version of cricket - T20. I got down to jotting down a few names of cricketers who had played for India in the last 20 odd years, and came up with a list of people who according to me would have actually done really well in the T20 circuit had it been in vogue back during their playing days.

Krishnamachari Srikanth

Anyone who remembers the World Cup Final of '83, will also remember Krishnamachari Srikanth for the way he clobbered  the West Indian bowling attack to all parts of Lords. This Tamil Nadu  dasher was always on the lookout for quick runs, and backed it up with some memorable fielding as well. Towards the later part of his career he also rolled his arm over, and was pretty decent, if not so effective as his more illustrious spinning partners. He had the shots to clear the infield as well as the ability to score runs in a flood if not a torrrent. He would have had a ball in T20.

Navjyot Singh Siddhu

Before the likes of Afridi and Ricardo Powell became household names duie to their hitting prowess, Navjyot Singh Siddhu had made a name for himself as one who could tonk the cricket ball a long way. big hitting was second nature to this tall Sikh, since he always seemed to hit big sixes. Anyone who remembers him taking on the happles Peter Taylor(Australia), and Stephen Bock(New Zealand)  in the 1987 World Cup will bear testimony to the fact that this guy would have taken to T20 cricket like a fish takes to water. To add to his batting skills, he was a pretty safe fielder.

Mohammed Azharuddin

The master with the silken touch, he wowed teammates and opponents with his batting. Always the touch artist, he aslo had the timing as well as the power to go for the big hits, with ease. His fielding would have also made him a dangerous customer anywhere, either in the infield or outfield.

Surinder Khanna

This hard hitting wicketkeeper batsman from Delhi was known for his penchant for quick runs. Annnouncing his arrival with a bang ( two successive fifties in the inaugural Asia cup 51* against Lanka, and 56 against Pakistan), he failed to do much in the international scene. He would have really turned the screws on , given a six over license to annihilate the oppostion bowling. Safe with the keepers gloves, if not spectacular.

Sandeep Patil

The man who tamed Bob Willis in his lair, took on Imran Khan and Sarraz Nawaz in their den. The one and only Sandeep Patil. A hard hitting batsman, who had big shots. A decent part time bowler and gerneally safe pair of hands make him another ideal candidate for the T20 bandwagon. He would have enjoyed himself.

Kapil Dev

And what does one say about this gentleman, Kapil Dev Nikhanj. The Haryana hurricane. We all know his exploits with the ball, and as Imran Khan put it - 'When I saw Kapil Dev bat, it seemed he had the power to destroy bowling attacks'. Ask Zimbabwe whom he clobbered for that unbelievable 175* at Tunbridge Wells, or even more ask Donald, Brian McMillan, Merryck Pringle and Craig Matthews, whom he took apart in that explosive knock of 129 in South Africa in the third test in 1992. Kapil Dev could hit the ball big time, and he would have been an automatic choice for T20. And boy, knowing this great man, he would have had people asking for more.

Ajay Jadeja

A quick silver fielder, and more than handy batmsan. He hit the international circuit in the 1992 World cup , and immmedialtey garnered headlines for his wnderful fielding. By the time the next World Cup came along he was one of the most destructive hitters. Single handedly destroyed Waqar Yunus and Pakistan's hopes of makiing it to the finals in 1996, when he rammed them in Bangalore. By 1999 he had become a part of the famed batting lineup boasting of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Azhar and Saurav Ganguly. A very good runner between the wickets, and a handy gentle medium pacer, Jadeja , like all others in this list would have taken to T20 like a fish takes to water.

Subroto Banerjee

Made his debut in 1992, in Australia. Soon after, an injury laid him low, and his career was over before it started. A good hitter of the ball, and a decent fast medium bowler, Subroto would fit any lower middle order due to his all round skills. And given his ability to clear the fence, the ability to make quick runs, he would also have become a part of the T20 bulwark.

Robin Singh

The man who never gave up.Every time India was in a crisis, Robin singh did his bit. There are numerous matches which he as won off his bat, when the chips were down.The Indian captain who never was ( He was supposed to lead a side for a tournamnet when the Government and BCCI had a stand off. Things were amicably sorted out and that was that). He made his debut in 1989,  he made his debut in ODI cricket against the same country from where his parents had migrated. Didnt do well. However, when he did hit the international scene a good sever years later, he had Mark Waugh and Stuart Law off successive deliveries.  A left handed batsman, who always kept going at the opposition, not only with the ocassional big hit, but with well judged singles as well, besides being a brilliant fielder and more than useful medium pacer, Robin Singh would have also gelled well in T20.

Vijay Bharadwaj

An off spinning all rounder and brilliant fielder, besides being a batmsan who could hit the ball a long way. Bharadwaj made people notice him as soonn as he hit the international circuit, but poor form, and an eye injury destoryed a career that would have made people sit up and watch.

Chetan Sharma

Yes, he is the man whom Javed Miandad destroyed with that one stroke in Sharjah. He is also tha man whgo took on Mcdermott, Bruce Ried, Mike Whitney and Greg Matthews in 1985-86, hitting his maiden (and only) half century in test cricket. He is also the man who took a century off Graham Gooch and his buccaneers. He is also the first Indian to take a hattrick, and the first man to take a hattrick in a World Cup match. And , he is also the man who crash landed Mike Gatting and his band of merry men in whites in the 1986 series in England in 1986. A lower order batsman who could tonk the ball into orbit, and a more than handy fast medium bowler, besides being a safe fielder in the deep, Chetan Sharma would have hogged some limelights in the T20 circuit.

Sometimes my heart hurts ...I dont know why

I fee like I wanna cry but my eyes run dry

I look up at the heavens and see if there is God around

I cant find him , I dont know why

Sometimes I feel like I have been shot .. I look around my self to see if there is a red blot

I dont find any .. yet my heart hurts I dont know why

Sometimes I feel so lonely ... I search for a shoulder ... to put down my head 

Cry as if there would be no tomorrow ... Cry as if I myself was dead

Empty my heart of every sense of feeling I have .....

Cleanse it of every memory I have ...

Sometimes I find myself all alone .. like in a raging desert

Sometimes  I feel like Im drowning ... in a flood

Sometimes there is this feeling that life has been cruel

But then everyone says life is nothing but a duel.

You fight your fate, and it fights you in return

Until your ashes turn up in some godforsaken urn

And so I look up to the heavens ... and try to ask him

Why do you forsake me O lord .. Why ?

       As I write this article, the semifinal lineup of IPL2 has already been drawn. Royal Challengers (Bangalore), Deccan Chargers make up positions 3 and 4 , joining Chennai Super Kings (Chennai) and Delhi DareDevils (Delhi) as the final two teams for the semifinal clash of what has been a very successful advertisement of the newest brand of cricket.

      Nothing pleased my heart more than Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers making the semifinal cut. During the last IPL these very two teams had faced a lot of flak for being 'test teams'.  They  finished at 7 and 8 respectively, last time round, but then reworked their strategies and the results are there for everyone to see.  To the chagrin of all, Royal Challengers and Deccan Chargers have more or less fielded the same teams that they had last time round. For Deccan Chargers, last year, their batting revolved around  Adam Gilchrist, Herschelle Gibbs, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma, VVS Laxman, followed by biffers like Andrew Symonds, Venugopal Rao, Chaminda Vaas, with RP Singh and Pragyan Ojha making up their bowling lineup along with Nuwan Zoysa and Vaas. The same was the case with Royal Challengers, with Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Wasim Jaffer making up the mainstsay of their batting, followed by Ross Taylor, Virat Kohli, Misbah-ul-haq, Mark Boucher to do the biffing, and a bowling lineup led by Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar and the indomitable Anil Kumble. However, big names do not guarantee results, only match performance does, and that was where these two teams floundered. This time round however, the same (more or less) lineups barring of course Afridi , Misbah and Zoysa got their teams the results.

             What has been heartening to see is that irrespective of the age factor, seasoned campaigners like Gilchrist, Kumble, Dravid (in the initial phases of IPL2), Kallis, Gibbs have all taken upon themselves the responsibility to guide their teams through. This has emboldened youngsters like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, the so far unheard of Manish Pandey and Tirumalsetti Suman to back up the seniors with some decent performances of their own. True both teams lost some close matches, ones which they were supposed to win, but theye won when it mattered the most. While the Chargers clobbered all and sundry in the first 4 matches that they played, the seemingly dead and buried Royal Challengers surprised all by their timely resurgence.

         The amount of criticsm which was heaped upon both teams after the end of the first IPL was unfair and scathing. Even their sponsors/owners added to the frenzy by making statements both harsh and uncalled for. To be fair to the critics, the performances of both teams did not match the hype of the players that were part of them. Only Adam Gilchrist, Rohit Sharma (Chargers) and Rahul Dravid( Challengers) did anything noteworthy in the entire tournament. At the end of the IPL2 auction, Dr Mallya was quoted to have said ' This is no longer a test team now' of his Royal Challengers. This was due to the advent of players like Robin Uthappa, Jesse Ryder and Kevin Petersen. How these two gentelemen quantified thier hype into results is there for everyone to see. While Petersen flopped miserably as a captain and a batsman, Ryer played more as a bowler, getting out on the first ball most of the times ( He had probably only one score of note 32 against Kings XI). And the less one speaks of Robin Uthappa, the better it is. For someone who was known for his explosive batting, Uthappa would give the feeling he was playing not in Newlands, but in Barabados and the opposition bowlers were  Joel Garner, Malcolm Marshal and Michael Holding. True he was decent behind the stumps, but his primary role was that of a bastman, to score quick runs, and except for one match against Mumbai Indians, where he showed some glimpses of his skill,  Robin Uthappa was a total and collosal failure for his side. It fell back of Rahul Dravid ( in ithe inital 4-5 matches) like always , and he did the best he could, with scores of 66, 20, 48 (off only 26 balls), till a sojourn to India and back robbed him of some of the touch he possessed. One hopes he goes ahead to play two more gritty knocks ( in the Semi Final and Final) and ensure his team reaches the pinnacle of success. Jacques Kallis had a horrendous beginning to the tournament, but came into his own, with scores of 62, 32, 56*, and has taken on himself , the responsibility to stay there at the crease and ensure that his team reaches a good total. Virat Kohli has not been at his epxlosive best, but has chipped in with the runs ( 50 in 32 balls against Punjab, and a couple of quick innings here and there), nothing more important than the 19 he scored in the last league match against the Chargers. Together with Manish Pandey ( another unsung talent), he added 36 in the last 18 balls of the innings. What makes this partnership more important is the fact that the final margin of victory was only 1 runs. Manish Pandey came into the party in the last match getting his chance to play at the top of the order, and boy oh boy did he grab it with both hands. While his batting was not so pleasing to the eye, it was effective , and anyone who gets a century (114* to be precise) and carries on , at any  type of cricket be it Tests, ODIs, or T20, needs to get a special mention. That he became the first Indian to get to a century in IPL was only fitting, since the Challengers had seen Brendon Mcullum clobber their bowling attack to smithreens enroute a  manic 158*.  That reconrd or those memories may not be beaten so soon, but the Challengers will have sweet memories of this year. Last but not the least I come to a gentleman , who has been an embodiment of the true fighting spirit of the game, a warrior in the truest sense of the word, and a man who along with Rahul Dravid  and Adam Gilchrist would rank , in Shakepspeares words ' honourable men'. Not that the others are not honorable, they are, but these three gentlemen have given the  words honour, decency, courage and resilience a different dimension, taken it to an altogether different level. Anil Kumble , took on the reins of the Royal Challengers, when the team looked to be headed for a clobbering for the seond straight year. Instead what happened was that his composure and self belief rubbed on to his team, and they rose from the ashes like  phoenixes to decimate the opposition.  Where Petersen was struggling to get his team together, Anil not only got them together, but helped them perform to the best of their abilities. 

       Unlike the Challengers, Deccan Chargers did not have any transfers into their side, but Gilchrist,Gibbs ( all those ducks notwithstanding) and Rohit Sharma took it upon themselves to haul the reputation of their team out of the precipice where it had fallen last season. To make matter worse they did not have the services of the explosive (even if erratic) Shahid Afridi. Yet someone or the other chipped in and ensured that thier team had a fighting total, and while bowling, lesser known names like Rohit Sharma ( hitherto unknown for his bowling skills) and Suman ( unheard of ) became a handful. Add to that the double edged sharpness of R P Singh and Chaminda Vaas ( though he figured in only two matches) and the guile of Pragyan Ojha, the Chargers bulldozed thier way into contention. True, their batting order self destructed more than once, to lose matches they should have won, but like I said earlier, they won when it mattered. Rohit Sharma figured in the list of bowlers who had taken hat-tricks this time, while Suman and Pragyan spun webs of deceit around the opposing batting lineups. And what can one say about RP Singh , the leading wicket taker of the IPL2, and Chaminda Vaas, the ageless wizard. They all contributed when it mattered, and the results are there for all to see. Adam Gilchrist has taken it upon himself to ensure his players the backing they required, giving them the space they needed, the comfort level , to get the besst out of them. And how his teammates have repaid his faith. How else does one explain Rohit Sharma getting a hat-trick and derailing Mumbai Indians, in a match the Chargers were on the way to losing. How else does one explain Rudra Pratap Singh's repeated spells where he wrecked opposition batting lineups.

         The one thing common between both teams - The inner strengths of their captains rubbed off on them, and today they are ready to take on the next challenge. To be the best team in the IPL. They have shown all what they are capable of, not on paper, but on the merit of their performances, and now they need to go that last mile to show that they are the best. Only one will reach the pinnacle, and for one I would like to watch Kumble and Gilchrist square off once more in this IPL, at the summit. But then cricket is a game of uncertainities, and T20 even more uncertain. But till it doesnt happen otherwise, why should I rob myself of the luxury of imagining it ?

Last Sunday was Friends day. I had goone out to buy some icecream, when I saw this full bunch of kids celebreating Friends day. My mind suddenly took a detour, going back by almost 15 years, recollecting my college life. THose small things , long discussions in the canteen, the leg pulling.... especially during my post graduation years. We were  17 guys and there were 8-9 girls in our class . For the first 6 months there was hardly any communication between us, but when the seminars came up, then there was some initial conversation, and then all of us got together like a house fire. Kalyani - she was a drama and dance specialist, Shilpa, the studious kind, Sandeep the guy with BRAINS( since all of us were in  MCM, and we would get atleast 60-70%, all had brains, but he and Shilpa would hit the 80's consistently). Then came Poonam cute face, hardworking, but confused ... lost lost kind. Tanuja - The singer .. she had a drop dead smile and was one of the most talkative girls in the lot. Shobha, she used to put in a lot of effort in her studies but the results were not in keeping with her efforts. Always needed help in some of the topics like QT, programming, Sarita, the studious girl with a dash of humour. Among the other blokes, Rajesh Shastri- he was a fundu character. If ever Rajesh told a joke, then we would laugh twice - once for the joke and once for the seriousness in which he used to say it. Rajesh Pillai, TDH kind of guy, charming as always, Shivasubramanium Iyer, the genius, Raman, the chocolate hero ..... Even as I'm writing about each of them, thier faces keep flashing in my mind .. all those times .. when probably Friends day was not celebrate ... but then for us every day was Friendship day .. every moment was a special moment ..... moments that I cherish even today ..... How much I wish I could get back with them .... however our lives have taken us apart from each other ....

 My friends ....  this post is dedicated  for you wherever you are in this wide world ... Happy Friendship Day ......

These days, when you talk of cricket, IPL is the first event that comes into ones mind. The Indian Premier League - the one event which is supposed to revamp domestic cricket and take it a few steps higher. Whether that is actually the way it turns out, will be known once the tournament is over. But one thing cannot be denied, that the IPL has allowed youngsters - the Jadeja's, the Raina's the Kohli's, the Srivastava's (and many others), an opportunity to rub shoulders with, and learn from the best of world cricket. Something that their predecessors did not have, at their age. Yet there are some in the now famous Class of the 90's who are there in the IPL, fighting it out with kids who are younger, agile , fitter than them. For me that is the charm of IPL. It is remix cricket, with the charm of the old world.

Im talking about Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, VVS Laxman and Saurav Ganguly. Icons in Indian cricket, demigods in the test team, who find themselves out of the fast food version of the game for various reasons. Kumble for one will be lthe least affected of this quartet because he has already retired from ODI's. But Laxman, Ganguly, Dravid have thier own reasons to be there. For one, the trio are a purists delight. Patience, temperament are Dravid's weapons ( besides his technically correct batting); timing, and placement are Laxmans, while style and artistry is Ganguly's forte. It gladdens one when Virendra Sehwag blasts a length ball for a boundary, but doesnt quite give you the same kind of feeling, as when you watch Dravid executing a cover drive, or Laxman whipping one from outside off to squareleg, or say Ganguly essaying his silken touch square drives.

In this final installment, you will find some people who I have come across as a result of playing cricket matches ( official/unofficial). Most of the people mentioned in this post have been members of Team Ensim.

Ritesh Dhore - Tall wiry and dark, he has a lot of strength in his forearms. Those bowlers whome he has carted around, will be testimony to this. He played for Ensim in a firendly match against HP ( incidentally my first match as well). With his first ball, Ritesh hit the stumps. Then when he played for Ensim, against Indus , he hit the stumps with his first ball. In 2006, he took a break from cricket for his marriage. Guess what , when he returned for a match against Etechbooks, he hit the stumps with the first ball he bowled. I guess in five years I have yet to see another coincidence as this. A fine fielder at gully and point, Ritesh did not live up to the earlier promise he showed,as a batsman. The way he batted, I thought he could tear a bowling attack apart with the shots he played. Apart from the odd quickfire innings, he never reached his potential as a batsman. 26 in his first match ( against Indus), then a blitzing 28 not out off only 17 balls ( his first 5 scoring shots were 4,4,4,4,6). In between he had a blinder of a knock against Amdocs in another friendly match, where he belted 58 not out off 38 balls. From a seemingly hopeless position, he took Team Ensim to within 8 runs of victory. The opposing team accepted defeat, and their coach and support staff made a mention of the fact that the 14 fielded by Team Ensim that day were too much for their (Amdoc's) 22.

Rahul Deshpande - The wicketkeeper for Team Ensim, he is equally handy with the bat.Though not as efficient a batsman as he was when I started turning up for Team Ensim, Rahul is still very effective with the bat. Against Indus he was the batsman who lead a recovery from 24/5 to 125 all out. Rahul used the flick and the glance effectively then, and got to 31. It remains his highest score till date, but he has played some small and sweet innings over the last 5 seasons. Just last Saturday he got an unbeaten 25 against BrainVisa, and helped Team Ensim win by 14 runs. He has batted as an opener, as number 3,4,5,6, and even as a number 11.  He had to his credit a record number of stumpings , for an Ensim keeper in a match when he picked 5 stumpings against Patni in 2004. We went on to win that match. His record was subsequently bettered by Bimalesh a couple of years later when he picked 5 stumpings and effected 2 runouts against Kenati.

Prashant Bhide - Prashant became a member of team Ensim in 2005-2006, but he never got to play till Dec 2006. A medium pacer with a sling arm action, Prashant is also a handy middle order batsman. He made his debut against Zensar in the Ankur Jogalekar Memorial InterIT tournament ( though he should have played in the team much earlier than that ... in the MKM league the previous summer). In his second match he had a lovely partnership with Navid of 55 runs off only 37 balls. From 74/7 they took the score to 129, and almost won the match against HDFC. From then on, there has been no looking back. Time and again he has bowled some inspiring spells in the matches, only to go wicketless. Invariably if a catch is dropped, its off his bowling. I am the first on that list - 1 drop against Etech, one agsainst CapGemini, and one against BrainVisa. Someday I hope to set the record straight. Prashant is too good a bolwer to go wicketless for a long time. Some day a batsman will be fooled into playing an airy drive , and I hope I am at the other end to take the catch. Nothing will please me more than him getting his due as a bowler. He is one of the few bowlers to have consistently troubled Manoj, and sent his stuimps flying all over the park on numerous occasions. Not only his bowling, he is a good batmsan as well. And he scores pretty consistently.And to top it he has a safe pair of hands.

Venkatesh Yogeswaran - Venky's first over in an internal match resulted in a wicket - Me , caught by Manoj. After that he turned to spin, and played for Ensim from 2006 onwards. He made his debut in the match against Zensar ( just like Prashant did). He got 4 wickets , 2 in his first over, 2 in his last. In between these wickets, he was literally blasted all over the place. In the next match, HDFC needed 21 to win off 2 overs, and Manoj thrust the ball in Venky's hands. Poor chap crumbled under pressure, as the batsman Prashant Jadhav blasted 6,4,4,2,1,1,1 in the over, and virtually finished the match. From then on his bowling was not what it used to be. In betweeb he tried bowling medium pace, then switched back to spin. The following season he played against Infy and Capgemini and kept getting picked to the fence or over it. Till about a couple of matches back , he remained a fringe player - lots of potential, lots of commitment, but very little application. Over the last one month, we have played 3 matches, and Venky played very well. He scored runs sensibly when required, and fast when asked to, and also took wickets at important junctures. It was in the match against Capgemini, where Venky went in to bat with about 3 overs remaining , but didnt go for his shots till the last over.While bowling he wiped out the tail, and finished the match off. Then, in the match against BrainVisa, he played on one end, not losing his wicket, and getting the odd single to rotate the strike. His strike rate would have been in the 50's but that innings was equally important. And when he came on to bowl, the third wicket partnership was threatening to take the match away from us. That was when Venky came up with two sizzlers, whoch trapped both batsmen leg before. with figures of 4-0-19-3, he had bowled better than he ever had. He will rate this higher than the other two 3+ wicket hauls  he has got, but I tell you, there is more to come from this Chennai Veeran. Watch out this space.

Jivan Madtha - Jeeves , Baby Arnold as he is called by all of us is a smiling brute. He can hit the ball a long way off. Like Venky he has been coming into his own, over the last few matches. Jeeva doesnt need to clobber the ball, even if he just connects, thats curtains for the bowler. He has the ability to use the bat like a golf iron. Initially he used to go out and try to blast the bolwer from the very first ball, but off late he has been  very selective in his approach while batting. In the match with INCAT he clubbed two monstrous boundaries. the bowler would have been shaking all over, seeing those two strokes. Some day he is going to make a bowling attack cry on the ground. I just hope it happens soon.

Unnikrishnan Namboodiri -  If  I can write a whole laughathon on  Guru's antics, I can write a full book on Unnikrishnans batting. For now I will suffice with just a few lines. He has so much time to play his shots .. its almost as if he is bored while batting. Its fun to see him in full flow , when you are sitting in the pavillion. Its even better when you are at the nonstrikers end.When in touch Unni is like an A R rehman concert in its full flow, but when he is out of touch , or going though a lean patch, then he is worse than a cat on a hot tin roof. Im one of the few who have batted with him, when he was in nick.  For his timing and elegance (at that point) Unni would have got a perfect 10. A couple of seasons later though, he has lost his touch. Every batsman goes through it. Add to that , a knee injury which prevents him from running fast , and an Unni out of form looks like a disaster on two legs. I have seen him knocking the daylights out of  INCAT/TTIL once. Only Manoj can match that kind of powerful and effortless hitting. Here is praying for an encore from the touch artist. Mr.Elegance .. Team Ensim is waiting for a dash of your elegance. Hope you dont disappoint.

Madhavrao Nagahalla -  I knew Madhavrao from the time I was in CTS  ( on deputation from CMS). The first thing that strikes you about this tall man is his smile. The next thing that strikes you, is his absolutely friendly behaviour. Within 2 minutes you will be at ease when you are in a conversation with Madhavrao. What you dont realise is that this gentleman, all of 40 years generates more pace on lifeless cricket tracks at AFK and Deccan ( way back in 2004-2005), than the twenty something year olds in his team. I remember him bowling on a dull AFK track in 2003 December, and I asked him, How do you generate so much pace on such a dead track ?. His answer was - 'Bending my back. He was 36 then , and he could make the ball come up to waist height, where other bowlers could barely manage to get the ball upto knee level. Fortunately he has never clicked as a batsman against Team Ensim. But even his batting is as uncomplicated as his smile.

Anthony Francis -  My first impression, when I met Francis was almost the same as it was for say Manoj, and Madhavrao. Tall huge, awe-inspiring characters all of them .. and of them, if Manoj could impose his presence on anyone, so could this gentleman named Anthony Francis. Like Manoj he is a hard hitting batsman, and a medium pacer ( atleast he was .. till this season). The first time we met in a friendly cricket match between 5 Ensimites, 5 youngsters from Tata motors, and a full fledged TTIL team. He and Sreejith made an awesome opening pair for bowling. I still remember, when I went in to bat there were about 11 overs left for the game to complete. Soon enough this gentleman was thudding off toecrushers at me, which I could barely manage to keep out. A couple of them got me on the toes, but since I stood outside the legstump, the umpire did not give me out leg before. But it was tough facing this guy on his home track ( Telco Grounds). What took the pressure off me was the fact that Unni was playing 'the innings' of his life. He clubbed all the bolwers he could lay his hands on, while I just deadbatted everything that came to me. We remained unbeaten till the end, and added 81, but the value add for me was more than those 81 runs, or even the 7 runs that I scored that day. Never after that day was I overawed by any bowler, because I always felt, if I had taken care of Francis for a decent part of 11 overs, then I could handle anyone else. The next time we met, Frances blew us apart with his batting (37) and his bowling which saw us lose by 99 runs. We played, aftger that about a month or so back, and Francis the batsman was at his destructive best. 64 runs at a strike rate of close to 170 sealed our fate. A couple of weeks back we played again, and this time Manoj repaid him back in kind - 68 off 44 balls. I dont know why he has stopped bowling though. Tell you what - Manoj, Francis, Madhavrao the three of them would make fearsome trio of batsmen or bowlers, if they played in the same team. God help the opposition then.

A - Anirban Sarkar. No discussion can be complete without this powerhouse of energy. With all his shortcomings this bloke has bowled by far one of the most stingy and effective spells in Ensim cricket history. Figures of 3-0-7-0 , will please any bowler , especially if you have not given away any extras, nor have you been hit for a single boundary. On that day he was unplayable. He did bowl some more effective spells ( in terms of wickets) both before and after this one spell against Cognizant Technologies. This was way back in 2005-2006, when Team Ensim had reached the semi finals of this tournament, and Anirban was one of the stars of the match. As a person, a bit volatile, could be easily provoked, though I must say he did take the effort to mellow down later on. But the bloke had a lot of aggression in him .... if only ..... Anirban ended up as the leading wicket taker in the following tournament, and in the last match against Indus, he bowled another of his wonderful spells. The problem with the guy was, when he bowled his heart out, he never got wickets against his name, and when he invariably got wickets, he got plastered by all and sundry (atleast most of the times). A hard hitting batsman, he did show some glimpses of his power hitting in the nets, but that was it. I still remember, he had hit a six, and a four, of successive balls, and then blasted one in my direction - long off. One of the better catches I have taken in the nets, running forward, but my word, my hands hurt...He followed that up by getting out 5 more times, and of that on atleast 3 occasions he had deposited the ball over the ropes, before getting out, the very next ball. Lots of potoential, but not channelised properly.

B - Bimalesh Jha. Bimaleshda ... one word would suffice for him, Mr. Cool. A splendid wicket keeper, and a dependable middle order batsman, who could change gears almost at will. And he invariably scored at a strike rate of more than 100 almost everytime he batted. Let's see, 25(24b 1X4) , 59(40b 7X4, 1X6),11*(9b 2X4), 14(12b 2X4), 5(9b) , 28(26b 4X4), 26(24b 3X4), 24(18b 1X6, 1X4), 5(11b),16(21b 2X4). So on only 4 occasions(out of 10) has he scored at a strike rate of less than 100, which is fairly good for a middle order batsman, often entrusted with holding the innings together. I will remember him not only for his quicksilver wicketkeeping, or Formula 1 batting, but also for the genial and amicable person that he was. No hangups, no attitude, and he could tell the bluntest possible thing to a person in the politest manner. I rememer, a match against Kenati, where I was at deep squareleg, and Sameer Prabhune ( you will get him too in my list), at deep midwicket, and we saw about 3 boundaries go past us  through the gap. Next thing we know, Bimaleshda walking up to the bowler and telling him in chaste Bengali  - your field is set to Off , and you land up bowling on middle-legstump line - obviously its your funeral. Actually he had had a word to the bowler before the over, and also while he was being carted all over Deccan. When the guy refused to see the point, Bims gave it to him nice and proper, but in his mother tongue. As a keeper, Bims had the knack of pulling off stumpings which would leave even the bowler zapped ( and happy of course). I havent seen him drop many ( actually any) behind the stumps, and to add to that he has also taken a catch in the outfield, in one match. Bims has to his credit stumpings off Manodeep, Manoj(both bowling fast-medium/ fast ,mind you) besides some off Gary (slow medium), and some off spinners. As a keeper ( and as a cricketer), he was always alert in the field.Someone who had a shrewd head on his shoulders . If it had not been for the fact that he had to leave Ensim, Bimaleshda would have been the ideal choice for captaincy of the cricket team.

G - Girish Mujumdar. Also known as Gary to us. My first meeting with him was in the frist cricket meeting I attended for Ensim, barely a month or so after I had joined. Didnt know that he was the captan of the team, at that time. This guy is a living example of adaptibility, and the motto - Team before self. Not afraid to take responsibility, Gary won my respect when the team required an opener, and he volunteered for the job. This after he had failed to open his account in the 2 matches we played that season. His reasoning when I asked him, was pretty simple. 'I dont have anything to lose you see'. Not that he scored runs the next match, he was out to a lucky catch taken at mid off, but when he hit his first boundary the next match, everyone was applauding. He started out as a medium fast bowler, in the league of Venkatesh Prasad. If there was anyone who could bowl 6 slow balls in an over with varying speed, it had to be good ole Gary. Couple of seasons ago, he had to keep wickets against HDFC , when Bims took a hit above his eye. Gary pulled off a stumping and a catch down the legside. Since then he is the reserve wicket keeper for Team Ensim.

M - Manoj Phadke. Anyone who watches him bat will have the feeling that he uses a railway sleeper instead of a bat. He's hit some huge sixes (actually 21 of them so far). Ask him though, and he will tell you that nothing gladdens him more than the sight of a batsman's stump sent cartwheeling by one of his thunderbolts. He has a knack of getting early wickets ( 60-70% of the times he does pick up the first wicket to fall). And if he lands up taking more than one, then God help the batting team. The same holds true with his batting - if he is on song, then the only thing the fielding team has to think of is how soon the match will get over, so that they are spared the hammering. He used to bat in the middle order, till he decided to open the innnings and since then he has gone on from strength to strength.

           Cricket for him is a passion. But besides that, Manoj is a nice person, understanding friend, always ready to pull someones legs. Only one person has successfully manage to give him a dose of his own medicine at times , and that is Guru. He gives people a long rope, not only in the cricket team, but also in work. Its up to the person to understand that he is being given a chance, and make the most of it. I still remember, that in a friendly match against Amdocs, I had asked him ' Kya Big B ... 11 number pe daal diya idhar bhi ?", whne he was drawing the batting lineup. His response shocked me .... "Open karegaa ... chal jaa open kar". Well not only me , it would have shocked any number 11. I had expected him to send me at say number 8,9,10 .. and here I was .. opening the innings. We lost the match by 8 runs, and all through the evening I was down because Ritesh had played such a blinder (58* off 38 balls) that he deserved to finish the game on the winning side. I took it on me , becuase I scored 4 runs from 20 odd balls, and the first 8 overs yielded only 9 runs. I decided to quit, till he called me up  later and said that Amdocs accepted defeat (since they had fielded 2 full fledged teams, where as we had only 14 players who had knocked the daylights out of them. The rules of the match were such that all the batsmen bat, and all the bolwers bowl. Since Amdocs had come with 2 different teams, they had ther regular bowlers bolwing all the overs, and all their regular batsmen batting.). The following week when I told him I wanted to quit because I was not doing the team any good either as a batsman or as a fielder or as a bowler, Manoj's response was You were not sent to make runs, but to prevent early wickets. You did your job. Who cares a damn about how much you scored. The first 10 overs saw only 1 wicket fall ... that provided the others a platform to hammer... so thats it".

              A very good reader of people, and their abilities, its impossible to ever take him for a ride. And if someone does, then God help him. He has more faith in my abilities than me, and at times I am surprised at how I manage to do every task that he assigns to me. I was good at numbers, so I got a task related to mathematical calculations and percentages, when I first came into QA. Then I was asked to write a technical paper, because I was good at writitng. Pretty soon I was organizing events etc .... all of which, I was  doing for the first time and the end result was fantastic. He has helped me in regaining my self confidence, which is why there will always be a special amount of respect for this gentleman. He is probably the elder brother who I had always wanted, but never had. I do now. And most of us blokes in the cricket team, and in Ensim feel the same amount of respect for him. The Almighty doesnt make people like him frequently.

A - For Aniket Samudra ( For Voxians , our good ole Dunken Monkey). Guys is extremely talented. Ace fotographer, a blabber mouth ( he's absolutely enjoyable though I must say.) He can talk on almost any topic, but if you want to hear him speak, then just trigger his F button - The F1 circuit and watch this guy go off like a bazooka .....
B - Bhushan Joshi - He's a smart chappie, soft spoken ( but he can give it back to anyone with interest if needled).. always smiling. A decent cricketer, a friend to have. Good with the camera, still better when it comes to dealing with verbal fusillades, and a decent sense of humor.
K - Kapil Kurlekar - His tongue has more barbs than a barbed wire fence, and he knows it, we know it, but stil hes another one of those blokes you would want around you, if only for his whacky ( and at times outright rude ) sense of humor. He lightens up the atmosphere around with his comments. Hes a good cricketer, the captain of the Ensim cricket team. The combination of  hard rum with a dash of lime, whisky, and tequila thrown in .. ON the Rocks .....
M - M for MadMax - aka M Kumaraguru, the superstar of a blockbuster called Team Ensim. He can pull the carpet from under any feet, including the Darth Vader himself. No party or gathering, or even a discussion can be complete without him throwing his weight around - literally and vocally. Fun guy to be around. Re-entered into the Ensim cricket team ( if I say made a comeback, I'll become Dart Boarder instead of Darth Vader). Guys hits sixes as easliy as Tiger Woods would have a swing with his golf iron. Friend to have, no hangups, absolute professional, and a kewl team man. A combination of Antiquity with the effect of a McDowells. Mad Max .. u Rock....
Thats as far as the first set of my friends circle goes ..... many more diamonds in this lot ..... watch this space for more.........