The Cynics And The Faithful

As I sat there in the cafeteria, finishing my lunch, I heard a fellow from the next table exclaim, "Abey Tendulkar 78 pe khel raha hai!"

Suddenly all my other tasks took a back seat, and I ran and went to the TV. There was Sachin, facing Rest of India in the Irani Trophy match, the crowd gathered to see the master in the twilight of his career. All around me people came and went just eyeing the score, busy with their daily activities.

But for me the world stood still. It was this one chance, to witness something I may not be free to witness again. As the batsman crosses the three digit mark, takes off his helmet and looks heavenwards, its one of the best feelings for a fan.

So I stood there, patiently. I kept waiting, knowing that I had no choice but to see this through. My feet had planted themselves in the ground, they would not easily move. I was adamant. I had just missed a paddle sweep off Bhajji, I was not going to miss anything else.

As soon as he Ojha for back to back 4s, I knew I was getting a treat today. Around me people just chuckled at the highlights.

Then suddenly, the cynics started flocking around. "He should give youngsters the chance to play. Why is he taking their place?" a man exclaimed. Though not many agreed to this point, they just scowled and went along their way. They probably knew better than to give that statement any decent rebuttal. A few moments later, another guy went on to say "He'll be out in no time."

Good, they are at the first step. I thought. Denial.

Suddenly he missed a delivery and a stumping appeal was put forth. The third umpire's counsel was called into question. While my heart skipped a beat, thinking the man's curse came true, I knew that Sachin's experience won't let him throw his wicket so easily. And just as I was sure, he had put his foot behind the line before any damage was dealt.

"Jaane de yaar. He'll need half an hour at least to get there." another one of the gems told his friends. Again most people went on with their day. But I couldn't move. I knew I had to stand there.

RoI took the new ball. Sachin managed a single in the first over with it. Sreesanth was called into the attack. For a moment, I was petrified. Not him, if he gets the wicket, his arrogant smirking will definitely spoil my day.

Sreesanth then bowled a short ball. Sachin tried to duck, but it caught him on the shoulder.

"Ab toh iska career barbaad ho jayega. Ab to isse kabhi team mein nahi lenge." one of the hecklers proclaimed. Yeah right, like Sachin would ever resort, or for that matter need to resort, to dirty politics for having Sreesanth axed.

Somewhere the cynics thought they were winning. They showed how the master was getting slow, how he had lost his sharpness. And then it happened. Vintage Tendulkar! A drive on the offside, that looked as though it came out of a cricket textbook. Everyone around me went quiet. He had reached to 99*. Now surely he could do it off the next ball.

The next ball went awkwardly behind on the legside, and though he ran 2 with his heart, we were all waiting to see the umpire. Even the umpire seemed to hesitate, lifting his leg half 2-3 times, he finally gave a leg bye. People groaned and started moving again. Its ok, I thought, we are supposed to wait more.

The next over passed without that one single run. And even those who had waited in the nineties started leaving. But I just knew I had to stay.

Sreesanth came in to bowl the next over. And finally the event we had been waiting for happened. With a single, the master had scored the ton. 81st First Class someone said, but for me it didn't mean that much. Every new Sachin ton made the news for some sort of record. There was a scattered applause, but for me the real celebration was happening in my mind. I took my leave, not waiting to see him raise his bat.

I went back to my desk after that. I felt a harmony deep in me, the world seemed a bit brighter to me for the rest of the day.
"Tendulkar scored a ton." I told my team members.
"Hmmm..." one them said quietly "that man still has a lot of cricket in him. Shame many are blind to that."

That made me a bit happier. People still had faith in their little master.

How well can we survive?

While my head keeps thinking the most obscure and unrelated events and what follows, I felt it was the need to calculate how well the modern world will cope with different scenarios movies have shown us.

1) Alien Invasion - Survival Rating 6

Should we be invaded by extra terrestrials, the chances of survival would vary with each small input of data. E.g. the chances improve if the aliens horde the humans for any which nefarious purposes. In an all out annihilation, we still have chances with some modern weapons depending on how well advanced the enemy is. Rating drops to 3 if the aliens and their technology vastly outnumber us, but improve to 7 if they are just scouts unprepared to find hostile life.

2) Zombie Apocalypse - Survival Rating 7

We all have imagined this scenario countless times. The rules and hints are strongly embedded in a modern human mind. Most importantly it can be survived through hiding in for some time.

The chances improve to a modest 8 if we are organized and don’t try unnecessary heroism. The chances reduce to a 6 if the zombies are fast and organized. Developed nations have organized military to nip it in the bud, though you can’t try the same in crowded nations.

3) Rise of machines - Survival Rating 3

With all the gadgets one single person has, it is impossible to keep a tab on where the attack could come from. With the rise of consumerism, it is very easy to fall prey to an organized attack. The poor power sources and battery we currently have works in our advantage, but with more technology the chances start dropping.

4) Dalek invasion - Survival Rating 4

Seems simple to avert crisis from the pepper shakers, but our weapons are nowhere near ready to fight off the attack. Our emotionless, cold actions in current situations help in our advantage. Yet it is difficult not to be exterminated.

Note: It is necessary to note that ratings are dependent on area of impact and are subject to fluctuations. These ratings are based on research and are not verified by any government authority. And should any such tragedy befall us. Good luck and God be with us all.

My Thrill Ride

So one busy Monday, I’m riding my bike in rush hour traffic. Probably full of Monday morning blues. It’s a wide street; somehow I have drifted right into the middle. Although I’ve said rush hour, it is pretty fast. I’m feeling the wind in my hair, happy, smiling. Until…

First thing I see as I look down at my bike is dust. Slowly as I look up to my RVMs, I see strands of web. At the next traffic signal, I remove these webs. At least those I can reach. It was a moment like those in horror films with an unsuspecting prey.

My mind starts ticking only when the light turns green. If there were spider webs, there should be spi…

Suddenly, the master of the house I thrashed comes up out of nowhere. I think, ’It’s probably just taking a breath of fresh air’. But then it looks at me; through its cold, calculating eyes. Snapping its teeth.

JUMP! It’s on my speedometer. Now I’m scared. “Spiders! Why did it have to be spiders?”

The spider’s happy. It knows a jumbo meal, when it sees one. I can’t stop the bike, since I’m in heavy moving traffic. I can’t use my hands, never knowing when I’ll have to brake. I try blowing it off, it only comes closer.

I feel powerless. Can’t whack it, can’t blow it. The rain has already got my pants wet, so I can’t change anything there either. Suddenly the guy in front of me screeches to a stop. I have to do the same, only I do it with my eyes closed. When I open them its gone.

Where? The same question pops in my mind. Did it jump of my bike? Or is it crawling inside my clothes. My mind is set on the latter, but I reach home safe and sound.

I didn’t see it later, but I know its out there somewhere. I still have the nightmares.

The Pilgrimage

First of all, I’d like to start by saying I worked hard on the title. In the end, The Pilgrimage, ended up sounding better than ‘There And Back Again : A Fatty’s Tale’.

Now it all started with me jonesing for a fix of some good chicken. Since my love of fried chicken drove me, I decided to get some KFC. But, alas, with my increasing amount of fowl foods in the last week, it was hard to convince my parents for it.

Finally we reached a middle ground: I’d get my fix of KFC, if I was ready to walk all the way to the nearest franchisee. Now from the outside it seemed easy enough, but my parents had called my bluff. The fact is ‘walking’ is all greek to me. And any form of physical exercise is my buzzkill.

Yet, naturally I took up the task. It seems greatness was today, thrust upon me. After at least an hour of procrastinating, I had set out.

Now its usually customary to put your best foot forward. Both of mine seemed similar all around, so I started with the left one. For the first few minutes, it wasn’t quite as bad. I felt light, this seemed easy enough. Hell, I could do this all day.

But now, it was getting monotonous. I was mildly tired. My feet were well set in their rhythm. My body wasn’t too burned out. But my mind was suggesting that I had proved my point, I could walk if I wanted to.

But like all my favourite heroes, I was prepared to see the task through. Finally I reached my destination. I was so happy to have finally got there. There was this funny feeling I had. I felt healthy. The walk was good for me. I decided fried chicken would spoil that and turned around and left.

Psych!

I went inside and was trapped in the Saturday evening rush. After some time of deciding what I wanted and buying it, I began the return journey.

Now my body was a bit tired, my mind excruciatingly so. But I completed my journey and am sitting now eating some well earned spoils.