"The Wall" & "Mr. Perfect" departs..

Rahul Sharad Dravid, nicknamed "The Wall", has been one of the game's most technical batsmen. Maybe the game's last technical batsman too. His records speak for him. However records do not speak fully about this man. The man's humility, dignity all speak volumes about the great man.

Only certain people are destined for greatness. Their talent is visible to everyone. Their talent leaves spectators in awe. They inspires youngsters and spectators. The likes of Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Sanath Jayasuriya, Virender Sehwag, MS Dhoni had talent and they were destined to be great cricketers. They inspired many cricketers and many tried copying their techniques. Their technique was simple and also attractive.

On the other hand, men like Rahul Dravid are often classified under the "Bore" category. They tend to waste balls according to some so called critics. What they failed to understand is that, in that batting line up of stroke players, it was Rahul Dravid who held and gave stability. He gave the huge freedom to the others in the line up to play their attractive and attacking strokes. He was the vital cog in the line up. When others around him failed, he often stood up and saved many matches.

I was never a big fan of him before and I really cant remember admiring him in the nineties. But I do remember some of gritty knocks in the nineties. He never inspired me much back then. I do not think he inspired anyone back then. It was Sachin who was more attacking and his batting left many of us in awe. Start 2000, and we see how valuable he was to the batting line up. He was the main reason that India started performing in Tests abroad and clinched many a victory.

He was shunted around in the batting line up but he still proved his worth at every oppurtunity. He was made to don the wicket-keeping gloves and even made to open the batting, both of which he hated the most. But he took it as a chance to discover himself and also came out trumps on most of the occasions. Yes he may not have been the best wicket-keeper but it is because he was not a natural at this. He proved to a capable one though and provided India the extra technical batsman that they needed. I would say he was one of the main reasons why India managed to have a stable batting line up and also reached the finals of the World Cup in 2003.

The first time I really started admiring him was in the match against the Aussies in  2001 at Kotkatta. Having failed in the first test match, he was made to drop down in the line up and VVS Laxman was promoted to the No. 3 position. Spectators had given up any hopes of even saving the match and many walked out of the ground once Sachin had fallen. Out comes Dravid, on antibiotics to kill the dehydration. Conditions were really tough and the place was hell for batsmen. You din't need a good ball to get a batsman out. Just allow the conditions to wear out the batsman and he will get out eventually. But Dravid came out with a great knock. His knock was overshadowed by Laxman's but it was his contribution that mattered and took the game away from the Aussies. He just battled out and hung in there. He did not play the strokes as fluently as Laxman. He went by his strengths and played the best "patient & waiting" game. The bowlers started straying in their lines out of frustration and the batsmen prospered.

Still it was Laxman who was celebrated like a hero. Not many remembered Dravid. He chose to be out of the limelight. His extraordinary concentration marked him apart from the others. His worth was proved on tours abroad where batting was not as easy as in the sub-continent.

He was the best in English conditions. He again scripted a famous win in Adelaide in 2003. He gave India their first series wins in England, New Zealand & West Indies where batting was very difficult. Wickets kept falling around him but he hung in there and dug out special knocks. That is when the spectators started realising his worth. He was the vital cog and he proved to be an invaluable asset to the team. Bowlers had to work hard to get one single wicket. They had to be as patient as him and also stick to their lines. Dravid's approach was simple - be patient and leave out the good balls. Punish the bad balls and make the bowlers to come to his ways. Leave the bowlers frustrated and leave them thinking "Why was I born in this generation?" His immense concentration left the opponents in a haze. Were they not doing the basics right? They would be brilliant sometimes but still Dravid left them in tatters.

He had to move around in the batting order in the ODIs and take up wicket-keeping just to provide the much needed stability. He was selfless. Why didn't Sachin or Ganguly or Kaif take up the gloves? He was made the scapegoat and still he carried on in the best interests of the team.

As a captain his record was decent. However the immense politics within the administration made him restless. He could not lead the side freely. His head was not called for but still he relinquished the captaincy role. He gave up the role when India won in England.

Recently his talent was questioned and he proved his critics wrong again. After the age of 36, he had managed to crack 10 hundreds. He battled out the tough English conditions single handedly and he was the sole hope. Not Tendulkar, not Sehwag. He was the only hope against the moving ball.

He is the only one to have batted over 31000 balls. That alone speaks volumes of his immense concentration power. He holds the record for most catches, the only person to have over 200 catches and a 100 of them abroad - that itself is a record. He is the man people look up whenever India tours abroad.

He was part of the "Fab Four" and that was the golden phase for Indian Test cricket. With over a 10000 runs in ODIs and 13000 runs in Tests, a very selfless and humble attitude, the man stands tall. There maybe a GOD in cricket, there maybe a dashing opener in Sehwag, an aggressive captain in Ganguly, an inspiring and cool leader in Dhoni, an excellent stroke player in Laxman, a dashing all rounder in Yuvraj but India needed a WALL to complement all this. His technique may not be attractive but it was just the thing they needed. A silent player and a hard working and dedicated person who just made his way to greatness. He had to work hard for that. He did not yearn for a farewell Test like some others. He made way for some deserving youngster. He proved he was selfless.

His farewell speech was straight forward and he was calm. Just like his batting technique. He is straight forward in accepting that he could not have handled the media glare and pressure at an age of 18 or 19 like the youngsters of today. He is frank in accepting that these players are better fielders and are better prospects than he used to be. He accepted that they were better in terms of talent. Even after all these mind boggling records and an awe inspiring resume, he is very humble. He may be the last of the cricketers to have played the game as a "gentleman". He never sledged. He just played the game as it should be played. None can fill in those shoes. I doubt if any youngster would show such concentration and selflessness. Most of them yearn for the big strokes and media glare and big bucks. Indian cricket has a huge hole to fill. Anyone can be as attacking as Sachin and dashing as Sehwag. You can see such cricketers every now and then. But none like Dravid. His respect increased by a ton fold after the Bradman oration given by him. His words were clear and frank and a certain calmness was observed.

This is not the sort of farewell he would have expected. Reports of a rift within the team and two disastrous tours abroad would not be a perfect farewell. Still he battled out to keep the team tall. He probably had one bad tour recently and there were many people calling for the heads of the seniors. None was calling for his head. He was the only one who battled single handedly on the disastrous English tour.

India will truly start missing him on their next overseas assignment - a good two years from now. They won't have Dravid to bail them out. I doubt if Laxman would be there either. Nor Sachin. Sachin's shoes can be filled to a certain extent by today's dashing youngsters. But they will realise the  true worth of Dravid and Laxman only when India are in tatters in a test abroad and when they need someone to bail them out. The last of the true gentleman cricketers has bid adieu to the game. The next would be Sachin and Laxman. India will then have some very huge voids to fill.

This may not be a good enough tribute to the great man. This is just another note which shows how much Dravid has done for cricket and how much respect he has all over the world and in the minds of spectators everywhere.

Bowlers won't have to tire themselves out anymore for a single wicket. Test Cricket won't be the same anymore. We miss you "The Wall". You may not accept it but you are truly the WALL of Indian cricket. In terms of hard work and dedication he is definitely the true successor of Gavaskar. I doubt if I would be interested in watching India play abroad anymore. I guess the thought would be the same for most of the true Indian fans.

The famous quote will best bring forth Dravid's worth -
"Ganguly: Do or Die
Sehwag: Do Before U Die
Tendulkar: Don't Die Until U Do
Rahul Dravid: Do (Play) Until Bowlers Die"

#Respect. He may not be dashing or attractive but is always reliable.

A day at college.

I return to post something which had been on my minds for a very long time. And i also cannot be without writing posts. So forgive my rather stupid action of declaring that i won't write anymore posts. My journey continues :-). This is the department of computer science, Anna University, a place i have to visit every Monday X-( . Mondays are by far the most torturous days of my life. Every semester a certain lab subject turns out to be to be very dull and boring. But I always found myself some work to do. By work i mean messaging my friends, chatting with them, studying sometimes and so on. I somehow found some work or the other. But this semester it turns out to be the WORST experience for a lab. I do find myself some work during the morning networks lab, where at-least you get to message, chat and also read in between some immense amounts of fun. In the noon we have the so called Software Development Lab (aka SDL) turns out to bad. You can't talk ! You can't message ! You can't blink your eyes or even sleep in this so called lab.



The lab doesn't have any work to be done. Well the teacher does give some work but its crap. We would be asked to implement some video analysis or some high class system without even proper softwares to implement them. Weekly once we have to visit that lab and type a document, God knows for what, because i doubt whether she even sees the documents. And to top it all, the teacher somehow finds the lab interesting and gives lectures about how valuable time is and how easily we are wasting it. Well if she does value time why doesn't she leave us off sooner than make us sit and sleep inside the lab. I get a splitting headache seeing her talk and give lectures (God save us). I doubt whether there's even a single soul who likes the teacher. How can she possibly go on and on, talking about that lab? Even the assistant teacher for that lab had voiced her opinion about the lab as being so boring and a waste of time.

I have just posted this because I felt damn irritated due to these labs. I have a knack of using foul language (which I am trying to reduce now). Many feel the urge to get up and shout back at the teacher for making a mockery of herself and torturing us. But being students we have learnt to bear these tortures. I just wanted to tell that Anna University is slowly losing its reputation and sheen. Its living on past reputation because of a few dumb employees and a few rude ones too.


P.S :- The college photo shows the older days of the college. Don't get fooled by what you see. For more details please do visit our college and see its BULL S*** functioning.

More than a blog.....

This post is purely of my idea. Any resemblance to living characters is purely unintentional. Yes, this blog is the only way i can pour out my feelings. Not fully though. This blog is between a diary and a friend. You may write everything in a diary. But telling everything to a friend means that friend is part of your soul. Means you TRUST them and expect them to respect your feelings. What would you do if that person himself/herself doesn't care about your feelings. Well. You may feel a little depressed. Maybe a little angry.

People would expect you to change. None would like a person who keeps on insulting others. Initially people may take it as a joke. But sooner or later people would start telling that they hate that habit and tell that person to change. "Love people as they are" is possibly the worst dialogue ever. Loved people expect each other to change so as not to hurt each other. If they can't even change, there's no point in that friendship. Mean you are friends with some person 'A' and you want 'A' to change a thing which actually hurts you. But you find that 'A' likes doing that thing the most and that 'A' can't change that habit for you. You find yourself in the middle. Stuck. You would have been expecting 'A' to tell a sorry at-least and tell you that he/she would change that habit. But 'A' doesn't even care. You have no choices. Either ignore 'A' when he/she does that thing. Else stay away from 'A' itself. 1st choice may sound easy. But its the toughest option ever possible. You can never ever pretend not to notice your closest person. Second would seem the toughest. But that would eventually sound the best option ever. If 'A' cant respect your feelings then you should learn to give 'A' his/her own space and leave off. Just leave them alone for a while till they realise their mistake. They will come on their own accord. "Love people as they are" and "Learn to accept people as they are" is total crap. It may be the best thing with respect to ordinary friends. Not with respect to close ones.

Signing off with my last ever post in this wonderful blog...

Arun.

Nasty moments of life....

This post may tell you about some nasty moments, not only in my life but in every person's life. Well losing friends is the hardest thing a person can do. Sometimes you may feel that you would have done so much for another person but the other person never reciprocates. Or maybe he/she does reciprocate when that person is alone with you. But when you go into a class full of people, the other person walks off silently as though you are invisible to him/her :) . I must have met this person around the 3rd semester. It was raksha bandhan. A wonderful day, which I literally hate now. A gal was standing with a rakhi in her hand, not knowing to whom to tie. And another gal cheerfully tells to tie to me. I wasn't much interested but didn't want to hurt her feelings. So i accepted the rakhi. And after that a rather close relationship with that girl blossomed. I used to spend like hell for her. I thought I was her best friend. Mean I assumed so. And lo... in some days you find her telling that some other person was only her closest friend because she walks with that person daily and chats. I had to sacrifice a lot for this girl. LOL. "Who asked you to sacrifice dumb head? I never asked you to". Being a sensitive person, all i could do was shed some tears. I had known that I was thrown out rather unceremoniously :P. I assumed that this girl would have known me after so many years. She asked me to come for an IV which turned out to be the worst days of my life. She asked me to eat lunch with her. Which again turned out to be bad. She kept on proving how unimportant I was to her. I have come a long way. I helped her in her dire situations. Well for nothing in return. And the only dialogue she gets to tell is "I will return slowly whatever you have spent for me". She thinks that I was with her for money rather than love. She thinks that by repaying the money she made me spend the deal was closed. Why couldn't she tell this way back before getting close :) ? You can't keep pondering. Can u? Just chuck it and go. Maybe you would feel for some days, maybe weeks or even months and years. But when the other person doesn't give a damn to your feelings, then you got to move on. When she thinks that by repaying the money spent the relationship was off, then you can't do anything about it. Just MOVE ON. Certain things in life seem very nasty. Forget it and move on.

My gang :-).....

The above two photos cover the members of my gang. Moments with your college gangs would be the most hilarious ones. They are always the sweetest memories of your life. Some would even be everlasting ones. Friends do stupid things and embarrassing themselves. Others would keep on reminding them of those embarrassing moments. Friends even tease some people with a person of the opposite gender (common thing) . And if the person of the opposite gender is of your liking, you would keep on smiling and feel happy on the inside. Even fights occur between friends. They also remind us of those stupid moments.

OK. Now moving on let me tell about my gang. Each member of my gang is kinda unique. The so called leader is MASS. You can distinctly see him in the second photo (3rd from the right). Looks frightening. But he can't even frighten a baby for sure. Very kind hearted. And also damn brainy. He never listens to classes. Gives an impression of I-don't-study-much. He also tells after every exam that he would definitely fail(which is a lie). But he would half the time score good marks. He is a nightmare to teachers. Shouts if he feels the teacher is taking class for too long.

Moving on, the next guy who has a very good impression among all and is liked by all is DIKU. He's very much visible in both photos (for a clearer view, see the 2nd photo, 4th from the left) . Very smart and always works out CAT materials at class. Has a good skill in programming (will show the output somehow, by hook or crook !!). He's also damn brainy and has a very sound temperament. Somehow maintains a good impression. He can attract many girls at a time. He is called our class Suriya (actor)

The next famous guy would obviously be Vicks (playboy). He is tall, lean and smart. Has an inimitable style. Teases everyone. But maintains a decent decorum during classes. He roams a lot with friends. And always helps others too. Studies only at the last minutes. And also talks to girls secretly.

Next would be Beer Mama ( see the 1st photo, 2nd from the right). He has knack of using foul language in unnecessary situations (even I do have). His favourite dialogue is " O*** , Elava kottatae ". He is damn hard working and always works on some projects and CAT materials. Helps others too. But sometimes even he can be damn lazy.

Next about our gang Pandu ( you can see him in both photos but for a clear view hes in the centre of the 2nd photo, 5th from either side). He is also brainy and very silent. Rather his looks may suggest a wrong impression. Looks damn silent and a shy type. But he has his fun by teasing others to the core. He isn't serious about studies but always gets good marks. And also has a sleepy face most of the times.

The rest of the gang are Arthu (2nd photo ,1st from left), Pandaen (2nd photo, 3rd from left), Santhu (2nd photo, 1st from right), Kadalai Thala (in the adjacent photo, 3rd from right), Aunty MAMA (adjacent photo, 1st from right) and THORANAI VISHAL (adjacent photo,2nd from left).

Arthu is the laziest person i have ever seen. Got lots of brains. He talks ill about god sometimes ( SAAMY KANNA KUTHUM ARTHU). Nevertheless he has the best chance of getting a seat in IIM among all our gang members.

About Pandaen. F***ing 9 pointer and also teacher's pet. He is huge and hefty. Very gentle though. And the surprise is he goes to the gym (maybe treadmill practice :P). Hardest worker in our gang. He also studies late in the night and hence appears damn sleepy during the classes.

Santhu was a brainy guy. The moment he joined the gang his situation became unfortunate :P. Just kidding. He is also silent. Always learns from everyone. Works out materials of various kinds. And scores marks well. An all rounder.

Kadalai thala is very smart. Talks well to all. Studies less. Plays and works out more(in the gym). Last-minute-studying is what he does. Learns from others in the last minutes or the night before the exam. He never takes notes. And hasn't got any book for the 7th semester. He is in the process of becoming a true college student. Talks to girls and inspite of that his favourite dialogue would be "I hate Gals MAMA".

Aunty mama is famous for the way he sights various AUNTIES :P. He rarely sees smaller girls. Huge and hefty but very gentle. Oru erumba kuda avan kolla maataan ( he won't hurt even an ant) . Sights even teachers. His favourite dialogue would be "O*** enna enikachu ponnunga kitta pesi paarthukiya" (Have you ever seen me talk to a gal).

Last but not the least is our THORANAI VISHAL. Tall , dark and handsome , he looks a little similar to our Tamil superstar VISHAL. He can bash up 10 persons at a time like the hero. He has the brightest prospects of getting a seat in IIM . Brilliant in CAT and studies. He has a charming smile to which all our class girls are slaves. He helps others a lot. And currently even this good guy has started seeing a girl. Intha poonayum beer adikuma??? ( Even this cat drinks beer :P ).

In short my gang, though sometimes embarrassing, is the coolest and the best one I have ever had. I write this not to insult anyone. These are the very few unique features of each person and my everlasting memories about each person. Thanks for the wonderful moments we have had together :-).

Expectations and their effects !!!!

This won't be new to anyone. But it would just broaden your thoughts. EXPECTATIONS is a word which every experiences daily. Either you would expect something or someone close to you would expect something from you. Am sure everyone has had an experience of this. Many would have had a RUDE AWAKENING because of expectations. There's nothing in expecting certain things . But there certainly is a limit to it too. It becomes a very dark word if you expect a little bit too much. :) Dark as in it would not only hurt your feelings but also the people around you. Especially your loved ones.


Expectations rather become a burden on yourself. It weighs down you. Keeps haunting you. Reminds you of the bad deeds that happened unintentionally (though your mind would feel that it was done intentionally) . You would have asked your friend for a help. And you get a cold response saying that he/she cant do it right now. And if suppose your an emotional person all that you would feel is that the person doesn't care about you, blah blah blah, goes on the mind. What the mind refuses to accept is that the person's situation is such that he/she couldn't help at that unfortunate moment. We refuse to tell ourselves that its part and parcel of life. We refuse to be frank with our loved ones. We don't tell them that it actually hurts sometimes.



Even I had a wonderful experience of being under the burden of the dreadful expectations of mine. I had a minor trifle with a girl. Well she does decently stop talking to me. But all that i thought was to hurt her back ( sorry people, I have a rather rude mind inside me) . And what better way than to use her close friend to hurt her back. Well luckily for me, her close friend was my close friend too. :) I asked the common friend of ours not to talk to the girl. I expected her to obey me. Well the friend did try doing that but in vain. The friend then awakened me suddenly saying that the girl was also close to her. I came crashing down to the Earth. I realized the mistakes I was doing. Well I did get hurt. But it was unfortunately my mistake. I tried to use the common friend to hurt the girl which backfired and hurt me instead . And in a painful manner. I had become immune to pain long back. And hence I was able to bear it with a smile and later a tear in my eyes. College fights are common. Who doesn't fight ? Everyone does. And everyone patches up later on. Just that the patching up takes different times for each person. Even I patched up with the girl today. I expected her to hurt me back. But i was proven wrong. She actually spoke well and also told a little about her mistakes. We had a little conversation which i would remember forever. It showed me how many bad things I had been doing. I accepted my mistakes and told it wont happen again. She smiled and had a calm aura around her. It calmed the anger inside me. And made me feel bad for hurting her.


College days are something which would never come back again. And fights with your friends are sweet memories. Cherish them. EXPECT less. Because ultimately they would hurt you back badly. Nothing's permanent in life. Just move on and accept life as it is. Understand other people's views and lead a life of harmony. I have had the worst and best memories at college. Am sure many have had them too. And this post is to inform all that I have been a fool expecting a lot. I have realised certain things and am happy to know what my life is.