Radhika : Part I

When you read this years on, if at all you do inculcate a habit of reading, I am sure you will not fully understand what a father or parents go through once they become one. You will be far too young. Too juvenile (a phrase which used to irk me no end when my girl-friends used it on me!) and fairly lacking in understanding what this all means. Trust me, at your age, your father was no different. And for that matter anyone else's as well. 

This is not a post about how your father was. Or rather what he was. By now, you would have figured that out. And it would not be a surprise if the opinion is not one worthy of a mention. All children look upon their parents in their teens as been clueless about their dreams, desires, life in general. I will not put up a defense but merely let time work its way in letting you know how wrong you were.

This post is about you and how you changed us in your first year.

We were warned that our lives are going to change in ways in which we cannot imagine from the day you were to be born. So, your mother diligently went about preparing for it. Books were lent from friends, websites surfed to give her a false sense of being ready. Your precocious father refused to do both in his ever so familiar prudish outlook stating that 'learning on the job' was his tried and tested success recipe. Then you came in. 

Too much hair. A blunt nose. Beautiful eye-lashes. Lovely eyes. Hardly a perfect creation, totally expected from an imperfect set of people. We had heard people being delirious with joy, ecstatic and amazed at the arrival of prince or princesses and going berserk on espousing the 'unbridled joy' that is parenthood. We assure you Radhika, nothing of that sort happened to us ! We were happy but scared. We were not king and queen and hence did not expect you to be either a prince or princess. Furthermore, I already had one in my life before you came in and to this day that has not changed. And in the first 21 days, the most emphatic feeling we had was one of dire helplessness and sleeplessness. Superlative adjectives expressing joy were a far cry. 

Our lives had indeed changed. From being people with avid interests in multiple things, we got down to learning about our parents. We understood what is meant by a 'bond between a child and a mother', we appreciated the efforts our parents made for us, we realized that without being a parent, our lives would have been incomplete. We would not have known why we are the way we are. We would not have known ourselves completely. 

My initial doubt about your ability to cry loudly on the day of your birth was put to rest in the month to come. You would just refuse to stop crying. Your mother and I had no fucking clue (Yes, we did use such words and some more of the choicest ones when we were young !) And you would not negotiate. Either 'my way or the highway' was coined probably keeping you in mind. But you smiled. Only when you shat ! Then, it started getting better. 

TBC

Indian Cricket : Going Backwards

Don't let them fool you. We have hardly made progress in cricket post the golden era of Indian cricket when Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman, Dravid, Anil played their part.

This assertion is likely to ruffle many feathers. They will be quick to point out that India is the No. 1 Test team in the world, that we are World Champions, we were T20 champions. I will contest each of these claims, not from a factual point of view (these are irrefutable truths!) but by questioning the basic premise of each.

We are world champions : Yes. We are. In a tournament played in India.
We were T20 champions: Yes. We were. Hardly a form of game which tests skills and even though we boast of the biggest/richest T20 league, our performance of late has been at best okay and at worst unmentionable.
We are the No.1 test playing nation in the world: Yes. That did not come overnight. It took years of toil, single minded focus from a captain who wanted to win abroad backed up by a team of delightful professionals. And we were not defeated when we went to England and Australia. For the first time since 1986 and 1979 respectively. We broke new ground. We have let that go.

Today, we have again come back to the same situation we were in the mid nineties. We were tourists who were expected to score a century or two and not offer much resistance to defeat. We were tigers at home and sheep abroad. We still are.

England currently has the best bowling attack in the world in Test matches. Followed by South Africa. For once, Australia would be a distant third. Against each of these countries, we have drawn won a test match, let alone win in their country.

When you forego all the good work you have done and go back in time then there is fundamentally something wrong. And there is no cause for rejoice. We should wait for that day when our overpaid rookies and overnight heroes inspire us to win in all conditions consistently. Till then, let us hold our celebrations at bay and watch some other sport.