The Road Not Taken

In case you are wondering, no this blog has nothing to do with Robert Frost's poem. After seeing my friend Aarti Kapur's recent facebook status message ("What if Rhode could never try her hand with a gun? What if Lochte din't take to swimming but played baseball? What if Ye started with Table Tennis or Gymnastics? I think I missed the boat somewhere......sigh"), I cant help but think, "WHAT IF?" a though most of us, if not all of us at some point or the other in life must have had. What if I would have chosen a sport as a career or at least a serious interest which would lead to, me representing the country at the International level? 

Growing up in India in the 90's and that too in India definitely dint help. Coming from a middle class family meant, in order to make any kind of prospect in life, you must be an Engineer or a Doctor. So the attitude of most parents was "khel-khud kya khana khilayengi"(Games-Sports would not feed you). And my parents were no different, they used to ask me stay home and study on the days when we had Track and Field events at school. Such was the "encouragement" I had.I don't really blame them, because they did what they felt was better,  played it safe and make sure I chose the path with a good future(whatever that means). But, rebel that I am, I still used to go and win a race here or there.

Like most kids, I have always been into sports and was quite good at some of them. It makes me wonder, how would things have been if I had some encouragement and the opportunity.

I am not unhappy with what I am doing right now, because from all the choices that were available to be me, I chose the one I liked the most. But I really doubt if I will ever do something in this line of work which will give me the same feeling as standing on the podium with an Olympic Gold medal around my neck and mouthing the words to the Indian National Anthem being played in front of hundreds of people from all over the world.

What has happened has happened and I can't do anything about it. At this point in life, even if I trained hard enough, I may not be able to run like Usain Bolt or swim like Yannick Agnel, but there still are a few sports where I can try my hand at, like Cycling, Archery, Rowing, Shooting ,Cross-country skiing, etc. Though it takes commitment, dedication and years of preparation to just qualify for the Olympics, at least there is still that outside chance and I am nothing if not an Optimist, so why not. So, lets see what happens in the next 8 years and how things turn out.

Crazee for Thee

Recently I've started listening to Adele Adkins, man does she have a great voice and one of her songs, "Crazy for You" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MW4etJWzE1o) inspired me to write my poem no. four and I am sure that there will be more. :D


Every face I see, looks like the face of Ye,
I must be Crazee, crazee for Thee,

The days have been long, but I am strong,
like the strength of king kong, I feel that we belong;

You may not like how I look, but hey I am a good cook,
like an ugly cover of a book, which still could be a great hook;


Though you are not mine, someday I will be fine,
the day You and I dine, along with some wine;


You say I will miss out, I say I will wait out,
doesn't help even if you pout, for my love is that stout;


You must think I am stupid, that I dont mind,
 like the great Intrepid ,you are one of a kind;

Every face I see, looks like the face of Ye,
I must be Crazee, crazee for Thee.

As always I will be looking forward for any kind of comments, compliments and criticisms.

P.S. I'm happy for You...... well........ I'm trying  :|

Broken Hearts and Burgers

It is the name of one of the episodes from "The Wonder Years". The other day I was having a "Burger" and for some reason, it reminded me of this Episode. Though the contents of the episode have not much to do with what I intend to share through this blog, I feel the title is in some way apt.

It's never fun to have a "burger", I mean duh, it's not good for your health. But yet, why do I keep finding myself at a "McD" when I know for sure that I will end up having a "Burger" which in turn will result in years worth "fat deposits" in my system. From my past experience (singular) It seems like the only way to get rid of these "fat deposits" is to go to a "McD" again. But how can I be sure that I wont have a "burger" again, which will leave years worth "fat deposits" yet again? Damn this viscous circle.

About You

For those who are counting, this is my third attempt at poetry and as always inspired by the same person. I am reneging on my word given to the same person by writing this poem, but hey Isn't "All fair in ............................"

What is it about you, that makes me miss you,

believe me it's true, like a baby is new;

Though we haven't spent much time, like the church bells chime,

I'm willing to meet at prime, and hope the hour wont sublime;

What is it about you, that makes me like you,

believe me it's true, like the redwoods grew;

Are you not seeing my zeal? it's like the shock of an eel;

I hope you hear my appeal, I think of you more than I meal,

What is about you, that makes me love you,

believe me it's true, like the strength of glue;

Remember when we had tea? why din't you answer my plea?

I think it is meant to be, because I need you for me;

what is it about you, that makes me adore you,

believe me it's true, like the oceans are blue;

It's time that you gave us a try, like the way you learn't to fly,

that will stop my heart from fry, and make my life sweet as a pie.

As some of you may know, I am not very good with punctuation, so forgive me for that. But any kind of critical review is welcome as always.

50/50

So, I have been thinking of writing a blog for quite a while now. I have even made a list of topics too. But a kind of laziness got to me and lately I am not quite myself, haven't been for a real long time. Anyways we'll get to that some other time. Coming to the blog itself, here it is....

No,its not another name for One Day International Cricket. Its the name of a funny yet thought provoking moving starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogan, Anna Kendrick etc. It's about a 27 y.o. guy(Joseph) who discovers that he is suffering from a type of cancer which gives him 50/50 odds of surviving and how he and people around him deal with it. This reminded me of a lot other movies(whose names I can't re-call right now) in which characters suffering from cancer gain this new perspective on life, make some kind of a bucket-list and do all kinds of stuff which they would not other wise have done. This made me think, why does it have to be this way? I mean, does someone have to be punched right on the face by cancer or some kind of terminal illness to realize that life is too short and you need to be making the maximum out of it. Are we as humans living too long a life that we waste most of it slacking, not being the best we can be, hesitating or being afraid of taking risks, etc? As a solution to this, maybe we should like psyche ourselves into thinking that we do have some kind of terminal illness, then make a kind of bucket-list and check every item on it out and make a whole new one again and repeat. I made my first one and I hope you did too.

Anyways that's the thought the movie put in me. You should check it out, its a good one.

P.S. I have two and three quarter years to live. :)

GOD

When I was a kid, I was told to pray. It could have been in a temple, mosque, church, gurudwara or synagogue etc. I was told that there is this person/thing/being called god and he/she/it will answer my prayers, grant my wishes and make me happy etc. But I was just a kid and hence did not have the cognitive skills or logical reasoning to know if its true or not. As I grew up, I started to realize the facts, know whats true from myth. And there not such a person/thing/being as "god".

But again, being a sports fan and being born in a country where Cricket is considered a religion and even better, being born in an era in which I got to see this Little Man play the game. The man known as SACHIN RAMESH TENDULKAR. The man who was born only 38 years ago on this day.

The man who is visible, made of flesh and blood. The man who does the improbable. This man who gives us hope, answers our prayers and makes us happy or at least tries his level best(and mind you his best is way way up there) to do so is THE GOD, not just for me but for millions of people.

Practice Partner

Those of you who are interested in and/or play sports know the importance of a practice partner. Especially if it is track events or two player sports, it is even more important. Couple of days ago, I saw this Ad on tv in which, Usain Bolt is practicing his sprints beside a huge, long screen on which the video of himself sprinting is being played. So it is kind of he is trying to beat himself. For the world's fastest man, to improve his performance, I guess there is no other way, but to practice against himself.

For the rest of us people, we all need practice partners. Not only in sports, but in all aspects of life. A practice partner is someone who helps you grow, makes you want more, pushes you to your limits and then some, helps by competing against you and prepares you for the real deal.

So let me ask you this. Do you have a practice partner? If so, Who???