Grief is forever

 A sudden collapse

There's no hope

Critical...unstable

Dipping...crashing

Gone.

And home is lost forever. 

Conversations with the Roomie

Me: hey....wish you a very happy new year.

Ono: hey...happy 2011

Me: thanks

Ono: :)…to u too….ssup?

Me: just editing some shit someone wrote

Ono: :)

Me: i hate editing bad writing

Ono: u r not supposed to work on 1^st…yea

Me: worst task in the world

Ono: hmm

Me: u know what the good part is?

Ono: no…wht is?

Me: next year 1st will be Sunday!!!

Ono: :D yayy

Me: so i am setting my hopes on that

Ono: its also the mayan apocalypse…perhaps we all wil die :P

Me: oh…no worries at all then

Ono: lol yea

Me: what if the aliens invade the whole world?!

Ono: might

Me: that wud be nice and exciting

Ono: i know

Me: i have never seen aliens besides some weirdos on earth!

The Year That Was...

Hmmm....This could well be 'The Decade That Was'. However, that could run the danger of turning into a thesis coz ten years is a long long time and then there was also a Roger Federer and his 15!! Not that I’m not going to mention him at all in this ;P but let’s see where this goes…

One thing’s for sure…this year went by just soooooooooooooooooooooooo fast. So, the year that was…well just a few glimpses that come to mind with effortless ease…

I completed a year at work and three years of running after criminals! What fun ;P…it’s a blessing to be able to do what really appeals to you and what you strongly feel for. Yes, it’s big time serious work and the results take a real long time to show…gets pretty stressful at times…every day is a challenge and that’s what gets me going J Was such a crazy time when I opted out of the campus placements and decided to look on my own…it was a phase full of turmoil…but I'm glad I showed faith in myself and did what I did then…Prerana was certainly worth the wait!!

I also completed a year since I graduated J I guess almost all of us who have ever passed through those gates have a love and hate relationship with that place! I find it so amusing how places don’t feel the same when familiar people who shared that space with you are gone…but still there is this strange sense of comfort that you feel around such places even though the faces are all so strange and unfamiliar.

Travel, travel and more travel…work related but fun! This year I went to places I’ve never been to before…worked but also found time to explore the places a bit…Calcutta, Ranchi, Deoghar, Aurangabad, Akola and Kathmandu.

If you walk down the streets of Ranchi, honestly every 4^th guy you’ll see will be sporting the Dhoni hairdo…long hair and all J

When I told people at home that I had to go to Deoghar, I was told to go visit this Shiv temple there…really famous and something and blah blah…so one morning we decided to go…before we had even entered the premises, we were attacked by a whole bunch of priests. Tourists in a famous temple town attract priests like honey bees on a revenge spree after you have destroyed their comb!! They’re just all over you! You can’t escape them…no chance…how come you even thought of that?! So finally one of them succeeded…and while he took all our details; in that short span of 10 minutes I realized what a solid documentation system these guys have…they could put even the biggest research and documentation organization to shame! Years from now if anyone from my family visits the same place, as a rule it will be this guy who will cater to them and no other priest will dare approach them (The locals confirmed this later. They said these guys are almost like a small mafia unit!!)…and then as we were leaving the premises all traumatized by the crowd and the priest, he pointed to the wall and said.., “…that’s my cell phone number. The next time you’re here, just call on that number.” All that we could do was smile. It was pretty comical…seriously.

The locals in Aurangabad think that the only difference between the sculptures at the Ajanta and Ellora caves is that of water colour!!! We just had a day to ourselves and so the locals suggested we shoudn’t really bother going to Ajanta if we have seen Ellora coz “…madam, the sculptures are all the same. Only the ones at Ajanta are coloured…water colour madam…that is the only difference. Don’t waste your time.” We smiled… I mean seriously man…Buddha and Shiv could get into a fight over this one!!

Dude, whoever was incharge of intelligence at the Daulatabad fort, I wish comes back to life and then trains the Indian police and the Indian intelligence agencies in well “intelligence” planning!! An architectural brilliance in the context of its intelligence planning…no wonder no one ever conquered that fort. What brains…waah!

For some real weird reason, people in Aurangabad and Akola thought that Iyer and I were firangs!! How…why…what….I dunno…they kept asking us, “madam…which country?”

While on chat a friend introduced me to Milan Kundera…I discovered Shye Ben Tzur on a flight back to Bombay…I’m in love with both those men!

One of my kids at work went on from being illiterate to acquiring basic literacy to having completed her vocational training…a living example of how the human will is even harder than a freakin’ diamond…sheer perseverance and determination…she’ll go a long way. I feel so proud every time I look at her.

Another one of my kids (5 year old nephew) finally figured out how old he had turned on his 5^th birthday…sort of a “Eureka” moment. Last year he had no clue as to how old he had turned…this time he confidently stated that he had turned 5. However, after he confidently stated he had turned 5, I asked him about the number of candles on his cake…when he stated 2, I asked how come 2 candles when you turned 5? I confused him big timeJ. It’ll still take him some time before he understands that the number of candles on your cake equals to how old you’ve turned (atleast till you’re a kidzee ;P)…he’s a bright kid…I’m sure he’ll figure that one out soon.

On two separate occasions, Devaiah and I were told that we “…have a very good heart.” Like really? Why so? “Coz you are into social work.” Huh! Such people totally crack me up. It’s fun to see the expression on their faces when you tell them you get paid for it!! YES, I get paid for my work!!

I learnt one whole sentence of Marathi J Those who know me real well will know what an achievement that is!! Yes I’m linguistically challenged beyond Hindi and English!! Any way, the sentence… “nahi…mee nai karoo shakat.” (no, I can’t do it.) Helps when you’re an NGO person working with the Government…they have this lethal tendency to think that all NGOs are funding agencies!!

I finally travelled in the Delhi Metro…it’s super cool! Also I travelled in the Bombay-Delhi Rajdhani some 5 times this year and I did not get food poisoning!!

People kept getting married…left, right, and centre…my friends, my juniors, seniors, random people…just everybody…it was as if no one will be allowed to marry once 2009 ends…chalo marriage toh marriage, all the marriages that happened in the park near my house…I have to say, well, strange choice of song. I dunno why all the baraat bands played “emotional atyaachaar”!! I mean really man, have you ever heard the lyrics of that song…irrespective of the picturization in the movie, it’s NOT a wedding song… “bol bol why did you ditch me w@$%#”!! For that matter, I’ve never come to understand why baraat bands play “yeh desh hai veer jawaano ka”…but nevermind.

I went back to Lucknow after 7 long years…not on a particularly happy occasion…still, it felt good to be back…nostalgia. By the way all those memorials and parks built all over Lucknow by BMW (while she was CM – hint hint for decoding BMW)…well they kill me. Such a waste of real estate…and I’m really sorry about this but Jaipur my friend, is no longer the “pink city”! Yes, there is more pink stone in Lucknow than in Jaipur!! Courtesy parks and memorials by BMW…I prefer Jaipur to remain the “pink city”. There are certain other things playing on BMW’s mind that are giving me nightmares. Around the year 2003, when people in Bombay used to ask me where I’m from, I used to say that I am from Uttaranchal but have been born and brought up in Lucnkow. Then 2006 happened and I used to tell people that I belong to Uttarakhand but have been born and brought up in Lucknow. Then Telangana fuelled certain ideas in BMW’s head and God forbid all of that takes place, I will belong to Uttarakhand but born and brought up in the State of Harit Pradesh or Purvanchal or God alone knows what!!! And if BMW ends up inspiring more people, India could well beat the USA…yes we could have 52 States as compared to USA's 50 and we could call ourselves the United States of India!

They canned the Jazz Yatra yet again and I didn’t end up going for it L

Self discipline is soooooooooooooooo important…you have a bad cold and still you go ahead and eat ice cream…what do you get…LARYNGITIS! The people who’re a part of my world were at peace for a week…my throat couldn’t utter a sound…and I realised how empowering Gtalk was! ;P

They finally brought down the Annexe! All those who have studied in Jai Hind between 2000 – 2007 will know what I’m talking of. There was a time when they kept telling us that the Annexe will be brought down and they will build a 7 floor thing in it’s place…we had actually started to believe that years from now when our kids come and study here they would be saying the same thing to them. Well, we were wrong…they finally brought down the Annexe J

Ono and Shraddha…remember the cow who was suffering from AIDS? ;P …the one in that garden area outside Churchgate station? Well it finally succumbed to AIDS ;) or I think it might be the Swine flu…I mean it had AIDS which led to poor immunity and I’m sure Swine flu did the rest of it. Friends, the cow with AIDS in no more ;P

I discovered you can watch 2 films at Fame Andheri for the price of 1! Yes, they don’t check your tickets either outside or inside the theatre and they don’t care which screen you are entering either. Have fun!! I almost ended up watching 2. Just that I wasn’t so interested in the other one so decided to stick to the one that I had bought tickets for!

I fell in love with “Chaiyya Chaiyya” all over again!! :) Grooving to beautiful Urdu poetry on a moving train passing through the hills…sheer bliss J

Kids kept falling into pits and the media kept covering the news continuosly, live!! I mean what’s with kids falling into pits all over this country…every time the media covers such episodes…live mind you…no one learns a lesson…kids keep finding pits which they can fall into and no goddam person goes and covers up those pits!

It’s official…I’m losing my memory…thankfully it’s not a total loss…but I’ve had moments that made me feel like Jack (or whatever his name was) from '50 First Dates'! Remember that guy with a 10 odd seconds memory span…I went for a movie with a friend who introduced me to four other people there. By the time we reached the fourth person I realised I didn’t remember a single person’s name!! I have several other examples…but I won’t indulge. It’s just pretty embarrassing.

One morning I woke up to this sms – “MJ is dead.” I can’t tell with precision what emotion I felt when I read this. All I can say is that it was just so surreal…irrespective of all the controversies; no one can deny the sheer genius of that man…the passing away of a legend… ‘This Is It’ helped the fans relive the magic…what an absolute THRILLER!

Sachin completed 20 years of cricket and I lost all interest in the game. I have no clue why! I did not watch a single cricket match all year.

Beijing brought GOLD and the Indian janta realised that there are other sports in India besides cricket! (No, I have nothing against cricket even though I have lost all interest)

People thought Nadal was suffering from Tendonitis…the truth is…it wasn't Tendonitis; it was SODERLING ;P (I know I’m so mean when it comes to certain people)

CLIJSTERS J J

J J J Ahem Ahem… And then there was Roger Federer J J J He took Madrid from under Nadal’s nose and finally conquered the French crown and created a hole in my pocket! (My Fed Camp mates who watched the Garros finals with me at Sports Bar, Phoenix know what I’m talking ofJ). No I didn’t mind that hole in my pocket at all J

All throughout the year we had so much fun watching the Grand Slam Singles finals at the Sports Bar at Phoenix. First the French and then Wimby…we came to be known as the Federer Camp at the Bar and our customized Federer support t shirts were such a hit with the crowd J J some wine drinking and loads of table climbing J I so wish I had come up with this idea around 2003…could have celebrated all 15 with such elan :D…So LOVE FIFTEEN it was…of course some idiots still have their doubts, but that won’t change the truth…he still remains Numero Uno J (It’s an achievement I finished Roger Federer talk in only 8 lines! ;P)

Talking of customized t shirts, I will never forget the night we walked knee deep water, got drenched in rain…risked our lives to go collect our Federer support t shirts for the Wimbledon final which was due the next day! I mean if Federer saw us walking in that knee deep water, he would adopt all three of us! (Ok fine…it’s just 3 more lines J)

Ok…on a very serious note…the Tiger Woods Sex Scandal is NOT sports news…and then there was Agassi’s ‘Open’ and his crystal meth tales!! Who ever does those columns (and if you happen to read this by divine intervention) please shift that to the entertainment news section…at least for the sake of all those who are getting entertained by it..if not for the sake of sports!

During the State Assembly Elections, the poll booth officer didn’t know the difference between a driving license and an India issued passport! For some reason he thought my passport was my driving license. When I told him it really was the passport, his shock was apparent. He examined the document for a short while (though longer than what he should have). I feel good I contributed to his knowledge base. I’m sure he was trained for his poll duty…but they forgot to tell him what an Indian passport looked like!

I did a movie marathon with Devaiah before she left for Bangalore J Todaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I miss you loads L

During an absolutely fab Bombay Darshan outing with Iyer, we discovered aunties in sarees and Nikes at Marine Drive! Fun sight J

I went back to gradschool for a consultation meet…my research guide said someone wanted to meet me…a junior who’d opted for research and was being guided by my research guide…he said she had read my research dissertation some 10 times! She said it was so awesome that whenever she was confused about any aspect of her research, she would go to the library instead of the research guide and refer to my work…was super flattered…she made my day J Honestly, it just felt great to learn that your research is not just collecting dust in the library! Felt great to be acknowledged J

It’s just so amusing how the people you love the most have such immense capacity to hurt you…you give them so much power over yourself that they have the power to walk all over you! I sometimes detest this aspect of the human psyche…It’s also amusing how the most brash of statements are made without much thought and how those statements can totally crush you…Jnevermind…

The “Mango People” grooving to “Aahun Aahun”…what fun…COPENHAGEN…Shashi Tharoor and his Troubled Tweeting Tales, Chandrayaan, and OBAMA!!

The Bandra Worli Sea Link finally opened to the public…you can see it from my terrace…during the opening ceremony I went to my terrace to watch the laser show they had put up…I wasn’t alone…a mother was trying so hard to make her 5 year old son watch what she thought he might recall with pride all his life…poor thing was just so uninterested in the laser show!! Was hillarious to watch her convince him to stay and watch.

Also, I’ve been on Blogspot since June 2007…after 2 long years, I finally started publishing J J J

The Age of Stupid and 3 Idiots!

So we were going to Blue Frog...the 3 of us...to watch a movie on climatic change. It was called 'The Age of Stupid' and that means us!! No, not just the 3 of us, but simply all of us. Anyway, good docu-drama that...very well shot...uses a bit of animation too. So it talks about, well I guess I have already mentioned that...climatic change. What I like about the movie is that it does not dole out any gyaan...it simply talks in hindsight...well the fact is that when its all over and done with, even the biggest nincompoop can talk real intelligent looking back!

So we have this guy (we’ll call him Mr. Nincompoop even if there are good chances that he will sound super intelligent in 2055), apparently the last human alive in the devastated world of 2055, somewhere in the arctic or the antarctic or some god forsaken corner of the universe, sitting in this real jazzy, space age kinda tower in the middle of the rough ocean dancing beneath like an angry devil. So Mr. Nincompoop is looking back, musing about why we did not do something to stop climate change when there was still time to…when we had the chance? Gooooood question. Hmmmm…but wait, that was not what I started with, that’s not the point that I was trying to make…ok, I plead guilty of digressing way off my path.

So, the 3 of us were going to Blue Frog to watch the Age of Stupid. Or rather let’s go a little further back than that. Now I must assert at the outset that the 3 of us are inherently extremely intelligent (even if the post title suggests otherwise). So Idiot 1 and Idiot 2 decide that they will meet at Lower Parel Station and then walk it down to Blue Frog which is not too far away from there…nice evening walk. So then Idiot 2 is all set to leave the home when she asks Idiot 3, “Do you wanna come watch a movie on climatic change?” Idiot 3 thinks for a split second and replies, “Yeah…sure.” Bad decision…but like I said before, everyone sounds intelligent when talking in hindsight.

Now Idiot 2 and Idiot 3 are on the road all set to get to Lower Parel. But they decide to cab it up instead of taking the train, as in that part of Bombay it’s a herculean task to get a rick to the station during office hours. You can talk your guts out asking the rick waalas to take you to the station, but they won’t. And the answer is simple. They want people who wanna go long distance. The station is too close and you’re gonna get lucky if you wanna get a rick ride to Goa perhaps!! At that time, the BEST bus is not even an option…just from the look of it and the people crammed inside it, you can bet your life that it could topple any moment.

So they decided to cab it up. In life, there are certain key moments that alter the outcome of events that one is a part of. Sometimes you know when exactly those moments occur…at other darned times you don’t. So just when they were going to ask a cab to get them to Lower Parel, one such moment occurred in their lives…they decided to ask a rick waala to take them to the local station. And guess what…the rick waala agreed!! Damn you, rick guy (in hindsight)…

So Idiot 2 and Idiot 3 reach Lower Parel Station and are elated to meet Idiot 1. The weather is weird but beautiful…pink sky overhead, nice cool breeze, slight drizzle…So should we cab it up to Blue Frog? NO…this is just the perfect weather to take a nice walk. This was that precise moment when the 3 of us stepped down from heights of intelligence to the threshold of idiocy. Yes ofcourse we weren’t carrying umbrellas or rain cheaters…the rains in Bombay are supposed to be over by now. So we start walking…the weather’s weird but super…what fun.

Then it happened…it started to pour…we’re still walking ofcourse…the only difference is, that we’re walking as if we were in a walking race at the Olympics…and mind you…we’re still thinking if we should get a cab. Ooops…but it’s too late now. We’ve come a long way and no cabbie will take us now. Remember, all of them will only take you if you wanna go to Goa. So we take the turn round the bend and we’re soaking wet. We decide to stand under a shed and curse the weather for like maybe half a minute. Then we decide, “Well, we’re wet anyway, so let us walk and not miss the movie.” So we step out from under the shed and continue with our Olympics Walk Marathon. Needless to mention that this was taking the second step that only got us well into the state of idiocy…far beyond the threshold.

So we walk…walk…walk and get wet…wet…wet…and we reach our destination…Blue Frog. So now here we are…the 3 Idiots…soaking wet…dripping. I think collectively we could have been able to fill atleast one small size bucket had we wrung our clothes and hair. Well there are other people like us who are wet but surely not as wet as we are. Anyway, we enter. Thank god they had towels to give to us. So we take the towels, get our hands stamped and rush straight for the restroom. So we wring our clothes in whatever way we can and attempt to dry ourselves with the towels…but too bad…maybe a beach towel would come in more handy given the situation we had gotten ourselves into! But we try anyway. Then we get out and take the best available seats. We still have the towels with us. We have no option, we need them badly. While we’re still trying to dry ourselves, a lady sitting behind us makes conversation with us… she’s some firang complaining about the sudden rain and how it caught everyone unawares…well climatic change you see… she is soaked as well…we look at each other and smile…instant connection is made…one happy wet family!!

So now, we’re sitting there enjoying the Jazz and Blues and waiting for the movie to begin. Ofcourse we are still making attempts to dry ourselves. It’s almost half hour past we landed in Blue Frog but the movie doesn’t start. “Damn buggers, we could have waited under some shed till it stopped pouring (in hindsight). We rushed coz we thought we’ll miss the movie and these jerks aren’t even starting it. And why the hell does Blue Frog have some weird flashing lightining today? Oh crap it’s the lightening in the sky.” We could see it through the glass pane on the high wall of Blue Frog…crazy lightening accompanied by thunder.

Then the show starts. They talk about this carbon footprint calculator they have developed specifically for India. Carbon footprint calculator…sounds impressive…but damn you, I am freezing and I might die in a moment and not be alive to even exert my carbon footprint forget about calculating it…but yeah, nice. Then the movie begins. So Mr. Nincompoop is ruminating (in hindsight ofcourse), “Why, why didn’t we do something to stop climate change while there was still time?” So he is busy musing and I am busy shivering. You nincompoop…jerk…sitting pretty on that space age tower in dry clothes! So what if the rest of the world around you is dead and gone and devastated…you freakin’ get warm dry clothes to wear while I sit shivering in the god darned AC wearing my soaking jeans and wet sleeveless top.

@ Coffee Lady: I HATE YOU.

The film even had music…Radiohead, Depeche Mode…“These boots are made for walking, and that’s just what they’ll do. One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you”…ok I know it’s a serious movie and I am also dying of cold…but what the heck…I love that song.

But seriously, good film that. Most of it is a string of reports and news clips from the past years (that is NOW, as Mr. Nincompoop is in 2055 going through these archives on a cool looking monitor). So these clips are put side by side, with clips from all manner of national news agencies each reporting on present-day effects of climate change, perhaps a very compelling and precise way of putting across: climate change is happening now. One of the most striking pictures for me from the movie is the wreck of the Taj Mahal in the backdrop with vultures prowling on carcasses and skeletons.

The point being made is that hindsight is a brilliant thing and that The Age of Stupid is an attempt to provide that hindsight while there is still time to act.

So the movie got over and we got all set to leave. Outside the downpour had almost come to a halt…a negligible drizzle actually. So we decide to generate some body heat and walk back to the station. Good decision that…no seriously. So walking back, we have an…ahem ahem…intelligent discussion on the film. No I’m serious. All 3 of us are actually quite intelligent *wink*.

So the premise always is that each individual can make their own individual efforts to stop global warming. No I do not doubt that, sure all of us can do that. But the question is – Is that enough? Sadly I do not think that that is the case anymore. And if you look at things very rationally and empirically, you too will say the same. Idiot 1 is right. Environmental issues these days are not solely individual issues…they are politically driven agendas. So if Fush decides to buck a nation for oil, what can individuals do about that? It’s almost horrifying that one has to fight her/his own government to save the environment. I really don’t know what more to say here so I will get back to where we were…

So we reach Lower Parel Station. Get into the train still quite wet and hungry. My stop comes and so Idiot 2 and Idiot 3 say their goodbyes to Idiot 1 who lives further off. I, by the way am Idiot 2. So Idiot 2 and Idiot 3 come out of the station and let me remind you again cabbies and rick waalas will take you only if you wanna go to Goa. So I ask a rick waala, “Will you go to XYZ?” and guess what, he says YES. Goodlord, I can’t believe my ears. So something good finally happens after all the bad getting drenched in the rain and dying in the AC of cold stuff. We enter XYZ and I ask the rick waala to take the first right turn. And I’m not even done giving directions, when he bursts, “Yeh XYZ hai madam?! XYZ toh who hai (pointing further down the road leading to the other end of XYZ. Needless to say, if we wanted to go to the rick waala’s XYZ, it would have fetched him more money).” I say nothing then, I pay the fare, get off the rick and before he can leave I say, “Nahi bhaiya, yeh XYZ nahi hai. Yeh toh Panjim hai, Goa ka capital.” He is super perplexed but I don’t bother to stay and explain. I just walk off.

Still wet and dirty mind you, I quickly go take a shower. Idiot 3 follows suit. It’s almost 12 am when I get into the kitchen to make myself some hot maggi and adrak chai. It is 12:45 am by the time I get to my room with the maggi and the chai. Ofcourse I have work tomorrow and I have to wake up early; but I sit down at my table gorging the yummmmm maggi and sipping my chai writing this…what you’ve just finished reading. And aah, I do remember someone at the film screening making this statement…“We’re all very intelligent people, we’re just trapped in disobedient lifestyles.” :P

Links you might wanna check out:

www.notstupid.org

www.no2co2.in

Do try and catch the movie if you can.

TMF

“The Rise and Fall of a King” read the headlines post Roger Federer’s 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2 defeat to Rafael Nadal in the 2009 Australian Open Finals. The pundits declared that that was the end of RF’s dominance over the world of tennis… that his “nemesis” had finally scaled what was once thought to be insurmountable…basically it was declared that this indeed was the end of RF. He had ended the previous year pretty well…with his 5^th crown at Queens…but that did not matter…they shouted their guts out “oh but it wasn’t Nadal whom he defeated in the finals….oh but Nadal this Nadal that….” Dum dum di da da di dum dum...I sometimes feel sad for Nadal. Whenever he’s spoken of, it’s always in the context of RF…in comparison with RF…of what he did to RF…of what he could not do…I’m sure if RF did not exist, Nadal would have gotten more of his due, for what he has done and achieved for himself, the sport and his nation rather than not done or done in comparison to RF.

Ever heard the “who is the greatest of them all” debates on tennis shows? Prior to June 7, 2009; not a soul suggested the name RF whenever those debates happened. No, none of it mattered…the epic five-setter at Wimbledon ’01, the 11 singles titles in a year, the 237 consecutive weeks, the 13 majors, the forehand that was termed as “the greatest shot in the history of the sport”, the sheer genius and elegance…absolutely nothing…and why? Coz “He has never won the French.”

And then something happened.

An artist’s son produced two displays that should hang on the wall forever. Modern tennis has seen few painters like him…actually none like him. He has a broad brush and his displays are bursts of colours as well as of subtle hues. On first look he does not often seem extraordinary, but a closer examination suggests that he is a player of great beauty. A good 1 hour 55 minutes into the final of the men’s singles at the French Open 2009….5:09 pm local time (Paris)…he fell on his knees to the red earth of Roland Garros…the crowd rose to their feet…the thunder rumbled overhead…and Roger Federer redeemed a pledge to himself. Then almost a month later, in the evening sunshine on Centre Court at Wimbledon, he leapt into the air with joy, after four and a quarter hours of what can only be termed as a fitting climax, to claim his 15^th record Grand Slam Title and become tennis’ greatest men’s champion and the most succesful man in the history of the sport, watched by a legion of champions. These were moments to be frozen in history…moments that stood for triumph of resolve and the will of an individual who had simply refused to bow to what had been deemed inevitable.

But the world is full of insane people…and no, they do not suffer from insanity…it is the rest of the world that suffers as they talk!! With RF’s constant successes in his career spanning a little over 9 years, the world has high expectations…surprisingly his detractors too…now I fail to understand why they have to expect when all they want to do is criticize! And so the US Open happened…hailed as the “King of Queens” for his 5 successive crowns at Queens, after his finals loss they again declared that his “reign was over”…that he had been “dethroned”.

The trouble is that when one sees an individual like RF go about what he does best, year after year; one fails to comprehend whether he is a mortal of flesh and blood or of another world altogether. And in this state of mystification, they place him on a pedestal; hail him as god…and yet they wait for that one moment when he will falter and show some sign of his mortality…and when that moment arises, they pull the pedestal from beneath his feet and spurn him in every way possible. But just when they think they’ve seen it all from RF, he shows the world another way to break…whether it be their will or the contenders to his throne. Once again it becomes hard for the world to fathom that a mortal can produce such a precise picture…moving beautifully, thinking brilliantly…on a song. He continues to amuse, to bewilder, to confuse, to stupify…and so they hail him god yet again…stealthily waiting for the next sign of mortality as it is an obsession with the human mind to bring order to their world…in this case though, it’s turning out to be a bad obsession.

Love him or hate him…but learn to acknowledge his sheer genius and the fact that neither are we going to see the phenomenal feats he has pulled off, in our lifetime again; nor are we ever going to be able to forget (even if plagued with Alzheimer’s) the utter beauty of his sheer artistry. Learn to laud what he is to the sport and to its history. And even though RF is as close to invincible and as close to being god as any soul can be; he is a mortal who will not win every game he plays, will throw around bottles, smash racquets, use profanities when outraged and yet continue to amuse, stupify…mystify while on his quest for perfection.

Men are from earth. Women are from earth. So is RF. Deal with it!

Whirligig

Is there ever an end to mirages and dreams...

to hopes and desires...

to the flights of fantasy...

to the yearning to return to what is familiar...

eventhough upon return that familiar will be lost...

forever...

never to return.