Writer's Block

There have been so many times, when this term has crossed by. Writer's Block. And a question suddenly came to my mind. When someone 'thinks' he/she is facing a Writer's Block, can he/she not write about the Writer's Block itself?

What can the Writer's Block really be..? It can certainly be a block in which a writer lives. It is may be a local habit picked up while growing up to call the place we live in, a 'block'. Or is it general? Anyway, going by the traditional sarcastic description that a writer carries, one would not imagine this block to be a lavish one. The Kurti wearing, side-bag carrying, one room block enjoying, Writer. At least, that is how lot many parents describe it to their kids. Some who are very well known may boast of a different picture altogether. Well, let them.

Or is it simply a block he/she is playing with, since he/she does not have anything else to do..?

The writer, going back to the ABC's of writing. Or he may even be making different shapes using many such blocks, and keeping himself sane. Or is he, really?

Or the writer has decided to let go of his good old profession altogether, and start building houses using real blocks?

Of course, if you revisit the traditional parental description of a writer I mentioned a little while earlier, why would the writer not do this? Maybe, just maybe, this will help the writer in the sense that things will percolate in his mind, and then he'll be back to his love..

Or, is it simply that the writer has a stuck CAPS-LOCK button on his keyboard, and whatever he writes (types) is simply coming in BLOCK letters?


Caps lock stuck or not, I think some wrong button is definitely stuck in my head. And it indicates, I need to go and do something useful. Why useful? I need to go and do, SOMETHING..!!

Mission Expansion

A child gets so happy and excited on seeing a balloon. He tries to blow one up himself. Slowly and steadily, balloon starts blowing up. Child gets more excited. He wants more. He keeps on with his efforts. There comes a time, when the balloon reaches its optimum size. But does the child know that it is in fact the optimum size? Does he have the ability to gauge that? If not, the balloon is going to burst, after all. In vain, isn't it?
Expansion, in a lot of sense, agrees with this story of a balloon. Expansion, generally signifies growth, and reflects positively on any entity. And it is, actually good. But as dear "Makdi-Man" says, "with great power comes great responsibility." How true and universal it is! While going through an expansion, any entity has to keep a check on synergy and to make sure that each and every person involved has covered a common ground. Of course, the onus is significantly on the people to ensure that they work towards this.
Consider a business. At the start-up stage, it is generally a small one, with a team of people numbering in single digits. Keeping the objective common and the decision making inclusive does take place by and large. Needless to say that it is imperative. After a while, when opportunity to expand comes up, it is generally grabbed with both hands. But an eye has to be kept at the changes taking place, and how they affect the company as well as the individuals. It becomes very very essential to ensure that cracks do not seep in.
Consider even an online thread. Last year, I had happened to join one quite late from the date it started. After joining, and giving it a quick scan, it was evident to me that a lot of quality things have been discussed on the same, and hence I thought it was necessary for me to familiarize myself with it. Even if there was an impulse to say something, I did consider that a thought might have been given to it earlier. After dutifully looking for the same, I was satisfied that I controlled the impulse. Today, when I see somebody else in that position-at times blabbering away like everyone over there is like a newbie and actually not responding to one who refrained from taking a dig at him and explaining things nicely-again somehow I relate it to this expansion phenomenon. As and when newer people join an existing thread, it gradually becomes difficult to ensure that everyone is on the same page. Though I understand that such things happen, and happen for good. Some learn, some have fun, some always have intended pun (couldn't stop from rhyming). By the way, at such times, my respect for moderators and seniors on any thread or forum increases tremendously.
Organizing something has always fallen under this category. As the number of heads goes up, so does chaos. I'm sure, I have caused some at times, and faced some at others.
Eventually, I will say that expansion does have quite a few positive notions. But then, there is a way in which it should happen. The original entity, the new entrants and anyone else, need to be patient, calm, and most importantly having an eye at the common objective. Then one can reap fruits of the same.

P.S. Most of above may appear random, incomplete or even non-sense. But it is purely based on my experiences in very recent times, and the write-up is an impulsive one. I'm no theorist or philosopher.

A Dedication

Gratitude. Kids have it. They may not realize it. If and when they do, they don't know, how to express. But we are grown-ups. We are grateful to a lot of things, to a lot of people. If we know we are, if we know how to, then why wait? So here's a dedication to certain - or actually all - kids...

aey nanhe munho, shehzaadon..
mujh ko ye kabhi, bata do..
tumhaari hasee mein, ye taakat hai kaisi,
khushiyon ki jaise, imaarat hai aisi,
us mein ek ghar, dila do..
ghar ka us mujhe, pata do...                                                       (Intro.)


aankhen, bholi-bhaali.. masti, hai niraali..
aankhen, bholi-bhaali.. masti, hai niraali..

rutho agar toh bhi maanoge jhat se,
bado ko sikhaao ye karte ho kaise,
man jo tumhara, bedaag hai..
paani ke jaise, hi saaf hai..                                                           (1)

tumhaari hasee mein.........

seekho, dhyaan se.. khelo, shaan se..
seekho, dhyaan se.. khelo, shaan se..

kehta hoon kuch toh main dene tha aaya
par sach toh ye hai ke maine hi paaya,
pyaar mohabbat ka, nazraana..
isi liye gaaya, ye gaana..                                                              (2)

tumhaari hasee mein.........

Thoda Aur......

"Yaar Omkar, I had asked that girl out. She rejected. Later I got to know, agar THODA AUR rukta, toh she herself was going to ask me out. But since I did it earlier, she refused."
How does that sound for a situation? And how should one feel about this friend of mine? Of all the things, one thing is for sure. He has been the victim of 'Thoda Aur' Syndrome. By the way, it is not an isolated incident. Defying logic, I remember at least thrice having this conversation. With a different person, each time.
'Thoda Aur' is I think what sets humans apart from other animals. Had I got 'Thoda Aur' marks in my last year of engineering, I would have got a 'First Class'. It is only when I put it into perspective that a professor of mine had threatened me of a 'Fail' (no matter how baseless that rant was) that I get happy about it. The great Mr. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar decides to retire, and millions of us think, 'Thoda Aur khelna chahiye tha'. Perhaps, up until he announced this, a significant fraction of them had been venting frustration on the same guy. Bollywood has also been singing, "Thoda hai, thode ki, zaroorat hai..."
This 'Thoda Aur' becomes even more prominent in the shopping scenario. We always want 'Thoda Aur' discount on already existing ones. Even when we are getting something for free, "Thoda aur milta toh mazaa aa jaata!" Let me occupy a rock for a while and give you some customary gyaan. 'Thoda Aur' reflects a greedy nature. One should be happy with what one has.
Ok, screw that. I have come to terms to this way of thinking only recently, but there are numerous times, when a single-minded focus on this 'Thoda Aur' differentiates between winners and competitors. 1/100th of a second or 1/100th of a percentile appears to be 'Thoda Aur', but seperation between a Gold Medal and no medal, a college seat and a next-year-again-try is this same 'Thoda Aur'. A lot of great minds have been pushing for this 'Thoda Aur', and thus they are called great among billions.
And yeah, of course, how can I forget this.. After a session full of the 'Elixir of Celebrations' (Scroll down for the post below if you need explanation), people always tend to say this - "Thoda aur hota toh jannat hoti.. Bas ek peg aur.. Thoda aur...!!!"

The Elixir of Celebrations

Remember the advertisement that used to hog television channels' space up until recently, especially during a cricket match? "Boost is the secret of my energy..." "Our energy.." The kid and the great one. I have gained a few years, and now around me this is what I hear more often than not. "Booze is the secret of my energy.." "Our energy..!!"
"The" drink. Supposedly : The liquid that erases bad memory, the beverage that takes you to new highs, the glass that gives you courage, the drink that gives and shares the joy. It is the season of festivities and joy. Hence I refer to it as the Elixir of Celebrations.
Such are the times, that celebration and booze have become equivalent. "Let's celebrate" always precludes "Let's get a drink or two, and enjoy." Such is the influence - both after taking it and before taking it(the fantasy does the work) - that the temptation is almost impossible to overcome. Well, at least for a few.
Historical records of alcoholic beverages being consumed date as back as 10,000 B.C. in the form of stone age beer jugs. 'Sura' is supposed to be the favourite drink of the king of Hindu gods, 'Indra'. 'Osiris', the only god that was worshipped all across Egypt, was thought to be the inventor of beer, and hence it was the understanding that he instructs the people of Egypt to drink, of course in moderation. Such details are found all around the world. Vessels to ferment and store beer have been found in numerous excavations across the globe, which point towards various time periods - from B.C. to A.D. Generally, in moderation, it was thought of as a medicine, and it still is today.
Today, booze has become quite a regular part of our day to day lives. Hey, I don't mean to say that all of us drink regularly. Think of it this way. I watch a booze addled "Charlie Harper" on laptop. I watch our to-be-idolized-I-don't-think-so heroes getting into their dashing characters with a bottle of beer or a glass of whisky in their hands. The liquor barrons are fighting to save their other businesses, of course at the expense of others and not their own money. From high-class Chardonnay to our item-number-country drinks we are surrounded with alcohol, no matter whether you drink or not.
In more personal life, today a large number of times I see our dinner tables decorated with a drink or two when I go out. I agree that it is a very good supplement to the celebrations. It symbolizes the carefree attitude of the youth, it symbolizes "yes, we can!" (Apologies Mr. Obama) The Christmas nears, and I remember the number of times I have demanded home-made wine from certain friends of mine. I have a simple stand for it, "Drink to celebrate, drink to the happiness. But never give in to your sorrows and have illusions that it will solve your problems for you." Hence I call it the Elixir of Celebrations, not a "Magic Drink." So far so good, eh?
There is however one issue I have with the concept, or shall I say a wrong concept. Is booze supplementary to the celebrations, or is it a necessity? Over past few years, there have been numerous experiences that gave me hint that it is in fact the latter in certain cases. While making plans for a night-out, I hear "Hey man, without booze what's the point of night-out? I would rather sleep at my home." This, and many such incidents. This is where I draw the line, and I never ever would want to give booze more priority than it deserves.
Be that as it may, these are the times to celebrate. In under a year's time, I will legally be eligible to buy alcoholic beverages. I think, maybe that's why Parle Frooti had this tagline, "Why grow up?" They perhaps knew, that as one grows up the choice of beverages start to deviate from Frooti. Maybe, maybe not. Enjoy the celebrations...!!!
                                    "Ooo booze, you let me loose,
                                      over the mild wind, you let me cruise,
                                      Whisky, vodka, wine, or beers,
                                      friends, family, celebrations, cheers..!!"
P.S. No judgements entertained, based on any part of the post..!! :D

Cricket-Criticism-Captain

I recently came across a picture on facebook. Of a couple and a donkey. Once they travelled on foot, alongside the donkey. Compassion, perhaps. Once, the man let the wife ride the donkey. Chivalry, maybe. Once, the man rode the donkey, the wife walked. Patriarchy, I guess. Once, the donkey had to carry both of them. Dominance of intellectual superiority, so we are proud to assume. But one thing was common. No matter what they did, the "public" always criticized them.
I go back a few years in history, in the times of Azharuddins, Jadejas, and of course Tendulkars(times is small word for this man, "era" is better fitting). All over, I used to hear, "Albeit Indian Cricket players are talented, they are not professionals, like Australians, or South Africans. The Captains, though intelligent, sometimes fail to act professionally." I come back to the present, I think of a person, M. S. Dhoni. And the first thing that comes to my mind is - A professional captain/player. The one, people in my memory were talking about. I assume that they should be happy with the fact. But hang on, at the taste of defeat, they are not. Following the tradition, perhaps of humanity, he went through what should I call, wrestler The Undertaker's "Last Ride". People, who happily carried him over their shoulders for World Cup Victories, for India's no. 1 Test ranking, are now rushing to bang him on the floor as hard as they can.
I absolutely understand, that every one who ascends to a throne has to step down at one point of time. But is it really the time for Dhoni, and is it really justified? That's the question I ask.
There's no dearth of criticism that Dhoni is facing at present. I will be providing a few statistics at some point of time in this post, but before that, I'll write about what I think about professionalism that he displays. "We have few slow fielders like Sachin, Gambhir, Sehwag in our side. So our batting has to compensate for those 20-25 extra runs that they may give away." Really, anything wrong with that? Is it not a fact? All of them, no doubt, are very safe hands as far as catches are concerned, but in the outfield, can they be compared to Kohlis, Rainas? And I don't think this sentence means that Sachin, Sehwag and Co. should be out of the side, it simply means that the batting has to click. And who's saying that they are less than capable of doing so?
Now, Dhoni as a batsman. Fortunately, so far, nobody doubts his batting abilities in One-days and T-20s. Tests, severely criticized. So, I will limit myself to the context of "Test Matches" in this post. No doubt, he is an un-orthodox batsman. But remember, he's a Wicketkeeper-batsman, not Rahul Dravid. And thus, I wanted to compare him with "Mark Boucher". I remember him always known as a dangerous, effective, quality player. And so, I felt, it's an apt comparison. So here are a few statistics.

	Matches	Innings	Runs	Average	HS	100	50	SR	Wickets
MSD	67	106	3509	37.33	148	5	24	59.96	192
MB	146	204	5498	30.54	125	5	35	50.17	530

So, if Mark Boucher, was very well fit into his role, are the above statistics not justifying Dhoni's place in the team as a Wicketkeeper-Batsman? In all terms? Only thing he lacks in, is perhaps wickets per match played. But, I don't remember him consistently making goof-ups behind stumps.
On his recent form, last 20 test innings, (maybe this England series not included), he has scored 611 runs. Almost the same as Boucher's career average, considering the worst case scenario of Dhoni getting out in all 20 innings. Last 10 innings, 299 runs, last 5 innings, 171 runs. And majority of the last few innings he played were away from home. This point, because of criticism that his away batting is "worst", or something of that sort. And he, most of the times, has to bat with the tail. A point worth noticing, isn't it?
Now, onto his captaincy. Another table of statistics, comparing Azhar, Ganguly, Dravid, Dhoni.

	Overall				Home				Away
	Played	Won	Lost	Draw	Played	Won	Lost	Draw	Played	Won	Lost	Draw
Azhar	47	14	14	19	20	13	4	3	27	1	10	16
Ganguly	49	21	13	15	21	10	3	8	28	11	10	7
Dravid	25	8	6	11	8	3	2	3	17	5	4	8
Dhoni	41	20	11	10	22	16	2	4	19	4	9	6

As we can see from the above table, in the overall win conversion factor, Dhoni beats all of them. At home conditions, hands down. The latest criticism is about his demand for pitches turning from day 1 -
My thinking : 1. Home advantage is used all over the world, in every sport.
                      2. He claimed, "If the pitch turns from day 1, it will play fair for both sides." England won, right?
Anyway, only major flaw in his record that I agree with is the away record. Though in the recent embarrassing 0-8 whitewash in two away series, the entire team failed to perform, on a broad basis; still, it is a major lacking in his record as a captain. And thus, I believe, in the couple of away series coming up in the near future, we need to back him as captain, give him and the team a chance to prove themselves. Even in those if he fails to perform as captain, maybe it would be justified to discuss about the change in captaincy. Going beyond statistics, I have genuinely appreciated some of the field placements, bowling changes, batting order changes he has made dynamically, and that characterises abilities of a captain, a tad bit more than statistics. He backs the players, and gives them a confidence boosting longer than critique-expected reign, and then when the players fail to perform (read Ravindra Jadeja, Rohit Sharma) he gets the blame. By the same people, who blame the selectors of not giving players sufficient opportunities.
Ricky Ponting, with a formidable australian unit, can only boast of a 50% win conversion rate in the away matches(19 wins out of 38 played), in a period when Australian team hogged the no. 1 spot for years. Dhoni deserves a chance to prove that he is capable of going near that record.
On a different note, Dhoni himself has said that he may have to quit one of the three formats by 2012-13, and I see him actually taking the decision. Time will tell. But I believe he's one of the rare professional cricket players that India has produced, a better-than-average Wicketkeeper, an un-orthodox and yet effective batsman, a good captain, perhaps the best of the choices available in the present.

P.S. I am not paid by Dhoni or anyone for this, neither am I a die-hard fan of Dhoni (Sachin, always). But having seen a lot of undeserved criticism towards him, I thought of doing a little research and writing about it.

Old Habits

Remember a typical Villain-Hero Movie climax? In this ultimate scene, hero beats villain up bigtime. Villain clearly sees defeat, and begs for mercy. The hero being the hero, forgives the villain, thinks that villain is showing some remorse and he will be a better man now. The moment it appears that the hero takes eyes off this villain guy, he makes one last attempt to finish the hero off, but hero being the hero and villain being the villain, nothing else to be expected than the dynamic response on the hero's part and "Sachchai ki jeet".
Something that is portrayed in a major way here is that "Old Habits never die." And how true is that! One fine day, a 50+ guy in our office comes to play TT. He hasn't played TT in almost ten years. And yet when he starts to play, the smoothness, comfort with the sport and the finesse is clearly visible. This applies to bad habits as well. When someone is telling an interesting story, some other person necessarily has to come up with a better one(at least as per his standards), or else he'll feel that others think of him as a complete idiot. What really makes others think about him as a complete idiot, is a different issue.
Of course, habits become old habits when you get out of them, by choice or by force. After getting out of college, I tried to get out of some habits(good or bad-I won't comment. It completely depends on perspectives.) And with this experience, I can tell you that getting out of your habits is difficult. Curbing your natural instincts and acting differently takes out a lot from you. And it is much more difficult when you are experimenting, "What if I act this way in this situation? I am not sure, let's see." For example, if a gregarious person tries to keep mostly to himself, doesn't lookout for making friends with new people anymore, he/she may literally be holding himself/herself back every second.
As I said, I have been trying to change some habits. There was a time period in Trivandrum when I was staying aloof from most of the things happening around me. Then a time period when I refrained from making any silly comments on anything or anyone around. There was a time period when I stopped taking part in "Extra-curricular" activities as we know them. Nothing really out of depression or anything as such. Just a part of self-analysis. Maybe thought of studying a bit more helped me go through it.
But every time I had to go back to any habbit, it came out very naturally. The best day in my Trivandrum days so far was the day I had volunteered in Trinfy Carnival, an event for Infosys employees and their families. We were given responsibilities of the game stalls, and the joy on kids' and elders' faces after playing the games was beyond description. It didn't matter that I didn't know Malayaalam at all back then when 95% people asking information about the game were doing so in Malayaalam.
Did I regret coming back to my old habits? Yes. I had stopped expecting that I will get "friends" here. But then I came in contact with some people with whom things became pretty natural. Started pulling each other's leg and in the meantime I forgot that eventhough things look to be merry, it is not like back in college. And so I stepped out of the "line", just because of coming back to the old habit. Yes someone got offended, and I feel bad about it, and so this thought in head-"Old Habits never die."
Again, to come back to general sense, I think even you must have had such experiences in life, when you couldn't stop yourself from doing something, and regretted it just moments later, thinking that I probably could do this with someone else, but not now. A good thing about it though, is that, such experiences are food for thought, and always help you to grow, and quite frankly, are necessary.