The curious case of Virat Kohli!

Just a few days back, the social media, the critics and all the cricket fans went frenzy with that blistering knock of 157 by Virat Kohli against the West Indies, which also helped him reach the 10,000 run milestone in the ODIs. 

Despite the match being ended in a tie, the Indian cricket fans had many reasons to celebrate. The primary reason being Virat Kohli's grand entry into the 10,000 run club, interestingly smashing Sachin's record whom he literally worships. 

This episode has once again brought to fore the debate on "Who is the best batsman in the world?" This has become a hot topic in the drawing room conversations. And for the next few days, wherever I went, be it in office or during the commute and even in the social media, everyone was talking about this. I've been hearing the arguments from both the sides. (The fact that VK being the fastest batsman to reach this feat, strengthened the argument for his fans.)

As I am an ardent fan of Cricket and have been watching the game since the last 15 years, I also made myself involved in that discussions but couldn't take any side as I am a big fan of both of them. 

We have seen Sachin's long and illustrious career which spanned for 24 years.
But  what is so great about VK who has just completed 10 years in the International arena(who hasn't even played half of what Sachin did) that we are all comparing him with the God of Cricket!?
This point has driven me to do some research on this case. 

So let me now take you all to a tour of how his career evolved.

From being a cheeky child, to an aggressive teenager, to a matured skipper his journey is seamlessly inspiring.
Born in Delhi in 1988,started playing the game at a tender age of 10. His first coach was Rajkumar Sharma who played a pivotal role in polishing the diamond that VK was!
Most of us are aware of this incident which happened when he was 17 , where he was in the middle of a Ranji match and he gets to hear the tragic news of his father's untimely demise, but he still went and played the match with the same grit and passion , scored an unbeaten 90 and saved his team from the brink of losing. This episode in his life speaks volumes about the zeal and dedication with which he plays the game.
That incident has made him more stronger and determined. 

An year later he led the U19 team in Malaysia and won us the world cup. A few months from then he was called into the national side and from then on, there was no looking back. 

One more facet in his career which cannot be overlooked is his transformation from being a kid with chubby cheeks to a now worldwide fitness icon. He was the one who brought in the fitness crazy culture in the Indian team. 

But the only complain or rather the only apprehension that people had about him was his aggressive nature on field. But when Sachin Tendulkar (the GOD) himself has told that VK's aggression has become the strength for the team, there is no point in debating on it. May be that is what is helping him to extend his limits and pushing the envelope and stay focused in the game.
Another fascinating yet unusual thing about him is that he doesn't believe in superstitions unlike many cricketers. This proves that he is not just modern in the way he looks but also the way his thinks.
And in a recent interview when asked about his consistent form which resulted in the rise and rise and rise of Virat Kohli, he said that he cannot take any game for granted. Even after 10 years of his career and 10,000 OD international runs in his kitty, he doesn't feel any sense of entitlement..

That said, if he continues with his current consistent form and his attitude of not taking success to the head, he surely has a long long way to go.

He has already become a "DemiGod"  for his fans.. But will he become the next GOD of Cricket? Only time has to say!

Happiness is a Choice!

Are you a happy soul?
You are definitely not one if you are scrolling down to read the rest of the post.
A person is happy or elated when everything in his life is going according to his wishes and a person is sad or depressed when he is going through a rough patch of life.This is typically how majority of the people lead their lives.

"If you are finding happiness in nothing/little things you have then you are a happy soul."

I've read the above quote somewhere and wondered how on earth is it possible for someone to live like that.
But the incident which I am going to narrate to you all has proven me completely wrong. (because, sometimes we need a knock on our head to get back to our senses).
This incident has happened a few months  ago when I've encountered a deaf/mute person on a public transport. It was one of those tiring journeys back home after a long day of training on languages which I haven't had a slightest idea earlier. My daily routine during those days was to take a bus at 6:30 AM to  reach my workplace around 7:30 and after the training I'd again take a bus at 5:30 in the evening to go home and rest. The assignments, presentations, assessments and learning some alien languages was an arduous task altogether. Some days were good, but some were really depressing.
So after an uneventful day at work, on my way back home I've come across a guy in the bus who was making some weird gestures to the conductor. After a few seconds I realised that the person was deaf and mute and I felt pity for him. I travelled with him for the next 45 minutes in the same bus and not for a moment I've seen his face lose  smile. I then thought, that he might have had a good day at work unlike me.He spent most of the travelling time on a video call, enjoying and laughing with his friend on the other side. I wondered how technology is a blessing.
I saw him for the second day with the same excitement and enthusiasm. I then saw him for the third day in a row and there was no change in him, no drop in his energy levels.
For the next one week, I sometimes waited for him to come to the stop and then got into the same bus along with him.I keenly  observed him(he was with same high spirits and liveliness) for a week and I felt pity on myself for having everything in life which he didn't have, but still cribbing and whining for something. Never during those 7 days of travel with him, I've seen him in a bad mood. A man who is a daily wage worker, who can't speak or hear is absolutely jubilant. That's when I discovered that, it is your choice and ONLY YOUR CHOICE to be happy or sad.
Good and bad are part and parcel of life and neither of them is constant.
One should find happiness in what he/she has and that is when you become a happy soul!

Everything in life happens for a reason. Every experience, whether good or bad gives you 2 ways.
1.To learn what it teaches and move ahead.
2.To keep on complaining about what bad has happened.
It's your choice as to which side you want to dive.

I've chosen to count on my blessings, learn from the experiences and move on.

The downfall of Indian Media!

Media is the most powerful institution which should help in the development of the nation, but the sad part is that, in India, this very media is acting as a hindrance to the country's growth. Of late Indian media is turning out to be the most unethical and dubious institutions in the country.
Some surveys also say that Indian media is the most corrupt in the world. And, why not? Ranging from National media to Local media, every news channel and newspaper in the country is acting as a mouthpiece to some or the other political party misleading the masses with their biased and hyped stories.
Today, the media has stooped down to a very low level that they are willing to telecast anything and everything for their rating points. Some programs and debates held in the channels are sickening, which are of no use to the public.
Instead of acting like a whip and exposing the wrongdoers and the irregularities that are happening in the country, the media is giving them a free run.
And, Thanks to social media because of which the hypocrisy of these news channels is being exposed.

The news channels and newspapers before publishing any story or article should think twice about what they are feeding the  public.

Let us all strive for  fair and transparent media.

Life is Newton's third law!

Newton's laws of motion is something which we learnt way back in our school days,probably in the sixth or seventh standard.
Wondering why i am talking about physics?If so,stop worrying!I am not running into any sciences now.
Infact,i don't even remember what the first two laws of motion are.
All i remember about this great scientist is that,Sir Issac Newton,discovered the gravitational force or i'd rather say that i remember the story behind the discovery of gravity.It is said that,he(Newton) was sitting under an apple tree when an apple fell and hit him on the head,thus giving the idea of gravity.
The second thing which comes to my mind about Sir Newton is the THIRD LAW OF MOTION.

Newton's third law of motion:It states that,FOR EVERY ACTION,THERE IS A AN EQUAL AND OPPOSITE REACTION.

The above statement seems to be completely true when related with real time life experiences.
So,today,i'd like to share my views on how,the Newton's third law reflects on our day-to-day lives.

Newton's third law of motion can also be referred to as the"Law of Karma"
Karma,as we all know is the law of "action and reaction",which controls the destiny of all living entities,i.e,every action performed in life creates another reaction which inturn produces a new counter action,thus producing an endless chain of reactions and actions which binds the living entity to his/her good and bad deeds.

So,i'd like to share an incident,which,i hope will give a clear picture on how KARMA works.

One of my friend's friend and his cousin who were of the same age went to a bazaar to get a new screen card attached to their phones.The bazaar is usually a crowded place.Being it a saturday evening,it was doubly crowded.There were three boys who work in that shop apart from the owner who is sitting at the billing section.The owner was seriously indulged in a conversation with someone and the boys were busy handling their customers.These two brothers who got their new screen cards attached to their phones were waiting for the boy to go to the owner and get a bill.But,before the boy could go to the owner and get the bill,he was asked by the very owner to bring an item from inside.So,the boy went upstairs to get it.Soon,an evil thought passed into the mind of one of the brothers.His plan was to come out of the bazaar without paying the money for the screen cards.He told the plan to his brother.The latter was hesitant or ambiguous to take any decision.But,before he couldthink of anything,the former one pulled him outside the bazaar they got onto their bike and are on a flee.They were excited and happy for having saved Rs 500/-.
They were so exuberant about it that none of them actually realised that they were on the wrong side of the road until a policewala stopped them.They were asked to show the license and the vehicle papers,but they failed to do so as they left them at the home itself.The police person who was very irritated levied a fine of Rs 1000/- for travelling on the wrong side of the road as well as not carrying
the mandatory papers which are requisite to be carried when you are out on a vehicle.

This is not a story based on moral values or something.I thought this incident will best suit the action and reaction formula and throw some light on how KARMA works.

WHAT GOES AROUND,COMES AROUND,may be not in a similar way or fashion,but the effect is going to be the same in which ever form it comes.
"Be good and do good",is the need of the hour!

                                                                              sid...

LIFE OF A COLLEGE STUDENT

Keeping aside politics,keeping aside sports and entertainment,keeping aside history,today,i would like to share my insights ,my experiences and my learnings on this phase of life which everyone of us have gone through.THE COLLEGE LIFE!!!

After having struggled for two long years in the intermediate stage ,wishing to make into the IIT's or any other reputed institutions in the country,we eventually get settled in some or the other college,because little do we know about what fate has in store for us.Two years of hardship and not getting a seat in the desired college and course that we yearned for is a trying experience although.But,for some people,things shape out well and work in their favour.

Anyways,irrespective of what college we are in to,we stop brooding over the past and start a new life.

People say that the college life varies based on the college you attend,the location it is in,the course we decide etc etc,which is true to some extent,but it is more or less the same kind of enjoyment that exists everywhere.

Teenage life or college life is supposed to be the best phase of our lives.Every person who has gone beyond this stage of life will always cherish the college memories and most of them feel like coming back to the good old days and live them again.This is a beautiful part of life.

No matter how much ever prepared you are for the first day of the college,you may feel anxious the moment you step in the campus.New friends,new evironment,new location,new culture...everything is new here.Infact.you yourself are something new.You will be like a bird with new wings ready to fly its heartfelt.However,in the course of time,we make friends and everything will fall in line.

College is a place where we meet people of different sorts,with different mindset and ideologies.

I'm totally opposed to saying that two persons will become best friends only when they've got the same habits,thoughts,mindset etc.You are absolutely lucky if you find someone who is just like you,but i think it is not mandatory to find one to make friends with.

Anyways,if it in my case,as i am sort of gregarious person,a kind of person who likes to see everyone as a friend didn't find it difficult to make friends and of all the best friends i have,i am proud to say that they are not of the same kind as i am(though we share few things in common) and we do have diference in opinions.

GANG WARS

So it will take atleast a semister's time for students to become close and emerge as a group or gang and once this happens,they start hanging out which only thickens their bonding.

So, as every coin has got two sides,when the camaraderie in a group of friends keeps growing deeper and deeper,we might well encounter with  another group of friends in the class or college which doesn't like the way you people are soaring in and this might well lead into a tiff between the two groups(the reasons for which may be different in different cases).It is during this stage that these students become a cynosure in the campus as these kind of news will spread like a fire in the forest and there will be students talking about this and there will be a flurry of reactions.However,all these fights are quite common and i believe are part and parcel of the college life and by the end of 2nd year or third year these people will become freinds as maturity soars in.

FESTIVALS

Let it be a freshers day,a college annual day,symposium,a farewell day or a traditional day,which is like a break to the college routine,the students irrespective of their courses or batches come in great numbers to organise and participate in the events held on the respective day.It is during this stage that our connections or network in the campus grow as we find new friends and  work with them. And this friendship in some cases might continue forever and in other cases is confined only till the end of the festival.

EXAM JITTERS

If there is one common thing that every student in the college hates about it is the exams.And most of us feel nervous about the exams just before a week they commence.This is because we rarely plan to study unlike we plan for parties and nightouts.Anyways,we rattle our minds and try to finish the whole syllabus that was taught for 6 months in just one night and appear for the exam.In my case,it is the lab exams that tremble and shatter me the most.And the reason is simple.In a main examination you pen down whatever that comes to mind at that instant,making sure you write something relevant to the asked question.But,in the case of labs,where we have to practically show the outcome under close surveillance of the faculty especially who have a bad impression on you is something that i find tough to go through.And the fact that i have failed in a lab doubled the already existing fear i have for it.

AFFAIRS

Loving someone is considered to be a taboo in a conservative family.But this is becoming history,or let's say that it is not the same case now as it used to be before.Oflate,what's happening is that,in every family there is atleast one person who is coming up with a love affair and are obstinately refusing parents word to marry someone else whom they have chosen.And ,it is pretty obvious that these affairs happen to take place during college days.

Now as we are talking about this ,i get a reminiscence of a dialogue in a hindi movie,which i've watched quite sometime back.

It goes like this, "har college mein romances hote hain,..break ups bhi hote hain...but some couples last forever..".

All i am trying to say is friends,be discreet in chosing your partners.Don't just fall into the trap and fool yourselves.If you believe in each other and have the confidence to take your relation further where in you marry and spend the rest of your lives together only,go for it.

I believe that love happens only once in a life time.

"If you really like someone do not hesitate to express your feelings,because it is not daily that you meet the person who has got the magic to make you fall in love".

So,i'd like to stop it here.

A single post wouldn't be sufficient to talk about this wonderful phase of life.I'll come up with a few more points to discuss in my next post on LIFE OF A COLLEGE STUDENT-2.

Till then keep enjoying the college life and never miss even a single moment that you'll regret later.

There shouldn't be any regrets in your college life.This is a one time oppurtunity in the whole life as we won't be coming across this stage anywhere in our lives again.

                                                                                                                                                                                      sid...

MACHIAVELLIANISM!!!

I was actually going through a newspaper today in the morning,when i happened to encounter this word,machiavellianism . From the context of what i was reading,i could understand that the word is a negative one and was used as a metaphor to describe a person or an organization that exhibits cunning and duplicitous behavior.Let me put it more simpler.When someone says that a politician is like a machiavellian,they actually refer to say that this politician is not trust worthy,not reliable,ready to deceive and he always puts his interests in the first place before any other moral consecration .Machiavellians are calculated,astute,cunning like a fox.

I didn't stop with that.When i've gone through the etymology of this word,machiavellianism,i found that this word came after a man called Niccolo Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiavelli(1469-1527),from Florence,was an Italian historian,diplomat,politician and a writer during the renaissance. Niccolo was a son of an unsuccessful lawyer unfortunately. I use the word unfortunate because lawyers during the renaissance in Florence were very rich and successful unlike his father.

Niccolo Machiavelli was a rationalist.He doesn't believe in the religious affairs.He fought for grand ideals.He fought many battles against the conventional political culture of his time.He was very passionate about politics. He was a teacher of grand politics. He is also an author for a political treatise named 'THE PRINCE'.
Niccolo wanted to teach on how to do great things in politics not how to gain power such as redeeming accountary,liberating people,restoring political life,emancipating republic from corruption etc. He was not a teacher of ordinary,mediocre and measurable politics.He was a teacher of grand politics. He was of the opinion that women are better than men in having adept handling situations and even running a political government. He says that women are more tender and have deeper compassion.

We actually do not know how this man,Niccolo Machiavelli looks like.The picture of Niccolo which the google shows is also an imaginary painting which was sketched by a painter after Niccolo's death.

Now,there is this man called Maurizio Viroli,who has to his credit the famous book which is the biography of  Niccolo Machiavelli,named 'NICCOLO'S SMILE'. He is a professor at Princeton university in Texas.His subject is political theory.He started writing on Machiavelli since 1989 and it is said that he has done an extensive research for the book.

Now,you people must be wondering why is the word machiavellian negative,when Niccolo has nothing bad to his credit.
When the same question was asked by a person who was interviewing Maurizio Viroli,he said that
Niccolo Machiavelli was quite opposite to the today's meaning of machiavelli and he said that the misinterpretation comes because the scholars who read Niccolo's works were not apt to understand,they were prejudice and did not want to to make the effort to understand what Niccolo was saying.

In his research,Maurizio came across few letters belonged to Niccolo .They include letters written   and received by Niccolo from/to  his friends,wife etc.
He got to know many things from these letters which he later  included in his work,Niccolo's smile.

FEW EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK.
>Niccolo and his wife Mariotta had seven children.
>His wife was very fond of him and was sometimes angry on him as well because he used to spent    more time on diplomatic missions.
>The fact that Niccolo was slim,reasonably tall and had dark eyes is known from a letter written by    his wife to him describing how their new born baby resembled him.
>Niccolo had faced a lot of challenges before he served as secretary of republic of
   Florence from 1498-1512,because of the aristocratic constitution there.
>Niccolo was a good father.He was tender and affectionate with his children.
>He is of the opinion that citizens are not there to enjoy the rights they have,but,have some duties and   moral responsibilities as well.They have to share their intelligence,time and strength for the    development of the nation and the well being of the society.
>He played pranks on monks,for he never believed in religious affairs.
  But,however,there are few scholars who claim that at the end of his life in moral and religious          crisis,he became religious.
>Niccolo Machiavelli described a dream of his on his death bed before he expired.The moral of the  dream was that he wished to go to hell rather than to paradise after his death as he considered hell to  be a more interesting place.

Finally,i would like to end this with a famous quote by NICCOLO MACHIAVELLI.
"HE WHO NEGLECTS WHAT IS DONE FOR WHAT OUGHT TO DONE,SOONER EFFECTS HIS RUIN THAN HIS PRESERVATION."

In short,he is saying that if you neglect what is going around you,and instead pursue that which is idealistic,you will fail.



                                                                                                                              sid...

IPL VS WORLD CRICKET

Cricket is one of the most loved sport in the world.
There are hardly any people in the world who are not aware of this sport.This game has got a great history behind it.If we look back at the origin of cricket,this game was first played in the Southern England.With the expansion of the British empire,this game too had made its mark in many countries.The first international match was played in the 19th century.By the 20th century India has entered into the cricketing world.And there has been a feeling of bonhomie among all the nations playing this game.
   
The rules of the game are laid by International Cricket Council(ICC) & Marylebone Cricket Council(MCC) together.Cricket is mainly played by 10 nations other than countries like UAE,Kenya,Afganisthan,Bermuda etc which play the game seldom.The rules and regulations of the game have been changing at regular intervals of time.

Cricket ,when introduced,was first played for 2 days.This led to the start of Test cricket played for 5 days.Then came the ODI's which was intitially played for 60 overs a side.It then got reduced to 50 overs eventually.The fielding restrictions and the change to uniforms from white dresses,change of red to white balls etc were a few changes made by the cricketing council over the years.This game has improved a lot in the last two decades and the people who admire the game have gradually increased over the years.So far,cricket in world,especially in India has become very popular and succesful game.If all this is to be considered to be one side of the coin,the origin of T20 cricket and most importantly the IPL and its impact on the World cricket is to be considered the second side of the coin.

T20 cricket was first started by England and Wales cricket board for English county matches.The first T20 international was played  between Srilanka and England in 2006.Since the inception of the T20 format the game has been very successful resulting in its spread around the cricket world.The ICL or The Indian Cricketing League was the  sort of English county in India introduced by the former cricketer and the worldcup winning captain,Kapildev and funded by the ZEE network.ICL was played for 2 seasons before it came to a halt  in 2009 due to lack of support from BCCI and their disparities with Kapildev.
Then came Lalith Modi who is the first commissioner of the IPL,which was incorporated from the same idea of ICL.It initially started with 8 franchises buying the players who were auctioned.There has been a huge fan support for the newly founded IPL,which has 20 overs played by each side.The IPL has now successfully completed 7 seasons with the second season played in South Africa due to the elections here in India.The IPL which is played during the summer every year for 40 odd days is kind of pure entertainment for the cricket lovers.
   
       India is one such country which is very much obsessed with cricket.Infact,cricket in India is considered to be a religion.So the IPL which is played during the summer season has actually brought a new dimension to the cricket an a new hope to the cricket fans in the country.
By saying this,i mean that IPL has been undoubtedly a huge impact and also a great influence on the world cricket.

The T20 cricket has  actually brought in a lot of change in the ability of the players,especially in a batsman.And the reason for this is obvious.In a limited over format you tend to score runs quickly as you see in an ODI.And in a T20 format where you have only 20 overs a side,you need to be lot quicker.A batsman needs to score runs so quickly that, right from the word go ,his job is to slog slog and slog till he gets out.If a batsman is struggling to score runs,its better to get out and sit in the dugout ,so that the next batsman can take over the reins.So,the players after getting used to the T20 format started scoring biggies in the ODI and the Test format as well.We've seen Rohit Sharma score a double hundred twice in ODI's,Sehwag and Sachin also have a double ton to their credit.This wasn't the case before the commencement of the IPL.Scoring 200-240 runs by a team in an ODI seemed a grand total in the early stages of cricket.In the 21st century,scoring 280-300 runs in an ODI seemed to be a respectable or a reasonable score.But then, after the inception of the T20 format,players individually scored a double ton taking the team's score past 400.

"BOWLERS WILL SOON BECOME EXTINCT."
The above statement was made by the Indian former spinner Murali Karthik during the
World cup 2015,after  the Kiwi batsman Martin Guptill scored a remarkable double ton against the Windies.And that seems to be true.Let it be a new ball or an old ball,the bowlers are being throttled by  the batsman.Are the present bowlers not upto the mark or is it the influence of the T20 format that has changed the way the batsman are scoring runs?This seems to be a tough question to answer.Cricket is becoming a batsman's game!!
I wouldn't be surprised to see a team play with eleven batsman in near future.

"Divided by teams but United by the Kigfisher" was the tagline of the IPL 3rd season,i presume.
Any IPL franchise consists of players from different teams.On one hand ,we have players in a particular franchise from different international teams having respect for each other and displaying congeniality on and off the fields.On the other hand we have players from different franchises but from a same international team being belligerent towards each other.We've seen Kohli and Gambhir exchanging words.We've known the famous incident of Harbhajan Singh slapping Sreesanth.We've seen members from other international teams too exchaning a spurt of wordsThis is a major concern with the IPL.People often say that IPL is the main reason behind the rift between particular players in a particular International team.
With most of the franchises having their captains from the Indian team,unknowingly a race for a new captain after Dhoni has begun as every Indian player leading their respective franchise are doing extraordinarily well in their own terms.Gambhir led the KKR team to a 2 time champions,while Kohli on the other hand is also doing exceptionally well though not being a champion atleast once.

IPL has done more bad than good!!!
Cricket is often considered to be a gentlemen's game.
I don't hesitate to say that IPL has proved it wrong. With the betting,spot fixing and the match fixing scandals coming into light and three of the RR players including Sreesanth being involved in a fixing scandal and banned by the BCCI and big shots and the franchise owners like  Raj Kundra,N.Srinivasan and VindooDara Singh facing allegations of fixing and betting,the game is undoubtedly losing its sheen.
The BCCI,the IPL governing council and the franchise owners need to counsel the players and take steps to put a check to these kind of incidents before anything worse happens and maintain the glory of the game.



                                                                                                                                                                                                                  sid..