CRICKET- YOU BEAUTY!!

FINAL WORD.
This has been a beautiful story of a come from behind win from Pakistan. Yes, it is disappointing as an Indian but makes me love this game even more. Cricket like life is a great leveller. Let's be tolerant here and not hurl abuses at team India and just take our hats off for the way Pakistan have fought. It's tough to digest, I know but Sarfraz reminds me of Dhoni from 2007 T20 WC with the way he has led the team..
And Mohd Aamir. What a story he is!!
This is a team ranked 8th and has not played a competitive game at home for last decade almost. This was the last team to qualify for the Champions Trophy and to come and play such a terrific brand of cricket is worthy of every adjective..
Hard luck, India..
#IndvsPak

ISN'T CRICKET A LANGUAGE IN ITSELF?

THE COLONIAL MINDSET

We, the people from subcontinent, are so trapped in the colonial mindset. In some regards we are more English than the English. Anyone who doesn't know English is considered an illiterate, a 'gavar'.
And so while people might think Pakistan skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed is one such cricketer, let me astonish you by informing you that he has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Institute of Business Administration, Karachi which is considered one of the finest Institutes in Pakistan. He is more educated than Dhoni and Kohli..

Remarkably, we are a part of country where our own Prime Minister prefers to speak in Hindi even at international conferences and it is a gesture I highly appreciate..

So, the fact remains- One can effectively communicate in his or her mother tongue only.

Yes, English is definitely not Sarfraz's preferred language but he looks to be a genuinely nice guy when he talks in press conferences and very honest in admitting his shortcomings. Unlike some other Pakistani cricketers of the past, Sarfraz seems to be the last person to pick up a fight or hurl an abuse.. And thank god, he is not all the time chattering behind the stumps either. Akmal was such a pain to the ears!!

All in all, I think Pakistan have a found a true successor to Misbah..
Yes, he may not have the swagger of Kohli or the majestic presence of Dhoni on the field, but he is really good at what he does. To inspire a team ranked no.8 to finals is no mean acheivement and we need to respect the opponent captain. For those who might not be aware, Sarfraz was the captain of the victorious 2006 under 19 WC side which defeated India in the finals..

Let's hope for a great game tomorrow and let's hope we don't indulge in verbal abuses anymore .
P.S.  Shahid Afridi has retired and his mother has stopped watching cricket.. 😉
#IndvsPak

THE 'TON'DULKAR SYNDROME

(Background- India played Bangladesh in Champions Trophy semifinal which turned out to be a one sided affair thanks to our batters who were just too good on a rare sunny day in England.)

THE 'TON'DULKAR SYNDROME

"There was no need for Rohit to play that shot!" My dad shouted as Rohit nonchalantly pulled another short pitched delivery for four..
"With Virat nearing his hundred he should give him strike!" He added.
And as it turned out, Virat hit the winning runs staying unbeaten on 96 which was a high quality innings strudded with some exquisite drives.
But my dad rued the fact that he had missed his 100 by 4 runs due to Rohit Sharma's lack of understanding.
I call this the TONdulkar Syndrome. My dad has grown up in the times of Gavaskar and Sachin where India won very few matches as compared to the regularity with which India beats other opponents today.
For the generation of my dad, a hundred was very important for that was the only thing they could afford to celebrate as 100s came with far more regularity than India's wins. I instantly remember the Multan test. Yes, the one famous for Rahul Dravid declaring the innings with Tendulkar stranded on 194 rather than remembering it as a great test victory for the team. Obviously, Sachin was disturbed and he made it known publicly though he later acted as though he was unruffled by it. But who remembers that even Rahul Dravid was batting on 93 when Sourav Ganguly declared in the Sydney test just a few months before Multan test. There was no fuss about it because Dravid created none..
He didn't need a special home series and the standing ovation at Chinnaswamy.

For all the hundreds Sachin scored, he unfortunately could never finish games with as much consistency as Virat has been doing.
And I think the sooner we get out of this TONDULKAR syndrome and stop idolising only those players who score a TON and start cherishing the victories more than the individual records, the better it will be for our nation..
Hearing Virat Kohli's post match conference, I am pretty sure, while there may or may not be another guy who scores a 100 100s for India, there will fortunately be no other Multan Test in the history of Indian cricket or for that matter that 114 off 147 balls in Mirpur vs Bangladesh to complete his 100th hundred..
"I feel a 100 kilos lighter!" were his words.. 100th 100 was all on his mind, I sometimes wonder!? India lost that match and were knocked out of the Asia Cup..
India has moved on and so should we.
Times of personal glory are gone and it's time to ready ourselves to celebrate another Champions Trophy victory as a team...
If it was like 1990s we would still be saying, "I hope Kohli gets another hundred on Sunday!"
I will just say, "I just hope India beats Pakistan comprehensively!" No matter if Shikhar or Kohli or Rohit get out on 99..
That's how the invincible teams of Australia and West Indies of the past used to play..
Ruthless and boring..
"It's all about making it a routine. We just want to play it as just another game!" as Virat said in the Post match presentation..
Also, something that stood out was how Virat equally credited MS Dhoni for that move to bring in Kedar Jadhav. This camaraderie between an ex skipper and a new skipper is something very soothing and very unheard of in Indian cricket. If you don't think so, just go watch SACHIN's movie and there's a whole section involving the troubled relationship between Sachin and Azhar..
Sachin was undoubtedly the greatest Indian batsman but Kohli is well on his way to becoming India's biggest match winner..
P.S. You might not agree with me on this or you might, but you have to agree that the attitude with which this side is playing is quite akin to the Australia of 1999-2007 phase..
Ruthless and boring..
But Champions nonetheless.. 

READING BETWEEN THE LINES.

"Ages passed in turning pages..
A few willingly, a few unwillingly..
But as I moved from one alphabet to another,
New words sprouted in front of my eyes,
Enchanted me with their
eloquent rhymes,
Engulfed me deep into their meanings,
But some were raucous,
Some vacuous,
Some inscrutable..
Some jumbled up like half baked facts,
Some naked as truths..
And blatant as lies..

Some were capricious and chameleonic,
Though they rhymed the same,
Changed their colours when put differently..
Some appeared simple and short,
And they were deeper than I thought.

And I realized people were words too..

 And as I moved from one chapter to another,
Leaving back the old characters,
A few more words and a few more phrases came and passed me by,
Each left their indelible mark,
An imprint or a scar..
And I again wondered what they meant,
Until I realized that the story never ends,
It only takes a new beginning..

Words come and go,
Alphabets stay loyal..
Creating a beautiful interplay as they collide and dance to form metaphors on my page.
 And as I kept turning and returning to the pages- same old and new,
I learnt not just to read what was written,
But even learnt to read between the lines.. "

 ~ Devashish Palkar

THE HOMECOMING

THE HOMECOMING

"A bandage on my broken arm, a wound in my heart..
Many a pieces I got shattered into, some lost some buried deep..

The day when enemy bullets ransacked us and we were blown apart..
Now I walk dead buried in the guilt of the promises I could not keep..


Yes, we were outnumbered a hundred to seven.
When terrror hit us in the dark of the night..
I am sure they will ask me when we meet in heaven..
If I fought with all my might..
Yes sir, till my broken hand could not lift a gun,
But I promise you even then, I did not run..
Stood there following your order..
Until I collapsed at the border..
Only to be taken in as a survivor..

Oh you will never know the pain of not being able to pick up the gun,
Oh you will never know the pain of picking up the gun!

Oh you will never know the guilt of losing a war.
Oh you will never know the pain of winning a war..

My hands are bloodied, so are theirs..
A bandage on my broken arm, a wound in my heart..
Oh you will never know the pain of coming back alive from the war!!"

~ Devashish Palkar

THE SCAR ON HIS FACE RUNS DEEP!

"THE SCAR ON HIS FACE RUNS DEEP!"

Mayhem in Trauma,
Doctor in coma..
He was meant to serve in the ICU
Not get admitted there himself..
He was meant to heal the wounds,
Not get wounded himself..
The scar on his face runs deep..

He was meant to fix broken bones,
Not get broken himself..
He was meant to stop the blood,
Not get bloodied himself...
The scar on his face runs deep..

Pain, misery, agony- he was supposed to heal them,
Not himself feel them..

Thousand sleepless nights he had stayed awake..
Putting his own health at stake..
Yes, he did want some sleep and rest,
But not at the cost of getting detained for protest..
What an irony, there was nobody who was ready to protect!
How could he keep his soul intact?
Even the law chose to ignore the fact..
Injustice and law had made a wicked pact..
Behind the black blindfolds,
Nobody knew, judiciary had developed a senile cataract..

The scar on his face runs deep..

~ "Dr."Devashish Palkar

(If you respect and care for doctors as much as you care for Sunil Grover/ illegal Tunday Kebab shops in UP, plz share this far and wide till the blind judiciary hears it. It is time to be our own heroes, to raise our own voice because clearly, Media is not interested in our problem. )
#SupportDoctors
#NoViolenceAgainstDoctors

CRY FROM THE WOMB- Women's Day Special

CRY FROM THE WOMB-

''Like a tiny seed sown in a fertile soil,
As I sprout my limbs in my mother's womb..
Still waiting to come out and shout!
I can hear the whispers and see the scorns!

Minds strategizing to kill me.!
Innovative ways to get rid of me! !

My heart trembles as my mother weeps,
For the USG detects me to be a girl!
A mortal sin in the whole world?
Will I live to breath the fresh air?
To play in sun and dance in rain?
Will I survive the wintry night?
Will I live to see the light?
For I am a girl,  not supposed to fight! !
And this is not just my story but many girls' plight!
Wonder how the story will unfurl?
For I was to be born a girl! ''

On this Women's day, I just hope and pray that this becomes the last of such stories!
HappyWomens'Day..

~ Devashish