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Sunday, June 21, 2009

Breaking the shackles


A few months back i read an article on cricinfo by younis khan (pakistan skipper). He like many other pakistani cricketers were shocked by the terrorists attack on Srilankan cricket team. Younis vouched for a point " if you let cricket die in pakistan it will end up in flourishing extremism (he was careful to avoid the term terrorism) " Never in criceketing history you would see a captain pleading to the whole world in such a benign manner. And yes he absolutely had a point, in a country robbed by muslim fundamentalists and high end extremism a young man (probably of our age) has nothing but cricket to chose to claw himself out of sheer poverty. Take for example yousuf youhana or abdur razzaq and many more, pakistan cricketers have been always from a very poor background but the most talented, less trained and sparkling characters. Its like you love them or hate them but you cannot ignore them.

Before the T20 world cup i personally felt srilankan's were the favourites with their all round ability, but as pakistan started nibbling victories as every other cricket fan it was clear they have arrived to the party. And younis khan had a big part in it, in the loss to india in the warm up matches he was to his best in addressing the issues and areas to be worked upon. We could see younis (he is no where near a t20 player) adapting to the game and rallying his troops. We have seen all kind of captaincies from pakistan the charismatic and lion hearted 'Imran Khan' to silent giant killer 'Inzamam' style. But younis is a new breed and full of jokes and energy on/off the field.

When the whole world speaks about dhoni and his street smart captaincy style. Somewhere we missed yet another wonderful captain in our brother nation. Hats off to younis and the whole team, the victory could mean a lot to pakistan public and a generic antidote to the blind fundamentalists grazing in pakistan.

PS: As for indian cricket fans, yeah we are a bit disappointed but i guess team india was mentally fatigued and could not spring up any ideas as such. Technology can keep one fit 365 days for continuous cricket but human beings need a break for their brains to recuperate the pressure and travel. With BCCI and a greedy indian cricket loving public its time to bring in Artificial Intelligence to Indian Cricket... coz we never cant get enough.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Tagged....

1) When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
Oooh i am losing a lot of hair. 'achante mon thanne' :)
2) How much cash do you have in your wallet right now?
$17.62
3) What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
CORE, may be too much of time at gym in last 6 months ended in core.
4) Who is the 4th person on your missed call list on your cell phone?
Kishore Reddy, he is my friend/colleague for an issue but i was on another call.
He complains its difficult to get me over phone..i am sorry dude am working on it (maybe i can offshore that as well LOL).
5) What is your favorite ring tone on your phone?
Rang De Basanti/Vaseegara from Minnale
6) What are you wearing right now?
Formals, white shirt with black stripes (Dhanya's Gift) and dark blue trousers.
7) Do you label yourself?
Yes and always..
8) Name the brand of the shoes you’re currently own?
Woodland, Red Tape, Skechers, North point, Nike, Adidas(Mullai's gift) (last 3 being my sports shoes). Not to mention am a shoe addict..i buy lots of them.
9) Bright or Dark Room?
I always prefer bright rooms..even dont mind lights while sleeping.
Wasting energy is a sin so thats the only reason for turning off the lights.
10) What do you think about the person who took this survey before you?
One helluva person, great person to spend time with and the first person i met in college whom i didnt know in my school days (pehla outsider)
11) What does your watch look like?
A Seiko with a metal strap and grey dial. Its my dads watch i exchanged it for mine.
12) What were you doing at midnight last night?
Came back after the movie "The Hangover" and was preparing for my early morning call with offshore.
13) What did your last text message you received on your cell say?
The bill for last month has been debited from your account.
14) What’s a word that you say a lot?
AWESOME
15) Who told you he/she loved you last?
My Sister
16) Last furry thing you touched?
The Hairy Bastard (Teddy Bear) in my Car.
17) Favourite age you have been so far?
Every age had its own beauty and fun quotient...i love all ages, god must rethink of giving us a second chance as well ;)
18) What was the last thing you said to someone?
Good Night to my mom.
19) The last song you listened to?
Lathika's theme in Slumdog Millionaire
20) Where did you live in 1987?
Avadi, Chennai
21) Are you jealous of anyone?
Rahul Gandhi, he is gonna be a part of something big in coming years...
22) Is anyone jealous of you?
Naah..why should they be? I am as ordinary as you get.
23) Name three things that you have on you at all times?
'Charadu' or the sacred thread around my neck and wrists, LiveStrong Band, Most probably will get a tattoo in coming years
24) What’s your favourite town/city?
Los Angeles/Toronto comes a distant second but its always PALAKKAD forever.
25) When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
Wrote a letter in malayalam to my grandmother in 2004, as i e-mail everyone else.
26) Can you change the oil on a car?
Yes
27) Your first love/big crush: What is the last thing you heard about him/her?
She is married, settled and 'so' happy with her husband.
28) Does anything hurt on your body right now?
No
29) What is your current desktop picture?
Wallpaper of Kaka (brazilian footballer)
30) Have you been burnt by love?
Ohh yes, but thats been a big blessing in disguise to move on in life.

That was quick, many of the questions might give you another set of answers if you ask me any other time. But the ones which i really mean them are never gonna change.

I tag Raghu, Sriram, Gireesh, Deepak and Swarna.
C'mon guys have fun!!!

Friday, June 5, 2009

Am i a leader?

One can find a million book about personality development and leadership skills, the role it plays in modern corporate species to become CEO's at 19 [:)]. But i am a firm believer that leadership is more decided in your genes(born leader as they say) than training your brains (only upto an extent). I have experienced quite a few time in my life the moment one reads from a book or attends a personality development course he/she enthralls fully into leading others. This doesn't even stop them from commanding their stupid ideas across the board (assertively). One basic etho in leadership in my view is, you can only be a leader when you like to be lead as well.
Its a two way path and thats where the success lies. Most of us misunderstand leadership by the skills we drive a project or make somebody do he doesn't want to (either by force or compulsion) or to be successful with a team you play any sports.
To drive a project more than leadership its the organizing abilities that come into picture, how well you can accomodate the ego's in your team? thats the question to be answered. Some times we find people who enter "All In" to a scenario with high octane energy and has immense drive to take people to the next level. So is he a good leader? Yes, only if he can maintain the energy through out because most of the time he runs short of energy/enthusiasm to lead and is very skeptical about criticism and failure. There are times when someone who dislikes to play the second fiddle and he feels he has no obligation to anybody. These are all no one else but me at various stages of my life whether at work or sports or life in general. I find leadership very amusing and am always interested in running the show, but still i know am not a complete leader though i would love to be. I personally look up to a few people on various stratas of life and take a leaf out of their book on leading or captaining. On the contrary am not a fool either to jump first into the well to show that am a leader.. lol that will be crazy.
Why i felt writing about it now? Last week we had a soccer game, after a series of disappointing results i decided to take up the matter into my hands(which itself is a rarity). We did remarkably well and i had to yell around and stick to our guns (more of a commander than a leader). This was a drastic change as same scenario some 3 years back in chennai, every weekends we used to lose badly in cricket but i never had the drive to make it as a team. I used to believe less in my team and took the responsibility on my shoulders and a few other restricted souls. Same at work as well either its full adrenalin action or accept defeat in a meek and self effacing manner. May be with various experiences, good tips from friends i guess there is some improvement in that periphery. And at this stage of my life where there are leadership opportunities at every walk of my life i am looking forward to it....but still this question keeps pondering me "Am i a leader? and that too a good one?"

Monday, June 1, 2009

A Silent Wail

Its a sad feeling when you lose someone forever and just his memories to cherish all along. An array of emotions uncontrollable and which eventually breaks you down. My roomie a colourful character and a bubbly person as ever, i saw him get shattered right in front of my eyes upon his dads demise. May his Soul rest in Peace!!!
Life is so fragile aint it? One moment you are jumping around teasing and fooling around with your friends with no idea what so ever whats in store for you? And the irony being how cruelly it subdues into this unknown zone where no person wants to be no matter how strong you are. This incident also showed me the importance of friends or relatives in our life. We associate friendship to the number of happier moments and the fun we have, but there is a beautiful side of friendship when it becomes a shoulder for your sorrows. Alleviates the pain and gives the atmost care and love we need to bite through the phase. All our friends were present there to console and help him ease through it. For a moment i felt very proud to have dear friends like them. As far as my roomie is concerned he is one son of a gun, he will bounce back from this setback and most importantly be the strong pillar his family needs right now. Having said this still an iota of gloominess lingers in our room, and time is the only medicine for it.