Monday, May 30, 2011

World Cup Cricket 2011

India winning the cricket world cup on April 2, 2011 was monumental in more than one ways. For one, it was the end of a excruciatingly long waiting period for a nation that is absolutely crazy about this sport. Those black n white pictures of Kapil and his team with the cup on the Lords balcony in 1983 needed to be replaced. Obviously those were special moments first world cup victory I guess is very much like first love, wont exactly fade away to some small black corner of the brain. However as far as I am concerned I wasn't even born in 1983 and like a million other cricket crazy young guns I deserved my world cup moment.

...and then there is Sachin Tendulkar. Doubt if there is anyone more deserving to have his personal "world cup" moment. For over two decades he has been shouldering the hopes and aspirations of a billion people like a true champion. If cricket was an individual sport, I guess we would have won all the 6 world cups that he has been part of. It is only fair that he finally got a worthy team and support staff that had their undivided attention focused towards the goal. The planning and execution by Gary Kirsten and his support staff was nothing short of miraculous. Obviously none of it would have done any good if he didn't have a talented pool of players to work with. But talent was never the problem with Indian cricket. The challenge is ensuring that players are not distracted by the God like status and treatment they receive from the fans. Dhoni as a individual seems to be handling that well, may be something to do with his small town upbringing. But whatever it is, his calm and poised composure on and off the field has been a refreshing change.
While I am at it, I should mention Dada i.e. Saurav Ganguly. It was the Prince of Calcutta who started bringing about the change in the Indian cricket circles and steered the team in the right direction. If it weren't for his out of the box thinking and stubborn attitude to support young talent despite multiple failures people like Dhoni and Yuvraj would have met the same fate as Kaif or a Parthiv Patel.

I still picture the victory shot by Dhoni, a shot filled with arrogance from a man who made sure the team stuck to their plan and took them home. Wonder how much of a credit should be given to BCCI for this. They sure are the muscle in the cricketing world these days but is there more to them than just money?

Personally I doubt it.

The very fact that they were so adamant on hosting the fourth season of IPL just one week after the most prestigious tournament in world cricket tells you something about their intentions. Obviously once they decided they would host it there is no organization in the cricketing world that could stop them. But as a cricket fan, I felt cheated. Just under two weeks is too darn less for the enthusiasm and celebrations of being the world champions. Took about 5 odd days for social media to switch from Indian victory to regional loyalties. I would love to assume that these people follow the game for the entertainment and not the love of the game itself. But it is what it is...

There was a whole post I was planning to write on this mixed feeling and love-hate relation with IPL 4 but then I read Abhishek Purohit's piece on cricinfo and didnt feel the need to say anything more.

Just in case you are curious below is the link for the post.
Too drained to care

Till the next one...
Cheers!!!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

USA....MBA....

Finally some free time to consider activities that are not on top of the priority list.

The first year of the MBA program ended about 10 days ago. Despite all the due diligence and months of planning I must admit entering the MBA program in USA was bit of a leap of faith. Having lived away from home for 4 years after graduation, I was prepared for some more of it in America. Guess the attack on 2 fronts (country and career) was just too much to handle. The biggest challenge though will have to be getting adjusted to the “low budgeted” student life. It just sucks. All those who say money doesn’t buy happiness, clearly don’t know how to spend and have fun :P

On the bright side, the fast paced MBA program hardly gave any time to think about those changes as the days just flew by conquering one challenge after the next. Sitting back reflecting on these past 10 months I am filled with mixed emotions. One word that I can use to describe this period is “New”, some new bonds of friendship, some new revelations about self and some new learning about the culture and lifestyle in USA. For a self-absorbed person jumping on both sides of introvert and extrovert personalities there have been times I’ve had to push myself to blend into the outgoing nature of social norms in USA.

However there have been few highlight moments in these past months that raised the spirits and kept me going.

Cricket World Cup 2011: For a cricket and Sachin fan, a lot was at stake in this World Cup. It was all there the preparation, the build-up and the expectation. Team India had been playing good cricket, Sachin himself enjoying the form of his lifetime. I doubt if there is a word in English dictionary that can describe or do justice to the victory feeling. The team deserved it, India as cricketing nation deserved it and above all the God of cricket deserved it. Only disappointment though would be that I wasn’t in India/Mumbai to celebrate the victory and enjoy the euphoria.

Spring Break: Ask anyone who has been a part of the American education system and you will realize how awesome spring breaks are. A couple of MBA friends and I fell for the hype and decided to experience it out ourselves. For a person who enjoys traveling, the road trip was more fun than destination. Make no mistake about it Panama City is the place to be for your spring break. Unfortunately weather was determined to ruin the experience. However the stops at Charleston and Savannah were worth the road trip, beautiful port cities with old world architecture. The best part of the1800 miles road trip was its unplanned nature, on the spot decisions about driving longer and stopping at Jacksonville or even extension of stay at Savannah. Of course all of it would have been bit of a drag without the right company viz. Deb – the driver, Muvva – the coke boy and Ravi – Tollywood’s next big thing.

There is a lot more to share but considering the reducing trend in attention span of modern day readers will end the blabbering right here. Also leaves some arsenal for future posts. Lets just call this one a precursor to the chronicles of Kaushal. ;)

Until next time, Cheers!!!