Dawgs... a gift from god...

After reading a post on a website, I have been inspired enough to write a blog post about one of my favourite things, DOGS! I am not gonna tell you what awesome pets dogs are; there's enough on the net about that already and frankly speaking some of the stuff is plain weird. All those sites dedicated to cats and dogs are just a bit too much, though i do love the LOLcats.... they are hilarious! Proof lies here: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

Anyways, back from when I was barely three or four years old, I can remember there being dogs at my grandfather's house. The one i can recollect was a pomeranian named Laika. That was when I discovered what a cool friend a dog is. You can get bored of your dog, but it never gets bored of you. Yeah a dog can have people it likes more than you, but when your alone with it, it aint gonna say a word about anybody but you! Oh wait I am doing what I said I wouldn't, telling you how awesome dogs are. Sorry about that. Moving on, we got our first dog back in like '92 I think (by we I mean my parents, my sister and me). Her name was.... wait for it.... (drumroll.... )... Nicy! Yeah we didn't exactly get very creative with the naming part but the thing is, that name fit her like a glove.

She was a pure breed pomeranian and had some very illustrious pure breed parents too, if my memory serves me right. The reason the name was apt for her was because, no prizes for guessing, she was quite the sweet little soul. Some people find poms a bit unnerving because they are known to have short tempers. But this dog wouldn't harm a fly if its life depended on it. Me and my sister were as naughty and evil as any other siblings of our age, and though i am not proud of it, we went to extreme lengths to pester our dog. But that sweet thing, she took it all with barely a growl.

Even when she would meet strangers, she would maybe give a bark or two and then cozy up to them like she had known them all her life. Though this didn't make her of much use to us as a guard dog, this soon made her very popular among visitors to our place. She didn't know any fancy tricks, wasn't very disciplined and had barely any training at all. But yet she stole everyone's heart the first time she met them. Needless to say, we grew very very fond of her and loved her fiercely. She did some things she probably wasn't very proud of (like getting knocked up by street dogs, running away from home only to come back looking like she had been cleaning the gutters) and so did we (hitting her when we were in a bad mood, being lazy to take her for walks) but overall, she endeared herself to us so much that when she finally passed away in 2001, it came as a huge blow to all of us. So much so, that my mother, who had loved Nicy like a member of our family (I always wondered how she had so much love left over after giving us so much), decided never to keep a dog at home again. We were kids, we moved on, but mom had developed quite a bond, and I think she probably still misses Nicy in her own motherly way.

One of the fondest memories I have of Nicy is the way she would chase her own tail. All we had to do was touch her tail and she would spend the next five minutes chasing it around. She left an indelible mark on my character, in that she started my love affair with dogs, made me love animals and I am a true believer of the saying that if you haven't loved an animal (preferably a dog), then you haven't loved at all. For its my belief that dogs truly understand that impossible facet of love us humans find so difficult to embrace, of giving without expecting. I could go on for pages about my dog, but I would like to end this blog by saying that I hope that one day you experience that wonderful man-dog relationship too, for it can only make you a better person. Woof woof! :)

P.S. The article that inspired this love letter to dogs:

http://1000awesomethings.com/2010/04/13/528-when-your-pet-notices-youre-in-a-bad-mood-and-comes-to-see-you/

A Blog named Desire

The mind can never understand what the heart wants. The heart can never accept what the mind wants.The root of the whole problem obviously lies in wanting something, namely, 'desire'. It is the cause and effect of all of one's problems. The only possible ways a person can deal with desire is one, he can ignore all his desires, and choose an ascetic life dedicated to finding a deeper meaning. This approach is suicidal, since it itself is motivated by the desire to achieve meaning in life. The second approach is what most people practice today, i.e trying to achieve the right balance, making the right choices of which desire to pursue and which to dismiss as the unworthy ones. Man has been trying this approach for so long with barely any success that it can be dismissed as a failed experiment. Every culture, religion, tribe, group, society, cult, belief system that has flashed across the annals of history is a conspicuous pointer to the utter failure of this approach. Each one of them had their own way of explaining the world around them and providing the path to happiness and true satisfaction, but the fact that there are so many by itself proves that there will never be one truth that can satisfy each and every human being.

Even science, which makes a commendable career out of pulling the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and blasting all of man's myths to pieces, draws a blank when it comes to the big eternal question, "Why am I here?". The last approach to dealing with desire is simple but unacceptable to most of mankind, which is simply to take what one craves. A small section of the world follows this routine, by getting what they desire by 'hook or crook'. Even here, the impossibility of getting everything one wants is such a big stumbling block that at the end of the day, even these guys must helplessly join the fellows on the second path.

Then what is, the way to deal with wanting so much in life? The pursuit of desires is just the pursuit of happiness, disguised and undiscovered. All we want is to be happy. When a person we love does something which we don't consider to be in their best interests, some of us just shrug and say, "If you're happy, I'm happy". Note how it ends with our happiness. The pursuit of happiness is the only real, absolute truth of life. The only question we need to answer is, what is happiness? Why does man feel this eternal need to be happy? This clearly seperates us from all other species on this planet, since all our actions are motivated 'only' by this reasoning. The day we stop wanting to be happy, is the day mankind will have truly ceased to exist. For either we will have found the true secret of life and thus moved up in our own eyes, or we will have given up happiness as a wild goose chase and decided to pull the plug on the entire species. I only wish I could be there when that dilemma is solved.

I aint no type u know!

I aint no type U know
Aint got any traits to show
Have my own quirky style
Not gonna walk in file

I wont follow the herd
nor stick to the curb
Wud rather be dead
than stick labels on my head


Coz I Aint gonna dance
to the same old tunes
I got my own rhythm
So hear me groove ya fools!


Types are a curse
cant think of nothing worse
Gud for a laugh
but boy can they hurt!

All the snowflakes
look darn near the same
A wise man it takes
to know their names
See them truly
understand their game


Types make no sense
each one is a pearl
See past the pretense
give em' a twirl
See the curtains part
to a whole new world

Cricket, the only religion I believe in

Cricket.... at first glance the word itself tells you nothing. Some knowledgeable chap, in complete ignorance of cricket ofcourse, might think this blog post has something to do with a certain insect. It does not, not even remotely. To be frank, cricket ain't such a big deal in our 6 billion strong, two World wars surviving, crazily diverse human race. Though the International Cricket Council does have 104 member countries, only a fool would tout that statistic to boast the popularity of cricket. Heck, cricket was never even a part of the Olympics, the biggest celebration of human athleticism since time immemorial and is only likely to be introduced from 2020. All in all, for most people on this planet, cricket is just one more game played by some people in a few colonies of the British Empire.

True, but this post is not about bashing cricket's popularity. On the contrary, I wish to address the seemingly little knowledge people have of the beauty of this game. Cricket is and will always be a never ending pursuit of the balance between sheer athleticism and intellect. The myriad rules of cricket might boggle a newcomer, but once you get past the initial hiccups, the possibilities for innovation, awe-inspiring tactical strategies and plain old cunning can make anyone gasp in wonder. Herein also lies one of the biggest strengths of cricket. This game doesnt ignore you if you aren't looking for mental stimulation. The contest between bat and ball, the battle between technique and raw animal power, and the conquest of new records by itself is sufficient to make anyone thirst for more. To put it simply, there's a lot more to cricket than what appears above the surface.

Like many other people in India, cricket is a way of life for me. Following the national team's progress (by itself a tedious affair) comes as naturally to me as perhaps, following the stock market comes to some people. Cricket in India, is by all means, a religion. I, like many others got indoctrinated into this great game at a very young age. By the time I was smart enough to realize it, I was hooked. Celebrating the successes of the national team wildly and of course, cursing them when they fail, comes naturally to me. Truth be told, I wouldn't want it any other way. The more you stay with this game, the more you are forced to marvel at how little we truly grasp the beauty of this game. One of the legends of this game, and probably the best cricketer ever, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (how can i write a post about cricket without mentioning SRT, the God of Cricket), is living proof that if you give your life to this game, it will award you richly and take you places few men have gone before. Some people utter that cricket is a game of luck and that the newest format of cricket, Twenty20 cricket, is even more so. My answer to this is a simple quote by Thomas Jefferson,

“I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”

The euphoria that a cricket fan experiences, standing in a stadium filled to capacity, with wild cheering fans screaming themselves hoarse, can only rivaled by few other experiences that life has to offer. Finally, whether for the joy of watching the unceasing struggle between the batsman and the bowler, or for exploring the infinite intricacies that this game has to offer, even the most skeptical newcomer would surely be hard pressed to pronounce Cricket anything, but one of the finest inventions of mankind. Here's to Cricket.

Sunny Boy!

Which is more beautiful, blue blue skies and a big yellow sun shining down and making everything in its wake brighter, or lots of clouds and the sun playing peekaboo from behind them, giving occasional flashes of warmth to us earthly denizens?? It all boils down to one simple truth - Life is relative. For a sun starved European, every glimpse of the sun is like a kiss from a hot girl... awesome while it lasts! But for a native of the glorious continent called Asia, used to the hot sun streaming down on him 10 out of 12 months in the year, baking him to a light nutmeg brown, these glimpses are like 3rd degree torture. They remind him of a land where summers are so hot you could fry a omelet on any car left in the sun for too long. Or where winter means a warm 15 degrees low, a cool breeze and maybe a shiver or two at night. Some poet once said that the Sun loves the earth so much it gives and gives without reason or care as to whether earth will ever return the favor. But honestly, even the Sun seems to be relative doesnt it?? By the time summer comes to an end, some parts of the earth have been baked into a crisp toast gasping for some moisture to soothe their parched souls, while others are just left wishing the summer would last forever and not leave the dreaded winter in its wake. Whats up with that Mr Oh so Romantic Sun??? I think I'm gonna call this my extension to Einstein's Relativity Theory, and I know for a fact that the niceness of the comments on this blog are going to depend on the relation of the commenter to me. Case in point. ;)

My Eulogy to Cricket

Oh Cricket Oh Cricket
arent u so wicked
u can make our hearts soar
and bring us to our knees
make the crowds roar
or weep if u please

U have many fans
both the masses and the gentle
all of 'em in a trance
some admirers some just plain mental!

Learning your nuances is
every cricketer's joy
Be it perfecting the stances
or spinning the ball like a toy

Played by one and all
On the city's tar paved streets
or the dust bowls of the plains
From raggedly clothed lads
to the upper class chaps

For some ur just a pastime
played on a lazy summer day
for others you are the ticket
to glory, riches and fame

There have been many
who have graced this game
taken it to another level
and immortalized their names

But like a pearl in the ocean
like a diamond in the rough
Came along a man called Sachin
a little short, but nail like tough

He slew them all the bowlers
of every name and land
took each one to the cleaners
with barely a grimace at all.

Such then is the story
of the gentleman's game
The true test of a man
that brings his character to the fore
coz once you have played cricket
you are never again the same

Life's lessons

Everytime I have faced a harsh time in my life.... I have surfaced without any scars.... was what I used to think. Now i realize that every breathing moment we have on this earth will have some consequence on our lives later. Its sunny outside while I write this and I realize just the simple act of the Sun coming out has made my day that much brighter. Now when I go back to my studies after writing this I have a smile on my face and am even more determined to put my best foot forward in whatever i do. How u ask?? Well how can one enjoy the simple joys of life, the ones that matter the most if one has not seen the other side of the coin? When tomorrow I have achieved my dreams and made something out of myself, I can gladly look back to many such days when I almost gave up but for something small like this making me reboot and start afresh. That day I will look at the Sun and thank it for all that it has given me. In a similar vein, when something upsets me, it arms me for future troubles and makes sure I am armed and ready for battle the next time some trouble comes knocking on my door. When you lose a battle, dont lose the lesson too.....