Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa..

by Harsha, posted in Cricket, Fiction, Ideas

Main Teri Mast Nigahi Ka Bharam Rakh Lungaa,
Hosh Ayaa Bhi To Keh Dunga Mujhe Hosh Nahi
Ye Alag Baat Hai Saki Ke Mujhe Hosh Nahi
Varna Main Khucch Bhi Hu Ahsaan Faramosh Nahi

Old Trafford, Manchester, England 2019

Tensions were high, mood was exhilarating, after all it was a India Pakistan encounter at a World Cup match. Indo-Pak match especially in a World Cup is always a high voltage encounter, and is billed as the most important match of the championship, as important as the championship itself. The tickets at the stadium are sold within a matter of few minutes when they are up for grabs. You don’t wanna loose to your archrivals, no matter what, after all its about national pride. It’s probably more than just another cricket match because stakes are high and the intense rivalries between these two sporting nations who shared a common cricketing heritage, makes for a great spectacle.

Pakistan won the toss and chose to field. India opened their innings with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul. Mohammed Amir and Wahab Riaz were steaming in to start the proceedings for Pakistan.After a steady start seeing off the opening spell and not loosing early wickets, India put up a century opening partnership. Rohit went from strength to strength to hammer a handsome century accompanied by skipper Virat Kohli with a fine half century.With their major contribution, India went on to post a solid 336/5 in their 50 overs. In the 2nd innings, India suffered a big blow when their star bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar got injured, Vijay Shankar came in to bowl and produced a wicket in his very first ball to everyone’s surprise.Later on, the opener Fakar Zaman and their best batsman Babar Azam steadied the ship with a century partnership and looked well on course to chase the record score.

When everything looked on track for Pakistan, Babar got deceived by a magical ball from Kuldeep Yadav, the chinaman, and match turned on its head. Mind you, Pakistan had never won a world cup encounter against India since 1992, during their first meeting. This was their chance to get the monkey off the back, but they failed and failed miserably. After the century stand, they lost wickets in flurry and though it started raining they were well short of India’s score as per target set by DLS method and had to concede a defeat.

It was euphoria for Indian camp and misery for Pakistan. Their misery, very well described by a emotional fan after the match, an unbeatable reaction. Have a look and enjoy 😛

A group of friends were enjoying the match from a sports bar with a near stadium like atmosphere. As it happens more often in a sports bar, fans and supporters from both the team were present. Needless to say, it was a noisy atmosphere throughout the match duration. If Pakistan scored a boundary or a six, Pak fans would get up from their seat and cheer mocking Indian fans and likewise when India did well, they would cheer along and scream at the top of their voice-Mauka Mauka song from popular advertisement created by Star Sports India in the context of Pakistan’s losing streak in all World cup matches against India.

It was field day for the bar owner and his concierge, to control the crowd if they went overboard. Food & Liquor Consumption for the day were on a record high due to such a high voltage match, but managing the patrons was a pain in the a**. It often led to brawls when one party started abusing and physically assaulting other party. One had to closely monitor and prevent any altercations as much as possible. That’s when everyone’s revelry was interrupted by a gang of friends. 2 person from two different groups were arguing and abusing each other over some trivial matter. It seemed they were not in their senses and one guy suddenly started to hit the other and damage the property in utmost recklessness. Distracted crowd at the bar started looking out for them when the scuffle started trying to figure out what the fuss was all about. Some of their other friends who had accompanied them, tried to control them by holding them back,but in vain. The bar owner accompanied by 2-3 bartenders held them by collar and asked them to move out of the bar, when one guy pushed the owner, slapped him hard abusing him and started arguing with him. When things got ugly, the hotel staff called the police.

The guys looked innocent and completely out of their senses. On seeing police there, they somewhat started becoming their usual self and started pleading that it was a mistake. In such a panic situation, when police questioned why all this a hungama over such a trivial matter, The guy blurted out suddenly..

Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa (with a burp as he said this), Thodi Si Jo Pii Lii Hai(drunk man never agrees he is intoxicated & out of his senses, isn’t it?)
Daakaa Toh Nahin Daalaa Chori Toh Nahi Kii Hai !!!??!!???

After all, he was such a good bathroom singer, atleast he thought so. The police looked part confused, part shocked and was trying to control his reactions to this impromptu act. Eventually, he took him to the custody to which the guy secretly started to tick a bucket list item, in his mind- Spending a night in a jail cell.

Until next time, be well & take it easy.

P. S: Take a look at a beautiful rendition of Hungama Hai Kyun Barpa by Ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali

P.P.S:

Masti Ki Paathshaala..

by Harsha, posted in Fiction, Ideas, Nostalgic

Circa 1997

A transition from high school to college beckoned!!

A move from academic to a more professional choice; which would most likely dictate the career path one would take. At the start of academic year, we were told SSC(10th Grade) was vital, now that we were done with high school, Class XII results was touted as the turning point of one’s career. It was like stretching the goal post of a football stadium by several notches once we passed through previous goal post. But for us, college sounded liberating. It invoked more freedom, you do as you feel like, you bunk classes you feel like, & you wear what you feel like; oh no; we were subjected to a uniform here as well. And we had to grapple with coaching classes as well to somehow inflate the marks during the boards. So college was more of a formality to maintain minimum attendance.

We did our college in a temple town of Sirsi in hilly Malenadu(region of Karnataka comprising of eastern and western slopes of Western ghats/Sahyadri mountain range). Year on year, it recorded moderate to high rainfall and was known for its chilly weather throughout the year especially winters. It was blessed with serene lake in the middle of the city & was surrounded with several pristine waterfalls amidst lush green forests.Agriculture was main occupation of majority of people and they indulged in growing rice, arecanut, black pepper & vanilla. It was ideal place for tourists especially for city folks to visit historical places, hike mountains, enjoy a peaceful & a pleasant weather throughout their stay typically in a village homestay beside areca plantations.

Owing to more commercial activities and agricultural trade, many shops and establishments were springing up now and then. There were quite a few popular restaurants; one of them oldest among all at the city centre famous for its lip-smacking masala dosa. A new one opened up just opposite our college campus with an interesting name as “The Chinese Corner“. Chinese food was such a fad then. Everyone loved the Indian version of Chinese in the form of Hakka Noodles, Gobi Manchurian & Fried Rice. And they had open kitchen wherein one could see the preparation all along. The chef with a white apron with a matching head cap was nothing short of a magician of gastronomical proportions, wherein he would churn delicacies one after another with his quick hands. The way he used to toss the noodles with all the raw veggies flying perfectly in sync bringing time to a standstill, was a sight to behold. It’s ideal location just opposite the college made it a thriving business bustling with activities especially during evening hours. It also became a great hang out place for guys to take their girl-friends after bunking their classes.

Arul was Mr. Popular of our class with his swag always ON no matter the situation. Even when he got a lashing from the lecturer his confidence was intact & one to envy. Once, he had driven his Yamaha RX100 straight onto the college corridor with college principal fuming with rage. He had to punish him in some way and instead of temporary suspension (which he thought would act like a chill pill) he thought of asking him to do gardener duties at the college portico for a whole week to which Arul responded and obeyed without a care in the world. He captained the college cricket team to victory against the archrivals from another college by hitting a flamboyant half century and clinching two vital wickets.And his team celebrated by carrying him on their shoulders across the whole college and of course the corridor. Needless to say, he was very popular among girls too. Whenever he asked any girl out, they always answered in affirmative.

One evening, I was out with my friends near the chai tapri and savouring adrak chai when I spotted Arul taking the most beautiful girl of our college towards The Chinese Corner. I envied him then and there, he had the charisma which I lacked. Just other day, he was enjoying a nice cuppa with The Senior, yeah another pretty lass. I had to do something, I needed some start and some luck. That’s when, about a week later, I was loitering around The Chinese corner wishing a delightful company, the cool dude Arul came from nowhere and spotted me. Upon seeing him, I  was startled and started sheepingly staring at him. He fully understood my intentions, God knows how. He pitifully looked at me and said, don’t laze around here like this- Go inside and ask the waiter for Chitra. Chitra? Yes, She is owner’s daughter & would like to talk to cool dudes if she is free, I bet, you will love it. On first instance, I didn’t understood how to react, at my fate and with all my might, lunged into the restaurant with some flourish thanking Arul along the way.

I occupied the middle seat and started looking around the restaurant nervously. The hotel owner started staring me in some unusual way twirling his moustache adding to more nervousness. I looked sideways avoiding his glare and started thinking- What a name? Chitra, meaning picture or a drawing. Did the owner name her picking up from the famous telly show Chitrahaar, or did he like the “Kehna Hi Kya” fame, singer K.S.Chitra of the film Bombay. I couldn’t decide, when much to my relief, the waiter on seeing me, moved towards me bringing in some water and asking me Kya Chahiye Saheb? That’s when, with all the confidence I blurted out without thinking- Bring Chitra. Suddenly, panic struck me and I started sweating profusely. What if, the waiter and the owner takes some offence and beat me up physically? It would be such a embarrassing moment. Should I run? That’s when the waiter responded with a tone of cheerful acquiescence, Chitra? and went in. Just when I was thinking about my next move, how will I approach Chitra, what will I greet and talk to her, what if she slaps me? the waiter dashed outside and slammed on my table a bottle of Citra, popular lemon flavored carbonated drink. I sipped the drink with a straw in no time and since then never visited the resto again.

Until next time, Don’t forget to have some masti while moving ahead with your work.

The RaGing Bull..

by Harsha, posted in Reflection, Tennis

Where do we start? If you’re a tennis fan and have watched the 5 hour 24 minutes blockbuster Australian Open 2022 Men’s singles Final, you would be still reeling under some sort of elation, part relief, part reverence like I do to one of the finest comebacks ever on a tennis court. Touted as match up between a 35 year old Spanish Raging Bull (Rafael Nadal) against 25 year old The Russian Evil Genius (Daniil Medvedev), odds were stacked against Rafael Nadal leading up to the final, more so after an hour of play in the first two sets of the final. Pre match, the win predictor favored Danil 64% over Rafa 36%. Midway through the match in the 3rd set, the AI predictor with all its learning from historic data; its permutations and combinations, favored Danill 96% over Rafa 4%. And Rafa with all his determination and resilience, fought and won against all odds in one of the dramatic comebacks which seemed unreal even for a sophisticated AI system.

Lets be honest, Daniil was the favorite to win. After Novak Djokovic’s dramatic ouster from Australia for failing a vaccination clause, he was the best hard court player on tour. Hard court is usually least preferable surface for Rafa’s game plan and his chances. More so, he was making a comeback after a 7 month gap from a career threatening injury. For God’s sake, Rafa was using crutches due to a foot injury, suffered from Covid delaying his recovery big time. He was not sure whether he was competing in the slam two months back. Just before the match started, someone on my Twitter timeline asked what is your prediction? I casually said result in favor of Rafa in 4 sets, and if Daniil wins say first 2 sets, then Rafa would give his all and win next 2 sets to take the match to 5th set. Even though it would end up as a 5 set thriller, never thought Rafa would endure like he always does and have a belief to compete until last point is scored. A master class and a triumph of his endurance, his resilience, tenacity & his belief which is a inspiration for many.

Picture courtesy: ATP Tour

Rafa first won in Rod Laver arena in 2009 against his arch rival Roger Federer moving him to tears after a hard fought final. In 2012, he competed and lost against Novak Djokovic in a 5 hour 53 minutes slugfest. Both were deserving given the kind of tennis quality they played for close to 6 hours straight, such was their endurance during the course of the match, that during presentation both couldn’t stand straight and had to take a support of a chair to sit during the felicitation. It was unreal tennis, longest tennis match played in Open Era, the result was cruel and kind of unfair to Rafa. In 2014, Rafa had to concede against Stan Wawrinka due to a back injury during the course of the final. He was unlucky on the day of the final after doing lot of hard work to reach the finals. In 2017, a mouth watering clash ended with Roger Federer finding his mojo in the 5th set decider after trailing some games initially. Roger was 35 back then and it was one of my favorite match featuring these champions, a visual treat. So, it was only fitting that he won the historic 21st slam in the Australian Open the way he did it the way he does best, fighting till the end.

If you dissect yesterday’s match, well what can one say- it has a perfect storyline where the hero triumphs against (the odds) in the end. If you think about a typical storyline and divide it into acts: Act 1- Exposition with inciting moments(pre-match, odds and the buzz), Act 2- Complication (losing first 2 sets), Act 3- Turning point(turnaround after Rafa was 2 sets, 2-3 0-40 down in 3rd set), Act 4- Falling action(role reversal; comeback- winning 3rd and 4th set), Act 5- Resolution and Catharsis where he wins the decider 7-5 leading to a frenzy of emotions. Best comebacks ever if there was one.

Now the debate moves on to who is the Greatest of All Times, the G.O.A.T, now that Rafa has taken a lead with 21 slams leaving behind Federer and Novak on 20. What do you think? If you ask me, World No. 1 Novak would go on to win more slams than anybody else and Roger with all his elegance, his passion for the game and pure artistry may never win again, but the kind of awe, Rafa brings to the table by his endurance, his fighting spirit, his humility in spite of his great achievements, his respect for the game and his opponents and in turn commanding our respect, he to me is the G.O.A.T

P.S: In last 20 years, starting from 2003 AO until 2022 AO, Roger, Rafa and Novak together has won 80% of the slams(61 out of 76 slams). Isn’t that astounding? Aren’t we lucky to witness this, in this golden era of tennis history? After all, when these guys compete against each other, its tennis which ultimately wins. Have to confess, I spent considerable amount of time debating in my mind, who I would pick among Roger and Rafa as my 🐐, ended up picking Rafa for the reasons stated above. Though, over the years whenever these 2 champions have competed at the biggest stage, I generally do not root for any one player as its easier to enjoy and appreciate the way they compete and set the bar high in turn raising the quality of the game itself.

Signing off, until next time, Be Resilient and Have Belief in your Game!!

filtercoffee

Kaapi Tales..

by Harsha, posted in Food, Food for Thought, Ideas

Circa 2005: In lush green 🌲🌳environs of Malleshwaram, one of the oldest & liveliest neighborhood of Bengaluru,I was wandering around 18th Cross Sampige Road (or Champaca flower, the street name derived from sampige trees which lined up the street, their lush canopy, providing fragrant, shady & much needed respite from the heat) for counseling to select a seat for my undergrad. It was Day 1 and the seat selection started bit late after all the proceedings and keynote speech to mark the start of new academic year. Accompanied with my dad, we had a quick breakfast where we were staying at our relative’s place in Laggere & headed to counseling in Malleshwaram. It was well past 3 PM when we were done with our seat selection, satisfied with the day’s events. It was time for an elaborate lunch or rather a brunch. An eatery nearby caught our attention which was thronged by people at the roadside. The taste of Rava Masala Dosa which I ordered from that Darshini, still lingers on my mind and over the years have loved the preparation and taste of this Delicious Dosa. Does any dish evoke such emotions in you? Do share if any 😛 if you had any such gastronomical delights.🍽🥣 Isn’t it strange that, a memorable taste from a delicacy had sometime in the past, evokes so many wonderful memories? Food for thought, isn’t it?

Pudi Dosa & Coconut Chutney

So what are Darshinis, which Bengaluru is known for? and How did it come into being? Let’s delve into some history and interesting nuggets about Darshini (that which is visible). It is attributed to a gentleman Mr. Prabhakar who is known as ideas💡man. Many of the hoteliers owe a great deal to him which changed the face of Bengaluru food scene big time. Under Prabhakar’s direction, Bengaluru got its first Cafe Darshini in Jayanagar in 1983 and now there are darshinis at every roadside and very much part of day-to-day life. It has modern kitchen machinery like wet grinders visible to customers from outside. One has to buy a token from the counter(pay-first-eat-later) and hand it over to kitchen staff. There are limited items in the menu- idli, vada, dosa varieties like masala dosa, set dosa, khaali dosa, rava dosa, kharabath(upma), bisibele bath(hot lentils rice dish originated from Karnataka), kesaribath(a sweet preparation from ghee and semolina or rice), chow chow bath(a scoop of kharabath & kesaribath) accompanied with tea and coffee. There is no furniture other than few, elbow-high pole with small round tabletop, used to eat standing. The only staff is a cleaning boy, who wipes tabletop as soon as customers leave. In a way, darshinis are a great leveler, that brings in people from all walks of life to enjoy a tasty and healthy breakfast without any special treatment in terms of service.

Inspiration: It so happened Mr. Prabhakar tagged along with his friend to Singapore for a business assignment. There he understood the market of fast food and was exposed to ideas like takeaways, minimalist but wholesome meals, payment at the counter and thus eliminating the need of waiters. He got so much inspired from the idea that he Indianized it to address and promote South Indian fare. It derives from Brahmin Satvik Tradition from South Canara region of Karnataka especially Kundapura-Udupi region. Udupi hotel in many parts of India is synonymous to South Indian hotel thanks to enterprising individuals from that region who specialized in showcasing culinary delight of South India whether it’s idli, dosa, coconut chutney and of course the coffee. Some of prominent Darshini/coffee chains have stood with test of time and earned the love of patrons over the years. Brahmins Coffee bar, By Two Coffee in Basavanagudi, Mavalli Tiffin Room popularly known as MTR opposite LalBagh, Taza Thindi in Jayanagar, Veena Stores & CTR in Malleshwaram to name a few. 🍛😋

Masala Dosa from Mavalli Tiffin Rooms- MTR, Lalbagh Road

Back story: Madhwacharya, a 13th Century saint from Udupi(temple town in coastal Karnataka), who founded the Dvaita school of philosophy established 8 Brahmin mutts and laid emphasis on developing a school of cooking strictly adhering to sattvik tradition. Many Brahmins from this region took to cooking as a profession and later distinguished themselves in running hotels & restaurants. Some of them dominated the business like Adigas, Maiyas, Bhats, Raos etc and set up shops in many cities.

Set Dosa

Pakashastra, the science of cooking had an elaborate structure to set up food. Its said that around 48 unique items should be cooked everyday as Lord Krishna’s neivedyam. The main segments of this rather elaborate spread consisted of five sweets, five payasams, five rassa (sambar, rasam), five fried items, five unboiled items(like salads), five anna(rice items),five vyanjana(pickles, papads) & five jeernakara(herbal chutneys-digestives). These were not to be repeated each day leading to innovation & food improvisation. Since all the preparations was meant to please the Lord, it made use of best of ingredients, cooking practices & highest level of hygiene.

Bisi Bele Bath(Hot lentils rice bath) from Veena Stores, Malleshwaram

The Legendary Mavalli Tiffin Rooms(MTR) is operating since 1920s. Very well known for its one-of-a-kind Masala Dose & Filter Kaapi, it’s said once Chief Minister of Karnataka stood in queue to savor it’s Masala Dosa. During second World War, when rice was in short supply, they experimented with semolina instead of rice to invent Rava Idli. During Emergency, the restaurant had to be closed leading it to reinvent and move into instant food business, a turning point.

Bubbling with energy, Filter Kaapi from MTR

In those days, Udupi in South Canara was part of Madras Presidency, Woodlands and Dasaprakash was established in Madras which became iconic symbols of fine South Indian cuisine. Basavanagudi in Bengaluru was later the focus of attention to Udupi’s entrepreneurs which led to establishment of Vidhyarthi Bhavan, Brahmins Coffee bar & later outlets like By 2 Coffee based on economy of scale-modest per customer income, minimal items, highest quality, consistent taste and hence largest footfall. Veena Stores & Central Tiffin Room(CTR) was setup in Malleshwaram.

Butter Masala Dosa

In 1990s, Mr. Prabhakar came up with an idea of Bharjari oota in Gandhinagar, a Mysore styled spread of unlimited rice,curries,rasam,chutney,buttermilk along with an MTR softee icecream(to promote new Softee brand 🍦) all for an incredibly low price of ₹10 which led to traffic snarls. Later he came up with an idea to sell food by weight owing to large demands by office going people which needed high quality food for their staff. Even today, such outlets exists and ever since has been a savior for many bachelors and students.

One of the SLV Darshini
Vidyarthi Bhavan, Gandhi Bazaar, Basavanagudi

India’s tryst with Coffee is said to have in early 17th century when Baba Budan, a saint, is said to have smuggled seven coffee beans from present-day Yemen while returning from Hajj in Mecca. He hid the coffee beans in his beard and planted them in the Chandragiri Hills of the Chikkamagaluru district, where they soon flourished. Britishers commercialized its production by establishing large coffee plantations in Coorg, Wayanad and other regions. In Southern Indian household, coffee soon became a necessity in around 19th century where they started brewing coffee with milk, mixed with jaggery/honey for sweetness. With the advent of coffee houses like Indian Coffee House, coffee spread to northern parts of India too.☕

Bonda Soup

In 1990s, Cafe Coffee Day(CCD) was one of popular hangout coffee shops which popularized coffee all over India. Its success is attributed to V.G. Siddhartha who inherited acres of coffee farms in Chikkamagaluru(Land of Coffee in India). He linked coffee and technology and started CCD, a coffee chain, first established in Brigade Road, Bengaluru in 1996. It was meant for customers to sit and surf the internet while enjoying their coffee; hence the name Cafe Coffee Day.The brainchild to provide customers with free internet, a novelty in the country then, is among the innovations that set CCD on its path to emerge the top player of coffee chains all over India. With teenagers as a primary customer, it came up with a tag line “A lot can happen over a cup of coffee” which became a go to place to hangout.🥤☕🍵🥪🍪🍩

Filter Kaapi

That brings us to an end of this foodgasmic tale.Hope you liked this distilled version, a concoction served hot & fresh 😛

Until next time, Be Good, Eat Good, Feel Good. Bon Appétit!!

References: Askew by T.J.S George

The Antakshari project..

by Harsha, posted in Fiction, Ideas, Music, Nostalgic

Antakshari!! Woah, this single word evokes so much emotions. 😍

From the time, Zee TV aired CloseUp-Antakshari, it has become household name and one of the favorite pass times ever since. 🎤

For the uninitiated, Antakshari is a spoken parlor game played in India. Each contestant sings the first verse of a song (often Bollywood songs) that begins with the Hindustani Consonant on which the previous contestant’s song selection ended.

Now some Trivia, Antakshari was originally present in the Ramayana, where rishis (sages) sang the first verses of bhajanas continuously by singing another Bhajana beginning with the last letter of the ending word.If you wanna jog your memory, you must have remembered one of the longest run musical show in Indian TV industry aired by Zee 📺- Antakshari starting from 1994. It was hosted by ever so energetic and a music aficionado- Mr. Annu Kapoor along with female co-host and fellow melophiles like Renuka Shahane, Pallavi Joshi, Rajeshwari Sachdev , Richa Sharma and others.

Trivia: Annu Kapoor changed his name from Anil Kapoor to Annu Kapoor to avoid confusion with the hero of the popular film Tezaab. So, were you Deewane, Parwane ya Mastane it didn’t matter, it was entertainment all the way of highest order.

Hum the woh thi aur sama rangeen Samaj gayena

Jate they Japan pahoonch gaye Cheen Samaj gayena

Yane yane pyaar ho gaya

Oo Annu tera hua Ab mera kya hoga,Oo Annu tera hua Ab mera kya hoga?? 🎷🎸🎹🥁

Amidst national wide lockdown due to COVID19, Various popular Brands were homebound and decided to play Antakshari over a video call to share their thoughts on this prevailing situation. 📺🍿🛋️ It was one of a kind and unprecedented. Cant wait, isn’t it, of what’s in store. So without further ado, lets tune in to their conversation through songs.

Disclaimer: No offence meant to any brands, companies & people around, fictitiously written for fun 🙂

Baithe baithe kya kare, karna hai kuch kaam. Shuru karo Antakshri leke COVID ka naam. म…


म, Ma.. 🚖🚕🚙🚗 OLA: Mujhko kya hua hai,Kyun Main Kho Gaya hoon. Paagal tha Main Pehle, Ya ab Ho gaya hoon; Koi mil gaya(COVID), Koi mil gaya, Mera Dil gaya Kya Bataoon yaaron; Kya bataoon yaaron; Main to hil gaya, Main to hil gaya. य..


य, Ya.. 💰📞☎🎞🎥💰 JIO(garnering attention of so much funding across various business houses & venture capitalists): Yahan ke hum sikandar, Chaahein to rakh lein sab ko apni jeb ke andar, Arre humse bachke rehna mere yaar, Nahin samjhe hai vo humein to kya jaata hai,Haari baazi ko jeetna humein aata hai. Hey vo sikandar hi doston kehlaata hai, Haari baazi ko jeetna jise aata hai, Niklenge maidan mein jis din hum jhoomke, Dharti dolegi ye kadam choomke. Jo sab karte hain yaaron vo kyon hum tum karein, Yoonhi kasrat karte karte kaahe ko hum marein;Gharwaalon se teacher se bhala hum kyon darein; Yahan ke hum sikandar.. र..


र, ra.. ✈🛫🛬 Indigo: Raat Kali Ek Khwaab Mein Aayi.aur Gale Ka Haar Hui; Subah Ko Jab Hum Neend Se Jaage; Aankh Tumhise Chaar Hui; Raat Kali Ek Khwaab Mein Aayi.aur Gale Ka Haar Hui; Yeh Kya Hua Mujhe Mujhko Khabar Nahin,Ho Sake Tum Hi Bata Do,Tumne(COVID) Kadam Jo Rakha Zameen Par,Seene Mein Kyun Jhankar Hui; Raat Kali Ek Khwaab Mein Aayi.aur Gale Ka Haar Hui.. य..


य, Ya.. 📱📸🎥🎞 Tiktok(on getting banned due to nationwide outrage): Yeh jo mohabbat hai yeh unka hai kaam;Arre mehboob ka jo bas lete hue naam,Mar jaayein, Mit jaayein ho jaayein Badnaam; Rehne do, chhodo bhi jaane do yaar,Hum na karenge pyaar…Rehne do chhodo bhi Jaane do yaar hum na karenge pyaar;Toote agar saagar naya saagar koi lele,Mere khuda dil se koi kisi ke na khele,Dil toot jaaye to kya ho anjaam…म…


म, Ma.. (Xiaomi 📱📲 Phones, on negative publicity, being highest sold mobile phone brand In India) Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi; Aaj Rusva Teri Galiyon Mein Mohabbat Hogi,Meri Nazrein To Gila Karti Hain;Tere Dil Ko Bhi Sanam Tujhse Shikayat Hogi;Mere Mehboob. ब..

ब, Ba.. 🍎🥗🧺 BigBasket(Encouraging people to buy more veggies & fruits from them amidst lockdown): Bahut shukriya badi meherbani;Meri zindagi me hujur aap aaye, Kadam chum lun yaKe aankhe bicha du; Karun kya yeh meri; Samaj me na aaye; Bahut shukriya!! य..


य, Ya.. 🍢🥣🍕🍤🍜🍝Swiggy(on their customers who got discouraged ordering their food from favorite restaurants) : Yaad aa rahi hai, Yaad aa rahi hai; Teri yaad aa rahi hai, teri yaad aa rahi hai, Yaad aane se, tere jaane se; Jaan jaa rahi hai; Pehle yeh naa jaana,Tere baad yeh jaana pyaar mein; Jeena mushkil kardega; Yeh dil deewana pyaar mein,Jaane kaise saans yeh aise; Aa jaa rahi hai, Yaad aa rahi hai, teri yaad aa rahi hai. ह ..


ह, Ha... 🎥📞🎞🎙Zoom (on security concerns amidst growing nationwide outrage): Haan main galat,Galat meri baatein Galati se hi duniya bani;Poora sahi koi nahin hai,Le le meri chetaavani;O ho ho.. Dil mein aayeO ho ho.. Aaj ho jaayeO ho ho.. Dil mein aayeO ho ho.. Aaj ho jaaye, Aa stage laga hai badi jagah hai. Do it with a twist… ट..


ट,Ta 📱📲💻💡Google (on being seamless & a constant companion & provide all answers instantly to life’s burning questions) : Tere hawale hai yeh zindagi meri, tere ujale se sab raahe hain yaha; apne naseeb ka mai badshah nahi, tu meri shaam hain, tu hi meri subah; tune kaha maine sunn liaa, tune kaha maine, sunn lia; Phikar ke din, aur raatein; dhaal gaya suraj kaha,Phizool ki thi baatein, kho gaye the hum jane kaha;Tune kaha maine sunn liaa; tune kaha maine, sunn lia; Rozana meri toh hain daasatan nayi phurze poorane hain par shock hain kayi taaro ki roshani ne dikhaya raasta
par mai mukal gaya tu sath joh yahi
tune kaha maine sunn liaa
tune kaha maine, sunn lia
tune kaha maine sunn liaa. य..

य, Ya.. 🏘🏚🏨💒🏫Airbnb(shocked to see whole business model upside down): Yeh Kya hua, Kaise hua, Kab hua
Kyon hua, Jab hua, tab hua
Oh chodo, Yeh na socho Yeh kya hua..व..

व,Va..💻📱📷 Facebook(on being a constant companion in boredom): Waada Karle Saajna; Tere Bin Main Na Rahun,
Mere Bin Tu Na Rahe, Hoke Judaa,
Yeh Vaada Rahaa
Naa Honge Juda,
Yeh Vadaa Rahaa ह ..

ह, Ha... 💻🎥📽📞Zoom: Hum bewafa hargiz na the
Par hum wafa kar naa sake
Humko mili uski sazaa
Hum jo khata kar naa sake
Hum bewafa hargiz na the
Par hum wafa kar naa sake.. क..

Jiomeet interrupts Zoom & says Zoom barabar Zoom, Zoom barabar Zoom..

क, Ka..📝💻🏘 WFH Employees: Kya kare kya na kare yeh kaisi mushkil hai
Koi to bataa de iska hal o mere bhai
Ke ek taraf to us se pyaar kare hum
Aur usko inhe kehney se daray hum. म…

म, Ma.. 📱📲💻📸🎙📞☎JioMeet(on acquiring new customers, more downloads in less time): Mere Gully Mein gully gully gully mein
Tere shootero ka khaas meri gully mein
Pure shehar ki awaaz mere gully mein; Mere Gully Mein gully gully gully mein
Police aayi lagi waat mere gully mein
Ek number saari batth mere gully mein म…

म, Ma.. 🎷🥁🎹🎼🎸🎺Spotify(on their ad campaign- There’s a playlist for that): Main koi aisa geet gaoon
Ki aarzoo jagaoon
Main koi aisa geet gaoon
Ki aarzoo jagaoon
Agar tum kaho.. ह ..

ह,Ha..🏠🏡🏘🏨OYO (on huge losses & no demand) : Hum toh udd gaye jab tum jhuke,
Tab se tum nazar mein aa ruke,
Hum toh ho gaye zaman,
Dheere dheere maala maal,
Ab toh hona hai wohi jo banaye jahan,
Hum toh ho gaye zaman,
Dheere dheere maala maal,
Ab toh hona hai wohi jo banaye jahan,
Hum toh udd gaye udd gaye udd gaye.

By this time,other brands who didnt get a chance to speak, got frustrated & started singing their own songs, sharing their thoughts 😛

🍔🌮🥗🍟🌮Mc Donald: Dheere Dheere Se Meri Zindagi Mein Aana;Dheere Dheere Se Dil Ko Churaana;Tum Se Pyaar Humein Hai Kitna Jaane Jaana,Tumse Milkar Tumko Hai Bataana

Doordarshan 📺💻(on record viewership on telecast of Ramayana & Mahabharat) : Dekh Le Aakhon Main Aakhen Daal; Seekh Le Har Pal Main Jeena Yaar,
Soch Le Jeevan Ke Pal Hain Char; Yaad Rakh; Marna Hai Ek Baar, Marne Se Pahle Jeena
Seekh Le..

Whatsapp: 📱📲📷📸📞☎ Oh bar bar dekho hazar Baar bar dekho
Key dekh ne kee chij hai hamaree dilruba,
Talee ho, talee ho, talee ho
Han jee han aur bhee honge dildar yaha, lakho dilo kee bahar yaha
Par yeh bat kaha,

Netflix: 🍿☕📺Tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya; Zindagi dhoop tum Ghana saaya.
Tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya,Aaj phir dilne ik tamanna ki,Aaj phir dilko humne samjhaya; Zindagi dhoop tum Ghana saaya,Tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya.
Tum chale jaoge to sochenge? Humne kya khoya humne kya paya..

Instagram: 📷📸🎞📺Mere photo ko, mere photo ko seene se yaar
Chipka le saiyan Fevicol se
Fevicol se fevicol se
Main toh kab se
Haaye main toh kab se hoon ready taiyar
Pata le saiyan miss call se

Flipkart 🛍🛒🎁 (to encourage more people to do online ordering amidst ease of lock down): Ghar more pardesiya
Aao padhaaro piya
Ghar more pardesiya
Aao padhaaro piya

Nike: 🏅🏏🎾🏀🏉🏑🏌🏇🚴‍♀️🏆Bhaag Bhaag Bhaag Bhaag Bhaag Bhaag Bhaag Bhaag ; Oh By God Lag Gayi, Kya Se Kya Huya,Dekha Toh Katora, Jhaanka Toh Kuaan; Kisne Kisko Loota,
Kiska Maatha Kaise Phoota, Kya Pataa
Bhaiyya We Don’t Have A Clue
Itna Hi Pataa Hai, Aagey Daude Toh Bhala Hai
Peeche Toh Ek Raakshas Phaade Muh
Ik Aandhi Aayi Hai, Sandesa Laayi HaiBhaag Bhaag D K Bose, D K Bose, D K Bose,
Bhaag Bhaag, D K Bose, D K Bhaag

After liquor lovers, did all the circus to get a bottle by standing in the queue during partial lockdown: 🍺🍻🥂🍷🍸🥃

Abhi mujh mein kahin,baaki thodi si hai zindagi; Jagi dhadkan nayi,jaana Zinda hoon main to abhi 😛

All the brands & people waiting for COVID19 vaccine:💊💉🧬🌡

Intaha ho gai, intazaar ki
Aai na kuchh khabar, mere yaar ki
Ye hamen hai yaqeen, bevafa vo nahin
Phir vajah kya hui, intazaar ki, intaha ho… Baat jo hai us men, baat vo
Yahaan kahin nahin kisi men
Vo hai meri, bas hai meri
Shor hai yahi gali gali men
Saath saath vo hai mere gham
Men mere dil ki har khushi men
Zindagi men vo nahin to kuchh
Nahin hai meri zindagi men
Bujh na jaaye ye shama, aitabaar ki

For nostalgia sake, you may wanna check out below Antakshari video. It will bring a smile to your face 😃🤩

Signing off,

Until then, Sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, Sing for the tears (come on)
Sing it with me, just for today…

Pic courtesy: EventsHigh

Cricket Memories!!

by Harsha, posted in Cricket, Nostalgic

Presenting to you some of the Cricket memories, some unforgettable moments along with some bizarre & unseen stuff.

EAT CRICKET, SLEEP CRICKET, DRINK ONLY NIMBU PAANI!!

Cricket aficionado and of any live sport are missing the live action amidst cheering fans on & off the field in these unprecedented times. I spent some of my time to reminisce about cricket. So cherish, relive, enjoy & have fun 🙂 You may like it too. Do comment if you find any other lovely memory to share. I left out half of the content from this post as it became a long post. May be another episode soon in near future 🙂

DISCLAIMER:Owing to the content shared, some of it may take some time to load, so patience 🙂

  • After historic win in Australia..
  • Fans are as important as Game itself 😛 😛
  • Unplayable delivery from Muttiah Muralitharan
https://twitter.com/BowledMate_/status/1277547595376873472?s=20
  • Ball of the Century!! Shane Warne, The Magician 🙂 #ThePrestige
  • The in-cutter by Sandhu would be the defining delivery of that match, and it would also prove to be the defining delivery of his career. Thirty seven years on from that Greenidge non-shot, Sandhu’s visiting card has a picture of a batsman shouldering arms with his stumps broken. His website also has the same logo in the background- Indian Express 🙂
  • YeM YeS Di!! Mind It!! #WhistlePodu
  • Easily, best swing bowlers of all time- Wasim Akram!!
  • Kaifu takes a stunner avoiding a imminent collision.
  • 360° Bowling Action!! by Shiva Singh in CK Nayudu Trophy match between Bengal and Uttar Pradesh
  • About Batting Stance..
  • Brian Charles Lara ❤️
  • Hate Math & Love Cricket? Learn how Pythagoras theorem works practically. You will never forget now 😛
  • About baby sitting…
  • When have you seen that last time on a cricket field?
  • The Legend of Ben Stokes..
  • Just a casual day in the life of Sir Viv Richards!!
  • Dhoni finishes off in style. A magnificient strike into the crowd. India Lift the World Cup!! After 28 years.. The party starts in the dressing room.. Cant forget it? Isn’t it?
  • Why this Kohli very Kohli very AB D? Contender for Best Jodi?
  • King Of Yorkers!!
  • Boom Boom BumRah!! Jo Batsmen ko GumRah karde..
  • Monster Hitting to win a WC for WestIndies
  • Source of several great memes 😛 Found you 😛 Mil hi gaya. Mil gaya.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCaNphlpQPC/

Thanks for watching!! Signing off, Until Then, Be A Sport, Play your natural game & Keep your Chin up!!

P.S: All the tweet sources are mentioned and hence credited as per the twitter thread. Picture courtesy(at the top) espncricinfo.com

Find your WHY..

by Harsha, posted in Food for Thought, Ideas, Innovation, Reflection

So we are home bound for most of the times. Unprecedented times, isn’t it? Who would have thought? Is there a word to describe the feeling of split second, when we wake up in the morning after a good night sleep and don’t think of the various restrictions we are put through during these times. How on earth, can a virus which cannot be seen through a naked eye, control our lives so much? While looking out answers for tough questions like these, its important to make most of the situation by following the mandatory precautions by staying safe & healthy & taking care of ourselves & our family. 👪

Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe– Abraham Lincoln

On work front, the lines between so called work-life balance are blurring. Apart from spending quality time with our family along with getting things done at work from home, its important to spend some “me time”, introspect & hone our skills. Its best time to sharpen our axe to be stronger, be better, course-correct & stay strong during these times. While looking out for something, over internet while doing a side project, I stumbled upon Simon Sinek online classes. It said Live Online classes specially put up during these times to get inspired, be safe and know yourself better. I had seen his TED talk which was the talk of the town when it came up. If you’re yet to see, check out below 🕵

These sessions are one of a kind, interactive designed to walk you, step-by-step, through the process to find your WHY, finding your life’s purpose, your beliefs or causes. I personally gained lot of clarity after attending these sessions. One gets to interact with group of people across the world and apart from finding/or working towards finding your own true purpose, one can guide others by interacting, sharing their own stories. 👼

It mainly revolves around, constructing your Golden circle developed by Simon’s ideas and philosophies by understanding your WHY. 🎯 Whatever may be your situation, WHAT you do may change but your WHY must always remain clear and constant. During these uncertain times, many of us may be forced to reinvent ourselves, reinvent WHAT we do. It can be unsettling and challenging. So, its important we move forward and raise our game by facing all the adversities head on.

Do check out these sessions during your free time, these will be super helpful. https://simonsinek.com/InspireU#/

Signing off, until then, Be Positive, Stay Inspired, Inspire Others 🙌💪💯

Harsha Balur

This is my Infy..

by Harsha, posted in Food for Thought, Ideas, Nostalgic, Product, Reflection

Chilly winter morning in a software office in Bengaluru suburb, a discussion was going on regarding selling Infosys for an enticing amount of $1 Million (about ₹ 7.4 Crores).

9 years before, when Infosys was setup in 1981, they formed the company with a working capital of ₹10,000 with a major contribution from Mrs.Sudha Murthy by selling her gold from marriage. Once they started they realized with that amount, considering all costs & expenses, it would not last for more than a month. So they decided, they would lead a austere life, in-turn lay a solid foundation and much needed support to run Infosys. Their simple mantra was spend less than what you earned, that’s all.

Business then was very tough in India. To import a computer 💻, they took 3 long years, more than 20 trips to Delhi, the capital city, to obtain licence. Also, there was no telephone connection and it would take 2 years to do the same. To run a company during those times of slow bureaucracy and long-winded procedures,was a battle in itself. So they decided that other 6 co-founders barring Murthy to do the software development and work from US. That way, they would reduce the hassle and allow Murthy to hold the fort from India.

This is my Infy- song by Celine Dion

In 1990, the co-founders with the prospect of selling Infosys, with all the hard work & struggles that had to endure over the years, were hopeful to see the money now. There was a heated debate and everyone was giving their opinion and future plans of what’s in store for Infosys after selling it. Narayan Murthy, didn’t speak a single word and was listening in all the way and let his younger colleagues to have a say. So after 4 hours, when he got the opportunity to speak, he spoke about his humble beginnings, when he started off in a small apartment in Bombay. He believed then that it was his darkest hour before the dawn and then took a audacious decision to set up Infosys. Now that his colleagues were hell bent in selling Infosys, he offered to buyout all his colleagues without having a penny in his pocket. Everyone was stunned hearing this. Here was a man who could walk the talk, and never compromised any which way to sell his dreams. It paved the way to his colleagues to reconsider their decision.Patience paid off and in 1991, post liberalization, Infosys paved the way for showcasing Indian tech talent and software excellence to the world creating new possibilities.In 1999, Infosys became the first Indian company to be listed on NASDAQ, touching $100 Million 💼🎷

Today, Infosys has grown from a company of seven workers to a global corporation, an Indian behemoth,employing more than 2,14,000 people, with revenues of billions of dollars.🎯

With the man himself, Mr. Narayan Murthy.

A nice video to conclude – All the struggles that went in to build Infosys during difficult times, similar to the ones we see today to build a Indian unicorn 🦄, starting up from humble beginnings.

Signing off!! Until then Do good, Be Valued & Set an Example 🙂

-Harsha, Once an Infoscion, always an Infoscion 😇

Avane Srimannarayana

by Harsha, posted in Movies

TGIF-Thank God It’s Friday!!

Given a impressive movie trailer which caught your rapt attention, we would throng to the theaters, to witness the movie extravaganza and power of cinema by making a journey with the protagonist. Friday night, Movies & Popcorn would a great combo. Isn’t it? Witnessing the most anticipated movie of the year with your favorite stars in it along with passionate fans on a first day first show is such a luxury isn’t it?

But times have changed now. In these unusual times of lock down & watching on demand content on OTT platforms have become more than a norm.

By the way, are you wondering what is the blog post title all about? especially Non Kannada audiences. If you don’t know, no worries, this is the title of a Kannada blockbuster movie released half a year ago. And this is meant for Non Kannada audiences as much as for Kannadigas. 🙂 So feel free to explore and read on… 

South Indian movies have a following of its own. Many people associate South Indian movies to intelligent, one of a kind premise as in Malayalam movies, blockbusters from Tamil cinema or those masala romantic Telugu movies with dance numbers. I don’t want to venture into stereotypes here, but each of those movies have their unique flavor and hence a following of its own. I personally like some of the movies off-late especially concept movies. Here at this juncture, I want to emphasize the way Kannada movies, the Sandalwood industry have reinvented and grown leaps and bounds over the years.

Over the years, after dominated by Kannada cinema’s stalwarts and triumvirate- Dr. Rajkumar, Vishnuvardhan & Ambareesh, Nag brothers- Shankar Nag & Anant Nag, Ravichandran, Ramesh Arvind and other prominent stars, we have new breed of actors & filmmakers who are raising the bar with their exceptional movies. Though I personally don’t like mass movies as such, would like to list some of the movies I have loved over the years watching, re watching, relishing and reliving. 

Lucia(available on JioCinema & MXPlayer) directed & written by brilliant Pawan Kumar is a film about a man suffering with insomnia is tricked into buying a drug and deal with its after effects.Concept and execution of the movie is top notch. And best part, this movie was entirely crowd funded which in itself is a trendsetter for new and young filmmakers to adopt in their films across languages. IMDB Rating 8.3

Ulidavaru Kandante(available on MXPlayer) directed by debutant Rakshith Shetty is about a incident as seen in different perspectives when a journalist tries to uncover the mystery to unravel how their diverse lives are interwined. Dont miss the Tiger dance(a traditional performing art) which is integral part of the narrative.Exceptional movie!! IMDB Rating 8.4

Thithi(available on Netflix) is an unusual story set in remote village in Mandya with events leading to a funeral ceremony of a 100 year old man known as Century Gowda 😉 Best part, none of the cast has acted in a film before, it’s like unraveling of a story told by taking a snapshot of India’s village life-Amazing. IMDB Rating 8.2

Rangi Taranga(available on MXPlayer), a thriller by brilliant Anup Bhandari(director) and Nirup Bhandari(actor) is an outright winner about a series of mysterious events when a novelist and his wife moves back to their ancestral village. Solve the riddle as the story unfolds 🙂 IMDB Rating 8.3

Godhi Banna Sadarana Maikattu(available on Hotstar), a movie by Mr.Hemanth Rao on his directorial debut is about the protagonist Venkob Rao (suffering from Alzheimer’s) played by evergreen Anant Nag, when he goes missing and all hell breaks loose. a heart touching story. IMDB Rating 8.8

Sarkari Hiriya Pratamika Shaale(available on Sun 🌞 TV App), a national award winner is a dream project of Mr. Rishab Shetty who is successful in bringing the innocence of kids(who are the main protagonists and center of all attraction :)) on their struggles to save a Kannada Government school from closure. IMDB Rating 8.6

Kirik Party(available on VOOT app) is about a gang of mischievous students and their daily affairs in an engineering college. If you’re an engineer, I bet you will reminiscence about your own experiences 🙂 IMDB Rating 8.4

Ondu Motteya Kathe(available on YouTube) is about a bald man, his daily struggles who faces stereotyping by the society. Raj Shetty, who plays a Mangalorean introvert is brilliant in portraying this central character. IMDB Rating 8.0

UTurn(available on Netflix) is about a reporter who must hunt for the truth behind a strange murder(at a popular flyover in Bengaluru where traffic rules are usually not followed) and in turn becomes the investigation’s prime suspect. IMDB Rating 7.5

Bell Bottom(available on VOOT) is about a police constable Divakar who gets a chance to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a detective when a mysterious robbery takes place at the local police station. I love detective stories and this was fresh and made an impression 🙂 IMDB Rating 8.5

Kavaludaari(available on Prime) is about 2 Bengaluru cops who investigate an old case. Their search leads to crossroads and would test their resolve and morals. Whodunit!! IMDB Rating 8.0

Pic © Deccan Herald

Avane Srimannarayana(available on Prime) starring Rakshit Shetty is one of a kind, cult classic dubbed as a Southern Odd fiction. It doesn’t fit into a single genre and is a rare treasure which is part comedy,fantasy,drama,classic western with subtle local touch of Indian mythology elements.A well crafted movie with top notch writing, cinematography, direction, background music and off course acting by all ensemble cast lead by brilliant Rakshit Shetty who doesn’t misses a beat. Easily, a well crafted movie(with technical brilliance in each frame) in recent times. IMDB Rating 7.9

P.S: Apart from these movies, there are several more winners. I have listed few ones which I have watched. In these times of lock down and several OTT platforms, it would be nice idea to check these out if haven’t watched yet 🙂 Being a Anant Nag fan, have been watching films like Gouri Ganesha, Ganeshana Maduve et al 🙂

P.P.S: Check out Original Sound Track 🔊 of ASN movie. One of the best ever 🙂 My companion during morning walk these days. Encore 🙂

If you’re interested in VFX, Check this out..

ನಮ್ಮ ಕನ್ನಡ ಚಿತ್ರ, ನಮ್ಮ ಹೆಮ್ಮೆ 🙂

Signing off, Until next time- Relive, Relish & Have Fun 🙂

Gully Boy

by Harsha, posted in Cricket, Nostalgic, Reflection

Mic check bole Kya bol rele Gully Boy Kya bol rele Readers log Arey apun kuch karte hain na yaar Apne public ke liye Karte hain na Baa Reader log ke liye bhai Ahaa apne Pasha log ke liye (Oho ek number) Tum kidhar ho, kidhar ho tum abhi? Bangalore BTM mein bhai Tum kidhar ho?
Mere gully mein Gully gully gully mein Mere gully mein Gully gully gully mein

Playing It My Way..

Summer holidays was always fun. And cricket got more attention as we indulged in it religiously, a daily affair you see. I would always be lingering around at my maternal home during summer holidays more often than not. We played other sports too and indulged in different pastimes and leisure activities but cricket had our mind share. That’s when cricket viewership on TV had picked up and 1996 World Cup was a great booster as India was one of the host country. Everyone remembers 96 world cup Semifinal between India & SriLanka which was seen live by record crowd of 1,10,000 in Eden Gardens, Calcutta. India slumped while chasing and match had to be awarded to Srilanka as disappointed crowd could not be controlled. There was great hope and everyone was rallying around India to win it handsomely. Tendulkar grew into prominence during these times and had achieved demigod status. Tendulkar and other players like Warne, Kumble, Murali, Dravid, Ganguly made an impression. Can’t imagine how many times I have imitated their batting stance or peculiar bowling action while walking past and running around streets.

Playing cricket at a unique pitch like ours was pure fun to say the least. Did I say it was not a cricket pitch but a pathway?? Yes, you heard it right. No one would ever imagine to play cricket here. It was a pathway from our house backyard to a enclosed farm of coconut,mango and jack fruit trees. It was around 20 yard patch of vacant ground with width same as that of a actual cricket pitch,surrounded by godown on one side with trees and compound on either side. On left hand side there was a big drain bounded by the compound colloquially called as Maayi ghar (as a elderly woman lived in a house beside that compound)  and on the right hand side there was another house with a compound inhabited by a affluent family (saiba’s ghar). So hitting over each of these compounds was OUT. There was NO running between the wickets either, Scoring was ONLY done through a straight ground shot for a boundary or a aerial straight shot past the boundary for a six and bonus runs through wide by the bowler. A batsman could be out just by playing wayward on both sides, or by a direct catch to the bowler/fielder, get out bowled,stumped or caught behind the wicket.The wickets were huge formed by very thick paper roll picked up from the godown. No rolling of arms while bowling, just throw bowling inline with the boundary with fielders on either side.Extra fielders were posted outside the boundary so as to keep a watch on the ball as balls flew more often than not for sixes. Also one had to guard the ball from the surrounding drain and a well. Many a times, we had to do all sort of adventures to fetch the ball from the well. And if the ball was not viewed properly when being hit, it was very difficult to spot it and find it as it would go past the thick foliage of 🌲🌳🌴 all around. So one had to be vigilant, many a times whole team would indulge in hunting the ball and sometimes if we were lucky enough, we could get more than one balls(the other being a long lost ball. Hehe).To cool off after playing long time in scorching heat, we would fill a cement tank with cool water from the well and feel lazy and chill like a hippopotamus. 

This was our team- Jai and Veeru(brothers 😎), Murali , Dada (the eldest), Raghu, Mandy (lone female cricketer), Shantu -The 🤐, Tendlya (youngest so would bat for both the teams, hence called as limboo timboo) and myself Harshu. Most of the times, both brothers Jai and Veeru would end up in opposite teams leading to aggressive cricket from both the parties to topple one over the other. Murali was our off spinner and right hand bat. Raghu was very competitive and apart from cricket, he used to coin funny terms/expressions, so he was our situational comedy artist. Every one feared Mandy when she was bowling, as she used to bowl very fast. Just like aiming at the ripe mango with a sharp stone- one sees only the mango and nothing else, she would eye the stumps. The trick was to cover the stumps and allow the ball to come to the bat nicely. I was the mystery spinner where I used to mix up with off spin or leg spin, spin towards the body (esp. For Raghu) etc. Once Shantu asked me to help him bowl leg spin. He learnt the trick to hold the ball correctly but on release, it used to come with some latency providing the batsman ample time to hit a six, straight down the ground. And I knew exactly which way the bowl would spin. But it was fun, real fun. No amount of tiredness would prevent us from playing until the daily quota was done. Once in 1999, when World Cup was On, there was a tragic news of Tendulkar father’s demise due to which he flew to India midway from World Cup proceedings in England. On that day, being very sad, we had to abandon day’s play. 

These days, we rarely get to play cricket or any other engaging sport under the sun 🌞 in that scorching heat. We have found new avenues to entertain ourself and we hardly sweat it out in the field. We stay indoors and exercise and play different versions of a sport.

Where are we going? Where is the current generation moving to? Is it something for better? Tough questions to ask… 

Jaane Kahan Gaye Woh Din………

Signing off.

Until next time we meet, Give Love & Be Loved.. 🙂