Roy replaces Shoaib

When I heard reports of Andrew Symonds involved in yet another drinking misdemeanor, I had to check the date of the report. So frequently has Symonds courted controversy that it has become tough to keep track. With Shoaib Akhtar out of the team for good(so it seems), it's time to crown Roy the undisputed king of controversial cricketers.

Cactus

Raat eka-ek neend tooti to kya dekhta hoon
Gagan se jaise utar kar ek tara cactus ki jhadiyon mein aa gira hai
Raat eka-ek neend tooti to kya dekhta hoon gagan se jaise utar kar ek tara cactus ki jhadiyon mein aa gira hai
Nikat jaa kar dekhta hoon ek adbhut phool kaanton mein khila hai
Hai cactus, divas mein tum khile hote,
rashmiyan kitni nichhaavar ho gayeen hoti tumhari pankhudiyon par
pavan apni god mein tumko jhula kar dhanya hota
gandh dheemi baantta phirta dhruvon mein
bhringya aate gherte tumko
anavrat bherte mala suyash ki, gun tumhara gungunate

dhairya se sun baat meri, cactus ne kahaa dheeme se
kisi vivashta se khilta hoon, khulne ki saadh to nahi hai
jag mein anjaana reh jaana koi apradh to nahi hai

- Harivanshrai Bachchan

You'd think it would be character
but you would think it wrong
All my men were characters
and most of them are gone

You'd think you should be similar
but no that's not it
the similar ones had my same faults
and we bored ourselves a bit.

You'd think it should be passion
but that's just ebb and flow
love can spark that back again
and then the fireworks show

You'd think it should be purpose
and I thought that for a while
for what then am I loving,
a man or his profile?

You'd think it would be trust
but everyone betrays
the one they love
in just too many ways.

You'd think it should be sacred
and then I think again
you have to forgive each other
and start it new again.

You'd think it could be intelligence
I like men who are smart
but it's courage and compassion
all the parts of heart

You'd think it would be happiness
and you might be close to right
but I need my space and darkness too
and that can start a fight.

You'd think it might be talking
and I think that might be close
but how he fills the silence
cause I just hate verbose.

You'd think he should be a hero
but I don't need much saving
I've saved myself for some long time
I'd rather watch him shaving.

You'd think it should be simple
to know that dueling men
argue from their own conceits
and love themselves again.

You'd think it would be hard to find
because no love had I found
till I saw him standing there
when I finally turned around.

You'd think it should be peaceful
but we started out with fighting-
and then he wrote his poems just for me.
And I don't need sky writing.

You'd think it might be many things
but I think that it's this
That I just make him happy
and that we just persist.

What we are is constantly being determined by what we do. But at times, we want to escape the extent of what we are. Sadly, in an age of documented written communication, it is almost impossible to do. I spent the last 2 hours going over random chats from the last two years, most of which did not make me feel good about myself and others. Only yesterday, I was telling someone that one must never delete what one has written. Going back to our write-ups is like reading reading history. It was a reflection of what we were. It may not be the whole story, leaving you to inquire into the past looking for context into what we wrote.

Yet, this business of written communication is scary. There could be a part of my history that I wouldn't want to be reminded of, some dark chapter that I am yet to make peace with it whose memory could have explosive manifestations. I wonder if it is then time to erase some of my history

For someone who is acutely technologically challenged, it's perhaps not surprising that I have taken to making ample use of the silent button on my phone off late only. I love the silent option. As I have discovered the joys offered by this facility, I have taken to shutting off people for the sheer joy of doing so, much to the consternation of family and friends.

Someone said the other day that technology has brought distant communication close and close communication distant. It reminded me of Kakoli Chatterjee from A Suitable Boy (of the What is Krishnan, in the end. Just a mushroom, just a friend fame) who was 'attached to her phone with an umbillical cord' and would stop talking to a first level friend in person to talk to a second level friend on the telephone.

Hayden

Matthew Hayden retired yesterday. Hayden, who debuted in the early nineties but never really made his mark till the 2001 tour of India was not the kind of cricketer you like. At least I didn't. Built like a Bollywood villain's sidekick that you had to contend with before you got to the real bad guys, that is what I considered him for quite sometime till it was clear that he was the actual villain. Hayden scored a lot of centuries (30 to be exact) but never really captured my imagination like the Waugh brothers, Ponting, Martyn, Slater or even Langer, all batsmen much more fun to watch. Not only was he indelicate to watch as a batsman, he was also a smug, unpleasant character who I doubt ever won the affections of the rival teams or spectators. He was huge, bullish, and in your face and representative of all the things we hated about the Australians. He was also a fascinating orator and came up with the most entertaining or irritating comments especially in the last leg of his career. Here are some.

Some self effacing ones:

“The zone to me is pretty much every time I go out to bat.”

“As fine a cricketer as I am right now, I don’t think as a young player I had it right.”

“I think, more than anything, I am such a weapon here, because when I started attacking, they just got so defensive.”

“I think this series is tailor-made for guys like me.”

....some gay ones:

"We are always getting the pressure from behind us... I love playing with these blokes, and to me, I'm just not ready to let it go just yet."

...and the others, just bizzare:

“I want to see Ricky Ponting going like that when he wins and plays for Australia. That’s the heat of the battle, that’s Test cricket, that’s the enormous passion and enthusiasm that gets played from all games of cricket, you see it even in backyard cricket.”

“When I finish cricket I don’t want to have to be in a game where everything is robots and robotic.”

"I've never been in better shape. So to me it's a really good sign, not only in terms of where I'm at, but my commitment to the game and the commitment to the summer as well."

“Ultimately it will be my call to look at the bloke that talks to yourself every day in the mirror and say ‘mate it is time to go’ or ’saddle up, pull your socks up and get on with it, you’ve got South Africa and you’ve got the Ashes’.”

“That little voice deep inside will keep kicking Matthew Hayden along.”

“Matthew Hayden in 1991 worked as hard as he works in 2008. And that guarantees you at least the best result in terms of how you prepare yourself, but it doesn’t guarantee success.”

“We all enjoy celebrating. What has changed now is we have taken it to a new level in terms of dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s professionally.”

“When you get to my age, you get to a point where the next 12 months is a long, long way away.”

“In a lot of ways, to me off-field, if that’s affecting him that’s a good thing for Hayden because I don’t feel like I’m harbouring any massive resentment.” (something to do with Harbhajan)

“He obviously loves cricket and it’s so healthy to know I can be here and he can be there and we can mutually enjoy each others sports.”
(This about Usain Bolt!)

“At the end of the day, two alpha dogs are never going to sit in a cage and not look at each other. It is what it is. The way I see my cricket, if you’re the other alpha dog, you better not blink. I feel I’d be letting down my country if I was to blink.”


Still, the guy scored 30 centuries. That's more than Bradman, Richards, Boycott, Sobers, Dravid or Kallis. You've got to admire that. No, not admire, respect. Hmm..not really respect, acknowledge. Not acknowldge, resent. Yeah that's the word.