Hat-trick!!

For those of you who might have mistaken this for a review of the recent dumb bollywood flick, you can rest assured for it is no such thing. This is a hat-trick of an entirely different kind...
Well my Hostel I-card has never been something that I have treasured. Actually I have plenty of reason to treasure it, as every year I am the last guy to get a seat in the hostel on account of my rapidly degrading grades. But still, somehow, I don't care much about it. And that forms the basis of my hat-trick. Because the hat-trick signifies the third time in three years that my Hostel I-card has been confiscated.
Lets Rewind:
The 1st incident:
Circa Sep 2005. The Mid-Semester examination of my first engineering semester. 6 papers in six days. Back to back. And back then I was a raw, eager first year chap who had scored great marks in the 12th boards and the CET. So at 3 in the night, you would expect me to be either studying or fast asleep. But well, I always have had this penchant for pulling off absurd and absolutely crazy stunts. And this day was just another page in my ever expanding book of crazy stunts. I wasn't studying at 3 am. I wasn't even asleep. Instead I was playing cricket in the hostel corridor. Now you know why I am called a cricket nut. So at 3 in the night, me and my friends were busy playing cricket and making a lot of noise too. This aroused the rector from his sleep and he came to see what was happening. And at that exact time I was batting. I can still remember the scene. I had just played a forward defensive stroke and had been batting for quite a while. So after playing the shot I looked up and hoped to see some appreciation of my technique on the faces of my friends. But instead what I saw was the rector coming towards me. And I couldn't even say I wasn't there, after all I had the bat in my hand. Caught red-handed. And my innings came to a premature end. What a way to end a perfectly fine innings!
Epilogue: Our I-cards were confiscated and all of us were slapped a fine of Rs 100. All my friends duly paid it and collected their I-cards as soon as possible. As for me, well, I didn't give much of a damn. I didn't collect my I-card till after the year ended. And guess what, I didn't pay the fine either.

The 2nd incident:
Well this happens to be the least interesting of the three. It happened in early second year, around Sep 2006 I guess. The day it happened was possibly the third time in the week that I had come back to the hostel after the deadline of 11 pm. And this time I overshot it by a good three hours. So I guess I left the security guards with no choice but to relieve me of my I-card. This time though, I did give a damn and got it back in about a week's time.

The 3rd incident:
This was the third and final blow. And it happened today, a few hours ago. It was my friend's birthday and all my friends got together to celebrate. We ate cake, kicked the hell out of the birthday guy and were gonna go back to bed in peace when suddenly the warden turned up. And I made a great escape from the crime scene and successfully came back to my bunker (or room if you wish to call it so). I was about to celebrate a successful exit when I got a call. Someone had betrayed me. And it turned out to be Apoorv Vaidya who did the treachery. My name was on their list and I was a hunted man. So instead of facing the ignominy of the warden coming to my room and taking my I-card, I voluntarily went to him and handed him my I-card. And that, ladies and gentlemen, completes the hat-trick. Let's see how long it takes me to get my I-card back this time.

P.S. : While writing this post I realised that all three events took place in the month of September. I guess it must be the weather. And I can't wait for September 2008.

Yuvi's revenge

They say that in cricket, as in life, things tend to level out over a period of time. In case of Yuvraj & Dmitri, it has happened pretty soon.
No one can forget the 5 sixes that Dmitri Mascarenhas hit off Yuvraj Singh during the ODI series last month in England. However, soon after, Mascarenhas got a taste of his own medicine when he was clobbered for a few sixes against New Zealand. And today, finally, Yuvi got his revenge. Six sixes in a single over. Unbelievable. And spare a thought for the poor Stuart Broad. He is one of the best bowlers England have produced of late. Let's hope he doesn't suffer too much mentally as a result of Yuvi's onslaught.
And another important thing about Yuvi's sixes was that for the first time ever, despite years of watching cricket, I was present for a major record being created by an Indian. I have great timing when it comes to such things. I can still recall the day Kumble took all ten wickets. I was watching the Pakistani innings till they reached a hundred for no loss when I finally gave up. Kumble took his first wicket when the score was 115 and the rest was a glorious chapter in Indian cricket history, but just another short afternoon nap for me.
Amongst others I have also missed Dhoni's 183*, major portions of Sehwag's 309 and Laxman's 281 and all of India's recent test victories. But it seems now that the tide is changing and my timing is improving. Lets hope I get to see many more great Indian feats in the future. And I also hope poor old Stuart looks at this with a broad perspective (pun intended). After all, his name is also permanently entered in the record books.
But for now, England have got off to a flier. And though I know they have no chance of winning, I don't want to miss a single moment of the action. So see you later..

Watching Sholay

Yesterday I saw Sholay for what must have been the 40th or even the 50th time in my life. And I still feel really bad every time I see Amitabh die during the movie. For me, Sholay is a timeless epic, the greatest movie ever. And therefore the emotions in the movie too are very life-like. And that is something no amount of Aag by any director can recreate...

(I CAN'T GET NO) SATISFACTION

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no
Satisfaction

Dhekun 2 : Evolution

All those who have ever spent time at the College of Engineering, Pune Hostel must have had a number of close encounters of the fourth kind with the Dhekun (bedbugs). Especially all those who were unfortunate enough to spend time at the dreaded I-block. So when I finally left I-block after one year of suffering, I thought that my tryst with the Dhekuns had ended. However, it has proved to be otherwise.
I have now come across a new species. They have evolved from their predecessors and have grown resistance to all forms of insecticides. In fact, they seem to thrive on them because everytime I spray insecticide, they seem to grow in numbers. And whereas all these years I was happily Dhekun - resistant myself, I used to be fast asleep even though I had lots of them crawling over me, it seems that these new suckers have found a way to trouble me too with their constant biting and their penchant for exploring all parts of my bed. And it seems that the new species has evolved intellectually as well, they have started their attack right during my exams - the time when I am least likely to bother them and also the time when I spend most of the day in bed. They have decided not to let me sleep and I have decided to fight it out like a man. It's war now - Man v/s Beast. And though the man may not be doing much on the war front right now, I'm warning you Dhekuns - I'm gonna getcha !

An extract from the little master's diary

I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.
I promise not to be dismissed in the 90s again.

The ICC World Twenty20

Now here's a tournament that I'm really looking forward to. Even though I am somewhat a purist when it comes to cricket, especially since I prefer Tests to ODIs, I have to admit that I love the shortest version of the game. It is a lot of entertainment. And although it is very hard on the bowlers, I don't feel so bad because it is good for the crowds, which is what you want, and also because I no longer belong to the category of bowlers, since it is quite a while since I last bowled my Shane Warne-ish leg spin. (The comparison is made purely on the basis of the action and nothing else. Though I do not deny the presence of a few zooters in my repertoire)
But coming back to Twenty20, I first fell in love with the game when it was first introduced in England as a domestic championship. I remember watching a lot of matches at that time and I found it very refreshing since the matches lasted only as long as a bollywood movie and had a much better plot. The plethora of big hitting, the non-stop action and the inevitable close endings made me a big supporter of this new format. I hoped that there would soon be more Twenty20 matches in the future as I was already pretty bored with the 50 over format. And now that dream is finally coming true. The location for the event seems proper as hard pitches will be aplenty. Also the idea of having a tournament with the inauguartion and the final only 13 days apart is very appealing, especially to one who has suffered the pains of an excruciatingly long world cup. And then again there is the added attraction of an Indo-Pak encounter, which thankfully is on the night when my exam gets over. I really thank my college for its thoughtful consideration while planning the exams.
However, I do have a small complaint against it. It's the name. It is called the ICC World Twenty20. That's it. No championship, no series, no cup nothing. Come on ICC, is that what you name the event which might change cricket forever?