Looks are deceptive!!

Mr Muniyan, a tall, dark and handsome man was the talk of the town after he hit the headlines of all the newspapers for his remarkable achievement in his Automobile business. His company's stocks surged to an unimaginable high and many other competitors were extremely jealous of him. He owned more than three bungalows in Adyar and Boat club (posh areas where rich people made it a point to buy a bungalow just to show off their social status). He had more than ten servants to take care of him and he had a wide range of shoes from which he chose one in accordance with his torso everyday!!

Suddenly, he heard someone calling him " Dei Muniya..... Muniya dei.... get up!!" It was his friend Palani. Muniyan got up with a jerk as if he stepped on fire... Soon he realized it was yet another dream!! Muniyan was a tall, dark and yes, handsome man in real life too. The only difference was he was not rich. In fact he didn't even have a home to stay. A few years back he lost his family in an accident in which he lost his left leg. Since then he was mentally disturbed (not a lunatic though), was always a loner until a few years back before he relocated to Chennai.

In Chennai, he stayed in pavements along with his acquaintance Palani who had a similar background . Muniyan was a very determined and stubborn person who had certain principles in life. Though he didn't have money, he was very clear that he would not beg for food or money. He somehow managed to gain the confidence of one Mr Arul who had a grocery shop in the neighborhood. Arul gave him 2000 rupees to make a living. Muniyan spent the amount in buying small items like hair bands, clips and other household essentials and sold them on pavements. Each day, he put his shop at different places of Chennai.

He used to earn close to 70 rupees per day and sometimes his income touched 100 bucks per day. At the the end of each day, he met Palani at their usual place of stay and they had dinner together. A lot of people pass by the platform. Some notice the things being sold, some don't have the time to notice and some are lost in their own world when they walk!! Muniyan had come across all types of people everyday.During his early days when he started selling things, he used to attract people with slogans related to the product he was selling and their prices, but as days passed by, he realized that  people do not pay attention to what he says. In this busy world, no one cares for anything unless it impacts them!

After having covered all the neighboring areas, he decided to put up his shop in KK Nagar near a prominent school where a lot of kids studied. Since Muniyan sold goods which were predominantly useful for girls (like hair clips, rubber bands, bows etc...), his target audience were the small girls and the ladies who accompany their kids. One such customer was Shweta, a class five student. Both her parents were working and hence after school hours, she used to spend time in a nearby creche.

On her way to creche, she used to buy things from Muniyan's shop. This almost became a routine. Even during days when she didn't buy anything from him, she used to stop by, just to chit chat with him. Since Muniyan had lost his family, he too was craving for someone who could actually spend some time with him. He imagined Shweta in his daughter's place and hence showed a lot of affection towards her. Their friendship started to blossom.

Shweta told her mom about Muniyan, she asked if her dad could offer some help to him so that he can lead a comfortable life. Shweta's mom immediately went in anger mode. She explained to Shweta that Muniyan was yet another disabled person in this world and that there are thousands of such people around. She also warned her not to talk too much with him since he was after all a stranger.
Shweta however couldn't understand why her mom started shouting. She was in no mood to cut off her friendship with Muniyan uncle (that's how she addressed him)

6 months later, Shweta wasn't seen around her school by Muniyan. He thought maybe she had gone on a vacation or tour. Three weeks passed by, but she was not seen around. Anxious Muniyan stopped her friend and enquired about the situation. Muniyan had a vague thought that Shweta's mom wasn't happy about Shweta's interaction with him. That gave a grey shade to his anxiety. Her friend told Muniyan that Shweta was unwell and has been hospitalised in a nearby hospital. Upon hearing this news, Muniyan was dejected. Just when things started looking bright in his life, came this news which sent him down to the days where he wandered in the streets aimlessly.

He decided to pay a visit to the hospital to enquire about her health. He didn't want her parents to see him and hence he made sure he stepped in when they were out. Minutes after, he met the next shocker of his life. He was told that Shweta was being treated for kidney failure and that they were looking for a suitable kidney for transplantation. He requested the doctor not to inform her parents about his visit. Upon hearing his story, the doctor assured that he wouldn't speak a word about him.

That night, dejected Muniyan met his pal Palani and narrated the chain of events. Silence prevailed for several minutes after which Muniyan said "I'm willing to donate my kidney provided it matches her tissues" Palani was shocked!! he advised Muniyan to think before he made any statement!
Muniyan was clear about his decision and wanted to get the medical tests done to check if his kidney could be taken for the operation. To his surprise, he was declared fit and his tissues matched with that of hers, doctor said his kidney could be taken for transplantation. He requested the doctor not to reveal his identity until the day of operation so that her parents don't reject his offer.

Finally came the D-day, her parents were happy that the doctor could find a donor. They were waiting to meet the donor before the operation. The doctor took Muniyan to her parents and introduced him as the donor. Her mom was shocked to see him. She didn't know what to speak, her eyes were filled with tears, her heart was very heavy. All she could do was join her hands and take a bow! The operation started in a while. Shweta's mom meanwhile explained to her husband that she already knew about Muniyan and told him about Shweta's friendship with him. After hearing, he too was in tears. They felt so cheap for having advised Shewta to stay away from a person who was so kind hearted, who took more care about Shweta's life more than them!

The surgery was successful, three days passed by. Both Shweta and Muniyan were stable;e. Her parents went up to Muniyan's room to thank him. Shweta's dad wanted to lend a helping hand to Muniyan to set up a shop and lead a comfortable life. To their surprise, they were told by the doctor that Muniyan was discharged yesterday night and handed over a letter written by him.

The letter read:

"I know you don't like me since Shweta was getting close. If my daughter was alive today, she would have been like Shweta. I've always seen her as my own daughter. I decided to donate my kidney for my daughter which is what any father would have done. Luckily, my kidney matched with that of hers. My life is done. I am handicapped, my family is no more. I don't have anyone to care about me other that my sweet little daughter Shweta. Please tell her that I have moved to another place in search of more sons and daughters. If at all you want to help me, please help any disabled person you see on the streets. They need some support to lead a life. Not all have a stable mind as me. Don't worry about me, I have enough strength to go on for several years!

Please take care of Shweta"

Shweta's parents couldn't hold back their tears. Her mom was literally on the floor. Never before in their lives have they been humiliated to this extent.

Who said, the world is filled with narrow minded people! It depends on how you see them, on how you perceive them. Looks are certainly deceptive..


Bye for now,
Kailash

Love makes life beautiful!!!

Kaushik, 23, S/o a bank manager (private bank) belonged to a middle class family based at Chennai. Like all middle class families, they owned a flat in a heavily populated area. Kaushik had a sister who was 4 years younger to him. They both studied in the same school and were quite close to each other (not much age difference between them). His mom was a homemaker and she took complete care of both Kaushik and his sister right from their childhood.

Kaushik, gradually finished his schooling and joined a private Engineering college along with his couple of school friends. He chose Mechanical Engineering as his major. As we all know, his class was an all boys class. Their gang had a special "rowdy" tag attached to them where ever they went. Even though they looked like a bunch of thugs, a few of them had constantly lamented that they were not able to mingle with girls like the boys of other departments. Kaushik was not one of them though.
He advised his friends not to fall for girls for he thought it might ruin their career!!!

Days passed by, Kaushik's group ruled the entire college for the four years. After great struggle, he managed to finish his degree (of course within the stipulated 4 years).
His Dad wanted him to pursue higher studies, however Kaushik opposed his Dad's decision for he knows how hard it was for him to complete his B.E.
He got an offer with India's leading software company the moment he finished his degree. Though he wasn't interested in entering the IT field, he decided to take up the offer because he was too lazy to find a job for himself in his core area (mechanical stream)

 Day 1 at office. Things were very new to him. He entered the office with his sleeves folded and the collar button was left open. He was pulled aside by a senior professional who fired a set of questions at him "What is your name?" even before Kaushik could answer, the senior pro. saw Kaushik's ID card and went on with his lecture.
 "See sir, this is not your college. You are now in a corporate world. You need to maintain the decorum of this organization. Button up soon and go to your place"
Kaushik was kinda agitated. The senior pro. didn't wait to hear Kaushik's defense, he left immediately.

It took almost 3-4  months for Kaushik to get accustomed to the new so called "Corporate environment". Some remarkable changes were:
1. After finishing dinner at home, he took his plate to the wash area (usually his mom takes his plate.)
2. In cinema theaters he stopped screaming when the title was played. Instead he got annoyed with a group of college guys a few rows before him who were passing comments and making a lot of noise (This was Kaushik's routine activity until 6 months back!).

Days passed by, slowly he began to form a gang here too. They transformed into a group of 4-5 thick friends. As always, they did bird watching together and fixed one for each as though things were confirmed! While doing so, Kaushik saw a girl who was good looking, quite fair, tall and had short hair. Right from day one, he saw some attraction in her and used to observe her silently even without informing his friends. After watching her pass by, he was back in normal mode along with his friends. Once, she went on a week long leave. Kaushik wasn't able to spot her in the campus and that's when he realized this was something more than bird watching! He had never experienced such a feeling in his life. He had seen more than 1000 girls who were much good looking than this girl, yet he never had any feelings for them. He really missed her.

He became restless and thought he may get some help from his close pal Sanjay who was his college friend as well as worked with him in his same team.

Kaushik: Machi.. I want to tell something to you, but promise me you wont let it go beyond you.
Sanjay: Come on mate, don't you know I am good at keeping secrets!! Moreover, I thought I knew everything about you!
Kaushik: Of course you know every bit of me but for this recent development. The girl whom we used to see everyday... ya, the same tall, short haired girl. Any idea who  she is and which project?
Sanjay: Oh.. I get it now... so whats cooking sir??? And why are you so reluctant in asking this to me? This is not the first time you are doing this??
Kaushik: No dude.. I feel this is something different. I have never missed anyone. But now, I am missing her very much though I don't even know who she is!!! I have never been through this kind of feeling!!
Sanjay: This is it!! you are locked my dear friend.... this is how it starts. You idiot.. remember how you were in college. Because of you, even I refrained from talking to gals..

and they talked talked talked in the cafeteria for more than an hour...

A week passed by, she came to office. Kaushik saw her during lunch and he was totally relieved. He seemed a happy man and winked at Sanjay who turned back and noticed her. Sanjay grinned too! Kaushik began his research work. He had a few spies (close pals) who tipped him wherever they saw his girl. Within a few hours, he got to know her name "VARSHA" and that she worked in a project which was in the next building. He also managed to gather some more information regarding her native place, current place of stay and other details.

Since Kaushik was a developer, he had no personal life or time for it. Even then he used to think about her at least twice a day. Sometimes due to work, he used to miss his lunch. Even in that case, his loyal spies called him up from cafeteria the moment they spotted her. The news of her presence was of great importance to him! Time flied very fast, he completed a year in the corporate world but had not spoken a word to her. After a long thought, he decided to take this feeling to the next level i.e, approaching her and opening up the matter. He asked his sister's suggestion regarding this and she was extremely happy to note that her bro could love someone!! for she know him as a stiff person.

For this he consulted Sanjay the very next day in Sanjay's apartment (Sanjay's family was out of station). He told Sanjay about his thoughts. Sanjay, basically no different than Kaushik who had no idea about girls or for that matter who hates Love related movies suddenly transformed to a LOVE DOCTOR! He started pouring in advices in support of Love. He said to Kaushik " Dude, this is the sweetest thing to have happened to you. Dont miss it. Go to her and open up the matter. There is nothing to lose" Our hero Kaushik got boosted with each sentence of support from his friend. Kaushik was well aware that Sanjay didn't know anything about love nor had he experienced it, yet the strong words of support from him made Kaushik feel better!

Day1:
Kaushik got up early and got dressed in his favorite dress with an idea to propose to Varsha. He met Sanjay at office early in the morning. Sanjay gave him a thumbs up and a warm smile.The plan was to meet Varsha at the cafeteria at 4pm (that's when she comes for a tea break) and take her for a coffee. Things were set... the clock ticked 3:30. Kaushik was very nervous. He went to the restroom at such frequent intervals that the security personnel asked him if he was alright!
3:45PM... there came Mr. Prakash (Kaushik's manager)

Prakash:   Hey buddy... nice shirt!
Kaushik : (Mind voice --> Ayyayo.... why is this clown talking to me now!) Hey Prakash.. thanks!
Prakash  : There is a big customer end defect which needs to be resolved ASAP. Our higher level managers are focusing on this defect and have committed to the client to have this solved by End of today. Since you were involved in the development of that module, I am assigning it to you. I'll be right back in ur seat to give you a briefing... Get started my boy!
Kaushik : Was almost in tears.. (Mind voice --> Holy shit.. my first important step in life... cut short  even before start)

So the plan was OFF officially. Kaushik enjoyed the rest of the day with his manager beside him. He worked till 1AM and as promised he delivered the defect and then went home early in the morning.
The next few days were also hectic and hence he didn't plan for the next encounter date.

Day20:
Yet another busy day. It was 8:30pm.. he had to stay late that day too.. hence he went to the cafeteria to have dinner with Sanjay. They were discussing about a lot of things when suddenly Sanjay spotted Varsha there. He alerted Kaushik at once. They eavesdropped what Varsha and co were talking about and got to know that every Thursday she stayed back late in the night to attend a client call. He listened carefully and took down yet another point in his database. He was not ready to propose since he was not prepared. The day went by.....

Lots of days ran by the way.... Kaushik made several attempts in between which failed due to some reason or the other. Kaushik and Varsha made regular eye contacts almost everyday but it didn't proceed further.He proposed to Sanjay (trial run) at least 100 times. Sanjay was kinda agitated.

Day45:
Sanjay: Dei dog.... This is the 100th proposal you are proposing to me!! Even my enemy shouldn't   undergo this kinda torture!!!
Kaushik : No tension dude.. you are my only friend.... where will I go and do all these? besides, I am trying hard.. its just that I don't have the courage to face her.. all my plans go down the drain the moment I see her eyes. I get a feeling as though I am in front of the Board examination hall and I haven't prepared at all!
Sanjay : I am tired of all these stories from you dude.. If you aren't able to do it, leave it to me.. I'll    talk to her on your behalf. Think how you were during college days, you'll get courage.
Kaushik : No No.. that is not nice.. wat will she think of me... wait da.. I'll do it... dont worry..

A few more days passed by.... nothing progressed. Kaushik kept gazing at her and a few more eye contacts happened.

Day60:
Kaushik got up early and prayed to the Lord "God.. please please please... make this happen. This is the best thing to happen in my life. We'll be a great pair.... This would be the biggest help if you make it happen.. please..."

God thinks--> Ada paavigala... I wonder how many wishes you guys have.... 

1. While in Tenth Standard, asked me to PASS u in Mathematics paper and you said that would be     the best thing to happen in ur life... I DID,

2. While in College, you asked me to convince your Dad so that he buys a bike for you.

     You said the same thing.. that this would be the best thing to happen... I DID

3. Then you wanted a job after finishing college and said the same dialog.. I DID.

4. Now, this... I wonder how many times you would ask me for "ONE LAST TIME" and

    "BIGGEST HELP" favours!

It was around 10pm... Kaushik stayed late as he had some work. Sanjay had left early.
Kaushik was in the cafeteria to finish his dinner. He was alone and lost in his own thoughts. Suddenly... somebody patted him on his back... He turned back and to his surprise it was Varsha!!! He started choking.. she gave some water and sat beside him in the same table. After a few minutes, he was back to normal. He didn't speak anything though, since he was still in a state of shock.
She started talking..

Varsha: Hi Kaushik...
Kaushik : (Mind voice --> How did she know my name!! anyways, that's not important) Hey Varsha..
V : So, wassup.. I have been seeing you for a few days.. you seem to exhibit a weird behavior!!
K : Weird behavior?? How do I take that?? is that a compliment or something?
V : I mean, u seem to be lost in ur own thoughts.. thats y asked.
K : Hmm.. ya.. hectic work.. what to do! So what are you doing here at this time??
V : Well,. we have client meetings every Thursday.. So I leave late.
K : (Mind voice --> Ohh.. ya.. I know that :D giggles... Machi... please open up the matter.. Don't waste this chance.... there is no one around.. use it to the fullest)
V : Hey.. what happened??? Didn't I tell you that you get lost very often?? This was also one such      kind... Anyways... tell it soon.. I got to go...
K : Tell what?? I don't understand.. (nervousness started to grip him)
V : Tell what you have been trying to tell for the past 2 months!!!
K : Wat!! (He badly wanted to use the restroom... nervousness at its best) started stammering..
V : Come on Kaushik.. I know everything. I found it out long back.. the moment we had a few eye    contacts.. I was expecting you to open it up!! You didn't... even now its me doing the talking. 
K : (Mind voice --> Singing Ilayaraaja songs... yaaaaayyyyy!!!) Ya Varsha.. You guessed it right...      I have not been myself for the past few days. Your thoughts make me go crazy.. Off late I have      lost concentration in work also. I have been trying hard to tell this to you.. but somehow was not able to....I LOVE YOU!!
V:  Me too!!

Hurray.... he screamed... since not many were there in the cafeteria, no one noticed.
He held her hand and said he is extremely happy.. and that he loves her sincerely.
It was 11pm.. they were still in the office. The talked talked and talked.. He then dropped her at a place near her Working women's hostel.. ensured she went in without any problem and then left the place. He narrated the entire story to his close pals and declared "Yes, I am in Love"
Sanjay was very happy for him and gave him another set of free advices asking him to be careful while roaming out with her.

Days passed... their love deepened and were truely made for each other.
On a full moon night, in beach Kaushik told Varsha... "Love makes life beautiful"
They smiled and hugged each other..........

Bye for now,
Kailash

December 26th... as it happened.

December 25th, Chennai

It was 9:30 pm on a Saturday night. Ashwin had already hit the bed. Usually college students don't go to bed as early as 9:30, and that too on a Saturday night, it seldom happens. Well, the reason was, Ashwin usually plays cricket in the weekends. This week, he along with his friends, decided to play cricket on a Sunday morning in the beach coz it had been a long time since they played cricket there. Since Marina beach was quite far from his home, he had hit the bed early with strategies in his mind to open the batting for his team the next day. He was an all rounder, but lately his batting performance had dropped.So, he wanted to prove a point to his pal Krish who constantly kept criticizing him every now and then!

So, as per plan Ashwin got up at 5:30am, wore his team jersey and took his bat and stumps. His mom got up much earlier to give him a glass of milk and banana so that he doesn't leave without having anything.
After he had the milk, he said to his mom.. "Maa.. Today is gonna be great, we are gonna play in the beach after a long time. I am mentally prepared to bat well so that Krish stops making fun of me!!"
His mom smiled gently and said "Ok, dear.. be careful, don't play near the water.. After the match, bring Krish home... its been long since he came here. Let's have lunch at our place today. Don't be very late coz am gonna ask Appa to wait for you guys to have lunch"

So, Ashwin waved his hands to his mom and set off to his friend's place from where they will head to the beach. Meanwhile, Ashwin called Krish to check if he was awake. (Krish is a guy who is always late.. be it any occasion). To his surprise, Krish was awake and told him that he'll be there in the beach by 6:30am sharp.

Ashwin and his friends arrived at the beach and it was very pleasant out there. It was December and hence mornings were quite cold in Chennai. Chennai has only 3 seasons viz. HOT, HOTTER and HOTTEST. December is an exception where the mercury doesn't rise beyond 25 degree C. On that day, it was around 20 degree C and was a perfect weather to play with the Sun still thinking whether to come out or take a day off!! A lot of people were already present there for their routine activities. Be it the laughter therapy... where old people gather together and laugh at themselves for hours together or be it the kids playing cricket and football or the joggers who were regular visitors!!

All his friends assembled except for Krish. So without waiting further, they started playing. Ashwin, as per his plan opened the batting and played very well. With each boundary he scored, he could hear a distant applause by a Police troop who were doing their daily fitness routine. Each time they made a sound, Ashwin thought it was for his fine batting display (though in actual, the young policemen were encouraging each other after each session of Karate!!)

The thought that Krish wasn't present to see him play was still running at the back of his mind. Yet he didn't let that thought disturb his concentration. They played, played and played till around 8:15am.
Since almost all of them were tired, they took a break for 30 mins after which they decided to play a couple of more matches till 10:30 or 11am. During the break, Ashwin was constantly trying to reach Krish, but he didn't pick up the call. After a few tries, Krish's mom picked up the call and said he left home thirty minutes back but forgot to carry his mobile phone. Ashwin was annoyed... Firstly because Krish was late by almost 2 hours and secondly, Krish missed the match where Ashwin was the star performer.As they were discussing the happenings of the previous match, something weird happened!

The water in the sea receded by a good distance. They didn't know what happened as it was the first time some one ever saw sea water retreating. Not only Ashwin and his team, but all the people present in the beach were astonished!! They went close to the water to check out different types of stones, pebbles and other creatures which they had never seen before. Approximately, the water had gone back by about 800 metres.

Within seconds, a huge... very huge wave struck the coast with a great speed! Though most of the people saw the wave approaching them from quite a distance, they couldn't run to safety since such was the speed of the wave and moreover, everyone were shell shocked to see the happenings and hence they didn't know how to react when they saw the wave coming. Ashwin and his team were no exception. All of them were swept away towards the road.

This entire episode didn't last for more than 15 minutes. Though Ashwin didn't lose his conscience, he was still in a state of shock. He wasn't even able to recollect what had happened. His leg was hurt badly and most of his body parts were bruised. Some how, he managed to get himself in one piece and stood up almost a kilometre away from the shore. Only then did he realise, the wave swept him across for a kilometre!Slowly, he moved towards the water even though he wasn't sure if things were fine.

Gradually, those who survived the bizarre incident started waking up at their respective places and sounds of people crying were getting louder. The Fire department personnel and other Disaster recovery teams had arrived at the spot within 30 minutes of this incident. Ashwin was excited when he saw a couple of his friends. They met, but didn't talk for long as they wanted to help out people who were trapped in between uprooted trees and broken boats. So they departed in different directions and took part in the rescue operations.

Suddenly, something disturbed Ashwin. It was a red coloured T-shirt which was very familiar to him.
He inched closer to the person who was lying on the ground wearing this T-shirt. WTH!!!! Ashwin had his heart in his mouth when he found that it was Krish who was lying. His body started shivering and eyes full of tears. Other people who saw Ashwin crying, came to help him and they carried Krish away from the spot. Ashwin followed the rescue team till the ambulance where the doctor's were giving first aid to the affected people. On his way, he saw the bodies of three young policemen who were practising karate just a few minutes before!! Ashwin started choking... he started feeling giddy.. but still he held himself strong and kept following the people carrying Krish.

Upon reaching the doctor's camp, Krish was taken inside the ambulance for check-up. Ashwin prayed to the almighty like he had never done before. All he wanted was Krish... This was the only thought running in his mind. After ten minutes, doctors came out of the ambulance with a tired look. Ashwin upon seeing this got more tensed... Even before he could ask the doctors, he saw Krish's body being unloaded off the ambulance, clad in a white cloth..... That was the last thing Ashwin could remember. He immediately fainted and was admitted to a nearby hospital.

The entire city was in bits and pieces.... A lot of sad faces here and there, it was only then that many came to know of the word TSUNAMI... Ashwin regained his conscious after 7 hours. He saw his mom and dad beside him. The first question that came out of his mouth was "What happened to Krish?" His mom started weeping... his dad asked him to take rest and not strain too much. His friends who were around him couldn't hide the matter anymore. One of them said "Krish is no more"

Ashwin was shattered.. he was lost in thoughts... didn't say a word for the next one hour. His parents were by his side, but they knew Ashwin's state of mind.. they respected his silence, and didn't speak.
The next 3-4 days were the most hardest days of Ashwin's life. He was bed-ridden, had nothing to do. His mind was wandering around Krish. He counted each and every second they spent together. He regretted the small fights which they often had. Ashwin's mom was equally sad coz she knew the level of bonding these two had. Moreover she considered Krish as her own family member.

A week passed by, Ashwin was discharged. He went to the beach straight along with his mom and dad. He recollected each and every frame of that horrible day. He walked passed the area where he saw Krish lying.
His heart was filled with nostalgia. As people say,  Friendship touches a new level during college life. Ashwin and Krish were friends since their school days and hence their relationship was all the more strong. But no one can beat destiny. This is one thing which he learnt the harder way.
From then on, Ashwin was a different person all together. He respected each and every friend he had, helped everyone whenever needed. He realised that ego, anger and other traits that one shows is not gonna last long. Life is too short to spend time on unwanted things. He got transformed to a very calm, and easy go person!

Even today, Ashwin visits the beach without fail every year on the 26th of December. He is one among the thousands of others who lost their loved ones on that day! He visited Krish's house regularly and helped his parents whenever time premitted. He took them out for dinner and invited them to his house on a regular basis. Afterall, Ashwin is now the only son for Krish's parents........

Bye for now,
Kailash

Sri Lanka Cricket!

I am pretty sure, all my non-cricket loving friends would have backed off after seeing the title!!
I thank the few who have made it till here.

This blog is about Cricket!! but not about Indian cricket, instead it is about cricket in Sri Lanka!!
Yes, for me, Sri Lanka is very close to my heart when I say cricket :)
As people throughout the globe say, cricket in the sub-continent is a religion and for many, Sachin is god!I don't blame anyone for this, coz that was how we were brought up... Cricket and Cinema are like the veins and the arteries of our life!

Cricket is in fact regarded as total waste of time by most of the ladies coz their counterparts don't spare even the highlights of a match played a decade ago (I am no exception here). Whenever a match is being telecast, be it live or a repeat, all cricket lovers watch it with great interest as if no more matches will be telecasted in future!

I remember very well, it was the summer holidays of 1995 when cable connection was given to my house. Like all, I was excited about the programmes in all channels (particularly sports channels)
Since in India, sports is very synonymous with Cricket, I too started watching/playing cricket at that stage.In 1996, came the Cricket World Cup which was jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. What more could you ask for!!

My love for this beautiful game started then. Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana opened the batting for the mighty Lankans. It was they who discovered the art of slog hitting in the powerplays (0 - 15 overs). The likes of Sehwag, Chris Gayle and other hard hitters were highly inspired by these two Lankans who made batting look so easy during the initial overs. At the time when all the teams struggled to get past 60 odd runs in the initial 15 overs, Sri Lanka raced past the 100 run mark easily in almost all the games!

My love towards the game as well as Sri Lankan cricket team got stronger day by day as the World Cup progressed. Like India, cricket is the most popular sport in Lanka as well. In fact, this game was more than just a sport for the Lankans in the sense, ceasefire was announced by the LTTE when Sri Lanka qualified for the finals of 1996 as well as 2007 World Cups. Cricket united the people of Sri Lanka irrespective of their background!!

During the 2007 World Cup finals, the entire Nation took to the streets supporting their team forgetting all the bomb blasts and other extremists activities which were very common then. Muthaiah Muralidaran was the lone tamilian in the team and was treated with great respect! I would say, it is because of cricket that the world knows Sri Lanka. Till the early 90's they were regarded as underdogs... The entire team showed great character to straighten things during the 96 World cup and went on th win it!!! (Of course they had a few chances, but still for a team of their stature, a world cup victory is something great!!)

I have many times been regarded as unpatriotic for the reason I don't support team India!
I wonder how is patriotism related to, me not supporting the national team in a sport!! Especially when there is an Indo-SL match, it is very hard for me to enjoy the game at home! Every now and then, my mom keeps asking me "what on earth made you support such an useless team!!". When an Indian batsman gets out, I scream in joy...for which I get the right dues from my entire family :) I am quite used to it now.....

What made me like the team was the spirit shown by the players both on and off the field. They were repeatedly targetted at home by the LTTE and were viciously attacked in Pakistan!! and to top it all, they weren't paid their salary for more than a year. After 2011 world cup, none of the players have received their salary in full till date. Now tell me, how many Indian cricketers do you think would continue playing for the country without salary??? They would retire from all forms of national commitment and concentrate more on the IPL and Big Bash and other cash rich leagues!!


I felt very bad for the Lankans when they lost the World cup finals in Mumbai. In 2007 WC finals, it was totally one sided. The Australians had total control of the match and hence I didn't feel much after Sri Lanka's loss. But this time, the game was pretty close. I was in cloud nine when Sachin and Sehwag were dismissed early. But full credit to Gambhir and Dhoni who took things under their arms and finished off the game. The last six off Dhoni's bat was one hell of a moment for me :(( Entire India rejoiced, but I could not bear to watch the desperation and sadness filled in the eyes of Sangakkara and co... I felt really bad.. but then, thats life.. you can't always win.


The recent speech given by Sangakkara at the "ICC Cowdrey Lecture" was very inspirational!!
As you read through the transcript, One can realise the pain and sacrifice the people of Sri Lanka have made to keep their National cricket team motivated. No wonder, the speech earned him laurels from all the greats of this game! His speech went on to show how cash rich boards like the BCCI influence the decisions made by other minnow cricket boards like "Sri Lanka cricket" and a few others. Afterall, its all about money.
 Cricket nowadays is a business!!

The recent Test match victory against the South Africans was a great feeling to me. Though the series was lost, first win on South Africal soil that too at this point of time when the Lankans are in deep financial trouble was a much needed relief!! I was elated until the start of the third test match where they were beaten comprehensively by the RUN MACHINE --> KALLIS (another man i admire!!)

 SRI LANKA: I admire every bit of cricket in you. Go on.. The current transition phase will soon be over. We are right behind you to share the sorrows and cherish the success!!! My support to you is absolutely unconditional. Come whatmay, I'll always remain your fan :)

Note: I am not against the Indian cricket team and am not stating that Sri Lanka is the best cricket playing nation. I just wanted to convey the affection I have for this team!!
Indian/Other teams cricket fans... am sorry if I had hurt your feelings in anyway! 

Bye for now,
Kailash (Die hard SL cricket fan)

Mumbai Connection!!!

Mumbai!!! What is it that strikes you when you come across the word "Mumbai"???
For some it is Bollywood, for some it is road side chaat shops and for some it is ugly/crowded,
and for all south Indians (at least for Tamils down south), it is "Bomb Blasts!!!".

But for me, Mumbai is always special!! The prime reason being, my uncle settled down there a decade ago and I used to visit his place during my annual holidays. So, right from my childhood, Mumbai has always been quite close to me!!

The day when school re-opens after vacation, teacher used to ask all the students one by one as to where they had been for vacation. It was a great pride for me to tell thet I had been to Mumbai!! Since most of the other students hadn't been to places outside Tamil Nadu, they considered any place above Chennai as North India!

Things went by well and I finished my schooling and college as well. By God's grace (defenitely Yes!!), I got an offer with TCS. I joined with great joy and on the final day of my training, we were asked to choose the base locations where we wanted to work. There were around 7-8 cities in the list, each city having 4-5 vacancies. Only Chennai and Mumbai had close to 20.

I had a discussion with my friends and decided we'll choose a place where there is more vacancy so that we all can be together. So Chennai was obviously our first choice and Mumbai we listed as second. After choosing, we all dispersed quietly to our respective place of stay (company provided accomodation)

It was about 7pm, there came an announcement from one of my colleagues that the base branches were allocated to all. I immediately rushed to check my luck. By the time I could see mine, there were people already dancing in joy coz, they got Chennai (Out of 250 trainees, 248 were Tamils. So our first choice was certainly Chennai for all except 2 who were from North India). At last, I saw my allocation half heartedly....
Guess what!! it was MUMBAI!!

The first 5 minutes after I knew this, I was quite dull thinking how to survive sans family. How can I survive without my mom's delicious food! 10 minutes went by, I saw couple of other dull faces. I was relieved since I had some company. My close pals also got Mumbai as their base branches which made me feel happy!

I said to myself... Mumbai... here we come!!!

The D-Day came, I reached Chennai Airport (Not to see off someone, this time I was travelling). I was really excited about my first flight! After an awesome 1.5 hrs, we reached Mumbai... Like all others say, the moment we stepped out of the flight, a blow of rotten egg like stinking air gushed past us! But the Mumbai excitement was still in us, so it didn't bother us much.

I was the only one who knew Hindi among the 4 of us who landed there (I thank my dad till date for having selected Hindi as my second languaue in school). My cousin had come to receive us in the airport. We had to report for duty in Thane. The airport is very far from there. Hence we decided to stay in a hotel close to the office in Thane. Based on my cousin's advise, we boarded a local train from Kurla.

Even today, I wonder how we managed to get into the train with big big baggages on that day!! All the people inside the train were abusing us for blocking the aisle with our luggages. They were abusing us in Marathi which none of us knew. My friends kept asking me the meaning thinking it was Hindi... It was only then did I realise that Marathi was also spoken in Mumbai!! I was under the impression that with hindi we can manage.

Time went by, it was more than a month since we were in Mumbai. I considered myself an expert in Mumbai local train routes (mind you, it is very confusing.. there are 3 different rail lines running across the city and over a fifty stations). I could guide almost anyone with the routes. We rented a house in Thane, our office was in an area called Borivali which is about 25 kms from our home.

Thank god, we didn't have to travel by train to office. We had regular government buses plying between Thane and Borivali. But getting a seat in the bus was a challenge. Somehow, we got used to it and were slowly getting accustomed to the fast paced life there!!

Morning breakfast was mostly vadapav or puneri misal or kanda poha... until a year when an idli shop was opened close to our office. Night dinner was mostly at home where we cooked rice and some vegetable with rasam and curd. One big advantage of self cooking is that however bad the taste is, we ll still enjoy the dish! But my friend was a great cooker ( I mean, he cooks well :P ) so we didn't have any problems at all!!

Life in Mumbai is really fast!! Usually, the trend is Mon-Fri are very slow and Sat-Sun passes by in a jiffy.
But in Mumbai, all 7 days pass by in a jiffy.. I still remember the day when I first stepped into office. Time ran so fast that I completed 2.5 years in Mumbai!!

Be it in office or outside, Mumbai ppl are broad minded. They all are very social and friendly. I am not saying, ppl in other parts of the country are not broad minded, This was just my observation. They do what they feel like doing. I rate this quality very high, which is why I like the city very much!

Be it midnight or early mornning 4am, you can be rest assured about the the transporation in Mumbai. You'll certainly find some mode of transport to reach any part of the city round the clock. Mumbai is truely the city that never sleeps!

You can find people from all parts of the country in Mumbai. Matunga is one such area where you can find tamil speaking people more that hindi/marathi. I was taken by surprise to see shops in Matunga having sign boards in Tamil!! I felt at home whenever I was in Matunga.. be it the food or the people around me or the movies at Aurora Theater (An old theater in the heart of the city where all Tamil films are screened)
Point to be noted: When Enthiran was released in Aurora theater, local Tamil people there, poured over 100 litres of milk on the 40 feet high Super Star cut-out!

The characcter the people portray during Ganesh Chathurthi and Gokulashtami (Lord Krishna's b'day)
is just mind blowing. You can find people from all parts of the city dancing and rejoicing in the streets with music. I have never seen any other city celebrate a festival together in this manner!!

The respect they have towards Chattrapathi Sivaji gives me chills down the spine!! The traditional marathis (hard to find in Mumbai though) are ardent followers of this ruler and have strict values in life which they follow everyday. But it is really sad to see that Mumbai having more immigrants that localites which thereby results in Hindi being spoken more than Marathi just like how kannada is also being forgotten in Bengaluru.
Anyways, there are enough political parties to take care of these issues :) :)

There are many Malls in Chennai also, but I was not fascinated by them. I used to think what is the purpose of spending time in malls when you have so many other places around. I was proven wrong by Phoenix Mall and Oberoi Mall in Lower Parel and Goregaon respectively!! OMG... really stunning malls... you can pass an entire day there!!

Things were fine and days were beautiful.. spending time with friends/roomies/colleagues was always great. After 2.5 years of stay in Mumbai, I decided to shift my base back to Chennai so that I can spend time with my family. The last day in Mumbai came by.. two of my roomies accompanied me to the airport. I said bye to this beautiful city as I boarded the plane. Although I was happy about reaching Chennnai, the aerial view of Mumbai made me shed 2 drops of tears :) I am really gonna miss this place for sure!!

Looking forward to visit the Financial capital of India again!!

Bye for now!
Kailash