Jingoism?..pure stupidity ?...or both?

" You've got a new message " reiterated the unknown person living in my cell phone for the umpteenth time that night. it was the same night that india has won the world cup. every new message seemed like a predictable sequel to its predecessor. The first one read " bolo bharat mata ki jai " this was followed by " jai bolo bharat mata ki " which was succeeded by " Bharat mata ki jai ". All of a sudden bharat mata was dancing on every indian lip like a long forgotten model who has hit the limelight again with a skimpy bikini shoot. and then came this message which made me a bit uneasy. " Now the whole world is at the feet of india ". For a moment the world cup win eluded me and i wondered if the sender misplaced the words " India " and the " World ". So, i looked again and read it twice before realizing that the sender has really meant what he typed. and then i sympathized with his delirium. This might be the first time that he was actually watching an Indian captain lift the world cup apart from you tubing the glorious moment from 1983.

If i had been what i was a few years ago I'd have hit back at him with an equally stupid message like " Hamara paav ke neeche yeh duniya " ( The world is underneath our feet ). Over the years i developed a rationale process of thinking.


What hit me hard in that message is its sheer arrogance in proclaiming ourselves supreme. and this would be an irritant to the ears of a person with even an ephemeral knowledge of our growth over the years. India in the 17th century accounted for 23 percent of the worlds income which was just 0.3 percent less than that of europe. and in the 50's it had come down to lees than 3.8 percent..Plundering of our wealth by the british might be one of the foremost reasons for this but these figures doesn't bring to mind someone with the world at her feet. do they??.

Let us restrict our argument to the post independent india. With the departure of british from india. people thought that would be the last anyone would ever hear of the word poverty in india. we switched to socialism and condemned the export orientation policy of the british branding it as being anti- indian. our policy makers have actually mocked neo-colonial puppets like korea, singapore and taiwan for encouraging a export oriented market and where did all this get us today?. India today has more than 320 million ( with this number increasing faster than the molecules produced in nuclear fission ) people below the poverty line which is higher than the entire population in 1947. our per capita income today is 340$. that of singapore is 27000$, korea 13000$ and taiwan 9000$. this is just the tip of the ice berg.

" So the next time you type out messages like these. stop to think twice before you hit the " send ". Not that this is an unpardonable sin but lying to ourselves about ourselves would only exacerbate the situation....

Death Bed- A Poem by Sandeep Gorrepati

I Lay There Lying On My Death Bed.


Sweet Mercy!! How My Heart Has Bled.


With a Cigarette In One Hand, And The Other Holding a Tainted Bread.


The Kite Of Happiness Cut Off From It's Thread.


Bleating Sheep In a Far Away Shed.


Footage Of My Life Playing Over And Over In My Head.


With Each Inhalation Of The Cigarette I Drew In Smoke And With Each Exhalation i Expell My Latest Breathe.


There I Lay Dying On My Bed.

Sky- A Poem

The Dope made Us All High.


There, I Was Staring At The Sky.


It Seemed Happy, Looking At The Birds Fly.



Drenched In Tears Rolling Down From It's Eyes.


I Made My Way Back Home With A Sigh!!

An Ordinary Brother Speak's His Heart Out.....

My Brother Has Made It. The King Has Finally Got What He Deserved ( Or, Is This Just The Beginning ). I've Always Basked In The Glory Of His Every Success. People ( Those Who Call Themselve's " Family " ) Have Always Spoken Low About Me Drawing Comparision's With My Brother. But Never did Any Of Those Low Remark's Made Me Feel Bad Because I've Been Compared With Him. He's The Limit You Could Ever Get Yourself Compared To And I Was More Happy About The Fact Of Being Compared Than Feeling Bad About Falling Short Of Him. Everyone Even The God Himself Fall's Short Of The Limit. He's Everything I Ever Wanted To Be.


It Was The Day Of The Eamcet Result And Everyone was Visibly Tense. My Usually Calm Dad Wasn't Just Himself That Day. He Was reluctant To Lift The Phone At the Fear Of Hearing Something Which Wouldn't Please His Ears. Slowly Unable To Digest The Excitement I Urged My Brother To Accompany Me To The Cyber Cafe ( It Was His Result And i Was making a Messy fuss ). Brother Seemed Surprisingly Calm And Lazily Accompanied Me To the Net. It Was Overcrowded, Finally I Managed To Occupy a Cabin. There We Were In a Tiny Cabin With My Heart Thudding Faster than Normal I Was Afraid It Would Burst Open Any Moment. Reluctantly We Opened the Site And I Started Typing The Ticket No ( Heart Thudding Even Faster Than Earlier ). Pressed The Enter Button And It Took a While To Display The Result, And When It Did It Took Me Sometime To Make Out the Number Displayed In The Box Entitled Rank. Finally I spelled It Out " 392 ", Followed By a Hi-Fi We Made Our Way Back Home. People Woudn't Beleive Me When I say " Parent's and Other's ( The Family ) Were Dissapointed To Know That He Was Able To Secure Only a 392. Same Was The Case With his gre Score. My Brother Wanted To Take His Gre Again Because HE Managed To Score a Meagre 1500 ( 780-MATH aND 720- VERBAL ).



Though He Troubled himself a bit Throughout His B-tech. He Has Struck Back With Vengeance ( A Part of The Family Was Happy Because He Was Falling Apart In His B.Tech ). Now Earning More Than 72,000$ (u.S) Per Year. The Brother's Destined To Acheive More.


PICTURE ABHI BAKHI HAIN MERE DOST.

CLENCH YOUR FISTS, GRIT YOUR TEETH AND HIT THEM BACK

Sledging's Been In The Flesh And Blood Of Cricket As Long As The Memory Of Einstein Could Go Back To. Although a Gentlemen Game By Nature The Temper's Have Ocasionally Risen in This Otherwise Peacefull Game Of Cricket.


1. Glenn Mcgrath Vs Edo Brandes.



Glenn Mcgrath The Spearhead Of Australian Bowling Attack For Almost a Decade And Half is Known to Have got a Razor Sharp Tongue When It Came to Sledging.

It Was a Rather Insignificant Match. The Mighty Australians Versus the Minnows Zimbabwe. Goliath Taking On David Although This Time Goliath Would Emerge As The Winner And History Would Be Reversed.

After Spitting Fire With Ball Mcgrath Thought it Was Time For Some Fire From His Tongue. He Walked Down to The End Of Striker Who Happened To Be Eddo Brandes and Exchanged Some Words " Oye Brandes, How Come You Are so Fat Bastard ". The Normally Cheerful Brandes Took Offence And Shouted At The Top Of His Voice " Everytime I Fuck Your Wife, She Gives me a Biscuit " Sending The Whole Australian Team Into Hysterics.



2. Ricky Ponting Vs Shaun Pollock.

An Australian Again!. It Was an Evenly Posed Match. The Mighty South Africans Taking On The The Almighty Australians. Having Won The Toss Not So Surprisingly On a Batsmen Friendly Wicket Rickey Ponting Choose To Bat First. But, Surprisingly Came Out To Open The Innings With Adam Gilchrist. After Losing Some Early Wickets To Pollock And Ntini. Ponting Was Batting On a Carefull Note. Pollock On The Other End made The Most Of It And was Bowling At His Bloody Best. After One Such Maiden Over Most Of Which Went Untouched To The Keeper. Pollock Walked Over To Ponting To Have a Chat " It's Red, Round And Weighs About Five Ounces Hope You See It This Time ". And The Next Time Pollock Came To Bowl, Ponting sent the Ball Flying Out Of The Ground And This Time It Was Ponting's Turn To Have a Chat " Now, As You Know How It Look's Go Find It ". Never Take On The Australians Mate Atleast Verbally.



3. Merv Hughes Vs Vivian Richards.


Shit Man An Australian Yet Again!!!. There's Something Wrong With The Australians Or The Rest Of The World.

This Time It's The Almighty Windies Against The Foul Mouthed Mighty Australian's. Viv Richard's Was Known For His Deadly Stare. Everytime a Bowler Acheives Some Success Against Him, The Bowler's Treated To His Deadly Stare. But This Time Merv Hughes The Heavy Built Moustached Australian Quickie Seemed To Have Developed a Similar Habit Of Staring. A Visibly Irritated Vivian Walked Down To Him And Spoke These Word's " This is My Island, These Are My People And My Culture. In My Culture You Don't Stare. You Just Bowl ". Later In The Match After Trapping Richards In Front Of The Wicket Merv Hughes Was Beleived To Have Said " In My Culture We Just Say FUCK OFF ".

The Witty Side Of Cricket.

Just Can't Stop Myself From Writing About Cricket After Putting Down The Seventh Consecutive Book About Cricket To Rest. Here Below Are Some Of The Most Memorable Quotes.


1. Richie Benaud.


Richie Benaud ( The Most Celebrated Australian Leg Spinner And Charismatic Commentator ). The Introduction is Purely Unnecessary Because There Wouldn't Be a Cricket Loving Soul Ignorant Of The Name ( Deekshith kasyap? ).

Boycot and Benaud Were Discussing About The Future Of Test Cricket In an Era Dominated by The Twenty Over Game. Boycott Expressing His Deep Regret Over The Possible Extinction Of the Long Form Of Game Indicated That Cricketing Fans All Over Who Have been Overdosed With Twenty Over Format May Gain Interest In the Long Form By Cutting Down The Customary Five Days Into Four. He Also Pointed Out That Many Test Matches Even Those Played In The Ashes Are Turning Out To Be an Extreme Bore To Watch. Richie Benaud All The While Listening With Rapt Attention Turned To The Camera and Spoke These Memorable Word's " WHO MADE THEM BORING GEOFFY? ".


For Those Of You Who Haven't Got a Clue About Boycott's Cricketing Days. Here's a Small Portrayal. Boycott Also Known As The Most Selfish And Boring Englishman To Have Ever Played Cricket Once Opened The Innings For England In a Test Match Against West Indies And Went On To Play The Five Day Duration Of The Test And Thus Becoming The Only Batsman To Have Played All Through The Duration Of a Test Match. There's Nothing More Valuable To Boycott Than His Wicket. " He Used To Guard His Wicket As Though His Entire Life Depended On It " Spoken By an Old Surrey Team Mate Of Boycott.



2. A Spectator Watching The 1938 Ashes Clash.


As Legend Has It, The Story Has Been Told And Retold But The Authenticity Is Doubted.


A Fifty Year Old Man Left His House On The Second Day Of an Ashes Test To Watch Len Hutton Live in The Lords. He Told His Wife and Fouteen Year Old Son That He Would Come Home Late. In The Afternnon His Fourteen Year Old Son Came Running And Conveyed a Bad News " Dad, Mom's gone With The Butcher. I'm Sorry To Tell You This ". And The Father Replied " Dont Be Sorry Son, I've Got a Terrible News For You. Len Hutton's Just Been Bowled By That Jardine Fellow".



3. Ian Botham On Gatting.


Mike Gatting, The Former Captain Of England Was Recently Honoured ( Mocked? ) By Wisden AS The Most Obese Sportsman in the History Of The Game.


While In His Tenure As The Captain of England Cricket Team Gatting Once Faced Charges Of Sexually Assaulting a Bar Maid. The English Team Stood By It's Captain All Through The Length Of The Hearing. Ian Botham Made This Memorable Statement In Support Of His Captain

" Anything Gatty Takes Upto His Room After Nine, He Eats. And The Bar maid's Still Alive, Isn't She? ". The Charges Were Dropped Soon After And Gatting Started From Where He Left As The captain Of England.