IPL5: An Informal Overview

Watching SET MAX was a part of my daily routine for past 2 months. Even if Indian Premiere League is over, my fingers automatically press that channel’s number in my remote control. It’ll take time to get rid of that hangover though I should say that the craze for this domestic limited edition cricket game has reduced compared to last five seasons. However IPL season 5 has created a lot of controversies. Check out a few thoughts of mine regarding IPL5 (some points may be crazy; all that I write here is my own views):

1. Autocracy Ends:
   When Chennai Super Kings somehow entered the playoffs, everyone predicted CSK is going to be the champions of IPL5. But Kolkata Knight Riders won the title in an exciting finish. My first reaction in Facebook about the KKR’s victory was: “Autocracy ends… IPL6 will start and stop at Eden Gardens”.
2. Shahrukh’s Showoffs:
   While watching the final itself, I told my brother that Shahrukh Khan’s braggers will be on its peak if his team wins. Like my prediction, Shahrukh was running through the ground blabbering too much whenever he got a mike. Cameras were behind him to get his comments and actions. One thing has to be admitted, he is a good entertainer.
3. Actors, the owners:
   Apart from the performance, some teams in IPL had a little more attention because of being star owned franchises. Yet the Bollywood team owners acted bossy many times taking away the glamour. We saw Preity Zinta arguing with umpire and SRK misbehaving at ground staff that resulted in a ban for him in Mumbai Cricket Stadium.
4. Match fixing and other controversies:
   IPL too couldn’t escape from the trap of match fixing. Five players Shalabh Shrivastava, T.P. Sudhindra, Mohnish Mishra, Amit Yadav and Abhinav Bali were suspended after a TV channel came up with a sting operation. Again, two cricketers from Pune Warriors, Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell were arrested for using drugs in a party. Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Luke Pomersbach was arrested for molesting a foreign lady.
5. Lalit Modi and his tweets:
   Reading the tweets of former IPL Chairman criticizing anything and everything about IPL served as a good past time for me.
6. Business everywhere:
   In this game, six is called DLF maximum and catches are Karbon Kamal catches. You can see every player covered with logos of many brands all around his outfits. Owned by MNCs, IPL teams and players are simply slaves of these companies. They throw away players who don’t perform well and choose only those who can bring profit to their ‘businesses’.
7. Shoot females:
   I observed that this time camera mainly searched for female faces among the audience. Also, the dresses of cheer girls are getting shorter and shorter. Although Pune Warriors India tried to give traditional touch to the cheerleaders, it was awkward to see them playing break dance in Mohinyattam costume.
8. Fair Play Award:
   Rajasthan Royals lead by Rahul Dravid won the Fair Play Award. The decision to choose this team is appreciated by all as the skipper himself is the perfect example of decency.
9. Decreasing newsworthiness:
   I am really surprised to see that the space given for IPL in news paper and channels have reduced drastically.
10. Rising stars:
    In spite of all drawbacks, IPL still is the best platform for regional players to shine and show their top performance. Players like MuralI Vijay of CSK made his entry directly to national team after his brilliant performance in IPL.
11. Colonial Twist:
    The scene of international players respecting Indian National Anthem on the final day of IPL made me think in a new way. Once we were forced to respect and accept colonial way of life. Now they are coming to us for knowing the ethnic culture of the country although it is in the name of cricket.
12. Unity in Diversity:
    Kevin Pietersen and Mahela Jayawardane who played against each other ferociously for their national teams just before the IPL, batted together for Delhi Daredevils. That is the unity of IPL which makes it special and popular unlike other games.

Enlighten Thoughts from Mookambika

Last weekend I visited Kollur Mookambika Temple. This South Indian pilgrimage centre is a popular choice for both tourists as well as devotees. Devi Mookambika is the goddess of knowledge. But what I sensed there was something different. The small town (or should I address it as a village) near the Kudajadri Hills is a location blessed with a wonderful greenery. Unlike the temples of Kerala, Kollur permits everyone without any discrimination in the name of religion or gender.

I felt Mookambika temple is a venue to present your talents before others. More than a place of worship, it is a location to meditate and unwind. One of the peculiarities I observed here is that the visitors/devotees are so relaxed. Rarely did I spot people hurrying up to get back home. In spite of all these positives, lack of hygiene disappointed me. Tourists dump all wastes in that beautiful place making the village and the holy Souparnika River spiteful.

Again, I feel I perceive things in a completely different way. Even when I visited Kollur, what I sensed there is the power of a lady. Though it is a deity, a female is worshipped there with all respect. Men bow before that powerful lady and beg for blessings. Do I sound a bit odd? Feminism that held my thoughts and writings earlier is slowly on the way back! Oh… I deviated from the topic. I admire Mookambika as a lady of power and determination. With all the male gods boasting about their supremacy, she stays different. Situated in a silent zone, her temple provides relief for thousands of fellow human beings. However two questions remain unanswered…

• Why can’t females do pooja at least for Goddesses?
• Why is entrance restricted to ladies in that temple too during their days of menstruation? (After all, devi is also a female!)

Secondly, the chariot procession in that temple is simply awesome. Luckily, I’d witness the procession in golden chariot too. Personally I feel the royal charm it offered will beat the elephant safaris seen in other temples. Though devi also takes rounds on elephant at times, chariot processions are more important here. I am against using tuskers in temples. No God will like torturing that huge creature.

The only reason why people make elephant suffer is because it is a veggie. If it is a carnivorous, I am sure man will not dare to touch this poor thing. Also why don’t we substitute with statues of jumbos in places where the elephants are required to stand still for hours as part of rituals! After doing all the cruelties, we blame tuskers for expressing its frustrations.

Elders keep their mouths shut when I question about the irrelevance of some rituals either because they don’t have a perfect reply or they fear speaking against God (in other words against so called the rules laid by Almighty)!

Me A May Flower

What is so particular about May Flower? There are a lot of other wonderful flowers on Earth. Still I like this flower that blooms once in a year. We had a huge May Flower tree in our courtyard. The tree stay silent for 11 months without letting anyone know that it is going to present such a sweet bunch of flowers in the month of May. During our childhood days, this tree had a huge role in entertaining us. In the fifth month of the year, the whole tree will be covered with flowers hiding all the leaves. When someone looks from the lane outside, all they could see is a red cover. While walking under the shade of this tree, we feel like we are on a red carpet.

More than a tree, it was an eye-witness for every incident that happened in my family. My parents got married on May 15^th. My mom still used to say the first sight that she saw on her marriage day from the house was this tree in its royal charm. Again, I and my brother were born in May. You might be wondering why do I use ‘was’ while describing May Flower tree. Actually a few years back it was sliced off. Now a small plant remains that bloomed every May as the reminiscence of a beautiful past.

In every sense I like May just like the flower named with this month. I tried to jot down a few reasons for the same. My fondness may be because:

• Summer vacation on its peak
• Transformation of summer to autumn
• Summer showers with heavy lightning and thunder
• Aroma and sweetness of mangoes and jack fruits
• Time to get ready for school reopening (a little dislike though)
• My parents wedding anniversary
• My brother’s birthday (again May 15)
• My own birthday (May 16)

Well! I tried to hide my birth date from the post. Somehow it peeped in! Once the truth is out, I will say I am a perfect Taurean with all the positives and negatives of this zodiac sign.

Just A Filler

Another post without any point to discuss specifically… For past couple of weeks, I did not take a gap of more than one week to update my blog. This time I am posting after 10 days… There is no specific reason to do so! Yeah, one thing that made me to stop thinking of a new post is the overwhelming response for my last poem- JOKER’S SMILE. It was a poem I wrote from my heart and I never knew that many readers had the same experience. Well, this is not an article to promote my last post! 

What all happened in last 10 days? I was just thinking… Hmm! The tremor of a political murder in Calicut/Kozhikode is still discussed by Keralites as well as media. A person named TP Chandrasekharan was brutally killed by a group of people. He was a politician who left CPI (M) along with a few others to form a new party. Revolutionary Marxist Party, the new party formed by him is popular in his area. Political parties blame each other for this cruel slaughter. Whatever it is, no one has the right to take away a person’s life. Since the parties and media have made many guesses, I am not analyzing it much.

Next thing is Satyameva Jayate effect. I could see all the bloggers writing their point of view about the program hosted by Aamir Khan. Initially when I heard Aamir is anchoring a reality show my reaction was “Oh… You too”! As the reality programs have turned out to be mere show offs, I had stopped watching such puppet shows. I thought Aamir is also going to introduce yet another rubbish program. I did not even bother to check the details of the show. 

Accidentally when I switched on the TV on last Sunday, I saw Aamir’s face. Alas! I watched the whole program. Now I would advise you not to miss that program. Spend some time watching it rather than wasting your time with stupid gossips and soaps. The show is all about the social issues of India. Hats off to Aamir for doing such a fantastic presentation!

Thirdly, the first round of the IPL season 5 will be over within a few days. I support Delhi Daredevils and Pune Warriors India. There are rumors that Dada will not play the next matches and the owners of Pune have officially announced that he will be the mentor of the team from next season. Like the slogan of Ganguly supporters “Once a Gangulian, always a Gangulian”, I am a fan of Dada always.

However, this time I felt it is time for him to quit. The power of his batting is slowly vanishing. But I must say he still remains as a true leader. We will miss the Lord of Offside from season 6 onwards. Coming to the game, competition is tough and it is hard to say which team is going to take the cup!

The word count says I have typed more than 500 words. According to my own style sheet, I have crossed the word limit. Too much to read! Hope I’d shorten my next post… My village is getting ready for a summer shower. Let me join that!

PS If you came here to read a Happy Mother’s Day message, I am sorry!

Joker's Smile

 

You walked holding my hand

You cried lying on my shoulder!

We lived without caring anyone

We had our jokes to laugh!

Faces appeared and vanished

We remained the same!

Our doors were open to all

We had our own world too!

Secrets were fewer between us

Oh! That was my imagination.

You wrote a beautiful play

With me playing a joker’s role!

We won’t hold hands anymore

We can’t be friends again!

The thread of trust is broken

Still I smile at you for no reason!

Eight Tips For A Happy Life

Have you ever thought what happiness is? It is a feeling when you find a meaning and reason in life. Overall, it is performing something that offers you joy. Here are a few simple points on how to get the essence of happiness in your life:

1. Live For Yourself: Once you start living for yourself and be happy with whom you are, you will automatically start creating positive results. Even if you have to perform many roles in life, at the end you cannot be anyone else but yourself.
2. Adjust And Change: Life is not static. It is always changing and so you cannot stay the same always. Therefore, be ready to adjust with the new changes in your lifestyle and ways of thinking instead of killing time worrying.
3. Have A Happy Meal: Try to eat more happy foods that have natural mood boosting tryptophan and tyrosine. These include milk, chicken, turkey, bananas and leafy greens. There are a few stressful foods like white bread, processed foods with preservatives and coloring that has to be avoided.
4. Be Kind: Involve in a few kind activities like visiting an old couple or feeding stray animals. A kind act can make you feel better about yourself and circumstances.
5. Simplify Your Life: You cannot change your past or future! So it is pointless to worry about it. Execute things that are within your scope, strength and talent. Always remember that over achievers tend to be unsuccessful in the end. Similarly learn to say no.
6. Act Till You Feel It: When you are feeling low, try to act as joyful and soon, you will be better. Smile when you are sad. This may sound stupid but once you act so, it will make your mood better immediately.
7. Take Breaks: You are not a machine. You have a limit and when you exceed the mark, you will be in trouble. Do things like watching your favorite movie or visiting your favorite holiday spot at times to unwind yourself. Take care of your body; stress can end up in physical aches and pains.
8. Face Adversities Bravely: Never look at challenges in a negative light. Understand that only through hardships you will learn to conquer and rise above it. When you overcome it, you will be happy always.