More weather updates from Kanpur

Weather wise the situation didn't improve today. The afternoons are infernal. I had to go out today at 3 in the afternoon for some friend's work. And it was hot as hell. However, there were some trees along the way. So most of the time I was walking under their shade and then running when directly under the sun. Trees really are important. We had been studying this since eternity. I remember writing few essays during the school time about it. But we do tend to forget it every now and then. But today I got the reminder. I remember my childhood days. We used to go to our native place(Kuchaman city, Rajasthan) during the summer breaks. We have a huge neem tree at the backside of our house. Its even taller than our two story house. In the afternoons and in fact for most part of the day, there used to be no electricity. So we just used to sit under its shade. After coming into the college, I don't go there often now. Last time I went there 2 years back. But I still remember that tree clearly. We used to sleep on the roof at night. At the night time also it used to make us aware of its presence. If there was a breeze, then you could hear its leaves rustling. And if there was no breeze, we used to just lay there, battling with the mosquitoes, cursing the tree, wondering why it isn't blowing. The evening was humid today. So even a bath today didn't provide any relief. Its a very dangerous combo. Heat and humidity. I didn't even like the touch of my own body. I just sat there, ensuring that no part of my body touch other. I think that if it remains this much humid for a day or two, then we can expect some rain. For the time being, just praying to the rain gods.

Summers

Its just getting hotter and hotter in Kanpur. The afternoons are really getting unbearable. You feel hot with clothes. You feel hot without clothes. And with so much of hot air that it circulates, sometimes I feel like switching the fan. But there is this trade off between hot circulating air and sweaty body. So I let the hot air win. And as soon as you get outside the room you can just feel hot air gushing. All I feel like is drinking water and bathing. By the way, I have starting bathing 2-3 time a day daily. Courtesy, these summers.

We have a centrally cooled library, but I really don't like going there. First of all, you have to go there in that hot afternoon. Then you cant listen to music there which is kind of frustrating for me. Then you have to sit on a chair all the time. You just cant lie down there, something which I do every half an hour. And then there is that coming-out-of-library phase. The temperature difference feels so glaring that you start wondering why you went inside at the first place.

Its getting difficult to sleep for long duration at a time. Even the bed feels hot most of the time. Many a times, I just wake up due to sweat. I cant even sleep late in the morning nowadays. And I just cant sleep earlier at night. So you can see the problem there. Although this time, we are at least living on the ground floor. In our second year, we had to spend the whole summers on that top floor. And that was really dreadful. Although, there were many of my wing mates with me at that time. So it just used to be fun. This is something that I am missing this time round.

I am really looking forward to monsoon. I just love monsoons. The smell of the earth before the rain falling, all the guys coming outside their rooms to enjoy that shower, the light drizzle that you can feel on your face when you are under a shade, the raindrops hitting you like pebbles when you are under the sky. At home there used to be added attraction of Pakoda-Chatni. India really is an incredible place. We have food for every occasion. The only part which I hate about the monsoons though is the roads oozing out the heat after the shower. But that is really no big thing. I am just eager to get myself drenched in the rain. India also needs this monsoon real badly. Else we will see some serious crisis in this crisis-ridden land.

Pakistan wins T20 world cup :(

This is just miserable. I was not that upset when India got out from the world cup. They deserved it. But I am really upset now after Pakistan has won. It was the last team after Australia that I would have liked to see winning the world cup. But again, I think they deserved it. This win by Pakistan, to me, looks so much like the Indian win last time. Both the teams were underdogs. Both the teams had players who were capable of giving good individual performance. And both the teams played together as a team to win the cup.

Pakistan played well and performed when it really mattered. It was a surprising come back after their defeat at the hands of the English side. To start with, they were a rusty side and the press conference after their first game really confirms my assertion. I am sure that even Younis Khan would not have believed in his chance at the beginning as was clear from his attitude in that conference. But the Pakistani players just gained their momentum from there on.

It was quite an easy journey for them to the semi finals as the only test team that they had defeated till then was New Zealand. And had they been defeated by South Africans, it would just have been a matter of luck favouring their way by giving them easy draws. But their win over Sri Lanka and South Africa, two of the best sides in the tournament really makes them a deserving winner. Boom Boom Afridi got his batting form at the right time. This guy always surprises me. After having started as a batsman, he moved on to become Pakistan's best bowler. His faster ones are really fast and he has quite many bowling variations in his armoury. Umar Gul was terrific to the extent that people doubted about the bowl being tempered after the reverse swing that he was obtaining. I don't know how much truth is there in it but regardless of it, his performance was fabulous.

Saqlain Mushtaq, it seems, had an everlasting impact on Pakistan. Many Pakistani spinners have tried to emulate him with Saeed Ajmal being the latest one in the list. He along with Amir and Razzaq really made Pakistani bowling line up formidable. For Razzaq, it was really a dream run. After having to forego his international career for a while due to his association with the ICl, it was really the kind of performance that he would have wanted. He has definitely consolidated his position in the Pakistani line up.

And this win also gives me a good opportunity to criticize the IPL once again. After having said by many that IPL will be a good practice ground for the Indian team, the tournament was finally won by a side that had no participation in it. Fitness of the player, it seems, can never ever replace anything in the game. I hope that before the next world cup, the Indian side has a good rest and all the players would play with 100% match fitness.

The perfect silence

When have you last experienced the perfect silence ?

In a temple ? No, there are always bells ringing and people chanting.

In a mediation room? No, there are always some people who are moving around out of restlessness.

In a class when the teacher demanded to maintain a pin drop silence ? No, we were always disobedient. The more we were told, the more we used to talk.

On a morning walk ? There are always birds singing and people jogging.

On your bed, waiting to get asleep ? No, there is always an insect that is chirping and then there is a fan whose voice is noticed only when you cant sleep in spite of your best efforts.

In a library where you are not supposed to talk ? No, people always do things that they are forbid to do.

While writing an exam? No, your mind is too chaotic to observe silence.

I experienced it last during a conversation. I know it sounds both ironical and absurd but that was really when I last experienced it. While conversing, when you just dont know what to talk about. I thought it was best to let silence fill the gap. There was no restlessness. It was smooth. I just sat looking towards the ground. Trying to look at infinity. Trying to appear thoughtful. I wanted something to happen, someone to disturb me. And at that time I didn't hear any sound of a fan. I just felt an obligation to say something. That was when I experienced that perfect silence.

Secularism and Casteism

I have been meaning to write this post since quite a long time. And by long time, I mean the time before the fateful general elections were held, time before we witness one of the most dominating majority in the Lok Sabha in the recent years. It was the time when all the parties and alliances were battling it out for each and every Lok Sabha seat. It was the time when the allegations and counter allegations were at their zenith. BJP accusing Congress of 5 years of weak and inefficient administration. And the Congress calling BJP a non secular party.

Secularism. Its the word that has dominated the Indian politics since the time Lal Krishna Advani decided to embark that Rath Yatra. The word which was echoed again and again when Babri Masjid was demolished and when communal riots broke out in Bombay. The word which has reverberated in the corridors of Indian politics since the country saw Godhra burning. All over the place, there were hues and cries to form a secular government at centre. Alliances were made and broken because some parties were more secular than other.

So what does secularism means ? Wikipedia says that secularism is the assertion that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs. I alternatively think that it means people should not be discriminated against or favoured on the basis of religion. All religions are equal. But in the recent years, a new variable has emerged which has made it necessary to revise this definition. And this variable is caste.

Caste is the new religion. And if not, it is definitely as important as religion the reason being it is the main divide among the people. You are no more a Hindu. You are now a Dalit or a Yadav or a Jat or a Gujjar or a Meena or a Patel or a Reddy or a Naidu. And it was really appalling to see how a politician like Mayawti can call herself secular or how a party like Congress can tag itself as a secular party after having divided the country through reservation. How is Congress more secular than BJP. Its not that I endorse Barbri Masjid demolition or the Gujrat riots. I mean that religion is no more the parameter for calling a party secular.

Casteism is the modern day equivalent of non secularism. It was the casteism which saw Gujjar taking on Meenas in Rajasthan. Names are no more the identities. Surnames are. You listen a surname and the first thing that comes into your mind is caste. Casteism was inherent to the Indian society for centuries. But it remained at a sub conscious level. But the political parties have brought it into our consciousness. Rulers of our country might not have realized the repercussions of playing that reservations card. But as a student I have realized it again and again. I realized it when I saw students taking on students on reservation. And I realize it every time when I hear the words "reserved category". Why are these people so adamant at diving us ? What is the cost that our country is paying for this imbecility ? What our country really needs is a government which is truly secular.

Team India Zindabaad !!

What has IPL given to the Indian cricket team ? It has given an injured Sehwag, players whose capabilities are blown out of proportions based on their performances against the minnows of domestic circuit and an over confident team. It was really pathetic to see team India playing. The performance was poor, miserable, wretched. I am falling short of adejectives here. After having defeated Bangladesh and Ireland in the first round of the world cup, India lost their real games. And rightly speaking, a team which could not achieve a target of 154 didn't really deserve to go to the semi final round. The team failed in every department. The Indian pacers never looked in a position to contain the oppositions' batsmen in any of the games. And the batsmen made heroes out of pacers like Stuart Broad and for that matter Pollard in game against West Indies. And their treatment to the short pictched deliveries was really shocking. However due credit should also be given to the English pacers for continuously bowling that short pitched length and coming up with good bouncers in nearly every over, something which their Indian counterparts failed to do. Except for Yuvraj and Yusuf Pathan, the Indian batting line up looked rusted. Ravindra Jadeja was unable to accelerate the innings at a time when it was really needed. He was even unable to rotate the strike. And the pressure developed led to Gambhir giving away his wicket. I am sure that an 'elderly member' like Sachin would have done a much better job. All the pre tournament suppositions as to how the South African IPL experience would help the Indian players to get accustomed to the similar conditions in England just failed. Dhoni in particular didn't look like remotely like a batsman he used to be when he started his international career. It seems that too much of cricket really has done some harm to him. But as our dear Mahi says in that Aircel advertisement, its the time to move on.

Why we hate Australia ?

First of all this is not meant to be a hate speech as a reaction to the recent instances of attacks on the Indians in Australia. Although I do condemn what has happened there and think that people should now get out of their illusion of superiority. But this is not what I want to write about. I am here talking about the Australian cricket team. After their ouster from the T20 world cup, I was happy. I was ecstatic. After seeing the result, there was a punch in the air and some brief shouting. And I am sure that most of us were wanting it really badly.

So why do we hate this Australian cricket team ? Why do we want to see them getting defeated ? Why does that dismal and disarrayed face of Ponting gives you that immense satisfaction that all those who hate that team must have felt ? A reasonable argument is that it is because its a team that has won 3 World cups, has dominated test cricket like anything, has produced some of the most finest players in cricket and that they are the most potent challenge to India's rise to the top in the world cricket.

But is this the reason that we go till the extent of celebrating their failures ? I think that there is more to it than this. I think that this hatred is the accumulation of all those moments when we have seen them resorting to anything to win that one match, the moments when we have seen them disgracing some of the most graceful and elegant cricketers, their incapability to accept the their defeat to and to allow their opponents to savour their moments of glory. You see their arrogance. You see them sledging the players, you see them tussling with the umpires. I don't say that other teams don't resort to these things. They do but not as often and as regularly as Australians. And I also don't say that I don't like sledging. I like it for the fact that it has added the spice and that X-factor to that yesteryear's game of the gentlemen. But I don't like it when I see Andrew Symonds sledging young Manish Pandey in an IPL match or when I see Michael Slater sledging Dravid for asking for a re look at a catch where the ball did touch the ground. Its the moment like these that fills you with hatred against them. I don't hate their guts. I just hate their attitude. And now when they are out it really doesn't matter to me as to who wins the title. Although I would always vouch for the Indian side. So best of luck to the Indian side. And I do hope that we get to see some breath taking close games, something for which T20 is renowned.