Leaving on a Jet Plane…

It was a late summer afternoon in the tenth year of my existence when I got onto the tarmac at Jaipur's Sanganer airport to walk towards and board a fateful Indian Airlines flight to Delhi. I was grinning from ear to ear and could not control my excitement at the prospect of actually 'flying' from point A to point B! :) The heavy humming of the jet engines and a strong breeze only added to my adrenaline rush. Though it was a short 60 minute flight, it remains vivid in my memory as one of those instances of pure unadulterated joy. When the Airbus finally turned it's nose up from the ground, I was ecstatic at having become the zillionth human to be airborne!

After many take offs, touchdowns and layovers in life, I now work for a management consulting firm and am frequently on the road, i.e. fly out Monday mornings and fly back Friday afternoons. Yes, that guy you see at the airport with a blue shirt and khakis, toting a black laptop bag strapped onto a black carry on trolley, rushing to catch his connecting flight is me! With such rigorous and regular travel, the experience starts getting that much mundane and mechanical.

Nevertheless, every once in a while, I feel a rush of blood when I look at enormous man made devices of metal defying gravity (Now, I do understand Bernoulli's principle and the concomittant equations of fluid mechanics and dynamics) and rushing headlong into the blue sky, transporting people, ideas, dreams and desires...

Dravid and Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar has sheer genius within him. For over fifteen years, he has carried the burden of a nation of cricket maniacs (almost) single handedly on his shoulders. I have never ceased to be amazed at the level of maturity, confidence and responsibility that he has displayed through the years in handling the bouquets and brickbats of the media, of the fans and a success starved nation. He has never let success and adulation go to his head or let his failures deter him from continuing to conquer opposition. Therein lies his greatness.

Tendlya, I bow to thee.

Rahul has oodles of talent within him as well. But, he has (rather, had) been the eternal bridesmaid. For the first few years of his career, he had always been in and out of the team, in spite of his performance and ability. The critics and gulli ke paan walas favored the heroics of Tendulkar or the brazenness of Ganguly (well, isn’t that history now?) to Dravid’s grafting and class, which they preferred to breathe fire on or scoff at. But, Rahul Sharad Dravid persevered, adapted, took on the fight, survived and is now among India’s greatest cricketers. Darwin, of course, was right!

Here’s to Rahul (and the twins…)!

Should I…?

Sometimes, I think I should start writing erotica…

Kurt

The other day, Kurt Vonnegut was talking to me through the pages of his book. Yes, you can add me to that long list of people who have come to admire and adore his writing. I kept reading him for a week or so, totally enthralled!. And then, suddenly, at one point, his humor became way too black for me. Instantly, it changed from funny to depressing and crushing. But, I still love you Kurt.