Monday, November 24, 2008

Season Update

heylo guys n gals ...

Just dropped in to provide a quick update – next few weeks; I will be totally engulfed in the wedding season ... and this, for sure is one of the biggest season for me ... with 7 weddings to attend in a span of just 3 weeks time.... and these are such weddings that I can miss only at the risk of getting amputated ... yea ... all of them of my friends ... well, suddenly seems everyone around me is getting hitched :)

But one good thing is that to kick start this wedding season, I am away on a 10 day trip to north India as the first wedding of the season is in Chandigarh. This is the wedding of the friend whose love story I had cited in one of my earlier posts – JoJhol. I have heard that the marriages in Chandigarh are awesome and full of fun ... so I am eagerly looking forward the experience the Punjabi style marriage...

Moreover, there are 4 of us who are leaving a bit early for spending a few days in Delhi, visiting Agra and finally a day in Amritsar to Chandigarh ... its hard to believe, but I have never visited Delhi earlier, so am excited about spending a few days there and experiencing Delhi life per se ... am also keen to visit the Golden Temple in Amritsar ... and of course to see Chandigarh as well - the only architecturally planned city in India :)...

So, people, I will be away for a while due to this trip and post that due to the numerous weddings where I will mostly spending the free time in driving from one venue to another :(

See yaa all soon .. till then take care and have fun !!!

ciao
~ hiren

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Moving On ....

No friends, the current mania of quitting blogville hasn’t caught up with me; it’s just that, of late, a lot of people who affect me someway or the other are moving on in their lives. In the past few weeks; I was shocked & saddened at least 4-5 times by the unexpected avowals of people quitting blogging; jobs and cricketing careers. Believe me; this is creating a feeling of emptiness. The least I can say that all of you will surely be missed and wish you all good luck with the future endeavors.

The subsequent part of this post is my diminutive tribute to the charismatic Sourav Ganguly and the altruistic Anil Kumble; two of the very few cricketing legends of my generation who decided to end their careers. So, people who are averse to cricket can skip the below unexciting and emotional blabber :)



Yesterday, India won the coveted Border-Gavaskar trophy... by beating the hard nosed Aussies (not the Aussie countrymen per se ... but their cricket team for sure) by a thumping 2-0 margin ... Any other day such an astounding drubbing would have meant paramount pleasure and tremendous exultation ... But, with this test match being Dada’s last match and Jumbo already hanging his boots in the last test match; the victory celebrations were definitely sidelined by the emotional good-byes. This holds true for all the cricket lovers in India. Indian cricket has seen and end of an era with two of its prodigies calling it quits; whilst one can sense Jammy’s retirement too to be just around the corner.

Kumble, a fighter in true sense, a perfect gentlemen, an enviable team man, highest wicket taker for India and 3rd highest in the world, big hearted, a thinking bowler and someone whose commitment to the game was so infectious .... he will be remembered as someone who, never ever in his career spanning over 18 years, gave less than his 100% ...


Ganguly, controversy’s favorite child, most successful test captain for India, role model for the team, motivating and supportive leader (he did full justice to his nick name Dada), aggressive face of Indian Cricket, attacking batsman, affiliate of the most successful ODI opening partnership, god of off-side ... he will surely be remembered for decades to come for this contribution in taking Indian cricket forward.

Regardless of how the new look Indian team under MSD fares; Indian cricket will never be the same. I surely was lucky to be born in an era to witness the ‘god of off-side’ unleashing his sublime cover drives that effortlessly pierced packed off-side fields and the gallant leg spinner coming to take field for the sake of the team with his head wrapped in bandages owing to a broken jaw...

SG and AK, here is a heartfelt thank you to both of you for the gallant contribution and positive difference you have made to Indian cricket. God Bless!

~ hiren