History of cricket in INDIA

A long time ago, there was a man … but he is not important.

A little time after that, the British came to India on the pretext of selling goods .After being allowed to stay and trade , they made a hole in the very plate they ate in .I know it must’ve been hard for them to eat without spoons in India hence the whole hole strategy . but again that’s not the point . They came , they saw and they conquered . Under the rule of the Britishers , the general public had nothing much to do , everything was being done by the British. They controlled the Industries, the government and the mass media . Some smart guy spread the idea that as they were sitting idle as it is , why not do something like overthrowing the government . Everyone was initially shocked , but having no better idea of their own , they joined in too. Soon the whole of India was gripped with the freedom struggle syndrome .

Now the British, as we all know, are cowards but smart cowards . They thought, the people want something to do, what better than a game that goes on for 5 days at a stretch and makes the player so tired and fatigued that they go straight to bed after finishing a day’s play , hence leaving them no time to think about anything else .But they didn’t want anyone to know about the games real purpose . So , they secretly ordered 22 cricket kits from England , some hats for the umpires , uniforms , stumps , bats made from the finest English willow and the best Yorkshire balls .

One fine day , when the cowherds were leaving for their daily time pass in the woods , they saw that a portion of the woods had been cleared , into a sort of oval shape and in the middle was brown patch with weird looking wooden protrusions .They were scared and ran back to their village to tell everyone about the strange sight . They thought that it was sign from the God’s of the imminent disaster . The village elder convened a meeting and ordered a group of 10 strongest men in the village to go have a look .

The villagers selected were sent off with “Tilaks “, “Aarti’s” and “Maala’s” . They approached the place cautiously. When they came to the clearing, they saw something very strange .

Their English masters were dressed in white, the clothes of mourning, two of them with weird looking things on their head which covered it entirely , a very different kind of “topi” than the ones they had seen before . Then they saw the weapon… It was a big block of wood with a handle to wield it . The non-topi master threw a “gola” at the topi waala master and the topi waala master used his weapon to save himself . The gola flew up in the air and was caught by another non topi waala master . Suddenly they they started shouting some chants and a big “hat” waala master pointed to the skies, as if drawing their attention to the God’s . The topi waala master then left the clearing shaking his head.

The villagers were the bravest in the entire region, they feared nothing , some of them had fought with tigers bare handed and killed it . But when it came to God, they were fearful. So they ran back to their village and recounted the entire tale. The village elders decided, it was time to go to the King, or Maharaja, as they liked to call him.

When the villagers told their tale to the Maharaja, He burst out laughing . The villagers were shocked but not surprised .The Maharaja was Gods emissary on earth, he would know things far beyond anyone’s imagination .So they politely asked him the reason for his laughing . He replied that the entire episode they described was of a game called cricket, which he had himself seen and played on one of his trips to England. In fact, he reasoned, it wasn’t unlike the native game of “gilli danda” which almost every child in the village played . The ball would replace the “gilli” , and the bat would replace the “danda” . The rules and timings, the scheduled breaks were all to make the game more organized , and to remind the Indians that the British did everything that the Indians did , and did it better .

The Indians took to the game like ducks to water. Very soon, every child and every adult was seen playing the game in various corners of the village and some even in the woods. Others hid in the bushes behind the clearing, to grasp the basics from the masters themselves. No one was spared from the fever and the passion to learn the game. Finally they had something worthwhile to do. They practiced fervently with just one aim in mind, to defeat the Masters at their own game, literally. They practice and practiced until one fine day they were ready.

They challenged the mighty British to a game of cricket, In the very clearing , they had first witnessed it . Rest they say is history …

The British were defeated .The clearing gave way to the monumental , Eden Gardens which still evokes the same passion as it did way back then . The plaques and sign boards still adorn the walls with the names of those 11 cricketers, who took on the mighty British .

Rumor has it , that the British left India , not at the insistence of Gandhi and his “vraths” and slogans of non-violence , or the aggressiveness of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose , but out of shame . Embarrassed , on losing the game which they had brought to the Indians , of which they had by far a lot more experience , of which they were the masters in the whole world . They left India .

The irony is obvious, the game brought to India by the British , to prolong their stay and make it more entertaining , led to their exit .

The British are long gone, but the game remains . The passion with which we follow it and the present state of Indian cricket , a sad reminder , that a lucky win here and there will get us the applauds and the cheers , but the fact remains , we will always remain the underdogs .

disclaimer : All of the above is a figment of my imagination

It has been very rightly written by Sir edward tyler , that "culture or civilization , taken in its wide ethnographic sense , is that complex whole , which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, law , customs and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society ." this is a very practical definition of culture as we know it because of two phrases that are woven into it . "wide ethnographic sense" - because culture cannot be defined for an individual it has to take into consideration whole communities, whole countries and races , and "man as a member of society" - because by this phrase we accept that man is a part of and hence , defines society .The importance of these two sentences will be revealed as we try to understand why culture is so essential to humankind .

Long back when man discovered fire , he didn't know it would be used to spread wide spread destruction , when man found the importance of metals he didn't realize its subsequent change into weapons and so on for the various landmarks of discoveries and inventions . What really is a proof of our evolution into civilized creatures are our various cultures. It is because that we realized the importance of culture, tradition and the value of passing down our perceptions is what led to our evolution.

But as cultures developed so did disparity. People adapted differently to different environments and so different cultures were formed native to those communities and races. Then came the borders. The borders were imaginary lines defining ones region of power. Kings extended their borders in order to make other cultures succumb to their superior race and that's what led to the dark ages where mankind descended to the level of common beasts. But finally the dark gave way to light and peace reigned . We learnt the importance of art, of music, of knowledge, of a sense of order in our lives and the need of a governing law . Finally we knew our culture; but as was before, different regions developed their own distinct sense of culture and attempts to prove their superiority reigned again.

Even today some of the effects still linger. Works of art, masterpieces, books, sculptures were destroyed and are still being destroyed. Be it in retaliation to a strong statement by a "Enemy" country or by propagandists. What we don't realize is that the ultimate sufferers are us and the generation to come , who won't be able to enjoy the past .Destruction is not always physical , we for example are witness to history changing in the minds of the generation to come . History books are being tampered with to elevate one race or culture and to degrade another.

If this continues, some time from now democracy and secularism will slowly give way to total anarchy . Fascist leaders will be at helm, and countries will be known not by the brilliant scientists and hard working engineers it has produced by the number of religious fanatics it contains and the number of "fatwas" it issues.

Do we dream of such a world?

Do we want a world described to us in George Orwell's "1984". A world where an unseen force controls our life , where every action is under prying eyes , every breath counted. Where history is modified to reflect the change in the governments stand and while the officials live a life of luxury the common masses are left to rot .

I guess not .

Culture, so far shown to be the evil harbinger, has the potential to be the hero, the savior. When cultures are allowed to merge it leads to the birth of a new culture , a unified culture which extracts the best from both while still retaining its own separate identity .That's the medicine our ailment require . The path to our deliverance...

Why are rules created if they are meant to be broken in the first place ??

Rules... When you set out to define the word rules, you come across two words, guidelines and strict.. If the rules were simple guidelines there would have been no problem whatsoever because then the imposition of them would have been our discretion. But unfortunately, they are never so.

A rules never remains a guideline when it is strictly enforced, because then it does not leave any room to exercise our discretion. Carrying forward that point, the rules being dumped upon us means we had no say in it. This awakens the dormant rebel that resides within all of us.

Here I would like to talk a bit more about this rebel. Oxford describes a rebel as “person or thing that resists authority or control”. When you define it that way.. You get the words, control and authority. The authority is the person enforcing the rules and control is the ultimate motive of the rules themselves. When a person tries to impinge upon our privacy naturally we try to resist. This resistance is the tool of a rebel. When you stop a kid from playing in the sun, he’ll find ways to do it , when you say that ‘blah blah’ is bad and he/she is not to do it , you are arousing the curiosity of that person which is another instigator of the rebel . In short a restriction or any attempt made to control an individual will always result in an act of rebellion.

There’s a very common phrase used by students and in some cases employees the world over, since time eternity.

“Rules are meant to be broken”

Short and crisp, it heralded the teenage era in America a few decades back by becoming the mantra of teeming youngsters.

But this phase of rebellion is very short lived. You may wonder why, as the rebel still resides within.

The answers lie in us. As much as we would like to live a life of freedom, as much as we would dream of an utopia without rules .A voice within us always forces us to follow them.

The voice is our conscience, and the rules are not the ones created by our fellow beings, but Nature’s own laws which govern our every action.

Have you ever wondered why after and sometimes even while hitting a person in rage or a sudden burst of emotion, a feeling of guilt is born? While committing an act of treachery, or stealing something a person suffers from the same pangs of guilt. He might run away and escapes the long arms of law, but where will be run from the voice inside himself.

That same thing is applicable to the rules made by our elders and peers. The rules are made to restrict our course of action which may lead to us committing an act which we will dislike ourselves for doing later on.

Let’s take an example

A rule says not to bring inflammable items on a flight; another rule says not to smoke in public places. Both these rules have one thing in common it’s a rule meant for public safety, our safety. A person bringing that flammable item on the flight or train risks the life of many others along with his own; similarly the person who is smoking in a public place is risking the lives of various others who could be affected equally with the effects of passive smoking.

Rules are created to act as a marker, a signboard pointing to the right direction .Even if it’s on a deserted road, which no one frequents; it has to be there .Not for the millions that have no need for it, but for that one solitary traveler who is helped by it.

Hope the point’s taken.

while we'r at the crazy idea of writing a blog .. we might as well put our best foot forward ..

I hate to think that all my current experiences will probably end up being stories with no point somewhere in the future .. so i thought why not start one right here .

Tell me something , how can something seem so plausible at the time of doing it .. and so utterly idiotic in retrospect .

Its actually very funny if you think about it .

remember when we were kids, I thought that grown-ups never needed to worry about anything , they had all the answers and so i trusted my parents to take care of everything . what didn't occur to me at that time was they might not how to ..
I figured that once you grew up , you automatically knew how and what to do in any scenario .

That might partly explain why a kid is always in a hurry to grow up !!!

But the truth is that its more of a cycle an ironic cycle ... every kid wants to be a grown up to be able to take his own decisions .. while every grown up wants his childhood back to stop having to take his own decisions .

Every adult reminisces the childhood days of total innocence .. a state of no-worry .. one of total bliss .

Everyone starts with a phase where you wanted to become a super hero , or maybe just be as great as your dad.

Then comes a bit mature phase , where you want to become one of the fighter pilots for the army or the president or maybe a business tycoon.

Then you close in on the adulthood in those last years of your teenage spree.. the one where ur hormones are racing around like crazy . Every pretty girl is your soulmate , every rejection , the last time.You start realising that you are someone , you existence is not futile . thats when you start challenging authority , the authority of your teachers , your elders and even your parents , because for the first time you realise you can speak .You explore the various freedoms which you never knew existed . what we don't realise is that we already had those freedoms , we didnt need to snatch them , there was nothing to snatch in the first place.

Then we reach adulthood... and dream of being that child again ..

Wise men have said that the kid within us never dies , I find it to be true . Did you ever realise that grownups are the happiest when near kids , ever wonder why they pampered you , why they pulled at your cheeks , why they would go to any length to make you laugh ?

my posts are seeming to thinking types .. next one I promise will be a crazy one ..!!

signing off for now ..

what do you normally start your day with ..?
whats your first thought when you get up in the morning ....?
which foot do you first put on the ground while getting up ...?
do you even remember the first part of the dream you had last night ....?

how many yes' did you just give to the questions above ?
most people would dismiss it as rubbish .. after all who has time to think about all these insignificant things .. but mind you a brief introspection will reveal how much we are missing out on the smaller joys of life ..

have you tried counting your steps while you walk to the door , or the number of steps to your 3rd floor home?

have you tried getting wet in the first rain of the season instead of scurrying back to the safe confines of your home ?

last question ..
have you , while reading the above blog thought that he/she is really missing out on something.. something dat could well be the difference between joy and monotony.

tomm morning when you get up try noticing which feet you land on .. try counting how many fingers you have on your hand .. i know you'll always have 10 , but try it , if you don't feel special that day post back on this blog and ill apologize for wasting a few moments of your life .. but if you do then please do take some more moments out of your life and post your experience back here .

Imagine yourself within the below mentioned setting

There's a blizzard blowing outside .. the cold weather with the snow provides an ideal evening for a mug of hot chocolate . As you are just about to settle down into the warm confines of your blanket , with the book you wanted to complete for a long long time , but always left at the end of the fifth page , in your hand , and the mug on your side table ; the doorbell rings. You wonder who could it be at a time like this and a weather like this . Maybe a neighbour come to ask for a cup of sugar perhaps ? You move towards the door , silently cussing the neighbours for disturbing your mood . As you open the door , surprise ; your best friend , the girl you always liked, but never could reveal your feelings to , shows up at your door . She asks in a grieved voice , "may i come inside ?" . You apologize and invite her inside . As she makes herself comfortable , you offer her a mug of hot chocolate . She settles down on the sofa , obviously uneasy , you give her the mug , and settle down yourself on the adjacent chair . "so .. what happened .. I mean you , here , at this time of the night ?? Is everything alright ?" you ask . She says " I just broke up with the guy , i was seeing , seems he only wanted to use me ". then she starts crying .. being the best friend you are , you offer her a word of consolation and pat her , but then she falls on you and starts crying on your chest ; startled , you have no option but to hold her , until she calms down . When she calms down , u give her a glass of water and tell her that she's welcome to spend the night in the house , and that the guest room is entirely at her disposal . She says thanks for being there for her , when she really needed it and moves up to give you a small peck , shocked by her sudden gesture you move your face so that its directly facing her , and she kisses your lips . the kiss lingers for a few seconds...

silence ...

This is the setting .. sounds right out of a romantic flick .. but here you are God ..

what would you do next ..

let's weigh your options

One : She's pretty vulnerable at the moment , just out of a bad relationship , she finds herself short of people she can trust and so has come to you . You can take advantage of this moment , this lingering kiss which is indeed a signal that she is desperate for some show of affection , of love , and tell her your feelings about her . Chances are she'll fall for it and you'll lead a happy life every after .

Two : She's pretty vulnerable at the moment , just out of a bad relationship , she finds herself short of people she can trust and so has come to you . Can you bring yourself to take advantage of her situation for your own selfish gains ? Can you take this accidental brush of lips for a feeling of desperation ? Can you cough up enough courage to go tell her your feelings and what if she doesn't reciprocate , what if she is so shocked that she choses to leave ? where do you think she'll go at this time of the night , you are her best friend remember ; she doesn't have anyone else to turn to .

weigh your options carefully and chose , because life doesn't offer you second chances ...


A film once proclaimed that guys and gals could never become friends ... how true is that ??

There is thing called friendship and there is this thing called love ..

A very thin red line defines its boundary .. which time has practically eroded away ..

Sometimes you cross over , then return back hurriedly knowing it someplace deep within , that you wanted to cross the line , all the while .

what will you do ???

ME .. ME .. ME... ALL THE WAY

My "about me" reeked of this not so long ago ..

Noone dies a virgin .. life screws us all..

fer me dere are no rules .. no boundaries .. no time limits .. I am an example of poetry in motion ..

I still roam about in the by lanes of life .. searching fer that one dark alley where opportunity resides ; don't worry ill give u call when i find it ...

I don't drink ,I don't smoke .. I don't need these .. I get a high on a simple somthing called life .

Heck just give me my pillow , a good supply of books , my guitar and my comp .. nd ill make my own paradise ..

I say i am in love ..

yeah I'm in love with those icy drops dripping down my window pane on a wet july evening ,

yeah I'm in love with that sweet whiff of southern breeze that blows across my face when i go for that long drive alone ..

A special something fer my love :~

I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme. I hate it, I hate the way you're always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it that you're not around, and the fact that you didn't call. But mostly I hate the way I don't hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all.

think you know me .. think again ..

just rem .. I am what I am .. take it or leave it ...

Work like you don't need the money, love like you've never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.

- Randall G Leighton