The end of an era

I was able to watch Sachin Tendulkar's final innings yesterday. An era comes to an end.

 

To me, Sachin's retirement really feels like the snapping of a link - the departure of someone, who connected legendary cricketers of yesteryears (Imran Khan, Richard Hadlee, Malcom Marshall, Kapil Dev et al), with whom he played to the Kohlis and other young blood of today. My family didn't even have a TV to watch the matches when this guy started playing - I remember watching bits and pieces of the 1992 world cup standing with a crowd in front of Electronics shops in Trivandrum, watching his rampage during the 1996/1999 world cups on a "Weston" black and white TV at home. Still remember sitting motion less watching him destroy the Pakistani bowling attack during the 2003 world cup in front of a TV with a big, loud group of friends in Hyderabad, watching the miserable failure of 2007 and the triumph in 2011 on my computer while in the US. Starting from 1990, as a secondary school boy, to 2013, where I am today, whichever corner of the world I was and whatever I was doing, I some how always managed to follow Sachin's matches and took a lot of pleasure watching him play. I love cricket, its my most favorite sport and he represented the game to me. So when he departs, I feel like something has come to an end or if you will let me go over the top, more like some one familiar just passed away.

 

Thank you for all the great memories, Sachin. Along with your seemingly unsurpassable records, you will always be remembered for being one of the finest ambassadors of cricket.

Currently reading ..

 

 

I am currently reading "The Monk and the Philosopher"  that captures an interesting discussion between the renowned French philosopher, Jean Francois-Revel and his famous son, Matthieu Ricard. Revel was a staunch critic of Communism and Christianity while Matthieu Ricard is a Molecular biologist turned Buddhist monk. This father-son conversation is also an opportunity to witness the juxtaposition of Eastern and Western philosophies on life, culture, and beliefs.  

Return to Ruskin Bond

"It's the simple things in life that keep us from going crazy" - Ruskin Bond (Notes from a small room")

This is one of those life saving truisms. At times when mind is preoccupied with a thousand things, when the hours in a day aren't enough to keep up with all that one has to keep up with, and when life pulls a couple of those unpleasant surprises, simple acts that let one soak in the present moment offer a great respite. This could vary from a 30 minute jog, watching a rain or children play, listening to the birds or the wind in the trees, feeling the brush of the wind or the salty spray of the ocean on your face, discerning the subtle sounds and colors around us etc.

Anyway, that's what took me back to Ruskin Bond's works. It is a great stress buster for me and helps take mind off work, unwind and occupy the mind with simple acts and pleasures of life. Over the last few weeks I've read a lot more of Ruskin Bond:

1) The India I love
2) Book of Nature
3) Notes from a small room
4) A Handful of nuts

 
 

Social Investing

I've signed up with Rang De and made a social investment in India. The money will help a seamstress in the eastern state of Orissa improve her business. I believe that in addition to providing small scale entrepreneurs the funds to start or improve their businesses, well directed micro-credits can also break the stranglehold that usurers and traditional money lenders have on the lives of these people. By providing an option to borrow money at cheaper interest rates, micro credit organizations can contribute to tackling problems such as poverty, malnutrition, and farmer suicides. It will make a huge impact if people choose to invest just 1% of their salaries in such causes.