Success

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.

This is to have succeeded.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Of course, success is a moving target...!

http://www.mybitforchange.org/2011/selective-islam/

Article by former Pakistani cricketer and now politician Imran Khan.

Definitely worth a read 

Quarter Life

This sounds like a Chuck Lorre production but actually I found it over the internet. And of course, this is my first blog post from Dutch country.

‎23-25 is not a nice age for a man. Your ex-gfs are getting married, your career has just started.
Elders treat you as unproven theorems, college guys feel that you are too old to have in there group.
You seem to enjoy both cartoon and news. You can no longer eat whatever you wish without putting on weight.
You look like an ape if you don’t shave daily. You are not invited for weekend cricket matches.
Every Aunt you meet asks about your marriage plans (or lack of them) and Uncle asks about future career choices.
When the reality is that you are just riding the wave and going with the flow.
You have all the confidence in the world but little achievements to show.
You already have the first hand experience of the life, You know that whatever you have been taught about the world in schools has been sheer waste of time.
You can be denied a job even after passing the test and you could be given a job if you know someone placed high enough.
Politics till now was a dirty word but now you feel it everywhere.
You know now love is not that blind and that friendship has its terms and conditions.
You know there is nothing for granted and free lunches are not free.
Your overconfidence is now making way for a humble conscience.

You now know it is not exactly what we thought it would be.

Day 19

Well India seems to have an interest in making all matches as entertaining as possible. Otherwise no other explanations seems to fit for why India is letting minnows believe that they have a chance.
Holland began cautiously but in the end their middle order struggled to continue the good work. I expected them to work their way up to 250 given their steady start but they folded for a paltry 189.
India too started as though they were in mood for early dinner but had to put their plans on hold because of some great bowling by Seelar.
Lastly Yuvraj Singh was pathetic - I am sure he must have said sometimes that he plays for the team and blah blah, it is at such occasions that one realises how hollow these statements were. Dhoni should have known better and finished the match as early as possible.

Lankans play the Zimbabweans in what should be a cakewalk for the Lankans on the picturesque ground of Pallekele. Best of luck to Zimbabwe though - they are going to need it.

Day 18

What an innings by Taylor! Single handedly demoralized the Pakistani batting line up and won the game at half time. The commentary team rightly called him the 'Plunderer of Pallekele'. 114 of 6 is something you rarely get to see even in T20. Most memorable was Shoaib Akhtar's ninth over - 28 runs! Murder.

We play the Dutch tomorrow at Ferozeshah Kotla where the curator messed up big time and produced a slow and low wicket after renovation - this bothers me as the Wankhede which is scheduled to hoist the finals was recently renovated - dont know if the curators have preserved the track of relaid it.

Anyways this may be the most boring match of all.

Cheers

Day 17

Was not even a bit interested in today's match. However pleased to know the result that Canada won comfortably and managed to avoid the wooden spoon. After all they are the fifth home team here. Signal for Kenya to improve their cricket administration. (In that area the Canadians are no better either - they stuff their side with Asian expats and an ageing Australian).

Pakistan play the Kiwis tomorrow. Going by the past form of the Kiwis, I dont give them a chance against the in form Pakistanis (wonder how they will handle Shahid Afridi's variations on a spinning track). But Pakistan are known to do the unexpected and we may have a game out of this one (also interesting to see how the Pakistani batsmen fare against Vettori)

Cheers

Day 16

Well Ireland did not come up with an encore performance in batting but were about the pull the match by some tight bowling. But thanks to Yuvraj (all though he ran Kohli out) we did not take away the choker's tag from South Africa. This team unfailingly comes up with stupid performances and loses matches from where even a club side would win convincingly. Maybe some things are written in destiny and one cannot change them no matter what. If they do not make it to the last 2 or maybe 4 of this world cup, I will feel sad for Jacques Kallis.

Kenyans are playing the Canadians tomorrow and both teams will make desperate bids to avoid the wooden spoon! Least interested.

Day 15

Well cannot write much about today as the match was washed out because of rain. But can definitely say something about tomorrow's matches.

In an all important match, the English play the South Africans - always an exciting match. Hope to see scores will in excess of 300.

India vs Ireland takes place in the magical Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore. Team batting second always seems to make a mockery of daunting totals here and thus India must look to play it safe with opting to bowl first. But in all I am not too worried about India's performance in tomorrow's match. Wish them best of luck!

Day 14

The most disappointing day of the world cup! Pathetic display by Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. At least Zimbabweans reached double figures. Windies have shown that they are as strong contenders for the WC as are India ans South Africa.

Personally I expected Zimbabwe to show some aggressive cricket against the Kiwis given how the Kiwis had struggled against spin attack in India. Well maybe the ICC's decision to keep the associates out of the WC in the 50 over game is justified after all.

Well in a repeat of the 2007 finale, Sri Lanka play Australia and I am hoping that this game will be a display of fireworks from both the sides.

Good Night

Day 13

After those kind of innings by Amla and De Villers there was no way the Dutch were going to win this. I expected them to give a fight, try to pull an Ireland here but they failed miserably and it is painful when they fail at doing that.

Pakistan must thank the gods for the stupid and inexperienced batting of the Canadians for a Pakistani loss here would have meant that the match fixing ghosts would have come back to haunt them. The Canadians did all the hard work and restricted Pakistan for a paltry 184 only to fall out at 138 themselves. Such a pity! And Shahid Afridi is the man on fire and may very well be Pakistan's trump card this world cup.

We have 2 interesting matches tomorrow which I expect to be full of entertainment. Kiwis play the Zimbabweans and the West Indians play the Bangladeshis. Catch you tomorrow!

Day 12

What a match! Ireland did not look minnows at all and a person with no prior knowledge of the standings of the respective teams could have easily mistaken Ireland for a seasoned ODI side. Guess the time is ripe to grant them a Test status.
We were watching the match in our room and almost gave Kevin O'Brien a standing ovation. After watching England post a mammoth total, I did not have the slightest expectation that the Irish will pull this off. But pull off they did and that too with style. It was a wonderful sight watching O'Brien rip through the English attack like an untethered elephant running amok a helpless crowd.
Pakistan play Canada tomorrow and I am hoping that the Canadians save some pride. (Sincerely wish  that John Davison stops looking like a fool and comes to the party started by Sehwag and carried forward by the likes of Tendulkar, Strauss and O'Brien).
And the Dutch will do some fighting against the Proteas but then again, no big expectations. They just do not have the firepower to cause serious injury to a full member side. It was Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in 1999, Kenya in 2003 and now I hope this WC gives the Irish their due recognition and a Test status - which they fully deserve.

Day 11

Well this world cup the crowd as all been for revenge matches. Revenge for 1987, revenge for Lord's 2009 and so on. Even the Lankans were looking for revenge for 2003 against Kenya. The Lankans stroke upon the Kenyans with great vengeance and furious anger and dismissed them for a paltry 142 thanks to a hattrick by Malinga. (we have had 2 hattricks on 2 days, and remember that these are subcontinental pitches) Naturally they took it as a T20 game later on and chased it in some 18 overs.

The Irish play the Pommies tomorrow and I am expecting one cracker of a match.

Cheers!

Day 10

Well minnows will always remain minnows. Canadians looked at one point that they will restrict the Zimbabweans and make a match out of it. However they let it slip and Zimbabwe posed a relatively imposing total. Zimbabwe usually look to bowl 40 overs with spin and thus watching them play is always interesting as they run through their overs quickly. I expected some fireworks from the Canadians given their performance in the warm up match against England and some late display of fireworks in the last match. However what happened was totally disappointing. It was really painful to watch John Davison trying to ascertain his superiority and failing miserably again and again.

When Pollard and Roach are breathing fire, no team can do much and the Dutch were no exceptions. Cannot blame them. After the tie, we have an hat-trick in this one and the WC has suddenly come alive!

Sri Lanka play Kenya tomorrow. Zzzzzzzz!

Day 9

Tumultuous, shocking! Took me this very moment to fully comprehend the meaning of 'Topsy Turvy'. We should have lost. But at least we did not let them win. The master blaster's wonderful effort, which should have been enough to ensure an outright victory proved only sufficient to deny the opponents what should have been their most famous win till date.

In tomorrow's matches, I expect Zimbabwe to open their account against the Canadians although not without a fight from them and I am rooting for the Dutch to cause an upset by defeating the out of form Windies.

In the end, all's well that does not end unwell!

Day 8

From what I heard, this match was one which I should not have missed. But today was a day I will never forget ever in my life and hence I do not regret missing this one.

But after many tiring days, I will finally recline and put my legs up and watch India play England.

Best of Luck to India

Day 7

Australia totally steamrolled New Zealand. Abysmal showing by the Kiwis. Right in continuation from where they left off in the series against India.

I had high hopes from Ireland and they nearly lived up to them. In the end, playing Bangladesh at their home in the company of a large and boisterous crowd proved too much. The Irish realised that in the subcontinent, cricket is played and followed with an intensity unparalleled anywhere else. Hopefully the 'other' men in green will only get better from here and cause an upset or two.

Tomorrow is probably the first really competitive game of the tournament.Watching the Lankans play the Pakistanis has always been interesting. Will surely catch the highlights of this one.

Ciao Ciao!

Day 6

Chris Gayle's tall claims came crashing down thanks to a some sublime batting by De Villers. This West Indian side looks out of touch and poorly prepared. Will be easy meat for the likes of India (let's hope it is) and the two associates will hope the best in their respective matches against them.

Australia vs New Zealand - mouth watering eh? But I have miles to go before I rest down and enjoy cricket.

Good night!

Day 5

It is becoming monotonous. The associates raise your expectations and then fail to live up to them. Dismissive feeling.

South Africa play West Indies tomorrow. That's one match I do not want to miss. I can vividly remember the opening match of the first ever T20 World Cup where Chris Gayle blasted the wind out of the South Africans only to get battered by Herschelle Gibbs again.

Cheerios!

Day 4

Well played Holland! Cheers to Ten Doeschate! SRK will be smiling 'loudly'. I am sure you will have better matches ahead Holland.
Pretty Exhausted. Have no interest in watching Pakistan play Kenya but will still hope for something special.

Good night!

Day 3

Anticipation gone down in drain once again! Zimbabwe should have applied themselves and sealed this match! But they look on the right track at least in the bowling department and I wish them well and hope that they spring up an upset. I bet the ICC officials are smiling.

On day 4, Pakistan play Kenya - I expect the Kenyans to do an encore of their performance against the Black Caps, and the Dutch play the English (one might call it a north sea rivalry!) amidst memories of the Twenty20 world cup match in Lord's, 2009. Ten Doeschante will be looking to show that his signing by KKR was a good deal and more Dutch players would be looking at this cup as an opportunity to bag IPL contracts as well as county stints. Best of luck to the Orange boys!

Bon Nuit and Au Revoir!

Day 2

After a brief resistance at the start of the innings, just when I thought that the Kenyans were getting any better at the gentlemen's game, they collapsed like a pack of cards (or for that matter like cycles in a cycle stand). I know this sounds cliche but the way the Kenyan batting unfolds is a cliche as well and hence I have not bothered to find a better term.

The first game got over even before the second was about to start. In the other game of the day, technically both the teams were playing on home grounds - the Canadian team is comprised of Indian, Pakistani and Lankan expatriates. I was not expecting anything out of the ordinary from the Canadians but I hoped that in chasing a big target, John Davison would come up with another one of his blistering knocks (the one which we have been waiting for since the match against the West Indians in WC 2003). Alas I can only say that this cup was an opportunity for the Canadian players to enjoy a trip to their home at their board's expense.
Such performances more than provide an excuse for the ICC's decision of banning associates from future editions of the world cup. I hope that the Irish and the Dutch prove the ICC wrong and cause a few upsets here.

Among other things, Somdev Devvarman, India's lone hope in tennis meets Roger Federer in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships and I just feel proud that an Indian is competing in a field that comprises of Fedex and Djoker. Being an ardent fan of Federer, I honestly do not know whom to support! But I guess it does not matter who I cheer for and I am happy to know that I will not cry myself to sleep if Federer loses.

Meanwhile Day 3 is another don't care day where Australia play Zimbabwe. The Zimbabweans beat the Aussies in a Twenty20 world cup match in South Africa in 2007 and I hope that we at least get to see a contest. Nothing is more exhilarating than seeing fringe players from weaker teams rise to the occasion and push the bar right up by playing the tournament of their lives - because that is what makes history and that is what the world cup is for!

Adios \m/

Day 1

I missed the action! And I feel violated. The Bangladeshis could not match an imposing total of three hundred and seventy runs. They had done their homework well and planned for the master but forgot to do so for his apprentice destroyer.

I pity myself that I could not resist the urge to sleep on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. No more afternoon naps during this world cup. Especially not on match days!

The Canadians play the Lankans and the New Zealanders take on the Kenyans tomorrow on day two. Could I be more interested?

Daffodils

Another poem that has been doing the rounds of my mind these days is Daffodils by William Wordsworth. Poetry appreciation is not really my forte but whenever I come across such beautiful poems I feel that I should have studied the English language with a lot more interest.

I WANDER'D lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretch'd in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed -- and gazed -- but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher

Some pieces of literature, no matter how old they are never become obsolete. One such example is Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's teacher.

Reading it again and again gives me great pleasure and I cannot help but marvel at Lincoln's astute observational skills and strong belief in morality.

He will have to learn, I know,
that all men are not just,
all men are not true.
But teach him also that
for every scoundrel there is a hero;
that for every selfish Politician,
there is a dedicated leader…
Teach him for every enemy there is a friend,

Steer him away from envy,
if you can,
teach him the secret of
quiet laughter.

Let him learn early that
the bullies are the easiest to lick…
Teach him, if you can,
the wonder of books…
But also give him quiet time
to ponder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky,
bees in the sun,
and the flowers on a green hillside.

In the school teach him
it is far honourable to fail
than to cheat…
Teach him to have faith
in his own ideas,
even if everyone tells him
they are wrong…
Teach him to be gentle
with gentle people,
and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son
the strength not to follow the crowd
when everyone is getting on the band wagon…
Teach him to listen to all men…
but teach him also to filter
all he hears on a screen of truth,
and take only the good
that comes through.

Teach him if you can,
how to laugh when he is sad…
Teach him there is no shame in tears,
Teach him to scoff at cynics
and to beware of too much sweetness…
Teach him to sell his brawn
and brain to the highest bidders
but never to put a price-tag
on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears
to a howling mob
and to stand and fight
if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently,
but do not cuddle him,
because only the test
of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage
to be impatient…
let him have the patience to be brave.
Teach him always
to have sublime faith in himself,
because then he will have
sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order,
but see what you can do…
He is such a fine little fellow,
my son!

Greed!

Greed, for lack of a better word is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cut's through and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Greed in all of it's forms. greed for life, money love, knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind and greed, mark my words will not only save Teldar paper but that other malfunctioning corporation called The USA

- Gordon Gekko

World Cup fever begins!

There is a possible Anglo Irish rivalry brewing up in the subcontinent and this is a small evidence.

I expect to see the Irish in the quarters and soon in white colours playing their maiden test against India just like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

On other hand, Yuvraj Singh did not get to sharpen his weapons in the run slaughtering fest called 'warm up match' prior to the Cup. Is this a sign of the future things to come?

We have all descended from monkeys... And we are still descending!

- Navjot Singh Sidhu

The wait always seems unending!

Ezekiel 25:17

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost jewellery and I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers and you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Leadership is a two way street, loyalty up and loyalty down. Respect for one's superiors and care for one's crew.

- Grace Murray Hopper

It is not the will to win that makes a winner, it is the will to prepare

- Anonymous

Quotes

In America, innovation doesn't just change our lives. It's how we make a living.

- Barack Obama

Read Here

Chuck Lorre

I have a recurring dream that I have been drafted to play on an NBA team. This is very upsetting because I cannot really play basketball. I mean, I play pretty much how you would expect a middle aged Jewish comedy writer to play. The words clumsy, hesitant, clueless short and frightened come to my mind. During the dream I am well aware of my grotesque lack of talent. I run up and down the court hoping the ball does not come my way, all the while wondering why the coach does not take me out. Even me executing an uncontested lay-up or free throw seems like an impossible or an unlikely event. Assuming dreams work like a metaphor and I am not really subconsciously afraid of having to go mano a mano with Kobe or LeBron, the question I find myself asking is what in my life do i feel fully engaged in yet completely unqualified for? The answer is simple; intimate relationships. Once again the words clumsy, clueless, short and frightened come to my mind. Well, not short... average.

If you want success as bad as air to breathe, then no one can stop you from getting it - Socrates