Musings

A name is your very identity. And yet, you do not have the power to choose it and most often do not have the power either to change it. Does a name really matter? Are our destinies shaped in any measure by the name we are given? Do we imbibe anything of those who we are named after? If yes, do we also imbibe something of those, who we were named after, were named after in the first place? I do not know and let’s admit it, neither do you. What I do know however is that, for long now, I have been doused by curiosity to know more about this man, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhay. In my IIM Calcutta interview, my name struck a chord with the Bengali professor and we had a pleasant conversation on culture. On my first day in campus, as I was being handed the keys to the hostel room, the sombre security man, upon noticing my name, looked up, broke into an unexpected smile, and insisted that I visited Sarat Chandra Kuthi, across the Hugli. And so it was almost inevitable that I would one day vis...

Sport is meant to be a celebration of life, an embodiment of the ideal and the representation of the best in man. Stripped of fancy words and trite pretensions, Sport is but a contest between individuals; a contest to be faster, a contest to be higher, and a contest to be stronger; simply, a contest to be better. In cricket, the contest is between bat and ball; between the batsman and the bowler! A battle for supremacy. 35 yards.  In Mumbai, you can fit about 40 families into a space of 35*35 yards. Shoaib Akthar’s run up is 35 yards long. The batsman is a further 22 yards away. At that distance, the previous delivery is merely a memory and the coming delivery an expectation.  Shoaib Akthar starts his run up. Head down. Hair trailing. Then, he picks up pace. The trot becomes a run. He starts to look up, the hair is flying now. The image begins to blur. The crowd is on its feet. It’s a crescendo of noise. He’s not that far away now. The batsman awaits. He is alive, ...

Note: This was written for a 3 minutes speech which was to be given as a part of my Management Communication class here in IIM-Clacutta. Well, that didn't go too well but I thought it might deserve a place here, so there you go. Meritocracy is the foundation upon which modern human civilization is built. Countries and societies which have nurtured and promoted meritocracy have prospered, and the United States of America is a prime example of this. Meritocracy is a philosophy which holds that power should be vested in individuals exclusively according to merit. Reap what you sow! And who can argue against that? And yet we as a nation not only argue against meritocracy but spend considerable effort in undermining, sabotaging and suppressing it in every way possible. We as a nation have replaced meritocracy with mediocrity. 68 years after Nehru celebrated India’s tryst with destiny at the Lal Qila, we continue to pander to the masses, to play to the galleries and to woo the vote b...

Published on Sportscafe I had a dream. I was playing Cricket and since it was a dream, I was invariably batting. The bowler runs in and I whack him for a 100 metres 6 over mid-wicket. The ball is lost and they bring out a new one. That felt good. The bowler runs in again, and this time, the flick of the wrist sends it soaring over square leg. 2 in 2! Ha! Bring it on, I Say! I target the off-side now; cream it over cover. 3 in 3! I am not just feeling good anymore; I am feeling great. The bowler though is not feeling all that well. He is trembling in fear. He switches sides; fat, lot of good that will do him! It is a filthy full toss outside off, and I just help it over back ward point. 4 in 4! I am invincible, I can do anything now. I am almost bored by now. Decide to get back to leg side again. Flick it over backward square leg this time. 6! 5 in 5! I am Super Man! No one can stop me. This is inevitable now. Pure academic interest. Only one thing can happen. I launch it into ...

Published on Sports Cafe A captain is only as good as his team; or so they say. Well, they are fools. Cricket, with its nuances and minute intricacies, with its subtleties and glorious uncertainties elevates Captaincy into an art form of the highest order. From Mike Brearley to Steve Waugh, from Imran Khan to Saurav Ganguly and from Richie Beanaud to Graeme Smith, Cricket is awash with examples of great captains inspiring their players to dredging the deepest of reserves and leading them to conquering the highest of peaks. A Cricket team is greater than the sum of its parts. The difference is the team’s captain. Little wonder then, that they say, in India, the Prime Minister’s job is the 2 nd  toughest job in the country, after that of the Country’s Cricket Captain; which brings us to MS Dhoni. I had never been to Ranchi. But then again it is not the sort of place you will often find yourself needing to visit. By all accounts, it is a small city, inconsequential in the la...

To be the best you can?! Oh what a frightfully tyrannical concept! Life ain’t no race to run; The better it is, the sooner you accept. As lap follows lap, And year begets year; You harp, On a point to prove, And forget to live. With hardly a moment to savour, The hard earned fruits of your labour, You forever continue to clamour, for ever lasting favour. As you continue to climb the ladder, Rung after rung, Rung after rung, You alas only find yourselves sadder, Till finally, with futility, you are stung. You ask, of what use is a brace, When to lust for there is a hat rick? You little realize, that it is but a pathetic chase! When, if ever, for you will it click, That to live is not to race? The joy within you, learn to embrace. Let the desire within you fly, Lest tomorrow, you end up with a cry. Long after your youth has passed you by, And as you prepare for your final rest, ...

Warning : I wondered if i should be giving this warning right at the beginning or make it a post script. I only thought it fair that a warning should be given at the very beginning. So far, all of the pieces i have written have been about sport. Insightful, they might not have been, but i would like to believe that at the very least, i did not make an utter fool of myself. Sadly, i cannot say the same thing about this piece. The very first time that i have ventured outside my comfort zone, i have made an utter hash of things.  Structure, clarity and consistency are the bare minimum necessities for any half decent piece. It is abundantly clear to me that this piece lacks all the three. I had half a mind to delete the whole piece, but it seemed such a pity to waste the effort, however poor the output might be.  I only hope that the popular idiom 'practice makes perfect' proves true.   Lastly, at the very real risk of coming across as a narcissist, i request your...