Monday, February 11, 2008

If you can do it once, you can do it again

In Krishnamachari Srikkanth's blog he mentions (in his forthright manner), that Kapil Dev was probably the only one who believed before the 1983 World Cup that India had a chance. In a team meeting, he recalls, Kapil Dev said words to the same effect - that if India could beat the mighty Windies once, they could do it again. Srikkanth recounts that Kapil's words got some of them thinking and believing that maybe, just maybe, it could happen.
A single thought.

The rest is history.

If we can do it once, we can do it again. Dhoni and his men proved that again at Melbourne yesterday - bringing the mighty Aussies to their knees. Once again. And Dhoni for sure knows that he can do it again, and again, and again if he and his men wish. The capability is there. No doubting that.
To me, its an important lesson. Champions acknowledge their small victories. You need not start with the big things like winning the World Cup. You can start acknowledging the small victories.
When you beat them once, it was not because you got lucky. You beat them because were better than them that day. You have the capability. Add to that belief a hunger to win and you start doing that consistently.

If hunger and win don't fit well, then let's call it, a desire to be the best you can be-winning happens. That's what we are all here for isn't it-to be the best we can be. To enjoy that state of being fully ourselves - in our chosen form of expression. Cricket, music, writing, accountancy..
And lo, a champion is born.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Wanted - Expletives Experts

As per recent events I understand that calling someone an illegitimate child is generally ok (honorable even, according to Ponting ji who believes that professional cricketers are rather different these days), even calling one's mother a certain something is also ok - but its not ok to call one by the name of an animal who according to Darwin lists among our forefathers. So the next time someone gets mad on the cricket field, ICC feels its fine errr its ok (fine's a bad word in cricket circles these days), if one raises certain moral issues with the other's female relatives such as wives, mother's and sister's (as one Mr. Materazzi did and got butted rather nastily on the bean by one Mr. Zidane) - as long as animals are not drawn into the issue.
In keeping the ICC's moral code errr model code, very soon it may be completely inappropriate to address anyone else as a dog (some friends call each other that- Ranvir, Vinay and company please take note), a cat (used appreciatively by some journos of some acrobats), a kitten (romantics may have to find new ways to describe their lovers, may we suggest "your sister's #$%), a bear (teddy or otherwise may be rascist), a pup (hey, that chap Clarke is called a Pup-come on ICC please banish that nickname), a jumbo (isn't that what they call Anil Kumble-or am I confusing that with Jammy-better still let's ban both jumbo and jammy under rule 257, level 5, degree 4), monk..(he he..can't catch us there pal, its a spello) its actually....donkey (used affectionately by school teachers across India to admonish certain rather dense elements in class), a hare (journos say that sometime to describe fleetfooted chaps now they'll have to use something like your @@#$).
Similarly we wont be able to say that someone sings like a bird (birds may take offence at being left out), nor can we say that some is crawling like an ant, or a mosquito, or say someone stings like a bee (sorry Ali...you can now sting like your mother's @@###).
Having thus burdened our cricketers (who are already physically and mentally burdened), with having to find new expletives, the ICC, and the English speaking have moved on, licking their respective chops at having fettered our boys' mouths with all this lingo business. I have a suggestion here. Instead of competing with the Aussies on their strengths, i.e. sledging and English expletives, I humbly suggest to the BCCI that the Indian team also include another support staff to its rather generous support team, in the form of a linguist. Preferably someone who knows as many Indian languages and dialects, of which we have a million, to cull out some choicest words to describe female relatives of the opposing players. It would be money well spent I am sure - politically correct, nationalistic, promoting near extinct Indian languages and fits in with the code. Maybe the Tourism and Culture departments could lend a hand here. After all its a question of Indian pride!!