John Arlott's Book of Cricketers - John Arlott

 John Arlott, a highly respected BBC commentator and a producer at BBC, was a man of many talents. He was a detective sargeant in the police, an instructor at the BBC Staff training School, wrote poetry, on wine and cheese and of course on cricket. They were poets in how they wrote about the game and master technicians in their understanding of technique and human psyche. Vinod picked it up at Abids and I saw that it once belonged to Sri Ramakrishna Library - God knows where it was but I sent a silent prayer to the people who ran it. The book was first published in 1979.

Being a Hampshire man, Arlott was partial to those who played for Hampshire. But more than his choice of people I was keen to see how he would describe these personalities. Writers like Arlott could make even the ordinary look extra ordinary with their fine analysis and keen observation.

So when he describes Sir Jack Hobbs he says 'he rocks on his right foot and can play a pace bowler who can swing the ball with fast, casual adjustments'...'had profound technical understanding and tactical sense'...and believed that most errors of batsmen stem from playing back when they should have played front and vice versa..'. 

He describes Maurice Tate as someone who 'lived cricket'...and when he describes the medium pacer in action says ' nine yards...before the final leap, limbs gathered together in one unity, left arm pointing upward, right had at opposite pole, body edgewise to the batsman, weight back on the right foot, back curved so the batsman can see the head jutting out behind arm, right arm comes over, body turned, full flick of the wrist, plunged through, body bending in that earth tearing final stride, pulling away to the off...'. You cannot have a better description of the perfect out swing bowler. I also liked that Tate said that his best spell was when he got no wickets for 45 runs in 19 overs - my best spell was one such too when i had no wickets for 28 runs in 22 overs!

Of Philip Mead he said he was so talented that he would not practice for long stretches and at times would not be happy even after he got a hundred. George Burns was 'best when the battle was hottest' and 'cricket to him was a personal matter'. Lord Constantine, the son of a plantation foreman from Trinidad was a much decorated man and a great cricketer. A Rowan 'had guts and was a scholar of off spin". Leo Harrison, a wicket keeper of 'high technical ability to leave his movement until the ball has 'done' everything and still get it without hurry'...'his handling is clean'...'his driving is a triumph of timing and fluency, the speed of the stuck ball much greater than the swing of the stroke would promise'...'a perfectionist who cannot forgive any cricket played with  less than full effort'.

When writing about Ray Lindwall, the Aussie fast bowler, he says 'all wicket keepers and fast bowlers are mad'...and says Ray was a rare exception of a highly intelligent fast bowler. He would adjust to different conditions and pitches fast, kept himself injury free by doing some stretching exercises, was a model in preparation, ...  'relaxed between deliveries, to the extent of scuffling his feet'...'used his bumper for psychological effect'. Keith Miller another great Aussie was an 'uncomplicated Aussie all rounder'...'who was never interested in cheap runs and cheap wickets'.

Of Derek Shackleton, a fast bowler, he writes ...'high kneed run, arm almost brushes his ear'...perfect. Jim Laker was arguably the finest off spinner who 'could alter the width of spin from ball to ball, varied pace by changing his grip which was based on the tip of index finger placed across and not beside the seam'. How many coaches would know such detail? And ..'like all master of flight, he could impart a considerable amount of over spin and get a steep dip as a produce the illusion of a half volley to a good length ball'..and as a person...'took a wicket and turned away'.    

Of Roy Marshall the Barbadian he writes ''''could drive superbly, moving down the pitch, flowing through with the stroke, hands leading to a complete follow through.' Of Gary Sobers he wrote 'one of the most thrilling batsman to watch.' And that he loved gambling. Fred Trueman, known as the young bull, ...'gradually accelerated, swung around so completely that the batsman saw his left shoulder blade, coked trigger, left arm pointed high, head steady, eyes at batsman, the arm slashed down as the ball fired down the pitch, so near the stumps that he sometimes brushed the umpire.' There is Merwyn Burden who was an unlucky cricketer but with great humour.

Ray Illingworth was a thinking cricketer whose 'reading of a match and general tactical acumen was above ordinary'...'picked the best men for the job, not necessarily in terms of technical ability but also temperament and application'...'deployed the team in such fine balance that it achieved maximum efficiency'...'gained respect, loyalty and effort through the trust he placed in his players and his own professionalism and lifted their game'...'never prejudging the problem but working them out deeply and clearly'. Classic understanding of leadership. There's Peter Sainsbury known for his enthusiasm, David White, Basil D'Oliveria who was the first black South African to play for England and broke the bonds of apartheid.

Barry Richards he said 'would play himself with cold determinism'...'and strolls when others hustle'. Then there's Tony Lewis. Of Boycott he says 'single minded cricketer'..'dedication such that he was first in the dressing room with his kit all laid out and ready'..'plays himself in without anxiety'. Then there's Mike Brearley who is a scholar and writer and psychologist.

Of Andy Roberts he says 'trains hard, does not smoke or drink'...'observes batsman with the care of a slow bowler'...'employs varied methods'...'studied the mechanics of cricket'...'rare combination of fire, settled physique and mature mind'. Of Viv Richards he writes 'batting is a matter of strokes, more strokes and even more strokes'.      

Fabulous writing and superb understanding of technique and skill. In one part poetry, one part coaching manual and in one part understanding of the psyche of each player..fabulous. Where have all such men gone? Thanks Vinod bhai for yet another gem!

     

Vatsyanyana's Kamasutra - Translated by Sir Richard Burton and FF Arbuthnot

I have had this little book with me for a long time, over three decades if I remember right, and I remember flipping through it once before, but this time I thought I would really get a n understanding of it. The translators took great pains to study these texts - and there were several of these texts around the aspect of lovemaking. They begin by saying that the East considered a study of sex an essential part of man's education and culture. Now of course it is not that anymore because no one has any education of sex and culture and if all one has is a distorted twisted version of it.

The book itself is divided into 7 parts -
Introduction
Sexual Union
Acquisition of Wife
Wife
Wives of Other Men
Courtesans
Means of Attracting others to Yourself

The topics considered give a fair idea about how the thinking was those days (or how our thinking has changed or not changed over the years). The Kama Sutra means 'Aphorisms of Love' and it is to the credit of these two gentlemen who found Vatsyayana mentioned in other texts and researched his classic work on love. Other texts around the subject in India which seems to have a lot of literature in this area are 'Rathirahasya' or 'Koka Sastra' by Kokkoka, 'Panchasakya' by Jyotirishya, 'Light of Fire' by Pradipa, 'Ratimanjari' by Jayadeva, and Anunga Runga' by Kulliamul. In English they refer to two books which are 'Kalogynomia' which is about the Laws of Female Beauty by T Bell and 'Every Woman's Book' by Dr Waters. 

Vatsyayana seems to have lived between the 1st and the 6th century. The famous classification of women is in Koka Shastra which classifies women into four types - Padmini, Chitrini, Shankhini and Hastini.

According to the texts Lord Brahma created man and woman and in the form of 100000 chapters laid down rules with respect to Dharma, Artha and Kama. Men should study the Kama Sutra. Even young maids before marriage. After marriage they can study it with the consent of their husbands.

There are 64 arts to be studied by females - and they include singing, dancing, tailoring, making beds, magic or sorcery, culinary, mimicry, cock fighting, poetry, gymnastics, gambling and so on - pretty much all that a man may need without employing anyone at all! For amusement they can go to social gatherings, drinking parties, picnics, social discourses.

They list out women not to be engaged with - extremely white women, and black women, female friends, ascetics, and those turned out of caste. Any woman who has been engaged by 5 men is a fit and proper person to be engaged. However wives of a learned brahmin, a king, close relatives should not be engaged with. It is a bit apparent who might have written these texts!

The kinds of sexual unions are classified according to dimensions, force of desire or passion etc. They are named as Horse, Bull, Deer, Elephant Equal and Unequal and various combinations of the same. The acts themselves are names as Riding, Yawning and Congress of a Cow. Desire can be Small, Middling or Intense.

There is also four kinds of love - love acquired by continual habit, from imagination, from belief and from perception of external objects. 

There are 64 types of embraces - touching, piercing, rubbing, milk and water embrace, climbing of trees, mix of sesame seed in rice are some of those. Similarly types of kissing include nominal, throbbing, touching, straight bent turned, pressed, kiss of the upper lip, fighting of the tongue, kiss that kindles love, transferred kiss etc. There's also piercing or marking or scratching with nails as an act of love which includes circle, half moon, tiger's claw, jump of a hare, peacock's foot and such. In biting one has the range of a hidden bite, swollen bite, pout, coral and jewel, line of jewels and such.

Interestingly some of these masters have also researched on women of certain parts of the country and have given the general idea of what they like and dislike for eg. women of Avantika do not have good manners or women of Andhra who have tender bodies and are full of enjoyment and like voluptuous pleasures!

Far as positions go there is the high congress, low congress, equal congress, deer woman, position of the wife of Indra, clasping position, rising position, twining, mare's position, suspended congress, united congress, splitting of bamboo, congress of cow, blows of the bull. During congress one is allowed to strike with passion - shoulder, head, between breasts, back, back of hand, fingers, fist, open palm  etc (comes with a caution of some king who hit blows and the partner died - so be gentle and don't get carried away). Interestingly the sounds one can make are also listed - hin, thundering sound, cooing sound, weeping sound, phut, phat, sut, lat (I am not joking this is there)

There are those women who are acting the parts of the man during congress - friction, piercing, rolling, giving a blow, blow of a boar, of a bull, a sparrow etc. 

There's stuff about eunuchs - there are two kinds of eunuchs - those disguised as male and those disguised as female and they are allowed to have normal congress, biting, piercing, kissing, mango, swallowing etc.  The word Auparishakta or mouth congress is specifically for eunuchs to earn a livelihood and can also be practiced by unchaste and wanton women, female attendants, serving maids. Some Acharyas opine that this is the work of a dog and opposed to dharma. However Vatsyayana apears to be the most forward thinking of the lot of said that the Holy Writ does not affect those who serve as courtesans and the law prohibits the practice only with married women. Vastyayana also held that everyone can do what they want. 

Again they have some rules on who can engage in mouth congress - male servants on master, women on women etc.For such things courtesans abandon men of good qualities and become attached to low persons such as slaves or elephant drivers but never with a learned brahmin, a minister or a man of good reputation. 

There's an entire list of things to do on how to begin and end congress - sit, sing, talk, wash, eat betel, embrace, look at the moonlight and such stuff - chaps had a lot of leisure those days. Again there are types such as loving congress of subsequent love, artificial love, transferred love, deceitful congress, spontaneous love etc.  There's also something about love quarrels.

To acquire a wife, look for a woman of same caste, a virgin, in accordance with the Holy Writ (one who is no longer a maiden should ever be loved). Also avoid those whose nose is depressed, whose nostrils are turned up, who has crooked thighs, who is polluted or disfigured (many more such are listed).

To get the girl to love and marry any of these methods are good - disparage husband to be, befriend brother, give her intoxicating substance when asleep, kidnap her, kill the guards and carry her off. Simple, get her at any cost. Crazy!

Causes to remarry are also given - foul or ill temper of wife, dislike of wife, want of offspring, continual births of daughters, incontinence of husband (finally the husband makes an appearance)

There are some rules for the eldest wife and how she must conduct with other wives. Also rules for the women of a harem. To get wives of other men there are some conditions - can resort to it to save his own life - if one can prove that you are excused I guess.

One interesting thing was the ten degrees of how love progresses to death - and those who have suffered in love will identify with the stages  - Starts with love of the eye, attachment of the mind, constant reflection, destruction of sleep, emaciation of body,turning away from objects of enjoyment, removal of shame, madness, fainting and death. Fairly accurate!

Men who succeed with women are good storytellers, bring presents, talk well, know weak spots. Women who are easily gained over are - standing at the door, looking out, wife of ab actor, whose husband is inferior etc. There are some ways on how to be a go between between a man and a women he loves

Another interesting passage was about how a 'virtuous woman who has affection for her husband should act in conformity with his wishes as if he were a divine being...know arrangement of flowers, take care of family, gardens, avoid company of female beggars, female Buddhist mendicants, unchaste women, know what husband likes and dislikes...when going out do nothing against his will...any misconduct of his do not blame him...keep secrets, make ghee, pound rice...' Very practical men who wrote this.     

To gain over women they say the man must make conversation, seduce only one woman at a time etc. Then there are rules for knowing a woman's state of mind, for go betweens, for women of royal harem, for courtesans (includes getting money from lover, getting rid of him, reunion with former lovers). To attract others to yourself eat the powder of a blue lotus with ghee and honey! There are means of increasing sexual vigour, ways of exciting desire (recipes) ways of enlarging lingam,(oils and stuff like that) 

...

It's a crazy read and one can well imagine who must have made these rules and how they were followed. But to make a science of it and categorise it and classify and educate, one must applaud the gentlemen involved, of whom Vatsyayana seems to be the most progressive. Surely, those who follow these rules must be benefiting from the above in the practice of the art of love. Unfortunately today we have no education of any sort in India and most education seems to be coming from the West in a most unscientific way!  

   

Lessons in Adapting a Novel to Screen

It has been an interesting two months and I still feel we have not got anywhere in adapting my novel to screen. Everytime it appears that it's over in a couple of days but it simply stretches longer and longer. Anyway these are what I learned so far. Will add to it as we go along.

) The novel was very heroine centric and the hero appeared only in patches - had to create hero story parallelly and fill in gaps

2)To think in terms of action, of external instead of internal dialogue

3) To be more out there, make everything big, not subtle and unsaid, expecting then to understand, hit it hard and big

4) To think metaphor alongside, to add layers

5) For non linear narrative to figure how to reveal the story in little well thought out bits so it all adds up in the end

6) To check the actual story and break it down in terms of scenes ... And then see if it makes sense as a film

7) To check scenes and apply filters of Conflict, Stakes, Goal and Value Change and change accordingly.... it's important to keep it going

8) That each scene comes to life when you put yourself in the shoes of the character as you search for conflict

9) That there are many characters and each can contribute to the scene if one can use them right, each brings a new dimension

10) That each layer needs to be addressed differently - structure, drama, humour, conflict, metaphor, setting, music, songs

11) That despite getting all the scenes together, the whole should hold true to the actual premise, the actual emotion should hold and entertain

12) To bring in new characters who may not be part of the original story but who will help in taking the story forward

Well, that's it for now. But will certainly organise it better and add to it as I go along.

Hyderabad by Walk - Daira Mir Momin

I peeped into DMM or. Daira Mir Momin, a Shia cemetery, named after Mir Momin Astrabadi who is credited with designing the city of Hyderbad in 1591 on the request of Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah, the fifth Sultan of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, and father of Hyderabad, a couple of times before and quickly realised I needed help to understand it's importance. So when Deccan Archives announced a walk, I was happy to join.

Entrance to Daira Mir Momin - sponsored by Dewan Chandulal

The inner entrance to DMM - sponsored by Aurangzeb

 Mir Momin's tomb looks quite impressive as it stands out in the midst of lakhs of graves, green and large, and is a place where many people come to pray. DMM also hosts the graves of many prominent members of Hyderabad, from the Qutb Shah era onwards.

Tomb of musical wizard Bade Ghulam Ali Khan

Tomb of Mir Momin Astrabadi - architect of Hyderabad

Sibgat led the walk and we started at the outer entrance which was apparently built by Chandu Lal who was the Prime Minister during the times of the second Nizam, and a rather mercurial character who played the Nizam and the British. The inner gateway which is green in colour was apparently built by Aurangzeb.

Tomb of the Dabba Bardar of Sultan Abdullah Qutb Shah

The lady and her spirits

Soon as we step in we see the tomb of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan who passed away in Hyderabad in 1968. To the right is a Turkish hammam which is not functional anymore.

Tomb of Mir Alam, once the Dewan before being jailed for embezzlement

The enclosure where the Salar Jungs are buried - I, II, III were Dewans

 To the right again, is a small tomb, rather nondescript, which is the tomb of Mir Alam who was the Prime Minister and was then imprisoned for embezzling funds. Apparently he had been buried elsewhere but the Nizam has his body exhumed and buried here. 

Tomb of Salar Jung III - of the museum fame

Tomb of Moazzam Jah, second son of 7th Nizam Osman Ali Khan

An impressive structure to our right (we are stepping over tombs but Sibgat said it's ok, just go by the side as much), was an interesting over - it was the tomb of the Dabba bardar (carrier of the royal paan spittoon) of Sultan Abdullah, the seventh Qutb Shahi Sultan. We stopped the the dargah or tomb of Mir Momin and admired the well designed skylight and interiors. Interestingly there are many cats around (no dogs) and Sibgat said that the cats were considered restless souls or spirits. But then he added - they are just cats

An Ashoorkhana in the Salar Jung enclave

Another one inside the Salar Jung enclave - probably the oldest in Hyderabad

Further down we walked into the enclosure where the Salar Jungs I, II, III are buried and members of the Salar Jung family. Prince Moazzam Jah, the second son of the 7th Nizam Osman Ali Khan is also buried here. He preferred to be buried here instead of being buried with his father and older brother at King Kothi. An old Ashoorkhana, probably the first in the city, lies there.  Behind the enclosure is the burial place of the zenana said Sibgat. Interestingly the harems were also passed on from King to King.

Dargah Hazrat Shah Chirag

We then walked to another impressive tomb or dargah of Hazrat Shah Chirag, a saint, who came to the city before Mir Momin, from Iran. Inside that tomb was three grave of Ali Raza, father of Mir Alam. Onwards to Noor Ul Huda, the tomb of 112 year old theologian, writer.

Mosque of Noor Ul Huda

An octagonal tomb

An interesting tomb is one shaped like an octagon, which apparently, comes from the tomb of Mary Magdalene in Israel which is also octagonal shaped. But this one has poor upkeep. 

Tomb of Zain Yar Jung

Dabba Bardar of Aurangzeb

A large tomb of unknown origin, and then we passed the tomb of Zain Yar Jung who designed much of modern Hyderabad - Osmania University and the likes. 

We passed the tomb of the Dabba bardar of Aurangzeb, which is quite impressive as well. Then there is the tomb of the Nawab of Ousa, which is famous for its mangoes.

Tombs of the Nawabs of Basava Kalyan

To one corner was the tomb of the nanny of Mahboob Ali Khan, the 6th Nizam, Mama Halima or some such name. A mosque built for the untouchable class of those who was the bodies before burial. And then the Masjid e Zehra which was built by some famous personality. Was it Mir Jumla, the Prime Minister? His tomb is there too but I think I got lost a bit here.

Dilapidated

The Nawab and Begum are buried here

We walked out of the Daira (apparently it means a circle) and walked along the road to see the dilapidated tombs of the Nawabs of Basavakalyan. Beautifu structures falling apart. They had a mosque and a deodi around it, but now it's all sold off except for the tombs.

That was it. A first for me, walking a cemetery like this. I met Mukhtyar, and another history buff Syed, who works in HSBC. Syed was a good natured gent who told me he reads my blog. And then there was Raghu, who is a techie turned food traveller. Another unique experience thanks to the Deccan Archives. I am looking for them to start a podcast soon so I can listen to all their gyan at my time.

Thought for the Day - Success is an Organised Mind, an Organised Mind leads to Disciplined Effort

I remember one of my early mentors on the writing journey Mr Rajan Bala asking me what good writing was all about. I had no clue so I said something like creativity. He shook his head and said - 'a well organised mind' or rather 'the ability to organise your thoughts well'. It really changed my approach to how I understood writing.

These days when I speak with young cricketers or students I can see that the difference between the ones who are good and the ones who are not is just that - how well organised their thoughts are. They are all capable of hard work but are very unclear about how to go about it. Success is that way a very mental construct to begin with - the ability to see through, to organize the effort, to see what's working and what's not and working on those areas. 

Organise your mind. Set a goal, see where you are, see the entire journey in your mind, work out the grey areas, the tough parts. And work accordingly. It requires thinking, just going past the haze, the fear of seeing things clearly. Whatever it is, see the picture clearly, the way you want it, big or small. For example, instead of stressing over writing a bestselling book and never starting to write, see the joy that writing gives you - an article, a blog post, a scene. That way one can move from fear to excitement - it's a personal journey. 

And things then fall in place. When you organise the mind, you can organise your effort. Nothing can stop disciplined effort.

Acts of Love - Walking Together

A hot afternoon. An elderly couple. The lady with a walking stick. The man stopping to keep pace with her. 

 Telling her something animatedly. Keeping her engaged as they proceed slowly. Heat and their age and discomfort notwithstanding. An act of love. 

Talk at Jaisimha Cricket Academy to Young Cricketers

Ramakanth invited me to talk to the young cricketers training at the Jaisimha Cricket Academy before the season started. The group was about 40 with some boys playing for my old club which gave me so much of my identity and shaped me as a person - MCC - and some young trainees. Chetan and Ramakanth were around to help as was Ann.

 

We discussed the route to succeed as cricketers and humans - playing for the team, helping the team win and not just focusing on one's own performance. This would help in taking pressure of performance and even help in improving performance. 

We discussed the idea of the Why which is having a clear purpose, an understanding of the How which includes the Values and Processes and the What which is their goals. On the purpose we decided to keep Team Win as a good option. 

We discussed Values and the boys came up with values such as effort, honesty, team work, dedication, discipline etc. We discussed that values are shown through behaviors and not through words. We added the value of Growth or Learning Mindset to the above and I explained how a learning mindset can lead them to success. Effort, learning a new thing everyday, asking for help, setting bigger targets, getting process orientation were discussed. Arnav said he had read the book by Carol Dweck which was impressive. 

We discussed the importance of preparation - on physical. Skill and mental aspects. How they should know the standard, know where they are, and work towards that in a disciplined manner. Another formula for Performance was Potential minus Interference. We discussed the various kinds of Interference that messes with the performance.

In process we discussed the concept of deliberate practice and how they have to practice in a manner that they improve one skill at a time and practice that. I gave them the example of how Kapil Dev would decide that he would bowl only outswingers and bowl only that. The idea is to deliberately plan what to do in the session and practice that with full involvement of the mind and body. Like a bowler can plan to bowl only one delivery or a batsman can plan not to get out etc. Another important thing is to learn one thing everyday, take process feedback from coaches and measure progress. One thing they got was the idea of strengths and weaknesses and how n one should really strengthen their strengths because that is what will take them forward. Work 80 % on strengths and 20% on weakness. 

We did a small exercise on goals and they wrote some goals for the season and for their career. They asked some good questions on how to come back from a bad patch, how to handle disappointment etc. We collected some feedback and took a group pic with Vidyuth, Chetan, Ramakanth and the boys. Quite satisfying and I hope they take away and implement a thing or two.

Some feedback:

) Learned to keep team first. Do things that benefit the team and it will benefit us.

2) Learned about fitness standards and how to ask for help to improve. 

3) Got motivated to get the process right. Gained clarity on what to do and how to go about the most important things in life and sport.

4) Learned that we must work 80% on strengths and 20% on weakness (not to obsess over weak areas but improve them consciously through effort)

5) Performance Management requires us to prepare on Skill, Physical and Mental areas. To stay humble. To stay hungry and to stay foolish. Understood Deliberate Practice.

6) Know where you are and what you want and work to fill the gap.

7) Best motivation for cricket.

8) Plan before every session, ask feedback and play for the team 

9) Very informative and thought provoking session.

10) Learned how to become a better cricketer and human. Learned different aspects to work on. Learned the concept of deliberate practice. 

Talk at NexGen to Young Cricketers

Chatterjee has been inviting me to talk to the trainees at NexGen and we decided to do the talk after the season is done. I like the team at NexGen and feel they go about the coaching aspect in the right manner and with the right values - focus on coaching and improving the players with the right practices - so I was quite glad to say Yes. So when we spoke the other day we fixed the date and I went to the NexGen Academy in Tumkunta, one hour away from my place. 

Chatterjee received me and took me in. The boys were already waiting and I headed straight into the talk. There was Abhirath, Aniketh, Paras, Mayank from the boys I knew. We spoke about the practices of how to become a successful cricketer, and how the same practices help in becoming successful human beings.

I started off by setting the context - the golden Circle of Why, How and What. I explained the importance of knowing the Why - and we decided that the more times our team wins, the better it is for us. It's a worthy and high purpose. That the team is more important than the individual is something we agreed upon and to play for team win as a purpose was agreeable too.

We discussed the importance of Mindset - the fixed and the growth mindset and how we can get better by adopting the growth mindset of learning, of asking for help, of taking feedback, of increasing effort, of knowing process and being able to self correct.

In the How we looked at the process of preparation - physical, skill and mental. In the physical i asked them about the NCA parameters and where they stood. Then to prepare accordingly. On skill we discussed how to become better at skill - the 10000 hour rule, deliberate practice, knowing strengths and weaknesses and working on bettering the strengths and improving our weakness (in a 80:20 ratio).

We discussed the formula for performance. Two actually - one that performance reflects prepration on all three counts of physical, skill and mental preparation. 

Another that Performance = Potential - Interference. We discussed interference, the mental aspect, how to train the mind, how to get mentally stronger. We discussed the connection between outcome and process and how both are connected and not separate. I told them to drop blame, excuse and luck from their dictionary and take ownership for everything that happened to them and link it to preparation.

The students asked good questions about coming back from a poor run, correcting bad practices, how to cope with bad days and so on and so forth. Abhirath gave a vote of thanks and we took a pic and I left after some breakfast and coffee with Chatterjee and a few of the boys.

Thanks Chattu, NexGen for the opportunity. I enjoyed it and hope the boys benefited from it.

Some feedback:

1) I understood, that I have to Keep goal To achieve or play certain format . i have to have a mindset of winning every game i play and have to play every game possible. - S

2) Always keep team in front of self. As an individual person you can only push to take 4-5 wickets but if you play for a team you can push for 10 wickets also if required So benefit for individual in greater sense

3) Doing double as hard work as other fellow mates do as they had more time for practice

4) Sir was trying to convey how maximum outcome of a person is achieved and conveyed what is the selectors point of view about selecting candidates. And sir conveyed that keeping goals is not bad and be dominant in the field and life

5) My question about how to approach practice sessions when I don’t feel 100% was really well answered and I gained new and better perspectives about how to prepare mentally how to go about things on preparation and approach. It was a very insightful session. - A

6) Good morning sir, it was a very insightful session, interaction was about winning games for the team , not playing for personal goals. having a purposeful practice. - S

Feedback Series - Swethan

 Swethan was a young cricketer who would come to MLJ Academy for coaching. I would drop by there for a bowl once in a while and well, would chat with the boys as always. Its been a couple of decades since and he suddenly came up and while discussing this and that sent me some wonderful feedback. Sometimes, it makes all that time we spent coaching and mentoring seem worthwhile when we read stuff like this. Thanks Swethan.

...

"Sir, you always been a role model for me when I was playing! You gave me inputs and guided me which even today were good inputs. You allowed me to act in the movie and what not they all were so close to my heart. I was just a new guy but still you didn’t show any partiality but supported me. You inspired me to write blogs and that is one reason which helped me write good narratives even today in LinkedIn or even at office."

And a Thought for Mom and Mother Nature

It never ceases to amaze me how every year, this one mango tree and the two coconut trees my mother planted 50 years ago still keep giving bountifully despite the minimum lack of care from my side. Mom, when this house was being built, planted several trees - two mango trees, two coconut trees, a guava tree, a pomegranate tree, couple of Asoka trees and such stuff. 

Now the mango tree, coconut trees and the Asoka trees survive. Every year the mango tree gives off anywhere between 300-500 mangoes which are in great demand in our neighborhood so by the time we decide to get a few, half the crop has disappeared. Anyway it's fun to play the farmer, get the mangoes plucked, ripened, if someone has the drive, get avakai made. The ripened rasalu are very sweet and massive and I normally give it away feeling every bit a small rajah or something to people who I really really like. This year the crop has only yielded 150 which is a cause for concern.

The coconut trees have benefited by my watering for many years when my mom would give me the job and i would do it dutifully. Now i have no idea what to do with the crop except worry that the coconuts might fall on someone's head. There is one drunken fellow who comes every year promising to get them off but i worry that he will fall off and have banned him from the premises.

This year however the coconuts seem to have ripened and every other day I hear a coconut fall so i hired a more reliable climber who plucked off some 150 coconuts. Now we have no idea what to do with them but at least they will stop falling and endangering people etc. 

Overall, an interesting last couple of days. I cannot but feel the love of mother nature and her giving nature, her non judgemental attitude and the way she blooms so beautifully. And of course, every year when these trees bloom I cannot but remember my mother who built this house with love and planted these trees so we could (and many more anonymous colony people) enjoy their fruits. Thanks Mum and thanks Mother Nature.

The Paradoxes of Our Lives - To Find Those Who Have Helped you the Most, See Who You Complain Most Against

 I do find this most interesting - that our biggest complaints are against those who have helped us the most - or at helped us in some way. Clearly we cannot have a complaint against those who do not help us - there's nothing to complain you see.

But those who help us we have problems with - the way they gave, how much, the manner, how they stopped giving, how they could have done more and so on and on.

I'm going to make a list of all the people I have complaints against and make it a practice to thank them everyday - simply because they are the ones who have helped me.

Life is a paradox.

Thought for the Day - Free Flow and Ego

Free flow is removing ego from the equation. The ego is what obstructs free flow, queers the pitch so to say. It comes in as a wisp of a thought, and what was brilliant flow, queers up. 

Normally it shows up as a desire to control - a discomfort with what is - a desire to fight the present and bring in our narrative. If we are aware, we can flow with what is, which brings in great flow again. 

In sports (or in life, because what's sport if not a microcosm of life as someone said or might have said), the formula for peak performance is this - Peak performance = Potential - Interference. Our ego is the interference. It is what brings in fear, insecurity and because of that we try to control instead of letting it evolve.

Let go. Stop trying to control.

Daksha School - Talk with Teachers on Goal Setting and Importance of Feedback

 While discussing the importance of learning the art of giving and receiving feedback as a tool for constant improvement with Anita, we decided to do a short intervention of both goal setting and the importance of feedback for the teachers. There were about 40 of them, many of whom had taught Anjali when she was a student of the school - Sarita, Rohini, Sirisha, Sangeeta, Kamakshi and so on. It was good to meet them. While introducing me Anita reminded me of the time when we sat on the terrace of their house and thought up names for the school - 20 years ago - just before she launched the school. We started with Dakshata and then shortened it to Daksha. And then Anjali studied in the same school as well. Time flies!

Talking to the teachers at Daksha

Anyway I gave the teachers an introduction to the golden circle - the Why, How and What - and said we would be doing some small segments of the entire workshop that I do. We decided to work on everybody's Why - their purpose which would give them greater commitment and motivation when they work. To do the best for students, bring the best out of them to build great leaders, build a wonderful society and world were some of the options thrown up as a purpose to their work which is otherwise very fulfilling. I wish I could have dwelt longer but I had little time so we moved on.

Feedback exercise

The next topic was goal setting and I told them about the importance of writing goals - that it gives clarity, something for our subconscious to aim for, something for us to prepare proactively for. I explained the concept of SMART goals and took a few examples while they all wrote down a 20 year list of goals on career, finance, relationships, material wealth and spiritual growth. the idea was to write down 10 year goals, 5 year goals, 1 year goals so they have a complete map ahead. I urged them to dream big and work for it and not go for small goals. The examples gave some clarity on how one must see a picture, a name, have a number or a visual. I told them to diligently do the work on the other time frames later.

We then moved on to discussing the importance of giving and taking feedback and how it helps the student and teacher to grow. Even teachers should have a system of feedback from students, peers and other stakeholders so they can be ranked and rated too. I told them to keep feedback focused on its purpose which is to make the person aware of the issue and work on improvement. I explained that it cannot be dumped as a one off but couched in the entire context of the effort that the person is putting in and then delivered so they receive it well - they know you are not criticising them but are coming from a place of understanding their journey and will work on it. I also suggested that they end their feedback by setting a high expectation which the student will try to achieve.

About when to praise and when to give negative feedback I suggested that they look at the person and their stage - if the person is not confident and doe snot know the process its best to give only positive reinforcement. Praise only progress and leave out the negatives. That way the person will try to repeat the positive behaviors and will improve. Once a person reaches a stage where they are confident and know the process, then, if they are erring or not giving their best, they can be given feedback to improve.

A lovely gift - Daksha elephant with a green message

I made them do a feedback exercise where everyone gave one person good feedback in terms of three nice things. The room was up and buzzing with a lot of energy. Good stuff.

Anita gave me chai and a lovely gift, a Daksha elephant (their logo) with a plant, and a box of brownies. We discussed topics such as Mindset which would help and thought we could plan them sometime later. Very satisfying. I asked for some feedback and will post the same when I get it.          

Feedback from some of the participants - thank you all:

1) The Why-What-How flow was so clear.The long-term goals part with the SMART sheet was super practical.Breaking big goals into specific, measurable steps was exactly needed.

 My takeaway from today’s workshop :-I’m starting this week by rewriting my term goals and work consistently towards achieving them.

Thank you ma’am for an insightful session.

It was really motivating and a clear concept of how to reach your goal. Feedback session was much needed for all.

2) It was really motivating and a clear concept of how to reach your goal. Feedback session was much needed for all.

Thank you Anita maam and Mr.Hari for this sessiob

3) The session on Goal Setting, SMART Techniques, and the Art of Giving and Receiving Feedback was highly educational and thought-provoking. 

The session also highlighted how meaningful feedback, when given constructively and received positively, can become a powerful tool for professional growth.

4) Good morning Mam, The session on goal setting and giving feedback was highly informative and engaging. It provided clear strategies for stating realistic and achievable goals. I felt the practical tips on delivering constructive and effective feedback were very useful. The interactive activity made the concepts easy to understand and apply.

Thank you Mam and Hari Mohan Sir for the session.

5) The session  was thoughtful for self. 

My take away is writing up the goals using SMART tools. Liked Specific among SMART TOOLS 

Thank you Anita Ma'am

6) The session was engaging and well-structured, with practical frameworks and interactive activities. My take away from the session is writing down our goals which increases commitment and keeps you accountable and  helps turn intentions into results. 

Thank you ma'am

7) Today’s session on SMART goal setting was very useful for me. It helped me to  learn how to set clear and achievable goals. Taking and giving feedback should be accepted as it is a chance to grow, improve, and do better next time—for ourselves and for the children too.

8) Today's session was thoughtful. It helped me introspect and motivated me to set specific goals and work towards them seriously. Thank you for such an impactful session. Thank you Hari sir & Anita ma'am!

9) Feedback for Hari sir: Hari Mohan Sir is considerate and jovial. His patience in helping  us understand the process of setting goals is appreciable.😊

10) Thank you, Hari Sir and Anitha Ma’am. I really enjoyed the session on goal setting. We all have goals, but yesterday’s workshop helped us understand how to set them effectively using the SMART method. It made me realize how important it is, especially for us as teachers, to seek feedback from others and continuously improve ourselves. I also learned that giving constructive feedback to children is equally important for their growth. This session was truly valuable and insightful.

11) Today's workshop for me was engaging and  Goal setting concept was something new and practical. Taking and giving feedback with a positive mindset is equally important for our growth and equally applicable when dealing with children.Thankyou so much.

Short Workshop With Young Cricketers - Imperial Cricket Club

Imperial Cricket Club has had an impressive run in the last three years getting promotions from C division to B division and again from B division to A division. Ravi's teams are made of young, promising cricketers, mostly from modest backgrounds. From what I have heard it's a rare team culture where team comes first and players play as one and manufacture results consistently without the pressure of winning at all costs. Perfect team culture.

I offered to do a small workshop on preparation and mindset for cricketers when he said he was planning to felicitate his players for their good show. He asked if he could get players from other teams as well and we had about 40 cricketers attending. The more the merrier.

I have often heard from young cricketers and students only two words when asked how they plan to play higher grade cricket - hard work. Beyond those two words they have no clarity on what to prepare in, how to prepare etc. Most do not know the parameters for physical fitness, have no idea of their strengths and weakness and how to correct them, no clue on how to train their mind. So sharing a few ideas could help them a bit. After all we have all been there at one time.

To begin with we discussed the values that built their champion team - honesty (playing the best XI with no preference to any player, team goals above individual goals (team spirit or playing as a team),  and certainly, hard work (resilience and hanging in there). We discussed why values are important - as principles we value, they guide our actions and choices. I also told them that though all of them may want to play for India, most may not make it. These values will at least help us become successful human beings. 

Everyone wants success and is seeking the success formula. Success comes to the best prepared. There is no luck as far as I am concerned. Your preparation reflects your preparation so if you are not delivering the results you want (500 runs or 50 wickets in the season) you have not prepared well. The successful formula then becomes Disciplined Effort. To get form point A to B and to show improvement every day, one must put in an organised and disciplined effort. I broke it down in the famous golden circle format - Why, How and What - so they could easily remember how to prepare. 

The Why is the purpose why we are playing - which is to help the team win (which is what gives us most joy and also helps promote our individual careers too). Next we looked at the HOW - Values and Processes. Processes include ways to gain expertise (deliberate practice), what to prepare on (physical (NCA parameters), skill (batting, bowling, fielding, strengths and weaknesses), mental (goal clarity, process orientation, resilience, learning mindset, effort, beliefs, owning their lives with no blame and excuse), what to work for (SMART goals for medium and short term). 

A cute memento 

We discussed how champions train the hardest. One has to work hard. If one is not getting the results one wants, one should look at one's process and figure where there is a shortfall. I also told them that as a selector I look for cricketers who have a good work ethic, who are match winners, team players, possess high skill in their category and bring good values to the team.

 

There were good questions from the cricketers. How to handle pressure, how to handle back to back failures, how to build mental strength and so on. After the session, there was a memento awarding session followed by lunch. Day well spent.