Another Gem From Dhoni - It's Simple

This morning I read another gem from Dhoni in the newspapers. He said 'Cricket is a simple game really. It is only by thinking too much into it that we complicate things.'

That is so true of life itself isn't it? We complicate what is really a simple thing. And we get what we look for  - the one who looks for simple things finds it simply and the one who looks for complications finds it. And that is the paradox of it all, it is difficult to make it look simple. The difficulty is in the preparation, in obtaining the clarity and then presenting it in a simple manner. Ah, to see such professionalism and expertise in our country is a treat!

So many times, in life and cricket, we win and lose matches and situations in our own mind. We conjure situations, weigh expectations, see statistics and succumb to our preconceived notions. But if we focus only on what we can do, prepare for it well and then just stay true to your preparation irrespective of the bedlam that's surrounding you, more often than not you find doors opening. Miracles happening. And taht is what this young lad from Almora is saying. Don't fight the demons in your head. It's pretty simple really. Prepare, go and act as the situation unfolds.

This is going to be the most famous mantra for the future, this four letter word KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid!

The Indian World Cup Win - Lessons to Us All

Now that India has won the World Cup it is time for us to follow suit. Unlike the 1983 World Cup this was a win that went almost as per script. This time was not hoping to win, it wanted to win, played to win and made it come true. It is always harder when you are the favourites, when you have to deliver. But true professionalism is when you deliver when it is expected of you.

So like the Indian team, we need to spell out our goals and get set to achieve the highest peaks in our respective fields. If anything, this team that looked so patchy in the earlier rounds, old and , has given me a new energy to focus on my goals and my dreams. If this team of stars, egos, unfit players and most importantly inconsistent players can raise the game the way they did at every occasion, we can too. If they can show the burning desire to win as they did in the final and in the earlier two matches, I can too. And now after it is all done, I am more than convinced that this team's greatest lesson to anyone is its preparation, its acceptance of its limitations and the way it used itself in the best way it can. If they can win a World Cup in four years, we can do something equally good for ourselves!

In my opinion all the members of the 2007 team burned with the ignominy of that defeat. None more so than the highly combative S.R. Tendulkar. Instead of finishing his career in a blaze of glory, he was heading downward. In his mind he must have made up his mind to correct at the very next World Cup. Since then, I am sure, much of his thought, act and preparation must have gone into how to get his hands on World Cup 2011. He would have burned with that thought many times. Again, I will hazard a guess, but I do think that his focus and commitment at his age and experience must have pushed many younger players into following suit. If Sachin can do it, I must!
And so must we also rise, from our personal levels of mediocrity and set our sights on something truly magnificent. Forget the past and set yourself a big goal! They had four years - we can s take the same number of days, a 1000 odd days!



So, for us it begins with a goal.

• A big, juicy, ambitious goal.
• A time frame - 1000 days
• A mad desire to achieve it for oneself and for a greater cause - the country, the people etc - mostly those who have written you off as a failure are truly our greatest motivators because they provide the first spark
• A clear visualisation of what you wish to achieve - the Cup in your hand
• A plan - take as much time as you can but get all the details right
• A process - stick to it
• A team that is supportive - cut out the naysayers
• A team that backs your mad dream no matter what
• A team that pushes you to be your best - even if they are critical they must be pushing you to be better
• A team that trusts you and that you trust- tough to get but get it
• A team that works together
• A preparation that keeps you always focussed on your goal, not on the past or the future
• A schedule of actions that makes you the best you can be, that pushes you to improve each time
• A building of belief as you go through the process - belief that will come to your aid when things look bleak
• A desire to achieve no matter what - sweat, blood, tears - big things need big efforts, big sacrifices

Thanks Gary Kirsten, Paddy Upton, Sachin, Dhoni and company for living it and showing us how to go for glory!

Sachin's Retirement - The Stupidest Question Post World Cup 2011

Just as the euphoria of winning the World Cup is settling down and someone who has played such a huge role in this scheme of things is addressing a press conference comes this stupid question. Are you thinking of retirement? Why would anyone who has seen him bat, field and bowl with such intensity and commitment in the past few days ask such a question is what beats me. Is there something missing here? Is that a question to ask now? Is your whole idea of a press conference a place to make the celebrity feel uncomfortable, defensive? I would dearly love to know who this great stalwart is who asked this question at this time. Really. If there was an award for inappropriate and mediocre behavior, this takes the cake.

Let me put this in perspective. I find that our cricket journalists and the viewing public behind them are obsessed with this retirement thing. The moment a new prodigy comes on the big stage, they seem to be eager to predict, if not, manipulate the retirement as soon as they can. Why this obsession with retirement in certain areas - specially cricket? I think many players in the earlier eras might have retired early because of these mistaken notions and ideas spread by these journalists whose knowledge of the game is minimal - few have played the game at first class cricket. 99% are really not qualified to cover cricket. And to make up for their short fall in knowledge they ask banal questions like this. Does anyone ask you to retire Mr. journalist because you wrote a couple of bad pieces? You seem to do that for years and years. Do politicians retire, dancers, artists, writers..anyone before their prime? The only indication is of performance and that many of the people in paid jobs take for granted - they do not retire even as they do not perform!

I find it intriguing. Firstly there should really be no place for mediocrity in such important press meets. The propriety and the sanctity should always be maintained in the aftermath of such a huge event, when someone of such stature is addressing you. This is a question one can ask in a one off interview when one is reflecting, recounting on a more personal basis. This conference was a stage to celebrate, to find out the way we can also excel, we can also be at our best after twenty grueling years, we can also counter people who have written us off and come back and play like a commoner, challenge yourself to be as good as everyone else and not pass off as the senior pro because you can bat well. This is where Sachin is truly great because unlike many of his seniors who have slacked off in their later years and grew flab around their middles once they knew they were big enough to take things for granted, he has always challenged himself to the limit, not because he wants to prove a point, but because he genuinely wants to contribute to the team's good. In fact in a team where the younger players have some girth around their middle (Yuvraj, Zaheer, Harbahjan, Sreesanth, Sehwag all showed some signs of adding weight), he looks tremenddously fit.

There is no reason to ask the question. There is no need for eager television channels to flash news as 'Sachin evades question of retirement'. It just shows how some sections of our people have not learnt discretion and propriety. In his current form few can match his contribution to this side. But more importantly I now believe that he has earned himself the right to go when he wants to and not when someone else wants him to. I say this not because I am one of those delirious Sachin fans but because I feel that he will be the first one to step down once he feels that his contribution to the team may affect the team's performance by even one notch. If he had listened to doomsday predictions of he should retire and hung up his boots instead of chasing his dream of winning the World Cup, we might not have won this World Cup. By being there, by constantly showing the way and surely by sending signals of how desperately he wanted to win this Cup, he raised the spirit of the youngsters and that's what did the trick. Remember, almost everyone in the tam said this was for Sachin.

Sachin is good enough to play on for as long as he likes. And for guys who are contemplating the question, there should now be a law which allows the security men to chuck them out of the room. He has earned himself some peace from this kind of irresponsible haranguing. If you have nothing better to do, learn from him. If you cannot do that leave him alone and stop trying to put ideas. Thankfully he is as good a judge of questions and the mischief behind them as he is of cunning deliveries - and he leaves them alone.

2015? Who knows? Only he does. All he has to do is make up his mind and once he makes up his mind, he puts enough energy behind it to make it happen.

And Now it's Airtel Digital - Awful Customer Service

As with so many things these days we get something that is attached to another thing which you really don't want. But since they are giving it away anyway you take it and then you wonder why you did. So I got a Sony tv that messed up a couple of my days because everyone was acting and behaving like its the first time they handled tv's. (Or is it just me?) But anyway, Sony had a offer with it, a Airtel HD digital connection for three months so we can all enjoy wonderful HD stuff from Airtel on our wonderful new tv. It all looked delicious!

Soon as the Sony chap told us we were to deal exclusively with Airtel for the second part of the deal we looked up the coupon and to figure that out. It had a scratch card part which hid a number and then you take this information and maybe some info about the Sony tv and get your account recharged for some 1000 bucks. It's simple 1) call toll free 2) go to website or 3) go to any local airtel office or dealer and get it recharged. So we tried option 1 and this was a particularly difficult toll free where no one would answer and the phone would mysteriously get cut off after a couple of exchanges. Then we got on the net and did almost everything except that the payment gateway, for some unknown reason, did not process the transaction. Sick of all this we decided to go to the friendly neighbourhood dealer. There were hundreds of them, only they were phone dealers and not digital tv guys. Digital tv guys were hard to fin, two consumer durable shops, big ones, said they had no recharge facility and by then we had floated far away from home. We found a regular airtel office and hoped they could help us but they also directed us to two options. One a shop further down the road and another, a phone number of a dealer who would come home and do it all. Of course the number of the dealer would not work. So we searched high and low for this dealer, found him, paid the money and forgot to take his number because we thought it was all under control and all we had to do is call airtel and they'd come swarming all over like in the Videocon ad and fix it up.

The airtel toll free lady said the account was zero. Please go and check with the dealer. Now dealer is six kms away and we just came back. Dealer had carefully omitted his contact number in the receipt, toll free does not have his number and the airtel website has o number. Sick to the core and cursing ourselves for not taking down his number, we got a friends to go and get his number. Upon consenting to speak at his own time, he kindly let us know that it had some problem with the system and once the charge is credited he would sms. Of course we gave it up. But sms came and then we called the airtel toll free and this time, there is no answer. We sent an sms or something and they were to call which they did not and by now we were quite comfy with the whole thing and forgot about it over the weekend.

Today, we finally got it all together. Call went through, person picked up, all recharge etc in place. He confirmed that it was all good and we could expect someone to come over and install the dish on the 8th! I mean the recharge is done on the 2nd, the order confirmed on the 4th and the installation is on the 8th. I cannot believe that they take that long - or is it just because it is part of this scheme? I nodded philosophically. I only wish they don't show me so many Videocon DTH ads on tv about their lightning fast service. Makes me want to reach out. But what the heck - it is probably me!

And tell you what, if you are not blogging, start doing it right now and spill it all out about such experiences. Believe me, it gets it out of your system and also puts some feedback on the internet for customers and the service providers!

India's World Cup Lessons - Leadership From Dhoni

This goes to all leaders I guess be it in the political arena, the corporate job, school cricket team or even at home. Much will be discussed and analysed of Dhoni's captaincy in the days and years to come because rarely has one seen a leader of such remarkable cool and clarity. But to go back to some snatches of what I have heard and what I saw and read, these are things that Dhoni teaches by his acts.

• Believe in your team and the resources available - and back them fully (bowling Yuvraj as a frontline bowler is unbelievable)
• Delegate jobs, roles and responsibilities to teammates clearly - and don't fret your head after you have done it (it's their job, Gautam's job was to stay till the end)
• Play for the higher goal and be clear about that to everyone - in this case they played for the country (players must realise that they are playing for the country and not for the crowd)
• Stay in the present, not in the past or the future (this team did not make the Super 8s last World Cup and also fared badly at the T20 World Cup so they had to get over that)
• Take the pressure off the team - right from day one he has said that India was favourites but anything could happen, it's just a game
• Made each one back and trust each other - how they did it is a mystery but they did get everyone to take on another's responsibility if they did not deliver on a given day - Raina, Kohli, Zaheer, Gambhir, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Sachin - everyone did it for the team when there was a crisis
• Made them play as if their lives depended on it - another great mystery from a side that looked ragged and patchy, cometh the big day and they all fell, into place like some clockwork - Raina, Yuvraj and Kohli fielded like tigers, Zaheer bowled the best first spell of the tournament possibly nad Gambhir, Dhoni and Kohli took away all Lankan hopes clinically. Somewhere he managed to make them all aware that they were all equally responsible for winning the Cup
• Stepped up his own game when needed and led from the front, batted through the pain barrier
• Accepted his mistakes

An intriguing quality of Dhoni is that he is quick to give merit and blame wherever concerned. Not the sort who says, I will take all the blame when it goes wrong and share all the credit. He shares both blame and credit. He also appears, like he said, to be rooted in the present. In which case, he would already have moved on from the World Cup frenzy to other things in life!

Zorba the Greek - Magnificent Read

This book is a one of a kind. It is unusual, has great depth and fantastic characters and makes you wonder every now and then at the questions it poses. It is something you read, stop, and then chew on it, stare into the far skies, assimilate what he has said and then continue reading again. I started reading this sometime ago, and plodded through it for a long time now, mainly because it is written in a style that is alien, different, and also the character Zorba changes colours by the minute, making it difficult to get a hold on him. You never do because Zorba comes and goes of his own will.

Zorba the Greek

'Zorba the Greek' written by Nikos Kazantzakis is an intriguing story of a Greek who has seen the world. An ageing workman who knows many skills, has seen many places, worked in different places, met many people and most importantly who has figured out through his own diverse experiences in this world, his heart's rhythm. He joins the narrator, a sensitive writer, a man of books and someone who is seeking to find answers to his own life on an expedition to Crete where they start a lignite mine. Zorba convinces the narrator that he can make the best soup and has worked in a lignite mine before. Intrigued by this strange man, the narrator picks him as his assistant and so starts this wonderful journey where Zorba lays bare his soul. And what a soul - vibrant and courageous, full of love and life.

Zorba is a man who has cut off his finger because he felt that it was obstructing the playing of his santuri, his beloved instrument that he plays only when he feels that it is ready to play. He is a man who can never see a woman (the female of the species) in distress and who thinks that it is a sin to deny a woman who wants intimacy. And he has known many women, widows, married women, young girls and he loves and cares for each of them in the same intimate way as he does his santuri. He is a man who believes that a man can express himself best when he dances, and dance he does, like the devil, his whole body getting into the act until the entire story is told. Zorba has fought wars, murdered men, raped women and has figured out that there is nothing like fighting for one's country if all it means is killing an innocent in its name. He believes that god and devil are the same. He believes that we are this way because we do everything by halves and not once do we do anything fully as the god desires us to. Zorba believes that there are three types of men and they are distinguished by what they do with the food they eat - whether they waste it in sloth, or convert it into work and good humour or the best kinds of all, who do the work of god. Zorba fights a mob that wants to kill a beautiful widow alone, without caring for his life, cares intimately for the old, haggard Boubolina, his new girl friend who unfortunately dies, but in happiness knowing that Zorba is around, builds the cable car in an effort to make money for his 'boss'. Zorba eats, drinks, sings, dances, makes love, laughs and cries (I can cry in front of men boss, but not in front of women because it hurts them) like every man wishes he could. And this is only so much I can write, he is much more, a great multi layered character of the kind you would not meet. He is the man one reads of in fables, a creation that the author has delivered with great care. There may not be another of such depth and energy, so full of life and ideas and so much love and laughter.

It is a magnificent read. But take your time. Imbibe it. Keep your pen ready for each time Zorba speaks, he speaks such profound stuff in such simple words, in such lyrical manner that you want to go back to it. There is no other way to reproduce it - those words that the author has used are the only words that make sense. It is a sensational piece of work work - one that no one else can write. Once you read it you will always have Zorba by your side, always. Hugely recommended.

India Wins the World Cup - Fascinating Win

India proved the much better prepared team and dug deep into its much vaunted talent and showed incredibly high desire and intensity to lift the World Cup No team that can field the way the Indians did, bowl the way they did for most part and most importantly bat the way they did after being down 31-2 can lose. It was fascinating to watch as they rebuilt on the shoulders of young, fearless and gutsy players who were so focussed on getting their hands on the Cup. This was a chase worthy of a champion team that truly deserved the World Cup. India proved and emphatically, that they are the World Champions by far. This was no fluke. This was a champion team that performed to its potential or something close to that. And when this Indian team performs to its potential, nothing can stop it.

It had been frustrating to watch their scratchy performances in the early stages. It has been equally fascinating to see it rise to the peak it did as a unit. Several times the players and their exceptional leader have said words of rare brilliance and clarity. "We back each other fully", "We play for each other", "We visualised holding the Cup one year ago" and some many more that I forget. This is what team work is about and full marks to the Coach, the selectors, the players for putting everything else aside and doing it for themselves and for their country. Today, the way they rose, no team on earth could have beaten them.

Sri Lanka can well and truly go back satisfied that they had given their best. It was not even a close game. Everyone knew once Gautam and Virat Kohli settled down to handle the pressure and run the ones and twos that this match was pretty much over. Ajay Jadeja said that by the 17th over he knew that there would be no more hiccups. It was just the way the two youngsters rebuilt the innings that showed the determination, the desire to win today - come what may. Gambhir excels in these situations and you can see that combative spirit in him every time India faces a test. The tougher the challenge the grittier he becomes. In the T 20 World Cup certainly, in several games for India after that and in this unbelievable knock in the World Cup final, this young man of rare grit and courage, and of exceptional talent, played what was to me the innings of the match. Not as silken and as good looking as Mahela's class act before but for sheer guts and gumption and application, this rises above both Mahela's and Dhoni's knocks for me. The only flaw, a tired and out of character stroke that cost him a World Cup final hundred. But Gambhir's 97 is worth 25 hundreds in inconsequential games! The 'man of the match' to me, this young lad, a true soldier of India.

One cannot forget the contribution of Virat Kohli, the youngest and already one who matches the fire and determination of the seniors, this Delhi batsmen batted like he had no nerves. He is another one to watch out for in the future because he will fetch many wins for India. He played flawlessly with Gambhir and added crucial runs and blunted all the Lankan hopes - batting seemed the easiest thing to do when they were there picking ones and twos at will and the occasional boundary. If Dilshan had not pulled of that unbelievable catch off his own bowling Kohli was on the way to a long inning. One of the best visuals of the final to me was that of his disappointment at having got out, he angrily hit himself on his pads in an agony that showed in every part of his body, that he wanted to stay there till the end was clear. That visual showed his immense desire to win and that is very satisfying. The ex- captain of the Indian Under 19 team not too long ago is known to be a fighter, a leader and he is used to winning. In the presence of these almost God like cricketers who played today he will bloom into something bigger and brighter. Indian cricket is in good hands.

Dhoni said another of his great statements before the match - we are in the present and not in the past and future. And so he remains. Despite the admitted error of having played Sreesanth (the lucky charm of Indian cricket) instead of Ashwin, an amazing inning of Jayawardena and a late charge that cast doubts on the chase, he was there effecting a brilliant run out of Kulasekhara from behind the stumps, marshaling his resources and then promoting himself over Yuvraj, Dhoni lived dangerously, taking big risks and ensuring that they paid off. Here is one guy who takes risks but he puts in enough work behind the risk, they are not airy fairy risks because he has a clear thought and reason why. Dhoni appears to do only things he believes in, not for public consumption, and his prime mantra then is to keep it simple. Which the whole world knows is the hardest thing to do. His innings was brilliant under duress but he has always been that sort of a player, one who comes to the crease with a clear idea of his role and responsibility and does not normally go back without fulfilling it. And until the ball soared well over the fence, his eyes did not lose the focus nor concentration, and then he allowed his body to relax and he twirled his bat in his typical flamboyant fashion and broke into a smile. Unlike many role models of the day Dhoni believes in letting his huge achievements speak for him, lets his work do the talking and showing the world that it is indeed about 'doing' things - not about talking about them.

Sachin's amazing commitment lifts the team in every department and his fielding showed the way just as his batting did all through the tournament. Not once was he found out to be the grandad of the team - in fact several youngsters must have upped their performances after seeing him. Yuvraj as always a match winner came into his own - most surprisingly with the ball. I cannot believe that he got 15 wickets! His batting was destructive as ever. Raina made a huge difference as he adapted quickly, showed remarkable composure and responsibility in the toughest position of all - the No 7 position. His fielding was outstanding in the final. Sehwag destructive as always, clear and articulate in his thought as he is with the way he treats the ball. Zaheer magnificent as always, a huge reason for this win, a he got important breaks, put every batting line up in check and control, got crucial breaks with his canny bowling. Munaf bowled well within his limits and one saw an extra step in his fielding as the intensity of the team flowed through him. Harbhajan as always puts pressure in one way or another, mostly by his very combative presence. Ashwin, Sreesanth, Piyush Chawla and anyone else I may have forgotten - take a bow. You guys deserve to be champions and no praise can be too much.

One wonders at the quirks of fate. Praveen Kumar, a natural selection for the one day squad, injures himself before the team selection and is replaced by Sreesanth who already has one World Cup win under his belt and several more other famous wins in his patchy career. Praveen will come back and play creditably for India in other games, hopefully his name will figure in one World Cup too. He can take inspiration from Sachin who held out so long and possibly threatened the Gods of the World Cup to play the World Cup until he wins one - in the face of such single minded focus no force on earth can hold.

But coming back to us who have to go back to their daily lives, this team has given much. Yes, the team and its players will all amass great fortunes and fame and will forever be heroes. What happens to the fans who saw, who cheered? The youth who take so much pride that they send long sms's, mails, burst crackers, and just go crazy. We, the rest of the Indians, the rest of those in the World, must go back and reflect. Yes, this is the way this team has done it. They have prepared well. They have put aside individuals and performed like a team. They trusted one another, be it form one region or another, one religion or another, and backed one another fully. They had lofty goals. They played for each other. They rose above criticism and kept their focus. They planned ahead and prepared ahead. They stood up as a team when the chips were down. They   broke bones, spewed blood and got drenched in sweat - and tears as we saw. They scraped their shins, forearms, dived in the air without a thought of injury and rushed against the hard ball. They played to their potential when it counted, conquered their demons. And mostly they did for the common cause of the team. That was clear. Almost everyone dedicated the win to the team and the bigger team - India.

They have shown the rest of us the path to excellence, the route to that smile on their faces, the riches and the fame. Take your pick - but walk that path of excellence and preparation that this team did. The path of self belief, of trust and playing for a larger cause. The path of courage, of dreams and of rising above the ordinary. If there is one lesson we can learn from team India it is this - and this goes out to everyone from the highest office to the smallest, the youngest to the oldest - if they can do it, you can too. Start now and chart your own path to glory and one day the rest of the team, the country, will applaud for you too!