Married Wisdom - 1

This is the first post in the long awaited (from my end that is :D) series on marriage; and what you get to learn out of it. This is just a process of making notes along the way to serve as documentation (to me and to that rare person who thinks I'm sensible) and that being said, let's move on to the "What's not said is not understood!" chapter.

Usually, I'm a big fan of abstract expressions and implicit communication. Even in the movies, I love shots that implicitly convey something as opposed to the ones that dramatize the whole thing. Unfortunately, that's the last thing a married man should do. Until you are married, you are like a pet. Free to wander and permitted to do what you want to do, no questions asked, unless it's something incredibly stupid or irritating. The hope there is that you will return home no matter where you wander and you will be in the vicinity no matter how long you keep wandering. The moment you are married, you are expected to be responsive and responsible. Your best friend, your immediate surrounding and even your parents start believing that your life would change drastically after marriage, whether that happens to be true or not. So staying out of touch, forgetting to call, avoiding touchy-feely dialogs are strict no-nos. Unless you say "I love you" nobody is going to believe that. Unless you call, nobody is going to believe you are interested in their welfare. Unless you express, nobody is going to understand you!

So rule 1 in short, if you want to say something, say it instantly and explicitly without the the least bit of ambiguity or abstraction in it.

(To be continued... ;))

A moment to cherish!

I often wonder how nice it would be to have a tool that blogs contents from our mind automatically (of course upon approval and moderation :D), as that's the need of the hour for me. If I even blogged 10% as much as I wanted to, this blog would be overflowing with posts. Of all those events I wanted to blog about, there was one, strong enough to drag me all the way into blogger - India's victory in Word cup.

People who know me well would probably be surprised, as I'm known for being the devil's advocate ever since the Azhar, Jadeja days. Even a couple of days back, I was arguing about how this whole thing is becoming one big masala movie and I was totally sure that India will win, listing out the reasons why a hero should triumph over all disasters in the end. I was stunned when Ravi Shasthri projected a 275 total when Srilanka were making less than 3 runs an over and that turned out to be the exact target for India to chase. IPL scheduled within the next few days, India beating all the old rivals on its way to the final and so many other things made/make me think that there is some form of predefined results involved.

But all that said, I was immensely proud when Indian team lifted the cup and earned the top spot in ODI and here's why.

1. The most awaited moment - I don't know the exact stats; but I'm sure that at least 60% Indian families are interested in cricket in varying degrees. If there has been one thing that all these viewers have been waiting for, it's India's triumph in the World Cup tournaments. Nothing could match a great milestone achieved after a long period of expectation, anxiety and longing. This definitely is one.

2. The respect it earns for the nation - Facebook is flooded with updates, Twitter has no energy to tweet anymore and Gmail Buzz hits the 100+ mark in less than 10 minutes; and everything just boils down the one word - respect. Even people who don't know much about cricket turned their heads to see what is so spectacular about this and why so many people are euphoric. Knowingly or unknowingly, this creates a positive vibe about the country and I felt like I was watching "Invictus" live.

3. The first step to being a superpower - In all these years, I've never known a field where India dominated so much, owning the stakes and having command over things. Cricket without India is almost a fantasy right now and needless to say BCCI now owns the space. From how we were treated a couple of decades ago, this is what I call an achievement.

4. Inspiration - When something good happens, there is always a free supplement to it - inspiration (advice is another). Dhoni is now being studied as a great leader who stood up for the nation, taking charge of things and standing by his decisions. That is something that Indians are going to remember for a long time.

5. The future of sports - If India (hopefully) wins a couple of other tournaments as well, it could very well be the start of the golden era of Indian sports. I sincerely hope this would put an end to the days when over a billion people eagerly wait for a bronze medal to celebrate an "achievement".