Ready to be Seh-whacked..

Exactly 17 years ago, our country was at the perils. A lot of time has been consumed since then to dissect the very motive of the act. People were devoured, not Hindus and Muslims. And we can't seem to look any further after this black hole was created. I am not going to side with any particular school of thought nor am I going to dedicate this write-up to delve deep into the heinous intent of either parties. I just hope that we are allowed to live our lives as happily as anyone could imagine!

Thinking of happy moments, I would depart to a different territory altogether. To unite whole of India into making that collective encore is indeed a difficult task, but we had again found a man to do this last Thursday. Those who have been privy to my intentions about this man would have guessed what I mean. I have already devoted my time to write on him in the past and it doesn't hurt me even a bit to do that again.

Virender Sehwag did it again! And in what style? Nepolean was notorious for having been known for not having a word like "impossible" in his dictionary. The world has advanced a lot since his times, and Viru has deliberately left a few words out of his dictionary. And those of the like fear, remorse and normal never intend to return! A man is known by his deeds. But Sehwag is known for what he doesn't do! Least respect for the spinners, utter contempt for fast bowlers, not bothering for reputation and the ilk - very tough for the lesser mortals to even think or visualize. This write-up vindicates the confidence shown in him by this cricket crazy nation and my opinion about him which has never dwindled even when he was going through a rough phase in his life. He is knocking at the doors of the conglomeration of records which in all possibility will be owned by him by the time he retires. He is knocking at the doors of greatness, an enchanting spell which will be cast upon the lovers of this game, a whiff of fresh air for the asphyxiated protectors of the 5 day game and for the pure connoisseurs, who will skip a breath or two when they sit down to taste vintage Sehwag. As a certain "bradmanesque" goes for the Don, we have already displayed our wits by approbating the appellation "Seh-whack" on him. To even get to know that you have managed to let yourself be spoken in the same breadth as the Don himself should be a graduation in itself. And the list of laurels doesn't end at this. The swagger which I have spoken about in one of my paeans for him has already been in the news now with him being compared to the great Sir Vivian Richards.

So, as an average Indian, does it satiate me to see all these laurels coming his way? The answer is a simple and plain - "NO". I won't be satisfied if he is labelled as someone who could rise up the rungs only to occupy a seat next to Sir DON or Sir Vivian. I may sound a bit presumptuous, but that's not what "Seh-whack" is capable of achieving. He is on the cusp of being the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen, a player who can still pull in the masses to see the players go through the motions and more importantly, a player who is unimaginable! We have already seen a Don. We have already seen a GOD. But we want to see something which has never been there before, who can outsmart our unending desire for a greater icon, one who can make us think, as to what to call a player of his caliber. That's when Sehwag would have done justice to himself and to this starry-eyed cricket fraternity which always keeps looking for the ONE who can help this game sustain a bit longer, long enough to last our lifetime and be a source of mirth hard to find even in the remotest corners of this universe.

My wish-list:

4 triple centuries, 1 score of around 400, a double hundred in ODIs...and the list goes on. It's really a pain to be a cricketer in India, with even reasonable fans like me falling for the "I-need-more" syndrome.

Realm of defiance

21st century was always supposed to be a century of change. A change from the hackneyed customs, tried and tested solutions and most importantly, that of the psyche which will constitute the better part of the evolving thought process. What transpired in the times bygone seem to be of little importance these days! We are lucky to have survived to witness the change - the rebellion which is still being conjured by inquisitive minds. It may sound a bit disparaging to the champions of orthodox thinking, but the truth is fast manifesting itself into a notion of the future. I am given to understand that such a change is never meant to look unprecedented, and thus, requires a free mind to arrange the disparate pieces into one. I for one, may have been bred on fundamentally diverse values, but will never shirk away from acknowledging the advent of a new conduct at my door steps.

To break free from shackles has always been an arduous task. And the whole problem takes an interesting dimension when you have to get rid of a huge monkey off your back. You might get regaled with queries bordering on the validity of the rationale behind bringing a change. You may have to ready yourself to face a few embarrassing questions on why you have decided to cling onto something conspicuously so idiotic! But the consummation of a path never tread before with a great resolve is the way forward for Gen-X. The ubiquitous presence of the carriers of a brand new message amongst us is reflective of the soon-to-be-understood writing on the wall. The daggers are already out and we don't even flinch a wee bit to flout the hitherto holier-than-thou rigmarole of morality . Fingers have been used constructively to define our future, to influence and kindle young minds and to give shape to our future. Of the bunch of those fingers adorning our adroit hands, the middle finger is out in all its resplendence to mock at the very virtues of a highly placed moral ground. Of all the myriad words which Cambridge takes a lot of pains to insert in their lexicons, "WTF" and "WTH" seem to be our favourite choices.

A whole new debate will rage on this developing oddity, but nobody doubts that it's here to stay. The seed has already been sown in our young minds and we are continuing to nurture it. Some boundaries were never supposed to be transgressed. But this generation had already rejected the mandatory compliance of having to "step into someone's shoes" long back. We begin our journey from where we want and not where we are supposed to! We are already gyrating through that change and a new set up is bound to evolve. Rather than trying to put barricades in the path of this juggernaut, we would do well to consider the importance of its arrival and respect all the harbingers of this change.

To hell with the plan, to hell with the clan

I am a man of my own principles, I say that with élan

Don't preach what I must do

because we don't like when you say - "you must do what we do"!