Well, I am finally into blogging.... A year after the creation of this blog, a year after thinking of writing an article after every event (political, sporting or others) and then dropping the idea thanks to my laziness..
But, I am finally in and the credit must go to my friend and wingie Prabhav Joshi, an active blogger himself (you can view his blog at www.itsprabhavspeaking.com) who coaxed me to start.
Well, at the moment, no topic of interest is striking me…. So, I would share the experiences of the just-concluded vacations.
May 14 was the day it was supposed to be. The day my comprehensive exams were to end, also bringing to an end my second year of a helpless attempt of becoming a chemical engineer. The last exam was supposed to be Fluid flow Operations which, though it seems interesting at the outset, is quite the opposite when it comes to studying it which incidentally, is the case with almost all courses and a similar analogy holds for all activities in life---- All is well till you are doing it for fun, the boredom steps in when you have to do it for a living).
The night before, BITS witnessed major power cuts and our wing was sitting together under the wing lights trying to make head and tail of the course. We eventually lost track of the job at hand and indulged in mindless buffoonery (stressed out as we all were). Power returned late in the night and we finally got back to the task. The exam next day was a roller coaster ride but the summer break to follow was to be an even bigger one.
After the exam, all of us enthusiastically began packing our trunks. It sure is a hell of a job. I was the one going extremely slowly about it. By about 5 pm, I wasn’t even half done and the time for keeping trunks was from 6 to 8. Needless to say, I missed the time and had to now keep it at 10 pm when the common room would open again; I had my bus to Delhi at 10-30 pm. With some support from my wingies and Messrs. Ankit Bareja (Ehsaan tera :) ), I was able to complete somehow.
The journey back home as always was full of exhilaration and eager anticipation. When you finally get to home and meet your parents and siblings, the feeling is one of being on top of the world. My PS-1 was supposed to start on May 25. The PS station was NTPC Dadri, an hour’s journey from my home which meant I could stay at home. Meanwhile, my focus was on IPL. The league had entered its last phase and my team, Delhi Daredevils was topping the charts. I was indeed hopeful of a league triumph for DD. The last few matches made up for interesting viewing as KKR finally got its act together, a big surprise after their lackluster form previously and edged out KXIP and RR. The semi-finals were the one that gave the real shocker. In a blistering innings that lasted 11 overs, Adam Gilchrist sent Delhi packing. I watched each of his shots disappear into the stands with mouth agape and a sinking heart. When he finally got out, my shock turned into anger and I cursed him that he would be out for a duck in the final. Deccan Chargers eventually won and my anger turned into firm support for RC, the other finalist. The final was another cracker of a match starting with Gilchrist going for a duck ( :) :) … well sadist relief, you would say, hurt fan, I would say) . The match went down to the wire and DC held their nerves in the final over to get their hands over the trophy. The program that followed at the stadium was great and could give competition to Olympic ceremonies.
The IPL was soon followed by the World Cup T20. (Meanwhile, my PS had started which was quite light and I was going there as well). The players, especially the Indians, reached England fatigued (contrary to what Dhoni maintained). The fatigue showed in every game and there was hardly a game where India played like the defending champs they were. There were quite a few interesting games in the event. It started with that cracker of a game between Netherlands and Ireland which saw Ireland bowling out Netherlands in the Super Over. Then, Gayle’s blitzkrieg against the Aussies, Netherlands shocking England, Ireland shocking Bangladesh, SA beating NZ by a solitary run, Jayasuriya’s start against WI that reminded of ’96 were moments that enlivened the trophy. SA looked to be the best of the lot and the favorites after India and Australia bowed out.
Then came the twist of the tournament. The game : First semi-final between Pakistan and South Africa. Not even Pakistan’s most ardent supporters would have given them a chance against SA. But, then T20 is a format where you would be a cynic to be making overtly conclusive predictions. And it showed. The South Africans were going about the chase quite decently when the ever unpredictable Shahid Afridi came into his own. He built on his splendid form through the tournament to produce a spell that turned the tables on the Proteas. Bowling a nagging line and length, he and Saeed Ajmal bowled Pakistan to the final where they faced Sri Lanka, another team that had been performing consistently throughout the tournament. The final was billed as the game between two nations playing for the people back home troubled by internal wars. In the end, it was Pakistan that triumphed and the man of the moment was again Shahid Afridi whose reaction of relief on taking a crucial wicket said it all. The man who had been often criticized for shooting himself in the foot and wasting his talent, Boom Boom Afridi had come of age, So had Pakistan.
Well, I seem to overshooting all limits of blogging. First time, you see. There’s a lot more to write as the vacations are not even half written about. I would pick it up from here in my next post. Please do write in with your comments. I would be glad to hear from you.
