IPL – Intentionally Paki’s Left??

Let’s stop blowing it out of proportion!!

Few deserving candidates dint get an international job that would have earned them a fortune in case they got selected. But the companies were/ are more keen on their own profit maximization which while recruiting these candidates may become a little uncertain. That too when the companies have a lot of other good candidates to choose from, then why knock the doors of uncertainty?!

Does the above statement make things any simple? We are talking about IPL and it’s strictly business!! Be it the BCCI, the franchisees, the players, the sponsors or for that matter even the cheer leaders! Everyone’s there to make money and not for the sport as such, so when its business stop talking about emotions and relationships.. all that matters is the moolah!!

Why can’t someone concerned come forward and make such statement and shut the discussion and debate once for all? We all know the above statements are the exact reasons for why the things are the way they are. We all know that no one ever wanted to snub Pakistan or any other country for that matter. So why play this blame game?

Maybe Aussies coming to India would become uncertain if the franchisees seem to think so, Shiv Sena can’t be taken as lightly, though their nephew has been much more disastrous in the recent times. Everyone is aware of the kind of security threat that increases in India if the Pakistani players are around, specially after the Mumbai attacks. The threat is not internal alone; it could also be to the Pakistani players. Who is ready to take a risk that puts questions to lives?! No sane businessman would do that.

Agreed that the Pakistani hockey team is expected in India very soon for the hockey world cup that India is hosting, but don’t we know the kind of differences in attitude and money these 2 sports have. So its useless to argue and point fingers.. Let the businessmen stand up and say what they did and why instead of making this a political stunt.

I do feel bad for the Pakistani players, especially cos they were the ones who played exceptional cricket in the previous editions (am not as interested or convinced about their T20 world cup win to be a reason for the inclusion in IPL, both are 2 completely different set of events with a lot of difference in the stakes that they come with).

So lets just talk straight.. lets not go round in circles to each and every person concerned and then make an issue out of their statement (Yea, I do mean the statements from IPL chief, GOI, GOP, Franchise owners including Pretty oops Preity, sllipa… ouch Shilpa, and none other than the KKR top shot SRK and many more)

P.S – I know it’s a real tough kind of an attitude that I show while writing this, but I think its rather good to say what u feel than to play the blame game and create excuses. If someone would have taken such a stand long back all mouths would have been shut by now across the country and beyond!

Today’s Favorite Line – “Nothing is interesting, if u are not interested”

Today’s Favorite Song – Little moments like that (Brad Paisley)

2009 – The year that was but wasn’t

 Be it the stock market, the bullion rate, the popularity of Mr.Tharoor, the brand value of Mr.Woods or the activity on this blog, 2009 was a really volatile year. Highs and lows everywhere, so how could I have remained unaffected. One of the most volatile years in the 2 plus decades that I’ve lived so far. Gave me a lot of highs and as many lows if not less. Just a small flash back into the year that started with a lot of hopes, expecting certain important transitions and much more.

The year was obviously going to bring certain important changes into my life, as I was fully aware that the end of the first quarter would also bring an end to the 2 year post graduate program that I was undergoing and yes I did manage to get a degree and have become a so called ‘MBA’. The one question lingering in a lot of minds during the first couple of months of the year sure had to do with just one thing – WHAT NEXT?!?!?

This one question had (& has) a lot of significance to my life for the coming years and may be even more. But suspense and patience have been 2 crucial things in life and as ever have been ruling my life till date. With the completion of MBA a lot of things were expected to be different but nothing was certain, no idea about how things will change and when. All I had to do was wait and watch and at times ACT!! Which I did and yes quite strangely with respect to most of the things..

(Finally!!! Yogesh Chordia MBA ;) :P )

Who knew that the year would end up being as volatile as it did in most of the things/ people I was concerned with. Every other thing I used to do or be a part of hit a low and a high this year. Just a quick recap of whatever things I could remember and make public ;)

Ever thought of having a so called “best job” or a job that a million would die to have?! I did secure a job which turned heads!(damn.. look at the times we r living in! it was girls who used to turn heads but now its jobs! Sigh…) There were times when I never had a job and people used to get concerned about the careless attitude that I carried though I dint have a job. Securing the job was a cake walk but taking it up was a real tough call (one would have expected the situation to be vice versa in such a recession hit world economy). The story doesn’t end with the HIGH that I secured a super duper job, it just begins there! How about putting my papers just a week before I had to board that flight to reach the 2^nd best country to live in the world, the toughest & the biggest decision of life till date!

High – Securing an international placement offer, taking up the job, waiting for the visa to process for 104 days and killing time on the internet for as many days while getting paid ( I know that’s something anyone would envy!)

Low – Quitting this international job on the 109^th day just a few days before a new journey that I was getting prepared for during the last 100+ days. Even worse was the feeling of being irritated of having nothing to do during these 109 days in office but having to still go there every day for 6 days a week just for the sake of it. Killing time became a challenge every morning, noon and evening. Life seemed to be even more boring than what monotony would make it and finding ways of still keeping me going became the priority over and above the confusion and tension taking the big decision ‘whether to go to Finland or not’. Those 3 months sure did take the hell out of me, the mental pressure was horrendous!! ( Gosh!! Seems theres more pressure while u don’t work than while u work, I still don’t work.. think abt the kind of pressure I live with ;) )

High – A whole lot of friends to talk to, to go out with, to share things with and most importantly to be in contact with. Missing them was out of question, keeping in touch happened so naturally.

Low – Keeping in touch became a thing that was required to be mentioned to (& from) a lot of them (in fact almost all of them, irrespective of whose ever attitude was the cause). The friends that used to occupy most of the time in the day almost disappeared from the ‘things I did today’ diary in the latter half of the year.

High – Involving myself in ever other thing tat was happening was something but natural in the first half of the year, ‘things to do today’ always was a long list. There was hardly anything that was going around me and I wasn’t involved in it.. (I know, people liked to tell me ‘stop poking ur nose everywhere’)

Low - As the months passed, specially after the first quarter of the year the list kept eroding and there were hell lot of days when the ‘things to do today’ list almost wasn’t even thought about, leave alone having something to do! Cos I actually dint have anything to do..

High – Going out, watching movies, treats, get together(s), been long time lets meet ups (long time = 1 week), lets discuss/talk, were things that happened so very often that at times I had to ask myself ‘if I was going out too often? I guess I need to spend some time at home also!’

Low – Watching a movie after more than a quarter of the year was no big thing, going out required a thought, treats and get together (s) were mostly missed with ‘I guess I wont be able to make it’, lets talk/discuss kind of talks never happened only, in fact even phone calls and messaging  hit an all time low!

High – Started driving my car after really long, though not yet back to road as much as I should have been, but this happened after a lot of patience and overcoming the usual laziness. Might sound really silly but think of it, having your driving license for like 6 years but not having driven even six times since then! (u’ll know why this is a high once u read the low)

Low – Met with accidents twice this year while riding my bike (Activa of course). Though neither of them were fatal but minor injuries kept me off for some days.. Though I firmly believe and understand that neither of the accidents were cos of my own driving skills or attention, a lot of people have given me left and right on my driving. So obviously the reputation of mine as a driver lost credibility significantly, making me even more lazy to start driving the car again.

There are so many other things that were as volatile as a few mentioned above, but I guess I’ve already reached the 2 page limit I set for this post.. so I rather stop :P

P.S – this one should have come at least a month b4 it has actually come, but tats how things r these days.. laziness is as high as like at the peak of Mount Everest (if tat makes sense ;) )

Today’s Favorite Line – I've thrown my words all around… But I can't, I can't give you a reason..

Today’s Favorite Song – Behki hawa sat ha woh (3 idiots)