Music : There's Something For Every Mood

If there is anything that can guarantee to change your mood, then it has to be 'Music'...
Music to me is more than just listening , more than just a sensation to my ears, more than just a melody that I enjoy. Music is a state of mind in itself. The reason I say this is , the kind of music one prefers, from the unfathomable variety available, depends much on the person's state of mind, the things he has suffered/enjoyed in life and also on some instances in life that have had a major impact on the person's ideology.
Music is soothing when effectively chosen. Music is potent and has the power to transcend you vicariously into a different world. A world that's much closer to your comfort zone and makes you feel at ease. 
Music is perceived differently by different people. No matter if you understand the nuances of music or not, enjoying music to the fullest is something everyone's entitled to. And that's the beauty of music!!!
Everyone can enjoy music irrespective of one's ability to understand it. As they say music knows no language. Many Punjabi compositions of the likes of Daler Mehendi, Sukhwinder Singh etc. are very popular even in the Central India, although the language is not so prominent in this part of the country.
There are a host of examples of songs that  have, overtaking the boundaries of language and culture, enthralled the people all around the country and even abroad. A recent example has to be the song composed by Dhanush titled 'Kolaveri Di' which topped the charts in India for many consecutive months.

 The same phenomenon which I would call 'transliteration of music' is true internationally all  around the globe. Be it the 'OOPA GANGAM STYLE' or the subtle Sitar play of Late Sh. Pandit Ravi Shankar.

Music knows no boundaries and no language. It is ever expanding - ready to entice everyone from a small child who responds to the toy that we called 'jhunjhuna'; to a youngster who falls for Pink Floyd; to an elderly who feels satisfied listening a raga or a trance; to a devotee who is lost into a new world listening to the devotional hymns.

Music is ubiquitous and diverse.There is something for every one and for every mood!!!

Pseudonym : h!v

Cricketonomics

Cricketonomics : And it's the love for 'money'

Cricket is not just a sport in India.It's much more than that.It's a religion and fast-track to both power and pelf.Cricketers are demigods and have a significant appeal to the 'junta'.The Sachin's, the Dhoni's and the relatively young and vibrant Kohli's have all made hefty fortune - Thanks to Cricket!!!
The Indian public is innocent and follow these public heroes with such devotion that is unmatched and could be compared, at best, only to the public fan-following some of the great footballers receive in Europe or in the soccer crazy South American nations.
Cricketers, it's a common belief, are the best salesman and can sell anything.They, with their glamorous quotient, can slowly tease the public to buy a product which otherwise, at best, would have looked better behind the glasses at a retail outlet.
I still remember an 'Action' commercial featuring Sachin enchanting 'Jute mein hai light'. The commercial not only did wonders for the product but also made the advertisement and the chant very popular, to say the least.To say that it was the product's quality and utility alone and not Sachin's charisma that made the product do exceedingly well in the market would be an understatement. The batting genius currently has more than 16 brands in his kitty including some big names like 'Canon', 'Future Group', 'Toshiba' to list a few.

 Not only Sachin, all popular cricketers have , at some point of time, had a host of brands in their bag and  struck lucrative deals.
Virat Kohli, the latest sensation, for example, has signed quite a few brands to his name in a very short span of time.'Fastrack', 'Flying Machine', 'Toyota' have all trusted Virat and are banking on him and his fan appeal for years to come. 
Ironically, our cricketers are much more than just a salesman. Salesmen just sell a few products. Our cricketers sell ideas as well, and in some cases even spawn ideas.Remember Sachin, Zaheer and others featuring in an NECC campaign advertisement encouraging people to include eggs as permanent constituent of their daily meals.Again how can we forget the little genius,Sachin Tendulkar, being the Brand ambassador of the 2012 Government Census.

Owing to the great impact these demigods have on the Indian 'junta', they are commercially big properties for the brands they endorse.The amount of money they charge for endorsement is mammoth.Deals in crores lasting a span of few years are a run-of-the mill.
Though with brand values above $15 million in 2012 (Courtesy:Forbes) Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni lead the pack, the rest are not far behind. Players like Gautam Gambhir, Virendar Sehwag are also making money considerably.
As if this wasn't big enough a platform for printing notes, came the IPL. And came along with it a host of sponsors running after the cricketing fraternity for contracts, more contracts and more...Courtesy: BCCI & IPL mastrmind, Lalit Modi
Lalit Modi himself struck gold and later passed the control of the gold mine on to the BCCI before renouncing as chief of the IPL board.
Off late, 'Cricket' has been one of the most lucrative businesses in the country to say the least.
But if such commercialization of the game and the cricketers good or bad for the future of the game is yet to witness.
I wish cricket to prosper even further in the country; or else the only thing, perhaps, that binds the diverse people of this diverse country into oneness, with a thin thread, would be lost and so with it the dream of a united 'One India'.

  Pseudonym : h!v

Rape - A New Phenomenon

Remember the old days, when even glancing, let alone staring, at a not so hot girl- vis-a-vis the current hotness quotient advertised by the feminine sect- could well land you into a situation where you could be beaten up by public to pulp. But now the times have changed!!!
We live an ultra modern cosmopolitan society now where in we pledge to give an equal share of everything to women.So here we are in a situation demanding a lot more from us.
Women today claim to stand tall keeping shoulders at level with the opposite sex.They have demanded equality with men in everything.They are craving to prove them next to no other mortal masculine soul, alive or dead.

So here we are giving them what they want, only with just a little perversion.We have now pledged to give them an equal amount of hatred, animosity, disgrace, shame and ignominy.Add to it, the 'use-and -throw' attitude given them as a bonus for their intrepid stance and demands.They are now respectfully stared in a market place, groped in a procession, abused in homes, harassed in offices, mocked in packed buses, beaten in villages, killed in hospitals, and most importantly 'used' when required.

Hell Yeah!!!

We are proud to give them exactly what they wanted.They asked for an independent outlook towards them and not the one of poor helpless creatures.But now that we have subjected them to exactly the same treatment they say they are not happy - Bloody Hippocrates!!!

So now who is to be blamed???
Little did they know before making their demands that, for years we men have been treating each other exactly the same way.We are inundated with feelings of animosity, hatred and antipathy for our fellow men and women.

We take pride in inflicting such behavior on women around us.We can ask, or rather force, our so-called sisters, any time to go for an incestuous adventure with us.We can use, and in some cases even throw them post the 'use', to satisfy the carnality of the demon in us.

And no law, no society and no self-conscience can stop us from doing so because they were the ones who asked for a change.

So Sorry Ladies!!! We men will not change. Gone are those days of chivalry.
We are now treating you as equals, so expect no mercy.

You asked for it, so you must pay for it...
PS: It's a wake up call for all men and boys out their. Please give women/girls the respect they deserve.If you respect your mother and sister then why not the girl out their in the street.
Think about it!!!

Pseudonym : h!v

Disclaimer: The opinions in the article are author's personal ideas. The author has no intention to hurt the sentiments of the public. Any resemblance to any person dead or alive is purely coincidental.

Sachinism - More Than A Religion

  "The little boy that India fell in love with"

This was the subheading of a newspaper on 24 December, 2012; a day after the the great man decided to hang his boots in the most popular format of the game.

The demigod of cricket, with more than Godlike perfection; a master of his own class; the superhero of many mere mortals, like me - certainly something more than human.
Those square cuts buzzing past point, those cover drives sailing through the outfields and those bowler back straight drives are only a few of a litany of his trademark shots.

Sachin is someone who knows the art of executing an innings with the precision of a surgeon's knife.
Add to it; his capability to play shots all across the ground, his determination to compete in the toughest of conditions, his openness to accept defeat and learn from each one of it, his ever growing appetite for runs, and his commitment to a million fans across the world.

Sachin has arguably been the best ODI batsmen the world has ever seen.
The guy has so many achievements under his belt that to find just one reason to follow him, and in some cases to even love him, is more difficult a job than getting him plumb off the pads in front of middle and leg off a ball that was a 'beauty'.
But more than anything else, I admire him for his dedication, hard-work and perseverance - An unmatched commitment to the game. Sachin as a school boy went on to play matches for his team back-to-back for 55 days! He would practice for 2 hours daily in addition to his games, only have dinner at night and sleep on the dining table itself, only to wake up as an improved batsman the next morning. Such was his devotion that he used to skip meals to play cricket and practise it to perfection. His mammoth partnerships with Vinod Kambli, his school pal, for Sharda Ashram Vidyamandir are themselves testimony to the greatness of the duo.

Young Sachin ready to destroy the bowling attack

But like they say:"No great man has ever tasted the sweetness of success, before hit on face by failure."
Sachin was out for a duck in his debut match against Pakistan in 1989.
At the tender age of 16 years and some days, may be the little boy got too intimidated and nervous to showcase his class and was out for a duck. But it didn't take him long, before he could show that he was truly a master class.Though his first ODI century came a little later than expected, he never looked back ever since then and went on to pile a huge total of runs in ODIs.
And then a streak of some scintillating performances followed.Centuries after centuries were scored against the top bowlers of the world as if it was a child's play. Soon Tendulkar was beatified as one of the greatest in world cricket already.

Sachin proves his mettle yet again - The 200 moment

In his path to excellence, Sachin had set such high standards for himself and for world cricket that it was almost impossible for him to look out for any cricketer, living or dead, as an inspiration or idol. The batting maestro had surpassed almost every major batting record ever created by any great batsmen.He competed against himself and raised the benchmark to gauge the greatness of the greats every time with some unprecedented, beautifully crafted knocks.
Sachin at the Captain Roopsingh stadium at Gwalior, which happens to be my hometown, scored an unbeaten double century in ODIs.A feat that was unachieved by any cricketer before.
I still remember a tweet when Virendar Sehwag scored a double century in ODIs soon after Sachin and recreated history.The tweet was an ultimate arrangement of words to hint the love and respect people have for Sachin

"Virendar Sehwag becomes the first man to score a double hundred in One Day International.The previous one was by 'God'."

Such was his greatness that people considered him no lesser than God Himself.
I have truly worshiped him as a child and even today.His class, dedication , commitment and the down to earth humility make him the greatest of all legends in world cricket.
However it was really sad to witness the way he was made to exit the ODI format of the game to which he had contributed so much.Probably no organization or cricket association was big enough for having the honor to honor the great man himself.
But truly it was the end of an era for cricket, and the cricket community felt orphan the day 'GOD' announced retirement.

The world loses its ODI Maestro, Take a bow, Sachin Tendulkar!!!

See this Video  - A proof to Why we call Him the God of Cricket!!!

Pseudonym : h!v