THE MAN – A LEGEND

“Steve Waugh …. Steve Waugh … Steve Waugh”, chanted the crowd. And was it a boisterous reception at that. I was nearly deafened by the roar and enthralled at the support. Here was Steve Waugh walking onto the cricket field, whose exploits had made him folklore. A man, who has become a legend in the annals of Australian cricket.

I absolutely adore this man, as much for his grit and determination as for his simplicity. A man who batted like he lived his life, always straight from the heart, unflinching and unwavering like the rock of Gibraltar. A leader of unusual character, who led by example. He always thrived on and relished challenges. And has never shied from one.

I had this unusual privilege of watching him play in his second last match at the MCG. The atmosphere was electric and the big man looked nervous a bit. He was on his last tour and India had surprised everybody, including themselves by being ahead in the test series, a spectacle the Australians rarely get to see. It was the Boxing Day test match, a tradition in Melbourne, and the stadium was jam packed, bursting at the seams. All of them there to pay tribute to this great man, well, almost everybody. India had a cracker of the first day but then on the game belonged to the Australians. All of them playing for one thing, to save their great captain from ignominy, such is the power of this great man that he drives his team to achieve greater heights.

A man, known as much for his ruthlessness on the field, as for his humility off it. A man with his association with charities in India and the world over did his bit for the society and quietly at that. A person who took both victory & defeat as they come, with grace and humility.

At the end of it , I am proud that I had this unique opportunity to watch the great man play on his last tour. This memory will always be etched in my mind. And I wish this man all the very best that life has to offer. Hats off to a true legend.

Friends

Friends, my bane & boon rolled into one, the cause of plethora of joys and a deluge of miseries in my life. But then, I should say that I have been blessed with friends. I have been lucky that I have always uncannily found the right set of friends thru out my life.

One calls himself OAO (one & only), though we have found other flowery expansions to the acronym. I met him on the first day of college. Both of us alien to the class while the people around us were having a gala time, meeting with old friends and being glad that they were in the same class. We were the square pegs in the round hole in that class. A look at each other and an instantaneous acknowledgement of our friendship, the feeling to belong drawing us together. Well we have never regretted that decision till date. His amazing sense of humour was the bond between us, which we both understood and laughed at.

Another’s a lanky & wacky character. An enigma in himself, which I believe he himself cant decipher. Resembling HOBBES in Calvin & Hobbes. A devious mind with a satirical sense of humour, both ironic & comic, which he can use to great effect. Gifted with an unique sense of prose. His prose, not know for eloquence, but for the simplicity, which I absolutely adore, for the message he gets across. Grudgingly I have to admit that he’s been my inspiration to write. So if u don’t like what I write, u know whom to blame.

Another a gifted Sagittarian who masters all the sports he plays instantaneously, and if he gets his mind to it, almost does any thing instantly. A gregarious person, who’s shy at heart. He’s a unique amalgamation of character, a traditional at heart with a modern outlook. A lover of animals, with a soft interior but a rough exterior for all to see, which hides his feelings & protects him from the world.

Another a PJ master, again lanky and reed like, with an arcane sense of humour that shifts from the absolute absurd to the extremely hilarious. A true giver and a trier. Who’s always worried about the other guy than about himself. Ever helping and smiling, hiding his feelings adroitly. A person who bores you to death with his PJ’s, but then someone whom u can always look up to in times of distress. A person who laughs his grief away, a quality rarely found.

Last but not the least, is my new friend, about whom I have written before. Smiling, gregarious and cherubic. Immature and innocent in a childish way, ever willing to help anyone in need, personifying the true friend quote. A quality, which causes him more grief than good. A person who tries to hide his inner feelings with a laughing exterior, with success.

In retrospect, I can say yes, I have been blessed. Been blessed with “All Weather Friends”, who I know are there for me and for whom I will be there. Always