KIDS

“Kids nowadays are so smart,” you must have often heard people say this. I have. I think it’s true and have put it to the test too…

Kids nowadays are exponentially smarter than their counterparts a few decades ago.
I’m not sure, if we feel that way because we ourselves have grown out of that phase or because we underestimate our kid’s knowledge and are surprised when pearls of wisdom flow out of their minds…
Whatever it is, I’m sure some kind of research must go into it or has already gone into it.

As far as I am concerned, I rather spend time talking to kids than have a conversation with adults who frankly bore me or are too conniving for my liking. This is precisely the reason why, spending time with kids is so pleasurable

But the flip side to the coin would be the undeniable fact, that kids nowadays lose their innocence very fast. Much faster than we did. Blame the media, popular culture or busy parents for it.

But still, every now and then when something innocent comes out of their mind it makes them that much more adorable.

We must remember childhood doesn’t last forever. Cherish and enjoy every moment of your kids childhood. Kids have a fresh way of looking at life. They aren’t tainted with prejudices and biases we have developed. Make every effort to listen and pay attention to your child’s every action and apparent blabber. You never know, what pearls of wisdom they might contain. Before you know it they lose their innocence, so don’t be pre-occupied with problems of daily existence. Make every conceivable effort to document his/her childhood through pictures, video and audio recordings, because when teenage arrives and those hormones it brings along with it, kicks in. The angry rebellious creature you see in front of you won’t resemble the kid you once knew. Those pictures and videos will be the only solace that you can draw comfort from, that teenage too is another phase that will pass.
Just like the wonderful childhood that disappeared right in front of your eyes,


Here’s a few anecdotes about children that I have compiled, which shows the innocent, smart and adorable sides of kids…

5-year-old Shreya, my niece (whom I call my little Madam Curie) is desperate to know, the whereabouts of her cousin Ajay, who is playing cricket… On being asked, the reason for her curiosity. Her reply “I want to go cheer for him, I want to be the cheer leader for his team,” she says while wriggling her body in an apparent dancing motion to some imaginary music in her head… As adorable and cute as that scene was, it is yet another example, how popular culture has taken over our kid’s imagination…

On another occasion, I was taking her to the store, to buy her some candy. Since the pavement was un-even, I decided to carry her, even as I bent down to pick her up. She told me sternly,”don’t carry me, I’m a big girl now.” My mind immediately flashed back to my childhood, even as a gangling 9 or 10 year-old, I remember pestering my parents to carry me everywhere... Not for little Shreya though, even at the tender age of five she believes she is a big-girl and wants to navigate the treacherous un-even pavement on her own… Talk about being, independent!

Ivan Jeremiah, who is just two-and-half-years old, has mastered the art of getting back at his parents, whenever they refuse to acknowledge his demands for chocolates… He gets back at them by telling every visitor who comes home, that he’s been made to starve the whole day…
‘Mama didn’t feed me anything, from morrrrrning,” he says, with the most innocent face he can muster. To the utter, red-faced embarrassment of his parents….

Talking about embarrassments, another kiddo who has mastered the art of embarrassing her mother is my 3-year-old, niece, Neha.
Our favorite past-time during family get-together’s is to ask the little one, “Neha how did mamma beat you?” Without hesitating for a moment. She replies, “Mamma beat me patta, patta, pattaaa.”
Trying to mimic the sound the apparent beatings made, embarrassing her mother to the core. It is another matter though, that this apparent beating happened only in the vivid imagination of little Neha.
U never know, we probably have a potential writer or film-maker in little Neha.

5-year-old Nipun was enjoying his holidays to the hilt. So his father gave him strict instruction to make a timetable and follow it everyday. The idea being, that instead of spending the whole day playing, he can study, learns music, paint or do something constructive. So Nipu got down to business, he wants pencil, paper and silence in the house while he goes about planning his timetable, he finished after sometime. Curious we went and had a peek.
TimeTable
7am - 8am : Breakfast.
8am - 10am : Playing on my playstation.
10am - 1pm : playing with Leo and Naveen.(His friends)
1pm - 2pm : Lunch.
2pm - 5:30pm : Sleeping.
Finally in the end just before his father comes home from work.
5:30pm - 6pm : STUDYING.

One more World Championship gone!!!

Watching India in the 2010 T20 World Cup was like watching a replay of last year.
Cut to T20 WC, 2009 England. Indian players had just come out of an exhausting IPl. In a super 8 match against West Indies. India faced a barrage of short pitched bowling from the WI pacers. An obvious tactic by the Windies to exploit India's weakness against the short ball, it worked wonderfully for them and they restricted India to 153 and subsequently chased it down.. In the next match England picked up on the obvious cue and adopted the same tactic, and it earned them a victory, knocking India out...

India returned to their paradise, low, slow, flat pitches at home and every thing was hunky dory again. Batsmen were back to their best driving on the up, without bothering about the nitty-gritty s of foot movement. In between they became the number one in tests almost as an action replay of last year yet another IPl began with its exhausting matches, post match parties and travel schedule.
Even as it ended. Another T20 world championship began, the jaded Indian team coasted through to the super 8's (just like last year) and met Australia in their first super 8 match, who on a bouncy pitch adopted the same tactic the Windies used a year back and mauled India into submission.. Next up was the Windies, it was deja-vu for the Indian batsmen-the famed, flat track bullies- the Windies completed what they had originally started in 2009 bounced India out of yet another World Cup(2010)... With Sri lanka completing the formalities by striking the last nail in the Indian coffin...
The Indian senior players will return home for some much needed rest, the other players and some new guys will take on Zimbabwe and Sri Lanks in yet another inconsequential tri-series... There after we will be playing at home again on flat pitches and everything will be forgotten until the next WC.

But it is time for some serious introspection starting with the administrators with regards to scheduling. After 6 weeks of intense ipl action in the sweltering Indian summer, where players were asked to attend post match parties, they had just 5 days time to re-group for the WC...
Next up the selectors should be made accountable. Both the five wise man as well as the team think tank who came up with the playing eleven.. Why wasn’t Robin Uthappa picked especially considering the fact that he was in the form of his life during the IPL. He is one Indian player who can play the pull shot with some degree of confidence.. Kris Srikkanth has some serious answering to do... Even after Sehwag( again mysteriously injured just before the world cup) was declared unfit, Robin didn’t find a place in the fifteen, instead Murali Vijay an inexperienced untested player at the international level as well as at the shorter format of the game was given a go-ahead.. Yet another case of regionalism?
And finally the team think tank which came up with the playing eleven have some answering to do. On a pitch which had good bounce it didnt make any sense to play just 2 seamers and have part time bowlers bowling spin.. This combination was persisted even after they lost to Australia...
And what was Zaheer doing sitting out of 2 matches without any explanation...
Why did the batsmen play like millionaires against Australia and get bowled out in 17.3 overs losing by 49 runs and thus creating a huge dent on their run rate making it a difficult proposition to qualify...

These are questions that every cricket fan must ask , after all it is we who make the game what it is... Are the players above all accountability...? They are playing for my country and we as fans need answers. Sadly everything will be forgotten by the time the next tournament starts...

We as fans will be left hoping that at least next time...........
I call it the Great Indian Hope....

ajmal kasav/ kasab

Arent we in a quandary. Capital punishment isint something we as civilized society should clamor for, at the same time keeping him alive at the expense of the taxpayers isint feasible. As a Tv channel rightly pointed out. With the money spent on keeping him alive the govt could have bought 40,000 bullet proof jackets... With the mention of "bullet proof jackets" ones mind flashes back to the defective bullet proof jacket that killed Mumbai Police Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare, which very conveiniently was lost by the ( God knows who) . The media after following up on the story for some time forgot about it for the sake of another TRP increasing controversy... These depressing episodes bring out the cynic in me.
But Im trying hard , I dont want to be like millions of our youth who are so cynical about their country.. I still believe there is hope...

My new bog

Hi Everybody,
This is my first foray into the world of blogs........
As my blog title suggests this blog will tell you about me, my friends, my views on politics, sports, and everything else under the sun....
Why would any one want to read it?... Well, for starters you will see that my thoughts will echo the confusion that every Indian undergoes on a day to day basis living in our self contradicting country.. Im not gonna be a cynic and bash my own country but will try as much as possible to give my views, to set things right or atleast raise the right question...