The IPL

Up goes the finger and I jump up in joy, there s another wicket!! And then the next moment Im  reminded that the player who got out is the same player I root for the rest of the year, it s player who wears Indian colours but thanx to the IPL I have been made to choose between players that one has supported for so long with great fervor. Season 1 had put so many of us in a dilemma and many of us choose the team that represented our city. Therefore I was surrounded by supporters of Kolkata Knight Riders and an occasional supporter of some other team. I SUPPORT MUMBAI INDIANS and this made me a traitor in the eyes of so many. My logic was clear

1. My fav player is Sachin Tendulkar and he was heading a team and therefore my heart supported it.
2. As for Kolkata knight riders I just cudnt get myself to accept that Mr. Ricky Pointing was playing for tht team, he is one player I cant stand, even though on occasions I might like his fielding and batting, but I found it impossible to support the same team he was in. and this year having the same problem that I had with Rajasthan Royal- having a foreign captain.
3. And by having a few players from Kolkata in it no way makes it a Kolkattan team.

It has been an interesting experience and wish it had started at a time when my following of the game was at its peak. But its fun being able to support players who one would naturally not be able to coz they were playing against India. And watching a match as a neutral has its own fun……so I am enjoying it as long as I can and for those who keep asking why I support MUMBAI INDIANS my answer is clear- I am Sachin Tendulkar fan and that is his team… 

lessons from my first stint at volunteering...

In My first stint as a volunteer I saw/learnt something that I can never forget in my life, it was with an ngo working with street and slum children aiming to provide them with basic education. I was with one of the staff who was on her usual round of visit, she used to work with street dwellers. We stopped to meet a group of women sitting around in the shade and talking. They greeted the lady with great respect and after the usual chit chat about work and problems they were facing the women asked me what I would have, mind you these women live on the street and all their possessions were packed in 2 gunny bags. I was taken aback and said a polite “no”, but they wouldn’t have any of it and after rummaging through her bags she brought the one that had food and turned it over, it had 4 cucumbers. She insisted that since she had nothing else to give that I take one of them, I was positively horrified at the idea and looked to the lady for help. She instead gave in and I was left grappling for excuses to refuse without stating the obvious reason. I didn’t manage to come up with a convincing one and with guilt gnawing at me insides took it from her. I did not know what to do with it then, to have it ( I knew I wouldn’t be able to swallow) or to give it away to someone else who too was in need (it seemed rude to give away something that had been given so generously by someone who hardly had anything, that it would be disrespectful to them, their feelings) and so I went on thinking……………. And then I made my decision, dunno if it was right or wrong but it seemed the best alternative…..for me as a teenager it was wonderful lesson at a time when I would be cribbing about what I don’t have, what I a denied of, but most importantly how amazing generous a person can be and that claims of  i-don’t-have-enough-so-I ll-be selfish-and-not-share are mere excuses and poor ones at that.