That backfoot punch through covers, will be missed

India has played most of its recent cricket in sub-continent pitches and that too largely the shorter version of the game, where India-NextGen batting is quite intimidating. Will we miss Sachin all the more, will unravel over the next 9  test matches to be played on foreign soil. (Not that his test stats were any great in the last couple of years). Still the swansong of Sachin did bring few lumps in the throat and years rolled back as I listened to his farewell speech. Why Tendulkar means so much to us:

1. Baptism by fire - A dramatic narration by Sidhu and a rare footage  of that wicked delivery from Waqar is all that remains to the moment when he was initiated into the rigours of international cricket. One would never know if he would become the player, if he had decided to walk back to the pavilion after being hit
2. Unbridled Joy - Backfoot cover drive, straight drive and the slash over the slips/gully were an absolute treat, and what set apart most of his shots were the minimal follow-through, unlike some of his great contemporaries.
3. Nauseating Tension - In the period 1992-2005, it felt like all was lost when Sachin departed. The first few overs when he was at the crease, determined if our day was going to be a gloomy or a day to rejoice.
4. Statesmanship and humility - 24 years in full media glare, public adoration, and money can screw the heads of many half-cooked souls, but not that of the little master; the biggest lesson his deeds would impart to the new generation of cricketers would be to maintain level-headedness.
5. Stats - 664 matches in all is also score he notched up with Vinod Kambli in their world famous harris shield partnership. Its quite incredulous to note that his lone T20 appearance helped him to reach that figure of 664 international matches. His ODI centuries might be remotely reachable, but the test appearances appear to be a in a rarefied zone.

On the flip side, many have questioned his longevity in the game, including his own former-team mates and many of his fans. Cricket is a profession and who would not like to prolong their professional career if left to them (unless compelled for personal reasons), so why single him out. If anything, it should have been the selectors who should have called time on his career.

The more you look at those footages on youtube of his yesteryear innings and even his last two test centuries in South Africa, one really wonders if there would be another Indian to match his skill, temperament, focus and determination to score runs. A true legend and probably the greatest of them all.

Diwali in Munchen

I don’t know the exact figure of fellow countrymen in Munchen-a city renowned for its beer than the lack of a south-indian restaurant (Not that there are hardly any north-indian eateries), but few of us planned to make the most of whats doable for celebrating diwali. So, sans the few mandatory rituals on this festival of lights, such as the early morning oil bath, a temple trip, flipping through the various TV channels like a high strung cat, mom's cooking, feasting on the goodies from neighbours...rest was all in place. The steering committee members of the respective families colluded to make some lip-smacking sweets and savouries on a Friday, while Saturday afternoon was reserved for a get-together at a meeting hall. The highlight was the delicious dinner spread with the falooda and sweet beeda at the end. The obvious big miss was the intoxicating smell of cracker aftermath.

Diwali in Chennai is not complete without a trip to the theatres for at least one of the major releases. Not surprisingly, going to a movie is not laborious in these foreign shores as it in India. The downside of such a orderly trip in Munich is, you miss all the fun and fight to get the tickets, the absolute mayhem inside the Chennai theatres, and of course the assortment of 'desi' snacks and filter coffee during the break.  Of the 5 speculated releases, Aarmabam (A swordfish inspired set?) was the most hyped one and like a death row inmate walking the green mile, I knew what was coming - it didn’t help that I had seen 'Captain Phillips' just couple of days ago.  The biggest gripe started obviously with the music and the least one was the holes in the screenplay, which were bigger than the ones created in the bullet vest by the villains' guns (the movie's whole premise is based on scandal in procurement of bullet vests for the police force). The key actors/actresses:

Thala Ajith - If the editor were to single out Ajith's footage, around 80% of that would be in super-slo-mo. He has however aged gracefully and is the george clooney equivalent with his salt-pepper looks

Arya - Big and tall, he has the best one-liners and provides the intended comic relief.

Nayanthara - One of the few actresses I used to like, but all she does nowadays is pout, wear glasses and try too hard to appear tall.

Tapsee - If only she knew to lip-sync and make an effort not to appear too-cute

Rana - Seems to be the guest-appearance material in tamil movies...and oh the coolers

Mahesh Manjrekar - Looked villainous enough, inspite of the tamil dubbing for his hindi dialogues

Verdict: "Aa-rambam" (Blade Runner)

Nevertheless, a very happy diwali in Munich I would say.