THE AFTERMATH......

26th july 2007...i was watchin corporate in a theatre in chembur with some frnds when we came to know bout the train blasts....we raised our eyebrows,called our parents n after missin a song in all this fiasco,continued watchin the film.....

This incident metaphored the spirit of the ppl of mumbai...even 7 bomb blasts wont stop us from boarding a mumbai local even the very next day....we all were so v proud of the doesnt matter spirit of mumbai....
After 26th november 2008...
me n 2 of my frnds had gone to c a film in a multiplex....oye lucky lucky oye...(plz dnt stop readin further by judging me from the film i went to c)
we were enjoyin the film(the startin was not tat bad) until a muslim fellow,around 40 yrs old,chewing a pan with a white muslim dress n a muslim topi,not to mention his typical mehndi coloured beard came to watch the film all alone,,,he came n sat next to me.....
n the obvious reaction from the girl sitting on my other side was....he must be another terrorist....
we all laughed it away...but she n my other friend were continuously lookin at him as he received a few calls....
"he will blow this theatre off now"...joked my other friend...
it had started turning uncomfortable....so the girl whispered LOUDLY...we shall shift to another row after the interval....guess he might just hav heard it....i dint hav the courage nor the courtesy to look at him...
in the interval,the girl said..."i dnt know nything...we sittin in another row"... i explained her how bad that guy would feel if we did that...i was just being a wiser n responsible person in front of her....but the fact was tat even i was not comfortable sittin there...we dint shift a row...but shifted a few seats n isolated ourselves.....
while returning i was just thinking.....did we isolate ourselves or did we isolate him....he was just another INDIAN who had come to enjoy....just bcoz he was a muslim,n presented himself being 1 meant that he should be treated like some untouchable or a probable antisocial element....had he not wore a muslim attire or if he had a clean shaved face or had he disguised himself as some1 other than a muslim....m sure we would be sittin next to each other comfortably n laughing on the same joke...a smile matching with smile....
i wondered y we dont change seats when we r accompanied by some seemingly sober family man...after all the politicians,ppl who cheat every day,lie regularly n steal some poor ppls money,
some extremely evil people might just look like our dad or uncle or so called decent middle class man.....
for tat matter, the terrorists who attacked CST looked like some cool town college students...we might not even have realized them sitting next to us....we would hav exchanged a smile or a sorry if mistakenly collided.....
so if terrorists really dont have any face....y do we steal a right of a person of just being amongst us...just bcoz he has a mehndi coloured beard n wears a muslim topi......
we might argue that all the terrorists r muslims(or atleast a majority).....then y do we run like rats to catch a glimpse of a Salman or a shahrukh khan...y do we try to forget this terrorism thing by listening to Atif aslam songs or y we expect Zaheer khan to bowl the opponents out everytime...
if a Abu Salem or a Kasav would look just like wat shahrukh n Zaheer would look in their comman man days....then y be judgmental just on the basis of a beard.....
it felt terrible.......i felt that we shouldnt hav changed seats even if we were uncomfortable....
he would hav been a nice man....i felt like sayin sry to him.....but again....dint hav the courage n nor the courtesy to say him sry...

The recent attacks might just hav taken a toll on the spirits of mumbai...a tired janta seems to hav taken enough...their minds hav made room for fear....this time....it was really big....
THE AFTERMATH this time would really be different....a comman man is worried...is angry....is waking up....the goverment felt the heat....
Ram gopal verma will feel the heat on his next film release....
n pakistan will for a long time to come....
but y muslims in general.....specially y IN GENERAL....
wen all this was goin through my mind,1 of my best friend(i consider him highly sensible n respect him a lot n feel tat he can do no wrong)was forwardin this msg to a few....
"6th dec 1992 was the day wen we demolished the babri masjid...a symbol of the MUSLIMS n foreign invasion...
say jay shree ram n be proud to be a hindu....:"
I dont want to argue who was right n who was wrong n wen....i m not completely secular n i dont think in favor of the muslims...but this time i dint know wat to say...to be honest i still dont know wat to say even now...
i dint know how to react then...i just smiled.....i dnt know do they deserve this or not....but i wonder wat it takes to be a common n an innocent muslim....cant help but just smile....

WHEN A LEGEND RETIRES.......................

"On off-side,after god there is ganguly"....this is what rahul dravid had once said commenting on a typical sourav ganguly innings.And with impeccable timing,he had his graceful strokes on display for a dozen years.now when the bengal tiger is having his last roar,truly,an era has come to an end....its the end of the dadagiri era...
over these many years,we hav seen various aspects of dada....lets c a few of them.............
DADA THE BATSMEN:with a dream test debut at lords where he scored a century,he had a fairytale start.he then went on to score thousands of runs n many centuries....but ppl know him more as a unique left handed ODI batsmen who can craft the ball through the smallest of gaps or can come down the wicket to a spinner n hit him for a 6....his knack of finding gaps through the off side through graceful cover drives is something that shall always be associated with his batting....more than 11000 runs in ODI,2nd highest no of centuries n MoM awards...these figures speak by themselves the quality of this batsmen...he is arguably the best left hander India has ever produced...
DADA THE CAPTAIN:In 2000 wen the responsibility of Indian cricket was placed on his shoulders,not many knew tat he would change the face of Indian cricket...he built n led 'the magical team India' that made it to the finals of wc 2003...it was during this phase that we broke the 'heroes at home' image and made victory on foreign soil feel a possibility.The 'most successful captain of India' had indeed changed the face of world cricket......
DADA THE BOWLER(only for his fans):though he can never be considered 1,he has taken more than 100 wickets n has always been useful wen the team has looked to purchase a wicket....
DADA THE FIELDER(for his non-fans)wen u would c a batsmen take confident twos,ne1 takin a guess would feel,it would be ganguly...n were right many a times...always a liability on the field,this man has been a subject of mockery many a times...be it in a sarcastic way or a lovable way,the crowd has loved him on the field.....
DADA THE COMEBACK MAN: many ppl around the world from diff professions might know how it feels wen they r asked to prove their worth all over again after serving n being successful for a decade.though many might know wat to do to fight their way back,few would know how to do it.n v few would actually be able to do it.n v v few would be so successful in doin it...and 1 amongst them did something tat would take tremendous will power, gr8 character,sweaty hard work along with testing temperament n perseverance.n all this gets tough wen luck is not on ur side n expectations from millions of fans are.....
under such circumstances,to go back n change his basics(his stance n backlift)after having mastered them for a decade,practice kick boxing(specially from a person for whom fitness never really complimented along),playing for bengal in ranji matches in an empty eden gardens stadium after havin performed in front of jam pack int stadiums(imagine the motivation needed for all this.n if u cant then just compare it with rahul dravid's current body language), takes some guts.
n dada penned down a fairytale comeback.HIGHEST RUN GETTER IN BOTH FORM OF THE GAME COMBINED IN 2007...an achievement perhaps even the gr8est fighters would not be able to attain.his comeback shall always be a highlight of his carrier n shall always be an answer for y should 1 be his fan......................with a century in the final series n a cleanest of innings(85) in his final match justifies his 'going on his own terms' claim....if not officially,at least practically....
DADA has had the last laugh...
the prince of kolkata might show some more of his shots in the IPL,but the country wil miss dada n his dadagiri...........
All this(the praising adjectives used to describe dada n his attributes)might seem like a GRE reco letter(full of over praising) to some....n they r the 1s who hasnt felt tat he deserves this much amount of respect....they hav compared him with other Indian players n hav termed him 'a selfish batsman' or 'a man who ducked many a bouncers' or so on....here's something for them....
-shewag.....it was dada who asked him to open innings for India by sacrificing his own openin position...had he been selfish...................................................
-dhoni......his highest score was 13 in 6 matches wen dada sent him to bat at no.3 against pakistan...he scored 148 n announced himself for ever......
-laxman.....wen India having a follow on,dada sent him at no3 from no 6...n he scored an epic 281 against australia....
-yuvraj,bhajji,zaheer........with all 3 themselves saying tat they are grateful for the strong backing always provided by dada is 1 of the reasons for their confidence n performance,nothin much can be added to emphasize that dada has played a crucial role in the success of these gr8 players....

Be it swing a t-shirt to rejoice the natwest final win,an answer given to England(Flintoff had done the same after winning in mumbai) in England by recording the biggest run chase then..or the vb series victories of so many test victories on foreign soil or the champions trophy or the world cup or highest century partnerships with sachin or higgest 6s or wat not(too many highs to be listed here...honestly) ...he has always been a man with an answer....
In his own words....'he has made many friends n many enemies...all for the betterment of indian cricket'.....
After having served the country for so long with such pride n success,he should be given all the respect a hero deserves...........
A dhoni might replace him as the most successful captain, a yuvraj or a raina might go on to hit countless cover drives,but no 1 will ever replace dada from the hearts of his fans......

He shall never fiss off from ppls memory...he has had a habit of stayin in the limelight...be it for right reasons or wrong....be it good or bad....every1 has an opinion bout him...
so dnt be surprised if u c him again as a coach or a selector or even a POLITICIAN(high probability) ........

whatever be it...ppl wil always remember him....
A handful -as a man who lacked professionalism...
A few -as a cricketer who was an asset that turned liability.............
while many(his fans)-wil remember him every time they c some lefthander hit a classy cover drive,or a down the wicket 6,or some captain like dhoni think out of the box n take a brave decision,or c some1 swing a tshirt with aggression,or do anything of his sort,and u will hear his fans say in their minds.....
'MAN...HE JUST DID A SOURAV GANGULY'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!