The ‘wow’ thing about OTT is you can revisit a film or series or promptly catch up with them because ‘netizen’ friends incredulously ask – ‘Don’t tell us to haven’t seen it yet’ ? We then proceed to discover a real gem a bit lost in a maze of viewing content. Basing on reliable reports, Tandra has been vociferously rooting for web-series called ‘Gullak’ on ‘Sonyliv’ which has completed 3 Seasons & into it’s 4th ! ‘Gullak’ has since entered our sitting room & we’ve fallen for it nearly every evening !

It’s about the happy and sad, nonsensical and ironical side of life and times of a ‘middle’ middle class family of four (and distinct from the lower & upper, many types of middle tiers now exist in society !). Each episode is a slice of life event or incident encapsulated into 30 mts time of a roller coaster trip- emotions, egos, struggles, tussles through their endless barbs and banter & moments of small joys that bind an Indian family like glue.

Many films in the past have dealt with time-tested middle-class syndrome where moral values and family traditions come in conflict with aspirations of the gen-next and peer pressure from neighbours and close relatives ! ‘RK Laxman’s’ genre of the middle class has his daily struggles faced with dry humour and a tenacious will to regroup for better times. ‘Gullak’ has relatable characters who make you laugh & tug at your heart-strings.

In one episode, the flamboyant Annu, family’s elder son, fails to qualify the SSC exams and is crestfallen, unable to face his parents who desperately want him to succeed. To his surprise he finds his parents taking it in their stride and asking him not to lose heart, as failures are also part of life. I recall being heart-broken when in 1971, I had missed the 1^st Div in BSc by a few marks. Dad gently consoled saying you can’t keep a good person down. I bounced back in MA Eco and secured a Univ ranking. But that’s another story.  

Possibly most heartening thing about ‘Gullak’ is the complete absence of stars and the emergence of four brilliant actors. Of these, Jameel Khan who superbly plays the genial, sporting ‘Mishra Family’ figure head is a known face but only figuring in negative roles. The doughty matriarch Shanti is played by Geetanjali Kulkarni to perfection, as she tries to keep the ‘man-power’ (husband and two sons) in check and always succeeds there.

But the real scene stealers are the two sons, Annu and Aman, portrayed with effortless conviction by Vaibhav Raj Gupta and Harsh Mayar. The sibling rivalry yet their untold bonding, the elder brother exercising domination and the younger one rebelling look so true, if you’ve brought up two sons of your own ! Their fights appear stupid yet so nostalgic ! This and the simplicity of narrating the middle class highs & lows, is pure ’Soul Curry’ !    

           

Some say it’s only the beginning but those who’ve endured it for years know ‘if it’s hot, it must be summer’ because no one’s experienced a cold one ! However, what portends is instead of the progressive hot, hotter and hottest in the next three months, ‘weather’ pundits are making claims like ‘hottest day in the last 20 years’ for certain parts of the country. Add to this there’s plenty of ‘garma-garmi’ generated in the ‘heat and dust’ of political campaigns, yet the weather has been given credit for the low voter turnout !

For those who grew up in the plains of Northern India, one prepared for the on-set of summer soon after Holi was over and woolens went back into the trunks with mothballs. In the pre-global warming times and pollution crises that hit some of the big cities, we as students in the 1960s-70s actually loved this season for the two month long vacation and many fun activities lined up. Trips to ‘Mamar-bari’ in Kolkata would be planned & if   didn’t materialize for some reason, we had cousins and friends coming over for the hols.

The summer had it’s intense blazing heat with dry,hot winds called ‘loo’ sweeping across through better part of the day, sunny skies would be bereft of clouds and Moms would try to keep us indoors in sweltering afternoons. But ‘young boys will be frisky boys’, we couldn’t be house-tied and would slink off to meet friends, play cricket, seven tiles and ‘gulli-danda’ in nearby parks or even our own garden. Those were the days of frugal fans and earthern pots (later room & Khas coolers and fridge entered lives). AC for us meant ‘Alternating Current’ as opposed to DC ! Luxuries like modern day ACs didn’t exist but one didn’t feel need for it, not strangely as we loved the open skies and braved the heat !

Watching wonderful films during the summer vacations was also adolescent ‘coming of age’ for us. Who from our time would forget ‘Summer of’42’, the 1971 classic where like the young protagonist, we all idolized someone much older and ethereally beautiful. As the story goes, Hernie a 15 year old boy goes to Nantucket Island on a summer vacation. However, he meets lovely Dorothy there and falls in love with her while she’s amused with him. The drama takes a twist when she gets news of her husband’s death in WW II ! 

It now seems like the summer is time to take a vacation abroad or to a cool hill resort ( for the affluent) & even the ‘mango man’ wants to take refuge to cooler climes if he can afford it. But indoor home time is so valuable for the family and for one’s own calling : finish books you started, learn a new craft, catch that film or complete that painting, creativity has no limits !    

 

I am 69 now, going into the 70s, Maybe it’s time for the chill-pill,

Old friends that I, at times meet, Tell me I’m still young and neat,

Modestly, to that I must Agree..

Nothing comes from nothing, And surely, nothing ever could,

Somewhere in youth or childhood, My elders thought of me as good,

And the blessings remain with Me..

Every day is new day for learning, Wonders still continue to amaze,

There’s much left to see & know, Time ticks on, with it we all flow,

Live today, future’s not ours to see..

Birthdays come and go every year, Yet best gifts are being reminded of, 

Wonderful family, friends who care, And the loving wishes they all share,

I’m blessed, people still think of Me !

Somnath Sinha

18^th, December, 2023

One doesn’t have to be a selector or cricketing expert to understand the some of the logic in the WC T20 squad announced by BCCI. Virat has truly ‘run the talk’ and bagged the ‘orange cap’ in on-going IPL’24 with brave performances, but even Rohit’s avid fans will agree that he’s no longer his old fluent self (both as batter and fielder) in T20 format, by quality standards he’s there to provide leadership to the undercooked rookies. But then the original ‘master of the game’ MSD would also do a great job as a Captain !

Since MSD at 43 wasn’t a serious contender, selectors understandably relied on the vast experience and maturity of Rohit and Virat being ‘wise old men’ serving Indian Cricket for decades, and therefore these two seniors don’t invite any real debate ! To us as keen observers, there’s a real toss up between the openers and Jaiswal scores over Rituraj and Shubhman Gill, being a left hander. For the future, Rohit’s place can be taken by a solid right hander like KL Rahul, Gill or Rituraj in T20s !  

Moving on, a real shocker comes with Hardik Pandya appointed VC, who’s on-field show hasn’t inspired anyone (other than the selectors) and set the Mumbai stands on fire with protests in this IPL. Not contributing as an all rounder, with his lack luster leadership, MI is facing an ignominious slide and finds now it very difficult to revive its fortunes ! It’s tough to fathom why the persistence with Hardik, where IMHO, his brother Kunal contributes better as an all-rounder to the LSG team. As VC how is Hardik going to be the bedrock in mid-order ? Other all rounders are Jadeja & Axar and to an extent, Dube.

Also while Sanju Samson by virtue of his fireworks in this IPL deserves a crack at the WC, he hasn’t got the international exposure and composure of KL Rahul, who has also proved his credentials as a WK ! Being a left hander the team balance needs us to go for Rishabh Pant but his fitness should be monitored. Another old weakness persists in that most of the specialist bowlers chosen can’t bat, barring Kuldeep Yadav to an extent.          

BCCI did a lot of juggling from the ‘problem of  plenty’ of  batters but have fallen short of acquiring skilled all rounders unlike the stronger Aussie and English teams. To buffs like us we hope that out ‘Men in Blue’ make the  best of  what’s served, including Hardik !

As students in the 1960s, our English teachers were not only particular about grammar & pronunciation but encouraged liberal use of idioms & phrases like ‘all that glitters is not gold’, ‘melted into thin air’, ‘there’s method in the madness’ or ‘dead as a doornail’ and many others for enhancing the quality of our essays and compositions. We didn’t know, such gems mostly came from the genius of Shakespeare, ‘The Bard of Avon’ !

Litterateurs, writers, academics, researchers, English literature students and a legion of  readers follow the incomparable style and immortal literary works of most widely read & translated storyteller, writer, playwright, philosopher, thinker – ‘William Shakespeare’, who’s birthday (born in 1564) is celebrated on 23^rd, April though the actual date is not recorded. But why does he still cast such an indelible impression on minds of even those like us who were students of science, maths and economics and not of literature. As one sagely stated ‘If ever anything good was said, it must have been said by Shakespeare’ ! 

My first brush with the ‘Bard’ as a boy were through Dad’s musings as he would often quote to us lines (from the tragedy ‘Macbeth’) with eloquence ‘Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow… Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more…’. Whatever they meant at that time, they seemed profound and beautifully melancholic. Elder sisters would loudly prepare for school elocutions in front of their mirrors ‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears…! All this was grand & theatrical and I got weaned on Bard quotes without actually reading his works !

Through uncanny gift of foresight and understanding of human nature, he could express the deepest emotions we could apply to all stages of our lives. In our growing up years as adolescents the first crush could never go beyond silent admiration for the fair maiden & we all felt ‘The course of true love never did run smooth’ ! However, when friends got married one after another the question arose ‘To be or Not to be ?’ Fortunately for me, my Mom definitively settled the ‘partner’ issue with her firm stamp of approval ‘To be’ !

On becoming a young Bank officer observing my peers scheming around in workplace, it slowly dawned on me with discomfiture ‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them’. However, it was about smartly grabbing opportunities ‘There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; omitted, all the voyage of their life, is bound in shallows and in miseries’.

The Bard had not just a thing or two to say about romance, music and love: ‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on ‘ and ‘If music be the food of love, play on.’ And the pangs of separation that lovers must endure in their journeys – ‘Parting is such sweet sorrow’ ! There is also the futility of ambition ‘It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’ !

Finally, there the philosophy of life beautifully summed up by the Bard ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.’ Who could have said it better ?!    

Like in the on-going election campaign slogans, this IPL has just proven that any target set by the opposition can be overhauled in a T20 run-fest chase ! Veteran English batter Johny Bairstow hit a purple patch and rookie Shashank Singh gave such a sucker punch to KKR in the final overs that left the Eden Gardens 55,000+ crowds stunned to silence !

Unpredictable Punjab Kings boys were wilting at the bottom half of the points table till now. But with yesterday came their momentous rather than momentum shift when their innings started. The two openers went on to unleash a blitz like a reign of terror on the hapless KKR bowlers (barring Narine) smoking huge sixes to surpass the mighty total of 262 posted by KKR. Considering PKS finally won with 8 balls to spare, if KKR had posted 300, Johny & Singh would’ve smashed 6 sixes to reach that !

It’s no use dissecting the lame-duck bowling by KKR (except the Narine spell) when they just wouldn’t contain rampaging batters the same way they couldn’t against RR when Jos the ‘Butler did it’ in style. Other teams now face the same dilemma. Flat pitches are paradise for batting sides and hell for bowlers. T20 is a beast that bashers have tamed and battles are one-sided, skewed to batters skilled in slug-fests. But simply bashing and slashing is not cricket, even if insanely thrilling for roaring crowds & ultra rich sponsors.

For the huge success that IPL had from the start a decade ago, innovations are necessary to some maintain balance between skill, power & aesthetics in contests bringing joy to the paying public. Cricket buffs like us and experts like Sunny ji are raring to suggest changes in IPL rules to ’save the bowlers’getting all the blushes and batters the awards :

* All the boundary lines must be extended. Hitting sixes is becoming just too easy. Often grounds have uneven boundaries, shorter on one side. To be fair, only 3 runs (not 4s & 6s) should be allowed when batter hits over them and only longer boundaries should fetch full value for the batter.

* Bowlers be allowed 5 overs against only 4 at present, to help get their line & length right. Also, 2 bouncers per over and one legal ball outside leg stump be permitted

*The bowling side should get 3 reviews while the batting side may get only 2 reviews

* A Batter be granted no more than 6 sixes, after that he only gets 4 runs even if it’s a 6

* The new ‘Impact Player’ rule is unfair since more batting might is getting introduced  

These are revolutionary changes required to boost the morale of poor bowlers braving it out in IPL format. If things continue as they are, scores of 300 will be chased by batters’ carnage on the poor bowling side in just 20 overs ! Guys, let’s have a level playing field and restore some sanity in a good old cricket match, just as we seek elsewhere too !

We shouldn’t call them relics of the past, for the veritable and all pervasive Mumbai ‘Autos’ are the lifeline for the average commuter (albeit for shorter distances) after its local trains, the Metro, the Taxis and BEST buses. Their business badly hit by the onset of on-line cab services like Ola & Uber that emerged around two decades ago, these versatile three wheelers breeze on undaunted, braving megacity’s sweltering summer and monsoon mania ! 

Those of us who grew up in smaller towns, cycle rickshaws and later tempos were favored shared modes of transport and were easily available at every nook and corner where one could just hop on. In today’s highly automated age, many of these continue to be attached to mohallas or residential areas , plying children to schools and taking working people to offices & markets ! Remarkably, they manage to co-exist with the burgeoning vehicular traffic of cars, two wheelers and newer entrants on roads- the electric rickshaws.

For residents of the bustling metros like Mumbai, autos remained the basic facilitator for short distance travel in the last few decades. They have also been providing major employment avenues to people from parts of East UP and Bihar and one rarely finds anyone else driving private taxis or autos in Mumbai except them. It’s fun chatting with these informed guys, if like me you are from Lucknow, wanting an accurate ground report on UP & Bihar !

Without being parochial, I’d say the auto guys are generally professional, never rude except when they’re asked for change ! With the huge number of commuters travelling across the megacity on daily basis, some people tend to misplace their documents like passports, DLs and mobiles in transit. The auto-walas claim that if a person has left behind something while travelling with them, they’ll try their best to ensure the owner gets it back. It’s quite true – one auto-driver did come back to my home to return my lost mobile !

Good news is that like all else, the latest autos that are hitting the road have swanky & colorful looks with doors that lock, preventing you from crashing out since no safety belts still are fitted in ! Don’t undermine humble autos available just outside our gate. Economical, they too make our lives easier !

   

(With some Shakespeare’s Lines)-After LSG beat CSK in IPL

Friends, Indians, Chennai-men,

Lend me your bright yellow jerseys

I came to play IPL, not to praise it,

4s, 6s that I hit, live after the match

Even CSK oft lost winning ways,

So let the win be with our LSG,

The Noble Thala MS Dhoni

Hath told you CSK was ambitious:

If it were so, it was a grievous fault,

And grievously hath CSK answer’d it.

Here, under leave of Gaekwad & rest

And Big Thala who’s a legendary man

So are they all, all brilliant CSK men

Here I speak in Post Match Presentation

They are friends, faithful & just to CSK

But Thala says he was ambitious

And Rituraj is a wonderful batsman

He hath scored a century himself

Whose runs did the CSK scores fill

Did this in Thala seem ambitious ?

When crowds cried, bowlers hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:

Yet Big Thala says he was ambitious

And legendary MS is an honourable man.

You all did see that on the ‘Jio Channel’ !

By Somnath Sinha – An LSG Fan

Watching IPL cricket many fans felt aggrieved when Virat was given out to what some experts opined was not a legal delivery & ‘above waist’,  thereby affecting RCB chances of a badly needed win against KKR ! In that moment of extreme aggravation, desperate for team’s cause, King Kohli lost his cool and did the unbecoming act of animatedly arguing with on-field Umpires !

In a glorious career that’s smashed batting records built on immense talent and undying passion to always excel, Virat has been an inspiring role model for many aspiring and established players. As ‘Big Daddy’ of Indian Cricket, he’s found mentoring players of other teams, lending prized bats to Rinku of KKR and urging Mumbai crowds not boo Hardik during his IPL games.

Yet being tempestuous he simply wades into all sorts of controversies. His big row with BCCI bosses over ‘Captaincy’ issues is still fodder for reporters hungry for scandals ! In IPL ‘23, he got into a massive on-field altercation with Gautam Gambhir, another Delhi boy known for belligerence & made headlines but come this year’s IPL, they’ve hugged & made up. Many of his critics have asked if ‘the King and his super-ego are bigger than the game’.

For his latest ‘Code of Conduct’ breach he’s been docked 50% of his match fees. That’s a ‘token’ fine for such a super-biggie, but no player (or person), however tall in stature and following, should get away with anything that’s sets a bad precedent and must be penalized. While we find in ‘sports’ there  is an effort at fair play and of adhering to rules, sadly in other walks of life, we often see those ‘who’re calling the shots’ and are in positions of power and authority, not being held accountable but the strong arm of due process  well applied to the less entitled people.

It’s all the more essential for demi-gods with ‘iconic’ status through public adulation and as role models emulated by fans who are a legion that span generations all across the globe in today’s digital world. Legends and cult heroes cannot have ‘feet of clay’ when they’re supposed to stand up against wrong-doings and set high ethical standards for lesser mortals to follow !     

While the overwhelming IPL carnival is about feverish activity and endless energy levels being exhibited by the stars on spotlight, one ace batter known for his pyrotechnics and unorthodox switch hits, has stopped in his tracks and sought temporary reprieve from his RCB Bosses. He announced an indefinite break from IPL following recurring loss of form and inability to contribute to RCB that’s languishing at bottom of the table.

Remarkably, just a year ago Maxwell played an phenomenal innings against Afghanistan in last year’s WC (50 overs) where battling pain and cramps, he took Aussies to victory, hitting 4s & 6s literally batting just on one leg. It was hailed as an outstanding example of endurance and his dogged will to win. This time, Maxi has opted not to battle on but to take a break which is also an act of courage, admitting his poor show in RCB & asking to be replaced. Can a champion batter call quits in midst of a  league admitting failures ?

Working endlessly round the year without a break may show utmost zeal on one’s part but it’s otherwise. Many organizations with good HR practices expect their personnel to avail leave and take time off from work. We hark back to our work-life days in the bank decades ago. Initially staff were granted due leave without much fuss as Bosses and HR followed the human approach in developing skills. Later with stress on quarterly results, they wouldn’t let go any officer anytime due to the constant pressure to achieve targets !

During & in the post Covid era, WFH posed different problems as people were always required to be available on call almost 24 x 7. The millennial solves this issue grabbing long-weekend getaways or taking short breaks with a change of scene. Idyllic ‘Lonavala’, and nearby picturesque spots face a ‘Mumbai’ deluge almost every weekend. Corporate bigwigs often combine small foreign jaunts with business trips or set exotic locales for what’s called their ‘Off-site’ meets ! Even kids today say ‘Gimme a break, Mom/Dad’ !

What are the signs that you need a break ? You’ll know taking a break from work is vital if you want to manage stress and avoid burnout. Tell tale signs include feeling cynical, exhausted or withdrawn. By taking a break, whether it’s a vacation or just a short break during the day, you can come back to your work with a fresher, more rested mind. It’s not just working class who need it, homemakers so deserve to shirk off  the domestic drudgery ! 

Most of us retired old folks, are always in talks at home to plan our next trip, vacation, a stay-cation or a play-cation ! However, remember executing the plans well according to demands of  family is essential for your well being & to keep the stress levels in check.