Realization is a Good thing

Last Sunday my elder son participated in a Soccer tournament. Their team of under 10 kids beat both their opponents and came in the finals which were held yesterday.
On the way to the ground the talk in the team car was on who will hold the trophy first and who will get to take it home. Listening to them it sounded like a mere formality, the team will reach the ground and they will score goals, the other team will just run around and flop down.
Well the truth as it turned out was vastly different. The opponents were bigger, fitter and way more aggressive and gave a lesson in football which our team will do well to learn. The first half was a blur and before we knew it we were 2 goals down. And both the goals were due to the fact that our kids were late in attacking the ball.
The second half was better as we fought back and created lots of chances. The final whistle saw us lose 3-0 and the team was totally deflated.
In hindsight it was good as it taught the kids a lesson that they will remember for their life.

Minor League Soccer in Delhi

My son like many others in the public schools of Delhi plays Soccer more enthusiastically than cricket. He goes twice a week for soccer training with a group of friends. Coached by a Nigerian professional soccer player I have seen them gradually transform from gawky youngsters to more assured ball players. More importantly I have seen how the physical stamina and effort have been enhanced by exercise and hard work.
It seems there is a group of Nigerians who are coaching kids all over Delhi and last week they decided to organize a small tournament amongst their teams to see who has the best team. So each team had to fork out some money and the tournament was on.

Sunday was the big day when our kids went into a soccer field in one uniform and playing as one team. Some of the parents decided to forgo the sunday afternoon siesta and go and cheer their boys and we were also part of them. After an adventurous search for the ground we reached in time to see the first match which our kids won 4-

I had seen movies where American parents went to watch their kids play base ball and cheer and support their team but it was the first time that I saw parents like me coming and cheering their kids.
There was juice, cakes, sandwiches for everyone and wife was smart enough to carry 3 pints of beer and a good time was had by all. In spite of my caution to myself to not get too involved by the time of the second match i was screaming at my son to fall back or attack the ball and then I realised that irrespective of which corner of the world you are in parent hood and the feelings remain the same.

Well we are in the finals to be played next week and watch this space for more.

First rains in Delhi

Yesterday it poured for the first time in the monsoon. This was the real McCoy and not the usual Delhi 'lets dirty the car' rain but the one where you cant see anything in front and the wipers go nuts trying to work against the water pressure.
It was fun watching the rain from the 10th floor window and see people running in or out of the rain depending on the age and the joy they felt. By the time it was time to go home there was trepidation on whether the MCD has delivered what they promised.
Well it was a good time spent on the roads of Delhi trying to find the best route home. Traffic details on the radio were of no use as they kept singing songs of jam all over and how it has finally rained.
There was water logging and I saw numerous vehicles which had given up to the fury of the monsoon but I again was left dumb by the lack of road sense in Delhi. Intersections were full of cars and buses face to face honking away as if they will blow the vehicle in front of them with the sheer power of the pressure horn.
With people getting into the incoming lane and then blocking all routes it became a nightmare. I felt sorry for the traffic cop who stood soaked to the bone trying to manage the unruly cars and buses.
With the water levels in certain areas going up till 2-3 feet I was quite happy to reach home dry and without any mishaps.
This morning the same areas were quite dry and I for one was not completely unhappy with the MCD effort. Lets face it the volume was tremendous and in the short time the water logging was bound to happen but in 3-4 hrs after the rain the water had gone away.
But one thing was clear we in Delhi are not geared to take Bombay type of rain flyover or no flyovers.

Golf at Mercara Downs

Last month I traveled to Coorg. For the uninformed, this is a region in Karnataka that is famous for its coffee plantations and gentle hill stations. We stayed at a place called Madikeri.
Around a km from our resort was a Golf course called Mercara greens. It claims to be one of the oldest golf courses in South India. Looking at the Club house it seemed one of the smallest and youngest as it was not even 10 years vintage.

As Katy Paaji, the LT group Hony tour organiser, had already done the home work both of us were carrying some golf balls and our gloves we set out the next morning to see what Mercara Downs had to offer. On reaching the club house we saw that the entire staff consisted of 3 people of which one one lady was able to understand us and help us out. We fixed up a game for the next morning and left feeling like Mission half accomplished.
the next morning Katy paaji and I left for the golf course in the morning feeling like JM Singh and Tiger Woods. Paaji wanted to walk saying it is only 2 km and we do much more on the treadmill. I was sceptical but followed on and soon realised that walking on the treadmill/dreadmill is very different from walking in the hills where there are uphill and downhill. By the time we reached the club house huffing and puffing 30 mins later we felt that we have finished 9 holes already.
The fairways and the green/browns looked very inviting but there were no Caddies!!! 'Ugadi Saar, Wall Caddies gane to village Saar'. As Ugadi was still 15 days away it seemed a lame excuse and we entered into a long phase of figuring out if she could get some caddies by the time we came back from breakfast. Well she agreed and after an hour or so we were standing on the first Tee with hired golfsets that looked as if they were at the club to prove the antiquity of the club.
With us was another avid golfer from Ahmedabad who had come all the way to Coorg with his own golf set. We looked like amateurs in his presence. The first hole is a 330 yards par 4 where one has to go uphill. This was my second experience was playing in a hilly course so it was mortifying and humbling to see how the force of gravity works to bring the balls down a slope if not perched on flat greens. The greens were kerchief sized and so it required precision to hit and stay there. The second hole has jungle to the left and Katy paaji promptly decided to undo his previous par/bogey by sending a ball in the woods. In the next hole he blasted another one in the wood which his Caddie got back. Somehow we went through this up down motion of walking from one hole to another till Katy said' Enough is Enough' I need water. This was the point where he was looking down on the 7th hole where we were perched on the top of a hill looking down into a biggish lake and beyond all that was a green. On both sides of the lake and beyond were woods, dark and foreboding somehow evoking Robert Prost in saying You guys have Miles to go before you sleep.
I have hydrophobia and I promptly sent two balls one after the other in the wood on either side. katy on the other hand was threatening to drink the water in the lake sounding like one of those Monsters in a Ramanand Sagar mythological who threaten poor villagers ' mujhe Khana do warna tumko kha jaonga'. Since drinking the water was not an option he took out his anger and frustration on the bolf ball and sent it soaring 200 yards beyond the green. And next thing I knew was that Katy had vanished.
A frantic look around showed Katy sprawled in the front seat of the Innova speeding away before I could get him to play another hold.
Thus ended our 9 holes at Mercara Downs which was my third round of Golf on vacations and was definitely more enjoyable than the one at vienna.
More on that in some time.

My Son - A member of the Student Council

My son who has just joined class Vth has been selected as a student council member. Since I have been a lifelong member of the back benchers club ( BBC) this was a proud moment for me. The Investiture ceremony was a serious one with proper Chief Guest delivering lectures and kids giving speeches etc. I was a little envious of my son as in our times these events were not done with so much of ean and style. Also I think the kids today are heap more confident. At his age if I had to speak 5 straight sentences I would have ran from the stage. But it was fun.

Child Bear and Coldless Phone

Around a decade back I was working for THE SPORTS CHANNEL and traveling all over the boondocks of Rajasthan and UP. In those travails ( oops travels )I saw lots of examples of indi-genius use of the English language. The gems being Coaching Clashes for young children in Muzzafarnagar and Child Bear at a 'English Wine and Beer Shop' on the way to Ajmer. Those days I didnt have access to digital cameras or NOKIAS and so could never take a pic for posterity. But I was always impressed and amused by this amazing ability to understand deeper aspirations. i mean what better to teach the young of Muzaffarnagar but clashes. And how best to get young users for beer but through child beer or maybe they had the Pint bottles in Ajmer .
But yesterday I saw the great Indian invention. Move Over Chinese phones, here comes the ultimate handset, the Indian phone that keeps you safe and sound. protects from sneezes and flu - The great Indian COLDLESS PHONE.Available in the heart of posh South Delhi.

Bomb Blasts and the spirit of Indians

I was tempted to use Delhites in place of Indians but then thought that across the country this must be the case.
People are more interested in being a Tamashai rather than be prudent and be safe.
Around an hour back just outside our office in Barakhamba Road, N Delhi two small packets were found unclaimed on the pavement. Due to the heightened security post the bomb blasts very soon there were some policemen who came to check the stuff. Since it was sealed they called the bomb squad.
Generally that area has some 100 people mulling around but with the news of the bomb spreading like wildfire (it spread to our floor which is 10 floors up ) there was soon a crowd of 500-600 people surrounding the bomb. And on being told to move back and be safe they were behaving like football defenders being told to move back by the referee. They were so reluctant to move back that it seemed the cops were asking them to do something illegal.
Anyways even our cops are crazy, the bomb disposal squad was without any protective gear and if anything had happened I swear I at least would have felt that they deserved it.
I think this episode should have been filmed and telecast all over the media networks so that the Indian mujahideens would just give up trying to scare people by their stupid idiotic acts.