2 scenes.

ही गोष्ट आहे एका निसर्गरम्य पर्यटन केंद्राजवळची...
पहाटेची  साधारण सहाची वेळ. सूर्य नुकताच उगवत होता. पक्षांचा किलबिलाट ऐकू येत होता. आम्ही ५ - ६ मित्र नदी किनारी अंघोळ करण्यासाठी गेलो होतो. छोटीशी छानशी नदी होती ती. जेम-तेम गुढग्या इतकं पाणी होत. एक छोटासा पूल पण बांधला होता नदीवर.
 बरीच लोकं फिरायला अली होती नदीकाठी. तरुण मित्र होते, जोडपी होती, म्हातारे कोतरे होते. नेहमी प्रमाणे जोडप्यांचे चाळे चालू होतेच.  त्यातलं एक जोडप पुलावरून नदीच्या दुसऱ्या तीरावर गेलं. थोड इकडे तिकडे पहिल अणि मुलीने मुलाला घट्ट मिठीच मारली.
आम्ही विचार करत होतो, मिठीच मारायाची होती तर पलिकडे जायची काय गरज होती? ह्यांना घरी वेळ कमी पडतो की एकोपा मिळत नाही कळतच नाही.

 दूसरी गोष्ट आहे माझी ... म्हणजे खर पहिल तर माझ्या बायकोच्या प्रेमाची ... कुत्र्यांवरच्या !!
मी अणि माझ कुटुंब गेल्या आठवड्यात कार्ला MTDC ला फिरायला गेलो होतो. भुर-भुर पाउस पडत होता. छान वातावरण होत तिकडे! बऱ्याच दिवसांनी सकाळी फेरफटका मारायचा योग आला होता. मुलं लवकर  उठणार नाहीत याचा अंदाज घेउन आम्ही फिरायला निघलो. boating करावं असा प्लान होता. पण पाणी  कमी असल्यामुळे ते नशिबात नव्हत. so  be  it म्हणून फिरत फिरत नदी पार केली.

एक छोटस कुत्र्याच पिल्लू दिसल  मला. मी नेहमी प्रमाणे त्या पिल्लाला बोलावल जवळ. माझ्या बायकोला कुत्रे इतके आवडतात याची कल्पनाच नव्हती मला. तिने लगेच हाड-हाड करायला सुरवात केली. ते पिल्लू बिचारं confuse  झालं. ते जस जस जवळ येत होत तस तस बायको माझ्या मागे लपायला लागली. पिल्लू तिच्या मागे मागे. मग तिने मला घट्ट मिठीच मरली. १-२ चकरा मारून ते पिल्लू बिचारं निघून गेल.

आता अस बघा… हे दोन्ही scenes जर एकाच वेळी घडले असतील तर…

National-International Karate event at Pune

I was very excited to be a part of an international karate event that was going to be held at Pimple-Nilakh Pune between 25th-26th December.
However it was an utter disappointment to be there.
First and foremost thing that I noticed was that there was NO media attention to the event.Is it that we are such a Cricket-loved country that we do not know about such events ?

The day before :
It all started on the 24th of December where the participants were called for weighing ins. As the matches take place in weigh category, the organizers had to take the weight of all the participants. As my son was taking part in the matches, we were called at 2:00 pm at the venue. A lot of players with their parents were waiting there without any knowledge of what is the current status and when the weights will be taken.
At around 4:00 pm, we were asked to proceed to a new location where the actual weighing was taking place. To start with, the weighing scale was faulty... a faulty weighing machine for an international event ... wow ... thats something interesting !! The organizers could not get the scale to read 0. So after some time, here comes a digital weighing scale which could read upto 40KGs only and the weighing started. At one incidence, the weight of a boy was written as 41 where the scale was surely showing 45... I could not understand whats going on and then after boy got down from the scale, the guy measuring showed that the scale was showing -4 to star with. So this is how we organizer events. After the weights, we were asked to be at the match venue again.
So, we went to the match venue again to ask the timings for the matches. A lot of teams have started coming and the crowed is gathering real large. A few men with "India" track suites were arguing with the management for their accommodation. So the players who have represented India do not have an accommodation... this was the second shock. Don't you know who all are coming and where they will be staying ?
There was a big stage built just near the entrance, so I thought may be there are matches to be played there. I asked someone about the purpose of the stage and to my surprise I was told that the stage is for a DJ. So we have a DJ for the opening ceremony and here I was thinking that there are not enough sponsors for the event.

After much inquiry, we were asked to be present at the venue at 9:00 am sharp on the match day.

The match day :
The day started at 9:00 am sharp. We were at the venue at 9, and on reaching, we received a message from our coach that the matches are starting at 10:00am. What a start !!
Every team was given some coupons for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So we got some to our team. There was ONE counter that was serving around 500+ players and their relatives. So there was a long queue for breakfast. Another organizing blunder.
Now its 12:00 pm and there is still no news of the starting the matches. So people start to queue up again, for the lunch now. People were sitting all on the ground to have their lunch.

So I started asking people about when the matches are going to start and was told that the matches will start after the meeting is over. Whats all this meeting about ?? Its a meeting to decide the rules and regulations. What are valid punches and kicks and when a warning should be given ? Ooh !! a very valid point here so that people don't fight when the matches are going on. But hello ... if you know that you must have such meetings, why do you start these meeting so late ? Can you not do it in the morning ? Why do you make players starting from 6 years to 25 years wait ?
So after the meeting was over, we got another news. Theres no electricity and we don't have a generator back-up. So the matches will start at 4:00pm. Do they really care about the players ?
But as we want to participate, we waited till 4:00 pm. At 4:00 pm, we got a news that the matches will start soon and we went to the match arena and it was utter chaos... players all over the match arena, all the officials and management were trying to control the crowd, the mike system was not working properly. After 15-20 mins of shouting and pushing and pulling they could clear the match area and now the matches could start.

And the matches started .......
The matches started at 4:30 pm. The first group was below 15 KGs. The players names were called for and two of the players age 5 and 6 were missing from the list. Another blunder ... You make the players and their parents wait from 9 am through 4:30 pm to tell them that there is some mis-management and your lads can not play. Their coaches started arguing with the management for adding their names in the list and theres some running around going on for adding the names.
In the mean time, they started the matches for the named players. As there were just 4 players listed, the first two matches were SFs, the third match was a 3rd place match. As soon as the 4th match, the final, started  .... it was stopped in between. Some more running around and after 20 more minutes here comes another list of players. The result of all the matches played earlier was void and all the matches will be played again. Lovely ... I have not received so many surprises in my entire life.

To be continued ...

The only person in the century capable of scoring century of centuries at International lavel. SRT !!

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket.

"When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France, Diego Maradona was still the captain of a world champion Argentina team, Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam.

When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy. It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had another Sachin Tendulkar and we never will."
 
Here are a few links and information about the GOD.
To start with, who is the greatest cricketer ?? Sachin or Bradman.
Who is the greatest ??

Lets start with the best ODI innings of all time ...

and this is what he has to say about it...

SRT also featured in ESPNs series "Legends of cricket".

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What made him the man he is, is his determination and his attitude. You can judge that even when he gave his first interview

Even you and me must have said many of the following lines, but its not WHAT is said that is important, its WHO said it that matters. So here are a few quotes by some cricketing greats.

Mathew Hayden:

I have seen GOD , he bats at no.4 for india in Tests.

Mark Taylor:

We did not lose to a team called india...we lost to a man called Sachin.

Brain Lara:

Sachin is a genius , i am a mere mortal!

Martin Crowe:

The shot played on this ball is only possible for the GOD of cricket

Shane Warne:

I would go to bed having nightmares of sachin dancing down the ground and hitting me for sixes.

Sir Don Bradman:

I saw him playing on television and was struck by his technique, so I asked my wife to come look at him. Now I never saw myself play, but I feel that this player is playing much the same as I used to play, and she looked at him on Television and said yes, there is a similarity between the two...hi compactness, technique, stroke production... it all seemed to gel! in reference to Sachin Tendulkar. 

Wasim Akram:

Today, he showed the world why he is considered the best batsman around. Some of the shots he played were simply amazing. Earlier, opposing teams used to feel that Sachin's dismissal meant they could win the game. Today, I feel that the Indian players, too, feel this way. 

Brett Lee:

You might pitch a ball on the off stump and think you have bowled a good ball and he walks across and hits it for two behind midwicket. His bat looks so heavy but he just waves it around like it's a toothpick. Brett Lee, on Sachin Tendulkar's batting, 1999.

Hashim Amla:

Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it. Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

Navjot Sidhu:

"His mind is like a computer. He stores data on bowlers and knows where they are going to pitch the ball."

Michael Kasprowicz:

Don't bowl him bad balls, he hits the good ones for fours."

Rev David Shepherd.

"Sachin Tendulkar! If he isn't the best player in the world, I want to see the best player in the world".

Andy Flower:
There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.

And here are some of his great innings and strokes...
Sachins first ODI inning

 First test century

Tendulkar's Bullet Drive against LEE 

And here are his master class innings at Sharjah in 1998.

and then the finals ...

And the team man has shown his spark even in bowling and fielding ...