August Rush (Literally!)

I thought I will name this blog as August Rush - on one of my all time favourite American musical drama. If you haven’t watched, you should go for it. It is a story of an orphaned kid who happens to be a musical prodigy finds his parents - who had been after birth - through the different sounds and rhythms that he hears which at the end of it all adds to be an August’s rhapsody. While his mother is searching for him, and his father searching for her - all 3 meets at the end when he does his instrumental composition in the open field. What s story! Ok, I am not here to document any of it or such a story but my intention is much more literal for ‘August’ rush.

I wanted to document what I read in the last 30 odd days, as part of daily ritual. It has been one of a kind experience to read various subjects from the best minds and probably finest writing too. There were overlapping in couple of books, but all in all it was on subjects very different with each other and somehow interlinked as well. I will explain at the end how some of what I read is interlinked to the each other and hence, to the current world of ours. But first, a brief about every one of them.

1. Twilight of Democracy: The failure of Politics and the parting of friends by Anne Applebaum: - Anne Applebaum is a staff writer with The Atlantic, and she documents the failure of democracy post the fall of Soviet Union. The fall of Soviet Union was the win for an American led world order post WW II, but how the same fell upon seductive lure of authoritarian jingoism sometimes borne out of simplistic solutions to complex problems or just about blaming a specific group of individuals to establish a non-existing narrative or problem and thereby taking down a free and just society towards social in-cohesion. Her documentation of Poland and Hungary as one example which - to be fair - had the rooted impulse as they were satellite soviet states, but the dark barrel down is so deep that now it is affecting both sides of the Atlantic. It is an important read to study the most disturbing uprising of our era and our times to come - Rightwing Authoritarianism in the world.
2. My Vanishing Country by Bakari Sellers: What JD Vance did for Appalachian region in the upper midwest in the book Hilbilly Elegy (There is a Netflix movie by the same name on the book) documenting the struggles of the post globalisation world when jobs went out of US to Chinese factories - in part giving rise to populist sentiment and the election of Donald Trump in 2016, in My vanishing country - Bakari Sellers does for the rural south through it’s past, present and probably what the future holds. Bakari rose to become one of the youngest state legislatures in the state and now he is the voice of social injustice on media networks. I am personally fascinated by American history especially it’s struggles in racial years and how it continues to shape their body politic till today, and reading Sellers’ memoir gives an important understanding for it because he takes the subject of Systemic racism head on and confronts with much clarity as to what it means now after more than 160 years of abolition of Slavery. The meaning of democracy is to give voice to the voiceless, hearing the unheard and this book is for those minority, poor part of the country who had suffered brutally over centuries.
3. The Art of Conjuring alternate Realities by Shivam Shankar Singh and Anand Venkatanarayanan - This is a must read of our times! Hard to come across any book which is so important to read right now. We are living through epistemological crisis. The world is suffering from disinformation across the digital world and it’s after effects in our societal relationship and thereby impacting how we see each other who do not hold common view. This s a primer of our times and a stellar examination of how the powerful manages perception, create narratives, and makes the society follow the pied piper when we lose the ability to disambiguate what is meant to divide us is what is uniting us. Information warfare concepts like reflexive control, cybercriminal psychology, and how authoritarians or in India’s case elected autocrat exploit the information environment to solidify power. You are allowed to believe in your form of reality or so called alternate reality, but you are not allowed to divorce it from the truth or basics because deeper you go down the hole worse it keeps becoming. As the authors write “an alternate reality resembles the ponzi scheme, in which more and more resources are put into expanding, without it would collapse. A natural ending point for a conjurer is inevitably using the might of nation state to maintain their reality” It will be THE most important battle of the century ahead to own the cognitive forces of people’s minds, and the victor will be the one who can conjure a reality people want to believe in, real or not.If you want to understand today’s India and larger world, and how messed we are and the path forward if this sort of information environment runs deep, this book is a critical evaluation and significantly important.
4. Has China Won by Kishore Mahubani - The greatest contest of 21st century is between America and China, and that should be put out without any doubt. Written in 2019, at the height of the Trade war initiated by Donald Trump, Kishore Mahubani traces the origins of this contest and - I feel most significantly - civilizational or cultural aspect of how both the countries sees the world. I found it really interesting when the book documents how America always believed and still does believe in it’s superior form of government and how it exports it’s teaching to the far away lands while China does not want others to (forcefully) emulate it’s style but believes in it’s capacity to be the superpower and thereby ticking away to become the 2nd largest economically in just 3 decades. Mahubani’s book is an excellent study of thinking behind how both the countries are run and how they see the world through different lens. There will be transition of power - may be by 2050 but will it without bloodshed and peaceful, and who wins the great game - only time will tell.
5. India and the Asian Geopolitics by Shiv Shankar Menon - This book was a class on India’s Foreign relations since Independence till today, through the lens of all of major global events. From India’s Non-Aligned movement at the height of Cold War, to it’s battles in the sub-continent with China and Pakistan and how that has shaped our foreign policy and how has India impacted on the world stage. With the journey through independence till today, it maps the India’s present day challenges with subtle prescriptions on how to approach the grey matter issues world poses onto India. This book is not just historical in perspective but also incisive in how India should project it’s place in future. Menon ends with “We should accept no less, no simulacrum of leadership, no prejudices masquerading as ideas. Some of us have lost the ambition of think big of ourselves, of India’s role in the world. Dread and hate replace treason thought, leading to destructive social conflict in and around India. We are offered two pictures of our national destiny. One vision is born of fear and polarisation and the other of national self-confidence and ambition. The former excludes many Indians and is based on a narrow, intolerant and false sense of nationalism. The latter is a proudly patriotic, tolerant, modern, progressive, and secular vision of a confident nation that respects all its citizens. The former is inward looking and diminishes India in the world. The latter is a confident India that stands for something with universal appeal. It is time we rejected the former and rededicated ourselves unambiguously to make the latter real” Yet to read a more incisive commentary on the current state of our country.
6. The Rude Life by Vir Sanghvi - This was a wonderful book to understand the construct of modern India from the person who had the front row seats to major events of the country through the 80s till now. The book rich with anecdotes raises a lot of what ifs question to India’s recent political past. Vir’s reach to the height of political power explains how the corridors of government took various decisions and how Prime Minister’s thought from the Rajiv Gandhi era to Manmohan Singh. He explains the role of Journalists in this world, where governments are working extra time to arm twist what reaches the public and how Media - supposedly the 4th pillar of democracy is complicit in it. Vir’s writing style should be envy of many, clarity of thought, simplicity of language and hammering home the point without the use of flashy words more a skill than it is art. Vir’s view of the country and the world with the most excellent seat in the world is simply outstanding read.

All of the above are different in it’s own right but when I tried to find a link any two books, combination of 1-3 and 4-5 came closest. For the purposes of the blog I will only highlight 1-3. Matter of 4-5 for some other day.

The world of information is so democratic that it has left the body politic of the countries bordering the near end of democracy. Supreme Court judge Mr. Chandrachud as recently as yesterday highlighted the importance of the role citizens play in the functioning of democracy. Democracy does not only mean right to vote, but more than that it means the right to be heard. There are basic sets of facts and truth which cannot be contested or twisted to suit the narrative of the state. State will try to arm twist in a kind of ours ‘elected autocracy’ but if we do not speak the truth, we are sure to be doomed because as Mr. Chandrachud said “Democracy and truth go hand in hand. Democracy needs truth to survive” 

The legend of Tennis

I have been following tennis for the past 16 odd years. I learn from players and learn from the sport. And have been following this GS race very closely with it’s ebb and flows. Of course me backing Rafa all the way and will continue to do so till he hangs up his boots. But to live in this era of tennis immortality, all tennis fans should consider themselves lucky. There will not be another like this. 60 majors (20 each) between the Federer, Nadal and Nole starting 2003.  (Read that again). Novak won his 20th title - his 6th Wimbledon today. And put himself in the same category as his arch rivals, catching them for the first time.

Generations have changed but when it comes to big stages winners are pretty consistent. To just put this in context till 2011 (Roger was 16, Rafa was 10 and Nole at 3) and 10 years on it is (20-20-20). 

Not sure how to describe this dominance of 3 players in parallel pushing each other, has any individual sport ever seen at this level? Michael Phelps did in Swimming but again no competitor -pure talent, Lance Armstrong in Cycling - but marred by drugs later so kind of legacy erased, Schumacher in his prime - but that too 6-7 years max, who else? (do comment if you remember any - individual sport) 

There will not be another era of men’s tennis or dare i say any individual sport for as long as 20 odd years. I mean the aura of invincibility Big 3 that exists especially in Grand slams which is THE highest pinnacle of sport and just refusing to pass the baton is simply incredible. The mental fortress that they are able to create in such highest competitive levels (coming from set down, coming back from 2 sets down) is not about skill and talent (which is there ofcourse) but about refusing to think or believe that losing is an option. Or it cannot be won at any point in the match.

Tennis is a sport which finishes only after you win the last point, so momentum during the match makes a difference. Big points matter, you don’t win games when you create a break point chance you win when you win that created chance. Novak has mastered how to win big points, he has taken the phrase “stay in the present” to a whole new level. Just the ability to not think of what happens after is a supreme example of how to approach anything. Compartmentalisation is an asset in any field and just block the shit out to focus on the next task - the hardest thing to do. Novak is the epitome of this sheer genius.

Absolute credit to Novak, who has so long lived in Fedal’s shadows and has been able to create his own niche in a very distinct way. He may not have a big game, not a whole lot of huge serve like Federer, not a huge forehand like Nadal, but just pure accurate game enough to draw mistakes and mentally wear the opponent down. It is an incredible skill at work day in day out and just utter refusal to give up. Wolf mentality of the mountains he describes it as.

He may not be as loved as Fedal but that in no way diminishes his on court mammoth achievements. Yes, Olympic Gold eludes him but he will be gunning for it in couple of weeks’ time. And then Golden calendar slam too in NYC and make it 21 slams this autumn.

GOAT debate will continue till these 3 play on, but for all practical results wise objective metric it is the Novak’s era of tennis where he will end with most slams than others, and with the way he is going it might be a huge gap of 6-7 slams at the end of it all. 

What we are witnessing is truly historic and i for one is privileged to be alive to see this era and have stories to tell the future generations. 

If knowledge is power, knowing what we don't know is Wisdom

“A great book should leave with many experiences and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading” remarked American novelist W Styron. On this World Book day, i want to share the above thoughts on one such book i recently read and something that echoes the above quote. 

Think Again by Adam Grant (Organizational Psychologist)- recommended to me by one of Regional senior in my bank - is an exceptional book.It is an extremely important read for our times. Stay with me will come to it.

As the name suggests - and in the course of reading - the power in our human ability to step back and think again is where real intelligence lies. Intelligence is usually seen as the ability to think and learn, but in a rapidly changing world it might matter more that we can rethink and unlearn. This is a book which lets you think about what an individual can unlock if there is an ability to step back and clear the biases in the head, remove the wrong knowledge affecting our decisions and actions. As we think and talk, we often slip into the mindsets of three different professions - Preacher, Prosecutors, and Politicians. These are all different and distinct tools. Adam Grant explains “we go into preacher mode when our sacred beliefs are in jeopardy: we deliver sermons to protect and promote our ideals. We enter prosecutor mode when we recognise flaws in other people’s reasoning: we marshal arguments to prove them wrong and win our case. We shift into politician mode when we’re seeking to win over an audience: we campaign and lobby for the approval of our constituents. The risk is that we become so wrapped up in preaching that we’re right, prosecuting others who are wrong, and politicking for support that we don’t bother to rethink our own views” 

Now, i won’t get into details into the examples of all three that we see around us - i would leave upto reader’s wisdom - to understand those. The world is filled with people who - as i write - want to prove that they are right and others wrong. It is this sort of binary in thoughts which leads to fractured society and does not leave space for healthy debate because race is about who wins. We do not live in a world of simple solutions, we are a complex human beings and will always have complex solutions to our problems, so anyone giving simplistic answers is underprepared. Hence, everything cannot be Black and White, it is grey.

One of my favourite stories in the book is about Daryl - a black musician in America - who changed the thoughts of White supremacists including those in KKK (Foremost of White supremacists group). He did it by acknowledging the power of conversation, when he was driving a officer of KKK, this officer mentioned ingrained stereotypes about Black People - they had smaller brains, which made them unintelligent and a genetic predisposition toward violence. He challenged him to name people Black serial killers but he couldn’t. Daryl explains while we engage people with prejudice, we give up on opening their minds he says “we are living in space-age times, yet so many of thinking with stone age minds. Our ideology needs to catch up with to our technology.” (a bit more on it some other day). 

Think Again urges us to always think like a scientist because it is not just a “profession but a frame of mind”. Scientist is always in search of truth - a constant experiments to test hypotheses and discover knowledge. Question is, is it applicable to every profession? Yes. We are all allowed to do mistakes on our judgements, but not repeat it without incorporating it's learnings. We should re-adjust our thoughts, our assumptions, our conversations, and our minds open. That is a path of substantial and concrete learning. 

It is an extremely - i would term most - important skill to be aware of our Confirmation Bias (seeing what we expect to see) and desirability Bias (seeing what we want to see), you unlock your greatest potential when everything you see is not judged with pre-conceived notions. For example - in this disinformation world, once you say “i don’t what the truth is, so i don’t believe x or y source” that’s endgame because then “we find reasons to preach our faith more deeply, prosecute our case more passionately, and ride the tidal wave of our political party." 

Book is full of anecdotes where re-thinking helps teams, individuals, leaders, understand and deliver better. Reading has always influenced me in some way shape or form, and i have always stressed the importance of it so in this fast changing world to be of some meat, you need to keep learning and unlearning. This lessons in this book is more important than ever, that it is required reading for any one who want to build a culture of learning and exploration.

Finally, the quote again from the book "Our identities are open systems and so are our lives. We don't have to stay tethered to old images of where we want to go or who we want to be. The simplest way to start rethinking our options is to question what we do daily. It takes humility to reconsider our past commitments, doubt to question our present decisions, and curiosity to reimagine our future plans. What we discover along the way can free us from the shackles of our familiar surroundings and our former selves. Rethinking liberates us to do more than update our knowledge and opinions - it's a tool for leading a more fulfilling life"

One (day) for the ages....19th January, 2021.

Barack Obama spoke of 'Audacity of Hope' during his 2008 Presidential campaign given the audaciousness of a black man running for the highest office in the land under the slogan sub-text of Hope, and what Indian team achieved today is in sporting context simply Audacity of Hope...

I was 12 years in old, in 2001, learning the ebb and flow of test cricket when India beat Australia at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, when only 3rd time in the history of the sports match was won by team who followed on. It was the change of a millennium. It was Indian cricket’s fate turning moment after the infamous match fixing scandal by the turn of the century, which gave captaincy to Sourav Ganguly. We saw the birth of Harbhajan Singh onto Test cricket then, and two famous South Indians named Rahul and VVS made a s mark. That was where Indian cricket’s renaissance started when India won that series. 

Cut to 2018, India won the series in Australia, and i wrote this. It was an emotional moment with 1st series win after decades of losses down under, utter capitulation in some matches, as a hard core cricket fan waking up in winters and seeing the team’s loss every single time apart from one odd test match wins (2003 Adelaide, 2008 Perth) it was never a gotcha moment until then. 

Now onto 2021, the world ravaged by Covid in 2020. Sporting competition stopped along with everything all across. And when it did start in late summer last year, it was a ray of hope because sports does that it provides a ray of hope. Covid upended everything almost, but there is something that only sports can do. Bring a smile, bring a happy tear and may be make an attempt to pull us out of collective anxiety we were in during the last 12 months or so. That is exactly what has happened today, 19th January, 2021. 

India won the series against Australia in Australia. It proved that 2018 was not a fluke or an aberration. We won despite the odds. Winning the test series is one thing, but winning in the circumstances in which they did is completely different. After being washed out in Adelaide in thr 1st test with a score of 36 all out, backs firmly against the wall and team in a rubble and with that to turn around and win it 2-1 is no mean feat. Further complicating the matters was the team losing 7, yes 7 of it’s starting XI line up including Kohli and Bumrah (The most important find of Indian cricket in 20 years or may be more). So going into the last test match with 3rd string bowling line-up, at what is fortress for the home side (they had not lost a test match in 32 years in Brisbane) is incomprehensible. I mean, to put in the context, the hero of the match, Rishabh Pant was not even born when Australia last lost at The Gabba. Pace battery had a total experience of 4 test matches against 100 test matches for only one bowler on the other side (Nathan Lyon). Remember, Rocky Balboa? "....it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!" India reached from lowest point in their test history to - in many ways - highest point in a matter of 30 days. From the decimation at Adelaide to ultimate triumph in Brisbane, history is not better scripted than this. 

I have grown up all my life watching Indian cricket, i still have a Cosco ball right beside my laptop (no joking) and a hit to the wall to catch it might just give some answer to complex issue i am thinking about, so seeing what happened today is not just a day or event, it is an emotion. I had wet eyes and a lump in my throat as I type this. I have friends who i spoke to on this match, feeling like “man, i am done” we have, probably seen everything. We can now tell stories of this series - of which reams and books and movies might be - to our children and grandchildren like our parents’ generation tells us about 70s or 80s. 

Look, there will be better days in sporting fields than this. There might better and bigger wins than this. But as of now it is what it is, the biggest and most consequential test series win by an Indian team in foreign soil. Come what may, it will be hard to top this. 

And last couple of things, this win is a tribute to Rahul Dravid in ways more than one. I started with famous 2001 win where Dravid stood like who he was - The Wall, but this one had his shades as well. Gill, Pant, Thakur, Siraj, Saini, Washington sundar all from Rahul Dravid school of India A cricket and Under 19s. There isn't a better role model for a cricketing generation. If they can emulate his attitude - calmness under extreme pressure - which we saw a glimpse of, Indian cricket will be in safe hands in years to come and we as fans will have more days like this. Harsha Bhogle once said “more than talent you need character and attitude” there isn’t any thing in that line which this match cannot prove. And i know how big an admirer Harsha is of Rahul Dravid.

And finally, we all needed this. We all needed this kind of a day. For all our insecurities, fear, anxiety, pent up emotions of the horridly troubling times in this world, sports - as i have always believed - is a great unifier and single most important way to learn any life lesson. Come what may, you can win through, just need to scrap it out. Rohit Brijnath tweeted “nothing in sport like a good, hard scrap”. 

Well done Team India, this one was for ages!! Sometimes we don’t know what we have seen or accomplished, only with historical prism do we understand the weight of achievements. And with the benefit of hindsight we contextualise its effects. And between Eden Gardens 2001 and Brisbane 2021 90s kid in me and in my cohort all grew up. Yes it is the ultimate truism that losses teach the best lessons, but it is Wins - these kinds of wins - that defines the purpose for a generation and this is that moment for many in the team and in far off places in India where a start would be born watching this.

Goodbye 2020! Won't miss you...(Or may be)

 Finally, we have reached the last day of annus horribilis. Coronavirus pandemic has upended the world on its head. From the way we live to the way we eat, from the way we go out to the way we work, there is not an aspect of life which has got unscathed due to this once in a century event. Years and decades of years in progress has been taken away in a matter of months if not days. The losses have been incalculable, families have been torn apart, there is a struggle in a section of society to put food to the table for 2 times a day, and many don’t know where the next pay cheque is going to come from. This in a way, has torn the fabric of society where the underlying inequity has been brought to the fore. Rich has gotten richer (See Billionaire’s income), the poor have gotten poorer.

World got new buzz words like masks, hand sanitizers, social distancing, vaccines and every conversation was or ended with something with those. It is as if the entire planet and it’s people – in a lockdown – are having a collective anxiety and wishing a gush of any good news that can come which will feel that a sense of normality can be achieved. But it did not come. It just keeps getting bad, then worse and is still counting. With only good news in the horizon is that Vaccine has been approved which in itself a moonshot of achievement. This is the year of Science, Doctors, frontline workers, vaccine trials participants and anything and everything to do with one who was in the front line to face it and keep the other majority safe at their homes. I think of a policeman patrolling the roads to ensure lockdown is effective, think of a garbage guy who risked everything to ensure our area was clean, security guards at our homes just to name a few.

One thing this pandemic has taught is many of us live in a privileged bubble. We had day jobs to care about. We knew when our pay cheques and where our pay cheques is going to come from. Locked inside our homes in front of our laptops and virtual meets we spent most of the year in the hope that the office will open soon and we will be with our colleagues again. We had the comfort of having the salary being credited at the end of the month when many daily wagers did not know what to do except to walk thousands of miles to their hometowns to be with family in their family homes. We saw the travesty of Indian society when an unplanned lockdown had a preposterous effect of migrant workers who had in a matter of days no food to eat, no jobs to sustain a family in what is the 1st world [cities] of ours. Governments did not do much, and it could have been planned better.

One of the gravest impacts I feel is to the School children who at the age when the brain learns to develop social skills lost out on one full year (may be more) of a life with their fellow students in the hallowed benches of the classrooms. This, I feel, is the most significant. Even in a normal year, transition to a new class, or to a new school brings anxiety – we cannot imagine what this year would bring. Toll on mental health is hard to calculate with parents having their own set of challenges with regards to jobs, vulnerability to infection, long term impacts to society would have trickle down on students sitting at homes. Further the inter-personal skills which grow exponentially through the school years, a complete loss of one year would definitely be difficult. I have not even gone on the impact of staying indoors and social isolation. If I was the government, opening the schools should be the No. 1 priority. (<i>Read the Harvard Paper on Impact of Covid on Education</i>)

As of my writing there have been 1.81 million known deaths due to  covid. That’s 1.81 million mother, father, brother, sister, grandparents, families which have got separated or torn. That is an empty chair at the dining table. That is an irreparable loss. I lost a close uncle. An uncle for whom I had ample respect, one of the nicest human beings and always excited about where our lives were taking us with jobs, cities. Survived by two kids and wife, that is something which cannot be gained back. I haven’t had any other personal losses, but I always have from the start of the pandemic prayed to give strength to families who have suffered. They were people who had entire lives in front of them from kids’ marriage, to settle in a job, to go for the holiday for which they saved over the last year – all gone in infamy. Hope their souls rest in peace and those who are they survived by get the best possible in life.

Was 2020 a nature’s way of sorts to say slow down (Carbon emissions hit record lows during the lockdown)? Was the damage avoidable to a certain extent? Could governments across the world do a better job prioritising opening of the schools (some notable exceptions definitely)? These will be answered in the reams of books that will be written once it is over.

Everyone will have a way to look at this year, some positives (like time to be with your family/bonding with old friends/forced to eat healthy food) and profound negatives as well. But if I have to choose a word(s) to describe the year it will be Reckoning and Hope.

2020 was the year of reckoning where we realised (if not all) what is important. That we can live without our splurges. That hope - which Paul Kalanithi writes in “When Breath becomes Air” – first appeared in English about a thousand years ago, denoting some combination of confidence and desire – was the only power to walk through this toughest period in modern history. Those of us who have survived, should only be grateful that we surpassed the year and the virus which knows no boundaries, is not from any political party, does not believe in fiction and is not taking any leaves, in-fact mutating dangerously now.

We can only HOPE that 2021 is better, that life resembles normalcy, that our loved ones are healthy, and we should do our best in ways to bend this curve of history which has dismantled the lives and turned entire humanity in ever permanent ways. We can hope that changes this year have brought more of a healthy lifestyle beneficial to the dying planet due to climate change. With vaccine roll out, hope pandemic eases and we return to our offices/schools and are not surrounded by vulnerability of infection. Hope that the world reads a lot, understands the difference between truth and fiction, and we are empathetic to the situation of every individual around us. Hope that we strive to – what Barack Obama says – call on the better angels of our nature and habits. And hope that 2020 will be only remembered as the way it was – one for the ages in history books and one when God turned on its planets’ tenants.

Finally, I read what Robert Kennedy (Former Attorney General and part of a celebrated Kennedy family which gave one of the country's Presidents as well)  said. It goes like “Few will have the greatness to bend history, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and then the total – all of these acts – will be written in the history of this generation” So that time to do your small part is NOW! And for famous Anthony Hopkins line “Today is the tomorrow you were so worried about yesterday”

Wish everyone a great and prosperous 2021!!!! Happy happy year....

The Helicopter on the cricket ground.

 

Everybody of my age has probably some MS Dhoni story (or may be not). So do i. I was at my school that day, back in 2005 when on a recess break saw in the small tv near principal’s office, this long haired new name. Match against Pakistan in Vizag, and he was running bonkers. 148 is what he scored that day but i learnt his 3 worded name just to be sure to watch him next time again. Little did i know that within the next 2 years he would be leading the national side. And through the next 6 years of his captaincy, he would lead India to win the most coveted of ICC trophies (First T-20 World cup in 2007, 50 Over World cup in 2011, ICC champions trophy in 2013) and also make India the Test No. 1 team.

Cricket is not just a matter of faith and religion in India, it brings people out of sadness, it brings smiles, it brings the country together, and it brings pride. And leading the national team, is at times a more powerful position than may be Prime Minister’s or Presidents. Because India is too emotional a country to accept a loss in the 22 yards than move along in a corruption scandal. We cannot bear losses in the cricket field. He was not leading 11 men, he was the collective strength of 130 crore Indians. That is pretty powerful.

Dhoni’s leadership is not just an example of how to lead a sports team. Of course he is street smart, he is uncharacteristic, his unorthodoxy decisions is what that team was what it was. His decision to promote himself in that WC final in Mumbai, is still the best chess move without a chess board. His decision to give ball to Joginder Sharma in bull ring, was not just another instinctive choice gone right. With the power of hindsight, you can call this brilliant but he had not too much time to make those calls, i guarantee. So that’s genius to settle once it for all.

But it was impeccable command of the game that propelled India to those heights post 2007 WC debacle. It was his toughest choices. He was India’s first Michael Bevan by a margin. And he never fulfilled that role without a small heartache to millions, because required run rate had to go so much up so that only Dhoni could finish it. And then we all rejoiced.

Dhoni’s leadership skills should be corporate board room talks, his management style is to be copied. His calm and composed demeanour is what makes a leader. His long view on stuff what makes him the great man. And his thing on it is about the team all the time makes him class apart. As soon as he was handed over the trophy in 2011, he just moved away to the sidelines because he was not meant to be in the centre stage as no leader is meant to be, he wanted to be the side kick though it was his night of performance which produced that result.

I grew up with understanding Indian cricket when Ganguly was captain with his breakthrough 2002 Natwest trophy and commanding run in 2003 WC. But when Dhoni became the captain, i was already post the school life in pursuit of a degree to secure life, and i followed him on a lot of cues. He always set up important lessons.

With him now, leaving the stage with a short Instagram post, with no farewell match, no press conference, no fanfare, just a post in the middle of the pandemic...this is what it has come down is, a simple thank-you and good bye. I am sure that would not be as easy as he made it look, but alas that’s Dhoni for you.

Look, this is not the time of whining about what could have gone wrong in the intervening period last WC and now, it is time to celebrate for the man who he is. A self-less, team first, humble, empathetic, soul full leader of Indian national cricket team. He led talents bigger than him, but with no ego. He let Ganguly captain the last over of his career. He was the idea behind the running guard salute to Tendulkar’s last match. He found happiness in things which a 7 year old ones would find, Matthew Hayden once said. Dhoni is and will always remain a national treasure who ended up giving a good day’s sleep and some great examples to millions in this country.

Thank-you Mahi, you inspired me. And in the famous dialogue of biographical movie ‘Mahi maar raha hai’, just changed to ‘Mahi jaa raha hai’.

Indian cricket will need his services for a long time to come. And i will miss him on the cricket field whenever cricket comes back. They say not to say ‘Never say never’, but i like to punt on there will never be another Dhoni.

My librarian..(World Book day!)

On this day every year, i try to pen some of my thoughts as i consider it a sacred day. Books have always been my best companion whether it was collecting Atlas’ back in school days (at one point i had 12 of them!-Yes i used to hoard it) or having a sort of my personal library. It has always been my escape mechanism. My moment of head in the sand. In these times of such crisis, i second the school of thought that books should be an essential item. Because you never know which conjunction of words, written by unknown can have an impact on which part of the world. It is a travel, without airports and airplanes. It is a journey where roads are never known. I am not going to talk about which books i read last year or what i followed etc, this time it is different. I want to pen a special to my grandmother.

Yes, she is one of the most special ladies in my life. She is the best pillow to sleep on. She has been the guardian to all my stuffs since the time i started knowing anything. I am her favourite out of her 9 grandchildren (yes i flaunt it). She has a significant role in what i am today as a professional and as a person. She is the custodian of my most precious assets at home in Kolkata. To an extent that, whenever i used to go out for my audit assignments, i had drawn a sort of library card for any person coming to take my books and ask her to get this written on it. And my word she did it diligently. She is my librarian. From ensuring there are no dusts, to ensure my count remains the same, to asking the person to return it before i come back makes my day. She does this not only because she loves me, and because she knows what all this mean to me.

Once while sleeping on her lap, she explained to me how i was like my grandfather. I have never seen him. But i have been told how my life style matches with him exactly in terms of interest and wishes. I have always seen his photo hanging in our house, wondering if his blessings are with me or not, but my grandma’s words are.

Words cannot express what my grandma has done for my education and upbringing, at times more than my mother. She used to sit in the afternoon sun to peel the oranges so that i have enough of fruits at that time of the day. Or while burning the mid night oil, her usual stare at wall clock as if sun has risen she would offer me something to eat so that i am stuffed. Her penchant for keeping things clean, made me never search for anything be it my clothes or books.

She was married early without proper education, but she knew the value of a good read. She offered me a book in hindi years back but i just could not complete it because it was hindi (no offence). Eyes may have mellowed down now for her, but to keep the newspaper in the sunlight to be able to read that Tuesday story in Sanmarg (Hindi newspaper in kolkata) is still her passion. To do a silent prayer every morning to be religious is what i have seen her every morning.

Maa (I call my grandma Maa), i will be indebted to you my entire life till i breathe last. Your blessings is what has brought me here. Your confidence in my hard work has kept me going. When you tell the world, Ankur does not come home because he has work gives me silent happy tears where ever i am. I have a gulp in my throat as i type this, but i miss you the most.
The first thing i would want to do as this lockdown ends, is fly home give you the tightest hug as only i can. Because you can take it from me.

Right to read (learn) should be the fundamental right. It is not a privilege. It should not be a burden. I was told from the start that the only way to reach the top pedestal is via good education. Reading for that was paramount. Curiosity was key. And my Maa, was key to that.

On this world book day, my special note to my special person will have to be translated but who better than her son to do it. So dad, over to you. Tell her this tomorrow when she is up.

Keep reading, keep spreading joy. Happy world book day! Stay safe!