Passing Away

He lay there, silent and warm,
Still in life, yet beyond all harm.
His eyes vacant, in search to seek?
Two icy tears rolled down his cheek.
No lament, no cries, no words spoken,
For here lay a man, among many men.

His chest heaved up and down,
On his forehead, was it a frown?
His breathing was soft and low,
Yet he clung on to life's glow.
No moan of pity parted his lips,
A man among men, whom Death must keep.

Then just as night alighted dawn,
We looked and knew he had gone.
We closed his open stony eyes,
His requiem was a dirge of sighs.
For here passed a man among men,
Whose like may never be seen again.

He had come like springs first shower,
To gladden and delight, many a flower.
A man in love with life was he,
Who died and lived forever free.
A now the cowardly Death has slain,
A gallant knight, a legendary man among men.

Lay him softly in his grave,
As befits a man so brave.
Sing him a painful farewell song,
For none can undo the terrible wrong.
Ah woe! So thus has passed away,
A man among men, once so say!

Soft shall the dewdrops fall tonight,
His memory shall forever be bright,
In tears of some unknown girl,
He'd shine like the brightest pearl.
Life without him wouldn't be the same,
A man among men of eternal fame.

We knew not why he lived to die,
Leaving his memories for us to cry.
Yet he came like springs first rain,
To delight and vanish... All in vain!!

Cricket on Doordarshan

The on going series between India and Pakistan has been a far cry from my expectations. The matches seem dull, and the Indo-Pak rivalry doesn't seem to have triggered the fanaticism in the crowd that it normally used to. What makes the matches even dull is the DD panel of commentators, who can go to any length just to make sure that by the time the match concluded, you would have exhausted your dictionary of verbals and probably, gone ahead to create a few new ones too!!!

The commentary in Hindi is hilariously stupid and the English commentators leave no stone unturned in blowing the pronunciations and grammar of the Queen's language to pieces. I really wonder how on earth, do these people get to commentate, when their basics of english grammar is still not clear. The usage of the same expressions, over and over again, to describe a particular shot or a wicket makes the match coverage pretty depressing.

"This is a lovely ball 'balled' by an Irfan Pathan. The ball hit the deck and climbed on a Salman Butt.".... "... a beautiful sound of ball hitting timber was generated by a fastest man , the Shoaib Akhtar"... "Tendulkar slashed the bat (????) and the bat will fetch him a four run(??)."
These are some common remarks I hear in their presentation. It goes on to get worse with something like "The India has beaten the Pakistan by a large (??) margin. As per aa-war records, the India has beaten their opposing team by 46 huge runs!!" I mean this is ridiculous. Even my dogs know the correct usage of the articles and start barking the moment they hear such blunders. (Not surprisingly enough, my dogs keeps barking the entire time these morons commentate!)

And this is NOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!! What finally makes you turn suicidal are those irritating ads. The moment the batsman connects the last ball of the over, DD decides to go in for a break. The fate of that particular ball is unknown till the next bowler is about to deliver the first ball of his over. The channel seems hell bent on showing as many ads as possible,and in doing so, forgetting what they really should be showing. If somehow they return live and realise that they can push in another 4-5 ads before the viewers hear the sweet sound of the ball hitting the meat of the bat, they will not hesitate to do so. I'm totally on board with the concept of generating millions of rupees through advertisements during such a high profile match. But it irks me to know that it is being done so, at the cost of the match itself.

As an ardent Indian supporter, I wish to atleast know the fate of the last delivery. I so desire that a beauty of a classic drive or the peach of a delivery, gets the deserved recognition by these commentators.

Cricket is a religion in India. Every match which involves India is like a high profile Yagna and the commentary is the recital of the shlokas. As in a yagna, you cannot recite wrong shlokas and mantras because you don't want to suffer the wrath of the Gods. The same applies to cricket and probably this is why our team can never get everything right in a game.

Its high time DD recruits a few able commentators who actually know how to commentate and make the game worth watching. If cricket is a religion, then we obviously don't want the wrong pundits performing the puja cos afterall, its all about appeasing the cricket Gods... isn't it????

Why Not Today??

We sometimes that what could be done today gets postponed to another day and it so happens that such a day never comes and a missed opportunity is forever lost. The diligent man, however, does not procrastinate but does what is to be done, then and there. It may be that he takes much time to delibrate but once a conclusion is drawn, he doesn't tarry to carry out the decision. There are also some who struggle hard tom come to a decision. The problem that they face seems insurmountable and the decision called for is not taken, Such a person hopes that the delay will blow away the problem altogether. We are told of the ostrich, when it is chased runs very fast but when it eventually tires, it hides its head in the sand, believing the pursuer cannot see it. Is it not better to face the situation, take a decision and get on with life? Even the Gospels advocates the need to make a decision. We cannot always sit on the fence. The psalms of the Old Testament say that God himself helps us to choose wisely [Ps 25:12 "Who are they that fear the Lord? He will teach them the way that they should choose" ]

Nor is it wisdom to compound our problems by delaying the decision making. Procrastination is only an added worry. Jesus says : "So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" [Matthew 6:34] . An action done today is already one task accomplished and thus, one worry laid aside. Ask the Lord to grant you wisdom and calmly do your tasks, leaving the fruit of the task in God's safe hands. When he worries about you, then why should you unnecessarily bother about worrying yourself?

On the contrary, the lazy man keeps postponing his action and hopes that somehow someone or the other would do the task which God had intended him to perform. The book of proverbs has an amusing description of a lazy man. "The lazy man says "there is a lion in the road!! There is a lion in the streets!!". As a door turns on its hinges, so does a lazy man on his bed. The lazy man buries his hand in the dish and is too lazy to bring it to his mouth. The lazy person is wiser in self esteem than seven who can answer discreetly" [Prov 26.13-16] .

So... Let us be up and doing!

I AM GLAD I'M A MAN

So you’re glad you’re a chick? Well, I’m glad I’m a guy.
So have a seat, missy, and I’ll tell ya why
I’m so glad I’m a man, I could stand and applaud
That I don’t have to live life as a broad.

We do the same work, but I’m better paid.
There’s honor and not shame for me when I get laid.
I can get head in a restaurant booth.
Mechanics will (usually) tell me the truth.

I can go sit at a bar all alone
Without twenty drunk losers inviting me home.
Workmen and service men never do hassle me.
Car CD players don’t simply baffle me.

I can reach stuff hidden on the top shelf.
I can change light bulbs all by myself.
No one expects anything when I just flirt.
I don’t have to wear dumb stuff like hose or a skirt.

My underwear’s cotton, and three for eight bucks.
Bras are expensive and WIRE - that sucks.
I get to buy cool stuff like hammers and drills.
You have to buy makeup and birth control pills.

Never will I suffer from PMS.
It takes me ten minutes to shower and dress.
Three pair of shoes are more than enough.
I don’t have a purse full of useless old stuff.

None of my co-workers can make me cry.
When someone fails to call, I don’t give a shit why.
I never will need an electrician or plumber.
I can date someone much younger and dumber.

I’m GLAD I’m a guy, with two balls and a dick,
So I don’t have to live life as a chick.
I revel in guy-hood with joy I can’t squelch,
And I’ll celebrate every scratch, every belch.

I’m glad I’m a man, of that I am proud.
I’m not at all bitchy, annoying and loud.
I won’t try to squeeze in jeans three sizes too small.
My credit card is still good when I leave from the mall.

I won’t drink Diet Coke, or eat a rice cake.
There’s no silicone here, my chest isn’t fake.
My face isn’t “lifted,” my bra isn’t stuffed,
I do what’s proper, I leave the toilet seat up.

It doesn’t take hours to fix up my hair,
I don’t see the need to use bathrooms in pairs.
I won’t throw a tirade and then blame PMS.
I’m a man and I’m glad I can deal with my stress.

I have intuition, I never get lost.
I share household duties, I won’t try to be the boss.
I’m a man and with that comes a high sense of class,
I won’t wear a swimsuit that rides up my ass.

I won’t cry like a baby when Bambi gets shot
I don’t make up false places, like the infamous “G-spot.”
I won’t go out at night in a black mini-skirt,
then slap anybody that just tries to flirt.

I’ll never tease you, or play hard to get.
If I don’t get my way, I won’t throw a fit.
I don’t worry much about breaking a nail,
My face without makeup isn’t distorted and pale.

I’ll never say one thing while meaning another.
When life gets real hard, I won’t run to my mother.
In order to understand just who I am;
You need a Y-chromosome; it’s what makes you a man.