D R U J injury...will be on a 21 day haitus

Saturday 28th march 2009 on my way back to Pune from Harihareshwar, my bike left the tarmac and skidded over a patch of gravel. I have suffered a possible wrist bone dislocation on my right hand which is pending further medication. That means I will be out of action (read..not riding my bike) for the better part of 21 days :(

It is a D R U J injury (Distal Radio Ulnar Joint), below is the x-ray image which illustrates the same:

The dislocation is in the highlighted part. Btw that is not my X-RAY, i googled it up ;)

Details of how it happened will follow shortly as and when I get the patience to type with my left hand...

Until then I am praying and saying..GET WELL SOON ;)

IPL: Nothing INDIAN About it anymore :(

IPL moves out of India :(

http://www.espnstar.com/cricket/indian-premier-league/news/detail/item229475/IPL-moves-out-of-India/

The Downside (My view):

I am just taken aback by this. How can the Indian Premier League not be played in India. If the matches are not played in India how then will it be the Indian Premier League. I agree that the league is not totally Indian with top foreign players making a beeline, but at least the matches must be played in India :(
I am not taking sides either with the political establishment which says that in the election season and against the backdrop of the recent attacks on the Sri-Lankan Cricketers in Lahore providing security will be a problem vis-a-vis the BCCI who would lose millions if the league doesn't proceed as planned (that too it should not be forgotten that the Champions League T20 got scrapped thanks to the Mumbai attacks) and also April-May provides a good window because the international cricket schedule is not busy then. But then DIL NAHI MANTA :(

I had planned to watch at least one match of the later stages in Mumbai (a semifinal or the final) with the firm belief that Mumbai Indians will make it there and Sachin (read GOD) will provide the necessary fireworks. Alas that dream will remain only a dream :(

Also with the game going to England and SA and the present market recession I have good reason to believe that the team merchandise will be more expensive :( :( I also wanted to buy the Mumbai Indians jersey (here I want to cry out loud :( :( )

They say that the matches will be played in England or South Africa so I have reason to believe that the final will be played either at Lords or The Wanderers, but then what is the use of seeing Mumbai Indians lifting the trophy in Lords or Wanderers :( Wankhede would have been a whole different experience.

The Flip Side (My view):

The moment I read the article, and once the gloom which I have mentioned above subsided I think there will be certain pluses too....

1) Cheer-leaders: You must have got the point by now. With the kind of puesdo moral policing which goes on India every now and then, the firangi cheer leaders who came down in the last year couldn't really let their hair down and cheer the teams (or the audiences) as they would have liked. But in England or SA I don't think that would be a problem. But then as far as the cheer-leading goes I would prefer the venue to be SA. I still consider the Englishman to be snobbish and in your face, pardon me.
2) Pitches: T20 is a run fest and if it is not then it is boring. Both England and SA have conditions different than the Indian subcontinent. If I am not wrong you will seldom find a belter in these regions. So either its a challenge to the batsmen or the organisers. But again if BCCI can muscle in and make some real batsman friendly pitches there I would suggest after the IPL, India should tour these countries. This would help our ICC ODI and Test ranking ;)

But all and all..the Downside bears more on my mind than the Flipside. Why the ECB or CSA should benefit :( :(

Living Out of a Suitcase

Its been nearly six years since I set foot outside my home in Nashik and looking at things right now I don’t think I will ever be able to get back to my home in Nashik as it used to be six years ago.

I left Nashik to pursue my engineering studies after Std XII. Mom did insist to take admission in the engineering college in Nashik itself. Not that it was bad but then the college in Pune was much better and also I had scored well in Std XII exams to get the coveted engineering seat.

In my initial years in the engineering college I used to go home as and when time permitted, many times bunking classes, planning common offs etc. But then as time passed that 5 hour journey started becoming boring. Me, who earlier didn’t mind taking any bus to Nashik started becoming picky about not only the bus but also the bus timing. To avoid the boredom experienced in the journey, night travel became the in thing. Was it all about convenience or was the start of my detachment from Nashik? I never could answer that completely. Convenience is what I labeled it but a few of my friends back in Nashik knew better than that. All of a sudden the CCD’s and the Pizza Hut’s and the newly acquired freedom of roaming the city in nights acted as a worthy kick than my nearby playground or even the building parking back in Nashik where me and my friends used to spend hours together just chatting.

After my engineering I got a job and I moved to Mysore for a period of 4 months and after that I got back to Pune. Its been nearly 3 years since I am working in Pune and the feeling of disconnectedness towards Nashik has definitely increased. But even after spending close to 6 years in Pune I cannot call Pune my home. I look at people around me and I still perceive myself to be an outsider. If, I, who hails from Maharashtra, from Nashik feels this then I cannot imagine what my brethren from outside the state might be going through. But then that is a different issue altogether.

During my engg college days I was termed the hostelite. I was recognized by my unshaven look and half asleep eyes. I also made myself conspicuous by my absence from lectures.

I thought things would change for the better when I got a job but they changed only marginally. I was told be quiet as there were families around. I was a tenant who cannot use the building amenities like the gym, swimming pool etc. I was plainly declined accommodation because I was a bachelor. At the end of the day I was not wanted.

But still I stayed on because my job was here not because I wanted to here. Now I am planning to start my family here. I am planning to buy a house here. With my pay I can afford a bit more luxury than my parents could. But when I look at the flats around me one of which I will surely buy if not today but tomorrow, I do not feel cosy at all. The flats with all the modern amenities seem to me like a hotel room where I would not want to stay forever. How then can I imagine to make a home out of this?

Living out of a suitcase will be a better option I feel. You go to a new place after every 2 years. It would be awesome, a new place, new people, new surroundings. One thing which I don’t know is how viable that can be!!!!!