Day One: The End?

My first proper day of my self-imposed hiatus from the circle of my net friends. I decided to leave everything because I felt that my real-priorities were getting sidelined and I was getting deflected from the path which I decided to follow at the start of this school session. So here I am without any contact with the virtual friends I have created over the past 7 months. The time now is 2:12 AM, and I have decided to pen down, err type down how I am spending my days without the virtual frolic. I will basically write what I have done today and how much I missed Facebook and Orkut and all the pals there. I woke up today at 11:45 AM, after staying awake till 5 AM last night because I was listening to Music. Now as I write this on my cell the song by UB40′s “Red Red Wine” is playing. The fact that I am a Music addict is very well known. So back to waking up, Mom woke me up forcefully because I wanted to sleep some more. But she kept the Tea cup in front of me. As it stands, I cannot resist the temptation of Tea made by Maa. So I woke up had my tea and breakfast. Today was always supposed to be a dry day for me being Saturday. And on this particular day of the week, we have completely vegetarian food at our home. I cannot digest Veg food. I simple hate it to the extent that I would rather starve all day than take in that stale Potato Curry and Soybeans. Yikes! So I had breakfast and suddenly realized that I had nothing to do. I always have something to pass my time by with.

But today even the great lure of TV did not make life easy for me. But still I was sitting in my Bed scrolling through all the Channels looking for something interesting. I was always coming back to the Fox History Channel because they were airing back-to-back episodes of ‘Neanderthal.’ I don’t want to start writing about the show now. I was also anticipating the arrival of my new Biology teacher. Today was supposed to be her first class. I had lunch. Painstakingly i.e. Then I again came back to the ‘Idiot Box.’ I was feeling really sleepy due to the lack of a proper sleep but did not want to sleep because I knew if the Bio Miss arrives and I go to her with a sleepy-head then I would not be able to concentrate much and I may end up ruining my image. So I lay down in the bed seeing TV and shifting between two films. Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam was running on Colors and another film was on at Sony. I was also periodically coming back to the News Channels. I am a News Addict and like to keep in touch with things. India will face the Aussies in the first match tomorrow. Deshmukh may be back as the Maharashtra CM. Probably, Genie will fulfill that wish of his. Buddha faces flak for negotiating with the Maoists. I think if he was not tolerant and we lost the Cop he would have faced flak for being so intolerant. He has been in a sticky situation for the past two years.

As I lay there in my bed waiting for Urbi Miss I was expecting something good from her considering she is a young teacher and is a newly graduate student. She arrived at 6:25 PM when I had lost all hope of her actually showing her face today. The class went nice. She taught for an hour or so. I was at my Best too clearing all my doubts and the comfort level was achieved in only a few minutes. This was a first for me because normally I take some to adjust to something new. She, while leaving, told my Maa that I was a really good student when replying her about the First Impression she developed of me. It’s up to me now to hold on to that image. After she went I had some snacks. The thing is I stuff myself during Breakfast and Snacks leaving myself with nothing to eat during lunch and dinner and leaving Maa with a pale face. I switched on my PC to watch the new video that Green Day released just a few days prior. I love it and must have watched it 9-10 times already. I then completed a 6 page long leaving note which I hoped I would post here. But later on something inside me prevented me from doing so. So I came back to my TV and watched Bigg Boss. And then after the show got over, I started to feel bored again. Thought about reading a book for a second but ultimately decided against it. But at 10:30 I asked my Maa for the modem because I wanted to publish the Note I had written on my newly-installed MS Office. She forgot where she kept it but soon founded it after a struggle of 10 minutes. So here I was online again and the Gtalk is functioned in such a way that it also connects when the net is connected. I did not notice I was online at Gtalk until within a few seconds Iohannes messaged me stating where I was for the last three days. I decided to sign out immediately from there. I did too. So I opened Firefox and watched some great videos of ‘Death Cab for Cutie.’ Also listened to a great Manipuri Band at MySpace called A4APPLE. They are really talented musicians. But during all of this I wanted to open my Orkut A/C and look at the latest scraps. But I controlled my temptation with great pain.

I gave Maa the modem back at 12:30. I also ate my Dinner while watching the videos. Gossiped with my sister for half and hour and decided to go to hit the sack. I did that at 1:20 AM. Been lying down since then and I haven’t been able to go to sleep. Missed Muskan a lot today. Gunita must have put a new DP already. I hope Tanmay’s mother is better now. Really wanted to talk to Seepiya. Iohannes must be so bored without me. And Avinash too. His college begins from Mondy so he will be alright, I guess. Miss being Parul’s punching bag when she vents out all her frustration in front of me. Wanna see what latest note Mohit has written but I will not. Therefore, I have decided to write a day by day Blog of how I am doing without everybody and to see how long can I resist temptation. I will study tomorrow though. At least make a beginning. Hopefully that will occupy my mind a little. Sunday tomorrow and don’t wish to have fun. I have got Bio and Bengali tuition tomorrow. The time now is 3:12 AM and I should prolly take the profound shelter of a night nap.

With Love,

Dipanjan.

India’s Olympic Sojourn Over!

The coming of age of India in the Olympics, and on the World Sporting and Cultural map might just have been given a boost by the tremendous effort of the 25 year old Chandigarh lad, Abhinav Bindra. With his Gold in the 10m Air Rifle Event at the Beijing Shooting Range Complex, he has not only given India her first gold medal at the World’s Biggest Sporting Stage, but also her first ever Individual Gold Medal in her 108 year long history at the Olympics. India’s first individual medals were the two Silver medals India got in the 1900 Paris Olympics due to the fantastic work by an Anglo-Indian lad from Calcutta, Norman Prichard. He had dreamt of seeing India making it big in the world stage. His dream has finally been fulfilled but only to some extent by Abhinav Bindra’s gold medal winning performance at Beijing 2008.

We, Sports Enthusiasts, are hopeful that Abhinav’s remarkable achievement will open the flood gates for our Improvement in the Sports other than obviously, Cricket. We hope it will bring about a sea change in the Indian Sports scene. Vishwanathan Anand winning the World Championships made us all very happy; the Indian media heaped him with praises and admiration. This continued for a week or so and then it slowly faded away. The same will probably happen in Abhinav’s case as well. We will bask in Abhinav’s glory for as long as Cricket takes centre stage.

One year ago, Indian shooters threatened to boycott the Olympics because of lack of ammunition, rifles, pistols and the lack of world class facilities. Abhinav will be given a lot of cash awards and incentives now by publicity seeking people, but where were these people when Indian shooters were ruing the negligence given to them?

Even if we add up all the incentives given to Abhinav it will only add up to a meager 3 crores which looks like popcorn compared to what Dhoni earns weekly. But comparing Dhoni’s achievements and Abhinav Bindra’s achievements, it is Dhoni’s performance which looks like popcorn.

Let me point out a few of the reasons why Abhinav Bindra’s achievement really matters for us Indians:

1. It is India’s First Individual Gold in the World’s Biggest Sporting Stage, The Olympics.

2. First Olympic Gold for India in 28 years since Indian Hockey Team’s Gold in the widely boycotted 1980 Moscow Olympics.

3. For the first time in 28 years we were able to hear our National Anthem, Jana Gana Mana being played in the World’s Biggest Stage, Olympics. I don’t know about anyone else but the moment really sent a shiver down my neck.

4. It also the first gold medal for a South Asian and also only the third individual medal if we also add South-East Asia.

But some things never change. Here are few of them which will stay as it is:

1. Optimists might think the Abhinav’s Gold inspire many young Indians to take up non-Cricketing Sports. But due to the lack of facilities and infrastructure, they will eventually get disheartened at henceforth quit their sports. Lack of career opportunities also plays a major role in this. Not everyone is as lucky as Abhinav, to have a personal Shooting Range in his 18 Acre House on the outskirts of Chandigarh.

2. Optimists might also think that Abhinav’s Gold Medal in the Beijing 2008 Olympics will open up the eyes of the Cricket loving administrators and power hungry politicians and also that of the Cricket mad people of India. But it is as good as guaranteed that this will basically not happen. Thus, Cricket will again play spoilsport in the development of other Sports in India. They will get nothing but a step motherly treatment. This has been the case for the last 25 years.

3. Dhoni and his cricketing compatriots will still do the bulk of the advertisements. He will be building more Swimming Pools in his Ranchi Bungalow. But ironically Indian swimmers don’t have enough pools to practice in.

4. Abhinav Bindra, in spite of all the accolades given to him will still not get the due recognition form us, Indians. Although he has won The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2005, hardly anyone knew him before 11^th August, 2008. I was amazed and shocked to see some of my friends asking me who Abhinav Bindra is even after his astonishing effort in Beijing. Everybody will forget this History Creating young guy.

5. Even after Kapil Dev said that Abhinav’s Victory is “ far far bigger than the 1983 World Cup “, Cricket will still be our religion and it’s cricketers our Demy Gods. Other sports will receive a step motherly treatment from us, Indians.

6. Other Sports will still get only a few seconds of bulletin and a small column in the Newspapers, while Cricket takes away all the limelight. Whole shows and whole pages will be devoted to only cricket. Cricketers will be still covered with sponsors from their head to toes but other Sportspersons have to buy kits and other things needed for their training and practice by their hard earned money.

But ignoring all this negativism let me now come to the Man of the Moment, ABHINAV BINDRA. Some critics might argue that he has been lucky to receive all the Best facilities. But it is only recently that he had a shooting range built for himself. It was built by his father’s money. It is to be again clarified that he has been anything but lucky especially regarding the facilities he has received.

Lastly, I must confess that my heart goes out for all the young aspiring Sportspersons, who want to emulate the success of Abhinav Bindra (Gold in Being 2008 Olympics), Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (Silver at the Athens 2004 Olympics), Karnam Malleshwari (Bronze in 2000 Sydney Olympics), Leander Paes (Bronze in the 1996 Atlanta Games), because even though they have got the talent, ambition and will for success they will not able to fulfill their dreams due to the slapstick behavior of everyone else concerned i.e. the various sports authorities. But people like Sushil Kumar, Akhil Kumar, and Vijender Kumar Singh have earned success despite the system that is prevalent.

Ounce for Ounce, pound for pound, if we want to see the best athletes in the world, scour the roads of our cities. In the midst of all the traffic, we will find men pulling and pushing cargo by hand, just like they have done for millennia. It’s pure brute strength that pushes the cargo. Sit down with these men, who we all pass daily, and we will find the lowest body-fat ratios of any men anywhere in this world. Take the best of them and train them for the track and field events and a whole bunch of champions will emerge.

Each year, the Best American athletes go to train in Colorado, 5000 feet above sea level. Colorado is chosen because training at high altitudes makes the lungs stronger. If we take our best and train them in Leh, 14000 feet above sea level, imagine what supermen and superwomen we might develop. The Indian Countryside and cities are replete with future Olympians. These men and women train daily in the harshest of conditions with simple diets. Without a doubt, with proper training and infrastructure, these men and women will add to our Olympic golds. It’s a shame that the world has missed 100 years of Indian Olympics prowess; it would be a travesty if the world misses another 100 years.

Bye,

Dipanjan