Dear Friends,

This month marks our 3^rd Anniversary of the Creative Writers blog.

Creative Writing

The journey began with the first publication and the Times of India interview and coverage of the coffee table poetry book “Expressions“, but it was only by end 2008 that we got an idea to get other writers too to add their ideas, experiences and stories and share them in such a large platform.

As the readers and comments kept increasing, with more inputs, critique, suggestions from all of you, we added interactivity, free registrations for comments, Premium memberships and so on to the creative writer blog.

Today, we proudly stand at 183 –Posts, 973 Comments with 11 Authors and scores of Categories under varied subjects of “Technology, Career, Education, Gadgets, Life, Passion, People, Marketing, Online Media, Art, Legends, Freebies, Social Media Marketing……..”

We sincerely THANK all our dear readers and of course our wonderful authors who have contributed their time and skills to us and have been a part of the Creative Writing family.

Hope you have enjoyed a good read. It will only get better!

Feel free to write to us with any suggestions, comments or your views on the same.

You can reach us at:

Techdivine Creative Services

Facebook – TD Studios Group

Facebook – Techdivine Creative Services Page

Twitter – @techdivine

admin@techdivine.com

Below are the stats to the Top 30 Posts from all time:

Top Posts for all days “March 2007 to March 2010”

All Time – March 2007 – March 2010

Title                                                                                                                                        Views

1. Coffee – A case to begin all cases (2123 Views)
2. Why So seriousssah……. (493 Views)
3. SHOLAY in Facebook Style (388 Views)
4. Google wave – Part 2: Adding & tagging Attachments (331 Views)
5. My Trip to Aurangabad- The City Of Gates (112 Views)
6. Of Forbes India’s 100 Richest: Top 10 picks from our readers (197 Views)
7. IIM Indore my blog: The Life at IIM I (187 Views)
8. Online Creative Writing Contest for Students is HERE! (183 Views)
9. Charlie Chaplin (179 Views)
10. Married but to caste and religion (175 Views)
11. Twitter & Facebook: Why SNS? (174 Views)
12. Pulau Tioman, The great journey ( 170 Views)
13. IIM Indore – IRIS Break Free – Klueless Game (169 Views)
14. ET Awards 2009: For Corporate Excellence (158 Views)
15. ‘Kudos’ to an amazing artist “Kseniya Simonova” (157 Views)
16. Standard Chartered 2010 MUMBAI Marathon (155 Views)
17. Touching a million lives, but only ONLINE (154 Views)
18. A Southie’s Life Rocks (or is it on the rocks) (154 Views)
19. Transitions in Life (152 Views)
20. BLINKX: Video Search engine: Don’t “blinkx” anymore (153 Views)
21. 26/11: Mumbai Terror Attack – Saluting the real heroes (152 Views)
22. Warli Art India: UK Art Council: A journey, for Art’s sake! (152 Views)
23. Google Wave is here (150 Views)
24. Le Tour de France 2009 (145 Views)
25. Social Media Marketing for your business: Unleash….. (143 Views)
26. Working Women & Parenting (142 Views)
27. Social Media Marketing (SMM) – From root level, Why it will work? (141 Views)
28. The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2010: My Dream Run (138 Views)
29. Save Indian HOCKEY!!!!! (135 Views)
30. The Adventurous Land and the half blood Man: Having the Elixir (135 Views)

Most Popular Tags with us:

Life

Online Marketing

Marketing Services

Emotions

People

Social Media Marketing

Social Media Quotient

Hope

Career

And yes, our Blog has always been Mobile ready!

Happy reading!

Admin

TECHDIVINE Creative Services

Social Media, Design Services & Creative Writing

—

GET YOUR FREE COPY of YOUR SMQ: CLICK HERE

Hi friends,

I am back again with yet another post.

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon (SCMM) – 2010 – MY DREAM RUN!!!!

The Start, the dream run and the finish:

I thought that a mere reply or comment to Techdivine’s SCMM article may not encapsulate the myriad range of feelings that one encountered during the Marathon.

I Would like to thank TECHDIVINE Creative Services for updating through tweets too the status of the marathon.

The Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon has been around for 7 years now and I have had the good luck of running the marathon 6 times leaving aside the first time. However this year was a watershed year for me personally speaking. I have had 2 Dream-runs, 3 Half-Marathons & this year I ran the FULL MARATHON!

Let me trace the steps that led to this marathon for me.

Somewhere in the beginning of August, one of my friends’ mailed me about registrations for the marathon being open.

Lazy as I am, I logged onto the SCMM site a week after the communiqué. I was surprised to find that the registrations for the half-marathon were closed. Hence I registered for the next best option – the 42 Km Full Marathon. This was done keeping in mind the fact that the runners for the 21 Kms & 42 Kms begin their respective races from the same starting point. Hence I always had it at the back of mind that I will start off as a full marathon runner and end up running the 21 Km Half-marathon along with my friends.

Come Saturday 16 Jan 2010, my friend and me, went to collect the Bibs and Goodie bags. At the WTC Expo, realization dawned on me that the starting points for both the Half-marathon and Full marathons were different. While the Full Marathon commenced from CST, the Half marathon started from Bandra.

I saw this as a great opportunity coming my way. Never had I attempted anything of such a kind. As for practice for these races, the only practice that I ever did was on Race day!!!.

So, come race day & I was pretty much eager to go the full distance. (Kindly note, this is not advised at all)

I have always been either a quick runner or a brisk walker. Not the average jogger kind of guy who would easily go on jogging till the end of the race. Normally, I carry a small travel bag with all sundries in it and deposit it at the baggage counter. However, today, I had made up my mind that, if it seemed tough, I may return from the very place where I gave up. Hence I carried only my backpack which had a change of shirt and a few energy packs of electrals (FDC Ltd).

On Race day, I reached the venue 15 minutes before time. The race started sharp at the anointed time of 6:45 AM and there were a million feet pounding the asphalt. Here I was, surrounded by a sea of people many of who were playing the follow the leader game & went where the person ahead of him was going. I tried to keep up pace but after 10 minutes, I started my walk.

Every time I felt some amount of energy in my body, I would run. Then once I was exhausted, I continued walking. I had one simple plan and a few smaller ones that helped me on my way. From my past experience, I knew that an hour of walking will enable me to complete a minimum of 7 Kms. This translated into 6 hours for 42 Kms. So rather than counting the Kms left, I counted the hours.

Smaller numbers meant the brain was always in agreement.

Then another trick was when a marker came along, indicating the number of kms completed, I told myself that 21 Kms still remained.

Irrespective of whether the marker showed 5 Kms or 10 Kms or 15 or 25, I tricked my mind into believing that there were only 20 Kms left to travel and since I had done the 21 Km half-marathon before, the brain sheepishly nodded in agreement.

By the time, I was convinced that I would be able to complete the marathon came the stunning and mighty Bandra Worli Sea Link.

For someone who has never seen it previously, this was a God sent opportunity. However little did I know that this was also one of the worst stretches that the Marathon had to offer. With the clock reading 10:30, I set foot onto the Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL).

The sun was at the horizon and every thought of a cool breeze subsided. This coincided with the fact that the water stations that we runners took for granted at every 100 mts, were nowhere in sight. All runners were left to fend for themselves for the entire stretch of 6 Kms on the sea link. So much that all of us were quite thankful when we stepped off the BWSL.

By this time, I had only around 8-9 kms left to complete my first full marathon. As if on cue, my leg started sending signals to the brain that it had had enough and that it may stop walking any minute. There were some indications of this happening earlier too before I set foot on the sea link resulting in a small icepack session at the medical stall put up for this purpose. By the time, I reached within a striking distance of 7 Kms, my legs literally gave way. My toes were starting to turn inwards, my calf starting to bend backwards and my thighs unable to sustain any more body weight. I limped my way actually dragging both legs upto the finish line and heaved a great sigh of relief to have completed the Marathon and still in one piece.

However I would like to thank all those who made this possible. My friends who supported me throughout the race. Then there were parents with their kids lining the streets encouraging us participants to go on. There were kids handing out Parle-G and Marie biscuits, some enterprising ones even handing out soft drinks to the thirsty. There were little slum kids who were thrilled at the number of people who were running and gave us hi-fives. It was a pleasure to see those lit up faces. To see the people who came out onto the streets on a Sunday morning for no reason of their own but just to watch all of us participate and to egg us on in our initiative.

I would like to also make a special mention of the seniors who were running this marathon just like any other youngster and yes there have been many who in their 60s have gone past me while jogging along as against my trundling.

It is really a big appreciative effort on part of the populace to turn up to attend events like this and make their august presence felt and make Mumbai known for what is famous the world over. – For its welcoming hands and open heart.

This was my Marathon and I lived every kilometer of it. Would participate the next year too!!!

Thanks

Your views are welcome.

Mani (A.k.a Ananth.S.).

ADDICTIONS: Dying to get Offline, but Alas!

 “Greatness adds to the Good & evil begets evil, as simple as that”

 One 12 year old kid, who was supposed to enjoy his summer vacations by going out or playing till he drops in the heat, was having a horrible day yesterday, because his mother was not allowing him to play the Xbox (which he was playing for more than few hours already).

 He came to me angry with his mom and asked, ‘I am getting bored. I don’t want to go out and play. Can you tell mom to allow me to play on my Xbox so that I can have some fun.’

 I guess, this is what has become when I look around me, except for those very few who are still fortunate, under control and in touch with the real world.

 That’s when it struck me.

 I too have been addicted. I realized that I have become utterly obsessed to the cyber world like millions across the world. Today I am just one among the million less fortunate getting strangled to the today’s ipv4 syndrome – The Internet.

 This virtual platform engineered by those who started it as an information sharing platform has gone manifold through inventions & contributions by great pioneers like Al Gore, Tim Berners-Lee, Vint Cerf, Robert Kahn, Leonard Kleinrock, Lawrence G. Roberts, Radia Perlman and few others.

But why do I quote the first line that “greatness adds…..”

I realized the missing link around that could hold me grounded and keep me engrossed in life that is real.

Today, as I scan across my little self-centered murky world, I find all those around fixated to something that is not just contagious, but uniquely contagious, in the sense that, it drives oneself to catch their novel form of addiction on their own.

 Surrounded by those either addicted to the till death do us apart yearning for money or those with a deflective state of philosophical bent through religious dose of daily booze or those obsessed with zero value adding life skills of traditional education or the amazingly exasperating bunch of hardcore shopaholics who have today led me to succumb & snail myself into a smaller world owing to sheer utter boredom.

 I feel suffocated when I end up nowhere but yet ‘find myself’ in a Mall every other day or worst diluting my already troubled fitness regime sitting in a restaurant that is definitely not helping me regain my good old self.

 Why? ‘coz today I am tired of again and again planning a spontaneous tour to a better place or at least a real world around and unfortunately cannot also find,  ‘who can take on ideas to connect to the real world’ & initiate an adventurous outing may be?

I keep trying to reinvent by being innovative and planning to reach out to the outer and real world and sadly find myself in a restaurant or compulsorily on the almost only way to stay connected with each other today – Telephone or even worst in a bar or a again a mall.

The value addition per se seems to be missing at every stage as addiction has caught up with specific religious routines of not thinking beyond the monotonously small world around.

 With so much of information explosion, I am today finding the spontaneity missing around me so much that I chose to get addicted to a virtual world with just a couple of hardware and loads of unnecessary junk from all across the globe.

 As I drift towards spending shockingly gifted long & empty weekends addicted to the virtual galleria, the more I realize the emptiness of adventure and spark with zest and energy around.

 The more I update myself on Web3.0 today, the more I feel sorry for the world of tomorrow that ‘might’ be a part of these uniquely contagious addiction syndromes over a period of time.

 Now that I have done some keying in for the day, let me get back to Orkut or Facebook where I can meet real people, ahem!

 Can’t believe, I am actually dying to get offline!

 What say?

 Let me know your views

 Ananth V – ‘(Still Online)’

Image Source: AnanthV

Twirling Dreams & Blurring Reality

Money, passion, exhaustion and fame…. Drawing to a weekend where serenity was the magic to the tempo of realism called Life!

 Met up with an old buddy, yes, the same friend who shared his dream with me and wanted the same to be shared with all of us through this platform: Choked by a crab

 He said, I want to share another one this time.

 I asked him, “You spend too much time sleeping, don’t you?”

 Thank God, he took it lightly, just the way I had meant it.

 But he meant business as he straight away quoted “I saw a baby monkey running around me with whom I was playing and then feeding a watermelon”

 We knew we were no Birbal, so we got Sherlock.  No, not the web search app from Apple  (That’s still Google for us).

 We got searching and finding all probable combinations. Why? ‘coz my chum seemed quite uneasy and anxious since a couple of days with this and he said, lets put this again on board. 

The combination of a baby monkey being fed watermelon, hmmmmm….

The Web help sources said, That could mean putting jointly emotions of innocence which was trying to be grabbed from the past.,Unsettled triggers of unfinished business from childhood recollections that could have sparked very recently. That with a monkey that was being fed, probably expressing a betrayal of expectation from someone who should have been there more to support you who meant close to you and finally with a fruit that is either about ease or about fiery passion. These were amazing combinations which meant well, nothing to me as now I turned at my buddy.

 Slowly we put the running ball together; I noticed a sneer and a sense of realization on his face. He said, I got my answers, now you quote down your lines.

 His face was composed or a lot calmer now and now that I got that he got it, I was sure I need not try to know what it was.

 But I felt uncomfortable when I quoted his dreams the first time on the blog after he said, go for it. Flash it across. Now a repeated second one made me say to him, ‘it’s not right to talk about your life on a Writers blog.’

 He said a simple line after which I started to key in the new post here.

 He quoted, “It helps me relax to read it across the blog and it helps me know, it’s just out there, happening and makes me feel in control from within. It’s good to flush it out of my system than to burn wakeful from inside in the barrenness.”

 That’s when I realized the influence of Soaps on TV. With Ekta Kapoor and her Dramarama swarming the nation like a wild blaze, people find themselves sharing a part of it, some or any part of it at times and that’s what keeps them at ease and linked day in and day out.

It’s not the actors, it’s not the lines, its Reel reality with a dash of overflowing emotions bundled with of course repetitive unnecessary camera shots. (ya, ya I have seen an episode too.. big deal)

 Well, I don’t know about me, but Ekta definitely built her dreams with it….

 And to my pal, Happy dreaming buddy! Have a good nights sleep!

Chao!

Image Source: Click

When I was 21

 Another ‘good’ year,  or is it?

A stressful month, painful week, draining last few days…. has finally brought me to a not so energetic weekend.

Duh!

It’s 6am IST on a Saturday and I am awake writing a blog…. So take a wild guess!

But yes, I had few other realizations of f late about people and life. They don’t change, they won’t change…. Either we learn to adapt or we learn to let go.

I usually have been habituated to working with a big team professionally and have an extremely choosy few friends. And it’s true what they say. Our friends teach us more than anyone else of things that could be played and done right to socialize. I have been lucky and in awe of few such friends of mine to whom I might not have mentioned this to, but have helped me a lot to gain control of myself and my social life over these years.

Today I understood when Sinatra started by singing when I was 21 as I missed being 21 a lot, when it was a very good year … remember!

 Those who probably knew me two years back, if they wind up discussing with someone who knows me not from yesteryears, would sense they are discussing of different individuals. I changed… for some reason, i changed. Became more calm, more patient and more socially acceptable and human.

So today, I fall flat and confused when I am questioned for being too calm and non-aggressive and on the other when I know how hard I have worked for it.

So what am I to do? Where am I to go from here….

I come from a middle class orthodox family, valuing teachings of the great more than life. I do not obviously abide by those at the same level but I respect the learning’s in every form of practicality in life today.

The quotes and learning from the holy books of Gita, Ramayana, Bible and great leaders and my personal influencers like Mother Teresa, Swami Vivekananda have shared their wisdom across the globe. When I read through them, I feel so shallow in my life of doings.

I have always found peace when I was able to lend a helping hand to someone really needy, be it education, physical help or bringing smile through words of humor. I have lost all that today in the rat race of life.

Recently I received a letter where I have been nominated for Rashtriya Gaurav award (I thank them for my nomination) for my contribution to various NGO’s over the years, but strangely I did not fill up my nomination, because there is so much more to do…… so much of void to be filled, my work has not even begun.

I am not trying to preach like the great influencers, trust me I do not have that audacity anymore. I am merely like a candle in front of the mighty sun, running confused and with chaos on what is to be done more, better and positive…..

The great words from Gods and legends have taught me to just keep pursuing my work and not bother.  But today the days and weeks seemed to be either hooked up on monotonous ideas which itself cracks the point of having ideas or no learning and loads of zero value addition routine tasks or chasing god forsaken numbers or planning them and with nothing coming in return from any of these that could be worth valuing; “TIME” seems to ask me, are these days even going to be worth remembering?

The answer I get is a simple no!

So today I ask my friends who have either massively or in any other way, impacted a positive way of life in me, how do they do it? …

To name a few: Anand P (A humble guy & a master & wizard on traditional High quality education), Amit R (Very helping & his PR skills are better than SRK’s), Ajay K (The most modest, sincere & humble being) who have been my very close friends since decades and of course there are many others who have added and impacted at some level or the other as excellent friends: Beta, Chinki, Kishore, Prakash, Bala, Hari bhai, Sagar, Chintan, Akshay, Prasad, Deva, Mani, Chini, Ankur, Venky and there are those whom I can’t mention owing to uncanny reasons…..

or do they too miss being 21….. Come on fellas, give me your comments…

Quotes from Holy books and some of my personal great influencers:

 “There is neither this world nor the world beyond nor happiness for the one who doubts.” 

“ Karmani ave adhikars te: –you have the power to act only; ma phalesu kadachana:–you do not have the power to influence the result; ma karmaphal hetur bhoo: –therefore you must act without the anticipation of the result; ma sangostu akramani: –without succumbing to inaction; ” 

“Anything that brings spiritual, mental, or physical weakness, touch it not with the toes of your feet ”

“I will deal with them according to their conduct, and by their own standards I will judge them” 

“I do not pray for success, I ask for faithfulness”

 

Image Source: AnanthV

MY TRIP TO TAMEN NEGARA

IMPRESSIONS OF A TRAIN JOURNEY

Toot! Toot! The train was about to leave as we scrambled to our bunks. There were 2 bunks on top of each other on both sides of the train with a pillow and a curtain. There was also a small light. At first we had to stay on our own bunks before we went into Malaysia but later we could go on to each other’s bunks for a game of cards. My friend Cole forgot to bring food so we all had to contribute to his dinner. After eating dinner, we went on to each other’s beds for some time to play. At 8:00pm, the teachers asked us to go to sleep. It is not easy to go to sleep on a bumpy train that keeps rocking all the time. I managed to sleep for about 3 to 3 and half hours. After we woke up at 3:00am, we took a short 10-minute walk to an inn. We had 6 people in our bunk with one single bed and one queen sized bed. That evening was tough!

ON THE RIVER SEEN FROM THE BOAT

“On you go, Rama’s group!” said Mrs.Ziemer, as we climbed onto the boat and got partners. My partner was Ahan. As we sat on the boat we put on our “Neil Pryde” life jackets, which Rama said was our responsibility till we reach Singapore. The boat ride was exactly 2 hours and 34 minutes (I timed it with my own watch!). On our way to Tamen Negara, we saw monkeys on islands, water buffalos and cows eating and bathing in the water and many more exiting things. After a long time of staring out, we finally reached Tamen Negara, the world’s oldest rainforest. The boat ride was really exiting and I think you should go too☺.

THE TREK TO TERESEK HILL

Puff! Pant! “ Not much longer!” shouted our local guide, Max. We tried to start the trek with out bottles full of water, but unfortunately, the water didn’t last us to the top of Teresek hill. We had to hike 1.7 km up the mountain and 1.7 km down the mountain. Long way! On our way up, our guide thought us how to get medicine out of a plant to cure leach bites, what wood to use to start a campfire, a juice called risen that comes out of a special tree that gives a wonderful scent when burnt, which vines to use to drink water (vines contain water; you need to cut it open to get it), many interesting facts about animals and many more fascinating and useful things. We stopped halfway up the hill, at the first view and the second view (the views were exquisite mountains), which was the top of the mountain. The trek was difficult but we made it!

SHOOTING THE RAPIDS

In the activity shooting the rapids, we got on to our boat to go to an island to play some games there. Soon after the boat started the driver at the back who was controlling the motor suddenly went really fast. But I realized that we weren’t the only ones. The other boats were speeding too! Suddenly, when our boat was next to another boat, the guide put an oar into the water and the whole boat next to us got drenched. Soon all the boats started doing this and we were all soaking wet. It was more fun when we reached the current because the water splashed a lot further. After we reached the Island, we played two fun games. The way back was not as interesting because nobody splashed anyone. That was super fun!!

THE CANOPY WALK

For the canopy walk, we hiked for about 30 min, until we reached the canopy walkway. The canopy walk was on a narrow bridge in which we had to stay 5 or 10 meters away from the person in the front. This was because the bridge could hold only a certain amount of people. The bridges started swinging and it was great fun as we tackled 5 bridges. The total distance was around 500 to 800 meters. The bridge was 45 to 50 meters away from the ground. Phew! That’s high! The activity was very interesting and I enjoyed it a lot.

In conclusion I would say that this trip was a super duper hit and the best I have ever been to so far! I just loved it and I think you should go there too.

Aditya Krishnan

Age: 10 years

__________

Do post in your views and comments below….                                           

TECHDIVINE is a registered trademark catering to Designing solutions for Print, Web, Animation, VFX and Publication, Marketing and Account Management solutions for a 360^. Brand and Strategic Management for varied mixed media.

The Brand TECHDIVINE has been associated over the last two years with high profile brands catering to services like Account Management, Client Servicing, Branding, Publication, Training, Designing, Visual effects and Animation.

TECDIVINE STUDIOS blogs – TD Studios and Techdivine at wordpress have been maintained by our Brand & Product Consultant Mr.Ananthanarayanan V

Owing to the amazing response that the wordpress blogs have generated of various articles, write ups from different authors and the publication success of the Coffee table poetry book EXPRESSIONS launched under the brand, TECHDVINE Studios is proud to announce the introduction of the new section in the blog: The YOUNG TALENTS write up section

The new Section – Young Talents write-ups:

A hot cup of coffee and a good book to read……….. that with the young talents ideas makes a great start for one’s day!

This new section under the head YOUNG TALENTS is dedicated to all the young writers and talents who love making up stories, who enjoy exploring the world of words and experimenting with it.

This heading “YOUNG TALENTS” in the blog would feature interesting and fascinating write-ups of young writers (Age group upto 15 years) who want to express their ideas, concepts, thoughts and share their wonderful experiences with all of us…..

So keep writing, keep reading, keep commenting

TECHDIVINE STUDIOS

‘Be formed my friend, be very formed, as water. Water does not break, nor does it crash. You put it in a jar, it becomes the jar… be free… yet be formed!’ Quoted Bruce Lee.

 It is so true.

 When we feel disturbed not through exertion or excess work but through stagnation or incapacitation, the strongest of the tone and the harshest of words seem to flow as free as water, don’t they?

 Thoughts tremble under the weight of time and voice cracks with every anxious decision. The decisive moments are not the only pensive ones anymore.

 As we dreadfully approach another possible personification of a plan, the feet feel the weight of the head as much as the palms feel the sweat of the brow. But at the end, we still go ahead with it and that’s when the hammer hits the iron ‘hot’.

 So with a strong heart powered by the huge mug of “Black Coffee” we charge ahead and make another, oops, yet another jump to the vexed hands of the listener, we pull it off big time or on the contrary we say, here we go again!

 Dismal behavioral patterns often seem to be a huge face of such extreme rollercoaster lives.

 But the idea is to have that cup of coffee meaning, to get up again desiring that energy, that freshness booster and be formed like water and be ready to accept that one’s “Eureka ideas” might be differently felt by the onlooker.  Like the old saying goes, not every mud thrown gets you in a dump and not all pats in the back land you to the top.

 So this is for a very nice friend of mine, “be formed and always desire the freshness of the coffee. Do it all, but just DON’T GIVE UP!”

 God bless and be well

 Ananth V

 Image Source: http://ananthvclicks.wordpress.com

Team Management Win’s it all!

Being a true Mumbaite, there are only two things that I greedily crave for. One is Vada Pav and the other is the pulse racing game of Cricket.

About 7 weeks ago, I became a great fan of Mr. Lalit Modi who gifted all of us a fantastic product (though said to be ripped off from the Football leagues – Who cares?), the IPL – Indian Premiere League.

A product wherein you get the best from every nation.

It’s like having a Macintosh design (Beautifully packed) on a IBM machine (Brand sells) with windows OS (Love it or hate it… but you can’t ignore it – Everyone owns it)

The IPL brought in adrenaline rushing pulsating anticipation and anxiety to the young and senior players of Cricket as much as it did for the “dumb / struck” audience watching one of the best marketing practices sold right at their face.

And the best part is… the majority bought it and why wouldn’t we? It was a fantastic product with amazingly surprising ingredients, fresh recipe with a dash of rules being cooked in a cauldron of magical glamour.

It had it all and today at the DY Patil stadium at Navi Mumbai where the Underdogs finally did it and Rajasthan Royals bathed in pure glory.

They did it on the grandest stage of them all and with panache and flair. Raw overdue talent like Yusuf Pathan and Tanvir, fabulous findings like Asnodkar and pure all round skill like Shane Watson with the legend like backing and faith of Shane Warne, the match ended gloriously.

As the Chennai Super Kings skipper and his team gave a fabulous fight till the last ball was bowled, the Rajasthan Royals devoured the final ball for the ultimate prize of Glory and of course around 4.8 Crores Rupees.

But everyone loved it and the way the Royals had played it throughout, even the Chennai skipper wouldn’t have ‘minded it’ this time.

It was a great blow to all those who did not believe and kept saying with utmost faith that the underdogs will remain underdogs as they finally watched the most economical team biting the biggest chunk of them all, the biggest prize of them all the worlds most expensive Trophy – The IPL trophy.

More important than the combination of all sorts of skill levels was the beauty to see Muralidharan happy on Jayasurya’s wicket, Sachin rejoicing at Dhoni’s dismissal, Sourav hugging Shoaib and the Aussie Watson as glad with hitting Symond’s ball like never seen before, was that it brought in a lot of team spirit and a never give up attitude amongst all who played and to many who even just watched.

It was a great lesson from Shane Warne’s team that, it is not as important to have the best in the team as it is to give your best to the team.

I would like to end it with just a simple kudos for the legendary performance by the retired Skipper Shane Warne for his team management and to the whole Rajasthan Royals for the consistent performance by adding so much zest and energy to the spirit of the game.

Three cheers to the fact and power behind ‘Team Management’ and a Huge Hurray to Mr.Modi, Mr. Warne and the Rajasthan Royals.

IPL rocked!!!

Be well

Ananth V

Image Source: http://wikimedia.org

Offical Website: http://www.iplt20.com/index.html

As I pondered at the starry sky for the moments that were spent I could plainly see the spills on the carpet and the stains on the mattress. I kept thinking I needed to improvise, a change would be good said my sanely perplexed brain.

Again, the dove flew off like the starry night before. Today, it reminded me of a work of art from one of the famous Italian painters and my mind wandered into one such artists words. He had said that an object that has been assimilated or formed and now needs no addition, no editing and no change is pure beauty…

Thank god for those famous quotes by artists.

That’s what I felt today, at the end of the day… it was beautiful… it was stunning… it was pure and perfect ….. simply because it was “SIMPLE”

My brain came to the present and looked at the wonderful things that were gifted to me till date.

It did not make me overlook the demands and the twinge, but gave me enough nerve to keep fighting, never go down on hope and have a conviction, a stronger faith in myself.

I had a horrible yesterday but had an awesome day today.

Had an amazing and astounding 10 hour sleep (keeping in mind my usual sleep of not more than 4-5 hours), woke up fresh, had a glass of my favorite mixed fruit Tropicana, did some workout and had a stupendous brunch fit for a king with a great friend of mine who also is an important part of my routine, someone from whom I take a lot of advice.

The day ended perfectly with a call from my side to a very kind and sweet relative wishing him on his birthday today which is a huge deal because of the fact that I barely remember even my own birth day.  

At the end of the day, I had good food, great friend, amazing family and an awesome book to read not to mention my grand day with loads of real keeping fit routine and some virtual game plays on my computer.

So, I had grown up a bit today but with zest and loads of energy.

I was responsible for something that was not part of my job, I was with and around those who cared and vice-versa, I put enough energy into my physical and mental training today and after a long time could write a simple post for a blog, not too long and just like my day, could keep it simple.

So I guess, it’s not just the remarkable mind blowing things that make impact on us. It’s also these simple aspects from our everyday that make us cheerful, gives us hope and courage to face life with belief, dedication and optimism.

So….

When things go wrong

And life gets crude

Hang on to the soulful hope

That never keeps you aloof

Kiss her hand and breathe in her heart

Sing a song to the blues

and play your part!

— Ananth V

god bless and be well

Image source: http://ananthvclicks.wordpress.com

Ananth V