A girl shouldn't lose her
mind to the extent that she wakes up on someone else's Pillow.
A man shouldn't lose his
mind to the extent that he wakes up on the ruins of the castle, he once built.Friday, January 2, 2015
My day of glory
Cricket has never been my
favorite game probably because I didn’t play the game so well. But as a kid,
that is the sport I have played the most. Most of my friends were good at it,
except for a few, including me. I was neither a good batsman nor a good baller,
but an excellent fielder. I would never let the ball pass through me - a
formidable iron wall. Once we had a match with the boys from other school. It
was summer time, and the sun was burning. The match started at 4 pm, on the Empire
Pitch. The opponent team won the toss, and elected to bat first. They played
well and put up a total score of 76 runs. Our team was the next to bat, but the
few opening batsmen barely put 24 runs on the scoreboard. I was the last man
down and all the hopes were stuck on me. The tension was peeking with every
passing second.
The match proceeded, and
the baller threw the ball at me. Nothing happened in the first 3 balls. The leather
ball would just swoosh past me into the gloves of the wicket keeper. Then came
the fifth ball on the onside, which I flicked with my bat, towards the back of the
wicket, and it went straight for a 4. The next ball met the same fate – a 4. Cricket
is a game of uncertainties and the whole game can turn around at any point of
time. My friends looked at me as if I was the white horse who will turn around
their fortunes. I had to lead the team to victory but it was a huge feat. I took
a run on the last ball, so I managed to keep the strike. The next baller balled,
and I managed to score 2 more runs. My partner on the other end, kept on
hitting the ball left, right and center, and we kept on adding to the score
card. My partner put in a total of 22 runs, while I was rotating the strike
with him.
We were nearing the
target of 77, and were playing at a steady pace. I took the crease and a guy
named ‘Akshat’ balled to me. The first few balls went past me, but then the 3rd
ball hit my stumps, and I was out. We were all out for a total score of 57, and
lost the match by a mere 20 runs. We had 7 players in our team, and I thought
to myself, had all the players scored 11 runs, we would have easily reached the
target and won the match. But, I was proud that we, the last 2 batsmen, could
put up a total of 33 runs, before getting out. That was our moment of glory,
though a bit overshadowed by the felling of losing the match.
Nevertheless, losing
doesn’t matter, playing in the right spirit is what matters.
Small things make up for a happy life
As a kid painting never interested
me, except for those Science classes’ diagrams. Science class drawings were
more of a compulsion than a choice. The Art teacher had asked us to bring Wax
crayons, for making posters, for the School’s annual day. I took 10 Rs from my
mom, and went to the market to buy the crayons. I asked the shopkeeper for the
Crayons, and he handed over a pack to me, which read; “Maximum Retail Price Rs
10”. The shopkeeper, however, asked for 4 Rs, which I paid to him. I thought to
myself that the shop keeper asked for 4 Rs by mistake, instead of asking for 10
Rs. Anyways, I was happy to get the crayons at a throw away price.
Having stuck a good deal, I thought
of expending rest of the money. So, I went to the Gajak cart nearby (Gajak is a
dry sweet made with groundnut and jiggery). I got a lot of Gajak for 6 Rs. This
was my lucky day! I ate the Gajak to my contentment, and the best part was
that, I didn't have to share it with anyone.
As a kid these small things gave so
much happiness, that can’t be bought back with all the riches of the world.
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