A close look at death

             Death – the name itself brings in the feeling of sadness, loss, pain and feelings attached to negativity. It is one emotion that every human being fears the most. The mere mention of the word distances the person from himself for a moment. News of uncertain death of anyone touches the human heart and condolences and prayers for the near and dear ones of the casualty follow.

             What was thought of as a cricket match during the safety week in Lavasa yesterday proved to be an experience of terror for all. I was a close witness of an unfortunate event yesterday.

              As part of the celebrations for the ‘National Safety Week’ – Lavasa arranges a series of events to create awareness amongst its employees. The highlight of this event is the cricket tournament which features employees, contractors, laborers and everyone associated with Lavasa. I decided to take part in one of the teams and we were petted against the city management team from the company.

              A star cricketer and a good hitter of the cricketing ball- was the image that I carried of this City manager who batted after the fall of the first wicket of the opposition. His walk towards the pitch was very well cheered as everyone was in awe of this 55 year old man with a personality to die for. His tall and muscular demeanor was well admired by everyone who knew him.

               Being a wicket keeper myself – I observed this gentleman, his body language not being short of any well maintained sportsman. An unsuccessful stint with the bat, left us see his back after a few balls. The opposition team posted a decent enough total to be chased by us.

                Me along with my colleague friend were chosen to open the chase for our team. Whilst taking the walk, my eyes were on the gentleman who I thought was an inspiration to be on cricketing field at that age. He took guard behind the wickets and made sure of the field arrangements with the bowler and captain. His enthusiasm at that age was remarkable. The first over was bowled and I was at the batting end for the next over. The first ball of the second over missed my bat and went to the keeper on which Mr Muzumdar aptly collected it with his large hands. I had a brief sight of the ball in his hands. The bowler went to take his run up and I was gearing for the next ball. The ball left the clutches of the bowler’s hand, ran past me, was wide enough, and left me looking behind at the wicket keeper. That sight behind me left me gasped and shocked as I found that our city manager banged on the ground hard while collecting the ball. An initial reaction that he slipped instantly faded away when his body started shivering profusely. I ran towards him only to see him vibrating and creating weird sound – a horrific sound of a man in pain.

                The pool of people watching us play ran towards him, some asking for water in the hot afternoon, whilst some making sure the crowd is away from him to avoid suffocation. Shouts, confusion and chaos followed for the next three minutes as a zooming vehicle was seen towards the crowd. Mr Muzumdar was immediately shifted into the vehicle with flurry of people along with him to whiz to the nearest hospital.

                 We were all perplexed with this turn of events. The crowd that was cheering for the play 5 mins back was suddenly transformed into a stunned pool of witnesses. Announcement of cancellation of the days matches made us walk back towards our vehicles in anticipation of the health of Mr Muzumdar. Whispers and talks donning around the people present were varied. Some people opined it was a sun stroke while some confirmed it was a heart attack.

                 I along with my colleagues sat in the vehicle carrying us back to the office - stopped at a hotel on the way. I called up a friend, who works in a different department, to inform him about the incident. He was shocked to know about it. After 20 mins, I got a call back from him to tell me that the city manager is no more. These words, unfolded the series of events that I observered closely few minutes back. What followed was the empathy towards his family to bear a shock of a precious loss. Rest in peace , Mr Muzumdar!

The sight of his trembling body, the bizarre sound coming from him, his eyes all white and shivers – for me this experience surely was a close look at death.

Night to remember

           Posters flashed all over the city, banners announced his arrival, all routes of reaching to the public via media were flooded with one day…11th Feb…when Bryan Adams was set to perform live in Pune. An unusual and iconic concert to flaunt. Pune boasted of hosting ‘ The Legend’ and also had the rare opportunity to kick off his series of Asian concerts with this one in the city.

          After initial apprehension for the pricing of the tickets, to landing amidst the flurry of people on the entrance gate, it was all in the mind. A lifetime opportunity to listen and see perform one of the biggest international talents….Bryan Adams.

          First two hours were marred by sheer disappointment as we were thrown open to plethora of activities unfolding on the stage. Watching the technicians at work, some stupid introductory compering by radio jockeys to some disappointing ramp walk by models, the show started with a boo from all. The band to open for the legend was a total anticlimax, with the music taking the piece of the cake rather than the vocals and the song lyrics. Nonetheless, what followed after this mess made sure that we forgot all this nuance. I was cursing for we left our office early to make sure we get a good spot to view. And what was happening in front of us was utter rubbish. Me and my friends prayed that Bryan show should make up for this.

          7.45pm, it was announced that ‘Here is Bryan Adams’ and all the lights went off, everyones eyes were set on the stage and the screen to see their hero come on stage. He took half an hour to come on stage and did he rock….well, mightily, in deed

          He simply came on stage and started with the music with the apt opening of a concert, ‘I need somebody, somebody like you’ as a gesture to appreciate the presence of thousands of people in front of him. The crowd went made and shouted to the core to listen his first song. The fact that here is the moment to see the legendary guitarist perform in front of you is one of its kind. This one followed by Somebody, one night love affair. ‘Here I am’ marked the enthusiasm of the crowd trigger to the hilt, whilst the stage displayed its true colours in reds, blues, greens, yellows, all flashing. After this one, he introduced himself to the crowd saying, my name is Bryan, well…does he need an introduction?

          ‘Can’t stop this think we started' was an fitting song in the middle of the concert supported amiably with the eclectic guitar , amazing vocals and lights all around. The stage was throwing pictures of all the band members performing, and it was treat to watch. Adams, got louder rightly responded by the crowd.

          ‘Lets make a night to remember’ followed, a song which for me, is a benchmark for romance. It sent chills into me, as I have been listening to this song for hundreds of times, and to see it live sent waves across me. It was sheer delight to see the aging rockstar perform with utmost zeal and valor. I was thoroughly enjoying the way he expressed himself whilst singing this one. Sure this man is one romantic. This song was well responded by the audience as he muted himself for a while to let the audience since parts of it. Loved it!

          The youthful '18 till I die’ made the crowd shout to the top of the voices, whilst I was struggling to listen to the original voice. Then came the song, which everyone waited for. ‘Summer of 69’, I expected he will keep this one for lasts, but was a surprise to hear so soon. This song catapulted the fervor of the audience as it was their voice more than his that ran all round. Bryan adams knowing the popularity of this one, rightly muted himself to let the audience sing for him.

In the midst of his performace, Adams at one point motioned towards a lit room on one of the towers in the background, and yelled, “Dear sir, hello do come down and join us. I have a spare ticket here.” 

The lead guitarist, Keith Scott performed amazingly with the guitar with some unusual sounds with the strings and some small gigs like rotating the guitar around his neck, on which Bryan adams asked him, ‘how do you do it, tell me’. Keith replied ‘ I don’t know’.

‘The only thing I want’ , ‘All for you’ created that mass shouting amongst the crowd, while songs like ‘Everything I do’ garnered the interest of all those romantics present. It was a speechless moment for me, for the song which I have been humming and listening and rerunning for thousands of times was being performed live in front of me. It was a moment to cherish forever. The song 'Please Forgive me' put forth his nostalgic face in front and he said ‘ Please forgive me’ to the crowd after the song. 'Cuts like a knife', charged the spirits with crowd humming the songs one after another.  

            Then came the moment of enjoyment when Bryan asked the crowd if anyone knew the lyrics of his song ‘ Baby’, one girl was chosen amongst the pool of hands raised. The lucky girl got a chance to sing along the star in front of the mammoth crowd.

            5 minutes to 10 and Bryan Adams took his bow with his band and left the stage. Disappointed that the show got over so soon, we started moving towards the exit and to our dismay (or cheer), he came back on to the stage to perform for some more time. He said, lets sing some more songs. And we were sad that we lost our prized spot to see him, but nonetheless enjoyed the next 3-4 songs he sang.

The show got over and the numbness in our legs was sensed as we walked towards our vehicles. The pain of standing for more than 5 hours was lost in the anticipation of a brilliant show. And certainly, the rockstar made sure that ‘It was a night to remember’. 

Nothing 'adarsh' about it

                        India- seen as a rising economy, developing nation and a country to look forward to by manier nations in the present era. But are the current episodes happening in and around the country creating a goody image of us?

                        Present times are the testing time for our country. Overall, it is exposed to various and difficult situations in all the corners of its existence. The perennial Kashmir issue dons the north, while Leh-Ladakh was grappling with floods, eastern story is bound with the frequent tibetian and Chinese attacks, the fear of Chinese encroachment into the country looms large. Political unrest down south surfaces its head from time and again, while the west is subjected to fear of attack or unrest.

                       Apart from the unrest, there is a heavy menace in the form of internal disturbances in the form of flurry of major scams hiting the nation. The cost the nation has to pay for hosting (or boasting) a commonwealth games is still impending on us. Advancements in the form of communication well also took its toll on exposing yet another scam which featured a certain ‘Raja’. As soon as that subsided, tabloids’ shocking revelation of news providers lobbying around crept in. Such incidents can question the moralities of the news providers at large.

                        Every month there is a certain price rise, either in petrol, milk, foodgrains and vegetables, thus raising the inflation rate. To top it all, there is uncertainty in the form of climate where we experience rainfall in non rainy seasons leading to the damage in crops. This has lead to the reducing number of agricultural fields. Villagers seek to the temptations of sacrificing their healthy agricultural land to the real estate seductions. Such a decrease in agricultural sector might lead India to a worrisome state in future. 

                         Internal conflicts in the form of Maoist attacks, internal violence amongst communities based on shallow political intentions are creating a vulnerable image of the nation. There is an ever impending sword of a terrorist attack at any time at any place now. All the major festivals, events are marred by heavy security and a possible threat from the fanatics. The charm of enjoying these festivals without any prenominations is fading away.

                         The episodes of political selfishness in the form of creating assets during the tenure, making the most of the chair, lobbying , corruption, vested interests have faltered the kind of leadership our country needs. One major contradictory statement comes from the lady who leads the Congress party urging all ‘old’ party workers to step down from their positions and curbing their greeds. She herself doesn’t apply being a sexagenarian.(60 plus).

With the certain air of ambiguity looming large over our country, there is a sense of ‘nothing adarsh about it’.

Happy second decade of the century

          Another new year, another set of new year wishes, another location for parties, music, dance, people. Another set of smses, forwards, mails and telephone calls to near and dear ones. Another remembrance of the year gone by and mental preparation to welcome the new one. Another chapter added to the book of life. But one needs to understand – with this another , where are we as human beings?

          Multitudes of smses and emails flow through the air carrying millions of wishes from some part of the world to another, during the New Year. Each and every message boasts of a new beginning to the year to follow and retrospection of the one gone by. Wishes change but the condition around us remain the same. People carry with them similar prejudice. The question here is – with the passing of years, do we really aspire to bring in a positive and healthy change around us?

Do we really abide to the values and principles set in or imbibed to us while we were young? With the passing of decades – the flair of these value sets are diminishing, giving rise to newer and superficial ways of living.

          In this new year, do we remind each other of those cultural degradation happening around us, of the value sets that are being ignored, of the sensible and skillful uses of the available resources around us. We embark on the new year resolutions, do we endorse greening our planet by our own small initiatives?

With the onset of the new decade – where do we as Indians stand as against 6.3 decades earlier?

          Things are changing rapidly in this era. Technological spread leads to constant change. With this change, the culture is also changing at if not similar but fast pace. What was considered as must before is considered as passé now. The set of values which one wants India to progress must be instilled in younger minds and efforts to make sure that those are being followed need to be generated. It is only the culture that India had (or has), that distinquishes us from the lot, lets preserve it for generation to come. Let us resolve to keep these cultures intact, let us resolve to spread the defined set of values and ethics to Manier people. Let us treasure our roots, our belief system. Lets trust each other, lets spread honesty once again, lets be better human beings with higher morals. Let’s not just merely wish happy new year, but spread a hope to cherish and evolve ways to retain our identity, culture, values, roots, keeping in mind the future aspirations. Let us not expand ourselves externally, but evolve internally

Happy second decade of the century