sunilbhavar

[sunilbhavar]

Summer influx..

Jan 15, 2022

Jan 14 every year is a special day. The sun, rather the earth, tilts towards north bringing in the advent of spring and eventually summer in the norther hemisphere.

Days will start getting longer and the winter chill will recede. Much of the northern half of the planet is currently going through a winter freeze and even in most unlikely places, temperatures have dipped to record depths. On the other hand, the southern hemisphere is facing droughts, floods, famines etc. In any case, this is not a news event.

For me, the most significant event associated with this day is that of the memory of the 3rd battle of Panipat.

It is a watershed event in the history of the subcontinent. An event which opened the gates of the imperial British to domination. An event which effectively was the last chapter in the medieval framework which had lasted for close to two thousand years. It was an event which once and for all stopped the barbaric invasions of the north west and effectively defined the geographic periphery of what we know as India today.

But most inportantly, it reminds of possibly the only event in this nation's history when a massive and collective mass of working age people stepped out of their comfort zones and sacrificed almost everything for the defence of a nation, whose notion itself was not yet defined. There was not a single house below the Narmada who had not contributed in either human or material cost.

George Bernard Shaw had said that a nation / society cannot forge its future if it forgets its past. We are pretty close to doing that. In the quest for carving out a space for ourselves in future, we are conveniently forgetting our past. Or atleast, a significant portion of the population has already forgotten it. But our history will never leave us. The spirits of those fallen on the day, some 261 years ago will surely shake us out of our stupor.

Blood was spilled by the barrels, if it was wasted or invested is something the future generations will define.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Cooling off

Jan 12, 2022

Climate changes are happening everywhere. It recorded freezing temperatures, here in Maharashtra, possibly the first time in recorded history. Mahabaleshwar's mercury dipped to 0 and elsewhere the climes have gone down to a thaw too.

We normally get winters just as sprinklers, at best for a day or two. And these days are probably the best to wander, to move around. But then, getting stuck due to the virus is also related to something that nature is throwing at us.

Its giving the best season to roam about and then locking us inside confines. Oh yes, and it was 2 years of escaping from the tiny virus, but it finally caught up, a bit too late, for staying back at home and enjoying some solitude, read quarantine.

Its heavy work time and virus or no virus, there are targets to be met. Good climate or not, there are deals to be struck. Mood or not its just work that calls.

Its almost as if there is numbness which the weather has set onto.

Leisure time needs to wait, as it always has to.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Grateful and Hopeful

Dec 31, 2021

The sun has risen, one final time this year. Its almost late morning and it is so good to peek at the sunshine on a relatively cool day.

There are a ton of things / events to be grateful for in 2021 and there is even a bigger mountain of Hopes and expectations as 2022 gets ready for its inauguration.

Very simply, its great to be alive, kicking and having most of the people still around. The deluge of death which hit us in the first half of 2021 was unprecedented and the smell of death was literally in the air. We all, lost a friend / colleague / relative / acquaintance during the Covid death wave. Those few months during mid year were aweful, but they passed.

The danger hasn't passed us by, but yes, we have managed to ride a wave and it atleast has given us a bit of confidence that whatever be the trouble, we can atleast try to sail past it, if not tackle it head on.

Even in these troubled times, the golden shine of the year was provided at the sporting arena. From that amazing wins in test cricket in Australia and England, to a series of good performances by Indian sportspersons in varied events, Neeraj Chopra's golden performance at the Tokyo Olympics will surely deserve to be the moment of the year with all its positivity, exuberance, youthful confidence and the motivation potential of the event. There, Neeraj was hurtling his javelin into the proverbial eternity and here we were, all jumping at our homes, forgetting all our worries and basking in that moment.

With the inauguration of the much awaited Kashi corridor, we, as a nation have managed to correct a massive error of our past. The overall project seemed just impossible, until the impossible was achieved within a couple of years of unmindful tragic events.

On a personal front, yes, there was much to cheer, instead of sulking. Yes, there was much left to achieve on the work front, but for sure, grateful to have done enough to keep the boat sailing. Got a few material possessions and also managed to add a new address to the name. All this seems amazingly unthought off at the start of the year, especially in the year which was uncertain in all possible ways.

I would like to end 2021 with utmost Gratitude to each and everyone, each and everything, each and every event, each and every moment and at the same time would want to look forward to 2022 with complete and positive hope. Would want to reassure myself every morning that things will work for the better, everything will fall in its righteous place and for sure, All will be well.

There will be a sunrise tomorrow morning and we all look forward to the golden hue of 2022.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

A Sunday for champions..

July 12, 2021

July 11, 2021 capped a rare day when the world could allow itself to be diverted from the virus and focus itself on sports, which probably could be the best thing to do, esp on a Sunday.

It was a sports filled sunday. From Cricket to Tennis to Football, spanning different continents and timezones, it had the appeal tap into in every sports lover's imagination.

Rest of the sports set aside, individual sport like Tennis and a complete team game of soccer / football stole the show. Novak Djokovic, with his 6th Wimbledon title now is well and truly on track to record a Golden Slam, a feat only achieved by Steffi Graf, way back in 1988. He is playing sublime tennis and during his victory at Rolland Garros, a month ago, he showed the tenacity and skillset to even script a come from behind story.

Lionel Messi, finally, finally managed to lay his hands on a national team event silverware, after a decade and half long struggle and disappointment. He played through an injury, turned out the highest goal scorer of the tournament and led the Argentine side to their Copa America title over arch rivals Brazil. After a very physical match, it was sensitive to see Messi and Neymar, the rival captains embrace each other in a moment of sporting brotherhood when they both let their emotions flow effortlessly. Messi, may still have another crack at the upcoming world cup next year, but this is a major tick on his already illustrious playing career.

The Sunday caravan finally settled back in London, where the only question was whether the Euro Cup would 'Come Home' or 'Go To Rome'. Eventually, it went to Rome, but not after a thrill a moment 120 mins of high adrenaline football, where both the finalist teams, gave all they had in the store to script a memorable final. It was heartbreak, one more time, for England, but the manner of the final outcome, leaves nothing in shame and a Italy can also take pride after facing an ignominy of not qualifying for the 2018 world cup and then scripting a 33 match winning streak, culminating in the Euro 2020 title win.

If this Sunday was to be treated as an appetizer for upcoming times, then the main serving of the Olympic Games is just around the corner. If all the sporting events were happening now in the Western Hemisphere, the Olympics is set to dawn upon the land of the rising sun.

Looking forward to...

[sunilbhavar]

Isle of Peace..

June 30, 2021

Amongst the conundrum of daily life, all that the mind yearns is for an isle of peace. It feels like a mirage almost everytime, but surely it keeps leading the way till the next day arrives, almost every day.

And, as it happens on most occasions, the pieces of the puzzle rarely fall in place. There is always something more to achieve, something left to grasp, some iota of shortcoming or the target creeping a bit away from reach. Which means, the struggle continues, the fight just inches a bit longer and the muddle in the mind keeps getting murkier.

Somewhere it read - You can't keep everyone happy, as you are not Goa. Humorously at least, it strikes the right chord. However much you do, there will be something that would be left to be done. However pleasing you try to be, someone or the other would be left unhappy and be offended.

And then there is this myriad isle of peace, which, sometimes I feel is better left beyond grasp. This keeps the momentum going, keeps the calories burning, keeps the grey cells activated and also forces an effort to stay relevant. There is always something left to be achieved.

But yes, satisfaction, rather than success could be, rather should be the parameter. Success, at most times, is relative. Satisfaction at least times dependent on external factors. If you are happy whilst just watching the leaves breeze away, if you find a smile while watching a gold fish do its round in a bow, if you find happiness just staring at the sky, so be it.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Good boys can win too....

June 24, 2021

Almost 2 years after the epic ODI World Cup Final in 2019, when the winners couldn't justify why they won and the losers were left bewildered as to why they lost, yesterday's result was in a way, when justice got a chance to redeem itself.

The 'no one hates them' New Zealand team finally got its due when they won the World Test Championship final in a not so unfamiliar surroundings of Southhampton.

Yes, it was Team India who was at the receiving end. But sometimes, you just have to put your hand up and accept that you were outplayed and applause the winner. This was one such occasion. India, for its cause, did have a terrific run to qualify for this final, the first such match in the 144 yr history of the game. The team's heroics down under earlier this year, was probably the story of the game for all its years.

There might be complaints that English weather and conditions were all to backyard like for the Kiwis, but thats fair enough. The English team was made to dance to the Indian spin music on dustbowls at Chennai and Ahmedabad. So you give some, you get some. Kiwis were going to start as favorites in these conditions, but both the teams were equally matched. The only thing that would eventually matter was the intensity and sad to say, but the intensity which was evident in Australia, was pretty evident in its absence at the Rose bowl.

But this is not about Team India. This is about the Black Caps, the New Zealand cricket team who were seemingly dealt a hard deal in 2019 when they were marked runner up, even after matching the eventual winners- England, knock for know, blow for blow.

It is a case study as to how the Kiwi team under Kane Williamson has kept up its intensity and consistency for this 2 year period and all this comes with total sanity and gentlemanly behavior, which we normally associate New Zealand cricket with.

The Kiwi team is always everyone's favourite and at the end of the day, no one really hates to lose from them. They are a good bunch of seriously committed crickets, who never indulge in any opposition battering or gamesmanship or sledging as such. Kane Williamson, in both innings carried their innings on his shoulders and the application he displayed was sadly missing from his counterpart on the Indian side. The Kiwis were not a team full of superstars the sum of their efforts was surely higher than the individual stardom which the opposition displayed.

There was no vulgar display of emotions or even over the board celebrations. Just gentlemanly happiness. This is how a sport should be played.

I bet, all of the cricketing world, including the Indians would be happy, for finally, this tiny, disciplined, talented bunch of cricketers got their due. They are the official, 1st World Test Championship winners. Theres a lot to learn from them, for the rest of the cricketing world.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Welcome storm..

May 18, 2021

Any distraction on a Monday is always mischievously welcome. And when the diversion is caused by a cyclonic storm, which stays a safe distance away and helps in cooling off the environment is a pleasant change.

Tauktae, which literally is the name of a Myanmar's lizard, really crept upon all of us quite unsuspectingly.

It has stayed away at a bit of safe distance in the high seas but its periphery has caused enough drama all through the past 3 days.

I was waken up to a midnight drifting scene on Saturday when the winds just swept everyone in surprise. Winds, we normally associate them with pleasant evenings and calming effects, jolted the pacifism in all of us and gave enough reasons to take note of the immense power of one of the 5 fundamental powers of mother nature.

Now that, the cyclone has lived its journey and left a trail of destruction. Destruction! I don't think that's the right word. Cyclones, Earthquakes, Tsunamis are simple phenomena of mother nature and its just we forget that entropy rules the roost for all practical purposes.

So, for now bye bye Tauktae. We have the pertinent Covid 19 still dangling over our head. Tauktae, for a little while though, stole its limelight and yes, I thank it for making the weather, a lot more tolerable.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Dil Chahta hai..

May 12, 2021

Its been 20 yrs since this movie was released. Its still a fresh memory for all those teenagers and early 20s generations of that age.

I personally, was in that beautiful age when there is a lot of conflict going on between heart and mind. The heart still ruled but the mind had started to make its presence felt.

You long for those times with friends, the long strolls, those unplanned tours, those night outs, those no directional conversations, those flings and crushes, flirtations and heartbreaks.

Was just rummaging through the songs and scenes of this timeless classic and it immediately reduces the heart age by a couple of decades.

The Chapora fort at Goa, which got framed like never before found ways in the friends albums of countless youngsters post the movie. I too, have a photo of that very place, over looking the sea cliff and endless horizons of the ocean ahead.

It laid some debates on heart matters going and as it was said in the movie...many a friends have simply drifted away, much like the boats on the horizon into a vast expanse of nowhere, which we conveniently call 'life'.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Escape act

May 11, 2021

Escaping the virus, is a full time job now. The wave which literally swept the nation is showing some signs of ebbing, but its still too strong to lower our guards. As such, we dont have any definitive guards against this menace, but whatever we have, we have to put up with and hope to keep escaping the virus at all times.

Because of the lockdown implemented, venturing out of the confines of the home is as such prohibited. But stepping out for a morning / evening walk, or for fetching groceries or for any mundane reasons is becoming quite a task. Its not just the virus which we have to escape, but also the law enforcing agencies.

The Police force is having quite a time of their lives chasing away jaywalkers, strollers, random shoppers and even street sellers. Its quite a scene when you are watching the show from a distance while the men in uniform chase the hapless, huddle them onto buses and carry them away. But its another thing to be caught in the melee and get scolded, yelled at and reminded of our status, education and idiocrasy.

The other escape act which is going around for now is a bit topsy turvy. Its the vaccination registration which is just escaping the reach of many wannabes. The way the slots are getting filled, it seems that my turn to get vaccinated is some duration away.

Its time to get grip of things, but unfortunately, whats happening, is the escape acts, one way or the other. Some good, some not so..

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Freeze in the heat

May 05, 2021

Its sweltering hot this summer. The sun is beaming down on the subcontinent and the mercury levels are rising. But there is a sudden freeze, which has been infused due to all the death and gloom around.

3 deaths have hit our apartment complex in the past 3 days. Senior citizens have fallen prey to the virus or it has mutated itself into other illnesses for the hapless 70 & 80 plussers.

I have parents who are in that category and in laws just a tad younger, but very much in the gullible, vulnerable lot. Its true that this virus is not playing any biases with any age group, but the older generation is a lot more at risk.

And then there is a lot of clutter on the social media and the digital media of the unprecedented situation we find ourselves in. However we try to isolate ourselves and insulate ourselves from the happenings around us, it is not prudent to stay ignorant.

Vaccines are the only cure and they are hard to come by. It feels like riding lady luck just a bit too much and it feels like hope is your best strategy.

Its a bad strategy in practical terms, but currently, thats what it is. Lady luck has stayed put so far, lets see how far it rides me into the sunset.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

IPL gets the pill..

May 04, 2021

The inevitable just happened. IPL cricket going on in the age of death and infection was as if these 2 events are happening on separate planets.

Delhi, which is probably facing the gravest of situations was glumly hosting cricket matches under shining floodlights, while pyre fires were glowing in the might sky, just in the stadium neighborhoods. Same was the situation in Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad, the cities where IPL was being hosted under strict bio bubble environments. This is just a new addition to the covid dictionary and the word list just keeps adding.

IPL, whichever way you look at it, seemed unnecessary and a bit out of place in this country, which is reeling and is a subject of pity and apathy from rest of the world.

To br fair to the sport, it was also a slight relief from the otherwise grim news reports who keep filling in one bad news after other. The players, I wonder what was their motivation. Simple money, cant be the motivation currently, as no one can be blind to the events happening beyond the flashing floodlights.

Capitalist India was fuelling and keeping the bandwagon going and yes, players and teams, many were actively contributing in cash or kind and yes, their antics on the ground was also a bit of contribution for diverting the attention of a troubled nation.

But now, the bio bubble has been breached. Half a dozen players have been tested positive for the virus and it sounded the death knell for the sporting event. Poor sport, its been suffering like everyone else.

Its an olympic games year, will it still be?

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Vibe, a positive one..

April 24, 2021

Amongst the barrage of bad news, there was a rare signal of hope this week. It took the raw courage of a young man, to defy death, almost literally and end up on the right side of fortune.

It seemed that if the script was prepared by fate and presented itself in a series of coincidences which gave Mr. Mayur Shelke, an opportunity to stand up for courage, righteousness and most important of all - humanity.

For a fleeting moment in that 7 seconds episode, it surely seemed that the script was heading towards doom, but then Mayur's resolve took over, personal safety and all other worldly cares took a backseat and the only thing that mattered was the life of the 6 yr old, who was lying helplessly on the railway track, with his visually impaired mother, being the most hapless of the actors on scene.

Everyday, many lives are lost to accidents, yet the one life saved stands head over heel over all those unfortunate news.

In this day of terrible happenings, where death is looming all over, life just gave this one little signal, that all is not lost and that we can still save ourselves.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Floating around...

April 22, 2021..

Now with the smart virus floating around in air, there is almost a sense of inevitability of the virus breaching your lungs. People getting infected is no more a news, but the death that is happening is a cause of concern.

You may brush off the numbers, news, panic and other things as gimmicks or propaganda. But death is the ultimate truth and no one can hide from it. The rate at which death is lurking around is in itself creepy.

And then there comes the news of China offering help to deal with the surge. Its a welcome gesture, but anyone knowing the Chinese tactics would be forced to take it with a handful of salt. The ones who generated the illness are now offering help to cure it. No wonder that they would have a better know how of how to deal with it, but taking help from them might be a tricky game for the Indian authorities.

There was a lesson learnt at the 3rd Battle of Panipat that you should atleast have a semblance of respect and humane approach with your enemy, only enough to expect proper treatment in the face of calamity. Najib Khan, on his discussion with Malharrao Holkar agreed to allow the passage of the Maratha females, servants and non combatants through his ranks, without hurting them. For that one moment, Indian history can forgive a traitor like him.

Not sure, if Chinese help would be accepted, if at all if is in good gesture, but we can act on this judiciously and you never know, where bridges can be built.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Isolation..again

April 17, 2021

There are eerie parallels to what happened in 1921. Spanish flu wiped out close to 50 million people globally. Its 2nd wave was lethal and it hit the hardest where it could strike the most - high population density geographies.

Its 2021 and we are now in the vice like grip of the 2nd coming of the Corona virus. Its doing exactly what its predecessor did, a century ago. Hit the hardest where the population density is offering itself as a soft target.

We are seeing astronomical numbers everyday in our part of the world. A hundred years ago, the world was verybl different. Transport, communication, people interraction, medical facilities, documentation et all was in its infancy. Densities was also nothing as compared to today.

Many things have improved with time, but the lethality of the virus has evolved too. And to its aid, we have added corruption, negligence, misinformation, over confidence, propaganda and lot of other soft skills. The virus is now using us against us.

Our best hope of survival is still what it was, a hundred years ago. Isolation. Quarantine, a word coined in the 12 th century to try and protect healthy people from the black death is still relevant today.

We're going down in history books.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Spoilt for choice / ignorance

April 16, 2021

Keeping updated latest of apps and utilities is a game in itself. You win some, lose some.

It is almost presumed that we have to be born with capacities to start using these apps fluently, the moment they are launched or atleast, downloaded. If you do use them conveniently, it is ok, but if you act like a novice, which you actually are and then fumble, stutter and stumble your way to learn the best practices of using these apps, then you yourself happily ridicule your self till the sunset.

And then there are self help FAQs and youtube videos who can guide you. But frankly, too much of info can sometimes spoil the real motive of using the app.

I tried a simple task of searching a food item from a nearby restaurent from a popular food ordering app. My initial expectation was an excercise of, at max, 10 mins.

But my naievity and relative infrequent usages of such apps meant I ended up spending more than 30 mins. And now, the food delivery is taking another excruciating long wait.

The entire anticipation of a friday night self indulgence is turning out to be self ridicule as the hunger pangs continue to make their presence felt.

Got to evolve, got to aquaint myself to these apps. But this shouldnt happen at the cost of extra, avoidable spendings. But thats another story.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Lingo trble..

April 15, 2021

Came across a curriculum vitae of a youngster who is trying to bridge the gap from being inside campus to the outside world.

One can excuse the exhuberance and naivety of youth in the formatting and ignorance of details in the document. But one thing sprang out as a very scary detail - spelling mistakes.

A 3rd year graduation student misspelling common words like 'student', 'continental', 'marital', 'graduation' amongst others, is a poor reflection of the language upbringing. The over dependence on the sms and social media language and scant attention to being grammatically correct is almost a given for young generation today.

Languages, is normally just a subject in the syllabus and its prominence as a form of communication is easily lost amidst the connundrum for marks.

Many young kids growing in mix cultural backgrounds are showing a real mixture of languages and the focus seems to being a jack of many languages and a master of, probably none. There are 2 languages within the family, with the local dialect, local language, national language, international language and a couple of fad based and marks based languages to boot. The impetus on being communicatively correct is losing sheen and many youngsters are conveniently making grammatical gaffes and easily mixing up multiple languages in a given sentence with scant respect for being syntactically correct.

I used to crib and cry when during my childhood days, I was forced to write each word a dozen times. But those efforts put paid as it built in a culture of trying to be correct in syntax and also develop a sense of guilt whenever an error crept it.

Language is just a form of communication, not a qualification, but it has evolved over thousands of years and will keep evolving. We have to evolve, not dissolve, the syntax of our expression.

Regards

[sunilbhavar]

Blowing candles..

April 14, 2021

A 2nd year in a row, with muted activity, I stepped onto year no...whatever in life. Its good that the time left in the bank is definitely lesser than the one consumed.

And with the effort being put to try and stay better, the mere existence is feeling much better. There are a whole lot of things that can happily add to the worry, missed targets account, but its equally or even better placed things that can be counted as blessings. With a body in the 40s, I still feel agile and fast enough for being in the early 30s and some training for the mind over the past year is also making me feel better. Or probably its just the thought to not count the ME (Mind and Ego) part and just trying to be true to ones effort is helping.

And then there is this almost perpetually existing virus, which put paid to all cake and celebratory events. Spending the day running around to try and fend off the virus from the people around is a good way to keep the attention away from getting happy about one less year to negotiate.

But its a good point in life to pause and be grateful to everything that you have and everthing that is keeping yourself going. Every breath I take is enough reason to be grateful, moreso in times when we see people die due to lack of oxygen.

And then there are all those who want you in their lives and want you to be happy. Its for all those and all that, which makes life livable and keeps the hope quotient going for the remainder part of whatever thats left.

Regards