The sun and the wind were always arguing about which of them was the strongest. The wind believed he was stronger because of his destructive power in tornados and hurricanes. He wanted the sun to admit he was stronger, but the sun held fast to his own opinion and could not be convinced.
One day, the sun decided he wanted the matter settled once and for all, so he invited the wind to compete with him in a contest. The sun chose the contest carefully. He pointed out an old man taking a walk, and challenged the wind to use his power to blow the man’s jacket off. The wind felt this would be an easy contest to win and began to blow. To his surprise, each gust of wind only made the man cling more tightly to his jacket. The wind blew harder, and the man held on tighter. The harder the wind blew, the more the man resisted. The powerful blows of wind even knocked the man down, but he would not let go of his jacket. Finally, the wind gave up and challenged the sun to succeed in getting the man to take off his jacket. The sun smiled and shone radiantly upon the man. The man felt the warmth of the sun, and sweat began to appear on his forehead. The sun continued pouring out warmth and sunshine upon the man, and at last, the man took off his jacket. The sun had won the contest.
Meaning: If you push, they will resist. Your goal is to help others want to do what you want them to do and to like doing it.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
How Far Is Far And How Much Is Much Much??
Today while chatting to somebody about rock climbing.. The person ended up calling her own parents “Bastards” .. And then she typed LOL..
This makes me think are we not getting carried away with the liberty the social reforms are providing us? Who should decide how far we can go or when to stop…Using the swearing words.. Like fuck and shit is so common…
I remember as kid.. mom gave me some new dish she cooked and .. When I tried it .. I exclaimed “Cheeee…!!” my Daddy made me eat the whole stuff and I was grounded for two days…:) that’s when I was introduced to the concept of “Anna Hein poorn brahma” :)and realised I was not suppose to use “chee” word for food. These days.. it is very common to hear the statements as “Shitty food!!” ..”Crap pizza”..
Other day I heard somebody telling me.. “My parents are fucked up!” Thought of using the word Fuck itself is indecent for me.. and using it for parents in any context was terrifying..
Now I’m grown up… old enough to think and talk about my own kids…I’m worried about them now.. Questions like.. How will I stop them from doing it.. even if we don’t use it at home.. they will come across this while in school and other social places…
Another thing I’ve noticed is, everything that is scary has become “Cool” for kids.. Corpse of the dead man stamped with the truck looks “Cool” to kids. Gone are the days when a neat pair of untorn stockings were fashion girls scratch their stockings to make it look cool :).. Either I’m growing too old for fashion or kids are going to far!!
This make me think:
How Far Is Far and How Much Is Much Much?? :)
Well keep the sunny side up!! :)
Cheerio,
Ash
This makes me think are we not getting carried away with the liberty the social reforms are providing us? Who should decide how far we can go or when to stop…Using the swearing words.. Like fuck and shit is so common…
I remember as kid.. mom gave me some new dish she cooked and .. When I tried it .. I exclaimed “Cheeee…!!” my Daddy made me eat the whole stuff and I was grounded for two days…:) that’s when I was introduced to the concept of “Anna Hein poorn brahma” :)and realised I was not suppose to use “chee” word for food. These days.. it is very common to hear the statements as “Shitty food!!” ..”Crap pizza”..
Other day I heard somebody telling me.. “My parents are fucked up!” Thought of using the word Fuck itself is indecent for me.. and using it for parents in any context was terrifying..
Now I’m grown up… old enough to think and talk about my own kids…I’m worried about them now.. Questions like.. How will I stop them from doing it.. even if we don’t use it at home.. they will come across this while in school and other social places…
Another thing I’ve noticed is, everything that is scary has become “Cool” for kids.. Corpse of the dead man stamped with the truck looks “Cool” to kids. Gone are the days when a neat pair of untorn stockings were fashion girls scratch their stockings to make it look cool :).. Either I’m growing too old for fashion or kids are going to far!!
This make me think:
How Far Is Far and How Much Is Much Much?? :)
Well keep the sunny side up!! :)
Cheerio,
Ash
Monday, October 12, 2009
Wake up Sid!!
Surjit brought out an interesting topic of how he derives nuggets from the movie wake up Sid and how he wants to start a magazine. For starters I guess it is not unusual that the most creative amongst us in terms of his Langour stories or his desire to learn films and make them speak out about Mumbai Beat(the film magazine that Sid is part of in the movie).
I reserved any comment on the movie until I saw it which was last night after work..the first thing i did after watching the movie was go for Pizaa...i saw fr too many slices of pizza to resist the temptation...anyways sid is a charater we in many ways wish we were...his innocence..his focus on his own life rather than daily bickerings that most mortals like us have to bear and write blogs about..his seemless association with friends..he does not represent what Aakash and gang in Dil Chahhta Hai did....dosti rocks
Last weekend I was at this time in Goa...by the pool with my two collage friends..one was my school buddy(we called him Buro as he used to look like an old man) and the other was my next door neighbour who we called with all sorts of names like bhagne(nephew), gupta boss and all...anyways the point I am making here is that in these five years that we have not been together, what has changed is probably tme and the maturity..but deep inside we are kids and we never want to loose that..coz it pacifies us in many ways..it is like a hill station that you look forward to as a vacation when you live in hot and humid Kolkata..
The movie also brought about Mumbai's persistent claim of being a 'no boredom' city..not tht Mumbai is the only place that can boost that but it sure ranks amongst the top in terms of avenues to spend leisure time..
So i fSurjit suggests starting a Magazine, well lt's form a team as we don't want the right talents in the wrong places!!
We need some photographers, some writers, an editor and one who looks at publicity..
My thought was lets make a website using the google free website creating process...if you keep it active and can attract viewers for > 6 months then you get money through Google Ads upon registration..
Let the roles be nominated...and why the nomination..
Wake up Trenchants...
I reserved any comment on the movie until I saw it which was last night after work..the first thing i did after watching the movie was go for Pizaa...i saw fr too many slices of pizza to resist the temptation...anyways sid is a charater we in many ways wish we were...his innocence..his focus on his own life rather than daily bickerings that most mortals like us have to bear and write blogs about..his seemless association with friends..he does not represent what Aakash and gang in Dil Chahhta Hai did....dosti rocks
Last weekend I was at this time in Goa...by the pool with my two collage friends..one was my school buddy(we called him Buro as he used to look like an old man) and the other was my next door neighbour who we called with all sorts of names like bhagne(nephew), gupta boss and all...anyways the point I am making here is that in these five years that we have not been together, what has changed is probably tme and the maturity..but deep inside we are kids and we never want to loose that..coz it pacifies us in many ways..it is like a hill station that you look forward to as a vacation when you live in hot and humid Kolkata..
The movie also brought about Mumbai's persistent claim of being a 'no boredom' city..not tht Mumbai is the only place that can boost that but it sure ranks amongst the top in terms of avenues to spend leisure time..
So i fSurjit suggests starting a Magazine, well lt's form a team as we don't want the right talents in the wrong places!!
We need some photographers, some writers, an editor and one who looks at publicity..
My thought was lets make a website using the google free website creating process...if you keep it active and can attract viewers for > 6 months then you get money through Google Ads upon registration..
Let the roles be nominated...and why the nomination..
Wake up Trenchants...
Friday, October 9, 2009
The Monk who sold his Ferrari Summary
The book is about Julian Mantle, a high-profile lawyer who collapses in the middle of a trial and decides to find the purpose of life by traveling to the Himalayas where he meets a group of sages who impart their wisdom to him via a fable.
The fable starts in a magnificent garden with a lighthouse in the middle of the grounds. Out of the lighthouse walks a 9 foot tall 900-pound Sumo wrestler who is naked except for a pink wire cable covering his privates. He slips and falls on a stopwatch that’s been lying on the floor and loses consciousness. However, the wrestler wakes up to the fresh fragrance of yellow roses coming from a distance. He looks over and then discovers that there is a diamond-studded pathway which he takes.
The Magnificent Garden Represents Our Mind
The Magnificent Garden in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Nurture the mind daily.
2. Only let positive thoughts into your mind.
3. Mind can be mastered through concentration and a useful technique is to practice the “heart of the rose” every morning. This entails focusing on the heart of a fresh rose and improving concentration of mind everyday.
4. Spend time in the morning visualizing what you plan to become.
The Lighthouse Signifies Our Purpose of Life
The Lighthouse in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Life is finite so it is important to concentrate on your life’s main purpose.
2. Find something you love and do it with focus and passion.
3. Goals and objectives can be achieved through a 5 step process.
1. Envision vividly what you desire.
2. Apply some positive pressure or stress. For example, a public declaration of your goal.
3. Put the goals on paper with appropriate timelines. Get a dreambook and divide into sections like health and wealth. Paste pictures and look at this book everyday.
4. Apply the magic “rule of 21″. That is to practice the new habit for 21 days to install it permanently into your system.
5. Laugh, love and live everyday passionately.
The Sumo Wrestler Represents KAIZEN
The Sumo Wrestler in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. This entails - building strength of character, developing mental toughness and living with courage.
2. The mind, body and soul needs to be improved in unison.
3. The only limits of your life are the ones you set yourself daily.
4. Kaizen means the never ending and daily improvement of oneself. It signifies pushing the boundaries to develop mind, body and spirit in spite of fear, adversity and discomfort.
There are 10 rituals to practice Kaizen everyday.
1. Ritual of Solitude: This is a mandatory period of silence by yourself for self-renewal. It can span from 15 minutes to an hour and preferably in a place that’s close to nature.
2. Ritual of Physicality: This means exercising and breathing effectively.
3. Ritual of Live Nourishment: Eating live foods that are created by the interaction of sun, water and soil. Partaking of vegetables, grains and fruits.
4. Ritual of Abundant Knowledge: Reading (studying) regularly for 30 minutes a day. The reading material should develop you as a person. Examples of good reading include books like The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Think and Grow Rich!, Gandhi An Autobiography, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Letters from a Stoic - Seneca and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
5. Ritual of Personal Reflection: Contemplate every night before bed to identify which experiences of your day has been positive or negative. Everyday strive to improve on the positive and eliminate the negative experiences.
6. Ritual of Early Morning Awakening: Rise with the morning sun everyday as we sleep too much in any case. 6 hours of restful sleep is better than 10 hours of disturbed sleep.
7. Ritual of Music: Never underestimate the power of music to uplift and motivate yourself everyday.
8. Ritual of the Spoken Word: The spoken word is powerful. For example, sages use mantras to create a positive frame of mind. Mantras can be used in any area like health, relationships, spiritual, wealth, etc…
9. Ritual of Congruent Character: This can be a daily actions to develop the character by developing the virtues of industry, compassion, humility, patience, honesty and courage.
10. Ritual of Simplicity: Live a simple uncluttered life by eliminating the unimportant and focusing on the IMPORTANT.
Pink Wire Cable Signifies Discipline
The Pink Wire Cable in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. A wire cable consists of many tiny strings woven together. The strings by itself is weak but together when they form the cable it is strong.
2. Will-power and discipline are like the strings that need to be woven together to make it strong.
3. Discipline and self-control is the act of controlling the mind and this can be done by replacing weak and negative thoughts with strong and positive ones.
4. Control your thoughts, control your mind, control your life and become the master of your destiny.
5. A formula to develop discipline and self-control is to chant the mantra with visualization - “I am more than I appear to be. All the world’s strength and power rest inside me.”
The Stopwatch Represents TIME
The Stopwatch in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Time is the most important commodity of our lives and we have to learn how to make the most of our time on earth.
1. Time is finite and live must be lived to its fullest potential.
2. Time mastery is the basis of life mastery.
3. Plan daily/weekly to manage time creatively and focus on the most important aspects.
4. Remember the 80/20 Principle - 80% of the results are generated by 20% of effort.
5. Do not let others steal time. Develop the ability to say no to little things so that you get the power to say YES to important things.
6. Simplify life to be able to focus on the important things of life.
7. Develop a death-bed mentality. What would you do today if it was the last day of your life? Even leaders like Steve Jobs practice the death-bed mentality.
8. Always do things as if failure is not an option and success will be assured.
9. Never be a prisoner of the past but be the architect of the future.
Fragrance of Fresh Yellow Roses Signifies Service
Fresh fragrant yellow roses in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Serve people daily and show random acts of kindness because the hand that serves roses to others retains some of the fragrance.
2. Abundance of mental ability, boundless energy, unlimited creativity, a storehouse of discipline and a well-spring of peacefulness are gifts that you need to develop in yourself in order to share it with others.
3. Cultivate friends and nurture family. Develop an optimistic outlook of life.
Diamond Studded Pathway Represents Enlightened Living
Diamond Studded Pathway in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Live an enlightened, joyous and rewarding life. Live in the NOW and live fully.
2. Live fully. Happiness is a journey not a destination.
3. Always remember that the path you are walking on right now is beautiful and studded with diamonds. Always live in the appreciation of the NOW.
4. Savor the NOW with family and friends. Enjoy every moment of the NOW. Living everyday in the NOW is the path to Nirvana
5. Practice the act of GRATITUDE everyday.
6. Follow the path of your dream and celebrate everyday as your dreams come true.
7. Be content in the NOW and do not hurry through life.
8. Everyone is unique and a wonder. A gift to the world. Build yourself little by little everyday.
The fable starts in a magnificent garden with a lighthouse in the middle of the grounds. Out of the lighthouse walks a 9 foot tall 900-pound Sumo wrestler who is naked except for a pink wire cable covering his privates. He slips and falls on a stopwatch that’s been lying on the floor and loses consciousness. However, the wrestler wakes up to the fresh fragrance of yellow roses coming from a distance. He looks over and then discovers that there is a diamond-studded pathway which he takes.
The Magnificent Garden Represents Our Mind
The Magnificent Garden in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Nurture the mind daily.
2. Only let positive thoughts into your mind.
3. Mind can be mastered through concentration and a useful technique is to practice the “heart of the rose” every morning. This entails focusing on the heart of a fresh rose and improving concentration of mind everyday.
4. Spend time in the morning visualizing what you plan to become.
The Lighthouse Signifies Our Purpose of Life
The Lighthouse in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Life is finite so it is important to concentrate on your life’s main purpose.
2. Find something you love and do it with focus and passion.
3. Goals and objectives can be achieved through a 5 step process.
1. Envision vividly what you desire.
2. Apply some positive pressure or stress. For example, a public declaration of your goal.
3. Put the goals on paper with appropriate timelines. Get a dreambook and divide into sections like health and wealth. Paste pictures and look at this book everyday.
4. Apply the magic “rule of 21″. That is to practice the new habit for 21 days to install it permanently into your system.
5. Laugh, love and live everyday passionately.
The Sumo Wrestler Represents KAIZEN
The Sumo Wrestler in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. This entails - building strength of character, developing mental toughness and living with courage.
2. The mind, body and soul needs to be improved in unison.
3. The only limits of your life are the ones you set yourself daily.
4. Kaizen means the never ending and daily improvement of oneself. It signifies pushing the boundaries to develop mind, body and spirit in spite of fear, adversity and discomfort.
There are 10 rituals to practice Kaizen everyday.
1. Ritual of Solitude: This is a mandatory period of silence by yourself for self-renewal. It can span from 15 minutes to an hour and preferably in a place that’s close to nature.
2. Ritual of Physicality: This means exercising and breathing effectively.
3. Ritual of Live Nourishment: Eating live foods that are created by the interaction of sun, water and soil. Partaking of vegetables, grains and fruits.
4. Ritual of Abundant Knowledge: Reading (studying) regularly for 30 minutes a day. The reading material should develop you as a person. Examples of good reading include books like The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, Think and Grow Rich!, Gandhi An Autobiography, Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, Letters from a Stoic - Seneca and Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
5. Ritual of Personal Reflection: Contemplate every night before bed to identify which experiences of your day has been positive or negative. Everyday strive to improve on the positive and eliminate the negative experiences.
6. Ritual of Early Morning Awakening: Rise with the morning sun everyday as we sleep too much in any case. 6 hours of restful sleep is better than 10 hours of disturbed sleep.
7. Ritual of Music: Never underestimate the power of music to uplift and motivate yourself everyday.
8. Ritual of the Spoken Word: The spoken word is powerful. For example, sages use mantras to create a positive frame of mind. Mantras can be used in any area like health, relationships, spiritual, wealth, etc…
9. Ritual of Congruent Character: This can be a daily actions to develop the character by developing the virtues of industry, compassion, humility, patience, honesty and courage.
10. Ritual of Simplicity: Live a simple uncluttered life by eliminating the unimportant and focusing on the IMPORTANT.
Pink Wire Cable Signifies Discipline
The Pink Wire Cable in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. A wire cable consists of many tiny strings woven together. The strings by itself is weak but together when they form the cable it is strong.
2. Will-power and discipline are like the strings that need to be woven together to make it strong.
3. Discipline and self-control is the act of controlling the mind and this can be done by replacing weak and negative thoughts with strong and positive ones.
4. Control your thoughts, control your mind, control your life and become the master of your destiny.
5. A formula to develop discipline and self-control is to chant the mantra with visualization - “I am more than I appear to be. All the world’s strength and power rest inside me.”
The Stopwatch Represents TIME
The Stopwatch in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
Time is the most important commodity of our lives and we have to learn how to make the most of our time on earth.
1. Time is finite and live must be lived to its fullest potential.
2. Time mastery is the basis of life mastery.
3. Plan daily/weekly to manage time creatively and focus on the most important aspects.
4. Remember the 80/20 Principle - 80% of the results are generated by 20% of effort.
5. Do not let others steal time. Develop the ability to say no to little things so that you get the power to say YES to important things.
6. Simplify life to be able to focus on the important things of life.
7. Develop a death-bed mentality. What would you do today if it was the last day of your life? Even leaders like Steve Jobs practice the death-bed mentality.
8. Always do things as if failure is not an option and success will be assured.
9. Never be a prisoner of the past but be the architect of the future.
Fragrance of Fresh Yellow Roses Signifies Service
Fresh fragrant yellow roses in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Serve people daily and show random acts of kindness because the hand that serves roses to others retains some of the fragrance.
2. Abundance of mental ability, boundless energy, unlimited creativity, a storehouse of discipline and a well-spring of peacefulness are gifts that you need to develop in yourself in order to share it with others.
3. Cultivate friends and nurture family. Develop an optimistic outlook of life.
Diamond Studded Pathway Represents Enlightened Living
Diamond Studded Pathway in the fable from The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
1. Live an enlightened, joyous and rewarding life. Live in the NOW and live fully.
2. Live fully. Happiness is a journey not a destination.
3. Always remember that the path you are walking on right now is beautiful and studded with diamonds. Always live in the appreciation of the NOW.
4. Savor the NOW with family and friends. Enjoy every moment of the NOW. Living everyday in the NOW is the path to Nirvana
5. Practice the act of GRATITUDE everyday.
6. Follow the path of your dream and celebrate everyday as your dreams come true.
7. Be content in the NOW and do not hurry through life.
8. Everyone is unique and a wonder. A gift to the world. Build yourself little by little everyday.
Don't Fight For Your Excuses
It's so very human to fight for your excuses. "I can't be better than I am at work." "I don't have the time to exercise." "I can't do this dream or that dream because it's too hard/scary/impractical." The more you fight for your excuses, the more they'll own you. Let them go. And step into your power.
Leaders don't make excuses. They create results. And no great life was ever built on a foundation of excuses. So stop making them. Most of them are self-created delusions. Designed to help you avoid doing the things you are afraid to do. Yes, beneath every excuse lives a fear. A fear of changing. A fear of the unknown. A fear of failure. A fear of success.
Today can be the day you burn the bridges that lead to your excuses. Today can be the day you step up to the possibilities that lay just off the beaten path of your life. Today can be the day you Lead Without Title. And access your greatness.
By
Robin Sharma.
Leaders don't make excuses. They create results. And no great life was ever built on a foundation of excuses. So stop making them. Most of them are self-created delusions. Designed to help you avoid doing the things you are afraid to do. Yes, beneath every excuse lives a fear. A fear of changing. A fear of the unknown. A fear of failure. A fear of success.
Today can be the day you burn the bridges that lead to your excuses. Today can be the day you step up to the possibilities that lay just off the beaten path of your life. Today can be the day you Lead Without Title. And access your greatness.
By
Robin Sharma.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Intresting blogs
How KKR lost the game, plot and heart Avijit Ghosh - Saturday May 02, 2009
There are matches every team loses. And there are games every team wins. But when you start losing every match that you were close to winning, then you are in deep, deep trouble. Which is why Kolkata Knight Riders, after having played 50 per cent of their matches in IPL2, are languishing at the bottom.
Several reasons are being offered for the inept display. None more than this: a lot of good KKR players are missing in action: Umar Gul, Shoiab Akhtar, David Hussey, Ricky Ponting and Salman Butt.
Previous blog: Why Knight Riders coach John Boka-known must go
But KKR's isn't the only team missing out on key recruits. So far, Rajasthan Royals don't have Shane Watson and Sohail Tanveer, two of the most successful players in IPL1.
Kings XI Punjab doesn't have Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee, James Hopes, who were integral to their success last season. Yet they are not doing half as badly as KKR. Like a bad workman, one can always go on endlessly quarelling with the tools or try to make the best of a bad situation. That's exactly what Rajasthan and Punjab are doing.
Compare the phoren resources of these teams and you'll see that KKR is second to neither. On paper, Gayle, McCullum, Hodge, Mendis are as good as anything that Punjab Kings or Rajasthan Royal can offer.
Before IPL2, had anybody even heard of RJ Quiney who has now been regularly playing as a foreigner pro in the RR top order?
The scenario is similar with domestic players. Agreed that senior pros like Ganguly, Ishant and Kartik need to do much more. But it is also true that lesser lights like Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ashok Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha have not been handled properly. They seem to be filling in the blanks, rather than being given a definite role.
Young cricketers often exceed expectations with the right kind of backing. And one is not just talking about Warne and his boys. Look how Karan Goel has played for Kings Punjab XI this season. He may not have got big runs, but on every occasion Goel has shown he belongs. It is a question of spotting talent and keeping faith.
In comparison, coach John Boka-known oops Buchanan's handling of fringe players has been below par. Players like Anureet Singh, A Ghosh, Yashpal Singh have walked in and out of the team like it were a thoroughfare. And there's simply no point in discussing the plight of Bangar and Chopra.
Tactically Buchanan has followed a policy of lining up all his best senior pros in the top slots. Once they are gone, often leaving a higher asking rate than what they started out with, lesser mortals are left to handle the worst.
Wouldn't it have been better to hold at least one top pro back and let players like Shukla or Saha intersperse in the top order? The only game when such an experiment was carried out (against Rajasthan Royals), KKR played its best game. And how about using Agarkar as a pinch hitter as Mumbai Indians have done with Harbhajan?
With all the aides at his disposal (17 according to one newspaper report), Buchanan doesn't seem to have a Plan B. Or is it that he has too many plans - from Plan A to Plan Z - and doesn't know which one to
choose.
Solve this mystery for me. In the game against Bangalore, KKR had three wicket-keepers in the playing XI. One of them, Van Wyk, has been relatively successful with the bat. But why was he played in the first place remains a mystery.
Surely, the team did not need a 'pro' wicket-keeper batsman taking up the precious fourth foreigner slot in the team when they already have a competent desi keeper (Saha, also a World Cup probable) and a phoren player (captain McCullum) capable of playing the same role.
What KKR really lacks is depth in bowling. The team badly needs a strike bowler capable of taking two-three wickets. Which is why playing Van Wyk was not a great idea. For playing him means keeping out Ajantha Mendis, the only genuine strike bowler in the team, apart from Ishant. In any case, Buchanan seems to be a rare coach who doesn't see the virtues of playing the best spinner in the team in such favourable conditions.
Mendis shouldn't have been reduced to being a fringe player but seen as an integral part of KKR's scheme of things. That's perhaps Buchanan's biggest strategic mistake. True, Yusuf Pathan, Sachin and Jayasuriya hit him but remember these players can hit anybody on their day. Don't forget Mendis got Pathan the first time and was unlucky not to have got Pathan in the second ball of the super over. For a majority of batsmen, Mendis still will be hard to get away.
Now, the real question is: Can KKR haul itself out of the abyss? If that is translated as whether it can enter the semi-final, the answer is a flat no. There's no way captain McCullum and his boys, including Fake IPl player, can claw their way to the top four. With or without Buchanan.
But I guess that's not what the KKR fan is expecting anymore. What the average fan really wants is a performance with heart. Even in the first edition, KKR never looked like a champion team. But there was an electricity, a frisson that every fan felt running through his spine watching most of the games.
Remember McCullum's 13 sixes in his 73 ball 158 against Royal Challengers, simply the best knock played in IPL today.
Remember Ganguly's 3-0-7-1 spell where he clean bowled Rahul Dravid, every dot ball cheered like a six by a passionate Eden Gardens crowd on a muggy night. Those 18 deliveries, along with a modest 20, got him the man of the match award in that rain-curtailed game.
Remember Shoiab Akhtar, playing his first game, bowling an unplayable 3-0-11-4 spell where he toyed with Gambhir, Sehwag, de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary. Nobody has bowled a more fiery and memorable spell in IPL before or since. That night KKR defended 133 with ease.
And remember Ganguly smoting Irfan Pathan for sixes to win the last game for KKR. It was an unbeaten 86 off 53 balls with six sixes. But that didn't get him the man of the match award because Umar Gul went one better. He had smashed 24 off 11 balls with three sixes and scalped four for 23.
Each of these performances came straight from the heart. That's what made KKR stand out from the rest. Watching them play wasn't just witnessing a game. It was also witnessing human drama. And that's what everybody is waiting for.
And that's what Buchanan, McCullum and company have also failed to produce.
There are matches every team loses. And there are games every team wins. But when you start losing every match that you were close to winning, then you are in deep, deep trouble. Which is why Kolkata Knight Riders, after having played 50 per cent of their matches in IPL2, are languishing at the bottom.
Several reasons are being offered for the inept display. None more than this: a lot of good KKR players are missing in action: Umar Gul, Shoiab Akhtar, David Hussey, Ricky Ponting and Salman Butt.
Previous blog: Why Knight Riders coach John Boka-known must go
But KKR's isn't the only team missing out on key recruits. So far, Rajasthan Royals don't have Shane Watson and Sohail Tanveer, two of the most successful players in IPL1.
Kings XI Punjab doesn't have Shaun Marsh, Brett Lee, James Hopes, who were integral to their success last season. Yet they are not doing half as badly as KKR. Like a bad workman, one can always go on endlessly quarelling with the tools or try to make the best of a bad situation. That's exactly what Rajasthan and Punjab are doing.
Compare the phoren resources of these teams and you'll see that KKR is second to neither. On paper, Gayle, McCullum, Hodge, Mendis are as good as anything that Punjab Kings or Rajasthan Royal can offer.
Before IPL2, had anybody even heard of RJ Quiney who has now been regularly playing as a foreigner pro in the RR top order?
The scenario is similar with domestic players. Agreed that senior pros like Ganguly, Ishant and Kartik need to do much more. But it is also true that lesser lights like Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Ashok Dinda, Wriddhiman Saha have not been handled properly. They seem to be filling in the blanks, rather than being given a definite role.
Young cricketers often exceed expectations with the right kind of backing. And one is not just talking about Warne and his boys. Look how Karan Goel has played for Kings Punjab XI this season. He may not have got big runs, but on every occasion Goel has shown he belongs. It is a question of spotting talent and keeping faith.
In comparison, coach John Boka-known oops Buchanan's handling of fringe players has been below par. Players like Anureet Singh, A Ghosh, Yashpal Singh have walked in and out of the team like it were a thoroughfare. And there's simply no point in discussing the plight of Bangar and Chopra.
Tactically Buchanan has followed a policy of lining up all his best senior pros in the top slots. Once they are gone, often leaving a higher asking rate than what they started out with, lesser mortals are left to handle the worst.
Wouldn't it have been better to hold at least one top pro back and let players like Shukla or Saha intersperse in the top order? The only game when such an experiment was carried out (against Rajasthan Royals), KKR played its best game. And how about using Agarkar as a pinch hitter as Mumbai Indians have done with Harbhajan?
With all the aides at his disposal (17 according to one newspaper report), Buchanan doesn't seem to have a Plan B. Or is it that he has too many plans - from Plan A to Plan Z - and doesn't know which one to
choose.
Solve this mystery for me. In the game against Bangalore, KKR had three wicket-keepers in the playing XI. One of them, Van Wyk, has been relatively successful with the bat. But why was he played in the first place remains a mystery.
Surely, the team did not need a 'pro' wicket-keeper batsman taking up the precious fourth foreigner slot in the team when they already have a competent desi keeper (Saha, also a World Cup probable) and a phoren player (captain McCullum) capable of playing the same role.
What KKR really lacks is depth in bowling. The team badly needs a strike bowler capable of taking two-three wickets. Which is why playing Van Wyk was not a great idea. For playing him means keeping out Ajantha Mendis, the only genuine strike bowler in the team, apart from Ishant. In any case, Buchanan seems to be a rare coach who doesn't see the virtues of playing the best spinner in the team in such favourable conditions.
Mendis shouldn't have been reduced to being a fringe player but seen as an integral part of KKR's scheme of things. That's perhaps Buchanan's biggest strategic mistake. True, Yusuf Pathan, Sachin and Jayasuriya hit him but remember these players can hit anybody on their day. Don't forget Mendis got Pathan the first time and was unlucky not to have got Pathan in the second ball of the super over. For a majority of batsmen, Mendis still will be hard to get away.
Now, the real question is: Can KKR haul itself out of the abyss? If that is translated as whether it can enter the semi-final, the answer is a flat no. There's no way captain McCullum and his boys, including Fake IPl player, can claw their way to the top four. With or without Buchanan.
But I guess that's not what the KKR fan is expecting anymore. What the average fan really wants is a performance with heart. Even in the first edition, KKR never looked like a champion team. But there was an electricity, a frisson that every fan felt running through his spine watching most of the games.
Remember McCullum's 13 sixes in his 73 ball 158 against Royal Challengers, simply the best knock played in IPL today.
Remember Ganguly's 3-0-7-1 spell where he clean bowled Rahul Dravid, every dot ball cheered like a six by a passionate Eden Gardens crowd on a muggy night. Those 18 deliveries, along with a modest 20, got him the man of the match award in that rain-curtailed game.
Remember Shoiab Akhtar, playing his first game, bowling an unplayable 3-0-11-4 spell where he toyed with Gambhir, Sehwag, de Villiers and Manoj Tiwary. Nobody has bowled a more fiery and memorable spell in IPL before or since. That night KKR defended 133 with ease.
And remember Ganguly smoting Irfan Pathan for sixes to win the last game for KKR. It was an unbeaten 86 off 53 balls with six sixes. But that didn't get him the man of the match award because Umar Gul went one better. He had smashed 24 off 11 balls with three sixes and scalped four for 23.
Each of these performances came straight from the heart. That's what made KKR stand out from the rest. Watching them play wasn't just witnessing a game. It was also witnessing human drama. And that's what everybody is waiting for.
And that's what Buchanan, McCullum and company have also failed to produce.
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