Bath ki baat

It was just a bath. I love having them. I personally believe the bathroom is the most ideal place for [retro + intro] spection. It’s got privacy [ohhh come on, no one’s gonna stick out a spycam in mine], The hot water washes your body of all dirt, akin to the proverbial Ganga washing away your sins, one feels pure wrapped in a towel, almost ready for a new beginning.


My routine was however rudely interrupted by an unforeseen event, an unheard one too in Mumbai. The lights went off. Being all alone at home, it seemed to my petrified mind that the whole ghost community had conspired for a Diwali party right at my place. Home Alone 5 wasn’t going to be as innocent as it’s predecessors.


I contemplated going out of the bathroom. Vividly painted images of RGV’s Bhoot sprang in my mind. I decided that whoever was out there to get me would have to come in and do the honours. I bolted the door tightly just to be sure and continued having a bath as if nothing was wrong.


About ten minutes must have passed by, when I noticed something strange. A cobweb eerily shaped like an eye was staring right at me. I firmly held my hand shower and made a whirling motion with it in the hope that the water would wash the damned cobweb away. The eye probably had cataract coz it got washed away after a few attempts.


It was then that I noticed something stranger. The water was still hot! I turned to look at the geyser, it was red as a signal. I opened the bathroom door to find that the whole world, my house included, was decked up in all it’s Diwali glory. The bathroom bulb had been the culprit.


I got out of the bathroom feeling like a complete ass, an ass who didn’t know whether to laugh or sob. It wasn’t just a bath after all. It had given me a memory to add to my pensieve.

The Fall of "The Wall"

Am I missing out on something? Or is there something Vengsarkar and Co. can see with their ageing eyes which I can’t? [Someone has indeed truly quoted, “Middle age is a time when the narrowness of the waist and the broadness of the mind exchange places”] I was wrong to have thought that after much so-called experience they would have realized that “Form is temporary, class is permanent.”

I have always considered Dravid a notch above Tendulkar, whether it be temperament, team spirit or plain technique. If Tendulkar is God, then the God is selfish. It’s funny to notice how Tendulkar always slows down in the nineties, how he begins hoarding runs like a little squirrel hoarding nuts. Dravid may not cheer up the crowds with huge, sloggy sixes, he might be even branded as a Test Cricketer. But whenever India has needed him, he has been there. Always.

Off the subcontinent, when Indian batsmen struggle to keep pace with the swing and the bounce, it has always been Dravid who has stood, as always, like The Wall he is. He is an invaluable asset who can sweep spinners and pull pacers with equal ease.

When he is about to cut the ball away, the bowlers feel an inexplicable dread, the kind which you know you can’t do anything about, the fielders don’t even bother moving, and when the bat makes contact with the ball, Slam!! The air itself makes way for the ball, whizzing past a horde of fielders who can do nothing more than marvel at this scintillating display of impeccable cricketing technique.

. Having guided the team to victory in overseas matches, his think-tank capabilities would have augured well for the team and the young captain Dhoni. People might argue that even Ganguly was shown the door when he didn’t perform, but what they probably miss out on is that he was given chances for almost two years after which the selectors were left with no choice. On the other hand I think ten bad matches are too less to judge a genius like him.

It’s a pity to see him vying for a place in the team with rookies like Dinesh Karthik and Praveen Kumar. The only people happy with the on-goings would be the Karnataka Cricket Team for which Dravid has slammed a marvelous double century. I hope the BCCI don’t further embarrass a player of his stature.

Hail Dravid!