See the movies that have shaped my year.
https://mubi.com/en/retrospective/e987cea7b82fe2f06d8efa57de2dfa58
Cheers!
My 2023 @MUBI
When Test Cricket stood tall.
The famous Aussie win in Edgbaston notwithstanding, the Ashes opener was also a defining statement for the detractors who strongly believe that Test cricket is on its way to a resounding decline. The first test in Birmingham was a great advertisement for Test cricket, and watching the top 2 test teams battling it out on the 22 yard strip was an absolute delight to watch.
But this also takes me to the more important questions and the contextual disasters around India’s failure in crucial test matches (home and abroad). If we are beating our chest for outplaying the Aussies last year on potential minefields in the Border – Gavaskar trophy, then I am sorry but we really need to look at the benchmarks we are setting for ourselves and more importantly how prepared we are for crucial test matches against the more dominant teams (England, Australia and South Africa).
That also leads us to a very significant question – how strategically does BCCI view our test commitments against the more lucrative IPL and T-20 agenda. I agree the money is nice for everyone but how does that benefit India when we are not capable of picking a quality side who can win important and elusive ICC events against the top teams? Where is the bench? It appears that our key players are now waiting for their swan-song to play out in a gorgeous send off while we aren’t very sure about who is going to lead us for the next 10 years. Moreover, do we have the vision to see how the Indian Cricket team pans out in the next decade or so beyond the cash cows like IPL and other T-20 assignments. Even ODIs these days has taken a backseat, which is obviously bad news for the 4-year World Cups which has been ICC/BCCI’s flagship event since the early 90s.
The WTC final defeat and the hapless manner in which we lost, not to mention the massive failure of our top batters was shameful and unacceptable. It also clearly sent the message that how unprepared we were for the tournament and the more attractive IPL was clearly everyone’s priority (this includes the board, the selectors and the players). It appears that country has indeed been relegated to secondary status while Franchise cricket, the T-20 mania and the subsequent money has become paramount. There really needs to be a balance between these formats if we really value performance at the top level.
I am not trying to demean the shorter format but by the looks of it, it is obviously affecting our core value system and it appears that is slowly taking the sheen away from the most valuable format in the history of the game.
A Sunday in Sand
Dunbar did have moments of glory – a quite coastal town that has shades of North Berwick (the similarities are evidently visible), a very silent, sleepy town with the only salient features being the exquisite sand, the glittering waters and the semblance of sunshine.
A beautiful sight where the birds gang-ed up for a chit-chat
Sky. Blue.
Amidst all the ruins, I still aspire to be me.
Looking above doesn’t make me feel small. Rather, the indomitable spirit of the aerial demons cajole and provoke to take that leap beyond limitations and apprehensions.
Honestly, the above kind of undermines my situation at the moment, supersedes the ‘hope’ element and completely washes it away. I think the current vibes underlines ambiguity and perhaps present a widely distorted view of the immediate future. Nevertheless, hanging around from the top makes it look like a survivor though inside, I feel a hinge of vulnerability.
Never mind. That’s me, sorry if this didn’t seem like an ideal ‘night out’ statement. Signing off, Ta.
God’s 50!
When I walked in to the Lords museum in 2014, this was the first thing I saw, and you couldn’t miss it. And, that was just so enough and fulfilling and by all means a definitive ‘goosebump’ moment for a quintessential fanboy.
In fact, it kind of sums it up so spectacularly. ‘God of Cricket’ in ‘Lords’ as he prepares to leave the dressing room for one last time. And that sight remains immortalised in our lives.
Can’t say more, need not say more.
Sachin, wish you a very happy birthday ❤️🎂🍺🙏
Emotions Uncertain
The Storm
Some are visible, most of them are not.
It’s not the turbulence outside that bothers me, it’s the unknown which haunts you to the core. Perhaps the price you pay for being ambitious, or just the feeling that some things don’t work for you is beyond the factors of inevitability. You want to accept the otherwise, but you are not quite there to accept the order of the written (is it, already?).
You get in to a mode of self resistance, pessi-optimism and terrible planning mania. Well, none of it is my core attribute but a situation that evolves out of a surprise, boils down to a pothole of darkness and then provides a semblance of hope that ceases to dissipate and dissolve at the similar levels of uncertainty.
The path to achieve your dreams has never been easier. And the juggernaut to stay afloat, to remain relevant and to believe that I am valuable enough to steer the ship continues. Relentlessly.
Paradise in Mayhem – S01E02
Love
Cathy met Jacob when she was 5 years old. He was 11 then and used to spend a lot of time in his father’s bakery which was just adjacent to Cathy’’s. Their parents have been running the bakery business since the last 30 years, and have seen the worst since. Jacob lost his father last year to Cholera when a massive epidemic hit the town and took away lives. Cathy and Jacob have spent a lot of time together since their childhood and the past few years have seen them drawing closer to each other – emotionally. Obviously, their parents are oblivious of their proximity as their moist eyes have been busy wrapping up the pain and suffering around them, so the more intricate emotions in life took a backseat. But Cathy and Jacob are immersed in a tornado of love.
Survival
Cathy’s mom is rushing to the bakery as news just dropped that their bakery has been attacked by the soldiers on the other. In fact, the more depressing wave of news is that the southern part of the town was attacked and is in shambles, the bakery is just situated on the tip of the south. Cathy’s father left for the bakery in the morning since he had a consignment that was to be dispatched to the families in the north and the west – those areas were the worst affected since the dark days descended upon them. This piece of bombshell left Cathy’s mom in tatters as she rushed towards the vicinity of the bakery. She asked Cathy to stay at home, keep the doors and windows closed. But Cathy was unable to resist the temptation of this impending tragedy. She was dead scared, but did not want her mom to go alone. But her mom was not in a frame of mind to listen and Cathy was too struck to explain what she is going through. Her mom left, asking her to lock up and stay indoors.
2 Friends – Chapter 2
Jennifer’s father wants her to move to Cambridge for further studies and towards a more illustrious life. He firmly believes that moving to Cambridge will open up plenty of opportunities for her to grow and prosper. He also believes that this move will get her out of the shell and open up her life to a more social outlook where she can get herself acquainted with people and the wider society. But this is not what Jennifer wants. She wants to stay near her father, forever. Neither does she like the idea of breaking her reclusive nature to become a social animal. Her father loves her a lot but as any father would do, he wants her to become independent, have a life of her own and build her own future. Also, Jennifer doesn’t want to get in to the much raved social circles that her father is so proud to be a part of. Moreover, she isn’t ready to move out of Bangalore yet (though she was raised and spent substantial amount of her childhood in her aunt’s beach house in Goa).
Maya always had kindness and compassion embedded in her since childhood. Her dream is to move to Dehradun and work for a NGO (she has started working as trainee while she is pursuing her Bachelors). The very thought of giving back to the society would infuse an energy within her that knew no limits. Her conservative upbringing and middle class values were also instrumental in paving the way for her philanthropic mindset. Her parents though have a different take on her future. They want her to complete here studies and get married but Maya is quite a rebel in many ways. She doesn’t want to be stereotyped and is obviously not ready for domestic affairs to crush her dreams. And she is determined to follow her heart despite the resistance that surrounds her.
End of an Era
I have never seen Pele play but I am sure I would have loved him every bit if I was around then – his prodigious talent and the aura are testimonials to his greatness. No doubt, he is widely and inarguably considered to be the greatest ever.
For me, the pillars of greatness have retired (fallen is not the apt word) to kick a football in heaven.
RIP Sir, and Thank you – for the legacy and memoirs of this beautiful game.
She Said
For the Love of Cinema
@Lifeoholic 