12 Days of Cricketing Controversies

On the first day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

A Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the second day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Two Reverse Swinging projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the third day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the fourth day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the fifth day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the sixth day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the seventh day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Seven topics of cricketing unrest

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the eighth day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Eight Undone Reviews

Seven topics of cricketing unrest

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the ninth day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

Nine tourism woes

Eight Undone Reviews

Seven topics of cricketing unrest

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the 10^th day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

10 Tweety worries

Nine tourism woes

Eight Undone Reviews

Seven topics of cricketing unrest

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the 11^th day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

11 bouncer uproars

10 Tweety worries

Nine tourism woes

Eight Undone Reviews

Seven topics of cricketing unrest

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

On the 12^th day of Christmas

Cricket sent to me:

12 sledging antics

11 bouncer uproars

10 Tweety worries

Nine tourism woes

Eight Undone Reviews

Seven topics of cricketing unrest

Six towel-clad spots

Five umpiring conundrums

Four homework subjects

Three stinging slaps to the Root

Two Reverse Swinging Projectiles

And a Broad non-walkout after hitting the willow tree

The Social Pariah Called Woman

She tempts,

She tantalises

The world says

Making her hide,

Behind the veiled obscurity

Still dissatisfied

Yet discontented

Heaped with restrictions,

She’s mocked

For her choices

For her picks

Nothing but impositions

These though,

Of society

And its farcical paragons

Sabotaging expressions

Suppressing inherency

Passing on the blame,

Playing a queer game

Blotting the sufferer

Safe-guarding the perpetrator

An irony,

A paradox

Prevailing all over,

Like none other

Of Cricketers and Cricket Fans: Transition from the Present to the Past

Epochs do come to an end;

Eras do come to a standstill

For the barest second

Time does halt...

Allowing the world to soak it in,

Facts as they resonate

Allowing a glimpse of the future,

In the present to percolate

Of a difference,

Of a chasm

Huge and wide
Never to be bridged,

Ever again

The muting

Of sheer subtlety and class;

The deadening

Of awing strokes and shots

Never to be replicated

But in memories

Those that’ll linger

Yet incomparable,

To reality until now

Fading away quickly

To a past,

A time-span bygone...

Harry Potter and the World of Continuity and Surety: A Fan's Musing

It's been close to seven years that the last Harry Potter book was published but somehow their magic seems to be as potent as ever, never fading away. The septet of books continue to be an example of literary genius; perhaps as effervescent as some of the masterpieces that have graced the language and the domain of English literature, time and again. 

Perhaps then, this was the reason that the author's second venture with the pen didn't translate to the success of its predecessor. Those who eagerly bought 'The Casual Vacancy' were treated to a different brand of story; set in the contemporary times, with no unusual words or concoctions to entertain the reader. Not that the book lacked anything - it made for quite a satisfying read, to be honest - but the fact that the world went into it expecting a Potter-esque saga did the author and the book a grave disservice. It has to be then said that a work of literature along the lines of Harry Potter come but once in a lifetime and even then, one knows naught whether the crowd would even be moved by it. 

When I was in school and reading Harry Potter was done carefully during the after-school hours, I always wondered as to why Charles Dickens and Shakespeare had to grace my English textbook. The words and sentences were so laced with heavy metaphors and euphemisms, not to forget double negatives and what-not's, that spells and curses made for an easy read. As educational paradigms progressed onward to colleges and universities, the same dichotomy prevailed. This time even more effusively than before considering that the Potter audiences had multiplied by leaps and bounds what with movies to add into the mix. 

Though I am no authority to state about the incorporation of Harry Potter in the school and college syllabus, there's no denying that the four Potter books - Rowling had published only four novels by that time - enriched the overall quality of my reading. The transition in the tint and texture of the content was seamless. The mindset and the way of thinking of the 11-year old Potter was brought out in clarity as was the conundrum surrounding him in his teenage years and thus made for instant connect with not just me, but also scores of other teenagers like me. And not just for teenagers and youngsters alone but also for adults and aged readers who found the book an equally good escape route from their mundane existence. 

Where audiences marvelled at the ingenuity of J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbits and Middle-earth - the plot subject set in an almost similar magical domain - and the evergreen aspect of a paradigm-altering fight between the good and the evil, the same same crusade fought against a totally different backdrop; smoothly altered to present the central character's changing perspective of the world and all that it comprised, accounted for Harry Potter to be truly anointed as 'the Chosen One' by his fans.

It isn't often that one finds penmanship that fits the idea of perfection; suited to every generation. As subjective as the appeal of books is, there are certain books that can be read by anyone at any time, irrespective of age or passage of time. Their qualitative allure never gets tarnished and one always finds something new to talk about it, even after one has extrapolated its contents, from start to finish, many times over. 

And that's what's happening with Harry Potter now after J.K. Rowling's announcement about scripting a movie about 'Fantastic Beasts' set in her famous magical world. The palpable excitement is justified as are the continuous outpouring of Potter fans about their expectations and predictions about the movie. 

But as enthusiastic as the crowds are, the movie will only provide a peripheral connection with the magical world that we know about. And this peripheral connect, in spite of all the excitement that the movie has generated, can in no way make up for the end of the Potter saga that somehow seemed to be abrupt in spite of its finite conclusion of 'All was Well.' To think contrarily, would again be a strike against the author's creative impetus that gave us the magnum opus in the first place.