Batman Forever

19^th December 2010 will ever be in the minds of many cricket fanatics, who have had an opportunity to see one of cricket’s prolific batsmen shining bright. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar also now becomes the first man to make 50 centuries in the history of Test cricket. Tendulkar has gone into a different zone and into the century mode. His 170-run partnership with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni came handy in a pressure cooker situation and Tendulkar now holds almost every conceivable batting record in the game, and never forget he also has 47 one-day international centuries to his name, which is soon waiting to reach a 50 mark too. It was certainly an exciting and a happening moment at the Centurion when the little master waged a lone battle and when that very single off a drive fetched his ton; emotions did take over from there.

As the crowd erupted with unbridled joy, Tendulkar, tired but composed, took off his helmet, looked skyward, and closed his eyes to offer a silent prayer. Hundreds of times have we seen this man raising his bat, but this one is very very special and close to ours hearts. The crowd gave him a standing ovation as the entire stadium erupted in euphoria while his teammates were simply ecstatic as they clapped and hugged each other, basking in the glory of their senior teammates. The Little Master said that the century of him has come in a right time when India needed it badly, and it was his father’s birthday yesterday. He dedicated this century to his father.

Tendulkar has always stood tall when it comes to performance and his batting speaks volumes and it’s perfectly apt to say actions speak louder than words. Indeed they do… for this man from Bombay, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar!

Maybe this ton ever doesn’t make any difference to the Brand Sachin, but it certainly and predominantly showcases one thing that Tendulkar now has reached a stage or a level where there is no comparison. Nobody can ever be compared with this very modest batting genius. Sachin and his records are on their way to immortality. This season has been a very productive year from the start and people, never forget the way he toyed with the clueless south-african bowlers to reach his double hundred off just 147 balls. Tendulkar never is yet another cricketer; he always is the best of the best! His 22-year long career has won him adulation to the point of worship from his millions of fans not just in India, but across the globe. Sachin Tendulkar is now a brand which gives hundred per cent quality every time and it is running faster than ever and harder as ever!

The news of the 50-ton feat spread as fast as a forest fire and the television channels beamed Sachin’s name a hundred times while the newspapers had the views of the present and former cricketers on this very milestone. Everybody seems to be excited but one man who did it all never lost his cool, temperament and modesty out there. It certainly comes with passion, it comes with experience, it comes with skill, performance and longevity. Who knows, even Don Bradman who had a test average of 99.94 would have lost his cool when the whole world shower praises and love upon him. But if at all there is one man who can handle it all, it’s the master himself.

Take a bow.. Sachincredible..Sach is class.. Sach is life!

To the Most Wonderful Grandfather,

As a child I have always loved him,

He is the person, who spent a lot of time with me,

To teach what I need to learn and gain;

The lessons in life he shared with me remain numerous,

And when they are spiced up with lot of love and care- I always was curious!

He was always one of the few strong willed people I have ever met,

Innumerable problems did he meet and many crisis he dealt with

Never was a sorrow-faced man nor of the gruelling nature;

Love, Care, Concern, God-fearing -define this man who manages to wear a smile every time you see him!

He is the person who brought my mother to earth;

Millions of times will I bow to him, who is mighty worth!

And the old-man goes there – who’s now all white- haired;

But still unchanged are his rapid steps and merry smile;

Countless thoughts, endless care, and sincerity in plenty – for which he ever had been known;

Endless special and heart whelming wishes from my heart, just for you to own!

Here comes my love and care wishing you on your birthday;

To such a gem of a person, who is at his best any day!!

An Ode To The Cassettes !!

Before the MP3 and iPod revolution; before file-sharing programmes on the Internet; before the rise of music fanatics and enthusiasts who went on to try their hand at the drums and guitar, there was a wildly successful wave that spread quickly : the cassette tape. Whether it was British rock or punk or the Top 40, music from cassette tapes and records will remain a cherished moment. In these post-modern days, when sleek mobile tech is in, the fact that cassettes still have a faithful fan following speaks volumes of its impact before it was dumped by the Gen-Xers.Today, with shorter childhoods and faster lifestyles, even the young are feeling the urge to turn back the clock to appreciate the days when the cassette was a huge hit. Let us take a U-turn back to those old days… when “iPods” had not been invented; when one electronic gadget ruled the roost.When I asked some of my friends about how things have changed, one of my seniors recalled, “I was a music freak back in the early 1990s. I used to buy Chinese Laundry, Howiee T, Dr Hyde, Rythme Nation, E.T.C tapes as they came out. I can never forget the classic cassette wars of Juice Crew vs Teddy Mohommed or Rythme Nation vs First Priority.”

With the introduction of the Walkman, being able to take my music with me and put on my headphones to create a private space, helped me cope with trying moments. Who can forget that black shaded version of the Sony Walkman!

Walk to the tune

The first generation of the Walkman was released way back in 1979 in Japan. Sony managed to sell 200 million iterations of the cassette Walkman during the product line’s 30-year period. After retiring the floppy disk, Sony has halted the manufacture and distribution of another now-obsolete technology: the cassette Walkman, the first low-cost, portable music player. The official announcement was delivered just one day ahead of the iPod’s ninth anniversary, and read, “although the decline of the cassette Walkman is attributed primarily to the explosive popularity of CD players in the 1990s, not the iPod”.

It took a little less than a decade after the decline of vinyl for a nostalgia movement to arise. In the mid-1990s, some bands would even have the top of their CD design take the form of an album or a 45. But I think we are slowly starting to experience a bit of CD nostalgia as well. Even though CDs are still present and available, people have started to stubbornly cling to them just like albums.

Though cassettes were a part of the music scene in the 1970s, they took off in the 1980s, finally outselling albums in 1983 at the height of the Michael Jackson mania. But while the album enjoyed a four decade-plus run as being the preferred medium for popular music, cassettes only enjoyed a eight-year run before CDs overtook them in 1991. If there is a movement for nostalgia for cassettes, it’s not the medium, but for the concept of freedom it offered to its listeners. For those who thought junior and high school were exercises in purgatory, a Walkman finally offered a little refuge. The medium also offered an exercise in freedom with the ability to create your own playlist from blank tapes.

I do feel the cassettes don’t need a nostalgia trip. They are still a practical medium. They are very durable; the tapes last for decades. I heard that some most recently released albums in the U.S. have been “TAPE-ONLY” releases. As essential as they were while we were growing up, it seems like cassettes were just the training wheels for what was to come. And people cannot attribute this tape-dump on the Gen-X. Of course no one would complain when they have the most advanced techie going into the iPods and when the iPods or music players also come with a video screen… that’s certainly something to cheer about.