The other side of 'Death'

There is one thing that instills fear into most of the people, DEATH. Death not necessarily one's own but also of the people that we love. What is Death?

To me it is a point at which a soul merely changes its address from a person's body to somewhere else, someplace better. After a death, people cry because they realise the fact that they will not meet their loved one again, they cry because they are bereft of that last chance to talk to the person now lying on the pyre, they cry because they understand that they will never again feel the warmth of that person's hug, they cry because the world without the presence of that person will never be the same again. That makes crying a somewhat selfish process after a death, try thinking about it from the perspective of the man who passed away, he would never be able to talk to all the people crying beside his body, he would miss the warmth of the 1000 hugs that are unanimously weeping for his one hug, he is now in a place where he won’t even know how to survive. Isn't that a grief that supersedes the sorrow of each one of us? 

This might offend many people but the truth is that the only thing that flashes across the mind after seeing a loved one dead is the idea of leading one's own life without the support that was just snatched away.

When I talk about a soul leaving the possession of a body to search for another place to live, I would not term this as death, death is the end of something. Leaving a body is not the end, it is actually the beginning of something new. For a soul which can explore the universe without any fetters, the body is a tether which keeps it grounded. We think that a dead body is tantamount to the person’s extinction on the Earth but that is where we go wrong. Look at the leaves of a tree from a distance, they would appear stationary to us, we only feel their existence when the wind blows and those leaves make a pleasant sound but never do we say that those leaves are dead. The same is the case with a person’s soul, leaving a body makes us believe that the end has come but that is just the stationary leaf stage for a human being, reminiscing their time with us is the wind that blows and that corroborates that the person is still very much present around us. Then why do we call a person dead when it is merely his body that stops functioning?

The negative connotation that is attached to the word ‘death’ is what troubles me. When we believe that there is a God present around us even after we have not seen him ever, how can we say that a person does not exist just because we cannot see him physically around us? 

What if there is a proper functioning world for the souls that part ways from their bodies and the process of birth there takes place when the person leaves this Earth. That way the death of a person on this planet is actually the day he is born somewhere else. The pain of seeing the body of a loved one lying in front of you is excruciating in the literal sense but then the realisation that their soul is off to a place, where the existence is not limited to two legs, two hands, one head and one heart, makes you believe that they are now free from this prison called a body present in the jurisdiction of this World. 

'Waiting for the perfect shade of blue' - Unmukt Chand

An Interview by Utsav Chaudhary and Arjun Chauhan

He rose to fame when he successfully led the Under-19 Indian side to the 2012 World Cup title in Australia. Since then,Unmukt Chand has captained India A, wrote a book and earned a valuable IPL contract with the Rajasthan Royals. We, Arjun Chauhan and I, get into a candid conversation with him about the things that matter the most in his life.

Utsav: We have seen your journey as a player, from the bottom to where you are now, the change is commendable.

Arjun: But as a person there is no change that is visible to us, walk us through that?

Unmukt: (chuckles) That depends on what you think of me as a person, throw some light on that first?

Utsav: Hard-working, humble, helpful and a bit hysterical. So the 4 Hs.

Unmukt: I would disagree with hysterical but other than that you both know how my chacha and my parents are with me. They never let the success get to my head especially mummy, and I actually owe everything to them for applying the carrot and stick method on me which made me work hard. These 3 people have sacrificed their lives to make me a cricketer and the least I can do for them is by being a good one.

Utsav: Define happiness.

Unmukt: Achieving short term goals on time is happiness. It is also the time I get to spend with my family and you guys. ‘Excelsior’ is my motto in life and it has always been that, (laughs) ‘Silver Linings Playbook’ just gave me a proper term for it.

Arjun: What are your goals for the future?

Utsav: And the short term and long term goals which you just mentioned.

Unmukt: Reading a few chapters of a book daily, following my training schedule are some of the short term goals which change daily. One long term goal was to write a book and I am happy that I achieved that, obviously the biggest goal is to play for India, so I am working hard for it and waiting for the perfect shade of blue to come my way.

Utsav: What do you mean by the ‘perfect shade of blue’?

Unmukt: I have represented my nation as an Under 19 player, an U-23 player and in the ‘A’ tours. But what I wore then were the lighter shades of blue, even wearing the dark blue of Delhi Daredevils and was a lighter shade for me. The blue Indian jersey is the perfect shade of blue to me and the dream is to wear it as soon as possible and then continue to embrace it.

Utsav: Rahul Dravid is one of the great cricketers ever, what do you see in store for yourself when you play under his mentorship in Rajasthan Royals?

Unmukt: I am very excited to be a part of the double RRs this season and especially playing under the guidance of Rahul Dravid. Having a mentor like him by my side would help me improve my game a lot as I still have to walk a lot to achieve the image of a cricketer that I have in my mind for myself and Rahul Dravid is the right path towards it.

Arjun: We will face a problem of space when we’ll write this, so talk about your book and conclude by talking about us.

Unmukt: ‘The Sky is the Limit’ is about my journey to the Under-19 world cup where I have penned down the things that go inside the mind of a teenage cricketer playing for the country at the international level, it has excerpts from my personal diary as well and about you two, Utsav goes ‘moo’, Arjun goes ‘quack’ but what does Unmukt think about his best friends, no one gets to know.

Time to Hang His boots: Graeme Smith

When I say the name Graeme Smith, the image of an elegant left handed South African opener would be formed in your mind. A few days ago he retired from international cricket but only after serving his country and the game of cricket for 12 long years.

Now that he has retired, he would spend his nights reminiscing his glorious career and not strategize for the next match. Let’s take a hypothetical situation where he sits down in his study room after retirement and writes, in his journal, an account of the journey he has had as a cricketer and as a successful captain, in fact the most successful captain.

Some day. Some month. Some year after March 2014 (doesn’t matter now)

As I begin to register a monumental day of my life here, the only thing that flashes in my mind is the time, 12 years ago; when as a youngster I was given an opportunity to represent my nation at the highest level. Yes, the thing that should trouble me at the moment is the fact that brings me vis-a-vis to reality, I am a former cricketer now, I will no longer be able to don my favorite color, green. But it does not, I look back at the time when I was a left-handed South African opener with a dream to play for his country and I never would try to forget that. I have come miles ahead from where I was back then, 12 years is a long journey. People will always show you what you have missed upon; I would rather look at what I have achieved.

When I was given an opportunity to captain my national squad, it was a big responsibility for me. Usually a 22-year old player in a strong team fights for a place in the 11 while I was lucky enough to not only be the top 11 but also lead the other 10. Being the youngest captain ever for your nation, I had my critics back then and why wouldn’t they criticize this decision? If South Africa happens to assign the job to another youngster despite having senior players in the team, even I might get skeptical. Moving on, I never anticipated that I would go on to be the captain for a whopping one hundred and nine matches, which is a world record I have heard and also my team winning 52 matches under my leadership is another one. Wow! Way to go Graeme, so you do have stories to tell your grandchildren about.

It was yesterday only when I took out one of the old journals from the mid-2000s and read it, it turns out I was confident about me achieving success in my work. I have always enjoyed my cricket; facing the new ball against the most lethal bowlers in the world is not easy but I always liked that challenge. Why would they call a person a cricketer if he is not up for new battles in the field of cricket? Well, I have remained a humble cricketer throughout my life but it is time to actually celebrate all the things that I have achieved in the past 12 years. A steady average of almost 49 for 117 Tests is not an easy task if you couple it with the 109 Tests that I have captained along. The pressure that is there gets you on many occasions but as I mentioned above, challenge.

After I announced my retirement I got many calls from people talking about me talking this decision in haste. Well, I am only 33 years old now and just as they were skeptical about me being handed over the captaincy at a very young age, they are criticizing my decision to retire at a young age again. So am I the youngest captain to retire for this country? Hahaha!!! but on a serious note I can never repay what cricket has given me and I thought that I had now taken enough from this game and carrying on any further would only increase the baggage of favors on me that would make it even more difficult for me to pay back.

As I write this with a heavy heart, I am the happiest person in the world. Confusing? I believe that every person in this world is here for a purpose and I am happy that I have attained my purpose of setting up an example in front of people about how to lead. That statement did sound a bit haughty but it wasn’t, it came straight from the heart with all the benign intentions. As I conclude this part of my time capsule as I call it, I would like to say this to the future me who would read this without teeth and proper eye sight that no matter how much debilitated you are at your old age, at the age of 33 you were termed as the best captain to lead South Africa and had world records in this field which might still be standing tall then. Captaining South Africa was the best thing that could have happened to you and smile because this is one thing for which your future generations will be proud of you.

Graeme Craig Smith

Captain Emeritus, Republic of South Africa

No Results Found: The Absence of a Quality Spinner in South Africa

The wounds inflicted upon the best Test team in the world are fresh, South Africa have lost the recently concluded Test series against Australia, at home 2-1. Their fast bowling department failed to contain the Australian batsmen and their own batting just couldn’t stand long enough in front of the Aussie pacemen. But there was this one department about which no one actually cared for, the spin bowling department. In fact whenever there is a series in South Africa, the role of a spinner is never really talked about. What is it that makes the rainbow nation colorless for spinners; foreign spinners have still tasted a little success but what about the spinners from this country?

Where are they?

A rescue team was sent to South Africa to find good quality spin bowlers that had been missing from the team since very long. They searched everywhere, through the forests of the past, through the metropolitans of the present and in the end came up with the following report.

“After wandering through the woods in the past, our team was unable to find any spin bowler that could be called world class. While searching we did find a few people who stomped their claims but their specifications did not meet with the ones we were looking for. Pat Symcox, Nicky Boje, Paul Harris were some of the names that came up but all three of them were average spinners, had they not been that they would not have gone into oblivion into the woods. One person who was different from all the rest was Paul Adams. His unorthodox action and style to bowl was noticeable to the world but then again the nation doesn’t really breed spinners here and he also drifted away from the main stream slowly.

When nothing was to be found in the forest, we thought of continuing our search towards the big cities of the present. We were expecting a lot from this place and we even got some clues that led us to Johan Botha first but as it turns out he is no where seen on the international front. For a brief amount of time when he was named the captain of the T20 squad, everyone thought that he was here to stay. Now the responsibility of this department is with the leg spinner Imran Tahir and the left arm orthodox Robin Peterson, who again are not the ones that can be called world class.

Since the team started to play again after the apartheid, South Africa have always been amongst the best sides in the world. By producing world class fast bowlers and batsmen, wicket-keepers and fielders, they have contributed heavily to the world of cricket but as per the search none of this contribution has been in the department of spin. When we analyzed the pitches that are available here are fast and bouncy but are not the ones that cannot harbor a world class spinner. Countries like England and Australia who have similar pitches have seen some great spinners but not South Africa. The current bowlers are highly criticized by the experts; Sunil Gavaskar for instance berated the Indian Team for getting out on a bowler like Peterson.

During the final stages of our search, we found Aaron Phangiso, a left arm spinner who showed some promise during the Champions League 2 years ago but since then he has been out of the picture. Playing for Highveld Lions Phangiso showed some real promise but adhering to the South African pattern in spin bowling, he also disappeared when we rooted him to be world class.

The team has always relied on the fast bowlers to do the job and this is one of the reasons why they haven’t yet produced a top level spinner. And for a nation obsessed with other disciplines, this one certainly takes a back seat.

So at the concluding part of this report our team can say that after an extensive search for a slow bowler in South Africa, we returned empty handed which has happened to the rescue team for the first time as opposed to the search missions in other countries but unfortunately we have to end the report with the bitter truth that in South Africa for a quality spin bowler there was ‘no result found.’ ”

On the highway again: The resurrection of the Aussies

There was a time when the Australians were considered invincible and the whole cricketing world was in awe of them. This started during the late 90s and during this phase, they went on to win 3 consecutive World Cups (1999, 2003, 2007) while also dominating the Test domain for a major part of it. Players like, Ricky Ponting, Steve Waugh, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and many more played as a team and became the catalysts to success.

Following the retirement of these players, the Australian domination was coming to an end. From recruiting new players to roping in new support staff, the team was given a complete makeover and just like any person who has just learnt how to drive, this team was also afraid of joining the busy road at a busy hour. They preferred driving in their own neighborhood with guidance. As a result, teams like India, England and South Africa were touted as the new rulers of this kingdom. When these amateur drivers joined the busy roads in India and England in 2013, they were flummoxed totally and the result was their abysmal 2013 season outside home.

But only recently in the Ashes series followed by the One-day series against England and now in the Test series against South Africa, the Australian team has shown signs of massive improvement, enough to call it a resurrection of this team. The openers, Chris Rogers and David Warner have been the names behind the success in the batting department and a solid opening pair sets up a good base for the rest of the team, Warner corroborated his reputation as a premier batsman now with consecutive hundreds in the third Test against South Africa. They are followed by Alex Doolan, who is new but has shown great potential in the domestic circuit before joining the team. The middle order is stabilized by their skipper Michael Clarke, who needs no further statements to justify his importance in this team. Shane Watson, Steve Smith and Brad Haddin are the players on whom this team relies comfortably in case the top order fails and they have delivered that for the team in the past.

The major transformation in this team has been the fast bowling department, where Mitchell Johnson has emerged as one of the most lethal bowlers and his consistency over the recent series has been commendable. Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon also contribute heavily towards the team’s success. Their support staff, including the coach Darren Lehmann and bowling coach Craig McDermott has been working on forming the perfect combination for the team and we can say that they have finally hit the jackpot. Inclusion of Shane Warne in the team as a spin bowling consultant can be really helpful for the team as the World T20 is just around the corner in Bangladesh where spin comes in handy.

A team’s quality is judged by its ability to win overseas. India and England who were dominating the cricket world recently failed to deliver the same performance, as they did at home, overseas. South Africa, the current No.1 Test squad has been the only team that conquered the nations overseas. The Australian side which sat on the throne for many years was known to win the matches outside home and that was the reason for the domination that they unleashed on the world.

Before the beginning of the Ashes series in Australia, the experts and the media brushed aside the chances of this Australian side to even give a tough fight to the English team, these hitherto unknown heroes proved everyone otherwise by inflicting a white-wash on the visitors. Even the chances of them winning in South Africa against a world class side were next to nothing according to many people but by giving a very hard time to the home team this Australian side has announced themselves on the world front again.

For they have learnt how to drive, practiced a lot in the neighborhood and are now fit to join the traffic, they have chosen to be on the highway leading to a kingdom that was once theirs.

Content with vicarious success: The support staff

If we go back in time, when India won the 1983 World cup in England, it was a huge moment in the world of cricket. Now if I ask you to recall the names of the players involved in this feat, it would be done within a minute but most of us would fail to recollect the names of people who were indirectly responsible for the victory, the support staff. Someone who saw this momentous achievement live might cudgel their brains and put forth a name but for us (born after 1983) it is almost impossible to think without the internet.

When I talk about the support staff, I include everyone from the Team’s coach to their performance analyst. The physiotherapist, the bowling/batting/fielding coach, the team manager, the mental conditioning coach and the fitness trainer all form a support staff these days. It is the effort of the players coupled with the arduous efforts of these people that put a team on the victorious path. While the credit of a positive performance is rightly given to the team members, the support staff on the other hand is content with the vicarious success that they get.

Till last year the Australian team was down and out, they were losing almost every match they played outside their home turf and those defeats were a testament to the mismatch in forming combinations in the new squad that was just exposed to the ruthless cricketing world. The appointment of Darren Lehmann as their coach after sacking Micky Arthur before the Ashes series in England turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the Kangaroos.

Though they lost the Ashes in England, their performance in India during the One Day series was commendable. Lehmann along with the bowling coach, Craig McDermott has transformed the Australian side. For once when the experts around the world started saying that the downfall of Australia has started, they bounced back and are now the No.1 team in ODIs and for a team that was termed as underdogs, they are giving a very hard time to the No.1 Test side, South Africa.

The resurgence of Mitchell Johnson as a consistent lethal wicket taking fast bowler over the past few months should be credited to Craig McDermott and his strategy to use the bowlers in a more result oriented way where Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle create pressure for the opposition by putting a leash on the flow of runs and Johnson on the other end intimidates the batsman and gets rewarded with the wickets.  The emergence of Chris Rogers at the top order and Steven Smith in the middle order adds stability to the team and bringing out the best from players that have only started at the Test level should be applauded and credited to the captain, coach and the support staff.

Sachin Tendulkar, during his emotional retirement speech in Mumbai dedicated a large chunk of it to the support staff that worked with him over the years. He thanked all the analysts, trainers, physiotherapists and doctors, accepting that without the efforts of these people he would not have carried on for the 24 years that he did.

The people who contribute towards the development of a player start the process from the very beginning for fitness and rectifying technical errors and play a major role in a cricketer’s life. India’s U19 World cup captain, Unmukt Chand, in his book ‘The sky is the limit-My journey towards the World Cup’ credited his team’s achievement to the efforts put in by the coach, Bharat Arun and his support staff who made the team go through rigorous training to form a cohesive unit.

The appreciation that should be given to the coaches and the support staff is not yet delivered to them in Cricket, as when a team is on a winning streak the major part of the credit is taken by the players but during a team’s abysmal phase the first thing that is done by the board is sacking the coach. In football, the credit of a team’s win is shared equally by the team players and the manager for the think-tank behind a team is mostly the manager and the coach. The time when a manager shifts from one-club to another is given a much better media space than when a coach is changed in a team in cricket.

The job of a manager in football or a support staff in cricket is an onerous one. A player, when on the field has to think and perform only one role that is assigned to him but these people sitting outside have to devise a role for all the players and make sure that they implement the same on the field. Try playing a football game in the Manager mode on your play station and you would know.

The reward for the support staff of any team in cricket is long overdue but these people do not actually strive for media attention, they are content with the vicarious pleasure they derive when their team wins. Shan Warne, as he joins Australia as a spin bowling consultant is in the media for long but has anyone talked about the efforts of McDermott and Lehmann?

THINK!!!!!!