CLOCKED UP!

Last week, it was all over in the news. It did manage to grab a lot of eyeballs, simply because
something seemed to have challenged the celebrated E=mc²! Though intricate and baffling, it did give me a reason to come up with my next blog. And I am more than happy about it.
So, the episode panned out like this: CERN physicists were firing neutrinos from a particle accelerator n Geneva down a 1km beam line in towards the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. The aim was to test the frequency of oscillations and to measure neutrino velocity to a greater accuracy. At Gran Sasso, a detector instrument called OPERA measured the neutrinos. Methodically, the speed of neutrinos is measured and compared to the speed of light by subtracting the expected time for light o travel the distance from the time for the neutrinos to travel the same distance. Surprisingly, the journal article ‘CERN neutrinos to Gran Sasso’ recorded this figure as a positive value of 60.7 nanoseconds. Stunning indeed! And may be, a path breaking revelation.

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MELODY BiTeS...!

It was a usual Friday afternoon wrapped up in languor and idleness. Outside, it drizzled incessantly and inside, the air felt murky and cheerless. Little to choose from, I, obviously, latched on to one of the stations on Radio FM to help the seconds tick away a bit faster...

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A LOVE Affair...

 A walk down the memory lane... and I remember my romance with cricket started in late 2000- probably during an ICC Knockout Event that had coincided with Dussehra. That match versus Sri Lanka left me asking for more and whetted my appetite for the game, turning me into a cricket freak!   

Before that, obviously, it was quite customary for me to sit beside Papa and keep wondering, while looking through his glasses, what was so interesting and engaging about those men- all clad in white- who took to the field. I do have vague memories of Sharjah and the 'Sachin Special' at WC'99- England- flashing across our 'very recently bought' coloured T.V. set. However, when the journey began as an eight-year old, there was something about this game that caught my fancy- or- may be it was already etched in my DNA- who knows? One-dayers became a regular at home- they were women-friendly and easier to celebrate. The Natwest win'02, the unforgettable WC'03, the Indo-Pak series'04 and the rest that followed were always a treat to watch. Yet I still had two tough nuts to crack- Test cricket and Rahul Dravid...because I knew the former was incomplete without the latter. With the euphoria that had surrounded the Eden win in 2001, I could sense the enormity of the longer-version of the game and with time, it became possible for me to appreciate the act of 'having won after following-on'. Besides, there was something intriguing about Jammy- I knew the face because I loved Kissan Jam. But there was something more to him that I felt I needed to explore. And all this after 'THE WALL' emerged at Adelaide in 2003. One particular word that floated around on MTV was 'awesome'. And indeed, he was! Needless to say, Test Cricket completely took over. This was uncharacteristic of a girl who had never been very tomboyish! No wonder, I fell for the gentleman's game and not for a sport like football.

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BEYOND THE TRICOLOUR

With the nation gearing up for its 64th I-Day and drawing closer to that critical mark - the year 2020, I fancy myself shooting a panoramic view of the waters of this great Indian brook whose journey, on the face of it, has been laudable yet naive, carrying huge hopes and aspirations downstream. The new millennium did witness an upsurge in the endeavours of the countrymen, as also it did in the other key aspects of the country. But the questions are still lurking - "Are we really in? Have we made it LARGE?"

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CLASS ACT

Rahul Dravid once again sent a message across to his fans and critics alike - that for a mastermind, IT’S NEVER OVER!!! To see him back in his BEST was so special and to watch him bat like a maestro with the same composure and poise was still more satisfying.

An epitome of commitment, consistency and class, Rahul Dravid is a cut above he rest - a man of sense and simplicity entwined with humility and chasteness. Recalling Brian Lara’s words - “If I’d someone to bat for my life, it would be Rahul” - I would say RD is the best thing to have happened to cricket. He is EXCELLENCE PERSONIFIED - one who has glorified cricket into an art with such diligence and craftsmanship that it has raised him to the pedestal of PLAYER PERFECT. The deftness with which he executes his shots reveals what it takes to wear the crown of exemplariness. As a keen fan of cricket, I have always fancied his cover drives and pull shots for their immaculateness, perfect timing and authenticity of technique. Every time his cherry clears the fence, it’s not just a simple flick, it is an ENGINEERED STROKEPLAY!

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WHERE PARALLELS MEET...

Leafing through the pages of an atlas, I could see the whole world lay flat in black and white and there in the east sat a teeny yet beautiful landmass drawn in outline that captured my fascination. Well, I bet it won’t need a geographer’s mind to fathom the niceties of this country because India embraces every traveller with an intimacy- truly priceless and timeless!

This is a nation who might have spent her bygone years weaving the strings of accord out of a spectrum of cultures. However, the ‘nation of a billion’ doesn’t cease being vivid and colourful. Carrying within herself a battling history, India has taken her baby-steps towards modernity. Today we Indians crave for the golden touch of the West. Kids shop at the LILLIPUT; stuff like GAP and L’Oreal have become a commonplace at the glittering malls! Teens sit out to bite into pizzas and chilly prawns while adults are seen enjoying themselves a punch of ‘bubbly’ champagne. Still they can’t leave behind the ‘homely’ aroma of KASHMIRI MIRCH! As the dusk wears on, one can see wicks being lighted near the sacred Tulsi plant in almost every nook of a ‘mohalla’. This ‘Indianess’ is pure; modernity pretends to be purer. What comes out is a cute blend of innocence and pretence!

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OPENING SPELL

Shuttling between various stations of life that start from textbooks and novels and finish at music, cricket and facebook, sometimes one gets caught in a strange web and ends up losing sense of time.

All this being a part of modern life, I have no complaints whatsoever. But may be, now, it's time for me to stop, sit back and give a green signal to my brain cells. And writing is something I thoroughly enjoy. Being no professional blogger myself, these are only a few baby-steps that might just go on in completing the bigger picture someday. The blog might appear like a collage of thoughts for I'm trying to include some of my previous write-ups too. Some of the posts might sound juvenile, immature or biased. So, just spare a thought for me- I am just a school pass-out! However, I hope my blogs will be fun to read and a simple way to love, live and share.

By the way, this is Nikita Vipul @ nikitaCalling :)