the year that was

i was supposed to write this two weeks back but it kept getting delayed. finally i decided it's high time and since i still have few hours before i leave to catch up the play "kaifi aur main" in the evening, i had come to the office (yes !! and that too on a sunday since i don't have intenet at home) to write this post. after thinking over the happenings of 2006 for some time, unlike what i wrote at the beginning of my previous post, i won't call these "favorite" moments. these are just some events that happened during last year and left a mark on me in some way or the other. some of them might look very vague to the readers but here i go.

1. fifa world cup 2006

so the golden trophy travelled back to europe this time (i won a weekender gift voucher for giving the correct answer "germany" while watching a match @ brigade road CCD at time of my internship during the 2002 world cup :P) and the organizers made sure that all the hype surrounding the tournament doesn't go in vain. now i haven't seen all the world cups but for me without doubt this was the best. fabulous stadiums were chosen for the matches, big live screens were put up at numerable venues across german cities (the moving screen on the boat in frankfurt was really innovative) and players made sure that they didn't break the heart of their fans across the globe. relatively new teams like ghana, ivory coast, australia, japan played fearlessly & with conviction against their big rivals and if not for a last minute foul (or was it a dive ?) on fabio grosso resulting in a penalty from which fransesco totti scored (with ease as always), australia could have ended the world cup dreams of italy there itself.

even though i supported germany in the semi-finals against italy and almost cried when they lost after holding italy for almost 120 minutes (grosso scored a brilliant goal in the last minute when match was heading for penalty shootout after remaining goal-less even after extra time), i think they deserved to win the cup. coming to the tournament with the media criticism surrounding the match-fixing scandal that rocked their domestic league, most believed that they won't be able to play good. but showing great wit, determination & fighting spirit on the field they proved all their critics & media wrong. conceding only one goal in 6 matches (and that too an own goal) on their way to the final, they actually brought the famous term "sicilian defense" to life on the field.

while this was the last world cup for some of the great footballers, it was also the first one for the new breed that has already gained recognition in their domestic leagues. players like christiano ronaldo, robie van persie, cesc fabregas, wayne rooney, lucas podolski, lionel messi will make sure that in the years to come, the fans won't miss the departed. even in the "best young player award" category there was so much competition this time and i think ronaldo would have won it over podolski if not for the media criticism following his involvement in rooney's red card episode in the quarter final. but then zidane also won the "best player award" even after receiving a red card in the final (turning point of the match, france lost it there itself) following his fracas with matterazi ?? or was it more like a farewell to the great footballer who single handedly (or should i say "headedly", brazil will never forget those 2 killer goals he scored with headers in 1998 final) took france to glory in 1998 world cup & made a mockery of brazilian side in the quarter finals this year also ?? anyways let's not discuss about it, as always "judge's decision" is final in this case too.

i will conclude this (and i can see a smile on your face, i now this was too boring for some) by something which touched me most during this world cup. and it was the wholehearted welcome shown by german people to all the visiting fans, they played the perfect host. the arrogance & indifference that is regularly associated with germany was thankfully missing in their home fans. after the semi-final loss, they gave a standing ovation to their team even with tears in their eyes & were so enthusiastic & jubiliant when germany comfortably won against portugal to get 3rd place. it was a display of great sporting spirit & patriortism in its purest form. and the farewell they gave to the team & klinsman (german coach who was highly criticized earlier for bringing a different style of game to the team) by frolicking the streets with "danke" written over their shirts was simply awesome. i for one, take this opportunity to thank fifa for organizing such a lively world cup & to the german & visiting fans for making it such a big success that even the world soccer's governing body took notice & deservingly gave its annual Fair Play Award to the 2006 World Cup fans (in recognition of what it called a 'highly impressive example of unity and understanding between different peoples').

as expected, i was not able to complete my post on sunday (thanks to my slow writing speed) and so sat after the office hours to complete it today. here we go again.

2. (pit)master prince

this story is a perfect inspiration for all those who aspire to do something great it life, it shows how a small undeliberate act can bring nation wide fame to your personality. so the story unfolds in the red soil of kurukshetra (18 bloody days of mahabharata is enough to retain the colour for ages) where a little known kid named prince (unaware that he is about to get "king" like iconic status) fell into a 50-60 feet deep pit some evening and all hell break loose. within hours all media channels rushed to the spot trying to get a glimpse of the destiny child (i don't think many 5-year kids would survive after falling from such height), thankfully enough they didn't portray him as a possible avatar of lord vishnu who had come to rid the world of pollution & corruption.

anyways so full fledged attempts began with the villagers trying to get the kid out of the pit, and when they failed the military was finally called to rescue. minutes became hours and hours became days while the entire nation prayed for the well-being of the kid. there were non-stop aaratis happening at all temples in the country, all big politicians were sending their good-lucks (for the first time in years, politicians of different parties working for the same cause, really commendable !!) for the safe rescue of the kid and all the tv channels were giving a minute by minute account of the happenings in & around that pit of kurukshetra (won't be surpised if the local parties vow to turn it into a world-heritage site during the next elections, poor kauravs & pandavas will be crying that day feeling ignored by the people & jealous of the kid :P). i am sure if the kid hadn't been safely rescued by our military people, this entire single episode could have become the longest running serial with the highest TRP rating beating all the sas-bahus of ekta-kapoor's world.

finally after spending close to 50 hours, all the while feeling proud of the fact that he has brought the nation to a stand-still, master kid came out of the pit unscathed. "ghee ke deeye" were lit across homes in kurukshetra as if shri rama has returned from another "van-vaas", there was a party like atmosphere across the streets witnessed only when india defeats bangladesh by 1 run/wicket in the final over of some cricket match and am sure big-scale "aatish-baazi" would have happened at the offices of bjp/congress as if it was the birthday of atal-ji or sonia-ji. i for once thought of slapping the kid if i was around and asking him what was on his mind while taking the plunge into the pit, i somehow was not able to imagine a 5 year falling in an open pit for any good reason, i really wonder if 5 year olds are so dumb. the media attention didn't end here itself and when master prince felt a little "uneasy" a few days later (may be he ate too much mud lying in the pit all those hours), all surrounded him with their cameras asking him & his family how he was doing.

anyways what this entire incident left me wondering was what would have happened to the kid had it not drawn the attention of the media. i am sure that if not for the media coverage, the kid had very little chances of coming out alive from the pit. it was only because of the continuous telecasts on the television (however boring & painful it had become) that the nation came to know of the incident in an otherwise ignored town and the rescue mission came to life. media is a very powerful tool and if used for good cause like this one (i have already written about the role of media in the jessica lal case in my previous post), can actually do good for our country. so rather than showcasing the bday parties of politicians & engagement celebrations of filmstars, it should judiciously try to bring forth the issues of the masses so that problems are solved at the root level & our nation can prosper.

3. judiciary verdicts

i had dedicated my previous entire post to this cause, please refer to it.

4. mumbai train blasts

serial blasts took place in the jam-packed first class compartments of local trains in mumbai on the evening of july 11th and the world was never the same for innumerable families. i remember that i had gone as usual to have some evening snacks and when i came back to my seat, was surprised to see most of the people staring on the tv screen on the trading disk. i was shocked to hear that a bomb has blasted in the local train. within next 30 minutes while most of us hadn't come out of the shock of this news, there were news of many more blasts in different trains. it was as if almost all the stations on the western track had been targetted by the terrorists. most of the people on the floor were making frantic calls to check for the well being of their family members who commute by the local trains around that time but not to much avail as telephone network had been cut-off deliberately by the authorities to prevent panic from spreading (i still don't think this was a wise decision, news was all over the place anyways and cell phone was the only means for people to check for the safety of their family members), there were a few who were still busy doing their trades (so as to meet their daily profit targets).

i came back home early and tried calling my home but still no network, hoping all the while that they were not much worried since i stayed very close to office then and used an auto-rickshaw daily to commute but almost shuddered at the thought of those parents whose children used the local trains and were killed in the blasts. finally late towards the night, was able to talk to my parents & friends and felt better for some time. switched on the tv, saw the helpless state of people who had suffered injuries & the families whose members died, couldn't control my emotions this time around. i was all alone at that time, no friends around (and both my room-mates were out of india) to talk too and so i kept watching television for some time. media was showing how people staying close to the bomb-affected stations had rushed to the help in their full capacity, felt happy for some time having seen the solidarity of people, there is indeed some good left in this world.

next day was a different day. people were back to work, local trains were back on tracks and allthough apprehensive, commuters were using them to reach their destinations. mumbaikars fight back, spirit of mumbai never dies - headlines like these were on all television channels, inevitable comparions were made to the serial blasts that took place in the city in 1993 & how the city was functional like ever the very next day. all this is perfectly true and having stayed in other big cities like kolkata & bangalore, i have no doubts left that mumbaikars are most helpful & positive people that i have seen. but i feel that this bouncing back in face of adversity also has something to do with the fact, that there is no other alternative for them. many of them are the sole bread-earners for their family and they have to go to work to earn daily wage even if a bomb blast took place in the building next to their office, most of them have so low wages and they can't afford to travel by taxis if a bomb blast took place in the local the previous day, they have to take the locals and they have to go to work thinking that it's just another day, they simply don't have any choice with them.

now six months later, city & its inhabitants are back to normal, the memories can't be eroded but at least had been buried in some remote corner of their minds. everything looks rosy at one moment, but do we really know what will happen the next second. life has become so insecure, or the better word would be unpredictable. may be it really is in the best interest to stop thinking what will happen the next moment & enjoy every second of our lives. after all we are independent people and shouldn't live as if our lives are controlled by these bloody terrorists. i remember that i didn't commute by local trains in the coming many days after the blasts, i think it was more of a coincidence that i didn't travel to some distant place frequently during that period, but i would be lying if i didn't accept that some fear had indeed set up in my mind. i clearly remember it was 15th of august and i had gone to powai to meet some of my friends. on my way back, i finally gave up all my apprehensions and boarded the slow local from kanjurmarg to kurla. it was quite late in the night, compartments were almost empty, and so i prefered to stand at the door. i felt the cool night breeze of the rainy season on my face & felt so light and free after a long time that i can't describe the feeling now. i felt that it was a big coincidence that my apprehensions were allayed on the independence day. now when i think about that night of freedom, it brings a smile to my face as i write about it and i remember the beautiful words of rabindranath tagore - "where the mind is without fear and the head is held high, into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake".

mumbai has absorbed me in its entirety, i simple love this city and now don't fear commuting by local train at all. as they say, in the long run we are all dead, so why worry about it. so ending the post with one of my favorite quotes - jiyo, hanso, muskurao, kya pata, kal ho na ho..