An alternative to Indian Cricket

The hoopla around Indian cricket, especially about the cricketer has been so much that many of the folks today have forgotten our great national game-Hockey. Hockey appears nowhere in the discussion of sports within India. I will not be surprised if a 5 year old kid talks about Sachin Tendulkar's batting prowess or the number of wickets Anil Kumble has been piling up in his career. The kids will probably start believing that our national game is Cricket! What a shame! Honestly how many of the folks know Dhanraj Pillai? With the exception of the knowledgeable few, others will ask, Dhanraj who? That is unfortunately the sorry state of affairs.Stop.

Looking at the brighter side of things, there is equal if not more hoopla about soccer in the recent days. Looks like the whole country is getting excited about soccer, everyone wants to watch it, play it, talk about it all the time and definitely yearn be part of the world cup one way or the other. If we can take any cue from all the passion and enthusiasm, maybe it is high time we start thinking about a serious soccer team representing India. Gone or the days when we were rejected a place in the soccer because we couldn't play with our shoes on. Given the right focus and the coaching, we can form quite a strong team to find a place for ourselves in the near future world cup soccer.

If we achieve such a great task, will soccer turn out to be an alternative to Indian cricket? I can't wait for the alternative to take shape!

Do you know the purpose of your life?

If you do, then take a minute off to explain it to my friend Xavier who is being haunted with this question in the last 24 hours :).

Btw, we just had a small discussion on this over chat, the excerpt of which I have pasted below(my two cents worth of what I feel can be found in here).

Xavier: See my recent post
Srini: hang on
Srini: holy freak
Srini: such questions are considered sacrilegious in our lives
Srini: certain things are too be consumed not confronted with!
Xavier: so Can you link to that post asking your readers to post their views at my site
Srini: ooh yes..I can..will do it
Xavier: Many people just live life without asking what is the purpose of life.
Srini: I don't think thatz true
Srini: everyone does ask the question..but hardly does one find a convincing answer
Srini: and just because folks don't get a convincing answer, no one wants to think too deeply about it
Srini: btw, a purpose need not be a very high level complicated stuff and sth that should be world renowned and stuff
Xavier: But waht is it you are aiming for
Srini: it can be as simple as fulfilling our duties as a son, as a father, as a good employee, as a good citizen and above all as a good devotee!
Xavier: so can it be simpleified as lead a good life
Srini: yes..it definitely can be
Xavier: I am looking for personal experiences
Srini: but it can be equally a subjective opinion
Xavier: it is a kind of self-examining question
Srini: if I may call it "introspection"
Xavier: yes, that is a right word, 'personal introspection'
Xavier: Actaully this post is the first of many on these lines
Srini: ok..so u've got more comin huh?
Srini: I don't mean to discourage you or sth, but if you don't seem to find an answer after a while, it can lead to quite a bit of frustation
Srini: so beware!
Xavier: yep. it will be following up this idea.
Xavier: i am not actually looking for answers, I am looking for solutions
Srini: isn't solution close to gettin an answer?
Xavier: 'personal growth' to be precise
Srini: how do u say growth translates to purpose?
Xavier: answers are close-ended, solutions will be recursive
Xavier: you'll have to wait for the future posts for that ans
Srini: need not be all the time. Sometimes a solution can lead to the ultimate answer.
Srini: I can wait..I have been waitin for 26 years now to find that answer. Not sure if I will find it in this life...but I will keep my fingers crossed and see if I can see the "signs"
Xavier: So you think there will be an ultimate answer
Srini: I don't think..I know for a good fact that there is an ultimate answer
Xavier: Hmmm...
Srini: this is the biggest treasure hunt of our lives..we just have to watch the signs, follow the white rabbit that can lead us to the answer!
Xavier: following the signs alone will not help
Xavier: acting upon them will
Srini: thatz true..once u notice the signs, u will now what to do and how to do
Xavier: true
Srini: so maybe u shld now have an eye for the signs!
Xavier: i am learnign 'semiotics'. I guess that should help
Srini: what is that?
Srini: some Da Vinci kinda stuff?
Xavier: study of signs
Srini: aah ok..all the best..learn it well and grab the signs
Srini: lest the quest for the purpose of life go on.....

Title change

After some thoughtful consideration, I decided to change the title of my blog from its existing "Far from the madding crowd" to a more relevant one viz., "Pot Pourri".
When I started blogging in the early days, I did want to stick to topics that are more isolated in nature and does not talk about our daily wonts, but more and more I started blogging, I could not stay aloof from lot of mainstream activities in day to day life. Having digressed so much from the intended purpose, I decided to change the purpose itself! Pot pourri (suggested by my alter ego) seems to be the best fit that will be the 'uber' title for all the applauds and praises, rants and ramblings, facts and fictions and sometimes thoughts stemming out of my non-creative mind!

Hope my blog posts will find at least a thread of relevancy going forward.