MERE SLIP OF THE TONGUE..........

Well; well; well; the mutual acrimony; rancour; bitterness and bad blood between the swashbuckling opening batsman Virender Sehwag and India's so called most successful captain Mahendar Singh Dhoni is out in the public domain for all to see.......
At the outset; let me make it clear that I am far from being either a Dhoni fan or acolyte and have always believed that Sourav "Dada" Ganguly was and will continue to the best skipper that I have seen during my lifetime as he set the foundation and built up the team that took Indian cricket to unprecedented and unimagined heights of cricketing glory and stardom........
What made this fact crystal clear was Sehwag's noteworthy omission of Dhoni's name from the list of captains; coaches and administrators who allowed him to flourish and achieve the unique cricketing pedestal he occupies all by himself.........
 During the course of his all to brief speech during the felicitation ceremony organised by the DDCA preceding the onset of the India-South Africa test match early this (December 3rd) morning Sehwag took the time out to express his gratitude and eternal thankfulness to his father for allowing him to play the game; make it his entire life and express himself in the manner that only he could.........
 He also paid reverence to his first coach A.N. Sharma and other coaches whom he did not mention by name as well as his first captain Ajay Jadeja followed by Sourav Ganguly; Rahul Dravid; Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar strictly in that order........
Viru also mentioned the steadfast and fawning Indian cricket fan who stood like the "Rock of Gibraltar" by his side at every step of his illustrious cricketing career and thus played an instrumental role in making him strive that extra mile in order to achieve cricketing immortality.........
 Was the omission of Dhoni's name from the list of captains to whom he owed everything and more a slip of the tongue; a momentary memory loss or then a deliberate slight to the captain that many believe truncated and short circuited Sehwag's career even though he had a good three to four years of cricket left in him at the point when the carpet was unceremoniously pulled out from under his feet by Dhoni and his burgeoning ranks of chamchas within the annals of the BCCI..........
 Sehwag who is the only Indian to notch up the rare and emulatory honour of notching up two test triple centuries as well as a 293 was accompanied by his devoted wife and dapper sons during the course of the felicitation ceremony in which a silver salver was presented to him by Anurag Thakur the incumbent BCCI secretary as a mark of gratitude and appreciation for his stellar and Everestian cricketing exploits..........
 Over to Dhoni and his sworn chamchas for their reaction at this supposed slight or downright insult.........

HEALTH UPDATE........

Life does certainly put all of us without exception to the test and life is certainly doing the same with me with effect from tomorrow afternoon...........
 Yours truly will be checking into a single room within the precincts of the city's Continental Hospital (Gachibowli) by 11:30 am or so tomorrow morning in order to undergo an intricate and painstaking surgery that could alter the course of my remaining years on planet earth..........
This life altering surgery is slated to be performed at around 9 am or so on December 5, 2015 and expected to go on for a good six to eight hours as it entails detaching and reattaching of the large intestine and the bypassing of the stomach area..........
 Dr. V. Amar a leading authority and exponent of such bypass (if one can call it that) surgeries and is also training other fellow doctors so that they can emulate him and perform such surgeries in the future.........
 As in the case with most major surgeries; the first 72 hours after the successful completion of the same will be highly crucial and I expect to be cooped up in the allotted single room within the said hospital for a minimum of 72 hours after I undergo the surgical procedure.........
 While the surgery will be setting us (both my better half and me) by Rs.4.25 lakhs or so there is no alternative to this sanctioned surgical procedure as my body weight has already exceeded a certain critical mass and things can only get worse from here on with the due passage of time..........
Let me make it abundantly clear that I do not desire anyone's pity or utterances like "so sad" and "poor fellow" but need your strength; determination and courage to emerge even stronger; fitter and rejuvenated after the surgery so that I can get on with the job of doing as much good as I can and trying to spread as much joy and succour as possible.........
 As I will be rendered hors de combat for the next couple of weeks or so and therefore unable to wish all my friends on their birthdays please note and believe that my best wishes and blessings are always with the lot of you stay blessed; stay healthy and do strive that extra mile to make the world a better place than the planet we inherited.........
 God Bless each one of you and grant you everything you desire and a little more........

BELIEVE THIS IF YOU WILL.........

One may well be forgiven for thinking that such scenes only lit up the silver screen and anointed eternal favourites like "Sholay"; pardonnez moi for I also discounted the age old dictum about about art imitating life and so on and so forth........
In a daring and Ripleyesque "Believe It Or Not" Act a single gent deigned to storm or rather unceremoniously barge into the engine of a goods train between Madhya Pradesh's Ishwarwara and -Naryaoli railway stations and then decamped from the very same after divesting the driver and assistant driver of the said goods train of their belongings and mobile phones in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.........
 According to railway police officials; the driver Dharmendra Patwa and assistant driver Suresh were commandeering the now infamous goods train between Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi and Madhya Pradesh's Katni railway stations when the daredevil bandit broke open a window pane of the engine and surreptitiously entered the same when the train had considerably reduced its speed in the vicinity of the Jaruakheda railway station.........
 Brandishing a stout stick and deadly looking pocket knife the masked assailant threatened the two railway employees with deathly consequences if they dared to oppose him; clubbed the assistant driver repeatedly when he tried to put up a fight and made good his escape a few kilometres from the crime scene after relieving the startled and disbelieving duo of all their precious valuables...........
 Much chastened and decidedly wiser after their harrowing experience the two drivers made their way to Madhya Pradesh's Sagar railway station where they halted the train and registered a case against the yet to be identified masked assailant at the Railway Police Outpost within the station's precincts.........
 A case has been duly registered against this facile lothario under section 394 of the Indian Penal Code and the police have initiated their investigations into the reported incident by making an effort to round up all the petty as well as notorious criminals within a 100 km radius...........
Though the act performed by the dapper and dashing gent was unlawful and reprehensible there is no denying his daredevilry; dexterity; presence of mind and adroitness to make the optimum use of the gilt edged opportunity presented to him by the slowing down of the goods train............

THANK THE LORD FOR EVERY LITTLE MERCY...........

A little more than 4,000 odd dedicated; passionate and committed cricket fans witnessed a near perfect enactment of the tragic and deathly Philip Hughes incident when they saw an on field umpire writhe in pain and unbearable agony after being struck on the back of his head by an immaculate straight drive from the striker's flashing blade.........
This bizarre and prospectively deadly spectacle was witnessed on a balmy December 1 afternoon at Dindigul's (Tamil Nadu) famed NPR Cricket Ground during the course of an ongoing Ranji trophy match/fixture between Punjab and Tamil Nadu........
 Brainder Sran a southpaw (left handed batsmen and bowler) who is better known for his bowling exploits with the red cherry was the batsmen on strike when Tamil Nadu's left arm spin maestro D.T. Chandrashekhar tossed up one enticing and tantalising delivery that was within Sran's striking arc........
 Unable to resist the temptation; Sran unleashed a partially lofted straight drive that flew past the bowler but unfortunately ended up striking the 53 year old Australian umpire John Ward (who has officiated in 6 ODI's) flush on the back of his head despite his earnest efforts to duck for cover and adroitly avoid the flight path of the dreaded red cherry..........
 Ward was down for the count thanks to the telling and lasting effect of the knock out blow delivered to his head and lay on the turf clutching his head and writhing in paroxsyms of pain and agony when the other on field umpire Paschim Pathak and players from the home (Tamil Nadu) team rushed to his aid..........
 Still feeling the after effects of the devastating blow that struck him down with disdaining impunity Ward was carried off the field by four doughty Tamil Nadu players who ushered him into an ambulance strategically stationed at the ground and the same then sped away towards the city's JCB hospital located some thirty odd kilometres from the said ground..........
A series of scans and a battery of other tests were carried out on the stricken Aussie umpire at the very same hospital and thankfully the same only revealed some swelling and mild concussion that should clear up in the next 36 hours or so even though the doctors on duty at the hospital preferred to keep the wounded soul within the safe confines of the medical facility for the next 24 hours and minutely observe him for any distressing or then concerning developments..........
 Experienced and highly skilled neurosurgeons have been summoned from adjoining/nearby hospitals as a purely precautionary measure and further treatment will be carried out under their able and specialised guidance even though the doctors at the JCB hospital have ruled out any imminent or prospective threat to the Aussies well being..........
 Order was however restored on the cricketing field after these ten or so odd minutes of terror and devastation when the fourth umpire Guru Rajan took umpire Ward's place and restored the much desired order to the otherwise disturbing and painful non cricketing activities that had ruled the roost for some time..........