Simplifying The Daily Existence

I said it before, and I will say it again: I am on my way to Nobel Prize greatness as I slowly unravel the Physics that drives the Delhi Metro. Today, I present to you a phenomenon that not even the most regular Delhi Metro riders must have noticed or bothered to think about. I call this the “Human Pendulum” or “Metro Oscillations”. This spectacle is witnessed only during the peak hours, i.e., when the Delhi Metro platforms are literally spilling over with people. Turn your eyes towards the exit points, where humble mortals like us are greeted with long, never-ending queues. Here, everyone waits patiently for the person in front of them to use the Delhi Metro card or that plasticky coin thingy. Now observe closely, you will find that during times of very long queues, the people have little space to move ahead. Their gut instinct tells them to keep moving ahead, in whatever little space that precedes them.

This is my first submission that will focus on the DELHI METRO riders that I have come across in the last few months. I have a slightly cynical outlook, and thus, I am going to begin with a typical kind of Delhi Metro passenger that needs a serious reality check—I call “it” the “Rajouri Types,” and this is particularly applicable to the women who board the metro from the Rajouri Garden Metro Station and the nearby areas. You must be wondering what could be so typical about such women. Well, there is nothing wrong with them except for the fact that they are highly prone to thinking that they belong to an elite class that should be treated superiorly within the Metro.

I guess this discovery should get me nominated into the league of folks who have contributed significantly to deciphering human behavior, or more precisely, human sleep patterns. At a time when most leading magazines have run out of ideas and cannot write anything new about sleep, sleeping habits, sleeping problems, etc. I have unearthed a new kind of sleep! Yes, this might surprise you, but keeping my observant senses in the switch-on mode has finally yielded results. I have titled my discovery as the “Metro Sleep”. This kind of sleep is seen among only those who have the fortune (or misfortune) of riding the Delhi Metro.

Few nations in the world can boast of a weather phenomenon so influential that it can topple governments and impact nearly every aspect of human life by its erratic ways—I am talking about the Monsoons in India. The Monsoons are so mighty that they can drown the entire Mumbai metropolis within a few hours or decide how much we would need to spend on our daily bread throughout the year. However, there is one warrior among us, made of steel and absolute grit, who doesn’t succumb to the Moody Monsoons. This is the Delhi Metro. Today was a pleasant day when the Monsoons, so far conspicuous by their absence, arrived and threw the capital city out of its comfort zone.

To make matters worse, the Northern Grid had tripped, and the Metro was left reeling with no power! However, to the dismay of those who laugh at the commoners like us who travel day and night in the overwhelmingly crowded tube train, the Metro didn’t accept defeat. Within a few hours, when some idiots had started verbally abusing it, cursing it for its lapses, the Metro was back to its usual benchmark of performance. I must say that if the Metro could hear what some people say about it, rather b***h about it, every time there is the smallest of snags, it would seriously reconsider serving the people of the city. There are some hard realities that the Metro-bashers seem to forget—before it arrived, the lives of those who travel daily across the city were at the mercy of killer buses and the Goondaraj of auto-wallahs. Now that we have at least one dependable and honest mass transit medium, we'd better be thankful for it, use it sensibly, and accept that, like everything else in life, the Metro isn’t perfect, but it works to our advantage and delivers without fail.

I don’t ride the high horse of belonging to a niche section of society that cannot bear a single drop of sweat on their mighty foreheads. However, my childhood unfolded in a manner that could be best described as ‘arrested development’ despite growing up in a typically middle-class environment. As a result, many hesitations about people, places, and being in the outdoors got imprinted on my psyche.

I intend to blog regularly, not daily, in an opinionated and not necessarily discriminatory way. The idea is not to ridicule the Metro or sing laurels about it but to put forth my perspective which could sound rude or helpful, depending on your perception.My views might strike a chord, pinch a nerve or induce the urge to banish me into Hell in you. However, the very concept of blogging and living in a Democracy offers me the right to be unashamedly-expressive. This basically absolves me if being here wastes your time or my efforts don’t live up to the standards set by your sensibilities….the onus of being here is on you—bother to read & comment or just browse aimlessly and proceed without a bother.

For starters, I am a content writer and Expressionism is one of the few skills that I am endowed with. Thus, starting a blog needed little motivation. Secondly, despite being a dynamic, enthralling and challenging subject, it seems that the Delhi Metro has escaped the mind of contemporary writers/bloggers—the few that are in circulation seem occupied with offering tips about the various routes. Yes, these are also relevant from a writing perspective but I felt a general lack of the “Metro Culture” being written about.

More importantly, it has been nearly two months since I started riding the Delhi Metro regularly and writing about it could no longer be procrastinated. My soul is burdened by the restrictive expressionism that any professional role demands. I seek refuge in this blog to ensure that I am not alienated from the niche of thinkers and expressionists.

Restarted blogging in the earliest part of 2018 - trying my best to post regularly - this is not a New Year resolution or wish but I want to blog spontaneously, without a reason, write without a rationale, just share what happened during the day, how am feeling...:)

February 16th: Soon I would be hitting the 100-posting benchmark that is something for me because this required a bit of hard work and staying consistent, knowing that this is more about pursuing my passion and staying true to the art of weaving conversations digitally. There are no Ads you can spot now as the idea was never to make a few cents. This has always been about blogging about the daily life, even at my work-desk, as there are days when the momentum is low, when other managers are busy smoking or having endless cups of coffee and conversations - I would rather do this!

Right now, my approach is - Blog when:
- you are feeling low
- when you have some time
- when you feel anxiety building-up
- when you want to vent
- when you want to try new expressions and explore new words
- when you want to do something for yourself
- when you want to express an opinion without caring about being heard
- when there is no inspiration to write

Updated on February 17, 2018: Just reached a semi-milestone of 100 posts. A reasonably good going considering I was very wayward to start with, the blog being launched in 2012. Took me more than 5 years to come back to something that is aligned with my passion. Will be more regular now...promise!

He is the only guy in the ongoing tri-series between India, Australia and Sri Lanka who has scored a century and he looks good to do it again. The new middle-order batsman from Australia, Peter Forest, has all the makings of a good player for Australia. For starters, unlike Andrew Symonds who might seem a bit puny against the massive shoulders of Peter Forest, this guy can actually build an innings. Symonds discovered the art of constructing his innings much later in his career whereas Peter Forest seems to be doing that since the day he made his debut. In his mannerisms, his power and the way he plays the airy shorts, 

The first time I saw him bowl reminded my instantly of the South African, Dale Steyn and after having watched his many good spells of bowling during the first test match between India and Australia, I am pretty sure that my comparison theory is quite correct. Both these bowlers are tall, well-built, though Pattinson looks like he has definitely spent more hours in the gym and believe in pitching the ball in the off-stump zone. Steyn is probably the one bowler who continued from where Glenn McGrath, i.e. I am referring to the nuances of bowling line and length without compromising on pace. Pattinson has a similar approach and just like the South African spearhead , he is not shy of pitching up the bowl. Yes, he can bowl short too but he prefers to hit the line & length that the best of batsmen struggle against.
Probably, this is why despite being the most inexperienced bowler in the Boxing Day test match of December 2011, he was probably the best. I don't feel shy of saying that Pattinson is probably a deal as real and dependable as Dale Steyn and Cummins, the other young Aussie bowler who has been engaging a lot of attention, would need to work harder since he seems more like all speed that can sometimes be exhausted when the batsmen are in murderous mood and among sub-continental pitches.

The first instance of it immediately raked up images from the controversial India Australia test series of 2007. I am talking about Sehewag bumping into Pattinson, the young Aussie bowler, and Sehewag verbally and animatedly asking Pattinson to mind himself, raising his bat in the air. However, soon things became calmer when Gautam Gambhir played what can be best described as a horrible, unnecessary poke outside his off-stump to give Australia their first breakthrough. However, at this moment, Dravid has joined forces with Sehewag who seems to be continuing from his 190+ score at this same venue a few years ago. Yes, he had his usual share of almost-out instance, but most Sehewag followers have now become accustomed to it.
A Sehewag innings without some anxiety and panic attacks among the Indian fans just wouldn't have its natural flavor. The second bump from Sehewag was a bit harder but didn't flare the tempers in either camp when he accidentally bumped into Peter Siddle. Sehewag apologized immediately and Siddle just seemed too busy thinking about his next delivery to exchange any verbal volleys. Sehewag is nearing another test half century as I write this, and hopefully, he can convert into another test ton. As long as he is at the crease, things seem a bit undemanding for the Indian batsmen. His daredevil method of batting seems to have rubbed on Rahul Dravid too who is batting with much more freedom than what we usually witness during the early part of his test match batting.  

Yes, a lot has already been written about what is going to happen when MSD and his team try to win the Kangaroo Land of cricket. However, it seems that everyone is obsessed with just one thing, i.e. the kind and the number of injuries that are happening. I would like to state that no cricketing nation or for that matter, no sporting nation can put up excuses like retirement of star players or the absence of key players due to injuries. This applies to the cricketing world too. So why is so much being made out of Australia being on a re-building spree and their main players being injured. A defeat is a defeat no matter in which manner and under what circumstances it is achieved.
People tend to remember the scorecards after a few weeks and not things about a nation's cricketing talent, its pool of talent or pedigree. I would further like to state that this is essentially going to be a game of average bowlers against some very good batsmen. Don't forget, Clarke and Ponting are alone to ensure that Australia can pile up about 500+ runs in every innings. So all the noise about the absence of established openers in the Aussie team and the call back for Simon Katisch just doesn't make sense. What matters is the best use both teams can get out of their present resources and that is what they should be reflecting upon rather than talking about injuries, reputations and rankings.

Call it the old Pakistani habit of biting more than what one can eat, Saeed Ajmal, the supposed best Pakistani bowler in the ODI format at the moment has gone on to verbally challenge the ace English off spin bowler, saying that he is on the verge of replacing the English spinning revelation in the forthcoming season. While some purists might say that a bit of tussle for the top spinner's slot, particularly in the ODI format, might be good since the spinners have been reduced to fill-up bowlers in a game that has become unreasonably inclined towards the batsmen. However, it should also be seen as an act of desperation by Saeed Ajmal since he has simply failed to get the attention of the global cricketing fraternity though it should be said that Ajmal is quite a good bowler in his own respect but fails to impress as much as the guile induced by Swann. Some experts would say that saying such things were a bit uncalled for by Ajmal but then again, apart from engaging the attention of the cricketing media through such measures, Ajmal stands little chance of adding to his reputation in world cricket which is also partially because of increasing depreciation with which performances of the Pakistani cricket team is looked upon. 

MY VERDICT? I seriously doubt that Ajmal has what it will take to displace Swann from his pedestal. He just isn't as tricky and cannot float the ball in the air like Swann does.

In all fairness the India tour of England 2011 is nothing short of a complete disaster. The main players have struggled as wells as the youngsters and every time the opportunity came for the big names to deliver, expectations were nipped in the bud by carelessness. Yes, reasons such as excessive cricket and tiredness have been floating around with the skipper, MS Dhoni, himself expressing views that seem to underline the demanding schedule that this Indian team has. However, one question remains to be answered: would the same questions be raised had the Indian team won or at least, drawn the test series against England and still retained their number one spot in ICC test rankings 2011?


Most probably not and this is exactly what I want to put forth-the Indian cricket board and Dhoni too seem to offer the seemingly rightful explanations only when a problem arises. What happened to sticking to the same logic even if the team is managing to win?

Usually, honesty does not seem to be most people's cup of tea as long as the going is less than tough. Coming back to the debacle of the Indian team touring England, one small speck of brightness has come forward in the form of Rahane. This man has shown the temperament, class and to some extent, the technique as well, at least in the two games he has played so far on the England Tour 2011.

Firstly, he is not apprehensive about the short ball and secondly, his ability to play well against pace and seam along with his stance, make him a more than useful opener. Rahane seems to be manufactured for the opening slot, as if he has emerged from a cricket academy's blueprint for the opening batsmen. How far will he go, how many runs he can score and whether he can help India win the 2011 ODI series against England remain to be seen but in Rahane, the Indian team has found one small, but significant, reason to smile.