December

Season of fresh frost and unadulterated snow,
Season of heavy sleep hanging on the brow,
Season when holly and camellia show,
Season when rabi the farmers sow.

Time starts for Milton, Sinatra, Kipling and Newton,
Edison publicly demonstrated his mini sun,
Curies' romance with radium had begun,
And some had a Tea Party in Boston.

That sanguine Sun seems a blessed relief!
That tree bends down, fruit and leaf.
Deep is the striped squirrel's grief
For trapped is that sneaky thief

Cold are the corals, cold are the sea shells,
And cold is the weather that it foretells.
But high is the spirit, sweet the smells
When time is ripe for "Jingle Bells"!!

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The Greatest of All Time

When one thinks of 'choke' one thinks of South African cricket. The two have been inseparable for a considerable number of years and not to forget, a considerable number of World Cups. This team has been hounded by ill luck more than any cricket team on the international circuit. So it was befitting that this team featured in the greatest match international cricket has ever seen and that too on the winning side.

12th March, 2006 was the day that the Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg witnessed the first 400 plus total by any team in cricketing history. With the help of Gilchrist's 55, Katich's 79, Mike Hussey's 81 and Ponting's brilliant 164, Australia posted a total of 424 for the loss of 4 wickets. The star of the Australian innings was the skipper, Ricky Ponting. Armed with impeccable technique and dextrous shot selection, his innings was a treat for the eyes. His brilliant knock of 164 off just 105 balls came to an end when his cover drive was caught by Dippenaar at boundary in the 48th over.

After the first innings even the most ardent of South African fans wouldn't have bet their money on a successful chase by their team. But Graeme Smith and company had some other plans for the night. Graeme Smith with a sparkling 90 off 55 balls gave the chase a solid start. But it was only befitting that the real hero of the innings was the player who infamously 'dropped the World Cup' when he dropped Steve Waugh at Headingley in the 1999 World Cup. Yes, our very own, Herschelle Gibbs. His blistering 175 came off just 111 balls to give Ponting’s innings a run for its money. However, Gibbs departed when South Africa were one run short of the 300 mark and there was still a long way to go.  It took cameos from Boucher and van der Wath to see South Africa through. The crowning moment came when Boucher hit the fifth ball of the ultimate over for a boundary with the scores tied, taking South Africa's total to 428 for 9. And that triggered a wave of celebration at the Wanderers.

The Australian fans were shocked and the South African fans were celebrating in sheer jubilation. But regardless of which team they supported, every witness of that match was taking home an important lesson of life: "Impossible in Nothing". With nothing to lose, the South Africans had given all they had and clinched the series 3-2 with a resounding victory. A victory that would be recounted for years to come. A victory in a match that would go into the history of the game as the greatest match ever played. And lo and behold, with that victory the South Africans put their chokers tag to rest (in peace or not, only time can tell)

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Shakepeare for Starters

When I read a Shakespearean play, I read it for the language, for the magic that the Bearded Bard weaves by his words. The ethereal quality of his writing is impossible to replicate and leaves behind it's own mark, it's own brand. However there are some plays that possess an invaluable script in addition to remarkable wordsmithery. And those are the ones that entertain one and all: the novice and the not so novice. In fact, these are the plays that provided me with the initial incentive to forage into Shakespeare's works. Here's a list of the top 3 plays that everyone with a basic understanding of English should read.

1. The Comedy of Errors: Deals with the lives of twin brothers who have twin slaves. Both pairs of twins get separated during a sea voyage. The plot revolves around the tumult and perplexities caused when their lives get entangled again, without them realizing it.
It's a hilarious piece that has been reproduced in movies like The Boys from Syracuse(1940), Big Business(1988) and closer home in Angoor(1982) and Ulta Palta.

2. The Taming of the Shrew: Describes the Herculean efforts of a husband to tame his unwillingly bride into wifely submission. The real flavor of the play lies in the dialogues between Katherina and Petruchio (our loving bride and groom respectively). Some really clever and witty writing (that can't help but captivate the readers) makes this piece a must read.
Adapted in Ten Things I Hate About You, Kiss Me Kate, Deliver Us from Eva, McLintock and The Taming of the Shrew(1908, 1929, 1967)

3. Othello: This one with it's tacit twists and turns is a display of the fatal powers that a seed of mistrust possesses. One of the best tragedies that Shakespeare has penned, Othello is a graffiti of emotions. Love, hate, desire, jealousy with a hint of pride and cruelty in the mix.
This riveting tragedy has been featured in around six movies with the name Othello along with movies like All Night Long, Catch My Soul, A Double Life, Eloise, Omkara and many more.

That's my top 3 folks. However the magic doesn't end here. It's a whole universe out there, waiting to be discovered, to be read. Hope this gave you at least a minimal amount of impetus towards the exploration of all things Shakespearean. Bonne Lecture!!
 

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Shades of You

                                                     Shades of You.

You are now, an inseparable part of me

With you I forever and ever want to be

For without you, I am like the dead leaf without the tree

And the forlorn shore without the sea.

I crave for you like the desert craves the rain.

I need you always, in pleasure and in pain.

A glimpse of your face fills me with euphoria impossible to contain

And that makes me fall in love with you, all over again.

Your every word is like the tinkling of a wind chime,

It fills my heart with music, soft and sublime,

It makes me hum, makes me rhyme

And makes me wish that I could just slow Time.

You colour the black, you colour the grey,

You make my soul slowly swirl and sway,

A second is like a minute and a minute a day

That is what transpires, whenever you’re away.

I think of you in the morning, think of you in the eve

Think of the irresistible magic that you flawlessly weave.

You stole my heart away, my heart that I can’t retrieve,

All I can do is wish to God, that you never have to leave.

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