Bade Adieu to My Childhood Hero

Dear Friend,

This could probably be the last tribute you could see in the cyberspace. Never mind! My page will be meaningless without talking about the swansong of the Master Blaster. Before writing this I planned to spend sometime reading what others got to say about their childhood champion. I didn't want to exaggerate but one lifetime is not enough to read the whole tributes available on the internet. One dedicated blog captured people's #MySachinMoment gracefully. Fans all over the world took to Twitter to say #ThankYouSachin, honoring cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) as he finished his storied, 24-year career.A partnership between The Board of Control for Cricket India (@BCCI), Twitter (@TwitterIndia) and Digigraph (@digigraphme) gave people their own piece of this historic moment, with digitally autographed photos sent to everyone who tweeted #ThankYouSachin to @BCCI during the sportsman’s final test series.

Most retweeted Tweet of all time in India. Leaving me with only three words to say: Thank you, Sachin.

And perhaps the most iconic tweet of all was that from the captain of the Indian national cricket team, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (@msdhoni).

His farewell speech gave me goosebumps. Those 20 minutes took forever to sink in. Packed stadium for the second Test match against West Indies to see their hero go back to his hut forever. I fought my tears which were refusing to stop when he profusely thanked people whoever helped him during his career.

I got my set of pictures too with his autograph ;)

When talking about my tribute, Without a second thought It was only because of Sachin Tendular the nation started taking Cricket more than a game. He is also crowned as "God of Cricket". When my parents taught me about Cricket their foremost detail was to tell me about the player Sachin. Sachin and CRICKET has done what many religion in India could not do, uniting people. The other day I found myself talking to a fellow Cricket fiend from Delhi about Cricket & Sachin in my broken English. During 2000s every time when an Indian match happened all the leading dailies managed to bring a news on Sachin like he had to score this much runs to cross this feat.. one more century and he would be listed in that record...and so on.

My personal Sachin moments are,

His 98 of 75 balls against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup.

His unbeaten 103 * against England in Chennai which he dedicated to the victims of the Mumbai terrorist attacks after inspiring India to a stunning six-wicket victory.

His 200 runs against RSA.

His wonderful outing during 2003 World cup which earned him Golden bat (Player of the tournament).

Yours lovingly,
Fatima J :-)

Cricket and Me

Dear Friend,

This was lying in the draft folder for quite a long days. Decided to hit "Publish" button after reading the below quote ;-)

I think I am getting better with the writing. People who read our conversation encouraged me to keep writing.And that gives me many reasons to feel good about myself. A friend who read the last post was saying, You don't finish something without talking about "Cricket" ? ;-) And he is correct. I always thought Cricket is my identity. From my childhood when I started watching Cricket I found myself talking to different kinds of people about the game & about every single details the game I know. It helped me to communicate with the people I meet in my life travel.When it comes to sports, the phrase ‘It’s a man’s world’ still largely applies, specially when it comes to team sports such as football, basketball or Cricket and their coverage in the media. I got many good friends while discussing Cricket and people noticed me differently. I still fondly remember the days where I played street cricket with the boys of my age group, broke the glasses of neighborhood, hurt many with the furious shots I play.Memories were still afresh. When I was in my tenth class during an exam I'd to write an essay on my favorite sport in Tamil II paper. It was during the bad time of the sport. Fixing Saga that stained former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin & the late South African skipper Hansie Cronje. Without a doubt I wrote about Cricket. My strict Tamil teacher who was once a regular follower of the sport turned down on anything related to Cricket. While distributing the papers in the class she mentioned me to the whole class saying about my quote "I only hate the players who involved in the fiasco and not the sport which gave me immense pleasure" with a teasing tone. And my uncanny friendship with an elderly man at my workplace when he found me following the scorecard of one of the matches;) I also want to remember Mandira Bedi who has a profound knowledge in Cricket. She was a star presenter during ICC Cricket World Cups in the years 2003 and 2007.

And I must admit the above posted thought arouse me to write this one ;) I hope I have exciting days lying ahead of me . Be there with me always.

Yours lovingly,
Fatima J :-)

Making Things Happen is a Skill

Dear Friend,

I can't believe its November already! December will be in here too before my eyes even notice, and then we'll have Christmas and then we'll have New Year.  It's energizing but this year would just be written in history like all the years that passed. It was like yesterday when I traveled along with family in the bus from my hometown to Chennai after celebrating New Year. 12 long hours of travel, I traveled my way by reading a random book from Kindle app and was partially dreaming about what the new year would bring into my life. I have not done a lot of productive things this year and I'm not very proud of it. It is time that I don't have enough of, and so I must spend it wisely!

Bucket List

Trying very hard to put down some of my achievements of this year. All I was banking on was my self-command to achieve a long-term goal. I have successfully completed my ISTQB(International Software Testing Quality Board) certification. Yayy! The feeling was surreal once I saw the computer screen smiles brightly with "You have cleared the certification successfully" line. And even more the reception I got in home after I accomplished something noteworthy ;)  With that I crossed off one item off my bucket list!!!!

Ind Vs Aus

Rohit Sharma's double ton helps India crush Australia by 57 runs to win ODI series 3-2. It was such an edge of the thriller series. Every now and then records were being broken. Many were blaming the new rule of ICC is spoiling the beauty of ODI cricket but I have no clue still.

• Virat's back to back centuries
• MSD's one man show which went in vain
• Rohit's double century
• MSD's out of the park helicopter shot
• James Faulkner's 30 runs off Ishanth Sharma's bowling
• Geroge Bailey's wonderful form and his bizarre run out in the last ODI

... these are some of the memories I would take from this recently concluded series.

And as usual MSD impressed me with his post match talk ;)

"We chased down 350 plus twice against their bowling. Nobody talks about the Australian bowling and I don't want to be unfair to my bowlers."

Refurbishing my To do list:

• Digitize Old Photos
• Try oil pulling
• Visit Anna Centenary Library
• Meet the dentist
• Return the library books
• Organize photos in picasa
• Learn something new about photography

Today also happened to be the birth anniversary of the great Shakuntala Devi,popularly known as the "Human Computer" and look what Google had come up with, 

Avowal: Will try to make the most of the remaining days of the year.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” 
― Mother Teresa

See you again soon,

Fatima J :-)

This is it !!!

Dear Friend,

Well, I am so tired of being a sober. Life is not that bad but I am making it as one. I really don't know what is going wrong around me. Okay, here I am trying to end this chaos. I am always tired and often end up crying for no apparent reason. October had to be the most up and down month of my life.

Watched 2 movies in theatre. The experience of watching movies in theater with high voltage fans is unmatchable. I hope to do it often ;-) Loved the movies I watched.

And we met !!!!

The Trios, who spends the day and night knowing and learning how the other parties are going by their life. Our second meet.. After zillion plannings, zeroed in on spending the Saturday by watching a movie. And as usual I was late to the place. Watched Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam(VVS) and glad I did it. Loved the songs and the screenplay of the movie. My first Siva Karthikeyan movie in theater ;-) Lunch in Karaikudi restaurant and most importantly exchanged the birthday gifts I was having in hand for more than a month.

Sunday, Funday ! 

The movie which created a storm from day one. I was waiting for the movie from the day it's unique teaser released. And it's a comeback movie of my most favorite heroine. Booked tickets along with work buddies in the very first week and my first movie expereince in EA, Escape. Lunch in Rajdhani Thali resturant followed by the movie. Though didn't like the food served there, I was glad I tried something new that day. Cherry on the cake was meeting an old friend in my place on the same day ;-)

Currently Reading

• The Intern by Dillon Khan
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Avowal: I will stop complaining and start living.

“People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.”
―Abraham Lincoln

More posts soon,
Fatima J

Mental pain is a demon :(

Dear Friend,

I am sorry about the last post. I was not feeling good with severe physical meltdown. A buzzing feeling was the first thing I noticed. Like every cell in my body was blowing hot and cold and not in a pleasant way :( I hope to work on my weaknesses & I am not getting a lot of time with laptop so please excuse the shortness of my post.

Went to Vellankani with the family in early September. Stayed there for two days along with two other families in a single room. Uncle stood up half way from his dinner plate knowing his wife isn't gonna eat with him. *tears*. 27 years of marriage, couples still wait for the other one to join for food? Amazing. I literally felt something good about the world while witnessing the moment.

Have not been going out lately. Sitting at home and passing the time in front of laptop & TV.
Time to go out enjoy the outside world.

Places to visit in Chennai:

• Anna Centenary Library, Kotturpuram
• Semmozhi Poonga, Teynampet
• Express Avenue, Royapettah
• M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk
• Valluvar Kottam, Nungambakkam
• Golden Beach, ECR
• SDAT Tennis Stadium, Nungambakkam 
• St. Thomas Mount, Guindy 
• San Thome Basilica, Santhome
• Edward Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar
• Arignar Anna Zoological Park, Vandalur 

Avowal: I am going to stop lazing around and will step out of the home.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” 
― Lao Tzu

Write to you soon.
Love,
Fatima J . 

Laziness at its finest

Dear Friend,

I know its been several days since I penned to you. I was not satisfied with the last missive. And I was simply knocked down for no reason. And then I came across a quote which goes on like this,

"Writers have to keep on writing if they want to mature, like caterpillars endlessly chewing on leaves."

A sudden rush of positive wind induced me to go with whatever I have.

Writing this to you on a beautiful rainy day. It is been raining continuously for 8 hours. It is a perfect weather to bunk office and I did bunk ;-)An old friend called up and planned for a meet and super happy that I am actually having chances to go out on weekends. I have recently discovered Instagram and I must say I am obsessed. I am now grinding my old photos from the nooks and corners and Instagramming it. And I also sense that I am slowly getting rid of my photo phobia ;-) There was an offer on penguin publications so purchased tons of books in Flipkart. I think I have collection phobia. Collecting and keeping the books in the closet .I am making a new rule: No more new books until I've read all of these.Not one. Not a library book. Not a free book. Not a thrift store book.I am going to read every single one of these wonderful books and then – THEN! – I will allow myself to read something new.I’m committed to finishing all of this stack before I can bring another new book into this house.

I didn't check after my bucket list. Now it is time.

To do list:

• Digitize Old Photos
• Try oil pulling
• Visit Anna Centenary Library
• Meet the dentist
• Return the library books

Avowal: I will try to visit a place every weekends.

"Every day you wake up is an opportunity to go beyond, and that 's why I let my band go right now. For the first time in my life I'm just roaming around, vagabonding."

Carlos Santana

Yours lovingly,

Fatima J

This Week That Was

Dear Friend,

Being a writer means living in terror. I mean the incessant nagging of self-doubt. I have numerous fears about writing a blog. The fear of criticism, not finding enough time to write, finding out I’m not as talented as I like to think I am, etc.  However, beyond all the things that make me hesitate, there is a powerful desire to hold the finished work in my hands, to have my ideas perfectly articulated, and to receive praise from friends and family. I have read my first blog like thousand times. It feels too good to see your work. It feels good to hear someone say they actually thought they were reading about themselves when reading my first post.

Banned book in many schools and libraries ;-)

My mind is like a roller coaster and so are some other things. You know how I finished "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" ? People around me always suggest me to read the book first before watching the movie. I am pretty good about separating the two mediums from each other and can enjoy both without the comparisons getting in the way for the most part. I couldn't contain my curiosity on how this book had been made as a movie so put the book in half way and started watching the movie. It should be noted that the movie was written, directed and produced by Stephen Chbosky so I went in with high expectations and was not disappointed. While the movie didn't follow the book exactly, I definitely got the main messages and feelings from the book in the movie. The cast was great as well. After finished watching the movie I took the book right away and finished it in few hours. This is one of my all time favorite books. I laughed so hard during it. Charlie is peculiar and it was one of the first books I can ever remember laughing through.

Literature from North East India?!?!?! WOW !

Call it coincidence. The immediate book I chose to read is "Rebirth" Jahnavi Barua. It is the story of Kaberi, a young woman coming to grips with an uncertain marriage. It is also an intimate portrait of the passionate bond between a mother and her unborn child. Moving between Bangalore and Guwahati the novel weaves together Kaberi’s inner and outer worlds as she negotiates the perfidious waters of betrayal and loss—an unfaithful husband, a troubled relationship with her parents and the death of a childhood friend.

All I knew about Assam was violence, bomb blasts and so on until I read this book. Jahnavi Barua is an Indian author from Assam. She is the author of Next Door, a critically acclaimed collection of short stories set in Assam with insurgency as the background. She lives in Bangalore, and is a doctor. A very unique capturing style of writing. I am going to suggest this book to all I see in my life ;-) Highly recommended!!!!!

An Unforgettable Day

And then came this day. 19-07-2013. It was such a beautiful day. Took off from work. Accompanied a friend for a visit to Dermatologist. The checkup lasted for hours. Took the tickets to the newly released Mariyan from a friend who by mistaken booked tickets for him on that day. Caught up with the movie an hour later but thoroughly enjoyed watching it in a local theatre with the gang of guys who enjoys the movie to the fullest. Had good lunch in Buhari hotel. (Mutton Biriyani of course ;-) ) And it was pelting down the whole day, didn't carry an umbrella or had raincoat on me. I walked carelessly down the dark road and reached home very late :-D

Grinding away my "Bucket List"

• Become a Vegetarian
• Taste red wine
• Take up ISTQB certification
• Go to a movie alone
• Run a marathon
• Learn to swim
• Learn to play tennis
• Babysit someone's baby for an hour
• Get a job in Google
• Host a girls only night
• Get your passport
• Own my dream car
• Get your two wheeler licence
• Catch the movie on the first day of its release

Avowal: I will carry a book everywhere I go.

"We read to know that we are not alone.” 
― William Nicholson

Write to you soon.

Love,
Fatima J