It's the Game that Won

Brilliant display with the bat by two Englishmen batting at number ten and eleven denied Australia a much needed victory. James Anderson and Monty Panesar are supposed to be the star with the ball, but today they saved the game for England with the bat. 69 balls what they faced together to get 19 runs undefeated. Each run was greeted by applaud and each block was greeted with the same enthusiasm.

No matter how T20 has become popular or how 50-50 has the charm, the traditional test cricket remains the same, great, charming, graceful and valuable. The proof of the same was the jam packed stadium. The new form of this game has always been welcomed but till date nothing has been able to eliminate the Test Cricket. Ask any cricketer, he will tell you that only Test Cricket completes his career. No matter what so ever shorter form of game comes, the Test Cricket will weather the storm. Today’s match has sealed the faith. Sorry for those who think the test cricket is out of fashion.

Today at Cardiff, may the match has been ended as a draw, but for sure the Game was the winner.

“Akhil”

The Evening Tea

The aroma of the evening tea has often lured me since my childhood. The necessity of it has been developed off late, but the love for the evening tea has there inside the depth of my heart since I was a kid. It’s quite a misfortune that I’ve not got the privilege to enjoy it often. I was not a tea aficionado till my hostel life. Tea is supposed to be an insignia for grownups in suburban families of India and hence those not having it are often supposed to be kids.

During summer vacations we used to visit our native place. Apart from our Mango orchards, farms and love from my Grand Parents, the afternoon tea was one of the lucrative offerings that my village has for me those days. We (Bro, our cousins and I) lovingly call our grandfather BABA. Baba was very particular about his morning and evening tea and for that matter with his all daily routines. But the point of discussion here is the Tea. To me the evening tea was more interesting, the reason was the visitors from every corner of the village used to come during evening and we get a chance to meet some of the interesting, knowledgeable, conversant and divine spirits of our homeland.

My father is very strict of having kids this obnoxious drink called tea, I and my bro used the power of our grandfather to shield us, as we knew that Papa will not oppose to Baba, he had never argued with him entire life, thou we do with him sometimes as we are not as disciplined as Papa. Coming back to tea, during summers the quantity of tea consumption of Baba would suddenly increase thou the number of dosage remained same. This all ends with the end of summer vacations till the next one.

Then came the post graduation era, during which we have the classes normally on second half. The evening tea was not as exciting as it used to be with Baba, but still it was an opportunity to get together with the hostel mates. Towards the end of the hostel days, the famous “Sharma Dhaba” of BIT was the venue for evening tea, more often if not daily. The tea sips in open air under the trees at “Sharma Dhaba” were more fun than having them in grand but closed dining halls of the Great Hostels of BIT. Post BIT the thing I missed the most apart from friends was the serene and joyous atmosphere of “Sharma Dhaba” and yes the evening tea under the trees sitting over wooden benches.

These days too I go out with my colleagues to have evening tea. But the smooth and delicate chairs of corporate cafeteria are not as soothing as the lap of Baba was, neither they are as comfortable as wooden benches of “Sharma Dhaba” were. The taste of the branded tea is not as good as the “Sharma Dhaba” offered. There is more heat when we go outside for the same, but the warmth is missing. The aroma of it is not even near to what it was in the summers of yester years.

Deep inside my memory, the taste, the aroma of the evening tea of those days are still fresh. The reason may be the sand or the ambiance of my homeland or the diverse cultures or the love of Baba, I don’t know, but the evening tea is not as tasty these days.

“Akhil”