Of War & Sport: A Ramble

Ever since I was a child, a couple topics have always been  fascinating to me and they are: Military, Sports & Food. As per the interest, my first choice was to serve my country in uniform, which unfortunately did not happen. The other two, sports and food, have been a major part  of my life ever since. So today while travelling on the super highway of The Internet, it was very interesting to know through some of the articles that the origin of sports came from Military. Apparently sport was one of the media to shortlist soldiers by testing their capability if they had the physical capacity, mental tenacity, etc., for the rigours of military training and war. After reading this, my imagination took over:

Let’s start by removing the uncertain historic data,  then we can surely say that the recorded history of humankind is about 5000-7000 years old. We fought innumerable wars and still waging quite a few in this modern era, directly or indirectly. And somewhere in the midst of that training for war, sport was born.

What if, someone back then had the idea of replacing this blood seeking war with sweat seeking sport? Loss of life is always a sad thing, irrespective of time, isn’t it? And end of the day, if we closely observe a piece of sports equipment is almost the same as a weapon, minus the brutality. But a well-trained and skillful athlete on the field is as brutal as a soldier on the frontline. My comparison doesn’t stop here. I’m going to the extent that may be a Special Forces soldier equivalent athlete is the one training for Olympics? What if the greatest epics of war like the Mahabharata, Illiad may have been the greatest sports narrations and how can we forget The Battle of Thermopylae immortalised by the movie 300? Imagine how the Persians would have been defeated in a game of some sport. My imagination is now becoming boundless!

My point here is that what if, what if we replace Sport with War? Aren’t we not yet sane enough to understand after two well recorded World Wars, that a war is not about who’s right but who’s left? Imagine the trillions being spent all over the world to develop and deploy weapons from ICBMs to rifles by  the respective countries in the name of national security; instead being spent on sports?  Even better, how about settling all disputes through a contest in sports? How about bringing an international law that all disputes from international level to the grass root level to be resolved through sport?

All the weapon manufacturers will become state of the art sports-equipment manufacturers, putting the best of military technology into sports. Every government in order to become a ‘Super Sports Power’ will invest more into food production so that the young are properly nourished to become great athletes of the future. All the military cantonments will become sports academies…………………

Sitting in the comfort of my home, here I am doing this ‘wishful thinking’. I know it’s not a practical thing to happen, but what if it did? Did we humans already burn all the bridges between sanity and insanity? Is this too much of a false hope?  We are a country of a Billion and not only that; we are also the youngest nation in the world. And we know how much we are spending to protect our country from threats both external and internal. What if we spent all of that on sport, nurturing our young? I am very sure that with so many resources at our disposal, we’d be fighting for a top spot for the coveted title “Sports Super Power of The World”.

After this happy but unrealistic, hopless but mood lifting thought ride, I feel or rather realized that Sport is the only thing that can replace war. Period.

Note: this is just a casual opinion (fantasy) of what could happen to a world without war. My intention here is just to highlight sport and the overall goodness that it can bring to the humanity and nothing to belittle the National Security of my Nation.

Resurrection

          Every person has one thing which gets him/her really excited. It's such that they never get bored of it or more so get so bored due to the lack of it. It doesn't matter how they've picked it up: playing a sport, yoga, painting, singing, cooking, writing, poetry, gardening ........ the list is practically endless. The point is, if they don't get to do it for a certain period of time, their life become a void, a feeling of incompleteness sweeps over them. But while they are at it, there is a certain surge of energy, a positive vibe, euphoria and a lot of other unexplainable feelings are felt. 

                    For me, it's always been BASKETBALL!!! I'll not go into the details of how I got hooked to the game, but when I did, it was pure addiction!! Playing for 4-6 hrs each day was no big deal. The only time I didn't play was: having a serious injury or bad weather. Dipping grades, piling backlogs, constant shunting from parents....practically nothing could lure me away from the basketball court.  Today, the personality that I've developed over the years is a direct result of me playing sports, and there is no sport that I've played better than basketball. And without my coach, no basketball. Therefore, the best thing that could happen to me was MY COACH (please check my previous post). Without him, I surely couldn't have achieved anything.

                                                                                       This story takes a twist now. I never thought I'd stop playing basketball to such a low freqency: from not playing once a month to just playing once a month!! Moving to the city of B'lore for work changed this aspect of my life. After almost 18 months of complaining of not being able to play or when I did play, not having the right group, even after visiting almost all of the courts in the vicinity! For a person like me who had always kept himself in shape (or better, I was in shape for having played so much), not being able to play actively almost paralysed my spirit! I did try the tradtional fitness forms: running, gyms ..but nothing worked or may be I didn't make them work as all these were not giving me that 'feel good factor'. On the other hand, health and fitness started to take a slow dip.. late nights: binge eating, too many parties, movies, ... what not!

                                 But I did not have the slightest clue that all this would change. Not too long ago, 1 visit to this place 'NAMMA CROSSFIT', 1 day of a trial, 1 week of extended trials, 1 month of actual workouts and after 3 months here I am: 4 competitions, finished. But I get more than what I've asked for. No, I'm not talking about just physiological results, it's far beyond that!! But, let's start with that, since we are talking about a fitnes center. 

            For any discipline it's an undisputed truth that, without the right guidance, nothing is possible. Or, even if you get to do somehting, it's menial. Having a state of the art facility without a good coach is similar to having to drive an F1 car,  on  a off-road track. God damn! Sad but, this is what exactly happening in the fitness industry all over, but not here at NCF. Each of the coaches are highly qualified to not just make you 'do' an exercise, but they 'teach' and make you 'learn'. I'd bet that this is one quality that will keep NCF above and beyond the rest of the so called 'fitness centers'. To put it in a better perspective, they offer you this 'pot of knowledge', make use of it and just tell them you want learn more, they simply show you an entire 'ocean'. That's the kind of coaches this place has! And I tell you, that's very uncommon to find this in your local 'gym'. For a guy like me who was always interested in 'functional training' and who has learnt whatever only from senior athletes and not gym trainers; had come to this place with a lot of 'randomely piled up experience'. But once I really got to know the seriousness of this place and the whole CrossFit ideology, its been a constant phase of Unlearning. 

                        Training under such professionals will directly result in only one thing: increased level of fitness. But as I mentioned earlier, it's not just about the physical transformation. NCF has constantly been giving me the very same things that I've experienced while playing basketball. No matter how many times I've played basketball, each time I set foot on that court, it gives me a sense of excitement. Same when I set foot in the box at NCF. Most importantly, one gets to meet people from so many walks of life!!! Men, women, children....WoW!!!! While, the healthy competition of who lifted how much or who ran how much is always there, it's about how one is always encouraging the other to do better. It's only here, after meeting these awesome bunch of people that I got to re-learn something that I forgot: Being strong also means that you help your buddy finish! The bench marks laid by the fellow members are sky high!! But what's more interesting is that it creates this 'I too can do it' feeling and even before you can realise it, you're already half past that bench mark!! May be the coaches do some sort of voodoo or spray some steroids in air... you never know, but whatever the case may be, you end up JUST DOing IT! This place has got so many possibilites and things to be learnt, that one just needs to be open!  And I am so glad that I've made such a good set of friends, who are just one another reason to make sure that no session is missed, no matter what! And this masti does not end with the end of  a session at the box, but goes on and on in the various groups of Whatsapp!!! 

                                                                                        On a serious note, if you really don't have anything that excites you so much, you're missing something really bad in your life. It's better late than never. Keep looking until you find it. For me till now it's about sports, health and fitness. For you, it might be soemhting else entirely. Whatevet it might be, each one of us must be doing that one thing every single day, which will make us: HAPPY! Yes, it will not be easy to do what you love in this cut-throat competitive world, but realise one thing before it's too late: Nothing is more that your own health, it's your greatest wealth! Make health your priority, your life will be at peace and all the materialistic things will fall into place, anyway. I'll quote H.H. Dalai Lama in this regard, "Man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he's never going to die. And dies as if never having lived". Therefore, start now. 

                                                              Wrapping it up, NCF is what I've been missing in my life after basketball. No more, no less. What I'm learning here will be utilised when I get to my long distant goal: Betterment of Sports in Our Country. Jai Hind!

A Tribute, Long Due !!!

I take the opportunity of the ongoing Universal Basketball Alliance (UBA), to present a tribute which  has been a due since long to a person who has played such an important role in my life. Some people just arrive into your life without any prior notice, and stay. And I’m very glad that this person, with whom my interaction just started as a mere ‘coach-pupil’ and then slowly but very strongly graduated to Well-wisher, then a friend and finally as a brother! And he is none other than the Charismatic, Who’s jaw dropping moves on the court need no introduction  its none other than the skipper of Hyderabad Sky: Prasad Salla!!!

Our meeting happened out of sheer accident (albeit, a good one) in one of the public basketball courts (which eventually became my home). I had just joined college then and had picked up the ball after  a long gap. I was playing basketball just for the love of it and had very little technical know-how of the game. Since our college did not have a court then, so a tournament meant that we teammates dropped by at nearest public courts for practice.  It was here that I first saw this person, who was already drenched in sweat by the time we came. He used to continuously shoot, practice his moves, take a break, repeat and by the time we finished our so called ‘hard practice’ he was still going on. Almost a week passed by and one day myself and a friend decided to play a little longer. As the other team-mates left we continued to play 1-on-1 and finally stopped when we thought it was ‘bad-light’. Then at this point we got to see what was happening on the other end of the court. This ‘person’ was still shooting in almost darkness and once he finished his routine with the ball, cycles of push-ups, crunches and sprints followed, endlessly.

The next day, we were back to practice with our team, and trying to play with the best of our ‘negligible knowledge’  we had of game plays. Finally this ‘person’  who probably laughed the entire week watching us dumb-heads play, walks up and says that he’d like to suggest a few moves/plays and we followed his instructions. So far so good. Now he says, “let’s put these moves you've just learnt to practice in a match scenario”. Here, I can assure you that we weren’t good players, but definitely not bad as a team. Coming back, he further adds, “we shall play 1 on 5”. Yes us 5 against just him!!  This statement stumped us clean.  Anyway what followed next was his unforgettable display of incredible talent, flawless skill and sheer athleticism.  The next day he ups the ante to 1 on 8 and we lost, as usual. Ladies and Gentlemen, that’s Prasad for you!

We lost the tournament that we were preparing for, but then it dawned on me that if I had to realize my dream of playing well, I needed a coach. And I exactly knew who that should be. At that point, apart from the name and team he plays for, I knew nothing of him. To my bad-luck, I visit the same public courts to get hold of him and he’s not there. The same result every single day. Finally, after  a month or so I bump into a team-mate of his and request his number. I call him up and I ask him if I could meet him. He gladly agrees and that one meeting, from that point on changed everything else for me. He starts to teach me basketball from the very fundamentals and his repeated emphasis on strong basics, which I always hated, but nevertheless followed. I realized the importance of these fundamentals, years later when I played on a higher level, in a foreign land. 

This man has an immense level of patience off-court and if you take him for granted, get ready to face exactly the opposite on-court. Make an unfair play, and he beats you down to the ground with the ball, literally. Talk trash to him and he answers first with the ball and then with his Devil’s level of sarcasm!! He teaches you how to beat him, but yet beats you time after time, even after letting out his secrets! Such is the level of confidence of this hoopster

He’s the perfect example of ‘age is just a number’  and this ‘Scoring machine’ manages to nail all his shots, without any excuses that we mortals usually make:

-       “I’m too tired”. Beats youngsters half of his age.

-       “I don’t have shoes”. He plays barefoot, even today.

-       “The ball is out of shape”. He does ‘nothing but the net’ with the same

-       “I don’t have my shorts”. He breaks your ankle,  in his jeans.

These are just a few examples of his prowess when it comes to the game of basketball. Not many know that he’s a natural athlete who covers almost every other game with equal ease. Football, Badminton, Cricket, Table Tennis,….. he got them all covered!!  Off the court, he’s none less than a celeb. And mind you that this status is no where related to his exploits on-court. He’s pure mischief and the laughter that follows will leave your stomach in pain, each time!!! Never to say ‘no’ to anyone who comes to him for help and does everything he can, within his reach and stretches further!

More than a great hoopster, he’s a wonderful person at heart, who has been playing the different roles in his life as: a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a player and a coach with effortless aplomb!!

As your pupil, I only thank you for one and only one thing: for taking me under your tutelage! And life has never been the same for me, ever again!!! Today I dedicate every: win, high performance play, impossible shot and every DUNK that I ever made to YOU!!

Lastly, not to forgot, I’m still training to beat you in our forever 1-on-1 which you’ve beaten me every single time till date. And yes the day I beat you and when you buy me that beer we always bet on, that beer will be the best tasting one! Get ready coach, I'm coming!!

Cheers to you bro !!

Cheers to Basketball !!!

A Story, 'The' Message.

                                                PART-I: The story

Close to around 11:00 pm on a Tuesday night, I head out to my usual late-night desert binge. Soon I am at the red light on an intersection, and see a young lady trying to start her 2-wheeler. I instinctively have the thought to offer help to her, but I back out thinking, "Oh she'll think that every guy will come to help when a girl is in trouble and later become over-friendly...." As the green flashes by, I somehow get over my ego and ask her, "Do you need any help madam?". And without the slightest sign of hesitation comes the reply, "Actually, YES". I park my vehicle aside and walk up to her and ask, "can I know what's the problem?". She says, "I'm out of fuel. I did have a back-up bottle in the boot but somehow the cap got undone and now it's also empty." And to her bad luck, tonight for a change, I swapped my motor-bike with dad's scooter, and one can't take out fuel from the scooter without the help of an external tube. The only way was to tow her bike to the nearest petrol bunk approx 2kms away. I convey the same to her. I give her instructions to hold the bike still and maintain her balance, while I use the power from my bike to put some momentum into her's. She sticks to my instructions to the T, and since there is no traffic at that hour, things were running smoothly. 

As soon as we covered a few hundred meters, she started saying this very often, "I'm so sorry, you are taking so much of a trouble for me". And I kept on telling her either one of these- "It's okay, absolutely no problem / your folks at home must be worried, so better get home soon." But she keeps on saying the same thing and it's kinda getting on to me. And I finally say without mincing my words, "madam, unfortunately these days, very bad things are happening with the women in our country. so it's very important you get home safely, asap." Having said that, for the remainder of the tow, she only says, "Am I holding the bike steady? are you fine?" I say, " yes, please continue the same way." 

Finally we arrive at the petrol bunk and I ask her one last time, "Madam, are you doing fine? Is there anything else that you need?" She walks up to me, removes her helmet and scarf underneath, extends her hand to follow it with a firm hand shake (stressing this because very few women do that) to say, "Thank you very much, it really means a lot to help at this hour." I say, "no problem madam, you take care and reach home safe".

                                         PART- II: The Message

My blogging habit is such that unless something really happens to me from deep within, I really can't come up with anything worthwhile to post. Among the host of things that are on my mind especially about the Nation's affairs from corruption to bifurcation of states, the security of women was really bothering me. But I couldn't have a say on any of them. All the major incidents that have been reported, starting from Mangalore, then Delhi and now Mumbai; Seriously, what's happening people? Can't we just simply sleep in peace without the worry that the women from our household will return home safe?

To the entire womankind: do not live in fear. Let this fear not be a 'Weapon of Concern' for your parents, brother, husband or whoever; that they use it so effectively that your freedom is snipped. But most importantly, each of you women need to take a different, smarter approach of something like "fight fire with fire". A forest fire is put out not by pouring gallons of water but by simply lighting another fire from the opposite end. Now, over here, this is a forest of thorns made up by filthy men who have done things that shouldn't have been done to women. Women out there should brace up themselves against such filth, armed in various ways so that such people will be nipped in their thought of committing a sin. Irrespective of you are in India or abroad, you must follow the below :

•  Outing: Step out in at least a group of 2 when you now that it's going to be a late-night or a distant trip.
• Vehicle: "Take care of your machine and the machine takes care of you". It could be your car or bike, always keep them well maintained, as an empty fuel tank situation can be avoided 200%.
• As for the unexpected engine breakdowns, flat tyres, etc. Keep your phone ready to dial up your SOS person. 
• Phone: Assign speed dial to your most important numbers. 
• Phone: students yes, all of you have a very tight budget. And keeping your phone always with balance might be a problem. Call 100/ local emergency numbers. You can dial from any mobile even with zero balance. Call a cop and they'll at least come down until your personal help arrives
• Phone: Have some discipline to keep it well charged at all times, just like you trim your nails without fail.
•  Pepper spray: Yes they are now a common commodity in all of the medical, cosmetic, beauty-care shops all over the country. Carry one in our hand bag, your car, your bike. And be smart, READ THE USAGE INSTRUCTIONS. And they cost less than what you spend on a facial.
• Pepper spray: order one now:  

                  http://www.healthkart.com/personal-care/women/self-defense

• Instincts: Nothing will beat your gut feelings. When you are out, always stay alert. Pay attention to the surroundings. For example: in a building that you just entered for the first time, quickly glance the number of exits it has. Such little observations will make a lot of difference during an emergency.

     

I am writing this message from a group of like-minded men-> a friend, a brother, a boyfriend & a husband who are very much concerned about his- friend, sister, girlfriend  & wife. All of us respect you to be independent, self-reliant and self-sustained. Trust us, we will be more proud than anybody else seeing you to be indpendent, etc. But we request you not to confuse our concern for Male-Chauvinism. We care about you more than ourselves. We don't mind when you all are going out  on your own in a bike/car, to late night parties, or whatever. We believe in you and really don’t care where you go to have fun; but practically, we want you to keep us informed about your well being at all times, so that incase of an emergency, we will be the first to be by your side. Therefore, during these testing times for the Urban Indian Woman, we want you to be more smart, instinctive and aggressive in the approach towards your goals. Together we can.

                                          PART-III : The Bottom-line

I might have never come up with this post had I not encountered this incident. In the end, as I see; it all boils down to that one millisecond when the light turned green and had I gone away....... not that anything would have happened to her, but simply reading about the past incidents in the daily news will be enough to poke my conscious for a life time. I wish that if not all the women in the entire world, at least those in my circle will understand this post and take care of themselves.