When Swami Vivekananda took 7 WICKETS against the British club

December 13, 2020 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

Born as Narendranath Datta, Swami Vivekananda is known as the monk who inculcated strength and determination in the youth of India through his powerful words and deeds. He was instrumental in spreading Indian spirituality and changing the image of India in the west, largely through his speech at the Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.

Vivekananda received enlightenment from his beloved spiritual guru Ramakrishna Paramhansa and his wife Sri Sarada Devi. He is also credited to have started Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math after his guru. He came to known as Swami Vivekananda after becoming a monk.

But despite Vivekananda being a monk and a spiritual guru, he gave high importance to physical activities like sports. He himself was actively involved in sports right from his school days. Along with football, a popular sport in West Bengal, he also played cricket.

It is one of Vivekananda’s heroics in cricket that is highlighted in this article. Something not many would know and would come as an exciting surprise.

Kolkata’s world renowned stadium Eden Gardens was built in the 19^th century and was one of the few epicentres of cricket in India back then. Among the many cricket enthusiasts who played cricket there also includes Swami Vivekananda, who was the young Narendranath Datta back then.

Author and former cricketer Raju Mukherji in his book Eden Gardens: Legend & Romance has written that Datta, in his 20s, played cricket at the stadium in the mid-1880s for Town Club, one of the earliest local clubs in Kolkata back then.

The Calcutta Cricket Club (CCC, which later went onto become Calcutta Cricket and Football Club) team was a formidable side back then. It largely contained British cricketers since it was formed by the British.

It was during a match against CCC that Datta took as many as 7 wickets in an innings.

Mukherjee has credited the April 2004 edition of the Bengali magazine Udbodhan for this startling piece of information.

Vivekananda has a large number of followers around the world. But this trivia is expected to amaze almost all of them as they wouldn’t be knowing it.

Also read: One of Wasim Akram’s biggest achievements is forgotten

There are also other unconfirmed reports stating that the CCC side was bowled out for just 20 runs because of Datta’s exploits and that the match took place 136 years ago. The reports also mention that it was coach Hema Chandra Ghosh’s words that encouraged the young Datta to give his best.

Vivekananda’s exploits on the field don’t come as a surprise though. He was an ambassador of sports even after he became a monk. One of his famous sayings goes like, “You will be nearer to God more through football than through the study of the Gita.”

What he meant was that merely following spirituality through reading is useless unless you give importance to physical fitness, which, in turn, helps in developing your mind. On various occasions, Swami Vivekananda has also spoken about treating your body as a temple.

Also read:

Only time Tendulkar was NOT selected in team India, neither injured nor rested

Forgotten spells: When Srinath was on a hattrick THRICE in one innings

The Hidden Hindu – Book Review

December 7, 2020 by Keyur Seta 3 Comments

The title of author Akshat Gupta’s novel The Hidden Hindu might make heads turn, thinking it might be on controversial lines. But that is far from the case. The book is a mystery thriller rooted in India’s mythology and history. It’s another addition to this genre that has become popular over the years.

The book revolves around an unusual investigation of the mysterious Aghori Sadhu. He is captured by India’s authorities and brought to the Ross Island in south India for interrogation. Dr Srinivasan heads the investigation along with Dr Shahista, Dr Batra and few other experts. The Aghori Sadhu introduced himself as Om Shastri.

But the investigating team is dumbfounded when he also claims to be various people from India’s mythology and history; right from the era of Ramayana and Mahabharata till the Indian freedom movement. The team rubbishes his claims of him being alive since thousands of years. So, who exactly is Om Shastri?

The biggest plus point of The Hidden Hindu is its fast pace. A large majority of the story takes place in a closed room, where a group of people are investigating, discussing and debating. This somewhere reminds you of 12 Angry Men (1957). The situation results in a book that can be completed in a jiffy.

At some point of time, The Hidden Hindu features the story of lord Dhanwantari and the father of Indian surgery Sushruta. This comes across as an interesting episode since this part of Indian history is not explored in the many novels that have come out of this genre.

These plus points, however, aren’t enough to overshadow the negatives. The book lags behind in the important aspects of story and its narration. For a large number of the pages, nothing concrete happens in terms of plot development as the investigation just keeps going on. The aforementioned episode about Dhanwantari and Sushruta comes as a respite but it’s certainly not enough.

Also read: Book Review – The Vault Of Vishnu

The reader is also not given proper insight into the investigating team. We are not told the back story of even the senior members of the team and the relation between them.

Furthermore, the writing lacks richness. Just being a fast-paced novel isn’t enough. The language should be impressive enough to even sail through the dry periods, which doesn’t happen here. The quality of the writing is felt the most in the ending portion, which is all over the place.

Also read: Book Review – Bhoot Bhavish Bartaman

There are also few language errors that should have been taken care during the editing.

This is the first book in The Hidden Hindu trilogy. India’s former cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his wife Sakshi Dhoni are coming out with a web-series on the book. The makers need to carry out some drastic changes in the content in order to make the show interesting.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Author: Akshat Gupta

Publishers: Genee Publishing House

Pages: 185

Price: Rs 249

When Indian crowd was in no MOOD to see India win

December 2, 2020 by Keyur Seta 5 Comments

Interruptions during cricket matches or any sport can be irritating. It gets worse when such interruptions bring a premature end to a game. As far as cricket is concerned, the most common spoilsport has been rain.

But the worst stoppage the game of cricket has seen is angry crowd behavior.

The mention of such disruptions instantly brings to our mind the India-Sri Lanka 1996 World Cup semi-final. The violence carried out by the crowd in Kolkata forced the match officials to end the game abruptly and declare Sri Lanka as the winners [India was anyways about to lose the match].

In the same year in the India v/s Australia match in the Titan Cup, the crowd in Bangalore went berserk when Mohammad Azharuddin was wrongly given out LBW. They finally settled down only after Azhar himself went to that part of the stand to request them to not indulge in such behavior.

But the worst crowd behavior in India came in 2002. Although it was the most inexplicable reaction by the crowd, it hardly finds a place in public memory.

India was playing a 7-match ODI series against the touring West Indies and were two down after the first two matches. The third match was in Rajkot and India was eager to open their account in the series in order to have a chance of winning the tournament.

Virendra Sehwag vs West Indies — Virender Sehwag (File photo)

West Indies batted first and scored 300 for 5, helped by Ramnaresh Sarwan’s 84, Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s 74 and Chris Gayle’s 72. India came out all guns blazing in reply. Skipper Saurav Ganguly and Virendra Sehwag had a 196 run opening partnership in which the latter scored 110!

When Sehwag is in such form, people would drop everything to watch him bat, irrespective of which cricketing country you belong to. But for some truly weird reason, the crowd at Rajkot started indulging in violent behavior by throwing stones and other items on the field, threatening the safety of the West Indies players.

Also read: Forgotten spells – When Srinath was on a hattrick THRICE in one innings

The security personnel tried their best to cool things down. But they were not enough in the face of the unruly crowd, which ensured that the match was halted thrice because of their antics.

Such behavior is somewhat understandable [but not justified by any means] if India is losing the match, like it happened in the 1996 semi-final. But why would anyone even think of showing such behavior when the home team is going great guns and with someone like Sehwag in full flow?

Finally, the match officials had to prematurely stop the game and award the match to India through the Duckworth-Lewis method. India were at a comfortable position at 200 for 1 in 27.1 overs with Sehwag not out on 114 off just 82 balls and VVS Laxman yet to open his account.

Also read: One of Wasim Akram’s biggest achievements is forgotten

The decision turned out to be controversial. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) complained to the International Cricket Council (ICC) against the decision of the Match Refree Mike Procter to use the D/L method to decide the winner. As per WICB, the match should have ended in ‘no result’ since it wasn’t halted by any force of nature.

When the 1996 WC semi-final was prematurely stopped, Sri Lanka were declared winners by default and not through D/L method.

Whether it was right to declare India the winners is debatable. But there is certainly no doubt that the people who came to see the match in Rajkot were lucky that there was no social media then and hence, the news of their behavior didn’t spread far and wide.

Highlights of the match:

#JusticeForSSR now has NO place on news channels. Who gained, who lost?

November 20, 2020 by Keyur Seta 7 Comments

Roughly few months ago, some Indian news channels had promised to give justice to the deceased Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR). As per the official version, the actor died of suicide on 14 June at his residence in Mumbai.

But these channels, like plenty of What’s App forwards, started spreading the theory that he was murdered and if there’s anyone who can give justice to Rajput, it is them. Hence, there was non-stop coverage on his death with channels ready to interview just about anyone who can speak on SSR – from Karni Sena members to anybody claiming to be the late actor’s friend.

One channel claimed to have all the proofs to support their claim of murder even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), who was handed over the case, still hasn’t come up with any such murder theory.

This resulted in crores of viewers getting carried away by the hyper coverage. They kept sharing posts related to SSR almost every minute while appealing to the authorities to punish SSR’s supposed murderers in the strictest way.

All this while, the fake news circulation on What’s App and social media reached another low. Among the many fake messages, the one that takes the cake was that SSR’s ‘murder’ was seen live by some Hindi film stars in their homes. I recently met one highly educated person who considers this ‘news’ about SSR to be absolutely true. And there are many more like him.

The sub-plot of the murder theory was the drugs angle in which SSR’s girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, her brother Showik Chakraborty and few others were arrested. These arrests were celebrated as if India got another freedom.

However, over the last few weeks, the campaign for SSR’s death has just died down. The timing for this is most interesting. It strangely coincided with the Bihar elections, which were recently over. As the people of the state finished casting their vote, SSR’s case faded away from the TV screens.

It was also during the campaign for the Bihar elections that BJP came out with a pamphlet with SSR’s face on it. [See below and read more about it HERE]. A clear indication that his death was just a political tool for them.

In this entire circus, it was the common public that was taken for a ride. Crores of people invested their time, energy and data while getting agitated online, considering themselves to be some sort of warriors. Only for it to boil down to nothing.

You indirectly helped these TV channels earn money, ratings and market their brand value. Today, the same channels have dropped the #JusticeForSSR issue like a hot potato. Just before publishing the report, a cursory check to these news channels showed that SSR’s death found no place on any of them.

Some news channels and political parties aren’t the only ones to gain from it. A YouTuber reportedly earned Rs 15 lakh from making fake videos related to SSR’s death. And his isn’t the only YouTube channel to gain from it. Again, it was the common public who made him earn a bomb.

Also, we didn’t realize when #JusticeForSSR slowly transformed into justice for a ‘news’ anchor, who was recently arrested. As soon as he was released on bail, his jubilant celebrations made it look like the last scene of a movie while the end credits are rolling – a contemporary way to say ‘The End!’

Also read: ‘Anti-nepotism’ brigade has created a TOXIC atmosphere online

SSR’s death definitely won’t be the last issue out of which a tamasha was created. There will be many more in the future.

The question to be asked is whether we will take this as a lesson learnt or get carried away again in the future. Going by how heavily people got influenced this time, I personally don’t have much hopes.

Sorry babu…

Additional reading:

Expecting MIRACLES from CBI in Sushant case isn’t smart

Book Review: The Vault of Vishnu by Ashwin Sanghi

November 17, 2020 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

After mixing contemporary issues with history and mythology in more than a handful of novels in his Bharata Series, author Ashwin Sanghi has become a master at that. He has continued the same with his latest offering The Vault Of Vishnu. And once again, the story he has told is way different than any of his previous books.

This time, the author has focused on the troubled political relationship between India and China. It starts off with a group of Indian soldiers mercilessly killed by the Chinese forces in Doklam. But what’s odd in the killings is that the Chinese forces appear like a mixture of humans and monkeys.

Paramjit Khurana aka Pam of the DRDO (Defence Research and Developmental Organization) is given the task to find more about the killings to help India’s defence personnel. She has a troubled past. Her father, who passionately served in the Indian defence forces, got killed under mysterious circumstances when she was a child.

Pam takes the help of the veteran intelligence officer Mark whose company works jointly with the DRDO. She had had a past with him, about which she is not proud.

Simultaneously, The Vault Of Vishnu also traces the centuries old journey of a Chinese Buddhist monk to India in search of something extremely valuable.

The Vault Of Vishnu is also about the ex-defence officer Dr Raja Rao, who is in his 90s, and his daughter Anu.

The synopsis might indicate that the book is a fast-paced action thriller but it’s not. Of course, it tells the story of India’s border issues with China. But it uses a nuanced storytelling method with attention to details.

However, this doesn’t mean that it’s not a page-turner. Sanghi, in his usual manner, has narrated an interesting tale in his usual gripping manner by giving proper space to every sub-plot. Those who are used to reading the author’s books will find the narrative extremely friendly.

Although the parallel story of the Chinese monk’s travel is way different than the present day tale about Pam, it doesn’t appear that way. This part also generates interest as you get absorbed in the monk’s journey. It is only in some parts in the pre-climax that it appears a bit stretched, especially the inclusion of too much of information about the monk’s travel.

Also read: Book Review: The Rozabal Line by Ashwin Sanghi

This part of the story gets you spellbound by Sanghi’s vast knowledge about history and mythology and his enormous research skills, which includes even the smallest of details.

The author’s rich language not only explains the tale in a simple manner but it also gets you hooked. This is also something Sanghi is used to doing.

Also read: Book Review: The Krishna Key by Ashwin Sanghi

A large part of your satisfaction with The Vault Of Vishnu comes with a major twist in the end that you didn’t see coming. Although it appears filmi, it still gives you a pleasant jolt.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review by: Keyur Seta

Publishers: Westlands Books

Pages: 313

Can we get BETTER Cricket highlights please?

November 13, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Cricket is like a religion in India. Along with watching matches involving their country, the Indian fans are also interested in following neutral matches. In fact, following other countries’ domestic matches is also an area of interest in India nowadays.

Over the last 20 years or so, the number of cricket series have increased manifolds. But at the same time, lives of not just working professionals but also of students have become more hectic. We have too many things to do in a single day. Hence, it’s not possible to dedicate a long duration of a day solely to watch a cricket match.

So, the only way we can keep himself or herself updated about every match around the world is by watching the highlights of those games. With the habit of watching videos on mobile phones spreading far and wide, it has become easy to watch highlights of the match you missed anytime and anywhere.

However, today many a times what we get in the name of highlights is disappointing to say the least. At a time when we have access to watch highlights as many times as we want, the worst we could expect is the people behind the highlights messing it up.

Somehow, the editors or channels showing us the highlights of a match believe that it should only contain wickets, fours and sixes. This thought process is the major problem with highlights today.

If you feel highlights should only cover these three aspects, I am sorry to say you are not aware of the most important function of highlights. Which is to know when a particular game turned on its head or what the biggest turning point of the match was.

And many a times, these match-turning moments are dot balls, as far as the highlight of limited over matches is concerned. If you feel a match can tilt from one side to another only during fours, sixes and wickets, I am sorry to say you are wrong. In white ball cricket, dot balls, especially in the end, are as precious and game-turning as wickets.

For example, I remember watching the highlights of T20 match where a team needed 7 runs of 6 balls. But we were directly shown the last ball where it needed 5 off 1 ball. What happened in the previous few balls was the turning point of the match, which, astonishingly, doesn’t get featured in the highlights.

Just imagine, a person takes out time excitedly to watch the highlights of a close game only to realize that it doesn’t feature the most important part of the match!

I completely understand that highlights need to be crisp. But this is where the person responsible for the highlights should know what to retain and what not to. And if that person believes retaining replays of a crowd catch is more important than the dot balls that changed the match, it really won’t help.

Also read: Forgotten spells: When Srinath rattled South Africans singlehandedly

I personally feel it’s okay to skip one or two boundaries to show the biggest turning point of a match. It is understandable somehow in TV highlights where it’s necessary to complete the package in a stipulated time. But online highlights are not of any stipulated duration. So, adding just another 30-40 seconds that actually changed the match shouldn’t hurt.

Earlier in the year, the veteran cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle also pointed out in a Facebook post that today you won’t find the game-changing moments in the highlights [Unable to find the post. If someone is able to, do share].

Additional reading:

One of Wasim Akram’s greatest achievements is forgotten

Forgotten innings: Lance Klusener’s 99 v/s Sri Lanka

Srinath’s Titan Cup performance is proof that stats don’t show the real picture

November 4, 2020 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Javagal Srinath has been one of the best fast bowlers to have played for India. The pacer was always ready to give his all whenever the team needed, irrespective of the conditions and the format. He is the second highest wicket taker for India in one-day internationals (ODIs) with 315 wickets.

But the bowler had an unusually unbelievable record in the Titan Cup in 1996. For those who are too young, the Titan Cup was a triangular series played between India, South Africa and Australia in India. Surprisingly, Australia failed to win a single match in the entire series, where each team played each other thrice. So, India and South Africa reached the finals.

The proteas were in terrific form all through the league matches; winning all of them comfortably. However, SA somehow couldn’t chase India’s total of 220 in the final and lost the title to the hosts.

But something unusual about the Titan Cup popped up into my memory recently. It’s about Javagal Srinath’s performance with the ball. You would be stunned to know how many wickets he took in the entire tournament.

As strange as it may sound, the bowler could pick up only 1 wicket in the entire series in which India played a total of six matches, including the final. He played all six matches and opened the bowling in all of them.

Generally, one would attribute bad performance for such a record. But that was not the case with Srinath. I remember the pacer bowling with dedication in every match of the series. In fact, this info about him picking just 1 wicket is hardly known because he never faced any criticism for it. Rightly so because he bowled well in the series.

In most of the matches, he bowled economically and didn’t make it easy for the batsmen. This helped bowlers from the other end pick up wickets. But instances of putting pressure never get a mention in scorecards.

The one wicket Javagal Srinath took was in India’s second last match against Australia in Mohali. It was an important one of Michael Slater, who was out leg before wicket. The match was an unofficial semi-final for both the teams.

Also read: Forgotten innings: Lance Klusener’s 99 w/s Sri Lanka in the final

We have heard a lot of cricket experts or commentators say that statistics don’t show you the real picture. Javagal Srinath’s performance in the Titan Cup is a shining example of it. There are days when even the greatest of spells don’t yield results. This is where it gives a feeling that luck also plays a role to some extent in the sport.

But despite this, it would be wrong to say that Javagal Srinath had a quiet tournament. He made up for it with the bat. He was the hero when India was struggling to chase a modest score of 215 against Australia in a league match and were 8 down. Srinath saw India home with some fine support from his Karnataka team-mate Anil Kumble.

Back then, it was an era of pinch-hitters and Srinath was India’s most favored one for that role. In the league match against South Africa at Rajkot, Srinath top scored with 53 runs [his highest score] after coming one down as a pinch-hitter. Not many would have expected him to be India’s highest scorer in any match.

While writing this, another major example of stats not being the ultimate truth comes to my mind. Rohit Sharma scored a mammoth 264 against Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014. Nine years earlier to that, Sachin Tendulkar scored 98 against Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup.

The score of 264 is way more than 98. Yet, Tendulkar’s innings is held in much higher regards than Sharma’s.

I am sure there are many more such examples.

Additional reading:

One of Wasim Akram’s biggest achievements is forgotten

Forgotten spells: When Srinath rattled South African batting order singlehandedly

Walking out of abusive marriage was the best decision: Social activist Urmila Chanam

October 29, 2020 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

There was a time when Urmila Chanam’s life was full of uncertainty. She was going through an abusive marriage in her hometown Manipur while looking after her little daughter. At that time, not many would have expected her to be known as one of the most renowned journalists, social workers and social activists a decade later.

But that is exactly what happened with Urmila Chanam. After she walked out of her marriage, she built her life from scratch and has now reached the pinnacle of success. She has been working tirelessly for spreading awareness about women’s empowerment, women’s health, waste management, digital literacy of girls and women and family planning. Earlier she worked in HIV/AIDS-related causes and rural development.

In an exclusive chat with us for our Young Achievers’ section, Urmila Chanam looks back at her life and shares in detail about her work as a social worker and social entrepreneur.

Best decision of life

Leaving the abusive marriage was the best decision I made because life is beautiful and it has to be experienced the way it’s meant to be. I am a single mother now. There are problems which are inherent when you are a single parent as there is just one person managing the house, child, career and profession. Then you have your family to look after. So you have double work to manage.

Urmila Chanam (All photos source: Facebook)

More blessings than problems

But the problems are limited to this and the blessings are many. You are free to make your decisions and somebody is not there to make your life miserable. You don’t have sadness and you are not pushed to your worst constantly. So when all those negatives go from your life, your life then gets room for good things to step in. So that’s why I say this is the best decision I made. When I got free, my social work and journalism picked up and I flourished as a person.

Looking back

It’s almost funny when I look back to the time when I was married and was just a graduate. My former father-in-law used to tell my former husband that if you both relocate to Bangalore or any metropolitan city then you will get a good doctor’s job in a good hospital. ‘Your wife, as she is young, will get a job as a receptionist in some place,’ he said. So in their eyes my calibre was very low, also for the man I was married to.

Now I am a social worker, social activist, columnist and journalist. When I go to the field in new districts and when I introduce myself to doctors with my name and organization and I discuss with them the situation of women’s health. Many times at the end of the meeting, the doctors and nurses tell me that they already know me because they have read my articles since long.

All this was possible because I gave attention to my own growth and I walked out of an abusive marriage to build myself.

Urmila Chanam pads — With a carton of sanitary pads donated by someone

No compromise with self-esteem and dignity

I am not telling every married woman should walk out of the marriage at the mere mention of a problem. That’s not what I advocate. Each person is free to decide what is her threshold. But when you try to establish your threshold to the point till where you can take, I think personal dignity and self-esteem are non-negotiables. Once you compromise there, I don’t think any woman or a man can live a happy life.

Getting started

I started my career in rural development and community mobilizing officer and NREGA in-charge where my role was to form self-help groups among women, train them and keep them strong as they grew. To link them to funding from banks, to export and market their products and help them generate income through CII platforms. That was my first job.

Working in HIV/ AIDS prevention

I have worked in HIV/ AIDS prevention care and treatment at program as well as policy level for several years and also worked with United Nations (UN) in that capacity. I was also attached to Manipur Legislative Assembly and working with ministers and Chief Minister.

Urmila Chanam-Men take the lead — During her initiative ‘Men Take The Lead’ where men help in spreading awareness about menstrual hygiene

Worked with various sections of society

I have worked with transgender community, with drug users, female sex workers, orphan and vulnerable children, famers, self-help group women and youth. So I have worked with large segment of people in my career. Finally, I have quit my job so that I can build my organization and fulfil the vision that I have for women empowerment, family planning and digital literacy.

Also read – Young achiever: India has power, ability to overcome worse than this, says 21-year-old MD Sahil Lalwani

Maintaining a decent lifestyle despite being a social worker

I think it is not easy to maintain a decent lifestyle while being a social worker. Now that I have become a social entrepreneur, I have realized it requires business skills to make it succeed. They say every artist is not a businessperson. There may be a great painter making beautiful, life-changing paintings. But do they necessarily have the business skill to sell that paintings. The answer is no.

Need to become social entrepreneur

Just because somebody is very good at social work, it is not necessary that the person has the business or entrepreneurship skills to establish a strong organization, find funding and be able to run that organization for years. These are two different skill sets. Right now I am at the juncture where having been a social worker for little over a decade, I have ventured into entrepreneurship. I have to acquire new skills, explore new places and make my organization a pillar of strength in terms of programs, vision and reaching a vast number of girls.

Message for women

Women may grow up thinking that there are things only men can do. They might feel scared that they might not be able to look after themselves and live a happy life without a man. Even I used to sometimes worry about that when I left my abusive marriage and got divorced. But in these 10 years I have found that there is nothing that a woman cannot do. You can do anything. Be it banking, investment, travel, etc. Everything is manageable. You only underestimated your talent.

Decoding Mirzapur 2’s POST-CREDIT scene (SPOILERS alert!)

October 27, 2020 by Keyur Seta 4 Comments

Having a post-credit scene is in vogue in the west but the idea is currently taking baby steps in India. So, when the makers of Amazon Prime Video’s Mirzapur season 2 kept a post-credit scene at the end of the last episode, hardly anyone of us saw it since we never anticipated it.

The show’s cast member Vijay Varma, who plays the dual role of the twins Bade and Chhote, had to enlighten or spoon-feed us about it on Twitter for us to realize it. As soon as he revealed it, people rushed back to the finale of the last episode of Mirzapur 2 to have a look at it.

SPOILERS ahead

The post-credit scene in Mirzapur 2 comes minutes after the ending credits start rolling. The scene features Varma sitting in his office toying with a ring on his finger. The ring falls from his hand and Dadda (Lilliput), from the adjacent room, addresses him as ‘Bade’ and asks him to bring some files.

Explanation of the scene

After going through various comments on social media, it is found that there are people who haven’t understood the scene.

As we know, Varma plays the double role of twins Bade and Chhote. Bade is called so because he is five minutes elder to Chhote. Bade is married while Chhote isn’t. During the ending moments of the final episode, we see both Bade and Chhote getting shot. But we are not told whether both die or one of them survives or both survive.

The post-credit scene makes it clear that Bade is dead and Chhote is impersonating as Bade. He wasn’t merely toying with the ring. He was struggling to play with it on his index finger like Bade used to do [thank you Mandar Dalvi for this bit in the comments]. As he is unable to do that, he keeps it away so that his bluff doesn’t get exposed.

This should bring back memories of a moment in one of the earlier episodes where Chhote impersonates Bade and succeeds in fooling the latter’s wife.

Also read: Difference between film journalism and entertainment journalism

We now realize that that moment had plenty of relevance!

Needless to say, this obviously means that there will be the third season of Mirzapur in which Chhote will play an important role.

Additional reading:

Fact check: Was Deepika Padukone paid Rs 5 crore to attend JNU protests?

Reaction to Tanishq ad reveals THREAT to the very idea of India

14-year-old Marian Gherasim becomes the youngest T20 int. player

October 21, 2020 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

Romania’s Marian Gherasim has become the youngest player ever to play an international T20 game at the age of 14 years and 16 days on 16 October. He made the record when he played the second T20 of their bilateral series against Bulgaria at the Ilfov County ground.

Gherasim broke the record of Kuwait’s Meet Bhavsar who had made his T20 debut against Maldvives at the age of 14 years and 211 days in January last year. [See the list of youngest players to debut in T20 internationals HERE]

Gherasim is a medium fast bowler who also bows off spin. He didn’t bowl on his debut match. But he did bowl 3 overs in his second match the next day and picked up 1 wicket by giving only 22 runs. [See the scorecard HERE]

Marian Gherasim flanked by his teammates Pavel Florin and Cosmin Zavoiu [Photo courtesy: Paval Florin on Facebook]

Ramesh Satheesan, the captain of Romania, spoke about him during a discussion in the Facebook group ‘Die Hard Cricket Fans.’ He said, “He’s been with us ever since he was 10, developing his cricket under the watchful eyes of our national coach. Multi talented guy, bowls perfect off spin nowadays with loop and spin. [He] mixes leg spinners in between.”

About the wicket he took, Satheesan added, “He’s also the youngest to have taken an international wicket I believe that too that of the opponent captain; with a perfect loop and beating the batsman in flight.”

Astonishingly, Gherasim was also a part of the Romanian team when he was 12 years old but those matches didn’t qualify as international matches.

Gherasim is the youngest of the three brothers. His eldest brother Laurentiu made his T20 debut with the team at the age of 16 last year.

Sharing how the Gherasim brothers started playing cricket for them, Satheesan added, “Their house is very close to our cricket ground in this village called Moaravlasie and every time there’s a game happening in the ground, these lads used to visit us and started played casually. That’s how the fascination started.”

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