Sachin’s Farewell Speech!

November 16, 2013 by Keyur Seta 1 Comment

Even for the greatest writer ever, it would be impossible to describe Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell speech in words. All I can say is that it was something even non-cricket lovers would want to see again and again. There is a motivating message not only for budding cricketers but also for people from all professions. In fact, it can even be labeled as a crash course in humility. Thank You SACHIN!

So here goes the video of one of the greatest speeches in the history of mankind :-

Video credit: Star Sports Channel on YouTube

Picture Source: Refernews.com

Sachin’s Last Inning: Why so emotional?

November 15, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

Sachin Tendulkar walking back to the pavilion to a rousing applause from his home crowd after playing his last ever innings of 74 runs will surely be one of cricket’s most memorable moments, if not the most memorable. For me, that scene is on par with India’s World Cup triumph at the same venue – Wankhede Stadium. It was an emotional moment not only for Indian cricket lovers but for cricket fans all over the world as they won’t be seeing their earthly God bat again.

However, as surprising as it may sound, I am feeling uneasy after reading the whole lot of over-emotional comments on social media after the Master Blaster got out. Although I too am an ever-worshipping fan of Sachin, I think we are going overboard by emotions. Let’s face it – he had to retire one day. The poor lad has been playing for 24 long years. How much more do you expect from him? He is a human being after all, although we prefer to address him as God.

Instead of the emotional atyachar, we should thank God (real one) for our timing on earth. We have got a chance to witness his entire celebrated career of 24 years. In other words, we have received lessons of inspiration in the most enjoyable manner. I don’t mean inspiration only for budding cricketers but for people from all walks of life; such has been the magnanimity of Sachin!

But apart from inspiration, the reason why Sachin stands out from the rest is his humble, down-to-earth nature. How many of us would retain their humbleness even after receiving such Godly status? Very few! This lesson of humanity is another message that Sachin has indirectly given us always. This is Being Human in actual sense!

Lastly, thank you Sachin for showing us an ideal example of a perfect human being!

(To see the memorable farewell speech by SACHIN, click HERE.)

Sachin walking back to the pavilion after playing the last innings of his career

Here’s a poem I had written for Sachin on his birthday in 2011:

Unki Karamaton Ne Kiya Jawan

Jab se paon sambhale humne zameen par,
Unhone paon jamaye khel ke maidan par,
Chalne lage hum duniya samajne,
Ve chalne lage apni takdeer banane,

Hue bade to museebaten badhi,
Unhe bhi tikaon ki badhaen nadi,
Bhagwan dilate humen museebaton se chhutkara,
Unhone tikaon ko balle se de mara

Apekshaon ke boj se jab hum thak jate,
Un par ladi sau karod apekshaon ko dekhte,
Ve jab dete apekshaon ko hathiyar mein badal,
Prerna lekar hum karte us par amal

Hue hum jawan unke vikas ke samantar,
Rahega is baat ka garv humen jeevanbhar,
Usi garv se dete hai aapko varshganth pe salam,
Vishvabhar mein ooncha rahen sadaiva aapka naam

Sachin’s 200 test ticket fiasco not surprising!

November 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

There is shock and outrage among the Common Man over the non-availability of tickets for Sachin Tendulkar’s 200^th test match. But although I am eager to watch Sachin’s last match, I am not at all surprised by the turn of events, forget being shocked. This is simply because of the terrible history of the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA).

This is not the first time that the Common Man has been deprived of watching a cricket match in the stadium. For as long as I know, the MCA has always been favoring affiliated clubs and, of course, the so-called VIPs and VVIPs whenever there has been an important match held at the Wankhede Stadium.

Picture Source: Indianexpress.com

So, to me, it doesn’t come as a surprise whatsoever to see them do the same thing during the most important match ever in India; maybe on par with the World Cup Final. Just imagine – out of 50 or 60 thousand tickets, they kept just 4500 tickets for common public. However, even such tiny numbers of tickets were not sold to the public. The excuses given about law and order problem due to the sale of large number of tickets on stands and other issues are plain laughable!

Due to such excuses, they decided to sell those 4500 tickets online but how many did they actually sell? I had predicted beforehand that even the online sale of tickets is just a sham so I didn’t even try. The website owners said the site crashed as too many people logged in. And when the site finally opened, all tickets were already sold. Then the website walas created fake Twitter IDs for praising their site for their work in selling the tickets. You can’t fool as all the time!

In this way, the MCA has indirectly announced that such matches are only for the rich and elite class comprising super rich businessmen and Bollywood celebrities. The Common Man, who has solely helped in taking cricket and Sachin to such enormous heights, has no right to bid farewell to the legend! They have shown that for them, we cricket lovers forming the masses can be treated like dogs because they very well know next time, when there will be an important match at the Wankhede, we all will queue up again!

It also doesn’t come as a surprise to see such high level of black-marketing of tickets. In fact, such corrupt activities take place before each and every important match just below the nose of MCA authorities. What does this mean? Please read between the lines.

So the question remains – what can we do in such a terrible situation? One option is to dissolve not only the MCA but the entire Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The other is to stop buying tickets not only in black but also in normal rates and refuse to go even if you get them from any of the affiliated clubs. Empty stands will open their eyes! I am well aware that both these possibilities sound almost impossible. But there doesn’t seem to be any other option.

Campa Cola Issue: Common Man about to be strangled!

November 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta 6 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

I am shocked with disbelief at the happenings outside Mumbai’s Campa Cola Compound in Worli. Hundreds of families have been staying in it for around 25 years. They bought their houses from their hard earned money. Plus, they have been paying regular taxes all these years. But now Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is all set to demolish their houses just because of a shoddy crime committed by the builder and the politicians.

Picture Source: Mid Day

Just try to imagine this – The builder plays a game of crook with the politicians to earn huge sums of money by constructing three illegal floors in the buildings. Oblivious to this fact, a number of families buy flats on these floors. They keep paying taxes for 25 years with the BMC having no clue about the scam.

Now after 25 years, the BMC somehow get enlightened about the scam. So what do they do? They forcefully try to vacate the innocent residents from their home sweet home. They are not provided with any other option or compensation whatsoever! They are common people like me and you. Where will they go now?

How justifiable is to torture the Common Man for the shoddy crime committed by the builder-politician nexus? Where the hell are we heading? I am not sorry to say that the British Raj was better!

These poor residents are literally begging to the Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan to intervene and help but the he has no time for them. Of course, he has all the time to attend Sachin Tendulkar’s felicitation!

Picture Source: Ndtv.com

What’s more annoying is how scams worth thousands of crores are being allowed in our country. These criminal politicians are roaming scot free while innocent residents are turned into beggars. Also, we all know the extent of corruption in BMC itself. Despite spending hundreds of crores for better roads and other welfare of Mumbai, hardly any work is done. One doesn’t need to be a genius to realize that this is nothing but shoddy corruption. Why no action against any such terrible crimes? Will law be used or rather misused only to punish innocents in such a terrible manner?

As I write this, the poor residents of Campa Cola Compound are struggling and begging for their homes to be returned to them. At any moment their shelter can be snatched away from them for no fault of theirs!

Now all eyes are on the happenings at Campa Cola. If the Common Man is strangled now, it will be proved that we are living in a lawless land!

Picture Source: Indianexpress.com

Interfaith Dialogue: We have the same flesh & blood!

November 12, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

All over the world, human population is divided on the basis of religion. There are a large number of religions practiced universally and people from each one consider someone from another religion as different from him or her. But if we look at it closely, we realize that we all fall under the category of human beings; that we all have the same flesh and bones; that we all feel happy and sad at the same things. This universal truth was presented at the event Interfaith Dialogue for Modern Era in Mumbai by Ramakrishna Mission and Math, Mumbai. The Interfaith Dialogue was a part of the 150th Birth Anniversary celebrations of Swami Vivekananda, whose message was also spread widely at the event.

There was dialogue and interaction by religious heads of various religions –

Christianity by Father Joshua
Zoroastrianism by Lion Yazdi Panthaki
Baha’ism by Dr Mangesh Teli
Buddhism by Prof. Sudhakar Arjun Pawar
Jainism Dr. Bipin Doshi
Islam by Maulana Syed Athar Ali
Sikhism by Mr. Harpal Singh
Judaism by Mr. Ralphy Jhira
Sufism by Mr. Sami Bubere
Hinduism by Swami Atmapriyanandji Maharaj

After listening to each one of them, it wasn’t hard to realize that all religions preach the same message of humanity, oneness, equality and love for all fellow beings.

Some pictures from the event:

Picture Source – DnaIndia.com

Shahid Movie Review

October 13, 2013 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

Director: Hansal Mehta

Producers: Bohra Bros. Pvt. Ltd and AKFPL Production

Writers: Hansal Mehta, Sameer Gautam Singh and Apurva Asrani

Cast: Raj Kumar Yadav, Prabhleen Sandhu, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub, Baljinder Kaur, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Vipin Sharma, Kay Kay Menon

Genre: Drama/ Thriller

Rating: * * * *

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Shahid is a biopic on the life of the deceased lawyer Shahid Azmi. He was murdered in 2010 for defending innocents wrongly framed for terror activities.

The film traces Shahid’s journey from the 1993 Mumbai blasts. The incident has such a devastating impact on the youngster that he joins a terror outfit in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK). Fortunately, he realizes his mistake and manages to return home in Mumbai. Further circumstances ensure that he becomes a successful defense lawyer. But his real challenge starts now.

Review: There are good films and there are also very good films. But there are very few ones that make Indian cinema proud. Director Hansal Mehta’s Shahid is one such movie that has all the rights to hold its head high regardless of its fate at the box office.

Picture source – Zeenews.com

The film is a fine example of an impeccable script (Gautam Singh and Mehta), gritty presentation and excellent performances. Result of the aforementioned mixture is sure to yield great results and that is exactly the case with Shahid. It is a good idea to reveal the climax at the start so that the viewer is able to concentrate Shahid’s journey. Although the protagonist’s life story is interesting, it is not an easy task to narrate such a tale, especially with such low budget.

The way diverse events and sub plots are woven together deserve special mention, especially Shahid’s love interest which doesn’t obstruct the proceedings whatsoever. Lastly, the flick throws a number of hard-hitting questions on the deterioration of democracy in today’s times. The only negative point one can find is that the ongoing appears a bit dragged after a point of time in the second half. Plus, the hardcore commercial audience might not appreciate this genre of cinema. However, these are not major flaws.

From the technical department, some crafty camerawork perfectly suits the need of the film. Few single-take shots through a hand held camera are very impressive. Some powerful background score and apt editing too deserve praise.

Some performances become a milestone in every successful actor’s career. Raj Kumar Yadav’s act in Shahid is one such milestone which will take his career to greater heights. His portrayal of different shades of the character can only be described as brilliant! However, despite such an act from the lead actor, Prabhleen Kaur manages to impress via her perfect portrayal as Shahid’s love interest.

After No One Killed Jessica, Jannat 2 and Raanjhanaa, Mohammad Zeeshan Ayub is once again super impressive. In the role of Shahid’s mother, Baljinder Kaur suits well. There some wonderful cameos too from Kay Kay Menon, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Vipin Sharma and Shalini Vatsa.

Overall, Shahid is a must watch. Those eager for meaningful cinema should surely support it if they wish to see such genre of films in the future. Positive word-of-mouth is the only hope for the film to make a mark at the box office.

Sachin retirement: Memories never retire!

October 10, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

So the news the world never wished to hear is out. The God of cricket Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar has finally announced retirement from international cricket. Of course, the news is not surprising whatsoever even to a single cricket fan, yet it has hit everyone like a bolt simply because of Sachin’s priceless value. Some are literally into tears!

However, as strange as it may sound, in the midst of the emotional turmoil, I might be in the minority for not being sad, shattered or whatever. This might even label me as anti-Sachin or a Sachin hater, but believe me, I am not. My close friends would know that I have worshipped him as much as you people (you can read my poem on him by clicking HERE). It might sound rude but I think we should all accept the truth.

The law of nature is that everything has to end one day. None can escape this law including Sachin’s career. Every player has to end his career at some point or the other. Let’s be practical – Sachin had to retire one day, no matter how much we hoped against it. Also let’s face it – he is facing a lot of trouble with his technique and timing since recent times. And come on, he has been playing international cricket since 24 long years! How much more do you expect from him?

The number of great and proud memories provided by the Master Blaster is uncountable. It won’t be an overstatement to term them as priceless treasure. So instead of crying over his retirement, let’s be positive and cherish the priceless treasure. Our wailing will make things difficult for Sachin himself. By the way, one thing I can assure everyone is that the great man would continue to do his bit for cricket or other sports. Despite retiring, you will keep hearing good things about him for sure!

Sachin’s emotional strength was proved during the 1999 World Cup where he played against Kenya just after he lost his father. So being true Sachin fans, we can’t afford to be weak. In case, if we do, just revisit his numerous innings available on YouTube. After all, memories never retire!

Picture source: Cricinfo.com

Mr Srinivasan, even retards won’t endorse your ‘enthusiast’ theory!

May 29, 2013 by Keyur Seta 6 Comments

With the BCCI chief trying to fool people in the most shocking manner, it is high time the legends of the game listen to their conscience and speak on behalf of those who made them what they are: their fans!

By: Keyur Seta

Politicians and big-shots trying to fool the aam junta is nothing new in our country. For them, the common public is either unintelligent to fall in the trap or too busy in their own life to pay heed to the issue. But the way N Srinivasan, the President of the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI), is lying through his teeth has set a new benchmark in trying to take the country for a ride!

Picture Source – Indianexpress.com

Let’s have a look at the background of the issue first. As we all are aware, Srinivasan’s son-in-law Gurunath Meiyappan, owner of Chennai Super Kings, is arrested for his alleged role in betting and match-fixing (or spot-fixing as they are calling it) in the so-called cricket series Indian Premier League (IPL). So according to the IPL rules, the team can be banned due to their owner’s malpractice.

But to make sure his son-in-law doesn’t get into trouble and his team isn’t banned, Srinivasan has come up with a shocking theory. According to him, Gurunath is neither the owner of CSK nor he is associated with the team in any way. In fact, he also says, Gurunath is just a cricket enthusiast who travels with the team!!! Well, even mentally retarded individuals won’t believe such a theory.

The President has clearly gone way too ahead in trying to fool the people of India due to the following reasons:-

Gurunath’s ID card, which is splashed across all TV channels, mentions him as the owner of CSK.
We have seen him giving numerous interviews on TV as the owner of CSK.
His visiting cards mention him as the owner of CSK. This was also shown across various news channels.
(Best point of all) He was seen bidding for his team at IPL team auctioning.

Before this incident, nobody knew that a mere cricket enthusiast gets all these privileges! I can assure to Srinivasan that I am a much bigger cricket enthusiast than Gurunath. So will I be given the opportunity to speak as a team owner and bid for the team during auctions?

More than Srinivas’s shocking claims, it is the audacity at which he is making them and, in turn, blaming the media for ‘hounding’ him that speaks volumes about his adamancy for fooling the people of India!

On the contrary, we should thank the media, especially Times Now, for not giving up on the issue and asking what billions of cricket fans across the country are desperate to ask. In fact, we can only rely on the media because the big names of the game aren’t going to utter a word on the issue. This is so evident from yesterday’s press conference where Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni just behaved like a puppet on the hands of his CSK owner and the BCCI President!

It was highly sad to see someone so confident and brave transforming into a scary bone! If this continues, be rest assured, the whole issue will soon be swept under the carpet. It is high time the big names of Indian cricket, including the Tendulkars, Dravids and Dhonis, raise their voice on behalf of those who have made them what they are: their billions of fans! It is up to them to choose between their bosses and their conscience!

“Forgive him, he’s a superstar!”

May 18, 2013 by Keyur Seta Leave a Comment

By: Keyur Seta

The phenomenon of hero worshipping is very old among Hindi cinema lovers. There is nothing wrong with it since these actors have entertained us and helped us escape from our stressful routine. But when hero worshipping goes onto a level that people turn a blind eye to the high level of crime their onscreen ‘hero’ commits, be rest assured we are living in dangerous times.

Picture Source – Mail.com

I have always found it questionable and even disturbing to see people demanding forgiveness for Sanjay Dutt despite him being convicted in an utterly dangerous crime of storing arms in connection with the 1993 bomb blasts. But my disturbance scaled higher levels recently when I saw the actor being surrounded and cheered by his fans when he was about to surrender at the Tada Jail. It’s so funny to see people supporting a criminal just because he is a big Bollywood superstar!

All these disturbing scenes have given rise to a single question in my mind – Suppose if a common man like me was convicted under the arms act in connection to a crime as serious as 1993 bomb blasts, how many people would have supported me and demanded forgiveness for me? Nobody would have simply because I am not a superstar! The public would have burnt my effigies in fact! So how can the law be different for a common man and a filmstar?

It is been argued that Dutt has already spent some time in jail but is it enough for a crime as serious as this? His supporters are also raising the point that he deeply regrets what he did. So suppose if I commit a similar serious crime and then repent my acts, will people demand for my forgiveness too?

In the midst of this madness, Nana Patekar’s brave and bold statement on the issue has come as a pleasant surprise. The fearless way in which Nana has expressed no mercy for Dutt has increased my respect for him manifolds. Perhaps, he is the only one from the film fraternity to have spoken about equality in law.

As for the rest from the industry, they scream about honesty, truth and justice only in their films. Their fans whistle and clap whenever their favorite actors speak about these three issues. In real life, both parties will go all out in supporting a criminal activity.

Watch Nana Patekar giving a fearless opinion against Sanjay Dutt’s mercy:

Being great not enough to be Sachin!

February 27, 2013 by Keyur Seta 2 Comments

By: Keyur Seta

The recently concluded first test match between India and Australia at Chennai will mostly be remembered for Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s unbelievable knock of 224. But taking nothing away from Dhoni, this feature focuses on India’s batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar’s 81 in the first innings that rescued India from a ghastly situation.

However, since last 24 years, Sachin’s greatness has been described millions of times in so many ways that there are no words or adjectives left in the dictionary to write anything new about it. So I won’t go into how wonderfully he played under pressure (like always) because that has been reported everywhere and we all have seen it. Instead, I will focus on the background of the innings which goes back to the start of January this year.

After reaching 100 in the Ranji Quarterfinal (Picture – TOI)

Sachin wasn’t having a good run in test cricket during the latter part of 2012. Somehow he was not able to stay long at the crease and was getting bowled most of the times. Apart from the man himself, it was also heartbreaking for us, the fans. Naturally, his bad run also gave a free ticket to these silly news channel anchors to force him to retire. Such a thing can happen only in India where those who mustn’t have held a bat in their lives can dictate terms to the best batsmen ever!

Any international player with such experience would have labeled this period as a bad patch without accepting that something is wrong with his game. At the most, he would have practiced in the nets for long hours or taken guidance from his coach.

But Sachin is not ‘any international player’. Despite bagging the most number of batting achievements ever, he was humble enough to accept some error in his play. And instead of just resorting to basic techniques to improve his game, he went back to play domestic cricket for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Despite having played at the biggest international platforms, there he was playing in the Ranji Trophy Quarterfinal against Baroda at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium with the same determination.

Much to his and his admirers’ delight and relief, the Master Blaster went on to score a hundred and drove his team out of trouble. This might appear as just a domestic level century but Sachin and his admirers, who had gathered to watch him despite India-Pakistan one dayer being played elsewhere, knew the worth of the innings. A couple of over-enthusiastic fans also ran to the field and, much to everyone’s disbelief, touched their God’s feet! I and my friends were hugely lucky to witness the scene in front of our eyes.

Historic moment (Picture – Deccan Chronicle)

This was followed by a half century in the semifinal against Services. More than the innings what was more impressive was that a player of Sachin’s caliber went to play at a venue which was as poor as a school playground! He was looking great in the final against Saurashtra as well but was run out by fellow batsman Wasim Jaffer. But instead of giving an angry look to Jaffer, Sachin gave him words of encouragement! Who would have done that considering the innings was so important for him and the team? This time, we witnessed the kindest side of a champion, again in front of our eyes. The pep talk helped Jaffer who made a valuable contribution to Mumbai’s 40^th Ranji triumph.

This isn’t all though. Sachin slammed another ton in the Irani Trophy match next week, once again witnessed by us. Sadly, other batsmen threw their wickets which left him stranded on 140. What was noteworthy here was Sachin’s disappointment to see Mumbai falling short of Rest Of India’s total although he scored a hundred. This proves that even a domestic match means so much to him despite tasting World Cup glory and some memorable test victories!

In this way, he had a series of good scores before the first test against Australia. This helped him and India immensely for the Master Blaster was able to dig the team out of a hole after being 11 for 2!

The reason I find this story fascinating is because Sachin could have opted to rest instead of going back to domestic cricket since there wasn’t a chance of him being dropped from the Indian squad. But his actions clearly showed his love for the game and his concern towards his own form despite being at the top of the world for more than 20 years! And his concern didn’t deter him to accept his bad run in front of the world and improve his form by going a level below.

What makes Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar so great is not only his supreme talent but also his humble, down to earth nature which can be seen from the example above. It is this lovable human quality that is responsible for him winning hearts not just in India but world over and being an inspiration not just for upcoming cricketers but for people from all walks of life… including me!

(Picture – India Today)