My battlefield!

Every child has eyes full of dreams, till life catches up!

As I fancy a look back to my school days, before the advent of the smart phones and readily available internet. Where evenings were spent outdoors, and watching television was rationed to few hours a day. A trip down this memory lane ripens the image of rushing to get my autograph book filled and filling in the same for my friends. We were all a bright bunch of kids, full of life, full of smiles, ready to take the next big leap.


The autograph books had various columns, and most of us filled them up so thoughtfully. The innocence of that age still leaves me in awe. One of those columns was 'ambition', a word worth pondering for many more years to come. There were a lot of my friends who fancied becoming a pilot, an astronaut, a singer, an actor, a doctor, an engineer, a cricketer, a scientist etc... And, as I look back at those moments, a deep sense of nostalgia engulfs my being.

Time reigned supreme, and everyone is busy with their own lives, working in cubicles differing only in their sizes, and busy collecting and writing off cheques! Every new day is a minefield of opportunities, where we tread so carefully that we often forget filling in the column called 'ambition'.

Ambition drives us to explore ourselves, the uncharted territory which can only be explored by the person himself/herself. Many of us, lose ourselves as we grow. Yet, we slowly find our way through various life-times and experiences.

Over the years, I have explored, discovered and rediscovered myself in many beautiful ways. And every once in a while, I explore the remains of a cricket enthusiast in me, it transforms me back into that young lanky kid who was utterly passionate about the game and would run his heart out for the team.

Luckily for me, my friend captured a few moments from our latest weekend match, where I was scheming for my next delivery. I had bowled a short one and the batsman edged it for a boundary, it is a state of utter helplessness for a bowler when an edge finds the rope. For the next ball, I ran in hard, with the ball gripped rather too firmly between my fingers and as I let it out a yard quicker, the batsman was on 44, he walked across to play it square and got trapped as the bowl skid and kept low. It was my first, and only wicket for the day after a barrage of nicks and edges that saw the boundary ropes rather too often. We went on to chase down the target of 190 without a hitch, all thanks to my teammate who sent the opposing team on a leather hunt. All in all, it was a satisfying game.

Every game brings with it an opportunity to learn and experience new things, cricket has been a game which always takes me back in time, when we played our hearts out in spite of the odds.......!

Photo courtesy: Varun Chugh
http://www.outlineofphotography.com/