Howdy guys !!!!!!!! Hitchwriter wishes you well !!!!!! I am fine as you can see… relaxing in the open skies in the green grass on a cloudy day in the fresh air… !!!!!!
Cigarette smoked but not shown as this is a FAMILY BLOG !!!! kids see this place toooo !!!!!!!!
Kal yaha gaya tha socha thodi detail de doon… he he he
For those who dont understand Hindi… had gone to this place yesterday thought I might tell you … he he he
Badhiya trek… raha doston… (Awesome Trek it was friends)
thoda risky… (enough translation, learn Hindi will you)
thoda slippery…
saath mein kudiya..
din gaya badhiya…
waterfall ka naam tha Jogi Bhadak…
Par uski kahani maloom nahi abhi talak…
saw it from atop first…
then climbed down next…
crossed the river thrice to reach nearer…
found a natural shower which was even more dearer…
P.s. had a whale of a time.. and here are a few pics … !!! click to enlarge !!!!!
Vokays… me had a whale of a time… total fun…. !!!!!! and now that I have informed you all…
Acha to hum chalte hai… !!!!!! Have to get ready for another trek on 13th !!!!!!!!!
Was just chatting with a very dear friend who thinks I cant be mean to anyone and I was hell bent upon proving I can be quite a Kamina if I want… only here I am at my best behaviour… !! Whilst trying to show her my mean & wild & unsensible streak I remembered a few events of the past…
but first a lil background…
This was at our Adda… we call it Anna’s as it was a kerala store run by a guy called Joy (for us in gujarat all South Indians are generally Anna or Anni its a losely used term.!), I have written a lil more about our adda here.
We all were in our early 20′s then… well most were… we werent all class mates but all who used to frequent that adda… from morning to late night… some were working some were studying some like me were finding a job or some were in between two jobs… all young… a few committed and mostly bachelors… !!!! Our group would have been anywhere from 15 members to 30 members… though all would only get together either in the evenings or in the party… but about 5-10 would be at the adda at any given time… so if you had nothing to do… you could be assured of company at Anna !!!
It being a adda on the street obviously you would have a few who would incessentaly join the group and hang around who you dont want… but our group was quite looking forward to such guys… !! They would be the scapegoats… for buying free cigarettes.. or pepsi’s or practical joke targets… !!!
One such guy was Vishal (name changed) now Vishal was a simple enough bloke had done his polytechinic and was working on contract basis in a towel company. He had a serious inferiority complex with English.. he came from the Ghanchi community… and people from that community usually use a very rough gujarati language that is always fully decorated with lots of colourful words… He used to regularly at our adda as his job was in shifts, his times would change.. but he would be there most certainly…..
Eventually he joined… and would join on bouts to drink… on bouts to bathe in the Narmada… on to matches of cricket… on to everything…
In about a month it was noticed that he wanted to be in the group… where as most didnt like him… so suddenly someone would tap on his shoulder and say
“Kya Vishal maine dekha hai… tu kabhi cigarette pilata hi nahi”
suddenly someone would add..
“ha yaaar… yeh saala kabhi paise nahi nikalta..”
the third one would join…
“arre… iska naam to Bhikhu hona chahiye…” (Bhikhu being short for Bhikhari… Bhikhari meaning Beggar..)
before anyone would realise his name became Bhikhu…
Everyone would taunt him… and he would try his best to save his money… but the guys had caught his nerve…. he would be teased more and more… so much torture… He was given a lot of raw deals… at times we would hold him and forced to empty his wallet…. He would always be made to bat 11th and not get any over in the whole match… !! made to carry the water jug on outings …
Everyone would ask for his yamaha… and he always would be reluctant to give.., but would eventually have to give in… people would empty his petrol tank… When we would go to the river to bath… they would particularly force his head in the water… he would be the target of everyone… some one would pour a pouch of water in his clothes.. some one would engage him in talks and suddenly a Sutli Bomb would burst between his legs… but he wouldnt go… he was to stay put…
One day he went to get BENADRYL cough syrup for his house.. on the way back he came to our adda for a smoke.. we were about 5-7 guys there… some one noticed that he had a bottle in his pocket..
“abe quarter leke kaha jaa raha hai..”
he retorted its cough syrup… me sudddenly said…
“hey i have a mild cough… gimme a sip.. !”
he didnt want to give… so another guy…
“abe saale woh dawa maang raha hai… saale maine tujhe kitne ki daaru pilai hai ab tak..”
senti kar ke that guy gave the bottle to me.. !! I took a sip… another friend coughed.. “mujhe bhi”
before he knew the bottle was emptied.. everyone had a sip.. and he had to buy another bottle…
Some how it was pleasure… just coz it was grief to him… !!
However on one insane night a friend gave a birthday party in Shalimar Hotel in Ankleshwar… then the best hotel in our district… with drinks..!!!!!
a party with drinks was big…
In Gujarat… a dry state…
For the drinkers.. free ki daroo to …
A place to sit and drink… without fear of the police… no need to find an empty house either… !!!
for people like me it was free ka entertainment… i woudl drnik lots of coke with ice and lots of biting and than enjoy the antics of the drunk….
Have you noticed how the drunk always keep repeating…
Saale Sach Bol raha hu… tujhe lagta hai ke mujhe chad gayi hai… but such mein…
Tu mera sabse acha dost hai yaa… !!!
ROFL !!!
anyways the party was in a hall and it started at 9 and after about 12 or so (it was december) it was quite chilly… in the hall music was playing… all stags… so dancing… lots of smoke… throwing of things… running… beating… eveyrthing… !!!!!
somehow this Bhikhu was staying away from most things… scared… he knew if he would try and tease anyone he would be made a big scapegoat…
Another friend Imran caught hold of him at one juncture… and for no fault of him… the Bhikhu was stripped… and kicked out of the hall… !!! It was late night…. thankfully not a lot of people were around, only security guards etc…. and he went and ran for the bushes… !!! Stripped meaning no clothes at all… !! no undies… !!!!
having pushed him out was not enough.. coz he was behind bushes… so they grabbed water bottles to target him… eventually the guy fought and cried… and eventually sanity prevailed and all of us were kicked out of the hotel with him in clothes… some how some one hid his shoes which we couldnt find… the friend who gave a party was scared to death as the hotel management warned to complain to his dad.. !!!
eventually all went home…
next day this Bhikhu comes to me and tells me amongst 7 other friends… one among them took his shoes….
“Dhiren… kal raat ko jo hua… theek hai… sab bewde the… mujhe nanga kiya… theek hai… masti main chalta hai… but kisika nuksaan to nahi hona chahiye na… mere Rs. 2400 ke woodland ke shoes gayab ho gaye uska kya ????”
Trust me all 7 were for a second shocked.. !!!!!!
Was he real… !! after so much igonminy…. all he was worried about was 2400 rs…. !!!
Eventually the guy who took his shoes remembered they were in the boot of his car….. !! but unfortunately we found only one shoe… !!!!!!!
so our great friend… proceeded and gave him the one shoe… and gave him some RS. 100 ka currency notes !!!!!!!!
Bhikhu : Yeh to sirf 1200 hai…
Our friend : Ha to… ek joota to hai na… chal bhaag saale…
the bugger took the 1200 but finally that was the end of him… !!!!!!!!
Geeeeez… Things we had to do to get rid of people… !!!!!! If only we knew just stealing one shoe would do it…. !!!! There were a few others… and a few other weird stories… but I think this much of reputation harm is enough…
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Coming to think of it… I have come a long long long long long way… from those days…
I thought I would list down some of the Legendary Rivalries in the world of sports (sports that I love), I aint looking at team rivalries, but some contests between some highly talented sports personalities, these rivalries have made people flock to stadiums and grounds… they excited people they wowed them for different reasons…
Boxing first…
There are many but nothing quite matches up to these two… and I wont mention any others… although I wanted to put Mike Tyson somewhere I cannot…
1.) Muhammed Ali v/s Joe Frazier
When I thought of this post this is the first one that came to mind… Muhammed Ali was voted as the “Sportsman of the Century” by Sports Illustrated & ”Sports Personality of the Century” by BBC in 1999 had only 5 losses in his career 4 by points and only one knock out.
From Wiki..
Quote :
Ali and Frazier met in the ring on March 8, 1971, at Madison Square Garden. The fight, known as ‘”The Fight of the Century,” was one of the most eagerly anticipated bouts of all time and remains one of the most famous. It featured two skilled, undefeated fighters, both of whom had legitimate claims to the heavyweight crown.
Many boxing fans argued that Ali’s speed and ability would blind Frazier, while others thought Frazier’s superior punching power combined with Ali’s long absence from the ring would give the advantage to Frazier. On the night of the fight, there were riots in many United States cities, including Chicago, where a whole theater was almost torn apart by angry attendees who had just learned they would not be able to watch the fight on closed-circuit TV
Unquote :
This something that arouses such raw passion among fans at times is what amazes me…. Sport is fun.. sports is winning and losing… but above all Sports is unadultared raw emotion !!!!!!
Tennis next… a sport I love, I am not listing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in this as they are still going…
1.) Boris Becker vs Stefan Edberg
This was the beginning of my introduction to this sport… I hated Becker but he was a worth while opponent to say the least… the serve and volley of these two and I have seen countless video’s of them even on repeats. When these two would play it would be excitement and nerve hopping.. When they played Wimbledon finals and Doordarshan would telecast them it was like bliss… !!!
Not too many heavy aces and not too many big ground strokes unlike today where every one is an athlete and blasts winners like crazy…. but subtle serve and volley… the old fashioned Tennis as they call it now… I loved their contests where it would be topsy turvy.. A truly sensational rivalry without any real bad blood and no raw passion from fans either… !!! Which was a welcome relief in a way..
One of the biggest sporting personality for me in the world of female sport was Martina Navratilova she was the epitome of fitness then… she would simply win them, be it singles, doubles or mixed doubles and still be hungry for more… in a way the ladies sport then became boring coz there was almost no match. Chris Evert was a competitor but nothing like you would want for a champion like Martina….and then came this almost shy, sweet smiling but unbelievably tough cookie to set up a rivalry… These two remain the best two tennis players in the history of female tennis for me…
In the initial phase of steffi’s career after she beat Martina in the 1987 final in French open to win her first Grand slam but the Champion beat her back to back in the Wimbledon and US open finals… thats when the era of these two started… and we would all sit in anticipation hoping the top two seeds would reach the finals…. I cannot pick who was my favourite among the two…
On one side was the best serving player the other side the best returner of serve.
On one side was style on one side doggedness.
Flash vs Grace.
The most endearing rivalries… While I believe Pete Sampras was one of the best players ever on fast courts… Andre Agassi was one of the most versatile players… These two when against each other was the biggest treat you could ever imagine… I still remember one match at the US open in the quarter finals of the year 2001 where Sampras defeated Agassi 6-7, 7-6, 7-6, 7-6. If ever there was a perfect match this was one. The two players do not make errors… they only either force errors or get points by winners. This is one heck of a roller coaster match and the level of tennis in this match is of really high quality !! just watch it ... here are a few highlights of that match .
[p.s. I never thought I would see anything like this match but I must say this years Wimbledon final between Federrer and Roddick came close]
Now Cricket… my favourite… is this post getting tooo long ??? get your coffee / tea / drink whatever…… pls… !!
1.) Harold Larwood vs Don Bradman :
I have always wished and still do …. wish I were born in that era to witness cricket being played like this…
MEN played then… no helmets.. no proper pads or gloves.. no limits on how many bouncers and no limit on how many fielders you can have behind square on the leg side on uncovered pitches…
A hard working lad who was working in mines comes to join English Cricket under the leadership of Douglas Jardine to take on the mighty Sir Don Bradman in his own back yard. Harold Larwood seethed fire which over 6 men on the legside, in the first match of the 1932 Bodyline series Bradman didnt play as he was sick. In the second test in the first innings Bradman was out for a duck… there after he over came his fears and played a stellar hand in a 4-1 series lost to England. Bradman and Larwood were most most precious for their captains. This was one series where the two countries almost came to war over cricket.
Bradman’s skipper Bill Woodfull said Bradman was worth 3 batsman to Australia in that series. When Harold Larwood died in 1955 his most treasured possession was a small silver ashtray inscribed ‘To Harold, For The Ashes, From A Grateful Skipper’ from Douglas Jardine.
Perhaps this one line that he once told Frank Tyson might help you understand the terror Larwood caused, “When you hear 50,000 Aussies shouting at you, you know you’ve got ‘em worried”
Dennis Lillee for me is the epitome of fast bowling. Fast bowling is one of the most physically straining aspect of cricket. Only those who have bowled fast in heat over a period of days can understand what true fast bowling is about… A bit of madness is necessary along with the method… !!
Do watch the video which is a classic over of fast bowling to one of the most fearless batsman in the history of the game.
BTW for those who didnt know… Vivian Richards acknowledged that when he was waiting to bat against Australia and Lillee and Thomson were bowling he would have to visit the bathroom frequently coz of the nervousness… !!! However when Richards would walk out the swagger and chewing gum would never let the opponents know there was even an iota of fear in his mind… !!!!
3.) Sachin vs Warne…
The Master Blaster vs The Wizard.
The stable vs the freak.
The curler vs the blonde.
Sachin creamed Warne on his debut in Sydney in 1992. But Warne wasnt the master then… fast forward to 1997-98, Mark Taylor’s Australia landed into India with the billing of the best team in the world. Shane Warne was a master by then… it was him v/s Sachin… In the first Test in Chennai Sachin hit a bearded warne for a boundary through the covers but alas… the very next ball was in the hands of Mark Taylor at slip. The master was gone for 4. In the second innings (sadly cant find video) Sachin came back with a vengenance… India was traliing by 71 runs and at 115/2 walked in Sachin and smashed… !!!
Warne was turning the ball atleast 2 feet if not more… !! After being smashed from over the wicket Warne turned to around the wicket to bowl in the rough out side the leg stump, Warne says he goes around the wicket only when his mindset is most aggressive…
This is one match where Sachin played some unbelievable shots against Warne who was spinning 2 feet, from around the wicket, bowling in the rough… But BEHOLD … the champ collared him and kept hitting against the spin over midwicket…!!! He reels off a 155* and the match is in India’s favour… !!!!!!
This is one contest that is the most close to heart because Warne is the Greatest Bowler in the History of Cricket and our Tendlya has collared him !!!!!!!
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There are many other rivalries which are also quite famous and favourite of mine…
1.) Sehwag vs Shoaib Akhtar
2.) Ravi Shashtri vs Abdul Qadir
3.) The 4 fast men of the West Indies and our Sunnybhai
4.) Lara vs Murali
Some contests I would have really loved to see more of are
Sachin vs Akram (they played too little against each other)
Hey BTW talking of Legendary Rivalries how can we forget our own blog world legends… None other but the greatest of all
The maverick and the loony…
The silly and the sillier…
The artist and the eater…
The hobbes and the hobbes…
Our very own C n H
ofcourse who else….
CRAFTY & HITCHY !!!!!!!
Their first first legend rules… !!!!! doesnt it ????
Ducks the barrage of chappals… Bhagooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
