The months of June and July have been a bonanza for sports fans. While the football world cup has been the most watched and discussed event, there have been plenty of other sporting events and some memorable moments that have been overshadowed by it.
Surprisingly the biggest casualty has been Cricket. Even the historic series win in the West Indies after a long wait of 35 years did not get its fair share of news print. The heroics of Dravid and company were lost in the euphoria created by Ronaldo, Zidane and Rooney. In the final test, Dravid led from the front and came up with what I consider his best performance to date, both as a captain and as a batsman. The West Indies were well and truly up against 'the wall'. Sri Lanka created a world record by scoring 443/9 against The Netherlands. One might say that the Dutch are nothing much to write about but a record still is a record.
Even the lush green grass of center court was no match for the turf in Germany. Sania Mirza's first round exit went virtually unnoticed. Wimbledon also saw for the last time Agassi grace center court. The former champion who in his early years refused to play at Wimbledon because of its strict dress code bid an emotional farewell.
Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher continued to slug it out on the F1 circuits. While Alonso came up trumps in Montreal, Schumacher won his fifth race at the 'Brickyard' to become the driver to have won more races at Indianapolis in any category of motor racing. Even Schumacher a self confessed football fan attributed some lapses during the practice session to Germany's victory over Argentina.
One of my favorite annual sporting events the Tour de France is currently underway. While there may not be too many well known names this year, the Tour de France will be as competitive and exciting as ever. A pity it does not have a bigger following in India.
And did anybody even realize that the Azlan Shah Hockey cup was also being played during the same time? Indian Hockey has been on a downslide for the last two decades and increased coverage is crucial for Indian Hockey to regain its lost glory. India finished third behind The Netherlands and Australia.
All said and done'..the last two months have been a feast for a sports fan. I may have missed a some of the action but there is still plenty to keep me busy.
Posted in Sports.
By Neel Pradhan
– July 6, 2006
I travel frequently on work, in India as well as overseas and have had an opportunity to observe work culture across cultures, countries and continents closely. While there are numerous examples that I can mention, one stands out clearly.
It was a cold winter morning in the small town of Zwevegam about 120 km from Brussels. The thermometer at the corner of the street showed 6 degrees but the wind and fog made it seem much less. We were on our way to Brussels, waiting for a bus at the church to take us to the nearest railway station from where we would get a train to Brussels. On that particular day even the bus was late and we had no option but to gather in a small porch on the outside of the church. While the porch was small, everybody seemed to be perfectly happy not to be exposed to the wind and cold.
With nothing better to do, I was looking around and something rather intersting caught my eye. A few feet from where I stood, was a rather ragged looking worker. He seemed to have just come back from a short break and was about to resume his unfinished work. His job '" carry out some repairs to a drain. By this time he had already fixed the drain cover and all that was remaining was to put about 20-30 cobblestones in place around the periphery of the drain cover.
One by one the man started accumulating the cobblestones which he had previously removed and began inspecting them. The cobblestones were of similar shape but even from a few feet one could make out that there was considerable variation in the size of the cobblestones. The man then pulled out a measuring stick and measured the depth of the drain cover from the surface of the pavement. He then measured the cobblestones and selected one that would be the best fit. After ensuring that the levelling was right he cemented the cobblestone in place. He repeated the procedure for every cobblestone. The cold and wind made his work painstakingly slow but he continued diligently.
I kept track of his progress for about 25 minutes till my bus arrived, making a mental note of observe the fruits of his labor when I returned. We returned rather late that evening but the next day I made it a point to check his work. Just as I had expected, it was flawless. The cobblestones he had cemented were perfectly levelled with the rest of the pavement. The color of freshly laid cement was the only give away that some work had been carried out.
The job certainly wasn't one to die for, the conditions were miserable (and probably his wages as well) but the outcome was perfect!
Posted in Work.
By Neel Pradhan
– July 4, 2006
