ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

"You could see the flesh. There are 11 stitches. The doctor said I had to undergo the procedure under general anesthesia. I told him, 'If you give me general anesthesia I'll lose time, I'd like to go there and bowl.' He said 'Look, it's a medical decision, not a cricketing decision." This statement above is enough to define Anil Radhakrishna Kumble, the great warrior of Indian cricket. The latest injury he sustained while trying a near-impossible catch against Australia at his favorite hunting ground, Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi, made him think about bringing curtains to a two decade long illustrious career. As a 38 year old, he even tried a catch of such difficulty speaks volumes of his commitment towards the team and the game, and the fact that he almost pulled it off, makes it even better. But, as luck would have it, that was not to be, and in the process, he injured his left hand, and had to recieve 11 stitches. Playing in the most unplayable ...

I was meeting him after a gap of two years. There is always a feeling of expectation, excitement, suspense, happiness and a little bit of hesitation just before I meet him every time. He always provides that element of surprise, invariably in every meet. I am talking about the first Principal and Head Master I had in my educational career, Mr. Ramesh, presently the Secretary of Chaitanya Vidya Shala, Channarayapatna. He is an exceptionally principled man, who inculcated discipline amongst us, and gave us awareness of the rights and wrongs of life, at a very young age. During school days, we were almost afraid of him, but it was a fear that came out of immense respect and admiration. He used to love his pupils and we loved him too, and fondly called him Ramesh Maava (i.e., Ramesh Uncle). He has left an everlasting impression on me, in particular, as I always liked him the most among all the teachers I had during my initial school days. Looking back now, I treat him as my mentor. Th...

ಒಂದಿಬ್ಬರು ಸ್ನೇಹಿತರು ಆಗಾಗ ಬಹಳ ದಿನ ನೆನಪಿರುವಂತಹ ಮುತ್ತಿನಂತಹ SMSಗಳನ್ನು ಕಳಿಸುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ (ಫಾರ್ವರ್ಡ್ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುತ್ತಾರೆ). ಅವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದೆರಡನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಬರೆಯುತ್ತಿದ್ದೇನೆ: 1. ಮಧುಸೂದನ್ ಕಳಿಸಿದ್ದು: 2005: ಪ್ಲೇಗ್ 2006: ಮಲೇರಿಯಾ 2007: ಡೆಂಗಿ 2008: ಚಿಕುನ್ ಗುನ್ಯಾ 2009: ಮಟನ್ ಗುನ್ಯಾ ! 2010: ಬದುಕಿದ್ರೆ ಪುಣ್ಯ !!! 2. ಲೋಹಿತಾಶ್ವ ಕಳಿಸಿದ್ದು: You might have done a hundred good things, but nobody remembers you. But you do one wrong thing, nobody forgets you. God gives and forgives; Man gets and forgets... ಸದ್ಯಕ್ಕಿಷ್ಟು ಸಾಕು. ಮುಂದೆ ನೋಡೋಣ...

"There is a journey you are expected to undertake - a journey that would take you to the desired destination. Many have been there already, and people around you believe that you can reach there too. You are expected to be their stepping stone. If you can reach there, you can take those expectant folks with you, and provide them an opportunity to go further ahead and embark on what appears to be a journey that is far more treacherous and challenging than this one. A journey into the unknown. Not many people we know of have been successful in that journey. But this journey, the one that is expected of you, is clearly achievable. You are expected to be analogous to the early pacesetter of a marathon race. That's where the expectation ends. No medal is expected of you. Agreed, it requires its own set of skills. But you are expected to have those skills ingrained in you anyway. Even if you don't have the ability to undertake this journey, you can cultivate it, by observing ...

While browsing through Cricinfo , I was made to recollect that it was this day 8 years ago, that I became a full-fledged fan of Zimbabwean Cricket. Although I had a soft corner for Zimbabwean cricket earlier, and watched their matches very often, what I saw on 23rd September 2000, made my heart go out for them. As I watched the 5th and final day's play of the Harare test between Zimbabwe and New Zealand, Guy James Whittall, embarked on a once in a lifetime innings that would have ended up as one of the most celebrated match saving knocks in the history of the game. But, luck, of course, had other ideas. Whittall's painstaking, resolute and near-perfect knock of 188*, while facing 429 deliveries in a stay of 506 minutes, could not save Zimbabwe from a "race-against-time" defeat. Heath Streak gave great support for a long while, curbing his natural instincts of going after the bowling, and batting for nearly 6 hours for his 54 (you won't believe it if I say th...

Every year, the full-moon day in the month of shraavana, is celebrated as World Sanskrit Day, according to Samskrita Bharati . This year, it was on Saturday, the 16th of August. I had a good news on Sanskrit front to share, and I feel this is the occasion to do so. A new secondary school, with focus on Sanskrit language, has come up in Channarayapatna town of Hassan district, Karnataka. The age old building of "Samskrutha Pathashala" in the old fort area of the town has been renovated to bring this school up. All the credit must go to the "Samskrutha Vidyabhivardhini Sangha", and its dedicated members, who set about the ambition of providing good quality education, with focus on the language of Sanskrit. The main person behind this ambitious project, Mr. A. Chidambar, senior English lecturer at Navodaya PU College of the town, has poured his heart and soul to this dream. He was ably supported by Mr. G.K. Vishwanath, English lecturer, Navodaya High Sc...

Let me admit, I am a fan of his, and a very proud one at that. And I am sure, he would have millions and millions of admirers like me, who would, not only admire his cricketing achievements, but also his gentlemanly behavior, and the way he carries himself, both on and off the cricketing field. He is a role model, and an inspiration to one and all. Yes, I am talking about the current Indian test cricket team captain, Anil Kumble. I was planning to post an entry about Kumble in my blog, but kept postponing it for one reason or the other. But now, here it is. A couple of weeks ago, as India's ODI captain MS Dhoni got the Rajeev Gandhi Khel Ratna award for the year, many observers felt that the legendary servants of the game, like Dravid and Kumble, deserved it more. Indeed they did. But as always, I feel some legends grow beyond the need for any such recognitions, and Kumble, for sure, is one of them. Post Indian Independence, the "Iron Man", Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, ...

Well, here we go, an update to my blogsite after a very long time... The reason for such a long break? Lack of time, of course. Well, I can very easily put the blame on my busy schedule for not being able to update my blog as often as I could, but the reality, I feel, is not really that. Everyday, tens of thousands of thoughts pass through the minds of every human being. And I believe, most such thoughts are very special indeed. Many a times, it is very important to catch hold of these thoughts and dissect them further by analyzing them. But unfortunately, we always try to put the blame on lack of quality time to appreciate some of the very important things in life, and move on hurriedly by leading an industrious life. Dr. DVG had made this observation long ago, and writes in his "Marula Muniyana Kagga": ಪ್ರೀತಿಸಲು ಬಿಡುವಿಲ್ಲ ನೀತಿಕಥೆ ಬೇಕಿಲ್ಲ | ಮಾತಂಗಡಿಯ ಕೊಳ್ಗು ಕೊಡುಬಿಡುಗಳಂತೆ || ಯಾತ ನಿರ್ಯಾತಂಗಳೇ ದೊಡ್ಡ ಬದುಕಂತೆ | ಆತುರವೊ ಜನಕಿಂದು - ಮರುಳಮುನಿಯ || ೨೯೩ || There is no time to lo...

On the 145th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on 12th January, 2008, I thought of taking a trip down the memory lane, and remember the occasions when we used to celebrate the great sage's Jayanti, every year with a lot of fanfare, year after year, when I was in primary school. The school where I studied, Chaitanya Vidya Shala, Channarayapatna, Karnataka, was where the life and times of this great soul was introduced to us at a very young age, along with the values of life he preached. Here, I would like to "publish" a Kannada poem I had written about Swami Vivekananda, as a 12 year old. Although I thought I could rephrase many things now, I wanted to retain what I had written as a kid, with a limited vocabulary. ಹುಟ್ಟಿದನು ಮಕರ ಸಂಕ್ರಾಂತಿಯಂದು ವಿಶ್ವನಾಥ ಭುವನೇಶ್ವರಿಯರ ಮಗನಾಗಿ ನರೇಂದ್ರನಾಥ, ನರೇನ್, ಬಿಲೆ ಎಂದೆಲ್ಲರಿಂದ ಕರೆಸಿಕೊಂಡನು ಪ್ರೀತಿಯ ಮಗುವಾಗಿ ಈಶ್ವರಚಂದ್ರ ವಿದ್ಯಾಸಾಗರರ ಶಾಲೆಯಲ್ಲೆ ಮೊದಲ ಪಾಠ ನಾಯಕನಾಗಿ ಆಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು ಗೆಳೆಯರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಆಟ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದನು ಏಕಾಗ್ರತೆಯಿಂದ ನಿತ್ಯ ದೇವರ ಧ್ಯಾನ ದೇವರನ್ನು ಕಾಣು...