ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ - Kshanaprabhaa

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...

I have been reading DVG's "Mankuthimmana Kagga" of late, and have realized that it is not called "Bhagavadgita in Kannada" for nothing. It gives a lot of pleasure while reading, along with deep insights into life itself, and its various uncertainties. At first, I felt bad that DVG, the genius, did not get a Jnaanapeetha for this outstanding work of his; but then felt really happy that he actually did not get one. This priceless collection of 800 odd verses is beyond any award or recognition humanity can ever devise or think of. The only award it can fittingly recieve, would be when every human being who can read and understand it, actually goes on and implements at least a tiny bit of these universal truths in his or her life. Recently, I read a couple of verses among those priceless ones, and had gotten into a confused state regarding their meaning. They almost seemed contradicting each other, as I myself faced a similar situation in life. These verses are: ...

ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತದ "ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ" ಎಂಬ ಪದಕ್ಕೆ ಕ್ಷಣದಲ್ಲಿ ಪ್ರಭೆ ಬೀರಿ ಮಾಯವಾಗುವ "ಮಿಂಚು" ಎಂದರ್ಥ. ಪ್ರತಿಯೊಬ್ಬ ಮನುಷ್ಯನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿನಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಕ್ಷಣಾರ್ಧದಲ್ಲಿ ಹಲವಾರು ಯೋಚನಾಲಹರಿಗಳು ಮಿಂಚಿ ಮಾಯವಾಗುತ್ತವೆ. ಹೀಗೆ ನನ್ನ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ಬರುವ ಆಲೋಚನೆಗಳನ್ನು ಅಂತರ್ಜಾಲದ ತುದಿಯೊಂದರಲ್ಲಿ ಹಿಡಿದಿಡುವ ಪ್ರಯತ್ನವೇ ಈ "ಕ್ಷಣಪ್ರಭಾ"...