Yet another day !

Girls' Farewell Cricket Match !!

2007-04-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

21st April 4.45 to 5.25 P.M

"Seems like your team is still not complete. Finish the match here itself and declare us winners." We banter with our opponent team !!
It has been more than a week now since we've been practising. Yea, none of us knows cricket well..but so do our opponents...
It had been an embarrasing experience being badly drubbed by the juniors in the farewell basket ball match(No, we shan't discuss it here..) and our team is all geared up to mend for that. Yes, it's not a happy, friendly, whosoever-wins-enjoy it type of match ....We're serious this time !! Our players go through some last minute practise and we finalize our batting line up, field placement and bowling order !

21st April 5.25 P.M

And it's time for the toss now !! Yea, we'll certainly go for batting first, as it's too hot during this time of the day and we'll lose more stamina if we field now...

Well, I have a penchant for calling "Heads" during tosses..and somehow the law of probability always gets biased against me !! (btw I am the captain)

We lose the toss and have to field first...

21st April 5.30 to 6.05 P.M

Well before we start let's make a few points clear --

1) No use appealing for lbw's...Yes that's not considered out here..
So, when you bat, just occupy the whole width of the stumps confidently.
2) Yes chucking is allowed..
So, the thumbrule is -- Don't try the usual bowling style.
3) It's a 12 overs match, so there is nothing like a power play field set up rule.
4) And there is nothing like an inner circle..
there is only one circle with around 45 yards diameter, i.e the boundary line.

Come on everyone..the match has started now !!

I begin the first over...
there are a couple of wide balls and those that are right on the line are stopped beautifully by the batsmen's legs..(Recall point # 1 ! )
Next in the the bowling order are Saumya,Ritika,Bushra and Supriya. Almost all overs end up being similar...
the batsmen hit the balls like anything..And every ball that is not a dead/no/wide ball is lofted in the air..and beneath every such ball there is "atleast one" fielder who escorts it to the boundary line no matter how unwilling the ball may be !!

" Don't stretch. Don't dive. Don't run....Atleast stop the ball that is coming right into your hands :( "

It has been around 9 overs now and they have scored some 70 runs without loss !!

"Everybody together..Yes it's urgent..Yea the field set up needs to be changed completely !!"

It's the nth time that we've changed the field set up and some of the fielders have toured the whole field by now...
Btw this time it's a "revolutionary" set up with 9 players on the right half of the field and 2 on the left !!

Yes, it's my final over now...

here goes the first ball ...and again the same story..yea the same lofty shot right behind me and.....no i can't watch it.. Yea It does get a bit too much sometimes..being a captain doesn't mean u can't get frustrated...
but wait a minute...i mean why are all the fielders running behind me..it's ridiculous..will all of them escort the ball this time ???

"Jump, Hug, Shout aloud..It's our first wicket :) !! "

AkankshaModi caught out..courtesy -- Supriya !!

21st April 6.05 to 6.15 P.M

The viewers' area looks more crowded now and we have a lot of support and cheering..( I was later told that these many boys don't come even in regular boys' matches !!)

Seems like Sups' catch rejuvenated the whole team..And it's a completely different game from now on..

I take one more wicket on the last ball of the over...After that Saumya takes a catch on her follow through in her over and bowls mostly dot balls.

Now, comes the last over by Ritika..the first ball results in a run out(me)..then a couple of runs on the next few balls..a wicket and again a run out(Ritika/Sups) !!

21st April 6.15 to 6.30 P.M

"But how could that be ? I mean, they took only a few runs in the last three overs..No, the target can't be 96 ! "
"Anyway, no use crying foul over scorekeeping... we should've kept track of the runs ourselves..."
We finalize the batting line up and then there's a drinks break !!

22nd April 6.30 to 6.45 P.M

Everyone's getting jitters now. Yes, the score is simply too much. Chasing 96 with an asking run rate of 8 per over isn't a joke !!

I and Bushra are the openers from our team.

I score a measly 3-4 runs and get caught behind the wickets. Saumya is the next one to bat. We have high hopes from her as she's our best batsman.
As soon as she comes, the crowd starts clamouring "Dada Dada.." (Well she's also a left hander like Saurav Ganguly.)

She starts off with her typical hammering of the ball and hits towards the leg side..One good thing with Saumya on the crease is that the bowlers are getting defocussed by this left hand - right hand batting pair and giving us more wides..(Well we are cheered for these wides too...gr8 supporters indeed !! )

Both batsmen bat brilliantly and Bushra is the one who is cheered the most..Yes, she bats well, but more than that she has injured their 3 fielders while running between the wickets -- Player # 11, #12 and #13..Yes the substitutes too !

It has been almost 5 overs now and we've scored some 40 odd runs, thanks to some superb batting by these two girls ! Seems like we are right on target as far as the asking run rate is concerned..

Just at this point of time, Bushra is clean bowled !

22nd April 6.45 to 7 P.M

Ritika is the next one to bat..She takes quick singles and gives most of the strike to Saumya who by this time is now...if I can freely speak without mincing words - simply "butchering" the ball!!
One good thing about our batsmen is that they aren't getting runs because of misfielding, but due to their own efforts unlike their batsmen(no offences meant)..and one good thing about their fielders is that they aren't helping us unlike our fielders who helped them !
(Seems like the blue dress(team India's color) does have an effect !! )

"Damn it !! Ritika is out too !! "

Our next batsman is Supriya..Well, I also go with her..Yes, I am her runner. (No, she isn't injured..nor does she have any problem with her legs..how I became her runner is a team secret which we shan't disclose ! )
Supriya play a defensive shot and I call Saumya for a run..
Shit man!! What the hell !! Seems like I'll have to run back to my end.

"Howzzzz that ??? " the fielders shout as I remain lying down on the ground with one leg stretched across the crease..
"No, the leg was in air when the stumps were hit..", rules out the umpire...

I walk with Supriya back from where we had come..She says it's okay..I can't gather the courage to face our supporters and retreat with a bent head...

Next in line is Rigveda. She gets out for a duck !!

there's a lull in the whole arena now....

22nd April 7 to 7.15 P.M

Shweta is the next one to bat.

"Desperation, frustration,nervousness, tension
20 runs to make 2 overs to go ....
No, we can't lose after making it this far... "

The girls run on every ball..whether it touches the bat or the leg or lands up in wicketkeeper's hands...whether it's in the air, in fielders' hands or in the gaps....

It's the last over now and 14 runs to win...

the match is at the peak of excitement..and the crowd is clamouring like anything !!

a couple of singles and twos...no there aren't any fours...

Last ball of the match .........(Shweta is facing it)

7 runs to win off 1 ball
Is it possible ?

No we aren't the ones to lose hope.."wide ball wide ball wide ball...!! " We shout to our full capacity and lo it's a wide !!

6 runs to win and 1 ball to go..

"Hit Shweta hit..You have to...No, we can't lose now..." It's time to hold the breath...

She takes a quick single and that's it..

The result -- "Rest of Da-iict - 95. Btech2003 and BE batch- 91"

So close and yet so far...

22nd April 7.15 to 7.30 P.M

Our coach Santa(Santosh Aiyyar from Btech2003 batch) is being beaten up by the boys of our batch and people come and give us consolatory congratulations for playing well...

"Wait a min..What did you say ???? Ya even we were doubting the same..but still, are you guys speaking the truth or telling stories just because it's a prestige issue ?? "

Some guys from our batch had gone to the scorekeepers to check out the score card and it was found out that they had faked it...(just as we had suspected)
We see the scorecard for ourselves ...

The first batting team -- 85 in 12 overs
Second -- 91 ...

22nd April 7.30 - 8 P.M

"Everybody kick the coach..Yeah..We have won.."
No, it's not just the boys this time !!

We go for group photographs and leave the field !!

A grown up now !

2007-04-09T19:18:00.000-07:00

8^th April 2 to 3 A.M

“No not this on. Too dark. Also am looking a bit chubby in it…I mean more than a bit! “

I am searching desperately for pics…We are supposed to mail a few for the batch year book... For starters, I am in my final year and would be leaving the college in a month!

9^thApril 3 P.M

“Nahi bhaiyya itne nahi lagte ! “

The guy, I mean the auto wala, looks sideways…seems like he didn’t listen to me...I give up my feeble attempts at bargaining and settle for 25 bucks…

No, I really don't care whether the guy actually brings down the fare or not…just that it feels like a grown up to negotiate…

9^th April 3-3.30 P.M

“What the hell?? I mean it’s more than a minute now and the screen is not showing any change! ”
I am standing in front of the ICICI ATM machine and waiting for the stupid thing to respond after having inserted my card in it. Yes, I have a “cordial” relationship with these ATMs…

It was only yesterday night, while trying to carry on a transaction with the Syndicate bank ATM in college, that I realized I had forgotten my pincode…After making a couple of trials with different codes, I had given up, thinking that I won’t get my card back. (Though I somehow managed to get it back.. ) The machine permits a maximum of 5 wrong codes and I had forgotten how many I had tried!!

And it wasn’t long back when I lost a friend’s ATM card as I inserted it in the wrong opening.( Yes, I do get absent minded at times :) ) In a lighter vein, I had tried to console myself, “ kahin bhi daal do jaana to andar hi hai !”

These are some of the times when I feel most uncomfortable. Being an ICT engineer and still goofing up with common technical equipments which even that whiskered, foul smelling, pot bellied, auto wala could comfortably use …. even if not “mortifying”, is at least humbling ! (Well, this is my category of euphemisms and I love them.)

By the way, this is the first time that I am withdrawing something from my TAship account. Yeah, for the first time my own money ! And yes, I am able to withdraw this time without any goof up.

9^thApril 4 P.M

“Speak confidently. You don’t have any passion in your voice.“

The attendant tells me as I enquire about the medical check up form. Btw I am in TCS’ office, Infocity.

9^th April 6 P.M

“Thank God, they are still there! “

Well, these are the guys who are supposed to do the video recording for the batch video. I mean each one of us in the batch is supposed to speak for 30 seconds.

I don’t speak anything special, wish good luck to all my batch mates and comeback. Yes, I wanted to say “Naruto Rocks” at least once, but thought it would look childish!

9^thApril 10 to11 P.M

“Gear up ! Hurry up ! We are gonna have a photo shoot!! “

It’s a photo session of all the girls of our batch and we have called Prakhar, the official photographer of our college.

We move to the clubhouse.

Seems like the boys’ gym is vacant.

“Quick Prakhar quick. It sure is heavy.”
We shout as we hold the dumbbells and tell Prakhar to take the snaps.

SPJain 2nd Round(My experiences and more)

2007-03-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

Well, so here goes my first post ! Never thought I would be starting a blog in this way..Anyway let us begin with the topic ....

22nd March, 10.30 P.M

I and my father reach Mumbai and settle our luggage in a hotel in Bandra. The room is slightly smaller than my hostel room at DA-IICT. I am annoyed with my father for paying 2000 bucks for staying for just a night in such a pigeon hole !! I look outside the window, there are slums below it..Below bole to, i mean the room is at 6th floor.

23rd March, 12.30 noon

We reach the campus in Andheri. My interview is supposed to start at 1.30. Seems like parents are not allowed inside the Domes. I ask me father to give me the bag that he is carrying(me and my useless chivalries...i mean the bag was hardly 3-4 Kilos ! ) . He says it will crumple my shirt. I am satisfied with his answer and let him have it.

23rd March, 1.15 P.M

Oh my God !! Seems like I have lost my trouser's button !! What the hell !! The interview is gonna start in 15 min...
I ask each and every person i come across, who even remotely resembles a lady, for a safety pin...
Shit man ! Its already 1.25 or so and I haven't found anything close to a safety pin..! :(
I venture upto the lady in the admissions commitee and ask her..She says she has safety pins but they are in her purse which is downstairs..She is busy in the registrations of candidates at the moment and can't afford to leave the room. I give my stupid simper and ask her - "Please". The kind lady smiles back, brings her purse and asks me - "How many do you want?"
I tell her, "Two. Incase, if I break one. "

23rd March, 2.30 P.M

We had to wait for one hour as previous batch's interview is still not over. Our turn (1.30 slot people) would come only around 3.30.
I was chilling on the last seat of the hall, when suddenly my name is announced..Gosh what the...I mean it is still 2.30 yar !
Neway, my group assembles outside the interview room(btw it's a group interview where 6 candidates are interviewed together.) and I tell them I need to go the washroom urgently so please wait for me..

23rd March, 2.32 to 3.30 P.M

As we enter the room, the panelists(1 gentleman and 1 lady) ask us who was the missing person ? I tell them it was me and told them the reason too...
Well, all this while I am holding my file close to myself..not that I am close to my certificates or something , just that I happened to stain my shirt while I was having lunch with my father !!
(btw am still carrying that stupid smile on my face ..don't know why..but just can't help it..the panelists are amused at this aberration...)

There is one boy in the group and rest 5 are girls.
The panelists ask all of us to give a 1 min intro and mention 1 whim and 1 fancy that we have.
All of us start and I am the third one...

The first girl is from Delhi. LSR I think. Gives a great intro and says her whim is carrying lots of stuff wherever she goes and fancy is to hold a Pablo Picasso painting and do something something..Am not able to concentrate on what she says next..the picasso stuff is all two alien to me..I mean I didn't even know picasso was a painter !!

Anyway, the next in line is a guy who is a national level champion..wait a min, champion in what ?? Naah, am not able to concentrate..But am back from my reverie, the moment I hear that he has his own business that is earning lakhs of profit. The panelists ask him something about his business, he answers pretty well..
Am not able to hear what he says for whim and fancy, already busy framing my own answers...

wake up ! get up ! it's your turn now !!

I start off in my typical style...

"I am Shruti. I mean I am Shruti Garg. I am a final year student of DA-IICT. I mean fourth year Btech....."
ehhh, what am I doing ? Just chill yar..aaah anyway I tell them about myself, my hobbies, interests and strengths..
then comes the fancy part..I tell them I would like to be in a difficult situation some day and fight it out, as I was always a protected child when at home..the gentleman in the panel cuts me off in between and asks me about my whim..
(Damn it !! what is this whim thing all about?)
Anyway tell him about my being energetic and all..he says that shows I am hyper..tell him it's not so..just that I put more of myself in all that I do..he doesn't seem impressed and tells me anyway that is not what a whim is all about..explains to me what it means..
I tell him about my whim..(No, I won't write it hear..It was probably the worst answer I have ever given in any of my interviews..but at the same time the most honest one..I don't think I could have embarrased myself more !!) I see the lady's eyebrow raised up and the gentleman quickly scribbling something in his notebook..
I have never felt like this before..Seems like I have already lost the battle !!

Similarly the next 3 girls give their respective intros and all..Great profiles yar..I am simply impressed !

After the intro round, one girl is asked about how could she apply in management what she learnt in Salsa( Well, this girls is an expert in all kinds of dances - traditional, western..I mean she is simply fantastic !!) Gives a reasonably good answer..
For a couple of minutes, it is the great people sitting around me who are questioned..and I am just looking here and there..
(have never felt so neglected before :( I remember naruto's never-say-die attitude and try to maintain my composure...)

thank god ! Now they are asking common questions.. I mean all of us are supposed to describe a 'glass ceiling' in 1 - 2 sentences..(wait a min..'glass ceiling' ??? what the hell is that ?)

the first girl says something(not a very cogent answer thought !), the second person(the business wala fellow), gives a pretty good answer, relating glass ceiling to the bias practised in offices against women managers..(My God, what an excellent correlation !! ), the next three girls simply reframe his answer in some way or other..

my turn...
I tell them a ceiling is something at the top..and as I try to proceed further, the lady in the panel interrupts me, that is not what she meant by it(btw I learn it later that glass ceiling is a famous phrase which means exeactly what the business wala fellow had said)
Anyway I tell her, I have interpreted it slightly differently..
I continue and tell them a ceiling is something at the top, and since it is made up of glass so it is transparent..this is analogous to a situation where a person knows something is beyond his reach even when he has the ability to get it..this knowledge of the 'ceiling' will give him the drive and the motivation to break it !!
The panelists seem to be in a hurry and cut me off..I mean I wanted to speak further yar..Itni der baad to mujhse kuch pooncha....

Anyway then they ask each one of us about one similarity between dramatics and management..each one of us says something..the next question is about the Ratan Tata's policies over the years..I tell them about the listing of Tata Motors on NYSE, acquisition of Tata Tetley and recently Corus..Tell them the main policy has been expansion..
Another girl says he was also responsible for consolidation of several small Tata Group companies..

Well, finally the last question --
"If given a chance whom would you select out of the remaining 5 students for the final shortlist? "
During my turn, I tried to be a bit politically correct, said that I don't know the criteria for selection, can't decide..the panelists don't seem impressed and press me further to answer..I name the business wala fellow !

the guy gets three votes, the picasso girl 2 and I get 1...(I mean I was expecting to be the last one !)

So, that's it ! the interview is finally over and we are asked to leave..

23rd March, 3.35 P.M

I am out of the interview hall now..trying to crack jokes with the girl(my only vote) who suggested that I should be selected..She doesn't respond and walks away.

Well, I have never felt so low before. I knew I was a little unsophisticated and am also cognizant of my not so great accent and the fact that I don't have a profile that matches even 1/5th of the other fellows.. still I thought may be I could pull it off well with my narutoish acts and enthu..
but the panelists knew they had better people.. anyway it's over now !!

Anyway I tell my father I have done okay(i mean i never tell my father any negative stuff..don't want to spoil his mood..also I don't want him to give me consolations..I mean it seriously feels terrible...)

23rd March, 4.00 P.M

We are in the campus canteen. We drink coffee and eat something like a burger( I mean it was sweet..so not a burger exactly ! ) We talk to the seniors over there. As we are about to leave, one guy tells me that I have spilled my coffee..I tell him cheerfully it's ok sir, hardly anything was left in the cup..I suddenly realize that my trousers are completely soiled with coffee !! He grins and leaves..I can't control my stupid simper !! :)

We go to the campus temple and then leave the place !