Partly Yours, Partly Lost

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Some places stay with you long after life has moved elsewhere. There is something strange about destiny. You just cannot overcome it, but at the same time, you cannot simply do nothing because something is destined to happen. In India, it is not uncommon to have your horoscope charted about a year after birth. Grandparents wait with bated breath to hear how well the stars were aligned, and what remedies might be needed to appease the Gods. So when I was a year old, my grandmother took my birth date and time to Dharmaraja Ghanapadigal, one of the most revered astrologers in Pudukkottai. He apparently told her that I would do reasonably well in studies, travel to multiple countries, and eventually live abroad. Here was an old lady asking about her grandson from a small town. My parents were then living in Gobichettipalayam. This was the eighties, long before economic reforms had changed the country. My grandmother thanked him politely, but quietly wondere...
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Sans media hype

It is really baffling to see the media hype so much on the Indian "teen sensation" Sania Mirza. It can really get anyone on his nerves to see a lot of reports on what she does everyday. Yes, she made a good start and got into the top 50 in ATP rankings, but that does not merit unwanted praise from everyone. Definitely her achievement is noteworthy, for no Indian girl had achieved so much in tennis. She played some good matches to lose against top players, winning a few in the process. Why in the world should anyone give importance to her comments? Who cares about her views on premarital sex? Is she the only girl who is representing the Islam community? What difference does it make if she is eating pizzas or pastas for lunch? People are giving her too much importance just because she is making grand slam entries. The media should realise that there is no point in oodling Sania so much and that too with her not having done anything extravagant till now. Sania's serve is pathetic but nobody seems to write that in the papers. Her groundstrokes are good, but her overall game requires a lot of patch up. If you have to compete with the best, one has to do less talking and display more on court. The worst part about her is that she is too arrogant for her age. Some of her press match conferences are forgettable and detestable. After one of the matches, when it was pointed out that are ground strokes were getting long in the game, she retorted back with Yeah, that's how I play the game. You must be ready to accept that with me. What sort of a reply is that? Does she think that she can take in only goody goody reports? I still admire the humility of Steffi Graf, who inspite of raking in 18 grand slams did the talking only on the court and never got caught in off-court celeb status. That's what champions are made of and the way it is going, it seems that Sania does not fit in the scheme of things.

As an Indian, I definitely want Sania to win a grand slam, but at this point it looks like she is happy with what she has achieved. We are in an age where everyone wants to see results, because at the end of the day, it is not how much effort you have put in that matters, it is the output that matters. Sania, hopefully, does not want to be remembered for all the wrong reasons.

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  1. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2009 at 1:44 AM

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