Trick or Treat?

 

“Let us talk, you and I. Let us talk about fear.”

Stephen King

Halloween. That one time of the year when all manner of spooky things come crawling out of the woodwork and up your front porch, a smile on their face quipping the line “Trick or Treat?” For your sake, you had better have some candy in the house, coz you know that these guys can get nasty!

Today just happens to be one of my favourite days of the year, as you must have guessed from the way I have started this post. I have always been a fan of the macabre, those spine chilling things that you somehow discover while you are growing up. Funnily enough, my father’s pretty into the daily dose of horror and so is my mum. Howzzat!

                               

Then of course there’s the myriad amount of fiction and lore on this topic. Take Stephen King, HP Lovecraft, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The list is endless. But you know the best part of a horrific experience? Curling up in bed, after you’ve seen a horror movie or read a particularly descriptive tome and trying to convince yourself that the rustling you hear is just the wind and not a werewolf sneaking up to dismember you. Or checking multiple times for a monster under your bed, sometimes employing your mom to do so, because you are too scared.

So folks, what’s it gonna be? Trick? Or Treat?

 

The Bilge Master

Until Next Year

 

Wake up, toast the bread

Feed the dog, make your bed

Last few days, a blur in my head,

That’s what happens when God’s in your home I guess,

The wanderer in me wanted to be fed,

I couldn’t help but accede to the request,

A new pair of jeans, father’s new camera,

Off I set to capture her tiara,

She’d come with her family, crowned in glory,

And I just watched dumbstruck, like a child being told a story,

My legs they stood by me, even when I got lost,

A bottle of water was what I most sought,

Now I sit, see those pictures of her face,

Until next year when she’ll come here again

 

The Bilge Master

“Nothing is Perfect”

Meet Ankur Roshan who has kindly written the following article on Virat Kohli. He is 17 years old, from Patna and likes his PJ’s shaken not stirred. He is a self proclaimed “geek” and goes out of his way to keep up with the technological times.

It is easy to talk about Virat Kohli's attitude. He is young, successful and from Delhi, a city where brash is known to go with the former two attributes. He has everything a regular 23-year old would only dream of. He is the vice captain of the Indian cricket team, a World Cup winner, an IPL star and currently in the form of his life. And he makes sure you know all that the way he swaggers around with what can only be termed as the “Don't-touch-me-I'm-Virat” look. All of this can be easily seen and easier to speak about. What is not seen largely due to Kohli's outward manifestations is the way the man goes about his game. Making centuries seems a cakewalk for him But you aint aware of the sheer determination behind those bombastic tons. Yuvraj Singh has said he wished he had Kohli's work ethic when he was young, and you can see during practice what made Yuvraj say that. I got the perfect answer to this question last year, on my visit to Kolkata, known as “The City of Joy” for giving KVPY Olympiad. It's a beautiful place to be at. This visit was a day before the T20 match at Eden Gardens, against England. The 2 hours spend at the" Mecca of Indian Cricket" made me give a second thought to the popular saying "Nothing is perfect".

If Gautam Gambhir's eyes drip intensity and Rahul Dravid's stance shows his determination, Kohli's entire being exudes a rare combination of precision and passion during practice.

Kohli's precision is not the mere cold calculation of doing exactly what is required to be done; it seems so natural it's almost surreal. He bats with precision, he takes catches with precision, he does fitness drills with precision, and he even gives throwdowns to team-mates with precision; all the while appearing completely natural!

Kohli's passion is not the uncontrollable childlike enthusiasm of a youngster. He will take several blinders at point during training and go down with a contorted face full of disappointment if he misses even one. There are many in this side that would not even go for such catches in the first place. Kohli gives the impression he really wants to be there, doing what he is doing, playing cricket for India.

He starts by thumping the spinners in the nets. There are a couple of local net bowlers and the three specialist India spinners - R Ashwin, Pragyan Ojha and Rahul Sharma. Kohli hardly differentiates between them. He charges out and carts them over the boundary. He lofts them into the stands. He crashes them off the back foot. Even from a distance of tens of metres, the sight is brutal. Not in the display of power, as MS Dhoni shows later, but in the relentlessness of it.

He moves on to taking high catches on the boundary. He takes them all. He leaps and takes them inches from the rope. He runs several yards in front to take them. He drops none. At no point does he appear to be straining himself. Is this man for real?

Now he takes those sharp ones at point. Virender Sehwag joins in for a few minutes, then walks away. Kohli continues to throw himself around. He goes with both hands, he goes with one hand. Suddenly, he drops one. And goes down as is he's dropped it in a World Cup final. Say what you will about the man's behaviour, but surely he can't be overdoing this reaction.

He now takes over the duty of hitting those high catches to his team-mates. And does it with gusto. Dhoni, who is among those taking the catches, asks for one close to the rope. The next ball promptly arrives where the captain wants it. thats shows that man's character as a person

Ah, he is done, finally. Surely, now he will show that he is tired. At least a deep breath? Not coming. The swagger is back in place as Kohli walks to the dressing room. He even poses for some photographs with a group of Indian fans. Did he smile broadly at the camera? Of course not. He's Virat. He is "Perfect".

At Peace

 

At last I have come full circle,

And the cycle concludes,

The air I have breathed dissipates at last,

Back from whence it came,

As I shed my shell,

I am weary, I have lived my life

Had my share of joys and my pinch of strife,

My love, do not cry,

I have not gone very far,

You will find me here,

We are not really apart,

But for now, let me be laid,

Listen to what the voices said,

I sleep in Mother’s embrace,

And am at peace,

So let me ascend,

Let me ascend

And let me be…..

 

This is the feeling I got as I was walking through the Park Street Cemetary today…..maybe, just maybe it’s true?

 

The Bilge Master

18 Till I Die

 

OK wow! Where did the time go? I mean just yesterday, I was screaming the house down and in three odd days, I’m gonna turn 18!

Brief moment’s pause to allow it to sink in. Naah hasn’t sunk in yet!

And my mother is is still calling me her “chotto chele” (Little kid for those who dont know Bengali.) Some things never change eh people?

So I was originally gonna write this little bit of nonsense after I had turned 18, gotten stoned and thrown up multiple times in the toilet, but why wait? No time like the present eh? Case in point, what the hell am I gonna say? I mean there’s just so many things going on in my head right now!  OK, deep breath!

First off, round of applause for my parents who have been putting up with nine kinds of crazy for as long as they can remember. Refer pic below to meet these two seemingly immortal people.

Ok so the pics are a little old. SUE ME! (PS, hope you get what I mean bout the nine kinds of crazy. Refer pic on right.)

Next up, it’s my cousins, with whom I have had a wild time, since I was about maybe 2 feet tall?

That cake is SO doomed!!!!!

Let’s not forget my dog, who is at this moment drooling on my slippers.

And then there’s these guys.

My first and second loves. Music and books. Am listening to a song right now!

And finally, all my friends. If I start naming them, this post is gonna resemble one of those never ending epics that humans seem to have written when they had nothing better to do than get bored out of their skulls.

So, this is me as of now, no strings attached.

PEEK-A-BOO!!!!!

Yes the spex are a little old. I’m kind of feeling a bit lazy right now. Once again, you are welcome to sue me!

I guess I should get a little serious now so I am gonna be leaving you with a poem from “The Lord of the Rings”

The Road goes ever on and on
down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
and I must follow, if I can,
pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way
where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say......

 

The Bilge Master

The Opinion of the Bard on the Settee

“To be or not to be”,
A question phrased by the bard on the settee,
Through the lips of a prince caught in a quandary,
Try as he might, his mother would not agree,
That his uncle was the wrong un of the family….
Having killed his father previously!
In life too, this is an oft encountered phase,
Our parents insist we study,
Yet studies contradict and say that it’s a sin to use trees,
That give the paper in our copies!
At such times, my mind reflects on the opinion,
Of the bard on the settee,
Who did but inquire humbly, is it “To be or not to be?”
My friends, can you enlighten me?

The Bilge Master