Dada, I will miss you…

Many will say that I love Sourav, because he is a Bengali. That is a perception which almost everyone has about any Bengali liking Sourav. We don’t need to give any clarification to that portion of the society. But yes, I like him because India has not produced a cricketer of his stature. May be he was not a Wall, or a Little Genius - who broke all the records, or a person who gave his best against Australian, or a Golden Boy- who gave India a World Cup in 20-20, but yes his contribution to Indian Cricket is Unparalleled by any standard. He gave our cricket a new look, gave confidence and self belief to the younger generation. He never tolerated any nonsense from any rival captain or player. He didn’t believe to stuff the National Team with players from his state or zone, which was actually the system before he took over the mantle of Indian Team. He is an Indian, who believed in the true sense of the word INDIAN and practiced it. Sehwag, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Irfan, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Nehra, Parthiv, Agarkar and many others were not from Bengal, but he believed in them. There was a time when Dravid was almost dropped from Indian One Day team, but he retained him, showed faith in him and made him play as a keeper, just because he was one of the best batsman. When people and press were after Sachin's life because he was going through a bad patch, he supported him and requested everyone to leave him alone. This was all done in the interested of the team.

There are many who believe that he can’t play fast bowling or the rising balls, yes may be he can’t, but then how can someone make 7212 runs, 42.17 average, 16 centuries, 35 fifties in 113 Tests and 11363 runs, 41.02 average, 22 centuries, 72 fifties in 311 One Day Internationals. I feel that somewhere in our system still we are suffering from the colonial mentality. Still we can’t believe that how can we keep a white captain waiting for toss, no matter if they keep us waiting, how can an Indian Captain take off his shirt in an English stadium, so what if an English player does the same in India. The problem with Dada was that he gave tit for tat. He gave the Indian team what they lacked the most, the Killer Instinct. He gave the younger ones the confidence so that they always played the game with head held high. He stood behind the players who gave their best. He brought the concept of TEAM INDIA. He brought the concept of HURDLE. He brought the concept of MIRROR in the Indian team (if you look nicely at it will see a nice face, but, if you look with an ugly face, then you will see the same reflection in the mirror).

To be continued…

Goddess Durga is a form of Shakti worshipped for her gracious as well as terrifying aspect. Mother of the Universe, she represents the infinite power of the universe and is a symbol of female dynamism.She is also called by many other names, such as Parvati, Ambika, and Kali. In the form of Parvati, she is known as the divine spouse of Lord Shiva and is the mother of his two sons, Ganesha and Karttikeya, and daughter Jyoti. Destroyer of demons, she is worshiped during an annual festival called Durga puja, especially popular among Bengalis.She is usually pictured as having ten arms holding Sword, Conch, Discus, Rosary, Bell, Wine cup, Shield, Bow, Arrow, and Spear. She is most often shown riding a lion from which comes her august name, Simhavahini, "She who stands astride the king of beasts". She is gorgeously dressed in royal red cloth and has several ornaments decorating her personage. Her hair is dressed up in a crown (karandamukuta) which then flows out in long luxuriant tresses that are darkly luminous and soothing to the eye.She went to battle on her ferocious mount lion, armed with the weapons given to her by the other Gods. Durga is one of the angry and aggressive aspects of the goddess Shakti. In the battle, she fought and killed the evil Mahishasura, restored heaven to the Gods and the occasion is celebrated as victory over evil.In West Bengal, Durga Puja is five days of sheer festivity. It hinges around Mahalaya day, a week before the actual celebrations begin. It was on this day that Durga was assigned the task of eliminating evil. So the familiar pose of Durga unleashing her wrath on an outpowered asura (demon). Legend goes that Ram wanted to invoke the blessings of Durga before his great war with Ravan. He performed the Durga Puja despite the time of year not being right. That is why the puja is also known as Akal Bodhon, or untimely invocation. It is only from the day of Mahalaya that the preparations for the Durga Puja reach the final stage. The midnight chants of various hymns of ‘Mahishasura Mardini’ remind one of the beginnings of Durga Puja.The battle started on Shaptami and Ravana was killed at the Shandhikshan (in between) Ashtami and Navami; he was cremated on Dashami. Therefore the four days of the puja that we celebrate ends in the triumph of good over evil. Finally, on 'Dashami,' the tenth day from the new moon, the idol is immersed in the river.