The Atavistic pleasure of "Gathering" food from the garden

Kapil @ Lords

Today, when Dhoni and his band of merry men are the toast of the town after their brilliant win against the Sri Lanka, it is impossible for me to not recollect an equally brilliant win pulled of by Kapil's Devils at Lords in 1983. I have recorded my feelings of that incredible day on the silver jubilee celebration of that historic win in another post and I do not wish to repeat it once again here.

But as I plumbed the nostalgic depths of my memory -- and the bottom drawer of my desk, I came across this wonderful piece of memorabilia that I wish to share with my friends and also saveit  for me and my posterity.

Yes, that is Kapil Dev's autograph on a ticket for an India match at Lords but no, it is not THAT historic match. This was later, in 2004 when I had been invited by my client British Petroleum to their box at Lords and yes, India led by Sourav Ganguly did win against England that day. But the best part of the match was my meeting with the hero of my student days -- the one and only Kapil Dev and he was gracious enough to sign on my ticket.

Ten things to learn from the tsunami in Japan

 

1. THE CALM: Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.
2. THE DIGNITY: Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture.
3. THE ABILITY: The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.
4. THE GRACE: People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.
5. THE ORDER: No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding.
6. THE SACRIFICE: Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?
7. THE TENDERNESS: Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.
8. THE TRAINING: The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
9. THE MEDIA: They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
10. THE CONSCIENCE: When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves & left quietly. 

A Placard put up outside a office on Saturday (A day after the Calamity struck Japan): “Tsunami leaves Confidence unshattered. Work starts from Monday”