Skip to main content

Believe...


Just last week, I was playing our weekly cricket match. We were in a really hopeless situation – it read 33/7. And for the first time in the entire tournament, I had finally discovered some form. It felt like it was my day; I was able to shield my partner, get a boundary and also managed a single off the last ball to keep strike. I genuinely felt that I’d bat out the 20 overs.

And then, I made the fatal error…I went after an absolute sitter and holed out on the boundary. With that, it was all over, my innings, our innings, our match….

While I walked back to the pavilion, I thought to myself; this just sounded like my 2008 to me. My mind rushed back to the beginning of 2008:

_ We’re doing well at work; we seemed optimistic to get our targets. And suddenly towards the end of the year, we’ve really had to sweat it out.

_ In the beginning of 2008, I was feeling on the top of my health. By the end, I was struggling with a nagging back problem; one that seriously hampers my regular movements

_ January 2008, all of my closest friends were around me. December 2008, there are just a handful left behind in Mumbai.

_ January 2008; I was completely confident of my own abilities to do my job well. December 2008; I am not sure of whether I need to make some radical changes.

_ January 2008; I was happy being a Mumbai-ite. December 2008; I am a scared and frustrated Mumbai-ite.

Clearly, things did not pan out the way we had planned out and it hurts even more so because we began 2008 in a position of strength. What applies to me probably applies to a lot of things that have changed around us; the economy, our city, social environment, etc. The drop has been so phenomenal that it has sapped our confidence and belief in being able to survive what seems to be a shaky 2009.

But the cricket match taught me the answer to it all…We walked onto the field for the next match and said to each other; we BELIEVE we can win this one and we’ll fight every inch of the way for the victory.

And that’s my only resolution for 2009 – I am going to BELIEVE

Believe in my ability to make a difference to my work this year. Believe in my ability and that of my city to make a change for the better. Believe in my intent to bring my health back on track. Believe in my ability to make a new set of “close” friends. Believe in my own efforts and those who are with me to put in their best as well.

Belief, I believe it works and in 2009, we’re all going to test it.

As for the match; our belief took us quite far; we didn’t quite make it but we got really, really close….BELIEVE…

Comments

Inkslinger said…
I believe mate! Damn! well written and so freakin' true!

Popular posts from this blog

Revolution 2020 - The Alternate Ending

Chapter 42 On March 1, I worked a lot harder than I normally do. I went through the mid-term results that Dean Srivastava brought over. I met with Bedi to discuss plans for the institution moving into engineering and MBA. I met with every student; every staff member who knocked on my door. I did everything to not look at that one card that Raghav had sent through in my mail a week back. But I couldn’t avoid it. Every 10 minutes; my eyes automatically glanced at it. And none of what anyone said registered in my head. The message on the card just kept coming back to me Mrs and Mr Anil Kashyap Invite the pleasure of your company For the wedding of their beloved son Raghav With Aarti (D/O Mrs and Mr Pratap Brij Pradhan, DM) At 8 p.m. On March 1, 2010 Poolside Lawns Taj Ganga, Varanasi I scheduled a visit to Shuklaji that evening. It was my way of ensuring that I wouldn’t be tempted to land up at the Taj Ganga. God knows I did!! I wanted ...

Sunday Morning Musings: "Cannes" the Journey Have Been Better?

Having just returned from the French Riviera, I have no intention of adding to the already exhausted chorus of post-Cannes euphoria or critique. Instead, staying true to my passion with the evolution of words , I have chosen to look at Cannes through a historical lens to trace how a modest gathering of cinema publicists transformed into a sun-kissed show of global capitalism. I. The Venetian Genesis and the Moving Image (1954–1983) The roots of the festival originate in the post-World War II media landscape, specifically within the domain of cinema screen advertising. The 1954 Inauguration: A group of international cinema screen advertising contractors belonging to the Screen Advertising World Association (SAWA) organized the inaugural International Advertising Film Festival in Venice, Italy. The Search for Validation: Inspired by the rapid rise of the Cannes Film Festival, SAWA sought a parallel platform. They believed that those who created commercial films deserved the same artis...

Willow vs. Warheads - 40 years of geopolitical theatre on a cricket field.

For the last one week, I and few million cricket fans have been waiting in anticipation for this India Pakistan world T20 clash. While this has always been the pinnacle of excitement for fanatics on both sides of the border, the recent geo political tensions have added uncertainty, trepidation and bite to an already tense on-field enmity. It was this context that got me thinking about the progress (or lack of it) of this spectacular rivalry over the last 40 years. Decade Focus Statistical Trend Political Environment 1980s Sharjah Dominance Pakistan Advantage Brasstacks & Zia Diplomacy 1990s World Cup & Neutrality Pakistan (ODI) / India (WC) Kargil & Nuclear Tests 2000s Friendship & Rupture Parity / India Growth 2004 Tour to 2008 Attacks 2010s Isolation & ICC Dominance India Dominance...