The SCG and the MCG

“Where is Sydney Cricket Ground-SCG? How do I go to SGC?,” was my first question to the host in Sydney after the rudimentary check-in procedures. “Come here,” pointing me to come outside the door he was pointing his forefinger up and not so far. “Can you see those standing lights? Yeah? That’s SGC for you my friend.” Wow!!! I was gasping my breath; coincidently I had booked a place at an arm’s length from SCG, next to Cricketers’ Arm hotel. No wonder then that all the walls downstairs were filled with ex-Australian cricketers like the Waughs, the McGraths and not the mention the big Don Bradman. Now, it was my turn to point to my bag and saying, “Can you please hold on to it for a while as I just can’t stop my excitement even for a second. Here I go…”

Marathon Cricket Tournament @ SCG-Sydney

Innings break @ Australia-Srilanka T20 game @ MCG

MCG during the tour 

As much as I have hated the smug invincible look on Ricky Ponting and his teammates’ face, I have been a salient admirer of the success the nation has achieved in sports arena. Be it an Olympic sport, be it Cricket – a game played by only handful of nations, Aussies have set new and newer standards for the world to chase all the time. Just can’t forget the days of getting up very early in the morning not only to catch the captivating cricket action along with an outstanding channel 9 commentary but an equal attraction was to get the glimpses of the lush green, nicely curetted outfields, seagulls dancing on the boundary lines. Those were just wonderful, wonderful memories and being in Australia I desperately wanted to have a first look at both the SCG and a must do THE MCG…

After a short brisk walk, I was at the SCG gates inquiring for the guided tours at the stadium. “We are afraid, Sir!!! We have guided tours every morning 10AM and tomorrow being an Australian day* – a national day, we have no tours for public,” a stern face at the counter poked. Even his Sir sounded stern. After traveling shores to see the venue, it was not a pleasing response. “Is there any way I can visit the grass at least once,” disappointment must have flashed on my face as if the sky has broken loose. With a broad smile the passer by tour guide quipped, “However, you have come in this august place at a very special occasion, Sir!!! Today, we have a “Marathon Cricket Tournament” scheduled and (not to mention) the entry is free and you will be able to witness a real cricket game @ the SGC.” “But…but, how about the dressing rooms and pavilion etc.,” ecstatic though, I still sounded a bit paranoid, “Do Not worry, Sir! You will be able to enter the dressing rooms, take pictures and above all, you would be amongst the very few- a very lucky few, who can claim to have a chilled beer at the Sydney members club.”

Bradman philosophy @ Home dressing room - SCG

"Mera Bharat Mahan" - @ Guest dressing room  - SCG

Two maestros celebrating elders B'day @ MCG

A few moments later, I was clean bowled by a waitress holding Samosa trey and mango chutney at the members’ hall. Well, the next few hours, I was at my happiest best wandering on the fields of SCG. Capturing the pictures, I walked through the pavilion, the members club, the Bradman hall. Above all standing on the center turf, waving his willow to the midwicket dressing room followed by watching the skies as if gesturing his father with meditating eyes, I did simulate a Tendulkar scoring a couple hundred without playing an offside drive.

Simulation @ SCG turf

Finally, @ MCG press box after the game (tour)

Two days later was the date with awesome MCG and I also enjoyed a last ball finish T20 game between Australia and Srilanka. Was just an incredible experience too...

Tryst with Taekwondo

"Hey dude! Can you be a little higher. You are right at my balls and trust me I dream to make a lot of kids", seven and a half feet Wim was paranoid to say the least, as I was alive and kicking during my first ever Taekwondo practice session. With no control over me -- my legs -- my body I was marshaling the art like a headless warrior and a while later it was my turn to yell "Hey Wim! Can you be a little lower or else I won't be able to see them." I was scared to death as Wim's forceful kick approached my face making me see the stars for the real. "What?" Wim did not understand. "I mean you are right in front of my eyes and if you make me blind how will I see your kids?", I responded and both of us gushed into laughter. "Ok! See, listen!...Take it easy, very easy and very very slowly" followed another piece of advice as we started practicing again.

It was my first ever session to learn Taekwondo -- the marshal art I chose to learn just because its name appear longest with the hope that once I learn it I will be strongest and mightiest. As I reached the hall for the first session of the semester expecting a lot of beginners I was surprized to find myself -- a solo tyro amongst an Uniformed group with a variety of colorful belts. Wondering if at all it was the session for beginners like me I inquired a Korean standing next to me. "Yeah! This is the Taekwondo practice session. You wanna fight with us?" beamed an enthusiastic Sam wavering his boxing fists to me. Looking at his black belt I started to take into account my fighting skills. As I started to list my accomplishments as a fighter, my illustrious resume flashed. All I have fought and tamed in my life are a large number of mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and at times mice. Nevertheless, I used to dissect earthworms exploring its digestive, nervous and reproductive systems with aplomb during class XII biology labs. Cherry on the cake has been that I had also been a bemused spectator during a frog cutting session before I bid my adieu to the noblest disciplines called biology. So fighting with a black belt or for that matter anybody has always been out of question. "Are you crazy. This is my first ever time. I only wish if I can learn some tricks, get a bit fitter in a process and that's it. Fight and all. No way boss. I have never done it, may be this is not a place for me." , I was about to pack my bags thinking if at all I will reach home one piece if I stay over. "No, No. Do not worry. Just practice with us and you will be an awesome fighter. You can demonstrate to your friends and others the skills and they will be amazed. Who knows you may go to Bollywood as a fighter.", Sam was unstoppable. May be it was the lure of Bollywood that made me to stay and practice first session of Taekwondo.

After the warm-up session involving jogging and running, it was time to perform some stretching and kick practice, I was paired with another Korean girl - Ema. Somehow over the years I have always harbored an illusion that my body is not that unfit and certainly a lot more flexible than an average person, definitely worthy of surprising a bystander. But this girl was treating my stretching skills with contempt -- if not a disgrace. She looked at me the same way a F1 driver would tame a lame driver trying to pass a driving test and gestured to offer help as I was trying to stretch beyond my capacity. I only stopped because my pants would have teared off if I had gone an inch further. As I offered to aid her during her stretching she offered another disgraceful look. This was the look of a GM to an amateur chess player; of an expert to a novice as she stretched full 180 degrees to both left and right sides. My jaws were wide open spontaneously. She did not spare up and down stretches as well and she was equally good. It was as good as watching Nadia Comaneci's gymnastic performance. That too for free. To Say the least I was literally humbled. The kicking session saw another ordeal as many times I fall down thumping on my ass only trying to raise my kick -- high, high up to the sky. "Unless you are steady and in full control, never try to hit others", quipped the gymnast. I have also learnt, I remembered Rajkumer saying in his beaming voice: जिनके खुदके घर शीशे के हो वोह दूसरों पर पत्थर नाही फेका करते.

Do we have it in Us....

Nileshbhai pointed out this motivational piece in Indian Express. The story is about his star Basketball playing sister and her friends coming back to courts after tangible time off it: punes-basketball-moms-script-fairytale-comeback. For more than a reason this is story proves the power of an agile mind. The win of will over all adverse circumstances proving if you want to achieve something and if you set out to do it with all you have, success won't be that far. Acting as a catalyst this encouraging story made me hallucinate sitting right here on my desk. Here I narrate my dream and hope some fellow (ex-)AVS players have similar thoughts. I strongly believe, if we come together, We Can Do It...

I have no second thoughts that my (and hopefully yours) best times have been playing on courts. Be it Kho-Kho or Basketball, just being present on the court in a match or a practice session was a thrill in itself. Gaining approval of the coach and the audience after winning a good tough match has certainly been memorable and loosing a close match and standing in front of angry coaches (Milind, Manoj, Anand and Shetty sir) was as distasteful. Getting selected for district and state teams was the formidable goal and not ending up making it was indeed a huge disappointment. Manisha made us all proud to play for Indian Basketball team through her shear hard work and determination but there are plenty of us who gave it up in between for one reason or the other.

Believe it or not, we were a formidable team (Boys in Kho-Kho and girls in Basketball) in Bombay circuit and if most of us have continued with the sport, some of us would have been head peons (or may be on higher rank accountants) in banks, railways or other public service institutes supposedly bolstering sports and sports men/(wo)men. Obviously this was not a career that a middle class dreams off and with all the surrounding peer pressure we all landed in other Better Safe Than Sorry careers ending up being engineers/doctors/CAs/artists/scientists and what not.

Most of us are excelling in our respective careers, leading happy family lives, making decent money towards meeting both ends meet but in a process we have had to forgo our dreams to excel in sports we all passionately played and practiced every evening. The joy of any sports is not only about winning and loosing but getting back to the competitive spirits does lead to an inexplicable happiness of a higher degree. The bonhomie and team spirits inculcates stronger bonds as we had developed a long while ago. Unfortunately True!!! Under the stress of time and inevatible circumstances, the bonds have waned, contacts are lost. But, if we can take a cue from these brave moms and super achievers not only in sports but in life, we can as well relive our dream to be a formidable opposition in the Bombay circuit.

I believe we can do it. If moms could do it, we could certainly do it. The question is, Do We Have It In Us?

Viru and Sheru

In one of the English county championship matches, Viru and an Englishman were facing Abdul Razzaq who was making the ball talk with his reverse swing. Quite impossible to face, Razzaq was running though the batting order. In between the overs, Viru nonchalantly informed his partner that he has a plan for Razzaq in his mind and with the same nonchalance next over the ball was dispatched out of the park, never to come back again. Phew! Problem solved!! New ball in!!! Good Bye reverse swing!!! Get back to basics!!!

True or false, the story tells a lot about the character of Viru. Simple solution to an otherwise difficult problems. That's Viru. Rather, "Keep It Straight and Simple (KISS)" has been his mantra right from start and to his credit, he has never ever mended it. Careless, fearless, Out of the box and above all always his own self. "When you commentators (Goeffrey, Gavaskars et. al.) discuss about batting, its techniques etc., it looks as if it is the most difficult pursuit in the world. I know only one simple thing. See the ball and hit it.", He had commented to Harsha Bhogle on one of the TV shows and doesn't he make it look so simple?

Peeping into the history, there have been three prolific batsmen who metamorphosed Indian approach to batting. Gavaskar in late 70s and early 80s showed us how to stand and stand tall. Weathering the storms of Roberts, Halls, Marshals, Holdings etc. Indian team learned not only to save games and but they earned the pride too. Tendulkar (Sheru) in the early nineties started demonstrating how to walk and at times run. He offered confidence that we have it in us to take the attack to the opposition and at times we can indeed dictate terms. Unfortunately, he did not receive adequate support from team mates to keep that pressure for long (a day or 2 straight in a test match) in the early nineties. Soon realized that the longer he stays at the wicket, more beneficial it is for the team and (probably) had to alter his game to a reasonable extent. The usual flamboyance was replaced by caution with aggression approach. The behind the wicket minimal risk shots were invented and longer he stayed at the crease, the team looked better. Otherwise it was like Sheru gone, match gone.

Starting Ganguly's tenure as a captain and settled quality middle order (Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and Laxman) at his disposal, Sehwag has started to offer us a dream that we can fly and fly high. To his credit, Viru has never changed his apporach to the game. Probably because, he could always rely on the cushion of the prolific middle order batting line-up. With his brutal ability to hit the ball hard at will, he has changed the role of an opening batsman in Tests. The usual role of the opener has been to leave as many balls as possible, take the shine off the ball so that it becomes easier for the middle order to plunder the bowling. Viru, even in a short period at crease, not only takes the shine of the ball but also changes the shape of it, setting the opposition to the back foot early on. The longer he stays at the crease, more devastating is the effect. Be it the first ball after lunch or the last ball before the end of days play, he plays every ball the way he wants to. The position of the game, nature of the wicket, reputation of the bowler seldom intervene in the decision making. Average balls never receive any respect and bad balls are always treated with disdain. Remember, he went from 294 to 300 during his first 300 @ Multan with a flamboyant six. How many can ever do that? and how many can go public after missing another saying, "(No big deal.) It was a missed opportunity, but there will always be a next time." Striking, isn't it? Looks like he treats tripple 100s just as another 100 or a 200. To me, there is a very thin line between confidence and arrogance. For brave hearts like Viru the boasting probably suits the most and touchwood he gets another chance sooner than later.

I really wonder what would have happened if Viru phenomenon would have occurred to Indian cricket ahead of Sheru? Sachin surely has an early bird advantage over Viru. Owing to the rule that the best batsman should bat @ no. 4 in Test cricket, Viru would definitely have been given that role in the absence of Sheru and Sheru would then have had to open the innings for team India. If Viru then had altered his game? and if Sheru would have remained his aggressive self? Would Viru have proved to be a better finisher of the game? and if Bradman would have felt Viru bats very much like him? The questions are fun to address. Thoughts are welcome...

My First Prize in Chess

First things always come first and inevitably they last long. Can you ever forget the day when you learned to ride a bicycle/motor bike/car for the first time, the day when you went on your first hike/solo trip, the day when you appeared for the first interview, the day when you left your country for the first time, the first day of the first job, first love, first...... They are all unforgettable and etched in memory for a long long time. Last Sunday was such as unforgettable day for me as I won my first Chess* prize (3rd prize in a <1500elo>

Envelope with Prize money. A Moderate prize money (75 EUR) with a humongous value.
I am never going to trade this currency. Never, Never Ever!!!

With one GM and a few IMs on the top boards and plenty of serious players around, amateur participants like me are usual suspects during such tournaments but then they offer us an opportunity to improve further and with the prize money I received as a motivation proves nothing but it's only a start and there is a long long way to go...
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* In my mother tongue Marathi, Chess is called Buddhibal, literal translation in English is Brain Power. Most of the times, I feel I use more power than brains on the board. With such skills winning any prize in this skillful sport is normally out of question.

Jaya in the middle order? Life is Cricket and Cricket is Life!

Hari - The Liverpool Fan pointed me to this cricket news (http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/21133/Jayasuriya-might-bat-down-the-order) suggesting Jayasuriya to bat in the middle order. Moreover he wanted me to share some fundae about it. While chatting with him, I started translating the Life Fundae to Cricket and vice versa. The discussion became interesting. The thoughts below are just an extension linking life and cricket while elaborating on an insane Srilankan thought to move Jayasuriya to middle order.

Rule 1: Never Change a winning/working combination
If something has really worked well for Srilanka from the middle nineties till date is their quality spin bowling and scintillating top order batting. Murali has really been on the pinnacle of success all through and so has been Jayasuriya since the days when he redefined the top order batting alongwith Kaluwitharana starting 1996 World Cup. He has won innumerable games for Srilanka and now has a very able partner in Dilshan* who has really been a sensation on the top for Delhi during IPL. Both have immense potential to provide brisk start to the innings. These two followed by Sangakara @ no. 3 and Jayawardhane @ no. 4 form an ideal top 4 and if one of them bats through the innings, Srilanka is likely to post larger and larger totals and win more and more games. I see no reason to believe why Srilankan selectors are so much paranoid of the sudden glitch of temporary form to Jayasuriya, forgetting his permanent class. Something that has worked for so long is likely to work for lifetime. The need of the hour is to back him with confidence and not to move him to the middle order.

Rule 2: Learn from Others' mistakes
The top 4 are the pillars of Srilankan batting, a reliable source of strength while the middle order and the late middle order has been susceptible largely because of inexperience. Possibly, Selectors want to move Jayasuriya to the middle order to add that vital experience to hold one end so that the side does not crumble in crunch situations. If you poke in the recent history, Indian team went through the same predicament before 2007 World Cup and guru Greg (Chappell) envisioned a strategy moving Tendulkar to the middle order. The result is there for all to see; LoLz. Life is too short to learn from ones' own mistakes. Srilankan selectors would certainly reduce one if they look at their neighbor.

Rule 3: Build upon your strengths and improve upon the weak links

Modern cricket is all about a balance of a side. Side that can provide brisk starts, sustain momentum in the middle and pile it towards the end result victorious. While bowling one has to prevent other side from building partnerships. Srilankan bowling has been brilliant with Murali, Mendis and Malinga (3Ms) providing quality options for the captain. The top order is world class while the only weakness being the middle and late middle order. Moving Jayasuriya to the middle order would mean sacrificing the strength to guards against a weak link and the result would hardly be in favor of Srilanka in the long run.

Rule 4: Two wrongs never make a right

In other words, moving Jayasuriya to the middle order will be wrong on both counts. It would diminish the desirable ferocity at the top of the order while adding only marginally to the middle order. To site an example, Indian team ranked up to no. 1 (or 2) ODI spot today not because Tendulkar moved to the middle order but largely because MSD has adeptly assumed the role of the finisher. Many a times, he has had to crub his natural instincts to ensure reliable run chase and hasn't he done beautifully? Michael Beven in the nineties played the same role for Australia and results were evident. What Srilanka needs at this hour is somebody in the middle order to play a similar role of a finisher. Easier said than done but there is a large talent pool out there and the role of the selectors is to handpick a talent, groom him to ensure that he delivers. Meddling with the world class top order would be a disaster, a complete disaster...

To me all this sounds a common sense but as adage goes "Common sense is not very common". Well, that's tagged Rule No. 5.

Update added after Hari's comment:
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Now, that brings me to Rule No. 6. Kiss in Public; Kick in private!!!

Guess, all managers, coaches, mentors should follow this. What have Srilankan selectors achieved going to the media for Jaya's case? Sensation, infamy and nothing else. So did Guru Greg when he talked so much about the batting flexibility of the Indian batting order and blah, blah, blah. Instead of offering the confidence to the rookies, it made them paranoid, uncertain about their role in the team and that in turn unsettled the entire squad. I am curious to know what Rafa Benitez informed Gerrald about his vision while moving him to all possible places?

On the issue of giving adequate respect to our players, I tend to think that we Asians in general bring more emotions than warranted about our stars (beyond a point we fail to recognize them as players, as humans). Look at the way Aussies deal with their players. Professional, Methodological. How they offered a fitting farewell to Steven Waugh and moved on. If Waugh would have been playing for India, he would never ever have retired. Did Ganguly ever wanted to retire? In reality, the job of selectors is very vital in Asian ecosystem and they need to assess the value of every player (senior and junior) from time to time. Age honestly does not count but the fitness, focus, ideas and 3-D (Determination, Dedication and Discipline) count the most.

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* Other option is Tharanga. But I prefer to root for Dilshan.

Italian Drivers and Ferrari!!!

"Do you mind if I smoke?", Stefano - Daniele's cousin light up his cigarette without waiting for our reply. Me and Koen were sitting on the back of the car with a sand bag in between while Tomas took the front seat along side the driver Stefano. As soon as we came out of the airport Bologna, we found Stefano steering the car as adeptly as any F1 driver could. With one hand holding the mobile while talking to a friend and the other hand holding the cigarette, Stefano could nonchalantly change the lanes from slow to fast and vice versa, mimicking an expert. Bemused with each lane change, me and Koen were colliding sideways on the sand bag one after the other, as if we were in a roller coaster. Quite a bit of a show really until we found ourselves racing with Daniele's car in the parallel lane. Imagine or not, these two drivers were literally racing against each other on one of the busy highways in Italy and later in the heart of their hometown, Modena. Although they raced against each other vehemently, Daniele never (never ever) speed-ed against the car driven by his uncle/father/mother. When questioned why, he responded, "Elders in the family have to be respected. It's a must, a complete must in Italy." By comparison, the elder generation was much more disciplined when it came to driving. It's much safer to be driven by them :-)

Italian drivers and Ferrari do have a special connection, as every F1 Italian driver aims to be a part of the Ferrari's racing team one day in his career. These were the times when Ferrari's Felipe Massa has had a life threatening accident and there were talks about Schumacher making his comeback to the F1 circuit. Looking at these fantastic drivers, left me convinced that Ferrari need not be looking for drivers outside Italy* as there is a lot of hidden talent in Italy alone. The last day tour to Ferrari town, Maranello-Modena and the Ferrari museum were one of the most memorable experiences all of us will cherish for one life to mention the least. We had never ever seen So Many of Them, So close, for So long together in such a short time. We could also don the drivers seat in a F1 car and feel what's it like to be a F1 driver. The seat is so low to the ground for the aerodynamic reasons that you would really feel dragged on the ground at supersonic speeds. must be an incredible experience driving those machines. Apparently, we found ourselves short of time for the ride in a Ferrari (yes, you can rent a Ferrari here paying EUR 60-70 for 10-15 mins or so). Next time, during the visit, this ride must (a genuine must) be the first on the cart. Enjoy the photos...

Upside down or down side up! It's Ferrari cheering u up!!

Ferrari F1 Car. I have a picture with me driving :p. Need to receive from Tomas. 'll blog later

NBH F1 Fans and Ferraris!!!

The Beauty

NBH F1 Drivers?

Never knew such a model ever existed

You can really rent this car for a while

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* As far as my information about F1 goes, another Italian Giancarlo Fisichella (former key Force India driver) joined the Ferrari team in the recent past.

Incredible Racquet Shots

Although Federer was not lucky enough against Del Petro in the US Open finals, this US Open 2009 would always be in the memory for an incredible shot Federer played against Djokovic during the semifinal bout: http://www.youtube.com/FedererShot

Djokovic looks in complete control of the point until Federer came up with this spectacular beauty out of nowhere. To me the shot was the shot of the Day, shot of the championship, shot of the Year and may be the most incredible shot of the century. This is what makes racquet sports so spectacular, so much entertaining to watch. This is what we as spectators love to watch and savor for a long long time.

Here are some incredible shots in other racquet sports. I love to watch these time and again:

Peter Gade, the danish badminton player has been at the helm of the top badminton circuit for a long long time now. The incredible deceptive forehand he played against his opponent is what I look forward to play every time I land on court: http://www.youtube.com/PeterGadeTrickShot

During my entire tenure at National Semiconductor - Bangalore, what everybody in the Office was passionate about was Ping Pong/Table Tennis (TT). Not to mention that, each and everyone of us improved manifolds in our game because of the competitive spirits with which we used to play. Wish the guys nowadays are practicing with the same zeal and are now trying some of these top 10 Table Tennis shots/rallies: http://www.youtube.com/TopTenTTShots

Being at the top of the sport, the stars make it look so easy but the fact of the matter is that they do practice these shots and it's not that they get simply lucky on the day. I am sure Federer must have tried his shot during numerous practice sessions as Peter Gade is practicing his forehand/backhand trick shots (for those who want to practice) for the audiance:
http://www.youtube.com/PeterGadeTrickshotPractice


Simply Incredible!!! Long Live Racuqet Sports!!!

100km Walk: To Do List

As anticipated a lot of junta will give a shot @ 100km death walk next year. This is a TO DO LIST (lessons learned) for those who want to have a serious shot @ the event in the forthcoming years:

0. Practice & Practice:
The key thing is to keep practicing ahead of the final walk. This will help you to know your body a bit better. You can then anticipate problems you encounter for long walks and employ remedies to soothe the effort.

Notorious Blisters
Most of us are likely to suffer from blisters. It would be good to know which part of your feet are sensitive to blisters and protect the same. I, for one, am susceptible to blisters below the thumb area and the adequate protection in that area really worked wonders in my case. Those are very much sensitive to blisters should seriously think of anti blister socks. If you are using ordinary
socks, do change them every 20-25kms depending upon the sensitivity.

Change Shoes
Walking 100kms would exercise the same set of muscles for a long long time. Change of shoes in the middle would mean relax to some muscles and hence advocated. I, for one, changed a pair @ 50kms.

1. Change the Body Clock
Unless you are working in the night shift, it would really help to alter your life style slowly ahead of the walk. Practice to work in the night for a week or so. As the walk starts in the night, one feels really sleepy towards the morning. In our experience, early morning period between 35-50kms was most difficult for us when we had anticipated 60-75kms to be the most difficult period. One can possibly pull-off 12 hrs more but pulling 24 hrs is a daunting effort. Trust me.

2. No Bags Please!!!
You need not carry anything, absolutely anything on the walk. One Kg. weight on your back at the start would weigh 10 if not 100Kgs. towards the end of the walk. Moreover, the organization support is excellent as they pamper you with drinks, fruits, chocolates, energy drinks etc. etc. on the way. You absolutely don't have to carry anything. I would have loved to advice you to walk as you were born but as apparels are mandatory, I would advise you to walk only with them..

The organizers provide another excellent facility and carry one of your bags half way. Do utilize this facility. As the walk starts in the night, prepare only for the night keeping all the material required during the day (Shoes to be changed, caps, glasses required during the day etc.) in this bag. You can collect the bag upon your return.

3. Have a good fun group
Although I do like to travel on solo trips at times, this particular activity demands an excellent set of colleagues to motivate and cheer. Noorie, Sneha and Naveen were excellent with all the fun. It would require an ultimate motivation to surmount the challenge all alone. Moreover it would be rejoicing to walk in a group singing, bantering, cheering all the way...

4. Maintain your own pace
This is not a competition but a challenge for you and no one but you. At the end, we realized that many participants finish first 50-70 kms at an impressive speed but then give up for one reason or the other. I would recommend to maintain your own pace. Normally, human walks @ 4.5-5 kms and hour (Our speed during the practice sessions was 5kmph) and if you are able to walk 24hrs, most likely or not you are going to cross the finish line.

5. Never Give Up!!!
The crux of success probably lies in the fact of keeping all negative thoughts at bay. One of best things walking with Noorie was that the thought of Giving Up never ever crossed our mind. As anticipated, the things turn extremely hostile after 80kms. In fact, in my opinion, the last 20kms were equivalent to first 80 and one has to be extremely positive during the last phase. The only assurance at this stage is finishing the rest 20 is better than starting for 100 all over again, so no second thoughts, Keep Walking...

Hope the post aids your effort...

100 kms March of Death: An Experience

"आप के पैर बहुत हसीन हैं! ईन्हे जमीं पर मत उतरीएगा!! मैले हो जायेंगे!!!", एक हमसफ़र (Your legs are very beautiful! Never keep 'em on the floor!! They will get dirty!!!", a fellow traveler), I remembered Rajkumar leaving a note on Meenakumari's legs in Pakeejah while participating in the 100km Death March @ Bornem-Belgium. That kept me wondering if it would be apt to leave a similar note on the legs of all crazy participants,"Bravehearts! Appreciate all your courage!! But, do take a good care of your legs or else you won't have the pleasure to place your legs on the earth anyway!!!".

Honestly, I myself would never have fallen into this (death) trap. What I termed A stupidity upon that time was Once in a Life Thing for Naveen and Sneha and they really pulled me into this deal of walking for 100km. This is supposed to be the toughest walk in Belgium called Dodentocht (Death March in dutch) exhibiting "Walking for a Better World". Once it became our mission there was hardly any way out and we all wanted to give our best shot at the event and started training for it. The trainings went on rather well and we all geared up for the day or rather night of the event...

The start of the event (9pm in the evening) must have been etched in every participants' memory for a long long time. Amidst glittering lights and camera flashes, the flock of brave-hearts started ambling on a bannered road with spectators cheering up from both the sides. If you have no hopes of participating in the upcoming Olympics, World cup or Grandslams etc. and still want to enjoy a bit of cheer and adulation, want to locate yourself on a big video screen of a sporting event, I would strongly recommend you to participate in this walk. The night really comes alive with the barbecues, musical nights on the way and you really do not realize the monumental task ahead. With people eating, drinking on the roadside cheering you up, kids eager to shake hands with you, you start believing that you are indeed somebody special. You are raring to go...

Unfortunately, things don't stay that cheerful for a long while though. After midnight, the cheers start fading, roads become deserted and you along with your group comes up to terms with the arduous task ahead...75kms to go and start taking one step at a time. The only solace during this phase of the walk is amiable surroundings with cold breeze blowing along the lake side, in addition to the unfaithful companions like glittering stars and the shining moon. Eagerly you start looking forward to that upcoming pit stop where the volunteers and support staff are set to pamper you with food and drinks. Some of them offer you hints as to how to relax your legs and keep yourself rejuvenated.

Towards the dawn though, the romanticism of the walk is on its way turning into a bitter marriage. You start realizing that you have not had sleep for the last 24 hrs., the body clock starts to deviate and you sense a lot of uneasiness to continue further. Your legs become heavy, head becomes heavier and at heart you start cursing yourself and the rest who pulled you into it. Sleep on your eyes, you have no energy to have a look at mesmerizing sun rays penetrating the mist atop green fields. You just want the damn walk to end and end as soon as possible. Most of the walkers get convinced at this point midway that divorce is the only solution to redeem themselves from this brutal world.

A Brave Team
All of us, I must admit are very strong characters to start with. Naveen, I know was zilch in swimming when he came to Leuven and he persistently developed himself such that he now swims 1-1.5km nonstop, not an easy feet to achieve any day. Sneha, another courageous character is born to walk. I have witnessed her feet full of blisters during one of the training treks and believe me, I still wonder as to how she pulled off those 7-8 hrs (35kms) of walking on the training day. Unfortunately though, the hip injury sustained during the training sessions took its toll on Navin#. Neither pain killer spray nor Physiotherapy could subside his pain and he decided to call it off @ a remarkably well pulled 50kms. Sneha#, to her nature persisted. Small jogs kept her blisters quiet for a while but beyond a point when they started exploding, it became unbearable for her and she pulled off @ credible 57kms leaving me and Noorjahan* (alias Noorie) for the rest of the walk. Noorie had joined us from Rotterdam and I had known very little about her. The stories narrated by Sneha a priori suggested that there is a lot to admire about her.

Walking with Noorie
My first interaction with Noorie was through a group e-mail where she had listed 17 items essential for 100km walk. The mail left me in a huge dilemma, to laugh or to cry. I burst into a huge laughter as I could not cry. While I preferred to walk 100kms without any baggage and if allowed even without any clothes, it appeared to me as if she wanted to set up the entire family @ Bornem. During the walk though, she was full of zest, zeal and an unimaginable determination. With ~50km to go when Naveen asked her if she wanted to go ahead, she nonchalantly responded, "हां, कर लेंगे!!!"("Yes, 'll finish!!!") I have to admit, her nonchalance at that stage gave me a lot of confidence and trust during those sleepy times. With 43kms to be cracked in 10 hrs time, I suggested Noorie to reduce the amount of breaks on the way. Beyond a point of walking, you realize the importance of Newton and his contribution to science. Legs started up in motion, are better to be kept in motion and every re-start becomes a real ordeal to move an inch. We progressed at a decent pace during this phase as we could surpass some of the fellow walkers to get over our inferiority complex of being at the tail of the tail midway. Yeah, at the 50km mark, we were the last who persisted walking with the hope to finish. Meanwhile, the friendly weather during the night had turned into a nightmare because of the glaring Sun. The scorching heat was making walking more and more taxing and both of us collapsed on the ground as soon as we entered the shadow of a park. After 10-15mins or so, we were shaken up by the volunteers again, "Guys, Liten! you are at the end again. If you want to finish, you have to start walking and start walking now". With heavy legs we started again. The power of power nap came to our rescue and we found ourselves rejuvenated as if we had had a good nights sleep.

"Noorie, but what motivates you to follow this craziness?, Brutally walk 100kms in such a taxing weather?, Why the hell you want to walk 100km? ", I posed a question to Noorie and she slowly took the cat out of her bag, "Guruji, All I want is to see is my dream Prashant (her husband) witness me crossing the 100km finish line. I want nothing else. He said he would be here in Bornem around the finish time and all I want is to...". It's incredible what women can do for their men. I was awed as I could not control my laughter to pose another query, "But, what if he tells you to do 100kms again?" "I will divorce him", Noorie was spontaneous, "I will divorce him. Do 100kms again and marry him again". Incredible, simply incredible!!! I have never seen such a bondage before and probably will never witness the same in future. In the contemporary age of short lived marriages, broken relationships, strained lifestyles, it was indeed a pure joy to witness such a pious objective to accomplish an arduous task and was indeed an honor to be a part of accomplishment.

We finally have the Pineapple!!!
Slowly and steadily, we went ON and ON and found ourselves at the finish line @ 20:58 hrs, 2 mins ahead of the 24 hrs of prescribed time. On the chores of "Profeciat!!! Proficiat!!!" (Congratulations!!!Congratulations!!!) from the crowd, we received our Pineapple, Beer and Certificate and the Medal. Prashant with his eyes wide open was there to witness the accomplishment and I felt happy for both of them. I had to admit to Prashant during our first meeting itself, "Maaan!!! You have a very very courageous wife." Long Live the couple...

After the record breaking (when I broke my own record) event if television crew poses me the question as to why I did 100kms? Here is the list:

0. For the Pineapple: Yeah, I can do anything and everything to get the pineapple. I love the fruit so much that...

1. For this brave team & an excellent support: I think I owe it to them. It would indeed have been very unfortunate if none of us would have finished successfully. Not only we, all the walkers gave their best at the event, the support provided by Ruth, Laura and Akhil was fabulous and timely. Thanks a lot!!! In any drama team, they say, back actors are more important than the front actors. I stand by it.

2. For my grandchildren: Yeah!!! I believe they will be proud of having an adventurous grandpa....lol.

3. For That somebody: who I believe saliently admires this spurious craziness as and when it pops up as much as I do...
________________________
* I hate the distortion of such a good name. Whenever you say Noorjahan, you yourself feel like a Shehenshah. No, I am sorry but Noorie does not offer that royal touch.

# If my reading is correct, Naveen and Sneha will give another shot at Dodentocht with vengeance next year. I will always be there to support both of them.

Update: Vinod Kambli And Sachin Tendulkar

Actually, I started the previous blog after reading the controversial news that Kambli has stated that Tendulkar could have done a bit more for him to elongate his career. But, as I had to prepare for a weekend trip to Manchester and around, I could not pen down all the thoughts and hence this is an update to the previous post.

Whatever Kambli believes, I believe that Tendulkar did all he could not only for Kambli but also for a lot of Bombay cricketers who otherwise did not particularly deserve to be in the National team. And, may be, just may be, that's the reason why Tendulkar failed miserably as the captain of the Indian team. Count on the Bombay players that played for India under Tendulkar's captaincy during various periods:

1. Sameer Dighe
2. Jatin Paranjape
3. Sairaj Bahutule
4. Nilesh Kulkarni
5. Hrishikesh Kanitkar (played for Pune)
6. Abey Kuruvilla
7. Vinod Kambli
8. Ajit Agarkar

The last three without doubt had a some potential but first five must have generated a lot of debate amongst selection committee time and again and any captain would have found it difficult to persist with. But, Tendulkar did. He persisted with many of them and many times for longer periods than justified and didn't he pay the prize?

Quite the contrary, it was Dada who was really unbiased when it came to National team selection and supported the talent over region all the time. He vehemently supported and offered the most required confidence to Yuvraj, Muhammad Kaif, Harbhajan etc. during their budding days. He brutally dumped Deep DasGupta, his home team Bengal wicket keeper and forced Dravid to don the gloves in ODIs. Dravid made most of the opportunity and the move tremendously improved the balance of the ODI side offering Dada the flexibility to field a specialist batsman or bowler depending upon the pitch conditions. The results started showing in. The team that was ridiculous to watch in the 90s became the most progressive team after the scandalous match fixing episode and credit must go to Dada, the best Indian Captain ever, to lead the country with aplomb during those troubled times.

Probably, Dada really valued the value of the India cap and truly believed that the country cap should never be tendered as a favor. It must be earned. Kambli: Hope you realize this sooner and stop finding scapegoats to your self destruction. Nobody but you would have helped yourself out...

Vinod Kambli And Sachin Tendulkar

Since they shared a record 664 runs partnership in Harris Shield semifinal against St. Xaviers in 1988, Sachin Tendulkar (326) and Vinod Kambli (349) gripped the attention of entire Bombay and soon entire India. While one went on to become the greatest batsman ever in the history of the game, the other has always been an enigma of what he could have been. While one could justify all his talent with aplomb the world over the other remained an unfulfilled talent forever. While one remained away from controversies most of his career, the other kept finding ways and means to create controversies one after the other. Here are two grapevines about these two which will throw some light on their characters.

The Kambli
This story was narrated by my classmate Samir, who himself was a prolific batsman in the Bombay cricket circuit. This was the time when Kambli was the shining star of Bombay and Colonel (Dilip Vengsarkar) was the fading star of Indian cricket. Not to mention that there was competition between the two for the middle order slot in the Indian team. Being a seasoned test player, Vengsarkar enjoyed a VIP treatment and it seems as per the tradition all test players have reserved seats for them in the CCI (or other place I am not so sure now) pavilion (or restaurant I do not remember either) and as a protocol nobody should occupy these seats in their presence. After having occupied his sacred seat for a while Vengsarkar went out to talk to somebody and the grapevine is that Kambli went and occupied the same seat on purpose. Upon his return, Vengsarkar asked Kambli to get up from his place and confident Kambli responded, "Boss, I am sure. I will sit here and there also."

The Tendlya
This incidence was described by eminent local journalist Dwaraknath Sanjhagiri in one of the Ganesh festival programs in Dombivli. Tendulkar was playing in an exhibition game with all big stars like Gavaskar, Vengsarkar, Kapil and many more. At the start of an innings, Gavaskar was taking guard with Tendlya at the non-strikers end, Kapil was bowling and Vengsarkar was fielding at mid-off. Kapil bowled a good delivery foxing Gavaskar and there was a huge lbw shout. As Umpire judged it as not out, Vengsarkar asked Sachin while picking up the ball, "काय रे तेंडल्या, आउट होता का?" To which Tendlya said "काही बघीतले नाही यार!" (I did not see proporly boss!) Even a street boy in Bombay knew that Gavaskar and Vengsarkar do not go all that well together and pleasing one would mean alienating the other. The best deal was to remain away from these controversies and as per the Journo Mr. tendlya had that maturity to keep himself away from the controversies right from that tender age.

Unfortunately, Kambli completely lacked this attitude and did not remain focussed on his batting. While Tendlya went on the symbolize all 3Ds, Kambli scored a duck in all of them. Some stories are ironic and Kambli's is certainly one of them.

Day 6 @ Wimbledon 2009

An Ace: If you have been lucky to get the autographs' of Becker and Stich on your debut at Wimbledon Centre Court, you should be happy as if you have scored an ace.

The Game: If you see that you have secured very good seats just opposite the chair umpire so that you can literally breathe the players, you should be esctatic as if you have won a rare game.


The Set: If you have seen the top tennis stars like Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and the brit sensation Andy Murry live displaying their skills throughout the day, you have reason to believe that you have just won a crucial set.


The Match: The presence of Martina Navratilova in the Centre court royal box is a good enough reason to be feeling lucky as if she is around just to award you the match winning cheque.


The Championship: If you witness the centre court roof closing towards the end of the day for the first time during the match days in Wimbledon history, it's like you have been triumphant winning yourself The Championship....hahaha!!!

Boris Becker being interviewed for television

Martina Navratilova in the Centre Court Royal Box. Can you spot?

Venus Williams serving on Centre Court

The Day 6 @ Wimbledon 2009 for us was scripted as described above and it was clearly one of the most memorable days for all four of us. Venus Williams and Andy Murray had easy victories over their lesser known opponents but the match between Andy Roddick and Jurgen Melzer was one of the very good tennis matches with both players matching each other shot by shot. While the entire audiance was in favor of Roddick, probably only me and Vaidehi in the stadium were supporting Melzer screaming "Come on Jurgen!!!" point after point, throughout the match. All we wanted was a five setter but Melzer did not listen and true to his reputation remained the best player on the tour to have not yet reached the Quarter Finals of a major tournament.

Andy Roddick playing against Jurgen Melzer


Andy Murray with a huge fan following @ Wimbledon


Electrified Henmen Hill getting ready for Andy Murray game

Roddick proved to be the sensation of Wimbledon 2009. I wished he should have won the marathon fifth set against Federer in te finals and I would have loved to see him crowned as a Wimbledon champion. Then, we would have seen a Wimbledon champion playing live @ Wimbledon. Unfortunately, tennis does not have any draws otherwise the finale could aptly be called a draw. But, sometimes sport is cruel and clearly it was so during this time.

My Dear Sania

As the match between Venus and her Spanish opponent Suarez Navarro became one sided, we headed to check the other courts on the venue. We could see all desis supporting Indian sensation Sania Mirza in her doubles endeavor. No offense, but my impression about Sania Mirza as a tennis player has been that she thinks as if she has the forehand of Venus Williams, back hand of Serena Williams and looks of Ana Kournikova. This time on the court in person, I found her pretty languid and a touch nonchalant as well, may be because her Chinese partner was suffering from a backache and clearly they were on their way to end up on a loosing side. She was full of confidence though and on an indicidual basis could very well have been the best player of the four. Along with Bhupati, she also won the mixed doubles match on the same day. We missed that match but this particular match was an excellent opportunity for Guru - The Photographer and photographer was not at all prepared to trash it.

Sania Mirza playing doubles on Wimbledon grounds

Sania Mirza serving on Wimbledon grounds

Last Five Balls
Last summer, I had the Roland Garros 2008 tennis ball as a souvenir and this time i wanted to be sure that I get the Wimbledon 2009 balls to add to my collection. I was not allowed to leave my seat because of the breathtaking play by Melzer and Roddick and I left the seat only during the initial games of the third set. As I approached the counter ~4pm there was a huge queue for the used Wimbledon balls. I reached the counter with excitement screaming "Two, I want two. Give me two. Can I have two boxes.......please". The lady at the counter must have been the most patient Brit. She said, "Please do not get excited Sir. All I have left with are one box and two separate balls and it will cost you 5GBPs." I got calmed down and enquired,"Is there going to be another sale of the Wimbledon balls" and she responded,"No Sir, These are the last set of balls we have for the day. There will not be any other sale scheduled for the day." Lucky, quite lucky!!! I could buy the last five Wimbledon 2009 balls, who knows Federer might have touched one of those...

Queuing @ Wimbledon

Fortunes swing often and more often they swing catching you off guard. As Federer could not control his emotions during the Finals of Australian open, I was crying at my fate too. Our efforts to secure the tickets of 2009 Wimbledon were done and dusted as we were not at all lucky getting the tickets through Wimbledon ballots. Soon after, the first come first serve farce by French Open Organizers provided very few tickets for general public and that left us with no option but to enjoy the action on TV. While TV is a fantastic medium to witness exciting action happening all over the world sitting in your dressing room, I believe live action has its own excitement. The electric ambiance that an event of the magnitude of Grand slams, World Cups and Olympics create is unparalleled and there is no substitute to missing any of these whenever wherever accessible. The events at the start of the year 2009 meant we have no tickets for accessible grand slams and there is no possibility to watch the live tennis action.

Scenario changed quite rapidly as we were planning for the T20 WC games. Initial plan was to watch India live in action during the league games, then we confirmed that T20 final falls a weekend before the start of the Wimbledon. Dr. Bond suggested me to make a 9 day UK trip to enjoy both these events in succession. I thought we were being greedy but I did (had to) oblige. But, how about Wimbledon tickets? We could get T20 WC tickets but getting tickets for the most popular grand slam would be impossible, specially towards the end stages. Resourceful Mr. Millionaire as usual had information on his finger tips and informed that there are a few tickets (500 each for Center, Court 1 and court 2) sold every day at the Wimbledon gates. A few of his colleagues (Sameer et. al. whom we met @ Wimbledon) go to Wimbledon every year using these tickets. Tickets being in a huge demand, they usually stand in a queue for a day or so and get to see center court games quite often. That's encouraging but being in a queue...you are sure, in a queue for a day?

The Queue
If there is one word that I hate, I loathe, I distaste, I despise the most is "Queue", which is unfortunately ubiquitous all through our lives. Right before coming to life, our parents have to register themselves at the hospital and they end up in a queue. So, since our birth we are genetically trained to be in a queue and we studiously obey it all thorough our lives. You go to post a registered letter*, a queue is waiting for you. Go to pay a bill*, you have to be a part of queue. Medical check-up and a good looking nurse in a harsh voice sounds, "please be in a queue". School/College admissions are no different when one has to fight tooth and nail in a queue to access decent education. You only witness an extended queue as you are ready to enter a job market. I don't have to publish my views when it comes to Indian marriages but trust me this is no different. After all the living, when the body calls it a day to rest in peace forever, it's ends up in a queue at the cemetery. Why then we add more queues to our lives? But at times, there are no options...

The largest queue I have ever been in my life was the queue for Balaji Darshan in Tirupati and I never knew a queue larger than this can ever exist. We had hiked the Tirumalla hill to find ourselves in an eight hour (and we were considered lucky) long queue for Balaji darshan. Most part of the queue, we were scraping thought caged gates with no room to stretch or move and shouting "Venkataramana Govinda.....Govinda!!!" to entertain ourselves. What we achieved at the end of it was the much revered glimpses of GOD Balaji which calmed all of us. Here we dream of having glimpses of demigod Federer displaying his skills @ the centre court and we were ready to be in a queue even for a day or may be more...

The Wimbledon Queue
Wimbledon queue was quite an aberration to the Balaji queue. Moreover, quite contrary to my expectations, queue in Wimbledon was fascinating. Rather, it was not a queue at all and should aptly be called Wimbledon Camping. All like minded tennis enthusiasts from all over the world coming to witness the tennis spectacle can camp and be assured Wimbledon tickets. Here there is no discrimination, no luck. It works purely on a first come first serve basis and for sure you get very good front row seats so that you can literally breathe the players. The entire day need not be wasted either as once you obtain your Queue Card and place for your tent, you are free to do whatever you like.

Disciplined Tents in the queue. Queue extends far and long....

Once, the tents are erected, it's time for drinks. Dr. Bond wants to have two??

Our Tent!!! Thanks to Mr. Millionaire's meticulous planning and Dr. Bonds moral support, we had everything perfect for the camping. Alas!!! a few (romantic) candles lighting the next tent did us all in. Next time onwards, that will be a new addition for camping

You can take the stroll of the Wimbledon town or engross yourselves in any kind of sports activities. There are a lot of people playing Cricket, Soccer, Table Tennis and tennis of course. Moreover, there is a lot of buzz around. TV crews coming around to interview fans and all. All in all it's a festive atmosphere to enjoy and savor for a long long time. So much so that you even go to Wimbledon only for camping. In fact, we could find some spectators addicted to it. The lady in the picture was attending her 32nd (you are reading right!!! Her Thirty second Wimbledon). She must have been in queue an average 3 times each Wimbledon.

Lady with the cap was in the queue next to us and it was her 32nd Wimbledon. Looked an ardent supporter of Murray with "Go Andy Go" written on her dress. I had to confess to her that it was my honor standing next to her @ Wimbledon

The Future Federer?? Kid with an amazing playing action

We did it!!!
As we started in a queue @ 10pm in the evening, our queue card no. was 1300+. It was quite sure that we would not have made it for the Federer on Centre court the next day. So, we settled down to watch Andy's (Roddick and Murray) at the centre court the following day. What did for the entire day? Apart from a small walk in the Wimbledon town and nearby courts, we spent the entire day playing cards. In the game, seasoned Bridge gurus (me and Amol) were brutally thumped by the new chelaas (Bond and Vaidehi) who were debuting in their Bridge. Half knowledge is certainly worse than no knowledge. We hope to have a revenge match soon...

Finally, as Federer (and Nadal) have experienced the change of fortunes during the last few months, I have also experienced my fortunes oscillating as if it were a roller coaster ride....hahaha. Although T20 WC was a huge disappointment, Wimbledon made up for all the losses. Given a chance, I would certainly be going for Wimbledon including Wimbledon Camping yet again. Hope you will add "Camping @ Wimbledon" in your "Things to do" list...

_______________________
* Only those who had been in a queue can imagine the value of e-mails and online bill payments. Sadly, my dad never does.

Autographs of Boris Becker and Michael Stich during Wimbledon 2009

If you have met me in my school days and queried about my favorite tennis player, I would have had no second thought to answer, "It's none other than Boris Becker". I enjoyed everything about him. His demeanor on court was electric. Eyes with white lids demonstrated self confidence and eagerness to win. The only player employing somersaults on the net while returning the ball, he would fight tooth and nail till the last moment. He was no doubt my favorite. I really really enjoyed his commitment, never say die attitude. Predominantly a serve and volley player, he was equally strong from the baseline to make a perfect tennis player. Prior to my departure to Wimbledon 2009 if you would have even hinted me that I would get the glimpses of Boris Becker I would have treated you with nuts, chocolates, cream or whatever you ever wished. Better still, I would have sponsored your Wimbledon trip.

As soon as we entered the Centre Court, I could not only see him from close quarters but could obtain his autograph. Not only him, I could also get Michael Stich on the same paper, one next to the other. Do remember, Boris Becker and Michael Stich played in the Wimbledon Single's Finale in 1991. In 2009, we captured them standing across the courts again. This time broadcasting for different channels in Wimbledon. I am extremely enthralled to have these autographs. Simply an outstanding Souvenir to cherish...

Becker's first autograph pictured below was comparatively easy to obtain as I just had to be a part of the herd waiting (~20 mins) for his interview to be over. I was lucky to be the first or second to be signed by him. Being greedy, I put forward another paper for Mr and Mrs. Millionaire. Becker was very clever as he completely ignored me signing almost every paper in the vicinity. I realized I had to do something different. So, instead of the paper, I did put forward a Wimbledon 2009 brand new ball after a while and I patiently waited till he finished signing for all his fans. He looked at me again suggesting I have not understood his hidden message. Our eyes locked and I probably had the most imploring look ever as I mumbled, "Please Sir". I exulted in disbelief as soon as he signed the ball. If you want to have the sight of the ball, you are most welcome.

Autograph of Boris Becker

Michael Stich on the same paper

Mrs. Millionaire did obtain Becker's autograph on their queue card outside the Centre Court. But, it's a story she should narrate...

Dr. Bond was at his adamant best stating that he is above all these stupid (fanatic) fantacies of collecting autographs. To state the least, he is certainly willing to take time off to sign for his admirers. Anybody in queue?

Wimbledon 2009 Queue Card and Day 6 Ticket

I have Queued @ Wimbledon 2009: One in the queue for
2 nights and a day certainly has a right to boast about it

Wimbledon 2009 Queue Card: When we started out Queue No. was 1300+. So, we decide to skip the Federer's game and chose to queue for the following day. Queue Nos. improved to a phenomenal 32-35. It was an achievement in itself not only because we were assured of getting high in demand Centre Court tickets but also considering the queue extended to 2500+ later in the evening.

Wimbledon 2009 Centre Court Band:
You get this wrist band as you enter the Wimbledon gates. There are 500 tickets for Centre court and 500 each for Court No. 1 and 2 respectively. Every court will have a band of different color.

Wimbledon 2009 Day 6 Ticket: Passport to enjoy some stalwarts in action on Wimbledon Centre Court. We watched famous Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray. The match between Andy Roddick and Jurgen Melzer was a top class tennis game, I will never ever forget. Sitting opposite to the chair umpire we could really really hear and feel players breath during the crunch points. A truly unforgettable experience for sure...