The fallible superstars!

Messi, still Messi, still Messi, Goes through one more person, still Messi! It is a Gooooooaaaaalllllllll! Messssssssssiiiiiiiiiiiii!

What a goal and whadapplayya, shouted the commentator as I opened my mouth in awe. Awe of that man's ability to go through five defenders single handedly (Or is it single leggedly?) and shove that ball into the goal post.

The greatest exponent of football or soccer as it is called in the Americas, Lionel Messi was one of my heroes. I have watched many of his famous goals hundreds of times in the YouTube. His dazzling football skills are a craze world over. He was the quintessential super hero of my generation. Every time he played for Barcelona and every time he stepped on to the ground in the Argentine colours he was worshipped across the world. God he became!

In a world devoid and aching for superstars, the sportsmen and the cinema heroes become Gods. Given demi-god status. And Messi, the man, became one.

Till yesterday! And then the fall from grace. When the Spanish supreme court convicted Messi of tax evasion, another of my super hero fell from grace. He is now convicted to 21 months of imprisonment.

Why oh Messi! Why?  Why didn't you just pay those stupid taxes and why should you evade them? Don't you have enough money already? Ah, the ever questioning inner man started screaming his monologues.

Maria Sharapova, Carl Lewis, Tiger Woods, Christian Laettner, Marion Jones, Ben Johnson, Martina Hingis, Mohammed Azharuddhin, Mohammed Amir, Salman Butt, Oscar Pistorius and the list goes on and on and on!

Of having the fame and the fandom, and losing it all; In a moment of madness; Few minutes idiocy and everything comes crashing down. The world is sometimes cruel. It takes you all the way to the top, only to let you down.

Listen world! And listen carefully. All of them are superstars in their own fields. And that is all they are. Not gods. Don't make them one and feel bad when they let you down. Not one of them is the perfect human being we make them out to be; as imperfect as the stupid me.

There is One God and the rest all are Fallible human beings! Fallible superstars!

The irreplaceable mother!

The unforgiving timeline keeps reminding me of her! On mothers day. The irreplaceable mom!

So, in the last three years(Three years?Almost!) of her not being with us, many people have tried to play her role. And I submit this blog for them.

The dad, who had led from the front. It is tough on that man, to play the role of a woman who was poles apart and to do that despite the emotional trauma he had to go through. I bow down.

The Aunts! All five of them. Should I mention them separately here? One by one. Almost racing with each other to fill that vacuum. One has taken over the home. One has called me every week. I know for sure one prayed for me almost everyday. One bought every available gift that she thought my mom would have bought. One even tried playing the MIL to the wife.

Then the sister to whom I'm indebted. She has gone out of the way many times to be there. The person to rant to and the person who rants.

The dearest team in Dedu, who made me come out of the depression that had hit me then.

And finally, and most importantly the wifey! You can't complete her role in a sentence.

I'm thankful for every single one of them. For trying to do an impossible task. Of playing the role of a woman who was a genius. And a mother. For mothers are irreplaceable!

Of closed and open homes!

Ever since me and my scholarly brother had a chat about this topic I have been thinking about this. The closed and Open homes! The homes which are open to anybody and everybody at any point of time, and the homes that prefers the silence and the privacy of it all.

I'm not here to judge anybody here! I have my preferences and I am sure all of us have our own preferences and that does not mean I'm judgemental. Just opening my thoughts and views on this subject.

I come from an open home! Our house was open for anybody. Any friend could come and stay with us for any number of days and nobody ever questioned. In fact, everybody was welcomed. Everybody became part of the family. Friends came in plenty. Mine, my brother's, dad's, mom's, cousin's, aunt's, uncle's. Everybody's. One fellow stayed for more than five years and we call him our brother. One came everyday and his family is part of us. And then the relatives! So many of them. In fact we lived as a joint family for a long time that I have no cousins. I look at them as only my brothers and sisters.

Halls were the dinning halls. Noise was always the order of the day. Private space was always a rarity. Music was ever present. Cricket matches were watched together.

Then there are closed homes! The parents and the children! Friends can come. If they come, they have their place. The relatives come once a while, sometimes stayed on for a few days. Some homes I know even don't allow friends inside. But they are a rarity I presume. They prefer the silence. The quietness of the night. The religiosity of eating dinner at the dinning table. The private space which was respected.

So, what do I prefer?

I wish to have an open home. Where everybody was welcomed. Where life was full. Yes, there were times when I felt nauseated. when I wished to be alone. But then I don't like the thought of having a closed private home. Somehow don't feel comfortable doing that.

And thankfully my wife agrees with me!