Nostalgia

As the rains lashed against the window sill in the deep night, as the crickets hummed soft tunes, and as a calmness swept through the entire atmosphere, the mind wandered back..............to the days of innocence, days of pleasure,days of friendship...........a sudden flood of memories sweeping over.........People have defined that feeling in a number of ways.The English language has called it 'Nostalgia'.........

Turning in my bed, I get up and search for my autograph diary.........It seems far away, but I manage to get hold of it.......The pages have started coming apart!!But the ink, and designs-if u can call that-scribbled by me still remain, giving a vision of the bygone years.It was a historic occasion or as they call it in Malayalam "Chatritrapradhana Nimisham" that meant historical moment.I was one of the last members of the course called Pre-Degree in Kerala.......That was the time when the people felt that 'uniforms' suited well to the students even after Class Tenth!!The loss of Innocence was to begin soon........

Pre-Degree was given a fitting funeral, with Plus-Two becoming the watchword. College campuses talk of it as an unbearable loss!!Seems true enough.But the memories inscribed in those diary leaves seem to take shape now......As I turn over the pages, the lines acquire faces; I try to recollect them and it is an uphill task..........Time has played a very heavy game........Alzheimer's striking early!!But people say it is nothing to worry about whereby it is not possible to remember all the names in a class with a strength of over 90. One of the entries say that "we were summer birds who are flying back with change of weather".Can nature be so cruel??I do not know................Again another mate wishes that "as I fly higher and higher, my wings shouldn't tire"!!But my dear friend, my wings seem to tire now, as I enter a life where comfort zones are minimal or on the periphery........There is a 'mean world' out there where expressions like love and compassion seem to have dried up into dead habit.............A friend advises me to fill that autograph book with scribbles and entries from all the people, as the past years were filled with colour, fun and frolic!!Have I done that fully??Again such questions keep staring at me.............

Now, the only sound I can hear is that of the rotation of the fan.Every thing else has faded away into the mists of time.........Another entry notes that "Autographs are only for those who feel that days of 'closeness' were over.Why should we need it??" Mate. when did I last contacted You??Words are like that.They sound very beautiful when expressed delicately!!But when the act of 'practice' is expected, the very same words feel miserable!!I turn over the pages again......Same lines repeated..........Wishes, happy future, achieve targets,don the mantle of a media person or a civil servant,don't forget to send the wedding card(I doubt if such a thing is possible in the near future), and so on!!Many have given their snail mail addresses, telephone numbers, and even email IDs(technology was in its incubation period then!!). But now with passage of such a long period,contacts have come down......Earlier, there used to be a 'phone call', or a 'letter'.But now the vanishing act is complete!!As the last hours of the night make an entry, I am struck by the lines of another friend....."The World is Round and We are Bound to Meet Again" . So, feel rest assured.We are never separated from each other, thats the essence of her words.It is almost five years since then......I did meet some of the people, but the old days were far behind.The meetings have lost their warmth as a coldness encompasses everything.....The old smiles and taunts are missing.......New friendships have arisen.......Time has made me conscious of thefact that the past had now to be put on the back-burner.New relationships have to be established.Friends, how wrong were you when you said that "Make New Friends, but never forget the Old ones"!!

I close the diary and wander into thoughts.Am I also not a culprit?? In a way, I'm.......Perhaps then these had to happen........or were there any other reasons??Those questions still have not found solutions.May be tomorrow, I should change things around and make some calls, write some letters, and compose some emails............... Sleep slowly takes over me.Perhaps it has started raining again and the chatter of the crickets resume.The frogs have started their croaks and fire-flies dance about...............Have I closed that window?

The Argentinian March!!

So finally it has started!!The Argentines moving into the quarterfinals to meet the Germans in Berlin.They are out to settle scores for the 1990 World Cup final loss in Italy.So, thought this would be the best time to post the photograph of the full Argentine squad in this World Cup....Viva Argentina.........

Jogo Bonito in Argentinian Style

The "Beautiful Game" or as the world knows of the game called Football. Thats how poetic one can be, to describe the most simple game ever that mankind has played. Perhaps, the romantic tradition in the Literature of Classic ages has drafted the game and given it a mesmerising effect. Within this beauty, the special aura has descended on the Latin American style. "Latino" is not just a term, but a feeling, a passion and a pedestal for glory in ultimate terms.

Thats how the the game of soccer has enmassed the the continent of Latin America, especially Brazil and Argentina. Both the teams always been likened to Houldini, for performing magic with the ball. They are no doubt Magicians!!Argentina, is currently having its 15th World Cup appearence in Germany and the last time, they missed the World Cup was in 1970. Their arch-rivals, Brazil has played in all the editions of the World Cup. Thus, Brazil is the only team in the World Cup football history to have done this achievement. Still, the Argentines, twice kissing the ultimate summit, in 1978 and 1986 and once being the Runners-Up in 1990 have special charm o their own. It is like Da Vinci or Michelangelo holding the brush or chisel creating perfection (though it is still a matter of dispute as to whether anyone could achieve perfection!!) or Shakespeare placing his characters or Mozart & Beethoven setting the magical tunes to create those highest forms of musical spectre!!

Latin America, often considered as its backyard by the Imperialist US and seen as a laboratory for the Neo-Liberal Economic policies ahs been devastated by Authoritarian Governments, poverty, unemployment and other mass ills.Amidst all this dreariness the game of soccer has got its own prominence. Just look at the background of the players there. It is mostly a lower-middle class structure, with the boys playing the game in the bylanes, streets and the interior villages of the country. Diego Maradona is the living example of this phenomenon in Argentina. The performances of Argentina in the world of soccer has always provided solace to the heart of the masses and atleast temporarily lifting them into the surreal world from the hard realities of mortal life.

The crowning achievement for the Argentines after the 1978 win-clouded in the authoritarian dictatorship then-came in the form of a man calledMaradona when he led the team to the second crown at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City in 1986.The most scintallating spectacle then came in the form of the game against England when the Albeceleste disapalyed an exhibition of football par excellence.The game was known for two goals by the King-one , the famous Hand of God and the second immediately after, which remains one of the top goals not just in World Cup History, but in that of the entire footballing woorld.The second goal scored by him after deceiving atleast six Englishmen and finally putting it past the hands of the English goalkeeper Peter Shilton is altogether above the sublime.It stands out with the works of Michaelangelo, Da Vinci, Mozart and Beethoven, and is on a greater pedestal.This is the work can be classified as a "top-notch", away from the works of mortals like us.No goal has come anywhere near that one till today, even though U may remember a person called Michael Owen paying back in the same coin to the Argentines on a night of high-drama in St.Etienne in 1998.

However, this World Cup has started showing the glimpses of those glorious days in 1986. The game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen where the successors of Diego ruled the pitch for the full 90 minutes has clearly defined the view. All the goals in that game were complete team goals, and not of any individual glory.Esteban Cambiasso scoring the 2nd goal after a multitude of 24 passes just displays the power as well as the poetry of Latin American football. Certainly, that could have been done by only a team from Latin America.Hernan Crespo, Javier Saviola, Lionel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Juan Roman Riquelme, Juan Pablo Sorin, Pablo Aimar, Maxi Rodriguez, Esteban Cambiasso, Gabriel Heinze, Roberto Ayala and Abodenzieri with other members of this Argentine squad are following the overwhelming legacy of the country in World Cup Soccer and seemmdetermined to get that ever-shining trophy designed by Silvio Gazzanigga back in Bueonos Aires.Also, it is now authoritatively concluded that the team that beats Argentina would be the one to be crowned the World Champions on July 9th.

The story of Latin American football can thus be read from the script written by Argentina; a script whose climax still remains a suspense...........