Jagannath's Juggernaut

As I just think of the year that is ending, 2017, I just thought it would be nice to chronicle my improvement in staying active (and endurance sports) over the past year. I hope I will look back at 2017 twenty or thirty years later and thank myself for starting all this! I actually had not been bitten by the fitness bug at the start of the year (neither am I now into fitness) but I just was interested in picking up my swimming skills.  The search for a better place to swim (in google) had landed me at Open Waters of Ottiyambakkam (OWO) a couple of days before the new year started and I had decided that I will be a regular to this place in the new year and get better at swimming. That is where the journey started. The first thing I realized when I went to OWO was that every guy who came there was an avid runner and the discussions in the first two to three sessions that I was there always was around running. So much that I decided to purchase a pair of shoes myself. My fir...

I was at my favorite pasttime when at home - browsing channels - when I stopped at Star Vijay. There was this program Airtel Super Singer going on that.. apparently, the final 1 was over and they were shortlisting 4 out of 5 for the final #2...I am not a regular viewer, in fact, this was the first time I saw this.. so no idea of the format.. but that doesnt matter for this blog... So, this lady Ranjani and one more person (forgot the name) were left (three had been shortlisted already when I started viewing the program)....and the guy won more votes (8k+ more than Ranjani).. Ranjani had lost.. so what I thought.. this is normal..but hold on.. this is not normal. The gal did not cry after losing. Not even a touch of sadness, just acceptance. Perfectly okay I thought.. Maybe she did not perform well and hence lost..but the way that gal carried herself..She did not care a damn that she had lost. She thanked all the judges, all the viewers, all those who voted for her, etc.. And told very...

Remember reading somewhere "Greatness lies in reaching the top; genius, in staying there"! This is a really nice quote {donno who has the copyright for this ;-)}.. But was just trying to put arrogance in the mix..Is geniusness related to arrogance in any way? how many arrogant geniuses can I think of? Ok, let me say whatz going on in my mind...Sehwag (hmm.. cricket again) hit his wonderful hurricane century against New Zealand and at the end of the match, to a pointed question, he replied he did feel for the NewZealand bowlers, but they were simply helpless against him.. and that he has seen Australia, England, everyone experience this feeling when he is at full flow..I am wondering if this should be termed as arrogance? He did tell all this as a "matter of fact" and no great body language when he said this, but still does this not count as aggression? Never heard a Tendulkar say anything close to this (no comparisons on the batting style, etc., now please....I am n...

You know the rest, dont you? For those who don't, Sachin is the God! Well, to start things in an auspicious (mangalagaramaana) way, I have started with cricket and my favorite cricketer!!! Was just wondering how cruel life can be at times and how nice it can be at other times... Sachin has hit this wonderful 160+ yesterday against New Zealand and he got the man of the match award and all. Did you notice that there was one more centurion in the match and he was involved in the chase. Jesse Ryder hit a cool century and set up the game for New Zealand who came close and lost. I was just browsing cricinfo site and found a couple of links related to this guy. Seems he was addicted to alcohol and has been involved in a brawl or two. Has missed practice sessions, has punched bathroom windows and broken his arm and was forced to rest for 2-3 months. Does not believe too much in fitness, does not come from an educated family, has had problems growing up... what not? Now, this guy gets to h...