"God"...Myth..Fact or Fiction...?

As an adolescent in India, one thing that is going to fascinate you the most, or may be become the topic for the most enthralling group discussion that you have ever part-taken_is probably the Existence of Superpowers-God and the Evil. As u grow up, you tend to become a vehement audience to your granny's stories delineating the bravado of many Superheros overpowering the devil, or their own experience with the Devil himself...!! And obviously there are Ramayana and Mahabharata, both of them legends, and both of them so much ingrained in the fabric of society that you wouldn't dare challenge their authenticity. Most children would gleefully accept these “facts”....So did I. And then, in comes Science, the unanimous favorite among students in school, and teaches you perceive everything rationally, teaches you the “Act” of seeking reason behind every physical phenomenon around you. Consequently, you start identifying certainly the Devil and may be God as mysterious entities and start questioning the theories put forth by your granny....well.. so did I...

Most of you might have indulged yourself in verbal tussles with your friendly contingent endeavoring to keep your perspective afloat over theirs. Most of you might have ruminated long and hard about it...so much so that you can pen down a thesis on this.....guess what...here is mine...

To start with, the Devil, to me, comes across as a purely fictional character, cooked up by desperate guardians of notorious kids, in an essay to pacify their outrageous annoyance. Most obviously, if you haven't seen anything that suits the description detailed to you, there is no point succumbing to the belief that they exist. As for my single self, I have never had any experience of any intangible power, doing me any harm. So there is hardly anything apart from a very enthusiastic “NO” that I can let out in this regard.

Moving on..the concept of God definitely has kept me profoundly engrossed in. Every time I m about to get a question paper in the Examination Hall, I think about Him. If someone in my family falls ill, I pray Him for the speedy recovery of my blood. When I proposed a girl for the first time, the only 2nd person that I was thinking about after her was God...!! :)

It is as arduous a task as anything else to sculpt a physical appearance for God. There are many “Avatars” of Him in Hindu Mythology but what we see on Television are essentially fancied versions of the directors. No one knows where He dwells. Probably only Puri, India is known to be the abode of Lord Jagannath. Some say He is omnipresent...!! We are all oblivious about His way of life, about what He wants, about what He does, but still He is the one we trust the most...Incredible...!!

But what we do know(or at least what orthodox beliefs will tell you) is that He seems to be the one who has designed the very rules of life. People are born, grow up and die. He set the sun, planets and stars into motion...Everything that seems impossible for common Man is accomplished by Him. He is the judge to everyone's good or bad deeds and sees to it that justice is meted out to everyone. So basically we have all reasons to pray to Him, even summon him by extensive and convoluted rituals to bring glory, affluence and grandeur to our lives.

All said and done, the number of Atheists, or people who eschew belief in God, is always increasing. Most westerners would ridicule most things that we take as facts. Obviously, they have their reasons, they can vindicate their stance as well...

Science can elucidate more things than ever before. The entire history of Evolution of life, or how everything works in outer space is no more an enigma to Learned Man. There remain very few things, hardly anything significant that doesn't come under the purview of Science. All the conundrums in the world, have been duly deciphered by simple physical phenomenon and chemical and/or biological reactions.

So what this spells is myriad questions for us...Is the saying “you can never say whether god made humans, but, certainly, humans made god” true...? What would the future generations be knowing God as..? How do we define God...? How important are the rituals that we perform...? Wouldn't a entirely rational attitude be best for our development...?

The advancements in Science are not going to refrain me from remembering Him when I m about to get the question paper, or when me or any close one is unwell. Any girl that I propose is safe to assume that I m thinking about God as well while I m doing that....

Personally, I don't have any problem with people saying “Maine toh bahut koshish ki...ab hua nahin toh upar wale ne mere liye jarur kuch aur aacha socha hoga...”...But when you say “Maine toh ummed hi chod diya hai..ab sab kuch upar wale k haath mein hai”...most often that not, you will be running into disaster.

One Proud Moment

After 77 years of grind in the international circuit, about 435 matches and 101 victories, finally India hold sway in the Test Arena. ICC acknowledged the fact when India annihilated Srilanka with princely disdain, handing them 2 innings defeats in as many tests. Incidentally, India climb past SA to the top of the test table. Since the inception of the ranking system, India is only the third country after Australia and South Africa to have achieved the feat.

It is anything but facile. Generations of legends would be the recipe. And India over the years was served by Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and a host of other relatively lesser contributors. Had it not been for these men, the jamboree wouldn't have been plausible.

However, as most of us would affirm, contemporary cricket has no impregnable unit(Although it has been a while since India lost in India). If India and South Africa(or Australia, for that matter) had to play against each other, there would be no unanimous favorite. So the question that Dhoni and his men have to confront with is how long...? We await for the rejoinder....

One thing that is pre-empting India to stake its claim as the No. 1 Test side is probably the absence of champion bowlers(Harbhajan and Zaheer come perilously close). There have been bowlers with exceptional talent but most of them have failed to perform consistently. Harbhajan, for instance burst into International Arena as a luminary, nailing Australia in Chennai and Kolkatta in 2001 to bring home the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The ability has never been questioned, nor has been the dedication, but for reasons unknown, he hasnt really replicated those performances of old. Irfan Pathan was another of the many riveting prospects of the decade, and in peak form could swing the ball at 130kmph as much as Murali would spin it at 80kmph, well, almost. Sadly, irfan Pathan's conquests are of mere historic significance now.

The more we look back and appraise teams that have been celebrated in the past, more evident becomes the cause for a genuine strike bowler. Australia dominated Test cricket for the most part in 90's and 2000's. That was when they had a noxious combination of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. The rampaging Windies of 80's had The "Lethal Four": Malcolm Marshall, Curtney Walsh, Michael Holding and Ian Bishop.

Nevertheless, one cant deny the fact that India have played to their strengths to have come this far. India feature the most consistent and resilient batting line up of probably all time. The top 4 batsmen now average more than 52. 6 out of top 7 batsmen average more than 40. The whole fuss about India is that they pack a batting line up that can stand up to any bowling attack, on any pitch, against any opponent.

Indian batting has always been their asset, and the batsmen continue to hold fort for India. Swashbuckling Sehwag and the new century machine Gambhir to open, followed by the two greats, The Wall, as they call him, Rahul Dravid and Mr. Cricket himself, Sachin Tendulkar. The Very Very Special Laxman completes the enviable top 5. King of 6's Yuvraj, and Captain Cool Dhoni come in at 6 and 7. And even the pyrotechnics of Harbhajan and Zaheer in store....This is incessant....This is daunting...

Dhoni has captained India to 7 wins in 10 matches without incurring any loss. One apparent reason you can accredit to the statistics, is that no bowling unit has really been able to take 20 Indian wickets. So on some surfaces, when you play against India, a draw is the best you can get...!!

Its unorthodox for sure, but India seem to have finally found a way around their inferior bowling unit to levitate to the peak. Cricket they say is a game of uncertainties, true. So, how long can India stay afloat with their limited bowling armory...? Will they be as defiant a batting unit when Rahul, Laxman and most importantly, Sachin retire...? Will Dhoni ever lead India to a defeat...? Well, the questions are sundry, and only time will give all answers...But India's crowning as the new Champions of Test Cricket will be for many Indian fans, one proud moment....