......the Mnth of February......!!!!!!

......Boys Old Hostel was the hub of all activities pertaining to our On pitch Annual Sporting activities, chiefly Cricket & Futbol.....one of the spacious rooms with tall ceiling nd huge doors & quite cool & dimly lit with Table lamps served our dressing room  just adjacent to the Futbol pitch....ruminating further....wht a mnth of February it always had been...wht a tradition of Sports, Cultural ,Clinical activities before the run up to CFD(College Foundation Day of Feb 25th).......it was an Unusual mnth...with the tightly capped lids of diligent studentship of the better part of yr now,unscrewed & uncocked....out flashed talents, hitherto unknown & out flashed unusual camaraderie of all concerned.....!!!!.....in hindsight must say ,it was an activity mnth, so well a complement , to the demanding curriculum......Futbol & Cricket of the Athletic Society Of PMCH(erstwhile Prince of Wales Medical College Estd. 1925),with Interclass competitions & awards were imp.for many of us.....ours was a rated Futbol team ,with the likes of BABA(Dr Gautam Pandey), & Mithu( Dr Anindya Gupta)...Baba was a striker,deft dribller of the ball nd always spelt danger at the Goal.....uncanny appetite for scoring was his hallmark .....Mithu was a gr8 sprinter nd a bundle of indefatiguable energy, always a 100% giver at the field......had to visit Chhabra sports for many a time to gear up for the Futbol match ,with immediate seniors....I managing the defence with robust tackles.....Baba with his astute dribble fed constantly by us with Mithu , Bansidhar, Michael,Dada,Malto,Pramod ,Amar, Gunjan Murmu,handed out a defeat to our seniors which was hard for thm to digest....the patho block Balcony with the leading ladies of our class of 1984 providing us enough cheers to perform well ,tht particular evening.......!!!!.....Anand was our Mngr nd Chief motivator & his decibel & pitch is fresh in memory.....!!!!!....the certificates of the society & medals a treasure now.....for our Children's perusal..!!!!

.......Unusual Times....!!!!!

.......these r unusual times......extra ordinary times......extra vigilant time......extra effort time......as the Copa Mundial progress....throwing all our routine nd reducing it to smithereens.....9pm Local time I am reminded of the impending 1st Game.....still into harness for the terminal part of the day.....with few challenging cases trickling in nd admitted....its a mixed feeling nd a school boyish urge to escape.....but to no avail....ur Duty nd Dutifulness comes first.....as the 2nd half is halfway thru.....nd all cases disposed to the best of ability....the roar of the Nissan Engine to take me back home is sweet music.....the streets wear deserted look nd negotiating the traffic is cake walk with pockets of motley crowd watching the deliberations in huge screen erected at vantage pts....for all to enjoy.....salvaging the 2nd half live @ Home nd catching up the lost moments r priority....dinner secondary...with the wall lit up nd players come alive.....as if a handshake away.......!!!!....whole Male'City & the Apartment reverberated in Unison, when Campbell & Costa Rica Equalised & found the Net.....!!!!!

....Sinking of the Spanish Armada.....!!!!!

.....the Spanish Armada finally sank by the Dutch.....Arjjen Robben ,Van Persie & Co took the spanish by the scruff of their neck.....torpedoed....nd sank the once formidable side to an obituary.....!!!...having watched Arjjen Robben in 2010.....I had a notion tht he was truly a striker of the old mode.....sheer speed, deft reception of stray balls...but I believe its the speed .....his lightning runs & astounding brakes to wag off the defender before unleashing the net crasher.....reminds me of old days the quintessential hallmark of a striker....one player is enough to destroy the rhythm & Morale of the opposition....the well oiled passing side was reduced to a pedestrian.....to my mind Arjjen Robben has peaked in this edition nd Nederland will definitely be a hot favorite now.....!!!!

....La La La Brasil.....!!!!

.....can't keep myself on hold....as the spectacle unfolds....Croatia-Brazil opener replaced me back to whr my sporting heart belongs.....prior to 1986 Mexico FIFA WorldCup.......the access was thru reading Newsprint  & Radio Commentary of 1982 & 1978 & 1974 World Cups.....1986 Mexico opened my eyes of wht really is the spectacle of the Jule Rimet Cup...!!!...the B/W Konark TV set purchased frm Giridih, only, whn Asansol TV Tower was commissioned exposing us to DD KOLKATA at Madhupur 80km frm ASN.....had to fix up a huge antenna with double booster draped tightly in polythene lest the rain destroy the electronic item....the old fashioned British Bungalow which was our abode frm 1965 to 1990 didnt have requisite staircase for terrace access.....once we r up...... the tall bldg gave us the first glimpse of our neighbourhood....!!!! : "Birds Eye...."......it was one of the rarest antennae of the town....nd no doubt a prized possession.....the Asansol feed was superb nd Mexico 1986 with Maradona, Valdano , Burruchhaga the formidable trio of Argentina, overpowering Karl Heinz Ruminnege & his German team.....set the basic set on fire nite aft nite......!!!......its celebrating time now .....there will be electrifying runs down the flanks......mesmerising free kicks.....incredible saves at goal line....not to speak of defence splitting passes for the Striker to lap it up ,sidestepping the Goal keeper for the far corner of the net....followed by a deafening roar.....!!!!!!.....icing on the cake will be Finals of 12th July @Maracana Stadium .....will witness tht at Home @ Gurgaon,......11th July,..... being our date of landing frm GOA...!!!!! 

.......the mandatory overs.....

......sixteen mnths is a long innings, & as the mandatory overs remain for the imminent Dep. of June30th, across the Laccadive sea , over the Nilgiris to Bangalore.....one can't prevent the Butterfly yet again doing its routine seasonal round in the abdomen ,before any imminent dep....the better part of the holiday evening,is spent discussing Homeland 1 with Sr.Colleague frm India visiting his daughter & Son in law stationed here in the High Commission, a fmly frnd....the incredible heat@NCR cropped up in the discussion, now tht we r more used to the Maritime clime here....but July wil definitely be cooler once we land thr on the 11th, prior to tht a hurricane tour of 10days of TN,Kerala,Goa, frm BLR....the children r upbeat nd we bracing up for a brk frm the mundane......& as usual a pall of gloom surrounds my wrk table with my trusted clientele of MALE' City,wud miss me terribly , not to speak of the spl. customised care,affection,communicability across far flung Islands,.atolls, God forsaken land, & the unreachable,.....hallmark of the practice here....Inshallah will return!!!! ....the refrain now.....to all concerned who care for me....the salinity of the archipelago;.... surrounding it;....... creeping & soaking the roots;....as if trying to find a place for itself in the Expat soul.....how ur roots grow deep under & how deeper r ur roots r put to test upon these seasonal departures......will miss the Eastern Sun....!!....the Turncoat called the Deep Blue....!!!!.....the many faceless, tired , sick people across the table.....day in day out....their service provider with their Unique solutions.....!!!!!