ஆடுவோமே பள்ளு பாடுவோமே !!
பாரத தாய் திருநாடு சுதந்திரம் கண்டபோது மஹாகவி சுப்ரஹ்மண்ய
பாரதியார் இல்லை. ஆனால் பல ஆண்டுகள் முன்பே
அவருக்கு அத்தனை திடமான நம்பிக்கை இருந்தது,
சுதந்திரம் அடைவோம் என்று நூற்றாண்டுகள் அந்நிய பிரிட்டிஷ் ஆதிக்கத்தை எதிர்த்து, நம் முன்னோர்
விடாப்பிடியாக போராடியதன் விளைவே, சுதந்திரம்.
Happiness, freedom – all
state of mind ! – while a group is concentrating on foraging food, these two
Squirrels are frolicking !
Breaking
News : Painted Stork flying into
Doordarshan to file latest report!
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In USA, the House shot down a new funding bill endorsed by President-elect Donald Trump, marking the latest failed spending bill proposal this week as a potential government shutdown looms—which Trump suggested he’s fine with. Yhe House voted 235-174 against the bill, with 38 Republicans crossing the aisle and voting “no” alongside Democrats.
The new measure
sought to maintain government funding until March 14 and suspend the debt
ceiling for two years—a measure Trump demanded to be included in the bill. If
the new bill fails to pass by midnight Friday night, the government would
partially shut down. In the event of a shutdown, Medicare applications could
cease, hundreds of thousands of federal employees may be furloughed and the
number of available air traffic controllers and TSA agents could drop,
potentially creating travel delays during the holidays. However, essential
services are expected to continue as they have during previous government
shutdowns, when power grid maintenance, border protection and in-hospital
medical care continued operations.
பூக்கள்
அழகானவை !!! இது என்ன பூவோ யாம் அறியோம் !
எந்த
பூவிலும் வாசம் உண்டு எந்த பாட்டிலும் ராகம் உண்டு
எந்தன்
வாழ்விலும் அர்த்தம் உண்டு புது உறவு புது நினைவு
(முரட்டுக்காளை
- பஞ்சு அருணாச்சலம் வரிகள்)
Shanthi
Ramaanuja Daasosmi
Swami
adiyen....
Goes
under the name Krishna kamalam...
The
inner wheel has 108 spokes....and RadheKrishna in the middle....
Normally sapphire bluish in colour....white version looks stunning too!!!!
Guruji
Gopalavallidasar
இதன்
பெயர் க்ருஷ்ண கமலம். பகவானுக்கு மிக உயர்ந்த
புஷ்பம்.
சிலர் இதில் கீழே உள்ள 100ம் துரியோதனாதிகள் என்றும், மேலுள்ள 5 பஞ்சபாண்டவர் என்றும், அதன் மேலுள்ள மூன்றும் மும்மூர்த்திகள் என்றும் சொல்வர்.
Passiflora, known also as the passion flowers or passion vines, is a genus of about 550 species of flowering plants, the type genus of the family Passifloraceae.
They are mostly tendril-bearing vines, with some being shrubs or trees. They can be woody or herbaceous. Passion flowers produce regular and usually showy flowers with a distinctive corona. There can be as many as eight concentric coronal series, as in the case of P. xiikzodz. The flower is pentamerous (except for a few Southeast Asian species) and ripens into an indehiscent fruit with numerous seeds.
Aeroplane is still a
wonder for many – even today you could see some crowds watching in awe, flight
taking off and landing at Meenambakkam !
கதைக்களம் சிங்கப்பூரில் பிரபல இசைக்குழு விஜயம். 1979ல் வெளிவந்த "நினைத்தாலே இனிக்கும்" படத்திலே கே. பாலச்சந்தர் - பிளையிட் லேண்டிங்கே காண்பிக்கிறார் என்று சிலாகித்த காலத்தினர் நாங்கள் !!
அந்த படத்தின் ஒளிப்பதிப்பாளர்
- பி. எஸ். லோகநாத் என்பது இப்போது தேடி கண்டுபிடித்த கொசுறு தகவல்.
Life
is not to be spent worrying ! .. .. as we walk around, there are so many
beautiful things – animals, waves, sea, shore, beach sand – and people who have
time to enjoy !
The bird we see daily is Crow ! – ever seen a White Crow – from a distance, it looked a rust coated crow ~ ‘Kotri’ !! - a local name for this bird is derived from the typical call while other names include Handi Chancha and taka chor (="coin thief"). Ever seen a white Crow ? - வெள்ளை காக்கா ??
காகங்கள்
இனத்தில் நூற்றுக்கு மேற்பட்ட பறவை இனங்கள்
இருக்கின்றன. பறவைகளில் கறுப்பு நிறத்திற்கு
ஓர் எடுத்துக்காட்டாக விளங்குவன காகங்கள். கறுப்பு
என்றாலே காகம், காகம் என்றாலே கறுப்பு என்று அறியப்படுகிறது...எனினும் மிகமிக அரிதாக
காக்கைகளில் வெள்ளையான பறவைகளும் எப்போதாவது காணப்படுகின்றன... வெள்ளை நிறத்தில் காக்கை இருப்பதற்குக் காரணம்
Albino எனப்படும் நிற பிறழ்வு நோயால் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள பாதிப்பு ஆகும்.
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வெள்ளை காக்கா மல்லாக்க பறக்குது - செகப்பு யானை பல்லக்கு தூக்குது !
என்ற பாடல்
கேட்டு இருப்பீர்கள் - கவியரசு கண்ணதாசன் வரிகளில், MS விஸ்வநாதனின் இசையில், TM சௌந்தர ராஜனின் குரலில் வந்த இந்த பாடல் இடம் பெற்ற
படம் தெரியுமா ??
Not exactly a Crow ! but something very close to it – its family member. The rufous treepie (Dendrocitta vagabunda) is a treepie, native to the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining parts of Southeast Asia. It is a member of the crow family, Corvidae. It is long tailed and has loud musical calls making it very conspicuous. It is found in open scrub, agricultural areas, forests as well as urban gardens. Like other corvids it is very adaptable, omnivorous and opportunistic in feeding.
The rufous treepie is primarily an arboreal omnivore feeding on fruits, nectar (of Bombax ceiba) seeds, invertebrates, small reptiles and the eggs and young of birds; it has also been known to take flesh from recently killed carcasses. It is an agile forager, clinging and clambering through the branches and sometimes joining mixed hunting parties along with species such as drongos and babblers. They are known to be a cleaning symbiont of deer, feeding on ectoparasites of sambar which permit them to perch and position themselves to invite the birds to examine specific parts. Like many other corvids, it caches food. It is considered to be beneficial to palm cultivation in southern India due to its foraging on the grubs of the destructive weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus. Its feeds on the fruits of Trichosanthes tricuspidata which are toxic to mammals.
The
crow family, called Corvids, is often seen as a harbinger of bad luck. They are the most intelligent birds studied, with skills
possessed only by humans and a few other higher order mammals. They have strong organisation and community
building traits (partner and group bonds), which keeps them in groups and helps
them join mixed hunting parties of birds.
The song
at the start is from movie – “Mangala Vadhyam’ directed by K Shankar, produced
by Gopi Krishna, son of legendary music director MSV. Released in 1979, it had Kamal, Sripriya, YG
Mahendran, Nagesh and yet flopped.
In
Modern times, parents are finding it too difficult to get suitable matches,
more so, brides ! – sadly, in recent times, we hear more broken marriages – the narrative is – ‘women have
become too independent, economically well-off and incompatibility issues arise
very early’ !! Ever wondered how long is
safe – ie., after how many years can
one assume that wedlock is strong, even when partners may
not have good understanding and are quarrelsome!
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The Connemara Public Library at Egmore in Chennai, is one of the four National Depository Libraries which receive a copy of all books, newspapers and periodicals published in India. Established in 1896, the library is a repository of century-old publications, wherein lie some of the most respected works and collections in the history of the country. It is located in the Government Museum Complex on Pantheon Road, Egmore, which also houses the Government Museum and the National Art Gallery. The library's beginnings go back to 1860, when Captain Jesse Mitchell set up a small library as part of the Madras Museum.
Wonder the connection to a post on divorce ?
நிலத்தினும் பெரிதே; வானினும் உயர்ந்தன்று;
நீரினும் ஆர் அளவின்றே- சாரல்
கருங் கோல் குறிஞ்சிப்பூக் கொண்டு,
பெருந்தேன் இழைக்கும் நாடனொடு நட்பே.
இது குறுந்தொகையில் இருந்து ஒரு பாடல். எட்டுத்தொகையில் உள்ள நூல்களுள் ஒன்று குறுந்தொகை. தலைவனின் அன்பின் ஆழத்தையும் தலைவியின் நம்பிக்கையையும் எடுத்துரைக்கிறது இப்பாடல். இதன் அர்த்தம் " மலைச்சாரலில் வளரக் கூடிய, கரிய கிளைகளையுடைய குறிஞ்சி மரத்தின் பூவிலிருந்து பெருமளவு தேன் உருவாகும் நாட்டைச் சேர்ந்தவனாகிய தலைவனிடம் நான் கொண்ட நட்பானது, இந்தப் புவியைக் காட்டிலும் பெரியது; வானை விடவும் உயர்ந்தது; கடலின் ஆழத்தை விடவும் அளத்தற்கரிய ஆழம் உடையது."
Indian marriages are grand affairs ~ in Tamil Nadu, it used to be for 3 days or even a week’s affair – all relatives assembling on the grand occasion and being happy ! The Indian society of yore was different – now even close cousins find little time and drop in during reception and vanish !!
Till recent years, in India, divorce was not so common and was a stigma – especially divorcee women found it bullying and harassed. Now much is being written about divorce being on the rise in India, sometimes accompanied by hand-wringing about the egos and inflexibility of younger couples, who seem less willing than their parents to stay in marriages they are not happy with. In Western World, it is perceived that more separations occur for much less pressing reasons ! Ongoing unpleasant interactions, disappointment, or emotional distance and the like are what lead most couples to believe their marriage is over.
Alimony should be viewed as financial aid for the needy, reserved for the powerless !! Alimony (noun) [English meaning from thefreedictionary.com]
1. Law : An allowance for support made under court
order to a divorced person by the former spouse, usually the chiefprovider
during the marriage. Alimony may also be granted without a divorce, as between
legally separated persons.
2. A means of livelihood; maintenance.
Alimony [also called maintenance; spousal support] is a legal obligation on a person to provide financial support to his or her spouse before or after marital separation or divorce. The obligation arises from the divorce law or family law of each country. Traditionally, alimony was paid by a husband to his former wife, but since the 1970s there have been moves in many Western countries towards gender equality with a corresponding recognition that a former husband may also be entitled to alimony from his former wife !!!
Now keeping aside all our perceptions about compatibility, people separating early et al. – read this news about a couple in Haryana separating legally after 44 long years of wedlock !!
A couple from Haryana's Karnal district has brought their 44-year-long marriage to a close and resolved an 18-year legal battle in the twilight of life - with the husband, just shy of 70, agreeing to pay Rs 3.07 crore in permanent alimony to his 73-year-old estranged wife.
The man reportedly sold prime agricultural land to pay the price of finality and to honour the settlement, parting with assets he had worked to build over decades. The bittersweet chapter in their lives, which serves as a reminder of the fragility of human relationships, ended through a mediated settlement at Punjab and Haryana high court.
The couple married on Aug 27, 1980. Together, they raised three children - two daughters and a son. But as the years passed, differences began to surface, eroding the foundation of their relationship. By May 8, 2006, their lives had diverged and they began living apart. The husband filed for divorce, citing mental cruelty, but the Karnal family court rejected his petition in 2013. Unwilling to give up, he approached the high court, where his plea languished for 11 years before the court referred the case to its mediation and conciliation centre in Nov this year, offering a final opportunity for compromise.
It was during this
mediation process that a resolution was reached. The estranged couple, along
with their grown-up children, agreed to dissolve the marriage. The husband
committed to a remarkable alimony of Rs 3.07 crore.
This sum was to be paid in a mix of demand drafts, cash, and gold and silver ornaments, reflecting the wealth accumulated over a lifetime. The land generated Rs 2.16 crore, while an additional Rs 50 lakh was paid in cash, earnings from his crops, including sugarcane. Gold and silver ornaments worth Rs 40 lakh were handed over to his former wife. The settlement marked a turning point. The agreement, signed on Nov 22, stipulated that the payment would serve as permanent alimony, closing all claims the wife or children might have had on the husband's properties.
"Even after the death of the first party, the second and third party (wife and children) will not lay any claim over the estate," the agreement states, ensuring a clean slate for all involved. In its detailed order, the division bench of Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi formally dissolved the marriage, acknowledging the poignancy of the settlement.
After reading this eerie settlement, if you still remember the Madras library - Robert Bourke, 1st Baron Connemara, [Lord Connemara as he was known] a British Conservative politician was Governor of Madras between 1886 and 1890. The library is named after him. Lord Connemara was twice married. He married firstly Lady Susan Georgiana, daughter of The 1st Marquess of Dalhousie, a former Governor-General of India. Susan filed for divorce on charges of cruelty and adultery. During the period, she stayed in Albany, which was later purchased by by Eugene Phillip Oakshott, and was renamed Hotel Connemara after its famous female guest. They divorced in 1890.
Was it on the cards especially after a dismal home series against NZ
(in which he owned the blame !) and an ordinary Adelaide test ?? yet hearing about it makes me
feel very sad !! – Ravichandran Ashwin has announced retirement – in style !!
bowing out on his own from all International Cricket at 38 years of age !!
It was over 32.5 Ashwin in his debut match hit the timber – Darren Bravo the victim – the 1st Test against West Indies at Kotla, Delhi on Nov 6, 2011 - India won by 5 wickets - not many would have imagined of the heights the Man of the match would accomplish !! In that test debutant Ravichandran Ashwin became only the third Indian player (after Pravin Amre and RP Singh) to win the Man of the Match award on debut. (Before 1990, this award wasn't declared for all matches.)
Ravi Ashwin has retired – not just a Cricketer laying down, but a Cricket Scientist, artist, magician, suave spokeperson, a valiant fighter, dream team-mate, man who can be relied in any stressful situation - Cricket won’t be the same without your spin lab experiments!
As the 3rd test between India and Australia was halted due to heavy rain in Brisbane, Virat Kohli giving emotional hug to India's second highest wicket-taker in Test - R Ashwin. The visuals start trending on social media instantly with many speculating Ashwin set to announce his retirement. Sadly, it is no longer rumour mill alone – as the announcement – tersely worded one came that it is the end of illustrious career for Ashwin who is the second highest wicket taker for India in Test cricket. 537 Test wickets in 106 matches amd most Test fifers by an Indian (37) speaks for itself as the game hasn't seen many players with a cricketing brain like himself. Coming to India's rescue on many occassions, Ashwin has often come handy with the bat as well. He has amassed 3503 Test runs in 106 matches as well which shows how valuable player he has proven to be for his side over the years.
Only recently in Sept 2024, at Chepauk - India started the day needing six wickets to win, but were denied at the start. The first hour, although probing was wicketless – then came local lad Ravichandran Ashwin scripting a familiar expected, much wanted story. Bangladesh were bowled out for 234 ! – beaten by 280 runs – Ash had figures of 21-0-88-6. R Ashwin completed his fourth double of a hundred and a five-for in the same Test - and his second in successive Tests at Chepauk - to take India to a 1-0 series lead against Bangladesh on the fourth morning in Chennai. Ash rightly was the Man of the Match. In course of his 6 wicket haul, he went past Courtney Walsh becoming the 8th top in all time list of wicket takers. That elite list is Muthiah Muralidaran 800, Shane Warne 708; Jimmy Anderson 704; Anil Kumble 619; Stuart Broad 604; Glenn McGrath 563, Nathan Lyon 530 & Ravichandran Ashwin 522.
We were wishing Ravichandran Ashwin to reach 700 wickets sooner and also make more than 5000 test runs by that time. All that has come to a grinding halt !!
Statistically, he made Test debut against WI at Delhi in Nov 2011; and played his last Test at Adelaide against Australia in Dec 2024. ODI debut against Sri Lanka at Harare in June 2010 & last against Aussies at Chennai in Oct 2023; T20 debut against Zimbabwe in June 2010 and last match against England at Adelaide in Nov 2022.
Sad. Old order changeth yielding place to new ! and there are times when people retire with lot left still. Well played Ash !!!!!!
Regards – S Sampathkumar
18.12.2024
To many of us, born and living in cities in small concrete apartments with little or no access to sky – the birds known could be : Crows, Pigeons, Parrots, Mynahs, Vultures .. .. ..
In a recent visit
to Chingleput, near the stream of a river, saw this captivating small, dainty bird of open farmland, found generally in sparse human habitation. Described as one in green with a bluish throat, slender black eye
mask and throat band, rufous or slightly rusty crown and back of the neck, and
central tail streamers – these are ‘Green bee-eaters’. Juveniles are duller
than adults and lack the long tail feathers. In flight, the
rusty underwing with a black trailing edge would be on display. Flies
gracefully as it catches insects and other prey.
The Asian green bee-eater (Merops orientalis), also known as little green bee-eater, and green bee-eater in Sri Lanka, is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family. It is resident but prone to seasonal movements and is found widely distributed across Asia from coastal southern Iran east through the Indian subcontinent to Vietnam. Populations in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula that were formerly assigned to this species (under the name green bee-eater) are now considered distinct species: the African green bee-eater and the Arabian green bee-eater. They are mainly insect eaters and they are found in grassland, thin scrub and forest often quite far from water.
The Asian green
bee-eater was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801
using its current binomial name. Like other bee-eaters, this species is a
richly coloured, slender bird. It is about 9 inches (230 mm) long with about 2
inches (51 mm) made up by the elongated central tail-feathers. The sexes are
not visually distinguishable. The entire plumage is bright green and tinged
with blue especially on the chin and throat. The wings are green and the beak is black. The
elongated tail feathers are absent in juveniles. The calls is a nasal trill
tree-tree-tree-tree, usually given in flight.
Interesting !
16th Dec
2o24 dawned so well. WE started from
Thiruvallikkeni, had great darshan at Singa Perumal Koil Sri Padalathri
Narasimhar thirukkovil – also siriya thiruvadi Sri Hanuman at this temple and
proceed towards Chengalpattu and farther towards Kanchipuram.
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Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Sankara Medical Trust organized a medical camp at Chaturveda Vidhya Ganapathy Vedashram, Athur Village. It was organized by Dr K Sridhar in association with Childs Trust Hospital and TN Government Dental college & Hospital, Madras. Medicos, Doctors and Nursing staff from those institutions came down to the village – and we were happy to be present as volunteers.
Dr K Sridhar, renowned Plastic surgeon, Director SIMS Hospital, Founder Trustee of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Sankara Medical Trust is the person who initiated SYMA into medical service, guiding and supporting SYMA through in our medical journey. In recent years, he has inducted some of us from SYMA into the managing trust team of SKKSMT as well.
Athur village, not
far away from Chingleput is so serene, divine and buzzed with cheerful
children, Veda Vidyarthis at that. Sri
Chaturvedha Vidhya Ganapathi Trust was established in 2012 with the divine
grace of Sri Jagadguru Kanchi Acaryas. The maha vidyasthan with the noble aim
of ‘veda rakshanam’ is run as a trust where children learn chathur Vedas as
also school curriculam. Imparting Vedas
to more than 250 children, veda samrakshanam, making them eligible pundits is
the way of the trust. They also run a
beautiful Gaushala protecting more than 100 cows with beautiful calves.
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The camp started around 930 am and more than 150 kids were screened for various dental health related issues. After lengthy check-up they were given medicines, some had their troublesome teeth extracted and others prescribed treatment. Doctor and the Trust are arranging for follow-up action in the days to come. The camp concluded around 4 pm.
It was really a soul-satisfying day to be in the midst of kids learning Veda and the dedicated medical team from Childs Trust Hospital, Govt Dental Hospital, Chennai, Dr K Sridhar, volunteers of SKKSMT & SYMA.
Thanks to Dr
Sridhar and the trustees of the Athur Veda Patashala for this wonderful
opportunity. Here are some photos of the
camp
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At Gabba, Indian fans roared as though the match had
been won - in the dressing room, Virat Kohli shared
high-fives and captain Rohit Sharma had a huge smile on his face. "It's
always nice to see your bowlers going out there scoring some runs," said
KL Rahul. Trailing by 193 runs is little cause for
celebration, yet!!! – for a team that
has just lost a Test badly and in dire straits in this – avoiding follow-on was
sort of winning a game within the game !
Mind it has been a rain marred game, yet India could have easily lost
the plot – there could be more rains tomorrow ! but assuming a full days play,
if Indian innings gets folded quickly
and if Aussie declare with say 250 as target and two sessions of play – will India
survive, or go for the win !
Today,
when Ravindra Jadeja hooked Pat Cummins to deep square-leg, he was brilliantly caught by Mitchell Marsh,
India needed 33 to avoid the follow-on
as Akash Deep (Test average 6.42) walked out to join Jasprit Bumrah (Test
average of 6.97).
The first price of popularity is that one is hounded quite
often of ‘retirement’……… the great genius writer Sujatha in his
heydays was confronted in a student’s forum with the Q : Sir, when will you stop writing ? Pat came
the reply – ‘in the night ~ when I feel too sleepy’………… ~ one need not be
guided by the Q and can have one’s own way !! The Genius Little Master SAchin Tendulkar was haunted with the Q of
his retirement .. .. and so many critics were speaking of the retirement of the
mercurial Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Back on Jan 6, 1984, speculation was
rife that Marsh would quit, and in the post-match celebrations he effectively
did so by announcing that he was not available for the tour of the Caribbean
two months later. "Why now, Rod?" Marsh was asked. "'Because all
my mates have gone," was his honest reply.
It was the final day at Sydney Test –
Australia beat Pakistan too convincingly – a 10 wicket win at that !! Australia bade farewell to legends Dennis
Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh. For sure the Cricketing world thought it
was too deep a void to be filled -
Aussies did lose some, but built their team stronger.
In 1984, it was rather more haphazard, and the final Test of the summer was into its second day when Greg Chappell made his announcement, a day during which he equalled Colin Cowdrey's record of 120 catches by a fielder. His interest in the game had, The Times reported, "been on the wane since 1981", and he had hinted throughout the summer that he was ready to quit. The timing surprised the media, as Chappell had gone into the match with 6928 runs, 68 shy of Don Bradman's then-record aggregate by an Australian. "If you're playing for records then you shouldn't be playing," he told them. "Catches and runs are not that important."
The timing came as something of a surprise to Dennis Lillee. He had told Chappell on the eve of the match that it was to be his last Test, and said that he would tell the media at the end. "He promptly went out and, without telling me, announced he was going to retire," Lillee recalled. "That was fine by me because, as a former captain, he deserved the first announcement." Lillee too was on the brink of a landmark. With 347 Test wickets, he was within touching distance of becoming the first man to pass 350. Like Chappell, had he not lost two years to World Series Cricket, his record would have been even more impressive.
With Chappell's announcement made, Lillee followed suit 24 hours later, after taking 4 for 65 to take his total of wickets to 351. He did so with a dig at the media who had repeatedly written him off. "It was those people who helped me keep going," he said. "I knew I was good enough." Even then, Chappell again dominated the headlines. Given a standing ovation all the way to the middle, he reached the close on 79 not out, passing Bradman's record shortly before the close courtesy of three overthrows. Bradman had been a selector when Chappell made his debut in 1970-71, and he was quick to send a telegram of congraulations. The following day, Chappell went on to make 182, becoming only the third Australian to score a century in his first and last Tests. And then, when Pakistan batted for a second time, he took his 121st catch to overtake Cowdrey. Both he and Lillee had been given a guard of honour by team-mates as they took to the field.
Not to be outdone, Lillee grabbed 4 for 88, including 4 for 22 in his last 58 balls, fittingly one of them to a catch by Rod Marsh, one of five victims in the innings for the wicketkeeper. Marsh's catch was his 95th off his colleague. He ended with 355 dismissals, the same number as Lillee had wickets. Then Rodney Marsh too announced his retirement.
Years
later, on the same day at the same venue, on 6.1.2006, - Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer
had the opportunity to end their Test careers on the perfect note, and did so
in emphatic fashion. Justin
Langer retiring after the Sydney Test became
the fourth senior Australia player to
quit in less than a month. Langer joined Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath at the
SCG farewell against England, which came three matches after Damien Martyn's surprise
exit. Langer and Hayden combined forces at the top of the order in 63
Tests for an average of 51.62 runs an innings. Throughout the five-year friendship
they split 5575 runs, which was second only to Gordon Greenidge and Desmond
Haynes. The pair came together in the final Test of the 2001 Ashes after
Michael Slater was dropped for the last time.
Concluding
with Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah heroics, at Lord's in 1990,
Kapil Dev was the hero. India at 430/9 needed
24 runs to avoid the follow on when Narendra Hirwani walked in to bat. After
defending two deliveries, mercurial Kapil Dev belted Eddie Hemmings for 4
consecutive sixers. With follow-on avoided,
Narendra Hirwani was out, the
next ball. Kapil finished with 77 off 75
balls with 8 fours and 4 sixes.
They have
been pillars and have given many a grand performances but of-late, they have been
bogged down too heavily, perhaps for the Boxing day test at Melbourne, there
should new faces ! – at Brisbane, the fab three, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and
RAvichandran Ashwin should retire, and India should boldly drop non-performers –
Shubman Gill & Mohammad Siraj too !! Harsh it may sound, but India cannot keep
losing in the same manner without fight!
