Friday, November 28, 2014

Philip Hughes : an uncalled death

A sad demise of a Cricketer on field. Philip Hughes died because of a head injury during a domestic cricket match in Australia. A full blown bouncer was thrown towards him, and his misjudgement in reading the ball costed him his life. 
Such incidences some time make us think, how much of aggression is necessary in games. Isn't it said that games are meant for recreation. It is this this aggression which makes a bowler ball a bloody bouncer, or an athlete take drug doses to go that little extra faster than all others, or even make a racial attack, just to tone down the confidence of the opponent.
Few years one of the Indian players "Raman Lamba" lost his life in a similar incident, when he got little aggressive and tried fielding very close to the batsman. And now this incidence is added to that list. I have always thought about games as a sincere effort to play the game in such a fashion that all can enjoy the game. 
I have seen people getting hurt while playing such games Cricket, Football, Hockey and at times it brings a halt to one's life, just like what happened to Philip Hughes or Raman Lamba. What is the use of playing such a game. I have totally stopped playing all such games where unnecessary aggression comes into picture. My intention is always to enjoy the game. I never found a reason for bowlers to ball bouncers. I was a medium pacer and believe me I was very economic. I have been  hit for only one six in over hundreds of overs I might have bowled. That is my record. And I was always cautious that my ball should not only not touch batsman's bat but also it is safely away from the batsman too. But that was my way  to play cricket. 
And as obvious, that is not the way the world plays it. 
People would suggest that if good quality safety kits are used, then, such incidences can be avoided. In a way, yes, that is possible, but you never know when would your safety guards give up and unknowingly expose you to life threatening situation. Besides, I wonder if Philips was using a low grade quality helmet which can not save him from deadly Australian bouncers.

It remains a question to argue, but mistake if  I become ICC chief, I will put condition. Either remove situations like deadly bouncers or sign  a contract where you are responsible for your life. I will declare games like Cricket as action sports which are dangerous for ones health.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Cadbury advertisement - one more favourite after a gap

Cadbury ads always had that quotient of sweetness in it. I have already written a post on this topic , where I revisited an old ad from 90's and how its quality went down with the introduction of Cadbury Silk. But then it recuperated a bit  and with this latest ad probably it is again back to its glory days.
This recent ad has removed all the bad impressions made by those yucky Cadbury Silk introductory ads and brought back the interesting chemistry between people with a taste of cadbury infront of people.  For the first time, I felt like the words in the lyrics make any sense with what is happening in the ad. The expressions on the faces of two actors added more genuineness in to it. I really enjoyed watching this ad.