HER

“Minnal velichathile oru ponna pathen. Avalum minnal madiri dhan. Oru flash. Manase poyidichu. Uyir mattum dhan baaki”. This is what hero tells to heroine in the tamil movie Minnale. It translates to “I saw a girl in the lightning. She too was like the lightning. One flash. My heart was lost. Only the beat remained”.

She was a star right from the beginning. Her petite frame and luscious locks drew everyone around her like a magnet. While some found her beautiful beyond description, some were convinced that she was the avatar of a goddess. Often lost in her own world, she never seemed to mind all the attention showered on her. With no hint of arrogance or superior attitude, she was easily the most likeable person the campus had ever seen.

My face held on to its blank expression though the heart started pounding a hundred times faster when we got introduced. I just said a casual hi and couldn’t talk anything more. Couldn’t help noticing those mischievous eyes or that childish innocence.  In her manicured hand, she expertly held the few strands of hair were repeatedly covering her eyes and waved at me. My mind played the scene repeatedly as it refused to let me sleep the whole night and many nights thereafter. This was my first experience of heart controlling the mind.

As luck would have it, we both ended up in the same group. I silently thanked all the stars and planets that conspired this event and decided that the time was ripe to start a conversation. I rehearsed my lines countless times and mustered enough guts to speak to her. As I approached her, I couldn’t stop noticing her mischievous eyes. And suddenly when she turned and smiled at me, I forgot everything that I had thought about. I was a lost puppy in the desert.  It was a repeat of our first meeting. Heart pounding faster, butterflies in the stomach or wait, probably dinosaurs! Afraid to meet her gaze I pretended to go through my books. And suddenly the unthinkable happened.

To be Contd...

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 9 - 28 Sep 2012

Quarter Final 3: Ganesh/Giridhar vs Nandeesh/Harshi

Toss: Ganesh/Giridhar

Match Report:
Things were not going smooth for the tall lanky Ganesh as he had just hit a rough patch. The hands were trembling. Lot of concentration and effort was seen behind each shot during practice reminding one of Rahul Dravid. Giri on the other hand didn’t believe in practice and other such nonsense. His principle was akin to Sehwag “See it, hit it”. Nandeesh was a bit tensed as they were about to face the toughest team of the tournament. He relaxed himself with a “king” dose of Vitamin C. Harshi being the star athlete of the entire group had just qualified for the semi-finals in badminton and was confident of repeating the feat in carom also.

Giri started off the proceedings with his trademark fluency. Harshi had decided that unlike in previous matches, she wont allow her form to meander and looked ominous. With Suneel coming to their support in this match, Nandeesh/Harshi had every reason to be confident. They even went to the lead position very quickly owing to Ganesh’s poor form. Giri retreated quickly and brought the match to balance. What followed was complete chaos. Ganesh missed 3 straight chances of winning the red by repeatedly failing in follow up. Harshi being in supreme form looked at Nandeesh in shock as he let the pressure get better of him and squandered the winning position twice. Both teams were on equal footing with only the queen remaining. In a rare display of frustration, Harshi wasted a rebound chance. Ganesh capitalized on the chance and got the pawn in a favourable position to Giri. Nandeesh tried his best to dislodge the pawn without any success. Giri had the last laugh as he got the queen with a simple strike and the follow up with a carefully executed rebound shot. The match was over in 7min 1sec.

With this match, the Quarter finals have come to an end. The 4 teams that have reached the SF stage are
1)      Sushil/Priyanka
2)      Tejas/Gayathri
3)      Anu/Saujanya
4)      Ganesh/Giridhar

Each team has been tested enroute to semis. Looks like all of us would be treated to very competitive performances in the SF.

Winners: Ganesh/Giridhar

How they reached QF?
Ganesh/Giridhar
Nandeesh/Harshi

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 8 - 26 Sep 2012

Quarter Final 3: Prashanth/Vidya vs Anu/Saujanya

Toss: Anu/Saujanya

Match Report:
Fasten the seat belts. Hold on. This match is sure to throw you off the balance. It will revolutionize the way carom would be played from now on. Curious?? Read on.

Vidya had been meticulous in her practice over the weekend. She showed off some newly acquired skills like putting a “due” on rebound. Prashanth being Prashanth was ready for a fight. One cant help wondering whether he is playing in a kabaddi match or carom match. Anu preferred to be silent partner and let Sau hog the limelight. IamME had played a practice game with Sau earlier in the day and learnt how to aim at a pawn and not hit it. :P

As the game was about to start, Prashanth received a call informing him to collect a parcel. On further investigation it was found that he had ordered a book titled “How to beat Sau at Carom” written by an expert panel consisting of 4 members – Ashish Mishra, Ashish Mishra, Ashish Mishra and Ashish Mishra. There was a gleam of confidence in his eyes as he came back and took his position.

The match started off in a quiet way with both the teams keeping a low profile. Sau made her intentions clear by drawing the first blood for her team as she had two pawns to her credit. But very soon she was back to being herself as she missed one chance after another to touch a pawn though she did aim properly each time. Anu was in the accumulation mode, hitting all the straight pawns. Not to forget Prashanth here, with each shot displaying his muscle power, the crowd was on their toes to avoid the pawns flying out of the board in regular intervals. To give an analogy - remember the flying molten rocks due to volcanic eruption scene in the movie “2012”?  Prashanth’s actions produced a similar effect! Vidya played some superb shots but seemed distracted and constantly kept looking at her phone (probably waiting for someone’s call whose name starts with __ J).

Prashanth/Vidya were leading throughout by a point or two. Sau produced a “direct touch” and everyone thought it would be just a matter of time before Vidya/Prashanth advance to the semis. But Vidya had other ideas and returned the favour with her“direct touch”. Never the one to miss an opportunity, Anu cleverly finished off 2 pawns and decided to count on Sau’s expertise in tackling the pressure situation, whereas Vidya counted on Sau’s natural expertise of not hitting the pawn so that her team has one more chance at redemption. Wrong assumption!! The red was right at the middle of the opposite border for Sau. Sau pulled off a trick never ever seen in carom before - the “SauSCOOP”. The Red was hit bang on, the impact being such that it flew(literally!) into the pouch to its left from the point of strike. The crowd was stunned into silence and soon enough there were wild cheers and everyone almost forgot the follow up. Can Sau do it was the question as she took the strike again. In one fluent motion, the white was sent smoothly into the pocket much to the disbelief of Sau herself thereby ending the match in 10min 41sec. Sau was speechless as everyone congratulated her. Anu's eyes welled up with tears of happiness.

Anu/Saujanya have done it again. No one gave them a chance and now they are 2 steps away from glory. Can they do it again? Whom will they meet in the semis? How much of a game changer will the “SauSCOOP” prove to be? With these unanswered questions we move into the final QF for the season.

Winners: Anu/Saujanya

PS: The term “SauSCOOP” was coined by the charismatic Tejas.

How did they reach QF?
Prashanth/Vidya
Anu/Saujanya
 
Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 7 - 22 Sep 2012

Double header today also. The 1^st match would mark the end of league stage. The 2^nd match would be between the top 2 losing teams to have a shot at the Quarter Finals.

League Match 7: Prashanth/Vidya vs Deepak/Kevika

Toss: Prashanth/Vidya

Match Report:
Vidya had an eventful time leading to the match. First, she was caught with a secret note (by IamME and Shashank which she destroyed by the way J) followed by meeting with the ‘smiling assasin’ Suneel regarding her performance rating (not in carom I suppose :P). By the looks of it, it was evident that Vidya was ready to blast the opposition off with meancing looks atleast. Prashanth was in the weekend mood evident by the fact that he was sleeping his way to glory till 10 ‘o’ clock and considered coming to office on a Saturday a great feat that deserved a Nobel Prize inspite of 2 official holidays during the week. Deepak personified Steve Waugh (known for his mental disintegration of the opposition) by bragging about this superior carom skills to Vidya and intimidating her by pointing out that she didn’t have any skills at all. Since his partner Kevika couldn’t make it for the match, she was substituted by the newbie Pushpalatha who had no idea about the ongoing tournament or Carom itself.

Prashanth took the stike and started off positively. Deepak was slightly rusty to begin with. Prashanth’s confidence rubbed off on Vidya and she too started well. Pushpa, with her hands shivering was still wondering what to do. This shook up Deepak who realized that mental disintegration tactics would work only if he puts his own "superior" skills to use. With that he was back in his elements. The match went on at a leisurely pace with none of the teams trying to outdo the other. With an unexpected "due" from Pushpa the pressure was suddenly on Deepak. Kind hearted Vidya tried to take the pressure back on her team by trying for a pawn almost four times and failing each time more miserably than the previous time. Suddenly Pushpa made the game her own with some unexpected perfect shots and once again the teams were running close. Vidya finished her unfinished business with the nemesis pawn finally! The game was Pushpa’s now and she had a great chance to win it for her team. Unfortunately the chance was missed. The situation was like this: At one corner, it was the red very close to the pocket with a white lurking behind it & black right next to it. At the adjacent pocket was another back pawnvalmost near the pocket.

Prashanth looked around, scratched his chin, looked at semi-finalist Tejas (who gave a reassuring smile with the thoughts of  5^th floor "SuperPartner" in his mind), closed his eyes, prayed to his favorite God  and let the striker go putting all his might behind it. The striker on the rebound, crashed into white thereby pushing the red into the pocket. Then the unthinkable happened. The striker had some life left (remember Prashanth’s might) and pushed the white too inside the pocket. Prashanth let out a roar and indicated that he is ready for the QF. Deepak/Pushpa gracious in their loss congratulated the winning team. The match got over in 16min 20sec marking the end of league stage.

Winners: Prashanth/Vidya


Quarter Final Qualifier: Nandeesh/Harshi vs Ashish/Sujatha

Toss: Nandeesh/Harshi

Match Report:
Having been very close to winning in their league match, these two teams had earned one more opportunity to force their way into QF. Nandeesh/Harshi were the dark horses, but nobody had the guts to bet against Ashish/Sujatha who had impressed everyone with their uninhibited performance in the league stage.

As in the league stage, Nandeesh won the toss started off for his team. Ashish played a surreal 1^st shot where he pocketed 2 whites and a black. Both the teams were happy and  the crowd went ballistic. Harshi’s performance was a repeat of the league stage: starting off well, going off the track, bad to worse  and again playing well (other teams, please note this trend. Might come handy later). Sujatha lent stability and sanity to her team silently. Everyone played reasonably and both teams were equally placed by 8^th minute. Things would have gone in the same pace if not for Ashish. He suddenly decided that he had to take the queen now. This inspite of the fact that queen was surrounded by black pawns and there was no need for the queen at all! In a freakish shot, the queen went into the pocket on a rebound-double (Please don’t ask what it is. That is the closest I can come to describe that shot) and he fluffed a very simple follow up chance. Well, Ashish cant be Ashish without such unexplained performances right?? Now it was Harshi’s “again playing well” stage and She took her team one step closer to victory by placing all the pawns in favorable positions for Nandeesh. Sujatha couldn’t spoil the party and Nandeesh completed the formalities thus earning a well-deserved place in the QF after an entertaining 11min 7sec.

Winners: Nandeesh/Harshi

How they reached Qualifier?
Nandeesh/Harshi
Ashish/Sujatha

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 6 - 21 Sep 2012

Today was a double header. Due to some technical difficulties two Quarter Final matches were preponed even though some matches are yet to be played in the league stage.

Quarter Final 1: Suneel/Tiju vs Sushil/Priyanka

Toss: Suneel/Tiju

Match Report:
There was a wave of excitement as soon as it was decided that Quarter Finals would be played today ahead of a league match. As soon as the teams were chosen for this match, there was a collective gasp. Suneel vs Sushil was something special. Whispers of Yesss, yahoo, it will be nice etc.. were heard.

Suneel won the toss and this time  unlike the league stage there was no disappointment for the expectant crowd. By the time striker went to Priyanka from Suneel their team was lagging by 3. She got into the act immediately by reducing the deficit. Sushil didn’t do much in the initial rounds. He was still waiting for lady luck. Sushil reminds me of Dhoni, who doesn’t do much initially but produces something magical at the end with equal mixture of luck and effort. Will Sushil do a Dhoni here? Read on to find out. Suneel was the 1 man army for his team. Priyanka was playing her natural game with few good shots here and there. Tiju was just being Tiju and promptly there was a due. Suneel  tried coaxing him in different ways to use more force while releasing the striker. Tiju remained stubborn and  unmoved and refused to even touch a pawn by expertly maneuvering the striker in empty areas . Suneel had by then decided to take the matter in his own hands and pocketed all pawns (including the queen) except one which was a direct pawn for Tiju. Tiju almost did the deed but as luck would have it, the pawn popped back to the board from the pocket. Now it was time for  Dhoni err… Sushil to provide the finishing touch by playing a complete brilliant fluke shot. They become the 1^st Semi Finalists after a very tricky 14min 20sec.

Winners: Sushil/Priyanka

PS: Spare a thought for Suneel. He single handedly had 10 pawns to his credit and still ended up on the losing side.

How did they reach QF?
Sushil/Priyanka
Suneel/Tiju

 
Quarter Final 2: Tejas/Gayathri vs Varsha/Rajesh

Toss: Tejas/Gayathri

Match Report:
On the sidelines of the 1^st QF, these 2 teams squared off. It was won convincingly by Varsha/Rajesh. Hence they were very confident going into the match. Big mistake! This was an ingenius trick deployed by Tejas to create a false impression so that they let their guard down in the actual match. And that’s what precisely happened. Clever like a fox, Tejas set up the board for a perfect finish and Gayathri obliged with 3 pawns ending the match in a record time of 2min 40sec!! Even professionals find it difficult to match this kind of timings.

Looking back, Tejas stuck gold with this 1^st shot and there was no stopping him after that. Gayathri matched him shot to shot and they were off to a blinder in Sehwag-Gambhir style. Rajesh, never the one to back down from a tough fight demonstrated why he is one of the best with some silken straight shots and carefully executed cut shots. Varsha was an able ally. But at the end it was not enough to overpower Tejas/Gayathri who are shaping up to be a superpower in this game. Whom will they face in the SF?

Winners: Tejas/Gayathri

PS: If Tejas can be so dangerous without his dose of 5^th floor “Super Partner” inspiration, wonder what will happen if “Super Partner” would actually cheer him.

How did they reach QF?
Tejas/Gayathri
Varsha/Rajesh

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 5 - 17 Sep 2012

League Match 6: Ashish/Sujatha vs Anu/Saujanya

Toss: Ashish/Sujatha

Match Report:

There crowd build up to the match was very good and playing arena resembled the roman colosseum witnessing gladiators fight it out. Ashish/Sujatha were seemingly well equipped to tackle the skills of Sau whose fame had attracted visitors from different projects also. Ashish had even convened an emergency meeting with the expert panel consisting of Sushil, Gajanan, Prashanth & Giridhar for over two hours to develop a process-model that would help his team pull it off. Anu was the most relaxed of the lot. When someone asked her about it, she replied “mere pass sau hai”!

Ashish began nervously & so did everyone. Someone struck form and so did everyone. This was going on till everyone decided that enough is enough and started playing wildly without even bothering where the pawns were, except Sau whose natural talent is precisely that. :P

There were lot of moments which made everyone wonder whether they were watching a carom match or The Great Indian Laughter Challenge. Ashish had a “1 stone 2 fruits” moment when he pocketed two pawns without intending to put even one. The second pawn actually jumped from the middle of the board and then rolled over to the pocket. Sau provided a similar moment when she aimed for something but ended up with a black on the straight & a white on the rebound. Sir Issac Newton, already dejected by the fact that Rajanikanth had made mockery of all his laws of physics was horrified to see these people doing the same on a carom board.

But somehow the match was progressing without anybody realizing it and both the teams were on equal points. However by 18^th min, Ashish/Sujatha were leading and were left with only the queen. Ashish instead of going for the kill, resorted to time wasting tactics and unleashing his Ramiz Raja style commentary. Anu sensed the opportunity and squared it off. Will Ashish “burn” the game for his team? This was the thought on everyone’s mind as he played one reckless shot after another. He came close to the feat more than once but as seen earlier, none of the laws known to humans worked in this match and this incident was no exception. Both the teams survived for 20min and the winners would be now decided by the superstrike.

Anu/Saujanya took 7 chances. Ashish/Sujatha created a new record when they couldn’t manage even with 25 chances. The match was called off at this point & Anu/Saujanya were declared the winners. Every other Quarter Finalist is looking forward to the pleasure of playing against them in their next round. J

Winners: Anu/Saujanya

PS: As seen in various sports, it always doesn’t take the best team to provide the best entertainment value. Two evenly matched teams can do much more!!
PS: I was so mesmerized by Ashish/Sau that Anu /Sujatha hardly got any mention in the report. Well done folks. You lent some sanity to this otherwise crazy match. J

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 4 - 14 Sep 2012

League Match 5: Suneel/Tiju vs Sandeep/Shruthika

Toss: Suneel/Tiju

Match Report:

The match where Sandy’s dream of a easy path to QF was rudely jolted. Due to unforeseen circumstances, the originally scheduled matches had to be reshuffled thus bringing the ‘smiling assassin’ Suneel into picture. Sandy developed cold feet and refused to play. It took lot of effort (swear words J) to convince him.

How many pawns in the 1^st shot? This was the question in everyone’s mind as Suneel took the striker in his hand. The crowd was pensive and Sandeep was sweating. There was a deafening silence when the striker left the hand and rammed into the pawns. Everyone was shell shocked that the moment was an epic disappointment. Shruthika seized the moment and squared off very well. Enter Tiju, the “due”master. Can he do what Suneel couldn’t do? Hmmm NO!! Sandy, encouraged by the proceedings so far started playing some exquisite shots in his trademark style (releasing the striker and almost falling off the chair backwards :P ).

Suneel showed why he is called ‘smiling assassin’ by taking control of the match as early as second round. This prompted Tiju to live up to his name and promptly came a due. It was so contagious that  Shruthika and Sandy were affected in equal measure. The pawns went into the pocket only to come back to the board. Suneel watched helplessly as Tiju fluffed one chance after another to finish the game. Soon enough, there were 2 blacks, 4 whites and the red on the board. But Tiju had his own ideas to give a mesmerizing end to the game. The pawn that was troubling Suneel was taken out in a flash by Tiju and kept in a scoring position.

Thus came the moment of the tournament (so far). Tak-tak-tak-tak-tak White-White-Red-White-White. 5 straight pawns. Suneel did it. 8min 34sec. By the time someone realized what was happening the match ended. Their team will goto QF. Tiju has made up his mind that he will put up a good show in the QF. Sandy has vowed to take revenge on me(IamME) for reshuffling the match. Guess I need to be very careful from now on.

Winners: Suneel/Tiju

PS: Giridhar is amused that finally he has a genuine match. Will his team play against Suneel at some point of time? Look out for this space.

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 3 - 13 Sep 2012

This is the first double header of the tournament.

League Match 3: Giridhar/Ganesh vs Krishna/Rohini

Toss: Giridhar/Ganesh

Match Report:

They came. They saw. They Conquered. Giridhar & Ganesh lived up to their reputation as the “brothers of destruction”. They won by 10 points in 6min 6sec setting a record for the quickest win in the tournament so far thus creating a benchmark very difficult to match. To their credit, Rohini & Krishna tried their best. But it just wasn’t enough to stop this very powerful team who seem to have an eye on the trophy at this stage itself. Can someone stop them?

Winners: Giridhar/Ganesh

PS: How Rohini managed 2 pawns remains a mystery. The FBI is at it. There are rumors that she might have been coached by the one and only SAU.

League Match 4: Rajesh/Varsha vs Shashank/Sharada

Toss: Rajesh/Varsha

Match Report:

Two contrasting teams here. Rajesh very serious about winning, at the same equally confident about losing whereas Varsha is of the happy-go-lucky kind demonstrated by the fact that she had never played carom since her school days & didn’t bother to practice at all. Both Shashank/Sharada went into the match after a lot of practice and banked on their abilities to take them through.

Varsha surprised everyone when she showed that she had the skill to hit a “straight pawn” into the pocket J. This one act scared Shashank so much that he went out of form instantly. It was left to Sharada to manage the show till he recovered in a round or two. Rajesh was his usual self, not missing out on easy chances. Both teams matched each other shot to shot. Everything was going well until Sharada succumbed to Ashish’s non-stop commentary which was actually not serving any purpose (Something that he has learnt from Ramiz Raja). Rajesh had his own brain-freeze, hand shivering moments which almost resulted in “burning”. After a very tough fight for the queen, Rajesh did the honours & their team qualified for the QF after a very tense 11min 44sec. In the hindsight, Shashank/Sharada had their moments which they could have seized to produce a different result.

Winners: Rajesh/Varsha

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 2 - 11 Sep 2012

League Match 2: Tejas/Gayathri vs Gaurav/Tejaswini

Toss: Tejas/Gayathri

Match Report:

There was a lot of build up leading to this match as this could be Gaurav's farewell match and also due to the fact that Tejas was playing :P. Tejas got his dose of motivation from 5th floor just before the match and was raring to go. So was Gaurav after getting drunk with green tea. Gayathri had butterflies in her stomach as if she was going out on a date & Tejaswini was totally calm.

The match started on a bright note with both the teams playing some good shots. Gradually Gayathri shifted gears and took the team to leading position. Not to left behind Gaurav & Tejaswini counter attacked and caught up. But none of this bothered Tejas who was still in 5th floor mood & didnt bother about what was going on. Suddenly he woke up from his day dreaming & from then on there was no looking back. Pawns were ruthlessly banished to the pockets. Within no time both teams were equally placed with only the queen left. Gayathri completed the formalities by pocketing the queen on an unintended rebound & following it up with an intended shot. The match was over in 6min 13sec. They qualify for the QF now.

Winners: Tejas/Gayathri

PS: There was a joke that was doing rounds on the eve of the match - If Tejas wins, he becomes Tejaswin(i) & if tejaswini lose she would be just Tejaswini. :)

Compiled by IamME

The Carom Diaries - C20 Day 1 - 10 Sep 2012

A humdinger of a match to mark the beginning of the tournament.

League Match 1: Nandeesh/Harshi vs Sushil/Priyanka

Toss: Nandeesh/Harshi

Match Report:
Nandeesh started off with a bang by pocketing a white & black with his 1st shot. Harshi took the cue and started sending one pawn after the other into the pocket. Within no time they had a big lead.
Lady luck who was with Sushil till lunch time had deserted him & Priyanka looked pretty much out of sorts. Harshi was so overwhelmed by her own performance that she slowed down a bit.

Meanwhile Sushil and Priyanka  slowly and steadily crawled their way back into the game. By 13th minute it was anybody's game with both teams breathing on each other's neck. By 18th min both the teams were left only with the final shot at the queen. It was a very tense last minute when Nadeesh pocketed the striker along with the queen and failed in the follow up. It took a nerverless shot from Harshi to tie the game seconds before the 20th minute.

This led to a super strike - The team taking the least number of chances to pocket the pawn kept in the centre of the board would win. The 1st round was tied with both the teams taking 3 chances with many ooh-aah moments. In the 2nd round ,Priyanka in a moment of fluke brilliance (:P) beyond anyone's expectation pocketed within a single chance which Harshi couldnt beat. Thus Sushil/Priyanka qualify for the quarter finals. But Nandeesh/Harshi have a very good chance of making it as the 8th team for the QF. Let us wait and watch.

The crowd was thoroughly thrilled to bits. Looks like we can expect more such matches in the coming days.

Winners: Sushil/Priyanka

Compiled by IamME