Thanksgiving...

On this Thanksgiving Day I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents. 
It feels a little weird but I have not said this enough (if at all) and would like to take this opportunity to do so.
My dad is my true hero and my mother is my first true love. 
Any good qualities I may have are due to my upbringing and solely due to what my parents taught and internalized in me through their words and actions. 
They say that a dad is one who is neither an anchor to hold us back, nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way. 
It is also said that a good dad is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed and yet one of the most valuable assets in society. 
A father's job is to teach his children how to be warriors, to give them the confidence to get on the horse and ride into battle when it's necessary to do so.  
No matter which way one looks at it, my dad has been a true role model for integrity and hard work and has been the perfect dad. 
Through his life, he has instilled in us the message that the best kind of success is the one that is got through one's honest diligence and drive. 

They say that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. 
Then that would make him the most sophisticated person.
I feel my dad is like a cactus -  I cannot fully explain this in words but those who know him well may understand this. 

He gave us a good life and made numerous sacrifices, often without much recognition (like many other dads perhaps). 
Although I have never really expressed this to him, his honest diligence and enterprising nature has always been very inspiring to me. 
This time when I was in India he showed me the primary school in Bangalore that he studied in and also the house he lived in during those years with my grandparents and my aunts (his sisters).
He told me it is largely unchanged from when they used to live there. 
When I saw it, I found it to be an extremely cramped living arrangement (less than a few hundred square feet) in a poor locality. 
This reinforced what I already knew to be true - My father is someone who had risen from a very modest upbringing and went on to achieve great laurels. 
My dad worked extremely hard from very humble beginnings to get to great heights solely on his dedication and drive. 
Few people can lay claim to such a feat and nobody can take that away from him.

My mother sometimes likes to remind me - 
Long before I started working at Intel or earned my doctorate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology or even graduated from Indian Institute of Technology Madras,
before I was even born - 
my father attended and graduated from the prestigious Shriram College of Commerce in New Delhi which is the number 1  ranked institute for commerce in India. 
He went on to become one of the first employees of IBM's India office during the times of the mainframe computer. 
He won multiple awards during his time there until IBM was forced to close it's India office due to some political reasons.
My father also donned many hats in the private automobile ancillary sector including CFO and Chief of Projects. He went on multiple deputations to USA, Israel and Germany during his career.
He even had a rather adventurous (perhaps too adventurous) stint as CEO of a startup he founded once. 
I feel that if I achieve even half of what he has done or be even half the man he is, I would be proud. 
My brother and I feel truly blessed that we were given all the comforts and education that he could afford through his work and he deserves a big salute.  
I have been witness to some very tough times in our family - 
times when my father has fallen down very hard with huge setbacks both financially as well as in his health, which could have made lesser men despondent and hopeless.  But every time he gets back up and fights. 
He is the most courageous man I have known. 
I truly and deeply admire him and his true courage and dignity. 
My appreciation of him and what he has accomplished has grown over the years. 
Inspite of our share of disagreements (which father and son do not have any?), our bond remains as strong as ever and I wish him the very best with good health and cheers. 

My mom is full of life and has retained the joyfulness of her youth.
She is definitely a people person and enjoys the company of friends and family. 
If it were not for her circumstances and lack of good health (severe diabetic condition) which makes her weak and tired very easily, she could definitely have a much more enriching life with a more positive outlook. 
My mother has made countless sacrifices and has devoted her entire life to me and my brother and for that I shall be eternally grateful to her.

I still remember our times in Hyderabad when we moved there from Chennai - I was six and my brother was eight. My brother and I used to study in the same primary school. 
But one day my brother moved to a different school, and that was a very big change for me without my big brother. 
For a while I stayed on in the same school, but then after a while it was time for me also to transfer to another school. 
However I could not get admission into the same school as my brother so I had to start going to another school, some distance from my brother's. 
Since I was really upset and fearful of new experiences with the new school without my brother going with me, I would pretend to be sick in bed to avoid going to school altogether! 
My parents would somehow cajole me and get me to go to school attend the morning assembly prayers and the first class period. 
My mother would accompany me every day and sit on the bench in the school courtyard at a place where I could see her from my class bench. 
I would constantly look outside to check if she is on the bench and that would be a comforting factor for me.
Knowing that, my mom would stay there until well beyond lunch time. 
I feel ashamed to have made her do this and sit in the sun just for making me feel comfortable and not miss classes. 
I don't remember for how many weeks (or months!) this happened but my mother would tirelessly accompany me to this school until the point when I felt comfortable to go on my own  and I had a friend circle of my own.
This is just one example from the endless sacrifices she has made to bring up my brother and me. 
Nothing we ever do will repay what she has done for us.
She gave up a promising teaching career to look after my brother and me since we needed her through our childhood years,   particularly my brother who suffered through a childhood illness and needed her to be a stay-at-home mother. 
She has been the constant source of encouragement for both me and my brother. 
Later she would go through countless lonely nights, months and years while my brother and I pursued our dreams outside India. 
She had to deal also with father's illness, her own endless struggle with type2 diabetes, and later other problems with her own family life.
She has truly borne the cross for our family. 
But through this all, she has maintained a cheerful disposition and put on a brave front for the sake of our family and taught us all the meaning of love and sacrifice. 

She would often jokingly say that because she taught me the alphabet and nursery rhymes she got me off to a good start academically and that is why I was able to get a bachelors degree from one of India's best universities and later a PhD as well. 
The truth is I am forever indebted to her for everything I am and hope to be. 
She is the truly the heart and soul of our family. 
Her constant prayers are the reason why both my brother and I have attained some success in our lives and respective careers. 
I want and sincerely pray to God that he gives me the strength and ability to be a good son and I wish her all the health, happiness and joy. 
She often reminds me and talks about the Thirukkural verse " Saandron Endru Kaetta Thaai" which literally means "A mother's happiness knows no bounds when she hears the world call her son virtuous or a scholar". 
I hope I can always do her proud. 
I wish to be her son in the next birth as well (if there is one). 
Inspite of all of our troubles, I would not have it any other way and I would not choose any other life nor any other family - we are one. 

A book review: Winning Ugly

Time for a book review.

Winning Ugly by Brad Gilbert.

This is a must read for tennis lovers.

Brad Gilbert was this fairly unknown American tennis player from the 80's and early 90's. He is most known for coaching Andre Agassi. He mentions in the book that he spotted Agassi when he was young and knew that this guy is going to make it big, and that he was surprised that he took so long to realize his potential.

His book is quite hilarious, and has valuable tips for amateur tennis players. It is called Winning Ugly, but he is not talking about devious tactics. The book is more about maximizing one's strengths as a player, minimizing exposure to their weaknesses, and exploiting the opponent's weaknesses. Fairly common sense, one would think, but I think what set him apart as a coach was his methodical approach and keen observation skills. He seems to have dissected every player's game quite well.

Like Becker's tendency to overhit on his forehand, particularly against players who do not hit hard. Or Edberg's simply horrible forehand. Guess that one is obvious for all to see. Or Lendl's tendency to hit passing shots right AT the player at the net.

Its funny the way he talks about different kinds of players - the Hares (players like Agassi who rush points), the tortoises (he hates Lendl, and I guess Djokovic is a good present-day example of that), and the ones he devotes the most pages to in his book - the players he calls the "Masters of Rage".

The Masters of Rage are none other than McEnroe and Connors.

McEnroe has said that one of the reasons he decided to retire early, when he was just 27, was because he lost to Brad Gilbert in a tournament. There is an interesting passage in the book where Gilbert describes one of his matches with McEnroe. Mac had psyched him up the previous day (looks like the Australian cricket team had taken some cues from him) by saying some demeaning things about him. Gilbert lost his cool, and went for winners throughout the match. Needless to say he lost badly.

On another occasion, McEnroe is very close to losing a match against him, when he throws one of his famous tantrums at a close line call. He holds up the match for fifteen minutes protesting the call. Even though McEnroe did not get the overrule, Gilbert loses his concentration and the match.

He calls Connors another great con artist. He hates him. During one of their matches, on MATCHPOINT for Gilbert, Connors starts disputing a line call and like McEnroe, he holds up the match for 5-10 minutes. This time the umpire overrules and then after that Gilbert loses several points in a row and the match itself.

This book is a must read, especially for people who followed tennis in the 90's/80's.

News

Metallica is coming to Portland. News on their new album is on the radio these days.
I am tempted to attend their concert - some of their songs are undoubtedly among the greatest rock/metal songs ever. But sitting through an entire concert of heavy metal might be a different story.

Sourav Ganguly is retiring at the end of the series against Australia. Iam glad he scored a century in the second Test. It has ensured that he ends his career on a high note. I think he is handling his retirement in a classy manner:
Just one last thing, lads

Although one cannot quite say the same about what he supposedly told a Bengal daily.

Boston Red Sox lost in the World Series. But Iam no baseball expert.

Work's busy.

I started reading two books. The first one is "The Last Lecture" by Randy Pausch. It is about the Carnegie professor as he narrates the story of his life in the months preceding his death.

The second book I am reading is called "Winning Ugly". It is written by Brad Gilbert, Agassi's coach for many years. He helped Agassi make his way back from a low point in his career, when he had slipped in the rankings to the challenger circuit.

Two very different books for sure.

More quotes from the Open

Part of the fun in following tennis is in watching players beat the crap out of each other, and also in listening to them bitch about each other.

In case you missed, here are some quotes from the US Open:

"I don't give myself the opportunity that much, you know, because I always win easily. I was just really pleased with my fighting spirit."

- No prizes for guessing who said that. Roger Federer of course. This was at the end of a five set match. By the end of his career, he might just earn a bigger name for himself with his quotes than with his tennis game itself.

The following are some great quotes by Roddick when asked about Djokovic's ankle injury and his chances before their QF match:

“Either he’s quick to call the trainer or one of the most courageous guys of all time.”

“I’ve got to feel good. He’s got about 16 injuries right now.”

"Isn't it both of them? And a back? and a hip? And a cramp... bird flu... anthrax. SARS, common cough and a cold.

Too bad Roddick lost though. I like this guy's attitude(though his game is not comparable to Federer or Nadal).

Quote of the week

"I just broke it a couple times - just to be thorough."

- Andy Roddick, after breaking his racquet during one of the matches at the US Open.

Amazing..

I have an impeccable 10-0 record this year on the ladder..

The only unfortunate part about this (and it is quite unfortunate) is that it is a losing record, not a winning one.

I know this is not something that one should be proud about. To be frank, initially I was very embarassed about it. But now, oddly, Iam at peace with it. As the season has progressed, my embarassment changed into curiosity - how long can an incredible run like this last? And apparently, it can last for quite a long time.

At first, I blamed the grip on my racket. So I changed the grip. That helped a bit, I started winning a few sets. But my form dipped again. Then I thought it could be my aging racket (I still haven't tested that theory completely, actually). My current theory is that Iam out of shape.. there was this match where I could not move even a little bit in the whole of the first set, for some vague reason - maybe I was just stiff.

But all said and done, one cannot get such a clean streak so easily, it requires some talent. Whatever it is.. simply put, my game is not working right now. And it doesn't seem like its going to turn around anytime soon either. Its not something that Iam going to lose sleep over though - coz after all, I play the game for fun, but it would surely be nice to win a few matches before it all ends.

Fedex delivers five in a row

There are days when we feel really fortunate to be alive. Today is one of those days.

Iam talking about the Wimbledon final of course.

It was simply brilliant.
I haven't been totally convinced in the past about Rafa's promise to challenge Fedex especially at Wimbledon. But today changed that completely. He not only matched him point-for-point, he showed a steely resolve and confidence that I have not seen in a player since Agassi, who, in my opinion, had an unflappable temperament, atleast in the second half of his career (the first half's a totally different story of course).

When you match that kind of a temperament and the kind of superhuman strength and speed that Rafa has, with Fedex's genius, you have the perfect recipe for a great match.

And this was a truly great match. It is definitely one of the best matches that I have seen, and I have seen a LOT of matches.

It was a bit sad (and a little funny too) to see the great Borg sitting in the player's box - either way he was going to see one of his long-time records being tied - must have been a little embarassing for him perhaps? And at the end, all he got from Fedex was a casual "Thanks for coming".

The first three sets were closely fought, but the fourth set was weird. Rafa played brilliantly to go up 4-0. Federer got pissed with the Hawkeye, and it was funny to see McEnroe getting excited about someone else getting atleast 1% as angry as he used to get in his playing days.

The genius of Federer was visible nowhere better than at 2-3 in the fifth set on Rafa's serve. I had briefly gone to the kitchen but I come back and find Rafa down 0-40.

And at 15-40, he comes up with this amazing backhand crosscourt slice and follows it up with this forehand down-the-line winner like only he can do, at such a key juncture on such a big stage. And then he follows it up with a superquick service game. I think that just broke more than Nadal's serve. It might have also broken his self-confidence.

I just put on my commentator's hat by the way.

Anyway I felt Rafa was the better player today overall, although Fedex just used his Wimbledon edge to deliver the goods. It would have been one of the greatest matches ever if the fifth set had been closer than it was. But it was a great match to watch nonetheless.

I still think the US Open 2001 QF between Sampras and Agassi is the highest-quality match that I have watched. The Becker-Sampras 96(?) Masters Cup final would probably come second in my book, along with the Federer-Agassi US Open final in 2005. And this match would be fourth on my list.

Its amazing how these two have created such a huge gap between themselves and the rest of the field. The gap was evident in this tournament. While Roddick struggled against Gasquet's incredible backhand, Fedex simply played to Gasquet's weaknesses and won quite easily, although Gasquet wasn't helped by the scheduling.

Iam going to venture a couple of guesses now - I think Nadal is going to win Wimbledon next year. He's definitely a champion player. I also feel he is going to overtake Federer at the No.1 spot within the next 1 or 2 years.

Ok, I think I might have just written too much, I have this habit of going overboard when it comes to tennis.

PS. Too bad Bartoli lost, was kind-of rooting for her, she has a very interesting game. And by the way, why does Fedex have this really strange habit of wearing a Ramarajan costume at Wimbledon?