Sunday, November 8, 2015

Freelancing for Firstpost: ISL 2015

Thanks to Vinayakk, I got an opportunity to write for Firstpost. I have added the links to the posts that were published. The posts mostly cover Chennaiyin FC's performance in the Indian Super League (ISL) 2015.

The first one is a preview about Chennaiyin FC for the ISL 2015. Next, is the match report of the first match between Chennaiyin FC and Atletico de Kolkata which Chennaiyin lost 2-3. I also wrote an analysis on the first game between Chennaiyin and ATK. I was all excited to get three articles published in a period of about four days.

I got a pass to cover all home matches and was expected to cover away games through television as well. But I didn't know that. After missing the first away game, I wrote eight takeaways from Chennaiyin's first win of the season against FC Goa. I watched the match at star sports website, which was delayed but still good enough.

For the win against Mumbai City FC, I saw the match, but couldn't write much about it. It was already being covered by Pulasta from Firstpost, so we decided to leave the report and analysis to him for this one. The next match I had slept off after my first major set of submissions for the Elementary Course, and caught up with the game only in the last few minutes.

I then finally wrote a tactical view after the second home game against Pune City FC which Chennaiyin won 2-1. This was also the first time I spoke in a post match press conference. It was an interesting experience. There were hardly a dozen guys at the presser, so looked weird with so much lighting and cameras.

The next game against Kerala Blasters was a drab draw and I could hardly think of anything to write. It was the first test to write something out of nothing and I failed miserably. The next match was a home game against FC Goa - the return leg. I wrote about four factors that handed Chennaiyin an impending loss.

The home match against Northeast United dovetailed with several things. The rain came down pell mell right from the start and lightning as well meant the match got delayed by an hour. My submissions due next day for coursework left me with no choice but to skip writing on the match in spite of spending three hours covering the match. The away match against Atletico de Kolkata gave me a chance to present this abysmal report card on Chennaiyin's performance just before the home stretch of the league.

Finally there was a swing of fortune. Three consecutive home wins followed. First it was Kerala Blasters who were thrashed 4-1. I wrote on what changed Chennaiyin's fortune. Next up, taken to the cleaners, were Delhi Dynamos who gave Chennaiyin their first ever home clean sheet. I picked five key players from the match and harped on why Mendoza can never be dropped. Then the final home game against Mumbai City FC was another blank for the visitors as Chennayin scored three in the pouring rain to knock on the play off spots. I picked three talking points from the match. The turnaround was complete with the win against Pune City FC and true to the manager's words it was a team performance. I wrote on the characteristics of that team performance. This after putting attendance at Avinash's reception (or atleast before it started).

Then came the heartbreaking news for the Chennaiyin fans that the first leg of the semifinals was moved to Pune in wake of the floods in the home city. More so because the Marina Arena was a major warehouse for relief materials. I lamented on what we'd all miss. Chennaiyin nailed the first leg 3-0 and Vinayakk was forced to cover the match in Pune. I didn't write on it. Then came the cracker of a second leg. I wrote about ten points of discussion after Atletico de Kolkata perfectly pulled a Chennaiyin of last season.

Then came the Grand Finale at Goa. The match lived up to the billing and was a cracker of a game. I finished off with the complete story of Chennaiyin this season. I thank Firstpost for the opportunity and would also like to thank Pulasta Dhar and Vinayakk for helping me along whenever needed.

Friday, February 13, 2015

To be or not to be, that indeed is the question.

Everyday we face a lot of questions. Whether to wake up now or later, whether to have breakfast or not etc These are more trivial and more pertained to the individual. Then come the questions at a social level. Whether to drop your mother at her work or not, to overtake the car in front or not, whether to overshoot a signal or not. How do we decide the answers to these questions?

While we are on the bed, we enjoy the comfort of the mattress and take the route of procrastination. The question of breakfast, even though it depends on whether we got up early enough or not, is decided by the time factor. Then the same applies to dropping our dear ones. Ultimately time seems to be the devil that presses us on the roads. We try to compensate by trying to beat the traffic, overshoot signals and putting all around us in danger. The funny thing is it all starts with an impulsive decision to simply sleep longer.

Once I said to myself I am reaching my workplace an hour early come what may. I did and the difference was striking. I found myself keeping calm and travelling the same route in the same time. This time, I kept my cool to let those in a hurry ahead on the road, wait for all the signals as required before the stop line and still spend the same travel time. What was so different this time?

The mere thought that we are in the comfort zone lets us be gracious, courteous and at the same time punctual. I also found myself calm in handling those questions pertaining to possible chores to be done on the way. So if this zone is so good, why can't we maintain things in the comfort zone? The problem I think is once we are in that comfort zone we soon start to get laid back in our approach. We push the limits of the comfort zone unintentionally for the worse and ultimately get back to that place where we blame time, time and again.

So flitting in and out of the zone - how does that work? Well, I used to work in a school. My timings are as fixed as they can be. I have observed myself that whenever I need to do something extra in the morning before school begins - could be something as simple as bringing few papers from the store cupboard - I consciously plan to leave early and even though I may not leave by the exact required time, I still fall in the comfort zone. The thing is this work has to be something absolutely urgent for the day and you really care about that being done. So you have to do something that you usually don't do,

So how often do these days occur? Again for me, these are days after long vacations where I need to be early to pull the covers off the shelves and fold them away neatly. These are more forced upon rather than self-motivated. so the right question would be "How often do you want these days to occur?" Even though the answer "Everyday" may escape our mouth, the difficulty behind that is not seen.

I mentioned that we tend to push at our comfort zone with regard to our travel plans. I think the pushing of our comfort zone is the key, but at a more broader perspective - the work we do at home or anywhere else (even travel is part of this work). We need to constantly think and do what is that one extra thing we can do to make whatever we did or are doing better. Working out of your comfort zone is an often used phrase. I've found that whenever I do that keeping in mind the capabilities I have and not worrying about the end result, the job seems to go on well enough. To be or not to be working out of your comfort zone - that is the question you need to answer for yourself!