Someday, today will be nostalgia

Back in 1969, the moon landing gave humanity of its most subliminal moments. Though the vision of man’s first step on the moon has been ingrained in the minds of those who weren’t even around to witness it, not many cameras covered the aftermath. On their return to earth, the astronauts realised that their lives had changed dramatically. Unimaginable, but some of them actually suffered psychological problems and battled depression. The reasons were many but a plausible reason is – where do you go once you go the moon? One wonders if the Indian team finds itself in the position that the astronauts found themselves in. Though experts point out to various factors for the team’s failure, a fan doesn’t read much into them. A fan only shares the pain but not the dressing room. Every consecutive defeat, where the margin of defeat is only increasing shows a certain sense of listlessness in the team. Like they turned up and expected the wind to blo...

The Border Gavaskar series between India and Australia are always marked by a series of verbal volleys, something the Aussies politely disguise as mental disintegration. Much of it has been quelled by Rahul Dravid’s Bradman oration. Mental disintegration worked when Australia had a battery of immortals to back their talk. The Indian Summer of 2001 reversed the tide, when an unassuming VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid rewrote Indian cricket history. For many years, an Indian win in Australia was always regarded a bonus, not something even a true fan would have denied. The 2003-2004 series, though partly overshadowed by Steve Waugh’s swansong, was the first well fought series played on Australian soil. It gave us the enduring image of Rahul Dravid pumping his fists in the air after winning the Adelaide test. After India conceded the trophy in 2005, the 2007-2008 series was labelled as a clash for the throne. Instead, what transpir...