SNAKE IN A POT

Turning 40 is meant to be a time to assess where you’ve got to in life and to measure your achievements against your youthful dreams. A lot is said about turning 40, some of it scary. I woke up today expecting to experience some of those things. It was like any other day in my life. I looked in the mirror; there were no obvious signs on my face to show that I am 40. My yesteryear memories began flashing before me as I recollected. I thought of how lucky I am today, to have the most amazing wife and be a proud father of four! While I was still contemplating my past, I thought of the 40 things that have come to define my life thus far. Even I found some of them interesting (and surprising): 1. I have no fear of caterpillars, chameleons or lizards but I would not sleep in a house with a snake that has not been killed. 2. And I’m neither superstitious nor religious! 3. My wife and mother are the most important women in my life. 4. I did not celebrate my birthday until I was 15, even then...

Right from my primary school days, I was never known to be a long distance runner. In fact, I was never a sportsman of any repute though I tried my hands at basketball and badminton. Nevertheless, I always thought I could perform better at distance running especially after I joined a house team in high school and completed the cross-country race in a respectable time without training at all. Although I was a skinny boy throughout my school days, I piled on so much weight between 1997 and 2001 that it became a risk. I visited a doc who said that I was in danger of becoming hypertensive unless I reduced my weight. I am always ready for a challenge and I was not about to say ‘I cant’ this time. In 2002, I attempted to play badminton again but it did not seem to work (I now know that it was due to a host of other reasons too). In 2002 I embarked on a serious regime of gym workouts and nutrition and eventually managed to bring my weight down from a whooping 102kg to 78kg. While still...

I am one of those who believe that the English press over hype and over-rate their country when it comes to matters pertaining to football. This weekend, all major sections of the British media were at it again, after losing the 2018 world cup bid and this time I think they have every right do so. Last Thursday, FIFA the game’s governing body, decided to award the right to host the 2018 World Cup to Russia in preference to bids by England and some other countries. As was to be expected this has led to recriminations from countries that didn’t get the nod of approval led by England. The politicians, the media and not to mention the country’s long-suffering fans are all bashing FIFA and its 22 man committee and why shouldn’t they. Those in support of FIFA claim that the reason for rejecting England’s 2018 bid (and that of the US in 2022) was because FIFA wanted to take the game to countries that have never hosted the event. Fair enough. It is a plausible and just principle but t...