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His Father Died. The Next Morning, He Went On To Save Delhi From The Jaws Of Defeat…..23e

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Date: December 18, 2006
Match: Delhi vs Karnataka
Tournament: Ranji Trophy Group ‘A’ Match
Venue: Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

This is one story that has been etched in Ferozeshah Kotla’s history and will be narrated for years to come. It is the tale of an 18-year-old teenager, who loved cricket. An act, which stunned not just his teammates but also his opposition.

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This is the story of Virat Kohli.

Day 1:

The year was 2006 and Karnataka scored 446 in their first innings at Feroz Shah Kotla.

Day 2:

It was a cold and difficult day for the Delhi Ranji team. They lost 5 wickets chasing Karnataka’s mammoth first innings total. With half of the side back in the hut on the 2nd day itself, it was an uphill task for Kohli and Co. to save the match. The 18-year-old walked out and along with wicketkeeper Puneet Bisht helped reach Delhi 103 at the end of the day’s play, without losing another wicket. Kohli stood solid and unbeaten at 40, but Delhi still needed to go a long way with the last recognized pair in the middle.

That night, his world turned upside down. His father, Prem Kohli, just 54-years-old, passed away.

Day 3:

Kohli faced an awful choice – whether to cremate his father or to go and finish his innings for Delhi. The news of Prem Kohli’s demise had already travelled throughout the Delhi dressing room. Chetanya Nanda was informed that Kohli won’t come to bat and he was asked to pad up. But, his teammates, opposition and even the match officials were shocked to see Virat Kohli arriving in the dressing room in full cricketing gear. He chose to go in and bat.

He played for 281 minutes and faced 238 balls. When he was declared out after scoring a match-saving 90, just before lunch though the bat had brushed the pad as replays showed, his team was clearly out of trouble, with only 36 runs needed to avoid the follow-on.

Second-Test-Virat-Kohli-ton-ensures-draw-for-India-New-Zealand-win-the-series-1-0

At around 12, he watched the replay of his dismissal in the dressing room, quietly removed his pads and went straight to attend the funeral. From 14-4 (top order back to the pavilion), Delhi had managed to save the match and the man who lost his father the night before, was responsible for Delhi’s turnaround.

He knew that his father was gone. But he surely knew Delhi needed him and match could be saved. He just wanted to fulfil his father’s dreams, knowing that some part of his life would never be the same. This shows how big a team man he is.

His father was cremated later that evening and the rest is history. Kohli transformed from an 18-year-old teenager into a mature adult overnight.

Mithun Manhas, the skipper of Delhi Ranji team was all praise for the youngster’s determination:

We asked him what made him come here. And we also told him that if he decided to go back and be with his family, the entire team would support him. He decided to play. That is an act of great commitment to the team and his innings turned out to be crucial.”

Chetan Chauhan, the then Delhi coach, was amazed at his dedication:

“He was barely 18 and he had lost his father at 4 am. I spoke to Virat and his brother and was told that he was in the mental shape to actually go out and bat. Hats off to his attitude and determination. It’s unfortunate that he missed out on a hundred but what matters today is that how he played, not how much he made.”

He never looked back. What followed was sheer beauty.

Virat-Kohli-Cute-Smile

In his Ranji debut season, putting aside his personal tragedy and saving his team from the jaws of defeat certainly proves his mental strength. Only a person with remarkable passion and love for what he or she is doing can go ahead and do something so so…remarkable.

For him, life is cricket. India comes above everything.
Happy Birthday, Virat Kohli. You are a synonym of dedication. 🎂

Source…..Shuvro Ghoshal in http://www.storypick.com

Natarajan

Meet Harjit Sajjan, An Indian-Origin Who Will Be Canada’s New Defence Minister….

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

We told you about this monumental move – Punjab being listed as the third language in the Parliament of Canada and that a new cabinet will be unveiled.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet. And now, Canada’s new Defence Minister will be Indian origin Harjit Sajjan.

He is one of the 20 Punjabi speaking members elected to the latest Canadian cabinet.

Here are a few things that you probably didn’t know about him:

1. He hails from a small village of Bombeli, which is located in Hoshiarpur District of Punjab. He shifted to Canada because of his father, who left for Canada when he was young.

2. He has been living in Vancouver South since he was 5 years old.

3. He served in the gang squad of the Vancouver Police Department for 11 years.

4. After that, he became Lieutenant-Colonel in the Canadian Armed Force. As demanded by this post, he went to Afghanistan 3 times. Among many other recognitions, he was awarded Meritorious Service Medal and the Order of Military Merit.
He was known for his bravery. Canadian Brigadier General, David Fraser praised him for his diligence, bravery, and unwavering determination.

He took to Twitter to announce about his new ‘post’. His jubilance was quite noticeable.

Other than Harjit Singh Sajjan, there are three other Indian-origin Sikh ministers in the newly formed cabinet.

Amarjeet Sohi: Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

Navdeep Bains: Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Bardish Chagger: Minister for Small Business and Tourism

Also, Canada’s Prime Minister has shown that he’s a staunch believer of gender equality by appointing the equal number of men and women in his cabinet.

This is definitely a big step for Canada and also for India. We congratulate them for this feat

News Source: Times Of India

Cover Image Source

Source….Aparajita Mishra in http://www.storypick.com

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” Start Searching for the Faults and Weaknesses within Yourself First…”

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The unceasing toil of each succeeding day has as its aim and justification this consummation: to make one’s last days sweet and pleasant. But each day also has its evening. If the day is spent in good deeds, then the evening blesses us with deep, invigorating and refreshing sleep, the sleep about which it is said that it is akin tosamadhi. One has only a short span of life on earth. But even in this short life one can attain divine bliss by using the time wisely and carefully. Two people may be same in appearance, and might have ostensibly been of the same mould and also grown under the same conditions, but one could turn out to be an angel while the other stays on with their animal nature. What’s the reason for this differential development? It is habits, the behaviour formed out of these habits, and the character into which that behaviour has solidified. People are creatures of character. Hence the very first spiritual practice (sadhana)is to search for the faults and weaknesses within yourself and to strive to correct them to become perfect.

Sathya Sai Baba

An 83-Year-Old On Oxygen Begins To Sing…By The Time He’s Done, Everyone’s In Tears….

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The Young@Heart chorus based in western Massachusetts is comprised of senior citizens ranging from their early 70s and beyond. Established at an elderly housing project in 1982, the program has given countless aging individuals an exciting, fun, and productive pastime to look forward to each day.

During a performance in 2007, 83-year-old Fred Knittle stepped on stage to perform the lead vocal in their cover of Coldplay’s “Fix You.” Though he had retired from their group a few years before and was struggling with health issues, his incredible voice still managed to bring the house down. Prepare for your heart to melt.

https://youtu.be/G-e8LGMPTtE

Sadly, Knittle passed away just two short years after this stirring performance. But thank goodness they captured this amazing moment so his legacy can live on. You can find more of the chorus’s beautiful renditions over on their YouTube page.

Source…..Jessica Catcher in http://www.viralnova.com

Natarajan

Stunning Performance on Ice… !!!

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Competing at the World Synchronized Skating Championships earlier this year, Team Canada stepped onto the ice with something to prove. They wanted to be the best and weren’t going to let anyone get in their way. Because after all the practice, hard work, and dedication, they knew they wanted it more than their peers.

That’s why when the music started, and their performance began, you could tell something special was about to happen…

It must be incredibly difficult to work so seamlessly with so many people — and on ice, nonetheless! But, as you can see, when it’s pulled off correctly, the result is simply stunning.

Source….www.viral nova.com and http://www.you tube .com

Natarajan

Used Wimbledon Tennis Balls Become Tiny Homes for Mice….!!!

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Every year, an astonishing number of tennis balls are used during the Wimbledon tournament — more than 54,000. This high figure is due to the fact that tennis balls are replaced at frequent intervals during a match to make sure they aren’t worn down or become too warm to affect the ball’s physical dynamics. Used balls are resold every day at the club to spectators on the grounds, and nearly 700 balls go missing every year, probably taken by the audience and kept as souvenirs. Since 2001, some of these balls are being donated to various animals conservatives around Britain who make cute little homes for harvest mice.

The Eurasian harvest mouse is typically found in fields of cereal crops, such as wheat and oats, in reed beds and in other tall ground vegetation, such as long grass. An adult mouse weighs as little as 4 grams. The mice normally weave their homes out of shredded grass and reeds, attached to stems well above the ground.

Photo credit

In recent years, their habitat has come under increasing threat from intensive farming methods. Yearly floods also destroy their homes.

Some animal conservatives then discovered that tennis balls make excellent, waterproof homes for these tiny rodents once you cut a small hole into the balls. The balls are attached to poles about a meter or a meter-and-half off the ground where they can make their nests in relative safety from birds of prey and weasels, which are too big to get through the hole.

Now aside from Wimbledon, many lawn tennis clubs around the United Kingdom regularly donates used tennis balls to various wildlife conservation organizations to help them in their conservation efforts.

The natural nest of a harvest mouse. Photo credit

Source….bbc ….www.amusingplanets.com

Natarajan

Runway Over The Highway at Leipzig/Halle Airport…

November 5, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

The Leipzig/Halle Airport, sometimes called Schkeuditz Airport, is located in Schkeuditz, Germany and serves both Leipzig and Halle – two of the largest cities in the country. Lack of space required the modern airport terminal structure to spill over the adjacent motorway and railway that intersects the runway at right angles. To make room for the runway without affecting vehicular traffic on motorway A14 and rail traffic, three bridges were constructed over the motorway and the tracks, that allowed the parallel runways to extend to their full length of 3.6 km. These bridges are called Taxiways. Aircrafts would taxi on these taxiways at the time of takeoff and landing, while vehicles ply on the motorway below.

Taxiway E7 and E8 on the east are used as one way taxis and connect the terminal with the northern runway, while the third taxiway W1 in the west is used in both direction.

Photo credit

Source…..www.amusingplanet.com

Natarajan

When an airport becomes a home: A Kurdish family has been stuck in an airport for over 40 days….

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

BBCStill from a video showing Hasan Ahmad in the disused smoking area where he has been living with his family for over 40 days now.

Hasan Ahmad’s family has been living inside Terminal E at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport for over 40 days, the BBC reports.

The Syrian Kurdish family of six recently fled their home in northern Iraq after ISIS militants kept coming closer. The family decided to flee to Russia where Ahmad’s wife has family.

But the nightmare began as soon as they got to the airport.

At first, they were put in detention for two weeks after the Russian authorities claimed they were using fake Syrian passports and illegally trying to cross into Russia, according to the BBC.

Most of the family had Iraqi passports, but the two youngest children, who are 3 and 7 years old, got Syrian ones through Hasan’s nationality.

Their asylum request was rejected because of the allegedly fake Syrian passports, though Syrian officials have since confirmed they are genuine, according to ABC.

The family is appealing the decision, but in the meantime they are stuck at the airport because they’re not allowed to step on Russian soil.

BBCStill from a BBC video showing Hasan and his four children in the disused smoking area.

The Ahmads have since been living in an old glass smoking area surrounded by the few bags they brought with them.

The situation stressed Ahmad’s wife, Gulistan, so much that a couple of weeks ago she collapsed and had to be rushed to hospital, where two guards were positioned outside her ward, according to the BBC.

“We left our homes, everything. We just wanted to live in peace like other people. But they refused us asylum. They said this is not Europe,” Gulistan told the BBC.

Now all the family can do is wait, not knowing when or if their appeal will be processed and having to depend on the generosity of strangers for food and warm clothes. The UN also brings them big water bottles every five days.

BBCStill from a BBC video the disused smoking area where the Ahmad family has been living.

The situation has only gotten worse recently. According to the BBC, the heaters stopped working over two weeks ago, making it even harder for the family to stay warm and dry.

“I don’t know how people can be so heartless. I don’t understand. People are fleeing from war, from violence,” Ahmad told the BBC.

The civil war raging in Syria — as well as ISIS’ reign of terror in different parts of Iraq — have displaced millions of people from those countries. Hundreds of thousands have fled to Europe and other countries, and many have yet to find a permanent home.

Source….BARBARA TASCH….www.business insider.com.au

Natarajan

Message for the Day…” ‘seva’ is the highest path of Devotion which wins the Grace of God…”

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Today, we are confronted everywhere by statistics parading quantities and reports in glowing terms. Do not bother about adding to the number or achieving a target. I value quality, not quantity. Genuine and intensive devoted service offered in a few spots or villages is more fruitful than superficial service offered to a large number. Convince yourselves that life cannot continue long without others serving you and you serving others. Every relationship – be it master-servant, ruler-ruled, guru-disciple, employer-employee, or parents-children and so on – is bound by mutual service. Everyone is a sevak (servitor). The farmer and labourer whom you serve, produce by their toil your food and clothing as their service to you. Remember that the body, with its senses-mind-brain complex has been awarded to you to be used for helping the helpless. Seva is the highest of paths of Devotion which wins the Grace of God. Service promotes mental purity, diminishes egoism and enables one to experience, through empathetic understanding, the unity of mankind.

“Smile…It makes people wonder what you are thinking….”

November 4, 2015NatarajanLeave a comment

Even if it its repeated …. Read with a Smile for a Good Laugh !!!””

And Start your day with a Big Smile ….

A good 30 laughs – Dilbert’s one liners :
Old Classics

🔺 I say no to alcohol, but it just doesn’t listen.
🔺 A friend in need is a pest indeed.
🔺 Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
🔺 Work is fine if it doesn’t take too much of your time.
🔺 When everything comes in your way you’re in the wrong lane.
🔺 The light at the end of the tunnel may be an incoming train..
🔺 Born free, taxed to death.
🔺 Everyone has a photographic memory, some just don’t have film.
🔺 Life is unsure; always eat your dessert first.
🔺 Smile, it makes people wonder what you are thinking.

If you keep your feet firmly on the ground, you’ll have trouble putting on your pants.
🔺 It’s not hard to meet expenses, they are everywhere.
🔺 I love being a writer… what I can’t stand is the paperwork..
🔺 A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray and the blinking red light.
🔺 The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was the genius.
🔺 The trouble with being punctual is that no one is there to appreciate it.
🔺 In a country of free speech, why are there phone bills?

If you cannot change your mind, are you sure you have one?
🔺 Beat the 5 O’clock rush, leave work at noon!
🔺 If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
🔺 It’s not the fall that kills you. It’s the sudden stop at the end.
🔺 I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
🔺 Hot glass looks same as cold glass. – Cunino’s Law of Burnt Fingers
🔺 The cigarette does the smoking you are just the sucker.
🔺 Someday is not a day of the week

Whenever I find the key to success, someone changes the lock.
🔺 The road to success…. Is always under construction.
🔺 Alcohol doesn’t solve any problems, but if you think again, neither does Milk.
🔺 In order to get a Loan, you first need to prove that you don’t need it !!!

Source…input from a friend of mine

natarajan