Version 2.0

So, I was at St.Xavier's,Kolkata and I was giving this speech on poverty. It was an impeccable speech and I was acknowledged with a rapturous applause once I was done. As I was coming down,a thin man dressed in an over sized coat and a briefcase walked towards me. I excused myself from others and walked to him, excited and upbeat. " Sajal !! Good Speech, but have you ever watched a poor man for more than fifteen minutes? "  Now, I must mention I belonged to a pretty well to do family so I never really had to struggle too much in life for anything. I replied,slightly confused, " No Sir!" He went on, " Have you ever eaten with a poor man?" .." Not really, Sir". " Okay, Sajal tell me, have you ever slept with a poor man?? " Now, beginning to feel a little humiliated I said, " No Sir, I've not." He replied with a few words which would stay with me forever, " Then you know nothing about poverty.Get that thing straight."

I felt as if I was slapped. For a couple of months I left home taking nothing with me, and lived on the streets.I ate and slept with the less privileged.At the end of it, I was a much richer person. You know who that great person was in that over sized coat? It was Amartya Sen.

These were the words of a certain Sajal Sir, who was among our faculty members for my weekend management entrance coaching classes. I was baffled with resemblance this story had with a portion of one of my most favorite novels. Anyhow, It's an unshakable truth. The world would be a much saner place if people were less judgmental about things they haven't done or experienced. Now, that I would be starting version 2.0 ( hopefully new an improved ) of my life finally, as inconsequential as it is, I would try being as neutral and open as I can. As this would be my last post for quite some time I would just sign off sharing a few lines with my non existent readers from one of my favorite novels.

Afraid to look too long into his wife's beautiful eyes, I turned back to Fazil and asked him whether he knew now what he might want to say to my readers if I ever was to write a book set in Kars.

" Nothing. " His voice was determined. When he saw my face fall, he relented." I did think of something, but if you don't like it....." he said. " If you write a book set in Kars and put me in it, I'd like to tell your readers not to believe anything you say about me,anything you say about any of us.No one could understand us from so far away."

" But no one believes everything they read in a novel",I said.

"Oh, yes, they do believe it," he cried. " If only to see themselves as wise and superior and humanistic,they need to think of us as sweet and funny,and convince themselves that they sympathize with the way we are and even love us. But if you would put in what I have just said, at least your readers will keep a little room for doubt in their minds." 

Sir Alex Ferguson - More than a Manager.

" The most important thing about management is you've got to be able to make decisions that aren't popular, but you know they're right and I think I've done that." -- Sir Alex Ferguson.

I left all the common Football groups on Facebook about a year back for the sole reason it was making me a much more depressed and irritated individual than I actually was.As I glanced at the ticker at one opportune moment today however, I saw some person commenting about Sir Alex Ferguson in one of those groups. It's hard to ignore such things so early in the morning when you don't really understand half the things that go on around you.So I wen't to the actual topic and fucked  my mood up for the entire day.

Anyhow, The topic was if " Sir Alex was the worst loser ever and he would always find excuses when the team lost." in the most disrespectful manner. People as usual were making out like Horny rabbits on this one. Here's the thing, I agree. And more so, I add that sometimes while doing so he actually disrespects the opponents while not giving them their due credit. Even the staunchest United fans would agree to this if they think like a neutral .But before anything lets talk a bit about the English press. I grew up reading Henry Winter's columns on the Telegraph. Here's a few examples apart from the world of Football :

1. Lewis Hamilton. Probably the most overrated Formula One driver ever.

2. Tim Henman. Had he not been British he might have actually gone on to win a Wimbledon. The English press gathered every year during June - July for an annual festival called ' Let's try Screw Tim one more time.'

3. The Ashes, 2005. They glorified the English team so much after getting trounced by Australia every time before that since God knows when, that Andrew Flintoff actually thought he had played enough cricket, Boxing Sounded cool. Yes he was injured and all that, I don't care. And yes, they got raped the next time again. The culprit? I'd probably answer that in the middle of an orgasm.

4. Andy Murray. First of all, he's Scottish ( David Moyes says Hi ! ). Enough respect for what you've done and will do mate, truly amazing. But Bawling like a baby after losing to the King of Wimbledon? Not cool man, not cool. And it showed on him, the hype.I actually pity the English press. They do the same function to hype that a repeater does in Web Technology.Yes, I've been studying a little too.

5. The English Football Team. Can we please talk about Football and not WAG's please? Are you people Gay?

There are many more examples ,but these are the common ones many would relate to.The English press has been the undoing of so many things. And that is exactly where I believe Sir Alex has been a champion. He takes the heat off the players like no manager does. It's a much more difficult task to manage a team in England than people realize.The press can have a crushing effect on the players. SAF has taken the brunt so many times for an insipid United performance. I mean the man is 71 years old, and has been associated with the game for so long, surely he knows which tackle deserves a red card, does not he? People who blame him for that miss the bigger picture. He does it for the lads , the fans. He becomes the villain to shield his players like his family.That is something a non United would never understand. We've had financial constraints, Huge debts, a glaring media ready to pounce on his every mistake, and SAF amid all this has emerged unscathed and ensured the team remains intact.Ten out of ten clubs would have crumbled in such a volatile condition, let alone be competitive.  But SAF has ensured we always came back stronger after losing out. It is never all about him, if it were, he would not have lasted for so long. One of his legacies has been that he has kept the club his top priority,always. He has had problems with stars who were huge fan favorites. Had this happened at any other club, the fans would have turned against their manager a long time back. We United fans don't care what people think of him. If he's a Bastard then he's our Bastard and that I believe is the most important thing. It's insane to manage a club for this long and be successful in a place like England where people get paid to drag you down. And people still keep wondering as to why at this age, he staunchly protects his lads. It's just tiring. Harvard has opened a case study about him because he has violated all managerial laws by now.You don't have to love him, but you sure can respect him. And it has become a word so cheaply thrown around these days in the world of football.

"The memoirs of former manager Frank O'Farrell ( who was in charge of United for a brief period of 18 months ) , All Change at Old Trafford, detail just how badly things went when Sir Matt Busby, supposedly retired." He supposedly said something like this , " A word of advice for the new manager? Well, Sir Alex would ensure he leaves the club in the best possible state for the new manager coming in, unlike the shambolic condition in which Sir Matt handed the club over to me. But I can say one thing,to whoever comes in next, It will not matter who is on the other end of the dug out when the team's winning, but when it starts losing, comparisons with Sir Alex will begin.Be prepared for that." It's a day we all United fans wish never to see. But time will run it's course and we will patiently wait for the new manager to carry our legacy forward, because that is what we do.