The naked truth: Put some clothes on, dude

For the most part, I am a nudist.

I don’t like clothes.

At home, I wear the bare minimum.

I prefer the beach to the mountains for the same reason.

In 45 years of existence, I have never been to a proper mountain, but have been to beaches across the world.

The only thing I wear on a beach are my swimming trunks.

In my teens, my clothes-free existence was bohemian.

In my 20s, a statement of personality.

In my 30s, it was uber cool.

Now, in my 40s, my wife says, it is creepy; “put some clothes on”.

Snowflake...

My school, St Vincent’s High School in Pune, has turned into a snowflake.

It used to be a killer – a tough as death, top of the line, number one school in Pune.

Now, it has fancy fetes; allows cars on the sports ground and generally cares about every politically-correct aspect of life other than the only one that used to matter – excellence.

Par excellence on the sports field, the loss of that dominance is the one that hurts the most.

My grandfather, father, brother and myself schooled at St Vincent’s. Now, my son will finish from there. The end.

I think...

Manchester United were devilishly lucky in the Chelsea win.

Cue my favourite football quote, “I’ll take a lucky manager over a talented one any day,” courtesy Harry Redknapp.

Bruno Fernandes is smooth, really smooth.

Anthony Martial is useless at hold-up play, but running at defenders he is lethal.

We need Matic and Mata, as the experienced war-horses who have won stuff. Their influence is vital.

I would rather Utd destroy Arsenal, with the same regularity, than Chelsea.

They keep saying Klopp is like Fergie; and it sickens me.

Atletico Madrid will defend for 90 mins at Anfield. And win.

It's the kids, goddammit

I have faced many a life-threatening situation – metaphorically, emotionally, mentally, and in reality, physically.

What set me apart was my ability to look the situation in the eye, take a deep breath, and tackle it; icy blood flowing through my veins; cold, killer.

At the age of 47, for the first time, I am traumatised.

My kids are rendering me a hopeless psychopath.

I am emotionally broken.

What happened?
I was not prepared for them to grow up. 

Forever 12-years-old, at the max… turns out they do grow up.

If you’re a parent, know this. And be ready.

Ole, Poch and the soul of Man Utd

Mauricio Pochettino as Manchester United does not work for me.

At stake in this transition period is the soul of the club, to be defined as the mystical union of fan and team, translating into belief, fervour, expectation and achievement, as undeniable elements of the
experience.

Any one of the above, without the others, makes the experience incomplete.

The least important is achievement (see Man City).

In the hands of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the soul of the club is safe. And nurtured.  And growing. Evolving.

Unless we are soul-changing (see Chelsea), Poch is not the man for Manchester United.

#CatholicTwitter: Where's India?

I am tracking Catholic Twitter and #themedianuns  and the aggressive Bishop Baron, and am impressed with the general sense of social media accomplishment that the church, at least in the West, has achieved.

In Africa, India and Brazil, where the numbers exist in the Catholic world, I am still unaware of any major social media outreach plan.

I could be wrong, but in India, for sure, the clergy is not setting any agenda on online. All the clergy are online though; especially the nuns.

Can a person pray online? Can God be found and encountered online? What’s the catch?

Politics!

When I left Pune 13 years ago, Shiv Sena was the rabid beast that the polity was considering taming to ensure protection from… in retrospect, I’m not sure what now. 

There was Pakistan and “outsiders” and a general sense of, “we need a guard dog.

Now, in Pune today, Shiv Sena is the saviour from the pet animal that turned rabid – the BJP.

Sharad Pawar pulls the strings, as he has (I am told this by folks properly in the know), since he took over from YB Chavan (which is before even I was born, so eons ago). 

Politics!