Life Etc Etc

The Indian Wells Masters is one tournament on the ATP calendar I've consistently enjoyed over the last couple of years. Not only is the tournament well attended but it also arrives on the cusp of spring just when everything is about to look up in the Northern Hemisphere. I still remember the humdinger of a final  from last year and was particularly disappointed that the defending champion Juan Martin Del Potro was unable to defend his title this year because of a nagging knee injury. The magnificence of Indian Wells (Courtesy: Tennis Tours ) The Draw This year though the deck was firmly stacked in favor of the number one seed Novak Djokovic who was in imperious form leading up to the tournament. Novak led the upper half of the draw and was ably supported by mercurially talented players such as Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Milos Raonic. Stefanos Tsitsipas who ousted Novak at the Toronto Masters and Federer at the Australian Open looked set to be dark h...

Until Next Time, Yours Inspiringly, J.J. Chaitanya

Happy Valentine's Day! Until Next Time, Yours Lovingly, J.J. Chaitanya

It was new year night, while the entire world was partying and going crazy with their friends and family, I was fast asleep giving my body some much needed rest. This new year's eve didn't rank in the upper echelon of all the happening new year eves I've had in my life. There was a new year's eve where I flew half way around the world to give a monster surprise to my friends and family, there was one which I celebrated after making a podium finish at Toastmasters District(National) Table Topics contest, there was another where sandy beaches and crystal blue skies were beckoning me for a memorable holiday. Yes, I was blessed to be a part of some fantastic New Year Eves but none of those years gave me the peace that 2018 did. So how a year ends is not reflective at all of how the year has been . In my blog about 2017 , I wrote about how taking a step back and doing nothing is actually a good thing. 2018 on the contrary was all about getting back on the horse and gallo...

Climb your own Mountain Until Next Time, Your Philosopher of Life, J.J. Chaitanya

We won...! We won...! We won...!  For kids like me who grew up in the 90s the thought of India beating Australia in Australia was as inconceivable as dating a Ms. World or a Ms. Universe (but yours truly did think of... ahem! ahem! let's not go there). Yeah, stars have to be seriously aligned for a victory such as this to happen and stars were indeed aligned when Warner, Cameron and Steve were all sent off on a vacation for playing around with a certain  tape . That vacation helped the Indian Team succeed in their triennial vocation. Mantra for Steve / Warner / Cameron : If you use tape your team will scrape . The above mantra was just the beginning, I set out on a journey where I personally uncovered several such lessons while watching this coma inducing, patience numbing, sometimes nerve wracking but ultimately gratifying series. Let's take a look at all the lessons I've grasped one by one: Players with rock solid and dependable techniques don't get IPL contracts...

Yours Inspiringly, J.J. Chaitanya