Live Cricket commentary - Sample

Realized that you have to be very fast to do this:
136.6, Zaheer to Peterson, no run, pushes ball to cover 
136.5, Zaheer to Peterson, no run,  good ball, a yorker, batsman oses balance and falls down
136.4, Zaheer to Peterson, no run, swinging ball keeps low after pitching, rolls down to Dhoni
136.3, Zaheer to Peterson, no run, pushes the ball to cover again
 136.2, Zaheer to Peterson, no run, Comes forward and defends the ball towards cover
 136.1, Zaheer to Steyn, OUT, wide ball outside the off, Steyn attempts a lazy drive, Dhoni takes the low catch
TOOK A BREAK!

134.6 Zaheer to dU Plessis, no run, played straight to the fielder
134.5 Zaheer to dU Plessis, no run, full length ball, defended well
134.4 Zaheer to dU Plessis, no run, flicked to leg side
134.3 Zaheer to dU Plessis, no run, played straight
134.2 Zaheer to dU Plessis, no run, defended well
134.1 Zaheer to dU Plessis, no run

133.6  Jadeja toSteyn, no run
133.5 Jadeja toSteyn, no run
133.4 Jadeja toSteyn, no run
133.3 Jadeja to Kallis, OUT, Big swipe to the leg side, balls takes the top edge, Dhoni takes an easy catch. Fiver for Jadega


132.6 Zaheer to Kallis, 1 run, extra bounce takes the edge and rolls down to third man
132.5 Zaheer to Steyn, 1 run, drives uppishly to third ,man
132.4 Zaheer to Steyn, no run, another loose ball, Steyn let it pass to Dhoni
132.3 Zaheer to Kallis, 1 run, Kallis flicks ball to deep square leg
132.2 Zaheer to Kallis, no run, Kallis leaves ball outside the off stump
132.1 Zaheer to Kallis, loose ball wide outside the off, driven to cover


131.2 Jadeja to Kallis No run, flighted delivery, playes straight to mid-off
131.3 Jadeja to Kallis, 1 run, Kalllis pushes ball to long off
131.4 Jadeja to Kallis no run, steyn blocks the ball outside the off
131.5 Four runs, wild swipe from Steyn, takes the edge and flies over the slips
131.6 no run, defended by Steyn

Are we really aware?

The question whether we are really "aware" in this information and smartphone age is a topic of a big debate. I use the word "aware" in the way it is defined in the Merriam Webster free online dictionary.

Aware (adj): Knowing and understanding a lot about what is happening in the world or around you.

Yes, there is knowing a "lot" about what is happening because we are all bombarded with messages of all sorts in various media unheard in the 80s and 90s.

But do we really understand what is really happening around us? Let us check this tweet:

While most of the people will focus on the person mentioned in the tweet, I have a problem with something else. That is, someone has built a forest in 30 years. If a forest can be "built" in such a short period , it is really wonderful. But as an Environmental Studies student, I very well need to dispute this fact.

A forest is not a vast collection of trees in acres of land. A forest has a structure, patterns of growth and development, stages of ecological succession, and then something called ecological climax. The forests that we see in India or elsewhere took millions of years to reach this stage. One study estimates 4500 years for a rainforest to form. Destruction of forests is not just loss of trees or reduction in total forest ares, but loss of flora and fauna, with many animal species going extinct.

This is one example where the media fails to educate people. But, it is also a fashion that "understanding and in-depth" knowledge of issues is lacking in our day-to-day life. What I am saying is not "academic scholarship", but a better understanding of things around us from better and vast reading of issues or one's favorite topics. Scholarship is a burden now, whereas if you convince someone that you know lots of things, you will be considered "knowledgeable".

Elegant Variation

The phrase, Elegant Variation, was coined by Henry W. Fowler in The King's English (1906). The essence of that term will help Indian writers to understand how carefully one should write. 

"...The use of pronouns is itself a form of variation, designed to avoid ungainly repetition; and we are only going one step further when, instead of either the original noun or the pronoun, we use some new equivalent..."

Fowler then lays down two guidelines:
"...It is impossible to lay down hard and fast rules, but two general principles may be suggested: (1) Variation should take place only when there is some awkwardness, such as ambiguity or noticeable monotony, in the word avoided. (2) The substitute should be of a purely pronominal character, a substitute and nothing more; there should be no killing of two birds with one stone."

Try to practice it. It is very interesting.