Tryst with Brevet

Discovering Brevets Before November 2015, I had never heard the word brevet, let alone known how to pronounce it correctly. That changed when my son, Ashwini, successfully completed 200- and 300-km brevets in Nagpur, earning the proud title of Randonneur. I soon discovered that brevets are long-distance, non-competitive cycling events where riders must complete a … Read the essay

Warora wears me out

Drenched and drained—and palpably tired—I parked my bicycle and slumped down into the bed. I had every reason to indulge in this idiosyncrasy. I had achieved what I thought was unachievable. A few months ago, when I began cycling—a maturity onset disorder—little did I know that I would be able to complete a 150 km … Read the essay

Cricket records have a very short half life!

How long do the records in International Cricket last? And how quickly do they tumble? Today, at Auckland, Martin Guptill’s 19-ball record for fastest New Zealand fifty lasted barely for 20 minutes. He got out in the seventh over; in came Colin Munro, and he began to treat Sri Lankan bowlers with a ferocity that … Read the essay

Dr (Mrs) Lata Patil

Dr (Mrs) Lata Patil —Samir Patil’s (MGIMS Class of 1993) mother—died this morning of metastatic cancer in a private facility at Nagpur after fighting malignancy for more than a year. She was 71. She is survived by her husband, Dr.SM Patil—the well-known physician and two children- both doctors. Dr (Mrs) Lata Patil taught me Medicine … Read the essay

Federer vs. Djokovic

Federer vs. Djokovic. Tomorrow. Center Court. Wimbledon. A battle of pure poetry vs. pristine prose. I love both but have lost my heart to Djokovic. Let me tell why. Not that I love Federer less, but I love Djokovic more. Federer’s backhand against Murray is so sexy, that “you need to be above 18 to … Read the essay