To the uninformed the title would sound mysterious. If you google it you will discover an Indian cricket player that had tenacity to stay the course while the other wickets fell around him and walk home at sunset with a small pool of runs on the field.
He was not known for his meteoric rise in the alums of batting or flamboyant performance against the bowlers. Far from it. He simply stayed put when out on the wicket and collected his ones and twos.
Many of us are in that boat. We are not trail blazers of any sort but simply do what we must to earn our living. There is no major glory of being glam or in with the couture, but the metronomic tedium of moving to the next sunrise.
That can be good. Its a matter of perspective. There is glamour in scarcity. Conversely ubiquity brings loss of the cool factor. That is how our society is programmed to operate.
Vengsarkar was ubiquitous when it came to staying on... throw any bowler at him and he would stick to the wicket like a leach on skin. Did not shake.
Its like a McDonald's. A known entity. Simple. Boring. Its everywhere and you know what you are going to get. That can be Good. People often get caught in wanting to chase - something - money, fame, glory, titles, power, EPS, growth et al..the next IT thing. That is not to discourage those born with an ability to stretch the proverbial blankets and seek out new frontiers or ideas or the unconventional.
But to acknowledge that for every bright idea from Silicon Valley or any other hub of innovation comes a repeatable and predictable formula and people that breathe it to support the economic success of that very original idea.
This is a blog to raise a toast to those unsung heroes - the middle of the bell curve - the majority - the commuters - whatever you label it - that make it work.
Even a brand like Apple can face worries of its own success...unless you innovate you are not a darling and therefore relegated to the Vengsarkar pile. But what of all the efforts you did put in earlier? Well we always want to look to the future. So if you are not part of the roadmap its adieu.
I am not sure if that construct is eventually what defines progress but it certainly is responsible for a lot of strife in today's society.
This autumn the weather gods cooperated as we took a family trip in the northeast to see six states that qualify or makeup what is known colloquially in America as New England. Mass, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island (tiniest state in the union). The outing helped tally up the states we either lived in, visited or have worked in to 47. Guess which three have eluded this intrepid traveling family. Any rate the drive was all in about 1,800 miles and included some memorable geographic wonders or points of interest. Easternmost part of state of Massachusetts being one. Furthest drivable road east in Mass being another. Visit to all Ivy League schools (term harkens to a collegiate athletics conference and generally regarded as elite academic institutes of some repute worldwide) is another random bucket list item of which this trip afforded the chance to knock two more of the list. Dartmouth in Hanover, NH and Brown (and its sister institute the RISD - school f
Here's a toast to the Vengsarkars...good coinage, by the way.
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