Hayya Hayya

The flight landed at Doha International Airport. The plane was beautifully decorated with pictures of the great man and his team mates in their traditional blue and white. All the journalists were waiting to catch a glimpse of the GOAT. The fans were playing the drums and dancing on the tarmac. They were all waiting for the man of the moment who would brighten up the championship with his magical play and take home the biggest prize on planet earth.  The door opened and one by one the players came walking down, waving their hands to the people gathered. One…two…three…thirteen fourteen fifteen….yet there was no sign. The coach and his support staff members also came down the stairs and boarded the bus to go to the terminal building but there was still no sign. Where was he if not here?

Somewhere in Rub al Khali desert in Saudi Arabia, a camel is seen walking across one of the world’s driest regions of the world with sand dunes, sabakhs (salt flats) and sand sheets. It has hardly any vegetation and habitation but beneath it lies one of the biggest oil reserves. Atop the camel, a diminutive figure is seen sitting and trying to converse with the only living creature around.

Courtesy: Internet

Can we move a little faster?

No. My best speed is twenty-five kilometres per hour but my master has told me to go no more than ten per hour. This is for your own safety and comfort.

But I have a match to play today. I just cannot miss the same.

You should have known it when you accepted the invitation.

You know about the invitation?

Anything that happens in the desert, I have my friends who inform me. After all I am the royal camel who is respected by one and all. Anyway, how was the shoot?

They wanted me to be the brand ambassador for Saudi Tourism and I agreed. The money was good.

Courtesy: Internet

Ya, for sure. The loaded cars following us are a proof of how much the Sultan has given you for the modelling. No wonder the Spanish tax authorities are on a wild goose chase when it comes to Neymar and you.

I am thirsty.

I am not…..

You must have stored it in your humps.

That’s a wrong notion Mr. Goat and you may know a lot about playing football but nothing when it comes to camels. We do not store water in our humps. The hump stores fat and we use it for nourishment when food is scarce. We can go a long time without water. We drink up to twenty gallons of water when we find it and then it is stored in our bloodstream.

How far are we from the Lusail Stadium? The match starts at 1pm.

Don’t worry. I will reach you on time. You can save some time by getting ready for the match. The team kit and your famous number 10 jersey and Adidas X Speedportal boots are there in the pocket of the carpet you are sitting on.

Thanks O Royal Mount but can we go a little faster…. You see I have to play. Can I not drive in one of these eighteen Rolls Royce’s following us. Surely the horse power will be much more and I will reach well in time.

Don’t mess with me Mr. Messi! In the desert if you praise a horse before a camel and that too the Royal Mount of the Sultan, all I need to do is to whistle aloud and the Bedouins will come charging from behind the mountains in no time. And you know what they do to the captives. So shut up and let me do my duty.

The GOAT atop a Camel sat quietly, desperately trying to reach his team mates over the phone but it seemed there was no signal in the desert. The only satellite phone available was a direct connect to the Sultan of Arabia who did not understand a word of Spanish. The sun was beating down and our man covered his head with the keffiyeh or the red and white scarf in one of the many pockets of his silken carpet he sat on.

Slowly the convoy made its entry into Qatar where the border guards quickly recognized the GOAT.

Autograph please….photograph please….

Guys, I am getting late for the match. I promise I will do all the autographs and photographs after the match.

You don’t have passport. You don’t have Hayya Card. Then there is no entry for you.

I have my passport but what is this Hayya Card?

Hayya Card is the entry permit to Qatar for the World Cup. No Hayya then say Bayya to Qatar.

Ok I will do all the photographs and autographs…. Then will you let me go…

Of course, Messi…anything for the Greatest Footballer of All Time.

Messi managed the situation well and got atop his Royal Mount….he looked at his watch… still thirty minutes to go for the match….. Giddy up….let us now speed up to Lusail…

Yeah…lightning speed Boss for you.

The camel speeded up to over thirty kilometres per hour, much faster than the average speed of the Ship of the Desert. With the convoy of RRs following, the Royal Mount dropped off Messi in front of the magnificent stadium which looked like a huge bowl, intricately carved and shaped.

Messi got off the mount and started running into the stadium when the sturdy guards caught him…. You can’t enter the stadium like that. No ticket, no entry.

I am a player and I do not need to buy tickets.

Player coming on a camel with a keffiyeh on his head…. Which team do you represent?

Messi took off his head scarf and shouted….. I am Messi…Lionel Messi of Argentina. I am supposed to be playing in the match today against Saudi Arabia.

The team has already taken to the field and the national anthems are being played.

Messi put his one hand on chest where the logo of AFL was and one hand held high as a mark of salute as he started singing:

Oíd, mortales, el gritosagrado:
"¡Libertad! ¡Libertad! ¡Libertad!"

(Hear, mortals, the sacred cry:
"Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!")

The guard recognised the GOAT and exclaimed…. Allah… if you are Messi then who is there on the pitch wearing your shirt?

Messi put his palm on his forehead and then took out his phone, showed the guard a picture of an aging and balding man… is this the man who is playing as Messi….

Yes…yes… that’s the man. But he had all your papers.

Can’t you see, he has Messi written in front of his T-shirt while I always have it at the back! That’s an Indian fan of mine to whom I had shared some of my papers. He has used them to get into the stadium and the team and is now playing in blue and white of Argentina.

The man told me that another man who is his look alike will come. I should give him this ticket and ask him to see the match from the stands. He has also left behind a bag of goodies….Fanta and Coke bottles without the caps, a packet of chips, some dates and Gaz. You can use this to watch the match. That’s the best you can do now.

Messi took the ticket in his hand, went up the starts and just managed to reach his allotted seat when the kick off happened. He sat with the fans watching his team go down 2-1. All the time he was seething with anger at the Sultan of Arabia and his body double on the pitch. He even had the audacity to score a penalty goal.

After the match, Messi came down to the place where the Royal Mount sat. The camel smiled at the Goat as if he knew the results even before the match had started. Then there was a huge commotion as the Saudi team was cheered out of the stadium and they all came to the place Messi and the camel were waiting. Each one of the sixteen players took to the seat behind the wheels of the RRs. The coach also took one of the cars. Then there was another person who did not look like a player also got to sit in the magnificent Rolls Royce Phantom.

Who’s this last man?

The camel replied….Mr. Varkey…. He was the referee for the match today. He played an important role in today’s match.

What was his role…

You will see in tomorrow’s newspapers tomorrow how VAR (Video Assistant Referee) made sure the Argentine goals were denied…that’s our friendly Mallu Mr VARkey…. The secret key to our success. He too had to be rewarded!

In the end the body double of Messi came out and he walked to the Royal Mount, climbed atop and waved bye to the GOAT.

Play well mate in the next two matches and beat Mexico and Poland. I’ll be cheering for you.

SS

PS. World Cup is Frenzy, World Cup is Fun…. This one is jesting around and spreading cheer all around.

Fish Fury

Mommy why do I need to go to school? Why can’t I swim with you?

Cloe darling, the sea is beautiful but it is also a dangerous place. If there are wonderful corals and weeds, there are big, predator fish and other creatures too out there to kill you, to eat you and, even if you survive the wrath of the sea monsters, there is the ever-growing fear of the men in their fishing trawlers who will hunt you down and make a meal out of you. The school will help you become stronger and show you ways to survive in dangerous waters.

How will the school help? Our Teacher Han is not even a fish. How will he tell us fishy tales and tactics?

Don’t underestimate Teacher Han. He is a very experienced chap. His father helped me and my friends when we were young. And now it is your turn to be groomed. While I go hunting for food for you, Cloe, stay here with the other kids in the school. Don’t go out of the ring. Be good, do as taught and you will never regret it.

Mama kissed little Cloe as she swam into the HanFinSchool where the young fish had already assembled for the day’s sessions. There were the small fishes and not so small ones, and then there were large, baby fishes….there were numerous, colourful fishes and not so colourful fishes, there were gentle, sweet looking little ones and there were sharp teethed, dangerous looking little ones too…. all were welcome at the HanFinSchool while their parents were out in the seas searching for food.

Good Morning Finos. Today, we will do something new. It is called the One for All and All for One drill. This is a must learn technique which involves all of you to act as one solid unit. So far all the survival techniques taught were for individuals and playing to one’s strength. This is where we present a unified face to the enemy and fend off an intruder who may be much larger and stronger than any one of us.  Are you ready?

Yea…Yea…Yea!!

Make two triangles back to back. The fastest amongst you should come to the front. The bigger and sturdier ones go to the sides and back. The others fill the box in between. Cloe, since you have the sharpest voice, you take the absolute centre. All of you should face in front. Stop pushing around… go slow and listen to my instructions. Ok now smoothen the sides and make a curve in front and rear as I am showing you on the sand below. Yes… yes…yes… very good.

So now instead of you being just a small fish, you have now given an appearance of a huge fish… even bigger than blue whales.

The exercise does not end here. The person in the centre has to be like the captain who will direct…. Go straight… go right… go left… turn around and if required command all to attack the enemy. So depending upon how you fare in your different tests in my school, the leadership team will be decided. It is not just prestigious but carries with it a lot of responsibility… the safety and protection of our community lies in fighting battles of survival together. We will pick a few of you during the course of your grooming and give some extra leadership skills.

A few more things that you need to keep in mind.

You need to trust one another. The whole strategy will work only if you all time your moves together in the manner commanded by the captain in the centre. Even if one of you misses a step, the structure will fall because the fish by your side will also get confused and start making more mistakes. Once that happens, then you will become easy prey for the intruder who will see through your big fish bluff and destroy not one but kill many of you in one big swoop.

The ones in front will have to be the fastest. They will constantly change place with the leader in front because while swimming fast, you tend to get tired and the speed of the one in front will determine the speed of the pack. A slow fish in front will become a liability. So the next fish quickly takes the lead and the one earlier in front will get breathing and resting time. This will ensure the speed of the group will remain constant.

Now, coming to the ones in the sides and back. They have to be the strongest for the attack by the intruders will be at these points. So I need the bravest and strongest of you to take the wings and the tail. These are the real fighting heroes and in case of a war, will have to be ready to sacrifice for the safety of all.

I shall work to give each of you kids all that I know and also enough time to practise your skills here before you launch yourself into the big blue seas. So now let us practise the Big Fish game a couple of times now.

Cloe found this game pretty interesting. Han would often come up with games which made learning so much more fun. No wonder Mommy has so much trust in him.

Cloe and her friends were having fun making the formation and then moving together. They were all making mistakes… wrong signals were going from the centre, the switchover of speed makers in front was quite a disaster and the biggies who were in the wings were quite amused. But Han was not! He was furious…

I have taught so many fish in the past and your batch seems to be the dullest of all. You just cannot function in unison. If you do not master this technique you are dead… enjoy your next lives inside the stomach of the giant fish!

The kids kept trying and trying…. Slowly things started taking shape and movements were happening as Han had taught. The teacher wanted perfection and was not impressed with little improvements. The little ones kept on repeating and each time got better. How much they craved for a line of appreciation from their teacher but, alas, it didn’t happen so easily. The kids were tired but Han would not let them rest. Rest now and die next, he would say… life in sea does not give you time to rest and relax. It is do or die!

Just when the kids were perfecting their new survival game, Flashy’s mother came rushing to Han….

We have a problem?

Yeah, what happened?

Cloe’s mother was caught in the net of a trawler just now and she has been pulled up from the waters.

Hmmmm… this is serious but wait a moment. We cannot just accept that Cloe’s mother is no more. The Japanese are the ones who fish in our waters. They do not kill the catch. Their people back home like their fish to be fresh and alive when they buy on land. They usually put the catch in big containers and take them ashore. We have hope and a chance to bring Mommy Cloe back if we act now. And please do not let Cloe know that it is her mother we are going to try and rescue.

I am going with my Kiddo Gang to the rescue. You get the others.

Ok Finos. We have a live drill of what we learnt today. Since we have not practised enough and the core leaders and their calls are not yet ready, I will lead the drill. I will stand outside the Big Fish and give the commands. Those who do it right today will be given a treat at McPlankton Café. So remember all the things I told you and all that we did together. Come on , let us give our war cry….All for One and One for All….

The water around rippled as hundreds of little fishes made a whale of a noise. Then all started moving in a formation of five with smallest ones in front and others following, depending upon their sizes. Teacher Han was moving fast and he looked at one of his hands which held what looked like a round box with needles moving left and right. The school of fish now moved closer to the surface and could hear the sound of an engine…..it was not loud but the tiny creatures could hear the faintest of noise. They looked up to see a big dark portion of the water where sunlight could not enter.

Stop… above us lies the biggest fish of the waters. It is also the most dangerous creature. It is big and heavy. Its body is like no ordinary fish. It is made of a very strong skin that no fish can pierce. We cannot fight it outright but we have one thing they don’t…this is our waters and we can create magic with the waves. Our job now is to stop the movement of this big fish and ensure its movements are restricted. We will now move fast, ahead of this fish and create our Big Fish formation and slowly move menacingly towards the enemy. It is possible that the enemy comes straight at us and showers us with deadly flying teeth. Some of you may get injured…..that I will not let happen. Just follow my instructions and we will be safe and yet accomplish our mission. So let us now get battle ready…. This is our chance to show that we are ready for the big life out of school.

The little fishes moved fast forward and turned quickly…. Took shape of the Big Fish with Han directing them and then he made the direction of moving slowly forward… right in the path of the trawler. The fishermen on board could feel something was not right. They checked through their binoculars and could see a huge dark patch moving in their direction…. Captain… Captain… Danger ahead!

The Captain looked at the approaching dark shadow…. What can this be? I have never seen a fish as big as this in my thirty years of sailing. Is it a nuclear submarine or what? Let me lower the periscope below the water to check.

Oh my God! This is a Giant Fish… much bigger than the blue whales we have seen. We have to avoid hitting it or our ship will collapse.

Sir, we do not have time to manoeuvre it to the right or left. Our only chance is going reverse.

Then do it… full speed in the reverse… all hands-on deck and get your weapons ready to fight the sea monster.

Han saw what was happening…. Finos… we are doing good. The enemy is retreating and this will give our biggies to come and do the final act.

No sooner had Han spoken than a huge flotilla of big fishes arrived. Whally, the eldest and wisest of the flock spoke to Han… You have done your job well. Now leave the rest to us. Take the kids to safety.

Han nodded and asked the little ones to break the Big Fish formation and create the size wise line… they quickly got into the lines and started swimming a little away from the action site from where they could now witness the Big Fight. Whales, sharks, piranhas, dolphins, squids, sting rays, octopuses…. You name it and they were there… they surrounded the trawler and all started flying out of the waters and diving back. The Japanese fishermen were bedazzled and mesmerized. They just could not see what was happening…. They were stuck on a vessel and the fishes gathered around were showing as if they were attacking them, yet not confronting them directly. The men with firearms stood frozen and couldn’t move their fingers on the triggers. This went on for some time before the Captain spoke to his men….

Hold your fire, boys! This is not a war but a sign from the fish to us. They think we have captured their friends and want us to release them. They do not want to fight with us but want us to let them live in peace. We have enough firepower to fight the fish but as Buddha said…. Non-violence is the way to peace and God. We will not fight unarmed fish and we must accept their wishes. Release all fish in the tanks immediately.

The mechanical cranes lifted the huge containers one by one and opened the lids. The captive fish along with the water in the tanks splashed into the sea. As the last container was emptied, the sea went calm. They fishermen could no longer see the flying fish. What they now saw were a hundred thousand tails come up the waters and shake from right to left as if waving to them to say thank you and good bye and then they all disappeared into the waters.

Down below Cloe’s mother kissed her little baby and all the fishes went away to their peaceful abode and lived All for One and One for All.

SS 

PS. Each year, around the same time of the year, a bunch of Kiddos from 10-C of 1980 batch, SCS, Delhi, come together from different parts of the globe to celebrate and relive their childhood memories and friendship of over half a century. This is My Shoal of Fish and My Band of Brothers...All for One, One for All. Happy Children's Day.