Rolling Stones…

Gathers no moss, they say. There is another way of looking at this. Pigs rolling in the sty do gather dirt. But they never realize what they are rolling in or the fact that the stench is killing the neighborhood, do they? Why? Well, they get used to it.

Science says as a fact that, even humans, put in the middle of a garbage pool, as time passes (in fact not so long, 10-15 minutes probably) have their sense of smell adjusted that they no longer really realize where they are.

And so all you can accumulate by virtue of spending long periods in a company is some fabulous muck. It is difficult to realize what kind of crap pot that you are in as you get experienced. And by the time you realize it, you just have to hope and pray that it’s not too late.

Cut to the top story of the day.

Roger Federer wins Wimbledon and becomes the Greatest Grand Slam winner.

This is one rolling stone, which pockets slams as it rolls by. Coming at the heel of a seemingly impossible win at the French Open, this is a fantastic result for Federer. This story is amazing from a different perspective.

I started watching tennis is mid eighties. It was a transcient era from that of individual dominance of Laver and then Borg, to eighties of fights among equals. On a given day Becker, Edberg, Lendl, Wilander, Cash, Stich, the ageing Connors or McEnroe, any one can win a slam. The trend was about to continue given the increasing nature of competition in the men’s field.

Till a certain Pete Sampras came along.

There were Agassi, Chang, Courier, Kafelnikov, Ivanisevic, and an emerging Spanish armada in the circuit. But Sampras was clearly the dominator. I grew up watching every one of Sampras’s Slam wins. He was a not a natural popular choice. Andre Agassi was one. But the utter dominance of Pete Sampras was breath taking for me. His serving was so powerful, so certain. Even now I cannot think of a sure thing in life than him serving for a match. Don’t think he has ever lost his serve, while doing so. So powerful was his game, that the opponents were often brutalized into submission rather than getting beaten on a tennis court. All this he delivered with poise, elegance and skill, that there was this vicarious pleasure to be had, witnessing the massacre on the court which everyone approved! It was like watching a high action blood spilling war movie, violent but gripping and arresting. I thought this kind of dominance is impossible to recur in the near future (of the past!). All tennis fans also had the same view, I can bet.

Most improbably, as Pete was going out, his successor smoothly filled his position, before anyone realized that it was vacant. Federer’s dominance in the mid decade was even more mind altering. If watching Sampras was like watching a heavy duty action flick, watching Federer’s demolition act is like watching a live human dissection set to Bach or Beethovan’s Symphonic music at the back ground. Like an eye pleasing ballet where the protagonist goes around massacring his opponents in a highly choreographed manner in the most aesthetically pleasing way, if you may. It was the same utter domination and gave a similar vicarious pleasure, but of a different genre.

The Gods then decided to surprise you and throw in one more, while Federer was for Grass and concrete, he sent one for Clay. Between, Federer and Nadal, the domination is complete. It is so ruthless now that it is certain that if you beat either of them, the other is there to take revenge. I don’t think any sport has seen two such sportsman tag-teaming to such devastating effect, except for Bret & Owen Hart of WWE. ;-).

Federer has now done with his record making obligations and is ageing as well. Nadal should emerge stronger after recovering from a battered knee. There is this new Roddick. Along with the stoic scot Murray, Del Potro and the only other lone slam sniffer, Djokovic, the tennis at the top is extremely promising.

At this juncture, either it becomes like Equal Eighties, where every one can hope for a spoil or a more fascinating prospect would be a fully recovered and durable Nadal, mounting his own assault on what has now become Mt.Federer.

There is a small issue here. Very much like Mt.Everest and the lot which keep growing year after year, Mt.Federer might also grow up by couple of slams or more. If at all anyone can mount a serious challenge and has the right kind of start, it is Rafa for now. Then again, there could be some one else hiding in the ranks, biding time, waiting to ambush, ready to roll and gather some slams.

Getting back to the head to the initial lines, S keeps telling that it is time to get out of the rut that the job has become. As the pig story goes, as long as you are there in the pit, you don’t realize how much you are affecting others with your dirt slinging habits! I am beginning to affect people close to me and this should stop.

So here it is to S… let me try to become a Rolling Stone, throw away the muck and gather some millions on the way..! ;-) !