¼ Everesting

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

Everesting - सकाळीच हा शब्द पहिल्यांदा ऐकला.. 'काय असतं?' विचारल्यावर कळलं की Mt. Everest च्या height एवढं elevation चढणे / total elevation gain करणे, ह्याला Everesting केल्याचं म्हणतात.. त्या हिशोबाने आम्ही आज quarter Everesting केलं होतं.. AllTrails app ने मोजल्या प्रमाणे २२७१ मी. ☺

that's an excerpt from the very first second ✌️ article from the other blog "घरबसल्या trekking", describing the proceedings from the very first ☝️ SRT, back in 2020.. while nothing seemed to be incorrect with that conclusion (त्या हिशोबाने आम्ही आज.. ..), as other criteria were unveiled later, today's understanding of Everesting does not technically qualify that or any of the next 4 SRT activities for a "¼ Everesting" 🥺.. why?

to re-iterate then, this time in English, Everesting - anywhere in the world, in a single activity, climb a total of 8,848m - the equivalent height of Mt. Everest 🔝.. and to this, now the extension - the activity must involve repeats on the same hill 🔂, on the same face, without any sleep in-between, and if descends 📉 are not to be supported 🚖 🚡 🏍️, those are also expected on the same route.. there are also other conditions, but for the scope of this article, those need not be talked about.. and now, if we evaluate SRT, all matters of interest add-up to nothing but an absolute zero 😔..

Everesting in short

while all of this was conveniently forgotten / never pursued further, Parmeshwar shared a message a few months ago about Illi Gardner's sub-8 Everesting 😱 at Crowcombe.. wait, what? ⚠️.. yes, less than 8 hours, translating literally to 1100+ metres elevation gain (and loss) per hour 🫡.. believe it or not, such super crazy things are happening outside our / their comfort zones.. few days later, Rahul shared a message about a supported 🏍️ Everesting event, scheduled for Dec-2024 ⛰️, to be done by individuals / in groups.. exploring more (assisted by Mahesh), then learnt about everesting.cc 'Hall of Fame' where all the Everesting activities are listed, be it 1. full, 2. half or 3. quarter.. and, that was it 😃.. nothing more was needed then to reanimate the excitement, to replenish the lost count, that had to be sacrificed to the criteria revealed 😟.. and by the way, who would not want to be part of such a list, maintained at global level 🌏, when you know your strengths and have potential? 😇..

but is it not that, this topic of 'elevation gain' 📈 is inappropriately neglected when it comes to doing any activity?.. most of the times, almost all of the times, the focus is either on the time taken (how fast?) ⏱️ or on the distance covered (how long?) 📏.. be it any sporting event (except high jump) or challenges on Strava (except 2000m वाला), there is nothing that focuses 🔍 and counts / accounts 'elevation gain'.. and that's where, we have team of these really nice people 💚 maintaining the list of such activities, while also characterizing 'Everesting' as "Fiendishly Simple, Yet Brutally Hard".. true that 👍..

सिंहगड ६x.. an unknown attempt failed 🤦‍♂️

while it was not the first planned attempt when this could have got potentially achieved back in 2021, the goal 🎯 then was completely different.. but even if that one is to be ignored, 24-Aug was still not the first "¼ Everesting" attempt..

an organized attempt failed 💔

as the conceptualized activity was to be mandatorily realized on a single hill 🔂, it was time to evaluate the options.. सिंहगड was not the first or obvious choice for many reasons 🤨.. the most important being, the initial low grade walk of half-a-km consumes unnecessary efforts and time, contributing not that significantly to the objective 🙄.. but devoid of any other high grade options (barring पर्वती), the discussion (with self) was back to सिंहगड.. and when the final question 'how much - full / partial / in combination?' was answered - the drafted plan 📝 read - 12 lower half repeats, उसमे भी 75% being partial of that lower half (high grade)..

come 17-Aug night 🌌, it rained more than the entire week combined and heavier than the 'accuweather' forecast, which must demonstrably now be renamed to 'inaccuweather'.. never have these guys done a prefect forecast in monsoon 🌧️.. but as they say, 'something is better than nothing', we prefer referring it, exactly the same way as we prefer lotus 🪷 / भगवा over others.. back to pavilion, disappointed after the one-and-only rep of lower half, elevation gain for that night mocked hard from the height 📐of about one-tenth of the actual target.. mathematically, one-fortieth Everesting.. and again, केलेली जय्यत तयारी गाडीतच राहीली (another excerpt from ६x article)..

alternatively, पर्वती being a more सुटसुटीत option, next morning 🌄, a dry run was performed to examine all the affecting parameters.. what came out as the result was nothing 'dry' 😥 and nothing 'run'.. after 15 reps, I was 'Milkha Singh' wet 😅 for the first time ever, with no breeze 🍃 contributing to the cause.. and although, all other parameters were perfectly ok, the only other option on the list of probable candidates had to be struck off 👎.. because, during an actual "¼ Everesting" attempt, 44 reps in such conditions, even if mostly at night, would have been a disastrous complex at least to Farhan Akhtar 🤪..

first one is always special.. ¼ Everesting.. and the Hall of Fame

back in the month of June, for the palindromic status update (42:24 for #737), Bhushan had questioned, 'how is it possible?' 🤔.. can only repeat the reply here, 'nothing more than just-a-coincidence buddy'.. and as we shall soon see / read, this is only an another one.. it. just. happens. #CannotAskForMore

while article on चैत्र नवसकाळी talked about this year's target 🎯, since then / by now, the list of T24 Resolutions has grown to 4.. "¼ Everesting" being one of them, was the odd man out, in terms of not being related to the number 24 by any means 😒..

after a failed 17ᵗʰ, it was time to re-consider the draft..

1. for some reason then, 12 half reps 🔂 did not feel right and the itinerary was changed to 5 full reps, of which 3 did not include that low grade half-a-km..

2. overnight event was changed to - have some sleep 😴, get-up at 2 a.m., start from base at 3 a.m. 🕒, and try to end by 11 a.m...

24-Aug-2024

and with all of this fiasco, here we go 🤘.. a week after the failed attempt, the destined 24ᵗʰ 📅 single-handedly crossed the line 🏁.. how perfect that would have been, if the total elevation gain was 2408 😎, rather than 2421 📈?.. anyway..

done-n-dusted ✔️ 2212+ 📈

nothing much to write ✍️ about the activity though, which is also the reason behind this article featuring in this blog, instead of घरबसल्या trekking ☺️.. as expected, it was all no man's land during the first rep.. first human was spotted 🕵️‍♂️ after going 70% up during second.. it started drizzling 🌧️ during the third descend, but by then, it was more than too late to give-up.. during the fourth rep, regular / transactional people started questioning, 'if that was my second?' 😉.. during fifth descend, it was more of a downpour than just the rain, as if somebody had provoked the Jul-end version of इंद्रदेव again ☹️..

rain-lashed पायवाट

regardless of the fact that, accuweather goofed-up yet again 🙂‍↔️ and it rained against the forecast, all of this would not have been possible without 'विठ्ठलाची गाणी' playlist 🎶 on Spotify, without Coasters (CTR) hiking shoes 🥾 and last but not the least, without the seasonal hiking companion ☔..

first one is always special

Annexure

Everesting Hall of Fame details - 

https://hof.everesting.com/hall-of-fame/hall-of-fame-details?uuid=53b5f8d3-1e5b-4ecc-998b-fc705ccc729b

Illi Gardner's sub-8 Everesting blog -

https://hillisrecommendations.wordpress.com/2022/07/27/everesting-2-crowcombe

सिंहगड ६x -

https://sskothawade.blogspot.com/2021/09/blog-post.html

चैत्र नवसकाळी -

https://sskothawade.blogspot.com/2024/04/blog-post.html

T20I MCWC 2024

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

a sensational script.. T20I MCWC 2024.. all that glitters is not gold

what a world cup we'd had ❗.. whoever had written the script, indeed did a sensational job 👏.. name any of the 20 countries and everything fell "Just. In. Place." for each one of them.. for some on the positive sides, for others on the learning sides - pick of the lot being / to name a few - RSA, AFG, USA 🇺🇲 etc.. we'll talk more on the current affairs, but before that / as always, let's (try to) setup the premise..

do you believe in superstition(s)?.. if you are a cricket fan, most probably you've answered in favor of the question.. 

that was also the starting excerpt (few more shall follow, otherwise colored default) from the previous article on 'How and when did India lose the ODI MCWC 2023?'.. repeating this, because cricket (rather, most of / all the sports) and superstitions are made for each other - हम बनें, तुम बनें, एक दूजे के लिए 🪢..

but unlike last time, this one is not about 'How and when did India win the T20I MCWC 2024?', because that would be the next obvious / simple most thing 🤗 - the opposite of everything mentioned in the former article..

so far (before 2023), India had appeared in 3 ODI MCWC finals.. the pattern being, won - lost - won.. 'what comes next?'

so far (before 2024), India had appeared in 2 T20I MCWC finals.. the pattern being, won - lost.. we all know what came next (yesterday), and after today, 'what comes next?' - we'll all be sure sorry for that 😔..

(2023) Final nail in the coffin - Kohli and his wife literally mocked 😆 when in-form Edwards was caught behind..

First hands on the trophy - Kohli's wife was nowhere to be seen.. I mean, c'mon.. when she's in the stands 🏟️ to support the team his husband is playing for, have you ever seen his team getting their hands on a trophy?.. be it hosted by ICC or BCCI, the team has not won ever, and never will 😦.. it's only her absence that can make us and / or RCB fans happy..

and if not her, was there any other celebrity in the stands to support India? not a single unrelated soul.. wow 🥳.. then what about Rinku and Khaleel?.. that's already answered..

(2023) till the finals, no team had bowled India all-out.. in the finals, this pattern broke..

although India won all the matches this season 🏅 (first ever team to do so), they did get all-out in their second encounter against the arch rivals 🇵🇰.. while RSA, none.. each and everybody from the Indian camp had faced at least a delivery.. while Shamsi, none.. now you may be wondering, where does this fit? - unlike last year, India were well past their bad omen in the league stage itself..

(2023) the knock-outs were nothing but repeat matches..

having to face always a different team, on completely different conditions every match / than the recent past - do the math.. there is hardly any scope for referable predict-ability or undue misconceptions.. e.g., इनको तो league stage में हरा चुके हैं, क्या ही उखाड़ लेंगे ये semi / final में?..

T20I MCWC 2024

as India culminates - successfully this time - let's go through few of the highlights, from an unfermented perspective..

as we know, only way to keep AUS / MI away from the trophy 🏆 is - not let them reach the finals.. and this is only possible, when at least a couple of other teams team-up.. this time these were, India, AFG and BAN 🇧🇩.. BAN? yes.. were they scripted winners against AFG 🇦🇫, the uneasy subject of this article would have been, 'How and when did India lose the T20I MCWC 2024?', with different contents, as (and where) Rohit would definitely had tried something out of the blue, and succumbed it all 📉..

reserved day - imagine a scenario, where India would have played and then won the final 🏆, without having won the match against ENG.. those who are wondering, 'how could that have happened?' 🤔, are probably not aware that there was no reserved day for the semi-final.. and since India 🇮🇳 topped their group in 'Super 8', they were ICC's first choice to play the final.. now compare this scenario with what happened after super over in 2019's final.. I am sure, you'll also 🙏 thank the rain God / Goddess that the Thursday's match was not washed-out..

but, what if ENG 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 had topped their group too?.. needless to guess, another stupid ICC rule would have come into play, adding nothing more than mockery to the most worshipped Indian sport 🏏.. so, the obvious question then is, 'why not also have an extra day reserved for the semis as well (same as final), and if needed, schedule the final on Sunday?' .. as easy as these suggestions may sound, matters won't definitely be that straightforward at ground levels 🙇‍♂️.. in other words, we are always grateful to you, ICC ☺️.. 

talking now about the final.. after having have won the toss 🪙, when he opted to bat, something felt uneasy, but the opposition was not AUS 🇦🇺 and we have seen in the before's ICC tournament, what RSA can do batting first, in addition to choking on big occasions 🤦‍♂️.. today was one / another one, and so, they did it again.. rotating strike in the penultimate over was probably not needed 🙅‍♂️.. and now, you (Miller) can only blame yourself, for having fielders upto the likes of SKY, guarding the rope / cushions..

Patel's blinder 😵 from the AUS encounter was also equally incredible / memorable, which is also a classic example on how karma rebounds 🪃.. to somebody disrespecting the Cricket's most esteemed trophy, ये तो होना ही था..

was 176 enough?.. on a dry pitch like that, a team needs to put-up a score that makes the sponsorer deliver 🚚 at least 20 kits to the grassroots cricket.. but who is complaining, when you have Jassi card 🃏 to play with?.. what Rohit accurately said in the post match presentation.. "I don't know what is with him. I know exactly what he brings to the table but how he does that, it is just a masterclass." 🫡

also, here's what Cricbuzz said about him when Jansen's guard was pulverized.. "Clone a bit of that right hand 🙋‍♂️ and give it to the best scientists all over the world to make plenty of Jasprit Bumrahs for the future ⏭️.. Because that right hand of this esteemed pacer is one of the most valuable things for Indian cricket.".. A neat prodigy, who was also inarguably adjudged "Player of the Tournament".. 👌

left-arm pacers.. without them, no team can win a trophy in a modern day cricket.. one of the main contributors to India's triumph back in 2007, 2011 and now in 2024.. 2019 was an exception, but who regards the winners as the winners anyway 🫤, also given the fact that, they are (one of) the last full-member teams to have won a WC, where all other nations, who they'd colonized and have learned the sport from them, outperformed them..

RSA 🇿🇦 - while all the ghosts from the past were prudently buried in their last match, new ones are now born.. will these haunt them for another 3 decades to follow? hope not, fingers crossed 🤞.. wish you all the very best for your future endeavours..

Ghosts Haunting RSA

on the similar lines, in 2022, an African country 🇲🇦 played a semi-final match during FIFA WC ⚽ for the first time.. yesterday, it was a first time final match for them (an African country) in a Cricket WC 🏏.. to summarise, African continent is pacing it up and spicing it up.. if not this time, some time soon / any time soon, Shakira 🎙️ would cry out loud (again), "This time for Africa" 🎶..

jinx - she (not Shakira) had also said, it was her mistake when her husband (Ajinkya Rahane) got out on 98 in one of the IPL matches.. there is no logic to this, but so are many other claims, where logic fails.. ये दुनिया ऐसी दलीलों से भरी पड़ी है.. now, who jinxed yesterday's match for RSA?.. you already know the best possible and the most accurate answer to this question.. you, me and all of us 😎..

last but not the least.. if anything needs to be talked about, about the individual contributions - but why? - some performances were 'yes' below par / expectations, but those were also well compensated by the rest, exceeding the expectations.. ultimately, all that matters is, India (team) had hands on the silver 🥈..

#DidItForDravid

is that enough?.. if you ask this question to anybody / yourself, you'll probably get no other reply.. silver से पेट / मन / दिल नही भरता साहब, gold से भरता है.. after all - all that glitters is not only gold 🥇.. #DilMaangeMore

in case you missed out on the previous article on ODI MCWC 2023, here is the link.. https://irrationalitypersonified.blogspot.com/2023/11/mcwc-2023.html

drink. sleep. Steps. repeat.

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

Fast Five 🏃 and beyond.. drink. sleep. Steps. repeat.

a 10-day event 'Stepathon' 👣 was organized from 24-Feb to 04-Mar.. teams of 5 🖐️ were to participate.. top 3 teams 🥇 🥈 🥉 were to receive meal coupons (reimbursement) as per their standings..

that was a foreword for the readers, who are are not from my कर्मभूमी.. and now that everybody is on the same page, let's start..

yes, the title kind-of goes in the same direction as that of first article 📋 on सिंहगड (from other blog), titled Eat. Sleep. सिंहगड*. Repeat., read here.. and my friend, that, is the most important of all other cannot-be-missed ingredients from this page 📄.. drink water 🍶.. but before that,

back in Jul 2022, after 🪔 दिवे घाट - रामदरा - मल्हारगड hike (read here), रविराज was respectfully denied 'मी एकनिष्ठ आहे 😀, trekking शिवाय मला काही जमत नाही (I am loyal to trekking)..' when he'd offered to also try running 🏃.. and now, in Feb 2024, when Stepathon was announced 📢, similar thing happened - Mandar poked, 'consider me in your team'.. for the same 'एकनिष्ठ' reason, I was not completely sure 😐.. but checked later to have also received Brijesh's message (ahead in time).. giving it a second thought of 'let's give it a try' - joined the rat race 🐀.. as if all other races already running are not enough, but this was literally a 'rat race'.. and since his team was already full, could do nothing more than feel sorry for Mandar.. in all, we were लिंबू-टिंबू 🍋, hiking enthusiasts, marathon specialist 🏃, yoga practitioner 🧘 and an iron man.. 'iron man' बोले तो, 2 times half iron man..

'नाम तो सूना होगा' Rahul created a WhatsApp group, which was christened 'Fast Five 🏃', derived from the 5th installment of 'Fast and Furious' movies' series by the same name.. btw, this Rahul is different than the one (Konde) you normally read about in most of the 'घरबसल्या trekking' articles, but he (Jagtap) is indeed mentioned in the सिंहगड article shared above..

नांदेड City

by the end of 9th day, we had put a combined efforts 👣 of about 1991k steps 😊 😊 (616k mine 😊).. further details on, what was the score on final day?, did we win? etc. are intentionally missing here, because this article is about "more than that".. nonetheless, do let me know, what do you think 🤔 about this figure for a group with 2 in 50s, other 2 in their late 40s and the last one with a running 40?.. that's also the irony of life.. we only realize the importance of being physically active when our medical reports 🏥 exhibit figure(s) beyond (+ / -) the normals 🥺..

and now, if you calculate 🧮 (some of you already have), how many kms does that translate into, assuming even the default / average values of strides 📏 (length of / between your steps), cadence 🎲 (steps per minute), pace ⏩ (minutes per km) etc. affecting factors, that's not a small number at all.. not small, but not impossible too 😇.. so, here are the secrets 🪄 on how we did it.. hope, this will help some of you, excel in steps-focused physical activities कारण ह्यात सुद्धा स्वार्थ माझाच आहे 😆, as Zig Ziglar quotes, "You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want" 👏.. but before that - Rahul K, I know already what you are thinking, again.. and the answer still remains a 'no' - shoes 🥾 घालून सिंहगड ते रायगड नाही रे शक्य २ दिवसात.. वरचा आकडा (mostly) without shoes केलाय..

back to agenda.. a few days ago, had been to 'भटकंती कट्टा', where veteran Milind Kulkarni shared 🎙️ some tips, including a fine statement 'we just underestimate our bodily capacities 💪'.. this guy had my 2 cents, sooner than instantaneously.. he talked about some concept of muscle memory 🧠, which we need to regularly practice and increase.. yes.. our leg muscles "remember", and we just need to increase their memory of how much we can use them.. that's all 🤷.. there is no other complicated science behind an individual's capacity.. and while doing so, only threshold to overcome / prevent is the 'shin splints' - pain in the tissues / muscles / tendons - basically everything that surrounds your larger bone 'tibia' / 'shinbone' in the lower leg 🦵.. and for both of these (converting pain into memory), water plays the most important role.. and hence the title of the article, drink 🍶..

full moon 🌕, हत्ती डोंगर - खंडोबा टेकडी

the event was perfectly scheduled just at the cusp of winter and summer.. and a full moon 🌕 night to start with, obviously meant a night trek or at least early morning.. so, the kick-off happened at खंडोबा टेकडी - हत्ती डोंगर - back same route ↪️ (25 kms).. while in the first half of the day, Fast Five 🏃  led the board, by the end of it, something just did not feel right.. mornings of next 2 days were well spent at तळजाई (15 kms).. evening rounds next to home contributed another 50% of morning rounds, but these were still not helping 🤨.. something different had to be thought of, as the achieved numbers were indicating good enough, that sticking to our individual commitments, would soon kick us out of the competition 😔.. and, just in case you missed it, this was no more 'an event', but 'a competition' for Fast Five 🏃..

freelancer - the one who has no obligations 😎.. as we gulped down the individually committed numbers 🎯 in just 4-5 days of the event competition, we were now free to donate the steps at will, with no targets.. a bit of 🍱 lunch walk was added.. and the slogan was changed from "हर एक कदम दिलाए जीत का आनंद 🥰" to "दिल खोलके steps दान करो 😜"..

तळजाई

Google Fit - whole of the event was to be trusted on the figures claimed by GFit.. and same as every other thing in this universe, that's also 'not' perfect 😬.. to illustrate, if you check the entries per minute (on the app), you may observe one or the other missing 🥴.. trying to find some pattern, the learning was, GFit swallows every 13th entry.. may be issue specific to my smartphone 📱, where steps count is captured every 65 seconds 😉.. if not, it meant I was losing 7.7% of the steps and had to walk 8.3% extra to meet the targets.. why not the same % numbers? the reason is same as that of the difference between 'free' and 'discount' 🧐.. but the part funnier was, for that missed entry, GFit never missed any 'Heart Points' (60 secs / min).. how perfectly 'not perfect' is that 🫤

07:39 hide-n-seek

Heart Points 💚 - another new term.. GFit awards either 1 or 2 points for every minute of the physical activity depending on your cadence.. as recommended by AHA (American Heart Association), CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and WHO (World Health Organization), an individual's minimum requirement per week is 150.. 🙃 should that not be different depending on age, territory, lifestyle etc.?.. असो,

another observation was to confirm the doubt 👽, if GFit actually calculates the daily count as an aggregate of the minute-wise recorded steps' count?.. with the help of Google Takeout, this also was verified to be a bug.. and without going into details of the complete process, will just share the conclusion - no, it doesn't - the daily count does marginally fall short of the summation..

एरंडवणे

Shiv then suggested to use metronome, also sharing one of his own compositions 🎶.. now you are wondering, 'आता हे काय?' 💭 - same was I.. it immensely helps to maintain the desired cadence, by following its every beat 🪘 - basically, consistency.. also available online 🌐 - give it a try and realize the difference - 'wonders' it is..

Rahul suggested later, we take half day leaves 💻 on Thu / Fri.. I was like - if we divide ➗ even the first prize within 5 of us, we earn more with leave encashment 💰.. that's more like, paying higher interest to save taxes of lesser magnitude.. and the idea was parked aside.. but now you know (if from the same कर्मभूमी) what my CTC is not less than - oops 😜..

by now, we were just adding kms.. but was that the actual target?.. Shiv and Brijesh shared some inputs on how to walk continuously, yet stay fresh 🌝 and not get injured (in addition to already practiced warm-up and stretching).. like, use a pair of socks 🧦 only once, stay hydrated, apply oil 🛢️ to your fingers 🦶 and in the groin area and reduce the strides / take baby steps 🐣.. and you must have guessed by now - I'd hit the jackpot 🎰.. I'd found my secret ingredient.. simply stopped using shoes altogether and stopped going out of the society premises.. started with floaters within the society 🏢 or on rooftop, bare foot + socks inside home and that's all.. bottom-line being, same as every other story in our lives, we just unnecessarily get involved in complexities.. 'overthinking' 🤯 - the most dangerous नशा - we just never pay any good attention towards curing this disease..

demo

as the work week ended, Shiv shared a daily plan 📑 for the kind-of decider weekend.. in addition to all we were doing, this one emphasized on 'ice bath' 🧊.. as the name suggests, it's about washing with ice cold water.. but what? - the paining areas of the legs (shin splints), which in other words, basically is fooling your muscles to not feel the induced nuisance.. sounds 'dangerous'? ❓ not really.. that was the final missing piece toward achieving what happened next.. a combo of a 1k heart points 💚 and a 100k 💯 steps - one each on Sat and Sun.. this was the most precious takeaway from this contest.. a thing to cherish for a lifetime, along with many other learnings / different experiences on the way, to perform better on any पायवाट 👣..

hope, some of this text helps in the direction of doing it right ✅, so that you enjoy it by staying motivated towards adding years to the life..

632.0.38.52

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

आज की party मेरी तरफ से.. 632.0.38.52.. bettering the best..

this page is about 'थोड़ी philosophy, थोड़ी psychology and बहुत सारा / सारे perspective(s)'.. and that's precisely the reason for it not being in the other blog "घरबसल्या trekking".. but before that, please don't tell me 🤦‍♂️, you actually thought the above figure is an IP address (IPv4 to be precise) 🌐.. those have hex as limits on the individual values, and hence, cannot be more than 255 (each).. then, 'what exactly does this series stand for?'.. we'll try to decipher as we navigate through the below collage of alphanumeric letters.. but some of you have already guessed it right 🙋‍♂️ 🙋..

this article was actually born with the title '629.0.40.24' on 05-Jan, with a delusion of not getting better in near / far future.. but then, had to drop the pen 🖋️ and also the idea, due to demise of a family member 😞 on the very same day / date.. and now, a week later, with an inch of improvement, the writing ✍️ is back on..

सिंहगड ascend - depending on preferred options - by choice or by obligation - by ignorance or by diligence - the distance (to be) rambled between both the parking lots varies from 1.85 kms to 2.6 kms.. one at / as the base (lesser known as आतकरवाडी) and the one at the top (popular for its sunrise point 🌄).. while this distance वाला parameter is nothing but just an extra 🤏, the actual target 🎯 never changes - that 'purple' elevation gain 📈 of 470 metres (reference: AllTrails app).. and all the timings on this page are married (at least) to this 470m..

a total time of सव्वा दोन तास 😭 - that's the worst (and will never be forgotten).. with each step then, it reminded of खडसांबळे.. and the weird part is, it's not even an year old reading.. I mean, anybody would have understood if that was the starting point / event of this सिंहगड streak and by now, if the matters were more-or-less improving with each iteration 🌞, complying to what महेश (senior in college) used to say, 'one should not be counting less (marks) as semesters switch to next' 🤝.. but "No", all of this is a bumpy ride / roller-coaster indeed 🎢 - just an another one..

it all started with that one discussion having '50m' as the reference, when शिवकुमार said, 2-2.5 kmsला इतका वेळ का लागतो? 🤔, अर्धा तासही खूप झाला (he was even hinting at 20-25 minutes).. then he was involved in running activities and it can be very well understood, that anybody having such a background, can do nothing wrong in estimating / extrapolating, the way he did 🤷‍♂️.. but, that indeed hurt ego this side - within and without - which resulted in the outcome of a few fractions borrowed from a '45m' 😎..

while that was just a milestone, the next and only realistic / plausible target (final destination) set was '42m'.. why 42?.. मंदार had also asked the same question ❓, and that has no good enough answer to be put here.. btw, his understanding of hiking is, 'एकदा senses मेले की काही फरक पडत नाही.. पूर्ण चढेल मी, बाकी सगळं गौण आहे" 😏..

सगळे प्रयत्न करून सुद्धा, that was 'so close, yet so far' kind-of figure.. repeated attempts clocked ⏱️ 42:19, 42:12, resorting finally at 42:08.. when you believe in yourself in doing / capable of doing better - that is 'proud' and 'frustrating' - both at the same time 😶..

#300 was the birthday plan 🎂 (CY 2020) - shattered to pieces 💔.. corona hit and nobody was allowed to trespass even the society gate.. everybody of us were virtually under house-arrest 🏠.. 2 months of 'zero movement' resulted in the first attempt of 26 minutes on top of an hour 😥.. this time, it was only the 'frustrating' feeling visiting.. 'proud' was on 'no talking' terms 😐 - same as Iron Man (Tony Stark) and Captain America (Steve Rogers), who were then perfectly counseled by Hulk (Dr. Bruce Banner), 'it does not matter when Thanos is coming'.. philosophy है - निकाल लो, जो भी मतलब निकालना है / relation लगाना है 😉..

48:37

delayed by exact 2 months, on the triple century day, that 'proud of myself' moment was back with a sub-50 gift (48:37) 🎁.. and after a couple of months of 'work from Nashik' 🧑‍💻 coupled with rigorous hiking, that long pending objective of sub-42 was significantly bettered for a ✌️ 40:32 (Jan-2021)..

40:32

happy, content and all, there was never an attempt made to jump (even look) beyond that, until very recently Thanos came back and an hour was the new normal.. even, विशाल commented on that, 'shouldn't be more than 40 for you' 🙍‍♂️.. but then things went more South and I had to work "really" hard for even a 70.. something - no - may be everything was miserably wrong 😢..

then started the hiking perfect season and the happy path was back to / till 44:32 (Dec 2023) 🙃 - far better than every other figure from recent times (since सव्वा दोन तास clocked in Jun 2023), the thoughts started brewing up in the direction of betterment..

The Secret, The Alchemist, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Sandeep Maheshwari and all similar philosophies / prophecies started contributing to the cause.. and today, here it is.. last Friday's #629 observed a timing of 40:24 😃 and today's #632 was 38:52 💪 (that should clarify the title).. every ingredient placed / added to perfection - in exact needed quantities - not 'स्वादानुसार' (whatever that means on absolute terms)..

40:24

all of these 👇 are just some observations, tried and tested by me / work for me.. don't quote me, if you find it difficult / different, especially the one about 'water'.. 

rationalities personified - shortcuts are exhaustive 😅 but body also recovers faster.. cotton works better than anything else.. regardless of in-progress weather, the sub-39 was output with a single half sleeves t-shirt 👕.. not carrying water / food / backpack immensely helps the speed and also the acceleration 🏃‍♂️.. banana 🍌 before starting from home and flushing any excess water (from body) before starting the hike is an another hint.. on the contrary, results are better with CTR (heavier) shoes 🥾.. needless to mention, time of the day (no sun around), day of the week / month (less crowd) and month / season of the year (winter) play a vital role 👍.. and last but not the least - "the power of subconscious mind 🧠" not to be under-estimated..

while 40:24 can also be interpreted as turning 40 in 2024 (thanks Aseem for this hint), 38:52 (a sub-39) is first-of-its-kind reading, not more than the lapsed age of 39 (completed years)..

now राहुल says, next target '35'.. phew.. not dude.. that will be hard to digest, 'खट्टे अंगूर' types 🍇.. beating every second ⏳ from hereon will be an exponential graph 📈 of needed efforts.. there is a reason, why they quote 'compound interest' as the eighth wonder 😇.. not that there is no scope for improvements, but I'm not treating this as an 'endless fall / rise' even if they say, 'your only competition is yourself'.. #CannotAskForMore

ODI MCWC 2023

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

be a sport.. ODI MCWC 2023.. How and when did India lose?

do you believe in superstition(s)?.. if you are a cricket fan, most probably you've answered in favor of the question.. If not or if you don't, this article is not for you.. so, feel free to close ❌ the tab..

now that you are continuing, you must already be aware of the most popular one from this list.. 'Sachin always used to put on his left pad first' - nobody knows 'why?', even he himself did not know.. but that's exactly the crux of superstitions: nobody knows 'why?'.. btw, this goes along in all the other sports too, but we'll restrict / personify the irrationality only to our religion 🏏..

to start with, let's go back to the era when India had only one batsman.. me and Anup (cousin brother) were watching a match, Sachin inching towards a century 💯, and when he (Anup) could not hold it in anymore, he (Sachin) got out.. his (Anup's) first reaction as he returned was a dejected and guilty face.. another one - remember a Test match when India were chasing 145 against Bangladesh (day 4) and were shattered to 56/5?.. later, India won.. how? you are a devotee enough to guess it right 👍..

in one of the TV shows, Radhika claimed herself to be the x-factor behind her husband's efforts behind the world record of most catches in a single Test match by a fielder (non-WK), which today also rules the Guinness book.. not just that, the same show, she had also said, it was her mistake when he (Ajinkya Rahane) got out on 98 in one of the IPL matches..

as funny and fussy all of this may / must sound, against what Sumedh (son) says, "there is no magic 🪄, everything that happens is a science", may be, there are some powers beyond that 'everything', which we will never / do not want to understand.. only thing we can potentially do is to identify the patterns and bet accordingly on a side having the higher probability (on their repetition).. 

interpreting the signals - did you watch the Diwali special 'Believe' program on India-Pakistan clash from T20I MCWC 2022?.. one of the statements Virat made, was, "when I got bowled out on a free-hit delivery (so, actually not-out), the ball could have travelled anywhere on the field.. but, it went deep, to the tallest member of the opposition, only and also the one limping.. we ran 3.. this was signal enough that we will not lose.."

now let's start with some of the happenings (patterns and signals) in the last month and a half.. also note, nothing of this is a retrospection..

ODI MCWC 2023

so far (before 2023), India had appeared in 3 ODI MCWC finals.. the pattern being, won - lost - won.. 'what comes next?' is probably the simplest 😁 of questions when it comes to identifying the pattern on the "logical reasoning" levels.. now that it's in the past, after today, 'what comes next?' should be another easy answer and since the time-period between all of these is reducing, this should happen in the next 4 years.. 1983 - (20) - 2003 - (8) - 2011 - (12) - 2023 - (4) - 2027.. unless some other pattern intercepts and overrules 🤞.. 

in 2011 edition, India were the first team to win a ODI MCWC final on a home soil.. next 2 editions observed the same 🔄.. this edition, scheduled to happen in India, 'a repeat' was never going to be a possibility.. obvious reason: India set a new trend in 2011 "in host country", which they were anyway expected to reset, by hosting it again..

2019 - NZ 🇳🇿 won the semis against IND and lost in the final..

2023 - IND won the semis against NZ to lose in the final..

India 🇮🇳 were very and exceptionally brilliant in their first 8.. always ruled the points table, bowling department was ruthless, batting department was clinical, fielders were always on top of the white sphere, craving for medals 🏅.. but then, and very particularly, they started to lose focus while playing their 9th, against NED and this was the turning point, rather those were the turning points in India's dream journey.. Rohit himself said, "we tried off side yorkers, which were not needed".. why indulge in unnecessary / irrelevant matters?.. and dude! why use 9 bowlers?

Rohit's concluding words
from post match presentation 

is all of the above not contradictory to what happened thereafter?.. in the next 2 knock-out matches, India bowled only 5 specialists.. and when they failed in taking timely wickets, should India not have tried the irregular bowlers, who picked-up a couple in NED 🇳🇱 match?.. in other words, why then try the options earlier?.. all that needed was, simply continue the pattern that was successfully tested so far and let the wishful affairs happen effortlessly..  

in the tournament, India won first 5 matches chasing and next 5 batting first.. so, logically and at least, the plan for 11th match should have been 'chase', especially given the fact that last 2 wins (NED and NZ) were not walk-in-the-park types, relatively.. now, nobody can control outcome of the flip of a coin 🪙.. but when Rohit said, "we would have batted first anyway", he went against the logic, and rest is history.. even Kamlesh (brother-in-law) had said in the morning, "to win, India must chase"..

till then, no team had bowled India all out.. not even once, in all of their 10 consecutive matches that they won, irrespective of batting first or second.. in the final, they even took it deep till the last delivery.. but then, Kuldeep was too lazy 🥱 and Siraj was inarguably angry-cum-disappointed that he (Kuldeep) did not even put enough efforts.. all-out = pattern break..

one more - though a low score, India should have been positive about having made 11 more runs than the ENG 🇬🇧 match, which they ended-up winning by 100 runs.. alas, Shami bowled ahead of Siraj, against the followed / established norms.. was that needed?..

Final nail in the coffin ⚰️

where did India actually lose it all? I remember once Niyant had said, काही अघटित घडायला १ सेकंद पुरेसा आहे, so we should not risk it (some plan during college days).. similarly, one small expression of negligence / mockery / dignity can uncreate / wash-off all the advantage anybody has / earned.. in the context of this World Cup, Kohli and his wife literally mocked 😆 when in-form Edwards was caught behind.. that was too much / not required, imho.. as you sow, so shall you reap.. at times, excitement, aggression and sledging are necessary.. all fine, ok and my pleasure types.. but not crossing the thin line of being mockingly arrogant about it is also important.. be a sport

all of the stated above are just some interpretations of limited observations (from my side) during just concluded ODI World Cup 🏆 where India lost in the final.. sure, a lot more happened for which we all should be proud 👏 of India Cricket Team, especially when they were on top of everything till the first 8 matches and first innings of the 9th = 8.5 matches..

similarly, and otherwise too - in every aspect of the life, it's important to identify patterns and signals.. and more important is to bet on the higher probability side.. irrespective of having / not understood the science / logic behind.. sometimes, that's the only option 😇.. you may not always win but the chances are better than the flip of a coin..

Yogesh Travels

।। श्री आशापुरी देव्यै नमः ।।

एक विस्मरणीय अनुभव.. Special Gujrat with Yogesh Travels

नाही, typing mistake नाही आहे.. अविस्मरणीय नाही, मला "विस्मरणीय"च म्हणायचं आहे..

(original) Iron Man
India's first home minister
सरदार वल्लभ भाई पटेल

articleचा विषय "ગુજરાત" नव्हे..

पण चला, थोडं Yogesh Travels 🚌 बद्दल बोलूया..

train मध्ये बसायच्या अगोदरच ते आपल्या, TTEशी बोलून त्यांच्याकडील एक ticket 🎟️ cancel नाही करायला सांगणार.. trip book करतांना, मात्र असं काही सांगण्यात आलं नव्हतं, की तुम्हाला TTEचा 🧑‍✈️ शोध घेत trainच्या ३ चकरा माराव्या लागतील..

पहिल्या दिवशी (અમદાવાદ) hotelला गेल्यावर receptionला तासभर वाट ⏳ बघायला लावणार.. पहिल्या and शेवटच्या room allot होण्यात ३ तासांचं कुठे अंतर असतं व्हय?.. ह्यात travels चं / च्या management मध्ये किती गांभीर्य आहे, हे लक्षात येईलच 🤐..

अक्षरधामला exhibition 🖼️ आणि water show ⛲ चे 'मी ticket काढतो' म्हणून सांगणार, आणि bus मध्ये आल्यावर सगळ्यांकडून पैशे घेणार ₹१६०.. किती "double standards" 😑 म्हणावं !.. हेच मालकाला, म्हणजे बायकोच्या मामे भावाच्या बायकोला ♀️, सांगितल्यावर त्या सांगणार, 'सगळे tickets प्रवाशांकडे आहेत' 🤦.. तुम्हाला काय वाटतं, 'मुद्दा पैशांचा आहे का?' (आपण ह्या विषयावर परत बोलणार आहोत)..

वर अजून देखावा - माफी मागत म्हणणार, 'काय जे matter आहे, ते tour managerशी sort-out करा' 😖.. म्हणजे, ज्याला डोकं नाही, त्याच्याशी मी डोकं लावायचं..

रात्री जेवणाला चक्क पाण्याच्या बाटल्या नाही देणार.. promise केलेली 'प्रत्येकी एक' बाटली मागितल्यावर म्हणायचं, 'संपल्या'.. wtf ⁉️

ડાંડી यात्रा देखावा, સાબરમતી आश्रम

सकाळी नाश्त्याला (on the way to સિધ્ધપુર / માતૃગયા) ५ बाटल्या (आई, आबा, मी, वसुधा, सुमेध) मागितल्यावर म्हणणार, ४च घ्या 😵‍💫.. म्हणजे ह्यांचे पोरं पाणी पीत नाहीत.. आणि, आधी जे ह्यांनी ऐकवलं, 'सुमेधला काही कमी पडू देणार नाही', ते म्हणजे लगेच पलटी, 'पैशे भेटल्यावर, आम्ही तुम्हाला ओळखत नाही' 🤷..

માતૃગયાहून ચોટીલા ला जायला Google Maps भला चांगला रस्ता (कमी वेळ, कमी kms) दाखवत असताना, एखादा खड्ड्यांचं ⛳ वरदान भेटलेल्या रस्त्याने नेणार.. म्हणजे, हे Google पेक्षा मोठे (sarcasm).. स्पष्ट सांगायचं झालं तर - वर म्हंटल्याप्रमाणे, डोकं .. .. (रिकाम्या जागा भरा)..

हिरण, कपिला आणि गुप्त सरस्वती
त्रिवेणी संगम, સોમનાથ

ढोकळा.. हिवाळ्यासारखा कोरडा आणि थंड.. तुम्हाला हे असलं combination कधी खायला भेटायला नको, हीच ईश्वरचरणी प्रार्थना 🙏.. सांगायचा तात्पर्य हा पण की, ह्यांच्या schedule मध्ये शेवटी हे जे म्हणतात (stylish font मध्ये), "आपला सर्वांचा प्रवास सुखाचा होवो, ही ईश्वरचरणी प्रार्थना" - हे कधीच अशी प्रार्थना करत नसतात 🙅‍♂️.. 'दिखाने वाले दात, खाने वाले दात' 🐘 म्हणतात ना काहीतरी, तेच ते..

जेवण (in general) - आता प्रत्येक व्यंजन बद्दल किंवा बसायच्या अव्यवस्थे बद्दल काय लिहावं, म्हणून ह्या बाबतीत अजून काही नाही म्हंटलेलच बरं 🤫.. नवल ह्याचं पण वाटतं की, बाकीच्या वयस्कर लोकांचा ह्याला कुठेच आक्षेप नव्हता 😲.. वयासोबत आपण mature होऊन सगळ्याच बाबतीत हसत-खेळत compromise करायला शिकतो, ते म्हणजे हे..

रात्री (સોમનાથ) सांगणार की, 'आपण सकाळी (next day) 'जुने मंदिर' बघून 'भालका तीर्थ' 🏹 जाणार'.. सकाळी जेव्हा ह्याच्या प्रमाणे आम्ही 🛺 रिक्षात बसलो तर कळतं असं की 'भालका तीर्थ' आपण દ્વારકાला जातांना रस्त्यात करणार आहोत 😠.. तुम्हाला अजूनही मुद्दा नसेल लक्षात आला तर, ह्यांच्या प्रमाणे / ह्यांच्यासाठी ह्यांनीच दिलेल्या शब्दाला काही(च) किंमत नसते 😐..

वर तुम्ही ₹१६० बद्दल वाचलं, बरोबर?.. आता, સોમનાથला एक light 💡 and sound 🔊 show  असतो, ज्याचं ticket आहे ₹४०, जे अजून आम्ही त्याला परत करायचे होते.. आणि બેટ દ્વારકાच्या 🛥️ boatची contri होती ₹१००.. total होतात ₹१४० - ok so far? 👍.. ह्याची त्याने round figure करून गोळा केले ₹१५०.. परवाच्या ₹१६० चे ₹१६० आणि आजच्या ₹१४० चे ₹१५० 👎.. गणित तर बघाच, सोबत नियत सुद्धा लक्षात घ्या..

દ્વારકા Railway Station

bus प्रवास 🚍 - एकंदरीत आमच्या / माझ्या लक्षात आलं होतं की, दिवस भरात करावयाचा દ્વારકા ते વડોદરાचा प्रवास (५००+ कि.मी.) bus पेक्षा Indian Railways 🚇 ने केला तरच परवडेल, म्हणून બેટ દ્વારકાला दर्शन झाल्यावर माघारी येत जरी दुपार 🕛 झाली होती, "तत्काल" available / शिल्लक असल्याचा निसर्गाचा इशारा लक्षात घेतला.. ह्याचा, 'बाकीच्यांपेक्षा दोन तास उशिरा निघून तासभर लवकर पोहचणे', was the outcome 🤗.. in other words, ह्यांच्या प्रमाणे / ह्यांच्यासाठी ह्यांनीच दिलेल्या शब्दासोबत दुसऱ्यांच्या वेळेला ⏱️ सुद्धा किंमत नाही - round the trip, max speed of the bus I ever read was 63 kmph..

गुलशन कुमार sponsored statue, नागेश्वर मंदिर, દ્વારકા

hotelहून દ્વારકાધીશ मंदिराला जातांना 'बँड बाजा' (बारात) 🎺 🥁.. अगदी लग्नातल्या मिरवणुकी एव्हढा नव्हता, पण तरी लोकांच्या नाचण्याचा 💃 🕺 उत्साह तितकाच.. that was "final nail 📌 in the coffin".. or, am I the only one to find it weird? 🫣..

schedule मध्ये गडबड अशी की आम्हाला सूर्यास्त 🌄 व्हायच्या आत કેવડીયાहून परत निघायचे होते.. म्हणजे, Statue of Unityचा laser show 🏮 बघायला आम्ही परत इतक्या लांब यायचं..

tour managerने मध्ये-मध्ये बरेच item दिले, म्हणून मी तरी त्याच्याशी "keep safe distance" ✋ policy follow करत होतो, नाहीतर हा लेख अजून मोठा व्हायला बघत होता..

ગરુડેશ્વર, नर्मदा परिक्रमा

७ दिवसाच्या एक छोट्याश्या tour मध्ये अशे अनुभव आलेत.. नशीब ह्यातच चांगलं म्हणावं की ह्यापुढे आपण काय केलं पाहिजे ✅ आणि भरपूर काही नाही केलं पाहिजे ❌, हे चांगलंच शिकलो आहे 🆗.. socialising was / is / will be just not my thing..

आता तुम्ही म्हणाल, सगळ्याच / कुठल्याच गोष्टींमध्ये perfection कधीच भेटत नसतं.. मान्य आहे 🤝, I am with you, no doubt.. पण ह्या गोष्टी काम करण्यासारख्या नाही, असं पण नाही 😏.. आणि, विचार करा, जर ह्या गोष्टी सुधारून हे travels वाले जर perfect झालेच तर, ह्यात नुकसान कोणाचंच नाही ना - it's a win-win situation 🤝..

अजून एक प्रश्न तुम्हाला नक्कीच पडला असावा 🤔.. इतक्या negative गोष्टी झाल्या / ह्याला वाटल्या, तर काहीतरी positives पण झाल्या / वाटल्या असतीलच.. तर हो 👌, of course, definitely, शत-प्रतिशत 💯.. पण त्या positivesचा Yogesh Travelsशी तसा direct संबंध नाही.. म्हणून, ते इथे नमूद केलेले नाहीत.. तरी,

ज्यांना mythology 🔮 वर science ⚗️ पेक्षा जास्त विश्वास आहे, त्यांच्यासाठी गुरुजींनी દ્વારકા आणि इतर तीन धाम बद्दल छान माहिती दिली..

hotel roomsना 🏨 नावं ठेवायचं काही तसं खास कारण भेटलं नाही..

Statue of Unity, 182m
world's tallest

फक्त यांच्याबद्दल काय सांगायचं.. negatives इतर बाबतीतही होत्या.. articleचा विषय जरी नसला तरी, तुम्ही कधी विचार केला तर सावध ⚠️ राहा..

બેટ દ્વારકાच्या मंदिरात अजिबात शिस्त नसते.. गलती से सोचना भी मत.. (motion picture 'Pink' मधल्या famous dialog सारखं) 'no' means 'no'..

मी ह्या tourवर का गेलो? 🙍.. जर तुम्हाला यापुढे कोणी सांगितलं, "एक धाम मुलासोबत 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 करा", तर ह्या प्रश्नाचं उत्तर येईलच लक्षात.. आणि तेव्हा, I hope, ह्या articleची थोडीफार मदत होईल एक योग्य निर्णय घेण्यात 😊.. tourचं एक तेव्हढं चांगलं झालं की हेच वाक्य मला सुमेधला सांगायची वेळ नाही येणार 🥳..

लौह पुरुष

बरं, तुम्ही इथपर्यंत आलाच आहात, तर हे पण सांगतो की इतर लोक (इतर travelsचे अनुभव असलेले) हे सुद्धा म्हणतात की, Yogesh Travels तरी बरे आहेत 👏.. शेवटच्या दिवशी तर काही लोकांनी भर-भरून जेवणाचे आणि hotelsचे कौतुक करून आभार प्रकट केले..

पण, आमच्यासाठी - ह्याचा एक अर्थ असाही होतो की, स्वतः planning करणे सर्वोत्तम.. शाळेत जे गांधीजींबद्दल शिकवलं / शिकलो, त्यातली एकच गोष्ट जी नेहमीच 'पत्थर की लकीर' सारखी लक्षात राहिली आहे, ती म्हणजे - ते म्हणायचे, "अपना काम स्वयं करो" 😇..