Fears hold us back from moving out of our comfort zones.
The key is to “Let Go”! To see through your fears & into the light!
Human mind has immense power, more than the sails of a ship or wings of a bird, liberate it & explore yourself!
You are created, not to be tied to the harbors or to be restricted by the lands.
But to explore, the vast expanse of the oceans, just the way ships do & the breadth of the skies just the way birds do!
You will know you can reach far beyond!
Let go yourself, my friend - Unearth your talents & Unplug your passion to see where you reach.
Not me, not this world, that day, shall be able to stop you from reaching where you ought to reach & being what you ought to be!
That day my friend, I shall salute you, for giving up your fears, exploring & achieving! For being the real you, the way I imagined you!
Tuesday 22 March 2011
Wednesday 9 March 2011
“ZenSar Cricket Team An Epitome of Spirit and Character - For others it’s just a game, for us it is Life!”
I walk down the memory lane 4 years back, when I joined a bunch of exciting, exuberant and spirited guys full of zeal and character. All ruthless and fearless; a team, who any one if dared to have a go, would give back everything they had and united - something even the Spartans would be proud of. They were IT geeks in office but on the field, warriors they were to the hilt. I had played 10 yrs of professional cricket but had not come across a team like this. This was unique – a moment, an experience and an unforgettable journey. I wanted to be a part of this.
First year coming into a side with G Nathan as captain and stalwarts such as Vinayak Behere, Nrupal Desai, Saurabh Ganguly and Sanjay Gawai was tough. We had promising youngsters such as Pramod K P and Anurag Singh Chauhan for whom the word “impossible” never existed. We had experienced cricketers in Sumeet Kale and Venkatesh Venkatraman, street smart and crafty cricketers such as Nilesh Gulhane, Ashutosh Rai and Neeti Raj Rawat, but I managed to sneak in. We created history that year by winning the HDFC Cup beating Infosys in the finals.
Next year with most of our senior and experienced guys moving out, I was asked to lead and from then for 3 years – It has been a prestige and an honour on one hand and living up to the expectations of 4000 odd people on the other. There were moments of glory and few of shame, feeling of joy and some of pain, but the experience – HUH! Awesome!
IT Companies or Non IT, Products or services, small or big, all of them feared the name “ZenSar” and we always ensured they continued to. I still remember teams like Infy, CTS coming with 25-30 players, but at the back of our minds we know – We are good enough for them and believe me, we really are!
It is tough to work in A/C offices for 5 days for long hours without exercise or fitness regime and come out and give your best in extreme cold conditions on one day and searing hot weather on the next. It is tough crawling to office on Monday after back to back matches on weekends – tired and exhausted. It is tough to hear people criticize you when you lose, especially when they have never made an effort to turn up and see the passion and effort that we put in. It is tough when senior players take time off from their families and youngsters don’t go home just to ensure they don’t let the team down and so as to not miss any matches. Its tough to put every thing at stake – lose, get over it and say – “Let’s have a go one more time.” It’s really tough! But we have lived up to it. We have gone down one day only to fight back with vigil on the other and for me that is the hallmark of great individuals and a great team.
Sometimes we won and sometimes we lost. But glory isn’t only in winning; it is in participating and playing to your best and we always did. Times may have changed, but not us – the ZenSar Cricket Team and the way we have played. So what if we didn’t have the form sometimes or the opponents were stronger than us; so what if the conditions were tough or we were without our best players – yet we have delivered. We have kept the ZenSar flag flying high – Always! Something I as an individual and we as a team are truly proud of! I am sure, every ZenSarian who reads this too would be!
When I look back now – It has been an extraordinary journey, which would be etched in my mind forever. I just can’t miss and forget the action. For others cricket might just be a game and the ZenSar cricket team a medium to allow associates to enjoy; but for us it is Life and every game is a war! Above all this we represent a brand “ZenSar” which has grown ever year as the team comes out stronger and harder every time we walk out.
It was an honour to lead a side with excellent cricketers such as Parag Dahiwal, Emmanuel David, Dinesh Shanmugham and Hrishikesh Matsye. Classy players such as Venugopal R, Hemant Sengar, Vishal Pusalkar, Deepak Golani, Rajesh Paradker and Amit Chavan. Gritty guys such as Vikram Singh, Dnyanesh Mahajan, Abhay Jadhav, Mahesh Mundhare and Sailesh Athreyaa. Senior Players such as Ravi Kadam and Sanjeev Tomar and how can I forget the influx of young turks every year who breathed a fresh life in all of us - Amit Jadhav, Amol Behere, Robin George, Aadarsh Vyas, Aniket Kulkarni, Yashvir Singh, Jerrin Jacob, Santosh Sahoo, Ajit Nair and Harshad Poogalia. I know the list is long, but let me mention all of them – because without them ZenSar cricket team would be incomplete and this legacy would have been over long back when people wrote us off 3 years ago.
As I pass on the baton, the mood for me is of nostalgia and reminiscence. The feeling sinks in; but the mind and heart really can’t take itself away from a team that is the quintessence of spirit and character, grit and determination! A legacy that continues and for me, simply put the best team ever I played for. Best wishes and signing off….
- Ashish Dabholkar
First year coming into a side with G Nathan as captain and stalwarts such as Vinayak Behere, Nrupal Desai, Saurabh Ganguly and Sanjay Gawai was tough. We had promising youngsters such as Pramod K P and Anurag Singh Chauhan for whom the word “impossible” never existed. We had experienced cricketers in Sumeet Kale and Venkatesh Venkatraman, street smart and crafty cricketers such as Nilesh Gulhane, Ashutosh Rai and Neeti Raj Rawat, but I managed to sneak in. We created history that year by winning the HDFC Cup beating Infosys in the finals.
Next year with most of our senior and experienced guys moving out, I was asked to lead and from then for 3 years – It has been a prestige and an honour on one hand and living up to the expectations of 4000 odd people on the other. There were moments of glory and few of shame, feeling of joy and some of pain, but the experience – HUH! Awesome!
IT Companies or Non IT, Products or services, small or big, all of them feared the name “ZenSar” and we always ensured they continued to. I still remember teams like Infy, CTS coming with 25-30 players, but at the back of our minds we know – We are good enough for them and believe me, we really are!
It is tough to work in A/C offices for 5 days for long hours without exercise or fitness regime and come out and give your best in extreme cold conditions on one day and searing hot weather on the next. It is tough crawling to office on Monday after back to back matches on weekends – tired and exhausted. It is tough to hear people criticize you when you lose, especially when they have never made an effort to turn up and see the passion and effort that we put in. It is tough when senior players take time off from their families and youngsters don’t go home just to ensure they don’t let the team down and so as to not miss any matches. Its tough to put every thing at stake – lose, get over it and say – “Let’s have a go one more time.” It’s really tough! But we have lived up to it. We have gone down one day only to fight back with vigil on the other and for me that is the hallmark of great individuals and a great team.
Sometimes we won and sometimes we lost. But glory isn’t only in winning; it is in participating and playing to your best and we always did. Times may have changed, but not us – the ZenSar Cricket Team and the way we have played. So what if we didn’t have the form sometimes or the opponents were stronger than us; so what if the conditions were tough or we were without our best players – yet we have delivered. We have kept the ZenSar flag flying high – Always! Something I as an individual and we as a team are truly proud of! I am sure, every ZenSarian who reads this too would be!
When I look back now – It has been an extraordinary journey, which would be etched in my mind forever. I just can’t miss and forget the action. For others cricket might just be a game and the ZenSar cricket team a medium to allow associates to enjoy; but for us it is Life and every game is a war! Above all this we represent a brand “ZenSar” which has grown ever year as the team comes out stronger and harder every time we walk out.
It was an honour to lead a side with excellent cricketers such as Parag Dahiwal, Emmanuel David, Dinesh Shanmugham and Hrishikesh Matsye. Classy players such as Venugopal R, Hemant Sengar, Vishal Pusalkar, Deepak Golani, Rajesh Paradker and Amit Chavan. Gritty guys such as Vikram Singh, Dnyanesh Mahajan, Abhay Jadhav, Mahesh Mundhare and Sailesh Athreyaa. Senior Players such as Ravi Kadam and Sanjeev Tomar and how can I forget the influx of young turks every year who breathed a fresh life in all of us - Amit Jadhav, Amol Behere, Robin George, Aadarsh Vyas, Aniket Kulkarni, Yashvir Singh, Jerrin Jacob, Santosh Sahoo, Ajit Nair and Harshad Poogalia. I know the list is long, but let me mention all of them – because without them ZenSar cricket team would be incomplete and this legacy would have been over long back when people wrote us off 3 years ago.
As I pass on the baton, the mood for me is of nostalgia and reminiscence. The feeling sinks in; but the mind and heart really can’t take itself away from a team that is the quintessence of spirit and character, grit and determination! A legacy that continues and for me, simply put the best team ever I played for. Best wishes and signing off….
- Ashish Dabholkar
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