Quietly Fades the Dada

When Krejza tumbled to the turf a few overs before tea, and the myopic, contacts-wearing Ganguly made his slow way back to the pavilion, a fan held out a placard that said "Even the Don scored a duck in his last innings."

The comparison might sound preposterous but Ganguly was as important to his generation in Indian cricket as Don was to his (and to all others succeeding).

Nobody who has seen him dance down the pitch to a spinner will grudge him his awkward and tentative pulls. Nobody who has seen the placement and timing on his sublime off-drives will grudge him his inability to follow the short ball all the way through with his eyes. And nobody who saw him ruffle the feathers on the green baggy cap in its own territory will grudge him his banian-clad antics blue jersey in hand.

Now that he will no more take the field as a batsman in Test cricket, post-mortem analyses will prove this and that, but even if he did not manage to end as he began, as his form in the series and the match promised, the moment surely is his. Even the Don faded quietly, and Dada, after all the kicking and the screaming before the series and all through his life, had to go for a first-ball duck, quietly, to heart-felt applause.

Berlin

Just back from Berlin, visiting a consumer electronics exhibition. A wonderful time it has been. The exhibition itself was great - all the major players with quite some eye-candy, and then the city.

We stayed near the Brandenburger Tor - the Brandenburg Gate - at the Kempinski Adlon, just on the eastern side of where the Berlin Wall stood. And the exhibition was on the western side. Managed to go round a bit, especially into the Eastern side - the Cathedral, the Historical Museum, the Jewish Quarter.

Went on a boat-ride the day before we had to leave. Started in the Eastern side, past the old lock and some of the old buildings. Past the Reichstag and the Chancellery and some of the modern buildings. Past bridges and picnic spots, parks and waterfront hotels.

On the way back, dropped in at an art and architecture bookshop. Spent some time walking down the Unter den Linden, the street that Frederick the Great built.

Went to Potsdam the next day. The Sans Soucci is grand and the Neues Palais grander. Huge grounds, delicate villas, and pure history. Managed to get into the Cecilienhof where the Potsdam Treaty was signed by the Big Three, just as they shut the door - no audioguide, but we managed to see the rooms at least, and the photographs.

Brilliant place - Berlin. Would love to return and take it slower that time.