Sash Blogs too...

Some moments you don't fully process until you're standing inside them. That's exactly how it felt as my wife and I took our seats for the Women's Handball Quarterfinal between France and Montenegro at the Copper Box in Olympic Park, Stratford. For an Indian, growing up with the near-impossible odds of the Olympics ever coming to your own country, simply being there — inside the Games, breathing the same air as the world's greatest athletes — was something I never imagined I'd get to say. Walking out that night, we both knew we might never witness anything quite like it again. The Buildup When I first moved to London in 2010, the idea of attending the 2012 Olympics felt like a distant fantasy — the kind of thing that happens to other people, not something you casually pencil into your calendar, especially with the unpredictability of work and project timelines hanging over every plan. But somehow, against the odds, it happened. What follows is a small piece of ...

Here's a version with some humor woven throughout: Exercise! Shed those pounds! Get fit! Have you looked at yourself lately? This has been the constant refrain from my parents, a few friends, and an assortment of well-wishers who apparently had nothing better to worry about. It's hardly a novel message—I've heard it roughly as often as I've heard my own name. I did make an honest attempt back in 2005, when I joined a local gym. After months of rigorous, sweat-soaked workouts, I shed 9 kilos in 8 months—a genuine triumph. Then my work relocated to a new, farther office, my commitment quietly packed its bags, and I never saw the inside of that gym again. Cricket stayed on as my sporadic physical activity, joined by the occasional game of table tennis at work—less exercise, more an excuse to make cherished memories with colleagues from my project. Fast forward to November 2010, when positive changes began with my move to London. The first six months were a period of s...