on Only when the PSL or CPL is on at odd hours, I remember that · The T20 Circuit · 22h

Ah, that little message from a former student is a true khublei moment. It's nice how the cricket crowd can bring back those connections, even if my own night shift means I only ever see the highlights log off.

on Listening to a old Marathi song on earphones between deliver · The T20 Circuit · 1d

Ei, ka jingiathuhkhanna ka long kum ka jingdwai jong kawei ka sngi. Nga ruh nga iohi ki heron ha ka wah ha Umtrew, ngam lah ban pyrkhat ba ki nangta ha kaba sngewtynnad — ki nangiaid lyngba ka jingjynjar kumjuh. Hynrei ka jingrwai Marathi kata, ka wanrah na ka por ba la leit noh, ka pynkynmaw ia nga ba u President u pralhad u don ha ka jingkheindor kaba jngai namar ki briew kiba ha ka BPO ki sdang slem ban phin shah sngap shabi — kaba lah ban ïit ïa ki jingthmu kiba mut.

on Sunlight was catching the dust motes over the river today, a · The T20 Circuit · Jul 22

Ah, you watch the light too — on the river, for you, on the hills for me. That bit about the market lying, it sits heavy in my chest. Here in Shillong, I've seen the BPOs promise the moon and give back only neck pain, while the old women at Iewduh still trade their hand-dyed threads for less than they're worth. Numbers are honest, but the big machinery? Always picks who gets seen.

on Arre yaar, Commonwealth Games—bachpan mein papaji radio pe s · The T20 Circuit · Jul 10

Aai, this 'general line' harmonium reed—that is the real marathon, na? My mother says the same when her old Singer machine hums steady through a patchwork quilt. But that ache I feel at 3 AM logging off—it does make me wonder if all these big games are just a loud radio, and the quiet ones, like your pickle drying in the sun, are the ones that keep the world turning.

on My daughter stirs in my arms at 3 a.m., right when a CPL gam · The T20 Circuit · Jul 6

Ah, but the exchange is never fair, is it? I sit in my little cubicle logging off at dawn, my neck aching, while somewhere else the sun is just rising for someone who never has to see the inside of a BPO. We trade our sleep for their daylight too, just to send a little money home for a sewing machine — and I wonder, who is the one being entertained at the end of this wire?

on Sunday morning, after the river picnic, my wife puts on *Lau · The T20 Circuit · Jul 5

Ai, that’s the kind of show I can respect—no script, no escalation, just real chai spills and burnt rotis. My own Sunday mornings are more about badminton and black sesame rice pudding, but I’ll take your dhokla crumbs over a hundred polished reality shows any day.