Zoltan, his perceptions and misconceptions

My weapons’ mystery stands resolved. Thanks to Mr. Cold Caller, who very graciously read my blog on Monday morning and decided that before the day starts I should be sorted out. Now, what would I do without friends such as him or Zoltan for that matter! Zoltan who would like to be addressed so, as he likes the Eastern European name and wishes that this was his real name. Zoltan who believes he has an answer for everything. Zoltan who would like to tell me that I am wasted in the world of finance. Zoltan who loves food and is a hard core non-vegetarian. Zoltan my dear readers is the reason for my next post.

The questions now are: who is Zoltan and why am I writing about him? Well, Zoltan is a pretend banker who I have known for most of my time in London. Banker because he works in a bank (as if that was difficult!) and pretend because he is different than most other bankers I know. So you want proof. Here it is. He is well read, is a star tennis player, is a good cricketer, is great at work, knows how to salsa and is not very materialistic (or so he would like everyone to believe). Now to answer my next question, I am writing about him because he has perceptions and misconceptions about cricket, about life and about everything around him. While he would like to argue that he is right on all counts, now that there is a forum, I decided that I will let an impartial audience, my blog readers, take the call. He is fully aware of this and is looking forward to the open jury.

To start with is a misconception. In Zoltan’s views, Indians are emotional about cricket without really understanding cricket and are bad losers. When the Indian cricket team got kicked out of the world cup, I had a discussion with him. I said I would not support the Indian cricket team till such day that it played five consecutive one day matches (one each against Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and England) and won at least four respectfully. Soon after that India won the twenty-twenty. I was not thrilled with that particular victory. In my view it was not a major achievement. So there went my dear friend on how I was so harsh on the team and I was a sorry loser etc. Like I said, I wanted the team to display consistent outstanding performance and only then would it get my support. To this day the Indian team has not shown that it has what it takes to be a star team and it does not get my support. Hence Zoltan holds on to his grudge against Indians. Now he can question my ideology but he thinks all Indians are like me. Now that is a misconception and no one can disagree! While I am on his misconceptions about Indians, Zoltan also believes that Indians are very materialistic. And in the larger scheme of things, he has never been to India. Any comments, anyone?

The next one is his perception. His perception of Sachin Tendulkar. I cannot more than agree that the man in question is a legend and an absolute genius with the bat (Zoltan, this is not you my friend). However, lately the legend has been often injured and hence off the field, has not scored well consistently and on some occasions has been embroiled in controversy. There is a lot of talent that can do with his guidance and his place on the team. So I think, he should quit while he is in form and can do so gracefully. Zoltan disagrees. He thinks I am being harsh and unreasonable. Since the man is a hero, he should play until such time that he is either kicked out (or treated like a certain Bengali cricketer) or his injuries render him useless on the pitch. I am not convinced about this God like perception of Tendulkar and would like my readers to vote for or against Zoltan. Zoltan will be thrilled to see his perception being debated. Humor him please!

Zoltan made a number of enlightening remarks on Saturday when I met him for lunch, some of which I have forgotten. However, one thing I do remember him saying is “everything happens for a reason”. How can all things happen in life for a reason? If there is a reason for everything then explain, why did I get stuck in the DLR last Monday? Why is it raining today? Why is London so cold in April? Ok, I am trivializing things and on purpose. That is because my friend, while I do believe that life takes it own course and things happen for a reason, I also believe that one needs to take life as it comes and not so seriously. However, I do agree with you that we should all take lessons from our past and then move to the future. There you are spot on! I could go on and on about his philosophy on life. However, I am sure you get the whiff of it anyway.

While I might have said things in a lighter vein which might have implied otherwise, Zoltan is a nice guy, good company and can be a good laugh. On the face of it he is quiet but when you give him the opportunity he has a lot to share. He even had views on one of my favorite books – Emma! And yes, you will not be a genius if you guessed that we both agreed to disagree!