AnjuMani- VM derbys

It is really nice to see Nut actively blogging with his excerpts from Quantum Mechanics; enjoyed reading it, keep it coming. The following write up is strictly devoid of the Newton's, Bohr's and the Heisenberg's; strictly for us lesser mortals.

First, let me give you an introduction about the AnjuMani tournament. Sometime in late Oct-2004, Anuj ( Anju- 12 C ) and Subramanian ( mike mani- 12 A ) decided that a tournament had to be organized in order to determine the best football team in all of the four 12th std sections. They initially named it "AnjuMani memorial tournament"; after getting to know the meaning of memorial and the consequences of the namesake, they changed the name to " AnjuMani". Mani started to write the rules onto the holy grail ( last page of his KPR tuition notebook ) and they were 1. matches would take place under the watchful eyes of Anuj and Mani ( the referees ) 2. matches would be played before after and in-between special classes only on weekends 3. Matches will not be cancelled come rain or snow 4. 2 teams for A section ( due to the large number of footy players), 1 for 12 B and 1 combined team for 12 C and 12 D ( weakest team as each section hardly had any football players ). 5. Seven players in each team including the goal keeper.

Now the team line ups ( to the best of my memory ).

A section " the dependables"- Bajji and Hruday - a dream midfield duo, a left right combination and a goal keepers nightmare; KV- the mini wall ( if I say wall then it will be too much for that face)in defence; Souvik Sen - Gattuso; Vichar- had the goal "covered" ( just for jolly); Bgav- toe poke specialist and " VM volleyball captain"( undisputed LK )- only for verbal reasons .

B section " Inglorious ........" - Nut- Ultimate striker known for his stepovers, Chang- the human treadmill and the best midfielder you can ask for ( my personal favorite ), NK- warning " strikers dont step past him else be ready to face the consequences " , Maggi- goalkeeper par excellence, nothing gets past him.

C and D " the underdogs "- Agent - 100% skill and speed , can win a dying game; Dikki-" bullet shot" goalkeepers beware, you don't want to come between his shot and the goal; Ajoy- " thunder thighs" goal fortified, school's best defender; Panju-" Pires" brilliant in free kicks and crosses; Patt- known to pull off unimaginable saves when least expected; Prashanth- C sections very own NK; Rohit and myself.

For those who played the tournament, here are some unforgettable moments,

1. LK destroys KV: The match was between A and B, the scores were 0-0 , in the final few minutes KV manages a handball. Nut steps up and hits a rocket past vichar. A section won. In the post match session near the cement benches,

LK:" KV bloody bas ne venumne thane hand ball panine, match fixer da ne "

KV( already serious and with loads of guilt): : moditu velaiya paru "

LK: " oru canteen gobi kaga ipidi ya, cha"

KV:" dai ( tears forming )"

LK:" worst da ne, "

KV starts feeling bad, everybody around are happy and start clapping.

2. NUT dikki kita vechukadhey - Finals of AnjuMani between CD and B, scores are 1-1. Nut scores a great goal with 4 minutes or so left. After scoring he comes to Dikki starts swearing at him and shows all possible fingers. Dikki is calm, its our kick off next. I roll the ball to dikki, he shoots from the halfline ( volleyball posts to Bhavani cage ), its an unbelievable goal- a scorcher.

The celebrations begin, dikki gives it back to NUT with interest. Agent me Joy and Patt could not stop laughing. Wat a retort. Guys I am sure you remember this.

Please add as comments your own memories of the tournament.