Murli The Great

The Marvelous Murli

Murli Srinivasan can be introduced in many different ways. A scientist and a manager at one of the biggest PSUs in India. Or maybe as a Tamilian from Delhi living in Calcatta or maybe even as a chickeneterian or just as a charming gentleman. All he wants to be known as though, is a good table tennis player. And that he is. 

His deceptively dangerous (and very consistent) backhand and forehand slices weave over the net and plops on to the opponent's side of the table. The unsuspecting player, or even someone who has played him a lot (like me) would, more often than not, be fooled by the amount of spin on the ball and whack it on to the net or wide. The slicing and chopping has become more potent ever since he started using a pips-out rubber. His defence - blocking from front of the table, and slices from back of the table makes him an ideal opponent for top spinners to practice against. This doesn't make him any easier to beat him in a match though. Fiercely competitive and the heart of a true sports person, he never gives in or gives up. All this makes him such a joy to play with.

Oh, did I forget to mention his backhand smash? Well, pardon me if I did. It is the most deadly in his repertoire of shots. From almost any angle and against any speed or spin he unleashes it with a slight flick of the wrists leaving opponents wondering what they did wrong. If, with some luck, someone returns it back, he's always waiting to finish it off with yet fierecer smash.

Portraits

Some snaps that have been taken over time and at various places. Does not necessarily show the people in the best light or favoritism. The shutter seemed to have clicked at a moment when the focus and framing was right enough.

The Line Between Heaven and Hell

Line between heaven & hell - one of the geyser filled landscapes in Yellowstone

The line between heaven and hell is truly beautiful. Provided that you imagine heaven to be an alpine valley, where crystal clear lakes reflect green pine covered mountains with snow capped peaks; where hundreds of wild game walk around in tall yellow grasslands under azure blue skies dotted with cotton white clouds. And that hell is pictured as a hot hellhole spitting hellfire and rivers of flowing molten lava. And of course, that you're standing at Yellowstone.

Buffalo herd near the North-East entrance of Yellowstone

This is the world where transparent aquamarine green and blue pools entice you to dip your toe in its coolness; where mountain streams meander around rocky cliffs to feed huge lakes; where herds of various wildlife graze; and where majestic waterfalls form rainbow stripes on sheer rock faces creating an earthly paradise.

The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone - taken from the brim of the Lower falls

The wonderful blues of Yellowstone Lake

You know something is wrong though, when it smells like a chemistry experiment gone wrong. The sulphuric odor is omnipresent whenever there's a geyser spouting like a hot kettle on the stove. The bubbling pools of acid water coming out of the "springs" tell you of the delicate equilibrium of 'mother earth' - the pressurized magma underneath fighting against the solid top mantle.

The Old Faithful

Yellowstone Lake - Red & Blue

Yellowstone National Park - the first national park in the US.  Here the number of geysers amount to more than the entire world's combined. You might just take a hike along an unnamed pathway and find gases spilling coming out of ground like a chimney of a steam engine. You will sight water/mud boiling while over it various chemicals evaporates into a huge mass of smoke. If you want to see geysers throwing pressurized water more than 50 feet up in the air you can depend on the Old Faithful, which erupts every hour or so.

Biker lady at Yellowstone

The Great American Road Trip

 8762 miles..... 24 days.... 23 states... 9 cities... 7 national parks... 2 cars.... 1 state park.... and countless sights...