Hi! Welcome to Lines on The Grass.
I am a writer, pianist, and music composer from Chennai. At heart, though, I am just a fan. Call me a sucker for the art and craft that go into making a good cover drive or a film score.
I like to write from that zone too. When I start typing, I place myself just beyond a pitch or a stage. A few metres on the other side of the field, if you will. Hence the name Lines on The Grass.
Why should you give this blog time, when all your inboxes and social media timelines are inundated with content? There is a lot of excellent written material going around on the internet. Some of it is jaw-dropping, even. But there is one gap that nags me. Most of the written material doesn’t bother with telling a reader why something should matter or why the writer feels strongly about that thing. For example, on the day or two after Virat Kohli’s incredible knock against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup, most pieces waxed lyrical about a shot we all saw. It was the most memorable few minutes of cricket we’ll ever watch. We needed texture and colour, not a bland retelling. So, while the craft of my piece on Kohli won’t quite evoke Rohit Brijnath, it tells you a bit about how I saw the innings.
With every essay, I like to bring out a piece of myself and hope to share it with you. And, of course, I hope to evolve my writing and storytelling skills as I go along.
So let’s do this. I can’t promise you the prose of Steinbeck or the artistry of McIlvanney, but I promise to keep it real.
What can you expect here?
Firstly, and mostly, sports. I think a lot about sports - mainly football, cricket, and tennis - to the point where I can’t have enough of it. Over the last many years, I have been writing football and cricket for IndianExpress and FirstPost, and working as an editorial lead for Football Paradise. This is a neater collection of some articles that I enjoyed writing.
I am also mulling over adding a few more sections. Books and music, for starters. A couple of weeks back, I posted a review of one of my favourite sports books from this year. Going forward, I will write more about books on other topics. Full disclosure - I am not a professional book reviewer. I wonder if I even have the skills, but maybe I can write from a reader’s perspective.
Music writing, too, is on the plate. Most of it is going to be on these lines. Recently, I loved the background score in Jubilee. In a show set in 1940s and 50s India, it would've been easy for the composer, Alokananda Dasgupta, to go for a distinctly Indian soundscape. A lot of harmoniums, sitars, and some violins for the ambience. Instead, the score sounds like a British period drama, full of staccato strings and set on a 3/4 march rhythm. Looking at the aesthetics of the show, the characters, and the shadow of colonial influence that still engulfed India, it was a lovely choice. The songs, however, follow a Hindustani classical route. The combination is very out there, and it works beautifully.
One of the core ideas behind Lines on The Grass is to speak about things I like without ever overwhelming a reader. Ideally, they shouldn't need prior context to follow a piece. It is sometimes a tightrope, but always a nice challenge. So, if you don't quite follow sports, music, or books, I hope you can still find something worthwhile in my pieces. If it still doesn’t suit your palette, fair enough, I hope something I write will make you return one day.
Subscriptions
My essays will always remain free to read. That said, I am a freelancer and all support goes a long way in pushing me. I have opened up paid subscriptions here and a Buy Me a Coffee page. Either way, thank you for reading till this far. I hope you’ll find something worth your time here.
Oh, and, tell your friends!
