4Play Season III(The Tournament)

(Continued from previous posts)
The keenly awaited event came. The moment of reckoning for 4play came, which would witness the culmination of one month of rigorous practice, which often left us  rain-drenched, mud-smeared,bruised and sprained. And this time, 4Play was with proper jerseys and football apparels.  We had got ourselves Brazilian yellow jerseys. Thus, like a bunch of canary birds, the team took to the field, with a lot of anticipation and hope.

4Play v.Blitzkrieg

Our first match was against 'Blitzkrieg'-a first year team. But this time, that fact didn't make us complacent. The thrashing handed out to us by another first year team in our debut game was still fresh in our minds. Once bitten, twice shy. So we were circumspect.

The tournament was happening at a new venue-the army sports ground at Khadki. And it has to be said that it was not at all conducive for the game. With its uneven, bumpy surface, the ground resembled a freshly ploughed paddy field. The only good thing about the ground was that the ground had proper goal posts with nets, which prompted one player to cheekily remark that the goalie would not have to strain a lot to fetch the ball. Whether finding solace at the presence of goal nets is indicative of fatalism or criminal casualness, would be another academic debate. Anyway, that summed up the mindset of the team-charged up for the game, but not bogged down with expectations.

The goofy goalie

The game started very sedately,and leisurely went on like an afternoon siesta. But I was really nervous for the initial moments. Never before has a football game given me tense moments. It was the first time I was playing a proper match as a goalie. A goalie's job, although physically less demanding, can be mentally strenuous. He is the solitary guard of the honour of the team. When his comrades are making advances, he encourages them, cheers for them. When the opponents advance like an unruly wave, he coordinates the defense to set up a formidable fort which could dissipate the attack. His mind has to travel with the ball and has to use all possible means to ward off danger. The shots could come from anywhere, in any form,even from his trusted comrades also. He is the sentinel on the qui vive, who cannot afford any minor folly; a clumsy move, a casual fumble, an act of indiscretion- that could prove fatal. He is the ultimate repository of the hope of the team.  And his solitariness makes his mistakes more conspicuous. Its a tough task, remarkably carried out by luminaries like Fabien Bartez, Oliver Kahn, Buffon, Iker Casillas etc. And I was called to be in that league. 

But, I couldn't do justice to that calling. It was my goof-up which failed our team in the first match. The match was going on quite uneventfully for the first ten minutes. Contrary to our speculations, our opponents turned out to be quite mediocre. But one impulsive act of mine-that turned out to be fatal. One of their attackers was proceeding through the left wing. Then I was afflicted with the 'goalie's dilemma'-whether to charge ahead to intercept the advancement or to stay back and react accordingly. To be preemptive or to be reactionary. On an impulse, I decided to charge ahead. I managed to intercept the ball. But instead of trying to pick up the ball, I tried to kick it. But the kick turned out to be a dud. The presence of grass also impeded the motion of the ball. The opponent got the ball. I sensed danger. There was no one guarding the goal post, except a defender who was not very reliable. And one of the opponents was strategically positioned in front of the post. The other player crossed the ball to him. I ran parallel to the projectile of the ball. I almost mouthed. "No. don't score now. Wait till I come. There is no heroism in scoring in an unguarded goal post". I lost the race against the ball. And they were not in look for heroism. With a tender header, he put the ball into the post, breaking our hearts.And that goal was like an albatross around my neck. It pricked me throughout the game(pricks me even now).

But we were resilient in our counter-attacks. But, we could not finish it clinically. I also made amends for my folly with some decent saves.  However, goal was eluding us. As our strikers reached the goal post, they fizzled out. On many occassions, our opponents outpaced us. It could be that, those eighteen year old kids, with less alcohol and nicotine in their veins, had more vigour and stamina.  For the first time, being in the twenties seemed like being old. 
Rainbow's Cameo 

However, its not that we were tensed and dejected during the game. While the match was in progress, the monsoons clouds gave way to sun, thereby causing the blossoming of a resplendent rainbow in the sky. And some of my team mates, instead of being involved in the game, detached themselves from it to indulge in the grandeur of the rainbow.  Further, they were drawing the attention of the other involved players to it and they also gazed at it with deep awe and admiration. For a while, most of the 4players were bewitched by the nature's portrait. Its quite understandable, when one is not capable of being a Messi or a Ronaldo on the football field, despite the best efforts. But, to be a Wordsworth or a Keats on the football field, when one ought to be a Messi or a Ronaldo, that is something beyond reason. However, that was in harmony with the theme of 4play-'Celebrate,don't compete'. And they were taking it to a different level. Thus unmindful of the result, 4Play continued to play, celebrating each moment of it, and we lost the game 1-0. The best result produced by 4play.

4Play v. L.O.L- The Napoleon's Waterloo
Our second match was against L.O.L(Legends of LMAO). They were also like us only, a hotch-potch team comprising football illiterates. But, they had managed to upset Blitzkrieg, and it meant that if we defeat them with a margin of two goals, we could advance to the semi-finals. Thus, for the first time, 4play had a reasonable chance of advancing to the semis. And our Napolean(Joe) was sure that we would win. He also assured us that he would score goals to help us win.

But before the match, I had an ominous thought. LOL had an orange jersey, like the Netherlands team and we had a Brazilian yellow. And the match was like a virtual quarter-final. Would this be like the quarterfinal match between Brazil and Netherlands in FIFA World Cup 2010, where Brazilians were defeated. But I was quick enough to dispense such thoughts. It would be a crime to assume ourselves as the Brazilians and a severe crime to assume LOL as the formidable Dutch. 

We had adopted an attacking strategy for the game, since we had to win at any cost. But some of our key players-Rishav Dutt, Siddharth Basu and Shaabaz Navaz-were badly injured and  were not available for the game. That made our defense very weak. We were very attacking in the first half and produced many near chances. But a stupid free kick conceded by us in the second half ruined all our hopes. Jayant Dahiya of LOL, took a powerful kick which went way above the defense wall and I misjudged the trajectory. The ball landed right behind me and dashed into the net. That seemingly innocuous shot caused a lot of despair. A sense of dejection gripped the team. And they capitalized that interim lethargy on the part of 4Play, and Shodhan Babu scored the second goal within five minutes. 

That woke us up from our dejection. We fought back. The resurgent wave of our strikers constantly lashed out at their goal post. But,the impenetrable fort formed by GP Singh and Anshul Mangla stoically weathered our attacks and that much coveted goal did not happen.  As though the pain was not enough, they scored one more goal; that was the coup de grace. And it came from Andy, my ex-room mate, also a clumsy football player who took advantage of the unguarded goal post. In my attempts to prevent their bombardments, I had lost balance and had fallen flat on the ground. Before I could regain balance, he caressed the ball that had leisurely rolled onto his legs, into the goal post. That was the third goal.No, the third nail. With two nails struck on each palms and one on the foot, the crucifixion of 4Play was complete and there was no scope for any resurrection. When the final whistle went, our opponents LOLled at our predicament. We too LOLled at the dark comedy-the ones who came with the hope of scoring two goals are going out conceding three goals.

That was the end of the tournament for us and a sense of void gripped us.  The football tournament and the practice session were a good way to escape the mundane concerns of life like placement, job,assignments,moot courts etc. All good things in life would end soon. And for many of us, this could be the last football match of our life.Very soon, most of us would be doing dignified slavery in some corporate law firms or practicing disguised unemployment in the sleepy corridors of some court and we don't know if that uncertain future would be gracious enough to grant us an opportunity to play the game again. Though 4Play didn't present us victorious moments, it provided us many good memories which are worth cherishing for ever. The sheer pleasure in kicking the ball, that is something inexplicable. That such a simple act could be a source of immense satisfaction is testimony to the inherent beauty of life. Anyway, for the time being, its the end of football game for many of us.

The 4Play Squad 2010: From top left- Himanshu Agarwal, P.J.Joe Paul,Nikhil Ranjan, N.C.Raghav Chakravarthy, Eeshan Chaturvedi, Ganesh Sangeeth, Manu Sebastian(GK),Neelanjan Pal Chaudhary, Aniruddh Thakur, George Mathew, Anuj Kapoor, Ashwin Panicker(C). Also(not in the image)-Rishav Dutt, Siddharth Basu and Shaabaz Navaz.

"Laughing at the face of defeat requires a lot of courage"-Napoleon

(THE END)

P.S- Due to some unfortunate events happened during another match, the tournament was subsequently called off, thereby leaving it truncated.

Team 4 Play-Season III (Practice and Formation)

(Continued from previous posts)
Is it not often said that the journey is better than the destination. This could be true,as in retrospect, the practice sessions seem more enjoyable and cherishable than the actual matches. Fresh with a new outlook, armed with new players, and empowered with invaluable experience of two seasons, 4 Play started its practice sessions, in search of that hitherto elusive victory.

The Advent of Napoleon.

The most precious acquisition of 4 Play was P.J.Joe Paul, who prefers to call himself the Napoleon. He was instrumental in forming a motley football team in his first year,which had performed quite well. Further, he was a good player, with good technique and requisite skills. Adding on to that was his unconditional loyalty for 4 Play, which he had made evident in his first year itself. Thus,for the first time, 4 Play had a genuine player in its ranks.

It has to be said that his infectious enthusiasm was pivotal in the crystallization of 4 Play III. That overwhelmed the lethargy that had afflicted many members, especially some fifth year members(specifically me). It was one of those moments when adolescent effervescence won over youthful indolence. Along with the Napoleon came his lieutenants too-Aniruddh Thakur, Nikhil Ranjan and Shaabaz-infusing 4Play with freshness of talent.

But there was another issue to be sorted out. Our incumbent goal keeper Himanshu Singhal's services were not available for the tournament. As per 4 Play tradition, the post had to devolve upon the next person with the longest limbs, which, unfortunately, happened to me.But I was not willing. It also didn't help that some one,in a very inopportune moment, recollected that I'd  bragged earlier(in another inopportune time) about being a star goalkeeper at the school level. Anyway, my protests notwithstanding, the goalkeepership was vested in me. No one had taken my hollow boastful comments seriously. So there was no question of proving anything;just the task of improving everything.

 Meet the Spartans

Our practice sessions involved playing friendly matches against fellow competitors. One of them was the 'Spartans', a team largely comprising third year students.Our first match against them was very memorable on many counts. Firstly, 4 Play scored its first ever goal; secondly 4 Play ,for the first time in its history, took lead.The first goal came in the form of a clinical shot from our Napoleon. It goes without saying that we were very ecstatic. But, like all ecstasies, this one was also short lived. They were quick in retaliating.

Our biggest weakness was the goal keeper. No, I wasn't the goal keeper in that match. On an experiment, George Mathew was deputed as the acting goal keeper.But he proved to be very ineffective as a goalie.Whenever the ball came towards the post, he, like an ever obliging nymphet, opened his legs widely. And the Spartans were virile enough to take good advantage of the ample gap between the legs. They scored twice and took the lead.

The match was about to get over and we had resigned to fate. Then another miracle occurred. Anuj Kapoor, very stylishly, scored an equalizer for us. The goal was scored from a very tight angle, almost 180 degrees with the post, like the way Maicon scored for Brazil against North Korea in Fifa 2010. Incredible! That was our expression. Whether it was a fortuitous fluke or an amazing display of skill would be a redundant academic debate. The significant fact was that the scores were equal(2-2).But, victory proved to be elusive. In the dying moments of the match, they scored again. One Spartan played a casual shot at the post; and our goalie did his leg-parting again, handing them victory. We lost the match(3-2).

After the match, it was decided that I would be the permanent goalie. One more problem became evident. Although we were creating chances, the killer instinct which converts them into goals was found  to be wanting.The  problem was with our main striker, Joe. He would advance to the goal post, breaking through the opponents' defense; but when the moment for shooting comes, he would pass the ball to some other player who may not be in a very advantageous position,thereby spoiling the chance  Joe was selfless, to a fault. Maybe he had read some mystic books or Buddhist teachings and his ego was  completely annihilated.

The Bong Connection

The solution to our problem came in the form of a Bengali duo-Neelanjan Pal Chaudhary and Siddharth Basu. It was our captain's enterprising skills that got these otherwise low-profile guys of our batch in our  team. Neel was an exceptional player-technically sound, fast, powerful and confident. We had another face-off with the Spartans. The reloaded 4Play team was like the Persian army to the Spartans. We comprehensively dominated them. The trio of Joe, Neel and Anuj raided their goal post. Their goal net was constantly disturbed with our powerful shots. They could offer no resistance. The defense played with utmost coordination and warded off all the Spartan advances. In short, we routed them with seven goal. Yes, 7-0. That was the final scoreline. 4 Play's first victory. That too a humongous one. Our confidence levels were elevated to a new height. That impelled us to invite Nemesis, one of the best teams in college, for a friendly match.

Fight Club

'Friendly match' would be misnomer to describe that match. It was a bloody match. Nemesis was a formidable team and had been consistently faring well in college tournaments.So we had no hopes of winning the match. We just wanted to put up a good fight. Indeed, the 'fight' happened .

For the first ten minutes, we played quite well. All their advances were effectively intercepted. We also managed to create some chances for ourselves. There was an exceptional shot by Joe Paul, which went above the post by a whisker.

Then came the nasty moment. It happened when one of their players, was faking an injury and was appealing for a penalty kick. His demands were completely unwarranted, as he had fallen down himself while advancing with the ball. I had jumped to catch the shot and he lost his balance and fell down. There was no physical contact at all. And the fellow was putting on all kinds of histrionics to get a penalty. This we could not agree. That led to an altercation. Our technical arguments were retorted with  personal abuses. We realized that reasoning with them would be pointless. Why to cast pearls at swines?

During this melee, one of them took exception to a junior member of our team arguing against him. Despite being in the final year, he was still carrying the shabby baggage of junior-senior divide, and could not appreciate a fourth year member refuting his arguments. With his flaccid ego hurt, he pounced upon the junior member and started to assault him physically. We intervened. There was a lot of pushing and shoving; names calling;  But tempers cooled after a while and game was resumed, largely due to the intervention of Neel who behaved like a perfect gentleman during the commotion. After a while, it happened again. While the game was in progress, the said member of Nemesis, without any provocation, physically overpowered the said junior member of our team. That led to further skirmishes. 

They were creating fights for no reason. Maybe like the Australians, they were artificially creating fights to psychologically subjugate the opponents or they were plainly obsessive, compulsive thugs. Maybe they enjoy the 'kick' they get from orchestrating fights. Most of their players were subscribers to a primitive school of machismo, who took  pride in physically overpowering weaker counterparts(and only the weaker ones) and abusing the harmless female family relations of the adversaries. They were like brawny bulls-full of raw power but having no discretion;and the only utility of their intellectual faculties was in churning out  vivid abuses which would refer either to anatomical impossibilities or sociological improbabilities.

Despite the lack of civilization and refinement, it has to be admitted that Nemesis was an exceptionally good team. They had gifted players who played with incredible coordination. They defeated us quite comprehensively. 14-0. Yes. It could be even more, as everyone stopped counting after a point. But does skill justify belligerence?Would talent warrant boorishness?Perhaps,one should take a look at Sachin Tendulkar or VVS Laxman. Anyway, after the match teams parted ways cordially, at least superficially. Shallow niceties were exchanged. Hollow apologies were submitted.

That was the end of it. The practice sessions were a good learning experience. As it is evident, there were good times;bad times and ugly times. Ya, life is like that-a potpourri of various feelings. Thus,emboldened with its new experiences, Team 4 Play III set out to face the real test.

(To be Continued)

******************

DISCLAIMER

THE STATEMENTS MADE ABOUT 'NEMESIS' PLAYERS ARE STRICTLY IN CONTEXT OF THE MATCH AND HAVE REFERENCE ONLY TO THEIR ON-FIELD BEHAVIOUR AND NOT TO THEIR OFF-FIELD CHARACTER.

4 Play-Second Season(August 2009) Report

(Continued from previous post)

The second season had posed some new challenges to 4 Play, which were, in one sense existential. A lot of players of the first edition had deserted the team; not because they got better offers from other teams, but because most of them were ashamed of playing. Ashamed of playing football!! Very often, we come across people, who carry with them the unnecessary burden of false pride and inflated ego, which emanates from a delusion of self-imposed greatness. According to the deserters, failure was humiliating. We are living in such a result-oriented world that we have forgotten to take pleasure from simple things in life. Not everyone believes in the philosophy of 'nishkama karma'.

Anyway, that didn't deter us from our attempts to form the team. We, the core members, tried all possible means to get the requisite numbers, but in vain. Finally, we got a way out. There was an LL.M students' team which was also facing the inadequacy of players. We suggested a merger. But there were other issues. We already had seven players and we just needed four more players. They too had seven players, and none of them were willing to be in the bench. Similar was the mindset of our players. So, deciding the final eleven was another headache. And we entered into negotiations and meditations. Finally, after a lot of string pulling and backroom dealings, the negotiation was effected. We must have been indulging in a miniature form of  the corporate mergers which we could be handling in future(if the corporate law firms oblige).But we had to make a compromise with the name. For some bizarre reason, the LLM fellows had named their team as 'Rejects'(probably to signify their alienation from mainstream college activities) and they wanted that to be reflected in the team name. We had to give in to that;and a new version of the team emerged,with an incongruous title :-'4 Play Rejects'

We were in a group of four teams. Or first match was against the formidable 'Nemesis'. We started the game with a defensive formation. One season of football had instilled some kind of game sense in the players. We held on for about fifteen minutes without conceding a goal. Then, the disaster occurred. One of our defenders, in a desperate attempt to clear the ball, handled an aerial shot, quite deliberately, which actually would have warranted a direct red card. But the player was not booked and they were given a direct free-kick outside the penalty box. They managed to capitalize on our amateurish set-piece defense, and scored a goal by breaching the wall. By half time, we were trailing 1-0.


Though, it was a much respectable scoreline, the team was demoralized. And that reflected in the game in the second half. The exhausted and dejected players of our team could not raise much challenge to the opponents. They scored goal after goal and the final score line stood as 6-0;the same result in our first match.

But in the next match we resurrected, like a phoenix from its ashes. The lynchpin of our team was Mr. Abraham Koshy aka Aby, who could not play in the first match due to prior commitments.Like an impenetrable fort, he stood in the central defense. A lot of goals were saved due to his heroics. Thus after the second match against 'OMG'(a first year team), we had a very respectable result of 2-0.

The last match of the group was scheduled against 'Sudama', who were know for their rough game. Moreover, they had managed to acquire a French Exchange student, who had claims of having played in the second division of French League. But all these couldn't discourage us. Aby was marking the French striker quite effectively. We even managed to create some chances for ourselves. But 'Sudama' managed to score two goals.

Though we lost out in the league rounds, we were ecstatic after our matches; more ecstatic than the winners. Winning or losing is a relative concept. When compared to our first edition, we had made considerable progress, and that fact itself made us proud. Another privilege which minnows has is that they are not burdened by the baggage of expectations. So any fleeting moment of excellence can become really cherishable. Thus 4Play continued playing, though a victorious climax continued to be elusive.

******************

(To be continued)

4 Play-First Season(July'08) Report

(Continued from the previous post)

As stated in the previous post, Team 4 Play, taking inspiration from the Captain's words,set out for its first official match. The match was scheduled against 'F.C.Mofuz', a team comprising first year students. That fact it self augmented team's confidence.On the D-day, we reached the ground, well before time. But our opponents had not arrived. As per the rules, the teams have to report fifteen minutes before the start of the match, and in case of any default, the other team would be deemed to have won the match. This further encouraged us. There were no signs of the 'Mofuz' turning up. We started pressurizing the organizers for getting a technical victory. Given the kind of argumentative players we have(we have the sort of players who argue with the referee over the definition of 'foul'), such belligerent sessions were very much expected. But the organizers didn't budge as they were too keen to have the match conducted and they started contacting the 'mofuz' team.


Finally, they turned up;not the entire team, but some seven or eight of them. We again resumed the arguments on a different technical point. The rules specify a minimum number of players to be present on the ground and as they were not meeting the requisite numbers, they should not be allowed to play. But all our protests went unheeded. They were permitted to play. The match time was reduced to twenty minutes to compensate for the lost time.

Thus we started off against an undermanned team, in a very complacent manner. But as the ball started to roll, all the players, who were like belligerent lions while arguing with the organizers, got transformed into timid lambs, letting the depleted opponents to take control of the game. Within five minutes of the game, they managed to penetrate the practically non-existant defense line of 4 Play and scored a goal. That caused the further disorientation of the team. All players got oblivious of their respective positions and flocked around the ball,like houseflies sticking to jackfruit. Defense,midfield,forward-all got  merged into a single entity which constantly tried to stick to the ball. In one sense, that was a kind of 'total football', inasmuch as no one assumed any specific role, except that of clearing the ball anyhow. But even the 'total football' tactic didn't work, and our opponents made merry by disturbing our goal net. It may sound incredible;but its true that in that match that goal keeper ran more than the strikers as he had to constantly move up and down to fetch the ball. By half-time, we had conceded three goals;and the team was completely demoralized.After  the practise matches, which were mostly matches amongst ourselves, most of the players had assumed a delusion of being great players. It was the first time that they were facing a quality opposition. Leave that, they were even players in the team who were touching a football for the first time in life. Such was the state-of-affairs of 4Play.


In the second half, the opponents were ruthless. They bombarded the goal net with shots. After conceding the sixth goal, the captain, in sheer frustration, shook the goal net vigorously. That was a very historic scene. Like the image of Roberto Baggio crying in anguish after missing the penalty shot against Brasil in 1994 and the image of Vinod Kambli weeping after the 1996 World Cup match at Eden Gardens against Sri Lanka got abandoned, this image of captain rattling against the goal-net was very poetic. After that, our opponents were more considerate. They didn't score anymore goals. The final score line read 6-0.


But we were not disheartened. We proudly upheld the spirit of the game. As Pierre de Coubertin said 'the important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle...'. And that was the only thing which we did-struggle!.After the game, we ran around the ground and chanted the team anthem maniacally . At least, in the post match histrionics, we surpassed our opponents. The loss resulted in our elimination from the tournament. Thus 4 Play ejected out of the tournament, quite prematurely.
                                ************
(To be continued)

Disclaimer: This is not a matter-of-fact reporting of events; but a recreation of them from memory, with a bit of artistic exaggeration.

4 Play-The Genesis

In the beginning was the word;and the word was with the captain;and the word was the team. The word is  4 Play(no phonetic pun intended), which went on to become a team that imbibes the spirit of sportsmanship.

Two years back, on a rainy July night, Mr.Ashwin Panicker  expressed the desire to play football;along with despair because of the fact that there weren't any vacancies available in the existing college football clubs.

'Why don't you make a team yourself? Thats the only way you can play" retorted Mr. Jason Johny

But I was cynical and vehemently ridiculed the idea of football illiterates floating a team. But that encouraged Jason and Ashwin more.

"It wouldn't be a team for winning;but just for the sake of playing.A team for play. Ya, let that be the name. Team 4 Play." Mr.Panicker formally announced.

"Then you be the captain". I said sarcastically.

But no one got the sarcasm intended and the comment was taken seriously. Also the fact that, Ashwin had successfully created a pool of talent during his tenure as group captain in school, enhanced his claim to captaincy.Thus Ashwin Panicker was made the captain of Team 4 Play and he diligently started the hunt for prospective players. There were no preconditions. Anyone with two legs and a desire to play could play in the team. Yes, there were two conditions:the players had to wholeheartedly accept the captaincy of Ashwin; and had to accept the name 4 Play.Thus, with great difficulty, a hotch-potch squad of eleven members were made. The team formation was decided not on the basis of any inherent skills, but purely on the physical attributes of the players.The ones who could run fast became the forwards; the stocky immobile ones were made the defenders; the residues were the mid-fielders; and the one with the longest limbs became the goal keeper.

Squad: Ashwin Panicker(c),Anuj Kapoor, N.C.Raghav, Eeshan Chaturvedi, Sushant Pednekar,Ganesh Sangeeth, Ranjith Mathew, Rajesh Kumar,Himanshu Singal,Adarsh Kumar,Shariq Shakir.M, Ankit Singh, Udit Garg and myself. And I was made the vice-captain for some reason, maybe due to my proximity to the captain(And some idiots twisted it as the 'captain of vices','captain with vices' etc.)

Before the beginning of the tournament, the captain made the policy of the team clear, by quoting Pierre de Coubertin, the conceiver of Modrern Olympics:

 

"The important thing in life is not the triumph 

but the struggle;the essential thing is not to 

have conquered but to have fought well"

Taking inspiration from these words, Team 4 

Play set out for its first official match

     ******************************************

 (To be continued) 


P.S: Sincere gratitude is expressed to Jason 

Johny, who despite being a rival team 

member,rendered all kinds of encouragement 

and support necessary for the crystallization of

the team.
 

 

Disclaimer: This is not a matter-of-fact 

reporting of events; but a recreation of them 

from memory with a bit of artistic 

exaggeration.

I