Three articles accepted in as much as three days! Published in three national dailies, a hat-trick of ‘middles’. Writing never seemed easier. And after going through a dreadfully long lean period, I made the most of this ‘purple patch’. Sunil Gavaskar’s oft-repeated words, exhorting the batsmen, came to mind: “Make hay while the sun shines... pile up the runs... you never know when a rainy day may be around...”

And so I did, feeling in good touch. “When is your next piece coming up, Mina?” came from family and friends, wishing me on. Next piece? I sat at the keyboard, fingers ready to fly. But, the ‘touch’ had deserted me. The fingers wouldn’t move. The mind wouldn’t work. Ideas dried up. The inspired spell had gone! I was no longer ‘in the zone’. Forget about writer’s block. I couldn’t claim to be a ‘writer’ on the strength of a few articles. Then why this sudden slump?

I sympathised with the batsmen who go through this ‘dip in form’, their feet are like clay, their mind unclear, their technique, in question. And looking painfully out of place, they ask themselves, “What am I doing here?”

Look at Yuvi and Ricky, who, as I write this, are going through the biggest dip in their careers, their struggle patently obvious. But they are men of character and will undoubtedly fight their way back. And prove the old cricketing cliche right, ‘Form is temporary, class is permanent.’

But where does all this leave me ? How do I ‘perform’? And then came the clincher! Like the ‘princess and the pea’, only those with pedigree can ‘feel’ the slump. You need to exhibit class and talent, to experience the pain of losing it, albeit for a while. Commoners like me have no business going through a temporary loss of form.

... contd.