Walking Down Memory Lane

We often wonder if our mind has the capacity to erase negative memories from the past with the passage of time. Even in therapy, there is ‘Reminiscence Therapy’, presenting a person with objects and memories from their past for helping them process it. That said, even three years ago, I would have mocked this method if someone had proposed it, even though I was in therapy back then, more related to a quarter-life crisis. I did have an epiphany and also a bit of catharsis during a recent experience, as I walked down the memory lane in my previous neighbourhoood (or city, depending on the point of view).

I became a Francilien (a French word for someone living in Ile de France (Paris metropolitan region)) in 2019, and I moved to a suburb that was known neither for its safety, nor for its cleanliness nor for its beauty but I did not have much of a choice given I had only 48 hours to search for a place and move from the South of France. It was the city of Aubervilliers that I moved to, what could be described as the warehouse of France given the number of businesses having their depots here, and is also close to Stade de France, which becomes relevant given the Olympics hosted by Paris in 2024. When I moved, there were still several construction sites, for the extension of Line 12 of Paris metro till Mairie d’Aubervilliers, a construction of a swimming pool for the diving events in Saint-Denis and there were also other projects around Stade de France to facilitate all the spectators who were to be coming, and not to mention, even some opportunistic property developers starting projects anticipating the inevitable gentrification.

I did not hear many encouraging words from my colleagues or friends either, on my neighbourhood and I lived there for almost three years before leaving my student apartment, mostly because I felt disturbed to be still benefitting from a beneficial rent while no longer being a student; even though I was eligible for it as a ‘young professional’, it was evident that it was time to move on. I moved to Paris city in 2022, and I told myself that I would visit Aubervilliers from time to time, just that it took two and a half years for it to arrive.

So, why did I have to give this context? I recently visited this suburb, and I liked having been there and thinking of all the memories I had made there over the years, walking through every single street that I used to pass by back then, including checking out the shops that I used to visit. Of course, there were signs of gentrification – for instance, there was a wasteland near Rue Heurtault when I lived and today, there is a construction project of apartments mainly targeting well-to-do families. I also made use of the Line 12 metro station at Mairie d’Aubervilliers, something that I never had while I was living there, and the nearest metro for me was at least 2.5 km away for me in any direction (either Quatre Chemins for Line 7 or Porte de Paris Saint-Denis for Line 13). Evidently, I did not have a very easy life, as every time, to go to Paris, there was a lot of effort involved.

Logistics and infrastructure apart, it was not even a period where I was experiencing utmost levels of happiness, on the other hand, I was going through a quarter-life crisis as aforementioned. However, two and a half years later, I felt happiness raging in me as I was walking by these streets and it was evident that my mind had chosen to only showcase the good memories. It was largely a feeling of nostalgia, and I was just thinking of all the stages that I had gone past while living in this city, the experiences that I have had here and even elsewhere, as I travelled extensively when I was here and every time I returned to this neighbourhood from Charles de Gaulle airport, to the stations of La Plaine Stade de France or La Courneuve Aubervilliers, it gave me a feeling of being at home.

Among many of these trips that I have made in this city, there is one particular crossing that I am very familiar with: an old wooden bridge across the Seine connecting Saint-Denis to Aubervilliers. While it was useful and sturdy, there is a particular memory from 2021 where I had told myself, ‘If I were to slip and fall into the river, it would take days before anyone even notices it’. It certainly was not true, but the moment shows the internal battles that I was waging back then.

Now, returning to Aubervilliers, I saw a new bridge parallel to the old wooden bridge, mainly to facilitate access to Stade de France. While going past this modern structure, the only memories that came to my mind was the feeling of relief that I had every time while getting on this bridge; that is was the end of a long day and that I was almost home. It could be said as a metaphor for the path that I have crossed – not just pas the familiar streets but also all the experiences and the personal battles.

The neighbourhood has changed (there are still some streets that look exactly the same), I have changed as well, but by recalling these memories, I was in a state of happiness as well. Personally, I have never done reminiscence therapy but after this experience, I could say that my mind seems to have the capacity to retain only the good memories while erasing the bad ones and for me, walking down this memory lane helped me a lot; if I have a need for therapy ever again, I could consider another method, including this one.

Have a nice day,
Anirudh

Settling the GOAT Debate

We as humans have always enjoyed watching sports as a spectacle, every ancient civilisation has had some record of having people play sports and others watching it. The Olympic games are over several millennia old.

Despite what the title of the article suggests, I am not here to settle the endless Messi vs Ronaldo, Warne vs Muralitharan or Serena Williams vs Steffi Graf debate. I am talking of a discussion where the stakes are arguably much higher.

We all would have played games with our family as children and teenagers. After all, that is what holidays were meant for. Considering our love to watch people play sport, imagine if these family games were to be televised with an active fan following. I had been wondering if such a spectacle would have been possible, little did I know that watching a random vox pop in Piazza Navona in Rome would provide a solution to this need. Here was a random journalist asking kids who their favourite footballer was an one of them answered that theirs was a certain “Mr. Greedy”. Till I opened the comments, I thought that it was just a ridiculous remark from a kid till I saw that several comments praised him as the “OG fan”. Reading more on this name led me to none other than Zeeshan Sports League – where a few teenagers and Biggie, all part of the same extended family, play games.

We have Hasnain, Daniel, Cute Boy Ali, Sallu, Biggie, JD, Kaku, Assad Ronaldo, Azam, Little Biggie and then the big 4 – Omar, Cool Boy, Muzammil and Mr. Greedy; all competing for the ultimate prize at the end of each game – a burger, a candy or a plate of biryani.

In case you have not followed the characters of Zeeshan sports league, reading any further in this article would seem like gibberish and I strongly recommend you to follow the pages of Mr. Greedy and Zeeshan Sports League in TikTok and Instagram.

This is going to focus on the ongoing “greatest of all time” (hereafter referred to as GOAT) debate between Mr. Greedy and Muzammil, the two most prominent faces of Zeeshan Sports League, with distinct personalities of their own. People on the side of Muzammil praise his calm demeanour, altruism and being a player who plays by the books. On the other side, we have Mr. Greedy, who was known as Asef before his popularity, is known for his passion and the never say die attitude, to win at all costs.

Mr. Greedy (Asef) on the left and Muzammil on the right

I think the fandom unanimously agrees that these two are the best players of the league while it could be argued that they are credibly challenged by Omar and Cool Boy (both of the challengers happen to be siblings). The division within the fandom is merely over the GOAT debate. Mr. Greedy clearly has the larger fan baase and one could argue that Zeeshan Sports League is where it is today, thanks to him. It is clearly seen to the extent that Zeeshan developed a stack smash game for iOS and Android, and named it after Mr. Greedy. On the other side, Muzammil has his own fan following, including celebrity fans, the most notable being the British economist Gary Stevenson (with many often surprised as to why a man who talks about wealth taxes all the time is suddenly commenting on a Muzammil video).

There are several claims that Muzammil is ahead on a head-to-head basis, but I am sceptical about these claims for two reasons. Firstly, there is no reliable measure of statistics, and despite the existence of pages within the fandom, none of them are officially recognised by either Zeeshan or any representative of the league. The second, and more importantly, Zeeshan Sports League is a multidisciplinary league which involves strategic games, physically demanding games such as a boxing much or purely luck-based games where you have to pick the right-coloured ball from a jar while being blindfolded. Even if we were to take the head-to-head statistics as genuine, I think we can all agree that a win on a skill-based game should be more valuable than a win on a luck-based game.

It is to be noted that Muzammil tends to struggle in sports where some of the non-Big 4 kids have a natural physical advantage. For instance, Little Biggie has a natural advantage in boxing or tug of war and Muzammil is often handily beaten by him, whereas Mr. Greedy genuinely challenges Little Biggie (and other players who have natural advantage in other disciplines) and often wins against them. Mr. Greedy has proved time and again that he is an all-rounder and his abilities on field remind me of his compatriot known for his all-round ability, Imran Khan.

I would not get into the debate on whether Muzammil wins more luck-based games but in this kind of a league, performance backed by passion is what is most valuable, and what brings in the viewership. That passion is undoubtedly shown by Mr. Greedy and as of today, given his multi-dimensional ability and how he creates a spectacle for all the viewers involved, it certainly adds weight to his claim. Barring the subjective factors, even on an objective metric, Mr. Greedy won the Player of the Year award for the last two years, clearly showing that he is consistent throughout.

These factors mean that as of now, Mr. Greedy is certainly the GOAT given the current circumstances but one cannot rule out a change in the future. Does it mean that Mr. Greedy is flawless? Certainly not, he still needs a character and a redemption arc. One could display passion and aggression while still playing by the rules and not trying to actively sabotage the others and receiving temporary bans from Zeeshan. While that is the first area of improvement, as a next step, if he shares the food that he wins, he can certainly move towards being the GOAT with no haters, something he truly deserves in the long run.

For now, commiserations Muzammil and thanks for being the rival that the GOAT deserves. And Mr. Greedy, best wishes to become the greatest sportsperson that Pakistan has ever produced.

Long Live Zeeshan Sports League !

Have a nice day,
Anirudh