200 Carat Gold - Sir Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar!

Mamta Banerjee is upset today because she gets only one day in the year to grab the headlines and that has been snatched from her, Saeed Anwar is upset because the sole reason of people remembering him has been erased, Charles Coventry’s far stretched honeymoon is also over, as a gentleman also sometimes known as, Sachin Tendulkar, has done something which no one has ever done before in the history of this game. You would have hardly realized about this great feat if you would have just gone by his post match comments, where he was still praising Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni for their exceptional batting and talking as if it was just another day in the office for him and dedicating the double ton to the ‘people of India’, What a subtle snub to the regional chauvinists (would dearly love to hear T Company’s reaction on this great featJ). And very similar was his reaction after achieving the echelon of double hundred, no jump in the air, no fist pumping and no aggravated celebrations. Emotionless as ever! Epics has been written about the greatness of this man, comparisons have been made between him and every possible artisan who has excelled in any possible form of art across the globe but this man still stands out above all, not just for his impeccable records but more so for his humility and the way he has conducted himself amidst insurmountable success he has seen over the years. Phenomenally balanced head on his shoulders! I have never seen this man claiming himself as the no.1 or considering any opponent as an ordinary one, he is still as grounded as a below poverty line rickshaw puller may be. Never talks over ambitiously about his feats or anything bad about the opposing contemporaries, if at all some talking is done from his end rather fulsome talking, it is always his bat which does so. Kudos to his upbringing! Amazingly,Pre-budget blues have seen almost all stocks go flat over the past week or so but one scrip which has zoomed sky high is Sachin Tendulkar!

Ever seen the entire nation cursing Dhoni for hitting sixes and fours of every ball in the slog overs? Ever seen the whole of India cheering for Amla for stopping a probable dhoni boundary and converting it into a single? Ever seen an office cafeteria more crowded at 5.45 in the evening than at the lunch time? It all happened today, because nobody was interested in Dhoni’s hard hitting or working in office cubicle or doing anything else other than watching their beloved champion take strike and accomplish a feat which has not been achieved in 2960 matches played over 40 years. Such is the impact of this man on this sport, on this nation and on the life of a common man. When he is on song even the Pakistanis enjoy, cherish and hail his craftsmanship.Each and every ground in the Australia stood for this man both when he entered and left the field. Salute to the Maestro!

I have spent a considerable amount of my life arguing and fighting with my friends and colleagues trying to prove that he is the best and the greatest batsman of all times. I have often defended myself and the legend by the sheer weight of his stats. Some said he is yet to score a triple in tests, some said he lacks the impact which Sehwag has, some said he chokes in second innings, some said India losses when he scores a ton, some even said he plays only for his personal milestones. I always had a view that perhaps pressure of expectation on Sachin is greater than on any sporting personality because of a billion strong Indian diaspora and a ever so hyperventilating Indian Media and hence I defended each and every one of those outrageously criminal allegations by giving apt examples, instances and statistical figures and succeeded 9/10 times. But as always today when I was hearing/reading the tributes flowing on for the little genius from all across the cricketing fraternity and from other corners too, I was shocked to hear what Mr Sunil Gavaskar said, he went on praising the little master for his impeccable technique, solid temperament and phenomenal self conduct but then he went on to say ‘I will touch Sachin’s feat when I meet him for the next time’. I was so moved that it literally brought tears in my eyes out of the respect for the great man. Thereon I decided I will never indulge into any argument doubting Sachin’s credibility and greatness. For those who still doubt it, may better sense prevail and God help those souls. But I dread for the day when he decides to hang his boots. GOD! Don’t know what will happen to this nation then? A Month long national mourning? Postal stamps by his name? Him replacing Mahatma on the Indian currency note? National Holiday on 24^th of April? Don’t know what not? But I seriously don’t want to see that day in my life, because I don’t know how our lives would be without him playing for India. I believe that would be the saddest day for all of us.

When the almighty felt the need to save the mankind from the evils of the Demon Raavana he graced this planet in the form of Lord Rama, when he felt the need to cease the atrocities of barbarian Kansa or Duryodhana he took the avatar of Lord Krishna. But when he felt the desire for playing cricket he graced our land in the form of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, because no other living being can be so perfect, so complete and yet so grounded like him. Blessed are the people of Gwalior city who watched the maestro unleash his artistry on this special day, blessed are those 21 players and 2 umpires who shared the same turf with him, where all the magic happened and I feel I am blessed along with my fellow countrymen to have taken birth in the same land, to have breathed the same air and to see this godly creature exhibiting his magic in true sense. So words like Comparisons,Great, Bharat Ratna and Padma Bhushan have no significance in his case, after all GODS don’t need such adjectives before their namesJ

Hail the Champion! Hail the Magician! Hail the GOD!

Take a BOW!

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Tiger in trouble, both in INDIA and US!

What a paradox, two of the biggest democracies in the world and smitten by the Tiger Buff. On one hand United States is still stumped with the Tiger Woods controversy and is trying to come in terms with the troubled life of Tiger. India on the other hand is struggling to save its national animal ‘Tiger’ from going into the pages of history. Though the Tiger’s trouble in US is expected to end or atleast fade a bit after the rehab program which the golfer is undergoing but the stakes for Indian Tiger coming out of trouble waters are very bleak. The pace with which this enchanting specie is dwindling in number is exorbitant. The statistics of their decline are nerve wrecking and if we go by the trends it won’t be an exaggeration to say that our children would be seeing this beautiful animal only in the books or documentaries. It is believed that at the turn of last century there were around 100,000 Tigers worldwide, 40,000 of which inhabited in India and from around those 40,000 tigers there are just 1411 left in India currently and even these figures are also of last year. The condition is so bad that out of 37 Tiger Sanctuaries in India, 17 are on the verge of losing their Tiger population completely and the irony is condition is getting worse everyday in spite of the various measures taken by the Indian Government to save its national animal; 2009 being the worst year for tigers in India with 86 deaths being reported.

But the question is, suddenly why is there so much fuss about plummeting Tiger numbers, when many more endangered species are also facing the same scenario. Is it simply because Tiger is our national animal? NO, there is much more to it. Tigers occupy an important place in the Indian culture. Since ages, it has been the symbol of magnificence, power, beauty and fierceness and has been associated with bravery and valor. The tiger also has a significant place in Hindu mythology as the vehicle of Goddess Durga. In the olden times, hunting of tigers was considered to be one of the highest acts of bravery by kings and noblemen. The tiger is a unique animal which plays a pivotal role in the health and diversity of an ecosystem. It is a top predator and is at the apex of the food chain. Therefore the presence of tigers in the forest is an indicator of the well being of the ecosystem. The extinction of this top predator is an indication that its ecosystem is not sufficiently protected. Tigers and high intensity biotic disturbances such as poaching and stealing of kills do not go together. If the tigers in the wild have to survive, it is imperative that other species of wild animals that are directly or indirectly a part of the food chain must also thrive. Therefore, the survival of the tiger is an important yardstick to measure the existence of a healthy forest ecosystem.

So what are the dreadful contributors to the sorry state of this royal animal? Habitat and prey loss is certainly one of the most important reasons, large-scale habitat destruction and decimation of prey populations are the major long-term threats to the existence of the dwindling tiger population in the country. Less than a hundred years ago, tigers prowled all across India and the sub-continent. But growing human populations, particularly since the 1940s, have contracted and fragmented the tiger's former range. Tigers need large territories. And along with habitat, tigers have also suffered a severe loss of natural prey populations – in particular ungulates such as deer and antelopes. But the biggest reason for this decimation is Hunting, Poaching and Illegal trades. For over thousand years, tigers have been hunted as status symbol, decorative item such as wall and floor covering, as souvenirs and curios, and for use in traditional Asian medicines. Hunting for sport probably caused the greatest decline in tiger populations until the 1930s. In the early 1990s, trade in tiger bone for traditional Chinese medicines threatened to drive tigers to extinction in the wild. Poaching is the largest immediate threat to the remaining tiger population. And last but not the least Conflict with human population is another threat resulting into this awry state. As tigers continue to lose their habitat and prey species, they are increasingly coming into conflict with humans as they attack domestic animals – and sometimes people. In retaliation, tigers are often killed by angry villagers.

But all this while I was wondering how a common man can contribute towards the ‘Save Our Tigers’ campaign? Can we really save this beautiful creature just by writing blogs and talking big? The answer to this is Yes and No. Unless we spread the word about the criticality of the situation we can’t even think of moving forward. So going out loud and telling everyone that Tigers are dying and they need our help is the least we can do. We should also try to become responsible tourists and shouldn’t damage the sanctuaries and zoos by littering around and as the saying goes ‘Don’t leave thing anything behind except foot steps, and don’t take anything except memories.’ We should also strive towards reducing our dependency on the natural resources and hence should cut down on the usage of products derived from forests, such as timber and paper. And being a responsible citizen of this nation we should be honest and brave enough to report any susceptible incidents of hunting, poaching or illegal trading because this is the one which is causing the maximum damage to this endangered specie. And last but not the least if can curb on any of our luxuries and in turn donate that saving towards the cause of Tiger Conversation through the channels WWF and PETA, it would not only be an act of kindness to this nation but it will be a great service towards the entire mankind.

At the outset matters like this seem quite uninteresting and boring to us when we have much glamorized and less though provoking options like IPL, My Name is Khan, Rahul Dulhaniya Le Jaega or Tiger Woods sexcapades at our fingertips. We generally tend to keep ourselves away from such important issues and even if we come across advertisements emphasizing about the importance of Tiger Conservations, we more often than not change the channel. But it is high time we take some ownership and give a serious thought to such issues because our nation’s pride is at stake. If we won’t do it, who will do it? The current generation hardly knows anything about our national sport which is in its worst possible state, let us pledge and not let this happen to our national animal.

Save the Speechless, Save Our Tigers!

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Kudos SRK for being a MAN!

I believe there are two categories of people in this world, one who will keep on loving or hating somebody irrespective of his/her deeds and the others being the ones who will keep changing their views as per the deeds of the people. In other words 1^st category of people will keep on hating SRK, even if dos movies like Chak De and Swades or if he fights against the maniac Thackerays belligerently despite his chocolate boy image. And the 2^nd category of people are those who basically dislike SRK for 100s of well known reasons but they change their views momentarily to praise the mercurial star for the brave fight he has put forth against the insane Thackeray clan. I personally don’t know which category I belong to, because I am a die hard SRK fan despite of his over acting consistencies, slapstick irritating humor and over the place arrogant potshots on his contemporaries, but I have certainly seen some of my category 1 friends momentarily converting into category 2J

Off late I have refrained myself from writing anything on SRK or Sir Sachin Tendulkar, reason being my friends have started tagging me as the PR agent of these two gentlemenJ But now if I am attributing one more write-up to one of them, its due to the fact that few of the very same folks have asked me to do so. I was myself bewildered that some of my close friends who literally dislike SRK to an extent that they can’t even tolerate him by any means have come forward and admitted that after his recent face off with the Shiv Sena, their respect for the man has increased manifolds. And I believe if these guys are saying this then it is 100% true and at the same time it has also brought a lot of relief for me as well, that my views weren’t biased eitherJ

Well SRK might not be the most good looking guy as Salman, he might not even act half as well as Aamir does, he might not even dance one tenth of what Hrithik dances, his muscles might be just one third of what John boasts of and he might stand no where in front of Mr Bachchan’s versatility and gracefulness. Rather people even perceive him as one of the most arrogant and pompous guys in the film industry who considers no one above himself. But still why is he still so popular and at the top? People might again differ with me but I feel he is a very good thinker and his people management skills are far superior than most of the superstars in the industry. He might seem to be an over smart, stupid guy trying to impose his presence every where, but listen to what he speaks carefully without any preconceived notions and you will find that he talks sense most of the times, he knows a lot of things about everything in this world, much more than you and me might be knowing and his point of view isn’t as shallow as one might associate with a hindi film hero. The major reason for this being he reads a lot and enjoys a great camaraderie with top people across all fields. No wonder he is also one of top marketing minds in the country today, who is selling everything from a Hyundai Car to Navratan Tel and Sunfeast Cream Biscuits to Linc Pens.

The category 1 people will strongly believe that the recent drama with Shiv Sena is one of his tactics to promote his upcoming blockbuster (MNIK). Even I was thinking the same when this episode kicked off but I was utterly surprised as this drama unfolded. It intensified way beyond anybody’s expectation and the climax for it was pretty much expected, that the superstar will smartly back off and intelligently apologize to the terror supremo Thackeray. But what he eventually stood for was something nobody has done before, he refused to offer any sort of apology which was quite right too (though unexpected), irrespective of the fact that his mega budget movie gets a peaceful release in the metropolitan city of Bombay, sorry Mumbai (sorry Balasaheb, I won’t repeat, don’t ban the screening of my blogs) or not. His critics even predicted that after coming back to India the superstar will change his stand in the lieu of his movie release. But after coming back he falsified all such claims and strongly thrashed off any possibilities of apologizing to his rivals, rather he went on to apologize to his co producers ( Karan Johar) and co actors (Kajol) for all the trouble this project is facing due his stand on a particular issue. This was something which no one has done before; nobody has ever dared to see directly in the eye of the self proclaimed Mumbai Tiger. Even the likes of Bachchans and Johars have backed off in such scenarios. Some still say that SRK might go and meet Balasaheb in Matoshree before his movie releases, I seriously doubt this because he has categorically said time and again that ‘there is no chance of an apology because the very day I apologize I wont be able to see into the eyes of my kids, even though if I still go to Matoshree, that will be a routine visit just to meet an elder/friend but a chance of apologizing for being an Indian never arises, even if it affects the revenues of my movie’.

No matter what happens now, one thing is for sure if somebody is most disturbed and most shocked by all this is; it is most definitely the Thackeray clan. Because never in the past 60 years, somebody has dared to confront them in such a manner, that too with an unprecedented support from the entire nation. Great show SRK, I am proud to be your fan, in fact even if I wouldn’t have been your fan, I would have still been proud of you, for standing against a nonsensical cause. Hats off for being a proud Indian and a true ambassador for our nation.

Kudos SRK for being a MAN !

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'Thackerays' - A case study on the trait of Insanity!

The other day I was reading some literature on the history of Maharashtra and I came across something really interesting, it said that the greatest Maratha warrior of all times ‘Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ had this strong vision of seeing a united India and he always fought for this cause with lot of pride. Ironically few of the terror outfits aka political parties attribute the cause of their inception and existence to the great Shivaji but they have smartly twisted the great man’s ideology, remixed them and packaged them in a new avatar and are using it for their own benefit. Although I still wonder how is it actually helping their cause because they are by no means in power by doing so. Still what they have done is, they have picked up bits and pieces from the maratha warrior’s life and projected it as ‘This is the land of great Maratha warrior and only Marathi Manoos has the right to live and use the resources of this land’. Epitome of stupidity! Ironically also the word MAHARASHTRA neither has Marathi in it nor has anything like State/Pradesh or Rajya in it, rather it has a strong word RASHTRA in it, that emphasizes of only and only Nation. But understandably these political parties don’t have any other agenda on which they can rely upon for their survival. Ever heard Shiv Sena or MNS using words like ‘Development’, ‘Progress’, or ‘Nation’ in their efforts to connect with the common man? I doubt anybody has ever heard them. But this is certainly not a new phenomenon, even a national level party like BJP fights every election with the same old agenda of Ayodha temple but they miss out on an important trick, that in today’s scenario people don’t even remember that such a cause still exists and they aren’t much bothered about celebrating the cause of a temple in Ayodha but they are much more concerned about employment and security issues. And no wonder such parochial thinking has led to the downfall of these parties both on a national and a regional level.

Now spare sometime for a conversation between a Mumbai couple –

Wife: Honey, I am leaving for airport in next half an hour...

Husband: Darling, why are you leaving 3 hours before, for a 20 minute taxi ride...

Wife: Oh...dumbo...see…half an hour buffer, half an hour ride, one hour for check in/security/boarding and one hour for interviews....

Husband: Interviews...at this hour????

Wife: Oh Darling life is too tough these days, you got to spend so much time checking for the domicile letters, fluency in Marathi and other important stuff before you actually decide upon one, among the prospective taxi drivers.

Husband: Oh yes I forgot…Its better you leave now rather than waiting for another half an hour...

Trust me if we go by the current attics of our super smart leaders this will turn into a harsh reality very soon. I laughed my heart out when I first watched this piece of news that ‘To be a taxi driver in Mumbai/Maharashtra, you ought to be well versed in Marathi and should have been residing in the state for at least 15 years’. Wow, ironically we are truly moving very fast towards achieving an ambitious goal of resurrecting our beloved city Mumbai on the lines of Shanghai. With whole of the world striving hard to give a global look to all the major cities of their country by raising the standards of administration, facilities and opportunities to the outsiders, we in India are traversing a downward spiral by further complicating the lives of our prospective foreign guests in the cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai and in turn their vested interest in our beloved nation which might have surely strengthened our economy by leaps and bounds.

I find it really funny and at the same time annoying that people have to offer an apology to the likes of Thackerays for using the word ‘Bombay’ instead of ‘Mumbai’ in a movie. Come on guys, it’s a movie built on an imaginary concept and an imaginary world, how is it affecting the economic development of our nation? It is utterly sad. If this is not enough, a bunch of national icons like Sachin Tendulkar, Mukesh Ambani and Shahrukh Khan also have to face the wrath of these insane politicians for the very reason that they have called themselves as Proud Indians when what was expected of them was to feel proud about just being in Maharashtra. On the contrary when the Thackerays party with the Miandads its fine but when somebody else wants our neighbors playing in his team, he is a traitor, I guess we can’t get a better example of double standards and rowdy behavior than this. But the worst and the most shameful of all these dramas was the one when these bunch of miscreants badly thrashed and hit out on an elected member in the state assembly for the very reason that the minister was taking his oath in Hindi and not in Marathi. Goodness, gracious me, this is India and Hindi is our National language and every body is entitled and should be proud to exercise it.

And even though the whole of nation is unanimous on the fact that Mumbai belongs to all of India or for that matter every part of India belongs to every Indian, Thackerays feel otherwise and whosoever goes against them will have to face violence or the screening of his Movie will be banned in the state. I have no words to express how cheap, how irrelevant and how horrendous are the acts and ideologies of these political parties. I don’t understand what is stopping the central government to impose a ban on the communal newspapers like ‘Saamna’ and may be also a strict ban on all of these political parties for the reasons of inciting violence, communalism and hooliganism by means of such baseless issues. Infact I doubt they will ever be able to do so, but I was really excited when another extremist group RSS came forward against Shiv Sena and said that it will safeguard the victims from Shiv Sena’s baseless and nonsensical violent shows. But unfortunately after this statement they disappeared from the scene, probably they didn’t had any good orators to take on the verbose Thackerays.

I personally believe the likes of Shiv Sena, MNS and VHP are doing more damage to the sovereignty and integrity of our nation than the external terror outfits because being the part of the same nation these political parties are dividing the people of our nation on the basis of language they speak and the region they belong to. This is totally unacceptable and should be abhorred by all means. Who are they to decide what should be done and what should not be done? Neither are they the Chief Ministers or the Prime Ministers of this country, nor are they army majors or commissioners of Mumbai? So why do we give so much importance to what they say, why do they decide whether we can celebrate Valentine Days or what we can wear and what we should not? If we start ignoring them and their nonsensical issues, life would be so different. Same applies to the media too; I believe media is an equal partner in crime with these political parties because media gives these parties the footage, exposure and mileage they are seeking for. And the very day they also start ignoring this nuisance by not showing those minute by minute ‘Breaking News’ story on what the Thackeray clan vomits, 99% of the problems will get solved and probably the existence of these toothless parties will end but by doing so probably the existence of media i.e 100s of 24*7 news channels and newspapers will also come to an end. Because we are living in an era where extremism and rumors soothes our taste buds more aptly, whether it is genuine and morally correct or not comes much later or at times never comes at all:).

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PadmaShree for Kasab, National Award for KRK & Noble Peace for Osama!

Winners are happy, losers are expectedly grim, overlooked but truly deserving people are disheartened but surprisingly the common man is shocked, appalled and puzzled. Yes it’s the time of award ceremonies globally. And as the number of award ceremonies across various fields are increasing exponentially every year, it seems that the authenticity of the most prestigious awards are getting dwindled year by year. Or for that matter the pride, the fame and the sense of accomplishment which people used to attach with the awards and recognitions have lost all its shine. Last year two of the biggest cricketing superstars of the Indian Cricket, Captain Cool Dhoni and ever so defiant Turbanator Bhajji gave one of the most prestigious awards of the country, PadmaShri Awards a miss. So have they become bigger than the sport or one of biggest national honor counts for nothing or are they just keeping up to their image of being super cool and carefree at the expense of insulting the entire nation? Whatever be it, it’s a true mockery and a shameful dip in respect towards one of the highest national honor. There was a time when even getting a first rank in a primary school test was a big enough award in itself, a matter of celebration and feeling proud about oneself. But today we live in an era when a leading actress of recent times Katrina Kaif refuses to attend and perform in an award ceremony unless the organizers give her an award, her argument for the same being ‘how can I not get an award, even after having most no. of hit films against my name this year?’ Ridiculous, isn’t it? But that’s not all, to make things even more ridiculous she was indeed awarded with a newly formed category of award ‘Best Entertainer of the Year’, only after which she brazenly attended and performed on that award night. Such is the state and such are the value of awards, trophies and prizes today.

We have come across various stories of awards being bought and sold across various fields. But the most shocking incident in the recent times has been that of Saif Ali Khan being awarded the Padma Shri awards. Reason???? Nobody knows! Some say it is for his portrayal of a practical and a carefree guy in the movie ‘Love Aajkal’, who handles the breakup with his girlfriend with lot of finesse( another mockery of our value system). Some say it is for his path breaking performance in the movie Kurbaan, I wonder which paths has he broken in that movie. But I personally feel he has been awarded the Padma Shree awards for tattooing his girl friend’s name on his forearm, trust me this seems most reasonable. Come on guys I have heard its very painful, so he well and truly deserved one. On that the poor guy defends himself arguing that none of the recent Padamshree awardees have invented a nuclear bomb either, so why such a fuss. GOD! Can it be more hilarious? I was equally shocked when the same man was felicitated with the national award few years back, probably that was for inspiring her girl friend to turn into a size zero, certainly that became a national rage then, so well deserved again indeedJ

We Indians shouldn’t feel so bad about our system here. Even Barack Obama has received the Noble Peace Prize this year! No laughing please guys. People say he truly deserves it, so what if he has spent only a short span of 8 months in office where our Bapu can’t get it for doing what not for the sake of peace. Upon that, weeks after receiving the Noble Peace Prize, Mr. President announces a 550 billion dollar defence budget and a major ramp up in troops in Afghanistan. True justice to the biggest award on earth!

Fortunately in some parts of the globe common sense still prevails, where true champions like A R Rehman are being awarded with Grammys and Oscars. And because of them we can feel proud and good about ourselves. But I can’t understand what has gone wrong with the common sense of our jury members, either they are all sold out or they have lost all their brains. Certainly one things is for sure, all this has made the award ceremonies very popular and a sought after event every year, because anybody and everybody can expect their names in the covetous list. So next year we can see Ajmal Kasab receiving the Padam Shree from Mrs Patil, may be even KRK getting the National Awards for his exemplary performances in Big Boss or for that matter Osama Bin Laden being felicitated with the Noble Peace Prize( for not striking US for last 10 years). Or may be even I might get a PadmaShree, though I will be more happy with Shahzan PadamseJ

Pity but yes such is the value of awards today!

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