The Ooooos & Aaaaahs of IPL!

There is no doubt in the fact that in a short span of 3 years IPL has become the big daddy of entertainment. Even the likes of saas bahu fame Ekta Kapoor, Ramayana fame Ramanand Sagars and Mahabharata fame Chopras haven’t been able to capture the attention and imagination of the entire nation to such an extent. On the face of it the full credit should go to Mr Lalit Modi, the manner in which the man has commercialized, globalised and spiced up the boring white uniform sport invented by the Englishmen is absolutely commendable. The management and marketing gurus can write volumes on the mega successful phenomena of this man and to a good extent he truly deserves all this credit too. But when the fans are happy, franchise owners are happy, players are not complaining, media is minting money every season courtesy IPL, then why this fracas all of a sudden? Simply because one can never afford to mess with the Government and expect to go away cheaply. And seeds for this mess were sown last year itself when Mr Modi went against the Union Home Minister, Mr Chidambaram’s advice to slightly postpone and reschedule the IPL-2 because of the security issues due to the general elections at the same time. And logically too, general elections in the largest democracy on the planet is a far more important exercise than a sporting event. But Mr Modi went against the government with the backing of his cash rich parent body BCCI, whose financial might is potent enough to tackle any obstacle and scheduled the event in South Africa in just 15 days short notice. He garnered heaps of praise from all corners for his exemplary man-management skills and outstanding organizing abilities but this was all at the expense of a confrontation and a cold war with the reining government. But who cared, at least Modi didn’t, as he was basking in the glory of super successful staging of IPL-2. If this wasn’t enough, this year too he took one of the union minister ( Mr Shashi Tharoor) head on. Now whether Tharoor was right or not is a different debate altogether but it gave the wounded government an excellent opportunity to go hammers and tongs against Modi. Uproar in Parliament, Ignominy in media and unrest among fellow government ministers forced the government to oust Tharoor, but this for sure was a strategic move to tame the violent storm because per credentials Tharoor was far too qualified a minister to be expelled for such charges when the government have already seated corrupt heavy weights like Laloo, Mulayam and Maya for ages. So in all probability Tharoor will be back in the ministry in say 6 months time but this episode has well and truly exposed the manipulative ways of Modi and BCCI.

Not only this drama has raised questions on ministers like Pawar and Patel but it has also exposed the financial irregularities in various high budget deals. Though Modi has been defiant on all these charges right from the start, but the manner in which the I–T department has made startling revelations about possible rigging during the bidding process, benami stakes in various franchises and also prospective betting and match fixing activities, it has well and truly shaken the confidence of a common man who has been following cricket from years and idolizing the players to limits.The charges of bid rigging and benami stake, though illegal, do not actually impact a cricket fan to such an extent as the charges of betting and match fixing do. The match fixing episode of 1999-2000 left such a deep scar in the minds of the most avid cricket followers that the very thought of match fixing makes one feel dejected with the game. And watching some of the matches in the IPL one actually feels that they are fixed, because top class players dropping easiest of catches, teams losing matches from situations of impeccable strength and batsmen getting out in the most unimaginable ways is actually too hard to digest. But at the same time one feels when players of the reputation of Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Sachin Tendulkar are involved, there can’t be elements of match fixing in this tournament, but at times it’s even hard to console oneself inspite of these gentlemen playing the game. This certainly was the case when Mumbai fielders dropped dollies and Pollard was kept waiting in the dressing room till the penultimate over in the Finals. But again I consoled myself saying that it wasn’t fixed, may be the giant Pollard was fighting the bugs of loose motions that time and hence a delay in sending him to batJ. Whatever be it, a thorough inquiry against all such claims is definitely required, because this tournament is not only involving lots of moolah but it also involves the faith and belief of thousands of fans, which is priceless!

But the Modus Operandi of BCCI in cleaning out all the slush seems quite vague and the reasoning which they are giving to support their initiatives is even weirder. Firstly if they wanted to expel Modi, why were they waiting till the end of the tourney? They could have done that then and there, hence clearing exhibiting their impotency to handle the mega event on their own even at that juncture. Secondly BCCI has been time and again cribbing that they were not aware of all these financial irregularities and Mr Modi always kept them in the dark. So what were the other 12 members of the governing council members doing for the last 3 years? They were certainly not governing so either they were just sleeping around and warming the benches or they were also equal partners in crime and at the time of crisis, making Mr Modi the scapegoat. And thirdly the probe committee which they have formulated comprises of only the internal members, so unless there is an external, independent prober involved how can we trust the authenticity of the probe? All it will result in will be putting on all the charges on Modi and giving a clean chit to all the other governing council members, which in itself is a mockery of the entire process. I am not defending Mr Modi nor am I a big fan of Mr Lalit Modi but I am definetly a big fan of Indian Cricket and that’s why I am worried.

Though Mr Modi has managed the IPL in a great way and deserves full marks for his work but as a matter of fact if he payed a tax of Rs 8 lakhs 3 years back and is now paying a tax of a whopping 11 crores, then there is certainly something fishy, because he is not remunerated so heavily for his services to account for such a tax hike. So all it indicates is some wrong doing, leave apart those private jets and yachts which he has bought in this period. All these financial manipulations are apart from the arrogant and rash behavior and godly tantrums he has been throwing from last 3 years, behaving as if he isn’t just the IPL commissioner but also the whole sole proprietor of the entire country itself. With such an attitude his downfall was just a matter of time, and all his extraordinary people skills and organizing capabilities were bound to go down the drain. And for those who believed IPL can not survive without Mr Modi shouldn’t worry at all, because nobody in this world is indispensable and everybody is irreplaceable for sure, howsoever capable and efficient he/she may be. And for those who are demanding for a ban on IPL, forget it guys! Howsoever furious the government may be with Mr Modi, they can never ban IPL as it is generating a revenue of over 1000 crores every year for them in the form of tax. So by no means they will impose a ban on such lucrative machinery. All we can hope is a thorough cleansing of IPL so that our favorite sport remains our favorite and clean by all means!

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Cash Lies & IPL!

Hundreds dead and thousands homeless due to a deadly storm in Bengal, around a million stranded at various airports in Europe due to volcanic eruption hampering the air travel courtesy mammoth smoke clouds, 76 families still grief struck after the Dantewada Maoist massacre, but who cares, at least the media hardly does when they have a super bonanza news bomb in the form of Tharoor, Modi and IPL sandwiched in one, to cover. Though this incident hardly affects the common man or the socioeconomic growth of our country, it certainly provides an impetus to the economic growth of the print and electronic media. And when you have the deadly threesome in the form of cash and glamour rich IPL, overtly flamboyant and loud mouthed Lalit Modi and the most technology versed and controversy prone politician of recent times, Shashi Tharoor involved in this saga, it certainly can’t get spicier than this, perfect mix for a wholesome entertainment.

Now the entities involved in this tussle which revolves around Kochi franchise’s bid are real heavy weights. On one hand we have the prolific author, columnist, journalist, human rights advocate, peacekeeper, former UN under secretary general and current minister of states for external affairs, the ever so charming and eloquent Mr Shashi Tharoor who has been alleged with charges of having a private relationship with one of the co owners of the Kochi franchisee and using his ministerial power to help the bidders to win the cash rich mega deal and in turn get benefited himself through that private friend’s channel. Expectedly so Mr Tharoor has denied all such charges and played the Kerala card, saying that he was just mentoring the bidders for the sake of his native state’s socioeconomic development, the confidence and finesse with which Mr Tharoor is defending himself and keeping across his point seems quite convincing but on the face of it, when so much of moolah is involved it is hard to believe that somebody can actually do just mentorship with no monetary gains in mind. In spite of Mr Tharoor’s stainless past record and a prolific career so far, in terms of academic and professional successes, if found guilty he should definitely be sacked and reprimanded. But if the tide turns other way round, the government will make life hell for the IPL commissioner (already started with the I-T raids), because the charges of bribing and rigging the auction process in favor of some other cities (read Ahmadabad) for whatever long term goals and reasons, if proven, might actually prove very detrimental for not only him but also for BCCI and other franchises. So the battle seems equally poised all in the favor of gossip and glitter starved media. But what is astounding is the interest media is showing in the minister’s personal life, I say let him have hundred’s of wives and thousand’s of private friends, is it really our business??? And how come all of a sudden a minister being involved in cricket in addition to his ministerial duties has become such an irking thing for the media and the people, how about Mr Sharad Pawar, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mr Arun Jaitly, Mr Narendra Modi and dozens of other ministers who are heading the various state cricket associations??? Why are we not using the same yardstick, just because the person involved in the row is a technology savvy, fluent English speaking, one of the most educated and promising Indian politician, a dashing gentleman who has had a three decade long career in the International Public Services. Absolutely unfair, illogical and insane!

The other participant in this row is the world’s 19^th most powerful sports administrator who has supposedly given birth to the biggest sporting phenomenon of recent times in the form of IPL and has done absolutely nothing wrong up to this day, the man himself Mr Lalit Modi. Mr Modi has been commendable in his efforts and vision which has transpired into a globally successful sporting phenomena praised and hailed by all. The success which IPL has achieved in just 3 years in terms of viewer ship and revenue generation is truly commendable, it has already surpassed the age old English Premier League in these terms and only steps away from the numero uno American Basketball League. The IPL not only provides unmatched entertainment to its audience but it also pays the biggest pay cheques to the players involved and one should not ignore the opportunity it provides to the not so known local talent to rub shoulders with the cricketing greats and learn the nuances of international cricket which otherwise they would have never learned by just playing for there home cities and states, all there lives. Though a good majority of cricket followers(including me) still believe this is not the real cricket infact it is not all cricket, its all entertainment and money making exercise, because real cricket has always been and will always be Test Cricket, but this in itself is a different debate altogether. However, a considerable amount of credit for this mega successful venture should definitely go to Mr Modi, because but for his vibrant, shrewd and visionary efforts this wouldn’t have been possible, but mind it only a considerable credit because Mr Modi is not the only one who is handling and managing the entire circus, he is just a representative appointed by BCCI which is the actual parent body behind this. But it seems Mr Modi has forgotten this fact and has started considering himself a larger than life figure that can do anything, lock horns with anybody (home minister last year and external affairs minister this year) and is irreplaceable for eternity. The sooner Mr Modi realizes the fact that he is just a representative of a much larger setup, the better it will be for him and for the IPL.

As the saying goes being successful is not everything, handling success is far more important and you can never become greater than the cause which has made you great. Howsoever great a player Sir Sachin Tendulkar may be, he can never become greater than the game itself, howsoever great a musician Mr A R Rahman may be, he can never become greater than the music itself and howsoever great an actor Mr Amitabh Bachchan may be, he can never become greater than the art itself and the reason these wonderful people have maintained themselves at the pinnacle for so long is because they have handled success with lot of humility and respect and have never misused it, so how can Mr Modi break this law of nature and go against it? The sooner Mr Modi learns this, longer will be his relationship with success. And dishonesty, manipulation, arrogance and greed can never help one succeed for ever, be it Modi or be it Tharoor!

Post Script: With the mounting pressure from all corners Shashi Tharoor resigns, his private friend Sunanda Pushkar also surrenders her stake in the franchise and the noose tightens up on Lalit Modi, BCCI all set to axe him.

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Why MBA, still a MYSTERY!

It was not that I always wanted to be an MBA, thanks to my aimless perspective about life, where my only aim used to be enjoying the present and hoping that things will somehow fall in place in future. But somehow a stage came during the second year of my engineering that most of my friends and colleagues started taking a call about their future plans post engineering. Some aimed at cracking the exams like GATE to pursue a career in the advanced technology side, some aimed to prepare for the IAS exams to build a career in the administrative services, some aimed at doing an MBA from one of the premier institutes of the country, some targeted a career in sports and consequently representing the state and the country in various sporting events, some were focused to get a job by the time they leave the college and work for one of the top IT company and some just relaxed with the prospects of continuing their family business. Amidst all this I was in a fix, that where do I fit in?

So I started introspecting myself against each of these probable career options. The very first alternative was cracking the GATE exam to do a post graduation in Advanced Technology, now for me this was the last option thanks to my excellent hate relationship with the technical subjects during my graduation. I hated the various theorems, formulas and laws more than I hated India losing to Pakistan in a cricket match, so this was out rightly out casted. The next alternative was to build a career in administrative services by cracking the IAS exams, but this wasn’t my forte either as I was never the one who can sit at a place and keep on cramming volumes of those boring stuffs, so this was also omitted immediately. Next on the list was to excel in a sport and pursue it as a career, though I was very interested in sports but certainly I was prudent enough to realize that I don’t have the skills to invest my time to pursue it as a career so this avenue was also closed. Another deadly alternative was to join a top IT firm and to kick start my career as a software engineer, but my poor track record in C++, JAVA and VB exams was not backing me up for this one either, infact the very thoughts of dbms_outputs, cins and couts sent shivers down my spinal cord and the only credit against my name in the world of programming and software was executing that ‘ HELLO WORLD’ program in C++, even that I couldn’t execute without 3-4 errors, so with this inglorious background and lack of interest I never stood a chance in this world either. Another luxurious alternative was to get into a business, but unfortunately I didn’t belong to a business background so I can’t even afford to think of these lines. So amidst also these rejected opportunities the only innocuous alternative which remained was that of aiming for an MBA from one of the premier institutes of the country. I have also heard that you need not be a geek to do well in MBA entrance exams, neither you need to cram huge volumes of boring study materials and nor you need to write those deadly C++ or JAVA codesJ. All you need is some decent command over the English language, a fairly decent comfort level with numbers and a comfort level to speak in front of a group of people. And naturally I fell for this option, as I found all the eligibility criterions matching my not so bright academic and carefree lifestyle. But very soon I realized that it wasn’t about just clearing those aptitude tests or solving those tricky puzzles or having a good reading speed complimented by a good vocabulary. You should also be very clear in your thought process about many other things too, like where do you see yourself 5 years down the line, which stream you want to pursue your managerial career in, what about your engineering skills and last but not the least WHY MBA?

At that point the answer to Why MBA was something like – ‘Since by the virtue of my graduation in engineering I have already developed an analytical mind, so I want to use my analytical abilities to take managerial level decisions and help in the growth and development of the organization of which I am a part of, and this I can achieve only by the medium of a good MBA.’ Certainly it was not at all convincing and it also sounded highly dramatical but the search for the right answer to Why MBA was still on! Somehow I couldn’t get through a good MBA college by the end of my graduation so I have to adopt the most dreaded path of working for an IT company, but the desire to do an MBA was still on, so was the search for the elusive question Why MBA. This time around I tried to refine my answer and moulded it into something like – ‘Having had a flavor of the corporate world by working for one of the pioneers in the IT industry as a software engineer, I would like to take my learning’s and insight as a technical person to the next level and pursue a career as an decision making entity. And what other way to climb this corporate ladder faster than by doing an MBA from one of the best B- Schools in the country.’ Though I wasn’t pretty convinced with this answer either, as I personally found it as highly theatrical but somehow it clicked and I went on to get an admission in one of the best B- Schools of the nation but the quest for the perfect answer for Why MBA was still on. I was myself not sure about Why MBA even during my MBA course. Then came a time during the placements where my friends told me that being a lateral candidate the first question one faces is Why MBA when you were already amidst a promising career working for your previous firm. So the hunt for the right answer started all over again, this time I ended up with this one – ‘Since I have already had the taste of technical side of things, I would like to use my technical experience in combination with the functional knowledge I have gained during my MBA program and become a domain/functional expert and facilitate in the logical and efficient decision making in the organization.’ Probably this one was a new concept for the recruiters too and hence they roped me in. Lucky again!

Though the most honest and true answer to Why MBA which has come across my mind has been – ‘ To earn more money in less timeJ’ But on a serious note somehow I am still searching that perfect answer for Why MBA, which has irked me for years now. Though the answers I have found and formed at various stages have more often than not worked for me practically but the chase for the really satisfying answer is still on.I have even asked the expert tutors at various MBA coaching institutes but the answer they have given me every time has been that - 'It's subjective from person to person, one can't have a generalized answer for this one', may be they are right but I have always believed that even they don't know a perfect answer for this one, hence this round and round gyaanJ Alas, but if the college teachers and the company HRs come to know the fact that the answer to that question which they asked me while selecting me was a made up one and not the honest one, I will for surely lose both my MBA degree and the offer letter and will be forced to contemplate on the one of the 6-7 possible alternatives I was pondering upon during my engineering days all over again. So till the time I don’t get the perfect answer for this mysterious question, it’s better to satiate the desire for Why MBA by answering it simply by Why not MBA:)

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Red Menace leaves the Government Red faced!

133 killings in J&K by militants in last one year including both civilians and security personnel, 30 out of which have been in 2010. Grave isn’t it? Now compare it against 908 killings by naxals over the same period, 132 out of which are in 2010 only. Horrendous and Outrageous! But do we get a feel of these atrocities by the actions of our government and media, certainly NOT. It seems our government’s only objective is to outclass Pakistan in front of the self proclaimed school head master US and prove to the entire world that we are saints and Pakistan is a thug. But do we even care that we are facing even more severe threats internally which are proving out to be far more detrimental to the peace and order of our country than the external ones. So at this crucial juncture what do we expect from our Home Minister to do? A.)Condemn B.)Strongly Condemn C.) Buy a New Lungi D.) Debate Naxal Ideology E.)Blame it on opposition. I am sure it can’t be anything other than this. And same is the case with our 24 hours live media, they showcase and telecast only those things which are of more economic relevance to them and are more glamorous and sensational in nature, they hardly owe a moral responsibility towards the well being of our nation.

The rate at which the Red Menace of Naxals and Maoists is rising all across our nation is baffling. They have already established a high degree of revenue generating efficacy across 223 districts (in a total of 636 Districts in the country), moreover they also enjoy a significant disruptive dominance in 2000 Police Station jurisdictions (out of a total of over 14,000 Police Stations in the country). But the biggest cause of concern are the sources from which these groups assimilate funds to execute their operations. According to sources the Maoists annually extort up to INR 20 billion across India by targeting road contractors, contractors for forest products like tendu patta, bamboo and wood. Apart from this they have also struck deals with poachers, smugglers, liquor and timber runner in the forests, which constitute a major revenue generating machinery for them. The most astounding of all the facts and sources of their income is the amount they generate by levying tax on small enterprises such as spinning mills, beedi units, rice and flour mills, grocery, medical, cigarette and liquor shops, and private doctors, and these weak and not so influential victims pay the tax amount as if it has been imposed on them as an article of constitution of India. If all this was not enough,even the cash rich iron and coal mining companies also periodically donate large sums of money to these menacing outfits, all for their own smooth operations and survival. Another major source of funding for maoists is the cultivation of opium and cannabis(gaanja), which is strictly illegal as per the framework of Indian legislature but certainly not so under the naxal regime. There are also strong speculations that these naxal groups also receive big time financial help from the biggest corporate houses of the nation too, as these companies are big players in the metals, mining, steel and manufacturing sectors which are heavily dependent on the mineral rich belts of jungle, being ruled by these maoists. All this has strengthen the naxal outfits to such might that they can now bring many sectors of the Indian economy to their knees, but they are going rather slowly to fully prepare themselves for the worst possible onslaught from the government. The audacity and the brazenness with which these Maoist and Naxal groups are flourishing in over 40,000 square kilometers of land which includes 20 out of 28 states of India is alarming and in a sense they have established a full fledged parallel government of their own, no wonder they are bravely aiming to throw away the government of India by 2050. And you can rightly think so when your annual turnover of Rs 1500 crore is worth more than the that of companies like Exide and Hindustan Motors. Whoaaa that's a really powerful Maoist empire!

Now the boiling question is that what are the ideologies of these mercurial groups which has shaken the roots of the Indian government but even than the government is in a fix to go out full throttle against them or not? It is claimed that the principle on which these groups operate is by conducting people's war to install a people's government via a New Democracy Revolution. They profess to retain the tactics of Marxist and Lenin of rejecting parliamentary democracy and capturing political power through protracted armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. This strategy entails building up of bases in rural and remote areas and transforming them first into guerrilla zones and then as "liberated zones", besides the area wise seizure and encircling cities. They strongly condemn and denounce the ideology of globalization and have repeatedly warned the state and central government to stop permitting the mining and steel industry players to set up their plants in the tribal areas to exploit the natural might and in turn lives of the innocent people of that region. Since the Maoists derive their principles from its predecessor Communist Party of India (Marxist - Leninist) People's War and have been formed constitutionally by the merger of the former and the Maoist Communist Center of India, it has probably made life tough for the government to take any concrete and strict action against them.

So what is the tolerance limit of our government? Does the lives of those 100s of slain Jawaans and innocent people count for nothing? Gone are the days when these groups were fighting for their cause by modes of rallies and speeches, they have adopted a much deadlier path of mass genocide now which is beyond the combating power of paramilitary and police forces. They have strengthened themselves to such dangerous levels that it needs a full fledged flushing treatment from the Indian Army itself. The government can not just rely on solving this massive problem by means of dialogs because the wait is leading into more and more blood. Hence it is high time that the government deploys best of our armed men and ammunitions to counter this RED threat. And if the government can spend crores of money to provide full proof security to the likes of Ajmal Kasab, it can certainly spend a portion of it for the safety and security of its own citizens. Otherwise that day won't be far, when these terror outfits actually overthrow the Indian Government.

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