kin is in...here!

And the award goes to....Mr Politician!

2012-02-12T06:50:00.001-08:00

It's that time of the year when the most prestigious awards in various trades are announced and presented to the much deserved artisans and sportsmen globally. So if the coveted Laureus awards have been announced for the excellence in sports, Academy awards for the excellence in movies (globally) will be announced in few weeks and our very own Filmfare awards for excellence in Hindi cinema were also announced a short while back. Though not quite sure in which category this unique breed should fall into but undoubtedly where ever they are placed, they will easily topple best of the bests. It's election time in as many as 5 states of India and this ruthless unique breed is that of our beastly POLITICIANS.

These not so gentlemen are so good in their trade that despite having fooled the people of their constituencies with their inefficient, irresponsible and corrupt ways for the last 5 years, they still have the courage to face these helpless people and lure them with a plethora of fake promises in an attempt to get elected. And some of these promises or claims are so outrageous that they can easily fetch the highest honors on any stage, any trade and any category. Lets have a look at the 5 most horrendous claims made in the recent poll campaigning -

5. The saffron party has assured the people of the largest state of the country (UP) that if they come to power they will install statues of saints like Kabir, Ravidas and other great personalities across the state. So if Maya's drama and splurging on her statues wasn't sufficient to destroy the state's fund, that could have been utilized in so many important and essential activities, yet another political party is ready to do an encore and hoping to come to power by making such promises. What a Shame! Don't know how these statues will help thousands of malnourished children in the state who are dying in dearth of proper food but the party is quite upbeat about this claim.

4. The BJP has also requested the people of UP to vote for them and has assured them that if they come to power they will build a spiritual Disneyland in Mathura Vrindavan as it will pave the way for building the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. Not sure what good such a not so secular act will do to the people of the state, as in all probability a Temple, Mosque or a Church can certainly not improve the livelihood standards of the poor but again the party probably thinks that a spiritual Disneyland in the state can solve all the socio-economic problems of the state.

3. The BJP manifesto also talks about gifting a COW to every poor family in UP. They have no solution for that poor family's much important needs like electricity, sanitation, shelter etc and they are trying to lure them with this cow catch. Any idea how will they (poor) will maintain that cow overhead when are they struggling to feed themselves?

2. A leading regional party in Punjab has announced that if they come to power they will distribute free tablets (Aakash) to all the class XI & XII students. But Sir, any plans on improving the battered state of primary education in Punjab? Unfortunately no such mention or promises have been made. Probably because the class XI & XII students would turn into their potential voters much sooner!

1. And the most outrageous of them all! The Samajwadi Party has assured the people of UP that if they come to power they will ensure jobs for rape victims in the state. Can it get any worse? They could have so easily said that if they come to power they will eliminate all sorts of crime, including rape from the state. But it seems they are quite confident that they can certainly not stop such heinous acts, so lets top that untoward act with a freebie. Horrendous! It can only happen in India, rather UP!

No doubt with such shameless acts and promises on stage they can beat the best to win all the awards in the offering. But its a pity that the common man as to pick one among st these bunch of morons to dictate terms for next five years. Naturally a feeling of helplessness is bound to creep, leading to abstinence from voting. But we need to act smart and choose the best among the worst to minimize the potential damage. As unless we vote we don't have the cribbing rights for the next 5 years and thereafter Mr Politician(s) will once again sweep all the awards with those glorious (faking) performances on stage.

PS- No favoritism or anything against any particular political party as each of them is making far worse claims than the other.
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kin...

The elusive recipe of being a 'Good Husband'!

2012-01-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

I have often wondered and contemplated about the viability of the concept of a 'Good Husband' but have always failed to assimilate the ingredients that might actually contribute in the formulation of such a concept. Though few of my close friends, who also happen to play the arduous role of being Husbands proudly boast that they qualify as the true ambassadors of this concept but much to their dismay their respective ringmasters (read wives) don't read too much into such claims. So if the real recipe of 'How to be termed as a Good Husband' is still enigmatic, there is a clear unanimity among the husbands that certain characteristics like being good with household chores, being at least an 'at par' cook if not better, being a patient shopping companion and being overtly nice and abiding to 'her' parents will certainly add flavor to the ultimate recipe. But unfortunately even these ingredients aren't as simple and edible as they seem.

So if in the pursuit of wooing your girl friend or prospective life partner you have invested a lot of time and energy to prove the fact that you are a good cook (unlike some 'other guys' who can't even hold a knife), you are sure to earn some brownie points but that would also at the same time lay the foundation of your own downfall. To start with you will invite lot of accolades from various quarters, including your partner and more importantly her envious friends but very soon you will realize that the entire effort and those alluring accolades were not at all worth it. As those 'out of the box' and 'exceeding expectations' effort would gradually become a part of your job description or routine portfolio and would turn into 'bare minimums'. And if by any chance you try to divulge from those once surprising freebies, be prepared for those acerbic and suffocating 'you have changed' taunts. And just in case if you go on and attempt to simplify your mate's life by getting the households done by the maid, forget the much deserved pat on the back, rather at some point in time be prepared for those 'you are very interfering' rants. So leave apart these efforts being a part of that elusive recipe, it all the more contributes for one’s own misery.

If there is poll conducted across all the males globally to vote for their most frustrating and dreadful activity, 'accompanying their partners for shopping' will win hands down. And if you have been living with a perception that you are an exception and very good in accompanying your partner for shopping then that's not going to stay true for eternity. In the short run you might think that what’s the big deal, it’s just about saying ‘YES’ and driving her down to the shopping mall of her choice. But in the long run this would become a part of your ‘job description’ and just being a chauffeur won’t suffice. In fact, It would also be expected that you actively participate in each of her (shopping) outings and ‘suggest’(not enforce) her about what will suit her and what will suit her ‘even more’ (beware - anything not suiting her certainly can’t be an option :)). And if by any chance she receives some not so glorious remarks on the newly bought stuff, be ready to bear the brunt for this debacle with comments like ‘ it was you who told to me to buy that stuff and see my colleagues are laughing at me for that’. You are bound to feel helpless and would find it doubly hard to accept the responsibility for this fiasco. But if you are brave enough to gather that much courage to reply her back saying ‘I never forced you to buy that, I just put forth my suggestion’ , then be prepared for an even more illogical argument on the lines ‘ but you could have at least stopped me from buying that weird stuff, but after all why will you want me to look good’. Naturally on hearing this you won’t even attempt to respond and will immediately realize that all the courtesy, efforts, time and money employed to impress your partner has gone down the drain.

Now being overtly nice and abiding to 'her' parents is not a requirement or too high an expectation to quote explicitly. But I wish it was as simple as it reads out! It’s quite natural that one is respectful towards any elderly figure be it one’s own parents or be it hers but still there are occasions when you somehow don’t agree with their views. And in such occasions even if you go on and put forth your views in the politest of manner, be ready to accept the crime of being ‘ rude, uncomplimentary and disrespectful to her parents’ (they won’t feel it but your wife/girl friend/partner will certainly and very strongly feel so), you might even break your head to explain that you were so very respectful in communicating your view point but that won’t help your cause by any means. And if you are smart enough to control yourself and keep mum in such occasions of contrarian views, don’t feel too good about yourself as you might still be accused of the fact that ‘you don’t feel like talking to my parents, they are discussing something and you didn’t even care to reply, how INSULTING(again neither they felt so nor you, these are solely her feelings:()!’. Obviously, you are in a no man’s land and even the easiest of tasks of being overtly nice and abiding to 'her' parents seems herculean & head breaking!

Understandably being a ‘Good Husband’ isn’t an easy task, in fact it’s an almost improbable one indeed. But still every husband/boyfriend keeps toiling to earn that coveted title and in the process tries his hand in lot of things but a majority of them goes unnoticed and the remaining ones go horribly wrong as discussed above. On the other hand if ‘her highness’ does even the most routine of chores she makes it a point to make it sound so very important and conveys it to one and all. For instance, if she gets a call from her mom or her mom-in-law or her friend or her hair stylist and the person on the call casually happens to ask ‘How are you?’ then she will take a deep breath and deliver a 7.5 minute uninterrupted speech and answer ‘ I came back from work at around 9PM, straight away got into kitchen, chopped a bowl full of vegetables, garnished them and eventually got the curry ready, thereafter I went ahead and did the chapattis and then finished up with an even more cumbersome task of cleaning up the kitchen’. No matter what the question is, she vents out whatever she had done in the most explicit manner and if by any chance the poor guy has done all this and her mom or her mom-in-law or her friend or her hair stylist specifically happens to ask ‘Are you done with your cooking/dinner?’, she will very casually reply ‘Yep! So what’s up with your Diwali Shopping…..What about your new doggie…’. And the poor guy will keep on looking at her expectantly hoping for some mention of his hard work that has totally gone unnoticed:(. Such is the misery!

So all in all its futile to search for that elusive recipe and rather it’s better to be yourself and enjoy every bit of her tantrums and criticisms. After all everything about our wives/girl friends/partners is not as horrid as we make out, in fact if you look at her straight from your heart she will once again seem to be the most beautiful girl in the world, the very girl with whom you fell in love some years back. But dare not to say this to her, as she will make you say that at least a thousand times:)!

PS: All the views and opinions expressed in this post are not solely mine but are a mix of miseries shared by my close friends & colleagues:)!

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kin...

Is it time to move over Cricket?

2012-01-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Is it time to move over Cricket? In Indian parlance, the answer to this question can be quite inflammatory and contrasting at the same time. For instance, people might have literally killed me if I would have raised this question 9 months back, when India completed a historical triumph by beating Srilanka in the World Cup finals. But if the same question is raised today(when the Indian cricket team is getting thrashed in OZ) or would have been raised after India’s tour of England, a lot of people from the very lot might eventually reply in ‘YES’. So to get an unbiased answer to this rather dubious question one has to look beyond these impulsive pointers and reach to a conclusion based on various other facets.

Quite often we come across strong sentiments from some of our friends and colleagues that ‘they have stopped watching cricket ever since the match fixing fiasco’ or ‘tournaments like IPL have killed the very essence of the game and have turned it into a money spinning machine’ or ‘ever since that XYZ cricketer(s) has retired their connect with the game has vanquished’ or for that matter ‘they switch off their TV sets as soon as their favorite cricketer gets out’. But at the same time there are fans like me also, who can even watch a Bangladesh-Srilanka encounter with the same fervor as one can associate with a highly anticipated India Pakistan tie. So the bigger question that emerges out of these sentiments is that do we like/dislike the game because of a certain set of cricketers or we form our judgments solely based on the extent of commercialism the game has undergone or do we actually follow the game solely based on our love for the game? Probably it’s a mix of all these cases, because if true love for the game would have been the only reason, our reactions and mood swings wouldn’t have been so mercurial and impulsive.

But why do we exhibit such contrasting pangs of impulsiveness? Indians are known to be emotional by nature and when it comes to cricket it breaches all limits. Also it’s a known fact that we don’t celebrate and appreciate good performances if they come against us, no wonder we score poorly in the ‘love for the game’ aspect and start cribbing way to early. And since cricket happens to be the only sport that most of the Indians can relate to, it excites and deflates our spirits beyond normal. Unlike countries like England, Australia, New Zealand etc. that have sports other than cricket also being followed and played with the same intensity, Indians only have cricket as their staple diet. No wonder our expectations from the cricketers are mammoth and that eventually translates into abnormal reactions at the times of adverse results. So not only we need to inculcate a habit of acknowledging and appreciating any display of good sporting performance against us but we also need to start giving impetus to sports other than cricket.

Indians giving impetus to sports other than cricket? It’s easier said than done! After all we excel in the art of mocking our own athletes for their not so celebratory performances in their respective sport or their early exits in any of the international events. Now, even if we keep the routine rants of lack of aid from the Government and Infrastructural lapses aside, one thing that any sportsman yearns for the most is support from his/her peers and countrymen. So unless we start taking these athletes and their trade seriously, we won’t be able to motivate them and then, to expect world beating performances from these de-motivated sportsmen is simply asking for too much. And if dearth of talent is a concern, then it’s certainly a lame one, as after all if a country of over a billion can’t produce talent, who will? It’s just a matter of providing the required motivation, adequate infrastructure support and right opportunities. And on the same lines, sponsorships, aids and finances shouldn’t be considered as a hindrance in the growth of non-cricketing sporting trades because if big corporate houses can splurge massive amounts on IPL clubs, they can certainly put their hands up in aiding the national representations in other sports as well.

So, Is it time to move over Cricket? In an another attempt to answer this question, the response would be a firm ‘No’. But it is certainly time to start loving the game rather than being impulsive and adopting the path of idolizing the sportsmen. It’s also high time we start celebrating and giving impetus to other sports as well. And most importantly it’s time to believe that at the end of it any sport is not a matter of life and death it’s just an art form meant to celebrate, entice and unite the entire nation. It’s time to move over our flawed prejudices!

kin…

New Years Time - Time to Cherish & Dream!

2012-01-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

It's again that time of the year where you sit back and ponder how the year went by, what were the highs and lows and how the coming year will unfold. It's also that time of the year when you celebrate your success, move over your failures and above all welcome the new year with lots of hope. Yes it's again the New Year time, a time to celebrate, smile and enter into a world with lots of dreams and desires.

As always the year that went by was a contrasting year with lot of highs and equally disturbing lows. Globally it was an year of political and economic upheavals, be it US, be it Europe or be it those anarchic establishments of the Arab world. The world witnessed quite a handful of leaders falling apart and the most striking and talked about fall out being that of Osama Bin Laden. Amid-st the fears of 2012 apocalypse and a backdrop of global warming the planet faced one of cruelest years in the recent times. The devastating Tsunami in Japan crumbled the entire nation into shambles, hurricane Irene wrecked havoc on the coastal pastures of US, deadly earthquake demolished the beautiful nation of New Zealand and flash floods in China and Thailand killed thousand of helpless people. All this havoc in a span of just one year was just too hot to handle, now whether this can be considered as one of those unlucky years or an indication of the things to come can make up for an interesting debate but these were certainly the defining events of the year.

In India, on the political grounds where on one hand it was one of the darkest year for the nation with the ruling UPA government scaling new lows of mismanagement, corruption and utter failure on all grounds. The nation found a new hero in the name of Anna Hazare who united the nation against the age old vice of corruption and gave the people of the nation a sense of hope against the fast deteriorating system and at the same time jolted the ever so corrupt and inefficient politicians and gave them a shock of their lives. Though it's an altogether different matter of debate that by the year end, whether he eventually crossed the line and went overboard with his campaign but nonetheless what he did by awakening the nation and uniting them against the contagious virus of corruption can't be discounted at any cost and should go down in our history as one of the most inspiring and successful movements post independence.

In the sporting arena where the people of the nation gave a warm welcome to the high flying Formula 1 championship, on the cricketing grounds India scaled new lows by being whitewashed by England in all the three formats of the game, in the process also losing their coveted No. 1 Test Ranking and consequently the popularity of the game also reached its lowest ebb with a poor response to the high profile IPL tournament and low turn outs in the ODIs against England and West Indies at home. But the highlight of the year certainly happens to be the India's historical triumph in the 2011 ODI World Cup, the event not only united over a billion Indians in the most exemplary fashion but also gave them an emotional high that they were yearning for, for almost three decades.No wonder like many others, this event also happens to be my most cherished and memorable moment of the year!

It was a particularly sad year for the art and entertainment industry as we lost gems like Pt Bheem Sen Joshi, Shammi Kapoor, Dev Anand and Bhupen Hazarika to name a few. However, the industry also got quite a handful of 100 crore plus blockbusters and minted handsome moolah through it, the hot and happening Khan war kept the audiences engaged to the core. On one hand where the ever so young and dashing Salman 'Dabang' Khan came up with two of the biggest grosser of all times and probably also two of the most sleazily made and boring movies of the year in the form of Ready & Bodyguard. On the other hand the outspoken and self proclaimed numero uno of the industry Shahrukh 'Badshah' Khan delivered flicks like RaOne & Don2 which also raked good money but at the same time invited unprecedented criticism from various quarters too. Though from the quality standpoint later's movies were certainly better looking and well made but the former's popularity today stands notches above any other star in the country. This certainly makes for an interesting contest for the masala mongers in the years to come, as that is what Bollywood gossip mills thrive upon. And if you bring the Aamir 'Perfectionist' Khan also in the equation, then it can very easily beat any of the blockbusters in the history of Indian Cinema.

So after a riveting 2011 what do we have in store for 2012? Globally, with US Presidential elections hovering around we might see a change in the name of the Most Powerful Man on the Planet. India might have it's own share of political drama with state elections scheduled in more than half a dozen states and the masses confidently ready to combat the sleazy politicians, riding on the strong anti-corruption wave created by Anna Hazare. With 2012 London Olympics all set to dazzle billions of people across the world, over a billion Indians will also hold their breath together to see how their sporting heroes perform at the global stage. The nation might also have to bid adieu to its long serving cricketing stalwarts like Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman who are at the wrong side of the age cricketing age. It would be audacious to also include the great Sir Sachin Tendulkar who has been defying all odds since last 2 decades, in the same bracket as in all probability he will not only scale his much awaited 100th ton but will keep on adding many more jewels to his already glittering crown. The Bollywood will have yet another busy and gossip fueled year with all the three Khans set to titillate the audiences with their high profile releases. And lastly the Jalebi Bais & the Chikni Chamelis will keep on the masses engaged and the new found trend of having TV Serials by the name of popular old movie songs will extend from the likes of 'Bade achhe lagte ho..', 'Kuch to log kahenge...', 'Na bole tum na humne kuch suna...' to possibly ' Munni Badnaam hui...', 'Sheela ki Jawaani...' & 'Kolaveri Di Beendanis':).

Here's Wishing a very Happy & Prosperous New Year to All!
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kin...

Anna way not the ultimate way!

2011-09-05T10:04:00.001-07:00

Not often does it happen that sequels turn out to be successful, be it movies, be it books or be it a social movement. But if the sequel involves Munna Bhai, GOLMAL or for that matter Anna Hazare then such striking aberrations do happen. So when Anna Hazare launched a nationwide protest against corruption and incorporation of Jan Lokpal Bill in April 2011 it garnered massive support but few weeks later when Baba Ramdev (BRD) tried to do an encore it was a flop show. So naturally when Anna declared a similar protest from Aug 16th the expectations of that being a success on the lines his 1st act (in april) were not very high. Though the support for the cause was huge but looking at the government's tyranny the chances of the sequel also being a hit were minimal. But what happened eventually was monumental, the Anna sequel was a bigger and a mightier hit not only in India but even internationally.

But why did it work for Anna and not for BRD? Probably because BRD tried to cash in on the good work or awakening caused by Anna where as on his second wind Anna just continued from where he left in the 1st innings. Or probably because BRD couldn't alienate himself from the saffron forces and people considered his act as a stunt to gain popularity and business mileage, Anna on the other hand had a very clean and well respected image. Also probably because when the government tried to arrest BRD he tried evading the place and made things worse for himself, Anna on the other hand offered to surrender and thereby not only flummoxed the government but also attracted a massive nation wide support. In simple terms Anna and his team did a very good ground work before launching the epic movement with even their plans B, C and D ready, BRD on the other hand was so poorly prepared that even his plan A seemed to be a joke. No wonder Anna succeeded and BRD literally bleed ed!

Nothing against Anna Hazare or any of his team members as Anna in particular has been a symbol of integrity, restrain and hope all his life, a proud salute to the Gandhian for his conduct and contribution to the society.But does it mean that one can fast for 13 odd days, garner nationwide support and get whatever he/she wants? On broader terms this is what happened in this case, no doubt that the cause for which the fasting or the movement was launched was a very genuine and a much needed one too but does it mean the one can bypass the system and literally blackmail the government to abide to his/her demand? One can rightly argue that with the unacceptable levels of corruption and the tyrannic ways that government has resorted to off late, this was the only way left with the masses. But then the 'my way or the highway' approach has never yielded a fool proof and a long term solution. The rightful approach should be such that it should give due respect to the views from all corners, earnestly debate on each of the viewpoints and then come to a concrete draft built solely on the basis of merit, neither through state's overpowering methods and nor through any individual's or group's blackmailing trysts.

Also another misconception that was highly prevalent during the Anna's movement was that if you are not supporting Anna, you are supporting the government or you are not against corruption or even worse you are not a true Indian.Not many believed in the fact that there can be a third view too other than the Government's and the Anna's view, may be even a fourth or fifth view also. And one of those views can be supporting the cause for which Anna is fighting (i.e. fight against corruption) but not supporting the ways Anna has adopted (i.e. the path of fasting, protesting and blackmailing). The objective of that non-Anna route will still lead to a fight against corruption, so it doesn't necessarily mean that if one is not supporting Anna's movement he/she is a pro-government or pro-corruption idealist.

But the biggest question that we need to ask ourselves is that can we transform into a corruption free nation just by the mere implementation of the Jan Lokpal Bill? Can we attain the ultimate goal of a corruption free India by wearing the 'I am Anna' caps, passionately waving the tricolor and indulging in an eternal fast? The simple answer to this not so complicated question is 'NO'. The practitioners of corruption and wrong doings will still find means and ways to fool the Jan Lokpal laws and keep on wiping off the hard earned tax payers money.So certainly even a mass movement of such proportions won't eradicate the age old vice. What can eventually loosen the scum of corruption and eventually eradicate it would be a strong resolve in each and every countrymen to abstain from corruption on the very microlevel. That will involve abstaining from giving bribes for getting the smallest of jobs done like bribing the admission supervisor for child's admission into a very good school or paying a ransom to the babu for getting a home loan sanctioned. This route might seem to be an arduous and frustrating one to start off with but then this is the only way that will fulfill the dream of a corruption free India. Seems tougher than holding rallies and indulging in fasts but then this is the only way!

Salman Khan – A foolproof recipe for success, sans logic!

2011-09-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

In the reverberating times of Anna, Messi and KBC fame Mr. Bachchan, if there is one man who can still find a place in this highly competitive canvas then it’s none other than Salman Phenomenal Khan. And riding high on the success of 3 of the biggest bollywood blockbusters of all times Wanted, DABANG and Ready the phenomenal Khan has every reason to have a claim on every inch of that coveted canvas. No wonder whatever the mercurial star is touching these days is turning into GOLD.

Though I am not a big fan of Salman the actor but off late I have turned into a big fan of Salman the entertainer. The star might not be the best actor that has donned the 70mm screen, he might not be the swiftest of dancers to have glued the masses and he might not even be the best of stunt men to have awed the millions but he certainly has his own ways that make him click with the masses. Most importantly the guy has a CONNECT with the audiences that makes him a seriously successful phenomena. And it is this ‘connect’ that drew me to the nearby multiplex on the first day of his latest release BODYGUARD and what followed was a visit to a neighboring chemist to buy half a dozen analgesics.

Interestingly, what bamboozled me was not the quality of the movie but the reaction of the masses watching the movie alongside me. For the entire two and half hours when I was trying to find logic and reasons to join the bandwagon, the major chunk in the hall was whistling, clapping and screaming in joy and literally getting berserk to say the least. Also, it wasn’t that I went to the hall with a mindset to find follies in the flick, that being the case I wouldn’t have shown the urge to watch the movie on first day morning. In fact I also wanted to be a part of the whistling and screaming lot but somehow I couldn’t find a frame in which I could have done so.

And this experience made me utterly worried about myself to the extent that for a while I even started doubting my psyche thinking what is wrong with me that I am not able to enjoy and cherish a movie that has in a matter of just 4 days become the biggest grosser and blockbuster of bollywood, glued the masses like never before and has become a talking point in every forum. For me the movie had no storyline, no great music, no out of the world comic acts and was just a loosely scripted and badly narrated piece of work riding solely on the popularity of a superstar. And if we talk in the rating terms the movie couldn’t have garnered a rating of more than 1 out of 5 by any means but still the most celebrated critics of our country couldn’t muster the courage to rate it below 3.5, 3 or 2.5. Probably because the biggest grosser tag and the Salman flag is far too heavy to gauge a movie on solely qualitative terms.

Nothing against Salman Superstar Khan though, he is and has always been a heartthrob among masses and definitely for right reasons. In fact full credit to him for being so fit and good looking even at this age, to an extent that he has left the likes of SRK,Hrithik and Aamir far behind in the race for supremacy. But if we go by the parameters of logic and excellence I still fail to understand how movies like BODYGUARD and READY work to such successful extent. Probably, in fact most definitely the masses know it better and it’s futile to ponder so much about the logic in these no brainer times of Dhinkachika and Desi Beats!

Viewpoint -> I would still vouch for movies like ‘Zindagi na milegi dobara’ to attain the cult status that these otherwise brainless movies are getting.

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kin...

Thrashed 4-0 but a sense of DEJAVU!

2011-09-05T09:32:00.000-07:00

In the cricketing parlance the year 2011 is gives a sense of DEJAVU. The year has a striking resemblance with the year 2007, the year when Team India touched both the highs and lows of the game in a span of few months. On one hand the team suffered an early exit in one of the year’s biggest event (read ODI World Cup); on the other hand the same team bounced back from nowhere and clinched one of the year’s another big event (read innuagral T20 World Cup). The year 2011 is also quite similar but for the sequence of events, in that the team again won the year’s biggest event (read ODI World Cup) and got literally thrashed in the year’s another big event (read England Test Series).

The recent thrashing of the Indian team in the test series in England has come as a surprise for one and all. England were always expected to be a tough bet in their home conditions but a 4-0 annihilation, that too when the team was sitting atop the ICC Test Rankings, riding high on the laurels of last 2-3 years (including the recent World Cup victory) and boasting highly of the most envied batting line up in the world was a real tragedy, in fact a massacre for the true Indian fans. And what was even more tragic was not the final score line or the margin of defeat but the lack of intent and competitiveness shown by Team India. Barring the 1st session of the test series England outplayed, outclassed and dominated India in every single session of the series and that pretty much summarizes the reason for a 4-0 score line.

Though the postmortem of the tragedy has already started in all corners, be it TV shows, Newspaper columns, Blogosphere or Office Canteens, with every party ready with its own reason(s) for the debacle, to single out one particular reason for the failure would be gross injustice to the magnitude of the disaster itself. So if not one, what are the primary reasons for this out of the blue bolt?

Poor Scheduling. Back to back international series, no gaps between the tours, lack of practice matches before the series, rakes up as THE most important reason for the drudgery.
Horrible Injury Management. BCCI’s inability to manage injuries of its key players is another key reason for this sudden dip in potency of the erstwhile no.1 team in the world. Players kept on playing in far less important tourneys like IPL and West Indies tour despite their injuries that lead to their breakdown at this crucial juncture.

IPL. Every critic’s favorite punching bag is certainly a big contributor in the team’s failure at the highest level. On one hand where players from the countries like Australia and England abstain themselves from the lucrative but inconsequential IPL matches, all the Indian stars actively participate in the event and eventually drain themselves out before the much more important fixtures of the year.

Lack of sightedness. When countries like England, Australia and South Africa identify the iconic series like Ashes well in advance and prepare and rotate their players accordingly to keep them fighting fit for such high profile clashes, BCCI has no such vision. No wonder half of the superstars find themselves fatigued with no bench strength to back them up.

No Prioritization. With all the boards setting their priorities right by giving Test cricket the utmost importance and managing its players and domestic setup accordingly, BCCI has only one priority and that is to rake moolah. And since the board is successfully able to do so through IPL, its priority clearly seems to be T20 cricket when it should always have been Test Cricket. No wonder the times to come would be even more worrisome for the Indian cricket.

A plethora of reasons can be identified but unless the board (read BCCI) changes its attitude from being the top grosser to being the top team (in cricketing terms) in the world, the plight of the Indian cricket team is only going to get worse. Though a section of self proclaimed cricket pundits also feel that for the betterment of Indian cricket, veterans like Tendulkar, Dravid & VVS should call it a day and make way for the young Turks but the simple question is, do we have able replacements for these stalwarts? Forget replacements, do we even have players with half the talent and temperament these guys possess(ed). And it’s not that the youngsters haven’t got the desired chances, players like Yuvraj and Raina have got handful of opportunities but every time this big stage (read Test cricket) has looked too big for them. Naturally in few months or at max in few years the trinity will fade by eventually hanging their boots and the mantle will then pass on to the young brigade. But unless the focus changes from the bang bang cricket and money minting spree to a much more demanding and testing grind of Test cricket, the future will remain to seem bleak.

On the hindsight, things did change after the 2007 debacle (read ODI world cup early exit) and triggered a golden era of Indian Cricket, only if the 2011 debacle (read 4-0 Test thrashing in England) can also trigger a similar era. But this time the tide seems to be turning the other way round!

Viewpoint – Till the point, a T20 playing Suresh Raina earns more than the Test playing Rahul Dravid, odds won’t stake in favor of Indian Cricket! A pointer too simple yet too complex for BCCI to comprehend!

Yet again, but who cares!

2011-07-17T02:13:00.001-07:00

What transpired on the evening of 13-July-2011 in three of the most buzzing parts of the Maximum City was grossly heinous and totally unacceptable but it was certainly nothing new or unexpected. The act of terror claimed 18 lives, injured over a hundred and yet again disheartened over a billion countrymen. But on doing a stern reality check one can easily ascertain that not much has changed over the last few years, neither the lackadaisical intelligence setup, nor the ever so vulnerable security system and more importantly nor the attitude of the government and the media on such terror attacks. The last pointer interestingly being the most worrisome of all.

So when ideally the honorable Home Minister (HM) was expected to take the full responsibility of the lapse, the lungi-man blatantly defended the government saying that they didn’t had any intelligence inputs on the blast.So were we expecting a courtesy call or a detailed time table on the blast with all the pointers including the time, location and modus operandi of the act explicitly delivered to the government well in advance? Logic anyone? And over that the HM tops this up by saying that this has been the first act of its kind in 31 months and the government has in a way done a splendid job in tackling terror. But Sir, how about the Pune's German Bakery blast, regular acts of terror claiming hundreds of lives in the north east or countless innocent losing their lives by the naxal threat in the interiors of Chhattisgarh? Are we in a sense saying that these are not the part of India or is it that the value of 17 people dying in Mumbai is much more than hundreds losing their lives in the other not so buzzing parts of the nation? If no, then why is it that every Neta descends in Mumbai within hours of the act and not even a single such Neta visits places like Guwahati or Bastar?

If the attitude and justification delivered by the HM was ridiculously illogical, the ever so helpless and docile Prime Minister of the country delivered his age old rhetoric that 'We are committed to fighting terror'. But didn’t he run the same tape after the last blast? Hapless! India certainly deserves a better leadership but more importantly at this juncture our ailing PM deserves a better speech writer!

But the biggest shocker came from the heartthrob of the Congress and the unanimously chosen PM in waiting, Mr. Rahul Gandhi or more fondly known as Rahul Baba. Baba defends the government saying that 99% of the attacks have been stopped and remaining 1% attacks will happen and it is impossible to stop them all the time. Moreover, Baba even tried to instill confidence among the countrymen by saying that we shouldn't get bogged down by such acts of terrors as our condition is still better than Karachi's and Kabul's of the world. Ridiculous! Are we taking these cities (countries) as our benchmark? If yes, then even the facts are not quite supporting the analogy given by Baba, as after 2005 if the cities of Karachi and Kabul have respectively lost 500 and 520 innocent lives due to terror attacks, Mumbai isn't far behind with 390 casualties. And professing a 99% theory in a world where the likes of US and UK are still to see a semblance of such lapse post 9/11 is nothing but stupidity and shamelessness personified. Everybody understands that every square inch of land can't be guarded 24*7 but then there is something called as intelligence to tackle such threats. But that quality per say is not only missing in our system but has also eluded our beloved leaders.

Media (esp. electronic media) whose role has become extremely crucial in the last few years has once again disappointed with its more or less sensationalism based approach in handling such sensitive issues. On one hand where media is expected to adopt a far more responsible role in keeping the public emotions in check, unfortunately most of the news channel are busy in running speculative stories (majority of them being a figment of their imagination) to garner more eye balls. And a constant that remains after every such debacle is the Spirit of Mumbai report, essaying how fast the people of Mumbai get back to their normal routine. I fail to understand do they (mumbaikars) have any other option? After all what else is expected out of a helpless citizen post such a nerve wrecking incident, should he stay put at his home for six months or should he come out on the streets and protest against the lack of security? Probably the easiest and the most pragmatic option left with him is to get back to his routine. And unfortunately not even a single news channel runs a story or report educating the common man about the Do's and Don'ts to be followed in such situations. But since such educational documentaries won't create that high dose of sensationalism, will never find a slot in the already packed schedules of the TRP craving news channels. Sad but true!

Terror attacks, casualties, injuries, devastation, fake promises, candle March, forgotten! Sadly the cycle keeps on repeating every few months so much so that people have started taking it as routine with no hopes of a permanent solution from the government. And nothing can be more embarrassing for the government than this state of helplessness and lack of trust among the masses. But do they really care? Certainly not!

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kin...

Why Baba is also WRONG & Government is still STRONG?

2011-06-10T07:12:00.000-07:00

The current political setup in India is such that whatever the government does or puts it's hand into turns into a mess. Be it those uncountable scams or scandals, be it the inability to curb inflation or be it the government's failure in maintaining the law and order situation. Interestingly with even half of such debacles any government would have failed to survive or remain in a comfortable situation to rule the country but ironically and much to the government's delight, the opposition itself is in such a disarray that the government hardly faces any serious threat despite such grave failures on almost every front. On their merry days with such a setup the BJP should have made the most of such opportunity and snatched the right of ruling the country quite comfortably from the ruling alliance. But the party (BJP) itself is in such a poor state that they can't even dream of such a turnaround. The party is still struggling to resurrect a mass leader of Vajpayee's class , they are still not sure about their core agenda and are still fighting to distance themselves from their age old nemesis of saffronisation and commualism, naturally the party is far from being a serious threat to the government. Hence, pragmatically expecting a quick fix to this quagmire is asking for too much.

So when the entire nation is united in the fight against corruption, what's so different about Baba Ramdev's, BRD, campaign. BRD's campaign against corruption is very much on the lines of Anna Hazare's campaign held two months back in the capital but if Hazare's campaign was a subtle Shyam Benegal flick, BRD's is an opuleunt and out of the world Karan Johar soap opera. Though it's a different matter that not many remember that even Ramdev's agenda is to fight against corruption as the entire issue has turned into a political drama rather than a constructive path to cleanse our system. It almost seems that BRD's main motto is to show his mass following and financial might, though this extravagance shouldn't discount the fact that even BRD's tryst is towards the overall good of the nation. But the bigger question is why Hazare wasn't treated with the same stick that thrashed BRD and his followers? Probably because the government couldn't digest the opulence associated with BRD's protest vis a vis Hazare's more sedate campaign. Or because BRD didn't gave much credence to the fact that four cabinet ministers recieved him at the airport and tried to cajole him. Or most importantly the government feared the fact that the presence of various religious leaders on the same dias could give this campaign a communally political color and thereby further fuel the fire that is already hitting the government quite hard.

But what government did on the night of 4th of June was totally unacceptable and grossly heinous, the brutal beating of sleeping children and women was inhuman and it killed the very notion of democracy. If the same government still ranks Babri demolishment and Godhra massacre as a shameful blot on the Indian history, the event on 4th of June was no lesser crime. Beating innocent people at midnight just because they are supporting a cause that might eventually cost the government its hold at the center, is nothing but an exhibition of the highest level of atrocity. Even the constitution of our country gives every Indian the right to express his or her views by means of speech or protest, so to stop an individual or a group of people to practise their constitutional right is a crime. The Government might put forth a logic that the presence of religious leaders at the campaign might be detrimental to the law and order situation in the capital but it can't dilute the fact the occasion is not to woo the masses for votes but it is to unite the nation against the severe vice of corruption. Probably the government thought since we can't provide a solution lets further complicate the problem, all in all it was an act of hooliganism and a total failure on government's part.

The Government is also raising questions on the multi million dollar BRD empire, but unless ofcourse BRD or his trust is not paying taxes or breaching any stipulated guidelines, I don't see any wrong in his wealth creation. And technically he is not a spiritual sanyasi or a religious preacher, he is just a yoga teacher practising naturopathy. Hence, if you want to buy his products buy them or else simply ignore them. So if the government is totally at fault in dealing with this issue can we safely give a clean chit to BRD? Well the answer to this rather trivial question is 'NO', though the cause for which BRD has come forward is a noble one but it's execution has certainly not been an innocuous one. On one hand where Hazare categorically refused to share the dias with any political figure, presence of saffron leaders at BRD's protest make his tryst a questionable one; where Hazare preached the Gandhian mantra of non violence to achieve the ultimate goal of a corruption free India, BRD announced the formation of 11,000 strong armed force of men and women to fight against the government employed forces, certainly this is not one of the most mature and sensible announcements made by a man who is supposedly fighting for such a serious cause. And this naturally attracts detractors and raises questions on the credibility of BRD's campaign.

Despite the fact that the Government is totally at fault and BRD is not completely right or wrong, things are not what they should be. BRD is still ploying hard for every ounce of attention and the government is still sitting pretty due to a weak and a disoriented opposition. Ideally, when after such a consistent string of debacles things should have worsenned for the government, it's not quite the case. And in due course if BRD eventually goes on to launch a political party as he has directly or indirectly hinted earlier, things will get merrier for the government. As it will further divide, dent and weaken BJP's vote bank in the same way as it happened recently with Raj Thackeray's emergence in Maharashtra and Chiranjeevi's entry in the AP politics. So the evil will prevail atleast for quite some time in the near future and it won't be an exaggeration to say that in true sense we are living in Kalyug!

Perspective: And it all boils down to the fact that a full toss delivery isn't a bad delivery unless ofcourse the batsman has the ability to dispatch it over the boundary.

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kin...

The Great Indian Autorickshaw Tamasha!

2011-06-03T01:20:00.000-07:00

The public transport in our country is definitely not a match to the exponentially rising population and vibrantly growing economy. Though a few of the metropolitans are coming to terms with the super suave metro rail and the German engineered buses to ferry the commuters in and across the town, their is still a long way to go on improving a commoners daily travelling woes. In India where majority of people still rely on the public transport for their routine chores, the draconian and ever increasing fuel prices are making things even tougher. A middle class man who can somehow afford to buy a vehicle on his own stops himself from going the extra mile fearing the high fuel cost he will have to bear once he eventually buys the vehicle and this increases the load on the public transport all the more. Eventually a majority has to rely on the local rail, city buses, shared tumtums or auto rickshaws for their survival and amongst all these the auto-rickshaws or the auto-rickshaw waalas are the most interesting and unanimously annoying breed.

Hailing from a small town gives ample opportunities to visit and live in metro cities for essential things like studies and work. And once you keep getting such opportunities you tend to start comparing these big cities against each other on different parameters. Public transport surely happens to be one such parameter and the auto-rickshaw waalas become one of the chief artisans of this large ambit.

Now things can't be better than what they are in the small cities like Raipur (incidentally my home town) where you sort of know everybody in the town from the top bureaucrat to every auto-rickshaw waala and vica versa. So if at all you have to avail the services of an auto-rickshaw, its an innocuous experience where in you chit chat along the way and the amount you need to pay to the vendor for his services is left on your discretion. Simple, hassle free and one of the many benefits of living in a small town!

Things drastically change once you move up to the capital city of New Delhi where in one of the many precautions you are bombarded up with from all corners is about being extra cautious against the auto-rickshaw waalas of the metropolitan. On the face of it these auto-rickshaw waalas seem super friendly, uber social and your best possible guide for the journey but you won't even realize how a 1km journey has been smartly fooled around in the numerous narrow by-lanes and transitioned into an 8km misery. And if by any chance you try to question any of their actions, be prepared to get an Oxford Dictionary Tutorial on the most innovative and never before abuses. Sugary start with an almost certain scary finish!

On moving down south to the city of Nizam's, Hyderabad, one surely gets a sense that the autorickshaw waalas of the city are the true Nizams of the territory. If you approach them to ask for their willingness to ferry you from point A to point B ( which ideally costs around Rs 30 by meter ) they will warmly answer in affirmitive. But the moment you ask for the cost of the ride they will bluntly say Rs 150 with the same smile, as if they are dropping you for free. Obviously one is compelled to ask why this exorbitant pricing and why not go by the meter, to that they will give you such an annoying look as if you have asked him for her daughter's mobile number. And the ones who are a bit polite in conduct will put forth a logic that the 'slightly' high pricing is due to the half return charges they have included to compensate for the scenario that they might have to come back all the way without any passenger. Though by rule this half return formula is applicable after midnight but dare you teach that to Mr Nizam, as you might skirt with the risk of turning the polite lad into an irked one. Illogical, illegal but still the unstated norm!

The scenario in the oxford of the east is by no means better. The autorickshaw waalas in Pune have this unique tendency of refusing to ferry you and rather opting to sit idle reading newspaper. Obviously bamboozled by this refusal one asks for a reason to which the angry old man responds with a 'My Rick, My wish' bouncer. And the ones who are actually ready to serve you never have change handy with them and this situation invariably pops up once you have reached your destination. If the tariff comes out to Rs 72 and you hand them a hundred rupee note you eventually end up paying Rs 100 for a Rs 72 ride because they always pretend to be short of change. One of the million ways of goofing and making money!

Amazingly things are not this scary in the buzzing metropolis of Mumbai, in fact the simplicity and the honesty in operations of the auto-rickshaw waalas leaves people in a bewildered state. The operative logic remains quite simple, whatever be the destination, whatever be the time of the day, no arguments, no bargaining just follow 'pay by meter' mantra. And this thumb rule quite literally eliminates the chances of fraud that might arise from 'fooling around in the by-lanes' or an unnecessarily imposed 'half return loading' or losses arising from the 'no change drama'. The scenario is quite contrasting as the vast expanse of the city gives ample opportunities for foul play but probably a strong public transport system in the form of local rail and good network of BEST buses augurs well for the auto-rickshaw waalas too to play fair. Astonishingly refreshing setup for the commoner!

Though I have never experienced the music of Chennai auto-rickshaw waalas personally but having heard about them to such extents, I feel if any community can give the Delhi clan a run for their money then it's the Chennai gang. Supposedly the only denomination the Chennai auto-rickshaw waalas understand is that of hundreds, no matter how close the destination is, the quoted price invariably happens to be Rs 100 or multiples of that, no rationale, no logic, no meter, just their own rules. Sadly, they literally feed on the outsiders who don't understand their local language obviously its a nightmarish experience for the north Indians. And even if they do know Hindi or English they pretend that they are unaware of it and try to fool the passenger on that premise. Certainly not the best city to hire an auto-rickshaw!

Nothing against the community and also not denying the fact that they are a necessity in this nation, still it can be safely said that because of a few mavericks they don't enjoy the faith of the masses and are more aptly availed as TINA factor rather then being the preferred choice. If only things would have been more transparent and consumer friendly the need for writing this satire wouldn't have come up.

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kin...

The Hilarious ONSITE MANIA!

2011-05-30T00:33:00.001-07:00

Working in IT industry or in more broader terms any service based industry has it's own share of unique experiences. And anybody who has been a part of this setup can easily relate to these unique, weird and extraordinary experiences. One such very common phenomena is the rage to travel abroad through work related trips and quite interestingly this phenomena is inversely proportional to the number of years one has spent in the industry. So if this phenomena is not a top priority for a veteran who has spent 10-15 years in the industry, it certainly is the ULTIMATE desire for a fresher who has just joined the industry or is a new bee in this arena. Amazingly it even rates higher than the more important and substantial attributes like job profile, quality of work or future career progression.

So why do people carve for working in a foreign land so much? Obviously visiting a new country is always exciting as it gives an opportunity to experience new culture and fulfill ones foreign holiday dreams. Some see it as an opportunity to prove that they have achieved a career or professional high by working in a foreign land. Some see it as a status symbol over others and derive superiority mileage from such opportunities. But in majority of the cases the biggest reason for an onsite trip is to make large sums of money and do a hefty saving which is otherwise not possible in such a short span while working in India. And these savings enables individuals to buy their dream homes and dream cars without much sweat. No wonder people go to extraordinary extents to earn an onsite opportunity. Nothing wrong in that obviously but the herculean efforts that individuals put in to get them are simply hilarious.

But getting one such opportunity doesn't end the story, in fact the change in mannerisms thereafter makes it even more interesting. Thanks to various social networking sites like GTalk, Facebook and Twitter every individual is connected to virtually everybody he has come across all his life till date. Though its a different matter that out of 500 odds friends in the friend list one interacts with only a dozen on a regular basis. But once ones reaches onsite or a foreign land the count exponentially shoots up from a dozen to a few hundreds or even more. How? & Why? The just landed onsite maniac, JLOM, makes it point to socialize with every guy on his friend list ones he steps out of India, irrespective of the fact that he hasn't spoken a word to him in say last 5-7 years or despite the fact that he doesn't has anything substantial to talk. Changing City, Country and Status updates on these networking sites are few of the other modes of attracting attention and declaring that I am currently on a foreign land. But interestingly every effort is been made to ensure that he is not showing off either:)!

And how does this supposedly seamless conversation happens? -

Just landed onsite maniac, JLOM: hey...how are you doing...

Target 37, T37: hi...i am good...long time...how are you? ( whats wrong with this guy...woken up after 8 years..must be something fishy)

JLOM: yeah man...was thinking of buzzing you from a long time...but life is so busy...

T37: yeah..i understand...so what makes you so free today? (come to the point bugger)

JLOM: nothing man...just thought life is always gonna be busy..you have to take out time for your close buds...

T37 : thats so nice of you dude...(cut the crap jerk..i know how close you have been to me in last 8 years)

JLOM: so tell me..what r u doing...

T37: nothing was just about to pack up and go to sleep...you tell..(come to the point jerk...stop fooling around)

JLOM: oh thats great...i am just cooking my lunch...

T37: lunch??? (there you go...)

JLOM: (yes yes yes...i have done it) yeah man...have to do it all on your own here...

T37: ohhh..where are you? (so this was the reason for waking up from a 8 year long slumber)

JLOM: i am in NJ dude....

T37: NJ? (already put on the american jingo s)

JLOM: New Jersey bro...just landed last week..

T37: oh wonderful (landed last week...and can't wait to show off)

T37: so minting money...;)

JLOM: no man...thats not my purpose...i am here to gain global exposure you know....i mean you learn so much interacting with the guys here..

T37: very true...so must be a long stint...(i know a$$h*&# how much you wanna gain)

JLOM: they were pressing for a 2 year stint but i said i wont be able to extend it for over 3 months...

T37: oh...but why..you could have gained far more global exposure with that 2 year stint (i know how hard you might have fought for this 3 months trip)

JLOM: (oh i wish the stint was actually 2 year long...i could have booked a flat in India with those savings :( ) yeah...thats true..but i can't stay away from my family for that long...and trust me India is the best...so I straight away denied their request...

T37: (come on it's enough..i can't handle it anymore) great man...true Indian...ok...i gotta go to sleep now...office tomorrow morning..

JLOM: thanks...sure sure...carry on...will catch you soon...

T37: sure..bye...tc...( i know... catch you soon in your next onsite trip...bugger...)

T37: Tools -> Actions -> Block User -> JLOM

And invariably this happens with every second JLOM, every second trip and in every other friend list. Such is the carving, such is the madness and such is the reality about these trips. Hilarious but true!

kin...

Dhoni the ZEN!

2011-04-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

If being the Prime Minister of India is considered as one of the most high pressure job in our country then think twice as being the captain of the Indian cricket team is not far behind in terms of the expectations and complexities involved. The Indian cricket fans are far more demanding than the coalition partners which the honorable Prime Minister has to handle. And it won't be an exaggeration if we rate the Indian cricket fans as the second most demanding and mercurial lot in the world, only behind the Pakistani counterparts especially when it comes to outrageous display of wrath. In this context if one man has done more justice to this throne of thorns than any of his predecessors then it is certainly Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Dhoni has led magnificently well, using whatever resources he has been provided with, without any time worrying about what he doesn't have. The biggest reason of his huge success as a captain is that he is not afraid of criticism, always backs his instincts and keep things simple, interestingly all great leader have these qualities. And what better example of this but his brave act in the finals when he promoted himself in the batting order and came in to bat ahead of the Man of the Tournament (read Yuvraj Singh). That single act embodied a real intent to win and importantly showed a willingness to lead from the front. At that crucial juncture he could have quite easily let Yuvraj or Raina go in and sat comfortably in the dressing room but the man backed himself to face a crisis without dithering, no wonder the entire world is singing praises about the man and he has been unanimously promoted from a good captain to an all time great.

Dhoni has reached a stage in his career, more so in his popularity that his every single move is followed by millions. Sachin Tendulkar may be the presiding deity of Indian cricket, the ultimate batting god who has broken all possible records in the game but Dhoni is someone fans have started to worship from afar. From his hairstyle to his helicopter shot, Dhoni's every single move is closely watched, adored and followed by the millions across the country. Dhoni's is truly a story that every common man can relate to, coming from a middle class backdrop, not being a metropolitan lad, climbing the success ladder the hard way are some of the traits that make him so popular and relatable among masses. No wonder the champion player endorses brands like Sonata, Big Bazaar, Orient PSPO and Siyaram's and not the high end Tissots, Spencers, Bluestars and Reid & Taylors as they are very much in line with his personality and the middle class sentiments. And despite all this adulation and idolising, the calm and poise the superstar exhibits is exemplary; probably it's a trademark and an inherent quality in all the icons.

But like any other riveting story, Dhoni's has also had it's share of lows. The champion player has been criticized for giving away his original and attacking style of stroke play for a more cautious and circumspect one. He has also been flaked for relying too much on his instincts rather than on cricketing logic. His decision of persisting with Ravindra Jadega for longer than normal despite latter’s consistently dismal performances baffled one and all, including myself. And off-late the decision that made him face the wrath from all corners was the one when he relentlessly kept on picking Piyush Chawla over R Ashwin in the World Cup, despite former's poor show and latter’s impressive track record. This decision was utterly baffling for all and defied every cricketing logic but Dhoni being his true self remained unfazed by all the drama surrounding his decision and eventually came out trumps.

Dhoni might not be the best player to have donned the Indian cap but he is certainly more effective than the most. He might not have the best technique as a batsman but he performs and delivers better than those who have it. He has this unique knack of knowing his limitations as a player and he makes best utilization of his limited abilities. Certainly he is not as talented as Sachin, Sehwag or Yuvraj but he makes the best use of whatever he has been gifted with. Numbers tell that Dhoni has already stamped his authority as one of the best Captain India has ever produced but if there is one thing that drives this man farther than the most then it's his TEMPERAMENT. He has never been seen losing his temper in 8 years of his cricketing career nor have we seen him yelling on any of his team mates in his 3 years tenure as the skipper. The Zen like calm, composure and the cool that surrounds the man not only instills confidence in the fellow team mates but also gives hope to the millions of fan.

Life being the best leveler will pose tougher challenges for Dhoni too and someday even his Midas touch will fade. And then it needs to be seen, whether that Zen like calm and poise still remains. But even in those not so glorious days we should not undermine or forget the unthinkable feats the team has achieved under his leadership and the unparalleled joy and ecstasy the man has brought to the millions.

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kin...

Wanted - 1.2 Billion Hazares!

2011-04-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Barely three days after the monumental world cup victory one man took away the entire sheen away from the nationwide celebrations and literally stalled this never before euphoria. Interestingly nobody even raised a voice against this disruption in celebrations, naturally if the chief protagonist is a sprightly septuagenarian fighting against the age old vice of corruption in our system then there can't be any dissentful voices against such a noble cause. The Padma Bhushan awardee, ex army man who fought the 1965 Indo-Pak war, the Gandhian who single handedly built a village in the Ahmed Nagar district of Maharashtra and transformed it from a poverty clad village to a self sustained model village which is now among the richest village in India. The warrior, the braveheart and the visionary Mr Anna Hazare is known for his hard ways and ability to fight for such social causes with utmost zeal, no wonder he is getting such unprecedented support from all corners of the country.

But how can one curb corruption by going on a hunger strike? Corruption in our country is a routine act which is not only practised by the politicians and bureaucrats but is widely endorsed by even the poorest. So how can a hunger strike abolish this genetic disease? Well if we closely dwell on Hazare's demand he is advocating for The Jan Lokpal Bill that will form an autonomus authority who will make politicians, bureaucrats and all the ministers accountable for their deeds. Also the demand emphasizes on a 50-50 participation between the government and public in the committee formulation for the enactment of the bill which will minimize the extent of manuevering on government's part for its own benefit. Naturally the objective and the intent behind the protest being so genuine, constructive and visionary, support from one and all in the country was bound to come. And the government bowing down to these long pending demand with the whole of nation backing the cause was also just a matter of fact and time.

The entire movement has been a victory of the very idea of democracy, victory for the people of this great nation and a victory for INDIA. And hats to Mr Hazare, the man behind this mass movement who dared against all odds to fight for a cause that has crippled the growth of this nation and tarnished it's image globally. But the big question is can this movement really eradicate corruption from our system? It's really a herculean task. The joint committee can have a 50% public participation but can that still have the power to formulate full proof rules? The much demanded bill can make the politicians and bureaucrats accountable for their deeds but can it really punish them for those deeds within the time frame? Can this movement stop you from bribing the traffic policeman at the signal? Can this bill prevent you from buying a high profile cricket match ticket for black? Can this wave of change stop you from paying those extra bucks to a clerk to get your home loan sanctioned at a faster pace? Well the issue is way beyond just these ministers and officers, the gene of corruption is ingrained in each one of us.Unless we mend our ways individually there is no point aiming for the larger picture because we are the breeding grounds on which these politicians and bureaucrats prosper.

Mr Hazare is a proven servant of this nation and he has truly played his part in starting this revolutionary fight against corruption. But we have a long way to go. Merely lighting candles, joining rallies and abusing the politicians won't serve the purpose. We got to cleanse ourselves internally, we need to recharge our conscience, we need to develop the patience to traverse the longer path to get things done. Only then we can assimilate that strength based on which Mr Hazare has single handedly routed the government, otherwise it's just another filmy stunt that will loose all it's fizz as the the time passes by.

Long Live Hazare, Long live the fight against Evil!

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kin...

The Cup that INDIA really counts!

2011-04-08T00:20:00.000-07:00

In a backdrop of continued hues and cries against the abolishment of 50 over format of the game what we witnessed over the last 40 odd days was one of the most successful ODI World Cup till date. Successful not only because the host nation lifted the trophy to create a record of its kind but more so for the euphoria and excitement this event generated by the quality of the cricket being played. Successful not only because it gave the lesser known associate nations a chance to showcase their skills but also because it witnessed a resurgence of old warriors and new heroes of the game who will become the flag bearers of tomorrow. Successful not only because the event generated unsurmountable moolah for the organizers and sponsors but also because it kept the shameful and longstanding vices of corruption and bureaucracy at the bay.

There were varying theories leading to the world cup as to which team thoroughly deserves to win the world cup, most of these being discussed and debated endlessly in the studios of numerous 24*7 news channels and the sports column of leading newspapers.Team India were dubbed as the clear favorites not only by the experts and pundits but also by the leading betting agencies, the logic behind this tag was certainly a very strong and consistent string of performances in the last 2-3 years. If one set of experts professed South Africa as the true contenders of the coveted trophy based on their consistent performances, strong squad and playing against the choking odds and not so encouraging history to lift their first ICC trophy. The other set of pundits cautioned the rivals against the down by certainly not out Aussies, based on their strong ODI side, impressive performance in the recently concluded ODI series against the Ashes Warriors, advantage of being the proud owners of the No.1 spot in the ODIs and an impressive unbeaten record in the world cups for the last 12 odd years. Some experts even backed Srilanka to lift the trophy based on their consistent and impeccable performance in the subcontinent conditions and also emphasizing the fact that the Lankan lions were the runners up in the last edition of the world cup. The dangerous Underdogs tag was unanimously kept aside for the mercurial Pakistani side who despite their ever so familiar crises of match fixing and internal rifts were looking ominous and confident after a good showing in the Kiwi land.

It may be a bit unfair to state this but cricketing logic apart if there was one team that truly deserved this trophy more than any other team at this juncture it was Team India. India has been a powerhouse of Cricket for over two decades now, not only in terms of revenue generation but also in terms of mass following. If there is any sport which comes close to this euphoric and crazy follower-ship than it is certainly soccer but otherwise there is no match to the hysteria, festivity and togetherness this game(cricket) generates in this vast country. So if 1983 was the seed which triggered this phenomenon it was certainly the dividends time for the ardent fans of the game in this cricket crazy nation. The fan in this country has gone through everything to support the game and his/her team, so much so that it was certainly the payback time for the game to its staunchest supporters. Naturally a majority of youth in this nation has not experienced what it means to win this coveted trophy. All their lives they have either watched Australians lifting the trophy every four years or those virtually black and white images of Kapil Dev lifting the trophy almost three decades back. So for a fan who breeds on cricket and follows Indian team day in day out, it was high team he/she actually experiences this feeling first hand. And it's not that this premise has been built upon just these emotional cursors, obviously the team has been doing exceptionally well and showcasing high degree of consistency in all formats of the game. So if there was one time when this team truly deserved to win the cup, it was NOW. Not only the game owed a lot to the loyalist fan of this nation but it also owed something to the little genius (not withstanding the fact that no individual is greater than the game) who has been the best servant to this beautiful game for over two decades now, Sachin Tendulkar, and is all for sure playing his last world cup.

By the virtue of a strong team performance, high quality captaincy and a solid fan support the team went on to win the much awaited and a well deserved title and no points for guessing the entire nation went berserk. But the journey wasn't as smooth as it seems, if Viru's bangla bashing was celebrated across the nation, Team India's not so impressive bowling performance against the minnows raised quite a few eyebrows. If master blaster gave the nation hundreds of runs to smile about, the nation breathed fire every time Chawla was picked in the squad. If Zaheer Khan instilled confidence in the prayer murmuring lips of millions, the likes of Nehra and Munaf literally dozed off the nation. If Yuvraj's new found savior avatar was the talk of the nation, Dhoni lack of batting form till the final was a constant cause of worry in every household. Such is the insight about this game in a common man that every Indian has an advice or two for the Captain and interestingly most of them aren't that bad either. Eventually with thousands of Pujas and Havanas, millions of fan mails, billions of superstitions and little bit of cricket on the field the Team went on to the lift the World Cup.

And the atmosphere and the feeling that descended on this reverberating nation thereafter was certainly a never before. Millions on the street, crackers all over the sky, tricolor in every hand and hugs and hand shakes all around. If there was any event that could come close or super-cede this celebration and euphoria it can't be anything other than the night of 15th August 1947, such was the feeling and joyousness the swept across the nation. And seeing the bonding which this victory generated, even the likes of Aussies, South Africans, Lankans and Pakistanis wouldn't deny the fact that if there was one team or rather one nation that truly deserved this title at this juncture it was certainly INDIA!

Perspective: It would have augured well for this nation and the team if the cash rich IPL4 would have started a little later, as it would have given us a little more time to savior and cherish this memorable victory!

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kin...

The Royal Bengal Snub!

2011-01-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

Bingo! Yet again the IPL frenzy has lived up to its expectations of creating a buzz which no other event or phenomenon has created so consistently in the recent past. And with the recently concluded player auctions breaking new grounds, the buzz again was more so for non cricketing reasons rather than the in-field histrionics. So if the high billing fetched by Gambhirs, Pathans and Rohit Sharmas created a huge uproar than the big names like Lara, Gayle and Jayasurya remaining unsold till the end, almost generated a seismic wave of sorts. But undoubtedly the biggest drama of this IPL event has the Royal Bengal Snub, where in one of the most stylish left hander of the nation till date, also the most flamboyant captain of all times and undoubtedly the Brave heart of Indian cricketing history, Sourav 'DADA' Ganguly went unsold with not a single franchise (out of 10) bidding for him in the two day event.

So is this a fair treatment on the part of the franchises? For a legend who was given the iconic status at the inception of IPL; For a master player who has scored almost 20,000 international runs; For a Captain who has changed the way India plays and takes on its rival on the cricket field; For a mentor who has nurtured champion players like Yuvraj, Zaheer and Bhajji; For a senior statesman who has been the team's (KKR) highest run getter and by far the best performer in IPL 1 & 3; For a swashbuckler who has been a better suited player in this format, at least in comparison to the likes of Dravid & Laxman; For a man who has been the identity and face of the Cricket Crazy land of Kolkata; is this is fair deal? On the face of it and on the factual grounds this definitely seems to be a selfish and an unfair treatment, but their surely is a flip side to this story too.

First of all this is a corporate driven event and when corporate entities are involved in the setup along with their million dollar investments, certainly they are here to win and not to please people or to soothe emotions. So if they don't see a value for investment with Ganguly, they are perfectly alright in their decision. If they feel that Ganguly's presence won't add to the team atmosphere or to the team's strength then Ganguly's laurels of the past count for nothing. And also if these franchises are here to make money, so are the players, certainly the retired players because whatever they have to prove on cricketing grounds they have done that on the international arena for past 10-15-20 years, naturally they here to make quick bucks. So sympathizing, criticizing, mourning or burning effigies (of the franchise owner) is all rubbish because the bottom line is, this isn't cricket this is pure business.

But why have the franchises chosen the likes of Dravid & Laxman over Ganguly, when undoubtedly Ganguly is a proven better performer in the shorter format? One lame reason can be that these two gentleman are still playing international cricket vis-a-vis Dada who has retired two years back. But it's a matter of common knowledge that the true reasons are beyond the boundaries of cricket grounds and are surely non-cricketing. Sourav's strong personality, once his strength has become the cause of his nemesis. We know that the former Indian Captain loves to lead from the front, so for the franchises who might have thought of roping in Dada might have feared the fact that if he is in the squad he has to be made the skipper. And with Ganguly in the team, the team will be build around him rather than him being a part of the team. His stardom, his personality or more so his ways are far more unfitting in the present day context. Throughout his career he has played and marshaled as a Prince, but now that his batting powers are only a shade of what they used to be say 3-4 years back, naturally he can't expect to still reap benefits on his past laurels. Undoubtedly, he is not a demolisher or a destructor who used to ruin bowler's careers few years back, so to not accommodate such a player is more of a prudent thing than a selfish one.

Bid or no bid, sold or unsold Ganguly is and will always remain a legend and a true champion of the game. But it's time that Dada himself starts accepting some facts which might be bitter in taste but will surely help him in keeping intact his legacy. That's what Anil Kumble did by retracting his name from the auction list and concentrating solely on the administrative side of things, though he could have easily been picked by any of the franchises but he was smart enough to foresee the writing on the wall and hanged his boots gracefully.Though this will remain a debatable issue but one thing that fans all across the nation need to do, is to tone down their mercurial instincts when it comes to handling such issues because every champion has to go one day to make way for a new champion.

Perspective: IPL snub aside, if Dada still wants to continue playing solely for cricketing reasons, he can continue representing Bengal in the domestic circuit but that might prove to be a far more unattractive and financially in viable alternative for him!

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kin...

TONdulkar - The 50 Maar Khan!

2010-12-25T03:10:00.000-08:00

One of the most difficult thing in present day cricketing context is certainly to write something about Sachin Tendulkar. Millions of articles, billions of comparisons and zillions of accolades have been showered on him for his innumerable feats and still the critics and fans all around find themselves at shortage of words but the superman is still going strong, with don't know how many such wonderful and proud moments still to come out of his quiver. From the youngest cricketer to achieve so many feats, to be the first batsman to clock 12, 15 and 17 thousand ODIS runs respectively, from being the only man to have scored 200 runs in an ODI innings to hit the maximum number of runs and centuries in both forms of the game and now the mere impossible, the first man on earth to have reached the unthinkable feat of 50 Test Tons. And it won't take him long to bag 100 international tons (ODIs plus Tests) either. Naturally he has made life tough not only for the bowlers across the globe but also for the writers and columnists. Nothing written about Sachin from now on will be new, yet a million words will be penned for every run that he scores.

No wonder almost every run he scores literally breaks one record or the other. And the newspapers next day are flooded with statistical vendettas and towering statements about the great man. And the same happened when he scored his 50th, all the news channels had only one thing to show, Sachin! All the radio stations had only one thing to air, Sachin! The last five pages of Times Of India next day had stories on only one man, Sachin! All the food joints, office cafeterias, pan shops and even the restaurants were buzzing with just one topic, Sachin! And a bitter irony amongst all these celebrations and coronations was that, not only the whole of India but even the entire world forgot a very important fact that India has faced one of their biggest defeats in a Test Match in recent times. But who cares as long as their favorite star is entertaining them in such an incredible fashion!

This man has been playing international cricket for more years of his life (21) than he hasn’t (16). And certain facts about his longevity are so staggering that it seems that the entire world has transformed in these 21 years, but for his zest for excellence. When he started to play international cricket, Steffi Graf was Wimbledon champion, Diego Maradona was captain of Argentina, and Allan Border led Australia. Think of where they are today, how physically fit they are and what they do now. Mind boggling, isn't it? Also, when he started, the Berlin Wall and the Babri Masjid were still intact; India had no mobile phones;and Nirvana was two years away from recording Smells Like Teen Spirit. As the world around him has changed beyond recognition, Tendulkar – peerless, generation-straddling poster boy of his sport – continues to dominate India’s collective consciousness more than anyone else has in the past two decades.

Naturally with this amazing feat happening the age old comparisons with Don Bradman were bound to resurface. But this time around not only the Indians declared the burly mumbaikar as their first choice but even the Australian fans joined the global bandwagon in felicitating the 37 year old sensation as the best ever. Though I believe it's not the best thing to compare the legends across eras, as the cricketing conditions were different 50 years back, amount of cricket played today is far more enormous than it was say 30-40 years back, state of pitches have changed considerably, protective gears and technology has come to batsmen's aid in today's game and the amount of travelling has risen considerably too. So it is in the best interest of the game to savior and enjoy the best of each of these geniuses rather than getting involved in a slug fest of comparisons. But with the little master continuing with his path breaking batting streak, fans, critics and writers are bound to resort to new ways of praising him, naturally the tool of comparison. And it was hardly any surprise when I came across an article in Times of India few days back which toyed with the idea of comparing Sachin with the all time greats of various other sports and in turn corona-ting him with the throne of Best Sportsman in the World! Heartwarming indeed, but I don't think it's required at all because even if the little genius fails to perform the way he has over the years, he will still remain to be the king of our hearts and most deserved owner of the Bharat Ratna title.

What makes this guy special are not his towering records and statistics but the way he has played the game for over two decades. What separates him from his peers is not his impeccable technique and temperament but his infectious enthusiasm for the game. What eventually transcends him from a good player to a great player are not his multi million dollar endorsements but his humility and off field conduct. Whatever he does, however much, we still want more from Tendulkar. He has borne the burden of our hope so well for 21 years; it could well be the heaviest burden borne by a batsman in cricketing history. In today's India when corruption and dishonesty has spread its wings from politics, media, healthcare and even in the prestigious cauldrons of defense and services, he is probably the lone man standing on the pillars of honesty and integrity and performing his duties for the nation with full honesty and consequently bringing smiles to the faces of million Indians. So the least we can do for this messiah, in the last leg of his career is to slightly unburden him for our never ending expectations, savor every moment till they last and let him enjoy the game a bit more than he usually does.

Bracketing Sir Don & Sachin: Much like the Bradman's stupendous average of 99.94 has always remained a thing of talks and a largely unchallenged number,Sachin's eventual tally of century of Centuries will also remain one such feat which will remain unchallenged and unbeaten for a long long time.

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kin...

Mr Honest (PM), Prove your Honesty!

2010-12-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

If their is one quality or attribute which both the Government and the Opposition are hell bent to showcase these days, it's certainly that of being 'Obstinate'. So if the BJP led Opposition is relentlessly demanding for a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the Rs.1.76 lakh crore 2G scam, the Congress led UPA government is vehemently refusing to all such demands. And the overall output of this stalemate is the fact that winter session of parliament got adjourned for all the 21 days leading to a humongous loss of public money.

Now the big question is why is the opposition so adamant on its demand of setting up a JPC or what good a JPC will do to the fortunes of the opposition? As a matter of fact, in the post independence political history of India, 4 JPCs have been formed respectively for investigating the Bofors scam, the Harshad Mehta scandal, the Stock Market scam and the pesticides adulterated cold drink debacle. And on all the four occasions, leave aside the prospects of anybody getting punished, not even a single person has been convicted, rather even no substantial remedial action has been taken against the suspected defaulting party. So with such a backdrop, ideally even a full fledged JPC inquiry should count for nothing.

Also, the JPC makes sense if it manages to clear up the murky dealings between the politicians, the bureaucrats, the industrialists and the media. But who cares for all this, at least the opposition hardly does because the biggest plus which they are seeking from a JPC probe is the fact that a JPC probe can even summon the Prime Minister to appear in the dock. And with that happening it clearly tarnishes the image of the man on whose innocence, goodwill and stainless record, the Congress led UPA government has been sailing smoothly on even the roughest of waters. And with a huge role that the Prime Minister Office has to play in the entire 2G Spectrum allocation process, their is every chance that the honorable PM might be summoned to appear before the JPC and eventually face quite a few awkward questions, which for sure will be a matter of great shame for not only Dr Manmohan Singh but also for the government. No wonder the government is shying away from a JPC probe and the opposition is so hell bent on gaining a huge political mileage over the government by letting it happen.

But amidst all this brouhaha the biggest and the most surprising question is that, why is the government so reluctant and rather so defensive in having a JPC to probe the 2G scam.Obviously with such a huge uproar on this matter already they are foreseeing a risk of finding themselves in minority on this issue and this apart from the stated reason of finding the honorable Prime Minister in the dock. But by constantly denying a JPC they are reinforcing the fact that something is wrong from their end and they are trying to shield the Prime Minister from a shameful scrutiny. And this rather uncharacteristic behavior on the government's part is also shocking because going by the past records of JPCs, none of the JPC probes, findings/recommendations have been implemented or were rather implemented as a watered down version. So when they could have easily lingered on with a nod to JPC, relying on its non-productive outcome, they have made matters worse and rather dubious for themselves by constantly objecting to it.

And what is most disgusting amongst all this is the government's new found habit of advocating the Prime Minister by saying that the opposition should not raise fingers against a person of Prime Minister's stature, as he is a man of utmost integrity, he has always been a role model for millions and is rather the best and the cleanest Prime Minister in the history of Indian politics. But if that is the case, they should make things even more simple by letting the Prime Minister and in turn the government prove their innocence by going through a JPC. And idolizing is a good thing only if it is done in the right vein, but when it crosses the limits of sanity it turns into stupidity. So if a man has been an impeccable character all his life, doesn't mean that he will remain one for the rest of his life too, he has to pass through various litmus tests to prove his mettle time and again.

Obviously with the public memory being short lived this multi crores scam will also evaporate from our storage disks in due course. A prospective aberration to this can be an united opposition still adamant for a JPC and thereby also disrupting the budget session of the parliament. But with no offence against the honorable Prime Minister and with full regards to him, in the interest of this nation he should be the first man from the government to cross the line, agree to a JPC, prove his innocence and come out clean.Only then will it set a good example for all the politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists to traverse the path of honesty and integrity.

Jai Hind!

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kin...

Ponting's debacles, Sachin's 50th & a lot more...

2010-12-17T23:35:00.000-08:00

It's the season of Test Match Cricket and with the top cricketing teams fiercely contesting against each other to show their cricketing prowess, times can't get any better for an avid cricket fan. So if Australians are fighting hard to regain the Urn in the Ashes down under, the No. 1 Test Team in the world (India) is under a serious threat of justifying their Numero Uno title in the hostile and bouncy pitches of the Rainbow nation. Though despite the eventual results of both these series, there are lot of other things too which are at stake, like Pontings Future as a Captain and as a Batsman, Sachin's 50th Ton and the Performance of the formidable Indian batting lineup in SouthAfrica.

Naturally a lot is at stake for the formidable Indian batting lineup in their trip to South Africa, though even if they fail yet again in South Africa their CV's won't get tainted at all but a good showing here would definitely add feathers to their already glorious careers. Certainly this is the last time the batting trinity of Dravid, Tendulkar & Laxman is touring South Africa and going by their past records they would certainly like to improve upon it in a big way. As none of them averages even 40 playing here and same goes with the most destructive batsman of this era (read Sehwag). And we can safely add Gambhir too to this not so elite list because Mr consistent is still to open batting in not only South Africa but also in the testing environs of England and Australia. So if these men get going, then we are sure to have a cracker of a series in our hands, however going by the past showings,our run machines might find it a bit arduous to start delivering from the first match but by the third and the final test they will surely give the protean quicks a good run for their money. And needless to say, no practice game before the 1st test might surely prove to be a costly affair.

If there is one thing which is as much debated as the final scoreline of the ongoing Ashes series, it is most definitely Ricky Ponting's future. Though despite his continued poor form and a total run aggregate of just 80 runs from the first 6 innings in the series, the man himself has categorically denied any thoughts of retiring but the actual scenario seems far more intriguing. How often has one seen Australia being dominated so badly by any of their opponents? How often has one seen Aussies being so docile in their approach against such a huge backlash? How often has one seen an Australian selection panel backing a player/captain for so long despite a string of failures. A lot of big names, including Steve Waugh were shown the door despite their past laurels, than what's so different about Punter's case? Is it because the selectors don't see a potential successor to Ponting at this point in time, which is probably a strong reason because Michael Clarke who has been tagged as the Captain in waiting for so long has failed to deliver consistently when Punter is failing rather more consistently. Or is it because the Australian board still backs their chances of seeing an Aussie at the top of batting chart in terms of most test runs and maximum test centuries? Or is it because even the selectors are unaware about the most righteous ways to handle such an unexpected situation? The exact reason behind this rather unusual behaviour is probably known only to the ACB but going by the batting form, Ponting's future seems to be rather gloomy however going by the form of other captaincy contenders in the Aussie lineup, Ponting's throne still seems very much intact and unchallenged!

And how can one talk of Test Cricket without mentioning the great Sachin Tendulkar! So every time the little master will come out to bat in the 3 test series in South Africa the buzz will revolve around his 50th Test ton. Obviously the feat will eventually happen one day or the other but this feat is so humongous that its bound to create loads of excitement. But the buzz and excitement in India is very much the same every time Ponting gets out cheaply, the simple reason being he is the closest competitor to all of Sachin's record in Test Match cricket. There is no denying the fact that Ponting still is a very good batsman, infact he is one of the most complete, dominating and fluent player of the modern era but then why is it so that his fan following isn't as huge as that of say Sachin,Lara or Sehwag? Probably because of his touch arrogant, ruthless and petulant conduct in his hay days, no wonder in his rather tough times he isn't enjoying the support and backing of many non-aussie fans. And that's where the off field conduct and behavior of other cricketing greats comes into play. However comparisons apart these are undoubtedly the times to saviour each of these battles with the battles in this ever so beautiful and enthralling game.

Bird's Eye View : And for those like me who are still very keen about the statistics and comparisons, it's time to get more worried by Mr Jacques Kallis' ascendancy towards Sachin's feat, as he is just 1 shy of Ponting's 39 tons and is also an year younger to the Aussie too!

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kin...

2010 - The Year of Leaks, Fixes & Cheats!

2010-12-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

It won't be an exaggeration if we term the year 2010 as the year of clandestine fixers. What sort of started with the Pakistan Cricket Team's biggest match/spot fixing scandal continued on with the Radia leaks and literally exploded with the wiki leaks revelations.If the former was a shocker than the ones to follow were nerve wreckers, Infact every single of these gigantic fixes, leaks or conspiracy theories are all a full fledged case study in themselves. And a deep rooted analysis of each of these shameful acts reveals that every single of these horrendous act have been going on for a while now, so certainly these aren't those earth shattering discoveries, rather they are all timely inventions breeding on the eternal greed.

Interestingly, this isn't the first time that the Pakistan based cricketers have been found guilty of match fixing, they (Pakistan cricketers) have been doing this for as long as one can remember, it's just that the ways, means and the names have changed with time. Same goes with Niira Radia, she is a known fixer and has been around for two decades now, fixing deals for the rich and the famous. With most of her clients being the reputed corporate houses, only now it has transpired that she has politician clients as well and may be some clients in the media too. And what wiki leaks has stumped the entire world with, is certainly a shocker but definitely not the first timer. They have been constantly coming up with various dubious theories on part of the US (government) vis-a-vis different nations and agendas, it's just that this time around they (wiki leaks) have revealed a bit too much and all in one go. So in all these clandestine fixes, probably the packaging, presentation and timing has changed but the very essence still remains the same.

So to defend and tackle these irregularities or exposures through the weapon of 'Breach of Right to Privacy' is a serious misuse of the law because there are stages where the laws of privacy, however sacrosanct, need to take a backseat. And in such a scenario, whosoever has advised Mr. Ratan Tata to go to the Supreme Court yelling for his breach in right to privacy, has done him a serious disservice. If Tata is trying to stop more tapes from coming out, he is only making the public even more curious about what they may contain, which eventually in all probability will do even more harm to Tata's image than if the tapes were actually revealed. Insinuation causes far more lasting damage than actual revelation because that’s when your business/professional rivals get a free hand to float any rumors they want. And, as we all know, rumors cause greater damage than facts.

But the bigger question is, Why people like Radia flourish? or What makes wiki leaks reveal so much? or What makes these Pakistan based players so deeply involved in the vices of cheating and match fixing? Well it's an age of deceit, double standards, distrust and corruption and if we talk just in terms of our own country, we have ourselves created a system so disgustingly corrupt and dirty that it’s impossible for anyone to survive in any business or trade without having to necessarily resort to fixers and middlemen. That’s why people like Radia flourish. Not only because there are corrupt business houses eager to grab special favors from politicians and bureaucrats forever ready to offer them but also because there are also honest business houses who have no idea on how to navigate a system as venal as ours. They need an astute guide through the stormy waters. They need people who can advise them on how to deal with each rascal who tries to extort them at every stage. The system breeds its own Radias who, in turn, approach and compromise people, even good people.

So rather than pointing fingers at these middlemen or fixers it would be probably a better idea that we all got together to clean up the house. This must begin with dismantling the corrupt system and exemplarily punishing the guilty, not just booting them out. But the biggest hurdle in this clean up act is our thought process which professes that 'what can I do alone to cleanse this deep layered filth'. So if we can combat this demoralizing thought process of ours, half the battle is won. The least we can do to be a part if this cleansing act is by not subscribing to the easy but corruption led route of getting things done in our day to day life. This route can be a bit cumbersome and painful but the long terms effects of this approach can be really worth all the pain.So instead of cynically talking about moral codes for lobbyists, let’s repair and restore our institutions in a manner such that we can combat corruption. But first let’s start by believing it’s possible.

We all thought Terrorism in Punjab is beyond repair, corruption and crime in Bihar is beyond redemption. But with a firm belief and true hard work on the part of the administrators, the results in both the scenarios are for all of us to be proud about. So it's all about the self belief and a few tough steps against these chronic vices of corruption and fixings. And it's high time we fix the fixers rather than getting our system fixed by them.

Perspective: Understandably the Radias, the Kalmadis and the Rajas are the culprits of various offences, but all of us who are breeding these corruption mongers through our lackadaisical and accommodating attitude are also equal partners in crime. And unless we change our approach towards governance and routine chores we can't stop the influx of new Radias and Kalmadis.

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kin...

No.1 Team in the World! Really!!!!...Really????

2010-12-01T21:59:00.000-08:00

Out of the 18 Tests that India has played over the last 2 years, they have been on the winning side on an impressive 10 accounts and have lost only twice in this period. This in itself is a never before statistics for the Indian Cricket, and if we take into account the fact that 4 out of these 10 victories have been Overseas wins, then it makes this statistic look even more fanciful. No wonder that with these performances Team India finds itself at the top of Test rankings, with a considerable lead over the other podium pushers. But what is most refreshing about this celebration of sorts is the fact that the monotonous, boring and at times irritating dominance of the Australian team in this arena is finally over. And gone are the days when even the very thought of a non-Australian team at the top was a far stretched imagination or even a wildest dream, no wonder these are well and truly the changing and exciting times in the world cricket.

Though there is a school of thought prevalent among the critics of the game that Team India isn't the deserved owner of the top seat but that hardly takes away anything from the consistently stellar performances exhibited by this team over the last few years. However there is no denying the fact that they (Team India) aren't as fearsome as the West Indies team of 70's and 80's or the Australian team of late 90's and early 2000's but nevertheless they have been playing exceptionally good cricket well within their limits.Not only this team has a fearsome, spontaneous and an intelligent leader in the name of MS Dhoni, but they also have an equally capable team to back their leader's spontaneity. And to have a team with an aggregate run tally of over 50,000 runs and a total batsmen century count of over 100 is a no mean feat. Though this also highlights the fact that our's is mainly a batsmen led team but then bowling has never been our forte.

It's very easy to attribute this success to a few key man like Tendulkar, Dravid, Harbhajan, Laxman, Sehwag, Dhoni, Zaheer and Kirsten but there are few others too who are not a part of this team now but are still equally responsible for Team India's ascendancy to the top spot. And these elite gentlemen are John Wright, Souav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. Wright was the one who emphasised on the way these guys trained and prepared in the most righteous manner, Ganguly was the one who marshalled and transformed the team from a soft bunch of players to an aggressive lot of warriors and Kumble was the one who consistently kept on taking wickets and almost single handedly bowled oppositions out on the unfriendliest of tracks. But this undoubtedly is the golden era of Indian Cricket, as not often will it happen that the likes of Tendulkar, Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Ganguly will play for the country at the same time. One may see one or at max two batting greats playing at the same time, but these many doning the Indian Jersey at the same time will probably remain rarest of rarities. In that sense the Indians are truly blessed to have all of them playing for country at the same time.

But for India to continue it's dominance at the top spot, they need to improve and sharpen their bowling skills because it's ultimately the ability to take 20 wickets which eventually decides the winner. Though of late India have been out batting their opponents convincingly to cover up for their mediocre bowling but certainly these aren't good signs for Team India. There was a time when a majority of fans used to criticize the great leg spinner Anil Kumble for not being able to spin the ball much and literally bowling as a medium pacer, but his effectiveness over the years can be felt now when none of the bowlers of the current era (including Harbhajan) are able to tighten up the opposition's noose with their bowling. Understandably Kumble didn't spin the ball much, but his line, length and pin point accuracy was a nightmare for the batsmen all around the world, naturally to fill his shoes is a big task. So when Harbhajan is hitting back to back test match hundreds, it is definitely a moment to rejoice, but this team needs more of Harbhajan the bowler than Harbhajan the batsman. Because we have already seen with Irfan Pathan, what that extra pressure of batting well consistently does to ones bowling and when Harbhajan is already struggling big time with his bowling we should not pressurize him further with those alrounder tags. It's high time he takes up the role of the lead spinner in the team and mentor the younger crop as Kumble did so well in his time and Zaheer is currently doing the same with the young pacers.

The debate on whether Team India is the deserved owner of the Numero Uno spot can go on for a long time, but on practical and statistical terms the ICC ranking system states that Team India is the No.1 cricket team presently. And there are no doubts about the fact that Team India possess the most formidable batting line up in the world but from the fielding point of view this team is lagging way behind and the bowling attack isn't the most threatening one either. So if we surgically disect the three important areas of the game, batting wise, YES, Team India is the No.1 team amidst it's peers, fielding wise the team languishes right at the bottom and bowling wise too this team is certainly not the No.1 team and is rather just average in qualitative terms. So in such a scenario if this team wants to extend it's stay at the top spot then it should minimise its dependency on the batting strong hold and pull up it's socks in the bowling and fielding departments. Because it's not far when the batting trinity of Laxman, Dravid and Tendulkar will hang up their boots and the current batting line up will transform from great to good or may be even average. It's then that the real test will start for the bowlers, they won't have that cushion of a huge score to bowl with, every single time; the destructive, flamboyant and carefree Sehwag will 'probably' turn into an innings builder and may be more of a batting mainstay then the momentum builder, as he is now. Consequently the bowlers will have to equally share the responsibility of wining sessions along with the batters and will also have to shed their dependence on the bowler friendly tracks to bowl out the oppostion twice.Only then the fans of Team India can proudly boast that their team is in the same league to that of the West Indies and Australian teams of the past!

Perspective -The gruesome South Africa tour which is just days away, should be the first real test for this talented team to prove its mettle at the top spot!

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kin...

The Bihar Ball-Dance!

2010-11-29T10:29:00.000-08:00

Why are the state elections in Bihar so talked about phenomena across the Nation? Or for that matter why is the state of Bihar so very important from a national perspective? Well, it is the third most populous state of the country, the Bihar state politics and dynamics have always had a huge bearing at the center, also the state of Bihar has always been known for its rich cultural heritage, great scholars, the great Maurayan Empire and not to forget it is the land of one of the greatest emperor of all times Asoka and the great Lord Buddha. But of late the main reasons which have kept Bihar in the news are the lawless situation, pathetic means of transportation, traces of roads in the barrens of potholes, paltry levels of literacy, unimaginable levels of crime and last but not the least the ever so ebullient, witty, comic and charismatic Mr. Laloo!

Naturally the recently concluded state elections had to be the talk of the nation, but there was no gentle breeze blowing through Bihar in 2010, it was almost a gale storm, one that literally rewrote the political sociology of the state, yes it was the Nitish gale storm! To lead his alliance in an impressive 206 seats out of a total of 243 and leaving the mighty Laloo & co tottering for just 25 odd seats and congress to a meager 4 seats, is no mean feat. And what is fascinating about this decimation is not the margin of the victory but the manner in which it has been achieved.

Neither NItish nor any of his alliance members used the age old card of caste and creed to woo the masses, rather the focus always remained on a vocabulary unheard of in the state in over two decades: roads, primary health centers, girls’ education and thermal power station. And the rapt attention with which the crowd listened to Nitish was an absolutely beautiful and welcome change. These alien concepts are the ones which the poor man of Bihar has always dreamt of all his life and despite the absence of caste references in Nitish’s speech, he still had the backing of not only all the extremely backward castes, Mahadalits but even the backward Muslims joined his bandwagon of Development. And not even once Nitish’s limitations as a public speaker came as a hurdle in his zest to connect with the masses. Rather the only rhetorical flourish he permitted himself was when he promised to confiscate the property of corrupt officials and set up schools instead.

In fact what has worked in Nitish’s favor at the end of his first five year term is his ability to convert the promises he made to the common man into reality. The triple S formula of sadak, shiksha, suraksha on which Nitish ruled or rather sweated for last five years actually worked in his favor. The gleaming highways and pucca village road’s are Bihar’s new pride, the bicycles for girls studying in ninth standard have become a symbol of women’s empowerment, 50% women reservation in panchayats and ability to just move out after dusk in Patna or Gaya is simply liberating but the biggest achievement of the last 5 years is undoubtedly law and order. In a state which has been lampooned in Bollywood and beyond as a land of thieves and kidnappers, Nitish Kumar has positioned himself as 'The Terminator'.

But the million dollar question is what has gone wrong with the man who once promised to make Bihar’s roads as ‘smooth as Hema Malini’s cheeks’ but rather left them as lunar craters? Well the evergreen superstar of Bihar, Shri Shri 108 Laloo Prasad Yadav still offers the best one-liners and you still smile at his jokes but that smile is more out of a nostalgic remembrance of an old comedy film and somehow he is now just a caricature of the rustic king he once was. And even the famous adage which he once coined isn’t holding good anymore because the Samosa still holds the spicy Aloo but there are hardly any signs of Laloo in Bihar. And in true sense the public of Bihar has become too smart to be fooled by the corruption and inefficiency fluently practiced under the sugary coats of comic rhetoric; the development in the last five years has literally butchered the Laloo style of governance.

Naturally with a corrupt and toothless opponent, Nitish’s second home coming was just a matter of formality but the real challenge now for Nitish would be to manage the rising expectations. Though under his leadership education has received a boost, but jobs still remain scarce; Security has been provided, but investments haven’t come in; Crime has been controlled, but petty corruption appears to have grown; Roads have been built, but power still remains a crisis. Well it’s not fair to be utterly critical and pessimistic about Nitish’s future because the resolute nature and perseverance which the man has shown in his tenure is worth every bit of appreciation. But what is even more praiseworthy is the fact that Bihar has truly leapfrogged to the numero uno position in terms of the fastest growing states in terms of development. And the fact that common man in India has understood the importance of development oriented governance over the materialistic lures of liquor and blanket to vote, are the true indicators of India’s bright future in the coming times.

Perspective : With Nitish all set for a long term in Bihar riding on the wave of development, the only other career option which remains for Laloo is that of a standup comedian!

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kin...

Reality Shows - Not all that Bad!

2010-11-22T02:46:00.000-08:00

Of late apart from the 3 seasons in the year,almost every year we are well and truly witnessing a fourth one too. And this fourth one is rather more consistent these days than the other three. So which is this new found consistent season dawning our lives every year? It's the season of bitching,bickering,abusing,exposing,debating,criticizing and banning. It's the season where in every year we or more particularly the Government of India takes objection to the vulgarity and nudity shown on the Television by the medium of reality shows and tries to curb it through threats and bans. Interestingly the shows in contention, the parties on protest, the sole aim behind the supposed vulgarity (high TRPs) and the final outcome of the entire drama remains very much the same every year but still there are no signs of any change,boredom or respite after these consistent streak of events every single year. And this recurring phenomena probably reflects the state of mind or the appetite of the audiences more than anything else.

So if this year it is Dolly Bindra breaking the decibel levels with her vulgar and over the top remarks in Big Boss, previous years it was some Raja Chaudhary or KRK doing the encore. Similarly if Ashmit Patel and Veena Malik are found coochi-cooing around every corner of the Big Boss house, previous years it was Rahul Mahajan and Monica Bedi or Anupama Verma or Aryan Vaid. Same goes with Rakhi Sawant, if last year she was creating new records of shamelessness and audacity with Rakhi ka Swayamwar, this year she is doing it with Rakhi ka Insaaf. And the list goes on with new shows like Emotional Atyachaar, Splits villa and Roomies following the suite. And what eventually happens every year is also a repeat replica of the last year, a select few raise voices against the proclaimed nudity and vulgarity shown in these shows, thereafter the Government wakes up and passes a threat or in some cases imposes a (partial) ban and in due course all these shows are back on TV in a toned down fashion or almost in the same vein.

Now the big question is, Is the Government or the Information & Broadcasting (IB) Ministry correct in imposing itself by means of warnings and bans against these shows? Or are these supposed shows of obscenity, the true and the only culprits? Well on the face of it, it's very easy to straight away tag these shows as the real culprits but the matter is not as straight forward as it seems. True that the content showed in these reality shows is objectionable and beyond the moral values which we as a nation have been endorsing and practicing for years but the high TRPs which these shows are garnering day in day out are the true indicators of the fact that how much the common man wants to see these shows. Whatever be the reason, be it the bold avatar of the main protagonists, be it the nudity, vulgarity or the brazenness shown by the medium of these shows, it beautifully emphasizes the changing times. This isn't the early Sunday morning Ramayana or the Mahabharata age, it's the age of late night shows of vociferous Dolly Bindras, brazen Rakhi Sawants and live telecast of a newly married couple's first night.

Hence it's highly imperative that IB ponders upon this change of guard among the audiences and only then they can hope for a long term check or curb on these morality breakers. Understandably the IB's concern about these shows casting a bad image on the children is praise worthy, but have they ever wondered that, Are these shows the only medium of vulgarity available to the children or the masses? With almost every second middle class child and every fifth lower middle class child having access to Internet in the close confines of his bedroom or the omnipresent Internet Cafes, isn't the free and readily available access to internet pornography a far more worrisome fact than these television shows? What good the IB or the Government has done so far to curb these free access to obscenity and vulgarity over the years? Hardly Any! And it's not only the children or the younger strata of the society who is an audience to these reality shows, the very fact that the TRPs of these shows are higher than the regular family soaps running on all the channels, clearly emphasizes the fact that even the families are watching these shows regularly and with a gruesome appetite.Naturally the producers of these (reality) shows are showing what the audiences actually want to see and enjoy.

In a nutshell, it's highly important to decide upon the permissible limit shown by the medium of these reality shows but that should not be the sole effort put forth to curb the obscenity on air. There are other sources and mediums too which need to be monitored, regulated and rigorously checked. And hence blatantly blaming the producers of these reality shows isn't the most prudent thing either,agreed that they are selling shit for high TRP's and raking big bucks but on a more practical note they are selling the commodity which is on high demand, so what if it's a waste of a commodity. On the whole, it's a vicious cycle which breeds on the premise that you might love it, you might hate it but you just can't resist yourself from watching it. And the funny irony is, this is not only applicable to the children and the young guns but this equally holds good for all those (IB included) critics and oldies too:).

Perspective : With new seasons of Splits villa and Roadies about to start, there is more fun waiting to unfold, not only through these shows but off it too:)!

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kin...

Congress Way or the Wrong Way...!

2010-11-17T03:19:00.001-08:00

What ideally should have been the festive season in our country at this point has turned out into a Corruption fiesta. The Navaratri, Dussera and Diwali frenzy has been overshadowed by the CWG, 2G and Adarsh hysteria, with Kalmadi, Raja and Chavan being the main villains as against the age old Raavana. Unfortunately these new era villains can't be burned on the lines of what we do with Raavana every year, but make no mistake their offences are no way mean in terms of magnitude.

And the manner in which the oldest party of our country (read Congress) has handled these situations, truly embarks the reason why they have ruled our country for 50, 60 or all those innumerable years. If there is one word which aptly describes the approach of Congress Party in handling these fiascoes or for that matter many such situations over the years, it's the word 'SHREWD', and mind-it when I use this word its certainly not with a negative connotation. That's how they have been all these years and that's the very reason why they have been the most consistent and numero-uno political outfit for so long, also thanks to a reasonably considerate lot of politicians they are blessed with and not to forget the presence of ever so dominating and flamboyant Gandhi scion.

Where other political parties might have succumbed to the relentless opposition in handling such allegations and scams, Congress has been very prudent and precise in their execution. With CWG scam looming over their head for so long, they did what every government excels in, ordered a high profile probe, which in all probability will go on for ages or at least till the point where not only the opposition forgets the scam but even the public loses interest in these financial muddling and the same is happening with the 2G and Adarsh scams too. But what is interesting is the fact that when it comes to addressing such highly inflammable corruption charges against their party members, it's not the upper strata of the party which convenes the media or the parliament but it's rather the more low profile and unknown faces that are given the charge of addressing such scenarios. Ever heard Sonia Ji or Rahul Baba talking about CWG or 2G or any other scam? Never! They always keep their image clean and never indulge in the dirt sputtered by their fellow ministers; rather they concentrate more on pointing fingers on the leading figures of the opposition parties for their supposed involvement in various scams and thereby landing them (opposition ministers) in awkward situations.

No wonder despite the relentless outcry from the opposition and the media they stuck with the Kalmadis and Chavans, the main culprits of CWG and Adarsh debacle, for a smooth and successful Obama's visit. And even before Obama left the Indian skies, Congress were quick to axe both the tainted leaders in one go. On the face of it, it seemed that the government was trying to salvage India's pride by not giving much air to such controversial issues at a time when one of the world's most powerful leaders is visiting our country. But another angle behind this sudden axing was also to counter the huge uproar which the opposition might subject the government to in the winter session of the parliament which was starting from the very next day. And this axing move at the final hour actually left the opposition gasping for air, as they were not sure how to handle this master move taken by the Congress led government, which according to them (opposition) was their main agenda for the entire winter session. A perfect example of political shrewdness exhibited by the Congress high command!

But after much ado the opposition woke up and forced its way into the parliament with the alleged Rs1, 76,000 crore 2G scam and demanded an instant axing of its main protagonist Mr. A Raja. On the other hand Raja and his (DMK fame) mentor Karunanidhi where in no mood to entertain any such thoughts and were constantly claiming Raja's innocence on this matter. This scenario definitely put the Congress party in a bit of dilemma because the minister in fray this time around wasn't a Congress minister as against the Chavan and Kalmadi. And axing him (Raja) wasn't that straight because it was directly impacting their coalition at the center. They again adopted their ever so successful formula of 'wait and watch' and it worked again for them, their savior this time being the fairest (in color), fattest and smartest lady down south, AIADMK supremo Ms Jayalalitha. She announced an unconditional support to the Congress at the center, if they immediately axe Raja. And with this Congress again found itself in the best of situations, with none of the two parties (DMK & AIADMK) wanting to give an inch to the other, as they are not only eying the hotspot at the center but they are also aware of the probable gains they can reap from an alliance with the Congress in the soon to be contested State (Tamil Nadu) Assembly elections. So if Jayalalitha was quick to foresee an opportunity, DMK veteran Karunanidhi wasn't far behind, he immediately asked his protégé A Raja to resign, thereby vanquishing any chances of AIADMK taking their position at the center and also keeping high hopes for the forthcoming assembly elections. Yet again Congress had to do nothing and they were out of this soup much to the dismay of the opposition parties.

In the nutshell howsoever puzzled and envious the other parties may be, there is no denying the fact that if there is one party which knows the in and out of politics and all the tricks in the book to run this enormously hyperventilating country then it's 'CONGRESS'. Be it Nehru, be it Indira, be it Rajiv, be it Sonia or be it Rahul or for that matter be it any non-Gandhi Congressmen either, they all know the nuances of handling the most complicated of issues with a lot of finesse. Some may call their ways Shrewd, some may call them Mean and some might even call them Nasty but going by the track record of all the political parties post independence, if you are not following the Congress Way, more often than not you are on the wrong way!

Perspective - It's not a criticism nor an appreciation, but it's just an observation on how things run and work the Congress Way!
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kin…

The Obama Hungama!

2010-11-09T23:52:00.000-08:00

They came, they impressed, they floored and they went away winning millions of hearts! But for some they came,they impressed none,they hardly nailed our neighbors and they went away with assurances for jobs and business for their own state, doing no good to us. The use of word 'THEY' is highly important here as it wasn't all about the Most Powerful Man on earth but it was equally about his better half too, who raked as much attention and applause as the Male 'O' received.

Now on the overall outcome of Big 'O's' visit, reactions are varied, cynics and critics all across are going hammers and tongs to pompously declare this visit as a big Failure.Their claim is that neither did he bestow us with any tall claims, nor did he made promises on strategic collaboration on the fronts like Technology, Fight against Terrorism or any other worthwhile benefits and this visit was more of an insult to our Nation than a strengthening of ties, as declared by the two head of states. But the ground reality says this is certainly not the best phase of Obama's presidency, his popularity in the US is at all time low, he is coming from a mid term election drubbing and his nation is still reeling under turmoils of economic crisis. So in this gloomy backdrop to expect that his visit will be a bouquet of goodies for us was an overtly ambitious thought. From the very starting it was clear that the main purpose of Mr Obama's visit was to urge the Indian Government to further open the Indian market for the US goods and services and also help in creating more jobs for the Americans.

On the other hand a section of people are overtly happy with the remarks and claims His Excellency made during his 4 day stay in India. The encomiums of garlanding India with the status of a Super Power and one of the fastest growing economy has flattered quite a handful, remember we are a nation which is on an ever starving conquest for platitudes but the truth beyond all these flattering adjectives is that we are languishing at the bottom of almost all human indicators such as education, health and hygiene or infrastructure. And to address all these factors we need funds which are being digressed on defense, thanks to a highly unstable nuclear armed neighbor. So the most prudent thing amidst all these sugary quotes made by the man who is known more for his excellent oratory skills than for his man-management or governance skills, is to not get buoyed by these remarks and to judge ourselves by what we are and not by what we can be.

Another sad thing has been the show of huge outrage displayed by our pompous local politicians, including the CM (of Maharashtra) who was living on borrowed time, having been caught stealing land belonging to the Kargil war widows, over being humiliated by the US. What was this humiliation? They were invited to meet Obama at a gathering organised by the US Consulate and were requested in advance to provide their identification through PAN cards and whatever ID our own Government demands of us whenever we enter an airport or any other place where security's an issue. So our politicians and bureaucrats took huge umbrage and refused to go. These ministers created such a huge uproar on this that the US Consulate had no option but to call it a clerical error and apologise. Apologise for what? For ensuring security for their own Head of State, the world's most targeted leader, at a function organised by them. Disgusting, to say the least!

Now two of the most highly debated, celebrated and abhorred agendas of Obama's visit were - 1. His assurance of supporting India for a permanent UNSC seat. 2. His avoidance of declaring Pakistan as a Terrorist state. On Obama's assurance of support for a permanent UNSC seat to India, almost the entire nation went on a celebration mode, as if we have just pipped down US from the Numero Uno seat (of global super power).We are so blinded from the reality that we can't even comprehend the fact that we can't just become a permanent UNSC member by a mere platonic support statement from the US president. The groundwork, the mathematics and the entire process is far more challenging than it seems from outside. And with military superpowers like Japan and Germany already eying that spot, it will never be an easy battle for India.

And on the issue of Mr Obama declaring Pakistan as a terrorist state, the wrath, the criticism and the disappointment all around is astonishing. It seems we are ourselves not very clear as to what we want on the Pakistan or the Kashmir issue. At one point we detest Pakistan for urging US to mediate in the Kashmir problem, by saying that it is a problem between the two nations and so it hardly makes a point in involving a third party. And on the other hand we want US to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state, now where do those 'no third party intervention' prophecies go? And why should Obama say so just for the sake of soothing India, for that matter none of the premiers of any state will ever make such bold statements against any of the states and certainly not when that nation is a part of their strategic alliance in the south east Asia. In fact the best indicator or between the lines read for us is the fact that for the first time in the history a US President is making a visit to India which is not accompanied by a Pakistan visit.

It's imperative for us to understand the fact that Mr Obama came to India not as a President of the United States but more so as the CEO of USA. And we should rather focus more on appreciating the flamboyance and connect which the couple showed with the Indian masses and media rather than digging various non-sensical matters and criticizing Mr President. We should appreciate the level of preparedness which the Big Man showed on his interaction with us, be it his constant remarks on Gandhi, Ambedkar, Bose or Tagore or be it his use of Hindi Jargons in his speeches (though this trick is adopted by all the westerners). Also can you ever expect Mr Manmohan Singh or for that matter Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee to go to the US and dance with the school kids on any of the Michael Jackson's pop number? Never! So rather than dissecting Mr O's visit to surgical levels its better to treat it as a just another foreign premier's visit to our hyperventilating country.

Ending the write up on the very note on which the Big Man (Mr Obama) ended his popular speech few days back - JAI HIND!

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kin...

Emotional Atyachaar - 'Dhokha' All the Way!

2010-11-07T06:55:00.000-08:00

Boy loves a gal,gal loves (the same) guy, both are deeply in love, living in a wonderland which is so beautiful that makes either of them doubly check there happiness. The lead goes for a loyalty check against his/her lover. 99% probability, the suspect fails the loyalty test and the credit goes to the Emotional Atyachaar team for saving the lead's life by being the Saviour. At times Boy loves a gal,gal loves (the same) guy, both are deeply in love, living in a wonderland which is so beautiful that makes either of them doubly check their happiness. The lead goes for a loyalty check against his/her lover, expectedly the suspect fails the loyalty test but the lead also fails it at the same time, once again Emotional Atyachaar team turns out to be the sole winner amidst all this melodramatic chaos.

No wonder one of the most gripping and watched serials on television these days is certainly Emotional Atyachaar (EA). The craze and following for this serial is almost mind boggling, not only my younger cousins and relatives discuss this with lot of fervor but even my office colleagues and unfortunately my beloved wife is a big fan of this series. It’s not that I am allergic to EA, in fact I don’t enjoy a choice as neither can I stop my colleagues from discussing it, nor can I restrict my cousins from going mad about it and nor do I have the guts to snatch the remote from my wife every time she watches it diligently (and the irony is she watches the repeat telecast also with the same excitement), but my point is there are far more sensible and less fake things available on the platter. The show focuses on Dhoka (cheating) and more Dhoka's on the participant's part in each of the episodes but I personally feel its more of a Dhoka on EA's part to the audiences; all for raking high TRP's and exorbitant revenues.

I believe EA is almost like the age old WWF fights which also enjoy enormous following despite of the common knowledge that every ounce of it is fixed, staged and fabricated, but one hardly gets an idea about it seeing the exuberance levels of its fans. Same goes with EA, because who on earth goes on to make his/her life public and exposes it to the levels which are not only shameful for them but also for their entire clan. Understandably infidelity, temptation and suspicion are all common vices today but to see somebody who is in a long term stable relationship, fall in these traps in a matter of 1 or 2 phone calls or meetings is almost impossible to believe. No wonder people go around and fool their partners out of their low self esteem and irrational carnal desires but to almost get sexually active in matter of few hours or few days is out of our culture. Healthy flirting, chatting and befriending new people is acceptable to an extent but doing that at an expense of ruining ones serious relationship is outrageous.

The brazenness and audacity which is being showcased in this serial is incongruent with our tad conservative and traditional culture, though some might argue that metropolitan centers like Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata have tuned themselves to the western ways of openness and independent thinking but still the levels of shamelessness shown in EA only fits well to the 70mm screen and works of fiction and not at all in the cauldrons of real life, as prominently telecasted every week. Naturally EA is a big hit among the masses because it emphasizes and throws light on those aspects of life which are still rare and shocking for most of us. And obviously we Indians being nurtured in the conservative environs are thrilled by the very concept of sex and infidelity, be it by the medium of TV, Movies, Print Media or through Internet. No wonder sex MMS’ of a C grade TV starlet are a bigger hit than the Olympic winning stellar performances by any of our sportsmen.

So what the TV channel is doing by the medium of EA is nothing else but cashing on this weakling and a tad conservative Indian mentality. Hence it is also not the most prudent thing to blame our cousins, colleagues, wives and all the followers of such sex and infidelity sellers because they are all just going by the flow and watching these serials not because they trust on what is being showed by the medium of these shows but because these soaps thrill them more than the other offerings on Television. Also like WWF, a majority of the viewers know that most of the stories in EA are framed and staged, as not 9 out of 10 guys can turn out to be so fraudulent and cheat to fail their (EA’S) so called LOYALTY TEST, at least not in India.
Assumedly it is quite easy to get trapped in the scenarios which are being framed in EA but the extent of the fall in every single of the stories is quite hard to believe. Naturally the TV channel is minting money by this newfound but murky concept, but they should be rather concentrating more on keeping intact our rich traditional values rather than making money by denting, maneuvering and maligning it.

Bird’s Eye View – But in today’s selfish world it’s considered to be foolish to think of things like culture, tradition and ethics rather than thinking of more realistic and productive things like profits and gains!

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kin...

That Unique & Pleasant smell of Diwali...!

2010-10-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

So it's that time of the year again when the air around is much more ebullient, moods across are unanimously joyous and people on the streets are all in a festive mode, yes it's the festival time in India once again.The festive season starts in late August with the reverberating Dahi Handi and Janamashtami bash, then it's the vibrant 10 day long Ganesh Festival which sets the tone for the festive season which is further toned up by the 9 day long Navratri festivities, where in the idols of different avatars of the Goddess are made and worshipped for 9 days and congruently the colorful Dandiya Raas adds more valor to these festivities, and all this eventually ends with one of the biggest and widely celebrated festival of the country, Dussera. Also amidst all these annual festivals we also celebrate Id with lots of fervor, which falls in the holy month of Ramzan. But the undisputed Amitabh Bachchan of these festivals is Diwali, which is celebrated by one and all irrespective of their faith,sex and race.

In my childhood whenever somebody asked which is your favorite month of the year, I promptly told them its February (that being my b'day month), but in my heart I always had a toss up between February and the months of October/November, mainly attributed to an entirely joyous and festive mood prevalent in these months. And till this day the lead up to Diwali always has an inexplicable but pleasant string of feelings attached to it, the air around is actually so buoyant with lot of freshness and positive vibes that you can virtually smell that Diwali has arrived. And this beautiful something happens every single year, giving you a feeling of Deja'vu!

The smell of fresh paint and white washing in the house makes you realize the fact that Diwali has arrived. The shopping spree in which the entire family or the entire locality or rather the entire nation indulges in before the Diwali day is infectious. All round the year we tend to plan our shopping in and around Diwali; the excitement and frenzy to wear new clothes in Diwali is absolutely matchless. That smell of Diwali special snacks cooked around all the houses is so damn tempting, those dry fruit stuffed Gujiyas, those crispy Salonis, those spicy Mixtures and Chudas, those delicious platter of umpteen variety of sweets apart from the regular Dahi Vadas, Chholey, and Puris are all in a sense a true indicator of the festive and celebration mood around.

And how about our mothers and sisters drawing those beautiful and colorful Rangolis infront of our houses, for hours, to make our houses seem even more beautiful and all set and ready for the D(iwali) Day! Then that further decorating of our houses with flowers, festoons and banana leaves, those string of colorful lights hanged all over the house to make it shine and glitter in the festive glory. That hyper exuberance and super excitement to buy and burn the fanciest of crackers and noisiest of bombs weeks before Diwali which almost turns into a show of might between the fiercely contesting neighbors, are all an experience of its kind.

If this is not all how about all the biggest blockbusters of Bollywood lined up for release in and around Diwali, making it even more special. Also those mega Diwali special offers flashed all across the town by all the leading shops and brands, be it Clothing, be it Furnishings or be it Automobiles, one can easily sense the Diwali mood in the markets which are comfortably five times more crowded than normal. Though the ways and means in and around Diwali might have changed a bit in the last few years, like a greater focus on a greener Diwali as against the noisier and the polluting one earlier, a health awareness amongst the masses to consume lighter and oil free food, even a sad diversion from the pure and natural form of sweets and snacks around Diwali to a much adulterated and a synthetic one these days but the essence and the zeal still remains the same.

Literatures and history might say that Diwali is a Hindu festival but any resident of this country very well knows that this beautiful occasion is not barbed by any religion or faith. Even a Muslim lights lamps and decorates his house on the Diwali Day, a Christian burns crackers with the same excitement as a Hindu does, and a Sikh family cooks and eats as many sweets and delicacies in Diwali as any Hindu family does. Such is the grandeur of our culture, such is the beauty of this festival and such is the unity in diversity of our great Nation.

A Very Happy, Joyous & Prosperous Diwali to All!

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Bollywood Frenzy - Big B, TV, Laughter & Dog Fights!

2010-10-25T07:18:00.001-07:00

Big B - An Epitome of Grace and Sophistication!

Dan Dann Dannn Dann Dann Dannn Dannn Dannnnnnn......! Yes its that time of the year when the KBC jingle is back and it's back with its best executor, Mr Amitabh Bachchan! And without any surprises, the excitement, frenzy and the hoopla is on the same levels as it used to be 10 years back. Though the story and might of Indian television vis-a-vis Indian Cinema has transformed in a big way in this period but the power, panache and impact of this gentleman is still the same, if not more. And this effect is even more remarkable when you see all the Big Khans, Kumars and Chopras on some TV channel or the other which wasn't particularly the scene 10 years back. But amidst all the stiff competition this man stands apart and stands tallest in this elite crowd. And this is not due to his excellence in Hindi Cinema over last four decades or for his innumerable feats and awards for his acting skills but it is more to do with his personality, humility, conduct and respect for one and all. He is undoubtedly one of the best orators of the country we have today irrespective of the language he speaks in, be it Hindi or be it English. But amidst all this, what stands out particularly is the importance he gives to each and every participant who comes and sits in-front of him, howsoever rich, poor, good looking, learned, ignorant or ordinary the participant may be he treats them all with the highest degree of respect and makes sure that each of them feels special and not subdued by the fact that they are sitting in-front of the biggest superstar of the millennium. And when we are talking about these things, we are not at all taking into account his acting credentials or any other achievements, we are just focusing on his conduct, mannerisms and humility which are nothing short of exemplary. No wonder he is matchless, be it any of the contemporary superstars trying to rule the roost of the Television Industry. Undoubtedly Mr Bachchan is everybody's favorite and a role model for most of us. We can go on to heap truck loads of accolades for this man but probably the best way to coronate this gentleman is by calling him a 'Very Very Good Human Being', which is a rarity in present day context. He is the Big Boss, He is the Master, He is the biggest Khiladi and he truly has a multi crore Heart! Kudos to you Sir for being an inspiration for years and years!

Laughter is the Best Medicine, but today this Medicine is Adulterated!

It's a common adage that the toughest thing on earth is to genuinely make somebody laugh. And in today's world where people are so preoccupied with their self invited troubles, the value of a laughter or a smile has risen manifolds. Any thing which makes us smile or feel unburdened is well and truly appreciated and welcomed by one and all, and amidst all this the most potent medium of transmission of such a contagious and infectious attribute is the Cinema or the Bollywood. For all the countrymen Bollywood has always been the one constant which has evolved itself many a times and every single time it has offered something or the other to the audiences across a diversified strata of people. But comedy has invariably been the most sought after recipe all the while. No wonder that demand for comedy movies has always been HUGE and our film makers have never let us down. If we travel down the memory lane we just can't complete our journey without talking of the timeless classics made by Hrishikesh Mukherji, be it Guddi, be it Anand, be it Bawarchi, be it Golmaal or be it Naram Garam, the connect, the impact and the simplicity is just phenomenal and second to none. These timeless classics have touched our lives so deeply that each one of us is able to relate to these beautiful classics to an exemplary extent. Not only these movies have made us laugh out loud for years and years but they have all done so with a very good social lesson. Naturally the demand for such socially engaging, light hearted and jovial movies is still very huge. Obviously enough we still see so many of Comedy movies shelved out every single year. But unfortunately the level of finesse, excellence, connect and simplicity have declined dramatically. The comedy content in most of the today's movies is so loud, vulgar and inappropriate that they are unable to make us genuinely laugh out from our hearts. The formula e which are used today to make us laugh are that of Sex, Vulgarity, Nudity, Loudness and Homosexual puns,all being a huge digression from the movies made in 70s and 80s which always concentrated on getting as close to the common man in its conduct thereby inducing an environment of fun, enjoyment and wholesome entertainment. There is huge dearth of excellent comedy stuffs which is sans these uncalled of stuff which force us to laugh on the sheer stupidity of the act rather than the genuineness and connect with our daily lives. Though there are still quite a few exceptions who are treading the paths of Hrishikesh Mukherji, in the name of Munna Bhai & 3 Idiots fame Raju Hirani and makers of other beautiful movies made recently, like Do Dooni Chaar, Khichdi and Herapheri (only part 1), but we need quite a handful of others too, to create the magic weaved by the directors and yesteryear film makers. Because the true comedy is not about hitting somebody on the wrong body parts and forcing people to laugh on such stupid ugly acts, but it's more to do about hitting the right chord in the viewer's heart by the sheer tenets of simplicity, connect and social impact.

Way to Go Raju and others who are the true heir of Hrishi da's school of entertainment because after all laughter truly is the best medicine:)!

Dog Fight Bolly Style!

How can a talk of Bollywood get completed without some tadka, gossip and Dog Fight? The tradition of marketing, publicity and promotion by the most innovative means before the release of any movie is a common thing. But can it get more interesting when two of the most popular if not successful directors of the industry slug it out blatantly on each other. So every time Ram Gopal Verma (RGV) has his movie ready for release, he never misses an opportunity to promote his movie without taking some potshots at his fiercest foe, KJo (as he likes to be called) or Karan Johar (as his parents christened him). RGV clearly states that his movies aren't for the KJo's fan who are born and brought up watching those monotonous sob sob family movies which are unrealistic and stupidity par tolerance, according to him. He further goes on to say that KJo has only one formula which he packs and presents by different names, not even altering the cast of his movies in a considerable way. And on all this dirt the usually reticent and feminine KJo takes a masculine stand and retorts with a vengeance by quickly pointing out that RGV's collections from all the movies he has made in the last decade taken together are still short of what any of the KJo's movie have garnered. Moreover KJo goes on to say that even the crow of Phoonk 2 (one of the many flop ventures of RGV) has refused be a part of RGV's forthcoming release Phoonk 3. And what is even more interesting is the fact that both these not so gentle men vent this out openly in the media. Though its a common fact that neither KJo nor RGV are known to be the all time best technicians film industry has seen, both being on the right side of the tide at some moment or the other. But certainly their dogfight has always been a real treat for all avid cinema goers, if not their movies.

Keep slugging it out Sirs, it's truly thoroughly entertaining!

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Test Cricket Vs Rest of the Cricket!

2010-10-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

In the fast food age and the item number era of Mallika Sherawat and Malaika Arora not many heads turn for the timeless marvels like Kajol and Madhuri, but the real connoisseurs of art always prefer spending on the later ones, howsoever arty, slow pace and contemporary their style of entertainment might be. The true ecstasy evolves from the finesses, grace and sophistication and not by the means of brazen audacity or outrageous exhibition of power and flesh. One may eat unlimited Pizzas and Burgers but for survival he has to depend on the conventional Daal and Roti; an item song can add some zing to the movie but for that movie to be a HIT you got to have some really good actors, technicians and a well written script because a bunch of item songs can’t go on to make that movie a success; a girl friend or a boy friend might seem to be the most loving, caring and understanding companion but in due course nobody can replace thy parents who are the roots of one’s existence; And this holds true in all walks of life including the unanimous religion of this nation, CRICKET, whose new variants are posing a serious threat to its ultimate format, TEST CRICKET!

In this era of nonstop 20-20 and 50-50 cricket not many heads roll when the focus shifts to the apex format of the game. The latest and the shortest version of the game provides so much thrill, excitement, entertainment and moolah that it is bound to garner more eye balls and followers vis-a-vis Test Cricket. The most common argument given in favor of 20-20 and against the Test Cricket is that when one gets more thrill and excitement in just 1/15th of time than why should one waste 5 days of his time without a guaranteed result in the match. Not only the current crop of fans and followers are shifting their focus to 20-20 but even the younger generation of cricketers are focusing to make a mark in only the T-20 arena which is in stark contrast to the Rahul Dravid’s generation where the ultimate aim of any budding cricketer happened to be that of representing his nation as a Test Cricketer. But now even the talks of being a Test player have gone for a toss, youngsters these days get themselves equipped with a tattoo even before facing their 1st ball in the international circuit (read kohli), some are so very peculiar with their hair style, that they change their beard and hair styles more often than they eventually get to play for their country (read uthapa) and some show all-round skills right from their 1st game for the country but unfortunately these are all non-cricketing skills like dancing, sledging, mimicking etc(read sreesanth). So amidst all this, Test Cricket? One must be joking:)!

Ironically all one needs to succeed in the shorter format is just the brute power against the rock solid defense, impeccable technique, excellent temperament, choreographer’s footwork, tight rope walker’s balance and acrobat’s agility required to succeed in the test format. And in true sense these are the ingredients which make the Test Cricket beautiful! Undoubtedly the shorter formats generate more revenues and are more thrilling in nature but the gratification, pleasure and ecstasy one derives from the subtle nuances of test match cricket is second to none. No wonder the course of a match changes in a few balls in 20-20 cricket but the strategies, traps and guiles of the test match over the period of full 5 days and the subtle turn which the course of a test match takes over a session of play is just too alluring to be even compared to any other format. Moreover when the concept of this game was coined it was not to make money or to thrill the audiences the way 20-20 is doing today because anyways for those purposes we still had Stock Markets and Sherlock Holmes movies; naturally the aim behind this beautiful game (read test cricket) was to play the game at its utmost sanctity and derive pleasure from it.

For that matter all those uncountable centuries and the mountain of runs scored by Sir Sachin Tendulkar in this format, those magnificent spells of spin bowling and wizardry casted by the great Shane Warne, those deadly spells of swing bowling and toe crashing Yorkers bowled by the invincible Wasim Akram, those magnificent fourth innings match saving centuries scored by the champion batsman Brian Lara on the fifth day wearing track against Australia, those innumerable wickets taken by the wily old fox Muttiah Murlitharan on even the most placid of tracks, those jaw dropping murderous batting display by destructive Virender Sehwag and that sheer artistic magnificence flowing out of the bat of Very Very Special Laxman every single time his team is on the brink of a defeat are all far more superior in class and skill than those 20 ball 70 runs scored by some Keiron Pollard in a 20-20 encounter or for that matter those super over cliffhangers which decide the fate of the match by sheer muscle power as against the class and skills which the above mentioned gentleman showcased to decide the fate of a match. And undoubtedly Tendulkar, Lara, Warnie, Akram and others are the guys who are the all time favorites of even the younger generations be it the audiences or be it the budding cricketers. And even these gentlemen played 20-20 cricket or are still playing it, but they never endorsed it at the expense of Test Cricket, in fact at some point or the other they gave up their 20-20 or ODI career to prolong their test match career, so why are the present day budding cricketers who idolize these great gentlemen, running behind the money rather than continuing with the rich tradition practiced by their predecessors. And if their only aim of playing this game is to make money, than there are many other avenues where they can make more and faster money. But the broader aim of the players, organizers and all the followers should be to preserve the sanctity of this beautiful game whose byword has always been FAIR!

But on a macro level BCCI is responsible for the current mindset which is prevalent among the masses these days, be it the audiences or be it the cricketers. Though the more established and successful players are still choosing what they want to play and what they want to skip but by and large it is BCCI who is not only dictating a majority of its players by scheduling jam packed tournaments but is also by its financial might trying to maneuver things across cricketing boards of other nations. However on the face of it every now and then BCCI tries to project that its platter is clean by converting a 7 match ODI series into a 2 match Test series plus a 3 match ODI series, but that is still not doing any good to the Test Cricket. The broader aim of BCCI should be to promote the youngsters to play Test Cricket rather than luring them to be a part of filthy rich IPL tournament. Although tournament like IPL makes financial sense for both the board and players at the same time, but in the longer run it is doing not contributing to quality of cricket as such. And amidst all this the most worrisome fact is the state of Indian Test Team post Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman! They are in the evening of their career and we are yet to find their apt replacements; and with the increase in number of 20-20 games all at the expense of Tests, things are only going be to get worse.

There is nothing wrong with 20-20 cricket or for that matter any other shorter format of the game. But this formula of shortened game, heightened excitement and quick money is only dirtying the game rather than beautifying it. No wonder with the advent of these formats the instances of match fixing, spot fixing and gambling have risen enormously. However these malpractices can’t be attributed solely to the shorter format and rather it’s prudent to treat this as a sheer coincidence that these things didn’t exist in the old age era when only Test Matches were played because this has more to do with the individual’s conscience and morals than the version of the game he is playing. At the end of it, it’s an individual’s choice as to what he wants to play or what he prefers to watch but any form of the game shouldn’t be promoted at the expense of the other. And Test Cricket being the purest, fiercest and the most competitive form of cricket should be handled with utmost care and preserved as a real gem; youngsters should be taught the importance of true values and hard work and the fact that they should adopt the game for the sheer pleasure of continuing the rich tradition of Test Cricket rather than pursuing it for just making money, money should just be treated as a byproduct of pursuing this as a career and not the sole aim of adopting it. Only then we can dare to the see new Dravids, Tendulkars, Kumbles, Warnes and Gilchrist of Test arena, all of whom not only excelled in Test cricket but by their hard earned temperament, technique, balance and poise but also marveled at the shorter formats too.
Long Live Test Cricket!

Behind the scenes – A lot of my friends laughed on me when I took a sick leave on the 3rd day of recently concluded Ind V Aus test, but luckily it paid off as the little master went on to score his 14,000th run and 49th century on the very same day:). That’s Gratification for me!

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How to tag CWG -2010, Success or Failure?

2010-10-18T07:28:00.000-07:00

Woohoo...so we did it! What an exhilarating Opening Ceremony, stand out performances by our athletes and an equally reverberating closing extravaganza. Nobody could have thought of or asked for anything better. But what is even more surprising is the fact that how come general perception about this mega event changed so drastically in just 3 weeks time? When almost a fortnight back everybody was up and bashing the very concept of CWG being staged in India all guns out, dreading all sorts of untoward mishaps like infrastructure collapse, hygiene mess up, security breach and think what may, how come such a huge turn around in such a short span? Was it because of the fact that we never expected that we as a nation can stand up and deliver such a high quality global event or was it mainly because of the media created hoopla, with media just trying to mint money by showcasing the event in its extremes rather than being a prudent source of broadcasters or was it the general pessimist and downplaying attitude which we as a nation possess and practice?

Actually its a mix of all such negative characteristics, off-late media in general has been more concerned about the TRPs rather than serving the nation with the right quality news stuff, we as a nation have always been a self depreciating lot, low in confidence and usually a pessimist bunch. But then the million dollar question is how should we grade this mega event, Super Successful or an Utter Failure? Are our athletes really so good to have clinched all those medals which they eventually ended up with? Was the closing and the opening ceremony really a world class and a never before showpiece spectacle? And do all those financial irregularities and the massive corruption done on to the lead up of CWG, really counts for nothing, once that we have ourselves declared the games such a big HIT? Well a YES or NO answer to this question won't do the desired justice to this complicated issue, rather the most prudent and practical way of handling these set of questions would be to answer them in parts and with full objectivity.

So if we just talk of the way this event has unfolded in front of the world, it is actually remarkable, it might not be the all time best spectacle but still it ranks very much at the top. The opening and the closing ceremony were a true masterpiece which stumped, floored, wooed one and all, and even the global media was very upbeat in lauding the finesse, grandeur and magnificence of the entire show. Not only this the hospitality and the facilities which were eventually being provided to the athletes and the visiting contingents were ostentatious and world class to say the least. Though there were big doubts and question marks over everything linked to the games but at the end of it we should salute all the artists, delegates and workers who delivered such a high quality product in the end. We well and truly deserve a huge round of applause for making our nation proud in the global canvas and by being the best possible hosts to our esteemed guests. So on the whole a 10 on 10 for a marvelous showpiece, heart warming hospitality and an excellent conduct of the game!

Now if we talk of the brilliant performances of our athletes in various games, well any amount of accolade, praise and felicitation will fall short in celebrating their efforts. Over a 100 medals across various stream of sports is a truly commendable job and it shouldn't be an exaggeration if we single out these brave hearts as the true winners and the reason for the success of this mega event. These players are the ones who actually made us shift our attention from the debacles and fiascoes before the start of the event to the actual games. These are the heroes whose efforts eventually brought that smile on our faces with their valiant on field efforts.But amidst all these celebrations just a tinge doubt, how have they turned themselves into such high quality athletes overnight, when we struggle to win even a single bronze medal in the Olympics and when we are still not out of the celebration mode evolving out of the lone Gold Medal which we won in the last Olympics,so how come such a quick turn around? Well without any offence against any of our medal winning athletes, we should not forget that none of the world beating countries in the sports arena are a part of Common Wealth Games spectrum, be it USA, be it China or be it any American or European sporting stalwart. Add any one of them in these games and for sure they will wipe off all the medals in a hurry. And we should also not discount the fact that out of all the participating nations too, many of the top athletes across various sports pulled out at the last minute due to their apprehensions about the facilities and the security arrangements made for the games. But cynicism aside we should not stop ourselves from cheering up and praising each of our medal winners in the Games. So again a 10/10 for all the medal winners and other participating athletes of our country who actually made us realize that the Common Wealth Games 2010 was all about the sports and the athletes and not about the corrupt organizers and lackadaisical politicians but still a long way to go!

Now last but not the least, a thought for our corrupt organizers and politicians who overshoot the cost of organizing these events by not twice or thrice but by 117 times? Now shall we really care about such things once the games have been successfully completed without any hiccups? In fact the easiest possible thing to do now is to just dump this issue of financial irregularities in the cold storage! And that's what we have been doing all along since our independence, a flurry of scams and scandals, a plethora of investigation and probes and the unanimous outcome of all such financial quandary has been a Cipher! But if we actually want to move ahead in the global arena , its high time we treat these things very seriously and we actually do a thorough, unbiased and politics free probe and make all the culprits accountable for each and every misused penny, after all every ounce of it is the tax payers money. And even if we deploy half of the walloped amount by these greedy politicians and organizers in the welfare and development of proper infrastructure for our athletes, one day we can surely replicate this medal tally in the Olympics. Hence amongst all the accolades and glory we are showered with post the successful completion of the games, its very easy to forget everything which happened in the lead up to this huge event, but at least for the sake of our persevering athletes its very important to treat all the offenders on merit rather than treating them on their financial or political might. So even after a successful hosting of the CWG 2010, a 0/10 for the organizers who not only messed up with the common man's money but also made a mockery of our national pride!

So all in all it has been a roller coaster ride, a very peculiar case study in itself. There are plenty of things about which we should be proud of and at the same time there are some really serious issues, which if not addressed pretty soon and in the right stead can be very detrimental to our nation. It's so very easy to remain complacent and bask in the glory of successful completion of CWG 2010 and there is nothing wrong in it either, but our broader objective should be to cleanse this malignant system plagued by the vices of dishonesty and corruption only then one fine day, we can dream of being a potent contender for hosting the Olympic Games!

Bird's eye view : It's easy to criticize, tough to applaud but super duper tough to be FAIR!
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Heartening memories of the Past or Disheartening roadblocks of today?

2010-10-10T03:51:00.000-07:00

Why does it happen that things which are no more in our control now or not in our reach presently seem so very beautiful, no matter how useless or painful they appeared at that point in time?

Why do we so dearly miss those tiffin boxes which our mother used to give us in the school days? Why are those yesteryear sandwiches still the most delicious ones we have ever had, irrespective of the variety we have today by the virtue of Mc Donald’s, Subways, Dominos and many such omnipresent outlets?

Why do we still remember, search, long and appreciate each and every toy we have played with even two, three, or four decades back even though now we have access to all the latest American, Chinese or Japanese toys just by a mouse’s click?

Why do we still remember and cherish each of those rides we took on Dad’s age old Scooter, which at that point seemed to be the ugliest automobile on the road, when now when can ourselves own and ride the most expensive sedan available in the market?

How can we still recall each and every moment of those birthday parties staged at home with the entire colony being a part of it and despite the fact that the evening menu just had five items in all, water being the fifth item other than Samosa, Rasgulla, Cake and Navratan Mixture, when now we celebrate even our Car’s birthday at one of the town’s leading Five star?

Why can’t we stop humming, grooving and literally dancing on those old Shammi Kapoor classics when we have far more technically sound and perfect artists in the name of Jackson and Hrithik?

Why do we still talk for hours on those age old Doordarshan classics like Humlog, Buniyaad, Circus, Mahabharata, Chitrahaar, Dekh Bhai Dekh etc every now and then when we have thousands of soap of various kinds running 24*7 across hundreds of channels vis-a-vis the poor Doordarshan of yesteryear which is on its death bed now?

Why do we still love flipping our black and white photo albums which had only a limited array of hardbound pictures in comparison to a hundreds of GBs of photos and videos we have clicked through our latest and most advanced Digital and SLR cameras?

How is even a 5 year old able to recognize Gandhi as the father of nation, where even half of us don’t even know the name of present Vice President of India?

Why do we still love to see the recordings of Sachin Tendulkar tonking the great Shane Warne for 15 runs in an over when today likes of Yuvraj Singh are blasting 36 runs in an over?

Why do feel so nostalgic thinking of those Software Engineering or Financial Management classes, which at that time seemed to be the most boring, irritating and bunk able lectures? Is it because we want to learn those subjects now or do we feel nostalgic fantasizing about those carefree days?

We may meet our best of friends every now and then over a cup of coffee or for dinner at a fine dine restaurant, but why is it so that every time we meet, we invariably talk and miss those street food we had during our college days?

Is it all because we as a human race are generally a sadist lot or is it a recurring reminder and a warning to live and enjoy every moment of our life to the fullest. No wonder what, not many take lessons from such hints and hence more often than not we spend our time either cribbing on our present state or pondering on those beautiful memories of the past.

It’s not that we are living a miserable or a dreadful life now, there are chances that we are super busy in our professional lives and don’t have that extra time to celebrate and cherish the beauty of every moment to that extent. But certainly life is still as beautiful as it was in our childhood, school days, college days or say 1 year back, in fact the very moments which we are cribbing and cursing now will seem to be rosy 10 years down the line. So it’s all in the mindset, it’s all about the attitude and gravity with which one conducts his life. That’s why even a poor man earning a paltry sum and living on the street seem to be much happier than most of us who have all the luxuries in life. And the reason why he is happy is the fact that his attitude is much better than us, he hardly thinks or cribs on what he is not having, rather he chooses to feel good about what he has and how those things have made his life so beautiful.

By the grace of god, human mind is very selective, it tends to retain only the happy and beautiful moments of life and erases off the sad and sorrowful moments, no wonder we don’t remember the sad moments of our lives as vividly as we remember the smallest and oldest of our happy moments. There is nothing wrong in pondering upon the memories of the past and dwelling upon them but that should not be at the expense of getting our present getting affected. As up and downs are a part and parcel of life, but only those guys stay happy and go the distance who know or who have learned the art of living their every moment to the fullest.

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Ayodhya - The Non Issue!

2010-10-06T13:07:00.000-07:00

A national dispute which is 19 years old, may be 60 years old or probably 500 years old, has still kept the largest democracy of the planet on its toes. The Ramjanam Bhoomi - Babari Masjid dispute or let’s not leave any chances of controversy and phrase it the other way round too, the Babri Masjid - Ramjanam Bhoomi dispute, is a classic example of how emotional we are as a nation. But the manner in which our nation has handled the situation especially on the day of the verdict by the Luck now High court i.e. 30th September 2010 is nothing short of phenomenal. The same controversy shed so much blood 19 years back that it became the darkest moment in the history of this proud nation, not only it damaged the nation's image on the global canvas to mammoth levels but it also left deep scars of trust deficit in the minds of millions of innocent Hindus and Muslims. And the people of both the faiths are still paying the heavy price for that debacle by means of Godhra's, 26/11 and a lot more such heinous tragedies all across the nation. But the reason why we should pat our backs for our conduct during and post the high court verdict is that we are living in a more dangerous set up today vis-a-vis the setup two decades back. With so much media coverage and such a high degree of tension brewing up between ourselves and our neighbors, with terrorist outfits always on a lookout for creating havoc, globally too the threats of terror on the name of faith and religion has become such a major security concern, that one has to be very tactful in conducting oneself in such touchy moments, no wonder we as a nation deserve a very high degree of encomium for showing superb maturity in such a tricky scenario.

Though some might argue that if Jews have Jerusalem as their holiest place, signifying it as ‘THE’ place of their ultimate deity Jesus, Muslims have Mecca - Madina as their ultimate place of worship and place where the founder of Islam took birth, Hinduism being the third largest religion in the world , with Lord Rama being its main deity, have to still fight for a bloody, communal and a legal battle to attain the ownership of the place which they believe is the birthplace of their apex deity, Lord Rama. Now there can be various schools of thoughts on this belief but the worst aspect of this issue is the fact that it has been used for gaining political mileage by various political parties in the past, parties like BJP and Shiv Sena are the ones which came into forefront riding on the emotional wave created through this sensitive issue. Though it’s a common myth that only extremists groups like BJP, Shiv Sena and VHP are responsible for baking their bread on the Ayodha burner, but one should not discount the lackadaisical role which the oldest and self proclaimed secular party by the name of Congress has played in this debacle. The heartthrob youth leader of the 80s Mr. Rajiv Gandhi was the one who opened the gates of the disputed monument for Hindus to offer their prayers; Why this disruption of status quo? Obviously to strengthen their Hindu Vote bank. Also there was a Congress Government at the center when that horrendous act of demolishing the Mosque took place, and to believe the argument that the center had no clue about such a mass movement building up is nothing short of a big Joke. So it would be wrong to blame only a few political parties for such a fiasco, rather it can be safely assumed that all the political parties who should have acted sensibly and handle the issue with a lot of care have actually made a mess out of it for their own gains. And the tragedy is that even today there are netas who are hoping to resurrect their careers on the debris of a mosque.

But the obvious silver lining in this so very controversial issue is that the fact that the fate will be decided in the court of law vis-a-vis the bloody route which some shenanigans adopted two decades back. Though some might agree to the verdict and some might not but thankfully with the court of law being involved in the proceedings, everybody is expected to atleast respect it. Though even I am confused with some of the decisions passed on by the Luck now high-court bench, like declaring the disputed land as the actual place where Lord Rama took birth, now with facts put forth by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) one can factually come to a conclusion that there was a temple here centuries back on the ruins of which the Mosque was built, also ASI can ascertain the timelines as to when and by whom the monuments were built but how can they adjudge that this was the very place where the Lord Rama took birth, that to me is quite confusing. Though there might be various other parameters and facts which the court of law might have relied upon, but on the superficial level none of the logics supporting this premise came out in the public. Obviously it’s absolutely unfair to be judgmental on the issue or towards any particular sect based on the awareness of incomplete facts, but if decisions in the court are taken based on faiths and beliefs rather than facts and concrete evidences, it is not a fair implementation of justice, no matter whom it supports, be it the Hindus or be it the Muslims.

Though my standpoint on this issue is totally different from what is happening in the true sense, I believe neither Lord Rama nor the Almighty Allah would have preferred to be worshiped in a place which is soaked by the blood of hundreds of innocent people. And why is it so damn important for us as a nation to have either a Mandir or a Masjid there? What good will that to the poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, hunger and plethora of such problems which have crippled our nation for decades? At max it will pacify the egos and testosterones of some octogenarian politicians and will result in some more blood shedding but it will hardly do any good to the development of our highly talented nation. And how can we discount the amount of security threat it will pose to the new monument, it’s very easy to dream of a win win situation and peaceful environs once a Mandir or a Masjid is built, but by default the very day the monument comes into existence it will become a top terror target for all the mischievous outfits. So when we are already living in a set up where all the places of historic and national importance are under the constant terror threat, can we actually afford another high profile monument? Though it’s a different debate that we as a nation should be having the firepower to tackle any such probable mishaps, but nobody can deny the fact that any monument built after so much animosity and blood-shedding won't be a soft target for all kinds of unwanted activities.

Now there have been various school thoughts which have been proposed as a probable solution for this age old problem, in fact the high court has also come up with a three leg partition formula for all the (three) interested parties who are fighting the battle legally, though this solution has surprised a few, shocked a plenty and amused a section but I personally don't think that this formula of divide and unite can ever work, it will have its own share of new problems which are difficult to foresee at this stage, but given the adrenaline rush we as a nation ride upon, it will be more of a mess than an ambitious solution! I don't know why some common sense and sanity is not prevailing in the cauldrons of court rooms and government think tank offices? Why are we so hell bent in having a religious monument there, can’t they think that having a Hospital, School, Orphanage, Old Age Home or a Playground will contribute more to the society than having a place of religious importance which will be a constant cause of irk for a section of society. They can think but probably by doing so all our ministers, politicians and bureaucrats will become jobless, literally unemployed, because these are the issues which they have been giving a communal tadka all along with a vision to build their large empires, so if these issues cease to exist, they (ministers, politicians) will also fall into the category of endangered species.

But I am still very proud with the way YOUNG INDIA has handled this issue, they are very well aware that a Mandir or Masjid in Ayodhya won't contribute to their well being in Madurai, Bikaner or Aizwal, so there is no point being judgmental, emotional or stupid on this issue, which in turn is eventually a very threatening signal for our leaders but a very welcome and promising sign for our nation.

Lets us all not let this communal wave of Saffron or Green get into our nation's superfluous path of tremendous growth and prosperity today and show the world that why we are the greatest democracy in the world and a very strong super power of tomorrow!

JAI HIND!

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kin...

Horrid adaptation to the Wify's mode of Shopping!

2010-09-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

Few months earlier shopping to me meant buying of bare minimum things in life, like clothes, footwear,watches,eatables and occasionally some gadgets like cell phone, cds and laptop. And none of these buyouts took more than half and hour or so, 20 minutes for googling and finalising the model or the variant and 10 minutes inside the shop for completing the transaction and coming out with the desired item. But things have changed drastically for me in the last few months, no need to mention this change is again attributed to my change in status not the financial status because that has become even more miserable,I was living with the hope that my salary will automatically double in due course but things have rather taken an altogether sad turn, earlier I used to pay for 1 credit card bill but now by default I am paying for 2 (unfortunately the 2nd is not by my name), earlier (most of the times) I used to pay only for my clothes, watches, foot wears and gadgets but now by default I am paying for hers too, earlier I used to at least get some tranquilizers by means of occasional gifts but now such inflows have virtually ceased rather the outflows have almost doubled, needless to say I am paying for two mobile bills now, earlier when the flat rent used to be shared by 5 guys, I am paying the entire sum now, so with the Internet, maid, electricity and numerous other routine things. Understandably the financial status has changed the other way round, but the status change which I am emphasizing on is the marital status, undoubtedly life has become beautiful and pleasantly different after this marital status change but still these little, funny and financially aching things are worth mentioning:).

So when few days back Mi lord expressed the desire to visit the near by pottery shop to buy some articles I thought it won't be a big exercise but will limit only to buying some flower pots and clay water containers. However as always she proved me utterly wrong and it turned out to be an exhausting affair, but thanks to my learnings from past experiences I applied all my skills to weather this storm in the most prudent way I can and I think eventually I came out with a minimal damage. When we reached the pottery shop, I realized that it is injustice to call this a shop because the size and diversity which that outlet possessed, it was a virtual pottery supermarket and also the beginning of my miseries. No wonder the expected 20-30 minute affair turned out into 2 hour long excursion in which Mi Lord analysed, en-quired and bargained on all the items present in the store. She spent ample amount of time on almost each of the items present there, while I was cursing myself all the while but still wearing that plastic smile of a very sensible and accommodating husband accompanying her patiently in all her scrutinies.

In another 90 minutes of time she finalised two show pieces which looked grossly ugly to me, but I couldn't gather the strength to express my true feelings and I opted for the safe path of patience and admiration. She then picked up a handmade clay tortoise, which was probably a keyholder or a fruit holder or a coin holder, infact I still don't know what it is meant for but by the look of it that certainly seemed to be a useless object at that point , but Mi-lord was so enchanted by it that I preferred to keep mum. Then amidst her own calculations and logics behind buying that article she murmured that keeping a tortoise (type article) in the house brings lots of money, naturally hearing this me being a typical man started feeling for that lifeless tortoise and all of a sudden that ugly tortoise seemed to me the most beautiful creation in the world by man. Awe-inspiring ! Thereafter I praised that tortoise to such extents that even she became sure about buying that tortoise. She eventually went on to buy as many as 5 useless show pieces in that 2 hours span but I was very content with my conduct during this otherwise stupid and meaningless shopping session, though admittedly that tortoise was also one of the reason why my irritation and cribbing quotient was remarkably low that day:).

But this was not the only instance with her highness when I have to operate out of my '30 minute shop anything funda', it had happened quite a few times earlier also. When we were setting up our house immediately after marriage, I tactfully decided upon all the items to be bought by the same '30 minute shop anything funda' through the aid of google and various other comparative websites and I was pretty sure that we will go into a electronic megamart, book the items, pay for them and come out in the minimal time. But expectedly enough the story wasn't this rosy and tables were turned upside down the moment we entered the store. Where according to me a 180 or at max 210 litres refrigerator was quite sufficient for two of us, she straight away booked the 330 litres variant without letting me even ask the logic behind such an act. Now, that refrigerator stands taller than me and atleast 3 gals of my wife's size can easily fit in that, but then you don't have the luxury of doing things by logic and reasons. The same happened with almost every item, be it the super wide, flat and theatre-esque Television set on which the leading ladies of Television cry religiously for 4-5 hours every night and I have to tolerate these melodramatic scenes every single day and that too on that ultra huge television set; or be it that extra fluffy sofa set, 501 functions microwave, ultra complicated food processor or those irritatingly gigantic wardrobes. Initially I tried to force my way by means of my own logic, rationale and sensibilty theories but her simple advice to me was - 'you should only be concerned about the bigger issues of life and leave the smaller ones to me', at the face of it I became very happy with opportunity of handling the bigger issues but she was quick enough to clarify the bigger and the smaller issues. By bigger issues she meant Indo Pak Peace process, when should Tendulkar retire, should Mayawati strike an alliance with BJP in the upcoming elections and etc etc and by smaller issues she meant all the issues related to our household. Understandably I had no choice hence now I try to just concentrate on the bigger issues of life by writing some stupid blogs:).

But the most painful moments are those everyday rendezvous with each of those objects at home, be it those ugly showpieces, be it that giant refrigerator or be it those various other wify's choice items. Every time I stare at them or walk pass them they seem to be laughing at me, virtually teasing me and making a cacophonous chorus dig at me. I some how feel so lonesome at times that it actually seems to be a 'me vs my wife and her troop' battle to which I have surrendered conveniently by now, rather I am trying to make friends with those dead but strong foes. But yeah this has become a part of life and I have accepted Mi Lord's diktat of handling the bigger issues and letting her take charge in the smaller ones, though my only hope and companion amidst all this chaos happens to be Mr. Tortoise:).

kin...

Collapsing Bridges, Ceilings, Beds & National Pride, its CWG 2010!

2010-09-26T02:27:00.000-07:00

Common Wealth Games 2010, New Delhi! A lot has been said on this and a lot more will be said on this in the coming few weeks, most of which has been sad and most of which will probably be sadder but the matter of fact is every ounce of this intriguing story is far more exhilarating than one might have thought of. Initially the entire nation was gasping for some fresh breath after knowing about the huge corruption and misuse of tax payers money by the organizers and the extent of financial muddling they have done. But honestly speaking it is nothing new, we have had a rich heritage of scams, scandals and buffs involving mammoth sum of money, though this one has surpassed all its predecessors by a huge margin, still the essence remains the same.

So even if keep these financial killings aside there are still some serious worries in store. The attitude which the organizers of the event are flashing is nothing short of outrageous. Well, you delay the delivery of the final product by a few weeks or at max by a month or two, its acceptable, but if you delay it by months and almost by a year its far from tolerance, in fact the lackadaisical attitude of our authorities have brought us in a scenario where the nation is just a week away from the opening ceremony and still some of the event sites are still giving a picture of a construction arena. GOSH! And still these shameless authorities are not willing to accept the fact that they have messed it up big time around, the chief minister of the state brazenly says, these things are part and parcel of any big event and things should be ready by 3rd of October (the opening day). Which eventually means no time for trial runs which were scheduled to start 6 months before the event and all this is happening in a setup when we have taken the responsibility to host a global event. Thanks to these shameless authorities, India Shining has transformed into India Whining!

And even if we trust these ministers and organizers that the infrastructure will be ready by the opening day, though logistically and statistically it seems a mere impossible task, what about the quality of infrastructure and services they have finally come up with. When you have taken more than double the time to get the infrastructure ready, the least one expects is a good quality facility setup and some really high and world class standards of services for the foreign delegates and participating players, but after delaying things for so long have we eventually placed ourselves in a position to deliver such high quality infrastructure gems? The collapsing foot over bridges, falling ceilings in the games arena, dog sh!t laden service apartments for the international players, security arrangements are such that an Australian media crew easily enters the games village with tons of explosives and a lot more similar debacles just days before the event hardly puts up a rosy picture on the global front for our Nation as a whole. And the icing on the cake are the justifications given by our ministers and organizers for these fiascoes; the collapsed foot over bridge wasn't meant for the players it was meant for the common man, thereby blatantly declaring that for them the lives of common man counts for nothing; the falling ceilings shouldn't be considered as a fiasco as it is a routine thing and can happen anywhere, wish these ceilings fall on their heads if not anywhere else; on the dog sh!t and the filthy state of service apartments meant for players the argument is that the hygiene standards for westerners and Indians vary strikingly, so these things should not be blown out of proportion, I wish even these ministers are forced to stay in such unlivable conditions at least for one day. So instead of taking the moral responsibility for the awry state of affairs, they are still passing the buck to each other and behaving as if its not a big deal at all.

These ministers and organizers have become the laughing stock of the entire nation, the daily infrastructure debacles, consistently missing deadlines, most of the countries threatening to cancel their participation in the event, major sponsors unwilling to continue with the event's sponsorship, even the Indian sports star are openly condemning the mess that has been created by the bureaucrats, organizing committee and politicians and over that the humorous and unwitting excuses offered by these mess mongers. Its entertainment unlimited, it couldn't have gone this interesting, enthralling and fun filled if all the things would have been in place and without an ounce of disarray, in such a scenario it would have been a just another low profile event with nobody even bothering to take notice of this event. But thanks to the mess created by our esteemed organizers, this event is already rocking and its surely gonna give the likes of KBC, Big Boss and the most anticipated Bollywood flicks a true run for their money and will definitely top all the TRP charts in the coming weeks.

So if Kalmadi's suicide attempt fails due to a ceiling collapse; thanks to Guernsey and Jersey threatening to pull out of the Games, we now know these countries exist; three terrorists caught with several cans of dog-food and a premium laxative in the CWG village campus; also seeing the sorry state of preparations organizers are planning to place 'GO SLOW, MEN AT WORK' board at the 100 meters race track ; and looking at the brighter side as more countries pull out, the higher India will be ranked in the final medal’s tally. Amidst all these light banters and funny jokes floating across the nation on the CWG mess, there is a lot to worry about. Worry about the prospect of never getting the hosting rights of any global event, worry of being pegged back by at least 10 years in the race of being the superpower vis-a-vis China, and last but not the least the worry about our nation's name being badly maligned in the international arena due to these corrupt and reckless politicians.

Though the government might try hard to pass an undercover directive to all the 24 hours news channels and media agencies to not telecast too much on the CWG debacle, with an intention to stop the further fueling of dissent in the hearts of common man but unfortunately this mess is too big to be wrapped by such means. And there is not much which can be done now but the least we can expect from these mess mongers is an acceptance of their negligence and recklessness in organizing such a prestigious event. Now that the entire world knows that neither Kalmadi, nor Bhanot, nor Dixit or nor any other mortal can save this debacle from happening, the only hope we all can have is from the almighty GOD, but probably they have messed it beyond HIS repair too.

Post Script- Kalmadi takes the responsibility of the CWG debacle, minutes later world champion wrestler Sushil Kumar's bed collapses in CWG village.

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kin...

Ganpati, Yuvraj and Morality checks...!

2010-09-24T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ganpati Bappa Morya!

The 10 day long ganesh festival marks the beginning of festival season in India, and if you happen to be in either of Mumbai or Pune these 10 days are undoubtedly the most happening, colorful and chirpy 10 days of the year. Ganesha being the lord of knowledge and the one who is at least remembered before the start of any new task, is undoubtedly the most popular deity across all faiths. And by my good fortune I again happened to be in this part of the country this time too and got fully soaked up in the Ganpati spirit. Though being away from my native home has its own disadvantages, primarily that I unable to be a part of the Ganpati festivities at home, especially the delicious 'modak treat' twice a day for 10 days straight, all this apart from being actively involved in decorating and lighting up the entire house, but being in Pune you sort of make up for not being at home by enjoying an altogether exhilarating environment all across the city. Huge Ganesh Pandals in every 50 meters throughout the city, and literally every single of them unique in their own way be it their size, be it their shape or be it their theme, another interesting thing about Ganesh Pooja is the fact that the atmosphere is not heavily clad with those religious mantras and shlokas; the mood is very joyful and in a sense its a period to enjoy and celebrate by all means, so one hardly gets to hear those religiously poised devotional songs sung by Anuradha Podwal or Anoop Jalota, in fact the entire town transforms into a virtual disco-theque with each of the Ganesh Pandal playing the latest bollywood dance number in full venegance; Munni Badnaam being the flavor of the season in almost all the Ganesh Pandals this year. Luckily enough for me my very close cousin who stays in the city celebrated the 10 day Ganesha worship cum celebration at his place and I tried my best to be a part of the festivities at his place as much as I can. But amidst all this fun and frolic the most touchy moment came on the day of idol immersion when I accompanied my cousin on the banks of the local river, and the moment we arrived at the banks a group of fully drenched lads came to us and offered that one of them will swim till the deepest part of the turbulent river and do the immersion right there, it was obviously in lieu of some monetary incentive but we found the deal quite alluring and exciting and were about to finalize that before being interrupted by three school guys, probably from the nearby DAV school, as there uniform read so, who told us not to go with those local swimmers but to immerse our idol in the municipal corporation water tank constructed strategically on the river bank with an objective to minimize the river pollution and contribute towards various other benefits arising from such a step. Though the other gang of boys were swearing ominously against those school lads for directly hampering their business prospect but we were so moved by the dedication and intent of those little school boys that there was no second thought about going ahead with the idol immersion in the water tank. I literally hugged those guys for devoting their time for such a valiant cause and congratulated them for their efforts, and what I got in return from those three ebullient guys was a loud chant of - Ganpati Bappa Morya!

Yuvraj Singh tu laukariya...!

From the cricketing perspective and in India's term we are about to play one of the most sought after, interesting and competetive series in recent times which involves playing 2 test matches along with 3 ODIs against our fiercest competitors, Australia. The mercury will drop technically in the coming few weeks but certainly it will trace the opposite path for the hard core cricket enthusiasts. And amidst such an exciting setup if the Indian selectors don't pick one of the most mercurial and flamboyant player of the current decade, Yuvraj Singh for the 1st test match between the two top sides, it is bound to fetch varied reactions. Infact the man himself reacted very strongly to this piece of news and openly expressed his displeasure with his omision and so did most of his fans and some cricket experts. But I don't see any injustice in this move, no doubt Yuvraj is one of the most talented batsman we have today, arguably one of the best finishers in the game,he has one of the best timing in game, he posseses a choreographers footwork, he hits the ball really hard and easily clears any boundary convincingly on a regular basis, he has hit six 6's in an over in the International arena which not many have even dreamt of doing, so what is that which holds him from being a regular name in the Test squad? Consistency? Attitude? or Temperament? I guess all three of them. But the irony is he posseses all three of them and still lacks all of them, he has been a consistent performer and most of the times the sole match winner in both ODIs and T20s, there is no denying on his credentials in either formats, but is he able to replicate the same in THE format i.e the Test matches, sadly NO. Its not that he hasn't got chances, he has been around for over 10 years and has played as many as 34 test matches but he still averages a meagre 35 odd runs per innings, which is way below the acceptable mark and also way below what he is capable of, so these long string of failures have to eventually cost him his place in the Test squad some day or the other, because not many get to play even half of what he has played without performing exceptionally well. Temperament wise, he has got the coolest head on his shoulders when it comes to finishing those humdinger ODIs and nail bitting T20 contests, but temperament in THE format (read Tests) means converting those 50s and 60s into big 100s and virtually batting the opposition out of the contest, hence unless you do so, howsoever big a star you might be in other circuits you are a NOBODY in this arena. And lastly Attitude, well not many risk the chance of confronting Yuvraj Singh on the field and whosover has taken the risk of doing so have paid very heavily for this, ask Flintoff and Broad about this. But there is very thin line between being positive and being rash or aggressive, which probably this guy crosses more often than not and is pretty clear from the fact that every time he scores a 100 he makes it a point to celebrate in a way that it seems he is literally abusing everybody present on the ground, which ultimately creates a very sorry picture. But when will this prince of Mohali understand that the likes of Sachin and Bradman have succeeded in the long run not just because of their talent and hard work but more so because of their humbleness, conduct and ability to handle success in the most graceful way. No doubts Yuvraj will make a comeback and in all certainity a strong one, but that should be by the virtue of his changed and Sachin-esque attitude and a string of strong performances in the domestic circuit and not by the means of his laurels in the ODIs or T20 format and certainly not by his 'I don't give a Damn' attitude because for India to a be a potent power in the world cricket we definetly need a very strong, grounded and flamboyant Yuvraj Singh!

Morality checks against an Investment Banker!

By virtue of my odd office timings (UK hours) I normally leave for home after 11pm and the normal mode of transport happens to be the office provided cabs. Naturally I am not the lone warrior working in this insane shift, there are many others of my breed, some being from the other gender too. But what compels me to put this particular incident over here is the latest directive which was being passed across to all the employees working and commuting in these shifts. The directive reads - every woman employee working in shift and commuting through the office cab will be provided with a security guard in the cab. The new rule seemed absolutely fine until the part B of this directive came into picture which said or which meant even if there are other colleagues in the cab, the so called private body guard will still accompany the woman soldier( read employee). So if the part A conveyed a message that this directive is being brought with a motive of providing safety to the female employees against the mischievous cab drivers in the odd hours, the part B very soon clarified that this directive is probably passed on with a motive to safeguard the female warriors against the atrocities of their male colleagues. I don't know what misdeeds some of my fellow male bankers did which led to the implementation of this new rule, but to see that security guard sitting on the front seat beside the cab driver every night while going back home makes me feel a little ashamed and also very furious that my character and morality is being questioned every single night. Though the employers are doing the righteous thing by implementing such a directive which eventually goes on to provide the much needed security which is very essential in creating a fear free environment of working for the fairer sex but they could have also done this by thrusting this responsibility on the shoulders of their male colleagues, which would have made this process seamless and wouldn't have created an awkward situation for the male colleagues too. Because by this logic all the woman employees should also be provided with a private security cum body guard inside the office premises at the work desk too, but since this is not done the employers probably assume that the carnal desires of an Investment banker shoots up after 11pm, thereby its imperative to safeguard the female employees by means of security guards after that time. But unfortunately for the employers the security guards also happen to be the male souls:).

kin...

MP's Pay Hike - Justified! *(conditions apply)

2010-09-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

There can be only one issue on which our ever so petulant politicians can form a consensus amongst themselves despite their varied ideologies and selfish vested interests,and that is hiking of their own salaries. Never can one see a group of employees fighting so vehemently and shamelessly for a salary hike. In fact under normal circumstances nobody can dare to even think of such an audacious campaign but our ministers being their shameless self can do anything to fill their already overflowing cash sacs. So if an IT engineer,Mr Verma was satisfied with a 15% salary hike; Mr Agrawal working for a leading Investment bank was more than satisfied with a 20% salary hike; and accountant Mr Bajaj who was not so happy with a hefty 25% salary hike switched over his employer for a desired 30% pay hike, all of a sudden felt bad for themselves when they found out that the members of parliament of their regions were not at all satisfied with even a 200% salary hike their employer (government of India) proposed and in fact were far more agitated and aggravated than a hardworking employee working diligently for his employer without any hike for last 5 years.

And this is all in a scenario where a major chunk of the minister cadre falls in the elite bracket of multimillionaires who would hardly get impacted with such salary hikes or for that matter the monthly salary which probably forms only a minuscule of their huge assimilation of wealth. So what is that which our not so beloved politicians will get as remuneration from the Government of India after this astounding hike? A basic pay of Rs 50,000 per month, for which I don't understand the basis at all. A daily allowance of Rs 2000 on each day when the parliament is in session or when the house committees meet, so this is basically for throwing chairs and hurling shoes over each other. A constituency allowance of Rs 20,000 per month in addition to an equal monthly office expenses allowance of Rs.45,000 each month, this one as a reminder that they are all responsible for a particular constituency. A conveyance allowance of Rs 4 lakh, which might be most probably used as a maintenance amount for their hi-tech imported cars. And a revised pension apportionment of Rs 20,000 to former members, who have already looted the people of India to an extent which is beyond any calculation.

But this is not it, apart from such monetary benefits our tainted ministers also get a plethora of other rewards too. They themselves along with their spouse can travel any number of times in first class in railways, no wonder Indian Railways is still struggling to post significant profits, they can also claim road mileage for any of there road travels, no wonder being unaware of the fuel prices they hike it every other month much to the chagrin of a common man. They are also entitled to 150,000 free phone calls a year on 3 landlines and 2 mobile phones, probably to perform all their black deals seamlessly. They are also provided with a rent free housing in the most posh localities of national capital, where rents lie in the range of Rs 25-40 lakhs per month and the real worth of those bungalows (in the Lutyen's zone) is over Rs 100 crores. And over that the government also pays rent on furniture up to Rs 60,000, provides free washing of sofa covers, curtains, bathroom tiles. Gifts them with 50,000 units of free electricity every year and provides them 4000 kilo liters of water to splurge where a good chunk of Indian population is struggling for these basic amenities of water, shelter, electricity and clothings. But probably our government's rationale lies in the premise that unless these ministers are well equipped how can they serve the people of their constituencies. So the current state of living of a common man proves that even with all these unimaginable amenities our ministers are still not well equipped. Alas!

And if we talk in terms of CTC or CTG (cost to government) for each of these ministers it will comfortably overshoot the Rs 60 lakh per annum mark and might even touch Rs 1 crore per annum peak. And if we compare these remunerations and perks globally, our ministers beat the CTG's of their counterparts in the most developed nations too. But on the flip side if we think that these democratically elected members of parliament bear the responsibility for a huge population of people and they take care of the well being of these huge population, they well and truly seem to deserve every ounce of it. In fact if we talk in corporate terms where a CEO of a multinational company who heads say approximately 1 lakh employees receives a renumeration of Rs 1 crore per annum on average, is considered to be well deserved pay package trade off. So by that logic what these ministers are getting is still below standards. After all these ministers are serving and are responsible for on average 50 lakh people vis-a-vis 1 lakh employees in case of a CEO, so by that logic these ministers should ideally receive 50 times that of what a CEO is receiving. But these logics and calculations are all of an ideal case scenario and a lot of star marked conditions apply to them. The CEO of a company invariably takes his company forward by leaps and bounds in terms of turn over and assets year on year basis, in a totally transparent and corruption free environment, which certainly is not the case with the ministers of our country. The ministers in India harp on the very principle of making as much wealth as they can in their tenure of 5 years by means of scams, scandals and corruption of all means and thereby they hardly contribute to a year on year growth, rather by doing so they push back the growth and development of our country every single year. And eventually all this raises eyebrows and questions over the rationale of such a huge salary hike for our ministers.

Though statistically it can be proved that the remunerations our ministers are getting is a well deserved pay off taking into account all the constraints. But these statistics,logics and constraints don't take into account the factors of performance and corruption and hence this is a flawed system. Nobody will question any amount of perk or hike being awarded to these ministers if they attach the attribute of 'Performance' and detach the vice of 'Corruption' from their biodatas but this seems to be a far stretched imagination. So what can work in such a scenario is a performance based pay package for ministers, but the setup and environs in which we live who will decide the parameters on which the performance will be adjudged, because in due course they(ministers) can frame, manipulate and corrupt even that to suit their benefits.

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kin...

A multi million 'no ball' : Innocuous or Shameful?

2010-09-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

It's match fixing time again folks! So naturally there will be lots of drama, lots of revelations, lots of twists and turns, lots of shattered fans and last but not the least lots of Pakistan amidst all this. Honestly howsoever shameful and disheartening the latest match fixing saga, or spot fixing as they have termed it this time around, may be, but not many are shocked with the involvement of Pakistani players in this dirt. It has happened before, it is happening consistently and with the state of governance in Pakistan, it won't be farce to say that it will happen in future too. Many Pakistani cricketers have committed graver crimes and have been let off rather easily, no wonder not many are surprised with such brazen acts of impropriety.

But why Pakistan time and again? Either players from other teams are too skillful to get caught or their is something wrong with the grooming and mushrooming of raw talent in Pakistan. Though there is no guarantee with anybody's conscience but one can safely assume that post Azharuddin and Mongia era and in the cash rich environs of IPL, the chances of an Indian player indulging in such acts has minimized to a good extent. But bowling no balls to become a millionaire! Isn't it rather too cheap? Well, if we think of the overall atmosphere in which the Pakistani players are playing these days, it won't appear so cheap. No international cricket being played on their home soil for over 18 months, despite of being the T20 World Champions they don't get a chance to play in the cash rich T20 leagues like IPL,an average Indian cricketer earns more in one season of IPL than his Pakistani counterpart earns in almost a decade. No wonder it breeds an environment where Md Amir is forced to think that ' this damn Malinga guy, not half the cricketer I am and yet he merrily munches on a million bucks every year, so what's the big deal in making some bucks by bowling an innocuous 'no ball' or for that matter makes Md Asif envious of Praveen Kumar who flashes a garish gold chain dancing around his neck every time he comes up to bowl despite not being a patch on him as a bowler, naturally pride and honor can take a back seat and a multi million 'no ball' can do the honors instead.

So does all this converge to a moot point that Cricket today is all about money? You either make it by burning yourself playing non stop cricket or you assimilate it by wrong means. At the face of it, it seems so, but when we think of the cricketers of the class of Tendulkars, Dravids, Kumbles, Gangulys, Laras and Ranatungas, the grace, humility, dedication and integrity with which they have played every single match in their lives, our faith in this beautiful game still remains strong. But certainly such acts of dishonesty which crop up every now and then actually aches million hearts. The recent match fixing fiasco can't be simply treated as a Pakistan centric failure, we are no saints or intolerable marshals of such crimes either. The tendency to forget and forgive is the one which is causing the maximum damage. When the government itself decides to make the tainted cricketer of his time Md Azharuddin as the member of Indian parliament and when other such suspects of the biggest match fixing fiasco of the last decade are making a hefty living out of their new found and well applauded commentary and coaching careers, we can't preach the lessons of integrity and lawfulness to our neighbors. And rather all we are doing is using the lack of legal evidence as the smokescreen to avoid proper accountability.

Such shameful incidents will keeping on happening in the future too and no level of moral policing or extreme punishment can curb them because it eventually boils down to the morality of every individual. Money or no money if the individual is playing the game or pursuing a career for the sole sake of representing his country to the fullest of his integrity, he will always be a trustworthy representative but a(n) Asif otherwise. No wonder if the Commonwealth Games have lost their sheen, it is because the organisers have failed to provide a moral compass to their team. Likewise, if the Delhi Metro, another gigantic government enterprise, has proved remarkably free of sleaze, it is because its chairman is a man who has zero tolerance for corruption. And if Sania Mirza is winning her first round match at the US Open, people are not crediting her for this rare feat but are suspecting Shoaib for this fix:).
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kin...

Peepli Live - An Unjustified Thrive!

2010-08-21T13:53:00.000-07:00

As with every Aamir Khan movie, the expectations very skyrocketing with "Peepli Live" too, though it wasn't featuring the mega-star himself but still his association with the movie itself is a big enough reason for everybody to go and have a taste of his creation. For me there was certainly one more reason to watch the movie and it was the setup around which the movie has been made, Farmer Suicide. This has always been an intriguing and disheartening chapter and hence to know about it through Aamir Khan's kaleidoscope was certainly a mouthwatering opportunity. And without doubt and expectedly the movie did quite well at the box office too and it recovered all its expenses even before its release, thanks to the marketing genius of Aamir Khan and naturally the reviews from the critics all around have been overwhelming too. Usually I watch all such releases on the very first weekend itself but due to some other commitments I have to wait for this one for its second week. So the curiosity to meet 'Nathha', 'Budhiya' and 'Ammaji' (all being the main protagonists of the flick) was at its zenith.

Now the issue on which this piece of art has been made is a very sensitive one. In the last 10-12 years over 2 lakh farmers across the country have committed suicide due to their inability to make a living out of farming, hence out of their misery, helplessness and failure to feed their families they are forced to take this horrendous step. The reasons of these suicides are manifold, ranging from failed monsoons, lack of finances to buy appropriate farming equipments, indebtedness through use of Bt Cotton, misuse of agricultural chemicals, lack of expert advise and guidance or negligence on the part of government authorities but the truth of the fact is, the end result of all this in the form of mass genocide is absolutely unacceptable and a complete failure on the government's part. Because if our country which has always been thriving on the agricultural and green revolution for its development,has to face such an epidemic, then it surely reflects the sorry state of affairs of the microlevel governance. And if somebody has taken an initiative to bring this problem at the forefront through the medium of cinema, then it is definitely worth all the praise.

But after watching this 110 minutes odd piece of art I was utterly disappointed, rather I was deeply hurt. Its perfectly acceptable that the makers of this movie tried to make a satire out of it, but did it actually turned out to be one? For many, rather for most it did, at least the box office numbers and the reviews suggest so but for me it didn't. For me it was a mockery of the entire issue considering that the core of this issue of Farmer Suicide is such a sorry and dreadful affair and the condition of those people who are actually forced to commit this heinous act and that of their family members is beyond imagination. Agreed, that people might be actually committing suicide or pretending to commit suicide in the lure of that Rs 1 Lakh catch, but the movie no where captured what leads those poor people to do so or what can be the remedial actions for it or what are the loopholes in our system which leads to such a misery which is still unsolved for past so many years. And honestly I went in to watch this movie with these expectations only. Some might argue that the movie has exceptional performances from its main protagonists i.e. 'Nathha', 'Budhiya' and 'Ammaji' , but was it really the case? Factually it was not. Because in the 110 minute long venture Natha had 5, may be 6, Budhiya had 8 and Ammaji had 5 dialogs in all, that's it! And people, rather critics are talking of classy acting based on these 5-6 dialogs; hilarious! Rather majority of the footage is dedicated to the media channels, no wonder what they showed about the TRP hungry media channels is absolutely correct but the makers could have dedicated an entire movie towards that comical and overtly dramatic set of events, hence mixing such a serious issue, which needed some really good treatment with those media gaffs is a total injustice with such a sorry state of affair.

Though these are my personal views and a majority might not agree with them but I am still wondering why is this movie such a heartthrob among masses. Probably because people connect very well with the acts involving 'M...', 'B...' or 'G...' abuses, as seeing and hearing all that with such ease they can find a part of themselves in such acts or may be people and critics are so spell bound and intimidated with the maestro Aamir Khan, that they don't have the guts to even think that anything coming out of his hat can be detested, criticized or denied. Whatever be it, I still feel such an important national issue needed a far better treatment than what it has got from its makers but at the end of it we live in the era of absolute freedom, hence the movie has been made and hence this writeup has been penned down:).

JAI HIND!

kin...

Shaadi ke Right Effects!

2010-08-13T22:00:00.001-07:00

Marriage is undoubtedly the most talked about, fancied, sought after, celebrated and preached upon event in India. Whatever be your caste, whatever be your customs and whatever be your ideologies you just can't escape being a part of this roller coaster extravaganza. Without doubt marriage is THE most important event for any human being who gets into this sacred bond irrespective if his nationality, color or creed as this phenomena totally gives a beautiful turn to ones life but it wont be farce to say that the amount of time, money and efforts an average Indian spends on a marriage well and truly exceeds the amount spent in getting an entire clan married in the west.Though the purists and the critics might term the Big Fat Indian Wedding a waste of time, money and resources but truth of the fact is we don't give a damn to all that supposed 'crap', we celebrate and ornate our weddings in our own grandeur way and cherish it for our entire lives.

Then what is the reason that I am blab erring so much on wedding and fancies related to that? No wonder, I have recently got married and I have my own share of experiences some of which were funny, some of them were sacred and some really scared me. But the overall package is actually a treat and a treasure to cherish for life. Those 7-8 days or so were really nothing short of a bollywood blockbuster. With around 90-100 relatives buzzing our home, 20 odd friends who have kindly travelled down from almost all parts of the country and innumerable local pals and close family friends really transformed the event into a festival of sorts. Every single thing that happened over that period was a dream and hasn't happened earlier. On the buildup to the big event when I was busy with preparations which majorly boiled down to shopping my attires for various functions, I was bewildered with the response of my mom. All her life she has screamed, scowled and cursed me for splurging excessive amount on buying 'branded' stuffs which for her never made any sense. So after receiving pertinent flack for buying a pair of jeans for 3000 bucks, t- shirt for 1200 bucks and a pair shoes for 4000 bucks, it was a pleasant but unimaginable surprise when she was the one who suggested me to buy those expensive 5 digit Sherwanis, Dhotis, Suits and Kurtas, I was literally dumbstruck thinking this to be serious prank played by her but she has never been a prankster so it was something else brewing up. Reluctantly I asked her ' is everything alright?', on which she immediately replied innocently that ' no no its ok, if you don't like these ones we can look at other ones too'. Then it struck me 'dude its your marriage, so take it easy these things will happen now' :) Though I was still not very keen to spend that huge amount in buying those overtly dramatic costumes which I doubt I will ever wear again in my life but the lure of getting clicked putting those fancy attires was way too high to decline the offer.

So when I was still trying to get in terms with the fact that I am the predecided man of the series of this tournament even before the start of the first match, surprises and shocks were unravelling themselves at a fast pace. Everybody around, be it my relatives, be it my friends or be it the domestic helps were so very keen to feed me up all the time that it virtually seemed they are being paid heavily by the government of India to stuff me up. Moment the meal got ready, irrespective of the time and irrespective of the fact that I have just consumed something really heavy, at least 5-6 people started pestering to have my meal, and the urgency and justification with which they forced me to do so seemed as if this is the last meal available for a long long time. And the moment I eventually start having my meal, almost everybody around left whatever they were doing and rushed up to feed me something or the other. So if the aunts pestered me to have some more 'chapaatis', cousin sisters forced me with some more 'curries' and 'dahi badas' but the worst were the grandma's who tried forcing their way with those 'high calorie sweets'. The ferocity with which everybody was hellbent in feeding me it almost seemed as if I am the lieutenant commander in a multi nation armed force operation and I have to rush to take my position in the siachin glacier. It seemed a bit irritating that time but after giving it a serious though I realised it's not the time to get irritated rather these are the moments to cherish and enjoy as I will never ever be subjected to such hospitality again;).

Also all my life I very well knew the fact that I am not the most good looking guy around and my closest friends were the ones who time and again made me realise this fact through their worst possible taunts and remarks. So on the contrary when all those guys along with everybody around were going gaga over my looks and appearance on whatever I dressed up in, it all seemed to be more of sarcasm than the real praise. And all that was also a part of being on the groom's seat and hence naturally those high dose of attention and accolades but trust me it was real fun hearing all that from the guys who would have found it really difficult to mutter all that;).

So amidst all these intriguingly interesting moments which were all probably the first and last hand experiences for me;) there were also some really awkward ones too. Especially the one in which I had to be on the stage, endlessly smiling for more than 3 hours, getting clicked with each of the well wishers and making each of them realize that I am genuinely happy by their presence. Gosh! Can there be anything more difficult than this? I doubt! But now I can understand how the great Sir Sachin Tendulkar might be feeling collecting all those awards and prizes on various stages for last 20-22 years, getting clicked with millions of people, genuinely smiling with each of them, I bet its much tougher than scoring those 100 odd centuries. Anyways, if this wasn't all, there was more to come, bending down at least 200 times to touch the feet of all the elders around garnering their blessings after the main rites were over, though it might have easily shed at least 5kgs of my weight(so no grievances against all those people who were hell bent in feeding me to limits:) ).But amidst all the fan fare those intense rites and rituals actually sent a sense of responsibility down the spine and the feeling of being a part of that atmosphere was absolutely pious. That is one feeling one can understand and acknowledge only if he/she has been a part of it. The alien concepts of being a responsible husband, taking care of not only my own parents but also my partner's parents and always exercising the traits of love,compassion and loyalty were far too clear than they have ever been. In fact what the preachings of last 20 odd years could not do, those mantras and rituals did in 100 odd minutes, no wonder we have such high regards for our customs and beliefs.

So all in all on a lighter vein if somebody has never felt good about himself, has more often than not been subjected to pranks and puns of his friends and is still longing for some really royal treatment than certainly its time for him to get married. Though no guarantees about the same treatment post marriage but the attention, hospitality and high degree of accolades one receives in the process is unmatched, unforgettable and most definitely once in a life time experience. Howsoever artificial, forced and made up all that might be but for me it was all truly memorable and overwhelming:)

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kin...

Common Wealth Games or Games with Common Man's Wealth?

2010-08-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

When the capital of our country has been bestowed with the opportunity of organizing a global event of the stature of Common Wealth Games whose magnitude can be easily ascertained by the sheer fact that athletes from over 72 nations will be taking part in 266 events across 17 disciplines over an action packed period of 12 days, ideally this mega event should create an atmosphere no lesser than what the FIFA World Cup did for the rainbow nation of South Africa but ironically things are no way near those high decibel levels. Thanks to the horrible state of preparations and highly corrupt governance of finances involved in the organizing of this event, there are no Vuvuzelas roaring in India to celebrate this global event. Infact not many of us are even thinking about the games at all, rather we are more bogged down by the controversies surrounding the organizing of the Games.But why such a sordid state? Why we are not talking about the Games and the prospective atheletes who can bring medals and in turn some glory to our nation?

Reasons are many and they are all depressing. Despite the fact that the games were allotted to India in the year 2003, giving our authorities a time frame of over 7 years to get prepared for the big stage, not much happened on the ground till 2006. Though the international guidelines stipulated that all CWG projects should be complete by May 2009, with last year being kept aside for trial runs, our organizing committee is no where near the international standards rather they have are busy in revising the deadlines or the project completion date all the time. And with no more than 50 days left for the opening ceremony, the abysmal state of preparedness is shocking. Most sporting venues including the Jawaharlal Nehru track & field stadium and swimming complex won't be complete before the Aug 10 extended deadline. At the table tennis facility the false ceiling has collapsed, at the weightlifting arena the vinyl flooring is already peeling, there are also reports of seepage at the boxing stadium, the swimming pool for the main event got flooded last week, and not even one third of the total flats for accommodating the international contingents are complete. If these facts on the state of infrastructure ill preparedness seem to be outrageous than the ones regarding financial irregularities are even more shocking and disgraceful.

A mammoth Rs 30,000 crore has already been spent on various infrastructure and development projects related to the CWG, though its a different matter that Rs 30,000 crores to achieve such a dismal state of infrastructure is an utter mockery of the tax payer's money. But if ordinary chairs worth Rs 500/- are being 'hired' for Rs 8500/-, 100 liter refrigerators which cost around Rs 4000/- and can store no more than 5 bottles of water are being hired for Rs 42,000 a piece, a single roll of toilet tissues whose worth is not more than Rs 100/- are being brazenly projected to be bought at Rs 4500/-, treadmills are being hired for over Rs 9.75 lakhs which is several times higher than the buying cost of the most efficient and suave treadmill available globally and when a gigantic sum of Rs 4500 crores has been spent on renovating various stadiums whose present condition is a fact of public knowledge now, heads are bound to turn and common man is sure to feel dejected, sad and furious. And when common sense defying contracts are being awarded to parties who have no idea about managing things, scenes are bound to be this dramatic and tragic. So giving these huge financial irregularities the names of scam and corruption is an understatement because in true sense it's nothing short of a large scale public robbery.

But what is staggering is the fact that why are people of the stature of Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi not speaking at all on this royal mess. They never let a chance go by when it came to speaking volumes on the corruption charges against Mayawati and Madhu Koda or leave that apart they sacked their own minister Mr. Shashi Tharoor who was not even proved guilty but had to step down for mere allegations from the opposition. So when the government backed organizing committee has well and truly eaten up a huge amount of public money by the name of common wealth games why are these bigwigs so dumb and numb. Is it the age old politics of remaining silent and letting the storm pass by or is it a clear cut case of everybody having there own share from this huge pie? Whatever be it by doing so they are doing no good to the reputation of our nation because when we are hosting an event of this global stature we are not only supposed to treat our guests with utmost care and respect but we should also be concerned about the pride involved in the entire process. By practice every new event, activity or version is much better than its previous edition, be it Olympics, be it Soccer World cup or be it Common Wealth Games and the same happened with the recent FIFA world cup in South Africa too which was a masterpiece event and ditto with the last edition of Olympics in Beijing. Infact the standards of excellence and quality in Beijing were so high that it will be a herculean task for the next organizers to match their predecessors. Certainly nobody is expecting us to set new standards of quality and excellence through the Common Wealth Games but we should be at least respectable in all the setups and arrangements. Though at this point that seems to be a distant reality because by the look of it the organizers seem to be more keen in robbing theCommon Man's Wealth rather than focusing on the success of Common Wealth Games.

So in this murky scenario of financial irregularities, collapsing ceilings and flooded stadiums what can a proud but dejected Indian do? The only possible thing he can probably think of doing is to earnestly pray that this edition of Common Wealth Games ends out to be free of mishaps and accidents.

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kin...

An enigmatic breed called ‘MANAGER’!

2010-07-01T22:56:00.000-07:00

Nobody amongst us might have had the good fortune of not coming across a typically complex creature called Manager in our day to day lives. Though the roles or nomenclature might change a bit from Manager to Boss or from Supervisors to Heads but the misery more or less remains the same for every one of us;). And if somebody is dedicating a write-up to a breed called Managers then there are no second thoughts on the fact that recently he/she has had a really torrid time with his/her managerJ. Of course there are various types of Managers ranging from Crackpots to Dumb Jacks, Furious Irritants to Scrimpy Morons, Suspicious Detectives to Overtly Hyper Disciplinarians, Frustrating Timetables to Rowdy Cops and from Hitler-esque Mavericks to Power maniac Egoists. But somewhere down the line I have also read or overheard from some corner that there also exists a breed of Good Managers. Although I strongly believe that this is a creature of a fictious world but the people who talked of such a specie were very strong in their belief and support towards such a creature. EUREKAJ!

Though my professional career is not long enough to have come across each of this varied category of managers but definitely whatever short time I have spent in my corporate life I have come across quite a handful of them. It hasn’t been a very pleasant experience all the while but surely it has taught me some lessons and ways to handle such weirdo bigwigs. One of my managers was such an irritating fellow that he invited the wrath of entire team for his crazy ways. He used to jot down each and every point one said in his/her weekly work update meeting and quizzed people on the things he has jotted down in the last week’s meeting but the irony was these quizzing had no relation with the actual work progress. His motto was that one should be able to answer and substantiate each and every word he spoke in the last meeting. Now who remembers each and every word verbatim he/she spoke 7 days back? This act of his was so frustrating that one day out of curiosity I asked him ‘sir did you start your career as a steno/typewriter?’ And without any surprise my appraisal ratings were the worst in the team for that particular cycleL.

Another manager had this habit of noting down the minute by minute activities of every member in the team. So if somebody talked on phone for say 15 minutes the manager will update his excel sheet for that employee and make a mark of that telephonic conversation. Similarly if somebody went out for some administrative work, the manager again updated his corresponding excel sheet with that fact. So after receiving a poor appraisal in spite of 3 client appreciation emails, 1 quarterly award, 5 ‘pat on the backs’ when I went to my manager asking for a justification for the same he took out a 56 page print out of his closet and started reading out my statistics, which read in the last 12 months I was on phone for 1611 minutes, I went to the loo 328 times, I was on my desk only for an average of 6.5 hours out of an expected 9 hours and I spent 150 hours in training so with such facts I don’t deserve a better appraisal. Obviously it was enough for me to change my job but I still appreciate the endurance and observation capabilities of that managerJ.

So when the memories of this time table manager were still fresh in my mind I came across another weirdo who took pride in causing pain to his subordinates. He was so audacious that he openly declared it once that if somebody fails to abide by what is expected out of him (subordinate), he (manager) will go to any extent to ruin that guy. He was among those sadists who derive pleasure from other’s pain and miseries. One of my very close friends became a casualty to this deadly habit of his and he had to remain unemployed for around 8 months in spite of having a rich industry experience of 8 years. He resigned in this company and requested this manager for an early relieving. So out of an expected notice period of 2 months the manager agreed to relieve him in 1 month and hence the poor guy made all his arrangements according to this 1 month notice period, he even took a joining date from his new company based on this relieving date. But much to his misery and more to the pleasure of that manager, he fell into a trap when on the second last day the manager came up to him and asked him to serve the entire notice period of two months. When asked for this sudden and last minute change in plan, the manager had just one thing to say ‘company policy’. The poor guy pleaded for help and almost cried in front of the manager to relieve him early because he has made all the arrangements accordingly but that maniac head was hell bent to cause him pain, consequently my friend’s new employers refused to accommodate him on any date later than the decided upon date and he had to remain unemployed for a long time due to this crazy attitude of that sadist manager. I am still bewildered what monetary or materialistic gain that man derived from my friend’s misery but he certainly invited loads of bad wishes from all of usL.

Another unique manager with whom I had the undesired privilege to work with had this knack of asking employees to stay late in office. Work or no work only those employees were considered good who stayed late in office. And it wasn’t this simple either, if you are coming at 9 am and leaving at 6 pm i.e. a total of 9 work hours, you don’t qualify to be a good employee, but if you are coming at 3 pm and leaving at 9 pm i.e. a total of 6 work hours, you qualify into the league of good employees just because you are in office till 9 in the night. And mind you, productivity and results had no bearing on these classifications. And over that the manager wanted to see all the team members on their seats when he was on his seat, so even if he is himself on his seat for 5hours, his subordinates should be on their seats for every single minute of those 8 hours. And hence when people who came to office at 9 am and went out for lunch from 1 pm to 2 pm had to give justifications for their absence from their seats for this period just because the manager came to office at 1 pm and found them missing for a period of 1 hour. Insane but true!

What baffles me is not the fact that why these so called Managers and Heads are more often than not unpopular characters amongst their subordinates but the fact that how they actually evolve into being one of this breed. Certainly when one starts his/her professional career he is a nobody or in plain simple terms a fresher who works a bit, gossips a lot, meanders around various quarters building relationships, falls in love, screws some tasks and to some extent or the other happens to be a popular guy in his/her own group. So what happens over a period of time that this normal happy going creature transpires into an egoist power driven guy who is bloody thirsty for nothing else but attention and pride? I am still searching for a perfect answer to this mystery but I believe most of the guys fall prey to the power assigned to them which in turn inflates their egos to such an extent that they hardly care for their popularity and amicable relationship with their subordinates. Obviously such a generalization is dangerous and unfair and there can be many perspectives to this debate because there certainly do exist those friendly, supportive and good managers too, so what if their number is much lesser than the number of tigers left in IndiaJ.

And as a matter of fact everybody has to put on this cap of a manager sometime in their career, some earn it by virtue of their good work and some do so by their experience but after donning that covetous cap not many care to be a part of that rare breed of ‘good managers’, they are just happing being on that authoritarian seat and I believe only those who finally succeed to get a place in that rare category of ‘good managers’ are the ones who can give a perfect answer to that enigmatic question J

Bhopal Gas Tragedy or Poor Man's Mockery?

2010-06-27T01:17:00.000-07:00

Bhopal Gas Tragedy took place on December 3rd 1984, officially killed 15,000 innocent people, in reality killed many more. In 1989 Supreme Court of India happily brokered a meager $470 million settlement between the Indian state and Union Carbide as a compensation for little over 1 lakh victims, where the actual number of victims was over five times. Today in the year 2010 the industrial site of disaster is yet to be cleared of the toxic waste and the people living around are still deprived of proper drinking water. But why has this ruckus cropped up now in 2010, 26 years later? Primarily because of two reasons, one being the fact that a lower court handed out a verdict on gas tragedy just recently and secondly because of the omnipresent starving media. And trust me this is one of the rare occasions when the role of media to me seems app laudable and I am pretty sure if Mr Anderson would have dared to flee away from India today, media wouldn't have allowed to let that happen even in anybody's distant dream, but those days were the days in and around emergency so to even think of such a scenario is nothing less than a brazen audacity.

But the million dollar question is who let Mr Anderson flee away from India? Oh, is it actually a million dollar question, its not even worth a penny. Obviously the Arjun Singh led state government and Rajiv Gandhi led Congress government at the center facilitated that. But the then chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Mr Arjun Singh has adopted a buddha-esque silence and the octogenarian politician is not even caring to clarify an ounce on the debacle and the then circumstances. But what is outrageously horrendous and hard to believe is that fact that Mr Anderson was actually flown out in a state government plane when he was charged under sec 304(culpable homicide not amounting to murder) which were later deleted in the trial by the state police. Obviously the nation has the right to know that under whose instructions these decisions were taken but when in 2010 the government's spokesperson says that those decisions were taken keeping in mind the tense situation in Bhopal which might have eventually led to the murder of Mr Anderson by the furious mob, it further saddens our hearts that the government is so concerned about the well being of the murderer and not at all about those lakhs of innocent people who lost there lives for no fault of theirs.

And what about the hysteria which is prevalent within the Congress for the alleged involvement of Rajiv Gandhi in the escape of Mr Anderson or for that matter any scandalous issue. For the Congress who is umbilically tied to the Gandhi dynasty, the very mention of Rajiv is enough to spark off an angry 'how dare you drag Rajivji into this' response. And same is the affinity of opposition who never lets away an opportunity slip by to embarrass the first family of Indian politics. Though I don't have anything against any of the Gandhi superstars but this sycophantic hysteria on every issue irrespective of its meritocratic valuation epitomizes injustice by all means and yields unsurmountable comical extravaganza more often than not.

Certainly Bhopal is not the lone incident embarking a loose stand by the government on a serious issue, Babri Masjid, Kashmir deadlock, Godhra Massacre are some of the other instances showcasing government's inability to handle key issues with a vengeance. And another reason of this loose stand on Bhopal Tragedy could be a shattered state of India at that point in time due to Indira Gandhi's assassination weeks ago, Sikh terrorism posing a serious threat, north eastern states boiling with unrest and bloody genocide going around across the national capital. And also in those days United States was enjoying an exceptional supremacy over most parts of the world.So expecting a tough stand against an American multinational at that point was a bit too much. But even then the manner in which the victims have been compensated is more of a mockery than a compensation, the style in which the Indian court has dealt with Mr Anderson suggests that he was this country's beloved son and those lakhs of innocent victims belonged to a foreign land, and last but not the least the manner in which the government is defending itself rather than taking some concrete action is nothing short of a joke.

Though the newly formed Group of Ministers have promised a speedy resolution to this age long injustice.But their ambitious proposal of extraditing Mr Anderson to India is nothing short of an ambition to one day land on SUN, though definitely the least they can do is to allocate a substantial compensation to each of those long suffering victims. But still the damage and loss caused on that night is irreparable.

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kin...

Honor Killings or Killing of Honor???

2010-06-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

One of my Casanova friends was lamenting his love tales to me few days back. He was objectionable to the fact that I call him a Casanova all the time, his point was I am seriously looking forward to settle down in life, so what’s wrong if I am choosing my life partner on my own. He continued by saying that I went on with a girl for around 5 months and then asked my parents to get me married with her; they opposed it by saying that she belongs to a different religion, I was helpless. Then again I went around with a different girl for 3 months and asked my parents to plan my wedding with her; they objected to it again saying that she belongs to a different community, I was helpless again. Unwillingly I have to again go around with another girl, 3 months later the same scenario cropped up; my parents rejected her because of her different caste, I was helpless again. But I didn’t lose hope, I found another beautiful girl who was a perfect housewife material and luckily for me she also belonged to our religion, community and caste too but my parents still disagreed on her citing a new found reason that she is of our gotra and we don't endorse the same gotra marriage fearing the menace of 'honor killing'. Hearing his comical but sorry tale I was laughing my heart out but at the same time I was flabbergasted too. My friend then asked me ‘am I still a Casanova?’ I replied I don’t know your intentions mate, but definitely what your parents are doing is not right at all, such parochial thinking is not good by any means.

Certainly this was not the first time and unfortunately also probably not the last time that I have been jolted by such a parochial mentality still prevalent in our modern society. And over that to hear these sorry incidents about 'honor killings' is even more hurting. People go on to kill their daughters and sisters just because they have married a person who doesn't belong to a particular caste or he actually does belong to their own gotra. So supposedly to keep up the honor and pride they end the life of there innocent family member whose only crime was that she wanted to live life with a person whom she considered the most apt human being to spend rest of her life. This is nothing less than the most heinous and barbarian piece of act a human being can ever perform. But the irony is a certain section of people have almost turned this act into a norm and they provocate it with such an authority that it almost seems to be a constitutional law in those areas. The setup of Khap Panchayats and their ideologies in this regards is a serious threat to the noble idea of democracy and freedom of thought which is the very basis of the existence our great nation. When the entire world is moving forward both technologically and socially, the Khaps have in a sense institutionalized this aghast practice to such an extent that its a matter of shame for our nation to still remain a breeding ground for such inhuman acts.

So at a time when we are patting our backs that we have successfully moved over those age old unacceptable practices of dowry, sati and female foeticides these frequent stories of 'honor killings' resulting from an out of caste or intra gotra marriage is horrendous. Infact it is far worse than old generation's sins of sati and dowry because awareness and literacy level were far less in those times. So, when highly educated and well to do people indulge into such acts, it is nothing less than an act of utter shame for all of us. And giving it a name of 'HONOR KILLING' is far more outrageous than the act itself, it's like deriving pride from such shameful acts, it's more of pressurizing and misleading innocent people by the name of family pride and honor. It's ultimately nothing but forcing free mongers into death trap for parochial political mileage. It's high time that the government actually takes some corrective,preventive and punitive measures to strictly stop such deadly practices because it's in the best interest of not only our society to collectively condemn such tragic acts but it is also important for the healthy upbringing of our future generations.

As a matter of fact marrying someone of your choice is by no means a dishonor of ones clan but certainly being dishonest in ones job is a surely an act of dishonoring ones community,caste and clan, so is being corrupt, being untruthful and being unhelpful towards the needy. In simple words honor killing is a contempt of individual freedom and it's not honor killing by any means but it's certainly killing of ones honor in a real but tragic sense.

kin...

Report Cards - Then & Now!

2010-06-13T11:16:00.001-07:00

Remember those scary moments in the school when the very thought of teacher talking of Report Card sent shivers down the spine or the dreaded scene of teacher entering the classroom with a bunch of Report Cards turned the chirpy classroom into a moratorium. Report Cards used to be the true indicators of our all round performance in not only various subjects but also reported and graded other aspects like attendance, sports and overall conduct too. And the worst part being every student has to get their report card's duly reviewed and signed by their parents. Now it can't get any scarier than this? I still remember how hard I tried to evade such situations every time I perform miserably in any of my exams. At times I tried to convince my teacher by telling her my parents are out of town but my HITLEResque class teacher had all the time in the world and was ready to wait for ever, so eventually this ploy never worked. I even tried maneuvering my report card at times by changing those 3's (out of 10) into 8's or 1's into 7's and getting them signed by my parents in a rush, but poor me, I failed every time and rather made my life even more miserable. But those were really beautiful days, rather truly honest and transparent days. And Report Cards were a true and an honest representation of a student's all-round performance in various facets of life which are all equally important for his holistic growth and development.

I don't really know what value and importance Report Cards hold in present day school and college lives, I wish they still follow that beautiful tradition but certainly the manner in which our government is using the concept of Report Card has changed entirely. Recently the incumbent union government came up with a Report Card on completion of their 1 year at office and if one goes by what that Report Card actually reads than one might definitely jump to a conclusion that this has been by far the most efficient government not only in the history of Indian politics but may be in the world history. The Report Card boasts of all the wonderful things the government has done in past 1 year, it emphasizes on achievements like allocating Rs 36,000 crores for the basic services to urban poor and development of slums, approval of construction of around 1.5 million houses for the poor and slum dwellers, setting up of health and sanitation committees in over 36,000 villages, sustained improvement in disease control programmes specifically for tuberculosis, malaria and dengue, proposal for setting up of more high quality medical institutes like AIIMS, opening up of around 20,000 primary and upper primary schools,providing in service training to around 27 lakh teachers and providing free text books to around 10 crore students and approval of proposal for opening up of 6 new IIMs, 2 new IITs and 10 new NITs to list a few.

On the face of it, all these things seem so praise worthy and the report cards certainly seems to be of one of the most brilliant students of the class. But if we give a serious look at all these achievements, aren't these so called 'achievements' the bare minimums expected from any government? These basic amenities and services are the least which a citizen expects from its government, so categorizing them as achievements and patting their own backs is nothing less than making a mockery of themselves, its an indicator that even the government wasn't expecting that it will be able to do all this and when they have finally managed to achieve some of it they have classified it has 'achievements' . And for a change from the normal practice this Report Card holds only rosy aspects of the student (read government here), but where are those weaklings? Shouldn't the government's inability to check the rising prices also featured in their coveted Report Card? What about including their inability to handle the Maoist menace in the list of their 'achievements'? And how about enumerating the bravado's of those tainted corrupted ministers who are assimilating the public money for resurrecting their own empires? Or what about enriching the star studded Report Card by adding the government's shortsighted failed foreign policy and inability to still grab the main artisans in 26/11 terror strikes?

The government feels that it can once again be-fool the people of this country by hiding its failures through the means of these self proclaimed 'achievements', employing this new found prop of perennial Report Cards. But unfortunately every citizen of this nation is somehow aware that what needs to be done and what has been done, so by adopting these new tactics to mislead the people of this nation, government is only fastening the process of digging its own grave. But I truly wish that in my school days I had this choice of writing my own Report Card too, where I could proudly mention how many runs I scored last year playing for my division, how many girl friends I managed to woo in the last 12 months, how many injuries I successfully faked to escape a late comer punishment or how many classes I bunked to catch those SRK flicks and I can leave no room for those poor marks obtained in Maths test or Physics assignments.

I wish life was as beautiful as it used to be, but for these manipulative politicians!

kin...

The Beautiful Game that Enchants One & All!

2010-06-11T11:18:00.000-07:00

Whoaaaa! It footloose time again, its time to rock n roll, its time to go berserk, its time to unwind and dive into the magic of breath taking, exhilarating and nerve wreaking excitement, its time for FIFA World Cup, its time for 31 days of uninterrupted highest quality FOOTBALL action! But the question is why is our nation is going crazy about the football world cup? Afteral neither we have our national football team featuring in the tournament nor football is the game which we follow so avidly. Hence, it's a bit strange that a nation which eats, sleeps and breathes cricket is not talking about India's prospects in the forthcoming Asia cup or Yuvraj Singh's exclusion from the ODI team or for that matter Sir Sachin Tendulkar's prolonged rest regime, rather they are counting days and minutes left to the start of football extravaganza or possible magic that will weaved in the world cup by the likes of Messi, Ronaldo, Rooney or Torres. The reason is simple and universal, this 90 minute game is the most widely played and watched sport on the planet earth and almost every person born on this planet has somehow or the other definitely played this sport, no wonder it evokes so much passion and interest among the masses irrespective if their color, creed or nationality.

So even a lay man who is technology deprived, has no knowledge about the rules of the game or has no live access to these electrifying contests, understands the game and supports/ follows a team just by a simple logic that his team has to get the ball to the opposite post and not let the ball get in their own post, which is certainly no rocket science to understand and follow. Actually I have no qualms in admitting that I am no better than these guys when it comes to the matters of football literacy. Infact, I don't even know much about the superstars in the world of football but by virtue of my soccer crazy friends and reverberating media I can proudly name 10-15 heavyweights of the game and the ones who are most popular are also my favorites for this world cup:). But it’s not that I don't enjoy watching soccer or I don't have any interest in it, it’s just that I have hardly managed to take some time out of cricket and invest it in football or I failed to cultivate this football sense at the right age and hence I can't debate or express my views on soccer issues with the same authority as I do for may be some other games like cricket or tennis. Obviously I am not those types who religiously follow those midnight English Premier League or Champions League matches and grieve or rejoice on them for next few days, but yes I am certainly among those who once in four years take a plunge in this world cup bandwagon and enjoy it to the fullest. Though I have also come across some people who are hard core leftists talking in comparative terms and always ready to fight and justify how and why their favorite sport is better than football. But luckily I don't fall into this bracket either, cricket is undoubtedly my favorite sport but I don't have any animosity with any other sport either, and when it comes to soccer and soccer world cup specifically, the fun and ecstasy derived from it is different, special and incomparable.

And if we talk in terms of sheer statistics than no other sport is a match at all to this beautiful game. If we consider the numbers of this world cup, 32 countries will play 64 games to fight it out for 31 days across 10 different venues for the covetous 6.5 kilogram trophy and a total prize money of $420 million, of which the winner’s share is a mamoth $31 million. And spare a thought for the amount that this world cup will pump into South African economy, a whooping $12.64 billion, apart from creating almost 7 lakh jobs.And if we talk of popularity, almost 4 lakh visitors are expected to visit southafrica to be a part of this outstanding phenomenon with an expected live viewership of 3.3 million and a TV viewership of 27 billion. Take a breath, whoa! Now is there a match to this gigantic phenomenon? By any stretch of imagination NO. As always this world cup is the biggest ever,earth shaking in its size, symbolism and significance. And not just in numbers but in the sense of movement and pride too.

So no denying the fact that you just can’t escape being a part of this greatest show on earth.It’s like, you may love it, you may hate it but you just can’t ignore it. Football is more than just a simple game, it symbolises the power to bring people together regardless of their language, colour of skin or their religion. Football does this magic of making people smile and believe even amidst their age old foes of poverty, illiteracy and hunger. So let us put aside all our worries and take a plunge in this football fever yet again by shaking on the WAKA WAKA tune and letting those millions of VUVUZELAS roar!

Salute to the magical game of FOOTBALL!

WAKA WAKA….this time for AFRICA:)

kin...

Side effects of being in LOOOVE!

2010-06-02T11:13:00.001-07:00

Many of my friends have shared the experiences of their love lives at various times with me and I couldn’t stop laughing on each of those hilariously weird stories. Though obviously some of the incidents are really serious ones and the guys involved in them would hardly find them funny and might even kill me for laughing on their sorry state but for everybody else it’s a really nightmare to stop oneself from laughing on those anecdotes. What I don’t understand is with such a high degree of drama involved which might even beat the theatrical excellence of Ekta Kapoor, with such a high degree of tension prevailing between the warring couple which might even outpower the indo-pak border tensions and with the huge operating and maintenance cost involved to keep the love alive which might even overshoot the annual budget for a country like Bhutan, why are these guys still keen in being a part of this setup. Probably because pleasure lies in the pain;).

Some years back one of my close friends who had this craze of having a girl friend eventually happened to woo one of the girls in our group and was super excited with the fact that he too now belongs to the elite league of guys who have a girl friend. But his hyper excitement evaporated in few days which compelled me to ask him ‘What happened bro?’ To which he hesitatingly replied, ‘ there is something wrong with my gal, initially she used to call me day in day out but from last few days she is just giving me missed calls, indicating me to give a call back. Earlier I did that without giving a second thought but now I have realized that my expenses on mobile recharge has increased so exorbitantly that I don’t even have the money to take her out for a samosa treat or get my bike fuelled. I even tried giving her a hint but her reply was ‘now money is more important than me, right? ‘and she didn’t pick my call for next two days though I often found her phone busy’. I couldn’t say anything on this to my friend because you can’t talk and laugh simultaneously JJJ.

Another friend of mine who considers himself very smart, infact he proclaims himself to be the smartest in the herd, tried to impress his girl friend once by flattering her by his culinary skills. He gave her a surprise by cooking a very good meal for her and in turn got loads and loads of appreciation, love, affection and what nots from his girl friend. Moreover he even became a cause of envy for the other guys in the group, as these poor guys were subjected to the wrath of their gals everyday to learn some cooking from this smart stud. And eventually this smartest guy in the herd went on to marry his girlfriend but the scenario changed completely in due course, and all the guys in the group who felt humiliated because of him at one point are laughing there hearts out because the poor guy keeps on complaining all the time that from that day onwards I am the one who is doing all the cooking and my gal just relishes, reviews or criticizes my cooking JJJ.

Infact the very same guy gave yet another proof of his smartness by projecting himself as DIFFERENT from the herd by showing unexpected interest in shopping. No wonder his gal was very happy with this weirdly different habit of his, as shopping is the best rather the only hobby which girls pursue with full dedication. To start off with he couldn’t foresee the side effects of this move but very soon he realized that he has once again dug up his own grave. The situation is so bad now, that when all of us enjoy our weekends watching movies or matches at home, the poor guy religiously drives his wife to all the shopping malls in the town and even turns up into a part time coolie carrying loads of shopping bags. And the last thing which he wants from us is a discussion on his weekend shopping trysts JJJ.

Another poor friend of mine was very disturbed from his self obsessed beauty conscious girl friend who couldn’t stand any other girl around even if she is much inferior to her in looks and the only question she had for everybody around was ‘how am I looking today?’ Obviously she was the most beautiful gal in the world for my poor friend when he fell in love with her, but very soon he got so irritated with her self obsession that he started saying ‘that you are looking very gorgeous today’ even before she said anything to him. Naturally things started to worsen fast but they turned into a debacle when once his ‘aaah so beautiful girl friend’ was thrashing him for having a Pamela Anderson wallpaper on his mobile, the poor guy tried his best to keep his frustration in check but failed to do so beyond a point and vented all his wrath on his petulant girl friend but the final nail on the coffin was his caustic statement that ‘ if you really wana look beautiful wear such skimpy clothes and dress scantily otherwise you are as good as Nana Patekar’JJJ. And that was the last time they talked, but we still pull their legs by the names of Pamela and Nana;).

But one trait with which many of my friends have suffered a lot or are still suffering is the stigma resulting from the ‘transactions of gifts’. Invariably all their girlfriends start the countdown for their own b’days two months in advance and they make sure to start the day with a header note ‘only 58 days to goJ’ and end the day on a footer note ‘now only 57 days to goJ’ . But this is not all, in this period they even start enumerating the items they don’t have or are planning to have on an urgent basis and the poor guy has no other option but to assimilate that huge amount to buy those highly expensive gift items be it a branded swiss watch, diamond studded ring or an expensive touch screen cell phone. And unfortunately he gets no points for doing all this either because ‘ this was expected out of him’. But the things get worse when the guy’s b’day comes, the poor guys expects a decent gift in return of that expensive swiss watch but what he gets in turn is a Greeting Card. Rationale behind that greeting card being, gal to boy – ‘you know baby, I have made this card all on my own, each and every word on that card is original and I mean them by heart’. But the poor girl is unaware that even guys have access to Dr Google through which they can find each and every quote she has copiedJ. One of my friend is so irritated with this vicious gifting cycle that he claims that he can even open a full fledged card gallery without investing a penny JJJ.

One more constant point of debate or rather misery in the beautiful love lives of my friends is the CELL PHONE. Last weekend one of my pals invited me for a stay at his place as his live-in girl friend was out of town and he might have finished only two pegs of vodka that he started his lamentation. I was praising his girl friend for keeping the place so organized and clean, when he vehemently stopped me and said ‘ that lady whom you are referring to as your BHABHIJI is not a normal woman, she is a CBI agent, she scans, frisks and investigates all the messages sent or received; all thecalls made, missed or received with such an authority as if she has been delegated my case by the honorable Prime Minister himself, and I can’t even afford to object to any of these frightening activities, otherwise pat comes the reply that why are you scared, have you done anything wrong? And over this, if at any point in the day she calls me and finds my phone busy, then it’s a nightmare for me, she grills me to such an extent that I feel guilty of being a co-conspirator in 26/11 Mumbai attacks. And if somehow I found her phone busy some day and I can garner strength to ask her that whose call was it, she will bombard me with accusations like – you don’t trust me, you are suspicious about me etc etc etc.’ And he went on for hours and I don’t think I have ever laughed harder than that ever in my life, but the poor guy still laments that you can only understand the fun out of my misery and not the suffering I am subjected to and my reply to him on this always happens to be ‘but my dear friend, who asked you to fall in love and invite this misery JJJ’

Obviously not all love stories are this tragic, dramatic or eventful; there are certainly those SRK type love stories too:). But I still don’t understand why people are still plugged into such relationships when they spend half their time lamenting and fighting over petty issues and the other half in mending those issuesJ. Certainly nobody wants to fall into such a situation and there is no denying the fact that love is the most beautiful thing which can happen to anybody but still such awkward things do happen because of the immaturity and impatience on the part of the individuals. But as long as one is not involved into this mess or some may say bliss everything seems funny, its only when you are a part of this brouhaha you feel the real brunt or the side effects of being in LOOOVEJJJ.

kin...

Virus CASTE,deadlier than H1N1 & HIV!

2010-05-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

We come across various viruses in our day to day life like H1N1, HIV, Trojan Horse, Bugbear and Hepatitis B to name a few. Now each of these viruses affects our lives, rather disrupts our lives to some extent or the other. Though some of them are deadlier than others, there are some which we treat as part of our lives and we hardly foresee any threat from them. One such supposedly innocuous virus which all of us have accustomed ourselves to in our routine life is CASTE. Howsoever educated, rich or high profile life we may lead, but almost every one of us is infected by the caste virus. So for all those who are criticizing the government’s move to include caste also in the census should question their own stand on this highly contentious and sensitive issue.

We have this knack of talking big when ever the issue of caste crops up, everyone of us behaves as if we are the most secular people around and we are the ones who fall in the bracket of so called broad minded people by virtue of our education, upbringing or high thinking. But is this actually the truth? On a macro level may be YES because we have friends from all the castes, we visit to diverse places of worship, our favorites range from shahrukh KHAN, sachin TENDULKAR to michael JACKSON and various other similar reasons. But on a micro level things aren’t the same otherwise why do mothers keep separate utensils for their domestic maids? Why are some parents still more worried about the last name of there son’s girlfriend rather than her qualifications and mannerisms? Why do we form preconceived notions about a new colleague with the last name Gupta(bania), that he is surely a big time miser? Why do we hesitate to rent our house to a Dalit tenant? Why matrimonial ads in newspapers and websites are classified caste wise, Brahmin seeking for Brahmin and a Bania seeking for a Bania? Can’t we have ads like ‘seeking a prospective groom who is a BE MBA and say, 6 feet tall etc etc’, why it has to start with ‘seeking a Brahmin guy…’. And trust me these are not the views and ideas endorsed by the parochial and so called narrow minded people, we the broad minded high society people endorse them even more religiously. Following ones tradition is a good thing, but taking a call on a certain issue based on an aspect which the individual has no hand in deciding (read caste) is nothing less than a crime. We do hundred such things and take thousands of caste based decisions day in day out without even realizing the stupidity behind them and all this while our MBA degrees, MBBS tags and self proclaimed secularist alter ego goes for a stroll.

So when the Union Government decides to include caste also in the census, criticism from various corners was bound to come. Our country is already tottering with various communal disturbances and upon that a greater emphasis on caste is not going to do any good to our nation. Though the government officials are backing this move by a rationale that a caste based census will help the government in taking some key decisions and formulating various policies on caste based reservations. But the question is do we really need reservations of any sort at this point after almost 65 years of independence? I personally feel we need it, but we need it for the physically challenged people (read handicapped) because they are deprived of certain important faculties to accomplish their goals, we need it for the freedom fighters and their dependants as a token of acknowledgment for their services and sacrifices for our nation but we certainly don’t need it on a caste basis. We can certainly help the poor section by providing them the amenities to come at par with the well to do section of the society, we can certainly help the vibrant women of our nation by providing them the adequate security so that they don’t feel afraid of pursuing their goals because of a constant fear of assault of any sorts. So a question of reservations based on caste and creed shouldn’t ever arise, all sorts of reservations should be done logically because more often than not the benefits of a caste based reservation system or a community based reservation setup are being reaped by the richer segment of those so called backward classes, the poorer ones never get to avail them and the talented ones don’t seek to depend on such favors.

Hence, unless we get away with this caste virus and eradicate it from its roots we shouldn’t even dream of graduating from a developing nation to a developed one. But it’s easier said than done because if such a thing happens 90% of our politicians with get jobless, as a huge chunk of political parties like Bahujan Samaj Party, Telugu Desam Party, Maharashtra Navnirmaan Sena, Samajvadi Party etc are formed on the caste based politics and are surviving on the sentimental ups and downs of these highly volatile strata of people. Hence these shrewd politicians will never let this caste based division get diluted, after all they have very well learned the lesson of Divide and Rule from their previous rulers. But if leave aside the macro economics of national politics and talk of individual level dynamics, truth of the fact is unless we change our parochial mentality on an individual level we can't even dream of living in a harmonious environment and for that we surely need to move above these caste based cynical prejudices. After all the Babri Masjid demolishers aren't the sole criminals for being involved in the inhuman barbarian act of caste based violence, rather all of us are also equal partners in crime for making preposterous assumptions and decisions based on somebody's last name, community or caste. Because at the end of it we all belong to a common caste called HUMANITY and for those who are further obsessed with the nitty gritties of caste-ism, our subcaste happens to be INDIAN :)!

kin...

Mother's Day - An Occasion to Salute her!

2010-05-11T12:55:00.001-07:00

Though I don’t really endorse to the concept of special days to acknowledge the importance of a particular personality or a group in our lives but the hoopla created around each of these days be it Women’s Day, be it Father’s Day,be it Valentines Day or be it Mother's Day compels one to give a serious thought to all such wonderful people in our lives. So what happened on this Mother’s Day was no different, various articles on Mothers Day doing rounds across various websites ( which is a refreshing change in these repeated boring era of Modis and Kasabs), even the TV channels aired special programs through the medium of celebrities to emphasize on the importance of Mother in everybody’s life (celebrities using fake accent and the most dramatic expressions to blabber that their mothers are the best in the world, as if our mothers have been beating us right from our birth till the present day), even the newspapers came up with special supplements to celebrate this day ( which are far better than those matrimonial, property or classifieds supplements) but I was really appalled by one particular write-up/article which said about the sorry state of mothers in India and various atrocities which mothers in general have to face in India. That article even pointed out that out of the 77 countries which were a part of this survey, India stands at a shameful 73^rd in the ranking (these rankings being based on the conditions the society provides to Mothers in India). I was literally shocked with this statistic, though I am not an authority to question the authenticity of these findings, and may be the parameters they might have used to derive such results might be the ones like standard of living, access to basic necessities in routine life, poverty, pollution, foeticides, education etc but one thing which I believe they must not have been taken into account would have been the emotional and sentimental attachment every individual associates with his/her mother. This being a qualitative measure can not be taken into consideration and hence I believe not only me but every fellow countrymen and a proud son will disagree with such surveys/findings/results. I can also proudly ascertain that the importance and respect which we Indians give to our Mothers is far higher than that in any other country, where children move out of their parental house and lead there own life after a certain age thereby not only delineating themselves physically from their Mother and Father but emotionally too. And they term it as being practical, now in India can we even think of being practical with our Mother? We treat our mothers as GOD, so what even if these feelings can not be quantified.

So not only superstars and celebrities, every individual share a beautiful relationship with his/her mother and holds numerous fond memories which he/she treasures for life. Though there are many things which we don’t like being told or instructed to do, even if that instructor happens to be our mother. But when we ponder upon those instructions after a while, which at one point seemed so irritating, they seem so obviously corrective and productive now.

For instance mother seems to be ones biggest enemy when she presses her child on and on to drink a glass of milk every morning before going to school. One wonders what pleasure she derives from her child’s drinking a glass of milk but she relentlessly makes sure that her child drinks that every morning. But one understands this mystery only when he grows up and stays far from her mother when there is nobody to push for that glass of milk which keeps him fit and running throughout the day.

Or for that matter that feeling of extreme helplessness when she forcefully keeps her child inside the house, not allowing him to play in the sun. One really wonders what monetary gain she is receiving by keeping her child inside the house and not allowing him to play outside. But again the rationale behind that strict behavior makes sense only when one gets a sun stroke while going to the office in the extreme heat.

That sense of frustration when she instructs her child with hundreds of dos and donts before taking him to any friend’s or relative’s place. One really wonders if she has done her specialization in the hospitality management with a super specialization in etiquette and social mannerism. But the motive behind those lessons gets clear only when in a corporate party one sees somebody unable to use fork and knife and making noises while eating and giving one a feeling of deep satisfaction and pride that but for those lengthy lessons by my mom, I would have been doing the same irritating stuffs in the party today.

Those puzzled moments when she forces her child to read newspapers, watch informative channels on the TV and yells on him when she finds him spending time with the comics or cartoon network. One questions himself what difference does it make to her even if I know about the world or not, anyways by no means I intend to run this country or this world 20 years down the line. But her intentions get clear only when 20 years later ones friends and colleagues struggle to develop a reading habit and come to you asking for tips to develop it.

And last but not the least her spying on every phone call her child is involved in, showing displeasure of the strongest magnitude on the very idea of her child using a mobile phone, giving special attention to all her child's opposite gender friends, literally making the child feel that he is a suspect of a CID probe. But only to realize much later that mothers are only worried about her child not getting into wrong company and there by taking some bad decision eventually spoiling ones life.

We may go on to entice hundreds and thousands of such instances to embrace the greatness of mothers but we will still fail to measure the depth of her heart and selflessness of her love towards her child. No wonder mothers are the epitome of sacrifice who can go on to any extent to ensure the well being and success of their children without seeking any repayment incentives unlike anybody else. Howsoever selfish a child may be, whatsoever cruelty he subjects her too and which-soever necessity he abstains her from, even then in her magnanimous heart, the imbibed feeling of selfless love, care and protection for her child remains as strong as ever. So be it Mother Teresa, be it Mother India, be it Mother Earth or be it our biological Mother there is no denying the fact that human race is blessed to have a well wisher, a true philosopher, a selfless guide and a god sent angel in the form of MOTHER. That is why people from all walks of life love and respect their mothers so highly and can go on to any extent to abide by them, no wonder the tempers scorch so high when somebody swears or abuses by someones mothers name:)

So Mother's Day or No Mother's Day, till the time this planet exist and even beyond that Mothers will always remain to stay on the highest pedestal, irrespective of the rankings, irrespective of the nationalities and irrespective of the atrocities subjected to them.

Happy Mother's Day!

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Heartthrob KASAB!

2010-05-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

Whoa, Whatta melodramatic week it was! Firecrackers across the streets of Mumbai and people distributing sweets across many parts of the country, effigies of Kasab burned all across and some people even celebrating the day as the Dussera day symbolically treating the death sentence as the death of last of the 10 heads of Raavan ( some TRP hungry news channel also aired a program comparing this new age Raavan with an upcoming bollywood Maniratnam flick Raavan -- DAMN, nobody can stop them or beat their imagination power ). Government patting its own back by repeatedly reminding the media about this being the fastest trial in the history of Indian Judiciary and they have done a good job since 26/11 as there have not been any major terror attacks since then. Public prosecutor Mr Nikam himself trying to cash in on this tumultuous moment to grab the maximum attention he can by using out of the box literary pearls like Killing Machine, Blood Thirsty Demon, Barbarian Butcher and what not. The human right activists who were jobless for a while also got something to cheer about and a cause again which can give them some media bytes - 'death penalty is unconstitutional; only God can take life', amazing Gandhian philosophy but I still wonder where were these philosophers and their philosophies on and after 26/11, probably they were silent then because everybody was singing the same tune at that time. Some weak hearted people, probably Karan Johar and SRK fans, also felt bad about Kasab breaking down after the sentencing and shedding tears, their point being spare a thought for the young guy who is tolerating all this alone against a 130 crore plus strong nation. Even the police officials were quick to do their maths and they came up with some staggering statistics that over last 15 months they have intercepted and diffused three possible attempts of a bomb attack on and around the cell where Kasab is housed in, I wonder why are these news briefs coming in now and not at the times when these failed attacks actually happened,because anyways such a news item would have garnered as much attention even at those times, probably because of a fear of intelligence breach or may be nothing of this sort ever happened. All in all a state of total confusion where all the cats and dogs have come out of their hideouts to enjoy and claim credit in this supposed moment of celebration.

Now if we talk about the main protagonist of this entire drama, Ajmal Kasab, we can pile up volumes on him. Firstly the dreaded militant brazenly killed hundreds of innocent people, then unfortunately for him got caught alive and then he started the act of toying around with the Indian judicial system, thanks to his alround training that even taught him the ways to handle a possible interrogation. To start off with he refused to have a lawyer as he was well aware that unless the suspect has a lawyer he can't be tried in the court of law, there after buckling under the tremendous pressure and large no. of proofs against him, he accepted his crime, then he went on to take a U turn saying that he is a minor so he can't be tried in the court and should be set free, then he came up with the version that he has never accepted his crime and he was forced to do so by the authorities but the most hilarious counter argument which he presented was, he came to India 10 days prior to 26/11 by the Samjhauta Express to watch Bollywood movies and he was arrested by the police for no offence while he was ambling around in the Juhu Chowpati. GOD! This one was so hilarious that even the judge can't stop his smile when this argument came up. But eventually what happened after several hearings and recording the accounts of scores of eye witnesses was quite expected. The man well and truly deserved the biggest punishment possible in the state of law because certainly those innocent lives can't be brought back but at least the man who was a party in this gruesome crime can definitely be made to experience a part of that pain which those innocent people might have suffered and their innocent families will experience for ever.

But the role of our Government, Judiciary and Police has been quite interesting. Government on one hand is thumping its chest by boasting on a fact that they have been very resolute to finish this case as soon as possible, they have also been claiming that they won't let any other 26/11 type attack happen again on our land and by record so far they have been quite successful in their agenda. But they certainly don't deserve any credit for all this as these things are the bare minimums which are expected out of them, so if you are just meeting expectations you certainly don't deserve golden medallions, you only deserve them when you consistently exceed expectations for that they have to adopt a zero tolerance model which US has adopted post 9/11 and have been amazingly successful in their execution. Same is the scenario with our Judiciary and Police, they are overwhelmed with the fact that they have corroborated truck load of evidence against Kasab and have gone down to an extent of filing pettiest of charges against him like entering the railway platform without a ticket, driving a vehicle without a driving license and other such interesting charges. On the face of it such things definitely seem rosy and praise worthy but what value they hold when there is a high possibility that the accused can go on to live for at least 10 more years thanks to a long queue of 50 similar convicts who are waiting for the same punishment. And if we go by our Judiciary's past track record, that 10 year wait won't be a distant reality which in turn will gift the accused a far more luxurious life in the jail as compared to his dismal life style in Faridkot (his home town). Another shocking decision was the acquittal of other two Indian origin accused who were charged with being the co-conspirators in the 26/11 attacks. Though being a lay man we aren't aware of the nittygritties of their involvement but otherwise too our police and judiciary haven't found any Indian accomplices in this plot. And to believe that this dreaded attack was plotted without an involvement of any local help is impossible. Howsoever advanced technology and armory these militant groups might use, but their being successful or unsuccessful largely depends on the local help they gather and use. So by being blind about the miscreants on our own land and by blaming everything on our neighbors the police and the judiciary is doing no good to the long term treatment of this deadly threat.

There have been quite a few strong voices advocating a life imprisonment for the accused rather than the capital punishment citing reasons like human rights and the fact that a life imprisonment would be a more torturous punishment than a death sentence. But a life imprisonment would mean a jail term of 14 years, by that time the accused would be only 37 years old and can plead for the end of his term and by law if he is granted that, what is the guarantee that he will be a changed man? And will that be justice for all those innocent families who will suffer with this trauma for ever? Certainly NOT! Leave apart the life imprisonment aspect, even if our judiciary goes on to award him the death sentence, the pace at which the things move in our country the picture seems quite bleak. Not only will it make a big hole in the government's pocket which has already spent Rs 35 crore on Kasab's security and still spending Rs 2 Lakh every day but it will also pose threats like bargaining Kasab's release in lieu of some hijacked innocent contingent as it happened in Kandahar few years back. So its imperative and prudent in the interest of our nation that Kasab's execution is done on a fast track otherwise it won't be farce to say that Kasab who has been our media's heartthrob for months now will turn out into a bigger headache for our nation and very soon into a Heart thorn!

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From an Inland Letter to Twitter!

2010-05-02T10:22:00.000-07:00

I still remember those summer vacation holidays when I used to visit my maternal grandpa's place with my mom for two months and I my mom used to make me write letters to my Dad asking about his where abouts and normal routine, who in turn returned the favor by replying back.Though it was more of a writing practice for me but practically that was the only feasible medium to interact and contact ones out station friends and relatives. As making trunk calls to talk was a herculean task in itself and calls in those days were made only to convey occasions of births, deaths and marriages, as telephonic conversation was an expensive affair and telephone per say was a rare commodity and it was more of an item of luxury rather than an item of necessity. But things evolved at a brisk pace and we are staring a situation where telephones have rather almost gone extinct and are well and truly outnumbered by mobile phones. Also the cost of a phone conversation has gone down to such an extent that the only scheme left with the mobile operators is to pay the customer for using their services:). But fortunately options galore and we have hundreds of mediums to interact and network all across the globe, thanks to the concept of Social Networking!

With the advent of technology and globalization we have heck lot of options to communicate with our friends and relatives. The growth of internet has made our lives very convenient and easy, there was a time when one of the few social networking options on the internet other than emailing happened to be chat on the yahoo messenger. Infact it was rage among my friend circle, we used to go to internet cafes, paid 50-60 bucks per hour just to chat on the yahoo messenger. The concept of chatting across different rooms was too alluring, I basically went on to chat with few of my out station cousins and friends but most of my adventurous friends tried their luck in all the chat rooms like Friends, Love, Sex etc categorized across various cities and countries. And trust me it used to be the talking point in the school too, somebody boasting about his American girl friend whom he as supposedly proposed and wooed over the American chat room, somebody bragging about a holiday in singapore, thanks to the promise made by her new found friend in the Singapore chat room, some rather self proclaimed practical ones happy with the notion of a Delhite girlfriend, thanks to the Delhi chat room and last but not the least some really adventurous ones boasting about growing up into an adult pro by virtue of a video chat, courtesy his Australian strip model friend. Oh, those were the days when things moved really fast, slowly we graduated to some other similar social networking sites too but no sooner that boredom started to creep in, there entered google with a supposedly new concept in the form of Orkut. And Orkut pushed in a fresh breeze in our fun deprived lives. Orkut provided us a platform to not only regroup and chat with old friends but also gave us an opportunity to find new friends through our friend's network, and a variety of other new options like sharing pictures, flashing our favorite videos, giving a brief about ourselves and writing and recieving testimonials much in the school time slam book style. So being in the orkut was THE thing and those who weren't the part of this bandwagon were seen with a tinge of doubt.

But as with the mobile phones, no. of internet connections at home started to increase to an extent that now everybody has an private internet connection at home,consequently no. of social networking sites also plummeted. And people started to get bored with Orkut as they found other avenues like Facebook more interesting, as FB not only provided them with all the features of Orkut but also drafted in various games and interesting tests on its console too, keeping the fickle minded young generation roped in and virtually killing Orkut's business to an extent that now if you are still on Orkut and you don't have an account on FB, people behave as if there is something wrong with you. But none of the networking sites has excited me more than Twitter. Its simply one of the most powerful concept in the social networking arena, it not only provides you with an opportunity to express your views,share photos and connect to your friends but it also gives you an exciting opportunity to follow, explore and peep into the lives of the celebrities whom you have been adoring for years. Following superstars like SRK, Deepika, Warnie, Tharoor,Priyanka, Rajdeep Sardesai, Yuvraj to name a few and knowing their daily lives and plans through their tweets is an interesting and a delicious concept. And these superstars sharing their photos, upcoming plans and views on various matters is really something which was a matter of imagination before this powerful platform hit the scene. Twitter has gone on to to become such a powerful medium that even the news agencies have deployed special personnels to keep a track on the celebrity tweets to give them masala news. The power of a 140 character tweet can be ascertained by a simple fact that it led to the downfall of stalwarts like Tharoor and Modi. But for a common man like me who is a non celebrity the options on twitter aren't that many because the celebrities almost tweet things like 'Off to GYM' & 'Back from loo' and garner rave reviews for each of these tweets. But who the hell will care if I tweet anything like ' Had a good day in Office' or for that matter anythng. So what purpose it holds for me other than following these high profile celebrities and superstars, though even that is quite a boon considering the avenues this tool has opened. But yeah I feel something innovative can be done for the non celebrity class too, in the language of twitter world, for the cattle class too:).

Though the modes of networking have come a long way in last 30 years or so with each one of us having their own moments of joys and remarkable memories attached to them but there is still lots to come and these networking tools will scale newer heights in future too but one thing is for sure everybody is equal here, with equal rights to express ones views and use the medium to express oneself so no one expects or demands a special status neither any one gets it. There's no Taliban, no Pramod Muthalik, no Mulayam Singh either, to ask for a ban on computers and English. No MNS to demand you tweet or talk only in Marathi. At the most you may find a bot that offers you sex and then gives you a virus instead. We have truly come a long way from an Inland letter to Twitter, still miles to go!

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The Ooooos & Aaaaahs of IPL!

2010-04-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

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!

kin...

Cash Lies & IPL!

2010-04-17T02:24:00.000-07:00

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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