The Curious Case of Miss Mirza!

I have been a very big fan of Sania Mirza, for as long as I can remember, but this fan following has always been due to her off the court attics and never been due to her on field brilliance. She has this excellent knack of being in the news every now and then, though most of the reasons are not so celebratory ones. As when ever we see a news item on Sania Mirza its either about her 1st or 2nd round exit from a tennis tournament or about her another 15-20 places drop in the world rankings or about her new found injury. Apart from her first few months in the international circuit I have never seen or come across a news item on her talking about her accomplishments or technical brilliance in the field of tennis. But luckily for her and not so luckily for few other deserving sporting stars she has received much more than what she deserves, both from the media and from our nation in terms of support and accolades.Because if talk of some other non-cricketing sporting prospects like Saina Nehwal, Vijender Singh or Abhinav Bindra, they have given us many more instances of national pride and glory, but unfortunately they haven't recieved their due from us in terms of encouragement and support. If we leave apart all of them and just consider Saina Nehwal, the young lass has done marvelously well for herself and for our nation in whatever little time she has spent on the badminton court at this tender age. She stands tall at a world ranking of no. 5 and still raring to climb the last few steps of the international ladder but when it comes to the backing and support from the media and the nation she lags behind by miles in comparison to Miss Mirza whose world ranking is 92 at this point in time, but yes, such is the irony and misery in the world of sports and entertainment.

So what I don't understand is a fact that, what is all the hoopla surrounding Ms Mirza's marriage with ex Pakistani cricket player and captain Shoaib Malik, all about? Ex player, because this not so gentle man is currently serving a one year ban on the grounds of indiscipline and poor performance, imposed by Pakistan Cricket board. As usual Ms Mirza has successfully grabbed all the headlines in last 2-3 days and will continue to do so for next fortnight or so, till her post wedding reception at Lahore or Dubai gets over in the most royal and media frenzy fashion. But the funny thing is that ,a section of our country is utterly furious about this wedding, and the likes of Bajrang Dal and some other extremist groups have even taken this marriage as an insult of our nation and gone on record to say things like, we won't let this marriage take place on this holy hindu land, as if this is the first time a cross border marital phenomena is taking place in history of mankind and these outfits are the legal adjudicators of all the marriages taking place in our country or their self proclaimed hindu land.Adding to the funnier side, few of my friends who have themselves been huge fan of Sania Madam, have turned into her biggest critics overnight, venting out their anger vociferously citing that can't she find a good lad in this country of 130 crores people that she had to select one from our not so favorite neighbor, now these guys are behaving as if Miss Mirza has dated all of them full time and all of a sudden decided to dump them all without giving any genuine reason, for marrying Mr Malik:). Now much to media's pleasure Mr Malik's credentials haven't been so good either, he has already married and dumped a Hyderabadi girl, Ayesha in 2002-2005, for alleged reasons of that girl having put on lot of weight (hahahahhaha). Goodness me, I don't know from which corners do these media guys get these stories, but this is what they want, infact I believe they would have been even happier if Mr Malik had a child or two with her ex wife or ex- bollywood flame Sayali Bhagat, too. That would have given them the luxury to twist and turn the story with a much larger ferocity.

But the mood in Pakistan is not so numb as it is in our side, infact as per the daily Jung newspaper of Pakistan, people out there are quiet happy with this story and they have even started celebrating this partnership already, rejoicing as if they have finally snatched Kashmir from India:). Infact with the volatile mood swings and behavior of our neighbors we shouldn't be surprised if the Pakistan Cricket Board lifts away the one year ban from Malik for having done their nation so proud by hooking up, Miss India fame Sania Mirza, as a symbol of a psychological victory over there arch rivals.And we shouldn't be surprised if Malik takes this opportunity of coming to India as a double gain scheme where he not only gets married to Sania over his week long visit but also manages to play a few games in the cash rich IPL-3, I guess after the Sania feather on their cap the Pakistan Government won't stop him from taking part in IPL-3, forgetting the embarrassing snub which Pakistani players received few months back in the IPL auction:). But the problem he might face will be that which franchisee will rope him in? In the present form I am sure only Kings X1 Punjab will take him in gleefully, hoping that he helps them break there losing streak:).

But what infuriated me the most is the manner in which Sania Mirza addressed the media to testify the rumors about her marriage, literally bashing them up saying 'this is not a India Pakistan joint political statement that you guys are so edgy about and don't worry I will keep on playing tennis for India till atleast 2012 olympics'. GOD! I just want to ask who the heck is really worried about you not playing for India now on because nobody cares about a 92 ranked player playing for his/her country or not and on the contrary never so for a person who is in the limelight more so for the losing reasons rather than the winning ones. With all due respect to your personal life, added with all the good wishes for a bright and a joyous married life, I as a common man and your big fan would just like to reinforce a fact that you are fortunate enough to garner so many eye balls and unprecedented attention from this super sporting nation because you are not the one who actually deserves all this, there are scores of others who are the real contender of this attention and support, so if you can't live up to our support and expectation, kindly don't mar them with your arrogance. Agreed that you are 100% correct that people should respect your privacy and not poke there noses in your personal life, as everybody has the right to live his or her life on his or her own terms. But if there are still doubts about the fact that why people admire her so much, let me clarify its certainly not her tennis skills that they admire rather it's her out of the box nose rings, super trendy spectacle glass frames, ultra mini skirts and those well toned thighs which have made them her big fans. Wish she can win a handful fans by virtue of her on field excellence too much like the likes of Paes' and Bhupathis, who have been doing this consistently for last 15 years or so.

--

kin...

Temptation Thrills but often Kills!

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word 'Temptation' as 'the desire to have or do something that you should avoid' but I believe and define 'Temptation' as the most tempting thing in life. It seems a weird statement but it holds very true in the real life. I have succumbed to it umpteen number of times, rather it is so god damn hard to resist that I succumb to it every single day somehow or the other. In-fact I believe every individual who wants to live his life even to the slightest bit succumbs to this addictive element and repents to some extent or the other. But who the heck cares for those punishing repayments or even gives them a distant thought, its all about enjoying those sumptuous temptations with a belief that what ever be the aftermaths, I will some how and any how manage it dude, so why to let these finger licking alluring opportunities pass by;).And thence starts a fun filled roller coaster ride in this materialistic world full of illusionary temptations.

That temptation of using the credit card to avail the end of season sale against a strong promise to oneself about not using the credit card by any means to curb on the splurging and consolidate my savings every month. But the greedy mind overpowers such ambitious thoughts with justifications like what difference will it make if I spend just 10% of my salary on my luxuries? Am I not worth even such elementary things? Am I working so damn hard just to deposit all my money in the bank? Will I carry all the amount I am saving by living so miserably to heaven, once I die? Obviously NOT, so let me use it one last time. The satisfaction of these preposterous shopping is immense, but it lasts only till the time the credit card bill arrives, because there after you spend the entire time scratching your head trying to figure out the ways through which you can manage the sum to be paid back. Wish I would have never enrolled for a credit card and had some brains to act sensiblyL.

That temptation to wipe off that heavy chocolate bar at midnight just moments before sleeping, inspite of a stern warning from the dentist and mom about the high risk of tooth decay, which are already in a bad state and surviving by means of root canals and cosmetic fillings. But all these preachings are overcome by an inner voice which says ‘ o come on boy, eating it just once can not result in a bacterial attack all of a sudden and thereby eventually decaying my all so innocent teeth’. And the mind succumbs to this temptation and the far fetched consequences are very much on the lines of those preachings which seemed so irritating and hilariously foolish earlier. Wish I would have let go that monstrous chocolate bar and adhered to those golden preachingsL.

That temptation to sleep for just 10 minutes, hours before a scaring college exam, and the argument behind this short nap being that ‘it will refresh me to new levels and I would be able to concentrate better and anyways what difference a 10 minute nap will make when I am smart enough to make up for this time’. But what eventually happens is that you wake up just minutes before the start of the exam and you are on the mercy of either your neighbor or entirely on your luck, praying that only those stuff comes in the exam paper that I have read. But the outcome invariably happens to be other way round, and either the entire exam paper seems to be an out of course stuff or you are caught red handed trying to cheat from your neighbor. Wish I wouldn’t have slept last night and crammed something usefulL.

That temptation to adore, glance and literally scan an X-Ray of every passing irresistible girl, while you are on a date with your girl friend. At such times the harder one tries not to get distracted, the more these beautiful bombs hover around you. And every single time your girl friend catches you red handed, stealing a glance of those beautiful innocent angels. As an aftermath you have to do the damage control by gifting the hitler in your life with the most expensive gifts and lying at length about their goodness and beauty. Wish I could have resisted myself for those few momentsL.

That temptation to eat few spoonfuls of rice at dinner when you are already fighting to reduce that apparently visible tummy. But the rationale which one puts behind this is that 4 or 5 spoonfuls of rice won’t inflate my tummy even by a millimeter and hence why to let this delicious curry get wasted when these few grains of rice can solve the dual purpose of finishing both the curry and the rice at the same time, and anyways one should not waste food in these times of high inflation. But what eventually happens is, in an attempt to not waste that rice for the sake of mankind, one puts on double MRF tyres around his waist as an apparent symbol of obesity. Wish I could have just thought of myself and not about the entire mankind before feeding myself with those oodles of riceL.

That temptation to join a 5 star gym after seeing a Salman Khan movie, which tempts you to flaunt a physique much like the superstar himself. Forcing you to splurge quite a lot of money on enrolment in the gym, buying an expensive track suit and a branded sports shoe costing not less than 3000 bucks. But one month down the line the enthusiasm and the desire to flaunt a Salman Khan physique dies down and you find yourself either sleeping around or feeding yourself with high calorie stuff at your gym hours, the expensive track suits becomes an item of your storage closet and the 3000 bucks sports shoe makes you feel guilty every Friday when you put them on for the casual dressing day in office. Wish I shouldn’t have watched that movie or I should have applied my brains before getting carried away and making fool of myselfL.

That temptation to procrastinate some vital work in office and push it off for tomorrow in lieu of going home early to watch those awe inspiring IPL matches has back fired hundred out of hundred times. Such fanciful thoughts are either butchered by the just in time email from the onsite manager delegating an urgent task minutes before my pack up time or they are eclipsed by those over stretched status calls from the business clients sitting in US. I wonder why the most critical issues crop up on the days of most critical cricket match of the season. Probably the business clients purposefully disrupt the processes on these days so that they can watch these matches at ease at our expense. Wish I could have studied and worked a little harder to be in the shoes of those autocratic managers L.

On one hand our life seems so deliciously attractive amidst such alluring temptations but on the other hand the very moment you fell into these traps, the misery begins. But I still believe the fun lies in prudently falling in these traps and enjoying these temptations to the fullest even if these moments of joy are short lived because when the saints of the stature of Swami Nityanand can't resist the temptations of life, we are even more mortals to resist them, but we should never succumb to these temptations at the expense our moralitiesJ!

--

kin...

From Dayawati to MALAWATI!

In the early days when people talked of this lady, they talked with a touch of sympathy for her. The very reason for those soft feelings being her rise from a low caste chamaar background woman to a well deserved, hard working graduate in the fields of law and education and thereon from being a low profile school teacher to a defiant political leader working and fighting for the rights and development of dalits. No wonder she has been chosen as the chief minister of the most populous state of the biggest democracy of this planet four times till date, in addition to being the 1^st dalit women chief minister of any Indian states. All these feats in this era of 33% women reservation, counts for a lot. She should also be applauded for giving the likes of Mulayam Singhs, Amar Singhs and Kalyan Singhs a good run for their money, who have been breathing on her neck for as long as we can remember. Infact it wont be farce to say Mulayam and her Highness are the Pontings and Sachins or Aamirs and SRKs of the UP politics, always up with the cat and mouse game. Hats off to the lady for her journey from ‘a struggling Dayawati to a defiant Mayawati’.

There was a time in the Indian politics when the political parties ruled the masses just by the virtue of Hindu Muslim sentiments and reaping on the differences arising from these emotionally sensitive issues. It was then, Mayawati under the guidance of her mentor Kanshiram started a campaign for the welfare, upbringing and social upliftment of the weaker sections of the society, the so called dalits and gujjars of UP, Bihar and Rajasthan. And it led to the formation of many such political parties in and around this era, though some were in existence before this mass campaign too, but they got that zing thing in their spines only after Maya’s dalit trailblazer trumpet show. And very soon it forced all the major national parties of the country to adopt the lower caste upliftment issue in their agendas too. Though most of the political parties have failed to cash on this new found success mantra but Maya the witch is still harvesting her cash crop, so much so that the political icon for the oppressed and marginalized has evolved into an autocrat beyond imagination.

Now some staggering facts about the lady herself which will make the likes of Obamas, Browns and Sarkozys who are taking their countries from strengths to strengths in terms of development, blush beyond limits. Under Maya Memsaab’s tenure over 9000 farmers were robbed of their lands, on the name of Yamuna Expressway, I believe all of them must be high net worth farmers and certainly not the oppressed and the dalit ones. Madam’s past birthday’s have all been big hits with the media, where madam appeared laden with diamonds, accepting gifts in front of live media and in the background party goons were all busy in their extortion spree from the common man forcing them to contribute in cash on the occasion of Madam’s birthday. When questioned on this, madam roared back, ‘it’s the aam aadmi’s way of showering there love on me’, wish even I had some friends who atleast remembered wishing me on my birthday leave apart giving me such exorbitant aam aadmi giftsL. Another feather on Maya Memsaab’s distinguished cap is that she is been accused of ordering her MPs to contribute their discretion funds to party fund illegally (read the next sentence twice guys) and subsequently ‘Madam paid more income tax than industrialist and forbes listed Mukesh Ambani in the assessment year 2007-08’, now someone please tell me the procedure to get recruited in the Bahujan Samaaj Party, I can go kill for such a job profile, it is also recession proof in true senseJ. If all this wasn’t enough the 73 kilo heavy weight still has the outrageous courage to erect 100s of elephant statues and 1000s of her own statues in various memorial parks across the state costing over a whooping Rs. 2000 crores to the state. Over that she has the guts to deploy special police force to protect these statues fearing that the opposition might demolish them, thereby further stretching that Rs 2000 crore figure. Following all this I really feel pity on myself, because my fiancé won’t even allow me to get a Rs. 150 pencil sketch done for myself leave apart dedicating even 1 statue for me, at times I really love Maya more than my fiancéL. One might face real constipation digesting this heavy duty shameful stuff, but this lady is never done, she always has something more up her sleeves. On the occasion of the 25^th anniversary celebrations of her political party, she was felicitated with a massive Rs. 10 crore currency garland made up of 1000 rupee note, instantly turning into a ‘MALAWATI’. In addition to this garland show, a Rs 200 crore mass rally to celebrate the occasion. Adding to the mockery, the furious opposition demanded an immediate enquiry and a high level probe on this money might show, in retaliation Maya the illusionist ordered for a CBI probe against a malicious honey bee attack on her and her party workers during her high profile rally. Now can you beat that? J

It is hard to comprehend the motive of such politicians because people are dying without food, good grains are rotting in godowns and Mayawati is busy garlanding herself. Just days back she shamelessly refused to give the victims of temple stampede their due compensation stating that the state is broke and out of funds and Centre should come in for rescue, I wonder how did she manage the Rs 200 crore rally or Rs 10 crore garland or those Rs 2000 crore worth of elephant and self statues? Are they worth more than those sorry lives or is it a brazen exhibition of power? In a state where 65% of the people have not even seen, touched or spent a thousand rupee note all their lives, is this a big joke on all those poor people who have elected these bunch of insane politicians to rule them or do we really deserve such rulers as a punishment for wrongly exercising our biggest right (right to vote). I have always failed to understand why and how people re-elect such people again and again but every time I have consoled myself saying that the people of my country are smarter than these politicians and they endorse the fact that ‘Bullshit is also a very good fertilizer’ and in a set of bad alternatives always choose the least worse to minimize the damageJ.

--

kin...

Do we really deserve a Men's Day?

The build up to Women’s Day this year has been quite baffling for me. Lots of emails floating in the office emphasizing on the importance and existence of a Woman and also about the mega celebrations on the Women’s Day, including activities like ethnic fashion show and tempting and free sumptuous snacks to name a few but all with a disclaimer of ‘ For Women Only’, as if it has been deliberately planned to outcast people like me who are more than interested in both the fashion show and free sumptuous snacks. If this wasn’t enough the moment I entered my office this morning, I was in a fix that whether I have entered a wrong place or what, because I was totally misled by the soothing smell of 100’s of exotic perfumes and deodorants, forcing me to believe that I have mistakenly entered the banquet hall of Hotel Taj Krishna but for the same boorish expression on the building's security guard's face which made me realize that I am very much in the same place, I visit daily. Moments later I was again confused to find myself in a Ladies Sangeet gathering, but for their ID cards, the women all around were all heavily clad in none less than bridal saarees, overtly laden with truck loads of glittering jewelery and with atleast 3 extra layers of make up than usual, painted on their slightly familiar faces. Somehow I garnered little strength and tried to strategically place myself besides two other guys waiting for the elevator, who were also looking equally shocked,oppressed and frightened by the in flavor attitude of Women's Day. Now to add to our fury the elevator door opened and we found three equally over dressed prospective brides on the other side of the door, one of them was reading the Women's Day special edition of The Times of India and the other two were vociferously discussing the odds of passing of Women Reservation Bill in the parliament. I was anxiously waiting along with the two other pity souls on the edge of the elevator door for our destined floors to come, we were in such a state of petrification that can only be matched by 1st year engineering students in front of their most dreaded seniors, anticipating the cruelest form of ragging. But after probably one of the longest wait of my life the elevator doors opened on my floor and I almost ran to reach to my cubicle seat only to drink one full bottle of chilled water and kept wondering can't this day be an optional holiday for all the non women employees?

All the while I was thinking what bad or what cruel all the men on this planet have done that they don't have a day called 'International Men's Day' celebrating the cause of masculinity or manhood. The maximum the men get is a day called ' Father's Day' but to qualify for that one has to be a father at least. So no luck for young and mis opportune people like me here too. So what could be the reason of no such concept like 'Men's Day' in practice, as against the annually celebrated 'Women's Day'? One reason could be, we the men don't have the stamina and capacity to continuously chat on endlessly and hence we don't qualify for such felicitations. Another reason can be we the men don't have those extra terrestrial wooing powers which the likes of Urmilas and Shakuntalas had which made the likes of staunchest saints and yogis drooling for these ladies, leaving behind all there ethics and beliefs. Another probabilistic reason can be we hardly stand anywhere when it comes to the qualities of beauty and good looks. So with all these follies how can we even dream of a special day dedicated to our fraternity. So there is no point cribbing and getting jealous on the mega celebrations on Women's Day. In this hazy scenario the best we can do is to wish and pray to the almighty god that ' Agle janam mujhe beti hi keejo'.

But on a full on serious note I salute the intensity with which the women all around the world celebrate the concept of Women's Day. I really feel that all the women, be it our mothers, be it our sisters, be it our wives, be it our daughters or be it our house maids, all of them deserve a standing ovation for all the sacrifice, love and care they have given for the well being of the entire mankind. We the men of this planet can not repay this debt by any means, the least we can do is we can minimize this deficit by not harassing these beautiful women by the means of eve teasing, domestic violence or cruel things like dowry demands. The love, the care and the concern which we receive from all these wonderful angels is way beyond our imagination and rather priceless in comparison to any monetary or materialistic substitute we yearn for. We should always give due credence and respect to all the pain a woman bears for us right from the most excruciating pain of all pains, i.e the Labor Pain to the other unbearable mental pains we experience in our lives, just to give us a happy existence all through our lives. Also if there is some love, harmony and peace in today's world its just because of these beautiful princess, otherwise we men are far too carnivorous and blood thirsty to survive the myths and demons of anger, lust, power and pride.

So let us all take a pledge to treat all the women in our lives with utmost love and care and rather place them one pedestal above all the men, keeping aside our inflated male chauvinist egos and join all these beautiful ladies in the celebration of this day not just as a Women's Day but more so as a remembrance for all the sacrifices and act of love and kindness they have continuously bestowed on us. And thanks to all those beautiful women in our lives whose unconditional love and care for us is much deeper than those six layers of multi cosmetic makeups:)

Happy Women's Day!

--

kin...

Are we Unfair to our National Sport?

I have always tried to inculcate in me a feeling of love, pride and passion for the game of Hockey but unfortunately I have failed every single time in my efforts. If on one hand the laurels of the past have always made me feel inspired and motivated about this game. Then on the other hand I have also experienced a sense of dejection and helplessness, seeing the sorry state of our national team players or the disarray of its main governing body. But even in this state of dilemma I have always figured it out that these feelings aren’t of true love for the game but they are feelings of mere infatuation. So amidst all the ongoing hoopla surrounding the Indian Hockey Team and the Hockey World Cup being staged in India, the big question is ‘Does the current generation render a step motherly treatment to the game of Hockey or are we too overawed by Cricket and its multimillionaire superstars?’ The answer to this controversial question is both Yes and No. YES, because to a good extent we don’t actually care about what is going on in the world of Indian Hockey and if at all we do give an ear to the game, it is only when there is yet another sad story showcasing the sorry state of affairs about the game. We are in a habit of discussing Hockey only if we have to make fun of the game or self-depreciate our team to share a few laughs amongst ourselves. On the contrary the answer to this dubious question is NO also, because we react and behave on what we see and come across in our daily lives. We do pamper and idolize the cricket stars of our country because they give us a constant reason to do so every now and then. They make us feel proud by achieving something, breaking some world records or consistently beating the best teams in the world. And this adulation is not just confined to cricket only (vis a vis Hockey). We pamper the likes of Sania Mirzas, Saina Nehwals, Abhinav Bindras, Vijender Singhs and Raghvendra Rathores we the same intensity and vengeance too. I believe the current generation is a fast food generation, they endorse anything which brings them instant fun, quick returns and satiates their taste buds, they are not the ones to get hooked to something, just dwelling on the past laurels a game might have brought to the country.

The state of Hockey and its following is so bad in our country that people aren’t even aware about the rules of the game, leave apart knowing the names of the players in our national team, at best they know about some ‘Dhanraj Pillai’ and a few older and wiser ones might know about ‘Major Dhyanchand’. And it’s a pity that most of us aren’t even aware of the captain of our national team, though the more hockey literate guys can recall him as some Singh, wisely guessing between Singhs and Pillais, as they are the safest bet in the world of Indian Hockey. But thanks to the recent awareness campaign in the media and to Dr Google as well, most of us know Rajpal Singh is the man leading our nation in the Hockey World Cup. Similarly, the administrative setup and the internal politics amongst the officials of Hockey Federation of India is so dirty and cheap that it hardly adds to the progress of the game in our country, no wonder we stand at a distant no.11 in the world stage and we have qualified for the World Cup by the virtue of being the host nation and not on the basis of merit. So with a weak governing body, weaker financial support and a consistently poor string of results by our hockey team in recent times, how can we expect the current generation to follow and support the national team to raging levels? Its not that the current generation is being partial towards Hockey and unnecessarily biased towards other sports. If the support towards other sports is better, its not that it has been achieved overnight, it has been a slow and a gradual process. There was hardly any following for Cricket before 1980’s, only after India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and the sport started producing heroes like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Sachin Tendulkar who claimed all the records in the cricketing world and resurrected India as a cricketing super power, that the support and following for the game gained momentum and gradually reached its peak. Similarly the rage for tennis in India wasn’t attained over night either, it was the diligence of the likes of Paes, Bhupathis and Mirzas who kept the tricolor flying high and garnered support from all corners. Same was the build up for the games like shooting, chess, weightlifting and boxing, courtesy the great sportsmen like Rathore, Bindra, Anand and Vijender. The younger generation is watching these mortals sweating it out and turning into immortal heroes by the virtue of their consistency and perseverance. The support and the following for a particular sport are directly proportional to the string of successes, consistency of performances and the level of Iconization related to it. So it would be utterly unfair to blame the current crop of youth for showing no interest towards the game of hockey because I doubt this disinterest will persist if we start winning more often and if we produce world class players like Bindra, Vijender and Tendulkar in the field of Hockey.

Another thing which I find very illogical is the concept called ‘National’. We say Hockey is our National Sport, but by logic and common sense a national game should be the one in which that nation excels and a majority of that nation plays that sport. But is it really the case with our nation? We stand way below on the excellence barometer and Hockey is certainly not the most widely played game in the country either. Understandably, when these national jargons were declared, at that point Indian Hockey was at its zenith, but things do change and evolve with time, Bombay is Mumbai now, Madras is Chennai, so what’s wrong in reviewing (say every 50 years) and changing the national sport to a sport in which the nation actually excels and plays extensively? Similar is the state with our national animal, will we continue to take pride in calling Tiger as our national animal, say 20 years down the line too, when in reality there won’t be any Tigers left in our land? So I believe there is nothing wrong in adjusting and acclimatizing with the changing world and also there is no directive from United Nations either that you can’t change any of your National Icons once you have declared them. Ironically, the way we have treated our national icons, be it our National Sport or be it our National Animal, has been absolutely horrendousJ. However, this is an entirely different issue; the state of the game can’t be improved by such cosmetic changes. For a stronger Hockey in India, we need changes from the grass root level, we need a complete overhaul of the administration and the Hockey Federation, we need a solid financial backing from the government and various private agencies, we need a constant string of wins, we need a set of icons, we need a real life coach like SRK to motivate the team and explain them the importance of ‘sattar minute’ but most importantly we need a Lalit Modi who can revitalize this sport in his own way, only then we can expect a mass youth following for this beautiful sport.

Chak de India, Chak de Hockey!

--

kin...

200 Carat Gold - Sir Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar!

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

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

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

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

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

Take a BOW!

--

kin...

Tiger in trouble, both in INDIA and US!

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

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

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

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

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

Save the Speechless, Save Our Tigers!

--

kin...

Kudos SRK for being a MAN!

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

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

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

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

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

Kudos SRK for being a MAN !

--

kin...

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

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

Now spare sometime for a conversation between a Mumbai couple –

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

--

kin...

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

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

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

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

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

Pity but yes such is the value of awards today!

--

kin...