Soorya Festival at Kozhikode...

Soorya festival, the famous art and cultural event was held in Kozhikode for the first time from 26^th to 30^th December 2008. My pre-occupations kept me away from the even at the Tagore hall until the final day. The classical music concert by the famous music director Sarath was the main event yesterday. The opening item was a short drama by the students of Sanskrit University –Kalady. It was a comedy drama consisting of two characters. The actors gave a brilliant performance and succeeded in reaching out to the audience. There was an exhibition of paintings by budding artists from the Mural painting institute at Guruvayur and some local painters. I was especially enchanted by the Mural paintings of Radha-Krishna and the Mirabai.

 The concert itself was a sumptuous treat. This was the first time that I had attended a classical music concert. I was spell bound by the performance of the now-familiar, highly talented disciple of the maestro Balamurali Krishna. Sarath sir, as he is fondly called by his fans, had the audience spell bound by his rendition of the famous carnatic numbers like Vathapi and Nagumo. Apart from the pure classical songs, he also came up with such famous all-time hits like Mamankam, much to the delight of the crowd. I must admit I was totally mesmerised by the music. Truly a memorable evening for me and I suspect I might start going to carnatic concerts more often henceforth. 

The prodigal brother...

The Mumbai terror attacks have been a wake up call for India in many ways. India has finally realised that it can no longer afford to shy away from encountering the menace of cross border terrorism.

 Partition was the biggest mistake ever made by the erstwhile British colonialist regime, one that should have been resisted by the then political leadership dominated by the Indian National Congress. To be fair, there were many voices against the partition including that of the Mahatma himself. But, the majority of the leaders were unable to muster enough courage and will power to resist and defeat the last ditch effort of the Colonial regime to exploit the inherent diversity of the Indian nationhood. Many historians maintain that a prolonged freedom struggle may be for another ten or twenty years would have ensured a free, truly secular, unified sovereign republic of India. This would have saved India and the world from majority of the terrorist threats that exist today.

 The prodigal brother has been bleeding India for decades. Majority of the international community, especially the US and other western powers, chose to ignore the phenomenon until the 9/11 catastrophe. India should have learned its lessons from the pre-9/11 scenario. It is our prerogative to ensure our own safety. In the process, we have to force Pakistan to destroy the terror-factories operating from its soil. Pakistan will a tough time dealing with the extremist forces including the Taliban. In such a scenario, one could be fairly assured that the Pakistani army will topple the democratic government and will try to stand up to the ‘Hindu threat.’ This is when the US and other western powers will find the script unpalatable to them. They would prefer a Pakistan which is a base for their operations in Afghanistan. They would not want the Pakistani dispensation to be drawn away from the Afghan front by the Indian challenge. India must realise that this is the crux of the challenge that we have to overcome in our very own war against terror. India should draw the line here and must let the whole world know that the security of its people and assets are paramount to it. If in the process the US finds itself in a tough situation then, so be it. India must start getting its priorities right. US can flex its muscle and withdraw the economic and military aids given to Pakistan. The international community can impose enough restrictions on the Pakistani trade to make Islamabad fall in line. If and when India and the world adopt such a position, the prodigal brother will have no option but to fall in line. 

The inflation figures....retail prices still on the higher side...

The weekly figures say the inflation is down. But is the common man getting the benefits? Even yesterday when I went to the vegetable shop, I found the prices still on the higher side. I did not buy tomatoes because of the high prices. The groceries are also being sold at high prices across the retail stores. The only direct impact that I feel is the slashed prices of petrol. May be I should keep my fingers crossed for some more days for the prices to come down.

Politics at its worst.....

The remarks made by Union Minister Antulay has once again betrayed the ugly face of senseless politics played by the meanest of the bunch. Without going into the finer points of the comments made by the Minister, what disturbs me the most is the time, place and the manner in which the comments have been made. Mr. Antulay must have had the minimum common sense to remember that he is a Union Minister. The position he is in brings affords him much better forum than the media microphones to voice his genuine concerns. I assume that he has many mechanisms and official channels at his disposal to discharge his duties efficiently. By making such an irresponsible public statement, he has exposed himself as totally incapable of comprehending the responsibilities that have been entrusted upon him.

 At a time when the nation, most of all the common man, has restrained from indulging in divisive politics, the Minister has indeed let down himself and the state.

The right to fair trial...

There has been a debate about whether Ajmal Kasab, the terrorist captured in Mumbai, deserves the right to defend himself in a court of law. Questions have been raised about the ethics of lawyers who are willing to offer their services to Kasab. It is a fact that the whole world saw the pictures of Kasab committing heinous crimes against humanity. I don’t think there is any point spending millions of rupees on prosecuting this terrorist. It would be a criminal wastage of time and energy of all those who are involved in the criminal prosecution process.

 But, India is a democracy and we do have certain obligations to ourselves when it comes to human rights. We cannot afford to lay down a wrong precedence by not allowing Kasab the opportunity to defend himself, though I certainly cannot imagine what any lawyer can do or say to defend such a convict.  The problem is that the country’s system is so slow and tedious when it comes to convicting the hard core criminals. We certainly would hate to see Kasab being let loose after another Kandahar like situation.And the legal aid must not come from any political parties, NGOs or other institutions. It is a technical legal process and must remain so.

 Anyway, I think we should let Kasab defend himself and keep our fingers crossed. This could be the ultimate trial for the country’s judicial system. 

The negative industrial growth.......

The country’s industrial growth for the month of October 2008 has dipped alarmingly to -0.4%. The figure for the month of November 2008 is also expected to be as dismal as that of October. Much has been said about the global economic crisis and its repercussion in India. But the Prime Minister and the former Finance Minister Mr.P.Chidambaram have always been in self-denial mode. They kept saying that the Indian economy is somehow immune to the global trends to a large extend.

The RBI also was focusing almost entirely on containing the inflation. Lot of liquidity has been flushed out of the system. Now, the inflation figures have started coming down, but the prices of food and vegetables continue to be on the higher side.

While taking part in the parliamentary debate in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack, Mr.P.Chidambaram made a candid admission that our government system is such that at crisis times instead of making decisions, we often gets caught up in indecision. The statement may well apply to the government’s handling of the economic crisis as well.

United we stand....

Yesterday’s debate in the Indian Parliament regarding the recent terror attacks was reassuring for the common man. After a long time, we got to see our leaders participation in a meaningful, constructive and thoughtful debate. 

Even some leaders who were known to be of poor oratory skills made stirring and effective speeches. What enabled them to come out with such memorable performance is that, this time around all of them were speaking from their heart. The passion, emotion and the anger made the speakers rise above the average. The spirit of unity displayed in the Parliament amply demonstrates an angry but mature India.

The dysfunctional government in Kerala..yet again....

The LDF government in Kerala, led by V.S.Achuthananthan has been reeling under the pressure of factional feud, both within the CPI(M) and among the allies that constitute the LDF. We are well acquainted with the bitter factional feuds and the resulting paralysis of the government machinery under the Congress led UDF regimes. But the LDF always made sure that their governments were not affected by the factional feud which within the CPI(M). In retrospect, I believe the presence of such eminent luminaries like E.M.S and Nayanar had enabled the LDF governments to function without such blatant disregard for the principle of collective responsibility.

 It is another matter that even these governments were ineffective in capturing the imagination of the people by implementing long-term projects and charting out a clear road map for the state. In fact as the people kept getting disillusioned by the ruling coalition, they kept changing the government every five years. This made the two coalitions even more laid back and dysfunctional.

 Kerala has always been a pioneer in the socio-political arena, many practices in the state later being emulated in the national level. It is about time the people in Kerala came up with a new, effective tactic to make the government function.

The assembly poll results...

The results of the recent polls held in five states have been on the expected lines, save the Shiela magic in Delhi. It is heartening to see that in Delhi, Chattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh people have acknowledged good governance. In Rajasthan, the infighting cost the BJP dearly, in spite of the reasonably good job done by Vasundhra Raje.

 I hope that people will utilise the power of ballots wisely and decisively in the general elections coming up in the next few months. One can only hope that there will not be a hung parliament which will give rise to all sorts of post-poll alliances, horse trading and corruption. At this crucial juncture, that would be a disaster for the nation.

A wake up call for the citizens as well...

The Mumbai terror attacks continue to dominate the national imagination, rightly so. It has been quite some time since the common man has expressed himself in such a transparent, forceful and united manner. India is so diverse a nation that there cricket and bollywood may well be the only common factors among two different parts of the country. All other factors of life varies from place to place and I do feel it is this diversity that makes India such an enigmatic and vibrant nation.

 Still, it is about time we the people realized our own responsibilities and duties. We should stop jumping the queue at every available opportunity, stop attempting to bribe our way through the systems of this country. Stop placing ‘myself and my family above everything else’ in an attempt to outdo one’s neighbours, colleagues, friends and the entire society in pursuit of material success. It is time for us to go back to the principles, knowledge and the science which is the basis of India, the great nation.

 We do have so much to offer to this world and to ourselves. But sadly we have misplaced our priorities. We have become selfish, callous and self-centred. We have become cowards and shy away from facing the hardships of modern life. We don’t want to question our callous politicians, we don’t have the guts to stand up to the local goondas and thugs, we don’t have the courage to question the system of bribery and we are too scared to live life on our own terms......

 Now is the time, the time to change ourselves. 

Akram has a great suggestion............

Wasim Akram has suggested that India and Pakistan should play a cricket test match at Mumbai to express solidarity. Though cricket is not on anybody’s mind at present, I do think Akram has come up with an interesting suggestion.

 It is true that Pakistan is at the centre of the anti-India activities. But, unlike at the time of the Kargil war, this time around I do believe the Pakistani government or the Army does not have a direct role in the terror attacks. In fact, I think the Pakistani establishment has lost control over the terrorist groups operating in that country. The ISI could still be involved in the anti-India activities, but the onus is on the Indian government to come out with concrete evidence of the same. Mere allegations would not suffice, though most of us in India are convinced about the truthfulness of the same.

 Meanwhile India has to move forward. It has to regain credibility in the international community as a place safe enough to live, do business and to visit. As always, sports could be the answer. If India and Pakistan manage to come together and play a cricket match in Mumbai, it would be a stupendous achievement.

 It is true that the wounds are still too fresh to heal, too raw to be touched. Still we owe it to ourselves to keep working towards a safer India, a safer sub-continent and a safer world.

The Indian response........

The Indian government’s response to the recent terror attacks in Mumbai falls well short of expectations. I understand that each time something like this happens India cannot be seen to be placing a finger on the dreaded button, threatening to blow up Pakistan and destroying the sub-continent in the process.

 Still, I want my government to confront Pakistan with all the evidence that we have, and pressurize them to take stern action against the use of their territory for anti-Indian activities. I want my government to do the same with all other nations that are the base for anti-Indian activities, including Bangladesh.

 I want India to secure the extradition of all wanted criminals including Dawood Ibrahim by any means required.

 I want punishment of the convicted terrorists who are enjoying their stay in various jails, the expense for which is paid by the common Indian, to be carried out immediately.

I want my government to deport the illegal migrants from Bangladesh and secure our borders against all kinds of infiltration.

 I want the government to come up with a time-bound mechanism to dispose of all the pending cases related to terrorism. We cannot afford to have these sensitive cases to drag on endlessly.

 I want the intelligence agencies of this country to be made accountable at some level, either to the legislature or to the judiciary.

 There are so many factors that need to be looked into, so many loose ends to be tied up. The task is difficult but not impossible for a government which has the will power, the right persons at the right posts and above all the dedication and the commitment towards the people they are supposed to serve.

At last, the heads start rolling.............

It is good that at last the Home Minister has obliged us. The Maharsahtra Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister are also on their way out. These two insensitive, petty politicians have displayed an amazing ability to antagonize the already angry citizens of the country. All the three had to be asked for their resignations covertly and overtly by their respective ‘high commands’, demonstrating the total lack of conscience and morality among a large section of our politician.

 The process of getting some ministers or officials replaced is not a solution in itself. Still, it does send out a signal that after all, people’s wrath has some value in the Indian democracy.

The nation would be grateful to you if you would resign Mr. Home Minister.

Dont misunderstand me. I am not celebrating the horror that occurred. As I told, I am ANGRY.

 This is the MOST INEFFICIENT and LETHARGIC government that India has had in the last two decades. I know this is a delicate time. But that should not stop anybody from talking about the failure of the entire system funded by the tax money of ordinary citizens like me. For a change, we are not talking politics here. We are talking about the concepts of efficiency, honesty, dedication and the true spirit of a public servant. Obviously these are the virtues long forgotten and alien to most of our politicians.

 Dear handsome, fashion savvy  Home Minister, as an ordinary citizen unfortunate to be living in the era of your Minister ship(or should I say fortunate to be still alive thinking aloud), I beg you, beseech you, implore you to pleaaaaaaaaaaassssssseee RESIGN. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

 I admit I had the audacity to demand your resignation in one of my earlier posts. I apologise for the same.

 Mujhe maaf kar dijiye. Is bar mein apse nivedan kar raha hoon...Apko apne rangeen suits ki kasam, apko meri umar lag jaye.....plssssssssssssssssssss relieve us of your services.

I can’t bear it anymore....

This time around it has been different. We watched in horror as the terror came home to the supposedly well protected, iconic heart of the country’s financial capital. It has to be noted that till now, most of the terror activities in India targeted easily accessible places frequented by the common man (read as financially poor, lower class, middle class citizens). But this time around the target appears to be the elite class and perhaps for the very first time, the foreign citizens on Indian soil. Not surprisingly, many delicate feathers have been ruffled.

 I may be sounding sarcastic here, but I can’t help it. Like crores of my brothers and sisters, frustration has been building up with in me. I felt as if I am guilty of not having bank balance worth crores, not living in the most exclusive of the apartments, not travelling in Benz or BMW, in short not being worthy enough to be protected by the elitist of them all, the Indian Government. This is exactly why I am ANGRY.

 

The routine of getting ourselves blasted...the new way of life for modern Indians

Over the last 7-8 years, India has been repeatedly targeted by the terrorists, both from within and outside the country. After each bloody incident, we have DELIBERATELY forgotten about the same. We patted ourselves on being resilient, brave and courageous and God knows what other cliches that we could invent. Of course, we raised a big hue and cry blaming the government, the police, the intelligence agencies, the religious hate mongers, the omnipresent ISI and the rogue sibling – turned rogue neighbour Pakistan. We blamed each other, we suspected each other and we fought each other. 

Some of us took it upon ourselves to exact revenge, thus causing more havoc. We blamed our politicians and once the list of those who could be blamed was exhausted, we went about the routine of being in the middle of blast torn cities wondering where the terror would strike next.

 We are the brave, resilient Indian, fancying ourselves as the saviours for the whole world, especially since the American domination of the world affairs is already shattered.

I am angry............

What has unfolded over the last 60 hours is too well known to be reiterated. The images, the sound bites, the deafening thunder bolts, the eerie silence have all left an indelible mark on the minds and souls of millions. So, what do I feel? I am sad, worried, afraid and above all angry as in A-N-G-R-Y.

Terror strikes again and again and again and again.........

The terror strikes, this time at no less than ten places in Mumbai, evokes a collage of emotions. This time around, we have the ghastly images being played out live in the television. My heart goes out to the hostages, the victims, the security forces battling it out for us and the brave men and women in the media who are at the ground zero. Like the rest of the world, I pray for this crisis to be over quickly with minimal possible damage........

We need a unified code of conduct for investigating agencies...

Over the years we have witnessed the growth of Indian Television News Channels. We are now living in an era of ‘Breaking News’,(wonder what happened to the good old FLASH NEWS), ‘Exclusives’ and ‘Sting operations’. This means most of us have become media savvy. Gone are the days when someone had to do something as bizarre as eating a snake alive to hog the limelight for a while. This situation has benefitted common man in procuring any information that he needs more easily and readily. But, there are many negative sides to this picture.

 We had sting operations planned to discredit and harass hapless individuals. More recently, our investigating agencies have also become pro-active in planting and manoeuvring sensitive information about different investigations. Different investigating agencies are now readily giving out information about the arrests and the accused even while they are in the process of collecting evidences to substantiate their claims. This is a dangerous practise because:

·         The concept of ‘innocent until proved guilty’ is undermined.

·         The family of the accused are harassed and humiliated.

·         The investigators often end up looking ridiculous as happened repeatedly in the Arushi Murder Case.

·         Allows political parties, human rights groups and others build up rhetoric based on the claims which are not proven facts.

·         Prejudices the public opinion for or against the accused persons.

·         In case the claims made by the investigators are later proved to be false, the persons who were earlier accused would still have had to bear the defamation and harassment.

·         Causes conflicts and battles among various groups on the basis of unproven claims.

 I think the situation calls for implementing a General Code of Conduct for the investigating agencies across the country. The police should not be allowed to manoeuvre the public opinion.

 It is worth mentioning that in spite of tremendous pressure from the curious general public, the Kerala CBI team which is investigating the Sister Abhaya murder case has refused to divulge any details regarding the evidence and the motive of the arrested accused. This conduct is highly commendable, one that could be emulated by other teams across the country.

Indian Navy – the pride of the nation

The Indian Navy has sunk a Somalian pirate ship.  The Somalian pirates have been striking almost daily and many countries have their naval presence in the area. Indian Navy had rescued a ship last week and in sinking the pirate ship the Navy has proved that it is capable of being pro-active in the face of challenges.

Abhaya case - some action at last....

It comes as great relief to the general public in Kerala that three people have been arrested in connection with the Abhaya Case which has been under investigation for more than sixteen years. The scenes at the court when the accused were brought in yesterday were acrimonious. The police had to resort to mild lathi charge twice to keep the crowd under control. The crowd was shouting slogans congratulating the CBI and denouncing the local police and the Kerala crime branch.

The real hero is the High Court of Kerala. It is the persistent and vigilant attitude of this court that paved way for the arrests. Keeping in mind the fact that even the CBI had applied for the case to be closed for lack of proper evidence, the court has yet again proved to be the saviour for justice.

For millions it is not just an index, Mr. Finance Minister...

As the world reels under the financial crisis, the Indian government kept re-iterating that there is nothing to worry. The Prime Minister and the Finance Minister repeatedly said that the inherent strength of Indian economy will help the country sail over the tsunami and keep ourselves afloat. The debacle in the US, Europe and other countries around the world should have served as a loud warning for the prudent. But, in India, the measures were limited largely to rate cuts and pure rhetoric.

Meanwhile, the prices of essential commodities sky rocketed, the stock markets crashed and industries struggled to keep their factories running. Unlike China, which came out with a substantial investment package to boost the economy, India maintained what many describe as a largely passive stance to the entire issue. But, even with the inflation figures showing some signs of coming down, the stock markets kept plunging to new depths.

Guess what, the finance minister has told that people must stop looking at the stock markets closely as these were nothing more than indices. This is easily the most irresponsible and utterly damaging comment that a finance minister could make at such a volatile time. He may have been trying to calm down the atmosphere by playing down the significance of the stock markets. But in the process, he has completely forgotten that millions in this country have lost their life’s savings in the stock market over the recent months. Billions of dollars worth wealth have been wiped off and the Finance Minister has the audacity to refer to the debacle as if he is talking about a mathematical graph.

Well, with the general elections coming nearer, I guess the current UPA regime could afford to pass over the onus to the next government. But, in the process, we the people are bound to suffer, providing more data for the wise heads like this finance minister to study and lecture about....

The sad story of Kerala intellectuals and writers

Kerala is among the most literate regions in the whole world. More than anything else, the high literacy means the mallu society keeps itself highly informed about the happenings all over the world. Consequently, we have a society where most of the individuals do have an opinion on almost all subjects under the sun.

 Naturally, the teachers, writers and the intellectuals in this society have always been held in high respect and their opinions have always been well sought after. Sadly, over the last decade, a large majority of mallu writers and intellectuals seems to have come under tremendous pressure from the need to survive, and the much larger necessity to keep on the right side of the powers that be. So much so, that the only loud noises that we occasionally hear from one half of these self-proclaimed protectors of public conscience are mostly about the petty, ego-centric and self induced fights among themselves. The other half is busy in aligning in accordance with the factional feuds of the ruling Marxist party.  There are some rare but sane and earnest voices among them, but these are often buried in the frenzy and noise of the battle cry....

 Contrast this with times when these voices were strong and influential enough to deny the state many necessary projects like the atomic power plant and silent valley project. It is another matter, whether I am in favour of the opposition to such projects. The point that I am trying to make is that there has been a paradigm shift in the intellectual creamy layer of this highly opinionated society.

 The common man is reeling under all sorts of problems, the root cause of which could be traced to the in-efficient and corrupt regimes that have ruled this state in the last two decades. The writers, intellectuals and the creative minds once had the courage and the will power to awaken the mallu society and pave way for the world’s first democratically elected communist regime. Now, all that is left is a bunch of selfish minds feuding among themselves...

 What a shame indeed....

Yoga - for health and peace....

I have been attending yoga classes for the last one month at Kozhikode itself. Those who know me personally know that I am fat, over weight. But, to my friend’s dismay, I have never been worried about the same. I have always been reasonably healthy and have been content with it. My friends always used to complain about the long distances that I would walk while we are out for shopping or sightseeing. I guess this is what helped me stay healthy.

 But, ever since I moved to Kozhikode, I have been confined to my Pulsar all the time. This meant I don’t walk as much as I used to, and I put on a lot of weight. While I was worried about the same, I have never been enthusiastic about going to a conventional gym. Finally, I chose to try out Yoga hoping that this might also complement my spiritual and intellectual side.

 After one month of Yoga classes, I find it highly beneficial for staying healthy. Just as Ayurveda concentrates on eliminating the root cause of a disease unlike the Allopathic medicines which focuses on the symptoms, yoga aims at helping a person to stay healthy. It also helps in building concentration and the meditation helps to make the mid peaceful.

Bring the petroleum prices down...

The Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Petroleum Minister are all united in saying that the petroleum prices cannot be brought down until the oil companies stop making losses.

 This is preposterous and utterly irresponsible. I know the Indian rupee is in a very volatile position against the US dollar. But as an Indian, I would like my Ministers (yea,in case you forgot, they are supposed to serve me and over hundred crore ordinary Indians like myself) to be compassionate and to be in touch with the ground realities of life in this nation.

 Reducing petroleum prices would have an immediate impact on the food and vegetable prices. It would help common man heave a sigh of relief.

 Economic management is not only about providing leverage to aviation industry, allowing industrialists to amass windfall profits and then vulgarly display the same by building homes worth thousands of crores, offering escape routes to foreign companies by allowing them to increase their presence in sectors like insurance.

 At the end of the day, prudent economic management is all about helping the poor to have proper meals at least once in a day. Making sure the common man has the opportunity and the means to pay back the loans, make both ends meet.

 The average Indian should be able to celebrate life, not by virtue of having obscenely expensive villas, but by having a hearty smile, peaceful sleep and a secure future for his family.

The Night Mare – A Dream Team production

Ironic, but an apt title for the plight of ordinary Indian. The dream team of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Chidambaram has failed miserably in providing solace to the common man. The prices of eatables and vegetables are sky rocketing along with many other essential articles.

 The government and the RBI have been harping about the measures taken to combat inflation for quite some time now. Surely, some measures have been taken. But the question is who is benefiting?

  The only direct impact that a layman like myself see is the interest rates coming down. This is expected to benefit the automobile, infrastructure, housing and industrial sector. The logic is that the spur in growth in these sectors will rejuvenate the economy and lead to wealth creation. This would ultimately benefit the common man.

 This sounds good. Still, it seems to be a process which would take at least six months to start showing significant and consistent results. Simply, this is not enough. We Indians surely deserve better. 

Interest rate coming down is fine.But unfortunately, the banks do not give loans for buying rice, dal and vegetables.

Dada...The true Maharaja...

As India celebrates the famous win over the mighty Aussies and cherishes the Border -  Gavaskar trophy, the Prince of Kolkata bows out of international cricket. His last series has been wonderful for him and he leaves behind a grand legacy.

As tributes pour in, Dada can be proud of what he did for the nation. It is commendable that this gutsy man successfully faced stiff opposition from many people who were not half good as himself throughout his career.

To start with, Saurav was depicted as a rich, arrogant, spoilt young man. Many yester year stars could not come to terms with the presence of such a privileged person in the Indian dressing room. They doubted his dedication and lost no time in attacking the newcomer. But Dada started off with a century in his debut test match, that too in foreign soil. For wise men, this would surely be ominous signs of what Dada would bring to Indian cricket.

 Then the pundits were criticizing his perceived inability to face quality fast bowlers, especially the bouncers (incredibly some continues to do so even now). It is true that Dada had some problems in this front, but he more than compensated for it with his extravagant off-side hits, his wonderful natural timing. And when Dada chose to come down the track to any bowler, spin or pace, it was a treat for the cricket lover. The balls started disappearing in to the stands quite often and Dada made his presence felt.

 Then came the dark era of Indian cricket. The match fixing scandals plunged Indian cricket to the depths of despair. This coupled with some uninspired captaincy from several stand in captains drove cricket fans away from the stadiums. Many, including your faithful blogger, started to keep away from the living room to escape the live telecast in the television.

 When Dada was made the captain of the beleaguered Indian team, he inherited a dressing room full of egos, players with low self confidence and some with much less self esteem. A bunch of losers who were referred to as ‘ a group of highly talented players, who had many records among them, but who invariably failed to perform as a team. The performance of the Indian team out side of the sub-continent was totally amateurish.

 Dada turned things around and look where the Indian team is now. He built a team of confident men. He backed his young inexperienced but talented players like Bhajie, Yuvi, Lakshman and Zaheer. He helped the senior players like Sachin, Dravid and Kumble settle down into their own tailor-made roles as mentors and role models. For me, this is his single most important contribution. Dada even relinquished his opening slot in one day team for Sehwag.

 The opening partnerships between Dada and the Master Blaster is legendary and to make way for a junior player was a wonderful gesture, one that many of his critics would not have even thought about.

 The single most vivid picture in memory? Dada taking off his shirt and waving it to celebrate a famous victory abroad. For pundits, this was a shocking display of arrogance....

 For common cricket fans like me, this he the mascot of young, vibrant, confident Indian team...We knew this team was bound to conquer the world...We knew Dada had done what it takes to lay the foundations for the future captains to build on....

 The Australians believed they were the only ones who have the right to sledge, be aggressive and play mind games. Dada paid them back in style, fluttering many, including the Indian pundits.  Time and again, Dada was humiliated, thrown out of the captaincy and the team. Each time Dada came back stronger than ever. Even in his last series, he made the previous team of selectors look like a bunch of foolish amateurs.

 Dada had such illustrious men as Dravid, Lakshman and Sehwag as compatriots. The fact that these four men carved out a niche for themselves while playing alongside the all time great Sachin Tendulkar speaks a lot about their talent and calibre. These fabulous group of players have given us lot to be proud of.

 Dada  sure has some more cricket left in him. But, I believe it is the right time to bid adieu. Especially since it would not take more than two bad innings for him to be thrown out of the team again.

 After all, from being a Prince, he has long ago graduated to being the Maharaja of Indian cricket and desrves a Royal farewell...

The decline of Aussies....

From the lacklustre performance of the visiting Australian cricket team, it is evident that this is the weakest Aussie team in over a decade.

 The fourth day of the final test at Nagpur will be remembered for the defensive mindset of the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting. At a time when he should have gone for the kill, he refused to make use of his strike pace bowlers. He was more concerned about the making up for slow over rate and hence turned to his spin bowlers. This is not what we have come to expect from an Aussie captain. What could have been the worst case if he had made use of the pace bowlers? He could have been fined and may be suspended for one match. On the other side, the Indians were in real trouble with the loss of quick wickets and if Brett Lee could have picked up either Dhoni or Bhajie, the Indian innings would have ended quickly. Instead, the spin bowlers allowed India to claw back to the game and at the end of the match, this cost Australia the Border – Gavaskar trophy.

 In spite of the brilliant eight wicket haul for Krezja in the first innings, one has to admit that the Australian spin bowling is not even good without the mighty Shane Warne. For that matter, neither is their pace bowling, without Glenn McGrath. Their batting lacks the stability without Justin Langer. The retirement of Adam Gilchrist means they are no longer dominant over the opposing bowlers.

 Ricky Ponting have reasons to be defensive, but without the trademark killer instinct, all that remains is plain arrogance and typical intolerance in the face of better opponents.

 Sadly for Aussies, these are simply not enough to conquer the resurgent Indians....

The campaigning goes digital

L.K.Advani has come up with a portal devised as a means to rach out to the Indian youth. The idea is commendable, one suceesfully used by Obama recently, and could make an impact in India too.....

http://www.lkadvani.in/

An Indian dream....

As America gets a young president, I too wish the youth here in India had a more prominent and powerful presence in the political arena of this nation. By Indian standards, Obama is a kindergarten child as far as his political experience and age goes.

 So far, the only youth to get a shot at the Prime Minister ship in India is Rajeev Gandhi. Ironically, politics was the last place that he wanted to be. But fate, and the fact that he was the only suitable heir from Nehru dynasty at that time, catapulted him to the Prime Minister ship of the world’s largest democracy. It is really sad that even in 2008, the only youth who could even hope to run for the post is the present heir of the dynasty, Rahul Gandhi.

  Is it that the country of over 100 crore does not have able and deserving youth to lead the nation, other than the handpicked ones from the Nehru dynasty?

Its OBAMA all the way.........

As the US Presidential election results come out Barack Obama , the 47 year old African- American who has been a senator for only two years, becomes President Obama. The election has been closely watched and followed here in India as well. The coming years could be very, very crucial for India and the world at large. The new American President, as always, has a significant role to play in the emerging new world order. I do wish Obama will rise to the challenge...

Dada, Jumbo retiring...do they have a job to sustain themselves???

This morning, while I was watching the TV news report regarding the retirement of Anil Kumble, my grandmother (almost 70 years old), asked me “ Does Kumble have a job?”

She is not a sports buff. But, she can recognise Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, Kumble, Harbhajan and her local boy Sreeshanth. And when she asked the question, I am sure she was thinking about the yester year stars like P.T.Usha, I.M.Vijayan, Shiney Vilson etc who are still household names in Kerala. She knows these athletes and sports persons had been employed by different firms like railways, kerala police etc..

 What she does not know is that in India cricket is one sport, perhaps the only one, that gives financial security to the players. She sure does not know that BCCI is the world’s second richest sports organization. It is about time other sports also had their fair share of wealth. The champions deserve to be able to concentrate on their game without having to worry about their livelihood...

The Jumbo bids adieu...

The legendary Indian spinner Anil Kumble, Jumbo, has bid farewell to the game yesterday. He has taken the tough decision keeping in mind the recurring injuries that have plagued him in recent years. As the Jumbo retreats, he leaves behind a distinguished legacy. Over the last 18 years, he has given us a lot to cherish.

 Beyond the stupendous achievements that are evident in the statistics, Anil Kumble has inspired us by his brave heart. The picture of the Jumbo bowling with a fractured jaw at Antigua, and getting the prized scalp of the all time great Brian Lara is forever etched in our minds...This man has been the epitome of dignity and decency in the gentleman’s game. Naturally, he commands respect both on and off the field. He is a true role model, and may God give him all that he wish for in the years to come...

 We love you Jumbo..... 

The farce of Indian politics....

The North Indian politicians have burst out against the sorry state of affairs in the Congress ruled Maharashtra. The crimes against the North Indian labourers in Maharashtra, especially the financial capital of India - Mumbai, have made these political parties come out in open against their coalition partner at the centre. Amar Singh even attacked the Prime Minister openly by referring to him as inefficient...

 While watching these soulful saviours of Indian public fume publicly on the regional decisive politics, I could not but wonder why none of these leaders voice as strong an opinion about the terrorism issue. The least they could have done is to ask for the resignation of the most inefficient home minister the country has ever seen, on moral grounds..

 Our leaders have become so selfish and inhumane that they are incapable of analysing any issue on its merits..All that matter to them is vote bank politics...And these stalwarts of Indian politics, (some of whom may have had a better career as a comic artist in Bollywood), are a shame on this great nation... I guess we deserve to be ruled by these rare species, because after all, we voted for them....

 These jokers would come to us within months to ask for votes in spite of losing all moral authority to do so... I strongly feel that the ballot machine should offer the option of ‘None of the above candidates’ to the voters. This would absolve us from having to choose between the devil and the demon for lack of option to discard both.....

The nation being torn apart...

As a blogger, I am finding myself posting about terrorist strikes and bomb blasts in India so often. It has almost become a routine. I could as well prepare posts on the same topic in advance and perhaps replace the place, date and other relevant details as and when the terrorists chose to strike...

 Really, this is getting far too ridiculous...The Central as well as the State governments have failed miserably in ensuring safety to the hapless citizens of this great nation. What a shameful state of affairs..And the grand old party of Indian politics, The Indian National Congress is presiding over the inefficient Government...

Happy Diwali.....

The festival of lights is here...wish it would illuminate the whole world...wish all of us could be happier...wish the world would be peaceful...

Malegaon blasts...Warning bells ringing??

The startling discovery that extremist groups among the Hindudtva brigade is behind the Malegaon blasts has come as a real shock to many. Terrorist activities can have no justification at all, and killing of innocent people has to be deplored altogether.

At this juncture, the country would do well to take note of the frustrations and underlying anger of the majority community too, for a change. Over sixty years, the nation has tried to appease the so called ‘minority sections of the society’ in all possible ways. It is another matter whether the appeasement and sops have actually benefits the needy among these sections. The failure to uplift the needy should have been reason enough to re-think the strategy. Instead, the political class continued to play vote bank politics even at the risk of antagonising the weaker sections of the majority community. This sad state of affairs have flared up to such an extent that different communities have become entirely self-centred and greedy. Sadly, this is the perfect recipe for disaster..

Can India summon the courage and the vision to rethink its socio-economic policies to benefit the poor, irrespective of caste and religion? Can it show the guts to crush terrorism regardless of the ideological leanings? Above all, can we ever become a truly secular nation where state does not discriminate among various castes and religions?

Chandrayan..Yet another achievement for the nation…

ISRO’s Chandrayan mission has placed Indian in an elite club of countries having moon mission. This is a proud moment for the nation and once that has far reaching impact for the country as a whole.

A pleasing consequence would be a spur in scientific interest among the youth of this great nation. ISRO could offer challenging and fruitful career to the scientifically inclined young minds of India and could pave way for the brain drain to be arrested to a certain extend…

The Indian government’s inertia...

The Indian government’s inertia...

As the financial tsunami is taking the world by storm, our government is still on the defensive, It is amazing to watch the finance minister and the economist prime minister keep reiterating wishful thinking. The crisis calls for swift action, something this government is totally incapable of. We have seen the same lacklustre approach costing us dearly in the fight against terrorism, inflation, unemployment and economic imbalance. One can only hope that the current financial tsunami might blow over India without causing further damage. In the event of further crisis, we cannot count on these wise heads to be accountable.

 The great flaw of our democracy is that we often have to pay dearly for the mistakes of those whom we elect. 

Team India’s fabulous victory over the mighty Aussies...

A test match victory is always a moment to cherish. Team India’s incredible authentic victory over the mighty Australia in the Mohali test is a studendous one. The 320 runs margin of the victory amply demonstrates the total dominance of the Indian team over the Aussies.

 It was a team effort in which each and every member contributed. The veterans Sachin and Saurav showed the way, and the others were more than happy to follow. Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and the captain M.S.Dhoni thrashed the Aussie bowlers.

Indian bowling was up to the mark. The debutant Mishra had a dream spell in the first innings. Zaheer, Ishanth and Harbhajan , all chipped in. The fielding was also superb.

 Congratulations to team India...

Dada in 7000 run club....

The Indian fans were in for a double delight when Sourav Ganguly entered the 7000 test run club. The Dada has served the nation with such high dignity and talent, he deserves to retire in a blaze of glory...

Sachin’s amazing run continues...

Over the years, the little champion has enthralled the whole world and made us proud. We are fortunate that we have been able to watch the master blaster surpass Brian Lara’s record. Congratulations Sachin...

The Pooja festival...

Wishing all Happy and Prosperous Pooja celebrations...

The reports that could help.. Kudos to NDTV

On 6^th October 2008, NDTV news channel showed a report about the Navarthri celebrations in Pakistan. The report showed Hindus in Pakistan celebrating the festival. Some Musilm neighbours also seemed to be enjoying the spectacle. The report also showed a group of men and women singing and dancing in traditional style, praising the Devi Matha.

 I must admit the report was a shock to me, albeit a pleasant one. The typical notions of life across the border were shaken. But then those notions were based on the stereotype stories.

 NDTV has done well to break out of tradition and show us a glimpse of smiles, joys and celebrations of ordinary Pakistanis.

 Today, on 8^th October 2008, NDTV showed a report by Ms. Munizay Jehangir. ‘being a woman in Taliban country’. The report showed the plight of young Pakistani girls who were not allowed to get themselves educated in a school by Taliban. These girls had to move away from their native place, out of the Taliban stronghold, and pursue their education in boarding schools.

 The spirit and courage of these young girls is commendable, and these reports evoke a feeling of empathy. Such reports showing different aspects of ordinary Pakistanis daily life will help build mutual understanding and trust among the people of both nations. Kudos to NDTV....

The Singur fiasco..

The TATA's decision to pull out of Singur has shattered those who have been given jobs in the project. Hundreds of villagers from in and around Singur suddenly find their dreams blown away. There are lots more who have been hopeful of gaining from the arrival of the dream project in Singur. I can’t but feel that the media should have projected these voices more prominently than or at least as prominently as the Mamata’s agitation.

 The politicians have once again failed the people. As usual, we the people are paying the price...

Violence continues..

The law and order situation in Orissa has not improved till now. The continuing violence is a sad testimony to the extent of mistrust and rivalry that exists between the communities. It is easy to jump on to any of the two bandwagons – the so called secular or anti-secular ones.

 Sadly, serious efforts to reconcile the communities are nowhere to be seen. These days, all aspects of our life seem to be hijacked by the politicians and religious leaders. As usual, we the people are paying the price...

India-France Nuclear treaty..tilting the global power balance

India has made the much awaited entry in to the world of nuclear trade. Ironically, France has beaten USA to the inking of the bilateral treaty with the most lucrative market.

 Let us hope that the nuclear trade would stand the nation in good stead as India looks to take over the centre stage from western countries.  Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh’s statement that India and China have to take the initiative to rescue the world from the financial chaos resulting from US economic crisis signals the imminent shift in global political and economic power balance.