Parliament or a fish market !!!

The 15th Lok sabha session has come and gone and what a shame it was for democracy. This session would be more remembered for all the wrong reasons. Pepper spray, Black-out in TV relay when the Telengana bill was passed in the Lower House, Shouting in the well of the house and snatching of mikes and shredding of documents... One wonders whether they are the same people elected by the citizens of this country. They behaved like hooligans, goondas , thugs and criminals (which some people might well be).

The productivity was 61% and was the lowest in the last 50 years . Only 177 bills out of the 326 put forward were passed and it was a brazen show of wastage of tax payers' and public money. But do they really care? They have made the public look like fools which in a way we are.

 Has this set a bad precedent for the future? It well might be. This might well be the standard operating procedure of the Parliament in the years to come. The Opposition will not allow the smooth passage of Bills nor the efficient conduct of the House. However, what was very disturbing in the 15th Lok sabha session was the coalition members of the UPA and the Congress party MP's themselves were creating ruckus inside the House. The ruling party had absolutely no control over their members and it was a sorry state of affairs. Amidst all this din and furore , our PM was virtually sleeping through with eyes open. This has become a Brand Manmohan style of inefficiency to the hilt.

We as voters have also a role to play in this fiasco. All said and done it is we who elect these rowdies to the House and then see these kind of "tamaashaas" happening in the House. The next election is due in April/May 2014. Will we be wise enough to elect quality people as our representatives who will maintain the decency and decorum of the House. We reap what we sow. So let's be careful in the choice of our candidates instead of allowing them to make our Country a laughing stock in the eyes of the World.

Indians- Do we lack the killer instinct?

Are Indians basically soft by nature and is that an impediment to achieving our goals?
The ongoing second cricket  test match between India and New Zealand is just a case in point. We had a commanding 246 runs lead after the first innings. Then brought N.Z to the knees with 94 for 5. Just when people were talking about the post match ceremony, India took the foot off the gas pedal. Not taking away any credit from Brendon Mcullum and Watling but in their 352 runs partnership, one could see a listless Indian team with a pedestrian approach and negative bowling line.. Brendon Mcullum went on to score 302 runs and N.Z declared with a lead of 434 runs. India, playing under tremendous pressure became 10 for 2 and should have been 31 for 3 had the Umpire not goofed in Giving Kohli not out. It could well have been curtains for India had it not been for what turned out to be a brilliant unbeaten century by Kohli. What should have been an easy win for us turned out as India trying to save the match with their backs to the wall.


Is it that our culture and tradition is coming in the way to annihilate the opposition? This takes me back down the memory lane to 1974 U.S Open Tennis. Vijay Amrithraj was to play Ken Rosewall in the quarter finals. Before the match, Vijay was interviewed and was asked what he feels about the prospects of the match. His reply was " It is an honour and privilege  to play against the great Rosewall and that's all am thinking about now". It is nice to feel like that but the attitude was a give-away. Sure enough, Vijay lost the match. When Rosewall met Jimmy Conners in the finals of the same U.S Open, to the same question to Conners, he replied " anyone standing on the other side of the net is my enemy and i shall finish him off ". So he did. Conners thrashed Rosewall 6-1, 6-0, 6-1. This essentially sums up the attitude of us and the others.

In the other cricket series going on now between Australia and South Africa, one can see how Mitchell Johnson and Australia literally pulverized the Springboks. They wait for the door to open an inch and then drive the wedge and push it ajar. That requires an attitude and self belief which we sadly seem to lack. The present lot of Indian cricketers like Kohli, Jadeja, Dhawan, Raina etc... may be lot better in being brash compared to the earlier generation of cricketers but we just don't have that little something extra to finish off the opposition when they are virtually down and out.

It is this attitude and the will to win against all odds that will make a Team a Champion. We are quite some way off from achieving that slot. One only hopes that this younger generation of cricketers will find their mojo and take us to the top.

City of the Golden Temple- Amritsar

Think of Amritsar and what comes to mind is the Golden Temple. My wife and I visited Amritsar for a couple of days in April 2012(16^th and 17^th).

The temple is extremely clean and volunteers ensure that it is kept that way by regularly washing the marble floors. People stand in queue to gain entry to the “Harmandir sahib”(the sanctum sanctorum) but there is hardly any jostling for position. Chanting of prayers by the priests goes on the whole day but the noise level is minimal.  I am not a very religious person but no temple has evoked so much of inner peace and tranquility in me as the Golden temple. There is orderliness in every activity inside the temple.

Majestic temple-180 kgm gold used.

Clean temple

After landing in the Airport, we got into a free bus pick up to the Golden temple. The moment one approaches near the temple complex, one can see the difference in attitude. People are friendly and very helpful. We were taken to the baggage room and left our luggage in the locker. Everything is free inside the temple, be it the baggage locker room, the shoe-stand, water or the food they serve (called “Langar”). A lot of planning by the temple management has gone into ensuring tourist friendly arrangements. Every detail like baggage trolley and wheel chairs for the physically challenged are provided free right at the point where the bus delivers the visitors. Small things like a foot rest to unlace ones shoes are provided.

Wheel chairs and baggage trolley

Lakshmi using the foot rest.

We were so impressed that we visited the temple on both the days of our stay and had “Langar” there. The food was simple but tasty with chapatti, daal and kheer. The free food is served 24x7 and caters to 20000 people a day.

Lakshmi partaking in the "Langar".

People waiting for the free lunch to be served

Chalk marks showing the bullet marks.

Jallianwala Bagh- the site of the massacre by Brigadier Dyer on April 13,1919, the Punjabi new year day- is situated very near the temple. 389 innocent citizens died and more than 2000 wounded during the indiscriminate firing. The scenes from the movie "Gandhi" showing this incident flashed through my mind and i felt so terrible standing where the firing took place. People were shot when they were trying to escape by climbing the wall and there were others who jumped into the well and lost their lives. The chalk marks in the walls capture the bullet marks.  

View of the crowd in the Wagha border ceremony.

The much hyped Attari-Wagha border was our next visit. This is about 23 kms from Amritsar and is the border between india-Pakistan. Every day evening they conduct a flag lowering ceremony with March past by the Border security forces (BSF). Similar function happens simultaneously on the Pakistan side by their army. This function is more of grandstanding and dramatization by the military and i did not feel any patriotic fervor by this exercise.Also, they have separate enclosure for men and women and when the gates were opened for entry to the venue, people rush in pushing others almost causing a stampede. We also visited the Attari Railway station which is the last station in the Indian side before the Pakistan border.   




The nest visit was the Rambagh museum. This houses the paintings on Maharaja Ranjith Singh who was called the Lion of Punjab.

Ista hotel with Alpha one mall.

We stayed in Hotel Ista (http://www.istahotels.com/hotels-amritsar.aspx)  which is a business hotel right next to the Alpha one city center Mall in the main G.T Road.The hotel is famous for its spa and Ayurveda massage. This is the only hotel where they offer a "pillow menu" where in one can choose from a variety of pillows to suit ones preference. I had one of the most wonderful sleeps with the cozy pillow. A console box is kept near the bedside table from where one can control all the electrical functions of the room. No wonder they pride themselves in calling a hi-tech hotel. However, a major drawback was in not providing a health faucet in the toilet.




As a city, Amritsar is quite dirty. The approach road to the temple is so narrow and it was a miracle how our bus maneuvered through these. These streets also form the shopping center and one can imagine how crowded the narrow streets would be. However, it really was fun to go through shopping among the crowds. Amritsar is famous for its Phulkari dress material and Patiala salwars. But, the thing that captured Lakshmi's taste buds was the "Kulfi" she had in a road side shop. It was probably one of the best kulfi we have had.

Delicious kulfi with rose syrup.

Lakshmi in a cycle rickshaw.

We tried all forms of transportation during this visit. We came by flight from Delhi and then boarded the bus to go to the temple. After the temple visit, we took a car to the Wagha border and back to the hotel. The next day we took an Auto rickshaw to the temple and wound up taking a cycle rickshaw to go to the museum and our shopping visits. That is vehicular variety at its best.




A wonderful trip and would surely like to come back another time to visit the temple and of course to try the kulfi.

                                                                       

Travelogue- Visit to beautiful Kullu / Manali

As part of my 60th birthday celebration, my son and daughter and their spouses offered us a trip to Kullu/Manali. My wife had never been to Himachal Pradesh(H.P) and hence we were only too happy to accept the offer.

Lakshmi in the hotel balcony

The tour package was from Delhi and was done through Bharath Booking Holidays ( http://www.bharatbooking.com/ ). Delhi to Manali ( about 520 kms ) was done in a Volvo bus in 13 hours. The route wasDelhi-Karnal-Panipat-Kurukshetra-Ambala-Roopnagar-Bilaspur-Mandi-Kullu-Manali.

The bus journey was comfortable but the dinner stop at Kurukshetra was in a road side Dhaba which had very poor toilet facilities especially for women.

Perched at an altitude of 1950 m (6400 ft) in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh state is the small, picturesque town of Manali. The Kullu/Manali valley is full of apple orchards and Ber trees. 

Manali is about 250 Kms from Shimla, the capital of H.P and we visited  from the 11^thApril, 2012 to 14^th April, 2012.In Manali, we were received by our cab driver/guide Kuldip and were put up at Hotel Naina Resorts. This is a decent hotel and offers a breathtaking view of the mountains and the River Beas from our room(see pic).

Day 1:  It was cold, raining and suddenly snow started falling. Mid April was not really snow time but i guess  we were lucky. Our guide suggested that we go to the “snow point“ which is in Solang valley, about 20 kms from our hotel. We rented some snow outfit and “ear cover” to guard us against the cold. Tourism being the main source of revenue, shops do mint money from the visitors. We paid an exorbitant rent of Rs.600/snow outfit and bought the “ear cover” for Rs.40. (we later found out it was available for Rs.5 in other shops). But, we forgot all about it when we reached the snow point.

Enjoying the hot corn cob

This was a beautiful place with snow covered mountains and ice banks on both sides of the road.  There were a lot of people trying their hand at skiing. We had our share of snowball fight. Lakshmi bought a “hot corn cob” and really relished it in the biting cold weather (see picture).

After an eventful experience in the snow, we visited the “Saint Vashisht temple” with it’s hot-springs. The water felt so hot for the initial touch, but you start feeling comfortable after some time. After the icy sojourn, this felt very soothing.

Day 2:  After a sumptuous breakfast of Poori, Chole and fried eggs, we set out for Kullu which is about 40 kms south of Manali. We were to have another adventurous day in the Beas waters. We went for “white water rafting” and the feeling of joy is to be felt to be believed. Lakshmi was initially a bit scared, as she didn’t know swimming, but minutes after setting off for the 7 kms ride(25 mins), we were soaked with excitement and fully drenched in water. The water current throwing the raft off the water and sometimes the raft bumping against the rocks in the water was really a thrilling experience. This was the place where the Ad film for “Mountain Dew” drink was shot as also the film “Krish” with Hrithik Roshan.( see video of our rafting).

Right across the river was the Vaishno Devi temple. After worship, we sat down for lunch offered by the temple. This is called “Bandaar” (free lunch). It was simple but delicious with rice, daal and a side dish.

Kullu district is famous for shawl manufacture and we did visit a factory producing shawls. Woolen sweaters and pashmina shawls are famous in H.P. 

Many would not know that Manali houses the famous “Nicholas Roerich” arts gallery. Roerich was a famous Russian painter, environmentalist and a philosopher. He spent a lot of time in the Himalayas as a mystic and his paintings depict this aspect of spiritualism. The museum also showcases the house he lived.

The remaining part of the day was spent in visiting the Naggar castle, Gayathri temple, Tripurasundari temple and a Tibetan Monastry. Naggar castle was earlier a Royal residence but since turned into a hotel and is now frequented by Bollywood for film shooting. Was a long day but enjoyable.

Day 3 & 4: we visited the “Van Vihar”( like a Botanical gardens). This place is full of Deodhar trees valued at about Rs.230 million. A lovely and cool place which reminds us to preserve our environment and be eco-friendly. It has a small lake where one can use the pedal boats.

We also went to the Hadimba temple located in the midst of the Deodhar trees. Like most houses in Manali, this is also constructed using slates as a roof cover. Slate has a low water absorption index and hence resistant to frost damage.

We did spend some time strolling down “The Mall”. Mall is a strip of road that has all the shops and restaurants. Bargaining is a way of life for shoppers and one can be happy to find that 40-50% discount can be had from the original price.

Plenty of roadside restaurants and Dhabas line up the Mall and food generally tastes good in most of these places.

A trip we would cherish for a long time. It gave us a chance to be young again and try our hand in adventure sports. Last but not the least, we also tried the traditional H.P dress and kinda looked nice in the outfit.

Dressed in traditional Himachal Pradesh attire.

President Obama's gutsy decision

More often than not people on the sidelines or arm chair politicians loosely comment about people in leadership positions. That is a curse the leader has to live with. However, great leaders go ahead with their convictions in what they think is the overall good. In this context, Obama's decision stands out as exceptionally brave. Ordering a secret attack in Bin laden's hide-out in Pakistan was fraught with danger. Should the mission have failed or mis-fired, Obama would have been in the receiving end of world ridicule. The responsibility that weighed on his shoulders and the enormity of the dilemma was mind-boggling. Most world leaders in his position would not have had the guts or the gumption to take the decision he did. This is where the best gets separated from the others. That the operation went thro' successfully was a fitting outcome for his bold decision. Rewards are commensurate with the risks and it is no wonder that Obama's popularity ratings went thro' the roof after this event. Kudos to him.

That this mission was aimed at eliminating the most wanted terrorist in the world helped in galvanizing the world opinion in lavishing praise on Obama. However, one hopes that such events are not taken as a precedent in clandestinely encroaching on a sovereign country for other flimsy reasons.



That Pakistan has been helping and shielding Osama has become blatantly clear. The very fact that Osama has been living just a stones throw from the military Academy clearly shows the nexus. It needs a strong leader and a stronger government to reverse this trend in Pakistan.

Dhoni's leadership qualities

"Cool as cucumber". That saying is probably history for the Indians. They now say "cool as Dhoni". Yes! That is one of the many attributes of this man. Always cool, calm,composed. That is his Brand image and he has worked hard at it. Whatever be the situation, however much the pressure and tension, one hardly sees Dhoni getting rattled or tensed. Don't get me wrong. He must be feeling all the tension and pressure inside of him. Everyone faces pressure-cooker situations in life. It is how you deal with them that separates the good from the great. People who say they don't feel pressure or fear are telling a lie. Every leader feels it. But great leaders don't show it outside. The leaders' body language is keenly watched by his team and Dhoni has always excelled in this aspect with his positive energy.

He must be one of the very few sports leaders who have led different groups of people and still delivered the winning mantra on each occasion. Starting with the T-20 world cup win in 2007, he brought India to No.1 ranking in both the Test and O.D.I format. He also led the Chennai Super Kings(CSK) to its IPL win as also in the Champions league. To lead the Indian test team consisting of the senior stalwarts and then leading and nurturing the youngsters in the other formats of the game shows his man management and motivational skills as a leader.

In the 2011 world cup final match, he promoted himself up the batting order even though he has had a below par batting performance in the tournament. That required guts and sent a clear message to the opposition that " i am going to take you on". When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Dhoni proved that by leading from the front and taking Team India to victory.



There is a lot one can learn about Leadership attributes from Dhoni . One hopes that once Dhoni hangs his boots, he would probably use these Leadership skills to better and bigger use to society in general.

The year 2010- A Flashback

The year started with the official opening of the world's tallest man-made structure- The Burj Khalifa in Dubai- on Jan 4th. Before the world could rejoice came the news of the Haiti earthquake on 12th Jan. More than 230,000 people lost their lives in one of the worst quake disasters in the history. April saw the Volcanic ash eruption from the mountains of Iceland disrupting Air traffic in Europe.

More misery was to follow when BP's Deep water Horizon oil platform exploded off the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th. One of the worst oil spill resulted from this which polluted and damaged the waters, marine life and coastline of the U.S.A. After close to three months, on 15h July, the well was finally capped after 4.9 million barrels (about 206 million gallons)of crude oil spillage.

World economy was still in tatters especially the Western countries. Iceland went to bankruptcy. Greece was downgraded to "junk" status in May. The Euro zone and IMF had to work out a Euro 110 billion package to bail out Greece. Later during the year, Republic of Ireland had to be bailed out with a 85 billion euro package. Amidst all this chaos, the silver lining was the successful conduct of the FIFA world cup football in South Africa during June-July which Spain won.

The Wikileaks came out in July which shook the world and put U.S to shame exposing their misdeeds in Iraq and Afghanistan.Further leaks during the year added to their embarrassment.

More bad news in August when 33 Chilean miners were trapped 700 meters below in the mines in Chile. After a 69 days ordeal, they were remarkably rescued on 13th October.

India went through it's share of woes in the form of scams and corruption in the X1X Commonwealth games( Kalmadi and party), 2G telecom auction (minister Raja) and the Adarsh housing allotment. Inflation and food article prices sky rocketed with onion prices reaching 120 Rs/kg. The winter session of the Parliament virtually came to a standstill with the opposition stalling the proceedings in view of corruption charges against ministers and the Government. The ruling UPA government's credibility took a severe beating.

The year 2010 was dominated by more negative news than positive. Let us hope that the year 2011 turns out to be a good one.

Commonwealth Games mess- Shame to India

The Commonwealth Games 2010 (CWG) has put the last nail in the coffin and the shame and embarrassment to India is complete. The Organizing committee (OC) and the Government machinery are clueless about damage control. It is abundantly clear that those like Kalmadi and his team have absolutely no organizing capability and leadership to conduct an international event of this magnitude. They are highly capable in being corrupt and in that they have done a wonderful job which few can surpass.

With just a day to go before the athletes start checking into the CWG village, the conditions of the apartments as reported are pathetic. The toilets are dirty, the electrical connections and fittings are poorly laid and security in utter disarray. Foreign delegates have said in clear terms that the accommodation provided is filthy and uninhabitable. The secretary of the Organizing committee Mr.Bhanot has the temerity to say that “it is not a matter of shame. Their standards of hygiene differ from ours”. This is the kind of jokers we have to run the show. Coupled with these is the collapse of the foot bridge near the stadium which is the proverbial last straw in the camel’s back.

It was in 2003 that India was sanctioned to conduct CWG 2010. For seven years the OC personnel had a merry time travelling abroad to “see how international events are conducted”. Mr.Kalmadi says that the facilities would be better than what was put up by China during Olympics. Yes, his personal facilities would have improved by leaps and bounds. He has been singularly responsible in ensuring that India’s paper tiger can never stand up to the planning and precision of the dragon. China was ready with their infrastructure one year ahead of the games.

The fact that all the top international athletes have pulled out of the fray is indicative of what others think of this CWG. Of course India will net a bagful of Gold as they will compete with lowly placed sporting nations.

The damage done to our country is irreparable. Our image has taken a severe beating in the International circles thanks to corrupt officials The first thing the Government should do after the games is to publicly sack all concerned from the post and ensure they are barred from any public or political postings in future. Corrupt officials should be behind bars.

Is lure of money confined only to cricket?

News about the Pakistani cricketers involved in “spot-fixing” was a shocking revelation. This is not the first time and certainly it won’t be the last. The lure of money has made even the strong willed persons to succumb to the temptations and hence lesser mortals falling prey is no surprise

Newspapers had it in their front page. The media grabbed this scoop with both hands and splashed the video footage all day long with panel discussions with eminent people. The channels were vying more for their target rating points (TRP) and not so much for their concern for the issue. If they were really concerned about bribery or corruption, there were so many cases involving our politicians, MP’s and Ministers which have been there for ages. Not a single case has been brought to books and the concerned people put behind bars. Corporate and companies grease the palms of Government staff to get things done. Have we stooped to the level of accepting these occurrences as normal and routine?

I am not trying to down play the incident of match fixing. Let us get this straight. Whatever may be the temptations, the people involved in this spot- fixing will have to be sacked and imposed a life ban from playing any form of cricket. The severity of the punishment should be a deterrent for any player to even think of such an act in the future. My submission is why different yardsticks for different category of people. There are 150 MP’s in the Lok Sabha with criminal records. Our whole system comprising politicians, Ministers, police force, Judiciary, corporate etc… is in a total mess with bribe and corruption.

I don’t believe that the media cannot unearth these wrongdoings with clear video proof. If the media claims to be responsible citizens and the fourth pillar of democracy, then let them expose incidents of governance which really has put our country to shame. Even the Government has agreed that only ten percent of the financial aid earmarked for the poor reaches the deserving people. Middle men and politicians pocket the rest. Any Government which cheats the poor who have no other recourse is not worth governing the country. Politicians who enrich their pockets at the cost of the poor and downtrodden have no moral standing and should be banished. Unfortunately every political party is rooted with corruption.

Finally, what the media has done in the case of this spot-fixing scandal is commendable. Hopefully, with proper follow-up actions, this will cleanse the system. Let the media take more important issues that besets our country and help to cleanse the corrupt politicians and departments

Pitches that kill Test cricket

The second cricket test match between Sri Lanka and India at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo( SSC) was a farce of a test match. Have a couple of more pitches like this in every test playing country and it is a sure shot recipe for killing the test cricket. As such the advent of one day cricket and T-20 have shifted the viewership and interest away from test cricket. Hence it becomes imperative that sporting pitches are designed for test cricket so that connoisseurs of the game could see an even and fair contest between bat and ball.

Pitches like SSC where a total of close to 1500 runs were scored for just 17 wickets will drive even the ardent fans away from test cricket. Three centuries( Mahela Jayawardana,Paranavitana and Raina), Two double hundreds( Sangakara and Tendulkar) and Sewag's 99 are scores which were not surprising in this pitch. What would make news in this kind of pitch is when a batsman fails to score a century and in that way Dravid and Laxman made the headlines. The SSC pitch can write obituaries for many a bowler.

Many construe cricket as a batsmen's game and most rules are bent in favour of batsmen. On top of that if one comes across pitches like this, it is the ultimate death knell for the bowlers. Unless the respective cricket Boards ensure that strict orders are given to the groundsmen to make pitches which are conducive to good contest, it won't be far before we see the last of test matches.

Murali scales peak 800

Muttiah Muralidharan,the smiling assassin scalped eight wickets in his last test match and conquered the unimaginable and magic figure of 800 test wickets. 67 five wicket haul in an innings, 22 ten wicket haul in a match- can it be anything other than magical? Few people in test cricket would have undergone the trauma that Murali underwent when he was called for "chucking" in Australia. With his captain Arjuna Ranatunga and the Sri Lankan cricket Board backing him to the hilt, he came through unscathed. He even underwent the scrutiny of his action through scientific study and the ICC Technical committee cleared him.

Even under normal circumstances, this record of 800 wickets would be well nigh impossible to surpass. However, with the capsuled versions of the game gaining ground, one can say with conviction that this test record will stand the test of time like the record of Bradman's batting average of 99.94. Coupled with his record in one day cricket as the highest wicket taker, he has truly attained the status of a legend who becomes incomparable.

With all his achievements, Murali is still such an unassuming person. Like Tendulkar, Federer and Vishwanathan Anand, Murali joins those selected category of people who believe that the pinnacle of glory can go hand in hand with humility. That by itself is as great an achievement as his world record number of wickets.

The world will always remember Murali and till cricket stays, Murali will always adorn the record books.

Parents

My friend had put up the article below in facebook and it impressed me very much. Am reproducing the article below.

This was narrated by an IAF pilot to IIT students during a Seminar on Human Relations:

Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents.

My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air.. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.

As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true.

Without understanding the financial situati on, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us? Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.

Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When m y daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments. Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes.

Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too..

Take care of your parents. THEY ARE PRECIOUS.

BP's oil spill catastrophe

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been spewing about 25,000-30,000 barrels a day for the last 50 days. That would be close to one million gallons per day. The damages resulting from the oil slick are estimated to be more than $10 billion. But how can one put a value for the death of all those sea animals. This has been a catastrophe of unimaginable proportion and the solution to cap the oil spill is still evading BP.

The irony is that this is not the first time that BP is involved in such a fiasco. There have been similar oil spills and one would have thought that BP would have at least learnt a few lessons from it. However, they have been fooling the world by stating that they have geared themselves to facing such crisis. It is now evident that the company is totally ill-equipped for such eventualities.

Now, it has become such a global disaster that problem is no more BP’S alone even though they are fully responsible and accountable. The “top kill” operation has not been successful and the experts are putting their thinking caps to come out with a solution. One hopes that the solution comes sooner than later.

This is a warning bell for all oil exploration companies and research efforts will have to focus on preventing such eventualities and also to finding quick answers if such a calamity happens. This also leads one to reiterate that the Governments world over will be better of to channel their efforts away from oil and focus on other forms of energy like solar, wind etc..

The damage this disaster has caused to the species in the ocean has to be evaluated. It is quite possible that some of the rare species are close to extinction. Already there is media news that some rare and endangered species of sea turtles are washed ashore dead. Pelicans have been spotted in Louisiana covered with the oil slick. It would be a big tragedy that the humans have brought forth to the Bio-diversity.

Let us hope that we learn from our mistakes.

Crown for Viswanathan Anand and Brickbats for Team India in cricket

The victory of Viswanathan Anand and the crushing ouster of the Indian cricket team from the world T20 championships remind me of Charles Dickens’ “The tale of two cities”. The outcome of the two events was like chalk and cheese- One reaching the zenith and the other touching the abyss. Cricket in India has been so revered that the country goes ga-ga when Team India wins but the fans also throw brickbats when the Team does bad. No other sport or games attract so much attention which is unfortunate. Anand has done so commendably right thro his career but has failed to get the accolade and adulation from the Indian people as much as his cricket counterparts.

Anand has won four world chess titles, out of which three were undisputed world champion in 2007, 2008 and now in 2010. A remarkable achievement by any standards and it puts him among the all time greats in chess history.He is the first player in chess history to have won the world championship in three different formats: knockout, tournament and Match.Consistency has been his hallmark which is sadly missing with our cricket team. The level of commitment and hard work Anand puts in before his world title match should be an eye opener to our cricketers. His focus is so much that for the six months prior to the title match, all he thinks of is his opponent and how to tackle him and nothing else. Most of our cricketers don’t know how to handle the short pitched deliveries on the field nor the late night parties off the field. However, they behave like they are the Gods. It is the Anands, Federers, Tendulkars who are the true greats of the modern sports and these people are humble. The lesser mortals wag their tail when they should actually be going to the drawing board and practice.

The world chess crown rests majestically on Anand’s balanced head. Chess is such a mental game involving tremendous amount of stress. Anand had to travel 40 hours by road (due to the volcanic ash) to reach the playing venue. He lost the first game to Topalov but regained his composure to come back strongly to win by 6.5-5.5.

It is high time we realize who the real greats are who bring laurels to our country consistently. We should acknowledge such achievements, admire such people and reward them suitably.

The IPL broth is boiling

Lalit Modi must now be wondering why at all he tweeted mentioning about Sunanda Pushkar. That was the fodder for the media and all hell broke loose. Shashi Tharoor who claimed to be a mentor of the IPL Kochi team and a “close friend” of Sunanda was dragged in the melee and charges and counter charges were traded. The Government was visibly embarrassed both inside and outside of Parliament with the Opposition gunning for them.

Tharoor was forced to resign and the Government now began to show their vendetta on the opposition and on Lalit Modi and the IPL fraternity of office bearers, Franchisees and just about everybody even remotely connected to them. IT raids were happening on dime a dozen offices every day. Politicians and other cabinet Minister’s names were falling out like nine pins. Now everyone wants to keep away from Lalit Modi.

In support of Lalit Modi, one would say he was a “go-getter” and a person with a tremendous drive and energy. The way he shifted IPL 2 to South Africa and conducted it with clock work precision was taken note of by the world with awe and astonishment. He was a no-nonsense person and would even trample on his detractors to achieve his end. He built up a lot enemies in the process but even his worst enemies will not undermine his abilities.

However, Lalit Modi went overboard in presenting IPL as an entertainment. Yes, with Bollywood celebrities, late night parties, wine and women in plenty, there was no dearth for entertainment. Everything pointed for the can of worms to be opened and that’s exactly what happened.

The Government’s investigation and the media’s news are throwing up a lot of names both in the political and at the ministerial level. The probe will have to be done thoroughly and not by a joint parliament committee (JPC) as the opposition parties claim. The JPC will only ensure that nothing will happen.

One hopes that through all this mess will evolve a clear direction. IPL should not be killed but the administration should be made accountable and governed by a clear set of rules and guidelines.BCCI and IPL will have to abide by corporate rules and political interference should be removed.

The Mumbai Express derails in Chennai- IPL 2010

Mumbai Indians (MI) was having a run too good to believe. So, it had to happen sometime and on the 6th April 2010 it took place. The Mumbai Express derailed in Chennai. It was a combination of good bowling by CSK and Hara-kiri committed by MI batsmen.

With Albie Morkel sitting out due to injury, the team management took a rather bold decision to bring in Thushara and Hussey and dropping Muralitharan. It was a gamble but as it turned out Thushara played a crucial role by claiming two wickets and a very good catch.

The score of 165 by CSK was a par score for Chepauk. The Chennai team would have felt that they were about 10-15 runs short but Harbhajan and Pollard bowled very well to contain CSK.

MI started off with a bang with Sachin and Dhawan putting on 46 runs in quick time. More than the guile of the CSK bowlers, it was the Chennai heat and humidity that was taking a toll on Tendulkar. The Master had to retire due to dehydration with MI score reading 62. This probably proved the decisive factor of the match. In a space of just over five overs Mumbai collapsed from 62 for 1 to 89 for 7. The spinners Ashwin, Raina and Jakati used the slowness of the wicket splendidly but it was unimaginative batting from the Mumbai players and poor shot selection. Even a Tendulkar returning at 89 for 7 couldn’t change the course at that time.

It was a much needed win for CSK to regain momentum and look positively for the matches ahead. CSK should take one match at a time and not look at the semi final berth now. The return of Bollinger has really added value in the bowling department. CSK will do well to go with Hayden,Hussey,Bollinger and Muralitharan as the four foreign players in the next couple of matches. Albie Morkel can replace Hussey or Hayden depending on circumstances.

Go Chennai go.

Introspection time for Chennai Super Kings(CSK)

Five down and nine matches to go for CSK in the league stage in the IPL 3. With just two wins so far, they are not exactly in the comfort zone. Experienced heads in the team will come together to analyze and evolve a strategy for the games ahead. But let us be proactive and look at the positives and negatives that have emanated so far and see where exactly CSK have gone wrong and the corrective actions needed.

The positive take from the five matches so far has been the brilliant bowling of Murali followed by Morkel and to a lesser degree by Balaji. In batting Dhoni (till he was injured) is in form, Hayden is shaping well and there has been bits and pieces knock by Raina, Badrinath.

The negatives so far have been a handful. Bowling at the “death overs” has been a major cause of concern. Against the Deccan Chargers and the Royal Challengers (RCB), CSK gave away close to thirteen runs per over in the last five overs. The other area of worry is the way batsmen get into panic mode. This was visible in the last two games. Against Kings X1, Punjab, needing just 5.4 runs per over in the last eight overs with nine wickets in hand, CSK blew it away. CSK fans would have really missed Dhoni’s cool temperament in these times. Surprisingly, fielding has let the team down in some of the matches especially against RCB.

The road ahead requires clear planning and execution. The return of Dhoni shortly would be a great morale booster. That would really strengthen the batting and exert a calming influence on the players. Depending on the team composition, Morkel /Murali /Kemp should be used in the last five overs to avoid big leakage of runs and Balaji /Ashwin /Tyagi to finish their quota before.

India goes big ticket for womankind

India made history of sorts on 9th March, 2010 when the Upper house passed the Women's reservation bill reserving 33% seats for Women in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies. This would be the 108th change in the constitution. They might have symbolically missed it by a day to commemorate the 100th anniversary of International women's year but in a country where decisions are male dominated and male centric, this move comes as a giant leap for womanhood. The Upper House witnessed unruly scenes of opposition from the Samajwadi Party, RJD etc and the abstinence of the Trinamool congress. Seven members were suspended and physically removed from the floor of the House. But the Congress and the BJP, Left parties and other UPA allies should be commended.

There is still a long way to go as the Lower House will have to clear the Bill. Here it might be more difficult and would witness more protests but finally it would make it through.Before the Bill is passed into law, the pros and cons like which are the seats reserved for women, what is the quota for minorities etc.. will have to be discussed. These issues are more likely to bring out problem areas. But, a good beginning is made and it will be a red letter day for India.

The real gender equality comes when it is truly implemented by the letter and spirit. It will take some time before the hurt male ego is redressed and the real transfer of power goes to women instead of back seat driving. The ball is set rolling and now people will have to work towards achieving the intended end.

Budget India 2010-11

On 6th July,2009 when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee finished his 2009-10 budget presentation, the stock market had tanked by more than 5%. Even though, given the economic context it was a good budget as reported in my earlier blog of July 8th, 2009. However, this time around when he presented the budget today, the market went up by 1.3%. The general pre-budget opinion was a mixture of caution with fear. People were expecting that the Finance Minister would roll back all the excise duty cuts he made during pre- election as part of the economic stimulus package. But Pranab Mukherjee turned the tables on them by coming with another balanced budget.

He has promised to bring the fiscal deficit from 6.8% of GDP in 2009-10 to 5.5% in 2010-11 and has made a road map to bring it to 4% in the third year. Also, he has promised to implement the direct tax code(DTC) and goods and service tax(GST) by 1/4/2011. He has provided more money to the poor thro' National rural employment guarantee scheme(NREGA).

He has managed to increase the 10% i/tax slab from Rs.3 lakhs to 5 lakhs and similar enhancement for 20% tax slab from Rs.5 to 8 lakhs. This would really help the salaried class. However, he has made no changes in the base exemption limit of Rs.1.6 lakh. With inflation going thro' the roof, one would have expected relief in this as the value of the money has been eroded. The other surprising proposal was to roll back the duty on crude and petroleum products. Also he has enhanced the excise duty on petroleum produts by Re.1. This would increase the petrol rate by Rs.2.7 and Diesel by Rs.2.55. this will have a ripple effect and spiralling inflation. This brought uproar from the opposition who staged a walkout.

My first impression of the budget is the Finance Minister has by and large kept his earlier promise and has looked at the future pragmatically taking India to the 9% GDP growth era. Well done. i would give 7 out of 10 marks.

God- thy name is Sachin Tendulkar

In India, cricket is a religion and Sachin Tendulkar is God. For twenty years he has held onto this exalted position where people revere him. In his playing years, cricket has undergone lot of changes like most things have. We have the longer version in the form of test cricket which most cricketers believe is the ultimate test of skill, endurance and patience. Then we have the capsuled version of the 50 over one day . In the last four years we have the slam bang variety of the 20 over game what with the IPL which has progressed leaps and bounds.

The greatness in a person hovers around how he adapts to all these types of format and comes out tops in all the three versions. That's exactly what Sachin has done. For twenty years his body has taken the grind in all forms of cricket and he has surpassed all obstacles to be in top.

More than 31,000 runs in international cricket( tests + ODI), 93 centuries, several world records including the aggregate number of runs in test and ODI, maximum number of centuries in tests, ODI . On 24Th February, 2010, he created another world record when he became the only person to score a ODI double century which he got against South Africa in Gwalior. Records are meant to be broken they say, but i have a strong belief that there are certain records which are going to be his own.

He is an icon in India. His fans would say " we have seen God and He bats No.4 for India". For all the adulation, Sachin is a very unassuming person. Both on the field and off it, he is mild mannered, no touch of arrogance, has respect and admiration for fellow players and mixes with people freely. This is another great hallmark of this person. Success has not got to his head as it had with so many sports persons who ended up in the dumps. The balance and poise he displays are remarkable and worth emulating by present day sports persons.

At 37 years now, some people might have thought he should lay down his boots. But he is probably having the best season of his 20 year career in 2009-10 with an average of 78.3 in tests with six centuries. What he plans to do, only God knows and he is God.