MAD ANT

TELLY-FREE time

2012-01-23T15:47:00.000+04:00

Earlier this month, we had some furniture work done at home, which required us to disconnect our television. Effectively, we were without TV for close to two weeks, and this proved to be a real blessing in disguise. My family bonds are extremely thick and we share a beautiful relationship at home, but truth be told, on most ordinary days, once everyone is back home in the evening from his/her respective routine, we tend to plonk ourselves in front of the idiot box. All attempts at a conversation are subordinated to the telly.
The first couple of days without the TV were the severest in terms of withdrawal symptoms, but as more days unraveled, we realized that we were have great conversations and were really bonding a lot more as a family. It not only got us closer as a family, but was also a lot more fun. This got me wondering on the dominance of television at home and how we were actually much better off without it. But before I could carry this thread of thought towards any meaningful action, the furniture work was done, the television was hooked back on and we all slipped into our habits of old. However, this glimpse of life without the telly, without the ceaseless allure of the box, has got my better instincts hankering for more telly-free time.

ball tampering...II

2011-10-08T15:54:00.002+04:00

So the question now is, “Do I support legalizing ball tampering?”. And the answer is that I do not. If ball tampering is legalized, it will be very difficult to put a line between what should be allowed and what should not. The focus of bowling will shift from bowling skills to ball manipulating skills, a wholly unattractive prospect.
I do, however hope for some other interventions that will help even the contest between bat and ball. After all, most people will agree that Cricket is most fun when there is a keen contest between bat and ball rather than just between the batsmen of two teams. So here are some suggestions that could help:

1. Restrict the size (width) of the bat blade. The bat blades today are nearly as thick as the face and it really is cruel on the bowlers when mishits and edges cross the rope. Thinner blades should ensure that mishits remain in the field of play, giving the bowling side a chance to catch the erring batsman out.

2. Make ball seams more prominent. There is inconsistency in the prominence of the seam between balls manufactured by different companies. While there is much scope for consistency, there should also be a move in favor of balls with more prominent seams and perhaps even rules that define the minimum and maximum prominence of the seam, which should take a level that is more that what it is at today. This will naturally benefit fast bowlers, but will also help spinners as gripping will be easier. However, spinners will have to watch out for seam-cuts. They can get very painful over time.

3. Make fairer pitches. The recent Champions League run-fest is a case in point. Enough has already been said on this topic. I need not add anything more.

4. Do not pull the boundary ropes in for limited overs matches.

5. Start with two new balls, one at each end.

6. And a final word to bowlers EVOLVE! Much has changed in Cricket over the past few decades. Fielding has advanced to new and dizzy levels since the lazy days of yore. Even batting has evolved to the demands of the modern game. There is so much more that bowlers can do to enhance their craft if only they collectively get out of this defensive and ‘being-persecuted’ mindset and meet the challenges of modern Cricket head-on.

what is ball tampering?

2011-09-30T15:14:00.000+04:00

It was interesting to read about Shoaib Akhtar bringing up the ball tampering issue in his autobiography, “Controversially Yours”. His opinion is that ball tampering should be legalized, the rationale being that everyone does it and in a game which is so blatantly lopsided in favour of the batsmen, every little that the bowler can do to even the contest should be welcomed. So let us understand this a bit more. What is ball tampering? According to Cricket law 42, sub-section 3, legitimate treatment of the ball is restricted to polishing it without the use of any artificial substances. Therefore, bodily secretions like sweat and saliva are allowed to be used to shine the ball. The ball is also allowed to be polished on the clothes that the cricketers wear provided there is no artificial polishing or unusually abrasive material used. Use of a towel to clean mud off the ball is allowed under the umpire’s supervision. Therefore, the use of Vaseline, toffee induced saliva, and other such material to shine the ball is considered tampering. The use of zips, shoe nails, finger nails, bottle caps other sharp objects to roughen up the ball is considered tampering, and to alter the shape and prominence of the seam, using nails to pick the seam, or to alter the shape of the ball outside the natural scope of the game, is considered tampering.
The second question is, why tamper with the ball? I will not go into the physics of swing bowling. Suffice is to say that it is believed that altering the shape of the ball or making the seam more prominent, especially unevenly prominent, or tampering with the ball to increase the difference between the shiny and the scruffy sides influences air interaction with the ball and the pitch response to the seam, and can therefore provide prodigious swing and seam movement.
We’ve now very briefly looked at what ball tampering is and why some bowlers resort to it. In my next post, I will opine on whether it should be legalized or not.

Salute our HOCKEY boys!!

2011-09-12T14:16:00.003+04:00

India WON the Asian Hockey Championship yesterday by beating arch-rivals Pakistan in a tense penalty shootout in the Finals played at Ordos, China. Congratulations to the boys, who thoroughly deserve this.

It's a shame that none of the sport channels telecast this match. In fact, ESPN and Star Cricket telecast the India-England cricket match concurrently. One hopes that this win will see some more, and hopefully sustained interest in Indian Hockey.

All-round Spinner

2011-08-08T10:31:00.001+04:00

In 2002, in a talk in Melbourne, I had predicted that one of the most important ways for spin bowling to survive would be to do away with the largely unnecessary classifications of leg spin and off spin. After all, a fast bowler isn’t expected to stick to only out-swing or in-swing. In fact, he is required to develop and use a much wider repertoire of pace and length variations, swing, seam, cut and anything else that he may be able to conjure up. Then why this artificial limitation on spinners? I had argued that a spinner should be able to develop and bowl all kinds of spin and that doing so will not dilute his art but will enhance all aspects of it. I had taken the example of Sachin Tendulkar – in my opinion, the best spinner that India never had – bowling all kinds of spin and doing so quite effectively.
The arguments against this were three-fold. One, that off-spin is finger spin and leg-spin is wrist spin, both requiring very different physiological manipulations. Two, that the doosra and the googly obviate the need for an all-round spinner, and three, that setting a field to multiple spin is extremely challenging. I don’t buy any of these arguments. Firstly, the ‘physiological manipulations’ that one speaks of aren’t that many. Appropriate practice at the junior level will allow for easier assimilation of both disciplines. I suppose, control is essentially what one is talking about and I firmly believe that, through practice, control can be brought to all flavours of spin. Secondly, having variations within off-spin or leg-spin does not mean that an all-round spinner cannot develop all these variations. Thirdly, with modern inventions like the reverse-sweep, traditional fields for defensive and attacking spin bowling are in any case changing. Dual spin will help evolve an entirely new set of field placement logic.

I also argued that over-reliance on a particular set of muscles causes stress injuries over the long run. Distribution of work-load across a wider musculature, as in the case of an all-round spinner would also reduce injury risk and lengthen careers.

Any opinions on this?

Left-Handers facing up to bouncers

2011-08-08T09:38:00.000+04:00

Discerning viewers will have noticed that the three batsmen who had real trouble with the short ball were all left-handers – Abhinav Mukund, Suresh Raina, and Yuvraj Singh. As a left-hander myself, I feel certain that it is much tougher for lefties to negotiate bouncers from right arm fast bowlers than it is for righties. The angle itself is such that more often than not, the short ball heads for the body. In such a scenario, it is difficult to sway backwards out of the way of squat to let the ball pass over. The only way I have found which works for all seasons is to bend from the waist under the ball. Since this technique is not classical and is never taught, it is up to the batsman himself to work this out and then to implement it.

Bhajji and India's spin woes

2011-07-28T11:16:00.000+04:00

Dhoni’s enduring fascination with Harbhajan Singh is a mystery to me. For some time now, it has been evident that Bhajji is no longer the test bowler that he was many seasons ago. Perhaps his improved batting skills have helped him keep his place in the squad. However, bowling is his major discipline and the Lords Test just reinforced his continuing extraordinarily ordinary test bowling form. I say test bowling form because he’s ok for one-dayers. He is accurate and uses his experience to contain runs, and his lusty batting is a bonus. However, his lack of variations is hurting him in tests. No longer do we see the beguiling loop, the doosra, the shooter, the drift, the variations in pace…all such essentials of any spin bowler’s armory. I don’t rate Amit Mishra too highly either. He’s a decent bowler, nothing earth-shattering. He doesn’t have too many variations, but to his credit, he isn’t afraid to use all that he has. But he would be a better choice than Harbhajan. The best choice though is cooling his heels in India. Ravichandran Ashwin’s exclusion from the squad of 17 defies logic (what is Wriddhiman Saha doing there?). I don’t say that R. Ashwin is the finished product yet. He is good though has a lot to learn. He makes good use of his height, bowling with a high arm action, and also has a few tricks. As is the modern trend, he doesn’t turn the ball much and doesn’t have much drift and loop. These are areas where he can certainly improve. In my book though, he is a much better bet than Harbhajan and Mishra. His strength of character, so evident in the IPL, could also have helped him tackle the challenges of this tour.
How deeply we are missing Kumble is evident from our spin bowling woes. I feel certain that if we were to SOS him get him to turn up at Trent Bridge tomorrow without a minute of net practice behind him, he would still be much more effective than Bhajji.

Varun Aaron

2011-07-23T16:05:00.002+04:00

Seeing India’s fast bowling woes yesterday (Lord’s Test, London) on a seaming wicket under overcast conditions on a day 1 pitch got me thinking about a conversation I had with one of my friends last week. He’s one of the few from my Cricketing circle who is still playing, and at close to the highest level. I asked him who he thought was the fastest bowler in India and he unhesitatingly mentioned Varun Aaron of Jharkhand and said that this kid needs to be fast-tracked into the Indian team. Subsequently, I read somewhere that Aaron managed to hit 153kmph in a Ranji game, which is genuinely quick. I checked out his bowling on youtube and saw a lot of promise. Good built, easy action (though can be much better, and hence he can get much quicker), great wrist position...he’s got all the raw material to be a fine fast bowler.
When I was in active Cricket, I always wanted to be a fast bowler. While I would not have admitted it then, I now feel that I did not have the physique that one requires to bowl consistently fast over a few seasons. At my peak, I was a fairly nippy customer, but not genuinely fast. Fast bowling has always fascinated me and I get excited to see any promising talent. I remember getting excited when I first saw VRV Singh, Munaf Patel (yes, he was in the ‘fast’ category at one time) and Ishant Sharma. From a fast bowling perspective, all have turned out to be disappointing, though Ishant is still capable of hitting the mid 140’s and is still only 22, so no judgement on him yet. I just hope that Varun keeps his pace up and gets into the Indian squad sooner rather than later, for we desperately need a genuine speedster.

enjoying my Squash!

2011-05-31T11:35:00.003+04:00

Over the past few months, I’ve become mad-keen on squash. It’s a demanding sport and with my crook knee, I have to extra careful, but I’d like to continue playing till I physically can, and also participate in some tournaments, just to get a sense of the local competition and what level I am at. It also is a great way to challenge oneself by competing with different opponents using differing styles of play. Definitely a great way to improve one’s game.

I’ve also been watching some squash, a little on TV but mostly on the internet. A lot of the chat on squash forums is dominated by plaintive calls to include squash as an Olympic sport. Personally, I haven’t joined this chorus, though with all its virtues, why squash is not a part of the Olympics beats me. Just goes to show that none of these decisions are objective in the least. As a keen amateur, I’ve restricted myself to nicks, drops, lobs, boasts etc. and leave the lobbying to others. I’ve watched quite a few of the modern greats (post Jonathan Powers, Peter Nicol era), and am impressed by the dominance of the Egyptians and the English. Of the top 30 players, 9 are from Egypt and 8 from England, 3 from Australia, 2 each from France and Malaysia and 1 each from Netherlands, India, Pakistan, Canada, Columbia and Finland.

I’ve watched world no. 24, India’s Saurav Ghosal play and he is very impressive. He bases himself in England and trains with Michael and James Willstrop. Nick Matthew is the current world no. 1 and he has a SOLID all round game. I also admire the young phenomenon, Ramy Ashour, who’s undoubtedly going to end his career as one of the all time greats of squash. He has tremendous speed and court coverage, as well as phenomenal racket skills. But the one player that I admire the most is Egypt’s Amr Shabana. He’s a left hander like I am, and has unbelievable court sense, racket skills and ball control. Some of the angles and nicks he gets are incredible to watch.

The World Cup, with this attack!! No Way.

2011-02-28T16:16:00.001+04:00

We got out of jail yesterday but after this performance, anyone who thinks India is still a favourite is in dreamland. Of all the major teams, we have got the weakest bowling attack, which is made to look worse by some miserable fielding. No team has won the world cup with such a light bowling attack.
I was wondering yesterday how we would fare with this attack in test matches. At least in one-dayers, the misery has to end with 50 overs but in tests, there is no such compulsion!
I wish I could give some ideas to MSD but we look really bare on the bench too. One thing I can suggest though is that we should field like tigers, which for out pampered lot is easier said than done. Virat, Yuvraj, Raina (when playing), Gambhir and Pathan need to set the tone. That’s the only way we can go some distance in CWC 2011.

Ntini's sendoff

2011-01-10T09:34:00.002+04:00

The pitch at the Moses Mahida stadium yesterday was surprisingly timid and sub-continental in nature. This was especially so considering it was a farewell match of one of the most celebrated and well liked fast bowlers of the modern era. The nature of the pitch afforded the likes of Rahul Sharma and Suresh Raina – both a little iffy against short, pacy stuff – to plonk their front foot forward and hit through or across the line.

But the farewell that Ntini got was memorable, notwithstanding the punishment that his bowling got. The crowd cheered him on every ball and he was given the opportunity to field on all sides of the stadium in order to make the farewell more personal. There were lots of emotional and celebratory scenes, both before and after the match and Ntini himself was thoroughly involved throughout.

Asia Bibi case - who is the real culprit!!

2010-11-23T12:44:00.001+04:00

What are we coming to as humans? Are we really so blind as to not notice who the real culprits are? Pakistan’s Asia Bibi – a Christian – has been tried, found guilty of blasphemy and been sentenced to death. As I write, the latest coming in from Pakistan is that she is likely to receive a Presidential pardon. In June last year, Asia Bibi, a poor laborer was working in the fields with some Muslim women when a petty quarrel erupted. Asia fetched water for the other women but some of them refused it because a Christian (Asia Bibi) had touched it. In the ensuing row, Asia is ‘alleged’ to have insulted the Prophet. A local Mullah, who was not even present during these altercations filed a blasphemy case against her.
Now, as a human, I see a clear case, not against Asia, but against the women who refused to take water from her because she is Christian. They have displayed the most blatant religious prejudice, something which is a punishable crime in all evolved societies. Yet, for Pakistan, this angle hasn’t even registered on its collective conscience. What a shame!

India - The Best Team in the World???

2010-11-10T15:32:00.002+04:00

This post would have made a lot more sense before the fright that the New Zealanders gave us last week.

There’s been a lot of talk about this Indian team being the best team in the world. Unfortunately, when even a cursory but honest audit of all teams is done, I’d have to concur. And I say unfortunately because I feel very strongly that this Indian team is not really a great team, yet it is lucky to be playing in an era of extreme mediocrity.
Pakistani and West Indian Cricket are in perpetual though different kinds of crisis. Pakistan has a crisis of morals and West Indies has a crisis of talent, born out of a decline in interest. Zimbabwe is virtually isolated and ignored in World Cricket. Bangladesh has promise but still has some way to go before they can challenge the ones at the top. New Zealand has a doughty but talent-light squad. Australia hasn’t fully recovered from the retirement of its legends, Warne, McGrath, Brett Lee, Hayden, the Waugh’s, Gilchrist and Langer and don’t look nearly as invulnerable as they did a few years ago. This leaves Sri Lanka, South Africa and England. Sri Lanka has lost Murali and there is an over-reliance on Sanga, Jayawardane and Malinga. While they are a good team, their batting looks shaky and in the bowling, there’s not too much beyond Malinga. South Africa and England are the only teams that can be counted as genuine threats to the Indian team but they too are not even close to being dominant.

Just think of the Aussie squad of the late 90’s and early 2000’s and the legendary West Indian team of the 70’s and 80’s. Will we ever get to see their like again?

Corporate Siddha Samadhi Yoga

2010-10-29T14:40:00.002+04:00

I have very recently gone through the ‘Corporate Siddha Samadhi Yoga’ program and found it excellent. A big THANK YOU to Sandeep Kulkarni, Pankaj Choudhari, and all the other selfless volunteers, as also all other participants who made it a memorable 10 days. For those of you who would like more information on SSY, don’t expect me to write it in this note, though you can get it here at the click of a button.

I will be going to the retreat in late November.

To all the fence sitters who have not yet committed to at least an introductory 7 day ‘Corporate SSY’ session, I say, “try it”! People are welcome to share their SSY experiences, positive or otherwise.

The Fastest Bowler of All Time

2010-09-13T08:37:00.001+04:00

Atul Sharma seems to have created quite a sensation since he was picked up by the Rajasthan Royals last year. Apparently, this 24 year old kid is something of a monster fast bowler capable of bowling at speeds touching 105mph!
The story goes that about 4 years ago, after reading Ian Pont’s ‘The Fast Bowler’s Bible’, he managed to contact Mr. Pont and convinced him (Pont) to have a look at him (Atul). At that time, Atul bowled with a front-on action at ~75mph. doesn’t sound too promising, huh? But through intense hard work, a fitness regimen more grueling than any I have seen, and an incredibly unique ‘javelin throwers’ action (underscoring the importance of cross-sport training), he has managed to increase his bowling speed to what it is today. Of course, he has Ian Pont to thank for most of this including the unique action and his equally distinctive exercise routines.
He was to have played in IPL 2, but an injury kept him out. if he gets a chance, I am keen to see him during IPL 3.
What is really strange though is that he hasn’t played a single Cricket game for the past 7-8 years, forget elite level, he hasn’t even played at the club level. My experience is that there is nothing that can replace actual match practice. Besides, bowling at high speeds isn’t the only weapon of a fast bowler. Without the other tricks, fast bowling can be dealt with quite severely by quality batsmen.
Having said this though, one must not underestimate the sheer impact of genuine pace. A delivery bowled at 80mph gives the batsman just over half a second to react. At 90mph, this reduces to ~455 milliseconds, at 95mph to ~431 milliseconds and at 100mph to ~410 milliseconds. At 105mph, the batsman gets a reaction time of ~390 milliseconds only. That’s 24% less time than what he gets at 80mph!
I am not suggesting that Atul Sharma can bowl each ball at 105mph but even the occasional >100mph effort ball can have devastating impact.
Let us hope that the mystique surrounding this sensation proves worth our time and that he does indeed go on to become the fastest bowler of all time.

Mr. Prime Minister

2010-08-14T18:43:00.001+04:00

Dear Prime Minister Manmohan Singhji,

I know that you are busy with the Commonwealth Games meeting so I will keep this short. Whether Kashmir should get freedom from India is moot but I can most assuredly tell you that India should get freedom from Kashmir.

Think about it.

Rahul Dravid's batting technique

2010-08-12T17:35:00.001+04:00

I feel for Rahul Dravid. He is perhaps the only batsman to have missed out on at least one big score during the recently concluded run fest in Sri Lanka. Which is a pity because I feel that everything is ticking well in his batting except one slight technical error that I have noticed consistently in the past couple of years. Bowlers, and especially fast bowlers who can exploit this error will succeed in getting him out bowled through the gate or LBW. Frankly, I’m quite surprised that our coaching staff haven’t already pointed this out to him, and the canny Cricketer that he is, he hasn’t detected it himself. Take one look at his backlift. It just is not straight enough. Where ideally it should point towards first slip, his is much more towards the gully region. Thus, his bat doesn’t come down in a ‘straight-bat’ arc but much more in the ‘cross-bat’ arc, which in turn tends to produce a gap between bat and pad.
This happens quite often with batsmen who use light bats. With lighter bats, one has to consciously practice using the top hand to lift the bat. This has to be done to the point that it becomes part of one’s muscle memory. Rahul Dravid will just need to go back to the nets and let his top hand (left hand) do all the controlling. I feel that once he sorts this out, he will easily get back to his heavy scoring ways.

Indian Cricketers - A Kick up their rear!

2010-05-13T15:22:00.005+04:00

The daggers are out and as expected, the witch hunt has begun. After India’s pathetic performance in the T20 World Cup, such reactions were to be expected and I would be remiss if I didn’t add my mite.

There’s nothing wrong with Indian Cricket that a big kick up the rear of all concerned with the sport cannot solve.

To start off with – BCCI, the sport administrators need a huge kick up their collective backside for the arrogance with which they run Indian Cricket, safe in the belief that come what may, Indians, the poor asses, will lap up anything that they dish out. The BCCI’s radar needs to re-focus on the development of Cricket in India. I don’t deny that monetizing certain aspects of any sport are critical to the growth of that sport. But when we start looking at IPL as the real deal and the last word in Cricketing competition – the pinnacle of a Cricketers achievement, we do the game and our country a huge disservice. With so much money in the game, is there any surprise that one does not see the same intensity from our Cricketers when they turn out to represent their country. The BCCI, given their credo of greed, wouldn’t flinch to sell even the space on each players eyelids; at a per blink rate. But jokes apart, such excesses are now expected from the BCCI.

And what about grassroots development of Cricket? What about talent spotting in the hinterlands, which is abundant with talent? What about more accountability to the paying public? How about creating a more competitive domestic competition (which is such a mass of mediocrity), and I mean, of the test Cricket variety, so that a players skills AND temperament are tested? And how about some sporting pitches at home, so that we can produce more fast bowlers and test our batsmen against the short stuff. There is so much that needs to change, one could go on ad nauseum.

A big kick up the rear of our elite Cricketers. Where’s your pride in representing India? Have you not learnt anything from spending so much time with legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble? It is not as if they never lost, but one could never question their intensity and passion and the pride that they took in playing for India. It would be easy for me to name players, Yuvraj Singh’s attitude being perfectly symptomatic of this air-headed arrogance syndrome. But more than individuals, it applies to the entire team and system. We know that you guys earn in one year what most mortals couldn’t make in a good lifetime. We also know that the meta-celebrity status and wealth, when coupled with your youth, is a combination that produces unbelievable arrogance and a disproportionate sense of one’s importance and skills. But grown up guys and learn quickly from the legends that you share your dressing-room with.

And the biggest kick up the rear is reserved for us. For deifying Cricketers to the detriment of all other sportspersons and their sport. India has an abundance of talent, and we have the potential to be a great sporting nation. None of this will ever happen if people do not actively reach out in support of other sport. And by support, I do not mean watching the English Premier League and cheering Man U, Real Madrid and the other clubs or by supporting Force India through lip-service. I mean that Corporates at the last mile grassroots level must put their time and money in sport other than Cricket. For this the government must take a stand and must professionalize sport bodies and state/national sport associations. For far too long, sport bodies have had politicians at the helm, with precious little to show for it, whether it be in improving elite level performance or in improving grassroots participation or in attracting sponsorship and monies to the sport.

And for average folks like you and me, let’s start by standing up and applauding Vishwanathan Anand for once again proving that there’s none like him. May his tribe increase.

Remarkable Denmark - short one

2010-05-04T14:50:00.001+04:00

I’ve been doing some research on Denmark and find it an extraordinarily environment savvy country. Denmark was the first country to have an environment ministry and has an environmental policy since the early 1970’s. Copenhagen is truly the most happening place to be for clean tech.

For a country to have such an evolved environmental policy with such a mass buy-in from the population, it must have an extraordinary set of politicians with an equally progressive minded population. I feel certain that there is much to be gained for both countries through a more meaningful people to people connect between India and Denmark.

working over!

2010-01-19T16:22:00.002+04:00

Has any one of you got a royal working over by Pune’s rikshawalls? I have, very recently. Having gotten off at Shivajinagar on my way back from Mumbai, I hailed a rikshaw and asked him if he would take me to Kothrud. The response I got was, ‘I’ll talk you anywhere in Pune as long as it is between 9am and 9pm and you are willing to pay’. Considering that a mere ‘yes’ would have sufficed, I figured that I’d come across that pestilential breed, Pune’s notoriously verbose rikshawalla. I sat with a foreboding of more verbal volleys and ere long, he fired the first salvo. ‘Do you know who really need reservations’? I could only shrug and ask sheepishly, ‘who’? ‘It’s the Brahmins. Your people (considering that I am fair and spoke chaste Marathi, it wasn’t too much of a stretch for him to guess that I was of Brahmin stock) will at least use reservations properly for development. Today all Brahmins are moving abroad and using their skills to develop other countries. And let me tell you, as a proud Maratha, I am 100% against reservations for Marathas. We don’t need them and even if we are to get reservations, we won’t use these properly’. ‘Hmmm’, I replied, non-committally. The next question wasn’t too far away, ‘Do you know the one factor that results in the development of any state’? I was increasingly beginning to feel ill at ease. He was asking me questions that had no easy answers. I tried my non-committal shrug once again but this time he was not so easy to placate. ‘Tell-tell’, he prompted. I said, ‘there can be so many reasons, what do you have in mind’. His answer, ‘WATER. Every state fights for it and the state that has ample of it will do well. That is the only way to prosperity’. His next question was more personal – ‘why do you think you are sitting back there and I am plying this rikshaw? What is the big difference between you and me?’ This question was uncomfortable because it offered no diplomatic escape. Thankfully, he was keen to bite into the answer. ‘ENGLISH! He exclaimed. You know it well and I don’t. And that is why I have put my son in an English school and will ensure that he gets all the advantages of a modern education’.
Thankfully, we were nearing our destination and conversation tends to flag towards the fag end of a journey. Within a couple of minutes, I was out and sitting home, savouring the quietude that only 6/2, Shree Ganesh Park, can provide.

SQUASHED!

2009-10-19T10:46:00.000+04:00

I started playing squash again a couple of months ago and realized just how unfit I am. Squash is a physically extremely demanding sport. In fact, in terms of calorie burning, squash is the fastest sport in the world – second to second, squash burns more calories than any other sport. I am not worried about my skills level. I’ve got plenty of skill and the old touch will return and even get better as I play more often. It is my stamina or the lack of it that is disturbing me. When I played squash the first time after a long time a couple of months ago, the pressure on my cardio-vascular system seemed immense, pushing my limits. Over the subsequent few sessions, this pressure seems to have eased through a combination of factors. Firstly, I do not push myself as hard because I know that it’ll be difficult for me to cope. And secondly, my stamina has definitely improved. Also, one gets better at judiciously utilizing ones energy when one gets to know where exactly to conserve energy and where to expend it. This knowledge comes only through experience.

Decided to run the Marathon

2009-04-17T06:58:00.000+04:00

So here’s the thing. I’m 29 years old; no spring-chicken by any stretch of the imagination, but young all the same. And I’ve decided to attempt next years Mumbai Marathon. For a guy who’s not been in peak fitness for quite a few years now, this will take some doing. Besides, I’ve got a crook left knee ligament, which will mean that I will have to be extra careful in training. After all, I can right now only imagine the pounding that my knee will take, first in training and then to run 42.195km. But my mind is made us. Of course, it really is a question of mind over matter.
Oh, and the second part of this decision is to attempt the run in under 4 hrs, which would mean an average speed of not less that 10.6km per hr. That in itself is daunting. My current comfortable jogging speed is around 8.5km/h.
So let’s begin with a few basic parameters:
Age: 29 years and 223 days
Weight: 87kgs (it was close to 98 a few months ago, so don’t scoff at the 87)
Current comfortable jogging distance: 3km
Current Speed: 8.5km/h
Doesn’t look promising, but what the heck.

Honest Appreciation

2009-02-27T13:42:00.003+04:00

I don't know what got into me but on my way to work today, I spotted a lone traffic cop trying his darndest to cope with what seemed to me an overwhelmingly difficult traffic situation at the Paud Phata junction. I crossed the junction, stopped my bike on the side of the road, and waited for the traffic to ease a bit. As soon as I noticed a half lull in the traffic, I strode across to the cop, grabbed his unsuspecting hand and told him how much I appreciated the work that he was doing, and how I realized what a thankless job his was and how I wished I could do more to ease things for him and his ilk. He didn't show too many emotions on his countenance but I dare say, he must have spent a second wondering what kind of a looney I was. Finally, hazarding a guess that I wasn't a looney of a dangerous variety, he mumbled what sounded like an expression of gratitude. Before he could follow that up with the inevitable questions, I turned around and continued on my merry way, certain in my knowledge that even if I haven't made his day, at least I have given him a story with which he could entertain his guests, should the need arise.

Gary Kirsten's mental conditioning

2008-11-14T14:36:00.000+04:00

In all the excitement surrounding India’s recent dramatic series victory against Australia, there’s one point that most people very curiously seem to have missed. Prior to Gary Kirsten taking over as India’s coach, a lot of our troubles – and successes even – were attributed to our coach. For some reason, this time, we don’t seem to see Gary’s name mentioned too often in discussions analyzing India’s success.
I, for one believe that Gary, and his professional partner and India’s mental conditioning coach, Paddy Upton, have had an enormous impact on the current crop of players. This Indian team seems a far cry from our teams of yore, who looked like buckling in under even the slightest pressure. This team seems to handle pressure exceptionally well, in fact, one can even say that they thrive on it. There were so many pressure situations during these four test matches and more often than not, the Indian team emerged with their noses ahead at each significant turn of events.

musings on my way to Karad

2008-10-30T15:28:00.000+04:00

On my way to Karad, I began musing on how much a favored part of the realm the southern part of Maharashtra is. It is lush, green, a treat for sore eyes. In stark contrast is the landscape that one encounters on ones way to Ahmednagar. Dry, deprived giving an appearance of neglect and dereliction.
Karad itself isn’t paradise, by any stretch of the imagination. I entered town from NH4 and within very little time, was lost in the chaos of the central market area. We proceeded along that road till we came to a bridge. Karad is at the confluence of Krishna and Koyna rivers. Upon crossing this rather modest bridge, one enters that part of Karad, which is referred to as ‘vidyanagari’, or ‘city of learning’. This area is definitely more pleasing to all the senses, with pleasant, tree-canopied roads, and inland woods never too far from the main road. All the main colleges and institutions of learning are to be found in this area. It rather reminded me of Baramati’s ‘vidya pratishthan’.

Is Cricket a Spectator Sport?

2008-05-02T16:44:00.001+04:00

Cricket just isn’t a spectator sport. It never was. It was always meant to be a leisurely diversion for British gentries played across long hours and days at an immensely soporific pace. The pace, thank heavens, has quickened with the introduction of limited overs Cricket. However, on a pure entertainment scale, there are many other sports that outcompete Cricket. One perennially perplexing point for me has been the popularity of Cricket in India. There is simply no logical reason why a sport, which takes up such huge amounts of time for so little output, should be so publicly adored. On the fitness scale, Cricketers would rank amongst the least fit sportsmen.
For one-dayers, out of 7 and a half hours of play, only 50 minutes is real action, out of which many balls are dot balls. That is a ratio of one active minute for every 9 inactive minutes (at best). That’s a ridiculously lopsided ratio for any spectator sport. The inactive parts increase manifold in test matches. As far as overall entertainment goes, Twenty-20’s are an improvement but the active/inactive ratio remains the same as one-dayers.
The only ones to profit from these huge lulls in play are the sponsors, who get plenty of time to squeeze in their promotional spiels.

Play straight, Sachin

2008-02-25T11:07:00.003+04:00

Readers may remember a post I had written a couple of months ago on Sachin's batting and his propensity to fall over, thereby making him a prime candidate for L.B.W. to fast incoming deliveries. The Australians seem to have caught on to this. In his last two innings against them, Sachin has gotten out L.B.W. to incoming deliveries. I reiterate; for a man who plays straight so well, he should be looking to do only that, especially early in his innings, similar to what Ponting did yesterday. Ponting's problems are similar to Sachins. A propensity to fall over and not play with the straight bat. In yesterday's innings, he corrected this. Viewers will remember an Ishant delivery that he tonked with the straight bat through mid-wicket. Sachin (and Ponting of a week ago too) would have tried to whip this delivery through square-leg. Ponting was not quite at his best but he certainly helped his cause by playing straight...and look what that got him.

I firmly believe that Sachin still has the caliber and motivation to deliver at the top of the order in one dayers but in my opinion, he MUST look to play straight, leading with his front shoulder and forearm (that's how Rahul Dravid plays so straight...he ALWAYS leads with his front shoulder and forearm of the top hand).

diary excerpts

2008-02-25T09:48:00.002+04:00

Some noncontroversial – some might even say ‘politically correct’- excerpts from my diary circa 2003.

9th June 2003 (at 23 years and newly landed in Dubai, where I lived till 2007)
As is start another edition of my diary, I look back reflectively at all my previous attempts at maintaining one. I cannot help but think, ‘is this diary also doomed to become unused after the initial enthusiasm has died down?’ I guess, only time will tell but ‘enthusiasm’ is the operative word here. If I can remain enthused about penning my two bobs worth, then perhaps this diary shall fare better than its predecessors.

10th June 2003
I marvel at Rahul Phondke’s wit! I find it incredibly difficult to write good humor and here we have this gentleman dishing out absolutely hilarious articles week after week. I wonder where he gets his inspiration from. One is reminded of the legendary Pu La Deshpande. Pu La’s wit is still a part of many a Maharashtrians’ life. Not only did he bring smiles; nay guffaws to many a face, he also very adroitly tackled societal issues with his satire and irony ridden pieces. It is one matter to be able to see the funny side of life; it is altogether another matter to be able to put these thoughts into words and elicit an equally mirthful response from ones audience. One can also, in the same breath mention P.G. Wodehouse and Ogden Nash as humorists who played a significant role in making their respective generations more appreciative of the funny bone.

13th June 2003
A few nights back, I chanted the gayatri mantra after a few OMkars and the effect was dramatic. For some time after this chanting, my mind was as fresh and clear as I can ever remember it to be. My cognitive faculties of retention, understanding, reflecting and reasoning were working at their best. In fact, I became conscious of this heightened awareness after a paragraph of ‘The Master and Margarita’, a novel by the Russian Mikhail Bulgakov. Till that moment, I was struggling to fully comprehend the meanings within that text. After the chants however, everything became crystal clear and the book made much easier reading. It is perhaps the alpha waves that these chants generate that makes the difference.

14th June 2003
What a difference a day makes. My experiences at Kish have been so astonishing that my thoughts of yesterday seem from another time and place, in all senses of this phrase. Till yesterday, I was writing in the comfortable confines of my home at Sharjah. Today, I am writing under the dull light of a large shared room in the deserted Kish island of Iran. I am sharing this room with two Pakistanis (who could do with a bath and shave), two Goans and a Kenyan. My meeting withy Mohammed Shehuna (the Kenyan) was strange, to say the least, but it was only the merest indication of things to come. Under circumstances that are too involved to discuss here, he was forced to deposit all his cash at the Kish Airlines counter at Dubai airport. I lent him some of my money and this gesture brought tears to his eyes. I was moved by how touched he was by my gesture, which in all honest, did not require much effort on my part (An interesting aside, I never got this money back from him). He has an interesting Arab, Yemeni, Canadian background. He says that he’s represented Kenya in football.
Kish Airlines is solely dedicated to the task of getting passengers from UAE to Kish Island for visa change and then to take them back to UAE. My hotel booking was also done through Kish Airlines. I’m being put up at Farabi Hotel, owned by – whom else – Kish Airlines. This hotel is more like a hostel, with shared accommodation, single beds side by side, large rooms with 5-6 people per room, pathetic food and a very shady under-life. One doesn’t even need to scratch the surface – it is so ‘in your face’ – to realize that pornography and prostitution thrives here, right under the purportedly strict Islamic code of Iran. Of course, the superficial prudish elements of Islam are followed. All women are required to cover their heads, and everyone is expected to dress modestly. So shorts are strictly prohibited. But the undercurrents of a strongly ‘un-Islamic’ culture run deep and strong.
The island itself is very small. Our plane was a dingy little contraption. Once we got in, everyone sat wherever they pleased. No one was required to take their designated seats. As we left Dubai and headed sea-wards, Mohammed told he that the next mass of land that we would see from the plane would be Kish, in the narrow Persian Gulf that separates UAE & Iran. Apparently he has been to Kish before.
Kish island from the plane looks very ‘desertish’ and dry. A sparse network of roads is visible but what hits one the most is the typical desert topography – the brown, parched earth with patches of palm stumps trying desperately to add a dash of green. As the plane descends to land, and as we rush towards the ground, I look outside to try and spot the airport and the tarmac. But till the last moment, it feels like the plane is going to land in desert sand, when suddenly a patch of black flashes and the plane touches down at the Kish Airport landing strip. The airport itself is unimpressive. There is no reason to expect more. It was made solely to service visa change passengers from UAE. No other airline flies to Kish.

23rd June 2003 (names in this one have been changed)
Preeti Desai will be getting engaged to Abhijit Kulkarni in July and married later this year. I still remember her telling me about her new crush, Abhijit. This was barely a month back, and now she is on course to get married to him. Of course, I also remember her proposal to me over e-mail. I do think that she really liked me and she would have chosen me over him had I accepted her proposal. On my part, I really admire her, and feel that she is as perfect a blend of beauty and brains (and modest too) that one can hope to get, but in my present state of flux, I find it hard to commit. Besides, I’m abroad now and long distance relationships rarely work.
She wanted, before she committed to Abhijit, to be sure that I was not available.

04th July 2003 (this one is really abstruse. I must have been in SOME state then, or maybe that’s a bit of mescaline talking)
There is a whole world in my head. Memories jostle for space with sensory perceptions and imagination matches fantasy stride for stride, to conjure us my reality, the collage of my thoughts. Emotions, those chemical processes triggered off by memories or sensory perceptions - other chemical processes - or even imagination, indicate the frailty of my mind. How easily does a thought trigger off an emotion, how quickly it changes my mood, from overcast to euphoric, from sublime to gross. These emotions play with the fabric of my personality, bleaching it at places, leaving stains somewhere else. Emotions play havoc with my thoughts and thoughts trigger emotions. It is a circle controllable only by understanding by emotional triggers and not suppressing them, rather, by giving them a name and putting them down in words. A nameless dread is far worse than a known fear, and a fear that is known seldom remains because once put in words, once understood, it is easy to realize that this fear is nothing but a play of the mind, the product of the interplay of reality and fantasy in the fecund and fertile fields of my mind. Emotions lose their control of your psyche because you cease to become attached to them. A mere silent observance of emotional responses, but observances as a third person, is enough to give us the source of that emotion.

spin

2008-02-02T14:59:00.000+04:00

A few days ago, I had the privilege to listen to an interview with one of the great unsung heroes of Cricket, Terry Jenner, coach of the legendary Shane Warne. Wasim Akram and Ravi Shastri conducted an absolutely fascinating interview with him.
Spin bowling, on the face of it, seems simple. I mean, how difficult can it be to gently lob a 5.5 ounce mass of cork, string and leather over 22 yards. Therein lies the challenge, though. While fast bowling is the ‘yang’ of bowling, spin is its ‘yin’. Guile, subtlety and uncompromising pursuit of mastery of this art define any successful spinner. I particularly enjoyed Jenner paraphrasing Bishan Singh Bedi, ‘spin is in the air, break is off the wicket’. How absolutely bang on spot! It got me into thinking why Harbhajan Singh is no longer the force that he once was. Romesh Powar and for that matter, even Sehwag look more dangerous than Harbhajan. I believe this is because he seems to have lost all his guile through the air. Warne was so successful because apart from his variations, big spin and accuracy, he did a lot through the air as well. His curve and dip was phenomenal, something that Harbhajan had, but seems to have forgotten.

Sachin still the best

2007-11-26T15:40:00.000+04:00

I take my words back. The way Sachin batted yesterday warmed the cockles of my heart, as I am sure it did of many of his admirers the world over. To me, he looked the most assured of all our batsmen, and while Ganguly may have scored at a much faster clip, Sachin absolutely never looked like he would get out; and he didn’t.
I personally think he is batting close to the best he ever has. I pray only that he continues delighting us in this same manner for many many more years.

Sachin's batting

2007-11-10T10:31:00.000+04:00

Notwithstanding his magnificent 99 a couple of days back, there's something about Sachin's batting that has been bothering me for a while now. It's quite strange, I had thought there'd be more written on this, certainly by our 'purists' of the game but I haven't seen much literature on this in the media. The point is, I find that Sachin is playing across the line more often than is judicious. I don't know if you guys have noticed it or not, but Sachin seems to be increasingly favouring the on-side, even to balls that have been pitched on the off and middle. Because of his precocious talent, he is able to get away with it at most times. However, over the past few months, people have come to believe that if Sachin has a weakness, it is against the in-coming ball. This weakness, I believe, is because of his recent tendency of whipping straight balls onto the on-side rather than playing them straight with the full face of the bat.
For a man who plays straight so beautifully, it is a pity that he has chosen these non-percentage whip shots. If it was Azhar playing these wristy whips, it would have met with my wholehearted approval; that is Azhars natural game. But Sachins natural game is straight; besides, straight is also safer and there are plenty of runs to be had down the ground, especially as an opener when mid-off and mid-on are inside the 30-yard ring.
I also have a feeling that Sachin tends to overbalance and fall very slightly towards the off-side just at the point of delivery. If this is the case, it may make sense for him to shuffle just that little bit so he can get into a balanced shot-making position.
We all know that Sachin has a great Cricketing brain and I am not really casting any aspersions on his Cricketing acumen. I'm only wondering that there isn't more debate on this point in the media, and indeed in Cricketing circles.

How we won Kondana (Sinhagad) - Part 1 (antecedents)

2006-10-16T22:31:00.000+04:00

The treaty of Purandar that Shivaji Raje was forced to sign with Mirza Raje Jai Singh in 1665 still hurts. Shivaji Raje had to surrender 23 vital forts to the Mughals.
We are in 1670 now. It has been five long years since the treaty and four years since Raje Shivaji and Sambhaji escaped from Agra where they were treated with utter humiliation by Aurangzeb in his court and were later put under house arrest, almost certainly to be put to death. Even though Raje does not say anything, we know that he is desperate to assert his influence in the Deccani region. Raje realises that to regain control over the Deccan and further the cause of Hindavi Swarajya, it is imperative that we capture Kondana because it is strategically located between Rajgad, Purandar and Torna. We had controlled the fort from 1650 to 1660 and had strengthened it to the extent that it is now genenrally recognised as virtually impossible to win by force.
In the past two months, Raje has had several meetings with his top generals, including Tanaji and Suryaji Malusare and Shelar mama. Raje has also gone to confer with Samarth Ramdas a number of times in the past months. There are reports of Tanaji gaining clandestine entry into the main fort precinct, incognito of course. He went dressed as a Gondhali (devotee of the Goddess Bhavani of Tuljapur) and was allowed free access to the villages surrounding Kondana. We have heard that he has won the trust of Mahadev Koli who is in the service of Udai Bhan. It is also rumored that Koli presented Tanaji (as a Gondhali) to Udai Bhan, who was suitably impressed by this "devotee" and allowed him free access to the fort.
Tanaji says that it will be foolhardy to attack the fort from the three sides where the well fortified and continuously manned turrets are. The fourth side has a turret overhanging a sheer cliff. Because of the sheet un-scalability of this cliff, the overhanging turret is very lightly guarded. We know from Tanaji that Udai Bhan has nightly parties with nearly all his 5000 troops, where alcohol is freely consumed. If the attack is to take place, it will happen on a moonless night from the cliff-side.
I can sense it, smell it in the air, in the chirping of the birds, in the nervous excitement of my comerades...war is in the offing. Kondana will be ours once again.

question

2006-10-13T12:54:00.000+04:00

On a plane that is about to crash, we have three groups. The first group, that of theists, on hearing that the plane is about to crash drop to the floor and start praying for divine intervention (which of course, never comes). The agnostics, typical of their 'on the fence' mentality remain undecided whether they should pray or should get up and do something to save the plane. The atheists, 'knowing' that there is no god to save them try their best to keep the plane going or at least land it safely. Perhaps the plane will crash despite all their efforts. But at least they will have tried their best to save the plane.
Now extrapolate this plane scenario to represent our world. What kind of people would you rether have in this world to ensure that it doesn't get destroyed? Question...question.

Shih

2006-10-04T13:08:00.000+04:00

Sun Tzu in ‘The Art of War’ tells us that the sage commander who can comprehend and use ‘Shih’ will more often than not be successful. ‘Shih’ is the power inherent in every situation. Sun Tzu deals specifically with situations of conflict, where ‘Shih’ is very nearly tangible. ‘Shih’ also ties in with the concept of ‘taking whole’ that Sun Tzu extols. At its core, ‘taking whole’ is about nonaggression in dealing with situations of conflict. As Sun Tzu says, winning 100 battles out of 100 is not the greatest – winning every battle without fighting is the greatest.

Gough and Lawson for Maharashtra

2006-09-23T14:52:00.000+04:00

I just read that Maharashtra is considering taking on Jermaine Lawson and/or Darren Gough as professionals for the 2006-07 season. Maharashtra has, of late, shown a tendency to look for talent outside its Cricketing borders. Besides wooing players from Mumbai (Sairaj Bahutule and Amol Muzumdar) and Munaf Patel from Gujarat, Maharashtra has also appointed the Aussie, Darren Holder as the coaching director of the team.
This is a huge step, not just financially but also strategically, though I'm not sure of its efficacy. With Munaf Patel on India duty for most of the season, Maharashtra really lacks genuine fast bowling options. Iqbal Siddiqui is past his peak and the others are - let's face it - not anywhere near being in the same league. I guess bringing on professionals from abroad could help in improving the fast bowling standards in Maharashtra provided the professionals are made to get involved in outreach programmes that focus on developing talent in the hinterlands. God knows there's plenty of untapped talent there.
Some years ago, when I was playing for PYC club in the Pune local league, we had a player, Kailash Hazare, come from one of the internal districts of Maharashtra. He was as quick as anything I have seen and could very well have gone on to better things, but for some reason, he didn't show up to play the following season. While I can't be sure, I feel his absence was because there was no one to guide him in terms of taking up Cricket as a career. I can name numerous such examples. In fact, every time I went on a Cricket tour to the interiors, I was startled at the talent there. These kids had a quick eye and nimber feet, though their techniques weren't always up to scratch and the bowlers were talented and enthusiastic...but raw. Well, I just hope that the Maharashtra Cricket Association does not lose sight of the real aim of taking on these foreign professionals, viz. creating a paradigm of spotting fast bowling talent and exposing it to international talent so they realise where they stand in the food chain and pick up some useful tips from players who have proven themselves at the international level.

Can you believe this!!

2006-09-16T16:36:00.000+04:00

One can only wonder at their audacity! Within a month after giving show-cause notices to 9 contrators for carrying our shoddy work - the roads these contractors had made were washed away with the first rain - the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has gone ahead and awarded another contract, this one worth Rs.1.38 crore to one of the offending contractors, Sunshine Pavings Pvt. Ltd. As usual, the PMC is tight-lipped with no justification being provided on why this contract has been awarded to a contractor who has a history of sub-standard work.
BetterRoads Pune and some other NGO's have decided to protest to this and we should hopefully see some action in the corporation soon.

Gosh! you're 27!!!

2006-09-07T16:37:00.000+04:00

I turned 27 yesterday. I came to Dubai when I was 23 and was very easily accommodated into my current circle of friends and was even pampered a bit, being one of the younger members of the group. Yesterday, when some of my friends asked my age, I in turn asked them to guess. Quite surprisingly for me, most guessed that I had turned 25 or 26. Not one guessed correctly. When I actually went on to tell them my age, I could see that many of them looked just a little troubled for a fraction of a second before forcing on a more cheery mask. I could understand the thought behind their troubled expressions though. If the baby of the group is ‘27’, then realization strikes that they themselves are pretty much on the fringe of their first youth, however much they may try to deny it, mostly to themselves. While there isn’t too much difference between 26 and 27, 26 can be called ‘mid-twenties’ while 27 will definitely go under ‘late-twenties’. I guess this subtle comprehension along with a sudden awareness of one’s own ageing body must have caused that momentary angst.

when hijacking a story

2006-09-03T18:11:00.000+04:00

We all are guilty of it. You hear a good and diverting story from a friend at some party. Many days hence, in another social gathering with a different set of people, you pass off that story as an incident you experienced yourself. I’ve done it a few time, I admit. Not very often, for my actual real life experiences are generally enough to keep everyone entertained. But on those rare occasions when you think that your friend’s experience will perfectly fit into the context of what is being discussed, you pop in that story; unchanged in most respects except the main protagonist has changed from your friend to you. One such occasion came up recently and I was halfway through my story when I realized that one of the people present had also been present when my friend had narrated the original story. Now, I may not move around in the most brainy circles but I was sure that this friend was gifted enough to put two and two together and call my bluff. My mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of this situation. At such times, when you most need it, no phone rings, no ones baby cries and you realize that your audience is hanging onto each word with bated breath, goading you with each silent gesture to carry on. Well, to cut a long story short, I couldn’t get out of it and I narrated the story, all the time praying that my friend would have forgotten the original. To give my friend credit, she didn’t comment at all when I finished my story and actually laughed as if she was hearing it for the first time. And then I realized that she probably ‘was’ hearing it for the first time. She’s a smoker, bless her tarred heart and the last time this story was being narrated, she was out in the balcony puffing away at one from her daily quota. That was a narrow escape though and I’ve become wiser now. I look around the room a bit more carefully before narrating a plagiarized story.

protest against balbharati-paud link road

2006-08-29T12:11:00.000+04:00

This post is in strong protest against the construction of the proposed Balbharati-Paud link road. I feel very strongly about this issue so please bear with me if I sound like a pain.
The Pune Municipal Corporation has sought to sanction the construction of the Balbharati-Paud link road. This proposed road, which, mind you, was never part of the Corporation’s ‘Pune Development Plan’, will cut a swath through the lush forest cover that our hills have been blessed with. The veritable and venerable lungs of our city will be depleted by at least 10,000 fully grown trees to clear the way for this link road. The road will skirt ILS Law College and ARAI on its way to Paud, thereby forever damaging the green heritage and silent nooks and crannies of this comely hill range. My stand on this issue is clear. Any compromise of the green cover of any place in untenable. In fact, we all should be pitching in to increase the green cover as well as improve what we already have, not destroy what already exists. In the rarest of rare cases, a compromise of the green cover of a city can be made only if it is the absolute last resort and when all other options have been exhausted. In the present case, most definitely this compromise cannot be made, not just because it is wrong to compromise our quality of life for the perceived benefits of better connectivity and potential de-congestion of Law College road but also because this explanation does not stand to logic. In the crisp words of Enrique Penalosa - the ex-mayor of Bogotá who transformed the city from a crime invested depressing place to a vibrant ‘community’ city - ‘Trying to address traffic jams by building road infrastructure is like putting out fire with gasoline." Quite a few Puneites support the construction of the link road because they believe that this road will provide the benefits mentioned earlier. However, many studies in Europe and elsewhere have established that building new roads is not an answer to traffic congestion. Building new roads will only encourage people to use more private transport and within no time, we will see congestion on the new road as well. This will also result in traffic related delays, thus nullifying any perceived benefit of making this link road. This vicious cycle of more roads, more vehicles, more pollution (noise and air), more accidents, more stress etc is very comprehensively documented by Dr. Adhiraj Joglekar here. So, not only will the road destroy Pune’s green heritage, which is alredy under threat but will also not serve the purpose that it is purportedly being constructed for...a double whammy against the construction of this road, if ever one was needed. Also, the thinking behind the construction of this road suggests that we are in imminent danger of being sucked into the limited thinking trap of measuring our progress by the 'number' of roads we have and the number of vehicles we have on those roads. Again, I quote Penalosa and no one says it better than him - 'Children are a kind of indicator species. If we can build a successful city for children, we will have a successful city for all people.'
The alternative solutions are drawn from the realisation that building more roads does not solve traffic problems. The most effective way in solving traffic problems, amongst other things, is by first creating a good mass transit bus system for the public, incentivising its use and disincentivising the usage of private vehicles. A good synopsis of the issue, including some photographs can he found here. Please sign the online petition provided on this page. This page also has another link that will give you the name and phone number or your area corporator. Please take some time to sign the petition. If you are in Pune and if you genuinely feel as I do, please call your area corporator to register your protest to the construction of the Balbharati-Paul link road. MORE POWER TO US!

six drown in Falna

2006-08-23T11:15:00.000+04:00

In India, there are so many instances of incidents that cause you to pause in incredulous shock, disbelief and anger. One such took place yesterday in the small town of Falna near Jodhpur. Five members of a family were trapped on a bridge across Khari river when the river overflowed. Within seconds, the bridge was submerged under three feet of water and the family climbed on top of their car in a vain attempt to keep themselves above the water line. As the water levels rose, the panicked family started calling for help. However – and this is what is most shocking – most of the people just stood around and gaped. More incredulously, among those looking was Rajasthan’s forest minister, Laxmi Narayan Dave. Two military officers tried to rescue the trapped people but the river current was so strong that one of the rescuers was himself drowned. I presume that the minister, in his exalted capacity had the political clout and the wherewithal to get in touch with someone from Jodhpur who could then have gotten the rescue machinery kicking and sent a helicopter to save these people. However, none of that happened. It took eight hours but the river finally took all five and their bodies were found in a decomposed state in some far-off village.
This makes me very angry and I am sure it does you too.
Laxmi Narayan Dave, I need scarcely remind you is the same minister who was arrested in 2004 for stopping a train and disrupting the railway schedule, presumably to suit his convenience.

How to bowl the fastest ball in Test cricket

2006-08-17T15:16:00.000+04:00

Some more gyan on bowling fast on Brett Lee's official website.

bowling fast - injury free

2006-08-07T18:01:00.000+04:00

One of the questions I get asked a lot is how one can keep injuries at bay as a fast bowler. In my opinion, there are various aspects to being able to bowl fast without injuring oneself. Essentially, they come under four headings:

1: body type
2: action (run-up, stride and delivery action)
3: practice
4: preparation for bowling

BODY TYPE: This may sound a bit harsh but I believe that one has to have the body structure to bowl fast. That is the first pre-requisite. Not that one can’t bowl fast if one is not physically designed to but it becomes much tougher to sustain high speeds without injury over a long period without the right physique. If one does not have the body structure to bowl fast, it is best to change one’s trade. Anil Kumble is a shining example of how one can become a very successful spinner even after spending most of the formative cricketing years bowling pace. The right physique starts with height (ideally not less than 6ft.), which enables one to release the ball later, a lean musculature and preferably not splay footed (pigeon toed is ok). The splay footed preference may seem bizarre but is easily explained. While I haven’t seen many studies on this, I have experienced that people with splay feet tend to fall over in their delivery stride. This is not to say that bowlers without splay feel do not fall over. However, with them, this fault is much easier to correct.
Besides the right body type, it is important to build strength in the right muscles. The core body muscles (back, stomach, glutes) have to be strong enough to sustain the stress of fast bowling. In addition, the legs and shoulders are very important. Remember though, you are NOT a body-builder...think lean muscle...the upper body of a swimmer with the lower body of a sprinter.

BOWLING ACTION: DELIVERY ACTION: This is one of the most important things to get right. Broadly-speaking, there are three types of delivery actions – side-on, front-on and mixed. While side-on is the classical action (Kapil Dev, Mc Grath, Brett Lee), front-on is ok as well (Harmison, Ntini, Flintoff, Srinath) as long as it is the natural tendency of the bowler. However, a ‘mixed’ action WILL, in the long term result in stress injuries. Get someone knowledgeable to look at your action (in case you are not able to video record it) in the nets to determine if it is mixed or not. If it is, then I strongly recommend that you switch over to side-on or front-on, depending on your natural proclivity as well as your stock delivery. For example, if your stock delivery is the out swinger, the side-on action is most suitable to get the required shape on the ball with minimal muscle stress. The RUN-UP and STRIDE – any coach will tell you that the run-up should be just long enough so that you hit optimum speed a few strides before the jump. I will add that the run-up should be just the right speed for you to be able to comfortable jump and turn naturally into the side-on delivery position (in case you bowl side-on). I cannot overstress the importance of the jump for a bowler bowling side-on. It is absolutely crucial to get the jump right to allow the body to turn naturally into the side on delivery position. An inadequate jump WILL result in a mixed action, with disastrous consequences in the long run. BALL RELEASE - The later one releases the ball, the better. This allows for maximum shoulder rotation behind the ball, as well as allows the body to get into the optimal upright body position at delivery. The release is most effective and allows for maximum ball rotations (facilitating swing) post release if the wrist is cocked. Another important point is to complete ones action. It is here that the leading arm (the non-bowling arm) comes into play. The leading arm not only guides the entire action but is invaluable in getting torque and shoulder speed from the bowling arm. Completing the action, with the leading arm ending up behind the body after release eases the body into the follow-through.

PRACTICE: is an obvious essential in getting the body ready for bowling correctly. What is important is to practice ‘smart’ instead of ‘hard’. The better you practice in the nets, the better your ‘muscle-memory’ becomes. Fast bowling should become second nature to you.

PREPARATION FOR BOWLING: warm-up is essential. Warm-up is to get the blood flowing to the muscles and the heart pumping blood adequate blood for this. Your warm up should not tire you out. Also, warm-up is NOT the same as stretching. Stretching should be after your work-out/bowling session.

And finally, get your hands on ‘The Fast Bowler’s Bible’. Additionally, a good coach is a huge advantage. When I was in Pune, I had the great fortune of training under Mr. Anwar Shaikh, himself one of Maharashtra’s best fast bowlers and in my book, one of our best fast bowling coaches. And oh, how can I forget...get the right equipment. Don't skimp on this expense. It could cost you your career. I can cite many examples where faulty or inadequate equipment has resulted in serious injuries. If you are unsure on the right equipment, try and get a senior player to accompany you on this buying trip.

why i could never make the cut as a fast bowler

2006-08-03T11:44:00.000+04:00

From my earliest cricketing memories to my adolescent cricketing fantasies, I have always dreamt of bowing fast. Now, I’m not at all physically built to bowl at speeds approaching the 90/100mph mark but I was adamant. Quite a few people dissuaded me, trying to get me to bowl left arm spin instead, most notably Balwinder Singh Sandhu (now one of India's top coaches but best remembered for his banana delivery to Greenidge in the 1983 WC finals) who tried twice to get me to change from pace to spin, once when he was coach at RCF in Mumbai and the other time when he was the coach of the Maharashtra Ranji trophy team, of which I was a member. On both occasions, he told me quite bluntly that I did not have it in me to become an international standard fast bowler and I would be better off bowling spin. Apparently, he had watched me bowl spin during practice on a couple of occasions and thought that I had ‘real promise as a finger spinner’. However, I was too enamored by the glamour associated with fast bowling to consider taking up spin. As an all-rounder, I was well aware of the kind of terrorized awe batsmen held fast bowlers in when they – the fast bowlers – were on song and I craved that sort of awe. I worked very hard on my bowling and become good enough to be called a genuine all rounder at the national level. But of course, even in my most megalomaniacal moments, I could never call myself a ‘fast’ bowler.
In hindsight, I feel that Ballu was correct. Bowling fast requires a certain body structure which I don’t possess. Besides the lack of height – I stand at 5’8” – I now realize that I don’t and never had the musculature to get the kind of torque that is so essential for fast bowling. Also, I was a self taught bower. During my time, we did not have any good bowling coaches in Pune/Mumbai and whatever coaching methods that were employed were crude at best. Even so, I do not believe that I would have become a genuine fast bowler even if I would have had access to superior and more sophisticated coaching methods.

Fikraty (my idea)

2006-08-01T12:52:00.000+04:00

The Road Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has come up with a novel idea of soliciting ideas from residents on ways to improve the traffic situation in Dubai. As an incentive, ideas that help the RTA save money will be rewarded in cash. God alone knows that the Dubai traffic system is due for a serious re-look. The population of the emirates has nearly doubled in the past 4-5 years with the bulk of this increase coming from the Dubai/Sharjah belt. This has understandably put an enormous strain on the transport systems. If you have any bright ideas, share them with the RTA. You never know, you might just be lucky and win something.

Libertarians on Kashmir

2006-07-31T15:53:00.000+04:00

I would very much like to hear the opinion of Indian libertarians on Kashmir. Why libertarians in particular...because respect for ‘freedom’ is such a central component of libertarian philosophy.
This is how I see the Kashmir issue...Kashmir was a kingdom on the northern fringe of present day India and geographically contiguous to present day Pakistan. Even though the ruler was a Hindu Dogra, the population was predominantly Musim. The princely states, at the time of partition were given a choice of aligning with either India or Pakistan or remaining independent. The King of Kashmir, Raja Hari Singh wanted to remain independent but after tribals from North Waziristan attacked Kashmir in a bid to forciby align it with Pakistan, Raja Hari Singh turned to India for help. India offered help on the condition that Raja Hari Singh sign the instrument of accession, which would make Kashmir a part of India. Raja Hari Singh agreed and signed the agreement. In 1948, India took the matter of Pakistani aggression to the UN Security Council. The resultant UN resolution demanded an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all Pakistani presence and retention of a minimal Indian military presence. Furthermore, the UN resolution stipulated that the final disposition of Kashmir should be done based on the will of the people of J&K, to wit, a plebiscite was promised to the people of Kashmir and is part of the UN resolution of 1948. However, we have denied the Kashmiris this fundamental choice so far. Doesn’t this conflict libertarian polity?
My own thoughts are that a final resolution of the Kashmir issue can only be achieved through a plebiscite administered by a neutral UN team or even by one of the politically neutral Nordic countries. I do not want us to forcibly hang on to any area that does not want to be a part of India...and certainly not one that has been bleeding the coffers of our country for the past 60 years. Let there be a plebiscite and let us be brave enough to accept the result if the chips fall where we would not like them to. My only caveat is that the Kashmiri Pandits who were in Kashmir during the time of the first UN resolution, or their descendants should also be able to participate in this plebiscite. This is fair as they left Kashmir only due to the ethnic cleansing against them. Also, I personally think that this will greatly improve India’s chances of ending up on the right side at the conclusion of the plebiscite.

UAE telethon

2006-07-30T11:59:00.000+04:00

The 10 hour UAE telethon managed to raise 49 million dirhams or nearly $13.5 million for the Lebanese victims of the war in Lebanon. The telethon, which started at 3pm on Friday, was organized by Dubai Media Incorporated, the Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Humanitarian and Charitable Foundation and the UAE Red Crescent Authority.
Considering that the population of UAE is about 4 million, this works out to over $3.3 per person. If we are able to raise around the same amount per person from India, that would work out to a whopping $3.67 billion (population 1,112,225,812).

LET’S SPEAK OF TEAMWORK RATHER THAN OPPOSITION

2006-07-27T12:14:00.000+04:00

Maybe it is because blogger was working fine for me (sitting in Dubai) so I did not feel the same helplessness that some bloggers felt when some bloghosts were blocked, purportedly following instructions received from the government. During this entire episode, I came across various posts and articles written by bloggers that vented their collective ire at the government. Strong adjectives like ‘furious’ and many more similar meaning ones were used in these articles and posts. What really got to my goat was that most bloggers had started cursing the government for infringement on their freedom of expression even before trying to understand head or tail of why the government had asked (if they had) the ISP’s to block these sites. I may be naïve in my thinking here but I feel that if we have a democratically elected government, we should treat the government as an entity on our side of the fence rather than some satanic force hell-bent on doing us some sort of disservice. And this is not an isolated incident. Time and again, the tone that I have encountered in many blogs casts the government as the antagonist. Wouldn’t it serve all of us a little better if we showed a bit of empathy and perspective before we took pot-shots at our elected representatives? I agree that it is probably the lifelong experience of inefficiency in governance that has made cynics and critics of all of us. But I believe this is all the more reason we have to be on guard when wording our blogposts; it may not be wise to load our historical baggage of cynicism on all current issues. LET’S SPEAK OF TEAMWORK RATHER THAN OPPOSITION.

my chess group

2006-07-22T12:15:00.000+04:00

Dr. Bashir Khan, that incorrigible old man comes to Al Hafsah restaurant in the evening and sets up his chess paraphernalia. He is a chess enthusiast like no other that I have seen before. One can set ones watch by the time he keeps for his games. We have a nice little group. The unwritten rules of our chess club are that Dr. Khan, by virtue of being the owner of the chess set as well as Al Hafsah restaurant will play continuously from one end, and play with white. The other players will rotate. Each player will play a set of three games with Dr. Khan and scores will be kept. It isn’t easy to beat the old man. He makes mistakes often enough but we all allow him to take back his moves. So if he is allowed to take back his foolish moves, while we are not, and he also makes some really good and creative moves, you can imagine that beating him becomes something of a task. I think I am the only player who has a positive score against him, i.e. more victories than losses.
Mustafa, the Indian Hyderabadi is our group is also a chess addict. One can expect the unexpected from him, both in terms of good and bad moves, more often good moves. Akram sa’ab, the Pakistani from Karachi is what I call a ‘method’ player. Not much flair but very solid. To bring in a cricketing analogy, Mustafa is like Dhoni while Akram is like Dravid. We have our own Afridi too. On his day, Atiq (another Indian Hyderabadi) is pretty much unbeatable but on his off-days he makes the most fundamental errors.

Feral Girl

2006-07-22T12:06:00.000+04:00

I dunno if this story has hit the Indian media but I just read this exciting report coming out of Ukraine. Oxana Malaya is our modern day version of Mowgli. The girl was abandoned by her alcoholic parents and was taken care of by feral dogs? She lived in a kennel and acquired the behavior and mannerisms of her canine guardians. Till the age of eight, when she was found by humans, she growled, barked and crouched like a wild dog, sniffing her food before eating it. Amazingly, she was found to have acquired extremely acute senses of hearing, smell and sight.

blasts: a reaction in Dubai

2006-07-14T18:56:00.000+04:00

As with you all, I also felt profoundly saddened by the Mumbai blasts and incensed at the sheer moral wretchedness of the perpetrators. Many bloggers have done an exceedingly fine job of covering the entire episode and I thank them for keeping NRI’s like me fully informed about all that has been happening. That Mumbai has recovered and returned to normalcy so soon after the blasts in a tribute to her fighting spirit and we all can take a leaf out of her book.
As can be guessed, there have been swift developments in the investigations so far. Calls from mobile phones to Dubai and Karachi were recorded immediately after the blasts from the blast locations. This would point to an involvement from across the border, not necessarily of the ISI; maybe even private operators. In any case, what is clear is that planning and executing an attack of this magnitude would be possible only for a handful of terrorist organizations. SIMI and Lashkar have denied any involvement and there is yet no concrete proof implicating them. Something has got to give, and soon at that. These blasts are also being linked to the cache of RDX that was recovered in a raid in Aurangabad earlier this year. It is but a matter of time before the jigsaw pieces fall in place.
Here in Dubai, people are more concerned with what they see as Israeli atrocities in the occupied territory as well as in Lebanon. Over the past couple of days, there has been an upsurge of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, with casualities on both sides. Of course, the papers here only hi-light the casualities on the Arab side and the editorials are full of thinly veiled invectives at Israel and America.
My Pakistani friends, while being sympathetic towarde the people of Mumbai and while firmly denouncing the actions of the terrorists who are responsible for the Mumbai blasts, are also a little defensive as they feel that the first thing India will do is point a finger at Pakistan. While we have been fairly restrained so far, I can also see that happening, especially when the investigations reveal some clear connections from across the border. Manmohan Singh has also made strong statements about Pakistan not being able or capable of fulfilling its commitment of 2004 of not allowing any terrorist activity on its soil against India.

Give them back their passports!

2006-07-03T17:14:00.000+04:00

If this is not most ironic, please tell me what is. In UAE, it is a common practice for employers to keep the passports of their employees, especially of their blue collar employees. According to the UAE Ministry of Labour though, this is illegal. However, according to a Gulf News (the most widely circulated daily in UAE) report, all ministries, including those of Finance and Industry, Interior, Labour and Social Affairs are retaining passports of their expatriate staff. Some ministries keep passports on instructions of the Civil Service Department, others on directives from the Ministry of Finance and Industry, which demand that passports of cashiers must be retained. Doesn’t that reek of the most abominable hypocrisy?

Jashn-e-Ghulam Ali

2006-07-02T10:15:00.000+04:00

For all you Ghulam Ali fans, here's some good news. Aligarians has organised Jashn-e-Ghulam Ali from the 1st to the 15th of July, a fortnight of beautiful Ghazals and Nazms sung by Ghulam Ali. Each day a new composition will be posted along with the lyrics and meaning of difficult Urdu words. It is hoped that such online festivals will help the admirers appreciate the music of Ghulam Ali better. Please mark your calendar and ensoi...

Live light

2006-06-26T18:12:00.000+04:00

This is something truly revolutionary I recently encountered, through one of my friends, Harsh Khanna aka Bhikku Nyanasanti. I am copy-pasting part of his e-mail below. I hope that this widens your horizons of what’s possible, as it did mine.

---Solar Healing offers a fascinating new paradigm on physical and spiritual healing, and living harmoniously on this planet.
It’s about a man named Hira Ratan Manek (HRM) and the fact that he has been living on just sunlight and water since 1995! It’s been verified by at least three independent scientific studies in India and the US, each running into hundreds of days.
What’s more, he's not unique. He says anyone can learn to do so in about nine months if they follow a simple process of sungazing at sunrise or sunset (details on the website www.solarhealing.com). Apparently at least 3000 people have now learned this art of living on solar energy alone. Many more have reported physical, psychological and spiritual benefits.
This may sound far fetched, but I can believe this because I personally knew a yogi in Delhi who would sungaze. I have seen him meditating for hours concentrating on the rising sun. He could also look for many minutes unblinkingly at the mid-day sun. He had perfect vision and was very wise. But he could not teach this practice to others. Now HRM and a few others are doing so, and the results are truly astonishing.---

What do you think, is this another step in the human evolutionary process?

experimentation

2006-06-20T12:43:00.001+04:00

In this whole experimentation gig, I think the two names that were left out of consideration are Ajit Agarkar and Ramesh Powar. Irfan Pathan and Dhoni have been sent up the order, Dravid has opened, Sehwag has been shuffled around. It seems to me only fair that Ajit and Ramesh should have been given a go.
Many of you may not be aware that Ajit started his Cricketing life as a batsman and till college cricket, was a pure batsman. In fact, in the Mumbai cricketing circles he was counted as a very real batting prospect for India. I still remember when and how Ajit started bowling seriously. It was during one rainy season (I think in ’93 or ’94) when we were practicing on the road through Shivaji Park with a rubber ball. One day it so happened that Ajit turned his arm around and figured that he was a natural fast bowler with a whippy action and faster than the fastest college bowler. Once the rains abated, he started bowling regularly in the nets with a season ball and soon we all found that he was one of the best fast bowlers around. Initially he used to bowl with a two step run-up. Just a couple of steps and WHIP. But in due time, he lengthened his run-up too. Of course, with so much of his focus now on fast bowling, his batting suffered a bit. However, he has always played for Mumbai as a genuine all rounder. Ajit has, of late been in good bowling form and it often happens that confidence in one aspect of the game tends to rub off on the other aspects of ones game. The one-day series in West Indies where he was bowling so well would probably have been a good opportunity to try him at the top of the innings.
Ramesh Powar is another name that comes to mind immediately. He is an explosive batsman very much in the Sehwag mould. I have played with him quite a number of times and have great respect for his natural talent. I mean, if someone with his physique can play for India, you can be sure that he is one talented bloke. Personally, I would have liked to see him higher up the order in a few games.

Home sweet home

2006-06-12T15:11:00.000+04:00

Blogging was light in the past couple of weeks because I was holidaying in India. One week in Indore with my 'Maushi' (mom's sister) and her family and another relaxing week in Mumbai and Pune and my holiday was over too soon.
This stay in India has convinced me that I am spending my youth in the wrong place. India seemed so 'on the move' and happening, and in Dubai, I spend most of my days sitting in front of a computer screen...not exactly the most ideal way to utilise ones youth!
Actually, this happens to me everytime. Each time I go to India for a holiday, I fall in love with my 'matrubhoomi' all over again. And then I don't feel like leaving. But in this visit, the feeling was particularly strong.
My father was in the Air Force and the associated itinerant lifestyle meant that we did not live in one city for more than 2 years. By this measure, I reached my par in Dubai a while ago and this itinerant instinct must be pushing me to sprout wings.

Beard Brotherhood

2006-05-22T17:44:00.000+04:00

Now that I’ve grown a thick beard, I look more Muslim than ever. One thing I have noticed though is that more people now automatically greet me with ‘assalamu alaikum’. Previously, when I was clean shaven, people wouldn’t automatically greet me with this Muslim greeting. Quite clearly, even if not consciously, at least at a sub-conscious level, many people in this part of the world are ascertaining your religion at first glance.

boycott updates

2006-05-19T15:38:00.000+04:00

It is in the Middle East that the backlash to the Danish cartoons was felt the most. Strong reactions to the cartoons came through in the boycott of Danish goods across the Islamic world, plenty of fiery articles in the newspapers and lots of propaganda e-mails and messages doing the rounds and government level statements calling for condemnation and apologies. The clerics of course had a field day.
As an interested but objective third party, I was witness to the entire sequence of events in a part of the world that was particularly affected by the entire controversy. When the controversy ‘came’ to the Middle East in the middle of January, I could see that the first reaction was incredulous disbelief and a feeling of genuine hurt in many of my Muslim friends. Incredulity because they could not believe that anyone would actually go out of the way to publish cartoons insulting the prophet of Islam and without provocation at that, and hurt because they are genuinely in awe of their prophet and it hurt them that someone has insulted such a figure of veneration for a billion + people. The initial response was instinctive and reactionary and I could feel an undercurrent of bitterness brewing. SMS’s and e-mails were sent around calling for the boycott of Danish goods, protest meetings were organized and for a few days, the newspapers were full of commentary on this issue. While the most virulent reactions came from the clerics and fundamentalists, the average Muslim was also riled enough to join in the general expression of anger and disgust towards the west. Already, Muslims all over the world feel like they are targeted, be it in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Kashmir, Sydney, Chechnya or the Western world in general. This controversy further reinforced the general feeling of apathy and disrespectfulness of the west and a lack of understanding of the ‘Islamic’ world. Around this time, I saw stickers on cars which went to the tune of, ‘each western product bought is a bullet through a Muslim’s heart’. Fortunately, this hysteria did not last long and saner messages soon replaced the more fundamentalist ones...messages like ‘know more about the beloved prophet Mohammed PBUH (this, followed by the URL of a website which provided details on Prophet Mohammed’s life)’.
The boycott of Danish products started in Saudi between the week of 20th and 27th of Jan. By the 10th of Feb, the boycott was almost complete and fully effective across the trade through the Middle East. Most shops had put up notices that they were not stocking any Danish products. Arlafoods (Dairy), Emborg (Frozen Foods), Lego (Toys), K.D.D. (Dairy), SADAFCO (Dairy) were the companies primarily hit by the boycott. Of these, Arlafoods, with its brands Puck (Processed Cheese, Labneh, Dairy Creams), Lurpak (Butter), Three Cows (Processed Cheese) and Power Cow (Processed Cheese) was the biggest hit, simply because it dominated the categories where it was present and it was the most recognizably Danish company. Companies like K.D.D. and SADAFCO were unfortunate because people associated them with Danish products, whereas their products had nothing to do with Denmark. K.D.D. and SADAFCO did at one time source material from Denmark but this was a very long time ago. Companies like Nestle (particularly Nido in baby food) and New Zealand Milk (Anchor in baby food) were even more unfortunate because they were targeted in the boycott even though they had nothing at all to do with Denmark.
There were calls for an apology from the Danish government and Jyllands Posten. After their initial intransigence, the Danish government came out with statements regretting the reaction that the cartoons had caused saying that they were meant as experimentation in free speech and not as an insult to Muslims (they didn’t apologize, which I think was brave of them). Jyllands Posten made similar placatory noises. Though never directly apologizing, they regretted that they had caused offence, which was never their intention. The Danish companies in the Middle East had more pressing economic concerns and they went all out in distancing themselves from the cartoons and generally said all the right things. For a time, Arlafoods considered going in for an all out media campaign expressing their respect for Islam and the Islamic world. However, their media agency told them not to, and very wisely so, I think. Any media exposure would have only provoked the community more. They chose eventually to lie low and ride out the storm; in my opinion, the best course of action...sometimes no action is the best action.
No government in the Middle East has officially called for a ban of Danish products. So after some of the hysteria had died down, people started wondering who would take the first step in calling off the ban. Eventually, we realized that the only ones who could call for the boycott to be lifted were the Saudi clerics at the Friday prayers. After all, it was at the Friday prayers that people were initially urged to boycott Danish goods. Al Othaim retailers in Saudi were the first to implement the boycott and the other retailers followed soon. Arla realized that the only way to get back onto the shelves was to mollify the clerical community and get Al Othaim to start stocking Arla products.
Most retailers in UAE have started stocking Danish goods now. There have been peaceful protests to this but on the whole, Danish goods have been moving off the shelves pretty quickly (though not as quickly as before). Saudi is posing much more of a challenge. Though some retailers have started stocking a limited assortment of Danish goods, there is still quite a lot of resentment there and people are not buying Danish products.
It seems (in UAE at least) that the one company that has benefited from the boycott is ‘Al Marai’, a local Dairy company. Its sales have boomed over the past couple of months and most of the share that Arla has lost has been taken over by Marai.

fair and handsome

2006-05-12T13:37:00.000+04:00

Which is the one FMCG brand that has been creating waves in India over the past few months?? I admit I was a nonplussed when this question was put to me yesterday. Apparently, it is 'Fair and Handsome', a skin whitening cream that Emami has come out with for men.
Yesterday, I was in a meeting with one of the Directors of Emami Group and he told me that this brand has achieved phenomenal success in India and he has high hopes from 'Fair and Handsome' in the Middle Eastern markets as well. And he was talking about it like a proud father would talk about a prodigal son. I couldn't help thinking that a whitening cream isn't something over which one should feel such orgasmic delight as he clearly was feeling...after all, it's just a cream!

China Wall

2006-05-06T23:27:00.000+04:00

While walking on the Sharjah corniche, I saw a few Chinese labourers working in an area of the corniche that is under renovation. The Sharjah govrnment normally puts up signboards near any 'work in progress' informing the public what the whole thing is about. This board said that construction was on for Project 294, i.e. constructing the new Corniche Wall. The contract was awarded to 'China Harbour Wall Company'. Well, I think the government has got it absolutely right. Who better than the Chinese to build a wall!!

Paki Music

2006-05-06T11:43:00.000+04:00

I love Paki music.
Pakistan like India has a rich musical tradition. My first exposure to Paki music was way back in 1992 when 'Strings’ came out with their unforgettable original ‘Sar Ki Yeh Pahaar’ (part of the album, 'Strings 2). I loved it instantly. It was melodious and had a very other worldly feel about it. I am one of the most enthusiastic bathroom singers and ‘Sar Ki Yeh Pahaar’ was just such a great tune to hum while going about ones morning ablution (and I mean this in the most complimentary was). Besides, the video was really simple, shot entirely on the beach, but seemed to blend in very well with the melody. In 1992, ‘Strings’ was a popular band in Pakistan and was beginning to make their presence felt across the border as well. There were four of them then, Faisal Kapadia, Bilal Maqsood and two others. However, the passing years saw this very promising band go off track a bit. A couple of members left due to some personal differences and the rest devoted more time to studies and starting a family (starting a family!...obviously they had their priorities straight). In 2000, Faisal and Bilal from the original group came together to revive ‘Strings’. I for one did not expect them to repeat their successes of the early 90’s because it was just the two of them and however hard one tries, one can’t really get much diversity in music from a two man band (or so I thought). I am glad to say though that they proved me wrong. ‘Durr’ in 2000 was a big success and why wouldn’t it be; it had all the ingredients that had made ‘Strings’ so popular. The songs were melodious and the videos were well shot. Moreover, the duo were no longer fresh faced boys but good looking grown men and this reflected in the maturity of their lyrics as well. The remixed version of ‘Sar Ki Yeh Pahaar’, which was part of ‘Durr’ is one of those rare instances in music when the remixed version is better than the original, and the original in itself was great. ‘Durr’ was followed by 'Tu Hai Kahan', 'Hai Koi Hum Jaisa' and ‘Dhaani’,. 'Dhaani', in particuar, released in 2003 has some great music. Once relations thawed between India and Pakistan, it was but a matter of time that someone from the Indian film industry would pick these two to make some film songs, and Sanjay Dutt obliged with ‘Zinda’. But I think their most significant recognition so far has been the selection of 'Na Jaane Kyon' of ‘Dhaani’ as the title track for the Hindi version of ‘Spiderman’. They are going from strength to strength and I have enjoyed listening to their music, which has evolved to keep pace with the changing tastes in melody.
This whole ‘Paki music in Indian films’ trend was started way back in the 80’s when the dynamic but ill-fated siblings, Nazia and Zoheb Hassan lent their voices to ‘Star’, the only Kumar Gaurav film that did anything of note at the box office. ‘Boom’, ‘Star’, ‘ooie ooie’, 'Disco Deewane' were all super-hits and for a while it seemed that these two would take the Indian music scene by storm. A decidedly young Nazia lent her voice to 'Aap Jaisa Koi' in Feroz Khan's 'Qurbani'. Sadly, she passed away in 2000 of lung cancer.
Pakistan has a very rich Sufi musical tradition. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is one of the towering names in this genre. He single-handedly brought Sufi Quwalli music into the modern era by including modern beats and rhythms whilst keeping the main traditional aspects of Sufi music intact. He became one of biggest names in sub-continental music and his passing away in 1997 was mourned on both sides of the border. Currently, his nephew Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan has taken over the mantle from his illustrious uncle and so far has done a pretty good job. His ‘man ki lagaan’ is one of the best songs to come out of the Fateh Ali Khan stables, and there are many competing for this honor...dam mast qulandar, afreen afreen, mera piya ghar aaya are just three of a very long list. While I haven’t heard much of her music, I have heard that Abida Parveen has one of the best ‘Sufi’ voices and is right up there with Nustrat/Rahat.
One of the good things about Sufi music is that it lends itself very easily to experimentation. This has given rise to a strong Sufi-Rock musical tradition in Pakistan. Ahmed Jehanzeb, Atif Aslam (formerly part of Jal), Aaroh, Fuzon and Junoon are big names in this musical style. Junoon in particular in some of their songs includes big dollops of the harmonium and other ‘Sufi’ (for want of a better word) sounds. Their ‘Sayonee’ is one of the best sufi-rock songs I have heard for a while. Of late, Junoon seems to be transitioning towards hardcore rock and they are quite good at that too, but some of their songs still have hints of traditional music, and that’s when their songs go from good to great. Atif Aslam is another singer that I really admire. Blessed with a hypnotic nasal voice, his songs like ‘bheegi yaadein’, ‘jal pari’, ‘aadat’, ‘ehsaas’, ‘yakeen’, ‘dil haray’ and ‘mahi ve’ were part of my regular listening repertoire long before the Indian film industry discovered him and made a real hash of some of his best music. I particularly dislike the fact that his songs have been picturized on one Emraan Hashmi, an actor (that’s a joke) whom I can’t stand. Anyhow, can’t blame Atif for that though Mahesh Bhatt would do well to avoid me for the next few years (not that we socialize in the same circles). Coming back to Atif, he very nearly did not take up music. His overriding passion as a younger man was cricket and he was set to pursue it as a career. But as so often happens in this world, a lucky chance saw him get into music with his band, ‘Jal’ and the rest, as they say, is history. ‘Fuzon' is another fascinating band. I particularly like their ‘tere bina’, ‘aankhon ke sagar’ and ‘mora saiya mose bole na’. They are very much in the genuine sufi-rock mould and are better off for it, I think. Aaroh is another great band. Their ‘jeeyay’, a passionate ode dedicated to Pakistan, is stirring. Another great song they have is ‘sawaal’. If they have to be bracketed, they would go under sufi-rock as well.
Then there are the hardcore rockers. ‘EP’, ‘Mizraab’ and ‘Call’ fall under this category. Though not universally popular, I have liked a couple of their songs (‘Hamesha’ by ‘EP’ and ‘Pukaar’ by ‘Call’ and worth listening to). Indus Creed is a fairly old rock brand that I have heard quite a bit about, but I haven’t heard any of their songs as yet (I think, in terms of timelines, their career runs almost parallel to ‘Rock Machine’, the Indian group).
We finally come to a final group of bands that I will classify as ‘desi’ popular music bands (again, for want of a better word). ‘Junaid Jamshed’ (of Vital Signs), ‘Fakhir’, ‘Ali Zafar’, ‘Hassan Jahangir’ and ‘Ali Haider’ come under this heading. Ali Haider (Purani Jeans), Ali Zafar (Rangeen, Chal Dil merey, Huqa Pani) and Hassan Jahangir (Hawa Hawa) all have had limited success in India. Obviously, they are much more popular in Pakistan. Fakhir, with his simple but foot tapping ‘Mahi Ve’ came into radar view last year but has dropped off the map since. The only song I have heard of Junaid Jamshed and Vital Signs is ‘Dil Dil Pakistan’ a jingoistic number that is quite hummable but will never be much popular outside Pakistan, for obvious reasons. Junaid was quite a heartthrob through the 90’s but has now gone the ‘Saeed Anwar’ way. He has quit singing and has gotten into Islam in a big way. He’s grown a beard and goes around preaching Islam to whoever cares to listen.
Boy, this post has turned out to be longer than I had expected and we haven’t even touched on the ‘quawaal’ traditions. Surely, it would be a travesty of sub-continental music if one did not write about Ghulam Ali and the other ‘quawalls’ of Pakistan. But I think that is a topic for another post.

Addendum: Just a quick note to acknowledge and thank Muhaffiz and Vikrant for setting me straight on a couple of bloopers I made in the post. Indus Creed is indeed an Indian band and NOT a Pakistani band. In fact, Indus Creed is Rock Machine re-christined.
And Ghulam Ali is not a 'quawall'. As everyone knows and I knew too, he is one of the greatest Ghazal singers, but in a blank moment, I put down quawall'.

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes

2006-05-06T11:08:00.000+04:00

Who shall guard the guardians --- Swaroop recently had an interesting experience with Bangalore traffic police. Many of us have had similar experiences but instead of silently fuming and cursing the system, he chose to accost the officer and take him to task. Please visit his blog and comment.
Hat tip: Gaurav

if cricket doesn't work out

2006-04-27T12:26:00.000+04:00

Andrew Flintoff, the new singing sensation! Don't believe me, check this out. Flintoff and Sir Elton John are doing a duet song. And they seem to be members of the 'mutual admiration' society too. Flintoff says that Sir Elton is a legend and singing with him seems a tougher task than playing against the Aussies. Sir Elton on his part says that Andrew is a crowd puller and plays the sport in the right spirit.
What next, can we expect Flintoff to solo 'Ring of Fire'? Even though it worked against India, I suspect England will need a lot more than that to retain the Ashes.

justice

2006-04-16T17:13:00.000+04:00

I was chit chatting with a friend last night and we happened to talk about the laws in Saudi (having nothing better to do) and in particular, the penalty for robbery. Now Saudi follows orthodox Islam and Saudi Law is based on the Sunnah. The punishment for robbery in Saudi is to cut off the hands of the perpetrator of the crime! This seemed to me to be extremely severe and disproportionately harsh when compared to the level of the offense committed and I mentioned it to my friend. In defense of this law, my friend said that the law is not just a punishment for the crime but is also meant as a deterrent to potential thieves. He said (without quoting actual facts and figures) that thanks to this law, the crime rate in Saudi is much lower as compared to other countries, where the law is more humane and supposedly not so ‘anachronistic’. I countered this by saying that if the primary aim of the law is as a deterrent to potential thieves, then why not the death penalty for burglary. Surely, the death penalty is a much more effective deterrent than just chopping off someone’s hands. But if the death penalty sounds too harsh and if the law is also trying to incorporate a balance between ‘just punishment’ (commensurate to the level of offence) and ‘deterrence’, then the balance in this case is very much tilted towards deterrence. In my opinion, once all details of the crime are determined and the guilt is also established beyond doubt, the law must seek to balance three components; 1) compensation to the victims of the crime, 2) punishment to the perpetrator commensurate to the nature and severity of crime (compensation to the victim is part of the punishment), 3) A further penalty to the perpetrator to act as deterrent (this could even be something like community service, it need not necessarily be monetary or corporal and need not be related to the victims of his/her act)
My friend didn’t have much to say to this. In truth, I have been in the Middle East for close to 3 years now and I was completely aware of this law. I was just trying to draw my friend into an argument to see if he could provide me with any real justification for this law. This law seems more suited to the temporal milieu of an Arabian desert of some centuries ago.

Exciting Times for Maharashtra Cricket

2006-04-08T13:37:00.000+04:00

These are interesting times for Maharashtra Cricket. With so much happening in the Maharashtra Cricket scene, sometimes I feel I should have stuck on and played for a few more seasons. Ever since Ajay Shirke, second son of one on Pune’s most illustrious businessmen, BG Shirke who is the Chairman of the Shirke Group of Companies, took over as the President of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA), I have seen the MCA take concrete steps for the all-round development of the sport in Maharashtra. With all due respects to the former President, Mr. Dnyaneshwar Agashe, I think his group had run its course and Maharashtra Cricket was ripe for change.
Ajay Shirke track record in Cricket administration shows that he is quite smart when it comes to developing Cricket academies. He started the Cadence Cricket Academy in Pune in the late 90’s. The academy now boasts of some excellent playing facilities as well as a very good team of coaches (former Maharashtra Captain and dynamic Cricketer Surendra Bhave as permanent coach and Kiwi David Trist as visiting coach). The Cadence Cricket team has developed from a fringe team to one of the better teams in Pune and will no doubt continue to show impressive growth.
As President of the MCA, Ajay Shirke was largely responsible for roping in Chandrakant Pandit as Cricket coach and Darren Holder as Cricket director. Both appointments happened late last year so I’m really keen on seeing how Chandu Pandit, whom I have played under while he was captain of Mahindra and for whom I have a very healthy respect in terms of his knowledge of the game and his canny understanding of situations, performs as coach. I am particularly interested in seeing how Darren Holder grows into his role as Cricket Director. The Aussie, who is a bachelor of health science from Griffith University (a course that I had applied for too) and is just 30 years old must surely be one of the youngest coaches in the Indian Cricket scene. Even though Darren is by and large untried and the MCA is taking a significant risk in making him Director, I think it is a step in the right direction. The only question that troubles me is that I believe there is a considerable overlap between their roles (Chandu and Darren). Both will be traveling with the team for all away matches and both will be present on the ground during training. I just hope they have clearly defined roles in this whole scheme.
Over the last season, some of the top players, especially from Mumbai (Munaf Patel and Sairaj Bahutule come to mind immediately) have moved to the Maharashtra side. Maharashtra also has Hrishikesh Kanitkar, Iqbal Siddiqui and Dheeraj Jadhav, all very high caliber players. This heady mix of an administration that is willing to spend (it must have been a significant wallop to the purse to get Chandu Pandit and Darren Holder, besides getting all these Mumbai players as well) and experiment, a coach and director who combine acute cricketing acumen and hard sport science knowledge and quality players should help Maharashtra step up their performance in the 2006/2007 season. Here’s wishing them well.

Obese Chinese

2006-04-05T14:54:00.000+04:00

Yesterday I saw something that very few people in this world have had the privilege of seeing. I actually saw a FAT Chinese. Now isn’t that something! How many people can claim to have seen a fat version of a people who are constitutionally very nearly incapable of putting on superfluous weight? And this Chinese specimen wasn’t merely fat; he was massive...humungous...gargantuan...colossal. Hah, it felt good writing that last sentence. After all, how often can one use these adjectives in the same sentence with ‘Chinese’, unless of course, one is talking about their economy or population?
So if any of you want to share my experience, take yourselves to ‘Buhaira Corniche’ in Sharjah at around 1900 hrs of a weekday evening and you may be rewarded with a sight which is worth traveling many miles to see. And then imagine what a hit you will be at parties. At your next party, when Mr. Braggart claims to have done...whatever the hell outlandish claim that these people make, you can shut him up by saying, ‘That’s nothing, I once saw an obese Chinese’. That fact itself along with the fortuitous rhyme should make you an instant hit with the women.

First Employment Contract

2006-03-30T17:53:00.000+04:00

The contrat première embauche (CPE) or First Employment Contract is causing much furore around France. Last heard, over a million students, workers and unionists staged protests and demonstrations, which have spread to most major cities and towns around France. What is this First Employment Contract then and what point of this law is causing so much unrest? Basically, the most contentious aspect of this law is the right it gives an employer to fire employees under the age of 26 in the first two years of employment without any reason. Normally, the burden of proof lies with the employer, i.e. the employer has to prove that the employee is unfit to be retained before firing that employee. Under this new law, the burden of proof will lie with the employee, i.e. the employee will have to prove that his dismissal is unfair.
At first glance, this sounds grossly unfair but I personally do not think so. Yes, there is a possibility that this law can be misused by some. However, in genuine cases of misuse and unfair dismissal, there is a system in place for redressal.
With this law, the government aims to ease the current labour situation a bit and in the bargain, increase employment amongst the poorer sections of society. The current situation in France is that employers in general are hesitant to employ inexperienced young people because under extant labour laws it is extremely hard to dismiss someone once he/she has been employed. This law will hopefully make it easier to fire people and thus make employers less hesitant in hiring young people. Dominique de Villepin, the French Prime Minister has staked his entire career on line with the stance he has taken. He has declared that there is no question of deferring, suspending or diluting this law. He believes that this law will prove effective in curbing rising unemployment whilst also bringing the poorer segments of society into the mainstream job market. He cites the riots in France in Oct/Nov last year as an example of how bad things can turn when a segment of society is not properly integrated into mainstream society.

Samudra

2006-03-27T15:40:00.000+04:00

Last Friday, I watched the Marathi play ‘Samudra’ (translated: Sea/Ocean), written and directed by Paresh Mokashi. The lead (and only) actors are Atul Kulkarni and Ketaki Thatte. The play was very different from what I had expected. Since I knew that Atul Kulkarni was playing the lead, I had guessed that it would be serious drama and serious it was. And the name ‘Samudra’ suggested a family drama filled with intense and deep emotions. But I had never expected a 70 minute taut whodunit. The play starts tantalizingly with Atul Kulkarni’s character asking what a persons last thought would be before dying. His own thoughts, he says are of immense peace and happiness. And then we go into flashback to earlier that day when he, in his capacity as a CBI officer lands on a remote Pacific island to investigate the mysterious death of 6 scientists and the puzzling absence of the seventh scientist. On the island, he finds the seventh scientist’s assistant lying unconscious. After reviving her, they both try and use the existing evidence (which is scant) and their own knowledge (which is immense) to solve these murders. There is a brilliant twist at the end.
I wouldn’t like to reveal the plot here so I won’t write more on the story but the plot involves plenty of Indian mythology. The director has tried to look at the puranas for a historical perspective rather than as fictional mythology. He uses historical, archeological, anthropological and literary evidence to show that the puranas are historical and factual. Of course, one can’t take them literally (stories of the gods and demons fighting and ‘amrit’ being churned from the ocean etc. can’t be taken literally) but according to the director, the puranas have plenty of hints to genuine historical events.
The only negative aspect (and it’s a huge negative) is that I do not think the director has put in as much effort to study hard science to support his hypothesis as he has into researching the puranas.

trekking link

2006-03-16T14:41:00.000+04:00

For avid trekkers in and around Pune, I stumbled onto a fantastic site offering a raft of information and advice on a number of forts and trekking sites in Maharashtra. Check out Trekshitiz

another post on fast bowling

2006-03-02T17:54:00.000+04:00

---‘Why do you think the likes of Zaheer and Kuruvilla seem to lose pace through their 20s, whereas Lee and Shoaib seem to be about as fast now (at 30 or getting close) as when they began their careers?’---
Good point Dilip and thanks for bringing it up. Lee, Akhtar and Shane Bond are all about 30 and are as fast today (maybe even faster) as they were when they started their international careers. To start off, this is rare. Most fast bowlers tend to drop speed as they age; in fact, dropping pace may even be crucial to the long term survival of a fast bowler. Pace decrease is not something that happens only to Indian fast bowlers. This can be a natural ageing process as with Srinath, Kapil Dev, Mc Grath or it can be forced through an injury as with Dennis Lillee and Allan Donald. Fast bowling is hard work and is made even harder by the fact that traditional fast bowling as well as the laws of the game demand that the bowler get into very unnatural positions while delivering the ball. Let me explain. Traditional fast bowling advocates the ‘side on’ action to help generate swing, and the laws of the game demand that the fast bowler get off the pitch as soon as he delivers the ball. So a fast bowler runs in hard, jumps and twists in one direction and after delivering the ball, pivots and turns off in the opposite direction in his follow through. All these varied and high impact actions are carried out in a matter of a couple of seconds, time over time over time again. According to one study, at each delivery jump, when the fast bowler lands, the impact on his knee is equivalent to about 7-10 time his body weight.
Additionally, the grounds that we play on in India are so bad that it is really a surprise that anyone remains fit to play over a few seasons. Two of my four serious Cricket time injuries were caused due to bad grounds. No wonder Indians are so shy to dive!
All the above is to remind you that fast bowling is a hard job and therefore, injuries and a loss of pace are natural with age. Then what do Lee and Co. do differently? For one thing, they have had their fair share of injuries. Given that, they have come back after each injury as fast as ever without a hint of a drop in pace. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, they are rarely used as stock bowlers. Their job is that of a strike bowler; bowl a few fast and incisive overs and look to topple over as many opposition batsmen as they can in that span of 4-5 overs. India has tended to use its fast bowlers mostly for two roles, one as stock bowlers bowling 10-15 overs in a spell or otherwise as the bunny who bowls the first few overs and roughs the ball up for the spinners to then step up and bowl their stuff. Secondly, they are all very strong lads with good actions and if you notice, at the delivery stride, they get themselves into excellent position to get full throttle rotation from their shoulders. In fact, even Zaheer gets into great position for a full throttle release and he used to release at considerable speeds earlier on. Thirdly, they have had the advantage to play most of their formative cricket in an atmosphere where fast bowling is considered crucial to the success of a team. That’s not the case in India, especially in the club cricket scene, where spinners dominate most often.

that ghost of Cricket

2006-02-23T18:10:00.000+04:00

It’s a strange thing really. I’ve written so many posts before this but the only ones that have really elicited any sort of response are the ones on Cricket. Just shows what a Cricket crazy tribe we Indians are. It’s been 6 years now since I stopped playing competitive Cricket in India and barring my forays into Indoor Cricket in Dubai, my contact with Cricket has been largely vicarious. It’s a thrill though to be able to speculate on a sport of which I have been an exponent for half my life and of which I have many many fond memories.
A lot of the responses I received seemed to indicate that not many current/former professional Cricketers are part of the blogworld (I suppose people were kicked to think that I was not merely an armchair expert). This is understandable; Cricketers aren’t known to be God’s more erudite creatures. I'm not complaining...for me there's this thrill when people who are decidedly more cerebral than I am throw questions at me as if at an expert.
Playing the game at a high level is no automatic qualification of expertise and vice versa. However, be that as it may, I have received some very interesting questions and I will attempt to answer them over this weekend. Watch this space....

Indian head wiggle

2006-01-28T16:49:00.000+04:00

A friend of mine in this post points out the almost reflexive tendency of people in the western world to say ‘hi, how are you’ and walk on before you have a chance of answering this query. It’s quite hilarious actually. When I was in Australia, people did this all the time. You are walking on the road and happen to look at someone the same time he/she looks at you. Almost instinctively, out pops the question. I think this question is the vocal equivalent of the Indian head wiggle. In Sharjah and for that matter, in most of the Muslim world, the head wiggle or the 'hi, how r u' are substituted with a 'salaam alai kum', and since it is incumbent for a muslim to reply with a 'walikum salaam', people wait just that fraction to catch the reply.
Gregory David Roberts states in ‘Shantaram’: “Gradually, I realized that the wiggle of the head was a signal to others that carried an amiable and disarming message: I am a peaceful man. I don’t mean any harm.” (Pg, 107)
Ditto for the ‘Hi, how are you’ and 'salaam alai kum'.

more thoughts on Cricket

2006-01-27T12:34:00.000+04:00

The title of this post might suggest another article on the current Indo-Pak series that whinges about the pitches and the resultant dull matches. However, as such articles have been written ad nauseam and as I bear no ill will to my audience, I will spare you this agony.
Fast bowlers...to me, there is nothing in Cricket more exciting than watching a genuinely fast bowler in the middle of an inspired spell. I have personally seen only two fast bowlers bowling live. The first time was when the West Indians had come to India in 1994 and I have gone to the Wankhade Stadium in Mumbai to help them in their practice sessions. I watched Cameron Cuffy, who at 6'7" looked like nothing I had ever seem before. I saw him bowl efortlessly and at speeds that my 14 year old eyes could not really believe. I played most of my Cricket as an all-rounder...a competent middle order batsman and a work-horse medium pacer. At peak form, I was fairly quick though I have always struggled to get bounce, partially due to my lack of vertical inches. Watching Cuffy get head high bounce with just a casual flick of the wrists was an immensely satisfactory sight for me.
The second time was when I faced Zaheer Khan. This was at the height of his prowess, in the season of '99-2000, when he was about to break into the Indian team. At that time, he was one of the fastest bowlers in India and was bowling consistently in the high 140 km's per hour. Also, we were playing on the Western Railway ground, which possesses one of the fastest pitches in Mumbai. I did not last very long but I did realise that the speeds that we are used to in Pune Cricket are just not good enough to compete in the brutal Mumbai Cricket scene. Over the years, Mumbai has produced some very high quality fast bowlers...Salil Ankola, Abbe Kuruvilla and Ajit Agarker are just three in a fairly long list.
In the domestic cricket scene, there are only two genuinely quick bowlers that I have heard of in recent times...Munaf Patel and Vikram Rajvir Singh. Munaf plays for my state, Maharashtra, though he is originally from Gujarat and Vikram plays for Punjab. Both are very young (Munaf is 22 and Vikram is 20) and have performed very well in their short first class careers so far. If there is one thing that India lacks, it is a genuinely fast bowler. While accuracy and control can be learnt, pace is innate. Therefore, I think we should groom both these youngsters to play for India in the next couple of seasons. A rotation policy can ensure that both get adequate rest and therefore are not injured due to overuse. Selecting them now is essential if we want them to be part of the Indian squad for the next world cup. Additionally, both are competent lower order sloggers.
In the past, we have erred in not giving opportunities to fast bowlers when they were at their peak. Kuruvilla was one of the fastest bowlers in India in his early 20's but was only given a chance when he was nearing 30, by which time he had slowed down a great deal. We should learn from our past errors and give opportunities to young fast bowlers (and I mean genuinely fast) as they are peaking so they can serve India for a number of years.

different strokes for different folks

2006-01-16T17:39:00.000+04:00

Ameya makes a good point regarding footwork in this post. According to him, a batsman can extend his Cricketing life by developing good footwork. In the early stages of ones career when ones eye-hand coordination is good enough to compensate for the lack of footwork, footwork may not seem that important. But with age, as ones reflexes diminish, good footwork can help in compensating for the reduced eye-hand coordination. However, I have another spin on this topic. According to me, the main purpose of footwork is to get oneself into the best position to play the most percentage shot (the shot with the least likelihood to fail) on that particular ball. Now, getting into the best position to play the most percentage shot need not necessarily entail a great deal of footwork. And of course, as with most things in life, we can’t use a ‘one size fits all’ rule here. So the criticality of footwork differs in different conditions. From personal experience, I can tell you about the different footwork (or lack of it) that we needed to adopt for ‘natural turf’ and ‘matting’ pitches. For artificial matting pitches, minimal straight footwork is required. What is important there is sideways footwork because the ball bounces a lot more on matting pitches. So even if one plays half-cock, there is no real danger of getting caught L.B.W. but one needs to remember to get behind the line of the ball. On natural turf pitches, especially in India where there isn’t too much bounce, it is important to move forward to minimize the chances of L.B.W. however, it is not as important to get behind the line of the ball because of the lack of sideways movements in Indian conditions.

Kerry Packer

2005-12-29T18:11:00.000+04:00

Kerry Packer died on the 26th.
I will remember Packer as the man who was responsible for the resurrection of one day Cricket. 25 years ago, at a time when the game was governed by old farts who were too tradition bound to experiment with different forms of presenting the game, Packer shook the Cricket world with his World Series Cricket. From 1977 – 79, WSC revolutionized the way Cricket was brought to the masses and made it an immensely more viewer friendly sport. Packers’ lateral thinking certainly ruffled some feathers in the establishment but also introduced Cricket to new media. Day-night onedayers, coloured clothes for the players, cameras at both ends of the pitch (this was Packers’ own idea. He said in his own inimitable way that he didn’t want to look at the batsmen’s backsides) breathed new life into Cricket. The Cricket that we see today has a lot to thank Packer for.
Cricket isn’t really a spectator sport. Many early Cricket traditionalists believed Cricket to be a sport only for the players. Through the many decades, no real effort was made by anyone, least of all the Cricket administrators to make Cricket more viewer friendly. Packer changed all that with his exciting brand of Cricket where personalities and entertainment were as important as the game itself.

Scuba

2005-12-07T19:15:00.000+04:00

I was in Oman over the weekend and spent most of my time in Muscat. I liked the feel of the city. I realize now how much difference traffic and high rise buildings can make. Dubai, with its urban traffic mayhem and high rise buidings seems to dwarf any natural features of the surrounding landscape. It feels like just another characterless big city. However, in Muscat, the low and flat buildings seem to blend in with the surrounding topography and the undulations and other natural characteristics don’t remain hidden.
The high point of my visit was undoubtedly the snorkeling trip that my brother and I went on. Oman has some of the clearest waters in the Middle East, and also the safest (I was thankful to know). The underwater life is extremely rich and I noticed so many varieties of fish and other marine life that I struggled to identify. Snorkeling was exciting but I realized that I am way out of my comfort zone in open waters. My brother would swim away absorbed with the silent world below him but...and I am ashamed to write this...I was more than a little scared. I’ve seen too many shark films and sharks were such a big point of discussion in Australia that I kept imagining sharks everywhere in the water. In fact, there were no sharks in those waters but you know how one’s mind plays tricks. I never swam too far from our boat and I would resurface every few minutes to check that I wasn’t too far from other humans. I know this sounds silly but try as I would, I could not give my undivided attention to the world beneath. I remember a stretch of about five minutes when the life under held me in its grip and my fear vanished but that spell was broken when I saw a huge coral reef in front of me. It was pretty innocuous but to my frantic mind, it looked like a dark, black beast. I fairly skimmed the surface back to our boat. Anyway, I am going to try my hand at scuba diving again and this time I will try and be braver.

On Oman

2005-11-17T15:52:00.000+04:00

Vikrant, my brother recently moved from Hyderabad to Muscat (Oman) for a short project. One week in Oman and the below were his thoughts:

One misses the decadent luxuries of living in a hotel: the on-call room service, the no-effort cleanliness, and – to cap it all – the immensely disproportionate per diem! But one must immediately get used to coming closer to the realities of life… in Oman!
The first thing that weighs on me is the loneliness: there are no project mates at call, no one at the office that one can immediately socialize with (though – as met so far – friendly colleagues), and no one from KASPL / KPMG India staying with me: So I have a huge three bedroom flat all to myself, am the only one bothering about the place’s upkeep, or my dinner, or the TV to be got re-working,or getting up in the morning, or breakfast in the morning etc. etc.
But let’s not unnecessarily focus on that. The real Oman – the part I saw from the flight and around Muscat – is rugged and beautiful: My first sight of Oman was of barren hills bordering the see… as far as the eye could see. Most of Oman is not a sandy desert (like its neighbours are), it’s a rocky one. Most of Oman, it seems, is these rocks: hard, mostly sedimentary, seeming to stand as broad spikes that have no intention of letting go of their space. At one point, the hills even dropped straight into the see, a sort of rock-and-mud Antactica, no cliffs, no beaches. Soon, however, small pockets of civilization came into view. One look at the vastness and inhospitality of the terrain and I can only gain measures of respect for the people who have civilized it, to whatever extent. Somewhere on the flight inland, one sees a huge barren valley, sort of ring-fenced by mountains, that might remind one of Leh in the summers. It has pockets of civilization in it here and there. And although one has been promised that Oman is greener than the rest of the Gulf the only green that one sees outside of the city is rough scrubland, calling which green might make the Kutch seem equatorial.
Landing in Oman is another pleasant experience. A very small airport (MUCH smaller than Mumbai, or even Hyderabad), fairly courteous immigration personnel (unlike the haughtiness one saw at Dubai – one feels this is brought only partly by the sheer load of numbers they – the Dubai folks – face), and a drive into the city which made me feel I was driving somewhere in Navi Mumbai! Except the broad roads, right-hand-side orientation and much more highly disciplined traffic of course  The feel is very distinctly middle class, not the imposing glamour and splash of wealth that one sees in Dubai. Even the people seem friendlier – some claim it is because most Omanis work for their living, unlike some other Gulf states, but more on this and the Sanad programme later. And an Indian used to Gurgaon or parts of Navi Mumbai would very much identify with the spread, the feel of the traffic signals and road signs, of the pavement underfoot, and the people crossing roads in the middle of that furious traffic  But then, don’t forget the hills, they are everywhere! That makes the geography slightly different. I will come to more on this part when I cover stuff about where I am staying: I don’t know if the people around still notice the magic of the location, in the middle of the city yet surrounded by hills – however barren – on all four sides!
The Sultanate of Oman was formerly known as the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman… that is, until 1970 when the current ruler took power. It has five Regions (Ad Dakhiliyah, Al Batinah, Al Wusta, Ash Sharqiyah, Az Zahirah) and three Governorates (Masqat, Musandam, Zufar). I swear that – at the time of writing – I remember none of the names and have taken the luxury of copy-pasting them! All I remember is that Masqat is around the Capital city (wah! what genius to have remembered that!), and Zufar is way down South, just to the east of Yemen, with it’s major city being Salalah (the second among six paved airports out of 136 in the country). Musandam is a small peninsula jutting out into the sea, to the north of the UAE and geographically split from the rest of Oman, over the control of which Oman has some sort of agreement with the UAE. The details of this agreement have, however, not been made public.
The Sultan of Oman – Qaboos Bin-Said Al Said – took power in 1970, after his father abdicated in a coup. It would seem his rule – even though not democratic – has been significantly popular. The Sultanate has been moving gradually towards an increasingly democratic form of rule since 1970, the latest step being the formation of the Majlis al Shura (1997), a set of 83 people’s representatives elected by universal suffrage who have an advisory role in the Sultan’s government. Oman has very close relations (especially business; and despite usual neighbourly spats about borders et al, said to have been recently sorted out) with UAE. And it has a surprisingly well spread out import market. China is it’s most significant export market, contributing over 27% of total exports, and the rest of the major markets are spread over South East Asia itself. Surprisingly, Europe and America rank nowhere in the top six-seven. India is not among Oman’s major export markets, but it does import significantly from Oman, constituting over 4% of Omani imports. Here too, Oman’s trade sources are well spread out: UAE, Japan, UK, Italy, Germany, USA and India.
Most people in the Sultanate of Oman follow the Ibadi sect of Islam - the only remaining expression of Kharijism, which was created as a result of one of the first schisms within the religion. I will update you more on this sect of Islam and it’s particular beliefs etc. subsequently.

what's in a name

2005-11-09T16:54:00.000+04:00

Simply hilarious. I received this in a mail from Vikrant (bro) who in his turn had received it from his professor from his XLRI days, Prof. Madhukar Shukla.

Names of websites can be great fun (and misleading ;-) ) here are some:

If you want to find "who represents" the rich and famous:
http://www.whorepresents.com

if you want to log on to a very good experts' knowledge-base site for programmers try:
http://www.expertsexchange.com

And if you are looking for custom-made pens on the internet, try this site:
http://www.penisland.net

Having problems needing a therapist? To find a therapist in California, this is just the site:
http://www.therapistfinder.com

and there is the website of an Italian power company:
http://www.powergenitalia.com

And who would have thought that this will be a flower nursery site, based in new south wales:
http://www.molestationnursery.com

Shakespeare must be turning in his grave about being such a naive bard as to say "what's in a name"

Tekdi

2005-11-07T15:53:00.000+04:00

Gaurav writes that the tekdis in Pune form an integral part of many Punekars lives and contribute in some measure to their development. I could not agree more. For me too, the tekdis are much more than just the lungs of Pune.
My first tekdi experience was in school. Loyola High school is at the foothills of vetal tekdi and for P.E., we had a specific cross country route that we followed. The black rock – white rock – four poles – father’s garden – truck road and back to school route is, for me, as I am sure for many other Loyolites, as familiar today as it was then. The high point always was the short distance that we had to run around the fringe of St. Josephs Girls School to reach Loyola. We might be gasping for air but we wouldn’t forsake that chance to impress the girls with one final dash of speed. Not that we ever caught their eye, but we did manage to get some of the nuns to give us their typical, and apparently much practiced ‘accusatory’ look. That final dash once got me the fourth place in one inter-school cross country race. I’ve always wondered at that result. I’m stocky in built and have been told repeatedly over a fairly long sport career that I have ‘sprinter’ legs. So doing well in that cross country race did much in my mind to prove Freud right, everything boils down to sex.
After school, I lost touch with the tekdis for a while. I rediscovered the hills in my first year of senior college and formed a nice little tekdi gang that met every morning at hanuman mandir. There were six of us but the group revolved around the eccentric Harshavardhan Dixit. He took the initiative and effort to get everyone to meet socially and before we knew it, we were inseparable. Those were good times. We did a lot of things together and had loads of fun. From that group, only Ganesh remains as one of my closest buddies. The girls (Mansi and Ananya) have married and settled abroad, last heard, Harsha was working for Siyaram in Pune and Chaitya was teaching tennis at the Pune ILS Law College courts.
Whenever I am in Pune, I make it a point to go to the tekdis as often as possible. Not only is this excellent physical exercise, all the peasant memories and fond experiences come through from a suppressed subconscious and actually have a cathartic effect on me.
To keep a track of what is happening at the Pune tekdis, click here.

KALARIPAYATTU

2005-10-29T16:23:00.000+04:00

If you ever get the chance to see 'Kalaripayattu', don't miss it. It is one of the most fascinating and gravity defying extant martial arts and the swirls, motions and the smooth, segued momentum, almost like a dance puts one in a trace-meditative state.
Kalaripayattu is the ancient martial art of southern India, particularly of Kerela. Different sources trace its origins to various times in history. It is said to have originated and been codified during the Cheras and Cholas wars of the 11th century. Some sources state that Kalari is a precursor to Shaolin Kung Fu. In particular, some south east asian sources claim that Bodhidharma, considered in mythology as the founder of the Shaolin temple is of south indian origin and he taught Kalari to the Shaolin monks, which in its current form is Shaolin Kung-fu.
Whatever its history, it is surprising that this martial art is not so well known through the world or for that matter, even through India. It remains confined to pockets of Kerela and Tamil Nadu. I think it is about time that Kalari be brought to the mainstream and made more accessible to a wider audience.

Where are the arrogant Saudis?

2005-09-08T13:30:00.000+04:00

I've been in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the past week and am exceedingly surprised at the treatment I have received here. I had been told that Saudis are arrogant and tend to look down upon Indians. One week here makes me wonder if all the arrogant Saudis are in hiding or something. The people here have been extremely nice and friendly. Even the Saudis have been very nice and I can't help thinking that the stories about arrogant Saudis have been blown out of proportion.
I am still in Riyadh and will be returning to Dubai tonight. I have maintained a diary of my stay here so keep watching this space for choice updates of my week here.

My Family

2005-08-22T14:57:00.000+04:00

I am a polytheist. I believe in my own holy trinity, which consists of my parents and brother.
Words are inadequate to convey the depth of my love for these three people in my life. Everything I do is in some way inspired by them and dedicated to them. I consider it a sublime privilege to be born to such people as my parents.

SUDOKU

2005-08-18T17:43:00.000+04:00

This is an addiction; a serious, distracting, impertinent, outrageous addiction. Sudoku has got the entire UAE in a frenzy of numbers and squares. Luckily, work is a little slow these days (I guess there are others who have caught the Sudoku bug too) and we’ve been honing our skills with contests.
Try it and give me a shout if you get stuck somewhere.

more on Saudi, this time not so favourable

2005-08-11T17:47:00.000+04:00

I am travelling to Saudi later this month. now that's something you don't want to be saying too often.
for all I know, my experience in Saudi may be an enriching one but something tells me that it is not likely. for, of all the places in the world that r said to be retrograde, Saudi is at the top (or very near to it) of each list. now, I have nothing personal against the Saudis. the few that I have met have come across as very decent and even possessing, very counter-intuitively, a sense of humour (I'd always imagined Saudis to a bearded, fierce looking Arabs, ready to take offence at the slightest hint of humour). but the Saudis that I have met are Europe/America educated and sophisticated with good jobs in multi-national companies, earning in one month as much as I earn in a good year...in short, as un-saudi as one can get. well...listed below are some facts (not statistics) about saudi that make me less than enthusiastic about going there.
1. In Saudi, women are not allowed to work with men, which effectively means that they are not allowed to work.
2. women are not allowed to drive. i do not know the rationale behind this. the only thing i can think of is that since women are not allowed to work with men, if women have to be taught to drive, they will have to be taught by women instructors. which means that there will have to be a separate infrastructure for women and thats too much work, ain't it!
3. all women, irrespective of religion have to cover their heads in public.
4. it goes without saying that everyone has to dress modestly...and 'modestly' not in the western sense of the word.
5. alcohol is 'haraam'. no alcohol is available or allowed in saudi. thats why u finds hordes of saudis making a beeline for bahrain, where they get to booze and womanise. as an aside, it is a fact that the highest consumption of 'Johnny Walker' is in saudi. also, throat syrups and gargles do huge business in saudi...why?? of course, because they contain alcohol.
6. images, idols (islamic of otherwise) are not permitted inside saudi
7. mobile phones with cameras are not permitted in saudi because the wise men at the top think this will prevent men from taking photos of women on the sly.
8. in general, all creative and performing arts are discouraged because in ultra-orthodox islam, it is 'haraam' to try to copy Allah's creation. there are no cinemas and theatres in saudi.
9. there is significant discrimination against non-muslims. it starts from the time u get ur work permit...muslims have green work permits and non-muslims have red.
10. too much power is given to the religious police (mutaween). there is an infamous incident where a girls school was burning down in mecca and the mutaween prevented the rescuers from going in to save the girls because the rescuers were male. the girls were not wearing 'abayas' or headscarves and the mutaween decided that it is better that the girls burn to death rather than face the ignominy of being touched by males.
11. this is true of all gulf countries...there is general ill-treatment and exploitation of indians and other south asians.
12. saudi follows the shariah in its original archaic form. therefore, public stoning to death for serious offences, cutting off hands and flogging of thieves is not unheard of there.
13. saudi does not allow tourism. either u go there to work on on a brief business visit. if u r muslim, u can also go for the hajj or umrah.

In Praise of Saudi

2005-08-04T17:47:00.000+04:00

One seldom gets the opportunity to write anything positive about Saudi Arabia so when I thought of the contents of this post, I immediately put them down in writing. So, in future, when I write about the regressive and anachronistic laws in Saudi, fair-minded people will remember that I praised Saudi where I thought they deserved praise.
Saudi’s are Wahhabi’s, or more appropriately ‘Salafis’ The word Salaf means predecessors (or ancestors) and refers to the Companions of the Prophet Muhammad (the Sahaba), the early Muslims who followed them, and the scholars of the first three generations of Muslims. They are also called as ‘Salafus Saalih’ or "the Righteous Predecessors". The Salafis view the first three generations of Muslims, who are the prophet Muhammad's companions, and the two succeeding generations after them, the Taba'een and the taba Tabe'een as perfect examples of how Islam should be practiced in everyday life. In doctrinal matters, Salafis adhere to pure Islamic monotheism and believe, amongst other things that venerating the graves of dead prophets or scholars is incorrect.
The long and short of the above is that when King Fahd (the incumbent Monarch of Saudi) died on Monday, it was widely expected that a long period of mourning would be announced along with at least a few days of holidays. However, not only did the Saudi royal family not give any holidays, they also held a very modest ceremony for the late King and finished with their mourning in three days. I thought this was extremely admirable. In fact, UAE had announced a day of holiday in mourning but after realising that Saudi itself had not declared any holiday they rescinded their decision.
I can well imagine that an event of such magnitude in India would have led to a number of days off for the public sector and a general breakdown of public services through the country. I thought that the Saudi viewpoint, although based on theology, was also practical and devoid of all pomposity i.e. an example for us in India.

Vande Mataram

2005-08-02T17:33:00.000+04:00

Last Friday, when most of Dubai was gearing up for another weekend, cries of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Jai Hind’ were heard coming from a forlorn corner of the city, more accurately, from ‘InSportz’ in the Al Quoz industrial area. One would have been forgiven for thinking that the Indian Independence Day had come a bit early to this part of the world. The real reason was that India had just beaten Pakistan at indoor Cricket, not just in one match but in two consecutively and the Indian players and spectators were enjoying a round of jingoistic celebrations.
Indoor Cricket in very popular in Dubai and I have been playing regularly for over a year now. Most of the players are from the sub-continent but there are also a few teams representing the ‘white’ Cricketing countries. Indoor Cricket is fast paced and very exciting and takes only an hour per game, so it is a huge pull for people of the sub-continent, who are otherwise Cricket starved.
Man to man, Pakistan had a better team but the Indians played better as a unit. The pairs played well together and each bowler did his job, not trying to play beyond his capacity. India played percentage Cricket and won.

Cricket Poetry

2005-07-27T18:11:00.000+04:00

There is some excellent cricket poetry on the net...of course, people in India are well familiar with the Gavaskar Calypso and there is some beautiful Cricket prose from the legendary Sir Neville Cardus.
Check Arthur Salway's side-splitting Cricket poetry...veeery funny. Another excellent Cricket poem is by my dear friend, Sorab Bhathena. He wrote this in the immediate aftermath of the match fixing revelations and I faithfully reproduce his masterpiece below:

Let's play cricket, said a pal of mine
Being a gentleman's game, I said "fine"
So let me explain how this whole mess started
How events took place when my pal departed.

I was approached by a stranger, totally unknown
He had in his hand a bag and cell phone
By way of intoduction he said to me
For some information I give, he'd give me a fee.

What sort of info do you need, I queried,
He looked around, and he got me worried,
I was just here to play my game
Not looking for glory or for fame.

Just tell me how many runs you'll score
To which I replied "I'll try a hundred, maybe more"
No, no, he cried I've got a present for you,
A hundred thousand, to get out in "two".

I thought he was joking, this stranger was mad,
I better get moving and put on my pad,
Just then he made a call on his phone,
Thank God he and I were alone

For I dread to think what anyone would say
If they heard his phone conversation that day.
He said all was done, and I was party to crime
And a whole lot of rubbish and garbage and slime.

And as he left, he dropped the last shocker
By placing his bag inside my locker
Now that I finished with you, he cried,
I'm off to fix the other side.

The next day's headlines read in the press,
Our country's cricket's is in a royal mess,
For none of our players scored more than two
But you know how it happened, between me and you.

Now eagerly awaiting the next big match
Where I'll be paid to drop a catch,
In the end it's the public that would be the fool
They don't know cricketers graduate from "acting" school.

BRILLIANT!!

Indian Travels

2005-07-16T17:41:00.000+04:00

I was mindlessly surfing the net and happened to come across a fantastic site on this guy’s travels through India and a few other countries. It’s quite fascinating to read someone else’s take on India and Mark writes well. Some of his stories really cracked me up.

Atlas Shrugged, Vedant bugged

2005-07-11T17:46:00.000+04:00

Anyone care to express their opinion about Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged'? Personally speaking, I think it's trash, but I know many people who swear by the book. It appears that one either likes Ayn Rand or dislikes her writing...no happy medium about it.

Justice and the Shariah are compatible

2005-07-01T16:38:00.000+04:00

For all those who have been following the stories of Mukhtaran Mai and Imrana Bibi, here’s my two bobs worth.
For Mukhtaran Mai, it has been a long wait but it seems that justice is finally finding a way. However, the eight members of the village council who ordered her rape have not yet been taken to court. In my eyes, they are guiltier than the men who actually perpetrated the crime.
Regarding Imrana Bibi, a crisp synopsis of the case so far can be found on Gaurav’s blog. I have spoken to a few of my Muslim friends in Dubai and this is what I have gathered so far. The Shariah is based on the Quran, the Sunnah (deeds of the Prophet Mohammed pbuh) and the Hadiths (his sayings, discourses etc.). These three put together serve as a guiding light to Muslims on how they should lead their lives. Based on these three sources, everything is divided into five groups, 1. Things that are compulsory for Muslims, 2. Things that are recommended for Muslims, 3. Things that are permitted (neither encouraged nor discouraged), 4. Things that Muslims are discouraged from doing and 5. Things that Muslims are forbidden to do.
The three sources named above are inviolate and incontestable but interestingly, many people, and that includes Islamic religious scholars interpret these sources differently. Going by this, I do not think the decision taken by Darul-Uloom is incontestable because it is their interpretation of the Shariah.
Imrana Bibi has said that she will follow whatever the Shariah says, even if it means living with her father in law as his wife and treating her current husband as her son. Considering her faith in the Shariah (and the faith also of so many rational, educated Muslims), I am convinced that the Shariah is just and an Islamic religious scholar with a broader vision can interpret the Shariah in a way that punishes the rapist and not the victim.

PS - By the way, shouldn’t all this hoo-hah about Muslim Personal law be invalid? I mean, rape comes under Criminal Law and therefore under the Indian Judiciary and NOT under the personal law of any particular community.

NOSTALGIA

2005-06-18T12:21:00.000+04:00

Last weekend, my friend gave me something like 2000 marathi songs and i've spent some very pleasant hours listening to them...happily transported to the sylvan lanes of good ol' Pune. Add to this the beautiful pictures of 'Lohagad' that I have downloaded from the net and you can very well make out what kind of mood I am in. So if in the next few days, my friends see a dreamy, blanked-out expression on my face, they have been warned.
Bringing me back to the present with literally a 'crash' is the accident I had on thursday (16th June). Fortunately, the only bruise is to my ego. And my car is didn't get the better of its exchanges with the van. I mean, what was it thinking, that it could take on a van!! So it's one week at the mechanic for my trusted chariot and hopefully, it should come back to fight some more good fights.

UMM ALI

2005-05-26T18:04:00.000+04:00

Yesterday, I had someones tits for lunch. Ah! This statement has just the right amount of shock value, well, enough at least to grab your attention. Now, before my disgusted audience sets their imagination in motion and visualises me chomping on a pair of goat teats or something equally gross, (and some may have thought of even worse) I should hasten along with my narrative.
So, yesterday I made my acquaintance with ‘Umm Ali’ (literally ‘Mother of Ali’), an Arabic gastronomical delicacy, which tastes quite a lot like the ‘Shahi Tukda’ that we get in Mominpura in Pune, especially during Ramzan. In essence, it is sweet bread with sweet milk and raisins. Now the name ‘Umm Ali’ sounded innocuous but interesting so I asked how this dish got its name. Like so many things in Arabia, the history of this dish too is violent and brutal.
Long ago in Egypt, there was a queen called Shajraht Al Durr. She fell in love with and married one of her army generals called Eszz El Din Aibak, and then promptly fell out of love with him. The story goes that she killed him (or got him killed). This angered EED Aibak’s first wife; a commoner named Umm Ali. To avenge he husband, she fought with the queen, killed her, cut off her tits and ate them with bread and milk. That, ladies and gentlemen is the history of this sweet-dish. This is not apocryphal but authentic recorded history.
The passing centuries have altered the nature of the dish somewhat. Thankfully, the queens’ tits have been replaced with raisins and the result is quite tasty.

YES, THAT'S FOR YOU, VIKRANT

2005-05-18T17:11:00.000+04:00

About my blog he has good things to say
But he should start his blog too, someday
For though he says that I write well
If he starts blogging, people will tell
That not many can match his skill
Once he starts wielding his mighty quill.

Though his quill is sharp and slick
It’s ultimately his mind that does the trick
Now, I know good thinkers who can’t write to save their lives
And I know verbose dimwits
But rarely does one find someone who is not only a gifted thinker
But is also happy to share his thoughts in the most delightful prose.

THE ANONYMOUS CRICKETER

2005-05-15T14:09:00.000+04:00

Today, for no particularly compelling reason, I will write on my favourite Cricketers. I’ve spent a large chunk of my life within 22 yards of turf doing peculiar things with a piece of leather and a stick of English wood. These activities, repeated over a number of years have afforded me an insiders view into the wonderfully whimsical world of sub-continental Cricket. Also, I have been fortunate enough to play Cricket at an elite and highly competitive level and am thus in a position to write about some very interesting Cricketers. But today’s post is not about the bug guns I have played with (and for those doubting Tommie, I have played with a few). In fact, this post is dedicated to the many talented Cricketers whom I have been fortunate enough to play with and of who’s exploits I still maintain very fond recollections, but who are largely unknown to the masses. Because I have played most of my Cricket in and around Pune, most of the names mentioned below are from this belt. I know there are many other talented Cricketers but these are the ones on whom I can write with some authority. So eschewing this urge to ramble on I’ll jump straight into it.
Batsmen
Dheeraj Jadhav: DJ used to play at Chembur Gymkhana in Mumbai and that’s where I first saw him bat. I remember thinking of him as a good ‘attacking’ opening batsman. If anyone has seen DJ bat in the recent past, then he/she will agree that DJ is compact but slow. He takes his time to score and is in no hurry. Sir Neville Cardus, the prince of Cricket prose might have compared DJ’s scoring rate to that of growing grass. However, in 1994 (at Chembur), he was an attacking batsman. I think a couple of things changed him. Firstly, his father passed away and he moved to Pune. Secondly, after a couple of years away from Cricket, he resumed playing under the wise eyes of that batting wizard, Milind Gunjal. The next thing I know, Dheeraj was playing for Club of Maharashtra in the club leagues in Pune. It is there that he acquired his reputation as a slowcoach. He has scored runs by the tons and the long and short of it is that he is now in the reckoning for a place in the national squad. What do I like about him as a batsman? Certainly he is no Afridi or Sehwag, but he does possess the left-handers grace. Again, as a connoisseur, what excite me are not the big hits but the technique and I think DJ has one of the soundest techniques going around. Also, the way he leaves the ball is a delight to watch. Even the way he leaves a bouncer...a lot of people duck under a bouncer but not only does Dheeraj duck under the ball, he also continues watching it till it thuds into the keepers mitts. That’s a very comforting sign and a mark of class.
Kaushik Aphale: The first time I remember watching KA bat was in the under – 16’s at Delhi, and to be honest, I thought him a good batsman but not a great one. However, when I moved base to Pune, I saw him more and more and his batting grew on me. A languid style and easy grace are his characteristics, not only in batting but in fielding as well. He has ample of time to play the ball. Technically sound but also an attacking batsman. Unfortunately, he does not put as much price on his wicket as Dheeraj does. Dheeraj will bat the whole day and return with a well compiled but largely unexciting 125 n.o. But Kaushik will go out and return by lunch after a hurricane 70. That’s the difference. However, I mustn’t mislead my audience into thinking that Kaushik is all hammer and tongs. In fact, he is an artist, sublime...almost poetic. Rarely will one see him hit a shot in anger, yet most balls he hits fairly scorch the turf before resurfacing beyond the ropes.
KA is currently playing for the Maharashtra Ranji squad. His performance differs season to season. If the season starts well for him, he will continue in that vein, but if he has a shaky start, the poor form will in all probability stay with him through most of the season. That’s the way he is, if the opposition allow him to settle, he is as dangerous as anyone playing the game, but he is a little susceptible early on.
Nikhil Pande: Not only is NP one of my close friends, he is also a batsman I greatly admire and enjoy watching. We’ve played together at PYC in Pune for a number of years and time has not diminished the sheer joy I feel when I watch him play a good knock. And I have watched him play a few batting at the other end, for we have shared some good partnerships over the years.
NP is an attacking batsman but the one thing I can think about him is his persistent ill luck. Nothing else can explain his absence from the Maharashtra Ranji squad. His performance in the domestic leagues over the last 2-3 seasons has been spectacular and many ‘not as worthy’ souls have donned the Maharashtra cap in these seasons. However, NP is a fighter and I expect him to break into the squad soon.
Pankaj Phalke: A name that will undoubtedly raise a few brows. But in my book, PP is one of the most talented batsmen around. I am not sure if he is still playing Cricket actively. He used to play for Aurangabad and my first encounter with him was in a district level U-19 match. I was bowling with the new ball and had already taken two wickets, so my tail was up. The first ball I bowled to him was a short, quick one slightly outside the off stump in the hope that he would poke at it and edge it, much like the earlier batsmen. What followed however, was a square cut of the finest quality. The fielders did not move as the ball raced beyond the ropes. I remember thinking that this guy in good. In times to come, he proved to be even better than expected. A quick eye and nimble feet meant that he could, on his day, make the best attack look pedestrian. However, his temperament lets him down. His inningss' would be a joy to behold, but they would be disappointingly short lived.
Anyhow, that’s it on the batsmen for now. More on the bowlers in another post.

DXB

2005-05-05T17:29:00.000+04:00

After the rather shocking realisation that yesterday I completed two years in Dubai (actually Sharjah, but if I write about Sharjah, I’ll struggle to go beyond one word...dull...and Dubai and Sharjah are twin cities anyway), I decided that two years was enough time to get a ‘feel’ of any place and hence this post on Dubai.
How does one begin to describe a city that is many things to many people? In fact, it is many different cities in one. Over the past few years, Dubai has experienced unprecedented growth, a surge that is almost scary in that many people question whether it is sustainable on not. Doomsday soothsayers abound and have made confident pronouncements on how the Dubai economy is going to bottom out and stay there. These soothsayers were there many years ago when Dubai started its extraordinary and ambitious development plans and I have no doubt they will be around many years on, but till date, Dubai has shown no signs of slowing up.
Old timers in Dubai will tell you astonishing tales about Dubai of 20-30 years ago. They will describe Dubai as a semi-urban town with only one high-rise building and plenty of desert. They will talk about the old souqs (markets), the easy lifestyle, the city with culture, of rustic kinship, of a time when a day spent fishing on ones ramshackle trawler would be considered a day well spent, of a time when date farms and camels were as much a part of life as the ubiquitous car is today. With a twinkle in their eyes, they will recite tales of trade with the Indian sub-continent, of how the Indian rupee was the legal currency here till well into the 70’s (UAE came into existence in 1971). That era though is sadly past. Dubai today is a busy and buzzing metropolis with a population nudging 2 million and expected to grow to 6 million in the next 5 years...a staggering growth by any standard.
I remember thinking on reaching Dubai two years ago that the place looked awfully rich. I mean, anyone who has traipsed through the airport will tell you that. My first drive through Dubai left me impressed as well. Lovely roads, great traffic discipline (this impression changed pretty soon though), absolutely beautiful flower arrangement on the pavements (this has remained) and fellow Indians everywhere (mostly Kerelites, though that too is changing now). I remember, on my first night out, sitting next to the creek, taking lazy drags of a sheesha (Arabic hooka) and my friend telling me that Dubai is a soulless and culture-less city and I wondered at that statement. To my inexperienced eyes, the place was literally dripping of Arabia. Arabic food all around, people walking in traditional Arab dress, Arabic spoken everywhere...and I thought, this place has character and the character is more Ibn Batuta than Captain Cook.

Heart of the matter

2005-05-02T16:08:00.000+04:00

It all started last week. The exact circumstances I don’t remember now but that is not so important. What was important was the dull ache in my left hand, radiating from my armpit to the wrist, culminating in a tingling sensation at the tip of my fingers. Now my close family and friends will know that I am a fit sort of guy. I’ve hardly needed to go to hospitals unless it is to visit an ailing relative or friend. My own sojourns have been few and far between but memorable eventful (the topic of another post)...but I am digressing.
Ya, so as I was saying, I have generally been in good health and if we talk of stress, I don’t think I am any more stressed than the average overworked, underpaid bloke or sheila. So this pain came as a surprise (understatement there). Trying to find any innocuous reason for the pain, I finally attributed it to incorrect sleeping posture. But a troubling though was, ‘why only the left hand’? I have been told that I assume the most grotesque yogic postures in my sleep. This has always puzzled me because I can’t seem to do even the more elementary ones when awake, but I ramble again. So as I was saying, an incorrect doze-pose should have manifested in at least some discomfort on the right side, but my right side was clearly not obliging. Anyway, I checked my pulse, which seemed all right, so I chose to ignore the pain. However, when I got this pain a second time yesterday, I decided that the doctors would get the pleasure of my company, and right speedily at that.
So this morning found me at Zulekha Hospital in Sharjah, with my insurance card in my sweaty hand and intense neural activity in my otherwise slothful brain. A pretty nurse ushered me through to Dr. Sharmila Changkakoti and we got cracking. Dr. Changkakoti is the Neurology whiz at Zulekha and I took an immediate shine to her. I mean, how can you not like a person with a name like that. A series of quick examinations and a couple of X-rays later, I was informed by Dr. Changkakoti that I was as fit as a fiddle and that I should stop worrying about this pain. It probably was due to faulty sleeping positions and only my left side hurt because that is my dominant side (I am a lefty).
Well, it was a relief to know that my heart was thudding along as mother nature intended it to, so I thanked her and left. Now that I’m home, I can leisurely go through the doctors’ report.
Hmmmm, the X-rays look all right but how anyone can tell anything using these X-rays beats me. They look like misty ghost images, blurred and faded. Do I need a second opinion??

On Death.

2005-04-22T15:11:00.000+04:00

If there is one thing that I can say truly scares me then it is death. When I think about death, I get this feeling of restlessness, a feeling that death is too cruel. Unfortunately for me, I am not a theist. I’m an agnostic and the concept of God and unity with the supreme or of paradise and hell mean nothing to me. To me, God is just something that people believe in because without this faith, existence would be pretty meaningless, and I daresay, extremely scary as well. To know that death is the finality, that there is nothing after death...not for a year, a decade, a millennium, but for ever and ever is something that is hard to accept. The universe may keep expanding or it may collapse back into a singularity...that there may be other big bangs as well but these 70-80 years (with luck) will be all that I get is such a frightening thought that the only way to keep this fear under control is to have faith in a supreme power.
As a kid, I remember watching one particular episode of the Ramayana is which Ravana dies, struggling to keep himself alive till his last breath, and I thought that all I needed to do to remain alive was to keep breathing and I thought that remaining alive is not so difficult at all. Then why did people die? I asked my mom this and she said that everyone must die: that life and death are two sides of the same coin. I wasn’t entirely satisfied or convinced by this answer and how could I be. At 5, each kid has this instinctive feeling of immortality, and as I breathed and felt my body humming healthily, I decided that it was a bad idea to die and I would not do it.

Musings

2005-04-07T15:54:00.000+04:00

Its 4pm on a thursday and like the average Joe and Jane, I'm pretending to work, but the existence of this post suggests anything but.
Just finished reading 'Down Under', Bill Brysons diverting book about Australia. Having spent some time in Melbourne myself, I found the book fascinating and I wish I had read it before going to Australia. For the uninitiated, Bryson is a travel writer and he's written another good one on his adventures in small-town America called, 'The Lost Continent'. He is seriously funny.
A song that I heard just recently and has caught my fancy is 'Bulla Ki Jana' by Rabbi Shergill. I think it's one of the better songs to come out this side of the millennium. If you want to download it, do it now at www.coolgoose.com