Since the time I embraced Cricket as religion, it has come a long way. Fifteen odd years have passed, at that time one day cricket was well followed in all the cricketing nations. Bouncer around the nose height was always no balled, no field restrictions. It had its own start specialists in K Srikant, Ajay Jadeja, Robin Singh, Micheal Beven and many more. One day Cricket started in nineteen seventies and it served a great relief from boring Test Cricket which for around next couple of decades continuously lost popularity only to resurrect in nineties when Aussies introduced aggressive cricket.
One dayers have offered some of great competitions, players and always been entertaining fans around the world. A generation of fans has passed, people's taste have changed and cricket was again fighting the battle for survival. Around the same time, T20 came into existence and brought with itself lot of glamor, money and viewership to cricket. In absence of which cricket was indeed a dying sport. Many argued T20 is not the cricket blah blah. But, like it or not, the rise in popularity of cricket and the viewership it added, T20 is here to stay for a long time.
Now, its again time to move on for cricket, clearly test cricket is for people who enjoy traditional cricket though their number might be limited but it has its own cult following and also the cricketing fraternity definitely feels too attached to stop playing it. The biggest causality of T20 became the one day internationals. T20 is simply more exciting and glamorous than one dayers that too in only half the time. This trend just sets the ground for end of road to one dayers. Many of the past greats are advocating this and now ECB along with its affiliated counties decided to take out one dayers from their playing calenders. Well I think this is natural progression for cricket and betterment for players to play more positive cricket.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Calvin's Quote on Life
That's one of the remarkable things about Life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Confused ideology
BJP used to be a party with a difference. A party of leaders with clean image, strong national views and learned. Leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, M. M. Joshi talked sense that could strike chord with the educated and frustrated lot. Eventually they could get their hand on top job. Their performance was marginally better in comparison to their predecessors. They had all bright next rung leaders as in Arun Jaitly, Sushma Swaraj, Pramod Mahajan and at times it felt this party is going to stay on top for quite some time.
But, somewhere along the line they seem to have lost their focus. It became evident with their defeat in 2004 elections. Since then they never seemed to be on the recovery path. Apart from their forte Gujarat and couple of other places, BJP has lost a lot of ground. Now they seem complete directionless. Every now and then they would make sensational comment about radical Hinduism and end up clarifying it rest of the time. At some point, they were people with ideology but now they seem to be confused. The latest example being all turmoil occurred with Jaswant Singh's book. The book claims to be a work of research. It does not hypothesize or postulate anything, it claims to be based on facts. I am not vouching for his book nor do I share same views on him but I definitely do not consider it anti-national or for that matter proponent of any ideology. BJP seems to have different thinking. They claim their heroes and ideology is betrayed by this. I fail to understand when the book does not propose any ideology how come it betrays other and the heroes it downs are the ones who banned BJP's mother organization (RSS). After spending decades in party, shaping its policies and thinking; the treatment mooted out to Jaswant Singh does not seem to be right. In a way it seems stupid of party to do such a thing. The top leaders are shying away from taking responsibility of ousting Singh, it just does not seem to be a wise decision.
Party has continuously lost ground among masses, there is hardly any star leader to take guard at top after L K Advani. This is a time when they should unite themselves and resurrect the party because country not only needs a stable government but also a united and firm opposition which can only lead their way back to top.
But, somewhere along the line they seem to have lost their focus. It became evident with their defeat in 2004 elections. Since then they never seemed to be on the recovery path. Apart from their forte Gujarat and couple of other places, BJP has lost a lot of ground. Now they seem complete directionless. Every now and then they would make sensational comment about radical Hinduism and end up clarifying it rest of the time. At some point, they were people with ideology but now they seem to be confused. The latest example being all turmoil occurred with Jaswant Singh's book. The book claims to be a work of research. It does not hypothesize or postulate anything, it claims to be based on facts. I am not vouching for his book nor do I share same views on him but I definitely do not consider it anti-national or for that matter proponent of any ideology. BJP seems to have different thinking. They claim their heroes and ideology is betrayed by this. I fail to understand when the book does not propose any ideology how come it betrays other and the heroes it downs are the ones who banned BJP's mother organization (RSS). After spending decades in party, shaping its policies and thinking; the treatment mooted out to Jaswant Singh does not seem to be right. In a way it seems stupid of party to do such a thing. The top leaders are shying away from taking responsibility of ousting Singh, it just does not seem to be a wise decision.
Party has continuously lost ground among masses, there is hardly any star leader to take guard at top after L K Advani. This is a time when they should unite themselves and resurrect the party because country not only needs a stable government but also a united and firm opposition which can only lead their way back to top.
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Swine Flu Effect
These days wherever I go, I see most people in grip of fear. Hotels, multiplexes, malls have been shut down. Everyone is afraid of swine flu, lot of misconceptions have prevailed and people have become paranoid with the idea that they might be contracted with it. With all this you see lot of funny things around like few wear surgical masks even inside a car.
One benefit I see is people have become conscious of hygiene and importance of clean environment. But, it has taken its own toll, there is shortage of Dettol, mommies have become extra conscious and experimenting everything from Camphor Goli to Influenza 200. Another effect is the roads are not much occupied people have become more home bound basically avoiding crowds. Last Sunday I walked through Hongkong lane without my body being rubbed against anyone.
I find it weird, some of the precautions were always necessary but just that there was no fear of dying, it did not matter to anyone. It is just amazing to see the difference in the same people who have been so inert earlier and now so much more aware and active. No matter how screwed up could be one's daily life, everyone wants to live, I would say to suffer more. :P
PS: Government has asked people to avoid public places, employee turnout at Infosys has gone low.
[ Just an attempt to crack a PJ ;-) ]
One benefit I see is people have become conscious of hygiene and importance of clean environment. But, it has taken its own toll, there is shortage of Dettol, mommies have become extra conscious and experimenting everything from Camphor Goli to Influenza 200. Another effect is the roads are not much occupied people have become more home bound basically avoiding crowds. Last Sunday I walked through Hongkong lane without my body being rubbed against anyone.
I find it weird, some of the precautions were always necessary but just that there was no fear of dying, it did not matter to anyone. It is just amazing to see the difference in the same people who have been so inert earlier and now so much more aware and active. No matter how screwed up could be one's daily life, everyone wants to live, I would say to suffer more. :P
PS: Government has asked people to avoid public places, employee turnout at Infosys has gone low.
[ Just an attempt to crack a PJ ;-) ]
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Celebrating Identity
Happy Independence Day folks, celebrate the identity you share with one billion others and a history of 9000 years. I wish I should have done something today to make it count.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Growing Up
When I was seven, I used to think what a wonderful place this earth is; every time I pass by all these new people appear and big buses come around filling this space up. It further used to get me into thinking what happens to all those people, buses and bridges when I am not in that frame, how do they survive? I somehow had the notion that I am the center of the world and everything else just moves around me. I just did not fathom the fact that life equal to me, other than me and in parallel to me can exist. Well, am glad all that was really long time back.
Time passed by I was eleven, I had grown out of earlier kiddish thoughts and started to believe that I am the last hope this world has. I am omnipotent, a re-incarnation of noble soul, I am the one (so to speak Neo). I even had a belief that if I concentrate enough I can lit up and turn off a candle. I even tried that but that candle was not smart enough to understand my prowess and I had more important things to do than proving it to stupid candles.
At sixteen, I looked around and thought well so sad for the world, it lost its last chance recognizing me as the One. But, still there is hope, with all the wisdom in me I could probably bring all the conflicts in the world to end and give a fair deal even to the last person on the planet. I just need to go to UN, become its president and that's it I will save the world, pretty neat huh. ;-)
Afterwords, engineering happened to me and at twenty one it occurred to me that "Thoda locha ho gaya mere sochne me" There are sets of problems, I won't be able to solve. Not all things are as easily achievable as I used to thought. But, I still found the comfort in the fact that I am more knowledgeable and wise than most blokes around me.
More time passed by, I spent some time in professional life, getting all round view of world in general, I realized I am too insignificant a person. I have achieved too little compared to people from my time or history. Forget about the world problems, if I could fix my problems and get things in order, it would be a significant achievement.
Now, I wonder if all along I was growing up in age or growing low in my expectations or may be I was getting matured, who knows how long I have to go. :-)
Time passed by I was eleven, I had grown out of earlier kiddish thoughts and started to believe that I am the last hope this world has. I am omnipotent, a re-incarnation of noble soul, I am the one (so to speak Neo). I even had a belief that if I concentrate enough I can lit up and turn off a candle. I even tried that but that candle was not smart enough to understand my prowess and I had more important things to do than proving it to stupid candles.
At sixteen, I looked around and thought well so sad for the world, it lost its last chance recognizing me as the One. But, still there is hope, with all the wisdom in me I could probably bring all the conflicts in the world to end and give a fair deal even to the last person on the planet. I just need to go to UN, become its president and that's it I will save the world, pretty neat huh. ;-)
Afterwords, engineering happened to me and at twenty one it occurred to me that "Thoda locha ho gaya mere sochne me" There are sets of problems, I won't be able to solve. Not all things are as easily achievable as I used to thought. But, I still found the comfort in the fact that I am more knowledgeable and wise than most blokes around me.
More time passed by, I spent some time in professional life, getting all round view of world in general, I realized I am too insignificant a person. I have achieved too little compared to people from my time or history. Forget about the world problems, if I could fix my problems and get things in order, it would be a significant achievement.
Now, I wonder if all along I was growing up in age or growing low in my expectations or may be I was getting matured, who knows how long I have to go. :-)
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