The Champion…

      If there was one man who could bring a billion to a standstill it had to be the Little Master. As the saying goes… “Commit all your crimes while Sachin is batting… They will go unnotices because even God’s busy watching…” A true champion and a fitting idol for the youth in a country where sportsmen are worshipped and actors are idolized. Having won the world cup in 1983, the Indian cricket team managed to revive the sport of cricket in the country but, it took a genius to draw the whole nation to watching cricket. In 1996 when, the world cup was being held in India the grounds became empty soon after Sachin was out… he managed to carry the burden of his side on his fragile shoulders as a 20 year old. A generation grew up watching him play and in India you get only one answer when you ask about the greatest cricketer in the history of the game. No,it’s not Bradman and we are sure he wouldn’t have survived for so long having played so many games . Cricket would not have got so much attention if not for his immaculate timing, precise placement and wizardry.

      From the early nineties the world of cricket saw two contrasting characters emerge as the ambassadors of the game, one a flamboyant prince from the isles of the Caribbean and the other a modest genius from the subcontinent. While, Lara was a batting spectacle… Sachin’s batting reflected that of a genius at work! Although both were part of one-man armies… if there was one thing that could make them stand apart it was the fact that Sachin was more of a team man while Lara was more in love of his own game… Lara always had a point to prove… while Sachin always says “I don’t play to prove someone wrong.. I play for, I am passionate about the game and value the hopes of a billion back home”. That puts him in a different class above all the great players for, he values his presence in the team as much as he values the hopes of a billion! A champion in the true sense he knows his priorities and respects his followers which you would rarely find in the present day practical world.

While Sir Viv was called the King of the game… Sir Don is the reigning Don of this game and Brian is called the Prince Charles of cricket… In India Sachin Tendulkar is fittingly christened as “The God of cricket” for he plays like one! His batting masterclass is a blend of aggression and patience two contrasting characteristics which can be seen together only when Sachin is at work. The most attractive part about this man is the fact that twenty years of experience behind him he still is game to learning any new tactics and techniques about cricket. This was evident to the way he emulated the switch hit aka Pieterson style… during the Challenger Trophy match in 2009 and perfected it to the extent that even KP would envy. 

      The world was the stage in 1999 when the Master Blaster was jet lagged and mourning his father’s death who had died a couple of days before. He stepped into the game and smacked a huge ton against Kenya to show the world what he was made of! Ramesh Tendulkar would have been even more proud of his son had he been alive… But, the team which was still far from being TEAM INDIA of today had failed his valliant efforts and made an exit after the second stage. In 2003, it Sachin Tendulkar who engineered India’s success in the World Cup and only he must have known how painful it was to be adjudged as the Player of the Tournament after having lost the cup. One man against the whole world he was instrumental in helping the nation realise that Cricket is a sport we would love any day. 

      To date in most cricket shows they talk about the master and also make it a point to criticise his skills at being captain of the side. But, one thing they fail to understand is when a player who is so committed to the game is made captain he is bound to expect the same commitment and passion from all his team mates and failing to do so… he would never be a content captain. Sachin’s colleagues have time and again mentioned this and to me Sachin was not a failure as a captain. Today I feel that with such a notion if he was allowed more time he would definitely have made his teammates realize the importance of being as committed as him! That day was not too far but, in India we forget our heroes too soon.

If someone in Australia respects India today it is not because we once had a Gandhi or because we have several Gandhis today but, because India was the home of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. If ever a Pakistani wished there was no partition it was when Sachin took them apart and tore their team into pieces. Today the whole world respects him for the genius that he is…. But, in his own country the media labels him as an elephant in the dressing room or an old war horse rusty and yet willing to drag itself along. There could have been no better answer than those two big knocks against Aussies in the CB series last year! Sachin was never shook by any criticism he just answered with tons.. tons and more tons.

 

Today when the educated journalists of India have started writing about the honor bestowed upon Sachin by Taussad’s… I just feel like saying one thing…. It’s an honor for Taussad’s to have Sachin’s wax statue!

The world will remember Sachin Tendulkar even after the game of Cricket vanishes from the scene! All hail the Master!

The Warrior Prince!

The sun sets on the career of arguably India’s most loved captain, cricketer, icon Sourav Ganguly. The prince of Calcutta snubbed as ‘Lord Snooty’ by some has called it quits and embarks the green turf for one last time on Monday when half the nation would feel nostalgic and the other half triumphant. It is rare that a person of his stature in the sport is despised by many of his country men for umpteen reasons. His long time adversary Steve Waugh rightly quoted “Love him or Hate him… You can’t ignore him”… that’s Sourav Ganguly for you… and Dada for many.

The summer of 1996 saw the dawn of a new hero for Indian cricket who changed the face of the game completely. The immaculate timing, the unmatchable grace on off-side are two things which any cricketing mind would associate immediately to only one man. If Tendulkar is God and Rahul’s The Wall… Ganguly was DADA… the man behind TEAM INDIA! When God shrugged off his responsibility citing pressure as a reason and when The Wall was too tender to bear any burden this man raised his hand for the crown of thorns when Indian cricket’s funeral procession was passing by the streets of every other town thanks to some greats who fixed matches! He was never the most celebrated son of the Nation but, definitely he was more loved than many others in the team. India remembers Gavaskar for his grace, Tendulkar for his brilliance, Jumbo for his spirit, The Wall for his patience but DADA will always be remembered as someone who created ‘TEAM INDIA’ – the man who instilled faith, passion and aggression in what previously was branded as a bunch of submissive losers.

Every other day a new critic cropped up who would say Sourav Ganguly would not have made it to the bench had he been born in Australia or that a person who cannot play on the on-side would never fit into his eleven but, rarely did they remember that if 12000 runs could be scored on the off-side then, of what need is leg-side? If runs could be amassed at a rate quicker than the God of Indian cricket of what use is the knowledge of playing a short ball? Sourav Ganguly played to win not for himself but to live up to the faith that people had in him. Rarely does a captain mention that “Back home people badly want us to win… this one is for them”. People have won T20 world cups only by saying “I had nothing to lose”. His means appeared selfish to many but the ends didn’t. India won… at home… abroad… made it to the world cup final… raped the Aussies in their own den… ripped apart the pride of the Pakistanis… thanks to the leader. He might have not lead from the front in most victories but, his sacrifice was uncalled for… he accepted captaincy only for the betterment of the Team… for reviving and fulfulling the dreams of a generation!

Today while half of the nation celebrate when the old warhorse faltered for one last time… the other half weeps in memory of a Hero who fought for their cause for a decade! He was thrown out of his own team, in a way that hurt much more. The Wall who once called this man God of off-side was not interested in his return to the side. The youthful exuberance with which DADA drafted youngsters into TEAM INDIA proved to be the lethal blow to his own career. But, never did he complain. His protege Yuvraj replaced him in Test Matches but Sourav went back to all small towns in India, to the grounds that had little green on them… played on pitches that were barely prepared…

The Wall lead Team India to consecutive defeats abroad after a successful tour to the caribbean. The Proteas broke the back of Team India! While the entire team crumbled like a pack of cards, Sourav was scoring for his team in the Domestic arena. His call to the National team received mixed response as his ever faithful critics started writing him off and his ever faithful fans started celebrating and the celebrations never stopped. The rise of the Phoenix was truly the greatest comebacks ever in the history of cricket. He scored more than any other Indian in the longer format of the game for the calender year 2007. He was second in the world… He came back into the side and won two man of the series awards… several man of the match awards… The Dada of the old was reborn…. a generation that grew up watching him play were now old enough to realise and revel in the greatest stories that Dada scripted. He topped it all with a ton at Eden and a double at Bangalore… the joy was limitless and the world knew for sure about a Warrior who fought all through his career. His knocks in England and Australia set the tone for India’s exceptional performance… and thanks to the umpiring decisions he could not make a ton in either parts of the world during his second stint.

The teardrop of India became the cause for a million tears on the 9th of November 2008. The carrom ball didn’t do the trick but the hype did it in, as the Fab four could not make it count and for one time after his comeback Sourav failed.That was enough for him to be sacked for one last time. But, this time the Warrior was wary of what was to come owing to politics in and out of the Team and decided to say it is enough. I had it all! The last words at the press conference before Aussies toured India where he said “One last thing lads….” shattered millions of followers of the game who felt that the Prince of Calcutta was playing far better and consistently than any other member of Team India. The Warrior Prince gave the final blow to a Nation which failed once again to respect its Hero. He smacked the Kangaroos all around the park at Bangalore… registered a ton at Mohali… and missed a ton by a whisker at Nagpur…  while The Wall had a big hole drilled through! He did not deserve to leave before others who are far more inconsistent at this point of time but, He decided to call it a day! Not just Bengal but people from every nook and corner of this cricket crazy nation watched the match and shouted in dismay when their Dada was out for one last time! The long walk back to the pavillion was never to be seen again and cricket will never be what it has been for years. I greatly cherish the moments that this fighter has left on my mind. The man will be gone but the tons… the shirt at Lord’s… the 144@Brisbane… the captain courageous… a representative of India’s hopes… A fighter… A patriot… A Warrior Prince will remain… forever in the hearts of millions across the globe!

Goodbye Dada!

You will be missed badly by half a billion a atleast!

Equality!

Right to Equality

In spite of having borne the title of a ‘Socialist Secular Democratic Republic’ the Modern day Democratic India is still being ruled by a corrupt few who instigate the feelings of caste, creed, region and religion in the people. Shameful is the only word apt to describe the acts of the illiterate bunch which takes pride in ruling India. I am proud being an Indian but, sad that a nation of such talent, a nation of a glorious past is being allowed to be murdered by the never-ending oligarchy.

It hurt many hard working students when the bill demanding ‘Seats for the privileged’ was passed.. But, I wasn’t hurt.. I though it would make competition tougher but still the fittest shall get through and the ‘privileged’ anyways shall end up working in the public sector!. But, a couple of days back when IIT Delhi decided to sack a few academically unfit students there was hue and  cry again from one community of the privileged – they felt that among those unfit students their wards did not deserve a place… They felt that the institute was being rude and unruly in rusticating those students… and the government now promises to look into the matter! As a matter of fact when has the government interfered and allowed a general student to stay when the authorities had decided to sack him?

Where for God’s sake is equality existing in India?

Are there enough seats for all those meritorious students? No

Is the cut-off same for all communities? NO

Are all capable graduates getting jobs? NO

Are all public sector opportunities being filled by fair means? NO

Do we get to pay the same fees as some millionaire’s son who is ‘privileged’? NO

I pay more… I work hard… I face the fuckin disappointment while others get through with less hard work… less knowledge… less pain.. less fees to pay as well!

Agreed that some of the communities were tormented in the past but why the hell should the remaining communities be barred of opportunities because some fool in the past committed a crime! It’s the disgusting situation of India where all the damn rulers are concerned just about how they should safeguard their position for the next elections…

At times I felt the financially weaker sections might deserve to have a reservation but, now NO WAY!

No reservations at all!
Cut down the fees not the cutoffs!

It’s high time the government realises they are making a mistake because this way of allowing dumbos to take place of the deserved will only dilute the nation’s future… I wish this stops before some one choose to repeat the ‘RDB’ act!

Wake up uncles… U guyz have grown too old to rule the country!

Saraighat… a journey… tht left memories

After a toiling sem… it was time to head back home… and people were all charged up coz some were going to France and some to Germany… and ya i was going back to Hyderabad not to Europe… so there was a little less enthusiasm but.. the sem that had just gone away made this trip back home a little more necessary…

Unlike usual this time we had to board the Saraighat express to go to Kolkata and then catch another train to reach Hyderabad frm the jungle we live in… The trip I thought was gonna be funny in case our first train gets a little late…. but, there was something even interesting in store awaiting me… All of us were amused to see that the compartment was clean… without any stains of the pan or gutkha… without the normal crowd that we find in trains from our part of the country… that was one of the few surprises that I had received on that train.

The journey was pretty much eventful as I started reading Ayn Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead’ I had alwayz been intrigued by the metaphysical questions in philosophy and this book seemed more fascinating than many others that I had read. The lead role in the novel tries to be idealistic which is pretty much unlike most of the modern day materialists. But, the train was moving a little too much which was sufficient to get my head to ache severely… which was when I was motivated to take a small nap. The sleep was timely and I could do away with my headache and also noticed that my fellow passengers (6 of them) were actually a group from GTFS Maruti Service Station in Kolkata and they were having a little problem playing cards coz I was sleeping on my berth… I offered to move aside while they were playing… n then they continued to play while I was busy finding out how Howard Roark gets settled.

At 2am the sleep was too difficult to be kept away any further and so I crashed. By the time I woke up it was funny to see that all the suitcases were cut open in our cabin. I came to know from the people in the compartment that the group of six who travelled with us had got down 2 hrs before their final destination arrived. Now I could realise why they had more laptop bags than the numbr of passengers… Although those 6 didnt know I had a laptop one of my friends was so obsessed with his laptop that he was playing arnd with it for quite some time and finally he dint lose his but I lost mine because of his antics.. This was the Saraighat journey that left memories that’d last for a long time!

How long? How many more?

Indian democracy has reached the sorry state where every move of a politician is in the direction of gaining more votes. Even after sixty years of independence people are still considered to be in the same backward state as they were at the time of independence. Had there been any development in these six decades then, why would we still demand for a new reservation? The answer though pretty evident is that political power has become an obsession for many these days and to cling on to their posts this is all that they could do.

Reservations in India’s premier institutions would mean that some students shall be accommodated in spite of being academically weak while other meritorious students stand by and watch. Such policies will only help diluting the quality of the students in these institutes. The reservation might do more harm than good to those who are actually benefited by it, because students are admitted though they are unqualified and once in the institute, they shall be competing with others who are more qualified at that point of time. This might cause some youngsters to feel they are inferior to the others and in turn hamper their natural ability to work to their potential. It would be a burden for such students to complete their education and compete with others whom they think are more qualified and talented. This would only lead to disrupting the confidence of the young minds in the country.

After the Supreme Court’s verdict about the reservation for OBC’s there is a new problem that has arised, that of the ‘creamy layer’. As such the Supreme Court’s idea of excluding the creamy layer must be commended. But, certain political parties still feel that the Supreme court has partly undone what the government wanted done. In short, the legislature did not approve of any ‘creamy layer’ restriction, but the court has introduced this. This clearly reflects the motive of the political parties which was not about helping the backward sectors of the community but, was only a masterplan to try and strengthen their vote bank. Had it been that the political parties were concerned about the well being of the ‘truly’ backward sectors in the community then, the exclusion of the creamy layer would not cause them to feel that the supreme court has undone what the government wanted.

In India there still exist disparities in the society, not on the basis of caste or religion but in terms of the financial situations. If only there is a need for reservation it is for the poor people who cannot afford quality education in primary and higher secondary schooling. If the government really wants to help the financially backward sectors then, their efforts shall be lauded. Reservation even if provided must be confined to any one phase of the individual’s career, a person securing a seat in IITs thanks to reservation is again taken by the government for some post to fill up the quota. How would a person allowed to get into the IIT be backward even after he has graduated from there? How then, will he be deserving a job on the basis of being from backward caste? If only these questions could be answered many of our doubts could be clarified!

P.S.: These views are completely personal and are not intended to hurt anyone