Someday we will

Someday we will conquer death
Someday we will learn to live our lives before death!

Someday we will live on another planet
Someday we will realize that we failed to preserve our own planet!

Someday we will end the wars
Someday we will realize that it was our ego that caused all the wars!

Someday we will see the almighty.
Someday we will realize that he was there every time we did our duty!

Someday we will have honest rulers.
Someday we will realize that we tolerated their ruthlessness!

Someday my family and friends will accept me despite my flaws
Someday I will learn to keep my commitments!

Someday I will be rich
Someday I will realize that all things are not within my reach!

Some day I will write better poems.
Some day I will realize that emotions are all that counts!

Dhoni is not ready for Khel Ratna Award

Dhoni premature to receive Khel Ratna award


Dhoni is a good cricketer who has the potentials to make it really big. But I don’t believe he has achieved enough to be awarded the “Khel Ratna” award so early in the day. Captaining India to a T20 WC victory and a series victory in an ODI series in Australia does not qualify him to be awarded the Khel Ratna. Popular public hype would suggest that he is the most deserving candidate for the award but let the proprietary of the award not be breached by hype.
Khel Ratna awards are equivalent to Bharat Ratna as far as sports are concerned. Leave alone giving Dhoni the award, he should not even be recommended now. The only cricketer to have got this award is Sachin Tendulkar. Greats like Dravid, Kumble, Ganguly, and Lakshman have not even been recommended for this award. Their achievements are a part of legend and I won’t delve into it. I don’t think Dhoni has achieved even a fraction of what they have done. For that matter, he is yet to provide number of match winning performances like say a Yuvraj, Shewag or Harbhajan. Have a look at the list of award winners of the Rajiv Khel Ratna winners and it will strike you like tsunami that Dhoni has a long way to go. If Dhoni is to be given Khel Ratna for his captaincy, how can the Bengal Tiger Saurav Ganguly be left out? He was the one who started the renaissance of Indian Cricket after it was caught in the mire of match fixing

I am confident that Dhoni will one day win this award but right now he has a lot of distance to travel. Recommending him for a Khel Ratna at a moment when he is complaining of fatigue when playing for the nation but not IPL seems a parody. The BCCI loves to ride the wave, once they can be discrete. The Government can be wise enough to shoot down BCCI proposal. Don’t trivialize the importance of awards like Khel Ratna.

How I am going to manage inflation?

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Inflation is hitting the roof. It is going to hurt very badly a person like me who has got a stable but largely immobile salary. All these years I have got used to a pseudo luxury life courtesy the stable prices. I could easily borrow (thanks to the low interest rates) to satiate my unreasonable consumer demands. In the middle of this golden consumer run, I managed to convince a bank into giving me a home loan. Now with the increasing prices and interest rates, the proverbial “hand to mouth existence” may be a dream because I may have to chew only on fingers. To keep myself afloat I have decided to adopt these novel methods to beat the inflation.

Food is the most important item of expenditure. To cut down on this expenditure I am going to pay frequent visits to every known relative and remotely connected friend’s house. My late stay in office will increase on the other days to ensure that my dinner is booked to office. Some of my colleagues have already noticed this and made chiding remarks about me. The thick skinned that I am won’t be perturbed by these economy watchers. On Sundays and weekends, I am going to visit every marriage/birthday party and even obsequies ceremony that I have been sent a card for. I will walk in empty handed with the standard slogan “I neither accept nor give gifts”.

Having taken care of the food, I will train my guns on how to optimize the prime location in which my house is located. I am seriously thinking of approaching companies to paint their logos on the outside, inside walls of my house. I don’t mind even if some company insists on renaming my house “(company name) Balu Nilayam”. Window Panes of my house can also be used for display. As far as clothing is concerned, if any company comes forward to give me their promotional t-shirts and other material, I don’t mind wearing them and standing on top of my house during prime time on the weekends.

As far as cosmetics, shaving aids etc.., is concerned, I am going to change over to the cheap local brands and write countless number of blogs on virtues of using such products. Travel would be managed by hitching rides from rank strangers or emotional blackmailing friends and relatives to drive me where I want. I am going to shop with friends and relatives not for the joy of it because at the moment of making the payment, I will pretend I have not brought my wallet and convince them into paying for me. As expected, credit cuts love and I don’t intend to cut the love they have on me by repaying, I am going to treat it as gift. To be reasonable, I am going to find a new person every time I want to shop.
I know all the above methods suggested are pretty shameless. But I am staying in a country where we have a Government that does not believing in controlling inflation but worried about implementing a N-deal. The technology has worked nowhere in the world. We have a so called Peoples Champion in the name of Left Parties who instead of finding methods to work with the Government to reduce the prices has withdrawn support on an issue that they did not originally oppose.

When the political parties can become shameless, why me remain upright? “Be a Roman when you are in Rome”. Nothing is more important than me.

Reality shows are not alien to our culture

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There is a huge hue and cry about the impact that reality shows are having on our society. Turn back the pages, realty shows have been a part of our culture from days immemorial.

Remember how Ram won Sita. In fact fixing of realty shows is also a part of our culture. Remember how Ram intervened in the contest between Vali and Sughreev. Participant taunting is also not new to our culture, remember how Karna was insulted for reasons of birth by Dronacharya. Arjun winning Draupadi was also a part of a reality show. Pandavas losing Draupadi again was a part of the realty show or for that matter the condition that the last year has to be spent in disguise was similar to “Big Brother”. Also you could recall the great contest between Lord Subramanya and Ganesh for the divine fruit and how Lord Ganesh won it the smart way.

Our legend is full of stories on prince’s displaying their talents in a public contest to win over the princess or rescuing her from a magician after crossing various hurdles. So let’s not dub the realty shows as Western and pretend that its pitfalls as alien to our culture. The fact is that realty shows a great platform for ordinary people to display their talents. Some extraordinary talent has emerged due to the realty shows. There might be stray cases of fixing but that does not mean an absurd talent has won. There is a certain amount of drama built into it to make it viewable. The comments of the judges are a part of this drama. Participation in a reality show is not a compulsion. Chicken hearted are free not to participate and those who have the stomach can continue to win accolades.

The Bannaa Peel, what it says about you

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It is said that the footwear a person wears reveals his class. In our country, if you want to find an individual’s civic sense or lack of it, just buy him a banana on the streets. Most of them after eating the banana would end up throwing the peel behind them. If a person is truly careless, he would throw it anywhere but most of us throw it sub-consciously behind us. It is as if to suggest “I have enjoyed the banana, don’t want to skid over the peel but don’t mind the guy coming behind skidding over”. It just reflects how insensitive and selfish we are. After all discarding a banana peel into the dustbin, won’t sap us of our energy. Partly to blame is our films who with their sense of dry comedy reflect a person skidding over a banana peel as a laughing matter. It maybe a laughing matter for the onlookers but not for the victim. At times it can be life crippling or even death.
I find it nauseating to find Banana peels in the middle of a footpath. If somebody is such a lazy bum, atleast he can throw it on the corner, why right in the middle. Whenever I see such peels, I do try to clear them. I don’t mind doing this self-appointed scavenger job but to find educated persons indulging in this is irritating. Enjoy your banana and throw the peel into an open gutter atleast. First it won’t explode and most importantly, it is a bio-degradable material. As the former President APJ said we won’t indulge in such acts if we are in Singapore, we can make our country a more civic place by simple voluntary acts.

We dont want a bio fuel mafia in India, do we?

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With petrol prices going up, the new fad is bio fuel. The arguments put forward are it is cheap and that is zero polluting. Bio Fuel or Crude is a Hobson’s choice and as the old saying goes “Trust a known devil rather than an unknown fairy”.

If Bio-fuel is produced from food meant for you and me, as the demand for it goes up, the prices of these commodities will go up and also there will be a severe scarcity. One of the reasons attributed for the global increase of food prices is bio-fuel. If Bio-fuel has to be produced exclusively, then the existing thin cover of forests will be further endangered. The threat that bio-fuel posses to our forest cover is unimaginable. It will lead to large scale deforestation, soil erosion, vanishing of more species, etc. Recently there have been large scale protests in Kenya against letting out 80 square miles of Tana River Delta for bio-fuel production. This delta is to be converted as a sugarcane plantation unmindful of the fact that now it is home to lions, hippos, reptiles and sustains thousands of farmers and fishermen.

One dreads the day when bio-fuel cultivation catches the fancy of the corrupt and powerful in India. Just look at a city like Bangalore, where over the past 20 years, scores of lakes have been encroached and converted into layouts. The Government for obvious reasons is keeping quite. The same would happen with bio-fuel production once its profitability is unleashed. With ruthless ease, food crop cultivating areas would be converted into non-food crop producing area; forests would be done away with to put up sugar plantations, like it is happening in Kenya and elsewhere. Bio-fuel is non-polluting but already we are facing the problem of global warming due to disappearance of forest cover. What is the point in having a non-polluting fuel when there would be fewer forest cover than the existing depleted one?
The only alternative that can work for India is the ever present solar energy. Most parts of the country have sunshine throughout the year. I would love to buy a solar cooker but it takes 2 hours to cook rice and who has that much time. The Government has to invest huge sums of money into making use of solar energy viable. Use of solar energy in certain cases should be made compulsory. For example, the Government could come out with a law wherein houses with more than 600 sqft diameter are compelled to install solar geysers. The Government should from a future date; say 2013 make it compulsory that all 2 wheelers below 100 cc should be capable of running on solar power. Solar water heaters should be made compulsory for hotels and restaurants. The street lights should be capable of running on both solar and electric power.
Bio-fuel is not for a country like India where environmental laws are broken with impunity. We are having a mining mafia which is causing sufficient environmental damage, now we don’t want a bio-fuel mafia.

Are we right in subjecting our elders to pain in the name of treatment?

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I don’t know whether you will have any good opinion about me after reading this blog. Our incomes have expanded and so has medical facilities. Medical facilities have grown to such an extent that we can safely say that we have 75% conquered death though not ageing.
We all value our elders especially if they are our parents. We want to shower on them all the care and affection that they gave us when we were young. There may be a few disgraceful children who don’t do so. When our elders fall sick, we get terribly frightened. We afford them the best treatment possible to ensure that they are back to normal.
This blog is not to question this basic human approach to our elders. I also do the same things but at the same time feel sometimes in the name of advanced treatment, I subject my mother who is 70 plus to a lot of pain and agony. Undergoing those countless blood tests, climbing those steep xray tables, bearing those radiations, undergoing various minor surgeries, numerous injections, etc., whether all this is worth the effort and is it justified for me to subject her to so much of pain? She feels that she has seen life to the maximum extent possible and wants to spend her remaining days in peace and prayers. I don’t relent and coerce her into undergoing this treatment because I care for her.
Will I agree for such pain and agony at her age. How much pain she has to undergo for me to feel satisfied? Will it make me a less caring son, if I don’t subject her to such pain? I don’t think so. It seems as if to for a public display of care, I am coercing her to undergo all this pain. Anyhow I have no ideas of relenting and want to ensure that she gets the best of medical care and attention.

A wonderful heart centre in Bangalore

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This blog is not for promoting the Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain Heart Centre, Bangalore. Given the fantastic treatment they give and ethics they have, they would not require publicity from a novice blogger like me. Just that I felt when an institution is not working, we very readily write about it to our friends and family. Very rarely, we compliment an institution which is working the way it is meant to.
Recently my mother’s heart beat went below the normal level and had to be rushed to the nearby Chinnamayya Hospital on 27/06/2008. Knowing that the case could not be handled, the duty doctor in the cardiac wing, instructed me to take her to a bigger facility. I must compliment him for his immediate admission to treat the disease and not possessing any ego. I took her to Bhagwan Mahavir Jain Heart Centre based on a friend’s advice, though in my mind I wanted to take her elsewhere.

The initial response in the casualty ward itself made me feel that I have brought her to the right place. Just informing that my office had a credit facility with the hospital and showing my ID card put an end to any demands for money. Otherwise I have seen many hospitals persisting with demand to deposit money until an authentication certificate is given by the office. Within 15 minutes of admission to the CCU, the cardiologist briefed us about the reasons for the disorder and possible cures. This again was a surprise for me, because specialists in some hospitals feel that they are answerable to none. He also told me that they have gone in for induction of a temporary pace-maker and the next day a permanent pace maker would be introduced. It was encouraging to note that the nursing staff gave us continuous updates on her health and also asked us not to get tensed. The reception staff was equally pleasing and did not disturb us with frequent requests for signatures. The cleanliness in the hospital is absolutely impeccable.

Next day, we went in anticipation that they would insert a pacemaker into her but it was not to be so. There is a wonderful practice in this hospital of doctors doing two times a day briefing for the relatives of patients in CCU. During our briefing, the doctor informed us that her heart beat had gone down, since potassium levels in her urine had gone up (Only one of her kidneys is functional) and the same has been brought under control. Her heart beat had stabilized and the need for a pacemaker would be obviated if the stability is maintained. This integrity hit me like a tsunami. We were having a corporate account and they could have very well inserted a pacemaker and claimed refund for the same along with associated medical charges. Nobody would have protested and the amount fully paid. But the doctors in Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital obviously have some ethics and don’t have money making as the single obsession of their lives. I don’t mean to say that other hospitals have money making as their single objective but we have heard stories of such money making by many a hospital. Hence, any person would have been shocked the way I was.
True to their words, when her heart beat stabilized, the doctors shifted her to the wards without the pacemaker and discharged her subsequently. Now she is doing well. During the hospitalization, the hospital itself took care of the medicine, which saved us from a lot of hassles. The charges for medicine was a nominal sum, which again proves the levels of honesty that his present in this hospital. The hospital is very centrally located near to Cantonment Railway Station in Bangalore and the address is given below
Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Heart Centre
#8, Millers Tank Bund Road
Vasantha Nagar
Bangalore - 560052
Landmark: Near Cantonment Railway Station
Phone: 080-22267333, 22267374

This blog is not a promotional one but only a way of expressing my happiness at noticing ethics as required in a medical profession.

It is an hospital not a playground

More relatives than patients are a common scene in hospitals across India. This is true even in diagnostic centers. I am not against the affection we have towards our dear and near ones but this should not come in the way of the process of curing a person of the illness he has been diagnosed with. I don’t understand what purpose is served by 20 relatives of a patient chatting amongst themselves outside the ICU. What purpose is served by a dozen of relatives being around a patient who is recuperating after surgery? If our care, attention, love and affection could cure a person, why take the trouble of bringing him/her to the hospital?
Such huge presence trivializes the hospital atmosphere and converts into a virtual playground. Everybody is making their own comments about the hospital, the food, bla bla in the presence of the patient. Further, some of them start discussing intricate family matters in presence of the patient. Further, more some relatives start discussing their woes with the patient. Excuse me, the patient has come to the hospital to get treated and cured and this cannot happen if the same atmosphere, arguments continue. Further, it disturbs the other patients also. This unruly behavior does not stop there. Though there are separate toilets for relatives of patients, it is the toilet meant for patients which fascinates them, so what if the patients who are already sick, land up with a urine infection?
We somehow revel in disturbing others, breaking rules just to pretend affectionate in front of our near and dear ones. If we can in the midst of our affection milieu understand that it is a hospital not a playground, things would improve. Most hospital authorities would sigh a sign of relief and possibly the patients too.

Superstitions are not bad but dont cling on them

Superstition as defined by the Oxford Dictionary means “Excessively credulous belief in and reverence for the super natural. A widely held but irrational belief in supernatural influences, especially as bringing good or bad luck”.

I don’t think there is anybody on this earth, living or dead; who does not have his/her own set of superstitions. Even the most sworn atheist would have superstitions because they transcend the barriers of religion and are more often subconscious.

Superstitions make an individual undesirable in society when it hurts the being of another. A popular superstition is the black cat crossing. I find this superstition most amusing because the black cat never stops its journey because you crossed its path. An inhuman superstition would be elders saying don’t go when a particular person is standing outside the house. An equally ridiculous one is “don’t ask where you are going?” when someone is stepping out of the house. Most of these superstitions have vanished from urban areas because of compulsions to reach our jobs in time. As it is we are not able to reach our jobs on time because of the never ending traffic jams, wonder what would happen if we had to studiously follow these superstitions.

There are many non-hindering superstitions like lucky shirt, color, number, etc. The famous umpire David Shepherd used to hop whenever the score board used to read nelson i.e. 111 or its multiples. The number 13 is dreaded by most westerners as is the day Friday the 13th. These are not desirable because a number does not make or break an individual. People pay huge amounts to get certain fancy numbers for their vehicles. This is very desirable because it means additional revenue for the Government.

Cricketers have their own superstitions. Jimmy Amarnath used to always ensure that a red tag hung out of his back pocket every time he went out to bat; A famous Australian opening batsman used to not change any part of his clothing, if he was not out overnight (actually I think it was a ploy to keep away close in fielders); Sunny Gavaskar always used to go out to bat on the right side of his partner. Even politicians have their own sets of superstitions. The most famous one being Pandit Nehru wearing a red rose on his suit. All the above superstitions are okay (except that of the Australian) because they are personal to individuals.

Coming to myself, I am phobic to the number 13 but that does not mean I would turn away a bag containing 13 bundles of Rs.100 notes or a pouch containing 13 diamonds. It is true not only of me but of most. As the famous saying “Baap Bada na bhaiya, sabse bada rupiya”. Even superstitions take a back seat when it comes to money. Superstitions per se are not bad if they don’t hinder any individual’s freedom, but don’t cling on to them if it means material benefits.

Fortnight that changed Indian Cricket

09/06/1983 to 25/06/1983 is the fortnight that changed Indian Cricket. We became the World Champions. Aussie skipper Kim Hughes had before the WC rated India as the dark horses and how true was his prophecy. I am trying to capture the mood in my locality during the fortnight. The whole locality had only one B&W TV and the owner Prakash uncle was kind enough to let the entire colony watch the live telecast.

Mohinder Amarnath had made a famous comeback in 1983 against Pakistan and West Indies. GRV’s career was prematurely ended by the selectors. The entire balance of the team rested on the great Kapil Dev. Selection of Yashpal Sharma in place of the great GRV was taken with a pinch of salt by all the elders of my locality, except Raman uncle who staunchly defended his selection on the grounds that he was a great fielder and an excellent runner between the wickets. Majority gave no chance to an Indian team at the WC without the greatest stroke-maker GRV. You see, Seniors V Juniors debate is not this generation’s origination. Only Raman uncle believed in the team’s capabilities and he based his arguments on India’s first ODI victory against WI at Berbice, a few weeks ago, thanks to swashing blade of Kapil Dev.

We were placed alongwith WI, Australia and Zimbabwe in Group B. The first match was Aus V Zimbabwe and Zim had an historic victory. In our first match against WI, batting first we made a healthy total of 262/8. Yashpal Sharma top scored with 89, which was a World Cup record for an Indian at time. As luck would have it, he eclipsed the previous highest score of 75 by GRV and the joys of Raman uncle knew no bounds. India won the match by 34 runs. This match gave us huge confidence that we would do well in this WC.

Our next match against Zimbabwe was a walk in the park for us. The third match was against Australia and we got a pasting. Only Kapil Dev stood up to the challenge both with bat and ball (5/43 and 40 runs). The return match against WI had a similar disastrous result and we lost by 66 runs.

The next match was the famous one against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells. There was no live telecast of the match due to a BBC strike and we were left to fend off radio commentary. India won the toss and decided to bat, soon it was disaster unleashed and in no time we were 17/5. At 17/5, the elders of my locality got furious and one of them went to the extent of saying, pointing to us “these boys would have done better against Zimbabwe”. Usually, we were chided for playing on the road and breaking window panes. Finally, our moment of redemption had come. Soon the recovery act began and what a recovery it was, from 17/5, Kapil Dev scored 175 not out, to take India to 266/8. India won the match by 31 runs. Everybody was left shell shocked by Kapil’s efforts. It was the first century by an Indian in a WC match and also one day international. We may have many a billionaire cricketers now, but Kapil Dev is One in a Billion cricketer.

Our agenda for the next match against Australia was clear, win and proceed to the semi finals. We scored 247 and defeated Australia by a huge margin of 118 runs. Yashpal Sharma scored an handsome 40 of an equal number of balls and by now he had become a hero, so did Raman uncle. Nobody afterwards questioned or ridiculed his cricketing acumen.

Next it was the Semi- Final (first time entry for India) against the English men who batting first scored a mere 213. Highlight of our bowling effort, was a 24 over spell by Mohinder Amarnath and Kirti Azad, in which they conceded only one boundary. India made a shaky start and at a time the run rate was going beyond our reach. Bob Wills came back for a new spell and told something rubbish about Yashpal’s English. Yashpal being the true Punjab da Puttar, stepped aside and virtually swept him over the square leg. Please remember Bob Willis was one of the fastest bowlers of his generation. All hell broke loose afterwards, India cantered to a victory. Sandeep Patil scored a 30 ball 50 to take India to victory. Mohinder Amarnath was the MOM for his efforts with the bat and ball. Yuvraj Singh (Sandeep Patil) and Mohameed Kaif (Yashpal Sharma) of the 80s had ensured India’s victory. Englishmen had to bite the dust in their home ground and India had reached the finals. The grumpy Englishmen could not digest India’s emergence and predicted a walk in the park for WI on 25/06/1983.

25/06/1983 - everybody knows what happened on that day. India won the world cup by 40 runs. India were asked to bat first and folded up for 183. Srikkanth scored a blistering 38 which included a hooked six of Andy Roberts. He also famously square drove Joel Garner for a four. All of us attempted this shot with funny results. Mohinder Amarnath scored a patient 26. There was also a gutsy last wicket stand between Kirmani and B S Sandhu. BS Sandhu was hit on his head by a Malcom Marshall bouncer. It was unethical those days to bowl a bouncer to the No.11 of a team, Umpire Dickie Bird admonished Marshall in no uncertain terms.

“All said and done, 183 was not sufficient” said Prakash uncle and reminded “Remember WI were set a similar target in semi-finals and they made mincemeat out of it”. Raman, hoping against hope quipped “Everyday is not Sunday”. It was generally agreed that WI would finish the match within 45 overs, given our mediocre bowling attack. WI began their reply and got an early jolt, when Greenidge got the famous “Ball of the World Cup” from BS Sandhu. Llyod had a hamstring injury and our journey became easy with his wicket. The famous wicket of all was IVA Richards c K Dev b M Lal – 33. Viv seemed to have an early date and was smashing around the Indian bowlers with his characteristic arrogance, when Madan Lal bowled him the sucker ball and up went the ball in the air, India’s best cricketer athlete Kapil went behind the ball like a tiger and pouched it. That was it; decline of WI Cricket had began at that fateful moment. After that we were counting by how many runs India will win. There was a brief resistance in the form of Jeff Dujon and Malcom Marshall but Jimmy Amarnath took care of them. When Jimmy got Holding LBW, hell broke loose across India and my locality as well. I vividly remember we did not burst crackers but a lot of dancing and drinking went on till almost morning.


We wanted to play cricket on the streets in pitch darkness. It only because none of the boys wanted to be on the West Indian side that the famous match could not be played. Nobody had believed India could do it. Kapil Dev had lead a team of self believers to a great victory. Appropriately, winning the Prudential World Cup insured the future of Cricket in India. All the benefits that today’s cricketers are reaping, were sowed by those 14 great men. As for me and my cricket team, from that day onwards, nobody dared to admonish us for playing cricket on the streets. For months to come, everybody would remind us that one day we will have to win the WC for India. As fate would have it, neither we did nor anybody from our generation win the WC. Maybe the T20 generation, would do an encore. I don’t think we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1983 victory, with only one WC in the cupboard. We will have a few more silverware.

Flush that fairness cream

If on someday I have to pioneer a public interest litigation, it would be against the ads which propagate the virtues of a fair skin. I am dark skinned but never felt anyway inferior, intellectually nor emotionally, to a fair skinned person. I have nothing against a fair skinned person but a few greedy ad professionals with a sole intention of selling a fairness cream are trying to create an inferiority complex amongst dark skinned people. It is this propaganda in an already fair skin obsessed society which provokes me.

Dark skin color ridiculing in our society is akin to the discrimination against a girl child in rural India. Ours is a country where most people especially from the southern part are dark skinned. The Government bans liquor ads/ cigarette ads/ provocative ads but why not a fairness cream ad which shows that dark skinned people not being capable of being an airhostess, news reader, un-dateable, etc, etc? How can the Government remain silent to a profit motive which promotes color discrimination?

An individual’s ability to make money is not determined by his/her skin color. An individual’s ability to write efficient computer programs is not determined by his/her skin color. A sportsman’s physical power is not determined by his/her skin color. An architects design is not determined by his/her skin color. A surgeon’s knowledge is not determined by his/her skin color. A fashion designer’s immaculate cuts are not determined by his/her skin color. A call centre executive’s accent is not determined by his skin color. On the lighter side, the hits on my blog page or for that matter anybody’s page is not determined by their skin color.

I think our entire country is having an Obsessive Compulsory Disorder towards fair skin. This is despite the fact that some of the country’s best leaders and sportswomen are dark skinned. Englishmen stepped out of the shores of country long ago; but our obsession with fair skin is yet to go.

It is all the more depressing to see when successful dark skinned couples try every trick in the book to ensure that their kid is born fair. The fair skinned child of the family is always the cynosure of everybody’s eye. Luckily, in my family, all are equally dark, so I never experienced this apartheid.

“Marriages are made in heaven” goes the saying but one look at the matrimony market; you will be compelled to believe that “Marriages are made in melanin cells”. Jet black guys remain unmarried for ages just because they could not find a fair girl. Does the success of a marriage depend on the skin color of a wife? I know many a dark skinned ladies who have inspired their husbands to greater heights and have been source of great emotional support. At the same time, there many a husbands who have lighter colored wives and have virtually become recluses in their own homes.

The only place where I felt bad about my dark skin is those empty hi-fi shops in Bangalore. The owners and salesman of such shops are determined in their minds that a dark skinned person is poor and can’t afford the expensive things they sell. They usually avoid a dark skinned person and treat them as an intrusion in their business. The only thing I do to such shops is to show the base of my foot which is luckily fair and make a move.

Get it off your mind that your altitude in life is determined by the magnitude of fairness on your skin, it is always determined by your attitude. Flush that fairness cream.

Indian Crickets most heartbreaking moment

This maybe the most inappropriate blog to be writing at a time when cricket lovers across the country are celebrating 25 years of India’s victory in the Prudential World Cup. But ask any die-hard Indian Cricket fan of the 80’s, which was the most heartbreaking moment in Indian Cricket? Pat the reply will come, Javeed Miandad last ball six in Sharjah.

I don’t want to get into the scores of the match but woefully recall that India had won 80% of the match. The only redemptions for Pakistan on that day were the death over spell of one young upcoming Pakistani fast bowler by name Wasim Akram but the man who changed it all was the “Street Fighter”, “Wily Old Fox” Javeed Miandad. Many will acknowledge that Javeed Miandad was the pioneer of soft hands in one day cricket. Just dab awkwardly and take a quick single was Miandad’s invention.

For the T20 cricket fans, running for a bye with the ball in the wicket keeper’s glows may seem an innovation. But Javeed Miandad did it on that dreadful day off the penultimate ball. If the keeper had hit the stumps, India would have won the match but history had other ideas.

Last ball, four runs to get, Chetan Sharma with the ball in his hand. Chetan possibly attempted a Yorker but it turned out to be a juicy full toss and Javeed who was waiting in his hunches, deposited the ball into the midwicket fence. Kapil Dev had erred in calculation. He should have been bowling the last over.

Until that match, India had won most of its one day matches against Pakistan in Sharjah. Javeed Miandad rewrote history; after that day, India hardly won any match against Pakistan in Sharjah. To me from that day till date, the name Javeed Miandad only evokes the image of him hitting that last ball six. Even in the famous quarter final match in Bangalore during the 1996 WC, until he was out, I was dreading that Pakistan would get the runs.

Chetan Sharma is one of the greatest enigmas of Indian Cricket. He had a lot of potential as an all rounder but never played consistently well. He won a crucial one day match against England with his bat. To his credit, he took the first hat trick in a World cup match against New Zealand. Unfortunately, most cricket fans of 80’s recall him as Javeed Miandad’s bunny. This match was more than what the score board reflects. For months, cricket fans could not stop cribbing about that one ball. For me, it will always remain Indian Cricket’s most heart-breaking moment.

Is this a part of our mindset

I have been a victim many a times of reaching to a marriage reception on time and finding only marriage decorators for company. With passage of time, I have become wise and usually reach a marriage reception, a couple of hours late from the printed commencement time.

I have never been able to find a reason why a marriage reception never starts on time. If the hosts can’t start a marriage reception on time, why don’t they print it in the wedding card, like, say “Anytime after 8 pm on 20/06/2008”?

Why put a specific time and not follow it? How can a host be so insensitive to their guests? Do the hosts find it funny or stupid, if somebody turns up on time for a marriage reception? It is ridiculous to note that the hosts, who were busy with the reception till 12 am, get up at 4am to get ready for the muhurat.


I have never seen a muhurat which got delayed by a few hours. I think it is a part of our mindset wherein we fear unseen stars but don’t respect the time and commitments of our well known guests.

Please speak out for the families of 25 Indian Sailors who went missing on board "MV Rezzak"

February 18, 2008, a cargo ship “MV Rezzak” left the coast of Turkey towards Russia. 25 Indian sailors recruited by Pelican Marine Pvt. Ltd, the Mumbai-based firm were on board. The ship went missing of the Turkish coast. It has been nearly 4 months since but there is nothing concrete on the fate of the sailors or the ship.

Speculating about some of the reasons why the ship has not been located yet, Neeraj Tyagi - brother of one of the crew members said, "My personal belief is that the ship has been either hijacked or the company itself has kept the ship in hiding to claim insurance money."

Recovery Overseas, a legal firm based on Chincholi Bunder Road in Mumbai’s Malad area, on 3 June, has written to the families of the missing crew, saying that they had died “due to marine hazards in ship MV Rezzak”. To add fuel to the fire, M/s. Pelican Marine, has started contacting them for no-objection certificates, or NOCs, that state the ship has sunk and the crew is dead, so that it can pursue the case with the ship’s insurer, said Uma Mohan, sister of the missing ship’s chief engineer, Mahendra Gopal Krishna Menon. “We are not willing to give such an NOC. How can Pelican Marine decide that the ship has sunk and the crew are dead?” Mohan asked. Mohan alleged Recovery Overseas was acting on behalf of Pelican Marine.

The Indian is at its docile best and merely writing to the Panama authorities to locate the ship. Maybe if some VIPs were on board the ship, a special team would have been sent to locate the ship. Even some foreign agencies would have been hired but these were ordinary men on board, so who cares.

Unfortunately, time is running out for the government as the families of the crew members plan to step up the agitation so that the Indian government does not "forget" the incident. The family of the 25 sailors do require an answer. If the Government is not willing to act, we should make it act. It is our duty as citizens of this free country, to compel the Government to act. On my behalf, I am sending an email to the Hon. President, Prime Minister and the Cabinet Committee of Grievances. I request you also to do so. Kindly ask all your friends to do so. Today it is the families of the 25 sailors of MV Rezzak who have to suffer because of inaction on the part of the Government, tomorrow, it may be us.

Such an eyesore that SIZE ZERO

Size Zero is the in-thing today for today’s women. A size zero is an eye sore for most men. The sight of a hitherto well endowed wearing a bikini and her skull bones exposed was a nauseating sight for me. A shrunk-in top is such a deflating proposition for me. The only emotion such a female would evoke is compassion and not passion.

An average man can be attracted only to a healthy looking female Size zero females look pathetically sick. A healthy looking female does not mean a corridor filling hip. Most size zeros are achieved by artificial means and from the health point of view is fatal in the long run. There is a sea of difference between a slim female and a size zero. Some of us are born genetically slim, that’s ok, as long as we are healthy. Punishing our body and natural systems to attain a size zero seems to be far fetched. Then again, everybody is the queen of their own destiny.

The smiling beauties of Indian films

A good smile can make an heroine a super star for ages. To me and most Indians, Madhuri Dixit has the ultimate all round smile. Her smile looks very natural in all situations, be it as a teasing lover in HAHK or seductive wife in Beta. The magic of a Madhuri smile will continue to excite me even if she turns 60. Down south, only Simran has that all round smile.

There have been other heroines whose smile is bewitching in its own right. Urmilla innocent yet seductive smile in the song “Yeh Ram Kya huan” from Rangeela gave me (many men, I suppose) many a sleepless nights. So did Juhi Chawala in “Bol Radha Bol”

Kajol has a very girlish smile so does Sonali Bendre. Down south, Jothika has a very girlish and captivating smile. Rakishta beats all the heroines down south when it comes to a girlish smile.

The most voluptuous smile I have seen is that of the Malayalli film actress “Vani Vishwanath”. Those twinkling of eyes on that broad frame still sends current across my body. Of today’s heroines the same can be said of the southie Namitha and in bollywood, Lara Datta. In Kannada, Radhika has that type of voluptuous smile.

The most artificial smile award should go to Mrs. Aishwarya Rai Bachan and Deepika Padukone. There is nothing in the eyes to make it look genuine.

A midnight call from my friend

It was late in the evening when I shut down my system and began to find my way to the lobby for the cab and reached home. The day as such was tough. In the morning, I had missed my office bus and had to travel by the public bus, which was suffocating to say the least. Over that, my boss, as usual, was demanding and courteous.

After reaching home, I grabbed a quick dinner and hit the TV remote. The channels had nothing to offer but the same breaking news, sobbing families, unfaithful spouses, dangling sensex, etc. I just decided to put myself and the TV to sleep mode.

Never realized when I went into a deep sleep mode until I was awoken by a ring tone. First I thought it was the backup music of a BPO vehicle, later realized that it was too close to me and right in my ear. I woke up and noticed that time was 12:05 am and there were 3 missed calls.

Before I could unlock the keypad, the phone rang again. It was from my friend, I was wondering, why would he call me up in the middle of the night and answered “Hi, how are you” He replied “Bala, there is something which only I want you do it for me, will you, please promise?’”. I was unaware of what was to come and said “C’mon yaar, aisa bhi kya? In most cases you know I will do what best I can”

He replied “Today is my birthday, I want you to be the first person to wish me” and burst out laughing. Leave alone wishes, I gave him back all the expletives I could recollect. He was just following the tradition we had of calling each other requesting for a birthday wish. It was just that he had pre-poned the timings by a cool six to seven hours. I did give him my heartiest wishes. It was nice to know that the fun and mischievousness in our friendship had not gone even after 2 decades of friendship. I lost my sleep for the night and was left wondering why I did not put my mobile on silent mode that night alone.

IPL's new lingua franca

IPL has created its own lingua franca. Here are some of them:-

Duration (n) - marginally longer than an Indian movie.

Spectators (n) - Not all have come to the stadium to see the match and most importantly everyone does not know cricket.

Viewers (n) - Advertisers spend crazy amounts to catch their eyeball attention for 10 seconds but they prefer to surf channels during ad break.

Pitch (n) - A rectangular piece made of soil but expected to be more flat than a table top.

Batsman (n) - A gladiator whose purpose of existence is to send the ball across or over the boundary as many times as possible.

Bowler (n) - A gladiator who is paid handsomely to get beaten like a henchman in Indian films.

Shot (v) – A verb whose ends justify the means. Simply read as long as you get a boundary does not matter if you executed a late cut over the middle stump.

Umpire (n) - An individual on field whose popularity goes up every time he lifts both the hands vertically upwards.

Score (n) – In India like sensex preferred only when it progresses in geometric progression.

Run rate (n) – A Jurassic age concept which should be replaced with runs per ball which again is respectable only if it is 1.5 runs per ball.

Economy rate (n) – Anything which is less than our inflation figures is preferable.

Boundary (n) – The batsman’s capability to frequently strike it, directly increases his endorsements.

Dot ball (n) – One of the few on-field perks for a bowler.

Maiden (adj) – An on-field event whose occurrence is as rare as a total solar eclipse.

Dull Moments (adv) – Time taken between overs

Average (n) – considered respectable if it is in double digits for batsmen and single digits for bowlers.



Team Loyalty (n): - The match itself is a blind date, so who cares.

Spirit of the game (adj/adv?) – displayed at the end of a game in form of a handshake sometimes through a slapface.

Cheerleaders (n) – what did the poor bar girls do differently to be banned?

Dugout (n) – A bus-stop type shelter where grown-ups wait anxiously like school children in front of an exam hall.

Commentators (n) – rehabilitated cricketers who are paid to dub as talented every guy who can with result swipe the bat/ hurl the ball powerfully.

Sponsors (n) – A set of guys who are desperate to ensure that their name appears on every cricketing gear. Wonders whose logo appears on the most important but least displayed cricket (no prizes for guessing it) . A steel or cement company would be an ideal choice with words “keeping family/ friends (either girl or boy) happy” or “protecting the future” or “ensuring continued home entertainment”.

Owners (n) – Individuals who have invested heavily but not allowed to grunt or grumble when their team performs badly.

Last, but not the least, Lalit Modi (Proper Noun) – Magician. C’mon guys, he should be the Prime Minister of this country. Definitely would come up with an idea how to market petroleum products so that we don’t have to pay every time the rate goes up.

What is charismatic leadership?

What is charismatic leadership? You just cannot stand up in a crowd, say that I am charismatic and become its leader. So, how does anybody become a charismatic leader?Looks, skin color, oratory skills, family lineage, style, etc are some of the words which come to mind Looks and skin color work but only to a limited extent. Family lineage would make you a charismatic leader amongst a worthless set of people. Oratory skills are essential for a charismatic leader. For it to instantaneously connect with thepeople their convictions should be emphasized, fears allayed, hopes fostered and most importantly play to the gallery. For all these to culminate in a powerfultalk, the leader should be well informed of his audience profile. Just imagine waxing eloquently on the growth in capital markets, infrastructure, etc amongst a group ofdrought hit peasants, you are liable to be stoned.

Style is a combination of voice, body language and dress. You cannot address an army going to war in a saint like voice. Your voice should be aggressive and wordsshould be screaming for the enemy blood. Body language reveals what the carefully planned words hide. It is impossible for a teacher to inspire his students, if he himself yawns during the class. There cannot be a better example on importance of dress than Gandhiji who could easily connect with the masses because of his dresssense. Why else do you think uniform is given utmost importance in organizations which want people to achieve a single goal? A contemporary example of the ultimatestyle package is Laloo Prasad Yadav. He has all the style in the world that is required to mesmerize his target audience.

For a leader’s charisma to sustain over a long period of time, he should be well organized, know the pulse of his audience and most importantly deliver on his promises.

Will the IPL connect emotionally and financially?

The IPL organizers and bidders seem to have understood that watching and appreciating a cricket match is an habit or an obsessive compulsory disorder for the Indian public, whereas it is actually an option. Otherwise, why else would such mindless money be invested in IPL.
Attachment to the teams cause is what attracts the eyeballs of a viewer to a sporting encounter and not the fact that his favorite sporting star bank balance is going to add a few zeros. In a game like cricket, if you have to be attached to a team, you have to connect with all the eleven players and this happens only when they are representing your country. Nobody is going to feel disappointed if an X city loses a match nor there is going to be a great attachment to all the 11 players representing your city. I come from Bangalore but I would like to see Ishanth Sharma knocking the day lights out of Kalis rather than the otherway around. English Press is not going to take a team to the cleaners if they lose a match because viewers in the winning city are going to be terribly disappointed.
The most important assumption of the IPL business model is the love of Indian Public for Cricket. This love is very limited and specific to the matches being played by India alone. Our public cannot take a defeat lightly and come to the streets burning effigies and attacking players homes when the team loses important matches. Will the lose by a city team result in venting of such ires? Our love for cricket is more because of a certain TINA (There is No Alternative) Factor rather than genuine love for the game. These are the reasons why Cricket has become such a passion in India. How many of our self professed cricket fans know who was the Man of the Match/ Series in this years Ranji Trophy? How many know who is Sangwan and which grade of cricket he plays for India? Not more than an handful.
Will the players have the same competitive edge that they posses when they represent their country. Failure in IPL would not cost them a place in their national teams nor is it going to affect their records in any way. Some of the players are going to get three times of the amount that they will get by representing their country for a whole year. Even a year or two of playing for IPL is sufficient to take care of them post-retirement. They are not going to stretch themselves while playing for IPL. Nobody would like to get injured playing IPL and risk the chance of playing for their country. Thus, the contention that IPL would improve domestic cricket is as true as a lamppost being a rain shelter. Moreover, will two cricketers from the same country representing opposite city teams sledge each other. There is no emotions that are going to be involved in these matches. In that aspect the ICL players are better placed because once they join this league their international career is effectively over and they have to perform well in the ICL for their earnings to continue.
I am in no mood to waste 40 plus evenings of mine watching two city teams sweat it out for the profit of a franchisee. How na?ve the cricket administrators can be? Was it not a few years back the super series involving Australia V Rest of the World, a damp squib, though performance in these matches added to the records of the individual players.

Three poems for Valentine Day

Billion of stars may be waiting to twinkle in the radiance of your eyes!
Millions of words may want to intensify their meaning by describing yourpersona!
Lakhs of Ornaments may be wanting to enhance their charm by decoratingyour beauty!
Hundreds of eyes might want to bless their sights by feasting on your beauty!But only one Heart will beat for your well being always, that’s mine!Take Care, Until We Meet Again!
*******************************
UR Missed AlwaysUr missed always, in all seasons and for all reasons!
In the harsh summer, the pleasantness of Your face and twirl of thosehairs, made my days cool!
In those dark monsoon days, the twinkle in Your eyes, brightened my days!
In those chilly wintry days, the liveliness of Your touch, kept me warm!
During those spells of anger, Your courage made me see reason!
In the depth of sorrow, Your soothing words and solace helped me stayafloat!In the spring of happiness, your radiance and vivacious smile made theoccasion extra special!
Ur missed always, in all seasons and for all reasons!******************************************************************
Why do I love you?

More than the beautiful face, it is the refreshing simile that it gives!
More than the twinkling eyes, it is the far-reaching vision that they are able to have!
More than the sweet voice, it is the sweet and heartfelt words that come out!More than your beauty, it is the compassionate heart in it!

A satire on the various classes of the Indian Society

Nothing serious just a poke at the various classes of the Indian Society including me


Poor
Bank Balance:- Get us a bank account first.
Frequent Question:- Will the roof above us hold tonight?
Funda of life:- No Money, No Worry
Likes/ Dislikes - Cant have any if they want to move up


Middle Class/ Upper Middle Class
Bank Balance - In the black till all the EMI Cheques come.
Frequent Questions - Too many. Where is the best discount sale? Why does it take so long to open a demat account?
Likes/Dislikes - again too many
Likes - Family Values & Riches (V contrasting na)
Dislikes - Immorality, Cheating and Poverty (again v contrasting)
No wonder they get stuck for their life trying to manage the contrasts


Rich Class
Bank Balance - Very limited. More in black, gold and land.
Frequent Question - Which is the next best Real Estate bet?
Funda of Life - Accumulate as much as you can, God knows for whom.
Likes- Dislike
Likes - Increase in grams of gold ownership and property papers
Dislikes - New Schemes of Government to unearth black money.

Ultra Rich
Bank Balance - Kisko patha? It never ends.
Frequent Question - Where's the party tonight?
Funda of life :- Have many cars, designer clothes and affairs
Likes-Dislike - You cant have any if you have to reach and stay here.

Why my parents were happier than me?
My parents ethical values seem to me as obstacles for progress!
My parents worked for money but I live for money!
My parents celebrated to enjoy but I celebrate to show off!
My parents luxuries have become my needs!
My parents sweated to save money but I sweat to save my health!
My parents loaned in an emergency but I loan to create an unreal lifestyle!
My parents had a small home but I have a small heart!
My parents dreaded lies but I treasure them!
My parents lived by the times but I try to race against it!
My parents had friendships based on emotions but I have them as useful connections!
My parents achieved status through good deeds but I try to achieve it by increased needs!

No wonder my parents were happier and stronger than me

Why is the Indian Cricket Fan angry?

Indian team has made its most ignominious exit from World Cup since 1992,the average Indian Fan is angry. The experts of the game as well as the incapable team members are taking shelter in the guise that this after all a game. The average Indian Cricket Fan is being ridiculed for taking things to heart and that they don't understand cricket. This is nothing but the typical story of trying to cut off the branch of the tree on which you are seated. The media is also being questioned for making a national issue out of the defeat.
I am ready to buy the arguments provided somebody is willing to give answers for the following questions:-
a. Would our cricket stars have made so much money from endorsements but for the emotional Indian Cricket Fan on the street. Dear Cricketers, it is his blind faith that made the sponsors dole out such huge cheque to you. There are sports which involve a lot more sweating on the field than cricket, those players don't earn such astronomic sums.
b. Who gives exclusive interviews to the media? Who makes unrealistic promises to college students on hour long programmes? As long as the Media was giving positive coverage to the non-existent cricketing talents, walks on the ramps, the cricketers and the experts had no problem, they were all game for it. It is just when the media started questioning the obvious shortcomings of the cricketers, everybody is finding fault with the media?
c. A senior BCCI functionary today has ridiculed the media for making too much of India's chances of winning the world cup. India is going to play hardly 40 or 50 days of cricket every year at home for the next 4 years. Indian Cricket Board has sold its domestic cricket telecast rights for the highest price in the world (comparing other cricket boards). Why did the BCCI which was not sure of its cricket team winning the world cup sell its telecast rights at such astronomical rights?
d. Why does it cost so much to watch an international cricket match? After all most of the stadiums are built on land given by Government at throw away prices. What facilities does the cricket fan who sits in the gallery stands of a stadium get, not even a roof to brave the sun and he is required to shell out nearly a thousand rupees to watch a match.
e. What is the need to have Ranji Trophy Cricket, if the highest scorer and wicket taker in it don't find a place in the playing eleven. Joginder Sharma has been performing consistently with bat and ball for the past 3 years and all that he got was a single match in South Africa. A single failure is sufficient for Joginder to be banished to the annals of cricket whereas years of failure is not sufficient for Shewag to be dropped.
f. Anybody would get irritated to see the Ad "Ab har ghar mein Sachin" being repeated ad nauseam on TV even after the exit of India from WC2007. Why does not Mr. Sachin return the amount to the company and ask them to stop telecasting the Ad.
g. When a team loses as badly as India has done, most of the senior cricketers announce their retirements? Why have none of our senior cricketers have had the gumption to admit that they have failed and just quit from the team? Why do they want to hang on to the positions in the team?
h. They are not representing BCCI but wearing on India on their shirts and caps. When India loses, her citizens are bound to go wild. Let them wear the logo BCCI XI or ***** Cola XI and play from tomorrow onwards not even a mongrel would for care their defeat or victory.
i. There is no major country in the world which does not have passion about one sport. Defeat or Victory in that sport swings the mood of the nation. In India it is cricket. People are bound to react violently when you lose without a semblance of a fight. Just turn back the pages to last year, see how England reacted to its football team loss in the Soccer World Cup.
Dear Cricketers and Experts, when you can bask in the glory of our adulation for your insignificant achievements, better learn to accept our ire when you fail meekly or else find a different profession. If you are a mechanic, watchman, barber, painter, chartered accountant or any profession you choose and you fail, we wont come in the streets and protest. You are wearing Indian Colors and the hype in the country is such that you are valued next only to our brave Jawans who guard our frontiers. It is this hype which has brought you the riches. So next time don't tell we don't understand the game. Maybe yes, we don't understand the game or else why would we have showered so much of our attention on paper tigers like you.
I only hope fans do see the truth and stop idolizing these non-performing heroes. Let their victories and defeats not affect your daily schedules. Watch a cricket match but only when there is nothing worthwhile to watch on the TV.